Around the County

URBANA – Mark your calendars for the 2010 AGMasters Conference on Dec. 2-3 at the University of Illinois I-Hotel and Conference Center.

"Four advanced sessions have been added to this year's program and the general session has been shortened to meet producer's needs," said Mike Gray, U of I Extension Entomologist.

During the Dec. 2 general session, speakers will focus on climate change and its impact on Illinois agriculture, with a special emphasis on weed management challenges. Speakers include Lewis Ziska, a USDA-ARS plant physiologist from Beltsville, Md.; Jim Angel, Illinois State Climatologist; and Don Wuebbles, U of I professor of atmospheric sciences. These speakers will provide historical and futuristic perspectives on climate change and agriculture.

Douglas Nelson, executive vice president of CropLife America in Washington, D.C., will present, "The NPDES Dilemma: To Spray or Not to Spray." In addition, a panel discussion of U of I Extension specialists in crop sciences will address the most recent growing season, share 2011 predictions, and respond to questions from the audience.

The advanced sessions will mirror classroom settings, but interaction from the participants is welcome. Classes will be limited to 40 participants per session. Each advanced session runs for two hours and will be repeated once. This year's line-up of sessions include:

· Row spacings and plant populations for corn: simple decisions or not? by Bob Nielsen, Purdue University

· Nitrification inhibitors to improve nitrogen use efficiency by James Camberato, Purdue University

· Glyphosate-resistant weeds: lessons learned in Tennessee by Larry Steckel, University of Tennessee

· Nematodes in the news: threats to your corn you'll never see coming by Tamra Jackson, University of Nebraska

· Soybean and corn seedling disease management and seed treatments by Anne Dorrance, Ohio State University

· Corn hybrid improvement in the 21^st Century by Martin Bohn and Rita Mumm, University of Illinois

• Keeping Pace with Changes in Bt Corn: Best Practices for On-Farm Implementation and Stewardship by Christian Krupke, Purdue University
• It's not that complicated: making sense of strip trial data by Emerson Nafziger, University of Illinois
• Do we need to use insecticides with aphid-resistant soybeans? by Matt O'Neal, Iowa State University
• Growing America's fuels: dedicated energy crops by Do Kyoung "D.K." Lee, University of Illinois
• Technologies for reducing spray Drift by Scott Bretthauer, University of Illinois
• 21^st-Century drainage in Illinois: changes and challenges by Richard Cooke, University of Illinois

Registration for the AGMasters Conference will open later this month and is limited to the first 160 registrants and sign-ups for the advanced sessions will be on a first-come, first-serve basis. To register, watch for a special announcement in The Bulletin or go to http://www.cropsciconferences.com/. Each participant can take up to six of the 12 advanced sessions. If you have additional questions, contact Sandy Osterbur, Co-Chair of the AGMasters Conference at saosterb@illinois.edu or 800-321-1296 or Mike Gray at megray@illinois.edu or 217-333-6652.