Extension
It Starts With Us
Author: Michelle Simon
Major Program: Beef
Boone County Extension ANR Agent partnered with UK Extension Ruminant Veterinarian, Dr. Michelle Arnold, to stress the importance of preventative health management in cattle to Boone County cattle producers. Within the last four years anaplasmosis and Bovine Viral Diarrhea (BVD) have become more prominent in northern Kentucky and increased the need for producers to vaccinate cattle to protect against infections and loss of profit. A program was held in September to allow ample time for producers
Author: Levi Berg
Major Program: Beef
Henry County, like many other former tobacco dependent counties, has had a renewed push towards beef production. According to the 2012 Census of Agriculture, Henry County has nearly $1,000,000 in beef animal sales yearly, so the Henry County Extension Office joined with the Oldham County Extension Office, Shelby County Extension Office, and Trimble County Extension Office to host the 2018 Regional Beef Field Day. The 2018 Regional Beef Field Day was held at Allison Acres Charolais in New Castle,
Author: Samantha Saunders
Major Program: Beef
On October 1, 2018, we held a beef field day at a local beef producer's farm. The event was put on by the Robertson County Beef Association and Cooperative Extension Services. Field Days in this community are critical to the farmers who are interested in implementing new and innovating practices into their operation. This field day in particular focused on beef cattle and the different aspects of reproduction. Since Robertson County was primarily a tobacco dependent county, farmers have had
Author: Kevin Perkins
Major Program: Beef
Trimble County, like many other former tobacco dependent counties, has had a renewed push towards beef production. According to the 2012 Census of Agriculture, Trimble County has nearly $800,000 in beef animal sales yearly, so the Henry County Extension Office joined with the Oldham County Extension Office, Shelby County Extension Office, and Trimble County Extension Office to host the 2018 Regional Beef Field Day. The 2018 Regional Beef Field Day was held at Allison Acres Charola
Author: Nick Roy
Major Program: Beef
The UK Beef IRM Farm Program is a collaborative effort between UK Extension Agents and beef Specialists in the UK CAFE designed to increase the use of production practices that favor high reproductive rates in the cow herd. This program is delivered through on-farm learning to demonstrate the benefits of implementing these production practices.Adair County beef producer Mr. Lee Graves has been a part of the program since early spring 2017. Before enrolling in the program, the calving season was
Author: Philip Konopka
Major Program: Beef
The Lewis County Agriculture & Natural Resources agent approached the Lewis County Cattlemen’s Association and Rip’s Farm Center with the thought of teaching farmers the proper way to build and utilize electric fence. The three organizations worked in collaboration to set up a hands-on demonstration field day. The demonstration was set up on the George Sparks farm. The ANR agent coordinated with a local fence builder and set post, advertised the event, and worked with Rip&rs
Author: Heather Graham
Major Program: Beef
After talking with local beef producers, it was determined there was a need for a class on cattle diseases. The ANR agent contacted Phil Prater, DVM at Morehead State University about conducting a class, he agreed. He put together a presentation entitled "You Make the Call: Cattle Diseases Common to Everyday Farming." The class was held in conjunction with a Mountain Cattlemen Meeting. Dr. Prater showed a series of pictures depicting various, common, cattle diseases. While there were s
Author: Christopher Schalk
Major Program: Beef
Barren County is known as a cattle county. Barren County leads KY in both beef and dairy production. The producers in Barren County range from full time farmers to part time farmers to folks new to farming due to retirement and returning to the family farm. This is the case with Mr. Dennis. Mr. Dennis reached out to the Barren County Ag Agent to help him get a small commercial beef operation up and running after he returned to the family farm. Mr. Dennis returned to find the forage and infrastru
Author: Corinne Belton
Major Program: Beef
Educating local beef producers is a high priority in Shelby County. According to the 2012 Census of Agriculture, Shelby County has nearly $15 million in beef animal sales yearly, emphasizing the need for beef producers to take herd management and breeding decisions seriously. Field days serve to educate cattlemen regarding important production principles while demonstrating practices in a practical, on-farm setting. With these facts in mind, Agriculture Extension agents in Oldham,
Author: Brandon Sears
Major Program: Beef
Madison County currently has an agriculture economy that is largely based on beef cattle production. Approximately 86% of current farm gate receipts are from livestock sales. This is a drastic change from twenty years ago when Madison County ranked third in the state for burley tobacco production and the agriculture economy was based on tobacco.Madison County Extension has provided research based information to agriculture producers as they transitioned from tobacco farming to livestock operatio
Author: Ted Johnson
Major Program: Beef
Lee County Kentucky has a beef herd mainly of cow calf production of around 3500 mother cows. Over the past few years I have noticed that many producers where reporting very little or no producers where using a year round mineral program, surveys were also conducted to prove this. I worked with one of the University of Kentucky beef specialist Dr. Jeff Lehmkuhler in developing a beef mineral program for many of the Lee County beef producers. We developed a hands on mineral program where many far
Author: Traci Johnson
Major Program: Beef
Educational programs that strengthen agriculture production skills are a continued priority identified by the Oldham County Extension and Agriculture Councils. In Oldham County, pasture makes up one-third of available farmland and provides grazing for livestock. Livestock are important to Oldham County’s economy, with cattle alone representing over 2.4 million dollars in sales in 2012, according to the last Census of Agriculture. Cattle numbers have remained steady since
Author: Leann Martin
Major Program: Beef
Responsibility and commitment, animal science knowledge, record keeping, marketing, and leadership are all key components of a successful livestock operation. To help students gain a better understanding of each of these skills, the Logan County Cooperative Extension Service in partnership with the Logan County Cattlemen’s Association and Logan County Hog Committee, sponsored the 2018 4-H & FFA Youth Market Steer/Heifer Show, Sale, and Carcass Contest and the 2018 Logan County Youth Te
Author: Whitney Carman
Major Program: Beef
The Beef Integrated Reproduction Management Program developed by the University of Kentucky Beef Extension Specialists has spread throughout the Commonwealth to include counties in the central and western part of the state. The goal of the program was to develop a more controlled calving season, to incorporate better record keeping, increase weaning weights by better genetic selection, and to educate farmers on increased efficiency and profitability by using these techniques.Three Grayson County
