101 Lakes Ag & Natural Resources Bulletin Volume 4, Issue 2 March & April 2018

Important Dates

March

1st-3rd– Indiana Small Farm Conference in Danville

12th– Northeast Indiana Local Food Forum– IPFW

13th– Market Vendor Series Session 5– Marketing

15th– HCI Public Form at Angola High School 5pm-8pm

16th– Pesticide Program in Ashley- 10am-12pm

19th– Living on the Land Series Begins

20th– National Ag Day

April

3rd– Spring Garden Series – Landscape Design

10th– Spring Garden Series– Soil Amendments & Composting

11th– Extension Board Meeting- 6:30pm

17th– Spring Garden Series– Pollinator Gardening

24th– Spring Garden Series– Water Management

Are you a beginning farmer or considering purchasing some acreage to farm? Then this 9 week series is for you. Living on the Land: Stewardship for Small Acreages is a nine-week series that explores farming practices and various crop and animal enterprises.

Classes will begin Monday, March 19, 2018 and conclude May 21, 2018. Classes will be held at Bridgeway Church, 210 Brians Place, Kendallville, IN (just east of Rural King).

Cost: $75 per person / $100 per couple from the same farm.

For more information or to register for the series, visit:

https://extension.purdue.edu/Steuben/Pages/article.aspx?intItemID=28106

Using Driftwatch/Fieldwatch to Help Dicamba

Applicators Locate Sensitive Crops

By: Valerie Clingerman– Knox County

On January 1, products containing >6.5% dicamba

and an agriculture use label are now restricted use

pesticides. In order to purchase these herbicides, buy-

ers must carry a private or commercial pesticide appli-

cator license. While dicamba herbicides have been on

the market for over 50 years to control broadleaf

weeds, the recent development of dicamba resistant

soybeans has given soybean producers a new post-

emergent option for the management of herbicide

resistant weeds. The new soybeans are Xtendi-

Max® soybeans and FeXapan®, XtendiMax®, or En-

genia® herbicides, all dicamba-based products can be

sprayed on them. Those producers who plan to apply

any of the three soybean dicamba products MUST

attend a training before any of these products are

applied. This is a requirement mandated by the EPA

approved label. These trainings cover basic drift

reduction techniques, as well as label requirements.

One requirement is before application of a soybean

dicamba product; producers must visit Driftwatch/

Fieldwatch, our states specialty crop registration site,

and look for nearby sensitive crops. The Driftwatch/

Fieldwatch site may be found at www.driftwatch.org.

As a produce grower, registration of your fields on

Driftwatch is a step you can take to reduce the risk of

accidental dicamba drift onto your crops. Historically,

registration of sensitive crops on DriftWatch has been

minimal across Indiana. This is a free tool, and all

growers spraying dicamba products in soybean must

look at this site prior to any application. If you have not

registered your sensitive crops, this could potentially

increase your risk of damage. Registering crops is

easy. When you register, you will create a username/

password then be able to outline your fields on a map

and label them by crop (vegetables, tomatoes, pump-

kins or melons, etc). If you do not have an email en-

ter no.email@driftwatch.org and if you do not have a

computer or internet but would like to register your

fields call 765-413-5797. Once your fields are

registered, you can also purchase DriftWatch signs to

post in your fields. Dicamba applicators can then visit

the FieldWatch Map to identify sensitive crops near

their application site.

For more information on the new dicamba labels

visit www.oisc.purdue.edu/pesticide/dicamba.html.

Local Food Forum Coming in March

The Northeast Indiana Local Food Network has a mission to support the growth of a vibrant local food marketplace across Northeast Indiana, by increasing the visibility and economic opportunities for our

region’s local food producers and businesses, so they can expand their sales both locally and beyond.

Join them for their 2018 Northeast Indiana Local Food Forum! This fun, informative and interactive event is intended to strengthen connections and

celebrate our local food community. The Local Food Forum will open with a keynote address by Holly

Parker from the Fair Food Network in Ann Arbor, Michi-gan and will be followed by a series of breakout ses-sions, a lunch that's locally-sourced to highlight our community, and Lightning Talks-where you’ll have the opportunity to share your ideas, news, or stories about local food through a 3-minute

presentation. https://www.eventbrite.com/e/northeast-indiana-local-food-

forum-tickets-42773591965

It is the policy of the Purdue University Cooperative Extension Service that all persons have equal opportunity and access to its educational programs, services, activities, and facilities without regard to race, religion, color,sex, age, national origin or ancestry, marital status, parental status, sexual orientation, disability, or status as a veteran. Purdue is an Affirmative Action institution. This material may be available in alternative formats.

Crystal Van Pelt

Extension Educator in Steuben County

Agriculture & Natural Resources

Community Development

Steuben Community Center

317 S. Wayne St. Suite 1A

Angola, IN 46703

260 668 1000 x1400

cvanpelt@purdue.edu

Return Service Requested

Nonprofit Org.

US Postage

PAID

Angola, IN

Permit #18

Other Extension Happenings in Steuben County...

Purdue Extension Improving Co-Parenting Skills

It is pretty common to hear that 50% of marriages

end in divorce, but what happens to the children of

those divorcing couples? The Co-Parenting for

Successful Kids (CPSK) program helps address issues

facing separated families who have children under the age of 18. Since August 2017, fourteen sessions of the CPSK

program have been offered by a team of three

Health and Human Sciences Extension Educators

from Steuben, DeKalb, and LaGrange Counties trained in this research-based program.

Forty adult parents participated in the CPSK

program in 2017. These participants are the

parents to forty three children, ages 10 months

to 17 years. 91% of parents intend to implement

strategies to reduce the impact of divorce on their children and to help them adjust based on the child's

age and stage of development. A majority of

participants indicated that they will speak more

positively about their child's other parent to the child,

stop asking the child to relay messages to the

Other parent, and use more productive "I" messages

with their children.