By Brianna Gwirtz, OCJ field reporter

The field is where Cade Stover feels the most at home — not just on the football field, donning his No. 16 Ohio State jersey, but also the hay field, and in the driver’s seat of a tractor. Stover may be known for his athletic career, but his farming background is what sets him apart. 

The 6-foot 4-inch 255-pound tight end is poised for big things this season (and this weekend against Oregon) for the Buckeyes. In 2020 he moved into the role from the linebacker position. He also played a key role on special teams. He made three tackles in 2020, including two against Michigan State, and also forced a fumble. Stover played in four games as a true freshman for the Buckeyes in 2019 and redshirted.

Stover made an impression on the coaching staff with his work ethic this summer, which will hopefully translate into more playing time in 2021.… Continue reading

Kurt Wyler

I farm in eastern Ohio with my father. I am the fourth generation of the farm on a dairy and grain operation. We rotate corn, soybeans, wheat, and hay. We are milking about 65 cows and we stay pretty busy with that. We raise corn silage and mainly alfalfa hay with a little bit of sorghum-sudan and ryelage.

The milk prices are definitely climbing. We like this cooler weather for the cows as long as we don’t get too much temperature fluctuation. The manure has been tricky. With the weather we have had we have not been able to get as much spread on some ground as we would like to because field conditions have not permitted. We are also trucking it farther to try and cut down on fertilizer costs at different locations. These prices make you look at things a little closer.

The majority of our ground is rolling hills and we have a lot of strips.… Continue reading

National FFA week is a busy week for every FFA chapter around the country. It is meant to be a week of celebrating the great and national organization that is the FFA. Northwestern FFA took time to celebrate the hard working members in several ways. To kick off the week, the school had spirit days. Our theme days were, Tuesday American day, Wednesday Groutfit day, Thursday Animal day, and Friday Farmer day. Each spirit day was in correlation to our Officer Opening Ceremonies.  During the week members wrote thank you cards to their supporters and made tie blankets to donate to the Pregnancy Care Center in Wooster, Salvation Army, and a local Veterans home. The chapter also held an assembly on Tuesday, with middle school students with fun activities to promote agriculture and FFA. On Wednesday, we held our first annual supporter luncheon. Officers sent out invitations to local supporters and invited them to a “Supporter Luncheon” held in the Ag Shop.… Continue reading

No masks required! And the discounted $100 pre-registration is good through March 1 at: ctc.osu.edu.

The annual Conservation Tillage and Technology Conference will be held March 8-9 at the McIntosh Center of Ohio Northern University, 525 S. Main St., in Ada. CTC is presented by The Ohio State University College of Food, Agricultural, and Environmental Sciences (CFAES) and other supporters.

Certified Crop Adviser (CCA) continuing education credits are available, with an emphasis on soil and water management, crop management and nutrient management. Plenty of Certified Livestock Manager (CLM) credits are also available.

The event focuses on providing information to farmers on promoting and maintaining soil health, said Randall Reeder, a retired Ohio State University Extension agricultural engineer.

From offering a workshop on “Water and Drainage Laws-What is new in Ohio,” and a discussion on “Corn Management Today, Does Chasing the Last Bushel Pay,” the two-day event is designed to provide opportunities “for farmers and crop consultants to learn about the latest technology and practices for conserving soil and improving water quality and how that can boost their financial bottom line while conserving their soils,” Reeder said.… Continue reading

By Randall Reeder, Ohio State University Extension Agricultural Engineer (retired)

“Glover, they’re going to fire you.”

The first time Glover Triplett took his wife to see the new no-till research plots in 1962, the corn was about a foot tall, and the ground was littered with dead weeds and corn stalks from the previous year. The plot looked awful compared to a clean tilled field. She was scared he would lose his first faculty position at OSU-OARDC in Wooster.

Well, he was not fired, and neither was his co-researcher, Dave Van Doren. But they did attract interesting questions about their innovative research, including, “How can you measure erosion if you don’t have any runoff?”

