Dates set for MN Corn-sponsored grower education events
Dates have been set for a series of Minnesota Corn-sponsored University of Minnesota Extension farmer education events this winter.
Extension will hold its annual Soil Management Summit Dec. 7-8 at Arrowwood Resort in Alexandria. Registration for the summit is open online.
The Soil Management Summit gives growers and other agriculture professionals the chance to learn about all aspects of soil health. That includes hearing from no-till, low-till, and cover crop farmers on lessons they’ve learned while implementing those practices.
The summit features information from sponsors, presentations, and question-and-answer sessions with researchers, farmers, and agricultural advisors. Attendees of the entire conference can earn Certified Crop Adviser continuing education units.
This year’s conference will place a new emphasis on interseeding cover crops into sileage, biological seed treatments, and diseases and weeds in cover crops. There will also once again be a “beer and bull” networking session, which offers growers a more informal opportunity to learn about soil health practices.
Extension will hold the Nitrogen: Minnesota’s Grand Challenge and Compelling Opportunity Conference Feb. 13 in St. Cloud and the Nutrient Management Conference Feb. 20 in Mankato. Registration has yet to open for those events.
Event schedules and speakers will be posted on the conference webpages in the coming weeks.
In addition to the three conferences, Extension continues to offer the Minnesota Corn-sponsored Nitrogen Smart educational program, which presents fundamentals for maximizing economic return on nitrogen investments while minimizing nitrogen losses. Over 1,000 Minnesota growers have been certified through the program over the past seven years.
The Nitrogen Smart “fundamentals” course, which covers sources of nitrogen, how nitrogen is lost, how growers can reduce losses, and more, is available online anytime. Also online, Extension offers “advanced” Nitrogen Smart courses covering manure management and the 4Rs of nitrogen — rate, source, timing, and placement.
Additionally, Extension offers in-person “advanced” Nitrogen Smart courses covering practices that can reduce nitrate losses and the effects of climate condition on nitrogen practices. Extension will post the dates and locations of the classes on the Nitrogen Smart webpage in the coming weeks.
Finally, Extension and the Minnesota Crop Production Retailers are hosting the Crop Pest Management Short course Dec. 12-14 in Minneapolis. Targeted to agronomists, salespeople, crop consultants, and others, the event covers pest- and fertilizer-management topics. Registration info can be found here.
