With crop value and crop risk at all-time highs, growers will likely be interested in learning new ways to improve efficiency and reduce costs.

Farmers in North Carolina and southeastern Virginia will get that opportunity at a precision agriculture field day, set for Tuesday, June 19, at the Vernon James Agriculture Research and Extension Center in Plymouth, N.C.

Registration for the event begins at 8 a.m., followed by field tours, which run from 9 a.m. until ll:30 a.m , followed by lunch.

An indoor afternoon session will conclude the event.

Field tours and presentations by university and agri-industry technology leaders include: Greenseeker sensor-based variable rate nitrogen application, by Gary Roberson, North Carolina State University; demonstration of an automated soil sampling rig, by North Carolina State and industry technology specialists; GPS control of spray boom sections and planter operations, by Ron Heiniger, North Carolina State University; poultry litter sub-surface placement with optional variable rate/GPS control, by Dan Pote, USDA-ARS Arkansas; andsoil electrical conductivity mapping with a Veris Sensor, by Southern States Inc.

Following lunch, attendees will hear presentations held inside at the Plymouth research facility. These include: Current RTK GPS service options, by Gary Roberson, North Carolina State University; sensor-based variable-rate nitrogen technology for sensor-based variable-rate nitrogen technology for

corn, by Pawel Wiatrak, Clemson University; uniformity of granular spreaders at different application rates, by Carl Crozier, North Carolina State University; and variable rate seeding, by Ron Heiniger, North Carolina State University and Phil Howard, Southern States.

During the event a number of exhibitors will be on hand to discuss their products. Companies interested in exhibition space or anyone interested in more information about the event, which is held every two years, should contact Carl Crozier, [email protected], 252-793-4428, ext. 134; Melinda White, [email protected], 252-793-4428, ext. 126; or Jewell Tetterton, [email protected], 252-793-4118.

There will be a poster demonstration during lunch and between field tours. Posters on display include: Spying on Stink Bugs in Cotton, by Dominic Reisig and Allen Meijer, North Carolina State University and Determination of Corn Plant Nitrogen Status Using Airborne Spectral and LiDAR Measurements: Preliminary Investigation, by David Williams, Jeffrey White, and Carl Crozier, North Carolina State University.