The Farming for the Future Field Day will be Thursday, Aug. 21, 2025, at the West Central Michigan Research and Extension Center in Hart. This event is being hosted by Michigan State University (MSU) Extension and the Oceana Conservation District. The program will provide a full day of information for commercial tree fruit and vegetable growers. Experts from MSU, USDA, Washington State University, the Washington Tree Fruit Commission, Storage Control Systems Inc. and Techmark Inc. will present on important topics such as managing sunburn, considerations for fruit and vegetable storage, produce quality and advances in field automation.
There will also be demonstrations of spray drone applications in pumpkin, an update for an asparagus harvesting prototype and an autonomous robotic apple harvester, which is currently being developed and tested by a joint MSU and USDA team through a Specialty Crop Research Initiative grant. Presenters will provide indoor and outdoor presentations and hands-on experiences with demonstrations in the field.
The Farming for the Future Field Day will take place from 9 a.m. to 3:45 p.m., and registration will begin at 8:30 a.m. This is a free event, but registration is required and includes a catered lunch. Pre-register at https://events.anr.msu.edu/Far... by Aug. 18.
For questions or more information, please contact Kathy Walicki at walicki@msu.edu or Emily Lavely at lavelyem@msu.edu. Organizers look forward to seeing attendees in person!
