Orr Agricultural Research and Demonstration Center Agronomy Field Day to be held July 20
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By DAVID CAMPHOUSE
The Orr Agricultural Educational Center outside Perry will hold its annual Agronomy Field Day on Wednesday, July 20.
According to University of Illinois Research Specialist Luke Merritt, attendees at the field day can expect an education-filled day, learning about research taking place at the Orr Center, outside Perry.
“We’ll have five presentations on the research being done,” Merritt said. “There will be presentations on everything from disease management to insect management to farm returns.”
According to Merritt, certified crop advisors can earn continuing education units (CEUs) by attending the open house. In addition, the day, Merritt says, will appeal to a range of individuals in the agriculture industry.
“Basically anyone in the agronomy industry should come,” Merritt said.
A complete list of presentations includes: “Red Crown Rot of Soybean: A new disease to the region,” “Weed management in early planted soybean,” “Issues with the 2022 Corn and Soybean crops,” “An early look at farm returns and decisions for 2023,” and “Insect management update – Above ground Bt traits and soybean insecticides.”
“All five talks I’m pretty excited about this year, to tell you the truth,” Merritt said. “It’s all good information.”
The field day runs from 9 to 11:30 a.m. Thursday, July 29, at the University of Illinois Orr Agricultural Research and Demonstration Center State Hwy 104, Baylis, IL, 62314. The center is located approximately four miles northwest of Perry.
To register, call 217-236-4911 or email [email protected].
If extreme heat is forecasted, the event may be moved indoors.
The Orr Agricultural Research & Demonstration Center was originally established in 1978 as a 278-acre agronomy center near Perry, IL in Pike County. Of the 278 acres, 95 acres were suitable for agronomic plot work, with the remainder devoted to permanent grassland and forest. The University of Illinois acquired 191 additional acres adjacent to the original tract and has developed an Animal Sciences component, resulting in the reassignment of some acreage between the two units. Currently, the center has 120 acres of usable agronomic plot land.
The Orr Agricultural Research & Demonstration Center in western Illinois exemplifies the power of persistence. Since 1979, residents of Adams, Brown, Calhoun, Cass, Greene, Jersey, Macoupin, Morgan, Pike, Schuyler, and Scott counties have leaned on the Orr Center’s research to inform their farming decisions. The farm includes 13 unique soil types, each relevant to the 11 counties the Orr Center serves.
The Orr Beef Research Center herd resides on a 206-acre managed-intensive grazed pasture with winter cow feeding facilities. Orr Center researchers focus on improving beef production in western Illinois through research on beef cattle nutrition, management, reproduction, genetics and grazing.
