Top Headlines

AGCO is pleased to unveil the latest addition to the Sunflower seeding and tillage lineup, the all-new Sunflower 1800 Series Tandem Disc Harrows. These heavy-duty machines combine bigger blades and wider blade spacing with larger frames to produce some of the highest weight-per-blade specifications in the industry, to easily cut through compacted soils and heavy crop mat.
“Professional producers looking for a durable machine that can break through hard-packed soils and thick crop residue need not look any further than the Sunflower 1800 Series Tandem Disc Harrows,” said Larry Kuster, product marketing specialist. “These machines are designed to efficiently incorporate heavy residue into the soil to help maintain a healthy, nutrient-rich soil structure so producers can maximize their crop yield potential.”
The Sunflower 1800 Series Tandem Disc Harrows are available in two models — SF1830 and SF1810 — each with a variety of widths and configurations that cater to the specific needs and field conditions of individual farming operations.… Continue reading

There has finally been some rain. “We got a tenth and half to six-tenths last night. Things have turned around some, but our subsoil is still extremely dry. We’ve been getting the quarter-inch, three-tenth, half-inch rains that are keeping the crops alive. An inch and nine-tenths is the least we’ve gotten on any of our farms now since planting and some of them have gotten up to 2.5 inches.

“The corn is just coming into tassel and pollination, which is great because we got these showers and cooler temperatures. Things are turning around, but we have farms that, up to this weekend, did not get more than an inch and three-tenths since planting. It somehow keeps hanging on. The recent rains will certainly be a plus for pollination.

“Last week we sprayed 280 acres for spider mites in our soybeans. We also added a little Lorsban with that for the aphids that we are seeing coming in.… Continue reading

As of Sunday August 7th, 83 percent of corn was silked (tasseled), compared to 98 percent last year and 96 percent for the five-year average. Corn in dough was 15 percent, which was 45 percent behind 2010 and 24 percent behind the five-year average. Corn dented was 1 percent, compared to 9 percent last year and 3 percent for five-year average. Seventy-nine percent of Soybeans were blooming, compared to 95 percent last year and 94 percent for the five-year average. Twenty-three percent of soybeans were setting pods, compared to 75 percent last year and 67 percent for the five-year average.

Here is the complete report, including crop conditions.… Continue reading

As of Sunday August 7th, 83 percent of corn was silked (tasseled), compared to 98 percent last year and 96 percent for the five-year average. Corn in dough was 15 percent, which was 45 percent behind 2010 and 24 percent behind the five-year average. Corn dented was 1 percent, compared to 9 percent last year and 3 percent for five-year average. Seventy-nine percent of Soybeans were blooming, compared to 95 percent last year and 94 percent for the five-year average. Twenty-three percent of soybeans were setting pods, compared to 75 percent last year and 67 percent for the five-year average.

Here is the complete report, including crop conditions.… Continue reading

After reviewing and scoring landowners’ applications for the tenth funding round of the Clean Ohio Agricultural Easement Purchase Program (AEPP), the Farmland Preservation Advisory Board has recommended 41 farms for funding to Ohio Agriculture Director Jim Zehringer. A total of $6.4 million from the Clean Ohio Fund will be used to purchase agricultural easements on these farms to preserve them in perpetuity.
The AEPP is the farmland preservation component of the Clean Ohio initiative to protect rural greenfields and reclaim brownfields. The Clean Ohio Fund was originally approved by Ohio’s voters in 2000, and further supported at the ballot for continuation in 2008. A total of $25 million from the $400 million Clean Ohio Fund is dedicated to preserving farmland by purchasing agricultural easements on farms.
This year, the Ohio Department of Agriculture’s Office of Farmland Preservation received 190 applications from 35 counties competing for the limited money available through the Clean Ohio Fund.… Continue reading

A $2,500 donation can go a long way to help rural communities. It can fund rescue equipment for a local fire department, purchase new books to fill a school library or help stock shelves for the local food pantry. Now, farmers in more than 1,200 eligible counties across 39 states can do their part to plant the seed to help grow their community by signing up for the 2nd annual America’s Farmers Grow CommunitiesSM. This program, sponsored by the Monsanto Fund, gives farmers the chance to direct $2,500 to their favorite community nonprofit.

