by CrownRandall | Jan 10, 2025 | Farming Report
VERSAILLES – On Thursday, January 9th, members of the Versailles FFA participated in the District 5 Food Science and Technology Contest at Versailles.
The contest required students to identify aromas, conduct a triangle test, take a written test on food quality and safety, identify safety problems from a customer complaint letter, solve math problems and identify food processing tools. Versailles FFA placed 2nd in the district and qualified for the state contest. Team members included Gabe McGlinch who placed 3rd overall, Maggie McGlinch 6th overall, Simone Grieshop, Greta Broering, Eden Barga, Ruthie Smith, Patrick McGlinch, Rhylan Broerman and Jenna Breeze.
Congratulations to all those who competed and good luck at state!
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by CrownRandall | Jan 10, 2025 | Farming Report
I hope this Newsletter finds you well. The temperature has fluctuated a bit, but we’ve now had the chance to experience some Darke County winter, with cold temperatures and some snow (https://droughtmonitor.unl.edu/CurrentMap/StateDroughtMonitor.aspx?fips_39037). Be sure to be safe on the roads, especially in snowy and icy conditions.
The next Darke County Garden Roundtables will be held on January 16th at 12:00 p.m., and January 30th at 6:00 p.m., both at the OSU Learning Center. The agenda is attached to this email.If you have any questions or topics you would like me to discuss ahead of time, please use the following survey link: https://osu.az1.qualtrics.com/jfe/form/SV_06zzY8Kwhnmd4Nw.
For those needing to renew their pesticide or fertilizer licenses, there will be two training sessions in Darke County to recertify. The first will be January 31st, with pesticide training beginning at 9:00 a.m. and fertilizer training beginning at 1:00 p.m. The second training date will be February 20th, beginning with fertilizer training at 4:30 p.m. and pesticide training at 6:00 p.m. Both sessions will take place in the meeting room at Darke DD, 5844 Jaysville-St Johns Rd, Greenville, OH 45331. Please note that on the notification letters sent out, I made an error. The letter states that the 31st is a Thursday, but it is a Friday. Please also 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.
If you are in need of Beef Quality Assurance Certification, I will be providing a training session in partnership with the Darke County Cattlemen’s Association. The event will take place on February 1st, from 9:00 a.m. to 11:00 a.m., and will be in the Ansonia High School Cafeteria. The training is free for all DCCA members and youth and is $10 otherwise. More details can be found in the attached flyer.
HPAI in Darke County remains an important topic. The number of HPAI cases can be tracked using the ODA website at the following link: https://agri.ohio.gov/divisions/animal-health/hpai/01-poultry. This ODA website also contains valuable information on biosecurity. The more we know about this disease and how to best prevent it, the better off we will be. As such, there will be a webinar on HPAI hosted by professionals from OSU Extension, Ohio Department of Agriculture, and Ohio Poultry Association. This will take place on January 15th at 12:00 p.m. This will also be a great resource to learn more about this disease and its management. More details and a link to register can be found in the attached flyer.
This month, I will be at Worch Library in Versailles to discuss the topic of Drones in Agriculture. This is an increasingly popular topic as more and more people take an interest in it. It will be a rather simple overview of the topic and will not offer any form of certification, but will provide valuable information on the subject, including what drones can be used for in agriculture, their advantages and disadvantages, regulations to be aware of, and other factors that are worth considering when thinking of utilizing drones. This will be January 23rd at 6:00 p.m., and more information can be found in the flyer. I hope to see you there!
The 2024 edition of eFields is complete and now available to the public. This report is an annual collection of OSU Extension on-farm research projects occurring throughout the state of Ohio, and it is a valuable source of up-to-date, practical information for ag production. You can obtain a digital copy of eFields through the link in the attached Newsletter, or you can let me know if you would like a hard copy. Thank you to the partner farms in Darke County who have made some of this research possible, and if you have an interest in being a partner farm, please reach out to me so we can make arrangements. I would be happy to work with you!
This week’s Newsletter topics include:
· 2024 eFields Report
· Certified Crop Adviser Exam Study Course
· Ohio Corn Performance Test
· Questions for the 2025 Cattle Market
· Winter Weather Preparedness on the Farm
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.
Happy New Year!
