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Horticulture Industries Show to be heldThe University of Arkansas is partnering with the Oklahoma State University and Tulsa Community College to sponsor the 32nd Annual Oklahoma and Arkansas Horticulture Industries Show. Both gardening professionals and enthusiasts should mark their calendars for this two-day event slated Jan. 11 to 12, 2013, in Ft. Smith, Ark. The HIS has consistently provided growers and the public with the latest information on vegetables, fruit, Christmas trees, farmers market crops and public gardening issues. The public and growers from Arkansas, Oklahoma and surrounding states are welcome to attend. Other sponsors include the Oklahoma Department of Agriculture, Food and Forestry; the Samuel Roberts Noble Foundation and the Kerr Center for Sustainable Agriculture. Registration will begin at 8 a.m. with the meetings taking place from 9 a.m. to 5 p.m. at the Holiday Inn City Center, 700 Rogers Ave. There is a $50 per person registration fee that must be postmarked by Dec. 20. Registration after that date or on site will be $75 per person. Keynote speakers include Gretchen Wall, Cornell University; and Marty Matlock, University of Arkansas. Wall serves as the Produce Safety Alliance Program Coordinator, a collaborative agreement between Food and Drug Administration, U.S. Department of Agriculture and Cornell University, to provide fundamental, science-based, on-farm food safety knowledge to fresh fruit and vegetable farmers, packers, regulatory personnel and others interested in the safety of fresh produce. "Navigating the Road to On-Farm Food and Safety, Buyer Requirements, and Future Regulations" is her topic Jan. 11. Matlock is a professor of biological and agricultural engineering and the executive director of the Office for Sustainability. He also is a participant of the Specialty Crop Stewardship Index. His topic, "Measuring Sustainability in Specialty Crops," will begin at 9 a.m. Jan. 12. In addition to the valuable information shared by the keynote speakers, attendees also will have the opportunity to take part in concurrent educational sessions covering topics such as Key Steps to Identifying Your Plant Problems, various topics dealing with high tunnel production and management, and Agritourism and What It Can Do for You, along with many other topics. For more information contact Donna Dollins, HIS secretary/treasurer, at 405-744-6460 or donna.dollins@okstate.edu. You also may go to http://www.hortla.okstate.edu/his/. Date: 12/24/2012
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