Teens Invited to Attend Ohio Forestry and Wildlife Conservation Camp Campers can explore the outdoors, compete for college scholarships

CARROLLTON, OH – Students who are interested in learning more about the outdoors and spending a week outside are invited to attend the Ohio Forestry and Wildlife Conservation Camp. According to the Ohio Department of Natural Resources (ODNR), the camp will be held June 12-17. The camp is open to all students who have completed the eighth grade through high school seniors graduating the year of camp, which is held at FFA Camp Muskingum on beautiful Leesville Lake in Carroll County. “The best way to learn is to be outside with experts who can demonstrate and teach in a hands-on environment,” said Robert Boyles, Ohio’s state forester. “Many kids develop the fundamental skills needed to begin careers in conservation at camps just like this one.” The Ohio Forestry and Wildlife Conservation Camp is a weeklong resident camp with the goal of educating the next generation of caretakers of Ohio’s valuable natural resources. Programs at this year’s camp include tree identification, ecology, forest industries, wildlife management, forest management, songbird identification as well as wildfire and prescribed fire. New this year will be the opportunity for the students to observe and learn from an active timber harvest at the camp. The camp is sponsored by the Ohio Forestry Association Foundation, a private, not-for-profit organization whose purpose is to promote the wise management of Ohio’s forests and natural resources. The camp is supported by the ODNR divisions of Wildlife and Forestry, Ohio State University (OSU) Extension and the county Soil and Water Conservation Districts (SWCDs). Campers spend the week making new friends, participating in fun camp activities and learning about the environment around them. Camp culminates with a comprehensive exam, including a tree identification section. The highest scoring students compete for college scholarships to Hocking College, The Ohio State University and Ohio University. Camp costs $400, with sponsorships available to assist interested students who need help covering the fee. Sponsorships are offered through local SWCD offices, sportsmen’s clubs, forestry groups and many private forestry-sector businesses. Students should register by Friday, June 10, to participate. For more information and registration, contact the Ohio Forestry Association at 888-38-TREES, or visit the OFA website at ohioforest.org. ODNR ensures a balance between wise use and protection of our natural resources for the benefit of all. Visit the ODNR website at ohiodnr.gov. - 30 - For more information, contact: Stephen Rist, ODNR Division of Forestry 740-272-8519 Stephanie Leis, ODNR Office of Communications 614-265-6860

GSWCD Pasture Walk Results

 Guernsey SWCD in conjunction with Guernsey OSU Extension hosted a spring pasture walk at board member Ken Ford's farm on May 19th. We had 40 people in attendance and went over a variety of topics including species identification, paddock lay out and design, watering systems, fencing and a demonstration of our new Grass Works weed wiper. Also, Randy Raber let us come over and take a quick tour of his new feed lot and set up. Thank you to all who came out and attended this great event and especially to Ken and Randy for opening up their farms for us.

If you would like to know about future GSWCD programs, contact our office at 740-489-5276, or stop by our office at the Guernsey County Fairgrounds. 

Ohio farmers falling behind on planting season

By JD MaloneThe Columbus Dispatch  •  Wednesday May 18, 2016 5:18 AM

The past two weeks have stalled the planting season.

The cold and wet weather gummed up fields, making them unfit for sowing corn and soybeans, the state’s largest crops.

Ohio’s farmers have gotten just 34 percent of corn and 10 percent of soybeans in the ground as of Monday, according to the U.S. Department of Agriculture. That leaves corn 20 percentage points behind the five-year average for planting; soybeans are 18 percentage points behind.

Sounds dire, but it’s not, yet. Turns out, one way or the other, this sort of thing happens most years.

“It’s just one of those years,” said David Black, who grows corn and soybeans in Franklin and Pickaway counties. “Every year is different, and this year is different, too.”

Last year, farmers sprinted through near-perfect weather in the early spring, planting about 74 percent.....(To continue reading, click the link below):

http://www.dispatch.com/content/stories/business/2016/05/18/1-farmers-falling-behind-on-planting-season.html?utm_content=articles&utm_campaign=NLCampaign&utm_source=Newsletter&utm_term=newsletteredition&utm_medium=email

