Community field day provides educational opportunities for youth

Friday, April 3, 2015

Children in the Payne County area will have an opportunity to learn more about agriculture at the upcoming Community Wide Field Day.

Slated April 11 from 10 a.m. to 1 p.m. at The Botanic Garden at Oklahoma State University, this educational event is sponsored by the Graduate Student Organization within OSU’s Department of Plant and Soil Sciences. The Botanic Garden at OSU is located just west of Stillwater on the north side of Highway 51.

Bill Jones, treasurer of the GSO, said the event is geared toward elementary age students and their parents. About 15 clubs and organizations within the College of Agricultural Sciences and Natural Resources at OSU will be on hand with lot of different interactive and hands-on booths and activities.

“Our goal is to help educate the youth in all things related to agriculture, from horticulture to large scale production ag,” Jones said. “We hope the kids will learn about the diversity of agriculture and realize there is more to it than raising cattle and growing wheat. We want them to experience things first hand.”

The Soil and Water Conservation Society will be on hand with a rainfall/runoff simulator. In addition, the Oklahoma Water Resource Center will have a stream erosion trailer set up to show people how rivers and streams change over time due to erosion.

The Soil Judging Team will have samples of different types of soil and will talk about what crops grow best in different soils. Also on tap will be a pinned insect display, a small scale tractor display and much more.

Members of the soil fertility research project will be showcasing the GreenSeeder™ hand planter and the GreenSeeker™ NDVI sensor, both of which were developed by OSU. The GreenSeeker™ sensor uses an optical crop sensing system which collects real-time data in the field and serves as a guide to apply appropriate nitrogen rates in the field thereby maximizing production and reducing costs. Farmers in 28 states, as well as Canada, Mexico, Europe, Asia and Australia, are using the GreenSeeker™.

GreenSeeder™ hand planter is used for singulating seed (specifically corn or maize) in the developing world. It delivers one seed per strike, more homogenous plant spacing and removes chemically treated seed from the hands of producers. It has been promoted in Central America, Thailand, Vietnam and Bangladesh.

A lunch of hamburgers and hotdogs will be provided free of charge.

“We’re very excited to be part of this educational event and invite the public to come to The Botanic Garden at OSU to learn more about agriculture,” Jones said.

For more information, please contact Jones at 918-919-2776 or by email at bill.jones@okstate.edu.