By Brian Hefty

We invite you to attend the free Ag PhD Field Day on our farm on Thursday, July 30.  This is the largest private farm field day in the U.S., and it will be bigger than ever before.  Here are some of the things you will see:

  • In competition plots, you will see Brian vs. Darren vs. yield champs from across North America.  We have invited 12 other farmers to compete against us in yield – 4 in corn, 4 in soybeans, and 4 in wheat.  Each person will have their own plot, so when you arrive you will get the opportunity to see what they did, how the plots look, and actually talk to each individual about their plot.  You will know several of these farmers, as they have won national yield contests over the past few years.  They will be monitoring our site remotely each day and talking to our research lead so his team can treat each plot exactly as instructed by each farmer.  It will be exciting and educational, so don’t miss this unique opportunity to learn from some of the best yield-winning farmers.
  • Live demonstrations.  We will have more equipment running in the field than ever.  Weather permitting, we will be planting, spraying, harvesting, and tilling all during the Field Day.
  • New technologies.  There will be new seed traits, new crop protection products, new equipment, new precision ag including UAV’s, and more.  We like trying all these things on our farm so we can give you better recommendations, and this is your chance to see all these things right in the field.
  • Cover crops.  We have been getting lots of questions about cover crops.  You can learn more and see many of these options in the field.
  • Industry experts.  We will have hundreds of industry experts available for you to talk to all day, including many of the top executives from all the big ag companies in North America.
  • Learning sessions.  Everything from estate planning to drainage law to soil testing to crop panels featuring yield champs will be featured during the day.  If you want to hear from the top speakers, we’ll have them at the Field Day.
  • Special guests.  Last year we had Bobby Knight and Richard Petty.  We have narrowed down our choices for this year’s celebrity guest, and we’ll announce our selection as we get closer to July 30.
  • Plot tour with Brian and Darren.  We love going through our plots, and we’ll do it with you during the day.
  • Kid’s Area.  As always, we will have some fun activities for kids in a special Kid Zone.
  • Other top farmers.  One of my favorite things each year is talking to farmers from a wide area.  Last year we had farmers from 39 different states and 9 foreign countries.  If you want a great crop report and the opportunity to visit with others about the things that are working and not working in their operations, come to the Ag PhD Field Day!