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by CrownRandall | Jan 8, 2025 | Farming Report
ANSONIA – Adults and youth are invited to register for a Beef Quality Assurance Certification that will take place on Feb. 1 from 9-11 am at Ansonia High School.
Join Caden Buschur, ANR Educator, OSU Extension, Darke County for the opportunity to earn your Beef Quality Assurance Certification. Youth in attendance will receive credit for market show.
Registion deadline is Jan. 24. There is no cost for youth or Darke County Cattlemen members. There is a fee of $10 for non-members. Refreshments will be provided by the Darke County Cattleman’s Association.
For more information or to register, contact Caden Buschurat at 937-548-5215 or by email at [email protected]
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by CrownRandall | Dec 27, 2024 | Farming Report
I hope this Newsletter finds you well, and that you had a Merry Christmas! It doesn’t quite feel like winter, but it is officially upon us as the year draws to a close. Precipitation has slowly started to bring Darke County out of the abnormally dry category (https://droughtmonitor.unl.edu/CurrentMap/StateDroughtMonitor.aspx?fips_39037). Stay safe on the roads, especially for those traveling during the holidays.
The next Darke County Garden Roundtables will be held on January 16th at 12:00 p.m., and January 30th at 6:00 p.m., both at the OSU Learning Center. The agenda is attached to this email. If you have any questions or topics you would like me to discuss ahead of time, please use the following survey link: https://osu.az1.qualtrics.com/jfe/form/SV_06zzY8Kwhnmd4Nw.
For those needing to renew their pesticide or fertilizer licenses, there will be two training sessions in Darke County to recertify. The first will be January 31st, with pesticide training beginning at 9:00 a.m. and fertilizer training beginning at 1:00 p.m. The second training date will be February 20th, beginning with fertilizer training at 4:30 p.m. and pesticide training at 6:00 p.m. Both sessions will take place in the meeting room at Darke DD, 5844 Jaysville-St Johns Rd, Greenville, OH 45331. Please note that on the notification letters sent out, I made an error. The letter states that the 31st is a Thursday, but it is a Friday. If you need to register for one of these sessions, or if you have any questions, please reach out to me.
If you are in need of Beef Quality Assurance Certification, I will be providing a training session in partnership with the Darke County Cattlemen’s Association. The event will take place on February 1st, from 9:00 a.m. to 11:00 a.m., and will be in the Ansonia High School Cafeteria. The training is free for all DCCA members and youth and is $10 otherwise. More details can be found in the attached flyer.
There will be a webinar on HPAI hosted by professionals from OSU Extension, the Ohio Department of Agriculture, and the Ohio Poultry Association. This will take place on January 15th at 12:00 p.m. More details and a link to register can be found in the attached flyer.
This week’s Newsletter topics include:
· Checking Up on Your Feed Supply
· Controlling Mud on Cattle Operations
· Improving Dairy Herd Performance Using Milk Analysis
· Maintaining Forage Stability
· Northern Giant Hornet Update
· Supplementing Beef Cattle with Vitamin A
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.
Happy New Year!
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by CrownRandall | Dec 26, 2024 | Farming Report
VERSAILLES – James Schmitmeyer is a senior at Versailles High School and participates in the Agriculture Education Capstone Program and has been selected as the capstone highlight student of the month. The Versailles Agriculture Education Capstone Program is in its thirteen years of existence. James is the son of Doug and Brenda Schmitmeyer of Versailles, Ohio. Capstone is a program that gives Versailles High School Junior and Senior Students who are enrolled in agriculture education an opportunity to gain real-world employment experiences and opportunities while in high school.
James has worked over 7,900 hours at LineView Farms since his enrollment in agriculture education class. James’s primary roles at LineView Farms include: feeding calves, bedding steers and feeders, milking, scraping, working ground, planting, combining, operating grain carts and hauling manure. Doug Schmitmeyer of LineView Farms is quoted as saying “James is very dedicated, prompt and a hard worker. He always wants to learn. James is very careful and reliable with equipment. We are looking forward to him joining the farm full-time after graduation.”
LineView Farms is owned and operated by Doug and Brenda Schmitmeyer and was started in 1993. LineView Farms is a diversified crop and livestock operation that consists of a 100-head dairy operation, raises dairy steers and feeders, operates a pig nursery and farms 1,800 acres of corn, alfalfa, soybeans and wheat.
