Fall is here officially and the drop in temperature, certainly seems to confirm so. For the first time since spring, I threw a jacket in the truck, just in case the wind decided to blow. It would be nice for things to dry out so the crops can continue to mature, for a somewhat timely harvest. While it may have come too fast for some, I tend to enjoy autumn for many reasons, harvest occurs, leaves change, and Big 10 football just to name a few.
Last week I spent the majority of my time at Farm Science Review working in the educational exhibits that are coordinated by OSU Extension. At the show, now North America’s largest, it is a great time to see some of the newest advancements in agriculture and to hear from producers about the conditions that they are facing in the fields. Attendance was higher than one year ago, but a bit off of the pace of other good weather years. I suspect the weather was too good for some producers in far west and southwestern Ohio, as they worked to get as much of their crop out of the fields before the rain came into the region.
Don’t forget to sign up for Grill Smart, a food safety and education program on October 9th. The program objectives are to understand meat cut selection and carcass utilization; practice safe food preparation and cooking methods; and have hands on training of grill maintenance and care. The program will feature a variety of beef, poultry, and pork cuts that participants will grill and compare degrees of doneness, tenderness, juiciness, and flavor. The program will be held at Holgate H.S at 5:00 p.m. at the Vo-Ag shop.
With the onset of autumn one thing I for and receive call about this time of year is yellow jackets. For some reason, they do not like it when folks drive over their underground nest with the mower and come after people. Yellow jackets spend most of the summer feeding on protein sources to feed their young, but now the diet is changing to consuming more energy. This will include many of our food sources including snack foods, soda, and especially fallen fruits such as apples or pears, which is why we see them at outdoor events. The best thing we can do when we see them is to leave them alone as they are not aggressive unless provoked. This is why we should not swat at them when they buzz around. Be very careful when drinking cans of beverages outdoors because yellow jackets could crawl into the can or bottle. If you have a nest around the home that is not causing a problem, a couple frosts will kill off the colony, except the queen. If they are a health concern because they are near an entrance or in the home, blowing a powdered insecticide into the hole will allow the workers to carry the product into the nest and kill of the colony. Never plug a hole when the nest is active because the bees may chew into the house.
I’ll end this week with a quote from Stephen Hawking: “I believe things cannot make themselves impossible”. Have a great week. Go Bucks!
Oct. 9 – Grill Smart
Garth Ruff,
Agriculture and Natural Resources Extension Educator
OSU Henry County Extension