Writer: Kay Ledbetter, 806-677-5608, skledbetter@ag.tamu.edu
Contact: Nathan Carr, 806-373-0713, rncarr@ag.tamu.edu
AMARILLO – The Texas A&M AgriLife Extension Service will be providing three educational events during this year’s Amarillo Farm and Ranch Show, set for Dec. 2-4 at the Amarillo Civic Center, 401 S. Buchanan St. in Amarillo.
“We are trying to meet producers where they are going to be and provide them educational materials on a variety of subjects, whether that is the current farm bill or the latest information for wheat, corn and cotton,” said Nathan Carr, AgriLife Extension agriculture and natural resources agent for Potter County.
Carr said in addition to offering the long-standing Panhandle Farm and Ranch Management Symposium on Dec. 3, AgriLife Extension will fill the Grand Plaza on Dec. 2 with two new programs.
A Farm Bill Analysis program will be from 9 a.m. to noon Dec. 2, with Dr. Steve Amosson, AgriLife Extension economist in Amarillo, discussing farm bill provisions, sign-up requirements and deadlines.
This program will be free, with the exception of the $2 admittance fee to get into the Amarillo Farm and Ranch Show.
Amosson will also walk producers through the decision–aid tool developed by the Agricultural and Food Policy Center at Texas A&M University, which is designed to help economically evaluate program choices.
His analysis of the policy options will use examples of producers who have already been through the decision aid, and he will conclude with a question and answer session.
The second program on Dec. 2 – A Focus on Wheat in the Texas Panhandle – will begin at 1 p.m. and adjourn at 5:40 p.m. This will be a complete overview of wheat, including weeds, diseases, insects, breeding, fertility and plant growth regulators, Carr said.
This program will have a $10 registration fee and offer four Texas Department of Agriculture continuing education units – two general, one integrated pest management and one drift management – for pesticide applicators.
AgriLife Extension education returns Dec. 3, following the 14th annual Texas Commodity Symposium and Ag Appreciation Luncheon hosted by the corn, cotton, grain sorghum, peanut and wheat associations and the Amarillo Chamber of Commerce.
The 30th annual Panhandle Farm and Ranch Management Symposium will begin with registration at 1:15 p.m. Carr said this year’s focus will be on cotton, grain sorghum and corn, and their emerging technologies and traits in the Panhandle
There will be a $10 registration fee for this program and four Texas Department of Agriculture and Certified Crop Advisors continuing education units – two general, one integrated pest management and one drift management – will be offered.
For more information on any of these AgriLife Extension programs, contact Carr at 806-373-0713 or rncarr@ag.tamu.edu .
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