.jpg)
No-Mow Pasture Management, Ag Experiment Station Field Day at McCormick Farm, and a Generation Next Landowner seminar are all great opportunities in the next few weeks for exploring current and future opportunities for land stewardship and addressing economic and ecological challenges in the years ahead.
On Wednesday, July 31, a summer pasture stockpiling and bird habitat field day in Augusta County will allow participants to see first-hand how pastures left unmown and ungrazed in the spring and early summer can benefit grassland bird species and provide late summer grazing for profitable livestock management.
The strategy involves excluding livestock from the field from late April until late July and then utilizing the field for grazing in August and September when pasture forage is often limited. The field day will allow participants to see a large field set aside for grazing, hear about the grassland bird species that can benefit, and learn about fall and winter management strategies for grazing and weed control.
The field day will be held from 5 to 8:30 p.m. at 304 Cattleman Road in Swoope. Registration is $10 a person (includes light dinner and ice cream). Please visit https:// vaforages.org/ for more information and to register online. Online registration link can also be reached at: https:// tinyurl.com/summerstockpiling.
-The next great local event will be the Virginia Tech Shenandoah Valley Agricultural Research and Extension Center Field Day that will be held on Wednesday, Aug. 7.
We will feature field tours of ongoing forage, livestock, and forestry demonstration and research projects. This is a free, in-person tour of the research farm with dinner provided. The tour will begin at 1 p.m., followed by an evening presentation before dinner. Plan to arrive between noon and 12:50 to visit sponsors and staff. The tour will feature recent work on creepgrazing for fall calves, bale grazing, silvopasture, and native warm season grasses and wildflowers, among other topics.
If you are planning to attend this event, please register soon as space is limited. For more information or to register, visit our website at https:// www.arec.vaes.vt.edu/arec/ shenandoah-valley.html. -The third great opportunity is a two-day Generation-Next Seminar Aug. 9 and 10 to be held at the Frontier Culture Museum’s conference center in Staunton. The seminar is for farm families and landowners with a particular emphasis on forestland to help Virginia landowners make plans to keep forests intact, in forest, and in family.
The program features legal and financial experts who can help landowners get started and clarify misconceptions about the legacy planning process.
The program will run Friday from 5 to 7:30 p.m. with supper included. The Saturday program goes from 8 a.m. to 4 p.m. with a light breakfast and lunch provided. Cost is $90 for the first two family members and $10 per additional family member. Each participating family will receive the 56-page Legacy Planning workbook that contains useful information and allows the family to customize the content and consolidate important information particular to their land and estate. Register online at: tinyurl.com/ VFLEPRegistration. -For assistance with registration or if you do not have computer access, contact me, Tom Stanley, at (540) 463-4734 or via e-mail to [email protected] to register for any of these events or for more information about these excellent programs.
