We had a very successful 6th annual Pollinator Day Celebration conducted by Chatham County Cooperative Extension and the Chatham County Beekeepers’ Association on May 12.

I posted photos on Cooperative Extension’s Growing Small Farms website at http://bit.ly/J0Bio4

Have a great weekend!

Debbie

Debbie Roos
Agricultural Extension Agent
Chatham County Center

North Carolina Cooperative Extension
919.542.8202
debbie_roos@ncsu.edu
www.growingsmallfarms.org
www.facebook.com/debbie.roos.nc
www.twitter.com/GrowSmallFarms
All electronic mail messages in connection with State business which are sent to or received by this account are subject to the NC Public Records Law and may be disclosed to third parties.

Chatham County just had its first confirmed case of tomato spotted wilt virus on tomatoes at a farm near Pittsboro. I posted photos on Cooperative Extension’s Growing Small Farms website at http://bit.ly/KvLsCl

Be on the lookout for these symptoms. It’s too soon to tell how much pressure we will face from this disease this year.

Debbie

Debbie Roos
Agricultural Extension Agent
Chatham County Center
North Carolina Cooperative Extension
919.542.8202

I have been out of town for over a month now – I came back last night and was horrified when I saw all the trees on main street had been scalped. How could anyone justify doing such a horrible thing? It looks awful and it makes the main street look shabby. I thought that sort of thing was supposed to be done before spring growth.

Shame-shame-shame on who made that decision –  Kick them out of position- Or was it unanimous with all town board members.?

Town board members-  take a good look at how sad your main street looks! You might be just as sad next election day!!!!!!!!!!

Betty Black

It was only a week or so ago, I noticed the holly trees along Pittsboro’s main street were so beautiful- very green and full of foliage.  Yesterday morning I arrived there early and my eyes were assaulted with a horrible scene. All but a couple of the holly trees had been hacked to the quick –  squared off leaving multitudes of bare branches – many have no leaves at all.  

The over-all effect of the scene is large pcs of drift wood carefully placed about.  Most of the cuts are rough, flat with splinters and irregular edges.  Only a few branches are cut on an angle.  Some of the center trunks (main body of tree) are cut flat horizontally at the very top- a perfect place for germs, vermin, mold, etc. to grow. As an added insult, someone, in order to show where the limbs were to be cut back- SPRAY PAINTED ON THE GROUND AND CONCRETE- IN FLUORESCENT  ORANGE PAINT!- Dozens of  lines about five inches wide and over a yard long. ( each tree has at least four of these at the base) At the bottom of each and every tree-  That paint does not go away- it will be visible for a long time;.

I just can’t see how anyone would think this is the right time of year to do such a trim-  I may be dead wrong, but I feel that those trees are going to have a very difficult time leafing out and surviving the hot weather.

Speaking of spray painting lines in Pittsboro- it has become a craze-apparently-  White lines here, orange lines there, then there are the bright blue lines- and yes the ever popular highway yellow lines- Black lines, red lines,  green lines-  There have got to be pink spray lines there somewhere- I just haven’t seen them.

Please take a look at these trees yourself and make your opinion known .
.. .  Silence is not golden  . . .

N.A. Booko

There will be a Horse Farm Field Day at a local farm this Sat, May 12 from 10 am to 2 pm. Chatham County Cooperative Extension Service will present an educational and fun event focusing on:HorseKeeping at Home and making your horses:Safer, Healthier and More Enjoyable.Visit displays and hands on learning about: Pasture Management,

Weed Control, Fencing, Farm, Barn, Tractor and Equipment Safety.County Extension Agent will present Hay Evaluation, Feeding for Body Score Condition and Hay Evaluation.Lunch will be provided, but please pre-register with the Chatham County Extension Office at: 919-542-8202.Or go on-line to register at: extensionprograms@chathamnc.org and type ‘Horse Field Day’ in the subject line.

