Poison Hemlock is already up and growing! Yes, it’s getting to be that time of year—new spring green growth! Unfortunately, ruminants eating too much lush green growth early in the year can have its consequences. What the cows try to initially ignore is they need fiber. If that particular Mark your calendars now! pasture was grazed down tight last fall and little or no residual was ► Shooting the Bull: Answering All left behind, there is little or no fiber present. This young lush forage of Your Related Questions! is rapidly fermentable in the rumen and may not meet two critical May 4 • 8pm • Online via Zoom forage roles: maintaining the rumen forage mat and stimulating cud chewing. The rumen/fiber mat is essentially a mass of long-fiber ► Feeder Calf Grading May 12 • 7pm • Online via Zoom plant matter that slows down and buffers the rumination and digestive processes of ► The Extension office will be any other feeds that are consumed. It keeps closed on May 31 for the Memorial the microbe balance, pH and digestive Day holiday. speed of the rumen stable throughout the

day. Ideally, continue feeding hay until the Boone County Farmers Market forages have grown more and start opens for business on May 1. containing more lignin. Lignin is a major Visit to purchase flowers and component of the plant cell wall and give shrubs. The market is open 10–5 plants structure. Those fields grazed short every day of the week until Memorial Day when their hours last fall will lack sufficient fiber to go with extend to 9–6. Support local all the washy high-water, high-protein producers and enjoy some of the forage that will come on with first growth. All ruminant freshest products in the region. need to balance the carbon-nitrogen ratio in their rumen to If you would like to participate in maintain that mat. If they don’t, then they will not perform the the market, contact Market way you want them to and have less gain and milk production. Manager, Coy Wilson at The plants just go through their system faster than they can 859-586-6101. effectively utilize it.

(Continued on next page ) If stop grazing heights were maintained with the last grazing prior to winter, then that dry forage left behind can help Designed for small-scale commercial to balance out the lush forage. At a minimum, everyone should operations in Kentucky, the series takes leave at least one field, ideally the one they plan to use first in backyard chickens to the next level, as a the spring, with a fair amount of residual over winter and, in this potential source of income. case, more is better (four to six inches). That field can also provide a great alternative for calving over a muddy lot. Raising Chickens for If you watch the cows after MAY 6 • 7 PM Eastern • online early turnout, they will graze Registration link available at: exclusively on the lush new forage https://www.facebook.com/ for two to three days and if events/2845563335687019 sufficient fiber is not present, they will quickly start hitting fence rows Raising Turkeys for Meat and eating about any dry material MAY 13 • 7 PM Eastern • online they can find and will actually eat Registration link available at: straw too if available, something https://www.facebook.com/ they would normally rarely do. events/2564928773807143 Another alternative is to feed

some hay along with the new Raising Waterfowl for Meat growth. The cows will then eat MAY 20 • 7 PM Eastern • online enough dry hay to help balance out Registration link available at: the fiber needs to maintain that rumen mat. This is certainly https://www.facebook.com/ better for the cow, but not particularly ideal for the events/757012451619708 forage. Grazing too early can be costly by reducing total

forage production for the entire grazing season. Grazing too FOR MORE INFORMATION early in the spring does nothing but remove the solar panel Jacquie.Jacob@ uky.edu the plants need to start building sugars and growing new

roots. The forages really need to be able to fully leaf out or canopy and get a good start before start removing that new growth, otherwise production will be reduced. Forages should be at least eight to ten inches tall, ideally more. If the cows-to-pasture acres ratio is low, then starting to graze a bit early might help to keep growth under control later, but in most cases, the cows-to-pasture acres is higher than it should be and therefore, detrimental to overall production. If I have plenty of hay, then I’d continue feeding hay. Strategically, saving the better hay for early spring and feeding less quality hay earlier is usually a good thing and that usually is also true nutritional-wise for spring calving cows too. That biological feedback mentioned earlier doesn’t always work quick enough when it come to poisonous weeds — for some, it doesn’t take very much. I am already seeing a fair amount of poison hemlock in some fields and especially along roadsides and low areas. Poison hemlock looks a lot like cow or wild parsnips but has purplish colored streaks and spots on the smooth stem. This plant is poison to both livestock and humans. It is a true biennial so it will set seed the second year — so kill it the first year! It is a prolific seed

