Yard Plants, Poison Hemlock, Wild Cherry
Trees, and Livestock Dangers
It is that time of the year when homeowners will
be trimming shrubs in their lawn and disposing of
the clippings. For most farmers, we know the
danger that toxic plants can have on livestock.
Clippings from these plants produce toxic
poisons and if eaten, can kill cattle in a very short
time. Please remind neighbors not to dispose of
plant clippings in pastures. Also, while the
subject of poisonous plants is discussed, Poison
Hemlock is still spreading rapidly across the
county. As we get ready to start cutting hay, be
sure to avoid cutting areas where this plant has
invaded hay fields. Animals avoid eating these
plants in pastures, but if harvested in hay, they
may eat this plant with the rest of the hay. Very
small amounts can cause abortions or fetal
deformations. If an animal eats one half of one
percent of its body weight in Poison Hemlock, it
can cause death. All parts of the plant are toxic
and drying and storage as hay will not reduce its
toxicity.
Plan now to mow down Poison
Hemlock plants and prevent them from going to
seed. Remember, one mature plant can produce
40,000 seeds. Be aware of the location of Wild
Cherry Trees in your pastures. Limbs or trees
that are blown down in storms become toxic as
leaves wilt. Cattle must be kept away from these
trees until they are removed.
David Appelman, CEA for Ag & Natural Resources
KENTUCKY SPRING
GRAZING SCHOOL
Cooperative
Extension Service
Bracken County
1120 Brooksville Germantown Rd
Brooksville, KY 41004
(606) 735-2141
Fax: (606) 735-3871
Email: dappelma@uky.edu
May 2014
The spring Kentucky Grazing School will be held
at the Woodford County Extension Office and C.
Oran Little Research Center in Versailles May
21-22, 2014. This two day program features the
latest, practical information on “grazing” with
both classroom and field activities. Registration
is $50 and includes all handout materials, grazing
manual, breaks and lunch both days. The class is
limited to the first 45 to sign up. Please call the
office if you are interested in attending.
Rinse & Return
– June 16th
The Kentucky Department of
Agriculture and the Bracken
County Cooperative Extension
Service will once again offer the Rinse and
Return Program which collects and recycles used
chemical containers.
Empty agricultural
chemical containers must be triple rinsed and a
hole poked in the container and lids removed.
Containers that have visible evidence of chemical
residue left will be rejected. This is a great way
to help the environment by removing these
containers from improper disposal and landfills.
It also is part of your farm’s Water Quality Plan
which all producers are required to follow. Take
advantage of this free service and bring your
containers to the Brooksville Farm Supply on
June 16th by 10:00 AM and to the Augusta Farm
Supply by 2:00 PM. If you have any questions,
please call the office.
Guide for Burley and Dark Tobacco. Copies are
available at the office.
Quadris and Ridomil Supplemental
Labels
Kentucky has once again received a Section 24(c)
Special Local Needs Label to apply Quadris in
your greenhouse or floatbed on tobacco plants.
The recommendation is to spray this material
after the plants are clipped the first time for the
prevention of Target Spot. The rate is 4ml per 5
gallons of water which is then applied to 400
trays. This use and recommendation is not on the
regular product label. If you do apply this
product in the above manner, you must have a
copy of the label in your possession at the time of
application. Ridomil Gold also received a 24(c)
Special Local Needs Label for use in transplant
water for the control of Black Shank. Copies of
the label can be printed from our county web site,
or picked up at the office.
Herbicides and Crop Rotations
There are a number of great Herbicides to control
weeds in many crops. The challenge comes
when we plan to rotate to a different crop after
harvesting the crop that was sprayed for weeds.
Many herbicides will require an 18 month
interval after the chemical application before you
can plant the new crop. This will leave ground
idle much longer than expected or risk losing a
very expensive seeding. Be sure and check the
label for rotation intervals or contact the office
for recommendations from our Weed Control
Recommendations for KY Grain Crops.
First Cutting of Hay Will Be Short
Potential Shortage
Sulfate of Potash (0-050)
With the extended cool weather, the first cutting
of hay will be extremely short. You may be
tempted to wait for later growth to increase the
volume of hay you can harvest at one time, but
this will be a big mistake. When the grasses get
to the boot stage (just as the seedhead is ready to
emerge), you need to go ahead and cut the hay to
get the highest nutrient content. Many cows were
diagnosed with starvation at the diagnostic lab
this year with a full stomach of hay. As with this
past winter, energy is the nutrient in highest need
and early harvested hay is the best source of this.
Get this first cutting early and hope for a better
second cutting.
