2019 Knox County Farm Preview by Princeton Daily Clarion, The Hometown Register, Warrick Standard

2019

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2 2019 FARM PREVIEW, Friday, February 22, 2019 Sun-Commercial

Purdue Ag Alumni Association honors career contributors BY NICK ROGERS PURDUE NEWS SERVICE

WEST LAFAYETTE — Seven noted graduates and contributors associated with the Purdue University College of Agriculture have received the Agricultural Alumni Association’s highest honor, the Certificate of Distinction, presented annually to professionals who have significantly contributed to agriculture, forestry or natural resources through their career accomplishments, organizational involvement, community ser vice and other activities. Among the recipients was Paul Singleton of Bruceville. Thousands of Indiana residents will never be directly aware of the accomplishments Singleton has achieved by being on the board of directors

of the Evansville-based Community Foundation Alliance. “During Paul’s tenure, the nine counties of the alliance — Daviess, Gibson, Knox, Perry, Pike, Posey, Spencer, Vanderburgh and Warrick — have grown assets to $100 million,” says Jill Carpenter, the alliance’s executive director. “This is a direct result of board members like Paul who are willing to engage new practices for growing assets.” Singleton holds a bachelor’s degree from Purdue and, since 1975, has owned and operated a 300-acre farm in Knox County. During his tenure as a USDA Farm Service Agency director, Singleton made and serviced more than 500 loans to beginning farmers in 11 counties over a 35-year period. He also trained 18 loan officers

over a span of 35 years of service and was named FSA Manager of the year in 1998. “Without his help, guidance and encouragement, I would

Paul Singleton of Bruceville was among the noted graduates and contributors associated with the Purdue University College of Agriculture to receive the Agricultural Alumni Association’s highest honor, the Certificate of Distinction, presented annually to professionals who have significantly contributed to agriculture, forestry or natural resources through their career accomplishments, organizational involvement, community service and other activities. Sun-Commercial photo courtesy of the Purdue News Service

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4 2019 FARM PREVIEW, Friday, February 22, 2019 Sun-Commercial on Indiana,” says Jeanette K. Merritt, job,” says Donya Lester, former who spent 11 years with the Purdue director of the Purdue Ag Alumni Association. “He taught all the rest Wine Grape Team. of us how to do ours.” Donya Lester of Linden KENNETH A. HUSEMAN After 28 years building and nurOF CEDAR LAKE Four consecutive Purdue Agri- turing relationships with 33,000-plus culture deans have relied on Ken- alumni, Donya Lester retired in neth Huseman’s counsel and exper- 2018. A key to her successful tenure? tise through his work on Purdue’s Not standing still. “To me, one of the hallmarks of Council for Agricultural Research, Extension and Teaching. PCARET Donya’s leadership was her abilTED AND DANA is a lay advisory and legislative advo- ity to continually reinvent how we HUBER OF BORDEN cacy group for the dean; approach alumni relations,” says The wine industr y is Huseman has been a Karen Plaut, the Glenn W. Sample an increasingly imporDean of the College of Agriculture. member since 1980. tant piece of Indiana’s “The Hubers are Lester’s list of accomplishments “(Ken) understands agritourism industr y. one of the most the broader political is long, but they include instituting Dana and Ted Huber are dynamic and in which fund- the Ag Tailgate event in 2000 and two reasons why. entrepreneurially context ing requests must be redesigning the Ag Alumni’s Fish “Their personal framed,” says Vic Lech- Fr y event in 2001 to accommodate impact on the growth spirited wife-andtenberg, who ser ved a larger venue, prestigious keynote of the wine industr y in husband teams as the dean of Purdue speakers and cost-saving efforts. Indiana cannot be over- that I have She also reconfigured commencefrom 1994 to stated,” says Christian encountered in my Agriculture ment receptions for College of Agri2004. E. Butzke, a professor “I learned much from of enology in Purdue’s 25 years working Ken about how to best Department of Food Sci- for the U.S. wine share our story with our ence and enologist for industry ... (They elected officials,” the Purdue Wine Grape keep) their Indiana federal says Jay Akridge, PurTeam. due provost and former “The Hubers are one operation on the Glenn W. Sample Dean of the most dynamic cutting edge of of the College of Agriculand entrepreneurially agricultural ture. spirited wife-and-hus“His vast experience band teams that I have technology.” and warm style make it encountered in my 25 — Christian E. Butzke easy for people to listen years working for the Professor of enology to and work with him,” U.S. wine industr y ... says Karen Plaut, the (They keep) their Indiana operation on the cutting edge of Glenn W. Sample Dean of the College of Agriculture. agricultural technology.” Huseman holds bachelor’s and Huber’s Orchard, Winer y and Vineyards in Clark County is a sev- master’s degrees from Purdue. He enth-generation operation annually worked for Swift & Co. from 1961 to visited by more than 600,000 people. 1970 and, since 1970, has operated Its 65 acres of vineyards represent Huseman Farm in Cedar Lake. “It wasn’t just enough to do his Indiana’s largest estate-bottled winery. The grounds also include a farm market, banquet facility, children’s farm park, ice cream shop, distiller y, baker y, cheese shop and café. The business also produces apples, peaches, pumpkins, berries, squash, Christmas trees and seasonal produce. PB-2520 SRM-225 “They were at the forefront of 99 99 agritourism and led the way in nontraditional agriculture and its impact Straight Shaft Trimmer Hand-Held Blower not have been able to buy my first farm,” said Don Villwock, a retired Indiana Farm Bureau president Singleton and his fellow recipients were honored at the 2019 Purdue Ag Alumni Fish Fry, held on Feb. 2 at the Elements Financial Blue Ribbon Pavilion at the Indiana State Fairgrounds in Indianapolis. Also recognized were:

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culture graduates, which Plaut says parents and graduates alike praise as “a fitting capstone to the Purdue Agriculture experience.” By restructuring the Ag Alumni Board of Directors, Lester also ensured representatives from every department in the College, as well as undergraduates and graduate students. “Her intentional focus on bringing more recent alumni to the board is paying real dividends,” Plaut says.

JIM MOSELEY OF CLARKS HILL Nominations for the Certificate of Distinction occasionally turn up the question: “Doesn’t he/she already have one?” Sometimes — as was the case for Jim Moseley this year — nominators and those writing in support are astonished. After earning a bachelor’s degree from Purdue in 1973, Moseley and his wife, Kathy, started farming near Clarks Hill. By 1989, Moseley was

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serving as the agriculture advisor to the administrator of the U.S. Environmental Protection Agency. He went on to ser ve at Purdue University as director of agricultural ser vices and regulations, at the National Pork Producers Council as chairman and lead negotiator of the industr y team, and the United States Department of Agriculture. From 2001 to 2005, Moseley served as a deputy secretary at the USDA, leading the response for post-9/11 security needs of U.S. food and agricultural systems and heading teams that addressed international agricul-

ture issues. “Jim is a bit of an unsung hero in that the bulk of his impact and success is not immediately obvious,” says Beth Archer, executive director of AgrIInstitute. “Those who have worked with Jim are fully aware that he truly makes a difference in large and small ways.”

STEVE SHIFLEY OF CENTRALIA, MISSOURI “How do you measure the impact of a forestry research career?” says L ynne M. Westphal, project leader and research social scientist with the

Friday, February 22, 2019 2019 FARM PREVIEW

U.S. Forest Ser vice. “Publications and citations? Students and early career professionals supported? Foresters helped? Community service? Steve has done it all.” After a 40-year career with the U.S. Forest Ser vice’s Nor ther n Research Station, Steve Shifley recently retired. Since 1988, he has been based at the University of Missouri in Columbia. Shifley earned bachelor’s and master’s degrees from Purdue, where he is also an adjunct faculty member. He has written more than 160 publications, delivered more than

75 invited presentations and received more than $3 million in competitive research funding. Shifley’s research had a fundamental effect on how forests are measured, quantified and modeled. He helped develop LANDIS, a landscape modeling system that can work at various scales and incorporate a full range of ecosystem components and functions. As his former colleague William Brad Smith says: “The future of our nation’s, and indeed, the world’s forests, depends in part on the tireless efforts of researchers like Steve Shifley.”

