Agriculture & Natural Resources, Community Development May & June 2015

A farm women’s workshop

for management and decision-making in the complex,

dynamic world of agriculture.

Critical decision-making and information topics on:

(1) Production Risk Management

(2) Marketing Risk Management

(3) Financial Risk Management

(4) Legal Risk Management

(5) Human Resources Risk

Management

Classes will be held 6-9pm at the Community Center in

Angola on the following dates:

May 19th Real Colors, Personality Assessment Cindy Barnett– Purdue Extension

Using this tool we will identify your personality traits and discus how your personality can influence human resource manage-ment on the farm.

May 26th Farm Financial Analysis Dakota Parent– Farm Credit Mid-America

Knowing where your business is currently is an important aspect of planning and managing risk.

June 2nd Farm Estate Planning & Code Red John Schwarz– Schwarz Law Office Crystal Van Pelt– Purdue Extension

John emphasizes having a three part plan– estate, succession and business structure plans. Code Red is a new Excel based program developed by the Purdue Women in Agriculture team where your family or business can enter all of the important infor-mation you need in case something happens to a key member of the operation.

June 9th Cash Marketing & Agency Programs Bill Vonderau-Bunge Kayleen Hart- SWCD

Elevator contracts, basic marketing terms, and marketing plans will be introduced so you know the options when your product is ready for market. There are many agencies with programs to help farmers improve the ways that they produce crops and live-stock.

June 16th Crop, Livestock & Drone Insurance Dave Gurtner– Ag One Agency Eric Trabert--Jacob Insurance Services

Insurance specialists will coach us through deadlines, what is needed for the reporting process and different coverage options.

June 23 Agvocacy & Graduation

Registration Fee is $75 for the first family member and $10 per additional family

member sharing class materials.

A registration form is included in this newsletter.

(Includes WIA Pad folio, handouts, Code Red 4GB flash drive,

refreshments, and resource materials)

Registration Deadline: May 5th.

Please add $10/person late fee after 5/5/15

Regional Training for LaGrange, DeKalb, and Steuben Counties: In 2015, training sessions will begin on Thursday, September 3 and continue each Thursday evening through December 10, with no class on October 15 or Thanksgiving, November 26. Training sessions will be held from 6:00 – 9:00 pm. unless otherwise announced. Location for training will be at the Helmer United Methodist Church. The church is located on SR 327 about a half mile north of the junction with SR 4 on the north side of Helmer, Indiana. The fee for this training will be $150.00 or $250.00 per couple sharing one set of materials, payable in full by August 20th, unless special arrangements are made in advance. Contact your county extension office to pay the fee. The first session includes a mandatory orientation session for candidates accepted into the program. At the orientation session you will given detailed infor-mation regarding the program. You will be required to sign a volunteer agreement, a behavioral expectation form, and a form which allows us to do a confidential background check. Topics will include: soil science, plant science, plant disease and care, insects, tree selection and care, vegetables, plant propagation, annuals and perenni-als, home fruit planting, organic gardening, pesticide safety, wild edibles, nuisance animal control, turf and ornamental grasses.

This non-credit program is not a gardening course just

for personal benefit. Candidates should be interested in

educating others in the community about gardening, will-

ing to work to achieve educational goals of Purdue Ex-

tension, and above all, have a willingness and ability to

communicate and cooperate with others in group set-

tings to achieve those goals.

An application for Master Gardener training has been

included in this newsletter.

Please call the Extension office at 260-668-1000

x1400 if you have any questions about becoming a

Purdue Master Gardener.

Master Gardeners at the 2015

Steuben County Farmers’ Market

The Steuben County Master Gardeners will be host-

ing an educational booth at the Steuben County

Farmers’ Market every second Saturday of the month

which runs May-October 8am-12pm. Feel free to stop

by and get answers to your horticultural questions.

The schedule for the booth will be as follows:

May 9– Spring Plant Sale, Planting Information

June 13– Fairy Gardens

July 11– Container Gardening

August 8– Gardening with Children

September 12– Fall Plant Sale, Weed Identification

and Control

October 10– Put Your Garden to Bed:

Saving Seeds, Drying

Like Our Office on Facebook!

