Numbered Publications: AEN
AEN-117: Modifying a Bale Unroller for Mulching between Plastic-covered Beds
John Wilhoit | Apr. 25, 2013 (New)
Round bales of hay or straw can be used to mulch between rows of plastic film mulch used in vegetable production. This practice may be particularly useful for organic production where herbicide use is prohibited. To make the job of unrolling round bales between rows of plastic easier, a commercially available three-point hitch mounted bale unroller was modified by extending the toolbar and adding a second mast so that the bale is offset, allowing the tractor to straddle a row of plastic while unrolling the bale between the rows.
AEN-116: Algae-Based CO2 Mitigation for Coal-Fired Power Plants
Czarena Crofcheck, Tabitha Graham, Michael Montross | Jan. 22, 2013 (New)
As the world's population swells and the needs of developing countries increase, the world's overall energy usage also continues to rise. Recent international legislation emphasizes the effects of climate change and the crucial need to find a way to decrease the greenhouse gas (GHG) emissions being released into the environment. Consequently, power plants have an increased urgency to find a viable way to decrease their GHG emissions. This issue has prominent implications for Kentucky due to our economy's dependence upon coal production.
AEN-114: Using Weep Berms to Improve Water Quality
Carmen Agouridis, Ross Guffey, Richard Warner | Nov. 9, 2012 (New)
Non-point source pollution (NPS) occurs when rainfall and snowmelt flows over the ground, picking up pollutants such as pathogens, sediments, and nutrients on its way to streams, rivers, lakes, and other bodies of water. More than 50 percent of the nation's rivers and streams and nearly 70 percent of the nation's lakes are impacted by NPS. Pathogens, sediments, and nutrients are the biggest contributors to impairment of rivers and streams while mercury, nutrients, and PCBs (polychlorinated biphenyls) are the biggest contributors to the impairment of lakes. One method of managing NPS pollution is through the use of structural best management practices (BMPs). Structural BMPs are designed to decrease the volume of runoff that enters water bodies by increasing infiltration rates. Examples of structural BMPs include rain gardens, stormwater wetlands, and riparian buffers. A newer structural BMP is a weep berm.
AEN-113: Nutrient Management Concepts for Livestock Producers
Steve Higgins, Sarah Wightman | Mar. 27, 2012 (New)
Nutrients are constantly cycling through farms. Nutrients come onto a farm in the form of feed, commercial fertilizers, manure, or compost, and they leave the farm with harvested crops, sold livestock, and off-site disposal of manure and other waste. Sometimes nutrients are even lost to the air, soil, or water. Nutrient management allows farmers to use nutrients (specifically nitrogen, phosphorus, and potassium) wisely for optimal economic benefit with minimal impact on the environment.
AEN-112: A New Concept in On-Farm Biofuel Production
Will Adams, Michael Montross, Sue Nokes, Tim Stombaugh | Mar. 19, 2012 (New)
For many social, political, and economic reasons, biofuels are moving quickly from the fuel of tomorrow to the fuel of today. Researchers at the University of Kentucky are working on a new system of biofuel production that involves on-farm processing of biomass. This factsheet provides a general overview of this new concept that could have a great impact on agriculture and the fuel-production industry.
AEN-111: Butanol: The New Biofuel
Kathryn Gray, Michael Montross, Sue Nokes, Tim Stombaugh | Mar. 8, 2012 (New)
Butanol is a type of alcohol that has received renewed interest recently as a potential green alternative to petroleum fuels. This factsheet gives a basic history and description of butanol and its potential use as a biofuel in gasoline and diesel engines.
AEN-109: Sinkhole Management for Agricultural Producers
Steve Higgins, Sarah Wightman | Oct. 18, 2011 (New)
A karst landscape develops when the limestone or dolostone bedrock underneath the soil dissolves and/or collapses due to weathering. A karst system can be recognized by surface features such as depressions, sinkholes, sinking streams, and caves. In karst systems, surface water and groundwater are interconnected: surface water runoff flows into sinkholes and sinking streams and recharges the groundwater; likewise, springs maintain stream flow in the dry season. Kentuckians living in karst areas need to be acutely aware that any pollutants that reach either surface water or any karst feature can pollute the entire groundwater system (also called an aquifer). In addition, the cave system that accompanies a karst aquifer can allow pollutants to contaminate miles of water resources in just a few hours.
AEN-103: Stormwater BMPs for Confined Livestock Facilities
Steve Higgins, Sarah Wightman | Jul. 28, 2011 (New)
The U.S. Environmental Protection Agency states that agricultural sediment, pathogens, and nutrients account for more than 50 percent of water pollution in the United States. Animal confinement facilities, widely used for holding, feeding, and handling animals, are potential sources of that pollution. The pollution load of these facilities can be reduced by installing and maintaining best management practices. The BMPs may be implemented as part of permit compliance or may be used to ensure that a permit is not needed.
AEN-107: Paved Feeding Areas and the Kentucky Agriculture Water Quality Plan
Steve Higgins, Sarah Wightman | Jul. 28, 2011 (New)
Kentucky's abundant forage makes it well suited for grazing livestock. Livestock producers can make additional profits by adding a few pounds before marketing calves; however, adding those pounds requires keeping calves during the winter months, when pasture forages are dormant and supplemental feed is required. The areas used to winter calves need to be conducive to feeding and need to avoid negatively impacting the environment, especially water quality.
AEN-108: Permeable Pavement for Stormwater Management
Carmen Agouridis, Joe Luck, Jonathan Villines | Jul. 26, 2011 (New)
Managing runoff in urban areas offers many challenges for engineers, landscape architects, and planners. As cities grow, the amount of impermeable surfaces--those that do not allow water to infiltrate into the ground--increases. Examples of impervious surfaces are asphalt roads, concrete sidewalks, parking lots, building roofs, and areas of highly compacted soils such as in subdivisions. If not properly managed, the stormwater runoff produced by these impermeable surfaces can have negative effects on nearby surface waters.
