SDSU Extension welcomes the community to the 2026 Specialty Crop Field Day on Tuesday, September 15, from 4:30 to 8:00 PM at the SDSU Specialty Crop Research Field, South (1735 University Blvd, Brookings, SD 57006). This event will feature field tours related to research for small to mid-scale commercial vegetable production. Beginning and current vegetable, flower, and fruit farmers will benefit greatly from this event. Non-profit organizations, technical service providers, Master Gardeners, and home gardeners are all invited to attend.
The sixth annual Specialty Crop Field Day will give attendees an opportunity to tour 6+ research plots that feature peppers, pumpkins, tomatoes, lettuce, and cut flowers. Variety selection, heat reduction strategies, disease prevention, and soil management techniques will be discussed. Open field, high tunnel, and caterpillar tunnel production methods will each be featured. Throughout the event, SDSU faculty, SDSU Extension specialists, and local organizations will staff educational booths to share resources to support the success of specialty crops in South Dakota. This will be a great networking event with multiple chances to learn from students, extension specialists, and each other. A picnic meal will be provided.
Follow “SDSU Extension Horticulture” signs that will direct you to event parking. While this event is rain or shine, if there is an active storm warning or lightning the event will be canceled or concluded early.
Registration
This event is free to attend. Pre-registration using the blue register button above is needed to guarantee a meal and accommodate food allergies, but walk-ins will be welcome.
This event is family friendly, and all ages (accompanied by a parent or guardian) are welcome, but please leave all pets at home. This tour will include moderate distances of walking, so please wear proper footwear that can get dirty. If you require mobility help, please contact Kristine Lang, Assistant Professor & SDSU Extension Consumer Horticulture Specialist, prior to the event. To learn more about past and ongoing specialty crop research at SDSU you can visit the SDSU Extension Horticulture Research page.
Schedule
- 4:30 p.m. - Educational Booths and Poster Display Open
- 4:50 p.m. - Welcome and Evening Overview
- 5:00 p.m. - Specialty Crop Research Tour
- Sizzling High Tunnel Heat Management Strategies for 11 Lettuce Cultivars: Joslyn Fousert
- Double Trouble & Sticky Situations! Grafted Tomatoes with Foliar Molasses: Joslyn Fousert and Lauren Svoboda
- Floral and Gour(d)geous: Cut Flower Succession and Fall Gourd Trials: Gabrielle Thooft
- A Wild Approach to Field Grown Tomatoes with Cover Crops + Grafting: Kristine Lang and Ben Schuch
- Squashing problems: Cucurbit Foliar Diseases: Cody Molnar
- Some like it hot: Alternaria Internal Rot of Peppers: Cody Molnar
- Self-guided Stops During Supper:
- Plant Pest on the Prairies: Aster Yellows
- Get Pumped! Small, Medium, and Large Pumpkin Trials
- 6:15 p.m. - Picnic Supper, visit with Educational Booth Exhibitors, and Networking
- 7:00 p.m. - Closing Remarks + Tour Part II Overview
- 7:15 p.m. - Tours
- How to Build and Maintain Caterpillar Tunnels: Cody Molnar
- SDSU Local Foods Education Center with Ginger McNickle + SDSU LFEC Students (Note Alternate Location: 1600 Medary Ave, Brookings, SD 57007)
- 8:00 p.m. - Field Day Concludes
About the Presenters
Kristine Lang is an Assistant Professor & SDSU Extension Consumer Horticulture Specialist. Her horticultural career has included working in private-sector, university, and nonprofit organizations across four Midwestern states. Kristine currently collaborates with South Dakota farmers, gardeners, and organizations to conduct research and outreach on Northern Plains high tunnel management, suitable cut flowers for South Dakota, and integration of cover crops and tillage reduction practices for vegetable production.
Cody Molnar is an SDSU Extension Horticulture Plant Pathology Field Specialist. He is involved with research projects on the management of Aster Yellows and Internal Rot of Peppers. He also provides educational content on many other diseases in horticultural crops and plants.
Joslyn Fousert grew up on a family vegetable farm in Alberta, Canada. She furthered her passion for agriculture at Dordt University where she obtained her undergraduate degree in General Agriculture. Fast forward a few years and she is now pursuing her Master’s in Horticulture here at SDSU focused on mitigating heat stress on lettuce and tomatoes grown in high tunnels. She is driven to empower others with the knowledge and skills of agriculture.
Gabrielle Thooft from Tyler, MN, has completed a bachelor's degree majoring in horticulture and a master’s degree in plant science at SDSU. She oversees all cut flower trials at SDSU and has many years of work experience in vegetable and flower production. When she isn’t sharing her joy and knowledge of plants with the SDSU team, Gabrielle can be found around the region doing aerial silks, performing theater, and working in the service industry.
Lauren Svoboda is a senior majoring in horticulture at SDSU. She is from Broken Bow, NE. Lauren's favorite project this summer was the tomatoes in the high tunnel. When not at work, Lauren enjoys camping, swimming, reading, spending time with friends and family, and taking care of her plants.
Ben Schuch is from Rapid City, South Dakota, and is currently studying Ecology and Environmental Science at SDSU. He enjoys spending time outdoors, especially hiking in the Black Hills. In his free time, Ben enjoys gardening, growing unique plants, and learning about plants around him. His passion for nature and plants has inspired him to pursue a career focused on ecology, plant science, conservation, and environmental research.
The SDSU Local Foods Education Center is located at 1600 Medary Ave, Brookings, SD 57007, and serves as a sandbox for student education in small-scale fruit and vegetable production. The 1.2-acre farm is conveniently located on the northwest side of campus within walking distance of the classroom.
Department of Agronomy, Horticulture, and Plant Science students will present posters with an overview of their summer internship experiences related to horticulture. These students are advised by Dr. Peter Kovacs and include: Tyler Arends, Gabe Boyer, Rylie Sleep and Lauren Svoboda.
