Close up image of wheat in a wheat field — The Tipton Wheat Field Day on April 26 will demonstrate ongoing and new research on southwest wheat crops and their pests. (Photo by Todd Johnson, OSU Agricultural Communications Services)

Tipton Field Day approaching on April 26

Thursday, April 14, 2022

Media Contact: Alisa Boswell-Gore | Agricultural Communications Services | 405-744-7115 | alisa.gore@okstate.edu

The annual Tipton Wheat Field Day for southwestern Oklahoma later this month will educate regional wheat producers on the research and developments invested in improving crop production.

“This event presents producers in southwest Oklahoma with regional research that is ongoing on wheat production systems,” said Gary Strickland, Oklahoma State University ag educator in Jackson County and the Southwest Research and Extension Center (SWREC) regional agronomist. “We are going to look at wheat varieties currently available and things that are applicable to our area. The overall emphasis of this is to look at the production and research of wheat in the southwest Oklahoma region to show producers what works and what doesn’t.”

The Tipton Wheat Field Day will be held 8:30 a.m. to 1:30 p.m., April 26 at Tipton Valley Research Center, 7753 State Highway 5 (4 miles south of Tipton on west side of Highway 5), which is part of the SWREC Station Complex in Southwest Oklahoma. The following research topics will be covered:

OSU wheat variety demonstration
Wheat hay forage yield and quality study
Variety testing under limited nitrogen
CoAXium wheat herbicide study
Rescuegrass and wild oat herbicide trial
Wheat breeding block
Wheat foundation seed block

“The reason these Oklahoma field days are held regionally is because there are such vast differences across Oklahoma in how crops grow and the resources available to grow,” said Josh Massey, Field and Research Service Unit special programs manager. “Farming is very regionally specific in Oklahoma, so it is necessary for producers to adapt with what is working and what is not working for crops in their region.”

For example, rescuegrass and wild oats have been and continue to be grassy weed problems in wheat production fields in southwest Oklahoma, so research work at the Tipton station has been designed to address controlling these two weed species in wheat production systems, said Strickland, adding that the event will also introduce a new study at SWREC-Tipton on wheat hay forage yield and quality.

And what makes this regional research even more valuable to producers, said SWREC station complex superintendent Mike Schulz, is the fact that it stems from ongoing multi-year studies that have been gathering data over a number of years.

The event will feature the following speakers:

Amanda Silva, assistant professor in plant and soil sciences and OSU Extension specialist for small grains
Marty New, west district OSU Extension specialist for livestock; Aaron Henson, Tillman County OSU Extension ag educator/county Extension director; Taylor Denman, Carter County OSU Extension ag educator and multi-county forage specialist
Brian Arnall, professor in plant and soil sciences, OSU Extension specialist in precision nutrient management; Misha Manuchehri, assistant professor in plant and soil sciences, OSU Extension specialist for weed science; Caitlyn Carnahan, weed science graduate student
Gary Strickland, Jackson County OSU Extension ag educator and SWREC regional agronomist
Brett Carver, OSU regents professor and Endowed Chair, wheat genetics and breeding
Jeff Wright, coordinator Oklahoma Foundation Seed Stocks
Amy Hagerman, OSU Extension specialist for agriculture and food policy

Early registration is not required, but participants are encouraged to register by 12 p.m. on April 22. To register, contact Aaron Henson at 580-335-2515, aaron.henson@okstate.edu or Gary Strickland at gary.strickland@okstate.edu, 580-477-7962.

Onsite registration will begin at 8:30 a.m. with the tour beginning at 9:15 a.m. The field tour will conclude with lunch and a presentation on Farm Bill policies and the Farm Bill outlook with Amy Hagerman, OSU Extension ag and food policy specialist. One Oklahoma Department of Agriculture, Food and Forestry continuing education unit will be provided for this field tour in category 1A for private applicators.

OSU Agriculture Field Days are educational events presented by OSU Ag Research and Extension to share research-based information and resources with Oklahomans. Field days showcase current agricultural research and relevant best practices through presentations, tours, hands-on workshops and discussion at little or no cost.