Author: Samantha Anderson
Major Program: Beef
The Kentucky Cattlemen’s Association reports that the Commonwealth is home to 38,000 cattle farms with an average herd size of 27 head. The majority of these farms are family owned. In cooperation with University of Kentucky Extension Associate Professor, Forage Specialist, Dr. Chris Teutsch, and Graves County producer Mary Ann Ellison, the Graves County Agent for Agriculture and Natural Resources Education hosted an educational Pasture Walk.Producer Mary Ann Ellison provided an introducti
Author: Andy Mills
Major Program: Beef
Meade County's most commonly raise agriculture product is beef. Most full time and part time farmers own beef cattle and rely on cattle as a source of income. Beef cattle management is a big part of the educational programming through the Extension Service. Every 2 years the Meade County Agriculture and Natural Resource agent collaborates with the Meade County Cattlemen's Association to plan and implement an evening Beef Field Day. Four different tour stops were planned
Author: Clay Stamm
Major Program: Beef
During the late spring of 2018 the Clark County Ag Advisory Council met to discuss past meetings, new membership, and upcoming ANR programing for the year. It was during this meeting that members of the council had the idea to restructure the way annual Clark County Extension Summer Field Day would be conducted. In this brainstorming process it was decided that instead of an all day Saturday program, the field day would be broken up into smaller evening meetings and would be given the name &ldqu
Author: Kevin Perkins
Major Program: Beef
The 7th annual Ag Day in the Park is a Farm Bureau organized event that the Trimble County Extension is glad to be a sponsor and participant of. This event allows all the fourth graders (96) in Trimble County to come to the park and learn about agriculture. Area educators set up 13 stations and have 15 minute sessions to speak on the topic of their expertise. Extension has been involved from the start and has changed the lessons every few years. This year Agriculture and Natural resources and 4-
Author: Glen Roberts
Major Program: Beef
Group Purchasing Beef IRM mineralby Glen RobertsMajor Program: BeefCollaborators: UK Beef IRM Nutrition Specialists, KY Farm Bureau Federation, Wayne County Farm Bureau Federation, ANR Agent Glen Roberts, KSU Small Farm Assistant, and Wayne County Cattlemen`s Association mineral committeeSituation: After attending Master Cattlemen and other beef nutrition educational sessions taught by University of KY Beef nutrition specialists Wayne County Cattlemen became aware of the need to purcha
Author: Eric Baker
Major Program: Beef
KDA beef marketing specialist Tim Dietrich discusses grading feeder cattle at the Estill County Extension office.With lower cattle market prices, many producers are looking for ways to capture any premium for their calves. Along with more efficient production information, cattle producers inquire about marketing strategies and how their calves are graded using the USDA feeder calf grading system. In response, the Estill County Extension agent for agriculture and natural resources collaborated wi
Author: Steven Musen
Major Program: Beef
With over 36,000 acres of pastureland and close proximity to several stockyards, USDA slaughter facilities and urban direct-marketing opportunities through specialty grocery outlets and farmers’ markets, Jessamine County is uniquely positioned to expand and enhance its already strong beef cattle industry. According to the USDA Census of Agriculture, Jessamine County has 238 farms producing beef cattle with a total of 15,570 cattle and calves sold with a total value of over $15 million each
Author: Keenan Bishop
Major Program: Beef
ANR agents and Beef Specialist together plan the annual KY Beef Conference held in Lexington at the Fayette County Extension Office. The conference is sponsored by 14 vendors, many of which have display or informational booths. The theme is centered on economics and used as a tool for making production decisions in the upcoming year. Speakers range from UK Specialists to nationally known authorities (CattleFax, NCBA).On the first clear dry day in weeks over 100 beef producers attended from
Author: Daniel Allen
Major Program: Beef
According to University of Kentucky publication ID-188 winter feeding of cattle on unfrozen ground almost always leads to mud. Combined with feces and urine deposited around hay rings or feeding areas, it can result in an area of concentrated pollutants that post a threat to nearby water resources. The net result is pollutants to streams and loss of grazing area and weed infestation from bare areas in the spring or summer. Kenton County’s rolling terrain creates an opportunity for th
Author: Adam Barnes
Major Program: Beef
A simple tool The beef industry is one of the most important parts of Livingston counties’ farm income. The beef industry encompasses both full- time and part -time farm operations in Livingston County. It would be fair to say that most of our counties beef operations are 30 to 60 cow calf operations. Most are beef producers operate their family’s 100 to 200 acre farm and hold another job, so most of the work occurs after normal w
Author: David Appelman
Major Program: Beef
Demonstration leads to InstallationAfter last winter, mud control was a major concern for many area beef producers going into the 2018 – 2019 winter feeding season. Many producers have tried various options to help with winter feeding, but often fall short due to improper design or incorrect installation of the practices.One group of cattle producers from Bracken County attended the fall Open House at the Eden Shale farm hosted by the KY Beef Network. This group had a
Author: Tad Campbell
Major Program: Beef
With cattle profits tightening over the last couple of years for feeder calves, producers are looking for ways to maximize profits for cattle operations. The University of Kentucky Beef Specialist and Beef IRM Coordinator hosted multiple fence-line weaning demonstrations across the state. The demonstrations were organized to allow nose to nose contact with cows and calves during the initial weaning time and also input cost was evaluated in layouts of the demonstrations. Mason C
Author: Gary Hamilton
Major Program: Beef
The Beef Cattle industry and the forage production that supports it play a major role in Montgomery County’s agricultural economy. Supporting this industry with educational programing, beef promotional events, social fundraising events and interactive producer tours are the 183 members of the Montgomery County Cattlemen’s Association. Educational sessions have included updates from Governor’s Office of Ag Policy, income tax law updates, cattle market updates, updates on USDA pr
Author: Christopher Schalk
Major Program: Beef
