The Marshall County Extension Office is offering four informative programs in September that should be of interests to many area residents whether involved in production agriculture, live on a few acres, or an avid gardener to provide information on markets, managing crops, living on a few acres, managing your landscape and growing fruits and vegetables. The programs are Marshall County Master Gardener Intern Series to start on evening of Tuesday, September 7, Marshall County Crops Update Meeting morning of Thursday, September 9, Purdue Farm Outlook Program, morning of Thursday, September 16, and Living on the Land, to start evening of Monday, September 27.
The goal of these programs is to pass on knowledge to help area residents manage their agricultural businesses small or large, manage natural resources under their care, and in the case of gardeners let them enjoy their outdoor activities with the success of achieving their goals. Following is a brief introduction to each of these programs:
Marshall County Master Gardener Intern Series will be held mainly on Tuesday nights and some Thursday nights from 6 pm to 9 pm starting on Tuesday, September 7, at the Community Hospital Bremen Clinic, 1144 W. Plymouth Street (main east/west street), Bremen. This is a series of sixteen classes on horticulture knowledge to managing indoors plants, landscapes, lawns, and home fruit and vegetable production. Topic list includes plant and soil science, plant nutrition, pest management, woody and herbaceous ornamentals, lawn care, fruits, vegetables, basics on organic gardening, and plant propagation. There is a cost of $120 to cover Master Gardener Resource Manual, weekly handouts, testing soil sample and refreshments. For more details contact the Marshall County Extension Office, there is a class limit of 25 people.
Marshall County Crops Update Meeting will be held on Thursday morning, September 9, from 9:30 am to 1 pm. Cargill Inc. is sponsoring this program and providing lunch following the morning presentations. Meeting will be held in Bremen at Shadyside Park on Center Street just south of railroad tracks. Robert Yoder, Marshall County Extension Educator, will share information on Driftwatch and glyphosate resistance, Shaun Castel, Purdue Extension Soybean Specialist, will provide an update on what’s happening with this year’s soybean crop and how to enhance yields, and Bob Nielsen, Purdue Corn Specialist will provide an update on corn crop and Western Bean Cutworm. This program is approved as a Private Applicator Program for farmers and submitted for CEU’s for Certified Crop Advisors.
Purdue Extension Farm Outlook Meeting will be held at the Marshall County Extension Office located in room 304 of the Marshall County Building, 112 W. Jefferson Street in Plymouth on Thursday, September 16. A hot breakfast will be served at 7:30 am with program at 8:00 am. Christ Hurt, Purdue Agricultural Economist, will share the Purdue Agricultural Department’s outlook for marketing this year’s crop and economic perspective for 2011 crop and livestock enterprises. This outlook does an excellent job of providing a current snapshot of economics for agriculture industry to help area farmers and those supporting the agricultural industry to help with business decisions like which crop to store and which to sell at harvest, start planning acres for 2011, what is land worth and where are cash rents at for 2011.
Living on the Land is a nine evening educational series that explores farming practices and various crop and animal enterprises that can be done on small acreage. The educational series will be held at the Marshall County Extension Office, room 304, Marshall County Building, 112 W. Jefferson Street, Plymouth on Monday nights from 6:30 pm to 9 pm starting on Monday, September 27. Participants will visit a machinery dealership and tour successful small farms. There is a fee of $150 for the first participant to cover material costs or $200 for two individuals sharing reference material. Excellent program for landowners to learn how to utilize additional land that comes with homes in rural settings.
For more information or to register for these programs, contact the Marshall County Extension Office (574) 935-8545 or e-mail Robert Yoder, Extension Educator, at ryoder@purdue.edu. Preregistration is appreciated, so please contact extension office if you plan to participate.
