Cooperative Extension Service Breckinridge County 1377 S. Hwy 261 Hardinsburg, KY 40143 (270) 756-2182 Fax: (270) 756-9016 https://breckinridge.ca.uky.edu

Breckinridge County AG Newsletter

Agent’s Corner

The past few months have been trying in the agriculture world, to say the least.

I was going through one of my last newsletters that I sent out and I found the article on how to deal with stress and depression today. There was a list of items to do or to avoid if you felt like you were in a desperate situation, as we all have been in the past few months. As I was going through the list, one item struck me to the core; if you are feeling down, then make sure you surround yourself with ‘happy people’ or stay away from the negative people. Well, I feel like I have been nothing but negative since the rain began to fall. As a farmer told me a couple days ago, ‘people are in a much better mood when the sun is shining’, and I agree! So on to a very positive note.

The raised bed trials have been doing exceptionally well this summer, we are testing new varieties of green beans and squash and zucchini for the UK Horti-culture Department. Plus, the beautiful flowers at the end of our Community Building add a delightful view to your day. The very expensive sweet corn trial has been planted for a second time, and now are waiting for it to come up very soon. The grain crop in the county, for what it has been through looks really good. The majority of the hay was cut later than normal, so you need to definite-ly get a hay sample from those bales for testing so you can go into the winter with a little better idea of what you need to change in your feed rations.

The Breckinridge County Farmers’ Produce Market is doing extremely well and I invite you to visit the market. Now is the time to look at a fall vegetable gar-den; if you have not ever raised one, it is so simple.

Please feel free to call the office at 270-756-2182, email cmhinton@uky.edu or text 270-617-3417 with your questions, we are always here to assist. I do apolo-gize for the delay in getting a newsletter out.

“The farmer is the only man in our economy who buys everything at retail, sells everything at wholesale, and pays the freight both ways” - John F. Kennedy

Sincerely,

Carol M. Hinton Extension Agent For Agricultural/Natural Resources EducationBreckinridge County

INSIDE THIS ISSUE Page

Agent’s Corner 1

Simple Strategies to Control Mosquitoes

2

Spray Clinic 2

Things to consider if you want to produce your own eggs

3

KY Woodland Owners Short Course

4

Corn, Soybean & Tobacco Field Day

5

Soil Type & Fragipan Study 5

Midwest Beef Summit 6

Breck. Co. Farmers’ Produce Market

6

Dairy Tip of Month 7

Poem “The Man with the Hoe” 7

Upcoming Webinars 7

Parent Health Bulletin 8-9

The Basic Do’s & Don’ts of Spring Lawn Care

10-11

CAIP Approved Catch Up Mtg 11

Breck. Co. Recycling Program 12

Almanac Tidbits for July 12

Mark Your Calendars! 12

Like us on Facebook

2019 Flowers Variety Trial

2

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3

Things to consider if you want to produce your own eggs Source: Jacquie Jacob, Extension Poultry Project Manager

Backyard chicken flocks are popular in all areas of Kentucky. If you want to have a successful flock and

produce your own eggs, preparation and education are essential.

Not everyone is suited for keeping a poultry flock. Make sure you check that your local city and county

ordinances allow backyard flocks. Some ordinances require a minimum amount of land, and some subdivi-

sions even have their own rules.

Remember, chickens require daily care. You must feed them, provide clean water and collect eggs every

day. It is a good opportunity to teach children responsibility, but make sure they can fit it into their daily rou-

tine and that you supervise them. Keep in mind that chickens can get sick and very few veterinarians will pro-

vide care for them. Anyone handling chickens needs to make sure to wash their hands before and after caring

for them. Also, don’t bring chickens into the house and don’t use your kitchen sink to wash equipment associ-

ated with your flock.

Chickens make noise. While it’s true only roosters crow, hens are not always quiet and they can make a

lot of noise to let everyone know they just laid an egg.

Keep in mind that chickens eat a lot. You probably can’t produce eggs cheaper than you can buy them in

the store, but you’ll have the satisfaction of knowing from where they came. Hens use about 60% of the feed

they consume; they excrete the rest as manure. Make sure you have a plan for what you’ll do with all the ma-

nure your flock produces. You could compost the manure to produce a valuable, odor-free fertilizer for your

garden.

To complicate things, chickens stop producing eggs at some point and they live longer than that window,

sometimes a lot longer. You need to have a plan for what you’ll do with hens once they stop producing eggs. If

you keep them because they are pets, you’ll have to be willing to continue paying for food while they are no

longer earning their keep.

