With wild weather patterns impacting the country in recent years, homeowners nationwide are constantly on the lookout for better ways to prepare their homes to handle tough weather conditions.

Smart homeowners have been taking the weather into consideration when purchasing replacement windows, roofs and trim products that are subjected to extreme weather conditions year after year.

“Realistically, the products on the exterior of a home need to stand up to a wide variety of weather conditions, including high winds, hail, driving rain, and ice and snow accumulation in many parts of the country,” says Mark Clement, co-host of the MyFixitUpLife home improvement radio show. “Starting at the top of the house, it’s important to purchase a roof that is made to withstand these incredible weather scenarios while looking good on non-extreme weather days.”

Join the Arbor Day Foundation in March and receive 10 free trees.

The Arbor Day Foundation is making it easier for everyone to celebrate the arrival of spring through planting trees.

Join the Arbor Day Foundation in March 2013 and receive 10 free white flowering dogwood trees.

“White flowering dogwoods will add beauty to your home throughout the year,” said John Rosenow, founder and chief executive of the Arbor Day Foundation. “Dogwoods are known for their showy spring flowers, scarlet autumn foliage and red berries that attract songbirds during winter.”

The free trees are part of the nonprofit Foundation’s Trees for America campaign. The trees will be shipped postpaid at the right time for planting between March 1 and May 31, with enclosed planting instructions. The six - to 12 - inch trees are guaranteed to grow or they will be replaced free of charge.

Arbor Day Foundation members also receive a subscription to Arbor Day, the Foundation’s bimonthly publication, and The Tree Book, which contains information about tree planting and care.

To become a member of the Foundation and receive the free trees, send a $10 contribution to TEN FREE DOGWOOD TREES, Arbor Day Foundation, 100 Arbor Avenue, Nebraska City, NE 68410, by March 30, 2013. Or join online at arborday.org/march.

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John W. McCauley, Executive Director for the USDA Kentucky Farm Service Agency (FSA) announced that as of February 28, 2013, the Green County FSA office will be officially closed. From this date forward, all FSA program services will be provided by the Taylor County FSA office located at 1105 S. Coumbia Ave., in Campbellsville and the phone number is (270) 465-4651.

Kentucky Farm service Agency received approval from the Secretary of Agriculture Tom Vilsack to proceed  with the implementation of county office consolidation plan, including five county offices in Kentucky on May 29, 2012.

For more information, contact the Kentucky Farm Service Agency office at (859) 224-7601.

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Governor Steve Beshear today announced the availability of the 2013 On-Farm Energy Efficiency & Production Incentives program through the Kentucky Agricultural Development Fund (KADF).

“After a successful 2012 program year with nearly $1.2 million in incentives approved, the Kentucky Agricultural Development Board, which I chair, has committed funds from the KADF to continue providing farmers the opportunity to increase farm energy efficiency or renewable energy production,” said Gov. Beshear.  “It is encouraging to see that 140 farm families from 40 counties were able to access the 2012 program for projects, which demonstrates Kentucky’s leadership in farm energy efficiency.”

For 2013, the KADB’s commitment of $1 million leveraged additional funds through the Kentucky Energy and Environment Cabinet to bring the total available funds for 2013 to $1.75 million.

The 2013 On-Farm Energy Efficiency & Production Incentives program provides 50 percent reimbursement of the actual cost of a qualified energy saving or renewable energy project, up to $15,000. Permissible items include, but are not limited to, energy audits, energy efficient farm building components, on-farm energy upgrades and on-farm energy efficiency training.

The KADF On-farm Energy Efficiency & Production Incentives Program is designed to help achieve the goals of Gov. Beshear’s Intelligent Energy Choices for Kentucky’s Future: Kentucky’s 7-Point Energy Strategy and will be part of the effort to meet 18 percent of Kentucky’s energy needs from efficiency improvements by 2025.

For questions about the application process for the KADF On-farm Energy Incentives Program, please contact Bill McCloskey or Angie Justice at 502-564-4627 or govkyagpolicy@ky.gov. The application is also available online at ag-energy.ky.gov.  The deadline for the first round of 2013 applications is April 26 (in hand).

