August 23, 2018

Good evening,

Rains continued this past week to provide moisture for soybean and corn crops.  According to the attached August 20 Ohio Crop Weather Report, Findlay received 1.37 inches and Lima/Allen County received 0.93 inches for the week.  Although this will help the soybeans fill their pods, it can also bring about possible disease.  Now is a good time to check soybeans for root rot, white mold, and frogeye if you have a history of these diseases in your field.  There have been some reports of sudden death syndrome in soybean as well.  If you have a susceptible variety, you may want to take a look at your seed line-up for disease resistance packages in 2019.  Scouting corn this past week, I did notice some stalk rot in a field that I was checking.  Previously, we have noticed gray leaf spot and northern corn leaf blight in several area corn fields.  This can be expected with the weather we have been receiving this summer.

Ohio Crop Weather Report August 20

Waterhemp and Palmer amaranth continue to be a major concern in western Ohio.  I have noticed the spread of waterhemp in Hardin County.  This past year I estimated it was infesting 4% of the soybean fields in the county, but this year I believe that number will be higher.  If you see waterhemp in your fields now, the only thing you can do at this point is hand pull it or cut it before the seeds become viable.  See the attached articles written by Dr. Mark Loux, OSU Extension Weed Scientist for information about scouting and what to do if you have these weeds.  I have also included an article written by Dr. Jeff Stachler, OSU Extension Educator-Auglaize County for information regarding the number of seeds that each type of weed produces and how long they stay viable in the soil.  The main point is that you want to do everything possible to prevent seed dispersal and prevent infestation with a well thought out herbicide management program in 2019.  If not, these weeds can take over a field and reduce profitability quickly.  If you are not aware of what these weeds look like, I have attached a photo.

Waterhemp-Palmer Amaranth News Release

Weed Seeds News Release

Upcoming events in the area that I have included flyers are Beef Quality Assurance training August 27 and ‘Our Land, Our Water’ farm tour September 9 in Mercer County.  Shelby County is hosting Beef Quality Assurance training September 8 and ‘Drive-It-Yourself Agriculture Tour’ on September 16.  If you need to renew your fertilizer certification, Auglaize County is hosting a fertilizer recertification meeting on September 7.  If you are interested in knowing how the wheat varieties did this year, check out the attached 2018 Ohio Wheat Performance Test.  We now have Farm Science Review tickets for sale at the Extension office for $7 per person.  If you wait until the Farm Science Review on September 18-20, you will need to pay $10 at the gate.

Beef Quality Assurance Flyer – Mercer

Our Land Our Water 2018 Flyer

Beef Quality Assurance Flyer – Shelby

Shelby County Ag Tour 2018 Flyer

2018 Ohio Wheat Performance Test

Fertilizer Recertification Flyer

Upcoming local events include the Hardin County Cattle Producers Picnic Saturday (8/25) starting at 6:00 pm in the Community Building at the fairgrounds; OSU Extension Master Gardener Volunteers meeting Monday (8/27) starting at 7:00 pm at Harco Industries, Ag Hall of Fame fair booth set-up Wednesday (8/29) starting at 5:00 pm in the Machinery Building at the fairgrounds; Fairboard meeting Wednesday (8/29) starting at 7:00 pm in the Community Building at the fairgrounds; and Farm Bureau meeting/fair booth set-up Thursday (8/30) starting at 6:30 pm in the Machinery Building at the fairgrounds.  I have included some agronomy articles below that you may be interested in reading.

Mark

Soybean Disease Outlook for August – Anne Dorrance

We have soybeans in all different growth stages but the majority of the crop looks great but there are a few highlights based on some scouting and reports from last week. Frogeye leaf spot – the fungicides do seem to be holding this at bay for those fields where it got an early start.  It is now showing up in northern Ohio, but too little too late to do any damage.  The caveat for this will be to monitor these fields to identify the susceptible varieties – and then avoid those varieties in those fields for 2019. Sclerotinia stem rot – white mold is just beginning.  At two of my field research plots there were a few plants with 1” long lesions and white mold.  To read more about late season soybean diseases, go to https://agcrops.osu.edu/newsletter/corn-newsletter/2018-26/soybean-disease-outlook-august.

