Tom J. Bechman
TRACK POPULATIONS: Pete Illingworth, part of the Throckmorton farm crew, helps measure plant populations in a field trial. Corn Illustrated: This year’s Throckmorton study will evaluate economic optimum seeding rates.
Suggested Event
Jun 15, 2021 to Jun 17, 2021
Maybe you have an on-farm trial this year. Perhaps you’re testing nitrogen rates for corn, or maybe you’re seeing if applying sulfur boosts yields. How do you know if you can trust your data?
Bob Nielsen, Purdue University Extension corn specialist, says the more care that went into planning the trial, the more likely you’ll get results that will indicate whether the new product, practice or hybrid actually produced more yield and paid for itself. Even then, though, remember, it’s only one test at one location in one year, Nielsen cautions.
Sydney Burkhart
STAY AWARE: Signs help remind other drivers that farm machinery is on the road, but you still need to be aware of other vehicles. More field activity and road travel increase chances for farm accidents.
Apr 15, 2021
You can hope everyone stays safe as field activity and road travel with equipment picks up moving into summer. Or you can plan to stay safe. There is a difference, and it may determine whether it’s an incident-free summer on your farm and in your community.
A summary of farm fatalities in 2019, published by Bill Field, Purdue University Extension farm safety specialist, included historical data indicating that over the past decade, June and September were peak months for farm fatalities. You’re busy tending crops, making hay and combining wheat in early summer and returning to the fields in September.
Tom J. Bechman
BELIEVES IN MASTER FARMERS: Carl Eiche, Frankfort, Ind., was involved with the Master Farmer program from 1968 until he retired in 1994. He was named an Honorary Master Farmer in 2018. Nominate someone to be a 2021 Indiana Master Farmer before the Feb. 15 deadline.
The Master Farmer program is a long-standing tradition in Indiana, spanning more than 50 years in the modern era. Nominations for 2021 Master Farmers are due Feb. 15.
Here are frequently asked questions about the program and the nomination process. Information compiled by Carl Eiche, longtime senior editor of Indiana Prairie Farmer
and a 2018 Honorary Master Farmer, helped prepare these answers.
Tom J. Bechman
TOO DEEP? Agco Fendt Momentum Crop Tour plots in 2020 showed that a 3-inch seeding depth didn’t cost yield, but 3.5 inches did. The sweet spot is usually around 2 inches deep, experts say. Test plots offer insight into the age-old question of how deep to plant corn.
How deep should you plant corn this spring? It’s an age-old question. Your grandfather or great-grandfather stewed over it when he planted check-row corn with a two-row planter pulled by horses. You still face the same decision today, even if your planter is equipped with technology that can put seed exactly where you want it, and even adjust on the fly to make sure seed stays in moisture. You must still make decisions and set parameters on how shallow or deep you’re willing to plant.
ISDA
MORE QUESTIONS THAN ANSWERS: About the only thing Indiana State Department of Agriculture Director Bruce Kettler knew for sure while talking virtually to farmers about the 2021 legislative session was that funding would be tight. Everything from how the Legislature will conduct business to which workers will get vaccines first remains hazy.
Dec 14, 2020
Changes to the Indiana statutes related to grain and warehouse licensing and the grain indemnity fund may be proposed in the Legislature for the 2021 session. Proposed changes stem from gaps in current law revealed by an elevator failure still unfolding in northeastern Indiana, involving Salamonie Mills, based in Huntington County.