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Make the most of spring planting What The 2019 Indiana Small Farm Conference wants you to know BY NICK ROGERS PURDUE NEWS SERVICE

WEST LAFAYETTE Amid arctic air and snow yet to fall, organizers of the 2019 Indiana Small Farm Conference want you to know: It’s never too early to think spring. “Planting season will be here sooner than you expect,” says Tamara Benjamin, assistant program leader and diversified agriculture specialist with Pur due Extension and one of the conference’s organizers. “The Indiana Small Farm Conference is a great

way to learn about what’s new and what’s next in production, marketing, and other critical areas so you can make the most of your efforts in the 2019 growing season and beyond.” The 2019 conference and trade show will be held from Feb. 28 to March 2 at the Hendricks County 4-H Fairgrounds and Conference Complex in Danville. Registration for the conference is now open at purdue.ag/sfc. Benjamin says conference registration is $90 for one day, $162for

two days and $228 for all three days. Admission for children 18 and younger is $24, $42 and $54. One discounted r egistration fee for a plus-one — such as a spouse/partner or a worker on an attendee’s farm — is available at $60, $120 or $168. Any additional attendees beyond a plus-one pay for full admission. “We encourage you to register early, especially if you’re interested in one of our daylong workshops that kick of f the conference,” Benjamin says. “Space is going fast.”

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mycorrhizae: A fungal immersion course. • Successful biological orcharding. Two tours also will be available, a butcher shop and livestock processing tour with Moody’s Butcher Shop, Smoking Goose and more; and an agritourism far m tour encompassing Hunter’s Honey Far m, Chandlers Orchar d and Countr y Market and Mallow Run Winer y. There will be an additional cost to attend the agritourism farm tour. Please see the registration page for details. Breakout sessions on March 1-2 will cover such topics as food safety, farm management, value-added products like herbs and oils, pest control, price trends, poultr y, high tunnels, marketing, infrastructure, disease management, policy and diversity.

KEYNOTE SPEAKERS FOR THE CONFERENCE ARE: • Michael Phillips (March 1) of Lost Nation Orchard, whose “Soil Redemption Song” encourages farmers to more deeply consider the role of soil biology in healthy crops. This means minimal soil disturbance, rational grazing and respectful forest management. Phillips also ser ves as coordinator of the Holistic Orchard Network and is the author of “The Holistic Orchard: G r o w i n g T r e e Fr uits and Ber ries the Biological Way.” He will of fer a full-day workshop on holistic soil nutrition and biodiversity in biological

Friday, February 22, 2019 2019 FARM PREVIEW

orcharding. • Karen Washington (March 2) of Rise & Root Farm. A New York native and urban agriculture advocate, Washington has pioneered access to fresh, locally grown food for large metro populations. She is a board member and former president of the New York City Community Garden Coalition and a cofounder of Black Urban Growers. In 2012, “Ebony” named her among America’s 100 most influential African Americans for her promotion of the power and dignity of growing your own food. She received the James Beard Leadership Award in 2014. Vendors will display a wide range of agricultural equipment, products

and ser vices during a trade show March 1-2 in the facility’s exhibit hall. “The diversity of our programming at this year’s conference reflects something I love about the small-farm community — that there is no one definition of what small farms represent,” Benjamin says. “Bringing people from all walks of life together — and connecting them to Extension educators, fellow farmers, expert speakers, and vendors — makes the Indiana Small Farm Conference a premier destination.” For more information — or to sign up — visit the Indiana Small Farm Conference website at purdue.ag/sfc. Follow the conference on T witter and Instagram at @ SmallFarmPurdue or on Facebook at @PurdueExtensionSmallFarms, #PurdueSmallFarms.

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‘Farm the Best, Save the Rest’ BY JESS COHEN THE SUN-COMMERCIAL

onser vation district pushing to promote programs for landowners with property in floodplains Staff with the Knox County Soil and Water Conser vation District are working to spread the word about special programs available to owners of flood-prone land. The Nature Conser vancy and the conser vation district last summer hosted a free field day, dubbed “Farm the Best, Save the Rest,” for local landowners at a property in Monroe City. Speakers shared infor mation about the programs are available

through the U.S. Depar tment of Agriculture that help proper ty owners capitalize on river bottom land in a more productive way than farming it, which is getting harder and harder these days. Changing weather patterns with more intense rainfall and more frequent flooding of the Wabash and White rivers have made it difficult, if not impossible, to productively farm some of the river bottom land in the county, district officials say. In Knox County, there are 1,500 residents who own land in a floodplain, district conser vationist Tom Held said, so the programs should have a broad appeal. And though the field day didn’t garner a huge

tur nout (it was the first attempt in recent years to get the word out), district of ficials are hopeful momentum will continue to build and folks who were in attendance will share what they learned with other landowners. And it’s impor tant the information gets circulated, Held said. For proper ty owners who farm their land, Held said, the landscape is their livelihood — and the river bottoms are a hostile environment. In the spring, more out-of-bank flow also gets into the cropland acres, he said, which is where the impacts of soil erosion and water quality surface.

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The programs can help, but Held stressed they’re voluntar y and the proper ty owners are the ones who make the decision on which practice to implement. “We’re not tr ying to tell the landowners what to do,” he said. “We’re just helping them identify what their resource concer ns are and providing some technical assistance to help them farm the ground they’re farming better. “We want to tr y and figure out how to improve their livelihood there.” Among the programs landowners can take advantage is the environmental quality incentive program geared specifically toward

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far mers or producers who are growing crops in the floodplain. “The practices we do ther e would be tr ying to adopt no-till practices and cover crops, looking at how they apply the nutrients to grow their crops so they’re more incremental, more ef ficient and better protected from raindrops and out-of-bank flow,” Held said. The conser vation reser ve program, of fered through a par tnership with the Farm Ser vice Agency and the state Department of Agriculture, of fers a more lucrative oppor tunity for the landowner to retire their land acres and create wildlife habitat on it, such as a wood lot or waterfowl habitat. “That program is combined to of fer both state and federal dollars to landowners to provide more of an incentive for retiring that

The conservation reserve program, offered through a partnership with the Farm Service Agency and the state Department of Agriculture, offers a more lucrative opportunity for the landowner to retire their land acres and create wildlife habitat on it, such as a wood lot or waterfowl habitat. ground into a 15-year contract for waterfowl habitat or tree-planting, for example,” Held said. There also a similar oppor tunity through the wetland reser ve easement program, offered by the USDA and Natural Resource Conser vation Ser vice. “You can get money upfront per

Friday, February 22, 2019 2019 FARM PREVIEW

acre to retire your cropland acres, as well as some other lands associated with it, into a permanent easement,” Held said. “And that permanent easement is a lifetime, perpetual easement that changes the land use in a deed to forever be retired into wildlife land use. “So depending on the perspective of the landowner, there are a lot of different routes to take.” The programs could create a brighter economic outlook for the landowners themselves, but they also have implications for the environment, explained Brad Smith, program manager for The Nature Conser vancy’s Southwest Indiana of fice, and that’s why landowners should look into what’s available. “ W h e n l a n d g o e s f a l l o w, i t becomes a habitat for wildlife,” he said. “And as the trees grow

up, those lands are able to absorb nutrients out of the water. So they’re able to basically help clean the water by removing nutrients and sediments, which is important for aquatic species, for the fish and mussels.” Those interested in lear ning more about the programs available for landowners of flood-prone acres can contact the USDA service center at 812-882-8210 or stop by the of fice at 604 Quail Run Road. “We’ve got the Farm Ser vice Agency, the NRCS of fice and the Knox County Soil and Water Conser vation District here in the same of fice. We’re a one-stop shop,” Held said. “Anybody here could provide more information to help that landowner decide what their options are.”

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Purdue Extension hosting state’s organic grain farmer conference PURDUE NEWS SERVICE

WEST LAFAYETTE – Registration is open for Purdue Extension’s 2019 Indiana Organic Grain Farmer Meeting. This year’s event has expanded from its annual meeting to a two-day conference and is Indiana’s only conference on organic grain farming. The conference will be held March 6-7 at the Beck Agricultural Center in West Lafayette. Purdue

Extension is hosting the event in conjunction with Jasper County Soil and Water Conservation District and IDEA Farm Network. “We don’t have oppor tunities like this in Indiana,” said Michael O’Donnell, event organizer. “The meeting emphasizes farmer-to-farmer learning, providing a platform for farmers to share their experiences in presentations and panel discussion. Representatives from industr y will attend, and there will be plenty of

opportunities for networking.” The conference will be a full-day workshop with a focus on how farmers can transition into organic grain production. Presentations and farmer panels will cover organic certification, the National Organic Program, fundamentals of organic grain production, strategies for transitioning, and organic grain budgets and markets. The second day of fers a more advanced look at organic grain farm-

ing practices. Topics include weed management, fertility management, livestock integration, soil health and food-grade grain production, handling, and storage techniques. Registration for the event is open. The cost of the conference is $80 to attend both days, $40 to attend the session on March 6 and $50 to attend the session on March 7. The second day of the conference also offers opportunities for sponsors and exhibitors.