Tobacco producers may find that the regular
tobacco Potassium source, Sulfate of Potash,
could be in short supply this year. This is
recommended for tobacco since it does not have
chlorine in the fertilizer that can cause poor leaf
quality. To stretch supplies, you can use up to
100 pounds of Muriate of Potash (0-0-60) and
this is allowed by KY Fertilizer law and most
tobacco companies. Get your orders in early to
avoid a shortage at the end of the planting season.
For more guidelines on fertilizer for tobacco,
please contact the office.
Summer
Weekly Tobacco Spray Program
There are changes in the labels and
recommendations for the weekly spray program
for tobacco float bed disease control. Dithane
and Penncozeb are no longer labeled for use on
tobacco. The only recommended and labeled
product for weekly sprays is Manzate Pro-Stick.
To follow tobacco contracts, you should only use
labeled products. A complete list of fungicides
for 2014 can be found in the 2014 Fungicide
Intern
We want to extend a welcome to our summer
intern, Breann Litzinger. She is a senior at
Morehead State University, majoring in
Agriculture. Breann will be helping with all the
programs at the office with her main emphasis in
4-H and Ag. Breann is the daughter of David and
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working. Also, lack of wind protection and lack of
bedding will increase the chance of frost damage to
the scrotum and testicles. During normal winter
conditions frostbite is not a common problem with
breeding bulls, but prolonged exposure to extreme
cold and wind increases the incidence of frostbite and
is a problem that must be considered when planning
for the breeding season.
Peggy Litzinger and a graduate of Bracken
County High School.
Please join me in
welcoming her to the Bracken County Extension
Service.
A Breeding Soundness Exam:
Insurance for Your Breeding Season
Dr. Les Anderson, UK Beef Extension Specialist
I received this call a couple of weeks ago. I seem to
receive calls similar to this one 6-8 times each year.
This particular rancher had just finished getting his
cows diagnosed for pregnancy. He had 43 falling
calving cows. Last fall, these cows were synchronized
for artificial insemination and were exposed to one bull
for about 5 weeks and a second bull for 7 weeks. Only
22 cows conceived and all of them conceived to the AI.
The first question I asked this rancher was the obvious
one; did you get a breeding soundness exam (BSE)
performed on your bulls? His response; the bulls had
one when he bought them but he had not had one
done since (2-3 years). The bulls were checked and,
sure enough, both were infertile.
Results from surveys nationally and in Kentucky
indicate that fewer than 30% of cattlemen routinely
subject their bulls to a BSE. I am amazed by how few
people obtain a BSE in their herd bull before each
breeding season. We purchase car, health, life, and
crop insurance why wouldn’t we purchase a little
breeding-season insurance? We protect ourselves
against most disasters but we don’t protect our cow
herd from the ultimate disaster? A BSE will cost $50100 so it is a fairly inexpensive, easy form of risk
management. I’m fairly certain that the cattleman that
called me wished he had gotten a BSE on his bulls
before he found out that he had 21 open cows. The
$150 investment in breeding insurance (BSE) seems
small compared to the lost income from 21 cows ($1518,000). So protect your investment. Obtain a BSE
on all your bulls 30 days before every breeding
season.
What is a BSE? A BSE is a fertility exam performed
on bulls by a veterinarian. A BSE has three
components; scrotal circumference, a physical exam,
and a semen evaluation. Scrotal circumference is
highly correlated with semen output and serving
capacity. It is recommended that a 12-13 month old
bull have a scrotal circumference of at least 30 cm.
The physical exam is performed to simply ensure that
a bull is physically up to the challenge of the breeding
season. Are his feet and legs structurally correct? Is
he free from injury and/or infection? The veterinarian
then examines the bull’s semen to determine if the
sperm cells are normal. The bull is then graded as
satisfactory, unsatisfactory, or deferred.
Bulls
classified as unsatisfactory are considered infertile and
it is not recommended that they be used for breeding.
Bulls that receive the deferred classification had some
irregularities in their ejaculate and a second collection
is required to determine his fertility. A BSE is a highly
reliable tool to use to identify bulls that are infertile.
Preparing the Cow Herd for Breeding Season
The long and cold winter was very stressful for
our beef herds and there is limited time to prepare
our cows for the upcoming breeding season.
With beef prices at all-time highs, you don’t want
to risk having cows that cannot breed back in a
timely manner. Here is a list of important items
you need to prepare your herd.
Check the Body Condition Score. Cows need to
be at a score of 5-6 to maximize fertility. Extra
feed now may be needed to gain the extra
condition before the breeding season.
