384 halls lane shepherdsville, ky 40165 july 2016 · to backyard flocks, so we want to remind folks...
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July 2016
County Extension Agent for
Agriculture and Natural Resources
Table of Contents
Page 2—Cattle
Page 3— Cereal Aphid
Page 4– Borden Cattle
Page 5-- FFA State Convention
Page 6— Hackers & Farm Data
Page 7— Salmonella Outbreak
Page 8— County Fair—Dairy Show
Page 9— County Fair—Beef Show
Page 10– Farm To Food Banks
Page 11– SARE Grants
Page 12– Third Thursday—KSU
Page 13– Young Farmers Golf
Page 14–15 —Fragipan Research
Page 16 – Hemp Harvester
Page 17— Mosquito Protection
Page 18— GAP
Page 19— Ticks
Page 20-21– KACAA—Pikeville, KY
Page 22-23 –Heel Publication
Remember
All That It
Means
Cooperative Extension Service Bullitt County 384 Halls Lane Shepherdsville, KY 40165-6263 (502)543-2257 Fax: (502)543-6940 extension.ca.uky.edu
2
Cattle
Review Weekly
Kentucky Department of Agriculture
Grain and Marketing Reports.
Record average price for class and weight
important to your operation.
Spring Calving Herd
Breeding season is almost over
Continue pasture rotation and avoid high
endophyte fescue during this month for
best rebreeding performance.
Remove bulls from the cow herd by the
end of the month to eliminate summer-
born calves and help prevent young heifer
calves from becoming pregnant.
Mid-summer working opportunity (when
the herd is gathered to remove bulls)
Work cattle early in the morning to
avoid heat stress
Deworm cows and calves (mid-July is
optimum), especially if not dewormed
in spring
Reimplant steer calves
Vaccinate calves for clostridial diseases
(blackleg) even if not done previously
Spray for flies while cattle are gathered
(if not using other control methods)
Fall Calving Herd
Dry period
Fall-calving cows should be dry and
pregnant. Their nutrient needs are minimal
and they can be maintained on lower
quality pasture to avoid over fattening.
Keep a good free-choice mineral mix
available at all times.
Get ready for fall calving and plan to have
good pasture available for fall calving.
Replacement heifers should gain at an
adequate rate to reach their “target”
breeding weight (65% of mature size) by
Nov. 1.
Mid-summer working opportunity:
Deworm cows.
Considerations for all Cattle
Continue to watch for pinkeye and treat if
necessary. Minimize problems by clipping
pastures, controlling face flies and
providing shade.
Check pastures for downed wild cherry
trees after storms (wild cherry leaves can
be toxic to cattle).
Be sure that clean water is always
available, especially in hot weather.
Environment
Monitor ponds, streams, and riparian areas
throughout grazing season to access cattle
impact.
Ensure access to shade for very hot and
humid days. Consider installing portable
shades if natural shade is not available.
Ensure access to clean/cool water, limit
access to streams/ponds, and consider
portable or permanent water system.
Forages
Identify fescue pastures for accumulation
of fall growth (stockpiling).
Attend county, regional and state field
days for timely information.
Clip pastures as needed.
Assess need for weed control in alfalfa.
Soil test fields to be seeded in fall to
determine pasture fertilization needs.
Determine species and varieties to be
seeded in fall.
3
New Cereal Aphid (Sipha maydis)
Expands Range
By Raul Villanueava, Extension Entomologist
Recent information has called attention to
the geographic expansion of an invasive pest
affecting grasses and cereals. This new pest
is the old world aphid Sipha maydis
(Hemiptera: Aphididea). The first report on
Sipha maydis came from John Sorensen
(California Department of Food and
Agriculture), who confirmed the presence of
this aphid in nursery samples of giant wild
rice, in 2007. Later, this aphid was reported
on wheat in a greenhouse in Georgia, in
2012: and in fall of 2014. Dr. Tessa
Grasswitz found the aphids in Colorado
feeding on oats used as cover crop. In
February and March of 2015, S. maydis was
reported on annual grasses and wheatgrass
in Colorado, and later in wheat in Alabama.
