LOMETA — The Texas A&M AgriLife Extension Service will be holding the Lampasas and Mills counties range tour on Oct. 15.
The event will run from 9 a.m.-noon at Herring Ranch, which is 5 miles northwest of Lometa on U.S. Highway 183. Participants should meet at the ranch gate at 8:30 a.m. for registration.
The cost is $10, and an RSVP is requested by Oct. 10 to the AgriLife Extension office in Lampasas County at 512-556-8271, or the AgriLife Extension office in Mills County at 325-648-2650.
There will be three Texas Department of Agriculture continuing education units available, two general and one integrated pest management.
“We’ve got four speakers coming who are all experts in their respective fields,” said Heath Lusty, AgriLife Extension agriculture and natural resources agent for Lampasas County. “We have put together a three-hour program that will cover a wide range of information helpful to our local communities.”
Topics and speakers will include:
- Range management principles: stocking rates, proper grazing use, forage inventories and grazing plans – Michael Wilson, U.S. Department of Agriculture- Natural Resources and Conservation Service range management specialist, Weatherford.
- Core principles of soil health – John Sackett, USDA-NRCS research soil scientist, Weatherford.
- Using the white-tail deer habitat evaluation procedure – Ricky Linex, USDA-NRCS wildlife biologist, Weatherford.
- Plant identification – Linex.
- Use of cover crop mixes in an established pastureland setting – Fred Schrank, USDA-NRCS agronomist, Weatherford.
“We hope everyone comes out and takes advantage of the range tour this year,” said Tom Guthrie, AgriLife Extension agent for Mills County. “The Herring Ranch is a great location to hold a tour and it will be a morning well-spent among our speakers and fellow producers.”
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