The Texas A&M AgriLife Extension Service will once again be providing educational programming through several different events at the Amarillo Farm and Ranch Show Dec. 3-5 at the Amarillo Civic Center, 401 S. Buchanan St., Amarillo.
The doors open daily at 9 a.m. for the farm show, and admission is $2.
Panhandle Farm and Ranch Management Symposium
AgriLife Extension’s primary programming will be the long-running Panhandle Farm and Ranch Management Symposium from 8:30 a.m.-3 p.m. Dec. 3 in the Grand Plaza.
Registration is from 8:30-9 a.m., and the fee is $60. Lunch will be provided.
There will be five Texas Department of Agriculture continuing education units offered for pesticide applicators – one laws and regulations, one drift management and three general.
The program will feature the following topics and speakers:
– Weed Resistance, Scott Nolte, Ph.D., AgriLife Extension state weed specialist, College Station.
– Myths and Truths of Glyphosate, Nolte.
– Decline in Bt Traits, Suhas Vyavhare, Ph.D., AgriLife Extension cotton entomologist, Lubbock.
– Drift Control, Blayne Reed, AgriLife Extension integrated pest management agent, Hale and Swisher counties.
– Laws and Regulations, Kyle Thompson, Texas Department of Agriculture inspector, Lubbock.
For more information, contact Megan Eikner at 806-373-0713 or megan.eikner@ag.tamu.edu.
Healthy Living
AgriLife Extension’s District 1 family and community health agents will provide a variety of health-related information at their booth just outside of the Grand Plaza in the north foyer on Dec. 3-4.
They will provide different healthy food samples and recipes at 10 a.m., 10:30 a.m., 11 a.m. and 11:30 a.m. both days.
They also will share information on helping farmers, ranchers and their families manage stress and maintain a balanced lifestyle.
Economists Speak
Joe Outlaw, Ph.D., Texas A&M Agricultural and Food Policy Center co-director, College Station, and Mark Welch, Ph.D., AgriLife Extension grain marketing economist, College Station, will be a part of the annual Texas Wheat Symposium speaker lineup on Dec. 4.
The Texas Wheat Symposium, from 10 a.m.-1 p.m., will provide agricultural producers with current policy information, an outlook on the commodity market, and updates on other issues on the state and national level.
The symposium is free to attend and will conclude with the Amarillo Ag Appreciation Luncheon, courtesy of the Texas Wheat Producers Association and Amarillo Chamber of Commerce Ag Council.
Farm Show Private Applicator Training
The Farm Show Private Applicator Training on Dec. 4 will immediately follow the Amarillo Ag Appreciation Luncheon from 1-5 p.m.
This 3.5-hour training provides the information necessary to take the private applicator license test administered by the Texas Department of Agriculture. Cost is $70, and all materials will be provided.
“We encourage anyone living in the Texas Panhandle to participate if they need a private pesticide applicator license,” said Megan Eikner, AgriLife Extension agriculture and natural resources agent for Potter County.
The private pesticide applicator license is for agricultural producers and landowners who apply restricted-use pesticides to their own property.
Hemp Update
AgriLife Extension agronomist Calvin Trostle, Ph.D., Lubbock, will participate in the First Things: Considerations for Industrial Hemp Production in Texas, which is scheduled from 2-4 p.m. on both Dec. 3 and Dec. 4 in the Hospitality Room of the Civic Center.
Trostle will outline the issues facing a potential Texas hemp industry for fiber, grain and cannabinoid, CBD, production. He also will provide more resources for producers considering hemp.
