Purdue News
Purdue News
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June 26, 1998
Top farms available for reviewWEST LAFAYETTE, Ind. -- Individuals interested in improving farm productivity or learning more about agriculture may want to mark their calendars for the 1998 Farm Management Tour, July 7 and 8, featuring five farms in Howard and Tipton counties."The Farm Management Tour makes it possible for the public to visit top farming operations around the state," said Howard Doster, Purdue University agricultural economist. Doster said the tour should be of interest to both producers and the general public. Sponsored by the Indiana Farm Management Association and the Purdue Cooperative Extension Service, the free tour promotes high levels of management in farming by focusing on top farms in a different part of the state each year. At each stop, the farm host family is available to answer questions and talk about management techniques on their farm. Visitors may attend the entire tour, or just visit specific sites. Maps of the tour route are available at county Extension offices. The July 7 tour will begin at 1 p.m. and will visit Hite Farms Inc. and Merrell Brothers Inc., both in Howard County. The July 8 tour will begin at 9 a.m. and will stop at Kirkpatrick Farms in Howard County and Sharp-View Farms Inc. and Salsbery Farms, both in Tipton County. The July 8 tour will also include a grain/hog price outlook by Chris Hurt, a Purdue agricultural economist, during a lunch at Sharp-View Farms at noon sponsored by Top Ag. Inc. A limited supply of free lunch tickets is available at earlier tour sites. Tour stops for the 1998 Farm Management Tour: Hite Farms Inc. is operated by Gary and Alice Hite, their son and daughter-in-law, Mark and Shelly Hite, and their daughter and son-in-law, Paula and Rob Ballinger. They raise 900 acres of corn and soybeans and 2,700 hogs annually. The family utilizes a low-debt, low-financial risk approach to land acquisition, purchasing 20 to 40 acres every year or so. Gary and Alice rent land to the corporation, while the corporation owns the hog operation and machinery. They've adopted site-specific farming and are trying Roundup-ready soybeans this year. Expansion is their next management challenge. Merrell Brothers Inc. originated as a hog operation started by brothers Ted and Terry Merrell after their respective graduations from Purdue and high school. Today, the brothers are part-owners in M&W Pork, a 1,200-sow pork production enterprise. Merrell Brothers Inc. is a 31-employee company specializing in land application of animal wastes and municipal biosolids. Today, the municipal division accounts for 60 percent of their business. This stop will allow observation of a unique management approach to farm diversification and entry to nonfarm commodity markets. Kirkpatrick Farms is a father-son team that combines simple, traditional management structure with profitable technical improvement. Robert and Brian Kirkpatrick's recent innovations include no-till for the last six crop seasons, use of Aer-way soil aeration tools for three years, yield monitoring since 1996, and grid soil sampling beginning in fall 1997. The farm is structured as two sole proprietorships with joint decision making. Together they farm 2,840 acres of corn and soybean rotation in 17 tracts. Robert and Brian are the farm's main labor source. Sharp-View Farms, operated by Scott and Terri Smith, combines tomatoes, cucumbers, banana peppers and a pickle grading station with corn and soybeans on 1,700 acres. Although officially retired, Scott's parents, Eldon and Tudy Smith, contribute land, buildings and management support to the farm. This stop allows an opportunity to see specialized planting and harvesting equipment for vegetable production, hear what processors look for in vegetables and what happens to Indiana vegetables, and learn how Scott uses computers and the Internet in farm management. Salsbery Family Farm is comprised of 3,800 acres of cropland and 1,300 sows in a farrow-to-finish operation. It is organized as a corporation, and six family members are active in the business: Robert and Phyllis Salsbery and their children Tim, Pat, Randy and Becky. Hogs are located at five sites, two of which are leased facilities. A new feed system has allowed them to move to phase-feeding. Growth has come from new opportunities such as a farming alliance, which merges operations with a neighboring farmer. For more information about the tour, contact Doster at (765) 494-4250, e-mail, doster@agecon.purdue.edu.
Source: Howard Doster, (765) 494-4250, e-mail, doster@agecon.purdue.edu
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