Register today for the 2015 Extension ag drainage workshops

A series of collaborative workshops focused on ag drainage are set for February and March in Minnesota, South Dakota and North Dakota. The two-day, hands-on workshops are put on by the University of Minnesota Extension, North Dakota State University Extension and South Dakota State University Extension.

“Our drainage design workshops are a complete package for farmers who want to know how to design drainage systems,” said Brad Carlson, an ag drainage specialist with the University of Minnesota Extension Service. “We really go through in great detail how to design great drainage systems, starting with the basic science regarding water flow and soils.”

From there, each workshop will cover topics such as deciding on your drainage co-efficient, figuring out how deep and how far apart to space tile and sizing tile outlets. The principles of conservation drainage practices are also covered.

Since each workshop is limited to about 65 participants, Extension drainage experts are able to work one-on-one with farmers to answer questions and offer insight into designing the best drainage system possible.

“Similar to teaching your kids math, it’s probably most valuable to do it by hand before you let the computer do it. So, we do both,” Carlson said. “We start by walking though how this stuff was done years ago by hand and then we move into the modern technology, where the computer is doing a lot of the design work for us. But it certainly is valuable for the farmers to understand what is going on, Because it allows you to change your decisions on the fly if you need to.”

Registration is $225 and includes all meals, handouts, materials and facetime with a dedicated team of ag drainage experts. Registration increases to $300 about two weeks before each workshop. Click here to register and to get more information.

Workshop times, dates and locations are as follows:

February 17-18, 2015
Sioux Falls, SD
South Dakota State University Extension Regional Center
2001 E. 8th St., Sioux Falls, SD

February 24-25
St. Cloud, MN
Holiday Inn & Suites
75 37th Ave., St. Cloud, MN

March 10-11
Grand Forks, ND
Alerus Center
1200 42nd St. South, Grnad Forks, ND

Carlson offers some additional details and information on the workshops in the below radio interview.

https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=QTNMTLeOkEw&list=UUC51BGLpwUrnTRLGO4WGMgQ