November 2017

County Extension Agent for

Agriculture and Natural Resources

Table of Contents

Page 2 - 3 Cattle IRM

Page 4 Pictures of KFB Annual

Meeting

Page 5 - 6 Pictures of Farm Safety

Day

Page 7 Pictures of KSU Third

Thursday

Page 8 – 9 Managing Late Pastures

Page 10 KY Farm Market

Enrollment

Page 11 - Sheep & Goat IRM

Page 12 & 13 HEEL Publication

The fields are finally ready for harvest

Cooperative Extension Service Bullitt County 384 Halls Lane Shepherdsville, KY 40165-6263 (502)543-2257 Fax: (502)543-6940 extension.ca.uky.edu

2

Beef Integrated Resource

Management

Review Weekly Kentucky Department of Agriculture

Grain and Marketing Reports.

Record average price for class and weight

important to your operation.

Spring Calving Herd wean the

calves

Give any necessary booster vaccinations

to calves (ie IBR-PI3BVDBRSV)

Consider selling open cows and heifers

and those weaning poor calves. Inform tax

preparer if the cows and heifers were

raised or purchased.

Put thin cows (body condition score of

less than 5) on high quality feed or

pasture, such as accumulated tall fescue.

Obtain cow and calf weights at weaning

and see your County Extension Agent for

information on record keeping programs.

Cull cows based on performance and

pregnancy status and make initial heifer

selections, keeping at least 20% more than

you intend to retain for the next breeding

season.

Keep back the best of the early-born heifer

calves for potential replacements. If

purchasing replacement females, identify

dates and locations of regional sales.

Marketing: Plan your calf marketing

program. Alternatives include CPH-45

sales (check local sale for specific

requirements and dates), weekly auction

markets, private treaty sales to dealers or

feeders, backgrounding the calves

yourself, or retaining ownership through

the feedlot.

Fall Calving continues Check calving pastures frequently.

Identify calf with ear tag and/or tattoo

while calves are young and easy to handle

and record dam ID and birth date.

Commercial male calves should also be

castrated and implanted according to

product recommendations. Castration and

dehorning are less stressful when

performed on young animals.

Registered calves should be weighed

during the first 24 hours.

Move cows with young calves to the best

pasture - accumulated fescue pasture can

work well for this.

Line-up A.I. sires and/or purchase new

bulls at least 30 days before the breeding

season - demand expected progeny

differences (EPDs) and breeding

soundness exam reports and check health

history including immunizations. Choose

a breed and use EPDs plus visual

observation to select the bull that best fits

your program and budget.

Have veterinarian perform breeding

soundness evaluations on bulls.

Continued Next Page...

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Fall Calving Continues

Evaluate yearling replacement heifers for

pelvic area, reproductive tract score, and

weight. Heifers should reach their target

weight of 65% of expected mature weight

by breeding season.

Considerations for all Cattle Treat calves and cows for external

parasites.

Remove fly-control ear tags to prevent

resistance.

Environment Plan for winter feeding area.

Select at least three or four potential

sacrifice areas (1 acre grass sod per 20-50

cows).

Consider installing geotextile-gravel pad in

the sacrifice area.

Consider impact of runoff from feeding

areas.

Perform annual maintenance to geotextile

areas. Grade for drainage and gravel where

needed.

Forages Apply phosphate, potash and lime

according to soil test recommendations.

Do not harvest or graze alfalfa fields

to replenish root reserves.

Graze crop residues (Beware of

grazing restrictions on certain crop

herbicides).

Beware of prussic acid (cyanide)

poisoning from grazing summer annual

grasses following frost.

Start inventory of hay supplies and

needs and test hay quality.

Consider broadleaf weed control in

grass pastures.

Record-Keeping

Fall calving herd: record calf information.

Spring calving herd: record weaning

weight and date.

Record breeding cow and calf sales.

Record cattle working procedures and

practices for BQA records.

Record shipment of cattle sold for BQA

records.

Record last calf born in fall season as end

of calving season.

Record the series of CPH-45 tags, the date

applied and to which calving group they

are applied.

