(Cazenovia, NY – Feb. 2015) The annual Madison County Field Crops Meeting will be held on Tuesday March 17. Registration begins at 9 a.m. at Empire Tractor, 2893 Route 20 East in Cazenovia.
Lunch will be provided courtesy of Empire Tractor, and requires pre-registration by calling them at (315) 655- 8146. Three and three-quarter pesticide recertification credits have been applied for. Participants seeking these credits must bring their Applicators card, number, and driver’s license and be present throughout all program presentations. The event concludes at 3:45 p.m.
Dr. Gary Bergstrom from Cornell University’s Plant Pathology and Plant-Microbe Biology Department will present new information on detecting and managing crop diseases including brown root rot in alfalfa. He’ll cover new disease developments affecting malting barley, winter wheat, and soybeans, as well as provide an update on Northern Leaf Blight in corn.
The 4 R’s of Fertilizer Management will be presented by Mike Hunter, Field Crop Specialist in Jefferson and Lewis Counties. He’ll review 4 basic principles in using fertilizer – choosing the right kind, rate, time, and placement. Keith Waldron from NYS IPM Program will report on the latest activity on tracking Western bean cutworm in field and sweet corn in New York, as well as in dry bean crops.
After lunch, Dr. Elson Shields from Cornell University’s Entomology Department will cover how Neonicotinoids in Groundwater, Bee Decline and BT-Corn Rootworm resistance present a double whammy for corn production. Don Nelson, NY DEC Pest Control Specialist in Region 7 will update producers on what’s new in the area of regulatory compliance and review basic information on reading and following pesticide labels.
Finally, Jim Carrabba, Agricultural Safety Specialist at New York Center for Agricultural Medicine and Health (NYCAMH) will provide information on respirators and respiratory protection that may be required when applying pesticides. He’ll describe different types of respirators – their cleaning and storage, and review OSHA rules pertaining to respirators and proposed changes in EPA’s Worker Protection Standard rules.
For further information, contact Cornell Cooperative Extension of Madison County by calling (315) 684-3001.