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Finish line in sight for grain farmers

Farmers know that it "ain’t over till it’s in the bin"

By Ed Lentz, OSU Extension, Hancock County
Edited by Mark Badertscher, OSU Extension, Hardin County

HARDIN COUNTY– Timely rainfall in early August is critical for optimal-to-record breaking yields in soybean and corn. Soon, the flowering period will end in soybean and adequate soil moisture will be required to prevent pod and seed abortion. If a farmer has an adequate soybean stand, August rains will determine whether bean yields are large or just average. For corn, most of it had successful pollination, but adequate soil moisture will be required to prevent kernel abortion and to ensure good grain fill. So far, rain events have been hit and miss across the county, putting more importance on timely August rains.  

Each year farmers are concerned that their corn crop will mature before the first killing frost. To be ‘safe’, the corn needs to reach physiological maturity before a frost. Physiological maturity is when kernels have obtained maximum dry weight. Generally, a black layer will form at the tip of the kernel at maturity – to see the black layer an individual may have to break the point at the kernel tip. Farmers use the phrase, ‘their corn is at black layer’ to indicate the field is mature and is safe from frost damage.

Forages for Horses virtual course offered by OSU Extension

Beginning August 30, 2023, Ohio State University Extension will be offering Forages for Horses- a virtual course for equine managers. The course will utilize a combination of live webinars on Zoom with equine and forage experts, along with an in-depth online course accessed through the platform Scarlet Canvas. The Forages for Horses program is a collaboration between Ohio State University Extension, USDA-Natural Resources Conservation Service, Ohio Department of Agriculture, and the Ohio Forage and Grasslands Council.

Ada chamber meets on August 16

The Ada Area Chamber of Commerce will meet at 8:00 a.m. 0n Wednesday, August 16 at the Ada Public Library for its monthly membership meeting. Breakfast will be provided.

Rhett Grant, Director of the Ada Public Library, will be sharing a recap of the Summer Reading Program and upcoming library events.

RSVP by August 25 for NW Ohio Agronomic Field Day

HARDIN COUNTY--Here's the invitation for the August 31 Northwest Ohio Agronomic Field Day from OSU Extension:

Join us for the 2023 Northwest Ohio Agronomic Field Day, where we will be discussing new corn and soybean practices that you can apply on your farm. Topics this year include the following: Battle for the Belt, Who Will Win? – Corn vs. Soybeans; Managing Slugs with Radish Cover Crops; Intensive Corn Management, What Pays (and What Doesn’t); What is the Right Nitrogen Rate for Corn Following a Cover Crop?; Effect of Xyway® LFR® Fungicide on Corn.

Hardin County Board of Developmental Disabilities earns top rating in state review

The Hardin County Board of Developmental Disabilities recently received the highest rating possible following a review from the Ohio Department of Developmental Disabilities.

The three-year certification was awarded after an extensive review of Early Intervention (birth to age 3), Service and Support Administration (age 3 and up), and services for adults like personal care, supervision, and maintaining housing. The Ohio Department of Developmental Disabilities focuses on the non-school activities of the Hardin Board of DD.

“We have extraordinary staff in all our programs. We focus on the needs of the people we serve in Hardin County and it shows,” says Kara Brown, Hardin County Board of DD Superintendent. “We offer a wide range of services to people of all ages. It takes a certain kind of person who can be both good at working with people and committed to following complicated Medicaid rules,” she said.

Scouting for soybean aphid

By Kelley Tilmon and Andy Michel,OSU Extension, Field Crop Entomologists
Edited by Mark Badertscher, OSU Extension, Hardin County.

HARDIN COUNTY–You know how at the end of the horror movie there’s always some hint that the monster may come back? We don’t know if this year will be “Soybean Aphid 11: The Return,” but there are some hints that you might want to pay attention to your beans and keep an eye out for this pest. We have been hearing reports of unusually high numbers of various aphid species on various types of plants–fruits, vegetables, weeds. 

This trend appears to be regional and is being detected in other states as well. Why? It’s probably due to the unusual late spring/early summer weather which was very dry. Wetness is the enemy of aphids because it creates conditions that favor the insect-killing fungi that help keep them in check. We suspect that aphids got off to a great (great for them) start early this season because of the dry conditions, and now they’re unusually abundant in many settings.

Soybean aphid never really went entirely away. When we look hard enough for research purposes, we can usually find a few here and there. While we don’t know if we will see soybean aphid problems in soybean this season, the general happiness of other aphid species this summer suggests that vigilance is appropriate. 

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