ID-189: Vegetative Filter Strips for Livestock Facilities

Steve Higgins, Ray Smith, Sarah Wightman | Feb. 23, 2012 (New)

An enhanced vegetative strip is a best management practice that can be installed to protect surface waters from pollution produced by animal production facilities. Most people think of a vegetative strip as a grassed area or waterway, but when intentionally installed and properly managed, an EVS can be much more effective than a simple grassed filter strip. If properly managed, enhanced vegetative strips can be used to trap, treat, and absorb pollutants, which can be removed from the designated area by harvesting or grazing.

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ID-198: Benefits and Costs Associated with the Wheat Storage Hedge

Doug Johnson, Sam McNeill, Cory Walters | Jan. 24, 2012 (New)

Each year producers must decide whether to store or sell their crop at harvest. Market prices are important in guiding producers on whether to store priced grain for future delivery (referred to as a storage hedge), store unpriced grain, or sell. Generally, producers know more about deciding to sell or store unpriced grain than using the storage hedge. This publication explains how a storage hedge works, when to use it, and risks and costs involved. (See glossary for definition of terms.)

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AEN-109: Sinkhole Management for Agricultural Producers

Steve Higgins, Sarah Wightman | Oct. 18, 2011 (New)

A karst landscape develops when the limestone or dolostone bedrock underneath the soil dissolves and/or collapses due to weathering. A karst system can be recognized by surface features such as depressions, sinkholes, sinking streams, and caves. In karst systems, surface water and groundwater are interconnected: surface water runoff flows into sinkholes and sinking streams and recharges the groundwater; likewise, springs maintain stream flow in the dry season. Kentuckians living in karst areas need to be acutely aware that any pollutants that reach either surface water or any karst feature can pollute the entire groundwater system (also called an aquifer). In addition, the cave system that accompanies a karst aquifer can allow pollutants to contaminate miles of water resources in just a few hours.

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AEN-103: Stormwater BMPs for Confined Livestock Facilities

Steve Higgins, Sarah Wightman | Jul. 28, 2011 (New)

The U.S. Environmental Protection Agency states that agricultural sediment, pathogens, and nutrients account for more than 50 percent of water pollution in the United States. Animal confinement facilities, widely used for holding, feeding, and handling animals, are potential sources of that pollution. The pollution load of these facilities can be reduced by installing and maintaining best management practices. The BMPs may be implemented as part of permit compliance or may be used to ensure that a permit is not needed.

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AEN-107: Paved Feeding Areas and the Kentucky Agriculture Water Quality Plan

Steve Higgins, Sarah Wightman | Jul. 28, 2011 (New)

Kentucky's abundant forage makes it well suited for grazing livestock. Livestock producers can make additional profits by adding a few pounds before marketing calves; however, adding those pounds requires keeping calves during the winter months, when pasture forages are dormant and supplemental feed is required. The areas used to winter calves need to be conducive to feeding and need to avoid negatively impacting the environment, especially water quality.

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AEN-108: Permeable Pavement for Stormwater Management

Carmen Agouridis, Joe Luck, Jonathan Villines | Jul. 26, 2011 (New)

Managing runoff in urban areas offers many challenges for engineers, landscape architects, and planners. As cities grow, the amount of impermeable surfaces--those that do not allow water to infiltrate into the ground--increases. Examples of impervious surfaces are asphalt roads, concrete sidewalks, parking lots, building roofs, and areas of highly compacted soils such as in subdivisions. If not properly managed, the stormwater runoff produced by these impermeable surfaces can have negative effects on nearby surface waters.

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AEN-106: Reducing Stormwater Pollution

Carmen Agouridis, Joe Luck, Jonathan Villines, Sarah Wightman | Jul. 15, 2011 (New)

Stormwater is excess water from rainfall and snowmelts that flows over the ground and does not infiltrate the soil. It is a concern not just in urban areas but in suburban and agricultural locations as well. As stormwater runoff flows over the land or impervious surfaces, it picks up and transports trash and debris as well as pollutants such as pathogens, nutrients, sediments, heavy metals, and chemicals. This publication reviews some of these techniques and provides a list of recommended resources for additional information.

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AEN-101: Stream Crossings for Cattle

Carmen Agouridis, Steve Higgins, Sarah Wightman | Jul. 13, 2011 (New)

This publication provides livestock producers with instructions on how to install a stream crossing that provides animal and vehicular access across streams. This best management practice (BMP) is intended for use with exclusion fencing that restricts cattle access to the stream. Implementation of a stream crossing with exclusion fencing will improve water quality, reducing nutrient, sediment, pathogen, and organic matter loads to streams.

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AEN-105: Pasture Feeding, Streamside Grazing, and the Kentucky Agriculture Water Quality Plan

Carmen Agouridis, Steve Higgins, Sarah Wightman | Jul. 13, 2011 (New)

Kentucky's abundant forage makes it well suited for grazing livestock, but the pasturing and pasture feeding of livestock need to be managed. Allowing cattle to behave as they would naturally can lead to overgrazing, congregation in sensitive areas, buildup of mud, loss of vegetation, compaction of soils, and erosion.

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AEN-104: How to Close an Abandoned Well

Steve Higgins, Sarah Wightman | Jul. 7, 2011 (New)

Abandoned wells are often the only structures remaining after an old house or barn has been removed. If left unmanaged in agricultural areas, these abandoned wells can pose a serious threat to livestock and human safety because of the large surface openings they often have.