Good morning,
There have been issues with grain moisture and dry down this harvest season as 2019 conditions led to variable grain quality causing many potential storage issues. Dr. Ken Hellevang, North Dakota State University, will join us for a webinar to share information on managing stored grain including high moisture and damaged grain this afternoon at 3:00 pm if you are available to view on your computer. If so, go to go.osu.edu/StoredGrain and register before the webinar. It will send you an email to link to the webinar. If you have slow internet, feel free to stop by the Extension office to view the program. There is no cost to participate and a recorded version will be made available for later viewing if you are not available this afternoon. See the attached brochure for more details.
The Conservation Tillage Club breakfast meetings have been set for January and February at the Plaza Inn Restaurant in Mt. Victory starting on January 7 and continuing every other Tuesday at 7:30 am. Because of the generous contributions of our local sponsors, we are able to offer these programs in cooperation with the Soil and Water Conservation District and Natural Resources Conservation Service of Hardin, Logan, and Union counties. This year’s topics include January 7 -Grain Marketing Outlook, January 21 –Soybean Diseases, February 4 –Soil Health, and February 18 –Implementing H2Ohio. No pre-registration is required and CCA credits will be available for those who need them. See the attached news release and flyer for more information.
Conservation Tillage Club Breakfast News Release
Conservation Tillage Club Flyer
There are other OSU Extension regional programs coming up soon that I have attached flyers to this email. Precision University will focus on Combating Compaction on January 8 in Springfield. There is a Small Grains Management Workshop planned for January 9 in Wapakoneta which will focus on winter wheat and barley production. Dealing with the Activist Threat will be the topic of the January 15 West Central Ohio Dairy Luncheon Series held in New Bremen. Growing Hemp in Ohio: Separating Fact from Fiction will be held January 24 in Wooster along with an optional program scheduled for January 25. Several of these programs require pre-registration so make sure you check out the flyers if you are interested. I have also included some articles from the CORN Newsletter below that you may be interested in reading over the holidays.
Small Grains Management Workshop Flyer
West Central Ohio Dairy Series Luncheon Flyer
Merry Christmas,
Mark
Choosing Varieties & Hybrids for 2020 – Check Disease Resistance Ratings – Anne Dorrance, Pierce Paul
The seed suppliers want your early orders and the catalogues are all spread out on the tables. Now to begin the process of choosing the best variety or hybrid for your fields that can hold up to the all of the challenges facing soybeans and corn in Ohio. Our recommendation is to first focus on the disease and insect scores. Every company uses a different scale based on 1 to 10 – but for some companies 1 is best and for others, 10 best – so first read the fine print. In addition, some companies use a distributive disease rating scale, using words like “excellent disease package,” “good disease package,” or “poor.” While this scale is unclear as to which specific disease the hybrid is most resistant to, it can still be used as a guide for hybrid/variety selection. For instance, a hybrid listed as having an “excellent disease package” should be less susceptible to the primary diseases than one listed as having a “good disease package.” Next step – what key diseases and insect pests do we need to focus on. Read more at https://agcrops.osu.edu/newsletter/corn-newsletter/2019-41/choosing-varieties-hybrids-2020-check-disease-resistance-ratings.
What’s in my Corn? Insect Management Traits in Corn Hybrids – Kelley Tilmon, Andy Michel
Corn hybrid selection is about more than maturity and agronomic properties. Many corn hybrids also come with a package of Bt traits for the management of various insects below-ground (for example corn rootworm) and above-ground (for example, corn borer) pests. These traits can add substantially to the cost of the seed so it’s worth evaluating which ones you really need. In fields without a consistent history of insect pest pressure Bt traits are an added cost that likely won’t pay for itself. Sometimes you only need protection against soil pests, sometimes against above-ground pests, and sometimes neither. But how do you know what Bt traits the various hybrids contain and what insects they are meant to manage? This can be confusing or hard to figure out. Continue reading this article at https://agcrops.osu.edu/newsletter/corn-newsletter/2019-41/what%E2%80%99s-my-corn-insect-management-traits-corn-hybrids.
Winter Application of Manure – Remember Setbacks – Glen Arnold
Some Ohio livestock producers will be looking to apply manure to farm fields frozen enough to support application equipment. Permitted farms are not allowed to apply manure in the winter unless it is an extreme emergency, and then movement to other suitable storage is usually the selected alternative. Thus, this article is for non-permitted livestock operations. In the Grand Lake St Marys watershed, the winter manure application ban from December 15th to March 1st is still in effect. Thus, no manure application would normally be allowed from now until March 1st. In the Western Lake Erie Basin (WLEB) watershed, the surface application of manure to frozen and snow-covered soils require there to be a growing crop in the field. This could be a pasture, alfalfa, clover, ryegrass or a rape crop. There must be enough vegetation visible to provide a 90% cover of residue and growing vegetation. Radishes and oats would not qualify as a growing crop as both are typically winter killed. Manure can be applied to fields without growing crops if the manure is incorporated at the time of application or incorporated within 24 hours of application. Read more about winter application of manure at https://agcrops.osu.edu/newsletter/corn-newsletter/2019-41/winter-application-manure-remember-setbacks.
Managing Stored Grain – 2019 Considerations – Elizabeth Hawkins
The Ohio State University Extension will host a webinar featuring Dr. Ken Hellevang, North Dakota State University, to help farmers understand potential concerns with grain storage. This webinar will cover special areas of concern with high moisture grain and excessive fines. The webinar is scheduled for Friday, December 20, 2019 at 3:00 PM. It is free to participate but registration is required. Please register at go.osu.edu/StoredGrain.
Final Reminder: 2019 Yield Survey – CFAES Ag Crisis Taskforce
Normal planting dates for Ohio range from mid-April to the end of May. This season was quite different when planting for both corn and soybean crops was delayed until late May and stretched into June and even July across many parts of Ohio. We found ourselves grasping for any information we could find including 1) how much of an effect late planting dates would have on yield, and 2) what, if anything, we should change in management of these late planted crops. The historical planting date information we did have was somewhat helpful, but we did not have any data on what could happen when planting is delayed into the second half of June nor July. While it may be tempting to write off this year as a fluke from which there are no real lessons to be learned, there is a growing body of data from climatologists that suggest that this is a beginning of a trend. What we have is a giant, unplanned and involuntary trial being conducted by Ohio corn and soybean farmers this year. This experiment can help us understand the ramifications of how planting date and hybrid/variety maturity affected overall yields, as well as pinpoint where further research is needed to fill the gaps in knowledge for future management decisions. To accomplish these goals, we plan to collect a small amount of data on a large number of fields, which can be used to provide baseline information to share how to manage these crops under similar weather events in the future. Finish reading about this survey at https://agcrops.osu.edu/newsletter/corn-newsletter/2019-41/final-reminder-2019-yield-survey.
Mark A. Badertscher
Agriculture and Natural Resources Educator
OSU Extension Hardin County
1021 W. Lima Street, Suite 103, Kenton, OH 43326
419-767-6037
hardin.osu.edu
