Press Releases
April 17, 2013
Organic Soil Workshop Set for April 27
Learn organic methods for building soil fertility at a Kerr Center workshop, Saturday, April 27, from 9-5, at center headquarters near Poteau.
Registration, due by April 22, costs $35 and includes lunch. Space is limited.
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March 12, 2013
Beginning Farmer Horticulture Students Meet for First Class
Seventeen students in the horticulture track of the 2013 Oklahoma Beginning Farmer & Rancher Program had their first meeting Saturday, March 9, at the Kerr Center near Poteau.
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January 25, 2013
Beginning Farmers Gather for
2013 Training at Kerr Center
Fifty-five beginning ag producers attended the first workshop of the Kerr Center's 2013 Beginning Farmer and Rancher Program, Saturday, Jan. 19, at Kiamichi Vo-tech in Poteau, Oklahoma.
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September 10, 2012
Meet Meat Goats: Beginner Field Day September 22
New meat goat producers, and those contemplating getting into goats, can fine-tune their goat game at a field day in Poteau from 8:30 - 4 on September 22. At the Kerr Center for Sustainable Agriculture's Stewardship Ranch, several speakers with deep experience in Oklahoma meat goat production will deliver a solid grounding in the basic knowledge needed to start a goat enterprise.
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August 9, 2012
Dr. Jim Horne Marks 40th Anniversary
with Kerr Center
Dr. Jim Horne, president and CEO of the Kerr Center for Sustainable Agriculture, celebrated 40 years with the organization on July 24, at a luncheon in his honor at the Kerr Mansion and Conference Center in Poteau.
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June 27, 2012
Farmers-in-Training: Kerr Center Interns Hard at Work
This summer, four young people are participating in the center’s internship program. If you turn down Kerr Road (off highway 271 between Poteau and Wister) you will likely see them, tending the center’s certified organic vegetable plots or working with the goats, cattle and chickens.
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May 25, 2012
Pollinator Workshop Highlights Need for Natives
Sometimes it’s better to keep the bugs in the system – especially when the system is farming, and the bugs pollinate the crops. So said Jennifer Hopwood of the Xerces Society to a group of farmers, ranchers, and agricultural professionals at a workshop in Poteau, Oklahoma, on May 17.
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January 26, 2012
 New Reports: Make Better Bucks on Pasture
Raising meat goats on pasture can cut feed costs and boost profits, but weather and parasites complicate that picture.
New reports from the Kerr Center for Sustainable Agriculture near Poteau offer valuable tips for producers.
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October 6, 2011
 Wanted: A New Crop of Oklahoma Farmers and Ranchers!
If you've been farming or ranching for less than ten years, the Kerr Center has got a deal for you: a year-long course in sustainable farming and ranching, with tuition and materials covered by scholarship.
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August 31, 2011
Meat Goat Field Day Set for September 24 in Poteau
Meat goat producers, as well as those considering a commercial meat goat enterprise, will learn about parasites, forages, and animal health at this annual field day, which runs from 9-3 on Saturday, September 24, at the Kerr Stewardship Ranch in Poteau.
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August 17, 2011
 Learn How to Grow a "Super Food"
at Sept. 17 Event
In November 2007, the Wall Street Journal, in a front page story, panned the sweet potato.
The venerable newspaper pointed out that annual per capita consumption (4 lbs.) hadn't changed in 40 years and trailed even celery. The conclusion: once the Thanksgiving and Christmas holidays are over, the sweet potato "might as well be a turnip."
It now appears that this unassuming vine, with its sweet fleshy roots, did not take this dig lying down.
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July 14, 2011
 Kerr Center’s Free Evening Garden Tour Set for August 4
The Kerr Center is offering an evening garden tour starting at 6:45 on August 4th. The tour will feature test plots of four varieties of heirloom tomatoes and twelve heirloom varieties of sweet potatoes.
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May 13, 2011
 Ram and Buck Test Entries Due June 24
A good ram is nothing to be sheepish about, and meat sheep producers have a chance to establish bragging rights in an upcoming forage test – if they enter their rams by June 24.
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May 5, 2011
 Learn to Build a Hoop house with Free Online Slide Shows
At recent workshops at the Kerr Center near Poteau, participants from around Oklahoma and Arkansas learned to build a 100’ by 17’ hoop house of an innovative, low-cost design. Now anyone who wants to build his own hoop house can learn how by watching instructional slide shows available free on the Kerr Center’s website.
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April 27, 2011
 “Getting the Most from Your Pond”
is Topic at May Event
Aquaculturist Kenneth Williams will talk about pond management on Thursday evening, May 26, from 5:30-7:30,
at the Kerr Center near Poteau.
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March 7, 2011
 Enhance Your Expertise at
Kerr Center Spring Workshops
This spring, the Kerr Center will present a series of workshops designed to give farmers, ranchers and rural residents both expert guidance and hands-on experience.
