The Winter Solstice

A lunar eclipse on the (Northern hemisphere) winter solstice, according to NASA and the US Naval Observatory, has occurred one time since the A.D. calendar began. That year was 1638. On June 25th of that same year, the first lunar eclipse ever to be recorded in the U.S. occurred. Now, they had occurred before, but if European settlers had not written it down, it never really occurred, of course. The next winter solstice lunar eclipse will occur in 2094, well beyond the scope of average life expectancy at this point. However, fun supernatural circumstance (and some statistics) would predict a decent, if small, chance of a baby somewhere in the world being born today, living to the ripe old age of 84, and passing away on the date of the next solstice lunar eclipse. Fun stuff to think about while procrastinating those last-minute holiday gifts.

Indiana Pesticides and Manure

It has been a real whirlwind of activity in the office the past week, with 81 pesticide applicators converging on the Gibson County fairgrounds Friday for a PARP/CCH talk about pesticide technology and record keeping. The elephant in the room, of course, is the new fertilizer certification rule. While the decision whether to need certification is fairly straight-forward for most, there is definitely a good amount of gray area for niche or smaller applicators.

To get any uncertainty erased, call the local extension office or Office of the Indiana State Chemist at 1-765-494-1492. Oooooorrrrr, you could attend the first Farm Winter Workshop at Gibson Southern High School on January 3rd, if you happen to feel like making the drive.

Bark Beetles

Garfield passed up a chance for an infamous Monday the 13th strip to talk about bark beetles:

http://www.garfield.com/comics/todayscomic.html. One must love native Hoosier Jim Davis's rural roots.

Retail v. Packing v. Agriculture

I HATE partisanship and vested interests. Yes, that is a paradox, or at least self-contradictory. However, there exists no room in the world around us for closed-minded speculation or unvalidated opinion.

Therefore, I have to spread an article I read today with some reluctance. I love the graphs. I love the way most of the facts presented are legitimate. I hate the wordplay: "Examing Walmart's 'Rural Stranglehold.'" Check it out, and pay close attention to the 1990-2009 pie chart of the amount farmer's receive on the dollar for beef and pork. I knew that farmers were not receiving the percentage they once were, but the change over 20 years seems to justify quite a bit of the decline in farmer profitability among the two industries.

Indiana Farmers Grow Communities

Money is up for grabs. To be exact, $2500 is up for grabs to local community organizations. And Gibson County farmers get to decide who it goes to in Gibson County. It's a Monsanto project called America's Farmers Grow Communities, and any Gibson County farmer over 21 that farms at least 250 acres of traditional crops, 40 acres of vegetables, or 10 acres of tomatoes/peppers/cucumbers is eligible to pick their favorite organization. To get more information or to vote, go to www.growcommunities.com, or farmers may call in to 1-877-267-3332 to cast their vote. Voting ends on December 31st, so vote now!

Psst...I hear Gibson County 4-H is a great community organization, just a real stand-up crowd (www.extension.purdue.edu/gibson).

Big Tree Register

The IDNR Division of Forestry keeps track of the largest trees in each species (nominated by local individuals) and publishes their findings once a year. Gibson County has the honor of possessing one of biggest trees in Indiana this year: the largest Overcup Oak. For those unsure what an Overcup Oak is, you were not alone. Here is a link for more information: http://www.dendro.cnre.vt.edu/dendrology/syllabus/factsheet.cfm?ID=71.

At a height of 102', it should not be too difficult to find Betty Smith's tree in Princeton.

For more of the biggest trees in this or other states, check out Indiana Big Tree 2010 here: http://www.treesinc.org/big_tree.html.

Master Gardeners

Well, after finishing up last week discussing the future of the Community Collaborative Rain Hail and Snow network (CoCoRaHS) in West Lafayette, I start out this week with a media blitz, beginning with the announcement of Master Gardener training classes to begin on January 25, 2011. We'll run every week for 13 weeks on Tuesday evenings, from 6-9 P.M., at the Gibson County Courthouse South Annex. Cost of participation is $125, with $25 refunded upon completion of class time and 35 volunteer hours. Costs cover speakers, handouts, and refreshments.

Call the Gibson County Purdue Extension office or email me at hschmitz@purdue.edu for more information and an application.