Upcoming April Events
Apr 7, 2008 12:16 PM
April 16, Agtourism Conference; Shenandoah Valley, California
The University of California (UC) Cooperative Extension in Amador County and Farms of Amador are sponsoring an agritourism conference at 21601 Shenandoah School Rd., Shenandoah Valley. Topics include agritourism operations and county regulations, managing risk in agritourism, creating a business plan, evaluation your resources for agritourism, consumer demand and marketing channels, and more. Tours of the Sobon Estate for Agricultural History Museum or the Amador Flower Farm are also scheduled.
The event is open to all farmers and ranchers from all counties. Registration, which costs $40, begins at 8:30 a.m. and includes an agritourism manual, a catered lunch, conference packet and morning refreshments.
For more information call Andrew Kramer at 209-223-6837.
April 17, K-State Beef Roundup; Hays, Kansas
K-State’s Agricultural Research Center at Hays has scheduled its Beef Roundup for April 17. The annual event is free and will begin with registration at 11:30 a.m. and a complimentary lunch at noon in the center’s Hays Arena.
The Roundup, which is open to beef producers and anyone in the community and beyond, will provide an overview of research projects ongoing at the center.
The presentations will include:
· preconditioning and weaning management;
· comparison of stocking strategies for western Kansas rangelands;
· sensors to monitor illness in cattle;
· effect of marbling and backfat on cow productivity;
· walking tour of the feedlot;
· effects of dietary vitamin A level and weaning age on beef carcass quality;
· comparison of placing stockers on grass or directly on feed;
· effects of implanting and feeding zilpaterol on performance, carcass characteristics and subprimal meat yields on fed cull cows;
· effect of feeding rumen-protected choline to cows during late gestation and early lactation;
· preconditioning management of early- and traditionally-weaned calves; and
· summary of results from recent studies examining the use of distillers’ byproducts.
More information about the Roundup is available by calling 785-625-3425.
April 26, Mid-Ohio Valley Agriculture Opportunities; Marietta, Ohio
New on-farm opportunities, from raising meat goats to starting a vineyard to managing honey bees, will be the focus of an Ohio State University Extension-sponsored event intended to help farmers capture the growing trend of locally grown, fresh-from-the-farm products.
The 2008 Mid-Ohio Valley Agriculture Opportunities conference will take place April 26 from 9 a.m. until 4 p.m. at Washington State Community College in Marietta. Registration is $30 and includes lunch and all conference materials.
The keynote speaker will be Joe Kovach, an Ohio State University ecological pest management expert with the Ohio Agricultural Research and Development Center. Kovach has been leading innovative research on producing high-value commodities in small farm plots. “How to Gross $90,000 Per Acre on Your Farm” will focus on how farmers can achieve such high-value production.
Other sessions being offered during the conference include:
• Direct Marketing Meat Products
• Beekeeping—Opportunities and Challenges
• Extending the Growing Season: High Tunnels and More
• Top 10 Opportunities in Direct Marketing
• Pasture-Based Livestock Production
• Berries from May to October —Extending the Pick-Your-Own Season
• Herbs: Types, Culture and Use
• How to Get Higher Prices for Your Products
• Specialty Pork and Poultry Production on the Farm
• Community Supported Agriculture –– Getting Guaranteed Customers for the Entire Season
• Table and Wine Grape Production
• Business Planning—Adding a crop? Got an idea? Let’s Put the Numbers to It.
• Meat Goats 101
• Blueberry and Blackberry Production
• Finding Money –– Find Out Where You Can Get Cheap or Free Money
Julie Fox, an OSU Extension direct marketing specialist with OSU South Centers at Piketon will offer a session titled, “Finding your farm’s customers.” Other speakers include: Rory Lewandowski, OSU Extension; Eric Barrett, OSU Extension; Hal Kneen, OSU Extension; Maurus Brown, OSU Extension; Jackie LeBerth, Marietta Small Business Development Center and Bramble Creek Farm; Steve Boone, president of The Mid-Ohio Valley Beekeepers Association; Ann Fugate from the Athens Farmers Market; and JB King, King Family Farm in Albany.
For more information on the conference, contact Eric Barrett at (740) 376-7431 or barrett.90@osu.edu.
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