Make sure vaccinations are made prior to the
breeding season. You need to work with your
veterinarian and get his recommendation on the
program you need to follow. He has the
knowledge of the diseases in our area that you
The extreme cold temperatures we experienced this
winter may impact a bull’s fertility. Low temperatures
and windy conditions can easily increase feed
requirements 25 to 30 percent above normal
maintenance requirements even in bulls that are not
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need protection from and the products that
perform the best.
along with Copper and Selenium is available.
DO NOT dilute your mineral by feeding white
salt. Mineral intake is formulated so that animals
consume a set level each day. Lower intake
levels can reduce immunity. As calves start
grazing, they also need access to minerals. Make
sure feeders are low enough for calves to eat
from.
Be feeding high quality minerals. Mineral are
vital for both reproduction and immunity along
with growth and performance. Blocks or trace
mineral salts will not provide the level of
nutrients needed. You should currently be
feeding a High Magnesium mineral to avoid
grass tetany and later in June, you can switch to a
2:1 mineral. I will be ordering the UK Beef IRM
Cow Calf Mineral in June if you are interested.
Control Face Flies - The face fly is a tough-tomanage pest of pastured cattle. In addition to the
irritation it causes while feeding, this fly can play
a major role in the spread of the strains of the
bacterium that causes pinkeye within and
between herds. Female face flies visit cattle for
short periods of time to get the protein they need
for egg production. Sources include tears, mucus,
and saliva. Their sponging mouthparts have
small, abrasive teeth that scratch tender tissue
around the eye to stimulate tear flow; the tears
are then blotted up by the fly’s specialized
mouthparts. Cattle reacting to face fly annoyance
interrupt fly feeding which means that the insect
may have to visit several animals to get a
complete meal. Face flies may pick up the
pathogen from an infected animal and carry it to
uninfected animals as they continue to feed. The
pathogen can survive on a face fly for 3 to 4
days, increasing the potential spread of the
infection. While the role of face flies is
important, other eye irritants, such as tall grass,
pollen, and bright sunlight also injury the eye and
can play a role in spread of this disease.
Make plans now for synchronizing you herd to
shorten the breeding season. This will result in
more calves early in the calving season which is
the biggest factor in the overall yield of pounds
of calves sold at the end of the year. Two
programs that can be used include CIDR
treatments for 7 days followed by removal of the
CIDR before turning the cows out with the bulls.
The second is feeding MGA (Melengestrol
acetate) to the herd 7 days before turning out with
the cows. MGA comes in many forms from
meals, to pellets to cubes. Cows need to be
acclimated to eating so that all the cows can
consume the product at the recommended rate.
For more information on any of these programs,
please contact the office.
Pinkeye Prevention & Fly Control
In recent years, the prevalence of Pinkeye in
cattle has increased. The cost of treatment and
loss of animal performance has caused major
impact on many herds. Pinkeye control requires
numerous efforts to combat the cause of
infection. Calves with infections can see loss of
50-100 pounds of gain which make prevention a
very affordable tool.
Face fly control is an important part a heard
health program but this is a tough insect to
control because: 1) face flies spend very little
time on animals and 2) they are mostly on the
face which is a difficult keep treated with an
insecticide. In addition, face flies may move
several miles so in-flight of flies from nearby
herds can compound control problems.
Make sure cows and calves have the maximum
immunity level as possible. Use a recommended
Pinkeye vaccine from your veterinarian and
follow label directions. If a booster is required,
be sure and give that. Also, other diseases such
as IBR can have a negative effect on the potential
for Pinkeye. Make sure a high quality mineral
that has recommended levels of Vitamin A and E
Daily access to forced-use dust bags or oilers
with fly strips or bullets generally provide good
fly control because they are used regularly by all
animals in the herd. Some insecticide ear tags
also can reduce face fly numbers significantly.
Check regularly to make sure oilers and dust bags
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are charged and that they are dispensing
insecticide properly. For more information, pick
up a copy of Insect Control on Beef Cattle-2014
at
the
Extension Office.
The ETC population collapsed shortly after the 2001
outbreak due to actions of predators, parasitoids,
pathogens, and weather factors. However, natural recovery
follows and numbers begin to grow. ETC cycles
tend to last 9 to 12 years so it is time to
anticipate an upswing.
Eastern Tent
Caterpillars
Becoming
Apparent
Carpenter Bees Are
Boring
Lee Townsend, Extension Entomologist
Male and female carpenter bees are becoming active
after spending the winter in old nest tunnels. They
resemble bumble bees but have shiny, bare
abdomens; bumble bee abdomens are “hairy”.
