Finalists named for statewide Young Farmer awards
Finalists have been selected for the two statewide awards given to young farmers by Indiana Farm Bureau.
Young Farmer Achievement Award finalists are Paul Rumple, Adams County; Orville and Jessica Haney, Kosciusko County; and Joe and Angela Mann, Putnam County. Finalists for the Excellence in Agriculture Award are Mark and Denise Scarborough, LaPorte County; Jason and Erin Tower, Dubois County; and Steve and Kimmie Gauck, Decatur County.
The Young Farmer Achievement Award recognizes young farmers whose farm management techniques and commitment to their communities set a positive example for those involved in production agriculture, while the Young Farmer Excellence in Agriculture Award recognizes young farmers who are involved in agriculture in ways other than as farm owners.
The winners in both competitions will be announced at the Indiana Farm Bureau state convention, which will be held Nov. 19-21 in Fort Wayne at the Grand Wayne Convention Center. The state winners will then represent Indiana at the American Farm Bureau Federation annual convention in Seattle in January.
Wednesday, September 23, 2009
Chris Mann talks with HAT
Chris Mann Among 2009 Master Farmers 09/22/2009Andy Eubank
Being named an Indiana Master Farmer is always a humbling experience. It is a unique honor that puts the farmer in a class with decades of successful Indiana farmers. The history of the award was not lost on Chris Mann from Cloverdale in Putnam County, one of this year’s winners.When HAT congratulated him for the achievement, humble was one of the first words we heard. “Thank you very much. I’m very honored and humbled to be considered an Indiana Master Farmer. I was shocked when I learned I had received the award, but I’m very honored and humbled to join such a distinguished group of farmers in the state.”Mann has been farming since 1995 with his father and three brothers in a general partnership arrangement. It’s a group that is strengthened by different educational backgrounds. “We all work together as a team and find tremendous value in that. Two of my brothers are economists, but I’m an agronomist and engineer, so I focus on the agronomic components of our farm and the engineering projects we do with our farm. That’s the area I focus to help make our farm as efficient and profitable as possible.”The Mann operation is what he calls a typical Indiana farm of corn, soybeans, and wheat. They grow 7500 acres of mostly corn and beans, plus there is livestock. Mann told HAT, “We finish 20,000 head of finished hogs per year, so we’re a diversified farm which there are less and less of in Indiana. But we find a tremendous strength to that even though the hog market hasn’t been real good lately. Hogs have been very good to our farm over the decades.”
It doesn’t take long talking with Chris Mann to learn of his passion for education and involvement, and his optimism for the future of agriculture. He explained, “We are by far the foundation of the economy for this great nation. We’ve added fuel to the mix of ag products and I’m very excited about our future. We have challenges with certain regulations that are just going to keep coming at us in agriculture. But it think it’s important that farmers be involved with political action, with Farm Bureau and other organizations, to make sure at least the regulations are science-based, and keep things as common sense as possible. But I think our future is very bright.”Learn more about Chris Mann at the HAT blog site, hatchat.net.The 2009 Master Farmers were recognized in late July by Indiana Prairie Farmer and Purdue University Extension and College of Agriculture.
Being named an Indiana Master Farmer is always a humbling experience. It is a unique honor that puts the farmer in a class with decades of successful Indiana farmers. The history of the award was not lost on Chris Mann from Cloverdale in Putnam County, one of this year’s winners.When HAT congratulated him for the achievement, humble was one of the first words we heard. “Thank you very much. I’m very honored and humbled to be considered an Indiana Master Farmer. I was shocked when I learned I had received the award, but I’m very honored and humbled to join such a distinguished group of farmers in the state.”Mann has been farming since 1995 with his father and three brothers in a general partnership arrangement. It’s a group that is strengthened by different educational backgrounds. “We all work together as a team and find tremendous value in that. Two of my brothers are economists, but I’m an agronomist and engineer, so I focus on the agronomic components of our farm and the engineering projects we do with our farm. That’s the area I focus to help make our farm as efficient and profitable as possible.”The Mann operation is what he calls a typical Indiana farm of corn, soybeans, and wheat. They grow 7500 acres of mostly corn and beans, plus there is livestock. Mann told HAT, “We finish 20,000 head of finished hogs per year, so we’re a diversified farm which there are less and less of in Indiana. But we find a tremendous strength to that even though the hog market hasn’t been real good lately. Hogs have been very good to our farm over the decades.”
