Boyd County Cooperative Extension Office

January 2016

Agriculture & Natural Resources/Horticulture: Special Edition!

Those of you who are about to over-seed clover in February or are looking to renovate a field or pasture this

coming summer, should take a look at the 2015 forage reports. These reports are the results of research trials by the

Forage Specialists at the University of Kentucky. This collection of data gives you the information you need for

selecting a forage in Kentucky. We have reports on alfalfa, red and white clover, cool season grasses for grazing, tall

fescue, cool season grass horse grazing tolerance and many more. The reports on each of these include the different

varieties of each forage tested, from older varieties you may well have used in the past to new varieties that have

not even been named yet, just assigned a research number. So before you purchase seed come into the office for a

report or call to have one mailed to your home! Our Boyd County Extension Office phone number is 739-5184.

Below is a sample of what one of the tables’ looks like in the red and white clover report. Notice they are

measuring more than just yield amounts. They are also measuring seedling vigor, animal grazing preference and

percent stand over a 2 to 3 year span.

2015 Forage Reports Are Here!

The Forager & Gardening Gazette

Inside this Issue

2015 Forage Reports………1

High Traffic Area Pads ……2

Small Ruminant State Conference……..…....3

The Kissing Bug……………4-5

Estate Planning Program..6

HBCA Annual Membership Meeting…….7

Upcoming Events……….…..8

2

High Traffic Area Pads Winter has finally arrived and nasty weather comes with it. Anyone with livestock knows this also means mud, lots of mud. Once mud appears it is hard to get rid of, especially when it keeps raining or snowing. One solution you may want to look into are high traffic area pads. Anywhere that your livestock tend to congregate, such as gates and feeding and watering areas are ideal locations for these pads.

In case you need more of a reason, besides the mess mud causes, when deciding to construct some of these high traffic area pads, muddy conditions negatively impact the health and well-being of your animals. The soft surface makes walking or standing difficult and if you have shod horses can cause a lot of shoe loss. Mud is also a host to flies, mosquitoes, and pathogens that can cause infection or disease. In horses, disease like thrush and scratches are often seen when standing in moist, muddy conditions. These areas can become slippery, increasing falls and chances of injury in livestock. Not only are these areas bad for your animals but bad for your property as well. The compacted soil decreases vegetative growth which increase surface water runoff (erosion and no water infiltrating the ground). The air space in the soil is removed which reduces its natural insulation and can lead to frozen or busted water lines in that area.

When beginning to construct a high traffic area pad picking the location is the first step. Like mentioned before they should be where your livestock congregates. Ideally these pads should be on a flat area but if you have to build on a slope you should level it as much as possible to allow runoff to flow in a way that prevents damage. The size of your pad depends on the number of animals you have and the usage. An example: feed areas must be able to fit the feeder and have room for the livestock. Once you have picked out your location and size you need to excavate. Soil should be removed at the affected area until all the topsoil is gone and you

have reached stable ground. You may want to do a few test areas to see how deep you need to go, but typically about 9 inches of soil needs to be removed to reach stable ground.

Geotextile fabric will be laid on top of this exposed layer of ground to separate the soil from the coming rock layers. If this is not used, the rock will eventually sink into the ground, leading you back to the same muddy problem. There are a few types of this fabric available: woven, nonwoven and georigid. Woven is generally used and the georigid is useful if there is truck or tractor traffic. You will want to choose the one that best suits your operation.

The crushed stone base layer will be on top of the geotextile fabric this creates a space for water storage and drainage. Typically No. 4 or No. 2 crushed limestone is used. This layer should be about 6 inches thick. The last layer is the crushed stone surface layer. This is made of densely graded aggregate (DGA). The DGA will be compacted in the end making it easy to walk on, and makes the job of cleaning the surface easier. This layer should be 2-3 inches deep. As mentioned this layer needs to be compacted to make it desirable. A machine like a smooth drum roller, which is also used for asphalt, works well. But since most do not have this piece of equipment, you can use a smooth culti-packer or even run over it several times with your rear tractor tires.

These areas are going to be more economical for you to make compared to other materials that could provide similar use. The high traffic area pads as described above typically cost less than $1.00 per square foot while concrete will be about $4.00 per square foot. These areas will last many years with minimal repairs as long as they are maintained. Hay and manure will need to be removed occasionally, and DGA may need to be added at times to build areas back up.

3

Well, this opportunity is brought to you by “The Squeaky Wheel Gets the Grease”. By that I mean that I mentioned (complained?) that the state Small Ruminant Grazing Conference had never been held in Eastern KY. The answer was “Well, are you willing to host it?”. And my answer was “Yes, yes I am”.

