Area livestock and forage producers are invited to this year’s Blanconia Field Day on May 13 in Blanconia. The field day begins at the Blanconia Community Center, located at the intersection of Hwy. 202 and FM 2441. Registration and a cowboy breakfast will begin at 7:30 a.m.

The focus of this year’s program will be on Drought Recovery of Your Pastures. Dr. Mark Matocha, of the Agriculture and Environmental Safety Unit, will discuss Pasture and Hay Regulations and Restrictions; Tim Reinke, NRCS, will discuss Forage Selections and Optimizations; and, producers will travel to a sand bur result demonstration where Dr. Charlie Grymes, Dupont, will evaluate Pastora plots.

Beef producers throughout Texas are having problems with cool-season weeds and will likely have problems with warm-season annual weeds as the year progresses. Though it’s not a crisis situation, it is a prevalent one.

While many producers may suspect the unusually wet winter and spring to be behind the flush of weeds, the most likely cause, particularly when it comes to improved pastures, is a poor fertility program. Lower than optimum fertility – cutting back on fertilizers such as nitrogen, potassium and phosphorus – means the improved forages such as Bermuda grass are less able to compete with weeds. But high costs of fertilizers and the poor economy have forced many producers to cut back on their fertility programs, in some cases eliminating one of the primary nutrients altogether. These issues and what to do about it will be discussed at the field day.

Three CEU(s) will be provided including one in Laws and Regulations. This Tri-county event is conducted annually through the planning efforts of the Livestock and Forage Committees. For more information contact the Extension Office, 362-3280.