ISU Research and Demonstration Farms Iowa Agriculture and Home Economics Experiment Station College of Agriculture Iowa State University Extension

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2006 Field Days feature anniversaries at Northern and McNay This scene of a past field day is from the McNay research farm, which will be celebrating its 50th anniversary in September. Field days give farmers and the public a chance to see research projects in progress and talk with the researchers involved in the experiments. But they also provide the opportunity to view the latest in modern agriculture. Anyone is welcome to attend. Topics of field days in the summer typically cover corn and soybean production, including insect and weed management, soil fertility, tillage systems, water quality, planting dates, crop population, manure management and value-added crops. Those visiting Iowa State farms with livestock (locations are marked in bold) are asked to take several precautions if they have been at another livestock operation. Those who have recently returned from a trip abroad are asked to wait five days before visiting Iowa State farms with animals. Visitors to farms with livestock are asked to change clothing and footwear after being in any livestock operation, foreign or domestic; and to refrain from bringing any food items to the research farm. If you have any questions, please call the Research and Demonstration Farms office at (515) 294-5045 or read the Foot and Mouth Advisory (135K PDF). Directions to the farms are on the farm pages. A brochure (641K PDF) with all the field day information can be downloaded. Farm Location Subject Date Time(s) Hort Station Gilbert Fruits/Vegetables June 19 noon Armstrong Lewis High Tunnels June 21 5 p.m. Southeast Crawfordsville Crops June 22 1 p.m. Northwest Sutherland Crops June 28 9 a.m. Northeast Nashua Crops June 28 1:30 p.m. Northern Kanawha Crops June 29 9:30 a.m. Southeast Crawfordsville Drainage July 12 9 a.m. Southeast Crawfordsville Viticulture July 15 9 a.m. Muscatine Island Fruitland Horticulture July 17 5 p.m. Armstrong Lewis Viticulture July 29 9 a.m. Hort Station Gilbert Viticulture Aug. 19 9 a.m. Neely-Kinyon Greenfield Organic Crops Aug. 23 4 p.m. Western Castana Livestock Aug. 23 10 a.m. Ag Engineering/ Agronomy Ames Crops Aug. 24 10 a.m. Northeast Nashua Crops/Viticulture Aug. 26 9 a.m. Northwest Sutherland Crops Aug. 29 6:30 p.m. Armstrong Lewis Crops Aug. 30 9:30 a.m. Northeast Nashua Crops Sept. 7 1:30 p.m. Northern Kanawha 75th Celebration Sept. 8 10:30 a.m. Southeast Crawfordsville Crops Sept. 13 1 p.m. McNay Chariton 50th Celebration Sept. 14 10 a.m. Demonstration Home Garden Field Days One of the featured themes for this year is a Plethora of Peppers. More than 40 varieties of bell, banana, hot and ornamental peppers will be grown at each garden. Field day participants will be able to taste a wide selection of peppers, including the hottest of the hot peppers. Another feature for this year’s demonstration garden is amaranth. While most people know amaranth as a weed, there are several varieties that are attractive in the home landscape. The North Central Regional Plant Introduction Station in Ames houses an extensive amaranth collection. Some of the other themes for this year’s garden include a food guide pyramid garden, unusual green melons and geraniums. The field days are open to the public at no cost. Directions are on the farms' pages. Farm Location Date Time Northwest Sutherland July 24 6:30 p.m. Northwest Lyon Co. Fairgrounds, Rock Rapids July 25 6:30 p.m. Muscatine Island Fruitland Aug. 1 6:30 p.m. Hort Station Ames Aug. 2 6:30 p.m. McNay Chariton Aug. 4 6 p.m. Northeast Nashua Aug. 5 4 p.m. Northern Kanawha Aug. 8 6:30 p.m. Armstrong Lewis Aug. 9 6:30 p.m.