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The ²ÝÁñÉçÇø Agriculture Department will host the ²ÝÁñÉçÇø Texas Ag-Stravaganza June 29 from 9 a.m. to 2 p.m. at the NTCC Ag Complex. The event, sponsored by NTCC, Creative Insight Community Development and the Ark-Tex Council of Governments, will introduce two new agriculture initiatives coming to ²ÝÁñÉçÇø Texas.

Guests will learn about Texas Golden Kiwis and how this and other new hybrid crops are changing the agricultural landscape ? and how they can work on local farms.

The ²ÝÁñÉçÇø Agriculture program is kicking off spring in a big way by hosting a community-wide garage sale on Saturday, March 31. The event will be held at the NTCC Ag Complex (across FM 1735 from the main campus) and community members and local businesses are invited to purchase booth space for just $20. †People may also donate items to be sold to support our ag students and receive a donation slip for their items.

The ²ÝÁñÉçÇø Agriculture Department will host a Muscadine Workshop Friday, Feb. 16 at the NTCC Ag Complex. The event will be held from 9 a.m. to noon under the instruction of Master Gardener Rhonda Lesher.

Lesher is a Master Gardener with the Cypress Basin Master Gardeners, where she has partnered with Texas A&M University in the Earth Kind trials for Mucadines and other grape vines for ²ÝÁñÉçÇø Texas.

Early fall-winter forage production is particularly valuable as it allows flexibility for earlier grazing or increased stockpiling. The goal of the Noble Research Institute?s small grains breeding program is to develop cultivars with improved forage qualities, better fall production, improved ability to recover after grazing and better overall forage yields. Come see six of the new small grain varieties, selected for increased early season forage yields, recently released by the Noble Research Institute

The ²ÝÁñÉçÇø Agriculture Department will host a Trees of the ²ÝÁñÉçÇø: Selection, Care and Planting Workshop Saturday, Oct. 28. This informative session will be from 10 a.m. to 1 p.m. at the NTCC Ag Complex located across FM 1735 from the main NTCC campus. Led by Dave Wall, the $10 class will cover a lecture, materials and hands-on planting at the college farm, as well as lunch. Space is limited to 20 recipients, so please RSVP to Rene? McCracken, NTCC Ag Director, at 903-434-8267 or rmccracken@ntcc.edu.

Did you know that ²ÝÁñÉçÇø offers opportunities for non-ag majors to get their hands in the dirt? The NTCC Ag Department offers three courses that students can take to satisfy core curriculum requirements for their degree, in addition to teaching important agricultural life skills.

Students in some majors can take Agronomy (AGRI 1307), the study of pastures and crops, Horticulture (AGRI 1315), the study of plants/gardening, or Animal Science (AGRI 1319), the study of farm animals to satisfy the core science requirement.

Students in the ²ÝÁñÉçÇø Agriculture Department won big last week as they took home multiple awards from the Texas Junior College Agriculture Association (TJCAA) Competition at Sam Houston State University.

Michael Rundle placed third in Horticulture Quiz, third in Wildlife Quiz and second in Agronomy. Rundle also served as Vice President of State Officers at the event.

The annual ²ÝÁñÉçÇø Spring Plant Sale will be hosted April 1 at the Mount Pleasant Super 1 Foods parking lot from 9 a.m. to 2 p.m. (or until sold out). Various sizes and varieties of tomatoes, cucumbers and peppers will be available, plus numerous other vegetables, herbs, shrubs, vines and trees ready to plant in your garden or patio pots. The farm crew will be available to answer your gardening questions and help get your garden started off right!

It always seems strange to me that we call our semester that starts in January here at NTCC the ?spring?