St. Louis, Missouri
May 5, 2008
Extension agents, crop
consultants, farm educators and corn growers learned the latest
in insect resistant management (IRM) practices Friday during a
webinar hosted by DTN in
cooperation with the National Corn
Growers Association (NCGA).
The webinar was designed to spread awareness about the
importance of planting the required acreage of non-Bt corn to
serve as an insect refuge. Farmers are contractually obligated
to plant nonBt refuges according to agreements they sign with
seed companies.
A panel of experts discussed corn IRM requirements and the legal
and biological reasons for planting nonBt corn refuge in
addition to Bt acres. They also announced NCGA’s new series of
IRM training and educational materials designed specifically for
extension personnel and corn growers. Three courses are
available, including an e-learning course, an instructor-led
training (ILT) course, and a self-running ILT course. All three
qualify for continuing education credits.
The e-learning course is available online at www.ncga.com by
clicking on key issues, biotechnology, resistance management and
selecting the insect or weed resistance module. The course is an
interactive, self-paced, computer-based learning course.
The ILT is a classroom-style course presented by a knowledgeable
facilitator. It allows for participation by all participants.
The facilitator toolkit includes a PowerPoint presentation deck,
facilitator guide with notes and talking points, a participant
guide, and handouts.
The automated ILT is a classroom-style course presented through
a self-running program. It allows the facilitator to pause the
course for interaction and is narrated through the program, not
the facilitator. The toolkit includes the self-running flash
presentation, the facilitation guide with notes, a participant
guide, and handouts.
Webinar panelists included Dr. Kevin Steffey, extension
entomologist at the University of Illinois; Nick Storer, global
science policy leader, biotechnology regulatory affairs for Dow
AgroSciences and chairman of the Agricultural Biotechnology
Stewardship Technical Committee; and Martin Barbre, farmer from
Carmi, Ill., and chairman of the NCGA Biotech Working Group.
During the webinar, many questions focused on the details of
grower licensing agreements and the legal ramifications of
refuge compliance.
The entire webinar can be downloaded or rebroadcast online.
Visit
www.dtnag.com/promo/resistance to access the files. Contact
Cathy Durham, NCGA, at 636.733.9004 for the free ILT training
materials on CD or for more information. |
|
