Good afternoon,

Well, ask for rain and we got it!  Maybe too much in some areas.  The rain reports are coming in and it will be interesting to see what the month of June provided in the way of rain around the county as many of the rains were spotty.  The corn and soybean crops are making good progress and now we will need some days without rain for the wheat to dry down before harvest.  I don’t know how many of you subscribe to the C.O.R.N. newsletter, but it is a valuable resource to find out OSU Extension recommendations regarding crops.  This morning I officially participated in my first C.O.R.N. call to report Hardin County crop conditions and hear about problems and issues around the state.  Articles will be submitted by 5:00 pm today for the weekly release of the newsletter.  If you are not familiar with the newsletter, below are some details about what you get if you subscribe. 

I have also included several field days that are coming up this month.  I attended the Wheat Field Day in June and found it to be very informative.  There are field specialists and “experts” at these functions, so plan to attend one that interests you and bring along your questions.  I spent a couple of days in June soil sampling for the statewide soybean yield-limiting factor study that is going on involving six Hardin County farms.  Thanks to agronomy field specialist Steve Prochaska for helping me get started with proper sampling techniques and use of the GPS unit for proper field mapping areas for the study.  Once it dries up, we will be going out again to take soybean leaf samples for tissue analysis and also to do our first round of scouting for weeds, insects, and disease.  We hope that the research will help us determine what factors are limiting yields in soybean fields in Hardin County.  I now have four farmers who have volunteered for our Western Bean Cutworm traps, but unfortunately the pheromone scents are still on backorder before I can place these traps around the county to monitor this corn pest.

This past week I visited the Ohio Agricultural Research and Development Center (OARDC) in Wooster for the annual OSU Extension Agriculture and Natural Resources Educator conference.  Here I had the opportunity to meet with several other Extension Educators to get updated on state programs, attended training meetings, and took tours of current research being done to improve agriculture in Ohio.

 

Have a good week,

Mark

 

What you will find in the CORN Newsletter

In season pest observations and predictions

Weed control options

Insect and disease control information

Production technology

Crop development issues

Timely Integrated Pest Management guidelines

 

Why C.O.R.N.?

 

The goal of C.O.R.N. is to provide Ohio’s crop industry with the quickest, most accurate information to deal with changing crop conditions. C.O.R.N. is produced through a weekly telephone conference and sent via e-mail and fax to hundreds of Ohio farmers and input industry personnel. C.O.R.N. content is the basis for newsletters, and other mass media efforts in Extension. In one way or another, almost every crop producer in Ohio has been exposed to information from this newsletter.

 

Our users say things like:

 

“Excellent, easy to read and understand.”

 

“I feel C.O.R.N. helps to keep me timely in confirming those things my scouts and I have located and in reminding us to keep certain management and scouting aspects in perspective. Please continue it.”

 

“Overall very good information throughout the growing season. Very valuable in the ever changing spring situations.”

 

How can you start taking advantage of C.O.R.N. in your operation?

 

Electronic Mail (E-Mail)

 

Corn is sent via e-mail every Monday from April through September and once a month from October through March. Those with Internet access can subscribe directly to the listserv for this newsletter.

 

Subscribe Online

 

World Wide Web (WWW)

 

The newsletter including back issues can be found on the web at the following URL address: 

http://corn.osu.edu 

 

Fax:

Many County Extension Offices fax the newsletter to clients. If you have a fax contact your Extension Office to see if they provide this service.

 

Handheld Devices:

We are now working on getting the C.O.R.N. newsletter to you in a format that can be downloaded and viewed on handheld personal digital assistants. In this manner, you can have the most up to date information concerning agronomic crop production in your hands all of the time! To find out how to set this up, click here for our handheld setup page.

