to transport their dead

livestock to the landfill.

Call 723-5104 for more

details.

JANUARY CATTLE PRODUCER MEETING

Extension and Estill County Cattlemen’s Association will have a cattle producer meeting on Thursday, January 18th, 6:00 p.m. at the Estill County Extension office. Guest speaker is UK beef extension specialist Jeff Lehmkuhler. Estill County Cattlemen’s Association will have a

The 2018 Kentucky Fruit and Vegetable Conference is approaching rapidly. The program and registration form can be found by going to our Horticulture Department web site at: http://www.uky.edu/hort/node/1762

This meeting will be of great benefit particularly for new growers that are considering growing and marketing a crop, as well as for experienced growers.

We encourage fruit and vegetable growers in the county to attend this very informative meeting.

There are sessions on Commercial Fruit and Vegetable Production, Organic Production, Farmers’ Markets, Small Fruit Production, Direct Marketing and Agritourism, and Wholesale Marketing, Food Safety, and the Grape and Wine Short Course. Preconference Sunday evening

sessions include Vegetable and Fruit Round Table Discussions.

For more information, call 606-723-4557.

WELCOME MEGAN!

Welcome to our new

office support staff

Megan J. Parker.

Megan was hired and

started November 20th.

Megan graduated from

Estill County High

School and lives in

Irvine. She is putting her

experience to work and

learning Extension

programs and office

procedures.

We are pleased to have

Megan join our

Extension team.

Dead Livestock

Removal Option

Farmers who need to

dispose of dead

livestock can contact the

Estill County

Conservation District

and request a voucher

that will pay disposal

costs at the Blue Ridge

landfill off highway 89.

Farmers are responsible

2018 KENTUCKY FRUIT & VEGETABLE

CONFERENCE ANNOUNCED

Newsletter Title

DECEMBER 21, 2017

Estill County Farm Scoop Cooperative Extension Service Estill County 76 Golden Court Irvine, KY 40336 (606) 723-4557 Fax: (606) 723-5912 extension.ca.uky.edu

-In 1856 Franklin Pierce,

the 14th President of

the United States, was

the first President to

place a Christmas tree

in the White House.

-Thomas Edison's

assistant, Edward

Johnson, came up with

the idea of electric

lights for Christmas

trees in 1882. Christmas

tree lights were first

mass-produced in 1890

-About 98 percent of all

Christmas trees are

grown on farms, while

only 2% are cut from

the wild.

-There are

approximately 350

million Christmas trees

growing on U.S. farms.

Source: http://

extension.illinois.edu/

trees/facts.cfm

Newsletter Title

business meeting afterward. Meeting sponsor is Bluegrass Stockyards of Richmond. A meal will be provided so please pre-register by calling 723-4557.

KCA CONVENTION &

TRADE SHOW

The Kentucky

Cattlemen’s Association

Convention is January 11-

12, 2018. There are

educational sessions on

beef efficiency and

forages as well as a trade

show. To register, visit

the webpage http://

www.kycattle.org/

convention.html or call

(859) 278-0899.

ROOTSTOCK

ORDERS

We will be ordering apple and pear rootstocks now through mid-January. If you want to propagate a favorite apple or pear, grafting is one of the easiest ways to preserve that cultivar. To graft, you will need scion wood (terminal branch segments from last year’s growth collected at the end of February) and rootstock. If you do not know how to graft,

come by the office for more information.

We typically order Malling7 (55% of standard size tree) and/or MM.111 (80% of standard) semi-dwarf apple rootstock and a pear rootstock. Please pre-pay your order by January 15th. The rootstocks usually arrive in late February. To order, you can call 723-4557.

UK Researchers Study

Chocolate Prices

The holiday season is a time

when many people think of

buying, purchasing and

consuming chocolate. A

recent study by researchers

in the University of

Kentucky College of

Agriculture, Food and

Environment analyzed the

prices of various chocolates

along with consumer

willingness to pay for them.

