REYNOLDSBURG — The Ohio Department of Agriculture’s Division of Soil and Water Conservation is making farmers aware of funding available to farmers through the Lake Erie Conservation Reserve Enhancement Program.

BUCYRUS — The Wynford FFA Chapter recently went on a trip to the 2019 National Land, Range, and Homesite Judging Contest in Oklahoma. The Royals took their rural soils team, which consisted on Connor Miller, Jodie Jennings, Thomas Weithman and Lexie Wood. At the contest, they placed 70th out of 102 teams.

Women for the Land, coordinated by representatives from American Farmland Trust, USDA/Natural Resources Conservation Service, Hardin Soil and Water Conservation District, Wyandot Soil and Water Conservation District and Ag Credit will hold a Lunch and Learn from 11:30 a.m. to 2:30 p.m. June 11 at OSU Spark Lab, Kenton.

Conservation Reserve Program (CRP) participants are responsible for ensuring adequate, approved vegetative and practice cover is maintained to control erosion throughout the life of the contract after the practice has been established. Participants must also control undesirable vegetation, weeds (including noxious weeds), insects and rodents that may pose a threat to existing cover or adversely impact other landowners in the area.

COLUMBUS — The SCN Coalition has launched its next phase of raising awareness of how widespread soybean cyst nematode is in the U.S. but also in how many counties this pathogen is adapting to the primary source of resistance used in cultivars today, Pl 88788.

COLUMBUS — Agricultural producers are reminded to consult with the FSA and NRCS before breaking out new ground for production purposes, as doing so without prior authorization may put a producer’s federal farm program benefits in jeopardy. This is especially true for land that must meet Highly Erodible Land and Wetland Conservation provisions.

The USDA Agricultural Marketing Service announced that soybean producers may request a referendum on the Soybean Promotion and Research Order, as authorized under the Soybean Promotion, Research and Consumer Information Act. Participation in the Request for Referendum is voluntary, and producers should only participate if they wish to request a referendum on the program.

The Upper Sandusky FFA recently traveled to the Ohio Expo Center in Columbus for the 91st Ohio State FFA Convention. It was a successful year for the Upper Sandusky FFA and that success was showcased during the state convention as members were recognized and winners named from the chapter. FFA member Alec Ogg was elected to serve as one of the 2019-2020 state FFA officers. Ogg had to go through a series of interviews and was named by the nominating committee during the state convention as one of the 11 officers serving the Ohio FFA for the coming year.

On May 2, more than 700 4-H and FFA members from 34 states competed in the 68th annual National Land and Range Judging Contest in Oklahoma with the Upper Sandusky FFA representing two of those teams from Ohio.

Montgomery “Monte” Boes wants to make a living as a farmer, helping to feed the world. His goal has been helped along by his family and his hard work. That goal and his hard work in high school enabled him to achieve one of the highest recognitions that the State FFA Association can bestow upon its members, that of Star Farmer in Ohio.