Extension
It Starts With Us
Author: Katie Hughes
Major Program: Grains
The problem: The Union County Grain Day has been around for several years for producers to attend this meeting in the winter and also earn their private applicator card for the year. The educational program response: this past year was the first year to do the training for private applicators to seat through the whole program to listen to speakers and then training at the end of the program. The past the training was at the start and then people would leave without attending the educational
Author: Emma Lee
Major Program: Grains
Last year, a producer who grows sweet sorghum came to me asking for recommendations to increase sugar content in his crop. I have diligently worked with him through soil tests, hay tests, and manure tests to narrow down the solution to increasing sugar content. He only uses manure as fertilizer, so we sent the manure off to be tested for nutrient content. We talked to multiple specialists to get ideas on what can be done. As of yesterday, this client came in and informed me that his sorghum suga
Author: Beau Neal
Major Program: Grains
Grain bin entrapment is a serious issue every year with farmers across the country. Lives are lost every season due to either falling in by accident, or stepping through a "crusted" over spot inside the grain bin. With the cooperation of the Fayette County Ag Development Council, and Fayette County Farm Bureau who provided the much needed grain bin rescue equipment, the Lexington Fire Department was properly trained on how to use it given an on-farm emergency. Grain f
Author: Brandon Sears
Major Program: Grains
Grain storage bins have been in use since their invention by Illinois farmer Fred Hatch who is thought to have constructed the first modern one in 1873. According to Purdue University’s Agricultural and Biological Engineering Department who has been documenting and investigating grain bin incidents since the 1970’s, in 2022, there were 83 incidents reported across the Mid-West with 24 of those being fatalities. In January of 2022, a farmer in Casey County Kentucky became trapped in a
Author: Nick Roy
Major Program: Grains
In 2020, the Adair County Agriculture Advisory council identified trucking costs of grain crops as a major concern of the long-term sustainability of grain crop production in Adair County. In 2020, grain farmers estimated trucking corns of corn to exceed $100 per acre. In 2023, trucking costs rose to $160 per acre. In response, the Adair County Cooperative Extension Service began collaborating with the local Economic Development Authority to identify strategies to recruit indust
Author: Jason Phillips
Major Program: Grains
Over the last few years, Italian Ryegrass has become an increasingly problematic weed for grain producers in Simpson County and in south central and western Kentucky. It grows aggressively and competes for light, nutrients and water with desirable crops. It can be challenging in winter wheat, corn and soybeans. Several Simpson County producers have had to destroy corn crops and replant due to the invasive nature of Italian Ryegrass. The first herbicide resistant Italian R
Author: Raul Villanueva
Major Program: Grains
A four-week webinar series was conducted by the Field Crop Pest Management Extension Specialist of the University of Kentucky’s Research and Education Center at Princeton from 2 to 30 of November 2023 to provide row crops clientele with research-based information in Entomology, Plant pathology and Weed science. This series also provided continuing education credits to Certified Crop Advisor, County Agent In-service training, and pesticide applicator. Webinar series speakers and topics incl
Author: Raul Villanueva
Major Program: Grains
My program has been conducting studies in soybeans since 2017. Previously, mollusk attacks were very rare, but they have become more frequent and destructive in recent years. For mollusks (snails and slugs) the metaldehyde poison pelleted baits is used anywhere else in the U.S. however, it was not registered in KY. In 2023, a request by soybean growers to register this pesticide was completed to get the registration of two metaldehyde compounds. These two molluscicide were registered under the E
Author: Clinton Hardy
Major Program: Grains
The 2022 census of agriculture revealed Daviess County had the greatest amount of income from soybeans and corn in Kentucky at $195,239,000. The majority of annual crop sales revenue is from soybeans, with more than 110,000 acres planted annually in Daviess County. Soybean acres are expected to be substantially greater and corn acres expected to be substantially less in 2024 due to the price of corn sliding slower in the past 18 months. The anticipation of soybean profitability
Author: Carrie Knott
Major Program: Grains
As climate variability becomes more extreme, spring growing conditions in winter wheat have also become more extreme. These extreme conditions are more routinely resulting in spring temperatures that can result in damage to the wheat crop. To provide immediate information to wheat producers, preliminary work has been initiated to monitor soil surface temperatures in wheat fields-including several farmer fields across the state. From two years of data, we have been able to communicate to producer
Author: Daniel Carpenter
Major Program: Grains
Hardin County has just under 60,000 acres of grain production which is mainly corn, soybeans, and wheat. The market value of those crops in 2022 was around $47.5 million dollars. With increasing pressure on productive farmland, maximum output and efficiency are of the upmost importance to our area farmers. We have several farmers who utilize extension agents for measuring yield contest entries for state and national contests. In 2023, the Hardin County Agriculture Agent measured 14 corn entries
Author: Linda McClanahan
Major Program: Grains
As we have fewer people involved in the agriculture industry and in food production it becomes increasingly more important to educate people, including youth, about where their food, fiber, fuel and other products we depend on farmers for comes from. For a number of years now the ANR agent has partnered with the 4-H agent, other extension staff to have school enrichment days for various grade levels. Each day has a different theme and central focus. This year we had 3rd grade Ag Day, 4th grade H
