Month: February 2022

Six free, weekly webinars will focus on bumblebee biodiversity, ecology, and conservation. All sessions are on Fridays from 1 PM EASTERN to 2:30 PM EASTERN from March 18th to April 22nd.

Register here. (http://go.osu.edu/bumble)

Our course webpage with resources and recordings: https://u.osu.edu/thebumblebeeshortcourse/

March 18

Bumble Bee Biology, Part 1, Jamie Strange: The Ohio State University

March 25

Bumble Bee  Biology, Part 2, Jamie Strange: The Ohio State University

A Brief Overview of Federally Endangered Bumble Bees, Tamara Smith: U.S. Fish and Wildlife Service

April 1

Bumble Bee Identification (note dual offerings and a later start for Western ID)

Attend one or both sessions, Bumble Bees from Eastern or Western North America

1:00 – 2:30 EDT Identification of Bumble Bees from Eastern North America, Karen Goodell: The Ohio State University

3:00 – 4:30 EDT Identification of Bumble Bees from Western North America, Lincoln Best: Oregon State University

April 8

Bumble Bee Botany, Randy Mitchell: The University of Akron

April 15

Threats and Opportunities for Conservation, Hollis Woodard: University of California, Riverside

April 22

You Can Make a Difference for Bumble Bees: Programs to Document Bumble Bees in Yards, Parks, Gardens, and Natural Areas AND What Plants They Use

Sam Droege: Native Bee Inventory and Monitoring Lab, USGS

Jenan El-Hifnawi: USGS Bumble Bee Survey Coordinator

Sponsored by The Ohio State University Department of Entomology

This series is funded in part by a USDA/NIFA Integrated Pest Management Pollinator Health grant.

Coordinated by Denise Ellsworth, OSU Department of Entomology

All sessions will be recorded and posted on our course website and on YouTube http://go.osu.edu/bumbles

 

Hope you can join us this month to learn about our flying teddy bears!

Join us for these FREE sessions that are part of Annie’s Project Mitigating Risk Across Common Barriers to Profitability webinar series. This material is based upon work supported by USDA/NIFA under award number 2018-70027-28588.

• March 3, 2022 – 12:00 PM Eastern Time (US and Canada) Register for FREE
  • Recordkeeping A Necessary Skill
  • Recordkeeping is a necessary skill for all business owners. Farm records include everything from financial to production. This session will provide some ideas on recordkeeping practices as well as organizing records for farm enterprises.
  • Presented by Shannon Dill, Extension Educator – AGNR University of Maryland Extension – Talbot County

 

• March 10, 2022 – 12:00 PM Eastern Time (US and Canada)  Register for FREE
  • Enterprises – Who Are Your Winners & Losers? Introduction to the Rutgers Cost Accounting Spreadsheet
  • This webinar will explain how to use user-friendly software to develop enterprise budgets. It uses Microsoft Excel and is distributed by Rutgers University to develop an enterprise budget showing costs and returns for each crop that you produce. The spreadsheet uses information that you already have on hand from your accountant: income statement (or Schedule F) and balance sheet. The spreadsheet then generates the costs and profitability of each crop. Thus, you know which crops are winners and losers; thus, giving you information to make decisions on pricing, reducing unprofitable production costs, and increasing sales of profitable crops.

The program also calculates the percentages of each overhead cost, 17 key financial ratios, and a cash flow statement to allow you to plan for your monthly cash flows.

In addition to analyzing your actual costs, you can use the spreadsheet as a planning tool to analyze the impact of increased costs and prices as well as changes in marketing mixes, or other changes you are considering in your business. The spreadsheet can also be used to enter pro forma data for a future farm business.

• • Presented by Dr. Robin Brumfield, Specialist in Farm Management, Rutgers University, New Jersey

 

• March 17, 2022 12:00 PM Eastern Time (US and Canada)  Register for FREE
  • Pricing for Profit
  • Understanding how to price your products is critical to your farm’s bottom line. Contrary to common practice, your pricing strategy should take into consideration multiple factors. This webinar will introduce you to the three big “C’s” to consider when determining prices for your products.
  • Presented by Kenesha Reynolds, Agriculture Business Management Specialist, University of New Hampshire Extension

 

• Mar 24, 2022 12:00 PM Eastern Time (US and Canada)  Register for FREE
  • Taking A Deeper Dive – Benchmarking and Financial Analysis
  • You have your numbers from your records and financial statements but what do they mean? In this session, we will take a “Deeper Dive” into the numbers and discover how you can take data from your farm and turn it into meaningful information for farm business decision making through benchmarking and financial analysis.

Ohio State University Extension is offering Forages for Horses as a virtual course. One live webinar will be offered per month along with “work at your own pace” materials that accompany each webinar. The Forages for Horses program is a collaboration between Ohio State University Extension, USDA-Natural Resources Conservation Service, Ohio Department of Agriculture, and the Ohio Forage and Grasslands Council.

