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Production Techniques for High Tunnels
Regional Seminars for Commercial Growers
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These workshops are aimed at training growers considering production of crops in a High Tunnel for direct market outlets (tailgate markets, farm stands, CSA, etc.). Craig Mauney, Extension Area Specialized Agent; Lisa Gonzalez, Clay County Extension Director; and Mary Jac Brennan, Heartplace Farm Consulting will lead the seminars.
Specific topics include equipment & infrastructure, enterprise budgets, soil management, crop planning, seeding and transplanting, best crops and cover crops for high tunnels, pest management, food safety and marketing. Workshop includes lectures and question and answer, as well as a farm focus case study.
Seminar 1 - Preparing for Your High Tunnel Operation
Date: October 27, 2020; 3:00 pm-5:00 pm
Location: By Zoom. Link provided after registration.
Seminar 2 - Operating Your High Tunnel
Date: November 10, 2020; 3:00 pm-5:00 pm
Location: By Zoom. Link provided after registration.
Seminar 3 - Food Safety Plans and Marketing for Your High Tunnel Operation
Date: November 17, 2020; 3:00 pm-5:00 pm
Location: By Zoom. Link provided after registration.
Registration and Detail Information:
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Poisonous Plants
to Livestock & Pets in NC
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NC State has an online poisonous plants guide. You can view it online here.
In the Introduction section, you can learn what poisonous plants are, mechanical injury, photosensitization, and more.
It also has a list of plants with description, habitat, how dangerous the plant is, what parts are poisonous and to what species.
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Helpful Tips for Grazing Stressed Forage
By: Lauren Langley, Alamance Co. Livestock Agent
Sources: Purdue Cooperative Extension, King’s Agriseeds, University of Minnesota Extension
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Prussic Acid & Nitrate Poisoning
Every fall I get questions related to prussic acid and nitrate poisoning in sorghum, sorghum-sudan, and sudangrass fields. These summer annuals when stressed due to drought or frost can pose a potential threat to the livestock consuming them. Often times these annuals are planted for summer pasture, hay, or silage.
Prussic acid poisoning can occur when the plant tissue is damaged by frost (can also occur from hail and herbicide damage). Prussic acid formation is also a threat when heavy rates of nitrogen (N) are applied and soils are deficient in phosphorus and potassium. Grazing poses the greatest risk because the highest amount of prussic acid is found in the leaves, and that is where the animals like to graze first. Here are a few tips to help prevent prussic acid poisoning:
- Never turn hungry animals out onto questionable forage. If feed is questionable, feed good quality hay or silage first.
- Wait until plants are at least 18 inches to graze.
- After frost, wait at least 7-14 days to graze or cut, or until leaves are dead or dried out.
- Make sure hay is properly cured before baling, since cyanide escapes from the plant tissue. Curing decreases prussic acid content by up to 75%.
- Wait at least 3 weeks after harvesting and storing new silage.
- If high N is applied to soil that is low in phosphorus and potassium, plants may be at greater risk.
If the plant becomes stressed due to drought or herbicide injury, it may accumulate nitrates, which can lead to nitrate poisoning. Here are a few tips to help prevent nitrate poisoning:
- Split your N applications over the course of the growing season, so the plant has less opportunity to take up excess.
- Delay harvest 7 days after a drought-ending rain. Nitrate levels will be highest just after the plant resumes growth, and it will take several days of active growth for levels to go down again. Nitrates are non-volatile, and will remain in non-ensiled plants after cutting and baling.
- Raise cutting height. This can mean 6-8 inches or higher. Nitrate concentration is higher at the plant base, and lower in the leaves.
- Test all suspect forages at a qualified lab. Take representative samples from the field or core samples from the bale.
- Segregate all forages high in nitrates. Depending on the nitrate level, these can be fed if diluted with a certain proportion of normal feed, especially by feeding hay to hungry animals before giving them access to the contaminated feed. Generally horses and other monogastrics tend to be more tolerant than ruminants.
Frost & Nonstructural Carbohydrates (Sugars & Starch Levels) in Grass
Quality of both legumes (i.e. alfalfa) and grasses begin to decline after a hard "killing" frost. Legume quality deteriorates more rapidly than grass quality because legumes will lose their leaves and grasses do not (leaves contribute significantly to the overall quality of both grasses and legumes).
Grasses often become more palatable (preferred)
because of the elevated nonstructural carbohydrates (NSC) values. Legumes and grasses tend to have elevated NSC values (an indicator of starch and sugar levels) after a frost, and it is recommend that horse owners wait up to a week before resuming grazing after a killing frost in an effort to avoid some health problems such as foundering. (NSC values will eventually decrease over time.) Also, forage protein, equine total digestible nutrients (TDN), and equine digestible energy decrease gradually after a hard frost. This decline is due to a combination of the forage plants leaching nutrients and continued plant respiration.
Bottom line: grass species tend to retain their
nutritional value longer after a killing frost (compared to legumes), and horse owner should wait up to a week before resuming grazing after a killing frost.
University of Nebraska
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Sheep & Goat Webinar Series |
Are you considering raising sheep or goats? Have you recently gotten sheep or goats and need to learn more? N.C. Cooperative Extension will be offering an online series for new and beginning producers.
- Knowing what and how much to feed your animal is paramount to helping to keep them healthy. Nutrient requirements change based on the animals’ stage of production. Join us for this session to gain an understanding of how to feed your animal to its potential.
