Red River Crops Conference set for Jan. 17-18 in Altus

The 11th annual Red River Crops Conference for producers in southwestern Oklahoma and the Texas Rolling Plains regions will be held on Jan. 17 to 18 in Altus, Oklahoma.

The Texas A&M AgriLife Extension Service and the Oklahoma Cooperative Extension Service collaborate each year to offer the event, alternating hosting duties between the two states.

The conference will be from 9 a.m. to 2:30 p.m. on Jan. 17 and 9 a.m. to 3:15 p.m. on Jan. 18 at the Jackson County Expo Center, 300 South Todd Lane.

Cost is $25 per person for one or both days. Lunch will be served each day, and preregistration is encouraged by Jan. 13 for meal counts.

The registration form can be found online at https://tx.ag/RedRiverCropsConf2024. Checks should be payable to the Red River Crops Conference and mailed to the Tillman County Oklahoma State University Extension office, 201 North Main St. #1, Frederick, OK, 79201. 

Six Texas Department of Agriculture continuing education units will be available for Texas producers, including five general and one integrated pest management. Oklahoma producers will receive two continuing education units from the Oklahoma Department of Agriculture, Food and Forestry.

Cotton Day agenda

Presentations on Jan. 17 will highlight cotton. Topics and speakers include:

• National Cotton Council update – Tas Smith, Ph.D., National Cotton Council vice president of producer affairs, Memphis, Tennessee.
• Cotton market update – John Robinson, Ph.D., AgriLife Extension cotton marketing economist and professor in the Department of Agricultural Economics, Bryan-College Station.
• Herbicide program updates – Peter Dotray, Ph.D., Texas A&M AgriLife Research weed specialist and professor in the Department of Soil and Crop Sciences, Lubbock.
• Bt technology update – David Kerns, Ph.D,  professor and associate department head for AgriLife Extension in the Department of Entomology and statewide integrated pest management coordinator, Bryan-College Station.
• Optimizing cotton fertility in a yield-limiting environment – Katie Lewis, Ph.D., AgriLife Research soil chemistry and fertility scientist and professor in the Department of Soil and Crop Sciences, Lubbock.
• Wrap-up and evaluation.

Jan. 18 in-season and other summer crops agenda

Presentations on Jan. 18 will highlight in-season and summer crops. Topics and speakers will be:

• Grain vs graze market—Francisco Abello, assistant professor in the Department of Agricultural Economics and AgriLife Extension economist for farm management, Vernon.
• Cattle market—Derrell Peel, Ph.D., professor and Oklahoma Cooperative Extension livestock economist, Stillwater, Oklahoma.
• Current wheat crop status and in-season management—Josh Bushong, West District Area agronomy specialist, Oklahoma Cooperative Extension, Enid, Oklahoma.
• Basics of harvesting and storing round bales—Michael Pettijohn, Ph.D., Oklahoma State University South Central Research Station senior superintendent, Chickasha, Oklahoma.
• In season nutrient management: New approaches—Brian Arnall, Ph.D., professor and Oklahoma Cooperative Extension precision nutrient management specialist, Stillwater, Oklahoma.
• Corn and sorghum herbicide update—Todd Baughman, Oklahoma State University Institute for Agricultural Biosciences weed specialist, Ardmore, Oklahoma.
• Farm bill update and outlook—Bart Fischer, Ph.D., Texas A&M Department of Agricultural Economics research assistant professor and co-director, Agricultural Food Policy Center, Bryan-College Station.
• Wrap-up and evaluation.