From the Ground Up. Robert Amburgey. Bath County Extension Agent for Agriculture and Natural Resources UPCOMING MEETINGS AND EVENTS:

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1 From the Ground Up Bath County Agricultural Newsletter December 2018 Robert Amburgey Bath County Extension Agent for Agriculture and Natural Resources UPCOMING MEETINGS AND EVENTS: Cooperative Extension Service Bath County 2914 E. Hwy 60 Owingsville, KY (606) Fax: (606) bath.ca.uky.edu LIKE US ON FACEBOOK: BATH COUNTY AGRICULTURE January 8th Ag Commodity Day Montgomery County Extension Office January 7-8 Kentucky Fruit and Vegetable Conference Lexington January 9th Produce Grower Meeting 9:00-4:00 Bath Co Extension Office January 28 Equine Pastures Please Meeting 5:30 Mercer Co Fairgrounds January 29 6:00 p.m. Private Pesticide Applicator Training Bath Co Extension January 30 10:00 a.m. Private Pesticide Applicator Training Bath Co Extension February 7 Wildlife and Food Plot Development Meeting Montgomery County Ext Office February 11, 18, 25 Online Workshop on Fruit Tree Management Bath Co. Office February 21 Area Tobacco Meeting and GAP Training Sharpsburg Community Center - If you want to know more about any of the meetings or events listed above, please call the Bath County Extension Office at The Fruit Tree Workshops require that you RSVP to the Bath County Extension office no later than February 8th. If there are no RSVPs the meeting will be cancelled. There will be a field day as part of this series. You must attend a minimum of 2 room sessions to register for the field day. See the attached flyer for more details. The Kentucky Fruit and Vegetable Conference has a reduced rate if you pre-register on the form provided. You can register at the door if you choose for a higher rate. As we march towards the holiday seasons there are some items that you may want to take note of. 1. The Extension Office will be closed Christmas Eve till January 2nd. 2. We will continue to add to our winter meetings and trainings. If you have specific questions, please call the Bath County Extension Office.

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4 Time to Roll Up the Sleeves Dr. Les Anderson, Extension Professor, University of Kentucky Unfortunately, the beef industry sits in the middle of a downturn in the market. When the market is low and margins get slimmer, pressure is on cattlemen to get more efficient in their production. Efficiency is a word that is thrown around in the beef industry but what does efficient production look like? The Merriam-Webster dictionary defines efficient operation as effective operation as measured by a comparison of production with costs (as in energy, time, and money). Interesting. Unfortunately, in the commercial beef cow-calf industry, we don t spend enough time discussing or thinking about being an efficient operation. Efficient beef cow-calf operations control the calving season. Having a short calving season establishes the base for efficient production allowing producers to implement their health, nutrition, and marketing programs more easily. Research from Oklahoma State University and Texas A&M University (Parker et al., 2004) has shown that longer calving seasons are associated with lower production (pounds of calf weaned per cow) and higher costs of production (4.7 cents higher per cwt of calf per day). These data were collected on 394 ranches from the Southwest and indicated that year-round calving systems weaned fewer pounds of calf per cow per year at an additional cost of $13.63 per hundredweight. Tom Troxel at the University of Arkansas described several factors impacting the productivity and profitability of uncontrolled versus controlled calving. First, more weight is weaned. Pregnancy rates are the same but calf death loss is much less when calving is controlled. Also, weaning weight increases because calves are older at weaning on average so weaning weight per cow exposed (reproductive efficiency) is also higher. Calves were healthier when born from a controlled calving season most likely because sound health programs are easier to implement. Also, it costs less to feed a cow in a controlled calving season likely because more effectively meet cow nutrient requirements. Finally, market value was higher because more calves could be marketed in larger lots. So, let s roll up our sleeves and figure out how to convert from a year-round to a 75-day controlled calving season. Decide when is most profitable for you to calve; spring or fall. Work with your veterinarian to assess the reproductive status of your herd. When did they calve? Are they currently pregnant and when will then calve next? Once you know the current status of your herd, you can plan. Most plans start with either building a pen for the bull or selling the bull. If you don t want to manage a bull separately, consider purchasing and then reselling a bull when the breeding season is concluded. This sounds ridiculous but the costs of pregnancy aren t much different. Next figure out what you are going to do with each cow. Some may need to be culled and some will need held open for a while. All cows need to be subjected to estrous synchronization before exposing them to a bull. Getting the calving in your herd under control can be a little tough at first. An increase in productivity and profitability will follow. So, if your calving season is out of hand, roll up your sleeves, evaluate your cow herd, make a plan, and get started toward higher margins.