Each webinar will be offered live on Zoom at 7 P.M. and feature presentations in a 90-minute span. Attendees will be able to interact with the speakers and ask questions in real-time. Once registered, attendees will be granted access to the full online course including the webinars, webinar recordings, and complementary resources. Participants that attend all three webinars will have the opportunity to earn a certificate of completion. Registered participants will also receive a USB drive of the full course manual (digital version) by mail.

The webinar schedule and topics are as follows.

Thursday, January 20^th, Recorded and Available to Watch On-Demand– Hay Analysis and Feeding Different Classes of Horses

Thursday, February 17^th, 7:00 PM – Nutrition and Parasites

Thursday, March 17^th, 7:00 PM– Pasture and Weed Management, Soil Fertility, and Species Selection

The Forages for Horses course utilizes Scarlet Canvas. For best performance, Canvas should be used on the current or first previous major release of Chrome, Firefox, Edge, or Safari. Canvas runs on Windows, Mac, Linux, iOS, Android, or any other device with a modern web browser.

The cost of the course is $75. Registration includes access to all online content through December 31, 2022, live webinar access, webinar recordings, the course manual, virtual social hours, and a voucher for free attendance to one of nine planned pasture walks to be offered spring to fall of 2022 at various locations across the state. Current and new members of the Ohio Forage and Grasslands Council are eligible for a $15 discount on registration.

Register for the course by visiting https://go.osu.edu/foragesforhorsesregistration.

Questions about the course or the OFGC member discount code can be directed to Christine Gelley of Noble County OSU Extension at gelley.2@osu.edu.

We hope that you can join us next week for Farm Office Live.  The Farm Office Team provides the latest outlook and updates on ag law, farm management, ag economics, farm business analysis, and other issues dealt with in your farm office.  Targeted to farmers and agri-business stakeholders, our specialists digest the latest news and information and present it in an easy-to-understand format.

Farm Office Live will be held via zoom on February 16th from 7:00 pm – 8:30 pm, and again on February 18th from 10:00 am – 11:30 am.

To register, or to watch recorded Farm Office Live episodes, please visit https://farmoffice.osu.edu/farmofficelive

No need to feel alone in the field. Our new and small farm conferences provide connections that will last long after the event.

• Do you own a few acres that you want to be productive but you’re not sure what to do?
• Do you have a passion for farming and turning your piece of this wonderful earth into a food-producing oasis?
• Do you own land or forest that you’re not quite sure how to manage?
• Do you raise or produce products that you would like to market and sell off your farm but you’re not sure how to make it successful?

If you’re asking yourself these questions, this conference is for you! Targeted to new and small farm owners, we cover topics like:

• Horticulture
• Produce Production
• Natural Resources
• Livestock
• Specialty Crops
• Farm Management
• Marketing
• Miscellaneous Topics

You’ll also have the opportunity to browse a trade show featuring the newest and most innovative ideas and services for your farming operation. Talk with the vendors and network with your peers. If you are a new or small farm owner, you don’t want to miss the 2022 Small Farm Conference – Sowing Seeds for Success on March 12^th from 8:00 a.m. – 3:30 p.m. at the Mansfield OSU Campus in Ovalwood Hall.  The campus is just minutes from I-71 and US Rt 30.

Please visit: https://go.osu.edu/osufarmconference2022  for class and registration details or call OSU Extension Morrow County 419-947-1070.

Beef Cattle

Six new articles have been posted in this week’s issue number 1280 of the Ohio BEEF Cattle letter: http://u.osu.edu/beef/

With the breeding season quickly approaching, this week Dean Kreager discusses incorporating an artificial insemination breeding program into a small beef herd.

Articles this week include:

• Artificial Insemination with a Small Beef Herd
• Taking Advantage of Estrus Expression in Fixed-Time Artificial Insemination
• What to do When Calves Are Born Weak
• Soil Health and Regenerative Ag with Ray Archuleta
• Price Risk Management Tools for Cattle Producers
• January 1 Feeder Cattle Supplies Decline 2.6 Percent

Small Ruminants

• Importance of Nutrition Management to Avoid Acidosis
  • Jeff Held, South Dakota State University Sheep Extension Specialist (Previously published online with South Dakota State University Extension: November 18, 2021) As lambing continues and Read more…
• Lamb Carcass Fabrication – Retail Cuts
• 7 Tips for Successful Frost Seeding
  • Chris Torres, Editor, American Agriculturalist (Previously published online with American Agriculturalist: March 16, 2021) Clover species are your best bet, as is seeding in more Read more…Read more about 7 Tips for Successful Frost Seeding

Registration is now open for the 2022 Ohio Woodland Water and Wildlife Conference.  We will once again be live at the Mid- Ohio Conference Center in Mansfield.  The program offers updates on spotted lanternfly and beech leaf disease and presentations on management for wild turkey, ticks and tick-borne pathogens, European frogbit id and control and streambank stabilization to name a few.  The brochure for the day is attached

Join us by registering HERE.

Early registration is $65 – register by 2/14

Late registration is $85 – 2/15-2/23 (last date to register)

ISA, SAF and pesticide credits are being applied for.