Kentucky Ag Report: Jan. 7, 2011

San-N-Tone kicks off
2011 series Sunday
San-N-Tone Ranch in Simpsonville will host its first Horse Show Series event of 2011 on Sunday.
The event will begin at 9 a.m. at the Shelby County Fair Grounds’ indoor arena.
Events also are scheduled for Feb. 6 and March. 6.
Entries closed on Thursday and will do so on the Thursdays before future events.
For more information call Sandy Stewart (502-241-1262 or 722-9330) or E-mail SANNTONESHOW@yahoo.com.

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Crop assistance starts Monday
Farmers who had crops damaged because of natural disasters can start submitting applications for assistance on Monday. The Supplemental Revenue Assistance Payments will cover the 2009 crop season. To be eligible, a farm would have to have at lest 10 percent production loss on a crop of economic significance, a plan from either the Federal Crop Insurance Act or the Noninsured Crop Disaster Assistance program and be located in a primary disaster county or contiguous county. For more information, and for exceptions to these rules, go to www.fsa.usda.gov/sure.

Producers set meetings
Various producers groups in Shelby County have set meetings:
•    The Shelby County Cattlemen's Association annual meeting is 7 p.m. Jan. 18 at the Shelby County Extension Office.
•    A SCC Reduction Workshop for dairy producers is 10:30 a.m.-2 p.m. Jan. 18 at the Shelby County Extension Office. Lunch will be provided. Call 633-4593 for meal reservations.
•    Healthy horse seminar
•    The Shelby County Young Farmers will hold a meeting on Jan. 20 at the Collins High School Agriculture Department. The speaker will be Ray Tucker, who will discuss production costs of corn, soybeans & tobacco. Call Stephanie Tucker (633-1906) for more information.
•    A Healthy Horse Seminar is 9 a.m.-2 p.m. Jan. 29 at the Shelby County Extension Office. Lunch will be provided. Call 633-4593 for meal reservations.
•    A Pasture Appraisal and Recovery program is 10 a.m.-noon Feb. 2 at the Shelby County Extension Office. Call 633-4593 to sign up.

USDA introduces online tool
The USDA has established an online tool that can link retiring farmers who have expiring Conservation Reserve Program contracts with beginning farmers or ranchers who are interested in bringing the land into production.
 The new online resource, TIP Net, is provided by the Farm Service Agency (FSA). Through the Transition Incentives Program (TIP), producers with land for sale or lease are introduced to qualified beginning or socially disadvantaged farmers and ranchers who want to buy or rent land for their operations.
 TIP provides up to two additional Conservation Reserve Program (CRP) annual rental payments to a retired or retiring owner or operator with an expiring CRP contract. To qualify, the landowner must sell or lease the CRP land to a beginning or socially disadvantaged farmer or rancher so the new operator can convert some or all of the land to production using sustainable grazing or crop production methods.
As of Nov. 30, TIP participation included 372 contracts on more than 52,000 acres, with nearly $5 million obligated for TIP annual rental payments.
Additional information on FSA farm loan programs is available online at www.fsa.usda.gov or from any FSA office. TIP Net can be found online at http://www.fsa.usda.gov/tipnet.

Poster, essay contest
The Kentucky Department of Agriculture has launched its annual poser and essay contest for students.
To enter, students in kindergarten through 12th grade must submit either a poster or an essay based on the theme “Kentucky Proud: Your Family, Your Food, Your Future” to the Kentucky Department of Agriculture. Entries must be postmarked by Feb. 4. Statewide winners in each grade level will be announced Feb. 21. Each winner will receive a $100 savings bond and will be honored at the Kentucky Agriculture Day luncheon in March in Frankfort.
For more information, contact Elizabeth McNulty at (502) 564-4983 or elizabeth.mcnulty@ky.gov or visit www.kyagr.com/marketing/ageducation/agday2011.htm.

Beekeeping schools open
Beekeepers of all experience levels will find topics to fit their interests and expertise in six beekeeping schools scheduled in every region of Kentucky between Jan. 22 and March 12. The schools will offer classes for beginners and sessions targeted to experienced beekeepers. Vendors selling beekeeping equipment will set up displays at all the schools.
“Honey bees play an extremely important role in Kentucky agriculture as crop pollinators,” Agriculture Commissioner Richie Farmer said. “Many beekeepers also sell honey, which helps producers make a living and generates economic activity in many Kentucky communities. The Kentucky Department of Agriculture is pleased to support these beekeeping schools.”
The first school will be in Hazard on Jan. 22, but closer to Shelby County will be the Bluegrass Beekeeping School, which is March 12 at Kentucky State University in Frankfort.
State Apiarist Phil Craft is soliciting submissions of photos or artwork for the cover of this year’s Bluegrass program. The deadline for entries is Feb. 15. The Department will announce the name of the winner March 1, and the winner will receive free registration for two to the school, a $40 value.

Commodities conference
The 2011 Kentucky Commodity Conference is scheduled for Jan. 21 at the Holiday Inn University Plaza in Bowling Green, starting at 11 a.m. EST. Steve Kopperud, the executive vice president of Policy Directions, Inc., a government and strategic communications consulting firm, is the keynote speaker.
There will be annual meetings of the Kentucky Soybean, Kentucky Corn Growers, and Kentucky Small Grain Growers Associations, followed by sessions led by Chris Hurt, a professor from Purdue, and Cory Walters of the University of Kentucky.
The evening will conclude with an awards banquet to honor winners of the top yields for corn, wheat and soybeans.
Information can be found by visiting www.kycorn.org, www.kysmallgrains.org, and www.kysoy.org, or calling 800-BEAN-SOY. The deadline is today.

Soybean board adds director
The Kentucky Soybean Promotion Board named Brent Burchett its program director. He is a native of Murray and graduated from the University of Kentucky.

The Kentucky Ag Report is compiled weekly from news releases distributed by Keeton Communications and other sources.