Author: Thomas Miller
Planning Unit: Ballard County CES
Major Program: Soils
Plan of Work: Efficient and Profitable Corn, Wheat and Soybeans Production for Ballard County Producers
Outcome: Initial Outcome
Just after the closure of the state from corona virus and working from home, Tom Miller, Ballard County ANR agent had a call from a producer asking if he would look at a farm that was for sale and advise the producer on the suitability of including it in his farming operation. They met at the farm and while socially distancing, walked the property. After questioning the producer, Mr. Miller had some drawbacks about the suitability of the site for the producer’s main crop- alfalfa hay. There was an initial concern that much of the land was too poorly drained to effectively use for hay production. There was also some concern that one uncleared area could not be cleared due to wet land constraints. Mr. Miller contacted Jerry McIntosh, NRCS soil scientist for west KY and Mr. McIntosh was able to locate the farm on a web soil survey. He was then able to include other web based analysis features such as topography and LiDAR to show the water drainage on the property. He then estimated where the property could be tile drained to improve the drainage and suitability of the land. An estimate from a tile installer was obtained to show the approximate cost of installing the tile drainage. At the end of the day, the producer decided with the purchase price of the land plus the improvements needed, his money and time would be better spent looking for another piece of property. It just show that even out of the office, there are still many ways to utilize new technology to help producers make wise decisions.
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