For many months, a few good, caring people have been trying to get the public to realize the consequences of fracking. They gather in Youngstown, North Lima, Coitsville, Poland, Butler and New Wilmington. There are probably other groups gathering in other towns as well.

If you would attend one of these gatherings, you would feel the warmth of the atmosphere that is created any time caring people are in one place. We are very concerned about the future of the people who live here after we are gone.

Some people say fracking is safe. I don’t believe them. They justify their claims by spouting a lot of biased, deceptive statistics and findings from a few questionable studies done by a few questionable organizations..

We all know how big money and power can influence the outcomes of research done by so-called “experts.” Large industry and government have a great deal of money and power and fund many of these studies. I believe only the conclusions made by intelligent, independent researchers who have nothing to gain from their findings.

Some of us are frustrated by the apathy of the general public. They sit in their houses watching TV and thinking everything will be O.K. I am not comforted by words like “strict regulations,” “monitoring,” “safety checks” and “accountability,” or by the suggestion that water testing is a valid way of dealing with ruined water wells. These words and this suggestion, courtesy of the public relations departments of the industry, are merely providing us with a false sense of security.

Those of us who are concerned and caring are unhappy with how some people portray us. They point their fingers at us and say we are misinformed, biased and gullible. They call us extremists, radicals, deluded liars and troublemakers.

These accusations hurt our feelings because we are sensitive. Sensitivity, however, should not imply weakness. Some of us are weary and have reached a state of despair, but we emotionally support one another and are not willing to give up.

We will continue to inform the public by having events, holding debates, writing letters and demonstrating at protests and rallies or whatever peaceful means necessary to encourage people to be more concerned about what impact fracking will have on this area. It won’t be pretty — literally.

If we are unsuccessful, we will probably buy a lot of thick white paint and cover up the slogans on our protest signs. Then, we will have one last march. We will walk through this noisy, ugly, unhealthy, unsafe place and hold up our signs one last time. They will all carry the same message: WHY DID YOU LET THIS HAPPEN?

After this last event, I will gather up the signs and store them in my attic so your sons and daughters will be able to carry them some day. Corrosion, deterioration and seepage are slow processes.

Steven Beck

West Middlesex, Pa.

Ongoing Ohio State University Extension research conducted by Brad Bergefurd, an OSU Extension horticulture specialist, is taking a closer look at plasticulture.

Plastic cover

The method, in which strawberries are planted in early fall on a raised bed of soil covered with black plastic, results in farmers getting the berries to market at least a month earlier than the traditional matted row production that has been used by Ohio farmers, Bergefurd said.

Strawberries are planted in September and grow over the winter using plastic to keep the soil warm and suppress weed growth. The horticulturist says the practice not only results in larger, sweeter berries but it also allows farmers to capture a larger share of the local strawberry market because the berries can be harvested and sold over a period of four to five months, instead of four- to five-week harvest.

About the trial

The OSU Extension plasticulture trial includes about a half an acre of strawberry plants at the OSU South Centers and about 100 acres total on at least 25 farms statewide this season.

The trial includes evaluating new strawberry varieties, with breeding coming from Florida, California, and North and South Carolina, Bergefurd said.

Berries in October?

The trial, in its 11th season, will also, for the first time, produce summer-bearing fruit to allow the strawberry harvesting season to extend up until October, depending on the weather.

“This is the first year that we are looking at these new summer-bearing varieties,” Bergefurd said. “We looked at them six years ago, and they didn’t have the commercial quality attributes and were smaller in size.

“But this year, with these new summer-bearing varieties, we’re hoping for strawberries with better commercial attributes, larger fruit size, higher sugar contents and better disease resistance.”

Down sides

But there are drawbacks to the plasticulture method, he cautioned. While plasticulture cuts down on the amount of water, fertilizer and pesticides needed, the initial input costs for farmers using this method are significantly increased, requiring an investment of at least $10,000 to $15,000 per acre, with some of that cost associated with irrigation and more management needed to grow the fields, Bergefurd said.

That’s compared to traditional matted row production, which averages about $4,000 per acre in production costs and harvests in June, he said.

The plasticulture fields harvest from early May to October.

Yield potential

But plasticulture strawberries have the potential to yield 20,000 to 25,000 pounds of strawberries per acre, compared to 10,000 to 15,000 pounds of strawberries per acre using the matted row method.

