the Farm Science Review is virtual this year.  To access the show follow this link https://fsr.osu.edu/  Farm Science Review staff and OSU Extension Educators have been working diligently to host the virtual farm science review.  I encourage you to check out the page and see the amazing line up of live and pre-recorded talks.

2020 FSR Gwynne Conservation Area Presentation Schedule. We have a full line-up of talks covering tree ID, invasive species, soil health, grazing management, invasive species control, tree ID, pond management, recreational lease hunting, pollinators and other beneficial insects, bats, owls, snakes, paw-paws, ginseng, and more.

There will also be Ask the Expert Sessions with topics ranging from Backyard Poultry Health, Farm Stress, Weather, Farm Neighbor Laws and much more. Here is the complete line up for the three days.

Tuesday through Thursday of the review, there will be one live webinar every day, starting at 10:30 am. Each day will also feature a one-hour Q&A session with natural resources and Extension professionals at 1 pm.

The primary purpose of our haymaking equipment is to dry hay to the optimum moisture for storage, then package densely. This winter, our

shop has been a staging ground for improved hay drying.

The mower conditioner, both rakes and tedder have all been rotating through our shop to be sure they are ready to not only function properly

Uneven roll wear can result in poor conditioning across the length of the rolls. Photo provided by Jason Hartschuh.

but to make sure hay dries as fast as possible. It is amazing how little adjustments in the shop can save a couple of much-needed hours of drying time. Your operator’s manual will have the proper adjustments for your machine. Just as we always start with the mower for winter repairs, let’s start there on best maintenance practices to improve hay drying.

Mower checklist

Improved hay drying starts at the cutter bar. When the crop is cut ragged with lots of long plant material still attached, this material is often ripped loose by the rake and ends up creating wet spots in windrows. The primary winter service to prevent this is to make sure knives are sharp and not dragging on the cutter bar when spinning. This is also a good time to check all gear boxes and, on disc mower conditioners, that cutting modules are not worn to the point of becoming out of time. Changing cutting speed by slowing down can improve the machine’s ability to cut the entire crop and not leave long stems attached. Continue reading →

According to Ted Wiseman, Ohio State University Extension Educator in Perry County, “If you have high ash content in your forages, you’re feeding dirt.” And, the feed conversion on dirt is not good!

During the second session of the 2020 Ohio Beef Cattle Nutrition and Management School that was hosted by the Ohio State University Extension Beef Team, Wiseman discussed the value of analyzing the nutrient content of forages. Included in that presentation was an explanation regarding ash content, what it results from, and why it’s a concern. In this brief excerpt from his presentation, he explains, in part, how 5 pounds of a forage with 18% ash content is equivalent to feeding a pound of dirt to the animal, and offers some thoughts on preventing high ash content in our forages.

Source: https://u.osu.edu/beef/2020/04/15/if-you-have-high-ash-content-in-your-forages-youre-feeding-dirt/

Seeds have been flying off the “shelves” of online stores.

Got seeds?

Seed sellers across North America have been overwhelmed by skyrocketing demand in recent weeks as home gardeners are preparing to grow their own vegetables in the face of the COVID-19 pandemic.

Starting around March 16, online seed stores saw a huge spike in orders for vegetable seeds, as fears emerged that the pandemic could threaten food security.

The increase in demand was so dramatic for Wayne Gale and his Canada-based business, Stokes Seeds, that they temporarily closed down their online store for home gardeners, in order to ensure they could fill all of their orders for commercial growers. Gale’s business received around 1,000 orders from home gardeners during the weekend before March 16, a period of time it would usually receive around 350 such orders. “And this is not our peak season. Usually our peak season is the second week of February,” Gale says.

Sellers say that many of their new customers are likely new to the world of gardening, and are cooped up in their homes with a lot of time on their hands. While seed growers think any time is a good time to start growing your own food, they say concerns over the food supply are probably driving a lot of the current interest. Continue reading →