It doesn’t take long talking with Chris Mann to learn of his passion for education and involvement, and his optimism for the future of agriculture. He explained, “We are by far the foundation of the economy for this great nation. We’ve added fuel to the mix of ag products and I’m very excited about our future. We have challenges with certain regulations that are just going to keep coming at us in agriculture. But it think it’s important that farmers be involved with political action, with Farm Bureau and other organizations, to make sure at least the regulations are science-based, and keep things as common sense as possible. But I think our future is very bright.”Learn more about Chris Mann at the HAT blog site, hatchat.net.The 2009 Master Farmers were recognized in late July by Indiana Prairie Farmer and Purdue University Extension and College of Agriculture.
Monday, September 21, 2009
Farm Safety
2008 Report Starts Farm Safety and Health Week on Sober Note 09/20/2009Andy Eubank
This is National Farm Safety and Health Week and it begins with sobering news from the 2008 Indiana farm fatality report released over the weekend. In 2006 there were just eight farm-work-related fatalities, the lowest number ever recorded. But the number jumped to 24 in 2007 and jumped again last year to 28.Dr. Bill Field, Professor in Agriculture and Biological Engineering at Purdue, said tractors and machinery were the leading fatality causes last year. That’s been the norm the last thirty years. “It’s the single biggest problem out there,” said Field. “Tractor overturns accounts for about 25% percent on average of all the fatalities. So if we’re going to focus our energies on any one particular area, it would be tractor overturns, because we know that’s the single biggest killer.”The most recent census of agriculture shows an increase in small farms, and data over the last few years suggests that a disproportionate share of fatalities is happening in those operations. Field also said there is concern about a growing number of injuries and fatalities across the Midwest from bull attacks. “And I think it’s related to small farm operators who are starting a small beef herd and they end up with a bull or two, and the bull gets a little bigger than they expect. And then we’re seeing some of them causing injuries and property damage, and some of those are not very pleasant because bulls become very aggressive once they start breeding.”Field reminds farmers their most important assets are the employees on the farm, and those employees, “need to be given priority over getting a crop in, or production rates, or trying to achieve some goal as far as timeliness. Once we start pressing people into unrealistic kinds of environments, or having unrealistic expectations for them, they begin to make mistakes and that’s when we see a lot of these things occurring. I think once we realize what the priorities are we’re going to take a lot fewer risks.”
And it’s the time of year for motorists to be prepared to share the road with those who produce our food. Field says, “It’s not a big task. It’s not something that’s going to change your lifestyle if you just move a little bit slower as more equipment gets moved out onto the highway.”The annual report is compiled by the Purdue University Agricultural Safety and Health Program and is viewable online.
This is National Farm Safety and Health Week and it begins with sobering news from the 2008 Indiana farm fatality report released over the weekend. In 2006 there were just eight farm-work-related fatalities, the lowest number ever recorded. But the number jumped to 24 in 2007 and jumped again last year to 28.Dr. Bill Field, Professor in Agriculture and Biological Engineering at Purdue, said tractors and machinery were the leading fatality causes last year. That’s been the norm the last thirty years. “It’s the single biggest problem out there,” said Field. “Tractor overturns accounts for about 25% percent on average of all the fatalities. So if we’re going to focus our energies on any one particular area, it would be tractor overturns, because we know that’s the single biggest killer.”The most recent census of agriculture shows an increase in small farms, and data over the last few years suggests that a disproportionate share of fatalities is happening in those operations. Field also said there is concern about a growing number of injuries and fatalities across the Midwest from bull attacks. “And I think it’s related to small farm operators who are starting a small beef herd and they end up with a bull or two, and the bull gets a little bigger than they expect. And then we’re seeing some of them causing injuries and property damage, and some of those are not very pleasant because bulls become very aggressive once they start breeding.”Field reminds farmers their most important assets are the employees on the farm, and those employees, “need to be given priority over getting a crop in, or production rates, or trying to achieve some goal as far as timeliness. Once we start pressing people into unrealistic kinds of environments, or having unrealistic expectations for them, they begin to make mistakes and that’s when we see a lot of these things occurring. I think once we realize what the priorities are we’re going to take a lot fewer risks.”
And it’s the time of year for motorists to be prepared to share the road with those who produce our food. Field says, “It’s not a big task. It’s not something that’s going to change your lifestyle if you just move a little bit slower as more equipment gets moved out onto the highway.”The annual report is compiled by the Purdue University Agricultural Safety and Health Program and is viewable online.
