Here are this week’s top stories from Farm and Dairy:
1. Spring egg surplus: Why chickens lay more eggs in spring
When spring rolls around, hens are bound to lay more eggs. This is due to a number of factors, including more daylight, warmer temperatures and the birds’ life cycles.
Need to use up your egg surplus? Try hard boiling or pickling them.
2. Eight pilot communities will build links between farmers and consumers
Coordinated by the American Farmland Trust, Growing Food Connections is a five-year research initiative that aims to enhance food security and fund family farmers. GFC will help local governments develop a plan to benefit everyone involved in the food system: farmers, ranchers and community members.
The eight communities that will link family farmers and community residents to healthy food will be located in neighborhoods in New York, Maine, Georgia, New Mexico, Nebraska, North Carolina and Kansas.
3. Ohio senators on different sides of trade promotion authority
In January, President Barack Obama asked Congress for “trade promotion authority,” which would allow him to make final-deal offers with the countries with which the United States trades. Ohio Senators Rob Portman and Sherrod Brown both addressed Ohio Farm Bureau Federation members about trade negotiations, voicing their separate opinions.
Sen. Portman said the U.S. needs to be more competitive when it comes to securing new trade agreements. He said that out of every three acres of Ohio crops, one acre will be exported. Sen. Brown said that the U.S. has seen a decline in manufacturing due to major trade deals, so he opposes the TPA measure.
4. 5 tips for creating a pet-friendly garden
While you’re working in your garden this spring and summer, keep your pets’ health in mind. There are a number of plants that can cause nausea, pain, lethargy or even death in cats and dogs.
Fertilizers, pesticides, fleas and ticks can cause problems for pets in the garden, too. Use caution when applying fertilizers and pesticides, and keep an eye on your pets to discover fleas and ticks before they come inside your home.
5. Ohio legislature approves new nutrient bill
On March 25, the Ohio House and Senate unanimously approved a bill that will help to control the harmful algae bloom problem in Lake Erie. The bill will focus on manure and fertilizer application ban to frozen and snow-covered ground in the western Lake Erie basin. These rules are the first of their kind for such a large area of Ohio.
If approved by the governor, this bill will join another bill that requires Ohio farmers who apply chemical fertilizer to 50 or more acres to be state certified by September 2017.
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