The Montana State University College of Agriculture and Montana Agriculture Experiment Station will host a series of virtual field day events to replace in-person field days for 2020.

The usual field days, hosted by MSU’s seven research centers and campus facilities, were canceled due to the COVID-19 pandemic. Instead, superintendents and scientists across the state will present both recorded and live content online, available and free to access.

“Our field days are always a highlight of our year, and we were disappointed to not be able to host them this summer. But, the safety of our community members and our research center staff is our top priority,” said Darrin Boss, head of the Department of Research Centers and superintendent of the Northern Agricultural Research Center. “We hope that by creating virtual content this year, we will be able to incorporate virtual elements into future field days and produce an even better experience for everyone.”

MSU’s seven agricultural research centers are located in Huntley, Conrad, Havre, Moccasin, Sidney, Kalispell and Corvallis. Each center will provide short recorded presentations on a variety of topics specific to the research they conduct. Topics will include cereals, livestock production, water and pesticide use, fruit production and more. Content will also be provided by the MSU Post Farm, located a few miles from the MSU campus in Bozeman.

Virtual content will include welcome messages from Boss, MSU President Waded Cruzado and College of Agriculture Dean and MAES director Sreekala Bajwa. There will also be a live segment in which community members and any interested viewers may ask agriculture-related questions of MSU researchers and agriculture experts. Topics for the live segment will include crop pathology, soils, organic production, horticulture, livestock, weeds and a variety of other subjects.

Recorded presentations will be posted on the MAES website at http://agresearch.montana.edu/virtualfielddays on Friday, July 24, at noon and will be hosted through the College of Agriculture YouTube channel. That webpage will also include information on the live segment, which will take place on July 30 from 9 a.m. to 3 p.m. Questions for the live segment can be emailed to agnews@montana.edu.