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The Millen News, Wednesday, February 18, 2009 — Page 3
Farm & Home
Ag Line: Planting Dormant Sod
By Wade Parker
County Extension Coordinator
This is the ideal time of the
year to transplant trees and other
ornamentals. The root-ball is
typically buried deep enough so
that low soil temperatures do not
stop root growth during cooler
months. However, for turfgrass
sod where the roots originate at
the soil surface, dormant sodding
is a more risky endeavor.
Many people choose to lay sod
in their yard during the winter
months. This can be accom
plished, but several steps need to
be taken to ensure survival. If
grasses such as bermuda, centi
pede, St. Augustine, and
zoysiagrass are going to be es
tablished while dormant, good
management can improve the
chance of success.
Let’s start with rootzone prepa
ration. Rootzone preparation is
critical for success. During site
preparation and prior to turfgrass
establishment is the best time to
take a soil sample. It is easier to
adjust the soil pH if lime or sul
fur is incorporated into the soil.
It is also easier to correct nutri
ent deficiencies, like phosphorus
and potassium, prior to establish
ment. Since soluble nitrogen is
mobile in the soil and the grass’s
root system is incapable of ac
quiring this nutrient, little nitro
gen is needed when sodding dor
mant grass. The first nitrogen ap
plication should be made in the
spring once soil temperatures are
at the 4-inch depth and are con
sistently 65 degrees or higher.
Loosen the soil and incorpo
rate nutrient amendments by till
ing to a minimum depth of 3 to 4
inches. Tilling deeper is always
better. After thorough tilling and
mixing, the soil should be lev
eled, smoothed, and moistened.
Remove large rocks, stones,
weeds, and other debris before
sodding. Also prior to laying sod,
the soil should be lightly watered
but not saturated. Ruts from foot
traffic or equipment can occur
when soils are excessively wet.
These ruts are more difficult to
repair after the sod is laid.
Winter annual weeds are com
mon for dormant sodded grasses
and there is a need to apply
preemergence herbicides for
control of summer annual grass
species, like crabgrass. Research
has shown that for dormant sod
ded bermudagrass, common
postemergence broadleaf herbi
cides have no effect on rooting.
The herbicides were applied 45
days after sodding. Similarly,
preemergence herbicides had no
effects on root development
when applied at labeled rates 30
days after installation. Always
read and follow the label recom
mendations before applying any
pesticide to newly planted grass.
To summarize, winter time
planting can be riskier but can be
accomplished. If the necessary
pre-cautionary steps are taken,
you will have a successful lawn
at the end of the day!
The University of Georgia Co
operative Extension offers edu
cational programs, assistance
and materials to all people with
out regard to race, color, national
origin, age, sex or disability.
Program promotes ground, surface water conservation
Acting State Conservationist
Barbara Eggers, of the USDA-
Natural Resources Conservation
Service, announced recently that
up to $58.4 million in financial
assistance is available to agricul
tural producers and entities
through the Agricultural Water
Enhancement Program (AWEP.)
This is a new program established
in the 2008 Farm Bill to promote
ground and surface water conser
vation and water quality improve
ment.
USDA is seeking project pro
posals from potential partners
through this program. A Request
for Proposals was published in the
Federal Register and proposals
must be submitted by Monday,
March 2. “I encourage all of
Georgia’s conservation-minded
farmers to become aware of the
new assistance available to them
under this and other new conser
vation programs,” said Eggers.
The AWEP Request for Propos-
Jim Hite
als can be viewed at the USDA-
Natural Resources Conservation
Service’s (NRCS) web site at http:/
/www.nrcs.usda.gov/programs/
awep/index.html; web site at
www.grants.gov; and at the Fed
eral Register.
The Food, Conservation, and
Energy Act of2008, or 2008 Farm
Bill, established AWEP as a com
ponent of the Environmental Qual
ity Incentives Program (EQIP,)
USDA’s largest conservation pro
gram on working agricultural
lands. All EQIP requirements and
policies will apply to AWEP.
USDA-NRCS administers
EQIP, a voluntary conservation
program that provides technical
assistance and payments to help
crop and livestock producers ad
dress environmental concerns
through conservation improve
ments on agricultural and non-in
dustrial private forests lands.
Farmers and ranchers can use
EQIP to farm in an environmen
tally friendly manner and still meet
their agricultural production goals.
In addition, it is designed to pro
duce significant environmental
benefits to the public, such as im
proved soil, water and air quality,
and enhanced wildlife habitat.
AWEP offer's financial and tech
nical assistance to help farmers and
ranchers cany out water enhance
ment activities that conserve
ground and surface water and im
prove water quality on agricultural
lands such as cropland, pasture,
grassland and rangeland.
