Alternative Crops Field Day and Lunch Featuring Millet, Buckwheat, Mung Beans and Kernza

Michael Fields Agricultural Institute staff members are delighted to invite the public to our Annual Alternative Crops Field Day on Wednesday, August 5, from 9:30 a.m. to 2:30 p.m. The free event will be at MFAI’s NEW research farm at N8832 Pickeral Lake Road, East Troy.

As usual, our field day will feature tours of production fields and research plots. This year, we’re trialing varietals of proso millet and buckwheat, along with Pennsylvania Dutch popcorn, mung beans, Kernza perennial grain, and agroforestry perennial plantings. We also have a variety of cover crops employed in different settings. Some of these plots are doing better than others, given the challenging precipitation situation this year, but we’ll give you the unvarnished truth about the successes and failures at our non-irrigated demonstration farm. Of course there will be lots of opportunities for dialog and to learn from the experiences of fellow attendees.

Lunch will be very special! Dishes – made and served by staff – will showcase alternative crops including millet, buckwheat, Kernza and mung beans. The planned menu includes South Indian millet cakes and dosai, Hungarian buckwheat crepes, South Indian chutneys, local cheese and honey, seasonal vegetables, and a salad topped with sprouted mung beans.