Small Fruit Plant Sale - Pick Up Days
March 18 & 19, 2020
8:30 am - 5:30 pm
If you ordered plants from our Annual Small Fruit Plant Sale, they will be available for pick up on March 18 & 19. Follow the signs to our office located at 130 Ammons Drive in Morganton.
Keep in mind that we can only accept Cash or Checks for payment. Planting guides will be available for all the plants and our agents will be on hand if you have questions.
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2020 Census
Established by the US Constitution, the US Census Bureau is required to conduct a count of every person in the United States, including North Carolina. Everyone must be counted no matter their age, residence status or location.
2020 Census information is available now from both the
NC Complete Count Commission and the
U.S. Census Bureau.
The 2020 Census will be the first US Census to allow internet response. The internet response option will be convenient for many, but over 500,000 households in NC do not have internet access.
There are plans for Census staff to be available locally for 2020 Census questionnaire assistance.
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A celebration of small-scale agriculture designed to help farmers thrive
Each year, Cooperative Extension at N.C. A&T celebrates the crucial role of small farmers in North Carolina's $91.8 billion agriculture sector with Small Farms Week. First held in 1986, Small Farms Week includes workshops, tours, farming demonstrations and recognition of a Small Farmer of the Year. Small Farms Week is held in March and has focused on techniques to lengthen the growing season, pest management, safer and more sustainable practices, growing food without pesticides, urban horticulture, and more. The week culminates with a luncheon and talk by a speaker with connections to small agriculture.
For more information or to register visit the
N.C. A&T Small Farms Week
page.
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Spring Lawn Care Workshop Coming Up
Can you believe that March is here? Winter is flying by and its about time to get out there and wake the lawn up from its long winter's nap. Early spring lawn care is important as it makes a difference in how well the lawn will survive the heat and drought of summer. What you do now is critical.
If you want to know what to do and how to do it, plan on attending Extension's Spring Lawn Care workshop coming up at 10:00 on Saturday, March 21, 2020 at Morganton Ace Hardware. You'll learn about grass seeds and fertilizers as well as weed killers and lawn insects. Proper timing is the secret to success with the home lawn and we'll talk about that too.
Bring your questions and get some answers as we discuss how to handle a Burke County lawn with experts who want to help you grow a fabulous lawn this year. There's still time to win the battle against chickweed and henbit but time is growing short so there's no time for procrastination.
Come by and see us on March 21st and take the guesswork out of lawn care. It'll be worth your time when you can spend those weekends at the lake instead in the yard. The workshop is FREE and we hope to see you there.
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Take Control - Live Mindfully
This month I will be talking about mindfulness when it comes to eating healthy and moving more. You may ask what does it mean to be mindful when I eat or move more? Mindful eating is being fully aware of your thoughts, feeling and actions as you eat. This will lead you to make intentional choices when you eat or choose to move more instead of being led by external cues, emotions or your environment. Mindful eating effects how you relate to food and can impact eating habits that can lead to a healthier you. Paying close attention to what you eat, when you eat, where you eat, and why you eat will, in the long run, give you a satisfying eating experience.
Meals not only provide the nourishment our bodies need but also replenishes our mind and soul. Mindful eating will help you focus your attention on the "here and now" eating experience. For some simple steps to mindful eating,
read more...
This information is provided by the SNAP-Ed Steps to Health - Take Control Program and is not intended to replace the medical advice of your doctor or healthcare provider. Please consult your healthcare provider for advice about a specific medical condition.
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Supplemental Energy for Beef Cattle
With colder temperatures, cattle and other livestock can experience cold stress. This cold stress causes them to burn energy stores(fat) to maintain normal body temperature.
Normally, the stress begins at the Lower Critical Temperature,( or LCT), which for our area , is generally 30ºF. When the average daily temps fall below 30ºF, cows must either consume extra energy to keep warm, or burn energy reserves to do so. This energy shortage is increased when cattle become wet. The LCT then becomes higher, generally between 45ºF-50ºF, making energy even more critical on cold rainy days.
Cows generally require an extra 1% Total Digestible Nutrients(or TDN), for every 1ºF below the lower critical temperature in addition to the maintenance diet. When wet, cows require 20%-40% increase in total energy, than when they are dry.
Best management practices should have cows in late gestation on a daily ration of 54.6%TDN, and around 8.6% crude protein. Lactating cows need a diet of 59.2%TDN, and around 10.5% protein, with gestating heifers, treated likewise. Lactating first calf heifers have the highest energy requirements of all classes, and should be receiving 62%-64%TDN and around 12-14% protein. Any energy supplementation should be in addition to these daily recommendations. Corn Gluten Feed or CGF has increased in popularity and is a good energy source for winter supplementation. It is best combined with other alternative feeds for cattle, such as a tri- blend of CGF, soy hull pellets and wheat mids to counter some of the problems from the CGF. This mix would have around 75 to 83 % TDN where corn grain would be 88% TDN, so it would substitute for corn at almost the same rate.
Winter Feeding Rules of Thumb
- 1lb of corn for each 5ºF below LCT for gestating cows
- 1.5 lbs of corn for each 5ºF below LCT for lactating cows and gestational heifers
- 1.7 lbs of corn for each 5ºF below LCT for lactating 1st calf heifers
Remember to test forages in order to accurately supplement hay ration based on nutrient content of your hay.
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Congratulations Burke County Horse Bowl Teams!
They did a great job on February 15th at District Horse Bowl and will move on to the State Horse Bowl competition on Saturday, March 7, 2020.
We wish them luck!
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We encourage you to join us in March for more adventures with 4-H Clover Quest!
Call our office at 828-764-9480 for more information or to register.
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Farmer's Market Group To Meet
The Morganton Farmer's Market will have its annual meeting on Tuesday, March 24, 2020 at 5:00 pm at the Morganton Community House, located at 120 N. King Street in Morganton.
Anyone who is interested in selling at the market this year should plan on attending the meeting. Even though you might only have a small amount of produce to bring to the market you can still be a part of the farmer's market.
Attendees should call 828-438-5280 to register.
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March is "Living Well Month"
Raising kids, eating right, spending smart, living well-that's the theme of the national Living Well Campaign that is being promoted throughout the month of March by the Extension Association of Family and Consumer Sciences, both at the national level and here in North Carolina. The goal of the Living Well Campaign is to provide people with the education and information they need in order to "live well."
The NC Extension Association of Family and Consumer Sciences works through N.C. Cooperative Extension to offer all kinds of information that will help families achieve a positive, healthy lifestyle. Whether you are trying to manage or prevent chronic disease through meal planning and exercise, make decisions about health care and insurance, or get tips on effective parenting techniques, Extension probably has a research-based answer.
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Burke County 4-H
Discovery Day
Monday, March 2, 2020 from 9:00 am - 3:00 pm
Monday March 2nd is a Burke County Public School Workday, so bring the kids to the Burke County Agricultural Building for 4-H Discovery Day! (make sure they are enrolled in 4-H online so that we have all the necessary contact/medical info)
Activities will include seed germination, paper circuits, health rocks and food fun! Youth can bring their lunch or $5 cash to go toward a food order. There is no charge for the day and this will take the place of our monthly county Discovery Night program. 4-H'ers are encouraged to drop in or hang out for the whole day!
Call our office at 828-764-9480 to sign up.
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NC State Extension is committed to positive action to secure equal opportunity and prohibit discrimination and harassment regardless of race, color, national origin, religion, political beliefs, family and marital status, sex, age, veteran status, sexual identity, sexual orientation, genetic information, or disability.
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