Agriculture Calendar

June 3: Media Day For Farm Management Tour

Media writing advance stories about the Farm Management Tour can have a special tour of the farms. At each farm journalists can ask the presenters questions and learn about the farm operations. This tour is only for reporters and will cover farms in Putnam and Montgomery counties. The Putnam County locations and times are 8:30 a.m. at White Oak Farms, Cloverdale, Ind.; 9:45 a.m. at McCammack Farms, Cloverdale, Ind.; and 11 a.m. at Legan Livestock and Grain, Coatesville, Ind. The Montgomery County locations are 2 p.m. at Cain's Homelike Farm, Darlington, Ind.; and 3:30 p.m. at Sennett Cattle Co., Waynetown, Ind. For Purdue transportation, contact Sandy Dottle at (765) 494-4248. The actual Farm Management Tour will take place July 9-10. For more information on the public tour, contact Alan Miller at (765) 494-4203. Media should contact Beth Forbes, Agricultural Communication news coordinator, at (765) 494-2722, forbes@purdue.edu.

June 4, 11, 18, 25: Grazing 102 Workshop Series

Purdue Extension will offer a series aimed at helping farmers understand and maintain an intensive grazing system. It will take place at the Southern Indiana Agricultural Center in Dubois, Ind. The center is located on Purdue Farm Road on the north side of Patoka Lake. Signs for the center can be seen from State Road 145. The workshop series will run from 5:30-8:30 p.m. EST each Wednesday. Topics to be discussed on June 4 include intensive grazing systems, forage options and water systems to supply drinking water to animals. On June 11, identification of forage plant species, how long to keep cattle out to pasture, nutrients available to grazing animals and how to recognize the need for renovation will be discussed. Fencing issues and why animals graze where they do will be covered on June 18. On June 25, the topics include the use of manure to maintain or improve pasture fertility and the grazing of standing forages after Dec. 1. Registration is $50, and reservations can be made by calling the Purdue Cooperative Extension Office in Dubois County at (812) 482-1782. In addition to the presentations, participants also will receive Extension reference materials. CONTACT: Jim Peter, Purdue county Extension director, (812) 482-1782, jpeter@purdue.edu.

June 7: Vintage Indiana Wine And Food Festival

The Indiana Wine Grape Council will hold the festival from 11 a.m. to 7 p.m. at Military Park in downtown Indianapolis. Participants can sample and purchase wines from 15 Indiana wineries, dance to live music and eat food prepared by Indiana's top chefs. Children can visit the interactive KidZone, which includes a bounce house and a clown. Tickets are $15 in advance for adults (age 21 and over) and $18 at the gate. Food and wine by the glass or bottle are not included in the admission price. Designated driver tickets also are available for $8 at the gate and in advance and include unlimited soft drinks. Children ages 5 and under are free. Tickets are on sale at Marsh Supermarkets and participating wineries, or can be purchased online at http://www.vintageindiana.com. A list of participating wineries can be found on the Web site. The first 10,000 adult ticket holders will receive a free etched wineglass. For complete details, visit http://www.vintageindiana.com. CONTACT: Sally Linton, Indiana Wine Grape Council marketing director, (765) 496-3842, lintons@purdue.edu.

June 11-13: Home And Family Conference

The Indiana Extension Homemakers Association and Indiana Farm Bureau, along with Purdue Extension, are co-sponsoring a conference aimed at celebrating and learning more about home and family. Keynote speakers include Kathy Buckley, Patty Jischke and Chip Boiling. Buckley is a comedienne, actress, motivational speaker and author of the best-selling book, "If You Could Hear What I See." She will talk about her life experiences and how anything can be achieved when the heart and mind work together. Jischke is the wife of Purdue President Martin C. Jischke and will talk about her involvement in the community. One of her interests is the Museum of Prophetstown. How to cultivate and nurture individual talents is at the center of Boiling's presentation. Other topics to be discussed at the conference include childcare, coping with fears, tools for independent living, tips on saving energy and money at home, building a wardrobe that works, hassle-free celebrations, nutrition and dieting, stress reduction and conversations between generations. Registration is $45 for the entire conference, $32 for Wednesday, $32 for Thursday and $25 for Friday. Tours and luncheons cost extra. Participants can tour Purdue's campus, a Frank Lloyd-Wright home, Prophetstown, the Columbian Park Zoo or the Horticulture Gardens for $5 each. Hotel accommodations can be made by calling the University Inn at (800) 777-9808 or the Hilton Garden Inn at 1-800-Hiltons. A block of rooms is saved at each hotel. A registration form and conference brochure are available online. CONTACT: Barbara Meyer, assistant director, (765) 494-7221 or (800) 359-2968 Ext. 92M, bbmeyer@purdue.edu.

June 26: Purdue Forage Day

Purdue University will host Purdue Forage Day on June 26 at the Dennis Smeltzer family farm near Middlebury, Ind. This year's Forage Day will provide Indiana farmers with the opportunity to determine the quality of their forages. The event also features equipment demonstrations, educational sessions and a hay quality contest. Divisions for the hay quality contest are grass, legume and mixed. The keynote speaker is Dan Undersander of the University of Wisconsin. Undersander will discuss the differences between relative forage quality (RFQ) and relative feed value (RFV). Other featured speakers will cover topics relating to forage production and utilization. Following lunch, farmers can watch traditional and new forage harvesting equipment at work. Registration is free. Events begin at 8:30 a.m. and finish around 4 p.m. Lunch will be available at the farm for a fee. The farm is located on County Road 8 in Elkhart County. To get there from Middlebury, take State Road 13 north to County Road 10, and travel west on County Road 10 until it intersects with County Road 8, then follow the signs. CONTACT: The Purdue Extension office in your county or call Carol Summers, agronomy Extension secretary, (765) 494-4783.

Compiled by Meggie Issler, (765) 494-8402

Ag Communications: (765) 494-2722; Beth Forbes, bforbes@aes.purdue.edu; http://www.agriculture.purdue.edu/AgComm/public/agnews/

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