Crossville Field Day to Focus on Forage, Hay

Field tours, equipment demonstrations and informative presentations will be the order of the day Saturday, July 17, when the Sand Mountain Research and Extension Center (SMREC) in Crossville hosts a Forage and Hay Equipment Field Day.

Activities will begin at 8:30 a.m. as Auburn University professor and Extension forage specialist Don Ball and Mark Thomas of Barenbrug Seed Company give presentations on new varieties of forage, clover and hay; weed management in pastures and hay fields; quality hay production; and hay baling and storage techniques. Randy Alford with the U.S. Department of Agriculture's Market News Service in Montgomery will also be on hand to discuss his agency's hay marketing news service.

The presentations will be followed by tours of SMREC research plots, after which several area equipment dealers will give demonstrations on cutting, raking and baling round and square hay bales and on stacking square bales.

The field day will wrap up at noon with a barbecue lunch, during which time equipment dealers will be available to visit with producers.

The Alabama Farmers Federation's State Hay and Forage Committee is joining the SMREC to host the event. Cosponsors are the Alabama Agricultural Experiment Station and the Alabama Cooperative Extension System. The field day is open to all persons regardless of race, gender, religion or national origin.

For more information, call Tony Dawkins, SMREC superintendent, at 256-528-7133. The SMREC is located at 13112 Alabama Highway 68, just east of Crossville.

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News from:

Office of Ag Communications & Marketing

Auburn University College of Agriculture
Alabama Agricultural Experiment Station
3 Comer Hall, Auburn University
Auburn, AL 36849
334-844-4877 (PHONE) 334-844-5892 (FAX)

Contact Jamie Creamer, 334-844-2783 or jcreamer@auburn.edu

07/07/04

For immediate release