MSU Holding Crop and Pest Management School in January

Montana State University's Extension Service will be hosting a two-day Crop and Pest Management School at the MSU campus in Bozeman mid-January 2026.

What's this all about?

The school, part of MSU Extension's Integrated Pest Management Program, will cover multiple topics, including:

Soil Fertility and Nutrition - How the type and amount of fertilizer you use can impact crop yields.

Seed Health and Pathogen Detection in Pulse Crops - Discussing the diagnostic clinics MSU has and how you can get their help to identify issues impacting the health of your crops.

Forages and Noxious Weeds

Abiotic Conditions and Pests - How environmental conditions like precipitation and temperature can change how vulnerable crops are to pests.

Precision Ag Research - Technologies for precision weed targeting and pesticide spraying, including the rise in the use of drones for application.

Herbicide Resistant Weeds

Soil Erosion and Irrigation

Diseases Affecting Wheat and Potato Crops - Specifically, Triticum Mosaic Virus and tuber borne-diseases like Potato Virus Y.

Regulatory Changes to the Endangered Species Act - Discussing how changes to the ESA impact pesticide application, along with training and applicator certification.

Soil Microbes and their Relationship with Soil Health

Most of the presenters are connected with MSU, but some will be from places like the National Agricultural Genotyping Center in Fargo, ND, Colorado State University, and the Montana Seed Potato Certification Program.

I'm interested in attending.  What do I need to know?

The event is currently scheduled for January 14th and 15th, 2026.  Registration is $225, with a deadline of December 22nd.  Attending the event counts as education credits for crop advisors and pesticide applicator training.