BROOKINGS, S.D. – South Dakota State University Extension will provide a day of educational sessions for crop and cattle producers during the 2025 Dakota Farm Show in Vermillion.
The annual agricultural trade show is Jan. 7-9, 2025, at the University of South Dakota DakotaDome. It features various booths and displays and educational programs.
On Jan. 8, SDSU Extension seminars will run from 9:30 a.m. to 4 p.m. in the club room on the building’s south side. It is free to attend. SDSU Extension and Southeast Research Farm will have a booth all three days of the show. To see the complete schedule, visit the SDSU Extension Events page and search “farm show”.
Pete Sexton, associate professor and SDSU Extension Sustainable Cropping Systems Specialist and Southeast Research Farm Supervisor, said the morning sessions will focus on forages and grazing systems, while the afternoon sessions will provide updates on high-profile areas like crop diseases and pests.
“We’re trying to get a comprehensive look at the heavy-hitter issues for the year,” Sexton said. “Grain and livestock producers are invited and very welcome to attend.”
Sexton and Brad Rops, Southeast Research Farm Operations Manager, will start the day’s seminars with an update on the farm’s ongoing research, highlighting variety trials on different seasonal forages and sorghum. Producers from Salem, Garretson and Beresford will also share how they’re using annual forages and cover crops in their own operations.
In the afternoon, Zach Smith, SDSU associate professor of animal science, will share research on the use of soy co-products in feedlot rations, and Philip Rozeboom, SDSU Extension Integrated Pest Management Coordinator, will talk about which insects to watch for in 2025 in southeastern South Dakota.
The afternoon will wrap up with updates from Madalyn Shires, assistant professor and SDSU Extension Plant Pathology Specialist, and Connie Strunk, SDSU Extension Plant Pathology Field Specialist, on corn and soybean diseases; and Jason Clark, assistant professor and SDSU Extension Soil Fertility Specialist, on his research into the efficacy of slow-release fertilizers.
For more information, contact Pete Sexton, associate professor and SDSU Extension Sustainable Cropping Systems Specialist and Southeast Research Farm Supervisor.
