Dates for the University of Illinois Corn & Soybean Classics have been announced. Most southern Illinois producers will want to attend the January 6 conference scheduled at the Holiday Inn, Mt. Vernon.

Dennis R. Epplin, University of Illinois Extension crop systems educator, states that the 2009 program will emphasize crop production, pest management and economics, as well as the interactions among them. On-site registration starts at 8:30 a.m. followed by the first presentation at 9 a.m. Market updates will be provided throughout the day, and the program will adjourn by 3:30 p.m. A question-and-answer session is scheduled for both morning and afternoon sessions.

Program topics include the following:

· Managing Corn and Soybean Diseases with Fungicides

· Rotation Decisions in a Turbulent Price and Cost Environment

· Things are Changing Again in Corn and Soybean Nematode Management

· Managing Expensive Nitrogen to Maximize Profitability

· Seed Costs and Corn Plant Populations

· What Acreage Shifts are Needed in 2009?

· Maintaining Bt Durability with Cry Protein Stacks and Landscape/Seed Mixture Refuge -- Is This Enough?

· Turn Out the Lights -- The Party Is Over

· "New Age" Soybean Insect Management

Advance registration through December 20 is $50. Registrations received after December 21 or on-site are $65. Registration for the Classic can be accomplished several ways:

· Online with a credit card at http://ipm.uiuc.edu/conferences/csc/

· By mail—send a completed registration form and payment to Department of Crop Sciences, Attention: Sandy Osterbur, University of Illinois, AW-101 Turner Hall, 1102 S. Goodwin Ave., Urbana, IL 61801 (make check payable to University of Illinois)

· By fax—fax a completed registration form to 217-333-5299 (available 24 hours a day) and mail a check to the address above

By phone—call toll-free, 800-321-1296, and pay with a credit card