Waupaca County Forage Council to Host 2017 Summer Field Day

Waupaca County UW-Extension in conjunction with the Waupaca County Forage Council will host a Summer Field on Wednesday, August 9th at the Bear Lake Resort south of Manawa (N4715 Hwy 22/110, Manawa). The program begins indoors at 10:00 AM with updates from UW-Extension Agriculture Agent Greg Blonde, as well as Waupaca County Land & Water Conservation, NRSC and FSA staff.

Dan Brick, owner and operator of Brickstead Dairy Farms from Greenleaf, WI, will then discuss and show new application equipment that allows them to inject manure in high residue fields with very little soil disturbance. Mark Renz, Extension Agronomy Specialist at UW-Madison will also share early results from his new research project using alfalfa as a living mulch to grow corn in WI reducing soil surface exposure while providing nitrogen to support the growing corn.  Anyone is welcome to attend. The Waupaca County Forage Council is offering free lunch for those who register by August 4th.  Both farmers and other industry professionals are encouraged to attend.

Following lunch, live field demonstrations will be held at Dan & Ruth Boerst’s farm (E5663 Yohr Rd, one mile west of Manawa) including representatives from Bazooka Farmstar and Curse Buster equipment demonstrating both surface and subsurface manure application equipment with support from Buttles Custom Ag Service and Tasch’s Custom Hauling LLC. A soil pit will also be available featuring a side-by-side comparison of corn grown with alfalfa as living mulch vs. traditional no-till corn into sprayed alfalfa.

Attendance and lunch are free if registered in advance ($10 if not pre-registered). To register or for more information, contact Waupaca County UW-Extension (715-258-6231) or email greg.blonde@wisc.edu. The Waupaca County Forage Council is an affiliate of the Midwest Forage Association

2017 Summer Field Day