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Developers, not farmers, get biggest win from wetlands rule BY ELLEN KNICKMEYER ASSOCIATED PRESS

WASHINGTON — President Donald Trump often points to farmers as among the biggest winners from the administration’s proposed rollback of federal protections for wetlands and waterways across the country. But under longstanding federal law and rules, farmers and farmland already are exempt from most of the regulator y hurdles on behalf of wetlands that the Trump administration is targeting. Because of that, environmental groups long have argued that builders, oil and gas drillers and other industry owners would be the big winners if the gover nment adopts the pending rollback, making it easier to fill in bogs, creeks and streams for plowing, drilling, mining or building. Government numbers released last December suppor t that argument. Real estate developers and those in other business sectors take out substantially more permits than farmers for projects impinging on wetlands, creeks, and streams, and who stand to reap the biggest regulator y and financial relief from the Trump administration’s rollback of wetlands protections. But Trump and his administration put farmers front and center as beneficiaries of the proposed

rollback because of the strong regard Americans historically hold for farming, opponents say. Trump traveled to New Orleans on Monday to speak to a national farm convention. “The administration understands good optics in surrounding themselves with farmers,” in proposing the rollback, said Geof f Gisler, a senior attor ney at the Souther n Environmental Law Center. “Surrounding themselves with folks that would represent the industries that actually benefit would not be as good an optic.” Backers “have been really happy to have farmers be the face of it,” said Kenneth Kopocis, the Environmental Protection Agency’s deputy assistant administrator for water under the Obama administration. But the building industr y, oil and gas and others with lower profiles in the campaign “are going to be some of the big beneficiaries.” The more than 300-page financial analysis the administration released last month when it formally proposed the rollback appears to starkly quantify that disparity. Of 248,688 federal permits issued from 2011 to 2015 for work that would deposit dirt or other fill into protected wetlands, streams and shorelines, the federal government on average required home builders and other developers to do some kind of mitigation — pay

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to restore a wetland elsewhere, generally — an average of 990 times a year, nationwide, according to the government’s analysis. In all, other industries and agriculture obtained an average of 3,163 such wetlands permits with some kind of extra payment or other mitigation strings attached each year. Farmers represented just eight of those on average in a year, according to the administration’s figures. The U.S. Army Corps of Engineers, which administers the wetlands protections with the Environmental Protection Agency, and the National Association of Home Builders confirmed Friday that developers and other industries, not farmers, have felt the biggest impact from the federal wetlands protections and would get most of the financial breaks under the rollback. “The residential constr uction industr y does pull more wetlands permits than farmers do,” Liz Thompson, spokeswoman for the National Association of Home Builders, said in an email. The T r ump administration’s pending rollback of wetlands protections “could be a benefit to builders who will see some relief in terms of cost and time. That said, builders will still be regulated and will still be the industr y that pulls

The administration’s proposal greatly narrows what kind of wetlands and streams fall under federal protection. If it is formally adopts it after a public comment period, it would change how the federal government enforces the landmark 1972 Clean Water Act and scale back a 2015 Obama administration rule on what waterways are protected. the largest number of 404 permits which are ver y costly,” Thompson wrote, referring to the section of the Clean Water Act dealing with the regulator y enforcement and permits. The administration’s proposal greatly narrows what kind of wetlands and streams fall under federal protection. If it is formally adopts it after a public comment period, it would change how the federal government enforces the landmark 1972 Clean Water Act and scale back a 2015 Obama administration r ule on what water ways are protected. Environmental groups say millions of miles of streams and wetlands would lose protection. Trump signed an order in Februar y 2017 directing the rollback. With farmers as well as homebuild-

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ers by his side, Trump called the waterways protections then in force a â&#x20AC;&#x153;massive power grabâ&#x20AC;? targeting â&#x20AC;&#x153;nearly every puddle or every ditch on a farmerâ&#x20AC;&#x2122;s land.â&#x20AC;? The farm bloc has been one of the most loyal to Trump, despite farmersâ&#x20AC;&#x2122; complaints that the administration has favored oil and gas producers over corn ethanol farmers, and their worries over a trade war with China. Acting EPA head Andrew Wheeler surrounded himself with farm bureau representatives and farmstate Congress members in signing the rollback proposal last month. In Tennessee, Wheeler, Agriculture Secretar y Sonny Perdue and farm industr y leaders from Washington stood in front of tractors and U.S. flags last month to urge farmers to campaign for the rollback. â&#x20AC;&#x153;The EPA has done its job, now

all of us in this room have to help to get this over the finish line,â&#x20AC;? Zippy Duvall, head of the American Farm Bureau Federation, told the Tennessee farm crowd then. Farmers who suppor t the rollback call the federal protections of wetlands and creeks a burden, and insist farmers know best how to protect their property. Environmental groups, publichealth organizations and others say itâ&#x20AC;&#x2122;s impossible to keep the countryâ&#x20AC;&#x2122;s downstream lakes, rivers and water supplies clean unless upstream waters are also regulated federally. The targeted regulations also protect wildlife and their habitats. The Clean Water Act permits deal with work that would dump dirt or fill into a wetland or waterway. Breaks for farmers long have been written into the law, so that a farmer doesnâ&#x20AC;&#x2122;t need permits for

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ordinar y ongoing farming that, for instance, sends some soil running off into a wetland. The American Farm Bureau Federation â&#x20AC;&#x201D; one of the most active promoters of the scaling back of the Clean Water Actâ&#x20AC;&#x2122;s reach â&#x20AC;&#x201D; says the 2015 Obama version of the rule could force farmers to pursue costly wetlands permits and mitigation for routine plowing and other farm work. â&#x20AC;&#x153;Itâ&#x20AC;&#x2122;s just really a nightmare for farmers to have to navigate,â&#x20AC;? said Don Parrish, the senior director of regulator y relations at the agriculture trade group. â&#x20AC;&#x153;It can cost them the use of the land, generally they have to stop using their landâ&#x20AC;? if they run afoul of it. â&#x20AC;&#x153;If you could see me, Iâ&#x20AC;&#x2122;d be laughingâ&#x20AC;? at that claim, Kopocis, the lead Obama water of ficial behind the 2015 rule, said by phone

Sunday. â&#x20AC;&#x153;Every single exemption or exclusion that agriculture hadâ&#x20AC;? was preserved in the Obama administrationâ&#x20AC;&#x2122;s 2015 work on the wetlands rule, he said. In an email, Cindy Barger, an Army Corps of Engineers of ficial involved in the proposed regulatory change, confirmed that the r ules targeted by the Trump administration had kept the regulator y relief for farmers. Compared to other industries, as wetlands protections currently stand, â&#x20AC;&#x153;the agricultural industry has less economic exposure because of the permit exemptions,â&#x20AC;? Barger said. The gain for farmers would be the T r ump administrationâ&#x20AC;&#x2122;s attempt to streamline definition of protected wetlands, meaning farmers wouldnâ&#x20AC;&#x2122;t have to consult experts to know if an area is protected, she said.

