Today marks the first of nine field days scheduled to take place on the 12 Iowa State University Research Demonstration farms located throughout the state.

The farms open their gates to the public free of charge once or twice each year. Growing organic soybeans, body condition scoring of beef cows and precision agriculture are among the crop and livestock production topics planned for the field day programs.

Mark Honeyman, coordinator of the ISU research and demonstration farms and associate professor of animal science, said the event offers a chance to show off the work done at the farms.

“The field days are a time when the research that is conducted at the farms is showcased to the public,” Honeyman said.

“[The farms] are agriculture research in action that people can view. These field days offer the public a chance to interact with people from the university and the farm staff to learn about the research, find answers to questions and so forth,” Honeyman said.

“The ISU research and demonstrations farms are created through the encouragement of research associates [farmers and agribusiness people] that make the land available to guarantee research is done in their part of the state,” Honeyman said.

ISU promises to give annual reports and hold these field days to keep the important link between the community and the university.

“The days have a social dimension as well, because they give agriculture people a chance to get together and talk about problems and progress in a noncommercial setting,” Honeyman said.

The basic field days involve patrons getting on a hayrack and riding to various spots in the field where the staff point out the research being performed.

Most field days include a meal served at the site. In addition to the typical message, some of the days include information on home gardening and vegetable production.

Honeyman said the events offer an opportunity for students to interact with agricultural leaders.

“Not many students attend the field days, but it would be a great opportunity for students to network with some of the top people in their area,” Honeyman said.

Several of the farms have home demonstration gardens which apply more to the homeowner interested in flower and vegetable gardens.

Today’s field day is located at the southeast research and demonstration farm near Crawfordsville. Other field days will be at locations across the state, including farms near Cherokee, Lucas, Atlantic, Nashua, Castana, Kanawha and Fruitland.