Author: Morgan Hayes
Major Program: Beef
In summer 2017, I made a site visit to beef operation in the process of building a cow-calf confinement barn. I provided feedback on the facility design and management strategies for the barn. The farmer completed construction in fall 2017 that is nearing one year inside the barn currently. In two follow-up conversations, the farmer has expressed pleasure with the facility and commented that our discussion during the construction phase led to some design changes that were advantageous. Both chan
Author: Camille Lambert
When you think about Kentucky cattle, Henderson County may not always be the first county you think of. Although not too many, Henderson County has several cattle operations. A problem that all cattle farmers face year after year is herd health. The importance of using balanced diets in a beef cattle feeding program is well documented, however convincing some cattle producers how important it is to provide a balanced diet to their animals can sometimes be quite challenging. Most c
Author: Nicholas Carter
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: Courtney Jenkins
Proper heifer development is one of the key components to profitability in a beef cattle operation. However, producers often face challenges when selecting heifers to develop and keep as replacements for their herd. Understanding the core principles of heifer development enables producers to incorporate management techniques that will ultimately improve the efficiency of their operation and the genetics of their herd. To help producers alleviate the stresses associated with selecting and develop
Author: Matthew Adams
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 perf
Author: Lindie Huffman
The average yearly expense of owning a herd bull is $722 per annum. Producers with managed breeding windows utilize the bull's services for only 2 months of the year, while they maintain his health and nutrition for the duration. Bulls come with not only economic costs, but also opportunity costs. To maintain only one herd bull limits genetic opportunity and also increases the risk of injury. In 2017, a member of the local Cattlemen's Association expressed interest in attending a school
Author: Kevin Laurent
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: Jay Stone
The importance of using balanced diets in a beef cattle feeding program is well documented, however convincing some cattle producers to go to the extra effort of providing a balanced diet to their animals can sometimes be quite challenging. Most beef producers are part time producers and are quite content to simply provide a roll of hay and a protein block and see no value in knowing the nutrient content of the forage they are feeding. By the same token, we as extension educators routinely offer
Author: Sarah Fannin
Beef and forage production remains the backbone of the agricultural economy in Morgan County following the loss of income from tobacco production in the early to mid-2000’s.Strengthening these two areas is a priority of the Morgan County Ag Development Board.Based on strong forage programming and demonstration projects at the Extension Farm, more forage producers are participating in hay testing. A record number for Morgan County of both samples (75) submitted and number of participa
The East Kentucky Heifer Development Project, a program which began more than 19 years ago, allowed East Kentucky cattle producers to deliver heifers to D&D Ranch in Hazard, KY where the heifers were evaluated and would eventually undergo a strict, seven-month development program to return to their respective farm or be sold as quality, replacement bred heifers in a consignment sale. As a result of that program, farmers realized the added-value of developing their heifers and saw improvement
Author: Glen Roberts
Collaborators: 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 committee Situation: 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 purchase better minerals for their cowherds. They also learned that they coul
Author: Nicole Rhein
The Master Cattleman Program is the flagship educational program for Kentucky cattle producers. It incorporates all phases of beef production into an intensive educational effort challenging Kentucky beef producers to be competitive and successful. Participants receive 40 hours of classroom instruction divided equally among 10 topic areas: Management skills for the beef business Forage production and utilization Nutrition for optimum production Environmental stewardshipIndust
Over the past 17 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: Samuel Cofield
The Trigg County Cooperative Extension Service in Cooperation with UK Extension Specialists offered a Beef IRM program to producers in Trigg County in early 2018. The program was to be specific to each operation and designed to help each producer meet his or her goals in beef production. One operation that was interested in the program early on and was willing to make changes to their management has already been very successful with the practices they implemented. &nbs
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. Th
Author: David Embrey
Edmonson County is home to nearly 17,000 head of beef cattle. Most of the available land in the county is best suited for pasture and hay production. Successful beef production depends upon many factors, several of which producers have no control over, such as weather and market volatility. Of the ones which that they do have some control, herd bull selection is a critical part of building a strong, sustainable beef herd. Many factors play a role in the choice of a sire. Due to this, and with in
Author: Linda McClanahan
Beef cattle continues to be one of the leading agricultural commodities in Mercer County and a large percentage of producers background cattle. ANR agents in Mercer, Boyle, Lincoln and Garrard counties team up each year to offer a educational program around this segment of the industry each year. 74 producers attended the meeting this year and they were surveyed on how attending these meetings have impacted their operations. Over 80% of producers attending the meeting indicated
Author: Ricky Arnett
With the loss of women as principal farm operators, Adair, Green and Taylor County Extension Services cooperated in conducting a state pilot Master Cattlewoman Shortcourse. The shortcourse was developed to enhance the participants’ knowledge of beef production, to network with each other and promote leadership development. Educational sessions included: Facility Design, Livestock/Environmental Concerns, Industry Resources, Health, Pasture Considerations, Forages/Nutrition and Producer