 

OSU Weed Science Field Tour – July 10 – 9:00 am – 12:00 pm – OARDC – Western Agricultural Research Station, 7721 South Charleston Pike, South Charleston, Ohio 45368

Review of weed control plots and issues with Dr Mark Loux at Western Agricultural Research Station. Pre-registration required.  To find out more information and to pre-register, go to http://agcrops.osu.edu/calendar/copy2_of_2012-western-ars-agronomy-field-day

 

Hardin County Ag Council – July 12 – 7:00 am – 8:30 am – Henry’s Restaurant in Kenton.  This month’s Ag Council meeting is a week later than normal due to the July 4^th holiday.  Join the group for an informative breakfast meeting to find out what is going on with Hardin County agriculture, agribusiness, and other county news.

 

Agronomy Field Day– – July 17 – 9 am to 3:15 pm – OARDC – Western Agricultural Research Station, 7721 South Charleston Pike, South Charleston, Ohio 45368

• “Drought tolerance, planting date and planting depth issues,” Peter Thomison and Alex Lindsey, Horticulture & Crop Science, OARDC and OSU Extension

• “Scouting for that ‘disease of the year’,” Pierce Paul and Anne Dorrance, Plant Pathology, OARDC and OSU Extension

• “Soybean canopy development across planting dates,” Laura Lindsey, Horticulture & Crop Science, OARDC and OSU Extension

• “Weed management issues for 2013,” Mark Loux, Horticulture & Crop Science, OARDC and OSU Extension

• “There are more bugs this year, or are they insects?,” Andy Michel, Entomology, OARDC and OSU Extension

• There will be a morning wagon tour of the farm. Immediately following lunch, you are invited to attend in-depth discussions with the specialist of your choice.

Pre-registration required, payable at the door $20. Register by email or phone to: Harold Watters (watters.35@osu.edu), 937 599-4227  or Joe Davlin (davlin.1@osu.edu), 937 462-8016.  See the attached flier for further information.

 2013 Agronomy Field Day

Nutrient Application Field Day  – July 18 – 8:30 am – 2:30 pm – Wood County, Ohio – a quarter mile west of the intersection of I-75 and Hwy 582 – about 6 miles north of Bowling Green.

Phosphorus fertilizer is essential to Ohio crop production when applied at correct rates, timing and placement.  But, if nutrient applications are not managed, farm field phosphorus can be lost into water resources and promote Hazardous Algal Blooms (HAB). Major water quality problems have occurred in Lake Erie, Grand Lake St. Marys and other Ohio water resources in recent years.  Within these aquatic ecosystems, harmful organisms – Hazardous Algae Blooms (HAB) – have been prevalent in recent years.

To protect Ohio water resources, phosphorus fertilizer must be put in the right place.  “Right place likely holds the greatest opportunity for improvement (in water quality as it related to farm field P loss),” The Right Place to Put Phosphorus ; Dr. Tom Bruulsema, Northeast Director of IPNI; http://www.ipni.net

Thus to examine the impact of tillage on phosphorus loss and other crop production factors that influence crop yields, the following field day to be held July 18, 2013 from 8:30 AM, to 2:30 PM in Wood County, Ohio – a quarter mile west of the intersection of I-75 and Hwy 582 – about 6 miles north of Bowling Green.

8:30        Registration

9:00        Welcome

9:30        Phosphorus (P) Basics

10:10     Cropping System Rotation #1

11:10     Cropping System Rotation #2 

Noon     Lunch – Compliments of Northern Ohio John Deere Dealers:  Findlay Implement, Shearer Equipment and Kenn-Field Group

12:45     Cropping System Rotation #3

1:45        Phosphorus State of the Union

 

The three cropping systems that will be utilized in a rotation are:

1.Phosphorus movement in Full width till systems and related equipment solutions

2.Phosphorus movement in No-till systems and related equipment solutions

3.Phosphorus movement in Strip-till systems and related equipment solutions

 

Within each cropping system, the following will be discussed:

The discussion content will focus on the potential mechanisms of phosphorus movement within a tillage system.  For example: In a full width tillage system (including conventional tillage and conversation tillage systems) there will be a field demonstration of the ability of various tillage tools to effectively incorporate phosphorus in to the soil profile. Topics covered with the specific tillage demonstration will include particulate P movement via erosion associated with that tillage system, relationship of P soil test levels to P loss, phosphorus solubility within the tillage system, and impacts of tillage on phosphorus stratification, relationship of P stratification to soil test P and soluble P loss.

