The University of Kentucky Grain Crops Integrated Pest Management group continued to build on the success of the inaugural Kentucky Crop Health Conference (KCHC) with the 2024 Kentucky Crop Health Conference.  The conference featured both University of Kentucky Extension Specialists and guest speakers from universities in other states to provide a diverse range of topics and enhance education of integrated pest management practices.  The goal of the conference is to create a better understanding of integrated pest management among stakeholders in agriculture, including producers, crop consultants and additional Ag professionals holding various positions in the industry.

The 2024 Kentucky Crop Health Conference was held Feb. 8, 2024, in Bowling Green, Kentucky, and provided information relating to integrated pest management in the Commonwealth and compared those practices to data from surrounding states provided by conference guest speakers from Iowa State University, University of Arkansas, and University of Illinois.  The conference was attended by 87 individuals representing over 700,000 acres of Kentucky corn, soybean, and wheat.    

An evaluation was conducted at the conclusion of the conference using a survey relating to the topics discussed. Feedback indicated that 70% of the audience planned to make or recommend changes to their pest management practices based on the information presented.   Based on audience response to the value of the conference in a dollar per acre basis the conference had a $7.8 million benefit to Kentucky corn, soybean, and wheat acres building on the $7.6 million benefit of the inaugural 2023 conference.  Conference attendees provided positive comments of “Excellent content and quality of speakers”, “This is a great program that y'all put on. Very informative. Thanks.”, and “I would recommend this conference to others”.  

 The 2024 Kentucky Crop Health Conference continued to build on the impact and legacy of this annual conference that will continue to be an important forum for those in agriculture who invest time and resources in implementing or enhancing integrated pest management practices.