Farm expo planned at Iowa Lakes Community College Farm Lab

The Farm Lab of Iowa Lakes Community College will host its annual Farm Field Day and Expo on Thursday, Sept. 4.

All area residents, as well as past alumni of Iowa Lakes, are invited to tour the Palo Alto Corn and Soybean Growers Association plot, various agricultural exhibits and the Farm Laboratory starting at 4:30 p.m.

Van tours will be given from 4:30-6:30 p.m. A free dinner will be served from 5-6 p.m. Everyone is welcome to attend.

All attendees will have a chance to register for a door prize of $50 worth of ethanol fuel, courtesy of the Palo Alto Corn and Soybean Growers Association.

In addition, the college will host the Iowa Learning Farm project which will demonstrate its portable rainfall simulator. The Iowa Learning Farm's focus is to help strong conservationist farmers teach other farmers about systems that will improve the quality of the soil and water on their farms, while remaining profitable and sustainable. This stop on the tour will include a poster and handouts explaining the activities of a six-county district initiative which includes Clay, Dickinson, Emmet, Kossuth, Palo Alto and Pocahontas Soil and Water Conservation Districts (SWCDs.)

Area companies which have donated to make the Farm Field Day and Expo possible include: Ag Partners LLC, Ag Processing, Inc. (AGP); Emmetsburg Vet Clinic; Farm Credit Services of America; Farmers Coop -- Ruthven; Iowa Trust & Savings Bank; JB Mertz & Son; Kerber Milling Company; Laurens State Bank; MaxYield Cooperative; Palo Alto County Corn and Soybean Growers Association; POET, Stateline Coop; and, Wells Fargo Bank.

Seed companies participating in the plot are: Crow's; Curry; DeKalb; Asgrow; LG; AgriGold; Renze; Wyffels; Mycogen; Latham; Pioneer; Croplan; NK; NC+; Midwest; Dyna-Gro; Renk; and Gold Country Seed. Some of the dealers will have display booths at the event. Through the generosity of the seed companies which participate in the test plot, several scholarships are generated for college students.

The Farm Expo will be held rain or shine at the College Farm Laboratory located 3/8 of a mile north of U.S. Highway 18 on 410th Ave.

* For more information, contact the Iowa Lakes Community College Farm, 4145 360th St., Emmetsburg, IA 50536. The telephone number is (712) 852-5263.