Top Headlines

By Ryan McAllister, CCA, Team Sales Agronomist for Beck’s Hybrids

This picture was taken on Friday, July 22^nd. Believe it or not, by Monday, July 25, 2011 this corn field is all standing upright…goosenecked, but standing up. If someone saw this field today, like I did, they would never believe that it looked like this on Friday.

What is causing this corn to go down?

1.       We never really achieved “ideal” planting conditions. Therefore, in-furrow compaction was a concern. For May planted corn, its early life was full of water, which did not encourage downward root development. For June planted corn, the scenario was a bit different. Many June planted fields received below normal or normal amounts of rain shortly after planting and then turned off bone dry until recently.

2.       June planted fields were more at risk for downed corn than the May planted fields.

3.       June planted fields had decent, but not great, root systems below ground.… Continue reading

Microsoft has donated nearly $1.9 million of software, training and support to the National FFA Organization for the creation of a new online network to help students track educational successes, pursue awards and scholarships and ultimately obtain careers in the agriculture industry.

The Agricultural Career Network will be an online portal that students can use starting in middle school, through college and beyond to track their educational accomplishments, activities and awards. It will also allow students to build resumes and online portfolios, apply for awards and scholarships, prepare for college, pursue internships, connect with potential employers and pursue employment opportunities.

Agriculture teachers will also be able to manage FFA member information in the network, which will provide key data for Perkins plans and reports, produce local impact reports for advocacy efforts, compile information about available grant and scholarship applications and create tools that teachers can use to gauge the relevance and successes of their individual agricultural education curricula.… Continue reading

OHIO CROP WEATHER HIGHLIGHTS

WEEK ENDING SUNDAY JULY 24th 2011

The average temperature for the State was 82.3 degrees, 8.3 degrees above normal for the week ending Sunday, July 24, 2011. Precipitation averaged 2.00 inches, 0.99 inches above normal. There were 1,891 modified growing degree days, 191 days above normal. Reporters rated 6.0 days suitable for fieldwork during the seven-day period ending Friday, July 22, 2011. Topsoil moisture was rated 15 percent very short, 29 percent short, 54 percent adequate, and 2 percent surplus.

FIELD ACTIVITIES AND CROP PROGRESS

A prolonged heat wave engulfed the state and broke records in some places. The heat caused extreme stress on livestock, including a number of reported deaths. Field activities for the week included baling straw and hay, spraying herbicide, tilling wheat stubble and installing tile.

As of Sunday July 24th, 30 percent of corn was silked (tasseled), compared to 90 percent last year and 69 percent for the five year average.… Continue reading

Unverferth Manufacturing Co., Inc. announces the introduction of the Brent Avalanche model 2096 to its grain cart lineup. In addition to industry-leading unloading speed, convenience and durability, the model 2096 tops the load-carrying chart at 2,000 bushels.

Today’s high-acreage crop farmers need grain carts with high-volume capacities and rapid unloading speeds for efficiently moving grain from the combine to the semi, unloading the grain and getting the cart back to the combine. The model 2096 Avalanche grain cart does all that and more with unloading speed up to 1,000-bushels per minute and standard pistol-grip remote-control auger operation for filling each compartment of the semi with one-stop convenience, saving wear and tear on the operator and the tractor’s drivetrain.

Key Avalanche model 2096 features include:

• Exclusive drivetrain design combines a belt-driven 20-inch diameter floor auger with a heavy-duty, direct-drive 90-degree gearbox for the 24-inch diameter vertical auger for increased unloading speed

• Hydraulically cushioned tongue smoothes the ride over rough terrain and reduces drawbar stress

• For precise unloading, the auger pivots up and down and features a standard multi-directional downspout with remote control for one-stop convenience for filling each semi compartment

• Undercarriage choices of tracks for greatest flotation or steerable in-line tandem wheels with Paralink suspension for maximum maneuverability

The model 2096 also features a standard Weatherguard tarp for protecting load contents from inclement weather.… Continue reading

Syngenta in North America announced that the U.S. Environmental Protection Agency (EPA) has granted registration approval for the Agrisure3122 trait stack. The Agrisure3122 stack offers growers dual modes of action against both corn borer and corn rootworm with a structured refuge of only five percent in the Corn Belt region of the United States.

