AMARILLO – A Manure and Compost Spreader Calibration Demonstration and Water Quality Field Day will be held Sept. 14 between Hereford and Vega.
The field day is free and open to the public. Registration will begin at 10 a.m. with a program from 10:30 a.m. to 12:15 p.m. Lunch will be provided. For planning purposes, RSVPs are requested by Sept. 9 to Cynthia Riojas at cynthia@tcfa.org or 806-358-3681.
Weather permitting, field demonstrations for proper calibration of manure and compost spreader trucks are planned, said Ben Weinheimer, Texas Cattle Feeders Association vice president. Water quality monitoring plots configured with automatic water samplers and flow measurement devices also will be toured and discussed.
The plots have been established to evaluate four treatments: 28 tons of manure per acre; 10 tons of manure per acre; 5 tons of compost per acre and commercial fertilizer, said Dr. Brent Auvermann, Texas AgriLife Extension Service environmental systems specialist.
This demonstration and field day will be based on the project, “Development and Implementation of an Environmental Training Program for Manure and Compost Haulers/Applicators in the Texas High Plains.”
This project and field day are a cooperative effort that includes Texas Cattle Feeders Association, AgriLife Extension, Texas AgriLife Research and West Texas A&M University.
The project is designed to develop and implement an education, training and demonstration program to improve the understanding of environmental protection principles by manure/compost haulers, equipment operators, certified crop advisors and crop producers across the Texas Panhandle, Auvermann said.
Certificates for one hour of nutrient management and one and half hours of soil and water management will be issued to certified crop advisors. Pesticide applicators can receive two general hours of credit through the Texas Department of Agriculture.
Funding for this project was provided through a Clean Water Act nonpoint source grant from the Texas State Soil and Water Conservation Board and the U.S. Environmental Protection Agency.
Directions from Vega to the site are: 14.5 miles south on State Highway 385, then 5 miles west on Farm-to-Market 1412. Directions from Hereford: 15 miles north on State Highway 385, then 5 miles west on Farm-to-Market 1412. Watch for the signs.
Additional details about the project are available at the project website: http://manurespreading.tamu.edu/.
For more information, contact Weinheimer at 806-358-3681 or Auvermann at 806-677-5600.
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