Cooperative Extension Service Franklin County 101 Lakeview Court Frankfort, KY 40601-8750 (502) 695-9035 (502) 695-9309 (Fax) franklin.ca.uky.edu

Jun Of Cows

and

Plows May 2018

Continued on Page 3

Late Spring Reminders Soil test to determine fertilizer applications, and apply fertilizer according to soil test results. Heat stress starts as early as May- plan for shade and cool water in every paddock. Reduce damage to forages and soils by moving feeding area and livestock often. Keep animals and equipment off extremely wet pastures- consider use of a sacrifice area or

feeding area. Control competition from weeds and undesired forages where new seedlings are emerging.

Highlights from 2018 FFA Drive Your Tractor to School Day

Continued from Page 1

The orchardgrass on the left was clipped to one inch each week for 4 weeks to simulate continuous grazing. The plant on the right was clipped at three and a half inches monthly to simulate rotational grazing. Both were then allowed five days to regrow. The rotationally grazed plant had more root reserves and was able to recover, while the other was depleted of nutrients and struggled to produce any regrowth. Photo: Courtesy Krista Lea

Figure 2. Severe stand reduction due to seedling blight. (Photo:

Kiersten Wise, UK)

Figure 1. Corn plants affected by seedling blight may have poor

emergence within a row or an area in the field. (Photo: Kiersten Wise, UK)

NEWS RELEASE

United States Department of Agriculture

NATIONAL AGRICULTURAL STATISTICS SERVICE

EASTERN MOUNTAIN REGIONAL FIELD OFFICE

601 WEST BROADWAY, SUITE 645

LOUISVILLE, KY 40202

NASS releases 2017 tobacco county estimates

LOUISVILLE, Ky. – The U.S. Department of Agriculture’s National Agricultural Statistics Service (NASS) released

the county estimates for tobacco April 26, from the 2017 production year. Combined tobacco production in Kentucky

totaled $296,272,000 in cash receipts in 2016.

“Weather conditions favored yields in 2017, following the 2015 and 2016 crop years in which producers fought weather

and disease,” said David Knopf, director of the NASS Eastern Mountain Regional Office in Kentucky. “The combined

increase in acreage and yield compared to 2016 produced a crop totaling just over 183 million pounds. Fire-cured yields

tended to be better than burley and air-cured yields, compared with historical averages.”

Breckinridge County is the leading burley tobacco producing county in Kentucky for 2017, with production totaling

5,120,000 pounds, harvested from 2,450 acres. The top five counties, include:

Breckinridge County – 5,120,000 pounds

Green County – 4,810,000 pounds

Shelby County – 4,160,000 pounds

Harrison County – 4,130,000 pounds

Christian County – 3,920,000 pounds

Total production for the state was 129,150,000 pounds from 63,000 acres.

Mercer County outyielded Woodford County to take the top spot in 2017, producing 2,555 pounds per acre. Statewide

the average yield increased from 1,750 pounds per acre in 2016 to 2,050 pounds per acre for 2017. The top five

counties for yield include:

Mercer County – 2,555 pounds per acre

Woodford County – 2,550 pounds per acre

Owen County – 2,510 pounds per acre

Harrison County – 2,460 pounds per acre

Fayette County – 2,455 pounds per acre

Logan County is the leading dark air-cured tobacco producing county in Kentucky for 2017, with production totaling

3,750,000 pounds, harvested from 1,450 acres. The top five counties include:

Logan County – 3,750,000 pounds

Daviess County – 1,750,000 pounds

Christian County – 1,400,000 pounds

McLean County – 970,000 pounds

Simpson County – 820,000 pounds

Total production for Kentucky was 16,200,000 pounds from 6,000 acres.

FOR IMMEDIATE RELEASE Contact: Lisa M. Ferguson

April 30, 2018 (502) 907-3209

Continued on Page 8

Thin Grass Stands: Causes and Remedies

Chris Teutsch, UK Research and Education Center at Princeton Ray Smith, UK Plant and Soil Sciences Department, Lexington Jimmy Henning, UK Plant and Soil Sciences Department, Lexington

Our forage extension team has had a number of calls on hay stands and pastures that appear to be thinner than normal this spring. There are a number of reasons that stands are thin. In this short article we will discuss potential causes and management strategies for thin stands.

Causes of Thin Stands Low carbohydrate reserves going into fall. What we did last summer and fall can sometimes come back to haunt us the following spring. Close, frequent, and late fall cutting or grazing can result in low energy reserves in the plant. This can cause stands to regrow slower and become thinner overtime. When you combine this with a long and cold winter, grass stands can struggle to get started in the spring. Poor soil fertility. Hayfield and pastures need adequate soil fertility to remain strong and vigorous. Soil fertility programs need to be based on a current soil test and ALL required nutrients including lime need to be applied in a timely manner. In hayfields, potassium is often deficient. This is due to the removal of relatively large quantities of potassium compared to phosphorus (Table 1). Potassium is involved water regulation in the plant, translocation of sugars produced during photosynthesis, disease tolerance, and winter survival. So poor potassium fertility combined with a hard winter can weaken forage stands.

Table 2. Approximate nutrient removal in pounds per acre for several commonly grown hay types at specified yield levels.

Data from Ball et al., 2007, Brown, 1996, Robinson, 1996, and NRCS Animal Waste Management, NEH-651, 1999.

