Category Archives: Other

25th Annual Eastern Shore Ag Conference and Trade Show

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Please find attached the program for the 25th Annual Eastern Shore Ag Conference & Trade Show on January 7 and 8, 2014. The event will be held at the Eastern Shore Community College Workforce Development Center, 29300 Lankford Highway, Melfa, VA 23410. This event is free and open to the public with no registration required. Feel free to pass on to any email lists, stakeholders, etc. that may be interested. Continuing education credits for Certified Crop Advisers will be offered. Any further program changes, weather advisories, and so forth will be posted on my Facebook page: https://www.facebook.com/EasternShore.Soils
Thank you,
Mark
Additional information: agconfprogram2014-3january2014-pdf

Mid-Atlantic Crop Management School Registration is OPEN!

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Certified Crop Advisers (CCA), Nutrient Management Planners, and any others too! Join us in Ocean City, MD for the Mid-Atlantic Crop Management School from November 19-21, 2013. This two and a half day school will cover sessions that offer CCA Continuing Education Credits and nutrient management credits. Sessions include: Crop Management, Nutrient Management, Vegetable Production, Pest Management, and Soil & Water Management. Please see the following link for more information and to register: http://app.certain.com/profile/form/index.cfm?PKformID=0x15600158aa5

Invitation to the Virginia Soybean Field Day – Aug. 14, 2013

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You are invited to attend the 2013 Virginia Soybean Field Day at the Eastern Virginia Agricultural Research & Extension Center (EVAREC) in Warsaw on Wednesday August 14. Registration begins at 2:30 pm with field tours following at 3:00 pm. Dinner will be served at 6:00 pm courtesy of the Virginia Soybean Board and The Virginia Soybean Association. The address of the EVAREC is 2229 Menokin Road, Warsaw, VA 22572. If you are a person with a disability and desire any assistive devices, services or other accommodations to participate in this activity, please contact the Eastern Virginia Agricultural Research and Extension Center main office at 804-333-3485 (TDD number is 800-828-1120) prior to the event. Field day topics are shown below. We look forward to seeing you there.

Low Phytate Soybeans for a Healthier Chesapeake Bay (Dr. Bo Zhang, Virginia Tech Soybean Breeder); Elite STS Soybeans – Low Input, High Profit (Dr. Zhang);
Superior Conventional Soybeans for Better Yields (Dr. Zhang); Distribution and Management of Brown Marmorated Stink Bug and Kudzu Bug (Dr. Ames Herbert, Virginia Tech Entomologist); Maximizing Double-Crop Yields Through Inputs (Dr. David Holshouser, Virginia Tech Soybean Agronomist); Optimizing Early Season Growth & Yield (Mr. Kevin Dillon, Graduate Research Assistant and United Soybean Board Fellow); Does Variety Affect Yield Response to Fungicides? (Mr. Dillon); Predicting Yield Increases with Fungicides (Dr. Pat Phipps, Virginia Tech Plant Pathologist); Small Grains 2013 Comments (Dr. Wade Thomason, Virginia Tech Small Grains Agronomist); Looking Ahead to Fall Planting (Mr. Keith Balderson, Essex County Extension Agent); Greetings from the Virginia Soybean Association (Mr. Logan Vaughan, President, VSA); CSES Department Update (Dr. Tom Thompson, CSES Department Head); Greetings from CALS (Dr. Jody Jellison, Assoc. Director, Virginia Agricultural Experiment Station).

Invitation to the 2013 Pre-Harvest Field Crops Tour (Sep. 12, 2013)

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The Virginia Tech Tidewater Agricultural Research and Extension Center will hold its 2013 Pre-Harvest Field Crops Tour during the morning of Thursday, September 12, 2013. Please see the pdf attachment for additional details (click “More”), and note that pre-registration is required (please see the attachment for pre-registration instructions). Also on the attachment are details concerning Dr. Phipps’’ disease tour, and Dr. Balota’’s sorghum tour. If you are a person with a disability and desire any assistive devices, services or other accommodations to participate in this activity, please contact the Tidewater Agricultural Research and Extension Center at 757-657-6450 (TDD number is 800-828-1120) during business hours of 8 am and 4:30 pm to discuss accommodations five days prior to the event. Additional information: 2013-tarec-tour-flyer-pdf

Reminder: Tidewater AREC’s Early-Summer Row Crops Tour on morning of Thursday, June 6, 2013

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The Virginia Tech Tidewater Agricultural Research and Extension Center will hold an early-summer row crops tour during the morning of Thursday, June 6, 2013. The tour will be held at the Center’s Research Farm (1045 Hare Road, Suffolk, VA). Specialists will display field research in progress and will present information for the 2013 crop season.

