Key Pests Still Rising…

Brown Marmorated Stink Bugs
A few weeks ago we started trapping for Brown Marmorated Stink Bugs to catch their mid-season reproduction and movement toward preferred vegetable and fruit crops where they can feed and cause significant mid to late season injury. There were spikes of nymphs and a smaller surge of adults from the week before in Adams and Greene county, while Wayne, Lake and Huron counties remain at zero reported detections.

Spotted wing Drosophila
Catches of these insects in berry crops continue to be high in Greene and Geauga counties. With a treatment threshold of one adult per site, individual trap catches have ranged between 10 and 124 adults per week. Even with properly timed insecticide sprays and picking ripe fruit every two days if possible will not completely prevent damage to fruit, but it will be minimized. Berries must be protected until harvest is over or severe losses may be seen.

Corn Earworm

Corn earworm adults filled trap in two days.

For any mid to late season sweet corn, expect the next month or two to bring peak corn earworm flights from southern parts of the US, predominantly on storm fronts. Corn earworm populations have climbed this past week in Clark, Huron, and Lake counties and remain present in Wayne and Putnam counties. Zero CEW moths were reported trapped in Sandusky and Seneca counties.

Keys to successfully monitoring  CEW require the trap be placed at ear height near fresh silking corn and to change the pheromone lure every two weeks. Failure to do both will result in lower moths captured and a perceived lower threat of infestation leading to a wider spray interval and higher kernel damage and more caterpillars in the ears. In Clark county the trap total was 7 CEW for one week of captures with the trap emptied on 8/11 and moved to a new location about 1/4 mile away on the same farm near silking corn. The CEW trap was checked today (two days later) and captured several hundred moths (see picture at right).

European Corn Borer
This pest is still at low levels across the state according to our monitoring network, with Clark, Sandusky, Seneca, Wayne, Putnam and Wood counties reporting zero moths captured. Only Gauega and Huron counties have reported captures this past week (5 moths and 1 moth respectively). I was sent images of a bell pepper field in southern Ohio that had what appears to be a heavy infestation of corn borer caterpillars in the cap and stem of the fruit but no larvae or frass could be found in the fruit. As other crops begin to dry down, ECB will look for many other crops to lay eggs and cause potential feeding injury to the plant or fruit, so keep vigilant for that pest.

To see what other pests are doing, check out the OSU pest monitoring network at https://docs.google.com/spreadsheets/d/1KLU8rEoaz1Cnt9ILbUf77tSxOIriwZR0Xtj-wwNZgDA/edit?usp=sharing

National 8/11 Day – Call Before You Dig!

August 11 is National 8/11 Day, and 811 is the national call-before-you-dig phone number. If you are planning to dig, contact 811 (by calling 8-1-1 or visiting your state’s 811 center website) before digging to request the approximate location of buried public utilities are marked, to help avoid hitting a buried utility.

The legal roundup: ag law questions from across Ohio

I recall sharing my concern with a professor when I was in law school:  how will I ever know all the answers to legal questions?  No worries, he said.  You can’t know the answer to every legal question, but you do need to know how to find the answers.  I think of that advice often as legal questions come across my desk.

We’ve had a steady stream of them this summer, and the questions provide a snapshot of what’s going on around the state.  Here’s a sampling of questions we’ve received recently, complete with our answers—some we knew and some we had to find. Read more…

  • What do you know about the $500 million to be set aside at USDA for meat processors—who will administer it and what is the timeline?
  • If I enroll my land in the Wetlands Reserve Program, does the land still qualify for Current Agricultural Use Valuation tax treatment?
  • Are there any special requirements for a cottage food producer for selling “gluten free” or “vegan” products?
  • Are there regulations pertaining to online sales of perennial plants?
  • Does a “Scenic River” designation by the Ohio Department of Natural Resources allow the agency to take my property that’s along the river?
  • Do I need a license to make and sell egg noodles from the farm?
  • Is raising and training dogs considered “animal husbandry” for purposes of d the agricultural exemption from township zoning authority?
  • Can both landowners be assessed half the cost of removal of noxious weeds that are growing in a partition fence?

BY  | AUGUST 10, 2021, Associate Professor and Director, OSU Agricultural & Resource Law Program

Ohio New and Small Farm Colleges Set for 2021

Bringing small farms in Ohio to life is the theme of the New and Small Farm College program that has been offered to farm families since 2005. The program focuses on the increasing number of new and small farm landowners that have a need for comprehensive farm ownership and management programming.

The mission of the college is to provide a greater understanding of production practices, the economics of land-use choices, assessment of personal and natural resources, marketing alternatives, and the identification of sources of assistance.

The New and Small Farm College has three educational objectives:

  1. To improve the economic development of small farm family-owned farms in
  2. To help small farm landowners and families diversify their opportunities into successful new enterprises and new
  3. To improve agricultural literacy among small farm landowners not actively involved in agricultural

Since the program began, the New and Small Farm College has now reached over 1175 participants from 57 Ohio Counties representing almost 900 farms.

If you are a small farm landowner wondering what to do with your acreage, ask yourself these questions:

Are you interested in exploring options for land uses but not sure where to turn or how to begin?

Have you considered adding an agricultural or horticultural enterprise, but you just aren’t sure of what is required, from equipment, labor, and/or a management perspective?

Are you looking for someplace to get some basic farm information?

If you or someone you know answered yes to any of these questions, then the Ohio State University New and Small Farm College program may be just what you are looking for.

