The Feb. 4th Virtual Tennessee Grain and Soybean conference is now open for registration. It will be different this time since we are doing it virtual, but our experience with other programs has been very positive.

The new virtual conference will have some live presentations online, and then there will be classes recorded that the farmers will be able to watch and receive credit for these sessions. This format will allow us to have speakers from the grain industry across the country and also feature our own specialists and resources.

The speakers are as follows. Management Thoughts on Palmer Amaranth and Grass Control Struggles in Xtend/ Enlist Soybean will be lead by Larry Steckel, Ph.D., Weed Specialist, UT Extension.

Moving Farm Equipment Safely will be discussed by Fred Whitford, Ph.D., Purdue Pesticide Programs, Purdue University. Eric Snodgrass, Principal Atmospheric Scientist, Nutrien Ag Solutions will pesent Weather Risks in Production Agriculture.

Recorded sessions include Have a Marketing Plan by Chris Narayanan, Farm Management Area Specialist, UT Extension. Poultry Litter Coming to a Field Near You by Shawn Hawkins, Ph.D., Associate Professor, UT Biosystems Engineering and Soil Science, will be a good session. Fit Soybeans to your Field by Angela McClure, Ph.D., Corn and Soybean Specialist, UT Extension, will be a good one also. Keeping Tennessee Farms in the Family for Future Generations by Ron Hanson, Ph.D., Harlan Agribusiness Professor Emeritus, University of Nebraska, will include important considerations for those wanting to pass the operation on to a younger generation. It Won't Happen to Me: Farm and Equipment Safety by Brian Robinson, State Training Coordinator, Tennessee Association of Rescue Squads, features crucial safety points that may save your life.

Foliar Fungicides for Disease Control in Field Crops by Carl Bradley, Ph.D., Plant Pathologist, University of Kentucky Extension, will touch on important plant production information. The Future of Pesticides presented by Tom Mueller, Ph.D., Professor, UT Department of Plant Sciences, will give an insight to an important issue for farmers in view of environmental concerns.

Attendees must pre-register in order to receive a Zoom invitation to the meeting. Information collected during registration will also be used to create sign-in sheets for those needing continuing education credits. Registration will be open until the day of the meeting, however, we ask that attendees register by January 31st.

There are two ways to register: 1) Follow a link on our grain conference website https://www.conference.utcrops.com or 2) use this direct link to Zoom registration https://zoom.us/webinar/register/WN_p5pAlAP6TYe-mKkHzDEGLA For more information contact John Teague at 685-5971 or at jteague1@utk.edu

Once each farmer is registered, they should receive a Zoom invitation to the meeting. Commercial Applicator, CCA, and Master Row Crop points will be available.

**Spring

As most of y'all know, I am a spring person. I love to see the grass turn green, the babies filling the pastures, planting getting underway and the temperatures getting warmer. I had a friend who would remind me when I mentioned it that he liked cold weather. Well, it is my turn!

I have had a good time in the past telling folks to help watch for the first buttercups. I actually saw a post on Facebook on New Year's Day with a yellow flower braving the cold.

The days are getting longer, the spring is getting closer, so I'll be looking for every sign at every turn. I'm ready!!

**Wisdom

Here are some good quotes on faith. I heard it defined as hope in things not seen. Being faithful means different things to different folks, so here are some good quotes from the Cornerstones section of the Progressive Farmer.

Tom Hanks said "As long as you as an individual?can convince yourself that in order to move forward as best you can you have to be optimistic, you can be described as "one of the faithful," one of those people who can say, "Well, look, something's going to happen!" Let's just keep trying. Let's not give up."

Mother Teresa said "Be faithful in small things because it is in them that your strength lies." Erich Fromm said "Only the person who has faith in himself is able to be faithful to others." Jean-Jacques Rousseau said "Those that are most slow in making a promise are the most faithful in the performance of it."

Pope Benedict XVI said "True friends challenge us and help us to be faithful on our journey."