The 2015/2016 Agricultural Policy and Outlook meeting in Darke County is just a bit over a week away: Friday, Feb. 19, at noon, in Greenville (Romer’s Party Room, 118 E. Main St.). Be sure to have your reservations for this program in to Sam Custer by this Friday, Feb. 12! Yes, there is a meal and the cost is $20. Call 937-548-5215 or email Sam at [email protected].

Here’s another plug for The Second Annual “Growing Women in Agriculture, An Empowerment Celebration.” This event will be held the evening of Thursday, March 17, at St. Michael’s Hall in Fort Loramie, beginning at 6 p.m. with heavy hors d’oeuvres and beer and wine tasting. Rachel Heimerl will give the keynote address of “The Joys and Perils of Working with Family,” followed by the opportunity to participate in two break-out sessions. You can choose from these topics: Food and Wine Pairings, Gardening for Pollinators, Canning and Preserving, and Agriculture’s Story via Social Media. The evening will end with doorprizes at 9 p.m.

This “ag girls’ night out” is open to all “ag women” from Shelby and neighboring counties. The cost is $20 per person, with a registration deadline of March 4. Part of the registration fee is used to support women in crisis. You can find a flier at our website Shelby.osu.edu.

And, the calls are coming in! I logged five a week ago Friday and another five-plus since then: Apparently, the FertCert cards earned at West Ohio Agronomy Day are being received. However, the “renewal cycle” on the card indicates they will expire at the end of March 2016. I had my “gut feeling” and checked with my contact at ODA to find out what was going on. (I must be getting good at this; my “gut” was correct …)

It seems that the FertCert paperwork has gone through the ODA system faster than the Pesticide Applicator Recertification paperwork. Those who also completed their Pesticide Recert credits haven’t yet gotten their new licenses … so, that means when the new Pesticide License Cards are sent, there should also be a new FertCert card and Both should indicate they’re good until 2019! Now, this information I’ve just stated only applies to those of you whose pesticide licenses renew this year – 2016. You also need to be sure you’ve paid your Pesticide License Fee – $30 – to ODA in order to get your new cards!

Well, Pot Roast and Hamburger are now off the farm. We took them last Wednesday to be processed. They loaded great! They hauled well! The biggest effort was getting them off the trailer when we arrived!: There was a medium-step down into a wet mess and they weren’t sure they should go there. I felt bad because we were “holdin’ things up,” but kept my cool and they eventually got off.

I kept my promise (to myself and to them) and walked/stayed with them until the end. (I know Stanley thinks I’m nuts, but) I didn’t want them to be in a strange place with new sights/sounds/ odors without someone they knew with them. They’d been raised pretty much stress-free and I saw no reason for increased anxiety at the end. A gentle touch/light rubbing and a familiar voice kept them calm: no vocalizing or acting out.

As for me, I did OK. I’ve seen the “kill procedure” before: fast, with no lingering pain. However, the nerd in me took over: I watched the ones there earlier as they were “dissected.” I saw my first digestive tract (that rumen was “huge!”). Like I’ve said before: “Ag brings Science to Life!”