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14 2019 FARM PREVIEW, Friday, February 22, 2019 Sun-Commercial

Hemp is legal; Can I grow it in Indiana? It isn’t easy to be allowed to do it. Good luck finding legal seeds BY NOAH STUBBS EVANSVILLE COURIER & PRESS

EVANSVILLE — Standing outside the gates of the derelict Mesker Amphitheatre in September 2015, then independent mayoral candidate Steve “Woz” Wozniak introduced a then-illegal plant, industrial hemp, as his main campaign platform. “Evansville will be the first municipality in the world to occupy a building made out of industrial agriculture (hemp),” Wozniak told supporters and media attending his official mayoral candidacy announcement. Voters rejected Wozniak’s industrial hemp platform later in November. The self-proclaimed serial inventor and

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entrepreneur received only four percent of the vote in a three-way mayoral race. Back in 2015, industrial hemp was not well known. Ongoing national media coverage of hemp-based CBD oil, however, helped bring the plant into the mainstream. And the passage of the 2018 Farm Bill removed industrial hemp from the Controlled Substances Act, making it a legal crop. It has more than 20,000 different applications, from medicinal and food grade oils from the seeds to paper and clothing from the fibers. Industry analysts predict the hemp market could hit more than $20 billion in the next three to five years. But can hemp advocates and entrepreneurs like Wozniak, or any Hoosier, grow a crop of hemp this season and tap into that market? Indiana State Chemist and Seed

Commissioner Robert Waltz said the “It will also be reflected in the Indiana answer is not simple. law, just as it is now practiced in Indiana for (hemp) researchers who have held licenses for the past few years.” GET A LICENSE Under the existing law, a licensee To grow, handle or research hemp, needs a clean criminal record for 10 you’ll need a license. “But first, there needs to be a set of years from drug-related misdemeanors or felonies. administrative rules,” Waltz said. Licensees will also need to meet Waltz, who’s office is in charge of regulating industrial hemp in Indiana, a minimum required square footage said the state is required to set up its or acreage for growing. Minimum own oversight program and adminis- requirements have not been detertration rules for commercial produc- mined. “You’ll have to grow several tion. It’s a process that could take up to acres,” Waltz said. “You won’t be able to grow individual plants.” nine more months. In addition to licensing, the rules Without a license, a hemp grow will will determine a laundry list of defini- be considered marijuana and is subtions and processes related to hemp ject to Schedule 1 drug laws. production, including fees, seed labeling and requirements, crop site definiSOURCE YOUR SEEDS tion and background checks. Growers will need to purchase “(Background checks) are currently part of the federal law,” Waltz said. SEE GROW/PAGE 25

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Friday, February 22, 2019 2019 FARM PREVIEW

CBD legalization sets stage for state’s hemp industry BY DANIELLE GRADY JEFFERSONVILLE & NEW ALBANY NEWS AND TRIBUNE

Stacey Freiber t isn’t one for flashy adver tisements. You won’t see neon signs or strings of colorful flags outside her natural food store, called Seeds and Greens, in New Albany. But Freibert has made one, subtle exception: two signs on her door advertising products made from cannabidiol, or CBD. It’s an indication of just how impor tant CBD has become for Freiber t’s business over the past nine months. Since December, CBD products have slowly begun to dominate Seeds and Greens sales. The store now offers eight brands of oils, capsules and creams, which promise to help with a laundry list of ailments, including seizures, pain, inflammation, anxiety and more. Research on CBD is limited, but

clinical trials have shown that it is ef fective in treating epilepsy, and other, preliminar y research shows promising results for its treatment of other medical conditions (including some of the ones Freibert likes to advertise), according to a World Health Organization report. While CBD is a compound found in the cannabis plant, it doesn’t cause the psychoactive high associated with marijuana. That’s inflicted by THC, a separate compound. In fact, WHO says there are no public health-related problems associated with the use of pure CBD at all. Freibert started selling CBD at her store three years ago, but she considered it a niche item that only a handful of her customers wanted. At the time, there were no laws pertaining to CBD product sales in Indiana. In June 2017, though, the Indiana

State Excise Police raided a Fresh Thyme store in Indianapolis, swiping thousands of dollars wor th of CBD products from the shelves. The raid came just two months after the Indiana General Assembly passed a bill that made it legal for epilepsy patients to take CBD, but which didn’t address the buying and selling of it. In the following months, CBD confusion reigned. The excise police stopped taking it fr om shelves, but soon Indiana Attorney General Cur tis Hill was declaring it illegal. Eventually, Gov. Eric Holcomb stepped in to say that stores were, in fact, allowed to sell CBD products. W ith each new development and each flurry of media coverage, Freibert believes Hoosiers began to learn more about CBD — and start wanting it more and more.

Josh Hendrix, the director of business development for CV Sciences, a top retail supplier of CBD products in the United States, noticed an uptick in sales for the company following the raid and its media coverage. By December, CV Science’s Indiana customers were buying more than those in any other state. Eight months later, that still holds true. In March of 2018, the governor signed a bill officially classifying hemp-derived CBD products as legal as long as their THC levels are at or below 0.3 percent. The legislation did come with a caveat: Manufacturers had to wrap all their Indiana-sold products in special labels spor ting QR codes. When scanned, the codes provide information about the batch of CBD from which the product came. Businesses originally balked at

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16 2019 FARM PREVIEW, Friday, February 22, 2019 Sun-Commercial the suggestion, but CV Sciences now puts the special labels on all its products, no matter what state they’re being sold in, and Hendrix says he’s happy to be benefiting customers across the country by doing so. CV Sciences did sustain some extra costs in the beginning when switching over to the new labels, Hendrix said, but today, the CBD business is as strong as ever. Freibert now sells 15 to 20 CBD products every day, a big difference from when she star ted. She attributes her take-of f in sales, not to legalization, but to customer education and word-of-mouth. Still, she no longer has to periodically pull CBD from her shelves thanks to the law, and she can now freely adver tise her stock. State Sen. Jim Tomes, R-Blairsville, who co-authored the CBD legalization bill, said that he’s noticed more and more stores around Indiana selling the products:

from health food shops to convenience stores. But while CBD sales are good, hemp advocates say that Indiana is missing out on taking advantage of a larger part of the industry. There’s hope, though, that the CBD bill could have been a first step to making this happen.

THE REST OF THE SUPPLY CHAIN John Taylor works right next to a police station, but if he owned the same business in Indiana that he does in Kentucky, he might be a target of law enforcement instead of their neighbor. Taylor manufacturers CBD in Louisville, Kentucky, through his company, Commonwealth Extracts, with headquar ters just two miles across the Ohio River from Indiana. He owns a 133,000-square-foot building where he employs Kentucky residents and buys hemp grown by Kentucky farmers. Last year, Kentucky-licensed

hemp processors like Taylor reported $25.6 million in capital investments and $16.7 million in sales, according to the Kentucky Department of Agriculture. They also paid farmers $7.5 million, creating 81 new full-time jobs. That’s money to which businesses in Indiana have no access. While the manufacturing of CBD isn’t illegal, there’s nothing in state law saying it’s OK, either. And hemp farming is only legalized for research purposes, which means that Purdue University is the only organization doing so. Without these two components, Indiana is only participating in 25 percent of the hemp supply chain, said Jessica Scott, the executive director of the Indiana Hemp Industries Association. She believes that this is doing the state an economic

disservice. Hemp, from which CBD can be derived, does not contain much, if any, of the psychoactive compound THC. Instead of being used as a drug, it’s grown to create a variety of products, from cooking oils to car parts. Advocates see hemp as a way to take advantage of Indiana’s strong agricultural infrastructure, and an oppor tunity to grow another crop that doesn’t need subsidies to be profitable. The plant is a natural fit for Indiana, too, where hemp farming was common during World War II when the practice was temporarily legalized to support the war effort. Despite its harmlessness, the federal government did not allow hemp farming until 2014. That year, the Farm Bill gave states the permission to create pilot programs to

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start growing their own. Some, like Indiana, have yet to create a commercial program, partly because the plant is still considered a Schedule I controlled substance by the Drug Enforcement Administration. Opponents of hemp farming say that growers could use it as a front for marijuana production. The Kentucky gover nment fights against this by testing hemp before its sent to processors and by per forming background checks on license holders, Taylor said. Because of the DEA’s stance on hemp, the country still relies heavily on imports. Last year, $67.3 million in hemp seeds and fibers came to the United States form other countries, according to data from the U.S. International Trade Commission. This could change with passage of the 2018 Farm Bill, which finally

removed industrial hemp from the controlled substances list. A new federal classification for hemp should be welcome in the Indiana Legislature, where an effort to create a pilot program has been slowly growing. In 2017, an Indiana House bill to create one was stripped by the Senate amid concerns that it would anger the DEA and overburden the Indiana Department of Agriculture, which is not a regulatory agency. The issue was remanded to a summer study committee, where it flourished. A preliminar y draft of legislation was created that would launch an industrial hemp program, if passed. The next step is for a legislator to introduce a fully-fledged bill during the current session. Scott hopes it happens soon. “We’ve got to move now,” she said. “Our neighbors are moving

Friday, February 22, 2019 2019 FARM PREVIEW

quickly and they are miles ahead of us, as are many other states in the country.” Growing hemp for commercial purposes has been legal in Kentucky since 2014, but Illinois just took the step to star t a program this year. It’s still illegal in Ohio and Michigan. Farmers and hemp processors, including potential CBD manufacturers, are currently lining up to take advantage of an industrial hemp program, if created. The hemp chapter of the Indiana Farmers Union already has 32 members, according to its president, Mar ty Mahan, who himself is eyeing hemp farming as a way to diversify his family homestead that has been around for over 100 years. Jef f Cummins, the director of public affairs for the Indiana Department of Agriculture, thinks it’s

“entirely possible” that the Legislature passes a bill this year to create an industrial hemp pilot program. That’s based on the conversations he’s had with lawmakers and the summer study committee meetings he attended. There are already officials interested in introducing the legislation, including Sen. Randy Head, R-Logansport, a member of the study committee. Most lawmakers in the Statehouse seem to be educated on hemp, said Justin Swanson, the president of the Midwest Hemp Council. He thinks that the legalization of CBD has been a stepping stone to more pro-hemp laws. A year ago, it wasn’t clear who was allowed to take CBD, let alone sell it. Now, there are hardly any restrictions. The shift has been “seismic,” he said.

