Crop Advisors can earn continuing education credits for CCA certification through in-person and online attendance of the Resilient Agriculture Conference, August 5-7, in Ames, Iowa. Farmers and crop advisors throughout the upper Midwest are invited to attend in person or online, as most conference sessions except the field activities will be live-streamed.
The conference is co-sponsored by the USDA's Sustainable Corn Project which is working to identify ways to build greater resiliency into corn-based cropping systems in response to the effects of climate change in the Corn Belt. Such effects include a longer growing season and extreme rain events. Scientists with the Sustainable Corn Project have been collecting and analyzing data from 35 field sites in 8 states, studying the results of various practices, such as drainage water management, cover crops, and much more. At the conference, these scientists will share their findings and a panel of four Midwest farmers will discuss what they've done on their farms to build resiliency into their operations.
Topics will include:
The latest science on climate impacts on agriculture
Adaptation strategies for corn/soybean-based systems
Field day of demonstration plots with time to talk to scientists
New and emerging technologies for farm management
"With weather variability like we have had these past two years, it's difficult to know when it's time to plant corn. This and other changes we're experiencing in climate patterns make it necessary to adopt management practices that provide the best results in all years," said Garry Niemeyer, a farmer in Illinois and past president of the National Corn Growers Association. "A farmer concerned with risk management for his operation should consider attending the Resilient Agriculture conference, where all of these issues and many more will be addressed."
During the conference, farmers also will participate in hands-on activities in the field to increase their understanding of the practices being researched and to learn how to use new decision support tools.
Registration, other conference details and information about the Sustainable Corn Project can be found at www.sustainablecorn.org. Registration is open through July 30 for in-person attendance and August 1 for online participants.
Gary Niemeyer