Don’t miss the “surprise announcement” during event!
Lansing, Mich. (June 6, 2021) – This coming Wednesday, June 9, from 8 to 10 a.m. the Michigan Wheat Program will hold its traditional summer Field Day in the virtual online format. Several weeks ago, the wheat check-off board made the decision to go all-virtual with the Field Day due to the lingering pandemic. Interested wheat growers and industry friends are running out of time to register for this event packed with research results and a special closing twist!
“We have a great program lined up and our researchers will have excellent pictures and videos to illustrate the results of their current research trials that are being funded by wheat check-off dollars,” said Bill Hunt, chairman of the nine-member Michigan Wheat Program board and a wheat farmer from Davison.
Researchers will use the visuals to re-create the in-field plot tour experience in a virtual format, which was popular with farmers attending the virtual event a year ago. Topics include disease and weed control, seed placement, identifying the best varieties for your farm, fertility and harvesting high quality grain.
The full agenda for the two-hour, free, online field day includes:
Welcome to Michigan Wheat’s Fabulous Field Day (8 a.m.)
Terry Henne, WSGW Radio
Brian Horgan, Department Chair, MSU Plant, Soil and Microbial Sciences
Research Presentations
Dr. Christy Sprague – Weed Control in Wheat
Manni Singh – Seed Placement Accuracy Matters in Wheat
Dr. Marty Chilvers, Martin Nagelkirk – Disease Management
Dennis Pennington – Harvesting High-Quality Grain
Lacie Thomas, Dr. Kurt Steinke – Start Right to Finish Well: Wheat Grain and Straw Production
Dr. Eric Olson – Identifying the Best Wheat Variety for Your Farm
Michigan Wheat Surprise Announcement
Dennis Pennington, MSU Wheat Specialist and
Jody Pollok-Newsom, MI Wheat Program Executive Director
Credits and Wrap Up (10 a.m.)
2 RUP and 2 CCA credits for the program are available at close, but only to participants utilizing the Michigan Wheat Program Zoom platform.
Growers can register for the event by going to www.miwheat.org and clicking on the Summer Field Day registration information under the “What’s Hot” column on the home page. Alternatively, growers may also register by calling 1-888-WHEAT01. All registrants will receive log-in information and instructions for joining the 2021 Virtual Field Day prior to the event, so they need to have an email address.
You can also, check in through your Facebook account and watch at Michigan Wheat or MSU Extension Field Crops. Thanks to our partnership with Terry Henne and WSGW you can also watch by viewing the Facebook pages of WSGW Radio, Farm Service 790, and 94.5 The Moose. Neither CCA nor RUP credits are available for the sessions when viewed on Facebook Live. In order to get the credits, you must participate via zoom, so plan accordingly.
Michigan Wheat Program executive director Jody Pollok-Newsom promises an exciting surprise announcement to close out the virtual Field Day.
“I can’t reveal what the board and I and our MSU wheat specialist have been planning, but it is very significant and we believe growers are going to love it,” Pollok-Newsom said. “In fact, our Board members who have been involved in this new program’s development have gone so far as to say we believe this new coalition will propel Michigan’s wheat growers into the future with out-of-the-box thinking and research results.”
The MWP is a check-off organization funded by the state’s wheat farmers who grow wheat in 50 of Michigan’s 83 counties. The Michigan Wheat Program promotes the state’s wheat industry by funding and supporting the strategic priorities of wheat farmers by working with input suppliers, seed producers, millers, end users and consumers. Research and grower education are top priorities for the organization.