“With this approval, Syngenta now offers growers a reduced-refuge trait stack featuring dual modes of action for both corn rootworm and corn borer,” said David Morgan, Syngenta region director of North America and president of Syngenta Seeds, Inc. “Not only do growers enjoy greater productivity through reduced refuge, they can also help safeguard trait technology and efficacy into the future.”

The Agrisure 3122 trait stack includes the trusted Agrisure CB/LL trait, which has been helping to protect corn from European corn borer for more than 10 years; the Agrisure RW trait, which protects against corn rootworm; the HerculexI trait for corn borer;  the HerculexRW trait for corn rootworm; and the Agrisure GT trait for glyphosate tolerance.… Continue reading

By Bill Mullen, Director of Agronomic Services, Seed Consultants Inc.

I never imagined corn planting throughout Ohio and Indiana would start around the end of May and finish up by mid June. Saturated soils kept many from ideal planting situations. In past years, farmers were able to work with four to five inches of good dry soil to plant into. In 2011 we were fortunate to have two to three inches, at best. Below this planting depth, there was nothing but mud. With the warmer temperatures, corn seed pushed through the ground fast and the growth process started. Fields look good from the road, as they always do, however there are issues out there that still need to be addressed. Walking corn fields will show the true condition and identify possible issues that could delay crop harvest.

The first issue affecting our corn crop today is the early development of the root system especially in those areas of the field where the plant roots were impacted by shallow compaction.… Continue reading

Registration is open for Composting in Ohio 2011: A Tour of the Industry, set for Aug. 11 in northeast Ohio. The program is for anyone interested in large-scale composting, recycling and overall sustainable practices.

Featured will be:

• The Medina County Municipal Solid Waste Processing Complex, the only Class I composting site in Ohio, which means it can take in a wide range of solid waste – mixed, from food, from yards, from industry.

• Baldwin-Wallace College’s industrial-scale Earth Tub food-waste composter in Berea, part of the school’s move toward greater sustainability; and

• Rosby Resource Recycling in Brooklyn Heights, which not only composts food and yard waste (a Class II facility) but processes and recycles construction and demolition debris.

Hours are 8:30 a.m.-3 p.m. starting at the Medina County facility at 8700 Lake Rd. in Seville. Also available is a van pool leaving at 7:30 a.m. from the Ohio Agricultural Research and Development Center, 1680 Madison Ave.,… Continue reading

Growing demand for corn to use in biofuels and for soybeans to help feed a booming Chinese economy are among key forces driving commodity prices higher this year, according to a report by three Purdue agricultural economists.

A weak U.S. dollar, high oil prices, declining grain supplies and poor harvests in 2010 also contributed, they wrote in the report, which predicts that high prices will continue beyond the 2011 crop year.

The economists – Phil Abbott, Chris Hurt and Wally Tyner – detailed their findings in “What’s Driving Food Prices in 2011,” commissioned by Farm Foundation, NFP, and released Tuesday (July 19). Costs of commodities influence retail food prices as do general inflationary pressures such as transportation, packaging and food processing.

The report follows their analyses for Farm Foundation, NFP, in 2008 and 2009, when retail food prices also peaked.

For commodities prices in 2011, it comes down to world food and fuel demands exceeding supply in recent years.… Continue reading

In case you haven’t noticed, it is hot. Really hot. Here is a weather update from Jim Noel, with the National Weather Service.

No changes from last week. A hot week with some scattered storms and severe weather can be expected.

July 18-25 – Temperatures will average 5-10 degrees above normal with rainfall averaging 0.5 to 1.0 inches. Normal rainfall is near 1 inch per week. Due to the nature of thunderstorms, this means some places will receive 2+” while others get 0.25 inches. Due to the very hot weather ahead this week, thunderstorms will be capable of producing severe weather with damaging winds a real threat. Expect this week to feature highs in the 90s and lows in the 70s.

July 25-August 1 – Temperatures will relax some next week to average 0-2 degrees above normal with rainfall again at or below normal in the 0.5 to 1 inch range with a high degree of variability.… Continue reading

In case you haven’t noticed, it is hot. Really hot. Here is a weather update from Jim Noel, with the National Weather Service.

No changes from last week. A hot week with some scattered storms and severe weather can be expected.

