WASHINGTON — Some Farm Service Agency (FSA) offices will reopen temporarily to perform certain limited services for farmers and ranchers. The U.S. Department of Agriculture (USDA) has recalled about 2,500 FSA employees to open offices today and Friday in addition to Tuesday, Jan. 22, during normal business hours.

Tuesday should have been a busy day for the staff at Kenton office of the United States Department of Agriculture. It was the deadline to sign up for financial assistance for soybean crops, said Mark Badertscher of the Hardin County OSU Extension Office.

A class to help farmers prepare to become private pesticide applicators has been planned for Jan. 29 at the Hardin County Extension office, 1021 West Lima Street, Suite 103, Kenton. In Ohio, pesticide applicators are required by law to have an Ohio Pesticide Applicators License in order to purchase and apply restricted-use chemicals.

For the fourth consecutive year, Tractor Supply Company and FFA are partnering for the Grants for Growing campaign, a competitive grant program that provides funding to FFA chapters across the country for the development or improvement of a proposed agricultural project.

Jim Bidwell was named the outstanding fair honoree by the Ohio Department of Agriculture at the Ohio Fair Managers Association’s annual convention over the weekend in Columbus. Bidwell retired from the board of directors in 2017, but he and his wife, Marilyn, who is pictured with him, continue to assist with activities at the fairgrounds.

Mercer County OSU Extension will host the 2019 West Central Ohio Weed Science Day. The program will be held on Jan. 17 at the Knights of St. John Hall, 8608 State Route 119, Maria Stein, beginning at 9 a.m. The program will address the current weed situation in area fields along with weed identification and understanding herbicide site of action.

The 2019 Conservation Tillage Club breakfast program series will begin on Tuesday, January 8 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 a.m. Other sessions will be held on January 22, February 5 and 19.

The 2018 Ohio corn performance test results are now available at the following web address: http://oardc.osu.edu/corntrials/. There were 189 corn hybrids entered in the test in 2018 compared to 205 in 2017. These hybrids were entered by 24 different companies.

COLUMBUS, Ohio — New restrictions a federal agency has put on using a controversial weed killer aren’t enough to prevent it from spreading onto nearby plants, according to an Ohio State University weed expert. As a result, Mark Loux, a weed specialist with Ohio State University Extension, and colleagues from Purdue University and the University of Illinois have created a list of additional precautions that farmers should try to follow whenever they use dicamba.

Hardin County sheep producer Dave Burkhart was named the 2018 Charles Boyles Ohio Master Shepherd of the Year at the Buckeye Shepherd’s Symposium held December 1 in Wooster.