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Harvey County

Spring Bull Sales

Posted on by Harvey County K-State Research and Extension

It is that time of year again. It is time to replenish your breeding bulls. Selecting good bulls can really pay dividends with the prices of the cattle market today. Although it doesn’t mean the prices with stay this high by the time you sell next year’s calves the way the markets are trending I would say it’s a good chance they will stay high for a while. Depending on if you are looking for a calving ease, high performance or a female making bulls bidding a few extra dollars at the sale will still be profitable for you in the future.

When selecting your bulls be sure to use EPDs (Estimated Progeny Difference) as a selection tool. EPDs are the most reliable predictors on an animal’s true genetic merit. EPDs will predict the differences in progeny performance, and are calculated from comparisons within contemporary groups (A group of calves that were born in the same year, calving season, herd, and are of the same sex and were fed and managed alike).

But remember the young bulls are not proven yet so take that into consideration. The more you know about the bull’s dam and sires EPDs the better idea you will have on what kind of calves the bull that you are interested in will sire for you.

Pruning Fruit Trees

Posted on by Harvey County K-State Research and Extension

Winter Garden chores are ongoing!  The dormant season, late fall-winter is the best time to prune fruit trees as long as the wood isn’t frozen.  Following are some general recommendations on pruning mature fruit trees followed by more specific instructions on each species.

General Recommendations

– Take out broken, damaged or diseased branches

– If two branches form a narrow angle, prune one out. Narrow angles are weak angles and tend to break during wind or ice storms.

– Take out all suckers. Suckers are branches that grow straight up. They may originate from the trunk or from major branches.

– If two branches cross and rub against one another, one should be taken out.

– Cut back or remove branches that are so low they interfere with harvest or pruning. If cutting back a branch, always cut back to another branch or a bud. Do not leave a stub.

– Cut back branches to reduce the total size of the tree, if necessary.

– Thin branches on the interior of the tree.

Follow the steps above in order but stop if you reach 30% of the tree. Continue reading “Pruning Fruit Trees” →

Training Required for Application of Dicamba Herbicides

Posted on by Harvey County K-State Research and Extension

As we embark on the 2018 growing season, producers should be aware that dicamba herbicides Engenia, FeXapan, and XtendiMax have been reclassified as Restricted Use Pesticides (RUPs). In order to purchase and apply these herbicides, you must be certified as a private or 1A (Agriculture Plant) commercial pesticide applicator.  In addition, anyone planning to apply these herbicides this coming season will be required to attend dicamba or auxin specific applicator training.  In Kansas, these trainings will be sponsored by K-State Research and Extension, as well as industry representatives from BASF, Dow/Dupont, and Monsanto. It will be the responsibility of the applicators to obtain this training before the application of these herbicides.

The purpose of these trainings is to cover the label changes and application requirements in detail and provide information on what you, as an applicator, need to do to meet these requirements. The labels for these herbicides include mandatory record keeping requirements, modified wind speed restrictions (3 to 1 miles per hour only), limited times of day that applications can be made (between sunrise and sunset), a revised list of sensitive crops and sensitive sites, buffer zone requirements, and revised sprayer cleaning procedures and documentation.

The dates and locations for K-State Research and Extension sponsored trainings will be posted on the KSU-IPM website at the following address:

https://www.ksre.k-state.edu/pesticides-ipm/private-applicator.html

https://www.ksre.k-state.edu/pesticides-ipm/images/dicamba%20training%20master%20list.pdf

Extensive Plant Research

Posted on by Harvey County K-State Research and Extension

Kansas State University has a horticulture research center just south of Wichita named the John C. Pair Horticultural Center.  Extensive plant research is done at the center.  In 2007 they established a National Elm Trial with 18 cultivars. All of these are Dutch Elm Disease (DED) Resistant with 4 being true American elms.  The remainder are either hybrids or other elm species. Here are results of the trial with notes:

The four true American elms are ‘Valley Forge’, ‘Princeton’,

‘New Harmony’ and ‘Lewis and Clark’ (Prairie Expedition). All

have shown excellent tolerance to DED. Characteristics listed

below are primarily from our study at the John C. Pair Horticultural Center

but storm breakage is from the University of Minnesota. Continue reading “Extensive Plant Research” →

Changes to the 2018 Harvey County Fair

Posted on by Harvey County K-State Research and Extension

The Harvey County Fair a wonderful event for all ages! We have 4-H shows, carnival, Saddle Club Rodeo, and much more! This year though we have a few changes.

