Cooperative Extension Service Clark County 1400 Fortune Drive Winchester, Ky 40391 (859-744-4682 Fax: (859) 744-4698 clark.ca.uky.edu

Sincerely,

Clay Stamm County Extension Agent for Agriculture & Natural Resources

On Tuesday, March 12, 2019, the Clark

County Cooperative Extension Service will

be hosting a Restricted Use Pesticide

Certification class. There will be three

sessions, that day. You only have to attend one to become certified. There will

be two sessions available, 1:00 pm and

6:00 pm. Please call in and RSVP to which session you

would like to attend. Sessions with no registration will

be cancelled! Call the Clark County Extension Office at

859-744-4682 for more information.

There will be a tobacco GAP training at the Fayette

County Extension Office on Monday March 18, 2019.

The training will be from 11 am until 2 pm, but growers

are also encouraged to attend the Burley Co-op Annual

Meeting that starts at 9:30 am.

You can register online to attend the training at: https://shop.gapconnections.com/training/event?id=3824

or by contacting Kathy Sanford

(kathy@burleytobacco.com) or call (859) 252-3561.

Mud! Mud! Mud! We all have plenty of it and are all surely sick and tired of it! Not only is it a nuisance but it has become down right deadly to our livestock herds during this winter feeding season. Our current conditions is a great example of why we should test our forages every year, and supplement our livestock based on nutritional needs that the hay alone will not be able to provide. In this newsletter you will find articles on how to make it through the rest of this winter feeding season, and an early look at how to help your pastures rebound from all of this mud and downright destruction of our fields that we have experienced!

As we dig deeper into this month’s newsletter you will find we have A LOT of exciting things going on the next couple of months. Just to name a few upcoming events; we have information on, Tobacco GAP training, Industrial Hemp meetings, Beef Quality Care and Assurance trainings, Restricted Use Pesticide trainings, grain information and meetings, and a variety of other field days and meetings that I am sure you will find useful to your operation! One that I am particularly excited about is our Farmer Forum Meeting where we plan to discuss and share ideas about ways to address and fix muddy fields and pastures along with rebounding our herds from this brutal winter of mud! See the flyer inside for more information.

As always, we hope you will make it out to our events and meetings, and bring a friend. If you need any help with your farming operation or any other agricultural issue I am only a phone call or visit away! Good luck as we round out this winter feeding season, remember, we are in the short rows now and grass will be here before we know it!

Page 2 March 2019 Issue

By: Dr. Carrie Knott, UK Extension Grain Crops Specialist

Figure 1: Soybean harvest in January 2019 in Fulton County, KY.

Figure 2. Soybean seed harvested in Central Kentucky in early October.

Unfortunately some Kentucky producers are still ‘battling’ the 2018 soybean harvest (Figure 1). The fact

that several thousand acres of unharvested soybean still remain in Kentucky in February emphasizes the

tremendous challenge for harvest of the 2018 soybean crop. This has had a real impact on the quality of

those soybeans (Figure 2). As early as the first week of October, reports that there were some major

problems with pathogens in Kentucky’s soybeans were being made. In most cases, the diseases were

Phomopsis seed decay and purple seed stain. These diseases were favored by the repeated, frequent

rains that occurred after the soybean crop was physiologically mature (Growth Stage R7; about 60% grain

moisture), but before the crop could be harvested due to lots of rain and saturated soil conditions. Drs.

Carl Bradley and Kiersten Wise, University of Kentucky plant pathologists, along with Dr. Daren Mueller of

Iowa State University and Drs. Damon Smith and Shawn Conley of University of Wisconsin-Madison, wrote

a very informative blog with much more specific details on those pathogens and potential management

considerations for those pathogens: Soybean Seed Quality Considerations for 2019.

Near impossible harvest conditions were not isolated to Kentucky. Many of the regions that produce

‘seed beans’, the soybeans that were produced in 2018 and will be sold to farmers to produce the 2019

crop, also had similar challenges. Seed companies will certainly clean the soybean seed extensively so

that only the highest possible quality product will be sold in 2019. However, seed quality problems may still

persist and require additional efforts to effectively manage in 2019.

One concern is that soybean seed germination may be reduced due to the presence of pathogens (see

Soybean Seed Quality Considerations for 2019) and/or the repeated, frequent rains that occurred after the

soybean reached physiological maturity. There are no ‘rescues’ for low germination rates but

understanding that in 2019 seeding rates will probably need to be increased to compensate for lower -than-

normal germination rates will ensure that plant populations and ultimately, final yield are not impacted.

