Dates of Interest call for more details March 6th 4-H Beef Club Meeting March 7th Master Cattle Begins March 13th Tobacco GAP Training Marion County Extension Office 1:00 & 6:00 March 13th Dairy Club Meeting 6:30 March 16th Bee Club Meeting 6:30 March 20th District Board and County Extension Council March 25th Aquaculture Conf. see pg 15 for details April 13th Beef Cattle Meeting
Robbie Smith Agent for Horticulture
Agricultural News Volume 1, Issue 1
March & April 2017
Rob’s Report by Robbie Smith
As we move into a new era in Nelson County Extension I’d first like to reflect on the long and productive career of my colleague, Ron Bowman. Ron retired after 32 years of service at the end of January and now enjoys a life outside of extension. When you see him around town thank him for his commitment to the community that we serve. We will continue on with many of the programs that Ron conducted and questions will still get answered timely and thorough. You may call upon me with any questions or problems that may occur on the farm. What we lost is 32 years of knowledge, experience and experiences that help answer questions quickly. Now, I have 17 years of working with Ron and have seen a lot but there may be some questions that I will need to utilize our very experienced specialists at the University level to help answer. But, be assured that your questions will be answered. With all that said our hope is that our level of care and regard for your needs will not change.
This Newsletter will not change much in Ron’s absence but as you can see we’ll change the look and try to get even more information to you every two months. If there is something that you would like to hear more about please let me know and we will make a focus on those topics. We will continue the focus on timely news articles written by our Extension specialists and other research-backed articles that you can trust to help you make good, sound decisions on the farm. As you know, farm product prices are not much fun right now. However, a producer who can improve efficiencies in a market like this will definitely be in the driver’s seat when the cycle turns to the good. So we will focus on those efficiencies going forward. In that theme, if you or someone you know has a proud farm invention that you don’t mind sharing with the community, let us know and we’ll come out and photograph and share your successes with others.
Page 2 Agricultural News
Timing Fertilizer and Pasture Yields Many producers have already started planning pasture and hayfield fertilization. These nutrients are derived from several sources including residual nutrients in the soil, the breakdown of manure and soil organic matter, and nitrogen produced by Nfixation in legumes. Most importantly, nutrients are supplied to plants through the application of commercial fertilizer and lime. Soil testing is the first step to knowing how to manage the fertility of your pastures and hayfields. Then nutrient management decisions are based on these test results. The only true way to know what you need to apply is to determine what nutrients are available in the soil and what nutrients the forage you are growing requires. Producers should take soil samples once per year from hayfields and every 3 years from their pastures. Hayfields need to be checked more frequently since large amounts of nutrients are removed in hay. Fertilizers are sold based on the percent nitrogen (N), phosphate (P) and potash (K) they contain. One hundred pounds of 19-1919 contains 19 % nitrogen, 19 % phosphorus and 19 % potassium or 19 lbs. of each nutrient. After soil testing match the recommended nutrients needed to the N-PK ratio in your fertilizer. Agriculture dealers will always make custom blends depending on your needs. Although P, K and lime can be added anytime, nitrogen fertilizer should be applied when pastures or hayfields will have the best opportunity to have a yield response. Usually a majority of the nitrogen applied as a part of commercial fertilizer is gone in 60 days. Additionally, applying a high rate of N in one application provides more N than a grass crop can use at one time. This leaves grass pastures and hay fields deficient towards the middle through end of the growing season. Fields that receive high levels of nitrogen also tend to become acidic and require more frequent applications of lime.
