Southwest Minnesota State University (SMSU) hosted its fifth annual Agronomy Field Day July 19 in Marshall. An audience of farmers, students, agronomists and locals gathered under a tent to listen to speakers, then later went on a tour of the SMSU research plots.
David Kee, director of research with the Minnesota Soybean Research & Promotion Council (MSR&PC), spoke about the importance of the Council’s investment into the program.
“MSR&PC started this partnership with SMSU in 2018,” Kee said. “We could see that, long term, these research projects would enhance the soybean profitability for growers.”
The Council’s first checkoff investment in SMSU in 2018 developed a certified crop advisor training program to train the next generation of agriculture professionals. Since then, collaboration between SMSU, MSR&PC and several other commodity programs has evolved into multiple education projects. The fields are designed to help local farmers and students calibrate their eyes to recognize certain damages when evaluating a field.
“It provides another field to look at,” SMSU Agronomy Assistant Professor Adam Alford said. “Some students have only seen what works for their parents. We try to help them identify what routes are more problematic.”
Source: mnsoybean.org
Photo Credit: gettyimages-klosfoto
Categories: Minnesota, Crops, Soybeans, Education