And when you consider that retail strawberries fetch $2.50 to $3.50 per pound, the profit potential is “pretty good,” Bergefurd said.

“There’s a market just waiting to purchase the product,” he said. “Most (Ohioans) aren’t used to local strawberries until June, but there are plenty of customers that want to eat locally grown strawberries beginning in May and throughout the summer.”

Strawberries available in stores now are shipped in from Florida and California.

“But when you compare an Ohio strawberry to those, there is no comparison because Ohio growers can leave the berries ripening on the plant longer because the berries are sold locally,” Bergefurd said. “Just about every Ohio farmer that grows them for retail always sells out, so there is a strong market for the locally grown fruit.

“With the research results we’ve published, we’ve proven plasticulture has got potential and should be looked at by Ohio growers.”

There is no charge to participate, but pre-registration is required.

The webinar runs from 7-8 p.m.

The webinar, Building Relationships with Regional Grocers, will be presented by Terry Romp. Romp is the buyer for Heinen’s Fine Foods, a chain of 17 grocers in northeast Ohio.

Romp has developed the local purchasing program at the store, working with local and regional growers.

A fourth generation produce marketer, Romp will discuss best practices for growers who want to sell to regional grocers, along with information about packaging requirements, billing, volume and delivery to help aid local growers who want to sell their products to grocery stores.

To register for the webinar, go to https://www3.gotomeeting.com/register/664497294.

Located east of Farm Science Review, along Interstate 70 and U.S. 40, the new property is Beck’s first permanent location in Ohio.

According to Sonny Beck, president of Beck’s Hybrids, plans for the new property include conducting Practical Farm Research studies, hosting farmers for field day events, building a seed distribution facility, and providing additional agronomic support for Ohio farmers.

Ohio farmers can expect to tour the PFR studies by the 2013 growing season.

“Not only will we be conducting research in the soil types that are typical for many Ohio farmers, but we will be able to deliver products faster,” said Scott Beck, vice president of Beck’s Hybrids.

Beck’s Hybrids is a family-owned and operated seed company that serves farmers in Indiana, Illinois, Ohio, Michigan and Kentucky.

Top pedigrees

Here’s a man who has made it his life mission to keep the historic blood line of his hard-hunting beagles as pure as it can possible be and for that matter, to keep the name Yellow Creek pulsing in every one of his past, present, or future rabbit hounds.

For a century now, Yellow Creek has appeared in the pedigree of nearly every top beagle hound ever bred. If that’s not a royal proclamation, what is?

A careful and devoted hound man named L.M. Watson is credited with founding Yellow Creek kennels and with breeding beagles that had all the right stuff. He preached the canine characteristics of courage, truth, and intelligence. He carefully sought out hounds that had the courage to hunt all day, every day, and to be true to the task at hand, that of finding, tracking, and bringing rabbits to their end.

Breeding standards

Watson looked for intelligent dogs, beagles that learned from their mistakes, and didn’t make mistakes. Watson valued performance over pedigree and he bred hounds that measured up to his strict standards.

Watson became fascinated with hounds as child and devoted himself to the perfection of hunting beagles from that time on. Watson insisted on breeding the maximum desire to hunt in his hounds. Not just the desire to chase a rabbit but to hunt them tirelessly.

He once said if a hunter has to wade through hip deep briars while his hounds wait for him to jump a rabbit, something is wrong.

Watson also said he could often spot the smartest puppy in a litter by talking to the youngsters and watching their reaction. The smart ones, he claimed, will look at you with curiosity, almost as if it wants to understand.

Fast forward to Alamo Creek Beagle Kennel, where Oszust holds court.

Valued trait: hunting

When asked what he considers the most valued trait in his Yellow Creek beagles, Oszust has no hesitation.

“They have hunt, lots of it, bred into them.”

Oszust said that his hounds work hard every minute, working to find a rabbit, then pursuing it. And, he added, they are smart enough to start looking for the next rabbit when one is holed or taken by a hunter.

Oszust has been around beagles all his life. His father raised beagles and hunted them hard, not hounds with a lot of paper behind them but hounds with plenty of rabbit sense.

