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AGRICULTURE
Master
Cattleman Program offered in Carrollton
Are you
wanting to increase your knowledge and skills as a beef producer?
If so, the Master Cattleman program is for you.
Master Cattleman is an in-depth educational program that can give
you a much better understanding of all the production, marketing,
and consumer issues that you, as a cattle producer, are going
to need to deal with in order to stay competitive.
It’s pretty intensive–ten evenings, starting in mid-February,
through next fall. We start at 5 p.m. and each session includes
some of the finest beef suppers you’re going to find anywhere.
Registration is $50. It includes a notebook packed full of information,
the suppers, a “Southern Forages” book, and a farm
sign.
This program has been offered for the past several years in Boone
County and a number of Owen County farmers have taken advantage
of it. This year the program will be held at Carroll County, at
the Extension Office, so it may be more convenient for some Owen
County farmers.
If you’d like to find out more about the details of the
program, give me a call. It would be well worth your time. But
call soon, for space is limited and filling up fast. This and
all other educational programs of the Kentucky Cooperative Extension
Service serve all people regardless of race, color, age, sex,
religion, disability or national origin.
Computer Training Courses
for Tobacco Farmers
The extension Office is again working with Jefferson Community
College to provide computers and training to tobacco farmers who
are interested in becoming computer-literate. The program, entitled
“Computers for Farm Use,” has a course content designed
specifically for farmers.
This training course teaches farmers how to use computer technology
to keep financial records; keep inventory and livestock records;
do research and marketing on the Internet; communicate through
e-mail; and other computer functions. It also provides a refurbished
computer to each participant.
Up to 15 Owen County tobacco farmers who do not currently have
working computers will be eligible to participate in the program.
The charge for participating in the course is $25. For this, each
participant will receive the computer and four evenings of training
on how to use the computer.
Owen County High School technical support folks are teaching these
classes. Training classes will start in February at the high school.
Space is limited to 15 tobacco growers on a first-come, first-serve
basis. The $25 registrations will be due when you sign up. To
register for the class, call or stop by the extension office.
Ammonia Nitrate Registration Update
A couple weeks ago, there was an article on the agriculture news
page about upcoming requirements for farmers who use ammonia nitrate.
Due to new anti-terrorism laws, any farmer who owned as little
as one ton of ammonia nitrate at any point in time would have
to register with the Department of Homeland Security. This means
if you bought a buggy’s worth of ammonia nitrate to spread
on some pastures, this would affect you.
For those who read the article and thought through the potential
ramifications, they were understandably upset and highly irate.
For those of you that had decided that the government had accused
you of being a terrorist, (not my words, but a direct quote from
a phone call) I’ve got some good news for you. Over Christmas,
Homeland Security apparently has decided that farmers spreading
ammonia nitrate are not the threat to the country they first thought,
and they are not going to require you to register. Businesses
selling fertilizer and chemicals and carrying large stocks are
still going to have to do this, as well as possibly some commercial
applicators.
There’s still a lot of uncertainty about who this will apply
to, it now looks like it won’t affect most farmers.
Time for Another Agricultural Census
The Census of Agriculture, taken every five years, is a complete
count of U.S. farms and ranches and the people who operate them.
The census looks at land-use and ownership; operator characteristics;
production practices; income and expenditures; and many more areas.
Census forms were mailed Dec. 28 and should now be in the hands
of farm owners and operators. Federal law requires all who receive
a census report form to respond even if you didn’t operate
a farm or ranch in 2007.
For census purposes, a farm is any place from which $1,000 or
more of agricultural products were produced and sold, or normally
would have been sold, during 2007. Completed forms are due by
Feb. 4. Producers can return their forms by mail or via a secure
Web site.
The Census of Agriculture provides information that is not available
anywhere else. The count is important to individual farmers in
the sense that many federal programs receive funding based on
county and state census counts.
Farms will be counted and sorted in the 2007 Census of Agriculture
by different categories: size, type, operator characteristics
and value of sales. Individual information is confidential. The
National Agricultural Statistics Service (NASS) uses the information
only for statistical purposes and publishes data only in tabulated
totals. The report cannot be used for purposes of taxation, investigation
or regulation. The privacy of individual census records is also
protected from disclosure through the Freedom of Information Act.
NASS will release census data, in both electronic and print formats,
beginning February 2009. Detailed reports will be published for
all counties, states and the nation. For additional information
on the Census of Agriculture or any NASS survey, call the Agricultural
Statistics Hotline at (800) 727-9540.
Cost-Share
Program
now
being offered
Don’t
miss out on the new program, “Pasture and Hay Renovation,
KSW 11,” that has been added due to the drought.
Jan. 2 to Jan. 25 will be the only time the Kentucky Soil Erosion
and Water Quality Cost-Share Program is offered to the farmers
of Kentucky.
If you need assistance with the best management practices on your
farm, you may sign up at the Owen County Soil Conservation District.
There are 18 practices eligible under the state Cost-Share Program.
These are some of the most frequently installed practices: Agricultural
Waste Control Program, Heavy Use Area, Rotational Grazing System
Establishment, Stream Crossing and Streambank Stabilization.
If you would like more information regarding these programs, please
feel free to stop by or call the Owen County Soil Conservation
District at 484-2719, ext. 101 to take advantage of this program.
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