ID-160: Burley and Dark Tobacco Production Guide, 2025-2026

Andy Bailey, Bob Pearce, Travis Legleiter, Edwin Ritchey, Will Snell, Ric Bessin, Wayne Sanderson, Ann Fisher | Jan. 27, 2025 (Major Revision)

Labor challenges and increasing production costs have continued to reduce profit margins for all tobacco growers. According to the 2022 Ag Census results, the total number of tobacco farms in the U.S. dropped to 2987. This was 3250 fewer tobacco farms than reported in the 2017 Ag Census. Growers choosing to remain in tobacco production must continue to take steps to be efficient while maintaining a high-level of cured leaf quality and productivity. The recommendations described in this guide represent the best-known practices for producing high yields and good quality burley and dark tobacco.

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FCS3-539: Understanding Diabetes

Ingrid Adams, Anna Cason | Jan. 24, 2025 (Major Revision)

Diabetes is a chronic health condition that affects how your body changes food into energy. Most of the food we eat is turned into glucose, a simple sugar, which is released into our blood. The pancreas makes a hormone called insulin in response to rising blood-sugar levels to help glucose get into the cells of the body. Think of insulin as a key to cells: When insulin is around, the glucose can enter. These cells use this glucose as energy. With diabetes, the body either doesn’t make enough insulin or the cells can’t effectively use the insulin that is made. When there is insufficient insulin, glucose builds up in the blood rather than entering cells, which leads to high blood sugar. Chronically elevated levels of blood sugar have an impact on health. Medication and lifestyle changes are ways to manage blood-glucose levels.

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AEN-178: Wetland Curriculum for Kentucky High Schools

Emily Nottingham, Tiffany Messer, Carmen Agouridis | Jan. 23, 2025 (New)

Wetland curriculum for high schoolers is designed to provide students with knowledge concerning the natural environment and its associated problems with water quality and quantity, along with awareness of how to help solve these problems. The wetland curriculum introduces water quality concerns in surface and groundwater from humans (e.g., urbanization, mining activities, agricultural practices) and environmental factors (e.g., flood events, droughts). It also includes learning about wetland processes (e.g., nitrogen cycle, water cycle, phytoremediation, sorption, nutrient mixing, microbial activity) and functions (e.g., water storage, water treatment, animal and pollinator habitat, flood control, recreation). Implementation of the wetland curriculum into science classes allows students to make connections between restoration, environmental policies and regulations, and the engineering design process.

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PR-861: 2024 Annual Grass Report Warm Season and Cool Season (Cereals)

Gene Olson, Ray Smith, Chris Teutsch, Jimmy Henning, Bill Bruening | Jan. 21, 2025 (New)

Summer annual grasses provide an important forage crop option for producers in Kentucky. These grasses are mainly used as emergency or supplemental pasture, silage, or hay crops, but little information is available on their yield potential. The purpose of this publication is to summarize the University of Kentucky 2008-2024 forage yield trials with sudangrass, sorghum/sudangrass, forage sorghum, millets, teff, crabgrass, and cereal crops.

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PR-859: 2024 Cool-Season Grass Grazing Tolerance Report

Gene Olson, Ray Smith, Chris Teutsch, Jimmy Henning, Tim Phillips | Jan. 17, 2025 (New)

Cool-season forages such as tall fescue, orchardgrass, and Kentucky bluegrass are the primary pasture grasses in Kentucky. Other species such as perennial ryegrass and festulolium can also be used in pasture systems. Little is known about the effect of variety on the grazing tolerance of these cool-season grass species.

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RB-354: Seed Inspection Report 2024

Darrell Johnson, Steve McMurry | Jan. 16, 2025 (New)

The Division of Regulatory Services is charged with administering the Kentucky Seed Law and Regulations. The Kentucky Seed Law is a "truth-in-labeling" law requiring basic labeling of seed components and quality factors to inform producers and consumers about the attributes of seed lots offered for sale in Kentucky.

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PR-858: 2024 Alfalfa, Red Clover, and White Clover Grazing Tolerance Report

Gene Olson, Ray Smith, Chris Teutsch, Jimmy Henning | Jan. 16, 2025 (New)

Alfalfa (Medicago sativa) is the highest-yielding, highest-quality forage legume grown in Kentucky. It forms the basis of Kentucky’s cash hay enterprise and is an important component in dairy, horse, beef, and sheep diets. Recent emphasis on its use as a grazing crop and the release of grazing-tolerant varieties have raised the following question: Do varieties differ in tolerance to grazing? To answer this question, we have chosen to use the standard tolerance test recommended by the North American Alfalfa Improvement Conference. This test uses continuous heavy grazing to sort out differences in grazing tolerance in a relatively short period of time.

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PR-854: 2024 Orchardgrass Report

Gene Olson, Ray Smith, Chris Teutsch, Tim Phillips, Jimmy Henning | Jan. 16, 2025 (New)

Orchardgrass (Dactylus glomerata) is a high-quality, productive, cool-season grass that is well-adapted to Kentucky conditions. This grass is used for pasture, hay, green chop, and silage, but it requires better management than tall fescue for greater yields, higher quality, and longer stand life. It produces an open, bunch-type sod, making it compatible with alfalfa or red clover as a pasture and hay crop or as habitat for wildlife.

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PR-855: 2024 Tall Fescue, Bromegrass and Meadow Fescue Report

Gene Olson, Ray Smith, Chris Teutsch, Tim Phillips, Jimmy Henning | Jan. 13, 2025 (New)

Tall fescue (Festuca arundinacea) is a productive, well-adapted, persistent, soil-conserving, cool-season grass grown on approximately 5.5 million acres in Kentucky. This grass, used for both hay and pasture, is the forage base of most of Kentucky’s livestock enterprises, particularly beef cattle.

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PR-862: 2024 Long-Term Summary of Kentucky Forage Variety Trials

Gene Olson, Ray Smith, Jimmy Henning, Chris Teutsch | Jan. 10, 2025 (New)

Forage crops occupy approximately 7 million acres in Kentucky. Forages provide a majority of the nutrition for beef, dairy, horse, goat, sheep, and wildlife in the state. In addition, forage crops play a positive environmental role in soil conservation, water quality, and air quality. There are more than 60 forage species adapted to the climate and soil conditions of Kentucky. Only 10 to 12 of these species occupy the majority of the acreage, but within these species there is a tremendous variation in varieties.