Upper Gulf Coast Feed Grain and Cotton Conference set for Jan. 23 in El Campo

The Texas A&M AgriLife Extension Service offices in Wharton, Matagorda, Jackson and Colorado counties will host the Upper Gulf Coast Feed Grain and Cotton Conference on Jan. 23 in El Campo.

The free event will be held from 8 a.m.-2:30 p.m. at the El Campo Civic Center, 2350 N. Mechanic St. Registration will begin at 7:15 a.m., with the main program beginning at 8 a.m.

An RSVP is required and can be made by calling the AgriLife Extension office in Wharton County at 979-532-3310 by Jan. 19.

There will be three Texas Department of Agriculture continuing education units available, including one integrated pest management, one laws and regulations and one general. There also will be five certified crop adviser continuing education units available.

A lunch will also be served and there will be an update on the Feral Hog Abatement Grant by Corrie Brown, AgriLife Extension agriculture and natural resources agent in Wharton County.

On the agenda

The conference topics and speakers will include:

• Oilseed crops – Brandon Gerrish, Ph.D., assistant professor in the Department of Soil and Crop Sciences and AgriLife Extension small grains and oilseed specialist, Bryan-College Station.
• Bollworm update – Ryan Gilreath, AgriLife Extension program specialist, Bryan-College Station.  
• Texas sorghum producers update – Wayne Cleveland, executive director, Texas Grain Sorghum Producers Association and Board, Salado.
• U.S. Cotton Trust protocol – Bailey Nesmith, grower enrollment specialist, High Plains and West regions, U.S. Cotton Trust Protocol, Lubbock.
• South Texas Cotton and Grain Association update – Jeff Nunley, executive director, South Texas Cotton and Grain Association, Victoria.
• Weed control in grain and cotton – Josh McGinty, Ph.D., AgriLife Extension agronomist and associate professor in the Department of Soil and Crop Sciences, Corpus Christi.
• 2024 Texas Auxin herbicide training: Dicamba and Enlist technologies – Scott Nolte, Ph.D., AgriLife Extension weed specialist and associate professor in the Department of Soil and Crop Sciences, Bryan-College Station.
• Emerging diseases in grain and cotton – Tom Isakeit, Ph.D., AgriLife Extension plant pathologist and professor in the Department of Plant Pathology and Microbiology, Bryan-College Station.
• RACE Trial update/current cotton research – Ben McKnight, Ph.D., AgriLife Extension state cotton specialist and assistant professor in the Department of Soil and Crop Sciences, Bryan-College Station.
• Economics: Cost of Production – Yuri Calil, Ph.D., AgriLife Extension specialist and assistant professor in the Department of Agricultural Economics, Corpus Christi.