Return To In Person Field Days Benefits Growers, WSU Alike

After a two-year hiatus, Washington State University returned to in person meetings during last week’s Lind Field Day in central Washington.  Clark Neely, researcher at WSU said many consider field days as an opportunity for researchers to talk at growers, but he noted these events are a two-way street.

“It’s an excellent opportunity to get feedback and information from growers too.  They’re observations, what’s working for them, what’s not working for them.  So, we can give them the most latest up to date research finding that we have, and then they can provide us with new questions to try to answer, so it’s great for both.”

Neely noted WSU is doing many exciting things when it comes to breeding and varieties for both winter and spring wheat.  And that’s one of the main reasons growers need to make an effort to visit a local field day.  He said it’s great for growers to come out and inspect the data for themselves.

“The turnover is a lot faster now than it use to be with varieties, their lifespan seems to be shorter before the newest thing comes out and takes on new grounds.”

Neely pointed out that there are still a host of field days, in the weeks ahead, so for producers that missed Lind, there are opportunities this summer to catch up on the latest Washington State University research.

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