I Hate Mud
I may have mentioned before that I hate mud, and that the ideal winter is one where it is cold enough for the ground to be frozen or one with limited precipitation. Unfortunately, over the past couple of winters we really haven’t experienced either of those conditions. With regards to rainfall, we are already ahead of where we were a year ago.
Not only do I not want to track up the new flooring in the office, but mud is extremely aggravating from the standpoint of a livestock producer. Last week as we finished the Ohio Cattle Nutrition school, mud became an indirect topic of conversation. With poor quality forages from the past couple of years it is even more important that we account for the energy needs cattle, sheep, and horses. Add mud to the equation and the performance is reduced is somewhere around 5-7 percent when dewclaw deep and upwards of 28 percent when hock deep. Back in southern Ohio for this reason alone is why my brother has chosen to lamb in January, in hopes for less mud.
As temperatures rise and the mud gets deeper be on the lookout for pests emerging from hibernation. Most of the insects that will appear in the home are harmless and are likely trying to make their escape to the outdoors, such as lady beetles and stink bugs. However, this is also the time of the year to be on the lookout for more destructive insects such as termites. If you suspect you have a termite problem, bring a few of the specimens into the office and we can identify them for you. If confirmed that they are in fact termites, we recommend consulting a professional for treatment.
Other household pests that are becoming increasing active as we go through a spring fall are our rodent species. Mice that have been tucked away in walls and attics are beginning to stir. There are several options for population control including traps and rodenticide baits. If you are going to use rodenticide bait, be sure they are in a bait station where small children and pets will not have access to them. Typically, basements and attics are the best places to set bait stations for optimum control. Be sure to check the stations periodically to monitor bait disappearance.
As we look past this week, we still have some exciting agriculture programming in store for this spring. Next week on the 26th the NW Regional eFields meeting will be in Bryan, we will have a follow up program in March 2nd here at the office at 8:00 a.m. where we will discuss on farm research for the coming year. Bob George from Henry Soil and Water will also be on hand to discuss H2Ohio programs that are available to producers.
On March 5th in the evening we will hold a fertilizer and pesticide RE-certification at Holgate High School. At 5:00 p.m., we will start the one-hour fertilizer training, followed by three hours of pesticide. We ask that those planning to attend RSVP to the office prior to the event to have an accurate count for pizza. I’ll end this week with a thought from Dwight Eisenhower: “Farming looks mighty easy when your plow is a pencil and you’re a thousand miles from the corn field.” Have a great week.
Upcoming Events
3/2 Gearing Up for On Farm Research
3/5 Fertilizer and Pesticide Recert