Kill Poison Hemlock Now!

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

While hemlock may still be vegetative today, it will soon look like this.

Poison hemlock has already emerged in a vegetative state around Noble County and beyond. Soon it will be bolting and blooming on stalks 6-10 feet tall. All parts of the plant are toxic to all classes of livestock if consumed and is prevalent along roadsides, ditches, and crop field borders.

It is a biennial weed that does not flower in the first year of growth but flowers in the second year. The earlier you can address poison hemlock with mowing and/or herbicide application, the better your control methods will be.

 

 

 

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Turning Over New leaves: Celebrate Food Waste Prevention Week with Composting!

April 2, 2024 by ryankline375

It can be challenging to understand the impact our food waste and diet have on our environment. From preserving our foods to planning out our meals there are many steps we can take to reduce our food waste. In honor of Food Waste Prevention Week, April 1- 7, lets dig in to yet another form of food waste reduction: composting! Though composting has often been viewed as difficult or as an advanced way to stop food waste from entering the landfill, Extension offers some beginner friendly tips!

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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

Expect to See More Ticks Statewide this Season

Farm and Dairy (Previously Published online with Farm and Dairy: May 1, 2023)

Backyard lovers, campers, outdoors enthusiasts, and pet owners beware. If you thought last year’s tick season was bad, just wait. This year has the potential to be even worse.

Ticks — and the diseases they carry — are on the rise in Ohio and will likely continue to increase. There has been a steady increase in tick-vectored disease numbers in Ohio each year, and officials don’t expect to see a reverse of the trend, said Tim McDermott, an educator with Ohio State University Extension, the outreach arm of The Ohio State University College of Food, Agricultural, and Environmental Sciences (CFAES).

“While you can encounter a tick during any season, spring marks the beginning of heavy tick season, and this year, the tick population statewide is expected to continue to rise,” he said.

McDermott said there are multiple factors contributing to the increase in tick-vectored disease, including global climate change, tick range expansion, and increasing numbers of wildlife living in close proximity to people.

 

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Asian Longhorned Tick found in Morgan County

– Chris Penrose, Professor & Extension Educator, Agriculture & Natural Resources, OSU Extension, Morgan County

I became disheartened a few weeks ago after I sent a bunch of ticks to a lab on campus to get identified and they confirmed what I feared: that we have the Asian Longhorned tick here in Morgan County. If I am correct, that makes five types of tick we likely have present in the county and many parts of Ohio. Ticks can give us Lyme Disease, Anaplasmosis, Rocky Mountain Spotted Fever, and a disease that makes us allergic to red meat.

The Asian longhorned tick attacks wild and domestic animals and humans. Photo by Anna Pasternak, UK entomology graduate student.

 

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Spot the Spot – Efforts Continue to Look For Spotted Lanternfly (SLF) in Ohio

Published on:
Spotted Lanternfly Adult
Recently, an Ohioan returned from a road trip to Pennsylvania. In addition to all the memories made, this traveler unintentionally brought back a hitch-hiker – a spotted lanternfly (Lycorma delicatula) (SLF). The individual quickly captured and ended the insect’s life before reaching out to his local Extension Educator. The suspect sample was submitted to the Ohio Department of Agriculture (ODA) for confirmation based on the USDA protocol established to confirm non-native pests not currently established, or with limited presence in the case of Asian Longhorned beetle, in the state.
SLF is well-known for its ability to hitch-hike into a new area within an already infested state, or in the case of Ohio, a state that is currently considered uninfested. If you are traveling to, or through, and infested area, you are encouraged to check your vehicle and any items that may have been outdoors during the trip (i.e., tents, camping supplies, recreational equipment). It is important to know that states have quarantines in place to limit the unnatural spread of SLF both within their state and other states and includes both any stage of the actual insect and any item that could move the insect (i.e., plant material, firewood, logs, outdoor furniture).

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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.

 

Spotted Lanternfly Continues to Develop

Author: Amy Stone

Originally posted on the Buckeye Yard and Garden OnLine

Life-Cycle Illustration of SLF

While the spotted lanternfly (Lycorma delicatula) (SLF) has not been detected in Ohio, the Ohio Department of Agriculture (ODA), along with the Ohio State University (OSU) and the Ohio Department of Natural Resources (ODNR) are urging Ohioans to continue to be on the look-out for this invasive insect. Many are using the Great Lakes Early Detection Network (GLEDN) App to report tree-of-heaven (Ailanthus altissima), a favorite food or host for this plant hopper, especially as an adult, and then revisiting the tree looking for signs and symptoms of SLF throughout the year.

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