Filed under: News
Opportunities Exist for Beef, Dairy Producers to Use Damaged Corn
The moldy corn that is coming out of some Indiana fields presents challenges to growers and livestock producers, but cattlemen may be able to take advantage of this unfortunate opportunity, said Purdue University beef and dairy specialists. The rumen is an organ that allows beef and dairy cattle to detoxify anything they might eat, said Ron Lemenager, Purdue Extension beef management specialist. However, he said growers should be cautious because the rumen does have its limitations.
Farm Bureau Tackles Tough Issues at State Meeting
The Indiana Farm Bureau state convention was held over the weekend in Ft. Wayne; and, despite the fact that much of this year’s corn crop is still in the field, attendance was well above average. IFB president Don Villwock said this is because Farm Bureau members are worried about some of the critical issues facing agriculture, “A lot of them feel like their backs are against the wall on some of these issues.” This concern motivated members to come to the meeting to get information on issues including animal rights, property taxes, and cap and trade. Villwock said the focus of the convention was to provide background and education on a wide variety of issues that are threatening Indiana farmers.
2009 Thanksgiving Dinner is More Affordable for Hoosiers
For the third year in a row, the cost of a traditional Thanksgiving dinner has decreased for Hoosiers, according to an informal statewide survey of grocery store prices coordinated by Indiana Farm Bureau. Indiana Farm Bureau’s annual survey of local prices for basic food items found on the Thanksgiving Day dinner table showed that the average cost of this year’s dinner for 10 is $43.93, down $1.64 from last year’s average of $45.57 and $3.27 from 2007’s average of $47.63. A nationwide survey conducted by the American Farm Bureau Federation (Indiana’s data is factored into the national survey) showed an average total cost of $42.92, a $1.70 decrease from last year.
ISA Encouraging Farmer Nominations for Soybean Varieties
For the third year ISA is partnering with Purdue University in the Farmer Nominated Soybean Varieties program. Indiana soybean checkoff dollars will fund up to 100 varieties in 2010. Communications Director Megan Kuhn says the idea is to, “try to get more of the varieties that Indiana farmers are really interested in, into the annual Purdue soybean performance trial. So we encourage farmers to choose a variety. Just give us the name of the company, the variety, what county they’re from, and why they want it nominated.” Kuhn says the reasons farmers may want a variety tested will vary from a grower considering using it, to a variety in use for years that they would like to see stacked up next to other varieties. “It’s basically so farmers have an objective source of information about plant health and yield characteristics of those varieties they’re interested in,” she said.
Filed under: News
Lessons from the 2009 Crop
As Indiana farmers slowly harvest 2009 corn crop, they are evaluating the performance of their hybrids and production decisions this growing season. With weather extremes, this year’s crop will provide valuable information that will be used for next year’s crop. Greg Luce, research agronomist with Pioneer, told HAT this is the kind of year that provides information on hybrid performance that will determinate future performance, “By stressing our genetics in extreme conditions, we can determine which ones will be kept for future research and which ones will be discarded.” Luce believes corn hybrids will be better in the future as a result of this year’s weather extremes.
Crop Production Seminar Looks Ahead to 2010
Farmers and crop consultants can get a jump on the 2010 growing season by attending the Kentuckiana Crop Production Seminar on Dec. 1 and 2 in Evansville, Ind. The seminar is divided into four workshops, each targeting a different part of crop production and offering continuing education units and continuing credit hours. “The seminar is designed to provide new research, address issues that participants have identified and help applicators maintain a knowledge base of industry issues,” said Kenneth Eck, Purdue Extension educator in Dubois County.
Indiana Native Named Director of Communications for ASTA
The American Seed Trade Association recently named Julie Douglas, of Lafayette, Ind., as the director of communications. “We are very excited to have Julie join our team,” said Andrew LaVigne, president and CEO of ASTA. “She brings great practical experience with the innovations and technology driving today’s production agriculture. Julie will be a great asset to our organization.” In her new role, Douglas will be responsible for developing, coordinating and implementing ASTA’s communications strategies to promote the policies and activities of the seed industry. Douglas will assume full responsibilities Jan. 4.
Dow AgroSciences, DuPont Agree to Cross License Next-Generation Soybean Herbicide Tolerant Traits
Dow AgroSciences, a wholly owned subsidiary of The Dow Chemical Company, and DuPont announced they have entered into a commercial cross-licensing agreement that will enable the two companies to deliver expanded herbicide-tolerant soybean options to farmers in the next decade. Under the agreement, Dow AgroSciences is licensing non-exclusively its proprietary herbicide tolerant trait technology for soybeans to DuPont business Pioneer Hi-Bred. In addition, Pioneer is licensing non-exclusively its proprietary Optimum GAT trait for soybeans to Dow AgroSciences. Both companies have given the other rights to stack additional traits with their respective technology. Financial details of the agreement were not disclosed.
Filed under: News
3,000 Indiana Pigs Confirmed with H1N1 Cases
The U.S. Department of Agriculture said last week that pigs in a commercial herd in Indiana have tested positive for swine flu, making it the first time the virus has been found in such hogs. The OIE has confirmed that there were 3000 susceptible cases of H1N1 in pigs in an Indiana swine herd. The USDA, Animal and Plant Inspection Service (APHIS), and the Indiana State Board of Animal Health (BOAH) are conducting a comprehensive epidemiological investigation of the event. On Oct. 22, samples from sows experiencing influenza-like illness at the facility were submitted to the University of Minnesota Laboratory for evaluation by the farm’s attending veterinarians.
Livestock Forage and Grain Forum Brings all Indiana Ag Groups Together
In this week’s Hoosier Horsepower Leah Beyer explains the upcoming Indiana Livestock, Forage and Grain Forum. She is the Livestock Director for the Indiana Soybean Alliance. The event will be Friday, January 15, 2010 at the Indiana Convention Center and will combine two forums into one. “Last year if you came to the Indiana Livestock forum that was held at Lucas Oil Stadium in December, this is that event this year. If you came to the Dairy Beef and Forage Symposium in February, that’s now this event. We’ve brought those different venues together so people don’t have to pick and choose which activity. We want to make sure they can get all that information in one forum.” The combined forum brings together all of the state’s ag groups, including corn, soybean, pork, beef, dairy, sheep, goat, horse, and forage, along with the Indiana Farm Bureau.
17 State Parks to Close for Deer Reductions
Select Indiana state parks will be closed temporarily for controlled deer reductions in the coming weeks. Two reduction efforts will take place. The first are Nov. 16 and 17. The second round is Nov. 30 and Dec.1. The participating parks will close to the general public the evening before each of the two efforts and will re-open the morning after each two-day reduction ends. Indiana DNR biologists evaluate which parks require a reduction each year based on vegetative recovery and previous hunter success at each park.
Beck Says Don’t Wait to Harvest Corn
High moisture in corn continues to slow progress this fall, but one of Indiana‘s most experienced seedsmen urges growers to not put off harvest. Sonny Beck, of Beck‘s Hybrids, admits harvesting high moisture corn is hard, but he urges producers to not let the crop stand any longer in the field, “We have been encouraging farmers to get out there and get the corn harvested.” He told HAT some growers want to wait for the crops to dry down, but Beck says very little drying will over the next few weeks. He recommends, “Bite the bullet, and get it done.” This year has been a challenging season for soybeans as well as corn, but Beck admits the bean yields are surprising everyone, “The first field we harvested averaged 73 bpa and that was a new variety.” He said they had some fields yield as much as 77.8 bpa.
