AEN-135: Rainwater Harvesting for Livestock Production Systems

Steve Higgins, Lee Moser | November 7, 2017 (New)

Abundant, clean drinking water is an essential nutrient for livestock. The obvious water source that is recommended by veterinarians is city water. However, city water has its drawbacks. City water distribution systems are often expensive to install and have a recurring usage charge. In some instances, city water is unavailable, may have inadequate pressure, or producers consider it too expensive to operate, forcing them to use streams and ponds to water livestock. Collecting rainwater from a catchment area, is a low cost, high quality alternative water source that can supplement traditional water distribution systems and improve the environmental quality of farming operations. Rainwater harvesting involves the collection of rainfall from rooftops or land based catchments systems for storage and distribution as needed. Capturing rainfall has the added benefit of improving water quality by reducing soil erosion and runoff. Strategically installed rainwater harvesting systems can be used to direct stormwater around sensitive areas of the farm where animal waste is present, thus reducing the potential for nutrient and pathogen delivery to nearby waterways. Rainwater harvesting and stormwater management techniques can also reduce the volume of water that must be managed in liquid manure management systems by diverting clean water away from manure pits and lagoons.

AEN-115: Appropriate All-Weather Surfaces for Livestock

Steve Higgins, Stephanie Mehlhope, Lee Moser, Sarah Wightman | October 16, 2017 (Minor Revision)

Many livestock producers would say that mud is a natural part of livestock production. But the creation of mud costs producers money and makes them less competitive. Livestock that walk through mud require more feed for energy but actually eat less because walking in mud requires more effort to get to feed and water. Therefore, mud decreases average daily gains. Mud accumulation on the coat increases the amount of energy needed to generate heat in the winter or to keep cool in the summer. Also, it can lower sale prices due to hanging tags. The creation of mud also increases animal stress and leads to a variety of health problems, including protozoan and bacterial infections. It is essential that livestock producers understand that mud hinders cost-efficient livestock production and efforts should be made to limit the creation of mud. This publication explains how mud is created and describes different types of hardened surfaces and pads that agricultural producers should use to reduce mud creation and ultimately increase production efficiency and protect natural resources.

AEN-133: Tire Tanks for Watering Livestock

Carmen Agouridis, Steve Higgins, Joshua Jackson, Lee Moser | August 8, 2017 (New)

Kentucky's abundant forage and extensive stream system have helped the Commonwealth become the largest beef producing state east of the Mississippi River. While streams and ponds serve as a water source for many operations, livestock can quickly degrade soil and water quality by trampling streambanks and defecating and urinating in and around waterbodies. These actions increase sediment, pathogen, and nutrient loads to streams, rivers, and lakes which in turn can causes eutrophication. To help protect the health of Kentucky's soil and water, producers can implement best management practices (BMPs). These practices help reduce the sources of pollutants and/or the transport of pollutants to waterways. One such practice or BMP is limiting cattle access to streams and ponds. When producers exclude livestock access to stream and ponds and their associated riparian buffers, an alternative source of water is required. Automatic water fountains are one commonly used means of providing cattle with water from an alternate source. A water tank constructed using a heavy equipment tire may serve as a viable option for supplying livestock with an alternate source of water.

ID-236: Providing Water for Beef Cattle in Rotational Grazing Systems

Steve Higgins, Kevin Laurent, Lee Moser | August 2, 2016 (New)

Water is the most essential nutrient for cattle production. Water is used in almost every bodily function, including digestion, milk production, and excretion. Given the role and function of water in relation to animal production, health, and welfare, it is critical that abundant, clean water is available in any livestock production operation. Livestock must have immediate access to water within every paddock of a rotational grazing system to realize maximum efficiency and production.

