Thursday, June 22--CCA morning session and afternoon field day tour at the Southeast Research and Demonstration Farm, near Crawfordsville.

Certified Crop Advisers (CCAs) can earn 5 hours of credit (1.5 hour in soil and water management, 1 in crop production, 1.5 in pest management, and 1 in soil fertility) by attending.

The morning session will begin at 9:00 a.m. with a presentation by Rick Cruse, Iowa State University agronomy professor, on "Tillage Impacts on the Soil Environment, Soil Compaction, and Root Development." Other topics covered in the morning include "Does the N Calculator Work in High Yield Environments?" (John Sawyer, Iowa State University Extension agronomist--soil fertility), "Know Your Spots--Identifying Foliar Soybean Diseases" (Alison Robertson, Iowa State University Extension plant pathologist), and "Goof Plots--Identifying Herbicide Injury Symptoms" (Jim Fawcett, Iowa State University Extension field crops specialist).

Dean Wendy Wintersteen, Iowa State University College of Agriculture, will be featured at noon with a discussion on the "Future Direction of Agricultural Research." Topics covered on the afternoon tour will include "Early Planting Options Using Polymer Coatings and Crop Season Review" (Claude Butt, Landec Ag, and Kevin Van Dee, farm superintendent), "Asian Soybean Rust Update and Fungicide Trial Results" (Alison Robertson), "Corn Population and Planting Date Trial Results" (Roger Elmore, Iowa State University Extension corn specialist), and "Diagnostic Tools for Nitrogen Management" (John Sawyer). Tours will begin at 1:00 p.m.

Registration for CCAs will begin at 8:30 a.m. The registration fee is $50, which includes lunch.

Please preregister by calling the Johnson County Extension Office at (319) 337-2145 or send an e-mail to Jim Fawcett (fawcett@iastate.edu) by June 20 to avoid a $20 late fee. The registration fee can be paid at the door. To reach the research farm, go 13/4 miles south of Crawfordsville on Highway 218, then 2 miles east on G-62, then 3/4 mile north.