About 100 farmers and agronomists turned out in Portage la Prairie Wednesday for the third annual SMART (Soybean Management and Research Transfer) Day hosted by Manitoba Pulse and Soybean Growers (MPSG).

Laryssa StevensonLaryssa Stevenson is the organization's director of research and production.

She explained what the event was all about.

"The point of the day is really to try to get some of the early research results out there to farmers and agronomists so they can start applying those results at the farm level," said Stevenson. "We want to show how that research is conducted, so they have a greater appreciation and understanding in terms of where we're at in the research process and how long it takes for some of those results to really come to fruition."

She said one of the highlights of the day was a presentation talking about work being done to update hail insurance for soybeans. Other topics discussed included variety evaluation, soil compaction, and managing volunteer canola in soybeans.

This was the first year the event was held in Portage, as Carman had been the host site the previous two years. Stevenson says they plan to move the event to different locations in order to showcase all of their work.

MB Ag Pulse Specialist Dennis Lange (middle with walking stick) talked about variety evaluation and selection