(Continued on next page ) producer. Do not handle with bare hands. According to Purdue’s toxic plant website, poison hemlock has toxic components that include the volatile coniine and gamma-conicine. A lethal dose for a horse is four to five pounds of leaves. Cattle may be poisoned with one to two pounds, and sheep with a half-pound or less. Humans are often poisoned, mistaking the roots for parsnips, the leaves for parsley or the seeds for anise. Poisoned animals show signs within two hours of eating the plant, and tend to become nervous, will tremble and become uncoordinated. After the excitement phase, the becomes depressed. The heart and respiratory rates slow down, the legs, ears and other extremities become cold; colic and/or bloating may occur. Even at this stage, the animal may not die, but may remain like this for several hours to days, and then recover. In lethal cases, the animals tend to die within five to 10 hours after the onset of the clinical signs, typically from respiratory failure (in which case the mucus membranes will appear blue). A mousy odor has been reported to emanate from affected animals. I’ll end with a reminder on magnesium. It is a good idea to move to a high magnesium type mineral supplement (usually 10-20% instead of 1 or 2%) and continue with it until we are past the early flush of new forage. The issue with insufficient magnesium is more of a problem where nitrogen and/or potassium has been recently applied or in excessive amounts. For more detailed information about grass tetany, contact your local Extension service or large animal veterinarian. Management of spring regrowth will impact overall production. The cows or sheep are the tools to help manage the forage! Remember, it’s not about maximizing a grazing event, but maximizing a grazing season! Keep on grazing! Source: Victor Shelton, NRCS State Agronomist/Grazing Specialist

The 2021 calving season has most likely wrapped up for many of you and, more than likely, you have already started planning or may already be into your 2021 breeding season. Cleanup bulls that are complementary to your A.I. program will help maintain uniformity in calves, improving your marketing and This is also the time of year many producers are replacement selection. Staff photo. in the process of buying semen and synching cows for a variety of artificial insemination (A.I.) programs. A.I. has become a valuable tool for improving the genetics of our herds, but there are still some things that must be considered prior to implementing an A.I. program. In this column, I will discuss the importance of A.I., the importance of matching A.I. resources to your cow herd and production resources, and ultimately matching your cleanup bull’s genetic potential to your A.I. program.

1. Why is A.I. an important tool for my operation? A.I. is a valuable process that allows producers to have access to genetics they may not have ever had the opportunity to integrate into their herds. This opportunity allows producers to improve or address performance issues that may be present in their herds. Due to the advances made over many decades, producers now have access to bulls that may be thousands of miles away and may have been well out of their price range to purchase at a bull sale. Specifically, this process affords producers the ability to incorporate levels of performance or phenotypes that will drastically improve their genetic base and allow them to develop replacements with higher genetic value from other populations. Lastly, due to synchronization programs, we can breed large groups of females at one time and subsequently calve at a

(Continued on next page ) similar time. This shortening of the calving window also allows us to differentiate between A.I. calves and calves produce via live cover

