WASHINGTON, Aug. 16, 2006-U.S. Department of Agriculture's Agricultural Air Quality Task Force will hold a meeting Aug. 30-31 in Harrisburg, Pa. to discuss current issues facing agriculture and the potential impacts to air quality from agricultural operations.

The meeting will be held at the Harrisburg Hilton Hotel, One North Second Street, Harrisburg, Pa. It is open to the public and USDA will allow each speaker up to five minutes for an oral presentation. Written comments also will be accepted.

"This task force has worked tirelessly to raise awareness of the importance of air quality issues," said Merlyn Carlson, USDA's Deputy Under Secretary for Natural Resources and Environment. "Task force members are very interested in hearing from the public about air quality issues and innovative solutions to address them." Carlson will chair the August meeting.

The Agricultural Air Quality Task Force advises the Secretary of Agriculture on agricultural air quality issues. Its mandate is to strengthen and coordinate USDA's air quality research efforts and identify cost-effective ways to help the agriculture industry to improve air quality and meet federal and local air quality emissions requirements.

Producers, academics, industry representatives and other experts in agriculture and air quality comprise the task force. Representatives from various USDA agencies-Natural Resources Conservation Service, Forest Service, Economic Research Service, Agricultural Research Service and Cooperative State Research, Education, and Extension Service-also participate on the task force.

Additional information about the Agricultural Air Quality Task Force can be found at http://www.airquality.nrcs.usda.gov/AAQTF or by contacting Diane Gelburd, NRCS Designated Federal Officer at 202-720-2587 or e-mail diane.gelburd@wdc.usda.gov.