A wide variety of research and community outreach is being done at New Mexico State University’s Agricultural Science Center at Farmington.
The faculty and staff of the science center will host a free field day July 13, to share their findings with the community. Registration will begin at 8:30 a.m.
“The field day gives the San Juan County and Navajo Nation community an opportunity to visit the science center and see what we are doing,” said Kevin Lombard, superintendent of the center. “Our research ranges from field crops to alternative crops. We are proud of the work we are doing for the community in the area of promoting home gardens and monitoring the long-term impact of the 2015 Gold King Mine spill on the soil along the Animas and San Juan rivers.”
Pre-tour presentations on the Navajo garden project and the Gold King Mine long-term monitoring efforts will begin at 9:45 a.m.
Field tours will begin at 10 a.m. Visitors will learn about the research being conducted on climate monitoring, grapes, melons, potatoes, sweet corn, blue corn, forage corn, hops, xeriscape, drought-adapted ornamental landscape plants, and much more.
Following the field tours, a traditional barbecue lunch will be served. Visitors are invited to take walking tours of the xeriscape demonstration garden and vineyard and view the hops harvesting equipment after lunch.
The science center is located at 300 Road 4063 across from the Navajo Agricultural Products Industry flour mill. A map to the center is on the center’s website http://farmingtonsc.nmsu.edu/events–announcements.html. For more information, call 505-960-7757.
