Row crop meeting next Thursday
The Second Annual Middle Tennessee Grain Conference will be held next Thursday, Feb. 22, at the Coffee County Fairgrounds starting at 7:30 a.m. with registration. The program starts at 9 a.m. Several different UT Extension Specialists will be on the program.
Dr. Delton Gerloff, UT Extension Grain Marketing specialist, will be here to give us his take on what the markets will be offering over the next few weeks and why. He already has been advising Tennessee grain farmers to sell up to 35 percent of their 2007 crop now (both corn and soybeans). Thursday he?ll explain why as well as when to look at selling the rest of your crop.
Mr. Drew Lerner, Agricultural Climatologist with World Wide Weather Inc., will be our keynote speaker after lunch. Mr. Lerner will offer insights to weather patterns for 2007 and how they impact production agriculture decisions. Mr. Lerner is known throughout the Midwest as a expert in weather patterns.
Several other interesting speakers will fill the rest of the day?s activities. Registration for the conference is $5 until February 19 and $10 at the door on Thursday. The registration will cover the cost of the conference including lunch and a free cap. You may pre-register by coming by the Extension office or by mail. Give me a call here at the Extension office (473-8484) for more information.
JR. BULL TEST COMPLETED AT SPRING HILL
The final test for the bull evaluation center for 2006-07 was completed on Jan. 24, 2007 with 73 bulls from 32 different Tennessee purebred beef breeders of three different breeds. The test involves measuring an animal?s ability to gain rapidly from weaning to one year of age. This is important to the beef industry as it identifies individuals with superior genetics for growth and when used as breeding stock they pass those economic important traits onto their offspring thus improving the growth and quality of the feeder calves that we produce here in Warren County.
The high gaining bull in the test was an Angus bull consigned by BGS Angus of Piney Flats. This B/R New Frontier 095 son gained 5.29 pounds per day on the 112-day gain test. He finished the test with an adjusted 365-day weight of 1348 pounds and a Frame score of 6.5. The second high gaining bull was another Angus consigned by Grassy Valley Farms of Greeneville. His gain was 4.94 pounds per day. Of all the 73 bulls that completed the test, only those that qualified from a growth and fertility requirement will be offered for sale at auction at the Middle Tennessee Research and Education Center, Spring Hill, at 12:00 noon on Thursday, March 8, 2007. For more information on this sale give me a call here at the Extension office (473-8484).
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PRUNING IS A WINTER CHORE
The fine spring weather we had last weekend reminded me that it?s a good time to consider pruning those fruit trees and shrubs around the house. On well established ornamental trees in our home lawns a sharp saw or loppers may be the most important tool in helping your trees survive.
Make clean, sharp cuts at an angle so that water can drain and the limb stubs can heal. I dont put much faith in wound dressings since they tend to prevent the wound from drying. When choosing which limbs to cut, choose those that have wide crotch angles where they emerge from the trunk of the tree. Cut out any diseased and dead wood first. Then cut those limbs that cross each other and are rubbing. The rubbing will cause sores and weak wood. Better to take care of them now. Cut out those low growing limbs that get in your way or any that may be rubbing against the house.
I always get questions about how to prune Crapemyrtle shrubs. My answer is usually why prune them at all? Let them grow and get big and have lots of flowers. If you have to prune, now is the time. Crapemyrtles bloom on the wood that will grow this spring. If you prune now you won?t cut off any blooms. Shrubs like Forsythia bloom on wood that grew last summer. Wait until after they bloom before pruning.
If you want more information on trees and shrubs around the home give us a call at the Extension office (473-8484). Were located at the county office complex on Locust Street. Come by and see us.