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Timely Topics on Tap at Ag Expo

Timely Topics on Tap at Ag Expo

Timely Topics on Tap at Ag Expo

“Basically, we look at issues from the previous growing season or things we know are coming up such as with soybean rust." Clint Hardy, UK Extension Agent for Agriculture and Natural Resources in Daviess County

OWENSBORO, Ky.—

Agriculture in Kentucky is facing many challenges in the year ahead from post-buyout tobacco production to the possibility of soybean rust. To help farmers understand these emerging issues, organizers of this year’s Ag Expo in Owensboro have planned an education-packed agenda.“Basically, we look at issues from the previous growing season or things we know are coming up such as with soybean rust,” said Clint Hardy, Daviess County Extension agent for agriculture and natural resources.The Grain Day Committee, a group of area farmers and agribusiness people, in coordination with the University of Kentucky Cooperative Extension Service sponsors Ag Expo and plans the agenda. The event annually attracts between 800 and 1,000 farmers from western Kentucky, southern Indiana and southern Illinois.An update on soybean rust, a disease new to the United States, will be presented by Don Hershman, an Extension plant pathologist with the University of Kentucky College of Agriculture at the Jan. 26 event at the Owensboro Executive Inn Exhibition Center.Other production topics include nitrogen management in wet springs, UK vegetable research and demonstration results, and insecticide-treated seed options and information.Agritourism will be discussed in one session and there will be two sessions on the grain market outlook along with a panel discussion on the topic. Other sessions include information on national legislations, an update on the Kentucky Agricultural Development Board, young farmer tax, investment and retirement options and an update on animal identification.The final program of the day will be a panel discussion on the tobacco buyout featuring Will Snell, UK tobacco policy specialist, Sam Moore, Kentucky Farm Bureau president and Danny McKinney, chief executive officer of the Burley Tobacco Growers Cooperative.The trade show opens and registration begins at 7:30 a.m CST. Educational programs begin at 9 a.m. and conclude at 2:30 p.m. Participants must be registered by 10:30 a.m. in order to attend the free luncheon. There will be several breaks throughout the day to allow participants ample opportunity to visit with exhibitors at the trade show. For more information on Ag Expo, contact Hardy at (270) 685-8480.

Contact Information

Scovell Hall Lexington, KY 40546-0064

cafenews@uky.edu