4

September 16

Bullitt County Farm Bureau

Annual Meeting

5

September 20

Farm Safety Day

6

7

September 21

Third Thursday at

Kentucky State University

8

Managing Pastures during the Late-

Growing Season 9/14/2017 Glen Aiken

Our cool-season grass pastures are in the

second half of the growing season, and it is

time to think about preparing them for cold

weather and spring green-up.Yes, I said spring

green-up, because management inputs that

prepare your pasture forages’ root systems to

survive freezing ground temperatures and

provide maximum storage of nutrients can

promote early spring growth. In other words,

your pastures get a good start in the next

growing season with good grazing

management and fertilization in the fall.

Pastures are generally not as productive in the

fall as during the

spring season, so you

may wonder why full

attention is not spent

on promoting and

utilizing the spring

growth. Maximizing

and utilizing spring

growth should be a

priority, but fertilizer

application and sound

grazing management

decisions in the late-

growing season can

promote winter

survival, which can

carry-over into an

early and strong spring growth.

Why would we want to fertilize in the late

summer or early fall? The answer is: why

not? An application of 50 to 70 pounds of

nitrogen from early August to middle

September can generate growth of fall

pasture. Much of this growth is due to

increases in tillers/shoots that increases

ground cover and thickens grass stands. An

application of nitrogen in early to mid-August

is routinely recommended for stockpiling tall

fescue to maximize pasture growth for winter

grazing that will save dollars spent on hay and

feed.

A fall application of nitrogen will also increase

storage of nitrogen in the root systems, needed

for maintenance during the winter months, and

growth as air and soil temperatures rise in the

early spring. Although a late application of

nitrogen in October may not generate a

reliable amount of forage growth, it can

conserve the nitrogen stored in the roots to

generate stronger and more productive grass

stands in the spring.

Phosphate and potash are ordinarily applied in

the spring, but the fall is also a good time to

spread these nutrients. If soil tests state that

phosphate has dropped below 60 pounds per

acre and potassium below 120 pounds per acre

then it is wise to apply these nutrients prior to

the onset of winter.

Continued Next Page…

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Continued…

Both of these nutrients have critical functions

in growth and maintenance of grass and

legume root systems. Fall is also a good time

to spread lime if needed to increase soil pH.

It does not make much sense to fertilize

during a dry summer, but there will likely be

some showers in the fall before freezing

temperatures. Grass plants that are stressed

from hot and dry summer weather have less

chance to recover with fall rains if fertility is

low. Consequently, plant losses can be high

and pastures will exhibit deterioration in the

spring following a dry summer with

overgrazing, and low fertility in the fall.

Best grazing management practices in the late

summer and fall will also improve winter

survival and spring growth.

Pastures should be rotationally stocked such

that cool-season grasses are grazed to a 3- to 4

-inch height and rested to obtain above a 6-

inch pasture height before grazing

again. Perennial grasses and legumes during

the fall are primarily growing new tillers and

leaves to increase their capacity to produce

soluble carbohydrates through

photosynthesis. During the fall, a substantial

amount of these carbohydrates are routed to

the root systems for storage and used as an

energy source during the winter and spring

green-up. You can think of the fall as a time

when perennial grasses and legumes are

trying to prepare themselves for freezing

temperatures.

The fall growth must be grazed, but enough

green residual should be maintained for

recovery growth and replenishment of stored

carbohydrates in the root systems. If there is

not enough leaf material to generate enough

carbohydrate for new growth, the plants will

draw the needed carbohydrate from their root

systems.

Make sure to reduce thatch in pastures that are

going to be frost planted with clovers. In late

November or December, graze all pastures to

a 3- to 4-inch

height. However,

successful frost planting of

clovers is doubtful if there

is excessive amounts of

mowed material on the

ground. Mowing might be

needed if there are

ungrazed weeds or summer

grasses, such as fox

tail. You could be inclined

to graze or mow close to

the soil surface, but why

give spring weeds room to emerge and have

some competitive advantage with the grass

and emerging clover?

