Virtual fencing for cattle, alternate crops and conserving soil carbon are among the topics to be discussed at this year's field day at New Mexico State University's Rex E. Kirksey Agricultural Science Center in Tucumcari, New Mexico.

The evening event will begin with registration at 4:30 p.m. Aug. 1 at the science center, located three miles northeast of Tucumcari on Highway 54. The event is free and open to the public. The keynote presentation and dinner, catered by a Quay County 4-H club as a fundraiser sponsored by local businesses, will follow registration.

This year's keynote speaker will be David Dubois, New Mexico state climatologist and associate professor in the Department of Plant and Environmental Sciences in the NMSU College of Agricultural, Consumer and Environmental Sciences. Dubois will discuss the ZiaMet Weather Station Network.

Among the topics to be discussed on the hay wagon field tour will be:
 • Virtual fencing, Craig Gifford, NMSU Extension beef cattle specialist.
 • Crop and soil effects after biochar and compost applications, graduate student Abdullahi Liman, semiarid cropping systems specialist Murali Darapuneni, and Sangu Angadi, professor of crop stress physiology.
 • Methods to build and conserve soil carbon, Rajan Ghimire, NMSU cropping systems and soil management specialist.
 • Edible dry bean as a viable alternate crop in semiarid environment, Darapuneni.
  • Roma tomatoes and red bell peppers, Alan Porter, operations manager for Paulita's New Mexico, and Leonard Lauriault, NMSU forage crop management scientist.
 • Winter crops for cover cropping, forage, and grain, Lauriault.

"While we present information of value to farmers and ranchers, our field day is a family event, and all are welcome," Lauriault said.

For additional information, directions, or if you are an individual with a disability who is in need of an auxiliary aid or service to participate in the field day, please contact the center at 575-461-1620 or tucumcar@nmsu.edu .

The full article can be seen at https://newsroom.nmsu.edu/news/learn-about-soil-conservation--more-at-2023-nmsu-field-day-in-tucumcari/s/35d48cb5-5cfe-4593-bd9f-9447ed693423