Beech Tree News Network

By John W. McCauley, USDA Farm Service Agency Kentucky State Executive Director

The 2011 Mammoth Cave Area Gain Day is November 29th at 9:00 a.m. at the Warren County Extension Office. The program is for farmers that produce corn and soybeans in our area. There will be presentations from UK Extension Specialists on:  “Management options for increased soybean yields”, “Seed Treatments”, “Corn herbicide management”, “Grain Marketing Update”,” A farm bill update”, and “research on narrow row corn”. 

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Lexington, KY – USDA Kentucky Farm Service Agency (FSA) Executive Director, John W. McCauley announced that farmers and ranchers in Kentucky now have a more efficient, timely option for receiving important FSA program eligibility requirements, deadlines and related information.

McConnell, Comer, Rand and Farmer among featured guest speakers

Louisville, KY (November 16, 2011) – More than 1,700 Kentucky Farm Bureau (KFB) members from across the state will gather for the organization’s 92nd annual meeting November 30 through December 3 at the Galt House Hotel in Louisville, Kentucky. Delegates from all of the state’s 120 counties assemble for the four-day event to participate in committee meetings, business sessions, award presentations, officer elections and to adopt 2012 priority issues and policy revisions.

Butler County Stockman’s Association to meet November 15th at 6:00 p.m.
    
The Butler County Stockman’s Association will meet November 15th at 6:00 p.m. at the Butler County Extension Office.  The meeting will focus on the 2012 Butler County Stockman’s Association cattle sale.  The attendees will learn about the health and management requirements to participate in a value added livestock sale.  Farmers who are interested in either buying or selling production animals in the sale next spring are encouraged to attend.

Lexington, KY, November 3, 2011 –USDA Farm Service Agency (FSA) State Executive Director John W. McCauley reminds eligible ranchers and livestock producers who had livestock losses or grazing
losses during the 2011 crop year that the deadline for applying for benefits under the Livestock Forage Disaster Program (LFP) and the Emergency Assistance for Livestock, Honeybees and Farm-Raised Fish Program (ELAP) is Jan. 30, 2012.

The Butler County Conservation District would like to announce that the CAIP Program funding will be available to local farmers and landowners within Butler County.  The district will take applications from November 14th until November 30th.  Cost Share will be available for such things as; pasture renovation, cattle handling equipment, commodity storage and handling, on farm water enhancement, and many other practices.  The cost share amount for this program is set at 50% for a maximum of $2000 per producer.  If there are any questions please call the Butler County Conservation District at

Lexington, KY, October 25, 2011- John W. McCauley, FSA State Executive Director, announced that ballots for the 2011 FSA county committee elections will be mailed to eligible voters November 4, 2011. The deadline for eligible voters to return ballots to their local FSA offices is December 5, 2011. "The FSA county committee allows producers to make important decisions concerning the local administration of federal farm programs," said McCauley.

 Lexington, KY- John W. McCauley, FSA State Executive Director, reminds Kentucky producers that the enrollment date for DCP and ACRE Programs has changed and will begin on January 23, 2012. Generally, in the past enrollment began October 1 for DCP and ACRE contracts. As required in the 2008 Farm Bill, there are no 2012 advance direct payments for DCP and ACRE therefore there is not an incentive for producers to enroll early.

The 2012 ACRE elections may be made any time after January 23, 2012 and before June 1, 2012.

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The latest Marketbasket Survey, conducted by the Kentucky Farm Bureau Federation in September 2011, indicates that average retail food prices in supermarkets across the state have stabilized during this last quarter. After reaching a record high for total price in June, the four-decade-old survey’s third quarter review indicates that the total average price has now declined by 0.3 percent.