CHAMBER PLANS AGRI-BUSINESS TOUR FOR AUGUST

JACKSON -- Friday is the deadline to sign up for the annual Agri-Business Tour scheduled for Aug. 17.

The Jackson Chamber of Commerce, in cooperation with Cape Girardeau County Pork Producers and the SEMO Cattlemen's Association, are sponsoring the tour. There is no charge for this year's event, but advance reservations are required. Call the chamber office, 243-8131, to sign up.

Participants will meet at Jackson High School's gymnasium to begin boarding buses between 8:30 and 8:45 a.m. Buses will depart at 9 a.m.

This year's tour will include visits to Associated Sheet Metal, Knaup Greenhouse and Unistar Inc. in the morning and Fruitland Dressed Meat, Rapco Inc. and VIP Industries in the afternoon. Lunch will be provided at Flickerwood Arena.

Darrell Aufdenberg, chairman of the chamber's Agri-Business Committee, said the tour focuses on a different aspects of agriculture and related business and industry each year.

"We rotate one year to the next," he said. "This year we're staying more with the ag-related business. Next year, we'll probably do some farm visits."

Agriculture in the area is "pretty diversified," Aufdenberg said. "There's row crops, there's beef cattle, there's hog producers. A little bit of everything."

The tour will give people a look inside the industries, he said.

"We'll be touring the businesses and they'll be showing us what they do and probably how they do it," he said.