For cool season grass pastures, research shows that split applications of fertilizers generally maximize yields when N is applied in the late summer, early spring and occasionally in the late spring. Most grass pastures only require late summer applications because extra N in the spring often produces more growth than livestock can consume. Mid-summer N applications are never recommended for cool-season grasses since they typically do not respond and summer weeds are stimulated. For grass hayfields, apply N when plants are in an active growth phase and will uptake the most N. Ample precipitation and/or soil moisture along with cooler temperatures provide plants the best chance to respond. Timely application will result in less loss due to leaching or denitrification. A split application can maximize overall forage production, and is recommended for hayfields and for pastures when animals unit per acre are high. The best management practice to improve nitrogen levels in pastures is to interseed legumes. Legumes, like red and ladino white clovers, have the ability to fix nitrogen from the air and convert it into a mineral form usable by for plants. This is an excellent way to economically increase production of grass pastures. The use of frost seeding is a simple technique of broadcasting seed between mid-February and early March when the ground is still going through periodic freeze/thaw cycles. This allows clover plants to fill in bare spots and improves forage quality and yield. For more information on fertilizer applications for pastures and hayfields call your local extension office or go to the following publications: http:// www.ca.uky.edu/agc/pubs/agr/agr1/ AGR1.PDF or https://www.uky.edu/Ag/ Forage/ ProfitabilitySpringHayfieldNitrogenApplicati ons2011.pdf
Page 3 Volume 1, Issue 1
Frost Seeding Clover: Just Do It! Everyone is familiar with Nike’s ad campaign that encourages people to “JUST DO IT”. I am officially adopting this slogan for my 2017 Frost Seeding Campaign. Legumes are an essential part of a strong and healthy nitrogen cycle in grasslands. Listed below are a few steps that we can take that will help to ensure that our FROST seeding's are successful: Control Broadleaf Weeds. This is best accomplished by controlling weeds the season prior to renovation. Soil Test and Adjust Fertility. In order for pasture renovation to be successful proper soil fertility is required. Lime should be applied six months prior to renovation if possible.
March 1, drilling legumes into pastures with a no-till seeder is recommend since there may not be enough freezing and thawing cycles to adequately incorporate seed. Prior planning and preparation are important so that seeding can be done in a timely manner. Use High-Quality Seed of an Adapted Species. Use either certified or proprietary seed to ensure high germination, seed genetics, and low noxious weed content. In Kentucky, a good mixture for renovating pastures is to incorporate 6-8 lbs red clover, or 1-2 lbs of ladino white clover. In low pH and fertility soils, the addition of 1015 lbs of annual lespedeza per acre can improve soils.
Use correct seeding rate. Calibrate your Suppress Sod and Decrease Residue. The seeder prior to planting (see instructions on existing sod must be calibrating forage seeding suppressed and plant equipment below). residue reduced Seeding at too high of a prior to seeding. rate needlessly results in The reduction in higher seed costs. On the plant residue other hand, seeding at too facilitates good soillow a rate results in weak seed contact. This stands and lower can be accomplished productivity. by hard grazing in late fall and early Inoculate Legume Seed. This is relatively winter. Red and White clover are two good inexpensive insurance that Ensure Good Soil-Seed options when frost seeding . legume roots will be well Contact. Regardless of nodulalted and efficient nitrogen fixation what seeding method is chosen, good soilwill take place. seed contact is required for seed germination and emergence. Seed on Proper Date. Frost seeding legumes back into pastures is best accomplished in late winter to early spring (between February 1 and March 10). Frost seeding is accomplished by simply broadcasting the seed on the soil surface and allowing the freezing and thawing cycles to incorporate the seed into the soil. After
Control Seeding Depth. Small seeded forages should never be placed deeper than ½ inch. Placing small seeded forages too deep will results in stand failures. Check seed distribution pattern. When using a spinner type spreader/seeder make sure and check you spreading pattern. Single disk spinners often throw more seed (Continued on page 11)
Page 4 Agricultural News
Stripe Rust Dr. Carl A. Bradley, Professor and Extension Specialist Stripe rust is a pretty easy disease to manage with fungicides, but proper timing of application is important. With the “explosive� nature of this disease, fungicides will not do a great job if they are applied too late. Some good news is that highlyresistant varieties are available, and no additional management for stripe rust will
be needed for these resistant varieties. Bill Bruening was able to collect stripe rust ratings at a couple of locations last year as part of the UK Small Grains Variety Testing Program. Those results are in the 2016 Variety Performance Test report (http:// www2.ca.uky.edu/agcomm/pubs/PR/PR707/ PR707.pdf).
Master Cattlemen Classes To Be Offered Master Cattlemen Classes are going to be offered for Marion, Washington and Nelson counties this spring. They will probably start in March and most of them will be held in Lebanon. Costs is $100.00 which will include all materials and a meal for each session. If you are interested contact Dave Kessler, Marion County Ag/Natural Resources agent at (270) 692-2421.