Triplett and Van Doren established identical plots in 1963 at Hoytville (Wood County) and South Charleston (Clark County). These plots at OSU-OARDC research stations continue to give valuable results today. No-till was known as “farming ugly” in the early days by farmers accustomed to perfectly clean fields, with not a speck of crop residue. Since these earliest experiments, Ohio has played a unique and important role in the world of no-till. … Continue reading

By Daniele Siqueira, AgRural Commodities Agrícolas 

Imagine having your soybean crop trying to bloom and fill pods under 100 to 110 degrees every day for two weeks, after receiving below-normal rains for nearly three months and already having lost most of your corn crop, which is planted earlier than soybeans. That has been the reality in Rio Grande do Sul, Brazil’s southernmost state and number-three soybean producer. 

In the first days of January, AgRural cut its production estimate for the 2021-22 Brazilian soybean crop to 133.4 million metric tons, 12 million down from the potential production forecasted in early November and about 4 million metric tons smaller than the record crop harvested in 2020-21. Even before the failure in Rio Grande do Sul, Paraná (our number-two soybean producing state) also lost a significant part of its crop due to hot dry conditions in November and December, and further damage occurred in January. … Continue reading

By Aaron Wilson, Ohio State University Extension

Temperatures across Ohio have been running 2-6°F above average (1991-2010) during the month of December, almost guaranteeing another top 10 warmest year on record for the Buckeye State (1895-present). Daily average soil temperatures remain above freezing, with upper 30s to low 40s across the north and low to mid 40s across central and southern counties. 

Precipitation, mainly in the form of rain, has been plentiful as well with a large portion of the state picking up 2-4 inches of precipitation since Dec. 1. Pockets of heavier precipitation can be found across portions of southwest, north central, and southern Ohio.  Snowfall has been very light, even across the snowbelt areas of the northeast, with less than 1 inch statewide.

Forecast

High pressure will remain anchored across the Ohio Valley for the next couple of days, with cool daytime highs in the upper 30s to mid 40s.… Continue reading

Seed Genetics Direct, the largest Ohio-based independent seed company, as well as the fastest-growing in the Eastern Corn Belt, will host its Herbicide and Seed Days on Dec. 28 and Dec. 30 from 9 a.m. to 4 p.m. The Dec. 28 event will be held in Williamsburg, Ind. at 7263 North U.S. Highway 35. The Dec. 30 event will be held at the SGD main offices in Jeffersonville, 9983 Jeffersonville-West Lancaster Road.

Free and open to all farmers, Herbicide and Seed Days provide the opportunity for farmers to talk with a seedsman about their needs while taking advantage of early-order and early-pay discounts.

“It’s a rapidly-changing and unpredictable herbicide market, but we are working hard to secure good positioning on products our customers will need this spring,” said Todd Jeffries, SGD vice president. “The best advice right now is to order and pay as soon as possible in order to get the best product pricing and availability.”… Continue reading

Four individuals who have made significant contributions to agriculture and Farm Bureau were honored by the Ohio Farm Bureau Federation Dec. 9 in Columbus at the 103rd annual meeting of Ohio Farm Bureau.  

The 2021 Distinguished Service Award recipients are Dr. Tony Forshey of Licking County, Belinda Jones of Franklin County, Randy Leis of Montgomery County and Keith Stimpert of Franklin County. Each honoree was recognized for lifetime achievements that benefited Ohio’s farming community. 

Dr. Tony Forshey

Throughout his 27 years as a practicing veterinarian, Tony Forshey made invaluable contributions to the betterment of the swine industry. He focused on herd health and disease prevention, rather than simply treating sick animals. He was so well respected in his profession that he was named Ohio’s state veterinarian and chief of the Division of Animal Health for the Ohio Department of Agriculture. Through his leadership in that position, Forshey, in partnership with Ohio Farm Bureau, helped create the Ohio Livestock Care Standards Board and was a charter member.… Continue reading

By Shelly Detwiler, berry farmer and dietician

Move over pumpkin spice latte, it is egg nog time! Hallmark Christmas movies have arrived, so it is time for a new drink of the season. Egg nog is it! 

