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Crop Exhibits, Solar Energy, Hay Contest Featured At Penn State Ag Progress Days Aug. 8-10

Crop management, wildlife and conservation education, as well as the signature hay show, will be offered in and around the J.D. Harrington Crops, Soils and Conservation Building during Penn State’s Ag Progress Days, Aug. 8-10.

Specialists from Penn State and other organizations will be on hand to answer questions about crop production, weed identification, water quality and biofuels. Visitors can ask questions about crop and nutrient management, no-till practices, organic farming and sustainable agriculture, and even bring weeds for experts to identify.

Energy Showcase

New this year, the “Energy Showcase” presentations that will be held Aug. 8 in the American National Learning Center building just up the hill from the crops building, will focus on solar photovoltaics, and will have a great lineup of speakers and discussions for the event.

The "Focus on Solar" sessions on Aug. 8 include:

-- 10 to 10:30 a.m. – "Solar on the farm: What it is and How it Works"

-- 10:30 to 11 a.m. – "Update on the Credit Market for Solar and Renewables"

-- 11 to 11:30 a.m. – "Standalone Solar: Systems for Remote Locations"

-- 11:30 to 12:30 a.m. – Panel Discussion: "Making Solar Work for Farms in Pennsylvania"

The 2023 Hay Show will again be sponsored by the Pennsylvania Forage and Grassland Council, Ag Progress Days and Penn State Extension.

Samples should be delivered to the Harrington Building, at the end of East Fifth Street, from 9 a.m. to 5 p.m. on Tuesday, Aug. 8, and before 10 a.m. on Wednesday, Aug. 9. Judging will commence on Wednesday afternoon, and placings will be made known to the public Thursday morning.

Public display of entries will begin Wednesday afternoon, and all day Thursday. All samples, along with placings, will be displayed at the 2024 Farm Show, in the lobby of the Maclay Street entrance.

Outside the Harrington Building, the Conservation Exhibit Area will include demonstrations supported by the U.S. Department of Agriculture’s Natural Resources Conservation Service.

With a focus on working farms, NRCS technical staff will feature an active livestock-watering system with solar-powered pumps for grazing operations; a scale-model manure storage and concrete heavy-use area to address animal concentration areas and manure management; and a soil pit to demonstrate soil health.

Inside the Harrington Building, the NRCS booth will showcase a cover-crop display, soil health demonstrations and a live web soil-survey activity.

The Pennsylvania No-Till Alliance will feature rainfall simulator demonstrations showing infiltration at regular intervals at the north entrance to the Harrington Building.

South of the Harrington Building, at the cover crop plots and planting green demonstrations, numerous plots of the more popular cover crop mixtures will be on display. As these are located near the seed companies’ exhibit areas, visitors with questions will be able to visit with seed company representatives to have questions answered and to receive more information.

The corn maze, a perennially popular Ag Progress Days attraction, will again be available to those interested in exploring it. Children and adults can wander the giant maze, which is stroller and wheelchair accessible.

Forage mowing, tedding (curing), raking and baling demonstrations will again take place during each day of the show.

A "planting green" discussion and demonstration hosted by Penn State Extension and the PA No-Till Alliance will again take place south of the corn maze at 11:45 a.m. each day. The largest equipment to be demonstrated this year will be the self-propelled forage harvesters, which will run at 12:30 p.m. daily.

“The speed with which these choppers are able to turn an acre of standing corn into chopped forage ready for ensiling (putting in a silo) is impressive,” said Ron Hoover, senior project associate and coordinator of the On-Farm Research Program with Penn State Extension.

A walking tour of water wellhead safety will be led by educators from Penn State Extension’s Water Resources Team. This 30-minute tour will spotlight ways to keep well water safe for both people and livestock. The tour will depart daily at 10 a.m. from the entrance of the Harrington Building.

Other tours focusing on stream buffers, livestock pastures, forest management and equine pastures will take place at various times during the three-day event. Buses will leave from the corn crib at the top of Main Street.

Sponsored by Penn State’s College of Agricultural Sciences, Ag Progress Days is held at the Russell E. Larson Agricultural Research Center at Rock Springs, 9 miles southwest of State College on Route 45.

Hours are 9 a.m. to 5 p.m. on Aug. 8; 9 a.m. to 7 p.m. on Aug. 9; and 9 a.m. to 4 p.m. on Aug. 10. Admission and parking are free.

For more information, visit the Ag Progress Days website. The official hashtag for social media is #agprogressdays, and the event also can be found on Facebook.

(Photo: Tours focusing on stream buffers, livestock pastures, forest management, wellhead safety and equine pastures will take place at various times during the three-day event.)

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