March Table of Contents. County Extension Agent for Agriculture and Natural Resources. Page 2 Cattle. Page 3 Schenck Meat Processing

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1 March 2017 Cooperative Extension Service Bullitt County 384 Halls Lane Shepherdsville, KY (502) Fax: (502) extension.ca.uky.edu Table of Contents Page 2 Cattle Page 3 Schenck Meat Processing Page 4 Ag Council Page 5 Hemp Page 6 Tri-State Diversity Page 7 Organic Cost Share Page 8-Tall Fescue Toxicosis Page 9-Tent Caterpillar Page 10-Alfalfa Conference Page 11-Farm Bureau Members of the Bullitt County Boots and Buckles 4-H Club at the Kentucky Farm Bureau Beef Expo. Page 12 Aquaculture Page 13 Kissing Bug Page FFA Page Heel Publication County Extension Agent for Agriculture and Natural Resources 1

2 Cattle Spring Calving Herd Spring calving continues Continue grass tetany prevention. Cows need 20 Grams of magnesium daily or 4 oz./day of a 15% magnesium mineral mix. 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 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. Watch for calf scours: Give fluids to scouring calves that become dehydrated. Consult your veterinarian for proper diagnosis and treatment. Move cows which have not calved to a clean pasture Vaccinate calves (should be 6 to 8 weeks of age or older) for clostridial diseases (blackleg) according to label recommendations. Separate cows that have calves and increase their feed. Line-up AI 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. 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. Review carcass/feedlot data when making selection decisions. Fall Calving Herd Pre-weaning period Pregnancy check the cow herd. Consider selling open cows and heifers and those weaning poor calves. Inform tax preparer if the cows and heifers were raised or purchased. Make final selection of replacement heifers after pregnancy checking. Consider permanent identification such as freeze-branding, for heifers which are selected as herd replacements. Consult your veterinarian about a pre-weaning working of the herd which may include: Vaccinating calves for IBR-P13-BVD-BRSV Mannheimia hemolytica Clostridial diseases (blackleg) Deworm calves Blood test of cows for herd certification Calves intended for feeders can be re-implanted Consider the economics of creep feeding calves 2 with grain or high quality forage. Marketing: Plan your calf marketing program. Alternatives include CPH-45 sales, weekly auction markets, private treaty sales to dealers or feeders, backgrounding the calves yourself, or retaining ownership through the feed lot. Considerations for all Cattle Repair fences, equipment and handling facilities. Plan new facilities if needed. Forages Continue pasture renovation by no-tilling seeding with clovers. Spring seeding of grasses should be done early to mid-march (but fall is preferred). Smooth and re-seed hay feeding areas and heavy traffic areas. Control competition from grasses with young clover plants by grazing or mowing as needed. Prepare for spring seeding of alfalfa. Begin grazing if growth permits. Plan and implement grazing system and rotation. Environment Minimize damage to grass cover by moving the feeding area and cows more often. Inspect stream and pond banks and plan for grazing strategies to be used in the following months. Monitor geotextile-gravel pads and feeding areas. Identify maintenance needs and areas for improvement. Inspect temporary water system to make sure all equipment is in good operating condition. Monitor cattle and calves closely for stress/health symptoms caused by mud. Clean feed pads and move feeding equipment to minimize mud. Limit access to streams/ponds during winter feeding period. Source: 2017 Beef Integrated Resource Management Calendar, University of Kentucky

