Positioning your farm to be resilient and successful despite the current downturn will be among the timely topics to be presented at the Fremont Corn Expo Jan. 5.

“Choosing Your Row Ahead” is the theme of this year’s program and keys off the common phrase, “the road ahead.” Nebraska corn producers have a whole series of decisions they make during a growing season. Choosing the “row” ahead or best series of decisions is what the Fremont Crop Expo is focused on. To accomplish this speakers will address:

• applying ag technology,
• improving economic viability,
• increasing resilience to extreme weather, and
• enhancing soil and water resources.

Speakers will include University and ag agency experts as well as business and industry leaders from the Nebraska Corn Growers Association, Nebraska Corn Board, and Colfax-Dodge County Corn Growers.

The event, sponsored by Nebraska Extension, the Fremont Chamber, Nebraska Farm Bureau, the Nebraska Corn Board, the Nebraska Corn Growers Association, and many local ag businesses, will be from 7:30 a.m. to 3 p.m. at the Christensen Field Main Arena, 1730 W. 16^th St. Forty-eight agribusinesses will be exhibiting at the expo throughout the day.

“The Expo is a one-stop shop for local corn growers to get the critical information they need to effectively manage locally relevant corn production issues,” said Nathan Mueller, Nebraska Extension cropping systems educator, planning coordinator, and host for the Fremont Corn Expo.

“The topics at this year’s expo were driven by over 100 attendee responses in a survey mailed out after last year’s expo. This is a local corn grower-guided event.”

Topics

Presentations will include:

• Multi-Hybrid Planting Preparation with Joe Luck, Nebraska Extension precision agriculture engineer. If you’ve been seeing in-field variation of your corn crop, muti-hybrid planting may be one way to mitigate yield risk. Learn what researchers found when conducting multi-hybrid planting research on five fields in eastern Nebraska in 2016. Yield impacts, observations, and profit analysis by zone will be presented for discussion of hybrid and zone delineation accuracy.
• Economic Outlook for US Agriculture with Brent Gloy, agricultural economist at Purdue University. While there’s no glass ball to perfectly forecast economic trends in agriculture, a closer look at several key factors can help you better position your operation. Learn what factors are driving the profit squeeze and what you can expect in 2017 and upcoming years.
• With Phosphorus, You Have Choices! with Charles Shapiro, Nebraska Extension soil science and crop nutrient specialist. Decisions on when and where to apply phosphorus often are based on longer term economics as well as agronomic need. Is it best to apply a large load at once or spread the application across several years? Learn how to assess the factors pertinent to your farm when determining when to apply P.
• Tools to Help Weather the Storms Ahead with Brian Smith, National Weather Service Meteorologist at Omaha/Valley. Severe weather, including hail, tornadoes, high winds and flooding, cause billions of dollars of damage annually to agriculture. Learn how to better weather these challenges. Learn about cloud features that accompany severe storms and how to interpret them as well as options for getting warnings.

In addition, a panel will look at what lies ahead for farm finances. Speakers will include:

• Tina Barrett, executive director, Nebraska Farm Business Inc.,
• Marty Krohn, ag lender, First National Bank, Fremont,
• Al Vyhnalek, Nebraska Extension educator on cash rent and leases,
• Charles Shapiro, Nebraska Extension soil science and crop nutrient specialist, and
• Brent Gloy, economist, Purdue University.

More Information

The event is free and includes breakfast and lunch. For more information and a full list of sponsors and exhibitors visit CropTechCafe.org, a blog by Extension Educators in east central and northeast Nebraska. A total of 2.5 CEUs will be available for the event.

At 3 p.m., following the expo, a Nitrogen Certification and Water Conservation Training Class will be held for Lower Platte North NRD producers.