The Western Iowa No-till (WIN) Demonstration Field Day, scheduled for June 21^st at the Carstens 1880 Farmstead south of Shelby, Iowa, will address a wide variety of topics for local producers interested in learning more about the practical management of soil heath, fertility and alternative crop rotation systems. Registration opens at 8-a.m., with coffee and rolls provided by Farm Credit Services of America. Local agribusinesses will also be on hand beginning at 8-a.m., to visit with producers in the morning and showcase their services/equipment.

Western IA No Till Day at Carstens 1880 Farmstead (photo from the Carstens Farmstead website)

The field day program begins at 9-a.m., with rotating breakout sessions. John Sawyer, Iowa State University Agronomy Department, will cover nitrogen application timing and rates, while Rick Bednarek, State Soil Scientist with USDA-NRCS discusses maintaining and managing soil health. The breakout sessions will be followed at 11-a.m., by an overview of 2016 Iowa Weather & Long-Term Trends, presented by Harry Hillaker, State Climatologist with IDALS.

At 11:45, the program will break for lunch, with a barbeque lunch available on grounds for $5. After lunch, Matt Liebman, Iowa State University, will discuss the benefits of diversifying corn-soybean rotations by adding a non-traditional crop. To wrap up the program, Tim Youngquist, Iowa State University Ag Specialist, will give an overview of the STRIPS Trial project- Science-based Trials of Row-crops Integrated with Prairie Strips- and discuss project implementation in a row-crop setting.

Anyone with an interest in the practical application and impact of soil conservation practices, whether looking for ideas to begin adopting no-till practices or a long-time producer looking to improve production results, is encouraged to attend this field day.  There is no charge to attend this event, but pre-registration is requested by June 15^th to ensure a lunch will be available.

A barbeque lunch, with sides, dessert and a drink, will be available for $5 the day of the event. Registration can be completed by e-mailing csgorham@iastate.edu or by calling the Harrison County Extension Office at 888-644-2105. More information is available at many local ISU Extension and NRCS offices, or can be found online at www.extension.iastate.edu/cass.

The field day is brought to you by NRCS, ISU Extension and the Soil and Water Conservation Districts (SWCD) in Harrison, East & West Pottawattamie, Cass and Shelby Counties, along with many local supporting agribusinesses. 2016 Business Sponsors include Farm Bureau in East & West Pottawattamie, Shelby & Harrison Counties, Avoca Seed, Cyclone Seed, HTS Ag, Farmers and Merchants State Bank, Heartland Ag, Iowa Soybean Association, Iowa Corn Growers Association, Sorensen Equipment Co. and United Bank of Iowa.