The latest finding of S. maydis was on rye
cover crop and wheat in April 2016 in South
Carolina.
The species is reported throughout the
Mediterranean region, into Central and
South Asia, and South Africa. In addition, it
has been intercepted on several occasions on
imported plants in Florida and California, a
clear indication that increased international
trade contributes to the introduction of
invasive species. In the New World, this
aphid has caused great economic losses on
wheat in Argentina since 2002.
Although this aphid species is apparently
having a slow pace of geographical
dispersion, it is important to pay attention to
the possible colonization of new areas.
Extension agents, growers, consultants, and
researchers should become aware of the
presence of this insect, so preventive
measures to control this invasive species can
become more efficacious as soon as the
target insect is identified.
Sipha maydis is recognized easily by its
black color and completely sclerotized
(hardened) dorsal part (upper side or back),
and spinous body setae.
It feeds on a
range of
grass hosts,
including
wheat, oats,
barley,
johnsongrass, sorghum, and corn, and it is
recorded on more than 30 grasses or cereal
species.
Sipha maydis feeding causes damage to
leaves. It feeds on the upper surfaces of leaf
blades near the bases, and sometimes on
stems and inflorescences, where it may be
ant-attended. Heavily infested leaves may
become yellowed, rolled into tubes, and
desiccated. Sipha maydis is also a vector that
can transmit cucumovirus (cucumber
mosaic) and luteovirus (barley yellow
dwarf).
Sipha maydis colony
4
June 2
Dr. Beth Johnson working
cattle on the Borden Farm
5
June 9
State FFA
Convention
6
Are You Helping Hackers Steal Your
Valuable Farm Data?
Brad Haire
The Federal Bureau of Investigation and
USDA say farmers’ increased use of precision
agriculture technology puts farmers at greater
risk for cyber targeting by hackers who want
to steal farm-level data in bulk.
Earlier this year, the FBI issued a “Private
Industry Notification”, something the agency
does when information obtained during
investigations warrants a warning to potential
victims. In this case, criminal hackers could
aggregate stolen data or steal analyzed data to
exploit U.S. agriculture resources and market
trends, which is something farmers have
already expressed concern about.
A 2014 American Farm Bureau Federation
survey of 3,400 farmers found more than half
of the respondents intended to invest in
precision agriculture over the next two years.
Three-quarters of respondents were worried
unauthorized individuals could use their data
for commodity market speculation. Only 5
percent of respondents were aware whether or
not the companies holding their farm data had
a security breach response plan.
To hinder hackers from getting to farm-
level data, the FBI recommends farmers:
Inquire how data management companies
use and protect their data and to be mindful of
the cybersecurity features implemented in
precision agriculture technology.
Monitor employee logins that occur
outside of normal business hours.
Use two-factor authentication for
employee logins, especially remote logins.
Create a centralized Information
Technology e-mail account for employees to
report suspicious e-mails.
Provide regular training to remind and
inform employees about current social
engineering threats.
Monitor unusual traffic, especially over
non-standard ports.
Monitor outgoing data and be willing to
block unknown IP addresses.
Close unused ports.
Use a Virtual Private Network
(VPN) for remote login capability.
7
UK Poultry Specialists Urge Caution in
Midst of Salmonella Outbreak
June 8,2016 By Aimee Nelson
With at least 21 Kentuckians recently
contracting salmonella, University of
Kentucky poultry specialists are urging those
with small flocks to be proactive about
preventing the bacteria.
“The old quote ‘the best defense is a
strong offense’ really holds true when keeping
poultry,” said Jacqueline Jacob, UK poultry
extension project manager for the College of
Agriculture, Food and Environment. “Many
of the cases in the current outbreak are linked
to backyard flocks, so we want to remind
folks of simple things they can do to protect
themselves.”
