Author: Sabrina

ASIAN LONGHORNED TICK CONFIRMED IN GALLIA COUNTY

Livestock Owners Encouraged to Examine Livestock Regularly and Report Suspected Findings  

REYNOLDSBURG, OH (July 31, 2020) –Ohio Department of Agriculture (ODA) today announced the United States Department of Agriculture’s National Veterinary Services Laboratory in Ames, Iowa, has confirmed that an exotic tick, known as the Asian longhorned tick, has been found in Gallia County.

The tick was found on a stray dog originating from Gallia County, which was later transported to a shelter in Canal Winchester. The tick was identified on May 28 by The Ohio State University and sent to the federal lab for confirmation.

“Due to the nature of this pest, the female ticks can reproduce without a male, so it only takes one tick to create an established population in a new location,” said ODA State Veterinarian Dr. Tony Forshey. “This pest is especially fatal to livestock, so producers should practice preventative measures and be on the lookout for this new threat.”

The Asian longhorned tick is an exotic East Asian tick that is known as a serious pest to livestock. U.S. Department of Agriculture first confirmed the presence of this tick in the U.S. in New Jersey in 2017.

Asian longhorned ticks are light brown in color and are very small, often smaller than a sesame seed. They are difficult to detect due to their size and quick movement. They are known to carry pathogens, which can cause disease in humans and livestock, and may also cause distress to the host from their feeding in large numbers.

In the United States, the tick has been found in or near counties with large horse, cattle, and sheep populations. To protect against infestations, farmers should check their livestock for ticks regularly. If producers spot unusual looking ticks or large infestations, report this to your local veterinarian or ODA’s Division of Animal Health at 614-728-6220.

Preventative measures such as keeping grass and weeds trimmed, in addition to clearing away brush on feedlots and pastures, can also help.

ODA state veterinary officials will continue to work with the U.S. Department of Agriculture and other federal and industry partners to determine the extent and significance of this finding.

Livestock producers and owners should notify ODA’s Division of Animal Health immediately at 614-728-6220 if they notice unusual ticks that have not been seen before or that occur in large numbers on an animal.

 

Start Checking Your Livestock for the Asian Longhorned Tick

Erika Lyon, OSU Extension Educator ANR, Jefferson and Harrison Counties (Previously published online with Farm and Dairy: January 24, 2019)

(Image Source: Farm and Dairy)

You may have heard about a new(ish) tick to the U.S. The Centers for Disease Control recently published a news release on the spread of the Asian longhorned tick (Haemaphysalis longicornis), which is now found in eight states: Connecticut, New Jersey, Virginia, West Virginia, Maryland, North Carolina, New York, Pennsylvania, and Arkansas, and it is right next door to Ohio.

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Stockpiling Forages for Winter Feed

During her July Farm Talk Breakfast, Noble County AgNR Educator Christine Gelley hosted Chris Penrose, AgNR Educator in Morgan County speaking on extending the grazing season through stockpiling. Now is the time to get started stockpiling, and this is Penrose’s presentation describing how to best manage for successful stockpiling.

Risky Weeds in Risky Times

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

 

Farming is truly risky business. Every moment of every day on the farm holds inherent risk. The main duties of the farm manager in any sector are to identify, evaluate, and mitigate risk. All the little steps of risk mitigation add up to make a big difference that we can’t always see, but can still save us time, money, and distress in the future.

One of the risks forage managers face on a regular basis is the threat of persistent weeds. Weeds are an issue that compound over time if not addressed soon after detection. Choosing to make the investment in weed prevention and control early can help prevent exponential population growth that is increasingly difficult to manage.

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Cucurbit Downy Mildew is Spreading in Ohio Despite Hot Weather

Micrograph of a tape mount of spores and sporangiophores of the cucurbit downy mildew pathogen from cucumber leaves. Photo by Francesca Rotondo.

Downy mildew continues to spread in Ohio cucumbers despite the hot and mostly dry weather.  Frank Becker, OSU Extension Wayne County IPM Program Coordinator, brought cucumber leaves with downy mildew symptoms to to our Vegetable Pathology Lab on July 23 for confirmation.

We do this by placing a piece of scotch tape on the underside of a leaf lesion then transferring to tape to a glass slide and looking for characteristic spores and sporangiophores (branched, threadlike structures that produce the spores) under a microscope. The samples came from commercial cucumber fields in Wooster and Apple Creek in Wayne County, and both were positive for downy mildew.

Although we have confirmed reports in only Medina and Wayne counties, cucurbit downy mildew is likely present in most northern Ohio counties.  The map of downy mildew reports shows confirmed cases in Ontario, Michigan and western New York as well. All of these reports are from cucumbers; this clade, or strain of the pathogen affects cucumbers and cantaloupe, but not squash or pumpkins. We don’t expect downy mildew on squash and pumpkins until the other known clade, which has a broader host range, migrates to the Midwest from the Southeast.

Cucurbit downy mildew as of July 24, 2020. cdm.ipmpipe.org.

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

Fungicide recommendations are posted here.  If you suspect downy mildew in any cucurbit, please send us a sample.  This will help us track the disease and provide early warnings to growers to enable timely protection of cucurbit crops. Our diagnostic service is free to commercial growers in Ohio; gardeners may also send cucurbit downy mildew samples to us free of charge.  Instructions for sample submission are posted here.

Downy mildew in cucumber.

 

 

Pasture- Finished Beef Production Online Workshops

Three concurrent sessions, 7:00 pm – 9:00 pm Eastern Time each day:

August 11:

Pasture-finished Beef Production Overview              Greg Halich, University of Kentucky

Forages and Grazing Management                             John Fike, Virginia Tech

 

August 12:

Cattle Selection and Winter Management                  Ed Rayburn, West Virginia University

Marketing and Processing                                           Kenny Burdine and Greg Halich, Univ. KY

 

August 13:

Producer Panel

Putting it All Together – Systems Approach             Greg Halich and Ed Rayburn

 No Cost but need to REGISTER at: https://vaforages.org/pasture-finish-beef/

 

Pasture Management in Dry Weather

Dr. David Barker, Professor – Horticulture and Crop Science, The Ohio State University

Dry weather in recent weeks throughout Ohio has raised several questions about how pastures should be managed during drought. Although the experts don’t all agree if this period of dry weather meets the definition of a drought (yet), there is no doubt that pasture growth will slow to zero. How should we be grazing our pastures in mid-summer?

Avoid over-grazing
Unfortunately, without rain or irrigation pastures will not grow, and close grazing will exaggerate this effect. Leaf removal by grazing (or mowing) results in a roughly similar proportion of root death. During moist conditions, roots can recover quite quickly, however, grazing during drought will reduce water uptake due to root loss. As a general rule of thumb, grazing below 2 or 3 inches will accelerate drought effects on pastures, and also, slow recovery once rain does come. Of course, optimum grazing height and management varies with pasture species. As summer progresses into fall we will increase pasture grazing heights and leave more residual, while increasing resting periods. More leaf means less water runoff.

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