Caprock Crop Production Conference set Jan. 24 in Floyd County

2020 marks 27th year of landmark event

The Texas A&M AgriLife Extension Service will hold the Caprock Crop Production Conference for Crosby and Floyd counties on Jan. 24 in Floyd County. The event will take place at the Floyd County Friends Unity Center at 990 Farm-to-Market Road 786 in Lockney.

The cost is $40 if registered by Jan. 17 or $50 at the door. Contact Mark Carroll, AgriLife Extension agent for Floyd County, at 806-983-4912, or Caitlin Jackson, AgriLife Extension agent for Crosby County, at 806-675-2347 to register.

The event will start at 7 a.m. with registration, coffee and donuts. The speakers will begin at 8 a.m. and the program will run until 5 p.m. There will be agriculture exhibits and country artist Jordan Robert Kirk will emcee.

“The Caprock was the first crops conference on the South Plains and continues to be the most successful, best attended high-quality educational program for agricultural producers from Crosby, Floyd and surrounding counties,”  Jackson said. 

There will be seven Texas Department of Agriculture continuing education units available: four general, one integrated pest management, one drift and one laws and regulations.

“This annual event is one that folks return to time and time again,” said Carroll. “This year’s lineup of experts is outstanding and truly offers something for everyone in ag production.”

Topics and speakers will include: 
— Agriculture law update – Tiffany Dowell Lashmet, J.D., AgriLife Extension agricultural law specialist, Amarillo. 

— Cover crops and young farmer programs – U.S. Department of Agriculture Natural Resources Conservation Service representative.

— Integrated pest management update – Kerry Siders, AgriLife Extension integrated pest management agent, Levelland.

— Crop market outlook – Justin Benavidez, Ph.D., AgriLife Extension economist, Amarillo.

— Irrigation safety – Kevin Heflin, Ph.D., AgriLife Extension program specialist – agronomy, Amarillo. 

— Drift minimization – Jacob Reed, BASF Chemicals senior field biologist, Lubbock.

— Weed management strategies – Peter Dotray, Ph.D., AgriLife Extension weed specialist, Lubbock.

— Diseases affecting cotton and corn producers – Terry Wheeler, Ph.D., AgriLife Extension plant pathologist, Lubbock.

— The future of agriculture –  Lance Kieth, Ph.D., West Texas A&M University department head, agricultural education, Amarillo. 

“This is the 27th year for the Caprock Crop Production Conference, and we are excited for a fantastic lineup of education, fellowship, food and door prizes,” Jackson said.

Plains Land Bank and Vista Bank will be sponsoring the food and providing door prizes, which will include an iPad and a rifle.

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