Growers Benefit from Soil Fertility Program

Alger County
Alger County Extension
413 Elm Avenue
Munising, MI 49862 / P: 906-387-2530

F: 906-387-2710

/ E-mail:

Web: www.msue.msu.edu/Alger

April 2006

Growers benefit from soil fertility program

A series of six soil fertility workshops organized by Alger County MSU Extension director Jim Isleib, was offered across the Upper Peninsula in March.
Isleib used funds from Project GREEEN (Generating Research and Extension to meet Economic and Environmental Needs), the plant industry initiative at MSU, to deliver the programs, which featured MSU Department of Crop and Soil Science professors as main speakers.
Darryll Warncke, professor and Extension specialist in soil fertility, and Ron Gehl, assistant professor and Extension specialist in soil fertility, covered such topics as efficient and environmentally responsible fertilizer use and soil testing.
Afternoon workshops targeted farmers while evening workshops were aimed at gardeners, homeowners, agri-businesses.
Meetings were held in Bruce Township (Chippewa County), Sault Ste. Marie, Escanaba, Mass City (Ontonagon County) and Chassell (Houghton County).
Thirty-three farmers representing more than 10,000 acres attended the workshops. Of these, 25 indicated that they would be making changes in their soil fertility practices as a result of attending the program. / Comments included:
  “[It] helped me understand what I need to do to improve my farming practices and how I need to evaluate fertilizer practices.”
  “Good explanation of soil sampling and crop nutrient requirements.”
Forty-eight gardeners, agri-business professionals and MSU Extension staff members attended the evening programs. Those who completed the evaluation indicated that they planned to change their soil fertility practices based on what they learned.
Comments from this group included:
  I’m glad MSU resource people came up here. Since we are so far from MSU, it is a huge help for them to come up to us.
  Good explanation about plant needs and soil conditions. Informative on what fertilizers to buy and how to read them. I didn’t know there was so many different soil conditions in the U.P.

/ Michigan State University Extension helps people improve their lives through an educational process that applies knowledge to critical issues, needs and opportunities. Offices in counties across the state link the research of the land-grant university, MSU, to challenges facingcommunities. Citizens serving on county Extension councils regularly help select focus areas for programming. MSU Extension is funded jointly by county boards of commissioners,the state through Michigan State University and federally through the US Department of Agriculture. /

Tax Management Programs Help Forest Land Owners

Forestland owners had a chance to learn about timber sale income tax management during a series of educational programs offered in January and February.
Private forestland owners and the tax preparers who assisted them found got their answers from Karen Potter-Witter, MSU professor and Extension specialist in forest economics.
Potter-Witter “wrote the book” on timber sale tax management, along with William L. Hoover of Purdue University, in the North Central Regional Publication NCR 343, “Minimizing Federal Income Tax for Forest Landowners.:
With support from the MSU Forestry Extension Area of Expertise Team, Potter-Witter traveled the U.P., sharing her knowledge of this challenging and technical topic in Mackinaw, Alger and Marquette counties.

Participants included private forest land owners, tax preparers, accountants and professional foresters. Because timber harvests are very infrequent on any particular woodlot, land owners are often not familiar with the tax implications. This program helped land owners and tax professionals head-off problems in a constructive, non-regulatory environment.

Life of Lake Superior program receives national award

The Life of Lake Superior summer youth program has been receiving a large amount of attention. In October, the program’s organizers received the National Extension Association of Family and Consumer Sciences Team Award.
The award included a $500 stipend for its continuation and improvement. Activities during the program’s five years have given young people the chance to take part in Native American cultural experiences, offshore science experiments, the area’s maritime history, sport fishing and geology field trips.
Alger County Family Strengths Educator, Joan Vinette, accepted the award on behalf of the Alger County MSU Extension team at the National Extension Association of Family and Consumer Sciences Annual Conference in Philadelphia on September 28, 2005. /

Community Meetings Identify Alger Issues

Thirty-six people from across Alger County met twice in March to identify the local issues that they believe MSU Extension could address to improve the quality of life for everyone in the county.
This diverse group represented a cross section of age, occupation and interest. Alger County’s issues are being combined with input from other Michigan counties to develop statewide initiatives.
Alger County issues included:
  Engage more uninvolved youths and their families in available, positive activities. Include a component in youth activities to address childhood obesity.
  Encourage and develop new options in the Alger County agricultural community including biomass production for energy and industrial uses, niche markets such as local farmers’ markets and food cooperatives, organic food and livestock feed production.
  Facilitate the development of a creative, long-term, adequately staffed program to market the Alger County area to new business interests.
  Develop local, economically viable recycling programs allowing participation of Alger County households, businesses and public organizations.
  Increase awareness of students and the general public in Alger County regarding acceptable management choices for local natural resources including forests, surface and ground water.
  Improve capacity of township, city and village zoning and planning groups in Alger County.

Upcoming Events

May 13 -- Alger 4-H Cystic Fibrosis fundraiser
May 20 -- Munising Spring Clean-Up
June 3 -- Master Gardener Plant Exchange, Deerton
June 10 -- Youth Fishing Derby
June 20 - July 18 -- Life of Lake Superior Summer
Youth Program
July 29 --Field Day at U.P. Experiment Station,
Chatham
MSU is an affirmative-action, equal opportunity institution, Michigan State University Extension programs and materials are open to all without regard to race, color, national origin, gender, religion, age, disability, political beliefs, sexual orientation, marital status, or family status. Issued in furtherance of MSU Extension work, acts of May 8 and June 30, 1914, in cooperation with the U.S. Department of Agriculture, Thomas G. Coon, Extension Director, Michigan State University, E. Lansing, MI 48824