AEN-154: Land and Water Use Planning Applied to a Pasture-based Beef Operation

Steve Higgins | Aug. 6, 2020 (New)

A typical cow-calf grazing operation needs to feed and water cattle on a daily basis. Ideally, this is accomplished by rotating cattle from field to field and providing them with a convenient source of water to drink. Cattle operations can better manage cattle when facilities are designed to meet the needs of cattle and the producer. Land use-planning can increase production and reduce production costs.

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AEN-153: How Understanding and Managing Soil Organic Matter Can Improve Beef Cattle Production

Morgan Hayes, Steve Higgins | Aug. 6, 2020 (New)

Beef cattle production is directly affected by soils, but active soil management is limited. Most producers' soil management decisions are limited to submitting a soil sample, getting the analysis back, and then applying the tons of fertilizer or lime recommended at the bottom of the sheet. Meanwhile, producers request assistance to reduce or eliminate mud, weeds, gully erosion, and compaction (if they have identified compacted ground). Occasionally, producers don't have enough forage or hay to get cattle through drought or winter because of low forage production. These issues may have little to do with soil fertility but instead be directly related to soil properties.

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AEN-152: Building a Hoop Barn

Morgan Hayes, Joshua Jackson | Jul. 15, 2020 (New)

Hoop barns are a cost-effective alternative to pole barns. For example, a farmer might choose a hoop barn when deciding to expand hay sales, or for providing cover for costly equipment. Hoop barns have the additional benefit of being a construction project that can be done by the farmer (and a group of friends), which can provide an additional cost savings. This publication goes through the steps involved by following the construction of two hoop barns built by a local farmer. In this case, hoop barns were built to increase the farm's hay storage capacity.

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AEN-150: Understanding Soil Mechanics to Improve Beef Cattle Winter-Feeding Areas and Production

Morgan Hayes, Steve Higgins | May. 14, 2020 (New)

Understanding soil mechanics and management in winter-feeding areas could improve beef cattle production, with less effort on the producer and cattle. This publication is intended to guide evaluating soil strength for winter-feeding areas, the pollution potential of winter-feeding areas, and to provide solutions for correcting structural deficiencies and reducing mud on both the ground and on the cattle.

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AEN-151: Lanes for Beef Cattle Operations

Steve Higgins | May. 14, 2020 (New)

The benefits of lanes can be applied to pasture-based Kentucky cattle operations of any size. Lanes can be used to move cattle from pasture to pasture, and to access structures or barns, handling facilities, load-out areas, and areas with shade.

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ID-261: Are Common Stall Fans Effective? Orientation, Placement, and Fan Style

Bob Coleman, Morgan Hayes, Staci McGill, Kimberly Tumlin | May. 13, 2020 (New)

During summer months, horse owners hang fans around their barn and stalls in an effort to increase air movement to reduce temperature and flies in stall areas. These fans typically are 20-inch 3-speed box fans or 20-inch high velocity mounted fans. Both fans are easy to find at any home improvement or big box store and are ready to use with little to no assembly. But are these commonly used fans really serving these intended purposes?

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AEN-148: Considerations in Goat Barn Design

Morgan Hayes, Katie Jackson, Joe Taraba | Mar. 30, 2020 (New)

Farmers who raise goats for meat or milk need guidance in the interrelated tasks of choosing a barn design and managing temperatures for their herd. Barn orientation, ventilation design, and stocking density are all important considerations which impact goats socially and physiologically, potentially impacting production. While other species are relatively well studied in these areas, research on goats is somewhat limited. The goal of this publication is to provide recommendations drawn from research in goats and sufficiently similar species.

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AEN-149: Heat Stress in Goats

Morgan Hayes, Katie Jackson, Joe Taraba | Mar. 30, 2020 (New)

Heat stress is prevalent in most livestock species, but especially in dairy animals where large quantities of energy are necessary to sustain milk production. Both dairy goats in lactation and meat goats, which are being fed for growth, are susceptible to heat stress. Knowing the physiological signs to observe (like panting or excessive drinking) can make heat stress more apparent.

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SR-112: Science of Hemp: Production and Pest Management, 2020

Bernadette Amsden, Samantha Anderson, Ric Bessin, Susan Fox, Nicole Gauthier, Ross Guffey, Tom Keene, Tyler Mark, Bob Pearce, Christopher Schardl, Jonathan Shepherd, Frank Sikora, Desiree Szarka, Raul Villanueva | Mar. 13, 2020 (New)

Hemp is grown for fiber, grain, and cannabinoid extraction in Asia, Europe, and the Americas. Until recently, Cannabis sativa has been classified as a Schedule 1 controlled substance in the US. The Agricultural Act of 2014 (Farm Bill) allowed for reintroduction of industrial hemp under a pilot research program. Acreage increases and addition of state legislation resulted in over 78,000 acres of hemp grown in 23 states by the end of 2018. Hemp became a legal commodity under the 2018 Farm Bill, and by the end of 2019, over 500,000 licensed acres were documented across 45 states. Canada re-introduced the crop in 1998, and in 2018, almost 78,000 acres of hemp were licensed and planted.

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AEN-146: UAV How-To: Create a Forage Canopy Model with Photogrammetry

Joe Dvorak, Joshua Jackson, Cameron Minch, Tucker Sheffield | Mar. 9, 2020 (New)

Unmanned aerial vehicles (UAVs) are quickly becoming more integrated into producers' on-farm operations. With the advent of this new technology, users must understand how to convert raw UAV data into an applicable medium. Often the goal of UAV flights is to create a map of the output from a certain type of sensor. Thompson et al. (2018) have defined a general mapping process independent of drone type, sensor type, and mapping software. However, general mapping is significantly different than trying to record a three-dimensional model of the plant canopy structure. This article expands upon the workflow and details the process for developing a canopy model of a crop.