Ag & Natural Resources

Health & Human Sciences

A Note from the Educator:

Hello,

Thanks for checking in! Our Late Winter and Early Spring programming has been busy and fun. See below for pictures of all the activities. We are now fully engaged in our Junior Master Gardener sessions at North Miami and Pipe Creek Schools, and planning JMG Summer Camp!

Courtney Schmidt

County Extension Director, Ag & Natural Resources/Health & Human Sciences Educator

Miami County Purdue Extension Happenings

Purdue Extension Crop and Weather Updates Going Public in 2024

The first Purdue Extension field crop call for the season took place via zoom on April 9,

2024. These calls have been an internal tool used in Extension since 1982, when

Educators and Specialists would huddle around landline telephones to give updates on

production issues facing local field crop growers. In turn, the specialists on campus

would give what recommendations they had to combat the issues.

As we move Extension into the 21st century, we are finding new ways to utilize

technology in order to meet the in-season informational needs of crop growers. Now

that the calls are being hosted online, they can be recorded, edited down to just the vital

pieces, and shared in a relatively timely fashion with our crop producers. You can find

our first Purdue Extension Crop and Weather Update for 2024 on the Purdue On The

Farm YouTube Channel at https://youtube.com/@PurdueOnTheFarm.

Each call this season will start with a state weather update from the Indiana State

Climate Office, then each department on campus is invited to give updates; agronomy,

botany and plant pathology, entomology, weed science, agricultural economics, and

agricultural engineering. The Office of the Indiana State Chemist is also invited to the

calls to provide regulatory updates as policies are frequently evolving from season to

season and even within seasons.

This first update features a winter weather summary and throughout the update there

are discussions of its implications for pest issues this season. Specialists also shared

early-season wheat management reminders, equipment maintenance reminders, and

other production issues to keep an eye out for as the season gets under way. Growers

can expect the remaining Crop and Weather Updates will be posted to the Purdue on the

Farm YouTube Channel on April 26, May 10, May 24, June 7, June 21, July 12, August 9,

and September 13, 2024.

To reach members of the Purdue Extension Field Crops and Purdue on the Farm Teams,

please reach out to purdueonthefarm@purdue.edu.

Ag Law & Taxation program in Miami County with Attorney Roger McEowen

We were honored to have Attorney Roger McEowen present on ag law and taxation issues.

Roger McEowen is the professor of Agriculture Law and Taxation at Washburn University School of Law. Professor McEowen conducts seminars annually across the United States for farmers, agricultural business professionals, lawyers, and other tax professionals. He also conducts two radio programs each airing twice monthly. In addition, his 2-minute radio program, “The Agricultural Law and Tax Report,” is heard daily by over 2 million listeners on farm radio stations from New York to California as well as SiriusXM 147. Roger can also be seen as a weekly guest on RFD-TV, where he discusses various agricultural law and tax topics.

JMG SUMMER CAMP REGISTER HERE

Extension Hot Topics

Join us for this free, live and virtual discussion on the latest research and best practices in a different area of expertise each month. The topics will be timely and engaging, bring your questions and love for lifelong learning!

These webinars are set to every 3rd Wednesday of the month at noon this year.

Register once to be signed up for each monthly program. If you can make it on, great! If you can’t make a month, no problem. (If you've already registered, no need to do it again.)

You can find previous session videos here: https://www.youtube.com/channel/UCx1L2c89r3d3P7LspotyPzg

Click Here to Register!

Weather & Climate

Research Update

February Extension Hot Topic Session Recording

Midwestern Regional Climate Center Update from Climatologist Austin Pearson

US Census of Ag Data was released in March of 2024,

see Miami Co. Profile below:

Annie's Project Photos!

Grow a Row for Miami County

The Miami County Food Security Alliance is spearheading the Grow A Row Nourish Your Neighbors initiative this growing season in Fulton & Miami counties. This initiative encourages local growers to donate garden fruits and vegetables to community partners for distributing the healthy, delicious produce to our neighbors in need. We know gardeners put a lot of hard work and pride into growing nourishing food and we want to be sure it all finds a home.

Local growers can plant an extra row specifically for donations or can choose to donate any extra produce throughout the growing season when their bounty is overflowing and their neighbors have all they need. Interested gardeners can complete a brief survey at https://forms.gle/5vaeFmVAo8wDLsW8A to get access to a list of drop off locations willing to distribute the produce. This list will include site locations, drop off times and details and will be updated as more sites register.

Community groups interested in distributing the produce can register their site at https://forms.gle/BjvBukoBUtX2v6f38 to be added to the donation site list. These sites can include food pantries, community meal sites, social service agencies, and more. For impact purposes, it is requested that donation sites keep a record of donations, such as weight of produce, and number of donors.

Visit the Live Well Miami County Facebook page to see our posts about Grow A Row, Nourish Your Neighbor to share with your networks and help us spread the word.