Stand Up 4 Grain Safety Week … April 4-8

TAKE TIME OUT FOR GRAIN SAFETY

Registration is open for Stand Up 4 Grain Safety Week, April 4-8. The week offers dedicated time for you and your teams to take some time out for safety—because everyone deserves to go home safely at the end of each workday.

The intensive week of online safety topics focuses on safety, not scare tactics. Organizers believe a commitment to safety is about more than a pamphlet or rushed training. It’s about a culture committing to the value of oneself, coworkers, and the worksite.

Stand Up 4 Grain Safety is planned and funded by GEAPS, OSHA, National Grain and Feed Association, and Grain Handling Safety Council.

SCHEDULE
Monday, April 4 Kickoff
10 a.m.- 12:15 p.m. CST
This session will feature live safety demonstrations on bin safety by Dr. Carol Jones, Ph.D., Oklahoma State University, and Dr. Aaron Yoder, Ph.D. – CS-CASH (Central States Center for Agricultural Safety & Health) at UNMC (University of Nebraska Medical Center) Stand Up resources and more.

Tuesday, April 5
10 a.m.-Noon CST
Jason Moore, CESCP – Thompson Electric will present a two-part session on electrical safety. The morning will start with a focus on arc flash; best practices will follow.
2 p.m. CST (offered in both English and Spanish language)
A session on infectious disease awareness will be offered in two separate sessions on Tuesday and Thursday in both English and Spanish with days TBA. Beyond COVID-19, workers may be regularly exposed to several infectious agents. This session focuses on how to prevent and reduce transmission.

Wednesday, April 6
10 a.m.- noon CST
Aaron Yoder and Gretchen Mosher, Ph.D. – Iowa State University will present a two-part session on weather hazards such as extreme cold and heat and weather events.
2 p.m. CST (offered in Spanish)
A session on heat stress and other weather-related hazards, and the best way to protect workers.

Thursday, April 7
10 – 11:30 a.m. CST
Ellen Duysen, MPH, COHC, CS-CASH (Central States Center for Agricultural Safety & Health) at UNMC (University of Nebraska Medical Center) and Steve Wangler, CVA Coop, will explore the hows and whys of Personal Protective Equipment (PPE) from head to toe, including innovations in PPE design, wearable technology, and personal fall protection.

2 p.m. CST (offered in both English and Spanish language)
A session on infectious disease awareness will be offered in two separate sessions on Tuesday and Thursday in English and Spanish with days TBA. Beyond COVID-19, workers may be regularly exposed to several infectious agents. This session focuses on how to prevent and reduce transmission.

Friday, April 8
10 a.m. —11:15 p.m. CST
Finish off the week with a one-hour session on loading and unloading grain, presented by John Lee, Grain and Feed Association of Illinois, and Butch Hendrix, Kokomo Grain.

Register Now for this FREE Online Event

More information: StandUp4GrainSafety.org

The Farm Office Team will be back on April 22^nd at 10 AM, for the next installment of Farm Office Live.  A look at what you can expect from April’s Farm Office Live includes:

• State and Federal Legislation Update
• LLC Liability Protection Review
• 2021 Midwest Farm Performance Preview
• Fertilizer and Crop Budgets Update
• FSA Program Updates
• Ohio General Assembly Website Tour

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 agribusiness stakeholders, our specialists digest the latest news and information and present it in an easy-to-understand format.

To register, please visit https://farmoffice.osu.edu/farmofficelive.

Beef Cattle

Six new articles have been posted in this week’s issue number 1284 of the Ohio BEEF Cattle letter: http://u.osu.edu/beef/

With the breeding season rapidly approaching (if not already here for some), this week Brooks Warner shares thoughts on selecting your next herd sire.

Articles this week include:

• Selecting Your Next Herd Sire
• Weather and Climate, and the Impact on Beef Cattle Performance
• Backgrounding/Stocker Profitability Conference
• How is Beef Cutout Price Calculated?
• Cattle Input Prices Surge
• Choice/Select Spread

Small Ruminant

• Udder Health in Ewes: Mastitis, Udder Scores, and Management
  • Isabel Richards, Veterinary Science – South Africa and owner/operator of Gibraltar Farm (Previously published with the Eastern Alliance for Production Katahdins (EAPK): February 28, 2022) Ewes Read more…Read more about Udder Health in Ewes: Mastitis, Udder Scores, and Management
• Feeding Small Ruminants Based on Age and Stage of Production
  • In times of economic stress, reducing feed costs through least-cost formulations or improving current feeding regimens will greatly benefit the success of your operation. Read more…Read more about Feeding Small Ruminants Based on Age and Stage of Production
• Frost Seeding Time is Here
  • Sjoerd Willem Duiker, Professor of Soil Management and Applied Soil Physics, Penn State University Zachary Larson, Field, and Forage Crops Educator, Penn State University David Read more…Read more about Frost Seeding Time is Here

The Ohio Department of Agriculture and the Clermont County OSU Extension Office is announcing a Produce Safety Alliance (PSA) Grower Training to be held on 3/16/2022 at the OSU Extension Clermont County Office, 1000 Locust St, Owensville, OH 45160.

