Agricultural open house

The St. Paul campus shows off its research on July 19

U students Burke Bourne (left) and Jeremy Schacon do work related to research on combatting soybean aphids. It's an example of the many types of practical research happening on the Twin Cities campus in St. Paul.

Photo and home page image by Rick Moore

Adapted by Kristi Goldade from a news release

July 13, 2007

If you live in Twin Cities, you've likely driven by the University's St. Paul campus, noting its proximity to those giant heifer statues proclaiming the Minnesota State Fair year round. But the St. Paul campus is more than Minneapolis's shy little State-Fair-lovin' sister. The campus is home to prominent researchers making groundbreaking discoveries about, among other things, our food and fuel. On Thursday, July 19, the campus will host an Agricultural Open House for its friends and neighbors to discover the research happening right in their backyards.

Where and when?

Agricultural Open House

>>Thursday, July 19th
>>4:00 - 7:30 p.m.
>>North end of the St. Paul campus
>>Free event parking will be available at the corner of Gortner and Larpenteur in St. Paul, near the Minnesota State Fairgrounds.

For more information, visit the open house Web site.

"The St. Paul campus is a unique treasure," says Bev Durgan, dean of University of Minnesota Extension and director of the Minnesota Agricultural Experiment Station. "No other large metropolitan area in the United States has a world-class research university where scientists can walk across the street from high-tech laboratories and conduct field-based applied research on renewable energy, food production, and the environment."

The open house will feature a variety of exhibits and events to educate the entire family. University master gardeners will be on hand to offer expert advice on weeds, diseases, and other lawn and garden problems. There will be tours of campus weather stations, greenhouses, soybean and potato research fields, and organic crop plots. Antique and modern farm equipment will be on display, as well as exhibits on beneficial insects, gardening, and renewable fuels.

Learn from U experts:

• If bioenergy is so great, why isn't everybody doing it?
  Steve Taff, applied economics professor, will talk about the economic potential of renewable fuels from corn, soybeans, switchgrass, and manure.


• Spark up your life with plants
  Horticulture professor Neil Anderson will share his expertise on using flowers and plants to add color and zest to your life.


• Making sure your food is safe
  Food science and nutrition professor Ted Labuza will share his five rules for a dependable food safety system.


• Bugs: The good, the bad, and the ugly
  Entomology professor Dave Ragsdale will talk about beneficial insects that do battle with the bad and ugly invasive insects.

Several U scientists are slated to speak about their work to show the public how relevant scientific research is to everyday life.

The College of Food, Agricultural and Natural Resource Sciences (CFANS) will team with University of Minnesota Extension and the Minnesota Agricultural Experiment Station to sponsor the event. Allen Levine, dean of CFANS, says he looks forward to his first Agricultural Open House because of the opportunity it provides to meet the folks who live around the campus and to talk with them about research.

"Part of our role as a land-grant university is to share our research findings with the public and to help solve community problems," says Levine. "That's why we use the phrase 'solution-driven science'--our college's mission is to put science to use in solving practical problems, particularly in the areas of future food and agriculture systems, the bioeconomy and bioresources, and the environment and global climate. The open house is a way to show our neighborhood how we're putting the land we've been entrusted with to good use."

Chips and soda are free, so bring your friends, your family, and yourself to learn what's happening in St. Paul.

Go to the U's Parking and Transportation Web site for directions and a map to the St. Paul campus.