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He is risen!… Continue reading

April 13, 2022 -- We get wet today, as rain move in from the west and south. We still are likely going to miss the biggest threat of strong to severe thunderstorms...

April 6, 2022 -- Rain falls today as a cold front sweeps through Ohio. We are confident that we see rain totals of .15"-.75" with 85% coverage today...

The 2022 growing season began with slightly cooler and drier conditions than the start of last year’s growing season, according to Cheryl Turner, State Statistician, USDA NASS, Ohio Field Office. Topsoil moisture conditions were rated 1 percent very short, 1 percent short, 61 percent adequate, and 37 percent surplus. Temperatures for the week ending April 3 averaged 7.8 degrees below historical normals and the State received 0.25 inches of precipitation. There were 1.7 days suitable for fieldwork during the week ending April 3.

To start the season, producers top dressed wheat and spread lime. Cattle were doing well while some goats and sheep were being kept off pastures due to weather conditions and temperatures. Oats were 3 percent planted compared to 8 percent last year. Winter wheat jointing was 2 percent while the winter wheat crop was rated 54 percent good to excellent condition.

This is the first weekly crop and weather report for the 2022 season.… Continue reading

By Courtney Briggs, senior director of congressional relations for the American Farm Bureau Federation

No one knows the benefits of clean water better than our nation’s farmers and ranchers. The food, fiber, and fuel we produce to support the needs of all Americans requires clean water. The health of our most valuable asset — our land, requires clean water. And the well-being of our families and communities also requires clean water. However, new regulatory proposals by the Biden Administration will impose incredible burdens that will have unintended, yet lasting, consequences.
The Environmental Protection Agency and the Army Corps of Engineers have proposed a new regulation that would, once again, change the definition of “waters of the United States.” This regulation would repeal the successful Navigable Waters Protection Rule and reinstate the troubling pre-2015 WOTUS rule. If finalized, this rule would erase all of the clarity and certainty that we have spent years working for, and give the agencies the ability to assert jurisdiction over dry land that is located many miles from a federally regulated water.… Continue reading

The Highland County Chamber of Commerce is happy to announce the presentation of the 10^th annual Ag is Everyone’s Business event on Friday, March 4 at Boeckmann Farms, owned and operated by Jason and Amy Boeckmann, located north of Hillsboro.

Eric Snodgrass, Science Fellow and Principal Atmospheric Scientist for Nutrien Ag Solutions, is the keynote speaker for this year’s event. Mr. Snodgrass develops predictive, analytical software solutions to manage weather risk for global production agriculture. He provides frequent weather updates that focus on how high-impact weather events influence global agriculture productivity. Mr. Snodgrass’ presentation will be a Spring and Summer 2022 Outlook including post La Niña impacts.

Dr. Dennis Summers, recently named Ohio’s State Veterinarian, will also be speaking. Summers is Chief of the Division of Animal Health at the Ohio Department of Agriculture. He has been with ODA since 2014 and prior to that was a private practitioner in Vermont, Ohio and Pennsylvania.… Continue reading

By Glen Arnold, CCA, Ohio State University Extension

Some Ohio livestock producers will be looking to apply manure to farm fields frozen enough to support application equipment. This is due to the wet weather in later October, November, and December that also stretched out the crop harvest season. Permitted farms are not allowed to apply manure in the winter unless it is an extreme emergency, and then movement of manure to other suitable storage is usually the selected alternative. Thus, this article is for non-permitted livestock operations.

In the Grand Lake St Marys watershed, the winter manure application ban from Dec. 15 to March 1 is still in effect. Thus, no manure application would normally be allowed from now until March 1.

In the Western Lake Erie Basin (WLEB) watershed, the surface application of manure to frozen and snow-covered soils require there to be a growing crop in the field. This could be a pasture, alfalfa, clover, ryegrass or a rape crop.… Continue reading

Bane-Welker Equipment recently held a Toys for Tots drive and collected over 1,800 toys to donate the communities they serve.

