A Jefferson farmer will be featured as one of the Practical Farmers of Iowa field days later this month.

David Ausberger will be showing how a Programmable Logic Controllers (PLC) system has been beneficial to help automate and monitor his farming operations.  He says he can use wifi and an app on his smartphone to automate and monitor his farm shop, grain bin and other operations on his 1,700-acre farm.

He points out that in his grain bins, the PLC cycles the fans to dry the grain down and he can monitor the temperature and moisture of the grain, which also helps him same money on electricity.

Guest speakers with Harvest Energy and T&B Grain Services, LLC will be showing how the PLC system works along with some safety features.  Attendees will also have the opportunity to see demonstrations of water runoff and infiltration in various soils with the Greene County Soil and Water Conservation District’s soil health trailer.

The “Farm Production: Corn, Soybeans, Solar and Wind” event will be on Thursday, June 25th from 10am to 1pm at Ausberger’s farm at 1647 170th Street, about eight and a half miles northeast of Jefferson.  It is free and open to the public with a lunch provided.  RSVP’s are accepted until Monday, June 22nd by calling Lauren Zastrow at 515-232-5661.  The event is sponsored by EcoWise Power.

Practical Farmers of Iowa is holding 40 field days across the state this year.