Extension district prepares for Wheat Plot Field Day

On this episode of the Post Podcast, Cottonwood Extension District agent Stacy Campbell shares information about the upcoming Wheat Plot Field Day.

 

Transcript:

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James Bell 

The Cottonwood Extension Districts'  Wheat Plot Field Day is coming up next week. Agent Stacy Campbell stops by to share all the details on this episode of the Post Podcast.

 

Stacy Campbell 

On June the first next Wednesday, we're having our annual wheat variety demo plot field day the location has changed. It's not in its place that it's been for over two decades north of Victoria. It's actually going to be a little south and west of Hayes. Neil got chalk is put out the variety plot helped us do that this year, which we very much appreciate. So yes, next Wednesday, to what the June first starting at 6pm. In the evening, like it's always started. The location of the plot is if you turn at the 183 Bypass right at the where the Experiment Station is on 240 a fuel go south to 3.3 miles to mangia road, and then hanger right go west two miles to 220th Avenue, and then just turn on to 20th and go south a half a mile and you cannot miss it.

 

James Bell 

Probably just follow where all the cars are right? Well, hopefully,

 

Stacy Campbell 

like I was just telling you now that it's rained, and that's great that it has, it's my lope it's getting to be Milo planting time. So there's probably gonna be a lot of planners roll in next week. So we'll see what kind of turnout we get at the at the field day. But if anybody's got the time and wants to come out, we've got several varieties, quite a few new varieties. They keep saying that anymore. It seems like the wheat breeders, both in universities and in the companies are cranking out quite a few new varieties each year. So we have several of them in our plot to talk about our wheat specialists will be there. And also our small grains cereal or small grains. Plant Pathologist Kelsey Anderson Onofre will be there and talk about diseases which this year with the dry weather, we haven't seen too many. But still she'll kind of give a a recap or a reminder of some of the diseases that that are out there. And so there's always you know, some some good discussion there and always time for questions for our producers. And so yeah, we invite in you know, and then that could be landlords, too that don't farm but have got ground and tenants They're welcome to come out to next Wednesday, June the first at 6pm. At mangia Road and 220th Avenue at that intersection, just go south a half a mile. We do ask that you I have never asked to do RSVP. But we do ask that we would appreciate it if you'd RSVPs. By this Friday, or even if you're not for sure yet. But come Tuesday morning you decide to come give us a call. So we kind of got an idea for numbers on on feeding. We have a four H club that's doing doing the mail. Oh, very

 

James Bell 

cool. And that's a free meal. Right?

 

Stacy Campbell 

It is a free meal.

 

James Bell 

So there's a good reason to go out just for that. Yeah, I

 

Stacy Campbell 

probably should have brought that my list of sponsors. But we've got quite a few sponsors, several of the banks and so forth here in the county that are always real good about donating to that. So we appreciate them. And so anyway, yeah, everybody's invited. So hopefully we'll see some folks next Wednesday at 6pm.

 

James Bell 

Very good, very good. Well, I know that, you know, you mentioned there's not a whole lot going on down through the extension district right now, this was kind of the big thing, but anything else you want to hit on before we go. Um,

 

Stacy Campbell 

you know, I had kind of mentioned in a newspaper article recently and stuff with this dry weather. If ponds continue to stay dry, you know, I hope they don't, but if they do, it's an opportunity where guys could clean out some of their farm ponds, you know, make them a little bit deeper through the years, you know, dirt sediment gets back into them. Great opportunity to do that if the ponds are dry this summer. Also, if you've got any that are leaking, you can do a just take zero to 60 inch course in the pond area where it normally is and you can bring that soil and we can send it off for soil texture test. If it comes back to having close to or 30% Clay, basically it should pack well enough to hold the water not leak he does probably need to do a better job of packing it's recommended to pack them with with the sheepsfoot roller. And not every farmer has one of those but I think there's some scattered around the country where a guy could get hold of them and you got to really really pack it well. To where basically it's called rolling off or when you take that sheepsfoot roller off of there you really can't see the imprints anymore that it makes.

 

James Bell 

Okay, you know, we talked about that. I think last time you were here that sheepsfoot roller and I'm sorry I was gonna look it up see what it looks like because I'm super curious what that tool actually looks

 

Stacy Campbell 

like the big roller Packer but it's got those the big metal knobs that stick up about I don't know probably

 

James Bell 

a teenager. Oh, yeah. Sure. Okay.

 

Stacy Campbell 

Yeah. So that really helps kind of pack that in. So that is one of the keys that we've had one person that just put up a pond and a couple of years ago and it wasn't holding water and they made the comment. Well we ran you know the scraper across a lot but they didn't do a sheep's foot roller so it was dry. We sent this Soil offer texture test, it came back at exactly 30%. So it's like if you will just pack that with the sheep's foot roller. You know, I'm pretty confident that it will hold water now. Okay, yeah, they did that. So it'll be interesting to see, I think they dug it out some more. That's the other thing if you dig them out then you start to put a little bit dirty and only put no more than six inches at a time and then pack pack pack pack pack and then if you got to put a little bit more in no more than six inches at a time and then pack pack pack again with that sheepsfoot rower. So and I'm not an engineer or contractor I've learned a lot because of this one person and, and trying to help them so you know, it does kind of just make sense that you you know, if you've got enough clay in your soil and our soils have, you know, definitely have some clay in them. So, if you've got a leaky pond, we can share sin, some soil offer soil texture test to see what percentage clay and if it's kind of low, maybe in the 20% area. A lot of people think let's add bentonite clay to it. Well that's the most expensive way to do it. There's rock salt can actually do that. And rock salt is pretty plentiful here in Kansas. You got the salt mines and Hutch and think won over by in Rice County, or yeah over and a lot Rice County Lyons, Kansas. So I think you know, you can get rock salt, rock salt, excuse me, shipped and probably to put that on and we've got information about how to do that. If you don't have enough clay in the soil and get it packed in there. Good. But definitely the cheaper option than the bentonite clay is to use rock salt. If if you don't have enough clay in the soil, for that toe for that soil to be able to hold that water and not leak in your farm ponds.

 

James Bell 

Interesting. Yeah, very cool. Okay. All right, sir. Well, it's good to

 

Stacy Campbell 

see if they Yes, thank you. Yeah. And also, I guess, call us if you're planning to come to the weight plot field day that's 62894306289430. If you're planning to come give us a call by Friday, if we'd appreciate that