Jay, Adams hosting

Jay and Adams counties will be in the spotlight during Purdue University’s 83rd annual Farm Management Tour on June 23 and 24.
The public is invited to attend, and the event is free of charge.
But pre-registration is required for a luncheon on Wednesday in Adams County, and the Indiana Prairie Farmer Master Farmer Banquet on Tuesday is limited to those who purchased tickets at $25 each.
The event kicks off at noon June 23 with a free lunch for tour participants at the new Marion and Irene Bubp Building at Jay County Fairgrounds.
Jay County 4-H members will be helping out at the luncheon and at the tour’s first stop at IOM Grain at county roads 100 North and 100 East.
That first stop, which includes an interview, will be at 1 p.m.
IOM specializes in providing high quality, food grade, non-GMO soybeans to both the international and domestic markets.
At 2:30 p.m., the tour will stop at Johnson Family Farms, located at 7482 S. 1150 West, south of Dunkirk and west of Redkey.
Three generations of the Johnson family — patriarch Tom, son Matt and grandson Zachary — are involved in the operation, which produces popcorn, seed soybeans and seed wheat. The Johnsons have had popcorn as an important part of their crop rotation system since the mid-1980s.
Members of Jay County High School FFA will be on hand at the Johnson Family Farms to assist with the tour.
The Indiana Prairie Farmer Master Farmer Banquet will be at 6 p.m. June 23 at JCHS.
On June 24, the tour focuses on Adams County, beginning at 8 a.m. with the Sommer Farms and Beer Farms site at 1533 W. 700 South, rural Berne.
Sommer Farms is a diversified crop and dairy cow operation. It recently enlarged the dairy barns, installed automatic calf feeders and added five robotic units to help milk the cows. Beer Farms, which is right next door, is a crop and dairy heifer replacement operation.
At noon, there will be a farm tour lunch at the Nidlinger Farms, 8822 N. 300 East, rural Decatur. While there is no charge for the lunch, pre-registration is required so there will be an accurate head count.
The lunch speaker will be Purdue agricultural economist Chris Hurt, who will provide an ag outlook update.
Nidlinger Farms specializes in corn, soybeans, and wheat and is managed by an executive team of family members. An interview and mini-tours of the operation will follow the luncheon.
For more information or to pre-register for the Wednesday lunch, go to https://ag.purdue.edu/commercialag/Pages/Programs/Farm-Tour.aspx.