See you Thursday, August 17 at the 2006 Agronomy Day with the theme 50 Years of Progress. The 50^th consecutive Agronomy Day is a partnership among several academic units in the University of Illinois College of Agricultural, Consumer and Environmental Sciences. The latest agricultural research developments are featured along with numerous tent displays. This yearly open house begins at 7 a.m. with hour long wagon tours around the research facilities. Agronomy Day is held at Crop Sciences Research and Education Center off St. Mary's Road at Wright Street extended in Urbana.

Chairperson for this year's event is Pat Tranel, associate professor of molecular weed science in the Department of Crop Sciences. He recently said, "Agronomy Day provides faculty with the chance to discuss their latest research findings with clientele from Illinois and neighboring states. Additional activities are planned to celebrate the 50^th anniversary of this event."

Four field tours will detail the latest breakthroughs in agriculture and technology with researchers and specialists from the University of Illinois. The tours are:

Tour A

• Staying Ahead of SCN – Brian Diers
• Three Diseases of Wheat in Illinois – Frederic Kolb
• Is Rotated Corn Better than Continuous? – Fred Below and Allen W. Becker
• Is This Corn Nitrogen Deficient? – Emerson Nafziger
• Adding to the Quality of Life Through Flowers Selected for Shady Landscapes – Daniel Warnock and Kevin Collins

Tour B

• The Illinois Soybean Rust Sentinel Plot System – Linda Sue Kull and Glen Hartman
• 50 Years of Invasive Insect Pests: Managing Western Corn Rootworms – Michael E. Gray
• 50 Years of Soybean Cyst Nematode – Terry Niblack
• 50 Years of Invasive Insect Pests: Managing Soybean Aphids –Kevin Steffey
• 50 Years of Field Crop Insect Management Research –Ronald Yates and Jared Schroeder

Tour C

• Oldies but Goodies - Weeds that Just Won't Go Away – Dawn Nordby
• Biomass for Sustainable Energy Production – Martin Bohn, Hans Blaschek, and Isaac Cann
• Aquatic Weed Management – George Czapar
• Weed Watching 101 – Aaron Hager
• Cropland Security: Protecting Crops with Herbicide Safeners – Dean E. Reichers

Tour D

• New Iron: Intelligent Machinery Technologies for 21^st Century Farming – Dr. Qin Zhang
• Revenue for Corn and Soybeans for 2006 and Beyond – Gary Schnitkey and Darrel Good
• Don't Be a Roadway Hazard! – Bob Aherin
• Martian Production Systems on Earth – Luis F. Rodriguez
• New and Nearly New Spray Nozzles – Scott Bretthauer and Loren Bode

A special program to celebrate the 50^th anniversary of Agronomy Day will take place at noon. Special guest speaker will be Mr. Eldon Gould, Administrator of the USDA Risk Management Agency. Lunch is available for a nominal charge.

For additional information, contact Sharon Conatser at (217)333-4256 or visit www.cropsci.uiuc.edu/agronomyday.