64th Blackland Income Growth Conference set on Jan. 6-7 in Waco
Conference held in conjunction with Mid-Tex Farm and Ranch Show
The 64th Blackland Income Growth Conference, sponsored by the Texas A&M AgriLife Extension Service, is slated for Jan. 6-7 in Waco.
The two-day event will take place at the BASE at Extraco Events Center, 4601 Bosque Blvd., Waco.
Todd Baughman, Ph.D., AgriLife Extension agronomist and director of the Texas A&M AgriLife Research and Extension Center at Lubbock, will be the keynote speaker during the Jan. 6 luncheon.
Registration, schedule
The Jan. 6 program begins at 8 a.m. with registration and will conclude at 4:45 p.m. Cost is $25, payable at the door, and includes lunch.
A recertification and private applicator training course will be held on Jan. 7. The cost is $65 and includes lunch. Registration is required by calling the AgriLife Extension office for McLennan County at 254-757-5180 by Jan. 2.
Fourteen Texas Department of Agriculture continuing education units will be offered over the two days. A full list of sessions, speakers and continuing education units is available at https://tx.ag/BlacklandIGC.
Sessions, speakers
Sessions covering beef and forage, cotton and grain, and landowner management are scheduled for Jan. 6.
The beef and forage session will feature:
- Beef cattle market update and outlook, David Anderson, Ph.D., AgriLife Extension economist and professor, Texas A&M Department of Agricultural Economics, Bryan-College Station.
- Management strategies for New World screwworms -panel discussion, Ryan Brockenbush, regional manager, Texas Animal Health Commission, Giddings; Thomas Hairgrove, DVM, Ph.D., AgriLife Extension veterinary specialist and professor, Department of Animal Science, Bryan-College Station; and Ron Gill, Ph.D., AgriLife Extension livestock specialist and professor, Department of Animal Science, Chico.
- What factors influence nutritive hay values, Vanessa Corriher-Olson, Ph.D., AgriLife Extension forage specialist and professor, Department of Soil and Crop Sciences, Overton.
- Drone technology and application, Justin Hale, operations director, Ignition Land Services, Joshua.
- Herbicide selection and industry update, Zach Howard, AgriLife Extension program specialist, Department of Soil and Crop Sciences, Bryan-College Station.
The cotton and grain session will feature:
- Auxin-specific training for Texas, Scott Nolte, Ph.D., AgriLife Extension state weed specialist and associate professor, Department of Soil and Crop Sciences, Bryan-College Station.
- Traits in crops: From the beginning till now, David Kerns, Ph.D., AgriLife Extension entomologist and associate department head, Department of Entomology, Bryan-College Station.
- Weed management in cropping systems, Nolte.
- Farm policy update, The Agricultural and Food Policy Center at Texas A&M University.
- Crop rotation considerations, Ronnie Schnell, Ph.D., AgriLife Extension state cropping systems specialist and professor, Department of Soil and Crop Sciences, Bryan-College Station.
The landowner management sessions will feature:
- Hunting hogs in Texas: What to know before you go, Dayton Issacs, Texas Parks and Wildlife game warden, Clifton.
- Feral hog management in Texas, Jay Long, Texas A&M Natural Resources Institute project coordinator, Bryan-College Station.
- Feral hog trapping demo, Long.
The Mid-Tex Farm and Ranch Show, featuring vendors and farm and ranch equipment, is free and open to the public. Show times are 8 a.m. to 6:30 p.m. Jan. 6 and 8 a.m. to 4 p.m. Jan. 7.
