More information than I can handle

You may have noticed that it has been awhile since I have put out this

newsletter. Although I have been sending out information all of the time and in

every direction, there never seems to be enough time to pull it all together in a

single publication. I have been trying to handle four different newsletters, two

blogs, two Facebook pages, Twitter and Instagram in order to cater to

everyone’s interest. Each has their followers and fans, but it has been a little

too much to handle. I have decided to combine all of the Agriculture news into

this publication and to put it out a little more often. Take a look inside and find

out about all of the exciting things going on in Athens County and around the

state. For those that may be a little more computer savvy, check out the

information inside about how to follow us on each of the different social media

platforms. Hopefully, this will be timely information that will help you as you are

out in the farm and field each day.

OHIO STATE UNIVERSITY EXTENSION

Growing Athens County July | 2017

Alternative Energy .... Page 2 Field Crop Day .......... Page 3 Sheep Day ................. Page 4 SWD ........................... Page 5 Day in the Woods ........ Page 5 Vegetable Insects ....... Page 5 Join a Group ................ Page 6

Online Info ................... Page 6

Growing Athens County 2 ATHENS COUNTY EXTENSION

Growing Athens County 3 ATHENS COUNTY EXTENSION

Growing Athens County 4 ATHENS COUNTY EXTENSION

Growing Athens County 5 ATHENS COUNTY EXTENSION

A Day in the Woods

There are two upcoming programs during July with our forestry program.

Crawley Creatures in Your Woods July 14th –Vinton Furnace State Forest. 9:00 AM—3:30 PM Registration is $10 and includes lunch. Contact Dave Apsley by July 10 at Apsley.1@osu.edu or (740) 596-5212.

Explore the insects, arachnids, and other arthropods that live in your woodland.

Hear about the important roles that these creatures play in the ecology of your woodland.

Understand the current and potential impacts that non-native insects have on your woods and Ohio’s forest systems.

Summer Tree Identification July 28th – Hocking College, Natural Resources Building, 3301 Hocking Parkway, Nelsonville, OH 9:00 AM—3:30 PM Registration is $10 and includes lunch. Contact Dave Apsley by July 24 at Apsley.1@osu.edu or (740) 596-5212. Acquire leaf knowledge and other characteristics to identify trees.

Use a leaf key to aid in tree identification.

Explore the diversity of trees found on sites from floodplain to upper elevation.

Experiment with techniques such as branching, form, location, and other characteristics for tree ID.

Spotted Wing Drosophila (SWD) – James Jasinski

Over the years we have gained some knowledge about the overwintering habits of this pest, which appear to be near wooded areas. This year we set out baited Scentry traps early at a few small fruit fields around the state to see if SWD are present in those locations. In Franklin Country, one trap was in place in a small raspberry patch for the entire winter, and four additional traps were placed near the boundary between a wooded fencerow and the raspberries on May 11th. Likewise, traps were placed in the boundary between the woods and berry fields in Greene and Clinton Counties on May 10

th. In Wayne County, traps were also placed near a

strawberry field in mid-May. We have detected SWD adults at all four of these locations within the past week. In Franklin County, the traps in the berry patch had no SWD, but one trap in the distant treeline did have one male SWD on May 25

th. Traps at Greene, Clinton, and

Wayne locations found SWD adults on May 23rd

. These catches are 3-4 weeks earlier than we have detected them in past seasons. The earlier finds are interesting but not surprising, because we were looking for these pests earlier in the season at a location where they are likely to overwinter, in combination with a mild winter in which high survival was likely. All growers of these susceptible crops are encouraged to use a trap to detect the adult flies, and test ripening fruit for presence of larvae using a simple salt water test.

Vegetable Insects June is the month for insects

to start attacking the

vegetable crops. These are

some of the real problem

ones this month.

Squash Vine Borer –

moth lays eggs on

squash and

cucmbers. Larvae

burrow into base of

vines. Treat plants

before this happens

Squash Bug – attack

young squash and

cucumbers. May

transmit Yellow Vine

Disease (incuarable)

Stripped Cucumber

beetle – feed on

young cucubrits. May

transmit bacterial wilt

Colorado Potato

Beetle – attacks

potatoes and

nightshade plants

(tomatoes, eggplants,

peppers). May

defoliate plants. Hard

to control with most

insecticeds. bT and

spinosad may be the

best two options

The Athens County Extension Office has more information about all of the articles that you read in this newsletter.

Growing Athens County 6 ATHENS COUNTY EXTENSION

June Grazing Council at Find A Way Farm with Brian Duffy

Online Information There are many different social

media sites that now have

information for agriculture

producers from both Athens

County and around the state. If

you follow or subscribe to

these pages, you will receive

automatic updates.

facebook.com/growing-athens-county is our Facebook page for gardeners and farmers with growing tips and the latest insect and disease outbreaks

twitter.com @BuckeyeHillsANR is our twitter handle for immediate news and updates from the region

Instagram @Athens.ag has pictures of what is happening as I travel around the county

u.osu.edu/bhanr is the blog site for Buckeye Hills region of Southeast Ohio with agriculture news and events from the nine county region.

u.osu.edu/beef is the blog site for Ohio beef producers with weekly updates

u.osu.edu/vegnetnews is the blog for Ohio vegetable producers with weekly updates

agcrops.osu.edu/newsletter/corn-newsletter is a weekly newsletter for field crop producers from around the state

dairy.osu.edu/newsletter/buckeye-dairy-news is a newsletter for Ohio dairy farmers

Join a Group and Learn More There are currently several different interest groups meeting throughout the

county with wide ranging agricultural interests and I am always open to

adding more. If you are interested in joining any of these groups or would

like any more information, please contact me.

Athens County Area Beekeepers Association – This is a group

of bee enthusiasts that meet on the third Thursday of every month

at the Extension office starting at 7 PM athensbeekeepers.org

Athens-Meigs-Washington Cattlemen’s Association – This is a

group for those interested in Beef Cattle production, both farmers

and those that support the industry. They are meeting bi-monthly

on the third Thursday of the month at the Carthage Twp. Fire

Station. Call for upcoming meeting info.

Grazing Council – This is a group with interest in improving their

grazing skills and has started meeting again this year on a bi-

monthly basis. Summer meetings are all at various farms. The next

meeting will be on July 31. Details will be posted at a later date.

Southeast Ohio Woodland Interest Group (SEOWIG) - This is a

group for those that own woodlands or who enjoy being in the

woods. They meet bi-monthly on the third Monday of the month

unless otherwise announced. The next meeting will be in August.

Website: seowig.weebly.com email: seowig1@gmail.com