Delta State University earned the # 63

spot among regional universities

in the South in the 2011 edition

of Best Colleges by U.S. News

Media Group. The exclusive

rankings, which include rankings

of more than 1,400 schools

nationwide, are available today

at www.usnews.com/colleges,

and will also be published in the

September issue of U.S.News &World Report, on newsstands

starting August 31.

Over the past two decades, the U.S.

News college rankings, which group

schools based on categories created by

the Carnegie Foundation for the

Advancement of Teaching, has

grown to be the most compre-

hensive research tool for stu-

dents and parents considering

higher education opportunities.

“In my initial address as pres-

ident, I called upon Delta State

to become the best regional uni-

versity in America,” said Delta

State University President John

M. Hilpert. “This ranking proves that we

are making great strides toward attaining

that goal and recognizes the tireless

efforts of every member of the Delta

State family.”

The 2011 Best Colleges feature the

established rankings of the Best National

Universities and Best National Liberal

Arts Colleges, while also including rank-

ings of A+ Schools for B Students, Great

Schools at Great Prices, and Up-and-

Coming Schools, among others.

The 2011 Best Colleges package pro-

vides the most thorough examination of

how more than 1,400 accredited four-

year schools compare on a set of up to 16

widely accepted indicators of excellence.

Among the many factors weighed in

determining the rankings, the key mea-

sures of quality are: peer assessment,

graduation and retention rates, faculty

resources, student selectivity, financial

resources, alumni giving, and, for

National Universities and National Liber-

al Art

Colleges, “graduation rate perfor-

mance” and high school counselor rat-

ings of colleges. U.S. News has made

some significant changes to the 2011

Best Colleges’ ranking methodology and

presentation. For more details on these

changes, go to www.usnews.com/col-

legemeth.

THE NEWSLETTER FOR FRIENDS AND MEMBERS OF DELTA COUNCIL Vol. 6, Issue No. 5

ReviewThe Delta Council

September 2010

Delta Council433 Stoneville RdP.O. Box 257Stoneville, MS 38776

PRSRT STDU.S. POSTAGE

PAIDGREENWOOD, MSPERMIT NO. 257

Mississippi chef, food writer and authorRobert St. John will be the entertainmentat the 20th annual rice luncheon in Cleve-land, Miss., on Friday, Sept. 17.

Hundreds of rice dishes will be avail-able for sampling at the luncheon between11 a.m. and 1 p.m. at Delta State Universi-ty’s Walter Sillers Coliseum.

“This is an anniversary year for the riceluncheon and we are expecting a greatattendance. We are particularly excitedabout having Robert St. John with us,”said Laura Giaccaglia, Bolivar CountyExtension Director for Mississippi StateUniversity’s Extension Service. The eventattracts nearly 2,000 people each Septem-

ber, which is National Rice Month.More than 300 rice dishes from main

courses to side dishes and desserts will beprepared by rice-growing families andDelta restaurants for sampling. A fashionshow will take place during the luncheon.

A nationally-known restaurateur, St.John is executive chef of the Purple ParrotCafé, Crescent City Grill and MahoganyBar in Hattiesburg and Meridian. Thewriter and self-taught cook began syndi-cating his food/humor columns six yearsago. He has been featured on The FoodNetwork, The Travel Channel and the

LUNCHEON continued on page 4

Delta State University Ranked in the Top 100 in U.S.News Media Group’s 2011 Edition of Best Colleges

Hilpert Delta Council to Hold Mid-YearBoard Meeting November 11

The Delta Council Mid-Year Board of Directorsmeeting will be held Thurs-day, November 11, 2010, inthe Capps Center inStoneville.

The day will include theconvening of several com-mittees, include a generalsession highlighted by aspecial presentation recog-nizing the contribution ofthe men and women whohave sacrificed for ourcountry on Veteran’s Day,and conclude with lun-cheon and an address byfeatured speaker, Dr. MarkKeenum, President of Mis-sissippi State University.

