Writer: Kay Ledbetter, 806-677-5608, skledbetter@ag.tamu.edu
Contact: Matt Brown, 979-862-8072, matthew.brown@ag.tamu.edu
STEPHENVILLE – A Lone Star Healthy Streams workshop is set for Nov. 16 at the Texas A&M AgriLife Research and Extension Center, 1229 N. U.S. Highway 281 in Stephenville.
Workshop presentations will focus on basic watershed function, water quality and specific best management practices that can be implemented to help minimize bacterial contamination originating from beef cattle, horses and feral hogs, said Matt Brown, Texas A&M AgriLife Extension Service program specialist in College Station.
The workshop will begin at 10 a.m. and end at 3 p.m. A catered lunch will be provided at no cost, but an RSVP is requested by Nov. 12. To RSVP for the workshop, contact Brown at 979-862-8072, the AgriLife Extension office in Erath County at 254-965-1460, or visit http://lshs.tamu.edu/workshops/.
Three Texas Department of Agriculture general continuing education credits will be provided for certified pesticide applicators, Brown said.
The goal of the Lone Star Healthy Streams program is to educate Texas livestock producers and land managers on how to best protect Texas waterways like the Bosque River from bacterial contributions associated with livestock production and feral hogs, said Lonnie Jenschke, AgriLife Extension agriculture and natural resources agent in Erath County.
The Lone Star Healthy Streams program helps land managers concerned with maximizing livestock production and maintaining a healthy landscape find workable solutions to problems that may exist, Jenschke said.
Brown said the program highlights key practices that will improve resource utilization, support herd health, decrease operational costs over time and produce clean water from the property.
Currently, about 300 Texas water bodies do not comply with state water quality standards established for E. coli bacteria, he said. By participating in this workshop, livestock producers and landowners can learn about specific conservation practices to help improve and protect the quality of Texas’ water bodies.
The Lone Star Healthy Streams program is funded through a Clean Water Act nonpoint source grant from the Texas State Soil and Water Conservation Board and the U.S. Environmental Protection Agency.
-30-
