.....Advertisement.....
.....Advertisement.....

Farming

  • Cool nights and short days initiate bloom

    There are many things that come together that allow plants to thrive.  
    When it comes to plants native to our area, we are not required to go to great extremes to provide the ideal environment.
    An ideal environment, however, means a great many different things depending on what kind of plant you are.
    This time of the year we can do a couple of things for some favorite flowering plants.  

    Click here to read more...
  • Meyers to host Harrison County Field Day Oct. 8

    The farm field day in Harrison County will be held at the farm of Mike and Shelley Meyer on Monday, Oct. 8 at 5 p.m. The farm is located on Highway 32 or Connersville Pike, four and one-half miles from Highway 27.
    The Meyer’s have a beef production farm with corn, hay and tobacco production as well. The farm is going through some major changes at the present time and producers will get to see many of the improvements which will aid in future operations.

    Click here to read more...
  • Beware of Cyanide (Prussic Acid) poisoning in ruminants

    With the start of fall comes the risk of cyanide poisoing in ruminants. Cyanide, prussic acid, hydrogen cyanide or hydrocyanic acid poisoning are all terms describing the same condition. A number of common plants, including sudangrass, johnsongrass, sorghums and sorghum-sudangrass hybrids contain cyanogenic glycosides in the outer cells of the plant.  Further inside the leaf tissue are the enzymes needed to convert these compounds to the cyanide poison.

    Click here to read more...
  • Pear ripen after the harvest

    Old farm sites that are long vacant often have remnants of a once thriving agricultural model that fed the whole family.   
    Among the farm smorgasbord was the small home orchard; and among the orchard the Kieffer pear still stands if nothing else does.  
    The Kieffer pear has been around for a long time and it seems we have forgotten how to treat it as an eating pear.  
    If you have ever happened upon an old tree you may have been put off by the hard fruit.  

    Click here to read more...
  • FSA Guaranteed Loan program update and increased loan limits

    USDA Farm Service Agency (FSA) State Executive Director John W. McCauley, announces that guaranteed farm ownership loan funds for Fiscal Year 2012 have been exhausted. Farmers and ranchers in Kentucky received $59,736, 321 million in guaranteed loans through Aug. 31, 2012.
    “Fiscal Year 2013 begins on Oct. 1, 2012, and we anticipate that guaranteed farm ownership funds will be available in early October,” said McCauley.

    Click here to read more...
  • Perennial Plant of the Year 2012 for the shade

    For some gardeners the tactile experience of maintaining the garden is not really what they’re after.  I love the whole process but I realize that most people just want things to look good without too much fuss.   
    As our farm grows on the 4-legged and 2-legged side of things I am noticing some perennial plant neglect.
    So, I do need to do some rearranging so that the mixed borders get easier to care for not more difficult. Therein lays the mission of the Perennial Plant Association’s “Plant of the Year” program.  

    Click here to read more...
  • Changes to Form 1099-G and 1099-MISC for FSA producers and vendors

    John W. McCauley, USDA Farm Service Agency (FSA) State Executive Director announces that calendar year 2012 brings several changes to the way FSA reports a producer’s farm program payments to the producer and to IRS.
    In past years, IRS Forms 1099-G would be issued to show all program payments received from the Farm Service Agency, regardless of the amount.

    Click here to read more...
  • Livestock producers affected by disasters urged to keep good records

    USDA Farm Service Agency (FSA) State Executive Director John W. McCauley urges livestock producers affected by natural disasters such as Hurricane Isaac and the continuing drought to keep thorough records of their livestock and feed losses, including additional expenses for such things as feed purchases because of lost supplies.
    FSA recommends that owners and producers record all pertinent information of natural disaster consequences, including:

    Click here to read more...
  • Drought, heat causes stress

    “Newly transplanted trees must remain hydrated in order for the natural process of root system regeneration to begin” writes Roger Harris, associate professor of horticulture at Virginia Polytechnic Institute.  
    This is something that has been repeated countless times this summer by many in the green industry, yet, I fear, some homeowners may have turned a deaf ear.  
    With record breaking heat and drought conditions for many in Kentuckiana, plants suffer the most if their care-giver is less than committed.

    Click here to read more...
  • Potato and purslane a great combination

    I was among friends last week, discussing the virtues of okra.  
    Some preferred to categorize the “slime” as a “thickening agent” while others insisted you need to be a wood pecker to eat one.  
    The little ones are best, of course, but often they get too big to be edible.  
    While okra is indeed a great thickening agent in gumbo and other quintessential southern dishes, there is another plant lurking in the garden that can do the same- and you can usually just find it growing along a path or in the flower garden.  

    Click here to read more...