* Formerly Known as PPAT – Private Pesticide Applicator Training and Testing Clinics

Training and Testing Dates ($30)

• January 8 Hennepin * Marshall Co. * 12 – 4 p.m. * 309-364-2356
• January 9 ICC East Peoria * Peoria Co. * 8:30 a.m. – 12:30 p.m. * 309-467-3789
• January 11 Homestead Restaurant Woodhull * Henry Co. * 9 a.m. – 1 p.m. * 309-853-1533
• January 11 Black Hawk East * Henry-Stark * 1:30 – 5:30 p.m. * 309-853-1533
• January 16 Princeton * Bureau Co. * 12 – 5 p.m. * 815-875-2878
• January 31 Milan Community Center * Rock Island Co. * 8 a.m. – 12 p.m. * 309-796-0512

Testing ONLY dates in Henry and Stark Counties ($5)

• March 15 Wyoming Methodist Church * 9:30 – 11:30 a.m. * 309-853-1533
• March 15 Henry Co. Farm Bureau * Cambridge * 1:30 – 3:30 p.m. * 309-853-1533

Significant Increase in Pesticide Safety Education Training and Testing Clinic Fee

The price, which has been standardized across the State this year by campus administration, is $30 per person. While this is a significant increase from one year to the next, administration has been putting off a proposed increase for three or more years. Prior to this year, participants were only paying a local/county unit registration fee to cover meeting rooms and local administration costs. (Henry-Stark unit was $10.)

The problem is that as funds to support educators who deliver the programs have remained the same or flat for a number of years, expenses have continued to increase. With this in mind, Extension statewide, over the last three years has increased the registration cost of the majority of its programs to participants. It is now time to increase the registration cost of the Pesticide Safety and commercial applicator training clinics statewide.

Manuals and study guides will be available for $12 from the Henry-Stark Extension office located on the campus of Black Hawk East in Building 4. Direct mail of the manual via the Henry-Stark Extension office is also an option for an additional $4.20 per set.

This year's pesticide safety education testing manual is 39-7 (October 1999). The workbook is November 2005. If you already have these, there is no need to get another set. To order online

Online Registration Encouraged

We would like to encourage you to use our direct online registration option via our unit's homepage at henrystark.extension.uiuc.edu . Once there, look for the registration link in the upper right hand corner. You will find that the online registration site will give you a chance to either pay at the door, send a check, or use a major credit card.

Phone registration – You are also welcome, as always, to give our office a call between 8 a.m. – 4:40 p.m. to register.

The Certified Livestock Manager Training (CLMT) program will mark the 10th anniversary of the Illinois Livestock Management Facilities Act with a series of workshops from December through next March to help producers comply with the Act and other environmental regulations.

The Livestock Management Facilities Act requires any livestock facility that has more than 300 animal units to have someone certified in manure-handling procedures. The certification has to be renewed every three years.

Some of the new topics at this year's workshops include:

• Details of concrete construction
• Value of manure as fertilizer
• Manure sampling
• Introduction to the new website EZRegs

The CLMT workshops have been approved by the Illinois Department of Agriculture as meeting the training certification requirement. University of Illinois Extension also has an Internet quiz option that, if successfully passed, substitutes for the requirement of attending a workshop. Contact Randy Fonner at refonner@uiuc.edu or visit www.livestocktraining.com for details.

To register for a workshop or purchase a manual or CD, call 800-345-6087. Prices are listed below and you can pay by phone or mail.

• CLMT Manual only: $44 plus $7 shipping = $51
• CLMT Manual CD only: $16 plus $4 shipping = $20
• CLMT Manual and CD: $57 plus $7 shipping = $64
• CLMT Workshop Registration: $20 per person
• Workshop walk-ins: $75 per person (includes CLMT manual)

A workshop brochure is available at www.livestocktraining.com . Please register at least three weeks before the workshop so that the manual or CD can be mailed to you ahead of time. If you have questions, contact Randy Fonner at 217-333-2611 or e-mail him at refonner@uiuc.edu .

Workshop Dates

January 22, 2007

Mt. Carroll, Illinois

Focus on SWINE

• Location: Naaman Diehl Auditorium, Carroll Co Farm Bureau Building, Rt. 64 & Rt. 78, Mt. Carroll, IL
• For directions call the Carroll County Extension Office at 815-244-9444.
• Registration: 8:30 a.m. Workshop: 8:50 a.m. IDOA written exam: 1:30 p.m.

