Producers, consultants, and experts will gather for the 21st annual Cover Your Acres Winter Conference on January 16-17, at the Gateway Civic Center in Oberlin, Kansas. The conference is a joint venture between K-State Research and Extension and conference sponsors.
“Weed management, soil fertility — and weather, of course — are always on farmers minds,” said Lucas Haag, an agronomist with K-State Research and Extension’s Northwest Research-Extension Center in Colby. “So, we have (K-State weed management specialist) Sarah Lancaster and (multi-county extension specialist) Jeanne Falk Jones tackling weed management with a focus on resistance issues and how farmers can adapt their management.”
Haag also pointed to sessions on how phosphorus moves in crop and soil systems, and a discussion on how El Nino and La Nina effect the Tri-State Region, featuring Jesse Lundquist of the National Weather Service.
Mark Wood, the lead economist with the Northwest Kansas Farm Management Association, will outline what is driving profitability in northwest Kansas farms and the potential pitfalls producers should be aware of. Haag will focus on long-term dryland rotation trials conducted by K-State at Tribune, looking at agronomic and economic aspects.
Other topics include sprinkler setup for maximizing effective irrigation with Colorado State University’s Joel Schneekloth; new wheat markets, presented by Evan Backhus with Purefield Ingredients; managing drought driven insects with K-State entomologist Anthony Zukoff of K-State; and a session focused on how producers can maximize the benefit of new technology on sprayers and planters with K-State agricultural engineer Ajay Sharda.
The same programs will be offered both days of the conference. Haag said participants attending both days will find it easier to catch most or all of the programs. The program offers a total of 10 continuing education credits for Certified Crop Advisors and three CEU’s for Commercial Applicators.
Registration begins at 7:45 a.m. with educational sessions ending at 5 p.m.Early registration is due by Jan. 10. The fee is $55 for Tuesday, $60 for Wednesday, or $80 for both days. After Jan. 11, the cost is $80 for each day. The conference fee includes lunch, morning and afternoon refreshments, and educational materials.
The full conference schedule and online registration are available at www.northwest.ksu.edu/coveryouracres. For questions, call 785-462-6281.
Major sponsors of the conference include AKRS Equipment, Hoxie Implement Co., SurePoint Ag Systems, Lang Diesel, and 4G Farm and Sales.
