ASU hosts annual Arkansas Soil and Water Education Conference

Jan. 10, 2008 -- Arkansas State University in Jonesboro will host the 9^th annual Arkansas Soil and Water Education Conference Thursday, Jan. 24 at the Convocation Center, 217 Olympic Drive, Jonesboro. The Honorable Marion Berry, U.S. Congressman for the First Congressional District, will be the luncheon speaker.

The deadline for conference pre-registration is Thursday, Jan. 17. For registration forms and programs, visit the College of Agriculture Web site at http://agri.astate.edu/ and select the link for the Arkansas Soil and Water Conference. The conference registration fee is $20, which includes the luncheon.

Registration will begin at 8 a.m. in Meeting Room A, followed by a welcome at 8:15. Session I is 8:30-10:00 a.m., with a questions/discussion period at 9:45. At 10 a.m., there will be a break for refreshments and a chance to visit displays and demonstrations. Session II is 10:30 a.m.-12:15 p.m. Luncheon will be served from 12:15-1:15 p.m.

Dr. Paul Counce, professor of rice physiology, University of Arkansas Rice Research and Extension Center, Stuttgart, will preside over Session I, “Water Conservation Strategies and Technologies.” Presenters will include Delaplaine farmer Terry Gray, and agricultural engineers Earl Vories, Ken Fisher, Joe Henggeler, and Lyle Pringle.

Dr. Jennifer Bouldin, director of ASU’s Ecotoxicology Research Facility, will preside over Session II, “Water Competition: Industrial, Municipal, Agricultural, Ecological.” Presenters will include Todd Fugitt, Arkansas Water Resources Commission, Dr. Brian Waldron, University of Memphis Groundwater Institute, Boyce Sherrill, plant technical manager, Frito-Lay, Jonesboro,  Jake Rice, director of operations, Jonesboro City Water and Light, and Col. Tom Smith, U.S. Army Corps of Engineers.

The luncheon will feature a luncheon address by U.S. Congressman Marion Berry.

David Fowlkes, conservation agronomist, USDA-NRCS, will preside over Session III, “Wildlife Integration into the Agricultural Enterprise.” The day’s final session will run from 1:15-3:15 p.m. Presenters will include former U.S. Congressman Kaneaster Hodges, Scott House, landowner, and David Long, private lands coordinator/agricultural liaison, Arkansas Game and Fish Commission.

For additional information, contact Dr. Steve Green, assistant professor, Soil and Water Conservation, at ASU via e-mail at sgreen@astate.edu or by telephone at (870) 972-2043.

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