Indiana Seed Weblog

Purdue’s Ag school enrollment jumps
Enrollment in Purdue University’s College of Agriculture hit an 11-year high this fall, buoyed by a strong freshman class. The school said in a release Monday that enrollment in Purdue’s 42 agricultural majors swelled to 2,535. Interest in biosciences, climate and farm-related issues has spurred the increase. About 600 freshman are enrolled.
2008 looks to be a good year for farmers
The familiar clouds of dust drift across rural roads as farmers begin the process of harvesting their crops. They will know shortly if it has been a successful year. “I’m expecting a fairly good yield,” Gary Horner of the Miami County Purdue Extension office said. “It’s going to be a good year, not a record harvest.” In general, weather conditions were favorable, but there were times of stress on the crops, according to Horner. Overall, he said, it could have been worse for local farmers.

Farm Bureau Releases Analysis of Financial Crisis
The current financial crisis gripping the United States could moderate global and domestic demand for U.S. farm products and intensify an already volatile price situation for both commodities and the supplies that farmers must purchase, according to financial analysis issued by the American Farm Bureau Federation. However, overall, the nation’s agricultural sector is in good financial condition at the farm level, which could serve to cushion the impact of the financial crisis.

Sam Turpin – Indiana Association Management

House Ag Panel Votes to Suspend 10-Acre Rule

The House Agriculture Committee approved a bill Thursday that would suspend the so-called “10-acre rule” for two years. The provision bars producers with 10 or fewer acres from receiving farm program payments. Though report language accompanying the farm bill makes it clear that producers should be allowed to aggregate acreage to meet the threshold, USDA has said it will not allow aggregation, excluding thousands of small farmers. In response, at a Thursday mark-up, the Agriculture Committee approved a bill from Chairman Collin Peterson (D-Minn.) that would simply suspend the entire 10-acre provision for two years. The fix was said to cost $20 million, with funds coming from the Risk Management Agency’s information technology fund in order to meet pay-as-you-go requirements. It is unclear what will happen with the bill in the full House or the Senate.

Sam Turpin — Indiana Association Management

How much does illegal immigration cost Indiana? Panel not finding answers
Lawmakers who want to know how much money illegal immigration is costing public services in Indiana got few answers Tuesday. Much of the Interim Committee on Immigration Issues’ meeting was focused on trying to quantify the costs that illegal immigrants have on public services such as Medicaid, prisons and schools. Mitch Roob, secretary of the state’s Family and Social Services Administration, said the state has to pay part of the Medicaid costs for pregnancies and emergency medical care for illegal immigrants who can’t afford them. That costs the state about $5 million a year, he said.

Gubernatorial debate
It is looking more and more as if the Indiana gubernatorial election this year will come down to a referendum on Republican Gov. Mitch Daniels’ first term. At this point, at least, what this statewide election is not is a contest between the policies and programs of Daniels and the policies and programs of his chief opponent, Democrat Jill Long Thompson. That’s because we don’t know much about what Long Thompson is for, even after the candidates’ first debate Tuesday night in Merrillville. (Libertarian Andrew Horning also participated.) We know that Long Thompson is a former member of Congress and a former under secretary of agriculture. But as a candidate, she seems to be anti-Daniels, spending much of her time criticizing his first term. If he has done it, she’s against it. Or at least that seems to be what we know at this point.

 Sam Turpin — Indiana Association Management

Grant to Adams Co. EDC boosts rural economic development
The Adams County Economic Development Corp. is the recipient of a $100,000 grant from the U.S. Department of Agriculture’s Rural Development agency. The grant is designed to provide an incentive for business creation, job retention and business expansion in rural Indiana, Rural Development said in a statement.

USDA Crop Forecast and Ethanol Demand
The latest crop production forecast out Friday from the U.S. Department of Agriculture slightly lowered the production estimate of the 2008 corn crop from 12.288 billion to 12.072 billion bushels, which would still be the second highest on record. “We were expecting to see the numbers decrease a little, but we remain optimistic about this year’s crop,” said National Corn Growers Association President Ron Litterer of Greene, Iowa. “After such a bumper crop in 2007, we were faced with a number of challenges as the 2008 season began. Our nation’s corn growers have done a terrific job dealing with colder spring temperatures and Midwest flooding, and we salute them for their hard work.”

Sam Turpin — Indiana Association Management

Cooling-off period for hot-button issue
Those who urged the Indiana General Assembly not to rush headlong into legislation to curb illegal immigration have gotten their wish for further study of the volatile issue. Expecting firm answers to the myriad questions on the table may be wishful thinking, however. Tuesday, in the first public meeting by the joint Interim Study Committee on Immigration Issues, varying perspectives were heard on topics ranging from the number of undocumented immigrants in Indiana to the state’s right to assume a federal law enforcement responsibility.

Wabash River cuts corner, stealing about 1,700 acres of farmland
If you learned in school that the Wabash River forms the downstate border between Indiana and Illinois, Kevin Collier can tell you it ain’t so. The grain farmer stands along the Wabash’s riverbank, gazing westward to 700 acres of his Indiana farmland that he can’t get to. Between his boots and his bottomland lies a newly created, 200-foot-wide, fast-flowing channel of the Wabash River.

