Poultry Litter Forum in Owensboro

For those that were not able to join us for the poultry litter forum "Managing Poultry Litter Lessons From The Delmarva and Ohio Valley", it can be viewed at the link below. This was part of the AgExpo in Owensboro on January 25th, 2017 and was sponsored by the Kentucky Soybean Board and Kentucky Corn Growers Association. Thank you both for supporting this effort and special thanks to the producers on the panel for sharing their stories.

Poultry Litter Forum Video

UK forum to discuss poultry litter BMPs

LEXINGTON, Ky., (Jan. 17, 2017) – Producers face challenges and opportunities when applying poultry litter to cropland. The University of Kentucky College of Agriculture Food and Environment will host a forum to help producers learn best management practices to apply poultry litter.

The forum, titled Poultry Litter Lessons from the Delmarva and the Ohio Valley, will begin at 1:30 p.m. CST Jan. 25 at the Owensboro Convention Center and again at 9:30 a.m. CST Jan. 26 at the Christian County Extension office. They are sponsored by the Kentucky Soybean Promotion Board and the Kentucky Corn Promotion Council.

The forums will feature Kentucky producers who use poultry litter as well as two producers who face strict environmental regulations like those in the Chesapeake Bay watershed.

“The management practices a producer uses will determine the economic, agronomic and environmental impact that poultry litter has on their operation,” said Jordan Shockley, UK agricultural economist. “We hope the producer panel generates audience participation and discussion on ways Kentucky producers can best use poultry litter in their operations.”

For more information on the program, contact Shockley at jordan.shockley@uky.edu; Edwin Ritchey, UK soil extension specialist, at edwin.ritchey@uky.edu; Clint Hardy, Daviess County agriculture and natural resources extension agent, at chardy@uky.edu; or Jay Stone, Christian County agriculture and natural resources extension agent, at jstone@uky.edu.


Writer: Katie Pratt, 859-257-8774

UK College of Agriculture, Food and Environment through its land-grant mission, reaches across the commonwealth with teaching, research and extension to enhance the lives of Kentuckians.

The Dangers of Applying Fertilizers and Manures to Frozen Ground

Edwin Ritchey, Extension Soils Specialist, University of Kentucky

Some producers are taking advantage of frozen ground conditions to apply nitrogen to wheat fields or manure to corn fields. While this practice reduces the risk of compaction or rutting of fields, there are other factors to consider. Applications to frozen ground are at higher risk for runoff and loss of those nutrients.  When the soil is frozen or saturated, water is not able to infiltrate into the soil profile and the water and nutrients can runoff to adjoining properties or waterways. NRCS Code 590 prohibits the application of manure to frozen ground for this reason.