“Consumers are concerned for animal health, and the sustainability of the production systems their food’s raised in.” That statement is just one of several discussed during the 2018 Ohio Beef School presentations that have caused teaching and certifying Ohio’s cattlemen in Beef Quality Assurance (BQA) to become a priority.

American Farmland Trust, USDA Natural Resources Conservation Service of Ohio and Hardin Soil Water Conservation District have joined together to present three women-dedicated learning circle sessions in northern Ohio. These workshops will focus on soil health, water quality, and specialty cropping systems for women farmers and land owners.

Now that corn harvest is greater than 75 percent completed it is time to manage the corn in the bin. Use integrated pest management practices to protect the corn from mold and insect activity. This year’s corn is not in perfect condition compared to last year.

COLUMBUS, Ohio — Farmers rattled by the dip in value of their soybean crop likely will see prices for their corn go up next year, one of the few optimistic projections made at a recent conference on future profits in farming. Most of the graphs presented at the Nov. 2 event hosted by the Department of Agricultural, Environmental, and Development Economics (AEDE) at The Ohio State University offered a grim outlook: a decline in soybean crop prices resembling a steep ski slope, shrinking pie slices representing Chinese demand for U.S. soybeans.

With the help of fifteen volunteer rainfall reporters, the Hardin County Extension office has collected unofficial township rainfall data for the past twenty-six consecutive years. The 2018 growing season began with an April rainfall that allowed a good start to the planting season. Rains were spread out through the month which set the tone for the growing season.

The Ohio Federation of Soil and Water Conservation Districts (OFSWCD) will celebrated the associations’ 75th birthday on Oct. 20. Officially created in law in October of 1943, the OFSWCD has used this year to celebrate the “Year of Conservation” and the conservation accomplishments completed by Ohio’s 88 soil and water conservation districts.

A new app from The Ohio State University will help farmers save both money and the environment. The Field Application Resource Monitor (FARM) uses advanced weather forecasting to advise farmers on when to apply fertilizer and manure so that they aren’t washed away by rain.

LIMA — The West Central Ohio Land Conservancy will hold its Annual Meeting on Nov. 14 at 6 p.m. at the OSU Visitor and Student Services Center, Lima. Light refreshments will be served and it is free and open to the public.

The Hardin County OSU Extension Master Gardener Volunteers (MGV) brought back two state awards from the Ohio MGV Conference held Sept. 28-29 at the Sharonville Convention Center in Cincinnati. ‘An Evening Garden Affair’ was recognized as the state winner for the Integrated Pest Management Outstanding MGV Project award category for medium sized groups at this annual conference.

During the month of September, Extension volunteer rainfall reporters received an average of 3.71 inches of rain. The most rain for this month, 4.71 inches, fell in McDonald Township, as measured by Jerry Stout.