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Customer Appreciation Days!

Mercer Landmark Customer Appreciation Days 2012 Planned
Suzy Smalley, event organizer,  recently announced that Mercer Landmark Customer Appreciation Days 2012 is right around the corner. Here are the dates set for a hearty ALL YOU CAN EAT pancake & sausage breakfast:

Tuesday, February 14, 2012   ~  10 AM to 2 PM at Van Wert Jr. Fair Building

Wednesday, February 15, 2012  ~10 AM to 2 PM at Paulding Fair Grounds

Thursday, February 16, 2012  ~ 10 AM to 4 PM at Celina K of C Hall

Mercer Landmark employees, including CW Services and Mercer Soy, serves up some good cookin'. Please join them!

The Van Wert County Jr. Fair Board  is reminding all Steer exhibitors for the 2012 Van Wert County Jr. Fair,  that steer weigh in is this Saturday January 14^th from 8:00 a.m. – 10:00 a.m.  Weigh in will take place on the fairgrounds by the beef barn. Show Steers, Dairy Steers and Performance Steers possession is January 1^st. You may weigh up to 5 steers from each class.  Steer Exhibitors wishing to take a steer to the Ohio State Fair in 2012 must submit a legible nose print to the Ohio State Fair Livestock Office. The Van Wert County 4-H will be collecting signed nose print cards at the steer weigh in to send in to State Fair.

In case of inclement weather please check  the Van Wert county Jr. Fair Facebook page for cancellation.

Ohio Sheep Improvement Association and Ohio State University Extension Announce Sheep and Goat WebEx Series

In a coordinated effort, the Ohio Sheep Improvement Association and Ohio State University Extension are pleased to sponsor and announce the 2012 Sheep and Goat WebEx Series.  The Sheep and Goat WebEx Series will replace the “District” Sheep and Goat Program series which was started in 2001.  The 2012 Sheep and Goat WebEx Series will concentrate on Sheep and Goat Health Programs and we will be offering a wide variety of health related topics and speakers in several extension offices across the state of Ohio.  In 2012, we are offering fourteen (14) Sheep and Goat WebEx sites, one (1) live site and thirteen (13) remote sites which sheep and goat farmers can attend to get updated on sheep and goat health programs. 

The Sheep and Goat WebEx series will assist sheep and goat farmers become better managers of their operations and provide advice that those interested in entering a growing industry need to succeed.  The four (4) session sheep and goat WebEx series can be viewed 7:00 p.m. – 9:00 p.m. (EST) on February 6, 13, 20, and 27, 2012 at various Ohio State University Extension program sites.   Check with your county extension office to find the location nearest you. 

“There are a lot of beginner and experienced sheep and goat producers in Ohio, and this WebEx Series will give them information on health related subjects to assist them in being successful with their sheep and goat operations” states Roger A. High, OSU Sheep Extension Program Specialist and coordinator of the WebEx program series.  The WebEx series was developed in response to getting more information to sheep and goat farmers as well as reducing the expenses related to programming due to travel and other cost recovery expenses.  “We can conduct these WebEx programs at a much lower cost than sending multiple speakers running across the state of Ohio to speak to our sheep and goat farmers” states High. 

The first session, to be held Monday February 6, 2012 will cover “Lambing and Kidding Management and Newborn Health Issues” presented by Dr. Bill Shulaw, OSU Preventive Veterinary Medicine.  The second session, to be held Monday February 13, 2012 will cover “Internal Parasites”, presented by Rory Lewandowski and Jeff McCutcheon, both OSU Extension Educators with a wide variety of experiences in managing internal parasites in sheep and goats.  The third session, to be held Monday February 20, 2012 will cover “Udder Health and Mastitis”, and will be presented by Dr. Leo Timms, Professor, Iowa State University, who specializes in the ruminant mammary health.  The fourth session, to be held Monday February 27, 2012, will cover “Recognizing, Treating, and Preventing Major Diseases of Sheep and Goats”, presented by Dr. Eric Gordon, OSU Veterinary Medicine, Marysville. 

With each of the programs sites we have included contact information for the key OSU Extension Personnel or contacts responsible for the WebEx educational program.  Please contact that OSU Extension Personnel or the contact in your area with any questions or concerns regarding the program that you are interested in attending, especially in the case of inclement weather.   Cancellation due to inclement weather may also be announced on local radio stations. 

