Tuesday August 28th

University of Minnesota Extension, Norman and Mahnomen Counties, will be hosting their annual County Corn and Soybean Varietal Plot Tours on Tuesday, August 28th.

The corn varietal plot tour will start at 12:00 noon with lunch at the plot. The corn plot, with 34 varieties and is located in Norman County on the Bryan Hest Farm, 2 miles southeast of Perley.

The soybean varietal tour will start at 4:30 pm at the plot, located in Mahnomen County near the Gordon Klabunde farmstead, 5 ½ miles northwest of Waubun. Soybean plot cooperators are Bryan Klabunde and Dale Pazdernik. The tour will conclude with a supper at the farmstead. Representatives from the seed corn and soybean companies, along with personnel from the University of Minnesota Extension, FSA, and Pazdernik Agronomy will be on hand to discuss agronomic traits and other production issues.

Soybean Plot Tours in Northwest Minnesota

Dr. Jim Orf, the University of Minnesota Soybean Breeder, will discuss soybean varieties at each of the research locations. Information about the trials will appear in the Minnesota Variety Trial Results to be published early in the winter. Results of soybean varieties from last year (2006) can be found at:

http://www.maes.umn.edu/07VarietalTrials/soybean.pdf

Dr. Orf will also make comments on issues related to soybean, breeding outlook for the near future, specialty soybeans, iron chlorosis and soybean diseases.

At the Roseau location, Derek Crompton will share information on regional soybean plant health studies. Dr. Phillip Glogoza will provide a similar update on the plant health work, along with information on the latest soybean aphid work, particularly relating to the release of an imported parasitic wasp, Binodoxys commuis. update at the Shelly and Kragnes locations and a discussion on the soybean plant health studies at those sites. Also, Nathan Johnson, Regional Center Director (at Roseau) and Howard Person, Marshall and Pennington Extension Educator (at Thief River), and Ray Bisek Norman and Mahnomen County Extension Educator (Shelly) will provide updates on other local issues. These events are organized by University of Minnesota Extension.

Tuesday   --   September 4th

Roseau tour will be conducted on Tuesday September 4th, 4:30 p.m., on Soybean Experimental site, near Roseau. To reach the plot, go 1 mile north at the junction of Hwy 11 and 310 in the city of Roseau. Then travel 1.5 miles west.

Wednesday   --   September 5th

Thief River Falls tour will start at 9:00 a.m. The field plot is located about five miles east of Thief River Falls and on the north side of Highway 1.

Shelly tour will start 1:30 p.m. on the Swensen Farm. To locate the plot site from Shelly, go two miles south and turn west on Co Rd 119. Go 1 mile west and the plots will be on the left, 1/2 mile south of Co Rd 119.

Kragnes tour will start 5:00 p.m. on the Alvin Swanson Farm located I mile N of Kragnes, then 2 mile west on 110th (or Co Rd 99). After the tour refreshments of brats, baked beans, chips and pop will be served by the Clay - Wilkin Soybean Grower Association.