“We are looking forwardto having Dr. Keenum asour featured speaker, aswell as the numerous otherspeakers andpresentationsthat will be partof the day’sactivity,” saidDelta CouncilPresident CassPennington ofIndianola.

More infor-mation aboutthe committee

meetings and agendas will be releasedshortly.

The sponsor of the 75th Annual Mid-Year Board of Directors meeting is onceagain our friends from CellularSouth.

Sledge Hired as Delta WorkforcePilot Coordinator in Stoneville

Christie Sledge of Clevelandhas recently been hired as theDelta Workforce Pilot Coordi-nator. Sledge will work fromthe Delta Council office inStoneville and will serve on thestaff of the Mississippi Devel-opment Authority.

The Delta Workforce PilotCoordinator, which was theresult of Delta Council policyand subsequent legislation bythe Mississippi Legislature, will workclosely with the four community collegesin the region, the Delta Workforce Invest-

ment Area, WIN Job Centers,Mississippi Department ofEmployment Services, Missis-sippi Development Authority,Delta Council and civic leadersand economic developmentprofessionals in the region tofocus on the workforce trainingneeds of businesses and work-ers in the Mississippi Delta.Sledge will work to ensure aseamless link between busi-

nesses in the Mississippi Delta and the

Sledge

SLEDGE continued on page 7

Delta Rice Promotion Celebrates 20Years with Luncheon on September 17

Keenum

Bayer CropScience Cooperates with EPA’s Decisionto Cancel Temik® Uses in Citrus and PotatoesMessage from the President

2 | | September 2010ReviewThe Delta Council Outlook September 2010 | | 7ReviewThe Delta Council

DELTA COUNCIL2010-11 Delta Council Officers

President: CASS PENNINGTON, IndianolaVice-President: CLAY ADCOCK, Holly BluffVice-President: BUCK CLARKE, Hollandale

Vice-President: ANGELA CURRY, GreenwoodVice-President: RODGE RODGERS, Clarksdale

Vice-President: BUTCH SCIPPER, MarksVice-President: NOTT WHEELER JR., Cleveland

Treasurer: CALVIN DYE, Cleveland

POSTMASTER: Send all address changes to

Delta CouncilP.O. Box 257, Stoneville, MS 38776

The Delta Council Review accepts no responsibility forunsolicited materials and in general does not return them tosender. Manuscripts and photographs submitted for publicationare welcomed, but no responsibility can be taken for them whilein transit or in the office of publication. All editorial information istaken from sources considered to be authoritative, but thepublication cannot guarantee their accuracy. Neither thatinformation nor any opinion expressed on the pages of The DeltaCouncil Review in any way constitutes a solicitation for the sale orpurchase of securities mentioned. No material in The DeltaCouncil Review may be reproduced in any form without thewritten consent of Delta Council.

Layout and design of The Delta Council ReviewCoopwood Communications

Cleveland, MS

CONTACT INFORMATION:Mailing Address:

P.O. Box 257, Stoneville, MS 38776Shipping Address:

433 Stoneville Rd., Stoneville, MS 38776Phone: 662-686-3350Fax: 662-686-3378

Web Address:www.deltacouncil.org

E-mail: info@deltacouncil.org

During most of my career, I havespent time in school administrationat the local level, as well as highereducation. My participation in DeltaCouncil over the past 20 years hasbrought me a deeper understanding

and appreciation for the complexityof the Delta as a culture, heritage,history and future challenges.

As a high school and collegefootball referee, I learned that thereare players with natural talent, butwithout practice, commitment,team work and hard work, even thegifted athlete just turns outmediocre. The complex issues fac-ing Delta Council in water issuesalone—flood control, groundwatersupplies and surface water quali-ty—is indicative of just one exam-ple of a regional, not local issue thatmust be addressed in a regionalapproach.

