The community is invited to attend Central Lakes College’s Ag and Energy Center Field Day from 9 a.m. to 1 p.m. Friday, Aug. 21, at the Ag and Energy Center, 26505 County Road 2, Staples.

The socially distanced event will follow Minnesota Department of Health guidelines for outdoor events.

Attendees may pick from any number of events to attend. Because of COVID-19 restrictions, the annual luncheon program will not be held. Instead, there will be water and individually wrapped refreshments.

Pod tours

Time: 9 a.m. to noon

• Tour the new indoor food pod. This container is outfitted with the latest technology for growing plants in a hydroponic system throughout the year, including the cold winter months when fresh produce is less available.

Presentations

Time: 9 - 10:15 a.m.

• Cover crop variety trial: There are 40 different plots showcasing various cover crop varieties grown throughout the region, as well as a few plots with cover crop mixes.
• Industrial hemp demonstration: This trial demonstrates the growth and production of industrial hemp.
• Tackling the white whale of the north: White mold continues to be a serious issue affecting soybean yield throughout the region. The goal of this study is to determine the effect of different fungicide sprayer configurations on disease and soybean yield.

Time: 10:45 a.m.-noon

• Water quality study-AgXplore: The goal of this study is to analyze NZone Max applications to urea and liquid fertilizers. Data is being collected from lysimeters and wells to monitor nitrogen in soil pore water and groundwater.
• Legislative Citizen Commission on Minnesota Resources cropping systems study: This study compares three different cropping systems - corn/soybean rotation, double cropping of soybeans and camelina, and growing cash crops in the perennial cover crop kura clover.
• Specialty crop demonstrations: The Ag Center has many horticultural crop demonstrations to explore.

Kids’ program

Time: 11 a.m. to noon

• This program is open to all kids ages 5-15 to dig treasures from the ground, including potatoes, onions and beets. There will also be technology activities to explore and flowers to pick.

Forage Council Presentation

Time: Noon to 1 p.m.

• Participants will discuss using cover crops for grazing.

For more information, call Melody Weber at 218-894-5123 or Tiffany Klaphake at 218-894-5141, or visit www.clcmn.edu/ag-energy-center/ .