We are ONE WEEK AWAY from Michael Fields Agricultural Institute’s biggest event of the year: our Annual Field Day!

Please join us on Wednesday, August 5, for a very special gathering at our New Farm in East Troy, Wisconsin. This free, family-friendly event will feature tours of alternative crop research plots, including proso millet, buckwheat, mung beans, Kernza perennial grain, Pennsylvania Dutch popcorn, cover crops, prairie strips, and agroforestry plantings. We’ll also introduce our new research paper on Wisconsin’s meat-processing deserts.

After the field tours, we’ll enjoy a local lunch featuring savory crepes and cakes made with millet, East Indian chutneys, buckwheat and Kernza desserts, and a green salad topped with sprouted mung beans.

This new property, which we co-steward with The Nature Conservancy, is especially precious because it is located in the heart of the Southern Kettle Moraine, near the Pickerel Lake Fen Preserve. Fens are among the rarest types of wetlands in North America and depend on natural springs, making careful management of the surrounding Mukwonago watershed’s sensitive agricultural acres especially important. Pickerel Lake Fen is one of the most biologically diverse fens in southeastern Wisconsin and one of the few protected for conservation.

Guests can also take a wagon ride to view and learn about the wooded kettle on the farm, a deep depression with a fascinating geologic history.

The event is free, but registration is appreciated:
www.michaelfields.org/event-details/mfai-annual-alternative-crops-field-day