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Kentucky
Department of Agriculture |
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Assess
Soil Compaction Problems Now; Do Necessary Sub-Soiling
in the Fall
Spring and early summer are the best times to
scout grain fields to determine which ones should be
sub-soiled this fall. Severe compaction can reduce
yields, especially in corn-soybean rotations. However,
only about one-third of
Kentucky
fields
have compaction high enough to require deep tillage,
according to an extensive survey by agronomists for
the University of Kentucky College of Agriculture. To
maximize profits, grain producers must identify fields
where soil compaction limits production and carry out
appropriate remedies only in those fields.
Since compaction usually is not uniform in a
field, it is necessary to assess several areas within
each field to determine the extent and severity of the
problem. Next, farmers should change production
practices to prevent future compaction.
Click
here for full story.
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Cutworms
active in corn
Cutworms
are active in corn in many regions of the state. Some
fields have exceeded levels needing control. While
growing conditions remain cool, producers should be
monitoring their corn regularly as the seedlings are
not able to rapidly outgrow the damage caused by
cutworms. Growers should also keep in mind that damage
caused by southern corn leaf beetle can easily be
mistaken for cutworm damage (see the preceding
article). Search around the bases of cut plants for
the cutworm larvae. Click
here for full story.
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Good
management means a more successful cattle breading
season.
PRINCETON, Ky. (May 5, 2004) – With the
spring beef cattle breeding season getting under way,
producers should remember that some key management
practices can result in a successful season. This is
the time when the size of next year’s calf crop will
be determined, along with the beef operation’s
potential profitability. Nutrition, bull soundness and
overall herd health can have a major impact on
breeding success. Cattle
should be in good body condition and should be grazing
on some of the best pasture on the farm during this
time, said Roy Burris, beef specialist with the
University of Kentucky College of Agriculture.
Pastures containing clover are preferred, along with
those containing orchardgrass or low- endophyte
fescue. High-endophyte fescue can cause lower
pregnancy rates.
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Current
tobacco blue mold status
The
Kentucky Blue Mold Warning System is in its 25th year
of service to
Kentucky
's
tobacco industry. This is the initial status report
for the 2004 season. Mainly, the news is good, so far.
As of May 1,
active blue mold in cultivated tobacco had not
been reported from anywhere in the
USA
.
However, blue mold is active in
Cuba
on
cultivated tobacco and in southern
Texas
on
Nicotiana repanda.
Drs. Patrick Heist and Dave Zaitlin,
Pikeville
College
and
University
of
Kentucky
,
respectively, were recently in southern
Texas
collecting
weedy tobacco species. They reported finding low
populations of Nicotiana repanda, but when found it
was nearly always infected and supporting significant
sporulation. The North American Plant Disease Forecast
System at
North
Carolina
State
University
indicates
that few weather events have occurred during the past
month that were probably favorable for supporting
inoculum transports to the southeastern
USA
from
Cuba
and
to the
Ohio
River
Valley
from
Texas
;
however, small windows of opportunity may have
occurred.
Click
here for full story.
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Southern
corn leaf beetle
The southern corn leaf beetle is
actively feeding on early- planted corn in central
Kentucky
. This insect pest has become more of a problem in the
past couple years and may not be properly recognized
by many growers. It can reduce stands through feeding
on young seedlings. Particularly while conditions are
poor for rapid seedling growth, growers need to
monitor fields for this insect pest. Click
here for full story.
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Crop
Profiles Available.
The
UK College of Agriculture's
New
Crop
Opportunities
Center
offers a number of "Crop Profiles" on its
Web site (file:///C:/My%20Documents/
Ag_News_Letters/Ag_
Newsletter_April_04/
www.uky.edu/ag/newcrops). These profiles are
available on a range of crops that include specialty
grains, fruit, vegetables, herbs, and ornamental
crops. There is also a profile available on greenhouse
structures. A new profile on specialty melons has just
been added.
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Use
excess balage for forage
Kentucky
farmers
have good reasons to bale excess forage crops for
balage (silage).