February 2, 2007

Galesburg, Illinois

Focus on SWINE

• Location: Knox County Extension Office, 180 South Soangetaha Rd., Suite 108, Galesburg, IL
• For directions call the Knox County Extension Office at 309-342-5108.
• Registration: 8:30 a.m. Workshop: 8:50 a.m. IDOA written exam: 1:30 p.m.

The Classic will be held at the following dates and locations in our area:

January 23 Interstate Center, Bloomington, Illinois

January 24 Kishwaukee College, Malta, Illinois

January 25 The Mark, Moline, Illinois

Program

The following schedule applies to each Classic conference date. Onsite registration begins at 8:30 a.m. with the program beginning at 9 a.m. Each Classic will adjourn at 3:30 p.m. Travel schedules may require a change in the order of speakers.

• Commemorating the 10^th Annual Corn & Soybean Classic Bob Hoeft
• Changing Crop Demand: Implications for Prices, Production, and Policy Darrel Good
• The Truth About Continuous Corn Emerson Nafziger
• Farm-Level Changes Resulting from a Switch to More Corn Gary Schnitkey
• Fall Applied MAP and DAP Nitrogen: How Much Is There Next Spring? Fabian Fernandez
• Resistance to SCN Resistance Terry Niblack
• Preparing for Soybean Aphids in 2007 Kevin Steffey
• Waterhemp – What have We Learned? Aaron Hager
• The Fungi Among Us: Why the Rot, and Where's the Rust? Suzanne Bissonnette
• Bt, ECB, ISTs, WCR, IRM, IPM; Sorting it All Out Mike Gray

Registration

Certified Crop Advisor Credits:

• Professional Development: 1.0
• Crop Management: 1.5
• Nutrient Management: 0.5
• Integrated Pest Management: 2.5

Registration for the Corn and Soybean Classic is $35 on or before December 23 and $50 after that date. We accept MasterCard, Visa, Discover, and American Express.

You may mail in your payment by downloading the registration form and sending it with your payment.

Instructions: The online payment system can be used to pay for a single registrant, or to pay for multiple registrants at once. After entering information for the first registrant, you will be asked to verify the information. At that time you can proceed to the check-out or you can add information for another registrant. When you are finished adding registrant information, you can then pay for the group with a single credit card payment.

You may also contact Henry-Stark Extension office for a form.

January 26, 2007

9 a.m. – 12 Noon

Whiteside County Extension office

100 East Knox Street

Morrison, Illinois

Agenda

• 9:00 a.m. Registration, coffee/rolls
• 9:30 a.m. Wheat Management Practices for NW Illinois Emerson Nafziger, University of Illinois Extension Crops Specialist
• Focus will be on winter wheat-types, seeding rate, date, fertility, use of seed treatments, varieties, and the selection process, double cropping, intensive management, and straw yields.
• 10:30 a.m. Break
• 10:45 a.m. Cereal Grains as Forage, Companion, or Cover Crops Jim Morrison, University of Illinois Extension Educator, Crop Systems
• Focus will be on characteristics, management strategies, and data from the Northern Illinois Agronomy Research Center at Shabbona.
• 11:15 a.m. Oat and Barley Practices Jim Morrison, University of Illinois Extension Educator, Crop Systmes
• Wheat in Rotation – Does it Fit? Emerson Nafziger, University of Illinois Extension Crops Specialist
• 11:45 a.m. Discussion & Questions

A $10 registration fee per person will cover handout material and refreshments. Reservations should be made by January 22 by contacting the Whiteside County Extension office at 815-772-4075.

Monday-Wednesday, January 29 - 31

Peoria Civic Center

Peoria, Illinois

The Illinois Pork Producers Association will hold the Illinois Pork Expo on Monday through Wednesday, January 29 - 31 at the Peoria Civic Center in Peoria, Illinois. Monday will be the IPPA Annual Meeting with Tuesday and Wednesday to view commercial exhibits and educational seminars.

There are a number of educational seminars planned for Tuesday and Wednesday, January 30 and 31 for the expo. The specific topics, speakers and times for the various seminars can be obtained from the Illinois Pork Producers office at 217-529-3100.

