Crops Management Clinic Scheduled
By KELLY HECKAMAN
Extension Educator, Purdue Extension, Kosciusko County
WARSAW — A crops management clinic is scheduled for 9:30 a.m. to 3 p.m. Tuesday, Feb. 9, at Creighton’s Crazy Egg Café, Warsaw.
The clinic starts off with Dr. Bob Nielsen, Purdue Extension corn specialist, sharing information on corn profitability and resilience. Dr. Nielsen will discuss opportunities to cut costs smartly, but also how to make smarter agronomic decisions that improve the resilience of crops to what is becoming increasingly more frequent occurrences of extreme growing conditions.
Digital soil mapping tools for prediction of soil properties related to crop yield will be discussed by Dr. Phillip Owens, Purdue Department of Agronomy. Precision agriculture and technology driven agriculture requires high-resolution information to fully utilize the advanced technological capabilities.
A process was developed at Purdue University to create high-resolution soil property maps that can be translated to soil functional grids/management zones. This presentation will cover the soil mapping process and how this information can be used to inform agronomists and producers on soil function related to yield response.
Dr. Fred Whitford will share information on rethinking how we clean out our sprayers. Crop damage can be prevented by taking the time to clean and flush the entire sprayer system — tank, hoses, screens, booms and nozzles. The most common mistake made is when the applicator arbitrarily decides to short-change a few of the steps in cleaning the sprayer tank, screens, hoses and booms. Saving a few minutes by taking short cuts during the cleanout process can almost guarantee that more time will be spent in the long run resolving contamination issues. It is usually much smarter to spend the time to do it right the first time.
The final main session shares information on a weed management update by Dr. Bill Johnson, Purdue Extension weed specialist. He will focus on weed control challenges encountered in 2015 and how those challenges should be addressed in 2016. Dr. Johnson will also discuss use of new herbicide resistance traits in soybeans and how to use these crops for the best weed control results.
This program counts as one of the three meetings for private applicators. For the meeting to count for private applicator credit, you will need to pay an additional $10, attend the entire meeting and sign the attendance sheet at the completion of the meeting. Bring your private applicator permit with you for registration.
Three CCH’s for category one for commercial applicators and RT and two CCH’s for category 14 have been approved for this meeting. CEUs (4.5) for certified crop advisors have been approved. Contact the extension office for more complete details for these credits.
Registration for the clinic is $20 and includes handouts, lunch and the Purdue Cornand Soybean Field Guide if requested. Private Applicator Recertification Program credit is an additional $10.
The deadline to register for the clinic is Feb. 2. The registration brochure is available at the Kosciusko County Purdue Extension website under current events.
All farmers are encouraged to attend regardless of when your license expires. These are important issues that all farms should be aware of for their operations.
For questions or more information, contact the Kosciusko County Extension Office at (574) 372-2340.