06/29/2009

More Interaction With Researchers at This Year's Agronomy Field Day, July 22

Writer:

Martha Filipic
filipic.3@cfaes.osu.edu
614-292-9833

Source:

Harold Watters, OSU Extension, Agriculture and Natural Resources
watters.35@osu.edu
937-484-1526

Jonah Johnson, OSU Extension, Agriculture and Natural Resources
johnson.3225@osu.edu
937-328-4607

SOUTH CHARLESTON, Ohio -- This year, organizers hope an expanded Agronomy Field Day will attract even more participants than usual.

The event, set for Wednesday, July 22, from 9 a.m. to 3 p.m., at the Western Agricultural Research Station, 7721 South Charleston Pike, South Charleston, Ohio, will include the opportunity for farmers and other participants to meet and talk with researchers in small groups.

"For the past two years, we've done afternoon wagon tours through the plots," said Harold Watters, Ohio State University Extension educator in agriculture and natural resources. "This year, we'll do wagon tours in the morning, have lunch, and then offer the opportunity for participants to go back into the fields with one of the researchers for a more in-depth, almost one-on-one session."

The cost is $15 to cover the lunch, materials and other expenses. Included in the fee are educational credits for Certified Crop Advisor and Pesticide Applicator Training recertification.

Jonah Johnson, who is also an OSU Extension educator in agriculture and natural resources and is organizing the event with Watters, said the field day is planned as a "higher-caliber educational opportunity. In the past, we've noticed that a lot of people have questions during the wagon tours, but there's not always the opportunity to get all of those questions answered. This year, we're offering the opportunity for more in-depth questions. They'll be able to pick the researchers' brains a bit."

Johnson asks that participants register by July 15 by sending a check (payable to "OSU Extension, Clark County," with "Agronomy Field Day" in the memo line) to his attention at OSU Extension Clark County, 4400 Gateway Blvd., Suite 104, Springfield, OH 45502. A flier about the event with a registration form is available on Clark County Extension's Web site at http://clark.osu.edu, or participants can just send a check and contact information to the Clark County Extension office.

Topics for the day include:

• Integrated Disease Management in Ohio Corn Production, by Pierce Paul, cereal grains pathologist with OARDC and OSU Extension.
• Alfalfa Fertility Based on Removal Rates and Fertilizer Sources, by Mark Sulc, forage specialist with OARDC and OSU Extension.
• Field Crop Insect Update for 2009: Rootworms, Western Bean Cutworm, and Aphids, by Andrew Michel, entomologist with OARDC and OSU Extension.
• Mid-Season Diagnostics: What to Look for in Foliar Diseases, and Are We at Risk for Asian Soybean Rust? by Anne Dorrance, soybean pathologist with OARDC and OSU Extension.
• Cover Crops and Nitrogen Management, by Robert Mullen, soil fertility specialist with OARDC and OSU Extension.
• Weed Control Issues for 2009, by Mark Loux, weed specialist with OARDC and OSU Extension.
• How Corn Plants Can Recover from Weather-Related Injuries, by Peter Thomison, corn specialist with OARDC and OSU Extension.

For more information, contact Watters at 937-484-1526 or watters.35@osu.edu, or Johnson at 937-328-4607 or johnson.3225@osu.edu.