The training will be one day starting at 9 AM. There is no cost for Ohio produce growers. There will be an hour allotted for lunch; however, it’s not provided due to grant funding restrictions.

The PSA Grower Training Course is one way to satisfy the FSMA Produce Safety Rule requirement outlined in § 112.22(c) which states ‘At least one supervisor or responsible party for your farm must have successfully completed food safety training at least equivalent to that received under standardized curriculum recognized as adequate by the Food and Drug Administration.’

The course will cover basic produce safety; worker health, hygiene, and training; soil amendments; wildlife, domesticated animals, and land use; agricultural water (both production and postharvest); postharvest handling and sanitation; and developing a farm food safety plan. As a participant you can expect to gain a basic understanding of microorganisms relevant to produce safety and where they may be found on the farm; how to identify microbial risks, practices that reduce risks; how to begin implementing produce safety practices on the farm; parts of a farm food safety plan and how to begin writing one; and requirements in the FSMA Produce Safety Rule and how to meet them. There will be time for questions and discussion, so participants should come prepared to share their experiences and produce safety questions.

To receive a completion certificate, a participant must be present for the entire training and submit the appropriate paperwork to their trainer at the end of the course.

To register for a course, contact Matt at (614)600-4272. Please leave your name, mailing address, and a phone number contact in the voicemail. We will contact you to confirm your registration.

Building off a successful online launch in 2021, the Pastures for Profit program will be offered as a virtual course again this year during March and April 2022. Anyone interested in pasture management and forage production is welcome to join the course. One live webinar will be offered each week for three consecutive weeks along with “work at your own pace” videos and exercises that accompany each webinar. The Pastures for Profit program is a long-standing collaboration between Ohio State University Extension, Central State University, USDA-Natural Resources Conservation Service, Ohio Federation of Soil and Water Conservation Districts, 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 three 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 online course including the webinars, social events, 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 traditional course material by mail. Printed copies will be available for purchase separately by request.

The webinar schedule and topics are as follows. Click here for the flyer.

Webinar One- Core Grazing Education: Thurs., March 31st at 7 p.m.

• Evaluating Resources and Goal Setting
• Getting Started Grazing
• Soil Fertility

Webinar Two- The Science of Grazing: Thurs., April 7th at 7 p.m.

• Understanding Plant Growth
• Fencing and Water Systems
• Meeting Animal Requirements on Pasture

Webinar Three- Meeting Grazing Goals: Thurs., April 14th at 7 p.m.

• Pasture Weed Control
• Economics of Grazing
• Creating and Implementing Grazing Plans

A series of additional videos that complement each webinar will be accessible to registered participants that include topics such as:

• Soil Health & Fertility
• Species-Specific Tips
• Stocking Densities
• Forage Sampling and Analysis
• Winter Feeding Strategies
• Conservation Practices
• Genetic Traits of Forages
• Pasture Layouts
• Farm Economics
• Pasture Walks/Virtual Tours

These videos will focus on more specific pasture management topics at the beginner and experienced manager levels.

The Pastures for Profit 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 $50, which includes a digital copy of the Pastures for Profit manual, and social events. 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/pasturesforprofit2022.

General questions about the course, registration, ordering a printed copy of course materials, or the online platform can be directed to Christine Gelley (gelley.2@osu.edu) or Erika Lyon (lyon.194@osu.edu) of OSU Extension.

 

Scan Here to Register:

OSU Extension, FCS Field Specialist, Daniel Remley talks about how to dispose of electronics in a sustainable way!

This month’s Farm Office Live will be held on March 16th, from 7 – 8:30 pm, and again on March 18th from 10 – 11:30 am. 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 agribusiness stakeholders, our specialists digest the latest news and information and present it in an easy-to-understand format.

Beef Cattle

Six new articles have been posted in this week’s issue number 1283 of the Ohio BEEF Cattle letter: http://u.osu.edu/beef/

This week’s postings focus much of the attention on taking care of the pastures as grazing season quickly approaches.

Articles this week include:

• • Plan Now for Improving “Winter” Damaged Pastures
  • A Flood of Litter
  • When do I start grazing?
  • Beef Cow Nutritional Strategies During the Last Trimester
  • February Cattle on Feed Update
  • Weekly Livestock Comments for February 25, 2022

Small Ruminant

• A Flood of Litter
  • Christine Gelley, OSU Extension Educator ANR, Noble County One of the many challenges of flooded conditions is dealing with the garbage that is often swept Read more…
• Precision Flock Management
  • For those that are interested in moving your operation forward in terms of facilities, management, record keeping, and anything between – this presentation by Canadian Read more…
• Weaning Management for Goat Kids
  • Ontario Goat (Previously published online with Ontario Goat: 2020) Weaning, or transitioning from a milk-based to solid diet, is one of the most stressful events Read more…