Fertilizer Training

OHIO DEPARTMENT OF AGRICULTURE PARTNERS WITH OSU EXTENSION TO PROVIDE ONLINE PESTICIDE RECERTIFICATION OPPORTUNITIES

The temporary online trainings during the COVID-19 Pandemic allow applicators and fertilizer certificate holders to meet their continuing education requirements.

REYNOLDSBURG, Ohio (June 29, 2020) – During the COVID-19 Pandemic, the Ohio Department of Agriculture (ODA), is partnering with the Ohio State University Extension Pesticide Safety Education Program (PSEP) to temporarily provide online recertification for pesticide applicators and fertilizer certificate holders whose licenses expired in spring of 2020. The online recertification will be available Monday, July 6. For commercial applicators, it will be available August 10. For more information or to register for the online recertification, visit pested.osu.edu/onlinerecert.

The online option allows private applicators and fertilizer certificate holders due for training by March 31, 2020 and commercial applicators due for training by September 30, 2020 to meet their continuing education requirements. The cost for online training is $35 for private applicators and $10 for fertilizer certification. The price per credit hour for commercial applicators is $15. If you don’t know your license number, please call ODA at 614-728-6987, choose option 1.

Applicators are still required to meet their recertification requirements to renew licenses and certifications. As a result of HB 197, applicators have until 90 days after the emergency is over or December 1, whichever comes first, to complete their requirements. Recertification status can be checked online at https://agri.ohio.gov/wps/portal/gov/oda/divisions/plant-health/pesticides/recert-search. Applicators must also submit a completed renewal application and pay an additional fee to the ODA for licensure.

For additional information regarding online recertification, please contact the Ohio Department of Agriculture at 614-728-6987, and press 1 for licensing recertification or the OSU Pesticide Safety Education Program at 614-292-4070.

Commercial applicators must earn at least five recertification credit hours every three years, and private applicators must earn at least three recertification credit hours every three years. One hour (60 minutes) must be earned by taking one or more core education classes, one half-hour (30 minutes) of education in each category on the license, and the remaining time requirement can be met by attending classes in any category.

Fertilizer License and Poultry Litter

Source: Glen Arnold, Field Specialist, OSU Extension (edited)

 

This winter there have been a few questions  about fertilizer license and spreading poultry manure.  According to Senate Bill 1 (SB 1), passed a few years ago, any farmer handling, receiving, or applying poultry litter (or any other manure) from a PERMITTED farm in Ohio must have either a fertilizer license or a Certified Livestock Manager certificate or be a Certified Crop Advisor.  If you have nay questions, call the Knox County Extension Office at 740-397-0401.

Conservation Tillage Conference: March 5-6 in Ada

A world-renowned scientist will be the keynote speaker on the first day of this year’s Conservation Tillage Conference (CTC) in Ada.  Christine Jones, an Australian Soil Ecologist, will be giving the keynote of the annual event with the topic “Building New Topsoil Through the Liquid Carbon Pathway for Long Term Production and Profit.”  The annual conference is scheduled for March 5thand 6th at Ohio Northern University.  The McIntosh Center and Chapel on campus will once again be the location where about 60 presenters, several agribusiness exhibitors, and approximately 900 participants will come together to learn about the latest topics in crop production.

Farmers will be able to choose from four concurrent rooms that will host a variety of speakers from several land grant universities as well as agricultural agency and industry personnel.  Tuesday, March 5th there will be Corn University; Nutrient Management; Precision Agriculture and Digital Technologies; Cover Crops, No-Till, and Soil-Health speakers in each of these rooms.  Wednesday, March 6ththere will be Cover Crops: Issues and Benefits; New Tri-State Fertilizer Recommendations; Soybean School; Water Quality Research and Best Management Practices; Soil Balancing – Is it Important to Manage the Calcium: Magnesium Ratio in Soils?; and Identity Preserved Crops.

The conference fee is $85 for both days ($65 for one day) if paid online by February 21; registration afterwards and day of the event is $80 for one day or $105 for both days.  Registration includes lunch and break refreshments during the day.  Registration information and a detailed program schedule may be found at http://ctc.osu.edu. The detailed program also includes information on continuing education categories for each presentation.  Certified Crop Advisers (CCA) will be able to receive seven hours of continuing education credits each day.  Hours will be offered in all categories, including hard to get categories of Soil and Water Management and Nutrient Management.

Save the Date

Save the Date!

The following meetings are scheduled for 2019

January 16 – Precision Ag Symposium – All Occasions Catering – Waldo

Featuring the most up-to-date information on Precision Ag Technologies

January 29 – Pesticide and Fertilizer Re-certification – 5:30 p.m.

1025 Harcourt Rd. Mt. Vernon

March 27 – Pesticide and Fertilizer Re-certification – 9:00 a.m.

1025 Harcourt Rd. Mt. Vernon

***Continue to check back for more information on these and other Winter Educational Events ***

FARM: Field Application Resource Monitor

One of the missions of the State Climate Office of Ohio (SCOO; https://climate.osu.edu) is to serve as data stewards to connect Ohioans with the weather and climate information necessary to improve lives. In an effort to provide farmers across the state with sufficient weather guidance, specifically to aid in decisions regarding the application of fertilizer and manure, SCOO has developed FARM, the Field Application Resource Monitor (https://farm.bpcrc.osu.edu/).

