Month: August 2020

Derecho Devastates the Midwest While Ohio’s Dry-Weather Pattern Continues

By Aaron Wilson

Midwest Derecho

On Monday, August 10, 2020, a powerful weather system is known as a derecho (pronounced “deh-REY-cho”) impacted nine states from South Dakota to Ohio (Figure 1). The National Weather Service defines a derecho as a long-lived windstorm that produces widespread damage like a tornado but in one direction along a straight path or “straight-line wind damage.”  Last week’s derecho was exceptionally damaging to agricultural interests, particularly in Iowa. Numerous reports of winds stronger than 70 mph were noted with an unofficial gust to 106 mph at Le Grand. According to the Iowa Soybean Association, the latest USDA reports suggests 14 million impacted crop acres with $6 billion in liability losses. Only minor damage was reported in northwest Ohio as the derecho weakened below severe limits Monday evening, but it brought a decent round of rainfall to the area. The last major derecho to occur in Ohio was on June 29, 2012, which brought 22 fatalities from Illinois to the Mid-Atlantic and $2.9 billion in losses.

8-10-20 Derecho Map

8-10-20 Derecho Map

Figure 1:  Preliminary storm reports associated with the August 10, 2020 derecho.

Continue reading Derecho Devastates the Midwest While Ohio’s Dry-Weather Pattern Continues →

Past WBC Peak Flight, Low Numbers Across State

Western bean cutworm (WBC) trap counts for the week of August 10 – 16 decreased over the past week putting all monitoring counties below the scouting threshold. The low numbers indicate we are officially past peak flights.  Overall, a total of 27 counties monitored 90 traps, resulting in 38 WBC adults (a statewide average of 0.4 moths per trap) (Figure 1).

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Figure 1. Average Western bean cutworm adult per trap followed by the total number of traps in the county in parentheses for the week ending August 16, 2020.

How to Identify Late Season Soybean Diseases in 2020

By Anne Dorrance

Sclerotinia stem rot – The nights have been cool this growing season, even when the days were very warm. The fog this morning in Wayne County reminded me that this is the time of the year to begin to scout for this stem disease.  Sclerotinia is caused by a fungus that survives from season to season and over several years from sclerotia.  The infections actually occurred during flowering when the canopy was closed, and cool nights can really enhance and favor this disease.  For this disease, disease levels can reach 20% incidence before there is a measurable yield loss.  Sclerotinia will occur as single plants or a small patch of dying plants, that wilt and turn a deeper olive green color. Look at the stem and white fluffy growth will appear on the stem, this is the sign of the fungus.

Sclerotinia Stem Rot

Sclerotinia Stem Rot

Sudden Death Syndrome – reports that this disease is also beginning to develop in some areas of the state where soybeans are reaching R6. Symptoms include irregular yellow spots, which turn brown or necrotic between the veins.  Interestingly the veins are surrounded by green.  The center of the stem or pith is bright white in this disease.  This is a fungal pathogen and infections most likely occurred shortly after planting and this fungus causes extensive root rots.  The figure has both susceptible and resistant cultivar.  There is a look-alike symptom caused by triazole fungicides when applied under hot conditions.  To separate these two, if a triazole had been sprayed, look at the roots.  The roots will be very healthy where SDS, the roots, and the center of the taproot are discolored. Continue reading How to Identify Late Season Soybean Diseases in 2020 →

Facing Farm Financial Stress: Assessing the Bankruptcy Option

by: Peggy Hall, OSU Extension

Farming has always been an unpredictable way to make a living, and that unpredictability can lead to financial stress.  Whether caused by down markets, weather impacts, rising input costs, high land values, poor decision making,  medical issues, or a host of other unforeseen circumstances, serious financial stress can be a reality a farmer must face.

Filing bankruptcy can be one way to address farm financial stress.  But because of its consequences, bankruptcy is not a decision to take lightly and might not be the best option.  Our newest resources target farmers who are dealing with financial challenges and considering bankruptcy.   Facing Farm Financial Stress:  An Overview of the Bankruptcy Option offers a seven-part series of law bulletins and infographics focused on bankruptcy issues for farmers.  The series covers:

  • Assessing the bankruptcy option.  Steps to take and considerations to make when dealing with financial stress, including alternatives to bankruptcy and farmer to farmer advice from families that have been through the bankruptcy process.
  • An overview of bankruptcy law.  We explain and visualize the legal process, people, institutions, and legal terms involved in bankruptcy with a focus on Chapter 12, the law reserved for qualifying farmers and fishermen.
  • Thriving after a farm bankruptcy.  Ideas for setting a course to attain farm financial stability and reestablish relationships after filing bankruptcy, including farmer to farmer advice from those who’ve survived the bankruptcy.

