As many as 500 agronomists and farmers are expected to attend this year’s Crop Diagnostic School next month.
“That’s the number that we’ve seen over the years,” said Marla Riekman, soil management specialist with Manitoba Agriculture and co-organizer of this year’s school. “It’s always great. We have a lot of experienced and junior agronomists that come out every year and the school is an excellent space to kind of renew some agronomic knowledge.”
The annual Crop Diagnostic School is a major source of agronomy knowledge in Manitoba.
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The school will be held over five days at the University of Manitoba’s Ian N. Morrison Research Farm in Carman. It will run July 5-6 and July 11-13. Cost of registration is $175.
There is also a Farmers’ Day scheduled July 7 sponsored by the Manitoba Crop Alliance, the Manitoba Pulse and Soybean Growers and the Manitoba Canola Growers. Farmers who are members of all three organizations can attend agronomy updates on that day for free.
“This year’s event will be run similar to last year,” said Manitoba Agriculture cereals specialist and co-organizer Anne Kirk. “It will be divided into four sections, focusing on weeds, diseases, insects and soil fertility.”
Topics highlighted at each station can change based on what attendees see in the fields, but Kirk gave a rough outline.
“For weeds, we’re looking at weed management in corn, soybeans, canola and peas, weed IDs and approaches to kochia management,” she said.
“For soils, we’re looking at cover crops, nitrogen fertilizer management, fertilizer rates and iron deficiency chlorosis in soybeans.
“For insects, we’re looking at beneficial insects — so predators, parasitoids and pollinators.
“And then finally, for diseases, we’re looking at diagnosis and management of cereal diseases and we’re also looking at crop physiology and stresses.”
Registration starts at 8 a.m. each day. Classes start a half-hour later and end at 3 p.m.
“We cut out a little bit earlier,” said Riekman. “It’s so we’re not in the dead of the heat of the day at 3 o’clock and trying to suffer through until 4:30 like we have been in the past.”
Attendees get donuts and coffee in the morning and a catered lunch. When registering, be sure to indicate any food allergies.
To register and for more information about the school, email [email protected].
