Writer: Kay Ledbetter, 806-677-5608, skledbetter@ag.tamu.edu
Contact: Ray Hinnant, 979-820-1778, ray.hinnant@gmail.com
SONORA – The Academy for Ranch Management is offering a basic prescribed burning workshop Aug. 6-8 at the Texas A&M AgriLife Research Station at Sonora, located on State Highway 55 between Sonora and Rocksprings.
The course will focus on the benefits of prescribed burning and the basics of planning and carrying out a prescribed burn, said Ray Hinnant, a Texas A&M AgriLife Research senior research associate in College Station.
“With all the rain we’ve been getting, we are growing some grass and extra fuel across the state,” Hinnant said. “This might be a good time to begin planning for a prescribed burn.”
This workshop will provide information on weather concerns, fuels and fuel moisture, and equipment used on a burn, he said. Developing a burn plan and coordinating a burn will be discussed, and a demonstration burn will be conducted if possible.
The workshop is the first half of the Texas Prescribed Burn Board-approved course required for Certified and Insured Prescribed Burn Manager licenses by the Texas Department of Agriculture, Hinnant said.
A license holder has the authority and responsibility when conducting a prescribed burn, according to department rules. The burn manager must meet the minimum standards of training and experience and maintain required insurance. This course is designed for three types of certified and insured burn managers: private, commercial and not-for-profit.
Completion of the two courses will also satisfy the requirement for the Texas Farm Bureau Ag Advantage program, Hinnant said.
Individual registration is $395 for the workshop, plus a $45 facilities-use fee due upon arrival. Persons interested in attending should go to http://agrilife.org/arm/ for a registration form. For more information, call Hinnant at 979-820-1778 or Jeanne Andreski at 979-862-2128.
The Academy for Ranch Management has been providing annual prescribed burn training since 2001, Hinnant said. The AgriLife Research station at Sonora has a long history of prescribed burning research, and participants will be able to look at short- and long-term burns to evaluate their effectiveness and observe ecosystem restoration in progress.
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