Did You See Crop injury from Slugs or Voles in 2017 or 2018? –  Greg LaBarge

We have heard varying reports of crop injury including replanting, treatment with control products or tillage from slugs and vole in corn and soybeans across the state. To get a better feel for where and under what conditions these two pests have been active in 2017 and 2018, a short 6-question survey has been put together. The survey is intended for farmers or professionals. The survey will be available until August 31 and should take less than 3 minutes. Please go to http://go.osu.edu/slugvole. For more information on “Slugs on Field Crops,” visit https://ohioline.osu.edu/factsheet/ENT-20. A summary of responses will be posted in an upcoming fall issue of the CORN newsletter. If you have any question please contact Greg LaBarge, labarge.1@osu.edu

Recommendations for Seeding Cover Crops in Late Summer – Alan Sundermeier

Just Do It !! Now is an excellent time to improve your soil by planting cover crops.  Leaving soil bare exposes it to erosion and nutrient loss.  Get it covered and protected. There are many cover crop seed choices when planting after small grain harvest.  You can get complex with various mixtures or keep it simple.  An easy to manage, simple cover crop mix that does well this time of year in wheat stubble is oats (1 bu/acre), crimson clover (12 lb/acre), and radish or rape (2 lb/acre).   Mixtures provide a variety of benefits that outperform single species plantings. When using legumes, be sure to inoculate seed with rhizobia for maximum nitrogen gain.  Also be careful about hosting soybean cyst nematode if planting to soybeans next year.  Go to https://agcrops.osu.edu/newsletter/corn-newsletter/2018-27/recommendations-seeding-cover-crops-late-summer to continue reading this article.

Will Soybean Aphids Reach Threshold This Year? – Andy Michel, Kelley Tilmon

We have heard from a few extension educators and scouts that soybean aphids are starting to make their appearance.  Right now, the number of infested plants is very low (around 5%) and the number of aphids on the plants is also low (average 5-10).  With this level of infestation, it is highly doubtful that soybean aphids will reach threshold, especially in soybean that has already entered the late R stages (R5 and R6).  However, there is a fair amount of late planted soybean that could still be at risk—in fact we were in a field last week that just reached R2.  We recommend that growers continue to scout their fields to make sure that soybean aphid populations remain under the treatment threshold which is 250 aphids per plant.

Western Bean Cutworm: Adult Moth Update – John Schoenhals, Mark Badertscher, Sam Custer, Tom Dehass, Allen Gahler, Mike Gastier, Ed Lentz, Rory Lewandowski, Cecilia Lokai-Minnich, David Marrison, Sarah Noggle, Les Ober, Eric Richer, Garth Ruff, Jeff Stachler, Alan Sundermeier, Curtis Young, Megan Zerrer, Andy Michel, Kelley Tilmon

Western bean cutworm (WBC) adult moth trapping is winding down across the state as very few adults are being captured in the bucket traps. For week ending August 18, 11 counties reported zeros and the statewide average was 1.2 moths per trap (76 total captured). This data was collected from 20 counties that monitored 61 traps. The previous week trap average was 3.0 moths per trap (221 total captured). See more at https://agcrops.osu.edu/newsletter/corn-newsletter/2018-27/western-bean-cutworm-adult-moth-update.

Mark A. Badertscher

Agriculture and Natural Resources Educator

OSU Extension Hardin County

1021 W. Lima Street, Suite 103, Kenton, OH 43326

419-674-2297 Office

hardin.osu.edu

August 14, 2018

Good afternoon,

During the month of July, Extension rainfall reporters recorded an average of 3.76 inches of rain in Hardin County. Last year, the average rainfall for July was 8.23 inches. Although less rain has been received this year during July, adequate amounts have fallen in most areas of the county for crop production.  About a third of the townships in the county were fairly dry in July while three other townships received substantially above average rainfall.  See the attached July Rainfall Summary for a listing of township rainfall amounts and their effect on crop production.  According to the attached August 13 Crop and Weather Report, corn kernels are developing faster than average and soybeans pods are filling faster than normal due to timely rains and warm temperatures.  If you look back to the attached August 6 Crop and Weather Report, most of the corn and soybeans have been in good condition.  If you take a look at the attached USDA Ohio August 1 Crop Forecast, Ohio corn is expected to average 180 bushels per acre, while soybeans are estimated to average 56 bushels per acre in Ohio this year.  If realized, both would be new record average yields for the state.