Our team of authors, which included me along with OSU’s David Marrison, Hannah Scott, and Chris Zoller–created the resources with support from the USDA’s National Agriculture Library and in partnership with the National Agricultural Law Center (NALC).  The series is available on our Farm Office site here or on NALC’s site here.

Live Fruit Update on September 9 – Featuring Brambles (Blackberries and Raspberries), Grapes, Hardy Figs and Hardy Kiwis

Join us for timely fruit research updates for your farm and garden, and to get your questions answered by experts from The Ohio State University. This FREE, online-only event will feature several video presentations recorded from the OSU South Centers research fields, as well as live question and answer segments. The event will take place from 10-11:30 a.m. on Wednesday, September 9, 2020, using the Zoom meeting platform.

When registering, you can submit questions you would like answered during the event. To register, visit https://go.osu.edu/fruitupdate. Be sure to include an email address that your monitor regularly, as this will be the method we use to send you the link to join the event.

This event is made possible via funding by a Specialty Crop Block Grant from USDA through the Ohio Department of Agriculture and by a Viticulture Extension grant from Ohio Grape Industries Committee.

Fruit Q A 2020 Flyer

OSU Extension of Paulding County – We have an App for that

See what we just launched! Over the past few months, Michael and I have been working with a company to get all of our Paulding County OSU Extension information in one place.  Thanks to the great sponsorship from Haviland Drainage Product and Haviland Plastic Products. This app will include Ag, Master Gardener, and 4-H News.  As our new position for Family and Consumer Sciences is added in 2021, there will content relating to that program area. Search Paulding County Extension and you should find the app.  In the app, it includes our blog posts, calendars, YouTube Page, Facebook information, Twitter, LinkedIn and so much more.  You can upload horticulture questions for our Master Gardener Volunteer Hotline.  This will also include registration forms and upcoming events.  Don’t miss out on this valuable information for Paulding County.

The Ohio Crop Tour Goes Virtual

This article originally appeared in Ohio’s Country Journal and Ohio Ag Net

Due to the COVID-19 pandemic, the Ohio Ag Net and Ohio’s Country Journal crop tour is moving to a virtual experience for 2020! We are inviting growers from across Ohio to send in their yield data using the form below. This data will be posted completely anonymously, however, we are asking you to enter your contact information to be eligible for a drawing for a $500 gift card to Rural King. Each field entry is another entry for the drawing.

Worksheets

Print our handy worksheets to help you with your calculations and to take notes in the field! You are free to make as many copies as you would like.

Click to download the corn worksheet.

Click to download the soybean worksheet.

Click to submit your data.

Asian Longhorned Tick; a New Tick Known to Attack Animals in Large Numbers!

By:  Tim McDermott DVM, OSU Extension Educator, Franklin County (originally published in Farm and Dairy)

The Asian long-horned tick attacks wild and domestic animals and humans. Photo by Anna Pasternak, a UK entomology graduate student.

My colleague Erika Lyon wrote a great article on the January 24th, 2019 All About Grazing column in Farm and Dairy (link) that discussed the invasive Asian long-horned Tick. I want to give an update on where that tick is now, where its new host range is located, and what potential disease problems to look out for.

The Asian long-horned tick is native to East Asia as well as Australia and New Zealand.  It had not previously been found in the United States prior to its discovery on a farm in New Jersey in the fall of 2017.  This tick is a major concern as it reproduces via parthenogenesis, which means that the female does not need a male in order to reproduce, she can start laying eggs, which are genetic clones, that can overwhelm the host in very large numbers. It has been found on humans, companion animals including cats, dogs and horses, livestock species including chickens, cattle, sheep and goats and multiple other mammals and birds including foxes, bears, geese, deer, raccoons, skunks, hawks, groundhogs and opossum (which are known to consume ticks as food). Continue reading Asian Longhorned Tick; a New Tick Known to Attack Animals in Large Numbers! →

OSU Extension Hires New Field Specialist Focusing on Beef Cattle

By:  Cheryl Buck, OSU Extension Communication Manager

Garth Ruff has been selected as the new field specialist, beef cattle for Ohio State University Extension in the College of Food, Agricultural, and Environmental Sciences (CFAES) at The Ohio State University, per Jackie Kirby Wilkins, interim director of OSU Extension. This full-time appointment is effective on September 1, 2020.