The field day will be held in Wood County, Ohio – a quarter mile west of the intersection of I-75 and Hwy 582 which is about 6 miles north of Bowling Green.  The program is free but an email RSVP is required to nopat@live.com .  Please include your name and a phone number where you can be reached in the email.    Four and a half hours of CCA credits have been applied for including 1 hour of soil and water and 3.5 hours in nutrient management.   Contact Steve Prochaska at  740-223-4041 or Prochaska.1@osu.edu with any questions.

 

Hardin County Lamb Picnic – July 21 – 6:00 p.m. at Wilcox Woods shelter house.  The Hardin County Sheep Improvement Association directors will provide the meat and drinks for the picnic, and ask that you please bring a covered dish and your own table service.  To get to the Wilcox Woods, take State Route 309 West of Kenton to County Road 106, turn left onto County Road 106 and follow it for about five miles.  Entrance to the picnic area will be on the left side of the road.  Watch for the shelter house.  In case of wet grounds, an alternate parking area may be designated.  To help the association plan, please call our office at 419-674-2297 by July 19 indicating how many adults and how many children plan to come to the picnic.

 

Field Crops Day – July 25 – 8:00 am – 12:00 pm – OARDC – Northwestern Agricultural Research Branch, NW Ag Research Station, 4240 Range Line Road Custar, OH 43511

Rows of corn, soybeans and wheat are easily distinguishable in the fields of OARDC’s Northwest Station in Wood County. This area is known as the ‘Great Black Swamp’ region ­ once an ancient lake bed. OARDC purchased 247 acres of this land in 1951, and since then scientists have focused on the area’s unique soils. The soil here is a challenge to area crop producers. Visit with select Extension Specialist and view research activities at the research station.  See the attached flier for more information about the Field Crops Day.

2013 Field Crops Day

• “Fungicide in Corn: Let’s Pencil it Out,”

Pierce Paul, Plant Pathology

OARDC and OSU Extension

• “Phosphorus and Water Quality-Researching the Ag Link,”

Greg LaBarge, Field Spec, Agronomic Systems

OARDC and OSU Extension, Marion County

• “Soybean Planting Date and Seeding Rate from 10 Years of On-Farm Trials,” Laura Lindsey, Horticulture & Crop Science

OARDC and OSU Extension

• “Re-examining Corn Seeding Rates: How Much is too Much,”

Peter Thomison, Horticulture and Crop Science OARDC and OSU Extension

 

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

 

 

Hello,

I thought I would send you information regarding upcoming events that might interest you.  I have also included some recent updates to bring to your attention.  If you have any questions, feel free to contact me by email or at the Hardin County OSU Extension office phone number listed below.  I have two farms that have spoken for the Western Bean Cutworm traps to monitor this corn pest.  I still have two more traps that I would like to place around the county and check for this insect locally.  Let me know if you would like me to place a trap near one of your fields.  I plan to check these traps weekly and report information to a state specialist this growing season for recommendations that will appear in the C.O.R.N. newsletter.  Also, make sure you listen in on the “At Issue” program this Saturday morning, June 22 at 7:30 am on WKTN 95.3 FM as I discuss OSU Extension with Dennis Beverly.

 

Wheat Field Day – June 20 – 9:00-11:30 am at the Northwest Agricultural Research Station of the Ohio Agricultural Research and Development Center (OARDC), 4240 Range Line Road, in Custar. The event is free and open to the public.  Variety development, fungicide and insects will be among the topics discussed by experts from Ohio State University’s College of Food, Agricultural, and Environmental Sciences.  For more information, go to http://extension.osu.edu/news-releases/archives/2013/June/wheat-field-day-is-june-20

 

Fruit and Vegetable Good Agricultural Practices Program – June 20 – 1:00-4:00 pm at 4053 State Route 41 South, in Bainbridge.  The program will consist of such topics as:

•             Foodborne illness

•             Contamination

•             Water safety

•             Soil safety

•             Good handling practices

•             Worker training

•             Hands & hygiene

•             Ideas for traceability

•             On the farm records

•             Standard operating procedures

See the attached flier for more information.

