WEDNESDAY, FEBRUARY 1, 2012 - THE WAYNE COUNTY NEWS - PAGE ELEVEN
farm news The Wayne County News, Inc. - 4-H News & Farm Report
AGRICULTURE NEWS Technically, we’ve only been in winter for about a month, although I consider everything after Halloween as winter. So with my reckoning, winter’s lasted three months, and that’s got me itching to start on some of my spring projects. While it may not be advisable to start planting a garden just yet, it’s not too early to start planning those upcoming projects. Here are some considerations for projects that, if you are like me, you plan to complete this year. • Planting fruit trees Each and every species of tree or bush grows best in a specific pH range. For many, that range is 6.5-7.0, but others like blueberries grow best in
a low pH, say around 5.05.5. This means you may have to amend your soil with something to raise your pH like lime, or lower it like peat moss. • Vegetable gardens The more I garden, the more I like raised beds. Raised beds can be any range in height above the surrounding ground, but a good average is eight to twelve inches. To create the bed, you have several options. One that works well is to build a bed that is three feet wide (so you can easily pick vegetables from both sides), and eight to twelve feet long. For sides, use 2”x8” or 2”x12” (or two 2”x6” boards nailed together) boards. Fill the bed with bags of composted manure, potting soil, topsoil, or a mixture of the three.
Income Tax Service Available For Farm Bureau Members
Wayne County Farm Bureau Vernon Bissell Income Tax Practitoner
Monday - Saturday Appointments Call Today - 931-722-3676 219 Dexter L. Woods Memorial Blvd. Ste 7 Waynesboro, TN 38485
If you plan on using barnyard or backyard compost, just remember you will have to deal with weeds since it’s not heat treated. To counter-act the weed problem, you can use a plastic weed barrier or layered straw, or both. • Baby chicks - Each spring, we offer 4-H chicks for all 4-H students. Like I tell them, you need to make sure you have a warm, draft free area for chicks since they can’t control their own body heat before they develop feathers. You may go into a local feed store and be persuaded by the “bring me home” cuteness of the baby chicks you see, but if you don’t have a warm place to keep them for up to six weeks, it may not be a good idea. • Spring Calving When calving time comes along, make sure you are ready with a stock of supplies like navel sprays or dips, O.B. gloves, powdered milk, bottles, and maybe a calf puller. I try to take care of all of the livestock problems I can, but I still have my vet’s phone number in my cell phone for those problems I can’t fix. If you have a group of calving heifers, you may even want to move them to a paddock close to your house or close to the road so you can watch them on a regular basis during calving season. • Building projects Like many of you, there are porches, decks, sun rooms, or gazebos that are in your future. The best pieces of advice I can give are:
1) Have a blueprint, no matter how small the project. It doesn’t have to be more than a hand-drawn picture with dimensions, but something is always better than nothing. 2) Measure twice and cut once. I still haven’t found a board stretcher I can use when I misread my tape measure and cut a 2x4 two inches too short.
3) If you don’t know the answer, look it up or ask someone before you proceed. Sometimes it’s even better to pay for part of the work than to
plunge ahead and make a mess of something. Paying someone is sometimes cheaper when you don’t have to first pay them to undo what you messed up (this holds true on car repair as well).
Family and Consumer Sciences Education
NEWS Charlotte Smith EXTENSION AGENT UNIVERSITY OF TENNESSEE EXTENSION WAYNE COUNTY FCE CLUBS Something For Everyone There are six FCE Clubs meeting monthly throughout Wayne County. Programs in Family and Community Education (FCE) clubs include Food and Nutrition, Clothing, Home Management, Interior Design and Crafts, Health and Safety, Family Life, and Yard and Garden work. The main goal of our clubs is to improve the quality of life for the club members, families, and communities as a whole. We would like to invite you to be in one of our clubs.
Wayne County FCE Club membership is open to all individuals. The University of Tennessee Extension offers its programs to all eligible persons regardless of race, color, national origin, sex, age, or disability and
is an Equal Opportunity Employer. Here is a list of our Wayne County clubs and their meeting dates. If you are interested in attending or becoming a member of one of these clubs in your area, please call the Extension Office at 722-3229. SCHEDULE OF F.C.E. MEETINGS First Monday *Waynesboro, Second Tuesday *Hurricane Creek, *Holly Creek, Third Tuesday Crossroads, Third Thursday - *Indian Creek, and Fourth Tuesday - Clifton. *Denotes night meetings.
It Pays To Advertise Call 722-5429 Today!!!
HARDIN COUNTY STOCKYARD 3350 HWY 226, SAVANNAH, TN 38372 731-925-3287 931-224-2247 MARKET REPORT JANUARY 25, 2012 Total Hd 1292 Last Week 1236 Last Yr 917 Cattle 1249 Goats 29 Hogs 14 #1 STEERS & BULLS 200-300 WT 196.00-229.00 300-400 WT 186.00-196.00 400-500 WT 172.00-186.00 500-600 WT 162.00-172.00 600-700 WT 136.00-162.00 700-800 WT 131.00-136.00 800-900 WT 118.00-131.00 #1 HEIFERS 200-300 WT 161.00-172.00 300-400 WT 155.00-161.00 400-500 WT 144.00-155.00 500-600 WT 136.00-144.00 600-700 WT 128.00-136.00 700-800 WT 124.00-128.00 800-900 WT 116.00-124.00 HIGH DRESSING UTILITY COWS 75.00-84.00 HIGH DRESSING SLAUGHTER BULLS 85.00-92.00 Pre-conditioned cattle 63 strs avg wt 804 lbs 143.50 20 strs avg wt 720 lbs 139.50