[092] Sept. 23 Ag Field Day Touts New Dairy, Farm's Growth

Release date: Sept. 15, 2010

News & Public Affairs contact: Randy Weiler, 615-898-5616 or jweiler@mtsu.edu
School of Agribusiness and Agriscience contact: Dr. Warren Gill, 615-898-2523 or wgill@mtsu.edu

Sept. 23 Ag Field Day Touts New Dairy, Farm’s Growth


(MURFREESBORO) — An update on the new dairy and other livestock projects will help jump-start the MTSU School of Agribusiness and Agriscience’s third annual Ag Field Day.
The event, which will be held at the university’s agricultural laboratory farm at 3001 Guy James Road, is set for Thursday, Sept. 23, from 4 to 7 p.m.
A meal will be served at 6 p.m. The MTSU community and general public are invited, but reservations are required so event planners can have a head count for the meal. Please call 615-898-2523 to register or for more information.
“It’s an exciting time in the life of the MTSU ag program,” said Dr. Warren Gill, the school’s director. “We want to share what’s happening with as many of our supporters and area farmers as we can.”
The new dairy and livestock projects update by Gill and Tim Redd, Farm Lab manager, will be followed by a report on what’s taking place with student gardens, nursery, farmer’s market and new strawberry project, Gill said.
John Hood, director of community elations and government for MTSU’s Division of Development and University Relations and a former state representative, will serve as master of ceremonies.
Commissioner Ken Givens of the Tennessee Department of Agriculture plans to attend, Gill said, adding that state for the program – nearly $70,000 to date – is expected to increase by nearly $40,000 next year.
The state department’s Tennessee Ag Enhancement Program will be featured at the event, Gill said.
Beginning at 5 p.m., tours will include:
• garden, nursery and compost, led by Drs. Nate Phillips and Warren Anderson and MTSU students;
• switchgrass, bluestem and alfalfa fields, led by Patrick Keyser of the University of Tennessee Institute of Agriculture and UT Extension Agent Mitchell Mote, along with Redd, Danny Troup and their farm-lab students;
• the geothermal vegetable cooler, vegetable-processing and honey- processing, led by Phillips and students; and
• beehives, led by Ed Holcombe.
As of Sept. 3, event sponsors include Rutherford Farm Bureau, Farm Credit Services, CPC Commodities, Cargill/Nutrena, Boehringer Ingelheim, TriGreen Equipment (John Deere), Rutherford Farmers Co-Op, Precision Air Inc., Intervet Schering-Plough and Hooper Supply.
The ag program is one of nine College of Basic and Applied Sciences departments.

###

Media welcomed.

Founded in 1911, Middle Tennessee State University is a Tennessee Board of Regents institution located in Murfreesboro and is the state’s largest public undergraduate institution. MTSU now boasts one of the nation’s first master’s degree programs in horse science, and the Council of Graduate Schools in Washington, D.C., acclaims MTSU’s Master of Science in Professional Science degree—the only one in Tennessee—as a model program. This fall, MTSU unveiled three new doctoral degrees in the sciences.

For MTSU news and information, go online to mtsunews.com.