Smartphones on the Farm: CNN and Agriculture Online

Several months ago I wrote a couple of posts regarding smartphones on the farm (Part I and Part II). Little did I know that these posts would lead to an interview with CNN and Agriculture Online.  John Sutter of CNN called and left a message that he was writing a story about smartphones on the farm and had seen my smartphone blog post.  Mr. Sutter asked if I could return his call and discuss smartphone use on the farm.  I immediately returned his call and the following day Twittering from the tractor: smartphones sprout on the farm appeared on CNN at http://www.cnn.com/2009/TECH/07/02/twitter.farmer/index.html. Story highlights from the article:

Smartphones, online social networks gaining popularity on farms

Farmers use Internet phones to check weather, monitor pesticides

Nebraska farmer says Twitter posts help bridge the urban-rural divide

Smartphones and social media connect eaters with sources of food

The day of the CNN interview, I mentioned it on my twitter account. Jeff Caldwell, Agriculture Online Multimedia Editor, read my tweet about the CNN interview and emailed me a few questions for a story on Agriculture Online.  Mr. Caldwell’s story New communication technology’s knocking on the farm gate was published at http://www.agriculture.com/ag/story.jhtml?storyid=/templatedata/ag/story/data/1246554214079.xml. The Agriculture Online article, published the same day as the CNN article, provides an overview of smartphone use in communication and social media.

They may seem like toys and time wasters now, but more folks in farm country are starting to glean value from new technology like smartphones and social networking. One such “gadget” that’s becoming a needed tool for some already is the smartphone. Kleinschmidt has relied on his Samsung Omnia i910 smartphone now for months in the work he does in the field (including recording this video with his phone), and he’s starting to find and use more ag-specific applications.

Thanks to John Sutter and Jeff Caldwell for bringing this story to both the farm and non-farm community.

Potato Leafhopper Management in Alfalfa

Purdue University Extension Entomologists are reporting that populations of potato leafhopper in alfalfa are booming in Indiana. There have been observations of high numbers of leafhoppers coming to lights at night. They attribute this explosion in potato leafhopper population to recent hot temperatures.

I expect that we may also experience high numbers of potato leafhoppers.  Soon after cutting alfalfa, producers need to begin scouting for potato leafhopper. Purdue Entomologists Christian Krupke and John Obermeyer warn that once yellowing is seen on alfalfa, the damage is already done and it is likely too late for an insecticide treatment. (Read full story in Purdue Pest and Crop Newsletter: http://extension.entm.purdue.edu/pestcrop/2009/issue13/index.html)

To determine potato leafhopper numbers, take at least five sets of 20 sweeps with an insect sweep net, each set from a different area of the field. Open the net and count the number of potato leafhoppers, both adults and nymphs. After taking each set of sweeps, measure the height of a few stems in each area. After all sweeps and height measurements have been taken, determine the number of potato leafhoppers per sweep and the average stem height for the field. See the Purdue table for treatment guidelines: http://extension.entm.purdue.edu/publications/E-220.pdf

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Ohio General Assembly’s Proposal on Livestock Care Standards Board

Peggy Kirk Hall, Director of the Agricultural & Resource Law Program for Ohio State University Extension, provides this update:

Both the Ohio House of Representatives and the Ohio Senate passed resolutions this week to place the ballot issue on livestock care before Ohio voters in November.  The resolutions propose amending the Ohio Constitution to create the Ohio Livestock Care Standards Board.  The Board would have authority to establish standards governing the care and well-being of livestock and poultry in Ohio.

The two resolutions vary slightly.  The Senate version includes language aimed at thwarting future attempts to change the law, by granting the Board “exclusive” authority for livestock care standards and stating that no other constitutional provision shall “impair” the powers granted to the Board.

The General Assembly is expected to resolve the differences in the two resolutions next week.   Upon agreement of the final language, the resolution will go to Ohio voters on the November 3, 2009 ballot.

View the House resolution here and the Senate resolution here.  Ballotpedia is a website useful for tracking ballot proposals, including background information, newspaper articles, fiscal studies, and statements by proponents and opponents.  A page on Ballotpedia for the Ohio proposal is here.

