Hat Chat

This post from the 2010 China Ag Trade Mission is made possible by Indiana Hardwood Lumbermen’s Association, Indiana Pork, and Ice Miller LLP.

The trip to China is underway and the delegation at this moment is lounging in the Newark, New Jersey airport. We await boarding instructions for our 13-15 hour flight. In our first conversation with Lt. Governor Becky Skillman, she talks about the makeup of the delegation, past successes from similar trips, and her expectations for this mission. Listen here:

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The Vintage Indiana Wine and Food Festival is an annual chance to sample wines from all over the Hoosier state and try foods from the state’s top culinary experts. The festival is presented by the Indiana Wine Grape Council, and the marketing specialist with the council, Jeanette Merritt, tells HAT it happens just two weeks from Saturday.

“Vintage Indiana is June 5th. It is the first Saturday in June, held at Military Park in downtown Indianapolis, and it is a festival of all things wine and food,” she said. “We will have 25 wineries participate. There will be over 300 to 400 varieties, bottles of wine, different things you can sample all for $25. You’ll have the option to come listen to some bands, so we encourage people to bring blankets, lawn chairs, and plan to spend the day with us. There’s a great partnership with the Indiana Poultry Association as well, where we feature turkey and talk about poultry around the state.”

Also representing Indiana agriculture, Red Gold will be preparing delicious recipes with Hoosier tomatoes, and Indiana’s dairy farmers, who make great cheese, will teach you how to enjoy cheese and what varieties go best with wine.

Vintage Indiana is in its 11th year and continues to grow, as does the Indiana wine industry. Learn more by listening to the full interview here:

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Merritt is pictured with Rick Black of Wildcat Creek Winery in Lafayette.

The mold problem in corn is getting worse. Producers, elevator operators, and livestock feeders are all scrambling to try to find a solution to the problem. Mold is showing up in record amounts in the corn crop from parts of Indiana. Caused by the wet growing conditions, the extent of the problem is still not well known. Purdue Extension Ag Economist Dr. Chris Hurt says elevator operators are worried whether they have mold in their stored grain and how much, “The problem is confined mainly to east central and northeast Indiana, but many elevator operators I have talked with are very worried because they did not start testing for mold until they already had a lot of corn in storage.” Hurt told HAT corn stored on farm is also at risk, “There was not enough monitoring, so a lot of moldy corn got co-mingled with good corn.”

Speaking at the Indiana/Illinois Farm Equipment Show, Hurt said the mold problem is becoming a market factor, “We are seeing very weak basis levels in the affected area.” This is because farmers and elevator operators are not sure what corn they have is moldy, and processors and livestock feeders are docking some shipments as much as a dollar a bushel.

A problem being faced by some producers is having moldy corn under contract. Hurt said there are a lot of people with grain under contract for delivery in January, “What happens when you have a contract for 10,000 bushels of corn, you haul it to the elevator and they reject your load because the mold content is too high?” Another problem is corn that is in the government loan program that is found to have higher than acceptable mold contamination.

Hurt said, right now, there remain more questions than answers. One of the big questions is: what can be done with this contaminated corn? Dr. Hurt was the featured speaker at the HAT seminar that occurred Wednesday at the farm show in Indianapolis. A standing room only crowd attended the presentation which also covered an economic and market outlook for 2010.

Listen to Dr. Hurt discuss the corn mold problem and look ahead to market conditions in 2010

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Among the challenges facing Indiana agriculture, according to Indiana Farm Bureau President Don Villwock, are unfair property taxes, animal extremists, and poor commodity market prices, particularly in the livestock sector. Delivering his annual address at IFB’s annual convention, held Nov. 19-21 in Fort Wayne, Ind., Villwock said the practices of both grain and livestock farmers are “coming under fire.”Fixing property taxes will remain one of IFB’s top priorities, Villwock said. “You know these taxes are not fair, they aren’t equal, and the proposed 1-2-3 caps should not be put into the state Constitution,” he added.

Agriculture’s fight with animal extremists is far from over, Villwock noted. “The educational disconnect between non-farm citizens and farmers is becoming greater all the time,” Villwock said. “These people have not seen, much less visited, a farm for almost a generation. The trips to grandpa and grandma’s farm are not on anyone’s calendar anymore. The American consumer doesn’t know any farmers, doesn’t know how we raise our livestock or how we produce any of their food, feed, fuel or fiber.”