Live WebEx Location:

Knox County, Troy Cooper, Knox County Extension, Coordinator, (740) 397-0401

Site Location: Knox County Career Center, Mt.Vernon

Remote WebEx Locations:

Athens County, Athens County Extension, Coordinator, (740) 593-8555

Site Location: USDA Building, The Plains.

Auglaize County, John Smith, Auglaize County Extension, Coordinator, (419) 739-6850

Site Location: Auglaize County Extension Office, Wapakoneta

Clinton County, Tony Nye, Clinton County Extension, (937) 382-0901

Site Location: Clinton County Extension Office, Wilmington

Coshocton County, Tammy Rogers, Coshocton County Extension, (740) 622-2265

Site Location: Coshocton County Extension Office, Coshocton 

Coshocton County, Don Brown, Coordinator, (330) 897-4320

Site Location: New Bedford TMK Feed Store, Fresno (corner of SR 643 and SR 651)

Attendees must bring their own chairs

Hancock County, Ed Lentz, Hancock County Extension, Coordinator, (419) 422-3851

Site Location: Hancock County Extension Office, Findlay

Hardin County, Gene McCluer, Hardin County Extension, Coordinator, (419) 674-2297

Site Location: Ada Community Health professional Building, Ada

Holmes County, Kate Shumaker, Holmes County Extension, Coordinator, (330) 674-3015

Site Location: Holmes County Extension Office, Millersburg

Huron County, Mike Gastier, Huron County Extension, Coordinator, (419) 668-8219

Site Location: Huron County Administration Building, Norwalk

Muskingum County, Mark Mechling, Muskingum County Extension, Coordinator, (740) 454-0144

Site Location: Muskingum County Extension Office, Zanesville

Union County, Jon Rausch, Union County Extension, Coordinator, (937) 644-8117

Site Location: Union County Extension Office, Marysville

PRE-REGISTRATION REQUIRED to attend the Union County Remote Site

Wayne County, Rory Lewandowski, Wayne County Extension, Coordinator, (330) 264-8722

Site Location: OARDC, Room 130 Research Services, Wooster

Williams County, Flo Chirra, Williams County Extension, Coordinator, (419) 636-5608

Site Location: Williams County Extension Office, Bryan 

For detailed information about these Sheep and Goat WebEx Programs please refer website www.ohiosheep.org  or the OSU Sheep Team website at http://sheep.osu.edu/ or the OSU Animal Sciences website at http://ansci.osu.edu/news-events/

ST. FRANCISVILLE, IL., (May 23, 2011) -  AgriGold is proud to introduce Daniel Knapke of Rockford, OH, as a sales intern serving Northern Ohio. Knapke will be sharing the AgriGold story, placing field signs and working closely with his local Corn Specialist, Nick Brackman, as a part of the 2011 Sales Internship Program. Knapke is a student at Ohio State University and is a member of the Crops and Soils Club.

AgriGold is proud to invest in the future of agriculture and support college students pursuing careers in the food and fiber industry. AgriGold has hired a total of 80 interns across the Corn Belt with 7 of those being placed in Ohio. Their time with AgriGold provides great lessons in professional and personal development along with a better understanding of the seed corn business.

Members of the AgriGold Intern Team will be responsible for assisting their Corn Specialist in achieving profitable growth and development in their respective district. This specifically includes helping with coordinating logistics, evaluating corn hybrid performance and implementing an advertising plan for the district.  

AgriGold has developed, produced and sold hybrid seed corn since 1936, bringing corn growers genetics from the 4^th largest breeding and research program in the United States. Pairing these world-class GENETICS with the superior knowledge of AGRONOMICS from our Corn Specialists, growers are achieving outstanding RESULTS in the field. 

For more information about AgriGold Corn Specialists in your area or the GIANT results our growers are seeing, visit agrigold.com.

Parkway Grads and Current OSU Students Visit Brazil on Agriculture Tour

 2008 Parkway graduates and friends, Sara King, Melinda Miller and Danny Knapke spent 6 weeks early in 2010 on break from Ohio State University studying in the country of Brazil in South America at ESALQ, a branch of the University of Sao Paulo, located in Piracicaba, Brazil.

