The Manhattan Plant Materials Center (PMC) has been ‘Delivering Plants with a Purpose’ for over 75 years,” says Richard Wynia, manager at the PMC.  The PMC is located at 3800 South 20th Street, south of Manhattan.  Wynia invites anyone interested in plants for conservation—farmers and ranchers, the public, Kansas State University faculty and students, garden club members, those with forestry interests, and others to join them for the field day Wednesday, September 12, 2012.

“Those attending the field day will have the opportunity to see how the PMC develops plants for a wide range of conservation purposes,” said Wynia.   “Field day attendees will get to tour the fields and facilities that make up the PMC and listen to technical specialists lead breakout sessions on various plant-related subjects such as soil health, wildlife/pollinators, forestry, native grasses/forbs, and riparian habitat.”

Field day activities include:

8:30—9 Registration

9:00—12 PMC overview and tour of fields and facilities

12:00—1 Lunch (bring your own brown bag lunch/water)

1:00—3 Breakout sessions (plant related)

Registration for the field day is needed by Wednesday, September 5, and can be made by calling the PMC at 785-539-8761; TTY 711.  There is no charge for the field day, but participants are asked to bring a brown bag lunch and water.  If you are in need of special accommodations, please call at least five (5) business days in advance of the registration deadline, and if you need a sign language interpreter, please call at least ten (10) business days prior to the registration deadline.

This field day will be conducted outdoors so dress appropriately which would include a hat, sunscreen, walking shoes, and a lawn chair (if desired).

Established in 1936, the PMC develops plants and new plant technologies for America’s heartland.  The PMC offers services to a diverse region of the heartland including northeastern Colorado, Kansas, Nebraska, and northern Oklahoma.  The PMC is located on sandy loam soil in the Kansas River Valley, southwest of Manhattan, Kansas.  The primary objective of the PMC is to develop plant materials for conservation purposes.  The PMC is a part of the Natural Resources Conservation Service (NRCS), an agency of the U.S. Department of Agriculture (USDA).

Plant and technology-development conservation objectives of the PMC include water quality improvement, erosion control, range and pasture improvement, Native American outreach, and plant development and production. 

For more information about the PMC, go to the Web site http://plant-materials.nrcs.usda.gov/kspmc/.  A flier about field day activities at the Manhattan Plant Materials Center is available on the Kansas Natural Resources Conservation Service homepage at www.ks.nrcs.usda.gov.  The PMC story is told in a short video “Plants with a Purpose” on http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=XSpy-fQhD2o.