Purdue Ag Roundup

July 24, 1998 Learn the future of corn and soybeans at SEPAC WEST LAFAYETTE, Ind. -- Corn and soybean farmers who want to know what the 21st century holds for their crops can get some answers at the Southeast Purdue Ag Center Field Day on Aug. 18. The free field day will focus on the future of corn and soybeans for the next millennium. Presentations will cover topics ranging from products currently available to new product development and from development of marketplaces to ways to improve and help develop crops through new technologies. The event will be at the Southeast Purdue Agricultural Center in Jennings County, a quarter mile west of Butlerville on U.S. 50. Registration is from 9:15 a.m. until 9:45 a.m. "One of our presentations will focus on changes in contract growing, which is basically raising value-added crops," said Dan Wilson, a Purdue University Cooperative Extension Service educator in Decatur County. Such value-added crops include waxy, white, high-oil, food grade and nutradense corn. "These crops result in a bonus paid to farmers above the traditional dent corn price," Wilson said. Nancy Benson and John Haas, market developers for Consolidated Grain and Barge Co., will conduct a presentation on how to contract corn and how to work with such contracts from a farmer's perspective. Haas, from Illinois, is a specialty market developer. "Southeast Indiana is always looking for ways to be innovative," Wilson said. "Some markets are coming to us, especially with Consolidated Grain and Barge's grain facilities on the Ohio River. We have a strong market potential and a good place to ship the crop." There also will be a panel discussion featuring current contract growers to answer any question on the contract growing process and experience. In addition, Roger Dumond with KOVA will make a presentation about advances in site-specific farming and the direction it will take in the 21st century. There also will be a Herbicide Advantage tour allowing participants to view herbicide test plots on the farm, as well as a general farm tour. Gary Cutter, the parent seed/production research manager for Cargill Hybrid Seeds, will conduct a presentation on the cutting edge of corn production as affected by biotechnology and breeding. Cutter, a Purdue graduate raised in southern Indiana, will discuss the development of crops to fit markets. He will talk about products currently available and will predict the direction companies will take in the next century. Purdue agricultural economist Marshall Martin will discuss the farm bill, and Purdue agronomist Bob Nielson will discuss current production issues such as flooding and lead the panel discussion on contract growing. "The number one thing participants will gain is knowledge," Wilson said. "They will have a better feel for what's going to happen to agriculture over the next 10 years as far as development and marketing." The field day is free and open to the public. To preregister, call the Decatur County Extension office at (812) 663-8388. A free lunch will be sponsored by Stewart Seeds, Pioneer Seeds, KOVA, Bayer, DuPont, American Cyanamid, BASF, AgrEvo, Monsanto, FMC, Novartis, Rhone Poulenc, Zeneca and AgriGold. CONTACT: Wilson, (812) 663-8388; e-mail, Dan.Wilson@ces.purdue.edu White County E. coli levels part of statewide problem WEST LAFAYETTE, Ind. -- High counts of E. coli bacteria found in streams in White County worry vacationers and local businesspeople -- but they also signal a statewide problem. Last April the Indiana Department of Environmental Management released a study stating that 82 percent of the state's streams and 2 percent of its lakes were unsafe for swimming because of frequent high levels of E. coli . The becterium is found in human and animal digestive tracts. "Most E. coli bacteria found in Indiana lakes and streams aren't a danger in and of themselves, but they can indicate fecal contamination. Their presence suggests that other disease-causing organisms could be around," said Ron Turco, director of the Purdue University Environmental Sciences and Engineering Institute. Where you find E. coli , you could find such disease-causing microbes as Salmonella (gastroenteritis and typhoid fever), Shigella (dysentery and gastroenteritis), and Vibro (gastroenteritis), he said. To keep microbes out of our waterways, we need to locate their source. But how much of the E. coli in Indiana streams come from humans, how much from animal agriculture and how much from wildlife? "That's the million-dollar question. We don't know the exact distribution between sources," Turco said. "We need to find out, and we need to keep it out of the water supply." If we don't keep waste out of water, we'll likely face more beach closings and disease outbreaks, he said. In response to such concerns, Purdue's Illinois-Indiana Sea Grant and 17 other local, state and federal agencies formed an E. coli Interagency Technical Task Force to share information and address bacterial contamination along Lake Michigan. Long-term goals of their research include identifying sources of E. coli in water and eliminating the contamination, as well as reducing health risks and economic impact associated with high levels of E. coli in Indiana. CONTACT: Turco (765) 494-8077; e-mail, rturco@purdue.edu Compiled by Chris Sigurdson, (765) 494-8415; E-mail, sig@ecn.purdue.edu Purdue News Service: (765) 494-2096; e-mail, purduenews@purdue.edu To the Purdue News and Photos Page