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Farming

  • Local input requested for NRCS Farmbill Program

    The USDA Natural Resources Conservation Service (NRCS) administers the Environmental Quality Incentives Program (EQIP), a federal program that provides technical and financial assistance to land users to address natural resource concerns. NRCS is asking for local input for the fiscal year 2013 program.

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  • A lady beetle invasion common this time of the year

    Some years are worse than others: I remember years when it was like a siege of lady beetles, other years a few popped up here or there.   
    Usually they sneak their way into our homes as a noticeable chill settles in.  
    On sunny days they cling to the screen door on the south side of where I write.  Presently they are displayed before me.
    I need not worry about them as they sun themselves; but the ones that collect indoors, well your best bet is a vacuum cleaner.

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  • FSA County Committee voting to begin Nov. 5

    The Kentucky Farm Service Agency says ballots for the 2012 FSA county committee elections will be mailed to eligible voters on Nov. 5. State FSA Executive Director John McCauley says FSA county committee allows producers to make important decisions concerning the local administration of federal farm programs.
    “I urge all eligible farmers and producers, especially minorities and women, to get involved in their communities by voting in this year’s elections,” McCauley says.

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  • Indian summer unfolding this autumn

    I heard the weather man mention Indian summer last night and it got me thinking about this old print my father had hanging in his office.  
    The two images were of a young man and his grandfather around a small bonfire; as the scene turns to night the smoke that arose from the fire reveals an image of dancing American Indians, the hay stacks in the distance become teepees and the verse that accompanies the print reads like a tale from a not so enlightened time: “Yep, sonny, this is sure enough Injun summer. Don’t know what that is, I reckon, do you?”

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  • Fall is the time to move houseplants indoors

    Fall has arrived with two threats of frost so far (but none that materialized for the farm).
    Frost is inevitable, of course, it happens every year so let’s get organized for the return of our tropical to the not-so-great indoors.
    The lush plants that spent the summer out on the patio or are now faced with a less than ideal existence indoors…but there are some things we can do (including lowering our expectations in some cases) to help them get through the winter in the healthiest way possible.   

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  • Fayette County Extension to host Kentucky Beef Conference on Oct. 23

    Harrison County Beef producers are invited to participate in the Kentucky Beef Conference on Oct. 23. The program will be held at the Fayette County Extension Office and registration will begin at 9 a.m. and the program will begin at 10 a.m.
    For those who have never attended, the program is a very good session dealing with current problems, pricing projections, and overall predicting for the future. Several outstanding speakers will be involved with the projections for the future.

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  • Evans named loan officer with Paris Ag Credit

    Tom Zack Evans has assumed a Loan Officer position with the Paris office of Central Kentucky Ag Credit.  
    He is a lifelong resident of Harrison County, a farmer in Harrison County, and currently serves on the Harrison County Fair Board. Evans is well-known throughout many counties in the Bluegrass Region for his service to agriculture.
    His work with the Paris Office of Ag Credit is effective immediately.  He will be active in Harrison and Bourbon counties.

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  • Farm Hand Award
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  • Chestnut weevil thwarts this year’s harvest

    A Voice-Tribune reader recently asked about the worms in her chestnuts; well, I am afraid I am in the same boat.  
    We have chestnut weevils. I love our nut grove for a multitude of reasons: It shelters our meat chickens that are ranging freely in its shade; the sheep graze and even munch on fallen nut meat. In other areas we collect pecans and Chinese chestnuts among other offerings.  
    The pecans are clean as a whistle this year, but the chestnuts are a bust.  

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  • Persimmons ripening early this year

    The apple orchard has been picked clean and some have gone to our Courtney Farms Fruit CSA subscribers, some are now applesauce, some frozen and loads are now dried and sitting patiently on the shelf until the dead of winter (We are not allowed to eat them until all fresh are eaten!)
    Our attention now turns to some other native fruit treats as the season winds downs.  
    The persimmons have ripened at a faster pace than usual and I suspect that it was the early spring warm up combined with some chilly nights in the last week or two.  

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