County News

Submitted by Tyler Miller

On August the 4th, members of the Lincoln County Cattleman’s Association gathered supplies and headed towards our friends of Eastern Ky. With the grateful sponsorships from Central Ky Federal Savings Bank and Citizens National Bank paired with the Lincoln County Cattleman’s Chapter; we were able to provide over 1,600 meals to our friends in Eastern Ky that had been affected by the devastating flood waters. One thousand hamburgers and just over 600 hotdogs were cooked and delivered throughout a tri-county area. Community members helped to deliver meals to individuals and families that could not be reached by roads. Lowes of Hazard came to help box meals and then delivered those to our friends in need. What I remember the most from spending just a day in Eastern Ky is not the damage from the flooding but how humble and kind the people of East Ky are. I didn’t meet a single individual that felt sorry for themselves. Our friends of Eastern Kentucky are strong people and my prayers are with you all. The Lincoln County Cattleman’s Chapter cooked and served a healthy and delicious meal for the Hustonville Heritage Days on August 5th and 6th. Ribeye steaks and hamburgers were cooked and prepared for the event. Aside from some rain showers, the grill kept smoke in the air and people fed. Director, Alan Hubble, won a blue ribbon for winning the hay toss. Bath County Cattlemen cooked burgers for displaced flood victims at Jenny Wiley State Park on August 6.

Submitted by Annette Walters

Two $500 scholarships were proudly awarded by the Mason County Cattlemen’s Association in 2022. Both recipients were graduating seniors of Mason County High School. Winners are pictured with Ronnie Lowe, County President. The winners were: Haley Polley, daughter of Jeremy and Stephanie Polley. Haley has been active and successful in preparing and showing her beef cattle on a local and statewide level. She plans to utilize the knowledge and experience gained while working with her beef herd as she starts on the Pre-Vet track at the University of Kentucky. Clay Rankin, son of Mr and Mrs Allen Rankin. Clay has lived and worked around cattle all his life. He has grown to appreciate the importance of agriculture to the sustainability of our American culture. He has successfully shown beef cattle throughout his teen years. He plans to begin his education at MCTC while remaining active with his agricultural interests.

Submitted by J. Bruce Blanton

These young folks received $1,500 scholarships from the Shelby County Cattlemen’s Association on 7/19/22 during our quarterly meeting and summer picnic. From left to right is Luke Jeffers (dad accepting award), April Blanton ( Junior Cattlemen Association Member) and Blake Wilson ( sister Kendra accepting). This is another outstanding service that the Shelby County Cattlemen’s Association does for the community. Big thanks to President, Irvin Kupper and the Cattlemen’s Board of Directors..

Submitted by Steve Peddicord

On July 26 the TLCA held their quarterly meeting before a packed house at the Clinton County Extension office. The program and ribeye steak meal was co-sponsored by Nathan Groce, member, Amonett’s Eagle Auction and Ag1 CO-OP of Livingston, Tennessee. Alyssa Clements of Ag1 CO-OP was the guest speaker and provided a very informative talk and slide show about nutrient needs in cattle. Her talked focused on the importance of understanding the role of using proper mineral supplementation. In addition Clements gave some recent results of hay testing in the middle Tennessee area. Updated agency reports were given by Danny Hughes of NRCS, Carissa Truman of FSA, and Colby Guffey from UK Extension Service. Steve Peddicord, Program Administrator, followed up with a report on the Clinton county CAIP program which is being administered by the Twin Lakes Cattle Assn. In related business matters the membership approved to purchase a 300 gallon pasture sprayer to make available to all landowners in the county. TLCA is accepting donations from local businesses and entities to help finance the sprayer purchase. There are also plans to hold a cooking event in the near future to raise funds and promote beef products. The next quarterly meeting of TLCA will be the fourth Tuesday in October.

