Visitors won't want to miss a number of interesting features and highlights at the 2013 Wisconsin Farm Technology Days in Barron County.

At the show there will be a number of small growing plots in front of the Applied Technology Center. Visitors will be able to see canola growing and there's a whole series of plots including soybeans and camelina.

Demonstration plots
"There will be some demonstrations on row spacing corn," says Barron County Extension Agriculture Agent Tim Jergenson. "We'll also compare narrow rows to conventional row spacing for corn."

Wisconsin Farm Technology Days kicks off today in Barron County and runs through Thursday.

There will be some small plot demonstrations comparing pre-emergence herbicides vs. post-emergence herbicides. Visitors will be able to see if there is any difference in weed control and what those differences are.

There will be a full line up of entertainment and educational programs in the Family Living Tent including presentations on estate planning and passing the family farm to the next generation.

The Weed Doctors from University of Wisconsin-Madison will be on hand to examine weeds in the Progress Pavillion. The largest weed each day will win a prize.

Visitors will not be allowed to walk through the barns due to bio-security concerns, but they can take guided tours of the farm on trams.

"One of the things people will be able to see is the Olsons have installed a new state-of-the-art manure handling system for separating solids from liquids," says Jergenson,. "It's a relatively low-cost system. They also installed a leachate control and handling system for their bunker silos. That will be part of the farm tour."

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Local foods available
All of the food for Wisconsin Farm Technology Days will be made on site at the food tents.

"FFA Alumni, Kiwanis Clubs and several church groups will be working together to handle the menu," Jergensen says. "Each of the six tents will offer the same food."

Louie's Finer Meats from Cumberland will be featuring a number of their meat products.

"We're trying to serve local food," Jergenson says. "Of course there will be turkey sandwiches on the menu. We produce potatoes in Barron County. We're going to have a loaded potato on the menu, too."

Fresh garden salads made up fresh everyday will also be available.   

Scooters will be available at a cost of 435 per scooter for the day. There will be a designated parking area for handicapped visitors located close to the show entrance. Visitors won't be allowed to bring their own scooter because of liability issues. Courtesy shuttles will take people from one end of Tent City to the other. A first-aid station will be in the middle of Tent City.

 "I think people will be impressed to see the agriculture we have in Barron County. We have a lot of corn, soybeans, alfalfa and a lot of very nice dairy farms," says Jergenson,

According to Jergenson, this will be the second time Barron County has hosted the farm show.

"We first hosted the event in 1987," he says. "We're looking forward to this year's show being bigger and better."