Two new speakers have been added to the annual Froid Research Farm Field Day line-up on Thursday, July 7. Dr. Bill Martin, National Weather Service (NWS) science and operations officer, Glasgow, and Dawson County Extension Agent Bruce Smith, one of the driving forces behind Eastern Montana’s evolving local foods program, Farm to Table, will both speak at the annual Field Day which begins at 1 pm. The Froid Research Farm is located eight miles north of Culbertson on Montana Highway 16.
First up is Dr. Martin at 1 pm following registration. He will discuss recent weather patterns and climatology issues. Martin has a doctorate in meteorology and has been working at the NWS office in Glasgow for the past five years. Among his responsibilities there is science education and the incorporation of weather science data and formulas into new products at the lab, an example of which is the Glasgow weather office’s CANL, or Cold Advisory for Newborn Livestock, program.
Following Martin at approximately 1:30 p.m. is Bruce Smith who will provide an update on the ongoing Food to Table local foods project he helped initiate. Smith will discuss two new components of that project, which include the development of a new Culinary Arts program at Dawson Community College, Glendive focusing on use of locally grown ingredients, and the establishment of a Food and Agricultural Development Center (FADC) satellite office, Glendive. The four main regional food and agriculture centers at Joliet, Havre, Lewistown and Ronan, were established by the state legislature in 2009 to assist Montana entrepreneurs with food and other value-added product development and marketing and with farm-based energy development. The Glendive satellite office will help food entrepreneurs statewide with the development of their food business ideas.
Martin and Smith are speaking in place of Dr. Kent McVay, Montana State University Extension Cropping System specialist, who was unable to participate after the Froid Tour had to be rescheduled from June to July because of unusually wet spring weather.
In addition to the presentations by Martin and Smith, the 2011 Froid Field Day also features an informative workshop on worker protection standards and impending Environmental Protection Agency regulations regarding refillable pesticide containers. Diana DeYoung, Montana Department of Agriculture, is the workshop presenter and she encourages anyone unfamiliar with the new container rules to attend as they are scheduled to go into effect in August of this year.
In particular, producers who use “shuttles”, or refillable pesticide containers in their operations need to familiarize themselves with the new rules or they may be in for a nasty shock when trying to get them refilled at their dealer. “If your containers don’t meet the new standards after Aug. 16, the dealer cannot legally fill them for you and will have to turn you away empty-handed,” DeYoung said, noting that there is no “window” for bringing the containers into compliance after that date, so it’s important to learn what those new rules are now.
Following the pesticide presentation, is the on-farm portion of the tour, featuring a look at ARS research being conducted by scientists with the Northern Plains Agricultural Research Laboratory, Sidney.
The on-farm tour talks include information on yields, quality and water use in a durum oilseeds rotation and in a dryland corn study; and the influence of stacked and alternate-year crop rotations on weed communities, crop yield and nitrogen and water use. Presenters include ARS Weed Ecologist Andy Lenssen and ARS Agronomist Brett Allen.
Other talks will focus on the importance of insect predators for alfalfa weevil control by ARS Ecologist Tatyana Rand and grasshopper management approaches and the potential for economic damage in 2011 by ARS Entomologists Dave Branson and Stefan Jaronski.
The tour concludes with a free steak dinner at 5:15 p.m. sponsored by the Sheridan and Roosevelt County Conversation Districts. Other event sponsors include the Sheridan and Roosevelt County Extension offices, and the USDA-ARS Northern Plains Agricultural Research Laboratory, Sidney. One private applicator pesticide point is available for those attending.
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