Imagine if you could change the corn hybrid you’re planting based on the field’s soil type?
Jason Webster, Central Illinois Practical Farm Research Director for Beck’s Hybrids says farmers can – and could see a significant return on investment.
The Indy 500′s Fastest Rookie
May 22, 2013 By Leave a Comment
The American Dairy Association of Indiana started the tradition of honoring the Fastest Rookie 39 years ago. Deb Osza, general manager of ADAI says celebrating The Fastest Rookie is another way to get them excited about the race. “We as the American Dairy Association of Indiana and Indiana’s Dairy farm families nurture the drink of milk at Victory Circle for every Indianapolis 500,” she says. “We talk to them (the rookies) about the tradition of the drink of milk in Victory Circle.”
Osza tells Brownfield during the month of May two very opposite industries come together. “The ag industry and Indiana dairy farmers produce milk that they then bring to the Indy racers and the racing fraternity that work so hard to win such a grueling race,” she says. “They (the winning drivers) get the milk from the farmers that work so hard and face a lot of difficulty to produce milk.”
AUDIO: Deb Osza, American Dairy Association of Indiana (3:07mp3)
This year’s Fastest Rookie is Bogotá, Colombia native Carlos Munoz. Munoz’s qualifying speed is just over 228 mph. He says he has a lot of work ahead of him. “I think I have to do my job on the track and then engineers and myself have to do the best work possible,” he says. “After that – depending on the results – I will see what happens with the milk.”
AUDIO: Carlos Munoz, Fastest Rookie (1:28mp3)
The Indianapolis 500 is this Sunday.
Five-year Farm Bill is a necessity
May 22, 2013 By Leave a Comment
The full Senate began debate on the Farm Bill earlier this week. Indiana Senator Joe Donnelly says it is moving along well. “It has momentum,” he says. “We had a strong vote coming out of the committee itself so I’m looking for a five-year farm bill.”
Yesterday the Senate voted on the amount of cuts to the nutrition programs. “There were some amendments to take cuts out of crop insurance instead,” he says. “You know what on the nutrition cuts – we’re working really hard make sure those cuts are ones that are sensible, that won’t eliminate any nutrition for our children and others. But at the same time, we have to make sure we have crop insurance.”
Donnelly tells Brownfield he’s thinks this Farm Bill will be good for Indiana’s farmers. “We were able to work through what we call Farm Flex, which provides planting flexibility for all of our farmers,” he says. “I kind of held the line on that and said, ‘look we have to make sure this program continues’ so we were able to keep that in place.”
He thinks a vote on the Farm Bill is not too far away. “I’d like to tell you today – but you never know,” he says. “We’re ready to go. We’re ready to move forward and I’m hoping to have a vote here really soon.”
Indiana corn planting 64% complete
May 20, 2013 By Leave a Comment
Optimal weather conditions much of last week allowed farmers to make significant planting progress. According to the latest Indiana Crop and Weather Report 64 percent of the state’s corn crop has been planted compared to 30 percent last week and 20 percent of the crop has emerged. By area, 84 percent has been planted in the north, 59 percent in the central, and 36 percent in the south.
Thirty percent of the intended soybean acreage has been planted and 3 percent is emerged. By area 48 percent has been planted in the north, 25 percent in the central region, and just 9 percent in the south.
Eighty-eight percent of the winter wheat acreage is jointed compared to 100 percent last year and 22 percent is headed compared to 91 percent a year ago. Winter wheat condition is rated 72 percent good to excellent.
Pasture conditions improved further and is now 74 percent good to excellent and the first cutting of alfalfa is 8 percent complete.
Variable Hybrid Planting
May 20, 2013 By Leave a Comment
If your farmland is flat and black, selecting a hybrid that performs well isn’t necessarily a challenge. But, since that is not the case for most farmers, finding the right hybrid for the right soil can be a challenge.
In its second year, Jason Webster, Central Illinois Practical Farm Research Director for Beck’s Hybrids is doing Variable Hybrid Planting field trials. “We’re changing the corn hybrids that we’re planting throughout field based upon management zones or soil type changes in the field,” he says.
Webster tells Brownfield that means planting offensive hybrids on the best soils on the farm. “But, we know on a lot of farms we’ve got good soils on parts of the farm, but there are also some lighter soils, that are prone to stress,” he says. “We probably don’t want to be planting an offensive hybrid in those areas. Our Variable Hybrid Corn Planter that we’ve developed changes hybrids so we can plant the offensive hybrids on the best parts of the farm but then we can back off and plant those defensive hybrids on those tougher soils.”
By planting an offensive hybrid on the best soils, Webster says last year’s trials showed net returns of $100 per acre.
Agriculture contributes $37.9 billion to Indiana’s economy
May 16, 2013 By Leave a Comment
A new study detailing the impact of agriculture on the state shows that agriculture-related industries contribute nearly $38 billion to Indiana’s economy.