Currently, the Centers for Disease Control
and Prevention is reporting seven separate
outbreaks in 35 states with more than 300
people infected. Jacob said it’s important to
remember any chicken can carry salmonella,
regardless of where poultry owners purchase
them. They can carry the bacteria even if they
look clean and healthy.
Poultry owners should always wash hands
thoroughly with soap and water immediately
after touching live birds or anything in the
area where they live. They should not bring
live poultry into the house or let young
children handle chicks, ducklings or other live
poultry without supervision. In the current
outbreaks, 88 of the ones infected are children
younger than 5 years of age.
“Any contact with live poultry puts you at
risk for salmonella infection,” Jacob said.
“Salmonella germs can be in the birds’
droppings and on their bodies and also on
their cages, coops, hay, plants and the soil
where they live and roam.”
Jacob said poultry handlers should keep the
birds away from their noses, mouth and eyes.
Shows and fairs with birds and chicks on
display should have a way for people to wash
their hands or provide sanitizer with 99
percent or higher bacteria kill rate.
“It’s also a good practice to be careful
when you wash equipment or eggs in the
kitchen sink,” she said. “You don’t want to
cross contaminate food. Always use a good
disinfectant to clean up in the kitchen when
you’re finished.”
For more information about the current
outbreak visit the CDC website at http://
www.cdc.gov/salmonella/live-poultry-05-16/
index.html. For more general information
about raising small poultry flocks, visit the
UK Poultry Extension
website at http://
www2.ca.uky.edu/
smallflocks/Health.html.
Poultry and Eggs are the #1 Agricultural
Commodity in Kentucky, #7 in the nation in
terms of broiler production (NASS 2014, with
308 million boilers)
1.2 Billion eggs were produced in Kentucky
(2014 USDA.gov)
The broiler- breeder industry in Kentucky
employees approximately 6,300 people across
the state and generate an additional 20,444
jobs in both the supply and ancillary
industries.
Egg producers contribute approximately
$214.7 million dollars to Kentucky’s
economy, while creating 1769 total jobs for
Kentuckians
8
June 14
BCHS FFA assisting at
the Bullitt County Fair
on Dairy Cattle night
9
June 16
BEHS FFA assisting at
the Bullitt County Fair
during Beef Cattle show
10
Farms to Food Banks Program
Receives State Funds, Seeks Recipients
Thanks in part to funding from the state,
Kentucky farmers will have an opportunity to
recover losses for their unmarketable produce
this growing season while helping their
neighbors in need.
Included in the 2016-2017 biennial budget,
signed into law in April by Governor Matt
Bevin, is $600,000 per year for the Farms to
Food Banks program.
Through the Farm to Food Banks program,
the Kentucky Association of Food Banks
reimburses farmers for the cost of picking,
packaging, and transporting their Number 2-
grade produce to the nearest major food bank.
“Number 2-grade produce is typically
rejected by retailers because of cosmetic
imperfections,” said Sarah Vaughn, KAFB
program assistant. “It is nutritious and
delicious food that might otherwise go to
waste because of a lack of market for it.”
The produce is distributed to low-income
Kentuckians across the state through the food
bank network. The association connects
farmers with either a regional food bank
distribution center or a local food pantry,
depending on the amount of produce available.
The need for food assistance remains high
in Kentucky: 1 in 6 Kentuckians is food
insecure, which means they lack consistent
access to enough nutritious food for an active,
healthy life, according to data from Feeding
America, the nation’s largest hunger-relief
organization.
“When we have excess vegetables, it’s
tough to see them turn into compost,” said
participating farmer Mary Courtney of Shelby
County, who was recently named the winner
of Monsanto’s 2016 America’s Farmers Mom
of the Year Contest. “Farms to Food Banks
provides an outlet for the ‘ugly’ vegetables —
the same ones that I take home to feed our
four children — that have no place in the
marketplace. This program not only helps fill a
void from a moral standpoint of watching
good food rot on the vine, but it decreases
income loss when a factor out of your hands
impacts your ability to sell.”
