Editor: Shannon Cottongame
The Blackland Income Growth (BIG) and Mid-Tex Farm and Ranch Show will be held at the Extraco Events Center, 4601 Bosque Boulevard in Waco, Tuesday, January 11, and Wednesday, January 12.
After a short time being separate events, the BIG Conference and Mid-Tex Farm and Ranch Show will be back together once again. The two groups will offer educational programs with exhibits and agriculture vendors.
The location will be the brand-new building referred to as the BASE at Extraco Events Center. The BASE is a large building that allows for very large events to be held under one roof.
The BIG Conference is in its 60th year of existence offering education to agricultural producers. The agriculture commodities will be on the first day, January 11.
Agriculture commodity sessions of beef, forage, cotton, grain, wildlife, rural land management and horticulture will be held the first day. There will also be a session titled Connecting Agriculture and Health, as well as a virtual youth leadership workshop.
An auxin training will also be held after the cotton meeting the first day. The cost is $25 to attend the commodity sessions hosted by Texas A&M AgriLife Extension Service.
The guest luncheon speaker for the first day will be Dr. Joe Outlaw, Regents Fellow, Professor and Extension Economist in the Department of Agricultural Economics at Texas A&M University.
He also serves as the co-director of the Agricultural and Food Policy Center (AFPC) at Texas A&M University. In this role, Dr. Outlaw frequently interacts with members of Congress and key agricultural committee staff to provide feedback on the likely consequences of agricultural policy changes.
On the second day there will be two programs: recertification, in which participants can obtain up to five continuing education hours; and a private applicator training for those that do not have an applicator license. There is no pre-registration for the first day, but there is a pre-registration requirement for the second day.
To register for the five CEUs, attendees should call the McLennan County Extension Office at 254-757-5180.
To register to take the private applicator class, call the Hill County Extension Office at 254-582-4022.
The Mid-Tex Farm and Ranch Show is free to walk in and view the many exhibits, equipment, seed and herbicide companies, ag related services and technology. The farm show is courtesy of the Waco Chamber of Commerce.
The event will be held rain or shine. The BASE facility offers the education and exhibits to participants without ever leaving the facility.
For more information on topics and times, visit bosque.agrilife.org.
The Lakelander 