“We are extremely pleased to be partnering with our CFAES Department of Animal Sciences to jointly fund this important position, which will work in tandem with our research faculty and our commodity and industry partners, as well as producers and community stakeholders to translate and apply the newest university knowledge to meet the timely and most critical issues facing the beef industry in Ohio,” said Wilkins. Continue reading OSU Extension Hires New Field Specialist Focusing on Beef Cattle →

Additional Information From ODA About The Mystery Seeds

Americans Receive Mystery Seeds in the Mail, Mostly From China - WSJPlease note: Paulding County has received various packets of seeds.  Please follow the directions below or contact Sarah at the Extension Office (419-399-8225) to arrange a drop off of the seeds.  

The Ohio Department of Agriculture (ODA) is asking Ohioans to please send in unsolicited seeds.

After increasing reports of Ohio citizens receiving packages of unsolicited seeds in the mail, the Ohio Department of Agriculture (ODA) is again urging the public to report and submit any unsolicited seed packets to ODA. In partnership with the United States Department of Agriculture (USDA) Animal and Plant Health Inspection Service (APHIS) Plant Protection and Quarantine Office, ODA is working to investigate the number of seed packets sent to Ohio, what type of seeds they are, and where they were mailed from. Continue reading Additional Information From ODA About The Mystery Seeds →

Poultry Litter Application

Loading poultry litter

By Glen Arnold, OSU Extension

Stockpiles of poultry litter can be seen in farm fields across Ohio. While common each year in wheat stubble fields, there also many stockpiles in soybean fields. Poultry litter is an excellent source of plant nutrients and readily available in most parts of the state.

Poultry litter can be from laying hens, pullets, broilers, finished turkeys, turkey hens, or poults. Most of the poultry litter in the state comes from laying hens and turkey finishers. Typical nutrient ranges in poultry litter can be from 45 to 57 pounds of nitrogen, 45 to 70 pounds of P2O5, and 45 to 55 pounds of K2O per ton. The typical application rate is two tons per acre which fits nicely with the P2O5 needs of a two-year corn/soybean rotation. Continue reading Poultry Litter Application →

Ohio Commercial Pesticide Online Recertification

Authors Chrissy Kaminski

Due to the COVID-19 pandemic, OSUE Pesticide Safety Education Program partnered with the Ohio Department of Agriculture to temporarily provide online credits for Ohio commercial pesticide applicators who need recertification hours for the 2020 deadline.  This course will be available until the deadline for 90 days after the State of Emergency ends, or December 1 – whichever comes first. All categories are available. 

Online Registration Only: Fee: $15 per credit hour, Register here!

Questions: Pesticide Safety Education Program:  pested@osu.edu, 614-292-4070.

Need help navigating the course? View our online tutorials here.

Updated Tri-State Fertilizer Recommendations Available

Evaluating Fertilizer Purchase Decisions: Frequently Asked QuestionsThe authors of the Tri-State Fertilizer Recommendations for Corn, Soybeans, Wheat, and Alfalfa include Steve Culman, Anthony Fulford, James Camberato, Kurt Steinke, Laura Lindsey, Greg LaBarge, Harold Watters, Ed Lentz, Ryan Haden, Eric Richer, Bethany Herman, Nicole Hoekstra, Peter Thomison, Rich Minyo, Anne Dorrance, Jeff Rutan, Darryl Warncke, Cassandra Brown

The Tri-State Fertilizer Recommendations for Corn, Soybeans, Wheat, and Alfalfa was first published in 1995 and has served as a cornerstone in nutrient management in field crops for Indiana, Michigan, and Ohio. As crop production practices in this region changed over the past 25 years, many questioned if these nutrient management guidelines were still relevant today.

In 2014, work began to revise and update the nutrient management recommendations in corn, soybeans, and wheat. Over 300 on-farm trials were conducted across 34 Ohio counties, including trials evaluating crop response to N, P, K, and S. It was a tremendous collective effort with the ultimate goal of providing objective information to farmers to manage nutrients as judiciously and profitably as possible.

The recommendations have been comprehensively revised and updated. A summarized version can be found online: go.osu.edu/fert-recs

There is a menu at the bottom of this webpage that will allow users to view the topics of interest, including an executive summary that provides the highlights. The full version of the recommendations is being finalized at OSU Extension Publishing and a downloadable pdf and printed bulletin will be available soon.

