Volume 1, Issue 1 Steve Musen

Jessamine County Extension Agent

Agriculture and Natural Resources

at 502-

Cooperative

Extension Service

Jessamine County

95 Park Drive

Nicholasville, KY 40356

(859) 885-4811

www.jessamine.ca.uky.edu

Inside this issue:

Upcoming Events

in Agriculture

2

Hardy Lentil and

Sausage Soup

2

Pregnancy Check

Your Cows

3

Don’t Let Potash

Limit Your For-

ages

4

Fall is for Plant-

ing

5

Kentucky Fruit

and Vegetable

Conference

5

AGRICULTURE NEWS Jessamine County

Agriculture

December, 2017/January 2018

The Jessamine County Extension Office

will be closed from December 25th through

January 1st for the Holiday Season.

Have a Merry Christmas and a Safe and Happy

New Year!

Agriculture and Natural Resource Extension

Regardless of what your family is involved

in, Cooperative Extension plays a role.

Through research-based education, we

bring the University of Kentucky College of

Agriculture, Food and Environment straight

to you.

Our animal and food sciences programs

cover beef, dairy, equine, sheep, goats,

poultry, swine and meats. Our plant and

soil sciences programs include forages,

grain crops, soils, tobacco, turf, waste man-

agement, water quality and weeds. Our

horticulture programs include flowers,

fruits, nuts, nursery and landscape, new

crops, vegetables and fruits for home, com-

mercial and organic operations. We also

offer many programs in forestry, agricultur-

al economics, entomology, plant pathology

and biosystems and agricultural engineer-

ing.

In 2016, more than 7,000 Kentucky farmers

reported an increase in profits by adopting

one or more practices recommended by

extension. Statewide, we collected and

processed nearly 38,000 soil tests. More

than 400 beef producers experience a col-

lective $504,000 impact by adopting posi-

tive herd efficiencies practices

For more information, contact the Jessa-

mine County Extension Office.

Dec. 5 Master Horseman Program

(Keeping Your Horses—Facilities)

Franklin Co. Extension @ 6:00pm

Dec. 7 Tree and Log Grading Introduction

Webinar@ 7:00pm

Jessamine County Ag. Center

Dec. 9 St. “Nich” Christmas Fest and

Parade, Nicholasville

Dec. 12 Master Horse Program

(Horses and Forages)

Franklin Co. Extension @ 6:00pm

Dec. 19 Master Horse Program

(Feeding Management)

Fayette Co. Extension @ 6:00pm

Dec. 18 Jessamine County Cattlemen

Jessamine Ag. Center @ 6:30pm

Jan. 8-9 KY Fruit and Vegetable Conf.

Embassy Suites, Lexington Jan. 14-17 American Forage and Grassland

Council’s Annual Conf. and Expo

Crowne Plaza, Louisville, KY

Jan. 22 Pastures, Please!!

(Equine Pasture Program)

Scott Co. Extension, 5:30-8:00pm

Upcoming Events in Agriculture

Page 2 AGRICULTURE NEWS

HEARTY LENTIL AND SAUSAGE SOUP INGREDIENTS:

¹⁄3 pound ground Italian sausage

1 small onion, diced

1 stalk of celery, diced

2 large carrots, sliced

1 teaspoon garlic, minced

8 ounces dried lentils, sorted and rinsed

1 (14.5 ounce) can diced, no-salt-added

tomatoes

1 (14.5 ounce) can low-sodium chicken broth

4 cups water

1 large bay leaf

2 teaspoons Italian seasoning

¼ teaspoon salt

¼ teaspoon black pepper

STOVETOP DIRECTIONS:

1. Place sausage in a large stock pot.

2. Cook over medium heat until evenly

browned. Drain excess fat in a colander.

3. Return sausage to pot and add onion, celery,

carrots and minced garlic.

4. Sauté vegetables until tender.

5. Stir in lentils and remaining ingredients.

6. Bring to a boil. Reduce heat, cover and

simmer for 45 minutes or until lentils are

tender. Remove bay leaf before serving.