A final note in regards to stockpiled

‘Kentucky 31’ tall fescue: Ergot alkaloids are

oftentimes higher in the fall than in the

spring. Fall growth of tall fescue that is

fertilized in the late summer has the greatest

potential to be very toxic. It is advisable that

fall growth of tall fescue not be grazed until

after a hard freeze—less than 27 degrees

Fahrenheit—that inactivates fescue growth.

10

2017 Certified Roadside Farm

Market enrollment period open Kentucky Ag News - Kentucky Farm Bureau

The season for roadside farm markets is far

from over, but Kentucky Farm Bureau (KFB)

wants to help market owners get next year’s

efforts off to a great start – enrollment for the

2017 Certified Roadside Farm Market pro-

gram is now open.

Established in July 1996, the KFB Certified

Roadside Farm Market program began as an

initiative to help farmers market their fruits

and vegetables directly from roadside markets

to consumers across the Commonwealth.

Since then, the membership has expanded to

include farm enterprises like greenhouses,

landscape nurseries, Christmas tree farms,

vineyards/wineries and meat/cheese farm

markets. The KFB Roadside Farm Market

program celebrated its twenty-first year in

2016.

Markets certified through this program are

identified by a sign with the cornucopia logo

and listed in the KFB Certified Roadside

Farm Market Directory. The program also

provides collective advertising, promotional

items, education tour opportunities, and other

marketing benefits with the intent to increase

the net farm income of member markets.

Early enrollment discounts are available for

the 2017 KFB Certified Roadside Market pro-

gram. Returning markets that renew their

membership by November 21 receive the dis-

counted rate of $275. Renewal rates increase

to $350 for markets that wait to enroll No-

vember 22 through December 31.

Roadside markets that are first- and second-

year members to KFB’s Certified Roadside

Market program can join for just $250 during

the early enrollment session, which ends No-

vember 21. First- and second-year market

members who enroll November 22 through

December 31 can join for $325.

To apply for membership, visit kyfb.com/

rfmenrollment. For questions about enroll-

ment and the benefits of participating in the

KFB Certified Roadside Farm Market pro-

gram, please contact Fran McCall, Commodi-

ty Specialist and Roadside Farm Market Co-

ordinator, at (502) 495-5000, extension 7238,

or by email at Fran.McCall@kyfb.com.

Check out the wealth of video

and article archives online at

extension.org for information

regarding;

Community,

Disaster Issues,

Energy,

Environment,

Family,

Farm,

Health & Nutrition,

Lawn & Garden,

Pest Management,

Youth.

11

Sheep & Goat Integrated Resource

Management

Fall Breeding:

Put marking harness on Bucks and rams.

Give mature bucks/rams access to 35

females, yearlings access to 25 females and

ram lambs and buck kids access to 15

females.

Check and record marks daily.

Change marking harness color every 15 to

16 days.

Preparations for Fall Kidding/Lambing:

Vaccinate pregnant does and ewes approx.

30 days prior to kidding or lambing with

CD/T (Enterotoxemia Types C, D and

Tetanus)

Shear pregnant wool ewes.

Trim feet and run through foot bath with

10% zinc sulfate solution.

De-worm pregnant ewes and does with a

FAMACHA score of 3,4 or 5.

Keep pregnant females on pasture as long

as possible for exercise.

Check facilities, equipment and supplies to

ensure everything is ready for kidding/

lambing.

Fall Kidding & Lambing:

Closely observe late gestation does and

ewes and feed at the same time every day.

Move does/ewes to individual pens

following kidding/lambing for nursing &

bonding (2-5 days)

Trim navel cord if needed and dip in 7%

iodine solution.

Check teats to make sure they are

functional and make sure kids & lambs

nurse as soon as possible after birth.

Record birth weights, date, and sex of

newborn kids & lambs as well as dam ID.

Check newborn kids/lambs often (every 2-

4 hrs).

Marking Harness

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Cooperative

Extension Service Bullitt County

384 Halls Lane

Shepherdsville, KY 40165-6263

First Responder Garden

Plots are available for all military, and Emergency

First Responders, (police, EMS, Disaster, Fire Dept),

who do not have access to space to grow a garden.

Call 543-2257 for information.