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Every year in the late summer and, primarily, fall months,hunters from around the state head out into the field inhopes of harvesting a deer. Whether it be for sport, food

or a combination of the two, all hunters in the state routinelyparticipate in the annual ritual. Many hunters pass down thepractice generation by generation, and for some hunting is away of life. But why is the season limited to the fall months?Why not year round?

In the pre-settlement history of Missouri, whitetail deerwere abundant across the state, with a par-

ticular prevalence in the northernareas, which host an abun-

dance of diverse and fer-tile habitat. However,

with the continuousmigration of Euro-

pean settlerswestward, thedeer popula-tion began todecline as aresult of un-restrictedmarket hunt-ing and habi-tatdestruction.Deforestation,

burning, farm-ing and grazing

forestlands con-tributed most to

this decline.When the popula-

tion drop became evi-dent, laws began to appear

in the interim of the 19th and20th centuries, though these laws went

generally unenforced. According to information on the Mis-souri Department of Conservation’s website, in 1925 Mis-souri’s population of whitetail was estimated to be as low as400 statewide. As a result of such staggeringly low numbers,the Missouri legislature forbade the deer harvest until the pop-ulation had a chance to replenish.

Further efforts to repopulate the whitetail saw the creationof several deer refuges across the state where deer were relo-cated from neighboring states. In 1931, six years after con-gress banned deer hunting, it reopened yet yielded an

extremely low harvest — indicating numbers were still in de-cline, or at best had stabilized at a low population.

In 1937 the first Conservation Commission was formedand the effort to repopulate the whitetail began to gain trac-tion. The commission, like the state legislature before them,once again closed deer hunting in 1938 for the next five years.

Again deer were repopulated from Wisconsin, Michiganand Minnesota as well as the existing pool residing on thedeer reserves in the Ozarks. Unlike past restrictions on deerharvesting, enforcement of the Wildlife Code of Missouri sawthe employment of professionally trained conservation agentsto help deter poaching.

In 1944 the estimated deer population had jumped to15,000 and deer season was once again reopened. The two-day period where hunters could take bucks only saw a harvestof 583. In today’s deer seasons, as detailed on mdc.mo.gov,close to 500,000 gun and bow hunters typically harvest around300,000 deer annually during statewide seasons. The numbersclearly show the significant comeback the whitetail populationhas made from the meager hundreds seen in the 1930s.

There exists a delicate balance necessary to maintain athriving whitetail population. While the results of each yearare tallied to determine the tag limit for subsequent year, theamount of deer harvested per year has a direct impact on theenvironment. As seen in years past, over-harvesting of thepopulation can result in numbers dwindling to hundredsstatewide.

Allowing the deer population to reproduce unchecked canalso pose a risk to crops and farmland, as well as motorists onthe road. A report by the Missouri State Highway Patrolshowed in 2011, Missouri had 3,563 traffic crashes wheredeer-vehicle strikes occurred. One deer strike occurred every2.5 hours in the state and four people were killed along with376 injured in these types of crashes. One person was killed orinjured every 23.1 hours.

John George, wildlife regional supervisor for the MissouriDepartment of Conservation, explained how maintaining thebalance of a stable deer population is affected by the fall deerseason.

“If you had a deer season where you killed no deer …there is going to be a lot of car-deer accidents and there’sgoing to be a lot of farmers complaining about eating theircrops,” George said, as he further elaborated how a low deerharvest, and lack of their natural food sources would put pres-sure on agriculture.

Being as how deer are a larger game animal and the ab-

Hunters’ HarvestStory by Lucas JohnsonStaff Writer

missouri farms 3

The

Read more on page 4 >>

4 missouri farms

sence of a population of larger preda-tory animals such as mountain lions orbears, leaves little in place to keep thepopulation in check.

Though these larger predators suchas mountain lions have been sighted inMissouri it is speculated these animalsare ranging males and that a breedingpopulous has not yet taken hold.

