Highlights of agricultural research conducted at Iowa State, and a tour through a new livestock and waste facility will be the topics Thursday of Agronomy Day ’98.

Agronomy Day is an annual event planned by ISU’s College of Agriculture.

Although many field days similar to Agronomy Day are held throughout Iowa each year, this day is different because it is a showcase of the research performed primarily at ISU and in central Iowa, said Stephen Barnhart, professor of agronomy.

Barnhart said the purpose of the day is to introduce farmers and outside agricultural business clients to the many agricultural research projects conducted at ISU.

“I hope people will walk away knowing that ISU is working on real-world solutions for their real-world problems,” Barnhart said.

Barnhart said Agronomy Day ’98 is also an opportunity for high school students and junior college students interested in a future career in agriculture to look at the educational programs ISU’s College of Agriculture offers.

A variety of displays about agricultural research projects, walking tours and demonstration plots will be open to the public all day Thursday.

Barnhart said some of the demonstrations will include recent information about pest management, corn and soybean fertilization, water quality and genetic research projects.

People who attend Agronomy Day also can tour the university’s recently built Livestock and Environment Buildings Research Complex.

Barnhart said the building was constructed last year and gives researchers a place to test possible solutions for common waste and odor problems associated with raising livestock.

Barnhart said in addition to tours and demonstrations, a tent with several displays will be set up and more than 30 poster presentations will be displayed by ISU faculty.

“[Agronomy Day] will expose some of our faculty to the public so they can share their research,” Barnhart said.

Several commercial exhibits and an informational booth about the College of Agriculture will be under the tent as well.

Agronomy Day ’98 will be held at the ISU Agronomy and Agricultural Engineering Research Center. The center is six miles west of Ames on U.S. Highway 30.

The event is free and open to everyone. Activities begin at 9 a.m. and continue until 3 p.m.

ISU’s Agronomy Club will also be serving lunch at the event from 11 a.m. to 1 p.m. The cost of lunch will be $3.