Save the dates for MSU field days featuring research updates

Members of the Michigan agriculture industry and others are invited to tour several of the Michigan State University research facilities this summer during the annual field day festivities.

A researcher gives a field day presentation.

EAST LANSING, Mich. – Members of the Michigan agriculture industry and others are invited to tour several of the Michigan State University (MSU) research facilities this summer during the annual field day festivities.

MSU scientists will present findings from some of their current research ongoing across the state. Topics range from sustainable insect and disease prevention to the latest in agriculture technology.

Mark your calendars with the following dates:

  • The Saginaw Valley Research and Extension Center will host a wheat field day June 15. The center is located at 3775 S. Reese Road in Frankenmuth. Please call 989-652-8014 for further information.
  • The Kellogg Biological Station (KBS) will host pasture dairy center open houses June 14 and Aug. 2, both from 4-8 p.m. The facility will also host a barley field day July 7. The center is located at 10461 40th Street in Hickory Corners. Please call 269-671-5117 for further information.
  • The Clarksville Research Center will host a tree fruit field day June 22. The center is located at 9302 Portland Road in Clarksville. Please call 616-693-2193 for further information.
  • The Southwest Michigan Research and Extension Center will host the 27th annual MSU Viticulture Field Day July 27. The center is located at 1791 Hillandale Road in Benton Harbor. Please call 269-944-1477 for further information.
  • The Upper Peninsula Research and Extension Center will host the 2016 U.P. Local Food Conference: Together at the Farm! July 30. Events include speakers, exhibits, lunch, dinner and a barn dance. Keynote speaker is Eliot Coleman, farmer and author. Registration opens June 1. The event is sponsored by Upper Peninsula Food Exchange, Marquette Food Co-op, MSU Extension and Western UP Health Department. The center is located at E3774 University Drive in Chatham. Please call 906-439-5114 for further information or visit the U.P. Local Food Conference website.
  • The MSU Hancock Turfgrass Research Center field day is scheduled for Aug. 10. One-site registration begins at 7:30 a.m. with opening remarks at 8:30 a.m. There is a fee for morning and afternoon sessions. The event is hosted by the Michigan Turfgrass Foundation. The center is located at 4444 Farm Lane in East Lansing. Please call 517-392-5003 for further information.
  • The Montcalm Research Center potato and dry bean field day is scheduled for Aug. 11. The center is located at 4629 W. McBrides Road in Lakeview. Please call 989-365-3473 for further information.
  • The Lake City Research Center field day is scheduled for Aug. 13. There will be updates on cattle production along with a main focus on bale wrapping and bale systems. The center is located at 5401 W. Jennings Road in Lake City. Please call 231-839-4608 for further information.
  • The Northwest Michigan Horticulture Research Center tree fruit field day is scheduled for Aug. 25 at 3 p.m. Topics include spotted wing Drosophila, pollinators and cherry leaf spot. The event is sponsored by MSU AgBioResearch, MSU Extension, the Northwest Michigan Horticultural Research Foundation and the Leelanau Horticultural Society. The center is located at 6686 S. Center Highway in Traverse City. Please call 231-946-1510 for further information and to RSVP.
  • The Trevor Nichols Research Center will host a research field day and Extension event Sept. 20 from 1-4 p.m. The field day will focus on insect and disease research and efficacy trials that were conducted by MSU AgBioResearch scientists Larry Gut, Rufus Isaacs, Annemiek Schilder, George Sundin and John Wise. The center is located at 6237 124th Avenue in Fennville. Please call 269-561-5040 for further information.

Further details on these field day events will be available at the MSU AgBioResearch Centers website.

Also, MSU will host its first MSU Agriculture Innovation Day Aug. 24 at the Saginaw Valley Research and Extension Center in Frankenmuth. This year’s focus is on soils, with experts addressing soil quality, nutrient management, compaction and tile technology in nine different sessions. Please note that this event will take the place of the regular field day held annually at this research location.

MSU has a network of 13 outlying research and Extension centers across the state. The facilities are located so that field trials can be conducted in similar types of soils, elevations and climates of the surrounding farms and regions.

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