Charles Stenholm, former U.S. Congressman and Ranking Member of the U.S. House Agriculture Committee, will keynote the 27th Annual Texas Plant Protection Association Conference scheduled Dec. 8-9 at the Brazos Center in Bryan.

Organizers expect this conference to be one of the best ever and will feature some of the most pressing issues facing Texas farmers.

 “We have assembled some leading experts in the field of agriculture who will be addressing innovations and strategies that will help make our farmers and industry as a whole more profitable,” said TPPA Chairman Ray Smith.

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The conference theme is “Innovations for Texas Agriculture – Strategies for Implementation.”

“Weed control and resistance continue to be hot topics for Texas and across the Southwest,” said Eric Castner, association president and DuPont Crop Protection representative. “We have several general session speakers who will address these issues and what we can expect in the future.”

Stenholm, who served 13 terms in the U.S. House of Representatives and is now a policy advisor with OFW Law in Washington, will discuss Ag and Industry: Innovation Partnerships to open the conference. David Baltensperger, head of soil and crop sciences at Texas A&M, will discuss Professional Associations’ Leadership Role in GMOs.

The opening morning program will also feature leading experts in weed control discussing new strategies and control methods:

Poster Session

A popular and informative part of the annual conference is the poster session, says Gary Schwarzlose, incoming TPPA vice president and poster session chairman.

“The Poster Session is a key aspect of the conference and a great venue to share the latest information regarding research projects with the diverse TPPA membership and guests who attend the conference annually,” Schwarzlose said.

He encourages researchers to present posters and to encourage fellow researchers to do the same. Deadline for poster titles and abstracts is November 1.

“If you are a student wishing to compete, please indicate this in your email. Awards of $150, $100, and $75 will be presented to the top 3 graduate student posters,” Schwarzlose said.

Please send your title and abstract to: Gary Schwarzlose, [email protected]

Please click on the following for Abstract Information and template:

 Click here for Poster Abstract Guidelines

 Click here for Poster Abstract Template

To register for the conference, visit tppa.tamu.edu.