Females have black faces. They are not aggressive
but can give a painful sting if antagonized. Males,
recognizable by the yellow spot on their face, hang
out near nesting sites and may investigate intruders
who enter “their” space. While intimidating, they do
not have stingers. Females use their strong
mandibles to chew 1/2-inch diameter entry holes
into soft, dry wood. Tunnels follow the grain and are
get about 1 inch longer each week. Ultimately, they
can be 6 to 10 inches long and can contain 6 or 7
individual larval cells.
Lee Townsend, Extension Entomologist
Eastern tent caterpillars (ETC) are easy to spot now in wild
cherry and related trees. Most tents on limbs now range
from softball- to football-size. As the caterpillars grow, they
will begin to leave the small tents on limbs to form fewer,
larger tents at branch angles along the trunk. Tent
caterpillar development is not synchronized so it is common
to find small and large individuals in the same tents and
limb and trunk tents on the same tree.
ETC will feed for 4 to 6 weeks; full-grown larvae will be 2 to
2 ½ inches long. These mature larvae are restless and soon
leave their host trees. After crawling as far as several
hundred yards, they will settle in a protected site, spin a
cocoon, and pupate. Moths will emerge in June and
females will lay eggs for next year’s generation.
Management- Carpenter bee control is not easy, so
prevention is the best long term strategy. Use of
hardwoods when practical, or covering softwoods
with flashing or screen will prevent injury to areas
that are chronically attacked. Closing barn and shed
doors while the bees are establishing new galleries
should help to reduce infestations. Filling cracks and
crevices and painting or varnishing exposed wood
will make it less attractive.
1) Ingestion of large numbers by pregnant mares during the
spring of 2001 resulted in early fetal loss and late-term
abortions in more than 3,000 mares (Mare Reproductive
Loss Syndrome). With ETC populations apparently
increasing over the past few years and the possible
regrowth of wild cherry along fencerows, it is important to
assess ETC populations near pastures with pregnant
mares. Preventive steps should be taken while caterpillars
are still feeding in infested trees. Move mares to pastures
where the risk of ETC exposure is minimal, if practical. If
mares cannot be moved, then destroy or remove tents while
the caterpillars are present or treat around active tents with
appropriate insecticides. ETC usually are in their tents
during the day. Take advantage of this behavior.
There are some insecticide options, but accessibility
and dimensions of infested surfaces can make
treatment impractical or limit its success. The use of
dust formulations of insecticides applied directly into
tunnel openings has been the favored option. In this
approach, bees are exposed to the dust as they enter
and leave. Ultimately, they should receive a lethal
dose. Example dusts include boric acid dust, or
products such as Bonide Termite & Carpenter Ant
Dust (deltamethrin).
Diatomaceous earth and
combinations of dusts with desiccants are also
possibilities.
2) Hundreds of wandering ETC caterpillars can overrun
yards, patios, and houses. They are not harmful but can be
a significant nuisance. Because of the differences in
development, crawling caterpillars can be around for
several weeks, so the annoyance lingers. While direct
sprays with labeled insecticides may give some control,
usually the percentage kill is relatively low and the action is
not very quick. The key is to deal with ETC while they are
still feeding in infested trees (see above).
Insecticide applications to wood may provide some
preventive effect, but bees are not ingesting the
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wood, only gouging it away. Example sprays include
Bayer Home Pest Control Indoor & Outdoor Insect
Killer (cyfluthrin), Bonide Total Pest Control Outdoor
Formula (permethrin), Bonide Termite & Carpenter
Ant Killer Ready to Use (deltamethrin), Spectracide
Bug Stop (l-cyhalothrin). After treatment, tunnel
entries should be filled and sealed so they are not
attractive to bees next season.
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Cooperative Extension Service
University of Kentucky
Bracken County
1120 Brooksville Germantown Rd
Brooksville, KY 41004
NONPROFIT ORG
US POSTAGE PAID
MAYSVILLE KY
PERMIT #13
RETURN SERVICE REQUESTED
The Cooperative Extension Service prohibits discrimination in its programs and employment on
the basis of race, color, age, sex, religion, disability, or national origin.
To file a complaint of discrimination, contact Tim West, UK College of Agriculture, 859-257-3879;
Terry Allen or Patty Bender, UK Office of institutional Equity and Equal Opportunity, 859-2578927; or the UDSA, Director Office of Civil Rights, Room 326-W Whitten Building, 14th &
Independence Ave. SW, Washington, DC 20250-9410 (202-720-5964).
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