July 2024 Edition

Agriculture & Natural Resources
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Russell County Agriculture and Natural Resources July 2024 Newsletter

In this issue...

•    Off the Hoof: Timely Tips
•    Economic Update: Farm Bill Update
•    Farm Bill Summary - Title 1: Commodities
•    Recipe: Very Berry Salsa
•    Upcoming Events and MORE!

Jonathan Oakes, CEA for Agriculture and Natural Resources

Russell County Extension Office

2688 S. Highway 127

Russell Springs, KY 42642

Phone: 270-866-4477 | Fax: 270-866-8645

russell.ca.uky.edu

OFF THE HOOF

KENTUCKY BEEF CATTLE NEWSLETTER

This month's newsletter includes:

Timely Tips -Anderson 
Play the Short, Medium, and Long Game Strategies to Maximize Returns - Laurent 
May 1 Hay Stocks Provide Early Perspective on Hay Supply for 2024 

Timely Tips 
Dr. Les Anderson, Beef Extension Professor, University of Kentucky 

Spring-Calving Cow Herd 

Cows should be on good pasture with clover and preferably low endophyte levels in fescue for the spring breeding season. Keep pastures vegetative by clipping or making hay. They should have abundant shade and water. Our goal is to have cows become pregnant before July when temperatures and heat stress can ruin the "spring" breeding season.

• Observe the cows and bulls as the breeding season continues. Watch bulls for injury or lameness and change bulls if a high percentage of cows are returning to heat. Record cow breeding dates to determine next year's calving dates and keep records of cows and bulls in each breeding group .

•    Keep a good pasture mineral mix, which contains adequate levels of phosphorus, vitamin A, selenium, and copper, available .
•     Consider a devoted area for creep grazing calves, or practice "forward grazing" this summer, allowing calves to graze fresh pasture ahead of the cows. This can be accomplished by raising an electric wire or building a creep gate.

Fall-Calving Herd

• Pregnancy test cows if not done previously.
• Cull cows at weaning time

-  Smooth-mouthed cows
-  Cows weaning light weight and/or poor-quality calves
- Open cows
-  "Problem cows" with bad feet, teats, udders, etc.

• Select replacement heifers based on:

- temperament
-  conformation weaning weight

-    dam and sire records
-    Select more than needed to allow for culling after a short breeding season

General

•    Finish harvesting excess pasture as hay soon! It should be cut before it becomes too mature. Be sure and replenish your reserves. Try to put up more than you think you will need in case of a late summer drought.
•    Pasture should supply adequate energy, protein, and vitamins now. However, be prepared for drought situations. Don't overgraze pastures so that recovery time will be faster. Overgrazed pastures will recover very slowly during July/August.
•    Keep pastures small for rotational grazing so that nutritive quality can be maintained. They should
be small enough, so cattle do not graze longer than a week. As the season progresses, you need several paddocks to give each properly stocked pasture about 4 weeks' rest.
•    Maintain a clean water supply and check it routinely. Water is extremely important in hot weather.
•    Control flies. Consider changing insecticides and/or methods of control this year, because insecticide resistant flies may have developed if you have used the same chemical year after year. Consider pour-on and sprays that allow you to put cattle in the corral or through the chute with little stress on them. It will make subsequent trips through the "chute" less stressful. 

•    Prevent/Control pinkeye
-    consider vaccinating,
-    control flies,
-    clip tall, mature grass,
-    treat problems quickly.
•    Clip grazed-over pastures for weed control and so that seed heads do not irritate eyes. Pastures should be kept in a vegetative state for the best quality.

