Where: Town & Country Resort and Convention Center, San Diego, Calif.

Organized by:

UC Alfalfa & Forage Systems Workgroup

University of California Cooperative Extension

Western Alfalfa Seed Growers Association

University of Arizona Cooperative Extension

Web site: alfalfa.ucdavis.edu

When: Tuesday, Dec. 2, 2008 (PCA and CCA credits available)

Field tour

7:45 a.m. – 6 p.m. - Pre-Symposium Tour (separate sign-up)

Tour the phenomenally productive farmland of the Imperial Valley in the Low Desert of California.

1-6 p.m. – Exhibitor setup

6-8 p.m. – Registration (pick up registration packets)

6:30-7:30 p.m. – UC Alfalfa Workgroup Reception – Hotel Suites

Wednesday, Dec. 3, 2008 – Morning session

Dairy and Forage Industry Trends

6:30-10:00 a.m. – Registration

8:00 a.m. – Welcome – Dan Putnam & Rod Christensen

8:10 a.m. – Hay Market Trends – Seth Hoyt, The Hoyt Report, Ione, Calif.

8:35 a.m. – Dairy Industry Status and Trends – Eric Erba, California Dairies, Inc. Visalia, Calif.

9:00 a.m. – The Changing Nature of Dairy Rations: Effects on Forage Demand – Jerry Higginbotham, Farm Advisor, UCCE, Fresno, Calif.

9:25 a.m. – Upcoming Environmental and Regulatory Challenges – Cynthia Cory, California Farm Bureau Federation, Sacramento, Calif.

10:00 a.m. – Break

Seed Industry Trends and Biotech Crops

10:30 a.m. – Producing Quality Seed for the Forage Industry – Shannon Mueller, Farm Advisor, UCCE, Fresno, Calif.

10:50 a.m. – Seed Industry Trends – Mark McCaslin, President, Forage Genetics International, Minneapolis, Minn.

11:10 a.m. – Gene Flow and Stewardship of Biotech Alfalfa – Larry Teuber, Alfalfa Geneticist, University of California, Davis, Calif.

11:30 a.m. – Regulatory Review of Roundup Ready Alfalfa – Virgil Meier, Biotechnology Regulatory Serv., USDA-APHIS, Riverdale, Md.

Noon banquet lunch (Beth Nelson, NAFA; John Bonner, CAST)

Afternoon breakout sessions

Breakout session I – Pest Management in Alfalfa

1:30 p.m. – Alfalfa Weed Control: Present and Future Opportunities – Barry Tickes, Farm Advisor, University of Arizona, Yuma, Ariz.

1:50 p.m. – Summer Annual Grass Control — What are the strategies? – Mick Canevari, Farm Advisor, UCCE, Stockton, Calif.

2:10 p.m. – Poisonous Weeds and Impacts – Birgit Puschner, University of California Veterinary Diagnostic Lab, Davis, Calif.

2:30 p.m. – Test your Pest IQ – Tulio Macedo, Farm Advisor, UCCE, Madera and Merced, Calif.

3:00 p.m. – Break

3:30 p.m. – Controlling Alfalfa Weevil and Aphids in Alfalfa – Larry Godfrey, Extension Specialist, University of California, Davis, Calif.

3:50 p.m. – Alfalfa Nematodes: What can be done? – Becky Westerdahl, Extension Specialist, University of California, Davis, Calif.

4:10 p.m. – Controlling the Worm Complex in Alfalfa – Eric Natwick, Farm Advisor, UCCE, Holtville, Calif.

4:30 p.m. – IPM in Timothy and Cool — Season Grasses — Dominic Reisig, Research Associate, University of California, Davis, Calif.

5:00 p.m. – Adjourn

Breakout Session II – Irrigation and Water Management, Manure, and Tillage

1:30 p.m. – Water Management for Alfalfa Hay Production on Beds — Dean Currie, Imperial Irrigation District, El Centro, Calif.

1:50 p.m. – Irrigation Scheduling Program for Alfalfa – Rick Snyder, Extension Specialist, University of California, Davis, Calif.

2:10 p.m. – Salinity Tolerance and Management in Alfalfa – Blake Sanden, Farm Advisor, UCCE, Bakersfield, Calif.

2:30 p.m. – Potential Perched Water Contributions to Alfalfa ET – Jim Ayars, USDA-ARS, Parlier, Calif.

3:00 p.m. – Break

3:30 p.m. – Phosphorus Runoff Management for Alfalfa in Desert Regions – Khaled Bali, Farm Advisor, UCCE, Holtville, Calif.

3:50 p.m. – Flood vs. Pivot Irrigation for Forage Crops – Paul Brown, Extension Biometeorologist, University of Arizona, Tucson, Ariz.