This is an example of why DeltaCouncil is so important: everyonemust buy in or it simply will nothappen. To me, this is what makesDelta Council different and there isno substitute for hard work, even ifyou’ve got all the talent in theDelta.

Whether it’s I-69, the four-laningof Highway 6, the vast array of pro-grams of work of Delta HealthAlliance, the challenges of an ever-pressing climate surrounding farmprograms or the persistent efforts ofDelta Council leaders committed toa regional approach for heritage andcultural tourism (National HeritageArea in the Delta), the thing thatseparates the Delta from otherregions is not just the millions ofacres of cropland, blues artists, liter-aries, or famous athletes. Instead,the main ingredient is the pridewhich accompanies every regionalaccomplishment in the Delta whichis the result of people working hardand most of all, working together.

I am optimistic about the Deltabecause of its unique tradition ofworking together.

Please call me if you have ques-tions or suggestions about theregional mission of Delta Council.

Cass Pennington, PresidentDelta Council

News

By Joey LoweryGuest Column

It’s now been two years sinceCongress passed the 2008 U.S.Farm Bill requiring stronger safety

and inspectionstandards forimported anddomestic catfish bymoving catfishinspections fromthe FDA to theUSDA, with itstougher regulationsand more rigorous

inspections.Today, we are still pushing

Washington to put the rule on thebooks even as it continues tobounce among USDA, the Office ofManagement and Budget (the fed-

eral bean counters) and the office ofthe U.S. Trade Representativewhich is becoming far more deeplyinvolved in food safety issues thatwe, and many others, believe theyshould.The internal debate amongfederal agencies has focused on avariety of issues ranging from riskassessments about the dangers ofimported catfish to concerns thatVietnam and other countries mightchallenge new health and safetyrequirements on catfish and relatedspecies as efforts to impede trade.

A continuing controversy hasbeen the “definition” of catfish:Will the law be applied broadly tocover all 39 species of catfish andrelated fish, or will it be appliedmore narrowly to include onlychannel catfish such as those raisedhere in the United States and China.

That would leave out Vietnamesecatfish species. In fact, Vietnam isthe largest and fastest growingexporter of catfish species to theUnited States.

This is ironic at a time that Viet-namese officials themselves havebeen telling their catfish growersand processors that they need toimprove the cleanliness and safetyof their products if they want to beaccepted in the international marketplace.

Essentially, the governmentwould be rolling the dice when itcomes to food safety.

Food safety for the Americanconsumer has been the overridingfocus of the Catfish Farmers ofAmerica’s campaign to see this rule

Lowery

CATFISH continued on page 7

RESEARCH TRIANGLE PARK,N.C. (August 16, 2010) — Bayer Crop-Science is cooperating with the Environ-mental Protection Agency (EPA)following today’s announcement to can-cel uses of aldicarb, sold as Temik®brand insecticide/nematicide, on potatoesand citrus. Uses on all other crops willremain, but will be phased out over thenext few years.

According to the agreement with theEPA, farmers may continue to use exist-ing stocks of Temik on citrus and pota-toes until December 31, 2011, allowinginventories to clear the channel of trade.

Uses on all other crops will be main-tained with some additional labelchanges, until anorderly productphase-out is complet-ed, consistent withBayer’s globalreplacement strategyregarding WHOClass 1 products. Thecompany plans todiscontinue market-ing aldicarb in the United States andother markets worldwide by 2014.

This decision follows a new dietary

risk assessment process recently com-pleted by the Agency. Although the com-

pany does not fullyagree with this newrisk assessmentapproach, BayerCropScience respectsthe oversight authori-ty of the EPA and iscooperating withthem. This decisiondoes not mean that

aldicarb poses a food safety concern.“For nearly 40 years, Temik has pro-

vided farmers with unsurpassed control

of destructive pests, without compromis-ing human health or environmental safe-ty” said Bill Buckner, President and CEOof Bayer CropScience. “We recognizethe significant impact this decision willhave on growers and the food industry,and will do everything possible toaddress their concerns during this transi-tion.”