This strawberry trifle is cleanup bulls. simple to make with layers of moist cake, fresh strawberries, 2. Why is it essential that producers select cleanup bulls that and pudding. It’s perfect with genetically complement my A.I. program? summer’s fresh strawberries! Even with a highly successfully A.I. program, it is more than likely a producer is going to need cleanup bulls to breed cows that 1 ready-made angel food cake 1 (1.5-oz.) box sugar- and fat- didn’t conceive with the A.I. program. For example, let’s say a free instant vanilla producer has a 200-cow herd and 60% bred to the A.I. That leaves pudding & pie filling 80 cows that must be exposed to a bull so conception rates are 3 cups skim milk acceptable for the breeding season. As a producer, if you invest 1 (8-oz.) container low-fat heavily in A.I. genetics, why would you not want to ensure that the yogurt other 40% of your calf crop is experiencing genetic improvement as 2 cups fresh strawberries well? Another concept we talk repeatedly about in the industry is the Mix instant pudding with importance of uniformity in calf crops. If we are going to make a milk (according to directions on significant investment in our A.I. calves, wouldn’t we want the calves box). Let stand 5 minutes, until set. Add yogurt. Stir until from our cleanup bulls to have similar performance and phenotype smooth. so they don’t stand out as Cut angel food cake into bite being inferior to the A.I. size pieces. Place one-third of calves? This uniformity, or cake into trifle bowl or any lack thereof, can affect our large clear glass bowl. Layer marketing strategy and with one-third of pudding replacement selection mixture, followed by one-third strategies. Specifically, if we of strawberries. Repeat with are keeping replacement remaining ingredients. females from these matings, Cover and let stand in wouldn’t we want heifers refrigerator 6 hours or Beef cattle in a field in Princeton, Ky., Photo by overnight. from both A.I. and cleanup to Matt Barton have the potential to Source: Debra Cotterill, Director, Nutrition Education Program University of integrate into our herds, become efficient cows and have good Kentucky Cooperative Extension Service longevity and subsequently good profitability? https://www.planeatmove.com/recipes/ recipe/strawberry-trifle/ Servings: 12 Serving Size: 1 cup 3. How do I identify cleanup bulls that complement my A.I. Per serving: 170 calories; 0 g total fat; 0 g program? saturated fat; 0 g trans fat; 0 mg cholesterol; 230 mg sodium; 38 g The identification of complementary cleanup bulls to an A.I. has carbohydrate; 1 g fiber; 6 g sugar; 5 g become reality, thanks to all the advances in genetic selection protein; 4% Daily Value of vitamin A; 25% Daily Value of vitamin C; 8% Daily technologies and the fact that many seedstock producers utilize A.I. Value of calcium and embryo transfer technologies. First and foremost, our genetic prediction tools (EPDs, genomically enhanced EPDs, commercial genomic tests, etc.) have improved substantially over the last decade and provide us enough valuable information to select bulls that have the genetic potential for the traits important to us, in order to complement bulls we are utilizing in our A.I. programs. Second, the vast majority of seedstock producers who are selling bulls have implemented reproductive technologies such as A.I. and embryo transfer into their production systems. Third, due to advances in internet and online sales, we now have access to production sales we

(Continued on next page ) normally would not be able to attend, and most likely are selling bulls that meet our requirements and allow us to purchase bulls complementary to our A.I. program. Finally, by doing some research on these bulls and critically evaluating their phenotype and genetic potential, you are capable of not only incorporating improved genetics from an outside source, genetics produced via A.I., but genetics in a live bull that are capable of complementing your A.I. breeding strategies.

4. Remember that ‘superior’ may not mean complementary to our production system Although the use of reproductive technologies has increased and genomic technologies have improved, it is still essential for producers to identify genetics that are both superior and complementary to their production systems. The one pitfall a producer doesn’t want to fall into is incorporating genetics into their system that are not complementary to their production resources. In this situation, animals that are not complementary tend to drive up production costs in order to remain in the system, don’t typically have longevity in the system and are typically culled, meaning that they are no longer genetic contributors to the herd. Furthermore, because they were not complementary, they did not provide any genetic improvement to the base herd. It is important to remember that just because a phenotype is unique, or if the animal has the highest performance or extreme genetic potential, it may not be beneficial to your operation. This is true for both A.I. and natural service sires. In conclusion, due to advances in breeding and selection technologies, A.I. and complementary cleanup bull selection has the potential to improve beef herds. However, it is still essential that producers critically evaluate the type of genetics compatible with their production resources and goals, and try to complement their A.I. program genetics with cleanup bull genetics that are compatible to produce optimal and productive calves from both matings. Source: Matthew Garcia for Progressive Cattle

