The 81st annual meeting of the Stafford County Farm Bureau Association was held August 19, 2010 at the IOOF Lodge in St. John at 7:00 PM.   President Keith McNickle welcomed approximately 200 members and guests to the meal and meeting. 

The Jolly Workers 4-H Club took an educational trip to Tanganyika Wildlife Park in Goddard, where they were able to interact with many of the animals that live there.  Above, Chase Fisher feeds a Ring Tailed Lemurs while other 4-H members look on.  Other animals they were able to feed were Lorikeets (birds that resemble parrots), Giraffes and Tortoises

The Cloverleaf 4-H Club recently went on an Educational Trip to the Sternberg Museum in Hays.  The 4-H members enjoyed many of the exhibits in the museum as well as the Hays Aquatic Park before heading back home to Macksville.

The 81st Annual Meeting of the Stafford County Farm Bureau Association will be held Thursday, Aug. 19, 2010, at the IOOF Lodge, St. John.  All Farm Bureau members are invited to attend.  Stafford County Farm Bureau has approximately 850 members.

“These are not your typical bucking bulls,” said Mike Ramsey, promoter of the Stafford County Fair and Rodeo. “These bulls like to tear things up.” Saturday night these bulls will get their chance.

The Stafford County Fair and Rodeo is adding a new attraction with American freestyle bullfighting for the final night of the two-day rodeo, which runs July 9-10 with events beginning at 8 p.m. both nights. The rodeo is held at the Bernard Bartlett Arena at the fairgrounds north of Stafford.

The Stafford County Conservation District will start taking applications for cost-share under the Water Resources Cost-Share Program beginning July 1, 2010 and ending November 26, 2010. Landowners may sign up at the conservation district office.

There's still time before the really hot, dry Kansas weather settles in midway through the summer months. But before getting your spade out, its best to spend a little time researching the do's and don'ts of tree selection.

Agriculture Secretary Tom Vilsack announced that producers nationwide are invited to apply for the U. S. Department of Agriculture’s Conservation Stewardship Program (CSP).

USDA Urges Producers to Sign Up Now for Conservation Stewardship Program  Applications Will Be Accepted Through June 11, 2010

The 2010 KSU Farm Management Association Summary meeting for Stafford and Barton County  will be held on Monday evening, May 10 beginning at 6:30 p.m.

If you happen to have one or two ash trees in your yard, you might have noticed that at this time of year, small roundish holes start showing up in the lower bark of the tree, usually located fairly close to the soil line but also found within the area going on up to seven to eight feet (and sometimes much higher in older trees).

MANHATTAN, Kan. - Kansas State University Research and Extension and/or its Extension Master Gardeners are participating in the following area and statewide horticultural events, available to all interested persons as well as offering area and statewide agricultural conferences and field days to all interested persons.

Noxious weeds are not only a problem for a field or yard, but if left untreated they can become a problem for the pocketbook.

Kansas Foundation for Agriculture in the Classroom (KFAC) will again offer graduate-level summer courses through Kansas State University in 2010.  KFAC summer graduate courses are designed to re-energize Kansas educators and introduce them to delivery methods and resource materials which can be used to incorporate agriculture into the curriculum.

TOPEKA –  USDA Rural Development Area Director Richard Boyles announced today that the Agency will host an informational meeting on February 26th  in McPherson covering USDA’s business, community facilities, housing, and water and environmental loan and grant programs.  The meeting, co-hosted by McPherson Chamber of Commerce, will be held at the Tres Amigo’s Mexican Restaurant and will be open to the public.

There will be an In-Depth Weed Management - Sprayer Technology School held on Tuesday, March 2, at the Pratt County 4-H Center, on the fairgrounds, in Pratt.  Time is 8:45 a.m. to 4 p.m.

With crop production input costs at an all time high and crop prices acting as a moving target, Ag producers look for ways to optimize yields and reduce costs. One way producers can accomplish this is to learn about their soils and how to manage the soil fertility.

State Conservationist Eric B. Banks for the Natural Resources Conservation Service (NRCS) has announced a cutoff date of

March 12, 2010, for the Environmental Quality Incentives Program (EQIP) Organic Initiative.

Cornwell Farms, St. John, owns one bull listed in the Spring 2010 Sire Evaluation Report published by the American Angus Association in St. Joseph, Mo.  Issued in both the spring and the fall, the new report features the latest performance information available on 4,607 sires, and is currently accessible at www.angus.org.

WICHITA, Kan. – Partners in agriculture, business managers, producers, farm homemakers, absentee landlords and helpers are encouraged to attend the Women Managing the Farm Conference Feb. 5-6, 2010, in Wichita.