Monday, September 14, 2009
USDA Crop Report
USDA Forecasts Plentiful Soybean Crop 09/11/2009From USDA News
U.S. farmers successfully battled soggy July weather and remain on target for producing the largest soybean crop in history, according to the Crop Production report, released Friday by the U.S. Department of Agriculture’s National Agricultural Statistics Service (NASS).Soybean production is forecast at a record-high, 3.2 billion bushels, up 8 percent from last year. Yield is expected to average 41.7 bushels per acre, up 2.1 bushels per acre from 2008. If realized, this will be the fourth largest soybean yield on record.Corn production is forecast at 12.8 billion bushels, up 5 percent from last year, but down 2 percent from the 2007 record. Based on conditions as of August 1, yields are expected to average 159.5 bushels per acre, up 5.6 bushels from last year. If realized, this will be the second highest yield on record. Growers are expected to harvest 80 million acres of corn for grain, down 100,000 acres from June, but up 2 percent from last year.
All cotton production is forecast at 13.2 million bales, up 3 percent from last year. Yield is expected to average 816 pounds per harvested acre, up 3 pounds from last year. Producers expect to harvest 7.77 million acres of all cotton, up 3 percent from last year.
Winter wheat production is forecast at 1.54 billion bushels, up 1 percent from the July 1 forecast, but down 18 percent from 2008. Based on August 1 conditions, the U.S. yield is forecast at 44.2 bushes per acre, up from last month, but 3 bushels below last year. Harvest in 18 major producing states was 85 percent complete by August 2.
The August Crop Production report contains NASS’s first estimates of yield and production for corn, soybeans and other spring-planted row crops. Nearly 28,000 producers in major producing states, which usually account for about 75 percent of the U.S. production, were interviewed to obtain probable yield. These growers will continue to be surveyed throughout the growing season to provide indications of average yields.
U.S. farmers successfully battled soggy July weather and remain on target for producing the largest soybean crop in history, according to the Crop Production report, released Friday by the U.S. Department of Agriculture’s National Agricultural Statistics Service (NASS).Soybean production is forecast at a record-high, 3.2 billion bushels, up 8 percent from last year. Yield is expected to average 41.7 bushels per acre, up 2.1 bushels per acre from 2008. If realized, this will be the fourth largest soybean yield on record.Corn production is forecast at 12.8 billion bushels, up 5 percent from last year, but down 2 percent from the 2007 record. Based on conditions as of August 1, yields are expected to average 159.5 bushels per acre, up 5.6 bushels from last year. If realized, this will be the second highest yield on record. Growers are expected to harvest 80 million acres of corn for grain, down 100,000 acres from June, but up 2 percent from last year.
All cotton production is forecast at 13.2 million bales, up 3 percent from last year. Yield is expected to average 816 pounds per harvested acre, up 3 pounds from last year. Producers expect to harvest 7.77 million acres of all cotton, up 3 percent from last year.
Winter wheat production is forecast at 1.54 billion bushels, up 1 percent from the July 1 forecast, but down 18 percent from 2008. Based on August 1 conditions, the U.S. yield is forecast at 44.2 bushes per acre, up from last month, but 3 bushels below last year. Harvest in 18 major producing states was 85 percent complete by August 2.
The August Crop Production report contains NASS’s first estimates of yield and production for corn, soybeans and other spring-planted row crops. Nearly 28,000 producers in major producing states, which usually account for about 75 percent of the U.S. production, were interviewed to obtain probable yield. These growers will continue to be surveyed throughout the growing season to provide indications of average yields.
Friday, September 11, 2009
Thursday, September 10, 2009
Hahn interim director for ISDA
Hahn also to Serve as ISDA Interim Director
Just days after Lt. Governor Becky Skillman announced a change at the top of the Indiana State Department of Agriculture, she has appointed Tony Hahn the Deputy Agriculture Director. Hahn moves over from ISDA Chief of Staff. ISDA will be without a director when Anne Hazlett leaves and before new director Joe Kelsay begins.Hahn told HAT, “During that short period of time I will be acting as the director, and our focus is going to be implementing the action items from our strategic plan. That will be our focus for the month before Joe can get here when Anne leaves to go back to that great opportunity in Washington D.C. Again our focus is going to be implementation of this plan, as well as continuing that advocacy piece that’s so important right now for the agricultural world
Just days after Lt. Governor Becky Skillman announced a change at the top of the Indiana State Department of Agriculture, she has appointed Tony Hahn the Deputy Agriculture Director. Hahn moves over from ISDA Chief of Staff. ISDA will be without a director when Anne Hazlett leaves and before new director Joe Kelsay begins.Hahn told HAT, “During that short period of time I will be acting as the director, and our focus is going to be implementing the action items from our strategic plan. That will be our focus for the month before Joe can get here when Anne leaves to go back to that great opportunity in Washington D.C. Again our focus is going to be implementation of this plan, as well as continuing that advocacy piece that’s so important right now for the agricultural world
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