Category: Agriculture

The 53rd annual Farm and Ranch Tour will be held Tuesday, May 17.

Participants should meet at the Cain Center beginning at 8 a.m. for coffee and donuts provided by First State Bank and Kevin Lilly’s McDonald’s. Athens ISD buses will depart the Cain Center beginning at 9 a.m. and will tour the following:

• Bona B Ranch
• In the Red Ranch
• Purtis Creek State Park

Buses will return to the Cain Center for a BBQ lunch provided by Danny’s Smokehouse. Lunch cost is $5 per person. The guest speaker this year is George P. Bush, Texas Land Commission and son of former Florida Governor Jeb Bush.

https://www.facebook.com/hendersoncountynow/videos/vb.184307831714341/815073875304397/?type=2&theater

During this week’s podcast, Extension Agent Rick Hirsch announced a special guest speaker for the Annual Farm & Ranch Tour next month. Listen to the compete podcast here.

Subjects include:

• when to fertilize your lawn
• the Master Gardener’s Plant Sale
  
• the lake and pond seminar
  
• the annual Farm & Ranch Tour
  
• the livestock show

By Kate Pittack/Extension 4-H Agent

Have you ever seen a Kung Fu routine up close and personal? Do you know the basics of Beekeeping? What about the responsibilities of being a citizen in our nation? How do pollinators effect our food supply? Have you ever wondered what you would need to take care of a rabbit? What do you know about theatrical sword fighting? Have you ever wondered how to embellish a Mason jar? While there doesn’t seem to be a common tie between all of these things I’ve just listed, they are all topics that you could watch and learn about at our recent 4-H Roundup competition.

Continue reading “Clover Connection: 4-H Roundup”

By Kate Pittack/ Extension 4-H Agent

With entries for the Henderson County Livestock Show being due this last week, it made me reflect on all of the entries and time and hard work I put into my projects which were exhibited at the Antelope County Fair in Northeast Nebraska. I grew up on a small farm in a pretty rural part of my county. The traffic on our dusty gravel road consisted of the mailman & a handful of farmers who had land nearby. While taking care of 280 sheep was a year-round task, my summers especially involved caring for and preparing my market lambs and breeding ewes for county and state fair.

The steel basketball hoop pole set in concrete served as the “wash rack.” It was just far enough out of my mom’s actual yard to keep the blue dawn we used to wash our sheep with from killing the “nice grass.” The out-of-use metal swing set served as the “drying and staging” area. From there, our wooden blocking stand was set up in the second stall of our two car garage.

Continue reading “Clover Kids: Livestock show and scholarships”