2026 Demonstration Field Report
Growing Innovation & U-Pick Preview
If you have driven past Food + Farm Exploration Center recently, you have likely noticed a flurry of activity out on our five acres of demonstration fields. Spring in Plover, Wisconsin, is always an exhilarating time, but there is something uniquely special about watching bare central Wisconsin soil transform into a lush, green canvas of agricultural innovation.
Our demonstration fields serve a vital purpose: they bridge the gap between production agriculture and our local community. Through the incredible support of local growers, industry partners, and hands-on volunteers, we are tracking growth data, navigating changing weather conditions, and preparing for a season of community harvest.
Here is an insider look at what we are planting this year, the field science driving our success, and the community events you will want to mark on your calendar.
What’s in the Ground for 2026?
This season, our fields are showcase environments for a beautiful variety of our Wisconsin focus crops. We are experimenting with new varieties alongside trusted favorites so visitors can enjoy a range of produce like:
Potatoes: A spectacular lineup featuring Red Norland, Red Prairie, Blushing Belle, Prairie Sun, Stella Gold, and an exciting surprise experimental variety.
Green Bush Beans: Featuring the robust Huntington variety.
Sweet Corn: We are growing Revision Triple Sweet, a favorite for flavor and standability.
Green Peas: The early-maturing Ricco variety.
Cucumbers & Cover Crops: Including a mix of millet, rye, and sorghum to highlight soil health practices.
Cabbage (New This Year!): We are thrilled to introduce the Typhoon cabbage variety to our fields this season, expanding our crop education even further.
Save the 2026 U-Pick Dates!
Keep in mind that mother nature ultimately calls the shots on exact timing, but here is our projected harvest calendar based on current crop modeling:
Tuesday, June 23: Peas (Coming on early this year!)
Tuesday, July 7: Early Red Potatoes
Tuesday, August 4: Green Beans, Potatoes, and Cucumbers
Tuesday, September 1: Green Beans, Cabbage, Sweet Corn, and Late-Season Potatoes
The U-Pick Mission: Cultivating Community Connections
Our annual U-Pick events are the ultimate celebration of the "field-to-fork" journey. We don't just grow these fields for display; we grow them for you.
The mission behind our U-Pick days is to invite families, neighbors, and agricultural enthusiasts right into the rows. It is a hands-on learning experience where children and adults can harvest their own food, learn directly from our education team about how that food was grown, and build a tangible connection to the agriculture’s role in our daily lives.
Field Science & Agronomy Insights
Agricultural production is deeply rooted in data, technology, and real-time problem-solving. Our agronomy and education teams have been busy tracking the field data, and this spring has already provided some incredible learning moments:
1. Tracking the GDD (Growing Degree Days)
Instead of just counting days on a calendar, modern farmers track Growing Degree Days (GDD) to predict exactly when a crop will mature. GDD measures accumulated heat units based on daily air temperatures.
For example, our Ricco peas were planted on April 22nd. Thanks to a warm stretch at the end of May where air temperatures averaged over 81°F, our pea crop accumulated 646 GDD-40 units by June 1st, pushing them into their 10th node phase just as flower buds began to form. Data from the University of Wisconsin shows that our heat units are currently tracking well above the 30-year average. Because of this strategic heat surge, our peas are running significantly ahead of schedule, meaning we are looking at an early first U-Pick event!
However, rapid plant growth brings other biological changes. Because the local climate heated up so quickly and accelerated our crop timeline, the insects notice too—when the plants grow faster, the bugs come faster. Our scouting reports are already showing an early arrival of Colorado Potato Beetles and egg masses. Managing these pests is a natural part of agriculture, and tracking GDD gives us the foresight to stay on top of them.
2. High-Tech Pivot Precision: When Tech Forces a Pivot
Water management is a massive part of sustainability, but as any farmer will tell you, technology occasionally requires you to adapt on the fly.
Our five-acre field utilizes a Zimmatic center pivot system. Initially, we ran into technical issues with the GPS-based orientation tracking because the field's footprint meant the GPS receivers had to be positioned too close together to accurately calculate alignment. To solve this, we worked with Badger State Irrigation to transition away from GPS and instead installed a high-tech gear-encoder.
By utilizing this physical gear mechanism, the system can now mechanically track its exact position in the field. This upgrade gives our team precise location data and remote control access to manage exactly how much water is applied.
3. Overcoming "Transplant Shock" by Hand
While many of our crops are planted using large tractors and automated plot planters—like Del Monte’s recent precision planting of our green beans at 105,000 seeds per acre—some crops require a human touch.
In late May, a fantastic team of staff and community volunteers from Delta Dental rolled up their sleeves to hand-plant 5,300 individual cabbage slips! Because the rows were spaced by hand, our team is now monitoring minor inconsistencies in row width, which will provide a fantastic real-world demonstration of the mechanical cultivation challenges modern farmers face when driving tractors down uneven rows.
A Heartfelt Thank You to Our Sponsors
An educational endeavor of this scale is only possible through the immense generosity of community partners who value agricultural literacy just as much as we do. We extend our deepest gratitude to the sponsors making this season's growth and community events possible:
Our Seeder Sponsor: A massive thank you to WOW We Care Charity Inc. for their vital support in helping us seed and sustain our demonstration spaces.
Our Bounce House Sponsors: Thank you to Findorff and Festival Foods for partnering with us to bring extra joy, play, and community spirit to our harvest celebrations.
Make sure to follow along as the season progresses, and we can’t wait to see you out in the fields for our first U-Pick day soon!