WOOSTER, Ohio — The Ohio State University’s 2019 Greenhouse Management Workshop, set for Jan. 17-18 in Wooster, will dig all around a plant’s roots. The theme is “Root Zone Optimization.”
Peter Ling, associate professor in Ohio State’s Department of Food, Agricultural and Biological Engineering, said this year’s program is unique because it will focus exclusively on the root zone.
Ling has organized the annual workshop, which is designed for commercial growers from Ohio and beyond, for each of its now 21 years.
Chieri Kubota, professor in Ohio State’s Department of Horticulture and Crop Science, said root zone optimization means surrounding a plant’s roots with the best possible chemical, physical and biological...
Tip 1: Important Farm Bill Changes. The new Farm Bill will provide dairy farmers with a stronger safety net against low milk prices and high feed costs. More federal dollars will also be spent to spur international trade of American agricultural products. Both changes could help farmers at a time when revenues from selling milk, corn and soybeans have dipped and markets have shrunk. Learn what agricultural economists in the College of Food, Agricultural, and Environmental Sciences (CFAES) at The Ohio State University, think about these changes and more in the federal bill now awaiting the President’s signature. Contact either Carl Zulauf, professor emeritus, at carzul1980@gmail.com or 614-314-1439, or Ben Brown, manager of the CFAES farm management program, at brown.6888@osu.edu or...
COLUMBUS, Ohio — Dairy farmers have a stronger safety net against low milk prices and high feed costs under the new federal farm bill, and more federal dollars will be spent to spur international trade of American agricultural products.
Both changes could help farmers at a time when revenues from selling milk, corn and soybeans have dipped and markets have shrunk.
Under the new farm bill, dairy farmers will pay lower premiums for a federal program that provides them payments when the margin between milk prices and feed costs dips below a certain level set by the government. The top level of coverage was raised from $8 to $9.50 per hundred pounds of milk, which will increase payments to dairy farmers.
“This is not a trivial change,” said Carl Zulauf, an...
My grandkids and I have a tradition of spending a Saturday afternoon this time of year baking pies, cakes, and cookies for the holidays. I’ve always let my grandkids lick the spoon from the raw cake batter and raw cookie dough, but now my son is telling me it’s not safe to do so. Why is that?
While many people (including me!) might love the taste of raw cookie dough or raw cake or brownie batter, eating it can make you sick. That’s because the raw eggs and uncooked flour that go into many recipes can contain bacteria such as E. coli or salmonella, which can result in a bad case of foodborne illness.
Most people know that raw or undercooked eggs can cause salmonella poisoning, which can result in fever, abdominal cramps, and diarrhea, but fewer people are aware...
COLUMBUS, Ohio — When it comes to Christmas trees, a real tree, surprisingly, isn’t always the greenest choice.
If you buy and use an artificial tree at least four years, its environmental impact equals that of a fresh-cut tree purchased every year for the same number of years, said Elizabeth Myers Toman, an assistant professor in the College of Food, Agricultural, and Environmental Sciences (CFAES) at The Ohio State University.
That’s because each year’s drive to buy a real tree adds to the amount of carbon dioxide and other climate change-causing carbon compounds entering the atmosphere. Buying a plastic tree typically involves one trip to a store, which is usually a nearby retailer, then only annual trips by foot to the attic or basement to retrieve...
Tip 1: Using Technology to Improve Crop Decisions During the Growing Season: Knowing when to spray a pesticide, what type and how much can be challenging. If you don’t spray enough, you don’t fix the problem. Spray too much or the wrong pesticide and you may have wasted time and money. Apps, drones, satellite imagery and other technology can assist farmers in making those and other decisions about their growing crops. The speakers at Precision University, an annual conference sponsored by the College of Food, Agricultural, and Environmental Sciences (CFAES) at The Ohio State University can show how. At the Jan. 9 event, the speakers will include Anne Dorrance, a CFAES professor of plant pathology, who will discuss soybeans fungicides, and Jim DeGrand, Ohio’s assistant...
My 4-year-old REFUSES to eat anything that is the color red — no red apples, tomatoes, red peppers or even pepperoni on her pizza. She didn’t used to care what color her food was, but within the past couple weeks, she’s taken a disdain for red foods. Is this normal?
As frustrating as that may be for you when planning family meals and deciding what to feed your little one, picky eating habits are considered a normal part of a child’s development, according to health professionals.
In fact, up to half of preschoolers have exhibited picky eating habits, from wanting their foods prepared only a certain way, to not wanting to try new foods, and to, yes, refusing to eat foods based on color, research has found.
This could be in part because as a child...
COLUMBUS, Ohio -- Aerial drones will scout, track, and hopefully prevent crop diseases in a study conducted by The Ohio State University and supported by a $100,000 grant from the Bill & Melinda Gates Foundation.
The study will include a system of plant disease surveillance drones that will be developed to monitor rice blast and maize dwarf mosaic, two devastating diseases in many countries like Tanzania, plant pathologist and principal investigator Enrico Bonello said.
The drones will be mounted with spectral sensors capable of identifying plant pathogens from the air. It is hoped that the technology could allow crop managers to control the spread of disease even before plants show visual symptoms, said Bonello, professor of molecular and chemical ecology of trees in the...
COLUMBUS, Ohio — The way Ohio State University scientist Rattan Lal sees it, many of Earth’s biggest challenges — from growing enough food to protecting water quality to reversing climate change — have answers in the soil.
As Distinguished University Professor of Soil Science in the College of Food, Agricultural, and Environmental Sciences (CFAES), Lal has spent his career working to find those answers. Along the way, he’s gained a global reputation for his research and advocacy on soil-related matters along with multiple honors and awards.
His latest recognition, a big one, comes on an appropriate day.
Today, Dec. 5 — designated by the United Nations as World Soil Day — Lal received the Glinka World Soil Prize in a ceremony at the...
Tip 1: No-Till Conference: Growing crops without plowing the soil has a lot of environmental benefits, including reducing erosion. However, nutrients placed on the surface of a field that’s not plowed has the potential to run off with rainwater. Techniques that minimize disturbing the soil while also incorporating nutrients into the soil will be discussed among other topics on Dec. 11 at the Ohio NoTill Conference in Plain City, Ohio. The event gathers experts on no-till techniques who will discuss the benefits and challenges of no-till farming. Harold Watters, an agronomy field specialist with Ohio State University Extension, the outreach arm of the College of Food, Agricultural, and Environmental Sciences at The Ohio State University (CFAES), will discuss considerations that need...
