Farm Briefs

"Woodscaping Your Woodlands Firewise Management," a workshop for managing land in Western North Carolina, will be from 9 a.m. to 5 p.m. Friday, July 25, and from 9 a.m. to noon Saturday, July 26, at Holmes Educational State Forest. Participants will have hands-on opportunities to learn general skills and information useful in managing their land.

The cost is $50 per person, per session, with spouse or other family members at $25. Registration for this workshop will be accepted through Thursday. For more information and registration materials, visit www.cradleofforestry.org, e-mail amysworkshopinfo@aol.com or call 884-5713, ext. 26.

Food safety is a growing concern. To help North Carolina Cooperative Extension agents and North Carolina growers prepare, the North Carolina Fresh Produce Safety Task Force, North Carolina Cooperative Extension and Appalachian Sustainable Agriculture Project are offering fresh produce safety trainings on Thursday, July 24, and Friday, July 25.

Farmers who want to attend should visit http://asapconnections.org/special/2008/FoodSafety.htm for more information and to register. For more information, call (336) 334-7957 or e-mail kbaldwin@ncat.edu.

The N.C. Department of Agriculture and Consumer Services' Pesticide Disposal Assistance Program, a non-regulatory and free program, will be offering a Pesticide Collection Day on Tuesday, July 29, for residents in Henderson County.

The collection will be from 10 a.m. to 2 p.m. in Jackson Park at Field 8 and 9 parking lot.

Nearly all pesticide products will be accepted at this amnesty collection event, including banned and out-dated pesticides.

For more information contact Ivy Olson, Extension Secretary or Marvin Owings, County Agricultural Extension Agent at (828) 697-4891.

- T-N Staff