An Extension Agent Wears Many Hats!

I am officially at the six week mark at Meade County and it is hard to believe, it doesn’t seem like I am halfway through. I love waking up and coming to work in the morning. These past two weeks have consisted of a wide variety of opportunities.

Tuesday, June 11^th I worked with our local farmers market to promote cooking with squash. After this I went and checked out the location for where my special project would take place. My project is to work on trapping the Spotted Drosophila in a farmer’s blackberry crop. This local farmer has an agritourism enterprise and we have high hopes of capturing this “fruit gnat” once the berries start changing colors.

I have also taken the reins on using timed artificial insemination to breed a heifer. On Friday the 14th of June, I had to insert the CIDR (controlled internal drug release) and also administer GnRH. I then removed the CIDR on Wednesday followed by two shots of Lutalyse. After removing the CIDR we helped a farmer work cattle. We helped tag the cattle with fly tags and we also used a liquid back dewormer. Both of which I got to participate in. It was very interesting considering I was basically piercing their ears.

I am double checking to make sure that the tag is placed correctly in the gun.

 

Here I am removing the old tag.

The tag is now in place!

 We also checked a local farmers soybean field. This farmer has a two foot hard pan in which the roots cannot penetrate so it is not suitable for planting corn. This is because corn roots can go beyond five foot deep. The farmer wanted us to do a stand count and considering the conditions the stand count was not far beyond the total seed drop, so we determined that the farmer should have a better soybean harvest than originally thought.

Friday the 21^st  I set my traps as part of my special project. These traps will be checked every week and reset in order to get the best results. Each week the contents will be sent off for evaluation. This is part of research that UK is conducting.



 

Friday the 21^st I helped to Pregnancy check a herd of cattle. We used a new blood method that requires taking blood from the underside of the tail. I was able to participate and found out that it is not as easy as it looks.  I first had to clean the tail from any manure then I proceeded to alcohol the area that I would be sticking with the needle. This blood test requires 3 ml of blood to be sent off and tested.

 

This past week has consisted of a lot of running back and forth to various locations to check fields for farmers. I have learned that patience and time management is key. Meade County has planted two Bermuda Grass test plots which are not doing the best. We went out and checked them on Wednesday, June 19^th, and we are not totally pleased with the results of the stand. Considering that Bermuda Grass is a warm season grass we are thinking maybe the tricky Kentucky weather has something to do with it. The agent at Meade County, Andy, and I will be exploring options. I cant even begin to describe my job roles this week. I feel like an extension agent wears many hats, I feel like I have been a horticulturist, a vet, a friend, an entomologist, and the list goes on! I cant wait to see what these next two weeks have in store for me as I head off to 4-H camp.