Another thing to consider is that chickens can destroy gardens. Chickens scratch when they forage and if

you let the hens run free, you may need to put a fence around your garden to prevent them from damaging

your plants.

As for housing your flock, you’ll need a chicken house that provides shelter from the weather, nest boxes

where your hens will lay eggs and perches for hens to roost at night. Housing needs to be easy to clean out and

provide protection from predators. You’ll need to have an open run for hens to get into the open air. It’s im-

portant to keep your chicken house clean and dry to prevent odor and flies. Manage any bedding well to pre-

vent rodents from making your chicken house their home.

It can be difficult to obtain ready-to-lay pullets, so you’ll probably need to raise your hens from chicks.

You can buy online and have them shipped to your home, but some hatcheries require a minimum purchase of

25 chicks for safe shipping. You can also buy chicks and local farm stores, but Kentucky state regulations re-

quire a minimum purchase of six chicks. If you only want three, you could go in with a friend or neighbor to

meet the minimum requirement. You will need to provide chicks with a heat source, such as a heat lamp, for

the first six weeks.

For more information on small or backyard poultry flocks,

contact the Breckinridge County Cooperative Extension office.

You may also visit https://afs.ca.uky.edu/poultry/poultry-publications.

4

2019 Kentucky Woodland Owners Short Course Registration is OPEN

The University of Kentucky Department of Forestry and Natural Resources Extension along with many part-ners have developed the 2019 Kentucky Woodland Owners Short Course (WOSC) to help woodland owners get the most out of their woodland ownership experience. The 2019 WOSC consists of three full-day regional programs in East, Central, and West Kentucky. These regional educational programs were developed by local planning committees. Each regional program includes two different programming tracks featuring both indoor and outdoor presentations including a visit to a nearby woodland owner. Each track features forestry, wildlife, and natural resource professionals from across Kentucky covering a wide variety of topics-there is sure to be something for everyone! Individuals as well as couples are encour-aged to attend the regional event closest to their woodland property. A complete schedule of topics will be available soon and online registration is now open at http://forestry.ca.uky.edu/wosc

July 20, 2019

West Kentucky Woodland Owners Short Course

Logan County Extension Office and Henry Duncan's Tree Farm—Russelville, KY

August 10, 2019

Central Kentucky Woodland Owners Short Course

Washington County Extension Office and Danielle and Jason Hagler's Woodland– Springfield, KY

August 24, 2019

East Kentucky Woodland Owners Short Course

Clay County Extension EXCEL Center and Jimmie Sizemore Tree Farm—Manchester, KY

INFO: 859.257.7597 or forestry.ca.uky.edu/wosc

Woodland Owner Webinar Series Recordings Available UK Forestry and Natural Resources Extension recently partnered with some of our neighbor Forestry Exten-sion programs to offer a woodland and wildlife webinar series-more than 30 Kentucky County Extension Of-fices hosted the series.

The series featured forestry and wildlife experts from around the region with the final webinar highlighting programs and organizations available to support Kentucky's woodland owners.

If you happened to miss the first four webinars in the series or would like to view one of the webinars again you can view them by visiting "Getting to Know Your Woodlands: A Primer for Beginners Webinar Series". In addition to this webinar series, UK Forestry and Natural Resources Extension has more than 10 other webinar recordings that you can view for free at forestry.ca.uky.edu/previous_webinars.

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01

7

“The Man with the HOE”

Author unknown

Bill Brown made a million: Bill Brown think of that,

A Boy, You Remember, as poor as a RAT,

Who hoed for the neighbor, did jobs by the day;

Well, Bills Made a Million, or Near it, they Say.

You can’t understand it! Well neither could I,

And then I remembered, and now know why:

The bell might be ringin’, the dinner horn blow,

But bill always HOED to the end of the row.

Bill worked for my father, you maybe recall:

He Wasn’t a Wonder, Not That, Not At All:

He couldn’t OUT-HOE Me, or Cover more ground,

OR Hoe any Cleaner, or BEAT ME Around.

In Fact I was Better one way that I knew

I was Prompter than he when the dinner HORN Blew

One toot From the kitchen and home I would go:

But Bill always HOED to the end of the ROW.

We used to get HUNGRY out there in the CORN.

You talk about music, what equals a horn

A horn Yellin’s Dinner, Tomatoes and Beans,

And Pork, and potatoes and gravy and greens.