Cool and late spring. In some years, we just can’t seem to warmup in the spring. Cold springs can limit early vegetative growth. Since reproductive growth in cool-season grasses is a function of both day length and temperature, the result is that grass plants will tend to produce a seedhead about the same time each year. In cold springs, this results in a higher seedhead to leaf ratio and ultimately lower yields that have more stem and less leaf.

Managing for Thin Stands in the Spring

Soil test and apply needed nutrients. Applications of lime and fertilizer should be based on a recent soil test. Maintaining adequate soil fertility at all times allows for the development of strong and vigorous sods. It is important to remember that fertility programs need to be balanced according to soil test results and end use. So if you are making hay, you will need to add back more phosphorus and potassium because it is being removed in the forage tissue. In contrast, nutrient removal from pastures that are being grazed is minimal.

Nutrient Species and Estimated Yield (tons/acre)

Alfalfa @ 5 Tall Fescue @ 3.5

Orchardgrass @ 3

Sorghum-Sudan @ 4

pounds of given nutrient removed per acre

Nitrogen (N) 280 135 150 160

Phosphate (P2O5) 75 65 50 60

Potash (K2O) 300 185 185 288

Calcium (Ca) 155 30 30 35

Magnesium (Mg) 22 12 15 20

Sulfur (S) 25 14 13 14

Continued on Page 8

The final day to submit your completed

CAIP Cost Share paperwork is May 15,

2018 by 4:00 p.m.

You can submit your completed paperwork at the

FCCES office, 101 Lakeview Ct until

4:00PM on May 15, 2018.

Rhonda Willard will be on-site on May 15 to provide

assistance on a first-come, first serve basis.

Tobacco Estimates, Continued from Page 6

Webster County had the highest dark air-cured tobacco yield

at 2,895 pounds per acre. The top five counties for yield

include:

Webster County – 2,895 pounds per acre

McLean County (tie) – 2,855 pounds per acre

Ohio County (tie) – 2,855 pounds per acre

Muhlenberg County – 2,715 pounds per acre

Daviess County – 2,650 pounds per acre

Christian County – 2,640 pounds per acre

Yield for Kentucky increased from 1,600 pounds per acre in

2016 to 2,700 pounds per acre in 2017.

Christian County is the leading dark fire-cured tobacco

producing county in Kentucky for 2017, with production totaling

8,800,000 pounds harvested from 2,880 acres. With only three

publishable counties, the rankings are as follows:

Christian County – 8,800,000 pounds

Trigg County – 4,150,000 pounds

Logan County – 1,150,000 pounds

Total production for the Commonwealth was 37,950,000

pounds harvested from 11,500 acres.

Trigg County had the highest dark fire-cured tobacco yield at

3,515 pounds per acre. The top three counties for yield

include:

Trigg County – 3,515 pounds per acre

Christian County – 3,055 pounds per acre

Logan County – 2,555 pounds per acre

Yield for Kentucky increased from 2,300 pounds per acre in

2016 to 3,300 pounds per acre in 2017.

County-level estimates are used by other USDA agencies to

set standards for insurance and risk protection programs many

farmers rely on to protect their operations.

“Farm Service Agency (FSA) relies on the county-level

estimates for Agricultural Risk Coverage (ARC), Price Loss

Coverage (PLC), County Loan Rates, and its disaster program

calculations,” Knopf said. “The Risk Management Agency

(RMA) uses the data for administering the Area Risk

Protection Insurance Plan, establishment of transitional yields,

and determining when to make crop loss insurance payments.

When drought and flooding impact crop production, or even in

a year with good yields, these data are crucial to the

agriculture industry.”

The next round of county estimates NASS will release for

Kentucky is cattle on May 14, 2018.

The complete listing of Kentucky county estimates is available

online at https://www.nass.usda.gov. For more information,

call the NASS Kentucky Field Office at (800) 928-5277.

Clip or harvest stands at the early heading. It is very tempting to delay harvest and allow stands to “thicken up” before the first harvest. The presence of the seedhead can actually delay the development of vegetative tillers at the base of the plant by acting as sync for sugars made during photosynthesis and shading vegetative tillers. This can actually slow vegetative regrowth in pastures. In addition, the presence of the seedhead and stem also decreases forage quality. By clipping or harvesting the seedhead and stem, regrowth from the base of the plant can be stimulated and forage quality can be increased.

Apply nitrogen after clipping or harvesting seedheads. Combined with a timely first harvest, application of 40-60 lb N/A immediately after harvest can stimulate regrowth of pastures resulting a leafy second cutting. It also can help to thicken stands and exclude summer weed pressure.

Rest hayfields and pastures going into summer. After the second hay cutting or as we get into June in our pastures, rest cool-season grass stands and allow them to go into summer with about 6 inches of regrowth. This will allow pasture plants to accumulate stored carbohydrates that will be used to adapt to the hot and often dry conditions of summer and at the same time buffer the temperatures that plant crowns are exposed to through shading. The best way to rest cool-season pastures during the summer months is to incorporate warm-season grasses into your grazing system. This will provide grazing during summer the months when cool-season pasture growth is limited by high temperatures.

For a more information on hay and grazing management, contact THE Franklin County Extension Office, or visit the UK Forage Extension webpage.

Thin Grass, Continued from Page 7

Greg Brann discussing approaches to control

broomsedge in improved pastures.

Franklin County 101 Lakeview Court Frankfort, KY 40601-8750 RETURN SERVICE REQUESTED

Keenan Bishop County Extension Agent for Agriculture

and Natural Resources Education

NONPROFIT ORG US POSTAGE PAID

FRANKFORT, KY PERMIT 10090