Farm Management Tour features southwest Indiana operations
WEST LAFAYETTE, Ind. - Five farms in southwest Indiana with a mix of agricultural operations and experiences will be featured on Purdue Extension's 2011 Farm Management Tour.
The June 28 and 29 tour, which is open to the public, takes place in Daviess, Knox and Sullivan counties. This year's event also includes the Indiana Prairie Farmer Master Farmer Banquet and an agricultural outlook update by Extension agricultural economist Chris Hurt.
Tour stops will focus on farm decision making and management and offer visitors an opportunity to learn from some of the best farm business operators in Indiana, said Alan Miller, Purdue Extension farm business management specialist and tour coordinator.
"We hope that the audience will come away from the tour with a better understanding of the keys to their success," Miller said. "We also hope they will pick up an idea or two to try in their own farm businesses."
The tour schedule is as follows (all times Eastern):
* June 28, noon - Del Unger Farms, 6610 S. County Road 350 W, Carlisle. Following a free lunch (advance registration is required) visitors will learn how the farm maximizes planter performance for uniform plant spacing and emergence, fine tunes nutrients with plant tissue testing and foliar fertilization, and enhances owner/tenant relationships through alternative leasing arrangements.
Del Unger Farms produces a variety of crops, including corn, double-crop corn, wheat, double-crop soybeans, seed soybeans, sweet corn and green beans. Owners Del and Tammi Unger use a high-output production approach that includes site-specific management with variable rate applications, foliar nutrient and fungicide applications, and irrigation scheduling. By maximizing output, the Ungers aim to minimize costs.
The farm also maintains a cow-calf herd on some of its rolling land. As the farm has expanded in size and complexity, the Ungers have organized it into several units with different combinations of owners, equipment and land. By doing this, they hope to manage risk and pave the way for passing the operation on to their two children.
* June 28, 3 p.m. - Melon Acres, 5388 E. Gauger Road, Oaktown. This tour stop focuses on producing and marketing produce, packing shed technologies, food safety management for produce growers, management of a large seasonal workforce, and vegetable production in high tunnels.
Melon Acres is Indiana's largest produce grower. It is a diversified operation, growing handpicked produce on 1,000 acres, and seed corn, commodity corn, wheat, milo, soybeans and green beans on 1,500 acres. The Horrall family has invested heavily in forced-air cooling and asparagus, cantaloupe and watermelon packing lines. Because all of the produce is handpicked, the Horralls hire 250 seasonal workers and provide them with housing and meals.
* June 28, 5 p.m. - Indiana Prairie Farmer Master Farmer Banquet, Vincennes University John Deere Building at the Southwest-Purdue Agricultural Center, 4669 N. Purdue Road, Vincennes. The program begins with a tour and reception, with dinner to follow. Registration is $20 and must be made in advance.
* June 29, 8 a.m. - T.S. Boyd Grain Inc., 1957 E. County Road 200 N, Washington. High-yield continuous corn production technologies and farm machinery trading strategies will be featured at this stop.
Boyd Grain is a 7,500-acre farm that produces continuous corn, popcorn, wheat and other crops. Continuous corn is grown on 4,700 acres, with yields of 200-plus bushels per acre. Owners Tom and Marsha Boyd and son Trent and his wife Kim have more than 20 years of experience with continuous corn. Visitors will learn how the Boyds have successfully expanded their farm and started new businesses, including truck freight and warehousing operations.
* June 29, 10 a.m. - Carnahan & Sons Farm, 9809 E. Wheatland Road, Vincennes. Tour visitors will hear presentations on the farm's quarter horse venture and prescription farming practices. The farm provides a study in shared management and helping members of the management team succeed while empowering them to make decisions and enjoy their work.
The Carnahans specialize in corn and soybean production on their 4,000-acre farm. The farm adopted no-till production in 1996 to minimize machinery investments and labor requirements. The farm also manages a successful quarter horse business. Tour participants will learn about changes the Carnahans have made and are planning to make and reasons behind the changes.
* June 29, noon - Villwock Farms, 11600 N. Freelandville Road, Edwardsport. Activities start with a free lunch (advanced registration required) and Hurt's ag outlook update at 12:45 p.m. Following Hurt's presentation visitors will hear from the farm's management team and tour the operation's new grain drying and storage facilities.
The Villwocks lost their Hoosier Homestead farmstead to the threat of eminent domain and have experienced the ups and downs of designing a new farmstead. Visitors will learn how the Villwocks approached the process of designing a facility from scratch and their efforts to ensure that key management practices prevailed regardless of geography. The stop includes a tour of the new farmstead's antique tractor barn, shop and other features, and an optional tour of the new grain handling and storage facilities on a nearby farm. The latter will focus on energy management.
Registration deadline for the lunches is June 14 and can be done online at https://www.agecon.purdue.edu/commercialag/progevents/tour.html or by calling 1-888-EXT-INFO (398-4636) or 765-494-4310. Additional tour information also is available at the website.
To register for the Indiana Prairie Farmer Master Farmer Banquet, contact the Purdue Agricultural Alumni Association at 765-494-8593 or by email at debby@purdue.edu.
In its 79th year, the Farm Management Tour is hosted by Purdue's Department of Agricultural Economics.
Writer: Erica Sullivan, 765-494-8402, esulliva@purdue.edu
Sources: Alan Miller, 765-494-4203, millerwa@purdue.edu
Craig Dobbins, 765-494-9041, cdobbins@purdue.edu
Ag Communications: (765) 494-2722;
Keith Robinson, robins89@purdue.edu
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