August 5, 2011

Organic farmers and experts will lead the UNL Extension Prairie Restoration Workshop and Organic Farm Tour Aug. 20 in eastern Nebraska.  The tour will be from 11 a.m. to 6 p.m., ending with a meal and bluegrass music.

The tour will start at a site two miles north and one-half mile east of Abie. Participants will join Bill Whitney, executive director of the Prairie Plains Resource Institute, on a prairie walk to identify native plants and learn how to control invasive species and restore and manage native prairie.

Lunch is free and followed by an afternoon session on grass-finished organic beef. Liz Sarno, UNL extension educator, will discuss her certified organic grass-finished Devon cattle operation, management, and marketing.

The next stop on the tour will be with Larry Stanislav, an organic farmer, who will discuss cultural practices using a flamer for weed control. He also will discuss his cover crop experiments with Sam Wortman, a UNL doctoral student in agronomy using buckwheat, field peas, rape seed, mustards, turnips, radishes, and cowpeas. David Glett, UNL graduate student, will summarize the UNL nutrient management project.

Starting at 3:30 p.m., participants will tour Wagon Wheel Farm, which is one-half mile northeast of Bruno on Spur 12B. Mike Ostry will discuss the various crops he raises for poultry feed, an on-farm poultry processing facility, and a direct marketing operation of chickens, turkeys, geese, hogs, and beef.  He'll also discuss his experiments using the UNL flamer for weed control in corn.

After the tour the Ostry family will provide a free dinner at 5 p.m., where participants can also enjoy bluegrass music by the Ostry Family Singers. Families are welcome at all these events.

Information and Reservations

Meals are free, but a reservation is needed. Please call 402-584-3837 to RSVP or for further directions to the sites. For more information about the tour go to organic.unl.edu and click on “More Information – Events” in August or call Sarno at 402-309-0944.

IANR News Release