GOODMAN – Fruit and vegetable producers can learn how to improve production during a March 21 field day at the Alliance for Sustainable Agricultural Production Demonstration Farm.

Experts with the Mississippi State University Extension Service, the Mississippi Agricultural and Forestry Experiment Station Alcorn State University and the Mississippi Band of Choctaw Indians will conduct field demonstrations on mulching, irrigation and high tunnel construction and production techniques. They also will cover fruit crop site selection and variety choices.

The event will feature a mulching machine demonstration. The machine makes raised beds and lays black plastic and irrigation tubing at the same time.

Law school faculty and staff with the University of Mississippi Transactional Legal Clinic will be on hand to offer business advice in confidential, one-on-one sessions.

The field day is free and open to all interested growers. The event begins at 10 a.m. and ends at 2:30 p.m. Preregistration is required. Lunch and materials will be provided.

This field day is the third in a year-long series. Field days are held on the third Friday of each month, March through November. The last field day is scheduled for Dec. 12. Topics range from recordkeeping and marketing to risk management and insurance.

To register for the field day or for more information, contact Farm Director Keith Benson at 601-988-4999 or keithmdp@yahoo.com. The Alliance for Sustainable Agricultural Production is located one mile southwest of Highway 51 in Holmes County at 1184 Coleman Road, between Goodman and Durant.

The Mississippi Department of Agriculture and Commerce and the U.S. Department of Agriculture Specialty Crop Grant Program fund the programs.