SEVERAL AGRICULTURAL, PROGRAMS SLATED FOR REGION

Jim Kinsella, a noted authority on no-till farming, will be the feature speaker at the Southeast Missouri No-Till Annual meeting Jan. 24 at the Jackson Knight of Columbus Hall.

Kinsella, who has more than 20 years of no-till experience on his farm at Lexington, Ill., will discuss his experience and research on no-till production, starting at 4 p.m.

A portion of Kinsella's farm is a research center for no-till. Kinsella is currently involved in precision application to no-till and has been a key speaker at numerous state and national no-till conferences.

From 90 to 150 people usually attend the no-till program at Jackson. Many of them belong to the SEMO No-Till Club, which was founded here in 1990 and has more than 200 members.

"We're already planning an advanced no-till program in Southern Illinois," said Gerald Bryan, University Extension agronomist at Jackson.

The advance program will be held at the Chester American Legion Hall Feb. 11, where no-till wheat and other crops will be discussed.

Mike Plumer, a conservation specialist with Extension Service in Illinois, and Ken Kephart, an extension wheat specialist from the University of Missouri-Columbia, will be speaker at Chester.

Reservations or other information concerning the no-till session are available by contacting Bryan at (573)-243-3581.

No-Till Day, New Trends in Crop Production, a Master Trees Program and Ag Expo '97 are among agricultural programs scheduled in the Southeast Missouri area during January and February.

The initial session of the Master Tree program, first in the state, will be held at the Jackson extension office starting Feb. 10.

"We'll have aboaut 10 to 11 three-hour sessions," said Bryan. "The first class will be held at Jackson, but future classes will be scheduled in other areas.

The Master Forest program is open to anyone interested in forestry.

"New Trends in Crop Productions," one of the area's largest crop production seminars and ag exhibitor conferences, will be held Feb. 20 at the Knights of Columbus Hall in Jackson.

The day-long program will feature topics on herbicide technology and usage, crop marketing, price forecasts and ag outlook.

Registration will be at 8 a.m.

Additional information is available by calling Gerald Bryan.

More than 6,000 people are expected to attend the 11th annual Ag Expo '97 Jan. 17-18 in the Bess Activity Center of Three Rivers Community College here.

More than 80 booths will display items relating to all aspects of agriculture and natural resources in Southeast Missouri and Northeast Arkansas. Exhibitors will display their products and services and answer questions about horticulture and gardening, livestock and crop production, forestry and forestry products, machinery, equipment, automobiles and trucks, farm supplies and more.

The event will be held from 1 to 8 p.m. Jan. 17 and 9 a.m. to 3 p.m. Jan. 18.

The expo is sponsored by the Butler County University Extension Council and the Ag Club of Three Rivers College. For more information, contact the Extension center at 686-8064.

Other area programs:

Jan. 29: Cape County Farm Bureau and Missouri Soybean Meeting, K.C. Hall in Jackson.

Jan. 30: Crop Managment Conference and District 7 Missouri Soybean Association Meeting, 8 a.m. to 1 p.m., at Banquets Beyond the Bay in Sikeston, (573)-545-3516.

February 11: Advance No-Till Meeting, featuring Mike Plumer and Ken Kephart, at Chester, Ill., 10 a.m. to 3 p.m.