In 2015, the Farms to Food Banks program
benefited struggling families in all 120
Kentucky counties. Seven regional food banks
and 533 of their member agencies, such as
local soup kitchens and food pantries,
distributed enough produce to fill half a plate
full of fruits and vegetables for over 4 million
meals. The produce came from 302 Kentucky
farmers in 58 counties. Participating farmers
received an average payment of $1,570 to
cover the cost of picking, packing and
transporting produce to a food bank. Ten
Kentucky farmers received over $10,000 in
2015.
Kentucky taxpayers also supported the
Farms to Food Banks program through
donations made via their income tax return; in
2015 the amount donated was $30,255. Other
funders of the program include Farm Credit
Mid-America, Lift a Life Foundation, and the
Yum! Brands Foundation.
Participation is open to any Kentucky
farmer. For more information visit kafb.org/
farmstofoodbanks or call (859) 986-7422.
11
USDA SARE Grants Program:
Farmer Grant Opportunities and Resources
University of Kentucky
College of Agriculture, Food and Environment
LEXINGTON, Ky. - The USDA has a
program devoted to providing sustainable
practices for “all of agriculture.” It’s called the
SARE program – Sustainable Agriculture
Research and Education. This program, which
primarily funds a whole range of grants, is
administered on a regional basis. Kentucky is
in the Southern Region. All of the decisions
regarding grant approval are made at the
regional level by a committee of farmers,
university representatives, and organization
and government representatives. This
Administrative Council gets help from
technical experts in the region for evaluating
proposals.
SARE’s mission is to help U.S. agriculture
innovate in ways that improve sustainability.
That is, agriculture which satisfies human
food and fiber needs in sustainability’s three
dimensions – improving profitability,
protecting the environmental and enhancing
quality of life. SARE does this by investing
with grants in research and education.
Because SARE has been funding practical
research for more than 25 years, it has great
resources available. Check out the website:
www.sare.org and search on whatever topic
you need help with. For example, a search on
“cattle grazing” generates a list of 213
resources. One can get project reports and
even books. Some are at modest charges, but
almost all of them are available for free if you
want to use an electronic version.
If you want to learn about SARE grants, go
to the regional webpage –
www.southernsare.org. SARE’s total budget is
about $20 million, small by comparison to
other programs, but still effective. Southern
SARE provides larger grants for research and
professional education, but also smaller grants
targeted to farmers. Two of these programs are
the “Producer” and “On-Farm Research”
grants opportunities.
The Producer Grants are up to $10,000 for
an individual farmer, with $15,000 limit for a
group of farmers who want to do a research or
educational project on their farm which will
enhance sustainability. Many of the successful
proposals are projects designed to refine a
practice developed at a research farm or in
another area. The On-Farm Research Grants
are targeted toward partnerships of farmers
and professionals (like extension agents/
specialists and NRCS staff) who are doing
similar types of research. The On-Farm Grants
max out at $15,000. While the official call for
proposals will be issued in September with a
November deadline, you can start working on
your ideas and plans now. The SARE council
usually approves about 15-20% of these grant
proposals.
SARE also helps farmers with state
educational funds. There are two SARE
coordinators in Kentucky, Marion Simon at
Kentucky State University and Paul Vincelli at
the University of Kentucky. Brett Wolff is the
SARE program assistant and the best initial
contact. An advisory committee (if you are
interested in helping, contact Brett Wolff)
makes suggestions on how the training funds
will be used. Currently, the Professional
Development Program (PDP) funds are being
used for training related to cover crops, foods
safety, GMO education and organic practices.
