Writer: Kay Ledbetter, 806-677-5608, [email protected]
Contacts: Dr. Emi Kimura, 940-552-9941 ext. 233, [email protected]

CHILDRESS – The fourth annual Red River Crops Conference is set for Jan. 24-25 at the Childress Event Center, 1100 N.W. 7th St., Childress.

“Planning for Success – Crop Production Information Designed for Southwest Oklahoma and the Texas Rolling Plains,” will be hosted by the Texas A&M AgriLife Extension Service and Oklahoma State University Cooperative Extension.

The annual conference alternates between Oklahoma and Texas and addresses special agricultural production circumstances in the Red River region in both states, according to Dr. Emi Kimura, AgriLife Extension agronomist in Vernon.

There will be a $25 per person registration fee, and preregistration is encouraged. Make checks payable to the Red River Crops Conference. For a copy of the registration form, go to http://agrilife.org/redrivercropsconference/ or contact any county Extension office in Texas or Oklahoma.

Registration forms should be mailed to Texas A&M AgriLife Extension Service, Childress County Courthouse, Box 9, Childress, Texas 79201.

Continuing education units will be offered, including 12 for certified crop advisors, six for Texas Department of Agriculture private pesticide applicators and four from the Oklahoma Department of Agriculture, Food and Forestry.

Both days will begin with registration at 8 a.m. and conclude at 4 p.m. Cotton will be featured on Jan. 24 and in-season and summer crops will be featured on Jan. 25.

The following are topics and speakers for the Jan. 24 Cotton Day:

– National Cotton Council Update – Dr. Jody Campiche, National Cotton Council director, economics and policy analysis, Memphis, Tennessee.

– Cotton Market Update and Outlook – Dr. John Robinson, AgriLife Extension economist cotton marketing, College Station.

– Cotton Weed Control and Herbicide Update – Dr. Todd Baughman, Oklahoma State University Institute for Agricultural Biosciences program support leader, Ardmore, Oklahoma.

– Bacterial Blight Management – Dr. Jason Woodward, AgriLife Extension/Texas A&M associate department head for plant pathology and microbiology, Lubbock.

– Texas and Oklahoma Cotton Genetic Performance and Variety Update – Dr. Gaylon Morgan AgriLife Extension agronomist-cotton, College Station, and Dr. Randy Boman, Oklahoma State University Southwest Research and Extension Center research director and cotton Extension program leader, Altus, Oklahoma.

– Cotton Insect Management – Dr. David Kerns, Louisiana State University Jack Hamilton Regents Chair in cotton production, Winnsboro, Louisiana.

– Crop Profitability Evaluation and Spreadsheet Analyzer, Dr. Jackie Smith, AgriLife Extension economist-management, Lubbock.

These topics and speakers are scheduled for the Jan. 25 In-Season and Summer Crops Day:

– Grain and Livestock Market Update – Dr. Mark Welch, AgriLife Extension economist-grain marketing, College Station.

– Permanent Pasture Production and Management – Dr. Larry Redmon, AgriLife Extension Regents Professor and associate department head for soil and crops sciences, College Station.

– Canola Production and Management – Dr. Josh Lofton, Oklahoma Cooperative Extension Service assistant professor and cropping systems specialist, Stillwater, Oklahoma.

– Mid-term Review of the 2014 Farm Bill – Dr. Joe Outlaw, AgriLife Extension economist, College Station.

– Annual Forage Production and Management – Kimura and Gary Strickland, Oklahoma Cooperative Extension Service dryland cropping systems specialist, Altus, Oklahoma.

– Grain Sorghum Production and Management, Dr. Jourdan Bell, AgriLife Extension agronomist, Amarillo.

– Agronomic and Economic Evaluation of Cover Crops, Dr. Paul DeLaune, Texas A&M AgriLife Research environmental soil science, Vernon.

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