DATE:     9/8/00
CONTACT:  Dr. Ben Kittrell, (843) 662-3526 Ext. 259;
          bkttrll@clemson.edu
WRITER:   Tom Lollis, (803) 284-3343; tlollis@clemson.edu

Pee Dee field day offers
insight on biotechnology

     FLORENCE -- Just what is biotechnology and what will 
it do?
     "That's what we want to explain," said Ben Kittrell, 
resident director of Clemson University's Pee Dee Research 
and Education Center at Florence.  
     "We will have a symposium on biotechnology Sept. 14 
at the Pee Dee REC during our annual Cropping Systems Field 
Day. It's open to anyone with an interest or concern over
biotechnology," he said.
     The field day starts at 8 a.m. with tours for cotton 
and soybean growers, and the symposium starts at 1:30 following 
lunch.
     Jim Fischer, director of Clemson's Agriculture and 
Forestry Research System, will open the symposium with an 
explanation of the change taking place in agriculture 
through biotechnology.
     "He will talk about the effect that change will have 
on growers, universities and consumers," said Kittrell.
     Monsanto's Sharon Berberich, director of special 
projects with integrated protein technologies, will tell 
how biotechnology is done, how it is being used, how it 
affects the environment and what the potential is for
the technology.
     John Payne, assistant director for USDA's Plant 
Protection and Quarantine, Permits and Risk Assessment 
Unit, will explain how biotech research is regulated 
to ensure the public of its safety.
     A conservation tillage tour is also scheduled for 
he afternoon, along with a machinery display and demonstration. 
A tractor driving contest will be open to FFA members and 
adults.                               
     Registration begins at 7:30 a.m. The Pee Dee REC is at 
2200 Pocket Road. Take the TV Road exit off Interstate 95 
and turn left to Pocket Road. For more information call 
Kittrell at (843) 662-3526, Ext. 259.
                         END