Cotton Sessions From West TX Ag Chemicals Institute Now Online

By Jim Steadman

Recordings of sessions and panel discussions on cotton from the 64th Annual West Texas Agricultural Chemicals Institute Conference are now available online on the Plant Management Network’s Focus on Cotton webpage.

The conference – held at the Bayer Museum of Agriculture in Lubbock, TX, in September, 2016 – brought cotton producers, researchers and industry professionals together to discuss a wide range of scientific, management and policy related cotton topics.

Session topics and speakers available online include:

• EPA’s Revisions to the Applicator Certification Rule (28 minutes) — This presentation provides an overview of proposed changes to the EPA’s pesticide certification and training requirements, discussing rationale behind the revisions and potential future amendments. Speaker: Dale Scott, Texas Department of Agriculture.
• UAV Use in Agriculture: Practical, Legal, and Technological Considerations (45 minutes) — This talk discusses several key considerations for adoption and use of unmanned aerial vehicles (drones) to collect field imagery data. Speaker: Austin Bontrager, Servi-Tech Expanded Premium Services.
• Understanding the EPA Product Registration Review Process (33 minutes) — This talk discusses how the EPA approaches risk evaluation, toxicity testing, exposure and other factors when evaluating and approving new active ingredients proposed for registration. Speakers: Dr. Jerry Wells & Cherilyn Moore, Syngenta Crop Protection, LLC.
• Politics and Policy Update (17 minutes) — This presentations covers the state of the current political climate, including key issues such as farm bill appropriations, the Trans Pacific Partnership, loan programs, and more. Speaker: Kody Bessent, Plains Cotton Growers, Inc.
• Handling Agriculture-Related Legal Issues (40 minutes) — This discussion helps producers and practitioners navigate the legal complexities related to statutory agriculture liens, government farm programs, spray drift, property rights and aerial management techniques. Speaker: Amber S. Miller, Crenshaw, Dupree & Milam, LLP.
• Old World Bollworm: Assessing a Potential New Threat (39 minutes) — This presentation describes the biology, distribution, and management of old world bollworm and discusses the potential of microbe research to improve plant health and performance – specifically new findings about fungal endophytes. Speaker: Dr. Gregory A. Sword, Texas A&M University.
• Integrating Mobile Technology in Agriculture (36 minutes) — This talk discusses the value and utility of several agriculture mobile applications, including Barchart, Farm Futures, CattleFax, Farm Logs, Tank Mix Calculator and others. Speaker: Dr. Blake Bennett, Texas A&M AgriLife Extension.
• Crop Management Update (33 minutes) — This panel discussion provides an update of the 2016 growing season and discusses key issues such as irrigation, soil fertility and weed control. Moderator: Dr. Wayne Keeling, Texas AgriLife Research Center; Contributors: Katie Lewis, Jim Bordovsky and Seth Byrd.
• IPM Panel Discussion (34 minutes) — This panel discussion covers important integrated pest management topics of the 2016 growing season, including bollworms, stink bugs, nematodes, cultural practices, sugarcane aphid and cloverworm. Moderator: Blayne Reed, Hale/Swisher; Contributors: Pat Porter, Katelyn Kowles, Kerry Siders and Suhas Vyavhare.

Also available for viewing are recordings of the 2016 award and scholarship presentations hosted by Jane Dever, Texas A&M University, and Glen Ritchie, Texas Tech University and Texas A&M AgriLife Research.

This information is part of the Focus on Cotton series made available by the Plant Management Network and Cotton Incorporated. The Focus on Cotton series contains more than 40 webcasts on various aspects of cotton crop management, including agronomic practices, crop protection and ag engineering. The presentations are accessible online at any time.