Research Meets the Field at Penn State's Diagnostic Clinic

On Thursday, July 16, 2026, Penn State Extension hosted an Agronomic Field Diagnostic Clinic at the Penn State Agronomy Research Farm. The clinic brought together Penn State Extension educators, farmers, and people from the agriculture industry. The day was filled with workshops hosted by Penn State agronomy researchers and hands-on learning activities. The workshops centered around manure applicators, rootworm control, soil health, and digital agriculture tools.  

One workshop tackled how manure application methods affect nitrogen availability, comparing low-disturbance injection, dribble bar, broadcast, and a no-manure control. Soil samples taken two weeks after application showed injection conserved the most inorganic nitrogen in the soil, broadcast conserved the least, and dribble bar fell in between. For farmers, that means the application method itself can stretch how much nitrogen reaches the corn crop, which affects how much supplemental fertilizer might be needed. Additionally, studies at The Ohio State University show that a drag hose can be used up to the V4 stage on corn. 

Another workshop walked through the challenge of western corn rootworm and why the pest has become so hard to manage. Rootworm has steadily evolved resistance, defeating soil insecticides, corn-soybean rotation, and now several Bt traits, so single-trait hybrids are no longer sold. In a hands-on exercise, participants cleaned up roots from untreated, SmartStax, and SmartStax Pro corn to assess the damage and identify each hybrid for themselves. 

The clinic also introduced the Open Crop Manager, a free platform for storing field data and scouting reports on corn and soybean stressors. The tool lets farmers log diseases, pests, weeds, and abiotic stressors from the field, using either a computer or a mobile app that works offline. By building a shared record of what stressors appear where, it aims to sharpen diagnostics and help farmers track the factors limiting their yields. 

The soil health workshop focused on the benefits of adding perennials, like alfalfa, grass, or warm-season forages, back into crop rotations. Though perennials have become less common in Pennsylvania rotations, they build healthier soil through deeper roots, better water infiltration, more earthworms, and stronger soil structure. To see those differences firsthand, participants compared soil under annual crops, a perennial forage rotation, and warm-season grass using hands-on tests for texture, infiltration, earthworm counts, structure, and compaction. Research and findings show that these benefits carry over to the cash crops that follow, lifting corn yields for up to four years after perennials come out of the rotation. 

Participants really enjoyed the hands-on component and looking at the research plots. "One of the greatest benefits of attending the Diagnostic Field Day was the chance to observe hands-on demonstrations and research field plots. This allowed participants to compare crop management practices as well as evaluate their effectiveness," said Erin Cuprinka, a Penn State Extension Educator.  

Participants also loved the variety of the workshops. "I think the field day touched on a lot of hot topics across the industry right now. It's great to see the research going on by the specialists and helping take that back to our communities for producers to utilize. The dragline side dressing, I thought, was very unique. I've seen a few drag lines rolling in western PA, so I'll be curious to see what comes out of that project", said Stephen Campbell a Penn State Extension Educator.   

Between the research plots and hands-on demonstrations, the clinic gave everyone something to take back to their own fields. Events like these are one of the ways Penn State Extension connects the latest agronomic research with the farmers and communities who put it to work.