Dairy and Agribusiness Tours offered during World Ag Expo
Dec 28, 2007 8:05 AM
World Ag Expo attendees can tour agriculture operations in the heart of California’s Central Valley during the show, Feb. 12-14, 2008.
“About one-half of all ag production in California occurs within a 100-mile radius of World Ag Expo and the International Agri-Center,” said 2008 World Ag Expo Chairman, Shelley Khal. “We are fortunate to have these great and diverse facilities to tour right in our own backyard.”
Each day of the Expo, visitors can choose either a Dairy/Farm Tour or an Agribusiness Tour. All tours are $20 per person, per tour (unless otherwise stated). All tours leave at 10 a.m. from Heritage Complex and return at 2:00 p.m.
Space is limited and reservations are first-come, first-served, and registration must include full payment via check or credit card. Online reservations may be made by visiting www.worldagexpo.com. For more information call (800)999-9186, or email info@farmshow.org.
2008 World Ag Expo Tour Schedule:
Tuesday, Feb. 12
10 a.m. – 2 p.m. Tour #1 DAIRY
Case deJong Dairy is a large-herd operation north of Visalia featuring a carousel milking parlor that handles 3,500 cows 3 times a day.
Fletcher Dairy is located just south of Tulare, and is owned by brothers Rob and Ed Fletcher. They milk 650 cows 2 times daily and will give visitors a look at their nutrient management system, feeding and nutrition, and their double 14 herringbone milking parlor.
Tour # 2 AGRIBUSINESS
Sierra Citrus packinghouse, a member of Sunkist Growers, in Lindsay will be featured on the Citrus Tour. Visitors will see the orange harvest in nearby citrus groves and then follow the fruit to the packinghouse where they will watch the fruit being washed, sized, graded and packed for shipment to market.
The tour also includes a visit to California Citrus Producers Inc., a juice plant in Lindsay where oranges too ripe for the fresh market are processed. They also process lemons and salvage the peel for retail markets.
Wednesday, Feb. 13
10 a.m.- 2p.m. Tour #1 DAIRY
Organic Pastures Dairy, Kerman, California
Organic Pastures Dairy offers a unique look at an operation featuring a portable milking parlor that is moved from pasture to pasture, following the cows that graze there. The dairy milks more than 450 cows twice a day and produces organic milk, butter and cheese.
Tour #2 AGRIBUSINESS
Vasto Valle Farms, Huron, California
Vasto Valle Farms, owned and operated by Bob and Mark Anderson, features a wide variety of crops. Visitors will see broccoli, lettuce, tomatoes, peppers, cabbage and cotton. Vasto Valle Farms also has five acres under greenhouse shades where they raise vegetable transplants for their own operation, as well as transplants for other growers. The Andersons will describe how they produce their high quality vegetable crops from seed to harvest.
Tour #3 ALTERNATIVE ENERGY
Phoenix Bio Industries LLC – Goshen, California
This is one of the first ethanol plants constructed in the San Joaquin Valley. It provides fuel in the form of ethanol and cattle feed in the form of wet distillers grain.
Thursday, Feb. 14
10 a.m. – 2 p.m. Tour #1 DAIRY
Case deJong Dairy is a large-herd operation north of Visalia featuring a carousel milking parlor that handles 3,500 cows 3 times a day.
Fletcher Dairy is located just south of Tulare, and is owned by brothers Rob and Ed Fletcher. They milk 650 cows 2 times a day and will give visitors a look at their nutrient management system, feeding and nutrition, and their double 14 herringbone milking parlor.
Tour # 2 AGRIBUSINESS
Sierra Citrus packinghouse, a member of Sunkist Growers, in Lindsay will be featured on the Citrus Tour. Visitors will see the orange harvest in nearby citrus groves and then follow the fruit to the packinghouse where they will watch the fruit being washed, sized, graded and packed for shipment to market.
The tour also includes a visit to California Citrus Producers Inc., a juice plant in Lindsay where oranges too ripe for the fresh market are processed. They also process lemons and salvage the peel for retail markets.
The 2008 World Ag Expo is Feb. 12-14, at the International Agri-Center in Tulare, Calif. This year, the Expo will expand to 2.6 million square feet with the addition of the Dairy Technology Center and outdoor exhibits in the dairy section. The 2008 World Ag Expo is Where the World of Agriculture Means Business. For more information visit www.worldagexpo.com or call 800-999-9186.
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