O
n January 30, we hosted a Pre-Plant Corn School in Parsons. There were 40 producers in attendance on a very nice day in which I am sure they could have been in the fields. Producers from across the district as well as other districts and even out of state attended. The day started with Gretchen Sassenrath, Cropping Systems Researcher in Parsons, presenting some of her findings on cropping systems. I followed Gretchen with my Corn Emergence Study presentation. Doug Shoup presented an update on corn weed control and Dave Mengel wrapped up the morning with a presentation on soil fertility. Following lunch, we offered the newly required Dicamba Training which we are very grateful that Doug Shoup was approved to present. This is now required due to changes in the product label by the Environmental Protection Agency. We had the attendees fill out a survey. From the producers in attendance, there were nearly 50,000 acres (49832) of crop ground covered by the farmers in attendance (even more if we include the crop consultant acres as well). From an economic standpoint, the average increase/savings reported by the respondents was $14,287 per producer which is a rousing success. 95 percent of respondents rated the meeting information as valuable or very valuable which is, again, evidence of a very successful meeting.
- On February 5, we hosted a soil health focused meeting in Girard titled “Managing Your Soil for Profitability and Productivity.” This is part two of a three part series and the Girard location focused on cover crops. Due to inclement weather, our first speaker Anita Dille, Weed Science Professor, presented over Zoom, our video conferencing program. Anita’s presentation was on the weed control properties of cover crops and it was excellent. Even though she was over Zoom, I believe the attendees were pleased with the information. Next, Gretchen Sassenrath presented on the overall benefits of cover crops. Again, her presentation was excellent. I wrapped up the meeting presenting my Corn Emergence Presentation. Unfortunately, there were only six producers in attendance but I believe they were pleased with the meeting. All six rated the meeting as valuable or very valuable. There were over 6,000 acres represented at the meeting and according to the responses, an average increase in profitability of $18,415 per producer was garnered which is, again, a rousing success. One attendee even commented on the survey that the low attendance was nice because it was so conducive to the meeting being an informal conversation rather than a more formal setting.
- On February 24, we held our annual Hazardous Occupation Training (formerly known as Tractor Safety) at the Labette County High School. This training is for youth ages 14 and 15 to be certified to work on farming operations other than their own family. However, we welcome youth outside this age range to participate and encourage youth who will work on their family operation to be trained as well. We had 10 attendees this year which is slightly lower than last year, but is about the ideal number for this training. This is a daunting training in that we truly hope that the information is learned and put to good use by the youth in attendance. We always say if we prevent just one accident, the training would be absolutely worth it. I am very grateful that Keith Geren was able to help us this year. Keith did a great job handling the hands-on portion of the training.