Annual Beaumont Field Day set for July 11

BEAUMONT – “Rice: Quality & Identity Protection” is the theme for the 66th annual field day for the Texas A&M AgriLife Research and Extension Center at Beaumont, 1509 Aggie Drive.

The event begins July 11 with field tours at 8 a.m. and an indoor program at 10:45 a.m. Afternoon field tours will begin at 1 p.m.

Dr. Ted Wilson, center director, will open the program with a brief overview of the center’s research.

Keynote speakers include Dwight Roberts, president and CEO of U.S. Rice Producers Association, who will present U.S. Grain Quality and its Impact on International Rice Trade; Dr. Garry McCauley, AgriLife Research rice scientist from Eagle Lake, who will discuss the effect of rice lodging on rice grain quality; and Wilson, who will speak on the impact of climatic variables on Texas and U.S. rice yields.

The morning tour stops will showcase recent developments in rice breeding, physiology, nutrient management, and insect and disease management. An afternoon tour will include organic rice and biofuels crops.

Licensed private, commercial and non-commercial pesticide applicators licensed by the Texas Department of Agriculture and participating in this field day may obtain up to one integrated pest management and one general continuing education credit for recertification.

The event is open to the public at no charge. A barbecue lunch will be provided.

For more information, contact Brandy Morace, Beaumont center’s administrative assistant, at 409-752-3045, bmorace@aesrg.tamu.edu.

-30-