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Publication Date
1981
Description
Kentucky has about 2.83 million ha of forage crops, most of which are on land with moderate to severe erosion hazards. By the early 1950s, one cultivar (Kentucky 31) of tall fescue (Festuca arundinacea Schreb.) had been seeded on a relatively large area. Legumes grown with grasses had been showri to improve quality of forage markedly. Legumes were lost from many Kentucky grass fields during the relatively dry summers of 1953 and 1954. Research on legume establishment was expanded at the University of Kentucky in 1955. By 1959 sufficient data had been accumulated to formulate recommendations and begin educational programs for farmers. Counties were selected to receive intensive emphasis on educational programs in 1959 and in each year thereafter through 1965. County agents, county leaders, and extension forage specialists, meeting in each selected county, concluded that pasture production and quality were the major livestock problems needing attention. Numerous demonstration seedings were made at easily accessible and highly visible locations in the participating counties. Information campaigns were conducted in the selected counties through radio, television, newspapers, farm magazine§, and direct mail to create an awareness of (1) the need fo:r legumes in grass fields, (2) the ability of legumes to be established without plowing, (3) locations of renovation demonstrations, and (4) locations where additional information could be obtained. Educational activities included county and neighborhood classes, field days, and tours. The estimated area renovated statewide increased from about 7,000 ha in 1960 to 243,000 ha in 1967. The total number of cattle and calves in one of the early high-educational-emphasis (HE) counties had been increasing during the 1949-1969 period at about the same rate as in the district in which it is located. From 1969 to 1975, the HE country increased at a rate much faster than the district. In a comparison of 8 sdected HE with 8 low-emphasis (LE) counties, the HE counties increased cattle numbers more slowly than the LE counties during the preprogram period, 1949-1959, but taster than LE counties after 1959. Although no cause-and-effect relationships between renovation and increased cattle numben can be proven, it is probable that there was an effect due to increased feed production. Prior to 1960, "renovation" was not a term used in connection with grass fields. However, in a 1980 survey conducted in 30 randomly selected Kentucky counties, 72 % of the livestock farmers responding to the survey said that renovation is a common practice on their farms, and 73 % said e:ii:tension had had either "much" or "very much" influence on their decision to renovate. Thus, it would appear that extension educational programs have been influential in the renovation of grass fields becoming a routine practice on about three-fourths of Kentucky's livestock farms.
Citation
Evans, J K.; Lacefield, G D.; and Thompson, W C., "Legume Renovation of Grass-Dominant Swards: A Data-Based Educational Program That Led to Adoption of Practices by Kentucky Farmers" (1981). IGC Proceedings (1977-2023). 7.
(URL: https://uknowledge.uky.edu/igc/1981/section13/7)
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Legume Renovation of Grass-Dominant Swards: A Data-Based Educational Program That Led to Adoption of Practices by Kentucky Farmers
Kentucky has about 2.83 million ha of forage crops, most of which are on land with moderate to severe erosion hazards. By the early 1950s, one cultivar (Kentucky 31) of tall fescue (Festuca arundinacea Schreb.) had been seeded on a relatively large area. Legumes grown with grasses had been showri to improve quality of forage markedly. Legumes were lost from many Kentucky grass fields during the relatively dry summers of 1953 and 1954. Research on legume establishment was expanded at the University of Kentucky in 1955. By 1959 sufficient data had been accumulated to formulate recommendations and begin educational programs for farmers. Counties were selected to receive intensive emphasis on educational programs in 1959 and in each year thereafter through 1965. County agents, county leaders, and extension forage specialists, meeting in each selected county, concluded that pasture production and quality were the major livestock problems needing attention. Numerous demonstration seedings were made at easily accessible and highly visible locations in the participating counties. Information campaigns were conducted in the selected counties through radio, television, newspapers, farm magazine§, and direct mail to create an awareness of (1) the need fo:r legumes in grass fields, (2) the ability of legumes to be established without plowing, (3) locations of renovation demonstrations, and (4) locations where additional information could be obtained. Educational activities included county and neighborhood classes, field days, and tours. The estimated area renovated statewide increased from about 7,000 ha in 1960 to 243,000 ha in 1967. The total number of cattle and calves in one of the early high-educational-emphasis (HE) counties had been increasing during the 1949-1969 period at about the same rate as in the district in which it is located. From 1969 to 1975, the HE country increased at a rate much faster than the district. In a comparison of 8 sdected HE with 8 low-emphasis (LE) counties, the HE counties increased cattle numbers more slowly than the LE counties during the preprogram period, 1949-1959, but taster than LE counties after 1959. Although no cause-and-effect relationships between renovation and increased cattle numben can be proven, it is probable that there was an effect due to increased feed production. Prior to 1960, "renovation" was not a term used in connection with grass fields. However, in a 1980 survey conducted in 30 randomly selected Kentucky counties, 72 % of the livestock farmers responding to the survey said that renovation is a common practice on their farms, and 73 % said e:ii:tension had had either "much" or "very much" influence on their decision to renovate. Thus, it would appear that extension educational programs have been influential in the renovation of grass fields becoming a routine practice on about three-fourths of Kentucky's livestock farms.
