2. Master Haymaker Program
Adair, Green, & Taylor Counties
Producer Requested
Agent Developed w/ producer input
Specialist Taught

4. Session 1
Soil Series & Soil Types, March 2nd, Edwin Ritchey- Adair County
Identify Soil Series Using NRCS Web Soil Survey
Soil Productivity & Crop Suitability Using Web Soil Survey
Nutrient Removal of Hay Crops
Specialty Fertilizer Products
Monty’s, Agrotain, Avail, Gypsum, Carbon, etc.

5. Session 2
Warm Season Crop Overview- March 9th, Chris Teutsch- Taylor County
Crabgrass (mgt of both native & seeded)
Bermudagrass (seeded vs sprigged)
Teff
Sudans, Sorghums, & Millets
Johnsongrass mgt as a forage
Haybeans? (see mostly failures)
Corn Silage
Challenges of Warm Season Annuals (weed control, nitrates, etc.)
Warm Season Mixes (use them or loose them?)

6. Session 3
Cool Season Crop Overview, March 16th, Ray Smith- Green County
Fescues
KY 31 (when to use)
Novel Endophyte, Endophyte Free, Festolium?
Orchard Grass
Timothy
Clovers
Alfalfa
Winter Small Cereal Grains (Winter vs Spring Oats, Wheat, Rye, Triticale, etc.)
Winter Legumes
Annual Ryegrass
Cool Season Annual Mixes (use them or loose them?)

7. Session 4 Soil Fertility- March 23rd, Josh McGrath- Adair County
Soil Testing
Nitrogen Application Timing
Yield Response to Nitrogen Rates
Urea vs. AN
Poultry Litter & Cow Manures
Fertilizer Philosophy
How to Raise Soil Test Levels to Medium/High Levels
Luxury K Consumption

8. Session 5
Forage Storage (Wet & Dry), April 6th, Chris Teutsch- Taylor County
Properly Harvesting & Storing Dry Hay
Making Baleage, Haylage, & Silage
Determining Proper Moisture
Wet Storage Options
Inoculants?
Corn Silage
Reducing Feeding Loss

9. Session 6 Weed Control, April 13th, JD Green- Green County Tick Clover
Sweet Vernal Grasss
Foxtails
Herbicide Residual Mgt. (Aminopyralids)
Prowl H2O
Weed effect on yield
Example weed control strategies for…
Warm Season Annual Grasses
Cool Season Annual Small Grains
Alfalfa
Perennial Grasses

10. Session 7 Hay Making Machinery, Tom Keene, April 20th- Adair County
Machinery Maintenance
Cutting Height Adjustments
String vs. Net Wrap
Big square vs Round Balers
Reducing Leaf loss
Crimper vs. Impeller
New Technologies?

11. Master Haymaker Stats 32 Participants 6 Specialists
Attendance ranged 25-32
6 Specialists
2 Princeton
4 Lexington

12. Future Considerations
Web Soil Series
What is a good teaching strategy?
Soil Fertility & Forages
Available Data?
Economics?
Chris Teutsch covered adequately; briefly
Greg Halich & machinery costs an option
Hands on?

13. Success Story
In Adair County, livestock represents the largest sector of agriculture. Hay is a crucial part of livestock systems in Adair County, and while we want to minimize the number of hay feeding days due to cost, producing and feeding high quality hay for those days is crucial. Past participants of the Center of Kentucky Master Cattlemen program expressed the need of further education on hay production to local Extension Agents. In response, the Adair, Green, and Taylor County Cooperative Extension Service developed the Master Haymaker program consisting of seven sessions taught by UK Specialists focusing on producing high yielding and high quality hay. Thirty-two producers participated in the seven classroom sessions covering topics ranging from soil fertility, species and variety selection, weed control, storage, and equipment. Survey evaluations revealed that 96% of participants gained knowledge in the areas of variety selection, weed control, and nitrogen management. Additionally, 88% of participants utilized web soil survey to gather information on management of their soils and 92% applied fertilizer in accordance to soil test recommendations.

14. Publications AGR-18 AGR-222 AGR-1 (portions) AGR-86 AGR-79 AGR-48
Teff: Old Plant New Use
Virginia Crabgass Facts
AGR-59
AGR-76
AGR-33
AGR-58
AGR-179
AGR-160
AGR-93
AGR-26
AGR-165
AGR-173
AGR-171
AGR-62
Understanding Forage Quality
AGR-172
AGR-207
AGR-175
Forage Reports (Variety Selections)