The World Ag Expo again will feature seminars by California State University, Fresno’s International Center for Water Technology (ICWT), and student Ag Ambassadors will serve Fresno State student-produced ice cream and other farm products.
The event Feb. 9-11 in Tulare, about 50 miles south of Fresno, is the world’s largest annual agricultural exposition, with 2.6 million square feet of exhibit space, more than 1,600 exhibitors and an estimated 100,000 attendees.
ICWT seminars, presented in conjunction with the Irrigation Association, will include Bill Green, education manager at Fresno State’s Center for Irrigation Technology (CIT), discussing irrigation pump efficiency testing at 1 p.m. Feb. 11.
“A test can be performed to determine overall pumping plant efficiency” by comparing energy into the plant and water flow and pressure developed by the pump,” said Green, a production agriculture specialist who joined the center in 2002. “Thousands of tests in California in recent years have shown a significant number of pumps have room for improvement.”
The seminars, which are free with Ag Expo admission, will present eight industry experts discussing the latest irrigation technology designed to help farmers produce more food and fiber from reduced water supplies. The seminars will be held in the Expo Seminar Pavilion at Median and East Green Belt, between P and Q streets, on the Expo grounds.
Created in 1980, CIT is an internationally recognized independent testing laboratory, applied research facility and educational resource. It is part of ICWT, which provides education and research to develop and implement innovative solutions and technologies that maximize water-use efficiency.
For a seminar schedule, visit www.worldagexpo.com/General-Info/Seminars/Seminars-Irrigation.htm or contact Laura Ramos at lramos@csufresno.edu or 559.278.2066.
The university’s Jordan College of Agricultural Sciences and Technology Ag Ambassadors will staff Fresno State booths in the Hilvers Career and Education Center, Spaces 8001 and 8002.
The student ambassadors will display products from the University Farm, Farm Market and Floral Lab and distribute student and general university information packets to prospective students and parents. Ag Ambassadors also will present information about Fresno State agricultural education programs and provide games for children with special Bulldog prizes.
The students will be joined by Dr. Charles Boyer, the college’s dean; Dr. Sandra Witte, the associate dean; and Dr. Ganesan Srinivasan, director of the University Agricultural Laboratory, the1,000-acre campus farm that provides hands-on experience for students.
Feb. 11 is “Ice Cream With the Dean,” when Boyer and students scoop out samples of Fresno State Ice Cream and field questions about the university’s ag education programs and faculty.
The student ambassadors start their World Ag Expo experience the weekend prior by assisting at the Fresno-Yosemite International Airport. They’ll welcome arriving attendees 9 a.m.-9 p.m. Saturday and Sunday, Feb. 6-7, at the baggage claim area.
For information about the Ag Ambassador booths, contact adviser Steve Rocca, a Fresno State agriculture professor, at 559.278.5088.
University Communications news intern Sadie Thomas contributed to this copy.
