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Kentucky
Department of Agriculture |
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New forage varieties Phase 1 Model
Forage Program.
Two new alfalfas have been added to the approved variety list: Evermore
and Pegasus. As a reminder, the way to get new
varieties added should generally follow this procedure: (1). A
local vendor with a new variety should contact you indicating
a desire to get their new material on the list. Some state
level distributors have contacted me directly, and that is
fine. However, I am anticipating that you are the first person
to find out that your vendors new variety is not on the list.
(2). Please ask them to request from their supplier any
university testing data that exists on these materials,
including the experimental name under which it was tested. I
am very interested in any university data that exists. (3).
Contact me with the names of the varieties. Have the
university data or testing data sent directly to me. (4) When
I am confident that this is a variety with some merit for
Kentucky
and
has been proven to have reasonable performance, then I will
forward that name on to
Frankfort
. Nearly all true varieties (not blends) will be able to get on the
list. Click here for the full story. Click
here for full story. |
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2003
INDEX PLANT PATHOLOGY
This issue concludes the 2003 series of Kentucky Pest
News (KPN) and marks the end of the 28th year of inclusion of
disease information in KPN. The major objective has been to
provide timely information on anticipated and occurring
diseases in
Kentucky
.
Any comments (favorable or critical) readers may have
regarding KPN (i.e., format, subject matter, coverage,
timeliness, etc.) may be directed to KPN authors: John
Hartman, William Nesmith, Don Hershman, and Paul Vincelli,
Extension Plant Pathologists; Paul Bachi and Julie Beale,
Plant Diagnosticians. The
above authors appreciate the efforts of colleagues who have
co-authored topics in KPN; and Pat Yancey for typing,
proofreading, and transmitting KPN. Click
here for full story
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Mad cow - BSE
case in US
As news continues to
coming daily about the BSE - Bovine Spongiform
Encephaliopathy or mad Cow Disease, It is
important that we all get the best facts possible.
Land
Grant
Universities
and the
USDA are the best sources. The Ministry of Agriculture
Fisheries and Food in the
UK
and the
Canadian Food Inspection Agency are good source too.
If you have other
questions or concerns about your personal beef supply,
remember that local meat markets and processors often
purchase locally grown beef, of which they know the
farmers and production practices or you could also
purchase directly from local farmers’ markets. If you
have doubts about the source of the meet at your
supermarket, you only need to ask.
To be on top of the news you may click on www.usda.gov
It is the USDA site with daily updates on BSE case in
US.
News:
NCBA Executive Committee Passes an Emergency Resolution
Following BSE Case.
Click
here for full release
Picture
source: Fred L. Dailey.
Ohio
Cooperative
Extension Service.
Other related sites:
www.beef.org is NCBA
site
www.uky.edu/projects/beefirm
is UK
www.kycattle.org is the
KCA site
www.usaip.info is
the
US
animal
identification plan
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Bovine
Spongiform Encephalopathy - BSE additional safeguards.
On
January 3rd, 2004, Agriculture Secretary Ann M.
Veneman today announced additional safeguards to bolster
the
U.S.
protection
systems against Bovine Spongiform Encephalopathy, or BSE,
and further protect public health. “For more than a
decade, the
United
States
has had
in place an aggressive surveillance, detection and
response program for BSE,” said Veneman. “While we
are confident that the
United
States
has
safeguards and firewalls needed to protect public
health, these additional actions will further strengthen
our protection systems.” Veneman said the policies
announced today have been under consideration for many
months, especially since the finding of a case of BSE in
Canada
in May 2003. Click
here fort full relese. |
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Finding
Properly Seasoned Firewood
Cold weather is here and you don’t have any seasoned firewood.
You remember it takes a minimum of six months to
properly season wood to use in an indoor fireplace. What
can you do? It’s
too late now to cut down a tree, split it and have
seasoned wood for a warm, glowing fire.
However, many vendors have seasoned firewood for
sale. There should be an ample supply due to the ice
storm last February. When you buy firewood this time of
year, pay attention to the dryness, density, species and
price per volume of wood. The best wood is the driest
wood. It
produces the hottest fire because little heat is wasted
drying wood as it burns.
