Agricultural Technology Field Day set for Aug. 5

    The 2008 Agricultural Technology Field Day will be Aug. 5 at the Airport and Expo Grounds in Great Bend.
   "This is the second time for this location. It has ample room for the popular 'ride and drive' and demonstration portions of the field day," said Bob Wolf, a field day coordinator and agricultural engineer with Kansas State University Research and Extension.
   Agricultural technologies are advancing rapidly, Wolf said. For producers and agribusiness persons to stay informed about the latest developments is a challenge.
   "But, actually learning about the possible applications and benefits of those technologies can be even more difficult," he said. "In some cases, finding out about the technical support you can reasonably expect may be difficult, too. That's why the kind of opportunity this field day represents is so important."
   The Kansas Agricultural Research Association and several
corporate sponsors are helping K-State Research and Extension host
the event.The program will begin at 9 a.m. and run until 4 p.m.       
  The day's discussions will cover automated guidance, yield mapping, data logging, data analysis and other automation and precision-application technologies. They'll include a new focus on planting systems with swath control and other automatic components. Another feature will be systems with automatic turning.
   Multi-topic demonstrations on sprayer technologies will show automatic boom leveling, automatic boom-swath control and variable-rate applications. Educational sessions featuring university experts are planned.
   More information and the event's registration form are available on
the KARA Web site at www.ksagresearch.com (click on "Ag Tech Field
Day" in the left side column). During most work hours, Wolf also is
available to answer questions by phone (785-532-2935) or e-mail
(rewolf@ksu.edu).
   For those who preregister by July 25, the fee for all handouts and
the field day's on-site lunch is $25 per person. (Preregistered KARA
members receive one free admission.) Registration at the door will be
$50, with no guarantee that an extra lunch will be available.