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
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
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 performance an
Author: Courtney Jenkins
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: Vicki Shadrick
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: Morgan Hayes
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: April Wilhoit
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.
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: Gregory Halich
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: Andy Mills
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: Leslie Anderson
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: Joshua Jackson
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
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
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
