Conference Registration Desk Open

Table-top Displays Set-up

Posters Set Up

General Session #1

Moderator: Ben McKnight , TPPA President

"Welcome & Conference Introduction"

Ben McKnight, TPPA President

"Welcome"

Dr. Rick Avery, Director, Texas A&M AgriLife Extension Service

“AI and it’s use in Texas Agriculture”

Dr. Juan Landivar, Texas A&M AgriLife Center Director, Corpus Christi, Texas

Break

“Overview of Biologicals in Texas Agriculture”

Rick Melnick, Chief Operating Office & Partner, DunhamTrimmer LLC

“Biologicals use in Pest Control”

Matthew Pye, Biologicals Subject Matter Expert, FMC Corporation

“Biologicals use in Fertility”

Brian Arnall, Professor, Oklahoma State University

Lunch (on your own)

Consultant General Session

Moderator: Justin Chopelas

“A Crop Duster’s Perspective on Spraying with Drones (Year 2)"

Matthew Ashcraft, Owner, Aerial Application Services LLC, Hill County, Texas

“Drone Integration into Precision Agriculture”

Jeff Clack, Bestway Ag

Break

Poster Review - View Displays

Pest ID Contest

Barron Rector, Texas AgriLife Extension Service, Chairman

General Session

New Technology & Chemistry (9 slots)

Moderator: Luke Etheredge, Bayer

• 3:30 -3:40 pm Holly Davis, FMC

• 3:40 – 3:50 pm  Adam Hixson, BASF

• 3:50 – 4:00 pm  David King, Nichino America, Inc

• 4:00 – 4:10 pm James Jackson, Alligare

• 4:10 – 4:20 pm Greg Steele, Bayer Crop Science

• 4:20 – 4:30 pm Sadie Church, TraceGenomics

• 4:30 – 4:40 pm Jonathan Adamson, Vive Crop Protection

• 4:40 – 4:50 pm John Gordy, Syngenta

• 4:50 – 5:00 pm Steve Sopher, UPL

• 5:00- 5:10 pm Shane Halfmann, Advanta Seeds

Conference Registration Desk Open

Laws & Regulations - General Session

Moderator: Perry Cervantes

TDA Laws & Regulations

Concurrent Sessions

Fertility Management Session

Moderator: John Hoyle, Wilbur-Ellis

• 9:00 – 9:15 am “Thoughts on Non-Traditional Products”

Tony Provin, Professor and Extension Soil Chemist, Texas A&M AgriLife Extension, College Station, TX

• 9:15 – 9:30 am “Optimizing Crop Nutrition: Harnessing Data with Climate FieldView”

Austin Todd, Lead Climate Enablement Specialist, Climate Corporation, China Spring, TX.

• 9:30 – 9:45 am “The Truth About Biologicals”

Nathan Burson, Wilbur Ellis Branded Products Territory Manager, Waco, TX.

• 9:45 – 10:00 am “ExactShot™ Liquid Fertilizer Dosing System for John Deere ExactEmerge™ Planters”

Michael Willberg, Precision Technology Specialist, United Ag & Turf, Temple, TX

• 10:00 – 10:15 am “The State of the Industry Report”

Gregory Griffin, National Fertilizer Director, Wilbur-Ellis Company, College Station, TX.

Horticulture / Turf Session

Moderator: Betsy Pierson, Texas A&M AgriLife Extension

9:00-9:15: “Evaluating the Effects of Soil-Applied and Topdressed Organic Amendments on Newly Established Lawns” Ashton Franks, Graduate Student, and Ben Wherley, Professor, Department of Soil and Crop Science, Texas A&M University, College Station, TX

9:15-9:30: “Serving the Texas Green Industry: Where the Rubber Meets the Road” Andrew King, Assistant Professor, Texas A&M AgriLife Research, Overton Research and Extension Center, Overton, TX

9:30-9:45: “Optimizing nutrient-rich food production in controlled environments: from greenhouses and indoor farms to space agriculture” Shuyang Zhen, Assistant Professor, Department of Horticultural Sciences, Texas A&M University, College Station, TX

9:45-10:00: “From Roots to Fruits: Utilizing Plant Physiology to Improve Sustainability and Crop Quality in Texas Horticulture” Lorenzo Rossi, Assistant Professor, Department of Horticultural Sciences, Texas A&M University, College Station, TX

10:00-10:15: “Secondary Metabolism and Abiotic Stress: Opportunities for Improvements in Grape and Other Fruit Crops” Ahmed Darwish, Assistant Professor, Department of Horticultural Sciences, Texas A&M University, College Station, TX

