Sugarcane Field Day To Spotlight Research On Nutrient Runoff

NAPOLEONVILLE, LA.

   The LSU AgCenter will host a Sugarcane Field Day on Oct. 20 at Keith Dugas Farm in Assumption Parish.

   The forum is supported by the Patrick F. Taylor Foundation and Natural Resource Conservation Service. The Foundation awarded a grant to the LSU AgCenter to fund a four-year research and demonstration project on reducing nutrient runoff from crop fields.

   Brenda Tubaña, LSU AgCenter soil scientist and professor in the School of Plant, Environmental and Soil Sciences, will discuss her research at the field day along with other researchers and extension specialists.

   “We will provide an update on the progress we’ve made on the installation of best management practices in a large-scale, on-farm demonstration,” she said. “Some of these practices have been in place for roughly two years, and because of the timing of this field day, we’ll be able to show how some are impacting crop production.”

   A primary goal of the forum is to highlight and demonstrate best management practices to improve row crop production in the state of Louisiana, while simultaneously increasing efficiency and soil sustainability.

   “Attendees will see the different approaches and the different effects we’ve had to implement over the life of the project,”  Tubaña said. “Sharing information, whether from researchers or fellow producers, is the goal of the field day. The work we do is most helpful when we are sharing what we’ve learned.”

   The event will include field tours, an open forum and will cover a variety of topics, including variable rate technology, yield monitors, residue management, water quality monitoring and cover crops. 

   Registration begins at 8 a.m., and tours are scheduled to start at 8:30 a.m. The farm is located at 5585 Highway 1, Napoleonville.

   There is no cost to attend, and a boxed lunch will be provided. All presentations will be held outside at an acceptable distance for  COVID-19 requirements. ∆