January 14 - General Health & Care of Sheep & Goats
- Registration will be open soon for this session.
The series will be offered through Zoom. All sessions will be from 6:30-7:30 p.m. EST. Registration for each event is separate. Click on the above links to register for the sessions you want to participate in.
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NC AgVentures is an Extension program that provides grants to North Carolina independent family farms for new and innovative agricultural project ideas which will increase farm profits. This is a great opportunity for any producer who is thinking of diversifying, improving, or expanding their operation.
Applications are now open. The deadline to apply is December 18. Grant awards are up to $8000.
There will be informational workshops offered online. Each presentation will be the same, so you only need to attend one (but can attend as many times as you need). They will be held at 6 p.m. Workshop dates are Nov. 2, Nov. 19, and Dec. 1.
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FACT Fund-a-Farmer Grants |
Food Animal Concerns Trust (FACT) Fund-a-Farmer Grant will open on October 1. Grants of up to $2500 will be awarded to eligible livestock and poultry farmers for projects that help them improve pasture, expand animal welfare, and/or build capacity of their operations. Applications must be submitted by December 1.
View Past Grant Projects that were funded here.
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USDA to Provide Additional Direct Assistance to Farmers and Ranchers Impacted by the Coronavirus - CFAP #2 |
The U.S. Department of Agriculture (USDA) will use funds being made available from the Commodity Credit Corporation (CCC) Charter Act and CARES Act to support row crops, livestock, specialty crops, dairy, aquaculture and many additional commodities. USDA has incorporated improvements in CFAP 2 based from stakeholder engagement and public feedback to better meet the needs of impacted farmers and ranchers.
Producers can apply for CFAP 2 at USDA’s Farm Service Agency (FSA) county offices. This program provides financial assistance that gives producers the ability to absorb increased marketing costs associated with the COVID-19 pandemic. Producers will be compensated for ongoing market disruptions and assisted with the associated marketing costs.
Applying for Assistance
Producers can apply for assistance beginning Sept. 21, 2020. Applications will be accepted through Dec. 11, 2020.
Additional information and application forms can be found at farmers.gov/cfap. Documentation to support the producer’s application and certification may be requested. All other eligibility forms, such as those related to adjusted gross income and payment information, can be downloaded from farmers.gov/cfap/apply. For existing FSA customers, including those who participated in CFAP 1, many documents are likely already on file. Producers should check with FSA county office to see if any of the forms need to be updated.
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NC Farm School Accepting Applications |
North Carolina Farm School (NCFS) is a unique entrepreneurial program for new and transitioning farmers with the mission of increasing the number of successful farmers in North Carolina.
The classroom sessions do not teach you subject matter such as how to raise a goat, or how to grow flowers, but instead teach you business skills like goal setting, marketing, and more. The Field Days allow you to see how others manage their businesses.
At this time, we are planning to host the program in person adhering to all safety protocols to ensure the health of all those attending. How the program will proceed will be based on County, State, and University guidelines at the time the program is delivered. We will make options available to those desiring to attend based on their comfort level providing they are from the piedmont region of NC.
The classroom sessions will be held from 6 PM - 9 PM on Tuesdays (February 2, 16, March 2, 16, April 6, May 4 and 18) at the Rowan Extension Center at 2727 Old Concord Road, Salisbury, NC 28146. Snacks will be provided. Field days will be held on Thursdays (February 25, March 25, April 15, and May 13) from 9 AM - 3 PM and meeting locations will vary. Lunch will be provided. Graduation is June 10 at 6 PM.
Space is limited so don't delay in applying.
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Nature Adventures with NC 4-H Camps |
Calling all teachers, home school families, and individuals looking for fun, engaging and educational virtual learning opportunities this fall!
Are you looking for great educational content aligned with state teaching standards to spice up your child or classroom's virtual learning this fall? Then check out our series focused on North Carolina ecology and the natural sciences. Join us for all programs, or pick and choose what works for your fall teaching objectives and schedule.
Can't make the live event? Be sure to register for the recording to use at your own pace.
Programs are provided for FREE to schools, teachers, and families and will include hands-on activities. All programs are aligned with NC Standard Course of Study teaching standards and are presented live over Zoom for 45 minutes on the designated date and time by our trained professional Environmental Educators. If you can't make the live event, recordings will be made available to fit your schedule.
Program Schedule:
Nature Crafts on November 9 at 1 pm
Outdoor Survival Skills - November 20 at 9 am
Sharks Teeth and Fossils - December 8 at 9 am
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First & Last Frost Dates:
Interactive Map & Chart
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There is both an interactive map and chart formats to tell you the average first and last frost dates for North Carolina.
For Davidson County, the average first fall freeze date is October 28 and the average last spring freeze date is April 7.
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Financial Resources for COVID Relief for NC Agribusinesses |
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We are making plans for these events to be in person in 2021, but know we may have to transition to a virtual or a hybrid event. Mark your calendars and make plans to join, whether they are in person or virtual! |
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Feel free to share this newsletter with others you think may be interested in our events! You can stay up to date on what is happening at the NC Cooperative Extension, Davidson County Center by completing the online form to receive email updates.
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Production Techniques for High Tunnels
Sheep & Goat Webinar Series
AgVentures Grant Workshops
Piedmont Regional Beef Conference
- March 4, 2021 - Guilford County
Piedmont Regional Goat & Sheep Conference
- April 24, 2021 - Guilford County
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