Davis, California
August 29, 2007
The
2007 California Alfalfa &
Forage Symposium will be at the Portola Plaza Hotel in
Monterey, California, December 17 to 19. The 37th annual
symposium is organized by the University of California
Cooperative Extension Alfalfa & Forage Systems Workgroup and
sponsored and supported by growers and industry members.
The two-day educational program is combined with a trade show
featuring more than 50 exhibitors, a hay growers' auction and an
agricultural tour on Dec. 17.
The
California Alfalfa & Forage
Association will hold its annual meeting and hay growers
breakfast as well as sponsor the auction. Attendance is expected
to be 350 to 450.
This year's symposium theme is: 'Alfalfa -- Back-to-Basics.'
The agenda includes up-to-date information about alfalfa
production and utilization. Critical issues to be addressed
include current industry trends, the status of the dairy
industry, applications of dairy manures to alfalfa, genetically
modified organisms and environmental issues.
A special session on 'Genetically
Engineered Crops and Roundup-Ready Alfalfa' will feature a
panel discussion on coexistence -- 'Can GE Alfalfa and Non-GE
Alfalfa Coexist?' This issue is of interest to alfalfa growers
since a lawsuit in early 2007 halted further plantings of
Roundup Ready alfalfa nationwide.
The symposium also includes an in-depth presentation of alfalfa
management -- from site selection and stand establishment to
feeding and economics. This special program will assist in
launching a new UC publication, Irrigated Alfalfa Management for
Mediterranean and Desert Zones. The 25-chapter manual with
contributions from 23 authors is slated for publication this
winter. All aspects of irrigated alfalfa production -- from
stand establishment to pest management through marketing and
utilization -- are covered in the publication. Each registered
participant will receive a copy of the publication.
The tour on Dec. 17 is an excursion to agricultural sites and
tourist destinations -- tentative options are a vegetable
transplant operation, artichoke production facility, mushroom
and cut-flower facilities, a winery and the National Steinbeck
Center/Rabobank Agriculture Museum.
Attendees or exhibitors may register and make hotel reservations
via the Web site at
http://alfalfa.ucdavis.edu/.
For more information, contact
Janice Corner at (530) 752-7091,
jecorner@ucdavis.edu. |
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