College of Agriculture, Food and Environment Cooperative Extension Service Lyon County Extension Service

Lyon County

Ag News January, 2019

Dear Ag Producer,

Advertising for the 2019 CAIP Program (County Ag Investment Program) administered by the Lyon County Conservation District is underway. Call Carolyn Fralick at 270-388-7653 for infor-mation. There will be a two week window for accepting applications. There is a new category this year, Innovative Ag Systems, which includes fenceline feeders, gravel paver grids, solar water systems, etc. Program areas and details are available online at https://agpolicy.ky.gov/funds/Pages/program-portal.aspx or just search for Kentucky CAIP.

If you are applying for the CAIP Program please make note of programs that will count to-wards the educational component. For beef related areas, the BQAC Training is required. I will offer this class on Tuesday, March 26 at 6:00 p.m. with a soup and sandwich supper.

Calendars are available now. We have Equine Program and Sheep and Goat Calendars. The Beef IRM Calendar will be arriving this week. We also have smaller, pocket calendars avail-able from our office. These are all free of charge. The old-fashioned Farm Record Books are also available free of charge. We have several people that like to use these.

There will be an online Soybean Cyst Nematode Training on February 7, 2019 from 1:00 to 3:00 PM. You are welcome to listen in with me.

On Thursday, February 7, Greg Halich will do two presentations. At 5:30 will be Grain Crop Economics and Strategies including Revenue Support Programs followed by a supper at 6:00. At 6:30 Greg will do a presentation on Cattle Forage Strategies and Economics.

I will offer Pesticide Applicator’s Trainings on Tuesday, January 22, at 6:30 p.m. or on Tues-day, January 29 at 2:00 p.m. If your license has expired you are welcome to attend on either date. I am also holding a Commercial Pesticide Applicator’s Training on Friday, February 1. Grain crop producers are welcome to join us for the morning speakers; see the enclosed fly-er/agenda. It is approved for CCA credits.

I am hosting the Getting to Know Your Woodlands Series on Thursday nights, February 21 through March 21. There will be logger credits available. See inside for more details.

I will pull and test a free forage sample for any farm that wishes to participate in the Ad-vanced Master Cattlemen session being held in Marshall County on January 31. It is on Forage Testing and Ration Balancing.

Sincerely,

Susan M. Fox Extension Agent for Agriculture and Natural Resources

In this issue:

Winter Hay, Nutrition

Moldy Feed Grains

Winter Classes

Flyers/Notices

Winter Tips

*Feed where mud is less of a problem.

*Increase feed sup-plements when the weather is ex-tremely cold and damp.

*Provide wind-breaks when tem-peratures drop to 15 degrees.

*Get ready to do pasture improve-ment with legumes!

Good Ag Apps

Web Soil Survey is a website and app that is provided by NRCS (Natural Resources Con-

servation Service).

Using the app on your phone, you can find out the soil type

of your current location.

With the online ver-sion you can see soil types and print maps

of your farms.

Online Tip: When entering an address,

do not use the re-turn key until you

are ready to search!

RSVP’s are always helpful and appreciated!

Got kids or grandkids? I have some glow brace-lets I am handing out at the office to be used as glow-in-the-dark snowman eyes, assuming we

get a good snowfall this winter!

Winter Hay Feeding Efficiency, Preventing Silent Malnutrition and Starvation

Two articles in the January ‘Off the Hoof’ discussed winter feeding and hay. The following are some of the points from Dr. Jeff Lehmkuhler, UK Extension Beef Specialist, and Dr. Michelle Arnold, UK Extension Veteri-narian. The full articles are available online or I will print you a copy of the newsletter we will send you a copy on request. “Cows are losing weight now at levels typically seen in late winter. If not addressed, the expectation is for may stillborn and weak calves that do not survive to be born this spring.” Hay quality should be checked and a good protein and energy supplement fed through the winter to ensure cow and calf needs are met. Hay supplies may be limited due to weather conditions. It is important to determine your hay needs. Multiply the weight of your cows times 3% and then multiply again by the number of days you plan to feed hay. This will give you the pounds of hay needed. Dividing by 2000 will convert the figure to tons needed per cow. It is important to add on an amount for wastage. Some hay will be bad or trampled into the ground. Add 10-20% more to your total hay needs. Match hay to animal needs. In early lactation, cows need high quality forages to produce milk for calves. When calves are weaned, the energy needs of the cow decrease. Young, growing animals also have high energy and protein needs. Clean drinking water should be available at all times. You can limit access to hay to 8-12 hours to restrict consumption. See the full Off the Hoof article for a full dis-cussion on how and where limit-access feeding can be used. Low quality forage should not be restricted! Reduce feeding losses by using bale rings with sheeting around the bottom. Feeding on a feeding pad will re-duce hay being trampled into the mud. Processed hay should be fed in a bunk or feeder. The record rainfall over the past year has caused excessive muddy conditions. Dealing with wet and mud will increase cattle energy needs. Heat losses are multiplied several times with rain and wind. It is very important for cattle to have adequate energy and protein sources. It is common for the veterinary diagnostic labs to re-ceive older animals that have died of starvation with full bellies. Poor quality hay stays in the rumen a long time as it is hard to digest. So not only is the hay low in nutrients but the animals have a hard time digesting it. This leads to malnutrition and animals dying of starvation, even though hay is available. Protein tubs may make up for protein deficiencies but may not be providing enough additional energy. Inadequate nutrition affects the developing fetus and reduces survival. Calves born to protein deficient dams are less able to generate body heat and are slower to stand and nurse. Colostrum quality and quantity is fre-quently not adequate for calf survival and performance. Copper and selenium levels in may animals that are sent to the lab are far below acceptable levels. These min-erals are vital for the immune system and fighting off diseases. Selenium is needed for reproduction including conception and expelling the placenta. High magnesium mineral supplementation should begin now and continue until the first of May to prevent grass tetany. You can use the UK Beef Cow Forage Supplement Tool at http://forage-supplement-tool.ca.uky.edu/ to enter your hay test and cow production stages and determine supplement needs.