Online Weather Tools Available for Farmers

The Weather Channel Interactive and Monsanto have launched a Growing Degree Days calculator at the Agriculture News & Forecast section at www.weather.com/farming. The Weather Channel and Monsanto have worked together to create an easy-to-use online tool available to compute growing degree days (GDD), a measurement that relates to anticipated crop growth by calculating the amount of accumulated heat over a specific period of time. Farmers simply enter location, select a base temperature, and choose start and end dates to get their GDD result. Farmers can compare two different years’ GDD (as far back as 2003) for the same date range and location. Additionally, each calculation includes the 30-year-average GDD for the selected dates and location. In the screenshot above I compared 2008 and 2009 GDDs for the period of May 15 through June 15 — you can see that 2009 is nearly 50 GDD units 2008. So try out the growing degree day calculator at www.weather.com/farming

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Another interesting online tool available for farmers is the Community Collaborative Rain, Hail and Snow Network. This is a unique, non-profit, community-based network of volunteers of all ages and backgrounds working together to measure and map precipitation (which includes rain, hail and snow). By using low-cost measurement tools, stressing training and education, and utilizing an interactive Web-site, our aim is to provide the highest quality data for natural resource, education and research applications. This is a community project. Everyone can help, young, old, and in-between. The only requirements are an enthusiasm for watching and reporting weather conditions and a desire to learn more about how weather can effect and impact our lives. Volunteers will be required to complete a short online training course to learn how to make accurate precipitation measurements. In order to measure rainfall, a rain gauge will be required, and volunteers will need to purchase one if they do not have one. Volunteers will then make daily precipitation measurements, and enter precipitation data through the web site between 6:00 AM and 9:00 AM daily. To get started, visit www.cocorahs.org

Senate Joint Resolution on Livestock Care Standards for Ohio

Peggy Hall, Agricultural & Resource Law Program Director for OSU Extension recently sent a summary of Ohio Senate action. The Ohio Senate has introduced a joint resolution proposing an amendment to the Ohio Constitution to address the care of livestock.

Here’s a quick summary of the proposed constitutional amendment:

• Creates a thirteen member Livestock Care Standards Board consisting of the Director of the Department of Agriculture, ten members appointed by the Governor, a family farmer appointed by the Speaker of the House and a family farmer appointed by the President of the Senate.
• Grants the Livestock Care Standards Board the authority to establish and implement standards governing the care and well-being of livestock and poultry.
• Directs the Board to “endeavor to maintain food safety, encourage locally grown and raised food, and protect Ohio farms and families” and to consider factors such as agricultural best management practices for care and well-being, biosecurity, disease prevention, animal morbidity and mortality data, food safety practices, and the protection of local, affordable food supplies for consumers.
• Grants the Ohio Department of Agriculture authority for overseeing and enforcing the standards established by the Board.

If passed by a three-fifths majority of the House and Senate, the proposed constitutional amendment will be submitted to Ohio voters on the November 3 ballot.

Hearings on the resolution are scheduled to begin the week of June 22, 2009 in the Senate Agriculture Committee. You may access the joint resolution here: http://www.legislature.state.oh.us/res.cfm?ID=128_SJR_6

UPDATE: 6/22/09, 10:00 p.m.

Emily Caldwell, of Farm and Dairy, wrote an excellent article summarizing this action.  From her article:

A joint resolution between the Ohio Senate and House of Representatives — which has the support of most major agricultural organizations in Ohio — would authorize language on the ballot this November and, if passed, would create the Ohio Livestock Care Standards Board, a 13-member board responsible for implementing proper guidelines. Ohio Gov. Ted Strickland has already announced his support of the amendment.

Read Emily’s full article here: http://www.farmanddairy.com/news/ohio-studies-livestock-care-ballot-initiative/12359.html

Winter Wheat Pest: Wheat Stem Maggot

My colleague and friend, Glen Arnold, stumbled across a pest of winter wheat that I was unfamiliar: wheat stem maggot. Thanks to Greg LaBarge for the correct identification.

Glen indicated that 5% of the wheat field had “bleached heads”.

Closeup of the white, bleached wheat heads.

Damage caused by maggots feeding in the upper portion of the stem cuts off nutrient flow and the heads turn a whitish color.

The farmer indicated the variety was bin-run wheat with no seed treatment planted about October 1st, 2008, following corn. The field was topdressed with urea but no fungicides or insecticides have been applied. The wheat field looked normal prior to heading. The bleached heads are dead but the plant looks healthy. No other fields in the area seem to have these symptoms.

The heads easily pull out from the top of the plant and look rotten where they attach to the plant. Wheat stem maggot larvae overwinter in grass species. The females lay one egg per stem near the flag leaf. The larvae burrow into the stem, killing the upper part of the stem and the head. This pest does not cause widespread damage to winter wheat in Ohio and chemical controls are not recommended at this stage.

Reference:

http://www.ipm.ucdavis.edu/PMG/r730301311.html

Glyphosate Management in Soybeans

The results of weed-crop interference studies show that weeds in soybeans should be treated with herbicide before they exceed a size of 6 to 8 inches in order to ensure that weed interference is not a limiting factor in soybean yield. Weeds may not have reached this size in later-planted soybeans, or where pre-emergence herbicide activity reduced weed populations and growth. In soybeans planted late May through June, POST herbicides can be applied sooner after planting when weeds are small, which maximizes POST herbicide activity and reduces the need for higher glyphosate rates.