I ain’t Blamin” no one for quittin’ on time:

To Stop with the whistle, that ain’t no crime,

But as for that million-well, this much I know:

That Bill always hoed to the end of the row.

DAIRY TIP OF THE MONTH Source: KY Dairy Notes—July 2019 issue

Keep calm and walk slowly when moving cattle

People walk twice as fast as cows (4 vs 2 miles hour).

Thus, when moving cows, keep calm and walk slowly so that cows move in the intended directions.

2019 Upcoming Webinars

Breckinridge County Extension Farmers’

Market & Educational Facility

Poultry Marketing Webinar

July 25- 5 p.m. to 6 pm. (ct)

Strawberry Webinars

September 5—5:30 p.m. –7:00 p.m. (ct)

September 19- 5:30 p.m. –7:00 p.m. (ct)

High Tunnel Production in KY

Webinars

October 3— 5:30 p.m. -7:00 p.m. (ct)

October 10— 5:30 p.m. -7:00 p.m. (ct)

October 15— 5:30 p.m. -7:00 p.m. (ct)

Tomato Production in KY

Webinars

November 7—5:30 p.m. - 7:00 p.m. (ct)

November 21- 5:30 p.m. –7:00 p.m. (ct)

Pumpkin Production in KY

Webinars –

December 5 - 5:30 p.m. -7:00 p.m. (ct)

December 19- 5:30 p.m. -7:00 p.m. (ct)

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10

The Basic Do’s and Don’ts of Spring Lawn Care

By: Dr. Gregg Munshaw, Turfgrass Extension Specialist University of Kentucky

With spring right around the corner and daffodils, dogwoods, and forsythia about to bloom, homeowners get the itch to spend some time in their yards. The following are some do’s and don’ts for spring lawn care on cool-season grasses (tall fescue, Kentucky bluegrass) in Kentucky.

Do: get your mower ready for the season

Having your mower ready to go before the season starts will save you down time during the growing season. Sharpen blade. Having sharp mower blades are very important to turf aesthetics and health. To learn how to

sharpen your blade, check out this video: https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=JMy1j9NR89o&list=UUMFY6zEWe6uJEYakzOofhIg

Change oil if necessary and clean air filter. Video here: https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=oxgbMDdT6bQ&list=UUMFY6zEWe6uJEYakzOofhIg &index=10

Don’t: apply nitrogen Spring is not the best time of year to apply nitrogen. The vast majority of nitrogen fertilizer should be applied

in the fall. Fall applications improve the health of the lawn and result in a greener lawn in the winter, less spring mowing, and less weeds, heat stress, need for water, and disease problems in summer.

Nitrogen applied in spring and summer promotes growth of warm-season weeds such as crabgrass, goosegrass, and bermudagrass. Further, high amounts of nitrogen in spring and summer can result in increased damage from white grubs in the soil. Adult beetles are attracted to the lush lawns and high nitrogen levels restrict turf rooting which compounds the damage from the white grubs feeding on the turf roots. More information on fer-tilizing lawns can be found in this video: https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=eTlVnAyR_rw

Do: apply a pre-emergent herbicide

Annual grassy weeds such as crabgrass and goosegrass begin to germinate in the spring and depending on the thickness of the lawn, the amount of weed seed in the soil, and the environmental conditions, untreated popu-lations of these weeds can outcompete and take over your desired lawn species. By applying a pre-emergent herbicide prior to weed germination, weed numbers can be drastically reduced and your lawn can have the chance to flourish without fighting weeds for space, nutrients, light, and water.

In western Kentucky, a pre-emerge herbicide should be applied prior to around April 7. In central and eastern Kentucky, the spray before date is usually around April 15.

A pretty good indicator plant for knowing when to apply a pre-emergent herbicide by is forsythia. Generally, a pre-emergent application should be applied before forsythia drops its blooms (Figure 1).

Do not apply weed and feed products as we don’t want to be applying nitrogen to our cool-season lawns in the spring.

If you miss the pre-emerge window, and weeds begin to germinate, your best bet is to apply a post-emergent application to small seedlings as most pre-emergent products do not work after germination. For more infor-mation on controlling weeds in your lawn, check out the following publications: http://www2.ca.uky.edu/agcomm/pubs/AGR/AGR208/AGR208.pdf http://www2.ca.uky.edu/agcomm/pubs/AGR/AGR218/AGR218.pdf

Figure 1. Forsythia in full bloom (left) and bloom drop (right).

