Manitoba Pulse and Soybean Growers (MPSG) hosted SMART Day field tours this week in Melita and Arborg.

Soybean Management and Research Transfer (SMART) Day is a half-day educational event for farmers and agronomists to sharpen their soybean management skills. Attendees toured agronomic research plots, learned how results can be applied to their farm and interacted with researchers and production specialists.

The events were put on in partnership with Westman Agricultural Diversification Organization and Prairies East Sustainable Agriculture Initiative respectively.

MPSG Production Specialist Cassandra Tkachuk talked about soybean seed quality at the events, with a specific focus on protein.

"I think protein has always been on farmer's minds, or has been for several years now," she said. "You definitely want a high protein level, for China specifically we target a 34% basis...I think it largely come down to genetics and environment."

Other talks focused on seeding depth and the use of fertilizers. A provincial specialist was also on hand to discuss intercropping.

Between 60 and 70 people attended each day.