Glyphosate rates should generally be based on weed size and age, environmental conditions, and the previous history of glyphosate effectiveness in the target weed population. You can use the lowest labeled rate of glyphosate, 32 oz/A Roundup Original and similar products, and achieve 100% control when the following are met: 1) weeds are less than 6 inches tall; 2) weeds have not survived tillage or a previous herbicide application; 3) glyphosate is applied following use of a pre-emergence herbicide; and 4) environmental conditions are extremely favorable for herbicide. Increasing the glyphosate rate to a range of 48 oz/A to 64 oz/A of Roundup Original and similar products can greatly increase effectiveness when weeds are more than 6 inches tall and/or other conditions are not optimum for herbicide activity.

Glyphosate-resistant corn increases the potential for volunteer corn problems in soybean when glyphosate is used for weed control. Fortunately, good volunteer corn control options exist in glyphosate-resistant soybean. Most postemergence grass herbicides are very effective in controlling volunteer corn. The exception is that Poast Plus can be less effective. Postemergence grass herbicides can be tank mixed with glyphosate, but the adjuvant requirements may be greater than the typical ammonium sulfate added with glyphosate and may depend if a glyphosate formulation requires no additional surfactant or if surfactant is required. The question of whether volunteer corn needs to be controlled depends both on the competition from the corn and the potential for dockage because of corn in the harvested soybeans. Based on previous studies from University of Wisconsin, soybean yield loss from volunteer corn is in the neighborhood of 1% yield loss for every 75 to 100 “clumps” of volunteer corn per acre.

Soybean Scouting and Stand Assessment Tips

Across the area soybeans are emerged and evaluation of the stand might be needed in some isolated cases. Even though soybeans have a capacity to compensate for low plant populations and gaps within the row, there is potential yield loss from stands that are too low in population.

There are a couple of different methods of determining soybean stand. One popular method to determine plant population is by using a hula hoop. This involves placing a circular device of known diameter such as a hula hoop on the ground and counting the plants contained within. Use the table here to calculate plants per acre: http://corn.osu.edu/story.php?setissueID=236&storyID=1467

When the soybean crop is planted in rows spaced 7.5 inches apart, the effect of plant population on yield is very small over the normal range of seeding rates and for any particular set of conditions. For a crop planted before May 20 in narrow rows, final populations of 100,000 to 120,000 plants per acre are adequate for maximum yield. Final populations for mid-June plantings should be in the range of 130,000 to 150,000 plants per acre. It is important to remember that soybeans can tolerate low populations very well, with only small reductions in yield potential across wide ranges in plant loss.

Recent research from University of Minnesota is consistent with OSU research that populations near 100,000 per acre are likely to produce maximum yields. Soybean stands with populations around 80,000 will yield about 90 percent of the maximum. However, expected yields drop more rapidly in stands below 50,000, with 39,000 plants per acre likely to produce about 75 percent of the normal yield. Researchers at U of M conclude that only those fields with remaining stands below 30,000 to 40,000 plants per acre are likely to produce greater yields when replanted.

Small, recently emerged soybeans (right) are dwarfed by large giant ragweed (left). Click image for full size.

In addition to possible issues with thin soybean stands, there are some weed control challenges in soybeans due to lack of burndown applications prior to planting soybeans. It is not unusual now to see soybeans at 2-3” in height dwarfed by 12”+ giant ragweed or other tough-to-control weeds. Glyphosate is still the most effective herbicide on large weeds, with little risk of crop injury. However, be aware that it does not necessarily provide good control of large weeds in all situations, especially where the weed population has lost sensitivity to glyphosate over time.

Large weeds will require glyphosate to be used at a high rate, such as 1.5 lbs acid equivalent per acre in soybeans. OSU Extension Weed Specialist Dr. Mark Loux recommends increasing spray volume to 20 gallons per acre to improve coverage in dense weed infestations, or where spray needs to penetrate into the weed/crop canopy. Where the weeds are the same size or larger than the crop, be sure the nozzles are high enough above the weeds to obtain the full spray pattern distribution.

Ohio Laws for All-Purpose Vehicles to Change July 1, 2009

Peggy Hall, Director of the Agricultural Resource Law Program for Ohio State University Extension, wrote an excellent article for the June, 2009 edition of the Ohio Ag Manager Newsletter summarizing the upcoming changes to Ohio’s All-Purpose Vehicle laws. The below article is from Ms. Hall and contains all the pertinent information relevant to farms:

Ohio law will soon contain new provisions on criminal trespass, registration and operation of all-purpose vehicles (APVs). The General Assembly included the changes in H.B. 2 this spring, which becomes effective on July 1, 2009. Rural landowners will have interest in the new criminal trespass sections, which increase fines when a trespass occurs with an APV. The law’s license plate program will require APVs to display a license plate and validation sticker like other vehicles. APV operators will pay higher registration fees, but on-farm APVs used as a farm implement will be exempt from registration.

