11/12/08 Phosphorous workshops

There are free workshops on phosphorus management for Idaho dairies be held next week, November 18 in Preston, November 19th in Burley and Jerome and on the 20th in Caldwell. The University of Idaho College of Agricultural and United Dairymen of Idaho are sponsoring it says U of I coordinator Rick Norell. NORELL "And so the whole intention of this workshop is to help dairy producers achieve the goals of their nutrient management plan of controlling the amount of phosphorus their cows produce and excrete through their manure, putting the correct amount of manure on their crop ground and then successfully using the phosphorus from manure for crop production. In addition to Norell, speakers will include April Leytem, a USDA Agricultural Research Service soil scientist in Kimberly and Charles Stallings, an Extension dairy scientist at Virginia Tech. NORELL "He's leading a national project in Virginia where they are providing incentives to producers to reduce the phosphorus levels they are feeding to their cows." According to Norell, workshop participants will learn such phosphorus-managing techniques as adjusting their feeds, sampling manures and calibrating spreaders. Voice of Idaho Agriculture Bill Scott