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ODA Asks Ohioans to Send in Unsolicited Seeds

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REYNOLDSBURG, OH (July 30, 2020) – After increasing reports of Ohio citizens receiving packages of unsolicited seeds in the mail, the Ohio Department of Agriculture (ODA) is again urging the public to report and submit any unsolicited seed packets to ODA. In partnership with the United States Department of Agriculture (USDA) Animal and Plant Health Inspection Service (APHIS) Plant Protection and Quarantine Office, ODA is working to investigate the number of seed packets sent to Ohio, what type of seeds they are, and where they were mailed from.

The USDA-APHIS and ODA are asking Ohioans who have received these unsolicited packages not to open, plant, or throw them away. Instead, citizens should report receiving seeds here and then submit the packages to USDA using one of the following methods:

  1. If possible, place the materials including the seeds, original packaging material and your contact information in a resealable plastic bag and mail them to USDA-APHIS at the following address:

Attn: USDA -SITC
8995 East Main Street, Building 23
Reynoldsburg, OH 43068

-or-

  1. Place the materials including the seeds, original packaging and your contact information in a resealable plastic bag and drop them off at your county’s OSU Extension Office during business hours. You can find the nearest extension office here.  Please note that extension facilities may have COVID-19 specific signage detailing procedures such as wearing a facial covering that must be followed.

Unsolicited seeds could be invasive species, contain noxious weeds, could introduce diseases to local plants, or could be harmful to livestock. Invasive species and noxious weeds can displace native plants and increase costs of food production. All foreign seeds shipped to the United States should have a phytosanitary certificate which guarantees the seeds meet important requirements.

We will have the latest information regarding this investigation on our website.

ODA Pesticide Clean Sweep Dates and Locations

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The Ohio Department of Agriculture will be sponsoring three collection events for farmers wishing to dispose of unwanted pesticides. This year, the collections are happening in Fayette, Hancock and Lake counties.

August 18: Fayette County 9 am – 3 pm
Fayette County Airport
2770 Old Rt 38 NE.
Washington Courthouse, Ohio 43160

*Attention Brown County Residents/Producers: Contact James Morris as soon as possible for more delivery options for the August 18th Sweep. Contact: 937-378-6716.

August 19: Hancock County 9 am – 3 pm
Hancock County Fairgrounds
1017 E. Sandusky Street
Findlay, Ohio 45840

August 25: Lake County 9 am – 3 pm
Perry Coal and Feed
4204 Main Street
Perry, Ohio 44081

The pesticide collection and disposal services are free of charge, but only farm chemicals will be accepted.  Paint, antifreeze, solvents, and household or non-farm pesticides will not be accepted.

In keeping with Governor Mike DeWine’s State of Emergency due to the COVID-19 Pandemic, all ODA employees will be wearing face masks/coverings, following social distancing guidelines, and washing/sanitizing their hands and equipment often. It is highly recommended that anyone attending this event follow these guidelines as well. You can find the most up-to-date safety guidelines here.

The pesticide collections are sponsored by ODA in conjunction with the U.S. Environmental Protection Agency.  To pre-register, or for more information, contact the Ohio Department of Agriculture at 614-728-6987.

Brown County 4-H News & Notes

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Thank you for your patience as we work through figuring out things in this unprecedented situation. There are a few important updates, and some of it is the continuation of we just do not know yet. We are working to find the best solutions for all involved while keeping the health and safety of our 4-H’ers and community safe and healthy. Because there are more than just a few updates, I’ve posted everything on the website as a News and Notes and saved it in 4HOnline as a newsletter. PLEASE read this information carefully! There are some updates as well as some really fun opportunities included.

Find it here: https://brown.osu.edu/4hnewsletters (if the hyperlink doesn’t work from your email, try typing the link into your browser. Some systems have been having issues with hyperlinks).

A few of the items included in the newsletter:

  • Update from Senior Fairboard
  • State Fair Update from the State 4-H Office
  • Project Completion and Judging Info
  • 2020 4-H T-Shirt Orders
  • June Contest Info
  • Camp…ish!
  • SPIN Club offerings
  • 4-H Pillowcase Orders
  • And more!