George said some of the naturalways the deer population are culled isfrom death of fawns by bobcats andvarious other diseases.

He stated however these occur-rences do not impact the deer popula-tion in a significant manner andalluded to the fact that humans, seemto be the only “predator” by which re-duces the population with any signifi-cance.

Since 1944 deer season regulations

have evolved over time to allow forthe demand to hunt, as well as main-tain a healthy deer population.

Today, numerous seasons exist thatincorporate archery, rifle and black-powder, as well as a youth portion allof which accommodate the high de-mand for the sport.

To help manage breeding rates, thedata collected is analyzed to determinethe ratio of any-deer to antler-less deertags allotted for the following year.Based upon those projections the Con-servation Department is able to calcu-late the current populous andprojected numbers in the future, whichallows the tag limit to be set in the fol-lowing year.

Contact Lucas Johnson at ljohnson@marshallnews.com

The Hunters’ HarvestContinued from page 3 >>>

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Q. How can insuring my soil isproperly enriched and balanced helpReduce Insect Pressure?

A. We can all agree our goal is tohave a healthy disease suppressive soil.An important key is in holding the op-timum microenvironment for our seedand root. This is vital; however, this isoften overlooked. You would be rightto say this is a serious oversight. Oursoil plays a critical role in setting aproper foundation for our plants healthand production.

Insects are just like many species, theyprey on the weak and vulnerable. Weknow our greatest force against insectsand disease is going to be a multi-prong

approach, right? Well this can still holdtrue, but we have exciting news toshare.

Through years of research at The FarmResearch Center and through our SmartPlotsTM placed strategically across theUnited States and other countries, alongwith scientists studying the scales andscopes, we believe that Biologicalshold the answer. In adding Biologicalsto your current program you are pro-moting prime soil fertility all whilecountering the negative effects of pestand pathogens. Having the proper bal-ance of microorganisms is the gamechanger.

Biologicals are like little constructionworkers, hammering away at all the in-

vaders that are trying to come betweenyou and your best crop. The microor-ganisms in harmony with the live en-zymes, beneficial bacteria and mineralsare not only adding a powerhouse ofsustainable nutrients, but unlocking fa-vorable bound nutrients that otherwiselay dormant within the soil.

Exhausted soils need the microbes andincreased Brix levels that Biologicalsensure. This allows for early and strongroot development, as well as fast shootsin your corn, soybean and wheat. Ulti-mately giving you heavier weights,healthy product for the marketplace, re-ducing insect pressure and making ithard for pathogens to take hold. Theseare the essentials that will bring youstronger, healthier plants and biggeryields. It’s all about saving you money,saving you time, and making youmoney through increased yields.

Q. I’ve been reading about plant cellwalls and how it’s crucial to supportand ensure their development from thevery start. Doing this can reduce insectpressure and pathogens. Could you ex-pand this?

A. I would be happy too. This is agreat question on a hot topic. Plant cellwalls are of great importance as theylay the blueprint for your plants health,vigor and defenses. Cell walls performa number of essential functions, includ-ing providing the cell types needed toform the tissues and organs of a plant.These cells play the roles of intercellu-lar communication and microbe inter-actions.

A plant has natural defenses; however,we have to do our part to give the plantscells an ideal environment and theboost it needs to support this delicatesystem. If a plant senses touch, an en-zyme from a known pest or pathogen,the plant under attack will turn colorsusually a yellow-green, this discour-ages the attacker from continuing. Ifthis doesn’t do the trick it will kill offits own leaf, stem or plant to try andstop the impeding spread to fellowplants. Biologicals support these natu-ral defenses while adding it’s own care-fully developed prescription to the mix.Just as our cells as human beings make

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missouri farms 5

Read more on page 7 >>

Crop Management Conferenceby Duane Dailey

COLUMBIA — The Crop ManagementConference in Columbia, Dec. 17-18, startsthe University of Missouri winter meetings.

Farmers and their crop advisers will find33 sessions on research and practical ad-vice. Topics include cover crops, nutrients,pests, and soil and water. The crops in-clude grain, oilseed and forages.