Play the Short, Medium, and Long Game Strategies to Maximize Returns 
Kevin Laurent, Extension Specialist, Department of Animal and Food Sciences, University of Kentucky 

The current state of the cattle market is providing unique opportunities for producers to capitalize in a variety of ways by employing a variety of short-, medium-, and long-term strategies to maximize returns. What does "Play the Short Game" mean? Producers play the short game by maximizing pounds prior to marketing whether you market off the cow or after weaning, extra weight is extra dollars. So, how do we get extra weight? Implant, deworm, and fly control for nursing calves: Research has shown that implanting nursing calves can result in an additional 10-30 lbs. at weaning, deworming an added 10-40 lbs. and fly control an additional 10-15 lbs. We cannot logically expect all three practices to be completely additive in response, but what if we employed all three strategies and gained a conservative estimate of an additional 30 lbs. In today's market that extra 30 lbs. could be worth and additional $80-100/head depending on the weight class of the calf. All three of these strategies can be done for under $7.50/head. Not a bad return on the time and labor to work the calves in the midsummer. 

What does "Play the Medium Game" mean? Producers play the medium game by employing 
strategies this breeding season to have a tighter calving distribution and older, heavier, and more uniform calves for the 2025 marketing season. 
Easily the best method to control the calving season and play the medium game is to use CIDR inserts on late calving cows. CIDRs are T-shaped plastic devices that are coated in the hormone progesterone. CIDRs are inserted in the vagina for 7 days. Removal of the insert results in a rapid fall of plasma progesterone levels, which results in the occurrence of estrus. CIDRs can be used to advance postpartum estrus in cows nursing calves. An effective strategy is to use CID Rs in late calving cows that are at least 14 days post calving. During the UK IRM Farm program, CIDRs were inserted in 276 
mature cows that were 14-21 days after calving on 19 different farms. Approximately 80% of these late calving cows calved 36 days earlier in the subsequent calving season. At 2 lbs. per day this could be an additional 60 lbs. of weaning weight or an additional $150-180 per calf for an investment of $15-20. The added value of more uniform marketing groups and less singles are also a benefit of tighter calving. Dr. Les Anderson has an excellent video on proper CIDR insertion that can be found at the following link: HOW TO PLACE A CIDR DEVICE IN A COW - YouTube 

What does "Play the Long Game" mean? Producers play the long game by investing 2023 and 2024 profits into infrastructure improvements. 
Easily the low hanging fruit in the long game is Improving grazing management through stock water development. Improving forage and grazing management are long game type strategies that take several years to fully develop. One of the first steps to implementing controlled grazing strategies is providing water access for grazing cattle. Missouri research has shown that providing water within 800 feet of the grazing animal will result in more even grazing and more uniform nutrient distribution. Water development allows the farm to be properly divided for rotational grazing strategies during the growing season and strip grazing strategies during the winter months. 
Water development can be a significant investment but the long-term benefits to the grazing enterprise can position operations to extend the grazing season, better withstand droughts and survive the downturns in the markets. Several cost share type programs are available to producers to aid in stock water development. Producers should check with their local NRCS office for assistance with proper system designs and available programs. Another resource for forage and grazing management information is the UK Forage website Home I Forage Extension Program (uky.edu). As always contact your local County Extension ANR Agent for more resources and educational programs. 
So, what kind of game do you like to play? Are you simply concerned with "the-now" or do you like to build a program that will succeed both now and into the future? 

May 1 Hay Stocks Provide Early Perspective on Hay Supply for 2024 
Dr. Kenny Burdine, University of Kentucky 

