Register soon for pulse crop conference Jan. 17 at Bridgeport

Registration is due Jan. 12 for a Pulse Crop Workshop scheduled for Jan. 17 at Bridgeport, Nebraska, that will focus on production and marketing of field peas, chickpeas, black-eyed peas, fenugreek and soybeans.

The workshop will take place at Prairie Winds Community Center in Bridgeport. It is free to attend. Lunch and breaks will be provided so organizers do need to know how many people will be present. To register, contact the Cheyenne County Extension Office at Sidney. Either call the office at 308-254-4455 or email [email protected].

Questions can also be directed to Dipak Santra, alternative crops breeding specialist at the UNL Panhandle Research and Extension Center, at 970-397-9817.

Registration begins at 8:30 a.m. and the first presentation begins at 9 a.m.

A group of Nebraska Extension specialists and educators are working with regional representatives of pulse crop industries to organize the workshop. Sponsors include Nebraska Extension, with a grant from North Central SARE (Sustainable Agriculture Research and Extension Program), Pulse USA, Great Northern Ag, Jelinek Custom Cleaning, Prairie Sky Seed, Trinidad, Meridian Seed and New Alliance.

In addition to presentations from experts, the workshop will be an opportunity for producers to connect with industry representatives, interact with them, develop relationships, and hopefully have their questions answered. There will be a vendors’ area. The list of topics:

•       Variety trial of field pea, black-eye pea, and fenugreek—Dipak Santra, UNL Alternative Crops Breeding Specialist;
•       Variety trial of chickpea—Carlos Urrea, UNL Dry Bean Breeding Specialist;
•       Variety trial of soybean—Cody Creech, UNL Dryland Cropping Systems Specialist;
•       Diseases of pea, chickpea, and black-eye pea—Bob Harveson, UNL Plant Pathologist;
•       Pea and Fenugreek for Human Health—Kaustav Majumdar, UNL Assistant Professor in Food Science;
•       Agronomy – planting date, plant population, weed management, and inoculation with Rhizobium—Cody Creech, UNL;
•       Water use by pea in rotation with wheat—Xin Qiao, UNL Water and Irrigation Management Specialist;
•       How pest and beneficial insects in wheat are affected by field peas vs. fallow rotation (Julie Peterson, UNL Extension Entomologist;
•       3-5 Minute Rapid-Fire Industry Talks—Brad Hertel, Meridian Seeds; Emily Paul, Pulse USA; Shannah Plehal, Great Northern Ag; Courtney Schuler, Trinidad;
•       Marketing pea in Nebraska—Jon Sperl, New Alliance;
•       Marketing Chickpea and Lentil in Nebraska—Brian Jelinek, JCC Alliance; and
•       Fenugreek—Norm O’Dell, farmer at Alliance.

      The conference will wrap up with a panel discussion, and at 2 p.m. participants can join a tour of the pea splitting facility at New Alliance plant in Bridgeport.