Farm Facts for Fairfield County
Farm Facts for Fairfield County
for November 7, 2003 ; also seen on Fridays in the Lancaster Eagle Gazette
Ohio State University Extension, the OSU Extension Beef Team, and the Ohio Cattlemen's Association Allied Industry Council will be hosting the 2004 Ohio Cow/Calf Management and Technology School in two different locations this winter with one being in Lancaster. The Fairfield County Ag Center will be the site of one of the courses being offered on Thursday's for eight consecutive weeks beginning on January 8, 2004. Highland County Extension in Hillsboro will be hosting the same program, and each session at both locations will run from 7 p.m. until 9:45 p.m.
This comprehensive program will focus on every aspect of breeding, feeding, calving, weaning, and marketing that relates to Ohio cow/calf production. This course is being offered with a primary focus on both full and part time, commercial and purebred, beef cattle producers and their families. Speakers will include Ohio State University specialists and agriculture extension agents who work with and teach beef cattle production. More specifically, topics will include marketing, whole herd nutrition and vaccination programs, pasture and forage management strategies, replacement heifer development, reproduction, genetics, birthing, weaning management and herd record keeping.
If you have any kind of interest in quality feeder calf production, or maintaining a productive and profitable cow herd, you will find this course interesting and informative. Each participate will receive a notebook and many pertinent handout and reference materials. Refreshments will also be available at the sessions. All participants will complete the course with certification in Beef Quality Assurance and Pasture LEAP. The fee for the entire 8 week course is $50 for the first person from a farm operation, and $25 for each additional person from that farm operation.
More details regarding the course outline and speakers will be available in coming weeks. Since space is limited, reservations are required, and are available by contacting the Fairfield County Extension office at 740.653.5419.
Decision Making 2004 - Forces to Impact Profitability
Are you wondering what affects the predicted record corn harvest in Ohio, along with the poor harvest in parts of the western cornbelt are going to have on the market in 2004? What about the amazing cattle market we have been experiencing in 2003, do you want to find out if and when it might break? Or what is going on in Chinese agriculture and how it might affect American producers? What about demographic impacts and trends in U.S. food consumption and the subsequent effects on agricultural commodity markets?
If you plan on running an efficient agricultural operation in 2004 and want to find out what you should be planning for and how to read the markets, you need to attend this meeting on December 8, 2003 at the Fairfield County Ag Center. It will be a lunch meeting, beginning at 11 a.m. and ending at 3 p.m. Cost will be $5 per person and will cover handouts and lunch. Reservations should be made by December 1 by contacting the Extension office (740.653.5419). Go to the flyer under this link for more details and a list of speakers.
More on Extended Grazing
Just because the yard and pastures are losing their bright green luster, that certainly does not mean we need to be bringing the cattle into the barnyard and dropping round bales all of a sudden. If you have not participated in any of our extended season grazing activities or read up on our progress, it's not too late to find out what many of us are discovering - we can graze cattle in the winter in Ohio! Even if you did attend the Ohio Extended Grazing Conference, all graziers of livestock need to join us this fall and winter as we walk the pastures, corn fields, soybean fields, and wheat fields of our cooperating producers to see the great results we have had by planting alternative forages into row crop ground for winter grazing. This interesting phenomenon is catching on around the county and state and impacting profitability of cow/calf producers in a very positive way. We plan to hold pasture walk meetings at least monthly during the extended grazing season, with our first activity scheduled for Thursday November 20, at the farm of Doug and Cheryl Majors, 750 Ginder Rd. Lancaster, beginning at 10 a.m.
Last year, many were asking us "Why would you plant oats in August?" This year, the question may be "Why would you throw his seed oats out of a perfectly good airplane?" Many were on hand to observe this happening during the Ohio Extended Grazing Conference back in September. Now, if you take advantage of this opportunity to view the results with us firsthand, the answer to this year's question may be obvious!
So make plans now to join us on a pasture walk at the Majors' farm north of Lancaster on November 20 at 10 a.m. Here we will look at the result of 80 pounds of Armour seed oats flown onto standing corn on August 26. The corn was harvested on October 25, and bred Angus cows are presently grazing the oats and corn residue.
No reservations are required, just dress for the weather and meet us at the farm at 10 a.m. Call the Fairfield County Extension office 740-653-5419 with questions.
40th Annual Schools for Tax Preparers Announced
Tax practitioners will have an opportunity to attend one of eight two-day workshops offered in November and December according to Dr. Warren Lee, Director, Ohio Income Tax Schools, The Ohio State University. The Ohio Income Tax Schools program has been accepted for continuing education credits by the Accountancy Board of Ohio, IRS Director of Practice, Ohio Supreme Court Commission on Continuing Legal Education and the Certified Financial Planner Board of Standards for Continuing Education.
These workshops are intended for persons with income tax experience who prepare and file tax returns for individuals, small businesses and farmers. Instruction will focus on changes and problem areas related to preparation of federal and state returns. Participants will receive copies of the 2003 National Income Tax Schools workbook and the 2004 RIA Federal Tax Handbook. Highly qualified instructors will explain and interpret tax regulations and recent changes in tax law.
The workshop locations and dates are as follows: Fremont, November 17-18; Dayton, November 20-21; Columbus, November 24-25; Ashland, December 2-3; Lima, December 4-5; Chillicothe, December 8-9; Zanesville, December 11-12; Kent, December 15-16.
Workshop information, a downloadable registration form as well as on-line registration can be obtained at the following website: http://aede.osu.edu/programs/TaxSchool . Information about a one-day Agricultural Issues teleconference to be broadcast at several locations around Ohio on December 18 can also be found at this same website.
For information on the Fremont, Dayton, and Lima locations, contact Don Breece, (419-422-6106); for Ashland, Zanesville, and Kent, contact Dave Miller, (740-732-2381); Chillicothe, Ray Wells (740-702-3200); and Columbus, Warren Lee (614-292-6308).
The tax schools are sponsored by Ohio State University Extension in cooperation with the Internal Revenue Service, the Ohio Department of Taxation and the Land Grant University Tax Education Foundation, Inc.
For a listing of upcoming programs, meetings and events, visit the AG CALENDAR
Farms Facts is a weekly newspaper column, written by the agriculture staff at the Ohio State University Extension office in
Fairfield County.
All educational programs conducted by Ohio State University Extension are available to clientele on a nondiscriminatory basis without regard to race, color, creed, religion, sexual orientation, national origin, gender, age, disability or Vietnam-era veteran status.
Issued in furtherance of Cooperative Extension work, Acts of May 8 and June 30, 1914, in cooperation with the U.S. Department of Agriculture, Keith L. Smith, Director, Ohio State University Extension.
TDD # 1 (800) 589-8292 (Ohio only) or (614) 292-1868