“Participation in the first annual Grow Communities program was incredible, with nearly 50,000 farmers signing up for the chance to support their local communities,” said Deborah Patterson, Monsanto Fund President. “Farmers across the country made this program a huge success, and we are thrilled to announce that farmers again have the opportunity to help grow their communities.”

Grow Communities was created to benefit nonprofit community groups such as agriculture youth organizations, schools and other civic groups that are important to America’s farmers.… Continue reading

A $2,500 donation can go a long way to help rural communities. It can fund rescue equipment for a local fire department, purchase new books to fill a school library or help stock shelves for the local food pantry. Now, farmers in more than 1,200 eligible counties across 39 states can do their part to plant the seed to help grow their community by signing up for the 2nd annual America’s Farmers Grow CommunitiesSM. This program, sponsored by the Monsanto Fund, gives farmers the chance to direct $2,500 to their favorite community nonprofit.

“Participation in the first annual Grow Communities program was incredible, with nearly 50,000 farmers signing up for the chance to support their local communities,” said Deborah Patterson, Monsanto Fund President. “Farmers across the country made this program a huge success, and we are thrilled to announce that farmers again have the opportunity to help grow their communities.”

Grow Communities was created to benefit nonprofit community groups such as agriculture youth organizations, schools and other civic groups that are important to America’s farmers.… Continue reading

Massey Ferguson is pleased to unveil the ‘Next Generation’ of axial combines. Simply put, the all-new Massey Ferguson 9500 Series Combines are the most productive and efficient combines ever offered from Massey Ferguson – providing greater power and capacity – designed to perform in even the most adverse crop conditions. The 9500 Series combines are powered by new AGCO POWER engines and offer exclusive advancements such as the new Trident processor, exclusive V-Cool system, redesigned cleaning system and more.
“Since 2006, we have committed significant investments to growing the company’s global presence in crop harvesting. The recent introduction of the Massey Ferguson 9250 DynaFlex header is just one example of the outcome of the increased resources,” explains Kevin Cobb, product marketing manager for Massey Ferguson combines. “The 9500 Series represents another milestone in the strategy, introducing major design advancements to our axial combine and delivering new solutions to today’s harvesting challenges.”… Continue reading

Following the contentious debt-ceiling vote, the U.S. Congress left town for its August recess without finalizing action on stalled free trade agreements (FTA) with South Korea, Panama and Colombia, but Floyd Gaibler, U.S. Grains Council director of trade policy, is hopeful all three will be approved some time in September.

“A delayed vote would be unfortunate, since it would further delay getting these FTAs in place,” said Gaibler, noting that FTAs with competitors are moving forward. South Korea’s FTA with the European Union went into effect July 1 and Colombia’s FTA with Canada will take effect Aug. 15.

“The lack of these agreements diminishes our ability to be competitive and threatens further erosion in our corn exports to Colombia,” he said.

As the political and economic pressure to create more jobs becomes more apparent, he believes Congress and the President will come to an agreement on a trade jobs program that has held up the FTA votes, especially since the pacts have clear bipartisan support.… Continue reading

While many Ohio State Fairgoers prepare their taste buds for corn dogs, elephant ears and other traditional fair fare, visitors have something new to try this year. Delicious, American raised lamb prepared by some of the top chefs in Ohio will be the feature of the first Ohio Lamb Jam competition on Aug. 5. Fairgoers can stop by for free samples of delicious lamb and some great recipes for preparing lamb and a chance to see the chefs in action.
We are seeing strong demand as more people are re-discovering the delicious and diverse qualities of cooking with lamb,” said Roger High, executive director of the Ohio Sheep Improvement Association. “Whether ordering at a restaurant or preparing a recipe at home, more consumers are choosing lamb.”
The Lamb Jam with start at 11:30 near the west side of the Brown Sheep Building. Celebrity judges will evaluate the lamb dishes prepared by the chefs.… Continue reading

Ohio State University Extension, in conjunction with the Natural Resource Conversation Service and the Ohio No-till Council, has developed ECO Farming, a tillage system for farmers to consider at upcoming field days.