“Every Saturday after the hunt, Dad used to hang the rabbits from nails on the porch, then invite us boys to join him inside — after we had cleaned the game,” Oszust recalled.

Keeps true to bloodline

Oszust was just 16 when he decided that Yellow Creek bloodlines would be his choice in beagles and he’s never changed his mind or strayed far off the line. In fact, Oszust has become so well known for his determination to keep his kennel true to the bloodline that he never knows where his next call might come from.

Of course they aren’t calling for him but for an opportunity to inject some Yellow Creek into their own pack of beagles, most often by breeding their top female to Oszust’s proven male.

Watson often declared that the best males are beagles that consistently produce good offspring and those hounds in turn produce more good beagles.

In other words, L.M. Watson, the person most often considered to be the builder of the Yellow Creek line would follow the hounds through several generations before attaching the title of good, better, or the very best to a Yellow Creek beagle.

Breeding philosophy

And now you know what Oszust is hearing and seeing every time he runs his beagles. He hears the same thing Watson heard and sees the same things Watson saw a hundred years ago.

And if they could have met to share those same sounds and sights, they would have become brothers in beagling for sure.

In the 1950s, L.C. Watson dictated a book describing in detail his beagle breeding philosophy and the complete Yellow Creek history. The book is small, its contents large, and in the decades since publication, the remaining few copies have become as coveted by ultra-serious Yellow Creekers as a litter of future champions.

Of course, Oszust, as devoted and as dedicated as any Yellow Creeker could possibly be, has a copy that he guards as fervently as the Queen guards her Crown Jewels.

]]> http://www.farmanddairy.com/columns/oszust-is-not-just-a-name-but-a-breeding-reputation-in-beagles/37467.html/feed 0 http://www.farmanddairy.com/columns/crop-planting-race-nears-the-end/37454.html http://www.farmanddairy.com/columns/crop-planting-race-nears-the-end/37454.html#comments Tue, 15 May 2012 14:47:13 +0000 Marlin Clark http://www.farmanddairy.com/?p=37454 The fast planting pace has become the planting race, with corn near the end and soybeans half done, but twice as fast in the U.S. as normal.

The American farmer is grinning ear to ear as corn planting nears an end.

Ohio is now 84 percent planted; 58 percent of the crop is actually emerged. To me, that is a more-important number. A warm May is more important than early planting. Often we plant it the last week of April and don’t see it until the last week of May.

Two years ago, we had a warm May and we learned how some of the Midwest grows high-yield corn. The end of May, the corn was knee high, and we had record yields.

Looking at history, Ohio was at 79 percent last week, so the rain kept us from finishing. Last year, we were only at 6 percent, so count your blessings. The average is 51.

The U.S. as a whole was 87 percent planted, up from 71 the week before. The year before was 56, and average was 66 for this time of year.

Worth 1,000 words

A picture on the Monday afternoon wire from Country Hedging shows how far ahead some farmers are. It shows an ear of corn from Dill Farms in Shreveport, La., that has kernels on it. They won’t be harvesting this week, but the picture is a shocker.

Soybean sprint

The U.S. soybean planting pace is nearly at twice the historical average. We are 46 percent done, and 24 is normal. Last week we were at 24, so a lot of acres have been covered. Last year was only 17.

Ohio is also at 46 percent planted, but we did not gain much for the week. We are just up from 35 percent.

Remember last year? We were at 2 percent planted, and no one knew where those acres were. Ohio’s average for this week is 21 percent.

Market reaction

While planting is fast, the market has gone down fast. Soybeans were down six of the last eight days. Both beans and corn have dropped hard.

This is the week that May futures expired, and I am glad to be rid of them. We traders have to hedge in the July after late April, and it has been hard to explain our bids to farmers who don’t know that.

May futures have been as much as 40 cents higher than the July as this inverted market continues. The inverse has pointed us to cheaper prices for months, even while farmers have been reluctant sellers, hoping prices would turn higher again. Now we have had a big correction, and the farmers are hiding out in the fields, hoping things are better when they get done planting.

On this break, the July futures hit a low of 5.72 1/4 on Friday, after a high April 30th at 6.34 3/4. That is a drop of more than 62 cents, and defines “ugly.”

We are bouncing a little today. The overnight trading was up more than a nickel, closing at 5.88 1/2.