USDA's National Agricultural Statistics Service (USDA-NASS) released their May 1 hay stock estimates as part of the May Crop Production report on Friday. At the national level, hay stocks were estimated to be up by more than 46% from 2023. To be fair, hay stocks on May 1, 2023, were as low as they had been since 2013. But a year-over-year increase of this magnitude is noteworthy and confirms that hay supply has continued to increase after a very challenging year in 2022. 
USDA-NASS estimates hay stocks twice per year - May 1 and December 1. The December estimate can be loosely thought of as hay supply going into the winter. Since most hay is fed during the winter months, this supply is drawn down until grazing begins the following spring. The May estimate can be loosely thought of as hay supply at the start of the grazing season. While this is an oversimplification of the hay production and feeding system, it does provide a framework from which to consider hay stock levels. 
The widespread drought of 2022 left hay supplies tight across most all of the US. Producers responded by harvesting more hay acres in 2023, resulting in a 6.3% increase in all hay production. Production of non-Alfalfa hay types, that tend to be fed to beef cows, was actually up by about 9%. This increase in hay production occurred as beef cow numbers were decreasing, which impacted total hay needs. Without question, the supply picture has improved over the Last year and a half, and the current drought monitor is encouraging with respect to production potential this spring. 
While hay supplies have grown at the national level, it is always interesting to look at the state-by-state numbers. As a general rule, hay stocks were significantly higher year-over-year in the Southern Plains. Oklahoma saw more than a 4-fold increase while Texas hay stocks were significantly higher as well. States like Kentucky, Mississippi, Missouri and Tennessee saw May 1 hay stocks relatively flat from the low levels of last year. The area of the county that seemed to show the most significant decrease was the Upper Midwest and I included Minnesota and Wisconsin for that reason. 
I think it is important to look at hay stocks regionally because hay markets tend to be very localized. Since hay is an expensive feed stuff to transport, wide price differences can be seen across regions. While the table below looks at hay stocks at the state level, differences can be seen within states too. In some years, hay prices can be significantly different only a few counties away. While hay feeding may seem like it's a long way off, it is never too early to assess hay inventory and start thinking about hay needs for the upcoming year. 
 

Economic & Policy Update

E-Newsletter Volume 4, Issue 5

Editors: Will Snell & Nicole Atherton

Farm Bill Update - May 2024 
Author(s): Will Snell 
Published: May 24, 2024 
Following the expiration and eventual extension of the 2018 farm bill last fall. interested parties have been attempting to get a farm bill moving in this session of the U.S. Congress prior to the existing farm bill expiring on September 30, 2024. Agricultural interests are hoping to strengthen the current farm bill given a challenged ag economy consisting of slumping commodity prices, elevated input costs, tightening credit conditions, and falling exports. 
While lots of discussion occurred prior to this month among lawmakers, lobbyists, and other 
interested parties, congressional action has been limited so far in 2024 until a flourish of activity within the ag committees this past month in hopes that will jump-sta1·t passage of a new farm bill in 2024 amidst a crowded legislative agenda, limited floor time remaining in this session, and during a presidential election year. 
On May 1st, House Ag Committee Chairman Glenn "GT" Thompson (R-PA) and Senate Ag 
Committee Chairwoman Debbie Stabenow (D-MI) both released a framework of their individual farm bill proposals. [i] Both leaders proposed maintaining the existing structure of ti e current farm bill where crop insurance along with the Price Loss Coverage (PLC) program and the Agricultural Risk Coverage (ARC) program remain the primary safety net programs for agriculture. PLC makes payments when market year average prices for program crops fall below statutory "effective 
"reference prices. ARC makes payments when revenue falls below county benchmark levels. Both programs make payments on 85% of historical base acres to prevent farm programs from influencing current production decisions. For more details on the mechanics of these programs click here. 
Chairman Thompson provided specific details of his farm bill this past week with plans for the bill to be debated within the House Ag Committee on May 231·cl. A few selected items of inte1·est for agricultural producers within this nearly 1000-page bill are the following: 

