Alabama Corn and Wheat Conference, Nov. 27

Two crops that have garnered quite a bit more attention in Alabama within the last year will be the focus of discussion at a meeting scheduled Nov. 27 in Huntsville.

The 2007 Alabama Corn and Wheat Conference will be held at the Huntsville Marriot, located off Exit 15 on Interstate 565 near the U.S. Space and Rocket Center.

Registration begins at 8:30 a.m. The meeting will conclude following lunch.

Topics will include corn production, presented by the University of Kentucky’s Dr. Chad Lee; nitrogen management for corn production by Dr. Greg Schwab, also of the University of Kentucky; and wheat management and production by Dr. Dewey Lee of the University of Georgia; and Leonard Kuykendall, regional agronomist for the Alabama Cooperative Extension System. A grower panel will discuss production issues, including irrigation and crop rotation.

Corn production has undergone a steep increase in Alabama within the last couple of years, rising from some 220,000 acres in 2005 to about 320,000 in 2007, according to Amy Winstead, multicounty Extension agent for precision agriculture with the Alabama Cooperative Extension System.

Prices have played a big role in this increase, Winstead says, but so has the continued need for crop rotation.

Wheat production also is on the rise, and Winstead and other crop experts have discerned an increased need for production and management information regarding wheat.

The Alabama Agricultural Statistics Service reports that Alabama farmers harvested roughly 80,000 acres of wheat in 2007, up from 45,000 acres harvested in 2005 and 2006.

For additional conference information, please contact Shannon Norwood at (256) 412-1696 or Amy Winstead at (256) 443-4752.

Posted by Jim Langcuster at November 6, 2007 03:41 PM | TrackBack