Date 3/7/2017 3/14/2017 3/28/2017 4/13/2017 4/25/2017 5/8/2017 6/6/2017 6/22/2017 6/27/2017 7/11/2017
Specialist Burris Halich Lehmkuhler Burdine Bullock Higgins Rentfrow Arnold Anderson Smith
See below the schedule and locations for each session. Marion has the most because they have the most signed up at this point. Locations could change if more Nelson or Washington county producers sign up.
Time 6p ET 6p ET 6p ET 6p ET 6p ET 6p ET 6p ET 6p ET 6p ET 6p ET
Location Marion Marion Marion Washington Nelson Washington Marion Nelson Washington Marion
BTGCA Scholarship The Burley Tobacco Growers Cooperative will award ten $2,000 scholarships to students for the 2017-2018 school years. It is a great way for our organization to help our farm families as they work to provide educational opportunities to their children. The 2017 BTGCA Scholarship application is available on the BTGCA website, or by calling the office at (859) 252-3561. Applications must be postmarked by April 1, 2017 and mailed to the BTGCA office. To learn more visit the website, www.burleytobacco.com
Page 5 Volume 1, Issue 1
Warm Winter Could Affect Tall Fescue Toxicosis in Broodmares Mild weather this winter is likely the cause of higher than average concentrations of a toxic substance in tall fescue called ergovaline that has been observed in Fayette and Bourbon pastures in Central Kentucky, according to University of Kentucky College of Agriculture, Food and Environment experts,. Tall fescue toxicosis in broodmares, which is caused by ingesting ergovaline, is rare in the early months of the year due to typically cold winter temperatures.
He urged farm managers whose mares experience foaling complications to work closely with their veterinarian to evaluate all possible causes.
Naturally occurring tall fescue is often infected with an endophytic fungus that can produce ergovaline, a known vasoconstrictor – something that causes the narrowing of blood vessels. This has been blamed for prolonged gestation and low milk production in late term pregnant mares. The UK Horse Pasture Evaluation Program sampled three farms in Fayette and Bourbon counties this year and found a handful pastures with higher than average ergovaline concentrations for the time of year.
According to Gaskill, no direct test is available for ergovaline levels in animal tissues, so diagnosing suspected cases of tall fescue toxicosis includes ruling out other possible causes and determining ergovaline concentrations in forages or bedding. In certain situations, domperidone can be administered to alleviate the symptoms of tall fescue toxicosis, but this can have other side effects and is costly, making prevention the ideal treatment.
“These levels would not be alarmingly high in May, because pastures would have other forages such as bluegrass and orchardgrass actively growing, providing sufficient dilution in the total diet. However, other grasses are not active in February, therefore horses are likely to consume more tall fescue, especially in pastures that were overgrazed last fall,” said Krista Lea, UK Horse Pasture Evaluation Program coordinator. According to Ray Smith, UK forage extension specialist, dilution is the key to minimizing the effects of ergovaline. “Farms should move mares to pastures where more desirable forages are available and tall fescue is less prevalent,” he said. “Keeping good quality hay in front of mares on pasture will also dilute any ergovaline the horses may consume.”
“There are so many ways and reasons foaling can go wrong,” said Cynthia Gaskill, veterinary toxicologist at the UK Veterinary Diagnostic Laboratory. “Any time foaling complications are observed, all appropriate tissues and samples should be sent to us to evaluate possible causes immediately.”
