Livestock

Discussion about whether to enact a livestock ordinance was abundant at the Wilmore City Council meeting Monday, but after talking for 40 minutes, the council voted to table the discussion until its next meeting. Wilmore city attorney Robert Gullette presented the council with a draft of an ordinance he created after examining similar laws in other cities. The draft prohibits the keeping of swine or goats and the maintenance of pig pens, regardless of the size of the lot unless it has an agriculture zone.

The Lincoln County Fiscal Court failed to pass an ordinance Tuesday that would subject the owners of any livestock to the same restrictions the state puts on cattlemen. The ordinance was written by County Attorney Daryl Day in response to repeated complaints about horses running loose on Spice Ridge Road. Day said that Kentucky law requires cattlemen to fence their cattle, but the laws don’t extend to other livestock. When he wrote the ordinance, Day said he simply expanded the state law to cover animals other than cows.

Poison hemlock, which was introduced to the United States as an ornamental in the 1800s, is widespread throughout most of the state and much of North America. In the past, it was typically found along roadways, abandoned lots, fencerows and other non-cropland sites. But in recent years, its population has exploded across Kentucky, and it is now in many pastures and hayfields. Controlling poison hemlock in pastures in early spring could help keep pastures and livestock healthy, said J.D. Green, Extension Service weeds specialist with the University of Kentucky College of Agriculture.

As we move closer to cold weather, it is a good time to think about strategies for winter feeding of livestock, since it is a necessary part of nearly all operations. Choosing the right place for winter feeding can improve production and reduce threats to nearby water resources. A poorly chosen site for winter feeding can have negative impacts on soil and water quality.  A significant amount of pollution can occur if winter feeding is conducted around streams, water bodies or other environmentally sensitive areas such as flood plains and creek bottoms.

Discussion about whether to enact a livestock ordinance was abundant at the Wilmore City Council meeting Monday, but after talking for 40 minutes, the council voted to table the discussion until its next meeting. Wilmore city attorney Robert Gullette presented the council with a draft of an ordinance he created after examining similar laws in other cities. The draft prohibits the keeping of swine or goats and the maintenance of pig pens, regardless of the size of the lot unless it has an agriculture zone.

The Clark County 4-H Livestock Skillathon team recently participated in the Southeast Regional Contest at North Carolina State University  and came home with the championship plaque. All five team members finished in the top 10. Pictured from left are coach Sara Evans, Alexis Chanslor, Ryan Crabtree, Nick Chism, Travis Drumm and Will Himes.

Wilmore City Council members discussed a proposed livestock ordinance for the city at Monday night's meeting for about 20 minutes and decided they would take action on the proposal at the next meeting on Sept. 19. Councilman Lynn Cooper introduced a revised version of the legislation at Monday's meeting. The council has not voted Cooper's or any other versions of this proposed ordinance but is expected to take action on the proposal at the next meeting. In discussion, most of the council agreed that a one-year grandfathering clause would be appropriate if the ordinance is enacted to allow owners who would be in violation of the new ordinance time to adjust to the new rules.

As we move closer to cold weather, it is a good time to think about strategies for winter feeding of livestock, since it is a necessary part of nearly all operations. Choosing the right place for winter feeding can improve production and reduce threats to nearby water resources. A poorly chosen site for winter feeding can have negative impacts on soil and water quality. Dr. Steve Higgins, director of environmental compliance at the University of Kentucky, has offered some suggestions for managing winter feeding areas with water quality in mind.

The Wilmore City Council is moving toward closing the barn door on residents' ability to keep livestock within the city limits. It voted 5-1 Monday night to approve the first reading of an ordinance. The discussion about whether to enact an ordinance first surfaced last year, but the council didn't discuss it again until last month. When it came back to the table in August, the council members heard opinions from a roomful of residents. Some spoke in favor of placing restrictions on what types of animals could be kept within the city limits, but many others spoke against enacting such an ordinance, saying their animals were important to them and some even part of their livelihood.

Heat stress is a significant issue for pets and livestock. With the arrival of summer, the heat and humidity combine to boost the "heat index. " The heat index is used to describe how hot it feels. The heat index, like the cold weather "chill factor," applies primarily to warm-blooded animals. Humans, pets and livestock both generate significant amounts of body heat. In cold weather, much of that heat is used to maintain body temperature. Heat always tends to move from warmer objects to cooler objects.

Preparation is well underway for the 2013 Kentucky State Fair 4-H/FFA Youth Livestock Shows. 4-H members are preparing their livestock, checking entry form due dates, clearing their calendars and referencing the event rules. The result of these efforts is more than the process of preparing and exhibiting livestock. Through all of the hard work, participation and planning, youth learn meaningful and useful life skills such as responsibility, critical thinking, long-term preparation and decision making.

