From Across the Field – Livestock Education Opportunities

Just when things get good in terms of moisture and crop condition, the rain finds its way back into the region. Being set back another week will only add to the weed pressure that is already evident in some fields. The rain has also slowed progress on some of our nutrient management on-farm research trials. This year in Henry County my research efforts are focused on corn side dress nitrogen. With farmer cooperators we are evaluating nitrogen rates in corn and comparing the use of liquid swine manure at side dress to commercial fertilizer.

This research is centered around the principles of 4R Nutrient Management in which the goal is to utilize nutrients from the Right source, at the Right rate, and at the Right time and Right place. All of our research results will be available next winter via the eFields platform. eFields is a publication by the DigitalAg team at Ohio State where research results are readily available in a reader friendly format.

This past week all of the ANR educators across the state met for our annual meeting at Salt Fork State Park, just east of I-77 in Guernsey county. It was a great opportunity to interact with colleagues and learn about the various programs that they put on. Don’t be surprised to see a greater variety of programming here in Henry county during the coming year. Also, as part of the meeting we toured the Eastern Ag Research Station in and The Wilds. The Eastern research station is where the majority of OSU beef and forage research takes place in the state. The Wilds is North America’s largest wildlife conservation park on 10,000 acres of reclaimed strip mine ground. If anyone is looking for a day trip with the family, I would highly recommend checking out what The Wilds has to offer.

Just a few reminders about some upcoming livestock programs here in Henry County. I have written about Beef Quality Assurance (BQA) a few times in the past, but here is one last reminder of a training opportunity in Henry County. OSU Extension and the Henry County Cattlemen’s Association will be hosting a BQA certification this coming Monday June 18, at the Ag Hall on the fairgrounds. The meeting will start at 6:00 p.m. and last about two hours. Once again the major packers are looking to source cattle from BQA certified producers here in the near future. As the flagship program for the Extension Beef Team in 2018, we hope to get Ohio’s feedlot operators, cow-calf producers, and dairy farmers certified this year. Much like Pork Quality Assurance or a private pesticide applicators license the certification is good for a three year period. Becoming BQA certified is a small cost compared to the opportunity lost by not having complete market access.

Another event coming up later this month is the Norden Family Farm Tour. Terry Norden and family along with Arps Dairy are inviting folks out to Terry’s farm, north of Napoleon on U.S. Rt 6 to come learn about milk production on a dairy farm. It’s exciting to see producers wanting to take the opportunity to interact and answer questions that the public may have. Attendees will be able to observe the milking process, interact with calves, and sample some dairy products produced at Arps Dairy by local dairy producers. The Norden Family Farm Tour will take place from 1 to 4 p.m. on Sunday June 24th. Be sure to check out the event page on Facebook for more information.

I’ll end this week with a quote from Theodore Roosevelt “Do what you can, with what you have, where you are.” Have a great week.

June 18 – Henry Co. Beef Quality Assurance
June 24 – Norden Family Farm Tour

Garth Ruff,
Agriculture and Natural Resources Extension Educator
OSU Henry County Extension

Leave a Reply

Your email address will not be published. Required fields are marked *