Conservation Innovation Agricultural Field Day to Feature Drones!

On August 31st local farmers and conservation partners are invited to participate in agricultural field day on Michigan State University’s Campus. The Conservation Innovation Field day is a partnership between local Conservation Districts, Farm Bureau Chapters, USDA Natural Resources Conservation Service and MSU Extension. It will highlight the use of innovative farming practices and technologies to improve conservation of natural resources on Michigan Farms.

Bruno Basso, associate professor at MSU, will be joining the agricultural field day to demonstrate his work using Unmanned Aerial Vehicles (UAVs) to model water and nutrient cycling in relation to agro-ecosystems. Basso is working to develop SALUS, a next-generation process-based model that integrates crop productivity with water, carbon, and nutrient fluxes in a spatially explicit manner. MSU Extension will be discussing applications and limitations of UAVs in agriculture.

The day’s agenda will also include information about biofuel research utilizing sorghum, pest management updates, leveraging existing services available through event hosts, tours of the newly MAEAP Verified MSU Horticulture Farm and an overview of the MIFFS Veterans in Ag Network.

The field day, will take place on Monday, August 31, 2015 at the MSU Horticulture Teaching and Research Center, 3291 N College Rd on MSU’s Campus. RUP credits will be available for certified pesticide applicators who attend and MAEAP phase 1 credit is available for all participants. UPDATE**  Registration is FREE as Ingham and Eaton County Farm Bureaus are sponsoring the event. Those interested in participating in the tour should contact the Eaton Conservation District (517) 543-1512 ext. 112 no later than August 25th to register. Space is limited.