5/24/99

Contacts:
Dennis Shannon, ISU Research and Demonstration Farms, (515) 294-1608
Ed Adcock, Agriculture Information, (515) 294-2314

GEORGE WASHINGTON CARVER'S LEGACY TO BE FEATURED AT FIELD DAYS

AMES, Iowa -- The research and outreach legacy of Iowa State University alumnus George Washington Carver will be celebrated at this year's Research and Demonstration Farms field days.

Field days give farmers the chance to see research projects in progress and talk with the researchers involved in the experiments. In addition, this year's visitors will see special displays and demonstrations related to Carver's work and study.

Carver earned bachelor's and master's degrees at Iowa State and taught at ISU before joining the faculty at Alabama's Tuskegee Institute where he became known for his work in soil conservation and innovative uses of crops. There will be plantings of crops Carver studied, such as peanuts and sweet potatoes, at several research and demonstration farms.

Field days take place rain or shine. The public is welcome. Program information is available for the summer field days, but details are subject to change. County extension offices have a limited supply of field day brochures, which are also on the ISU Research and Demonstration Farms Web site at: http://www.ag.iastate.edu/farms/fielddays.html

Specialty Field Days

Southeast Research and Demonstration Farm
June 15, 1:30 and 6 p.m. The farm is located 13/4 miles south and 2 miles east of Crawfordsville on the Washington/Louisa county-line road.
Program topics: using insecticide on first-year corn, foliar soybean fertilization, new no-till herbicides, sustainable weed management and crop season in review.

Armstrong Research and Demonstration Farm
June 17, 9 a.m. The farm is located 11 miles southwest of Atlantic on Highway 6, 1/2 mile south and 3/4 mile east.
Program topics: Roundup Ready™ versus non-Roundup Ready™ soybeans, soybean rotations, soil compaction, woolly cupgrass management and nitrogen management.

Northern Research and Demonstration Farm
June 22, 9:30 a.m. The farm is located just south of Kanawha on County Road R-35.
Program topics: weed management, soybean cyst nematode management and current crop management topics.

Western Research and Demonstration Farm
June 22, 6 p.m. The farm is located 4 miles east of Castana on County Road E-34.
Program topics: current crop management topics dealing with herbicides and soil fertility for western Iowa.

Northwest Research and Demonstration Farm
June 23, 9 a.m. The farm is located 11 miles north of Cherokee on U.S. Highway 59 and 1/4 mile east on County Road B-62.
Program topics: liming, weed management, production economics, commercial manure licenses and manure management.

Northeast Research and Demonstration Farm
June 24, 1:30 and 6:30 p.m. The farm is located 1 mile south and 11/2 miles west of Nashua.
Program topics: weed management system, organic farming, soybean cyst nematode management and starter fertilizer effects.

Rhodes Research and Demonstration Farm
July 8, 4 p.m. A meal will be served. The farm is located 1/2 mile north of the intersection of Highway 330 and Binford Avenue in Marshall County.
Program topics: alfalfa and grass variety grazing tolerance, streambank exclusion and rotational grazing, developing beef breeding lines, herd biosecurity, heat detection, reproductive tract scoring and agronomic research.

Muscatine Island Research and Demonstration Farm
July 15, 4 and 6:30 p.m. Dinner at 5:30 p.m. The farm is located at 111 North St. in Fruitland.
Program topics: plastic mulch research and commercial vegetable and fruit production.

Demonstration Home Garden Field Days

Various gardening topics will be discussed at these research and demonstration farms. Carver-related crops such as peanuts, edible soybeans and sweet potatoes will be planted at many of the gardens. Each begins at 6:30 p.m.

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