It’s not a surprise to seasoned cattle producers that black vultures will prey on newborn calves. The University of Kentucky College of Agriculture, Food and Environment is teaming up with Purdue University, the U.S. Department of Agriculture Wildlife Services and the Denis H. Heeke Animal Disease Diagnostic Laboratory in southern Indiana to study the problem. Assistant professor of wildlife management Matthew Springer is leading the efforts at UK. The group is requesting that producers donate calves or other livestock to the research effort, if they believe the animal was lost to black vultures. “The goal of this project is to determine the characteristics of an animal killed by a black vulture versus one that is just scavenged upon,” Springer said. “This research should help inform any indemnity loss applications through the USDA Farm Service Agency.” (Continued on next page ) Springer said the group is prioritizing animals that producers saw being attacked. Someone from UK will pick up the animals and take them to the Heeke lab for examination of injuries and necropsy. Researchers will catalog the results to determine the features of a vulture attack. “Given the extensive nature of the necropsy, the carcasses need to be in good shape and preferably found within 24 hours of the attack,” Springer said. Researchers are also seeking black vulture nest sites A black vulture in flight. Photo Getty Images throughout Kentucky as part of a larger black vulture research effort in the Southeast United States. The larger project is a collaboration with the Murray State University Biology Department and USDA Wildlife Services “Our goal with the larger study is to better understand the nesting behavior and survival of black vulture nests as well as fledgling movement and survival rates,” Springer said. “The research fits into a larger overall push by USDA Wildlife Services to better understand black vulture populations and behaviors.” Springer said the overall goals of these efforts are to improve understanding of the black vulture and to identify future management strategies to help overcome vulture-related damages. “This project should help us understand the reasons for the increase in black vulture populations and help minimize human-vulture conflicts in the future,” he said. “If you know of a nest site and would be willing to allow us access to monitor it, please contact us.” The team will monitor nests using trail cameras to observe nesting behavior and any events until chicks leave the nest. The team will briefly visit nest sites every 10-14 days to collect the memory card and check the nesting status. They will attach GPS transmitters to a subset of fledglings when they reach the necessary size and age later in the summer. “We would be especially grateful if you could report nests as soon as you become aware of them, as we are currently within the vulture breeding season,” Springer said. Cattle producers interested in helping with the projects should contact Springer at [email protected], 859-257-8633, or Phil Kavouriaris at Murray State University [email protected], 270-288-6097. Source: Aimee Nielson, Agricultural Communications Specialist, UK College of Agriculture, Food and Environment

2021 will feature the emergence of , one of the groups of that lives in Kentucky. Brood X is a 17-year brood, meaning that the that will be aboveground as adults this year were born in 2004 and have been developing in the soil ever since. The below ground nymphs have been siphoning off sap from their host trees and now that they are surly teenagers, they are ready to become adults. The adult cicadas should begin to appear around the beginning of May, more specifically when the soil 8 inches belowground reaches 64°F, which often coincides with the blooming of outdoor irises. Figure 1: The counties that should expect to see the most cicadas in 2021 are found mostly in If you have been in Kentucky for a while, you have probably northern Kentucky, near river corridors. experienced periodical emergences before. However, when we look at sources, such as Cicada Mania and the University of Connecticut, we will notice that the expected areas with the most cicadas in Kentucky is considerably smaller than the historical maps might

(Continued on next page ) indicate. According to these sources, the counties that should expect to see the most cicadas are Boone, Breckenridge, Bullitt, Carroll, Daviess, Gallatin, Grayson, Henry, Jefferson, La Rue, McLean, Muhlenberg, Nelson, Ohio, Oldham, Trimble. Periodical cicadas can be problem pests of many trees and woody ornamentals, with the exception of pines and other species By going that produce gummy type substances These insects can cause outdoors and damage in home landscapes, fruit orchards and other areas. looking for cicadas this May and The damage is called “flagging” and occurs after the female June and taking pictures of them; cicada puts a slit in twigs to insert her eggs. These twigs later break upload those pictures to Cicada and are left to hang on, turn brown and die. This “Flagging” is not a Safari or send them to one of our serious problem for large trees but can really damage smaller newly Extension entomology resources. planted trees. Also some additional damage can occur below ground over time as the nymphs feed on the new roots of these developing Email the Office of the trees. State Entomologist ([email protected])  New orchard or landscape plantings should be delayed if possible until after periodical cicada activity has ended for the season. Message Kentucky Bugs on Facebook  Young trees can be covered with netting (¼” or smaller) or lightweight row covers to protect the young twigs. This should be Download the “Cicada done when the first male singing is heard. Secure the covering Safari” App on your around the trunk to prevent cicadas from climbing up to the phone. This is an app trunks and limbs. The netting should be removed at the end of from Mt. St. Joseph University in Ohio. June or when cicada activity stops.  If practical, cicada nymphs can be prevented from feeding on Citizen “scientists” can take a roots of young trees by pruning out damaged twigs This needs to photo or video of the cicadas be done within about three weeks after egg laying has ended. they see and upload it where the This can be time-consuming but worth while considering the location will be noted and the production life and long-term value of your trees. Feeding by species confirmed. This will help large numbers of underground nymphs can do substantial with a national effort, as well as damage to the root systems of smaller trees. the Kentucky effort, to better map the periodical cicadas and applications generally are of limited use in protecting improve understanding of their trees from damage, especially where cicadas populations are very emergences. high. Repeated insecticide sprays would be needed to deal with new arrivals. Sevin (carbaryl) is labeled specifically for periodical cicada control on landscape trees and shrubs Orchards under a routine spray schedules should be treated about twice a week during peak cicada activity. Spray requirements will vary according to intensity of the outbreak, which can range from a few cicadas in some areas to massive numbers in other areas. Sources: Jonathan L. Larson, UK Entomology Extension Specialist; Joe Smith, Boone County Extension Horticulture Technician

