The 2012 Arkansas Crop Management Conference is scheduled for January 17-20, 2012 at the Wyndham Hotel in North Little Rock, Ark.  The conference comes after a “very difficult” 2011 cropping season, says Claude Bonner, Executive Director of the Arkansas Crop Protection Association.

For more on the ACPA, see here.

Those difficulties were “due to a lot of different circumstances – floods in one area of the state while there was a drought situation in southeast and southwest Arkansas. And the summer was very hot and dry and wreaked havoc with many crops. Water pumps were running constantly.”

Bonner says the constant pressure meant “tempers, temperatures and patience were all off the chart.”

What does 2012 have in store? “Folks I’m hearing from are still waiting before committing to certain crops,” says Bonner. “They’re keeping an eye on fertilizer and crop prices. I think everybody is still picking up the pieces from (2011). At this point, I don’t know that we’ll see a big shift towards any crop.”

The wide-ranging conference agenda will include speakers on “weed resistance, ground water issues, crop response to stress – particularly in soybeans, nitrogen management and insect control in rice. Overall, though, there will be a heavy emphasis on weed resistance.”

For the conference agenda, see here.

“We’d like to see as many consultants as possible at the meeting,” says Bonner. “The program will also be useful for a lot of the retail guys – the field service providers. It will be similar, format-wise, to what we’ve had in years past. We’ll provide updates on as many relevant topics as possible and get in-depth in a few areas.”

Pre-registration for the event is encouraged and will be available on line here until January 7, 2012.  On-site registration will be $150 rather than the $125 pre-registration.

Contact the Wyndham Hotel at (501) 371-9000 to reserve a room; rooms will be limited.

The meeting will afford licensed Arkansas Agricultural Consultants and Certified Crop Advisers with CEU’s, approximately 30, depending upon sessions attended.

Bonner can be contacted at [email protected] or (501) 590-4580.