The Alabama Cooperative Extension System is working with Auburn University’s Department of Crop, Soil and Environmental Sciences to bring Alabama farmers the Row Crops Short Course. It will be held at the Auburn University Hotel and Dixon Conference Center in Auburn, Alabama, Dec. 12-13. The general session begins each morning at 8:30.
More Crops On The Roster
Previously, Alabama Extension faculty and agents brought producers the corn and wheat short course. However, this year, faculty and specialists are working across production lines to provide farmers with the latest research and information.
Dr. Brenda Ortiz, an Alabama Extension precision agriculture specialist, says the short course will be packed with information producers can implement on their operations.
“In past years, Alabama Extension put on the corn and wheat short course,” she says. “In an effort to better serve the producers in Alabama, we have added information on peanuts, soybeans, sesame and cotton. There will also be an update on cotton policy and the Farm Bill.”
Ortiz says sessions will run concurrently, so farmers can attend presentations that best fit their operations.
Wide Variety Of Speakers
The Row Crop Short Course will feature speakers from the University of Georgia, Mississippi State University, Auburn University, the University of Florida, North Carolina State University and Clemson University. Other speakers include representatives from the U.S. Department of Agriculture-Agricultural Research Service, the United Soybean Board, Cotton Incorporated, Bunge North America, the National Cotton Council and the Alabama Soil and Water Conservation Committee.
Alabama Extension cotton specialist Dr. Trey Cutts, says he and his colleagues have worked hard to bring in speakers who are leaders in their fields from around the region and country.
“Much of the work that our colleagues in other states conduct is also very valuable to Alabama growers, and this short course is the opportunity to hear from and interact with these professionals right here in Auburn,” says Cutts, an assistant professor in Auburn University’s Department of Crop, Soil and Environmental Sciences. “This course also creates an environment for peers in the row crop industry to learn from one another to benefit farming in Alabama.”
Short Course Topics
The Row Crops Short Course will include presentations on policy and environment, peanuts, weed management/fertilization/water use, cotton, soybeans, corn, wheat and sesame. Here is a sampling of some specific topics that will be discussed.
Policy and Environment
• Alabama Water Policy (William Puckett)
• Cotton Policy and the Next Farm Bill (Reece Langley)
• The Uneven Journey of Supply and Demand (Jody Lefcourt)
• Neonicotinoid Pesticides and Bees: More Questions Than Answers (Geoffrey Williams)
Weed Management/Fertilization/Water Use
• Weed Management Systems in the Age of Auxin Technology (Stanley Culpepper)
• Strategies to Improve Water-Use Effi-ciency for Southeastern Crops (Diane Rowland)
• Economics of Cover Crops in Alabama (Leah Duzy)
Cotton
• Update on the Cotton Industry Efforts for Increasing Sustainability (Ed Barnes)
• Managing Cotton Production Inputs for the Bottom Line (Darrin Dodds)
• Fertilizing Cotton by Yield Goal – Fact or Fiction (Glenn Harris)
• Mitigating Bollworm Resistance in Cotton: New Traits or New Management? (Dominic Reisig)
Registration Required
Continuing education units and pesticide points will be available for all attendees. Go to http://bit.ly/2w861Ah to register for the Row Crops Short Course. There is no fee, but registration by Nov. 30 is required. To learn more, email Brenda Ortiz at bortiz@auburn.edu or Trey Cutts at Trey.Cutts@auburn.edu.
The Alabama Cooperative Extension System provided information for this article.