Facebook.com/SteubenCounty

2015 Weed Control Guide

The Weed Control Guide offers guidance for nearly every

type of commercial cropping system. The 2015 Weed

Control Guide for Ohio and Indiana is available for

download at:

http://corn.osu.edu/specialists/weeds/specialist-

links/2010%20Weed%20Control%20Guide.pdf/view

2015 Agronomy Field Day

July 30th

8:30am-3:00pm The Anderson’s in Waterloo

8:30 – Registration and Refreshments 8:45 – Welcome and Introductions 9:00 - Plot Tours (1 hour each) Cover Crops: Soil and Seeding Scott Haley, Resource Soil Scientist, NRCS Salford 522 Air Drill Demo, Allen County SWCD Field Crop IPM - the Challenges Continue John Obermyer, IPM Specialist, Purdue Technology Demo: Interpreting Nitrogen

May Yard & Garden Calendar

Rosie Lerner Purdue Consumer Horticulture Specialist

HOME (Indoor plants and activities) Many indoor plants can be moved to shady locations outdoors but only after danger of frost is past. Plants will dry out more often outdoors, so keep a close eye on soil moisture. Sinking the pots in soil will help slow down moisture loss. Now is a good time to take cuttings of houseplants to increase a collection or share with friends. Root cuttings in media, such as vermiculite, perlite or potting soil. Roots grown in water tend to be weak from lack of oxygen and do not adjust well to planting in soil. Fertilize houseplants according to label directions. Foliage plants require relatively high nitrogen ferti-lizer; flowering houseplants respond best to fertilizer high in phosphorus.

YARD (Lawns, woody ornamentals and fruits) Prune early spring-flowering trees and shrubs after flowers fade. Plant balled-and-burlapped or container nursery stock, and water thoroughly. Remove and de-stroy overwintering bagworms from landscape trees and shrubs. Follow a spray schedule to keep home-orchard crops pest free. While trees are in bloom, use fungicide sprays without insecticide to avoid injury to bees. Follow label directions. More information is available in Purdue Extension publication ID-146 "Controlling Pests in the Home Fruit Planting," https://www.extension.purdue.edu/extmedia/ID/ID-146-W.pdf Thin fruits of apple trees, if needed, about three weeks after petal fall. Apples should be about 8 inches apart. Apply fungicides to roses to control diseases, such as black spot. Purdue turf experts recommend that if you are going to fertilize your lawn in May, apply three-fourths to 1 pound N/1,000 square foot with a prod-uct that contains 50 percent or more slow-release fertilizer. Try to schedule the application prior to a rain or irrigate following application to move the fertilizers off the leaf blade.

GARDEN (Vegetables, small fruits and flowers) Plant frost-tender plants after danger of frost has passed for your area. This includes warm-season vegetables such as tomatoes, peppers, eggplant and vine crops as well as most annual flowers and tender perennials, such as cannas, gladiolus, dahlias, tuberous begonias and caladiums. Pinch chrysanthemums and annual flower plants to keep them compact and well-branched. Make successive plantings of beans and sweet corn to extend the season of harvest. Thin seed-lings of early planted crops such as carrots, lettuce, spinach and beets to their proper spacing. Harvest early plantings of radishes, spinach and lettuce. Harvest asparagus by cutting or snapping spears at or just below soil level. Harvest rhubarb by cutting, or grasp the stalk and pull it up and slightly to one side. Control cu-cumber beetles, carriers of bacterial wilt, as soon as cucumber plants germinate or are transplanted to pre-vent disease. Remove blossoms from newly set strawberry plants to allow better runner formation. Remove unwanted sucker growth in raspberries when new shoots are about a foot tall.

