Author: Smith

Local Foods Survey; You’re invited to participate!

| Smith

Dear Friend of Fairfield County Agriculture and Local Food:

Participate in the survey by scanning this code, or following the link below.

In addition to affecting our health and our lives for two years, the COVID pandemic has at times affected the availability of some foods. Among the federal recovery dollars made available to families, businesses and local governments were grants to address supply-chain challenges.

Fairfield County commissioners determined the importance of using a portion of this money to conduct a 10-year update of the 2011 Fairfield Growing plan for local food and agricultural economic development. A wide-ranging group of farmers, advocacy groups, local government officials, business leaders, academics, farm-organization representatives, health professionals, educators, and others, has met in teams over several months to delve into data and seek solutions to the challenge of strengthening the region’s agricultural economy, and will complete the plan in March 2022.

This survey focuses on the local-food preferences and availability portion of the plan. It also is an update of the Fairfield Growing 2015 Local Food Survey. The survey should not take more than 10 or 15 minutes of your time, and it is crucial to efforts to complete and carry out the Fairfield Growing update. It will help guide ongoing efforts for farmers to produce more of what consumers in Fairfield and surrounding counties want, to make it more readily available to all people in the region, to create food and agriculture jobs, and to strengthen the agricultural economy.

We invite you to complete the survey at go.osu.edu/fclocalfoodsurvey or scan the QR code.The survey will remain open until February 21st.

Thank you for your participation!

If you would like to learn more about the importance of the Local Food Survey be sure to listen to the 88.9FM Saturday Morning Farm Page Interview with Carrie Brown and Erin Harvey of Keller Market House.   Click on  this  recording link   220209_003

Carrie Brown, Fairfield County AgNR Extension Educator
On behalf of the Fairfield Growing Steering Committee

Fairfield County Market Lamb Tagging and Weighing Procedure for 2021

| Smith
If you plan to exhibit a market lamb in the 2021 Fairfield County Fair, complete the registration survey linked below by July 2!

Over the past year, the COVID-19 pandemic caused us to change the way we do many things in life that had become seemingly routine. Fortunately, in most cases, advances in technology have allowed many of these changes to take place almost seamlessly, and in many cases more efficiently than ever before. The annual Junior market lamb tagging, and the weigh-in for the MQP lambs in Fairfield County is an example.

Youth who plan to tag-in market lambs for the ‘live’ show at the Fair in October, and/or weigh in lambs for the Muscle Quality & Performance (MQP) contest will be asked to do three things prior to this year’s July 10 tagging day. By completing a brief, on-line survey, exhibitors are asked to tell us how many lambs they plan to bring to be tagged, the scrapie tag number for each lamb, and what time they would like to arrive with their lamb(s) to be tagged, and in the case of MQP lambs, also weighed.

Specifically, the step-by-step process includes . . Continue reading →

Pesticide & Fertilizer REcertification Field Day is June 15th

| Smith
Participants will find value in this Field Day beyond simply becoming REcertified!

Due to complications resulting from the pandemic, several have yet to complete the requirements for Private Pesticide and/or Fertilizer REcertifcation. You may also recall the original deadline was delayed until June 30. With that date quickly approaching, to accommodate the needs to acquire the necessary credits to REcertify private pesticide and fertilizer licenses we have scheduled a Pesticide & Fertilizer REcertification Field Day for Tuesday, June 15th.

This Field Day will be held outdoors at the Pontius farm located at 8945 Royalton Road, Amanda. Registration will begin at 9:30 a.m. and the program will conclude by 2:30 p.m. Participants will receive lunch, and will be able to acquire Pesticide REcertification credit in all Private categories, as well as credit for Private Fertilizer REcertification.

Since parking is limited, participants are asked to car pool if possible and invited to bring their own chair. Cost for participation in this program will be $25 per person and a reservation is required by June 11. Ohio State University Extension reserves the privilege to limit participation to the first 100 who register.

We have planned this Field Day in cooperation with OSU Extension in Pickaway County, and know that you will find value in the program beyond simply acquiring the credits needed to REcertify your Private Pesticide and/or Fertilizer license. Also, keep in mind that you may acquire your REcertiifcation credits prior to the year your license expires. More specifically, a sampling of the topics included on the agenda will be:

  • Testing for Vomitoxin in Corn with North Dakota Grain Inspection
  • Soil Health and Active Carbon/Carbon Markets
  • Nozzle wear, and spray drift
  • Pesticide Records and ODA updates
  • Fall Herbicide programs and cover crop termination
  • Soybean Defoliation Pests and Corn Emergence Issues
  • Keeping Yourself Tick Safe
  • Grain Bin Safety and Grain Dust Protection

To register, either call OSU Extension in Fairfield County at 740-653-5419 or complete this brief, on-line registration survey link: http://go.osu.edu/pestfert

Bull Selection Requires More Than Just Good looks

| Smith
Local youth beef exhibitors will recognize Bonnie Bradford of Premier Ultrasound as the person who scans their “carcass” animals.