South Central Kentucky is center of the beef production in Kentucky. Barren County is the largest beef producing county in Kentucky, and the largest beef producing county east of the Mississippi River. The influx of beef genetic improvement cost share dollars, funded by the County Agriculture Improvement Program, has drawn must attention to educating producers on making the best bull buying decisions for their individual operations. Barren County Extension cooperated with the
Author: Corinne Belton
Major Program: Beef
Educating local beef producers is a high priority in Shelby and Henry Counties. According to the 2012 Census of Agriculture, total beef animal sales yearly in the combined counties totals nearly $25 million, emphasizing the need for beef producers to take herd management and marketing decisions seriously. Increasing consumer demand for locally sourced protein and Shelby and Henry Counties’ proximity to urban markets in Louisville and Frankfort, provide incent
Author: Levi Berg
Major Program: Beef
Educating local beef producers is a high priority in Shelby and Henry Counties. According to the 2012 Census of Agriculture, total beef animal sales yearly in the combined counties totals nearly $25 million, emphasizing the need for beef producers to take herd management and marketing decisions seriously. Increasing consumer demand for locally sourced protein and Shelby and Henry Counties’ proximity to urban markets in Louisville and Frankfort, provide incentives for producers t
Author: Bryce Roberts
Major Program: Beef
Educating local beef producers is a high priority in Spencer County. According to the 2012 Census of Agriculture, total beef animal sales yearly in the combined counties totals nearly $25 million, emphasizing the need for beef producers to take herd management and marketing decisions seriously. Increasing consumer demand for locally sourced protein and Spencer County’s proximity to urban markets in Louisville, provide incentives for producers to seek out new ways to add value to thei
Author: Jeremy Williams
Major Program: Beef
Cattle numbers may be small in Harlan County but producers still need educational opportunities to improve their herds. Therefore, the Harlan County Cooperative Extension Service joined efforts with Knox and Bell Counties in Kentucky, three counties in Virginia and three counties in Tennessee to create the Cumberland Gap Cattle Conference. The fourth annual Cumberland Gap Cattle Conference brought together specialists from the University of Kentucky, Virginia Tech, University of Tenn
Author: Curtis Dame
Major Program: Beef
Feed is the number one cost associated with producing beef cattle. Therefore; forage management is a key component to reducing that cost. This agent and Darrell Simpson, Extension Agent for Agriculture and Natural Resources in Muhlenberg County hosted a farm tour in September 2018 on local producer's farm located in White Plains, Kentucky. Thirteen producers participated in the evening tour and gained information regarding the body condition scores of cows, brood cow management, utilizing ha
Author: Chris Ammerman
Major Program: Beef
Cattle producers take principles and practices taught in extension workshops and make application on the farm. Comprehension and application of those changes impact the prices they receive for their products. A drastic disparity has developed as producers have made application of practices without understanding implications on their commodity. An effort to draw market correlations was developed and implemented by the Extension Agent for Agriculture in Grant Counties. The agent
Author: Dee Heimgartner
Major Program: Beef
Crittenden County has 15% of total farmland being used for pasture and 30% of market value of products sold is from livestock sales according to 2017 Census Of Agriculture. The need for educational programming for beef producers spurred Crittenden County ANR Agent to host several meetings geared to the livestock industry.Small meeting with neighbors and fellow cattle producers can result in partnerships and knowledge sharing. That is what Crittenden County ANR Agent Dee Heimgartner planned on wh
Author: Joanna Coles
Major Program: Beef
Simpson, Allen, Warren, and Logan counties hosted the Master Cattlemen Program. Beef cattle operations are economic drivers for local farms and communities with just shy of 60,000 beef cattle represented in this area. The goal of the Master Cattlemen Program is to increase the overall profitability of beef producers through the intensive educational training. One year follow up evaluations indicated that many of the participants have implemented practice changes as a direct result of the in
Author: Jason Phillips
Major Program: Beef
Simpson, Allen, Warren, and Logan counties hosted the Master Cattlemen Program. Beef cattle operations are economic drivers for local farms and communities with just shy of 60,000 beef cattle represented in this area. The goal of the Master Cattlemen Program is to increase the overall profitability of beef producers through the highly intensive educational training.One-year follow up evaluations indicated that many of the participants have implemented practice changes as a direct result of the i
Author: Leann Martin
Major Program: Beef
Simpson, Allen, Warren, and Logan counties hosted the Master Cattlemen Program. Beef cattle operations are economic drivers for local farms and communities with just shy of 60,000 beef cattle represented in this area. The goal of the Master Cattlemen Program is to increase the overall profitability of beef producers through the highly intensive educational training.One year follow up evaluations indicated that many of the participants have implemented practice changes as a direct result of the i
Author: Robert Kirby
Major Program: Beef
On October 19, 2018 a meeting was scheduled for the cattleman in Knox County to reactivate the Knox County Cattleman's Association. Since that time six monthly meetings have taken place with an average attendance of 35 and an educational program has been provided at each meeting. Since the first meeting, through a verbal evaluation 95% of the members have stated they have used information to make them more successful and profitable. As of this April meeting 50 members have paid membership to
Author: Jessica Barnes
Major Program: Beef
The beef industry hit an all-time high a few years ago and many producers purchased breeding stock that was very high priced. Now that the market has fallen since then many of the same producers are struggling to make these expensive cows pay for themselves. Calf prices are struggling, making the cow-calf market a tough one to be a part of. Seeing some of my producers struggle and try to find ways to better manage their operations and cattle herd, I was able to get some of them invol
Author: Gregory Drake
Major Program: Beef
Livestock Production is a major enterprise in Butler County’s agriculture. The Butler County Stockman’s Association is a group of livestock producers that support our county’s livestock industry. They sponsor educational programs, support youth livestock events, provide a scholarship, and conduct a breeding stock consignment sale each year. During the fall of 2018 they held a beef cattle field day. The agriculture agent helped facilitate the program. &nb
Author: Keenan Bishop
Major Program: Beef
