Join the Kentucky Forage and Grassland Council on Tuesday, August 6 for the Western Kentucky Summer Forage Tour! 

When Bub and Lakayah Daugherty purchased D&D Farm in 2013, they set a goal to raise cattle and be profitable. Technology and ideas on how to graze cattle have changed and evolved over the years, but most farmers in the area have not adopted the new ideas. The farm they bought was no different. For two decades, the farm had been grazed with little or no management with the sole goal of keeping it from reverting back to forest. When the farm was purchased, the only water supply was from a small stream and two small ponds, all of which would be dry by the summer months. ​

After many nights of online research and YouTube videos, the Daugherty's decided to take the first steps to restore their rundown farm. By partnering with the NRCS, the couple has been able to make the needed improvements, moving them toward their goal of year round grazing.  The Daugherty's farm is not perfect and is in various stages of renovation. The tour will not have formal presentations, but rather a series of stops designed to stimulate discussion and questions.

Tour topics include:

• An integrated approach to restoring pasture productivity
• Herbicide as part of an integrated weed control program
• Watering systems for controlled grazing
• Building soil fertility with poultry litter
• The role of summer annuals in pasture renovation
• Crabgrass as forage
• Novel endophyte tall fescue
• And much, much more!

For more information and to register for the event. click on the button below!

Man, June was a wet month! It certainly created a problem with trying to make hay, but any time it is cool and wet in the summer and the grass keeps growing, I will not complain.
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On May 31st we AI bred all our cows at the farm. Keeping the commercial herd in mind, we bred to three different bulls. We used a Hereford bull on our black cows, hoping for a black baldy calf. For our colored cattle (Baldies, smokes, & reds) we used either an angus or black simmental bull, again shooting for a black baldy or a smoke. Ten days after breeding all the cows are turned out with black cleanup bulls for 60 days. I would like to thank David McGlothlin and Lance Fisher with Genetics Plus for coming and doing the breeding work at Eden Shale Farm. They do a phenomenal job and I would highly recommend their services to anyone who would like to artificially breed their cattle. 

​This past month we have stayed busy making hay when the weather allows and spraying pastures when its too wet to do hay. We try to spray about 60-80 acres a year which, when done on rotation, allows us to spray the entire farm every 5 years. We spray with GrazonNext HL. This product is used for broadleaf control and it also has a residual that will last the entire season, keeping unwanted weeds from coming back later in the season.

​In June we had some damage repaired from a storm back in May that tore some metal roofing off of a few barns. Joshua Johns Contracting made the repairs and I would like to thank them for their prompt and professional service. 

​This summer has been much busier than others in terms of tours and hosting folks at the farm. In late May we hosted a journalist from south Georgia who was writing a story and wanted to include some of the management practices that we are doing at Eden Shale. In June we averaged one tour per week. We  hosted the new director for NRCS in Kentucky, along with some of his staff. We hosted a leadership group that was with the Division of Conservation. We gave a tour for a group of Agriculture and Natural Resource agents. We hosted the new EPA director in Kentucky. And Lastly, we had a well attended field day which featured the fenceline feeding system and the large bale feeder. We certainly appreciate all those that took time to come to the farm and see what we are doing. 

If you would like more information on any of our practices, be sure to look at the resources tab for more details on specific projects.