OSU Extension Offering Hay Test Program

“Make hay while the sun shines”. How many times have you heard that said throughout the years? We’ve had some sunshine this spring/summer, but making first cutting “dry” hay has really been challenging for most farmers this year. Getting two or more days in a row without rain has been rare in the spring of 2025.

In response to these challenges OSU Extension is offering a forage testing program with the goal of providing timely education for winter supplementation and if enough samples are submitted, creating a county hay quality summary.

Dry hay or baleage samples are due to your local OSU Extension office by July 31, 2025. The first sample analysis will cost $15, with subsequent samples costing $20. Near Infrared (NIR) Analysis will be completed. Producers will get values for Dry Matter Content, Total Digestible Nutrients, Crude Protein, ADF, NDF, Ash, Fat, C, P, K. Contact you local office for further information and availability of a forage sampling probe.  Contact me (Dean) at 740-670-5315 to arrange use of the testing probe or to set a time for me to come take samples for you. Continue reading OSU Extension Offering Hay Test Program →

County rainfall status

Moisture levels have rebounded from last year.  Overall we are are about 6 inches above normal for this growing season. large amounts of rain so far during this growing season while others are running near average.

State Operating Budget makes changes to ag licenses, permits, and fees

By:Ellen Essman, Senior Research Associate Wednesday, July 09th, 2025

After months of deliberation, the General Assembly delivered H.B. 96, the two-year state operating budget, to Governor Mike DeWine.  Governor DeWine signed the bill into law on June 30, vetoing several provisions. DeWine issued a number of line-item vetoes, and the General Assembly plans to hold a session on July 21 to override the vetoes related to property tax provisions in the bill. There is also a chance that the General Assembly may override additional vetoes unrelated to property tax in the fall. While we will certainly keep an eye on these possible veto overrides, the provisions of the budget bill affecting agriculture remain mostly intact. Over the next few weeks, we will be sharing a series of blog posts about the newly passed state operating budget and its implications for agriculture in Ohio. Today’s focus will be on several licensing, permit, and fee changes affecting the ag and food sectors.

Various fee increases and changes Continue reading State Operating Budget makes changes to ag licenses, permits, and fees →

Selling home-produced foods that use fresh fruit: know the laws

By:Peggy Kirk Hall, Attorney and Director, Agricultural & Resource Law Program Tuesday, July 01st, 2025
A raspberry and blackberry pie with a lattice pie crust sitting on a cutting board.

Fresh fruits are coming into season all across Ohio, offering those who sell home-produced foods opportunities for new seasonal products.  But it’s important to know how Ohio law regulates fruit-based foods, which can include a wide range of products such as jams, pies, and cheesecakes.  Some of these food products are safe to make at home and sell to consumers with just minimal regulatory requirements, but producers might be surprised to learn that some fruit-based product ideas might require a different license or simply cannot be legally produced in a home-based kitchen.  Here’s a rundown on different laws that apply to fruit-based home-produced foods. Continue reading Selling home-produced foods that use fresh fruit: know the laws →

Southeastern Ohio Hay Day – July 18

Southeastern Ohio Hay Day is returning for 2025 at the Eastern Agricultural Research Station (Click link for map to 16870 Bond Ridge Rd. Caldwell, OH) on Friday, July 18.

This field day will offer demonstrations of hay harvesting equipment, tradeshow exhibits, educational presentations, light breakfast, lunch, and door prizes.

Admission is free and open to the public. Registration will open at 9 a.m. with featured content beginning at 10 a.m. The event will conclude by 4 p.m. To RSVP visit https://go.osu.edu/haydayrsvp and complete the online registration survey. You can also call 740-732-5681 or email gelley.2@osu.edu to RSVP.
RSVPs are appreciated by July 15, especially if dietary or accessibility accommodations are needed, but walk-in attendance will also be welcomed.

Generous sponsorship of this event has been contributed thus far by the following entities:

  • The Ohio State University Extension Noble, Athens, Belmont, Gallia, Guernsey, Monroe, Morgan, Muskingum, Perry, & Washington Counties

  • The Ohio State University Eastern Agricultural Research Station

  • D & J Sales and Service of Cadiz, OH

  • Baker & Sons Equipment Company of Lewisville, OH

  • Ag Pro of Zanesville, OH

  • Lashley Tractor Sales of Quaker City, OH

  • Foltz Ag Enterprises of Lancaster, OH

  • Ohio Forage and Grasslands Council

  • Ohio Sheep Improvement Association

  • Noble County Soil and Water Conservation District

Entities interested in sponsoring Southeastern Ohio Hay Day can reach out to Christine Gelley at gelley.2@osu.edu to receive a sponsorship packet with additional details.