4:10 p.m. – Conservation Tillage, Triple Cropping and Forage Production – Jeff Mitchell, Extension Tillage Specialist, UC Davis, Calif.

4:30 p.m. – Recycling Lagoon Water using Forage Crops – Marsha Campbell-Mathews, Farm Advisor, UCCE, Modesto, Calif.

5:00 p.m. – Adjourn

Breakout Session III – Producing Quality Alfalfa Seed

1:30 p.m. – Stewardship Practices for Producing Alfalfa Seed Including GE Traits – Mike Moore, University of Wyoming, Powell, Wyo.

1:50 p.m. – Breeding Alfalfa for Resistance to Lygus – Larry Teuber, Alfalfa Geneticist, University of California, Davis, Calif.

2:10 p.m. – Lygus Management and Pesticides in Alfalfa Seed – Eric Natwick, Farm Advisor, UCCE, Holtville, Calif.

2:30 p.m. – Managing Other Insect Pests in Alfalfa Seed – Doug Walsh, Research Entomologist, Washington State Univ., Prosser, Wash.

3:00 p.m. – Break

3:30 p.m. – Weed Management in Alfalfa Seed – Rick Boyston, Weed Scientist, USDA-ARS, Prosser, Wash.

3:50 p.m. – ARS & Logan Bee Lab Update – Rosalind James, Bee Biology and Systematics Laboratory, USDA-ARS, Logan, Utah

4:10 p.m. – Honey Bee Colony Collapse Disorder & Africanized Bees – Kirk Visscher, Professor, University of California, Riverside, Calif.

4:30 p.m. – Leafcutting Bees and Chalkbrood Management – Rosalind James, Bee Biology Laboratory, USDA-ARS, Logan, Utah

5:00 p.m. – Adjourn

Breakout Session IV – Corn, Sorghum, Sudan and Tef as Forage Crops - Moderator: Marsha C. Mathews

1:30 p.m. – Future Trends in Corn Genetics and Biotechnology – Bill Curran, Pioneer Hi-bred, Greeley, Colo.

1:50 p.m. – Forage Sorghum and Silage Corn: Yield, Quality and Water – Brent Bean, Extension Agronomist, Texas A&M, Amarillo, Texas

2:10 p.m. – Sudangrass Quality and Yield Traits: What to Look For? – Juan Guerrero, Farm Advisor, UCCE, Holtville, Calif.

2:30 p.m. – Tef as an Alternative Summer Forage – Don Miller, Director of Product Development, Producer’s Choice Seeds, Nampa, Idaho

3:00 p.m. – Adjourn

5:00-6:00 p.m. – Exhibitor’s Reception

5:30-7:00 p.m. – Hay Grower’s Auction (organized by California Alfalfa & Forage Association)

7:00-10:00 p.m. – National Alfalfa & Forage Alliance (NAFA) Board Meeting

Thursday, Dec. 4, 2008 – Morning session

6:15 a.m. – California Alfalfa & Forage Association (CAFA) Breakfast

7-10 a.m. – Registration

Equipment Innovations, Water, and Biofuels

8:00 a.m. – Introductions

8:10 a.m. – Innovations in Forage Equipment – Dan Undersander, Extension Forage Specialist, University of Wisconsin, Madison, Wis.

8:35 a.m. – An Analysis of Custom Harvesting Costs – Karen Klonsky, Extension Economist, University of California, Davis, Calif.

9:00 a.m. – Alfalfa and Switchgrass as Cellulosic Biofuels – Dan Putnam, Extension Forage Specialist, Univ. of California, Davis, Calif.

9:25 a.m. – Growing Crops for Biofuels: Water Resource Implications – Mike Ottman, Forage Specialist, Univ. of Arizona, Tucson, Ariz.

9:50 a.m. – Discussion

10:00 a.m. – Break

Water, Fertilizers, and Food Security

10:30 a.m. – How Much Water does Alfalfa Really Need? – Blaine Hanson, Irrigation Specialist, University of California, Davis, Calif.

10:55 a.m. – Rising Fertilizer Prices – A Global Perspective – Rob Mikkelsen, International Plant Nutrition Institute, Merced, Calif.

11:20 a.m. – Maximizing Fertilizer Efficiency through Tissue Testing and Improved Application Methods – Steve Orloff, Farm Advisor, UCCE, Yreka, Calif.

11:45 a.m. – Security of Food Production — What does the Future Hold? – Bryan McDonald, Center for Unconventional Security Affairs, UC Irvine, Irvine, Calif.

12:10 p.m. – Discussion

12:30 p.m. – Adjourn meeting