HARDIN COUNTY–The 2023 Conservation Tillage Club breakfast program series will begin on Thursday, January 12 at the Plaza Inn Restaurant in Mt. Victory. Each session will start at 7:30 a.m. with a complimentary buffet breakfast followed by the program at 8:00 am. Other sessions will be held on January 26, February 9 and February 23.
On January 12, the program will feature James Uphaus, Chair and Assistant Professor, Agriculture Technology, Rhodes State College. Uphaus will present information about Using Precision Ag Data. Uphaus will share examples about how farmers can take the data from their combine, planter, and sprayer monitor information about their fields’ soil variation and associated cropping practices to create prescription maps from field-based results with a goal to increase agriculture product sales and return on investment.
The January 26 program will feature Amanda Matheny, Grain Origination Specialist with Cargill who will present a program on the Grain Marketing Outlook and the new soybean crush plant being built in Sidney. Matheny will provide information to help crop producers successfully market their soybean and corn commodities based on global supply and demand with an emphasis on market trends. Cargill is the largest soybean extractor in North America and will increase their local capacity with an additional 20 million bushels that will be needed to run the new plant being constructed in Sidney. Upon completion in the summer of 23, the operation will have capability to dump 60 soybean trucks in an hour and draw territory will include over 35 counties in Ohio and Indiana.
On February 9, OARDC/OSU Extension Corn Disease Specialist Dr. Pierce Paul will return to the Conservation Tillage Club breakfast program to provide an update on corn diseases in Ohio. Recently, the area has experienced vomitoxin issues in corn, brought about by Gibberella Ear Rot. Tar Spot has also infected corn in Hardin County for the first time in 2021, and with a later season appearance in 2022. He will speak about how to identify these diseases in the field, discuss their disease cycle, and how to manage these issues both in the field and how to prevent problems with grain storage. Discussion will include selecting for disease resistance, weather influence on spore development, scouting for infections, and proper use of fungicides.
The February 23 program will feature both Megan Burgess, District Conservationist, USDA-NRCS Hardin County and Leisha Billenstein, District Conservationist, USDA-NRCS Logan County speaking about the Farm Bill Programs available to local producers in 2023. Information shared will include programs, benefits, who is eligible, how it works, how to apply, along with more information about cost sharing and payment rates. Since these are federal programs, information provided will be based on what is available at the current time for Ohio and surrounding counties. Additional information can be found on the www.farmers.gov
The Conservation Tillage Club breakfast program series is jointly sponsored by OSU Extension and the Soil and Water Conservation Districts of Hardin, Logan, and Union Counties, and in cooperation with the USDA Natural Resources Conservation Service. Breakfast is courtesy of the generous support from agricultural lenders and agricultural businesses. All events are open to the public and no advance registration is required. Continuing education credits for Certified Crop Advisers is pending.
