A University of Kentucky entomologist is using a social media platform to help producers cut down on unnecessary insecticide applications.
Ric Bessin started the Facebook page Swdinky to help growers monitor and potentially treat for the spotted wing drosophila, a fruit fly that can destroy soft-skinned, small fruit including grapes, raspberries, blueberries, blackberries and strawberries.
Read MoreHigh tunnels are a low tech version of more elaborate, and expensive, greenhouses for production of produce crops. Dr. Shubin Saha, UK extension vegetable specialist says this form of “protected agriculture” is expanding, giving consumers more variety of products in more months of the year, and providing premium income for producers of these crops.
Read MoreFeldhaus reports results on a first-ever Local Food Marketing Practices Survey that provides some telling data for high potential for direct sales of produce and foods. Dave Knopf, director of the regional office of USDA’S National Ag Statistics Service provides details which can have immediate impact for Kentucky farmers.
Read MoreFourth quarter results of the latest Kentucky Farm Bureau Marketbasket Survey indicated a slight decrease in surveyed food prices and marked declines in three of the four quarters of 2016. With the exception of last year’s second quarter, price declines indicated by the survey have been realized over the last two years.
Read MoreBIODIESEL WORKS FOR KENTUCKY ANIMAL AGRICULTURE by creating demand for soybean oil. More demand for soybean oil results in more domestic crush of U.S. soybeans, which results in more soybean meal on the market and decreases the price that poultry and livestock producers pay for feed. Biodiesel demand also increases the value of tallow, which can also be used to make the fuel.
Read MoreIt was obvious that Becky Kinder and the Kentucky Soybean Board were a great fit considering she interned with them three summers in a row. Becky became their full-time education director in 2004.
Read MoreA feature report with a Kentucky Proud entrepreneur, who retired from state government and who, with a Christmas gift recipe for her special sauce, has turned that hobby into a thriving Kentucky Proud business. Nancy Ward of Ward’s Kentucky Specialties provides details of her growing product line with items now available at Kroger stores and on line.
Read MoreFrom fighting the spread of resistant weeds to more effective use of chicken litter as a fertilizer source, the Ky Soybean Board works with UK researchers each year to help fund their work on methods and practices to improve efficiencies on the farm. The board’s Davie Stephens of Hickman County is featured.
Read MoreIt’s taken eight years, but the hard work has finally paid off at Shelby Christmas Tree Farm & Nursery.
In 2008, Vivek Sarin and Ron Stella formed a partnership. Sarin owned a 4-acre field in Shelbyville but had no agricultural experience. Stella had farming experience but no land to put it to use.
Read MoreA story on how a third generation farm girl who worked for and retired from Toyota, got back into farming, goat production specifically, and she developed and markets a line of soaps and hand creams. Nancy Hayes of Laurel County describes her venture as an ag entrepreneur and she gives plenty of credit to the Ky Proud program and the many retailers these days who support it.
Read MoreA feature report with the 2016 Farmer of the Year in Kentucky, Mike Bach of Bath County who has a 2,500 acres operation focusing on cow/calf production, field crops, peaches and asparagus. Bach talks about the tremendous advances in ag production through GPS technology and how it can assist in environmental protection and increase the bottom line.
Read MoreA new set of tools is now available for beekeepers to better manage their hives year round; and right now is the time to take action to have a high degree of success is knocking back the varroa mite; the number one threat to honey bees. State apiarist, Tammy Horn Potter, discusses a new series of short videos available free of charge to beekeepers.
Read MoreIn a year that went from wetter-than-normal conditions for most of the spring and summer to a very dry period in the fall, state farmers got a lesson in meteorology in 2016 seeing how quickly the weather can change.
Read MoreWild pigs; they’re not a widespread problem in Kentucky yet, but Ky Fish and Wildlife officials are taking actions to stop their spread. In even small groups or “sounders,” wild or feral hogs can create environmental and crop damage and can out compete deer and turkey for available, natural food sources. Fish and Wildlife’s John Hast describes the situation.
Read MoreAs he energetically bounds across the lab checking on high school students while they extract DNA from tall fescue, there’s no question that University of Kentucky instructor Lou Hirsch is passionate about science and teaching. It is with his passion and enthusiasm that Hirsch hopes to show students the human-side of science and make it something that is very real to them and perhaps a potential career.
Read MoreAs the temperature drops, many livestock owners are faced with keeping their animals healthy and at a consistent weight. That concern is no different for horse owners.
Read MoreAmid concern over antibiotic resistance and in an effort to improve efficiency while protecting human and animal health, the Food and Drug Administration is making changes in its Veterinary Feed Directive program. They are amending regulations regarding drugs added to livestock feeds; the new rules go into effect Jan. 1.
Read MoreBeing outside and working with people appealed to Sean Godbold, an Oneida, Ky. native, and when looking at potential careers, he figured that the title of forester would provide that for him. While he spends a lot of time outdoors, it’s his biology and conservation knowledge that makes him a respected and awarded tree inspector.
Read MoreIt starts with a pinecone. Like any other seed, pine seeds must be pollinated and allowed to germinate before the possibility of growth can occur. External conditions, such as soil quality and weather must also be right for a new tree to take root. That process is surprisingly lengthy, sometimes taking a year or more.
Read MoreLindsay Phillips is currently the Country Home Loan Officer in the Maysville office. She started her career with Farm Credit Mid-America as a Financial Services Officer (FSO) two and a half years ago. Prior to her current role, Lindsay was a loan officer for the Buffalo Trace Area Development District and worked at a local bank.
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