Producers attending this year's Wurdack Extension and Education Center Producer Field Day on Oct. 6 will learn about efforts to reduce feral hog populations in southern Missouri.
The focus of the field day is on alternative forages for drought recovery, but there will be other interesting topics that will be useful to livestock and forage producers, says Gatlin Bunton, a University of Missouri Extension agronomist and director of Wurdack Center. The event begins at 9:30 a.m. and ends with a noon lunch.
The Missouri Feral Hog Elimination Partnership, managed by the Missouri Department of Conservation, the USDA Animal and Plant Health Inspection Service, and the U.S. Forest Service, is working to eliminate feral hogs on public and private lands in 27 southern Missouri counties.
In 2022, the partnership removed 6,289 hogs, helped 709 landowners and scouted 3.7 million acres, with efforts in Iron, Shannon, Wayne, and Reynolds counties netting the most results. With the group's help, feral hog numbers have decreased by nearly 65% in Missouri watersheds since 2016.
Field day sponsors include First Community National Bank of Steelville and Missouri Farm Bureau.
The event is free, but registration is required. Register at https://www.cvent.com/d/zpqq4t/4W
For more information, contact Bunton at buntong@missouri.edu or call the MU Extension Center in Crawford County at 573-775-2135.
The MU Wurdack Extension and Education Center is at 164 Bales Road, Cook Station.
Photo Credit: gettyimages-4fr
Categories: Missouri, Livestock, Hogs