Ohio Hunters Checked more than 17,700 Wild Turkeys during Spring Season

COLUMBUS, OH - Ohio hunters checked 17,793 wild turkeys during the combined 2016 spring wild turkey hunting season and youth wild turkey hunting season, April 16-May 15, according to the Ohio Department of Natural Resources (ODNR). Hunters checked 16,229 birds during the four weeks of the 2016 wild turkey season compared to 16,049 birds in 2015. Young hunters checked 1,564 birds during the 2016 youth season compared to 1,589 in 2015. Ohio’s 2016 spring wild turkey season was open April 18 through May 15. Youth season was April 16-17. Find more information about wild turkey hunting atwildohio.gov. Wild turkeys were extirpated in Ohio by 1904 and were reintroduced in the 1950s by the ODNR Division of Wildlife. Ohio’s first modern day wild turkey season opened in 1966 in nine counties, and hunters checked 12 birds. The wild turkey harvest topped 1,000 for the first time in 1984. Spring turkey hunting opened statewide in 2000, and Ohio hunters checked more than 20,000 wild turkeys for the first time that year. ODNR ensures a balance between wise use and protection of our natural resources for the benefit of all. Visit the ODNR website at ohiodnr.gov. - 30 - Editor’s Note: A list of all wild turkeys checked during the 2016 combined spring turkey hunting seasons is shown below. The first number following the county’s name shows the harvest numbers for 2016, and the 2015 numbers are in parentheses. Adams: 432 (413); Allen: 89 (78); Ashland: 202 (208); Ashtabula: 569 (557); Athens: 363 (323); Auglaize: 50 (50); Belmont: 491 (520); Brown: 347 (327); Butler: 166 (200); Carroll: 322 (330); Champaign: 95 (102); Clark: 15 (19); Clermont: 396 (347); Clinton: 40 (60); Columbiana: 361 (385); Coshocton: 418 (458); Crawford: 74 (63); Cuyahoga: 12 (10); Darke: 40 (55); Defiance: 324 (298); Delaware: 111 (107); Erie: 55 (49); Fairfield: 102 (108); Fayette: 26 (14); Franklin: 21 (11); Fulton: 120 (117); Gallia: 418 (393); Geauga: 264 (269); Greene: 16 (23); Guernsey: 428 (484); Hamilton: 117 (116); Hancock: 53 (60); Hardin: 87 (101); Harrison: 425 (430); Henry: 72 (58); Highland: 387 (357); Hocking: 309 (268); Holmes: 217 (252); Huron: 113 (155); Jackson: 347 (320); Jefferson: 410 (373); Knox: 285 (354); Lake: 54 (68); Lawrence: 274 (222); Licking: 281 (370); Logan: 141 (117); Lorain: 141 (139); Lucas: 60 (45); Madison: 13 (6); Mahoning: 228 (213); Marion: 35 (31); Medina: 138 (145); Meigs: 419 (450); Mercer: 21 (23); Miami: 20 (17); Monroe: 508 (481); Montgomery: 18 (25); Morgan: 308 (325); Morrow: 174 (170); Muskingum: 462 (478); Noble: 349 (335); Ottawa: 3 (0); Paulding: 126 (145); Perry: 260 (260); Pickaway: 26 (24); Pike: 278 (246); Portage: 205 (236); Preble: 114 (108); Putnam: 87 (89); Richland: 280 (277); Ross: 350 (330); Sandusky: 25 (22); Scioto: 270 (236); Seneca: 141 (162); Shelby: 50 (42); Stark: 281 (223); Summit: 65 (54); Trumbull: 464 (435); Tuscarawas: 429 (426); Union: 48 (32); Van Wert: 27 (17); Vinton: 306 (329); Warren: 101 (67); Washington: 466 (466); Wayne: 106 (100); Williams: 313 (296); Wood: 36 (30); Wyandot: 103 (104). Totals: 17,793 (17,638). For more information, contact: John Windau, ODNR Division of Wildlife 614-265-6325 Matt Eiselstein, ODNR Office of Communications 614-265-6860

Talk of the Town Interview with Jason Tyrell

Interview with Jason Tyrell (Guernsey SWCD Ag Resource Specalist) starts at 10:40 on the video.
Guernsey SWCD is hosting a Pasture Walk on May 19th at 5:30pm
as well as a Cover Crop Program on June 1st at 6:00pm
Call the GSWCD office at 740-489-5276 to RSVP for either event or any other information.

Click the link below, or copy and paste into address bar, to watch the video.
 (Interview with Jason Tyrell starts at 10:40 on the video).

https://youtu.be/lZAXcN4Pw9U

Researching the economics of cover crops

Posted April 28, 2016 by Meghan Grebner

A Purdue University agricultural economics professor is taking a closer look at the economics of planting cover cropping systems.

Wally Tyner says farmers tell him one of the biggest reasons they don’t adopt conservation practices is the lack of information about the return on investment.

Through a Conservation Innovation Grant from USDA’s Natural Resources Conservation Service, Purdue University along with Farm Foundation, NFP are launching a three-year research program that compares farms that utilize cover crops and those that don’t.  “We think we’ll be able to see if there is differences in yields,” he says.  “See if there is differences in a dry year......(To continue reading and hear audio clip, click the link below): 

http://brownfieldagnews.com/2016/04/28/researching-economics-cover-crops/

Amphibians!

With the warm moist conditions this weekend it was a great time to be out and find some amphibians! Our wildlife specialist Levi found this Marbled Salamander in his backyard. Have you found anything cool this spring? Let us know!