Penn State Extension's Crop Management Team will host two highly-informative field clinics on Thursday, July 26 and Friday, July 27 at the PSU Agronomy Research Farm near Rock Springs. But for a $20 registration price break, you'll need to register online by Thursday – July 19. Details follow.
The clinics run from 9 a.m. to 4:30 p.m., and are identical each day. They're designed to sharpen agronomic management skills of producers, plus industry personnel and crop consultants, says Dwight Lingenfelter, Penn State Extension weed specialist.
Topics involve hands-on diagnosis training in crop production, using precision ag tools, pest management, soil fertility, and soil and water conservation issues that are unique to the Northeast. Up to five Crop consultant credits and pesticide applicator license credits can be obtained. Here's a quick look of each training session:
VARIETY TRIALS GET EASIER: Penn State Corn Agronomist Greg Roth will share tips on using precision ag tools for on-farm field trials.
- Precision-ag variety trials: Innovative precision ag technologies make on-farm field trials much easier and faster. Agronomists Greg Roth and Doug Beegle will lead demonstrations of the tools, plus discuss how their power for making product comparisons compares to conventional techniques.
- Seed corn tech's value: Entomologist John Tooker will evaluate the benefits of Bt and insecticidal seed treatments under current Pennsylvania pest populations. He'll also address risks posed by some of these technologies to non-target species, including honey bees.
- Repairing severely damaged soils: This is a huge topic considering soil compaction caused by manure spreaders, grain and silage harvesting; soils impacted by flooding along streams; and soil disturbed in the construction of natural gas lines and drilling pads. Soils Agronomists Sjoerd Duiker and Rick Stehouwer will explore ways to deal with them.
- Get a grip on herbicide-resistant weeds: This is a great concern especially as more species are becoming herbicide resistant. Weed Specialist Bill Curran will focus weed lifecycles and the importance of selecting an appropriate management program. Weeds exposed in this limelight include palmer amaranth, aster, goosefoot, morningglory, and nightshade families.
- Optimizing legume and Rhizobia symbiosis: It saves Pennsylvania farmers about $50 million a year in nitrogen fertilizer and feed protein costs, notes Forage Agronomist Marvin Hall. He'll cover key environmental and management factors affecting nodulation and the N-fixing process.
How to register
A $75 registration fee per person covers lunch, refreshments, and support materials.
The registration fee jumps to $95 for reservations made after July 19.
To register on-line, visit: http://cropsoil.psu.edu/extension/clinic . Credit card payments will be accepted.