Pest and field crop management update meetings set for 2018

Michigan State University Extension will host its flagship Pest and Crop Management Update Meetings in January 2018.

Field crop producers and agribusiness professionals are invited to attend the 2018 Pest and Crop Management Update Meetings hosted by Michigan State University Extension. Each meeting will feature presentations by several state specialists on a variety of topics important to agriculture, including:

  • Bt failures (Christina DiFonzo, MSU Extension field crop entomologist)
  • White mold of soybean and stripe rust of wheat (Martin Chilvers, MSU Extension plant pathologist)
  • 2017 SMaRT soybean on-farm research results (Mike Staton, MSU Extension soybean educator)
  • Market outlook for 2018 (Jim Hilker, MSU Extension professor of economics)
  • Controlling herbicide resistant/troublesome weeds, weed control guide update (Christy Sprague and Erin Burns, MSU Extension weed management specialists)
  • Mycotoxins in corn grain and silage and soybean management across planting dates (Maninder Singh, MSU cropping systems agronomist)
  • Research updates in soybean, corn and wheat cropping systems (Kurt Steinke, MSU Soil fertility specialist)

Each meeting begins at 8:30 a.m. and ends by 3:30 p.m. EST except for the Dundee location, which will run from 9a.m. to 4 p.m. The registration fee is $30 per person, which includes the cost of lunch, refreshments and the “2018 MSU Weed Control Guide for Field Crops and Forages.” Attendees will be able to earn six Michigan pesticide applicator recertification credits and six Certified Crop Advisor credits.

Register online at 2018 Pest and Crop Management Update Meetings. To register over the phone, call the Van Buren County MSU Extension office at 269-657-8213 or the St. Joseph County MSU Extension office at 269-467-5511.

Meeting dates and locations include:

  • Jan. 11 – Emerald Golf Course, 2300 W. Maple Rapids Road, St. Johns, MI 48879
  • Jan. 12 – Sanilac Career Center, 175 E. Aiken Road, Peck, MI 48466
  • Jan. 15 – Dowagiac Conservation Club, 54551 M-51 North, Dowagiac, MI 49047
  • Jan. 19 – Saginaw Valley Research & Extension Center, 3775 S. Reese Road, Frankenmuth, MI 48734
  • Jan. 23 – Cabela’s, 110 Cabela’s Blvd. East, Dundee, MI 48131
  • Jan. 25 – Alpena Community College, 665 Johnson Street, Alpena, MI 49070

For those not able to travel to one of these locations, the MSU Extension field crops team is making a similar program available via a weekly online webinar series. The 2018 Field Crops Webinar Series will run on Mondays from 7– 8 p.m. EST from Feb. 19 through the end of March. Registration is $20 for the full series of six webinars or $5 per individual webinar session. Register online at 2018 Field Crops Webinar Series. You can also contact MSU Extension educator James DeDecker at 989-734-2168 or dedecke5@msu.edu for more information.

Did you find this article useful?