This article was written by Lee Meyer, Brett
Wolff, and Paul Vincelli, agriculture economists at the
University of Kentucky College of Agriculture, Food
and Environment. The article first appeared in the
May 27 edition of
Economic and Policy
Update.
12
June 16
Third Thursday at Kentucky
State University
13
June 17
Young Farmers’
Golf Scramble
14
Researchers Believe Fragipan
Breakthrough is on Horizon By Kate Pratt
Soil scientists in the University of
Kentucky College of Agriculture, Food and
Environment are getting promising results
from several treatments that appear to be
breaking down the fragipan, a cement-like
layer common in many soils in Western and
Central Kentucky.
Soil fragipans exist in 2.7 million acres in
Kentucky and in 50 million acres in the
United States. In Kentucky, the average depth
of the fragipan layer in the soil is about 20 to
24 inches. This results in a shallow soil that
limits crops’ yield potential due to low water-
holding capacity. This is especially true
during dry growing seasons or droughts.
These same soils are easily saturated with
water in the winter, which limits yields on
cool-season crops such as wheat.
Breaking down the fragipan would
increase the soil depth and should
significantly boost grain yields in the state,
similar to the boost farmers received from
implementing no-till production.
“Earlier work done by UK soil scientists
found that soil erosion caused a loss of 3 to 6
percent of yield potential for every inch of
lost topsoil,” said John Grove, UK soil
scientist. “Additional subsoil rooting depth
has a similar potential to increase yields, but it
will depend on seasonal rainfall.”
Four years into the research project, Grove
and fellow UK soil scientists Lloyd Murdock,
Tasios Karathanasis and Chris Matocha have
found that annual ryegrass and some chemical
combinations appear to break down the
fragipan.
“Annual ryegrass looks promising in the
lab and in the greenhouse at breaking down
the fragipan. It is beginning to show promise
in the field,” Murdock said.
The idea to try ryegrass came from
previous research conducted in southern
Illinois by a former University of Illinois
scientist.
“Mike Plumer thought he saw annual
ryegrass doing something to fragipan soils in
his cover crop research that would increase
yields,” Murdock said.
In the lab, Karathanasis submersed chunks
of fragipan in several different solutions, one
of which was a ryegrass extract.
“Within two to four weeks we began to see
the ryegrass extract break down the fragipan,”
he said. “Not only does ryegrass have a deep
root system that can penetrate the pan, but it
also releases a chemical or chemicals that can
help break it.”
UK soil scientists have planted annual
ryegrass as a cover crop in grain fields
followed by either corn or soybeans for the
past three growing seasons with the fourth
round now in the ground. The first year when
annual ryegrass was followed by corn, there
was no yield difference. The second year
when it was followed by soybeans, there was
a 25 percent yield increase in the soybeans.
The third year, the researchers followed the
ryegrass with soybeans again and there was a
slight, but not significant, yield increase.
Continued on next page …..
Top photo: Beginning of experiment. Bottom: Fragipan clods begin to
break after one month in contact with ryegrass solution.
15
…..continued from previous page
UK researchers traveled to Hamilton
County, Illinois, to take soil samples from a
field that had been planted in a ryegrass cover
crop since 2000 and followed every year with
no-till corn. Plumer had used a part of this
field in some of his earlier cover crop studies.
They found the fragipan layer to be much
deeper in the soil profile in the fields with
ryegrass. More encouraging news came when
the farmer told them about his yields.
“When the study started in 2000, the
farmer’s yields were 15 bushels an acre below
the county average. His fields are now
averaging 30 bushels more per acre than the
county average,” Murdock said. “We really do
not know how well this field represents our
situation in Kentucky, but this gives us
significant encouragement that we are
beginning to prove that annual ryegrass is
effective and will give significant results with
accumulative years of a ryegrass cover crop.”
As a result, UK researchers have
established field trials this year on cooperating
producers’ farms to document any changes
this practice will make on a farm basis. Since
it is expected that the effectiveness of the
remediation is related to the number of years
ryegrass is used, Kentucky farmers may want
to begin to try a ryegrass cover crop on some
or parts of their fragipan fields this fall.
