MSU Extension and Newaygo County Conservation District partner to host Farm Field Day
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EmailAttend the Newaygo County Farm Field Day on Aug. 19 to learn about pest management and scouting, irrigation, grazing management, and updates on NRCS funding opportunities and programs. RUP and CCA credits are available.
Michigan State University Extension, in partnership with the Newaygo County Conservation District, is excited to host the Farming Forward: Newaygo County Farm Field Day on Tuesday, Aug. 19, 2025 from 8 a.m. to 2 p.m. at Kropscott Farm and Environmental Center, 6523 West Baseline Road, Fremont, MI 49412.
The Farm Field Day is an event you don’t want to miss, with multiple sessions covering a myriad of agriculture and natural resource topics. Following registration and a light breakfast, Kelly Bishop, a U.S. Department of Agriculture (USDA) Natural Resources Conversation Service (NRCS) district conservationist for Newaygo and Muskegon counties, will present on different funds and programs in the county. He will also share how NRCS uses integrated pest management (IPM) strategies to create IPM plans for producers.
Next, pest management in field crops will be discussed by Steve Whittington, a Michigan State University (MSU) Extension field crops educator, and Christina Curell, an MSU Extension cover crop and soil health educator. This session will focus on pest trapping and scouting efforts in field crop systems throughout the growing season, how to minimize pests, and IPM scouting basics in field crops.
Brenden Kelley, an MSU Extension agriculture water use efficiency educator, will lead a session on irrigation and chemigation. This session will feature information on how producers can protect their groundwater from contamination and how to properly apply chemicals and fertilizers through their irrigation systems.
This field day will also have a session about pasture and grazing management with MSU Extension beef and grazing educator Kable Thurlow. Thurlow will discuss the core principles of grazing, including soil and microbial life, plant community, grazing animals and pasture management techniques.
Following lunch, attendees will have an opportunity to put into practice what they learned in the morning sessions by touring the Kropscott Farm fields and silvopasture to further understand pasture management. Attendees can sharpen their weed identification skills and use sweep nets to identify pests in fields.
Three restricted use pesticide credits and three certified crop advisor credits are available for this event.
For more information, contact Allissa Conley at Allissa.conley@macd.org or 989-295-5661.