Northwest Central Illinois Tillage Seminar

Tuesday, February 6, 2007

Homestead Restaurant, Woodhull, IL

(Directions: Located midway between Galesburg and Moline at the intersection of I-74 and IL Route 17. From I-74 take the Woodhull Exit (Exit 32) and go east 1.4 mile on IL Route 17)

This Tillage Seminar will provide 5 CEUs for Certified Crop Advisers (4.5 - Soil & Water, .5 - Professional Development)

Agenda

8:00 - 8:50 a.m. Registration Meet with Agri-Business Exhibitors, Coffee & Rolls

8:50 - 9:00 a.m. Opening Remarks and Welcome, Bob Frazee, U of I Natural Resources Educator

9:00 - 9:10 a.m. Tillage Trends, Bob Frazee, U of I Natural Resources Educator

9:10 - 9:25 a.m. State Cost-Share & Technical Conservation Assistance, Marty McManus, Illinois Department of Agriculture Regional Representative

9:25 - 9:45 a.m. Federal Cost-Share & Technical Conservation Assistance, Steve Hollister, NRCS Regional Agronomist

9:45 - 10:25 a.m. Moving into Guidance Systems: GPS, RTK, Light Bars, Auto-Steer, Jay Solomon, U of I Engineering Technology Educator

10:25 - 10:40 Break, Meet with Agri-Business Exhibitors

10:40- 11:00 a.m. Impact of Climate on Crops, Jim Angel, Illinois State Water Survey

11:00 - 11:30 a.m. Global Warming & Carbon Sequestration, Carl Bernacchi, Illinois State Water Survey

11:30 - 12:00 noon Carbon Trading for Illinois Farmers, Nathan Clark, Chicago Climate Exchange

12:00 - 1:00 p.m. Lunch and Visit with Exhibitors

1:00 - 1:40 p.m. Reducing Tillage, Energy & Costs, Gary Schnitkey, U of I Agricultural Economist

1:40 - 2:20 p.m. No-till and Strip-till: Equipment and Management Recommendations, Cary Sizelove, Case-IH Crop Production Specialist

2:20 - 3:00 p.m. Farmer/Agri-Business Panel: Putting Data Collection & Technology to Work

• Dave Lievens, Coop Gas & Oil Company, Geneseo
• Jerry Snodgrass, Henry County Farmer, Tillage & Hybrid Comparisons
• Tommy Warner, CPS Manager, Oneida
• Ted Mottaz, Knox County Farmer, Auto-steer tractors & sprayers

3:00 p.m. Seminar Adjourns, Meet with Exhibitors and Speakers

Online credit card registrations can be made at http://www.extension.uiuc.edu/henry or stark .

Pre-registration is necessary! Deadline is January 30, 2007

Registration Fee: $13 per person

Make checks payable to "University of Illinois" and mail to:

Jeff West

Henry-Stark Extension

PO Box 74

Galva, IL 61434

For more information contact Jeff West at 309-853-1533 or Bob Frazee at 309-694-7501 ext 226.

Sponsored by University of Illinois Extension, Illinois Department of Agriculture, Natural Resources Conservation Service, and AISWCD.

Thursday, February 22

Illinois State Fairgrounds

Springfield, Illinois

The 2007 Illinois Performance Tested Bull Sale will be held at 11:00 a.m. on Thursday, February 22 in the Livestock Exposition Center on the Illinois State Fairgrounds in Springfield. There will be a large number of two-year old (2005) and yearling (January-March 2006) bulls available.

A complete copy of the sale catalog will be mailed to all the past consignors and producers who attended and registered at the sale. In addition, the information on the sale (performance pedigrees) will be posted on the WWW and can be obtained by visiting the University of Illinois BeefNet Home Page (URL of http://www.traill.uiuc.edu/beefnet). Additional information or a hard copy of the sale catalog can be obtained by calling Dave Seibert at 309-694-7501 ext 224 or by writing Dave Seibert, E. Peoria Extension Center, 727 Sabrina Drive, E. Peoria, IL 61611.

