This year's field tour at the NDSU Agronomy Seed Farm near Casselton, North Dakota, will focus on precision agriculture, unmanned aerial vehicles, farm electrical safety, cereal grains, soybeans, crop disease and pests.
The tour is set for Monday, July 16, starting at 5 p.m.
The presenters for this year's tour and the topics they will cover are:
• John Nowatzki, NDSU agricultural machine systems specialist, will discuss the use of digital data for crop management, use of UAVs in precision agriculture and the Smart Farm Project at the Agronomy Seed Farm.
• Cass County Electric Cooperative personnel will give a presentation on overhead power line safety.
• Joel Ransom, NDSU Extension agronomist for cereal crops, and graduate student J. Stanley will provide an update on current research on optimum seeding rates for new spring wheat varieties and the effectiveness of differing nitrogen fertilizer sources on corn and wheat production.
• Ted Helms, NDSU soybean breeder, will discuss visual ratings of company varieties for iron-deficiency chlorosis and how those ratings relate to yield loss. He also will discuss his evaluation of company varieties for yield on soybean cyst nematode (SCN)-infested soil sites.
• Andrew Friskop, NDSU Extension plant pathologist, will give a wheat disease update and discuss scouting for potential corn diseases.
• Sam Markell, NDSU Extension plant pathologist, will give a soybean disease update, including SCN and stem diseases on soybeans.
• Jan Knodel, NDSU Extension entomologist, will discuss current insect pest problems, along with the issue of insecticide-resistant soybean aphids.
• Pat Beauzay, NDSU Extension research specialist in entomology, will discuss the importance of using economic thresholds for insect pest management and the benefits for natural enemies and pollinators.
• Andrew Green, NDSU spring wheat breeder, will discuss wheat variety testing in 2017, testing in 2018 and wheat variety demonstration plots.
• Kirk Howatt, NDSU weed scientist, will give an update on Dicamba soybeans and off-target exposures, and answer grower questions on herbicides.
NDSU's Carnivore Catering will serve a meal following the tour.
For more information, contact Brian Otteson, Agronomy Seed Farm director, at 701-347-4743.
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