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Programs - Agriculture and Natural Resources
Listed below are programs offered through the
Rutherford County Extension. For more detailed information
about the program contact the person listed with the program or the
Rutherford County Extension. |
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Talk Radio
Contact: Anthony Tuggle
Live radio call-in show held weekly on local radio station. Agents answer clientele questions pertaining to landscapes & gardens during the hour-long program as well as promote upcoming Extension educational sessions.
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Master Beef Producer Training
Contact: Rebekah Norman
Master Beef Producer Training is a ten-session training which delivers current, research-based information for cattle producers. Topics covered include reproduction, nutrition, forages, herd health, beef carcass merit, genetics, cattle handling, marketing, business planning and records, and more. Producers receive a full-color spiral bound textbook as well as a three-ring binder of PowerPoint presentations for ease of note taking.
Successful completion of the course certifies a producer as a Master Beef Producer, and successful graduates also receive a certificate, farm sign, and hat.
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Master Horse Owner Training
Contact: Rebekah Norman
This seven-session training is a “must-attend” for horse owners and for those considering horse ownership. Information included in the training: Health (vaccination programs, parasites and deworming programs, emergency first aid), Nutrition (anatomy, nutrient requirements, forages), Reproduction (stallion and mare reproductive anatomy and management, mare and foal care and management, breeding systems), Genetics and Selection (Seven P’s for Breeding Horses, color genetics, equine conformation and selection), Behavior and Training, Farm Management, and Equine Business Management.
Class participants receive a notebook and individuals who successfully complete the training receive a plaque.
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BQA - Beef Quality Assurance Training
Contact: Rebekah Norman
This practical 1 ˝ to 2 hour training provides producers with the knowledge to implement management practices on the farm. These practices will favorably impact carcass value when animals are harvested. Topics covered include cattle handling, cattle behavior, how and where to give shots, suggested needle gauges, etc.
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Rutherford County Agricultural Committee
Contact: Anthony Tuggle, County Director
The Rutherford County Agricultural Committee consists of seven members. Three of the seven committee members are county commissioners. Two of the remaining four are farmers, and two are farm women.
Committee members are appointed for a term of two years; they may be reappointed but can not serve more than three successive terms. Two county commissioners, one farmer and one farm woman are appointed in even-numbered years, and the other members are appointed in odd-numbered years.
Committee members are responsible for the employment and/or removal of personnel receiving funds from county extension appropriations. They work with the county extension director to formulate an annual budget and serve as liaison between extension and the county legislative body on financial matters relating to extension work. They also act in an advisory capacity to formulate and carry out county extension programs.
Current members of the Rutherford County Agricultural Committee are:
Anthony Johnson, Committee Chairman, County Commissioner
Jean Wilson, Vice Chairperson, Farm Woman
Frances McDonald, Committee Secretary, Farm Woman
Jack Black, County Commissioner
Tommy Gentry, Farmer
Ronald Williams, County Commissioner
Stan Vaught, Farmer
Members of the committee are appointed by the Rutherford County Commission. The committee composition, terms, and functions are prescribed by state law.
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Master Gardener Program
Contact: Anthony Tuggle
This fifteen week program is designed to train volunteers in all aspects of gardening and horticulture topics such as basic gardening, botany, fruit and vegetables, herbaceous and woody ornamentals, turf management and houseplants. Participants also learn how to identify and control insects, diseases and weeds. Specialized instruction dealing with soil, lawn and garden equipment, landscaping, herbs, organic gardening and composting are also included in this program. After completing the fifteen week program volunteers return horticulture services by volunteering in the community by working on horticultural related community service projects.
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Garden Basic Class
Contact: Anthony Tuggle
This course is designed for beginner or intermediate gardeners who wish to learn or to improve their skills. Ten topics are covered in five days. Classes usually last about three hours on the most common horticultural issues of the season. Classes are taught by certified Master Gardeners.
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Library Series
Contact: Anthony Tuggle
Monthly sessions are taught throughout the year at local libraries around the county. Certified Master Gardeners present horticulture information on the latest gardening information, techniques and/or trends related to horticulture and gardening.
