In This Issue:
Calendar
Cleveland Weather 1998
Small Fruit Program Highlights
Tree Fruit Program Highlights
1999 Ohio Fruit & Vegetable Growers
Congress & Roadside Maketing Conference
December Climatological Data
January 20-22: North American Farmer's Direct Marketing Association Conference in conjunction with the Great Lakes Vegetable Growers Conference. Contact Charlie Touchette at (818) 884-9270 for more information.
January 25-27: Indiana Horticultural Convention, Indianapolis, Indiana.
January 26-28: Mid-Atlantic Fruit & Vegetable Growers Conference and Trade Show, Hershey, Pennsylvania. Contact Bill Troxell at (717) 694-3596 for more information.
January 29-31: Power Show Ohio, Ohio Expositions Center, Columbus.
February 3-5: Ohio Fruit & Vegetable Growers Congress and Ohio Roadside Marketing Conference, SeaGate Centre, Toledo. For more information call Mike Pullins or Laura Gold at (614) 249-2424.
February 8-10: MSU Tree Fruit Integrated Pest
Management (IPM) School. Call MSU's NW Horticultural Research Station at (616) 946-1510.
February 10-13: National Farm Machinery Show, Kentucky Fair & Expo Center, Louisville, Kentucky. Contact Steve Fowler at (502) 367-5100.
Source: National Weather Service
| Temperatures: | Average High | 61.7 | 3.0 Above Normal | Average Low | 45.2 | 4.7 Above Normal | Average | 53.5 | 3.9 Above Normal | Warmest | 94 | June 25 | Coldest | 12 January 1 | Record Highs | 80 | March 27 | 77 | March 31 | 91 | September 26 | 71 | November 11 | 70 | December 6 | 67 | December 7 | Record Lows | 46 | on August 20 |
|---|
1998 was the warmest year on record, with an average temperature of 53.5.
1998 had the warmest February, with an average temperature of 37.6 degrees.
1998 had the least snowiest February on record, with only 0.2 inches recorded.
Ohio Fruit & Vegetable Growers Congress
Source: Today's Grower, January 1999
The 1999 Congress will provide ample information on cultivar practices, pest control, and soil/water management. There will also be two presentations that will indicate the preventative cancer and nutritional components of berries.
On the evening of February 3, the Berry Roundtable will feature the Jacquemin Farm as our grower profile for 1999. Paul Jacquemin and Kerry Sullivan will present their operation and marketing techniques. At the strawberry short course, you will learn about the future of weed control, compost for strawberries, and new and old strawberry cultivars.
At registration be sure to ask for a ticket to attend the Berry Growers Luncheon to be held at noon on Thursday, February 4. Following the luncheon will be the bramble session covering orange rust control, cultivars, and nutritional components of berries. Blueberry culture from soils to irrigation to cultivars will be discussed on Friday morning.
| Wednesday, February 3 | |
|---|---|
| 7:00-9:00 p.m. | Berry Roundtable Grower Profile |
| Thursday, February 4 | |
| 8:30 a.m.-12 noon | Strawberry Short Course |
| 2:00 p.m.-4:45 p.m. | Brambles |
| Friday, February 5 | |
| 8:45 a.m.-11:45 a.m. | Blueberries |
Ohio Fruit & Vegetable Growers Congress
The Tree Fruit program will begin Wednesday evening with a session on apple tree grafting techniques including topworking for changing cultivars, inarching to repair rodent damage, "how-to" as well as the economics of propagating your own trees. In addition there will be demonstration stations for you to view the various propagation techniques. A special feature of the evening session will be a presentation on Johnny Appleseed by authority Bill Jones.
Out-of-state speakers for the Tree Fruit program include Dr. Al Jones from Michigan State University. Dr. Jones will discuss his research to understand and control fireblight, including the growth inhibitor prohexadione-calcium (Apogee). Dr. Jones will also update you on new and older fungicides for apple scab control.
Dr. Rich Marini from Virginia Tech will relate factors influencing successful apple thinning, including predicting thinning response. Dr. Marini also is an innovative peach researcher and will present an overview of his peach culture work.
Jim Swindeman of Applewood Orchards, Inc. in Deerfield, MI will discuss the theory and practical use of a hail cannon.
This year's program features several panels of Ohio growers discussing and relating their experiences in apple marketing, cider making, and marketing, grafting trees, growing peaches, use of soil amendments. A special panel on dealing with a hail crop of apples in a family business is highlighted.