Douglas V Wilson Environmental Scientist, KY Division of Conservation

On Saturday July 23rd the Jackson County Cattleman’s hosted their annual State Cost Share driving field day highlighting completed cost share projects on 6 farms in the county. The project was planned and coordinated through the Cattleman’s County Chairman, Ben Gilbert, the local Agriculture and Natural Resources Agent, Dave Coffey, and the KY Division of Conservation Environmental Scientist, Douglas V. Wilson. The day highlighted Cost Share projects that promoted farm operator safety, animal waste management, water quality, erosion prevention, and overall animal health and wellness. Wilson described the State Cost Share application process to the group and also gave a site by site analysis of each of the practices implemented on each farm visited. The tour began on the farm of Pat and Angie Tincher, who had completed construction on two fence-line feeding “cubbies”. Pat described the process for construction and how he had managed feeding his herd with the newly constructed feeding system during the past two winters. He talked about the ease and safety of feeding and how he had saved approximately 20-30 rolls of hay each winter when compared to what he had fed before installing the cubbies. He also talked about the limited mud and decreased damage to his pastures because of the fence-line feeding system. “I did not have any damage to my pastures and did not have to do any pasture renovation and seeding after the last two winters of feeding”, Tincher added. He also told the group that he was approved for the addition of two more cubbies for his other winter feeding site. Tour stop two was at the farm of David Smith. David had constructed a Bo Renfro Feeding Structure for his cattle operation. Smith told the group that he dreaded feeding his cattle in the mud during the winter (which surrounded his hay rings and gate opening) and that with his primary job hours made it difficult to always feed during the daylight hours. “With my new feeding system, I can now fill the hay rolls in the feeder and have 5 days of hay available to the cows and all I have to do is stop by and check on them without being in the mud”, Smith said. He went on to say that it made the feeding process quicker, easier, and safer for him and the cattle, and that he saved nearly 100 rolls of hay from being wasted compared to the winter feeding the old way. He also showed the participants the manure that was collected for use on his hay fields. “The manure has been more valuable this year with the high cost of fertilizer”, Smith concluded. Stop number three was at the farms of Gary Dale Tillery, Anthony Tillery, and Gary Tillery. The two brothers and father own two separate farms and both had been awarded cost share practices for feeding cattle. Gary Dale built his Bo Renfro structure to aid him in his winter feeding. “I teach school, referee basketball games, and coach high school soft ball and winter feeding was a muddy mess, in the dark on most evenings, and highly stressful. I dreaded feeding my cattle. This feeding system allows me to load the hay on the weekends, checking the cows is much faster, and I have eliminated the stress of winter feeding. I could not dream that this system was such a game changer”, Gary Dale told the participants. His brother Anthony and father Gary had also built a Bo Renfro structure for their feeding operation. Anthony echoed the same comments as Gary Dale adding, “This has been better than I dreamed. If you will build this it will make all the difference in your winter feeding”. Their father Gary said, “I was a little skeptical when Doug told me about using the geotextile fabric with number 4 rock covered in coarse lime for my base for the cattle traffic, but man it really works, it is the real deal, and it got rid of my mud. Everybody should build some of these feeding systems if they feed cows in the winter. It is easier, safer, and saves a lot of hay that usually gets wasted”. All three agreed that they would build and use the systems again and that the feeder systems would pay for themselves in hay saved and you could not put a value on the safety and less stress now in feeding the herds. The fourth stop continued at the Coffey Ridge Farm with Dave Coffey. Dave wanted to incorporate a rotational grazing plan with his water tank and working facilities. This plan established a water hub around his water tank and included a livestock trail system connected to his working chute and sorting pens. Dave initially was able to divide his pasture into 4 paddocks and have a 15’ wide alley which led to his working facility. “I now rotate pastures by opening and closing a set of gates at the water hub and my wife and I can move cattle easily from the pasture to the working chute safely by ourselves”. He also has incorporated an additional two waterers and has added 4 more paddocks for intensive rotational grazing. Coffey added that there is much less stress on the cattle, as well as, less stress on himself and his family. “With the geotextile fabric and rock base, I can easily move my cattle in any weather condition without mud and damage to my pasture and the intensive rotational grazing has made my pasture even more healthy and productive”. The final stop ended at the farm of Jason Brumback. Jason utilized geotextile fabric and rock around his hay storage and feeding facility and added two tire water tanks for his pasture and feeding rotational plan. Jason already had a feeding system built in his metal barn structure and had a waterline available on site. He was concerned with the mud and manure buildup and having to utilize on old pond for his water source. Brumback said “With our new plan of fabric, rock, and water tanks, I will be able to keep mud away from my feed barn and water tanks and have plenty of water for the herd. Having the large tire tanks allows for multiple cattle to easily drink at the same time and keeps boss cows from keeping the younger cattle away and cutting down on their water intake”. He told the attendees about his tank water turning green with algae and someone had told him to use goldfish in the tanks. He showed how he had added 20, 1-2 inch goldfish in each of his tire tanks (even on a county water system) and they had cleared up his algae problem. “I put the first batch of fish in a freshly filled tank and they died, but I waited a couple of days to put the replacement fish in and it worked. Cattle

Wilson discussing the fence line feeding system at the Pat and Angie Tincher farm.

Gary Dale Tillery explained the geotextile fabric, rock & lime foundation for his feeding system. Producers viewing the Bo Renfro feeding system at the David Smith farm.

Brumback demonstrated his tire water tank and the goldfish that keep it clean.

drink and the water is refilled at a level that the chlorine won’t kill my fish and they keep the water clear”, Brumback concluded. The goal of the annual field day was to highlight some of the livestock practices and cost share opportunities available to producers through the Division of Conservation’s State Cost Share program, NRCS EQIP funding opportunities, and the local CAIP cost share. Each stop highlighted a different set of practices based on the individual producer’s needs, resources, and production goals, while keeping animal and human safety and stress at a minimum. The day ended with a cookout at the Brumback farm. The day was very informative and successful with plans to continue this annual event for the county cattleman’s association. For more information of State Cost Share opportunities, please contact your county Conservation District Office personnel.

Submitted by Rita Spalding

Ann Marie Chesser is the winner of the 2022 Marion County Cattlemen ‘Gene Lanham Memorial Scholarship’. Pictured awarding the scholarship are (L-R) Rita Spalding, Ann Marie Chesser and Peggy Downs.