Iberdrola Renewables Files Official Application for Wind Turbines in NW Ohio

Iberdrola Renewables has officially filed their application with the Ohio Power Siting Board for wind turbine development in Northwest Ohio. The application is available to view in its entirety via: http://dis.puc.state.oh.us/CaseRecord.aspx?CaseNo=09-1066. The application is over 2500 pages.

According to Project Manager Dan Litchfield, "Compared to other applications that have been filed already, our application demonstrates the commitment we have to developing projects responsibly and doing things the right away." Iberdrola, much like the other wind companies working in this area have extensively researched the project area and found that is a great place to generate wind energy.

One or two hard copies available for viewing at the Iberdrola Renewables office in downtown Van Wert and at local libraries within a few weeks.

Agronomy Technology Day Planned

The Van Wert County Extension Office, in partnership with agribusinesses, will be hosting an Agronomy Technology Day on January 16, 8:30 a.m. to 2:30 p.m. at the Van Wert County Extension Office.

Farmers are invited to attend this free agronomy technology educational program. "The meeting will focus on several current agricultural topics as well as review some of the great research conducted at Farm Focus in 2009," said Van Wert County Extension Educator Andy Kleinschmidt.

One of those hot topics that will be addressed is an update on the mold situation in corn. "The moldy grain issue is huge right now, and to address this issue OSU Pathologist Dr. Pierce Paul will provide a videocast update with the latest information on how to deal with moldy grain," said Kleinschmidt.

Other topics to be covered include: foliar fertilizers and fungicides for corn and soybeans, Kixor herbicide update, marestail and giant ragweed control, corn and soybean seeding rates, and tillage.

This Agronomy Technology Day is free and open to the public. Lunch will be provided, so please RSVP to the Van Wert County Extension office at 419-238-1214 or kleinschmidt.5 by January 14.

Ohio Department of Agriculture to Provide Ag Easement Program Sessions

Released by Ohio Department of Agriuclture
Media Contact: Kaleigh Frazier, Public Information Officer, 614-728-6211

Learn how to apply for Clean Ohio Agricultural Easement Purchase Program funds during upcoming meetings offered by the Ohio Department of Agriculture.

Agricultural easements are voluntary legal agreements restricting non-agricultural development on farmland, with the land itself remaining on the tax rolls and under private ownership and management. Landowners may undertake any agricultural activity permitted under Ohio law, and they can sell their farm or pass it along as a gift to others. However, the easement remains with the land, prohibiting any future non-agricultural development to make certain that it remains used for agricultural purposes.

Meetings will feature a presentation by the department’s farmland preservation staff as well as testimony from landowners who have participated in the program. Meeting attendees will also have the opportunity to discuss the program with Ohio Department of Agriculture staff.

Local partners will also be present at each meeting to provide information and direction to landowners. It is important for attendees to connect with these partners who submit applications to the department on behalf of farm owners.

Northwest
Jan. 7, 6 – 8 p.m. (meeting begins at 6:30 p.m.)
Brugeman Lodge at Riverbend
9250 Marion Twp. Rd. 208
Findlay, Ohio
Local partners: West Central Ohio Land Conservancy, Hancock County Farm Bureau, Hardin County Farm Bureau, Ag Credit

Southeast
Jan. 11, 6 – 8:30 p.m. (includes optional break-out sessions)
Sheridan High School
8725 Sheridan Rd.
Thornville, Ohio
Local partners: Licking County Land Trust, Ohio Farm Bureau, Fairfield Land Preservation Association, Appalachia Ohio Alliance, Soil and Water Conservation Districts, OSU Extension, Sheridan High School, Future Farmers of America
RSVP to Perry County OSU Extension at 740-743-1602

Southwest
Jan. 12, 5 – 7 p.m. (meeting begins at 5:30 p.m.)
Cox Arboretum Metropark
6733 Springboro Pike

Dayton, Ohio
Local partners: Three Valley Conservation Trust, Montgomery County Soil and Water Conservation District

Contact the Ohio Department of Agriculture’s Office of Farmland Preservation with any questions about the meetings at 614-728-6210, or visit the Web site at www.agri.ohio.gov.

Deadline Approaching for Grain Quality Crop Insurance Claims

The following article was written by Mike Gastier and appeared in the December 22, 2009 edition of the http://corn.osu.edu newsletter.

Corn growers who utilize crop insurance coverage and have a significant portion of their 2009 crop in private storage have a very powerful risk management tool at their disposal if they act quickly. December 25, 2009 is the deadline to initiate a grain quality crop insurance claim for the 2009 corn crop according to Bill Lund, Crop Insurance Agent and partner in Lund and Smith Insurance Services of Huron County, Ohio. Once the deadline passes, producers assume the risk of inferior grain quality even if they purchased crop insurance.

In most marketing years producers have some peace of mind that the grain stored in their bins will maintain reasonable quality under good management. This is not a forgone conclusion this year, because in many cases producers didn’t know the quality of the grain that they placed into storage. Lund suggests that by initiating a grain quality claim prior to December 25, 2009 an insured producer can take up to 60 days to complete the claim. The next 60 days may prove very important in telling how the entire vomitoxin issue plays out during this marketing year.