A second and much more concerning problem for the 2019 soybean crop is seed vigor. Seed vigor is a

measure of the ability of seeds to produce normal seedlings in stressful conditions. This differs from seed

germination, which is how many seeds can produce normal seedlings under ideal conditions. There are

very few ideal soybean fields in Kentucky making seed vigor very important. In most years, seed

germination and seed vigor are quite high and there is no need for concern. However, seed vigor can be

greatly reduced when subjected to repeated, frequent rains after the R7 growth stage; the exact conditions

that occurred across much of the soybean seed production region in 2018.

- Continued on page 3

Page 3 March 2019 Issue

Seed vigor is not listed on the seed tag, but it can be tested at many laboratories across the nation, in-cluding the University of Kentucky Regulatory Services. In general, the seed vigor test for soybean is the Accelerated Aging test. This test takes a minimum of 10 days to complete. This does not include any back-log the laboratory may have at the time the sample is submitted. Therefore, submitting samples as soon as possible is important to allow time to obtain the test results and make management decisions that will not impact planting dates. In general, the test results will list the seed vigor as “High” or “Low”. Essentially, seed lots with “High” seed vigor will likely produce acceptable germination and emergence rates in less than ideal conditions, such as cool, wet soils. Conversely, “Low” vigor seed lots are not expected to produce adequate, uniform stands unless field conditions are ideal, i.e. soil temperature between 68 and 86°F with no moisture stress (see Chapter 4 in A Comprehensive Guide to Soybean Management in Kentucky for additional details). “Low” vigor seed lots generally produce initial plant stands with unacceptable plant populations (less than 100,000 plants per acre) because much less seedlings will become established than would be predicted from the seed germination rate alone. This situation often results in reduced profitability at the end of the season due to the need for re-planting and in some cases reduced yield potential of the later-planted re-plant.

- Continued from page 2

Page 4 March 2019 Issue

2018 was Kentucky’s wettest year on record, and the new year seems to be more of the same. This means most livestock producers are dealing with less than

ideal conditions, and cattle are showing signs of stress.

“It is important to understand this winter has been relatively easy temperature-wise but difficult for cattle in Kentucky,” said Michelle Arnold, ruminant extension veterinarian for the University of Kentucky College of Agriculture, Food and Environment. “Cows of all ages are losing weight now at levels typically seen in late winter.”

Prolonged cloudy, wet weather with regular bouts of rain has resulted in muddy conditions that require substantially more energy in feed just to maintain body heat.

“Hay quality is also exceptionally poor this year, as much of it was cut very ripe, rained on while curing and baled with enough moisture to support mold growth,” Arnold said.

Winter feeding programs on many farms aren’t enough to support cattle this year, especially those in late pregnancy or early lactation, or their newborn calves, even though bitter cold hasn’t been a factor to this point.

Arnold explained that cattle have several defenses against cold, the first of which is their hair coat. The coat grows longer in the winter and helps conserve heat and repel cold. If an animal’s coat cover is wet and muddy, its energy requirements can easily double, especially if the animal has no wind protection.

“Energy from intake of hay that is adequate for maintenance in normal years is falling far short of the requirement this year,” she said. “Cold conditions are not too difficult for cattle, but when rain and wind are added, heat loss is multiplied several times by the effects of conduction and evaporation. Under these circumstances, the ‘wind chill factor’ referred to by the meteorologist has real meaning to a cow.”

To combat this, producers need to supplement cattle with adequate energy and protein sources. Hay of unknown nutritional quality often does not provide enough nutrition to meet the animal’s basic requirements. This will result in depletion of body fat stores, followed by breakdown of muscle protein and

finally death due to insufficient nutrition.

“Typically, near the end of most winters, both veterinary diagnostic laboratories in Kentucky receive older beef cows for necropsy,” Arnold said. “This winter, malnutrition cases include young cows and pre-weaning/weaning age calves, indicating serious nutritional deficiencies in the feedstuffs, especially the hay produced last summer. The producer may first notice a cow getting weak in the rear end. Later she is found down and is unable to stand. Death follows within a day or two after going down. Multiple animals may die within a short period of time.”

At necropsy, the pathologist may find a thin animal with no body fat stores, but the rumen is full of bulky, dry forage material which is poor quality hay. Even the small seam of fat normally found on the surface of the heart is gone, indicating the last storage area in the body for fat has been used up. Despite having had access to free choice hay, these cattle died from starvation. Although hay may look and smell good, unless a producer tests the hay for nutritional content, he or she does not know the true feed value of that harvested forage.

“It is often difficult for producers to bring themselves to the realization that cattle can actually starve to death while consuming all of the hay they can eat,” Arnold said.

