2024 Joint Annual Meeting: Southern and Northeastern Forest and Conservation Nursery Associations

All times are CENTRAL DAYLIGHT TIME ZONE

Monday, July 22 

1:00 – 5:00  Auburn Co-op meeting (open to current members of the nursery co-op only)

4:00 – 8:00  Registration (open to all conference attendees)

6:00 – 8:00  Icebreaker

Tuesday, July 23

7:00 – 8:00 am  Continental breakfast (in meeting room)

8:00 am    Housekeeping and welcomes from State Forester Kyle Cunningham and Arkansas Secretary of Agriculture Wes Ward.

Carbon markets

8:30 am    U.S. Reforestation Program Director, The Nature Conservancy: Carbon credit markets in the southern U.S. – Jason Milks

9:00 am    Forests and the Global Carbon Markets – Richard W. Hall, President, Buckhead Resources, Inc

9:30 am    Natural Resource Conservation Service landowner assistance programs – Doug Akin, State Forester

10:00 am    Morning break

Hardwood seed

10:30 am    Hardwood genetic improvement for Arkansas – Fred Raley, Tree Improvement Coordinator, Texas A&M Forest Service and Director, Western Gulf Forest Tree Improvement Program

11:00 am    Partnerships make a difference in our lives – Luke Lewis, Arkansas Fish and Game

11:30 am    The challenges of meeting hardwood seed needs for the southern U.S. – Gary Delaney, Louisiana forest and seed

12:00 pm    Lunch

Labor issues

1:00 pm    The State’s voice of forestry – Seth Stephenson, Communications Coordinator, Arkansas Forestry Association

1:30 pm    Labor issues in nurseries – navigating the maze and staying on the right side of the law – Wendel Hall, Managing Partner, Hall Global

2:00 pm    Discussion time on labor issues

2:30 pm    Afternoon break

Forest Health issues

3:00 pm    Emerging forest health issues in Arkansas – Chandler Barton, Division Forester Arkansas Department of Agriculture

3:30 pm    Brown spot needle blight in the southeast – Rabiu Olatinwo, Research Plant Pathologist, U.S. Department of Agriculture, Forest Service

4:00 pm    Hardwood tree research update – Josh Granger, Assistant Professor, Mississippi State University

4:30 pm    Sedges and herbicide trial at Baucum – Nina Payne, Forester, and James Shelton, Nursery Manager

Dinner on your own

Wednesday, July 24: field tour

7:30 – 8:30 am    Breakfast ON YOUR OWN

8:30 – 9:00 am    Board buses and drive to nursery (drive time approximately 20 minutes)

9:00 – 11:30    Tour of Baucum nursery

11:30 – 1 pm    LUNCH. Short bus trip to Faulker orchard and events center

1:00 – 4:00 pm    Afternoon tour to Burns Park

4:00 – 4:30 pm    Return to hotel

6:00 – 9:00 pm    Banquet at Robinson Center (attached to Hotel)

Thursday, July 25

Updates: Reforestation Nurseries and Genetic Resources (RNGR) team, white oak, farm bill, agroforestry.

7:00 – 8:00 am    Continental breakfast (in meeting room)

8:00 am    Farm bill update – Tim Foley, Policy Director, Southern Group of State Foresters

8:30 am    RNGR team expansion – Carrie Pike, Regeneration Specialist and Emily Rhoades, Nursery Specialist U.S. Department of Agriculture, Forest Service

8:45 am    Southern Forest Nursery Management Cooperative updates – Annakay Newell, Interim Director

9:00 am    Bipartisan Infrastructure bill updates for State and Federal nurseries (virtual) – Sara Wilson, Nursery and Reforestation Specialist U.S. Department of Agriculture, Forest Service

9:30 am    Update on the white oak tree improvement effort (virtual) – Laura DeWald, Tree Improvement Specialist

10:00 am    Morning break

10:30 am    Effects of lifting season warm interruptions – Alex Hoffman, Weyerhaeuser

11:00 am    Agroforestry — growing opportunities in the Southern United States (virtual) – Anne Marsh, Director; Gary Bentrup, Research Landscape Planner; and Matt Smith, Research Team Leader, National Agroforestry Center

11:30 am    Research and agroforestry update – Ron Revord, Assistant Research Professor, University of Missouri

Noon: adjourn

Lunch on your own – safe travels!