08/08/2003

November Conference to Focus on Rural Land Use Issues

AUBURN, Ala. — Current and future land use issues in rural Alabama will be the focus of the Auburn University College of Agriculture’s second annual Butler/Cunningham Conference on Agriculture and the Environment Nov. 3-4 in Montgomery.

The conference, “Trends and Opportunities for Rural Land Use,” will outline the history and current status of rural land use, examine the new dynamics of rural property values and ownership, consider issues causing conflicts and political debates, and discuss opportunities for productive and sustainable use of rural land in Alabama.

Claude Boyd, an Auburn fisheries professor and the current Butler/Cunningham Eminent Scholar of Agriculture and the Environment, said the event is designed to give city and county officials, planning and zoning regulators, economic development planners, business and industry representatives, farmers, environmentalists, rural landowners and private citizens valuable insights that should lead to productive and sustainable use of rural land in Alabama.

The Butler/Cunningham conference series is funded through an endowment to AU’s College of Agriculture by the late Eugene Butler, a pioneer editor of Progressive Farmer magazine, and the late Emory Cunningham, founder of Southern Living and a long-time president of Southern Progress Corp, which published Progressive Farmer and Southern Living. The conference was established to address issues related to agriculture and forestry, the environment, and rural life in Alabama. The first conference, held in 2002 in Birmingham, examined the status of Alabama agriculture.

The 2003 conference will be held at the Embassy Suites in downtown Montgomery. The registration fee of $95 for regular participants and $50 for students includes two breakfasts, two lunches and refreshments at all breaks. For more information on the conference, call June Burns or Claude Boyd at 334-844-4078, email Boyd at ceboyd@acesag.auburn.edu , or visit the Butler/Cunningham Web site at www.ag.auburn.edu/BC.

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News from:

Office of Ag Communications & Marketing

Auburn University College of Agriculture
Alabama Agricultural Experiment Station
3 Comer Hall, Auburn University
Auburn, AL 36849
334-844-4877 (PHONE) 334-844-5892 (FAX)

Contact Jamie Creamer, 334-844-2783 or jcreamer@auburn.edu

08/08/03

For immediate release