The 13th annual National Conservation Systems Cotton and Rice Conference, Southern Corn and Soybean Conference, and the Southern Precision Agriculture Conference will be joined in 2010 by the newly-organized Southern Field Crop Alliance.

The joint meetings, to be held Jan. 12-14 at Harrah’s Convention Center, Tunica, Miss., will also feature a large trade show, with numerous corporate co-sponsors represented.

Attendees are invited to attend all the conferences, and one registration fee will cover all events.

The National Conservation Systems Cotton and Rice Conference, drew a record crowd to Marksville, La., for the 2009 event, says John LaRose, publisher of MidAmerica Farm Publications, organizer of the event. “Farmers attending represented 1.7 million acres of agricultural production.

“Tunica is always a favorite venue, and we’re looking for an even larger crowd for the 2010 conferences, particularly with the addition of the Southern Field Crop Alliance meetings, which will be held following the other conferences.”

More than 90 farmers and researchers from Mid-South states will be speakers at the National Conservation Systems Cotton and Rice Conference, with another 100 agriculture professions on the line up for the Southern Field Crop Alliance Conference.

“These are must-attend events for anyone wishing to hone their production methods,” LaRose says.

“The importance of conserving soil moisture, as well as reducing fuel, labor, seed chemical, fertilizer, and other in put costs, is key to the economic success of farmers and landowners.

“The main emphasis of the conferences is reducing production costs and increasing yields for cotton, rice, soybeans, and corn, and the utilization of precision agriculture in its many forms.”

Sponsors of the National Conservation Systems Cotton and Rice Conference are Cotton Incorporated and the US Rice Producers Association.

Conference co-sponsors are RiceTec, Delta and Pine Land, Horizon Ag, Pioneer Hi-Bred International Inc., and Helena Chemical Co., University of Arkansas, Mississippi State University, University of Missouri, University of Tennessee, Louisiana State University, Auburn University, and Texas A&M University, USDA Natural Resources Conservation Service, and USDA Agricultural Research Service. Agricultural media co-sponsors are Delta Farm Press, Southwest Farm Press, and Southeast Farm Press.

Farmers from Mississippi, Texas, Alabama, and Louisiana can receive state pesticide recertification credits for conference attendance and certified crop consultants can selected from over 40 hours of sessions that qualify for continuing education credit.

Further information about the new Southern Field Crop Alliance may be found at http://www.mafg.net.