Agriculture and Natural Resources s2

October 17, 2003 Exclusives

Please do not delete this message. It is the only complete copy your office will receive of exclusives for Agricultural and Natural Resources, Family and Consumer Sciences and 4-H Youth Development.

AGRICULTURE AND NATURAL RESOURCES

Take Soil Samples This Fall

FAMILY AND CONSUMER SCIENCES

Planning for Retirement

4-H/YOUTH DEVELOPMENT

State Leader Shares Thoughts and Visions For Our 4-H Youth Development Program

Take Soil Samples This Fall

Sources: Paula Howe and Greg Schwab

Time and money are two benefits of taking soil core samples during the fall. Fall soil sampling allows you ample time to implement research-based fertility recommendations before spring planting. When you receive the soil test results, read the pH and lime recommendations. You may need to apply lime to neutralize soil acidity. To be fully effective, agricultural lime should be applied in the fall because it takes about six months to break down and react with the soil. So, the earlier you spread lime, the better. The turn-around time for samples is much faster in the fall, usually within a week, because fewer people are submitting samples this time of year. All recommended fertilizers, except nitrogen, can be applied this fall. Buying fertilizer in the fall usually will save you money because prices are cheaper due to lower demand. Also, we usually have drier soil in the fall making it easier to get the spreader truck into the field. Farmers who don’t test fields and pastures can only guess at fertility needs. Estimating how much fertilizer is needed often results in applying more than necessary. And this is an unnecessary expense, not to mention the negative environmental effect. The (County Name) Cooperative Extension Service has soil sample bags or boxes, details on taking accurate samples and other pertinent information. There is a nominal fee to cover soil analysis costs. Your soil analysis report is based on that little pint of soil you submitted. For the most accurate report, take the best soil samples possible. These tips will help. You’ll need to take different samples for various land uses such as agricultural fields, lawn, garden, fruit trees, ornamental shrubs and azaleas because these may have distinct fertility and acidity or alkalinity requirements. Take a sample from poor growing area and from adjacent areas of good growth. Mark each sample with a letter, or numbers on a field map. Collect at least 10 soil cores for small areas and up to 20 cores for larger fields. How deeply you take cores for farm use depends on the tillage system used. For tilled areas, take cores from the surface to plow depth, usually six to eight inches. Take cores down to a four-inch depth in no-till fields and pastures. For home lawns, take cores from the surface down to four inches. For gardens, ornamentals and fruit trees, take cores down to six to eight inches. Be sure to take all cores from an area at the same depth. After you’ve collected soil cores, put them in a clean, dry plastic bucket, crush the soil and thoroughly mix it. Allow this to air dry in an open, contamination-free space. When it dries, fill the sample bag and completely fill out the information sheet. A separate sheet is needed for agricultural soil, home gardens, lawns and turf grasses and commercial horticultural crops. It’s a good idea to take core samples around the same time each year to compare results from year to year. Educational programs of the Kentucky Cooperative Extension Service serve all people regardless of race, color, age, sex, religion, disability or national origin. -30-