All three are in the Agricultural Sciences College at Ohio State University in Columbus. Sara is a junior in with a major in Ag Communication and English. She is an avid writer. She will graduate in 2012. Melinda is a majoring in animal sciences and will graduate in June 2012. Danny is a senior with a major in agri business and applied economics and will graduate in December 2011. The trip was planned through OSU’s Alpha Zeta partners, and they were each asked to apply for the program which provided them with 15 credits hours while studying abroad.  A 3.2 GPA is required and only 20 were chosen for the trip ~ quite an honor. Only 18 were able to raise the money. Scholarships are available, but the main expense is paid by the student.

The trio traveled by air in wintry January 2010 to humid, hot and rainy Sao Paulo, Brazil (their summer) with Jill Pfister, assistant dean at OSU (and their ag advisor) then traveled by bus to Piracicaba, Brazil which is in the south of Brazil . They met up with Ricardo Shirota, a professor at  ESALQ who set up the trip and arranged all travel during their 6 week stay. The group lived in extended stay hotels like Antonio’s and then travel hotels as they made excursions across the country. One weekend they stayed with a host family in Piracicaba in order to get a taste of family life.

Sara’s host sister, Barbara, is from an upper class family and attended a private school. At the present time, she is doing what other private school graduates are doing ~ studying and waiting for the yearly exams that will determine if she will get into the medical school program. Education at college is free if you have the grades.  Public school is free, too, but students are not prepared for college if they attend one. Barbara happened to be friends with two of the Brazilian students who traveled with the group as translators.  Barbara traveled with the group on trips due to the friendship.  Sara said most of her group could not speak Portuguese, which is Brazil’s native language. Sara took Spanish at Parkway, and she felt it was somewhat helpful.  Because there are social class issues in Brazil (old money and professionals), Sara found it interesting and did her end-of-class project on social classes in Brazil. She found that in the middle and lower classes, there is not enough value on education because it is difficult to move up into a higher class. But, it can be done, she said even in a 2^nd world country.

Sara explained that Brazil is considered a 2^nd world country like Russia, India and China. They get this designation because they are 1^st world in the ag business force, but have huge areas that are undeveloped and have many indigent inhabitants. The population is 368,000 and reminded them of New York City. Sao Paula is actually the largest city in the world. There is great disparity between the rich and the poor, with the poor living in huts called favelas on the edge of the city in deplorable conditions. Danny agreed. He said, “I experienced a new-found patriotism in my country. I felt great pride on how good we have it in the USA. Our lowest income American citizens would be considered upper to middle class when compared to the poor people in the Brazilian class structure.”

Melinda had a bonding experience with her host family, a young doctor, his teacher wife and their two daughters ~ 5 and 2. She felt right at home with the family, and even though she stayed just 3 days, Melinda was invited back for a birthday party for one of the girls. As a hobby, the doctor had a sheep farm, and she visited there enjoying time with the workers. She also accompanied the family to a big Sheep Expo.

Some of Sara, Danny and Melinda’s activities included: visiting grain co-ops and farming operations. It was hilly country, and there were many dirt roads. They drove up to a mountain dairy farm that used a carousel form of milking by hand; Sara mentioned that milk there is not pasteurized and always warm.  This farm was a modern one and was similar to what they saw in the USA. Melinda said, "Other small farms visited shared common stalls, pastures and one milking parlor.  5 or 6 families made a living this way. They were really proud of what they had. " Melinda also mentioned how much the depended on each other.

Another farm operation that impressed the trio was a family-owned vegetable farm that was all organic and hand-picked. This operation even canned their produce on site to market and made liquor out of sugar cane, which is an important commodity for the country. They visited, all in all, 50-60 grain operations which are mainly co-ops, and trade with the USA is robust.  Soy is a common crop with corn less so.  There were orange and apple farms.  Slaughterhouses were modern.

Danny mentioned that he was astonished to see the larger co-ops using the same John Deere equipment popular here, and the stark difference it made with poorer farmers in Brazil still using old equipment and working the land much like the Amish.

One longer trip they took was an 11 day  travel venture to the border of Paraguay to see the Iguazu Falls and the Itabu Dam. According to Sara, the dam is one of the 7 wonders of the modern world, and it creates power.  They also visited the beach on the Atlantic Ocean. They visited museums and learned much about the art, culture and history of the land. One modern museum of art had a great Picasso exhibit, graffiti and murals. They visited the Museum of Portuguese language on its founding and history.  Another museum was devoted entirely to the eucalyptus tree forests ~ building and papermaking.