Christy
Extension Educator, 4-H Youth Development

OSU Extension News 5/28/2020

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By: Christy Clary, OSU Extension Educator 4-H Youth Development

4-leaf clover

I was dodging raindrops the other day, looked down, and saw this 4-leaf clover. For some, the 4-leaf clover represents luck. While I always feel lucky to find one, I also immediately think of 4-H. I am an OSU Extension Educator with 4-H Youth Development, so some might think well of course she does. But it is more than that, since before I can remember I have been involved with 4-H. I have lived and breathed this program all my life and believe in what we do.

We are a youth development program. Our goal and mission is to develop caring, contributing citizens; to provide learning opportunities for youth to develop their skills to be successful throughout life. To connect them with caring adults who can help mentor them and help them become life-long learners.

We use the motto “To Make the Best Better” and the slogan “Learn by Doing.” The youth in the program are the best, and by participating they are working to improve. They do this by completing hands-on activities and projects and learn by doing real-world things.

As an educator and working with volunteers, I strive in all the decisions I make that they are moving in that same direction toward making the best better. When I have to make decisions, some are easy and some are hard, I must think of what is best for all the youth and volunteers in the program. Just like the kids, the adults are learning as we go through the process.

We make a pledge at each of our meetings and events to help guide what we do. It can also serve as a guide outside of specific events and each and everything we do, especially right now in a time of uncertainty and difficult decisions.

I pledge my head to clearer thinking. As we work through all these difficult decisions, know that those who are working through this are trying to make the best decision for everyone involved not only for now but for future years as well.

I pledge my heart to greater loyalty. The adult volunteers are champions for all the kids in the program. As I work with these individuals, they do not take this role lightly and are trying to find positive solutions.

I pledge my hands to larger service. Just like our youth complete service projects to give back to the community, we could not do the things we do without dedicated volunteers, who give tirelessly to make the best decisions they can for the youth in our community.

I pledge my health to better living. Physical health is important, but we also need to focus on our mental health. We need to stay positive in both our thoughts and how we are treating ourselves and others, especially as difficult decisions are made. We often hear that we need to learn to win and lose graciously, and we do. But our responses to disappointment should also look like this also, in person, in email and on social media.

For my club, my community, my country, and my world. The decisions being made are for everyone. Right now, public officials are making decisions that impact each and every one of us. They are not making these decisions lightly. At the county level and with 4-H, a lot of people are looking toward the fair. The people making decisions are not taking it lightly and understand it impacts each and every one of the youth who exhibit and more. The fair is the culmination of hard work and the chance to show off what has been accomplished. It is also a chance to have fun, see friends, and make memories.

As we do face these interesting times in history, I challenge you to remember the 4-H pledge. I challenge you to not act like those making decisions are doing it carelessly and without considering all the implications. I challenge you to not act like they do not have insight into how much this means to people. It is simply not the case, they do. I challenge you to respond with grace and kindness no matter the decisions. I also challenge you to think about how you have the conversation with the young people in your lives. What do you want to teach them about how to handle wins, losses, and disappointments? These are called tough decisions for a reason, none of us want to even be considering many of these things. But we must make the decisions based on what will be the best solution now and for years to come. All we can control in this situation is how we react, let us make it a positive one.

The 4-H program is part of the Ohio State University Extension services. For more information on the 4-H program and how to get involved, contact the Brown County OSU Extension office at 937-378-6716. Our office is temporarily closed due to COVID-19, but we are available by phone. You can also find more information on our website brown.osu.edu or follow Brown County 4-H on Facebook at facebook.com/brownco4h. A list of canceled and postponed events is listed on our website.

Christy Clary is the Ohio State University, Extension Educator for 4-H Youth Development in Brown County.

Originally published in the May 28, 2020 Brown County Press

Waterhemp Control and Seedling Identification

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Photos of the Palmer amaranth and common waterhemp plants at cotyledon stage
(Left) Figure 1. Palmer amaranth cotyledons: long and narrow (Photos by Alfred Stark and Lowell Sandell) (Right) Figure 2. Common waterhemp cotyledons.