5 Spring Calving Herd Timely Tips Dr. Les Anderson, Beef Extension Professor, University of Kentucky Be sure that weaned heifer calves are on a feeding program which will enable them be at about 65% of their mature weight before the start of the breeding season. Rations should be balanced to achieve gains sufficient to get heifers from their current weight to that target weight. Body condition is important, plan an adequate winter program for cows to be at least body condition score 5 (carrying enough flesh to cover the ribs) before the calving and breeding season. This will help them to breed early in the spring. Thin cows should be fed to regain body condition prior to winter. Don t let cows lose weight/condition. Supplementation will most likely be needed. Find low cost supplemental feeds to meet the nutrient needs of cattle. Divide the herd into groups for winter feeding --weaned heifer calves -first-calf heifers, second-calvers and thin mature cows -the remainder of the dry cows which are in good body condition -herd sires Begin feeding the lowest quality forage to dry cows which are in good condition during early winter and save the best hay for calving time or for weaned calves. Order and number ear tags for next year s calf crop this winter. It is also a good time to catch up on freeze branding and replacing lost ear tags.

6 Fall Calving Herd Get breeding supplies together, if using estrous synchronization and/or A.I. Have Breeding Soundness Evaluation (BSE) performed on bulls (even if you used them this spring). The fall breeding season starts. Breeding can best be accomplished on stockpiled fescue pasture; otherwise, cows with calves should be fed pounds of good quality hay or its equivalent. Supplement with grain, if needed, and minimize hay waste. DON T ALLOW THESE COWS TO LOSE BODY CONDITION PRIOR TO OR DURING THE BREEDING SEASON. It is easy to wait too long to start winter feeding. Don t do it unless you have stockpiled fescue. Nutrition level of cows during the first 30 days after conception is critical. Pay attention. Observe performance of bulls during breeding season. Watch cows for return to estrus, if you see several in heat, try to determine the cause and consider changing bulls. General Complete soil testing pasture to check for fertility and ph. Consider putting down geotextile fabric and covering with gravel in feeding areas before you begin hay feeding to minimize waste of expensive hay. Or, perhaps, construct concrete feeding pads for winter feeding areas. Monitor body condition and increase feed, if needed, for all classes of cattle.

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9 Mistletoe: From Tree Thief To Holiday Tradition Source: Nicole Gauthier, Extension Plant Pathologist Once autumn leaves have fallen, mistletoe becomes highly visible on large trees throughout Kentucky. Phoradendron, the scientific name for Kentucky s most common variety of this parasitic plant, means tree thief. These small leafy plants are commonly found on twigs and branches of many hardwood species in the southern United States. Mistletoe extracts steals water, mineral elements and food from tree hosts; hence the name. Mistletoe use in holiday traditions has roots in pagan times. The appearance of a live parasitic plant while the host tree appears dead led some to believe mistletoe mysteriously held the life of the tree during winter. Druids harvested mistletoe in a special rite, never allowing the plant to touch the ground, and then hung it in their homes for good luck. Our modern-day mistletoe holiday tradition likely originates with a mythological Norse goddess of love and beauty. Frigga, whose son was restored from possible death by mistletoe, was thought to bestow a kiss on anyone walking beneath one. Today, when two people meet under the mistletoe, tradition suggests they must exchange a kiss for good luck. Phoradendron resembles another species that grows in Europe. It has simple, fleshy green leaves arranged oppositely on the stem. Stems are short and more branched than host trees, so mistletoe often appears as a spherical bunch of dense vegetation. These bunches may be a foot or two in diameter and are located high in the tree where sun exposure is greatest. Mistletoe berries range from white to straw-colored to light red. Birds eat the fruits, reportedly toxic to human and animals, then deposit the seeds onto branches where they germinate and penetrate the next host tree. Mistletoe commonly appears in open-grown trees where birds tend to roost, thereby less frequently in forest trees. Generally, they cause minimal damage, although they can be harmful to stressed trees. Mistletoe can be removed from landscape trees by pruning.

10 Looking Forward To The Summer Vegetable Garden Source: Richard Durham, Extension Horticulture Specialist Soon you ll be receiving seed catalogs for the 2019 vegetable-growing season. While listening to the cold wind blow outside, what a comfort it is to think about spring and summer and planning your garden. To make the most of your garden, every aspiring gardener should follow seven steps to have a successful gardening season. 1. Plan your garden on paper before you begin. 2. Select a good gardening site that has full of sun for at least eight hours each day, relatively level, well-drained, close to a water source and not shaded. 3. Prepare the soil properly and add fertilizer and lime according to soil-test recommendations. 4. Plan only as large a garden as you can easily maintain. Beginning gardeners often overplant, and then they fail because they cannot keep up with the tasks required. You ll have to control weeds and pests, apply water when needed and harvest on time. Vegetables harvested at their peak are tasty, but when left on the plants too long, the flavor is simply the best. 5. Grow vegetables that will produce the maximum amount of food in the space available. 6. Plant during the correct season for the crop. Choose varieties recommended for your area. 7. Harvest vegetables at their proper stage of maturity. Store them promptly and properly if you do not use them immediately. A well-planned and properly kept garden should produce 600 to 700 pounds of produce per 1,000 square feet and may include many different crops. Finally, the closer the vegetable garden is to your back door, the more you will use it. You can see when your crops are at their peaks and can take maximum advantage of their freshness. Also, keeping up with the planting, weeding, watering and pest control will be easier.