Staff
Tuesday, September 2, 2014 4:06 pm

Master Beef Producer Class offered to maximize Agriculture Enhancement grants. The Master Beef Producer Program will be hosted by the Cannon and Warren County Extension. The training will begin held on Tuesday evenings beginning September 23rd and ending November 25th at a cost of $60.

The classes will be held at Kat's Diner in Centertown from 6-8:00 PM. We plan to finish the course prior to the Tennessee Enhancement Program reimbursement deadline of December 1, 2014 for Livestock Feed Storage and Livestock Equipment. Completion of this course will allow producers to increase their cost share maximums from 35% to 50%.

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 a 208 page "Tennessee Master Beef Producers Manual" that corresponds to the topics taught in the sessions. This manual will be used as a study manual during the course and for your future reference. 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.

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 $60. This and other programs of the University of Tennessee Extension are open to all interested persons. UT Extension provides equal opportunities in programs.

Master Dairy Update
The Tennessee Master Dairy Program is trying to assist producers by doing better job in producing a high quality product and to improve your bottom line. Materials are available to train producers to become eligible to be a Master Dairy Producer this year and be eligible for the 50% cost share with the Tennessee Ag Enhancement Program. Several of you attended the educational programs that Dr. Krawczel gave back in January. If you need to attend one or the both meetings to get your eligibility for a Tennessee Master Dairy Producer, please contact Ricky Skillington at 931-359-1929 as soon as possible. The initial training will last around 12 hours, but we might be able to break this into two days. You can also reach Mr. Skillington via email at rskillin@utk.edu.

Please don't wait until the last minute to schedule these trainings. The training that you take this year will good for only this year for the 50% cost share program through TAEP.

The University of Tennessee will be offering three classes next year to keep you up to date as a Master Dairy Producer next year. Those dates will be sent out closer to first of the year. Two meetings will be held in Middle Tennessee again next year. One will be in Lewisburg and the other in Cookeville, the same as this year. The University of Tennessee has made a commitment to try to assist all dairy producers in Tennessee to help insure that you continue to produce a high quality product.