Ohio NRCS Announces Disaster Recovery Funding to Plant Cover Crops on Flooded Cropland Acreage

NRCS just announced a new Disaster Recovery Funding program.  This funding will be administered through the EQUIP program.  Signup with Doug at the NRCS office beginning Monday.  Many of the details are not available yet.  Click on the link below for more details.

FY19 OH EQIP Disaster Recovery NR2

White-Marked Tussock Moth Caterpillar Outbreaks

By: Joe Boggs, OSU Extension Educator- Originally posted on Buckeye Yard and Garden onLine

White-Marked Tussock Moth Caterpillar

Heavy localized populations of white-marked tussock moth (Orgyia leucostigma) caterpillars are being reported in central and western Ohio.  Curtis Young (OSU Extension, Van Wert County) showed images during this week’s BYGL Zoom Inservice of caterpillars on a variety of hosts including rose and noted he had received reports of hot spots in Allen, Hancock, and Putnam Counties.  I received a report from Franklin County of 100% defoliation of a landscape redbud.

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Forage Shortage and Prevented Planting Acres . . . think OATS!

– Allen Gahler, Extension Educator, Sandusky County and Stan Smith, Program Assistant, Fairfield County, Originally from the BEEF Newsletter

Last week, USDA released the declaration that a cover crop planted onto prevented planting acres can now be harvested as a forage after September 1st, rather than the normal date of November 1st, which provides a small glimmer of hope for some livestock producers and those equipped to harvest forages. While Ohio is also experiencing a severe shortage of forages for all classes of livestock, weed control on prevented planting acres is a major concern, and with USDA’s declaration, we can now address both problems in one action – seeding cover crops that will be harvestable as a forage after September 1st.

Oats, planted in July through early August, have commonly yielded from 2 to as much as 5 tons of dry matter in 70 to 90 days

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Hay inventory severely low across Midwest

OLUMBUS, Ohio—Excessive rainfall has not only hindered soybean and corn farmers’ attempts to plant, but has contributed to a near record-low level of hay to feed livestock in Ohio and across the Midwest.

The hay inventory in Ohio has dipped to the fourth lowest level in the 70 years of reporting inventory, leaving farmers struggling to find ways to keep their animals well fed, said Stan Smith, a program assistant in agriculture and natural resources for Ohio State University Extension. OSU Extension is the outreach arm of The Ohio State University College of Food, Agricultural, and Environmental Sciences (CFAES).

Excessive rain has contributed to a severe dip in the hay inventory across the Midwest. (Photo: CFAES)Excessive rain has contributed to a severe dip in the hay inventory across the Midwest. (Photo: CFAES)

 

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Keeping Tomatoes Healthy in Wet Weather

By: Tim McDermott, OSU Extension Educator, Franklin County. Originally posted on Franklin County

We are in the middle of a period of wet weather that is predicted to deliver multiple inches of rain to central Ohio and even more to other soaked parts of our state.  Tomatoes are a crop that can suffer several problems related to heavy rainfall that can shorten the harvest period and affect yield.  There are a few things that the backyard grower, community gardener and urban farmer can do to keep their tomato plants healthy and productive though heavy rain periods.

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Avoiding Barn Fires by Ensuring Hay is Dry

Online Source: Greenfield Township Fire Department

Our area has many hay farms, and with the amount of rain we have had and probability that it will get bailed wet, there is the potential for fire. While it can be easy to get in a rush, avoid barn fires by ensuring your hay is dry enough before you bale it.

“When hay is baled at moisture’s over 20% mesophilic bacteria release heat causing temperatures to rise between 130°F and 140°F. If bacteria die and bales cool, you are in the clear, but if thermophilic bacteria take over temperatures can raise to over 175°F,” according to Jason Hartschuh a guest contributor to Ohio State University Extension’s Ag Safety Program.

Most wet bales catch fire within six weeks of baling, Hartschuh says. Here are some things to consider when determining if your hay is at risk of fire. Did the field dry evenly? Were moisture levels kept at or below 20%? If moisture was higher than that, was a hay preservative used?

If you are concerned that your hay is a fire risk, monitor it twice a day for the first six weeks or until low temperatures stabilize, he says. Temperatures should be taken from the center of the stack or “down about 8 feet in large stacks.”

Not only can wet hay catch fire, but it can mold. Hartschuh says bale temperatures of 120° to 130° F often results in mold growth and makes the protein less available to animals.

“While those temperatures are not high enough to cause hay fires, the concern is if the mold growth continues and pushes temperatures upward into the danger zone,” he says.

According to research from OSU, if the temperature in the hay continues to rise, reaching temperatures of 160° to 170° F, then there is cause for alarm.

“At those elevated temperatures, other chemical reactions begin to occur that elevate the temperature much higher, resulting in spontaneous combustion of the hay in a relatively short period of time,” Hartschuh says. “If the hay temperature is 175° F or higher, call the fire department immediately, because fire is imminent or present in the stack.”