Ohio State University personnel will present information on disease, insect and weed control, fruit tree propagation, and fruit thinning.
| 10:00-10:10 | 10:10-10:20 | 10:20-10:35 | 10:35-10:50 | 10:50-11:00 | 11:00-11:15 | 11:15-11:30 | 11:30-11:45 | 11:45-12:00 | 12:00-12:30 |
| Welcome | "Finding Good Employees" | MSAWPA - Rules for farmer direct and farmer/crew-leader recruiting | Making workers legal/ Prescreening workers |
BREAK | OBES and local services availability | OBES and the H2A Program | H2A contractor and their services | Our experiences with the H2A program | Question and Answer Session |
| Tom Sachs
OSU Farm Labor Relation Program |
Ted Gastier 1999 HortExcel |
Guillermo Sapia
Wage & Hour Investigator US Dept. of Labor |
Robert Brown
Former Immigration Director, Attorney at Law of Counsel to McLaughlin & McCaffrey |
Before break announce Mark Heller & ABLE's services for helping workers proceed through the legalization process | Pete Cantu
Manager, Sandusky County, Ohio Bureau of Employment Services |
Benito Lucio & Pablo Nunez
Ohio Bureau of Employment Services |
Lee Wicker North Carolina Growers Association, Inc. |
Ron Guess
Guess Brothers Farms H2A farm employer |
All program participants available for questions and answers |
| Weather Station Location | Monthly Prec. | Normal Monthly Prec. | Year-to-Date Prec. | Normal Year-to-Date Prec. | Average High | Normal High | Average Low | Normal Low | Mean Temp. | Normal Mean |
| Akron-Canton | 2.14 | 2.95 | 40.27 | 36.82 | 43.0 | 37.7 | 27.5 | 23.6 | 35.2 | 30.6 |
| Cincinnati | 3.82 | 3.15 | 51.39 | 41.33 | 46.9 | 41.2 | 29.6 | 25.3 | 38.3 | 33.5 |
| Cleveland | 1.92 | 3.09 | 32.82 | 36.63 | 44.4 | 37.4 | 29.5 | 24.5 | 37.0 | 31.0 |
| Columbus | 3.25 | 2.86 | 37.56 | 38.09 | 45.9 | 39.2 | 30.3 | 24.6 | 38.1 | 31.9 |
| Dayton | 2.13 | 2.93 | 39.22 | 36.64 | 44.9 | 39.1 | 29.1 | 24.0 | 37.0 | 31.6 |
| Elyria | 2.52 | 3.06 | 34.32 | 35.95 | 45.7 | 39.0 | 27.7 | 24.3 | 36.3 | 31.7 |
| Fremont | 0.96 | 2.72 | 38.12 | 34.69 | 45.3 | 36.7 | 22.6 | 21.8 | 33.9 | 29.2 |
| Mansfield | 1.55 | 3.07 | 37.48 | 39.66 | 42.8 | 36.8 | 27.3 | 24.0 | 35.0 | 30.4 |
| Norwalk | 1.46 | 2.77 | 38.77 | 35.64 | 45.6 | 37.0 | 27.9 | 21.8 | 36.8 | 29.4 |
| Toledo | 0.61 | 2.93 | 32.63 | 32.97 | 43.5 | 35.2 | 26.7 | 20.5 | 35.1 | 27.9 |
| Wooster | 1.75 | 2.62 | 34.43 | 36.19 | 44.5 | 37.5 | 30.0 | 22.5 | 35.7 | 30.0 |
| Youngstown | 2.36 | 2.93 | 37.57 | 37.32 | 43.5 | 36.1 | 28.6 | 22.9 | 36.0 | 29.5 |
Temperatures in degrees F, Precipitation in inches
Records set: 4th; Cincinnati-72, Dayton-68, Toledo-64: 5th; Dayton-65, Mansfield-63, Toledo-66: 6th; Akron/Canton-67, Cincinnati-73, Cleveland-70, Columbus-73, Dayton-72, Mansfield-67, Toledo-69, Wooster-69, Youngstown-69; 7th; Akron/Canton-66, Cleveland-67, Columbus-69, Dayton-68, Mansfield-67, Wooster-67, Youngstown-67
Table Created by Ted W. Gastier, OSU Extension from National Weather Service, OARDC & Local Data
Ted W. Gastier
Extension Agent, Agriculture
Tree Fruit Team Coordinator
Ohio State University Extension Huron County
180 Milan Avenue
Norwalk, OH 44857
Phone: (419)668-8210
FAX: (419)663-4233
E-mail: gastier.1@osu.edu
Information presented above and where trade names are used, they are supplied with the understanding that no discrimination is intended and no endorsement by Ohio State University Extension is implied. Although every attempt is made to produce information that is complete, timely, and accurate, the pesticide user bears responsibility of consulting the pesticide label and adhering to those directions.
All educational programs conducted by Ohio State University Extension are available to clientele on a nondiscriminatory basis without regard to race, color, creed, religion, sexual orientation, national origin, gender, age, disability or Vietnam-era veteran status.
Issued in furtherance of Cooperative Extension work, Acts of May 8 and June 30, 1914, in cooperation with the U.S. Department of Agriculture, Keith L. Smith, Director, Ohio State University Extension.
TDD # 1 (800) 589-8292 (Ohio only) or (614) 292-1868