Agriculture

I am plotting and planning and placing order for onion sets and seed potatoes and summer crops that will be directly seeded in the garden once the temperatures really warm . . . I can barely stand the wait. I have two trays of seedlings that I started about two weeks ago and have begun another round of kale, broccoli and Brussels sprouts in three more trays.

Gardeners get anxious this time of the year.  Warm one day, cold the next, the sun coaxes open a little patch of crocus by the path or we catch sight of an old landscape filled with waves of blooming white snow drops.  This year the show is sure to come early and the forsythia are not the first to bloom, despite this oft cited sign of spring! There are other early bloomers to keep us occupied until spring truly arrives.

Kentucky farmers have battled weeds resistant to herbicides containing glyphosate for the past decade. A recent survey of agriculture and natural resource agents with the University of Kentucky Cooperative Extension Service indicates these weeds are becoming more widespread.
Marestail (also known as horseweed), Palmer amaranth and waterhemp are examples of weeds that are not being controlled with glyphosate. James Martin, UK weed scientist, said all three weeds can pose problems for soybean growers.  

The Farm Service Agency State Executive Director, John W. McCauley, announced that the U.S. Department of Agriculture will conduct a four-week Conservation Reserve Program  general signup.  This CRP signup will begin on March 12 and end on April 6,. CRP has a 25-year legacy of successfully protecting the nation’s natural resources, while providing significant economic and environmental benefits to rural communities across the United States.