The upcoming TAPS Summer Event Field Day seeks to engage TAPS participants and the public, alike, in an educational morning and a social afternoon. In past years, the TAPS Field Day has been a relatively open house and, while this year remains open and welcoming to public attendance, the program has seized the opportunity to revamp this event for attendees. New event structuring includes beginning with a crop diagnostic competition, an agronomic Olympics event with awards to follow, probe company small group discussions, an overview of marketing and cost of production, and provided lunch. A golf scramble will follow in the afternoon.

The 2021 TAPS Summer Event will take place on Thursday, June 24, starting at 9 a.m. CDT, and will be hosted at the West Central Research, Extension & Education Center (WCREEC) in North Platte, Nebraska.

The crop diagnostic competition will include the hands-on experience of visiting TAPS farm plots, as well as examining and diagnosing problems that may arise on any crop production operation. Additionally, agricultural technology companies will be present to assist and exhibit respective technology, particularly as connected to recognition and management of problematic plots.

The agronomic Olympics activity bolsters experiential learning for attendees. TAPS team members, specialists and industry representatives will provide additional opportunities to engage in multiple exercises of operational management, specific to the TAPS competition and its six major management decisions. These six decisions are nitrogen and irrigation management, hybrid selection and seeding rate, crop insurance selection and marketing. Meant to stretch attendees’ existing capabilities and provide a participatory learning experience, the agronomic Olympics promises to be a fun and educational affair.

The probe company portion of the field day will allow for attendees to have more personalized time in a small group setting, so as to learn about the respective platforms, ask questions and get assistance with technology used in their TAPS plots. The marketing and cost of production segment will overview 2021 circumstances and offer participants tools that can be used not only for TAPS, but also on their own operations.

Lunch will be provided for all attendees. A golf scramble event will follow at 2 p.m. CDT at Indian Meadows golf course in North Platte, Nebraska. The tournament will be a 9-hole best ball scramble of four-person teams with a shotgun start. Golf tournament participation fees are $30 per person and entry is limited to the first 36 to register. Entry fees can be paid at the event.

If you would like to attend the June 24 event, please register to attend by completing the online registration. Reminder that golf tournament space is limited and will be on a first come, first served basis. The main field day event at WCREEC is completely free and open to the public, though we do ask that everyone planning to attend register by June 17 for planning purposes.