3 February 11 Schenck Meat Processing 3

4 February 2 Ag Council Dinner sponsored by Farm Credit Mid-America 4

5 February 9 Hemp Informational Meeting 5

6 February Tri-State Diversity 6

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8 Warm winter could affect tall fescue toxicosis in broodmares Evaluation Program coordinator. According to Ray Smith, UK forage extension specialist, dilution is the key to minimizing the effects of ergovaline. Farms should move mares to pastures where more desirable forages are available and tall fescue is less prevalent, he said. Keeping good quality hay in front of mares on pasture will also dilute any ergovaline the horses may consume. PHOTO: Krista Lea He urged farm managers whose mares experience foaling complications to work closely with their veterinarian to evaluate all possible causes. There are so many ways and reasons foaling can go wrong, said Cynthia Gaskill, veterinary toxicologist at the UK Veterinary Diagnostic Laboratory. Any time foaling complications are observed, all appropriate tissues and samples should be sent to us to evaluate possible causes immediately. Mild weather this winter is likely the cause of higher than average concentrations of a toxic substance in tall fescue called ergovaline that has been observed in Fayette and Bourbon pastures in Central Kentucky, according to University of Kentucky College of Agriculture, Food and Environment experts. Tall fescue toxicosis in broodmares, which is caused by ingesting ergovaline, is rare in the early months of the year due to typically cold winter temperatures. Naturally occurring tall fescue is often infected with an endophytic fungus that can produce ergovaline, a known vasoconstrictor something that causes the narrowing of blood vessels. This has been blamed for prolonged gestation and low milk production in late term pregnant mares. The UK Horse Pasture Evaluation Program sampled three farms in Fayette and Bourbon counties this year and found a handful of pastures with higher than average ergovaline concentrations for the time of year. These levels would not be alarmingly high in May, because pastures would have other forages such as bluegrass and orchardgrass actively growing, providing sufficient dilution in the total diet. However, other grasses are not active in February, therefore horses are likely to consume more tall fescue, especially in pastures that were overgrazed last fall, said Krista Lea, UK Horse Pasture 8 According to Gaskill, no direct test is available for ergovaline levels in animal tissues, so diagnosing suspected cases of tall fescue toxicosis includes ruling out other possible causes and determining ergovaline concentrations in forages or bedding. In certain situations, domperidone can be administered to alleviate the symptoms of tall fescue toxicosis, but this can have other side effects and is costly, making prevention the ideal treatment. Pasture, hay and bedding can all be evaluated for ergovaline concentrations at the UK Veterinary Diagnostic Laboratory for $52 per sample. Pasture samples of tall fescue should be frozen and transported on ice to the lab immediately. Hay and bedding samples should come from several bales and can be transported at ambient temperature out of direct sunlight. Detailed instructions on sampling can be found at 20fescue%20sampling.doc Local county extension agents can assist farms in sampling pastures, hay or bedding. More information can be found on the UK Forage Extension website, or by ing UK s forage group at UKForageExtension@uky.edu

9 Early eastern tent caterpillar egg hatch anticipated for Central Newly hatched eastern tent caterpillars PHOTO: Lee Townsend It is likely eastern tent caterpillars will begin to hatch soon, according to Lee Townsend, University of Kentucky College of Agriculture, Food and Environment extension entomologist. Eastern tent caterpillars are among the first insects to appear in the spring. Consequently, they can cope with the erratic temperature swings that are common in Kentucky. This year s unseasonable warmth points to abnormally early activity, Townsend said. Eggs from a mass Townsend collected on Feb. 17 hatched after a weekend indoors. Although the temperature was artificially high (in the lab), clearly (outside) conditions are close to prompting eastern tent caterpillar hatch, he said. In addition, black cherry leaf buds are starting to open. High and low temperatures from Feb are about 20 degrees above seasonal normal. Egg hatch this year may beat the previous record soundly. According to Townsend, that record was March 14, The latest observed hatch since 2011 was April 4, Arborist Larry Hanks has provided first observed egg hatch in Scott County since It is important for horse farm managers to keep these hairy caterpillars in mind and, barring a significant weather change, to begin watching early for developing tents. If the warm weather continues, they may become visible in black cherry trees in pasture and paddock tree lines in seven to 10 days, Hanks said. When mature, the 2- to 2 ½-inch long, hairy caterpillars wander from their developmental sites along fence lines. Consumption of large numbers of caterpillars by pregnant mares precipitated staggering foal losses in the Mare Reproductive Loss Syndrome outbreak of MRLS can cause late-term foal losses, early- and late-term fetal losses and weak foals. UK researchers conducted studies that revealed horses will inadvertently eat the caterpillars, and the caterpillar hairs embed into the lining of the horse s alimentary tract. Once that protective barrier is breached, normal alimentary tract bacteria may gain access to and reproduce in sites with reduced immunity, such as the fetus and placenta. If practical, farm managers should plan to move pregnant mares from areas where black cherry trees are abundant to minimize the chance of caterpillar exposure. The threat is greatest when the mature tent caterpillars leave trees and wander to find places to pupate and transform to the moth stage. Eastern tent caterpillars are also a significant nuisance to people living near heavily infested trees. The caterpillars may wander hundreds of yards in search of protected sites to spin cocoons and pupate. To get rid of active caterpillars, Townsend recommends pruning them out and destroying the nests if practical. Farm managers can use any one of several biorational insecticides registered for use on shade trees as needed. These types of insecticides are relatively non-toxic to humans. Spot treatments to the tents and the foliage around them can be applied according to label directions, which vary by product. For more information about how to assess trees for egg masses, the UK Entomology publication, Checking Eastern Tent Caterpillar Egg Masses, is available at Contact: Lee Townsend, ; Holly Wiemers,

