Santee, South Carolina, USA
January 25, 2016

Economics, insects and insurance are among topics that will be addressed during the annual South Carolina cotton growers’ and peanut growers’ meetings Tuesday and Thursday at the Santee Conference Center.

Cotton in the field.

Hosted by the Clemson University Extension Service and the South Carolina Cotton Board, the Cotton Growers’ Meeting will run from 9 a.m. to 3:10 p.m. Tuesday. Registration begins at 8:15 a.m.

Items addressed during the morning sessions include a report on the Boll Weevil Eradication Program and the state of cotton in South Carolina and across the country. Attendees also will learn the economic and price outlook for cotton in 2016, as well as crop insurance issues and weed control systems.

Topics scheduled for the afternoon session include management strategies for cotton insects and a review of the 2015 cotton crop. The meeting concludes with an industry update on new cotton varieties for the Southeast.

For more information about the Cotton Growers’ Meeting, contact Mike Jones, Clemson University cotton specialist, at 843-519-0477 or majones@clemson.edu.

Peanuts being harvested.

Hosted by the Clemson University Extension Service and the South Carolina Peanut Board, the South Carolina Peanut Growers’ Meeting is scheduled to run from 8:30 a.m. to 3 p.m. on Jan. 28, also at the Santee Conference Center. Topics to be covered include successful marketing strategies, precision agriculture, irrigation and varieties, as well as fungicides and weed-control updates. Registration and exhibits begin at 8:30 a.m.

Attendees will be eligible for a variety of prizes, including the grand prize, which is the use of a six-row peanut combine with an option to buy at a discounted price. In lieu of the combine, the grand prize winner can choose the use of another peanut harvest implement with a discount off the purchase price. The winner of the grower prize can choose between the use of a four- or six-row peanut digger/inverter for the 2016 harvest season, $10,000 toward the purchase of a new peanut combine or $5,000 toward the purchase of a newf our- or six-row pull-type peanut combine. Winners must be certified peanut growers with a Farm Service Agency farm number.

Contact Dan Anco, Clemson University peanut specialist, at 803-284-3343, ext. 261, or danco@clemson.edu, for more information about the Peanut Growers’ Meeting.

Both meetings will provide participants with commercial and private applicators’ pesticide re-certification credits, as well as certified crop adviser credits. Lunch and coffee services also will be provided.

The Santee Conference Center is located at 1737 Bass Drive in Santee.

Website: http://www.clemson.edu

Published: January 25, 2016