Master Farmers, all for one and one for all.

Three Brothers Join Dad as Indiana Master Farmers

Posted on 25 December 2012 by Andy Eubank

Christmas celebrations usually are a special time for family to gather, and this summer there was a unique family element to the Master Farmer banquet in Plymouth. Three brothers were nominated and selected individually. And the selection of Kerry, Kim, and Kent Ames of Putnam County comes ten years after their father Kenny became a Master Farmer.

It’s the first time for 3 brothers to be so honored, and oldest brother Kerry says it’s the only way he would have felt right about being a Master Farmer.

“We are a family partnership. We’ve been a partnership for 25 years or over and it started with our dad and the three of us and we’re still together. To be able to do it as the three of us that have worked together, and we’ve kind of split responsibilities and have since we started up a long time ago, that just makes it right.”

What makes the 5,000 acre corn and soybean farm run smoothly is each brother filling a niche that suits him well.

“Kim takes care of a lot of the marketing. Kent is the more mechanical one of us as far as maintenance and looking after machinery, and I kind of look over the books and tax accounting and working with our lenders.”

Kerry says the operation is now moving into the era of bringing in a new generation of family farmers, “which is really neat but presents its own challenges, but we’re going now to my sons and two of my nephews who are there all the time. There are six of us there all the time so we’re trying to add now and expand the roles and maybe expand into some different areas trying to increase, if not in acres maybe increase in efficiency or increase our operation in maybe new areas that we haven’t been in before.”

Congratulations to Kerry, Kim and Kent Ames who join Ed Carmichael, Gene Schmidt, and Bill Schroeder as 2012 Master Farmers. The annual awards are presented by Indiana Prairie Farmer, Purdue Extension and Purdue College of Agriculture.

A Reminder of our Christmas times on the Dairy

Christmas on our family Dairy starts out like any other day with the alarm ringing at 5 am telling me its time to head to the barn.  Santa’s helpers were busy late that night making sure all the gifts were wrapped and stockings were stuffed so I tiptoed out of the house to the barn as quiet as a mouse.  I reached the barn and begin the daily ritual of starting the pipeline rinse, turning on the heater in the parlor and preparing the feed troughs for the cows.  Next, I remind the cows what time it is as many have already made their way to the barn for the morning milking.  Some of them usually decide to sleep in so it’s off to the pasture to round everybody up.  It’s a good chilly walk as far as ½ mile to the back of the pasture in the cold morning air.  Counting as I go so I know when I’ve got all the cows heading to the barn I head back to the barn singing Christmas carols on the way with the occasional moo approval of the cows.  After the cows are locked in the holding pen its back to the milk house to finish getting ready to milk.  Carrying the milkers into the parlor and connecting the pipeline to the bulk tank would complete the preparation along with getting all the teat dips and frost guard to protect the teats after each cow is milked.  At 6 a.m. cows enter the parlor 4 on a side and I begin prepping and milking them 4 at a time.  Milking the cows normally takes about an hour.  Back in the house the kids begin to stir in anticipation of seeing what Santa left.  They also begin to shout to their mom asking how long they would have to wait.  Back at the barn around 7 a.m. the cows have been milked and cleaning begins.  The barn is washed out, the milkers are cleaned and the pipeline begins its wash cycle.  The kids get excited when they hear the silo begin pouring out silage and the conveyer and bunk feeder motors are fired up to distribute the cows forage for the morning.  While the cows are being fed I continue to feed the calves and heifers their morning diet.  Milk for some, feed for others and water for all of them.  Real cold mornings mean taking time to bust some ice.  With the silage feeding complete I make one final walk through the milk house and parlor to make sure all the work is done.  Usually about 8 a.m. or so I make it back to the house and find a good seat to watch the kids run to the tree and find the one present Santa had left them unwrapped along with a well filled stocking full of goodies.  Can we open more shouts the kids but mom says not till we’ve had some cinnamon rolls and milk.  After the quick breakfast everyone begins opening the packages under the tree.  Play time is short as there are grandparents to visit.  By late morning everyone enjoys the company of all the family at grandpa’s house to open more presents and enjoy a great Christmas lunch.  About 4 p.m. I head to the barn for another 2-3 hours work in milking and feeding the cows and heifers.  This time some of the other family members offer some help and things go a little faster.  A nice dinner of leftovers is enjoyed by all and then it’s off to bed as 5 a.m. will come again tomorrow to start another day on the Dairy.

