Upcoming Workshops and Tours

Cows, Creek and Cold Cash- $100,00 in Tuttle Creek WRAPS Cost-Share Available

Marshall and Washington County livestock pro-ducers (all livestock species) are invited to an educational and "Cost Share Application" meeting on Tuesday, July 26 starting at 5:30 p.m. The program will feature Kansas State University Livestock and Watershed Management experts including Will Boyer and Herschel George. Speakers will cover solutions to common problems faced by livestock producers, including alternative watering and feeding options that improve water quality.

Experienced specialists will be on site to assist producers in filling out application forms and answering questions. Fundable projects include: buffer and filter strips, relocation of feeding areas, access roads, alternative water development, constructed wind breaks, pipes through dams, tanks below dams, and fencing.

Please bring farm site maps and legal descriptions. $100,000 in Tuttle Creek WRAPS Cost Share Dollars is avail-able. Go to the KRC website for maps of the watershed’s high priority areas.

Supper will be provided at 5:30 PM prior to the meeting at St. Monica/St Elizabeth Catholic Church Hall, 1007 East Avenue, Blue Rapids, Kansas. RSVP by Friday, July 22 to your County Extension Office, Washington, 785-325-2121 or Marysville, 785-562-3531.

For questions contact Mary Howell 785-562-8726, or marshallcofair@g mail.com, or Barbara Donovan 651-247-8292 donovanmn@aol.com.

KFU Sponsors Niche Food Market Farm Tour

Kansas Farmers Union will host a Local Vegetable, Niche Market, and Grazing-Forages Tour on Monday July 25 in Republic County in north central Kansas. The tour will feature three farms that grow food market crops as opposed to commodity crops, and one grass farmer/grazer.

The tour will start at Warren Sutton’s farm, Courtland, with regi-stration at 9:30 a.m. (Sutton believes his farm has the only green bean picking machine in Kansas.) Other nearby farmers featured include Dan Kuhn and Chris Jantzen. Crops grown include green beans, pumpkins, zuchinni, watermelon, cantaloupe, cucumbers, tomatoes , greens and okra. Picking, harvest procedures, cleaning , sorting and warehousing, and marketing avenues will be discussed.

Cary Rivard, KSU Horticulture Specialist, and David Coltrain (River Valley Extension District Horticulture Agent for Clay, Cloud, Washington and Republic counties ) have been invited to participate.

Mid-afternoon the tour will move to Dale Strickler's farm to learn about forages and grazing. Dale’s farm has a wide variety of grasses, legumes and annual forages that create a nutritious mix for his cow/calf enterprise.

Lunch will be served and this will be your only cost for the day. RSVP’s are appreciated to help planning, but are not required. For directions and to RSVP, contact the KFU office at 620-241- 6630 by July 22, or email kfu.mary@gmail.com.

Eastern Ks. Grazing School Set for September 7-8 in Holton

Farmers and ranchers are invited to participate in the second annual Eastern Kansas Grazing School at the Jackson County Fairgrounds in Holton on September 7 & 8. The two-day management intensive grazing (MIG) school will be a hands-on learning experience preparing participants to start their own rotational grazing system with forages adapted to eastern Kansas.

Topics to be covered include the science behind grazing, graziers arithmetic, matching livestock and forage needs, pasture layout and design, grazing economics, and fencing and watering designs. Hands-on field exercises and two farm tours will be included. Speakers will include experts from Kansas NRCS, Missouri NRCS and Extension, and Kansas State University. This school is appropriate for both beginner and experienced graziers.

The school will begin at 8 AM and end at 5 PM both days at the Jackson County Fairgrounds located at 5th and Dakota in Holton, KS. A Cattle Body Condition Score Workshop will be held the evening of September 7 at the sale barn in Holton, which will be open to the public and include a free dinner.

The grazing school is sponsored by K-State Research and Extension, NRCS, and the Kansas Rural Center. The two-day school is supported in part by a grant to the Kansas Rural Center from USDA Risk Management Agency.

There is a $50 registration fee to cover meals and materials, and the school will be limited to the first 35 farms to register. Registration for the school is due by August 15. For more information and to receive a schedule and registration form, contact Jody Holthaus with the Meadowlark District Extension Office (785)364-4125.

To receive a flyer for the school, email Jason Schmidt with the Kansas Rural Center at jason_schmidt20 @hotmail. com, or go to the Kansas Rural Center website at www.kansas ruralcenter.org.

Farm Aid Comes to Kansas City, Kansas August 13!

On Saturday August 13, Farm Aid brings its annual music concert to Livestrong Sporting Park on the west edge of Kansas City, Kansas!

KRC has been invited to participate in media events and the Home Grown Village, an opportunity for displays and to showcase hands-on activities that give concertgoers a chance to meet farmers, get their hands dirty, and learn how family farmers enrich our soil, protect our water and connect people to our roots.

Farm Aid 2011 will feature Farm Aid board members Willie Nelson, Neil Young, John Mellencamp and Dave Matthews with other top artists to be announced. The concert benefits Farm Aid's mission to keep family farmers on the land to guarantee an agricultural system that ensures farmers a fair living, strengthens our communities, protects our natural resources and delivers good food for all. For more information go to: www.farmaid.org.