Indiana AgriNews_013120

Page 1

January 31, 2020

www.agrinews-pubs.com

Tar spot on the move Disease causes big yield losses in corn By Martha Blum

AGRINEWS PUBLICATIONS

FREEPORT, Ill. — Tar spot can spread quickly in a cornfield. The fungal disease was first detected in Illinois and Indiana

in 2015. “It was found in DeKalb, Bureau and La Salle counties,” said Nathan Kleczewski, University of Illinois Extension pathologist. “It was largely ignored because it was light when it was observed late in the season.” In 2018, tar spot caused 25 to 60 pounds per acre yield lost in Midwest cornfields, Kleczewski said during a presentation at the

Northwest Illinois Agronomy Summit, hosted by U of I Extension. “That translated into 9 billion pounds of grain loss,” he said. Since a lot of cornfields were not planted during the 2019 growing season and corn was planted late, the damage caused by tar spot was less. However, Kleczewski said, tar spot is starting to spread pretty

Ketchup for a cause

Farmers adjust to warmer weather

Red Gold partners with Folds of Honor

By Ashley Langreck

AGRINEWS PUBLICATIONS

By Erica Quinlan

compensate farmers for losses sustained during the 18-month trade war have been paid. The first payment represented one-half of the peracre county rate for crop production, and the second and now third installments are 25% each of the total per-acre county rate. In the Trump administration’s first MFP in 2018, $12 billion in trade aid was paid to farmers. That program was based on a set price per bushel of a specific crop.

INDIANAPOLIS — At the recent A nnual Conference of Indiana Soil and Water Conservation Districts, attendees learned about the impact climate change has on Indiana and will continue to have in the future. “We use climate as a resource to help plan for weather. It’s an invaluable decision-making and planning tool on land,” said Melissa Widhalm, an operations manager for the Purdue University Climate Change Research Center. Widhalm said climate records recorded over the years can help researchers understand such things as how much rain will fall and when it will come, the date of the first freeze and when to apply nutrients. Widhalm said farm operators can adjust farm management decisions for their Widhalm operation based on climate information. “Looking at past climate records, we see in Indiana over the last 100 years, farmers are adjusting to warmer climate,” Widhalm said. Widhalm said experts looking over climate records and information over the last century have been able to determine that temperatures in Indiana have warmed up by 1.2 degrees over the last 100 years. Widhalm said 1.2 degrees may not seem like a lot to some, but one- or two-degree changes in temperature over the years can lead to longer growing seasons. Over the last 50 years in Indiana, Widhalm said the change in temperature has led to fewer cold days and warmer nights. “For every one-degree temperature change, our July nighttime temperature increases,” said Widhalm, adding that producers could see a 2% decrease in corn yields. The climate expert said farmers have had to adjust their management decisions to warmer and wetter weather since the average rainfall has increased by 5 1/2 inches over the last 100 years.

Tom C. Doran can be reached at 815-780-7894 or tdoran@ agrinews-pubs.com. Follow him on Twitter at: @AgNews_ Doran.

Ashley Langreck can be reached at 800-426-9438, ext. 192, or alangreck@agrinews-pubs.com. Follow her on Twitter at: @AgNews_Langreck.

AGRINEWS PUBLICATIONS

“A sense of duty runs through our Hoosiers veins and when our country has needed heroes, Indiana has always answered the call.” Lt. Gov. Suzanne Crouch sense of duty runs through our Hoosiers veins and when our country has needed heroes, Indiana has always answered the call. “This new partnership with Folds of Honor and MadeinAmerica.com honors our heroes, helps their families and also brings more jobs right here to Indiana.” Since 2007, Folds of Honor has carried forth the mission “to stand in the financial gap of the more than 1 million dependents adversely affected by war, providing educational scholarships to the children and spouses of those fallen or disabled while serving our nation.” “We are so humbled, so excited and so grateful for Red Gold’s support and selecting us as a partner,” said Ben Leslie, executive vice president at Folds of Honor. Many acres of Red Gold tomatoes are grown in Indiana. “It’s about having that long term partnership with family farmers that care for their land,” said Tim Ingle, senior vice president of Red Gold. “Along with Indiana, we have some fantastic growers in southern Michigan and northwest Ohio. See KETCHUP, Page A2

AUCTIONS SEE SECTION B Vol. 42 No. 18

CONTACT AGRINEWS: 800-426-9438

See SPOT, Page A2

Climate change impact

A new logo on Red Gold ketchup features the Folds of Honor Foundation, which provides educational support to the children and spouses of those who have fallen or have been disabled while serving the United States. A portion of the proceeds from each purchase of Red Gold Folds of Honor Ketchup goes directly to aid this mission.

