Our Annual Conservation Tour was held jointly with the Davidson Soil & Water Conservation District, the USDA-NRCS, and the Cooperative Extension Service on Aug 29th. Approximately 71 attendees traveled with us to farms within the County to view and learn about the latest agricultural innovations and farming practices.
Participants included County Commissioners Fred McClure and Karen Watford; Constituent Advocate Stephanie Blair from Senator Thom Tillis office; Senator Eddie Gallimore; representatives from the Davidson County Tax Department and the County Attorney's office; representatives from the Voluntary Agriculture Board, Carolina Farm Credit, Farm Bureau, Farm Services Agency, Extension Advisory Council; Ben Coley with the Dispatch, along with local farmers, producers, and citizens from across the County.
This year's tour began with Cooperative Extension Horticulturist Amy Ballard discussing the Get Real Program at the Ag Center's garden. We traveled to Mike Palmer's Farm to observe cover crops, precision nutrient management, herbicide weed resistance, and weed management practices. Our next stop was David and Francis Lanier's for warm season grasses, forest management, and best management practices for timber harvesting. We observed cotton production at Frank Small's Farm, followed by lunch at the Village Restaurant in Denton.
After lunch, the High Rock FFA Beez Kneez Envirothon Team discussed their experiences with the Envirothon Competitions and answered questions from our group. We traveled to Thomas Penninger's High Rock Nursery to observe his local produce market. The tour serves as an opportunity for our citizens, farmers and producers to see agriculture in different parts of our County on various soil and site conditions.
We would like to extend a very special thank you to all of the farm participants for allowing us the opportunity to visit their sites and view their agricultural innovations and farming practices. We are also extending a very special thank you to our sponsors, Carolina Farm Credit and Davidson County Farm Bureau for their financial support in making this tour possible.
