Geoff Siemering, UW-Soil Science
Register now for the 2016 Wisconsin Crop Management Conference (January 12-14)
On January 12 – 14, 2016 the agribusiness industries of Wisconsin will come together at the Alliant Energy Center in Madison for the Wisconsin Crop Management Conference and Agri-Industry Showcase. With over 40 educational sessions, 100,000 square feet of agricultural equipment and services exhibits, and approximately 1200 agricultural industry employees in attendance, the WCMC is the largest agri-industry conference of its kind in the State of Wisconsin.
Craig Culver, co-founder and chairman of the board of Culver’s Restaurants, and Mark Tauscher, former Wisconsin Badger and Green Bay Packer football player, will kick off the event with keynote speeches on day one. According to Shawn Conley, UW soybean extension specialist and WCMC faculty co-director, “We know Mark plans to stick around and sign autographs for a while on Tuesday, so bring your footballs.”
Days two and three feature educational sessions on a range of topics including weed, plant disease, nitrogen and nutrients, and soil and water management; seeds and traits, forages and cover crops, manure, and pollinators. Dr. Chad Hart, Iowa State University, will be the final speaker of the conference, presenting on the Useful to Useable tools (aka U2U). “Make sure to stick around to the end on Thursday,” said Dr. Matt Ruark, UW soils extension specialist and WCMC faculty co-director. “The climate tools that U2U offers have the potential to be quite valuable for farmers and crop consultants.” The U2U program is a USDA National Institute for Food and Agriculture-funded research and extension project designed to improve the resilience and profitability of farms in the Corn Belt amid a variable and changing climate.
Feed, grain, and agribusiness sessions will highlight GMO’s, staff recruiting and retention, and the Food Safety Modernization Act. Also available will be both basic and advanced SnapPlus training sessions. The conference is co-sponsored by the Wisconsin Agri-Business Association, UW College of Agricultural and Life Sciences, and UW Extension.
To register, go to http://go.wisc.edu/w51b57.