12:00 - Lunch 12:45 - Markets with Mike Mike Mock, The Andersons 1:30 - Keynote Speaker “Nitrogen Utilization in Today’s Environment” Stephanie Smith, Agronomist 360 Yield Center 2:00 - “Proper Sprayer Cleanout” Dr. Fred Whitford, Purdue University 3:00 – Wrap Up and Homemade Ice Cream

*Pesticide applicator credits will be available. This event is free, to register call The Andersons at 260-837-8162 by July 24. 2015

83rd Annual Farm Management Tour

June 23-24, 2015

Various locations in Adams and Jay counties, Indiana

Farm Management Tour Overview

The Department of Agricultural Economics at Purdue University has

organized an annual Indiana Farm Management Tour every year since

the early 1930s. The tour visits farms that have demonstrated highly

successful farm business management practices or have unique per-

spectives on farm business management. The purpose of the tour is to

encourage and develop a high level of management knowledge and

skill among Hoosier farmers.

Key Benefits

Host farmers will share their keys to successful farm management and

explain how the management of their operations is changing in re-

sponse to the vibrant agricultural economy and the changing circum-

stances of their families. They will also share their reasons for their

recent innovations in production practices and adoption of new tech-

nology. This is an opportunity to ask questions of and learn from the

experiences of some of the best farm business managers in Indiana.

Who should attend? Farmers, agribusiness professionals and others providing products and services to farmers, agricultural educators and students, farm landowners, and anyone interested in farm management and family farm businesses.

Registration Information Location: Adams and Jay counties Registration Fee: Preregistration is required but there is no fee for the tour or lunch.

Thank you to our sponsors!

Avian Biosecurity

The State of Indiana has now moved to Biosecurity

Level II of the Indiana Emergency Poultry Disease Plan

(EPDP). This change is due to the significant growth in

the number of flocks diagnosed with Highly Pathogenic

(HPAI) and Low Pathogenic Avian Influenza (LPAI) in

Wisconsin and the states West of the Mississipp River.

Additionally, Indiana is operationally connected to Wis-

consin, one of the states with recently diagnosed H5N2

HPAI flocks.

Among the additional biosecurity components of the

Emergency Poultry Disease Plan that need to be imple-

mented with the move to Level II is that commercially

raised poultry must now be raised without outdoor access.

This action will reduce interaction with wildlife, thus

greatly decreasing the risk of avian influenza.

For additional information, please review the current

Indiana EPDP dated June 7, 2007, or contact the Indiana

State Poultry Association office.

Some measures of being in a Biosecurity Level II

include:

1. Utilize truck washing stations and list what vehicles

need cleaning and sanitizing when leaving outbreak areas

before returning to Indiana.

2. Utilize equipment washing stations. Assure equipment

and supplies carried out of outbreak areas are washed and

sanitized before returning to Indiana.

3. If the threat to Indiana poultry is perceived to be in-

creasing from a nearby area, hold additional information

meetings with expanded audiences where outside experts,

university scientists, government scientists, government

regulatory officials, etc. present the facts and answer ques-

tions.

4. Seek USDA assistance in accomplishing special preven-

tive, control, and eradication efforts.

5. Implement strategic use of environmental swab tests for

trucks and other key equipment or items originating from

outbreak area and transported into Indiana. Use standard

sampling protocols recommended by the USDA, ADDL or

published procedures.

6. If threat warrants, implement appropriate farm visitation

restrictions in Indiana and further tighten premises biose-

curity programs.

7. If threat warrants, cease all unnecessary contacts with

people and poultry premises, including allied companies,

in the contaminated area.

8. Distribute appropriate general educational materials on

biosecurity and the specific disease of concern. Also, dis-

tribute educational materials appropriate for each of the

specific components of the Indiana poultry industry .

Pesticide Applicator Records & Credits

There is a new look to the Office of the Indiana State Chem-ist records search webpage. A link to this site and for private applicators to find conference dates and locations will be found at the Purdue Pesticide Program website at: www.ppp.purdue.edu. The bottom right graphic is from the Purdue website and is located on the right-hand side of the webpage. To navigate to the OISC website click on CCH Pro-grams, then click the link towards the bottom of the page that says OISC Public Search Portal.

The OISC site is where commercial and private applicators can see records including results from testing, expiration date of their license, how many classes they have attended towards their license and upcoming conferences that offer commercial applicator credits.