Rosalind Leeck, director of grain marketing for Indiana Soybean Alliance says the research, conducted by Indiana University Kelley School of Business and funded by the Indiana Soybean Alliance, details just how significant agriculture is to the state. “When you look at the agriculture industry’s direct impact to the economy at $25.4 billion, that number alone is pretty significant,” she says. “When you look percentage of GDP this study captures 5 percent of Indiana’s total Gross Domestic Product.”
Leeck tells Brownfield one of the figures that jumped out at her was the jobs number. “You’ve got 103,000 people who are directly involved in crop production and processing,” she says. “Total the agricultural economy contributes to 190,000 Hoosier jobs.”
In addition, she says, the economic activity related to Indiana agriculture and forestry created about $970 million in state and local revenue and nearly $1.5 billion in federal dollars.
Leeck says she hopes this study helps draw attention to just how much impact agriculture has on Indiana’s economy.
To view the entire Agriculture’s Bounty: The Economic Contribution of Agriculture report click HERE.
Women in Agriculture Awards
May 16, 2013 By Leave a Comment
Purdue Extension’s Women in Agriculture Team is accepting nominations for the 2013 Women in Agriculture Awards. The two awards, the Leadership Award and Achievement Award, are presented annually to women to who demonstrate leadership and innovation to Indiana agriculture through their work.
The Leadership Award honors women who serve Indiana agriculture through agribusiness and policy making and the Achievement Award is given to women who are directly involved in a home farming operation.
Nominations are due by May 31 and will be presented at the Indiana State Fair on August 14, 2013.
The nomination form can be found HERE.
The 2013 Victory Circle Milkmen
May 16, 2013 By Leave a Comment
Every year since 1956 the winner of the Indy 500 has taken a big drink of milk from a glass bottle inside Victory Circle
While it became a permanent part of the post-race celebration 58 years ago, it actually began many years before that. Indiana dairy farmer and this year’s Milk Man Duane Hill says, “It started back in 1933 when Louis Meyer, after winning his second race, asked for a glass of buttermilk. That’s when the tradition really got started.”
Hill’s job on race day – is to present the winner of the Indy 500 with that storied bottle of milk. “I’m responsible for the milk overnight,” he says. “I have to keep it on ice the night before and on race day and then it’s my job to get it to Victory Circle.”
AUDIO: Duane Hill, Indy 500 Milk Man (2:47mp3)
Ken Hoeing of Rushville, Ind. is this year’s “Rookie” Milk Man. He says it just makes sense for the Winners to Drink Milk. “The combination of the refreshing glass of milk in the winning circle with the winning driver,” he says, “is a natural fit.”
AUDIO: Ken Hoeing, Indy 500 Milk Man (1:20mp3)
While Louis Meyer may have chosen buttermilk when he took that first swig nearly 80 years ago – today’s drivers have a choice of Whole, 2%, or Skim.
And in case you were wondering – the most popular selection of milk by the drivers is 2%.
Nutrition debate could take center stage
May 16, 2013 By Leave a Comment
The full Senate begins deliberation on the Farm Bill next week.
During a conference call with reporters on Thursday, Senate Ag Chair Debbie Stabenow said she’s anticipating a lot of emotional arguments on the nutrition title.
But, the Chairwoman says she looks at the nutrition title like she does any other part of the farm bill. “This is about providing help when it’s needed,” she says. “Crop insurance is available for farmers when they have a disaster. The cost goes up when there is a disaster and goes down during good years. The same thing should be true for SNAP (the nutrition program).”
Late Wednesday evening the House passed their version of the Farm Bill which contains much larger cuts to the nutrition title.
Looking ahead to a potential conference of the two bills, Stabenow says there are some major differences between the House and Senate versions – especially when it comes to the nutrition title. “I absolutely reject the level of cuts and the way this is done in the House,” she says. “They eliminate something called categorical eligibility, which we’ve now voted down two or three times on the Senate floor on a bipartisan basis.”
The Senate is scheduled to take up the Farm Bill on Monday.
Crop development workshops
May 16, 2013 By Leave a Comment
Purdue University is offering two workshops this summer to help producers learn how to better scout their fields. Corey Gerber, director of Purdue’s Crop Diagnostic Training and Research Center said the workshops are primarily geared towards producers and will include discussions about plant diseases and insect pests, as well as corn and soybean growth, development and stressors.
Continuing certification hours for commercial pesticide and fertilizer applicators and continuing education units for certified crop advisers will be available.
The early-season diagnostic workshop will be June 12 and the mid-season workshop is scheduled for July 24 and will be held at the Purdue Agronomy Center for Research and Education. Each workshop is $110 per person.
A link to registration information can be found HERE.
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