Pasture, hay and bedding can all be evaluated for ergovaline concentrations at the UK Veterinary Diagnostic Laboratory for $52 per sample. Pasture samples of tall fescue should be frozen and transported on ice to the lab immediately. Hay and bedding samples should come from several bales and can be transported at ambient temperature out of direct sunlight. Detailed instructions on sampling can be found at http:// www.uky.edu/Ag/Forage/Tall%20fescue% 20sampling.doc By Krista Lea
Page 6 Agricultural News Registration Open for Ohio River Valley Woodlands and Wildlife Workshop The Ohio River Valley Woodlands and Wildlife Workshop returns to Kentucky on March 25. This year’s workshop, an event covering Kentucky, Indiana and Ohio, will be held in the Boone County Cooperative Extension Enrichment Center in Burlington. Forestry experts will provide an array of forestryand wildlife-related educational sessions to help woodland owners get the most from their properties. Sponsored by the Cooperative Extension Services of the University of Kentucky, The Ohio State University and Purdue University, as well as the Kentucky Division of Forestry and Kentucky State University, the one-day workshop will run from 8:30 a.m. to 3:30 p.m. EDT. Matthew Springer, Doug McLaren, Ellen Crocker, Chad Niman and Laurie Thomas will represent the UK Department of Forestry, part of the College of Agriculture, Food and Environment. Springer will teach how to identify and control wildlife damage and how to create habitat for cavity-nesting wildlife. Niman and Thomas will lead a session on constructing a birdhouse for cavity-preferring backyard birds. McLaren will take the mystery out of tree identification. Crocker’s session on mushroom cultivation will cover the basics
from production to marketing and budgeting. She will also join with Abe Nielsen of the Kentucky Division of Forestry to give tips on improving woodland health. Other concurrent sessions will include such topics as creating a land plan, providing pollinator habitat in backyards, marketing timber, tree planting tips, the importance of oak, managing woodlands for songbirds, identifying and controlling invasive plants, beetles that threaten trees and identifying cavity nesting birds The Boone County Enrichment Center is located at 1955 Burlington Pk. From Interstates 75/71, take exit 181. Take Burlington Pike, KY 18, northwest toward Burlington for about three miles. The building will be on the left. Follow the Forestry Program signs to the center, which will be on the left. Registration is $45 per person prior to March 10 and $55 after that date. To register, make checks payable to UK Forestry Extension and mail to 216 T. P. Cooper Building, Lexington, KY., 405460073 or register online at http:// www.tristatewoods.org. More detailed session information also is available on that site. BY CAROL LEA SPENCE
Foreign Buyers Notification The Agricultural Foreign Investment Disclosure Act (AFIDA) requires all foreign owners of U.S. agricultural land to report their holdings to the Secretary of Agriculture. The Farm Service Agency administers this program for USDA. All individuals who are not U.S. citizens, and have purchased or sold agricultural land in the county are required to report the transaction to FSA with 90 days of the closing. Failure to submit the AFIDA form (FSA-153) could result in civil penalties of up to 25 percent of the fair market value of the property. County government offices, Realtors, attorneys and others involved in real estate transactions are reminded to notify foreign investors of these reporting requirements.
Page 7 Volume 1, Issue 1
UK to Offer Hands-on Wheat Field School The University of Kentucky Wheat Science Group will offer a series of hands-on trainings during this growing season as an in -depth educational opportunity for experienced wheat producers, crop advisers and farm managers. The first session of the Wheat Production Field School is March 8 at the UK Research and Education Center in Princeton. During the school, participants will learn how to
field-school-green-up-tickets-30864680089. Preregistration is required, as the class is limited to 30 people per training. Lunch is provided. Continuing education credits are available for Certified Crop Advisers and pesticide applicators for the March 8 session. Certified Crop Advisers can get credits in the following areas: 2.5 each in soil and
2016 UK wheat variety trials PHOTO: Matt Barton, UK Agricultural Communications identify and treat challenges that occur during the green-up period. Some of the topics UK College of Agriculture, Food and Environment specialists will discuss include how to assess freeze damage, the impact of ryegrass root depth on the productivity of certain soils and symptoms of herbicide injury due to tank contamination and application timing. The school costs $60 per session. To register for the March 8 session, visit https://www.eventbrite.com/e/wheat-
water and crop management and one in pest management. Pesticide applicators can receive three general and one specific hours in continuing education. The UK Wheat Science Group will host a second field school April 26 at UKREC that will cover issues prior to flowering and a third training in the fall about pre-planting decisions. More information on those two trainings will be available at later dates. The schools are funded in part by the Kentucky Small Grain Growers Association.
Page 8 Agricultural News
UK Snake ID Website Sheds Old Skin for New, More Informative One Love ‘em or hate ‘em, people are fascinated by snakes. The University of Kentucky’s updated snake ID website has enough information to satisfy just about any question a person could have concerning the slitherer cutting across their patio or field.
teachers and extension agents,” Price said. Though some people are concerned about running across dangerous snakes, Price said there are only four species of venomous snakes in the state, with only the copperhead widespread.
