Experts will discuss principles of organic agriculture in a public field day set for June 13 at Montana State University College of Agriculture and the Montana Agricultural Experiment Station’s Fort Ellis teaching and research farm, 33336 E. Frontage Road.

 

The MSU College of Agriculture and the Montana Agricultural Experiment Station will team with the Montana Organic Advisory Education Council to host the day-long event. The field day will begin at 9 a.m. at the research farm. Afternoon discussions and analysis will be held in Linfield Hall on the MSU campus, concluding at 4:15 p.m.

 

The field day will include tours and presentations by MSU faculty and Extension specialists, as well as organic farmers. Topics will include integration of crop livestock operations, weed management in organic systems, beneficial insects, soil quality and greenhouse gas emissions, assessing climate change impacts, economic overview of integrated systems and organic research initiatives.

 

MSU speakers will include Fabian Menalled, Perry Miller, Rick Engel, Zach Miller, Subodh Adhikari and Tim Seipel, all from the Department of Land Resources and Environmental Sciences; Devon Ragen, Department of Animal and Range Sciences; Anton Bekkerman, Department of Agricultural Economics and Economics; Pat Carr, Central Agricultural Research Center; and Alison Harmon, dean of the College of Education, Health and Human Development. Guest speakers will be Ben Thomas, director of the Montana Department of Agriculture; Chris Christiansen, Montana Farmers Union; and Bob Quinn, Kamut International.

 

Registration is free. Lunch and refreshments will be provided.