An organic plot tour with sustainable agriculture topics will be one of the featured events during the annual field tours July 16 at North Dakota State University’s Carrington Research Extension Center (CREC).

The 60th annual field tour will begin at 9 a.m. with registration, coffee and a welcome. The organic agriculture plot tour will depart at 9:30 a.m. and conclude at noon with lunch.

The morning organic tour will address production issues with raising crops organically. Topics will include buckwheat, intercropping, transitioning to organic crops, oats, legumes and emmer.

“This tour is unique for NDSU with the hands-on research being conducted at the center,” says Steve Zwinger, organic research specialist at the CREC. “Having certified organic field plots for doing organic research helps the organic industry. The annual organic plot tour is one of the ways we help the organic industry sustain and advance its knowledge.”

Topics and speakers for this year’s tour include:

• Transitioning to organics - Clair Keene, Extension agronomy specialist at NDSU’s Williston Research Extension Center and North Dakota’s Sustainable Agriculture Research and Education (SARE) program co-coordinator
• Buckwheat, production and varieties - Verna Kragnes, Northern Plains Sustainable Ag Society, Fargo, and Rick Mittleider, organic farmer, Tappen, N.D.
• Intercropping in organics - Jim Eckberg and Tom Rabaey, General Mills production research agronomists
• Legumes in organic crop rotations - Blaine Schmaltz, Blaine’s Best Seeds, Rugby, N.D.
• Perennial weed management - Greta Gramig, associate weed science professor, NDSU Plant Sciences Department, Fargo
• Organic education programs: OATS (Organic Agronomy Training Series) and SARE - Keene
• Emmer production and variety development - Kragnes and Schmaltz
• Organic research at NDSU - Gramig

Other events at the CREC on July 16 include agronomy, Northern Hardy Fruit Project and livestock production tours in the morning.

The tours will depart at 9:30 a.m. and run until noon. Topics for the afternoon session will focus on agronomy.

For more information about the organic/sustainable agriculture program, contact Zwinger or Karl Hoppe, Extension livestock systems specialist at the center and North Dakota SARE co-coordinator, at 701-652-2951, or email Zwinger at steve.zwinger@ndsu.edu or Hoppe at karl.hoppe@ndsu.edu.

The Carrington center is 3.5 miles north of Carrington on U.S. Highway 281.

NDSU Agriculture Communication - June 26, 2019