Breaking news on the latte scene is that egg nog Latte is being replaced on menus across the country with some kind of sugar cookie almond milk (nut fluid) concoction. The horror of it all! If egg nog latte is one of your favorites, have no fear, look below for a recipe you can make. It embraces authentic dairy and egg products to create your own egg nog coffee beverage at home. Destined to be spectacular this holiday season!

      Americans are passionate about their egg nog. There appears to be no middle ground; you either stalk the dairy case until it arrives on the shelf or you avoid it like COVID. The Detwiler house was split with Luke drinking egg nog by the carton and Jake ecstatic not to get even a drop.… Continue reading

Ohio corn and soybean harvests crawled along last week and were hampered by cold, wet soil that wouldn’t support harvest equipment, according to Cheryl Turner, State Statistician, USDA NASS, Ohio Field Office. The average temperature for the week was 34.2 degrees Fahrenheit, 4.9 degrees below normal. The statewide average precipitation was 0.42 inches, 0.44 inches below normal. There were 3.6 days suitable for fieldwork for the week ending November 28.

Ohio farmers were wrapping up harvest season. Some farmers completed harvest while others still had some corn and soybeans needing to be harvested. Corn and soybean harvest were both behind last year and the 5-year average.

Reports will be issued monthly during the winter season and will be available at www.nass.usda.gov.

For more for the final Crop Progress Report of 2021, click here.… Continue reading

November 23, 2021 -- Remaining cold today, but not quite as cold as yesterday. Winds will start to move to the south this afternoon and that will set us up for a warmer Wednesday. Temps will actually be above normal tomorrow. We should see full sunshine today and start with full sun tomorrow, but clouds increase late tomorrow and tomorrow night...

November 15, 2021 -- Our next front will be tracking across MI and IN Wednesday, but likely will not put any moisture into Ohio until late Wednesday afternoon when showers move into NW parts of the state...

November 12, 2021 -- Our cold front is through the state this morning, and we should put together a mostly rain free day. In this dry slot, we see a mix of clouds and sun...

On October 23, the members of the Northwestern FFA Chapter gathered at The New Pittsburg Park for the annual Fall FFA meeting. To kick off the meeting, members were able to participate in some recreational activities. This included kick ball, life size janga, card games, corn hole, and dancing. Following recreation members were able to enjoy a meal with their classmates. Each class was assigned a certain food to bring. Then the meeting began. The meeting was called to order by President Jadeyn Berry. Then, the officers performed opening ceremonies and minutes of the previous meeting were read by the Secretary Ava Stoller.  Treasurer’s Report was given by Zoey Dudte and the Reporter’s Report was given by Hanna Wilson. Kade Tegtmeier moved to accept all officer reports. Members then broke out into their assigned committees. The commitees are; Ag in the Classroom, Earnings and Savings, Community Service, Public Relations, Skills/CDE, Leadership, Recreation, Middle School Engagement, and High School Engagement.… Continue reading

November 2, 2021 -- No change in near term forecast this morning. We are precipitation free through the next 10 days. However, we remain very chilly in the short term, for most of the rest of this week...

November 1, 2021 -- Our forecast is rain free over the next 10 days. However, before we get too excited, we need to remind everyone that we are significantly colder for this week too,...

By John Schoenhals, Pioneer Field Agronomist, Northern Ohio

Tar spot is a relatively new corn disease for Ohio, as well as the rest of the United States. It is caused by a fungus and appears on corn leaves (as well as husks under severe cases) as small, raised black bumps that cannot be rubbed off.

Tar spot has historically been present in corn-growing regions of Mexico and Central/South America. These areas are often at higher elevations, with a similar climate to much of Ohio and the Midwest Corn Belt. Tar spot was found in the U.S. for the first time in 2015 in Illinois and Indiana. The disease was first found in Ohio in 2018, and has been found in much of the state in 2021.

Periods of moderate temperatures (60-75 degrees F), high humidity (above 85%), and leaf wetness exceeding 7 hours (heavy dews, foggy mornings, frequent rainfall) present the most ideal environment for disease development.… Continue reading