West Virginia University Extension Service

Agriculture, Natural Resources & Gardening

BERKELEY/JEFFERSON
MASTER GARDENER PROGRAM

The Master Gardener program and training are conducted by the West Virginia University Extension Service through the county extension offices. The training provides gardeners with the opportunity to improve their horticultural knowledge and skills and then share their experience with the public through organized volunteer activities. The program topics covered include: botany ~ plant problem diagnosis ~ soils ~ ornamentals ~ pest management ~ fruits ~ vegetables ~ plant propagation

Contact the Berkeley County Extension Office at 264-1936 for class availability and schedule.

UPCOMING EVENTS

Road Map for the Food Economy ~ January 23, Bridgeport Conference Center, WV http://www.wvhub.org/foodandfarmcoalition

Virginia Grown Convention ~ January 24 – 26, 2012, Holiday Inn – Koger Center, Richmond, VA. The Program for this event is online at: http://www.caf.wvu.edu/kearneysville/

Mid-Atlantic Fruit and Vegetable Convention ~ January 31 – February 2, 2012, Hershey Convention Center, Hershey, PA. The Program for this event is online here: http://www.caf.wvu.edu/kearneysville/

PASA (Pennsylvania Association for Sustainable Agriculture) ~ February 1-4, Penn State, PA http://www.pasafarming.org/our-work/farming-for-the-future-conference

Ag Dinner Meeting ~ Kencove Fence-Fencing Systems Feb 9 6:30pm; Berkeley County Fairgrounds Martinsburg, WV Contact Dr. Mary Beth Bennett 304-264-1936

Winchester area commercial fruit production school ~ February 17, 2012, Best Western, Lee-Jackson Inn, Winchester, VA. The meeting will be held on Friday, February 17, 2012, at the Best Western, Lee-Jackson Inn Banquet Convention Center, Winchester, VA. This building is located at 711 Millwood Avenue. WV recertification credits will be available. The Program for this event is online at: http://www.caf.wvu.edu/kearneysville/FruitSchool2012/2012-WinterFruitSchoolProgram-Winchester-02172012.pdf

Western Maryland Regional Fruit School at WMREC in Keedysville, MD. February 23, 2012 ~ The program for this event is online at: http://www.westernmaryland.umd.edu/Pages/2012BrochureRFM.pdf This year our morning featured speaker is Dr. Dave Biddinger from Penn State, who will be speaking on Beneficials and Pollinators as well as Spotted Wing Drosophila. The afternoon session will start with a Fungicide and Disease Management Update by Dr. Henry Ngugi of Penn State. The rest of the afternoon will be dedicated to Brown Marmorated Stink Bug (BMSB) Management. Dr. Tracy Leskey (and her team from USDA), Dr. Greg Krawczyk (Penn State),and Bryan Butler will present. There will be plenty of opportunity for input and questions from the industry. WV Pesticide Applicator License Credits will be available.

Maryland Rural Enterprise Development Center Co-Sponsors Food for Profit Class on February 28, 2012. The course will be held at the Washington County Agricultural Education Center, 7303 Sharpsburg Pike (building door #4), Boonsboro, MD 21713 on Tuesday, February 28, 2012 from 9:00 a.m. to 4:00 p.m. This session of Penn State Extension’s popular course is cosponsored by the Maryland Rural Enterprise Development Center and University of Maryland Extension. The tuition cost of $40 per person includes all materials and lunch. Registration is through the Penn State event on-line system at http://extension.psu.edu/events (scroll down to February 28, 2012 listings) or by calling 877-489-1398. For further information about workshop content, contact Extension Educator Winifred McGee, wwm1@psu.edu, 717-270-4391 or Ginger S. Myers, University of Maryland Extension Specialist at gsmyers@umd.edu, 301-432-2767 x338. Pre-payment and registration are required for this workshop. Penn State is committed to affirmative action, equal opportunity, and the diversity of its workforce.

Small Farms Conference ~ March 1-3 at Waterfront Place, Morgantown http://smallfarmcenter.ext.wvu.edu/conference

Ag Dinner Meeting ~ Matt Poore, NC Extension Beef Specialist, Amazing Grazing March 8 6:30pm; Berkeley County Fairgrounds Martinsburg, WV Contact Dr. Mary Beth Bennett 304-264-1936

Forum for Rural Innovation ~ March 9, 2012, Best Western, Lee-Jackson Inn Banquet Convention Center, Winchester, VA. www.LoudounFarms.org

AGRICULTURE IN THE CLASSROOM
Ag in the Classroom is a program geared towards teaching youth about agriculture and its importance in everyday lives. The program teaches students about several aspects of agriculture, such as dairy, soybeans, fruits, and vegetables. The primary goal of this program is to promote agriculture and its importance within the United States. For more information about Ag in the Classroom contact the Berkeley County Extension Office.

USDA Premise ID

The National Animal Identification System (NAIS) is a national program intended to identify animals and track them as they come into contact with, or commingle with, animals other than herdmates from their premises of origin.
The system is being developed for all animals that will benefit from rapid tracebacks in the event of a disease concern. Currently, working groups comprised of industry and government representatives are developing plans for cattle, swine, sheep, goats, horses, poultry, bison, deer, elk. llamas, and alpacas.

In order for us to achieve this goal in cooperation with the United States Department of Agriculture, we are trying to identify all the farms in West Virginia by asking all producers of livestock to fill out a premise/farm identification form. For the online fill-in form...

CLICK HERE

Lamb Tail Docking Policy on Breeding Sheep and Market Lamb Projects for Exhibition in 4-H/FFA Events

If you are enrolled in the Breeding Sheep and/or Market Lamb project you may need to know the tail docking requirements in the 4-H and FFA youth programs in West Virginia. The WV policy that applies to 4-H and FFA breeding sheep and market lamb projects and the exhibition of these animals by youth at fairs and shows in WV states…

“Lambs will be accepted for exhibition only if tails are not docked shorter than the level of the distal end of the caudal tail fold. Lambs that are properly docked will have a minimum tail length of .7 inches at show, measured by the approved measurement device, which will be placed against the base of the tail and pin bones . If a market lamb and/or breeding sheep have been eliminated at an official check-in at a 4-H and/or FFA county show, event/activity due to dock length as stated in our current policy they are ineligible for show in any future 4-H and/or FFA market lamb or breeding sheep shows, events or activities.”

To obtain Scrapies Tags for sheep and goats please call the

USDA Scrapies Program at 866-873-2824.

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You may download it free of charge from Adobe. Choose the Acrobat Reader with Search version and the platform version you need from the pop-up lists at their site. These forms are also available in WORD format by contacting the Extension Office at 304-264-1936

Programs and activities offered by the West Virginia University Extension Service are available to all persons without regard to race, color, sex, disability, religion, age, veteran status, political beliefs, sexual orientation, national origin, and martial or family status.
Issued in furtherance of Cooperative Extension work, Acts of May 8 and June 30, 1914, in cooperation with the U.S. Department of Agriculture, David E. Miller, Director, Cooperative Extension Service, West Virginia University.
West Virginia University is governed by the West Virginia Higher Education Policy Commission and the WVU Board of Governors.

WVU Extension Service ~ Berkeley County
400 West Stephen Street, Suite 302
Martinsburg , WV 25401

Phone 304.264.1936

Fax 304.264.2153

PDF documents can only be viewed and printed using the Adobe Acrobat software. The Acrobat Reader is available for Macintosh, Windows, DOS, and Unix systems. You may download it free of charge from Adobe. Choose the Acrobat Reader with Search version and the platform version you need from the pop-up lists at their site.