18 2019 FARM PREVIEW, Friday, February 22, 2019 Sun-Commercial

Legal hemp raises questions about pesticides BY BRIAN WALLHEIMER PURDUE NEWS SERVICE

WEST LAFAYETTE — The legalization of industrial hemp in the 2018 Farm Bill is good news for farmers – especially tobacco growers dealing with declining demand for their crop. The bad news? If they find pests or disease damaging hemp crops, there are no pesticides that are considered safe or legal to protect them. Industrial hemp, which can be used for fiber in textiles, is a member of the cannabis species but contains less than 0.3 percent Tetrahydrocannabinol (THC), which gives users a high, and also cannabidiol (CBD), which is purported to have multiple uses. Since cannabis has until now been a federal schedule 1 drug – akin to heroin and LSD - it was illegal to grow, and pesticides have never been approved for use on

the plant. That will change when the provisions of the Farm Bill go into effect, but potential growers still face many hurdles. In a paper published in the journal Crop Protection, Purdue University researchers lay out the problems surrounding the lack of pesticide regulations for cannabis. “Pesticide regulations are narrow and confusing. A product approved for use on soybeans or corn can only be legally used for those products. It’s illegal to go of f-label and use a pesticide on another crop,” said Janna Beckerman, a Purdue professor of botany and plant pathology and co-author of the study. “It can take many years for manufacturers to prove the safety and efficacy of their pesticides, and many more to get all the federal approvals. In the meantime, our hands are tied.” In the paper, Beckerman, Leah

Sandler, a Purdue graduate research assistant, Fred Whitford, director of Purdue Pesticide Programs, and Kevin Gibson, a Purdue professor of botany and plant pathology, call for a clear federal framework that defines pesticide rules for cannabis, research funding that will lead to valuable information for hemp growers, and policies and procedures that will ensure the safety of products derived from cannabis. “There’s already a lot of interest from potential growers, and if the farming community sees hemp as a viable crop, then we need to be working to address the concerns they’re going to have sur rounding crop protection,” Sandler said. “You’d really rather have everything

in place before you have people growing cannabis or hemp, but that hasn’t happened. It will take considerable effort to take the steps necessary to ensure that cannabis can be grown safely and that growers will have the tools necessary to protect their crop investments.” The researchers also suggest that any federal pesticide regulations for cannabis should clearly define how those rules apply to cannabis grown for use as marijuana. Thirty states have legalized marijuana for medicinal or recreational use, and the Pew Research Center reports that 62 percent of American support marijuana legalization, suggesting that more SEE HEMP/PAGE 29

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Friday, February 22, 2019 2019 FARM PREVIEW

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20 2019 FARM PREVIEW, Friday, February 22, 2019 Sun-Commercial

Organic price premiums dip as demand grows BY DEE-ANN DURBIN AP BUSINESS WRITER

DETROIT — U.S. shoppers are still paying more for organic food, but the price premium is falling as organic options multiply. Last year, organic food and beverages cost an average of 24 cents more per unit than conventional food, or about 7.5 percent more, according to Nielsen. That was down from a 27 cent, or 9 percent, premium in 2014. There’s a lot of variation within those numbers. The average price for a gallon of organic milk — $4.76 — is 88 percent higher than the $2.53 shoppers pay for a gallon of regular milk. Organic eggs have an 86 percent premium. At $4.89

per loaf, organic bread is double the cost of regular bread. Parents buying organic baby food, on the other hand, pay just 3 percent more than they would for conventional baby food. In mid-Januar y, a bunch of organic kale was 5 percent more than organic kale, according to the U.S. Department of Agriculture. Some organic products — like ar tichokes, soy milk and Granny Smith apples — may even cost less than their conventional counterparts. There are many shifting factors behind the prices for organic foods. Premiums for milk and eggs tend to be much higher, for example, because the government has ver y specific r ules for what

“organic” means. For example, cows producing organic milk must be allowed to graze for at least onethird of their food intake, says Jeremy Moghtader, the manager of the campus farm at the University of Michigan. The r ules “have real benefits to the animal, the consumer and environment, but they do increase the price of pr oduction,” Moghtader said. Organic and conventional vegetables are grown in similar ways, so the price difference tends to be lower. Organic farmers can save money by not using pesticides or synthetic fertilizers, but they may have to pay more for workers to pull weeds or

control bugs, Moghtader said. One reason organic premiums are falling is the increase in products on the shelves. Organics used to be confined to health food stores and high-end groceries like Whole Foods, but mainstream stores are increasingly

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of fering them. Kroger, one of the nation’s largest grocer y chains, says it stocks 9,000 organic items in its stores and notched $1 billion in organic produce sales in 2017. On a recent weekday, Kroger was selling Simple Truth organic orange juice — its in-house brand — for $3.49 for 52 fluid ounces. That was $1 more than the same size of conventional Kroger-brand orange juice, or 49 cents more than conventional Tropicana-brand orange juice. Costco’s Kirkland Signature store brand introduced organic eggs in 2007 and organic beef in 2012. Walmar t’s Great Value store brand sells a 15-ounce can of organic pumpkin for $1.88; that’s just 10 cents more than conventional Libby’s brand canned pumpkin. Consumer demand also impacts

Consumer demand also impacts prices. Right now, demand for organics is outpacing supply in many categories. U.S. sales of fast-moving consumer goods — a category that includes food, beverages and toiletries — were flat last year, but sales of organic goods jumped 9 percent, Nielsen said. prices. Right now, demand for organics is outpacing supply in many categories. U.S. sales of fastmoving consumer goods — a categor y that includes food, beverages and toiletries — were flat last year, but sales of organic goods jumped 9 percent, Nielsen said. Millennial households are lead-

Friday, February 22, 2019 2019 FARM PREVIEW

ing that charge, as they stock up on organic milk and baby food for their children. But other generations are also buying more organic products. Overall, 88 percent of American households have bought organic food or beverages. “Consumers are more focused on products that have some benefit to them,” Sarah Schmansky, a vice president of growth and strategy at Nielsen. In some cases, organics are breathing life back into dusty grocer y aisles. Sales of conventional lunchmeat and cheese at the deli counter had been weakening, since consumers didn’t want to wait for them to be sliced. But buyers seeking fresh, organic options are returning to the deli. Sale of organic deli lunchmeat have risen an average of 18 percent annually over the last four years, while

organic deli cheese sales are up 26 percent. Schmansky said food scares — like E. coli outbreaks traced to lettuce — are also leading some consumers to organic labels because they trust them. While price premiums may continue to drop, it’s difficult to say if they’ll ever go away entirely, says Ryan Koor y, a senior economist at Mercaris, a data firm that tracks organic agriculture. Looser government policies and crop insurance programs better tailored to small organic farms could help lower those premiums, Koor y said. A recession could also lower consumer demand for organics, and therefore their price premiums. But if the last recession is any guide, those premiums could bounce back quickly.

