September 2024 Edition

Agriculture & Natural Resources
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Russell County Agriculture and Natural Resources September 2024 Newsletter

In this issue…

•    Upcoming Events
•    Off the Hoof: Timely Tips
•    Economic Update: Ag Census Summary
•    National Weather Service: Wildfires and Weather

 

Russell County Extension Office

2688 S. HWY .127 
Russell Springs, KY 42642

Phone: (270) 866 - 4477 
Fax: (270) 866 - 8645 
russell.ca. uky.edu 

Jonathan Oakes 
CEA for Agriculture and Natural Resources

UPCOMING EVENTS

Lake Cumberland Area Cattle A.I School

September 12th: 10:00am -4:00pm CST

Russell Co. Extension Office 
270-866-4477

September 30th: 1 0:00am - 4:00pm EST

Pulaski Co. Extension Office 
606-679-6361

Lake Cumberland Area Cattle Pregnancy Determination School 
August 27th: 6:00pm EST 

90 Gabby Shelton Rd

Parkers Lake, KY 42634

606-376-2524

October 29th: 6:00pm EST 
TBD Liberty, KY 42539 
606-787-738

2024 Heart of America Grazing Conference October 15-17, 2024 
Hardin County Extension Office 
111 Opportunity Way, Elizabethtown KY 

2024 Kentucky Intermediate Grazing School September 25-26, 2024 
Woodford County Extension Office 
184 Beasley Drive, Versailles, KY 40383 

Russell County Beekeeper's Meeting 
September 5th: 6 PM CST 
Russell County Extension Office 

Guest speaker: Dr. Tammy Horn Potter, former State Apiarist

 

OFF THE HOOF

KENTUCKY BEEF CATTLE NEWSLETTER,  AUGUST 1, 2024

Each article is peer-reviewed by UK Beef IRM Team and edited by Dr. Les Anderson, Beef Extension 
Specialist, Department of Animal & Food Science, University of Kentucky 

This month's newsletter includes: 

• Timely Tips - Anderson 
• Managing Cool-Season Pastures for Enhanced Fall Growth- Teutsch 
• Growing On-feed Inventory, Lower Placements, and No Sign of Heifer Retention - Burdine                                                                                                                                                         
• Johne's Disease and Detection in Beef Cattle Frequently Asked Questions - Arnold 

Timely Tips 

Dr. Les Anderson, Beef Extension Professor, University of Kentucky

 
Spring-Calving Cow Herd 

•    Fescue pastures don't generally produce much this month. Some of us have had some rain but the heat has punished our pastures and cattle this summer. Most of you may have some forage going into the usually dry months. Keep rotating pastures to permit calves to continue gaining weight. Always keep minerals available. Bulls should have been removed from the cow herd by the end of the month. They should be pastured away from the cow herd with a good fence and allowed to regain lost weight and condition. It is a good time to evaluate physical condition, especially feet and legs. Bulls can be given medical attention and still have plenty of time to recover, e.g., corns, abscesses, split hooves, etc. If removing the bull is not practical for you then call your herd veterinarian and schedule a pregnancy diagnosis. Market your "late-bred" cows and keep those that conceived early in the breeding season. Repair and improve corrals for fall working and weaning. Consider
•    having an area to wean calves and retain ownership for post-weaning feeding rather than selling "green", lightweight calves. Plan to participate in CPH-45 feeder calf sales in your area.

Fall-Calving Cow Herd

•    Dry cows should be moved to better pastures as calving time approaches. Cows should start calving next month. Yearling heifers may begin "headstart" calving later this month. Plan to move cows to stockpiled fescue for the breeding season, so it will soon be time to apply nitrogen fertilizer.
•    Prepare for the fall-calving season (usually September). Get ready, be sure you have the following:
-    record book
-    ear tags for identification
-    calf puller
-    Castration equipment

Economic & Policy Update

Ag Census Summary on Government Farm Program Payments for Kentucky Counties/Regions 
Author(s): Will Snell 
Published: July 30, 2024 
The Ag Census provides data to examine the relative importance of government farm program 
payments on a state and county level. Over the past two decades, these payments have included traditional farm bill safety net programs such as the Agriculture Risk (ARC) and Price Loss Coverage 
(PLC) programs and previous price/revenue support programs such as Direct and Counter-cyclical Payment Program (DCP) and Average Crop Revenue Election (ACRE) Program) along with conservation payments. These payments have also included ad hoc programs like the Market Facilitation Program (MFP), Coronavirus Food Assistance Program (CFAP), along with Tobacco Transition Payment Program (better known as the "Tobacco Buyout payments).[1] 
Focusing over the past five ag census years (2002, 2007, 2012, 2017, and 2022), government farm 
payments for Kentucky averaged $116.5 million, or 8.3% of the state's net cash farm income from all farming operations. Over the past five census years, Kentucky government farm program payments were consistently less than the national average. For the most recent ag census (2022), government payments accounted for only 3.6% of Kentucky net cash farm income. Higher commodity prices and record net farm income in 2022, plus the ending of tobacco buyout payments help explain the decline in the relative importance of government payments to the state's net farm income. 