July 18-25 – Temperatures will average 5-10 degrees above normal with rainfall averaging 0.5 to 1.0 inches. Normal rainfall is near 1 inch per week. Due to the nature of thunderstorms, this means some places will receive 2+” while others get 0.25 inches. Due to the very hot weather ahead this week, thunderstorms will be capable of producing severe weather with damaging winds a real threat. Expect this week to feature highs in the 90s and lows in the 70s.

July 25-August 1 – Temperatures will relax some next week to average 0-2 degrees above normal with rainfall again at or below normal in the 0.5 to 1 inch range with a high degree of variability.… Continue reading

By John F. Grimes, OSU Extension Beef Coordinator

So just what are the “Dog Days” of summer? According to Wikipedia, the “Dog Days” are the hottest, most sultry days of summer. Based on our latitude in the northern hemisphere, these days usually fall between early July and early September. The name comes from the ancient belief that Sirius, also called the Dog Star, in close proximity to the sun was responsible for the hot weather. I wasn’t sure of the actual definition of the term “Dog Days of Summer” so now we can all consider ourselves more informed!

All jokes aside, the weather that we are experiencing in Ohio this week truly qualifies as the “Dog Days of Summer.” Actual temperatures are well into the nineties and heat indexes are very high. The current weather conditions can provide high levels to humans, crops, and cattle alike. Producers need to consider their daily management practices in order to minimize the stress resulting from current weather patterns to their beef herd.… Continue reading

What impact will not getting to a debt ceiling agreement have on the agriculture industry?

Ohio State Ag Economist Matt Roberts tells Ty Higgins that if the August 3rd deadline to raise the debt ceiling comes and goes, some farm payments may not be coming.… Continue reading

Ohio crop growers faced numerous challenges planting corn and soybeans this spring, and with the crop progressing through mid-July, they now face an interesting weed control scenario, as well.

“The late planting presents challenges and makes weed control easier at the same time,” said Mark Loux, Ohio State Extension weed specialist. The unusual planting season resulted in an abnormal timeline for producers’ weed control systems.

Because farmers couldn’t get into fields as early as they would have liked to this spring, Loux said farmers saw significant weed pressure throughout June in both no-till and conventional tillage fields. In addition, some producers were not aggressive enough with their application of a burndown herbicide in no-till, and some weeds simply survived tillage this year.

Perhaps the biggest challenge to producers’ weed control strategies boiled down to simple logistics.

“When we’re planting that late, everyone gets jammed up and some missed applications,” Loux said.… Continue reading

Late-planted Ohio corn may show signs of heat stress and reduced yield potential as extremely hot, dry days plague the state this week, said Ohio State Extension corn scientist Peter Thomison.

When corn is planted in wet soils, root systems often don’t develop as well as they would have in drier conditions. And in years with a significant number of abnormally hot, dry days, wet conditions at planting can be very troubling for farmers and yield potential.

Thomison, a professor in OSU’s Department of Horticulture & Crop Science, said lack of rain may be the major headline of the 2011 corn crop.

“There are parts of the state, areas in Brown County for example, that got 8 inches recently, while other areas in the same county didn’t get a drop,” Thomison said. “In a lot of the northwestern counties that needed rain, some areas got an inch and others didn’t get any.”… Continue reading

Late-planted Ohio corn may show signs of heat stress and reduced yield potential as extremely hot, dry days plague the state this week, said Ohio State Extension corn scientist Peter Thomison.

When corn is planted in wet soils, root systems often don’t develop as well as they would have in drier conditions. And in years with a significant number of abnormally hot, dry days, wet conditions at planting can be very troubling for farmers and yield potential.

Thomison, a professor in OSU’s Department of Horticulture & Crop Science, said lack of rain may be the major headline of the 2011 corn crop.

“There are parts of the state, areas in Brown County for example, that got 8 inches recently, while other areas in the same county didn’t get a drop,” Thomison said. “In a lot of the northwestern counties that needed rain, some areas got an inch and others didn’t get any.”… Continue reading

Farmers, veterinarians and livestock haulers are encouraged to attend one of five informational sessions to be held in August and September by the Ohio Department of Agriculture which will provide an overview of the state’s new livestock care standards. The two-hour sessions will be held in Allen, Highland, Mercer, Muskingum, and Wayne counties.