While eye appeal has always been an important part of selecting beef cattle genetics, there’s also a lot of technology available to help in the selection process. In this recent interview Connie visits with Fairfield County Cattlemen’s Association President Ray Breagel about some of the technology that’s being incorporated into bull selection process at the upcoming Blue Collar Bull Sale he’s coordinating. That includes the use of ultrasound to determine muscling and the ability to quality grade, breeding soundness examinations, EPDs, structural soundness, and genetics among other factors.

 

Ohio Beef Expo; Premier event for Ohio’s Beef Industry Returns March 18

| Smith

After being cancelled last year due to the pandemic, the Ohio Beef Expo – ranked as one of the top five largest events in central Ohio – returns to the Ohio Expo Center in Columbus on March 18 through the 22nd. This week on WLRY The Farm Page, Connie visits with Ray Breagel of Tumbling B Cattle Company about his participation in this, the 33rd Ohio Beef Expo and what it means to Ohio’s cattlemen.

Specifically Connie and Ray talk about selection of beef cattle genetics based on EPD’s, the value of breeding soundness bull examinations, the significance of pregnancy testing beef females, and other beef herd improvement management techniques that might be explored at the upcoming Ohio Beef Expo.

 

The Buckeye Beef Byte; a Conversation with OSU’s Meat Lab Manager Ron Cramer

| Smith

Ron Cramer is the Manager of the Meat Laboratory at the Ohio State University Department of Animal Sciences. In this episode we discuss trends in the beef industry, the current status of beef processing, getting involved in meat processing, and the daily student education that goes on in the Meat Laboratory. If you’re involved in any aspect of the beef supply chain, take a few minutes and listen in to this conversation with a man that’s been involved in the meat processing industry for 40+ years!

The Buckeye Beef Byte; a Conversation on Reproductive Management with Alvaro Garcia Guerra, Assistant Professor, OSU Dept of AnSci

| Smith

In this third of a six-part series of discussions with Beef Industry specialists at OSU and in Ohio, we visit with Alvaro Garcia Guerra, an Assistant Professor in the Department of Animal Sciences at the Ohio State University. In this conversation we discuss reproductive management in the beef herd, trends in management, and current and future research projects.

You can also find a draft of the transcript of the conversation with Dr. Garcia Guerra linked here.

The Buckeye Beef Byte; a Conversation with Jessica Pempek, Extension Animal Welfare Specialist

| Smith

This is the second in a six-part series of discussions with Beef industry specialists at OSU and in Ohio. In this edition, show hosts Clifton Martin and Garth Ruff visit with Jessica Pempek, an Assistant Professor, and Animal Welfare Extension Specialist, in the Department of Animal Sciences at Ohio State. The conversation focuses on animal welfare issues in Ohio and in particular the beef industry.

You can also find a draft of the transcript of the conversation with Dr. Pempek linked here.

After enjoying the podcast, we’d like for you to share your feedback with us here: https://osu.az1.qualtrics.com/jfe/form/SV_eEvVvvzEolrrHlc

The Buckeye Beef Byte, featuring Mike Amstutz

| Smith

This is the first in a six-part series of discussions with Beef industry specialists at OSU and around Ohio. Mike Amstutz, Ph.D, is a professor of Livestock Sciences at Ohio State ATI. In this conversation we discuss the resources at OSU, his work with students, opportunities in the industry, and present and future trends. You can also find a draft of the transcript of the conversation with Dr. Amstutz linked here.

After enjoying the podcast, we’d like for you to share your feedback with us here: https://osu.az1.qualtrics.com/jfe/form/SV_88oRgb1zbKycwhE

Links to references in the episode:

Ohio Beef News: https://beef.osu.edu

Ohio State ATI: https://ati.osu.edu/

Michael Amstutz, Ph.D.: https://ati.osu.edu/michael-amstutz-phd

Grace Drake Learning Lab: https://ati.osu.edu/grace-l-drake-agricultural-laboratory

Temple Grandin Facility: https://ati.osu.edu/facilities/beef-facility

Bud Box: https://extension.psu.edu/bud-boxes-gaining-in-popularity-for-cattle-handling

Private Pesticide REcertification; Different This Year!

| Smith
Deadline for REcertification has been extended until July 1

One more casualty of the pandemic is Private Pesticide REcertification, at least as we’ve known it in the past. With face-to-face meetings hosted by OSU Extension presently on hold, at this time it’s impossible to speculate when a traditional Private Pesticide REcertification session may even be scheduled. However, there has been a recent change in the deadline for REcertification, and also several ‘virtual’ opportunities are in the planning stages for 2021.

First, it’s important to note that recently Governor DeWine signed Ohio House Bill 404 extending both the Commercial and Private Pesticide REcertification and Fertilizer REcertification deadline until July 1, 2021. This means Private and Fertilizer Applicators who expire in March 2020 or March 2021 now have until July 1, 2021 to renew and recertify. Commercial applicators expiring in 2020 now have until July 1, 2021. The deadline for commercial applicators expiring in September 2021 is not changed by this bill.

Considering the current inability to offer face-to-face REcertification opportunities, in Fairfield County we are offering two different ‘virtual’ alternatives for gaining REcertification on-line.

The first is a Continue reading →