Western IL/NE MO NoTill Crop Mgt. Conference

This years' conference is set for Friday, Feb. 8^th at John Wood Community College in Quincy. The program begins at 9:15 am and concludes at 2:15 pm. The general session will feature Dr. Jerry Hatfield, USDA, ARS, discussing tillage system performance for corn and soybean production. Breakout sessions include: Tillage system management in an increasing variable climate, Dr. Hatfield; Keith Fuller presenting information on utilizing precision farming methods; Dr. Mark Bernards with an update on herbicide resistance management and new herbicides; Dr. Angie Peltier providing an update on corn nematode/disease management; FAPRI will be presenting a marketing outlook; and as always a farmer panel of area producers.

There will be displays from area agricultural businesses. CCA hours have been applied for. Cost for the program is $15 per person, which includes lunch, handouts and refreshments. Contact our office or sign up online at:

http://web.extension.illinois.edu/abhps

The college is located at 1301 S. 48^th Street.

Corn/Soybean Classic

The Springfield session will be held on Wed. Jan 9^th, at the Crowne Plaza. Topics include: Soil Insecticides and Bt hybrids; Overall grain farm profitability and rotation impacts; Lessons in agronomy from the drought of 2012; Nitrogen management after the drought; Calibrating sprayers to meet specified spray quality requirements; Season long residual weed control; Effect of foliar fungicides on diseases, stalk integrity, and yield of corn.

Register online for the Classics at www.cropsciconferences.com. Advance registration--through December 16--costs $60. Registrations received after that date and on-site are $75.

Certified Livestock Managers Training

We'll offer this program on Wed. Jan. 9^th at the Extension Office in Quincy. Livestock facilities with 300-999 animal unit capacity must have someone certified in manure handling procedures. This can be done in one of three ways; via an on-line short course (no cost, contact: lpepple2@illinois.edu to request the quizzes) or attend this training session or take and pass the CLMT exam. Producers with over 1000 animal units must take the class and pass the test. You are strongly encouraged to pre-register for the workshop by calling 800-345-6087. You can also order training materials through this number. Registration cost is $30 for the first person and $20 for any additional (same farm). Walk in registration is $45. The program begins at 8:50am, registration begins at 8:30. Participants arriving after 9:20am can't be certified.

Regional Crop Management Conferences

The date of the Springfield conference is Jan. 22-23, at the Northfield Inn Conference Center. 13 hours of CCA credit is available. Cost is $130 per person, late and on site registration is $150. Topics include: Managing wheat for high yield; Western corn rootworm resistance to Bt; Corn agronomics in the real world; Soybean agronomics; 2012 Drought; Corn ear rots, storage molds and mycotoxins; Advances in soybean breeding; Soybean viruses; Nutrient management after the drought; Understanding herbicide mode of action an crop injury; Crop rotation budgets and risk management; Soil and water management.

Registration is available:

https://webs.extension.uiuc.edu/registration/default.cfm?RegistrationID=7423

Pesticide Applicators Training/Testing

For the first time in my memory, we'll not be able to host a training session for those wishing to renew their private pesticide applicators license. There will be several locations and dates that we've scheduled to allow for testing. Training can be accomplished through several alternatives. The manual and study guide are available from some of our offices for $12. You can also go online for training.

http:// web.extension.illinois.edu/privatepsep/ The cost is $15.

Dates and locations for the testing are: Dec. 5, Macomb Extension Center, 10am-noon; Dec. 17, Adams County Extension, 1-3pm; Jan. 16, Hancock County Extension, 10am- noon; Feb. 5, Pike County Extension, 1-3pm. You can register online for any of the above training sessions.

https://webs.extension.uiuc.edu/registration/?RegistrationID=425

Soil Fertility Workshop

We'll host a workshop on soil fertility on Feb. 15^th, from 9am-2:30pm. It will be taught via distance education and feature specialists from IL and MO. 5 hours of CCA continuing education credit in Nutrient Management have been applied for.

