On May 17, the Luckey Farmers interns: Kirsten Ameling, Lane Kemner, Garrett Tuck, Martin Hofbauer, DJ Helminiak and Jared Draeger, went to the Purdue University Field Scout Training. The interns went through six one hour sessions teaching them how to be better field scouts. They started their day by learning how to identify different types of weeds using a weed seedling identification key. They were given the opportunity to look at different types of broadleaf and grass weeds, and learn how to quickly identify them; or at least get them into families of weeds. They then went on to learn about plant diseases. During the weed session, they went through some of the more common diseases and viruses, and then looked at actual leaves and tried to identify the different diseases. There was also a session on corn and a session on soybeans. The session on corn went over the best times to plant, how to help farmers do their part in getting maximum yields, and about the growing points and the anatomy of the corn plant. When they went to the soybean session they went into a field where each row had been planted at different times of the year. They saw real world examples of what beans looked like at 
different times of the growing stages. Here they also talked about how many inches to put in between soybean rows, when and if you should replant, and how to count plant populations without using the hoops. During their time at Purdue they also went through an entomology session where they learned about insects, what kind of harm or helping they can do, and how to treat for these insects. The last session was field scouting practice, where they were split into groups and were tasked with diagnosing the problem in the fields by asking questions, digging up seeds, using their field guides. The interns gained a lot of knowledge about field scouting that will help them be successful at their jobs, not only this summer but in years to come.
