The Texas A&M AgriLife Extension Service will be hosting the East Region AgriLife Conference and Expo on Jan. 5 in Tyler.

Ant on a leaf. Participants at the East Region AgriLife Conference and Expo will learn how to identify pests during one of the sessions.
Participants at the East Region AgriLife Conference and Expo on Jan. 5 will be able to learn how to identify pests during one of the sessions. (Texas A&M AgriLife photo by Michael Miller)

The conference will be held from 8 a.m.-3:15 p.m. at the W.T. Brookshire Conference Center, 2000 W. Front St., with on-site registration beginning at 7:15 a.m. Cost is $10 per person if registered online at https://tx.ag/EastRegionAgriLifeConf or $20 if registering on-site. Cash, checks and credit cards will be accepted at the door.

The event is presented by AgriLife Extension offices in Anderson, Cherokee, Gregg, Harrison, Henderson, Kaufman, Marion, Panola, Rains, Rusk, Smith, Upshur, Van Zandt and Wood counties.

Five Texas Department of Agriculture continuing education units will be available, including two general, one laws and regulations, and two integrated pest management. Six structural pest control service continuing education units will also be available, including one termite, one pest, two general, one lawn and ornamental, and one weed.

Lunch will be provided, and vendors will be available throughout the event.

Registration begins at 7:30 a.m. with the structural pest control service section beginning at 8 a.m. and the private, commercial and non-commercial applicators section beginning at 8:30 a.m.

On the agenda

Topics and speakers for agriculture pesticide applicators:

  • Integrated pest management strategies for growing warm season forages in East Texas – Vanessa Corriher-Olson, Ph.D., AgriLife Extension forage specialist and professor in the Department of Soil and Crop Sciences, Overton.
  • Implementation of integrated pest management strategies in conjunction with pesticide modes of action – Mark Matocha, Ph.D., AgriLife Extension agricultural and environmental safety specialist, AgriLife Extension Agricultural and Environmental Safety Unit, Bryan-College Station.
  • Feral hog toxicants – John Tomeček, Ph.D., AgriLife Extension wildlife specialist and professor in the Department of Rangeland, Wildlife and Fisheries Management, Bryan-College Station.
  • Toxic plant identification and control in pastures – Barron Rector, Ph.D., AgriLife Extension range specialist and associate professor in the Department of Rangeland, Wildlife and Fisheries Management, Bryan-College Station.
  • Picolinic acid training – Rob Brooks, Envu range and pasture specialist, Beaumont, and Clint Perkins, AgriLife Extension agriculture and natural resources agent in Smith County.

Topics and speakers for the structural licensing:

  • Termite identification and control – Janet Hurley, AgriLife Extension senior integrated pest management program specialist, Dallas.
  • Pest identification and control – Bryant McDowell, AgriLife Extension urban integrated management program specialist, Dallas.
  • Protecting pollinators: Read the label first – Hurley.
  • Weed identification and control – Perkins.
  • Laws and regulations updates – Matocha.
  • Lawn and ornamental – Greg Grant, AgriLife Extension horticulture agent, Smith County.

For more information, contact the AgriLife Extension office in Smith County at 903-590-2980.

Print Friendly, PDF & Email