Hardin County – Join Hardin County OSU Extension for a Beef Quality Assurance certification training scheduled for Monday, February 19 from 6:30-8:30 pm at the Extension office located at 1021 W Lima Street in Kenton. Beef Quality Assurance training is for beef cattle producers, needing to certify or recertify to sell cattle at auctions and other markets. Many of the major beef processors, auctions, and other markets began requiring producers to have a BQA certificate at the beginning of 2019. Beef Quality Assurance certification is for a period of three years and was previously held in Kenton in December 2018, February 2021, May 2022, and February 2023. Several local producers need to recertify in addition to any cattle producers who need to gain BQA certification for the first time.

Beef Quality Assurance (BQA) does more than just help beef producers capture more value from their market cattle. BQA also reflects a positive public image and instills consumer confidence in the beef industry. When producers implement the best management practices of a BQA program, they assure their market steers, heifers, cows, and bulls are the best they can be. Today, the stakes are even higher because of increased public attention on animal welfare. BQA is valuable to all beef and dairy producers because it demonstrates commitment to food safety and quality; safeguards the public image of the beef industry; upholds consumer confidence in valuable beef products; and improves the sale value of marketed beef cattle.

Training enhances herd profitability through better management. Ohio State University Extension, in cooperation with the Ohio Beef Council, the Ohio Cattlemen’s Association, and Ohio’s cattle auction markets, is working to offer Ohio’s cattle producers several opportunities to become Beef Quality Assurance Certified. Certification can also take place online at https://www.bqa.org. Register for this Kenton training at https://go.osu.edu/HardinBQA or call 419-674-2297. Registration is required and space is limited for this local no cost in-person training that is good for both initial BQA certification or recertification.

Hardin County – The 2024 Conservation Tillage Club breakfast program series will continue Thursday, January 25 at the Plaza Inn Restaurant in Mt. Victory. The session will start at 7:30 am with a complimentary buffet breakfast followed by a grain marketing outlook program at 8:00 am. Other sessions will be held on February 8 and 22.

The January 25 program will feature Kendra Dauer, Risk Management Consultant with StoneX in Bowling Green who will present a program on the 2024 Grain Marketing Outlook. Dauer will discuss the world market situation for corn, soybean, and wheat including world events, demand, supply, planting intentions, and other factors that might influence the grain markets in 2024. Other local information that might affect grain markets here in Ohio will be a topic of discussion as well.

February 8 Aaron Wilson, OSU Assistant Professor and Agricultural Weather and Climate Field Specialist’s presentation will focus on being climate smart and farming with weather extremes. Topics of discussion include recent weather patterns and how they have affected crop production practices in Ohio. He will discuss ways farmers are managing shorter field working windows and things they can do to help lessen the impact of weather and take advantage of extended growing seasons. Areas of interest include what impacts might increasing temperatures and intense precipitation events have on water, manure, and pest management in Ohio.

The February 22 event will feature a program on Drone Use in Agriculture by Henry County OSU Extension Educator Alan Leininger. Drones are becoming more common in agriculture than just for scouting crops for insects, weeds, and disease. More recently, they are increasingly being used for seeding cover crops and pesticide applications in fields throughout Ohio. What types of drones are available and what are the legal and licensing requirements to use these new tools on the farm?

The Conservation Tillage Club breakfast program series is jointly sponsored by OSU Extension and the Soil and Water Conservation Districts of Hardin, Logan, and Union Counties, and in cooperation with the USDA Natural Resources Conservation Service. Breakfast is courtesy of the generous support from agricultural lenders and agricultural businesses. All events are open to the public and no advance registration is required. Continuing education credits for Certified Crop Advisers are available.

Hardin County – A three-hour fertilizer certification program will be held in Kenton for any private or commercial applicator who needs to obtain fertilizer certification for the first time. This training will be held at the Hardin County OSU Extension office, 1021 W Lima Street, Kenton, Ohio on Tuesday, February 13. The class will begin at 1:00 pm and end at 4:00 pm. There is a $30 class fee payable to OSU Extension for this training.

