MANHATTAN, Kan. — Producers and agronomists interested in doing an on-farm research test on their own farms may want to mark Monday, July 27 on their calendar.
That’s when K-State Research and Extension will host a tour of farms in Saline County to view on-farm research plots and dryland corn plots.
The producers on the tour have participated in K-State’s new on-farm testing program conducted by K-State’s Ignacio Ciampitti, crop production and cropping systems specialist; Stewart Duncan, northeast area extension agronomist; and county extension personnel such as Tom Maxwell, Central District crop production agent, and others. Ciampitti, Duncan, and Maxwell, along with K-State extension entomologist, Jeff Whitworth, will speak at the four locations.
“On this tour, we will be demonstrating how we work with producers to help them design an on-farm test of plant populations, hybrids or varieties, nutrient rates or other variables. And we’ll talk about how we analyze the results after harvest for the producers,” Ciampitti said.
Local extension agents are an integral part of the on-farm testing program, he said. The agents work closely with producers, extension area agronomists and state specialists.
“I’m here to help ensure each of the on-farm tests is matched to what the individual producer wants. My goal is to get practical information on farming practices that our producers use, and to make sure the results are in a user-friendly format and available to anyone who is interested,” Maxwell said.
“The tour on July 27 will visit the farms and research plots we’ve set up in Saline County this year. The producers involved will be available to explain the program and talk about how it has been working for them,” he added.
The focus of the tour stops will be to highlight the on-farm research plots at each farm evaluating corn seeding rates and twin row versus 30-inch row corn. A discussion at each stop will include dryland corn production and management practices, including seeding rates, and insect control.
Tour times and places:
8 a.m. at the Paul and Robert Karber Farm, located 4 miles south of Gypsum on Gypsum Valley Rd., 1 mile west on Hobbs Creek Rd., then 1/4 mile south on Kipp Rd. An on-farm research plot featuring corn seeding rates of 18,000, 22,000 and 26,000 seeds per acre will be discussed.
9 a.m. at the Dwight Conley farm, located half mile south of Gypsum on Gypsum Valley Rd. An on-farm research plot comparing twin row corn vs. 30-inch row corn at five different seeding rates will be discussed.
10 a.m. at the Justin Knopf farm, located 1 mile north of Gypsum at the corner of Gypsum Valley Rd. and McReynolds Rd. An on-farm research plot featuring four corn seeding rates will be discussed.
11 a.m. at the Mark Pettijohn farm, located approximately 2 miles south of Solomon on the blacktop and half mile east of the Barn Rd./ 2000 Ave. intersection in Dickinson County. An on-farm research plot featuring five corn seeding rates of 14,000, 18,000, 22,000, 26,000, and 30,000 seeds per acre will be discussed.
Anyone interested is invited to attend any or all of the tour stops. No advance registration is needed.
