Virtual South Texas Agriculture Symposium set for April 29

The Texas A&M AgriLife Extension Service will host the South Texas Agriculture Symposium virtual workshop on April 29. 

The event will be livestreamed at the AgriLife Extension office in Bexar County, 3355 Cherry Ridge, Suite 208, San Antonio. Registration begins at 8 a.m., with the program slated for 8:30 a.m. to 12:30 p.m. The event is hosted by the AgriLife Extension specialists based in South Texas. 

The cost, which includes lunch, is $15 and payable by cash or check to the Bexar Ag/NR Committee. To register, contact Kennedy Green at 210-631-0400 or [email protected]. The deadline to RSVP is April 22. 

Two general Texas Department of Agriculture continuing education units will be available for pesticide applicators. 

Symposium topics and speakers

The half-day event offers valuable knowledge for farmers, ranchers and agricultural enthusiasts. Each presentation will be 15 minutes in length. 

• Small acreage opportunities, Liz Tidwell, AgriLife Extension small acreage wildlife program specialist, Texas A&M Department of Rangeland, Wildlife and Fisheries Management, Uvalde. 
• The relevance of income diversification in farm production, Yuri Calil, Ph.D., AgriLife Extension economist at the Texas A&M AgriLife Research and Extension Center, Corpus Christi, and assistant professor, Department of Agricultural Economics..
• Parasite control in goats and sheep, Jake Thorne, Ph.D., AgriLife Extension sheep and goat program specialist and assistant professor, Department of Animal Science, San Angelo.
• Knowing your plants: Creating a farm/ranch herbarium, Stacy Hines, Ph.D., AgriLife Extension rangeland habitat management specialist and assistant professor, Department of Rangeland, Wildlife and Fisheries Management, Corpus Christi. 
• Managing to maximize rainfall infiltration, Megan Clayton, Ph.D., AgriLife Extension range specialist and professor, Department of Rangeland, Wildlife and Fisheries Management, Uvalde. 
• Things to watch out for with generic herbicides, Josh McGinty, Ph.D., AgriLife Extension agronomist and assistant professor, Department of Soil and Crop Sciences. 
• Increasing your cow herd’s profitability with a controlled breeding season, Karl Harborth, Ph.D., AgriLife Extension livestock specialist and assistant professor, Department of Animal Science, Corpus Christi. 
• What mineral supplement(s) does my cowherd need? Harborth.
• Vultures: Love them or hate them, Tidwell.
• Using drones on ranches, Clayton.
• What’s that fungus? Kim Cochran, Ph.D., AgriLife Extension plant pathologist and assistant professor, Department of Plant Pathology and Microbiology, Uvalde. 
• The challenges of growing citrus, Larry Stein, Ph.D., AgriLife Extension horticulture specialist and professor, Department of Horticultural Sciences, Uvalde. 
• The corn-leaf hopper, Jose Santiago Gonzales, Ph.D., AgriLife Extension entomologist and assistant professor, Department of Entomology, Corpus Christi. 
• The economics of grain storage decisions, Calil.
• Watering and fertilizing fruit trees, Stein.