Please arrive early so that materials can be distributed, and the program can start on time. This training will meet the fertilizer certification requirements for those with or without a pesticide license. Pre-registration is required by calling the Hardin County OSU Extension office at 419-674-2297 or register online at https://go.osu.edu/HardinPAT-FACT no later than a week before the training.

Agricultural fertilizer applicator certification is required in Ohio for farmers who apply fertilizer to more than 50 acres of agricultural production grown primarily for sale. This requirement was signed into law in June 2014, and also requires certification for commercial agricultural fertilizer applicators. Farmers who have their fertilizer applied by co-ops or custom applicators are not required to be certified if they do not side-dress their own corn.

Applicators who are a Certified Crop Adviser (CCA) or Certified Livestock Manager (CLM) are not required to attend the training. Fertilizer is defined for the regulation as any substance containing nitrogen, phosphorus, potassium, or other plant nutrient in a dry or liquid formulation. All application types such as broadcast, side dress, sub-surface, knifing and other are included in the certification requirement. Lime and limestone are not included as fertilizer for the certification and farmers who only use starter fertilizer in their planter boxes are exempted.

The agriculture fertilizer certification is not required for manure applications as these are currently regulated, unless farmers are applying livestock or poultry manure from a Concentrated Animal Feeding Facility (CAFF). In this case, they would need to have either the CLM or Ohio Fertilizer Certification.

The Ohio Department of Agriculture is the agency issuing the certification for agriculture fertilizer applications. Once an applicator completes the fertilizer training, the ODA will bill them $30 for their fertilizer certificate unless the applicator currently holds a pesticide applicator license.

The Ohio Department of Agriculture website has information regarding the regulation at https://agri.ohio.gov/divisions/plant-health/fertilizers. For more information about other training sessions or general materials for the agriculture fertilizer certification, visit https://nutrienteducation.osu.edu or contact Mark Badertscher, Hardin County OSU Extension at badertscher.4@osu.edu.

Hardin County – The Hardin County OSU Extension Master Gardener Volunteers will host a Master Gardener Volunteer training course for new Master Gardener Volunteers this winter. The Ohio State University Extension Master Gardener Volunteer Program provides intensive training in horticulture to interested Ohio residents who then volunteer their time assisting with educational programs and activities for Ohio residents through their local Ohio State University Extension county office. Volunteers are not required to have gardening skills or knowledge; but a passion for learning about gardening and sharing this knowledge with others is a must!

Training will be a combination of a self-paced online course combined with in-person classes held at the Hardin County Extension office beginning with orientation on Monday, February 12 from 9 am – 12 pm. Other scheduled in-person classes will be held according to availability of those who enroll. Additionally, new interns will gain hands-on training working alongside current Master Gardeners at the Friendship Gardens in Kenton. Spring garden seminars will be an option for meeting training requirements. The training course is open to interested volunteers from any county with the volunteer commitment to be completed in the volunteer’s home county program.

Specialists from the Ohio State University Extension and experienced Master Gardener Volunteers will be teaching sessions along with some local experts. Some topics include botany, soils, entomology, plant pathology, plant propagation, herbaceous and woody ornamentals, lawns, vegetables, herbs, fruit, pollinators, integrated pest management, pesticide safety, backyard wildlife, houseplants, and therapeutic horticulture.

The cost of the training is $150.00 and includes the training manual and materials for the class. There is also a requirement for a background check at the volunteer’s expense. The program requires 50 hours of classroom training and a commitment of 50 hours volunteer time to become a certified Master Gardener Volunteer. Registration deadline is January 29.  More information is available at https://mgvolunteers.osu.edu or by calling Mark Badertscher at 419-767-6037 at Hardin County OSU Extension. For more information about the Hardin County OSU Extension Master Gardener Volunteers, visit their Facebook page.