The University of Kentucky Martin-Gatton College of Agriculture, Food and Environment, in partnership with the Southern Integrated Pest Management Center, is pleased to announce the 2025 Fall Crop Protection Webinar Series. This annual series will focus on current challenges and solutions in integrated pest management (IPM) for field crops, offering crucial insights for agriculture professionals navigating the growing season.

Running from late-October through November, the series will provide expert-led discussions on managing timely grain crop pests, such as red crown rot, Southern rust, Italian ryegrass and several troublesome insects. Each webinar lasts one hour, starting at 10 a.m. ET/9 a.m. CT, and will offer attendees the opportunity to earn continuing education credits (CEUs).

“The webinars are ideal for a range of participants, including agriculture and natural resource county extension agents, crop consultants, farmers and industry professionals,” said Kiersten Wise, extension plant pathologist. “Attendees from both within Kentucky and across state lines are welcome. The program is designed to tackle pest management challenges nationwide.”

For Certified Crop Advisors (CCAs), each session qualifies for one CEU in Integrated Pest Management, totaling four CEUs for the entire series. Kentucky pesticide applicators can also earn four CEUs for Category 1a (Agricultural Plant) if they attend all four webinars.

Webinar Schedule and Topics

The series features a lineup of specialists from UK Martin-Gatton CAFE who will share their expertise on managing key pests and diseases affecting crops: 

1. October 30 – Research Update on Red Crown Rot of Soybean 
   Speaker: Carl Bradley, extension plant pathologist. Register for this webinar.
2. November 6 – Delayed Appearance or Declining Insect Pest Numbers in Field Crops in Recent Years
   Speaker: Raul Villanueva, extension entomologist. Register for this webinar
3. November 13 – Stopping Southern Rust: Scouting, Spraying and Staying Ahead
   Speaker: Kiersten Wise, extension plant pathologist. Register for this webinar.
4. November 20 – Defense Wins the Ryegrass Battle
   Speaker: Travis Legleiter, extension weeds specialist. Register for this webinar.

Participation is free. Pre-registration is required for each webinar, and information on each webinar can be viewed at https://ukrec.mgcafe.uky.edu/events.

For more information on the series, please contact Jason Travis via email at jason.travis@uky.edu. 

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The Martin-Gatton College of Agriculture, Food and Environment is an Equal Opportunity Organization with respect to education and employment and authorization to provide research, education information and other services only to individuals and institutions that function without regard to economic or social status and will not discriminate on the basis of race, color, ethnic origin, national origin, creed, religion, political belief, sex, sexual orientation, gender identity, gender expression, pregnancy, marital status, genetic information, age, veteran status, physical or mental disability or reprisal or retaliation for prior civil rights activity.