Despite adverse weather in the week leading up to the field day, a crowd of approximately 300 gathered at the 24th Annual Northeast Ag Expo Summer Field Day in Elizabeth City on July 27. The field day, considered to be a preeminent event for North Carolina Cooperative Extension, focused on maximizing soybean yields for maturity groups III and IV.

Hosted by NC Spuds, Inc. and Perdue Agribusiness, the field day consisted of talks covering 12 different field trials. Speakers included Extension Specialists from North Carolina State University  and Virginia Tech, as well as North Carolina  Cooperative Extension Agents.

 Dr. David Holshouser, Virginia Tech soybean specialist, told the crowd, “I always enjoy being a part of this field day. Even if I am not on the program, I try to attend because I always learn something. What these agents are doing down here is really special.”

 Fertility was a primary focus for several of the field trials with the goal of determining if varying fertilizers applied at different soybean growth stages would garner a yield response. Other tests evaluated soybean plant populations, row spacing, planting dates, insect resistance, desiccation, and intensive management that included different micronutrients applied at planting and double inoculation.

  Many of these research efforts have been replicated across North Carolina, and will be continued in future growing seasons to further evaluate practices for maximizing the production of maturity group III and IV soybeans in the state.  

 The Northeast Ag Expo Team consists of a six-county North Carolina Cooperative Extension group located in northeastern North Carolina. This six-county team includes Camden, Chowan, Currituck, Gates, Pasquotank, and Perquimans Counties.