Good eats and good information are on the menu when the Community Foundation of Jackson County and Purdue University Cooperative Extension Service serve up the 21st annual Farmers Breakfast.

The event is set for 7:30 a.m. Feb. 15 at Pewter Hall in Brownstown. Doors open at 7 a.m. Admission is free. To attend, call us at 812-523-4483 or email Lori Miller at [email protected].

Michael Langemeier of Purdue University returns as the keynote speaker. 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 will provide an ag forecast during the meeting. We will hope Jackson County farmers are looking forward to another strong year of production this summer.

Hoosier farmers reported record-high corn and soybean yields in 2023, according to the Indiana field office of the U.S. Department of Agriculture National Agricultural Statistics Services.

State statistician Nathanial Warenski said in a recent report that Indiana corn production totaled 1.08 billion bushels in 2023, or 11% above 2022, and soybean production across the state totaled 334 million bushels, down slightly from 2022.

Yield numbers for Jackson County farmers were not available.

Langemeier 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.

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 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 lighthearted fundraising competition, the Head to Head: Green vs. Red contest.

Currently, the Green Team is in the lead with 56% of the vote. Votes may still be cast through cash donations or gifts of corn or soybeans. The deadline is Feb. 9.

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, BW Agri-Products, Beacon Ag, Beatty Insurance, Blue & Co., Bob Poynter GM, Brownstown Veterinary Clinic, Darlage Custom Meats, Dennis & Blish CPA, 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, Jacobi Sales, Knight Drainage, Lorenzo Bevers Braman & Connell, Main Trailer Sales, Montgomery, Elsner & Pardieck, Old National Bank, The Peoples Bank and Royalty Companies.

Other sponsors are Rumpke of Indiana, Schafstall Inc., Schneck Medical Center, Seymour Animal Hospital, State Bank of Medora, Tampico Grain, The Tribune, Wischmeier Trucking and White River Soy Processing.

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 CEO of the Community Foundation of Jackson County. For information about donating to the foundation, call 812-523-4483, send an email to [email protected] or stop by the office at 107 Community Drive, Seymour.

If you go

What: Farmers Breakfast presented by the Community Foundation of Jackson County and Purdue University Cooperative Extension Service

When: 7:30 a.m. Feb. 15 (doors open at 7 a.m.)

Where: Pewter Hall, 850 W. Sweet St., Brownstown

To register: Call the foundation office at 812-523-4483 or send an email to [email protected]