The December futures, still much lower with new crop acres expected to be the highest in nearly 80 years, are 5.10 1/2 coming out of the Tuesday morning overnight trading session. We had a low of 4.99 on that ugly Friday.

The July soybean futures hit the high on May 2 at 15.12 1/2. The low was Monday, at 13.76. The fact that the close that day was 13.87 was encouraging, but it is hard to be positive about losing a buck and a quarter and more in less than two weeks.

The November futures are not hugely lower as in corn because we are looking for smaller planted acres than normal. So, the new crop high was 13.94 1/2 on the November futures. The low Monday was 12.93 1/2 on that ugly break. I keep using that word.

The soybeans are showing a rebound on the Monday/Tuesday overnight of 17 3/4 cents to 13.44 1/2 November.

Follow this bounce to a selling opportunity. Any better prices for awhile on corn and beans come at the expense to the farmer of poor growing conditions. We don’t really want higher prices if that is the price to pay to get them.

For a long time, the shrewd Humane Society of the United States has targeted shareholders as one of its tactics to forcing a company to embrace HSUS stands. At Domino’s annual shareholders’ meeting April 25, HSUS challenged the pizza chain’s source of pork, saying the company supports “extreme confinement of pigs.”

“Domino’s allows its suppliers to confine pigs in crates so small they can’t even turn around for nearly their entire lives,” said Kristie Middleton, food policy manager for HSUS, in a prepared news statement.

HSUS bought stock in Domino’s in 2010, according to one published report.

Previously, HSUS submitted a shareholder resolution asking the company to report on the feasibility of getting pork only from producers who don’t use gestation crates.

According to the digital media company annarbor.com, 80 percent of Domino’s shareholders rejected the resolution, and only 4 percent voted for it (remaining shareholders abstained).

In its proxy report, the Domino’s board recommended voting against the proposal, saying, “We rely on established industry experts and the USDA to determine best practices in this area, and will continue to do so.”

The statement did note that the largest of its pork suppliers purchases pork only from farms that meet the National Pork Board’s Quality Assurance Plus program guidelines for both food safety and animal well-bring.

“According to published studies,” the proxy statement continues, “the most important factor to the animal is the individual care given to each animal and the caretaker’s management and husbandry skills, regardless of the system used.”

Bravo!

Here’s the thing: Yes, stall systems restrict movement, but as the American Veterinary Medical Association says, group housing allows “aggressive and competitive behaviors that could be detrimental to individual sows.” Bottom line is we need to take a close look at sow housing systems, support research, and then be willing to switch management practices, if we find a system that is better for the animals.

Regardless of opinions on sow housing, what this example really illustrates is the smooth strategy that HSUS employs to promote its vegan and vegetarian philosophy. They are smart. They know how to influence corporations and whip up publicity, all in the name of animal welfare, when all they really want to do to end meat production, period.

Agriculture needs to remain vigilant and tell its story in all arenas, too. We need to take some pages from the HSUS playbook.

And we need to speak up with our dollars. That’s why it’s worth my 30-mile trip to buy a Domino’s pizza this weekend.

If you’re in east-central Ohio, there’s one in Warren, Ravenna, Garrettsville, Kent, Canton, Toronto, Streetsboro. Nearby in Pennsylvania, there’s a Domino’s Pizza in New Castle, Sharon, Ellwood City. In other areas, you can visit www.dominos.com and find the pizzeria closest to you.

Go buy a pizza or two or three, and leave a note for the manager or store owner, saying you appreciate their support of science-based decisions regarding animal care and husbandry. (Visit this column online, and we’ll have a link to a .pdf thank-you flier that you can print out and take with you.)

If you’re on Facebook, there’s a public event you can also join to indicate your support (search for “Ag Pizza Party,” or “The Truth About Agriculture”). And it wouldn’t hurt to voice your support on Domino’s Facebook page, either.

And continue your support, because HSUS has said it will be back in front of shareholders again next year.

Senate Bill 310 was passed by the Senate April 25, with 30 votes in favor, and one against.

Amendments to the House bill version will be considered this week, said Michael McGuire, legislative aide to Ag Committee Chairman Dave Hall, R-Millersburg. McGuire said a vote is possible this week, “if everyone is at the table and ready.”

