Crop

There is some good news in July’s blistering heat onslaught, at least for allergy sufferers: Pollen doesn’t survive the high temperatures. But that’s bad news for area farmers who grow corn, especially those who got their crop in late do to a wet planting season. “We’ve got some late-planted corn that’s twisting up that definitely could use one more good rain,” said Jerry Little, agriculture extension agent for Boyle County. “Pollen dies when we get in the 90s. That makes it tough to get the corn pollinated to get kernels on the ears.

PARKSVILLE - Authorities used air support to locate 250 marijuana plants valued at about $750,000 on Monday in western Boyle County after they say a witness stumbled upon a field guarded by armed men. Sheriff Marty Elliott said his department received information over the weekend from witnesses who reported seeing two armed men guarding a marijuana crop off Whites Ridge Road. The witnesses said the men told them to leave when they approached. Another person also reported seeing four men who appeared to be armed perched in tree stands, which are typically used for hunting, around the same location.

One of the people responsible for ruining as much as four acres of corn on a Boyle County farm on a Tuesday night joy ride has been arrested. Boyle County Sheriff Marty Elliott said he and Deputy Brian Wolford received a tip early Thursday about one of the people involved living in Casey County. With additional assistance from Kentucky State Police, Elliott was later able to locate and arrest Charles Singleton, 20, of Stanford. Singleton and one other person allegedly drove a Chevy Cavalier over four acres corn stalks on a farm near the Forkland Community Center on Tuesday night.

Farmers are reminded that the deadline to apply for coverage under the Noninsured Crop Disaster Assistance Program through the U.S. Department of Agriculture Farm Service Agency is near. March 1 is the deadline for grass forage and grazing, lespedeza and mixed forage. March 15 is the cut-off point for Alfalfa, beans, beets, broccoli, cabbage, cantaloupe, cauliflower, corn, cucumbers, eggplant, herbs, lettuce, oats, okra, onions, peppers, potatoes, pumpkins, radish, sorghum, squash, strawberries, sweet potatoes, tomatoes, turnips and watermelons.

In this photo, Detective Arlen Horton and Deputy Mark Craycraft examine more than a dozen mature marijuana plants found in a grow room in a mobile home this week. The department received a call Thursday of the plants being grown in a room in a mobile home at 4959 Old Boonesboro Road, Perdue said. Officers went to the residence Thursday afternoon and could smell the marijuana from outside the trailer. The resident, Freddie A. Wells, admitted to having the plants and was charged with cultivating marijuana, more than five plants, possession of drug paraphernalia and possession of marijuana.

Farm Service Agency Annual crop acreage reporting is now a requirement for most FSA programs. Crop reports are mandatory for any farm that participates in the DCP program. All crops and land use on the farm must be reported to remain eligible for program benefits. Crop reports are also required for any farm that is enrolled in the Conservation Reserve Program. In order to maintain eligibility for commodity loans and loan deficiency payments, a producer must report acreage of all crops on which a loan or LDP will be requested.

The Farm Service Agency is taking crop acreage reports. Because of the delay in announcing the provisions of the 2008 Farm Bill and extreme weather conditions, this date was extended for the 2008 crop year only to Aug. 15. Late fees will not be applied if the acreage is reported by Aug. 15, and other reporting requirements are met. Crop acreage reports are the historical basis for establishing program bases, as well as a record for disaster losses....

By Mitzi Burrus Our state and country are facing hard times. What if I told you there is a plant that can serve most of our needs - fuel, shelter, food and clothing - but few people in the 21st century are legally permitted to grow it? It is cannabis sativa, commonly called hemp. The bark of hemp has the strongest fiber of all plants. It can be made into building material, fiberboard, flooring, wallboard, caulking, cement, paint, paneling, plaster, plywood, reinforced concrete, insulation, concrete pipes, bricks and biodegradable plastic composites that are tougher than steel.

Producers who participate in the Direct and Counter-Cyclical Program, Conservation Reserve Program or request a commodity loan or loan deficiency payment are required to report all crops on the farm by July 17. FSA program participation depends on accurate acreage reports. If you have a crop that has not been planted by the final reporting date, the report must be filed by 15 calendar days after the planting is completed to be timely filed. Crop reports must be filed in the he FSA office by the producer Producers with Noninsured Assistance Program crops should contact their local office to determine the certification deadline.

