Crop clinic shares what’s new in agriculture with producers

Insects, weeds, and diseases were only a few of the topics at the recent Nebraska Extension Crop Production Clinic held in Gering. The annual meeting is one of eight the Extension hosts each year. 

“We cover quite a few crop management topics and some agribusiness topics as well,” said Chris Proctor, Nebraska Extension associate educator and coordinator of the event. “There is a fair amount of research being conducted over the year that gets highlighted at these meetings. So, it’s a good place to come for updates and see what happened during the last growing season.” 

The clinic also offers Pesticide Applicator Recertification, where applicators can renew their license. It is a legal requirement that commercial and private applicators renew their license every three years. “This is usually for commercial general standards in ag plant category,” said Frank Bright, Nebraska Extension pesticide safety associate.

Bright added that producers should keep an eye on the news, as chemical changes, including label changes. “They are current products. It’s just a new iteration of the label, and those change all the time.” The new labels are just a different way of measuring a pick list with different criteria. Instead of just windspeed and temperature, many other factors are measured, such as soil type, crop, and more. 

In the Panhandle of Nebraska, more specialty crops are grown than in the east, predominately corn and soybeans. “We try to tailor the clinics to be more specific to the region,” Proctor said. 

The clinic will move east across Nebraska and will look more at pests in corn and soybeans, weed management, and cropping systems. 

The remaining clinics will be held: 

Jan. 9—Northeast Community College in Norfolk

Jan. 10—Eastern Nebraska Research, Extension and Education Center in Mead

Jan. 11—Holiday Inn Express in Beatrice

Jan. 17—Lochland Country Club in Hastings

Jan. 19—Holthus Convention Center in York

Jan. 23—Younes Conference Center in Kearney, at the Nebraska Agri-Business Association Exposition 

For more information or to register, visit https://agronomy.unl.edu/cpc