“The copperhead The new website, occurs almost updated by Steven throughout the Price, assistant entire state, except professor of they’re fairly rare stream and riparian throughout the ecology in the UK inner Bluegrass. Department of They appear to be Forestry, and most commonly Andrea Drayer, encountered in the UK forestry forested areas near research analyst, the Kentucky River highlights life palisades,” he said. histories, color Eastern milk snake “The other three—the patterns, physical cottonmouth, pigmy rattlesnake characteristics and PHOTO: Thinkstock.com and timber rattlesnake—are ecological roles of uncommon throughout most of the animal Price terms as “perhaps the most Kentucky.” maligned” in Kentucky. It provides the user with the information needed to identify One of the species most people will snakes they might encounter in their yards, encounter in their backyards is the eastern on their farms, or out and about in gartersnake, which, though harmless, will often release a pungent musk if handled— wetlands and rivers, woodlands and prairies. one of the many snake facts contained on Users can search for species by geographic the site. region as well as body characteristics such as head or body “We’re hoping that shape, color or people will use this pattern. The site website to learn brims with about snakes and photographs of the perhaps become different snake more positively species found in enthusiastic about Kentucky, as well as them,” Price said. information about The snake ID their habitat and website is http:// natural history. kysnakes.ca.uky.edu. “I’m hoping this will The Department of Forestry is part of the be widely used by general citizens UK College of Agriculture, Food and interested in snakes, as well as students, Environment.
Page 9 Volume 1, Issue 1
UK Helps Producer Renovate Hayfield When Anderson County livestock producer Mike Wilson bought a 60-acre hayfield in Franklin County, he knew he had a lot of work in front of him. The previous owners had let people cut hay for nearly 30 years without putting any nutrients back into the ground, which meant the existing grass stand was a mixture of Kentucky 31 tall fescue and weeds. As he worked on improving the ground’s nutrients, Wilson knew from attending a University of Kentucky grazing school that he also wanted to renovate his field with a novel endophyte tall fescue variety.
“UK has been a tremendous help for me in providing information and answering questions that I’ve had,” Wilson said. “Glen Aiken was also a big help. This spring, he was talking about pulling some samples from my grass and checking the alkaloid in it to see how it’s performing.” Wilson also applied and was accepted for a USDA Natural Resources Conservation Service cost-share program. The program helped offset the costs of renovating the existing grass stand into a novel endophyte tall fescue. Several years after he planted the novel endophyte variety, he’s seeing positive results.
Novel endophyte “I think my cows tall fescue are doing better varieties differ on it,” said from traditional Wilson, a cowKentucky 31 tall calf operator. “It fescue in that seems like they they do not maintain their Anderson County producer Mike Wilson contain the talks about his hayfield seeded in novel endo- weight better. endophyte that phyte tall fescue, which is in the background. They come out of causes fescue the winter with a toxicosis, a body condition PHOTO: Katie Pratt, UK Agricultural Com- score of 5 usually. potentially fatal munications disease affecting It seems like they many types of just hold their body condition better through the winter livestock, including cattle and horses. on this hay.” Wilson sought advice from UK College of Agriculture, Food and Environment forage Novel endophyte tall fescue varieties have extension specialist Ray Smith, Tommy been on the market for several years, but Yankey, Anderson County agriculture and have not been adopted by many Kentucky natural resources extension educator; and farmers. In the fall, producers will be able to Glen Aiken, director of the U.S. get seed from Lacefield MaxQ II, a UKDepartment of Agriculture’s Forage-Animal developed variety. Production Research Unit, which is housed (Continued on page 13) in the college.