For private applicators there is also a new way to earn one of the three credits needed in a five year certification period. The Education Store for Purdue offers an online training and testing

module. The cost is $10 and registration is completed by calling the Education Store at 888-398-4636. Once you register over the phone you will be sent an email with program information. The

applicator will have 90 days to complete the online program. The program must be completed before the permit expiration date in order to receive credit.

Premise ID’s are Important

All Indiana premises associated with the purchase,

sale and/or exhibition of cattle, swine, sheep, goats

and farmed cervids must be registered by state law.

Registration allows BOAH to be more effective tracing

animal movements in a major animal health emergen-

cy investigation. Registering your premise is free &

takes only about 5 minutes. Visit www.in.gov/boah

and click on “Premises Registration”. A premise iden-

tification number (also known as a “premID”) will be

issued within 3 to 5 business days after the online

form is submitted. If registering by mail with a paper

form, allow 10 business days for a premID to be is-

sued. If you simply need to verify your premises iden-

tification number, contact BOAH at: 317-544- 2400 or

email animalhealth@boah.in.gov. Be sure to note the

name and premises’ physical address listed on the

registration.

Ear tag ordering infor-

mation is also available on

the BOAH website. Be

sure to order tags for the

correct species.

Walnut Twig Beetle Discovered in

Indiana

DNR Release: The Walnut Twig Beetle (WTB),

Pityophthorus juglandis, the insect involved in Thou-

sand Cankers Disease of Black Walnut (TCD), has

been detected in Indiana for the first time at a Franklin

County sawmill.

The beetles were collected in a trap placed in the

sawmill in 2014 but no evidence of TCD was detected

in the lumber at the sawmill. Movement of walnut logs,

lumber and other walnut material within Indiana is not

restricted. Movement into and out of Indiana is restrict-

ed.

WTBs are known vectors of TCD, meaning they carry

pathogenic fungal spores from tree to tree as they feed

and reproduce. Initial TCD symptoms on walnut trees

involve a yellowing and thinning of the upper crown,

which progresses to include death of progressively

larger branches. During the

final stages large areas of

foliage may rapidly wilt. Trees

often are killed within three

years after initial symptoms

are noted. Walnut twig beetle, side view. Photograph by Jim

LaBonte, Oregon Department of Agriculture.

AQUAPONICS WORKSHOP

May 16th, 9am-2pm

7967 south Wayne street

Hamilton, Indiana

Aquaponics is a food production system that combines conventional aquaculture with hydroponics. The symbiotic relationship between the fish and plants can provide you with a bounty of fresh vegeta-bles and edible aquatic species. This program will give individuals an idea of what they need in order to start a small-scale hydroponic or aquaponic facility, what fish and plants are available to be pro-duced through the two systems in Indiana and what to expect for up-keep and maintenance of such a system.

Registration is $5 for adults and free to youth under the age of 18. Registration is due by May 13th. A registration form is included in this newsletter or you may register over the phone at (260) 668-1000 x1400 and pay registration fees the day of the event, cash and check only please.

8:45 Registration

9:00 Introduction to Hydroponics

12:00 Aquaponics and Solar Options

It is the policy of the Purdue University Cooperative Extension Service that all persons have equal opportunity and access to its educational programs, services, activities, and facilities without regard to race, religion, color,sex, age, national origin or ancestry, marital status, parental status, sexual orientation, disability, or status as a veteran. Purdue is an Affirmative Action institution. This material may be available in alternative formats.

Crystal Van Pelt

Extension Educator in Steuben County

Agriculture & Natural Resources

Community Development

Steuben Community Center

317 S. Wayne St. Suite 1A

Angola, IN 46703

260 668 1000 x1400

cvanpelt@purdue.edu

Join us for the 2015 Steuben County 4-H Fair

July 17-23rd

Truck and Tractor Pulls Friday 8pm

IPRA and Mid-States Rodeo Saturday 8pm

Mid-Summer Mud Run Sunday 4pm

4-H Livestock Auction Thursday 10am