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Satellite Clinics
Contact: Anthony Tuggle
An outreach program where agents set up at lawn & garden retail sites, Senior Citizens’ Activity Center or other public place and answer clientele questions, process pest samples and offer management recommendations pertaining to gardens and landscapes.
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Brown Bag Lunch Horticultural Programs
Contact: Mitchell Mote
These informal sessions are generally held ten months out of the year on the fourth Thursday of the month from 11:30 a.m. – 12:30 p.m. Participants are invited to bring their lunch to enjoy as they listen to a presentation on a horticultural topic. A different topic is offered each month. Topics include tree and shrub selection, planting and pruning; identifying and controlling a variety of landscape pests; safe pesticide and fertilizer use; composting yard and garden wastes and much, much more.
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Master Meat Goat Producer Training
Contact: Rebekah Norman
Master Meat Goat Producer Training is a ten-session training which delivers current, research-based information for small ruminant producers. Although most specifically geared for goat producers, the program also includes information applicable to sheep. Topics covered include predation, fencing and structures, forages/browse, marketing, carcass merit, reproduction, health, nutrition, genetics, FAMACHA, and fecal egg counts.
Class participants receive a textbook/notebook with the training, and successful completion qualifies the participant as a Master Meat Goat Producer.
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Lawn Care 101 for Homeowners
Contact: Mitchell Mote
This course is aimed at homeowners and others who are actively involved in the management of their lawns’ turfgrass. Participants in the course will learn the basics of residential lawn / turf care to include:
• Growth habits and characteristics, environmental requirements, areas of adaptability, and potential uses of various turfgrass species
• How to take a soil sample and interpret soil test results
• Primary and secondary turf management practices
• Pest management practices (weeds, disease and insects)
The course, generally offered annually in February, involves about eight hours of class room instruction.
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Vegetable Gardening 101
Contact: Mitchell Mote
This course is aimed at new and/or inexperienced vegetable gardeners. Course instruction will emphasize:
• Site selection, soil fertility and management, and soil preparation
• Seasonal crop selections, growing and selecting transplants
• Garden layout, planting seeds and transplants
• Crop protection and support options, cultivation and management
• Pest control
• Harvesting and using vegetables, safe handling and cleaning
The course, generally offered in March, involves about eight hours of classroom instruction.
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Middle Tennessee Landscape Management Short Course
Contact: Mitchell Mote
This multi-county program is aimed at professionals in the lawn care and landscape business. Generally held annually in January at the Williamson County Ag. Expo park in Franklin, the course offers certified HLT applicators the opportunity to earn up to 10 recertification points over a two day period as well as receive education and training related to their field. A team of Extension Agents from six middle Tennessee counties is responsible for planning, promoting and conducting this annual program.
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Rutherford County Commercial Horticulture Workshops
Contact: Mitchell Mote
This annual event aimed at professionals in the lawn care and landscape business has traditionally been held in the January/ February time frame. In 2010, a session in August has been added to compliment the February session. The purpose of these workshops is to provide certified HLT applicators opportunities for continuing education as well as mandatory recertification points.
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Field Days and Demonstrations
Contact: Mitchell Mote
Outside, hands-on learning opportunities are offered periodically. The purpose of these events is to demonstrate how to do something or the effectiveness of a particular practice. Examples include demonstrations showing the effectiveness of various turfgrass herbicides; the efficacy of forage weed control materials; how to renovate cool season lawn turf, etc. These activities are held both here at our office complex as well as on cooperating clienteles’ sites. We maintain a turfgrass demonstration here at our office complex year round demonstrating the characteristics of 23 turfgrasses and/or turfgrass blends.
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Asian Soybean Rust Sentinel Plots
Contact: Mitchell Mote
A sentinel plot for Asian Soybean Rust is maintained on a cooperating producer’s farm each year. The plot serves as a warning/detection tool for the rust disease. Leaf samples are collected from the plot each week during the growing season for testing for the presence of the fungal spores which cause the rust disease.
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