MU Research Farms Set Summer Field Day Dates

Dates for field days at University of Missouri centers and farms have been set for 2011.

Field days feature agricultural research underway across the state. All are part of the Missouri Agricultural Experiment Station of the MU College of Agriculture, Food and Natural Resources. State and regional specialists with MU Extension present information for farmers.

Field days allow producers to hear the latest research.

“It is important for producers to stay current with accurate information,” said Marc Linit, associate dean for research and extension. “They can do that at our field days across the state.”

Date, farm, location and contact person are:

- July 7, Bradford Research and Extension Center, Pest Management Day, starting 8:30 a.m. on Rangeline Road seven miles east of Columbia, Kevin Bradley, 573-882-4039.

- Aug. 9, Greenley Center, east of Novelty, Mo., 8:30 a.m., Randall Smoot, 660-739-4410.

- Aug. 23, Graves-Chapple Farm at exit 99 on I-29 at Corning, Mo., Jim Crawford, farm coordinator, Rock Port, Mo., 660-744-6231.

- Aug. 24, Hundley-Whaley Center, 1109 S. Birch, Albany, Mo., 9 a.m., Bruce Burdick, superintendent, 660-726-3698.

- Sept. 2, Delta Center, 147 W. State Highway T, Portageville, Mo., 9 a.m., Jake Fisher, 573-379-5431.
- Sept. 9, Southwest Research Center, Highway H, four miles southwest of Mt. Vernon, Mo., 9 a.m., Mike Collins, superintendent, Columbia, 573-882-3001.

- Sept. 20, Thompson Farm at the end of Highway C west of Spickard, Mo., 9 a.m., Rod Geisert, superintendent, Columbia, 573-884-0934.

- Sept 29, Forage Systems Research Center, 21262 Genoa Road, Linneus, Mo., 8:30 a.m., David Davis, superintendent, 660-895-5121.

- Oct. 7, Wurdack Farm, southeast of Cook Station, Mo., in Crawford County, 8:30 a.m., John Poehlmann, superintendent, Columbia, 573-882-4450.

Each of the farms has a website that will give field day programs closer to the events. See aes.missouri.edu for links to farm websites.

Special events are also held at the farms throughout the year.
All events are open to the public and free, except for the Pest Management Day, which has a $10 fee that covers costs of a research-plot book and lunch. That is the only event that requires advance registration.

Most field days feature bleacher-wagon tours of research plots and extension demonstrations.

An annual Chestnut Roast will not be held this year at the Horticulture and Agroforestry Research Center at New Franklin, Mo., because of budget cutbacks.