Western Kentucky Summer Forage Tour To Feature Farm Revitalization
Tour participants will have the opportunity to speak with Bub and Lakayah Daugherty about their current and future farm revitalization efforts.
Photo provided.
PRINCETON, KY.
Participants who attend the University of Kentucky’s summer forage tour will see a farm revitalization in progress in Ohio County.
The event is from 3 p.m. to 7 p.m. Aug. 6 at the D and D Farm in Horse Branch.
Farm owners Bub and Lakayah Daugherty purchased the cattle operation in 2013 but quickly ran into productivity issues with unreliable sources for forages and water, particularly during the summer. Determined to do things differently from past generations, they began implementing new technologies on the farm that allowed them to improve their grazing program and have a reliable water source. They worked closely with their local office of the Natural Resource Conservation Service to return crop land to pasture, install automatic waterers and temporary fencing, and renovate pastures with orchardgrass and clover. They also attended the UK College of Agriculture, Food and Environment’s Kentucky Grazing Schools, which offered ideas on how they can move toward year-round grazing.
Tour attendees will tour the operation and see the improvements already in place and changes that currently are occurring. They also will have the opportunity to talk with the Daughertys about their future plans for the farm.
“We at the UK Grain and Forage Center of Excellence want to offer our producers as many interactive experiences as possible,” said Chris Teutsch, UK forage extension on specialist. “We encourage participants to come ready with questions and be prepared for a frank and open discussion about various approaches to restoring the productivity of neglected farms.”
Some of the tour topics include watering systems for controlled grazing, novel endophyte tall fescue and building soil fertility with poultry litter.
The tour costs $10 per person at the door. It will occur rain or shine.
D and D Farm is located at 50 Fox Hunters Road, Horse Branch, KY 42349. For more information on the tour, including directions to the farm, visit the UK forage extension website at http://forages.ca.uky.edu or contact Rehanon Pampell, UK master grazer coordinator, at rehanon.pampell@uky.edu.
In addition to UK, tour sponsors include the Kentucky and Forage Grassland Council, NRCS, Kentucky Beef Network, Corteva Agriscience, Kentucky Agricultural Development Fund and the Kentucky Master Grazer Educational Program. ∆