So, on Saturday February 6, the Kentucky State Small Ruminant Grazing Conference will be held in Boyd County at the Boyd County Fairgrounds. Registration will start at 7:30 AM and the program will start at 8:30. You do need to pre-register for this meeting, so if you plan to attend, just give us a call here at 606-739-5184 or stop by and we can get you a registration form and an agenda for the day’s programs. Or just call us for more information to help you decide you want to attend. There is a $30 registration fee, but for the planned program, that is a bargain. Plus lunch is included in the registration.

Among the topics that will be addressed that day are: * Stomach worms X breed X management interactions; * Co-grazing other species with small ruminants; * Isoflavones: The hidden benefit of clovers; and * Small ruminant pasture and how to get the most out of them. Plus a few other presentations.

At the end of the conference, there will be a FAMACHA training offered as an option. It will be taught by Dr. Beth Johnson, DVM. There is an additional cost for this training of $18.00, which includes all materials. Pre-registration is also wanted for this training so that they can be sure there will be enough taking it to have it.

As I said, the FAMACAH training is optional. But, if that is all that you are interested in attending, then you can just register for it and not the whole conference.

Small Ruminant State Conference

4

Although the kissing bug has been in the news a lot lately, these species of insects have been relatively widespread for many years. Perhaps the most widely distributed species of the 11 species occurring in the United States is the eastern bloodsucking conenose bug or ECN. Although there have been rare encounters with the ECN it is probably present throughout the state of Kentucky. According to the University of Kentucky database, in the past 30 years, the only counties with documented specimens have been in Adair, Caldwell, Fayette and Franklin counties. All of these insect reports show the ECN was found in a home or structure and no bites were reported.

The eastern conenose is usually found living in wooded areas where they hide in or around animal nests or burrows. The two main ways they end up as invaders in homes or structures are 1) the adult insect flies to lights and ends up entering homes or structures through gaps or cracks around doors or windows, and 2) ECN may come in from nearby nests or burrows that have been abandoned.

These insects will hide during the day and feed at night on animals or humans. The bites on the humans are usually found near the mouth or eyes and while these insects are called “deadly”, their bites are similar to bad mosquito bites. The reaction to these insect bites usually involves swelling and itching for a time and then they will clear up. Like mosquitoes that can carry West Nile

virus, which can make their bite more serious or cause a health issue, the ECN bug can carry the pathogen that causes Chagas disease. The bugs acquire the Chagas disease pathogen from infected hosts such as raccoons, chickens, rats, etc., but this is rare.

In the past few months there have been several samples brought into the Extension Office that clients have suspected where kissing bugs, however, in all instances the bugs were either wheel bugs or leaf-footed bugs. If you suspect that you have found a kissing bug you can capture it, put it in a container and bring it into the Extension Office for identification.

The wheel bug is identified by the “wheel” on its back. These insects are what we consider good insects – they prey on some of our bad bugs that can cause plant problems. The leaf – footed bug has wide, flat areas located on its hind legs that make it easy to recognize. I have included pictures here of all three bugs for you to see.

I hope this clears up some of the questions about the kissing bug and puts your mind at ease that they are not as bad as you thought they were. If you would like more information feel free to contact me at the Boyd County Extension Office at (606)739-5184.

Information for this article came from the Kentucky Pest News 12/1/2015 edition.

The Kissing Bug Lori Bowling, Boyd County Extension Agent for Horticulture

Garden Shed Herb Day May 21, 2016

5

Wheel Bug – taken by R. Bessin

Leaf Footed Bug – taken by R. Bessin

Eastern Bloodsucking Conenose Bug--

Photo: James Gathany, Center for Disease

Control

6

There is going to be a program offered in

March and April that most who read this should

attend, at least some of it, if at all possible. It affects

not just your farm and home but all aspects of your

life and your family as well. It is a 7 part series on

Estate Planning. Each session will deal with different

and various issues related to planning for the future

for your spouse, kids, other family members and

yourself.

Each session will be held in Boyd County at

the Extension Office in Catlettsburg each evening

beginning at 6:00 PM. The dates for it, as of now, are

each Monday in March and the first 3 in April. Some

sessions will be with a live presenter and some will

be live streaming from another county, as this will be

offered to all 20 counties in Extension District 1 at

the same time.

Topics that will be covered are as follows: 1)

Estate Planning – What Is It and Why Do I and

Everyone Else Need It; 2) Wills and POAs (Power of

Attorney); 3) Hospice, Alzheimer’s Association,

mental determinations, DNRs (Do Not Resuscitate)

orders, living wills and end of life directives; 4)

Trusts; 5) Transitioning the Farm, House and/or

Other Property; 6) Tax Saving Strategies, inheritance

and estate taxes, gifting limits, and charitable

bequeathments; 7) Pre-paying funerals and pre-

planning funeral arrangements and Insurance – long

term care, cancer, and life insurance policies.

