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Published Oct 28, 2024

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2024 Field Day Season Photo Recap

By Practical Farmers of Iowa

Visiting farms to see what farmers do and how they do it is one of the best ways to learn about farming. PFI field days give our farmer-hosts a platform to share what works for them – and what isn’t working. These events also give attendees the chance to look, listen and learn from other farmers while broadening their peer networks. In sharing their knowledge and hospitality, field day hosts create space for the curiosity and connections that foster learning and build resilient farms and communities.

From amongst the brassicas at Mustard Seed Community Farm, Alice McGary shares her passions for community, food, curiosity and justice. (June 30, Ames, IA)

One of Michael and Courtney Gutschenritter’s laying hens joins field day attendees to learn about building a multispecies grazing system. (July 16, Oconomowoc, WI)

Rob Stout chats with a field day attendee during the event he and his wife, Jean Stout, hosted on their 120-acre farm. The field day highlighted their cover crop practices and on-farm research trials. (June 19, Washington, IA)

Three generations of Wilsons helped make Torray and Erin’s dairy grazing and compost extract field day a success. (June 7, Paullina, IA)

Andrea Hazzard discusses her grain milling operations with a group of field day attendees before showing them where she mills her small grains into flour products. (July 19, Pecatonica, IL)

Rose Farm interns and staff listen as Karri Rose (far right) shares how she and her husband Patrick Rose (center) shaped the farm’s ethos, ecosystem and customer experiences. (June 23, Norwalk, IA)

Jenny Horner points out pasture plants that the goats she raises with Emilio Moreno like to munch on at their farm. (May 25, Red Oak, IA)

The hogs at the VanDerPol field day were just as interested in their visitors as we were about them. These deep-bedded pigs are just about ready for market. (July 23, Kerkhoven, MN)

A break in the pouring rain gives way for Kevin Wagner to show field day attendees an oat field with red clover underseeding. (June 28, Cuba City, WI)

Field day attendees hear from host J.D. Hollingsworth about his first time crimping a rye cover crop. (June 17, Packwood, IA)

Harley Hett shares his wisdom about growing wheat as his farm partner, Doug Adams, looks on. Doug has been gradually farming more of Harley’s acres over time as Harley transitions to retirement. (June 26, Humboldt, IA)

The soil in prepped fields at T.D. and Sarah Holub’s field day is a natural draw for budding young soil scientists, who playfully explore soil texture and quality. (June 30, Coggon, IA)

Hosts Chris and Shannon Gaesser welcomed guests to their farm to see triticale in the field, learn about their many research trials and hear about the whiskey made at Revelton Distillery with their rye. (July 10, Corning, IA)

Kittleson Brothers partner Adam Koch (at right with the mic) answers questions about the onion harvester used for their 35 acres of onions in north-central Iowa. (July 10, Fertile, IA)

Kim Andersen shares a grateful squeeze with husband Steve Andersen following a hot and sweaty field day at Blueberry Bottom Farm, during which she showcased eight varieties of organic blueberries grown on 5 acres and 2 acres of organic day-neutral strawberries grown in high tunnels. (July 11, Brighton, IA)

A field day attendee pulls up a sunn hemp seedling from a field recently planted with an 18-way cover crop mix on Scott and Catherine Wedemeier’s farm in northeast Iowa. (July 2, Maynard, IA)

T.D. Holub, of Garden Oasis Farm drives the tractor during his hands-on field day to give DaQuan Campbell (left) and Jamie Madison (right) a chance to try out his water wheel planter. (June 30, Coggon, IA)

Edmund Ruff (left) identifies cover crop species in educational plots he planted on a rodeo arena at the local fairgrounds last fall. (June 20, Garnavillo, IA)

Heidi Eger (left) and Cindy Wolf (center) watch with rapt attention as Cecka Parks, of the Minneapolis Meat Collective, divides up a lamb during a workshop focused on understanding meat cuts and how to cook, photograph and market them. (July 13, Spring Grove, MN)

Attendees listen as Ethan Book explains how he’s using cover crops to transition row crop ground to permanent pasture. (June 14, Knoxville, IA)

A group of students in Iowa State University’s Science Bound program, which engages youth starting in middle school and guides them through college graduation, attend Adam Ledvina’s field day on goat health and management. (July 11, Chelsea, IA)

Alec Amundson speaks with field day attendees about his rye and soybean rotations and the never-ending battle to control weeds. (July 24, Osage, IA)

Kurtis Kadolph hauls field day attendees through a habitat planting on the way back from the first part of a farm tour that included seeing in-field and remote sensing technology, cover crops, edge-of-field conservation practices and more. (June 22, Hubbard IA)

Adam Ledvina enjoys his second round of authentic street tacos after hosting his first event in the “Year in the Life” series, held in Spanish, exploring different aspects of goat production. (May 21, Chelsea, IA)

Steve Robisky leads a prairie walk showcasing his restored prairie, lending expert advice on how conservation and economics can work together. (June 12, Cedar Falls, IA)

At Rose Farm, PFI staffer Grace Yi meets with Sissy the farm cat, ambassador of hospitality and scritches. (June 23, Norwalk, IA)

Stacy Dresow introduces her Cormo and Finn sheep to a damp but dedicated group at the field day on the basics of raising sheep for wool. (June 20, Lonsdale, MN)

Kamyar Enshayan, University of Northern Iowa professor and garden director for the nonprofit Peoples Health Clinic, and Sarah Nizzie of the Xerces Society share how urban gardens can feed the local community and serve as food sources for pollinators. (July 20, Waterloo, IA)

Courtney Myers, district conservationist with the Grundy County Soil and Water Conservation District, does a soil runoff demonstration during a workshop at the Grundy County Fair. (July 18, Grundy Center, IA)

Auggie the goat greets the PFI staff at Jenny Horner and Emillio Moreno’s field day on a chilly March morning. (March 29, Red Oak, IA)

Junior and Katelyn Pfanstiel (left) and Gene and Julie Pfanstiel (right) smile after a successful field day that narrowly missed some heavy rain. (June 27, McLean NE)

Dairy cows, rapt with interest, gather around Michael Gutschenritter as he tells field day guests the role the cows play at Three Brothers Farm. Michael and his wife, Courtney, held the field day July 16 on their farm in Oconomowoc, Wisconsin.

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