10 February 21 36th Annual Kentucky Alfalfa and Stored Forage Conference 10

11 February 21 Bullitt County Farm Bureau 11

12 Extension. to host indoor aquaculture program By Katie Pratt PHOTO: Steve Patton, UK Agricultural Communications In an aquaponics system, fish provide nutrients for hydroponically grown plants, which in turn, purify the water. For those interested in learning more about indoor marine shrimp and tilapia production and aquaponics, the Kentucky Cooperative Extension Service will host an aquaculture program Saturday, March 25 at Kentucky State University s Aquaculture Research Center in Frankfort. Indoor aquaculture programs are growing in popularity, particularly in urban areas, as people become more interested in local foods. Often, indoor aquaculture systems help bring the products closer to consumers and require less space and water to operate than outdoor pond aquaculture. The daylong event begins at 9 a.m. EDT. KSU aquaculture specialists will give an overview of indoor aquaculture production systems as they relate to the production of shrimp and tilapia and aquaponics. Aquaponics is a mutually beneficial system of tilapia and hydroponically grown vegetables, most commonly leafy greens. Discussions will include permitting, nutrition, crop selection and water quality. A representative from the Kentucky Department of Agriculture will discuss marketing opportunities for Kentuckygrown shrimp, tilapia and other aquaponics products. KSU s Aquaculture Research Center is located at 103 Athletic Drive in Frankfort. Participants may also choose to attend the Indoor Aquaculture Program Reception the day before the program. It is from 6 p.m. to 9 p.m. March 24 at Completely Kentucky s upstairs meeting room. Completely Kentucky is located at 237 W. Broadway St. in Frankfort. The events are free and open to the public. Lunch is provided for the March 25 program. To register for either the program, the reception or both, contact Karla Johnson at or karla.johnson@kysu.edu. For directions and the complete program, visit Contact: Forrest Wynne, Daffodils are a sure sign of spring. 12

13 UK entomologist discusses kissing bug, impact on Kentucky By Katie Pratt bodies. Their mouthparts look like a large black extension jutting out from their head. They are most active at night and feed on a variety of animals and humans, similar to bed bugs. It s not the kissing bug s bite, but rather Chagas disease that can cause severe and chronic health problems in humans. The Chagas disease is found mostly in the kissing bug species located within Latin America. Infected bugs can transfer this disease to humans while feeding, but according the Centers for Disease Control and Prevention, the disease is extremely rare in the species that is in Kentucky and throughout much of the United States. The feeding habits of the species we have here do not make it a very effective vector, even if it is carrying the pathogen, Townsend said. While the insects are called deadly, bites from bugs not infected with the pathogen are similar to a bad mosquito bite, tending to swell, itch and then improve. Kissing bug PHOTO: Lee Townsend, UK extension entomologist Lexington, Ky. The kissing bug may sound like a virus that plagues the protagonist of a romantic comedy, but in fact, these insects are real, and one species does occur in Kentucky. These blood-feeding insects have received a lot of media attention due to the potential health effects of their bites in the southwestern United States. University of Kentucky extension entomologist Lee Townsend recently discussed what Kentuckians need to know about the insect. A species of kissing bug lives in Kentucky, but the insect is not commonly seen. It occurs in wooded areas where it lives in the dens of various animals, said Townsend, a faculty member in the UK College of Agriculture, Food and Environment. At UK, we have only occasionally received adults that were captured from inside homes, usually near or in wooded areas. Few bites have been reported. Kissing bugs will fly to outdoor lights, especially in the fall, and some will find ways inside. Adult kissing bugs range from between three-quarters of an inch to 1.25 inches in length. Most have a striped band with red or orange markings around their Individuals who believe they have found a kissing bug, should send a sample to their local office of the UK Cooperative Extension Service for identification before beginning any control steps, as they closely resemble other insects commonly found near homes. Kentuckians can protect themselves from the kissing bug the same way they would many other insects, by making sure cracks and crevices around their home are sealed, removing wood piles around the home and turning off outside lights when not needed. Contact: Lee Townsend, Ag Council meets First Thursday each month At 7:00 pm 13

14 February 22 Bullitt Central and Bullitt East High Schools FFA Chapters 14

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18 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 for information. Previous copies of this newsletter can be viewed at: and join us on facebook at : IF YOU DO NOT WISH TO RECEIVE THIS NEWSLETTER, PLEASE CALL VICKIE ( ) To HAVE YOUR NAME REMOVED. Cooperative Extension Service Bullitt County 384 Halls Lane Shepherdsville, KY