The meetings are open to the public and will feature a presentation on the new livestock care standards as well as an opportunity to ask ODA staff questions about the new rules.
Date and locations for the information sessions are:

Wednesday, August 24    6:00 – 8:00    Hillsboro
Southern State Community College (Auditorium), 100 Hobart Drive

Wednesday, August 31    6:00 – 8:00    Wooster
Ohio State University OARDC (Shisler Center Ballroom), 1680 Madison Avenue

Wednesday, September 14    6:00 – 8:00    Lima
Independence Elementary School, 615 Tremont Avenue

Tuesday, September 27    6:00 – 8:00    Zanesville
Ohio University – Zanesville Campus (The Campus Center T430 & 431), 1425 Newark Road

Thursday, September 29    6:00 – 8:00    Fort Recovery
American Legion, 2490 State Route 49 N.… Continue reading

It is hot, really hot in Ohio, much of the Corn Belt and the southern U.S. To make matters worse, the high temperatures in the Corn Belt are occurring during the reproductive stage for a large portion of the crop, said University of Illinois agricultural economist Darrel Good. Do the markets have reason for concern?

A number of factors combine each year to determine the U.S. average corn yield. Among those factors, temperature and precipitation during July are the most important, he said.

“Crop yield models have long confirmed the large yield impact of July weather. The most favorable weather conditions in July in the heart of the Corn Belt consist of temperatures that are modestly below average and precipitation that is about 25% above average,” he said.

These are the kind of conditions that were experienced in 2009 and contributed to the record high U.S. average yield that year. Historically, such conditions over large areas have been rare, he noted.… Continue reading

The 2011 Ohio State Fair is almost here. The fair kicks off July 27th and runs until August 7th. The Ohio Ag Net and Ohio’s Country Journal will be there everyday bringing back the lastest news to share on air, in print and online.

We’re the home of Kalmbach Feeds Feeding You the Results First. We’ll have the latest results from the junior fair goat, chicken, sheep, hog, dairy and steer shows. Plus, we’ll be steaming the Sale of Champions LIVE, here on our site at 2:00 pm on August 7th.

In the comments below, tell us what your most looking forward to at this year’s fair. On Friday, July 22nd at noon we’ll randomly select three people who will each receive a family four pack of admission tickets to the fair!

Congrats to Marylin Fries, the Hiser Family and Suzy Sifrit would one the tickets.… Continue reading

As of Sunday July 17th, 7 percent of corn was silked (tasseled), 64 percent behind last year and behind the five-year average by 34 percent. Soybeans blooming were reported at 11 percent, behind last year and the five-year average by 50 and 42 percent points, respectively. Soybeans setting pods were rated at one percent, 12 points behind last year and seven points behind the five-year average. Ninety-five percent of the winter wheat has been harvested, compared to 98 percent last year and 89 percent for the five-year average. Oats were 95 percent headed, 4 percent behind last year and 5 percent behind the five-year average. Thirty-four percent of the oats were rated as ripe, 37 percent behind last year and 20 percentage points behind the five-year average. Eight percent of the oat acreage has been harvested, nine percentage points behind last year and four points behind the five-year average. The second cutting of alfalfa hay was 60 percent complete, compared to 85 percent last year and 74 percent for the five-year average.… Continue reading

25x’25 released a Wood-to-Energy Policy Roadmap concluding that the focused use of woody biomass to help meet America’s energy needs could increase the nation’s forest land base and improve the environmental services that land provides. 



The findings are among the principal conclusions developed by a diverse panel of leading forestry, conservation, scientific and energy experts following two years of stakeholder discussion facilitated by 25x’25. The Roadmap offers a series of recommendations for policy makers and stakeholders to enhance the role of our nation’s forestlands in meeting U.S. energy needs while sustaining “forests as forests.”
The Roadmap shows the means by which woody biomass can be an important feed-stock for renewable energy, including:

• Promoting  the sustainable use of biomass with appropriate feedback mechanisms

• Rewarding efficient uses for woody biomass in energy production;

• Using market incentives to help private and public forestlands reach their productive potential for wood and other public benefits;

• Investment in needed research and technology development.… Continue reading