• Increases in the statutory reference (safety net) prices across the board for program crops (primarily corn, soybeans, and Wheat for Kentucky) to reflect hanging market conditions and production costs. The reference price for corn would increase from $3.70 to $4.10 a bushel (+10.8%), soybeans would go from $8.40 to $10.00 a bushel ( +19.0%) and wheat would rise from $5.50 to $6.35 a bushel (+15.5%).
• Marketing loan rates for program crops would also increase modestly. Increases the ARC crop revenue guarantee to 90% of the benchmark revenue compared to its current level of 86%. Increases the maximum payment rate for ARC to 12.5% of benchmark revenue versus 10% under the existing farm bill.
• Provides a one-time opportunity for producers to receive new base acres on prog1·am crops that are currently not eligible for ARC/PLC payments. These new payment acres would be based on production history during the 2019 to 2023 crop years.
• Crop insurance premium subsidies for the Supplemental Coverage Option would increase from 65% to 80% and the top coverage level would be boos-red from 86% to 90%.
• Reallocates conservation funding within the Inflation Reduction Act (IRA) which is designed to support climate change practices in agriculture directly to the conservation title of the farm bill, without mandating how these funds can be used to support agriculture.
• Maintains the Conservation Reserve Program (CRP) cap at 27 million acres.
• Increases the cap on Tier I coverage for the Dairy Margin Coverage (OMC) program to 6 million pounds, compared to the existing cap of 5 million pounds.
• In addition, the House farm bill proposal provides an opportunity to update production history for DMC and calls for a 25% discount on DMC premiums for dairy operations that enroll in coverage for the life of the 2024 Farm Bill. The proposed House bill also addresses the formula calculation of the price of Class I (fluid) milk.
• Increases the payment rate of the Livestock Indemnity Program (LIP) to 100% of the fair market value of the animal if the loss is caused by an attack by a federally protected species.
• Forbids states or local governments to impose regulations on livestock production as a condition for the sale or consumption of livestock products outside its borders.
• Increases limits for USDA's Farm Service Agency loans and provides additional opportunities and programs for beginning farmers.
• Increases funding for trade promotion and specialty crop programs.
• Addresses some of the regulations on industrial hemp production related to testing and background checks. 

While specific details of the Senate farm bill proposed by Chairwoman Stabenow have not been released, there are some similarities in the two bills, but a lot of differences. According to the committee's proposed Senate farm bill summary, the Senate bill provides an increase in the statutory reference prices for three (non-Kentucky) crops - cotton, rice and peanuts. Other program crops may experience an adjustment in response to the Senate bill modifying the formula used to determine the "effective" reference price to reflect recent higher commodity prices. The ARC crop revenue guarantee would be increased from 86 to 88% (versus 90% i11 the proposed House bill), while the cap on the maximum payment rate like the House bill will be boosted from 10 to 12.5% of the ARC benchmark revenue. The Senate summary indicates base acre adjustments will be offered only to "underserved" producers. Similar to the House bill, the Senate bill increases the quantity of milk eligible for Tier I coverage to 6 million pounds and allows producers to update their production history. FSA maximum borrowing levels are also boosted. Unlike the House bill, the Senate farm bill proposal does reduce the adjusted gross income cap on farm program payments from its current level of $900,000 to a proposed $700,000 level. Trade promotion program funding within the proposed Senate farm bill remains at current levels, with noted opportunities outside the farm bill to increase support. The Senate farm bill proposal gradually expands the CRP cap to 29 million acres (vs remaining at 26 million acres in the House bill). Like the House bill, the Senate proposal transfers the conservation dollars from the IRA into the 2024 farm bill, but the Senate proposal does not provide opportunities to shift climate-smart agricultural program funding from the IRA into other farm bill programs. California's Prop 12 which prohibits the sale of livestock products from animals raised under certain conditions is not addressed by the proposed Senate farm bill 
The political reality is that neither one of these bills will be enacted in its current form. With lots of amendments offered and compromises required on both sides necessary to even have a shot at passage, given thin party margins in both chambers and the political divide within parties. In addition to philosophical political differences, the challenge for both sides will be finding additional dollars to support the proposed expansion of various agricultural and nutrition programs within the farm bill. 
Without additional new funding sources, lawmakers seeking to increase funding of certain components of the farm bill will require taking dollars from other parts of the farm bill. Pulling dollars from the Supplemental Nutrition Assistance Program (SNAP - currently over 80% of the current farm bill budget), is off-limits for a large block of lawmakers who likely will be critical to its passage. Others are looking at acquiring funds from the climate change/carbon-smart agriculture conservation programs funded in the Inflation Reduction Act of 2022 to provide for a stronger farm safety net in this farm bill and to boost available baseline spending in future farm bills. Again, opposition exists to redirect these funds and the potential use of these funds. Others are looking at tapping into funds held within the Commodity Credit Corporation (CCC), USOA's line of credit at the Treasury, for additional dollars to help fund expanded farm bill initiatives which is meeting resistance from some lawmakers who question the use of these dollars beyond traditional uses to designed to stabilize, support, and protect farm income and prices. Alternatively, Chairman Thompson is proposing suspending USDA's funding authority within the CCC to clear up funds for farm bill expansion which remains questionable if the committee has authority to account for these savings, the amount of potential savings, and whether this action is the correct strategy amidst other potential future uses of these funds. 
Consequently, the debate within the House Ag Committee on May 23rd, will be intense with much uncertainty if it will allow an eventual path to debate on the contentious House floor. Actions and deliberations within the House Ag Committee will likely influence the farm bill debate and strategy that will evolve later from the Senate Ag Committee. Additional updates in our newsletter will be forthcoming as Congress attempts to pass a farm bill in 2024. In reality, the effective deadline from a commodity perspective is December 31, 2024, which if not passed prior to the fall elections would enable the farm bill to potentially receive floor debate during the lame cluck session following the November elections. Given the political challenges, another farm bill extension is likely the best bet at the present time. Stay tuned!  

