Field Days

Published: 2022
By Kaleena Miller

The summer season provided ample opportunity for field day workshops in Madison and Jefferson Counties. We brought together landowners around topics of cattle nutrition, backyard composting, pollinator habitat, fruit tree pruning, and soil fertility. Attendees appreciated the opportunity to engage with the content in a very hands-on and interactive style. We led local ranchers through pastures as we walked down into freshly dug soil pits and assessed the health of the plant community. Our horticulture workshop was held at the Redman Orchard, south of Whitehall, established as an MSU Extension Fruit Research Site in 2014. Attendees eagerly grabbed pruning shears after some instruction, practicing what they learned on the apple, pear, plum and cherry trees. Participants left our workshops better equipped to make informed land management decisions, one stating that “the session helped improve my understanding of pasture and cattle health” and another sharing “I learned what I can do to increase habitat for pollinators.”