Source: NASS/USDA 

On an individual county basis, as one would expect, our western Kentucky counties accounted for the largest percentage of government farm program payments in Kentucky. Christian County led the state receiving an average of $6.3 million annually over the past five census periods (accounting from 5.4% of Kentucky's federal farm payments) followed by Graves County ($6.0 million), Logan County ($5.2 million), Warren County ($3.9 million) and Calloway County ($3.4 million). 
Examining USDA agricultural districts over the past five ag census periods, the Midwestern region of Kentucky comprised the largest recipient of government payments (33.5%), followed by the Central (28.8%) and Purchase (19.5%) regions.[-2] Notably, the Bluegrass, Eastern, and Northern regions experienced a relative smaller percentage of government payments in 2022, likely reflecting the loss of tobacco buyout payments. Higher grain prices encouraged more grain acres in these regions in recent years, but data indicate a significant number of grain acres in these counties not being eligible for farm bill payments. For example, the Bluegrass and Central Kentucky Agricultural Districts have 6. 9% of the state's base acres used in calculating farm bill payments, but have comprised over 7 .2%of the state's grain acres in recent years. Current farm bill proposals are considering allowing the entry of new base acres reflecting more recent production patterns, which could benefit these regions if this proposed provision becomes a part of the next farm bill.

Source: USDA Ag Census 
[1] While these payments were paid by from funds evolving from assessments on tobacco companies and not by using taxpayer funds, they were distributed by USDA and thus counted by USDA as direct government farm payments from 2005-2014. 
[2] For a list of counties in each of the Kentucky Agricultural Statistic Districts, click here and go to page 3.

Recommended Citation Format: 
Snell, W. "Ag Census Summary on Government Farm Program Payments for Kentucky 
Counties/Regions." Economic and Policy Update (24):7, Department of Agricultural Economics, University of Kentucky, July 30, 2024. 
Author(s) Contact Information: Will Snell | wsnell@uky.edu 

 

Wildfires and Weather: A Potentially Deadly Combination 

Tony Edwards - National Weather Service Charleston, WV 

Wildland forest fires are fairly common across the Commonwealth, but especially so in the forests of eastern Kentucky. The Kentucky Division of Forestry reports that, on average, there are over 1,400 wildfires each year across Kentucky. Arson is the number one cause of those fires, with uncontrolled burning ranking second. Ninety-nine percent of all wildfires in Kentucky are caused by humans! 
Many of us have seen what look like harmless fires burning in the leaf litter in our forests during the dry fall and spring seasons. Some of us may have even been responsible for a burn pile or two getting "out of control". These situations shouldn't be taken lightly, however, as given the right conditions, these fires can become deadly. 
On April 6, 1999, rapidly changing weather conditions and steep terrain combined on a wildfire (named the Island Fork Fire) in Rowan County, resulting in the death of two volunteer firefighters, ages 28 and 30. These firefighters were overrun by the wildfire which likely started when a landowner lost control of a fire while clearing a fence line. The wildfire advanced quickly up the steep terrain, with flames as high as 20 feet and winds increasing rapidly to over 35 mph! Char marks on the tree bark were up to 50 feet high! While such fire conditions are rare in Kentucky, they illustrate how dangerous wildfires can be and why you should take measures to prevent them from occurring. 
The National Weather Service issues Red Flag Watches and Red Flag Warnings to inform fire management agencies and the public when weather conditions are right for rapid wildfire growth. A Red Flag Watch means to be prepared as dangerous fire weather conditions are possible in the next few days but are not occurring yet. A Red Flag Warning means dangerous fire weather conditions are occurring now or are expected to occur shortly. During a Red Flag Warning, you should use extreme caution when dealing with anything that could pose a wildfire hazard. 

When fire danger is elevated, you may see a burn ban go into effect. Usually these are on a local county level, and are enforced with assistance from local law enforcement. Burn bans generally prohibit burning of forest, grass, crops, woodlands, marshes and other similar areas. Make sure to check with your local fire department or county officials before burning. 
Keep in mind that during fire seasons in Kentucky, it is illegal to burn anything within 150 feet of any woodland or brushland between the hours of 6 a.m. and 6 p.m. The Spring Forest Fire Season runs from February 15 - April 30 and the Fall Forest Fire Season runs from October 1 - December 15. Violation of the burn ban is a misdemeanor punishable by law!