MSU to host annual Crop and Pest Management School in January

Focus on Small Grains

BOZEMAN – Montana State University will host its annual Crop and Pest Management School set for Jan. 14 – 16 in MSU’s Strand Union in Ballroom D.

MSU Extension, the MSU College of Agriculture and the Montana Agricultural Experiment Station will host the two-and-a-half-day workshop, which will focus on crop and pest management in small grains, including presentations on agronomy, MSU crop breeding program updates, integrated weed management, entomology and plant pathology.

The workshop is geared toward producers, certified crop advisers, county agents and those working in agribusiness.

Upon completion of the workshop, credits will be available for private and commercial applicators and certified crop advisers.

This is the 16th year MSU has offered the workshop, which attracts a diverse and high-quality roster of speakers that includes producers, industry, government, and academic agriculturists. This year’s guest presenters are Lyle Benjamin, Montana Grain Growers Association president, who will provide an overview of the small grains industry in Montana and Juliet Marshall, a plant pathologist at the University of Idaho, who will give an update on cereal diseases.

In addition to Benjamin, MSU speakers on Monday, Jan. 14 include:

• Jessica Torrion, interim superintendent of the Northwestern Agricultural Research Center, will present research results from five years of studying wheat irrigation strategies.
• Luther Talbert, MSU spring wheat breeder, will provide an update on new spring wheat varieties and program highlights.
• Jamie Sherman, MSU barley breeder, will provide an update on MSU’s barley breeding program.
• Noelle Orloff, research associate and Tim Seipel, MSU Extension weed specialist, will address herbicide carryover and ways to identify herbicide damage.

On Tuesday, Jan. 16, speakers include:

• Prashant Jha, associate professor at MSU’s Southern Agricultural Research Center, will address precision weed management and herbicide resistance.
• Hikmet Budak, MSU Winifred Asbjornson Plant Sciences Chair, will discuss CRISPR technology and small-grain traits.
• Clain Jones, MSU Extension soil fertility specialist, will discuss soil acidification in addition to ways to identify, prevent and mitigate damage.
• David Weaver, professor in the Department of Land Resources and Environmental Sciences, will conduct an entomology activity and provide updates on Montana pests.
• Aaron Esser, Adams County director in Washington, will share Washington State University research on wireworms and wheat.

On Wednesday, Jan. 16, Frankie Crutcher, assistant professor at MSU’s Eastern Agricultural Research Center, will deliver research highlights on small grains and pathology.

The cost for the workshop is $195. The deadline to register is Monday, Jan. 7. The full workshop schedule, a printable mail-in registration form, and a link to an online credit card registration page can be found at:  http://plantsciences.montana.edu/labs.html.

-jl-