“We wanted to gain a

deeper understanding

behind pricing and

purchasing actions in the

chocolate industry,” said

Willie Bedell, a graduate

student in the Department

of Agricultural Economics.

“For instance, a chocolate

eater can tell his or her

preference for a chocolate,

but he or she might not

understand the role that the

chocolate market plays in

economic development for

farmers in developing

countries, where most

cocoa is produced.”

Bedell and Michael Reed,

UK agricultural economist,

studied the prices of

chocolate at top online

stores for grocery and

gourmet foods during

August 2017. The

researchers wanted to see if

various nutritious attributes

of chocolate, such as bars

blended with fruit or nuts or

chocolate containing various

labels, affected consumers’

preference for the chocolate

or the merchandiser’s price.

They compared these prices

to the cost of a traditional

chocolate bar.

Their study showed that

when consumers buy

chocolates, they are not

necessarily thinking of the

potential health benefits

they could receive by eating

those blended with fruit or

nuts. Online retailers do not

always price blended

chocolates higher than plain

chocolate. Consumers do

pay a premium for white

chocolate blended with fruit

or nuts and blended bars

with known cocoa content.

They also pay a premium

for plain chocolates that are

Newsletter Title

rich in protein, and they

will pay a premium for

dark chocolate over milk

chocolate, likely because

of dark chocolate’s

health benefits.

Consumers also pay a

premium for chocolate

bars that are high in fat

and carbohydrates, as

well as chocolate

labeled GMO-free and

organic. Small-batch

and locally produced

chocolate tends to be

more expensive than

chocolate from leading

brands.

The UK researchers also

found that chocolates

labeled fair trade often

cost less than other

types of chocolate. The

fair trade designation

assures that farmers in

developing countries

receive a fair price for

their products.

“It was unexpected for

us to find a lower price

for fair trade chocolates

and no price premium

for blended chocolates,”

Bedell said. “The

industry needs to do a

better job of promoting

fair trade and the health

benefits of blended

chocolates, especially to

consumers.”

UK researchers said a need

exists for larger, more in-

depth studies to more fully

understand chocolate

pricing and purchases.

For the complete study, visit

http://people.wku.edu/

alex.lebedinsky/

KEA_papers/BEDELL.pdf

MARKETING LOCALLY

GROWN MEATS

WORKSHOP

The Kentucky Center for

Agriculture and Rural

Development’s (KCARD) is

hosting a Marketing Locally

Grown Meat Workshop on

Tuesday, January 23rd at

the Morgan County

Cooperative Extension

Office in West Liberty, KY.

The workshop will begin at

8:30am EST

with

registration,

and will last

until 4:00pm

EST. Lunch will be provided

for participants. The

workshop costs $15 per

person, which includes the

cost the food and

educational materials. Call

(859) 550-3972 to register.

Don’t Forget to Preg

Check Your Cows

Les Anderson, UK Beef

Extension Specialist,

encourages you to do a

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

feeding 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 conducted by the

National Animal Health

Monitoring System, fewer

than 20 percent of beef cow

calf producers used

pregnancy testing or

palpation 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 non-pregnant cows.

Compare the roughly $5 per

head cost of a pregnancy

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 procedure.

Three practical methods for

pregnancy diagnosis can be

Newsletter Title

used in beef cattle: 1)

rectal palpation and 2)

transrectal

ultrasonography 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

procedure requires little

time in the squeeze

chute. Transrectal

ultrasonography,

commonly 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 determine the

viability of the fetus and

the incidence 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 pregnancy is

simple and accurate. First, a

blood sampling kit needs to

be ordered from the

company. 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

instructions 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

obtaining 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 within 2-3 days

and the accuracy of the test

is very high. If the test

calls the cow open, then the

producer 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.

Kentucky Beef Cattle

Market Update

The feeder cattle market

did give back some of its

fall gains in the last couple

weeks as fed cattle prices

pulled back from their

highs. At the time of this

writing (November 15,

2017), spring CME© live

cattle futures have dropped

roughly $5 per cwt from

their early November highs

and feeders have followed

suit. While my charts below

only show monthly prices

through October, the first

couple weeks in

November did suggest

slightly lower prices.

