by CrownRandall | Feb 17, 2025 | Agriculture
Dairy Margin Coverage and Dairy Risk Management for 2025: “The dairy industry has a history of volatility in profits coming from both income (milk price and the beef market) and expenses (feed prices). Using multiple strategies to manage these risks in 2025 can help protect your operation from volatility. Dairy Margin Coverage (DMC) through the U.S. Department of Agriculture (USDA) is one of these tools that allows producers to manage both milk price risk and feed cost risk together. This program allows producers to protect their operations from market fluctuations.” Risk management is an important aspect of any business, and the dairy industry in particular can experience volatility. One tool that can be used by dairy producers is Dairy Margin Coverage (DMC) which is the primary topic of the article from OSU Extension Specialist Jason Hartschuh. Hartschuh discusses what DMC is, some finer details of how it works, and some other risk management tools that should also be considered. https://dairy.osu.edu/newsletter/buckeye-dairy-news/volume-27-issue-1/dairy-margin-coverage-and-dairy-risk-management-2025
Drone Activity Update: “Drones, or more accurately named Unmanned Aerial Vehicles (UAVs), have helped provide new methods of pesticide applications and agronomic data collection to assist farmers with productivity and efficiency. Yet the possibility of unknown drones flying over a farm property can cause concerns. Recent conversations and sightings of drones in rural areas have producers raising questions such as “what can I do about suspicious drone activity” and “can I shoot down a drone over my property?” Federal and state laws provide answers to these questions. Here are several points farmers need to know about dealing with UAVs traveling over their properties.” If you, like many people, have had questions about the recent drone sightings, this article will provide good answers. Peggy Hall, Attorney and Director of the OSU Agricultural and Resource Law Program, provides great details on the current drone situation. Specifically, she provides some background information, discusses the legal requirements for drone usage, and shares the best ways to respond to a suspicious drone sighting. https://farmoffice.osu.edu/blog/property-owners-and-suspicious-drone-activity
New Box Tree Moth Factsheets: “We ended last season with box tree moth (BTM)… squarely on our radar. We know about infestations in two locations in Ohio, but we don’t know if there are any other BTM infestations elsewhere in our state. We learned that this non-native is only a potential boxwood killer. It can be managed.” The Box Tree Moth is not something we have yet experienced in Darke County, but it is an invasive pest that is important to be aware of due to its presence in Ohio. Three new factsheets are available through OSU Extension and are linked in the attached article. https://bygl.osu.edu/index.php/node/2455
Planning Spring Grazing Improvements: “It is hard to think about forages when your main concern is running around making sure there is thawed water for all the animals. But this can be a great time to think back to those ‘It sure would be nice if’ projects that came up throughout the year when you had no time to deal with them. Thanks to the drought conditions of 2024, one thought was likely ‘How can I get better productivity and utilization of my pasture?’” While pastures and forage production may not be the main thing beef producers are thinking about now, preparing pastures for spring will help to improve production. Fence repairs, pasture divisions, and other preparations can have great benefits when spring arrives. https://u.osu.edu/beef/2025/02/12/planning-spring-grazing-improvements/
Selecting Corn Hybrids for Disease Management: “Corn hybrid selection is critical to maximizing your cow’s production. When selecting hybrids, we usually consider factors like digestibility, energy, crude protein, milk per ton, and milk per acre. Foliar corn disease susceptibility is a critical factor to consider as it can affect both grain and forage quality, requiring a multi-prong approach to managing feed quality. Stalk and ear rots can be even more detrimental as they produce mycotoxins.” There are many factors to consider when selecting a corn hybrid, and one consideration is disease management. Learn more about this topic from this article from OSU Extension Specialist, Jason Hartschuh. He discusses impactful corn diseases, and how hybrid selection is one management tool that should be used. https://dairy.osu.edu/newsletter/buckeye-dairy-news/volume-27-issue-1/corn-hybrid-selection-disease-management
by CrownRandall | Feb 12, 2025 | Agriculture
VERSAILLES – The Versailles FFA Chapter is celebrating National FFA Week February 15-22, 2025. The focus of National FFA Week is to tell the community and the country about the great opportunities available through FFA.
From its beginnings in 1928 as the Future Farmers of America, the National FFA organization today reaches out to all 50 states, Puerto Rico and the Virgin Islands. FFA is committed to developing character and leadership skills, as well as preparing members for a lifetime of civic leadership and career success.
As a part of National FFA Week, Versailles FFA members will have inserts in the local church bulletin. The FFA has also planned theme days and daily FFA/Ag trivia for the high school and middle school students with prizes for the winners.
Versailles FFA also has several career development event practices, playing FFA Bingo, making tie Blankets for Rustic Hope and St Vincent DePaul, having a member Breakfast to thank fruit sellers, conducting a coloring contest, a recharge the barn station with a therapy dog, massage chairs, and hydration station for self-care, drive a tractor to school day, a chapter visit from State Officers Jaden Hicks and Daniel Hartzel, line dancing at lunch with state officers, award seniors with goodie bags and will show appreciation for our teachers with a staff breakfast and goodie bags in their mailboxes.
The Versailles FFA will also conduct an FFA meeting with officer elections, have an Alumni meeting, conduct middle school AG and junior high FFA, and serve the community a free omelet breakfast on Feb 22nd. The Versailles FFA will collect Youth Farm Displays and Ag Photography for the Omelet breakfast.
