Submitted by Brandy Brabham
WVU-Roane County Extension Agent
An educational program on how to produce, harvest and store high quality hay for the season is set for Thursday, June 26 from 4:00 to 8:00 p.m. on a cattle farm just outside of Elizabeth, WV. Topics to be discussed include weed identification and control, fertilization for high yield hay crop, the importance of forage testing, and storage options, specifically the Best Management Practices. Local equipment dealers will also be offering equipment demonstrations during the event.
Come out to enjoy a good networking, light refreshments, and great information making second-cut hay this season and future years. The program is intended to promote progressive management strategies for forage production for livestock producers and landowners. The program is free and open to the public.
Pre-registration is encouraged. To pre-register or obtain more information, call the WVU Extension Wood County office at (304)-424-1960. The meeting is being co-sponsored by the WVU Extension Service, Little Kanawha Conservation District, and USDA's Natural Resources Conservation Service.
The program will be held at The Steve and Treva Full farm near Elizabeth, WV. The farm is located on Fish Hatchery Road, one mile off WV State Rt. 5. Steve is a member of the Board of Supervisors of the Little Kanawha Conservation District, representing Wirt County. Steve and his wife, Treva operate a beef cattle operation and manage several acres of pastures and hayfields.
Come early and you will be able to tour Steve's recently constructed animal waste storage facility at the farm with the assistance of the Natural Resources Conservation Service (NRCS) program funding. The facility includes a feeding pad and manure storage facility for feeding animals in the winter or in wet weather.
Brandy Brabham, WVU Extension Agriculture Agent for Roane County commented, "The meeting serves as a great place for farmers and landowners to come together to share ideas. WVU Extension, the local conservation district and the NRCS are here to serve area farmers and assist them with farm and soil management. Livestock producers need to make every attempt to improve hay quality after the wet start we've had to this hay season and the delay start most farmers are dealing with on first-cut hay."
Several educators will be teaching at the workshop including, NRCS staff; Daisy Bailey, Calhoun-Gilmer Counties' WVU Extension Agent, Wood County WVU Extension Agent J.J. Barrett; Brandy Brabham, the WVU Extension Agent from Roane County; Alex Straight, the WVU Extension Agent from Ritchie County and Dr. Ed Rayburn, the WVU Extension Agronomy Specialist. They will share ideas with livestock producers on how to improve hay quality and maintain its quality through proper storage. They want local farmers to keep input costs from purchased fees low to improve the profitability of their operations.
For more information about this program or other educational programs available, call your local WVU-Roane County Extension Office at 304-927-0975.
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