Individual Herd Nutrition and Body

Condition Score Check Offered!

Kevin Laurent and I will come out to individual herds and do a body condition score and run a ration evaluation. I will pull hay samples for participating farmers and have them tested.

If you would like to have us visit your farm and evaluate your hay and herd nutritional status call and let me know. I will promise to do 5 herds, more if there is inter-est and we can work it out.

Points on Feeding Moldy Corn or Soybeans to Cattle Jeff Lehmkuhler, UK Extension Beef Cattle Specialist

Several have asked about the moldy corn and soybeans with the potential to feed these to cattle. A few points.

1. Test for mycotoxins – We don’t know what we are dealing with unless it is tested. VDL, DairyOne and other commercial labs can test.

2. Mycotoxin contaminated feed may be fed diluted once we know the levels

3. Fungal growth could continue during storage increasing mycotoxin levels over time = RETEST

4. Discount at the elevator will need to be significant for beans – Example would be to use the FeedVal or simi-lar approach of putting a value on the beans using other feedstuffs. I roughly priced beans at $6/bu or less before they begin to work in the rations. The bean price that places them into the diet will vary depending on the alternative feed prices and should be looked at regularly.

5. Nasty looking may not mean mycotoxins are present. Some moldy looking grains are not containing myco-toxins. Test. However, excess mold consumption could lead to other disorders. Mold spore counts can be done at some commercial labs

6. Roasting – research has shown that heat can lower some mycotoxin levels while other mycotoxins are not affected by heat. Levels may be reduced but not elim-inated. Test again after roasting and before feeding.

7. Other mycotoxin sources – be sure to consider hay, silage, and other feedstuffs besides grains, consider testing all feedstuffs to ensure total diet levels are safe

8. Screenings – Cleaning corn and lower mycotoxin levels of corn. Corn screenings / cleanings can have high lev-els of mycotoxins if contaminated corn was cleaned. Be sure to test.

9. Binders and other products may help lower the risk of mycotoxin impact on ruminants.

10. Other concerns – crops that were flooded and con-taminated by soil may have increased risk to soil-borne pathogens such as botulinum

11. Some mycotoxins have limits of inclusion set by FDA. Be aware of these limits.

For more info https://afs.ca.uky.edu/dairy/mycotoxins-and-their-effects-dairy-cattle Testing is key!

The College of Agriculture, Food and Environment is an Equal Opportunity Organization with respect to education and employment

and authorization to provide research, education information and other services only to individuals and institutions that function

without regard to economic or social status and will not discriminate on the bases of race, color, ethnic origin, creed, religion, politi-

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of the Educational Amendments, Section 504 of the Rehabilitation Act and other related matter should be directed to Equal Oppor-

tunity Office, College of Agriculture, Food and Environment, University of Kentucky, Room S-105, Agriculture Science Building, North

Lexington, Kentucky 40546.

Winter Educational Opportunities

Thursday, January 17 & 18 KY Cattlemen’s Convention, January 17 & 18, Owensboro. Beef Efficiency Conference at KCA is 8:30-11:30 a.m. on the 17th. Tuesday, January 22 Pesticide Applicator’s License, Lyon County Extension Office, 6:30 p.m. Tuesday, January 29 Pesticide Applicator’s License, Lyon County Extension Office, 2:00 p.m. Thursday, January 31 Applied Master Cattlemen, Forage Testing and Ration Balancing, 6:30-8:30 p.m. Marshall County Extension Office, 1933 Mayfield Hwy, Benton. Friday, February 1 Commercial Pesticide Training, Lyon County Public Library Thursday, February 7 Soybean Cyst Nematode Webinar, 1:00—3:00 p.m., Extension Office Thursday, February 7 Grain Crop Economics and Revenue Support Program 5:30 p.m., Extension

Office. Followed by a meal. Speaker: Dr. Greg Halich. Thursday, February 7 Cattle Forage Strategies and Economics, 6:00 p.m. with a meal. Speaker: Dr. Greg Halich. Thursday, February 14 Less Common Fruits for the Garden, 6:00 p.m. Extension Office Tuesday, February 26 Cool Season Forages, Dr. Chris Teustch, 6:00 p.m., Extension Office, with Soup

& Sandwich meal. Tuesday, March 26 BQAC Class, 6:00 p.m. with Soup & Sandwich meal. Extension Office

2019 UK GRAIN CROPS EVENT DATES

JAN 08 UK Winter Wheat Meeting Hopkinsville, KY

JAN 16-17 KY Commodity Conference Bowling Green,

MARCH 06

2019 IPM Training Hopkinsville, KY

MARCH 7 KATS (KY Agriculture Training School)

Wheat Management at Green Up/

Pre-plant Decisions for Corn & Soybean

Princeton, KY

MAY 14 UK Wheat Field Day Princeton, KY

MAY 21 KATS - Field Crop Scouting Clinic Princeton, KY

JUNE 13 KATS - Mid-season Corn & Soybean Con-siderations/

Preparing for Wheat Harvest & Storage

Princeton, KY

JULY 18 KATS - Spray Clinic Princeton, KY

JULY 23 UK Corn, Soybean & Tobacco Field day Princeton, KY

AUG 22

KATS - Disease ID & Management/Harvest & Storage/Cover Crops

Princeton, KY

SEPT 19 KATS - Late-season Management of Corn & Soybeans / Successful Wheat Establishment

Princeton, KY