Expo set for Tuesday

The 22nd annual New Mexico Ag Expo is reaching out to modern farmers and ag producers.

The two-day event is set for Tuesday at the Roosevelt County Fairgrounds.

link Christina Calloway: Portales News-Tribune

Roosevelt County Chamber of Commerce Director Karl Terry, left, and Leroy Manzanares hang a sign Friday for the New Mexico Ag Expo. The two-day event begins Tuesday and includes workshops on horse training, paint mixing and healthy at-home cooking.

Roosevelt County Chamber of Commerce Director Karl Terry said there are several seminars that will appeal to the technology of farming, but the event will feature classics as well such as the antique tractor games.

Terry said there’s one seminar that will focus on the apps farms can use on their tablets and smartphones to manage their businesses.

Terry is also excited for a more advanced class in horse training called “Advancing the Green Horse.”

Terry said the last few years, the expo has focused on beginner workshops, such as starting your colt.

This seminar will feature Trevor Carter of Carter Ranch Horse in Farwell. Carter is part of a group of horse trainers on RFD-TV, a channel dedicated to rural communities and issues, and is a well-known name according to Terry.

“He’s trained with one of the greats, Pat Parelli,” Terry said. “(Parelli) is world famous.”

Roosevelt County Extension Home Economist Connie Moyers will also keep up with modern times, hosting a workshop featuring the trendy hobby of DIY (do-it-yourself) projects.

“It’s just so popular right now and everyone’s trying to learn how to do it and how to mix your own paints,” Moyers said. “It’s a timely thing that’s going on.”

The workshop will take place in the pavilion on the fairgrounds and features how to make wooden signs out of pallets, as well as furniture and home accessories.

Curry County Extension Home Economist Glenda Belcher will talk about paint techniques.

In addition to the DIY projects, Moyers will conduct her annual cooking class. This year’s topic is “Somewhat-Homemade Cooking.”

Moyers said the class will feature convenience foods such as canned goods, deli chicken, and refrigerated biscuits and teach how to turn them into quick, homemade meals.

“I think everyone is in a hurry these days and they want to have meals ready,” Moyers said. “They feel like they want to cook and want to control the nutrients in it yet they don’t want to spend all day the kitchen.”

The expo hosts vendors and most of the seminars will take place in the Jake Lopez Building.