Versailles FFA members are the leaders of tomorrow and are dedicated to community service activities like the can food drive, toys for tots, and nursing home visits. Whether it’s working with elementary children or serving as a chapter officer, FFA members make a positive difference in those around them. They are success-oriented students who are driven to achieve their goals. FFA builds leaders, and leaders impact the future.
FFA members have opportunities to attend national leadership conferences, start their own businesses, and apply for awards and scholarships. Through classroom instruction and hands-on learning, agricultural education and FFA are making a positive difference in the lives of students.
FFA members are our future engineers, scientists, teachers and producers. One of every five Americans is employed in the food, fiber and natural resources industries, and FFA members are preparing for one of those 330 careers in agriculture.
by CrownRandall | Feb 10, 2025 | Agriculture
ARCANUM – Arcanum MVCTC FFA members recently competed in the Ohio FFA Farm and Agribusiness Management Contest. The team from Arcanum placed 1st overall in the State out of 104 schools and qualified to compete in the National Contest during the National FFA Convention in October.
The top-scoring members were Charlie Weiss (1st Overall), Katelynne Michael (2nd Overall), Landon Miller, Ethan Hartman, Lance Brinksneader and Seth Fearon. The purpose of the Farm Business Management Contest is to provide students with the opportunity to make a practical application of the knowledge and skills learned in the production agriculture curriculum in solving typical farm management problems.
The online written test is designed to test the team members’ understanding of economic principles in farm business management. The problem-solving portion of the CDE is designed to determine the team members’ ability to apply economic principles of farm business management to actual problems and to define the decisions that need to be made.
Team member Katelynne Michael shared… “We finished 2nd in the State last year and were able to compete, and win, the Big E contest. We really worked hard this year to move up into that 1st place spot so that we could go to the National Contest.”
by CrownRandall | Feb 10, 2025 | Agriculture
REYNOLDSBURG – In January the Arcanum MVCTC FFA Competed in the Ohio FFA Ag Biotechnology State Finals held at the Ohio Department of Agriculture in Reynoldsburg Ohio.
To earn the right to compete in the finals the team needed to place in the top 20 on the Online Qualifying test, which they placed 15th.
The final event required students to identify materials and tools common to the industry, demonstrate knowledge and understanding of scientific principles and management practices applied in the industry via a written exam, and make observations, draw conclusions and make decisions in evaluating aspects of biotechnology principles.
Upon completion of the finals, the team had worked their way up to 11th in the state. Team members competing in the finals were Landon Miller, Katelynne Michael, Carrie Denlinger, and Mora Menzie.
All the team members would like to send a great thanks to the Arcanum High School Science Department for helping prepare them for the contest.
by CrownRandall | Feb 10, 2025 | Agriculture
I hope this Newsletter finds you well. It hasn’t been quite as cold this past week, but you can still certainly feel winter in the air. Darke County continues to have sufficient moisture at this time (https://droughtmonitor.unl.edu/CurrentMap/StateDroughtMonitor.aspx?fips_39037). Continue to be safe in these winter conditions.
For those needing to renew their pesticide or fertilizer licenses, there will be one more training session in Darke County to recertify. The training date will be February 20th, beginning with fertilizer training at 4:30 p.m. and pesticide training at 6:00 p.m. The event will take place in the meeting room at Darke DD, 5844 Jaysville-St Johns Rd, Greenville, OH 45331. Please note that these recertification trainings will be taking place in neighboring counties as well, if you are unable to attend in Darke County. If you need to register for one of these sessions, or if you have any questions, please reach out to me.
HPAI in Western Ohio and Indiana remains an important matter. The number of cases has continued to grow since late last year when the first outbreak was confirmed. Nearby counties, particularly Mercer, but now including Van Wert and Auglaize, have confirmed cases as well. The importance of biosecurity cannot be overstated. Avoiding unnecessary contact with poultry, using footbaths and disposable boots, and proper sanitation of people and equipment are important practices. Other biosecurity measures, as well as the latest numbers of Bird Flu, can be tracked at the ODA website: https://agri.ohio.gov/divisions/animal-health/hpai/01-poultry
The next Darke County Garden Roundtables will be February 13th at 12:00 p.m. and February 21st at 6:00 p.m. Both sessions will be held at the OSU Extension Learning Center, and the agenda is attached.
I will be at Worch Library on February 13th at 6:00 p.m. to discuss Making Pesticide and Fertilizer Decisions. Here, we will discuss the considerations that go into applying pesticides and fertilizers to your fields and gardens. I hope to see you there!
Wright State University, Lake Campus,will be hosting a workshop called Small Farms, Big Returns. This event will take place Monday, February 24th, at 5:30 p.m. Small Farms, Big Returns will focus on managing a small agricultural operation for maximum profitability. Specific topics will include setting prices, pasture management, poultry production, and market gardening. For more information and to register, please see the attached flyer.
The next Darke County Ag Breakfast will be February 21st at 7:30 a.m., held at Jack’s Cabin in Greenville.
This week’s Newsletter topics include:
· Balancing the Animals and Available Forages
· Cattle Inventory Report
· Controlling Lice in Dairy Cattle
· Rumen Acidosis in Dairy Cattle
· Weather Update
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.