February 26, 2007

(presented via distance delivery at Black Hawk East)

Agenda

9:00 a.m. Registration & Check-In

9:30 a.m. Welcome & Introduction Jim Morrison, Extension Educator, Crops

9:35 a.m. Green Gold – Alfalfa in Illinois Jim Morrison, Extension Educator, Crops (value and impact of alfalfa in Illinois)

9:45 a.m. Keys to Successful Alfalfa Establishment Steve Barnhart, Forage Agronomist, Iowa State University (seeding date & rate, tilled vs. no-till seedbed, companion crop vs. solo seeding, herbicide vs. no herbicide, autotoxicity)

10:15 a.m. Weevils, Blister Beetles, & Aphids – Need for Concern? Dave Feltes, Extension Educator, IPM (identification, life cycle, feeding damage, treatment threshold)

10:40 a.m. BREAK

10:50 a.m. Controlling Insect Pests the "Natural" Way Kevin Steffey, Extension Entomologist, University of Illinois (what are natural enemies of alfalfa insects, how effective are they, what environmental conditions favor their presence & activity, can numbers of natural enemies be economically increased by growers)

11:15 a.m. Pricing Alfalfa for Sale Jim Endress, Extension Educator, Farm Business Management & Marketing (how to price alfalfa standing in the field, cash renting alfalfa, what's harvested alfalfa worth)

11:40 a.m. Roundup Ready Alfalfa – Results from 2006 Dan Undersander, Forage Agronomist, University of Wisconsin – Madison (how has this trait performed, is it cost effective, should I grow this trait)

12:05 p.m. Questions and Adjourn

Registration

Registration fee of $10 per person will include the program and all associated materials. Those taking the program for CCA credit will be charged $15 per person.

Deadline: Registration is due at the Henry-Stark Extension office by Monday, February 19.

March 2, 2007

Dickson Mounds State Museum

Lewistown, Illinois

While developing a fee hunting enterprise is clearly not a business strategy that will work for or appeal to everyone, savvy entrepreneurs have found a variety of ways to package and market hunting experiences to appeal to very lucrative markets, reaping nice returns on relatively low investments. If you are interested in learning more about fee hunting, we encourage you to attend the annual Fee Hunting Workshop, Friday, March 3, 2006, at Dickson Mounds State Museum located between Havana and Lewistown, Illinois.

Prairie Hills Resource Conservation and Development, Inc. and University of Illinois Extension are again sponsoring this year's workshop. It is intended to help landowners, outfitters, and others explore fee hunting as a business enterprise and strategy for deriving additional income from rural land. Topics include liability and risk management, business management and marketing, game and habitat management, but perhaps the best part of the workshop is the opportunity to interact personally and professionally with those in attendance with an interest in the fee hunting business.

Workshop flyers, including registration information will be available in the first week of February with registration in mid-February. If you would like to be put on the mailing or email list, contact University of Illinois Extension – Fulton County at 309-547-3711 or email Rhonda Ferree at ferreer@uiuc.edu . You may also contact David King's office at Prairie Hills RC&D at 309-833-4747 or email him at David.King@il .

March 6, 2007

8:30 a.m. to 12:30 p.m.

This short course will be presented on the Black Hawk East campus via University of Illinois Extension Henry-Stark's Distant Education Network and local PowerPoint presentation.

Populations of these aphids have reached relatively widespread outbreak proportions during odd-numbered years, with localized outbreaks occurring with regularity. Widespread outbreaks in 2003 and 2005 cost soybean producers millions of dollars in management costs and lost yields. Captures of winged soybean aphids in suction traps in the Midwest in 2006 suggest the potential for a soybean aphid outbreak in 2007.

On March 6, 2006, entomologists from throughout the Midwest will present a short course focused on management of soybean aphids in 2007, with emphasis on biological control, including conservation of natural enemies. Experts from several states will deliver the short course via distance education technology to sites in Illinois, Indiana, Iowa, Kansas,

Kentucky, Michigan, Minnesota, Missouri, Nebraska, North Dakota, Ohio, South Dakota, and Wisconsin. Receiving sites in all states will advertise the short course locally. The general content of the program will be:

• History and biology of the soybean aphid
• Review of the soybean aphid situation
• Biological control of soybean aphids – What is it? What do we have to work with in the United States?
• Introducing new natural enemies into the U.S.
• Preparing for soybean aphids in 2007 – Management guidelines, and the potential for biological control. What is it we don't know that will help us in the future?
• Questions, answers, feedback

The short course will be conducted on March 6, 2007, from 8:30 p.m. to 12:00 noon (CDT), with audience interaction and feedback from 12:00 noon to 12:30 p.m. The short course is being developed for soybean producers, members of state soybean associations, agribusiness professionals (CCA CEUs will be applied for), Extension personnel, and any other interested groups. Look for promotional information from state Extension groups and state soybean associations.