Margaret Moore
Mobile (919) 542-9432
Home  (919) 708-6927
e-mail:   graham6927@msn.com

Come join the Chatham County Center of North Carolina Cooperative Extension and the Chatham County Beekeepers’ Association for our 6th Annual Pollinator Day Celebration on Saturday, May 12, from 10:00 am til 2:00 pm on the lawn at Chatham Mills in Pittsboro. The purpose of Pollinator Day is to raise public awareness of the importance of the bees and other pollinators that are needed to produce 80 percent of our flowering plants and one third of our food crops.

For more information and a schedule of events go to http://bit.ly/pollday

We have a great program planned for folks of all ages: you can hear presentations about beekeeping and learn all about what it takes to produce the delicious local honey available at Chatham Marketplace. We will have beekeeping equipment and products from the hive for “show and tell”.

Tour Cooperative Extension’s Pollinator Garden at Chatham Mills and learn how to attract and protect bees and other pollinators.

We will also be giving away plants and gift certificates donated by local nurseries Mellow Marsh Farm, Cure Nursery, Niche Gardens, and Big Bloomers!

Watch expert beekeepers work an actual hive inside a bee cage, see honey bees up close and personal, and get your burning beekeeping questions answered.

Ever tried honey wine? Co-sponsors Starrlight Mead will be doing mead tastings and a mead making demonstration. Visitors can also visit the meadery where they produce their award-winning honey wines on the Chatham Mills property!

We’ll have lots of activities for kids including a plant-a-pollinator-plant, beeswax candle making, face painting, balloon pollinators, Chatham County pollinator coloring books, and more! Watch “Bee TV” – park yourself in front of an observation hive and watch the worker bees tending to the queen. It’s mesmerizing!

Many thanks to Starrlight Mead, Country Farm & Home Supply, Mellow Marsh Farm, Cure Nursery, Niche Gardens, and Big Bloomers for their support of this event!

All Pollinator Week Events are free and open to the public. This event will be held rain or shine. The forecast is currently calling for beautiful weather on Saturday!

For more information and a schedule of events go to http://bit.ly/pollday

For more information on pollinator conservation, visit the Growing
Small Farms website at
www.protectpollinators.org<http://www.protectpollinators.org>.

I hope to see you Saturday, rain or shine!

Debbie Roos
Agricultural Extension Agent
Chatham County Center

North Carolina Cooperative Extension
919.542.8202
debbie_roos@ncsu.edu<mailto:debbie_roos@ncsu.edu>

www.growingsmallfarms.org<http://www.growingsmallfarms.org>

www.facebook.com/debbie.roos.nc<http://www.facebook.com/debbie.roos.nc>

www.twitter.com/GrowSmallFarms<http://www.twitter.com/GrowSmallFarms>

All electronic mail messages in connection with State business which
are sent to or received by this account are subject to the NC Public
Records Law and may be disclosed to third parties.

A local Chatham County 4-H’er Miss Sarah Thomas, daughter of Jean Thomas and Donnie Thomas of Silk Hope, was voted the 2012 Distinguished Junior Member of the North Carolina Holstein Association. 

Sarah earned this designation for the many contributions she has made to the dairy industry in North Carolina and her community.  Her most recent set of achievements came the 14th of April as she served as captain of the 2012 Junior Champion Team, coached by Margie Grubb of Randolph County, at both the State 4-H Dairy Quiz Bowl and Dairy Skillathon Contests in Statesville, NC.  Sarah has been a Chatham County 4-H member for nine years, showing dairy cattle at local, district, state, and regional shows since the age of 5.  She is currently President of the Chatham County Charging Champions 4-H Livestock Club, led by Jean Thomas and Julie Groce, Vice President of the Junior Beta Club at Silk Hope Elementary School and a member of the school’s science club and choir. 

In November of 2011 Sarah was the high scoring junior individual and a member of the winning junior team at the State 4-H Dairy Cattle Judging Contest held in Salisbury, NC.  Sarah has been involved in numerous national level dairy contests including Dairy Quiz Bowl at the National Holstein Convention for three consecutive years and she scored in the top five in the Dairy Jeopardy Contest at the convention in 2011. 

We would like to recognize Sarah for all of her hard work and accomplishments and applaud her for representing Chatham County on so many levels.

