UNIVERSITY PARK, Pa. -- More exhibitors, more displays, more demonstrations, more information, more food and more entertainment -- this could be the best Ag Progress Days ever, says event manager Bob Oberheim, who calls the 2002 show the most diverse yet.

"Discover Your Future Today" is the theme for Ag Progress Days, Aug. 20-22. Sponsored by Penn State's College of Agricultural Sciences, the event features more than 350 commercial exhibitors displaying the latest technology, goods and services. Interactive displays, guided tours and workshops will show how research and educational programs are addressing important issues, safeguarding our food supply and the environment, and helping to improve the efficiency and profitability of agriculture and related industries.

Oberheim says vendors will showcase everything from buildings, equipment, seed and fertilizer to insurance, fences and crop-consulting services. This year's event also will feature more field machinery demonstrations than in the past.

Other planned activities include a skid steer rodeo and a special high-tunnel vegetable production tour. Field demonstrations will feature hay mowing, hay rakes and tedders, baling, bale handling, commercial field spraying and deep tillage tools to break soil compaction. In addition, four equipment companies will demonstrate a variety of equipment, such as planters, forage mixers, loaders, bale processors, baggers and forage platforms.

Also planned are family living exhibits and demonstrations; a corn maze; cut flower beds and exhibits; storytelling; an equine program; live animal and insect displays; a tree-climbing adventure; a museum of antique farm and home implements; and special activities to commemorate the centennial of 4-H.

Special exhibits will highlight the educational and career opportunities available to students in the agricultural sciences. Representatives from several Penn State academic departments will staff displays illustrating fields of study and the broad range of jobs in agriculture, natural resources, food science, education and other ag-related disciplines.

Faculty and extension staff from the college will be on hand to answer questions and provide information on crops and soils; dairy, livestock and equine production; conservation practices; integrated pest management, woodlot management; farm safety; and home gardening and lawn care. Special workshops will address the impact of the new Farm Bill on Pennsylvania agriculture.

Equine Experience

Visitors will be entertained by unique horse performances and will learn about horse ownership, management and horsemanship at the Equine Expeience, offered in cooperation with the American Quarter Horse Association (AQHA), the Pennsylvania Quarter Horse Association (PQHA) and other breed and industry groups.

A highlight of this year's program is the AQHA 4aHORSE Test Ride. The program also will feature breed demonstrations, a learning center with educational displays, AQHA's educational venue, and demonstrations and seminars by horse experts. In cooperation with AQHA and PQHA, horses will be available for the public to ride throughout all three days of Ag Progress Days.

Conservation Partnership Area

From nutrient management, rainfall simulators targeting runoff, forested buffers, conservation practices and grazing management to snakes, backyard composting, fly-casting and tatoos, the Natural Resource Conservation Partnership Area has something for everyone.

Encompassing almost five acres of the 200-acre Ag Progress Days site, the Conservation Partnership area is full of demonstrations, presentations, tours and exhibits. More than 15 federal, state and local agencies and private entities will be represented.

Animal Sciences Exhibit Area

New this year at the Animal Sciences Exhibits Area will be a series of demonstrations to give farmers practical information they can use in their operations. The demonstrations, offered by the departments of dairy and animal science and veterinary science, will include some new approaches and technologies for some old problems, according to Mike O'Connor, professor of dairy science and exhibit coordinator.

Demonstrations and presentations will include hoof trimming; the new Penn State Particle Size Separator; "Cow Sense" -- a systematic approach to training dairy workers; using ultrasound technology in the dairy industry, beef cattle reproduction and livestock evaluation; forage quality and toxins; reducing phosphorus for dairy cows; reading a DHIA report; and maintaining milk flavor.

Horticulture Area

Gardeners and professional growers can get answers to any kind of question related to home landscaping and cut-flowers. Penn State specialists in horticulture, plant pathology, entomology and turfgrass will be on hand at the Landscape, Lawn and Garden "Ask the Experts" tent on East 7th St.

The demonstration gardens will showcase new sunflower varieties, a few other annual cut flowers, some perennial plants, and several varieties of woody plants popular in the cut-flower market.

New this year is a small demonstration high tunnel for growing cut flowers. A high tunnel can provide protection for commercial field-grown cut flowers, protecting the crop from damaging winds and rains.

Pasto Museum

Before the advent of power equipment and electrical refrigeration, processing meat and keeping it fresh were trickier propositions.

At Progress Days you can learn more about how these things were accomplished in bygone eras by visiting the Pasto Agricultural Museum's special exhibit, "Early Farm and Home Pork Processing and Preservation."

According to museum curator Darwin Braund, in the past nearly every farm family produced and processed all the meat consumed during the entire year. "This exhibit covers the days before electricity and refrigeration, thus the rudimentary nature of the tools and processes," he says.

Family Learning Hub

From building character to building a bank account, from reading skills to sanitary skills, parents and children who visit the Family Learning Hub will find a wealth of fun and information.

On Main Street between West 8th and 9th Streets, the area includes the Family Room building, the ImAGination Station, the Farm Animal Learning Center and Shaver's Creek Environmental Center. The theme in the Family Room is "Healthy Foods, Healthy Families."

Special displays and activities will commemorate the 2002 centennial of 4-H.

Crops and Soils Tent

Plots of corn, soybeans, hay and other crops will be growing all around the Crops and Soils Tent. But one of this year's most intriguing crops will be plants that no self-respecting farmer wants to grow.

Along with grain and forage crops, Penn State crop and soil sciences faculty will be growing common weeds of Pennsylvania, including some invasive weed species.

"Invasive weeds are becoming more of a concern to land managers and farmers," says Greg Roth, associate professor of agronomy. "Our display will demonstrate the weeds that are invading crop and forestland around the state."

Food booths serving everything from Penn State Creamery ice cream to steak sandwiches will be available during Ag Progress Days.

Because of concerns over the possible transmission of foot-and-mouth disease and other foreign animal diseases, visitors who have been overseas within two weeks of attending Ag Progress Days are asked not to visit the event's live-animal exhibit areas.

Penn State's Ag Progress Days features more than 500 acres of educational and commercial exhibits, tours and machinery demonstrations. It 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 August 22 or visit the Ag Progress Days site on the World Wide Web at http://apd.cas.psu.edu.

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EDITORS: Contact Bob Oberheim at 814-692-5262 or e-mail rlo1@psu.edu.

Contact: Jeff Mulhollem jjm29@psu.edu 814-863-2719 814-865-1068 fax #229