Author: Sabrina

Ohio Maple Days

Registration is now open for Ohio Maple Days December 8-9th at Ashland University’s Convocation Center.  This 2-day event offers a Friday workshop on value added maple products and an all-day program on Saturday on a wide variety of topics.

There is a maple tasting contest during the value-added workshop.  Are you a small producer who wants to enter the contest?  Go to the Ohio Maple Producers website and download the rules and application for the John Berry Maple contest.  http://ohiomaple.org

Want your hydrometer tested?  Bring it to the Saturday meeting and there will be a station to get it tested.

Last but not least.  The Ohio Maple Producers Association is hosting One Sweet Gathering Friday night Dec. 8th.  This event is all about supporting Ohio Maple.  There will be great food, maple trivia, maple beverages, a raffle and prizes.  To register for the event, go to http://ohiomaple.org

Register for the Value Added Maple Products workshop here.

Register for Ohio Maple Days – A Day for Maple here

There’s Potential for Poisoning During Fall Grazing

– Jordan Penrose, Ohio State University Extension Agriculture and Natural Resources Educator, Gallia County (previously published in Farm & Dairy)

With fall fast approaching, it may be time to assess potential problems that could arise when livestock are grazing, such as trees and grasses. A good practice of walking or driving through your pastures will help you know what is growing in or around them.

Continue reading There’s Potential for Poisoning During Fall Grazing →

Maple Bootcamp and Maple Grading Workshop

Maple Enthusiasts!  We would like to draw your attention to a couple of upcoming programs being offered by our partners at Penn State University.  The two workshops are listed below with links to the registration page for each.

First, we are offering a maple grading workshop on September 6th

https://extension.psu.edu/utilizing-the-science-behind-grading-to-enhance-quality-of-maple-syrup

 

Second, it is Penn State’s turn to host Maple Bootcamp.  The camp will run from September 6th – 8th  and cover all things maple.

https://extension.psu.edu/pa-maple-bootcamp

 

These are being offered as part of a USDA ACER grant between Penn State, Ohio State and Future Generations university.

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

What’s so Critical about Fall Cutting?

Amber Friedrichsen, Associate Editor, Hay and Forage Grower
(Previously published in Hay & Forage Grower: August 29, 2023)

The critical fall period for alfalfa has been said to start about six weeks before the first killing frost, which is roughly around the first week of September for most of the Midwest. This hard stop in harvest schedules is supposed to ensure plants store enough energy in their roots to survive the winter, but with improved alfalfa varieties, variable stand conditions, and warmer weather patterns, how critical can this period really be?

Despite heat indices recently reaching the triple digits in some parts of the Central U.S., temperatures will likely calm down as we flip the calendar from August to September. The sun is also setting noticeably earlier each day, and the combination of milder temperatures and shorter day lengths sends a signal to alfalfa to prepare for fall dormancy.

 

 

 

 

Continue reading What’s so Critical about Fall Cutting? →

Pricing profitably: Direct-to-consumer meat sales have the potential to increase farm revenue

By Brianna Gwirtz, OCJ field reporter
(Previously published online with Ohio’s Country Journal: August 27, 2023)

The input costs to farm have been continually rising for many years. The U.S. Department of Agriculture’s (USDA) February 2023 Farm Sector Income forecast projected total farm production expenses in 2023 at nearly $500 billion, up 4% from the prior year, but up $87 billion, or more than 28%, from 2020. For those raising livestock, looking outside of the typical commodity markets and focusing on direct-to-consumer meat sales may be an opportunity to increase revenue.

 

 

 

Continue reading Pricing profitably: Direct-to-consumer meat sales have the potential to increase farm revenue →

OSU Extension Bi-Weekly Fruit & Vegetable Report – August 17th, 2023

he OSU Extension Fruit & Vegetable Report is written/published collectively by OSU Extension staff across the state.

Tillage Options for Annual Vegetables

Different kinds of tillage equipment vary widely in their level of soil disturbance. Some tools work the ground to a fine tilth for planting, while others cause minimal disturbance or target only the area where the crop will be planted. Certain vegetable crops succeed better with certain tillage types than others. The following will provide a brief rundown on several common tillage systems and their respective benefits and drawbacks.

Conventional tillage consists of a primary tillage event to turn over the soil and provide a basis for further secondary tillage that is used to further chop and bury vegetation/residues and prepare the seed bed. A moldboard plow is one of the most common types of primary tillage, inverting the topsoil and fully burying surface vegetation. A chisel plow can also be used for primary (as well as secondary) tillage and involves fracturing the subsoil using shanks tipped with chisel points in a way that does not turn over the topsoil. Secondary tillage implements include a disc harrow, which uses steel discs to slice up soil clumps, weeds, and residue. Newer high-speed discs perform better at faster operating speeds compared to traditional types.

   

Tillage equipment uses a variety of tools to fracture and mix the soil as well as chop and bury residues. Top to bottom – chisel plow, vertical tillage implement, high speed disc, and strip till unit. Photos by Chris Galbraith, OSU Extension. 

Continue reading OSU Extension Bi-Weekly Fruit & Vegetable Report – August 17th, 2023 →

Characteristics of Beginning Farmers in Ohio and Potential Impact of the Ohio Beginning Farmer Tax Credit Program

By: PhD students Xiaoyi Fang and Zhining Sun and Professor Ani Katchova, Farm Income Enhancement Chair, in the Department of Agricultural, Environmental, and Development Economics (AEDE), and Chris Zoller, Associate Professor and Extension Educator, Agriculture & Natural Resources, Ohio State University Extension – Tuscarawas County

Click here to access the PDF version of this article that includes figures

 

Highlights

  • Ohio’s new and beginning farmers are individuals who intend to enter the farming industry or have less than ten years of experience as a farm owner/operator in Ohio.
  • Ohio’s new and beginning farmers compared to established farmers, tend to be younger, operate smaller farms, and less likely to state farming as their primary occupation.
  • The Ohio Beginning Farmer Tax Credit Program supports new and beginning farmers by providing income tax credits to: 1) beginning farmers who attend a financial management program, and 2) landowners that sell or rent farmland to beginning farmers.

Continue reading Characteristics of Beginning Farmers in Ohio and Potential Impact of the Ohio Beginning Farmer Tax Credit Program →

Mineral Supplementation on Pasture

– Ted Wiseman, OSU Extension, Perry County (originally published in Farm & Dairy)

Grazing livestock require minerals to promote growth, milk production and several metabolic functions. How do we know that our mineral program is adequate to meet the needs of our grazing livestock? In previous articles we have stressed the importance of analyzing hay samples for winter feeding. But how many of us have sampled our pastures for nutrient content? We know that magnesium in early spring is important to prevent grass tetany, but what about the rest of the year?

Continue reading Mineral Supplementation on Pasture →