Agriculture and natural resources
Brian Rees
Saturday, October 21, 2006
Fall harvest is winding down or completed for many, and much of the winter wheat crop is planted or already emerged at this time. Hopefully we will have enough moisture to get it off to a good start and ready to withstand the winter.
From those I have spoken with, yields have been at or slightly above expectations. Corn, soybean and grain sorghum yields have been quite variable, but many of the soybeans were able to benefit from the slight moisture that was received late in the summer.
Unfortunately we have not had enough rainfall to date to replenish our ponds and streams and this is becoming a major concern for livestock producers.
Normal wintering sites that routinely have an adequate water supply are not in good shape as we move into a normally lower precipitation period. Obviously we need to pay attention to the amount and quality of water available to livestock.
There is also a large concern about livestock forage for the winter, as there are many bales of corn and milo stalks and soybean stubble in the country.
These are not normal feedstuffs in this area and as such I would encourage sampling these bales to get a handle on the actual nutritional value. As always, knowing what you are feeding will be vital to getting the best performance from your beef cattle this winter.
With that in mind, make plans to attend a conference on November 8 at the Anderson Building titled “Will We Get the Cows Through the Winter”.
Topics to be covered include cow herd body condition evaluation, drought strategies and winter supplementation options, selecting and managing winter feeding sites to reduce feed wastage and environmental impacts, cow herd health management strategies, and water quality issues as they relate to your herd.
This mid-day event will begin at 10:30 and conclude around 3. A $5 fee will ensure materials and lunch for those that pre-register by November 3 at 620-341-3220. Registration at the door will be $10 per person.
For those that missed it, it was a beautiful day for the Fall Forestry Field Day held at the Roy and Carolyn Turney tree farm with a side trip to the Brad Davis walnut planting.
A big thanks to the Turney and Davis families for allowing around 140 people from across the Midwest to learn from their experiences and observe the progress they have made in tree production and management.
In addition I was told that within the two weeks prior to the field day, over $74,000 worth of timber had been marked for sale in Lyon County by forestry consultants.
Trees and woodlots can be an often overlooked source of additional income in many areas of the county.
It also is getting to be the time of year that we schedule some of the Risk Management meetings that have been very popular in Lyon County.
A date has not been set for the first meeting, but I hope to schedule an evening in late November or early December.
If you have topics of particular interest on which you would like more information please give me a call at 620-341-3220 or e-mail at brees@k-state.edu.