GAP Program Flyer

Cover Crop Field Day – July 2 – 9:00-11:00 am – OARDC NW Ag Research Station 4240 Range Line Road Custar, OH 43511. View demo cover crop plantings, cereal rye no-till soybean, crimper/roller demo, cover crop supplies discussion.  For more information regarding this upcoming field day, see http://agcrops.osu.edu/calendar/cover-crop-field-day

 

Crop Insurance – Since the planting date of June 5 has passed for corn and the soybean planting date of June 20 is coming soon, I have attached some information about crop insurance.  There are some options of you missed the planting date.  See the attached document for more information.  You can also visit the USDA Risk Management Agency at http://www.rma.usda.gov/

Darke County Extension Crop Insurance News Release

Ohio Agriculture Women of the Year Award – Nominations are due June 21.  Winners will be selected on the basis of their outstanding contributions to Ohio agriculture, leadership and advocacy in the agricultural community and significant impact on the agriculture industry as a whole. This past year, Stephanie Jolliff of Hardin County was a 2012 Women of the Year Honoree.  Read Stephanie’s bio and If you would like to nominate someone forms and information are available at http://www.agri.ohio.gov/TopNews/AgricultureWomenOfTheYear/

 

An Evening Garden Affair – will be held Monday, June 24 from 6:00-9:00 pm at the Friendship Garden of Hardin County, 960 Kohler Street, Kenton.  It will feature a presentation titled “Diagnosing Plant Problems in the Landscape” by Pam Bennett, who is the Clark County Horticulture Educator and Ohio Master Gardener Coordinator.  This event is open to the public and also includes viewing of the garden as well as door prizes and refreshments.  See the attached flier for more information. 

An Evening Garden Affair

 

Beef Cattle Newsletter – There’s a storm brewing – no, not “fluffy cows”, we’ll tackle that one later – and it behooves us to be cautious that felled trees or other plants that could blow in don’t poison livestock. This week we discuss those concerns.  You can read this newsletter at http://beef.osu.edu/beef/beefJun1213.html

 

Articles this week include:

•             If You See the Derecho, Check Your Pastures!

•             Forage Focus: May Showers Brings June Hay

•             Consumer Sentiment Improves

•             Pasture and Range Conditions Improve

 

If you are interested in subscribing to OSU Extension Agriculture and Natural Resources news releases, you can sign up by going to http://extension.osu.edu/news-releases/subscribe 

 

Mark

 

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

 

Good afternoon,

I hope you had a great 4th of July holiday. I have attached a copy of the June 2013 Rainfall Report for Hardin County to this email. Now if we could just get the rain to stop for a while so that the wheat harvest can begin. This message also includes information about the BYGL, which is the Buckeye Yard & Garden onLine. Different from the C.O.R.N. newsletter, the BYGL newsletter contains timely information on a weekly basis that is useful to horticulturists. You can check it out online and if you wish, then subscribe to the weekly emails for detailed information. Finally, I have also included a link to the latest Ohio Beef Cattle Letter. I hope you find some or all of this information useful.

Mark

Extension Rainfall Report for June 2013 – by Mark Badertscher, OSU Extension Educator

Ohio State University Extension, Hardin County – In the month of June, Extension rainfall reporters recorded an average of 4.21 inches of rain in Hardin County. Last year, the average rainfall for June was 1.63 inches. Rainfall for the current month is 0.09 inches less for the month than for the ten year average rainfall in the month of June. Cessna Township received 6.27 inches for the month, the most of any of the township sites. The least rain in June, 2.45 inches was collected in Liberty Township. For the growing season since April 15, the average precipitation in all the townships was 9.13 inches, with a wide range from 6.54 inches in Dudley Township to 12.17 inches in Cessna Township. Much needed rains came in late June as rainfall was spotty earlier in the month. Corn roots have grown out into the nitrogen bands of fertilizer and the plants have grown significantly and turned a dark green color. Soybeans have begun to canopy, but are showing stress in areas from too much rain all at once. Wheat harvest will be delayed because of wet weather and needs hot, dry days before farmers can begin to combine the crop. See the attached press release and chart for further information.

