NDSU Field School Offers Hands-On Crop Training

By Scout Nelson

North Dakota State University’s Carrington Research Extension Center is hosting the Crop Management Field School on June 24 near Carrington, North Dakota. The educational event is designed to provide farmers, crop advisers, Extension staff, and agriculture professionals with practical, research-based information to support crop production decisions throughout the growing season.

The program begins at 8:30 a.m. with coffee and refreshments, followed by educational sessions starting at 9 a.m. Weather permitting, most activities take place outdoors to provide participants with hands-on learning opportunities in real field conditions.

The morning sessions focus on weed management. Participants will learn how to identify common weeds through activities in the Weed Arboretum and review herbicide groups used in crop production. Demonstrations will also help attendees recognize crop and weed injury symptoms and better understand herbicide site-of-action concepts.

During the afternoon, instructors will provide detailed training on crop growth stages for several important crops. Understanding growth stages is important for making timely crop management decisions and ensuring pesticide applications occur at the proper time. Another session will focus on identifying nutrient deficiencies and evaluating management decisions from both agronomic and economic perspectives.

“Many ag professionals, Extension staff and farmers have attended past field schools through the years, and survey responses are consistently positive,” says Jeff Stachler, NDSU Extension cropping systems specialist at Carrington. “Participants appreciate the smaller class size, where questions are encouraged to direct the conversation.”

The instructional team includes Jeff Stachler, Alicia Harstad, Ana Carcedo, and Brady Goettl, all of whom bring expertise in crop production, agronomy, soil science, and natural resource management.

Certified crop advisers attending the event can earn up to five continuing education credits. To encourage discussion and personalized instruction, participation is limited to 50 attendees on a first-come, first-served basis.

Registration details and more information are available at www.ndsu.ag/CMFS26.

For any questions about workshop content, contact Stachler at 701-652-2951 or jeff.stachler@ndsu.edu.

Photo Credit: north-dakota-state-university