College of Ag Sciences Exhibits Building at heart of Ag Progress Days

College of Ag Sciences Exhibits Building at heart of Ag Progress Days

Bruce McPheron, dean of the College of Agricultural Sciences, talks with visitors to the College Exhibits Building at last year’s Ag Progress Days

University Park, Pa. -- The diversity of teaching, research and Cooperative Extension programs offered by Penn State's College of Agricultural Sciences will be on display at Ag Progress Days, Aug. 17-19.

With the theme, "If You Think You Know the College of Ag Sciences…ThinkAGain," the College of Agricultural Sciences Exhibits Building and Theater -- on Main Street between West 9th and West 10th Streets at the Ag Progress Days site -- will allow visitors to explore the college's priority areas: energy; entrepreneurship; food, diet, and health; pest prediction and response; and water quality and quantity.

Experts in each of these areas will be on hand to answer questions and discuss how the college's research and extension missions help Pennsylvanians.

The College Exhibits Building also will focus on educational opportunities and careers in agriculture. There are more job openings in agriculture and related fields each year than qualified graduates to fill them, according to J. Marcos Fernandez, associate dean for undergraduate education. He invited people to visit the College Exhibits Building to learn about College of Agricultural Sciences' academic programs in animal, biomedical, plant, environmental and social sciences.

"Faculty and staff will be available to answer questions and provide information to prospective students and their families about the college's programs in the food, agricultural and natural resource sciences," he said. "We'll give them a good idea where an education in the agricultural sciences can take them. With 19 majors and about $1.8 million in scholarships available, the college has considerable diversity in its academic programs and many educational and life-changing opportunities to offer prospective students."

Visitors to the College of Agricultural Sciences Exhibits Building also can attend theater presentations by leading extension specialists on such topics as Marcellus Shale and natural gas, on-farm animal-carcass composting and water-quality issues:

Tuesday

• 10 a.m. -- Pond Management
• 11 a.m. -- Overview of the Master Gardener Program
• 2 p.m. -- Protecting Private Water Supplies from Natural Gas Drilling
• 3 p.m.-- On-Farm Animal Composting

Wednesday

• 10 a.m. -- House Agriculture and Rural Affairs Committee Public Hearing: Chesapeake Bay
• 2 p.m. -- Protecting Private Water Supplies from Natural Gas Drilling
• 3 p.m.-- On-Farm Animal Composting
• 4 p.m. -- Proper Disposal of Pharmaceuticals to Protect Water Sources
• 5 p.m. -- Pond Management

Thursday

• 10 a.m. -- On-Farm Animal Composting
• 11 a.m. -- Edible Landscaping
• 2 p.m. -- Protecting Private Water Supplies from Natural Gas Drilling

While at the College Exhibits Building, visitors can stop by the college's Publications Distribution Center display to browse free and for-sale publications on topics ranging from agriculture and natural resources to community affairs and lawn care.

Sponsored by Penn State's College of Agricultural Sciences, Ag Progress Days is held at the Russell E. Larson Agricultural Research Center at Rock Springs, nine miles southwest of State College on Route 45. Hours are 9 a.m. to 5 p.m. on Aug. 17; 9 a.m. to 8 p.m. on Aug. 18; and 9 a.m. to 4 p.m. on Aug. 19. Admission and parking are free.

For more information, visit the Ag Progress Days website at http://apd.psu.edu/ online.