LEWIS, Iowa – The annual spring field day at Iowa State University’s Armstrong Research and Demonstration Farm in Lewis, Iowa, will be held from 9:30 a.m. to 3:30 p.m. on Thursday, June 27. The field day will feature Iowa State University Extension and Outreach experts, who will speak on a variety of current crop and planting practices in agriculture. The event is free to attend and open to the public, with registration requested.

Terry Gleaves, a cow/calf farmer in southwest Iowa, and Aaron Saeugling, a field agronomist with ISU Extension and Outreach, will begin the program by providing insights on setting up your planter for success in the fields. Following their talk, Ruth McCabe, Heartland Cooperative; Arthur Wisecup, precision agriculturist; and Terry Gleaves, will then discuss the alternative overwintering cover crop species of Camelina, Triticale and/or Barley.

Doug Houser, a digital agriculture extension specialist with ISU Extension and Outreach, will begin the afternoon session by providing insights on the drone technology of fungicide applications and cover crop seeding. Visitors will be able to see a live drone spray the research field, view the spray coverage and observe the aerial view provided via the drone, in the seeding of cover crops.

“This field day is a hands-on and an interactive workshop. The field day is not designed as a lecture demonstration, but rather we encourage participants to bring their questions,” said Aaron Saeugling, a field agronomist with ISU Extension and Outreach. “The research farm will be open for visitors to observe the resource. Visitors can also ask a variety of questions about the farm as everyday farm staff will be in attendance.”

The program will conclude with a discussion led by Madelynn Wuestenberg, agricultural climatology specialist with ISU Extension and Outreach, presenting the current weather outlook in southwest Iowa. This field day is free and open to the public.

This field day event is made possible due to support from the Southwest Iowa Soil Health, Armstrong Farm of Iowa State University Research Farms, the Wallace Foundation, ISU Extension and Outreach and the Iowa Soybean Association.

For more information, contact Aaron Saeugling at 712-254-0084 or Clonz5@iastate.edu

For registration, contact Ruth Blomquist at 319-541-2969 or ruth.blomquist@usda.gov

Aerospace of agrarian fields by a quadrocopter, by Von pavlobaliukh/stock.adobe.com

(contributed press release)