Upcoming Workshop, Field Day To Offer Tips & Tools For Pond Managers, Gardeners
RYAN MCGEENEY
HOPE, ARKANSAS
With summer fast approaching, the Cooperative Extension Service’s Southwest Research and Extension Center is offering two events aimed at giving Arkansans insight into pond management and horticultural production.
On Friday, May 27, the center will host a half-day pond management workshop from 9 a.m. to 1 p.m. Experts with the University of Arkansas System Division of Agriculture will provide instruction on pond weed identification and management, fish stocking and the impacts of ponds on cattle health.
The instructional sessions will be followed by a Q&A with extension pond and fish specialists from the Division of Agriculture and the University of Arkansas at Pine Bluff.
There is no cost to attend the workshop, but registration is required.
A catfish lunch will also be served free of charge. To register, call the Hempstead County extension office at 870-777-5771 no later than May 20.
Daniel Rivera, director of the Southwest Research and Extension Center, said pond management is imperative, whether the water is intended for business or recreation.
“You really want to establish the right conditions for fish to thrive,” Rivera said. “We’ll also look at how ponds may fit into livestock operations – both the good and the bad.”
On Tuesday, June 7, the center will host a horticulture field day, focusing on fruit and vegetable production. Registration will begin at 8:30 a.m., with a welcome from Rivera at 9 a.m.
The three-hour event will include presentations on horticultural resources, blackberry trellising and pest management, maximizing watermelon yields, tomato and squash pest management tools and an insect trapping demonstration. The event will also include a mobile plant health clinic with Sherrie Smith, extension plant pathologist for the Division of Agriculture, and a tomato grafting workshop with Bradley County agricultural agent John Gavin.
“This is really our signature field day,” Rivera said. “We get a lot of buy-in from the local area, with both commercial producers and hobbyists wanting to see our research. For us, this is our chance to show off all the studies we’ve got going.”
The cost to attend the horticulture field day is $20 per person. To register, go to https://uada.formstack.com/forms/horticulture_field_day_2022 , call the center at 870-777-9702 or print the flyer and mail it along with a check for $20 to the Southwest Research and Extension Center, 362 Highway 174 North, Hope, AR, 71801. The registration deadline is June 3.
Lunch is included in the price and will be served at noon. ∆
RYAN MCGEENEY: University of Arkansas
With summer fast approaching, the Cooperative Extension Service’s Southwest Research and Extension Center is offering two events aimed at giving
Arkansans insight into pond management and horticultural production.
Division of Agriculture photo