So, what did the group do for fun in Brazil?  They enjoyed hiking and mountain climbing. Melinda definitely enjoyed the part where they waded in cool and clear mountain rivers and jumped into pools of water from rocky ledges. One time they went white water rafting and traveled up the mountain-side in an old, rickety bus.  "Commands in Portuguese were more than challenging," laughed Melinda.

They went to some very good restaurants and tried native food. Danny mentioned that there was always plenty of meat in their meals.  Breakfast consisted of fruit and cold meats; lunch included rice or fries and meats and was a big meal; the evening meal was small, light and served around 8 pm. Melinda said, "Meat was usually cuts we knew at home like chicken or beef, but some different items were chicken hearts or the hump meat from Brahma cows. Another unusual cooked item was pig’s ear."  And, they tried something called cattapuri, which was a creamy, white concoction that Sara did not like.  She totally missed Rockford ketchup because the Brazilian version is thinner and sweeter.

Melinda said, “We all soon realized how inter-connected our world universities are. Our guide and professors showed us that ESALQ and OSU have a strong partnership, and I often see Brazilian students in my classes in Ohio because of this connection.”

Sara is the daughter of Mike and Ann King, Rockford. Their family has a long tradition in farming north of Rockford. The family runs a summer produce stand on SR 118 with lots of great fresh vegetables like sweet corn, melons, and tomatoes.  Danny Knapke is the son of Steve and Deb (Hayes) Knapke. Danny and his family raise prize-winning Suffolk Sheep on St. Rt. 33 east of Rockford.  Melinda Miller is the daughter of Paul and Sharon Miller, and her family runs a large grain operation near Mendon.  All took Ag classes at Parkway under Alan Post and were very active in FFA throughout their high school careers.

Story by Sheila Baltzell
Pictures by Sara King

Rockford Yearling Suffolk Ewe Takes Grand Champion Ewe Award

Deanna Knapke, Rockford, OH recently exhibited her sheep at the North American International Livestock Expo in Louisville Ky. The “NAILE” is the world’s largest purebred livestock Expo and is reported to be one of the most prestigious livestock shows ever. Deanna’s Yearling Suffolk Ewe was Grand Champion Ewe in the Jr. Show. Deanna is the daughter of Deb and Steve Knapke.

Dee Dee Knapke, a member of the Parkway FFA Chapter, from Rockford, Ohio, recently received the American FFA Degree. Earning the degree means Knapke is one of a select group of individuals to be recognized for years of academic and professional excellence. The honor was presented on October 24^th, 2010 at the 83^rd National FFA Convention, held in Indianapolis, Indiana.
           
The American FFA Degree recognizes demonstrated leadership ability and outstanding achievements in agricultural business, production, processing, or service programs. To be eligible, members must have earned and productively invested $7,500 through a supervised agricultural experience (SAE) program in which they start, own, or hold a professional position in an existing agriculture enterprise. Recipients must also make it their mission to demonstrate outstanding leadership abilities and community involvement.     
           
Each award recipient receives a gold American FFA Degree key, and certificate in a blue leatherette frame. Of more than 520,000 FFA members nationwide, Knapke was one of only 3,448 to be recognized in 2010. The degree recognition program is sponsored by Case IH, DTN, Farm Credit, Pioneer, Hi-Bred, and Syngenta as a special project of the National FFA Foundation.
           
The National FFA Organization, formerly known as Future Farmers of America, is a national youth organization of 520,284 student members (and counting)—all preparing for leadership and careers in the science, business and technology of agriculture—as part of 7,429 local FFA chapters in all 50 states, Puerto Rico and the Virgin Islands. The national FFA Organization changed to its present name in 1998 in recognition of the growth and diversity of agriculture and agricultural education. The FFA mission is to make a positive difference in the lives of students by developing their potential for premier leadership, personal growth and career success through agriculture education. The National FFA Organization operates under a Federal Charter granted by the 81^st United States Congress, and it is an integral part of public instruction in agriculture. The U.S. Department of Education provides leadership and helps set direction for FFA as a service to state and local agricultural education programs. Visit www.ffa.org for more information.

Pictured above: Dee Dee with her parents Steve and Deb Knapke.

Corbin Hellwarth Receives 2010 DEKALB Agricultural Accomplishment Award

Rockford, OH- Corbin Hellwarth of Parkway High School’s FFA Chapter was recently presented the school’s highest agricultural honor, the DEKALB  Agricultural Accomplishment Award, sponsored by Monsanto Company.