How to Differentiate Common Waterhemp and Palmer Amaranth Seedlings

Following are two tips on how to differentiate Palmer amaranth and common waterhemp seedlings.

  1. The cotyledons of Palmer amaranth are relatively long and narrow (Figure 1) compared with common waterhemp (Figure 2).
  2. The true leaves (those produced after the cotyledon leaves) of Palmer amaranth have a small notch (hair) in the tip (Figure 3).  This hair may not be present in each leaf notch of a Palmer amaranth plant and tends to be less common on true leaves in the common waterhemp seedling (Figure 4).

Early identification of common waterhemp and Palmer amaranth is important to apply herbicide that can effectively control them. Palmer amaranth is more aggressive and difficult to control compared with other pigweed species.

 

Palmer amaranth true leaves
Figure 3. The first and/ or second true leaves of Palmer amaranth usually have a small notch (hair) at the leaf tip.
Common waterhemp seedling true leaves
Figure 4. Common waterhemp true leaves without singular hair in the leaf tip notch.Source: How to Differentiate Common Waterhemp and Palmer Amaranth Seedlings.
Author: Amit Jhala – Extension Weed Management Specialist
Link: https://cropwatch.unl.edu/2017/how-differentiate-common-waterhemp-and-palmer-amaranth-seedlings

Waterhemp Control:

By Dusty Sonnenberg, CCA, Ohio Field Leader

From a distance, Palmer amaranth, common waterhemp, and redroot pigweed can easily be mistaken for each other, but proper identification is a key to effective management. Each weed species is a growing problem in Ohio.

Palmer amaranth and waterhemp are relatively easy to separate from redroot pigweed when taking a closer look, because both the Palmer amaranth and waterhemp have smooth stems with no hair on them. Redroot pigweed has fine hairs on the stem.

“It is not critical to separately identify the Palmer amaranth from common waterhemp because the management strategy

Jeff Stachler, OSU Extension

is going to be similar for both,” said Jeff Stachler, Ohio State University Extension educator in Auglaize County. “Palmer amaranth and waterhemp are both dioecious plants, meaning they produce separate male plants and separate female plants. That causes a problem from the standpoint of diversity as every flower on a female plant could hypothetically have a unique male plant that pollinated each of the flowers. This leads to genetic diversity with all kinds of variations, such as plant height and color and also the level of herbicide resistance due to the genetic capacity the plant has.”

The herbicide resistance is real.

“Herbicide resistant waterhemp happens because of the genetic diversity, and because farmers do the same thing over and over again,” Stachler said.

In Missouri and Illinois, waterhemp has developed resistance to six different groups (modes of action) of herbicides. That resistance includes the Group 2 herbicides, which is ALS resistance (such as Pursuit), also the Group 4 herbicides which are the growth regulators (such as 2,4-D), Group 5 which is Atrazine, Group 9 which is glyphosate (Round-Up), Group 14 PPO Inhibitors (such as Flexstar and Cobra), Group 27 which is HPPD Inhibitors, (like Calisto, Laudis, and Impact).

“Group 15 herbicides could be use pre-emergence. These would include products like Dual, Harness, Zidua and Outlook. In Illinois, however, the waterhemp is resistant to Group 15 herbicides,” Stachler said. “In soybeans the only two post emergence options those farmers have left are dicamba and Liberty.”

Fortunately, Ohio has not seen the same levels of resistance, yet.

“Resistance is building to in Ohio, but it is not at the levels found in Missouri and Illinois yet,” Stachler said. “Farmers will not achieve control of common waterhemp with a total post-emerge single application program.”

Waterhemp is an annual weed with enormous genetic diversity. It begins emerging in early May and continues emerging until late July. (Palmer Amaranth will continue to germinate into September.) Waterhemp is a prolific seed producer.

