4-H Country Ham Project Begins in Carroll County

"Those hams are just a drippin'!"

That's our 4-H Agent Joyce Doyle's response when anyone comes into the office and asks about how the 4-H Country Ham project is progressing in Carroll County.

Country ham has a long history in Kentucky, and the process of curing country hams is becoming a lost art to the young generations...until the recent years.  The 4-H Country Ham project started in the late 1990s in Kentucky.  This 8-month project involves taking green hams and curing them with the end product going to the Kentucky State Fair in August to be judged.

Farm Service Agency Announces 2013 Programs

The U.S. Department of Agriculture's Farm Service Agency (FSA) reminds producers that the American Taxpayer Relief Act of 2012 extended the authorization of the Food, Conservation, and Energy Act of 2008 (the 2008 Farm Bill) for many Commodity Credit Corporation (CCC) commodity, disaster, and conservation programs through 2013.  FSA administers these programs.

The extended programs include, among others:  the Direct and Counter-Cyclical Payment Program (DCP), the Average Crop Revenue Election Program (ACRE), and the Milk Income Loss Contract Program (MILC).  FSA is preparing the following actions:

FSA will begin sign-ups for DCP and ACRE for the 2013 crops on February 19, 2013.  The DCP sign-up period will end on August 2, 2013 and the ACRE sign-up period will end on June 3, 2013.

Spring Heifer Development

Weekly Newspaper Article for The News-Democrat, Carrollton, KY

(University of Kentucky)

January is an extremely important "checkpoint" in spring heifer development programs.  The key to proper heifer development lies in understanding the factors that influence conception in yearling heifers.

One key factor regulating heifer fertility is age at puberty.  Most producers do not consider age at puberty of their heifers to be a major problem, yet few know how many heifers are actually cyclic at the beginning of the breeding season.

What to Look For in Firewood

Weekly Newspaper Article for The News-Democrat, Carrollton, KY

(University of Tennessee)

Many Kentuckians burn firewood as their main source of heat during the winter.  Others use it to supplement their heating sources.  For many families, that means purchasing wood.  To gain the most from your investment, pay attention to the seasoning, density, and quantity of firewood.

Seasoning is an important consideration when purchasing firewood.  Ask if the firewood has been seasoned.  Wood that is seasoned, or cured, was properly cut, split, and stacked for about six months to remove enough moisture so it will burn efficiently this season.  Properly seasoned firewood has a gray, weathered appearance and large cracks in the log ends.

Burning unseasoned wood produces a smoldering fire that creates a potentially dangerous creosote buildup in the chimney.  This inefficient burning also can lead to a poor draft, causing smoke to bellow into the room instead of flowing up the chimney.