Livestock

Livestock producers have a number of economical reasons to have forages tested before the winter feeding season begins. Knowing forage quality will help maximize animal performance, provide sufficient feed and help you have the most cost effective feeding program for your livestock Most livestock producers have forages with different qualities on their farms because there's a tremendous variation in the quality of forages harvested at diverse stages...

Tuesday, the Lincoln County Fiscal Court heard a lengthy complaint by Maywoods area farmer Jimmy Bailey who sought to encourage the magistrates to reconsider their decision to not create further ordinances regulating livestock roaming at large around the county. Bailey, concerned that a neighbor’s cattle were repeatedly entering his hay field through a failing fence, sought to convince the magistrates to put teeth in an ordinance that would make the livestock owner responsible for controlling his cattle.

Agriculture Commissioner Richie Farmer praised the U.S. Food and Drug Administration for delaying implementation of an enhanced feed ban rule that would have made it far more difficult and expensive for livestock producers to dispose of dead animal carcasses. "I'm grateful that the FDA listened to the people whose livelihoods will be affected by this rule," Farmer said. "This delay will provide additional time for producers, renderers and haulers to determine how we can comply with the rule and still make sure farmers have an affordable and accessible means of disposing of dead animals.

With 2004 being a year of good livestock prices and bumper grain production, farmers need to be planning now to address income tax issues they will be facing. Cash receipts for agricultural products are expected to increased five percent this year due to continued strength in commodity prices and higher volumes. Demand for beef continue to be strong and dairy prices improved, leading to good markets for producers. Corn and soybean harvests are under way and excellent yields are being reported.

With 2005 being a year of good livestock prices and tobacco payments, farmers need to be planning now to address income tax issues they will be facing. Cash receipts for agricultural products are expected to increase 5 percent this year due to continued strength in commodity prices and higher volumes. Demand for beef continues to be strong, leading to good markets for producers. Overall, about all the commodities are having a good year. Many grain farmers defer sales from one year's crop into the next, so many farmers may have sold some of the 2004 crop that year but waited until early 2005 to sell the remainder, capturing high prices.

BURGIN - Ericka Waggener has always loved animals and recently that affection and an ability to work with large animals have paid dividends. Last week, Ericka, 15, and her father, Howard, loaded three black Angus heifers into a livestock trailer and headed for Louisville for the Kentucky State Fair. She's been there before and brought home respectable results. This year, Erika was fifth overall in the junior show; and in the open show, she won third with two of her animals and fifth with the third one. "I've done decent at the state fair," she said of the five times she's been.

Livestock producers have a number of economical reasons to have forages tested before the winter feeding season begins. Knowing forage quality will help maximize animal performance, provide sufficient feed and lower input costs. Most livestock producers have forages with different qualities on their farms because there's a tremendous variation in the quality of forages harvested at diverse stages of maturity. Plus, weather damage and the species itself can affect forage feeding quality.

Henry West, 64, of Paint Lick, died Wednesday, Sept. 24 at the St. Joseph Hospital in Berea. A native of Fayette County, he was a son of the late Floyd and Anna Spears West. He was a livestock and tobacco farmer in Garrard County, past president of the Burley Tobacco Council and the Burley Tobacco Coop where he served as board member and past president, served on the Garrard County Farm Bureau Board and Garrard County Water Board, and a member of the Paint Lick United Methodist Church.

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.

The beef cattle industry in Jessamine County is in good shape and growing stronger, according to Gary Burdine, an instructor at the Jessamine Career and Technology Center. Burdine, an agriculture and Future Farmers of America teacher in the Jessamine County School system, said the beef cattle industry in the county has been experiencing steady growth since the tobacco buyout a few years ago. He added that thanks to government funding for research, which came out of the tobacco loss program, farmers are now learning how to improve their herds through more advanced genetic techniques.