Arkansas State University-Jonesboro’s College of Agriculture and Technology will host the 2010 Arkansas Soil and Water Education Conference, an all-day event that will take place Thursday, Jan. 21, at the ASU Convocation Center Auditorium, 217 Olympic Drive, Jonesboro.

Registration begins at 8 a.m. in Convocation Center Meeting Room A, and is followed by a welcome in the Convocation Center auditorium at 8:15 a.m. The opening session begins at 8:30 a.m.

The registration fee for the day-long conference is $20 and includes a luncheon. Certified Crop Advisor Soil and Water Continuing Education Units (CEUs) will be awarded at this meeting.

Pre-registration ends Friday, Jan. 15.

Register online at: http://www2.astate.edu/agri/. Call Loretta Thornton at (870) 972-3364, (870) 972-2043 or e-mail [email protected] for more information.

The conference is divided into three sessions.

Session I, Organic Soil Amendments, begins at 8:30 a.m. and will feature Lisa Ellington, director of Paragould’s waste water treatment plant, presenting “Biosolids: what they are, and where they come from.”

At 9 a.m., Patrick Fisk of the Arkansas Natural Resources Commission in Little Rock will present “Challenges and Opportunities for Poultry Litter Use in Arkansas.”

At 9:30 a.m., there will be a discussion of production experience using organic soil amendments. Steven Green, associate professor of soil and water conservation at ASU, will serve as moderator.

A poster session and a break for refreshments is scheduled for 10 a.m.

Session II, Groundwater 2010, will begin at 10:20 a.m. with John Czarnecki, U.S. Geological Survey, Little Rock, presenting “Groundwater Science and Status.”

At 10:50 a.m., Todd Fugitt of the Arkansas Natural Resources Commission, Little Rock, will present “Critical Groundwater Designation.”

At 11:20 a.m., Dennis Carmen, Chief Engineer of the White River Irrigation District, Stuttgart, will present an update on the Grand Prairie project.

At 11:50 a.m., there will be a discussion on “Practical Solutions for Water Conservation.” Jennifer Bouldin, director of ASU’s Ecotoxicology Research Facility and assistant professor of environmental biology, will serve as moderator.

At 12:20 p.m., luncheon will be served in Meeting Room B.

Session III will begin at 1:20 p.m., and Tina Teague, professor of entomology and plant science, will serve as moderator for a brief overview and panel discussion on commercial products and their uses. The conference will adjourn at 3 p.m.

“The goal of this annual conference is to educate farmers, producers, consultants, policy makers, students, and others with a vested interest in soil and water management,” said Steven Green. “The educational focus of the conference is current issues and management practices in soil and water conservation and management.”