Agriculture

The wettest April on record and historic flooding have kept the majority of Kentucky producers out of fields, delaying planting across the state and prompting producers to consider switching some areas from corn to soybeans.
According to the Kentucky Weekly Crop and Weather report, 17 percent of the state’s corn crop was planted as of May 1. This is a great deal behind 2010, which had 82 percent of planting completed at this time, and less than the five-year average of 59 percent.

The rules on amending the soil have changed over the years.  Part of the change relates to the fact that good soil is hard to come by in newly developed subdivisions where enormous earth moving equipment is used to level trees and land.  This equipment not only removes the valuable topsoil, it also compacts subsoil and kills the living organisms that make up a healthy soil system.  The less we disturb the soil the better, but for many,   some sort of amendment is necessary in order to improve tilth, drainage and nutrition.  

With all of the rain that we’ve had over the past few weeks here in Spencer County, insects may have found their way into people’s waterlogged backyards, homes and landscapes.
“There are insects and their relatives that thrive under most any set of conditions; this spring belongs to the ‘water bugs,’” said Lee Townsend, extension entomologist in the University of Kentucky College of Agriculture.

Recent rains have slowed corn planting progress across the state. However, it’s important for producers to wait for optimal planting conditions to ensure they get good yields at harvest time, said Edwin Ritchey and Lloyd Murdock, extension soils specialists with the University of Kentucky College of Agriculture.
According to the Kentucky Weekly Crop and Weather Report, only 13 percent of the state’s corn was in the ground as of April 17. That is well below the 31 percent that was planted by this time in 2010 and lower than the five-year average of 22 percent.