Here is a scenario that is not so far fetched. A corn producer in Ohio had a record corn crop in 2009. He sold 40% of his crop right out of the field to a terminal that was not testing for vomitoxin when he delivered his corn before Thanksgiving. After New Years Day, that same producer loads his truck to begin filling January contracts. Upon arrival at the terminal, the producer realizes that the buyer is now testing for vomitoxin. His load proves to be above the terminal’s acceptable levels and hence is rejected. Short of finding another buyer, this producer is without good options because he no longer has any grain quality coverage through crop insurance since he had not opened a claim prior to the deadline.

This situation can be avoided. If there is any doubt about the quality of the grain stored on your farm, contact your crop insurance agent immediately and initiate a grain quality claim. Should your grain prove to be of good quality you can release the claim without a detrimental effect to your crop history. This strategy keeps your options as a seller open as long as possible.

Ohio Crops: Outlook Presentation for 2010, Year End Budgets 2009

The Input Outlook Presentation and the 2009 Year End Budgets are at the bottom of the Farm Management Publications website:
http://aede.osu.edu/Programs/FarmManagement/MgtPublications.htm

The updated Corn and Soybean Budgets are located at:
http://aede.osu.edu/Programs/FarmManagement/Budgets/index.htm

OSU Extension Gives Top Award

Glen Arnold, my OSU Extension Colleague, received the premiere award of OSU Extension on 12/16/09 for his work.

This Excellence in Extension award is a peer-nominated award. Glen truly embodies excellence in Extension. Glen brings together the best of the traditional Extension values with the latest ideas and practices in Extension. Glen uses every encounter with a client as an opportunity to evaluate, learn, teach; he ultimately uses feedback from those encounters to form the basis of a very strong Extension program that meets client and peer needs. I have personally observed Glen try new and different approaches in Extension, always with a focus on excellence – and as a result, he is continuously improving and expanding an integrated and relevant Extension system for clients and peers throughout Ohio.

Congratulations Glen!!

You can follow Glen on Twitter at http://twitter.com/putnamag

2009 Ohio Soybean Performance Trials-Initial Yield Data Released

Yield data for both 2009 Corn and Soybean Performance Trials has been posted on-line for your use. The corn data can be found at http://www.oardc.ohio-state.edu/corntrials/ and the soybean data can be found at http://www.oardc.ohio-state.edu/soy2009/. Please use these links at this point as we are still updating some linking pages which may still be linked to previous year’s data. The data set at this point includes yield information by site. Additional quality and disease rating information will be added to both data sets over the next couple of weeks.

Please be sure to check back for the additional data and in the mean time we hope you find this initial data set useful as you plan for the 2010 growing
season.

Preliminary Data is Available Online for the 2009 Ohio Corn Performance Trial

Preliminary Data is Available Online http://oardc.osu.edu/corntrials/ for the 2009 Corn Performance Trial.

Data for experimental hybrids is not included. Additional information/hybrids will be added as marketing information becomes available, as will the combined regional tables (which are especially helpful in assessing hybrid performance across locations).

Soil Scientists Quietly Planning a Carbon Dioxide Reduction Revolution: Biochar

From USDA-ARS website on biochar:

When biomass, such as crop residue and wood wastes, are heated in the absence of oxygen in a process known as pyrolysis, the biomass is transformed into a liquid known as bio-oil and a solid known as biochar. Bio-oil is a greenhouse gas neutral renewable energy product that has the potential to replace some petroleum products. Biochar is a type of charcoal. Biochar can be burned as a substitute for coal, but using biochar as a soil amendment may have many benefits for the environment. One of those potential environmental benefits is an improvement in soil quality. Application of biochar to soils reduces the density of soils and this makes the soils a better medium for plant growth.

Biochar amendments add plant nutrients to soils and increase the capacity of soils to retain both plant nutrients and water. These improvements in soil quality can increase crop yields. However, the quality of the biochar is very important. While some types of biochar increase crop yields, other types of biochar can reduce crop yields. This [information] will help farmers and land managers who are considering applying biochar to their fields avoid problems associated with putting the wrong type of biochar on their fields.

Full podcast here:

(Podcast taken from text provided by The Economist, 8/27/09 and University of Florida Extension Chemically Speaking http://pested.ifas.ufl.edu/newsletters/2009-10/biochar.htm).

Beef Carcass Breakdown

The November 10 AgChat on Twitter brought about an interesting conversation based on the question: “Do we talk slaughter? What are good starters, how much do they really want to know & where do they get info?” This is a great question to which my answer was “I say ‘yes’, all part of transparency. I wouldn’t necessarily be advertising it, but if asked, yes.” But there were many other opinions and suggestions on how to approach the issue of animal slaughter/processing. A suggestion was made that a video may be helpful to explain the process. To that end, Truffle Media suggested the below video.

Acknowledgement: Thanks to Truffle Media for permission to embed this video.

Further information: If you’d like to know more, I suggest following @iTweetMeat on twitter.

.