New varieties, industry trends and agritourism liability are on the agenda Feb. 21 at the third annual Mid-South Commercial Vegetable Growers Expo at Arkansas State University-Beebe.

The meeting will be held at the campus student center, 1000 West Iowa Street in Beebe,from 8:00 a.m. to 5:00 p.m. A $35 registration fee will cover food and educational materials. For more information or to register by Feb. 17, contact the White County Extension office at (501) 268-5394 or Sherri Sanders, White County Extension agent for the University of Arkansas Division of Agriculture, ssanders@uaex.edu.

“This meeting will be a chance for Arkansas’ vegetable growers to get a taste of what’s going on in the industry before the growing season gets underway,” Sanders said.

The agenda:

• 8:00 a.m. – Registration.
• 8:15 a.m. – Welcome.
• 8:30 a.m. – “Protect Your Reputation, Food Safety and GAP” – Dr. Craig Andersen, extension vegetable specialist.
• 9:30 a.m. – “Disease, fungicide rotation” – Sherrie Smith, plant pathologist, U of A; Terry Kirkpatrick, nematologist, U of A; Sanders.
• 11:15 a.m. – “Vegetable Insect Management – A Diversity of Approaches” – Paul McLeod, professor-entomology, U of A.
• Noon – Lunch.
• 12:45 p.m. – Update on industry products and rotation of products.
• 1:00 p.m. – “Choosing Cultivars to Match Your Market” – Andersen.
• 1:30 p.m. – “Liability with agritourism” – Harrison Pittman, director, National Agricultural Law Center.
• 2:00 p.m. – “Weed control” – Dr. John Boyd, visiting professor-weed science, U of A.
• 3:15 p.m. – “Alternative and value-added crops, including peanuts, edible soybeans” – Randy Chlapecka, Jackson County extension staff chair; Hank Chaney, Faulkner County extension staff chair.

For more information on horticulture, visit www.uaex.edu, or contact your local county Extension office.