First of all the dates have been moved. Instead of starting the judging on Friday and going through Tuesday, we are starting judging on Thursday, and all exhibits in the buildings will be judged on Friday. This is a day earlier than usual, but the thinking behind the change is to have all judging done and exhibits set up for the traffic on Saturday. Saturday will remain the same with the Pedal Pull, Market in the Park, Ag Fest, and Turtle Races. Saturday is our busiest day and we want to show off all the wonderful exhibits that Harvey County Residents have been working on all year. This year’s Fair dates are Aug. 2-6th.

The next change is to forget your Open Class Number! Yes, I said it, forget it! We are going to an online system and before you get worried about how to set that up and enter your exhibits, don’t worry we are here to help! We will be here to help people enter their exhibits and are looking at other ways to help you get entered before the fair. We are just getting the online system started, so more information will come later.

The last change is the age ranges. Instead of having 5 age ranges in Open Class, we have moved to 3. They are Youth (0-11), Teen (12-18), and Adult (19+). The last few years, judges and volunteers have been getting confused on how to judge by age and then by class. This will allow it to be easier and still let the little ones compete against each other, rather than against adults.

The Harvey County Fair is still a long way away, but it is important to let everyone know of the changes. That way you can start preparing for them. If you have any questions, please call the office at 316-284-6930.

What Beef Producers Should Be Thinking About This Month

Posted on by Harvey County K-State Research and Extension

Historically, cull cow prices are beginning to rise. Finish culling cows in order of priority:

  1. Those that fall within the “Four-O Rule” (Open, Old, Onry, Oddball).
  2. Those with physical/structure problems (feet and legs, eyes, teeth, etc.).
  3. Poor producers.
  • Continue feeding or grazing programs started in early winter. Fully utilize grain sorghum and cornstalk fields, severe winter weather may begin to limit crop residue utilization, be prepared to move to other grazing and feeding systems.
  •  Supplement to achieve ideal body condition scores (BCS) at calving.
  •  Control lice, external parasites will increase feed costs.
  •  Provide an adequate water supply. Depending on body size and stage of production, cattle need 5-11 gallons of water per head per day, even in the coldest weather.
  • Sort cows into management groups. Body condition score and age can be used as sorting criteria. If you must mix age groups, put thin and young cows together, and feed separately from the mature, properly conditions cows.
  •  Use information from forage testing to divide forage supplies into quality lots. Higher-quality feedstuffs should be utilized for replacement females, younger cows, and thin cows that may lack condition and that may be more nutritionally stressed.
  • Consult your veterinarian regarding pre- and postpartum vaccination schedules.
  •  Continue mineral supplementation. Vitamin A should be supplemented if cows are not grazing green forage.
  •  Plan to attend local, state and regional educational and industry meetings.
  •  Develop replacement heifers properly. Weigh them now to calculate necessary average daily gain (ADG) to achieve target breeding weights. Target the heifers to weigh about 60 to 65% of their mature weight by the start of the breeding season. Thin, light weight heifers may need extra feed for 60 to 80 days to “flush” before breeding.
  •  Bull calves to be fed out and sold in the spring as yearlings should be well onto feed. Ultrasound measurements should be taken around one year of age and provided to the association.
  •  Provide some protection, such as a windbreak, during severe winter weather to reduce energy requirements. The lower critical temperature (LCT) is the temperature at which a cow requires additional energy to simply maintain her current body weight and condition. The LCT for cattle varies with hair coat and body condition (Dry, heavy winter coat = 18 degrees, wet coat = 59 degrees). Increase the amount of dietary energy provided 1% for each degree (including wind chill) below the LCT.