It was a shared labor of love — both employees and customers got into the spirit. 

“This was such a rewarding project for our employees and our customers,” said Jason Bane, president of Bane-Welker Equipment. “We had customers and employees who used their Red Zone Rewards points to buy more toys for the children.” 

This type of project aligns well with the Bane-Welker mission of making a positive impact on the communities they serve. 

This year, the Toys for Tots project was initiated by two Bane-Welker employees, Nettie Grubb and Justin Butler, a former Marine, who benefitted from the program himself as a child. 

“My passion for helping grew from when I was a child and once received toys from this same program,” Butler said.  “It meant a lot to me then, and I wanted to help make a difference in children’s lives now.… Continue reading

December 22, 2021 -- Colder today as Canadian air pushes down across the Great Lakes and takes control of the eastern corn belt. We should turn out partly to mostly sunny, though, and benefit from that solar radiation a bit...

December 16, 2021 -- e state today. However, we really do not see temperatures fall off dramatically until late in the day, and the effects of the air mass change may get buried in the normal overnight move of temps...

August 27, 2021 -- Showers and thunderstorms will be around today, but the coverage is not as dense. We project 50% coverage today, with a lot of holes across the state...

By Kolt Buchenroth, Ohio Ag Net

They built it. And they came. Originally slated for 2020, Major League Baseball’s “Field of Dreams” between the White Sox and Yankees took place Thursday night in the middle of a cornfield in Dyersville, Iowa, just miles from the set of the 1989 Kevin Costner flick.

The venue held 8,000 people. Tickets were only available to those with an Iowa zip code.

While some online were curious about the yield of the crop, players sampled the crop.

The National Corn Growers Association was a part of the evening’s festivities as a sponsor. Releasing a statement before the game, “This is the first time two professional sports franchises will play a game in a field of corn.… Continue reading

By Mary Griffith, Amanda Douridas, Mike Estadt, Will Hamman, Ohio State University Extension

The next session of CORN Live is this Thursday, June 24^th from 8:00 – 9:00 am. This week’s webinar will touch on a variety of issues, starting with a crop progress report and field updates from Jason Hartschuh, Extension Educator in Crawford County, and a review of weed management in soybeans with Mark Loux, Professor and Extension Specialist in Weed Science at OSU.

In many parts of Ohio, wind or rain have reduced spray days allowing weeds to grow to a size that is tougher to control. Loux will be available to answer questions about adjustments to weed control programs.

Brad Moffitt, Director of Market Development and Membership at Ohio Corn and Wheat, and John Hoffman, Pickaway County farmer, will also be online to review this year’s growing season for wheat and talk about getting started with wheat harvest.… Continue reading

This country’s built on hard work, heart and sacrifice.

Today let us remember those who paid that price.

Have a safe Memorial Day. God bless America and our servicemen and women.

… Continue reading

Black Swamp Conservancy is inviting the public to a drive-in screening of two films that explore our relationship with the land: Farmscape Ecology and Look & See: A Portrait of Wendell Berry. The program will take place on Thursday, June 17, at the Field of Dreams Drive-In Theater, Liberty Center. Gates will open at 8:30 pm; movies begin at dusk. Concessions will be available for purchase. The screening is free and open to the public. Donations to Black Swamp Conservancy are appreciated and can be made via the Conservancy’s website.

For more information about this event, visit Black Swamp Conservancy’s website at www.blackswamp.org or call (419) 833-1025.

Farmscape Ecology explores the interface between farming and wild nature. Farming is ever-evolving. Today, when we think about what is to come next for farmers, a key question is, “How do we produce food and maintain a livelihood for farmers while respecting the needs of other organisms with which we share the land?”… Continue reading

May 28, 2021 -- . We see temps make another leg down behind this front, and we will be well below normal for this weekend. That likely is a bigger story than rain, at this point...