Agriculture & Natural Resource Newsletter
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Cooperative Extension Service Owen County 265 Ellis Hwy Owenton, KY 40359-9300 Phone: (502) 484-5703 Fax: (502) 484-5704 Agriculture & Natural Resource Newsletter owen.ca.uky.edu I hope every one has had a Table of Contents: good start to the summer! I know Pg. 2 - Weed of the Month 2020 has thrown many challenges at Pg. 3 - Coronavirus Assistance us with COVID-19 and with the state of the economy but in the mist of all Pg. 4 - Disaster Loan Applications the uncertainty, it has been good to Pg. 5 - Aquatic Weed Mgmt. see everyone coming together to help Pg. 7 - C.A.I.P. Update each other out. Pg. 9 - BQCA Training The Owen County Extension Office is open, but limited public access. If you need to come into the office Pg. 10 - Pink Eye you must call ahead and make an appointment. We do Pg. 11 - “I Bought a Farm...Now What?” have a box outside our door if you need to drop off soil Pg. 12 - Eden Shale Farm Update or plant samples. Once you drop off the sample please Pg. 14 - Murder Hornets call and we will fill out the form over the phone. I can still make farm visits, they are FREE, but please call a Pg. 16 - Early Blight few days ahead of time so I can get you on my schedule. Pg. 17 - Covid -19 and the Meat Supply Today more than ever, information is changing day by day. To stay up-to-date on all the current information please follow our Facebook page! With the start of a new decade we are updating our contact information for our clients. Please fill out the survey included in this newsletter and mail back to us. Our postage fee will be increasing in the next few months so if you would like to receive a digital copy of this newsletter please let us know. [email protected] or 502-484-5703 1 Ragweed Life Cycle: Summer annual Description: Common ragweed is found throughout the United States in pastures and crops if not managed. The pollen of this plant is a major contributor to fall hay fever among residents of Kentucky. Control: G = Good or Excellent; F = Fair (suppression or partial control); P = Poor; − = No Information Mowing: R = Timely mowing reduces top growth and seed production; S = Suppression of top growth; X = Not very effective 2 Coronavirus Farm Assistance Program: The United States Department of Agriculture (USDA) announced the final details of the Coronavirus Food Assistance Program (CFAP), and that applications for direct assistance through the program will be accepted beginning Tuesday, May 26, 2020. CFAP will provide up to $16 billion in direct financial assistance to producers of agricultural commodities who have suffered a five-percent-or-greater price decline due to COVID-19, and face additional significant marketing costs as a result of lower demand, surplus production, and disruptions to shipping patterns and the orderly marketing of commodities. Below are additional details about the program and application process. All details about CFAP may be found at https://www.farmers.gov/cfap. Applying for Assistance Producers can apply for assistance beginning on May 26, 2020, and applications will be accepted through August 28, 2020. Those eligible will apply through their local FSA office. Please call ahead, 502-484-3979 or additional information and application forms can be found farmers.gov/cfap Eligibility Livestock Livestock eligible for CFAP include cattle, lambs, and hogs. The total payment will be calculated using the sum of the producer's number of livestock sold between January 15 and April 15, 2020, multiplied by the payment rates per head, and the highest inventory number of livestock between April 16 and May 14, 2020, multiplied by the payment rate per head. Dairy For dairy, the total payment will be calculated based on a producer's certification of milk production for the first quarter of calendar year 2020 multiplied by a national price decline during the same quarter. The second part of the payment is based on a national adjustment to each producer's production in the first quarter. Specialty Crops For eligible specialty crops, the total payment will be based on: the volume of production sold between January 15 and April 15, 2020; the volume of production shipped, but unpaid; and the number of acres for which harvested production did not leave the farm or mature product destroyed or not harvested during that same time period, and which have not and will not be sold. Specialty crops include, but are not limited to, almonds, beans, broccoli, sweet corn, lemons, iceberg lettuce, spinach, squash, strawberries and tomatoes. A full list of eligible crops can be found online. Additional crops may be deemed eligible at a later date. Non-Specialty Crops and Wool Non-specialty crops eligible for CFAP payments include malting barley, canola, corn, upland cotton, millet, oats, soybeans, sorghum, sunflowers, durum wheat, and hard red spring wheat. Wool is also eligible. Producers will be paid based on inventory subject to price risk