This is not unusual for

November, but I do not

view this as a typical

“seasonal” price drop.

In this case I think it is

directly in response to

lower fed cattle prices,

which had really been

on a tear since August.

There is still very little

indication that we have

seen major calf runs

and given weather

conditions and lower

feed prices, we may not

see our typical fall runs

at all.

One dynamic that

producers have

commented on is the

lack of market

separation between

calves and heavy

feeders. Even a quick

glance at the charts

below shows very little

price difference per cwt in

550 lb steer calves and 850

lb feeder steers. Some of

this is due to overall market

price levels and some it is

also due to cheaper feed

prices this fall, but the

primary reason is a simple

matter of timing.

Feeder cattle values are

ultimately driven by their

eventual value as fed cattle

and the cost of finishing

them. The timing issue in

the fall primarily comes

down to when those feeder

cattle would be finished. As

of mid-November, there

was nearly an $8 per cwt

decrease in CME© live

cattle futures from April to

June and roughly an $11

per cwt decrease from April

to August. Those heavy

feeder cattle, that can be

finished sooner and hit that

higher spring fed cattle

market, are clearly going to

have much greater value

when sold as fed cattle.

Feedyards know this and as

they bid against each other

to place those heavy

feeders, they bid their

prices upward in response.

Conversely, those lighter

calves would be on feed a

longer period of time and

would be sold on the lower

summer fed cattle market.

This is actually a pretty

common market dynamic in

the fall, but it just seems

more pronounced this year

than usual.

Given the expected

decrease in fed cattle prices

from spring to summer, it is

very unlikely that current

prices for heavy feeders can

be sustained without some

outside factor emerging.

However, there are some

additional factors that are

likely to impact calf markets

in the next couple months.

First, local feed prices are

such that the cost of

growing calves this winter is

lower than it has been for a

while. This makes these

calves pretty attractive to

winter backgrounders.

Couple this with the fact

that we are not seeing a lot

of calves move through

markets due to exceptional

fall weather, and we should

continue to see support for

calf prices.

Secondly, we are now

approaching the time when

wheat grazing becomes

relevant. Grazeout

programs often set a

foundation under our fall /

winter calf markets and

they are likely to do so

again this year. I was on a

conference call with some

colleagues earlier this week

and several in the southern

plains were discussing this.

The general consensus was

that wheat was planted and

was up, but that

placements had not been

large thus far. However,

Figure 1. 550# Medium & Large frame #1-2 Steers KY Auction Prices ($ per cwt)

Figure 2. 850# Medium & Large Frame #1-2 Steers Kentucky Auction Prices ($ per cwt)

they indicated that they

thought overall interest

in grazeout was strong

and they expected a lot

of placement in the near

future. As these winter

grazers start looking to

place calves into winter

programs, they will be

competing with winter

backgrounders and

feedyards for these

calves. (source: Dr.

Kenny Burdine)

RECORD SOYBEAN

YIELDS IN WEST KY

Kentucky soybean

growers produced the

highest ever

documented yields in

the state this year in the

soybean yield contest

hosted by the UK

College of Agriculture,

Food and Environment

and the Kentucky

Soybean Board.

Meredith Farms, owned

by Philip and Lea

Meredith in Henderson,

produced the record-

breaking yield of 107.76

bushels per acre in the

full-season, irrigated

category of the yield

contest. This is the first

time a yield of more

than 100 bushels per

acre has been

documented in

Kentucky, and it

smashed the previous

record of 98.34 bushels per

acre set in 2015, a record

the farm also held. Meredith

Farms had two other

contest entries top the 100-

bushel-per-acre threshold in

this year’s contest. They will

be the first farm inducted

into the Kentucky Soybean

Board’s 100 Bushel Club.

“2017 was a record-

breaking year for

soybean production

in Kentucky,” said

Davie Stephens,

chairman of the

Kentucky Soybean Board.