“Most plants will produce at least 100,000 seeds per plant. Some plants can produce over 250,000 to 500,000 seeds per plant. It is possible that a single plant could produce over 1,000,000 seeds,” Stachler said. “Waterhemp is a weed that grows quickly, however the seeds do not have great longevity. Approximately 95% of the seeds are gone in 4 years.”

Waterhemp is a weed that needs to be controlled. If left untreated, it will compete with soybeans all season long, and can reduce yields by 44%.

“Effective control will take a combination of a pre-emerge application followed by one or two post-emerge applications,” Stachler said. “Ideally the second post-emerge application would also contain a residual.

“Pre-emerge options would include the Group 14 herbicides, which are the PPO inhibitors such as Flexstar and Cobra. The Group 5, PSII inhibitors such as Metribuzin, as well as the Group 15, mitosis inhibitors such as Metolachlor and acetochlor like Dual Magnum, Harness and Warrant are all available. The Group 3, Mitotic inhibitors such as Treflan, are also options.”

Post-emerge options include glyphosate (Round-up), with the Herbicide Planning and Technology Tips with Mark Loux on Ohio Field Leaderunderstanding that most waterhemp populations have resistance already developed at some level. The PPO inhibitors in Group 15 like Cobra and Flexstar can be used, however 25% to 50% of the waterhemp populations are showing resistance at some level to these products. Glufosinate, which is Liberty, is a good product with no known resistance, along with dicamba which also has no known resistance and is a good product are both post-emerge options, but neither of these are perfect. Another option is 2,4-D post-emerge, however this is not perfect, and resistance has been found in Missouri, Illinois, and Nebraska, Stachler said.

“There are a few limitations to some of the post-emerge products. Dual II Magnum and Zidua need to be applied before the soybean reaches the third trifoliate according to the product label. Dual Magnum has a 90-day pre harvest interval, and Outlook needs to be applied prior to the fifth trifoliate stage in the soybeans. Warrant can be applied up to R2,” Stachler said. “Farmers need to keep in mind that each of these products has a maximum total amount that can be applied per acre in a season, so if the product is used in multiple applications, that needs to be factored in.”

Palmer Amaranth has been found in 36 counties in Ohio. Those counties include: Williams and Fulton, Paulding, Putnam, Hancock, Sandusky, Seneca, Lorain, Wyandot,

Palmer Amaranth is an invasive pigweed. Get tips for controlling it from Ohio Field Leader.
Palmer amaranth

Hardin, Richmond, Wayne, Mahoning, Columbiana, Mercer, Shelby, Champaign, Delaware, Knox, Licking, Tuscarawas, Clark, Madison, Fairfield, Preble, Green, Fayette, Pickaway, Ross, Warren, Clinton, Highland, Brown, Adams, Scioto, and Vinton. Only nine of those counties are known to have established populations. Soybeans can have a 79% yield loss when Palmer amaranth emerges with the crop and is left untreated.

“Palmer Amaranth management is going to be similar to what was described for waterhemp management,” Stachler said.

More Chemical Options: Mark Loux, Weed Specialist, The Ohio State University Extension:

Always refer to the pesticide label and specific crop restrictions before applying any pesticides. 

PRE residual herbicides for waterhemp & palmer:

  • Strongest – 2 non-ALS herbicides
    • Fierce, Fierce XLT
    • Trivence, mixes of Valor/Authority + metribuzin
    • Valor/Authority + metolachlor/Zidua/Warrant
    • Boundary, etc
    • Metribuzin + metolachlor/Zidua/Warrant
  • Not as strong – one non-ALS herbicide
    • Valor/Authority products
    • Metolachlor/Zidua/Warrant

Use of products or mixes with two or more non-ALS residual herbicides can provide a longer period of residual control. The extra cost of this has to be balanced against use of residuals in the POST.

Residual herbicides that can be added to POST for extended control of waterhemp and Palmer:

  • Pyroxasulfone- most effective
    • Zidua
    • Anthem Maxx: Cadet + pyroxasulfone
  • metoachlor
    • Dual II Magnum, generics
    • Prefix/Vise/Statement: metoachlor + fomesafen
  • acetachlor
    • Warrant
    • Warrant Ultra: acetachlor + fomesafen

One effective strategy is to add one of these residual herbicides to the POST, especially when the weeds emerge early in the season.

