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Annual event will address soybean rust, world cotton
MISSISSIPPI STATE -- Agricultural producers from across the region will descend on Cleveland Jan. 18 and 19 for the most recent information on soybean rust, international cotton trade issues and other crop concerns during the 32nd annual Delta Ag Expo.
The regionwide event, which is sponsored by the Mississippi State University Extension Service and the Delta Ag Expo Corp, attracts more than a thousand growers and consultants from across the Mid-South annually. About 100 commercial and educational exhibits will be available in the Bolivar County Exposition Center beginning at 8:30 a.m. each day. Keynote speakers and state agriculture specialists will discuss topics of interest to Delta farmers.
The first morning will address rice production topics such as fertility, irrigation, general production practices, economics, hybrids, drift and other chemical issues. At 11:30 a.m., attention will turn to soybean rust, the potentially devastating and newly discovered disease in Mississippi, and other soybean production concerns.
Tuesday's keynote speaker Monte Miles, a U.S. Department of Agriculture/Agricultural Research Service plant pathologist from the University of Illinois--Urbana, will help growers prepare for the rust threat to the 2005 crop. The afternoon sessions on soybean production by state specialists will cover the rust situation in Mississippi, irrigation and drainage, and insects.
Wednesday will be devoted to cotton and corn production. The 11:30 a.m. keynote address by Bill Gillion will focus on the World Trade Organization and cotton trade issues. Gillion is based in Memphis with Butler Snow attorneys. He concentrates his practice on agricultural law, international trade, biotechnology and trade associations. He served the National Cotton Council for 10 years as general counsel, and is presently outside counsel.
State specialists will discuss cotton production practices, insect control, planting rates and new Bt varieties. Rotation and fertility in cotton and corn as well as corn production issues will be covered. Cotton ginning trends and fiber quality concerns are also on the agenda.
"Agriculture: Mississippi's No. 1 Industry" is the theme for this year's event. For more information on the Delta Ag Expo, contact Kay Garrard in the Bolivar County Extension Office at (662) 843-8361 or kayg@ext.msstate.edu.
