Bozeman Magazine

The Montana State University campus agronomy farm will host its annual public field day on Friday, July 13. The MSU College of Agriculture and Montana Agricultural Experiment Station invite the public to attend the event from 8 a.m. to 3:30 p.m. at the Arthur H. Post Agronomy Farm, five miles west of Bozeman. 

“The research happening at the Post Farm directly mirrors production agriculture in southwest Montana,” said Dave Gettel, farm operations manager. “Our annual field day provides a time for the public to learn about MSU’s farm research work that has a statewide and regional impact. It is also a time for us to hear directly from our surrounding agricultural community.”

The field day will include two farm tours with presentations from 8:30 a.m. to 12:15 p.m. Tour topics will include soil health, plant pathogens, cereal crop diseases, forage production, weed management, herbicides and pesticides, and updates in MSU’s wheat, pulse and barley crop breeding programs.

Following the tours, the College of Agriculture will host lunch from 12:30 to 1:30 p.m. Lunch will include a short presentation by Charles Boyer, MSU vice president of agriculture, and Darrin Boss, head of MSU’s Department of Research Centers who both will provide updates on agricultural teaching, research and outreach programs at MSU.

Following lunch, MSU faculty members will present brief remarks on alfalfa seed production, pH levels in soils, cereal pathogens and the Western Sustainable Agriculture Research and Education Program at MSU. Certified crop adviser, pesticide and continuing education credits will be available for attending the day.

The Post Farm is managed by the College of Agriculture and Montana Agricultural Experiment Station, whose mission is to conduct agricultural research meeting old and new challenges of Montana producers. The experiment station includes seven research stations strategically located across the state, and the Post Farm is one of 12 active teaching and research farms affiliated with MSU. In 2015, the Post Farm was ranked as one of the top 40 best college farms in the nation for its national research profile and student involvement, according to College Ranker.