Pesticide and Fertilizer Licensing COVID-19 Updates

By:  Pesticide Safety Education Program, OSU Extension

Will private pesticide and fertilizer deadlines be extended?
With the signing of House Bill 197, Ohio’s COVID-19 emergency response legislation, the March 31, 2020 deadline for private pesticide applicators (farmers) and the May 31, 2020 deadline for agricultural fertilizer certificate holders to renew their license and get training has been extended. Continue reading

Late Planted Corn Silage Yields Value

By:  Garth Ruff, OSU Extension Henry County; Jason Hartschuh, OSU Extension Crawford County; Allen Gahler, OSU Extension Sandusky County (originally published in Ohio Farmer on-line)

Teff, Italian ryegrass, oats and corn were included with 5 other ‘covers’ in this study

The combination of poor quality hay made in 2018, historic alfalfa winter kill, and excessive rainfall across most of Ohio in the spring of 2019 created a large need for high quality alternative forage sources this past year. Record amounts of prevented plant acreage across the state created an opportunity to grow forages on traditionally row cropped acres. As crop and livestock producers planted a variety of forage and cover crop species to supplement feed stocks, it was recognized that there was also a need to gather forage analysis results from these fields in order for growers to properly value and feed the forage grown. The following data are from cover crop forage samples that were submitted by farmers and from OARDC research stations where annual forages were grown as part of the 2019 Ohio State eFields program available at your local extension office or digitalag.osu.edu/efields. Continue reading

OSU Extension Announces Agriculture and Natural Resources Madness: A Tournament of Education

By:  Sherrie R. Whaley
Source(s):  Julie Strawser and Teresa Funk

Did your usual conference get canceled? Looking to fill the void of the big basketball tournament? Ohio State University Extension is here to help with a new virtual education program for the agricultural community.

“Agriculture and Natural Resources Madness: A Tournament of Education” will include 64 educational events broken into daily brackets. Each day, a virtual educational session will be held at 9 a.m., noon, and 3 p.m. The educational tournament is free of charge and will likely continue until mid-May. Continue reading

Mitigating Immediate Harmful Impacts of COVID-19 on Farms and Ranches selling through Local and Regional Food Markets

Bottom Line

Across key local and regional markets (i.e., farmers markets, farm to school, food hubs serving other institutions, and restaurants) we expect to see up to a $688.7 million decline in sales leading to a payroll decline of up to $103.3 million, and a total loss to the economy of up to $1.32 billion from March to May 2020. Without immediate mitigation, we may lose many small, socially disadvantaged, and beginning farms and the important markets they serve. Continue reading

Winter Wheat Stand Evaluation

By:  Laura Lindsey

Evaluating wheat standBetween planting in the fall and Feekes 4 growth stage (beginning of erect growth) in the spring, winter wheat is vulnerable to environmental stress such as saturated soils and freeze-thaw cycles that cause soil heaving. All of which may lead to substantial stand reduction, and consequently, low grain yield. However, a stand that looks thin in the spring does not always correspond to lower grain yield. Rather than relying on a visual assessment, we suggest counting the number of wheat stems or using the mobile phone app (Canopeo) to estimate wheat grain yield. Continue reading

OSU Extension Seeking Farmer Cooperators for Fallow Syndrome eFields Trial

By:  Stephanie Karhoff

Wet weather conditions last spring prevented Williams County farmers from planting over 85,000 acres (USDA-Farm Service Agency Crop Acreage Data). When fields are left unplanted or fallow, there may be a decline in beneficial mycorrhizal fungi, which is commonly referred to as fallow syndrome. Continue reading

Department of Treasury & IRS Providing an Automatic Extension for Tax Payments (Not Filing Returns) Tax Implications for Farmers

By:  Barry Ward

  • The Treasury Department and the Internal Revenue Service are providing special payment relief to individuals and businesses in response to the COVID-19 Outbreak.
  • Income tax payment deadlines for individual returns, with a due date of April 15, 2020, are being automatically extended until July 15, 2020, for up to $1 million of their 2019 tax due.
  • The tax filing deadline is still April 15th. (The filing deadline was March 2 for farmers that didn’t pay estimated taxes by January 15th.) Continue reading

Questions Regarding the Novel Coronavirus (COVID-19) on Farms with Employees

Click on the links below to view the Spanish and English versions of “Questions Regarding the Novel Coronavirus (COVID-19) on Farms with Employees” developed by Gustavo M. Schuenemann, DVM, MS, PhD, Professor & Extension Veterinarian and Jeffrey D. Workman, PhD, Extension Program Coordinator.

English Version

Spanish Version

Extension Office Closed to Public

The Williams County office will be open until Wednesday, March 18 at 4:30 p.m. Though we are closed, all employees in our office will still be working full time from remote locations. We want to continue to serve our community, but do it in a safe way that does not contribute to the spread of the Novel Coronavirus (COVID-19).  We will utilize all our teleworking capabilities to continue serving our clientele and communities. You should continue to feel free to call, email, etc. with any OSU Extension staff member as you normally would.

If you have any questions, please reach out to us based on your needs:

Stephanie Karhoff, Ag & Natural Resources, 419-890-1721 or karhoff.41@osu.edu
Stacey Perry, 4-H Youth Development, 419-318-9797 or perry.1735@osu.edu
Jessica Runkel, 4-H/ANR Program Assistant, 419-318-8724 or runkel.8@osu.edu
Karen Ford, Office Associate ford.806@osu.edu

We appreciate your patience during this unprecedented time and we will continue working to meet your needs.

Local Women Gather for Women in Agriculture Dinner

By:  Stephanie Karhoff

Women in Ag Dinner 2020Women’s involvement on the farm is ever expanding and evolving, encompassing a wide range of roles, from recordkeeping to making day-to-day decisions. According to the 2017 USDA Census of Agriculture, 36% of the country’s producers are female, and more than half of all farms had a female producer.

Recently, a total of 41 area women joined Ohio State University Extension and Purdue University Extension at Stoy Farms for an evening of learning, networking, and a dinner sponsored by Huntington University, Grower’s Advantage, and Farmers State Bank. Continue reading