VERONA -- Mississippi Commissioner of Agriculture and Commerce Cindy Hyde-Smith will be the keynote speaker at the North Mississippi Research and Extension Center Agronomic Row Crops Field Day Aug. 9.

The commissioner will speak at the Magnolia Conference Center in the Lee County Agri-Center on Highway 145 South. After more than a decade in the state senate, Hyde-Smith made history last November when she became the first woman elected as Mississippi’s Commissioner of Agriculture and Commerce.

In addition to the featured speaker, Mississippi State University agriculture personnel will provide field research plot tours and host educational and industry exhibits. Certified Crop Advisor continuing education credits, renewal certification for professional consultants and pesticide applicator licenses will be offered for participants.

The program begins with registration at 8 a.m. The field tour begins at 8:30 a.m. and will feature an opportunity to learn about nitrogen management in corn production with alternate sources and fertilizer amendments; dicamba and 2,4-D tolerant crops; sustainable poultry litter management for crop rotation production systems; effect of planting date, latitude and environment on the soybean maturity group of choice for mid-South production; and the current crop situation. Activities will conclude around 1:30 p.m.

For more information, contact Normie Buehring at (662) 566-2201 or buehring@ra.msstate.edu.