AgFest 2014 is shaping up to be a family-friendly event designed to support farming and spotlight the role of agriculture in Leflore County.
The second annual event will be held Tuesday at the Leflore County Civic Center.
AgFest is “a celebration of the agricultural industry in our community, from the family farm to the implement, farm seed and farm chemical dealers — everyone, really,” said Beth Stevens, the executive director of the Greenwood-Leflore County Chamber of Commerce, which sponsors the event.
Stevens said AgFest will have activities for all ages.
For sports fans, Matt Wyatt and Richard Cross, the hosts of SuperTalk Mississippi’s “Head to Head” radio show, will do a live remote broadcast from the Civic Center from 3 to 6 p.m.
There is no admission charge to watch the live broadcast, but other events, such as a meet-and-greet featuring the radio personalities, will require a ticket.
Tickets are $10 for adults and $5 for children and include a catfish dinner catered by Larry Kelly.
Tickets will not be available at the door. They may be purchased in advance by calling or going to the chamber’s headquarters beforehand. They also may be purchased at www.greenwoodms.com.
The Young Farmer of the Year also will be named on Tuesday, said Andy Braswell, an agent with the Leflore County Extension Service, who also serves on the chamber’s AgFest Committee.
“We hope to have a good crowd like last year,” he said.
The keynote speaker for AgFest will be Gary M. Adams, vice president of economics and policy analysis for the National Cotton Council of America.
Adams will provide valuable insight into where commodity prices are heading in 2015, said Hank Reichle, vice president of marketing at Staplcotn, one of the corporate sponsors of the event.
“I think it’s real important that the chamber honor and promote all of our industries,” he said. “With land being a natural resource, agriculture is a huge piece of our economy in Leflore County.”
Adams joined the National Cotton Council in 2002. His responsibilities include evaluating the economic outlook for global cotton markets and analyzing the impacts of farm and trade policies on the U.S. cotton industry.
He represented the cotton industry on the U.S. Department of Agriculture’s Committee on Trade from 2005 through 2011. He also served on the National Agricultural Statistics Service Advisory Committee on agricultural statistics from 2003 through 2009.
Adams has bachelor’s and master’s degree in applied mathematics from the University of Alabama and a doctorate in agricultural economics from the University of Missouri.
Reichle said Adams has the ability to make the complex world of commodities understandable to most people.
“He’ll talk about cotton, but he’ll also talk about corn and soybeans and what those future markets might look like,” Reichle said. “He’ll just lay out the facts. The facts that we know today will be changing before the farmer plants that first seed next spring.”
• Contact Bob Darden at 581-7239 or bdarden@gwcommonwealth.com.
