Month: May 2020

From Across the Field – 5/21/2020

We’ve Been Here Before

After last week’s column showed some hope and optimism for the planting being wrapped up in a timely manner, I think this is a good week to start with a quote from Yogi Berra: “It’s like déjà vu all over again.” It feels like 2019 in some regards after a week of rain that now has brought field progress to a halt. The excess rainfall looks to make for another busy June for field activities, the second of which in two years.

This coming Memorial Day weekend is a great opportunity to spend time with family, especially if it is not fit to farm or garden. I will be heading south for the weekend to do just that. Memorial Day is also our annual reminder to vaccinate and trim hooves within our family’s sheep flock. We had a good spring with every ewe lambing, and most lambs have been weaned and started on feed. Before too long, it will be time to turn the rams back in with the ewes and start the process all over. Continue reading From Across the Field – 5/21/2020 →

Sign up for USDA-CFAP Direct Support to Begin May 26, 2020

By: Ben Brown, Peggy Kirk Hall, David Marrison, Dianne Shoemaker and Barry Ward, The Ohio State University

Since the enactment of the Coronavirus Aid, Relief, and Economic Security (CARES) Act on March 27, 2020 and the announcement of the Coronavirus Food Assistance Program (CFAP) on April 17, 2020, producers in Ohio and across the country have been anxiously awaiting additional details on how the Coronavirus Food Assistance Program (CFAP) will provide financial assistance for losses experienced as a result of lost demand, short-term oversupply and shipping pattern disruptions caused by COVID-19.

The additional details on CFAP eligibility, payment limitations, payment rates, and enrollment timeline arrived on May 19, 2020, when the USDA issued its Final Rule for CFAP.  In this article, we explain the Final Rule in this issue of News from the Farm Office.

Click here to read the complete article

Continue reading Sign up for USDA-CFAP Direct Support to Begin May 26, 2020 →

Summer Weather Outlook

By: Jim Noel, for OSU Extension C.O.R.N. Newslettter

Our attention now turns to the summer growing season and what is in store. Some things are different this summer.

  • The ocean temperatures are cooling in the eastern equatorial Pacific Ocean while ocean temperatures are above normal in the Gulf of Mexico into parts of the Caribbean. In addition, Lake Erie water temperatures will trend from cooler to warmer than normal as we get late into the growing season.
  • With recent rains, soil moisture has increased again in Ohio and remains above normal in much of the corn and soybean belt. The soils are not as wet as 2019 but with above normal soil moisture will come plenty of evapotranspiration. In 2019 for Ohio, soil moisture generally ranked in the top 1-5% wettest while currently we are in the top 5-15% wettest. https://www.cpc.ncep.noaa.gov/products/Soilmst_Monitoring/Figures/daily/curr.w.rank.daily.gif
  • Research shows 30-50% of summer rains come from local evapotranspiration from crops, trees etc. Given the wet soil conditions overall, expect a wetter than normal first half of summer, but not like last summer. We are likely to see the typical summer thunderstorm complexes in June and July ride along the high moisture content boundary of the corn crop from the northern Plains to Ohio.
  • Rainfall becomes more uncertain the second half of summer. Given the warm Gulf of Mexico and Caribbean it will likely favor increased storm activity down there. When that happens we often dry out some at least in late summer up here.
  • The outlook for June-August calls for slightly above normal temperatures with rainfall going from (above normal) first half to (normal or below normal) second half of summer. The above normal temperatures are favored more on overnight low temperatures versus daytime high temperatures due to soil moisture.

The latest climate outlooks are available at: https://www.cpc.ncep.noaa.gov/

Thinking of Direct Food Sales? Consider These Legal Issues

By Peggy Kirk Hall, director of agricultural law, Ohio State University Agricultural and Resource Law Program

There’s much disagreement over what we know about COVID-19, but one thing we can agree upon is that it has left an impact on the food supply chain. For some food producers, that impact is creating opportunity. Many growers see the potential of filling the gaps created by closed processing facilities, thin grocery shelves, and unwillingness to shop inside stores. If you’re one of those growers who sees an opportunity to sell food, we have a few thoughts on legal issues to consider before moving into the direct food sales arena. Doing so will reduce your risks and the potential of legal liability. Continue reading Thinking of Direct Food Sales? Consider These Legal Issues →

Using the Forecasting System to Assess the Risk of Head Scab

By: Pierce Paul, OSU Extension

The head scab risk tool can be used to assess the risk of head scab and to help guide fungicide application decisions. Here are a few guidelines for using the system and interpret the output:

1.) Go to the website at www.wheatscab.psu.edu. You will see a map of the United States with some states in green, yellow, red, or gray.

