2019 Field Day Events a Success

Last week, Amalgamated Sugar’s Agriculture Department hosted two Field Days at research plots located in Dry Lakes, south of Nampa, ID and Suchan Farm, east of Paul, ID. The field days provide sugarbeet growers an opportunity to learn more about the research being conducted by Amalgamated Sugar’s Sugarbeet Quality Improvement Department.

“We were very happy with the turnout at both of this year’s Field Day events,” said Oliver Neher, Manager of Plant Health and Sugarbeet Quality Improvement. “It is exciting to see more growers participate each year.”

 

Field Day event in Nampa, ID
Field Day event in Nampa, ID

 

Each Field Day included a defoliator demonstration, tours of the curly top nursery and official variety trial plots, a cover crop demonstration, and a “root pit” where attendees can see an excavated section of a field to look at the root structure of the sugarbeets as well as an in depth look at the soil structure at the site. For the second year, a portion of each official variety trial was dug up to show how root development has been progressing.

After the demonstrations and research plot tours, attendees were seated for a workshop on weed identification led by Clarke Alder, an Agronomist with Amalgamated Sugar. Oliver Neher also led a “show and tell” style workshop, showing examples of diseased sugarbeets that had been collected from area fields.

 

Field Day event in Paul, ID
Field Day event in Paul, ID

 

At the conclusion of the event, lunch was served to attendees by members of Amalgamated Sugar’s executive team, and the local factory/agriculture department management teams.

“It is very important that we share our research regularly with our growers and provide them with educational opportunities,” said Neher. “Our goal is to assist our grower-owners in producing a better crop each year, which means always looking for ways to improve our agronomic practices.”

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