It is hard to believe that we are now in the middle of October.

Many beef producers have had great pasture conditions, but the recent dry weather may be resulting in the need to begin feeding, or other preparations for the winter. Given the current beef market prices and weather conditions, it will soon be time to seriously consider plans for next year. I hope our producers will consider attending upcoming meetings and events. Here are a few dates to be aware of.

UK Beef Extension and Kentucky Beef Network are hosting a beef pregnancy diagnosis class Oct. 29 at Edenshale Farms. This class will demonstrate all methods currently available to producers for pregnancy diagnosis in their cow herd. These methods include manual palpation, ultrasonography, and blood sampling including a demonstration of the new chute-side blood sample analysis protocol. Two classes will be offered  beginning at 9 a.m. or 1 p.m.; each class will last three hours.

The cost for the instruction is $100 per participant and a maximum of 10 students will be allowed per session. Participation will be determined on a first-come-first served basis. For more information or to enroll, please contact either Ben Crites at Benjamin.crites@uky.edu or 859-257-7512; or Dan Miller at dmiller@kycattle.org or 859-278-0899.

The Annual Kentucky Beef Conference will take place at 9 a.m. Nov. 3 at the Fayette County Cooperative Extension Office. The Fayette Extension Office is located at 1140 Red Mile Road in Lexington.

This conference is designed to cover beef marketing strategies, management strategies, and upcoming beef production issues given the current outlook of the Kentucky beef industry. For more information or to register, contact the Clark County Extension Office.

Don’t forget about the next Clark County Cattlemen’s Association quarterly Meeting. It will be at 7 p.m. Thursday, Nov. 10. The location and agenda will be announced in the November edition of the Clark County Extension Agriculture Newsletter.

On a slightly different note, the Kentucky Department of Agriculture has released applications and policy guides for those wishing to participate in the 2017 Industrial Hemp Production Research Program. We have applications, and policy guides available at the Clark County Extension Office. They can also be accessed at the KDA Hemp website www.kyagr.com/Hemp.

There are several changes to the guidelines for participating in the program in 2017. To participate in the program, applications must be completed and submitted to KDA prior to 4:30 p.m. Nov. 14.

If you would like more information about any of these announcements or events, contact me at the Clark County Extension Office, 1400 Fortune Drive, call 744-4682 or email david.davis@uky.edu.

David Davis is the Clark County Cooperative Extension Service Agent for Agriculture & Natural Resources.