Penn State's Ag Progress Days kicks on this coming Tuesday for a jam-packed program of special events and listening sessions. It all comes together at the Russell Larson Ag Research Center, at 2710 West Pine Grove Road, Pennsylvania Furnace, Pa., nine miles southwest of State College.

Upcoming Ag Progress Days To Host Special Events And Hearings

A listening session on the federal Food Safety Modernization Act will be hosted by Pennsylvania Department of Agriculture will be on Wednesday, Aug. 14, at 9 a.m. downstairs in the Red Barn on the show site. "As the producers who'll be affected by these rules, we want to hear from you," says State Ag Secretary George Greig. "The department will compile your comments and call your concerns to the FDA's attention."

Producers are encouraged to review the entire proposed rulemaking to have a better understanding of the potential impact on their segment of the industry. View the proposed rules at www.fda.gov by searching "FSMA proposed rules."

Beginning at 9:30 that same morning the Ag Department, Penn State and USDA's Ag Research Service will host two hearings. Session one, from 9:30 to10:30, will seek producer concerns on issues and opportunities in value-added agriculture: product conversion, market development, and value added techniques and products. Session two, from 10:30 to 11:30 focuses on issues and opportunities in economic and other impacts of regulation. Both will be held upstairs in the Red Barn.

Ag energy presentations
Learn more about the opportunities and pitfalls associated with shale-gas development and ag renewable energy at the Energy Exhibiter Showcase on Tuesday. A series of presentations on energy resources and conservation practices, will be held on Tuesday, Aug. 13, in the Learning Center Tent at Main and East Ninth streets. Here's the line-up:

9 a.m.: "Water Management for Shale Energy Development"
9:45 a.m.: "Natural Gas Abundance -- Good for Pennsylvania's Agriculture Community"
10:15 a.m.: "Marcellus on Mainstreet, an Online Business Directory"
10:45 a.m.: "Understanding Oil and Gas Royalty Payments"
11:15 a.m.: "Shale Development and Impacts to Agriculture"
Noon: " On-Farm Energy Assessment Program"
1 p.m.: "Looking at the Long Term: What Does Solar Energy Really Cost?"
1:30 p.m.: "Community Wind Power Programs Consider the Options"
2 p.m.: "Wood Briquetting -- Immediate Utilization of Pennsylvania Biomass Resources"
2:30 p.m.: "Pennsylvania's Alternative Energy Credit Market Update."

You can also take the one-hour "Short Rotation Woody Crops for Biomass" tour, offered all three days of the show. It leaves from the corn crib at the top of Main Street at noon each day.

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Dairy PROS meeting
The Center for Dairy Excellence and Penn State Extension's Dairy Team will host a statewide Dairy PROS breakfast meeting on Thursday, at 7:30 a.m. Dr. John Stanton with the Saint Joseph's University School of Food Marketing will be sharing results from a milk labeling study on how to motivate consumers' buying decisions.

Expanded cover crop demos
The cover crop demonstration plots have grown to 13 varieties or mixtures, near the Crops, Soils and Conservation Building. Penn State Extension Forage Agronomist Marvin Hall says the plots include annual ryegrass; a mix of tillage radish, sunhemp and sorghum-sudangrass; a mix of tillage radish and triticale; a mix of tillage radish and oats; phacelia; sunhemp; a mix of annual ryegrass, tillage radish and crimson clover; hairy vetch; sorghum sudangrass; pearl millet; fava bean; Austrian pea; and a mix of crimson clover and ryegrass.

Don't forget to check out the interseeder developed by Penn State and a planter with a built-in roller-crimper manufactured by innovator Charles Martin.

Pasture grazing demonstration
On Wednesday, a new live pasture and grazing demonstration tour will highlight specific conservation practices that can help maintain livestock on pasture areas, featuring local Angus beef cattle and quarter horses.

Learn about construction materials and technologies for setting up paddocks or an exercise area for horses or cattle as part of a pasture-based operation. There'll be a hands-on demonstration of methods involved in moving animals through a high-density grazing system. Participants will observe ways to harvest and maintain healthy grass and legume pastures for livestock. Visitors can see the demonstration area as a self-guided tour or participate in a scheduled bus tour, leaving the "corn crib" by the information booth daily at 10:30 am, 12:30 pm, and 2:30 pm.