ECO Farming is a new concept and way of farming in the 21st century.

“ECO Farming stands for Eternal no-till, Continuous living cover, and Other best management practices,” said Jim Hoorman, assistant professor with OSU Extension. “In other words, absolutely trying to eliminate tillage as much as possible.”

Hoorman, along with Ray Archuleta of NRCS’ East National Technology Service Center, Ohio No-till Council President Dave Brandt, and Mark Scarpiti, Ohio NRCS agronomist collaboratively defined and promoted the ECO Farming concept.

“Continuous living cover means that farmers try to keep a living crop on the soil 100% of the time,” Archuleta said. “The goal is to protect the soil from soil erosion, increase water infiltration, and decrease nutrient runoff.”

Examples include grain crops followed by cover crops, pasture or hay systems, or perennial plants.… Continue reading

Kinze Manufacturing, Inc. unveiled an innovative solution to increase productivity on the farm — the Kinze Autonomy Project. The technology, which is the first of its kind in row crop production worldwide, utilizes autonomous agricultural equipment to complete many tasks on the farm with minimal direct human input.

“We’re excited to introduce the first truly autonomous row crop solution in the world on this scale,” said Susanne Kinzenbaw Veatch, vice president and chief marketing officer at Kinze. “This technology could be used to do a variety of tasks, including planting, nourishing, maintaining and harvesting crops.”

As a project more than two years in the making, Kinze performed extensive obstacle detection testing to ensure the accuracy and safety of the autonomous equipment. Beginning in a laboratory environment and then in the field, Kinze engineers simulated real-world scenarios to ensure the equipment would detect objects often encountered in the field, such as fence posts, stand pipes, farm animals and other vehicles.… Continue reading

Syngenta in North America announced that it has received import approval from Japanese and Mexican regulatory authorities for the Agrisure Viptera 3220 trait stack, which offers corn growers dual modes of action against a broad-spectrum of above-ground (lepidopteran) insects including corn borer and a 5% refuge in the Corn Belt region of the United States. These regulatory approvals allow the importation of U.S. corn grown with the Agrisure Viptera 3220 trait stack for food or feed use within Japan and Mexico.

“Japanese and Mexican import approvals provide U.S. growers access to a highly valuable market and is a major step toward Agrisure Viptera 3220 trait stack commercialization for the 2012 growing season,” said David Morgan, Syngenta region director of North America and president of Syngenta Seeds, Inc. “Soon growers will be able to reap the benefits of record commodity prices, achieving higher yield potential with an unprecedented level of corn pest control and reduced refuge requirements.”… Continue reading

Ed Avalos OSF

USDA Under Secretary Edward Avalos made a trip to The Ohio State Fair to talk to the youth of Ohio Agriculture to discuss their questions and concerns. Ty Higgins met with Avalos shortly thereafter and had this conversation with him.… Continue reading

Seed Consultants, Inc., is pleased to announce that Lance Weaver has been named an area seedsman. In his new position Lance will cover Coshocton, Holmes, Knox, Muskingum, Morrow, Marion and Tuscarawas counties in Ohio.

Raised near Coshocton, Oh., Lance has a Bachelor of Science degree with a major in business administration from Franklin University in Columbus, and recently completed the Certified Crop Advisor training. Lance has been a part of the Seed Consultants team since 2008.

“My career goal was to be in the seed business,” Lance said. “I’m looking forward to taking care of the customer.”

“Lance has a passion for serving farmers and is dedicated to meeting their needs. We’re
looking forward to him serving this area,” said Chris Jeffries, general manager at SCI.
Lance can be reached on his mobile phone at (740) 502-6622 or by e-mail at LanceWeaver@seedconsultants.com.… Continue reading

By Brian Essinger, Monsanto
The latest forecast for Western Bean Cutworm is moderate to high risk for northern Ohio. I recommend scouting acres that are not Genuity SmartStax traited corn.
The eggs are laid on the corn leaves, will start out in clumps of 15-50 white/pink eggs and as they mature they turn brown and then purple right before they hatch.
High Insect Risk
Insect migration probability in your area requires your immediate action. Please review the data below to assess your risk for insect damage and determine next steps.
For daily insect migration reports, information about past migratory insect conditions, insect pressure trends and related research, please visit InsectForecast.com.