July 2018 Rainfall Summary

Ohio Crop Weather Report August 13

Ohio Crop Weather Report August 6

Ohio Crop Forecast August 1 

Are you utilizing variable rate seeding with soybeans?  There will be a soybean Variable Rate Seeding Focus Group meeting in Columbus at the Nationwide & Ohio Farm Bureau 4-H Center August 21.  Topics include Creating seeding rate zones and ideal seeding rate within each zone- Dr. Laura Lindsey (Ohio State) and Dr. Maninder Singh (Michigan State).  There will be an expert panel featuring farmers and Dr. Elizabeth Hawkins.  Participants will be asked to fill out a survey and be paid $80.  See the attached flyer for details to register to Laura Lindsey- lindsey.233@osu.edu (614-292-9080).  Another interesting opportunity is the Tile Drainage and Soil Health Field Day taking place August 22 near Bucyrus.  Before doing any tiling or field work, make sure you call 811 to locate pipelines, telecommunications, and other buried hazards at least 2-3 days before digging.  I have attached a news release dealing with this topic.  If you are looking for Ohio Farm Custom Rates, I have attached the newly finished document published every two years by OSU Extension.

Variable Rate Focus Group Flyer

Tile Drainage and Soil Health Field Day

Pipeline Safety News Release

Ohio Farm Custom Rates 2018

This year’s Ohio Summer No-Till Field Day is being held in Wooster on August 29.  Local Hardin County farmer Jan Layman is president of the Ohio No-Till Council this year.  Make sure you read about this event in the August edition of the Ohio No-Till News which I have attached.  Another area field day coming up on the same day is the Precision Ag Day, focusing on Data Management near Milford Center.  Check out the attached flyer for an agenda of the day as well as registration information.  Other upcoming local events include a Pork Producers meeting tonight (8/14) starting at 6:30 pm at Ag Credit; Soil and Water Conservation District board meeting Thursday (8/16) starting at 1:00 pm, followed by voting and meal at 5:00, and annual meeting at 6:30 pm.  This event is being held at the fairgrounds shelter house.  The OSU Extension Master Gardener Volunteers are having a Monarch Butterflies program Saturday (8/18) starting at 9:00 am in the Friendship Gardens of Hardin County located at 960 W Kohler Street in Kenton.  See the attached flyer for more information.

No-Till News

2018 Precision Ag Field Day Flyer

OSU Extension Master Gardener Volunteers Summer Garden Programs Flyer

Ohio State University Extension is conducting a needs assessment of the Hardin County Community so that we can better serve you!  As a supporter and patron of our office, you may receive the needs assessment survey via email from our Extension Director, Dr. Roger Rennekamp just after Labor Day.  Please watch your inbox for this survey, which will only take 10-15 minutes of your time to complete.  By providing information on the programs you use and the topic areas that you feel we need to address, you will be helping our office develop a plan of work that can have a greater impact on the Hardin County Community.  As always, I have provided some agronomy articles below that I thought you might be interested in reading.

Mark

Estimating Corn Yields at Early Stages of Kernel Development – Peter Thomison

Corn growers often want to estimate grain yields prior to harvest in order to help with marketing and harvest plans. Two procedures that are widely used for estimating corn grain yields prior to harvest are the YIELD COMPONENT METHOD (also referred to as the “slide rule” or corn yield calculator) and the EAR WEIGHT METHOD. Each method will often produce yield estimates that are within 20 bu/ac of actual yield. Such estimates can be helpful for general planning purposes. For information about estimating corn yield, go to https://agcrops.osu.edu/newsletter/corn-newsletter/2018-24/estimating-corn-yields-early-stages-kernel-development.

Estimating Soybean Yield – Laura Lindsey

To estimate soybean yield, four yield components need to be considered: plants per acre, pods per plant, seeds per pod, and seeds per pound (seed size).  A printable worksheet to estimate soybean yield can be found by clicking on https://agcrops.osu.edu/sites/agcrops/files/imce/Soybean%20Yield%20Estimate%20Worksheet_1.pdf. Proceed with caution when estimating soybean yield. It is difficult to accurately predict soybean yield because of plant-to-plant variability and fall weather conditions can influence seed size.  Estimates are more accurate later in the growing season and on uniform stands.  Go to https://agcrops.osu.edu/newsletter/corn-newsletter/2018-24/estimating-soybean-yield for more information.

2018 Ohio Wheat Performance Test – Laura Lindsey

Results of the 2018 Ohio Wheat Performance Test are available online at: https://www.oardc.ohio-state.edu/wheattrials/. The purpose of the Ohio Wheat Performance Test is to evaluate wheat varieties, blends, brands, and breeding lines for yield, grain quality, and other important performance characteristics. This information gives wheat producers comparative information for selecting the varieties best suited for their production system and market. Varieties differ in yield potential, winter hardiness, maturity, standability, disease and insect resistance, and other agronomic characteristics. Selection should be based on performance from multiple test sites and years.  Go to https://agcrops.osu.edu/newsletter/corn-newsletter/2018-24/2018-ohio-wheat-performance-test to read the complete article.

