The Fisher Delta Research Center (FDRC) in Portageville, Mo., will host its 53rd Annual Field Day on Tuesday, welcoming farmers, producers and landowners to learn more about the latest in regional agriculture from experts and specialists.
Registration and breakfast will start at 7 a.m. in Rone Hall, located at the Center's Lee Farm, just east of Portageville. Four educational farm tours will begin at 8:30 a.m., featuring informational talks on cotton, crop protection, soybeans and crop monitoring at the Center. Lunch will be served from 11:30 a.m. to 1 p.m.
FDRC is one of 16 off-campus agricultural centers, farms, and forests around the state, operating within the University of Missouri's (MU) College of Agriculture, Food and Natural Resources (CAFNR) and the MU Agriculture Experiment Station, to meet the regional research and demonstration needs of agricultural producers and natural resource managers. As such, the Center provides advice unique to producers located in the southeast Missouri Bootheel and beyond. The region, part of the larger Delta, is unique, in that it encompasses the Mississippi River and includes some of the world's most productive farmland. Unlike the rest of the Show-Me State, Bootheel agriculture more closely mimics that of Louisiana, Mississippi, Arkansas and Tennessee.
"We are doing pertinent research for not just the Bootheel, but this information is beneficial to any producer in the surrounding area," said Trent Haggard, FDRC Director. "Everything we do is for the Delta. We may be in Missouri, but the vast varieties of soil types and research from crops, such as corn, cotton, rice and soybeans, allow us to serve the Delta region and the rest of country."
During the Field Day cotton tour, FDRC Cotton Specialist Andrea Jones will share the latest results from variety trials grown at the Center. Christopher Main, Cotton Development Specialist with PhytoGen Cottonseed, and Ty Fowler, Product Development Manager at Deltapine, will talk about what is coming in 2015 for new cotton seed technology.
Each growing season can present challenges, especially from weeds and pests. On the Field Day crop protection tour, FDRC Weed Specialist Jim Heiser will speak on new tools to fight several of the Delta's chemical-resistant weeds. FDRC's new Entomologist, Dr. Moneen Jones, will pursue the latest problem insect. Her presentation will include information about improved pest monitoring and future applications to assist producers and consultants.
"It's amazing to see all of the great new technology available that can really help increase efficiency on the farm," said Haggard. "On (our) crop monitoring tour, Kent Shannon, Natural Resource Engineering Specialist with the MU Extension Service, will share how UAV's (agricultural drones) are the next valuable tool in agriculture, and Dr. Earl Vories, a USDA Agriculture Engineer, will show how sensors and UAV's, in the near future, can be used for site-specific crop management."
Soybeans have become a crop more producers are looking to grow in the Delta region, and the latest topic on many farmers' minds is the ban of trans fat in foods. With current food production processes involving soybeans, trans fat becomes a byproduct. MU Professor, Dr. Grover Shannon, is looking to change this, by developing soybean varieties with high oleic seed oil content and no trans fats. On the Field Day soybean tour, Dr. Shannon will share his latest developments, along with FDRC Cropping Systems Specialist, Dr. Gene Stevens, who will speak on optimal soybean rotations.
"This is the best time of the year to get this very beneficial information from some of the top researchers in the country," added Haggard.
Another highlight of this year's Field Day will be the Vo-Ag (Vocational Agriculture) event for Future Farmers of America (FFA) students across the region. FDRC will welcome area high school Juniors and Seniors, faculty and FFA sponsors to learn about the wide variety of career opportunities available throughout the agriculture industry, through the day's theme, "Developing a Local Foods Enterprise." FDRC partners annually with the MU Outreach and Extension program to stage this portion of Field Day, which attracts more than 500 vocational agriculture students each year. The group will tour Lee Farm's various facilities and research plots between 10 a.m. and 1 p.m. Lunch will follow the tours.
FDRC's Lee Farm is located at the intersection of Highways T and TT, just east of Portageville. Coming from the north, take Exit 32 off Interstate 55, and head east on Highway 162 for 3.7 miles. Turn right onto Highway TT, and head south for 2 miles. The farm will be situated on the left. From the south, take Interstate 55 Exit 27, and head north on the East Outer Road for 3.1 miles. Turn right onto Highway T, which will end at Lee Farm in 4.4 miles.
For more information about the 53rd Annual Fisher Delta Research Center Field Day, contact Tina Clark, at 573-379-5431, or e-mail clarktr@missouri.edu. Visit the new FDRC website at http://delta.cafnr.org/, for Center schedules and additional research details.