ACTION: Immediately scout all fields currently at a stage susceptible to insect damage.

RISK: Over 50% probability of experiencing an insect flight resulting in increased trap counts and presence of new moths.

ISSUED WHEN: An optimal weather pattern exists (strong south/southwest winds and expected precipitation).… Continue reading

Armed with pork and ready to impress an audience and judges, seven teams from across Ohio, gathered in Columbus for the 15th annual Ohio Pork Rib-Off. This event invites teams to prepare both ribs and pulled pork that are evaluated by a judging panel for taste, tenderness and appearance.

This year, those challenged with selecting Ohio’s top teams were Woody Johnson, 92.3 WCOL; Shelley Mann, Columbus Crave Magazine; Virgil Strickler, General Manager, Ohio Expo Center and State Fair; Corporal Craig Sinclair, Clear Channel Radio Traffic and Johnny DiLoretto, Fox 28.

John DeSando of WCBE served as the competition emcee and announced the following award winners:

Grand Champion Ribs: Hickory River Smokehouse, Tipp City

Reserve Champion Ribs: Tony’s Restaurant, Findlay

Grand Champion Pulled Pork: Hickory River Smokehouse, Tipp City

Reserve Pulled Pork: Wally’s Great American BBQ, Tiffin

People’s Choice Award Winner: Tony’s Restaurant, Findlay

Best BBQ Sauce containing Soy: Hickory River Smokehouse, Tipp City

In addition to $3,000 in prizes, top teams received commemorative banners and silver serving trays.… Continue reading

By John Brien, AgriGold Agronomist, CCA

About a third of Ohio’s corn crop is tasseled and more is tasseling every day, the temperatures and humidity continue to be high and the forecast continues to predict heat. How will all these factors affect pollination out in the corn field?

Ideal pollination conditions consist of moderate temperatures with low humidity with ample soil moisture; unfortunately some parts of the state only have ample soil moisture. So if conditions are not ideal how does a corn plant ensure the best pollination possible? To ensure a successful pollination the corn plant has many built in safety measures.

The first safety measure surrounds pollen release. A tassel will not begin releasing pollen until the entire tassel is emerged from the plant. Pollen will also not be released when conditions could be detrimental to the pollen grain. Typically pollen is released once the dew is off the corn plant in the morning and prior to the heat of the day and again in the evening as the temperatures decrease, ensuring pollen viability.… Continue reading

The purpose of the Ohio Wheat Performance Test is to evaluate wheat varieties, blends, brands, and breeding lines for yield, grain quality and other important performance characteristics. This information gives wheat producers comparative information for selecting the varieties best suited for their production system and market. Varieties differ in yield potential, winter hardiness, maturity, standability, disease and insect resistance, and other agronomic characteristics. Depending on variety and test site, yields varied between 53.1 and 107.4 bushels per acre, and test weight ranged from 54.7 to 63.3 pounds per bushel. Selection should be based on performance from multiple test sites and years. Results of the 2011 wheat performance evaluation are available at: www.ag.ohio-state.edu/~perf and http://agcrops.osu.edu and the Mid-August issue of Ohio’s Country Journal.… Continue reading

By Peter Thomison, Ohio State University Extension corn specialist

The recent heat wave has generated many questions about the impact of high temperatures on corn yields. The “good news” is that corn originated as a tropical grass and can tolerate exposures to adverse temperatures as high as 112 degrees F for brief periods. Optimal daytime temperatures for corn typically range between 77 degrees and 91 degrees. Growth decreases when temperatures exceed 95 degrees. Fortunately, the high temperatures during the past week have been associated with some much needed rains across the state.

How high is too high for corn? Emerson Nafziger, University of Illinois agronomist, notes that “afternoon temperatures in the mid-90s are not a problem for corn… if they have enough soil water available. In experiments, plant temperatures have been raised to 110 or higher without doing direct damage to photosynthetic capacity. The level required to damage leaves depends on the temperature the leaf has experienced before, but it generally takes temperatures above 100 in field-grown plants.”… Continue reading