[i] The House Farm Bill proposal offered on May 1st by House Agriculture Committee Chairman Glen "GT" Thompson (R-PA) can be found by clicking here. The Senate Farm Bill proposal offered by Chairwomen Stabenow (D-MI) on May 1st can be found by clicking here. 

Snell, W. "Farm Bill Update - May 2024." Economic and Policy Update (24):5, Department of Agricultural Economics, University of Kentucky, May 24, 2024. 
Author(s) Contact Information: 
Will Snell I Extension Professor I wsnell@uky.edu

HOUSE COMMITTEE ON AGRICULTURE 

Title 1: Commodities

Title I: Commodities. Aids farmers in managing risk and provides assistance following precipitous declines in commodity prices. Through the reauthorization and enhancement of commodity, marketing loan, sugar, dairy, and disaster programs, producers are provided some certainty in times of unpredictability. 
Increases support for the Price Loss Coverage (PLC) and Agriculture Risk Coverage (ARC) programs to account for persistent inflation and rising costs of production. 

• Includes a 70% to 20% increase to the statutory reference price for all covered commodities based on an analysis of the average annual increase in per-unit cost of production since such reference prices were established in the 2074 Farm Bill. 
• By increasing the statutory reference price, the maximum effective reference price is also increased. 
• Increases the ARC guarantee to 90% of the benchmark revenue for both ARC-IC and ARC-CO. 
• Increases the maximum payment rate for ARC-IC and ARC-CO to 12.5% of benchmark revenue.
• Maintains an annual election between ARC and PLC.
• Streamlines the administration of payment limitations for certain entities like LLCs and S-Corps and provides for an inflation-adjusted limitation if an operation derives 75% or more of its income from farming, ranching, or forestry that restores the value of the payment limitation to what Congress overwhelmingly approved in the 2078 Farm Bill. 

Provides authority to expand base acres to include producers who currently cannot participate in ARC/PLC. 

• Maintains all current base acres.
• Provides a one-time opportunity to establish base acres for producers who currently do not have base or whose average planted and prevent plant acres exceed the current base acres on the farm. 
• Uses the reference period of crop years 2079 through 2023 to determine the number of eligible acres on the farm. 
• Contains provisions to allow eligible acres to include a portion of acres planted to non-covered commodities.
• Includes provisions to establish payment yields on the additional base acres.
• Base update is available to any producer whose planted acres exceed existing base, regardless of demographics or socially disadvantaged status. 

Modernizes marketing loans and sugar policy.

• Includes modest increases in loan rates for most loan commodities. 
• Provides for a more substantial increase in loan rates for commodities that did not receive an increase in the 2078 Farm Bill. 
• Enhances flexibility for loan redemption of upland cotton and modernizes loan provisions for extra-long staple cotton. 
• To account for persistent inflation and support the domestic textile industry, increases the payment rate from 3 cents to Scents under Economic Adjustment Assistance for Textile Mills. 
• Increases the loan rate for raw cane sugar and the factor for refined beet sugar. 
• Modernizes the administration of the tariff-rate quota for raw cane sugar and marketing allotments for sugar beet processors.
• Authorizes the Secretary to study and further define "refined" sugar.