The company will work with farmersand other stakeholders in the distributionchain during this phase-out process. Cus-tomers can contact the Bayer Crop-Science Customer Interaction Center at866-992-2937 for further information.

SLEDGE from page 1

workforce services and training availableto them through the state’s communitycolleges and the WIN Job Centers.

Sledge comes to Delta Council by wayof Delta State University’s Small BusinessDevelopment Center (DSU SBDC),where she served as the Director. Prior toDSU SBDC, she was employed withBDO Seidman, LLP in Memphis, TN asan Assurance Associate. She graduatedfrom Delta State University with a Bache-lor of Business Administration degree inAccounting. She then earned a Master ofBusiness Administration with emphases inManagement and Marketing from DSU.

“We are glad to have Christie on boardand begin carrying out the critical worklaid out in the Delta Workforce Pilot Pro-gram,” said Tom Gresham of Indianola,

who serves as the Governor’s appointmentand Chairman the Cabinet overseeing theproject. “We appreciate our legislative del-egation, state agencies, and communitycolleges for working together to make thisa reality, and we are excited about enhanc-ing the delivery of these programs to busi-nesses in the region.”

In addition to Gresham, other privatesector members of the Cabinet, as outlinedin the pilot legislation, include; CobieCollins of Yazoo City (appointed by theLt. Governor), Al Rankins of Greenville(appointed by the House Speaker), ButchScipper of Marks (appointed by HouseSpeaker), and Kent Wyatt of Cleveland(appointed by Lt. Governor). They arejoined on the pilot cabinet by the Presi-dents of the four community colleges inthe region, the Delta Workforce Invest-ment Area, MDA, and MDES.

imposed after two long years. We believethe only way to protect the American con-sumer—and the U.S. catfish industry—isto see that ALL catfish species are subjectto the same rigorous inspections and reg-ulations. If a container full of contaminat-ed fish should sicken a group of Americanconsumers, they likely would turn awayfrom buying ANY catfish, imported ordomestic. That would be devastating toboth our catfish industry and our overseascompetitors.

Even within the tiny 2 percent ofimported seafood that FDA inspects, labshave found imported catfish and related

species contaminated with dangeroussubstances including carcinogens, bannedveterinary drugs, malachite green and sal-monella.

Unfortunately, it is unclear when theUSDA, which is the controlling agency,will publish the rule and allow publicdebate to begin. Some say it could bereleased any day now.

That will begin an entirely new phaseof our campaign. Until now, we havebeen focused on attempting to convincethe federal bureaucracy to do the rightthing. During the 90-day period for pub-lic comment, hearings will be conductedin several locations. It is likely that atleast one and perhaps two will be con-

ducted in catfish-growing regions. A thirdhearing almost surely will be held inWashington, D.C.

In addition, interested parties andmembers of the public will be allowed tosubmit written comments about the pro-posed rule.

Once the rule is published—regardlessof its content—this will be an extremelyimportant period. We will be calling onall our supporters to submit comments tothe USDA and asking as many as possibleto appear at the public hearings.

However, our mission will be far moredifficult if the rule is published with itsnarrow definition. Agencies are alwayspredisposed to enact rules as they first

publish them, rather than change the ruleafter the public debate has concluded.That is why our efforts, with the help ofsome of our strong Congressional andSenate supporters, to convince federalagencies of the need for the broader defi-nition have been so critical.

I have traveled to Washington severaltimes to meet with members of Congressand Senators, and representatives of thefederal agencies now debating this rule.We will continue to fight on behalf offood safety for the American con-sumers and the safety of all catfish hereand overseas. We believe all catfishshould be treated equally.

CATFISH from page 2

Rev. Herron Wilson (foreground left) of the Delta Mission Ministries talks to SenatorCochran staffmembers Will Crump (left) and Will Todd (right) as Delta HealthAlliance CEO Karen Fox (center) looks on.

