Month: May 2020

Ohio House passes bill to limit liability for COVID-19 transmissions

Source:  Peggy Hall, OSU Extension

“Will I be liable for that?” is a common question we hear in the legal world.  COVID-19 has made that question even more commonplace, especially as more businesses reopen or expand services and more people reengage in public activities.  About a dozen states have acted on the liability concern and passed COVID-19 liability protections, and Congress is also deliberating whether federal legislation is necessary.  Here in Ohio, the House and the Senate have been reviewing separate immunity proposals.  Yesterday, Ohio’s House passed its bill, which aims to limit liability in certain situations where a person claims harm from the transmission of COVID-19.

The language of House Bill 606 effectively explains the House’s intent in putting forth its proposal, stating that:

  • The Ohio General Assembly is aware that lawsuits related to the COVID-19 health emergency numbering in the thousands are being filed across the country.
  • Ohio business owners, small and large, as they begin to re-open their businesses are unsure about what tort liability they may face, and recommendations regarding how best to avoid infection with COVID-19 change frequently.
  • Businesses and premises owners have not historically been required to keep members of the public from being exposed to airborne viruses, bacteria, and germs.
  • Those individuals who decide to go out into public places are responsible to take those steps they feel are necessary to avoid exposure to COVID-19, such as social distancing and wearing masks.

The House bill declares that for the above reasons, any COVID-19 “orders and recommendations from the Executive Branch, from counties and local municipalities, from boards of health and other agencies, and from any federal government agency, do not create any new legal duties for purposes of tort liability.”

The bill’s reference to not establishing a legal duty in regards to COVID-19 is important, as it forms the basis of immunity from liability for COVID-19 infections.  Under Ohio law, a person who can prove that harm resulted because another failed to meet a required duty of care can make a successful claim of negligence and receive damages for harm caused.  Negating a legal duty of care for handling of COVID-19 removes the possibility of civil liability.

Continue reading Ohio House passes bill to limit liability for COVID-19 transmissions →

Source: Jim Noel

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/

CFAP Direct Support Webinar May 27

Join OSU Extension’s Ben Brown and Dianne Shoemaker for a webinar  on “Navigating Direct Support for Ohio’s Farmers and Ranchers” on Wednesday, May 27, 2020 at 9:30 am with special guest, Ohio Farm Service Agency Director Leonard Hubert.  This webinar is generously produced and distributed by Ohio Ag Net.

Go here to access the webinar.

Cold Weather Impact on Corn and Soybean

Alexander Lindsey, Laura Lindsey – The Ohio State University

In Ohio, between May 9 and 10, temperatures were as low as 26°F with some areas even receiving snow. The effect on corn and soybean depends on both temperature, duration of low temperature, and growth stage of the plant. The soil can provide some temperature buffering capacity, especially if soil is wet. Water is approximately 4x more resistant to temperature changes than air or dry soil, and thus will buffer the soil from experiencing large temperature changes as air temperatures drop. Deeper planted seeds may also be more resistant to large temperature swings.

Imbibitional chilling. Imbibitional chilling may occur in corn and soybean seeds if the soil temperature is below 50°F when the seed imbibes (rapidly takes up water from the soil, usually 24 hours after planting). Imbibitional chilling can cause reductions in stand and seedling vigor. If seeds were planted into soil at least 50°F (and have imbibed), the drop in temperature is not likely a problem if the plants have not yet emerged from the soil.

Corn after germination. The growing point of corn is below the soil surface until the V6 growth stage, and therefore is protected from low temperatures to some extent. However, if the soil temperature falls below 28°F, this can be lethal to corn. Temperatures between 28 to 32°F may result in frost damage, and both the temperature and duration will affect the severity of damage. Between May 9 and May 10, the minimum soil temperature at a 2-inch depth was 38°F at the Northwest Agricultural Research Station in Wood County, 44°F at the Ohio Agricultural Research and Development Center in Wayne County, and 58°F at the Western Agricultural Research Station in Clark County.

Soybean after germination. The growing point of soybean is above the ground when the cotyledons are above the soil surface. If damage occurs above the cotyledons, the plant will likely recover. If damage occurs below the cotyledons, the plant will die. Look for a discolored hypocotyl (the “crook” of the soybean that first emerges from the ground), which indicates that damage occurred below the cotyledons.

Assessing your fields. It is best to assess damage to plants or seeds 48 to 96 hours after the drop in temperatures, as symptoms may take a few days to appear. Additionally, cold temperatures slow GDD accumulation and may further delay crop emergence. For corn, recent work suggests 50% emergence can be expected following accumulation of 130-170 soil GDDs (using soil temperature to calculate GDD rather than air temperatures) from planting, which may take 5-7 days to accumulate under normal weather conditions.

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

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

Starting Tuesday, May 26, 2020, producers can contact their local FSA office and begin to sign up for CFAP.  This bulletin serves as the authors’ interpretations of the Final Rule released by USDA, and FSA interpretation may be different.

OSU Extension and Ohio FSA will conduct a webinar in the upcoming days to outline program materials and answer questions. For information about the webinar and additional information on CFAP, please visit farmoffice.osu.edu.

Processing Increase and Beef Values

– Josh Maples, Assistant Professor & Extension Economist, Department of Agricultural Economics, Mississippi State University

The month-long rally in the Choice Boxed Beef Cutout Value (BBCV) peaked at $475.39 per cwt on May 12 last week according to the USDA National Daily Boxed Beef Cutout Report. By Friday, the BBCV was $434.32. This report includes daily negotiated prices and volume of boxed beef cuts delivered within 0-21 days using average industry cutting yields.

Continue reading Processing Increase and Beef Values →

Control of Multiflora Rose in Pastures

– Dean Kreager, Licking County Agriculture and Natural Resources Educator (originally published in Farm and Dairy)

There is one pasture project that never seems to go away. That is controlling the multiflora rose. The plant was first introduced into the United States in 1866 to be used as a rootstock for grafting roses. About 70 years later the U.S. Soil Conservation Service promoted the use of multiflora rose as a “living fence” and a means of erosion control. The adaptability of this plant allowed it to get out of control. Over the years this plant has made the list of noxious weeds in many states and is taking over many pastures in this part of the country. The battle to gain control is difficult and maintenance is continual.

Continue reading Control of Multiflora Rose in Pastures →