Agriculture

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James Barnhill (photo to the right) is the Agriculture Agent in the Morgan County Extension office. Farms and ranches are a part of life in Morgan County, despite ever increasing urban sprawl. It is this rich heritage that has always been a big center of activity at Extension. Mr. Barnhill uses his wealth of technical expertise and practical know-how in consulting with his extension clients. Other areas of focus are sustainable agriculture, weed control, soil testing, farm safety, irrigation scheduling, plant disease analysis, insect identification, dairy herd improvement, farm management, and crop variety trials.

Noxious Weed Control

Noxious, invasive weed species threaten Utah's cropland, pastures, range lands, forests, wilderness areas, national parks, recreation sites, wildlife management areas, transportation corridors, waterways, wetlands, parks, golf courses, even yards and gardens.  Prevention requires awareness and action by land managers as well as the general public, to recognize, report, and control new infestations before they have a chance to expand and spread.  Pictures of both the mature plant and rosette stage for identification of weeds, a brief description, and control methods are available at "Utah's Noxious Weed" Brochure
 

Agriculture Efforts Assist Farmers

Several programs are in place to assist farmers and ranchers striving to gain the most from their production efforts. Extension is also a great source for publications on many phases of agriculture. Mr. Barnhill has authored a very valuable pamphlet titled, "Small Pasture Management Guide For Utah" which is available at the Extension Office.

James Barnhill and John ChuggIn an inspection tour of John Chugg's dairy farm James "swept" the alfalfa stand with a collection bag looking for weevil.  A few were found, but not nearly at the levels that would call for pesticide use. Testing is also available for protein content of alfalfa which is critical to maximum production on a dairy farm.

For more information, contact:  

(801) 829-3472 - Morgan Office
(801) 399-8208 - Weber Office
 

Other Useful Websites:

Agribusiness -Website at Utah State University Economics Department.  It features prices, markets, risk  management and much more.

Labels & MSDS - Site to get access to labels of pesticides. 

Pacific Northwest - Features management handbooks of the Pacific Northwest on insects and much more.