On Aug. 15, the Southwest Ohio Corn Growers Association, in conjunction with the Fayette County Agronomy Committee and the Fayette County Extension Office, will hold their annual field day and test plot demonstrations. The event will be held at the Fayette County Demonstration Farm, located north of Washington Court House on Old Route 38, at the Fayette County Airport. The field day will be from 9:30 a.m. to 3 p.m. It is free to attend and will include lunch. Certified Crop Advisor credits and Private Pesticide Re-certification credits will also be available for this event.

Educational topics, presented by a variety of speakers from OSU, will include Spray Drift and Spray Nozzle Selection, Corn Seeding Rates and Emergence, Corn Ear Rot Diagnostic Demonstration, Using On-Farm Research to Make Adaptive Nitrogen Decisions, and Cover Crops for Pollinators. The USDA Farm Service Agency and Pheasants Forever will provide a program about planting pollinator strips and the Ohio Corn and Wheat Growers will give an update and host listening sessions on the 2018 Farm Bill. Sonny Perdue, US Secretary of Agriculture has been contacted to be the keynote speaker at lunch, but has not yet been confirmed.

There will also be agricultural equipment, agricultural technology, seed, chemical, agricultural lending, and agricultural marketing companies on hand to answer questions and display their newest products. Health screenings and skin damage screenings will be offered in the morning and throughout the day plane rides by the airport personnel will be available. For more information about plane rides, please contact the Fayette County Airport at 740-335-2430.

For additional information please contact Ken Ford, Fayette County ANR Educator at 937-441-5762, [email protected] or their website www.fayette.osu.edu.

There will be a Precision Ag Day on Nutrient Application on Thursday, Aug. 17, 8 a.m. at Bauer Stoves and Fireplaces, 3548 State Route 54, Urbana. The cost is $5. At this program, you will learn about the latest in nutrient management and application technology from the industry’s leading experts. Fertilizer Applicator Certification Credits will be offered to those who still need to complete the training. Register by August 10th by contacting Amanda Douridas at 937-484-1526 or by email at [email protected].

Maybe you’re not interested in corn, but what about pumpkins? The Pumpkin Field Day will be held on Thursday, Aug. 17, at the Western Agricultural Research Station, 7721 State Route 41, south of Springfield. The event runs from 6 to 8 p.m. with registration beginning at 5:30 p.m.

The field day will offer beginning and experienced growers valuable research updates regarding disease management, insect management, weed control, and new pumpkin and winter squash varieties. Current production information designed to help growers will be presented during a research plot tour by experts from the Ohio Agricultural Research and Development Center (OARDC) and OSU Extension. After formal presentations, growers will have time to revisit any of the plots in more detail and talk to specialists.

Pre-registration is required by Aug. 15. There is a $5 fee, payable at the event. To pre-register, go to www.surveymonkey.com/r/pumpkin17. To pre-register, or for more information, you can also contact Jim Jasinski at [email protected] or 937-462-8016 and leave a message.

I did take Genevieve and Annaliese to the Shelby County Fair with me on Wednesday. I was surprised: They were worn out and ready to go home by 7 p.m.! I figured they’d have a lot more stamina than Grammy, but … We did do a lot of walking and they rode some rides and stuff (while I sat and rested!). We went through all the livestock barns; I think they now want at least one of each species: Everything is “so cute!”