Lone Star Healthy Streams workshop set March 4 in Hempstead

Writer: Kay Ledbetter, 806-677-5608, skledbetter@ag.tamu.edu
Contact: Matt Brown, 979-862-8072, matthew.brown@ag.tamu.edu

HEMPSTEAD – A Lone Star Healthy Streams workshop is set for March 4 at the Hempstead Movie Theater, 740 12th St. in Hempstead.

The Texas A&M AgriLife Extension Service workshop will be from 10 a.m. to 3 p.m., with lunch provided by the Waller County Farm Bureau. Three general continuing education units will be provided for certified pesticide applicators through the Texas Department of Agriculture.

Workshop presentations will focus on basic watershed function, water quality and specific best management practices to minimize bacterial contamination from cattle, feral hogs and horses, said Matt Brown, AgriLife Extension program specialist in College Station.

The goal of the Lone Star Healthy Streams program is to educate Texas livestock producers and land managers on how to best protect Texas waterways from bacterial contamination from livestock and feral hogs, Brown said.

Currently, about 300 Texas water bodies do not comply with state water quality standards established for E. coli bacteria, said Stacie Villarreal, AgriLife Extension agriculture and natural resources agent in Waller County. By participating in this workshop, livestock producers and landowners can learn about specific conservation practices to improve and protect the quality of Texas’ water bodies.

To RSVP, go to http://lshs.tamu.edu/workshops/ or call Brown at 979-862-8072 or the AgriLife Extension office in Waller County at 979-826-7651.

The Lone Star Healthy Streams program is funded through a Clean Water Act nonpoint source grant from the Texas State Soil and Water Conservation Board and the EPA.

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