Joey Lowery is a catfish farmer from Alabama servingas President of the Catfish Farmers of America

Fight for Food Safety in Catfish Continues

Record ofDecisionon I-69Nearing

6 | | September 2010 ReviewThe Delta CouncilSeptember 2010 | | 3ReviewThe Delta Council

JOB CREATIONFish consumption in the U.S.

is expected to increase to 15billion pounds by 2015. Pro-duction to meet this increasedconsumption could create60,000 new jobs for unem-ployed in rural America.

FOOD SAFETYU.S. Aquaculture can control

food safety and ensure highquality products for the Ameri-can consumer. Fish are raised inclean, fresh well water and fedonly a high quality, nutritiousfeed. When processed for themarket, farmed fish go fromfresh to the frozen product inonly 10 minutes.

BENEFITS TO AGRICULTUREAnnually, 88,045 acres of

corn, 504,743 acres of soy-

beans, and cotton seed mealfrom 228,241 acres of cottonare used to supply componentsfor catfish feed.

REDUCTION OF TRADE DEFICITProduction of farmed fish

can lower the trade deficit byreducing imports and increas-ing exports. Typically, the U.S.imports over $9 billion in fish-ery products a year.

CONSERVATION OF RESOURCESMeeting consumer demand

with farmed products willreduce pressure on natural pop-ulations and preserve them forfuture generations. Creation ofnew wetland habitat for water-fowl and preservation of envi-ronmental integrity can helpensure the survival of endan-gered aquatic species.

Benefits of Aquacultureto the U.S.

CQ Weekly Article on Cotton Policy Sparks DebateThe CQ Weekly cover story on U.S. cot-

ton policy and the U.S. cotton industry issteeped in error, surprising bias, and falla-cy. The author used every tried and true tac-tic to distort the picture—from sentencestructure to carefully missing facts.

The Brazil WTO case was based on U.S.farm policy enacted in already-expiredfarm laws. The U.S. is already on a differ-ent page. U.S. cotton acreage and produc-tion have dramatically declined over thepast five years due to cotton supportchanges, Chinese market distortions, andmandated corn ethanol demand. The vastcotton fields of Mississippi have beenlargely replaced by vast corn fields.

The author’s attempt to link modern cot-ton with slavery is embarrassing to readand amazingly purposeful. The CQ hasretreated from an informational journal to asensationalist approach to federal policydiscussion.

From wrong-headed facts (overstatingaverage subsidies involved in the Brazilcase by $1.5 billion per year), to callousdisregard of facts and history (600,000 tex-tile jobs in the U.S. lost since 2000 as aresult of competition by child-labor-pro-

duced apparel products), to complete fabri-cation (West African cotton producers arenot, and have never been, a competitivethreat to U.S. cotton producers), to deliber-ate misstatement of facts (of the $829 mil-lion Brazil is authorized to retaliate, only$147 million is due to cotton subsidies), theauthor and the publisher have written anarticle designed to distort the policy debatewith respect to cotton. Of all the professedcotton experts who have written on theBrazil WTO case, only the CQ believes aone hectare West African cotton farm iscompetitively identical to a 10,000 acreBrazilian plantation—an assertion that isludicrous on its face.

When Congress, the Administration,and the U.S. cotton industry begin to con-sider new farm policy in the light of thenext farm bill, we are confident that debatewill not lose sight of the importance ofagriculture to America and the importanceof cotton to agriculture in the United States.Hopefully, by that time, the CongressionalQuarterly’s hatchet job on a huge portion ofrural America will just be white noise,indistinguishable from a string of one-sided, biased attacks on farm programs.

News NewsExcerpts from CQ WEEKLY - COVER STORYAug. 9, 2010 - Page 1918The Very Fabric of Farm PolicyBy Finlay Lewis, CQ Staff

A chance encounter in a Capitol hallway this spring between two ideological opposites may one day beseen as a pivotal moment in U.S. farm and trade policy. Barney Frank, the liberal Democratic stalwart fromMassachusetts, ran into Paul D. Ryan of Wisconsin, an influential young Republican with equally strong cre-dentials as a conservative. And by the time the two—who recognized each other as dedicated foes of mostagricultural assistance programs—parted company, they had agreed to press President Obama to lend astrong hand to overhauling farm subsidies and, in particular, to eliminating money for cotton farmers.