The latest extension and research areincluded from the MU College of Agricul-ture, Food and Natural Resources. Speak-ers also come from other land-grantuniversities.

"Big data" is the topic for keynotespeaker Scott Shearer. He calls it "AGrower's Most Elusive Farm Asset." He'sfrom Ohio State University.

The conference packs in topics that willbe heard later in meetings across the state."This is the starting place," says conferenceleader Kevin Bradley, MU associate profes-sor of plant science. This year Bradley addsprofessional development. That includes"Social Media Mistakes You Can Avoid."

Returnees come to hear the basics, headds. Most popular are updates from MUExtension on new crop pests found lastseason. Controls are explained. Also, spe-cialists give alerts on potential problemsnext year.

The Alliance for Grassland Renewal willupdate progress on replacing toxic fescuein pastures. They will tell of planting novel-endophyte fescue varieties.

An urgent topic will be caring for storedgrains. The big crop in 2014 adds impor-tance to this.

Other topics: nitrogen management,beneficial insects in crops and forages,when to spray fungicides for best return,biomass energy, efficient waters use, andmore. Details are at http://plantsci.mis-souri.edu/cmc/.

At lunch, Missouri Attorney GeneralChris Koster presents "Impact of Govern-ment Regulations."

Those attending can bring laptop ortablet and download the speakers' slides tofollow as they speak.

Full conference fee is $160. One daycosts $105.

Advance registration by Dec. 8 isneeded for meal counts. A late fee of $25 isadded after then.

With more than 90 percent of thestate's corn crop harvested, the Uni-versity of Missouri Variety TestingProgram reports yields far exceedingnational averages.

MU Extension specialist BillWiebold said Missouri averagedmore than 200 bushels per acre."Those are amazing yields," he said.

Wiebold said this is the bestyield he has seen since he beganworking with the program in 2000.Yields in northern Missouri, wherefields are not irrigated, topped 200bushels per acre this year. Yields in2013 were 150 bushels per acre.

"When you see yields averagingover 200 bushels across the state, it'san indication of good weather,"Wiebold said. He also credited im-provements made in hybrid yieldsby seed corn companies.

USDA predicts record-high av-erage yields of 173.4 bushels peracre nationally. High yields mayhelp offset low prices of $3.01 to$3.32 per bushel across mid-Mis-souri Monday.

Yields topped the 300 bushel peracre mark at irrigated test plots insoutheastern Missouri. Good soiland irrigated fields in that part of thestate create consistently high-pro-ducing yields, Wiebold said.

The Division of Plant Sciencesin the MU College of Agriculture,Food and Natural Resources hasconducted the variety-testing pro-gram for more than 75 years. Since1973, seed companies and groups

have chosen several of their best va-rieties for evaluation at farmer-owned fields and MU test plots. Testfields are located in 14 farmer fieldsand four MU farms throughout thestate. MU researchers publish unbi-ased results online and in a booklet.

Wiebold said plants on a coupletest sites were destroyed by thunder-storms and green snap, which is thesudden breakage of cornstalks bystrong winds during the rapid-growth stages of the corn.

The highest mean yield in thetest was 308.3 bushels per acre, withthe grand mean at 279.2 bushels peracre in the southeast region. Thelowest mean yield was 222.7bushels per acre.

The Nov. 17 USDA CropProgress report said 100 percent ofcorn has been harvested in thesouthern regions of Missouri. USDAreports more than 16 percent of thecorn crop remains in the field innorthern Missouri, where rainfalldelayed harvest for more than aweek in October.

Wiebold reported that northernMissouri's nonirrigated fieldsyielded 236.2 bushels per acre. Thelowest-testing varieties produced192.5 bushels per acre, with thegrand mean at 215.6.

Harvesting is about 80 percentcomplete in northern Missouri andmore than 90 percent done in centralMissouri.

