Purdue News

June 10, 2002 Johnson and Shelby counties featured on farm tour WEST LAFAYETTE, Ind. – The 70th Annual Farm Management Tour will travel to Johnson and Shelby counties July 9 and 10 to visit five of the best-managed farms in Indiana. "What's unique about the Farm Management Tour is that it gives people the opportunity to get inside the farmer's head," said Alan Miller, farm business management specialist. "Other farmers and interested community members can see what is involved in the decision-making process." The tour travels to a different area of the state every year to showcase top-performing farms. This year, the farms on the tour range from a state-of-the-art dairy to a farm that has incorporated off-farm enterprises into its operation. "One of our stops is at a small livestock farm that jumped into the direct meat marketing business with both feet by selling to Indianapolis restaurants," Miller said. "The farm operator, meat cutter and a representative of one of the restaurants will be on site to answer questions about how to connect the farm to the marketplace." Signs will be posted on tour days to direct visitors between sites. Farm locations and times are: • 1 p.m. Tuesday, July 9 – Poe Stock Farm, 221 W. State Road 144, Franklin, Ind. The Poe farm is noted for its direct marketing of products, especially selling meat to downtown Indianapolis restaurants and the Indiana State Fair. This tour stop features a demonstration of a working sheepdog, the dos and don'ts of direct marketing meat, and sheep production management. The farm is owned and operated by Stanley Poe II and his parents. It consists of 300 registered Hampshire and Hampshire/Suffolk crossbred ewes, 70 replacement ewe lambs, 15 rams, 820 acres of cropland, 125 acres of hay and 70 acres of pasture. The farm sells lambs nationally for show and seed stock. The hay on the farm is marketed for horses. • 3 p.m. Tuesday, July 9 – Kelsay Farms, 6848 N. 250 E., Whiteland. This fifth generation, family-owned dairy farm that borders I-65 is coping with growing urban pressure. The farm has about 500 cows milked three times a day in a double 16 milking parlor and about 2,200 acres of crops and forages. A manure management system, consisting of a manure processor and a two-stage lagoon system, has been developed with the solids being used as bedding in the free stalls. • 7:30 p.m. Tuesday, July 9 – "Relationships: Across the Counter and Across the Fence," Franklin Church of Christ, Franklin. This session will be presented by Fred Whitford, director of Purdue Pesticide Programs. The church is located three-fourths of a mile north of Franklin on U.S. 31. • 8 a.m. Wednesday, July 10 – Bruce and David Dougherty Farm, 5895 E. 700 N., Franklin. (Doughnuts and milk will be available at 7:30 a.m.). Bruce and David Dougherty operate a 1,500-acre crop and livestock farm in a 50/50 partnership. They also jointly own Dougherty Fertilizer Inc., which provides fertilizer, chemicals, spraying and seed to area farmers. Total fertilizing and spraying coverage exceeds 20,000 acres per year. • 10:15 a.m. Wednesday, July 10 – Rex and Susan Kuhn Farm, 8697 N. 750 E., Morristown. This farm demonstrates how farmers may diversify by combining farm business with off-farm enterprises. The Kuhns include grain production, seed sales and laying cable as part of their farm operation. This tour stop features mini-tours on no-till crop production, specialty grain production and cable laying. • 12:15 p.m. Wednesday, July 10 – Lunch at Foltz & Sons Farms, sponsored by local agribusinesses and served by the Shelby County Beef Cattle Association. Tickets for the free lunch will be available at the registration table at the first three farms. • 1:30 p.m. Wednesday, July 10 – Foltz & Sons Farms Inc., 2443 E. Marion Road, Shelbyville. Foltz & Sons produces corn and soybeans on about 3,300 acres in Shelby and Rush counties. All of their crop acres have been contracted for the last 20 years. Currently, they produce waxy corn and seed soybeans. They use aerial photography, yield monitoring with a global positioning system, GPS guidance and evaluated a precision anhydrous ammonia application system. Various types of low-cost handheld GPS equipment will be on display and Purdue staff will be available to answer questions. Due to the risk of spreading foot and mouth disease, anyone who has traveled out of the country in the week before the tour is asked not to attend. The Purdue Cooperative Extension Service and the Indiana Farm Management Association sponsor the tour. Participants have the opportunity to join the Indiana Farm Management Association at each stop. The IFMA was formed in 1932 to encourage and develop high levels of management in farming. Membership dues are $10 and fund publicity, the farm tour and other educational events of interest to Indiana farmers. Additional information and a map of the tour are available on the Web. For information on hotels and other local arrangements contact Kimberly Carter, Purdue Extension educator in Johnson County, at (317) 736-3724, kimberly.carter@ces.purdue.edu; or Scott Gabbard, Purdue Extension educator in Shelby County, at (317) 392-6460, scott.gabbard@ces.purdue.edu. For more information on the 70th Annual Farm Management Tour, contact Miller at (765) 494-4203, millerwa@purdue.edu. Writer: Mindy Reef, (765) 494-8402, news_students@aes.purdue.edu Source: Alan Miller, (765) 494-4203, millerwa@purdue.edu Purdue News Service: (765) 494-2096; purduenews@purdue.edu To the Purdue News and Photos Page