I know many who have not planned for the

future and have left family members in a bad

position after they have passed. And I know others

who have taken the long term approach and planned

well ahead and left their families with very few

decisions they have to make during a difficult time

and few financial and legal burdens to deal with. I

personally can attest to the benefits of advanced

planning by a parent.

Another advantage of advanced planning,

from a family standpoint, is that there tends to be

less internal arguments and bickering because

everything has been determined and it is not up to

the surviving members to decide how things are to

be divvied up.

This program is free to anyone who would

like to attend. You do not even have to register in

advance, just show up. But can let us know you will

be coming if you like. So, be sure to plan on

attending, at least the sessions that you are really

interested in or that may affect you. This is for

parents, sons and daughters, husbands and wives, or

anyone who may be put in the position of caretaker

or decision maker of beneficiary or estate executor

at some point in the near or distant future, or even

in the present.

Please share the information about this

program with anyone who you think may be

interested or needs to attend. If you would like for us

to send you a more detailed brochure or handout

when we have them finalized and completed, just

give us a call at the Boyd County Extension Office

And let us know and we will be happy to send you

one.

Estate Planning Program

7

On Friday, January 22 the annual Highlands

Beef Cattle Association will be held at the Lawrence

County Extension Office at 6:00 PM. If you plan to

attend, please let us know so that we can plan to

have enough rib eyes for everyone. Spouses and

family members are welcome also, just tell us how

many when you call in. And remember, this is the

meeting that you pay your annual dues which are

$15 for an individual or $20 for the whole family.

We will also be having a couple of very good

speakers that evening and a lot of good fellowship

with your fellow cattleman from the six county HBCA

area.

Also, for those who are not familiar with the

HBCA, it is made up of Boyd, Floyd, Johnson,

Lawrence, Magoffin and Martin Counties. We have 5

-6 monthly meeting starting in March/April, each

held in one of the member counties where an

educational program is presented, along with a

meal. Some meeting are in an office, some in a barn

and some are out in the field.

In January/February we have the annual

membership meeting and banquet. In September,

we, along with the Northeast KY Association, the

Foothills Association and the Mountain Cattlemen’s

Association gather for the annual East Kentucky Hay

Contest. Again, for those not familiar with this, we,

extension agents, will come to your farm or

wherever and take hay samples and send them off to

be tested. Each sample that is tested normally costs

$10 each, but if you have your hay tested during this

time, the cost is $0.00, nothing, free. Plus, if you

want, they will even use your information and the

hay test results to balance a ration for your animals,

including cattle, horses and goats.

So just because you have never joined before

or have not for a few years does not mean you

cannot sign-up and join again. Come to the meeting,

have a great meal, learn something and have good

fellowship with other cattle producers. Oh, and bring

your dusty old checkbook or a waded up $20 bill and

we will be glad to have you and yours as members

for 2016.

HBCA Annual Membership Meeting

January 15-16 – Kentucky Cattleman’s Association Annual Conference – Owensboro, KY

January 22 – Highlands Beef Cattle Association Annual Meeting and Banquet – Louisa, KY

Call the Extension Office to RSVP. Dues are $15/individual OR $20/family.

January 25-26 – Heart of America Grazing Conference – Lexington, KY – Held once every 5 years in Kentucky

January 29-30 – Southern Sustainable Ag Working Group Annual Conference – Lexington, KY

This conference is targeted at any and all small farm owners and operations.

February 6 – Annual Kentucky Small Ruminant Grazing Conference – Boyd County Fairgrounds

Call Extension Office for registration information.

February 11 – Trip to the National Farm Machinery Show – Louisville, KY – Call Extension Office to RSVP

February 27 – 2nd Annual Northeast Kentucky Farm Machinery Expo – Boyd County Fairgrounds

February 27— 3rd Annual Northeast Kentucky Small Farm and Garden Conference—Boyd County Fairgrounds

March 11-13 – WSAZ Home and Garden Show – Huntington, WV

March and April (Mondays) – Estate Planning Series - Extension Office—7 Sessions covering various topics

Upcoming Programs and Events

RETURN SERVICE REQUESTED

Boyd County Cooperative Extension Office

University of Kentucky

Boyd County

2420 Center Street

Catlettsburg, KY 41129-1279

606-739-5184

County Extension Agent for Ag & Natural Resources

ANR/Horticulture Program Assistant

County Extension Agent for Horticulture

PRESORTED STANDARD

US POSTAGE PAID CATLETTSBURG KY

PERMIT #60