Winter production meetings, a long-running staple of the Cooperative Extension Service’s efforts to help Arkansas growers succeed from field prep to harvest, will again be in-person throughout the state in 2022.
Production meetings provide an opportunity for agronomists, researchers and Cooperative Extension Service agents with the Division of Agriculture to share the latest and findings and recommendations with producers, consultants and other agriculture industry professionals. The meetings also give those in attendance the chance to interact directly with those experts.
During the winter months of early 2021, all production meetings were delivered via the Zoom online platform. Each presentation focused on a major commodity, such as rice or soybeans. Vic Ford, associate vice president for agriculture and natural resources for the University of Arkansas System Division of Agriculture, said the 2022 meetings will be organized by geography rather than commodity, with each meeting dealing with crops common to the local area.
“We’re going to be more traditional about having cotton and corn together, and soybeans and rice together,” Ford said. He said most meetings will serve two or three contiguous counties.
In addition to the relevant commodity crops, the 2022 meetings will deal with rising input prices, especially fertilizer.
“We’re recommending getting a sharp pencil, and looking at each field,” Ford said. “Any given field may have soil test recommendations, but growers will need to do the math as far as the cost-effectiveness of using fertilizer. There are going to be some fields growers think about not fertilizing, knowing the yield may be less.”
Winter production meetings begin in January. Dates and locations for individual meetings may be subject to change, due to weather, COVID or other factors. For specific production meeting details, contact your county extension office.
