The Importance of Planning Ahead

As part of the services the Cooperative Extension Service offers soil testing for our agriculture community is one of the key services that can make a real difference in a farm’s production.  The Agriculture and Natural Resources Agent of Kenton County makes lime and fertilizer recommendations to producers so that they may increase hay yields for their cattle herds.  The summer of 2024 proved to be a very dry season that resulted in low quality and low vigor of the second hay cutting.  For most producers, a third cutting did not happen for this season. This dry drought-like period came on the heels of an adequate rainy spring. The Agriculture and Natural Resources Agent had calls from two cow calf operators that had applied lime and fertilizer as recommended by the Agent in 2023.  These two producers contacted the Agent about the increased yields of their first cutting this year.  Both of them remarked that their improved yields of first cutting of hay will come close to offsetting the loss of the second third cuttings they had typically relied on.  One of these producers commented that they had rarely ever utilized the soil testing service before and they plan to continue testing in the future.