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| This Week's Titles: |
| Small
Insects Can Make A Big Mess In Lawns |
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Farm Safety Important On
Cattle Farms |
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| Watch
Out For Brown Widow Spiders |
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| Getting
Water On Cattle Farms With Help From The Sun And Wind |
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| Attack
Fire Ants In The Fall |
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| Small
Insects Can Make A Big Mess In Lawns |
1:44 |
Some small insects that don't
look mean and vicious can make a big mess in home and commercial
lawns. |
The insects called white
grubs are small, c-shaped worms with creamy white abdomens and
brown heads. They do their quiet, dirty work underground, nibbling
away on the grassroots, causing big damage to lawns. Will Hudson,
an entomologist with the University of Georgia's College of
Agricultural and Environmental Sciences says white grubs cause
warning signs similar to moisture stress during a drought. "And
they feed on the roots of the grass, and that's really the problem.
The symptoms can be masked by things like drought like we've
had this year. The grass always looks bad in a real droughty
year so it's hard to tell whether the grubs have been feeding
on it or it's just been too dry." Will Hudson with the College
of Agricultural and Environmental Sciences. The only way to
know for sure if white grubs are the problem is to dig in the
lawn and look. Use a shovel and cut three sides of a square
foot of lawn turf. Then fold that flap of sod back and look
for grubs in the top one to two inches of soil and grassroots.
Make sure the soil moisture is good before you begin digging.
If white grubs are found, there are insecticides on the market
that do a good job knocking out these small insects with a big
bite. John Harrell, University of Georgia College of Agricultural
and Environmental Sciences, reporting from Tifton. |
Links to audio files:
(files include a brief quote from the source for your use.)
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| Farm
Safety Important On Cattle Farms |
1:38 |
Cattle farmers should not bale
up safety and store it away with their hay. |
The number of farm related
serious injuries and deaths have increased around forty five
percent in the past five years. Many cattle farmers have become
victims of farm accidents. Louis Dykes, a county extension agent
in Murray County says most accidents that injure or kill cattlemen
involves tractors and hay baling equipment. "Again the one for
the most concern would be tractors and hay equipment, you know
balers and other things like that can present a lot of dangers
to livestock producers and most of the time it happens so quickly
and unless someone is there with them, that's the problem with
most of our livestock producers, they do everything by themselves."
Louis Dykes with the University of Georgia's College of Agricultural
and Environmental Sciences. Other dangers that can kill or injure
cattle farmers include grain augers coming in contact with high
voltage power lines, and getting an arm caught in a grain auger
without a safety guard. To help cattlemen in Murray County learn
about farm safety, a two hour program was presented on the proper
use of farm equipment, and protection from environmental exposure
and veterinary supplies that can result in serious injury or
death. Those attending the Murray County training included cattle
producers, horse owners, and farmers that produce a large amount
of hay. John Harrell, University of Georgia College of Agricultural
and Environmental Sciences, reporting from Tifton. |
Links to audio files:
(files include a brief quote from the source for your use.)
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| Watch
Out For Brown Widow Spiders |
1:41 |
Some spiders are marching North
through Georgia that pack a strong bite. |
Brown widow spiders recently
moved into Georgia from Florida, and have been moving Northward
through the state. These spiders have been confirmed in Southeast
and Central Georgia. Willie Chance, a county extension agent
in Houston County says these spiders are more difficult to recognize,
than the familiar black widow spiders. "The way you probably
tell if it's a brown widow is they have that characteristic
hourglass shape but the hourglass underneath the belly is going
to be orange to yellow-orange. Another way of telling them that's
very easy is if you find an egg sack of the brown widow. The
brown widow egg sack will be kind of tan in color, but it'll
have little tusks on the outside of it kind of giving it a fuzzy
appearance." Willie Chance with the University of Georgia's
College of Agricultural and Environmental Sciences, who adds
brown widow spiders like to set up shop in areas where a lot
of people live. They have been found under lawn furniture, tricycle
seats, woodpiles, and the eves of homes. The best way to reduce
their numbers is periodic cleanups with a vacuum cleaner or
broom, so spider webs present can be knocked down. Remove firewood,
piles of building materials, limbs, and other trash where they
like to hide. When working around these areas, protect your
hands by wearing gloves. John Harrell, University of Georgia
College of Agricultural and Environmental Sciences, reporting
from Tifton. |
Links to audio files:
(files include a brief quote from the source for your use.)
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| Getting
Water On Cattle Farms With Help From The Sun And The Wind |
1:45 |
The wind and the sun may help
cattle farmers provide water for their thirsty cows. |
During a drought water sources
cows drink from dry up to a trickle. When cattle drink from
streams and rivers, it can cause pollution downstream. For the
past two years, scientists with the University of Georgia's
College of Agricultural and Environmental Sciences have been
setting up sites that use wind and sunlight to take water to
the cattle. "We generate energy from the wind from the wind
turbines, store that in a battery, and then as water was needed
we pulled energy from the battery, and one other thing we're
looking at is combining that with solar cells to provide a two
source energy supply to those batteries so that when the sun
is optimal for producing energy we capture that. And then when
the wind is available for energy production then we capture
that energy as well." That was Gary Hawkins with the College
of Agricultural and Environmental Sciences, who adds this hybrid
system uses wind turbines for power in cooler months, and solar
panels during the summer. Five farms will be selected this fall
to take part in the three-year project. The sites will be located
in coastal counties where the wind is more consistent. The goal
of this project is to provide cattlemen a reliable alternative
for getting their thirsty cattle the water they need. John Harrell,
University of Georgia College of Agricultural and Environmental
Sciences, reporting from Tifton. |
Links to audio files:
(files include a brief quote from the source for your use.)
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| Attack
Fire Ants In The Fall |
1:41 |
When it comes to fighting fire
ants, fall is the best time to launch an attack. |
Fire ants have been confirmed
in nearly all of Georgia's 159 counties. So people from the
mountains to the coast have felt a painful sting from these
tiny insects. Dan Suiter, an entomologist with the University
of Georgia's College of Agricultural and Environmental Sciences
says if you want to cause them pain, hit them in the fall. He
adds the cooler fall temperatures cause fire ants to become
more active, which makes it easier to treat with bait products.
"And as temperatures kind of mediate a little bit, ants definitely
become more active, and they're out foraging on warm fall days
and we're kind of in that perfect time right now and the larger
colonies are looking for food as are the small colonies and
they readily collect baits at this time of year, the soil temperature
has a lot to do with it if the soil temperature gets too hot
the ants won't forage." Dan Suiter with the College of Agricultural
and Environmental Sciences. Another reason for treating fire
ants in the fall is winter comes in behind and lands a cold
punch. Extreme cold is tough on fire ants, which makes baits
more effective in the fall. They weaken the colonies, and make
them less able to respond to the challenges of a winter cold
snap. John Harrell, University of Georgia College of Agricultural
and Environmental Sciences, reporting from Tifton. |
Links to audio files:
(files include a brief quote from the source for your use.)
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