Bolsters dairy programs to continue providing vital assistance

• Increases the cap on Tier I coverage for the Dairy Margin Coverage (DMC) program to 6 million pounds, as seen in H.R. 4725. 
• Provides an opportunity to Update production history for DMC.
• Provides a 25% discount on DMC premiums for operations that enroll in coverage for the life of the 2024 Farm Bill. 
• Mandates biennial cost surveys to ensure make allowances accurately reflect the cost of manufacturing dairy products as seen in H.R. 7756. 
• Restores the "higher-of' formula for the calculation of the price of Class I (fluid) milk until such time that updates to a Federal Milk Marketing Order are ratified, a modification of the provisions of H.R. 7756. 
• Ensures the Dairy Forward Pricing Program does not expire. 

Enhances standing disaster programs and expands eligibility for assistance.

• Enhances the Livestock Indemnity Program (LIP) by:
  • Increasing the payment rate to 700% of the fair market value of the animal if the loss is caused by an attack by a federally protected species, similar to provisions within H.R. 2695. 
  • Allowing for a supplemental indemnity payment for the loss of unborn livestock if the loss of the gestating animal qualifies for assistance, as seen in H.R. 8229 
  • Streamlining regulations.
• Improves the Tree Assistance (TAP) program by adopting the provisions of H.R. 4 739 such as: 
  • Reducing the mortality threshold.
  • Increasing the reimbursement rate for rehabilitation of damaged trees, bushes, and vines.
  • Providing more flexibility for producers to replant alternative varieties, stand densities, or locations.
• Creates standing authority for any future ad hoc disaster assistance to be delivered via block grants to States, inspired by H.R 662. 
• Includes H.R 4127 to ensure farming operations are eligible for assistance under LIP, ELAP, TAP, Livestock Forage Program (LFP), and the Noninsured Crop Disaster Assistance Program (NAP) if the operation derives 75% or more of its income from farming, ranching, or forestry. 

Upcoming Events

Lunch n' Learn: Cooking with Herbs 
Date & Time: Tuesday, July 9th, 2024 | 12:00 Noon - 1:00 PM CST

Location: Russell County Public Library 
535 N. Main Street, Jamestown KY, 42629 

CAIP Receipts Accepted on the Following Dates: 

July 11

July 18

July 23

July 30 

July 31 - Final Deadline! No extensions will be given!

Wanda Miick, CAIP Coordinator, will be at the office from 1:00 - 4:00 p.m. Please call the Extension Office and schedule an appointment to turn in receipts, proof of payment (NO cash transactions accepted) and other required documents. If no appointments are scheduled, Wanda will not be at the office.

2024 SOUTH CENTRAL KENTUCKY HAY CONTEST

The South-Central KY Area Hay Contest is offered to all individuals raising hay in Adair, Casey, Clinton, Cumberland, Green, Marion, McCreary, Pulaski, Rockcastle, Russell, Taylor, Washington, and Wayne counties. 
This program aims to provide producers with free hay analysis results to aid in educating producers on raising higher quality forages and meeting livestock needs. Producers may submit multiple samples in each contest area to their county agriculture agent. This is a free service, regardless of the number of samples submitted. Your county agent or assistant to the agent will take these samples for you. Please contact your local extension office to schedule a sampling. 

Samples must be submitted no later than September 30th, 2024. 

Basic analysis results will be sent to producers by November 1st, 2024. Results will include crude protein, OM, TON, RFV, AOF, and NOF. Producers may be provided with livestock ration recommendations in addition to their results upon request. After completion of the program, an area­wide event will be held to provide an educational overview of the program and present awards to contest winners. There will be one winner selected for the entire area for each hay class. Please reach out to your county agriculture agent for further information.