The Oklahoma Peanut Commission will celebrate its 50^th anniversary as part of the annual Oklahoma Peanut Expo March 26 at the Quartz Mountain Resort, Lone Wolf, Okla.

Mike Kubicek, long-time executive director of the Oklahoma Peanut Commission, will close the conference with “Fifty Years: A Quick Look Back.” Kubicek has announced that he is retiring from the commission this year.

The Expo agenda includes a market update from Tyron Spearman, Peanut Farm Market News. Spearman also will be Expo emcee.

Crop production information will include a disease management update from OSU Extension plant pathologist John Damicone; weed management from Todd Baughman, OSU Institute for Agbiosciences; and field trial evaluations from Rebecca Bennett, USDA/ARS Center for Peanut Improvement, Stillwater.

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National Peanut Board delegate Gayle White of Frederick, and Ryan Lepicier, NPB senior vice president, Marketing & Communications, Atlanta, will update growers on “Perfectly Positioned: Realizing the Power of a Unified Industry,” during a luncheon presentation.

An afternoon session features updates on the new peanut crop insurance program from Keith Schumann, Vice-President, AgriLogic Consulting, and a report from USDA/ARS plant breeder Kelly Chamberlin on Venus, a new high oleic Virginia variety.

Preceding the Expo, representatives of the peanut seed trade will meet for the 70^th annual Texas/Oklahoma seed quality meeting. The seed session begins with breakfast at 7 a.m. A cookout is scheduled for the March 25 at 6 p.m.

For more information, contact: Oklahoma Peanut Commission or P.O. Box 1949 – Shawnee, Okla. 74802; fax to 405-878-0887