HSUS at it again

Consumer Alert Ad Exposes HSUS’s Misleading Fundraising Campaigns

Posted on 18 December 2012 by Gary Truitt

Just in time for the holiday giving season, HumaneWatch.org, a project of the Center for Consumer Freedom (CCF), is issuing a consumer alert reminding Americans to be wary of the deceptive fundraising practices of the Humane Society of the United States (HSUS). The ad, airing nationally on Fox News beginning today, highlights HSUS’s duplicitous fundraising practices—85 percent of the animals in its fundraising commercials are dogs and cats, yet less than one percent of the money HSUS raises from the public goes to local, hands-on pet shelters. The ad also encourages Americans to give directly to their local pet shelters to make the greatest impact in their community. HSUS’s 2011 tax return indicates that many Americans are already wising up to the animal rights group’s deceptive practices. Contributions and grants to HSUS went down by about $8.5 million in 2011 compared to 2010, for an overall decrease of 6.5 percent. Within the same year, local pet shelters experienced a six percent increase in public contributions, according to IRS data. “HSUS uses emotionally manipulative ads to raise money on the backs of abandoned and abused dogs and cats, yet it gives just one penny of each dollar it raises to local pet shelters,” said CCF Senior Research Analyst J. Justin Wilson. “HumaneWatch.org wants to ensure that donations go to support the cause donors intend. If they want their dollars to aid cats and dogs in their community they should give directly to local pet shelters instead of inadvertently bankrolling HSUS’s aggressive PETA-like agenda.”

Nationally, HSUS shared less than one percent of its $127 million budget with pet sheltering organizations in 2011. In the same year, HSUS spent nearly $50 million on fundraising-related expenses, which is 100 times more than it did on grants to support shelter aid. HSUS also socked $2.4 million away into its pension plan. “HSUS knows full well that the American public experiences ‘humane society’ brand confusion, yet they continue to mislead the public with multi-million dollar ad campaigns,” remarked Wilson. “This holiday season don’t be fooled by HSUS’s misleading fundraising ads; giving directly to your local shelter will do the most to benefit the neediest animals in your community.”

Indiana Farm Bureau Convention report

     Returned from Convention last Saturday and instead of reprinting some of their news reports I will try to give you what Patti and I can recall participating in.  We arrived at the Indiana Farm Bureau office at about 11a.m. on Thursday to attend the new County President meeting.  Introductions was one of the main focus points as all the new Presidents introduced themselves and told us a little about their County Farm Bureaus and their occupations.  During the meeting I was able to talk to Dr. Julie Volbers-Klarich who is the Professional Development Coordinator.  Julie will be attending our January meeting to discuss our Mission and Vision Statements and how it relates to our responsibilities as Farm Bureau directors.  She has also agreed to be our guest speaker at our annual meeting scheduled for Feb. 22 at noon in the Fairgrounds Community Building.  After lunch we headed to the JW Marriott and got checked in before our 2 pm County Leaders meeting.  We were assigned seats and met several other County Leaders as we discussed various thoughts and questions concerning Farm Bureau.  Friday began with more leadership training as I attended the Public Relations session, Patti attended the session for Secretaries, David Greenburg attended the session for Policy Chairs.  During the convention we attended the Trade Show at various times.  Patti did some Gourd Painting and I attended a program on Grain Bin Safety.  On Saturday Patti and I were the top bidder on an item provided for the Young Farmer Silent Auction.  David was able to attend the Fertilizer Use Regulations session and I attended the Legislative session with Former Republican Chair Mike McDaniel and Democrat chair Robin Winston.  The first general session was highlighted by many awards being presented.  Friday afternoon I attended the County Gov. Budget issues session along with our State Rep. Jim Baird.  Patti and I were also able to catch the Young Farmer Discussion Meet Finals that afternoon.  On Saturday we visited the trade show along with attending a session on Building Consumer Confidence and Trust in Today's Agriculture presented by a representative of the US Farmers and Ranchers Alliance.  During the closing general session I received the County Recognition award for our county's work for the year.  Patti, Dave, and I finished up the convention with the delegate session where Don Villwock was re-elected State FB President.  Those attending the Convention from Putnam County included Steve and Patti Cash, David Greenburg, and Mark and Phyllis Legan.

Farmland Property Tax Fix

Property Tax Fix For Farmland Looks Certain

Posted on 03 December 2012 by Gary Truitt

Bob Kraft

While in Washington there is still no agreement on estate and other federal tax issues, it is a different story in Indianapolis. Bob Kraft, with Indiana Farm Bureau, says the incoming Governor, Lt. Governor, and General Assembly are all in agreement that the productivity formula on farmland needs to be eliminated.  Kraft told HAT that lawmakers plan to tie the hands of the bureaucrats who want to raise farmland assessments significantly, “The Governor, Lt. Governor, and Legislature understand the issue far better than the Department of Local Government Finance. I think we are going to see some efforts to tie the hands of the DLGF.”

Kraft says the move last year by the state agency to force changes in the productivity factor, which would have increased some farmland tax rates by 35%, did not sit well with farmers, but it also did not sit well with legislators who felt the state agency was overstepping its authority, “I think their efforts to make changes unilaterally have been very ill-received by the General Assembly.”  Kraft says, with the support of Farm Bureau members, it should be possible to delay any changes in the productivity factor for at least another year, perhaps indefinitely, “or at least until a better solution is found.”

Lt. Governor Ellspermann has gone on record as saying a one year delay in the assessment will be introduced in the upcoming session.  Kraft said it is likely lawmakers will make it impossible for state agencies to make any major changes in farmland assessment protocols without the consent of the General Assembly.