Writer: Kay Ledbetter, 806-677-5608, skledbetter@ag.tamu.edu
Contact: Dr. Dana Porter, 806-746-6101, dporter@ag.tamu.edu
AMARILLO – The annual High Plains Irrigation Conference will be Feb. 15 in the North Exhibit Hall of the Amarillo Civic Center, 401 S. Buchanan St., Amarillo.
The program, hosted by the Texas A&M AgriLife Extension Service and the Texas Agricultural Irrigation Association, will address a wide variety of topics of interest, said Dr. Dana Porter, program coordinator and AgriLife Extension agricultural engineering specialist–irrigation and water management, Lubbock.
Registration will be onsite only, beginning at 8 a.m., with the program starting at 8:30 a.m. and concluding at 4:30 p.m. Cost is $30 and lunch is included.
Continuing education units for Texas Department of Agriculture pesticide applicators and certified crop advisers as well as Agricultural Irrigation Association certified irrigation designer units are pending.
The keynote presentation, Issues in Water Law and Agriculture, will be given by Tiffany Dowell Lashmet, AgriLife Extension agricultural law specialist, Amarillo.
Other topics and speakers will be:
– Influence of irrigation practices on pest populations and relationship to yield – Dr. Ed Bynum, AgriLife Extension entomologist, Amarillo.
– Optimizing Irrigation and Fertility to Enhance High Plains Cotton Production – Dr. Jourdan Bell, AgriLife Extension agronomist, Amarillo.
– Texas Agricultural Irrigation Association president comments – Kenneth Ewings, Senninger Irrigation Inc., Lubbock.
– Update from the Texas Water Development Board.
– Applied Research in Irrigated Cropping Systems – Dr. Jonathan Aguilar, Kansas State University Extension water resources specialist, Garden City, Kansas.
– USDA-NRCS Program Update: Technical Resources, Initiatives and Program Requirements, Keith Sides, Lubbock, U.S. Department of Agriculture-Natural Resources Conservation Service.
– Irrigation Practice Considerations for Crop Insurance and Risk Management – DeDe Jones, AgriLife Extension risk management program specialist, Amarillo.
– Emerging Irrigation Technologies – Dr. Charles Hillyer, AgriLife Extension irrigation specialist, Amarillo.
– Irrigation Research Programs and Developments in the High Plains – Porter and Dr. Brent Auvermann, AgriLife Extension environmental engineer, Amarillo.
A concurrent trade show will also provide opportunities for attendees to see new products and technologies, and to visit with experts from industry, non-profit organizations and agencies.
For more conference information, go to the Texas Agricultural Irrigation Association website, http://taia.org/HPIC_2017.html.
Questions about the program can be directed to Porter at dporter@ag.tamu.edu. Sponsor and exhibitor questions should be directed to Kern Stutler at 806-786-5644.
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