One of the highlights of this year’s Pineywoods Cow Congress on April 26, set near San Augustine, will be weed control in pastures.

“After the 2011 drought, we are still trying to get our pastures back up to snuff,” said Cary Sims, Texas A&M AgriLife Extension Service agent for Angelina County. “We’ve have a lot of weeds that have taken up residence and are keeping our summer forages from being all that they can be.”

In response, Sims, along with AgriLife Extension agents in Nacogdoches, Panola, Sabine, San Augustine and Shelby counties, have devised a training that will feature cutting-edge weed control measures for pastures, he said.

Set 8:30 a.m. to 2 p.m. April 26 at the F8 Ranch, 1914 CR 338, San Augustine, speakers will review the latest weed control products and methods of application, including GPS directed spraying, Sims said.

Speakers and their topics include: “Calibrating Sprayers,” John Roach, Dow AgroSciences, Buffalo; “Using Field GPS,” Mark Goolsby, Outback Guidance Systems, Crawford; “Dow Update-Pasture Management,” Roach; “Evaluating Hay,” Sims; and “Considerations for Retaining Calves,” Dr. Ron Gill, AgriLife Extension livestock specialist and associate department head for Texas A&M University department of animal science.

Registration for the program is $15 and includes lunch. The fee may be paid at the door, but participants are asked to RSVP by April 22 to Jerry Nickerson, AgriLife Extension agent for San Augustine County at 936-275-3644, j-nickerson@tamu.edu.
Or, if they prefer, they may RSVP to their local AgriLife Extension county agent, Sims said.
For Angelina County, contact Sims at 936-634-6414, ext. 102, or cw-sims@tamu.edu. For Nacogdoches County, contact Jamie Sugg at 936-560-7711 or jdsugg@ag.tamu.edu. For Panola County, contact Lee Dudley at 903-693-0380 or jldudley@ag.tamu.edu. For Sabine County, contact Kent Powell at 409-787-3752 or Kent.Powell@ag.tamu.edu. For Shelby County, contact Lane Dunn at 936-598-7744 or jldunn@ag.tamu.edu.
Attendees will earn one Beef Quality Assurance credit and three continuing education units in the general category toward renewal of their Texas Department of Agriculture private pesticide licenses.
The F8 Ranch is about two miles southeast of San Augustine. Traveling approximately 0.1 mile south of the intersection of U.S. Highway 96 and State Highway 21, take Farm-to-Market Road 1277 South approximately 0.6 mile to CR 338. Continue south on CR338 for 0.7 mile. The ranch will be on the right. AgriLife Extension signs will be posted on Farm-to-Market Road 1277 and CR 338.
Sponsors include the Heritage Land Bank, Dow AgroSciences and the Griffin Feed Store.