The focus on cotton was deliberate: Payments to U.S. cotton farmers aren’t only wasteful in the eyes ofthe two lawmakers, they also threaten to harm other American industries by sparking a retaliatory trade war.

Their concern was sparked by the response of the Obama administration to a World Trade Organizationdeclaration that cotton subsidies violate global trade rules. That judgment, based on a belief that subsidiesinduce excess production and depress world prices, harming producers in developing countries, came on acomplaint brought by Brazil against the United States. And it led to the likelihood that the South Americancountry would impose millions of dollars in retaliatory tariffs on U.S. exports if cotton subsidies weren't sig-nificantly altered or eliminated.

The WTO ruling has changed the debate, however, by setting up cotton as the focal point for a broadattack on all crop subsidies. Those paid to the growers of wheat, corn, soybeans and rice share character-istics with those paid to cotton farmers, and may likewise be subject to successful challenge that they dis-tort global trade. That raises the possibility that other players in the U.S. economy—manufacturers, serviceproviders, and those who own patents and other intellectual property—will join in the opposition to cropsubsidies to avoid widespread retaliatory sanctions against U.S. exports.

In the next year, as Congress reviews the role of the government in promoting agriculture, the chanceexists not only to alter the long-standing system of subsidies but also to revive stalled global trade talks,which are intended in part to spur economic development in impoverished regions, and to provide a boostto the goal of redirecting government fiscal policy and reducing growth of the federal debt. At the very least,that seems to be the hope of the four lawmakers and an array of allies on and off Capitol Hill.

The new U.S. 82 Bridge was dedicatedlast month with much fanfare. (Fromleft) Senator Roger Wicker, SenatorTrent Lott, Commissioner Dick Hall,and Commissioner Bill Minor wereamong the key principles celebratingthis new world-class bridge.

The Dedication of the U.S. 82 Bridge

During the summer of2010, the final EnvironmentalImpact Statement (EIS) ofInterstate 69 was distributed toall federal, state and localagencies for review, and aRecord of Decision (ROD)will be prepared and approved.This Record of Decision will,among other things, identifythe selected alternative (seeMDOT map), provide infor-mation on the alternatives con-sidered and address anysubstantive comments thatmay be received during thereview. Once the Record ofDecision has been approved, amajor landmark in the devel-opment of I-69 will have beenachieved and transportationofficials may then focus atten-tion on I-69 right of way andconstruction activities. Anoth-er significant step in theprocess of making this land-mark project a reality!

P.J. Waldrop (far left), and Daniel Ulmer (second from right) of Senator Thad Cochran’sWashington office, recently visited Standard Industrial Corporation in Clarksdale as the guest ofClarksdale-Coahoma County Industrial Foundation director Ron Hudson (third from right),Standard principals Steve Hayes (second from left) and Vance Hayes (far right).

Below is a response from National Cotton Council CEO Mark Lange to an article published in an August edition ofCongressional Quarterly. That article is excerpted to the right and you can go to Delta Council’s website for the entire article

4 | | September 2010ReviewThe Delta CouncilSeptember 2010 | | 5ReviewThe Delta CouncilPhotos

This September, scholar-

ship opportunities await high

school seniors in rice-growing

states as they head back to

school. The USA Rice Federa-

tion’s National Rice Month

scholarship contest, sponsored

by Dow AgroSciences, offers

$8,500 in total scholarship

awards.

The contest encourages eli-

gible students in Arkansas,

California, Louisiana, Missis-

sippi, Missouri, and Texas to

conduct a promotion activity

in September with U.S.-grown

rice as the central theme.

