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2006 Conference Agenda
Sunday Afternoon, July 16, 2006
Rooms 202 and 203 Pfendler Hall
3:00 p.m. Early Bird Help Session – B-21 Computerized Farm Budgets
Corinne Alexander, Craig Dobbins, George Patrick, Alan Miller, and our teaching assistants
Help is available for you to complete your Model B-21 Input Form.
4:00 p.m. Yield Monitor Data Analysis Start-Up Session
Terry Griffin and Jess Lowenberg-DeBoer, Purdue Ag Economists
They are ready to start work with the farmers who sent in yield monitor data for analysis, and anyone else interested in making better use of their GPS data.
4:00 p.m. B-21 for First Timers
Howard Doster, Purdue Ag Economist Emeritus
Howard will teach you how to debug your computer solutions, and test for changes in your crop rotation, machinery sizes, tillage system, and land rentals. Since 1968, he and colleagues have helped 7,000 farmers—mostly in the Corn Belt —use our linear program crop budgets.
5:00 p.m. Supper on Your Own
Ask a teaching assistant for recommendations.
Sunday Evening
The Deans Auditorium, Room 241 Pfendler Hall
5:00 p.m. Registration and Get Acquainted Time
6:30 p.m. Workshop Introduction
Jess Lowenberg-DeBoer, Purdue Ag Economist
Welcome and basic information. How to get the most out of the Top Farmer experience.
7:00 p.m. Results of the Soybean Production Survey
Shawn Conley, Purdue Extension Soybean Specialist
See how your soybean production practices compare to those of the 1300 farmers who responded to this 40-question survey.
7:20 p.m. B-21 Base Case—Intensive Soybean Management
Shawn Conley and Terry Griffin
Changes in your farm operation as a result of managing soybeans more intensely will be discussed, then the impact analyzed using in the B-21 linear programming model.
8:00 p.m. How do you want your farm run if you're suddenly unable to operate it?
Howard Doster, Purdue Ag Economist Emeritus
Howard and eight farmers had an exciting six-hour session sharing and revising their contingency plans. Hear theirs now. Bring your written contingency plans and share them with your “table team” as you get acquainted.
Monday, July 17, 2006
The Deans Auditorium, Room 241 Pfendler Hall
8:00 a.m. Welcome: Why the Top Farmer Crop Workshop is Important to Purdue
Sally Thompson, Department Head, Purdue Agricultural Economics
8:10 a.m. Using the Information from Your Farm
Kelly Robertson, Illinois farmer
Kelly, like many farmers, has amassed a huge pile of information from collecting yield and other data from his farm fields. But Kelly is able to go one step further than most—he is able to analyze and use the information to help guide his decision-making process.
8:40 a.m. Automated Recordkeeping
Ted Macy, President, MapShots, Inc.
Use the new generation of field devices and handheld tools to do more automated recordkeeping. What are the implications of capturing the data, and maybe more important, of editing it after the fact?
9:00 a.m. What Does the Computer Do?
Craig Dobbins, Purdue Ag Economist
Craig teaches a class in farm management and co-authored PC-LP, a version of which we call B-21 for this workshop. Just what does the computer do with your numbers?
9:15 a.m. The Changing Ownership of Ethanol Production
Joe Needham, Vice President Grain Div., The Andersons, Inc.
Due to economies of scale, the need to quickly bring plants into production, and greater confidence in investors regarding ethanol, future ethanol plant ownership may go more and more toward large agribusiness companies, especially those that have experience in merchandising grains. How does this impact the many farmer/investors involved in cooperatively-financed local ethanol ventures? How might this trend affect agribusinesses and farmers?
9:35 a.m. Learning to Use B-21
Here's your first look at your farm solutions. Is this really your farm? Once you've described it correctly, you're ready to interpret the crop mix, machine size, and farm size signals.
10:10 a.m. Break, sponsored by Farm Futures
10:30 a.m. Soybeans Can Be Profitable
Palle Pedersen, Extension Soybean Specialist, Iowa State University
Soybeans are the “other half of the equation” for most Midwest cropping operations, but getting them to yield and to pay their way has been a frustration for some. Roundup Ready beans greatly simplified soybean management, but should not simplify many of the other tough questions producers should be asking in regards to variety traits, planting dates, and other management considerations.
11:10 a.m. Profiting from Strip Tillage
Leroy Scott , Illinois farmer and Barry Bewell, Fritts Fertilizer, Greenup, IL
Leroy hires his fertilizer dealer to do precision tillage and fertilizer application on his farms in the fall after harvest or before spring planting. The reduction in tillage has allowed him to qualify for EQIP payments—and yields have gone up as well.
11:20 a.m. Ken's Agronomic Clinic
Ken Ferrie, Farm Journal agronomist
Ken has been taking a hard look at every aspect of corn and soybean production, from the roots up. Hear what he has to say about tillage, crop rotations, seed placement, weed control, insect management, and nitrogen.
