The middle of October is typically one of the busiest times of the year for all involved in agriculture. It is the time to harvest crops, wean calves, breed ewes, and cut firewood for the coming cooler weather. In addition, this is the time to work on planning for the farm enterprise in 2019, begin looking at balance sheets, income statements, and putting the pencil to estimated costs for the next growing season. Continue reading From Across the Field – The Downhill Slide
Month: October 2018
Get Ready for a Little Breaking and Entering
By: Joe Boggs, OSU Extension Educator
Previously published on OSU Extension’s Buckeye Yard and Garden Line
Our drop in temperatures throughout Ohio will no doubt convince fall home invading insects that it’s time to seek winter quarters. These unwelcomed guests typically include Boxelder Bugs (Boisea trivittatus); Western Conifer Seed Bugs (Leptoglossus occidentalis); Magnolia Seed Bugs (Leptoglossus fulvicornis); Multicolored Asian Lady Beetles (Harmonia axyridis); and the most notorious of all, Brown Marmorated Stink Bugs (Halyomorpha halys).
Continue reading Get Ready for a Little Breaking and Entering
6 Pointers to Maintain, Adjust Corn Heads to Minimize Harvest Losses
By: Dave Mowitz
Previously published by Successful Farming
Corn head checkpoints.
Closer attention to combine settings and improvements in threshing and separation technology has worked wonders in minimizing grain losses in the combine. Dennis Bollig warns that corn heads contribute enormously to grain losses, however, citing an Iowa State University study that estimates 60% of all losses happen now at the corn head. Continue reading 6 Pointers to Maintain, Adjust Corn Heads to Minimize Harvest Losses
The Beef Balance Sheet
By: Derrell Peel, Oklahoma State University Extension
Previously published by Drovers online
Supply and demand flows for most agricultural markets are commonly summarized in the form of supply and utilization tables, often called the balance sheet. The balance sheet generally includes supply components as: Beginning Stocks + Imports + Production = Total Supply. Continue reading The Beef Balance Sheet
Feeding Strategies to Increase Lamb Performance, Carcass Characteristics, and Consumer Acceptability
By: Brady Campbell, Program Coordinator, OSU Sheep Team
For most producers, maintaining high standards of animal welfare and increasing production efficiencies rank among the most important factors involved in livestock production. While focusing on production efficiencies, what can producers do in order to help make their livestock more efficient? Continue reading Feeding Strategies to Increase Lamb Performance, Carcass Characteristics, and Consumer Acceptability
From Across the Field –
While the dry warm weather was still here last week, there was an opportunity for farmers, mostly in the southern parts of the county to get in the field to harvest soybeans and plant some wheat. I suspect if the weather remains decent the dust clouds will really be rolling as the crop dries down, however the weather isn’t always as predictable or cooperating as we would like it to be.
Across the state yield reports have been very strong however crop and corn stalk quality may become a concern for some. In this week’s C.O.R.N. Newsletter there were three articles addressing these concerns. One concern observed in corn at the NW Research station in Custar, is that of premature sprouting in corn. Continue reading From Across the Field –
Safe Driving During Harvest Season
By: Dee Jepsen – State Agricultural Safety and Health Leader
Previously published in OSU S.T.A.T Newsletter
As tractors, combines, and grain trucks begin to appear on Ohio roads, roadway safety becomes a focus for all who share the road with farm machinery.
Vehicle collisions can happen at any time. Many are a result of speed differential between slower-moving farm equipment and passenger vehicles, where the motoring public doesn’t slow down in time before colliding with machinery. Continue reading Safe Driving During Harvest Season
Tips For Harvest and Planning For the 2019 Field Season
By: Anne Dorrance, Ohio State University Extension Plant Pathologist
Previously published in OSU Extension’s C.O.R.N. Newsletter
There are some things to keep track of this fall as the combines run across the soybean fields.
- Make note of those low yield spots in soybeans to soil sample for soybean cyst nematode levels.
- Did you leave unsprayed strips? Harvest each of these first separately. Yield is not even throughout a field so comparisons to the average of these unsprayed strips are a more accurate measure of what the baseline level of yield is within a field. This is the number to compare yields for any treatments.
Continue reading Tips For Harvest and Planning For the 2019 Field Season
Syngenta Corn Seed Settlement Claims Due Oct. 12
By: Peggy Kirk Hall, Associate Professor and Director, OSU Agricultural & Resource Law Program
Those post cards advising producers of a $1.51 billion settlement in the Syngenta corn seed lawsuits are legitimate, and corn producers seeking compensation from the settlement must file claims by 11:59 p.m. on October 12, 2018. The settlement is the result of class action and individual lawsuits alleging that Syngenta failed to receive import approval from China before selling its genetically modified Viptera and Duracade seeds in the United States, which led to the rejection of U.S. corn shipments and a lowering of corn prices from 2013 to 2018. Continue reading Syngenta Corn Seed Settlement Claims Due Oct. 12
Vaccines: Handle with Care
By: Maureen Hanson
Previously published on Drover’s online
Vaccines can be a tremendous asset to a herd when they are handled and administered correctly. Or they can be a waste of money and labor if they are not.
Iowa State University veterinarians Grant Dewell and Troy Brick offer the following tips for properly storing and handling vaccines:
Purchase vaccines from a reputable business. A good distributor will maintain a temperature log for their cooler to ensure vaccines are handled properly. When buying vaccines locally, ask about storage conditions, and use a cooler with ice packs to transport the product home. Continue reading Vaccines: Handle with Care