Farm Expo has large turnout

Published 1:49 pm Tuesday, August 7, 2012

Ready for flight: Becky Collier with the Alabama 4-H Center’s Raptor Trek program shows an American bald eagle Saturday during the 10th annual Farm, Home and Wildlife Expo held at the Chilton Research and Extension Center on County Road 29 near Thorsby.

New peach sprayer demonstrations and a raptor program were two highlights from this year’s Farm, Home and Wildlife Expo on Aug. 4.

The five-hour event, now in its 10th year, was held at the Chilton Research and Extension Center and offered programs on farming, food and animals for all ages.

“We were real pleased with it,” CREC Director Jim Pitts said. “It looked like folks were having a good time.”

Other activities included fruit tasting, cooking demonstrations and tours.

Pitts said attendance reached about 900, which included registered participants and volunteers.

Pitts’ CREC staff assisted with the expo, as well as local Master Gardeners, tractor dealers, the Chilton County Rescue squad and the Chilton County Sheriff’s Auxiliary.

“It was a big effort by a lot of people,” Pitts said. “We’re just indebted to them for helping us get it together and pull it off.”

The next event on the CREC’s agenda is the Alabama Irrigation Summit on Wednesday, Aug. 15.

The event will be from 10 a.m. to 3 p.m. at the Richard Beard Building of the Alabama Department of Agriculture and Industries, located at 1445 Federal Drive in Montgomery. To register or for more information, go to www.aaes.auburn.edu/water/conf/2012/.

For those unable to go to Montgomery, a video conference of the summit will be held Aug. 15 at the Chilton Research and Extension Center, located at 120 County Road 756 in Clanton. It is free and open to the public.

For more information about the CREC, go to www.aaes.auburn.edu/researchcenters/chilton/.