002025 Reconciliation Farm Bill – Summary Overview

Friday, July 11th, 2025

Guest author: Carl Zulauf, Emeritus Professor, Department of Agricultural, Environmental, and Development Economics, Ohio State University

Note:  The 2025 Reconcilation Bill (known “One Big Beautiful Bill Act”) was signed into law by President Donald Trump on July 4, 2025. We thank our guest author and Farm Bill expert, Dr. Carl Zulauf, for his analysis of the key farm bill provisions of this legislation.

SUPPLEMENTAL NUTRITION ASSISTANCE PROGRAM (SNAP)

Specifies household size adjustment factors relative to 4-person size used for Thrifty Food Plan.

Requires that updates of the Thrifty Food Plan be cost neutral.

Cost of the Thrifty Food Plan is indexed for CPI inflation.

Work requirements are increased, including that able-bodied individuals work through age 64.  Curtails Secretary of Agriculture’s discretion to issue work requirement waivers.

Limits placed on some expenses and government payments used in determining SNAP eligibility.

If a state’s SNAP error rate exceeds 6%, requires a state matching share of 5% to 15% depending on the error rate.  (Assessment: reduces Federal spending without reducing benefits.)

Reduces Federal share of administering SNAP from 50% to 25% starting FY (Fiscal Year) 2027.

Eliminates National Education and Obesity Prevention Grant Program ($550 million / year).

Reduces access to SNAP by non-US citizens by specifying groups that have access.

COMMODITY SUPPORT PROGRAMS Continue reading 002025 Reconciliation Farm Bill – Summary Overview →

Octagon Earthworks Visit

The Professional Agrarians is a Licking County organization with strong interests in agriculture and community. We would like to invite you to our July meeting. We are hosting a very special diner meeting on July 1, 2025. The Ohio History Connection has opened the Octagon Earthworks to the public. This historic site is at the previous location of the Moundbuilders Golf Course at 125 N. 33rd St. Newark, OH 43055.

The evening will begin with a guided walking tour of the grounds at 5:30 p.m. Dinner will be at 6:30 p.m. After dinner Jeff Gill, who was instrumental in bringing this project to fruition, will talk to our group about the earthworks. This World Heritage site will have a long-lasting impact on our community.

“What makes the Octagon Earthworks unique is that its earthen mounds and embankments functioned as an ancient astronomical observatory. In 1982, researchers from Earlham College in Richmond, Indiana realized that the earthworks formed an ancient lunar observatory designed to track the motions of the moon. When the moon is at the northernmost point of the 18.6-year cycle of its lunar orbit, it rises within one-half of a degree of the octagon’s exact center, when seen from the observatory mound. In comparison to the possible observatory functions of the Stonehenge complex, the Newark earthworks may be twice as precise.” (from Cultural Property News)

The meeting will be professionally catered and will require an RSVP. We need to know how many meals need to be prepared ahead of time. The RSVP deadline is Tuesday, June 17, 2025. To cover cost, the fee for guests for this meeting will be $20. Please RSVP to the OSU Licking County Extension Office at 740-670-5315.

Cover Crop Cost Share

2025 Muskingum Watershed Conservancy District Cover Crop Program is offering $12.00/acre with a cap of 175 approved acres per applicant across eligible counties in the jurisdictional boundary of the MWCD District unless fields are located within one of the specified MWCD Lake watersheds.  Application deadline is July 9, 2025.

For application click here. 2025 Cover Crop Application

New Ohio State tick testing service tracks diseases, aids faster diagnoses

COLUMBUS, Ohio — Ticks are creeping into more corners of Ohio every year — and with them, the threat of serious illnesses.

Now, a new service from The Ohio State University is helping protect people and pets by identifying ticks and the diseases they carry.

Ohio State has launched the Buckeye Tick Test, a new pathogen testing service that offers comprehensive identification and disease screening for ticks found on humans and animals.

The Buckeye Tick Test, Ohio’s first service allowing residents to mail in ticks for analysis, is an interdisciplinary project led by Ohio State’s Infectious Diseases Institute (IDI) and Ohio State’s College of Veterinary Medicine (CVM). The lab is directed by Risa Pesapane, an associate professor with joint appointments at Ohio State’s College of Food, Agricultural, and Environmental Sciences (CFAES) and CVM.

The test identifies tick species and screens for multiple pathogens, including those causing Lyme disease, anaplasmosis, and Rocky Mountain spotted fever. Continue reading New Ohio State tick testing service tracks diseases, aids faster diagnoses →