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Purdue News
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June 1, 2001 Tour takes a look at 21st century farm managementWEST LAFAYETTE, Ind. – As technology continues to evolve, so does the need for new farm management practices. This year's Indiana Farm Management Tour, July 5-6, highlights five of Indiana's top managed farms to promote and demonstrate farm management in the 21st century. Formed in 1932, the Indiana Farm Management Association encourages the development of high levels of management in farming. The Purdue University Extension Service has worked with the association in carrying out the state farm management tour for all of its 69 years. "The tour is a great opportunity for people to observe outstanding management performance and encourage farmers to share their ideas and operation practices," said Howard Doster, a Purdue Extension agricultural economist. Wells, Huntington and Whitley counties will be the site of this year's tour. Tour highlights include insight into a variety of different farm management practices, a free lunch, discussion on price futures and farm bills. At 7:30 p.m. on July 5 in Hiers Park (Huntington County Fairgrounds), Purdue agricultural economists Chris Hurt and Wallace Tyner will discuss the outlook for commodity prices and farm bill alternatives. "Hurt will give an update on the supply and demand of corn and soybeans, and also forecast price expectations for this year's crop," said Doster. "Tyner will analyze farm policy alternatives currently being considered by congressional staffs. "Due to the risk of transmitting hoof-and-mouth disease, people who have been in another country a week prior to the tour are asked not attend," said Doster. Also for biosecurity reasons, tour participants will be furnished plastic boots to wear at the three livestock farms. Local agribusinesses will sponsor a free lunch in the Northeast Purdue Agricultural Center at noon on July 6. Tickets for the lunch are limited and can be picked up at the Extension offices of the three counties involved or at earlier tour sites that day. A speaker at the lunch will describe research activities underway at NEPAC. On tour day, road signs will be posted which will help direct visitors to each farm. The farms on the tour are: • 1 p.m. Thursday, July 5 – Chris A. Geiger Farm, County Road 700 N. 5280 W., Wells County. Geiger owns a commercial trucking business along with a 2,400-acre grain farm. His trucking enterprise focuses on a strategy of specialized products, while his grain operation focuses on producing bulk commodities at a low cost. Geiger also experiments with different planting tactics, such as deep-tilled soybeans and planting corn with a twin-row planter. • 3 p.m. Thursday, July 5 – Dennis Farm, County Road 800 N. 597 E., Huntington County. Maurice and Joan Dennis, along with their sons Marc, Jack and Robert, farm 3,500 acres of wheat, corn and soybeans. They also own and operate Dennis Grain Inc., which was started in 1974 and has grown to more than 550,000 bushels in storage capacity, and includes fertilizer and chemical sales. A bonus feature on this stop will be their collection of antique farm machinery. • 8 a.m. Friday, July 6 – Steven Sickafoose Family Farm, State Road 105, 9710 S., Whitley County. This stop shows the management practices of an independent, yet interdependent, farming operation. Steven and Beth Sickafoose and their two sons, Jeff and Cory, each own 400 sows each owns and rents land, and each files income taxes as a proprietorship. Yet together, they use one set of machinery to raise the crops on their 4,300 acres and also provide back-up insurance to each other's hog operations. The Sickafooses will discuss their Global Position Satellite system, management practices and why they each choose to be independent producers. A unique feature at this stop will be a garden tour of "Beth Ann's Special Place." • 10 a.m. Friday, July 6 – Cormany Family Farms, 4030 W. Lincoln Way, Whitley County. Ray Cormany became a full-time farmer the nontraditional way after working in a Fort Wayne factory for 34 years. Ray and his wife, Ardith, along with their two sons, Steve and Jeff, farm 2,800 acres, raise 750 black heifers and 5,000 feeder pigs annually. Highlights of this stop include a look at their use of GPS technology in grid soil sampling and combine-yield monitoring. • 2:30 p.m. Friday, July 6 – Shady Grove Farms Inc., County Road 600 N. to 5431 E., Whitley County. Shady Grove Farms Inc. is owned and operated by the Dave and Ron Johnson families. The farm consists of 3,000 acres of corn, soybeans and wheat, along with a 550-sow farrow-to-finish operation. The Johnson's remain competitive in their hog operation with efficient breeding techniques, such as artificial insemination and ultrasound pregnancy testing. The tour is free and open to the public and is sponsored by Purdue Extension. Participants have the opportunity to join the Indiana Farm Management Association at each stop. Membership dues are $10. The dues help to pay for association publicity, the farm tour and other educational events of interest to Indiana farmers. Additional information and a map of the 69th Indiana Farm Management Tour can be found on the Web. Source: Howard Doster, (765) 494-4250, doster@agecon.purdue.edu Writer: Barney Haney, (765) 494-8402, news_students@aes.purdue.edu Purdue News Service: (765) 494-2096; purduenews@purdue.edu Related Web site:
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