Public Interest: August 2009 Archives

If you are interested in learning more about managing land for the benefit of wildlife, make plans now to attend the second annual Managing Small Acreage for Wildlife workshop on Saturday, August 29, 2009. This workshop, hosted by the Texas Parks and Wildlife Department, the Texas AgriLife Extension Service, and the East Texas Woods and Water Foundation will be held at the Texas Parks and Wildlife Nature Center in Tyler (11942 FM 848).

Highlights for this year's event include presentations by Texas Parks and Wildlife and AgriLife Extension personnel on the following topics: Wildlife Management Applications of Remote Sensing Cameras; Proposition 11 - Converting Ag Tax Valuation to Wildlife Tax Valuation; How to Use Global Positioning System (GPS) Devices for Wildlife Management and Hunting Purposes; and New Market Possibilities for Forest Landowners.

Participants with their own GPS devices are encouraged to bring them to the workshop.

Additionally, the workshop will feature an outside walking tour segment before lunch to discuss and view demonstrations on the following topics: pond management, wetland management, forest management, wildlife food plots, and wildscapes. Attendees should know that the outdoor session will last approximately 1.5 hours. Texas Parks and Wildlife Game Wardens will also provide updates and answer questions related to law enforcement issues on private lands during the afternoon indoor session. The workshop will conclude with a question and answer panel session involving workshop presenters.

The workshop will begin with registration at 8:30 AM and will conclude at 3:00 PM. Lunch will be provided courtesy of the East Texas Woods & Water Foundation. This is a free event but space is limited and pre-registration is required. Call the Texas Parks and Wildlife office in Tyler at 903-566-1626 x 220 by August 26 to RSVP. Call early as the workshop may fill up prior to the August 26 cut off date.

For a full agenda of the workshop including topics and speakers, visit the Smith County Extension office web site at http://smith-tx.tamu.edu and click on the link under 'Events'.

The Texas Parks and Wildlife Nature Center is located near the University of Texas at Tyler campus. From Loop 323 in Tyler, take Spur 248 (University Drive) east to FM 848. At FM 848, turn right (south) toward Lake Tyler. The Nature Center entrance will be about ½ mile down on the right. From Highway 64 East, turn left onto FM 848. Cross Spur 248 (the 4-way stop sign) and then travel about ½ mile and the entrance to the Nature Center will be on the right. Please park at the Nature Center parking area and walk the trail to the visitor center located by the pond.

Senate Bill 1693, which was passed by the Texas Legislature and signed by Governor Perry in June, has implications for producers who apply poultry litter to their property or land they lease.

Beginning September 1, 2009,

"A person that purchases or obtains poultry litter for land application must maintain until the second anniversary of the date of application a signed and dated proof of delivery document for every load of poultry litter applied to land. The landowner or the owner's tenant or agent shall note on the document the date or dates on which the poultry litter was applied to the land."

"The commission [Texas Commission on Environmental Quality] may inspect any record required to be maintained under this subchapter."

A full version of this new law may be reviewed by clicking on the following file: SB01693F.pdf. 

Time is quickly approaching for Smith County forage producers to enter samples into the 2009 hay show that is held in conjunction with the East Texas State Fair. Producers and youth benefit from this event which has been the focus of the fair's Howdy Neighbor Barbecue for the past 25 years.

The hay show serves as a great tool for producers to use when planning for their winter feeding needs. Plus, the $3 entry fee per hay sample to enter the hay show is much less than the $10 per sample it would cost you to send hay in for testing on your own.

For your $3 per sample you will receive a placing ribbon for your hay (blue, red, or white), recognition at the hay auction if you have hay that places as one of the top 25 bales, and the nutritional information (crude protein and digestibility) for your hay sample. Submitting hay for the show also earns an invitation to the free hay show wrap-up event in October.

Hay produced in Smith County, or hay grown by a producer who lives in Smith County, is eligible for entry. A hay entry consists of one square bale of hay from a cutting, or one feed sack full of hay (if the hay from a cutting is rolled into round bales).

Producers that submit more than one hay sample for testing are encouraged to write somewhere on the entry tag (other than in the space marked entry number) a code such as cutting number, field name, or something else that will help them be able to correlate their samples back to the results that will be mailed to them following the hay show and sale. It is recommended that producers submit samples from each hay field each time it is cut.

Entry dates for this year's show are August 20^th and 21^st. Hay can be dropped at one of the following locations: Bullard - Circle C Farm & Ranch; Lindale - Fleming Farm Supply; Noonday - Noonday Feed Store; Troup - Steele's Feed & Seed; Tyler - Ag-Power, Inc.; Al H. Horaney's; Estes, Inc.; Natural Resources Conservation Service; Rose Country Equipment; Smith County Extension office; and Stampede Feed & Ag Supply; and, Whitehouse - Whitehouse Farm & Ranch.

Make plans to enter today!  For a complete set of rules, click here.