by CrownRandall | Jun 28, 2025 | Agriculture
I hope this Newsletter finds you well. The major weather focus this week has been the high temperatures. Be careful in the heat, and take measures to keep you and your livestock healthy in these conditions. Much of Darke County has also experienced heavy rains (https://droughtmonitor.unl.edu/CurrentMap/StateDroughtMonitor.aspx?fips_39037. There is a lot of variation in corn progress, while soybean progress appears more consistent overall. Wheat is turning the corner and harvest will begin before too long. Regarding forages, many alfalfa producers have been harvesting second cutting. Giant ragweed has been the most prominent weed I’ve been seeing in fields, with others such as common ragweed, poison hemlock, and waterhemp not far behind. Be safe in the heat and in the fields as the growing season continues.
I’ll be at Worch Library on July 10th at 4:00 p.m. to discuss Backyard Composting. We’ll discuss topics regarding what you can compost, how to manage the compost, and putting your new resource to use. I hope to see you there!
Our next Darke County Garden Roundtables will be July 17th at 12:00 p.m. and July 30th at 6:00 p.m. This session will be at the OSU Extension office, and the agenda is attached.
I’ll be joining some colleagues in Miami County for a Tri-County Pond Clinic on July 28th at 6:30 p.m. There, we’ll discuss basic pond management, information for new pond owners, liability of pond ownership, and stocking ponds with fish. See the attached flyer for more details.
The next Darke County Ag Breakfast will be July 18th at 7:30 a.m. at Jack’s Cabin in Greenville.
This week’s Newsletter topics include:
Avoiding Wheat Quality Losses
Beating the Heat on Farms
Dairy Economic Update
Double Crop Soybean Considerations
Potato Leafhopper in Alfalfa
Putting Poison Hemlock Into Perspective
I hope you enjoy this week’s Newsletter, and as always, never hesitate to reach out to me and let me know how I can best serve you and all of Darke County.
by Caden Buschur, Darke County Extension Educator
by CrownRandall | Jun 20, 2025 | Agriculture
I hope this Newsletter finds you well. Much of Darke County has experienced additional rains this past week, along with warmer temperatures which are expected to continue through the week. The entire state continues to stay out of the abnormally dry classification
(https://droughtmonitor.unl.edu/CurrentMap/StateDroughtMonitor.aspx?fips_39037. Crops are progressing nicely, with a lot of variation in growth stage depending on when planting was done. Wheat has been turning and second cutting of alfalfa is beginning. Giant ragweed has been perhaps the most prominent weed I’ve seen, along with poison hemlock, wild carrot, common ragweed, and waterhemp.
I’ll be at Worch Library on July 10th at 4:00 p.m. to discuss Backyard Composting. We’ll discuss topics regarding what you can compost, how to manage the compost, and putting your new resource to use. I hope to see you there!
Our next Darke County Garden Roundtables will be June 25th at 12:00 p.m. and June 26th at 6:00 p.m. This session will be at the OSU Extension office, and the agenda is attached.
I’ll be joining some colleagues in Miami County for a Tri-County Pond Clinic on July 28th at 6:30 p.m. There, we’ll discuss basic pond management, information for new pond owners, liability of pond ownership, and stocking ponds with fish. See the attached flyer for more details.
The next Darke County Ag Breakfast will be July 18th at 7:30 a.m. at Jack’s Cabin in Greenville.
This week’s Newsletter topics include:
Battle for the Belt
Be Alert to Bagworms
Managing Chiggers
Ohio Fruit News
Sulfur Management for High-Quality Silage Corn
Summer Fly Control for Livestock
I hope you enjoy this week’s Newsletter, and as always, never hesitate to reach out to me and let me know how I can best serve you and all of Darke County.
by Caden Buschur, Darke County Extension Educator
by CrownRandall | Jun 13, 2025 | Agriculture
I hope this Newsletter finds you well. Darke County has experienced some more dry weather over the past week, with some more rain likely on the way this weekend. The entire state continues to stay out of the abnormally dry classification
(https://droughtmonitor.unl.edu/CurrentMap/StateDroughtMonitor.aspx?fips_39037. The majority of planting is done, with many of the crops progressing nicely. Prominent weeds include poison hemlock, common and giant ragweed, Canada thistle, and henbit. Be sure to cooperate with any farm equipment on the roads, and stay safe in the fields and planting season progresses.