June 2013 summary

BYGL (Buckeye Yard & Garden online) – Buckeye Yard & Garden onLine provides timely information about Ohio growing conditions, pest, disease, and cultural problems. Updated weekly between April and October, this information is useful for those who are managing a commercial nursery, garden center, or landscape business or someone who just wants to keep their yard looking good all summer. Read the current issue of the BYGL at http://bygl.osu.edu/content/july-5-2013.

Items in the July 5 issue include:

1. PLANTS OF THE WEEK: Annual (Cannas or Canna Lilies); Perennial (Stokes’ Aster); Woody (Ginkgo); Vegetable (Carrots); and Weed (Birdsfoot Trefoil).
2. HORT SHORTS: What Causes Raspberry Fruits to be so Small?; Secrest Arboretum Dedication: OSUE Master Gardener Volunteers (MGVs) Turn the Table on Ken Cochran; Need to Batten Down the Hatches Against Bats?; Sssssssssnakes and More Snakes; and OSU/OARDC Researcher Recipient of Prestigious Grant.
3. BUG BYTES: Yellow Poplar Weevil – Round 2; Cottony Maple Scale Puffing-Up; Lace Bugs Revisited; Bagworm Alert; Grasshoppers Abound; and Monitor for Clipped Coneflowers (Sunflower Head-Clipping Weevil).
4. DISEASE DIGEST: Bacterial Fireblight; Disease Time Bombs Ready to Go Off!; and The Name Game of True Disease Discernment.
5. TURF TIPS: Buckeyeturf.osu.edu – Get Rough on Bluegrass.
6. INDUSTRY INSIGHTS: Black Vine Weevil Landscape Challenge; Asian Longhorned Beetle (ALB) Update; and Get Your Green Industry Fix Webinar: July 10.
7. WEATHERWATCH: Weather Update.
8. COMING ATTRACTIONS: Southwest Ohio BYGLive! Diagnostic Walk-About; Diagnostic Walkabout for the Green Industry; Thousand Canker Disease of Walnut Workshop; and Youth Scientist Adult Education Class.
9. BYGLOSOPHY.

Ohio BEEF Cattle Letter is now posted to the web at: http://beef.osu.edu/beef/beefJul0313.html

Many times in recent years in this publication and also during our winter Beef Cattle Management Schools, we’ve posed the somewhat rhetorical question, “Seriously . . . can we each afford to be raising our own replacement beef females?” This week, John Grimes announces a bred beef female sale for this fall where we hope to graphically answer that question.

Articles this week include:
• OCA to Host Replacement Beef Female Sale
• Transporting Cattle
• Fence Building Workshop Offered by OFGC
• Forage Focus: Spiny Pigweed in Pastures
• 2013 Cattle Markets at Mid-Year

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

Hello,

I am sending out this week’s information regarding upcoming field days, programs, and news that I believe you may be interested in reading. I am hoping to later divide news according to specific producer interests so that I don’t send you too much information that may not be relevant to your operation. As time goes on, I hope to refine the different email lists that I have so that I can deliver specific useful information in a timely fashion. If you have any questions or concerns, be sure to let me know. Hopefully this week we can get some more rain around the county as the rain so far has been hit or miss for the corn and soybean crops.

Mark

Proposed regulation to certify applicators of agricultural nutrients in Ohio – (as of June 21, 2013)

A bill is waiting to be introduced in the state legislature to require certification for farmers or commercial applicators who are applying fertilizer to ten acres or more for agricultural production. If the legislation is passed, the fertilizer certification would be phased in over three years. The regulation would be overseen by the Ohio Department of Agriculture.