Fishing is a wonderful warm-weather pastime many of us enjoy. At the Extension office, we often receive calls in the spring and fall from landowners on how to properly stock recreational ponds with fish. Pond owners can call farm supply stores during the spring and fall to find out when their live fish trucks may arrive. Fish are typically transported during cool weather to reduce handling stress. The fish are typically small and can be hauled short distances in large, water filled containers.

(Continued on next page ) Kentucky Department of Fish and Wildlife Resources no longer stocks recreational ponds, but the department recommends the following fish species to establish a balanced fish population that will provide good pond fishing in about two years’ time. Bluegill (not hybrid bluegill) and largemouth form a predator-prey relationship where the prolific spawning of bluegill provide enough food to support a largemouth bass population. Largemouth bass consume some of the bluegill and control their overpopulation. Two years after you stock a pond, you should have largemouth bass at least a foot long and bluegill at least 6 inches in length. You can catch these fish provided they are stocked and harvested in the proper numbers. You can stock redear sunfish and channel as supplemental species if desired. Fish stocking rates are listed below:  Stock 400 fingering bluegill (1 to 2 inches long) per acre in the fall*  Stock 120 largemouth bass per acre in the spring.  50 channel catfish fingerlings may be stocked per acre in the fall if desired.  *40% of the bluegill (160 fingerings) may be substituted with redear sunfish (shell crackers) if desired. Redear sunfish only spawn once a year and will not provide an adequate food source for bass if stocked without bluegill. It’s more difficult to maintain a balanced fish population in smaller ponds. You can be better off stocking ponds less than a half-acre in size with 50 -100 channel catfish fingerlings and fathead minnows for forage fish or feed them a commercial catfish feed instead. It is important to stock only bluegill, largemouth bass, redear sunfish and channel catfish in ponds. You should not stock fish species such as , hybrid sunfish, gizzard shad, golden shiners, bullhead catfish and yellow , as they may overpopulate small ponds. Ponds containing undesirable species often need to be drained or the entire fish population chemically eliminated and later restocked. Restocking ponds that contain existing fish populations is challenging since fish fingerlings are typically small and easily consumed by larger fish. Buying large replacement fish may be expensive. Transferring fish from other ponds or lakes is not recommended, because it may introduce disease problems. In time, many ponds may become overcrowded with small, stunted largemouth bass. Removing some of these small fish may Michelle Simon, correct the problem. However, these ponds may provide fewer but Boone County Extension Agent larger bluegill. Ponds with overpopulated bluegill will produce many 2 for Agriculture Education - to 3-inch long fish and often a few large largemouth bass that are [email protected] hard to catch. You can add more largemouth bass to the pond to try to obtain a balanced population. To maintain a proper balance among fish populations, a rule of Lacey Kessell, thumb is to harvest 4 or 5 pounds of bluegill for every pound of Boone County Extension Agent largemouth bass removed. for Natural Resource & Source: Forrest Wynne, extension aquaculture specialist, Kentucky State University Environmental Education [email protected]