Tuesday, Aug. 11 * 8:30 a.m. – 1:45 p.m. * Clay Center, NE
South Central Agricultural Laboratory, Clay Center, NE (directions below)
- Lunch provided. Refreshments provided under the big tent all day and Dairy Store ice cream with lunch!
- Register today! Please register by Aug. 9, for lunch planning purposes
- Continuing Education Units have been applied for and are pending
- Interactive Talks and Demos!
- Field day speakers will share information about their research for improved crop production and profitability
- Approximately 100+ applied field research trials are conducted at SCAL annually by University of Nebraska-Lincoln faculty and United States Department of Agriculture/Agricultural Research Service scientists. Trials are focused on irrigation and water management, soil fertility, entomology, weed science, cropping systems and disease management.
- Sponsor Recognition - Thank you to our sponsors for their support of the South Central Agricultural Laboratory Field Day. A complete list will be available at the field day.
Customize Your Schedule
- 8:30 - 8:45 Registration, Coffee & Rolls. Check out our sponsor tables!
- 8:45 a.m. - 9:00 a.m. Welcome and opening remarks by our sponsors
- 9:15 a.m. -10:05 a.m. Choose a SESSION 1 tour - Irrigation Management; Insect Management; Weed Management; Corn Disease Management
- 10:20 a.m. - 11:10 a.m. Choose a SESSION 2 tour - Choose a SESSION 2 tour - Soil Fertility; Corn Disease Management; Insect Management; Soybean Disease Management
- 11:25 a.m. - 12:15p.m. Choose a SESSION 3 tour - Weed Management; Irrigation Management; Soybean Disease Management; Soil Fertility
- 12:30 p.m. - 1:45 p.m. Lunch, Keynote Speaker, & Dairy Store Ice Cream
- 1:45 p.m. Field day ends - thank for attending, safe travels!
Luncheon Keynote Speaker: Dr. Salvador Ramirez II Dr. Ramirez is an Agroecosystem Management Research Associate with USDA-ARS in Lincoln, NE and a UNL Doctor of Plant Health Graduate - 2019
Soil Organic Carbon Dynamics Under Stacked Management Practices in Irrigated, Continuous Corn
Soil organic carbon (SOC) in irrigated continuous corn is shaped by how tillage, residue management, and cover crops interact. Stacking conservation practices like no-till, full stover retention, and cover crops enhances SOC compared to conventional systems. Dr. Ramirez will provide a first-hand account of what the USDA-ARS is learning in biomass studies and how the practices could look in grower fields.
Focused topics you can utilize in your operation! Customize your schedule - choose which presentations to attend.
What's Below the Surface? Matching Corn Hybrids, Seeding Rates, and Nitrogen for Better Performance
See what our Nebraska field studies are revealing about how corn hybrids differ in rooting patterns and respond to seeding rate, nitrogen management, and water availability.
Murilo Favoretto, UNL Graduate Student & Dr. Guillermo Balboa, UNL Digital Farming Lab
Sessions 2, 3
Updates on Insect Pests in Eastern Nebraska
Western Bean Cutworm and European Corn Borer 2026 flight and implications for management.
Silvana Paula-Moraes, UNL Associate Professor, Row Crop Entomology Specialist
Sessions 1, 2
Evaluating the Critical Time of Hairy Vetch Termination for Control of Palmer Amaranth in Sorghum and Popcorn
Hairy vetch termination timing will be evaluated after planting sorghum for integrated management of Palmer amaranth in sorghum and popcorn.
Amit Jhala, UNL Weeds Management Specialist
Sessions 1, 3
Overlapping Residual Herbicide Program for Control of Palmer Amaranth in Soybean
Palmer amaranth has evolved resistance to several post-emergence herbicides commonly applied in soybean. This project will demonstrate how to control Palmer amaranth by using overlapping residual herbicides applied pre-emergence and post-emergence.
Amit Jhala, UNL Weeds Management Specialist
Sessions 1, 3
Irrigation Management Strategies
Irrigation Scheduling Study with NRDs.
Saleh Taghvaeian, UNL Irrigation Specialist & Steve Melvin, Nebraska Extension Educator
Sessions 1, 3
Soybean Disease Management for South Central Nebraska
Includes hail damage response.
Dylan Mangel, UNL Asst. Professor and Extension Plant Pathologist
Sessions 2, 3
Corn Disease Update: Why 2026 is So Different from Last Year?
Tamra Jackson-Ziems, UNL Extension Plant Pathologist and Professor
Sessions 1, 2
Directions
The field day is at the South Central Agricultural Laboratory Research Farm located at 851 Hwy. 6 near Harvard, NE.
13 miles east of Hastings on Hwy. 6 or 4.5 miles west of the intersection of Hwy. 14 and Hwy. 6 north of Clay Center.
FARM ADDRESS: 851 Highway 6, Harvard, NE GPS COORDINATES: 40.575256, -98.137824
Contact Information
South Central Agricultural Laboratory Office Phone: (402)762-3536 Web: https://scal.unl.edu E-mail: shachtel1@unl.edu Facebook: UNL.SCAL