The March 2016 Edition of
Nikki’s News
Marshall County’s Agriculture and Natural Resources Update
Top Story
Dicamba Stewardship Message
Posted on March 22, 2016
By Michelle Starke, Weed Management Stewardship Lead- Monsanto
Monsanto has incorporated the following dicamba stewardship message
in a variety of materials, including on or in product seed packaging and
in stewardship, educational, and sales literature for Roundup Ready 2
XtendTM soybean. This information has been distributed to growers,
retailers, seed dealers, and other stakeholders.
DO NOT APPLY DICAMBA HERBICIDE IN-CROP TO ROUNDUP
READY 2 XTEND™ SOYBEANS IN 2016 unless you use a dicamba
herbicide product that is specifically labeled for that use in the location
where you intend to make the application. While no in-crop use of
dicamba is currently approved, some dicamba products may be labeled
for weed control prior to planting a crop and subject to minimum plant
back restrictions. IT IS A VIOLATION OF FEDERAL AND STATE
LAW TO MAKE AN IN-CROP APPLICATION OF ANY DICAMBA
HERBICIDE PRODUCT ON Roundup Ready 2 Xtend™ Soybeans, OR
ANY OTHER PESTICIDE APPLICATION, UNLESS THE PRODUCT
LABELING SPECIFICALLY AUTHORIZES THE USE. Contact the
U.S. EPA and your state pesticide regulatory agency with any questions
about the approval status of dicamba herbicide products for IN-CROP
USE WITH Roundup Ready 2 Xtend™ Soybeans and follow all pesticide
product labeling.
Cooperative
Extension Service
Marshall County
1933 Mayfield Hwy.
Benton, KY 42025
(270) 527-3285
Fax: (270) 527-1555
http://marshall.ca.uky.edu
In this Issue:
Crops
p. 2
Horticulture
p.3
Gardening
p. 4, 8
Everybody News
p. 5
Grain Grower
Event Recap
p. 6
Livestock
p. 7
Young Farmer
p.9
Recipe of the
Month
p. 10
Crop News
Potential for Winter Wheat Freeze Injury
March 18th, 2016
Carrie Knott, Extension Agronomist-Princeton, University of Kentucky
Much of Kentucky’s winter wheat crop is still tillering (Feekes 4-5; Figure
1) or just beginning to joint (Feekes 6; Figures 2 and 3). The weather
forecast for this weekend is predicting that some areas of Kentucky will
dip to 32°F or less. Given that most of our wheat is at Feekes 4 or 5, with
some at Feekes 6, these temperatures are not cause for concern.
Wheat Head Freeze Damage, 2015.
A freeze event (24°F or less for more
than 2 hours) occurred at Feekes 6
(jointing).
Temperatures must be 12°F or less for 2 or more hours to injure wheat
that is at the Feekes 4 or 5 growth stages, which much of our state is
now. For the more advanced wheat that is jointing, Feekes 6, temperatures must fall to 24°F or less for 2 or more hours. Although the weather
forecasts do not project conditions that we would expect wheat injury,
examine weather data and scout your fields to determine is freeze injury
occurred.
Freeze injury can occur in small areas of fields, which are associated to
low areas of fields where cold air settles. It typically takes about 10 days of warm temperatures before injury can
be seen. Weather data can be accessed by clicking on the link of your county at
wwwagwx.ca.uky.edu or www.kymesonet.org.
Figure 1. Wheat field at Feekes 4 growth stage
Figure 3. Wheat at late Feekes 5/early Feekes 6 growth
stage. The "joint" (growing point; around the 1-3/8"
mark) is right at or slightly above the soil surface.
This 'joint' is visible after the top few leaf sheaths were
removed.
Figure 2. Wheat at Feekes 6 growth stage.
"Joints" are indicated with orange arrows.
Horticulture News
Woody Plant ID Class
Meeting Dates
(Each class will focus on different group of plants so the
location of each class will vary and will be announced
weekly, depending on the pace of the group.)
