Harold Payne, general manager of Fort McDowell Tribal Farm, will be the speaker at tonight’s River of Time Museum dinner in the Community Center.

Reservations are not required. Cocktails begin at 6 p.m., followed by dinner at 6:30 p.m. The cost is $20 for members and $25 for non-members.

Payne supervises 325 acres of citrus, 1,000 acres of pecans, 340 acres of barley and 300 acres of alfalfa.

Among his responsibilities are preparing crop management plans, preparing budgets and business plans, supervising daily operations of the ranch, marketing crops, and keeping the tribal administration informed on the status of farming operations.

The farm diverts irrigation water from the Verde River as needed. Irrigation systems in operation include micro sprayer systems in the orchards and level basin flood systems on the field crop lands.

The 15 million pounds of crops produced annually are sold both locally and internationally.

The topic for the April 19 dinner will be “Springtime in the Desert” by Lisa Miller. Reservations are highly recommended and can be made online at rotmuseum.org.