The Texas A&M AgriLife Extension Service will host the AgriLife Extension Crop Production and Protection Seminar Dec. 18 at locations across the Panhandle and South Plains.

The speakers will be virtual, but AgriLife Extension agents in almost every county of the agency’s District 1, headquartered in Amarillo, and District 2, headquartered in Lubbock, will host an in-person event for producers to attend, said Danny Nusser, AgriLife Extension program leader for the North Region.

Registration will begin at 8 a.m. at each location. The fees and lunch arrangements will vary from location to location. A full list of locations and contacts for more information is available.

“We want to make sure everyone across the region has the same opportunity to hear these speakers and obtain the same CEUs,” Nusser said.

He said they will utilize the Microsoft Teams platform to bring all the speakers together from across the state, without having to make anyone travel any further than their home county.

Seven Texas Department of Agriculture continuing education units – three general, two integrated pest management, one drift and one laws and regulations – will be offered at each location.

On the agenda

The program will begin at 8:30 a.m. The following topics and speakers are on the agenda:

• Know your Pesticide Laws and Regulations – Comprehensive look at the pesticide laws and regulations, EPA updates and licensing/certification guidelines – Cheryl Goswick, Texas Department of Agriculture

• Weed management decisions. Status of product availability and ongoing research strategies in managing weed pests.  Long term goals to control resistance. Peter Dotray, Ph.D., Texas A&M AgriLife Research/Extension weed specialist and Department of Soil and Crop Sciences professor, Lubbock.

• Update on Cotton, Corn, Sorghum Insect Pests. Potential pest issues, resources, and new technologies. – David Kerns, Ph.D., Texas A&M AgriLife (College Station), Suhas Vyavhare, PhD., Texas A&M AgriLife and Pat Porter, PhD., Texas A&M AgriLife (Lubbock)

• Options for controlling woody species on rangeland and exciting new research on grazing management. Pesticide effectiveness following wildfires. – Morgan Treadwell, Ph.D., AgriLife Extension range specialist and associate professor in the Department of Rangeland, Wildlife and Fisheries Management, San Angelo.

• Cotton Pre-plant decisions and management (varieties, populations, row spacings, seed quality, etc.). – Ken Lege, PhD., Texas A&M AgriLife Extension Cotton Specialist in Lubbock

• Matching available water to planted acreage and crop selection, Plan-Soil-Water relationships – Jourdan Bell, Ph.D., Texas A&M AgriLife agronomist in Amarillo 

• Updates and discussion on disease and viruses in North Region Crops. – Ken Obasa, Ph.D., Texas A&M AgriLife Plant Pathologist in Amarillo