ID-206: Compost Bedded Pack Barn Design: Features and Management Consideration

Jeffrey Bewley, Randi Black, Flavio Damasceno, George Day, Joe Taraba | Nov. 12, 2012 (New)

The compost bedded pack barn is a housing system for lactating dairy cows. It consists of a large, open resting area, usually bedded with sawdust or dry, fine wood shavings and manure composted into place and mechanically stirred on a regular basis.

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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.

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HENV-601: Saving Water at Home

Ashley Osborne, Joe Taraba | Oct. 17, 2012 (New)

By conserving water, we decrease our demand for energy-intensive systems that obtain, treat, and distribute water. Simply put, by conserving water we save energy.

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ID-204: Introductory Safety Training for Tobacco Workers

Bob Pearce, Mark Purschwitz, John Wilhoit | Jul. 25, 2012 (New)

This safety bulletin is intended to offer introductory safety training to tobacco workers in conjunction with a farm walk-around. It was written as if you and your workers are standing in or around the object currently being discussed, e.g., a tractor, with you or a designated assistant pointing out the various safety issues listed in the bulletin. It is not meant to be used as a stand-alone bulletin, especially just in a room, unless you have already gone through the walk-around and are reviewing points or having a discussion. It must be used out by the barn, equipment, or other subject being discussed.

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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.

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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.

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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.

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ID-189: Vegetative Filter Strips for Livestock Facilities

Steve Higgins, Ray Smith, Sarah Wightman | Feb. 23, 2012 (New)

An enhanced vegetative strip is a best management practice that can be installed to protect surface waters from pollution produced by animal production facilities. Most people think of a vegetative strip as a grassed area or waterway, but when intentionally installed and properly managed, an EVS can be much more effective than a simple grassed filter strip. If properly managed, enhanced vegetative strips can be used to trap, treat, and absorb pollutants, which can be removed from the designated area by harvesting or grazing.

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ID-198: Benefits and Costs Associated with the Wheat Storage Hedge

Doug Johnson, Sam McNeill, Cory Walters | Jan. 24, 2012 (New)

Each year producers must decide whether to store or sell their crop at harvest. Market prices are important in guiding producers on whether to store priced grain for future delivery (referred to as a storage hedge), store unpriced grain, or sell. Generally, producers know more about deciding to sell or store unpriced grain than using the storage hedge. This publication explains how a storage hedge works, when to use it, and risks and costs involved. (See glossary for definition of terms.)

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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.