Pierce 1 Continue reading Using the Forecasting System to Assess the Risk of Head Scab →

From Across the Field: 5/14/2020

It’s amazing how much different this year is compared to last. In 2019 our greatest amount of planting progress was made in mid June, and this year we are nearly complete in Henry county. My colleagues to the south of I-70 are facing wetter conditions similar to what we had here last May. The cold temperatures over the last week has slowed down crop emergence, which is good with regards to frost damage, however with low crop prices even emergence can be critical. Looks like we’re in for a few wet days and then finally some heat will arrive to help things along.

The frost has slowed down and stunted some of our forage crops in the area, alfalfa is relatively short and orchard grass may have took the worst of the freeze here in NW Ohio. Continue reading From Across the Field: 5/14/2020 →

USDA Announces Details of Direct Assistance to Farmers through the Coronavirus Food Assistance Program

Source:USDA 5/19/2020

U.S. Secretary of Agriculture Sonny Perdue today announced details of the Coronavirus Food Assistance Program (CFAP), which will provide up to $16 billion in direct payments to deliver relief to America’s farmers and ranchers impacted by the coronavirus pandemic. In addition to this direct support to farmers and ranchers, USDA’s Farmers to Families Food Box program is partnering with regional and local distributors, whose workforces have been significantly impacted by the closure of many restaurants, hotels, and other food service entities, to purchase $3 billion in fresh produce, dairy, and meat and deliver boxes to Americans in need. Continue reading USDA Announces Details of Direct Assistance to Farmers through the Coronavirus Food Assistance Program →

Scab Risk Low, but Keep Your Eyes on Leaf Diseases

By: Pierce Paul, OSU Extension. Previously published in OSU Exension’s C.O.R.N. Newsletter

According to the FHB forecasting system, the risk for head scab continues to be low across the state of Ohio, for wheat flowering (or barley heading) today, May 18. In spite of the wet weather we have had, it has been very cold over the last week to 10 days. Cold temperatures between heading and flowering usually reduce the risk for scab, as the disease develops best under warm, wet, or humid conditions. However, you must continue to be vigilant as the crop in the northern half of the state approach heading and anthesis. If it continues to rain and stays wet and humid over the next few weeks, the risk for scab and vomitoxin will increase as the temperature increases. Be prepared to treat fields with Prosaro, Caramba, or Miravis Ace. Click on this link for more details on fungicide application for head scab control: https://agcrops.osu.edu/newsletter/corn-newsletter/2020-13/managing-head-scab-fungicides-qa

Continue reading Scab Risk Low, but Keep Your Eyes on Leaf Diseases →

Ohio Corn, Soybean and Wheat Enterprise Budgets – Projected Returns for 2020

By: Barry Ward, Leader, Production Business Management, College of Food, Agricultural and Environmental Sciences, Ohio State University Extension

COVID-19 has created an unusual situation that has negatively affected crop prices and lowered certain crop input costs. Many inputs for the 2020 production year were purchased or the prices/costs were locked in prior to the spread of this novel coronavirus. Some costs have been recently affected or may yet be affected. Lower fuel costs may allow for lower costs for some compared to what current budgets indicate.

Production costs for Ohio field crops are forecast to be largely unchanged from last year with lower fertilizer expenses offset by slight increases in some other costs. Variable costs for corn in Ohio for 2020 are projected to range from $359 to $452 per acre depending on land productivity. Variable costs for 2020 Ohio soybeans are projected to range from $201 to $223 per acre. Wheat variable expenses for 2020 are projected to range from $162 to $198 per acre. Continue reading Ohio Corn, Soybean and Wheat Enterprise Budgets – Projected Returns for 2020 →

Using Oats as a Late-Summer Forage Crop

By: Jason Hartschuh and Allen Gahler, OSU Extension. Originally published by the Ohio Farmer Online

Oats is traditionally planted as the first crop in early April as a grain crop or an early-season forage. One of the beauties of oats is its versatility in planting date. Oats can also be planted in the summer as an early-fall forage for harvest or grazing.

Summer oats has a wide planting window but performs much better with an application of nitrogen, and it may benefit from a fungicide application to improve quality. During the summer of 2019, we conducted a study to examine the planting of oats from July 15 through early September to examine tonnage and forage quality. Through this trial, planting date, yield, forage quality and an application of foliar fungicide to control oats crown rust was examined. Continue reading Using Oats as a Late-Summer Forage Crop →