Remember to take advantage of the Darke County Garden Giveaway! Whether you want to add additional plants to the garden, succession plant, or try something new, it’s hard to turn free seeds. Stop in at the office and pick up some spinach, carrot, cucumber, green bean, and lettuce seeds.
I’ll be at Worch Library on July 10th at 4:00 p.m. to discuss Backyard Composting. We’ll discuss topics regarding what you can compost, how to manage the compost, and putting your new resource to use. I hope to see you there!
Our next Darke County Garden Roundtables will be June 25th at 12:00 p.m. and June 26th at 6:00 p.m. This session will be at the OSU Extension office, and the agenda is attached.
I’ll be joining some colleagues in Miami County for a Tri-County Pond Clinic on July 28th at 6:30 p.m. There, we’ll discuss basic pond management, information for new pond owners, liability of pond ownership, and stocking ponds with fish. See the attached flyer for more details.
The next Darke County Ag Breakfast will be June 20th at 7:30 a.m. at Jack’s Cabin in Greenville.
This week’s Newsletter topics include:
Cover Crop Forage for Prevented Planting Acres
Ohio 2025 Crop Returns Outlook
Ohio Legislative Roundup
Record High Cattle Prices
Statewide Slug Monitoring Project
Using Technology to Manage Heat Stress in Dairy Cows
I hope you enjoy this week’s Newsletter, and as always, never hesitate to reach out to me and let me know how I can best serve you and all of Darke County.
by Caden Buschur, Darke County Extension Educator
by CrownRandall | Jun 6, 2025 | Agriculture
I hope this Newsletter finds you well. Darke County farmers have had a chance to get plenty of field work done with more breaks in the rain recently. Even with more dry days, Darke County continues to have sufficient moisture, like the rest of the state of Ohio
(https://droughtmonitor.unl.edu/CurrentMap/StateDroughtMonitor.aspx?fips_39037. There is still some planting to do, but tasks like planting, spraying, and first cutting harvest of alfalfa have all been taking place. Be sure to cooperate with any farm equipment on the roads, and stay safe in the fields and planting season progresses.
Remember to take advantage of the Darke County Garden Giveaway! Whether you want to add additional plants to the garden, succession plant, or try something new, it’s hard to resist free seeds. Stop in at the office and pick up some spinach, carrot, cucumber, green bean, and lettuce seeds.
I’ll be at Worch Library next week on June 12th at 4:00 p.m. to discuss Wildflowers, Native Plants, and Pollinators. We’ll talk about some native plants, why they’re important, and how we can manage them. I hope to see you there!
Our next Darke County Garden Roundtables will be June 25th at 12:00 p.m. and June 26th at 6:00 p.m. This session will be at the OSU Extension office, and the agenda is attached.
The next Darke County Ag Breakfast will be June 20th at 7:30 a.m. at Jack’s Cabin in Greenville.
This week’s Newsletter topics include:
Battle for the Belt
Physical Properties of Granular Fertilizers
State-Wide Slug Monitoring Project
State Legislative Update
Weather Update
Weather Damage in the Pasture
I hope you enjoy this week’s Newsletter, and as always, never hesitate to reach out to me and let me know how I can best serve you and all of Darke County.
by Caden Buschur, Darke County Extension Educator
by CrownRandall | Jun 1, 2025 | Agriculture
COLUMBUS – On May 1st and 2nd, Mississinawa Valley FFA was in Columbus, Ohio, along with over 10,000 other FFA members and guests. Thirty-three chapter members, along with their advisor, Gwen Bergman and chaperone, Drew Walker, departed the school at 7 am on May 1st and headed towards the Ohio State Fairgrounds.
Upon arrival, they attended the opening session of the convention and Aldon Edger accepted the Charitable Giving recognition on behalf of the chapter. Members then walked around the expo center and met up again at 2 pm to attend the beginning of the second session, which was led by MV’s own, and the 2024-2025 Ohio FFA State Reporter, Daniel Hartzell. After that, members attended a pre-vet tour at OSU and spent the evening at Scene-75.
For day 2, members attended the fourth and fifth sessions of the state convention. In the fourth session, three members received awards for gold-rated officer books. Brennan Manning received a gold-rated secretary, Matalin Meyer received a gold-rated reporter and Emma Brock received a gold-rated treasurer. In the fifth session, two individuals in the Mississinawa Valley FFA received their state degrees. These recipients were Harley Hanes and Matalin Meyer.
Congratulations to all who received an award at this convention and thank you for your hard work and dedication to this chapter! Another successful state convention in the books!
