Ag and Natural Resources Classes, Links and Websites

Interest in keeping backyard poultry has been increasing steadily as more and more people want to provide for their family and personal food security. We have also seen an increase in youth keeping backyard chickens or turkeys for 4H livestock projects.

Whatever your reason for raising poultry, this course is designed to provide you with the knowledge and resources you will need to get your backyard flock off to a great start.

This self-paced course is expected to take 2-3 hours to complete and includes these 6 modules:
• Getting Started
• Brooding, Basic Husbandry & Nutrition
• Housing
• Egg Production
• Maximizing Health
• Biosecurity

Course cost = $25
Click on the QR code on the flier to register or head to: go.osu.edu/chicken

After completing this course, learners will be able to:
• Identify rules and regulations relevant to raising backyard poultry.
• Source healthy birds to raise in their backyard
• Apply concepts of basic husbandry, nutrition, and housing of poultry.
• Explain how eggs are produced
• Practice safe handling of birds and eggs
• Recognize common health-related abnormalities of poultry
• Describe the roles of veterinary care and biosecurity in poultry health

There are NO refunds issued for this course. If you have questions about the course, contact Tim McDermott at mcdermott.15@osu.edu for assistance.

Women in Ag Wednesday Webinars

Join us in 2025 on the 1^st Wednesday of the month from 10:30-11:30 am for our Women in Ag Wednesday Webinars. Register one time HERE for all access.

Adams County Beekeepers Association (ACBA) scholarship application

ACBA In association with Adams Co. Farm Bureau, Adams Soil & Water Conservation District (SWCD), OSU Extension are offering a Beekeepers scholarship.

The recipient of this scholarship will receive woodenware consisting of a standard hive, including frames and foundation, a bottom board, a top cover, a nucleus or a package of bees with a queen, and the necessary beginner’s equipment to start the beekeeping project.

The recipient will also receive these additional benefits:
1) A one year membership in ACBA
2) Will be encouraged to participate in the Association’s meetings
3) Mentoring by a ACBA member throughout the year
4) Will receive assistance using extraction equipment to remove honey, only if deemed possible, the first year

The recipient will be expected to attend the Adams County Beekeepers Association meetings and present a short progress report of the activities to date. The recipient will keep a written record complete with dates, photos, and other pertinent data sufficient to substantiate all progress reports.

The recipient will be expected to give an oral final presentation of what they have learned from the program at the September or October monthly meeting.
A Certificate of Completion, and full ownership of the colony and equipment, will be presented at the final monthly meeting if the scholarship recipient has met all requirements. Ownership of the colony of bees and equipment will be held by ACBA until the Certificate of Completion is awarded.

Click HERE for more details and a copy of the scholarship application.  Deadline to apply is March 15, 2024.

Please send all pages of the application to: Adams Soil & Water Conservation District
                                                                    Attn: Bill Wickerham
                                                                    807 NE Main St., #B
                                                                    West Union, OH 45693

You may also send electronically to: wickerham.adams.swcd@live.com

Ohio Coyote Ecology and Management Project

Few animals elicit such strong, and opposing, emotions as the coyote. But love ‘em or hate ‘em, after decades of range expansion across the United States, coyotes are an established predator throughout Ohio. So, the question we can all agree on is: How do we minimize potential conflicts with coyotes in this state? And to answer that question, we need data.  To continue readng this article, please click HERE.

Keep up the Conversation!

By: Bridget Britton Behavioral Health Field Specialist

As May winds down, so does Mental Health Awareness Month, but that doesn’t mean it we stop talking about mental health. Working in agriculture is often an all-consuming profession.  Many farmers live where they farm, there is no physical boundary between them and work. Work/life balance is a consistent challenge for many. Are there strategies that might be helpful to farmers in recognizing when and how to draw a line? It's important for them to find ways to create effective boundaries between the various aspects of their lives. Encouraging to think about three things in order to maintain the work-life boundaries that make it easier to function effectively.  CLICK HERE to read about some helpful tips to work on reducing stress and maintaining positive mental health.

As always if you or someone you know is struggling and may be in a crisis, please reach out for support. Do not hesitate to call the National Suicide Prevention Lifeline at 1-800-273-8255. Check out OSU Extension’s resources at go.osu.edu/farmstress

Update on Ticks in Ohio

Ticks and tick-vectored disease are major concerns to humans, companion animals and livestock in Ohio.  We have gone from one medically important tick twenty years ago in Ohio to five now, adding two in the past couple of years.  Ticks are a growing problem in North America. Timothy McDermott, DVM, is an Ohio State University Extension educator who presents updated information on ticks (including new species recently detected in Ohio and beyond) and the diseases they vector. He also discusses protection and prevention measures that can benefit humans, pets and livestock.To view the video CLICK HERE.

iBook for Weed Identification