The nonirrigated central regionof the state produced a high meanyield of 245.7 bushels per acre and alow of 193.8. Grand mean was220.7 bushels per acre. Irrigatedfields of central Missouri produced ahigh mean yield of 269.9 bushelsper acre. Low was 194 bushels peracre and the grand mean was 232.6bushels per acre.

Irrigated land in southwesternMissouri shows the lowest yieldsstatewide. The highest yields therewere 181.5 bushels, the lowest166.3.

For updated information, go tovarietytesting.missouri.edu/corn.

Missouri corn crop averagesmore than 200 bushels per acre

Linda GeistMU Extension

6 missouri farmsMU

Ext

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rner

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Missouri Farms

A monthly publication of theMarshall Democrat-News and

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Sarah Reed ConcordianDemocrat-News

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up our health and longevity, this is mir-rored in plant cells. Biologicals are thelighthouse that guides, signals and en-hances nutrient uptake. This biologicalexpressway runs from the soil to thecell walls, roots, stalk, stem, leaves andfinally vegetable or fruit. So now youhave a healthy plant able to utilize itsfull defenses against harmful insectsand pathogens.

The plant now has strong, thick cellwalls, providing the perfect barrier of afibrous stalk that is difficult for the in-sect or disease to penetrate, versus asoft, spongy, weak plant that proves tobe an easy target.

Now, lets remember we’ve now un-locked the plant’s natural defenses andbound nutrients. But the best is yet tocome — Biologicals aren’t done. Weoffer a one-two punch. We have thecold process sweetener going to workfor us not to mention the live enzymesand minerals. Many harmful insectscannot digest sugars so they steer clearof the plant. If they do decide to in-dulge, they die shortly after. The liveenzymes and minerals further nurtureand strengthen for an all around soundapproach and solution.

Q. Farming in the Midwest we havesome very dry seasons, how can addingBiologicals help and can they still beeffective at reducing insect and

pathogen pressure in these conditions?

A. We know that climate can be atrue challenge and effect our crops in anegative manner, this cost us time andmoney. So the answer to your questionis yes! Not only can they be effectivewith our ever changing weather, theyactually work in sync with the naturaloccurring microorganisms in our soil.We know that when weather threatens aplant, if extreme, the plant will go intoa dormancy.

Plants have some defense built in as aprotectant. However, I use the analogyof our skin. Of course, our skin is ourbarrier and it protects us on many lev-els, just as a plants natural defenses willprotect it to a certain extent.

But the difference that we see in apply-ing lotions and sunscreens versus usingnothing in harsh conditions can make ahuge difference in how delicate, dryand vulnerable we are to the elements.A healthy soil that is nourishing theroot will allow the plant to take in andconserve more water.

This will prove to be vital in your plantbeing able to adapt to extreme temper-atures as well as drought. This helps ina big way … biologicals contribute tothe plant being able to evade pests thatare looking for the weak and fragile.Biologicals are a great insurance plangiving peace of mind.

I would like to share that I have a truepassion for my research and I feel sostrongly that biologicals are the answerto so many of today’s challenges thatface farmers . Farmers are some of ourbiggest heroes, being looked at too sup-ply our world with food and energy.Change is not always easy; however, ifwe continue to do the same things wehave always done, I can almost assureyou that we will be in the same place,dealing with the same dilemmas 10, 20,50 years from now. This will not justeffect us, it will be the legacy we leavebehind for our family and future gener-ations.

So if something is not working now,march toward change and save yourchildren and grandchildren from havingto be the foot soldier. Change can be achallenge at times, but it can also holdhuge gains.