The Ohio State University New and Small Farm College is a 7-session short course that will be held one night a week.  The 2021 Ohio New and Small Farm College program will be held in three locations across the state including:

  • Pike County area, to be held at the OSU South Centers facility, 1864 Shyville Road, Piketon, Ohio 45661, (Located off US 32 – Appalachian Hwy). Classes will be held on Wednesday evenings beginning August 18 and concluding September 29, 2021. For more information contact Pike County Extension Office at 740-289-4837. Brochure
  • Fayette county area, Fayette County Extension Office, 1415 US Route 22 SW, Washington Court House, Ohio 43160. Classes will be held on Thursday evenings beginning August 19 and concluding on September 30, 2021. For more information contact the Fayette County Extension Office at 740-335-1150. Brochure
  • Wayne County area, to be held at the OSU Wooster Campus, The Shisler Conference Center, 1680 Madison Avenue, Wooster, Ohio 44961. Classes will be held on Tuesday evenings beginning August 31 and concluding October 12, 2021. For more information, contact Wayne County Extension at 330-264-8722. Brochure

All colleges will start each evening at 6:00 pm with a light dinner with the nightly presentations beginning at 6:30 pm and concluding at 9:00 pm.

Topics that will be covered in the Small Farm College course include:

  • Getting Started (goal setting, family matters, resource inventory, business planning)
  • Appropriate Land Use -Walking the Farm
  • Where to Get Assistance, (identifying various agencies, organizations, and groups)
  • Financial and Business Mgmt.: Strategies for decision-makers
  • Farm Insurance
  • Soils
  • Legal Issues
  • Marketing Alternatives

In addition to the classroom instruction, participants will receive tickets to attend the 2021 Farm Science Review (www.fsr.osu.edu ), September 21, 22, & 23 Located at the Molly Caren Farm, London, Ohio. A soil sample analysis will also be provided to each participating farm.

The cost of the course is $125 per person, $100 for an additional family member.  Each participating family will receive a small farm college notebook full of the information presented in each class session plus additional materials.

Registrations are now being accepted. For more details about the course and/or a registration form, contact Tony Nye, Small Farm Program Coordinator at 937-382-0901, or email at nye.1@osu.edu.

Spotted Lanternfly Found in Indiana, Update on Ohio’s Population

This story was originally written by Amy Stone, Ohio State University and posted in the BYGL newsletter.

Last week, the Indiana Department of Natural Resources announced that the spotted lanternfly (Lycorma delicatula) was detected in Swi

Spotted Lanternfly adult.

tzerland County. As a result, the information was shared via a BYGL Alert last Monday (https://bygl.osu.edu/node/1832). Cornell University’s Integrated Pest Management Program has updated a SLF map that gives the big picture of where SLF is known to be in North America.

The new find in Indiana is in the southeast corner along the Ohio River, across from Kentucky and near Cincinnati, Ohio. This discovery is the farthest west infestation to date. I would also like to point out that Ohio only has a single county, Jefferson County in the southeast portion of the buckeye state, that is known to have SLF population.

Both of the finds in Ohio and Indiana, were reported by residents. This is important to note and the reason we are turning to all Ohioans to be on the lookout for the SLF. Currently, you would be seeing later instar nymphs and/or adults if you would come across this non-native invasive planthopper.

On Tuesday, July 27, 2021 the Ohio Department of Agriculture (ODA), along with the United States Department of Agriculture (USDA), made an insecticide application in Mingo Junction in Jefferson County as a means to reduce, and the goal of potentially eliminating SLF in Ohio. The application was made using a mist blower mounted on the back of a truck. This was the second treatment made in the block this year.

The treatment block is across the street from the initial discovery brought to ODA and OSU’s attention by a local resident who became familiar with the insect, as a result of social media outreach efforts by Erika Lyon, the OSU Extension’s Agriculture and Natural Resources Educator in Jefferson County. This is an excellent example of how outreach is successful. If this man did not say anything, the population could have continued to build and expand before it became more noticeable by someone else. The hillside in Jefferson County is bordered by train tracks and a street.

There are also SLF traps in the area for ongoing monitoring. This trap was place on a tree of heaven (Ailanthus altissima) tree, a preferred host of the insect. The insects climb up the trunk of the tree, and ultimately into the plastic bag. The traps are monitored and if SLF is present, those numbers recorded for tracking purposes. In addition to the stands of tree of heaven on the hillside, this area also had a lot of wild grapevines, another SLF favorite.

Employee who captured the second SLF adult near a local business.

While the treatment was being applied, Jim Jasinski, OSU’s Integrated Pest Management (IPM) Coordinator and I did a little more scouting near the location of the initial find. It was there where we found several adult SLF. The first find was on a building captured by an employee and the others were found climbing up a utility pole alongside the road, which is something that has been observed in other SLF infestations. We simply mention this because, in addition to scouting for SLF on their preferred hosts, looking at these types of poles or vertical structures might not be a bad idea. While we hope you don’t find SLF, we do need everyone’s help is looking for this pest.

And as a reminder, if you find an insect that you suspect is SLF, you can use the Great Lakes Early Detection Network (GLEDN) App, or contact ODA directly by phone, email, or their online reporting system. Their contact information can be found at:  https://agri.ohio.gov/wps/portal/gov/oda/divisions/plant-health/invasive-pests/slf

For More Information
Ohio Department of Agriculture’s Spotted Lanternfly Web Page
https://agri.ohio.gov/wps/portal/gov/oda/divisions/plant-health/invasive-pests/…