Sincerely, Brandon Sears County Extension Agent for Agriculture & Natural Resources or

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1 The annual Bus Trip to the National Farm Machinery Show (at the Kentucky Expo Center in Louisville) is set for Thursday February 15, The Bus will leave Richmond Ag Credit Office at 7:30 a.m. and return around 5 p.m. The Bus holds 55 people and will fill on a first come first serve basis, according to our signup list. Cost is $10 per person. (There is no entry fee to the show.) Please contact the Madison County Extension Office, , to put your name on the sign-up list. Sponsored by Central Kentucky Ag Credit, Madison County Beef Cattle Association, and Madison County Farm Bureau. March 1st, 6:00 pm - Madison County Extension Office Join us as Katelyn Hawkins from the Kentucky Beef Council shares how to buy and prepare beef to enhance tenderness and flavor. What cuts are best for various cooking methods, food safety considerations, and including lean beef as part of a healthy diet, will also be covered. There will be samples for taste-testing. Class size is limited and registration is required, call by Thursday, February 22nd to reserve your space. Sincerely, Brandon Sears County Extension Agent for Agriculture & Natural Resources or brandon.sears@uky.edu This program consists of weed spraying demonstration plots. The department will provide the sprayer and enough chemical for the treatment of 10 acres of agricultural land or 100 gallons of spot spraying mix to be used on agricultural land. The department s representative will demonstrate proper mixing and application techniques. A number of nuisance weeds can be treated under this program depending on the needs of the participant. This program is limited to broadleaf weeds. Broadcast Spraying demonstration plots consist of: 10 acres of agricultural land will be treated with chemical provided by the department Application is performed with a two-wheeled trailer type sprayer equipped with boomless nozzles If additional chemical is provided by the participant, an additional 10 acres can be treated Spot Spraying demonstration plots consist of: 100 gallons of broadleaf chemical mix which is applied until sprayer is empty Application is performed with a two-wheeled trailer type sprayer equipped with a handheld spray wand used by the tractor operator If additional chemical is provided by the participant, an additional 100 gallons can be sprayed For each demonstration: The participant must provide water source The participant must provide tractor and operator All chemical products must be labeled and the product label will be strictly followed A maximum of 7 participants per county This program is designed to target weeds that have a negative impact on the participant s agricultural production. There will be an annual online application period to participate in this program. Applications can be completed from February 1 to February 29. Please visit this website to apply:

2 By Dr. J.D. Green, Reprinted from Grazing News One of the signs that spring has arrived is when the yellow flowers of buttercup begin to appear, but it s during the winter months that the vegetative growth of buttercup takes place. As a cool season weed, this plant often flourishes in over grazed pasture fields with poor stands of desirable forages. In fact, many fields that have dense buttercup populations are fields heavily grazed by animals during the fall through the early spring months. Buttercups are sometimes classified as short-lived perennials, but often grow as winter annuals. Plants typically produce five, shiny yellow petals in the early spring. There are four different species of buttercups that may be found in Kentucky: bulbous buttercup (Ranunculus bulbosus), creeping buttercup (Ranunculus repens), tall buttercup (Ranunculus acris), and small flower buttercup (Ranunculus arbortivus). Although each of these plants may have somewhat similar flower heads, each of these buttercup species differs somewhat in their vegetative leaf characteristics. New seed are produced during the time petals are showy. Waiting until after flowers appear can be too late to implement control tactics. This is one reason buttercups can survive year to year and new plants emerge each year. Most buttercup plants emerge from seed during the fall or late winter months. Therefore, pasture management practices that improve and promote growth of desirable plants during these months is one of the best methods to help compete against the emergence and growth of this plant. Whereas, livestock animals allowed to overgraze fields during the fall and winter months is one of the main factors that contribute to buttercup problems. Mowing fields or clipping plants close to the ground in the early spring before buttercup plants can produce flowers may help reduce the amount of new seed produced, but mowing alone will not totally eliminate seed production. For chemical control, herbicides registered for use on grass pastures that contain 2,4-D will effectively control buttercup. Depending on other weeds present products that contain dicamba+2,4-d (eg. Weedmaster), aminopyralid (eg. GrazonNext, Milestone), triclopyr (eg. PastureGard, Crossbow), or metsulfuron (eg. Cimarron) can also be used. However, legumes such as clovers interseeded with grass pastures can be severely injured or killed by these herbicide products. For optimum results apply a herbicide in the early spring (February March) before flowers are observed, when buttercup plants are still small and actively growing. For best herbicide activity wait until daytime air temperatures is greater than 50 F for two to three consecutive days. Consult the herbicide label for further information on grazing restrictions, precautions, or other possible limitations. For fields heavily infested with buttercup a variety of control tactics may be needed. Apply a herbicide to help reduce the population of buttercup plants in the spring plus use good pasture management techniques throughout the year to help improve and thicken the stand of desirable forages. Please Read! If you received this newsletter in the mail and wish to be removed from our newsletter mailing list, or if you find an error on the mailing label, please contact the Madison County Extension Center at Thank You!

