Kansas Forest Service to host Agroforestry Field Day in Washington County
Field day to focus on using trees and shrubs to benefit agriculture
June 1, 2017
BARNES, Kan. – A Kansas family that has stabilized miles of streambank on the Little Blue River by planting trees and implementing other conservation techniques will be featured during the Agroforestry Field Day on Thursday, June 8.
Jim Downard, along with his siblings Karen Haley and Ed Downard, are recipients of the 2017 Kansas Agroforestry Award. The family has improved the quality and health of their woodlands by removing lower quality trees from their property, giving more valuable oak and walnut trees the opportunity to grow strong.
The Agroforestry Field Day will be at the Downard Family Farm, located northeast of Barnes, Kansas, from 8 a.m. to 3 p.m. Registration is $10, which includes lunch, refreshments and publications.
The field day is hosted by the Kansas Forest Service. The event is particularly useful for farmers, ranchers, woodland owners and natural resource professionals.
Agroforestry is the practice of integrating trees and shrubs into farming and ranching operations to maximize productivity and conservation benefits.
Tree plantings known as riparian forest buffers are just one of many agroforestry practices available to Kansas landowners. Windbreaks and riparian buffers are the most common agroforestry practices in Kansas.
More information on the field day and registration is available online at www.kansasforests.org/events/news_docs/calendar/AgroforestryBrochure2017.pdf
Interested persons may also call the Kansas Forest Service at 785-532-3300 or send e-mail to Thad Rhodes, trhodes@ksu.edu.
In case of rain, the event will be at the Barnes Fire Station, located at the southwest corner of Highway 9 and Main Street.
