Agronomy Summit slated for Jan. 31

FREEPORT, Ill. — Producers faced another challenging crop growing season this year with dry weather and added weed pressure.

“The short yet intense periods of drought this year, although mitigated by timely rainfall, made for an interesting growing season,” said Kathryn Seebruck, University of Illinois Extension crops educator. “It taught us a lot about the importance of setting the crop up for success in defense against these types of adverse conditions.”

To address these growing season challenges and more, U of I Extension announced the annual Northwest Illinois Agronomy Summit will be held from 10 a.m. to 2:30 p.m. Jan. 31 at Highland Community College Conference Center in Freeport.

The theme for this year’s conference is “Updates in Nutrient, Weed and Soil Health Management,” with U of I and University of Wisconsin-Madison specialists discussing strategies for weed, nutrient management and plans to build soil health.

Topics for the day include “Practical Nitrogen Management for Corn,” presented by Giovani Preza Fontes, U of I Extension field crops agronomist.

Connor Sible, postdoctoral research associate with the Crop Physiology Laboratory at the U of I, will present “Understanding Biologicals for Row Crops.”

“Navigating the Inevitability of Herbicide Resistance” will be delivered by Kathryn Seebruck, U of I Extension crops educator.

Dan Smith, UW–Madison Nutrient and Pest Management Program southwest regional specialist, will discuss “Building Soil Health in Northern Climates.”

Justin Ebert, Highland Community College agriculture instructor, will be on hand to talk about the HCC research plots and the results from this past growing season.

To register or for more information about the Northwest Illinois Agronomy Summit, visit go.illinois.edu/jsw or call U of I Extension at 815-235-4125.

Registration is required to attend. Registration cost is $25.