Critical Temperatures and Actions to Take

The team from OSU extension recommends monitoring the following temperatures and taking appropriate action.

125° – No Action Needed

150° – Hay is entering the danger zone. Check twice daily. Disassemble stacked hay bales to promote air circulation to cool the hay outside.

160° – Hay has reached the danger zone. Check hay temperature every couple of hours. Disassemble stacked hay to promote air circulation to cool hay have fire department present while unstacking from here on.

175° – Hot pockets are likely. Alert fire service to possible hay fire incident. Close barns tightly to eliminate oxygen.

190° – With the assistance of the fire service, remove hot hay. Be aware the bales may burst into flames.

200°+ – With the assistance of the fire service, remove hot hay. Most likely, a fire will occur. Keep tractors wet and fire hose lines charged in the barn and along the route of where bales are to be stacked.

Soybean Prevent Planting Decisions in Middle June, Cover Crops, and MFP Payments

Source: farmdoc daily (9):114

Click here to watch Dr. Schnitkey’s video

Farmers across the Midwest can now take prevent planting payments on soybeans, as final planting dates for crop insurance purposes have arrived. Our comparisons suggest that planting soybeans do not have higher returns than taking a prevent planting payment given a high coverage level on crop insurance. However, the risk for lower returns from planting as compared to taking the prevent planting payment is limited as crop insurance provides a floor on revenue.  These risks become greater the later soybeans are planted in the late planting period. The economic advisability of planting soybeans depends on receiving Market Facilitation Payments and no additional Federal aid for prevent planting acres.  Our current projections indicate that returns from either prevent planting or planting soybeans will not cover costs and working capital will be eroded. At the end of this article, links to YouTube videos provide the latest information on cover crops and the Market Facilitation Program as well as a general background on preventing planting.

Yield Declines and Soybean Prevent Plant Decisions in 2019

Final planting dates for soybeans have passed in all the Corn Belt (see farmdoc dailyMay 7, 2019). For Illinois, the final planting date is June 15 for northern Illinois counties and June 20 for central and southern Illinois counties. After reaching the final planting date, farmers can take soybean preventing plant payments on farmland that was intended to be planted to soybeans if they had purchased a COMBO crop insurance plan (Revenue Protection (RP), RP with harvest price exclusion, and Yield Protection). Farmers can continue to plant soybeans, however, the crop insurance guarantee goes down 1 percent per day for each day after the final planting date during the late period. In Midwest states, the late planting period lasts 25 days after the final planting date.  After the late planting period, soybeans can still be planted, but the guarantee is 60% of the original revenue guarantee.

A key to evaluating the plant versus prevent plant decision is assessing yield losses from late planting. A comparison of double-crop soybean yields to full-season soybean yields in southern Illinois provides some indications of yield declines with late planting. Yield data were obtained from Illinois Farm Business Farm Management (FBFM). From 2012 to 2019, double-crop soybean yields averaged 38 bushels per acre, 75% of the average full-season yield of 51 bushels per acre (see Table 1).

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Corn of Many Colors

Source: Alexander Lindsey, Steve Culman, Peter Thomison, OSU Extension

As corn is emerging and beginning to grow, we are again seeing many colors present. In any given field, corn can appear dark green in sections, while other sections are yellow and occasionally purple. Yellowing (due to low nitrogen or sulfur uptake and/or limited chlorophyll synthesis) or purpling (reduced root development and/or increased anthocyanin production) of corn plants at this stage of development generally has little or no effect on later crop performance or yield potential. If it’s induced by environmental conditions, the yellow or purple appearance should change to a healthy green after a few sunny days with temperatures above 70 degrees F (and as soils dry). If plants remain yellow then closer inspection and assessment is needed to determine if the yellowing is caused by nutrient deficiency or some other factor. Cooler wet conditions often increase the appearance of these different colors. Some hybrids are more likely to increase anthocyanin (purple pigment) content when plants are cool.

 

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Haying and Grazing on Prevented Planting Acres

By: Ben Brown, OSU Extension Program Manager- Farm Management Program

WASHINGTON, June 20, 2019 – Farmers who planted cover crops on prevented plant acres will be permitted to hay, graze or chop those fields earlier than November this year, the U.S. Department of Agriculture (USDA) announced today. USDA’s Risk Management Agency (RMA) adjusted the 2019 final haying and grazing date from November 1 to September 1 to help farmers who were prevented from planting because of flooding and excess rainfall this spring.

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Make a Withdrawal from your Soil Weed Seed Bank: Stale Seedbank Technique

Originally posted on the VegNet Newsletter

 

Ah spring!  The war against weeds begins anew. The first major skirmish of the growing season should happen before planting. The stale seed bed technique is an often over-looked practice that can be used before planting. It works by first encouraging weeds to sprout and then killing them when they are young and most vulnerable. For organic growers, a stale seed bed can replace the effects of a pre-emergence herbicide. And when used properly, it can contribute to both short-term and long-term weed management

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