More information can be found in The 2020 Ohio State University Wee Control Guide: https://extensionpubs.osu.edu/2020-weed-control-guide-for-ohio-indiana-and-illinois/ . Contact the extension office for purchasing options. 937-378-6716.

 

Tobacco GAPs Update

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GAP Connections has released additional guidance for those who still need their Tobacco GAPs certification. Currently, OSU Extension is unable to host in-person meetings through July 6th. Since the deadline for certification is June 30, 2020 we will need to rely on online training options. GAP connections released the following information.

“Growers completing the online Annual GAP Training will need to watch two videos and complete a post video quiz. Growers will need to successfully achieve a 100% score on the quiz to have 2020 GAP Training recorded. To locate the training a grower must login into http://www.gapconnections.com and navigate to the Training Section on the Grower Dashboard. There is a link for Online Training. Once a 100% is earned, GAP Training is recorded on the Grower Training Report. Go back to the Grower Dashboard or click Menu in the upper right-hand corner and navigate to Training. Please note that it may take up to 24 hours for training to show. If you have any difficulty locating or completing the online training, please call GAPC at 865.622.4606.” This is the preferred training as it will allow producers to take the course on their own time and schedule. However, there is an option for James to host a zoom session if you are interested. More details below:

Brown County Extension is willing to offer and additional option.  The GAP Connection website allows you to watch the video and take the quiz on your own time. However, if you prefer to join Extension Educator, James Morris for a live online session please let him know by emailing morris.1677@osu.edu. This session will include a 2 hour video with no post exam. You MUST be present and logged in online at all times. If you have poor internet connection, it may be a challenge to stay connected and follow along with the video. We would use Zoom to hold the meeting, free accounts are available. Visit https://zoom.us/ to get started. If requests are received, we will set up specified time and date for an online meeting. No cost but pre-registration would be required as we will need specific information from you in order to process the certification. Again, please email James Morris at morris.1677@osu.edu or 937-378-6716 if you are interested in this option.

Online Pork Quality Assurance Available

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Planning to take a swine project to the 2020 Ohio State Fair? Remember that all youth taking market swine to the 2020 Ohio State Fair will be required to have a parent/guardian PQA certified in order to meet packer requirements. OSU Extension educators will be offering an ONLINE PQA training. This online training MUST be completed by the parent/guardian of the youth exhibitor. The youth exhibitor is encouraged to participate in this training but is not required. There is no fee but registration for this course is required by May 6, 2020. Once registered, you will receive an email on May 11th confirming your registration and providing additional instruction. You will have 30 days to complete the course which contains a set of 10 modules. Contact James Morris at morris.1677@osu.edu if you have additional questions or need assistance.

Register here: https://osu.az1.qualtrics.com/jfe/form/SV_do0ZFjOzPaqXYG1

Southern Ohio Farm Show

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The Southern Ohio Farm Show is new program offered weekly by the OSU Extension offices from Brown, Clermont, and Highland Counties. The program will include a market update, weather forecast from Extension specialists Ben Brown and Aaron Wilson. Each episode will also feature an educational topic. The first episode will cover soil sampling procedures, and how to submit samples while Extension offices are closed. Joins us on Wednesday’s at 10:00 AM.

The Southern Ohio Farm Show will be broadcasted through Zoom. Register for the program at https://go.osu.edu/thesouthernohiofarmshowregistration. Through Zoom, you will be able to view the program on your computer, smartphone, or listen to it on your phone with the call-in option. If you need the call-in option, contact the Brown County Extension Office.

For help getting started with zoom visit Steps to Acess Zoom.

The program will also be aired on Facebook, YouTube, the Hillsboro local access channel, and the Greenfield local access channel (Spectrum channel 1021). We are working to gain access to additional local cable channels.

You can view previous recordings here: https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=StynEUQa4WM&feature=youtu.be

For more information, contact the Brown County Extension Office at 937-378-6716 or email James at morris.1677@osu.edu.