Registration will be $10 per person ($15 CCA Credit) and should be made by February 26. Contact the Henry-Stark Extension office for more information or to register

Sure, you have piles and piles of company sponsored and published yield data and most likely while they don't win every plot yield, they share most of the plot yield data with you.

If you would like a second opinion, check University of Illinois Extension's variety plot results at http://vt.cropsci.uiuc.edu/index.html . Once there, you will also find that you can view them as written or you can download them into your own spreadsheet and sort as needed.

If you don't have online access and just want to see the northern Illinois locations that are of the most relevant to you, contact the Extension office. We will print off and mail out your request for $.50 per page (minimum cost $2).

Date: Thurday January 25th

• Location: Black Hawk East Auditorium
• Time:(Reg. 9:30) Program 10 a.m. – 3 p.m.
• January 20th Registration Deadline
• Topic:Corn Co-Product and Beef Quality Emphasis

Minutes	Topic	Speaker
30	The 2005 Beef Quality Audit – what you need to know	Frost- IBA
30	What's new in estrus synchronization?	Kesler- U of I
30	Current genetic tests – how effective are they?	Parrett- U of I Extension
45	Meal	The best in town
45	Characteristics, storage handling and limitations considerations for corn co-products	Berger- U of I
30	Corn co-product mineral supplement requirements and maximum co-product feeding recommendations	Faulkner- U of I Extension
30	Co-product feeding recommendations – Diet examples and BRANDS formulation demonstration	Knipe U Of IExtension
30	Panel (includes local suppliers and feeders)	to be announced

Registration will be $15 per person by January 20th and $18 per person their after. Registration will include all program materials and lunch. Registration can be made by contacting the Extension office at 853-1533 or emailing jwest@uiuc.edu. Registration can also be made by simply mailing your check (Made out to University of Illinois Extension) to Box 74 Galva IL 61434 with a note telling us to register you for the Beef program.

BHE Student: Program provided free, however lunch will be $12 each and reservation must be made prior to January 20th

MORE INFO: Contact Jeff West County Director at the Henry-Stark Extension office

(late-February – early-March)

If you, or a family member, is interested in starting or expanding an alternative rural enterprise, you will be happy to know that we are planning two round table programs to discuss your ideas and needs.

Format: The format for these round tables will be rather unique in that we will have an alternative ag educator with us at each round table location to lead the discussion and answer questions. But what makes these round table sessions a little bit more unique is that we will also have three to four additional experts from throughout the State standing by on call via conference phone system to provide input, if requested, by members of the round table.

Date & Time: As indicated, we are looking at our late-February to early-March calendars for possible dates. Our tentative plan is to have one at one location in the afternoon and at another in the evening the same day. While they will be in two separate locations, you are invited and welcome to attend whichever one fits your schedule.

Interested: Please let us know if you are interested or not by contacting the office at 309-853-1533 and leave your mailing and email address if you want, or email me at jwest@uiuc.edu .

Comment: We hear people say they are interested in alternative enterprises, but the topic of the meeting doesn't fit their interest. This is your chance to learn what you want to learn from those like you who participate locally, as well at Extension experts around the State.

March 2007

Are you one of a growing number of meat goat producers in Henry and Stark Counties?

If you are one of a growing number of meat goat producers in either Henry or Stark County, you will want to contact us with your name and address (or contact us via email) so that we can alert you to a meat goat workshop we are tentatively planning for a Saturday in March on the Black Hawk East campus.

While not yet scheduled, we plan to offer a morning only workshop that will include the following tentative agenda:

• Evaluation of meat goats for show and the commercial meat market
• Meat goat ration for least cost gain, as well as show
• Management of goats in an intensive grazing system

NOTE: We do not have a mailing list for goat producers in the Henry-Stark unit. If you, or someone you know, is interested, please let us know by calling the Extension office at 309-853-1533 or email Jeff West at jwest@uiuc.edu .

Carrie Titus, Youth Educator, shares her trip to India with you.

If you, or a family member, has access to the Internet and are interested in India, as well as travel abroad, you might be interested in checking in with our unit's youth educator's travel blog to India. According to her schedule, she will be participating in a Rotary International Tour of India during the month of January.

Carrie has agreed to take us all along on her trip provided time and technology limits don't get in the way. If you would like to read and see photos of her interactive diary/blog, simply go to our unit homepage at henrystark.extension.uiuc.edu, follow down the right hand column to where you will see the following hot link (Where in the world is Carrie? Blog).

NOTE: As of November 30, there are 41 days until she leaves the States.