Provides one-on-one educational assistance to limited-resources small farmers. Participating farmers are taught decision-making skills, production practices, marketing skills, and are encouraged to utilize sustainable farming techniques.

Diplodia Corn Ear Rot. Symptoms are present in corn fields where the disease has been active. Look for premature drying of the shuck. When husks are stripped back, one can find a white, moldy growth between kernels, usually progressing from the base of the cob upwards. For full story click here

Tobacco blue in the Area

Blue mold was confirmed in the Milton area of Trimble County, which is just across the Ohio River from Madison, Indiana. Four farms with significant activity in all fields. The submission via the Digital Consulting System indicates to me that blue mold has been present for at least 3-4 cycles , 15 days Placed under a blue mold watch all tobacco fields in the Louisville Areas. For full story click here.

The potential for significant blue mold development continues in the Ohio River Valley , especially in lush tobacco growing in cooler areas of the burley belt. The cloudy, cool, wet weather is highly conducive to inoculums production and new infections, especially in the northern and eastern regions. For full story click here

    Kentucky Agricultural Development Fund     monthly electronic newsletter in now on-line at: http://www.kyagpolicy.com

Insects in stored grain.

Over 50% of the grain produced in Kentucky is held in "on-farm" storage for some period of time. In the past this storage was short-term, from harvest until early spring. However, times have changed drastically. Now, storage periods of 12 months or longer are common. For full story click here

 Tobacco is plagued by a number of leaf spotting diseases other than blue mold, and these are often confused with blue mold, which can cause errors in late season management. Such is happening this year and the "other" diseases are now causing much more damage than blue mold. For full story click here

Several individuals have noticed an unusual number of dark grey moths flying around the edges of soybean fields. These are adult (moths) green cloverworms. Although most people have not noticed, we have already had one generation of this pest. It is now about time for the second generation. For full story click here

8012 Vinecrest Ave, Suite 1

Louisville, KY 40222-4690

Tel: (502) 425-4482 / Fax: 425-0109

Apples

This is the time of year when apple fruit diseases appear with great frequency in orchards and backyard trees. Although early spring weather was dry, wet weather during some parts of the summer have both favored disease development and prevented timely applications of pesticides. For full story click here

Philip Morris USA is skipping tobacco auctions this year and instead will buy all of its domestic flue-cured leaf through direct contracts with farmers. The move by the nation's largest cigarette-maker comes just three years after it started a tobacco-farmer partnering program. For full story click here

The purpose of the training is to discover tools and resources that can help you make your farm more profitable. It is also be great places to meet people, make important contacts, and pick up resource materials free of charge . For full story click here

Aquaculture is coming directly to secondary, middle and elementary schools. The mobile classroom, a 33-foot RV, is undergoing interior and exterior renovations this summer. For full story click here

We continue to find soybean aphid populations across the state of Kentucky . Agents, producers and consultants should be aware of the presence of this pest and be on the look out for them.  For full story click here.

Corn borer numbers have been variable this year with much of the state only lightly infested. In part this is due to the dry weather early in the spring which allowed producers to get most of the corn planted relatively early. In the past, the worst corn borer problems, both European and southwestern, have been associated with late planted corn. For full story click here.