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Lower crop yields one of many climate change effects Purdue says warmer overnight temperatures have reduced corn yields BY MARK WILSON | EVANSVILLE COURIER & PRESS

EVANSVILLE — Indiana farmers can expect more of the heavy rains, earlier springs and hotter summers that have played havoc with crops if climate changes continue unchecked in the coming decades. But a repor t released Tuesday from the Purdue Climate Change Research Center, points to ways farmers can adapt. “Hoosier farmers can, and will, adapt to Indiana’s changing climate,” according to the report. “The types of crops, timing and frequency of

plantings, need for irrigation and drainage, effects on weeds and pests and effects on labor will all have to be taken into account.” Climate change will directly and indirectly impact agriculture, a $31 billion-a-year industr y for Indiana, affecting everything from row crops and livestock to fruits and vegetables. In the three years that Tim and Kristi Schulz have owned and operated Engelbrecht’s Orchard in Evansville, they have already struggled with the effects of warming temperatures and extreme weather condi-

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tions. “It’s something I’ve thought about. The first few summers we saw much earlier ripening dates than published for dif ferent varieties,” Tim Schulz said. “I attribute that to global warming, in general.” Heavy precipitation in early spring this year delayed planting of new tree stock ordered from the nursery, he said. Then that was followed by unseasonably hot temperatures, it affected the new trees. “That heat basically baked those young trees. That unique spike (in temperature) this spring was really noticeable,” Schulz said. The early, frequent rains also made it dif ficult to put down fungicide without it washing away, he said.

Warmer overnight temperatures already have contributed to reduced corn yields over the last decade in Indiana, according to the Purdue repor t. Cor n yields in that time decreased about 2 percent for every one degree of overnight temperature increase in July. Heavy rains in June 2015 destroyed 5 percent of Indiana’s corn and soybean crop, a $300 million loss. Drought and extreme heat during the 2012 growing season reduced Indiana corn yields by 64-bushels per acre and resulted in more than $1 billion in crop insurance payments to Indiana farmers. Abnormally warm early spring temperatures followed by SEE YIELDS/PAGE 29

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Friday, February 22, 2019 2019 FARM PREVIEW

Report: Climate change effects certain but unpredictable State’s aquatic ecosystems to experience changes BY MARK WILSON | EVANSVILLE COURIER & PRESS

EVANSVILLE — Indiana’s aquatic ecosystems will experience wide-ranging changes as climate change affects the state’s many lakes, rivers, streams and wetlands, a new report says. The report is the latest in a series from the Purdue Climate Change Research Center breaking down the affects of climate change on the state. Jeffrey Dukes, director of the center at Purdue University, said the animals and plants in those aquatic ecosystems will undergo a variety of changes depending on species and location. While those changes might be difficult to predict, scientists know they will occur as animals and plants adapt. “The issue is that these systems are

just so complex. We know we are loading the dice in a way that is going to make it difficult for the plants and animals that live in them,” Dukes said. Changes in water quantity and temperature, ice cover, water clarity and oxygen content will occur with Indiana’s shifting temperature and rainfall patterns, according to the report. Nine researchers from Purdue, Indiana, Ball State and Notre Dame universities worked on the report, which includes research from 14 studies and projections from 10 different climate models.

WHAT IT SAYS: • As air temperatures warm 5-to-6 degrees by mid-century, water temperatures will increase too, duration and extent of ice cover will decline, and shifting thermal characteristics will affect growth, survival and reproduction patterns of aquatic organisms. • There will be a significant reduction of habitat for Indiana’s fish species that thrive in cold waters.

• There will be more variation and seasonal changes in the timing and amount of stream flows, threatening habitat, breeding and survival of sensitive species such as Indiana’s endangered freshwater mussels. • More frequent and intense rains, especially in spring, will wash into waterways more farm fertilizers, such as phosphorus. Combined with warmer waters this will cause more algae blooms, reduced water clarity and depleted oxygen levels. • Indiana’s changing climate will lead to shifts in the types and number of aquatic and semiaquatic species throughout the state. Invasive animals and plants, along with new parasites, may expand their ranges into Indiana. Increased precipitation and flooding raises the risk of invasive freshwater species spreading to new habitats. One potential effect could be changes in key biological events for some fish and as well as amphibian species, such as frogs and salamanders, accord-

ing to the report. Changes in the timing of high and low flows in rivers and streams can disrupt cues fish use for spawning, egg hatching and migration. Earlier warming in spring could cause some amphibian species such as frogs and salamanders to emerge before spring rains can fill the seasonal pools they need for breeding, the report said. This will increase the chance that more will die while waiting for a suitable breeding habitat. One ef fect, the potential for increased algae blooms, could have impacts beyond Indiana. The report notes that most of the state’s waterways ultimately drain into the Gulf of Mexico, via the Ohio and Mississippi rivers, or into Lake Erie. Increased levels of agricultural nutrients such as nitrogen and phosphorus could increase already sizeable areas of low oxygen levels, called hypoxic zones, in those water bodies, making it difficult for aquatic life to live there.

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24 2019 FARM PREVIEW, Friday, February 22, 2019 Sun-Commercial

Most of stateâ&#x20AC;&#x2122;s farmland shows first quarterly price declines BY DOUG LEDUC GREATER FORT WAYNE BUSINESS WEEKLY

The Seventh Federal Reser ve District in December saw the first quarter-to-quarter decline in farmland values since the fourth quarter of 2016, according to its quarterly AgLetter. Farmland values were 1 percent lower during the third quarter than they were during the second quarter for the district â&#x20AC;&#x201D; which includes Michigan, Iowa and most of Indiana, Illinois and Wisconsin â&#x20AC;&#x201D; according to 188 agricultural bankers responding to an Oct. 1 survey, the Chicago Fed agricultural newsletter said. Even with that dip, farmland values in the district remained 1 percent higher than a year earlier, it said.

However, that 12-month increase in value was insufficient to keep pace with inflation. After adjusting the farmland values for inflation with the Personal Consumption Expenditures Price Index, they were down 1 percent during the third quarter compared with a year earlier. â&#x20AC;&#x153;Almost two-thirds of sur vey respondents expected the districtâ&#x20AC;&#x2122;s farmland values to be stable during the fourth quarter of 2018, but 32 percent of them expected a decrease in farmland values in the final quarter of this year and only 2 percent expected an increase,â&#x20AC;? the newsletter said. Compared with a year ago, it said third quarter hog prices were down 17 percent. Dairy prices were down 9.8 percent and cattle prices were

down 2.6 percent while corn prices were up 1.9 percent but soybean prices were down 5.6 percent. â&#x20AC;&#x153;Agricultural land values would have experienced more downward pressure in the absence of exceptional crop yields,â&#x20AC;? the newsletter said. â&#x20AC;&#x153;In 2018, districtwide corn and soybean yields jumped to all-time highs â&#x20AC;&#x201D; 198 bushels per acre for corn and 59 bushels per acre for soybeans.â&#x20AC;? Third quar ter repayment rates on non-real-estate farm loans were lower than a year ago, it said. â&#x20AC;&#x153;Loan renewals and extensions on non-real-estate agricultural loans were higher in the third quarter of 2018 relative to the same quarter of 2017, with 43 percent of the responding bankers reporting more of them

and just 1 percent reporting fewer.â&#x20AC;? Only 2 percent of survey respondents expected farmland values in their bank service areas to increase during the four th quar ter. Nearly two-thirds predicted stable farmland values and 32 percent said they expected to see the values decline. Loan collateral requirements tightened some from a year ago, with 25 percent of the sur vey respondents reporting their banks required more collateral and none saying their banks required less. With crop net cash ear nings expected to contract for the sixth successive year during the fall and winter from levels a year earlier, the newsletter said survey respondents expected loan repayment rates to decline.

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seeds certified by the Office of Indiana State Chemist, but good luck finding them. Most hemp seeds for the 2019 growing season are already accounted for. “Hemp has been a prohibited product in Indiana agriculture for at least 80 years,” Waltz said. “States are beginning to grow hemp for the purpose of seed production, but it will take time to build up enough seeds that can be widely distributed.” Indiana companies will likely grow and sell certified hemp seed in the future, just not this year.

HAVE A PLAN Waltz said the most important takeaway for interested industrial hemp growers is to have a plan. Right now, there are no industrial

hemp processors in the state. But Waltz said growers should start thinking about which markets to enter (CBD, fiber, etc.) and identify hemp varieties best suited for those markets. “If you’re working with a fiber client, you’ll be working with a different kind of hemp than hemp produced for CBD,” Waltz said. “Even in the CBD area, you’re often not working with seeds. You’re working with propagated clones. “Those types of things are really important to know now that the markets are not well established and seed sources are restricted. You really need to know what you’re doing.” Then, find a buyer. Set a price point. Draft a contract. Waltz’s of fice advises growers, unless well capitalized, to allow the state’s hemp markets to develop after the administrative rules take effect. “By 2020, Indiana should have opportunity for people to be growing hemp on a broader scale,” Waltz said.