Noon, Lunch
1:00 p.m. Be Smart when Scouting for Soybean Aphids
Christian Krupke, Extension Entomologist, Purdue University
Soybean aphids have become part of the soybean ecosystem, and can be a very real threat to yield. However, “spraying early,” as many growers did in 2005, can not only cost money, but can result in even higher populations of aphids. Monitoring fields is easier than ever before, and Christian will demonstrate how simple it can be to safeguard your crop and have peace of mind.
1:30 p.m. Become a Real Farmer Again?!
Dan DeSutter, Indiana farmer
Dan is using 21st century technology to become almost self-sufficient in fertility needs as he is tooling up to produce grain, forage, fertilizer, 3300 cows' milk, and grass-fed beef. He'll use state-of-the-art manure separation technology to eliminate odors.
1:50 p.m. Obtaining Consistent High Yields and Greater Profits by Adopting Continuous No-till
Dan Towery, Ag Conservation Solutions, LLC
Why are some growers successful with continuous no-till, and others have struggled with inconsistent no-till corn results?? Dan can help you understand the “systems” approach needed to adopt continuous no-till into your farming operation.
2:10 p.m. Factor in the Soil if You Expect to Profit from Nitrogen Fertilizers
Richard Mulvaney, University of Illinois Professor of Soil Fertility
Nitrogen fertilizers may be at record prices, but you probably do not need as much as you think. What matters most is what the soil can supply. Now there is a way to know, by using the Illinois soil N test, or ISNT. Soil-based N management can increase profitability and safeguard the environment.
2:40 p.m. Understanding Limitations to High-Yielding Crops
Jerry Hatfield, Director, National Soil Tilth Lab and President of the American Society of Agronomy
Pursuit of high-yielding crop production is the goal of many producers and is often considered to occur only when inputs are increased. Dissecting crop yield is very similar to an autopsy, only in crops we try to understand why yield was limited. There are complex changes that occur throughout the course of a growing season, and studies to document why corn and soybean yield responds to changes in genetic and environmental conditions have begun to reveal how we can begin to affect crop yield.
3:10 p.m. Break
3:30 p.m. Seeing the Light in Corn Insecticide Decisions
Kevin Black, Insecticide/Fungicide Technical Specialist, GROWMARK, Inc.
Deciding how to protect corn from insect damage has never been more complicated, with the rootworm variant, black cutworms, wireworms and white grubs, western bean cutworms on the horizon, and a large menu of control options deliverable through hybrid genetics, seed treatments, and soil-applied insecticides. Kevin will review not only what is working, but what is not working, and help guide you through these considerations.
4:00 p.m. Increasing Farm ROE
Moe Russell, President, Russell Consulting Group
Moe Russell recommends producers leverage four key areas to maximize return on assets and return on equity: grain marketing, machinery cost management, agronomic management, and labor management. Where does your operation fall within the benchmarks being attained by some of his clients?
4:20 p.m. Which Is Your Most/Least Profitable Lease?
Howard Doster, Purdue Ag Economist Emeritus
Compare contribution margin (gross revenue minus variable costs) in your expected last plant/harvest date for each of your leases to learn which lease to add, drop, or try to re-negotiate with your landowner. As homework, we'll show you how to do this. Turn in your calculations on Sunday afternoon. We'll summarize them and report here.
4:40 p.m. Is Your Subsurface Drainage System Working as Hard as You Are?
Charlie Schafer, President, Agri Drain Corporation
Squeeze every drop of profit from your investment by managing water flow and cost share opportunities. Where feasible, design new installations to reflect possible future rewards.
5:00 p.m. A Header Interface Standardization Proposal
Alan VanNahmen, President, FarmBuddy Co.
A growing coalition of farmers is seeking an interface standard to make it easier and safer to load, secure and transport large headers on trailers, and to interchange a wider variety of special headers, including biomass collection systems, up-front seeding systems and sprayer attachments. Alan feels interface standardization is feasible, and will be done if enough farmers continue to ask for this through their dealer and manufacturing contacts. Provide your input!
5:15 p.m. Adjourn to the Purdue Agronomy Farm
Monday Evening 6:00 p.m. Pork BBQ at Agronomy Crops Research and Education Center (ACRE) catered by Parrott's of Flora, Indiana
Using Precision Automation and Biotechnology to Maximize Resource Utilization
Clay Mitchell, Iowa farmer
Last year Clay introduced us to his strip intercropping system and his ideas regarding sunlight utilization. This year Clay will tell us how he puts together all of the pieces, using controlled trafficking, auto-steering, wireless network, and centimeter-level placement of seed, fertilizer, and chemicals.
