UNIVERSITY PARK, Pa. -- With so many things to see and learn spread over more than 500 acres at the Russell E. Larson Agricultural Research Center, visitors to Penn State's Ag Progress Days, Aug. 19-21, may find it useful to take one of the many free guided tours around the Rock Springs facility.

The 30-minute General Research Tour will take visitors by bus through Penn State's horticulture, plant pathology, agronomy and entomology research farms, as well as the USDA Pasture Systems and Watershed Management Laboratory research farm. The tour will feature studies on cultural practices, new crop varieties, pest management and other topics. Tours leave on the hour from 10 a.m. to 3 p.m. each day and until 6 p.m. on Aug. 20.

Professionals and home gardeners can learn the general principles of proper pruning on the new Fruit Tree Pruning Demonstration Tour. Specialists will talk about the importance of pruning and demonstrate various types of pruning cuts. Buses leave daily at 11 a.m. for this one-hour tour.

On the new Beef Production Tour, you can visit Penn State's beef farm and research facilities and get the latest information on cattle feeding, estrus synchronization, breeding and management of Penn State's herds, grazing systems, undergraduate student opportunities, the Interactive Beef Calendar and more. This two-hour tour departs Wednesday at 10 a.m. The modern, new Samuel E. Hayes, Jr., Livestock Evaluation Center, recently completed by the Pennsylvania Department of Agriculture along Route 45 near the Ag Progress Days site, will be featured in a tour that departs daily at 10:30 a.m. and 1:30 p.m., and Wednesday at 5:30 p.m. Research conducted at the center has the potential to improve animal genetics.

The Natural Resource Conservation Partnership Area will once again offer several walking and bus tours covering such topics as grazing and forage management, forest stewardship and stream corridor management. The tours are offered at various times through the day.

Penn State's Ag Progress Days is held at the Russell E. Larson Agricultural Research Center at Rock Springs, nine miles southwest of State College on Route 45. Hours are 9 a.m. to 5 p.m. on Tuesday; 9 a.m. to 8 p.m. on Wednesday; and 9 a.m. to 4 p.m. on Thursday. Admission and parking are free. For more information, call (800) PSU-1010 toll-free through Aug. 21, or visit the Ag Progress Days Web site at http://apd.cas.psu.edu.

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EDITORS: For more information, contact Bob Oberheim at 814-865-2081 or 814-692-5262.

Contact:

Gary Abdullah gxa2@psu.edu 814-863-2708 814-863-9877 fax #210