National Farmers Market Week, celebrated annually during the first full week of August, shines a spotlight on the crucial role farmers markets play in communities across the nation. This event underscores the importance of supporting local farmers and the profound impact such support has on local economies.
Consumers want food that is healthy and environmentally friendly and our local farmers are meeting this need each week. Farmers that utilize farmer’s markets are minimizing the amount of waste and adopting environmentally sound farming practices that improve the natural environment while producing healthy food for consumers. These consumers purchase the sustainable produce providing money directly to the farmer in order to continue building our local food supply. Studies have shown that for every dollar spent at a farmers’ market, the producer receives around 90 cents, as opposed to 15-17 cents on the dollar when they sell to a wholesaler.
Erosion Control for the Homeowner Matt Rodriguez, Extension Agent, Horticulture
Living here in Burke County is truly a blessing with views of the Blue Ridge Mountains at almost every viewpoint. While some enjoy a fairly flat landscape, some struggle with steeper slopes and hillsides. This can be tricky to maintain when soils and root systems are disturbed either from development or natural runoff over time. Thankfully we can always remediate erosion with native trees, shrubs, grass, and herbal plantings. Invasive species can cause more headache long term and should be avoided. Firstly you want to determine the steepness of your slope and decide if you need it to be sloped at a more forgiving angle or you can design a terraced garden along your hillside to help your plants establish in a more level environment. Anything with a slope at an angle of more than 12% is considered vulnerable to erosion. The greater the angle, the increased velocity of runoff to occur.
The Great Southeast Pollinator Census is a citizen science project created by the University of Georgia. This project is designed for everyone to participate and make a difference for pollinator conservation!
Join us as we celebrate the 2024 Great Southeast Pollinator Census, counting pollinators throughout Georgia, South Carolina, North Carolina & Florida on August 23rd and 24th.
For more information and to get registered to participate, visit gsepc.org
Extension Master Food Volunteer Program
Interest Meeting - August 27, 2024 at 9:00am
Contact Brandi Silver at 828-764-9480 or by email at bsilver@ncsu.edu for more information
Fall Forage Tips
Damon Pollard, Extension Agent, Livestock
August and September are good timed to accomplish fall pasture maintenance. With fall arriving, now is the time to apply Lime and fertilizer to pastures and hayfields planted to cool season grasses. Cool season grasses make their peak growth in the cooler weather of spring and fall, and any fertilizer applied in spring is long gone. Additional nitrogen now will increase growth for fall grazing.
If you have fields planted to summer annuals like Sudex or Pearl Millet, they can be over seeded with winter annuals as well to provide winter grazing. For cattle, and small ruminants, you can utilize oats, wheat, rye or ryegrass. Rye is the highest yielding choice.
For horses, the best choices are oats and ryegrass. Oats will produce heavy spring yields and horses love them. Ryegrass is a good choice for both spring and fall grazing, as it will produce more fall forage and a heavier spring yield than any other winter annual suitable for horses. If managed properly, it will provide grazing throughout the winter, cutting down on the grain requirement.
The most expensive forage for livestock is hay. By investing in fertilizer and seed now, you can reduce hay needs for this winter.
NC State University and N.C. A&T State University works in tandem, along with federal, state and local governments, to form a strategic partnership called N.C. Cooperative Extension.
N.C. Cooperative Extension is an equal opportunity provider.
