Clemson Extension Scouting Workshops slated for July 27 – 28

Cotton, peanuts and soybeans are major crops in South Carolina and the Clemson University Cooperative Extension Service is helping growers learn how to protect their investments against diseases and insect pests.

Clemson Extension experts will offer two scouting workshops – July 27 at the Pee Dee Research and Education Center (REC) near Darlington and July 28 at Lone Star Planation near St. Matthews. Instructors for the workshops are Dan Anco, Clemson Extension peanut specialist, and Jeremy Greene, Clemson professor of entomology. There is no cost for these workshops.

The July 27 workshop gets underway with registration at 8:30 a.m. at the Pee Dee REC, 2200 Pocket Road, Darlington, S.C. 29532.

The morning session includes cotton and soybean classroom seminars and field training. A peanut classroom seminar and field training follows lunch. The day ends with a wrap up and discussion at 2:30 p.m.

Also assisting with the workshop will be Extension agents Heather Benjamin, David DeWitt, William Hardee and Hannah Mikell.

People who plan to eat lunch are asked to register before July 18. Registration deadline for people who do not plan to eat lunch is July 25. To register, go to https://forms.gle/g6ro8kS5HDM19VTp6. For questions or more information, contact Joshua Caughman at (803) 484-5416 or jcaughm@clemson.edu.

The July 28 workshop gets underway with registration at 9 a.m. at Lone Star Plantation, 102 Po Boy Court, St. Matthews, S.C. 29135.

The morning session takes participants to cotton and soybean fields where they will collect samples and learn how to identify diseases and insect pests. Following lunch, participants will travel to a peanut field to collect samples for identification.

The July 28 workshop ends with a wrap up and discussion at 2:30 p.m.

Deadline to register for the July 28 workshop is July 25. Morning and afternoon sessions are capped at 50 participants each. To register or for more information, contact Jonathan Croft at (803) 516-4207 or croft@clemson.edu.

Cotton, peanuts and soybeans are major contributors to the South Carolina economy. Figures from the United States Department of Agriculture National Agricultural Statistics Service (USDA NASS) for 2021 show 207,000 acres of cotton were harvested in South Carolina for a total production value of $174,624,000. The USDA NASS figures for peanuts in South Carolina for 2021 show 66,000 acres were harvested for a total production value of $61,538,000 and 385,000 acres of soybeans were harvested for a total production value of $191,653,000.

-END-