Three special presentations, two workshops and a report out of Washington, DC, are planned as part of the 2013 Froid Research Farm Field Day set for this Thursday at 1 pm. First up is a discussion by Outlook area farmer Gordon Stoner, who as past president of the Montana Grain Growers Association, has been participating in the debate on the new Farm Bill heating up in Congress. He will share his insights on the debate and other ag issues in this update from DC.
His presentation will be followed by two special workshops, the first a sprayer calibration workshop for local producers and the second a brief recap of the March 5th “Pipeline Reclamation Workshop” held in Sidney this past winter. Richland and Roosevelt County Extensions Agents Tim Fine and Ann Ronning will conduct the calibration workshops, for which two commercial and private pesticide applicator points are available.
ARS Plant Ecologist Erin Espeland will provide the recap of the pipeline reclamation workshop with a special emphasis on grazing and weed management. Is there a pipeline in your future? Espeland will provide a basic orientation of what to expect in the planning, construction, and reclamation phases with a special focus on rangelands, weeds and grazing. Handouts with a landowner checklist will be provided.
Registration for the annual Froid Research Farm Field Day is at 1 pm on Thursday, June 20th at the farmsite located 8 miles north of Culbertson on MT Highway 16. The tour includes a number of other special presentations including updates on recent insect pests. ARS Entomologist Dave Branson will give an update on this year’s grasshopper outlook, while ARS Insect Ecologist Tatyana Rand will discuss alfalfa weevil, which posed significant problems for several producers this past year.
Other talks will focus on a new crop sequencing study using cereals, pulses and oilseeds, an interesting study on the impact of oilseeds on microbial communities and their potential effect on Fusarium in following wheat crops. Also featured are several new demonstration plots incorporating earlier maturing varieties of dryland peas, soybean, corn, oilseed and cover crops.
The tour concludes with a free steak dinner at 5:00 pm 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 (NPARL) in Sidney.
For more information on either of these events, contact Beth Redlin at 406-433-9427.
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