AEN-131: Farmstead Planning: Old Farm Buildings Repurposed for Better Farming: How to Develop a Complex

Steve Higgins, Lee Moser | June 6, 2016 (New)

The traditional farmstead planning process might have been ideal for farming operations set up on blank slate farms that were surveyed based on 640-acre sections. However, these concepts are more challenging for irregular shaped farms in Kentucky with existing structures built more than a half century ago. Older farm buildings may be underutilized because they were constructed using what would be considered obsolete technologies today. It is essential that producers take the time and obtain the necessary help to develop their farming operation plan in order to realize their potential and achieve their goals.

ID-211: Kentucky Nutrient Management Planning Guidelines (KyNMP)

Amanda Gumbert, Steve Higgins, Kylie Schmidt | March 4, 2016 (Minor Revision)

Nutrients are constantly cycling through farms. Nutrients come onto a farm in the form of feed, commercial fertilizers, manure, or compost, and they leave the farm with harvested crops, sold livestock, and off-site disposal of manure and other waste. Sometimes nutrients are even lost to the air, soil, or water. Nutrient management allows farmers to use nutrients wisely for optimal economic benefit with minimal impact on the environment.

AEN-130: Drought Risk Management for Beef Cattle Farms

Steve Higgins, Lee Moser, Kylie Schmidt | February 25, 2016 (New)

Once a drought occurs, it can be difficult to effectively manage your resources and overcome the conditions that drought creates. At the heart of effective drought management is preparedness. A systems-management approach is an ideal tool for drought preparedness, as its goal is to improve each component of the farming operation (soils, forages, facilities, stock, etc.) and improve the connections between the components (i.e. the system). The goal of this publication is to aid beef producers in implementing best management practices (BMPs) that take a systems approach to maximizing farm water use efficiency, while operating under the assumption that water is becoming an increasingly uncertain resource that is vital to the future of the farm.

ID-229: All-Weather Surfaces for Cattle Watering Facilities

Steve Higgins, Kevin Laurent, Kylie Schmidt, Donald Stamper | July 28, 2015 (New)

Strategically locating the watering facility will also provide production benefits such as increased forage utilization and improved access to water, and may possibly reduce the cost per pasture of providing water. This publication will provide guidelines for the location, design, and construction of all-weather surfaces for cattle watering facilities.

AEN-125: Closing a Liquid Manure Storage Structure

Steve Higgins, Kylie Schmidt | August 11, 2014 (New)

Liquid manure storage structures, such as a lagoon, holding pond, or pit, serve an essential purpose on an active livestock operation. However, when this structure is no longer actively managed it can become a major liability to the producer because of its potential to have a discharge. The discharge from a liquid manure storage structure can contain pollutants such as nutrients, heavy metals, hormones, pathogens, and agriculture chemicals, all of which can pose serious threats to human health and aquatic ecosystems. Because of the pollution potential, livestock producers ceasing their operation are required to close their liquid manure storage structure(s) as part of their Kentucky No Discharge Operational Permit. To help offset the costs of closing the structure, producers may want to apply for cost share funds through the Division of Conservation. Before beginning to close a liquid manure structure, the Kentucky Division of Water (KDOW) must be provided with a closure plan. This publication outlines the preferred practices and steps for closing a liquid manure structure to meet the guidelines of the KDOW.

AEN-123: Lowering Somatic Cell Counts with Best Management Practices

Steve Higgins, Kylie Schmidt, Sarah Wightman | May 14, 2014 (New)

As health and food safety concerns grow, dairy producers are facing more stringent regulations. In 2010, the European Union (EU) set the somatic cell count (SCC) upper limit, an indicator of milk quality, for exported milk at 400,000 cells per milliliter. However, the current U.S. SCC limit is 750,000 cells per milliliter. As of January 2012, any U.S. milk used in export markets must meet the EU standards. It is projected that US milk processors will gradually adopt the EU upper limit, making it difficult for dairy producers to sell milk containing more than 400,000 somatic cells per milliliter. Dairy producers will have to find innovative and cost-effective ways to reduce the somatic cell count of their milk. This publication will discuss how agriculture best management practices can be used to lower SCC.