Kendal Bowman, Owen County ANR, was approached by a local producer who had to dispose of most of their cattle herd during an illness last year and had several hundred round bales of hay no longer needed. She wanted to help Nebraska farmers affected by record flooding. This one act grew into a statewide collection effort.A staging area was secured for central Kentucky and the drive collected hay, fencing materials and other needed supplies from Kentucky farmers across the state. A local church or
Author: Corinne Belton
Major Program: Beef
Shelby County, like many other formerly tobacco-dependent counties, has seen an emphasis on quality beef production since the tobacco buyout. According to the 2017 Census of Agriculture, Shelby County has just over $15 million in beef animal sales yearly, emphasizing the need for beef producers to take herd management and breeding decisions seriously.Tobacco settlement funds have been used extensively throughout the state to support the purchase of quality bulls and females in order to increase
Author: Jerry Little
Major Program: Beef
The ANR agent along with a U.K.Beef cattle specialist is working with a Boyle county beef producer to help him set up a management program for his small herd. We held two meetings with the producer to explain the IRM(integrated resource management) program and what is involved with his participation. The producer has never vaccinated, dewormed or had a defined calving season in the past. We have pregnancy checked the cows and done a vaccination program and worked with him with a date on pulling
Author: Paul Sizemore
Major Program: Beef
Much of the Hay produced in the area is stored outside resulting in a great deal of waste, low nutrient levels and low digestibility. This can lead to many issues in the herd when the winter weather comes barreling in. To address the need for improved forage quality and to increase farmer understanding of the economics of hay production a four night series titled “East Kentucky Hay School” held by the agents in Owsley, Lee, Wolfe and Breathitt Counties and a group of specialists from
Author: Samuel Cofield
Major Program: Beef
The Trigg County Cooperative Extension Service in Cooperation with the Trigg County Cattlemen's Association partnered to help livestock producers better manage their herds and meet their individual goals. One way we help producers is through our IRM mineral program. Three times each year the ANR agent in cooperation with a committee of Cattlemen’s members collects bids from local feed suppliers on free choice minerals formulated per the UK IRM specs. The best prices a
Author: Myron Evans
Major Program: Beef
The Northeast Area Livestock Associate Boasts 120 Members 2 consecutive years.The Northeast Ares Livestock Association has saw a double in membership as well as in activities offered over the past decade and is now the 3rd largest in East Ky. The associate meets 4-5 times each year and almost always has a meal. Activities include two group mineral orders a year which meets all UK Beef IRM Mineral Requirements. 70,000 lbs. are ordered annually at a reduced price which is bid on by local vendors r
Author: Tommy Yankey
Major Program: Beef
Due to low quality forages being harvested last fall cattle herds came through the winter in extremely thin Body Condition. In order for cattle to maintain a yearly production cycle, they must breed back within 80-85 days after calving. Body Condition Scoring is an effective management tool to estimate the energy reserves of a cow. Many factors influence the postpartum interval but body condition score of the cow at the time of calving has the greatest impact on subsequent rebr
Author: Robert Kirby
Major Program: Beef
Seeing a need for more education for cattle farmers in the tri-state region agents from Harlan, Bell and Knox Counties, Kentucky; Lee, Wise, and Scott Counties, VA; and Claiborne and Hancock Counties, TN held the fourth annual Cumberland Gap Cattle Conference.The goal was to address the needs and to update cattle farmers on new federal regulation changes as well as topics of body conditioning and scoring, minerals, disease prevention and management. Of those in attendance, 40 evaluations we
Author: Tommy Yankey
Major Program: Beef
Rough hair coat has long been associated with Tall Fescue toxicosis, a condition in cattle that consume endophyte infected tall fescue. This fungus produces toxins that decrease production and make rough hair coats in cattle that consume infected fescue. All cattle tend to get rougher hair coats in late winter, but ny April to early May, hair coats should have slacked off. Cattle that are well suited to their environment suffer less stress. One of the greatest environment
Author: Clay Stamm
Major Program: Beef
After five years of serving as a Cooperative Extension Agent in two counties I couldn’t help but notice the trend of farmers networking heavily after various extension educational meetings. I would eves drop, and even get in on some of these producer conversations and began to realize that just as much learning was taking place during these peer-to-peer informal conversations than did in the actual planned educational events of the regularly scheduled meeting. As I gave this further
Author: Gary Hamilton
Major Program: Beef
Livestock Producers faced some very difficult production issues during the 2018-19 season due to record rainfall and the conditions created by it. As a result record numbers of cows and calves died during the winter feeding and spring calving period. Many factors lead to this unanticipated outcome. The major factors included poor quality hay production, poor quality pasture and excessive energy demands on livestock due to continuous wet hair coats and muddy conditions. In an effort to address th
Author: Robert Smith
Major Program: Beef
Beef production continues to grow in our county and our educational outreach grows alongside. The 2017 Ag Census indicated that our numbers of beef cattle remain around 45,000, which is equal to our human population. In 2018-19 we continued some programs intended to help improve forages on the farm. I felt that knowing the forage quality on the farm is important enough that I began an on-farm sample effort. This involves me going to the farm, pulling the samples for the f
Author: Daniel Carpenter
Major Program: Beef
Local cattlemen's association programs held this year included: Livestock risk protection and options, High Moisture Hay and Baleage, Mineral Requirements, Cattle Marketing Options, Beef Cuts and Healthy Recipes, Pre Conditioning and Backgrounding Calves. 88% said they attend local cattlemen's events to lean more about the cattle industry. 93% said that attending cattlemens meetings at the extension office have helped improve efficiency in their farming operations, and topics
Author: Jay Hettmansperger
Major Program: Beef
The beef cattle market prices have been fluctuating and declining over the past year making profits hard to come by. Garrard County beef producers have been using value added sales such as CPH-45 to increase their profits over just taking the cattle to traditional markets. The 6 producers that marketed through the CPH-45 sale have reported an increase in prices due to following the value added protocols used in the CPH-45 program. The program calls for the farmer to follow vaccinatio
