Help needed with checking for a duplicate on Table before inserting the field

[Orbie]

Hi All,
I'm new to VB.NET and i'm looking for some help with my Windows Form. I need to check if a Commodity entered into (TextBox1.Text) already exists on my table before i insert it. I'm having issues checking if the number of rows returned from my Select is equal 0? Also i'm wondering should i be checking for an exception and open/closing my connections each time i make a call to my DB or is the way i have it coded below OK??

Any input would be appreciated, thanks.

Private Sub Button3_Click(ByVal sender As System.Object, ByVal e As System.EventArgs) Handles Button3.Click
        Try
            myConnection = New SqlConnection("server=local\SQLEXPRESS;uid=sa;password=12345;database=My DB")
            myConnection.Open()

            If TextBox1.Text = "" Then
                MsgBox("Please Insert a valid Commodity Name")
            Else
                scalarCommand = New SqlCommand("Select count(*) as [Recordcount] from Commodity where Commodity_Name = " & TextBox1.Text & "", myConnection)
                recordcount = scalarCommand.ExecuteScalar()
                If Recordcount = 0 Then
                    myCommand = New SqlCommand("Insert into Commodity   ([Commodity_Name], [Section_ID]) values ('" & TextBox1.Text & "','" & ComboBox1.SelectedValue & "')", myConnection)
                    myCommand.ExecuteNonQuery()
                    myConnection.Close()
                    MessageBox.Show("New Record Added")
                Else
                    MsgBox("An entry with the same name already exists")
                End If
            End If

        Catch ex As Exception
            Console.WriteLine("Error : " & ex.ToString)

        Finally
            myConnection.Close()

[tlhintoq]

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