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Friday, February 22, 2019 2019 FARM PREVIEW

26 2019 FARM PREVIEW, Friday, February 22, 2019 Sun-Commercial

Young, hip farmers: Coming to a city near you BY KAYLA ZACHARIAS PURDUE NEWS SERVICE

WEST LAFAYETTE — If you’ve been to your neighborhood farmers market or seen a small “local” section pop up in your grocer y store, you may have noticed a trend: People want to know where their food is coming from, and the agricultural industr y is responding. The number of farmers markets in the U.S. has skyrocketed in recent years, but with an aging population of farmers, who’s supporting this growth? Enter the new American farmer. It’s a term used by Andrew Flachs, an environmental anthropologist at Purdue University, to describe a movement of younger people new to agricultural work who do it for different reasons than the conventional farmer. They may be motivated through higher education, personal politics, disenchantment with urban life or in search of an authentic rural identity, he says. In a new paper in the journal Rural Sociology, Flachs identifies several hot spots where this movement is really taking shape: the West Coast, central Texas and Oklahoma, central Florida and the Great Lakes region. “We’re seeing these hot spots pop up in the peripheries of hip cities,” Flachs said. “Some of these places might seem obvious, like the West Coast and the nor thern Midwest around Madison, the Twin Cities and Chicago. But we also see some things that aren’t totally expected.” Among the unexpected trends he found, east Texas and the southern Midwest are becoming increasingly important for this kind of agriculture. Appalachia, which has historically been a hub, essentially disappeared from the map. In collaboration with Matthew Abel, an anthropologist at Washington University in St. Louis, Flachs built a model that counts how many traits associated with new American agrarianism appear in each county.

Photo by Mark Simons of Purdue University

The Purdue Farmers Market is open every Thursday through the summer on Centennial Mall. With data from the USDA agricultur- wealth drive up real estate costs in ronments were healthier, but othal censuses from 1997 to 2012, they the city while simultaneously cre- ers may be simply trying to make a considered factors such as average ating new niche markets, making living as farmers amid dissatisfacsales per farm, number of certified space for younger farmers to exist tion with conventional agribusiness. organic farms, owners under age between urban and rural landscapes. Although it’s easy to stereotype, it’s 34, number of farms selling directly Identifying where new and small unlikely that all new American farmto individuals, proximity to farmers farmers live and work will pave the ers fit this description. markets and more. way for further research on what’s “Sometimes when we think about The findings show that newer motivating this budding sector these farmers, we picture young farmers appear to thrive on the out- of the agricultural economy. New people with liberal arts degrees lookskir ts of cities that provide high American farmers occupy an impor- ing for some kind of connection to demand and purchasing power, a tant intersection of niche market- the earth or wanting to work with large population and a healthy num- ing strategies, environmental poli- their hands,” Flachs said. “What we ber of farmers markets. tics and rural demographic change found is that that’s probably not the The price of real estate is anoth- that could have a significant impact most representative view of who er important factor in determining on food production and social life in these people actually are. I’m glad where these markets can flour- agrarian landscapes, according to to have my stereotype broken up by ish. Rural developers have steadi- the paper. the data.” ly increased farm real estate over Flachs points out that many new The research was funded by Purthe last few decades, which could American farmers approach agri- due, Washington University in St. deter newer farmers from settling culture with hopes to embody a Louis and the Volkswagen Foundadown there. Concentrations of urban nostalgic past where food and envi- tion.

Sun-Commercial

Friday, February 22, 2019 2019 FARM PREVIEW

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28 2019 FARM PREVIEW, Friday, February 22, 2019 Sun-Commercial

State losing several dairy farms each week storm, said Brian Houin, an owner of Plymouth-based Homestead SOUTH BEND — Dair y farm- Dair y and other nearby dair y operers are a hardy lot. ations. They get up early each day to Most haven’t been maktend to their animals and never ing money for a few years, and stop working until the end of the Houin has the advantages of scale day. For generations, hard work because he has about 4,800 milkand common sense were about all ing cows and previously spent conthat was needed to ensure dair y siderable money building the largfarmers could provide for their est robotic milking operation in family. the United States to reduce labor But for the past few years, that costs and also ensure the animals formula has been failing, with lit- had maximum freedom to choose erally several dair y farms shut- when they wanted to be milked. ting down in Indiana each week Just a few years prior, Homeand about the same or even more stead also built a methane digester in other dair y producing states, that conver ts manure and other according to Doug Leman, offal into enough electricexecutive director of the The U.S. dairy ity to power the farm and Indiana Dair y Producers. industry is about 900 homes in the In 2013, Indiana had area. When the market a b o u t 1 , 4 2 5 l i c e n s e d struggling finally tur ns around, he herds producing Grade because might even build a second A milk, but by the end demand for unit. of this year there will be milk has been But until then, some of fewer than 900 remaining, the manure produced by declining Leman said. the animals is squeezed The F a r m e r ’ s because more until it is nearly dr y and Exchange, a New Paris- consumers then heated and sanitized based publication aimed are opting to so it can be used as aniat the region’s agriculturmal bedding that retains drink what al community, has been only a slight musty odor. chronicling the struggles dairymen call The liquid portion is used of the industr y and its juices but to fertilize the 4,500 acres inside pages have been grocery stores that are used to produce filled with auction ads for for the animals. label as “nut feed far mers who have been Nothing goes to waste. giving up their her ds, milks,” which In fact, Houin often t h e i r e q u i p m e n t a n d might be attends conferences looksometimes their land. ing for new ideas and made from “This has been going almonds, soy practices that might help on for a few years now,” the farm improve revenue said Jer r y Gosher t, edi- beans or even or cut costs, and he said tor of the newspaper. “It’s coconuts. he improved his margins moving into the crisis earlier this year when he stage.” star ted selling to a new In most cases, those who are Walmar t processing plant that still hanging on have long exhaust- opened in Fort Wayne. ed their savings and are tapping Besides ef ficiency, other key into the equity of the land around factors include how much debt a them for loans to weather the dair y operator brought into the BY ED SEMMLER

SOUTH BEND TRIBUNE

downtur n or how much equity they have to tap into for loans, said Leman, adding that some farmers have taken side jobs in an attempt to preser ve the business or at least the land. The U.S. dair y industr y is str uggling because demand for milk has been declining because more consumers are opting to drink what dair ymen call juices but grocer y stores label as “nut milks,” which might be made from almonds, soy beans or even coconuts. Tariffs also haven’t helped, and there are additional factors at play. But at the end of the day, dair ymen have simply become too good at what they do, managing to produce ever increasing amounts of milk even as the number of cows is starting to decline, according to experts. That’s largely the result of years of careful monitoring to ensure only the best milk producers are bred for dair y purposes while cows might be selected to produce beef cattle. According to the USDA, the U.S. dair y herd dropped slightly to 9.36 million in October, but the thinning has to continue to get supply in better balance with demand. “There still are too many cows and too much milk,” said Rober t Kelly, Purdue extension director for Elkhar t County. Beyond thinning the number of animals, the dair y industr y also has to do a better jobs fighting back against the negative perceptions of the product, improve marketing and even develop new products. “We have to do a better job encouraging the consumption of dair y products,” he said. “We have to get people to understand that milk is good for you.” Houin and Kelly agreed ver y

little has been done to change the marketing of dair y products for several decades, but that there are some positive examples, including the introduction of Greek-style yogurt and new milk products that are higher in protein or lactosefree. Though Houin is hoping for a turnaround in the industr y by the end of next year, the region will have lost a considerable number of dair y farms, many of which have been in the same families for generations. “When farmers are losing money and the farm is at risk, they have to deal with dif ficult emotions and decisions,” said Goshert, the editor of Farmer’s Exchange. “There can be a lot of guilt associated with decisions, especially since it’s a generational business.” Leman fell victim to the last big downturn in the dair y business in 2009 and eventually had to sell off the business he was planning to turn over to his children someday. “Farmers are not typically the type of people who are willing to ask for help; it’s a ver y dif ficult thing to do,” he said. Leman understands the anxiety and stress of losing money ever y day while working long hours can take a toll on your mind and body. “There definitely was a time that I would not walk into the doctor’s of fice, thinking that if something bad happened, my family would be better of f without me,” he said. So instead, he opted to walk away and eventually found a position with the state dair y group while his sons found good jobs outside the family farm. “There were many dark days during the worst of it,” Leman said. “But by God’s grace I got through and the good Lord has provided for me.”

