Agriculture Research Center Holding Open House Oct. 11

The Southeast Missouri State University Agriculture Research Center is holding an open house from 11 a.m. to 4 p.m. Oct. 11.

The Center is located at 6885 State Hwy. 25, one and one-half miles south of Gordonville, Mo., on the east side of Highway 25.

Faculty from Southeast's Department of Agriculture will be on hand to discuss research they've been conducting on the property, and students and faculty will offer informational tours at the 252-acre Center. Dr. Mike Aide, chair of the Department of Agriculture, says faculty members will informally discuss their studies on corn and soybean production grown with the assistance of the Center's new controlled drainage/sub-irrigation system and the improvement of beef grades by increasing the conception rate among cattle via artificial insemination. Aide says faculty also will discuss environmental stewardship of the land.

During the past year, a controlled drainage/sub-irrigation system was installed at the Center, thanks to a $90,126 U.S. Department of Agriculture Rural Business Enterprise Grant. The funding paved the way for an irrigation system to be purchased and installed below ground level so water is not lost through evaporation. The controlled subsurface drainage irrigation system is an advanced technology that allows surplus water to be removed from the soil during periods of wet weather and supplies water to the soil during dry periods, Aide said. The goal is increase crop production.