Purdue Workshop Focuses on Grain Storage Issues

By Darrin Pack

Purdue Extension and the Indiana Grain and Feed Association are teaming up for a daylong Post-Harvest Update and Recertification Workshop in December to help farmers and other agribusiness professionals learn how to store crops securely and economically.

Linda Mason, professor of entomology at Purdue and associate dean of the Graduate School, said the workshop is especially timely this year since many corn and soybean producers are dealing with an unusually large harvest.

"With record yields and lower crop prices, many farmers will be storing their grains themselves this year instead of taking them to market," she said. "In this workshop, participants will hear from expert instructors how to protect their stored grain from moisture, insects and other threats, as well as how to protect themselves during loading and unloading."

The workshop is scheduled for 8:30 a.m. to 4 p.m. Dec. 19 at the Beck Agricultural Center, 4540 U.S. 52 W, in West Lafayette.

Sessions include:

* Insect Biology: Why Resistance Occurs.

* Student Research Update – Urban: Post-Harvest Programs.

* Proactive Management Strategies for Stored Grain.

* Economics of Storage.

* Adjuvants and the Power of the Spray Droplets.

* Regulatory Compliance Within the Fumigation Industry.

Presenters are Mason; Fred Whitford, coordinator of pesticide programs at Purdue; Klein Ileleji, associate professor of agricultural and biological engineering; Corinne Alexander, associate professor of agricultural economics; and Jeff Jones, manager of fumigation services for McCloud Services, a pest management services provider.

The workshop includes lunch. Cost is $110, or $95 for those who register before Dec. 12.

Continuing education credits have been applied for.

For registration information, contact Jayne McElwain, association manager of the Agribusiness Council of Indiana, at jmcelwain@kwkmanagement.com.

Source:purdue.edu