Field day to focus on farm management to increase productivity
July 27, 2012
WEST LAFAYETTE, Ind. – The Indiana Integrated Resource Management Program's 10th annual field day will be an opportunity for producers to learn how small changes in farm management practices can improve production.
The Aug. 8 event will be 2-5:30 p.m. at Brooks Farm Inc., 2375 East State Route 16, Monon. It's free and open to the public, but an optional catered dinner will follow for $10.
Integrated Resource Management, or IRM, is about stepping back and looking at the bigger picture of farming, said Mark Hilton, clinical professor in the Purdue University College of Veterinary Medicine. It focuses on more effective animal care, financial decisions and most appropriate farmland use.
"Fundamentally, IRM examines how producers can better position themselves for success," he said. "The top producers are not satisfied with where they are. They are looking forward to the next year, and the next year. And they're asking hard questions."
Hilton said the Brooks farm is a prime example of how improvements grounded in these principles can boost production and promote animal wellness. The farm, which has participated in IRM since the early 1990s, shows how gradual changes can improve the success and productivity of an operation.
Purdue veterinary medicine experts, and Natural Resources Conservation Service experts will give presentations on the drought situation, pasture management and heterosis (breeding for better performance) in cattle.
Attendees will be able to ask experts about specific individual operations. They also will have the chance to talk with other farmers about what's working on other farms.
Participants should register ahead of time to the Purdue Large Animal Hospital at 765-494-8548. Payment for the dinner is due at the time of registration.
Writer: Abigail Maurer, 765-496-2384, maurer@purdue.edu
Source: Mark Hilton, 765-494-8548, hiltonw@purdue.edu
Ag Communications: (765) 494-2722;
Keith Robinson, robins89@purdue.edu
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