FAR's major field day, CROPS 2016 will take place on Wednesday 7th December 2016, and as usual will feature a dozen speakers covering a range of subjects relevant to cropping in Canterbury. Gates will open at 9.00am, and the event will endwith a dinner after the last talks finish at 5.30pm.
This year's international guest speaker is Nicole Anderson from Oregon State University who will discuss issues around seed production in Oregon, drawing links with the New Zealand industry. Other speakers will cover topics ranging from pollination options to precision agricutlure in potatoes.
Sponsors always play a key role at CROPS and this year is no exception with seven companies taking up the option of Platinum Sponosrship demonstration plots. These companies are Adama, Ballance Agri-Nutrients, BASF, Bayer Crop Science, Dow AgriSciences, PGG Wrightsons and Syngenta.
Other sponsors with material on show are AgriOptics, Environment Canterbury, Farmers Mutual Group, Horticentre, Irrigation NZ, NZ Seedlab, PowerFarming, PMR Grain Systems, Precision Farming, Rainer Irrigation and Ravensdown.
As in previous years, each of the 12 talks will be repeated morning and afternoon, lunch will be provided and there will be a dinner at the end of the day.
Since its inception in 2002, CROPS has developed into FAR’s key field event and a ‘must-do’ for cropping farmers and industry personnel. Over 600 people attended CROPS in 2014, making it New Zealand's largest one day agricultural extension field event.