Good afternoon,
I hope this email finds you healthy and ready to begin spring planting season as soon as the weather and field conditions allow. This week I submitted an article to the media titled “Get Ready to Plant.” Although the article is written with forages in mind, it applies to all crops that need to be planted as well as other springtime tasks that need to be done around the farm. You can find a copy of this article attached to this e-newsletter. One of the items that will may need to take place will be termination of cover crops if you had them planted in your fields and they weren’t winter killed. See the attached article written by Auglaize County Extension Educator Jeff Stachler for recommendations for cover crop termination. The Ohio Department of Agriculture released an official news release regarding the Ohio Pesticide and Fertilizer License Deadline that can also be found attached to this email that was shared wither our local media this past week.
Planting Readiness News Release
Cover Crop Termination News Release
Pesticide-Fertilizer Deadline News Release
OSU Extension is pleased to be offering a second “Farm Office Live” session on Monday evening, April 13, 2020 from 8:00 to 9:30 p.m. Farmers, educators, and ag industry professionals are invited to log-on for the latest updates on the issues impact our farm economy.
The session will begin with the Farm Office Team answering questions asked over the past week. Topics to be highlighted include:
- Update on the CARES Paycheck Protection Program
- Update on the Dairy Economy
- Examination of how COVID-19 is impacting agricultural exports
- Bureau of Workers Compensation’s announcement of dividend returns
- A look at the long term macro-economic impact of COVID-19
- Will property taxes be delayed?
- Potential Legal Impacts of COVID-19
Plenty of time has been allotted for questions and answers from attendees. Each office session is limited to 500 people and if you miss the on-line office hours, the session recording can be accessed at farmoffice.osu.edu the following day. Please register at https://go.osu.edu/farmofficelive. If you have never used Zoom before, I have attached a guide to help you understand this virtual meeting platform that can be used with a computer, phone, smartphone, or tablet device.
A new website with science-based information and research on COVID-19 from The Ohio State University College of Food, Agricultural, and Environmental Sciences launched April 7th. The KX COVID-19 Hub is a collaboration between The Knowledge Exchange, Ohio State University Extension, and the CFAES statewide network of researchers and faculty. Visit kx.osu.edu/covid-19 for a collection of resources, tools, and links to help Ohio communities weather the crisis. Founded in 2019, The Knowledge Exchange (KX) is a support platform in the College of Food, Agricultural, and Environmental Sciences bringing research to the public in an unbiased and interactive way.
I have attached the mid-April edition of the Ohio No-Till News. It has information about the Conservation Tillage Conference that was held at Ohio Northern University in Ada the first week of March. Go to: ctc.osu.edu and In the upper left, click on “CTC 2020 archive”. You’ll see Welcome and Awards, but scroll down to see all 7 concurrent sessions. Note that both days in Room A (Crop Management) are under one heading. You can view any session held at CTC for free, including the session I presented on “Late Season Nitrogen Application: On-farm Research” that can be found under 2020 CTTC Nutrient Management. If you are interested in doing on-farm research this year with OSU Extension and eFields, some of the possible areas include: Lindsey Soybean Planting Date + Fungicide and Insecticide, Corn Seeding Rate, Fallow Syndrome, Multi Field Cover Crop, Nitrogen Placement, Nitrogen Rate, Nitrogen Source, Nitrogen Timing, Soybean Seeding Rate, Sulfur, and Soybean Fungicide trials. If you think you might be interested in doing a plot this year, let me know and I will send you the protocol to review.
As I end this edition of the Hardin County Agriculture and Natural Resources Update, I would like to draw your attention to the farm management fact sheet from Michigan State University that I have attached on Selecting Insurance as well as the ag crops articles below from the CORN Newsletter. Until the next time, I hope you are able to get things done and stay safe.
Risk Management-Selecting Insurance
Mark
Establishing New Forage Stands – Mark Sulc
Early spring provides one of the two preferred times to seed perennial cool-season forages, the other being late summer. Two primary difficulties with spring plantings are finding a good window of opportunity when soils are dry enough. The outlook for this spring is for planting opportunities to be few and short. As planting is delayed, the risk increases because of more competition from weeds and summer heat when seedlings are small and vulnerable to drying out. An accompanying article on preparing for planting along with the following 10 steps will help improve your chances for successful forage establishment in the spring can be found at https://agcrops.osu.edu/newsletter/corn-newsletter/2020-08/establishing-new-forage-stands.
Why Ohio Farmers Should Participate in the CTIC Cover Crops Survey – Sarah Noggle
After taking a break from surveying in the last two years, the Conservation Technology Information Center (CTIC) is now once again sending out a national cover crop survey to farmers. The survey questions are primarily geared toward grain farmers. Still, there are some questions specific to horticulture producers and a fair number of items that any type of crop producer would find relevant. Most survey questions are for farmers already using cover crops, but there are a few for farmers not yet using cover crops. You can find out more about this survey at https://agcrops.osu.edu/newsletter/corn-newsletter/2020-07/why-ohio-farmers-should-participate-ctic-cover-crops-survey.
On Farm Biosecurity to Keep Us and Employees Safe – Jason Hartschuh, Gustavo Schuenemann
Agriculture is no stranger to contagious disease. Drawing on sanitation experiences from outbreaks, such as avian and swine influenza or the 2001 outbreak of foot and mouth disease in the United Kingdom in 2001, can help us through the current pandemic. Looking back at many of these experiences, we know that we can pull together maybe from a distance and get through the current human viral outbreak and keep our farms running. Unless they are sick, farmers don’t usually tell their workers to stay home, but through keeping social distance on the farm and increasing many of our tried and true disinfection protocols, we can all stay healthy. Read more at https://agcrops.osu.edu/newsletter/corn-newsletter/2020-08/farm-biosecurity-keep-us-and-employees-safe.
Seedcorn Maggot A Possibility In Some Fields This Spring – Curtis Young
Many livestock operations did not have much opportunity to spread manure this winter and into the spring. Thus many may have pits and lagoons near full capacity and a great need to move that manure to fields as soon as possible. As spring progresses, manure spreading and planting may occur in a short sequence that can set up prime conditions for seedcorn maggot infestations and injury resulting in poor stand establishment. Factors that favor seedcorn maggot damage include the incorporation of either green material, such as cover crops or weeds, and/or manure, and cool and damp soil conditions that delay seedling emergence. Find out more about seedcorn maggot at https://agcrops.osu.edu/newsletter/corn-newsletter/2020-08/seedcorn-maggot-possibility-some-fields-spring.
CFAES Ag Weather System Near-Surface Air and Soil Temperatures/Moisture – Aaron Wilson, Greg LaBarge, Elizabeth Hawkins, Sam Custer
We are once again providing a soil temperature overview in the C.O.R.N. Newsletter through April-May 2020. The College of Food, Agricultural, and Environmental Sciences (CFAES) Agricultural Research Stations located throughout the state have two- and four-inch soil temperatures monitored on an hourly basis. Our Western site in Clark County is not available this year. Therefore, we are supplementing data from western Ohio with data from Darke and Greene Counties. Our growing season follows a warmer than average winter. Winter (December 2019 – February 2020) air temperatures averaged 2-8°F above average compared to the climatological normal (1981-2010). This warmth continued throughout March as well, with temperatures 4-8°F (west to east) above average. As a result, soil temperatures are about 10°F warmer than the same date in April 2019. Finish reading this article at https://agcrops.osu.edu/newsletter/corn-newsletter/2020-08/cfaes-ag-weather-system-near-surface-air-and-soil.
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