Author: Nicholas Carter
Major Program: Beef
Over the past 18 years the Kentucky Beef Conference has been held at the Fayette County Extension Office. It has been planned mainly by Agriculture Agents from District 4 Extension Area with a few from other Districts along with Beef Cattle and Economic Specialist from the University of Kentucky College of Agriculture. This regional program has mainly focused on marketing overviews and looking at long term trends of the industry. With the support of several long time Business Community Sponsors
Author: Nicholas Carter
Major Program: Beef
Fayette and Scott County ANR Agents partnered to cover the needs of the Bourbon County Elite Heifer Sale in the absence of an ANR agent. Prior to the sale, agents divided and conquered to have a presence at the heifer screenings with Tim Dietrich, KDA marketing specialist, to ensure that heifers were bred, identified as natural- bred or artificially inseminated, tagged correctly, met pelvic size measurements, and were high enough quality to be consigned in the sale. Agents also met with the cons
Author: Colby Guffey
Major Program: Beef
We often hear of the United States population being generations removed from agriculture. Even in rural Clinton County, young people are growing up with a great disconnect between themselves and where their food comes from. The Clinton County Extension Service hosted a Beef Day for 145 third grade students at Albany Elementary. The ANR Agent spoke to the group early in the day on beef cattle farming and included a discussion on beef production and how cattle are bought and sold at the local live
Author: Colby Guffey
Major Program: Beef
The Clinton and Cumberland County Extension services partnered to host a series of Beef cow/calf related meetings in the winter of 2019. A total of six sessions were conducted utilizing UK beef, forage and Ag engineering specialists. The educational session topics were on utilizing co-product feeds to stretch the hay supply, cattle handling/bud box systems, vaccination protocols and pinkeye prevention, record keeping systems and technology, pasture renovation following a wet winter,
Author: David Appelman
Major Program: Beef
Winter weather conditions have become much wetter in recent years resulting in extremely muddy, and stressful situations for beef cattle. Not only are farmers dealing with illness, lost production and even death loss, but pastures are being destroyed and are left unproductive and weed infested during the summer. The loss of grass stands and increased mud also results in runoff and pollution of waterways. Through a grant provided by the On Farm Water Management Pr
Author: Don Sorrell
Major Program: Beef
2018 a Year of Rain and Challenges As an Agriculture agent you often need to react to the challenges that the local farmers are facing at that very moment. Unfortunately these challenges are often the results of weather events (that we have no control over) such as drought, storms or in the case of the spring of 2018 and the winter of 2018/2019, TO MUCH RAIN. The impact of what most farmers would consider too much rain resulted in poor quality hay in 2018 and mud beyond belief for liv
Author: Tommy Yankey
Major Program: Beef
From birth until weaning, calves undergo rapid hindgut microbial development as they transition from a predominately milk diet to grazing. The fermentation that occurs in the hindgut of calves is essential for diet nutrient utilization and growth performance as well as defense against pathogenic gastro-intestinal disease (ex. scours). Little is currently known about beef microbial development and no studies have been previously conducted looking at different management systems on far
Author: Jason Phillips
Major Program: Beef
Black vulture predation has become an increasing problem in Kentucky for cattle producers and other small ruminant producers. Each year, Kentucky farmers lose around $300,000 to $500,000 worth of livestock to these native vultures, according to Joe Cain, Commodity Division Director for the Kentucky Farm Bureau.There have been many reported and several documented cases of black vultures killing newborn calves. Black vultures are protected through the Migratory Bird Act
Author: Daniel Allen
Major Program: Beef
There seems to be interest in buying and investing in small farm operations for post-retirement incomes of baby boomers. These small farm operators have time constraints which means that these projects take longer to complete because they are typically still working off the farm. A working professional couple here in Kenton County began pursuing a small farm operation and bought a farm to establish a small cattle farm. They began working with Kenton County Agriculture and Natural Res
Author: Samantha Anderson
Major Program: Beef
While the Purchase area is typically noted for excellence in row crop production, the livestock industry still plays a vital role in the farm portfolio. In Graves County, cattle and calves accounted for 7,462 ($1000) in sales according to the 2017 Census of Agriculture. Extension Agent for Agriculture and Natural Resources, Samantha Anderson, worked in partnership with the Purchase Area Cattlemen’s Associations to lead a summer tour throughout the Bluegrass Region.Purchase Area Cattlemen&r
Author: Douglas Shepherd
Major Program: Beef
Bovine Viral Diarrhea Persistently Infected (BVD-PI) is major cattle disease nationally with major economic impact on the feedlot and stocker segments of the industry. Due to our beef retained ownership program with Iowa, and our experience with this disease in that program; the KY Dept of Agriculture State Veterinarian Office asked the agent and a local producer to be involved in developing a BVD-PI statewide testing program. Several initial meetings have been held and a national te
Author: Douglas Shepherd
Major Program: Beef
One of our UK Beef IRM Farm Program participants was interested in using sexed-semen in his beef herd AI program. Dr. Les Anderson was wanting to do some research involving this new technology on the farm with producers that retained ownership of their cattle, so comparisons could be made throughout the animal's meat production. Initial breeding began over Thanksgiving weekend in a forty cow herd. Cows have now been pregnancy check, calves born will be enrolled in our beef
Author: Brandon Sears
Major Program: Beef
Madison County is the second largest beef cattle producing county in the state of KY with approximately 71,000 head. Proper management of reproduction in cattle contributes to increased productivity and profitability on the farm. Since early 2015 the UK Beef Integrated Reproductive Management (IRM) team and Madison County ANR agent have worked with a Madison County beef producer to increase reproductive efficiency in their herd. UK Extension Beef Specialists and the Madison County ANR agent
Author: Victor Williams
Major Program: Beef
After the Master Tobacco Settlement, many tobacco farmers diversified into beef cattle or increased their herd size. County Agriculture Investment Programs (CAIP) have helped producers purchase bulls and heifers through cost share arrangements. Much work has been done on heifer development; however work on bull selection has lagged. Navigating Expected Progeny Differences (EPDs) is difficult and producers usually choose to purchase through visual appraisal alone. A bull will p
