August 19, 2010
AMES, Iowa — Iowa State University's Research and Demonstration Farms and ISU Extension have scheduled several late summer field days beginning Aug. 25 at the Neely-Kinyon Research and Demonstration Farm near Greenfield and the Western Research and Demonstration Farm near Castana.
Field days at this time of year commonly deal with issues involving crop development including the latest weather data.
The Neely-Kinyon farm's field day will begin at noon with a complimentary lunch and program at 1 p.m. Topics include: corn and soybean production issues, beef cow-calf management practices, miscanthus as a biomass crop and ongoing research at the farm. The farm is two miles south of Greenfield on Highway 25, one mile east and one-half mile north.
Also on Aug. 25, the Western research farm will host a field day in partnership with the Iowa Learning Farm program. The importance of crop residue will be discussed including current residue removal trials and planter options for managing residue. A soil pit will show how corn roots develop and the Conservation Station mobile learning center will be at the farm. The field day will start at 10 a.m. and a complimentary lunch will be served by the Monona County Cattlemen. The farm is located four and a third miles east of Castana on county road E34.
The Northeast research farm near Nashua will begin its field day at 1 p.m. Aug. 26. Topics will include predicting corn yields, grain marketing, combine adjustments and current crop-related topics. The farm is located one mile west of the Highway 218 and B60 intersection in Nashua, one mile south and a quarter mile east.
The Northwest research farm field day at 5:30 p.m. Sept. 1 will be at the Dordt College northern farm, which is located two miles north of Sioux Center on Highway 75. Topics include on-farm research and management of nematodes in corn and soybeans.
The Northern research farm field day will begin at 9:30 a.m. Sept. 9. Crop production topics will include poultry manure utilization, nitrogen fertilizer management, corn nematodes and soybean insect management. A lunch will be served after the field day. The farm is located just south of Kanawha on county road R35.
The McNay research farm field day will begin at 4 p.m. on Sept. 9 and includes a program on pasture weed and brush control, beef cow body-condition scoring, cow nutrition for the winter, calf health, forage establishment, supplementing beef cattle on grass and strategic de-worming. Dinner will be served at the farm. The farm is located four miles south on Highway 65 from the intersection of highways 65 and 34, then two and a half miles east on a gravel road and north one quarter mile. The headquarters is on the east side of the road.
Also on Sept. 9, the Armstrong research farm will host a field day on creating value with precision agriculture. Field demonstrations and topics will include strip tillage, auto-steer technology, variable planting rates and real time kinematic (RTK) GPS guidance systems. Exhibitors will be on site to show precision ag technologies. The program starts at 10:30 a.m. A complimentary lunch will be served. There will be an opportunity to earn 4.5 hours of Certified Crop Adviser credits by attending an additional class prior to the beginning of the field day. The farm is located 11 miles southwest of Atlantic on Highway 6, one-half mile south on M53 and three-quarters of a mile east; or five and a half miles north of Griswold on Highway 48 and three miles west on Newton Road.
The Southeast farm field day will be 1 p.m. Sept. 15, near Crawfordsville. Topics will include soybean sudden death syndrome, soil drainage and corn-tipping/early denting problems. A special manure injection demonstration will take place at 10:30 a.m. A complimentary lunch will be served at noon. From Crawfordsville, the farm is located one and three-quarter miles south, two miles east on G62 and three-quarters of a mile north on the Washington/Louisa county-line road.