Farm Family School Begins January 7

BRUCE STEELMAN, Extension Agent and County Director


The 2010 Farm Family School is scheduled to begin on Thursday, January 7th with the Mid State Producers Annual Meeting. Ben Neal with TLN will discuss marketing opportunities for Beef Producers. January 14th will include Dr. Fred Hopkins and Dr. Jim Neel discussing management tips for “Weaning Healthy Calves.”

While Dr. Hopkins has made been a frequent speaker, it’s been several years since Dr. Neel has been at the Cannon County Farm Family School. The Cannon County Farm Bureau is sponsoring Beef Night.

The following two weeks will find us in Murfreesboro for the (TCA) Tennessee Cattlemen’s Convention on the 21st, and Manchester on the 28th for the Middle Tennessee Grain Conference. If you are planning to attend the Middle Tennessee Grain Conference (MTGC), please preregister before Friday, January 22nd.

Pre-registration cost is $5.00 and can be dropped off or mailed to the Cannon County Extension Office. For additional information about the Convention, either contact Mr. Charles Hord or go to the TCA’s web site at www.tncattle,org and go to the “Convention” link.

Davy Sneed has arranged an Animal Health Night sponsored by Pfizer on the 4th of February. Animal health reps will discuss changes and updates in vaccines and deworners. If you plan to attend, please call Davy at the Coop at 563-4056 or the Extension Office at 563-2554 so we can be assured to have plenty of food.

The Woodbury FFA has invited us back to the High School to showcase their work in hydroponics and greenhouse production on February 11th. The Woodbury Future Farmers of America will sponsor this session. Mr. Courtney Nichols will feature his hydroponic low cost fodder production. The meeting will be held at the Ag Building at the High School at 7:00.

On February 18, 2010, the Cannon County Soil Conservation District will sponsor a workshop on “Introduction to Organics”. This workshop is intended to create awareness about the USDA’s National Organic Program for producers and consumers. Those attending will be undated on the definition of “ organic”, assistance available through USDA/NRCS to organic producers or producers who want to transition to organic production, assistance available through TN Dept of Agriculture including funding opportunities and marketing help for organic producers, certification process required for organic producers.

Speakers scheduled for the session are: Pamela Hoskins, District Conservationist with the USDA/Natural Resources Conservation Service, Jon Frady, Agricultural Marketing Specialist - Producer Diversification and Organics Coordinator with Tennessee Department of Agriculture and Matthew Young, Inspector with the TN Crop Improvement Association.

The session on Crops will be held on Friday, March 5th beginning at 9:00 A.M... Dr. Larry Steckel and Scott Stewart will update producers on the latest in herbicide and pest management. BASF representative, Tony Odeneal, will also be at the meeting to discuss the herbicide Sharpen, an alternative to control the glyphosate resistant marestail. The Woodbury Farmers Coop is the sponsor for Crops Night.

March 18th will be the annual Horse Night. Patricia Lance and the Cannon County Walking Horse Association are assisting with this event. Location and topic are still being planned. Hopefully, funds will be available to support the 2010 Ag Enhancement Programs. Regardless, we want you to be as knowledgeable as possible concerning the programs, so an event is being planned to target Ag Enhancement. Currently, we are planning to have the meeting at the Expo building. We will keep you updated as details are completed.

We are still working on a grape production and wine making session. The University of Tennessee Fruit Specialist, David Lockwood and Food Technology Specialist Bill Morris, have been contacted. Coordinating with the two on the dates still available for this year’s Farm Family School. If you have a topic you would like included in Farm Family School, give us a call at the Extension Office at 563-2554.

All meetings except the FFA Night, Middle Tennessee Grain Conference, Horse Night and the Ag Enhancement Update will be held at the Woodbury Lions Club Building. The Lions Club is committed to service projects in the County their presence is felt thru their work in sight and hearing preservation.

The Club has multiple committees with interest in areas such as agriculture, KidSight Screening, sight and hearing conservation, Red Cross Blood Drive, Civic Pride, Community Projects, Citizenship and Patriotism, Diabetes Awareness, Drug Awareness, Education, VA Carnival and fund raising opportunities to fund their Sight Projects. We applaud the work the members of the Woodbury Lions Club and members across the Country, for their work in bringing sight to those with vision disabilities.

All meetings will begin at 7:00 with the exception of the Middle Tennessee Grain Conference which will be held in Manchester and the TCA convention will be in Murfreesboro. In the event of severe weather, listen to WBRY radio or go to WBRY.com. All available news media will have the most current schedule and changes in upcoming programs. Help spread the word, Bring a friend or neighbor to Farm School.

The Extension Office will be closed from December 28th thru January 1st. The office will reopen on January 4th. The mailing address is 614 Lehman St, Woodbury, Tn 37190.

Pre-Register for Grain Conference by January 22

Farmers planning to attend the fifth annual Middle Tennessee Grain Conference scheduled for Thursday, January 28 at the Coffee County Fairgrounds in Manchester can save money by pre-registering at the Cannon County Extension office by Friday, January 22.

Pre- registration cost for the conference is $5.00 per person, which includes the program and materials, refreshments, lunch, a copy of the conference proceedings including an outlook of 2010’s weather patterns from World Weather Inc., a grain conference cap, and a crop production and diagnostic resource back pack for the first 185 farmers. The price at the door will be ten dollars per person.

An excellent slate of speakers on planting, managing, harvesting, and marketing strategies for corn, wheat and soybean production in 2010 has been planned in addition to the keynote speaker from Top Third AG Marketing Services of Chicago, IL. Jim Hemminger will address “How to Manage Risk in Today’s Volatile Market”. Hemminger is a former thirty year member of the Chicago Board of Trade.  He started his career as a floor broker and market analyst for an international grain company and then spent over twenty-five years as a trader and broker. Top Third AG Marketing Services is highly regarded for their market analysis and information and featured on a number television shows, radio programs, and seminars across the country.

The Middle Tennessee Grain conference begins with registration at 7:30 am. Trade show opens at 8:00 am, topic presentations begin at 9:00 am concluding with the keynote speaker after a catered lunch.

For more details on topics and pre-registration contact the Cannon County Extension Office at 563-2554.

Master Beef Producer Classes Begin in January

Beginning on Tuesday, January 12, producers in Cannon, Coffee and Warren County will have the opportunity to participate in a Master Beef Producer Class. The Master Beef Producer Program will be taught at Bridgestone/Firestone Learning Center in Morrison.

Producers enrolling in the Master Beef Producer program will receive instruction on 12 topics that focus on cow-calf production, marketing and issues facing the beef industry. You will also receive the 208 page “Tennessee Master Beef Producers Manual” that corresponds to the topics taught in the sessions. Following completion of the course, you will be awarded a “certificate,” a Master Beef Producer cap and Master Beef Producer sign that can be mounted near the entrance to your farm.

The cost of the program is $150, but $100 scholarship is provided by the Tennessee Ag Enhancement program. To qualify for the scholarship, you must have a “Premise ID Number” as well as be a “Beef Quality Assurance” (BQA) Certified producer and complete the Master Beef Producer Program.

To enroll in the Master Beef Producer Program, contact the Cannon County Extension Office at 563-2554, or drop by the Office at 614 Lehman Street. The cost of the program is $50.