THE WORKSHOP IS FULL.  To have your name placed on a waiting list, please call 918-647-9123. More than 1.6 million feral hogs make their home in Oklahoma, causing over a billion dollars in crop and livestock damage every year. Learn how to manage them at a workshop on Thursday, August 27, from 6-9 p.m. at the Kerr Center near Poteau. Topics will include preventing feral hog infestations, when possible, and managing them where populations already exist, including regulations. Specific topics include agricultural issues, wildlife habitat destruction, population dynamics, disease issues, and population control. The presenters’ roster features a trio experienced both in managing feral hogs and in educating others about their management. Russell Stevens literally wrote the book on feral hogs in Oklahoma – the Noble Foundation’s “The Feral Hog in Oklahoma.” He is a Strategic Consultation Manager for the Noble Foundation. Another Noble Foundation employee, Wildlife & Range Consultant Josh Gaskamp, will second Stevens. His specialty is trapping methods. Kerr Center Vice President David Redhage will take a turn at the lectern, describing the center’s experience with feral hogs on the 4,000-acre Kerr Ranch. Space is limited. Pre-registration is required by August 20 and costs $15. (The fee is refundable for cancellations through the due date.)

This workshop will cover variety selection, establishment, production, harvest, marketing, and uses for this perennial native plant. It includes both classroom presentations and a tour of the Kerr Center’s elderberry plantings.

Presenters include:

Brent Madding Madding and his wife Valerie run 360 OK farms, a 7,000-plant elderberry orchard near Webbers Falls.  One of the largest elderberry nursery operations in the U.S., they specialize in the research and cultivation of Oklahoma native varietals of elderberry. Terry Durham Durham is an elderberry grower, marketer and promoter from Missouri.  He founded the River Hills Harvest Elderberry Producers, a grower-supported group. He and his partner produce American-made elderberry jams, jellies, juices, and medicinal products. Patrick Byers Byers is Associate Extension Professional and Horticulture Specialist, serving a 17-county region in Southwestern Missouri.  His areas of work include both commercial and home horticulture, and both Master Naturalists and Master Gardeners of Missouri. Bob McCord McCord is an experienced commercial elderberry grower from Mt. Ida, Arkansas Jacob Wilson Wilson is IPM Extension Technician with Lincoln University Cooperative Extension in Jefferson City, Missouri. George Kuepper Kuepper is Horticulture Manager at the Kerr Center. Download Workshop Agenda (PDF, 36 KB) Registration is due by September 18.  Registration costs $50 per person ($25 for additional family member), and includes lunch.  (Refunds are available for cancellations made before the due date.) To register, select the first person option below. To register an additional family member, you will need to select ‘Continue Shopping’ on the Paypal screen and come back to select the second person (sorry, this seems to be the only way to sign up two people).

First person registering:

First person $50.00 USD

Include spouse or child

Family member $25.00 USD