Speakers and topics will include Dr. Ames Herbert (Thrips Management in Cotton/Peanuts and Tour of Research Plots); Dr. Maria Balota (Use of Genomics and Physiology in Crop Improvement); Dr. Hunter Frame (Soil Fertility Research in Virginia Cotton); Dr. Pat Phipps (Fungicides Boost Wheat Yield) (New Tools for Peanut and Cotton Disease Control); and Dr. David Holshouser (Oats as an Alternative Cover Crop). Robert Christian of the Virginia Department of Agriculture and Consumer Services will conclude the tour with a pesticide safety review. Commercial pesticide applicator recertification credits will be offered in Categories 1-A (Agricultural Plant Pest Control), 1-C (Fumigation of Soil and Agricultural Products), and 10 (Demonstration & Research Pest Control), and Registered Technician (category 60). We have applied to offer Certified Crop Adviser Continuing Education credits, and plan to apply to offer Private Applicator Recertification Credits.

All interested in commercial production of field crops are invited to attend. There is no preregistration and no fee for attending this tour. Arrival is at 8:30 am with the program starting promptly at 9:00 am and running through lunch (courtesy of Berry Lewis with Bayer CropScience). More information is available through local Virginia Cooperative Extension offices or by contacting the Tidewater Agricultural Research and Extension Center main office at 757-657-6450. If you are a person with a disability and desire any assistive devices, services or other accommodations to participate in this activity, please contact the Tidewater Agricultural Research and Extension Center at 757-657-6450 (TDD number is 800-828-1120) during business hours of 8 am and 4:30 pm to discuss accommodations five days prior to the event.

Invitation to the Virginia Tech Tidewater AREC “Early Summer Row Crops Tour” on June 6, 2013

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The “Early Summer Row Crops Tour” will be held at the Tidewater AREC Research Farm (1045 Hare Road, Suffolk, VA) on Thursday, June 6, 2013. There is no preregistration and no fee for attending this tour. The program will begin promptly at 9:00 am and will conclude with lunch (courtesy of Berry Lewis with Bayer CropScience). All interested in commercial production of field crops are invited to attend. We will provide further details once the agenda is finalized. If you are a person with a disability and desire any assistive devices, services or other accommodations to participate in this activity, please contact the Tidewater Agricultural Research and Extension Center at 757-657-6450 (TDD number is 800-828-1120) during business hours of 8 am and 4:30 pm to discuss accommodations five days prior to the event.

Deadline bullets on EPA chopping block (read Dr. Tookers article below)

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Metaldehyde (Deadline products) labeled use in corn and soybeans in jeopardy
One of the reasons that slugs are such a challenge in no-till field crops is the lack of commercially available pest management tools. Among the few viable options for slug control are metaldehyde-based baits, the best well known of which are the Deadline products (e.g., Deadline Bullets and Deadline Mini-Pellets), but others are available.
The active ingredient metaldehyde is produced by a European company called Lonza and needs periodic re-registration with the Environmental Protection Agency (EPA). The latest re-registration is underway, and we recently learned that Lonza has decided to let corn and soybeans drop from the label. The IR-4 Project (which facilitates registration of pest management tools; http://ir4.rutgers.edu/) has submitted a petition to EPA to establish tolerances on these and other commodities (which would allow their continued registration on the metaldehyde label), but in the near future it could be that growers would not be allowed to use metaldehyde-based products to protect their corn and soybean fields for perhaps a year or two until the EPA publishes a final rule on the proposed tolerances.

Since learning of this problem, various organizations including IR4, AMVAC (the producer of Deadline products), and University-based and NRCS personnel have mobilized to try to maintain uninterrupted use of metaldehyde in corn and soybeans. Our efforts are directed toward the EPA, where the final decision lies. It is promising that such a range of voices have emerged in support of maintaining the current uses of metaldehyde, but it would be valuable for EPA to hear from growers and grower groups. If you have the energy to send them a note, please contact me by email or phone (814-865-7082) and I can help you make this happen.

Contact Information
John Tooker