The quiet calm of winter provides the perfect opportunity to strengthen crop management strategies for the upcoming season. To help farmers prepare, the University of Minnesota Extension created the Strategic Farming: Let’s Talk Crops! program. This webinar series aims to help agriculture professionals protect, fortify, and grow their operations.
New episodes air live every Wednesday from 9 a.m. to 10 a.m. Central Standard Time from January through March, 2022. Each week, an invited guest gives a brief presentation on the chosen topic. After each presentation, the day’s presenters will answer attendees’ questions during an informal discussion.
This three-month series presents a wide variety of farming topics for attendees to talk about. Topics include farming equipment, cropping issues, soil fertility, pest management, and agronomics.
Here is a quick week-by-week overview of the presenters and topics featured, making it easy to decide which webinars interest you most.
Webinar: Let’s Talk Crop Fertility Adjustments
Wednesday, January 5th
Guest Presenter(s):
- Dr. Dan Kaiser – Extension Nutrient Management Specialist
- Brad Carlson – Extension Educator – Water Resources
Discussion: Adapting fertilizer plans to account for abnormally high fertilizer prices and abnormal weather.
Webinar: Let’s Talk Compaction
Wednesday, January 12th
Guest Presenter(s):
- Aaron Daigh – North Dakota State University
- Jodi DeJong-Hughes – Extension Educator – Water Quality
Discussion: How to spot and correct soil compaction.
Webinar: Let’s Talk Corn Grain and Silage Management
Wednesday, January 19th
Guest Presenter(s):
- Dr. Joe Lauer – UW-Madison, Corn Agronomist
- Luiz Ferraretto – UW-Madison, Ruminant Nutritionalist
Discussion: Comparing and contrasting the best ways to manage corn that is expected to be used for livestock feed.
Webinar: Let’s Talk about Sulfur
Wednesday, January 26th
Guest Presenter(s):
- Dr. Dan Kaiser – Extension Nutrient Management Specialist
- Jeff Vetsch – Soil Scientist
Discussion: Discussion on the new findings regarding sulfur fertilizer and sulfur fertility in general.
Webinar: Let’s Talk Weed Management
Wednesday, February 2nd
Guest Presenter(s):
- Dr. Debalin Sarangi – Extension Weed Scientist
- Dave Nicolai – Extension Educator – Crops
Discussion: Best weed management practices now and in the coming years.
Webinar: Let’s Talk Cover Crops
Wednesday, February 9th
Guest Presenter(s):
- Dr. Anna Cates – State Soil Health Specialist
- Dr. Axel Garcia y Garcia – Sustainable Cropping System Specialist
Discussion: Timing cover crops and the potential impact cover crops have on your farming operation.
Webinar: Let’s Talk Tar Spot of Corn
Wednesday, February 16th
Guest Presenter(s):
- Dr. Dean Malvick – Extension Plant Pathologist
- Dr. Nathan Kleczewski – Plant Pathologist at GROWMARK Inc.
Discussion: Summarizing the tar spot corn problem of 2021 and the ways to manage the tar spot problem in 2022.
Webinar: Let’s Talk Small Grains
Wednesday, February 23rd
Guest Presenter(s):
- Dr. Jochum Wiersma – Extension Small Grain Specialist
- Dr. Jared Goplen – Extension Educator – Crops
Discussion: Addressing production agronomics, the economics of small grain production, and variety selection.
Webinar: Let’s Talk Drought Effects on Insect Pest Pressure
Wednesday, March 2nd
Guest Presenter(s):
- Dr. Ian MacRae – Extension Entomologist
- Bruce Potter – Extension IPM Specialist
Discussion: How the drought of 2021 is expected to affect the insect pest pressure in the new year.
Webinar: Let’s Talk Corn Insects
Wednesday, March 9th
Guest Presenter(s):
- Bruce Potter – Extension IPM Specialist
- Dr. Anthony Hanson – Extension Educator – Crops
Discussion: How will the insect issues of 2021 affect 2022
Webinar: Let’s Talk Storing C in Production AG Systems
Wednesday, March 16th
Guest Presenter(s):
- Dr. Anna Cates – State Soil Health Specialist
- Jodi DeJong-Hughes – Extension Educator – Water Quality
Discussion: Exploring how much carbon can be stored in our carbon systems and which practices will have the most impact.
Topic: Let’s Talk Biocontrol to Manage Pests
Wednesday, March 23rd
Guest Presenter(s):
- Dr. George Heimpel – UMN Entomologist
- Dr. Anthony Hanson – Extension Educator – Crops
Discussion: Learn which organisms in your fields can help you manage pests.
Topic: Let’s Talk Taming Nutrient Management Costs
Wednesday, March 30th
Guest Presenter(s):
- Dave Nicolai – Extension Educator – Crops
- Extension Nutrient Management Specialists
Discussion: Discussion about taming soil input and fertilizer costs and looking ahead in 2022.
Wrapping Up – Let’s Talk Crops!
That wraps up the Let’s Talk Crops! schedule for the 2022 winter season. Each webinar is presented over Zoom which can be accessed via a phone, tablet, or computer. Just make sure you download the app on whatever device you choose to listen first.
To get access to each live webinar, make sure you register online through the University of Minnesota Extension website. Can’t make it to the live sessions? Fear not, each episode is uploaded on their website after they air.
Let’s Talk Crops! has been a webinar series since 2020 with five episodes; 2021 provided twelve more episodes. We encourage you to listen to past episodes to get answers to some of your most burning questions.
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