Small-acreage owners curious about issues unique to their lifestyle can hear from natural resource experts at a small-acreage, hands-on workshop in Laramie.

The workshop is 9 a.m.-4 p.m. Saturday, May 20, at the Albany County Fairgrounds at 3520 S. 3rd St. There is a $5 registration fee. The registration form is available on-line at barnyardsandbackyards.com on the Events page under the Laramie workshop. Preregistration is encouraged. Lunch is provided.

Seminar topics include fencing operations for small acreages, managing pasture, weed identification and control in Albany County, using water-efficient plants for landscaping and creating healthy habitat for wildlife.

This workshop is one of a series sponsored by the Small Acreage Issue Team. The team is comprised of multiple organizations that have an interest in helping small landowners.

“This workshop is designed to provide small-acreage landowners the knowledge and skills to manage their land to provide landscapes that are ecologically sustainable,” said Calvin Strom, University of Wyoming Cooperative Extension Service (UW CES) educator for Albany and Carbon counties.

“We want to educate the small landowner that we – UW CES, Laramie Rivers Conservation District (LRCD), Albany County Weed and Pest, Natural Resources Conservation Service, and Wyoming Audubon – are available as resources to area landowners and to assist them with land-use issues.”

A similar small-acreage workshop last month in Casper drew 54.

Land parcels up to 49 acres are the fastest growing farm size in Wyoming, according to the 2002 U.S. Department of Agriculture Census. Holdings with at least $1,000 in annual agricultural production are considered a farm by the USDA.

For more information, contact Strom at (307) 328-2642 or cstrom@uwyo.edu, the LRCD at (307) 721-0072, or access barnyardsandbackyards.com