The specifics of the certification process would be developed either within the legislation or immediately after passage. Currently, the proposal is for agriculture nutrients to be added as a category for anyone with an Ohio Pesticide Applicator License. Farmers who do not have a pesticide license would be able to attend initial training to become certified for fertilizer applications. Recertification would be required every three years for the license.

Currently, application of animal manure is not considered to be under this regulation. Changes to the regulation may surface as the legislation is introduced and proceeds through the legislative process.

Is the Potato Leafhopper infesting your alfalfa? – Ron Hammond and Andy Michel, OSU Extension and Department of Entomolgy

With most alfalfa having had their first cutting, it is time to begin sampling for potato leafhoppers as the crop reaches a sufficient height for sweep-net sampling. A single sample is 10 sweeps of a sweep net. When the average number of adults and nymphs in a sample is equal to or greater than the average height of the alfalfa stand, insecticide treatment is warranted. For example, if the alfalfa is 6 inches tall and the average number of leafhoppers is 6 or higher, insecticide treatment is warranted. If the average is lower, the grower should re-sample in a few days. In glandular-haired, leafhopper-resistant alfalfa, the economic threshold is 3X the normal threshold, or three leafhoppers per inch of growth (18 leafhoppers for 6 inch tall alfalfa, for example). However, if the resistant alfalfa is a new planting this spring, growers might want to use thresholds meant for regular alfalfa during the very first growth from seeding. After the first cutting, growers can then use 3X times the normal level threshold. More information on potato leafhopper, including how alfalfa growing conditions might affect the threshold, is available at http://ohioline.osu.edu/ent-fact/pdf/0033.pdf

New Hog Facility Open House – June 30 – 2:00-6:00 pm – 9528 Township Road 245, Kenton – Levern and Nathan Weaver would like to invite you to see their new facility built by Farmer Boy. The new wean to finish facility is a double-wide building 100 feet wide by 200 feet long with an aisle down the center. Capable of holding 2400 head, this structure has an office and loading dock on the front. Stop by to see the latest technology in swine housing.

Cover Crop Field Day – July 2 – 9:00-11:00 am – OARDC NW Ag Research Station 4240 Range Line Road Custar, OH 43511. View demo cover crop plantings, cereal rye no-till soybean, crimper/roller demo, cover crop supplies discussion. For more information regarding this upcoming field day, see http://agcrops.osu.edu/calendar/cover-crop-field-day

Youth on the Farm: What Type of Farm Work Can They Perform?
Are you looking for someone to help bale hay, hoe out marestail, apply nitrogen, move livestock or some other task on your farm. These summer tasks create both a high need to employ youth on the farm and the challenging task of understanding farm youth labor laws. Take a look at the attached file Farm Youth Labor for information about what jobs youth are allowed to do on the farm.

Farm Youth Labor

Rinsing & Recycling Caged Tanks free webinar – 7/10/13 – register now!
On Wednesday, July 10, 2013, The Pesticide Stewardship Alliance (TPSA) will hold a webinar on “Rinsing and Recycling Caged Tanks.” Penton Media is hosting the free webinar, which will be at 2:00 Eastern time (1:00 Central or 11:00 am Pacific). The webinar is focused on an audience of growers and applicators, but is open to all interested parties. To register, see TPSA’s home page (http://www.tpsalliance.org/) or Penton Media’s web site (www.deltafarmpress.com/tpsa).

The speakers are Nebraska grower Scott McPheeters, University of Arkansas’ Ples Spradley, FarmChem’s Bryan Gran, and the EPA’s Nancy Fitz. They will cover the following topics:

• how to clean and prepare tanks for recycling, including in-field rinsing
• why cleaning tanks is important
• recycling tanks with contractors experienced with pesticide containers
• coordinating on-site pickup of clean tanks
• procedures for recycling uncleaned tanks and obsolete containers.

TPSA would like to thank the organizations who sponsored the webinar: Bayer CropScience, IBC North America, Interstate Ag Plastics, Monsanto, National Container Group, and TankLink.