Page 10 Agricultural News
Bees and Pesticides in the Garden I received an email from a backyard beekeeper asking how they can avoid problems to bees when using pesticides in the yard. Overwintering losses of honey bee colonies increased in 2006 and remain at unacceptable levels, but at the same time, there has been a huge increase in beekeeping by hobbyists. This article addresses a few steps which can be taken to minimize hazards to bee when using insecticides to manage other insect pests in the garden. There are two main potential ways that the bees could be harmed when you spray your trees, vegetables, flowers, and lawn in your yard. Avoid Spray Drift
The first is: bees can be harmed is through spray drift when the application moves toward and over the colonies themselves. Many of our documented bee kills with pesticides have been due to pesticide drift where bee colonies were located in proximity to areas been treated. So as a long term strategy, try to locate bee colonies in areas that are less likely to be treated with insecticides, or plant vegetation around them to serve as a buffer to reduce spray drift reaching the colonies. Avoid spraying pesticides on windy days, especially on days where the winds may carry spray drift in the direction of the colonies. Many pesticide labels provide guidance on avoiding spray drift. In addition, spraying after 6:00 pm or when the temperature is below 55˚F also helps because the foraging of bees is greatly reduced. Avoid Contaminating Bee Food & Water Supplies
The second main route to injuring honey bee colonies with pesticide sprays is: by contaminating their food or water supplies. As a general rule of thumb, you shouldn’t spray plants in bloom with an insecticide (in fact, many pesticide labels expressly prohibit
this) or in areas where pollinators are foraging. “Plants in bloom” covers more plants than just the ones you planted or may be interested in. This includes weeds that may be flowering. An example may be dandelions or flowering clover underfruit trees in the yard. The easiest way to deal with flowering weeds, is to mow or pull them before you spray. Bees need a constant source of water to survive; you must be very cautious to avoid contaminating these sources with pesticide sprays or other applications. Beekeepers may locate their watering stations for bees away from areas that are likely to be sprayed with pesticides. Figure 1. Dandelions and clovers are important food sources for honey bees and other pollinators. (Photo: Ric Bessin, UK) Limit Pesticide Use
The final way to limit damage to the bees, is to only spray if you need to and to use materials that are effective, but also least toxic among your choices. Pesticides are just one strategy to prevent pest damage and should only be used after we have exhausted cultural, physical, and biological control options. When pesticides are used, they need to be timed such that they are applied when most effective, which can reduce the number of applications, and when pests are at a level to warrant the need for control. Different insecticides vary widely in their toxicity to honey bees and other pollinators and there is often several different types to choose from to control a particular pest. Products containing Bt or Bacillus thuringiensis are among the insecticides least toxic to honey bees.
Page 11 Volume 1, Issue 1
Seeding Guide (Continued from page 3)
to one side if not correctly adjusted. Control Post-Seeding Competition. Clip or graze the existing vegetation to a height just above the developing seedlings. This must be done in a timely manner to ensure that the competing vegetation does not get ahead of the seedlings. For more information on frost seeding contact your local extension agent or visit Kentucky Forages at http://www.uky.edu/ Ag/Forage/. Stripe rust has been observed on wheat at a couple of locations in Louisiana last week and a location in Mississippi today. This seems to be several weeks earlier than normal for these locations, which is an indication that it might move into KY earlier than normal. I will put an article in Kentucky Pest News and the Grain Crop Update next week about the potential of stripe rust this year, but I wanted to put it on all of your radar first in case you have any questions come in from growers.
Alfalfa Medicago sativa
Clover, Alsike Trifolium hybridum
Clover, Red Trifolium pratense
Seeding Seeding Depth Rate/A (inches)
Seeding Date
15-20 lb 1/4-1/2
Primary: Mar 15 - May 1
4-6 lb
1/4
8-12 lb 1/4-1/2
Primary: Feb 1Apr 15 Primary: Feb 1Apr 15
Clover, Sweet 10-15 lb 1/4-1/2 Primary: Feb 1Melilotus spp Apr 1 Clover, White Trifolium repens
Fescue, Tall Festuca arundinacea
Orchardgrass Dactylis glomerata
1-3 lb
1/4
Primary: Feb 1Apr 15
15-25 lbs
1/4-1/2
Secondary: Feb 15- Apr 15
15-20 lb 1/4-1/2
Secondary: Feb 15- Apr 16
Ryegrass, PerPrimary: Feb 115-25lbs 1/4-1/2 ennial Lolium Apr 15 perenne
By: Dr. Chris Teutsch See AGR-18 for more information.
