The 2016 Tri-County Pond Clinic will be held on Tuesday, May 3, from 6 to 8:30 p.m., this year in Miami County. This free event, hosted by the Soil &Water Conservation Districts in Shelby, Darke and Miami Counties, is open for anyone interested in pond construction and maintenance, fish management and vegetation, legal questions for pond owners, and wildlife concerns. This year the Pond Clinic will be held at the Fessler Pond, 1530 S. Forest Hill Road, Troy. Please dress for the weather and bring your own lawn chair and/or blanket. More information is available at the Shelby SWCD office: 937-492-6520.
OSU Extension offers a Direct Marketing Webinar Series. These one-hour webinars are offered once per month, at noon. Recordings are also available for later viewing at go.osu.edu/DirectMarketingWebinars. (There are programs at this site from 2014 and 2015. Go, check them out!)
On Thursday, April 21, Melissa Carter will be talking about “Enhancing Your Web Presence:” http://carmenconnect.osu.edu/enhancingwebpresence. There could be some good points here about promoting your business!
The Ohio Woodland Stewards have set another program on “Capturing Nature’s Wonders.” This full-day class – plus evening field trip – will help you to take your outdoor photography skills to the next level! An intensive classroom preparation and “real time” instruction in the field is planned to help you learn the simple steps that make the difference between ordinary snapshots and extraordinary photos.
This class will be held on Saturday, May 7, at the OSU Mansfield Campus. The Workshop will be from 9 a.m. to 5:30 p.m. with the field trip to follow at 6:30 to 8:30 p.m. The cost is $90 (includes lunch and dinner); the class size is limited to 12. To register, you can go to http://woodlandstewards.osu.edu/events/capturing-natures-wonders-0. For questions, call 614-688-3421.
Well, it looks like we may be getting into the fields sometime soon. I saw “more than a few” planters/sprayers/etc. being prepped last week. While you’ve got that Owner’s Manual out, this could be a good time to review Dangerous Areas on that Equipment! It never hurts to “jog that memory” of the dangers and warning labels!
There are so many ways to get hurt with farm equipment: entanglement with a rotating part (Wrap Point); cuts (Shear/Cut Points); getting caught between a belt/chain and what it’s moving around (Pinch Points); being caught under or between moving parts/equipment (Crush Points); burns from hot areas (Burn Points); getting hit by something that takes time to come to a complete stop, like rotary mower blades or flywheels (Free-Wheeling Parts); unintentionally releasing pressurized hydraulic systems or spring tensions (Stored Energy); and getting hit by something throw by or off the equipment (Thrown Objects). Reviewing that manual and taking a walk around each piece of equipment can help you recognize the hazards and reduce the potential for injuries!!
So, okay, my final words for this week are “Be Safe!”
