By Nathan Drewitz, U of M Extension
Winter workshops are a great opportunity to learn about new ideas and refine old practices. I want to encourage farmers to attend these workshops, meetings, and conferences to help update their management practices with the newest information.
This year’s workshops occurring in our area include topics ranging from nutrient management to small grains. Each one of the events below will focus on different aspects of crop production and will provide information focused on helping make the best possible decision on your farm. Below I have included a small snippet of information for each event. I would strongly encourage anyone interested in the events to go online and register or to contact me at (320) 968-5081, so I can direct you to the appropriate registration location.
Tour de Forage, Wednesday, Jan. 30, at the American Legion, 103 N Maple St, Royalton. Registration starts at 9 a.m. and conference concludes at 2:45 p.m. The preregistration window has closed; please register at the door. This year’s keynote speaker is Kris Ringwall, director of the Livestock & Forage Centre of Excellence in Saskatoon, SK. He will discuss “The Forage Chain – New Thoughts on Expanded Forage Use,” and ask attendees to “think outside the box”.
Strategic Farming – Maximizing Return on Investment Workshop, Wednesday, Feb. 6, at the American Legion, 770 MN-23, Paynesville. Register at: https://
z.umn.edu/StrategicFarming by Jan. 31, to ensure handouts and lunch. Workshop starts at 9 a.m. and concludes at 12:30 p.m. The focus of this event is to look at the likelihood of seeing a return on investment with various crop production strategies. Strategies discussed will relate to soil fertility programs, pesticide use, and seed and technology traits among others. Key cost factors in budgets will be reviewed and tips will be given to help with evaluating agricultural research and marketing claims.
Nutrient Management Conference, Tuesday, Feb. 19, at the Best Western Kelly Inn, 100 4th Avenue S, St. Cloud. Registration starts at 8:15 a.m. and conference concludes at 3:40 p.m. Sessions will cover challenges in phosphorus and sulfur management, nitrogen applications under irrigation, and effects of phosphorus availability due to residue management.
Small Grains Winter Workshop, Wednesday, Feb. 20, at the Great Blue Heron, 305 5th Ave S, Cold Spring. Registration ahead of the workshop is highly encouraged to get an accurate count for lunch, register at: z.umn.edu/SmallGrainWorkshops. The workshop starts at 9 a.m. and goes until 1 p.m. This program is designed to help farmers determine if small grains will work in rotations and then provide the necessary information to grow those small grains. This will include looking at the cutting-edge research on production agronomics, variety selection, disease identification, fungicide use, fertility, quality, equipment, and economics.