Area Field Days This Month Sidney Field Day July 19 Williston Field Days July 24-25

See pages 13-17 of this week’s paper for more on the Field Days.

Three agricultural events are merging to provide a bigger and better farming promotion.

The Williston Research Extension Center’s(WREC) Dryland Field Day and Nesson Valley Irrigated Field Day will unite with the Mon-Dak Ag Showcase to offer a more diverse two-day event. The activities will be held July 24-25, 2012 in Williston.

Organizers hope the union will improve attendance at all three events. “We are trying to increase participation by producers, the general public and the oil and gas industry,” said Jerald Bergman, Director of the Williston Research Extension Center.

The partners hope to attract potential new agricultural investors as well – particularly those already investing in the oil patch. “We want people from the oil and gas industry to learn about the investment opportunities in agriculture,” said Bergman.

The Williston annual dryland field day will be held Tuesday, July 24, at the North Dakota State University WREC located 4.5 miles west of Williston on U.S. Highway 2.

The program will begin with coffee and rolls at 8:30 a.m. (CDT). The crop tour will begin at 9 a.m. with a welcome and update from NDSU administration. NDSU and private industry speakers will discuss in-field crop sensing, soil health, new varieties of durum and pulse crops, cover crops, as well as weed control in small grains.

A concurrent Horticulture Program will begin at 9:20 a.m. at the Ernie French Center.

There will also be a water quality screening at the Ernie French Center from 9 a.m. to noon. Bring your water sample for testing. Samples should be collected in any clean plastic bottle capable of holding 15 to 20 ounces.

At noon, the traditional barbecue chicken luncheon will be served. The luncheon is sponsored by area agribusinesses and the Williston Chamber Agribusiness Committee.

Following the luncheon, everyone is invited to the Airport International Inn in Williston for a free seminar beginning at 1:30 p.m. The guest speakers will cover a variety of topics relating to agriculture, energy and logistics in the Mon-Dak region.

The WREC irrigation tour will be held Wednesday, July 25th, at the Nesson Valley Irrigation Research and Demonstration farm. The site is located 23 miles east of Williston on Highway 1804. The day will begin at 8 a.m. (CDT) with coffee and rolls. The tour will begin at 8:30 a.m. The guest speakers will discuss irrigated crop water use efficiencies, fungicide disease control in pulse crops, potato varieties and research, irrigation research updates, no-till/convention tillage comparisons and USDA-ARS irrigated cropping systems. Staff from NDSU, the University of Minnesota and USDA-ARS will be the featured speakers.

The public is cordially invited to attend all of the activities. For more information contact the Williston Research Extension Center at 701-774-4315 or [email protected].

 

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