OHIO’S 2015 WHEAT CROP FACED TOUGH YEAR – Growers wondering how this year’s historic rains have impacted wheat now have proof that it has indeed been a tough year for the crop, according to the results of the 2015 Ohio Wheat Performance Test.

The test results are offered by researchers with the College of Food, Agricultural, and Environmental Sciences at The Ohio State University and can be viewed at go.osu.edu/wheatresults. They provide growers with the latest information on how well 78 soft red winter wheat varieties grown at five Ohio locations in Wood, Crawford, Wayne, Darke, and Pickaway counties have performed this year.

The test is designed to evaluate wheat varieties, blends, brands and breeding lines for yield, grain quality and other performance characteristics, said Laura Lindsey, a soybean and small grains specialist with Ohio State University Extension. OSU Extension is the college’s outreach arm.

OHIO STATE MAKING STRIDES IN WORKING TO IMPROVE WATER QUALITY – It’s been one year since the College of Food, Agricultural, and Environmental Sciences at The Ohio State University launched its Nutrient Stewardship for Cleaner Water Signature Program, and already the initiative is making strides in working to improve water quality in Ohio.

In that time, nearly 6,600 farmers and commercial applicators have gone through fertilizer applicator certification training created and offered by Ohio State University Extension researchers.

And 45 percent of OSU Extension educators have or will have conducted on-farm and field trials throughout 2015 on the best management practices producers can use to reduce runoff of nutrients into Ohio waterways, according to Sam Custer, an OSU Extension educator who leads the program. OSU Extension is CFAES’s outreach arm.

PROGRAM PLANTING SEEDS OF AGRICULTURAL SCIENCE IN URBAN CLASSROOMS – Ohio 4-H is bringing agricultural science to two urban elementary schools in inner city neighborhoods. The idea is to increase students’ awareness that food and agriculture are viable career options, even in neighborhoods with little green space and limited local employment opportunities.

And students are responding.

Now entering its second full academic year, the 4-H Agri-science in the City program in Cleveland and Cincinnati is supported through special legislative funding to reach kindergarten through sixth-grade students.

Ohio 4-H is the youth development program of Ohio State University Extension, which is part of The Ohio State University’s College of Food, Agricultural, and Environmental Sciences.

During the school year, Ohio 4-H program managers Tony Staubach and Rob Isner meet students once a week, supplementing the schools’ academic program with hands-on science, technology, engineering and math activities related to food and agriculture.

Growers wondering how this year’s historic rains have impacted wheat now have proof that it has indeed been a tough year for the crop, according to the results of the 2015 Ohio Wheat Performance Test.
http://aimmedianetwork.com/wp-content/uploads/sites/29/2015/09/web1_wheat-harvest-using-combine.jpgGrowers wondering how this year’s historic rains have impacted wheat now have proof that it has indeed been a tough year for the crop, according to the results of the 2015 Ohio Wheat Performance Test.

Staff report