Hellwarth, the son of Garrett and Judy Hellwarth, received the award for excellence in academics, leadership and agricultural work experience. Hellwarth’s significant experiences and accomplishments have included FFA President, 4-H, swim team (where he was a national relay qualifier,) National Honor Society, Mt. Tabor Youth Group, and employment at Hellwarth Farms Inc. Alan Post is Hellwarth’s agricultural education instructor at Parkway High School.

This year, the DEKALB Agricultural Accomplishment Award celebrates its 63rd anniversary. Over these 63 years more than 164,000 high school seniors from across the country have received the award, which has become a symbol for excellence and the school’s highest agricultural honor. In 2009, nearly 2,000 students from high schools in 49 of the 50 states were recognized with the award.

As the winner of the 2010 award, Hellwarth’s name will be recorded on a permanent plaque displayed at Parkway High School.

Monsanto, a long-time supporter of agricultural education, FFA, 4-H, and other farm youth organizations and initiatives, sponsors the DEKALB Agricultural Accomplishment Award. Monsanto is a leading global provider of technology-based solutions and agricultural products that improve farm productivity and food quality.

AGRIBUSINESS AND APPLIED ECONOMICS MAJOR
AT THE OHIO STATE UNIVERSITY RECEIVES SCHOLARSHIP

Daniel Knapke of Rockford, Ohio has been awarded the Ohio-Michigan Equipment Dealers Association (OMEDA) Scholarship for the 2010-2011 school year.  Daniel, son of Steve and Deb Knapke, is a sophomore at The Ohio State University majoring in Agribusiness and Applied Economics.  He is a member of the Agribusiness Club, Crops and Soils Club (president) and Alpha Zeta Partners.  A 2008 graduate of Parkway High School, Daniel plans to pursue a career in the seed industry.

The OMEDA Scholarship, open to Agribusiness and Applied Economics majors at OSU, is awarded on the basis of scholarship, leadership, and potential contribution to the agricultural industry.  It is one of several scholarships made available by agribusiness firms, individuals, and agricultural organizations for students interested in agribusiness, farm finance, agricultural marketing, farm management, and closely related areas.

Pictured left to right: Dennis Alford-OMEDA representative and Daniel Knapke-Recipient  ~ Scholarship Amount - $1050

Mercer Landmark in Rockford Brings Seed Treatment Plant to the Village

by Sheila Baltzell
Mercer Landmark, Inc. has another new venture going on in the village of Rockford. After the success of the soybean extrusion plant started three years ago, the locally farmer owned co-op has expanded into the seed treatment industry and built a state-of the art facility. Completely automated, it is the only one of its kind in the State of Ohio. Director of Agronomy, Dan Dowling said, “Mercer Landmark sells the end product of seed for other companies. In that way we are retailers of seed. And, now we have the unique ability to condition the seed ourselves, handle the marketing and logistics, purchase (contract) the crop back to the Rockford extrusion plant, and market the end product of soy meal and soybean oil. It is a vertically integrated, go-to market strategy for our locally owned cooperative.

Dan Dowling, the new Director of Agronomy, explained that the new plant is centralized to Landmark’s 10 agronomy retail locations for purchasing seed to plant in fields. The northern most location is Payne, Ohio with New Weston as the furthest south.

The seed treatment revolution has become popular and more scientific in the last 5 years, although farmers have been treating their fields for better yields for many years.

The new machine uses an atomizing process that tumbles the soybean seeds while misting on three biological products at once: 1) inoculants help grow more nodules on the plant root which in turn makes more of its own naturally occurring nitrogen for quick starts and long term healthier plants; 2) fungicides (prevent soil born diseases); and 3) insecticides. Dan said, “Farming is now more efficient because, through research, we understand how to grow healthier, higher yielding crops at a more efficient pace.” He continued, “The seeds are genetically enhanced, but it is necessary to feed the world. It is predicted that the world’s population will double by the year 2050. Market trends indicate that to produce enough food, plants that are yielding 150 bushels of corn per acre will have to produce 300 bushels by then.

Currently the operation is preparing soybeans for spring planting for the growing area in Ohio, Indiana and Michigan. They also condition and treat wheat seed for fall planting in these same market areas as well.

