Backyard gardeners and small-farm owners can choose from 20 sessions on topics related to horticulture, landscaping, animal care, natural resources and more during the fourth annual Mid-MO Expo, scheduled 8:30 a.m.-3:30 p.m. Satruday at Muriel Battle High School, 7575 E. St. Charles Road in Columbia.
Among the offerings:
• Wildlife around your property can be beneficial, but what happens when critters are making a mess of things? University of Missouri Extension wildlife specialist Bob Pierce will explain effective techniques to control or prevent nuisance wildlife.
• The Missouri River explored by Lewis and Clark is vastly different from the river today. Mike Dickey, site administrator for the Arrow Rock Historic Site, will compare historical descriptions of the river to its condition now, after nearly 100 years of channelization and flood control projects.
• Roxie Campbell, naturalist at Rock Bridge Memorial State Park, will share tips to tackle bush honeysuckle and other unwelcome superweeds.
• MU Extension viticulturist Dean Volenberg will offer tips for successfully growing grapes. Learn how to select the right cultivar and then meet its planting, pruning and growing requirements.
• Missouri has more than 16,000 known sinkholes. Eric Lidholm, of Crockett Geotechnical Testing Lab, will talk about how sinkholes and caves affect construction projects in Missouri.
Other sessions will look at tomatoes, composting, pollinators, agritourism, rain barrels, drones and more, said Kent Shannon, MU Extension agricultural engineering specialist and one of the event organizers. A number of sessions have been approved as advanced training for the Boone’s Lick chapter of Missouri Master Naturalists.
The expo also will feature a silent auction, 4-H demonstrations, information booths and the Goats on the Go weed control service. The first 200 attendees will receive gift bags.
Registration costs $12 with lunch or $6 without lunch.
For more information and online registration, visit midmoexpo.com.