According to Ohio law, an “all-purpose vehicle” is “any self-propelled vehicle designed primarily for cross-country travel on land and water, or on more than one type of terrain, and steered by wheels or caterpillar treads, or any combination thereof, including vehicles that operate on a cushion of air, vehicles commonly known as all-terrain vehicles, all-season vehicles, mini-bikes, and trail bikes.” The definition of “all-purpose vehicle” does not include golf carts or utility vehicles that are designed to transport materials or cargo.

Below is a summary of the new law that will go into effect on July 1.

Criminal trespass with APVs. The law contains stiffer penalties for criminal trespass that involves an APV. Criminal trespass is the entering or remaining on another’s land without permission or privilege, and is a fourth degree misdemeanor punishable by a fine of up to $250 and jail time of up to 30 days. Under the new law, when a person commits criminal trespass using an APV, a court must double the fine. Where a person is convicted three times of criminal trespass using an APV, the court may also impound the registration and license plate of the vehicle for at least 60 days.

Registration exceptions. Ohio law currently requires registration of APVs, snowmobiles and off-highway motorcycles, with a few exceptions. The new law changes the exceptions that apply to APVs in two ways. First, the new law removes the registration exception for APVs operated exclusively upon lands owned by the owner or on lands to which the owner has a contractual right. This exception from registration will apply only to snowmobiles and off-highway motorcycles. Second, the law creates a new registration exception for APVs: an owner does not have to register an APV that is used primarily on a farm as a farm implement. The law also increases the penalties for operating an unregistered APV, snowmobile or off-highway motorcycle to no less than $50 and no more than $100.

License plate requirements. The new law requires operators of APVs to display a license plate and validation sticker rather than a registration number after July 1, 2010. An owner must display the license plate so that it is “distinctly visible” and in accordance with rules to be adopted by the Board of Motor Vehicles (BMV). After an owner obtains a license plate, the BMV will issue a new validation sticker to display on the license plate for each three-year registration period. The new license plate provision does not affect snowmobiles or off-highway motorcycles.

Registration fees. The new law increases the registration fees for APVs, snowmobiles and off-highway motorcycles from $5 to $31.25 for the three-year registration period. The registrar may retain up to $5 of the fee and must deposit the remainder into the state treasury for the state recreational vehicle fund, which also receives amounts from fines issued under the law. Purposes of the fund include enforcing and administering laws regarding registration and operation of snowmobiles, off-highway motorcycles, and APVs, purchasing additional land to provide trails and other areas for such vehicles on state-controlled land and waters, and providing safety programs.

Out of state driver’s licenses. The old law requires the operator of an APV, snowmobile or off-highway motorcycle to hold a valid driver’s license from the State of Ohio. The new law allows a person holding a driver’s license from another state to operate the vehicles.

Impoundment. The new law allows a court to impound the registration and license plate of an APV for no less than 60 days whenever a person is found guilty of operating the vehicle in violation of Ohio law.

See these Ohio Revised Code sections at http://codes.ohio.gov/orc/ for changes to APV law: O.R.C. 2911.21, 4519.02, 4519.03, 4519.04, 4519.08, 4519.09, 4519.10, 4519.44, and 4519.47.

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2009 Ohio Sustainable Farm Tour Series

Ohioans’ taste in food is changing. Conscientious consumers are looking for food grown locally and in a way that protects and conserves our natural resources. Ohio farmers are meeting this growing demand for wholesome food by adopting sustainable farming practices and developing creative marketing solutions. Through this tour series, you are invited to get out in the field and see just how it’s done. Each farmer is prepared to share their extensive experience — both successes and failures — with anyone interested in learning more. Market gardeners, grain and livestock producers, processors, future farmers, educators, and discriminating food lovers are encouraged to attend.

All tours are free and open to the public unless otherwise noted. Events will take place rain or shine.

This series is sponsored by

• Innovative Farmers of Ohio (IFO)

• Ohio Ecological Food and Farm Association (OEFFA)

• Ohio Forage and Grasslands Council (OFGC)

• The Ohio State University Organic Food and Farming Education and Research (OFFER) Program

• The Ohio State University Sustainable Agriculture Team

• USDA SARE Program

The brochure with all tour information is available for download in pdf format here: 2009 Ohio Sustainable Farm Tours