Dan Davis
The Community Foundation of Jackson County and Purdue University Cooperative Extension Service will serve up an economic forecast at the 20th annual Farmers Breakfast.
The event is set for 7:30 a.m. Feb. 1 at Pewter Hall in Brownstown. Doors open at 7 a.m. Admission is free. To attend, call us at 812-523-4483.
Michael Langemeier of Purdue University returns as the keynote speaker, and Susan Bevers of Lorenzo, Bevers, Braman & Connell will present a brief program about the foundation’s work and its relationship to estate planning.
Langemeier is a professor and extension economist in the Department of Agricultural Economics and serves as associate director of the Center for Commercial Agriculture.
He joined Purdue University in July 2012. His extension and research interests include cropping systems, benchmarking, strategic management, cost of production and technical and economic efficiency.
Most of his research has focused on the efficiency of farms and ranches and crop and livestock enterprise production costs and efficiency. He also has conducted research related to tillage systems, biomass crops and the tradeoff between crop rotation profitability and water quality.
Before arriving at Purdue, Langemeier worked 22 years in the Department of Agricultural Economics at Kansas State University.
Langemeier has conducted workshops and given presentations in Australia, China, Ecuador, Ireland, Germany, New Zealand, Russia, South Africa and Tanzania. He is currently involved in agribenchmark, an international benchmarking group centered in Germany.
He received a bachelor’s degree and a master’s degree from the University of Nebraska-Lincoln, and his doctorate is from Purdue University. His family operates farms in eastern Nebraska.
The program is free of charge, and reservations may be made by contacting the foundation by calling 812-523-4483 or by emailing [email protected].
The farm sector is an important part of the Jackson County community, and the foundation supports those involved with farming through funds such as the Bob Myers Memorial Scholarship Fund and the C.B. Hess 4-H Memorial Scholarship Fund.
The foundation also offers farmers an opportunity to donate to those and other funds that benefit the community through the annual Giving the Gift of Grain program and the annual Giving the Gift of Livestock program. We also conduct a light-hearted fundraising competition, the Head to Head: Green vs. Red contest.
Currently, the Red Team is in the lead with 67% of the vote. Votes may still be cast through cash donations or gifts of corn or soybeans. The deadline is Jan. 26.
Joining the foundation and Purdue Extension Jackson County as sponsors of the Farmers Breakfast this year are a number of area businesses and service providers involved with the farming community. They include Premier Ag and Rose Acre Farms, which underwrite the cost of the buffet meal, allowing farmers to enjoy the breakfast at no cost.
Other sponsors include The Andersons, Aquatic Control, B&W Agri Products, Beacon Ag, Beatty Insurance, Blue & Co., Bob Poynter GM, Brownstown Veterinary Clinic, Darlage Custom Meats, Donaldson Capital Management, Edward Jones, First Financial Bank, German American Bank, Grindlay & Grindlay, Hackman Show Feeds and Dave Hall Crop Insurance.
Also serving as sponsors are the Ivy Tech Foundation, JCBank, Jackson County Co-op Credit Union, Jackson County Insurance Agency, Jackson County REMC, Jackson County Tire, Kova Farm Supply, Lorenzo, Bevers, Braman & Connell, Montgomery Elsner & Pardieck, Old National Bank, The Peoples Bank, Paul Nay & Associates and Royalty Companies.
Other sponsors are Rumpke of Indiana, Schafstall Inc., Schneck Medical Center, Seymour Animal Hospital, State Bank of Medora, Surface Insurance, Tampico Grain, The Tribune and Wischmeier Trucking.
The foundation appreciates our sponsors’ support of the local farming community, which provides valuable jobs and income to area residents as well as the support that they offer to the foundation and our community.
Dan Davis is president and chief executive officer of the Community Foundation of Jackson County. The foundation administers more than 200 funds with assets of more than $16 million. For information about how you can make a donation to any of the funds administered by the foundation or how you might start a new fund, call 812-523-4483 or send an email to [email protected].