You are invited to attend Iowa State University Extension's fall series of field days at ISU research and demonstration farms around the state. The series begins with the field day near Newell in northwest Iowa on August 20.

For a schedule of the field days closest to you, and the locations of the research farms and topics to be covered, go to www.ag.iastate.edu/farms. This website also includes information about other fall field days at the ISU research and demonstration farms around Iowa. In addition to finding information on the website, you can call the ISU Research and Demonstration Farms office at 515-294-5045 in Ames for answers to your questions.

* August 20: Corn management, precision ag featured at ISU field day near Newell.Corn management and precision agriculture will be the focus of a field day at the Iowa State University Allee Research and Demonstration Farm near Newell on Aug. 20, from 10 a.m. to 2 p.m. ISU Extension field agronomists Mark Licht and Paul Kassel are coordinating this northwest Iowa event.

This field day will address pertinent issues of the current crop season as well as ongoing interest in emerging agricultural technologies. "Farmers are adopting precision agriculture fairly quickly now," says Licht. "In the adoption process they are asking about the difference in products for the difference in price, especially as guidance systems are coming into play."
Hultgren Implement of Storm Lake is sponsoring the field day along with ISU Extension and ISU Corn and Soybean Initiative partners Ag Partners, LLC and FC Cooperative. A free lunch will be provided courtesy of the Buena Vista County Cattlemen.
Morning topics will include a discussion of corn populations and planting dates led by ISU Extension corn specialist Roger Elmore, and corn diseases of the 2010 season led by ISU Extension plant pathologist Alison Robertson. Licht and Kassel will lead a session on soybean management, which will include talks on aphids and use of land rollers. After lunch, ISU Extension ag engineer Matt Darr will discuss guidance systems in precision ag technology and Holly Sandhoff, consultant with Hultgren Implement, will talk about benefits of using yield maps.
The field day is free and open to the public. Refreshments will be served starting at 9:45 a.m. The Allee Research Farm is located about 1.5 miles southwest of Newell on 640th Street, about one-half mile west of the intersection of 640th Street and 205th Street. For more information, contact Mark Licht, 712-792-2364 or e-mail [email protected], or Paul Kassel, 712-262-2264 or e-mail [email protected].

* August 25: Wallace Foundation and ISU to Host Neely-Kinyon field day near Greenfield. The Neely-Kinyon Research Farm Field Day will be held on Wednesday, August 25, 2010 beginning at 12:00 noon at the Neely-Kinyon Research Farm near Greenfield, Iowa. 

This southwest Iowa meeting will cover numerous topics of interest to farmers and others and will provide ample time for discussion and individual questions.  Presentations will cover this year's corn and soybean production issues, beef and cow-calf management practices, miscanthus production as a biomass crop, and ongoing research projects at the Neely-Kinyon Research Farm. Those include corn disease and soybean aphid management, as well as information on ISU's long-term organic crop rotation study.

A free lunch will be served sponsored by area lending institutions with presentations to follow. The Neely-Kinyon Research Farm is located 2 miles south of Greenfield on Highway 25, half a mile east on 260th Street, and half a mile north on Norfolk Avenue. The field day is open to the public at no cost.   

* August 25: Crop residue management is focus of field day to be held near Castana in western Iowa.  A field day focusing on residue management will be held at the ISU Western Research and Demonstration Farm on August 25 from 10 a.m. to 1:30 p.m. The event is free and includes a free lunch with ice cream. CCA credits of 2.0 for Soil and Water have been applied for and Qualisoy is providing a digital camera as a door prize for one lucky participant.

The field day will feature results from a crop residue removal trial, information on Qualisoy soybeans, discussion on root growth using a soil pit, planter setup for high residue situations, and steps to limit soil and nutrient losses. The line-up of speakers from ISU includes Mark Hanna and Matt Helmers, ISU ag engineers; Mark Licht and Joel DeJong, ISU Extension field agronomists; Wayne Roush, farm superintendent; and Rich Pope, Harrison Co. Extension coordinator.

The site is the ISU Western Research Farm located 4.3 miles east of Castana on county road E34, 1/4 mile east of the farm buildings. Click here for a flyer.

* August 26: In northeast Iowa near Nashua, ISU's Northeast Research and Demonstration Farm field day starts at 1 p.m. and concludes at 4 p.m. Topics of interest include corn growth & development; yield prediction methods; combine settings to reduce harvest loss; narrow-row corn; land-rolling soybeans; strip tillage; and ISU research farm results speakers include Ken Pecinovsky, the research farm superintendent; Chad Hart, ISU grain marketing specialist; Roger Elmore, ISU Extension corn production specialist; Greg Brenneman, ISU Extension ag engineer; and Brian Lang, ISU Extension agronomist.