Late Summer Establishment of Perennial Forages – Rory Lewandowski, Mark Sulc

Ohio growers experienced another wet spring and compressed 2018 spring planting season.  On some farms, this caused postponement of plans for spring seeding of alfalfa and other perennial forages.  In some areas, the prolonged wet weather affected forage harvest schedules, resulting in harvest equipment running on wet forage fields leaving ruts, compacted soils and damage to alfalfa crowns.  Some of these forage acres need to be re-seeded.  Read more at https://agcrops.osu.edu/newsletter/corn-newsletter/2018-24/late-summer-establishment-perennial-forages.

Western Bean Cutworm: Adult Moth Update – Amy Raudenbush, John Schoenhals, Mark Badertscher, Lee Beers, Amanda Bennett, JD Bethel, Bruce Clevenger, Sam Custer, Tom Dehass, Jason Hartschuh, Ed Lentz, Rory Lewandowski, Cecilia Lokai-Minnich, David Marrison, Sarah Noggle, Les Ober, Eric Richer, Garth Ruff, Jeff Stachler, Alan Sundermeier, Curtis Young, Megan Zerrer, Andy Michel, Kelley Tilmon

The number of Western bean cutworm (WBC) adult moth catches are decreasing across Ohio. For week ending August 11, 24 counties monitored 74 traps (Figure 1). Overall, there was a statewide average of 3.0 moths per trap (221 total captured). This is a decrease from an average of 5.6 moths per trap (406 total captured) the previous week. Figure 1. Average WBC adult per trap in Ohio counties, followed in parentheses by total number of traps monitored in each county for the week ending August 11, 2018. Legend (bottom right) describes the color coding on map for the average WBC per county.

Mark A. Badertscher

Agriculture and Natural Resources Educator

OSU Extension Hardin County

1021 W. Lima Street, Suite 103, Kenton, OH 43326

419-674-2297 Office

hardin.osu.edu

August 2, 2018

Good evening,
 
I am writing this edition of the Hardin County Agriculture and Natural Resources Update from the National Association of County Agricultural Agents Conference in Chattanooga, Tennessee.  We have been busy attending workshops, meetings, and award sessions as a group from Ohio.  These kind of events provide an opportunity for networking, learning new ideas, and meeting new colleagues from across the nation.  One of the highlights of this national conference was witnessing retired Hancock County Extension Agent Gary Wilson getting inducted into the NACAA Hall of Fame.  Last week before I left Ohio, we had just finished the Manure Science Review at the Watkins Farm between Kenton and Forest.  If you missed that field day, I have attached a news article about the event.
 
After some rain a couple weeks ago, the concern has been around hot and dry conditions for crops depending on where you live.  Although this can be good weather for putting up hay or harvesting oats, if you look at the latest attached Ohio Crop Weather Report for July 30, 88% of the corn is silking and 86% of the soybeans are blooming with 58% setting pods.  So rainfall during this time is very important to this process.  Looking at the forecast for this week in Hardin County, it appears that some rain will happen during the week.  I have also included Ohio Crop Weather Reports for July 23 and July 16 if you want to take a look back and compare our crop growing conditions for those two weeks.  Japanese Beetles continue to hang out in the area, causing defoliation to area gardens and crops, so you might be interested in taking a look at the attached article written by Ed Lentz about this pest and actions that can be taken to manage them.
 
Upcoming local events include Ag Council on Friday (8/3) starting at 7:00 am at Henry’s Restaurant, and Farm Bureau Annual Meeting Tuesday (8/7) starting at 7:00 pm at Mid-Ohio Energy Cooperative.  There are some upcoming field days happening around the state that you might be interested in attending.  I have included flyers for the Hops Field Night, August 15 in Bowling Green, Soil and Water Field Night, August 16 in Piketon, Beef and Forage Field Night, August 23 in Jackson,  Pumpkin Field Night, August 23 in South Charleston, and the Ohio No-Till Field Day, August 29 in Wooster.  See the individual attached flyer for any field event that you may be interested in attending so that you know the location and registration details.  In addition to these flyers, I have included some agronomy articles below that you may be interested in reading.
 
