VERONA -- Mississippi State University’s North Mississippi Research and Extension Center will host its annual Producer Advisory Council meeting Feb. 19 in Verona.

Agricultural clients will meet with representatives from the MSU Extension Service and the Mississippi Agricultural and Forestry Experiment Station to discuss education and research needs.

Registration begins at 8:30 a.m. at the Magnolia Conference Center next to the Lee County Agri-center. The general session begins at 9 a.m.

Producers in northeast Mississippi and in Grenada, Kemper, Panola, Montgomery and Tate counties are encouraged to attend the conference. Sixteen groups will meet after the general session to identify priorities for the following commodities and businesses: agri-tourism, aquaculture, beef, cotton, dairy, equine, forestry, fruits and nuts, goats and sheep, grain crops, ornamentals, peanuts, sweet potatoes, swine, turf and vegetables.

Jerome Goddard, associate Extension professor of medical and veterinary entomology in the MSU Department of Biochemistry, Molecular Biology, Entomology and Plant Pathology, is the keynote speaker for this year’s meeting.

The meeting will end about 2 p.m. A poster session highlighting university research on a range of grower interests will run from 8:30-9 a.m. and 11 a.m.-noon. Lunch is provided.

Adam Tullos, MSU senior Extension associate, said the conference typically hosts 250 to 300 producers each year.

“It’s an excellent opportunity to talk to producers about the latest research,” Tullos said. “This is also an excellent opportunity for scientists, staff and graduate students to present their ongoing or recently completed projects and demonstrations to the commodity groups that could benefit from these investigations.”

Preregistration for the free conference is encouraged. To preregister, call 662-566-2201.