Seminar to offer tips for absentee landowners

ARDMORE — The Samuel Roberts Noble Foundation and the Oklahoma Cooperative Extension Service are offering help for new and absentee landowners.

The groups are co-hosting a basic agricultural seminar from 1 to 4 p.m. Sept. 28.

The class will be held at the Oklahoma County Extension Auditorium, 930 N Portland Ave., in Oklahoma City.

“We have a lot of absentee landowners here for several different reasons,” said Ray Ridlen, extension educator. “People go off to college and choose to stay and not move back to the family farm. Then they inherit land but don’t want to leave the urban area where they live.

“Then we have the older folks who choose to move closer to their children, grandchildren and better health care. We basically have two generations of absentee landowners right there.”

The class will talk about hay and grazing leases, resource management and technical agencies that are available to help producers.

“We get a lot of questions about land leases,” Ridlen said.

Related topics include land stewardship and cost-sharing programs.

A panel discussion will follow the seminar, allowing attendees to pose questions about other agricultural concerns.

“We’re going to cover a tremendous amount of fundamental information. … We’re going to help them take the first steps to developing … goals, based on the amount of time and energy they are able to spend,” said Steven Smith, a Noble wildlife and fisheries consultant, in a news release.

The seminar is free, but space is limited.

For more information or to register, call Ray Ridlen at 713-1125.