“Ryegrass is our best shot based on what
we know right now, but it’s going to take
several years for farmers to get where they
want to be,” Murdock said.
Researchers have also found that the
chemicals potassium chloride, potassium
sulfate, sodium fluoride and sodium nitrate
may individually break down the fragipan, but
are having difficulty getting the chemicals
deep enough into the soil to be effective. The
team continues to search for other effective
and practical ways of remediating the
fragipan.
Their early findings have been published in
a paper in The Scientific World Journal, and it
is available online at http://www.hindawi.com/
journals/tswj/2014/276892/.
UK’s research project is funded by the
Kentucky Small Grain Growers Association,
Kentucky Soybean Board and the Kentucky
Corn Growers Association
16
UKAg Hemp Harvester
Design Shows Promise
By Aimee Nielson
Until 2014, Kentucky farmers hadn’t
grown industrial hemp in more than 50 years.
Since then, University of Kentucky College of
Agriculture, Food and Environment
researchers have taken on many projects with
the crop. With research for pharmaceutical use
of hemp components coming into focus,
farmers are realizing a real challenge—
harvesting the giant plants.
“The part of the plant the pharmaceutical
industry believes has the most potential is the
flower at the top,” said Tim Stombaugh, UK
extension agricultural engineer. “That flower
is the part where they can extract the most
cannabinoids. If the crop were shorter, we
could use traditional hay harvesting
equipment, but most varieties are currently
just way too tall for that at 10 to 12 feet.”
Most recently the process for growing and
harvesting hemp for cannabinoid extraction
has been through intensive management of
individual plants in a greenhouse
environment. The scientist grows the plant,
harvests the parts they want, hangs it upside to
dry and then individually processes each plant.
Stombaugh said they thought about trying to
harvest the flowers by hand, but with 30 acres,
it just wasn’t feasible.
In the summer of 2015, a participant in the
Kentucky hemp pilot program approached the
UK Department of Biosystems and
Agricultural Engineering and offered to fund a
project to design a harvester.
“They contacted us last July and asked if
we could have a prototype by Sept. 1,”
Stombaugh said. “It was a tight deadline, but
our engineers got busy, and we had it ready to
use.”
UKAg engineers borrowed from current
technology. They used the grain head from a
combine and selected several useable parts.
The new harvester can connect to any tractor
with a front-end loader with a standardized
connection. They used electricity to power the
harvester.
“Most implements use hydraulic power,
but that would have made it harder to move
from tractor to tractor,” Stombaugh said. “We
put a generator on the back of the tractor to
create power for the harvester. All of the
equipment can fit on the back of a gooseneck
trailer, so it’s very easy to move from one
machine to another.”
While farmers are still in the investigative
stages of hemp production, the harvester
shows potential to help cut down on labor and
reduce time in the field.
“If hemp is going to be a potential crop for
Kentucky, and we can do some things to help
farmers harvest it, it’s going to be valuable for
everyone down the road,” Stombaugh said.
“There’s still so much we are learning about
hemp, but we did the best we could, and it
worked. Helping farmers do their jobs in a
way that saves them money, labor and time is
always something we are interested in doing.”
The hemp harvester spent the winter on the
UK campus but will likely be out in the field
later in 2016. Tim Stombaugh, 859-218-4351
news.ca.uky.edu
17
Time for Kentuckians
to Take Mosquito Protection Measures
By Katie Pratt
University of Kentucky entomologists have
captured Asian tiger mosquitoes in the Central
Kentucky area during the past few days and
are encouraging Kentuckians to take measures
to prevent mosquito bites.
“The Asian tiger mosquito is the most
common mosquito in Kentucky. We are seeing
it earlier than normal this year,” said Grayson
Brown, entomologist with the UK College of
Agriculture, Food and Environment. “What’s
different this year is this mosquito is
implicated as a possible carrier for Zika.