Producing silage enables producers to harvest
excess forages in a timely manner, takes less time
than hay, generates a higher-quality feed product, and
reduces the likelihood of weather- related harvesting
delays and the resulting quality deterioration.
Grasses dominate the seven million acres of pastures
and hayfields serving animal-based agriculture in
Kentucky
.
To thirds of cool-season grass growth occurs by early
July. So this is a good time to consider the
advantages of ensiling excess forages.
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Cow
College 2004 Now Open for Registration
The
fee for Cow College is $250 ($100 due upon application
and the balance due at the first session).
This fee includes all meals and materials
during the session, but does not include lodging. We
only accept 30 participants per year and the class
typically fills up very early, so if you are
interested, don’t delay. Cow College is the highest
level of producer education offered by the
University
of
Kentucky
Beef
IRM
group and
has become an extremely popular program. The class
consists of 5 two-day sessions, half of your time will
be spent in hands-on situations. The first session
dates are: July 7 and 8.
Click
here for full story.
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Use
forages more efficiently to increase livestock profits
Livestock
producers can increase net profits by doing a better
job of managing forages. Two ways to accomplish this
are to use more available pastures and feed animals
higher-quality forages. Farmers can achieve both
objectives by using an improved grazing system. “Our
pastures generally are too large for efficient
management. It is one reason we are using only about
one- third of the forages we produce,” said Garry
Lacefield, Extension agronomist with the University of
Kentucky College of Agriculture.
Click
here for full story.
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USDA
establishes Watershed approach for conservation
security program
.
WASHINGTON
,
May 4, 2004
--Agriculture
Secretary Ann M. Veneman today announced the watershed
approach and details of the enrollment categories that
will be used in the fiscal year 2004 Conservation
Security Program (CSP) sign-up to be held this summer.
“Watersheds are nature’s boundaries and are a good
way to group together producers working on similar
environmental issues,” Veneman said. “With a
rotation through the nation’s watersheds, every
farmer and rancher will have a chance to participate
in the program and will provide the flexibility needed
to expand the program as more funds become
available.”
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2004
CHEMICAL OPTIONS FOR DISEASE CONTROL IN BURLEY
AND
DARK
TOBACCO TRANSPLANT PRODUCTION.
 There
have been some significant changes in the chemical
options for use in tobacco transplant production
during the past couple of years, so please take a few
minutes and update yourself. For example, the state
label on Ferbam was not renewed by the manufacturer
and thus the label has expired. Actigard 50 W, which
has a third-party registration for use in flue-cured
transplant production is not labeled in other tobacco
types.
An
adequate supply of healthy transplants is an important
first step to having a successful tobacco crop.
Containerized- transplants, produced mainly in the
float-system in either greenhouses or outdoors,
accounts for most plants set in
Kentucky
.
Traditional ground beds are still used by a
significant number of small growers, but this
production accounts for only a small percentage of the
total planted acreage. Furthermore, traditional beds
will probably decline further with the reduced
availability of methyl bromide in the 1.5 lbs. cans
and the planned phase-out of methyl bromide in the
United States by
January
1, 2005
under
the USA Clean Air Act in accordance with the
international treaty to protect the ozone layer (The
Montreal Protocol on Substances that Deplete the Ozone
Layer). Source: Source: William Nesmith
Click
here for full story.
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Kentucky
Phase
II Amnesty Program
In
March, the Kentucky Tobacco Settlement Trust
Corporation (KTSTC), chaired by Governor Ernie
Fletcher, approved the Kentucky Phase II Amnesty
Program in an attempt to certify 30,485,850 payment
pounds on 23,649 farms that have remained unclaimed.
The unclaimed pounds resulted from farms that either
did not return a claim form, returned an incomplete
claim form, or did not claim all available pounds for
the crop year 1998, 1999, and 2000 Growing Farm and
Grower/ Tenant portions. The Quota Owner portion is
not eligible for the amnesty program, because quota
owners are certified each year. Click
here for full story.
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