Tillage Options Offer Opportunity to Improve Soil Quality, Reduce Input Costs and Increase Yields
Mike Petersen, Precision Tillage Agronomist, Orthman Manufacturing
Farmers are again facing a historic financial squeeze as input prices, such as fuel and fertilizer, are at record levels, but commodity prices remain low. A system that involves tilling narrow strips before planting and precision placement of fertilizers can allow farmers to cut input costs, reduce spring workload, address the USDA-Farm Bill issues, potentially increase yields, and boost the bottom line.
Crops Technology Field Demonstrations
Innovative crops production technologies will be demonstrated in the field, with subject matter experts in place to field your questions and discuss implications to your operation.
Tuesday, July 18, 2006
The Deans Auditorium, Room 241 Pfendler Hall 6:45 a.m. Learn to Use WeedSOFT—a Computerized Weed Management Decision Aid
Special Session, Pfendler Room 202. Limited to the first 20 registrants.
Bill Johnson and Glenn Nice, Purdue weed scientists
Sign-up is required for this special session where WeedSOFT will be loaded onto your laptop computer and you will be walked step by step in its use. This easy to use program provides producers with tools to identify weeds, select herbicides and set up a customized treatment plan. The $50 fee covers the software license. Free coffee, juice, and rolls provided to participants.
8:15 a.m. Managing Early Weed Competition
Bill Johnson, Purdue Extension Weed Control Specialist
As farmers move more and more into post-control programs in corn, early weed competition is becoming an increasing factor. Research has shown that corn is more sensitive than soybeans to early weed pressure. And, weeds can tie up nitrogen. What does this mean in terms of application timing and your use of products beyond glyphosate?
8:45 a.m. Learning to Use B-21
Here's your next look at your farm solutions.
9:15 a.m. How Current Legislation is Affecting Estate Planning
Jim Endress, University of Illinois Extension Farm Business Management and Marketing Educator
What is the exemption equivalent for Federal estate tax purposes under current law? What is the status of current legislation on estate tax repeal? Why do we do estate planning (other than to minimize the impact of estate taxes)? Be prepared to explore the answers to these and other commonly-asked questions about estate planning.
9:40 a.m. When is “not-enough” not-enough?
Gary Reding, Indiana farmer
Are you operating with not-enough land, equipment, or revenue? What can you do to stay profitable when expansion opportunities seem limited—is getting bigger the only way to get better? Explore the other factor in the equation, “price x volume – costs = profit”.
10:00 a.m. Break, Sponsored by Farm Works Software
10:30 a.m. New Capabilities from Farm Works Software
Scott Nusbaum, Farm Works Software
This fall Farm Works will have a completely new version of their software. This presentation will offer a preview of what will be coming.
10:50 a.m. Partnering with a Dairy Operation
Al Groth, Indiana farmer
Partnering with a dairy to provide for their feed and manure handling needs has allowed Al Groth to diversify and have the security needed to form a partnership arrangement with two loyal employees.
11:05 a.m. Your Opinions about Price Enhancement and Price Protection
George Patrick, Purdue Ag Economist
Learn how your opinions about the effectiveness of various marketing tools for price enhancement and price protection have changed in the last 10 years. Compare your pre-harvest pricing practices to those of your peers.
11:20 a.m. Crops, Weather, and Risk Assessment
Elwynn Taylor , Iowa State University Agricultural Meteorologist
Dryness caused by the localized drought of 2005 was essentially corrected over the winter season. The most recent widespread drought in the Corn Belt was in 1988 and studies indicate that the longest drought-free interval is 23 years. With several environmental indicators pointing to increased risk, the crop weather update is a must for all producers.
Noon Lunch
1:00 p.m. The Other Side of Crop Production
Jay Hendren, Ohio farmer and professional comedian
Take a break from your hard look at farm finances, weeds, and machinery!
1:20 p.m. Tooling Up for Harvest
Mike Shuter, Indiana farmer
A shift to more corn meant a shift in thinking regarding harvest. Mike will be leasing a combine for the first time this fall from Machinery Link, and he is retooling his grain setup so it can all work in lock-step. Walk through some of the reasoning that guided these and related decisions.
1:35 p.m. Employee Development for Better Businesses
Sarah Fogleman, Extension Agricultural Economist, Kansas State University
Employee management is rarely a producer's favorite task, but this session will help you start thinking about the skills necessary to develop and manage your business's most important resource—its people.
2:10 p.m. Working Together to Provide GPS RTK Signals
Dusty Sonnenberg , Ohio farmer
More and more farmers and custom applicators are using guidance systems, and RTK networks are springing up to provide a lower-cost alternative to base station ownership. Learn from Dusty how he and other northwest Ohio farmers are working together to provide these correction signals, 24/7.
