Extension agents from Beaufort, Hyde, Tyrrell and Washington counties are hosting the annual Road Show production meetings across eastern North Carolina.

The six meetings began on Jan. 22 and will continue through Feb. 9, with locations in Engelhard, Ponzer and Aurora.

Hyde County Ag agent Andrea Gibbs said the Road Show meetings have been going on for about 15 years. This year’s discussions will include topics such as corn and soybean production, water quality, soil fertility and pest and resistance management.

“A lot of what we’re talking about this year is economic and how they can produce what they need to produce with a lower cost,” Gibbs said.

She said another portion of the meetings involves providing credit hours for farmers to maintain their pesticide licenses, which allows them to purchase and spray restricted-use pesticides.

“Most farmers have a pesticide license, and there are different kinds of licenses. … They have to have two hours of ‘X’ credits and two hours of ‘V’ credits,” Gibbs said. “If they don’t get their ‘V’ credits and their ‘X’ credits every three years, then they lose their pesticide licenses.”

The “V” credit hours mostly address safety-related issues. This year, the agents are focusing on pollinator bees, educating farmers on how to use pesticides without harming the bees, she said.

The “X” credit hours involve more general topics and tend to change from meeting to meeting.

Each production meeting will begin at 9:30 a.m. and conclude with lunch. “V” training is set for 1-3 p.m.

“Stuff changes so fast in agriculture. We just try to keep them (farmers) up to date on what’s going on,” Gibbs said.

A list of meeting dates is available at www.hydecountync.gov. For more information, contact Andrea Gibbs (Hyde County) at 252-926-4488, or Rod Gurganus (Beaufort County) at 252-946-0111.