It’s been a wet week in PEI…though we were due for some rain, given how favourable the fall weather has been this year.
I have a couple of upcoming extension opportunities to pass along today.
Colorado Potato Beetle – November 30th
Spud Smart and the Canadian Potato Council are hosting a webinar on Tuesday, Nov 30th at 2 pm AST on the topic of Colorado Potato Beetle research, particularly resistance monitoring to different insecticides. This project is part of the National Potato Cluster with CHC and has included a number of samples from PEI potato fields for the past three years. Presenters will be Dr. Chandra Moffat and Dr. Ian Scott of AAFC, lead researchers on this project.
Registration Link (Spud Smart)
Climate Change and what it means for Potatoes – December 16th
Spud Smart is hosting a webinar on Thursday, December 16th to discuss the effects that climate change is having on potato production in Canada and how this is being addressed through research and agronomy on the farm.
I will be presenting as part of this webinar, along with Stephanie Arnold from the UPEI School of Climate Studies, who has been doing work with a number of PEI farmers on irrigation scheduling technology and climate mitigation analysis.
Registration Link (Spud Smart)
Ontario Agricultural Conference (Virtual) – January 5/6th
Last year, I registered for the first virtual Ontario Agricultural Conference, and it was well worth the registration fee ($100 + HST before Dec 12th). There are more than 40 presentations to view, with a mixture of live and on-demand sessions. All of the presentations are available for you to view until the end of March, as it’s impossible to watch them all in two days!
While there is no potato-specific content, there is a wealth of good sessions on topics such as corn and soybean agronomy, forage crops, grain crops, soil health, cover cropping, precision agriculture, nutrient management, soil compaction, and much more.
Also, there are lots of CEU credits available for any CCAs looking for credits.
International Potato Technology Expo – February 24/25th
Mark your calendars for the Potato Expo, coming up February 24th and 25th. This year, the Expo moves to a Thursday/Friday format, with the conference taking place from 9 to 12 each day. The PEI Dept of Ag and Land and the PEI Potato Board are working together on the conference program, which will be shared early in the new year. You can visit http://www.potatoexpo.ca/ for more information.
Updates on AIM Local Workshops will hopefully be coming in the next few weeks…stay tuned!
Have a great weekend,
Ryan