Inspect the ends of logs for deep cracks and
splits, two indicators of dry wood. A gray “weathered”
color to the bark and wood indicates dryness and
sufficient seasoning. Click
here for full story. |
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KSU
small Farm Program
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.
Click
here for full story. |
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2004
IPM
TRAINING SCHOOL
The 2004 IPM Training School has been scheduled
for Wednesday, March 17.
The meeting will be held at the UK Research
Center in
Princeton
.
Registration will open at
8:30 AM
with the meeting starting at
9:00AM
and
ending about
3:30 PM
. Advance
registration is not needed and the meeting is open to
the public free of charge.
Program will apply for
CEU's for Certified Crop Advisers and hours for
Kentucky Pesticide Applicator Training.
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USDAUpdate
on BSE January 2, 2004
USDA has confirmed that 81 of the 82 animals
listed on the Canadian health certificate that includes
the eartag number of the index cow entered the
United
States
through
Oroville
,
WA
, on
September 4, 2001
.
One of those 82 has now been located at a Mattawa, WA,
dairy operation, which is now under a state hold order. Click
here for full story. |
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KY
Ag Development in Jefferson County
The strategy design to attract investment funds to
Jefferson
County
keep
working. The Kentucky Agricultural Development Fund in
the last Board meeting (
11/21/2003
) voted to approve $ 475,195 for the following co-share grants:
- Candlebee Farms / Heidi Sanner. Total: $10,000 ($9,900 State
funds + $100 County funds).
- Leonard Olson. Total: $295,509 ($294,509 State funds +
$1,000 County funds).
- Fisherman Seafoods/ Steve Smith. Total: $109,250 ($109.250
State funds + $0 County funds).
- Felice Vineyards / Jeff Tatman. Total: $61,436 ($60,436
State funds + $1,000 County funds). |
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10.8%
cut on flue-cured tobacco quota for 2004.
The
U.S. Department of Agriculture today announced
provisions of the 2004 flue-cured tobacco program. These
provisions include the 2004 crop quota, the support
price, the national average yield and acreage allotment,
and the no-net-cost assessment.
For
full story click here |
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Small
FARM Digest
In
the overall context of the
U.S.
food
distribution and retailing sector, farmers markets still
represent a faint blip on the radar screen. But they are
a growing presence, and for thousands of farmers and
millions of consumers the benefits of farmers markets
are readily apparent. These benefits account for the
impressive growth in the number and sales of farmers
markets over the past decade. Though not all farm
vendors are small-scale producers, the majority are. In
a recent study of farmers who sell at
California
’s
farmers markets, nearly 85 percent of the 427
respondents had incomes below $250,000; another 5
percent had incomes between $250,000 and $499,000.
Click
here for full story |
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Protecting
Livestock from Cold Weather
.
Providing sufficient water,
ample high-quality feed and weather protection are the
three most important things you can do to protect
livestock from cold stresses this winter. Cold stress
reduces livestock productivity including rate of gain,
milk production and reproductive difficulty and can
cause disease problems. Click
here for full story. |
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World
Health Organization and the Bovine spongiform
encephalopathy
Bovine
Spongiform Encephalopathy (BSE) is a transmissible,
neurodegenerative, fatal brain disease of cattle. The
disease has a long incubation period of four to five
years, but ultimately is fatal for cattle within weeks
to months of its onset. BSE first came to the attention
of the scientific community in November 1986 with the
appearance in cattle of a newly-recognized form of
neurological disease in the United Kingdom (UK). Click
here for full story. |
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2004 PESTICIDE APPLICATOR TRAINING
Categories 1,
4, 10,12
-
January 6, 2004
Christian
Co. Extension Office
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January 16, 2004
Graves.
Co.
Extension
Office
February 27, 2004
- Fayette
Co. Extension Office,
Categories 7 & 8
-
January 20, 2004
Fayette Co. Extension Office
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January 21, 2004
Elizabethtown
Convention
Center
-
January 22, 2004
UKREC,
Princeton
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