The Texas AgriLife Extension Service office in McCulloch County will conduct a McCulloch County Range and Wildlife Workshop at 8:30 a.m. Sept. 30.

The program will begin at the large pavilion at Brady Lake, just north of the Lake Store on Farm-to-Market 3022. Participants will then move to the Ed Davenport Civic Center on North U.S. Highway 87 about two miles east of the Courthouse Square in Brady for a catered lunch and the afternoon program.

Vance Christie, AgriLife Extension agent in McCulloch County, said the workshop is being held in response to questions by producers who are trying to weather the worst drought in the state’s history. AgriLife Extension’s McCulloch County Ag and Natural Resources Committee has planned this year’s workshop and tour to address these and other issues.

“Desirable forages on most of our rangelands are gone due to overgrazing as producers try to hang on to their livestock as long as possible,” he said. “This unfortunate situation has set up a scenario where invasive plant species can easily take over the range.”

Christie said much of the workshop will be devoted to how best to handle the noxious brush control issue. He said live demonstrations of an excavator, Grub-N-Rake, forestry tractor/mulcher and a skid-steer outfitted with tree shears will be part of the morning program.

Other morning demonstration topics will include options for rigging all-terrain vehicle spray rigs and rainwater harvesting for wildlife and livestock.

The afternoon’s scheduled speakers are Dr. Charles Hart, AgriLife Extension range specialist, and Will Hatler, AgriLife Extension weed and brush management program specialist. Both specialists are from Stephenville, and they will focus on noxious weeds and other toxic plants, weed and brush control during and after drought and the dos and don’ts of rangeland reseeding and reestablishment.

Five Texas Department of Agriculture continuing education units will be offered—four general and one integrated pest management—for pesticide license holders who attend the entire program.

Individual preregistration is $20 before 5 p.m. Sept. 27 and $30 thereafter. For more information and to preregister, call the AgriLife Extension office in McCulloch County at 325-597-1295.