GREENVILLE — Farmers, seed and fertilizer salespersons, and other agri-business professionals went “back to school” Wednesday, attending a “Corn College” held at The Andersons Ethanol Plant in Greenville.
The day-long event, organized by the Ohio State University, Darke County Extension Educator Sam Custer, featured agriculture experts from OSU speaking on a variety of topics.
Custer said the purpose of the program is to share unbiased research based on information from specialists regarding the production and marketing of corn, helping farmers focus on critical topics that can help them not only get the most “bang for their buck,” but also raise the profit potential of their farms.
“They’ve held programs similar to this in other parts of the state, in a different format,” he said, “so we thought people would appreciate a program like this here.”
Custer noted the importance of agriculture in Darke County as but one reason for conducting the event.
“Darke County raises more acres of corn than any other county in the state,” he said. “Here in Darke County, ‘Ag’ is ‘it.’”
The Corn College was well attended, with Custer reporting that he had to turn people away once the available seats at the seminar were filled.
Featured speakers at the event included Custer; Andersons Senior Sales and Merchandising Manager Chad Stroble; OSU Assistant Extension Professor Barry Ward; OSU Professor Dr. Peter Thomison; OSU Associate Professor Glen Arnold; OSU Associate Professor Andrew Michel; OSU Associate Professor Dr. Paul Pierce; and OSU Associate Professor Dr. John Fulton.
Topics covered by the speakers included “Market Outlook;” “Can You Budget a Profitable Corn Crop;” Agronomic Practices that Optimize Profitability in Corn Production;” Nitrogen Timing and Needs During Corn Development;” “Darke County On-Farm Research Results;” “Insect Pressure on Today’s Genetics and Future Control;” “Fungicide Effects on Disease, Ear Rot and Yield in Field Corn;” and “Decision Making with High Resolution Crop Imagery.”
Janelle Brinksneader, an Andersons senior account representative, said the company was very pleased to host the event.
“It’s been nice to host it, because our customers, whom we work with and want to be successful and profitable with their organizations, are important to us,” she said. “We have a great partnership with the [Darke County] Extension, and this is critical for both of us.”
Brinksneader said, “Corn is a vital ingredient to our business. We process more than 44 million bushels of corn every year.”
“Sam does a tremendous job, and though people can get information from the Internet, this face-to-face type of program provides so much more,” she added.
Sponsors for the Corn College event included:
• Darke County Farm Bureau
• Menke Consulting and Otte AG
• Becks Hybrids, Alex Johnson
• Ohio’s Country Journal and Ohio Ag Net
• Seed Consultants, Bob Mayo
• Crop Production Services
For more information on Darke County Extension programs and services, visit the website darke.osu.edu or email Sam Custer at [email protected].