Agricultural water enhancement
activities include: water quality or
water conservation plan develop
ment; water conservation restora
tion or enhancement projects, in
cluding conversion to the produc
tion of less water-intensive agri
cultural commodities or dry land
farming; water quality or quantity
restoration or enhancement
projects; irrigation system im
provement or irrigation efficiency
enhancement; activities designed
to reduce drought’s impacts; and
other related activities that will
help achieve water quality or wa
ter conservation benefits on agri
cultural land.
Under this new program,
USDA-NRCS can contract di
rectly with agricultural producers
who are included in approved part
ner proposals. Eligible partners
include federally- recognized
tribes, states, units of local govern
ment, or agricultural or silvicul
tural associations.
Producers who apply for AWEP
assistance must meet EQIP eligi
bility requirements. All AWEP
funding must go to producers. Like
EQIP, contract terns for produc
ers under AWEP run from 1 year
to 10 years. Agricultural produc
ers in selected project areas can ap
ply for available AWEP funds at
their local USDA service center.
For additional information
about the AWEP under EQIP,
please visit http://
www.nrcs.usda.gov/programs/
EQIP or call (706) 546-2272 dur
ing business hours.
THE PRIMARY ROLE OF A SCHOOL IS EDUCATION
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Some three years ago, I down
loaded an article from the news
paper of the city where I lived un
til leaving for college. I planned
on using it as the basis of a col
umn, but the facts it presented
seemed a bit preposterous even if
true.
However, last fall a somewhat
similar story from Austin, Texas,
made the news and maybe now
would be a time for commentary.
In the Toledo Blade of Feb. 13,
2006, an article told of various in
centives being offered by school
systems to entice students to show
up at school. Apparently, becom
ing a better person, citizen, worker
is not enough. And when parents
do not make their children do what
they should, the school systems are
forced to step in.
At the base of all the incentives
is money. According to No Child
Left Behind, when attendance is
low, funds are lost. In Chicago,
every 1 percent increase in aver
age attendance is worth $18 mil
lion. Thus, administrators there are
offering students up to $500 for
groceries or $1,000 for rent or
mortgage payments if they attend
class every day for the first three
months of the school year.
In Hartford, Conn., a 9-year-old
with perfect attendance won a
raffle among the perfect attendees
and got to choose between a new
car and $10,000. His parents took
the money. In Ft. Worth, Texas,
students with average attendance
get a shot at cars, computers, shop
ping trips, and sports tickets. Other
schools offer DVD players or
iPods. Many examples can be
found. Not quite the way it works
in the real world!
A payoff for just showing up is
a rather interesting concept, since
in the real world the paycheck
comes after the work is done.
Of course, there is the exception
of professional sports, but that’s
another column!
Then last November, the Austin
American-Statesman of Nov. 21
reported that the Texas Board of
Education gave preliminary ap
proval to create guidelines for how
sports should be taught in public
high schools; the new plan would
include adding athletics to the fist
of electives that count toward
graduation.
It seems a high school football
coach was concerned that stiffer
graduation requirements in En
glish, math, science, and social
studies could squeeze athletics out
of the students’ schedule, a prob
lem that would be solved if athlet
ics became an elective subject.
At last report, the debate is con
tinuing with one observer noting
that coaches would then have to
be certified somehow in the sports
they coach.
I’m not sure if you read this as I
do, but it surely seems the tail is
wagging the dog here.
School is school, a physical lo
cation which is to provide young
people with an education. While
there is debate over what educa
tion should entail, whether it
should prepare one for fife or for a
job, I don’t see how just showing
up at school should become a
source of treasure! As for the story
from Texas, it would seem that the
state board would understand that
the primary role of a school is edu
cation. Extracurricular activities
are just that — extra, outside and
beyond the basic curriculum of an
educational institution.
Believe me, as one who lived
for Friday nights while in my late
grade and high school years and
one whose high school coaching
career extended from the 1970s
through the 80s and 90s, I am not
calling for an end to athletics.
I know that high school athlet
ics is big, far bigger than in the
ancient days of my youth. There
are high school football teams be
ing flown across the country to
play in large stadiums and “all-
star” games at season’s end. There
are basketball teams during the
season and individual players dur
ing the summer doing the same.
College scouts flock to these com
petitions while parents dream and
hope the participation of their off
spring will lead to a financial re
turn from their offspring’s athletic
endeavors.
Maybe you agree to paying
youngsters for showing up at
school or to giving classroom and
thus graduation credit for extracur
ricular activities. Or maybe you (as
I do) see education in a different
way - as its own reward.
Possibly, all this may just be a
non-story.
I guess time will tell!
PUBLIC HEARING NOTICE
Community Development Block Grant Program
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