Wednesday, April 16, 1997

Top notch cotton meetings around the corner

By J.T. SMITH / Farm Editor

The first Rolling Plains Cotton Conference has been slated for April 30 at the Haskell Civic Center in Haskell.

Registration is 8 a.m., with the first session starting at 8:30. The conference will conclude about about 3:30 p.m.

A free meal will be served to those who pre-register prior to April 22 by calling the Taylor County Extension Service office in Abilene at (915) 674-1321, or the Jones County Extension Office in Anson at (915) 823-4241.

It is important to pre-register. Those who don't register by the deadline will have to pay $10 at the door, so you save yourself ten bucks by pre-registering.

The conference is a combined effort of the Rolling Plains county Extension Service offices in Jones, Taylor, Haskell, Fisher, Stonewall, Kent, King, Dickens, Baylor and Throckmorton counties.

The planning committee has put together a great slate of speakers and topics which can benefit the smallest of farms to the larger operations.

Dr. Randy Bowman will speak on managing cotton for an early crop. Dr. Dan Krieg will look at fertilizer needs on dryland cotton. Bowman also will explain plant mapping. Todd Baughman will look at the latest technology in weed control.

Krieg also will discuss plant populations, and Michelle Thompson will give a boll weevil program update. Chris Sansone will talk about bollworms and beet armyworms.

Dr. Carl Anderson, noted Texas A&M economist and cotton marketing specialist, will speak on the world cotton outlook.

A Paymaster representative will report on BT/Roundup Ready cotton.

Dr. Bill Lyle, Texas A&M irrigation speciliast, will discuss all sorts of irrigation methods.

Emory Boring III, veteran Texas A&M entomologist, will report on the pest outlook for 1997. Sansone will return to discuss beneficial insects.

Speaking of cotton meetings

Another Rooling Plains cotton production meeting is May 1 at the Inadale Community Center (between Roscoe and Snyder).

Registration is 8:30 a.m. with the program to conclude about 1:30 p.m.

Drs. Krieg, Bowman, and Anderson also are on this program, along with Sansone and Dr. Peter Dotray, a weed specialist.

Lunch will be provided and continuing education units can be earned for private, commercial, and non-commercial applicators.

Pre-register for the Inadale cotton meeting by calling the Nolan County Extension Office by April 28 at (915) 236-6912, or the Scurry County Extension office at (915) 537-5423.