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Water researchers and
students in California State University, Fresno’s Ag Ambassadors program
again will play key roles in the World Ag Expo in Tulare, where guests
from around the globe will sample Fresno State ice cream and other
student-produced food.
The International Center for Water Technology at Fresno State and the
Irrigation Association will present several seminars. The university’s
College of Agricultural Sciences and Technology ag ambassadors will
staff Fresno State booths in Pavilion C, Spaces 3910 and 3911. They’ll
also welcome guests arriving at the Fresno-Yosemite International
Airport for the three day event beginning Tuesday, Feb. 10.
Bill Green, education manager at Fresno State’s Center for Irrigation
Technology, will present a workshop on irrigation pump efficiency
testing at 2:30 p.m. Thursday, Feb. 12.
The student ambassadors get their start this weekend (9 a.m.-9 p.m.
Saturday and Sunday, Feb. 7-8) by assisting at the Fresno airport, where
many participants will arrive from around the world for the prestigious
show. The expo is the world’s largest annual agricultural exposition,
with 2.6 million square feet of exhibit space, more than1,600 exhibitors
and an estimated 100,000 attendees.
Ag ambassadors will be stationed in the Baggage Claim of the air
terminal to staff a visitor information table.
At the show beginning Tuesday, the students will staff Fresno State
booths with displays of products from the University Farm, Farm Market
and Floral Lab.
They 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, which is a 1,000-acre farm that
provides hands-on experience to students. Fresno State student food
products are sold in the Gibson Farm Market on campus and at select
retail outlets.
The ag ambassadors will present information about Fresno State’s
agricultural education programs and provide games with special Bulldog
prizes for children. Free samples of Fresno State almonds will be
provided on Tuesday followed on Wednesday with Raspberry Romance and
Chocolate ice cream form the Fresno State Dairy Processing Unit.
The irrigation seminars, which are free with Ag Expo admission, will
present 10 industry experts speaking on the latest irrigation technology
designed to help farmers produce more food and fiber in the face of
reduced irrigation water supplies.
Green will discuss how, efficient pumps moving water can save huge
amounts of electricity and fossil power.
“A test can be performed to determine overall pumping plant efficiency
by comparing energy into the plant versus energy out in the form of
water flow and pressure developed by the pump,” said Green, a production
agriculture specialist who joined the Center for Irrigation Technology
(CIT) in 2002. “Thousands of tests in California in recent years have
shown a significant number of pumps have room for improvement.”
Created in 1980, CIT is an internationally recognized independent
testing laboratory, applied research facility and educational resource.
It is part of Fresno State’s International Center for Water Technology,
which provides education and research to assist in developing and
adopting innovative solutions and technologies that improve water-use
efficiency.
The irrigation seminars will be held in the Expo Seminar Pavilion at
Median and East Green Belt, between P and Q streets. For a full schedule
of the seminars, see the link below or contact Laura Ramos at
lramos@csufresno.edu or
559.278.2066.
For information about the ag ambassador booths, contact adviser Steve
Rocca, a Fresno State agriculture professor, at 559.278.5088.
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