UNIVERSITY PARK, Pa. — Visitors to the Crops, Soils and Conservation Area at Penn State’s Ag Progress Days, Aug. 11-13, can see a variety of exhibits, activities and demonstrations featuring crop management, renewable energy, conservation education, crop planting and natural resources.
Specialists from Penn State’s College of Agricultural Sciences and other organizations will answer questions about crop production, weed identification and biofuels. Much of the activity will take place in and around the J.D. Harrington Crops, Soils and Conservation Building on Harrington Lane near the end of East 5th Street.
Some highlights follow:
Ag Energy
Rising energy prices have people wondering how they can save on their energy bills, and Penn State Extension’s energy team will be on hand to answer visitors’ questions. Visitors can learn how to use the energy selector to pick the most cost-effective heating fuel, take a look at a solar panel to see if it might be good for their home, and find out how their farm could produce its own electricity and heat using a biogas digester.
Crop Management
Visitors can ask experts about crop and variety selection, when to scout crops, and how much manure or fertilizer to apply. Experts will be on hand to help producers identify plants and advise on managing weeds of concern on their farms. Penn State Extension’s cover crop team will be available at the demonstration plots on Harrington Lane at 11:45 a.m. all three days of the show.
Extension’s horticulture team will staff an exhibit, where visitors can get advice from extension educators. Representatives from Ernst Seeds and horticulture educators will be available to describe the plantings at the warm seasons grass plot, outside the Harrington Building.
Forage
Quality forages are key to raising productive and healthy cattle, sheep, goats, horses and other livestock on the farm. Experts from Penn State and the Pennsylvania Forage and Grassland Council will be on hand to answer questions.
Hay Show and Wheat Grain Contest
The Pennsylvania Forage and Grassland Council Hay Show in the Harrington Building again will offer hay sampling, testing, judging and displays. This year, the show will include an outreach effort to explain what forage quality is and how to produce high-quality hay, presented by Penn State Forage Extension Specialist Guojie Wang, assistant professor of forage crop systems.
Attendees are encouraged to visit the hay sample display in the back of the Harrington Building to see the premium samples entered. This exhibit also showcases all the wheat grain samples that were entered in the 2026 Wheat Grain Quality Contest from across the state.
Nutrient Management
Representatives of the Pennsylvania Department of Agriculture Nutrient Management Program and the Penn State Agriculture and Environment Center will provide information on nutrient management regulations and best practices.
PAOneStop provides reliable online mapping and planning tools. Training for programs associated with PAOneStop will be available from 9 a.m. to noon on Wednesday, Aug. 13, in the West Ninth Street Meeting Area. For more information, visit PAOneStop.psu.edu.
Pennsylvania Manure Hauler and Broker Certification Program continuing education credits will be available from 9 a.m. to noon on Tuesday, Aug. 11, and Thursday, Aug. 13, in the West Ninth Street Meeting Area.
The A-Maze-N-Corn
Attendees can wander through the corn maze and answer quiz questions. A popular attraction for children and families, this maze is wheelchair- and stroller-accessible.
Environment and Water Resource Management
Penn State Extension natural resources teams and environmental management faculty will provide information on how to maintain a sustainable environment and manage resources responsibly and will discuss safe drinking water and water wellhead best practices. Pennsylvania Department of Environmental Protection professionals will offer information about the Agricultural Erosion and Sediment Control Plan.
The Pennsylvania No-Till Alliance also will feature rainfall simulator demonstrations showing infiltration and highlighting soil conservation practices.
Extension's water team will host rain barrel talks outside the Pasto Agricultural Museum daily at 10 a.m. and 2 p.m. Also, rural and farm pond tours are scheduled daily at 10 a.m., departing from the corn crib near the top of Main Street — free tickets are available at the corn crib.
Stream Table
In the water team area, visitors can use the interactive stream table to get hands-on experience of how water shapes the land. Participants can reshape the landscape to observe how flowing water responds in real time, starting with a smooth surface to see natural flow patterns, then adjusting slopes, changing water flow, or adding rocks and vegetation to explore how these factors influence erosion, stream channels, and water movement.
Additionally, educators will conduct a water wellhead safety walking tour. Participants will meet at the Pasto Museum at 1 p.m. daily.
Forest Resources
Visitors can learn about the forestry industry by talking with representatives from the Pennsylvania Forestry Association, the Pennsylvania Forest Products Association and the Consulting Foresters Association at their booths in the J.D. Harrington Building. Penn State forestry extension educators will host the forest management tour daily and will be available in the Harrington Building to answer questions.
Conservation Exhibit Area and Planting Areas
USDA’s Natural Resources Conservation Service will offer demonstrations focused on working farms. No-till machinery will be on display, along with cover crop demonstration plots and a warm-season grass plot.
At the cover crop plots and planting green demonstration, located south of the Harrington Building and Conservation Area, Pennsylvania seed companies and extension representatives will showcase new cover crop mixtures. Extension staff will host talks at 11:45 a.m. daily to discuss the new cover crop mixtures planted in the plots.
Combining wheat demonstrations will be offered daily at 12:30 p.m. in the equipment demonstration fields surrounding the show site. A demonstration covering all aspects of hay making also will be presented.
Conservation Exhibit Area on Harrington Lane
Demonstrations supported by Natural Resources Conservation Service technical staff will feature an active livestock watering system working with gravity and solar-powered pumps for grazing operations, a scaled concrete heavy-use area with roofed manure storage to address animal concentration areas on the farm, and a soil pit to demonstrate how soil health and its beneficial properties can impact an operation in Pennsylvania.
Within the J. D. Harrington building, soil health testing, the new Regenerative Pilot Program and cover crops are featured. In addition, children and adults alike can learn more about soil while making a soil monolith card to take home.
GIS Display
At the Center for Ag Conservation Assistance Training exhibit, visitors can engage in the “Get a Bird’s Eye View of Your Farm” activity. Farmers and other landowners can use a large-format touch screen display to zoom in on aerial photos of their properties and talk to ag conservation educators about issues they are having with their land.
Sponsored by Penn State's College of Agricultural Sciences, Ag Progress Days is held at the Russell E. Larson Agricultural Research Center at Rock Springs, 9 miles southwest of State College on Route 45. Hours are 9 a.m. to 5 p.m. Aug. 11; 9 a.m. to 7 p.m. Aug. 12; and 9 a.m. to 3 p.m. Aug. 13. Admission and parking are free.
For more information, visit the Ag Progress Days website. X users can find and share information about the event by using the hashtag #agprogressdays, and the event also can be found on Facebook (@AgProgressDays).