held as of January 15, 2020. A payment will be made based on 50 percent of a producer's 2019 total production or the 2019 inventory as of January 15, 2020, whichever is smaller, multiplied by the commodity's applicable payment rates. Payment Limitations There is a payment limitation of $250,000 per person or entity for all commodities combined. Applicants who are corporations, limited liability companies, or limited partnerships may qualify for additional payment limits where members actively provide personal labor or personal management for the farming operation. Producers will also have to certify they meet the Adjusted Gross Income limitation of $900,000 unless at least 75 percent or more of their income is derived from farming, ranching, or forestry- related activities. Producers must also be in compliance with Highly Erodible Land and Wetland Conservation provisions. Payment Structure To ensure the availability of funding throughout the application period, producers will receive 80 percent of their maximum total payment upon approval of the application. The remaining portion of the payment, not to exceed the payment limit, will be paid at a later date as funds remain available. You may review the rule governing this program and commodity payment rates used for CFAP online. For more information about the USDA's actions in response to COVID-19 you may visit: https://www.usda.gov/coronavirus 3 New Eligibility for Economic Injury Disaster Loan and Advance: In response to the Coronavirus (COVID-19) pandemic, small business owners in all U.S. states, Washington D.C., and territories were able to apply for an Economic Injury Disaster Loan advance of up to $10,000. This advance is designed to provide economic relief to businesses that are currently experiencing a temporary loss of revenue. This loan advance will not have to be repaid. The Small Business Administration (SBA) has resumed processing Economic Injury Disaster Loan and Advantage applications that were submitted before the portal stopped accepting new applications on April 15 and will be processing these applications on a first-come, first-served basis. SBA will begin accepting new Economic Injury Disaster Loan (EIDL) and EIDL Advance applications on a limited basis only to provide relief to U.S. agricultural businesses. The new eligibility is made possible as a result of the latest round of funds appropriated by Congress in response to the COVID-19 pandemic. Agricultural businesses includes those businesses engaged in the production of food and fiber, ranching, and raising of livestock, aquaculture, and all other farming and agricultural related industries (as defined by section 18(b) of the Small Business Act (15 U.S.C. 647(b)). SBA is encouraging all eligible agricultural businesses with 500 or fewer employees wishing to apply to begin preparing their business financial information needed for their application. At this time, only agricultural business applications will be accepted due to limitations in funding availability and the unprecedented submission of applications already received. Applicants who have already submitted their applications will continue to be processed on a first-come, first-served basis. For agricultural businesses that submitted an EIDL application through the streamlined application portal prior to the legislative change, SBA will process these applications without the need for re-applying. Eligible agricultural businesses may apply for the Loan Advance MUST apply here covid19relief.sba.gov/#/ 4 Aquatic Weed Management quatic plants in farm ponds range from microscopic preventing aquatic weed problems. Rooted aquatic weeds and A organisms known as plankton algae which drift suspended algae usually begin growing in shallow water (2 feet or less). in the water to larger plants rooted in the pond bottom. Certain Edges of new and existing ponds should be deepened so shallow types of aquatic plants are essential for fish production. water areas are maximized. However, aquatic plants that The grass carp is a practical and seem to take over the pond and economical way to control certain interfere with fishing are types of pong weeds. Grass carp considered to be weeds. effectively control weeds with Aquatic plants that cause weed tender succulent vegetation such as problems may be placed into four filamentous algae and duckweed. groups: algae, floating weeds, Early manual removal of weeds by emerged weeds (foliage above raking can prevent some weed water) and submersed weeds problems. (majority of foliage below water). The first step in successful chemical Aquatic Weed control is a control is accurate identification of management plan that the problem weed. After the weed incorporates preventative has been identified, a herbicide may be selected. Give me a call or methods such as proper pond construction and maintenance, bring aquatic weed samples to the office, or have me come out biological methods such as grass carp and the use of labels for identification assistance.