The multi-county Northwest Panhandle Ag Conference is moving to an online platform. The Texas A&M AgriLife Extension Service will host a morning program Jan. 20 for producers in Moore and Sherman counties, and Jan. 28 for producers in Dallam and Hartley counties.
The programs are free, with sponsorship by Capital Farm Credit; however, all participants must preregister by calling the AgriLife Extension office in Sherman County, 806-366-2081; Moore County at 806-935-2594; or Dallam County at 806-244-4434.
Registrants must provide a phone number, email or physical mailing address, their Texas Department of Agriculture pesticide license number for continuing education units, and identify the county or counties in which they principally operate.
A link will be sent to all registrants for the Zoom meeting before each event. Once registered, participants may attend either or both meetings to meet their schedules.
Both programs will run from 8:30 a.m. to about noon, with each speaker presenting for 10-15 minutes. Two Texas Department of Agriculture continuing education units – one general, one integrated pest management – will be provided at each meeting.
Coordinating the events are Dennis Coker, Ph.D., AgriLife Extension agronomy agent for Dallam, Sherman, Moore and Hartley counties; Marcel Fischbacher, AgriLife Extension agriculture and natural resources agent, Moore County; and Mike Bragg, AgriLife Extension agriculture and natural resources agent for Dallam and Hartley counties.
Jan. 20 – Challenges and Opportunities: Cotton, Cover Crops, Spider Mites and Forages
- Influence of planting date on cotton yield/quality, and managing for earliness. How does seed quality connect with cold germination and seed size? Murilo Maeda, Ph.D., cotton specialist, Lubbock.
- Emerging concerns with diseases of cotton in the NW Panhandle, Ken Obasa, Ph.D., plant pathologist, Amarillo.
- What do we know or not know about matching varieties to irrigation capacities? Issues with Replicated Agronomic Cotton Evaluation, RACE, studies and overview of 2020 RACE study at Etter, Jourdan Bell, Ph.D., agronomist, Amarillo.
- Economics, market outlook, and operational challenges for cotton production, Justin Benavidez, Ph.D., economist, Amarillo.
- Challenges with thrips and other insect pests of cotton in the northwest Panhandle, Kerry Siders, integrated pest management agent, Hockley, Cochran and Lamb counties.
- Effective and efficient use of harvest aids for cotton production in the northwest Panhandle, John Thobe, integrated pest management agent for Bailey, Castro and Parmer counties.
- Timing of application and use efficiency of modern cotton varieties as related to nutrient uptake and partitioning, Katie Lewis, Ph.D., soil chemistry and fertility specialist, Lubbock.
- Cover crops: timing of planting, monoculture and specie blends research in the northwest Panhandle, and influence on managing water and nutrient dynamics during the summer cropping season, Bell.
- Dynamics of spider mite control in the northwest Panhandle-grown corn with reference to red spider mites. Assessment of the need for on-farm studies, Blayne Reed, integrated pest management agent, Hale, Swisher and Floyd counties.
- Harvest timing, yield tonnage dynamics and nutritional value of wheat silage: What we have learned from local studies thus far, Bragg.
- Consideration of yield and quality of locally grown forages suited for dairy livestock consumption, Juan Pineiro, Ph.D., dairy specialist, Amarillo.
Jan. 28 – Challenges and Opportunities: Cotton, Cover Crops and Forages
- Influence of planting date on cotton yield, quality, and managing for earliness. How does seed quality connect with cold germination and seed size? Maeda.
- Emerging concerns with diseases of cotton in the northwest Panhandle, Obasa.
- Timing of application and use efficiency of modern cotton varieties as related to nutrient uptake and partitioning, Lewis.
- Earlier versus later applications of nitrogen on cotton following a cover crop or heavy residue results in increased yield, Lewis.
- Economics, market outlook, and operational Challenges for Cotton Production, Benavidez.
- Challenges with thrips and other insect pests of cotton in the northwest Panhandle, Suhas Vyavhare, Ph.D., entomologist, Lubbock.
- Effective and efficient use of harvest aids for cotton production in the northwest Panhandle, Thobe.
- Utilization of current herbicide technologies to manage weed pressure in northwest Panhandle grown cotton, corn, sorghum and wheat. Kevin Heflin, Ph.D., program specialist-agronomy, Amarillo.
- Consideration of yield and quality of locally grown forages suited for dairy livestock consumption, Pineiro.
- Harvest timing, yield tonnage dynamics and nutritional value of wheat silage: What have we learned from local studies thus far? Bragg.
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