Did you know that more than 60 percent of the youth participating in Boyle County 4-H live in the city of Danville? Of the more than 3,000 young people we have enrolled, only 8 percent of them live on farms. And yet there is a persistent notion that 4-H is for farm kids.  Granted, 4-H did begin more than 100 years ago with agricultural projects for farm kids designed to introduce their parents to hybrid corn seed. But it's been many, many decades since the majority of 4-H'ers were farm kids.  When farmers constitute less than 2 percent of the national population, clearly, 4-H can't be the largest youth development organization in the world by exclusively catering to farm kids.

4-H livestock judging is a great way for young people to learn more about the animals they love and learn valuable life skills, such as decision making and critical thinking, in the process. One of the great things about livestock judging is you only need to have an interest in livestock to participate. Owning livestock or coming from an agricultural background are not participation requirements. In livestock judging, young people learn about the various traits of breeding and market livestock including hogs, beef cattle, sheep and meat goats.

As we near the holidays, we approach the critical sign-up point for youth interested in participating in livestock and horse projects and events this year.  Youth who wish to show, judge or compete in any livestock or horse event next spring or summer, must accumulate their required educational hours beforehand.  Now is the time to be earning those hours.  All youth who wish to: show a market or breeding livestock animal show a...

Although the carnival and beauty pageants of the Boyle County Fair have come and gone, all the livestock and 4-H events will be happening at the fairgrounds on July 25 and 26. 4-H'ers have many opportunities to show off what they can do. Cloverville, where youth can exhibit the projects they have completed over the past year, will be in the floral hall building from 10 a.m. to 6 p.m. on both the 25th and 26th. Youth can enter projects in the more than 300 classes in our fair catalog from 8 a.m. to 6 p.m. Monday at the Boyle County Extension Service office.

The following are the results from the recent 4-H Livestock Shows. District Beef Show 17 year old & older Showmanship - Travis Drumm, 2nd place; 14 - 16 year old Showmanship - Rachael Drumm, 1st place; Kendal Bowman, 5th place; Brooke Gravett, 6th place; 9-11 year old Showmanship - Drake Gravett, 5th place. Angus Class 2 - Brooke Gravett, 1st, 2nd, 3rd and 4th place; Angus Class 4 - Kendal Bowman, 3rd place; Commercial Heifer - Travis Drumm, Champion; Hereford Heifer - Travis Drumm, 3rd place; Rachael Drumm, 1st place; Hereford Cow/Calf - Rachael Drumm, Champion; Hereford Bull - Rachael Drumm, 1st place; Travis Drumm, 1st place and Champion; Simmental Cow/Calf - Kendal Bowman, Reserve Champion; Simmental Bull - Kendal Bowman, Champion.

LIBERTY - Where do dead cows, horses and goats go when they die? Brent Woodrum hopes the final resting place for many of them will be his 750-acre farm in Casey County, where Large Animal Composting of Kentucky - or LACKY - will soon be in operation. The Kentucky Agricultural Development Board on Friday signed off on Woodrum's proposal to create what is believed to be the first such large-scale composting site in the state. Woodrum will receive $22,500 in tobacco settlement funds from Casey, Marion, Adair and Russell counties and will more than match that amount with investment from his family's farm, he said.

As we move closer to cold weather, it is a good time to think about strategies for winter feeding of livestock, since it is a necessary part of nearly all operations. Choosing the right place for winter feeding can improve production and reduce threats to nearby water resources. A poorly chosen site for winter feeding can have negative impacts on soil and water quality. Dr. Steve Higgins, director of environmental compliance at the University of Kentucky, has offered some suggestions for managing winter feeding areas with water quality in mind.

As we move closer to cold weather, it is a good time to think about strategies for winter feeding of livestock, since it is a necessary part of nearly all operations. Choosing the right place for winter feeding can improve production and reduce threats to nearby water resources. A poorly chosen site for winter feeding can have negative impacts on soil and water quality.  A significant amount of pollution can occur if winter feeding is conducted around streams, water bodies or other environmentally sensitive areas such as flood plains and creek bottoms.

The 2011 Clark County Cattlemen's Fall Festival will be Friday at the Clark County Extension Building. The program will begin with a steak dinner at 6:30 p.m. The keynote speaker will be Kentucky Cattlemen's Association President Greg Robey. Youth livestock awards and hay production awards will be presented. Everyone with an interest in the beef cattle business is encouraged to attend. For additional information, please call the Clark County Extension Service at 744-4682.