The 2016 Integrated Crop Management Conference will be held Nov. 30-Dec. 1 at the Scheman Building in Ames, Iowa. The conference will consist of 45 workshop topics and eight invited guest speakers from industry and four state universities—Purdue University, University of Arkansas, University of Wyoming and University of Illinois. Iowa State University faculty and extension specialists along with invited guests will provide research results, updated management recommendations, and information on current and future crop production issues.
Highlights of the ICM Conference are invited guest speakers, multiple sessions to choose from each hour and the opportunity to network with others in the agriculture industry.
“With almost 1,000 attendees each year for the past six years, the ICM Conference is a great opportunity for farmers, industry, ag retailers, agronomists and educators to network with each other and interact with specialists,” said Alison Robertson, associate professor and extension plant pathologist in plant pathology and microbiology. “We’ve also received a lot of positive feedback for having guest speakers at the conference, so it’s something we continue to focus on each year.”
With Palmer amaranth now confirmed in over 40 Iowa counties this year, Bob Hartzler, professor in agronomy and extension weed specialist at Iowa State, will discuss how the weed was introduced, the risk it poses now and how to best manage Palmer amaranth during the workshop Palmer amaranth: It’s here, now what? Mike Owen, university professor and extension specialist in agronomy and weed science at Iowa State, will give a weed management update for 2017 and beyond, and guest speaker Aaron Hager, associate professor in weed science at the University of Illinois, will talk about herbicide resistance east of the Mississippi River.
Other presentation topics at the 2016 ICM Conference include: the crop market outlook, spray equipment operation for emerging herbicide technology, pest resistance issues, nitrogen myths and realities, water quality and new decision-making tools. An Iowa farmland market update will take a look at the current farmland market and compare the similarities and differences to the 1920s and 1980s farm crises.
The conference is approved for continuing education credits for Certified Crop Advisors, with a total of 14 CCA credits available; categories dependent on workshops selected. Iowa commercial pesticide applicator recertification for 2016 is also available in categories 1A, 1B, 1C, 4 and 10.
“This year, attendees will have seven concurrent sessions to choose from each hour,” said Brent Pringnitz, coordinator for ANR Program Services. “This format allows participants to customize their conference experience and fulfill necessary CCA credit needs.”
Source:iastate.edu