Technology Is Focus Of Aug. 27 MU Graves-Chapple Field Day

JULIE HARKER

ROCK PORT, MISSOURI

Tours will focus on pest management, technology and crop management at the University of Missouri Graves-Chapple Extension and Education Center’s 2024 field day. MU Extension specialists and others will present at this free event on Aug. 27.

“The amount of data that can be collected using drones and autonomous robots is staggering,” said Jim Crawford, Graves-Chapple director. “Assisting producers on how to utilize this collected data to make good decisions for their operations is the next important piece of this puzzle. We believe using this data can help producers increase their productivity and profitability.”

The field day starts with breakfast at 7:30 a.m. The first tour begins at 8:15 a.m. The last tour leaves at 11:15 a.m. Lunch will be served at noon.

Pest management tour

• Kevin Bradley – “Weed Management Considerations for 2025 and Beyond.”
• Mandy Bish – “Tar Spot, Southern Rust and Other Diseases of Corn and Soybeans.”
• Wayne Flanary – “Biological Product Research.”

Technology tour

• Michelle Maile – “USDA Crop Research Using the EarthSense TerraSentia Robot.”
• Trace Thompson and Jesse Rogers – “Herbicides and Drones: Are We There Yet?”
• Kent Shannon – “AI in Agriculture: What Does It All Mean?”
• Zack Leasor – “Weather Outlook and Real-Time Local Monitoring.”

Crop management tour

• Ben Brown – “Ag Economy: How Bad Is It Going To Get?”
• Leon McIntyre – “How Hybrid Corn Is Produced.”
• Andre Froes de Borja Reis – “Soybean In-Season Management Tool: Yield Estimation & Growth Reports.”
• Juo-Han Tsay – “Outlook for Missouri Farmland Prices and Rents.”

“It’s important to see what technology is out there and what can make or save you money,” said Steve Klute, chairman of the Graves-Chapple advisory board. Klute, who farms corn and soybeans on 2,000 acres in Atchison County, uses some of the latest technologies, including shut-off valves on his planters and sprayers and a drone for applying herbicides and fungicides.

Mizzou’s Monarch autonomous electric tractor will pull a tour wagon as a demonstration of its capabilities, said Crawford.

The MU Graves-Chapple Extension and Education Center is off Interstate 29 at 29955 Outer Road in Atchison County south of Rock Port. For more information, visit https://mizzou.us/GravesChapple2024.  ∆

JULIE HARKER: University of Missouri