DATE:     9/25/02
CONTACT:  Dr. Don Manley, (843) 669-1912 (ext. 231);
          dmanley@clemson.edu
WRITER:   Tom Lollis, (803) 284-3343; tlollis@clemson.edu

Pee Dee REC will host kids
for Fall Agricultural Tours

     FLORENCE -- Clemson University's Pee Dee Research and Education
Center will open its doors to the area's school children for two weeks
of tours beginning Sept. 30.
     Don Manley, Clemson Extension entomologist and head of the tour
organizing committee, expects around 2,000 children in grades K-4 to
take part in the annual Fall Agricultural Tours. Students will come
from the counties of Florence, Darlington, Dillon, Chesterfield,
Marlboro, Williamsburg and Sumter.
     Hosted by Clemson and the South Carolina Farm Bureau, the tours
give children a chance to get better acquainted with agriculture and
the research done at the Pee Dee REC, according to Manley.
     Each tour will consist of a ride on a wagon pulled by a tractor
with stops where experts will explain how cotton, corn and peanuts are
grown and why those crops are important.
     Morning tours will be conducted twice a day Sept. 30-Oct. 4 and
Oct. 7-11. The first tour each day will be 9:15-10:45 and the second,
11:15-12:45.
     "Most students are several generations removed from the farm, but
agriculture is more important than ever to feed, clothe and shelter a
growing population," said Manley.
     He said the Pee Dee REC began hosting the tours in 1987. Since
1993, the Farm Bureau has provided staff to help with the program.
     Tours will depend on the weather, and if it rains one day, that
day's tours will be canceled.
                              END