Submitted by Brandy Brabham
WVU Extension Agent
The WVU Extension Service in Roane County is offering its first Progressive Farmer Winter Dinner Meeting Tuesday, January 27, 2014 at the Roane Jackson Technical Center in Leroy, WV. Participants are advised to park in parking lot next to Cunningham Hall in the back of the vo-tech center. The meeting starts at 6:30 p.m. with a meal provided by local sponsors, including Farm Credit and the Little Kanawha Conservation District.
Tuesday night's topic will be the "Low Cost Fertilization of Pastures, Hay and Crops" by Dr. Tom Basden, WVU Extension Nutrient Management Specialist. Basden's presentation will review a collection of soil fertility tools and associated handouts developed by WVU Extension to help farmers select the best fertilizer, lime and fertility options to improve pasture, hay, crop and vegetable production.
Attendees will be provided a completed set of soil fertility fact sheets on lime and liming management, soil sampling and testing, and the fertility recommendation tool and calculator spreadsheet. Producers with small diverse farms will find value in learning how to use the WVU online lime fertilizer and recommendation spreadsheets. This tool will allow farmers to develop soil series specific fertility plans.
Tom Basden is an extension assistant professor and nutrient management specialist with WVU-Extension. He currently works in the areas of soil fertility, nutrient management and water quality. During the last 15 years as an extension educator Tom's focus has been on agricultural non-point source pollution and watershed protection issues. His area of concentration is animal waste and nutrient management research and educational programs for West Virginia beef, dairy, and poultry farmers. Tom also provides composting and soil fertility educational programs to master gardeners and small vegetable farmers throughout the State. Some of his research has also involved helping high tunnel vegetable producers incorporate cover crops into their crop rotation to improve soil health.
This meeting is free and open to the public, but pre-registration is requested and suggested to plan for meals by Monday, January 26, 2015. To pre-register for this meeting or for more information, call the WVU-Roane County Extension Office at 304-927-0975.
This dinner meeting is part of a series of meetings that will take place throughout the winter and is brought to you in part by the WVU Extension Service, the WVU Extension Service's Small Farm Center, and Farm Credit of the Virginias.
Two additional local meetings are planned for February and March and include information on direct marketing of farm products by a successful producer and managing Windfalls from Natural Gas Leases on the Farm and forage economics. A complete list of winter dinner meetings sponsored by WVU Extension can be found at the following website anr.ext.wvu.edu/ag_dinner_meetings or by calling the local WVU-Roane County Extension Office at 304-927-0975.
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