Sunday, July 23rd
Conference attendees can begin picking up their registration packets after 3:30 p.m. in the lobby of the Anheuser Busch Natural Resources (ABNR) building (1111 East Rollins Street). Likewise, easels will be available to set up posters and tables for displays and exhibits in the ABNR 123 or the lobby. The NNGA will hold their annual Board of Directors meeting starting at 9:00 a.m. in ABNR 210. The Walnut Council Foundation and Walnut Council will hold their Board of Directors meeting at the Hampton Inn & Suites Columbia at the University of Missouri, 1225 Fellows Place (not the Hampton Inn on 3410 Clark Lane). The Chestnut Growers of America will hold their Board of Directors meeting at 4:00 p.m. in ABNR 210.
A welcome reception with hors d’oeuvres will be held that evening in the ABNR reading room and lobby from 5:00 – 7:00 p.m. The cost of the reception is included in the full and companion registration fee. Following the reception, a poster session will be held from 6:00 to 7:00 p.m. with most presenters by their posters. The member-sharing Show & Tell will follow the reception in ABNR Conservation Hall with 10 minute or less “lightning talks” from 7:10 – 8:30 p.m. This ever-popular event will include presentations from individuals who want to introduce themselves, who have built or tried new equipment or techniques, promising selections or cultivars, had some recent successes or failures.
Monday, July 24th
For most of the attendees, Monday will be an all-day field trip to the Horticulture and Agroforestry Research Farm (HARF; visit moaes.missouri.edu/central-missouriresearch-extension-and-education-center/horticulture-andagroforestry-research-farm for more information) from 8:45 a.m. to 4:30 p.m. Field tours will include the repositories, progeny, and cultivar trials for chestnut, hazelnut, black walnut, and northern pecan; demonstrations of equipment; and how-to videos on grafting and podcasts around the haybarn (pavilion).
Attendees will be asked to carpool or drive their own vehicles to HARF (approximately 45 minutes or 25 miles one-way from campus). There is plenty of parking around the haybarn. A staggered lunch will be served in the pavilion with those going to the alternate timber management field tour served first.
An alternate half day timber management field tour to a nearby woodlands is planned for Monday afternoon for those more interested in forest management than tree improvement and orchard management. Planned topics include controlling invasive species, alternative vegetation to grass, small log utilization, thinning, and an equipment display, including a small sawmill.
Dinner will be on your own coming back from HARF.
Check out the visitcolumbiamo.com website for list of restaurants in Columbia for a quick meal before the start of the evening session at 7:00 p.m.

Monday evening, we will be back on campus. A second poster session is planned from 7:00 to 7:30 p.m. A live auction will follow the poster session starting at 7:30 p.m. All are welcome to attend – bring your checkbook, cash, or credit card! In the past, auction items have included artwork, handmade donations, plant material, nut products, baked goods, and/or gift certificates. Please consider donating items to the live or silent auction regardless of which organization you belong to. If you are an exhibitor, this is an excellent way to advertise your products. Donation forms will be available to indicate whether you prefer silent or live auction and what organization’s research program should benefit from the proceeds. If you donate baked goods, please label your treats as to whether they are nut, dairy, or gluten free.
Tuesday, July 25th
The NNGA and WC will have short business meetings from 7:45 to 8:15 a.m. to set up or complete voting for new officers, directors, committee chairs, or representatives. Coffee will be available in the ABNR lobby before the technical sessions begin.
Tuesday will be the first day of technical presentations starting at 8:20 a.m. and running until 4:50 p.m. The planning committee received an overwhelming response to our call for presentations, so Tuesday’s program will have concurrent sessions with 20-minute talks. One session in Conservation Hall will focus on various aspects of growing and marketing chestnut, hazelnut, pawpaw, persimmon, and pecan. The alternative concurrent session in the Agriculture Sciences Building (700 Hitt Street) will focus more on forest/timber management topics. Both meeting rooms are newly designated as ‘Zoom rooms’ that will allow virtual registration for the keynote and technical presentations for this meeting. A box lunch is included in each full registration.
The silent auction in ABNR 123 will close at the end of the afternoon break. Successful bidders can pay and pick up their items after the last presentations. On Tuesday evening, we will set up for a group photo at 6:30 p.m. in front of the Brewer Field House (1000 Rollins Street) during the cash-bar social from 6:15 to 7:00 p.m. inside the Field House. The annual banquet will start at 7:00 p.m. in the Field House. The cost of the banquet is included in the full and companion registration to encourage everyone to attend.
After we eat, we will have the conference keynote presentation by Shawn Mehlenbacher starting around 8:00 p.m. After the keynote, we will give each organization a little time to entertain us with selection of the new Big Nut, presentation of awards, roll call of states, and announcing results of their annual elections. Wednesday, July 26th Wednesday morning, we will continue with technical presentations in ABNR Conservation Hall on topics we believe will be of interest to members of all hosting organizations. We will ask attendees with poster presentations to leave the posters up for the morning as a concurrent activity to the technical session.