For too many years, Villwock said, farmers haven’t been aggressive enough in telling agriculture’s story. Now, he said, urban neighbors are being influenced by extremists. “As Harry Truman once said, ‘If you can’t convince them, confuse them,’” Villwock said, adding that this tactic has been used by animal extremists. But that’s starting to change, he added. “Beginning last February, the Indiana ag community said ‘Enough is enough.’ We united in our efforts to prepare to win,” he said. “For the first time in my memory, all commodity groups, under the leadership of Indiana Department of Agriculture, came together. Indiana’s beef, sheep and pork producer organizations, along with the dairy and poultry associations, combined with the corn and soybean groups, are working hand in hand with your Indiana Farm Bureau.”

In addition to increasing cooperation and educational efforts, farmers also have another important job, Villwock said. “We cannot just give lip service to protecting our streams, to preventing manure spills or to being a good neighbor,” he said. “Our actions speak louder than words. Unfortunately, our whole industry is often judged by its worst actor. If we are to maintain that unwritten contract with society to do the things we do in agriculture, we must exceed our city cousins’ expectations.”

Listen to the complete speech by Don Villwock

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The Hoosier corn harvest is moving along slowly. Not only is the crop hard to harvest this year, but high moisture content is slowing drying time. Richard Stroshine, at Purdue’s Department of Agricultural and Biological Engineering, has several suggestions for growers struggling to harvest and store this year’s crop.

First of all, he suggests being careful getting the crop out of the field, “With the high moisture content, it will be easy to damage the kernels and that will lead to a great chance of mold later.” He suggests making sure combines are properly configured and that growers not rush the process and take care when handling the grain.

The corn is coming out of the field with very high moisture content, and Stroshine suggests not trying to dry it down all the way right now. He recommends a double pass drying process, “If your corn is near 30%, dry it down to about 23% and then place it in temporary storage. You can then come back later and finish the drying process.” Another suggestion is to leave the grain hot after partial drying and let the heat evaporate remaining moisture out of the grain.

As for soybeans, Stroshine cautions against drying too fast, “Don’t aerate real dry air, no lower than 40% relative humidity is what we recommend.” He says drying too fast will lead to splits in the soybeans which may result in dockage at the processor.

Stroshine has more harvesting and drying recommendations in this interview with HAT

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Harvest is a great time to evaluate the performance and technology of a variety. One of Indiana’s most respected seedsman says, however, performance trumps technology at harvest. Sunny Beck, of Beck’s Hybrids, has been growing and selling soybeans since 1964 and over time he has seen a lot of changes and new technology come to the seed industry. He maintains, that despite the advances, it still comes down to picking the right variety for each farm field, “You may have a variety that does especially well in eastern Indiana but across Iowa, Illinois, Indiana, and Ohio it may only be an average variety.”

For Sonny Beck the value of a particular variety is how it yields in a specific field, “For us it is beans in the bin that is important. I careless about how many beans are on a plant or how many beans are in a pod, I want beans in the bin.” He says when measuring the performance of a variety that is what is important.

He told HAT that the newest variety may not be the best variety for all farmers in all situations, “We had 188 farmers send in side by side test plots and Roundup Ready 1 variety out performed Roundup Ready 2 varieties by an average of 1.9 bpa. And on 100 test plots, sent into us by farmers, Beck’s newest variety the XL brand Roundup Ready 1 variety had an average advantage of over 2.5 bpa over the Roundup Ready 2 varieties.” Beck went on to say that, “It is not what kind of technology you are breeding, “I don’t care if it is Roundup Ready 1 or Roundup Ready 2, it is about making the right selections.”

To do that growers have to evaluate their own fields and management practices, “That is where top farmers are really making money today, getting the right variety on the right soil type.” That is why Beck’s stresses that they call “practical farm research.” Beck says today many farmers work with their local agronomist of contract with a consultant to make sure that seed selection is correct and that the proper management steps are taken to maximize yields.

