Month: February 2019

From Across the Field – Blue Jacket, Fond Memories

This past week marked FFA Week, annually celebratedduring  the week of George Washington’s birthday. Washington was renowned for his farm record keeping skills, which are recognized in the opening ceremonies of each FFA meeting. The beginning of each paragraph of the FFA Creed reads, “I believe in the future of agriculture”, words that bring back fond memories of my time as a member of the Morgan FFA chapter. Continue reading From Across the Field – Blue Jacket, Fond Memories →

Had Your Auxin Training Yet?

By: Harold Watters, Ohio State University Extension agronomist

I just sat through my second training of the season. Labels changed for all of the soybean dicamba products last fall; and the label says you will attend dicamba training every year. That means everyone who uses a dicamba product on soybeans must attend auxin training from the manufacturer; contact your seed dealer or herbicide supplier to see when yours is happening. If you missed it for the product you are using, that’s OK, you can attend any of the manufacturers’ training sessions to get the update. Continue reading Had Your Auxin Training Yet? →

New Lake Erie Lawsuit Filed Against U.S. EPA

By: Evin Bachelor, Law Fellow, Ohio State University Extension Agricultural & Resource Law Program

We can’t say that Lake Erie is back in the news, because lately it hasn’t left the news. However, there is a new lawsuit in federal court that seeks further action from either the U.S. Environmental Protection Agency or the Ohio EPA regarding Lake Erie water quality. Filed on February 7, 2019 by the Environmental Law & Policy Center (ELPC) and the Toledo-based Advocates for a Clean Lake Erie, this new lawsuit alleges that the U.S. EPA improperly signed off on action taken by the Ohio EPA to designate Lake Erie as an impaired water body without implementing a Total Maximum Daily Load (TMDL) to restrict discharges such as agricultural runoff. The plaintiffs weren’t necessarily unhappy about the designation, but they were not happy about the lack of a TMDL. Continue reading New Lake Erie Lawsuit Filed Against U.S. EPA →

Tracking the Pace of Soybean Consumption

By: Todd Hubbs, Department of Agricultural and Consumer Economics, University of Illinois

Previously published by Farmdoc daily online

Recent developments in trade negotiations with China provided support to soybean prices and raised hopes of reducing the 910 million bushel ending stock projection for this marketing year.  The current pace of soybean consumption confirms the notion that any reduction of ending stocks lies with increased soybean exports. Continue reading Tracking the Pace of Soybean Consumption →

Value and Evaluate Herd Sire In Cow-Calf Operation

By: John Grimes and Stan Smith, OSU Extension
Previously published by the Ohio Farmer online

Perhaps to the inexperienced, or uninformed, it sounds simple enough. Purchase bull; put bull with cows; calves appear in about 283 days; collect calves 205 days later; sell calves for good prices. Well, maybe it should be that simple, but I think most Ohio cattlemen will agree it is not.

When considering all of the traits of importance to today’s cattle producer, a primary focus of any cow-calf producer must be getting a live calf on the ground. That starts with fertility. While both the male and female contribute to the herd’s level of fertility and its ultimate productivity, the herd sire is the more important component. An individual cow with poor fertility will certainly affect one potential calf a year. However, the bull affects every potential calf in most Ohio beef herds or breeding pastures. Continue reading Value and Evaluate Herd Sire In Cow-Calf Operation →

From Across the Field – Thinking Ahead

Thank goodness the ice held off long enough for us to have a great turnout for the 2019 edition of Northwest Ohio Crops Day. We had right at 100 total attendees, an increase from last year. I certainly appreciate the support of both vendors and producers who helped make the event the success as we continue to improve the quality of service and improve the knowledge base of producers in the area. Go ahead mark the Friday of the first full week in February for next year’s event. Continue reading From Across the Field – Thinking Ahead →

Is AI Worth the Effort?

By: John F. Grimes, OSU Extension Beef Coordinator (originally published in the Ohio Farmer on-line)

Artificial insemination (A.I.) in beef cattle is not a new technology as it has been available to producers for several decades. Nearly every cow-calf producer in this country has some degree of awareness of this management practice. While there is a relatively high degree of awareness amongst producers of A.I., misconceptions still exist about the value of this useful tool.

The use of artificial insemination offers several obvious advantages over natural service sires. Some of these advantages include: Continue reading Is AI Worth the Effort? →

Understanding The New Food Nutrition Labels

Previously published by Ohio Farmer online

One of the biggest changes in the new food nutrition label is a larger, bolder typeface for both calories and serving sizes. The typeface will be easier for people to see and read.

In 2016, the U.S. Food and Drug Administration announced the updated food nutrition label design. According to the FDA, the new design was part of an effort to reflect updated scientific findings to help consumers make more informed decisions about food choices and maintaining healthy diets.

NEW LOOK: Here’s a comparison of the old and new food nutrition labels. (Courtesy of U.S. Food and Drug Administration)

Continue reading Understanding The New Food Nutrition Labels →

OSU Looks At Options to Apply Manure When It’s Rained A Lot

Previously published by Ohio Farmer online

Throughout the growing season, and particularly this fall, there were a lot of rainfalls — off and on. Not only did fields fill up with water, but manure ponds and lagoons did also, and that might make some farmers a bit nervous.

Ohio had the third-wettest year ever in 2018, and there’s been little letup since then, leaving farm fields across the state saturated. For farmers with a lot of livestock, spreading manure onto wet or frozen land as fertilizer is not an option right now, and manure ponds are filling up fast. Continue reading OSU Looks At Options to Apply Manure When It’s Rained A Lot →