INDIANAPOLIS — Red Gold has partnered with Folds of Honor, a non-profit that provides educational support to the children and spouses of those who have fallen or have been disabled while serving our nation. A portion of the proceeds from each purchase of Red Gold Folds of Honor Ketchup goes directly to aid this mission. “Red Gold Tomatoes is showing the country and the world what Indiana is all about,” said Lt. Gov. Suzanne Crouch. “A

fast into a larger geographic area. “It’s spreading further south, it continues to move east and it was found in a couple new states this past year — Minnesota and Missouri,” he said. “Iowa has it, it is getting close to Nebraska and it’s going to continue to move.”

A table full of Indiana Grown products shows the variety of goods created in the state.

ISDA PHOTOS

GROWING SUCCESS Indiana Grown celebrates five-year anniversary By Erica Quinlan

AGRINEWS PUBLICATIONS

INDIANAPOLIS — The Indiana Grown program celebrated its five-year anniversary at the Statehouse with program members, partners and legislators. The Indiana Grown team highlighted their major accomplishments and outlined key priorities for the year ahead. “Having the Indiana Grown logo on a member’s product or storefront door seems to be a badge of honor,” said Lt. Gov. Suzanne Crouch. “As I travel across our state, some of my favorite visits are to our Indiana Grown partners. “They have such a passion for their work that is visible

the moment you step in the door or onto the farm. Today’s event was an incredible opportunity to showcase their work and celebraKettler te where they are headed.” Bruce Kettler, director of the Indiana State Department of Agriculture, also applauded the program. “The Indiana Grown program is expanding daily, and I commend the work done by our staff over these last five years to get this program to where it is today,” Kettler said.

MAKING PROGRESS The program has added hundreds of farmers, growers, makers and producers to its member directory and has successfully partnered with retail stores like Kroger, Needlers and Target to promote local foods. In July 2017, Indiana Grown officials hosted the first annual Monumental Marketplace, a one-of-a-kind market held on Monument Circle in downtown Indianapolis. Indiana Grown established Indiana Grown for Schools in conjunction with the Indiana State Department of Health and Purdue Extension. See GROWN, Page A2

Final MFP payment due By Tom C. Doran

AGRINEWS PUBLICATIONS

WASHINGTON — The third and final Market Facilitation Program payment will be distributed soon, and government officials don’t expect a similar program for 2020. President Donald Trump said at the American Farm Bureau Federation’s annual convention in Austin, Texas, that despite a trade deal with China, the third and final tranche of MFP payments for the 2019 crop “will be coming very quickly.” “We don’t have a date of release. We have to get the firm date from (Office of Management and Budget) on the allocation,” said U.S. Department

of Agriculture Secretary Sonny Perdue. Perdue also confirmed that with the Phase 1 of the U.S.China trade deal in place, “don’t expect a 2020 Market Facilitation Program.” In the first phase of the trade agreement, China committed to buying an average of $40 billion in agricultural goods each of the next two years, up from $24 billion in 2017 before the trade war began. Though China has confirmed it will increase its agricultural purchases, it has not publicly committed to a specific dollar amount, or indicated which products it plans to buy. Two out of three parts of the $16 billion aid package to

INSIDE

Gladden joins AFBF leadership committee A4

Caring for livestock newborns B8

ASA celebrates ‘First Soy Century’ B12

AgriTrucker B7

Health A8

Antiques A9

Kitchen Diva A8

Auction Calendar B1

Lifestyle A8

Business B10

Livestock B8

Classifieds B6

Opinion B9

Farms For Sale B5

Weather A6


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