Southeast Michigan vegetable and field crop grower winter meeting to be held February 4, 2026
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EmailThis year’s event will feature a general session in the morning and breakout vegetable and field crop sessions in the afternoon.
Enhance your knowledge of vegetable and field crop production and pest management by attending the 2026 Southeast Michigan Vegetable Grower and Field Crop Grower Winter Meeting on Feb. 4 at the Old Mill Museum, 242 Toledo St, Dundee, MI 48131. This event will provide opportunities to learn from and engage with Michigan State University (MSU) Extension specialists and educators on important issues in today’s vegetable and field crop industries. The educational sessions include topics on pest management, new agricultural technologies and other key areas affecting growers. Everyone can learn something from this diverse educational offering to help equip you with the knowledge and connections to improve vegetable or field crop production on your farm.
The program will feature presentations from various Extension and academic speakers with different areas of agricultural expertise. Check out the following schedule for the morning general sessions and afternoon breakout sessions.
Agenda
Morning Session - General
9:00 a.m. Wildlife Control in Crop Production - Nicolle Ritchie, MSU Extension
9:30 a.m. Precision Agriculture – Rich Price, MSU Extension
10:00 a.m. BREAK
10:15 a.m. Farmer Mental Health Resources – MSU Extension
10:30 a.m. Overview of Farm Labor Trends and Policy – Zach Rutledge, Michigan State University
11:00 a.m. Lake Erie Water Quality & EPA Pesticide Strategy Update - Korede Olugbenle, MSU Extension and Erin Burns, Michigan State University
11:45 a.m. LUNCH
Afternoon Session 1 - Vegetables
12:30 p.m. Weed Management Strategies for Vegetable Production – Josh Miranda, Michigan State University
1:00 p.m. Vegetable Disease Update - Mary Hausbeck, Michigan State University
1:45 p.m. What’s Eating Your Cabbage? Understanding and Managing Key Insect Pests – Zsofia Szendrei, Michigan State University
2:30 p.m. Developments in Robotic Weed Control - Dan Brainard, Michigan State University
3:00 p.m. Evaluations/Credits
Afternoon Session 2 - Field Crops
12:30 p.m. Waterhemp and Weed Management Update – Erin Burns, Michigan State University
1:00 p.m. Wheat Update – Dennis Pennington, Michigan State University
1:45 p.m. Crop Disease Update - Marty Chilvers, Michigan State University
2:30 p.m. Efficient Irrigation and Water Management – Angie Gradiz Menjivar, MSU Extension
3:00 p.m. Evaluations/Credits
The program will run from 9 a.m. – 3 p.m. with check-in beginning at 8:30 a.m. The event is free to attend and will include a catered lunch. Registering online prior to the event is required to ensure there is room. Space is limited so please only register if you are certain you will attend.
Register for the 2026 Southeast Michigan Vegetable Grower and Field Crop Grower Winter Meeting
The event will count towards two restricted use pesticide (RUP) credits for the morning session (1A, 1B, AE, Comm CORE or Priv CORE) and two RUP credits for the afternoon session (1A, 1B or Priv CORE). It will also be worth six certified crop adviser credits (1 SM/WM, 4 IPM, 0.5 CM, 0.5 PD).
You won’t want to miss this opportunity to learn from and connect with fellow growers, Extension staff and other individuals working within the vegetable and field crop industries.
Please reach out to Chris Galbraith at galbra53@msu.edu or 734-240-3178, or Madelyn Celovsky at celovsk2@msu.edu or 517-768-2048, with any questions.
