Most people hear field day and think tug-of-war, sack races, water balloon tosses and three-legged races.
On the Agriculture campus, however, field day takes on a whole new meaning.
“The university has 11 stations that do agricultural research,” said John Buchanan, an assistant professor in biosystem engineering and environmental science. “Field day is for people to see the results of the research and get a notion of what the university does away from campus.”
Instead of water balloons and potato sacks, “Making Forages Work” is comprised of technical sessions and demonstrations.
“There will be about eight or nine different topics and events that are on-going throughout the day,” said Patricia McDaniels, an editor in the marketing and communications department. “Visitors choose which talks they want to attend. They can choose from things like weed management and control, making a forage, livestock getting minerals, farm water quality and the benefits of forage.”
The primary focus of the field day is forages.
“Forages are food stuff harvested for cattle,” Buchanan said. “The primary focus is looking at those kinds of crops. We will also introduce folks to a new facility that we’re building at this particular station to deal with waste water management.”
This new take on field day is not without its share of fun. Lighter topics include grilling products, backyard landscaping, summer treats and a farm equipment demo. Later in the afternoon, children of all ages can participate in a fishing contest, which is sponsored by the Tennessee River Angler Bass Club.
“There will be a fishing rodeo,” McDaniels said. “This is a contest to see who catches the biggest fish.”
The number of people in attendance varies depending on the topic.
“Usually, we get several hundred people to show up,” Buchanan said. “Typically, the participants are farmers or folks who do a lot of landscaping. This field day is directed toward production agriculture.”
“Making Forages Work” begins at 7:30 a.m. and ends at 1 p.m. on Thursday. It will be located at the Middle Tennessee Experiment Station in Spring Hill, which is across from the Saturn plant.