You can hear the complete interview with Sonny Beck

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The 82nd National FFA convention is in full swing. For most of the 54,000 FFA attendees, this is a life changing experience. The Indiana state officer team has attended several national conventions, but all can remember their first time. President Travis Martin from Carroll County says it is hard to put into words what it means to attend the National FFA Convention, “It is really hard to put into words except to say it is nothing like anything you have done before, in or out of FFA.” Daniel Beckman, state treasurer from Franklin, said the chance to meet and work with other FFA members from around the nation is a real education, “Just this week I was talking with some FFA members from Louisiana who were talking about crocodile farming, so you learn all sorts of things that people are involved with.”

The massive Career show is very popular; and Indiana Southern Region Vice President Joe Rust admits it was a big deal for him when he first attended the convention, “Let’s face it, everyone loves free stuff; and when you are a younger FFA member that is what you care about getting - those free promotional items that companies pass out at the career show.” He said his favorite booth was the Kraft food exhibit because they gave away free snacks.

Emmy Kratz says national convention has given her memories she will always cherish, “Like taking a group photo of my chapter in front of the RCA Dome all proudly showing off our suspenders.” Blaire Boyer lives in Tipton County so having the convention in Indianapolis meant a daily commute, “I remember those early morning bus rides to convention, and then once we got there meeting people from all over the country.”

But the convention is more than just good times and good memories; it is about promoting agriculture. Kyle Malcolm, state sentinel says the positive message about agriculture that FFA has to send is needed now more than ever, “We need to be advocates for agriculture and get out there with a positive message.” High school and college students are some of the strongest supporters of animal activist groups like PETA and HSUS. Boyer sees FFA members speaking up for animal agriculture and presenting an alternative viewpoint to their fellow students. While communication with the public is important, reaching members of her own generation is even more important to Heidi Melton, state reporter. She says today’s communication technology is the answer. “Most kids today are watching u-tube, that is just the way it is; and we need to get some positive message about agriculture on u-tube,” said Melton. She said FFA has a positive story to tell about agriculture and members need to use today’s social media to reach the future leaders and consumers with that message.

Interview with Travis Martin

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Interview with Joe Rust

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Interview with Heidi Melton

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Anne Hazlett is now the former director of the Indiana State Department of Agriculture as she begins her work this week in Washington. Before leaving for Washington, Hazlett told HAT she expects to land right in the middle of a very controversial and partisan debate over climate change, “That is something I will need to get up to speed on quickly and take a look at all the proposals that are out there.” She said that it is unclear when the Senate Ag Committee will take up work on the issue.

Listen to the HAT interview with Ann Hazlett

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Indiana took another step forward as a leader in biotechnology innovation with a major announcement at Purdue Research Park Wednesday. Dow AgroSciences will be expanding its Indiana operations into new research facilities at the park. They will occupy 15,000 square feet of research and office space that will support thirty researchers in the newly built Herman and Heddy Kurz Purdue Technology Center. Dow AgroSciences will also be the exclusive tenant of a 6,000 square foot greenhouse complex to be constructed by Purdue Research Park. The $2.2 million greenhouse research center gets a boost from a grant for development costs from the Indiana Economic Development Corporation.

Purdue University President France Cordova was on hand Wednesday. Joining her were Mitch Roob, the CEO of Indiana Economic Development Corporation and Indiana’s Secretary of Commerce, President and CEO of Dow AgroSciences Antonio Galindez, Dan Kittle, Vice President of Research and Development at Dow AgroSciences, and Jay Akridge, Dean of the Purdue College of Agriculture.

Emcee for the event was Joseph Hornett (pictured on the left with Jay Akridge.) He is the Senior Vice President and COO of the Purdue Research Foundation. Click the audio player to hear the proceedings, starting with comments by Hornett:

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Following the ceremony HAT spoke with Jay Akridge:

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And we learned more from Dan Kittle:

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Any action by the US Senate on energy legislation and climate change is not likely to happen until next year according to Senate leadership, and that is just fine with Indiana Senator Richard Lugar. Lugar says the Senate is taking a much different approach to energy and cap and trade legislation than the House. In an exclusive interview with HAT, Lugar was critical of the approach the House took on the issue, “ In the House, there was clearly a desire to pass some kind of a bill; the result of this is a hodge-podge that, in my opinion, does not do very much to sequester CO2.” Lugar said the House version would hurt the US economy and would especially hurt Indiana. He said the Senate debate is much more deliberate and involves many more people and points of view.

Listen to the entire exclusive interview with Richard Lugar

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