WOOSTER, Ohio - Ohio State University's 2013 Manure Science Review, an educational program for farmers, livestock managers, certified crop advisers, professional engineers and others, is Aug. 6 in north-central Ohio.
The program features talks and field demonstrations on applying and managing manure, improving soil and crop yields, and protecting water quality.
Ohio State's Mary Wicks, who is helping organize the event, said the highlights will include the first ever demonstration in Ohio of the new "Subsurfer" applicator, which injects poultry litter and other solid manures into the soil without disturbing ground cover.
The program also features details on the new Nitrogen Potential Assessment Test for corn, which enables more accurate nutrient application while being unaffected by soil temperature and moisture.
The speakers will be from industry, livestock groups, conservation agencies, and Ohio State's College of Food, Agricultural, and Environmental Sciences, including Ohio State University Extension and the Ohio Agricultural Research and Development Center, which are the college's outreach and research arms, respectively.
The event takes place from 8:30 a.m. to 3 p.m. at the Hord Livestock farm south of Bucyrus. The nearest street address is 1961 State Route 294, Marion. The site is about a quarter mile west of the street address on the north side of the road and will be marked with signs.
Registration, which includes a continental breakfast and lunch, is $30 per person by July 29 and $35 per person after July 29.
To register, participants should send their name, affiliation, address, email address, telephone number and payment (with checks made payable to OARDC/OSU) to Mary Wicks, OARDC/OSU, 1680 Madison Ave., Wooster, OH 44691.
For more information, contact Wicks at 330-202-3533 or firstname.lastname@example.org.
An agenda and registration form may be downloaded at http://go.osu.edu/MSR2013 (pdf).
Participants will be eligible for the following credits: 5.0 Ohio Department of Agriculture Certified Livestock Manager continuing education hours, 3.0 Certified Crop Adviser (CCA) Nutrient Management continuing education units, 2.5 CCA Soil and Water Management continuing education units and 2.0 Professional Engineer continuing professional development hours.
The program will have the following sessions and speakers from 8:50 a.m. to noon:
"Nutrient Management: Hord Livestock Overview," which includes information on managing odors and nutrients and brokering liquid manure, by Pat Hord and David Neef of the host farm.
"Benefits of the Four Rs" - the right nutrient at the right rate, time and place by Steve Prochaska of OSU Extension.
"Nutrient Variations in Stored Manure" and how to compensate for differences in nitrogen, phosphorus and potassium by Kendall Stucky of the Crawford, Seneca, Sandusky and Wyandot soil and water conservation districts.
"Growing the Application Window," featuring research on using manure to side-dress corn and increase yields and manure storage capacity, by OSU Extension's Glen Arnold.
The "Nitrogen Potential Assessment Test," which determines residual nitrogen available to corn during the growing season, by Tom Menke of Menke Consulting.
"Livestock Stewardship: Telling Our Stories," a look at ways to build public trust on nutrient management and water quality issues, by David White of the Ohio Livestock Coalition.
The field demonstrations, which are from 1-3 p.m., will feature mortality composting, edge-of-field bioreactors, cover crops for Ohio's soils, optical nitrogen detection, solid manure spreader calibration, the new Subsurfer applicator, and applicators for liquid manure injection, rapid transfer of liquid manure and side-dressing with liquid manure.
The event is sponsored by Ohio State, the Ohio Livestock Coalition, Ag Credit, and the Ohio Soybean Council. Collaborators include Hord Livestock, the Ohio Department of Agriculture, the Ohio Department of Natural Resources Division of Soil and Water Resources, Ohio's soil and water conservation districts, and the U.S. Department of Agriculture's Natural Resources Conservation Service.