This is one of the busiest times of the year. This is a time for winter commodity meetings. To make things more complicated this year is that we are having educational meetings to help producers make informed decisions on the 2014 Farm Bill.
The regional Soybean meeting will be held on Wednesday, January 14 at the Miner convention Center, Miner, Missouri. Registration begins at 8:00 am with the program starting at 8:30. Topics include insect and weed control, soybean update, cover crops, the use of Unmanned Aerial Vehicles or drones for agriculture, There will be information from the Soybean association. There will be information on marketing and the afternoon session will be devoted to the 2014 Farm Bill decisions.
On January 22 there will be a Peach Pruning Workshop. at Beggs Berry World, Benton, MO, ◦Exit 80 off I-55, east on State Hwy -77 to county Hwy 332. Meeting 10:00 a.m. - 12:00 p.m. including 1 hour of hands-on demonstration. Contact Anthony Ohmes, 573-243-3581 or David Reinbott, 573-545-3516. Due to the potential for inclement weather the workshop is subject to cancelation.
The Southeast Missouri Scouting School will begin at the Fisher Delta Research Center in Portageville. This program will run from February 1-19, 2015, Monday's from5:00 p.m. to 9:00 p.m., lecture 3 hours and lab 1 hour. Contact Andrea Jones, 573-379-5431 to register. The class is open to only 20 students. Enrollment fee is $200.00. The Scouting school is one of the longstanding programs conducted at the Fisher Delta Research Center. It was not held for a few years due to not having an entomologist. However, it has been revived and will likely continue due to the demand for scouts and consultants. This is a program devoted at cotton, corn, soybeans, and rice. There will be discussions on soil fertility weed, insect, and disease control. The labs will be devoted to the identifications of the various pests.
On February 3rd at the Fisher delta Research Center at Portageville will be the Missouri Cotton Production and Outlook Conference. Registration will be at 8:00 and the program will begin at 8:39. There will be presentations on weed and insect control, soil health research, cotton variety evaluation and products from industry. We will also have a session on marketing and the afternoon session will be devoted to decisions regarding the Farm Bill. Lunch will be provided. For more information contact Mike Milam at 573-888-4722 or Andrea Jones at 573-379-5431.
The Missouri Rice Producers Conference ◦February 19, 2015 at the Eagles Club, Dexter, MO. ◦Registration at 8:00; Meeting 8:30 a.m. - 3:00 p.m. ◦Contact Sam Atwell, 573-748-5531
This meeting will have information on soil fertility weed and insect control, row rice, and marketing. The afternoon session will be devoted to the Farm bill decisions. Directions: ½ Mile South of Hwy. 25 and Hwy. 60 Intersection
There will also be separate meetings devoted to the Farm Bill. I attended a Farm Bill Information meeting sponsored by Progressive Farm Credit at the VFW in Kennett on January 9; there were over 100 people in attendance. This includes the speakers, sponsors, Dunklin County FSA, and the University of Missouri Extension. The other meetings scheduled are January 15 - 9:00 a.m. to 11:00 a.m. Malden Community Center, Malden; and January 28 - 9:00 a.m. to 11:00 a.m. Dexter Eagles Lodge, Dexter;
Pesticide applicator Training has gone well. In the two sessions, I have trained 20 participants. There are five more sessions scheduled. These are at 9:00 am; on Wednesday, January 14 at Caruthersville Library at 9:00 am; Thursday, January 15 at the Crop Protection Services at Cooter at 9:00 am; Friday, January 16 at SEMO Kennett at 1230 First Street in Kennett at 9:00am; Wednesday, January 21 Caruthersville Library at 9:00 am; and Friday, January 23 at SEMO Kennett at 1230 First Street in Kennett at 9:00am. For more information, call Mike Milam at the Dunklin County University of Missouri Extension Center at 573-888-4722. During the second session in Kennett, I learned that many of those needing to renew their private pesticide applicator licenses had just received their cards the day before from the Missouri Department of Agriculture.
In order to facilitate the process each year, I get the list of those needing to renew their licenses and get this information to the chemical dealers. They will contact those in their customer base to tell them when the sessions will occur. This has been very effective in getting the word out.
I have been in discussions with the Missouri Department of Agriculture regarding the Pesticide applicator training. There will be changes coming within the next few years. Currently, there is no fee for attending the training sessions. However, the Environmental Protection Agency is working on testing for applicators at the national level. On another front, there will eventually be a charge for the training and license.. At this time, we are unsure when the changes will take place.
This is a busy time of the year with all of our meetings and activities. But, I enjoy the interactions with producers, consultants, and sponsors.
The University of Missouri Extension office is open Monday-Friday located in Kennett, Missouri at 233 North Main Street. Contact 573-888-4722 with questions or comments. MU is an equal opportunity/ADA institution.