Grain Producers Invited to Kentucky Pest Management Event

By Blake Jackson

The Kentucky Agricultural Training School (KATS), a program of the University of Kentucky Martin-Gatton College of Agriculture, Food and Environment, will host a hands-on Pest Management Workshop on August 27, 2026, at the UK Research and Education Center in Princeton.

The half-day event is intended for grain producers, crop advisers, and agricultural industry professionals. Participants will receive practical training in several areas of crop protection, including sprayer calibration, identifying herbicide modes of action, evaluating corn diseases, and scouting for insects late in the growing season.

“This workshop will give participants a practical look at current pest management tools and decision-making strategies for Kentucky grain crops,” said Travis Legleiter, Ph.D., Extension weed science specialist in the Department of Plant and Soil Sciences.

“The goal is to connect research-based recommendations with field situations that producers and advisers are managing now.”

Legleiter will be joined by Kiersten Wise, Ph.D., professor and Extension plant pathologist, and Felipe Colares Batista, Ph.D., a postdoctoral scholar in entomology at Martin-Gatton CAFE.

“The workshop gives participants a chance to see pest management research in the field and talk directly with specialists about challenges they are seeing in their own crops,” Wise said. “That kind of interaction helps producers and advisers make informed decisions that protect yield and return on investment.”

The workshop will take place from 8 a.m. to noon CDT, with registration beginning at 7:30 a.m. Lunch will follow. The registration fee is $65 per person.

Since much of the program will be conducted outdoors, attendees should prepare for changing weather and field conditions. Continuing education credits for Certified Crop Advisers and pesticide applicators have been requested.

Registration is available online and for more information, contact Lori Rogers at Lori.Rogers@uky.edu or 270-365-7541, ext. 21317.

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