Planning for Retirement

Source: Sue Badenhop

Planning for retirement is an important financial goal. If you plan to retire in the next couple of years, don’t wait too long to prepare because it might take longer than you think to have retirement benefits available when you need them. Think about what you’d like to do in retirement and make some realistic dollar estimates on how much this will cost. To maintain your current standard of living, some financial experts recommend two-thirds of your pre-retirement income, while others suggest three-fourths. List your retirement income sources and the estimated amount from each. Determine your estimated benefits from Social Security and work-related retirement or pension plans. If projected expenses exceed your estimated income, consider increasing contributions to your retirement accounts such as 401(k), 403 (b) or 457 plans. This year, the annual contribution limit increased to $12,000; the catch-up contribution for people age 50 and older rose to $2,000. Increase retirement contributions if you’re below the current limit. Making changes in spending now will help you have money for retirement. These extra contributions will grow with compounding interest over time. Always put enough money in your work-related retirement account to qualify for the employer’s matching funds. This is like receiving “free” money from your employer. You might want to talk to an accountant or investment advisor to be sure your retirement funds are working best for you. You may want to discuss whether it’s better to have a traditional Individual Retirement Account or a Roth IRA. With a traditional IRA, you have to take the minimum distribution by age 70 and one-half years. The Internal Revenue Service specifies the minimum withdrawal, which is taxable and could put you in a higher income tax bracket. Money put in a Roth IRA grows tax-free. Also, a Roth IRA doesn’t have a required age distribution and withdrawals aren’t taxable because you’ve already paid taxes on the contributions. An investment account is another retirement savings tool. Although the money you gain through stock appreciation is subject to capital gains taxes, selling investments doesn’t increase your income tax bracket. To reduce taxes, evaluate the pay-out options on a traditional IRA and 401 (k). There are three basic choices: transfer savings from your employer plan to an IRA, leave it in the 401 (k) plan, or take the cash. Cash disbursements are taxable. Rolling employer savings into an IRA usually makes the most sense because you won’t be taxed on the rollover. An investment advisor or other custodian can help you complete the necessary paperwork. If you do a cash withdrawal, IRS gives you 60 days to rollover the cash from the employer plan into an IRA; otherwise the IRS will consider it a taxable cash withdrawal. Although mortality is something none of us likes to think about, be sure you’ve designated a beneficiary for funds in your IRA because it won’t automatically pass to your spouse. If you don’t name a beneficiary, the IRA could go to someone you didn’t intend. It also will lose the tax-deferred, stretched-out benefit. A spouse who is both executor and beneficiary can roll your IRA into his or her own IRA and name a new beneficiary. Be aware that the IRS considers it a cash distribution when you name two or more children as beneficiaries, and they will owe taxes on the entire amount, not solely minimum distributions. Remember, your retirement funds are your money to use or lose. For more information, contact the (County Name) Cooperative Extension Service. Educational programs of the Kentucky Cooperative Extension Service serve all people regardless of race, color, age, sex, religion, disability or national origin. -30-

State Leader Shares Thoughts and Visions For Our 4-H Youth Development Program

Source: Joe Kurth

The child is at the center of our 4-H Youth Development Program because every Kentucky child has the right to live a good life. Thus, our program’s ultimate focus is to develop and deliver programs to meet every child’s developmental needs and help them gain the essential skills necessary to become contributing members of their families, counties, state and nation. These were among the thoughts Joe Kurth, state leader of the Kentucky 4-H Youth Development Program, shared at a luncheon shortly after he became “Head Clover” of this program. Kurth said an early observation was the need for more cohesiveness—acting as a team in who we are, what we do and how we do what we do. He said a team is similar to a big family that believes in and supports each other. We, in 4-H Youth Development, should be loyal to each other and to our values. These values include the beliefs that every Kentucky child deserves the opportunity to live a good life and 4-H Youth Development can help make this happen; that prevention and early intervention take precedence over remediation; that every Kentucky child needs a sense of closeness with at least one significant adult; that adult development is an essential vehicle for youth development, and that youth have the power individually and collectively to participate in decisions affecting them. Another value is the experiential philosophy of education (do, reflect, apply). The “learn by doing” philosophy is an historical cornerstone of 4-H Youth Development. The values of those we hire need to be in sync with our organization’s values. At all levels of the 4-H Youth Development Program, we will hire and support people who care about kids and who care about those working with kids. We will support these staff with good, high-quality professional development and in-service that they help plan and conduct. Other early observations included more development of the teen leadership program, increased utilization of volunteers and volunteerism, a potential for revenue generation and upgrading camping facilities and offering a year-round program. Kurth listed a number of vehicles by which 4-H Youth Development can achieve its ultimate goal to meet the needs of and develop life skills in Kentucky youth. These included projects, subject matter, events, activities, trips and contests. However these vehicles are never ends in themselves because the focus is on the child, who is always at the center of 4-H Youth Development. He believes that balance generally is good. As youth development professionals, we should have balance in our own lives among family, work and personal/spiritual activities. Also, he suggested a balance of delivery approaches and of staff-led and volunteer leader-led activities. All are needed to effectively meet the four basic youth developmental needs, a sense of belonging, mastery, independence and generosity, and to help youth gain essential life skills. In closing, he likened the Kentucky 4-H Youth Development Program to a sleeping giant, ready to awaken. This giant has great strength and enormous potential, is highly regarded and even revered by its people, and has even greater achievements in store. For more information on our 4-H Youth Development Program, contact the (County Name) Cooperative Extension Service. Educational programs of the Kentucky Cooperative Extension Service serve all people regardless of race, color, age, sex, religion, disability or national origin. -30-