11

Don’t: seed in the spring

The best time of year to seed lawns is in the early fall. The concern with planting in the spring is that there is significant competition between seedlings and grassy weeds (and weeds almost always out grow our desired species) and the immature seedlings can struggle with summer heat and drought more so than a mature lawn.

If you have to seed in the spring, plant around the time that forsythia is in bloom, as soil temperatures are ad-equate at this point for germination of tall fescue or Kentucky bluegrass.

For more information on establishing or renovating lawns, see: http://www2.ca.uky.edu/agcomm/pubs/AGR/AGR50/AGR50.pdf https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=nDuciEPWVvU

Do: mow at regular height

Once the grass starts to grow in the spring, it will really start to take off. We see most of the growth in the spring of the year, it slows down in the summer, and then ramps up again the in autumn (Figure 2).

Figure 2. Seasonal growth variations for cool-season grasses.

Because the grass grows at a high volume in the spring, it’s best to not let the height get too long before

mowing. Ideally, never cut off more than 1/3 of the leaf in one mowing.

For example, if you want to maintain your lawn at 3 inches, mow when the height reaches about 4.5 inches. Removing more than 1/3 of the leaf blade results in a reduction in root growth.

Mowing at taller heights has been shown to reduce crabgrass populations without the use of herbicides. Recommended heights for lawn grasses in Kentucky are:

Tall fescue 3 inches or taller

Kentucky bluegrass 2.5 inches or taller For more information on mowing your lawn, see the following publication: http://

www2.ca.uky.edu/agcomm/pubs/AGR/AGR209/AGR209.pdf By following these basic do’s and don’ts, you can start your lawn off on the right foot this spring and enjoy it more and work on it less throughout the year.

CAIP Approved Catch UP Meeting

If you are in need of a CAIP approved meeting—you need to attend

this Video Meeting.

When: Thursday, August 8, 2019 at 6 p.m. (ct)

Where: Breckinridge County Extension Farmers’ Market and

Educational Facility.

12

Stop by one of the following recycling centers near you:

Breckinridge County High School Cloverport Fire Department Auggie Doggie’s, Garfield

St. Romuald Gym, Hardinsburg McQuady Firehouse

Breckinridge County Extension Office Rough River Corp of Engineers Office

McDaniels Community Center Frederick Fraize High School, Cloverport

Hardinsburg Elementary School Union Star

All recycling sites are accessible 24 hours a day,

seven days a week.

The Cooperative Extension Service prohibits discrimination in its programs and employment on the basis of race, color, age, sex, religion, disabil-

ity, or national origin.

To file a complaint of discrimination, contact Tim West, UK College of Agriculture, 859-257-3879; Terry Allen or Patty Bender, UK Office of

Institutional Equity and Equal Opportunity, 859-257-8927; or the USDA, Director Office of Civil Rights, Room 326-W Whitten Bldg., 14th & Inde-

pendence Ave. SW, Washington, DC 20250-9410 (202-720-5964).

Mark your calendars!

If you are interested in any of these events, call the Extension Office at 270-756-2182 for more information.

July 20, 2019– Woodland Owners Short Course—Logan County Extension Office, Russelville, KY

July 23, 2019—UK Corn, Soybean & Tobacco Field Day– Princeton, KY

August 8, 2019—Green River Area CPH45 Pre-Conditioned Cattle Sale, Kentuckiana Livestock Market

August 10, 2019—Woodland Owners Short Course—Washington Co. Extension Office—Springfield, KY

August 24, 2019—Woodland Owners Short Course– Clay Co. Extension EXCEL Center—Manchester, KY

August 27, 2019—Midwest Beef Summit—Owensboro Convention Center, Owensboro, KY

September 17, 2019—Rinse and Return—Breckinridge County Extension Service

September 20-21, 2019—KY Wood Expo—Lexington Masterson Station Park, Lexington, KY

December 5, 2019– Green River Area CPH 45 Pre-Conditioned Cattle Sale, Kentuckiana Livestock Market

Almanac Tidbits for: July

Plant above ground crops -— 2, 8-11, 14-15

Plant Below ground crops — 1, 16, 19-21, 24-26, 29-30

Seed Beds——————— 1-2, 10-11, 29-30

Kill plant pests:————— 3-7, 12-13, 17-18, 22-23, 27-28, 31