Call it a meeting of the minds - minds from universities, farming operations and agribusiness who will come together to learn and share about growing canola on the southern Great Plains.

The Fifth Annual Oklahoma-Kansas Winter Canola Conference is set for July 21 in the Hoover Building at the Garfield County Fairgrounds in Enid, Okla., said canola breeder Mike Stamm. Stamm, who works for both Kansas State University and Oklahoma State University, is one of the conference speakers.

The day begins at 8:30 a.m. with registration, coffee and doughnuts. The program starts at 9 a.m. There is no charge for registration, refreshments at the breaks or the sponsored steak lunch.

"This conference is truly about how `working together works better,´" said Stamm, who described the theme of the conference. He said that the array of researchers, agronomists, producers and commercial vendors planning to be part of the conference ensures that participants will learn new things about canola and have their questions answered.

"The conference is about teaching farmers how to grow the crop profitably."

The conference will include 19 short presentations on such topics as: Winter canola in 2008-2009 - Surviving the Weather, Making Good Money; Marketing of Winter Canola; Winter Canola Variety Test Results in Oklahoma and Kansas; Aphid Control in Winter Canola; Tillage for Canola in Kansas; Seeding Date and Fertility Timing Effects; Swathing, Pushing and Direct Harvesting: What worked on the farm in 20008-09; Update on Multi-Peril Crop Insurance for Oklahoma, Texas and Kansas; Great Plains Canola Association Progress Report; Emerging issues in Okla.-Kan. crop production, and more.

The last session, which begins at 1:55 p.m., will be an open forum featuring questions and answers and moderated by Roger Gribble, Oklahoma State University area agronomist, based in Enid.

Five continuing education credits are available for crop consultants, and more than $1,500 in door prizes will be given away by sponsors.

More information about the conference is available at the Web site: http://www.canola.okstate.edu/ or by contacting Thomas Peeper at 405-744-6417.