Author: Samuel Smith
Major Program: Forages
Profitable Pastures was a project focused on cattle production with the objective of improving collaboration between extension agents and NRCS personnel, and to foster a real working relationship. It was made possible through a $79K SARE Professional Development Grant, and spanned both Kentucky and Tennessee. The topic focus was beef cattle production.There were two main phases of the project. The first phase were the Regional Meetings. These were full-day long sessions t
Organic Dairy Research Project with University of Kentucky and University of TennesseeThe long-term goal of this project is to develop and distribute practical, research-based recommendations for organic forage and dairy cow management in the southeastern U.S. This project has carried out a series of UK and UT research station trials and on-farm experiments in KY and TN. The experiments have measured the production, quality, and profitability of a range of forage mixtures and the productivi
The UK Horse Pasture Evaluation team and the University of Kentucky Ag Equine Programs host the annual Farm and Facilities Expo on May 30th, at Olive Hill Sporthorses, in Fayette county. Over 220 people attended the events including horse farm managers, horse farm owners, county extension agents, industry representatives and students. There were 15 industry and education exhibits and rotating workshops included: 1) harnessing on-farm solar potential, 2) overseeding damaged pastures, 3) wee
Author: Christopher Teutsch
Chris Teutsch and Kevin LaurentProfitability in beginning ruminant livestock operations is often illusive. In 2018 and 2019, we worked with a beginning farmer to design a profitable stocker operation. We used cool- and warm-season annuals to provide high quality forage for 45 stocker calves that were purchased in December and sold in August. Annual ryegrass provided early season grazing and was transitioned to sorghum-sudangrass in late spring and early summer. The lender
Chris Teutsch, Ray Smith, and Jimmy HenningGrain drill calibration is a critical, yet often ignored part of successful forage establishment and pasture renovation. Most farmers just use the seeding chart that is already on their grain drill. As drills wear, and tires and cogs get replaced, actual seeding rates can vary significantly from seeding charts found on drills. We designed a simple and straight forward calibration method that can be applied across a wide range of grain
Chris Teutsch, Adam Barnes, Curtis Dame, Deanne Heimgartner, Vicky Shadrick, Darrell Simpson, Tom Miller, and Shane BoggleForage systems in Kentucky are based on cool-season grasses that are productive during the spring and fall, but have limited growth during the summer months. In contrast, warm-season annual grasses and legumes are highly productive during the summer months. The objectives of this project were to introduce cattle producers to improved summer annual cultivars and t
Chris Teutsch, Jimmy Henning, Ray Smith, Morgan Hayes, and Josh JacksonKentucky is home to 1.1 million brood cows. Utilization of forages by livestock requires secure perimeter fencing. In 2019, fencing schools were held in Fayette, Cumberland, and Logan counties. Each school consisted of classroom sessions in the morning and hands on fence construction in the afternoon. In the morning sessions, students learned about types of fencing, construction basics, fence law, ele
Author: Christan Miracle
The Fescue Toxicity Project took place in the summer of 2018. All farms that are represented in the project are in Marion Co. KY. This project was spearheaded by a summer intern and myself. 5 farmers were selected to participate in the project with each farmer being able to have 2 different fields to be sampled. The goal was to test the fields for the farmer for fescue toxicity and the Ergovaline levels in the fescue were at the time of the samples. After choosing the farmers and the fields, tes
Author: Steven Musen
Much of Jessamine County contains rolling topography which is best suited to the production of livestock and forages. With 62,414 acres in pastureland and 29,012 acres in forage production (69.3% of total cropland), Jessamine County has the potential of supporting more than the current 20,500 total head of cattle (beef and dairy) with improved pasture efficiency through more careful management and intensive grazing. Growing Forages for livestock grazing and hay production is one of Jessami
Author: Jimmy Henning
Wrapping bales of high moisture hay with UV-resistant, stretch-wrap plastic is known as making baleage. Baleage allows producers to harvest higher quality forage because of reduced field curing time and reduced leaf loss. Increasing numbers of counties have been purchasing bale wrappers to make high moisture haylage in round bale packages. Producers know of cattle losses due to feeding off-quality silage and this is a barrier to adoption of the technology. A project was initiated to analyze a ra
Author: David Hull
Because of the negative attention that agricultural chemicals so commonly receive, some landowners are hesitant to apply herbicides to pastures and hay fields. In a effort to help these landowners determine whether or not a herbicide applications is warranted, the Gallatin County Extension Service conducted several Twilight Pasture Walk sessions on local farms and other properties in the county. The goals of these pasture walks were three-fold: to identify common pasture weeds; to establish
Author: Matthew Chadwick
The Calloway County Extension service co-hosted a regional warmseason forage summer tour with multiple extension offices in the region, specialistand the American forage and grasslands council. The tour was held at theDolworth farm in Ballard County. Despite a couple short rain showers, over 150producers and industry personnel attended. Tour stops highlighted a summerannual demonstration, a stand of eastern gamma that is over a decade old, newfencing tech, and a unique pasture rotation watering
Author: Kendal Bowman
In America’s breadbasket, where the iconic image is “amber waves of grain,” Nebraska grain farmers and livestock producers are instead facing sodden, sand-covered fields, washed-out fencing and a tragic loss of cattle after the worst flooding in 50 years hit their region in March. Kentucky farmers understand what they’re going through, and they are rising en masse to send aid through the University of Kentucky Cooperative Extension Service.“If you farm very long, yo
Author: Nick Roy
In Adair County, 52,000 acres or roughly 30% of the land used for agriculture is utilized for pasture. In recent years, several farmers had reported an unfamiliar troublesome weed invading their pastures. With the diagnostic assistance of UK Weed Scientists, the weed was identified as Arrowleaf Sida. As many of the farmers had already discovered, Arrowleaf Sida is very difficult to control. Very little research data existed evaluating the effectiveness of different herbic
Author: Don Sorrell
During the fall of 2017, the Campbell County Agriculture Council identified the need for more in-depth forage production programs. After a second meeting, the Master Grazer Program (Spring 2018) and the Master Haymaker Program (Spring 2019) became the foundation for more intensive forage production programs for Campbell County farmers. After a very productive Master Grazer Program (five part series/52 participants) during the spring of 2018 a Pasture Management Field Day was held on July 10
The University of Kentucky Forage Variety Testing Program is essential for KY Producers. It provides cattleman, horse owners, hay producers and others up to date information on the best forage species and varieties for their operations. The strength and quality of the program is evidenced by the use of the variety test information by county agents and producers in all of the 7 states surrounding KY. Gene Olson is the coordinator of the program and oversees planting, maintaining and harvesting ov
In 2012 a survey of the Kentucky Equine industry was completed by the University of Kentucky. The survey reported that there were 35,000 horse operations across the state and that of the 240,400 horses each of the 120 counties had horses and owners. While there are horses and horse owners across the commonwealth how can those people be served by cooperative extension. To try and answer that question an Equine Summit was held in December of 2018. The program was developed and hosted by a com
In 2015 I was elected Chair of the International Grassland Congress (IGC) Continuing Committee and will continue through 2020. Although this takes considerable time and effort, I am honored to be in this position and for UK to have this voice on the international stage. I worked closely with the International Rangeland Congress Continuing Committee so that the next Congress in Kenya will be a joint IGC/IRC Congress, only the second time this has occurred. I am traveling to Kenya regularly to ass
