By Brian Hefty

Join us this summer at the free Ag PhD Field Day on Thursday, July 28th!  We are located just 15 minutes from the Sioux Falls airport, and less than 10 miles from both Interstate 90 and Interstate 29.

This will be our largest event ever, with more to see and do than any Field Day we’ve had in the past.  Here are some of the highlights:

  • A new irrigated corn section with high-yield farmers David Hula, Randy Dowdy, Steven Albracht, and Matt Swanson having plots, along with Darren, agronomist Rob Fritz, and myself.
  • We will also have non-irrigated corn, soybean, and wheat plots with yield champions from across the country again.
  • We are calling these our “First Steps” plots, as while it is unrealistic to expect these farmers to set national yield records on our farm right away, they are at least taking the first steps to ultra-high yields.  This year you will not only get to see their plots, we will have a special section of each plot where you can walk through and get a better look at everything.  Plus, each of our First Steps farmers will be at the Field Day speaking throughout the day!
  • We are adding another air-conditioned shop and lots more permanent bathrooms, so we’ll have more facilities than ever.
  • We’ll have more demonstrations (weather-permitting) on planting, spraying, harvesting, tillage, tiling, corn drying, and more.  As always, we’ll have some ride and drive activities you can participate in, too.
  • Darren and I will give you a special guided tour of our research plots, new technologies plots, First Steps plots, and more!
  • In addition to listening to some of the best high-yield farmers in the country during the day, you can also hear from other great guest speakers on topics such as estate planning, drainage law, and biotechnology.
  • We will have kid’s activities, great food throughout the day, and a few special surprises for you, too!

Please keep an eye on our Field Day page for more details, and check here for hotel and camping options.

My number one piece of advice for you with the Field Day is come early.  We start at 8 am, but you will want to be there no later than 7:30.  We have so much for you to see and do throughout the day, and this is a one-day show.  I also encourage you to visit with as many other attendees as you can, as you can learn a lot from other farmers.  Last year we had over 9000 farmers from 38 different states and 8 foreign countries, so there is a lot of opportunity to meet new people and hear about new ideas in crop production.