There's not a day that goes by without one or two phone calls to the Butler County Extension Office for information regarding natural gas drilling and property leasing.

Drilling is progressing at a rapid pace across Pennsylvania with energy companies making big investments in land leases, equipment and infrastructure.

Prior to drilling though, land must be leased from property owners by the gas company. This is a time-consuming task, often given over to leasing landsmen. Their job is to contact landowners to negotiate the rights to the oil and gas that might lay deep below the surface of their property.

To further assist Butler County residents, as well as residents from surrounding counties, Penn State Cooperative Extension is holding a natural gas exploration and leasing seminar from 7 to 9:30 p.m. Oct. 2 at the Regional Learning Alliance, 850 Cranberry Woods Drive, Cranberry Township. An overview of gas wells and the Marcellus Shale play, advice on protecting private water supplies, understanding and negotiating a gas lease, and the dollars and sense of leasing will be presented.

Registration is requested by calling the Lawrence County Cooperative Extension at 724-654-8370 by Sept. 29. There is a $15 per person fee to defray expenses.

Penn State encourages people with disabilities to participate in its programs and activities. If you need any type of accommodation or have questions about the physical access provided, contact Jon Laughner at 724-774-3003 in advance of your participation or visit.

For individual assistance, contact Rodger Keith, Butler County Extension Educator, at 724-287-4761. You also can learn more about natural gas resource development in Pennsylvania at www.naturalgas.psu.edu.

Butler County Holstein Club plans picnic

What better way to spend a Sunday afternoon than visiting with friends and renewing acquaintances?

The Butler County Holstein Club is planning just such an afternoon, complete with a family picnic and some friendly softball competition.

All dairy producers past and present, along with anyone who is a dairy cattle enthusiast, are invited to Connoquenessing Community Park at 1 p.m. Sunday. Meat and beverages will be provided. Guests are asked to take their own table service and a covered dish. Don't forget the baseball gloves and bats!

To help the Holstein Club prepare for the picnic, registration is Tuesday. Contact Barb Rader at 724-712-7281.

Forest landowner workshop planned

On Oct. 11, Penn State Cooperative Extension and the Woodland Owners of the Clarion and Allegheny Valley will host a forest landowner workshop at Butler County Community College. Owners of small and large parcels of forests will benefit from this workshop.

While there are a number of reasons people own forest land, selling timber is one important reason for owning the land. Understanding how to sell your timber and what kind of things need to be considered before signing a timber contract is important to making that step in forest management a successful and rewarding experience.

Speakers from Penn State Extension, DCNR Bureau of Forestry and a local consulting forester will provide landowners with the knowledge they need to have a successful timber harvest.

Topics include using timber harvest as a management tool, terms of a timber sales contract, forest considerations involved with gas leasing, and road construction and maintenance.

Additional topics include a discussion about the changes of land use in Butler County and why it is important. There also will be an overview of the Woodland Owners of the Clarion and Allegheny Valley that will explain how joining a woodland owners association could be beneficial to landowners.

This event will be from 9 a.m. to noon at the Succop Theatre at Butler County Community College. The program costs $5, which will include handout materials.

Registration is required. Call Penn State Cooperative Extension in Forest County at 814-755-3544 to register or e-mail Scott Weikert at sjw128@psu.edu if you have any questions. Checks should be made payable to "PSCE Forest County" and sent to Penn State Extension in Forest County, 2 Highland St., Tionesta, PA 16353. Deadline for registration is Oct. 7.

If you need special accommodations or have questions about the physical access provided, contact Scott Weikert at 814-755-3544 in advance.

This material is submitted by Donna Zang, Extension director, and the staff of the Penn State Extension office at the Sunnyview Nursing and Rehabilitation Center complex.