Pictures Below are of the seed treatment plant.
The seed tumbler	An old scale but still used occasionally	The system for sending seed to the seed treatment machine	A computer runs it all	Seed waiting for spring planting

Restocking a Winterkill Pond

Bill Lynch, OSU Extension Pond Management Specialists

This was one of those winters across Ohio that caused a significant number of winter fish kills. This was particularly true across central Ohio where thick ice developed prior to the three major snowstorms in early February. All that snow on top of the ice reduced sunlight penetration to zero and oxygen levels declined steadily. In Union county where I live, most ponds did not become ice free until mid-March. In some ponds, owners found their fish floating or lying dead along the bottom. For those pond owners who experienced a kill, they now need to develop a strategy to restock their pond. 

The first activity is to determine whether it was a total fish kill or just a partial kill. How to tell? The pond owner (and friends) should try and catch some fish, particularly bluegills. If hours of fishing in April do not yield a fish, then a total kill was more likely and the pond will need a complete restocking. If only a few bluegills are caught and no bass are caught or seen, then a partial kill occurred. Also, try and remember the species and sizes that you saw dead. If all species and sizes were evident, then a total kill is the likely scenario. If only one species is dead or only larger fish were evident, a partial kill may have occurred. Why is this important? If some bluegills survived, the pond owner probably need not stock them. They produce large numbers of fry in just a few years and bluegills will easily rebound. A partial kill often only needs to have bass, catfish, and grass carp (if used) restocked. Thus, it is important to have some insight into the magnitude of the winter fish kill. 

For any stocking that may be needed, be sure to obtain OSU Extension’s factsheet Fish Species Selection for Pond Stocking which can be obtained at ohioline.osu.edu. The factsheet provides considerable detail on which fish species work best in ponds, how many to stock, and when to stock them. A short summary is in order. Only four recreational species work well in ponds and small lakes: largemouth bass, bluegill sunfish, redear sunfish, and channel catfish. Other fish species could cause considerable fish community problems if stocked. When to restock is a very important consideration. When fish are transported in oxygenated bags or large tanks, they experience stress. The amount of stress is far less in colder water than in warm water, and thus, optimum times to stock is when water temperatures are less than 60 F and preferably around 50 F. That means spring or fall stocking, not summer! Also, stress is quickly increased if the temperature differential between the pond and transport water differs by more than 5 F. The more equal the water temperatures, the less stress the fish will experience. 

In a pond that experienced a total fish kill, an alternative stocking strategy might be considered. Fathead minnows can be stocked in the spring and be allowed to spawn naturally. This will build up huge numbers of small fathead minnows. Game fish stocking then occurs in the following fall. The large amount of minnow prey greatly enhances survival and growth of the stocked bass, bluegills, and catfish. As the minnows decline, bluegill spawning increases and small bluegill then become the predominate prey for the bass.

Mercer Landmark Soybean Extrusion Plant Going International
by Sheila Baltzell

After 2 years in production at the Rockford plant, Mercer Soy is perking right along, extruding locally grown soybeans into oil and meal.  The oil is being sold in the human market, and the soy meal is a feed supplement for livestock – meaning it is part of a combination of grains, vitamins, minerals, etc to provide food for livestock grown locally. But that is not all.

Scott Boulis, general manager of Mercer Landmark in Rockford, John Wenning, Landmark’s feed salesman and nutritionist, and consultant, Ed Burtch of Burtch Seed, Rockford, recently returned from a 10 day trip to Seoul South Korea and Manila, Philippines where they met with Mayette Ramos, Philippino president of FFF Nutrition, a sales agent for various livestock feed mills in the Philippines. Her company represents Mercer Soy.  In Seoul, South Korea, the group met with Mr. Cho (Aaron) with the ILJU Trading Company, LTD, who is the sales agent for several livestock feed mills in that country. Scott Boulis mentioned that Mercer Landmark has never directly exported before, but, they expect their export volume to make up 20% of total production when finalized. Click Here for the Rest of the Story and Great Pictures on the trip

Van Wert, Ohio—Advanced Biological Marketing (ABM), an agricultural leader in the Van Wert area and consumers from Thomas Edison Adult Center teamed together to produce marketing materials to promote T-22 for Wheat.

This marketing promotion consists of a printed plastic flower pot, top soil, a small amount of wheat treated with T-22, instructions and promotional literature placed in a box. All items are carefully measured and assembled by Thomas Edison consumers (clients) and will be sent nationwide to Seed Dealers encouraging them to try the T-22 product.

