It is shaping up to be a busy winter season. We’ve added an event – on Friday, March 3, an inspector from the KY Department of Agriculture will be here to check your scales and certify them for farmers market sales. If you haven’t been through this process before, make sure you take a look at the Farmers Market manual to understand what constitutes a ‘legal’ scale.

EXTENSION CLASSES

Reserve your space by calling 222-9453 unless otherwise noted.

• Industrial Hemp Seminar, February 9, 10:00 a.m. – 4:00 p.m., Shelby Co. Extension (includes lunch). Call 633-4593 to reserve space for this meeting. Agenda and presenter information available online.
• Farmers Market Scale Certification, March 3, 9:00 a.m. – 12:00 p.m., Oldham Co. Extension. No registration required. Scale regulations are available in the farmers market manual.
• Adapting Your Garden as You Age, February 13, 10:00 – 11:00 a.m., Oldham County Extension. Sponsored by Green Thumbs Garden Club and presented by Oldham County Horticulture Assistant Michael Boice.

• Grain Crop – Weed Control, February 21, 10:00 a.m. – 1:00 p.m., Henry Co. Extension (includes lunch). Presented by UK Extension Specialist Dr. J.D. Green.
• Grain Crop – Economics & Marketing, February 28, 10:00 a.m. – 1:00 p.m., Shelby Co. Extension (includes lunch). Presented by UK Extension Specialist Dr. Greg Halich.
• Grain Crop – 2016 Season Review & Production Fundamentals, March 14, 10:00 a.m. – 1:00 p.m., Oldham County Extension (includes lunch). Presented by UK Extension Specialist Carrie Knott
• Managing Nuisance Wildlife – Gardens & Farms, March 6, 6:00 – 8:15 p.m., John Black Community Center (includes dinner). Presented by UK Extension Specialist Dr. Matt Springer. He will discuss control measures for deer, raccoons, other small mammals, plus coyotes and black headed vultures.

• Living Along a KY Stream, March 16 from 6:30 – 7:30 p.m. at Oldham County Extension. Registered participants will receive a tree seedling. Presented by Curry’s Fork Watershed Director Jen Shean and Oldham County Agriculture Agent Traci Missun.
• Good Ag Practices Training, March 20, 10:00 a.m. – 12:00 p.m., Oldham County Extension (Sampling Certificate Info Available on Request)

ATTENTION, DOG OWNERS!

If you own dogs, please make sure you keep them properly restrained on your property. This is for the safety of the dogs as well as for neighbors’ livestock. There have been three incidents this month of dogs killing livestock and poultry on farms. Even the most docile and gentle dog is capable of chasing and/or killing livestock.

Under Kentucky Revised Statutes 258.235, “Any livestock owner or his agent, without liability, may kill any dog trespassing on that owner’s property and observed in the act of pursuing or wounding his livestock.” Help prevent these problems by keeping your dogs confined to your property. Problems with dogs running loose may be reported to Oldham County Animal Control, 222-7387.

CONSERVATION DISTRICT TREE GIVEAWAY

Oldham County Conservation District will host their Arbor Day Tree Giveaway for Oldham County residents on March 25 from 10:00 a.m. to 12:00 p.m. (or when all are trees are gone). The event will be held at their office, 700 West Jefferson Street in La Grange. These are the trees they plan to have available: Cypress, Eastern Redbud, Yellow Poplar, Wild Plum, White Oak, Pin Oak, KY Coffeetree, White Pine, Northern Red Oak, Pawpaw, Hazelnut, Chestnut Oak. Any questions should be directed to Andrea at 222-5123 or oldhamswcd@gmail.com.

WHAT DO EXTENSION AGENTS DO IN WINTER?

• Like many producers, agriculture agents attend classes and conferences to learn new practices to improve production. We also host and teach quite a few programs.
• Agents still make farm visits in the winter. So far this month I’ve looked at property with new landowners to help them decide potential uses based on their interests. I’ve also visited several farms to pull hay samples for testing.
• Agents often take leadership roles with different commodity groups, and winter is always a busy meeting season. I have the honor of serving as the Kentucky Forage & Grassland Council president this year. KFGC works closely with UK Extension to offer field days, grazing workshops, and conferences that will benefit producers. There are several coming up that will be of interest. If you would like to join or want to talk more about benefits of membership, just give me a call.
• Agents like me often eat too much fattening food with the advent of hibernating weather. If you fall in that category, check out some healthy recipe ideas from my co-worker Chris Duncan.

FRUIT PRODUCTION INFO

• Prepare now for fruit tree pruning and spraying. You can find information through UK Extension Horticulture.
• UK Specialist John Strang shows how to prune a pear tree and site selection and other basics for planting fruit trees.
• Have you seen our latest post about native fruits?
• Contact our Horticulture Assistant Michael Boice, our in-office fruit guru, at 222-9453 or michael.boice@uky.edu with your fruit growing questions.

SCHOLARSHIP OPPORTUNITIES

• Oldham Co. Conservation District is accepting applications for the H. Glenn Watson scholarship – applications must be postmarked by February 1. Contact Andrea at 222-5123 or oldhamswcd@gmail.com to get an application. (For Oldham County high school seniors only)
• Louisville Agricultural Club is offering scholarships – see their web page for details, guidelines and applications.
• Kentucky Ag in the Classroom offers a list of several other ag scholarships.

Written by Traci Missun, Agriculture & Natural Resources Agent at Oldham County Cooperative Extension. Traci addresses a variety of topics including farming, crops, pastures, and natural resources such as water and forestry.