Dry conditions haven't been all bad for some central Kentucky Farmers. Brandon Sears is the county extension agent for agriculture in Madison County. He said any worries over cattle eating potentially toxic pasture grasses have faded with a previous frost.
And the dry weather has actually been a plus for grain farmers.
“It allows you the access to get some revenue off those acres but also clean up some weed problems that you might have in a pasture or hayfield and so, if you can rotate out of that particular crop to grain for a year or two and then come back into grass, it allows you a good option there,” said Sears.
Sears said dry conditions are actually a benefit with mature grain because it makes harvesting easier. The county extension agent said a good number of grain growers are also found in Scott, Clark, Bourbon, and Clark counties.
Dry conditions have created challenges for livestock farmers with fast-fading pasture lands in Kentucky. Sears says the central Kentucky area maintains a second to third ranking for beef cattle production.
What has consistently declined is the number of burley tobacco growers. Sears says there are two growers now in Madison County and he envisions a tobacco-less landscape someday.
“I think there will be a day when there will be no growers here in the county. Yeah, I do and it may be..take another three, four to five years, but yeah,” said Sears.
Sears estimates about 15 acres in Madison County this year is going for tobacco production. During the peak period some three decades ago, the county ag agent said millions of pounds of burley were produced in the central Kentucky county.