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February 7, 2011
 Healthy Soils, Healthy Livestock:
Grazing Workshop April 8-9
Ranchers can learn how to improve the health of both their soil and their cattle, using tools like management intensive grazing, at a workshop April 8-9 at the Kerr Center for Sustainable Agriculture in Poteau.
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September 28, 2010
 Kerr Center’s President Jim Horne Honored with Henry Bellmon Award
Dr. James E. “Jim” Horne, president and CEO of the Kerr Center, received the inaugural Henry Bellmon Award for Sustainability on Thursday evening, September 16, at the Mayo Hotel in downtown Tulsa.
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September 15, 2010
Innovative Veterinarian Dr. Ann Wells Joins Kerr Center
Jim Horne, president and chief executive officer at the Kerr Center, announced September 1 that Ann Wells, DVM, has joined the center as program director.
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August 28, 2010
 Kerr Center President Jim Horne Wins Conservation Award
Land Legacy, a Tulsa-based nonprofit conservation organization, announced the winners of several preservation awards at its first fundraiser, Legacy Ranch, which introduced the public to the mission of Land Legacy in a family entertainment setting.
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August 18, 2010
Build a Hoop House:
Workshop in Sapulpa, September 11
A free workshop on Saturday, September 11, offers a chance to learn about hoop houses, and get some hands on experience building a low-cost version, at Belcher's Bucket of Berries, a U-pick farm near Sapulpa.
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July 21, 2010
View from the Peak: Sustainable Livestock Summit August 17
At the Sustainable Agriculture Summit on August 17, leading ranchers, researchers, and extension agents in Oklahoma sustainable livestock production will share their vision of the field, at the Wes Watkins Center on the OSU campus in Stillwater.
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July 16, 2010
County Agents from Across the U.S. Visit Kerr Center
County agricultural agents from across the United States toured the Kerr Center for Sustainable Agriculture near Poteau Wednesday, July 14, to learn about center projects and sustainable agriculture in Oklahoma.
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July 9, 2010
Organic Farming Field Day and Workshop July 22
This year, the Lane Ag Center’s annual organic field day will feature a workshop and “train-the-trainer” session, enabling both growers and those who assist them to learn more about the transition to organic farming.
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May 17, 2010
 Report Looks at Past and Future of Organic Farming
Organic food sales are booming, even through the recent recession. But the meaning and origin of the USDA-certified organic label remain a mystery to many Americans.
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May 12, 2010
 Whose Buck Is Best? Test Entries Due June 11
Goat producers are lining up once again for a chance to prove that their goat bucks are best, and the deadline is approaching fast.
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May 5, 2010
Goat Parasite Management Workshop June 5
On Saturday, June 5, at a workshop at the Kerr Center near Poteau, attendees will learn about simple, low-cost techniques for gauging goat health, and effective strategies to keep their goats healthy
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April 7, 2010
Free Field Day: Grazing Goats and Cattle Together
On Saturday, May 8, from 10-4, Sparks will host a free field day to explain the rationale and results of his cattle-goat “multi-species” grazing project on his farm near Porum.
Preregistration is required by May 4 to reserve a place.
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March 31, 2010
Spring Offers Loads of Lessons on Goat Production
Goats are finding homes on more and more Oklahoma farms in recent years. A series of free and low-cost educational programs this spring offers the know-how to raise them healthy – and at a healthy profit.
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March 24, 2010
April 16th Last Day to Register for Wilburton Grazing Conference
April 16th is the final day to reserve a place for the “Seeds for Success” grazing conference at Eastern Oklahoma State College in Wilburton.
The event is for livestock producers who want to increase productivity and improve profits.
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March 17, 2010
Saving Seeds: New Reports Out for OK Gardeners and Farmers
Some people put their family heirlooms in the attic. Others keep them out in the garden – heirloom crop varieties, that is. Older “heirloom” crop varieties are beginning to make a comeback. Two new reports detail the performance of heirloom squash and tomatoes at the Kerr Center for Sustainable Agriculture.
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February 10, 2010
Seeds for Success: Sustainable Grazing Conference at Wilburton
April 30 – May 1
On April 30 – May 1, Eastern Oklahoma State College will host trailblazing ranchers Walt Davis, Wes Downing, and Kit Pharo at the second annual “Seeds for Success” grazing conference in Wilburton.
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 November 20, 2009
Kerr Center President Honored for Lifetime of Work for Sustainable Agriculture
Citing his years of leadership in focusing “the world’s attention on sustainable agriculture,” Keep Oklahoma Beautiful (KOB) honored Dr. James E. Horne with its Lifetime Achievement award on November 17th at the Skirvin Hilton Hotel in Oklahoma City.
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November 5, 2009
Report Removes Guesswork from Small Farm Organic Certification
Small farmers, as well as farmers’ market managers, can find the USDA organic standards complicated and confusing.
A report from Kerr Center for Sustainable Agriculture makes it easier to tell whether a farm meets the official standards.
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July 8, 2009
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