MOUNTAIN HOME — The Baxter County Cooperative Extension Service will offer five workshops throughout the fall as part of its “Women in Ag” education effort.
Brad Runsick, Baxter County extension chair, said the series came about in response to a need repeatedly expressed in his community.
“It’s with some regularity that we get phone calls from either widows or the adult children of farmers who have inherited a farm that they’d left after high school,” Runsick said. “In either case, people find themselves with a farm, and they’re overwhelmed.
“It’s both women and men, but in the past few years, a number of women have reached out to us needing help with very basic agricultural practices, especially regarding beef cattle and pasture management,” he said.
In July, Runsick was part of a brainstorming session with fellow extension agents LeeAnn Blevins and Amanda Rychtarik — both of whom work on their own respective farms in addition to their roles in extension — as well as several other women who are local agricultural leaders. The group identified several topics of common interest and began constructing the workshop series from there.
The current workshop schedule includes:
Oct. 3: Grazing Management with extension forage specialist Jonathan Kubesch
Oct. 24: Feeding and Winter Feed Rations with extension beef specialist Maggie Justice
Nov. 12: Farm Insurance with Becky Wilson, Baxter County Farm Bureau
Nov. 21: Forage Management with Baxter County extension agent Brad Runsick and extension forages instructor Kenny Simon
Dec. 10: Cattle Handling and Chute Work with extension beef specialist Maggie Justice
Each workshop will be held on a different location in Baxter County, in or near Mountain Home, Arkansas. There is no cost to attend, but registration is required. To register, call the Baxter County Cooperative Extension Service office at 870-425-2335. The workshop series is limited to 20 participants.
The Cooperative Extension Service is the outreach and education arm of the University of Arkansas System Division of Agriculture.
