Delta Center's Field Day a success despite rain threat

Trent Haggard, Delta Center director, talks with John Sadler of the U.S. Department of Agriculture's Agricultural Research Service. Scott Welton, Staff

PORTAGEVILLE -- High winds and cloudy skies weren't enough to put a damper on the Delta Center's Field Day Friday.

"It was a very good turnout," said Trent Haggard, director of the T.E. "Jake" Fisher Delta Research Center in Portageville. "The threat of rain did not keep them away."

Haggard estimated the turnout as being well over 500.

In addition to those, there were another 500 high school students at Field Day "'learning about career opportunities in agriculture," he said. "Agriculture doesn't just mean farming; there is a whole realm of opportunities for careers in the field."

While the stormy skies didn't stop the event from being well-attended, it was enough for organizers to move the four Field Tours scheduled for the event to their indoor schedule.

"At 7 a.m. this morning it was sprinkling with an impending threat of rain," Haggard explained. "And with the lightning, it was a bit of a safety issue so we moved it inside."

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