By GARY TILGHMAN
GLASGOW — The Kentucky Grazing School is scheduled on Thursday and Friday, Oct. 8-9 at the Woodford County Extension Office in Versailles and the UK Animal Research Center also in Woodford County. A registration fee of $45 will be charged and pre-registration is required. Class size is limited to the first 45 people that pay their registration fee, so if you are interested in participating register ASAP.
This program is an intensive, education packed program covering lots of materials with presentations by some of the top experts from the University of Kentucky and industry. Programs and registration materials are available at the Barren County Extension Office, if you would like to attend.
Grazing meet set for Oct. 29
The second grazing event in October will be the 10th Annual Kentucky Grazing Conference. This year’s event will be held on Oct. 29 at the University of Kentucky Research and Education Center at Princeton, Ky. This event is sponsored by the University of Kentucky College of Agriculture and Kentucky Forage and Grassland Council.
Registration begins at 8 a.m. CDT with the one-day program beginning at 8:30 a.m. The program will cover many topics that will of use to anyone interested in improving grazing opportunities, a definite trend for success in the grazing livestock enterprise.
A sampling of topics include information on new developments in grazing species and varieties, experiences with eastern gamagrass, weed control, tall fescue research, extending grazing opportunities, and animal welfare concerns.
I encourage folks that are challenged by the grazing “bug”, including me, to attend this fact-filled day. A registration fee of $15 will be charged which includes proceedings, meal, and refreshments.
The Kentucky Forage and Grasslands Council will hold its business meeting, silent auction, and the Forage Spokesman Contest after the noon meal. Also, there will be some nice exhibits available for those attending.
More specific information is available at the Barren County Extension Office for both this event and the grazing school that I mentioned earlier.
Reproduction clinic set for Oct. 3
Kentucky’s growing goat industry is attracting new producers all the time. Those producers may not have a lot of previous livestock breeding experience or may just need to learn goat-specific techniques. To that end, the University of Kentucky is offering a free, hands-on clinic Oct. 3 in Clark County.
Artificial insemination is a viable way of improving goat herd genetics. Seasonal-breeding females (does), cycle about every 21 days, with the average heat, or estrus, lasting about 36 hours. Ovulation comes toward the end of estrus. Producers can effectively use artificial insemination, commonly referred to as AI during this time to increase reproductive efficiency.
The 6th Annual Goat AI Clinic will take place at Slatewoods Farm in Clark County. The clinic begins at 9 a.m. and will follow a lecture format in the morning and have hands-on activities in the afternoon.
“It’s really nice of Cathy Jones to let us do this clinic at her farm,” said Terry Hutchens, UK extension goat specialist. “A hands-on approach really is the best way to teach goat producers how to use AI on their farms.”
Hutchens said two participants are traveling all the way from the Philippines to attend the clinic.
“They are coming here to learn more about goat production, and they’ll gain knowledge that they can then take back to their country and implement there,” Hutchens said. “They’ll be here for several days, and we’ll be taking them to visit other sites with respect to goat production as well.”
There is no registration fee required for the clinic. Directions from Winchester: take KY Route 89 southeast and travel 8 to 10 miles to Trapp. At the Trapp fire station, take a right onto KY 3369 and then turn left onto Rightangle Road. Follow Rightangle Road to Slatewoods Farm, there will be a sign on the right side of the road. Registration is required. E-mail Cathy Jones at slatewoods@inthehills.com.
For more information, contact Hutchens at (859) 257-2465.
Ag council to meet Sept. 29
The Barren County Agricultural Development Council will meet Tuesday, Sept. 29 at 7 p.m. at the Barren County Extension Office.