Mark your calendars and register for the webinar! Please forward this information to your colleagues and contacts who would be interested in participating.

If you have any questions about the webinar, please contact Nancy Fitz at fitz.nancy@epa.gov or 703-305-7385.

Bonnie McCarvel, Operations Manager
The Pesticide Stewardship Alliance (TPSA)
11327 Gravois Road, Suite 201
St. Louis, MO 63126
314-849-9137
www.tpsalliance.org

2013 Ohio Sheep Day – July 13 – 8:00 am – 3:30 am – OARDC Sheep Research Unit, 5743 Fredericksburg Road, Wooster, OH 44691

Keynote address for the 2013 Ohio Sheep Day is “Myths of Successful Sheep Production”, Francis Fluharty, OSU Animal Sciences. The program for the day is to include such topics as:

-Starting a small ruminant farm
-Successful pasture and barn lambing strategies
-Successful pasture and barn weaning strategies
-Alternative forages for grazing small ruminants
-Myths of internal parasite control in small ruminants
-Basic sheep management practices for the beginning shepherd
-Minerals for small ruminants
-Small ruminant livestock handling
-Dealing with drought – alternative feeds
-Use of small ruminants to control weeds and build fertility

For more information, see the attached flier.

2013SheepDayDraft

Court Will Hold Monsanto to its Promise Not to Sue Organic Farmers – Catharine Daniels, Attorney, OSUE Agricultural & Resource Law Program

The court’s decision was not exactly what a group of farmers, seed sellers, and agricultural organizations was hoping for, but they are nevertheless claiming partial victory against Monsanto in a recent lawsuit centered on genetically modified seed. On June 10, 2013, the United States Court of Appeals denied the group’s request for a judgment against Monsanto but at the same time declared that Monsanto would be judicially bound to its promise not to pursue future patent infringement suits against the growers, seed sellers or organizations for “inadvertently using or selling ‘trace amounts’ of genetically modified seeds.”

To read more, go to http://ohioaglaw.wordpress.com/2013/06/18

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

Hello,

I am Mark Badertscher, the new Hardin County OSU Extension Educator for Agriculture and Natural Resources. I have officially worked one week in the Hardin County Extension office and have been so fortunate to meet so many people. Just this morning at Ag Council breakfast held at Henry’s Restaurant, I met several new individuals and learned about what they are doing at the current time with their work in agriculture. We spent the afternoon Wednesday visiting eight farms and agribusinesses. I hope that I can continue to put names with faces and get to know as many of you as I can over time. My start has been interesting with so many different phone calls, emails, meetings, and on-site visits. I believe that in order for an Agriculture and Natural Resources Educator to be effective, they need to be out and about in the county to find out what the problems and needs are. This way we can deliver quality programming that fits the needs of the people.

There are a couple of Agronomy related research studies that are being started in Hardin County. One is soybean production yield-limiting factor study which requires the testing of soil, plant tissue, and grain. The other is the setting up of insect traps for the Western Bean Cutworm, which is a pest of corn. We have four traps to set around the county and one is already spoken for so I am looking for three more farmers who would approve of me setting up a trap so that I can check it periodically. We are continuing the research involving the monthly rainfall amounts in the 15 Hardin County townships and I have attached a report for the April 15-May 31 time period. This is the first report of the growing season. On a related note, I had someone ask me if anyone knew of straw available in the area. If you or someone you know has straw available or will once wheat harvest is complete, I would appreciate it if you would contact me regarding the amount available and the price per bale.

I want to thank both Mark Light and Gene McCluer, along with the office staff helping me get started in this new position. Being new to extension, it will take me some time to become efficient with this job. I have been an agricultural education instructor and FFA advisor for 25 years, so many things are similar. Thanks to all who have made me feel welcome so far and I look forward to meeting you soon at a meeting, program, our when I am around the communities that make up Hardin County. Feel free to stop by and say hello if you are in the area. Let’s hope there are some rainy days on their way which will allow you to do that.

April 15-May 31 2013 summary

Thank you,
Mark Badertscher

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