Field days include facility tours, explanations of research projects and results, and a chance for producers, legislators, and agribusiness representatives to speak with Montana State University scientists and Extension agents.

Summer 2014 Field Days coincides with the centennial celebration of MSU Extension, and festivities are planned at each center to honor the long-standing relationship between MAES research-based information and MSU Extension outreach programs. 

Monday, June 23, the Central Agricultural Research Center field day starts at 9 a.m. and includes lunch. The center is 2.5 miles west of Moccasin on U.S. Highway 87. (406) 423-5421.

MSU’s President Waded Cruzado will attend the Southern Agricultural Research Center field day Thursday, June 26, and will speak at a luncheon for participants. The field day starts at 9 a.m. with tours at 9:30 a.m. and 1:30 p.m. The SARC is located at 748 Railroad Highway, Huntley. (406) 348-3400.

Wednesday, July 2, the Northern Agricultural Research Center's annual field day begins at 3 p.m. with tours before and after dinner. The center is located about seven miles southwest of Havre on U.S. Highway 87. (406) 265-6115.

On Tuesday July 8, MSU's Post Research Farm will host a crops and weeds field day at 8:30 a.m. with tours before and after lunch. The Post Farm is eight miles west of Bozeman on U.S. Highway 191. (406) 994-4783.

Tuesday, July 15, the Western Agricultural Research Center field day starts at 4 p.m. with dinner at 5 p.m. and a tour following. WARC is located at 580 Quast Lane, Corvallis. (406) 961-3025.

Wednesday, July 16, the Northwestern Agricultural Research Center field day begins at 2:30 p.m. with dinner following the tour. NWARC is located near Creston on State Highway 35. (406) 755-4303.

Thursday, July 24, the Eastern Agricultural Research Center at Sidney will hold a field day beginning at 8:30 a.m. with lunch following the tour. The center is one mile north of Sidney on State Highway 200. (406) 433-2208. 

Tuesday, Sept. 16, the Western Triangle Agricultural Research Center field day starts at 4 p.m. with tours and a barbecue. WTARC is located at 9546 Old Shelby Road, Conrad. (406) 278-7707.

The research centers are strategically located across Montana to allow research with different soil types, elevations, climate zones and landscapes. A local advisory council guides the research at each station. 

The federal Hatch Act of 1887 authorized every national land-grant university to establish an agricultural experiment station, with research reflecting the university’s curriculum, Extension and public need. The Smith-Lever Act authorized the Extension Service in 1914. MSU College of Agriculture, Montana Agricultural Experiment Station and MSU Extension have been cooperatively serving the land-grant mission and the Montana public for the past 100 years.