Month: February 2020

Solar Leasing Workshop

Presented by Eric Romich, OSU Associate Professor for Field Spec, Energy Dev at OSU Extension in Wyandot County, and Peggy Hall, OSU Associate Professor for OSUE Agr & Natural Resources at OSU Extension in Union County. Eric & Peggy will share information and resources on solar leases: what a lease should include, considerations for long term leases, limitations by entering a lease and costs/income associated with entering into a solar lease.

Light breakfast served at 8 am, with the program beginning at 8:30 am. This event is being held in the Auditorium of the Champaign County Community Center, 1512 S US Hwy 68, Urbana, OH 43078. To register, you may call our office at 937-484-1526 or go to http://go.osu.edu/UrbanaSolarLease.

Farm Bill Decision Deadline Fast Approaching

Enrollment in the 2018 Farm Bill programs (PLC, ARC-CO, and ARC-IC) ends on March 16th.  If you do not enroll by this date you will default to the election you made in the previous Farm Bill and receive NO PAYMENTS for the 2019 program year.  This same election holds true for 2020.

As a reminder, PLC is a price protection/income loss option that covers declines in crop prices and the ARC-CO program is an income support option based on county-level benchmark revenues and guarantees compared to actual revenues.  For those with prevent planted acres, the ARC-IC program may be worth consideration.  ARC-IC issues payments when individual crop revenue is less than the guarantee and uses individual yields, rather than the county yields.

Once an election is made, the choice carries through for 2019 and 2020.  Annual changes can be made in 2021, 2022, and 2023 program years.  If you have already made a program election and decide you want to make a change, you may do so until March 16th.

Information about the Farm Bill program options and the OSU Farm Bill Decision Tool are available at https://aede.osu.edu/research/osu-farm-management/2018-farm-bill/arcplc-decision-aid-tools.  You may also consult your local FSA office or OSU Extension Educator for answers to your specific questions.

The Secretary of Agriculture has said there will not be an extension to the enrollment deadline.  FSA offices are very busy processing enrollments and have a great deal of work to complete in less than one month.  If you have not met with your FSA office staff to enroll in the Farm Bill program, please do so ASAP.  Remember, the deadline is March 16th.

Spring is In Sight

Authors Carri Jagger, Published on February 10, 2020
Originally posted on the Buckeye Yard and Garden OnLine
It's time to start thinking about starting seeds for the vegetable garden

This has been a long, unpredictable, wet winter.  Thank goodness spring is in sight, Thursday March 19th will be the first day of spring.  With this being said, it’s time to start thinking about planning vegetable gardens.  If starting a new garden, soil testing the site where the garden will go is a good idea.  If it is an existing garden and the soil has never been tested, now would be a good time to think about testing it.  Your local OSU Extension office can help you with soil testing.

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Tree of Heaven vs. Staghorn Sumac. How can you tell the difference in Winter?

Authors Thomas deHaas, Published onFebruary 11, 2020
Originally posted on the Buckeye Yard and Garden Online

Tree of Heaven, Ailanthus altissima and Staghorn Sumac, Rhus typhina, can be difficult to differentiate in the winter months.

 

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Larval Survival of Barber’s Pole Worm

Wormboss
(Previously published on Wormboss, Tests and Tools, Management Tools, Grazing Management)

roblem:
Many producers are unaware how long is required to prepare low worm-risk paddocks, although surveys show most are in favor of using them.

Solution:
Understanding the few conditions under which worm larvae will die is vital in creating low worm-risk paddocks.

Benefit:
Knowing the ‘required time’ for your property to create low worm-risk paddocks.

Continue reading Larval Survival of Barber’s Pole Worm →

Check Cattle for Lice in Late Winter/Early Spring

– Rory Lewandowski, Extension Educator Wayne County

Originally posted on the OSU BEEF Newsletter

Check beef and dairy cattle for lice infestations during the late winter and early spring months.  Although lice can be present throughout the entire year, high numbers of lice are most likely during winter months when cattle have longer, thicker hair coats, which make self-grooming less effective in reducing lice numbers.  Hot summer temperatures, and for pasture-based production systems, direct exposure to sun, plus rain showers, all play a role in reducing lice numbers and offer further explanation of why heavy lice infestations are most often seen during winter months.

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Proposed Coyote Trapping Changes Put on Hold

 

– Matt Reese, Ohio’s Country Journal editor (Previously published in Ohio’s Country Journal: Febuary 19, 2020)

When coyote predation becomes a problem for a livestock operation, it can be a major issue that requires extensive measures to address. For this reason, an Ohio Department of Natural Resources Division of Wildlife proposal to designated coyotes as furbearers generated concerns from Ohio’s agriculture and hunters and trappers.

There are concerns about the ability to control predation of livestock by coyotes

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Muddy Issues; Mastitis and Scours

– Christine Gelley, Agriculture and Natural Resources Educator, Noble County, OSU Extension

Originally posted on the OSU BEEF Newsletter

We finally got some snow and freezing temperatures! At our house, we didn’t get snow a single day that our Christmas decorations were up, but snow on Valentine’s Day was appreciated. Fresh snow provides a refreshing look to the landscape when it covers up all the muck and brown underneath it.  However, those cold temperatures are still not lasting long enough to firm up the ground and as soon as we track through that snow, our break from reality is over.

Lactating animals are at greater risk of mastitis infections when it is muddy!

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