Farmer Education Day scheduled for Feb. 19.

SCOTTVILLE — The Oceana, Mason-Lake and Manistee conservation districts will host a Farmer Education Day on Friday, Feb. 19 from 8 a.m. to 4 p.m. at the Scottville Optimist Center. The free event is open to anyone who is interested in agriculture, forestry and watershed protection. Keynote presentation will be by Tim McKay from Blarney Castle Oil Company.

For those farm operators who wish to become verified in the Michigan Agriculture Environmental Assurance Program (MAEAP), this meeting qualifies as the educational portion of the process. MAEAP is a proactive program that helps farms of all sizes voluntarily and confidentially prevent or minimize agricultural pollution risks, which promotes Mason County farms with the slogan “this farm is environmentally verified”.

For other attendees or those farm operators who are already verified, there will be a variety of interesting and educational topics available that will be useful for all types of crop, vegetable and fruit production. Livestock topics to be discussed include manure spreading plans, livestock mortality management and odor management. Additional topics include deer management permits, bulk fuel storage, invasive species management, cover crops and forestry.

Five Restricted Use Applicator (RUP) pesticide applicator credits for private core, commercial core and fruit crop applications will be available for attendees of this meeting through the Michigan Dept. of Agriculture and Rural Development. Sixteen RUP credits are required within a three year period to defer re-certification through the pesticide applicator exam.