Author: Victor Williams
Major Program: Beef
Kentucky has a beef cattle population of over 1 million head, ranks 3rd in the nation in cattle density and has a financial worth of an estimated $1.5 billion. A survey of Kentucky cattle producers showed that over 75% of farms with less than 25 head do not have a controlled calving season. In eastern Kentucky most farms are small and around 90% of them have extended calving windows. The Beef Integrated Reproduction Management program focuses on producer education and on farm d
Author: Linda McClanahan
Major Program: Beef
The Mercer County Agriculture Advisory Council continues to place a high priority on beef programming and work that helps producers incorporate best management practices to improve profitability. According to the 2017 Census of Agriculture, of the 1108 farms in Mercer County 619 have cattle. In addition, almost 75% of farm income is from livestock sales. Due to economic importance of cattle production in this area a number of educational programs were held throughout the year t
Author: Tad Campbell
Major Program: Beef
The Cooperative Extension Service is structured to utilize research based information and concepts by state specialists and incorporating the research for practical local on-farm efficiency. Adding efficiencies to farming operations during times of low economical gains provides operations the opportunity to continue to strive towards financial independence. Working with state agriculture engineering specialist, three different producers developed facilities to make farm operations mo
Author: Sarah Fannin
Major Program: Beef
The Morgan County Extension Educational Farm was purchased by the Extension District Board with the vision of providing learning opportunities for Morgan County residents in their own backyard. Planned in conjunction with the County Extension Council Field Day committee, agents and staff hosted the third bi-annual evening event with more than 70 folks in attendance. Featured were on farm projects including the Cow/Calf Management Series, Basics of Curing Country Hams, Growing Hemp, Beginning Bee
Author: Patrick Hardesty
Major Program: Beef
The Taylor County Cattlemen’s Association and Taylor County Extension Service provides educational beef production and management topics for beef producers to enhance their profitability. Topics included cow-calf profitability, bale grazing, nutrition, mineral supplementation and fly control.In the cow-calf profitability session, the discussion led into how to move from year round calving to a planned breeding season. In the fly control session, a fly gun was demonstrated as a
Author: Patrick Hardesty
Major Program: Beef
With approximately 12,000 cows in Taylor County, a Backgrounding Shortcourse was developed in cooperation with Adair and Green County Extension Service. Approximately 24 producers participated with a 90 average head backgrounded. Participants gained knowledge in nutrition, health and marketing. On a scale of 1-10 with 10 being highest, participants rated factors affecting profitability an eight where they learned to use futures for targeting a profit per head. Approximate
Author: James Morgeson
Major Program: Beef
Washington County's portion of the 2018 Tobacco Settlement funds was $205,500. The local Agriculture Development Board voted to use $153,000 for the local CAIP program and $52,500 for the Next Generation Farmer Program. Each program was facilitated by the Washington County Cattlemen's Group and was a 50/50 cost share. Farmers participating in the CAIP program spent $3000 and received $1500 while those in the Next Generation Program spent $5000 and received $2500.
Author: Jeffrey Casada
Major Program: Beef
After the Master Tobacco Settlement, many tobacco farmers diversified into beef cattle or increased their herd size. County Agriculture Investment Programs (CAIP) have helped producers purchase bulls and heifers through cost share arrangements. Much work has been done on heifer development; however work on bull selection has lagged. Navigating Expected Progeny Differences (EPDs) is difficult and producers usually choose to purchase through visual appraisal alone. A bull will pr
Author: Sarah Fannin
Major Program: Beef
2018 was Kentucky’s wettest year on record causing livestock producers to deal with excessive and unprecedented mud, poor quality hay, ruined pastures, scours, poor nutrition and calving issues. Local veterinarians reported high cattle loss numbers especially among marginal cows and weak calves. Utilizing resources developed by UK Extension Beef Specialists, a series of meetings was developed for local producers to not only understand and combat this issue, but also how to prepare for cont
Author: Gregory Comer
Major Program: Beef
The 2016 National Beef Quality Assurance Audit, showed that food safety and how/where cattle are raised are two of the top five concerns of beef consumers. By committing to the “Kentucky Beef Quality Care & Assurance (BQCA)” Program, Ohio County beef producers are implementing the national BQA practices , as well as, adding cattle handling and care components to their beef management skills. In the last three years, over 120 beef produ
Author: Brian Jeffiers
Major Program: Beef
The key to building a healthy and profitable beef herd is to build a strong forage program. When one local farm family sought help from Extension in improving their herd's health and productivity, their hay was a key starting point. The county extension agent collected samples of the various hay stockpiles on the farm and submitted them to the Kentucky Department of Agriculture's forage testing facility. The results revealed deficiencies in protein that the family was not adequately comp
Author: Andy Mills
Major Program: Beef
Meade County's most commonly raise agriculture product is beef. Most full time and part time farmers own beef cattle and rely on cattle as a source of income. Beef cattle management is a big part of the educational programming through the Extension Service. Every 2 years the Meade County Agriculture and Natural Resource agent collaborates with the Meade County Cattlemen's Association to plan and implement an evening Beef Field Day. Four different tour stops were planned
Author: Jeffrey Lehmkuhler
Major Program: Beef
Estill and Clark county agents received requests from clientele for a program related to backgrounding and stockering beef calves. Specialists assisted with developing and delivering materials related to animal health, forages, facilities, minimizing environmental impacts on production, nutrition and marketing. A total of six meetings that were 2-3 hours in length were held to provide educational trainings for clientele. Approximately 10 producers participated in the program ga
Author: Jeffrey Lehmkuhler
Major Program: Beef
