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By Dave Case
On Fertile Ground
Welcome to another edition of “On Fertile Ground,” your local source of timely homeowner, garden and agricultural information for Champaign County.
Urbana named a Best Hometown in Ohio by Ohio Magazine!
Unless you’ve been out of town or under a rock, you no doubt have heard, Urbana was named one of the 5 best places to “Live, Work and Visit” in Ohio for 2024/2025 by Ohio Magazine.
Quite an honor, long overdue but much welcomed. Something we all knew didn’t we! Well, the secret is out.
What went into this decision and what other towns were selected?
Let’s start with the other towns. In no particular order.
-Bryan, northwest Ohio.
-Hilliard, just west of Columbus.
-McConnelsville in eastern Ohio.
-Millersburg in Holmes County, northeast Ohio.
Back to Urbana: they looked at 6 categories for the award.
-Community Spirit. We got accolades for things like our Black Heritage Festival, and our civic clubs (Lions, Kiwanis and Rotary) and all the great work they do.
-Education.
-Entertainment. Things like our Second Saturdays, our Champaign Historical Museum and Johnny Appleseed Museum, Cedar Bog and Ohio Caverns, Simon Kenton Bike Trail, Melvin Miller Park. Freshwater Farms, Urbana Brewery Company and Dragonfly Winery were mentioned as was the Gloria Theatre.
-Health and Safety. We got accolades for the Champaign Family YMCA, and our local health partners Memorial Health, Mercy Health and Mary Rutan and all the great work they all do.
-Business Environment. The downtown business district was mentioned and well should have! Lots of accolades here! What great stores/restaurants we have with more coming and how about the awesome renovations that are going on! Some of the merchants mentioned for their longevity were Guild Galleries, Mumford’s, Major Fine Art, Carmazzi’s, Teabaggers, Mayflowers Restaurant and Crabill’s Hamburgers!
We also got credit for our roundabout, the Douglas Inn renovation, Legacy Place, Urbana Lofts and the Willman project. Also, the Scioto Inn, Gloria Theatre and the establishment of the DORA.
Business wise, Sutphen’s completion of their new 185,000 sq foot facility and several other businesses were mentioned.
Under Culture and Heritage was the Champaign County Preservation Alliance’s work with the Home and Garden Tour. The Johnny Appleseed and Historical Society were mentioned here as well.
Join in the celebration on Nov. 9. It will start at 11 a.m. and go on until 5 p.m. and include a special ceremony at 2 p.m. with speakers on the Champaign County Courthouse steps.
Champaign County Ag Sector
Did you know, just four companies in the U.S. control:
-85% of the beef processing
-80% of corn seed distribution
-77% of fertilizer production
-69% of grocery sales
Soybean Cyst Nematode (SCN) remains a yield robber for our soybean crop. SCN can significantly affect soybean yields, depending on the severity of the infestation and the management practices used. In Ohio, SCN can reduce soybean yields by as much as 15-30% or more if left unmanaged in fields with high SCN pressure. What can we do?
Test your fields to know the number of SCN eggs in your field. The best times to sample for SCN in your fields are in the fall or in the spring before planting. Rotate resistant varieties. If varieties are available that contain sources of SCN resistance other than PI 88788 (such as Peking or Hartwig), then rotate the source of resistance every time you plant soybean in a field. Unfortunately, nearly all the soybean varieties adapted for planting in Kentucky only have the PI 88788 source of resistance. However, it is still important to rotate to different resistant soybean varieties, even though they are utilizing the same source of resistance. SCN is good at adaptation, so switching soybean varieties will help.
Consider using a nematode-protectant seed treatment. Several nematode-protectant seed treatment products are now available on the market. Although the effects of these seed treatments have not always been consistent in field research trials, they are additional tools that can be used along with resistant varieties and crop rotation to help manage this important pathogen.
As we near the end of 2024 harvest, why does test weight (tw) matter so much?
Marketability and pricing. Higher test weights are typically associated with better quality.
Storage and handling efficiency. Higher tw indicates denser kernels, more mass in a smaller volume. This reduces the amount of storage space needed to store grain. Denser grain is less prone to damage during handling.
TW can also provide insight into crop health and field conditions. Low tw can result from poor growing conditions, disease pressure or weather issues like drought.
Though tw affects pricing, lower tw does not always equate lower yield. Yield is based on weight per acre rather than volume. But good tw helps maximize market value.
I’ve heard several farmers say, “this is the earliest we’ve ever finished harvest!” Congratulations if this is you. If not, extended forecast looks good to wrap up in the next couple weeks.
Till next month!
Question or comments? Email me at [email protected].
A graduate of the University of Kentucky, Dave Case majored in Agronomy and Ag Econ with an emphasis in Weed Science. Dave’s career spanned Champaign Landmark, Crow’s Hybrid Corn Company and 30 years with Bayer CropScience. In 2018, Case formed Case Ag Consulting LLC. He is a member of Alpha Gamma Rho Agricultural Fraternity. He is on the Board of Directors of the Agribusiness Association of Kentucky, Chairman of the Ohio AgriBusiness Association Educational Trust Foundation and Secretary of the Alpha Gamma Rho Alumni Board. He is on the Board of Directors of the Champaign Family YMCA, Champaign County Historical Society Agricultural Capital Campaign Committee and is a Trustee for the Champaign County Farm Bureau. Dave and his wife Dorothy live on a small farm south of Urbana where they raise goats, cattle, chickens and various crops and they donate all profits to Pancreatic Cancer Research. Dave can be reached at [email protected].