June 10th
June 17th
June 24th
July 8th
July 15th
All meetings
will be from
8:30-11:00
To register or if you have
questions, please contact
Matt Chadwick, Calloway
County Extension Agent
for Ag & Natural Resources
270.753.1452
SPACES ARE LIMITED
What can you expect?
 To learn how to properly identify approximately 100 common landscape
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
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trees and shrubs. Focus will be on basic species and selections commonly
utilized, not on specific varieties and cultivars.
Learn how to utilize a dichotomous key.
Make connections between species in the same genus and families.
Develop a beginners plant palette, to build upon for future projects.
Get plenty of summer time exercise, the majority of each class will be
spent walking, standing, hiking.
Be tested and challenged to learn along the way. (Test will be informal
and used to evaluate the educator only.)
Master Gardener Mini Conf.
This Master Gardener only event brought in MG’s from as far west as Hopkins County Ky and
as far South as Union City, Tn. It was a great day of learning and MG comradery put on by the
Calloway and Marshall County Agriculture Agents.
Kim Leonberger, UK Extension
Associate, showing participants
examples of many different
plant diseases.
Bob Gooud, Marshall County
Master Gardener, assembling
his arrangement.
Nicole Ward, UK Extension Plant Pathologist, taught
participants what to look for when assessing a plant
issue.
Murray State University’s
Jackie Reed and Kaitlin Zeimer
taught Floral Arrangement
Daniel Becker, UK fruit and
Vegetable Specialist, spoke on
edible landscape plants.
UK brought a plethora
of disease samples.
Everyone News
Don’t Eat Those Wild Mushrooms…
unless you know what you are doing!
By Nicole Ward Gauthier, Extension Plant Pathologist
Mushroom hunting is a fun and rewarding hobby that can turn a
hike through local woods into a puzzle-solving adventure. Many
people are drawn to mushroom hunting and the potential to
forage for food. Unfortunately, there is a dark side to mushroom
foraging: poisoning. Each year, wild mushrooms lead to numerous
illnesses and even a few deaths. While the threat of mushroom
poisoning is real, most mushroom-caused illnesses can be
prevented if collectors are well-informed and cautious. This fact
sheet provides introductory information regarding mushroom
safety.
Featured pub PPFS-GEN-14 Don’t Eat Those Wild
Mushrooms…is a joint effort of the UK Departments of Plant
Pathology and Forestry, and as such, has publication numbers
from each department. This publication is online at PPFSGEN-14/FORFS-16-01.
For additional publications on plant diseases and related topics,
visit the UK Plant Pathology Extension Publications webpage.
Fire Blight Alert and Risk Map Overview
By Nicole Ward Gauthier, Extension Specialist, and Kimberly Leonberger, Extension Associate
Apple trees are approaching bloom and many pear trees are in full bloom, especially in
southwestern Kentucky. Infection by the fire blight bacterium occurs during bloom, thus,
protectant antibiotics should be applied when risk is high.
Risk for infection can be assessed using the Fire Blight Disease Prediction Model. Growers
can assess local risk by selecting their county and orchard history. This model incorporates
the previous 4 days of weather data plus adds a 7-day forecast for estimating leaf wetness
and temperature (thereby estimating risk for bacterial growth and infection). There are 66
Mesonet weather stations throughout Kentucky, and weather information for the model is
based on data from the closest weather station. For a mobile (phone or tablet) friendly version
of this site, visit http://weather.uky.edu/dim.html.
Remember that apple and pear trees must be in bloom for predictions to be accurate.
According to the current assessment, risk is low due to cool dry weather. A rain event,
however, can increase that risk. Growers are encouraged to check the model regularly for the
most accurate analyses and county-specific forecasts.
Information regarding prevention and management of fire blight can be found in:
Commercial Fruit Pest Management Guide (ID-232), Backyard Apple Disease Management,
Using Cultural Practices (PPFS-FR-T-21), Fire Blight (PPFS-FR-T-12), Fire Blight of Apple
(Video)
Grain Event Recap
Marshall
County’s First
Annual Grain
Grower’s Night
Out
Above- Participants listened in as Steve Blanford from NRCS
covered topics including: no-till, cover crops, soil erosion and
soil health. He then asked participants to help with his hands
on soil health demonstrations.