Page 12 Agricultural News
Environmental Quality Incentives Program (EQIP), The USDA-Natural Resources Conservation Service (NRCS) in Kentucky is encouraging landowners, farmers and producers to visit their local NRCS office now to receive information and apply for conservation technical assistance and possible financial funding opportunities. The application process for NRCS’s conservation programs is continuous, but funding selections for specific programs are
made throughout the year. For the Environmental Quality Incentives Program (EQIP), Kentucky will select and fund applications following three evaluation periods. The end of the first period is November 18, 2016. Applications received before this date that qualify for certain EQIP Initiatives will be considered for funding. Applications that do not meet the criteria for one of the Initiatives being
evaluated during the first period, as well as applications received after November 18, 2016, will be held until the next period, which will be January 20, 2017. A third period is scheduled for March 17, 2017. Any application not meeting the criteria for the EQIP Initiatives considered in the first and second periods or any application taken after January 20, 2017, will be considered during this third period. EQIP is a conservation program that
provides financial and technical assistance to farmers and ranchers who face threats to soil, water, air, and related natural
Page 13 Volume 1, Issue 1 resources on their land. Through EQIP, NRCS develops contracts with agricultural producers to voluntarily implement conservation practices. Persons engaged in livestock or agricultural production and owners of non-industrial private forestland are eligible for this program. Eligible land includes cropland, pastureland, private non-industrial forestland, and other farm or ranch lands. For more information about EQIP or the other programs offered by NRCS, visit NRCS on the web at www.ky.nrcs.usda.gov or contact your local NRCS service center at 502/3483363 Ext. 3.
(Continued from page 9)
To help more farmers learn how they can renovate their tall fescue fields with a novel endophyte variety, UK has partnered with the Alliance for Grassland Renewal to host a Tall Fescue Renovation Workshop March 9 at UK’s Veterinary Diagnostic Laboratory and Spindletop Research Farm. Wilson is among the producers scheduled to speak at the event. “Good management is essential, particularly with new varieties like Mike has,” Smith said. “Mike has excellent production. I feel great about a stand like the one he has. Mike has taken the effort to get it established, and he’s going to have it for many more years to come.” Smith has talked with farmers across Kentucky about the benefits of novel endophyte tall fescue varieties, and Yankey has encouraged other farmers in his county
like Buddy Smith to make the switch. Buddy Smith reseeded a field this past fall with a novel endophyte variety and is anxious to see the results. “Sometimes it’s hard for the farmer to get over the initial cost of the seed, but after they see the grazing and hay benefits and how well the livestock clean up the forage in the winter months, most have had no problem saying it was good investment,” Yankey said. “We think we are seeing increased gains on the novel endophyte fescues. We certainly know that our cattle are maintaining body condition well through the winter months feeding on novel endophyte varieties.” More information about the Tall Fescue Renovation Workshop is available on the UK forage extension website http:// www.uky.edu/Ag/Forage/.
Page 14 Agricultural News
Watch For Early Alfalfa Weevil Damage There was a resurgence of alfalfa weevil damage in some parts of Kentucky in 2016, so it is reasonable to be prepared for higher -than-normal feeding on the first cutting in 2017. In addition, the mild winter sets the stage for an earlier-than-normal appearance of this key pest occurring at first cutting. Insect Development
Alfalfa weevils fly to alfalfa fields in the fall and remain there over the winter. They are active only when air temperatures climb above 48oF. Usually, this means that females do not begin to lay eggs in live and dead alfalfa stems until spring. Our unseasonably warm winter should mean that many eggs were laid much earlier than normal. Consequently, tip-feeding by the larvae is likely to appear earlier, too. Not only can this catch alfalfa growers off-guard, but plants are smaller and more susceptible to damage by fewer weevils.
degrees F) have accumulated. The table below compares degree day accumulations from January 1 through February 20 for 2016 and 2017 at three locations in the state. In addition, the table shows the date in which 190 degree days had accumulated in 2016. The 2017 accumulation is well ahead of last year’s pace and continued high temperatures should push accumulations to 190 degree days by late this week. Field sampling is the most reliable way to assess the need for alfalfa weevil control (see Alfalfa Weevil Field Sampling Program, ENT FACT-127). The use of degree day accumulations, average alfalfa stem length, and numbers of weevil larvae on 30 stems collected randomly in the field allows accurate management decisions to be made. The 2017 accumulation is well ahead of last year’s pace and the continued high temperatures should push accumulations to 190 dd by late this week. By Lee Townsend, Extension Entomologist
Degree Day Accumulations as a Tool for Predicting Alfalfa Weevil Damage
Figure 1. Tip feeding by alfalfa weevils may appear early this season. (Photo: Lee Townsend, UK) Characteristic tip-feeding damage (Figure 1) from spring-laid eggs can be expected when 190 degree days (base temperature 48
Page 15 Volume 1, Issue 1
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