The Kentucky Beef Efficiency conference continues to draw producers from across the Commonwealth. The conference was held in conjunction with the KCA convention again this year. The program lasted 3 ½ hours delivering information on heifer development and integrating cattle and cropping systems. Speakers this year were from Nebraska, Kansas and Texas representing some of the country’s most knowledgeable experts in their areas.The conference room was setup to acco
Author: Eric Baker
Major Program: Beef
Kentucky has the largest beef cow herd east of the Mississippi and the eighth largest nationally, with approximately 1 million beef cows. Beef cattle provide our primary means of converting Kentucky's 7 million acres of pasture and forage into useful products.In Estill County, there are several young cattlemen that are grazing stocker cattle in partnership with a cattle buyer in another county. These cattlemen have requested educational sessions on stocker cattle production and marketi
Author: Kevin Bullock
Major Program: Beef
The Bull Value Assessment Program is a new program designed to assist farmers in determining what bull is right for their needs and what is an economical price to pay for the bull. In addition, the producers were exposed to a mock auction that simulated the real experience without them risking their own money to practice a real-world situation. This program was conducted in five locations across the state and required a commitment of two evenings from the participants. The first evening session
Author: David Coffey
Major Program: Beef
After the Master Tobacco Settlement, many tobacco farmers diversified into beef cattle or increased their herd size. County Agriculture Investment Programs (CAIP) have helped producers purchase bulls and heifers through cost share arrangements. Much work has been done on heifer development; however work on bull selection has lagged. Navigating Expected Progeny Differences (EPDs) is difficult and producers usually choose to purchase through visual appraisal alone. A bull will p
Author: Jeffrey Lehmkuhler
Major Program: Beef
As part of the Applied Master Cattleman program, extension specialists at the University of Kentucky and the Kentucky Beef Network hosted the Weaning 101 Workshop at the Eden Shale Farm in Owenton, KY again this fall. This program provides producers with an opportunity to hear from Industry Experts and University of Kentucky Extension Specialists on a variety of areas pertaining to the weaning period. Topics covered during the day event included: Vaccination Protocols, Implanting Strategies, Fee
Author: Jeffrey Lehmkuhler
Major Program: Beef
Calves are often marketed without any weaning period from farms that lack permanent pens or paddocks deemed capable of holding weaned calves. The goal of these demonstrations is to analyze the feasibility of using temporary electric fence systems to wean calves. In an effort to precondition calves from weaning on-farm we are attempting to increase the value of those calves. Market reports for the fall indicated and average $13/cwt premium for "added value” calves. This category
Author: Kevin Laurent
Major Program: Beef
Kentucky's beef industry can be generally classified as a cow calf state. Meaning that most beef producers in Kentucky maintain brood cow herds that produce calves on the farm which are then sold at weaning. The Certified Preconditioned for Health (CPH-45) Feeder Calf Program is a long established extension program that encourages cow-calf producers to maintain ownership of calves at least 45 days post weaning prior to marketing. The program includes a health/management pro
Author: Gregory Halich
Major Program: Beef
Drive through a major cattle producing area in Kentucky from December to March and you will see tractors hauling round bales. Sometimes they will be going from a barnlot directly to a feeding area. Sometimes they will be traveling on a public road to get to a more remote spot where cattle are located. Sometimes this hay will be fed in a drylot, sometimes it will be fed on the edge of a pasture next to the road, and sometimes you will even see this hay unrolled out in the pastur
Author: Leslie Anderson
Major Program: Beef
The University of Kentucky Beef Integrated Reproductive Management (Beef IRM) team developed a multi-disciplinary program to help cattlemen adopt production practices that favor high reproductive rates in their cow herds. The educational model of this program combines traditional classroom with an extensive hands-on, experiential methodology. UK Extension employs this model as an effort to increase behavior modification. The UK IRM Farm Program is designed to be a long-term project (5-7 years) i
Author: Leslie Anderson
Major Program: Beef
The University of Kentucky Beef Integrated Reproductive Management (Beef IRM) team developed a multi-disciplinary program to help cattlemen adopt production practices that favor high reproductive rates in their cow herds. The educational model of this program combines traditional classroom with an extensive hands-on, experiential methodology. UK Extension employs this model as an effort to increase behavior modification. The UK IRM Farm Program is designed to be a long-term project (5-7 years) i
Author: Leslie Anderson
Major Program: Beef
Reproductive success governs production efficiency in beef cow-calf operations. The University of Kentucky Beef Integrated Reproductive Management (Beef IRM) team developed a multi-disciplinary program to help cattlemen adopt production practices that favor high reproductive rates in their cow herds. The educational model of this program combines traditional classroom with an extensive hands-on, learn-by-doing methodology. UK Extension employs this model as an effort to increase behavior modific
Author: Leslie Anderson
Major Program: Beef
Reproductive success governs production efficiency in beef cow-calf operations. The University of Kentucky Beef Integrated Reproductive Management (Beef IRM) team developed a multi-disciplinary program to help cattlemen adopt production practices that favor high reproductive rates in their cow herds. The educational model of this program combines traditional classroom with an extensive hands-on, learn-by-doing methodology. UK Extension employs this model as an effort to increase behavior modific
Author: Leslie Anderson
Major Program: Beef
The University of Kentucky Beef Integrated Reproductive Management (Beef IRM) team developed a multi-disciplinary program to help cattlemen adopt production practices that favor high reproductive rates in their cow herds. The educational model of this program combines traditional classroom with an extensive hands-on, experiential methodology. UK Extension employs this model as an effort to increase behavior modification. The UK IRM Farm Program is designed to be a long-term project (5-7 years) i
Author: Leslie Anderson
Major Program: Beef
The University of Kentucky Beef Integrated Reproductive Management (Beef IRM) team developed a multi-disciplinary program to help cattlemen adopt production practices that favor high reproductive rates in their cow herds. The educational model of this program combines traditional classroom with an extensive hands-on, experiential methodology. UK Extension employs this model as an effort to increase behavior modification. The UK IRM Farm Program is designed to be a long-term project (5-7 years) i
Author: Leslie Anderson
Major Program: Beef