Hart will cover the latest grain marketing assessments and predictions. Elmore will discuss crop growth and development and yield prediction methods at the farm's date of planting trials. Brenneman will explain cover combine adjustments to reduce harvest loss. Pecinovsky, Lang and Brenneman will highlight ISU research farm results on hot topics including narrow-row corn, land rolling soybeans, strip tillage and others.

The program is free and open to the public. CCA credits are available. It's at the Borlaug Learning Center on the Northeast ISU Research Farm, southwest of Nashua. From Nashua at the junction of Hwy 218 and Co. Rd. B60, go west 1.1 miles to Windfall Ave., then south 1 mile to 290th St., then east 0.2 miles to the farm.

* September 1:  In northwest Iowa, ISU Extension is holding a field day cooperatively with the Northwest Research Farm Association, Practical Farmers of Iowa and Dordt College. Dordt, located at Sioux Center, is the site of this event which begins at 5:30 p.m. with a free dinner. Topics include strip tillage, on-farm research and a bioenergy demonstration. Call the Northwest Research Farm at 712-446-2526 for more information.

Results of farm trials will be presented, along with a demonstration and discussion of on-farm biodiesel processing, on-farm sorghum processing for ethanol, the efficacy of biofuel byproducts as livestock feeds, and a discussion of cellulosic crops compatible with sustainable farming systems.

Chris Goedhart, chair of the ag department at Dordt, will discuss the ag research project the college has been conducting with Practical Farmers of Iowa and Marshalltown Community College, funded by a $138,000 grant from the North Central Region Sustainable Agriculture Research and Education (NCR-SARE).

Side-by-side field comparisons have been planted at the Dordt College and Marshalltown Community College. Each crop site has replicated blocks with either a continuous-corn system or a three-year "gateway to sustainability" rotation of corn, soybeans, and winter/spring small grain/forage with legume underseeding. Student interns at each school (with faculty assistance) are documenting the environmental impact, energy, and economics of these systems and will share their findings to date. The project demonstrates a basic cropping system that uses a fraction of the energy that continuously planting corn does yet has the same net energy output. The rotation system also supports a diversity of farm enterprises in a sustainable way.

* September 9: ISU North-Central Iowa Research Farm will hold its field day beginning at 9:30 a.m. at Kanawha. Iowa State researchers will be on hand to share updated information on poultry manure management, corn response to nitrogen, corn and soybean nematode research, and 2010 soybean insect problems during a September 9 field day at the Kanawha research farm.

The farm is located 2 miles south of Kanawha on County Road R-35. Coffee, juice and rolls will be served at 9 a.m. and tours begin at 9:30 a.m. Tour stops include poultry manure management, corn response to nitrogen, corn and soybean nematode research and 2010 soybean insect problems. Continuing education credits for certified crop advisers have been requested. Lunch will be served at the conclusion of the field day.

Antonio Mallarino, Iowa State University fertility researcher, has been studying the use of poultry manure as a crop nutrient for several years. John Sawyer, ISU Extension fertility specialist, has conducted research on corn yield responses to nitrogen fertilizer. Mallarino and Sawyer will present the results of their research at Kanawha and from other locations across Iowa.

As farmers strive to attain higher yields, they focus on pests such as corn nematodes. Greg Tylka, ISU Extension nematologist, will share his research results on corn nematode management and provide tips on proper sampling. Tylka also will discuss his long-term soybean cyst nematode research with field day participants. Erin Hodgson, ISU Extension entomologist, will talk about soybean insect problems she saw in 2010 and her soybean aphid research being conducted in Kanawha and other ISU research locations. 

* September 9:Beef cattle management and forage production are focus of fall field day at ISU's McNay Farm near Chariton in south-central Iowa. Topics include weed and brush management demonstrations by Byron Sleugh; cow body condition scoring, winter cow nutrition and neonatal calf health by Terry Engelken and Joe Sellers; forage establishment recommendations for 2011 by Mark Carlton; supplementing beef cattle on grass, by Dan Loy; and strategic de-worming by Grant Dewell.

The September 9 field day at McNay runs from 4 p.m. to 8 p.m. and dinner will be served at the farm. The farm is located 6 miles south of Chariton airport, or 4 miles south and 2 miles east of Lucas. For information call the farm staff at 641-766-6465 or call Joe Sellers at 641-203-1270.

September 15: Annual Fall Field Day at ISU Southeast Iowa Research & Demonstration Farm near Crawfordsville. This event will feature a manure application field day in the morning followed by a "traditional" crop production and management field day in the afternoon. Details will be posted at  www.extension.iastate.edu/Pages/eccrops/meetserc.html