Carla Frank, Production Scheduler for Thomas Edison Adult Center is excited about working with ABM, “We’re always looking for jobs like this for our consumers. This is exactly the type of job we can do and want to do. It’s really a nice fit, assembling the necessary items, and preparing boxes for mailing.”

 “Being able to work with Thomas Edison has my attention. It’s important to be involved with our local community. ABM is pleased to have Thomas Edison working on this project and they’re doing a great job,” said Dan Custis, President of ABM.

 ABM identifies, develops, and markets specialty biological products for agricultural and agricultural related industries. Their T-22 promotion highlights how it is different from traditional fungicides in that it grows season long with the root system.

Thomas Edison Adult Center actively pursues quality programs, services, and supports that will assist adults in achieving their greatest potential. 

Ohio State University Extension Fact Sheet
Bagworm And Its Control

We are fast approaching the time that branch death of the most susceptible plants (e.g. arborvitae) can result from bagworm feeding. Fortunately, a foliar application of one of several insecticides may stop them from producing more damage. However, don't wait till late in the growing season to manage the bagworm, because even the traditional insecticides lose their effectiveness against large bagworms. For homeowners, conventional insecticides such as Sevin and malathion provide satisfactory results if used.

One additional note to make at this time is that conifers are not the only plants that these pests feed on. Conifers are just the plants that can be easily killed by the bagworm feeding. Bagworms can feed and thrive on a long list of deciduous trees and shrubs including sycamore, crabapple and honeylocust trees. These trees may not be killed by the bagworm; however, the caterpillars can make them look very bad. The infested trees can also act as a reservoir for bagworms to spread throughout the landscape in future seasons.  Read the OSU Factsheet on bagworms for more detail on this pesky pest: http://ohioline.osu.edu/hyg-fact/2000/2149.html
 

Mercer Landmark Soybean Extrusion Plant Opens in Rockford
Open House Held

The long-awaited soybean extrusion plant in Rockford is open and ready for production, according to Scott Boulis, Mercer Landmark manager in Rockford. A well-attended open house on Saturday, September 15 provided the community an opportunity to see the new facility and hear all about Rockford’s newest business venture.

Running from 10 am to 2 pm, the tours were conducted by the employees of the Mercer Landmark plant in Rockford, with Scott Boulis doing 20 minute talks with question and answer times provided.

Scott explained that the Mercer Landmark Soybean Extrusion Plant is a dry extrusion, mechanical oil extraction plant, one of the simplest types to operate and maintain.  Once the plant is in full operation, it will run 5 days per week, 16 hours per day with 293 bushels run through the machine per hour for a total of 1, 218,800 bushels a year.   In terms of pounds, that equates to 17,580 beans per hour for a total of 73,132,800 lbs. per year.

Scott also mentioned that the plant will make 14,575 lbs of expressed soybean meal per hour equaling  30,316 ton per year as well as 9,343,000 lbs of oil per year (1,204,000 gallons).  Scott mentioned that Cargill and Bunge, by comparison, deal in volumes much larger than Rockford. But Mercer Landmark's advantage will be in the ability to switch back and forth from pressing low lin beans to conventional beans as requested.

The horsepower connected to operate the new plant will be 1,483 generated by electricity and propane from Landmark. 

The InstaPro Company out of DesMoines Iowa made this extruder/press, and Scott says that Landmark’s is the largest around and there are no others like it in the state of Ohio. He personally visited ½ dozen of these operations around Indiana, Arkansas and Iowa. Most are small farm operations.

A green hammermill will pulverize the beans before they are loaded into the extruder. The heat generated will be 315 degrees as they are pushed through a hole the size of a pencil.  An explosive-type reaction takes place as the meal is pressed.  There are stainless steel components here.

The temperature of the meal paste must then be reduced to 240 degrees to put it into the next press which Scott explained is like a cider press.  The oil comes out of a slotted area and runs down a chute to be loaded into waiting tankers.

As the temperature reduces, a mild-grade steel auger is then used to create a meal cake @170 degrees of the remaining meal. There is a lump-breaker in this process, too, as fans pulling outside air will be used to cool the meal. There are 10 lbs of oil in a bushel of beans. Seven pounds of oil will be removed, so a meal cake will have 3 lbs. of oil till left in it.

The high protein meal produced is ready to have other nutrients added to it and much of their meal will go into dairy feed. It will be sold locally at Landmark’s Celina, New Weston, Chickasaw and St. Henry branches and direct shipped to the farms.