The Senate version basically bans private ownership as of Jan. 1, 2014, except for those who possess the proper permit. Unless they meet specific permit requirements, a person would not be allowed to “buy, sell, trade or transfer” these types of animals.

The animals include hyenas, gray wolves, lions, tigers, bears, jaguars, leopards, cheetahs, lynxes, elephants, alligators, crocodiles, various types of monkeys and additional animals.

Under the Senate version, the owner would need to place a microchip in his animals 60 days after the bill becomes law.

Types of permits

The permits to keep these animals beyond 2013 basically consist of a wildlife shelter permit, wildlife propagation permit, snake permits, and rescue facility permits.

The wildlife shelter permit requires an owner to submit a plan of housing and emergency preparedness, and to pay a $500 fee for ownership up to three such animals, and up to $2,000, if he keeps 16 or more such animals.

Proof of financial responsibility also is required. Owners must have liability insurance or a surety bond of at least $250,000, and up to $1 million if 16 or more animals are kept.

Some of the bill dates back to 2010 and 2011, when former Gov. Ted Strickland made an agreement with Ohio agriculture leaders and Humane Society of the United States, to put new restrictions on exotic animal ownership. Gov. John Kasich, who took office in January of 2011, formed a task force to consider new regulations for the exotic animal industry.

Animals escape

The legislation drew worldwide attention in October 2011 when deceased exotic animal owner Terry Thompson, of Zanesville, apparently set free more than 40 such animals in an apparent suicide attempt.

McGuire said ag committee sessions have been “very well attended,” with people voicing support and opposition.

Testimony

Deirdre Herbert, the mother of 24-year-old Brent Kandra, who was killed by a bear at a Lorain County exotic animal farm in August of 2010, has testified in support of new regulations.

“I don’t have a problem with the people who are keeping these animals (for rescue),” she told Farm and Dairy.

Instead, she opposes people who purchase the animals and are breeding them and presenting them as part of their business, and “teaching children from a young age that these animals are harmless.”

Her son worked for the now deceased exotic animal owner, Sam Mazzola. Herbert said her son got drawn into the business the same way most young people do, without a full understanding of “the reality of these animals once they get bigger and once they reach their full maturity level — once natural instincts kick in.”

But owners and supporters of the animals say the bill goes too far, with the purpose of ending private ownership and breeding rights.

Polly Britton, legislative agent for Ohio Association of Animal Owners, takes issues with “inconsistencies” in the bill. Specifically, she’s upset the bill treats entities differently when it comes to inspections and certifications.

“It makes sense to us (animal owners) that the bill should make everybody meet USDA requirements,” she said, adding that anything else is “inconsistent.”

Task force

Britton was part of the Kasich task force to help craft new regulations. She said the current bill adds more animals than were originally agreed to be banned, and she’s unhappy with the fee schedule.

Her organization has submitted a substitute bill, which she said provides “affordable” permitting options and ensures that owners who “meet USDA requirements that are written into Ohio law,” can keep their animals.

But Erica Pitchford, spokesperson for Ohio Department of Agriculture, said administering new rules will come with a price. She expects additional veterinarians would need to be hired, and current staff would need new training.

Ohio Ag Director David Daniels has testified for the bill in both the House and Senate. Pitchford said it makes sense ODA would administer the new rules, because it’s the only state agency with field veterinarians.

Some concerns

But the department does have a few issues with the bill. One is setting a fee schedule that covers expenses, and another is providing appropriate limits to the rescue facility permit. She said ODA supports rescue permits, but does not want to create a situation that could cause a “continued influx of these animals into the state” by owners outside Ohio.

Thurman Mullet, co-owner of Mount Hope Auction, has testified as one of the owners of an “alternative animal” auction, held in Holmes County. Although he does not sell the animals in question, he’s troubled by the precedent the legislation could set, because it restricts reproduction rights, limits private ownership and potentially opens the door for additional animals to be banned in the future.

“This list will never shrink; this list will always grow,” he said.

But Pitchford said if the director decides an additional animal should be added at a later date, that decision “is not complete, unchecked authority.” The decision still must go through Ohio’s Joint Committee on Agency Rule Review — where the new rule would be subject to legislative review and public comment.

Part of the reason for adding more animals, she said, is because new hybrids and species could be introduced in the future, which are considered dangerous and wild.

