October 2009 Archives

The Smith County Extension office will be hosting a free seminar designed for people interested in getting started in fruits, pecans, and grapes on Wednesday, November 18, 2009. The seminar will begin at 10:00 AM and conclude at noon. The seminar will be held in the Extension office's meeting room (1517 West Front Street, Suite 116, Tyler).

This seminar will include discussion on site selection considerations for horticultural crops, production practices, requirements for setting up a new horticultural business, crop economics, and marketing strategies.

The program will be hosted and delivered both locally and via remote conferencing with Texas AgriLife Extension Service horticultural specialists from across the state.

Although this is a free event, you must pre-register on-line at the following site to attend http://aggiehorticulture.tamu.edu/smallacreage/seminars.html.

If you have questions concerning this event or have trouble registering online, please contact our office at 903-590-2980.

The Rusk/Smith County Forest Landowners Association is sponsoring a meeting and field tour of two Smith County family tree farms on Thursday, November 5, 2009.

The association invites the public to learn more about forestry and their non-profit organization whose goal is to encourage and assist in the development of forestry in Rusk and Smith Counties.

The tour will start with registration at 8:30 AM and conclude following a catered barbecue lunch around noon. Cost to attend is $10 per person which includes lunch. Please note that minimal walking is required for this meeting. Attendees are encouraged to wear appropriate clothing for being in a forest setting and bring a lawn chair for resting during the presentations and at lunch.

The tour begins at M & M Tree Farm which is located on Smith County Road 26 (Jamestown Road). County Road 26 is located off of Smith County Road 246. County Road 246 can be accessed from State Highway 31 (8.1 miles west of Kilgore or 13.7 miles east of Tyler) or from State Highway 64 (1.7 miles west of Arp or 13.5 miles east of Tyler).

At 10 AM the tour will move to the Wayne Lacy Tree Farm which is located on Smith County Road 223 (Old Omen Road) approximately 5 miles south of the M & M tree Farm.

Presentations and speakers for the field day include: Stream Side Management Strategies by Hap Hachtel (CJT and Associates); Successful Pine Seedling Planting by Justin Penick (Acron Outdoor Services, Inc.); Thinning Pine Plantations by Mike Hartman (Carter, Johns & Hartman, LLP); and Regeneration Strategies, Use of Seed Trees by James Houser (Consulting Foresters, LLC.).

For more information or to RSVP please contact Mark Walters at mwalters@wildblue.net or 903-983-1765 by November 3.

Thank you again to the forage producers and area business that helped make this year's Smith County Hay Show Auction at the East Texas State Fair a success. We raised $28,600 for the fair's Junior Livestock Show premium fund, the East Texas Cattle-Ettes scholarship fund, and scholarship and conservation activities sponsored by the Smith County Soil and Water Conservation District.

The Grand Champion bale was exhibited by Hayden Moore of Tyler and was purchased by Agriland Farm Credit Services for $3,000.  The Reserve Champion bale was exhibited by Greg Walker of Bullard and was purchased by Walker and Associates Surveying for $1,800.

We had 54 producers participate in this year's show, which is an increase from last year! 

A complete list of buyers and exhibitors making the 'Top 25' can be found in this file:  2009_Hay_Show_Sale_Results.pdf