UK agricultural economist: Grain markets favor storage; alternative structures likely option
By Katie Pratt
University of Kentucky
Continuous years of large crops and demand uncertainty makes grain storage attractive for producers this fall. While Kentucky producers have added on-farm storage to their operations in recent years, many will store corn and soybeans in alternative structures through the winter, particularly as markets are showing positive returns.
“Higher futures prices in spring...
UK researchers make important discovery in plant disease resistance; could help crops
By Katie Pratt
University of Kentucky
University of Kentucky plant pathology researchers have uncovered the function and placement of another component in a pathway that triggers plant disease resistance. Their finding brings them one step closer to understanding this pathway that allows plants to fend off secondary infections. This knowledge will allow scientists to help plants simultaneously defend...
Lexington horse farm sees success from pasture renovations guided by UK College of Agriculture
By: Katie Pratt
UK College of Agriculture
A Kentucky Thoroughbred horse farm is reaping the benefits of healthier mares and foals due to pasture renovations they made over the past year with guidance from personnel in the University of Kentucky College of Agriculture, Food and Environment.
Horses graze on pasture at Mill Ridge Farm. Photo by Jimmy Henning, UK extension forage specialist.
In 2017, Mill...
Annual Beef Bash set for September 20 at UK Research and Education Center in Princeton
By Aimee Nielson
University of Kentucky
The University of Kentucky College of Agriculture, Food and Environment, the Kentucky Beef Integrated Resource Management Program and the Kentucky Cattlemen’s Association will host the sixth biennial Beef Bash, a unique field day for Kentucky beef cattle producers, on Sept. 20 at the UK Research and Education Center in Princeton.
“Research and outreach efforts,...
UK College of Agriculture, Food and Environment animal scientists receive multiple national honors
By Aimee Nielson
University of Kentucky
Several members of the University of Kentucky College of Agriculture, Food and Environment Department of Animal and Food Sciences recently brought home national awards.
The American Society of Animal Science presented the Animal Growth and Development Award to Kyle McLeod, an associate professor and a recognized authority in ruminant growth and development. He...
Eastern Kentucky forage tour on Sept. 6 to highlight fall, winter forage preparations
By Katie Pratt
University of Kentucky
Forage and livestock producers can see the latest research in action and get tips on fall and winter forage preparations during an Eastern Kentucky Field Day on Sept. 6.
The free field day will be at the Derrickson Agricultural Complex at Morehead State University.
The field day is a partnership between forage specialists in the University of Kentucky College...
UK College of Agriculture, Food and Environment students selected as Wallace-Carver Fellows
By Katie Pratt
University of Kentucky
Two University of Kentucky College of Agriculture, Food and Environment students were selected as Wallace-Carver Fellows by The World Food Prize Foundation and the U.S. Department of Agriculture.
The two students — Morgan Hasler and Stone Warfield — completed their fellowships this summer.
The fellowship is a prestigious honor that allows the students to work...
Summer heat can stress farm animals, but producers have options to keep livestock thriving
By Aimee Nielson
University of Kentucky
Summer hasn’t officially begun according on the calendar, but Mother Nature has already been bringing the heat and humidity.
In fact, Kentucky experienced the warmest May on record, and livestock is feeling it. Producers have options to keep livestock thriving in the summer heat.
“When you get a combination of heat and humidity, it can cause concern for livestock,”...
Longtime Kentucky Small Business Development Center director Becky Naugle announces retirement
By Carol Lea Spence
Special to KyForward
Becky Naugle, longtime director of the Kentucky Small Business Development Center, is retiring May 18.
After working with the center for nearly 21 years, and as director for almost 20, Naugle has witnessed a lot of changes in the state’s entrepreneurial environment and contributed to many of those changes.
The Kentucky Small Business Development Center, part...
UK College of Agriculture, Food and Environment to host Spray Clinic in Princeton on July 17
The University of Kentucky College of Agriculture, Food and Environment is hosting a Spray Clinic on July 17 at the UK Research and Education Center in Princeton.
Part of the Field School series, the clinic is an expanded effort by the UK Grain and Forage Center of Excellence to give experienced producers and others in the industry the research-based information they need at critical junctures in the...
