Field Crops Webinar Series addresses improving wheat production income on March 1

Ricardo Costa and Dennis Pennington<pennin34@msu.edu>, Michigan State University Extension - February 22, 2021

The third session of the Field Crops Webinar Series on March 1, 2021, will feature MSU Extension wheat specialist Dennis Pennington.

Field crop producers, consultants and agribusiness professionals are invited to participate in the Field Crops Webinar Series 2021, a series of six online programs addressing field crop production and pest management offered by Michigan State University Extension. The theme for this year's series is Management Decisions that Pay. Each session will focus on the economics of various crop, pest and marketing management strategies.

In the third session on March 1, 2021, MSU Extension wheat specialist Dennis Pennington will focus on "Improving Wheat Production Income." Even though commodity prices have rebounded recently, it is still important to understand your production cost and make management decisions accordingly. Higher prices should not be used as justification to increase input costs. This should be a time where costs are held so that improvement to cash flow can be made and short-term debt can be reduced. Each input should be evaluated from an economic potential, not just as yield potential. Trying new practices that you normally would not, such as double cropping or interseeding soybeans with wheat, should not be tried as a way to make more money. It only increases risk.

This presentation will also focus on the value of keeping wheat in the crop rotation. A more diverse crop rotation with winter wheat has been found to reduce nitrogen (N) requirements, improve nutrient use efficiency, increase organic matter levels and improve soil structure. Including winter wheat in the crop rotation has been an effective tool for managing weed, disease and insect pests, providing new management opportunities such as cover crops and spreading the workload. Also, adding wheat to the rotation increases corn and soybean yields. More details will be shared on this webinar.

The live webinars will run on Monday evenings from 7-8 p.m. EST/EDT beginning Feb. 15 and ending March 22, 2021. Participants may choose to register for the entire series at $20 per person or for individual sessions at $5 per person per session.

Those who register for and attend the live webinars will be eligible to earn one MDARD pesticide recertification (RUP) credit per session for application to one of the following categories: Private Core, Commercial Core or Field Crops. One continuing education unit (CEU) for certified crop advisers will also be available for each session. Each webinar will be recorded and archived, and participants may choose to view the recordings at a later date (credits available only for participants in the live sessions).

To register for one or more webinar programs in the series, visit the Field Crops Webinar Series 2021 registration site. Prior to each webinar, registrants will receive an email containing a link to connect to the webinar. The webinars may be accessed on a mobile device or a computer with a stable internet connection—no other equipment is necessary.

For additional information or assistance, contact Eric Anderson at 269-359-0565 or eander32@msu.edu.

This article was published by Michigan State University Extension. For more information, visit https://extension.msu.edu. To have a digest of information delivered straight to your email inbox, visit https://extension.msu.edu/newsletters. To contact an expert in your area, visit https://extension.msu.edu/experts, or call 888-MSUE4MI (888-678-3464).