LANSING, Mich. – A new “doubleheader” ag event is coming together June 25 at the Michigan State University research farms as the Michigan Wheat Program’s Summer Field Day joins forces with the MSU Weed Tour.

This will be the 13th annual Michigan Wheat Program Summer Field Day, and it will be at the MSU Plant Pathology Research Center, 3735 College Rd. in Lansing with check-in beginning at noon and the program at 1 p.m. For an “extra inning,” attendees are invited to drive to the Mason Research Farm after the conclusion of the wagon tours for a walking tour of wheat research plots, staffed by researchers Eric Olson, Dennis Pennington and Manni Singh.

“We thought we’d try something different, to make our wheat farmers’ visits to the MSU campus on June 25th even more productive,” said Jeffery Krohn, chairman of the nine-member Michigan Wheat Program board and a wheat farmer from Owendale. “The traditional Wheat Summer Field Day with wagon rides to the fields to learn about the Michigan Wheat Program-funded research work, begins at 1 p.m.”

Researchers stationed at the plots will describe their specific project, its history, why it was undertaken and a close-to-harvest view of how the project worked out.

“We, as growers, also get to share our exFollowing is the afternoon schedule for the field day:

Noon - Registration, Check-in

12:30 p.m. - Plant Diagnostic Station – Dr. Jan Byrne, MSU Plant Diagnostics Center

1 p.m. - Welcome and Introductions – Jeff Krohn, Michigan Wheat Program chairman

1:10 p.m. - Round #1: Plot Presentations via wagon tour (20-minute stops)

Wheat disease management and update – Dr. Marty Chilvers 

Managing FHB risk with resistant varieties – Dr. Eric Olson 

Wheat agronomy: Optimizing planting decisions – Patrick Copeland, Wallas da Silva, Paulo Arias, Dr. Manni Singh

2:40 p.m. - Round #2: Plot Presentations via wagon tour (20-minute stops)

Soil fertility: More inputs or the right inputs – Dr. Kurt Steinke, Lane Suplito

Fall vs. spring herbicide: What’s the best option? – Dr. Christy Sprague, Kaddi Gewirtz

Key growth stages, management timing – Dennis Pennington

4:10 p.m. - Evaluation, RUP and CCA-Jenna Falor & Monica Jean, MSU Extension

Presentation and closing comments – Jeff Krohn

Following closing comments, participants may choose to participate in the “extra inning” by driving to the Mason Research Farm, 1614 Okemos Rd., Mason. Three research teams will be in plots there to describe their projects and results to date.

4:30 p.m. - Walking tour of plots at Mason Research Farm including plot presentations:

Wheat varieties available to Michigan wheat growers – Dennis Pennington, Dr. Eric Olson

It’s a cover-up! Wheat canopy closure – Dr. Manni Singh, Palo Aries

Developing new wheat varieties for Michigan – Dr. Eric Olson

Register for the Michigan Wheat Program 2025 Summer Field Day and the 2025 MSU Weed Tour on the homepage of the Michigan Wheat Program at www.miwheat.org. 

The MSU Weed Tour begins at 8:30 a.m. with check-in and field tours at 9:30 a.m. There is a cost, including covering the 2025 Weed Guide for the Weed tour. The cost for same-day registration for the Weed Tour is $40.

Questions on the Wheat Field Day may be directed to Jody Pollok-Newsom at jody@miwheat.org or call 1-888-WHEAT01. For more information about the Weed Tour, contact Erin Burns at burnser5@msu.edu.