Mark Your Calendars!

26th Annual Texas Plant Protection Conference
December 10-11, 2014
Brazos Center, Bryan, Texas

Conference Theme
Water: The Limiting Factor in Crop Production in Texas

Thanks to our attendees and sponsors, TPPA held another great conference this year. Check out these links with articles and pictures from the conference and Awards Luncheon:

• TPPA honors outstanding service to agriculture at luncheon
• Water availability limiting factor in ag production
• Expert: Consequences of Texas drought continue to linger

 

Conference Highlights

• TPPA Awards Luncheon and Business Meeting– Be sure to attend the luncheon at noon on December 11. The TPPA Awards will be presented.
• Poster Section- The conference will have a Poster Section where researchers, including graduate students, can display information about their work. The graduate students also compete for cash prizes for the top 3 posters. To enter a poster or for more information on the poster section, contact this year’s Poster Chair, Betsy Pierson. Her email adddress is:   eapierson@tamu.edu
• Pest ID Contest –Conference participants are invited to participate and are challenged in the Pest ID Contest on their skills of identification. The 2014 TPPC Pest ID Contest will be conducted on Wednesday, December 10th from 3:00 to 3:45 pm. Contest participants will be asked to identify 10 agriculture insect pests, 10 crop diseases or viruses and 10 weed pests. Pests chosen for the contest can be related to cotton, corn, rice, sorghum, watermelons, grapes, pecans, walnuts, peanuts, citrus, pastureland and rangeland. Although the contest is challenging, this session serves as time to learn how to identify current pests of concern. Barron Rector, Session Chairman, provides each participant with a contest sheet. The session concludes by going over all of the contest pest specimens for the participants reference. Awards and cash prizes are given to the top three identifiers. Winners are recognized at the TPPC Awards Luncheon. Scores from this contest are not shared with bosses, colleagues, or friends.
• CEU’s –Both TDA & CCA ceu’s will be offered.
• Exhibition Hall- The industry displays will  be in this high traffic area along with the Posters and coffee breaks.

Who attends the conference?

• Agribusiness – dealers, distributors, manufacturers, applicators, consultants, ag lenders, farmers, ranchers
• Research – Texas A&M AgriLife Research, USDA, graduate students, crop protection and seed company researchers
• Extension and educators – Texas A&M AgriLife Extension Service, University faculty, USDA, graduate students
• Ag press
• Regulatory – TDA, USDA, EPA, TCEQ

Agenda

View or print agenda. (Note: subject to change)

Conference Registration and Payment

This year we will again offer online payment by credit card for conference attendees. Of course, we still offer registration and payment by mail.

• Mail-in registration form
• Pay online by credit card (no registration form required)
  • Fee schedule for online payment
    Conference Registration (before 11/15) ………………………$85
    Conference Registration (after 11/15) …………………………$100
    Student Registration …………………………………………………$25
    Farmer Registration ………………………………………………….$25
    Exhibitor/Sponsor………………………………………………………$350
    (includes 1 membership dues & conference registration)
    TPPA Scholarship Donation ……………………………………… $optional

Hotel Information

The hotels listed below are offering special rates for the conference. Contact them by November 18 for your room needs and ask for the Texas Plant Protection Association rate.

• Hilton College Station – $119.00
  Phone: 800/445-8667
  Group code: TPPA 14
• Best Western Premier at Old Town Center – $117.00 – 125.00
  Phone: 979/731-5300
• Holiday Inn Express – $124.99 (11/4 cutoff date)
  Phone: 979/846-8700
  Group code: TPP

Continuing Education Credits

Both TDA and CCA credits are offered for attending the conference. Click here to view/download.{PDF)

2014 Leadership

Chairman of the TPPA Board H. Ray Smith (Biological Research Services) announced that the following board members foimmy Killebrewr 2014. See the full leadership list here.

President Dale Mott, Texas A&M AgriLife Extension Service Vice President & Program Chairman Eric Castner, DuPont Crop Protection Incoming VP & Poster Chairman Elizabeth Pierson, Texas A&M University Incoming VP-Elect Gary Schwarzlose, Bayer Crop Science Executive Director Bob Sasser, TPPA Secretary Tony Driver, Syngenta Crop Protection Treasurer Jimmy Killebrew, Farmer Immediate Past President Seth Murray

Stay tuned for more information!