Extension
It Starts With Us
Author: Kathryn Wimberley
Major Program: Soil testing
From a program aimed at farmers to offer free soil testing, the McCracken County Extension District Board partnered with County Manager and Horticulture Agent to include all residents of the county. Efforts to allow up to 7 free soil tests for the current fiscal year aimed at saving stakeholder's dollars and also reducing the overuse of fertilizers. excessive NPK in the home setting contribute to pollution in the waterways. With the fact that Paducah is an MS4 community, this is an important
Author: Meagan Diss
Major Program: Soil testing
Union County is known for having some of the best grain crop ground in Kentucky. In order to keep production numbers up, many farmers have soil tests run on their farms throughout the year. During the harvest of 2020, Union County soybean numbers were below average with sudden death syndrome being observed in multiple fields. In order to combat this loss for the 2021 season, farmers were urged to get a soil sample taken that would look at Soybean Cyst Nematodes along with various other nematodes
Author: Chelsey Anderson
Major Program: Soil testing
For the year 2020-2021, the Cumberland County Extension Office conducted a total of 176 soil samples. This is up 13 from the previous years. With COVID being in full swing during the 2020 growing season, it is believed that this increase is from more people wanting to grow their own fruits and vegetables. The overall amount may not seem like much, however, in total 18 were new clients who had never turned in samples prior to this year.
Author: Matthew Adams
Major Program: Soil testing
The success of any crop requires planning and efficient use of all required resources. One of the most important resources in agriculture is fertilizer. Whether it is applied through a commercial product or an organic source such as animal manure, a baseline is needed to enable the producer to efficiently and economically apply any type of fertilizer. Soil testing is the only way to accurately set up this baseline.The soil testing program in Hardin County has been free to resident
Author: John Grove
Major Program: Soil testing
With Dr. Edwin Ritchey, Plant and Soil Sciences Soil Science Extension Specialist, and Greg Comer, Ohio County ANR Agent, I visited a field owned by the city of Beaver Dam that had been leased by a series of growers over the past decade or so. All had reported that there were areas where the various crops grown had not done well, but the reasons for this had not been determined. Current operator wanted to plant a forage species there. Met with the city's land manager and determined that the
Author: Joshua McGrath
Major Program: Soil testing
When the implications of pandemic related precautions began to be fully realized I worked with other extension specialists to develop a curriculum for online soil and water conservation training (Amanda Gumbert). We sought financial support for improved AV recording technology in Lexington. Dean Stephenson stepped up and provided financial support to purchase the equipment. I was able to record over 15 videos prior to our field season picking up in March. I have used these videos for multiple co
Author: Phillip Long
Major Program: Soil testing
It has been well documented that urban residential areas potentially have high levels of heavy metals particularly lead (Pb) in their soils. Additionally, other carcinogenic toxins may be present in the soil depending on the historical use of the property or if the structure was destroyed by fire. The Ag agent has sampled many of these residential and agriculture sites to determine if the soils were suitable for food production, and safe for children. Recently soil sample test result