The University of Kentucky Beef Integrated Reproductive Management (Beef IRM) team developed a multi-disciplinary program to help cattlemen adopt production practices that favor high reproductive rates in their cow herds. The educational model of this program combines traditional classroom with an extensive hands-on, experiential methodology. UK Extension employs this model as an effort to increase behavior modification. The UK IRM Farm Program is designed to be a long-term project (5-7 years) i
Author: Leslie Anderson
Major Program: Beef
The University of Kentucky Beef Integrated Reproductive Management (Beef IRM) team developed a multi-disciplinary program to help cattlemen adopt production practices that favor high reproductive rates in their cow herds. The educational model of this program combines traditional classroom with an extensive hands-on, experiential methodology. UK Extension employs this model as an effort to increase behavior modification. The UK IRM Farm Program is designed to be a long-term project (5-7 years) i
Author: Joshua Jackson
Major Program: Beef
To address issues with cattle capacity, the Washington County Livestock Center, ~1,500 receipts per week, was planning to expand their operation with a 50 ft x 200 ft addition to their existing facility. After an on-site meeting, a plan on what they would want/need for their expansion was developed. The location, orientation, and number of waterers, gates, posts, and potential tolerances was evaluated for the proposed site. Tolerances and clearances were important as the ability to maneuver anim
Author: Leslie Anderson
Major Program: Beef
Rough hair coat has long been associated with Tall Fescue toxicosis, a condition in cattle consuming endophyte-infected tall fescue. This fungus produces toxins that decrease production and make rough hair coats in cattle that consume infected fescue. All cattle tend to get rougher hair coats in late winter, but by April to early May, cows should have shed their winter hair coats. Cattle that are well suited to their environment suffer less stress. One of the greatest environ
Author: Andy Mills
Major Program: Beef
Due to the increasing publicity of cattle sales and many types of propaganda available as well as articles written in newsletters and magazines every year, this Agriculture and Natural Resources Extension Educator decided to develop a presentation on selecting the right bull. Many beef producers can select a good bull for the herd, but most can not select the best bull for the marketing and retention program. Therefore, using several beef cattle management scenarios that would pertain to almost
Author: Gregory Halich
Major Program: Beef
Extension and NRCS have different mandates. Extension deals mostly with management and how to help make farms more productive and profitable. NRCS deals mostly with resource concerns, and uses cost-share for infrastructure projects to help correct them. However, both extension and NRCS have similar general visions and goals, they just have different mechanisms for getting there.Extension and NRCS have not historically had close working relationships. We had heard through
Author: Morgan Hayes
Major Program: Beef
In 2018 I had the opportunity to present cattle handling facilities to the first women master cattleman program. The program provided great discussion about the planning and construction of cattle handling facilities. Based on surveys provided at the beginning and end of the session using a 1 to 5 scale for confidence that they understood the concepts, the audience shifted from a 3.43 to a 4.29 for 'cattle behavior and movement'. The audience also improved in confidenc
Author: Kevin Laurent
Major Program: Beef
The West Kentucky Select Bred Heifer Sale held in Guthrie, KY was established by the University of Kentucky Extension in November 2000 as an annual opportunity for progressive cattle producers to purchase quality replacement heifers. In 2005, the effort was expanded to include the University of Tennessee and Tennessee producers in a cooperative effort. Starting in May of 2006, an additional sale was added to the calendar to offer fall calving bred heifers.Heifers are inspec
Author: April Wilhoit
Major Program: Beef
Eight beef producers from Fleming County participated in the 2018 Master Cattleman Program. The collaborative effort between the five counties of the Buffalo Trace area saw a total attendance of 29 attendees. The program lasted 10 weeks with a variety of topics dealing with cattle management. One local farm supply store sent 5 of their employees to the trainings for employee training.
Author: Morgan Hayes
Major Program: Beef
I was able to put together a facility layout with appropriate space for hay storage, creep area for calves, feed bunk and water access and bedded area for the cows. We discussed site selection, building orientation, and ventilation requirements for the design, as well the design included manure storage and water storage for a water harvesting system from the roof. The farmer was able to provide this in an application to the Governor's Office of Ag Policy, which resulted in him be
Author: Vicki Shadrick
Major Program: Beef
Integrated Resource Management Farm ProgramThe Integrated Resource Management (IRM) Farm Program is a project-based educational program designed to demonstrate beef production practices and a record keeping system that improve production efficiency, productivity, sustainability, and profitability of a beef cow-calf operation. The long-term goal is to adjust management and facilities to improve the production efficiency of the cow-calf operation. Farm visits and survey information are
Author: Courtney Jenkins
Major Program: Beef
2018 was Kentucky’s wettest year on record. This resulted in livestock producers dealing with excessive and unprecedented mud, poor quality hay, pugged pastures, scours, poor nutrition and calving issues. Local veterinarians reported high cattle loss numbers, especially among marginal cows and weak calves. One producer in Magoffin County reported losing eight calves due to weather-related events and lack of proper nutrition. Utilizing resources developed by UK Extension Beef Specialis
Author: Matthew Adams
Major Program: Beef
With the recent downturn in cattle markets, many producers are left wondering what they can do to increase profit in the cow herd. With favorable and not so favorable markets alike, good marketing strategies always make a positive impact on net farm income. Hardin County has long had participation in the Tri County Steer Carcass Futurity program, which partners with Iowa State University to retain ownership on home raised feeder calves through the finishing phase, while collecting performance an
Author: Kevin Laurent
Major Program: Beef
The IRM Farm Program is a project-based educational program designed to demonstrate beef production practices and a record keeping system that will improve production efficiency, productivity, sustainability, and profitability of a beef cow-calf operation. Examples of measurable impacts on three farms in western KY are summarized.Grayson County - Three Grayson County producers were brought into the system in 2017 to be a part of the program, representing 51 cows, 36 being commercial, and 15 bein
