Beech Tree News Network

On Thursday, September 6th, the 15th Annual Butler County Extension Service and Butler County Farm Bureau Field Day was held at the Eva Hawes Expo Center. The agenda began with a welcome given by Mayor Linda Keown, since this was the first field day held in the city, followed by several demonstrations.  Booths and displays were set up by the Extension Office, Byron Seeds, Butler County Soil Conservation District, Plate It Up, FSNEP Education, WREDD, WKU Mobile Health Unit and Cargill Pork.

The first presentation was given by Ashley Osborne, of Environmental & Natural Resource Issues, regarding backyard composting.  Osborne showed examples of vermicomposting, building a worm bin, the construction of PVC and vinyl fence compost bins, and a container composting bin. She also shared items for composting.

Following this, a demonstration was given at the Park Building by Shanna Drake, KY Division of Conservation and Tracy Thornton FCS Agent at UK's Extension. This demonstration was regarding "Using Local Foods" Alternative Program. Local sweet potatoes and apples were used in this demonstration. 

The third demonstration was by Dr. Jacquie Jacob, UK Poultry Specialist, regarding small flock chickens and raising chickens. She demonstrated a new coup designed at Kentucky State University that features a 10' x 10' area enclosed by heavy duty wire and covered by a large tarp. This model is capable of housing up to 25 chickens and being moved from place to place via attached ropes.  Jacob went on to explain the hardware required to raise chickens including lighting, temperature regulation, hydration, and nest boxes.

Jacquie Jacob and Ben Porter also explained egg colorations. They stated that the color of the egg is generally determined by the color of the chicken's ear lobes, though there is no difference in nutritional value from color to color.

The next demonstration was given by Dr. Steve Higgins, UK Director of Environmental Compliance. Higgins discussed the composting of large animals on the farm using wood chips and shavings. He explains that composting is the most economical and cost efficient method of disposing of the carcasses of fallen livestock.
According to Higgins, simply build a 12' x 12' pad 3' in height and place the carcass on this, before covering it with 3 more feet. The process yields no foul odor as a result of a bio filter created by bacteria that "Scrub the air".
Higgins also states that spreading this compost over the pasture after completion will not harm your livestock or crops because the bacteria formed within the 180+ degree compost efficiently eliminates harmful pathogens.

Next on the agenda was an update from the administrators of the Butler County Stockman's Livestock Sale. Greg Drake explains how the sale allows local people to buy livestock in a local setting. The sale is available for open, bred, and registered bulls, and the sale only takes a 6% commission upon sale.  "I think we've been very competitive with other sales in the state" Drake said.

An update was then given by Charlie Singleton, FSA, CED of Butler County and Rick Burbridge, NRCS District Conservationist of Butler County on the USDA program. Singleton stated that in 2010, the delivery program paid out $2,322,90.90 in Butler County, and can provide emergency loans to those in need of it. Burbridge discussed the various programs and urged farmers that use errodable land to get a conservation plan.

Before the meal was served, Shane Wells then recognized Steve Hampton as the outstanding equipment operator and underlined the importance of the involvement of the city in fundraising. He stated that county farmers transformed $30,000 from the county into nearly $500,000 . The meal was provided by Cargill Pork, Green River Feed Mill and Drake’s Farm Service.
Following the meal the local media was recognized with Excellence in Ag Journalism certificates. Jeremy Hack, of BTN, accepted the award on behalf of Beech Tree News. 
“We want to thank the Extension Service and Farm Bureau for this award,” said Diane Dyer, co-owner of Beech Tree News/WLBQ 1570 am.

Story and photos by Jeremy Hack, Beech Tree News/WLBQ 1570AM