“In addition to the three,

100-bushel entries, many

growers across the state

(and our state as a whole)

are experiencing record

yields. The Kentucky

Soybean Board is pleased to

recognize all of our yield

and quality contest winners

at the Kentucky Commodity

Conference in Bowling

Green on Thursday, Jan.

18.”

Kentucky farmers also broke

records in the double-crop,

non-irrigated portion of the

contest with two entries

harvesting more than 80

bushels per acre. Bruce and

Jeremy Benson in Hopkins

County recorded a yield of

91.84 bushels per acre.

Scott Kuegel, of Daviess

County, had a yield of 80

bushels per acre and placed

second in the category. The

Kentucky Soybean Board

will induct the men into the

80 Bushel Club for double-

crop soybeans.

“We thought these record

yields might be out there in

pockets, but we didn’t

expect them to be so high,”

said Carrie Knott, yield

contest organizer and UK

extension grain crops

specialist. “These record

yields were helped by

excellent growing conditions

that included timely rains

throughout the growing

season as well as producers’

management skills.”

To enter the contest,

producers must harvest a

minimum of three acres out

of a field that is at least 10

acres (verified by ag agent).

CALVING CLINIC

With the spring calving

season coming soon, cow/

calf operations need to be

prepared to recognize

problems with calving and

care for the newborn calf.

We are pleased to have a

Calving Clinic scheduled for

Tuesday, February 6th, 6:30

p.m. at the Extension office.

UK ruminant veterinarian

Michelle Arnold and UK

Extension beef specialist Les

Anderson will our guest

speakers. If you are

interested in attending,

please pre-register by

calling 723-4557.

Mid-South Stocker

Conference

Mark your calendar for the

2018 Mid-South Stocker

Conference entitled

“Pursuing Greater Profits”.

The event will be March 7,

2018, at the Logan County

Extension Office on 255

John Paul Rd, Russellville,

KY. More details in the next

newsletter.

BEEKEEPER MEETING

The next beekeeper

meeting is set for Monday,

Monday, February 19th,

6:00 p.m. at the Extension

office. A pot luck meal will

be at 6:00 with the meeting

at 7:00 p.m. We need to

consider nominating officers

at this meeting. Call 723-

4557 or email me to pre-

register.

HAY PRODUCTION SERIES

Madison and Estill County

Ag agents have organized a

hay production series for

this coming spring. The

tentative topics include:

>Cool season forages and haymaking 2/5/18

>Soils & Fertility 2/22/18

>Hay Machinery & Marketing 2/27/18

>Warm season forages & baleage overview 3/5/18

>Hay production economics 3/13/18

>Weed control in forages 3/29/18

If enough people pre-

register, we plan to offer

the series. More in the next

newsletter.

Upcoming

Forage

Events

AFGC Annual Meeting -

January 14-17, 2018

(Louisville, KY)

Pasture, Please!! (for Horse

owners)—January 22, 2018

(Scott Co. Extension Office)

37th Annual Kentucky

Alfalfa and Stored Forages

Conference—February 22,

2018 (Cave City, KY)

Novel Tall Fescue

Renovation Workshop—

March 8, 2018 (Lexington,

KY)

For details on these, call or

go online to http://

www.uky.edu/Ag/Forage/

welcome.htm

PUBLICATIONS

KY Farm Record Books (only $6 each)

2018 Food & Nutrition calendars

2018 Equine production calendars

AGENT NOTE...

We want to thank

you all for the support

you give to Cooperative

Extension throughout

the year.

The Estill County

Extension Office will be

closed Christmas day

through January 1st.

We will reopen January

2nd.

We hope you and

your family have a

joyous and blessed

Christmas season.

Eric Baker

County Extension Agent for Agriculture/Natural Resources

E-mail: ebaker@uky.edu County web page: http://estill.ca.uky.edu

Office Hours: Monday – Friday, 8:00 a.m. – 4:30 p.m., Telephone: 606-723-4557

Images: https://openclipart.org/royalty-free-clipart

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