SLOW COOKER DIRECTIONS:

1. Place sausage in a skillet on the stovetop.

2. Cook over medium heat until evenly

browned. Drain excess fat in a colander.

3. In a 6 quart slow cooker, stir together all

ingredients.

4. Cover and cook on low for 8 hours.

5. Remove bay leaf before serving.

MAKES 4 SERVINGS

Source: Brooke Jenkins-Howard

U.K. Nutrition Education Program

For more information on any of these programs, please contact the Jessamine County Extension Office

“When it

comes time to

cull cows from

your herd,

pregnancy

status is one

of the first

criteria that

will determine

whether a

cow stays in

the country or

goes to

town.”

Page 3 AGRICULTURE NEWS

Don’t Forget to Preg Check Your Cows

I hope most of you are planning your herd

"preg check". If you have not incorporated

this management practice in the past, please

do so this year so that you won’t be feed non-

productive females this fall and winter. When

it comes time to cull cows from your herd,

pregnancy status is one of the first criteria

that will determine whether a cow stays in the

country or goes to town.

According to the results of a survey conduct-

ed by the National Animal Health Monitoring

System, fewer than 20 percent of beef cow

calf producers used pregnancy testing or pal-

pation in their herd. However, the benefits of

this practice are fairly simple to realize. First

of all, pregnancy diagnosis allows producers to

identify "open" or nonpregnant cows. Com-

pare the roughly $5 per head cost of a preg-

nancy exam with the $100-200 per head cost

of hay alone to feed an open cow through the

winter (if you can find hay for $30 per roll).

It’s easy to see that pregnancy testing quickly

pays for itself.

Pregnancy diagnosis is a quick and simple pro-

cedure. Three practical methods for pregnan-

cy diagnosis can be used in beef cattle: 1) rec-

tal palpation and 2) transrectal ultrasonogra-

phy 3) blood sampling. Rectal palpation is

most common and is an accurate form of

pregnancy diagnosis that can be performed

after day 45 of pregnancy. Many veterinarians

are proficient at rectal palpation, and this pro-

cedure requires little time in the squeeze

chute. Transrectal ultrasonography, common-

ly referred to as ultrasound, can be used to

detect pregnancy as early as 28 days with a

high degree of accuracy. This method can be

employed just as quickly as rectal palpation

when done by a skilled technician and may

provide additional information that cannot be

determined by rectal palpation. Using

transrectal ultrasonography, the technician is

actually "looking" at the fetus and can deter-

mine the viability of the fetus and the inci-

dence of twins. It is also possible to determine

the sex of the fetus between days 60 and 90

of pregnancy.

The blood test method to determine pregnan-

cy is simple and accurate. First, a blood sam-

pling kit needs to be ordered from the com-

pany. A quick google search will help you find

the closest lab. Usually, the cost is about

$1.50-2.00 per cow for the kit. All the tubes

should be labeled according to the instruc-

tions in the kit. The most difficult part of this

process for most producers will be obtaining

the blood sample. Cows must be at least 30

days pregnant and 90 days from calving for the

test to work. Also, producer’s who have no

experience taking a blood sample will need to

schedule this test with their local veterinarian.

Once the sample is obtained, the samples are

packaged and sent to a laboratory for analysis.

The cost for the test is $2.50-3.00 per cow.

So the total cost per cow will be the cost of

the kit, plus the test cost, plus the cost of

mailing and any costs associated with obtain-

ing the sample if you cannot do it yourself.

Likely the cost per cow will be about $5 per

cow for most producers.

The results are normally obtained with 2-3

days and the accuracy of the test is very high.

If the test calls the cow open, then the pro-

ducer is 99+% sure the cow is open. When

the test determines a cow pregnant, you can

be 93-95% sure they are pregnant. This test

will not determine stage of pregnancy (i.e. 90

days versus 120 days).

Schedule to get pregnancy diagnosed in your

cows. Few management tools are available

that will save you more money.

Dr. Les Anderson, Beef Extension Specialist, Uni-

versity of Kentucky

Page 4 Volume 1, Issue 1 Page 4 AGRICULTURE NEWS

Potassium can be a neglected nutrient

in forages, especially hayfields.