The grand prize is a $4,000

scholarship and a trip for the

grand-prize winner and a

chaperone to the 2010 USA

Rice Outlook Conference in

Biloxi, MS, for the award pre-

sentation on Dec. 9. The sec-

ond-place winner will receive

a $3,000 scholarship and the

third-place winner a $1,500

award.

Initiated by an act of Con-

gress in 1991, this September

marks the 20th annual Nation-

al Rice Month celebration

when America salutes its rice

farmers, millers and everyone

involved in the U.S. rice indus-

try.

For more information, tips

on planning NRM promotions

and a scholarship application,

visit www.usarice.com.

USA Rice ScholarshipsAwait This September

News

Pennington and Delta State President John Hilpert,who hosted the meeting in his conference room, spoketo the Officers about the successes and challengesfacing Delta State and higher education in the State ofMississippi.

Delta Council Vice Presidents Clay Adcock of HollyBluff and Buck Clarke of Hollandale at the Augustmeeting.

Delta Council Vice President Rodge Rodgers ofClarksdale and Delta Council President CassPennington.

More than 50 members of the Mississippi Economic Council’s Leadership MS class recentlyvisited the Delta as part of their education about different regions of the state. During their visit,they toured Stoneville, Greenville, and Indianola. They rotate their visits to other areas of theregion in alternating years.

From left to right: Henry Cote, Executive Director for the Yazoo EDD;Walley Naylor Division Director, Child Support Division, MDHS; LucienSmith, Counsel to Governor Barbour; Mayor McArthur Straughter; RobWells, CEO Young Williams Child Support Services; Cobie Collins,President Yazoo Board of Supervisors, cut the ribbon for the new YoungWilliams Call Center in Yazoo City. The company has invested fivemillion dollars and created 80 jobs. The company averages 120,000child-support related cases per month.

Delta Council Officers Meet

MEC Leadership MS Class Visits the Delta Delta Oil Mill Opening

Delta Oil Mill President Scott Middleton, Chairman of the Board CliffHeaton, and Greenwood Mayor Carolyn McAdams at Delta Oil Mill’srecent ribbon-cutting for their new facility in Greenwood purchased fromPYCO Industries.

Turner South network. Mississippi Magazine namedhim the state’s top chef in 2006 and 2007.

The rice luncheon promotes the importance of riceproduction in Mississippi. Last year the state’s riceproduction was valued at $214 million. Delta RicePromotions, Inc., is also involved with the promotion

of rice for the upcoming Rice Outlook Conferencethat will be held in December at Biloxi’s BeauRivage.

Luncheon tickets are $2 and will be sold at thedoor or may be purchased in advance throughout theDelta at Farm Bureau and Extension Service Offices.For more information, call the Bolivar County Exten-sion Office at (662) 843-8371.

LUNCHEON from page 1

The 2010 Annual Meeting of Delta F.A.R.M. will be heldat 10:30 a.m. on October 5th in the Delta Council/DeltaWildlife Conference Room, according to Delta F.A.R.M.Chairman Rob Coker of Yazoo City. Coker said he waspleased that Dr. Bill Walker, executive director of theMississippi Department of Marine Resources, will beserving as the guest speaker. Dr. Walker will discussvarious topics, including Gulf Hypoxia, the importanceof efforts in the Delta to reduce nutrient loading into theMississippi River, and the effects of the Deep WaterHorizon accident.

Walker to Headline DeltaF.A.R.M. Annual Meeting

Delta Council is working along withlocal law enforcement agencies andschool districts to implement anationally renowned drug preventionprogram called Drug AwarenessResistance Education (D.A.R.E. ®), inmiddle schools throughout the eigh-teen Mississippi Delta and part-Deltacounty region. This map depicts theprogress this program has accom-plished during the last two years. Ifyou have any questions, please con-tact the Delta Council D.A.R.E. staffat 662-686-3350.

Governor, Yazoo Attract Call Center

Walker