Lansing, Mich. (January 4, 2021) – With the success of last June’s on-line, stay-at-home Michigan Wheat Summer Field Day – and the lingering COVID pandemic – the Michigan Wheat Program (MWP) has announced a creative new format for its winter meeting: Six weekly, wheat-tastic, wheat wisdom Wednesday webinars beginning in mid-February.
Watch them live and participate with questions or comments during the 90-minute sessions that include wheat headliners from around the globe!
“When 2020 gives you lemons, in 2021 we have to figure out a new way to make lemonade,” said MWP chairman Bill Hunt, wheat grower from Davison, about the innovative meetings. “In all seriousness, we on the board are excited to harness the online format to bring our Michigan wheat farmers live presentations by distinguished wheat researchers and experts from three states, plus Canada and the United Kingdom.”
“Knowing that we cannot ask people to travel yet this March, we have turned our Winter Annual Grower Meeting into a win-win by allowing our farmers to tune in from home and gain additional wheat wisdom from renowned presenters in their own locations,” Hunt concluded.
MWP executive director Jody Pollok-Newsom worked with not only the MWP board, but also Michigan State University’s wheat specialist Dennis Pennington and his team to identify the exciting speaker line-up, which is as follows:
Feb. 17, 8-9:30 am – Angie Setzer, Wheat Marketing, Vice President of Grain, Citizens Elevator, LLC, of Charlotte, Michigan
Feb. 24, 8-9:30 am – Phil Needham, Fall Wheat Management and Combine Residue Management, Needham Ag Technologies of Calhoun, Kentucky
Mar. 3, 8-9:30 am – Dr. Romulo Lollato, Checkoff into Practice: Research on high-yielding wheat in Kansas, Associate Professor of Wheat and Forages Production, Kansas State University in Manhattan, Kansas
March 10, 8 am-9:30 am – Dr. Pete Berry, Enhancing Wheat Yields in Europe and the US, Head of Crop Physiology and Principal Scientist, ADAS, in North Yorkshire, England
March 17, 8-9:30 am – Peter Johnson, Fine Tuning Wheat, Wheat Expert and retired Provincial Cereal Specialist for Ontario Ministry of Agriculture, Food and Rural Affairs in Ontario, Canada
March 24, 8-9:30 am – Dennis Pennington, Wheat Crop & Research Update, Wheat Specialist, Michigan State University in East Lansing, Michigan
Each session will include an update on Michigan Wheat Program happenings, the main speaker and time for a question-and-answer session. Both CCA and RUP credits are in process and will be awarded via a survey at the conclusion of each workshop.
As is customary, admission to the Michigan Wheat Program’s 2021 Wheat Wisdom Webinars will be free of charge to Michigan wheat farmers and friends of the Michigan wheat industry with advance registration. Registration details for each of the six sessions will be announced by January 15. Consult your Wheat Wisdom e-newsletter or visit www.miwheat.org and check out the what’s hot box on the left for the link to register. Once registered, you will receive an email confirmation. The Monday prior to the webinar, you will receive a reminder email with the link and instructions to access the Zoom webinar.
The Michigan Wheat Program is funded by nearly 8,000 farmers who grow wheat in 50 of Michigan’s 83 counties. The Michigan Wheat Program board seeks to promote the state’s wheat industry by funding and supporting the strategic priorities of wheat farmers working with input suppliers, seed producers, millers, end users and consumers. Research on wheat production practices and grower education has been a continued focus for the organization. For more information on the Michigan Wheat Program visit its website at www.miwheat.org.