Potassium is needed for many essential

plant processes including stomatal

opening and closing (regulates water

status of plant), winter hardiness, and

resistance to plant disease and stress.

Fall is a great time to sample pasture

and hayfields and apply needed

fertilizer such as potash (K2O).

Silage crops are heavy users of K2O,

and the stover/stems contain ¾ of the

potash. If these fields are not amended

with additional K2O according to soil

test, subsequent forage crops will be K

deficient. Repeated removal of hay

crops without K2O replacement

results in low to very low soil K2O

test levels. Hay crops

on these soils will have

a diminished response

to N, and can even

appear nitrogen

deficient after N

fertilization.

A ton of fescue or

orchardgrass hay will

remove 17 to 19 lbs. of

phosphate (P2O5)per

ton compared to 53 to

62 lbs. of K2O. Using

20 and 60 for P2O5 and K2O removal

respectively, a three ton hay crop will

remove 60 lbs. of P2O5 and 180 lbs. of

K2O. Replacement of these nutrients

using 19-19-19 would require 900 lbs.

of product per acre. Commonly used

rates of 200 to 300 lbs. of 19-19-19

per acre would undersupply the K2O

needed by 120 to 140 lbs. per acre.

To prevent potash from being limited

in your hayfields, get a current soil test

and then work with your fertilizer

dealer to prepare a blended fertilizer

that will supply recommended

nutrients. Hay fields that are very low

in potash will requires high application

rates over time.

“Fall is a great

time to

sample

pasture and

hayfields and

apply needed

fertilizer such

as potash

(K2O).”

Don’t Let Potash Limit Your Forages

Page 5 AGRICULTURE NEWS

“Mulch

conserves

moisture,

keeping berries

off the ground,

which reduces

rot development

and keeps dirt

off of the

berries.”

Mulching Strawberry Plants Hopefully, you had a chance to mulch your

strawberry plantings before the early

winter cold. Mulch helps reduce the

freezing and thawing of the soil that breaks

off the small roots and in some cases can

lift the plants partially out of the ground,

translating into smaller berries and reduced

yields.

Mulching also slows plant development in

the spring which reduces the chances of

frost injury to the flowers. Mulch

conserves moisture, keeping berries off the

ground, which reduces rot development

and keeps dirt off of the berries. It can also

reduce weed development making harvest

much nicer under wet conditions.

Wheat straw is the preferred mulch

material, but oat and rye straw also work

well. Try to acquire mulch that does not

contain a lot of weed, wheat, oat or rye

seeds as this can substantially increase

weed control requirements in

the spring. Apply the mulch

when the night temperature is

expected to reach about 20

degrees F which is usually

sometime in mid-December in

Kentucky, although this year the

lower temperatures came

earlier than usual.

Cover the plants so you can still

see a number of leaves peeking

out from beneath the straw.

Excessive mulch can smother plants. When

spring comes, don’t hurry mulch removal.

The mulch will protect the strawberry fruit

buds as long as it remains on the plant.

Remove the mulch when the plants have

begun to grow and the foliage looks slightly

yellow. If the mulch is left on too long, it

could substantially reduce your yield.

If you are a fruit or vegetable grower or

are thinking about becoming one, the

Kentucky Fruit and Vegetable Conference

is held every January in Lexington, KY.

(Fore registration Information, see below.)

Topics include commercial fruit and

vegetable production, farmers’ markets,

organic farming and gardening, high tunnel

production, direct marketing and home-

based produce microprocessing.

John Strange, U.K. Extension Horticulture

Specialist

The 2018 Kentucky Fruit and Vegetable Conference will be held January 8-9 at

Embassy Suites in Lexington. Advance registration is $40 and must be received

by December 15, 2017. On-site registration will be $60.

http://www.uky.edu/hort/sites/www.uky.edu.hort/files/

documents/2018_FVC_Program.pdf

2018 Kentucky Fruit and Vegetable Conference

Jessamine County Extension Service 95 Park Drive Nicholasville, KY 40356 RETURN SERVICE REQUESTED