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Thursday, July 13, 2023
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Rain brings relief, issues to farms in region
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What’s in Ohio’s budget for ag and rural life? By Sarah Donaldson sarah@farmanddairy.com
By Rachel Wagoner
rachel@farmanddairy.com
David Mast’s landlord called him on the morning of July 6 to tell him how nice his cornfield was looking. The corn plants were about 6 feet tall and had been growing rapidly. By that evening, the 85-acre field near Jamestown, Pennsylvania, would be lying flat after an isolated thunderstorm blew through the area. The field is about 2.5 miles from Mast’s house, also in Jamestown. When the storm hit, he was outside with his children putting up a swimming pool, but they barely noticed. “It sprinkled a little bit at the house, and we had a little bit of wind, but it didn’t stop us,” he said. Not long after, the landlord called him and said the whole field had been flattened. “I could hardly believe that,” he said. “She said they had tremendous wind and got about an inch of rain in 15-20 minutes.” Stormy summer. Storms like these are more typical of summer weather in western
Pennsylvania and eastern Ohio than the dry spell that started the region’s growing season and pushed many areas into drought. The region has seen more opportunities for rain in the last few weeks, said Geddy Davis, a meteorologist and atmospheric scientist at Ohio State University’s Byrd Polar and Climate Research Center. Some areas of central and eastern Ohio were even taken out of drought or abnormally dry conditions, according to the July 6 U.S. Drought Monitor update. About 62% of Ohio was abnormally dry or in drought as of July 6, an improvement over the previous week’s rating of 75%. But overall, the region is still playing catch-up on precipitation, Davis said. About 90% of Pennsylvania is abnormally dry or worse as of the most recent U.S. Drought Monitor update, with parts of York and Lancaster counties falling into severe drought. This is a slight improvement over the previous week, where 92% was abnormally dry or in drought. “The problem is the consistently is still not there yet,” he said. “With pop-up thun-
David Mast, of Jamestown, Pennsylvania, stands in one of his corn fields after an isolated thunderstorm knocked down most of the stalks with heavy rain and high winds, July 6. (Submitted photo)
derstorms, we’ve had areas that have seen inches of rain in an afternoon, and the next county over has been pretty dry still.” Crop progress. The rain has been good for fields of corn, soybeans and hay in Ohio, according to the U.S. Department of Agriculture’s latest Crop Weather report, released July 10. Last week, 62% of corn was rated as in good or excellent condition. This week, 67% of corn was rated as good or above. Soybeans rated as excellent improved from 6% to 9% this week, although the amount rated as in good condition dropped from 56% to 50% statewide. Pasture and range conditions improved as well. Wheat harvest started around the Fourth (Continued on Page A5)
The Ohio legislature passed its operating budget for the next two years, House Bill 33, just in time to meet the deadline of June 30. The final version of the budget, signed July 4 by Gov. Mike DeWine, includes more funding for water quality, rural infrastructure, the Ohio State Fair and county and independent fairs. There are also several provisions to cut taxes for individuals and businesses. Water quality. The budget funds the Ohio Department of Agriculture’s part of the H2Ohio Initiative with more than $60 million per fiscal year, up from about $55 million per year in the last budget. The H2Ohio Initiative is DeWine’s plan for improving water quality in the state. Through that initiative, the Ohio Department of Agriculture helps farmers adopt best management practices for water quality and come up with plans for managing nutrients to prevent excessive runoff and other issues. The initiative also includes programs through the Ohio Environmental Protection Agency and the Ohio Department of Natural Resources. About $27.5 million per year will go to the Ohio EPA, to continue projects that improve wastewater and drinking water. The Department of Natural Resources will receive more than $46.5 million to continue wetland restoration and other water quality projects through its H2Ohio program. Agriculture. The Ohio Expositions Commission will receive $190 million over the next two years for EXPO 2050, the strategic plan for the Ohio Expo Center property, which hosts the state fair and many other events. County and independent fairs will receive $4.7 million. The budget also includes about $1 million over the next two years for farmland preservation. The Ohio Meat Processing Grant Program will re(Continued on Page A5)
Volume 109 - No. 44 | Three Sections ©LYLE Ptg. & Pub. Co. - ISSN 0014826
All About Grazing........................A11 Antique Collector.........................B11 Around the Table.........................A23 Auction Calendar...........................B1 Eliza Blue.......................................A7
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Equine Calendar............................C3 FFA News....................................A17 Hazard A Guess...........................B11 Markets........................................A14 Opinions.........................................A4
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