10th Annual Mondak Pulse Day Scheduled For February 24th, 2010. Posted on 1/27/2010
The tenth annual MonDak Pulse Day will be held on Wednesday, February 24 at the Airport International Inn in Williston starting with registration at 8:30 am CST. Researchers and extension personnel from North Dakota, Montana, and Canada along with representatives from grower groups and private industry will discuss the latest recommendations on the production, marketing and utilization of pulse crops, which would include field peas, lentils and chickpeas.
Two of the featured speakers for this year's Pulse Day will be Dr. Jill Clapperton and Dr. Fran Walley.
Dr. Clapperton is the principal scientist and owner of Earthspirit Land Resource Consulting. Until 2006, Jill Clapperton was the Rhizosphere Ecologist at the Agriculture and Agri-Food Canada, Lethbridge Research Centre in Lethbridge, Alberta, Canada. During her time in Lethbridge, Jill lead the Rhizosphere Ecology Research Group studying how soils function biologically so that farmers could more effectively manage and exploit the long-term biological fertility of the soil. Jill and her family now live and work in western Montana on her husband's family ranch and as a freelance scientist, she does consulting for farmers, farm groups, and agricultural and forestry businesses. Jill will talk about the impact of pulse crops on creating healthy, productive soils.
Fran Walley is a Professor and Head of the Department of Soil Science at the University of Saskatchewan. One focus of Fran's research work is pulse crop agronomy with an emphasis on nitrogen fixation and inoculant management. She recently completed a project investigating field-scale factors influencing the success of inoculation, particularly on long-term pulse land. She also is involved in projects examining pulse crop agronomy in organic farming systems and the impact of pulse residues on soil quality characteristics. Additionally, Fran's research looks at soil nitrogen availability and cycling, with the goal of improving nitrogen use efficiency. She will talk about the nitrogen economy of pulse crops.
Other topics to be discussed at the workshop include pulse crop weed control and desiccation timing, Huskie and Wolverine carryover concerns in lentils and peas, disease issues and potential insect problems in pulse crops, the energy story of pulse crops, and a pulse crop industry update.
Speakers leading these discussions include Jeremy Pederson, area agronomy specialist with the NDSU Extension Service; representatives from Bayer CropScience; Sam Markell, NDSU Extension Plant Pathologist; Daniel Waldstein, area crop protection specialist with the NDSU Extension Service; Perry Miller, Professor in the Department of Land Resources and Environmental Sciences at Montana State University along with MSU Ph.D. student, Mac Burgess; and Shannon Berndt, executive director of the Northern Pulse Growers Association.
Wrapping up the program will be a 2010 Market Outlook for pulse crops presented by a panel of area pulse crop processors including JM Grain, Premier Pulses International, United Pulse Trading, and Viterra.
Noon lunch will be served by the Airport International Inn. A $20.00 registration fee at the door will cover the noon lunch plus provide participants with a copy of the Pulse Day proceedings.
A trade show will be held in conjunction with the program and producers will be able to visit with industry representatives at various times during the day. The program has also been approved for pesticide re-certification points for Montana producers.
The MonDak Pulse Day is open to the public and was organized by NDSU & MSU Extension Agents in northeastern Montana and northwestern North Dakota. For more information, please contact the Williston Research Extension Center at 701-774-4315 or any of the local county extension offices in northeastern Montana or northwestern North Dakota. The complete program for Pulse Day is available on the Williston Research Extension Center's web site at http://www.ag.ndsu.nodak.edu/willisto/ .
Phone: 701.222.0128
Fax: 701.222.6340
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Website: www.northernpulse.com
