As of yesterday, spring has officially arrived! Over the past few months, we have been challenged with frigid cold, saturated soils, LEBOR, low commodity prices, all things that can put a damper on morale in the greater agricultural community. Despite all of those recent wintry blues, I have been thinking that we have been pretty fortunate here in Ohio. Continue reading From Across the Field – Springtime Thanks
Month: March 2019
Late Season Rains Impacted Seed Quality
By: Anne Dorrance and Felipe F. Sartori, Ohio State University Department of Plant Pathology
We have received many calls and samples concerning seed quality and I’ve also heard about the rejections at the elevators. I was in Florida a couple of weeks ago with my colleagues (soybean pathologists) from across the country and Ontario, Canada and we are not alone. We were not the only state where soybeans had plentiful rains through and after grain fill with some of the crop still out in the fields. Continue reading Late Season Rains Impacted Seed Quality
Soybean Cyst Nematode Samples – Spring Is Still A Good Time!
By: Anne Dorrance, OSU Extension Soybean Disease Specialist
Lots of news about Soybean cyst nematode at Commodity Classic a couple of weeks ago. We have continued support to run assays and education sessions for farmers throughout the region to be able to answer “What’s your number?” There are fields throughout the Midwest, where not only are SCN numbers creeping up to economic levels but also the reproduction factor, which is the ability to reproduce on the one source of resistance (PI 88788) is also creeping up. The good news is that adaptation to the PI 88788 type of resistance towards SCN in soybean is going to be slow – but it is happening in a couple of fields in Ohio where the number of cysts are up to 27% of the susceptible check. Continue reading Soybean Cyst Nematode Samples – Spring Is Still A Good Time!
When Is The Best Time To Castrate Bull Calves?
By: W. Mark Hinton, Previously published by Drover’s online
A Kansas State University study showed that bulls castrated and implanted at an average of 3 months of age weighed 2 pounds more at 7.5 months of age than did the intact bull calves in the same study. At 7.5 months, the bulls were castrated, and then both groups were weighed 28 days later to assess gain.
The steers castrated as calves gained 48 pounds, while the bulls that were cut at an average of 578 pounds only gained 33 pounds. That is a lost potential gain of 15 pounds, as these late-castrated bulls had to deal with the stress of healing from surgery. Continue reading When Is The Best Time To Castrate Bull Calves?
APHIS Announces Updates To Scrapie Regulations
From: Ohio Ag Net
The U.S. Department of Agriculture’s Animal and Plant Health Inspection Service is updating its scrapie regulations and program standards. These updates include several major changes, which are needed to continue the fight to eradicate scrapie from American sheep flocks and goat herds. Scrapie is a transmissible spongiform encephalopathy disease that affects the central nervous system in sheep and goats, and is eventually fatal. Continue reading APHIS Announces Updates To Scrapie Regulations
From Across the Field – Waiting Game
Here I am writing this week’s column and I am beginning to get a bit stir crazy here in the office. Having been seemingly on the run during the winter meeting season, it is going to take me a few days to adjust back to a normal pace and begin planning for the upcoming crop season.
Before we think about getting in the fields, I have a list of growers who still need to recertify for their pesticide and fertilizer licenses before the end of the month. Continue reading From Across the Field – Waiting Game
Henry County Beef School Series Begins March 25
Beef producers, are you interested in improving the efficiency and profitability of your beef operation? If so, the 2019 Henry County Beef School is the program for you. This free four week offering is designed to cover the fundamentals of raising beef cattle; Forage Production, Genetics, Nutrition, and Marketing.
I think we can all agree that the 2018 season was one of the poorest in terms of making high quality dry hay. On Monday evening, March 25, Jason Hartshuch from OSU Extension Crawford County will be covering forage quality and storage. Feel free to bring a forage analysis to compare and take notes.
Have you ever had questions regarding what to look for when purchasing a bull or semen? Part two of the program on April 1, will feature Al Gahler, Extension Educator in Sandusky County. Al is going to discuss selection criteria and what to consider when making breeding decisions for your operation.
Week three, April 8 will offer a look at nutrition and feedlot management with Kyle Nickles of Kalmbach feeds. The goal of this session is to evaluate nutrition and implant strategies that have a positive economic impact to the beef feeding operation.
Finally, the series will wrap up on Monday, April 15. The final session will take a deeper look at marketing strategies for all types of cattle for a variety of markets and market specifications. We will cover value based pricing (aka the grid), selling feeder cattle, and niche, direct-to-consumer marketing opportunities.
The program is designed for producer to select topics in an a la carte fashion, where the can pick and choose sessions or attend all four. All sessions will be held at Crossroads Church, 601 Bonaparte Dr., Napoleon, Ohio 43545 and start promptly at 6:30 pm. We ask that anyone interested in attending RSVP to OSU Extension Henry County by Thursday March 21, 2019.
To save as your reminder, feel free to print the Henry County Beef School flyer, linked here.
Gov. Dewine Outlines H2Ohio Water Quality Initiative
From: Ohio Ag Net
Ohio Governor Mike DeWine outlined his H2Ohio water quality initiative, which he is introducing as part of his proposed budget for the 2020-2021 biennium.
“Water is vital to everyone, yet communities throughout the state face real and different challenges, such as algae blooms, failing septic tanks, nutrient pollution, and threats of lead contamination,” Governor DeWine said. “We cannot continue to lurch from water crisis to water crisis. I am proposing an H2Ohio initiative that would allow us to invest in targeted, long-term solutions to ensure safe and clean water across the state of Ohio.” Continue reading Gov. Dewine Outlines H2Ohio Water Quality Initiative
Prepare to Evaluate Forage Stands for Winter Injury
By: Mark Sulc and Rory Lewandowski, OSU Extension
Forage stands will begin spring greenup in the next few weeks, especially in southern Ohio. While winter injury in forages is very hard to predict, this winter has presented some very tough conditions for forage stands. This is especially true of legumes like alfalfa and red clover. Producers and crop consultants should be prepared to walk forage stands early this spring to assess their condition in time to make decisions and adjustments for the 2019 growing season. Continue reading Prepare to Evaluate Forage Stands for Winter Injury
Tyson Foods Is Using DNA to Prove the Pedigree of Premium Beef
From: Bloomberg, previously published by Drover’s online
Responding to consumer demands for traceability, Tyson Foods Inc. plans to use DNA samples from elite cattle to track steaks, roasts and even ground beef back to the ranches the animals grew up on.
Consumer research keeps showing that shoppers are demanding to know where their food comes from, said Kent Harrison, vice president of marketing and premium programs at Tyson Fresh Meats. A majority of Americans want to know everything that’s in their food, and more are trying to buy healthy and socially conscious products, according to Nielsen. Continue reading Tyson Foods Is Using DNA to Prove the Pedigree of Premium Beef