This issue is available online if you're unable to view it in your email client.

COLLEGE OF FOOD, AGRICULTURAL, AND ENVIRONMENTAL SCIENCES

Safety Through the Seasons 2022

Ag Safety S.T.A.T. – Safe Tactics for Ag Today is prepared by the OSU Extension Agricultural Safety & Health Team. The goal is to provide seasonal safety news and activities that may be re-published in your own newsletters or programs. If you have safety-related questions or program ideas that you would like to share, please contact Dee Jepsen at jepsen.4@osu.edu.

Spring Season

Deliver Your Hay to the Market Safely

Richard Purdin, OSU Extension, Adams County ANR/CD Educator Spring 2022 has been a wet spring and forage producers have had a challenge to harvest forage crops at the proper timing to capture quality. With all the delays farmers have still managed to harvest their hay crop between the spring rains.

Have No Fear..Honey Bee Swarms are Near

Beth Scheckelhoff, ANR Educator Putnam County Honey bee swarms are common this time of year. They often go unnoticed because swarms do not stick around for very long, usually one to three days at most. A honey bee swarm is a natural process of one hive splitting into two. As a honey bee colony grows within a hive, it becomes crowded. The bees instinctively begin to nurture a new queen while preparing for the current queen to leave.

Roadway Safety During Crop Scouting Activities

Dee Jepsen, Professor and State Agricultural Safety Leader Taking a drive through the countryside can be an enjoyable leisure activity. When you drive as part of your job, it takes on additional attention towards safety and roadway courtesy. For agronomists employed with an agricultural business, it may also mean abiding by a company policy. This article serves as a reminder for consultants and others who drive and frequently park in rural areas, related to crop scouting activities.

CDL Update

Amanda Douridas, ANR Educator Madison County OSU Extension recently hosted State Highway Patrol officers and a local Sheriff’s Department to discuss the recent CDL changes and answer general farm hauling questions for a program offered jointly to Delaware, Madison, and Union counties. The take aways from the Q&A are summarized below.

When the Rain Won’t Let Up

Bridget Britton, Behavioral Health Field Specialist Each morning when waking up recently it feels as though we look out the window and it is either raining or has rained overnight. Farmers are natural meteorologists and are in tune with what is going on with the weather any given hour of the day.

Winter’s Indoor Risk: Carbon Monoxide

Sabrina Schirtzinger, ANR Educator Knox County With colder temperatures we tend to spend more time indoors. For some winter may be when you clean up your shop/garage, finish a project or start a new one. Carbon Monoxide poisoning is a concern when you are in confined areas and equipment that burns fuel are in use.

Grain Bin Safety Week: Safety Assessment Questions

Lisa Pfeifer – Educational Program Manager, Ag Safety and Health Program Preparedness is a concept with which we are all familiar. We learn where and how to exit a building in the event of a fire in grade school and that learning continues to build from there. Grain Bin Safety Week is a great time to build preparedness by answering some critical questions about safety at your on farm grain storage facility.

Safe Equipment Operation During the Winter

Richard Purdin, OSU Extension, Adams County ANR/CD Educator When winter weather strikes it can cause a lot of stress on farmers. Farm equipment is essential in today’s agriculture production setting. Safe operation of farm equipment is important no matter what time of year and wintertime is no exception.

On Thin Ice? Ice Safety Tips for Outdoor Activities

Beth Scheckelhoff, ANR Extension Educator Putnam County Rivers, lakes, and backyard ponds across Ohio are finally freezing. While these newly frozen surfaces seem perfect for winter outdoor activities like skating, sledding, ice fishing, or snowmobiling - please remember that no ice is 100% safe.

Working in Cold Temperatures

Warm weather turned to cooler, wet, and muddy weather and now cold weather has arrived to stay for a few months. It is interesting to note that the Centers for Disease Control (CDC) documents that there are more deaths in the United States due to cold weather exposure (hypothermia) t

Willpower: Some Help with New Year’s Resolutions

Joseph Maiorano, PhD, Family and Consumer Sciences, OSU Extension, Harrison County I imagine that some of you may look forward to something different in 2022. If so, New Year’s resolutions may help you accomplish that goal, but resolutions, sometimes, are easier made than stuck with.