left, hosts Purdue experts Dr. Shawn Casteel
and Dr. Jim Mintert.
Hoosier Ag Today is partnering with the Purdue University Center for Commercial Agriculture to produce a series of video reports designed to improve farmers' productivity and profitability. Sponsored by the Indiana Soybean Alliance, the series will focus on research-based techniques that will allow growers to improve yields and, in many cases, reduce their cost of production. Called the Better Farming Report, short video presentations will be accessed online on the HAT website and on the Purdue Center for Commercial Agriculture website.
In addition, short radio features from these presentations will be aired on the Hoosier Ag Today radio network. The first program, now online, features Dr. Shawn Casteel from the Purdue Department of Agronomy and Dr. Jim Mintert from the Purdue Center for Commercial Agriculture. Gary Truitt is the program host. The program covers how soybean growers can hit their yield goals for 2016 while reducing their per bushel production costs. Based on his extensive field trials, Dr. Casteel demonstrates how growers can reduce their seeding rates without impacting yield. Dr. Mintert says the cost of seed represents 35 percent of a growers cost per bushel, so reducing seed costs can significantly improve a grower’s profit margin. He explained that this is groundbreaking research that shows farmers can reduce production costs without reducing yields. Future programs will cover planting dates, soil fertility, price outlooks, and other timely topics. A new program will be posted online each month. “We started out in the studio, but once we get crops in the field, we plan to take this program out to the Purdue research farms and to farming operations around the state,” Gary said. Hoosier Ag Today was founded in 2006 for the specific purpose of serving the informational needs of the Hoosier agricultural community. HAT currently has 65 radio stations broadcasting its programs. In addition, HAT operates a multi-media web site, smartphone app, and publishes a daily e-mail newsletter.