She also encouraged producers to look at their mineral supplementation, as copper and selenium levels have been far below acceptable levels this year. Deficiencies can lead to multiple problems, and it’s best to address them before they get to that point.

“We want producers to understand how important it is to test their hay. It is simple, inexpensive, and the results are easy to interpret,” Arnold said. “Your local Cooperative Extension Service office can help you. Other than that, review your nutrition program, and if your cows are losing weight, consider supplemental feed to get them through the rest of the winter.”

UK beef specialists Kevin Laurent, Jeff Lehmkuhler and Roy Burris created an online supplemental feeding tool at http://forage-supplement-tool.ca.uky.edu/, where producers may enter hay test values and stage of production to help find appropriate supplements for many operations. Producers should still monitor intake and body condition through the winter and make sure cattle have clean drinking water and access to a complete mineral supplement.

By: Aimee Nielson, Agricultural Communications Specialist / Writer

Page 5 March 2019 Issue

Page 6 March 2019 Issue

Dr. Jimmy Henning, excerpt of article in Farmers

Mud is the price of feeding cattle outside over winter, especially the winter of 2018/2019. So what can be done to renovate or rehabilitate damaged grass pastures?

First, there is no easy or quick fix. The damaged pastures are going to need time out of production and some inputs. Let’s take a look at some things you can do to help rehabilitate your pasture grass base.

Rest. I would have to put this at the top of any list. Without time off, the pasture will never be much more than mud and weeds. Ideally, this rest would extend beyond the rehabilitation period to future management. If these pastures have to go back into rotation, make it a priority to implement rotational grazing with extended rest periods. Longer rest periods allow the roots to recover as well as the tops.

Feeding somewhere else. Getting to state the obvious is a perk of old age, and feeding somewhere else is the pinnacle of obvious. However, doing the same thing over and over again and expecting a different result is a symptom of insanity by some. Other options?

Nitrogen. The strongest stimulant for grass growth is nitrogen. While legumes do supply nitrogen, for this problem we need to pull out the big guns and use fertilizer N for quickest results. Spring N will stimulate grass plants that are still vigorous and growing and will produce more yield per pound of N than at any other time, generally.

Assessment. Determine whether you have enough grass to warrant the N. Weeds are also stimulated by spring N, and we don’t need more of those. Fall applied N will stimulate cool season grasses to initiate new tillers that will emerge next spring. The timing window for N application to stimulate tillering is wider and later than the optimum window for stockpiling fescue. October and November applications will be effective.

Planting something. Once the cattle have been removed, you have the opportunity to smooth up the area if needed and seed. The options include red and white clover, a summer annual or even an aggressive establishing cool season grass if done early. Clover will easily germinate and grow when broadcast onto bare soil given just a little rain or packing. The taproots can help loosen the soil as well.

My choice of the ryegrasses would be perennial ryegrass and not annual. Perennial is still a temporary fix but has a chance of lasting well into the season and maybe more. Annual ryegrass will often go to seed and die by mid-summer, unless an Italian type is used.

Summer annuals. Species such as crabgrass, sorghum-sudan, sudangrass and pearl millet can provide high yields and make good use of the residual N, P and K from the cattle. Plant these when the soils are warmer and the chance of frost has passed.

All the options above (clover, ryegrass or warm season annuals) are just temporary solutions, of course. Their purpose is to provide some pasture while bridging to the fall seeding window when seeding of more permanent cool season grasses are more successful.

There are as many ways to rehabilitate our permanent pastures as there are farms. Adding heavy use areas, unrolling hay across more area, and even bale grazing can help. But rest, nitrogen, feeding elsewhere and replanting are some of your most powerful tools for the job of bringing back the permanence in your pastures.

Page 7 March 2019 Issue

As soon as the ground dries, remember that it is a good idea to take your soil samples in your fields if you didn’t do it in the fall. High value crops should be sampled every year, and pastures should be sampled once every 3 to 4 years when previous soil tests have had good or adequate results.

Due to our Princeton soil lab being closed for renovation, you will need to go ahead and take your soil samples early to avoid the spring rush and to make sure you get your results back in plenty of time for planting crops. You should expect a longer turn around time to get your results.

Soil testing supplies are available at the Clark County Extension Office (1400 Fortune Drive). We do not charge for soil tests!

(for female and minority farmers)

Kentucky State University

Will cover technical assistance available through this USDA program (cost-share and loan opportunities).

Call the Clark County Extension Office at (859) 744-4682 to register.

Page 8 March 2019 Issue

(1140 Harry Sykes Way, Lexington)

Call the Clark County Extension Service at (859) 744-4682 to RSVP or to obtain additional information.