Kentuckians who are concerned about Zika
should start taking precautions.”
The Asian tiger mosquito normally begins
to appear in Central Kentucky in mid-June and
populations begin to climb throughout the
summer, peaking in late July, early August.
The mosquitoes tend to arrive in Western
Kentucky a little earlier and appear in Eastern
Kentucky a little later than Central Kentucky.
The mosquito is the primary carrier of canine
heartworm.
“The Asian tiger mosquito is an
opportunistic feeder and will feed on other
things besides humans,” said Lee Townsend,
UK extension entomologist. “It tends to bite
humans around the ankles, an area that is often
overlooked when applying repellents.”
The Asian tiger mosquito was found to
transmit Zika in Mexico, but so far, no locally
acquired Zika cases have been reported in the
United States. Kentucky has six Zika cases,
and all have been individuals who acquired
Zika while traveling to other countries. The
Aedes aegypti, or the yellow fever mosquito,
is the mosquito that has been the known
carrier of Zika in most of the cases in South
America. Kentucky is on the northern edge of
the Aedes aegyti range, and they typically
appear much later in the summer.
Kentuckians can take the following
measures to minimize their chances of getting
bitten this summer:
Use Environmental Protection Agency-
registered insect repellents. When used as
directed, these repellents are proven safe
and effective for pregnant and
breastfeeding women.
Drain any standing water as it creates
potential mosquito breeding sites. This
includes bird baths, bottles and any other
items with water-holding capacity like old
tires or trash.
Fill in holes, depressions and puddles in
yards.
Keep gutters in proper working order.
Make sure door and window screens are in
good repair.
Stay indoors between 4 p.m. and 8 p.m.
when mosquitoes are most active.
Wear long-sleeve shirts and pants when
outdoors.
Individuals wanting additional information
about mosquitoes in Kentucky should visit
UK’s Zika website at http://pest.ca.uky.edu/
EXT/ZIKA/1kyzika.html. Additional
information for women concerned about zika
during pregnancy is available at http://
www.cdc.gov/zika/pregnancy/protect-
yourself.html.
The most common mosquito in Kentucky, the Asian tiger mosquito Photo by: Matt Barton, UK Agricultural Communications
18
Good Agricultural Practices (GAP)
In recent years, several types of fresh
produce have been implicated in illnesses.
Ultimately some of these outbreaks were
caused by cross contamination and are the
result of how the produce was handled by the
end user. Troubling however for the farming
community is the fact that some of the
outbreaks have been traced back to the farm
where the produce commodity was grown. In
light of this, consumers are looking more
critically at their food source and wanting
reassurance that they are being provided with
safe fresh fruit and vegetables.
There have been no food illness outbreaks
traced back to Kentucky grown produce and
the Kentucky Department of Agriculture, and
producers alike, want to continue this trend.
Good Agricultural Practices (GAP) is a set of
production guidelines designed to reduce the
likelihood of microbial or other contamination
of fresh fruits and vegetables. It focuses on
utilizing safe techniques and inputs on all
levels of the farm to fork food chain. When a
farmer utilizes GAP principles in their
production it means they are proactively
taking steps to reduce the possibility of
producing unsafe produce and meat products.
The Partners: The Kentucky
Department of Agriculture, University of
Kentucky Cooperative Extension Service, and
the Kentucky Department for Public Health
have joined together to ensure that Kentucky
producers have the tools and information they
need to reduce the risk of contamination from
troubling pathogens.
Kentucky's Program: The fir st par t of
Kentucky's GAP Training Program is
education. A curriculum has been developed
that has been given to county Cooperative
Extension Agents to present to local
producers. During this class, producers learn
the best practices that will reduce the risk of
their product becoming contaminated. Upon
completion of this class, the farmer receives a
certificate issued by the KDA, a GAP Training
Certificate. The certificate is a component of
the requirements to allow raw product samples
at Kentucky Farmers' Markets and Kentucky
Farm Bureau Certified Roadside Markets.
