The 2017 Shelby County Dairy Banquet will be at the Palazzo in Botkins on Thursday, March 9; social time at 7 p.m.; dinner at 7:30 p.m. Randy Fisher from Toastmasters will present “Mis-Information in Agriculture.” Tickets are $10 at the door. Those admitted for free are youth aged five and younger and 4-H and FFA members who exhibited a dairy project at the 2016 Shelby County Fair. Reservations for all (to ensure enough food!) are to be made to Greg Borchers by Feb 27 (that’s today!): 937-726-1805 or [email protected].
There are two Small Farm Conferences being held in March. One is in Massillon (eastern part of the state); the closer one is in Wilmington. Both conferences (with trade shows) are designed to help participants learn tips, techniques, and methods for diversifying their operations to improve economic growth and development on their farms.
The Opening Doors to Success Conference is March 10-11 at Wilmington College. The March 10 session is from 1 to 5:30 p.m. with choice of workshop: “Poultry Production” or “Beekeeping for the Beginner.” On March 11, the day runs from 7:45 a.m. to 3:45 p.m. Topics for the day will include greenhouse production, livestock, field crops, finances and farm and land access, etc.!
Registration for the conference is $20 for Friday, $60 for Saturday only, or $70 for Friday and Saturday. Students are offered a discounted rate. More information is available at go.osu.edu/BpkQ. Registration deadline is March 3.
Xtend soybean/dicamba information from Mark Loux, OSUE Weed Specialist: The latest blog post on the OSU weed management website, u.osu.edu/osuweeds, has information on XtendiMax and Engenia. This includes primary labels and soybean supplemental labels for both products, along with an ODA fact sheet summarizing key aspects and differences between the labels. Also posted is an OSU Powerpoint that summarizes some of the key stewardship information from labels. BASF and Monsanto have started to provide approved tank-mix components on their websites: www.xtendimaxapplicationrequirements.com and www.engeniatankmix.com. Reminder: Anything that will be mixed with Engenia or XtendiMax – herbicides, adjuvants, etc. – must be listed on these websites prior to use. The same goes for nozzles; approvals for these are starting to appear on the websites as well.
From Laura Lindsey, OSU Soybean Specialist: Soybean Yield Limiting Factors were measured on 199 farms across Ohio in 2013, 2014 and 2015. (We had four farms in Shelby County.) Data collected included management practices, soil fertility status, soybean cyst nematode (SCN) egg counts and soybean yield. The top three yield-reducers in the research included planting date, soil fertility and SCN.
On average, soybean fields planted before May 16 had yields 4 bu/acre greater compared to fields planted later. The greatest benefit of planting earlier is early canopy closure which increases light interception, shades out weeds, and helps retain soil moisture. However, soil temperatures need to be at least 50 degrees at planting.
A grain yield reduction of 7 bu/acre was associated with soil phosphorus levels below the state established critical level, while a grain yield reduction of 4 bu/acre was associated with potassium levels below its critical level. (Additional fertilizer applications rarely increased yields in fields at or above critical level.)
Fields with over 200 eggs/100 cc of soil were associated with yields that were 6 bu/acre lower compared to fields with less. Eighty percent of the fields sampled had detectable levels of SCN, but many farmers were unaware of any problems. If you’ve never tested your fields for SCN, we suggest doing so.
Because many other factors can influence soybean yield, the soybean yield limitation research is on-going. If you are interested in participating, see the online survey tool at https://www.surveymonkey.com/r/ohiosoybean.