2:25 p.m. Right-Sizing the Guidance System for Your Farm
Farmer Panel
Farmers are purchasing guidance systems at a rapid clip, to minimize overlap in tillage and crop input applications and to allow field operations such as strip tillage. Dozens of guidance systems are on the market, and while all of them use the same signals for basic operation, each system's accuracy, usability, and features can vary dramatically. Learn from those who have shopped around and used some of these systems.
2:50 p.m. Taking a Hard Look at Your Business Practices
Bryce Knorr , Senior Editor, Farm Futures Magazine
From Enron to Martha Stewart, corporate scandals raised plenty of questions about business ethics, but farmers are different, right? Bryce presents surprising new findings about farmer ethics and challenges you to take a look in the mirror.
3:10 p.m. Break
3:30 p.m. Drainage as Part of Your Overall Farm Management Plan
Richard Cooke, University of Illinois Agricultural Engineer
When farmers began mapping yields using GPS-linked yield monitors, the impact of farm drainage was one of the most dramatic and surprising revelations. Drainage decisions should be integrated into your overall farm management plan.
4:00 p.m. How the Changing Fertilizer Industry is Affecting North American Agriculture
Troy Erny, Vice President, Potash Corporation
Increased global fertilizer demand, along with higher energy prices is causing shifts in fertilizer production, prices, and distribution worldwide. Troy will discuss how these major shifts may play out for your farming operation.
4:20 p.m. What You Told Us about NGC's
Corinne Alexander, Purdue Ag Economist
New generation contracts (NGC) have become more available to producers and producers' understanding of them has increased. The primary role of NGCs is to manage price risk and provide an additional marketing tool.
4:40 p.m. A Farmer-Tested, Internet-Based Grain Procurement Software System
Jason Tatge, Farms Technology LLC
In the Dynamic Pricing Platform, Farms Technology has created a software tool that electronically connects all three participants in the grain procurement process via the Internet.
5:00 p.m. Adjourn to the Trails
Tuesday Evening
6:00 p.m. The Trails: Relax Outside the Trails Party House
6:45 p.m. Steaks
7:15 p.m. Crop Management Research, Teaching and Extension in the 21 st Century
Randy Woodson, Dean, Purdue University College of Agriculture
Wednesday Morning, July 19, 2006
The Deans Auditorium, Room 241 Pfendler Hall
7:45 a.m. Final B-21 Session
8:15 a.m. What Value do you Place on Retailer Services?
Michael Gunderson, Purdue Ag Economist
Understanding what you as a farmer buy, and why, is gold to the agricultural companies that sell to farmers. How can you use this knowledge to best position your purchases and use of services?
8:30 a.m. A Local Angle on the Weather
Dev Nyogi , Indiana State Climatologist
You have known for years that some of your farms routinely get more rain, or if there is a hailstorm or wind, a certain farm is more likely to catch it. Most weather attention has been focused on the macro events, but what affect are you getting if you farm near a large city, a major woodland tract, or large body of water?
8:50 a.m. Marketing Panel
Darrel Good, Bryce Knorr , and Robert Utterback
Moderated by Chris Hurt, Purdue Ag Economist and Marketing Specialist.
9:30 a.m. Long-term Evidence on the Crop Marketing Performance of Farmers
Scott Irwin, University of Illinois Agricultural Economist
Conventional wisdom says that crop farmers tend to be very poor marketers. Is that true? This session will review over 30 years of data on the marketing performance of Illinois corn and soybean farmers, and come to some surprising conclusions.
10:00 a.m. Break
10:30 a.m. Marketing Service Performance Evaluations: What Have We Learned after 10 Years of Research?
Darrel Good, University of Illinois agricultural economist
Do market advisory services really beat the market? What are the odds of picking the best performers over time? This session will present a 10-year performance evaluation of marketing services in corn and soybeans.
11:00 a.m. Managing the Important Role of Stakeholders in Your Business
Kevin Green, Iowa farmer
Planting, tending, harvesting, and otherwise managing their crops can be all-consuming, but Greenview Farms also manages to put a high priority on tending to their 50 or more landlords, who they feel share an equal role in their success.
11:10 a.m. Business Plan Provides Focus
Wyss Farms Enterprises, Ft. Wayne , Indiana
The award-winning business plan that this family farm developed has evolved into their daily plan of operations, providing a base for coordination and communication among family members, and for their current work in estate planning.
11:20 a.m. What Washington Is Doing: Should You Worry?
Otto Doering, Purdue Ag Economist
Otto is continuing to keep an eye on Washington , where the deficits grow and the farm bill debate heats up. He will tell us what's important and who is on first!
11:50 a.m. WrapUp and Evaluation
Jess Lowenberg-DeBoer, Purdue Ag Economist
Have your comments ready. What did you like about the 2006 Top Farmer Crop Workshop? What should be improved? Make suggestions for the 2007 program.
Noon Adjourn
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