The second step is the completion of a self-
audit utilizing workbooks received during the
GAP training class. This process allows the
producer to go over his or her operation step-
by-step to identify possible deficiencies in
their production practices and make the
necessary adjustments to ensure GAP
guidelines are being followed. Using the self-
audit materials allows for a record of the steps
taken which better allows the farmer to
address future concerns.
GAP Certification and Third Party
Audits: A third level to GAP is Third-Party
Audit Certification. Much like the process of
organic certification, an inspector visits a farm
and walks through the production, harvest and
transport system with the producer and
verifies that GAP is being used. This level is
usually only required for producers selling to
large buyers. For producers choosing to seek
this certification, the Kentucky Department of
Agriculture has resources to assist you. A
Kentucky Horticulture Council Third Party
GAP Audit Cost-Share Grant is available for
2016. The Kentucky Horticulture Council
Cost-Share grants are funded through
Kentucky Agriculture Development Funds.
19
Tick Season Runs from mid-March
Through August in Kentucky By Melissa Patrick Kentucky Health News
Ticks hang out in tall grass, woods, low-
hanging tree limbs and weeds just waiting to
attach themselves to you or your pets.
The most prevalent tick-borne disease in
Kentucky is and has been for a long time
Rocky Mountain spotted fever,” or RMSF,
Grayson Brown, director of the University of
Kentucky Public Health Entomology
Laboratory, told Kentucky Health News. “We
get somewhere between 10 and 30 cases of
that a year.”
RMSF is transmitted by the American dog
tick, which is about the size of a pencil eraser.
It is the second most common tick in the state,
according to Kentucky Pest News. The greatest
risk of getting RMSF in Kentucky is in the
western part of the state, near the Land
Between the Lakes, said Brown.
Kentucky’s most common tick is an
aggressive biter called the lone star tick, which
is also about the size of a pencil eraser. The
saliva from this tick can produces painful,
itchy areas that can become infected from
scratching. It can transmit Erlichiosis, a Lyme-
like disease that can cause fever, headache,
chills, muscle pain and in some cases a rash.
These symptoms usually show up one to two
weeks after being bitten by an infected tick. It
can also transmit RMSF.
And though it is not very common,
Kentucky is also home to the blacklegged tick,
which is known to transmit Lyme disease. This
tick is much smaller than the other two more
common ones. “The number of Lyme disease
cases is increasing quite rapidly, with 13 or so
last year that were reported,” Brown said. “The
blacklegged tick is found most commonly
around rivers.”
The best way to avoid being bitten by
ticks is to use “common sense precautions,”
Brown said. Here are some tips:
Keep grass and shrubs trimmed, and clear
away any overgrown vegetation.
Don’t walk through uncut fields, brush and
overgrown areas.
Walk in the center of hiking trails.
Wear light-colored clothing, which make it
easier to spot ticks.
Wear long pants tucked into boots or socks
and tuck your shirt into your pants.
Place a band of duct tape, sticky side out,
around your lower legs to trap ticks.
Use tick repellent that has DEET or
picaridin in it or use permethrin-based
clothing sprays.
Do a body and clothing check at the end of
each day.
Take a warm soapy shower after potential
exposure.
Check your pets.
It is also important to promptly and
properly remove ticks by grasping them as
close to the skin as possible with tweezers and
then pulling straight out with gentle, even
pressure. Once removed, wash the bite area,
apply antiseptic and cover with a Band-Aid.
Brown said May is the month when you
are most likely to encounter “pathogen-bearing
ticks,” but you can still get infected at other
times. Tick season generally runs through
August.
20
June 28—30
KACAA
Pikeville, KY
21
June 28—30
KACAA
Pikeville, KY
22
23
24
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