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Kentucky Farm Service Agency (FSA) State Executive Director John W. McCauley announced today that Kentucky FSA will conduct a four-week Conservation Reserve Program (CRP) general sign-up beginning May 20 and ending on June 14.

"It continues to be our goal to ensure that we use CRP to address our most critical resource issues" said McCauley. “In 2012, many counties in Kentucky experienced extreme drought. CRP protected environmentally sensitive lands from washing or blowing away. It gave ranchers extra grazing land when they needed it. I expect there will be strong competition to enroll or re-enroll acres into CRP, so I urge Kentucky's producers to maximize their environmental benefits and make sure their offers are cost-effective.”

In addition to erosion control, CRP provides significant water quality benefits including reduced nutrients and sediment loadings and adverse consequences associated with floods as well as expanded and enhanced wildlife habitat.

Currently, about 27 million acres are enrolled in CRP nationwide, 302,782.7 acres in Kentucky. CRP is a voluntary program available to agricultural producers to help them safeguard environmentally sensitive land. Producers enrolled in CRP plant long-term, resource-conserving covers to improve the quality of water, control soil erosion and enhance wildlife habitat. Contracts on an estimated 3.3 million acres of CRP are set to expire on Sept. 30, 2013, 34,767 of those acres in Kentucky. Producers with expiring contracts or producers with environmentally sensitive land are encouraged to evaluate their options under CRP.

Producers that are accepted in the sign-up can receive cost-share assistance for planting covers and receive an annual rental payment for the length of the contract (10-15 years). Producers also are encouraged to look into CRP’s other enrollment opportunities offered on a continuous, non-competitive, sign-up basis.  Continuous sign-ups often provide additional financial assistance.  Those sign-up dates will be announced later.

For more information on CRP and other FSA programs, visit your local FSA county office or www.fsa.usda.gov.

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In an ideal world, everyone would treat others the way they would want to be treated. Unfortunately, we don’t live in an ideal world, and bullies exist.

Bullying affects nearly 30 percent of young people in the United States, including those who are bullies and victims. It occurs most frequently between sixth and eighth grades. Bullying can be verbal, physical or mental. Boys tend to bully boys, and girls usually target other girls.

Giving your children an allowance teaches them to be responsible financial managers by learning to wisely save and spend money.

Some parents may want children to do some tasks or chores around the house to “earn” the allowance; other parents prefer to simply give an allowance. This is a personal decision.

Set a base amount for each child when you establish the allowance system.  Once you establish a specific amount, stick to it.

Lindie Huffman, Agriculture and Natural Resources

Septic systems are used in Kentucky where municipal sewage treatment is not available. They are an effective, long-standing method of collecting, treating and disposing of homeowner wastewater, provided they are properly sited and installed. However, a well-sited, properly sized and installed system will fail if not properly maintained. A failed septic system creates problems such as noxious odors, lower property values, surface water contamination and groundwater pollution and may be a health hazard. Repair and replacement costs are considerable.

You can find additional information on assessing septic system performance and reducing the potential risk of groundwater contamination from a KY-A-Syst publication: Household Wastewater Treatment (IP-44). You can use this self-evaluation to determine performance and for keeping the system maintained.

Lindie Huffman, Agriculture and Natural Resources

When you properly use manure as a fertilizer, it is both economically and environmentally beneficial.

Because the nutrients in manure vary widely, it is important to have your manure tested before application.  Testing allows for accuracy in nutrient management specific to your crop needs and it minimizes water contamination caused by nutrient run-off or leaching.

Energy costs are monthly expenses that fluctuate throughout the year, since much of our heating and cooling usage depends on Mother Nature. However, you can make your home more energy efficient and reduce some of your energy expenses by locating and switching off sources of phantom energy in your home.

Phantom energy usage occurs when a device is not performing its primary task but is still using electricity. Phantom energy users include many products that have a standby mode, such as microwaves, coffee makers and similar products that constantly display the time.