The Pottawatomie County Cattle Producers along with OSU Extension Service will co-sponsor an Ag Producers seminar 6:30 p.m. Thursday in the Tecumseh Ag-Ed Building, located on the grounds of Tecumseh High School on North 13th Street.

Anthony Buoy, of Meeker, will be honored today as he receives the American Farmer Degree from the National Future Farmers of America Association. The awards ceremony is being held in Indianapolis, Ind.

October and November are traditional weaning months for calves in Oklahoma and in this column, we will address how weaning and hauling calves impacts “shrink” or the loss of weight on the calves.

Frontier Country Marketing Association will hold its monthly “Hour With an Expert” marketing meeting from 10 a.m. to 12:30 p.m. Oct. 27 at the Mikles Family Farm and Shawnee Corn Maze, located at 42610 Wolverine Road, just off of SH 18. This month’s topic will be “Agri-Your Tourism.”

Q: I hear people talk about planting a green cover crop in their garden. What are they talking about?

A: Many folks plant cool season plants in their garden to put nutrients and organic matter back into the soil. Some of those most often used are winter peas, wheat and annual rye.

Chesley Steward, Shawnee, is a new junior member of the American Angus Association®, reports Bryce Schumann, CEO of the national organization with headquarters in Saint Joseph, Mo.
Kendra Steward, Shawnee, also is a new junior member of the association.

From Texas we are receiving reports of impressive fall armyworm buildups in wheat, turf and pastures. Fall armyworm is a tropical insect and overwinters only in the warmest areas of the U.S. As populations build throughout the summer, they move northward on weather fronts, often arriving in Oklahoma in late summer.

Have you ever tried to grow blueberries or azaleas only to have them turn yellow, then brown and eventually die? If you have, chances are you planted them in an alkaline soil.
“Acid loving” plants, like blueberries and azaleas, succeed only in acidic soils. In contrast, many plants that are native to Oklahoma are adapted to alkaline soils.

Tim Steward, Shawnee, is a new member of the American Angus Association®, reports Bryce Schumann, CEO of the national breed registry organization in Saint Joseph, Mo.

What is the Master Gardener program?
 It is a Cooperative Extension Service Horticulture Volunteer program. This program is designed to give participants horticulture education in an eight week course, once weekly all day sessions. Soils, insects, flowers, vegetables, and lawns are just a few of the topics covered.

The Pottawatomie County Cattle Producers Association recently won a state membership award for the third year in a row.

As producers strive to reduce feed costs by investigating avenues to increase grazing days, many still have to use harvested forages in their year-round feeding program. Sampling and testing forages for quality can make designing a feeding program easy and economical.

 Is it OK to use fresh manures in my garden?
If using manures, I would want to incorporate them into the garden spot this fall. They can be a source of organic matter, phosphorus and potassium. However, they can also harbor certain bacteria and fungus that need time to break down.

Fall is the ideal time to plant a tree — both for the gardener and the tree! The weather is cooler, so it is more enjoyable working outdoors. The tree also benefits because the soil is better able to retain moisture now than during the hot days of summer, so it becomes established easily.  Here are some tips for successful fall planting of trees.

  The Pottawatomie County Cattle Producers Association and the Oklahoma Cooperative Extension Service will co-sponsor an estate planning seminar 6:30 p.m. Sept. 29. The meeting will be held at the Tecumseh Ag-Ed Building on the campus of Tecumseh High School.

Farmers and ranchers in Pottawatomie County who suffered physical and production losses caused by the severe storms and tornadoes on Feb. 10-11 are reminded of the upcoming Oct. 15 loan application deadline.

You can buy the most attractive plants in the greenhouse or order the best seeds, but they won’t produce if your garden lacks nutrients.
A soil test is the best way to check growing potential and determine which, if any, fertilizers are needed. It eliminates the guesswork about soil chemistry.

In the beef cattle business, there are a couple of things I want to bring to the attention of producers occurring in the fall. One, especially peculiar this fall, is the last opportunity to cost effectively increase cow body condition.

Why are pecans falling from my pecan trees?

I have received a number of calls from concerned pecan tree owners. 
The short answer is that too much or too little moisture, disease and insects can all abort nuts from trees. 

Why is my oak tree dying?
The following information is in response to calls I get and gleaned from a tree disease specialist at Oklahoma State University. The title reflects a very popular greeting line I have received when answering my office phone over the past 30 years. My usual response to the statement is as follows: “Well, we are not sure. Do you want us to send a sample of your dying tree to Plant Disease and Insect Diagnostic Laboratory at Oklahoma State University?”