West-Central Missouri Farm Tour announced

The Missouri Vegetable Growers Association and University of Missouri Extension have announced the West-Central Missouri Farm Tour for 2009. The tour will highlight specialty crop production in St. Clair County. From vegetable production in conventional field settings, high tunnels, and greenhouses to fall cropping systems, along with a beekeeping demonstration, the tour will cover a broad range of specialty crop production systems. There is no charge for this event. The tour will start at Kottwitz Feed & Farm Supply in Osceola at 10:30 a.m. on Monday, Sept. 21. After touring the 8-acre Kottwitz Family Farm, the tour will travel to Wisner Farms where Kevin Wisner will describe his expansive production system of more than 75 varieties of pumpkins and gourds. Next, Larry and Kay Ferguson will tell about their new adventure in honeybee hive management on their farm. Participants will learn about beekeeping from Walt Bigelow and LeRoy Alexander. The tour will end with an interactive visit to Gordon's Orchard. A free lunch featuring fresh products will be served at Gordon's Orchard.

The tour should conclude by 3 p.m.

Missouri Vegetable Growers Association representatives will be on hand along with MU Extension specialists to discuss important topics and answer questions. Participants must register by Sept. 18 to get the free lunch.

Contact Marlin Bates, Extension horticulture specialist, at (816) 270-2141 or batesma

@missouri.edu to register or for more information. Funding for the tour is provided by the Missouri Department of Agricul-ture.