Mullet said he understands why regulations are needed, to protect neighbors and others from potentially dangerous situations, like keeping a large tiger in a residential back yard.

“You’ve got to have some accountability,” he said.

Full review

One area where parties seem to agree, is that their comments are being taken seriously.

“There were a lot of questions, which I love that, because in the Senate committee nobody hardly asked any questions at all,” Britton said.

Herbert, a proponent, said she’s interacted with, and “listened openly” to the other side. In the end, “the reality is there is going to be a law — it’s just a matter of the exotic animal owners (and) the pet owners presenting their case.”

The results are good news for retailers, restaurant owners and people in the service industry who will receive that windfall. But it is bad news for those who are concerned about the low U.S. savings rate, said Jay Zagorsky, author of the study and research scientist at Ohio State University’s Center for Human Resource Research.

Disappointing

“I came into this study thinking that people would save more of their inheritance than what I found,” Zagorsky said. “The fact that people spent about half is disappointing in some ways, but not shocking.”

The study appears online in the Journal of Family and Economic Issues and will be published in a future print edition. This is one of the few studies that have examined how much people save and spend of their inheritances.

Most of the other research had looked at heirs of the very wealthy, while this study focused on more average Americans.

The issue of how people use their inheritances is important economically, according to Zagorsky. Over the next 10 years, elderly Americans are expected to transfer almost $4 trillion to their heirs.

“If these findings are correct, this means about $2 trillion will be saved and $2 trillion spent,” Zagorsky said.

Much of the data from the study came from 7,514 people who participated in the National Longitudinal Survey of Youth 1979. The NLSY79 has interviewed the same group of young baby boomers — who were in their 20s, 30 or 40s during the time covered by this study — 23 times since 1979.

The NLSY79 is conducted by Ohio State’s Center for Human Resource Research for the U.S. Bureau of Labor Statistics.

About 11 percent of the participants in the NLSY had received an inheritance. The median inheritance was $11,340.

One might assume that an inheritance would help a person build wealth, Zagorsky said. But for a surprising number of people, that is not the case.

Overall, more than one-third of all inheritors (34.9 percent) saw a decline or no change in their wealth after getting an inheritance. Among baby boomers who inherited less than $1,000, slightly more than 40 percent spent their entire gift. For those who received $100,000 or more, that percentage declined to 18.7 percent.

“Nevertheless, this means that almost one in five young baby boomers who inherited a significant amount of money spent or lost all of it. That’s pretty amazing,” Zagorsky said.

Using the NLSY79 data, Zagorsky also did a statistical analysis that estimated how much the average baby boomer spent of their inheritance, taking into account a variety of factors that may influence spending, such as race, gender, age, marital status, family size, employment and education. These results suggested the average NLSY79 participant spent roughly half of his or her inheritance.

Plan

That finding should serve as a sobering reminder to anyone who is expecting to receive an inheritance in the near future. “Maybe if you know in advance that most people spend half of their inheritances, you can prepare in advance and restrain yourself from spending that much,” Zagorsky said.

“You may enjoy spending your inheritance in the short term, but you would probably save yourself a lot of stress in the future if you saved more for college costs for your children and for your own retirement.”

These results also have important policy implications, he said. The current U.S. estate tax rate and exemption law will expire at the end of this year.

When Congress revisits the estate tax laws, it should consider policies that boost savings of inherited wealth, Zagorsky said. For example, the tax law could be changed to allow people to put inherited wealth into long-terms savings accounts, such as Individual Retirement Accounts (IRAs).

Currently, yearly contributions to IRAs must come from earned income and are capped at relatively low amounts. “Congress should find ways to encourage people to save more of their inherited money,” he said.

Editor:

I read the recent letter-to-the-editor regarding exotic animal ownership and wondered what happened with that issue.

It’s apparent that Farm Bureau threw the exotic animal people under the bus on that issue.

Further, in reading Joe Cornely’s response, it appears that he does a great job of talking in circles.

If you are a Farm Bureau member, this is the season for policy development. Why not write a policy regarding this issue? Get it back on the table.

If your not a member, join in and fight for what you believe.

I have already written a policy and sent it in to the office. What are you doing?

Richard Hill

Medina, Ohio