Special beans called Vistive will be used most of the time. However, Scott mentioned that the beauty of the equipment they bought will allow them to switch to other beans as well. They have a low-lin bean which will be pressed for a health food company in North Carolina once a week.  He pointed out that no chemicals are added, and the first pressing is likened to the first pressing of olive oil.  The beans are sorted from low to high lin and stored in grain bins.  The North Carolina products should soon be available on the market, and Landmark will likely sell those products locally in the future.

The oil will travel to refineries to be further prepared for the consumer. The gums are removed and so is the color.  Scott said that they built the plant with extra square footage so that a refinery could be added at some point if they want to do so. Otherwise, it will serve as warehouse space. There are no local oil sales at this time. Tankers will ship out-of-state mostly.

They new facility will employ 3 people on the day shift. Two will be in the plant and the 3^rd will be cleaning and loading beans. It is a highly-automated process with all controls being right in the equipment itself. All machines face each other to keep better track of temperature and pressures. There are no central controls, and it takes fewer people to run theeverything. 

Scott was asked about noise and smell associated with the plant. The large structure is well-insulated and will absorb the sound, although employees will be required to where protective earplugs. Heat will be generated during this process, too.  The smell is cooked out of the product with virtually no smell after the cool-down. Keeping the area clean will be a priority, too. Said, Scott, “ We want to be a good neighbor.”

The dollar  investment for Landmark was 3 million on this project with grant monies coming from local and federal government sources as well as a loan from the revolving Mercer County Loan Fund. Besides InstaPro, Mercer County Electric from Ft. Recovery and Kraner Construction from Ohio City were the building contractors.

The pictures below show expressed soy meal mechanically extruded and pressed and a decanter of commodity soybean oil. It is not refined and has an orange cast to it.

Over 300 people attend the open house where refreshments were served.  At left are the Landmark team in Rockford - Scott Bowen, Alice Provci, Dennis Schwieterman, Denise Myers, Scott Boulis, Robert Dailey and Wayne Bollenbacher.

Runs on Mercer Landmark Propane	Questions and Answers	Employees gave tours	Extruding Process	Air cooling
Behind the scenes	Tours
	Refreshments in the warehouse	Soybean storage	Extruded soymeal and un-refined soybean oil	While in progress in Winter 2007 . . . .

The family including, sons and daughter, Dustin, Danny, and  Dee-Dee, have raised Suffolk sheep (white bodies; black heads) for over 25 years. The breed is beautiful, and the family has 115 baby lambs (250 total head of sheep) at present count. Suffolks are a breed native to the counties of Norfolk, Suffolk, Cambridge and Essex in southeastern England. The Suffolk breed was formed when Southdowns were crossed with Norfolk. A heartier, meatier breed was created. Flocks produce a high percentage of twins.

Born all with all black wool, at eight days old, each bleating 15-22 lb. bundle begins to turn white except for their legs and faces which remain black as adults.  Knapke's prize-winning sheep are a meat breed (mutton) and prized for their wool. Shearing comes once a year in December. Steve and Deb Knapke are 4-H advisors for the Shepherd's Choice 4-H Club in Mercer County. Their children prepare the yearlings to be shown at county and state fairs and contests, where they regularly win ribbons.

Steve explained that they cannot keep all of the new lambs. They keep the bloodline true through the males. They are always building a group that is uniform.  When they reach market weight of 120-140 lbs, they are sold. The Knapkes keep the best ewes, sell some of their stock to 4-H families for projects or to raise, and they sell the others at market. Some sheep have been sold and shipped overseas to Israel where breeders in that country are trying to create a heartier variety. Steve explained that there is a quarantine of 30 days on the 5-6 month old sheep going out of the country. They ship via airplane to John F. Kennedy Airport and live at the stockyard there for the duration of the 30 days.

Lambs are sometimes bottle fed and later eat pellets. The adult sheep eat corn. The Knapke's grow and bale their own hay, but buy corn and straw.

The Mercer Landmark‘s Vistive Soybean Extrusion plant is in the process of being built by Kraner Excavating of Ohio City. According to Alice Provci at Mercer Landmark, “the steel is at the lot, the footers have been dug, and the goal is to have the foundation poured this week. For December, we have had unseasonably warm weather which allows for outdoor projects to get done." There is no anticipated date of completion of the plant. 

The plant will create 10 new jobs and use Vistive soybeans, a Monsanto trademark, grown locally.

In Honor of Our Great Farming Community: