Annual Crops And Cattle Forum Set For Feb. 26 In Alexandria
ALEXANDRIA, LA.
Farmers can get the latest research updates and recertify private pesticide applicator licenses at a crops and cattle forum set for Feb. 26 at the State Evacuation Shelter in Alexandria.
“Format changes in the program this year are aimed to broaden our outreach by including information to benefit both crop and cattle producers in the region,” said LSU AgCenter agent Justin Dufour.
AgCenter experts will address a wide range of topics, including corn hybrid and cotton variety selection, redbanded stink bug control, Bt cotton and seed treatments in corn, use of body condition scoring in beef cattle and identification and control of problem weeds in pastures and hay meadows.
“Our primary goal with this new meeting format is to provide research updates across all of our field crop and beef cattle research programs in the central region and encourage more producers to attend,” said Tara Smith, director of the AgCenter Central Region.
Presentations also will cover disease management and soybean updates, weed management strategies and spring burndown practices, the 2018 farm bill and a 2019 market outlook.
Registration will begin at 8 a.m., with opening remarks at 8:30. A sponsored lunch will be served at noon.
Producers will get information on pesticide drift management and hear updates on worker protection standards, record keeping and pollinator protection strategies.
The AgCenter-sponsored meeting is approved for recertification for Louisiana Department of Agriculture and Forestry Private Pesticide Applicator cards that expire March 31, 2019.
In a change from previous years, AgCenter-sponsored private pesticide applicator recertification meetings require a $15 registration fee for producers who want to recertify, Dufour said.
The registration will be collected separately from the LDAF $25 recertification fee, he said. No registration fee is required for attendees who do not intend to recertify.
Only checks or money orders will be accepted for both fees. The $15 registration fee is to be made payable to the LSU AgCenter; the $25 recertification fee is to be made payable to LDAF.
LDAF requires a minimum of 90 minutes of pesticide-related information for recertification of applicator licenses, which includes the Worker Protection Standard for Farmers and Pesticide Drift Management.
An LDAF representative will be on-site to monitor attendance and complete registration. Producers must arrive on time and remain for the entire meeting to be eligible for recertification. ∆