General Information – 2020

A Message from Center Director Blake Brown

Since 1981, the Milan No-Till Field Day has hosted visitors from across the country and around the world to the largest field day in the nation dedicated to conservation tillage. In the beginning, we demonstrated how to “no-till,” and basic tours on planter setup and weed control were available. Since those early years, the field day has progressed to not only include no-till basics but also to show producers how to incorporate the latest technologies into a no-till system.

One constant through the years has been the staff, both present and past, of the AgResearch and Education Center at Milan, and none of the thirty-one No-Till Field Days would have been possible without them. We have the privilege of working daily with some of the finest agricultural scientists in the world, but the behind-the-scenes efforts of our staff make the research programs possible. They are a dedicated group of individuals who have a passion for agricultural research, doing the job right, and producing the very best data possible for our producers who utilize this information. Please allow me to introduce our staff to you and publicly thank them for the great job they do! The current staff of the AgResearch and Education Center at Milan includes (L-R):

Blake Brown, Director, 22 years of service
Allie Wagster, Administrative Assistant, 35 years of service
Blake Smith, Sr. Plot Caretaker, 2 years of service
Chris Bridges, Research Associate, 8 years of service
Jason Williams, Research Associate, 24 years of service
LesLee Smelser, Administrative Assistant, 4 years of service
Ben Jakubowski, Museum Guide, 1 year of service
Chad Hicks, Sr. Farm Crew Leader, 19 years of service
Jordan Lasater, Sr. Plot Caretaker, 10 months of service
Weston Bracey, Research Associate, 4 months of service

We appreciate your interest in the nation’s largest field day devoted to no-tillage crop production. We hope that you will learn techniques for increasing production, reducing expenses, and improving marketing skills or increasing the efficiency of your crop production operation.

We sincerely appreciate the support of the Milan community and all of its assistance with making this event a success since 1981.

This program describes the research tours that are available for you to enjoy. It is our desire that the First Virtual No-Till Field Day hosted by the AgResearch and Education Center at Milan is an educational and enjoyable experience for you. Thank you for being one of the thousands to take part in the nation’s largest No-Till Field Day!

Blake A. Brown
Center Director

UT AgResearch Leadership

Hongwei Xin, Dean
Timothy Rials, Associate Dean
David White, Associate Dean
Barry Sims, Executive Director
Blake A. Brown, AgResearch Center Director

Special thanks to UT Martin students Brannon Kelly and Anna Sison for their design of the field day logos for this program and the field day hats, respectively.

Field Day Activities

AgResearch and Education Center at Milan Research Tours

This year, 16 research tours will be featured. Most tour presentations are approximately 20 minutes long and each tour may be completed in 1 hour and 40 minutes or less.

AgResearch and Education Center at Milan Overview Tour

Visitors to the Milan No-Till Field Day are invited to participate in the AgResearch and Education Center at Milan Overview Tour for a brief introduction to UT AgResearch. Participants will be given a tour of the AgResearch and Education Center at Milan. Various research projects along the tour route will be described.  This tour will last approximately 20 minutes.

West Tennessee Agricultural Museum

The West Tennessee Agricultural Museum will be available for a virtual visit.  Many of the original items in this collection were collected by Mr. Tom McCutchen, who was the first Superintendent of the UT Milan Experiment Station (now the UT AgResearch and Education Center at Milan).  Large displays of antique farm equipment and tools used by early West Tennessee settlers are featured. This tour will highlight various exhibits inside the museum that demonstrate how life was lived by early settlers to west Tennessee.  We hope you will stop by sometime in the future and take a live tour of this unique facility.