This year 53 students are enrolled in the Versailles Agriculture Education Capstone programs and are leaving school after their daily required courses are complete and working at area businesses. The goal of the spotlight is to highlight each month one of the students that participate in the capstone program and highlight the skills/knowledge they are gaining, and the roles/assets they are to their business. The students enrolled in capstone also use their employment as their Supervised Agricultural Experience Program. As part of their grade in capstone, students are required to keep detailed records of their hours worked, earnings and skills performed. In addition to the record books, capstone students are being evaluated at the end of each nine weeks by an evaluation completed by their employer.
Congratulations to James and Thank you to LineView Farms for this opportunity.
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by CrownRandall | Dec 26, 2024 | Farming Report
VERSAILLES – Versailles FFA has been able to conduct several community service projects during the month of December. Earlier in the month Versailles FFA donated oranges and apples to Kinder Corner, Brilliant Beginnings, Versailles Pre School, Versailles Senior Citizen Center and Versailles Health Care Center.
Versailles FFA also adopted a family and purchased gifts for that family through the Versailles Council of Churches. Another record-breaking amount of toys was collected in the Versailles community as part of the toy drive.
Versailles FFA would like to thank the following locations for donating their facilities to use as toy drop-off locations: St. Denis Catholic Church, Versailles Christian Church, Trinity Lutheran Church, Versailles Schools, Versailles United Methodist Church, Webster United Methodist Church, Versailles Ace Hardware, Versailles Saving and Loan, Park National Bank, Dollar General and John’s IGA. On December 13th, the Versailles FFA assisted the Council of Churches with their annual food, gift and toy distribution. Each family that came in on Dec 13th was able to select 5 brand new toys per child, additional toys from the toy drive were donated to Rustic Home and St Vincent DePaul. Versailles FFA would like to once again thank the community for their generosity and support of the new toy drive. Versailles FFA would like to extend a thank you to Scott Garrison, Wyatt Reese Memorial Fund and Versailles Savings and Loan for their generous donations to assist with the toy and food distribution. In addition to the toys, gifts, can goods, each family that participated was able to leave with a box of fresh food items that included: hamburger patties, a pack of hot dogs, milk, butter, eggs, salad, cheese, potatoes, mac and cheese, ketchup, bottle of ranch, carrots, peanut butter, baked beans, applesauce, box of cereal, toilet paper, dish soap, paper towels, loaf of bread and buns, apples and oranges made possible through generous supporters of Versailles FFA.
A special thanks to John’s IGA for selling the items at a wholesale price and donating toward each food box. The Versailles FFA also sponsored a Can Food Drive the last week of school for all Jr. High and High school students and donated cans to benefit the Versailles area food pantry sponsored through the Versailles area Council of Churches. The canned food drive was another huge success this year. Over 9,000 cans of food, cleaning supplies and personal hygiene items were donated and over $3000 were collected in the high and middle school and donated to the Versailles Council of Churches, again thanks to the students, staff and administration for making this activity so successful.
Results of the high school include: placing 1st average of 185.75 cans per student in Mrs. Kremer’s 1st period class. This class will have a pizza party in January. Placing 2nd was Mrs Hoying’s 1st-period class with an average of 56.25 cans per student and placing 3rd was Mr. Swank’s 1st-period class with a 32-can average per student. In the middle school placing, 1st was Mrs Shappe’s Tiger Team with an average of 54.7 cans per student and will win a pizza party in January. Placing 2nd was Mrs Davis’s Tiger Team with an average of 44.5 cans per student and placing 3rd was Mrs Tyo’s Tiger Team homeroom with a 157.7 cans average per student.
Thanks to everyone’s generosity with the Can Food Drive. A special thank you is extended to the Reese family for donating a considerable amount of good items in memory of Wyatt Reese’s Tiger Team of Mrs Shappie. A special thank you to Mrs Wuebker’s 7th-period class for helping deliver the cans.
The Versailles FFA would like to give a special thank you to all the staff, students, and parents who supported the Canned Food Drive. The Versailles FFA would like to thank the community interactions committee for helping organize many of the activities and special thanks are extended to committee co-chairs Ruthie Smith and Symone Grieshop.
In addition, the greenhouse management class grew poinsettia that were donated to the health care center and senior citizens center.
The Versailles FFA would like to thank the Versailles community for their support of the recent community service projects sponsored by the Versailles FFA.
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