The Butler County Fall Market Lamb Show was held September 26 at the Butler County Fair.

Lambs were shown by 4-H and

FFA students from McKenzie.

Kelly Goneke and Rhett Lowe showed the Grand Champion and Reserve Champion lambs respectively.

In preschool showmanship, Kelly placed first; Erin Taylor second; and Ryan Taylor third place.

In junior showmanship, Rhett Lowe won first; Jordan Bush second; Drew Nixon third; Brandon Kilpatrick fourth; and Cody Baldwin fifth.

In senior showmanship, Jordan Lowe placed first; Dusty Odom second; John Brooks third; and Tamala Hutcheson fourth.

Derek Bryan, County Extension Agent from Crenshaw judged the show.

Sponsors included the Pioneer Electric Cooperative in Greenville; the Alabama Department of Ag and Industries – Charles Bishop Commissioner; the Greenville Kiwanis Club; and the Alabama Cooperative Extension System.

Butler County Farmers Using Micro-Irrigation

"Micro-irrigation" is a new term to some of us.

It's being used more and more to describe what we used to call drip or trickle irrigation, and for low-volume mini-sprinkler systems.

We'll probably be hearing the term more in the future, since farmers are catching on to the benefits.

Irrigation in general takes drought risk out of the farmer's equation, and micro-irrigation uses less energy and water than high-pressure overhead sprinklers

do for the same job.

In addition, the micro approach allows the grower to maintain optimum soil moisture for top yields and quality.

So far, research has shown micro-irrigation to be best suited for vegetable and orchard crops.

Farmers are looking to micro-irrigation for what it can do for their bottom line.

However, micro-irrigation can potentially benefit everybody by conserving energy and water while providing a more dependable supply of high quality food.

Micro-irrigation, like any other system, requires a significant financial investment.

And a high level of management attention is needed to achieve the benefits.

If you have a good quality water source and are growing, or considering growing, a high value orchard or vegetable crop, you owe it to yourself to consider the potential of micro-irrigation for your farm enterprise.

In Butler County, those having recently used drip or micro-irrigation and plastic mulch culture for vegetables are Wingard's Produce of McKenzie, Tim and Fred Bennett of the Mt. Zion Community, Thomas Robinson near the Grace Community, and George Cook of the Oakey Streak Community.

Vegetable crops well suited for micro-irrigation include tomatoes, strawberries, peppers, summer squash, egg plant, cucumbers, watermelon, cantaloupe, and cole crops.

Other crops as well may be grown under micro-irrigation.

With the past summer the driest on record, those using micro-irrigation experienced

the difference with good, quality yields compared to those making nothing at all.

I would like to thank Harold McLemore of the Alabama Department of Agriculture & Industries and Dr. Joe Kemble, Extension Horticulturist at Auburn University for making these demonstrations possible.

If you are interested in pursuing micro-irrigation, please give me a call at 334/382-5111.

The Department of Ag & Industries has an excellent program for those who want to get started.