Employment and program opportunities are offered to all people regardless of race, color, national origin, sex, age or disability.  In addition, the two universities welcome all persons without regard to sexual orientation.  North Carolina State University, North Carolina A&T State University, U. S. Department of Agriculture, and local governments cooperating.

Lauren Irby
Extension Agent, 4-H Youth Development
North Carolina Cooperative Extension, Chatham County Center
Phone:  (919) 542-8202
Fax:  (919) 542-8246
Email:  lauren.irby@chathamnc.org<mailto:lauren_irby@ncsu.edu>

All electronic mail messages in connection with State business which are sent to or received by this account are subject to the NC Public Records Law and may be disclosed to third parties.

Thank you to everyone who responded to my post “Tree Removal Recommendations/Cement Slab/General Store.”  I feel so much better now about who to call and the kind of work they have done.  The top recommendation for tree removal was Tyndall Tree Service at 919-542-6247.  Audubon Tree Service 919-542-0180 was a close second.

Eric Pugh from Siler City was recommend for the cement slab.   http://www.ericpughconcrete.com

No concrete answers on the General Store, no pun intended.  Some think it’s been bought and may open within the year?  I have just seen that it is being worked on inside.  It looks like a complete transformation?  I guess we will see!

Thanks again to everyone who took the time to respond.  When we follow through with all our work I will respond with an update.

~Kasandra

I agree that not all beekeepers are created equal. Some use harmful and illegal chemicals and take an old school approach of the priority of honey production and feeding of high fructose corn syrup after taking all the honey. I think that this is bee exploiting and not beekeeping.

I have a degree in Sustainable Agriculture from our lovely community college. I manage Piedmont Biofarm where we raise vegetables following organic practices. I have been keeping bees for 4 years and my family has been doing longer.  I pride myself in educating others and doing the least amount of damage to the overall universe we all live in. I am more interested in providing a safe, HEALTHY home for the bees instead of maximizing production and profit.

Thanks to everyone who has contacted me and I look forward to helping more bees.

Adam Fisher 919-636-8128

From Service to Stewardship

A Workshop on Farming with Heritage Breeds of Livestock and Poultry

Central Carolina Community College – Pittsboro Campus, 764 West Street, Pittsboro, NC 27312

Join the Farmer Veteran Coalition (FVC) and the American Livestock Breeds Conservancy (ALBC) May 4 – 5, 2012, for a two-day workshop that will help transform today’s veterans into tomorrow’s farmers. This first-of-its kind workshop will educate and train America’s service men and women on the skills necessary to steward some of America’s most historic and endangered farm animals.

Details:
The workshop will be held Friday, May 4th and Saturday, May 5th. The workshop will be located at Central Carolina Community College in Pittsboro, North Carolina. Friday’s program will include a full-day classroom session featuring many local farmers speaking about a variety of species. On Saturday, attendees will select a track and visit local, successful small farm operations where they will get an up-close look at the realities of heritage breed farming. Over the course of the two-days, veterans will learn about hog production, poultry production, heritage cattle, raising equines, and small ruminant production. In addition, vets will be introduced to the marketing aspects of raising heritage breeds. On Friday, participants will enjoy a lunch that will feature heritage breed products prepared by the Natural Chef Program at CCCC.

The two-day workshop fee is $95, which must be paid in advance through cash, check, or credit card. Workshop reservations can be made by calling (919) 542-5704, or emailing  <mailto:jberanger@albc-usa.org> jberanger@albc-usa.org. The fee includes all workshop materials, lunch on Friday and Saturday, and farm tours on Saturday.

ALBC is working to provide transportation to Saturday’s farm tours, but at this point in time, transportation has not been secured. You will need to plan to provide your own transportation to the farm tours. If ALBC is able to secure transportation for attendees, we will inform attendees in advance. Reservations for this workshop are on a first-come-first-serve basis. Priority will be given to service men and women. After April 1st, ALBC will accept registrations from the general public.

Jeannette Beranger
Research & Technical Programs Manager
American Livestock Breeds Conservancy
PO Box 477
Pittsboro, NC 27312
919-542-5704 wk, 919-545-0022 fax
www.albc-usa.org