Late-Season Waterhemp – The Goal is Stopping Seed

Flowering Waterhemp

By Mark Loux OSU Extension

In our windshield scouting of soybeans this year we have seen a lot of weed-free fields.  This makes sense given the shift toward Xtend, LibertyLink, LLGT27, and Enlist soybeans over the past several years, which provides us with effective POST options for our major weed problems – common and giant ragweed, marestail, and waterhemp (now if we could just get rid of the baggage some of these traits carry).  We are however getting many reports of late-season waterhemp as it grows through the soybeans and becomes evident.  This also makes sense given that statewide we are in the midst of an overall increase in waterhemp, and continue to move up the curve in terms of the number of fields infested and the size of the infestations.  Prevention and management of waterhemp and Palmer amaranth has been one of the primary goals of our state and county educational programs for half a decade or more.  And one of the most important points about waterhemp and Palmer that we try to get across is their capacity for prodigious seed production – 500,000 to upwards of a million seeds per plant – and what this means for their ability to rapidly ramp up populations, infest equipment, etc. Continue reading Late-Season Waterhemp – The Goal is Stopping Seed →

CLEAR30 the first USDA program to offer 30-year Signup

FSA will open signup this summer for CLEAR30, a new pilot program that offers farmers and landowners an opportunity to enroll in a 30-year Conservation Reserve Program (CRP) contract. This pilot is available to farmers and landowners with expiring water-quality practice CRP contracts in the Great Lakes and Chesapeake Bay regions. The program sign-up period is July 6 to Aug. 21, 2020.

The pilot is available in Delaware, Illinois, Indiana, Maryland, Michigan, Minnesota, New York, Ohio, Pennsylvania, Virginia, West Virginia, and Wisconsin. Eligible producers must have expiring Clean Lakes, Estuaries, and Rivers (CLEAR) initiative contracts, including continuous CRP Cropland contracts with water-quality practices or marginal pasturelands CRP contracts devoted to riparian buffers, wildlife habitat buffers or wetland buffers. Continue reading CLEAR30 the first USDA program to offer 30-year Signup →

The Annual Pumpkin Field Day Goes Virtual!

For over 20 years the pumpkin field day held at the Western Ag Research Station in South Charleston has hosted growers from around the state giving them a wide array of production and pest management research, demonstration, tips, and tricks. Instead of driving over to the research station, participate virtually from your home, business, or favorite coffee house/brewery!

Because of the Covid-19 pandemic, we won’t be able to hold a field day in person this year, but we are working hard to bring you the results of several demonstrations and research projects via a pre-recorded video stream that will air on the OSU IPM YouTube channel on August 27 at 6 PM. Continue reading The Annual Pumpkin Field Day Goes Virtual! →

WBC Numbers Continue to Decrease

Figure 1. Average Western bean cutworm adult per trap followed by the total number of traps in the county in parentheses for the week ending August 9, 2020.

Western bean cutworm (WBC) trap counts for the week of August 3 – August 9 continue to decrease in the majority of monitoring counties. Trap counts indicated only one county, Lake, had an average of 7 or more moths, suggesting scouting is necessary. Overall, a total of 26 counties monitored 89 traps, resulting in 111 WBC adults (a statewide average of 1.2 moths per trap) (Figure 1). Monitoring for WBC moths will continue in many counties until the end of August.  

 

Tree and Wood Harvesting in the Area

From John Mueller, District Manager, Division of Forestry – Findlay

As our economy changes and reshoring from foreign countries takes place, there are some disruptions in the wood supply.  This is leading to mid-west wood and wood box suppliers looking for alternative supply sources.  We have received letters in the county from these suppliers looking to come directly to your wooded property and provide you a quote to purchase your trees with a commitment on the spot. Please know that you DO NOT have to commit at that time and you can receive help and advice on this if you prefer.  There is competition for your wood and perhaps you could get a better price.

Comment from Sarah – Believe it or not, we have a division of Ohio Forestry over Paulding County.  They will be a neutral party in any discussions and make sure that you are not being taken advantage of in these critical decisions. If this is a topic that you would like education on, I would be willing to set up a virtual informational countywide meeting. 

Reach out to

John Mueller, District Manager– Division of Forestry- Findlay, Ohio Department of Natural Resources, 952 Lima Avenue, Findlay, OH 45840, Office Number: 419-424-5004, John.Mueller@dnr.state.oh.us,

forestry.ohiodnr.gov