Web site helps buyers find Indiana-grown food
Northwest Indiana residents had a chance Saturday to learn how to include more local foods in their diets. In honor of Going Local Week, the Crown Point’s Farmers’ Market featured a presentation of the Indiana MarketMaker, a tool that helps producers and consumers locate agricultural products and local food items through its searchable database and interactive mapping system. Brad Clinehens, Purdue University Extension educator in Lake County, gave the presentation. The Web site — http://in.marketmaker.uiuc.edu/ — launched in February.

Sam Turpin Indiana Association Management

Immigration panel gets conflicting data in first session
Lawmakers seeking a clearer direction on what, if anything, to do about illegal immigration in Indiana got conflicting opinions and loose numbers Tuesday during their first study committee meeting on the issue. Professors specializing in immigration law gave different answers and advice. And although a member of the Washington, D.C.-based Pew Hispanic Center said there were about 100,000 undocumented residents in Indiana, he said it could range from about 75,000 to 125,000. To be sure, the co-chairmen of the Interim Study Committee on Immigration Issues knew they wouldn’t get all the information they are after in their first meeting. They plan at least three more fact-finding meetings on an issue that was emotional and contentious during the last legislative session.

Poet ’s machine noise bugs neighbors
Roger Bennett says living next to the Poet ethanol plant is like having a neighbor who mows his lawn every second of every day. The Poet biorefining plant, which opened in April, turns corn into ethanol to be used as fuel. The ethanol-making process includes the grinding of corn and a process similar to that used to distill alcohol. Bennett lives on Orchard Lane in Alexandria, one and one-half miles from the Poet biorefining plant, but said the sound of the manufacturing facility reaches all the way into his home.

Sam Turpin Indiana Association Management

The Indiana State Department of Agriculture and the Food Export Association of the Midwest USA (Food Export – Midwest) are launching the 2009 Branded Program year. Made possible through funds from the USDA’s Foreign Agricultural Service, this cost-share service assists small Indiana suppliers promote their brand name food and agricultural products in foreign markets.

The Branded Program enables Indiana suppliers to stretch their international marketing dollars twice as far and grow their exporting business. Once approved, participants receive a 50 percent cost reimbursement on certain eligible marketing and promotional activities such as attending international and some approved domestic tradeshows; advertising; public relations; in-store promos; product demonstrations; product literature; freight cost for samples; package and label modification and more. The Branded Program reimburses eligible companies between $2,500 and $300,000 for eligible marketing activities. Midwest participants collectively receive more than $6 million annually in reimbursements.

Only companies defined as “small” by the U.S. Small Business Administration (SBA) are eligible to participate; typically this means companies with fewer than 500 employees. Agricultural producer cooperatives are also eligible and exempt from size restrictions.

For more information on the Branded Program and the pre-qualification worksheet are available at http://www.brandedprogram.org/. In order to be pre-approved for Branded Program activities starting Jan. 1, 2009 and running through Dec. 31, 2009, companies should apply to the program by Oct. 1, 2008. Questions about Branded Program qualifications, marketing plans, eligible reimbursements, and the application process can be directed to Lesley Taulman, ISDA International Trade Program Manager, at ltaulman@isda.in.gov or 317-233-1485 or Food Export – Midwest at 312-334-9200.

Food Export – Midwest is a private, non-profit association of Midwestern state agricultural promotion agencies that use federal, state and industry resources to promote the export of Midwestern food and agricultural products.

Farmers should examine their cornstalks
Farmers should examine the condition of their cornstalks because this summer’s dry weather may have caused them to deteriorate in strength, according to Chad Lee, grain crops extension specialist with the University of Kentucky College of Agriculture. During the month of August, parts of the state, including Lexington, did not receive any rain for three weeks, said Keys Arnold, UK agricultural meteorologist.

After a wet spring, crops drying in summer heat
Less than two months after Midwest farmers watched torrential rains and swollen rivers flood their fields, corn and soybean crops are drying under hot, clear skies. Farmers say they still expect strong crops, particularly considering the wet start. But a hot, dry August will likely take a chunk out of the corn harvest, which is set to start over the next few weeks. And it could hurt the country’s production of soybeans, which are still a month or more from harvest. But economists say that shouldn’t pump up grain prices, in part because energy prices have eased, cutting the demand for ethanol. Ethanol production was blamed for part of sharp corn price increases earlier this year that helped fuel food-price inflation.

Sam Turpin – Indiana Association Management

Indiana Farm Bureau Tackles Drainage, Labor, and Tax Issues
River water made headlines in Indiana this year, and now river policy is becoming a controversial issue. At the recent policy setting session of Indiana Farm Bureau, there was prolonged debate on how to maintain rivers in the state and how to pay for it. A Farm Bureau position that supported local funding for river maintenance projects drew considerable opposition. “You’re just asking for another tax,” said Phil Springsteen, one of the more than 300 delegates that gathered to set the policy for Indiana’s largest farm organization. “The only way to get some of these absentee land owners to clean up a river or ditch is with a tax,” countered Dennis Whitsitt, a delegate from Dubois County.

Funding Available for Indiana Food Suppliers to Market Overseas
The Indiana State Department of Agriculture and the Food Export Association of the Midwest USA (Food Export — Midwest) are launching the 2009 Branded Program year. Made possible through funds from the USDA’s Foreign Agricultural Service, this cost-share service assists small Indiana suppliers promote their brand name food and agricultural products in foreign markets.

Sam Turpin Indiana Association Management