What to expect at the 2026 Advanced Crop Advisers Workshop
Registration is open for our Advanced Crop Advisers Workshop, which will be held Tuesday and Wednesday, January 27—28 at the Fargo Holiday Inn.
Registration is an easy online process at https://www.ndsu.edu/agriculture/ag-hub/events/2026-advanced-crop-advisers-workshop . Then call the Holiday Inn (or use your favorite booking site) to secure your hotel room. Once you have registered and secured lodging, we’ll take care of the rest.
Tuesday morning (January 27) begins at 9:00 a.m. with a quick check-in. I’ll be there, along with all of the ACAW planning committee. Collect supplies (including hard copies of the 2026 Weed Control Guide, 2026 Field Crop Insect Management Guide, and 2026 Field Crop Plant Disease Management Guide), and we’ll have a light breakfast available with plenty of coffee. Challenge your abilities to identify pest examples at the Pest Identification Quiz, which will be available all day Tuesday and for a time on Wednesday morning.
Our first General Session begins at 10:00 a.m. Tuesday with a panel sharing their perspectives in “Make Every Input Count in 2026,” addressing agronomic inputs necessary for 2026 and how to reconcile competing recommendations against tough economics.
Have you had lunch at the Holiday Inn? It’s quite the spread! After lunch, we head back into another General Session, this time exploring “Necessary and Recommended Herbicide Adjuvants” and discussing how adjuvants work to maximize herbicide efficacy.
Now it’s time to break into smaller concurrent sessions for the rest of the afternoon. “Alternative Weed Management Technologies” will look at harvest weed seed destruction, robotic weeders, cover crops, and non-traditional herbicide technologies. “Fertilizer Facts and Myths” will explain how N, P, and S cycle in the field and review recent research evaluating whether products live up to their claims. “Buckle Up! 2026 Crop Market and Trade Outlook” provides an update and outlook on key issues impacting 2026 crop market prices. Concurrent sessions will be presented twice on Tuesday.
Wednesday morning (January 28) starts early, at 7:30 a.m. with a full breakfast buffet and your final opportunities to work through the 2026 Pest Identification Quiz. Along with bragging rights, we’ll have prizes for top performers.
A General Session starts at 8:00 a.m., addressing practical strategies for recognizing and managing stress, maintaining mental wellness, and supporting others in the agricultural community. Learn to build resilience, maintain balance during peak seasons, and create a healthier work–life mindset while navigating the unique stresses of the ag industry during “Staying Grounded: Managing Stress and Supporting Mental Wellness in Agriculture.”
We’ll wrap up the workshop with your choice of two concurrent classes before lunch. There are four titles from which to choose. “Emerging and Resistant Insect Pests in Soybean, Wheat and Corn” covers biology and Best Management Practices for armyworm and bean leaf beetle, new MN corn pests, recent findings regarding Bt resistant corn borers and cold tolerance, and rotation resistance of Western and Northern corn rootworms. “Field Crop Diseases and Disease Forecasting Tools” let you hear from two plant pathologists who are using the disease triangle and current/forecasted weather conditions to predict disease pressure and target management strategies. Better understand new decision support tools such as the SCN Profit Checker Calculator, NDAWN White Mold Risk Maps, and the Crop Disease Forecasting Tool. “What It Takes to Improve Weed Management” explores how herbicide application parameters, hand weeding, field perimeter weed management, water quality, adjuvants, and other factors contribute to weed control. “Soil Compaction and Soil Health” covers how to mitigate current compaction and reviews proven strategies to minimize future compaction risk.
Enjoy another Holiday Inn lunch buffet with us before you leave.
Certified Crop Advisers will be able to earn 10.0 continuing education units (CEUs) by attending both days of the workshop.
Preregistration (including fee payment) is required by Jan. 25. The workshop is limited to 150 people.
Full details, including a PDF version of the agenda brochure, are available online at https://www.ndsu.edu/agriculture/ag-hub/events/2026-advanced-crop-advisers-workshop .
Linda Schuster
Linda.Schuster@ndsu.edu
Administrative Assistant
