Numbered Publications by Ray Smith
PR-825: 2022 Annual Grass Report Warm Season and Cool Season (Cereals)
Bill Bruening, Jimmy Henning, Gene Olson, Ray Smith, Chris Teutsch | Dec. 19, 2022 (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 2008-2021 forage yield trials with sudangrass, sorghum/sudangrass, forage sorghum, millets, teff, crabgrass, and cereal crops.
AGR-268: Evaluating Cool-season Perennial Grass Pastures using the UK Horse Pasture Health Score Card
Krista Lea, Ray Smith | Dec. 19, 2022 (New)
Providing quality forage is essential to horse health, and pasture can provide a significant portion of the horse's forage needs. Objective evaluation of a pasture's condition can help determine appropriate pasture management practices. The UK Horse Pasture Health Score Card can be used to evaluate horse pastures and determine what improvements should be made.
PR-822: 2022 Alfalfa, Red Clover and White Clover Grazing Tolerance Report
Jimmy Henning, Gene Olson, Ray Smith, Chris Teutsch | Dec. 15, 2022 (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.
PR-824: 2022 Cool-Season Grass Horse Grazing Tolerance Report
Jimmy Henning, Laurie Lawrence, Gene Olson, Tim Phillips, Ray Smith, Chris Teutsch | Dec. 14, 2022 (New)
Cool-season forages such as Kentucky bluegrass, tall fescue, and orchardgrass are dominant pasture grasses for horses in Kentucky. Variety evaluations for yield have been carried out for many years, but little work has been done to evaluate varieties of these grasses for persistence when subjected to close, continuous grazing by horses.
AGR-235: Baleage: Frequently Asked Questions
Jimmy Henning, Brandon Sears, Ray Smith, Chris Teutsch | Dec. 13, 2022 (Minor Revision)
Baled silage, or "baleage," is an excellent method for forage harvest, storage, and feed efficiency. This publication focuses on common questions about baleage. Together with AGR-173: Baling Forage Crops for Silage, this information will help producers better understand the production and use of baleage as livestock feed.
PR-821: 2022 Annual and Perennial Ryegrass and Festulolium Report
Jimmy Henning, Gene Olson, Tim Phillips, Ray Smith, Chris Teutsch | Dec. 13, 2022 (New)
Annual ryegrass (Lolium multiflorum) and perennial ryegrass (Lolium perenne) are high quality, productive, cool-season grasses used in Kentucky. Both have exceptionally high seedling vigor and are highly palatable to livestock. In Kentucky, winter survival can be an issue for many annual ryegrass varieties, so before planting, review winter survival results in this publication.
PR-820: 2022 Timothy and Kentucky Bluegrass Report
Jimmy Henning, Gene Olson, Tim Phillips, Ray Smith, Chris Teutsch | Dec. 13, 2022 (New)
Timothy (Phleum pratense) is the fourth most widely sown cool-season perennial grass used in Kentucky for forage - after tall fescue, orchardgrass, and Kentucky bluegrass. It is a late-maturing bunchgrass that is primarily harvested as hay, particularly for horses. It also can be used for grazing or wildlife habitat.
PR-818: 2022 Orchardgrass Report
Jimmy Henning, Gene Olson, Tim Phillips, Ray Smith, Chris Teutsch | Dec. 6, 2022 (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.
PR-819: 2022 Tall Fescue, Bromegrass and Meadow Fescue Report
Jimmy Henning, Gene Olson, Tim Phillips, Ray Smith, Chris Teutsch | Dec. 6, 2022 (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.
PR-816: 2022 Red and White Clover Report
Jimmy Henning, Gene Olson, Ray Smith, Chris Teutsch | Dec. 5, 2022 (New)
Red clover (Trifolium pratense L.) is a high-quality, short-lived, perennial legume used in mixed or pure stands for pasture, hay, silage, green chop, soil improvement, and wildlife habitat. This species is adapted to a wide range of climatic and soil conditions. Stands of improved varieties generally are productive for 2.5 to 3 years, with the highest yields occurring in the year following establishment. Red clover is used primarily as a renovation legume for grass pastures and hay fields. It is a dominant forage legume in Kentucky because it is relatively easy to establish and has high forage quality, yield, and animal acceptance.