Mark
 
 
 No Pigweed Left Behind – Late-Season Scouting for Palmer Amaranth and Waterhemp – Mark Loux
If you don’t already have to deal with waterhemp or Palmer amaranth, you don’t want it.  Ask anyone who does.  Neither one of these weeds is easy to manage, and both can cause substantial increases in the cost of herbicide programs, which have to be constantly changed to account for the multiple resistance that will develop over time (not “can”, “will”).  The trend across the country is for them to develop resistance to any new herbicide sites of action that are used in POST treatments.  Preventing new infestations of these weeds should be of high priority for Ohio growers.  When not adequately controlled, Palmer amaranth can take over a field faster than any other annual weed we deal with, and waterhemp is a close second.  Read more at https://agcrops.osu.edu/newsletter/corn-newsletter/2018-23/no-pigweed-left-behind-late-season-scouting-palmer-amaranth-and.
 
 Keep Scouting for Potato Leafhoppers in Alfalfa – Rory Lewandowski, Mark Sulc, Kelley Tilmon
If you grow alfalfa, now is the time to scout those fields for potato leafhoppers.  Integrated pest management (IPM) scouts are finding potato leafhoppers (PLH) widely distributed across a number of alfalfa fields.  PLH numbers have ranged from low to well above economic treatment thresholds.   In addition, alfalfa growers have been calling about yellow leaves on alfalfa, one of the classic PLH damage symptoms.  Alfalfa growers should consider regular field scouting for PLH because this is one of the economically significant pests of alfalfa.  To read more about potato leafhoppers in alfalfa, click on https://agcrops.osu.edu/newsletter/corn-newsletter/2018-22/keep-scouting-potato-leafhoppers-alfalfa.
 
Night Temperatures Impact Corn Yield – Alexander Lindsey, Peter Thomison
Low night temperatures during the grain fill period (which typically occurs in July and August) have been associated with some of our highest corn yields in Ohio. The cool night temperatures may have lengthened the grain fill period and reduced respiration losses during grain fill. High night time temperatures result in faster heat unit or growing degree day (GDD) accumulation that can lead to earlier corn maturation, whereas cool night temperatures result in slower GDD accumulation that can lengthen grain filling and promote greater dry matter accumulation and grain yields. This is thought to be the primary reason why corn yield is reduced with high night temperatures.  Go to https://agcrops.osu.edu/newsletter/corn-newsletter/2018-24/night-temperatures-impact-corn-yield to finish reading this article.
 
 Western Bean Cutworm: Adult Moth Catches Continue to Increase in Northeast Ohio – Amy Raudenbush, John Schoenhals, Mark Badertscher, Amanda Bennett, Bruce Clevenger, Sam Custer, Tom Dehaas, Allen Gahler, Jason Hartschuh, Ed Lentz,Rory Lewandowski, Cecilia Lokai-Minnich, David Marrison, Les Ober, Eric Richer, Garth Ruff, Jeff Stachler, Curtis Young, Chris Zoller, Andy Michel, Kelley Tilmon
Western bean cutworm (WBC) adult moth catches are beginning to decrease for the majority of Ohio counties with an exception in Northeast Ohio. For week ending July 28, 18 counties monitored 63 traps. Overall, there was an average of 15 moths per trap (945 total captured). This is a decrease from an average of 25.1 moths/trap (1985 total captured) the previous week. Despite the general trend of adult moth catches decreasing, numbers suggest Northern Ohio counties should continue to scout for egg masses.  Find out more information at https://agcrops.osu.edu/newsletter/corn-newsletter/2018-24/western-bean-cutworm-adult-moth-catches-continue-increase.
 
 Manure Management and Cover Crops Field Day – Jeff Stachler
Want to learn more about sidedressing corn with liquid manure, latest on water quality, and how to make cover crops work?  Attend the Manure Management and Cover Crops Field Day in Auglaize County.  The field day is on August 8, 2018 from 9:00 AM to 3:30 PM.  The Field day will take place at the southwest intersection of Main Street and Doering Roads with the field entrance to the west at the woods. The nearest address to the field is 09244 Doering Road. Topics presented at the field day include Basics of Cover Crops, How to Make Cover Crops Work, No-Tillage and The Smoking Tile, Water Quality Update, Best Management Practices, Manure Research, and Manure Sidedress Demonstration.
 
 Mark A. Badertscher
Agriculture and Natural Resources Educator
OSU Extension Hardin County
1021 W. Lima Street, Suite 103, Kenton, OH 43326
419-674-2297 Office