Month: May 2019

Extension Fundraisers

4-H Sun Catchers –  $15, visit highland.osu.edu/news/support-highland-county-4-h for more information or stop by Extension Office to purchase.

 

Kroger Community Rewards – Updates-              

Kroger has recently updated their system and Highland County 4-H Committee has a new Non-Profit account number QJ706.  This number when added to your personal Kroger Plus card will help 4-H receive money back on purchases without affecting your personal Kroger rewards.  In just three months, Highland County 4-H Committee earned more than $145.  Let’s continue to help support our youth and volunteers.  Sign up at krogercommunityrewards.com

 

Community Markets Community Cash – Save your Community Markets Receipts and drop them off at the Extension Office.

 

4-H Yard Signs – Purchase a Yard Sign for $5.50 at the OSU Extension Office.

 

Amazon Smile – Amazon donates 0.5% of the price of your eligible AmazonSmile purchases to the charitable organization of your choice.  AmazonSmile is the same Amazon you know. Same products same prices, same service.  Support your charitable organization by starting your shopping at https://smile.amazon.com/

Camping season is here!

For all the latest information about camps check out Highland County’s website. 4-H and non-4-H youth are welcome to attend. Camp registrations are fast approaching. 

Beginner Camp                               June 10 -13      (Reg. due May 30th)
Teen Camp                                       June 14 – 17    (Reg. due May 30th)
Jr. High Camp                                 June 18 – 21    (Reg. due May 30th)
Cloverbud Overnight Camp          June 21 – 22  (Reg. due June 10th)
Cloverbud Day Camp                     June 26
Junior Shooting Sports Camp      June 28 – 30  (Reg. due May 25th)
State Special Needs Camp             July 5 – 7
Senior Shooting Sports Camp      July 14 -19      (Reg. due June 10th)

Registration can be found at https://highland.osu.edu/program-areas/4-h-youth-development/camp

Cutting Height in Forages: How Low Can You Go?

Dwane Miller, Penn State Extension Educator, Agronomy

Previously posted in the Ohio BEEF Cattle letter.

Whether you’re taking the crop as haylage or dry hay, it’s important to pay attention to forage cutting height. One of our goals as farmers is to maximize our yield; however, cutting a crop too low can lead to several negative issues. The introduction of the disk-type mowers (discbines) allows for cutting very close to the ground. I’ve seen many fields that have been “scalped” right to ground level. This differs considerably from the older sickle bar mowers (haybines), whose technology required that some level of stubble height remain. Stand longevity can be compromised when the crop is cut too low. As a general rule, alfalfa can be cut closer to the ground than our grass crops. We need to think about where energy reserves are stored in the crop. For alfalfa, carbohydrates are stored below the ground in the taproot. Grasses store their energy above ground in the stem base or tillers. Frequent mowing at a close height will continue to deplete these energy reserves, resulting in stand longevity issues.

The second consequence for mowing too close to the ground is increased ash content of the forage. All forage has a natural ash content of approximately 6%. However, mowing too closely with disk mowers can add soil to the crop, and increase the ash content by as much as 10-12% (18% ash content in total analysis). If we all had table-top smooth fields, it would also be much easier to make a closer cut across all fields. However, things such as groundhog holes and the unevenness of fields can add to increased ash content of our harvested forage.

So, the million-dollar question is how low can you go? The best answer is…it depends! The first question I always ask is — is it a solid stand or a mixed stand? If you have grasses involved, you must keep cutting height higher than a pure stand of legume, if you want to keep the grass in the stand. Keep in mind these are minimum recommendations; it’s OK to mow higher than the numbers below.

Here are my Minimum cutting height recommendations:

Alfalfa or Clover

  • 2” minimum. Some literature shows a cutting height of 1” will not reduce stand longevity but remember the increased ash content issue. Also, keep in mind that frequent cutting at early maturity will continue to deplete carbohydrate reserves. One cutting of alfalfa should be allowed to reach the bloom stage each year.

Cool Season Grasses (Orchardgrass, Timothy)

  • 4” during the establishment year
  • 3” minimum during production years. This is where we see most of our stand longevity issues. Frequent cutting of cool season grasses at a low height will continue to deplete energy reserves.

Mixed stands

  • You must manage for the predominant species. Do you have a grass stand with some alfalfa, or an alfalfa stand with some grass?
  • Alfalfa with some grass: 2.5” minimum
  • Grass with some alfalfa: 3” minimum (if you want to keep the grass stand!)

Project Judging

Summer 4-H Judging

Tuesday, July 9, 2019 starting at 9:00 a.m. at Hillsboro High School. Judging schedules will be released soon at: highland.osu.edu/program-areas/4-h-youth development/judging-schedules

State Fair Qualifying Special Interest Judging

For those 4-H members whose projects will be judged at pre-fair judging and would like to compete at State Fair, state fair qualifying judging will be held Wednesday, July 10, 2019 at the Extension Office from 9 a.m. to 12:00 p.m. Call 937-393-1918 to schedule.