Above- Soil erosion demonstration showing
how resistant a cover crop field is from surface
erosion compared to a conventional field.
Pictured on left-David Fisk, right- Ron Davis.
Right- Nikki Bell,
Marshall County
ANR Agent, and Steve
Blandford, NRCS,
demonstrate how different
tillage methods change the
soils characteristics. The
no till container on the left
absorbs and drains easily
while the conventional
till container on the right
has trouble absorbing
the rainwater, leading to
runoff, surface erosion
and potentially drought.
Left- Josh Mcgrath, UK Extension Soil
Specialist, spoke on topics including
fertility, phosphorus, ripping and
poultry litter. His research showed that
poultry litter does great things for the
soil but farmers need to figure out if it is
cost effective. Josh also introduced the
“soon to be” UK poultry litter spreading
profitability tool.
Livestock News
2016
PRINCETON
PasturetoPlate
April 14th • 5:00 p.m.
Session 1 Topics
• Receiving Health, Nutrition
& Processing
• Feeder Calf Purchasing
& Evaluation
For more
information
www.kybeefnetwork.com
Gardening News
Marshall County
Master Gardener
Program 2016
Most Thursday Evenings @ 5pm
From May 12th to September 29th
Informational Night April 14th @ 5pm
Come join other Marshall County gardeners for
this 18 week volunteer training program. Classes
including: propagation, soils, disease, annuals,
perennials, composting, vegetables, insects, and
much more.
Once the course is complete, you can then use your
knowledge to volunteer with the Extension Office
making you a Certified Master Gardener!
Classes held at the Marshall Co. Extension Office
1933 Mayfield Highway, Benton Ky, 42025
Find more information under “upcoming events” at:
http://marshall.ca.uky.edu/AgNaturalResources
Cost $50/person
*Class must have a minimum of 10 participants*
Reserve your spot by calling MCEO
@ 270-527-3285 by April 14th
Young Farmer
2016 Young Farmer Association Award Winners
Darren Toon-1st in state Dark Air- Cured Tobacco
Will Edwards- 1st in State in Bottomland Soybeans
Will Edwards- 2nd in State in Yellow Corn
Will Edwards- 2nd in State in Double Crop Soybeans
Brandon Mohler- 2nd in State in Diversified Crops
Brandon Mohler- 2016 State YFA Officer
Larry Neal- 2nd in State in Hay production
Larry Neal- 2016 YFA Degree
Cayla Thorn- 2nd in State in Beef Cow/Calf
Cayla Thorn- 2nd in State in Beef Feeder Calf
Travis Spiceland- 3rd in State in RR Upland Soybeans
Philip Jarvis- 3rd in State in Burley Tobacco
Annie Futrell- 2016 YFA Degree
Marshall County- 3rd in State in Chapter Contest
Brandon Mohler- Outstanding YFA Member Award Recipient
Congratulations to the 2016 Award Winners!
For those who don’t know, The Kentucky Young
Farmer Program is a vital part of the total program
of Agriculture Education in Kentucky. Young Farmers are those individuals who are out of high school,
who have or want to become successfully established
in farming or employed in an agricultural occupation
or business. The Kentucky Young Farmer Program
(KYFA) is a leadership development organization of
those students enrolled in Young Farmer Educational
Classes provided through the Kentucky Community
and Technical College System. KY YFA offers opportunities for members and spouses to participate
in leadership development, competitive contests, and
social and recreational activities.
For more information contact
Jeff Futrell at 270-527-8248
or [email protected]
Brandon Mohler, Marshall County’s
2016 Outstanding YFA Member
Award Recipient
Plate It Up Recipe
Buying KY
Proud is Easy.
Look for
the label at
your grocery
store,
farmer’s
market, or
roadside
stand.
For more information go to
http://marshall.ca.uky.edu/AgNaturalResources
or follow us on
Marshall County Agriculture and Natural Resources Facebook Page
Marshall County
Agriculture and Natural
Resources Agent