Cooperative Extension presents weed-free hay workshop

Along with fuel and food prices, hay prices are also rising. According to the Nevada Agricultural Statistics Service, hay prices averaged $167 per ton in March 2008. Certified weed-free hay can fetch even higher prices, and helps prevent the spread of noxious weeds. Local farmers can learn how to produce certified weed-free hay at a free weed-free hay workshop, 10 a.m. to noon, Monday, May 19, at the Cooperative Extension conference room, 1329 Waterloo Lane, Gardnerville.

"Certified weed-free means that the hay fields have been inspected and found to be free of noxious weeds," said Steve Lewis, Douglas County Extension Educator, University of Nevada Cooperative Extension. "Certified weed-free hay is baled with special twine that identifies it as weed-free certified.

"Weed-free certification may add some costs to an agricultural operation initially, but it pays dividends overall. Producers that endure the certification process have an extra set of eyes on their fields scouting for weeds. This benefits the producer, but also assists us in the war on weeds throughout Carson Valley," Lewis said

Noxious weeds, once established, often take over agricultural, natural wilderness and recreational land. They end up costing millions of dollars in control efforts and contribute to water quality problems and other environmental problems.

Several experts will present more information on noxious weeds and producing weed-free hay at the weed-free hay workshop, including Scott Marsh, Noxious Weeds Regulatory Specialist, Nevada Department of Agriculture; Earl Creech, State Weed Specialist, University of Nevada Cooperative Extension and Larry Hughes, Douglas County Weed Control Coordinator. Information, Steve Lewis, 782-9960.

Cooperative Extension is the college that extends knowledge from the University of Nevada to local communities to address important issues. Faculty and staff reached hundreds of thousands of Nevada citizens last year with research-based information on agriculture, horticulture, natural resources, health and nutrition, community development and children, youth and families.

Founded in 1874 as Nevada's oldest land-grant university, the University of Nevada, Reno has more than 16,000 students and four campuses with Cooperative Extension educational programs in all Nevada counties. It is ranked as one of the country's top 150 research institutions by the Carnegie Foundation, and is home to America's sixth-largest study abroad program, as well as the state's oldest and largest medical school.