Invited Presentations

Ben Gleason
executive director, Iowa Nutrient Research & Education Council, Des Moines, IA

Presentation title: Utilizing ag retailer data to measure conservation practice adoption by Iowa farmers

Presentation times:
Session I - Thursday, 8:00 AM - 8:50 AM
Session J - Thursday, 9:00 AM - 9:50 AM

Bill Johnson
professor, Weed Science, Purdue University, West Lafayette, IN

Dr. Johnson is a Professor of Weed Science in the Department of Botany and Plant Pathology at Purdue University. He has statewide responsibilities for weed science research and extension in agronomic crops, and he teaches a graduate level Weed Biology course on campus. Dr. Johnson has extensive experience in the biology and management of herbicide-resistant weeds and crops, and interactions between weeds and other plant pests. Dr. Johnson is a Past President and Fellow of the North Central Weed Science Society (NCWSS). He has won Outstanding Extension Specialist Awards from Purdue University, CropLife America, and the Weed Science Society of America. He has published nearly 200 peer reviewed manuscripts and over 100 extension publications. He has trained 33 graduate students, three post-doctoral research associates, and currently has an additional 4 students currently working on MS or Ph.D. degrees in Weed Science.

Presentation title: Waterhemp control: Job security for agronomic weed workers!

Presentation times:
Session I - Thursday, 8:00 AM - 8:50 AM
Session J - Thursday, 9:00 AM - 9:50 AM

Laila Puntel
assistant professor, Agronomy and Horticulture, University of Nebraska, Lincoln, NE

Laila Puntel is an Assistant Professor in Soil Fertility and Precision Ag. She has a research, extension and teaching appointment since 2019. Originally from Buenos Aires province, Argentina, Puntel grew up in a productive corn, soybean, wheat and barley region. She obtained a Bachelor of Science in agriculture engineering from the National University of Mar del Plata, Buenos Aires, Argentina, and a Master of Science degree and doctoral degree in crop production and physiology from Iowa State University. Before joining UNL, Puntel co-founded and worked in a Precision Ag and Soil Testing Lab consulting business for six years (Clarion, Nueve de Julio, Bs As, Argentina) and worked for almost a year at an Ag Tech Company (CiBo Technologies, Cambridge, MA) as a Crop Scientist and Modeler. Dr. Puntel research and extension at UNL primarily focused on nitrogen management in cereal crops and the use of innovative technology to improve nitrogen use efficiency.

Presentation title: Precision nitrogen technologies for corn production

Presentation times:
Session E - Wednesday, 1:00 PM - 1:50 PM
Session F - Wednesday, 2:00 PM - 2:50 PM

Jordan Reinders
postdoctoral research associate, Entomology, University of Nebraska-Lincoln, Lincoln, NE

Dr. Jordan Reinders is a Postdoctoral Research Associate in the Department of Entomology at the University of Nebraska-Lincoln. His research focuses on integrated pest management of the western corn rootworm with emphasis on resistance management to Bt technology. During his M.S. program, Jordy characterized western corn rootworm Bt resistance to Cry3 proteins and the associated relationship with field-level agronomic and rootworm management histories. His Ph.D. research focused on determining the effects of SmartStax PRO ingestion on western corn rootworm life history traits such as lifespan, size, and egg production.

Presentation title: Western corn rootworm resistance management: A Nebraska perspective

Presentation times:
Session A - Wednesday, 9:00 AM - 9:50 AM
Session B - Wednesday, 10:00 AM - 10:50 AM

Darcy Telenko
assistant professor and extension field crop pathologist, Purdue University, West Lafayette, IN

Dr. Darcy Telenko is an assistant professor and Extension Field Crop Pathologist with the Department of Botany and Plant Pathology at Purdue University. She has statewide responsibility for Plant Pathology research and Extension in agronomic crops. Her interdisciplinary plant pathology research (https://ag.purdue.edu/btny/telenkolab/) and Extension program (https://extension.purdue.edu/fieldcroppathology/) is involved in studying the biology and management of soilborne and foliar pathogens. The program is focused on recognizing and understanding new diseases and their potential impact on Indiana agriculture, and quickly and effectively distributing information in the event of a disease threat to Indiana crop production. Dr. Telenko is a native of western New York and received her BS in Biological Sciences at Cornell University, MS in Plant and Soil Science at Southern Illinois University, and PhD in Plant Pathology and Crop Sciences at North Carolina State University. Prior to Purdue, Dr. Telenko was an Extension Vegetable Specialist for the Cornell Vegetable Program at Cornell University, and was a post-doctoral researcher at both the University of Florida and Virginia Tech. She has published 30 peer-review manuscripts and over 100 Extension publications. Since starting at Purdue she has trained 3 graduate students and currently has three graduate students working on MS or PhD degrees in Plant Pathology, two visiting scholars, and two undergraduates studying Plant Pathology.

Presentation title: Tar Spot of corn: Impact and management options for the future

Presentation times:
Session K - Thursday, 10:10 AM - 11:00 AM
Session L - Thursday, 11:10 AM - 12:00 PM