Golden Triangle Herbicide-Resistance Meetings February 19, 2019 in Conrad and Fort Benton

Golden Triangle MSU Extension agents will be hosting herbicide-resistance meetings on Tuesday, February 19, 2019, in both Conrad and Fort Benton. A special thanks to our sponsors for lunch. Sponsors include Chouteau County Farmers Union, Montana Farmers Union, Corteva, Wilbur Ellis, CHS Cut Bank Group, Cargill and Centrol Crop Consulting. Please RSVP by Friday, February 15 to ensure an accurate headcount for lunch.

Due to the increase of herbicide resistance in the Golden Triangle over the past five years, there has been additional interest in finding ways to manage resistant weeds. Herbicide–resistant plants often develop from repeated use of a single mode of action herbicide. Plants can then develop resistance to additional herbicides, and then require more costly management techniques. The workshop will cover the current status and future directions of herbicide-resistant weeds, management, perspectives from industry, Palmer amaranth monitoring and management, and improving herbicide efficacy.

Dr. Prashant Jha, an associate professor at the Southern Agricultural Research Center at the MSU College of Agriculture and the Montana Agricultural Experiment Station will cover Herbicide Resistance: Current Status and Future Directions. He will also address chemical, cultural and mechanical weed control practices for herbicide management.

Jared Unverzagt, Technical Service Representative at BASF, will cover Industry Perspectives on Herbicide Resistance and New Trait Technologies.

Shelley Mills, MSU Extension Valley County, will introduce producers to Palmer amaranth. Palmer amaranth is a type of pigweed that has devastated crops in the South and Midwest. It has now been identified in North Dakota.

Mat Walter, MSU Extension Musselshell-Golden Valley County will cover Factors Affecting Herbicide Efficacy and how it Contributes to Herbicide Resistance.

Lunch time speakers for Fort Benton will include Bill Evans, Chouteau County Farm Service Agency and Marni Thompson, NRCS Resource Conservationist. They will speak on tillage compliance when managing resistance weeds.

The lunch time speaker for Conrad will be Tom Stott, Territory Manager for Cargill. Tom will update producers about the new canola varieties they have available.

Representatives from Corteva, Wilbur Ellis, CHS, Mountain View Coop, and Centrol Crop Consulting will form a panel to discuss industry perspective on herbicide resistance and what they are doing to help mitigate the problem. Company participation may vary in each location.

Both locations will begin with registration at 10:00 a.m. and will conclude by 4 p.m. The Conrad workshop will be held at the Pondera Shooting Sports Complex, 972 Granite Road, Conrad, and the Fort Benton workshop will be held at the Ag Center, 1205 20th Street.

A total of six Pesticide points will be available at both locations. For any questions regarding the event or to RSVP, please contact Tyler Lane (MSU Extension – Chouteau County, 622-3751, tyler.lane@montana.edu) or Adriane Good (MSU Extension – Pondera County, 271-4054, adriane.good@montana.edu). Please RSVP by Friday, February 15 to ensure an accurate headcount for lunch.