Time’s short until the 60^th anniversary Mid-South Farm and Gin Show — March 2-3 at the downtown Cook Convention Center in Memphis — but attendees and others interested in the show can now download the show’s updated 2012 mobile app.

“The app is available for use with Android, BlackBerry and iPhone/iPad technology,” says Tim Price, show manager and executive vice president of the Southern Cotton Ginners Association, which sponsors the show, with Delta Farm Press as co-sponsor.

“It features interactive maps, a list of exhibitors, schedule of events, speaker information, a photo gallery, and Twitter feed. Regular updates will be sent throughout the course of the show. This is the second year the app has been available.”

Ag Update Seminars

Ag Update seminars, scheduled for Friday and Saturday at 8:30 a.m in the lobby meeting room, will again be a feature of the show.

“Friday’s session will feature industry updates, supply/demand outlooks for rice, wheat, and cotton, and market outlooks for all major Mid-South crops,” says Price. “In addition to Chuck Coley, the new president of the National Cotton Council, speakers will be Carl Brothers, Riceland Foods, Stuttgart, Ark., and Joe Nicosia, Allenberg Cotton, Memphis, Tenn.

“Saturday at 8 a.m., Richard Brock, market analyst of Brock Associates, Milwaukee, Wisc., will provide his unique insight and analysis of grain markets and offer marketing recommendations for the coming year. And, given that 2012 is an election year, he will likely also give his perspective on the political environment and its expected impact on agriculture.”

Cotton, peanut seminars

The annual University of Tennessee Cotton Focus will be held Friday, March 2 from 1 p.m. to 4:30 p.m. The expanded program will include presentations from regional experts from the University of Arkansas, Mississippi State University and the U.S. Department of Agriculture, as well as UT research and Extension Specialists.

Topics will include new Bt technologies, glyphosate-resistant weed management and cotton variety performance.  The complete schedule is available online at http://www.utcrops.com or http://west.tennessee.edu.

A special peanut marketing seminar is scheduled for Saturday, March 3, at 1 p.m. on the mezzanine level of the convention center.  “Increasing interest in peanut production in the Mid-South is being driven by higher prices as a result of reduced production last year,” Price says.

Show attendees can hear presentations from representatives of three companies — Birdsong Peanuts; Golden Peanut Company, LLC; and the Clint Williams Company — explaining the benefits of incorporating peanuts into a farming operation. The company representatives will also outline their plans for serving the Mid-South market.

Birdsong Peanuts operates 6 shelling plants, 11 cold storages, 85 buying points, and employs over 730 people across 11 peanut producing states. They plan to expand into Mississippi and Arkansas.

Golden Peanut Company is a wholly-owned subsidiary of ADM, operating six peanut shelling plants, an oil mill and refinery, and a peanut flour and aromatic oil facility in the key growing regions of the United States.

The Clint Williams Company is an Oklahoma-based sheller with a presence reaching from the Mississippi Delta to West Texas. The company has committed to establishing two buying points in the Mississippi Delta, and one in northeast Arkansas.

Pre-registration available now

Those attending this year’s show can also pre-register online at www.farmandginshow.com. Click on the Attendee Registration icon, fill in your information, and print out your confirmation to bring to the show.

“This streamlined process will make printing name badges quick and easy,” Price says. “Staff will be on hand to assist attendees who have pre-registered, as well as those who prefer to register on site.  Those who pre-register online by March 1 will be eligible for a $1,000 cash drawing.

Show hours are 9 a.m. to 5 p.m. March 2 and 9 a.m. to 4:30 p.m. March 3. Admission is free, but a badge is necessary for entry into the exhibit areas.

More information about the seminars and show is available at www.farmandginshow.com, or at the show’s Facebook page: https://www.facebook.com/farmandginshow.