Author: Samuel Smith
Major Program: Forages
University of Kentucky Forage Specialists and Associates worked with the national Alliance for Grassland Renewal to host the second Equine Novel Endophyte Tall Fescue Renovation workshop in January 2024 with over 120 people in attendance. This workshop included speakers from across the country. Participants included horse owners and farm managers from many states as well as extension agents. After the workshop, attendees had a much better understanding of managing existing toxic tall fescue stan
In 2024, the 43th annual Kentucky Alfalfa and Stored Forage Conference was held in Bowling Green KY on Feb. 8, 2024 with over 120 people attending. This conference was a joint effort of the Kentucky Forage and Grassland Council, University of Kentucky Cooperative Extension, the UK Master Grazer program, and the UK Quality Hay for Horses program. The theme was “Getting Into the Hay Business”. Topics and speakers included: Operating a Major Hay and St
University of Kentucky forage specialists have been distributing a monthly forage newsletter called Forage News for almost 50 years. This publication highlights applied research findings from the UK forage group and the USDA-ARS forage animal production research unit located on UK's campus and specialists in other states. It is also a very useful publication to advertise our upcoming events. The focus of the publication is to provide useful information that can be applied "on-farm
The International Grassland Congress has been held every 3-4 years since 1927. Each Congress in recent years has had 650 to over 1,000 delegates. The most recent of these Congresses was held in Kentucky in May of 2023. At each Congress each presenter submits a manuscript on their research finding. These go into a Proceeding volume or pdf that is distributed at the meeting. These volumes have been valued by delegates returning from the Congresses, but until recently it was difficult for others to
The UK Horse Pasture Evaluation Program had another strong evaluation season during the summer of 2024. This program began in 2005 as part of Equine Programs to develop stronger ties with Kentucky’s horse industry. The program focuses on the following objectives:• Providing detailed pasture management recommendations to horse farm owners and managers.• Improving pastureland by increasing forage quality and quantity and reduce the need for stored feeds, such as hay and grain.&bull
Author: Jimmy Henning
Kentucky hay contests encompass 584 samples in 2023Specialists Involved: Jimmy Henning, Chris Teutsch, Jeff Lehmkulher, Bob Coleman and Ken Andries (Morehead State University).The Eastern Kentucky Hay Contest (EKHC) is a cooperative effort between the county agents in Eastern and Southeastern Kentucky and local cattlemen’s associations and the University of Kentucky faculty specialists in animal science, plant and soil science and also specialists from Kentucky State University. The contes
Fescue eradication and improved management increases profits for Central Kentucky Thoroughbred FarmSpecialists Involved: Jimmy Henning, Ray Smith and Krista LeaA central Kentucky thoroughbred horse farm experienced a high incidence of fescue toxicosis symptoms in pregnant and foaling mares during early 2017. The UK Plant and Soil Science Forage Group was contacted by the farm at the advice of the consulting veterinarian. After a farm visit, the farm agreed to a program of pasture evaluation. Fie
East Kentucky Seeding Clinic Ninety eight farmers from Kentucky and West Virginia gathered at the Boyd County Extension Expo Center on January 30th for a no till establishment clinic to improve their knowledge of seeding options as well as the working details for a variety of seeding equipment. Organized by the Boyd, Carter, Elliott, Greenup & Lawrence County Extension Offices, the event offered participants a unique opportunity to learn from experts, share experiences, and
Author: Morgan Hayes
Many farmers are looking for assistance understanding how to build fence and understand the types and values of different fencing materials. The fencing schools allow for a classroom portion to explain some types of fencing materials and their costs, the basic structure of a fence (fixed know and electrified smooth wire high tensile) as well fencing law and new technologies in fencing. My talk is an introduction to fencing materials and their costs. The workshop also includes an afte
Author: Michelle Simon
The Campbell County Cattleman’s Association meets annually and typically boasts an attendance of 70 or more people at this gathering. There are 65 registered members with the Kentucky Cattleman’s Association. This audience is a good representation of the majority of farmers and operations in Campbell County since the soils within the county are basically Eden clay loam with approximately 60,000 acres with slopes between 12 and 35%. Due of the steepness of the land, cultivated crops a
Author: Carol Hinton
The problemProducers began a few years ago taking 2-3 cuttings of hay as summer rains were very plentiful. Now we have fields that are dragging in yields, very poor stand of cool season grasses, and lacking fertilizer. Educational ResponseAfter numerous meetings, numerous farm visits, we began to gather information on; soil test results, 'weed identification’, loss of production and new but tried and true management practices to get back on track with hay production.
Author: Patrick Hardesty
Taylor County has approximately 20,000 acres of pastureland and 9,000 homes with lawns. The Taylor County Extension Office, Taylor County Cattlemen’s Association, and Taylor County Master Gardeners hosted a Hayfield and Lawn Walk Field Day with 42 participating. Participants learned how to control weeds in hayfields and lawns through proper identification, cultural and chemical control options. As a result of hosting the field day, the host has taught a weed identification
Author: Brandon Sears
Hay Auction 2024Madison county ranks in the top 5 in the state of Kentucky for hay with approximately 43,600 acres produced. To help market local hay, the Madison County Extension ANR agent and the Madison County Fair Board partnered to coordinate a regional hay auction at the county fairgrounds.On Saturday January 20th, 2024 our 17th annual hay auction took place with 74 different lots of hay and straw offered for sale. The Madison County ANR agent coordinated some deliveries, some load out, an
Author: Miranda Rudolph
If you are raising livestock you need clean water, good nutrition, and good fences. Often, producers spend a lot of time getting clean water and good nutrition right but neglect to put up what would be considered a good fence. Unfortunately, without good fences, livestock owners can find themselves having to go to a lot of trouble to keep their livestock on their property rather than on their neighbors, or worse on the road causing dangerous road hazards and potential legal issues. It doesn'
Author: Christopher Teutsch
The Kentucky Beginning Grazing School was established in 1996. This two-day workshop provides new livestock producers with critical skills needed for designing and implementing a rotational grazing system. The curriculum has remained much the same for the past 28 years. In 2024, we redesigned the Kentucky Beginning Grazing School to focus on topics that would enable new and beginning graziers to have success. Topics covered included setting sustainable stocking rates, forage identification
Implementing improved grazing management requires high quality fencing. Working with the Kentucky Forage and Grassland Council and private industry representatives, we designed and implemented the Kentucky Fencing School in 2018. In this reporting period, we held four fencing schools with than 165 total participants. These programs focused on the proper installation of modern fencing technologies including fixed knot woven wire and electrified smooth high tensile fencing. The w
Electric fencing is a powerful tool for managing grazing. In 2024, working with Dr. Hayes from the Department of Biosystems and Agricultural Engineering, Greg Drake in Butler County Extension, and Jeremy McGill from Gallagher Fencing, we held a hands-on Electric Fencing School on a farm near Morgantown, KY. After presentations on electric fencing theory and installation, students headed to the field for the hands-on portion of the school. During this time, they learned about th
In 2017, we established the KYForages YouTube Channel. The impact of this endeavor continues to grow. Our subscribers have increased by almost five times since the channel was established to over 5,470. In this reporting period, content from this channel has been viewed more 171,000 times with an average watch time of just over 12 minutes resulting in a total watch time that exceeds 2.1 million minutes. The United States and Canada make up 77% of the total views with the
