Carrington Research Center sets field day, open house

North Dakota State University’s Carrington Research Extension Center will hold an open house at its newly completed Agronomy Laboratory in addition to its annual crop, livestock, fruit and berry, and organic agriculture tours during its field day Tuesday, July 14.

Morning tours will begin at 9:30. Tour topics are:

• Crop variety and production – This tour will include a review of spring wheat, durum, barley and dry bean cultivars; discussion on the current status of corn and soybeans, and end-of-season management; and an update on cool-season legumes with emphasis on field peas.

• Livestock – This tour will include research updates on feedlot and cow/calf production, and cow herd economics, and breakout sessions on body condition scoring, feed analysis and consumer preferences for beef.

• Fruits and berries – This will feature a walking tour of the 13 fruits in the orchard and a presentation on black currant production.

• Organic/sustainable agriculture – This tour will include organic oats, field peas and fingerling potato performance, ancient grain research, einkorn and cowpea development, radishes as a cover crop and collaborative vegetable research.

The open house will run from 10 a.m. to 4 p.m. with self-guided tours of the Agronomy Laboratory and Greenhouse. Center staff will be on hand to answer questions about how this state-of-the-art facility will help advance research for years to come.

Following a noon lunch, a crop tour will begin at 1 p.m. This tour will focus on crop pest management, plant nutrition and soil management.

Specific topics to be addressed include white mold management in soybeans, dry beans and sunflowers; weed management recommendations; small-grain diseases; winter rye in soybeans for soil protection and weed suppression; research with unmanned aerial systems; sulfur fertility management; post-emergence nitrogen application in corn; and post-anthesis nitrogen application to increase protein in spring wheat.

For more information, contact the center at (701) 652-2951 or visit its website at https://www.ag.ndsu.edu/CarringtonREC.