South West Farm Press Logo

Red River Crops Conference targets Southwest Oklahoma and Texas Rolling Plains producers. 2021 conference to be virtual.

Shelley E. Huguley, Editor

January 12, 2021

3 Min Read
swfp-shelley-huguley-rrcc-20-crowd.jpg
Visiting between presentations at the 2020 Red River Crops Conference, Altus, Okla. The 2021 conference will be held virtually. Shelley E. Huguley

The eighth annual Red River Crops Conference (RRCC) is set for Jan. 20-21, 2021. The conference, tailored to agricultural producers in the Texas Rolling Plains and Southwest Oklahoma, alternates its location each year between Texas and Oklahoma. This year, due to the COVID-19 pandemic, the conference will be virtual.

The RRCC is a joint effort of Extension personnel from Oklahoma State University Extension and Texas A&M AgriLife Extension.  

"After much planning and discussion both within our planning committee and with each university’s administrations, we have decided that the most responsible approach with this year’s conference is to present it virtually via zoom webinar," said Gary Strickland, Jackson County agriculture educator and Southwest Research and Extension Center regional agronomist. "While we enjoy the personal interaction of the conference, the safety and well-being of all attendees take precedence."

Although the format is different, the focus remains the same, reassures Strickland, who serves on the RRCC Extension Conference Planning Committee.

"January 20, we will continue to have a full day focusing exclusively on cotton issues. January 21, will be devoted to programming regarding in-season and other crops," he said.

Two programs that may be of special interest to attendees is the "Cotton Equipment Technology" program, said Strickland, presented by John Long, assistant professor and Extension agricultural engineer, OSU. "He will discuss his work on improving seed germination and emergence rates in the field."

During Day 2, Francisco Abello, Texas A&M AgriLife assistant professor and Extension specialist for farm management, will discuss economic comparisons of perennial and annual grass grazing systems and guidance associated with these systems for producers. 

The Cotton Day presentations are as follows:

  • National Cotton Council Update- Jody Campiche, NCC director of economics and policy analysis

  • Cotton Market Update- John Robinson, professor and cotton Extension economist, Texas A&M AgriLife Extension

  • Herbicide Program Updates- Peter Dotray, professor and Extension specialist, Texas A&M AgriLife

  • Cotton Plant Pathology Update- Thomas Isakeit, professor and Extension specialist, Texas A&M University

  • Cotton Area Program Update- Seth Byrd, assistant professor and cotton Extension specialist, OSU Extension Service; and Emi Kimura, assistant professor and Extension agronomist, state peanut specialist, Texas A&M AgriLife

The In-Season and Summer Crops Day presentations are as follows:

  • Current Wheat Crop Status and In-season Management- Fernando Portal, assistant professor and small grains and oil seed crops Extension specialist, Texas A&M AgriLife Extension

  • Brush and Weed Control in Pasture Systems- Laura Goodman, assistant professor and range Extension specialist, OSU

  • Grain and Livestock Markets- Trent Milacek, West District Area Agriculture Economics specialist, OSU

  • Grain Sorghum Cropping Systems- Jason Warren, professor and soil and water conservation management Extension specialist, OSU; and Strickland

"Since this year’s conference format is virtual, we are taking a different approach to our meeting times in hopes of not tying up the attendee’s whole day in front of a computer. We understand that can be difficult for various reasons," Strickland said. The conference will start at 6:30 a.m. and conclude around 10 a.m. each day.

"We believe that even with the challenges of this year, the conference will still present an informative and applicable program for regional agriculture producers," Strickland said.

The cost of the conference is $25. To register, go to https://rb.gy/yoke1e.  For more information regarding the conference, email RRCC committee contacts Kimura, at [email protected]; or Strickland at [email protected].

 

About the Author(s)

Shelley E. Huguley

Editor, Southwest Farm Press

Shelley Huguley has been involved in agriculture for the last 25 years. She began her career in agricultural communications at the Texas Forest Service West Texas Nursery in Lubbock, where she developed and produced the Windbreak Quarterly, a newspaper about windbreak trees and their benefit to wildlife, production agriculture and livestock operations. While with the Forest Service she also served as an information officer and team leader on fires during the 1998 fire season and later produced the Firebrands newsletter that was distributed quarterly throughout Texas to Volunteer Fire Departments. Her most personal involvement in agriculture also came in 1998, when she married the love of her life and cotton farmer Preston Huguley of Olton, Texas. As a farmwife, she knows first-hand the ups and downs of farming, the endless decisions made each season based on “if” it rains, “if” the drought continues, “if” the market holds. She is the bookkeeper for their family farming operation and cherishes moments on the farm such as taking harvest meals to the field or starting a sprinkler in the summer with the whole family lending a hand. Shelley has also freelanced for agricultural companies such as Olton CO-OP Gin, producing the newsletter Cotton Connections while also designing marketing materials to promote the gin. She has published articles in agricultural publications such as Southwest Farm Press while also volunteering her marketing and writing skills to non-profit organizations such as Refuge Services, an equine-assisted therapy group in Lubbock. She and her husband reside in Olton with their three children Breely, Brennon and HalleeKate.

Subscribe to receive top agriculture news
Be informed daily with these free e-newsletters

You May Also Like