CASTANA, Iowa – The 75th anniversary of the Western Iowa Experimental Association field day will be held Sept. 15 from 10:30 a.m. to 3 p.m. The farm is located 3.5 miles east of Castana along Highway E-34. The field day will highlight current and historic agricultural research important to western Iowa agricultural interests.
A steak lunch provided by Tyson Fresh Meats and the Monona County Cattlemen will be served at noon. A brief keynote address will be provided by Jay Harmon, associate dean in the College of Agriculture and Life Sciences at Iowa State University and director for agriculture and natural resources with Iowa State University Extension and Outreach. 
Following lunch, Joel DeJong and Mike Witt, field agronomists with ISU Extension and Outreach, will give an overview of the corn and soybean genetic demonstration plots, technology in agriculture (including drones and GIS tools), livestock production, understanding and using soil information including a soil demonstration pit with Lee Burras, Morrill professor of agronomy at Iowa State, weather and climate data, and a look at equipment through the decades.
High school students from Monona, Harrison, Woodbury and Crawford Counties, with interest in agriculture will be attending the one-day youth educational event on Sept. 14.
The experimental association was founded in 1946 by local farmers from the four-county area to collaborate with Iowa State University (then Iowa State College) on locally relevant research for west-central Iowa. An elected board of directors manages the association, with Iowa State staff coordinating research and demonstrations on the farm.
Memberships in the association are available for a one-time $25 fee; members receive notice of meetings and events. In addition, members contribute to continuing support of agricultural research in Western Iowa.
For more information about the Iowa State University Research Farm network, visit www.farms.ag.iastate.edu. For more information about this field day, call Chris Beedle at 712-420-2460.
Original photo: Harvesting forages