Summer 4-H Awards and Style Review

Thursday, July 11, 2019 at 6:30 p.m. will be the Summer Judging Awards & Style Review at Southern State Community College in the Patriot Center.

ASPIRE

ASPIRE 2019 Information

New (May 16th, 2019):  We are excited to announce that the ASPIRE program will host two, five day sessions in the summer of 2019! Session 1 will be June 3rd-7th, and Session 2 will be June 10th-14th, from 9 am to 5 pm each day in the Physics Research Building at Ohio State. The program only takes place during the day and overnight accommodations are not expected or included. Applications can be submitted here. Applications for both sessions are now due May 28nd. (This is an extension of the previous deadline, which was May 22nd).

 

About ASPIRE

The ASPIRE workshop is for high school women who are entering the 10th, 11th or 12th grades. Participants will get their hands on physics equipment and software used by physicists and learn about physics research. In last year’s ASPIRE workshop, participants worked on three separate radio-themed projects where they searched for a hidden transmitter using antennas and oscilloscopes, analyzed real data from the ANITA neutrino experiment in Mathematica, and programmed an Arduino to produce their own mini-radio station.

Physicists from all levels—undergraduate, graduate, post-doctoral, and professor—come together to share their knowledge, expertise, and enthusiasm with workshop attendees. Together, we foster the next generation of women scientists by giving them exposure to real research environments, challenges, and rewards.

It is not expected that participants have any physics or mathematics background and thus there are no previous course requirements for the workshop. However, we have noticed that students have a more constructive experience if they have taken trigonometry and possibly some exposure to physics in the classroom.

There is a $50 fee for participation in the workshop. Please note: we are able to offer a full scholarship to all students to cover the $50 participation fee. Please simply select in the application if you wish to receive this scholarship.

ASPIRE is made possible by generous support of the National Science Foundation through NSF CAREER Award 1255557, the Center for Cosmology and Astroparticle Physics (CCAPP), and the Department of Physics at The Ohio State University.

 

For more information please visit http://u.osu.edu/aspire and https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=WT_UoSIrgqg

Leadership Highland Graduation

Brooke Beam, PhD

Ohio State University Extension, Highland County

Agriculture and Natural Resources/Community Development Extension Educator

May 21, 2019

The 2018-2019 class of Leadership Highland will be graduating on May 29, 2019, at 5:30 p.m. in the Large Meeting Room in the basement of the Highland County Administration Building. The public is welcome to attend, but RSVPs are encouraged to beam.49@osu.edu.

The current class of the Leadership Highland program began in August of 2018 with a retreat at Rocky Fork State Park. Since August, the class has met monthly for a series of hands-on workshops and tours of local and regional businesses. Earlier in May, the participants completed their class project by collecting donations for the Bright Local Schools D.A.R.E. program graduation celebration. Sponsors of the class project included Weastec, Inc., Merchants National Bank, First State Bank, Southern State Community College, Walmart Subway, Edward Jones (Mat Greene), Ohio Corn and Wheat Growers Association, and Ohio State University Extension.

The graduation program will include a brief presentation by the participants and light refreshments. To RSVP or for more information about the next class of Leadership Highland, contact the Ohio State University Extension Office in Highland County at 937-393-1918 or via email at beam.49@osu.edu.

 

Upcoming Programs:

A Video Editing Workshop will be held on Tuesday, May 28, 2019, at 3 P.M. at the Lynchburg Library. This workshop will teach basic editing principles on both laptops and mobile devices. Bring your own computer or mobile device to participate. RSVP to the OSU Extension Office at 937-393-1918.

A Hops Workshop will be held on July 18, 2019. Cost to attend is $30.00 per person. The workshop will include lunch and a tour of Old Dutch Hops. Preregister at 937-393-1918 or visit the Highland County Extension office. The workshop will be held at the Ponderosa Center at 545 S. High Street, Hillsboro, OH.

The Germinate International Film Fest will be accepting submissions through June 30, 2019. The festival will be held on August 16 & 17, 2019, in Hillsboro, Ohio. For more information or to apply, visithttps://filmfreeway.com/GerminateInternationalFilmFest. Contact Brooke Beam at the OSU Extension Office for more information at 937-393-1918.

Now Hiring!

JOB OPENING – MAY 18 THROUGH JUNE 2, 2019
SNAP-Ed (Nutrition Education) Full Time Program Assistant at OSU Extension, Highland County. For complete position description, qualifications and to apply online, please go to www.jobsatosu.com. Click Search Postings, and enter Job Opening 449489. To assure consideration, applications must be received online no later than June 2, 2019. The Ohio State University is an equal opportunity employer. All qualified applicants will receive consideration for employment without regard to race, color, religion, sex, sexual orientation or identity, national origin, disability status, or protected veteran status.