Break

Poster Review – View Displays

Concurrent Sessions

Grain Session

Moderator: Reagan Noland, Texas A&M AgriLife Extension

• 10:45 – 11:00 am “Optimizing winter cereals for grazing in Texas”

Dr. Ellen Melson, Professor of Agriculture, Grayson College

• 11:00 – 11:15 am “Crop Loss Estimates in Corn and Sorghum”

Dr. Ronnie Schnell, Professor & Cropping Systems Specialist, Texas A&M AgriLife Extension Service

• 11:15 – 11:30 am “Managing herbicide Resistant Grass Weeds in Wheat”

Dr. David Drake, Integrated Peset Management Agent, Texas A&M AgriLife Extension Service

• 11:30 – 11:45 am “Update on Corn Stunt Disease in Texas”

Dr. Tom Isakeit, Professor & Extension Plant Pathologist, Texas A&M AgriLife Extension Service

• 11:45 – 12:00 pm “Hessian Fly Managament: Lesson Learned”

Tyler Mays, Integrated Pest Management Agent, Texas A&M AgriLife Extension Service

Pasture & Rangeland

Moderator: James Jackson, Alligare

• 10:45 – 11:00 am “Latest Development from Envu R&P”

Case Medlin, Envu, Reg. Stewardship Mgr., Paradise, TX

• 11:00 – 11:15 am “Landscapes, Livestock, Wildlife and Drones”

Humberto L. Perotto, Texas A&M Department of Range, Wildlife and Fisheries. Professor, College Station, TX

• 11:15 – 11:30 am “Weed Management and Fertilizer Effects in Established Pastures”

Keegan Crawford, Texas A&M Department of Soil and Crop Sciences, College Station, TX

• 11:30 – 11:45 am “Grassy Weed Invasion in Improved Pastures and Control Options”

James Jackson, Alligare, Market Development Spl., Weatherford, TX

• 11:45 – 12:00 pm “Quantifying the Spatial Distribution of Macartney Rose in Rangelands Using Drone Imagery”

Shanna Gleason, Texas A&M Department of Range, Wildlife and Fisheries, College Station, TX

Awards Luncheon & Business Meeting

(Included passing of the gavel to new TPPA President by Ray Smith, TPPA Board Chairman)
Moderators: TPPA President Ben McKnight & TPPA Vice President Stephen Labor

Concurrent Sessions

Rice & Soybeans

Moderator: Cliff Mock, Ag Consultant

• 1:30 – 1:45 pm “My Vision for AgriLife Extension in Texas Rice”

Sam Rustom, Texas A&M AgriLife Extension Service

• 1:45 – 2:00 pm “Trends in Louisiana Rice Cropping Systems in 2024”

Ronnie Levy, State Rice Specialist at LSU AgCenter

• 2:00 – 2:15 pm “2024 Rice Delphacid, On the Quest for Management”

Weldon Nanson, Rice Agronomist

• 2:15 – 2:30 pm “Hylio Spray Drone Use in Texas Rice”

Arthur Erickson, CEO, Hylio

• 2:30 – 2:45 pm “Representative Farms and Their Use In Policy Analysis”

Natalie Graff, Texas A&M University

• 2:45 -3:00 pm “IPM Strategy on Texas Soybeans”

John Gordy, Syngenta

Cotton

Moderator: David Kerns, Texas A&M AgriLife

• 1:30 – 1:45 pm “Cotton Fleahopper Sampling and New Economic Thresholds”

Dr. David Kerns, Department of Entomology, Texas A&M AgriLife Extension, College Station, TX

• 1:45 – 2:00 pm “Cotton Seed Quality and Stand Establishment”

Dr. Ken Lege, Department of Soil and Crop Science, Texas A&M AgriLife Extension, Lubbock, TX

• 2:00 – 2:15 pm “Evaluation of Microbial/Biological Products for Plant Nutrition in Texas Cotton Production Systems”

Dr. Ben McKnight, Department of Soil and Crop Science, Texas A&M AgriLife Extension, College Station, TX

• 2:15 – 2:30 pm “Crazy Cotton: What We Know to Date”

Dr. Sebe Brown, Department of Entomology and Plant Pathology, University of Tennessee, Jackson, TN

• 2:30 – 2:45 pm “Cotton Weed Management With or Without Dicamba”

Dr. Scott Nolte, Department of Soil and Crop Science, Texas A&M AgriLife Extension, College Station,

• 2:45 -3:00 pm “Evaluation of Biological and Organic Insecticides for Cotton Pest Management”

Tyler Mays, Texas A&M AgriLife Extension