UK, local schools and agribusinesses team up to combat ‘brain drain’ in rural economies in Kentucky
By Carol Lea Spence
UK College of Agriculture, Food and Environment
Brain drain, the term for a community’s loss of intelligent, highly trained people, is a serious problem for local economies in Kentucky.
Often, many from the younger generation leave home for an education and never return, because of a lack of opportunity. Faculty and staff in the University of Kentucky College of Agriculture, Food...
University of Kentucky research will gauge effect of indoor arenas on horse and human health
By Holly Wiemers
UK College of Agriculture, Food and Environment
Little research has been conducted on indoor riding arena environments. To remedy this gap in understanding the effects on horse and human health from indoor arenas, a graduate student in the University of Kentucky College of Agriculture, Food and Environment’s Department of Biosystems and Agricultural Engineering is conducting a survey...
UK hosts All-East Regional Intercollegiate Livestock Judging Contest at Woodford County Fairgrounds
By Aimee Nielson
University of Kentucky College of Agriculture, Food and Environment
The University of Kentucky College of Agriculture, Food and Environment recently hosted the All-East Intercollegiate Livestock Judging Contest at the Woodford County Fairgrounds, welcoming teams from Southeastern Conference, Atlantic Coast Conference and Big 10 universities.
The four-day competition is an annual event...
As March 15 revenue protection insurance deadline approaches, market continues to favor soybeans
As the March 15 decision deadline approaches for revenue protection insurance, grain farmers are faced with a similar situation as in 2017, with the market continuing to favor soybeans, said Todd Davis, agricultural economist in the University of Kentucky College of Agriculture, Food and Environment.
The safety net, also known as a revenue guarantee, is established at the end of each February based...
Deadline near for Ky. Farm to School Junior Chef contest; open to high school, middle school students
Agriculture Commissioner Ryan Quarles reminds Kentucky school cooking teams that they have until March 15 to apply for the sixth season of Farm to School Junior Chef competition.
Quarles
“The Junior Chef program teaches essential food preparation skills while also educating young people about the importance of buying nutritious local Kentucky Proud foods,” Commissioner Quarles said. “This competition...
Keep close watch on your woody plants as spring approaches; ambrosia beetles threaten, says UK Ag
As spring approaches, nursery and orchard managers will want to keep a close watch on their woody plants for potential damage from ambrosia beetles, said Zenaida Viloria, University of Kentucky extension associate for nursery crops.
Ambrosia beetles were first detected in Kentucky in 2013 but have been in the United States since 1999. A native of Asia, the beetles likely came to this country in wood...
Kentucky soybean growers produce highest ever yields in state; 107.76 bushels per acre is new record
By Katie Pratt
University of Kentucky
Kentucky soybean growers produced the highest ever documented yields in the state this year in the soybean yield contest hosted by the University of Kentucky College of Agriculture, Food and Environment and the Kentucky Soybean Board.
Meredith Farms, owned by Philip and Lea Meredith in Henderson, produced the record-breaking yield of 107.76 bushels per acre in...
Kentucky agricultural cash receipts, net farm income rebound in past year from 2016 levels
Kentucky agricultural cash receipts and net farm income rebounded in the past year from 2016 levels, but are still well below the record levels set earlier in the decade.
Agricultural economists from the University of Kentucky College of Agriculture, Food and Environment are projecting 2017 farm cash receipts to be $5.6 billion, which is a 3.5 percent increase from 2016. Preliminary indications also...
Delegates from across state to gather for 98th Kentucky Farm Bureau annual meeting Nov. 29
More than 2,000 Kentucky Farm Bureau (KFB) members from across the state will gather for the organization’s 98th annual meeting November 29 – December 2 at the Galt House Hotel in Louisville, Kentucky.
Delegates from all of the state’s 120 counties assemble for the four-day event to participate in committee meetings, business sessions, award presentations, officer elections and to adopt 2018...
UK College of Agriculture students beautify African Cemetery No. 2 through tree planting project
Members of a University of Kentucky College of Agriculture, Food, and Environment student organization recently helped beautify the land at Lexington’s African American Cemetery No. 2.
UK soil scientist Mark Coyne reached out to the UK Minorities in Agriculture Natural Resources and Related Sciences members for their help in adding some much needed trees to the cemetery grounds. The African Cemetery...
