Photo courtesy of ISU Extension and Outreach

For those interested in organic farming, there’s a field day with Iowa State Extension and Outreach coming up at their field in Greenfield.

ISU Extension Organic Specialist Kathleen Delate says that the Extension’s field has been producing organic crops for researchers to study for the last 25 years, and that she and others used it to study and compare the differences between conventional crops and organic crops. She tells Raccoon Valley Radio about the field.

“So we run a full program of field research, field demonstrations, workshops, conference(s) and field days related to organic agriculture. So our main research site is the ISU Neely-Kinyon farm in Greenfield, and we try to have a field day there every year showcasing our research there. We haven’t had one since Covid, so this is our first one back, and we’re excited to have it.”

Delate explains that this year has been a little rough on the crops, with drought in June, hail in July, and some excessive rain in August. She adds that the hail damaged an estimated 25-percent of the corn crop, and many of the soybeans lost many leaves, but that they had been able to grow them back. The field day will be from 4-6pm August 22nd, and includes a meal featuring local and organic foods. For more information, contact Delate at 515-294-7069 or kdelate@iastate.edu.