Purdue Agriculture Report

Welcome to Purdue Agriculture Report, an e-newsletter for business and community leaders on research, academics and Extension across Indiana and around the globe.

A recent report from BioCrossroads outlines strategies for Indiana agriculture and cites Purdue University's key role in making agriculture more productive.

BioCrossroads, which targets job growth in life sciences' industries, lists five focus areas for agriculture – grains, wood, pork and beef, canning and baking. Of these industries, wood represents the largest income sector. Purdue works with the Indiana Hardwood Lumbermen's Association to apply technologies to make this industry even more profitable. Purdue research also improves hardwood tree varieties.

The report also notes that Purdue has the largest food science department in the nation and is "a logical candidate for a national food processing laboratory." Whether or not this becomes a reality, Purdue already develops ways to make food processing more efficient and cost-effective.

The report also suggests creating ag enterprise zones across the state to cluster agricultural operations together, to help maximize profits and minimize environmental effects. In this regard, Purdue is developing environmentally friendly methods for raising livestock and creating biofuels.

Agriculture accounts for 190,000 Hoosier jobs and more than $5 billion in annual income. Purdue Agriculture supports the BioCrossroads strategies, and all of agriculture, as we lead the way in research, application, technology transfer and assisting Indiana industries in adding value and jobs.

Purdue to lead EPA air emissions study of livestock facilities

An animal agriculture clean air consortium selected a Purdue University agricultural engineer to lead a national $9 million study to help the U.S. Environmental Protection Agency establish air emissions standards for the livestock and poultry industries.

Dust, ammonia, hydrogen sulfide and other air emissions from animal facilities are difficult to measure, making agricultural air quality an issue as livestock operations consolidate and more people move from cities to rural areas, said Al Heber, professor of agricultural and biological engineering.

Heber will be the lead researcher for the two-year air study required by the Animal Feeding Operation Consent Agreement, published Jan. 31 in the Federal Register. Study protocols were developed jointly with scientists from the EPA, U.S. Department of Agriculture, numerous universities and others.

Part of the difficulty with livestock air emissions is that limited data exist to help farmers or regulatory agencies determine which kinds and sizes of operations and types of management practices might produce emissions exceeding legal limits, Heber said. read more

Producers told to wait and see about CAFO ruling

There's no doubt that several Indiana livestock producers will be affected by a Feb. 28 federal appeals court ruling about regulations governing discharges from concentrated animal feeding operations (CAFO). Just how and when is yet to be determined.

The 2nd U.S. Circuit Court of Appeals heard the case as a result of decisions in livestock-industry and environmental-group lawsuits against the Environmental Protection Agency and its interpretation of the Clean Water Act. Exactly what all this means for livestock producers won't be known until the EPA announces how it will apply the ruling.

Purdue experts are advising farmers who thought they were going to have to apply for a national pollutant discharge elimination system (NPDES) permit because of the Clean Water Act to wait until more information is available. Producers should get their information organized but not put it on file with the Indiana Department of Environmental Management, said Don Jones, a professor of agricultural and biological engineering. read more

Wetlands clean water and may control neighborhood flood problems

Constructed wetlands in planned communities can aid in surface water cleanup and flood prevention, according to Purdue University scientists who completed a five-year study on the management system.

The research, begun in 1998 on three constructed ponds, or wetland cells, on a newly renovated golf course on the university campus, showed that 11 of 17 measurable chemicals in surface water were reduced after running through the system, said Ron Turco, soil microbiologist and senior author of the report. Study results are published in the February issue of the journal Ecological Engineering.

"Golf courses are a perfect place for constructed wetlands used as part of a water management system because wetlands can filter chemicals out of surface water, and they can also store excess water during storms," Turco said. read more

Hoosier producers who stick with long-term rotation of crops, despite the possibility of additional costs to treat soybean rust infestation, should still come out ahead, according to a Purdue University expert.

"If soybeans need one treatment to control rust, the estimated return would still be well above the estimated return for continuous or second-year corn," said Alan Miller, a farm business management specialist and co-author of the "January 2005 Purdue Crop Cost and Return Guide."

A single application of fungicide to control rust in soybeans would cost from $18 to $22 per acre, Miller said. With the cost of one treatment, the estimated return for soybeans would be $107 per acre. A second fungicide treatment would reduce the estimated return to $87 per acre. "This is still greater than the $68 estimated margin per acre for second-year corn," he said. read more

Because of the potential threat of soybean rust, farmers considering planting fields of corn again rather than rotating to soybeans should weigh all the factors before digging in, said Purdue University experts.

With the uncertainty of soybean rust, some farmers may figure that returning to corn for a second year will be more profitable than planting soybeans. While this specific one-year comparison may prove true, the longer term corn-to-soybean rotation remains more profitable, said Bob Nielsen, Purdue Extension corn specialist.

"When planting second-year corn, there is always a 5 to 18 percent reduction in yields," said Tony Vyn, agronomy professor at Purdue. read more

On March 30 the Purdue Extension New Ventures team and Small Farms team will present Organic Marketing Opportunities for Production Agriculture via an IP videoconference at 21 locations throughout the state. This free event runs from 7-9:30 p.m. EST.

Jerry Nelson, the Purdue Extension New Ventures educator, said this conference is geared toward producers looking for new markets.

"We want to raise Hoosier producers’ awareness of the opportunities in organic agriculture," he said. read more