Sun-Commercial

HEMP FROM PAGE 18

continues to categorize marijuana as a schedule 1 drug, anyone growing cannabis for marijuana use in the 30 states that have legalized it will still be prohibited from using pesticides on their plants, whether they are grown commercially or for personal use. That could lead to confusion and serious consumer safety issues, Beckerman said, because of the dif ferences in the ways hemp and marijuana are used. A pesticide that is safe for hemp being turned into fiber may not be safe for use on marijuana or for CBD, since those products are often concentrated and consumed or inhaled by consumers. â&#x20AC;&#x153;When a highly valued crop has problems, people are going to apply pesticides. But unlike many

of our currently regulated crops, cannabis can be dried or turned into oils, concentrating it and any chemicals put onto the plants,â&#x20AC;? Beckerman said. â&#x20AC;&#x153;We donâ&#x20AC;&#x2122;t know how those concentrations might affect users who ingest and inhale the end products.â&#x20AC;? But growers go off-label to protect their cannabis plants, as evidenced by lab tests of marijuana that show illegal pesticide residues. â&#x20AC;&#x153;There are some natural, herbal types of pest- and disease-control products out there, but they are not regulated, kind of like herbal supplements you see at the store that promote health benefits. We donâ&#x20AC;&#x2122;t know if theyâ&#x20AC;&#x2122;re safe, and we donâ&#x20AC;&#x2122;t know if they work,â&#x20AC;? Whitford said. â&#x20AC;&#x153;So growers go off-label, and not only is that dangerous, but it risks their crop as well. If those crops are tested and show any levels of illegal pesticide use, the entire crop can be confiscated.â&#x20AC;?

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Friday, February 22, 2019 2019 FARM PREVIEW

YIELDS FROM PAGE 22

seasonal April freezes devastated Indiana apple crops in 2007 and 2012. While no single weather event can be specifically said to have been caused by climate change, those examples of weather-related losses typify what Indiana farmers can expect with more frequency in years ahead as the stateâ&#x20AC;&#x2122;s climate shifts, said the reportâ&#x20AC;&#x2122;s main author, Laura Bowling, a professor of hydrology and water resources at Purdue. â&#x20AC;&#x153;We do project those risks to continue increasing if farmers continue with business as usual,â&#x20AC;? Bowling said. â&#x20AC;&#x153;However, these are risks that can be managed.â&#x20AC;? According to the report, by mid-century climate change effects will include: â&#x20AC;˘ More frequent heat stress and water deficits that could reduce corn yields 16-20 percent and soybean yields

9-11 percent â&#x20AC;˘ A frost-free season shortened by about a month â&#x20AC;˘ Earlier winter dormancy in perennial fruit trees and vines, meaning crops may flower earlier before the risk of frost damage has ended â&#x20AC;˘ Higher temperatures that will put Indiana livestock at increased risk of heat stress reducing productivity and fertility â&#x20AC;˘ Decrease in the quality of forage for livestock and poultry â&#x20AC;˘ Increased winter and spring precipitation that could lead to nutrient loss from farm fields â&#x20AC;˘ Warmer winters, wetter springs and hotter summers could increase weeds, pests and disease â&#x20AC;&#x153;The climate has already changed, and it will continue to change, and if we just keep going on as normal, we are going to run into some problems. We are going to be at greater and greater risk of losing money if we stick with the status quo,â&#x20AC;? said Jeffrey Dukes, the centerâ&#x20AC;&#x2122;s director.

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Friday, February 22, 2019 2019 FARM PREVIEW

Marion hydroponic farm to offer delivery service BY CAROLYN MUYSKENS MARION CHRONICLE-TRIBUNE

Residents of Grant County could have the option of fresh kale, lettuce and other produce delivered to their doorsteps as early as May of this year once Bill Reece, a businessman with Marion roots, launches his newest venture, Eat Fresh 52. Reece runs a hydroponic farm, called Foliaj Farms, out of a warehouse on 12th and Branson streets in Marion, where he grows romaine lettuce, red and green leaf lettuce, kale, basil and a variety of microgreens. He’s hoping to expand his production in both volume and variety to prepare for roll out of the delivery service, likely adding tomatoes and strawberries to the portfolio. Customers of Eat Fresh 52 will be able to create an order online, specifying which produce they would like and how much, and receive the delivery in an Eat Fresh 52 cooler customers can leave on their doorstep. While romaine lettuce nation-

wide is being recalled, Reece said there’s no chance his romaine is contaminated because his produce is grown with no possible exposure to animal products. That’s one of the advantages of hydroponic farming, according to Reece. At Foliaj Far ms, produce is grown without soil using a hydroponic method called deep water culture. Plants are suspended, using foam rafts, in a water solution that is pumped full of oxygen and infused with a fertilizer to provide nutrients. Specialized lamps provide the subsitute for sunlight in the indoor farm. Reece said this method of farming requires ver y little labor and much of the daily tending to the plants can be done remotely, using a computer system that monitors chemical levels in the water. Reece grew up in Marion and attended Marion High School but has spent most of his adult life on the East Coast and in Miami, where

he now lives. But Reece has been spending a lot of time in Marion lately launching several businesses. He said the inspiration for the farm and the delivery service came during a conversation with a friend who works in agriculture technology, when he came to the realization that people in his hometown did not have easy access to nutritious and affordable produce. Although Marion has several grocery stores, the USDA still designates the area as a food deser t because of the overlapping issues of low-income population and low access to nutritious food. One of the issues with produce in Indiana, too, is that vegetables and fruit consumed in the state are shipped across the countr y from California and Arizona, according to Reece. During that journey, greens can lose much of their nutritional value, in addition to the environmental impact of transporting that produce. A proponent of environmental causes, Reece said one of his pri-

mary goals is to “keep it local.” Eat Fresh 52 will only deliver within 25 miles of the warehouse, Reece said. He said the result is that the produce he delivers will be more nutritious than grocer y store-bought varieties. Reece also plans on letting the neighborhood he’s growing in make its mark. “I don’t want to be the middle aged white guy coming in and making the neighborhood what I want it to be,” Reece said. He plans to open up two of the sides of the warehouse for “anything-goes graffiti,” a blank canvas for neighborhood kids to play on. Reece wants his product to be affordable, too, something he said will be possible because of the other costs he doesn’t have, such as transportation, and the low cost of real estate in Marion. Marion is just Reece’s first location. The businessman has dreams of hydroponic farms ser ving rural areas all over the state and even the country.

Purdue-based Solinftec named a 2019 ag tech startup to watch BY BY TOM COYNE PURDUE NEWS SERVICE

W E S T L A F AY E T T E — Solinftec, a digital agriculture company that recently established U.S. headquar ters at the Purdue Research Park and is already working with American farmers, has been named by Successful Farming as one of eight ag tech startups worth watching. Tom Farms in Huntington County has already benefited from being a test site for Solinftec’s suite of apps to advance the production of row crops. The apps tell equipment operators where and when they need to be. Kip Tom, the managing member of Tom Farms, praised Solinftec in

the article. “They’re really focused on equipment optimization and want to bring in the ability to suppor t blockchain technology along the way,” he said. “What’s impressed me most about this company is its willingness to adapt to U.S. crops and its interest in listening to producers to help its product be more intuitive for the user.” Solinftec is a Brazil-based company known for making sugarcane and row crop operations more ef ficient by creating “Internet of Things” platfor ms to integrate and digitize all aspects of farming operations generating meaningful insights in real-time. It announced last November that it was opening

of fices near Purdue University to bring its technology to the U.S. market, creating 90 jobs this and up to 334 high-wage jobs by 2022. Daniel Padrão, Solinftec’s chief operating officer, said giving farmers answers quickly is key. “Our solutions focus on using data to solve problems at the time they arise, in real time and online, and not just for reports and maps to be analyzed after farmers already have lost yield and money,” he said. “Today, our platform of solutions suppor ts far mers on more than 16 million acres in crops like corn, soybeans, cotton, sugarcane, citrus, coffee and almonds.” The company offers a full stack of solutions that far mers can

choose from, which range in price from $3 to $10 per acre per year. Padrão says it’s important to highlight that a great deal of thought went into its pricing to deliver a ver y clear and fast payback for farmers. “Our goal is to develop solutions that address some of the most impor tant challenges farmers, in the U.S. and around the globe face in feeding a growing population, for that we create digital assistance that delivers to the farmer actionable insights in real time” Padrão said. “We are certain our collaboration and par tnership with Purdue will play a central role in our journey to develop the next generation of solutions for agriculture.”

32 2019 FARM PREVIEW, Friday, February 22, 2019 Sun-Commercial

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