Because of the delay in announcing the provisions of the 2008 Farm Bill and extreme weather conditions, Farm Service Agency has extended the final crop reporting date to Aug. 15 for certifying the planting of all other crops, except small grain and value loss crops. Acreage reports are required for program eligibility and mandatory for producers who participate in FSA programs, the Conservation Reserve Program commodity loans, Loan Deficiency Payments and the Non-Insured Assistance Program.

All 18 students of the 2012-2013 Chamber of Commerce's Leadership Boyle County class were recognized in a graduation ceremony Tuesday night at Mallards. This year, each individual who joined the class successfully completed, something that doesn't always happen, and they walked away from the experience with new friends, connections and knowledge about Danville and Boyle County. Each student was nominated by an employee at their place of business before being selected through an application process.

Most Danville and Lancaster area farmers fared better than expected in 2012 and should have a very profitable 2013, according to Kentucky Agricultural Commissioner James Comer. “In this region of Kentucky, they suffered a mild drought but It wasn't anything like in western Kentucky,” he said. “The Paducah, Murray and Mayfield area suffered a severe drought and when it started raining in central Kentucky it still wasn't raining in western Kentucky.” But, despite weather challenges, 2012 was probably the most profitable year in history for all Kentucky tobacco farmers.

Nov. 9, 1987 Winchester Municipal Utilities has paid more than $150,000 to two Washington firms and a local attorney in the defense of a lawsuit filed by the Environmental Protection Agency. WMU General Manager Dick Lewis released the litigation expenses following an open records request by The Sun, which sought the information prior to the nonjury trial scheduled for U.S. District Court in Lexington Nov. 30. Manning a hose spraying steam from a steam engine boiler, Alvin Pasley Jr. worked to get burley to come into case for stripping.

PARKSVILLE - Authorities used air support to locate 250 marijuana plants valued at about $750,000 on Monday in western Boyle County after they say a witness stumbled upon a field guarded by armed men. Sheriff Marty Elliott said his department received information over the weekend from witnesses who reported seeing two armed men guarding a marijuana crop off Whites Ridge Road. The witnesses said the men told them to leave when they approached. Another person also reported seeing four men who appeared to be armed perched in tree stands, which are typically used for hunting, around the same location.

With the 2012 tobacco growing season coming to an end, growers are working hard to get their crops into the barns. On one hand, the dry conditions of this past summer have kept leaf diseases like frogeye and target spot in check and we have not seen any blue mold. On the other hand, we saw more black shank and Fusarium wilt than we have for the past three or four years. Looking forward to the next growing season, it's hard to say what will be the big disease issue. So much depends on the climate when we are dealing with diseases like blue mold, target spot and frogeye.

In 30 years of farming, David LeMaster said he has seen few corn crops as bad as this year's. Despite recent rains and slightly cooler temperatures, for most local corn growers, it's too little, too late. “It's kind of bleak right now,”¿LeMaster said. A tenant farmer, LeMaster has crops scattered across Clark and Bourbon counties. Most of his corn is located on Prewitt Pike, near the Clark-Montgomery county line. In a best case scenario, he expects to yield about 30 bushels from his 100 acres of corn this year.

STANFORD - After a week of heat, including four straight days of triple-digit highs, at least three fires and essentially no rainfall, Lincoln County remained under burn and fireworks bans Monday night. Lincoln County Fire Chief Danny Glass said unless rain shows up in enough force to quench the county's parched earth, the bans will remain in place and the Lincoln County Fair will not feature its traditional July 4 fireworks display. "We've been holding off as long as we could," Glass said Monday.

The lack of rainfall has resulted in a forage shortfall or the need to chop corn silage early. The following  are some points to consider related to your corn crop.    Monitor the corn crop and it chop for silage when it reaches the proper moisture level. Although corn silage may have small ear and/or lack of full kernel development, feeding programs can be built around this forage. The crop will be lower in energy and additional energy will need to be added to the diet in the form of corn grain, grain by-products and/or fat supplements.

One of the rising stars in state politics brought his message of ascendent agriculture to Danville on Friday for the Rotary Club's regular meeting at the Danville Country Club. Commissioner of Agriculture James Comer reserved a portion of his comments to the Rotarians to deliver some promising news about a partnership with the nation's largest retailer. Comer said he met with Walmart officials in Somerset this week about putting some Kentucky Proud products on the shelves. In an interview following his talk, Comer said the program, started about a decade ago, has been successful enough that some revenue could be used to help subsidize the shelf space.