By KEVIN WALKER Michigan Correspondent LANSING, Mich. — The Michigan Wheat Program’s (MWP) sixth annual meeting is slated for March and registration is now open. The one-day event, which includes a trade show, will be March 21 at the Eagle Eye Golf Course in Bath Township near Lansing. Admission is free to wheat growers and stakeholders interested in learning what’s new with Michigan wheat; however, pre-registration is requested. “It’s the one meeting where you can come and get all information related to wheat,” said MWP Executive Director Jody Pollok-Newsom. “We also have a trade show, so you’ll have suppliers as well as millers on hand. It’s going to be kind of a one-stop shop for everything wheat. “The nice thing about it for farmers is it’s free. Farmers will be able to talk to people about their business and hopefully this will help their bottom line.” The keynote speaker will be Peter Johnson, a Canadian wheat specialist and a speaker at the 2015 MWP annual meeting. Johnson is recently retired from his position as provincial cereal specialist with the Ontario Ministry of Agriculture, Food and Rural Affairs. He has also served as treasurer and past chair of the Ontario Cereal Crop Committee, chair of the Wheat Technical Working Group and co-founder of the Great Lakes Wheat Workers group. “With quality speakers like Peter Johnson, who was requested back by our growers, and a panel discussion by growers who studied wheat production in Germany last summer, Michigan wheat farmers can get some new ideas of things they would like to try on their own farms,” said David Milligan, chair of the MWP and a Cass City farmer. “In these tough times, we need to bring information to growers that can help their bottom line. Developing quality grower programs is an important function of the Michigan Wheat Program and our board takes it very seriously. It is another important way we keep wheat farmers informed of not only what we’re doing as an organization, but what innovation is occurring in the industry.” Johnson’s presentations will be “High-Yield Wheat: Setting the Stage” and “Management for High Yields.” Other presentations include a farm bill update with Kyle Varner, a policy analyst at the U.S. Senate Committee on Agriculture, Nutrition and Forestry; an update on the MWP by Pollok-Newsom; a grower panel on German wheat production with Mike Milligan and Michigan wheat grower Jeff Krohn, who both went to Germany last year, as well as Michigan State University wheat specialist Dennis Pennington; and a 2018 Resources Available presentation to wheat growers by MSU wheat educator Martin Nagelkirk, as well as Pennington. Farmers are also invited to visit the trade show, which will have a number of industry displays. “There’s a nice luncheon included, but we just like to get a headcount so we can know how many people we can expect,” Pollok-Newsom explained. Pre-registration will allow farmers to avoid the hassle of having to register at the door, as well. More details on the upcoming meeting, including how to register, are available at the MWP website at http://miwheat.org |