FARM is a web-based, mobile friendly tool that provides:

  • Real-time high resolution precipitation forecasts to field(s) of interest (up to five locations),
  • Historical precipitation forecasts (back to July 2017),
  • Daily email notifications if desired (text alerts coming soon).

Originally designed in response to Senate Bill 1 regulations for the Western Lake Erie Basin, FARM can help any farmer throughout Ohio follow best management practices with regard to their precipitation forecast needs.

Precipitation forecasts in FARM are provided via the National Oceanic and Atmospheric Administration’s Weather Prediction Center (WPC). We utilize the probabilistic forecasts which are based on a combination of WPC’s 6-hour quantitative precipitation forecasts and an ensemble of model forecasts. This data is available on a 1.5 mile x 1.5 mile grid, meaning FARM provides precipitation guidance on a local scale.

Again, FARM can be found by visiting /farm.bpcrc.osu.edu/. For more information on creating user profiles, returning, and other features of FARM, please check out http://u.osu.edu/farmprecip for a full tutorial. We have also provided a feedback button on the initial screen and request feedback, suggestions, and improvements as we continue to improve our product.

This program provides weather data only and does not take into account current field conditions.  Below is a snapshot of the weather information for our office at 160 Columbus Rd.

Click Here To Read More

 

Farm Science Review Agronomy College is September 11th

by: Harold Watters, OSU Extension

The FSR Agronomy College is held in partnership between the Ohio AgriBusiness Association & OSU Extension. The event is designed to educate agronomists, Certified Crop Advisers, custom applicators and farmers on current agronomy issues. The full-day event features time with OSU Extension staff in the field in the agronomy plots on the east side of the Farm Science Review grounds. Breakout sessions will feature topics including a weed management update, weed and crop screen, variable rate soybean seeding, an update to the Tri-State Fertilizer Recommendations, the new Ohio Phosphorus Index, and some how we will squeeze in even more. CCA and pesticide application credits available to those attending.

Date: September 11, 2018

Location: Farm Science Review – Molly Caren Agricultural Center, London, OH

Time: Check-in begins at 8:30 a.m.; sessions begin at 9 a.m. and concludes at 4:00 p.m.

Cost: $120 Registration: Click here to register for the event. (or try this link:http://oaba.net/aws/OABA/pt/sd/calendar/67757/_PARENT/layout_details/false)

Contact: Janice Welsheimer at 614-326-7520 or by email: jwelsheimer@oaba.net

Or for additional information, Harold Watters, 937-604-2415 or by email: watters.35@osu.edu

Agricultural nutrients targeted in Clean Lake 2020 bill and Kasich Executive Order

by: Peggy Kirk Hall, Associate Professor, Agricultural & Resource Law

Recent actions by the Ohio legislature and Governor Kasich will affect the management of agricultural nutrients in Ohio.   The Ohio General Assembly has passed “Clean Lake 2020” legislation that will provide funding for reducing phosphorous in Lake Erie.  Governor Kasich signed the Clean Lake 2020 bill on July 10, in tandem with issuing Executive Order 2018—09K, “Taking Steps to Protect Lake Erie.”  The two actions aim to address the impact of agricultural nutrients on water quality in Lake Erie.

Continue reading →

What’s New with Sulfur Fertilizer Use?

edited from: Charles Wortmann – Extension Soil and Nutrient Management Specialist, Bijesh Maharjan – Extension Soil and Nutrient Management Specialist, University of Nebraska-Lincoln.

Approximately 100 trials have been conducted since 2000 to evaluate sulfur (S) use in corn, sorghum, and soybean. The trial results have validated

  • the UNL recommendations of applying S to sandy soils in consideration of soil test results; and
  • the probability of profit gain due to increased yield from S application to medium and fine textured soil is very low.

The S recommendations are addressed in the Nebraska Extension publication, Nutrient Management for Agronomic Crops of Nebraska (EC155).

Deposition of atmospheric sulfur and sulfur application in fertilizers such as single super phosphate is much less than it was three to four decades ago. This implies that S availability needs to be monitored.

  • The probability of response to S has been determined in recent years to be high enough for some parts of Iowa to justify routine application.
  • Soil test results for sulfur availability continue to be of little or no value and response is best monitored with on-farm trials comparing yield with and without sulfur applied.
  • Applying S often does result in greener crops while not increasing grain yield. This can be important to farmer satisfaction and impressing neighbors and land managers.

Sulfur is abundantly available and fertilizer sulfur use can be of modest cost without much environmental concern. Sulfur applied as sulfate does not affect soil pH, but applied as elemental S, it can contribute to soil acidification. Gypsum is often abundantly available and can be a good sulfur source. Flue gas desulfurization gypsum, a by-product of coal-fired electrical power generation, is a potential sulfur source with a liming effect.

Those of you who attended Our 2018 Central Ohio Agronomy School heard very similar results from Dr. Robert Mullen.