Natural Resources

TMDL Effort For Lake Erie To Be Led By Ohio EPA

Source: Ohio Ag Net online

Last week, Governor Mike DeWine announced the Ohio Environmental Protection Agency’s (OEPA) intention to create a Total Maximum Daily Load (TMDL) for Western Lake Erie.

Under the Clean Water Act, a TMDL is a calculation of the maximum amount of a substance (in this case phosphorus) that is allowed to enter a body of water and meet water quality standards for that pollutant. The TMDL sets a reduction goal for that pollutant for each source, such as agriculture, municipal wastewater, developed land, and septic systems.The Clean Water Act directs the state to submit a 303(d) list to U.S. EPA every two years. A TMDL must be developed for all waters identified by a state on their 303(d) list of impaired waters, according to a priority ranking on the list. Continue reading →

A Hunting We Will Go: Laws Landowners Need To Know

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

With archery season in full swing and deer gun season opening this week, hunters will be out in full force across Ohio. That means it’s also high season for questions about hunting laws, trespassers, property harm, and landowner liability. Below, we provide answers to the top ten frequently asked questions we receive on these topics.

I gave them permission to hunt on my land, but do I have to sign something? Permission to hunt should be in writing. Ohio law requires a person to obtain written permission from a landowner or the landowner’s agent before hunting on private lands or waters and to carry the written permission while hunting. A hunter who doesn’t obtain written permission can be subject to criminal misdemeanor charges. ORC 1533.17. The ODNR provides a permission form at http://wildlife.ohiodnr.gov/Portals/wildlife/pdfs/publications/hunting/Pub8924_PermissiontoHunt.pdf. If a hunter uses another form, read it carefully before signing and ensure that it only addresses hunting and doesn’t grant other rights that you don’t want to allow on the land. Continue reading →

Cautious Optimism on CWD

By: John Maday. (Originally published by Drovers online).

Since Chronic Wasting Disease (CWD) first emerged in captive deer in Colorado in the 1960s, the prion disease has spread to at least 26 states, three Canadian provinces and several countries in Europe. While the fatal disease continues to spread, fears that it could cross species barriers to affect livestock or humans have, so far, not come to fruition.

Results of a long-term exposure trial, reported in 2018 in the Journal of Wildlife Diseases, for example, support the belief that the lethal prion disease is highly unlikely to spread to cattle. Continue reading →

Putting Ash Wood to Good Use – Lessons from the Urban Wood Network

By: Amy Stone, OSU Extension Lucas Co.

Earlier this month, Emerald Ash Borer University (EABU) hosted an online webiner entitled, “Putting Ash Wood to Good Use – Lessons from the Urban Wood Network.” While many of us from Ohio have already lived through the devastation of EAB; some may have utilized the ash, some may have not, but either way, you will enjoy the webinar presented by Don Peterson, executive director of the Urban Wood Network to learn more about what is happening in this arena across the county when it comes to urban wood utilization.

All EABU sessions are recorded and posted on the EABU You Tube Channel following the live presentation.

To check out the Urban Wood Utilization session, check out this link: https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=SrksAL-mGfM&feature=youtu.be

To learn more about EABU and look at past session, or view a calendar of upcoming sessions, you can explore on the EABU webpage on the Regional Emerald Ash Borer website, http://www.emeraldashborer.info/

The National Asian Longhorned Beetle (ALB) Eradication Program Scores a “Win”

By: Joe Boggs, OSU Extension

Asian Longhorned Beetle (ALB) (Anoplophora glabripennis) is potentially the most devastating non-native pest to have ever arrived in North America.  The beetle kills trees belonging to 12 genera in 9 plant families.  This includes Acer (all maple species); Aesculus (horsechestnuts and buckeyes); Ulmus (elms); Salix (willows); Betula (birches); Platanus (Sycamore/Planetrees); Populus (Poplars); Albizia (Mimosa); Cercidiphyllum (Katsura); Fraxinus (ashes); Koelreuteria (goldenraintree); and Sorbus (mountainash). Continue reading →

/From Across the Field – On Pause 9/18/2019

Typically, this time of year farmers are gearing up for harvest, instead this year we are playing a bit of a waiting game. One bit of evidence to support that thought is that we sold more tickets for Farm Science Review this year than in the last two combined. Other than some hay baling being finished up and specialty crops being harvested we are looking well into October before there will be much action in the way of corn or soybean harvest. Continue reading →

WOTUS Repealed, Will Get ‘Redefined,’ EPA Says

By: Rhonda Brooks (previously published by Farm Journal’s Pork online)

On Thursday, a 2015 rule that expanded the definition of “waters of the United States” (WOTUS) under the Clean Water Act was formally revoked.

“Let’s just call it what it was, an example of the worst kind of regulatory overreach,” said U.S. Sen. Josh Hawley (R-Mo.), of the Obama-era WOTUS rule, during the announcement.

“Repealing the rule is a major win for American agriculture,” noted U.S. Secretary of Agriculture Sonny Perdue, in remarks he made at the presentation. “Farmers and ranchers are exceptional stewards of the land, taking great care to preserve it for generations to come. President Trump is making good on his promise to reduce burdensome regulations to free our producers,” he added. Continue reading →

Solar Leasing Guide Available

By: Peggy Kirk Hall
Source: https://farmoffice.osu.edu/blog
Large “utility-scale” solar energy development is on the rise in Ohio.  In the past two years, the Ohio Power Siting Board has approved six large scale solar projects with generating capacities of 50MW or more, and three more projects are pending approval.   These “solar farms” require a large land base, and in Ohio that land base is predominantly farmland.   The nine solar energy facilities noted on this map will cover about 16,500 acres in Brown, Clermont, Hardin, Highland and Vinton counties.  About 12,300 of those acres were previously used for agriculture.

Continue reading →

Gypsy Moth Adults Take Flight

By: Amy Stone, OSU Extension Lucas County

The caterpillar feeding frenzy has ended for the year and adult activity is being observed in NW Ohio. The male moths have taken flight in their zig-zag pattern in hopes of finding a mate. The female moths are white and a bit larger in size, and typically don’t move far distances from the pupal casing that they emerged from. She gives off a pheromone to alert close by males of her location. After a visit from the male moth, she will begin laying eggs. The mass of eggs laid now, will remain in that stage until the following spring, as there is one generation per year. Continue reading →

New Beech Tree Disease Could Cost Ohio Millions

By: Misti Crane, Ohio State Assistant Director of Research Communications

A confounding new disease is killing beech trees in Ohio and elsewhere, and plant scientists are sounding an alarm while looking for an explanation.

In a study published in the journal Forest Pathology, researchers and naturalists from Ohio State University and metro parks in northeastern Ohio reported on the emerging beech leaf disease epidemic, calling for speedy work to find a culprit so that work can begin to stop its spread. Continue reading →