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PARKERSBURG — Agriculture is the spotlight of the 2026 Wood County Farmer’s Short Course, a learning opportunity for farmers in the Mid-Ohio Valley.

This year marks the 51st anniversary of the annual event, which will feature six educational meetings with speakers on a variety of agriculture-related topics.

The first session is today, and the program continues to Feb. 19 at 7 p.m. every Thursday in the Fort Boreman Room of the Judge Black Annex of the Wood County Courthouse at 317 Market St.

Program agendas are available at the WVU Extension Office by calling 304-424-1960 or stopping by the fourth floor of the Wood County Courthouse. All of the meetings are free and open to the public. The meetings are presented by the Wood County Beef Cattle Improvement Association with assistance from the WVU Extension Service.

A meal will be provided at every meeting thanks to donations from Nathanael Mason (Foggy Dale Farms), Rocky Peck Sales and Marketing, Red Barn Farms and the Wood County Beef Cattle Improvement Association.

“WVU Extension Service is still the best unbiased source of information for producers and the general public when it comes to agriculture topics, questions and expert advice. The Farmer’s Short Course is a great educational opportunity for local farmers, gardeners and anyone interested in agriculture here in the Mid-Ohio Valley,” said J.J. Barrett, WVU agriculture extension agent.

“Service to the community, through educational programming, is a crucial part of the land grant mission at WVU Extension,” Barrett added. “Extension strives to provide research-based information to local citizens. The Short Course is also a great way for farmers to network and exchange ideas.”

Two of the sessions are part of the WVU Extension Service Educational Dinner Meetings held across the Mountain State.

“These dinner meetings provide an excellent learning opportunity for local farmers around West Virginia,” said Ronnie Helmondollar, program director for agriculture for WVU Extension. “This educational opportunity is provided in different areas throughout the state by WVU Extension to aid farmers in improving management and profitability on the farm.”

Farm Cost Share and Farm Loan Programs will be featured today. Agriculture professionals will be updating the audience on USDA Farm Programs, state agriculture programs through the Little Kanawha Conservation District and farm and land and home loans with Farm Credit.

This panel will include Barb Parsons from the Farm Service Agency, Ryan Vaughn from Farm Credit and Jeff McElfresh from the Little Kanawha Conservation District. A WVU Extension Educational Dinner Meeting on the topic “Solar Grazing and Livestock” is scheduled for Jan. 22. Cameron Mairele, the sustainability director for the American Lamb Board, will be reviewing his development of solar grazing education programs for livestock producers. Solar grazing allows farmers to increase and diversify revenues without taking land out of food production and reduces or eliminates the need for mowing at solar sites, reducing emissions and costs.

John Johnson from West Virginia State Extension is talking about “Developing Water Resources” on Jan. 29. The historic drought of 2024 emphasized the importance of water resources for livestock. Johnson is the agriculture extension specialist for West Virginia State University, specializing in grassland and livestock management.

Grassland and pasture management is the focus on Feb. 5. Katie Payne from WVU will discuss “Fine Tuning Your Grazing System.” Payne is the new WVU Extension agronomy specialist and focuses on rotational grazing. She served six years as the applied forage systems specialist at the Virginia Tech Southern Piedmont Agricultural Research and Education Center before coming to Morgantown.

Feb. 12 is 4-H and FFA night, spotlighting careers in agriculture. A panel of several agricultural professionals, including veterinarian Dr. Phil Lowe, will be talking to youth about career paths in agriculture.

According to a recent employment outlook by Purdue and USDA, in the next five years nearly 58,000 jobs involving food, agriculture and renewable natural resources will open across the United States annually. Many of those jobs will not find enough graduates to fill those positions.

Feb. 19 is one the WVU Extension Educational Dinner Meetings. This night features Samanthia Johnson and Yarahy Leal from the Davis College of Agriculture discussing “Preconditioning Rations for Calves.” They will be explaining some results from their research on direct-fed microbials (probiotics and fermentation products) on the performance and health of weaned beef calves.

In addition, West Virginia Commissioner of Agriculture Kent Leonhardt will be talking about his agenda concerning issues facing agriculture in the Mountain State.

For more information, contact Barrett at the Wood County WVU Extension office at 304-424-1960 or email him at jj.barrett@mail.wvu to register or for information. Door prizes will also be part of each meeting. Anyone wanting to become a member of the Wood County Beef Cattle Improvement Association should contact J.D. Terry at 304-488-4030.