3 By Dr. Les Anderson, Beef Extension Specialist, University of Kentucky Now is an important check-point in spring heifer development programs. The key to proper heifer development lies in understanding the factors that influence conception in yearling heifers. One key factor regulating heifer fertility is age at puberty. Most producers don t consider age at puberty of their heifers to be a major problem, yet few know how many heifers are actually cyclic at the beginning of the breeding season. A Nebraska study demonstrated that the proportion of heifers that were pubertal on the first day of the breeding season varied greatly over 5 consecutive years in a single a herd. The percentage of heifers that were pubertal on the first day of the breeding season ranged from only 21% to as high as 64% over the 5-year period. For maximum fertility and reproductive performance, heifers must have had at least one estrus before the beginning of the breeding season. Our goal then is to incorporate reproductive management techniques to reduce the age of puberty, increase fertility, and shorten the interval to conception. One of the largest factors that regulate puberty in the heifer is weight. For puberty to occur, heifers must weigh at least 65% of their mature weight. This weight is referred to as their target weight. Most heifer development programs require that heifers reach their target weight, approximately 65% of their expected mature weight, by the onset of their first breeding season. Because fertility increases until the third estrus after puberty, heifers should reach their target weight at least 30 days before the start of the breeding season. I refer to this date as the target date. Now is also the time to determine if your heifers are on track. Most yearling heifers will need to reach pounds (their projected target weight) by mid-april to ensure high fertility assuming that the heifer breeding season starts about mid-may. Weigh your heifers to determine how much they have left to gain to reach their target weight. If the heifers weighed on average 600 pounds and their target weight is 750 pounds then they will need to gain 150 pounds or pounds each day to reach their target weight by mid-april. Heifers should reach a BCS of by their target date. The next important phase in heifer development occurs one month prior to the start of the breeding season. At this time, heifers should be vaccinated (Vibrio fetus, Leptospirosis, and the respiratory disease complex which includes PI 3, BRSV, BVD and IBR; modified-live vaccine is preferred), dewormed, and pelvic area measurements should be obtained. Heifers with small pelvic areas and especially large heifers will small pelvic areas tend to have greater difficulty calving. Now is the time to contact your local veterinarian to schedule this pre-breeding work. Producers should consider estrus synchronization and/or AI. Estrous synchronization and AI has many advantages which include: higher pregnancy rates, heavier, more uniform calves at weaning, and increased production and labor efficiency. The greatest advantage of AI is the ability to use superior, more predictable sires. Since a majority of calving problems in a herd occur when calving first-calf heifers, it seems only logical to synchronize and AI your heifers to proven calving ease bulls. Contact your local AI technician to schedule a time to breed your heifers. Proper heifer development is one of the key components to profitability in a beef cattle operation.

4 Literally thousands of acres of Kentucky pasture and hay fields are overseeded with clover, much of it frost-seeded in late winter. Yet this is one of the few times where crops are seeded where we halfway expect not to get a stand. You would not accept this for corn or soybeans. Here are a few tips to ensure you have the best chance of getting clover established from a frost-seeding. 1) Address soil fertility needs. Get a current soil test, and apply the needed nutrients. Clovers need soil that is ph 6.5 to 7 and medium or better in P and K. Do not apply additional N except for that supplied from diammonium phosphate (DAP) if used to supply the needed P. But get the soil test; anything else is just a guess. 2) Select a good variety. Choose an improved variety with known performance and genetics. Choosing a better red clover variety can mean as much as three tons of additional hay and longer stand life. Spread enough seed. UK recommends 6 to 8 pounds of red and 1 to 2 pounds of white/ladino clover per acre. Apply higher rates if using only one clover type. Applying the minimum (6 lb. red and 1 lb. white) will put over 50 seeds per square foot on the field (37 red, 18 white). 3) Make sure seed lands on bare soil. Excess grass or thatch must be grazed and/or disturbed until there is bare ground showing prior to overseeding. The biggest cause of seeding failure with frost seedings is too much ground cover. Judicious cattle traffic or dragging with a chain harrow can accomplish this. 4) Get good seed-soil contact. With frost seeding, we depend on the rain and snow or freeze-thaw action of the soil surface to work the clover seed into the top ¼ inch of soil. A corrugated roller can also be used soon after seeding to ensure good soil contact. 5) Control competition next spring. Do not apply additional N on overseeded fields next spring, and be prepared to do some timely mowing if grass or spring weeds get up above the clover. Clover is an aggressive seeding but will establish faster and thicker if grass and weed competition is controlled. Clover can be reliably established into existing grass pastures with a little attention to detail. Soil fertility, variety, seeding rate, seed placement and competition control are the major keys to success. (Source: Dr. Jimmy Henning, Adapted from Grazing News) Bare soil should be showing for successful clover overseeding. Monday February 26, 6:00 pm, Madison County Extension Office, 230 Duncannon Lane, Richmond. For details call Randy, or Debbie, Madison County Cooperative Extension Facebook Page: / Madison County Cooperative Extension Service Ag Webpage: Whether it s spring, summer, fall or winter, you can Plate It Up with delicious recipes that put a new twist on your favorite Kentucky Proud foods. Visit to find all the Plate It Up recipes using Kentucky Proud products.

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