Dairy Transitions Meetings coming up in east and west Kentucky

The University of Kentucky College of Agriculture will host meetings in east and west Kentucky to educate prospective and current dairy farmers about transferring farms from one generation to the next and establishing lease or contract arrangements to start a new dairy.

The east Kentucky meeting is June 4 at the Fleming County Cooperative Extension office, and the west Kentucky meeting is June 5 at the Christian County extension office. Meeting times are 10 a.m. to 3 p.m. local time.

Meeting topics include human dynamics, alternative dairy business models, economic considerations, legal considerations, business plans, family dynamics, leasing and contract considerations and support network contacts.

Registration is $15 and should be mailed by May 29 to Jeffrey Bewley, 407 W.P. Garrigus Bldg., Lexington, KY 40546-0215.

For more information, contact Bewley at 859-257-7543 or Jack McAllister at 859-257-7540. For Christian County meeting specifics contact Jay Stone at 270-886-6328; for Fleming County meeting specifics contact Jeff Smith at 606-845-4641.

The meeting flyer is available online.

Extension helps vegetable growers branch out into hydroponics

Matt and Jerry Wyatt of Heartland Hydroponics in Marshall County, always had been traditional vegetable producers but wanted to better utilize...
read more

For tree farms, less is more when it comes to pesticides

Some commercial tree farm managers who are used to applying large volumes of pesticides to control insects and diseases on their operations are trying a new management system using half the amount. 

Horticulturalists with the University of Kentucky College of Agriculture are part of an effort led by The Ohio State University (OSU) to teach nursery and farm managers...
read more

Blame cool July on El Niño

With less than one week left in July, no hurricane has formed in the Atlantic Ocean.  Meteorologists at the University of Kentucky College of Agriculture largely attribute this anomaly to El Niño, which  also may be the reason July 2009 will be one of the coolest Julys in the past 100 years.

"The Climate Prediction Center defines El Niño as...
read more