Topics and speakers are as follows: Successful Nitrogen Management (how N rate, timing, source and additives affect success), Peter Scharf; Secondary and Micronutrients (which ones and how do you know you might need them?) Robert Bellm; How CEC and Soil Nutrients are Related (why CEC is an important tool in determining your fertility goal) Pete Fandel; Using Precision Farming Tools to Improve Nutrient Management, Dennis Bowman; Phosphorus and Potassium Budgets (Correctly accounting for what's in the field and what's coming out) Fabian Fernandez.

Registration costs are $50 per person, which will include meal, refreshments and handouts. You can contact our office or go online to register. Please register by Feb. 11^th. The workshop will be held at the Extension Office in Quincy.

U of I Yield Trials

Yield results from the U of I corn and soybean trials are now available on line at- http://vt.cropsci.illinois.edu/

This year, due to poor yield in some of the sites (corn at Orr Center for example) were not included. Below I've provided some comments from Emerson Nafziger on utilizing results from variety testing this past year.

"This is not to say that university variety trials, even ours at the UI, are better or carry more weight than company trials. Breeders and company agronomists, though, face the same issues in their testing programs that I have outlined here, and they often need to make similar decisions. Company testing programs differ from university ones in that they don't make public how many trials they have, what entries they include besides their own, and how many they choose not to use after a season like 2012. What all of these trials and how we use them do have in common, though, is that all are aimed at bringing better-performing varieties to producer fields.

So how do we go about choosing hybrids and varieties after a season like 2012? First, understand that most varieties are backed by a large body of data, from trials run over many sites and several years by the originating seed company. Testing is widespread before release, while university trials typically include entries only after release. Most of the data on performance are held by companies, and company personnel use them, along with some university trial data, to decide what seed to produce and what to sell.

So while university trials are important as a means to compare entries from many different sources and companies, they are not, and should not be, the only or even the major place to look at performance data. For that, find companies you trust that sell hybrids and varieties that you know do well, and use university trials mostly as a way to backstop your decisions on what varieties you choose to use. At the same time, know that no testing program can ever produce exact predictions and that there can be surprises--some good but most not--when we put a hybrid or variety in an environment it has not experienced before."

Putting Small Acres to Work

Putting Small Acres to Work will be held on Saturday, Feb. 16^th at John Wood Community College, 1301 S. 48^th Street, in Quincy. If you're looking for ideas on how to utilize smaller acreages for income producing activities or for fun and leisure, then this program will provide you with a number of options to consider. Concurrent presentations on the topics of: Growing/harvesting native herb and medicinal plants; Vegetable production/marketing; Sheep/goats; High tunnels; Basics of food preservation; Timber/Christmas trees. There will be a general session addressing the topic of "Determining pricing of your product".

All the presenters have been or are currently involved in the enterprise that they will speak on. We have plenty of time built into the program to allow for discussions. The program will begin at 8:30am and conclude at 1:30pm. Cost is $30 per person. Additional persons from the same household are $10 (which is the charge for students). Lunch, refreshments and a proceedings are all included. Register on line at: http://web.extension.illinois.edu/abhps

Illinois Cover Crops: Practical Strategies for Your Farm

Illinois Cover Crops: Practical Strategies for Your Farm will be a day and a half conference targeted to farmers and will be held on January 29 & 30, 2013 at the Decatur Hotel and Conference Center. This meeting will provide a forum for farmers to exchange information, and learn about the new and successful practices related to cover crops. Case study presentations will identify and discuss strengths and pitfalls of real applications. Speakers will include farmers, crop consultants, and university researchers who have extensive experience in cover crop management. Two meals, a reception, multiple general sessions and concurrent session topics and multiple roundtable sessions are included in the program. Registration is just $49 if you register by January 21, 2013. To register contact:

dewayne.johnson @swcs.org