Writer: Steve Byrns, 325-653-4576, s-byrns@tamu.edu
Contact: Dr. Doug Tolleson 325-387-3168, Douglas.Tolleson@ag.tamu.edu
SONORA – Heritage, Homestead and Habitat will be the theme of the upcoming Neighbors Meeting Neighbors field day at the Texas A&M AgriLife Research Station at Sonora from 9 a.m.-3 p.m April 22.
The station is on Texas Highway 55 between Sonora and Rocksprings.
The day will include a variety of ranch-related educational offerings, commercial and educational booths, demonstrations, a chuckwagon lunch and the second-ever Super Juniper Eating Meat Goat Sale, said Dr. Doug Tolleson, associate professor who oversees the station’s daily operations.
Morning topics will be offered in a 30-minute revolving format so all can attend each one. Topics will include plant response to fire, an introduction to Edwards Plateau wildlife, and lamb cooking, followed by an hour for participants to visit exhibitors and watch sheep shearing and working dog demonstrations before going to the chuckwagon lunch.
The afternoon will begin with the sale of the Super Juniper Eating Goats, followed by a range tour with stops featuring prescribed burn sites and a drone demonstration.
“The Neighbors Meeting Neighbors initiative was started several years ago at the station by area landowners and Texas A&M AgriLife personnel as a way for new landowners or those returning to the ranch, to get to know their neighbors in a relaxed educational setting,” Tolleson said. “While it’s not billed as an annual event, its success and popularity have led to this, the third edition.
“Many properties across the Edwards Plateau, commonly called the Texas Hill Country, are changing hands, either through being split up and sold as smaller parcels to newcomers or through inheritance. These new landowners often want help, but don’t know where to find it. The goal of this field day is to introduce them to the station, which has been conducting range research for over 100 years now, and to other helpful agencies and sources, not the least of these being their longtime native ranch neighbors.”
There is no charge for any of the day’s activities including the chuckwagon lunch, though organizers said contributions would be appreciated.
Preregistration by April 14 is requested for an accurate meal count. As an incentive, the first 25 preregistrants will have their names added to a door prize pot.
To preregister, go to: http://sonora.tamu.edu/events/heritage-homestead-habitat/ or call Phyllis Benge at 325-657-7333.
For more information, call Tolleson at 325-387-3168.
-30-