LATMC Cancelled: Virtual In The Works!

Denise Wright, CPCC-R, Executive Director, Louisiana Agricultural Consultants Association

Dear LACA Members and Friends, 

I hope this finds all of you safe and well…Due to the rise in Covid-19 cases and more stringent restrictions put in place by Governor John Bel Edwards, the LACA Executive  Board and Voting Membership have made the decision to cancel the scheduled 2021 Louisiana Agricultural Technology & Management Conference (LATMC) which was to be held in Alexandria, LA at the Randolph Riverfront Center/Holiday Inn Downtown on February 10-11, 2021. 

The Executive Board has, as of this morning, decided to hold non-concurrent crop specific virtual meetings via Zoom over two days (Feb.  10-11, 2021). Specific details will follow later, so please watch your email. LACA Sustaining Members will also be given the opportunity to participate in these sessions with crop specific emerging technology presentations, if they so desire. These agronomic sessions will be for the purpose of continuing education, and will not offer recertification for commercial applicators nor consultants. If you must recertify this year, please contact Kim Brown at kbrown@agcenter.lsu.edu. The LSU AgCenter is offering two recertification opportunities on January 26th and February 25th. If you have not received the link to register for the AgCenter recertification trainings, please let Kim or me know asap. 

We will be working out specifics on virtual session times, and are planning to keep content as close to what was scheduled for the in-person meeting as is possible, dependent upon speakers acceptance to participate in a virtual meeting.  There will need to be, however, some cuts due to time restraints, but be assured that anyone not being able to present in a virtual session will be asked to present at our, hopefully, in-person 2022 annual consultants’ meeting. I will be sending out a condensed virtual meeting agenda via email asap. There will be a modest registration fee of $20.00/session to cover costs associated with setting up and administering the Zoom virtual sessions.  Registration and payment details are also currently being worked out. If you have paid registration already for the in-person meeting, I will be contacting you to see if you would prefer a refund or credit to virtual and/or the 2022 LATMC. Likewise, any sponsorships (i.e., breaks, program printing, guest speaker expense, etc.) by sustaining members that have already been paid can be refunded or credited to the 2022 LATMC; again, I will be contacting anyone that has already paid registration and/or sponsorships, and if for some reason, you don’t hear from me, by all means, please let me know. Individual membership and sustaining membership dues are still payable (dues and registration are two separate fees). 

Scholarships will still be presented (sent) to winning students. Photographs will be requested of the recipients and will be sent to the funding parties along with biographical information. I can post photos of the funding parties and the students on our website as soon as all are made available to me. On behalf of the LACA Executive Board and Membership, we thank you again for your continued support of agriculture’s future! 

I will certainly miss the interaction and networking experienced at our annual consultants’ conference…please stay safe and healthy! Let me know if I can answer any questions or if you have comments on any of the above. THANKS! Denise