Monday, Dec. 17, is the last day discounted room rates will be offered by the Marriott Rivercenter/Riverwalk hotels in San Antonio, Texas. Those are the headquarter hotels for the 2013 Beltwide Cotton Conferences, set for Jan. 7-10.

The National Cotton Council urges cotton industry members, university and USDA researchers, Extension personnel, consultants, equipment and service providers – anyone with a stake in a healthy U.S. cotton production sector – to make your housing reservations now for this world-class information forum.

Housing and Conferences registration instructions, along with a schedule of events and general information are at www.cotton.org/beltwide.

The Conferences will open on the afternoon of Jan. 7 with the Consultants Conference in the Marriott Riverwalk Hotel. That session is open to everyone and includes a noon luncheon. The program begins at 1 p.m., and attendees will get to hear such timely updates as:

• Dr. Jim Bordovsky with Texas AgriLife in Plainview, Texas, discussing many of the issues his group has been involved in for both drip and pivot irrigation.

• Dr. Jeff Gore, Mississippi State University, Stoneville, Miss., reporting on insecticide performance.

• Weed scientists from the Mid-South and Southeast, who will elaborate on various practices that may be described as the “Second Generation of Weed Resistance Management” and that are an important part of an integrated pest management program.

The Production Conference General Session begins on Tuesday Jan. 8, in the Lila Cockrell Theatre (Henry B. Gonzalez Convention Center).

• Three Texas A&M University faculty members have been invited to address the general session.

— Dr. John Nielsen-Gammon, Texas State Climatologist will provide his thoughts related to past and current weather patterns and what to expect for the 2013 season.

— Dr. Gaylon Morgan, State Extension Cotton Specialist, will provide a review of the 2012 season for the entire Cotton Belt.

— Dr. Paul Baumann, state leader for AgriLife Extension weed science activities, will provide an overview of herbicide resistance in Texas.

• John Maguire, National Cotton Council, Washington D.C., will provide a Washington update.

• Joe Nicosia, Allenberg Cotton Company, Cordova, Tenn., will end the general session with a 2013 market outlook.

Production Conference Workshops will run from 10:30 am Jan. 8 until noon Jan. 9.  Topics include:

Varieties

• New varieties will be discussed in New Developments From Industry.

• Variety testing will be discussed in the Extension Cotton Specialist Workshop.

• Conventional Cotton: Back to the Future II Workshop

— Breeders, weed scientists, entomologists, agronomists and economists discuss the use of conventional cotton varieties.

New Technology – Weed Management

• Future Technology and Tools Workshop

— Industry updates on 2,4-D and dicamba technology

— Dr. Peter Dotray, Weed Scientist – Lubbock, Texas, will discuss past, present, and future weed management systems.

• Tolerance of varieties to dicamba and glufosinate will be discussed in the Extension Cotton Specialists Workshop.

Fertility

• Cotton Soil Management and Plant Nutrition Special Session – Fertilizer Stabilizers

• Sensor-based fertility will be discussed in the Precision Ag Workshop.

Precision Ag

• Practical and Profitable Practices for Precision Agriculture Workshop

Social Media

• Speakers will discuss how to effectively utilize social media in your business.