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missouri farms 7John’s Jargon Q&A

Continued from page 5 >>> John Ortiz is theowner of BasicSolutions Re-search, an Agricul-tural ResearchFarm, and he is theGeneral Managerof Missouri Foodand Fiber in Gar-den City, Missouri. With more than a decade offarming and research under his belt, John playsan active role on growers panels and within hislocal community as he educates farmers anddiscusses the latest advancements in agriculturaltechnologies. Among all of John’s passions inagribusiness, he is most enthusiastic about thebottom line: reducing costs and making growersmore efficient. If you have comments or sug-gestions for future articles, contact John directlyby email at johno@agteampro.com, or by mailat MOF2, LLC - PO Box 401, Garden City, MO64747. John can also be reached by phone at816-773-6018 and on his website athttp://www.BigYield.us/

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Missouri FFA is releasing brandnew radio show on www.kkop.fm.The show is agriculture-based andwill feature motivational bits, FFAinformation as well as agricultureissues.

The show will be hosted by theMissouri FFA State Officers.

Birch Tree, MO, November 06,2014 — Fusion FM KKOP willpresent the Living to Serve Net-work powered by Missouri FFA,an agriculture-based radio showthat offers an inside look at agri-culture, FFA and motivational seg-

ments presented by FFA state offi-cers.

The first broadcast was sched-uled for Nov. 14 at 1 p.m. and fea-tured an interviewed guest.

The program was hosted by aMissouri State FFA officer.

Fusion FM KKOP is proud tobring the Living to Serve Networkto radio for the first time. It will bethe first show of its kind in the na-tion.

The show will feature industryprofessional guests each week, is-sues going on in agriculture today,

and motivational pieces that any-one will enjoy. All broadcast liveon www.kkop.fm. After eachbroadcast, the audio will be pod-casted at www.kkop.fm/pod-casts.html.

The National FFA Organizationis an organization for today’syouth. It focuses on teaching stu-dents teamwork and leadershipskills in the classroom for use inthe real world.

Although agriculture based, youdon’t have to be a farmer to join.This show ties together the iconic

blue jackets into a community andis a very effective way to commu-nicate to its members.

The state officers in each statework hard to lead and motivate themembers of their entire state.

Missouri has seventeen state of-ficers that lead and motivate26,000 FFA members statewide.

With this many members, thegoal of the state officers is to reachas many members, community andFFA related, as they can to advo-cate for agriculture and the FFA asa whole.

Fusion FM KKOP presents the Living to Serve Network powered by the Missouri FFA Association

by Jeff CaldwellMultimedia Editor for Agriculture.com and SuccessfulFarming magazine

Just like when you catch the flu,when a wheat plant gets hit by a viruslike wheat streak mosaic, there's nota whole lot you can do but ride it outand hope it doesn't inflict too muchpain or damage.

Now, a team of biologists and ge-neticists are working on the equiva-lent of a natural flu shot to protectwheat from viral diseases that can eatinto wheat yield potential.

Though the advancements won'tbe commercially available for sometime — for a couple of reasons —early results have shown high prom-ise for ultimately yielding wheat va-rieties that are no longer susceptibleto these costly and common diseases.

“(Wheat viruses) are a seriousproblem,” says Harold Trick, a

Kansas State University plant geneti-cist. "Wheat streak mosaic virus isone of the most devastating viruseswe have. In addition to that, we haveseveral other diseases, triticum mo-saic virus and soil-borne mosaicvirus, that are serious diseases.”

The genetic research underwayessentially creates RNA identifica-tion mechanisms in the plant — anexisting plant function — and stimu-lates it to recognize foreign RNA likethat from a virus.

Then, the plant adapts to isolatethe virus, in the process forming anatural resistance.

“It’s kind of like forming a hair-pin of RNA. What happens is theplant recognizes this RNA isn’t right,so it clips a piece of it and chops itup, but then it keeps a copy for itself.Then we have a resistance element,"says John Fellers, Kansas State Uni-versity molecular biologist, who'sworking with Trick to develop wheat

virus resistance. "The plant has itsown biological defense system. Wewere just triggering that with thistechnology.”

The target of research underwayby Trick and Fellers is clear. But, theoutcome of that research remains upon the air.

That's because they're using ge-netic engineering — specifically tomanipulate wheat RNA to bolster itsability to naturally defend the plantagainst yield-robbing viruses —which is currently not allowed in the

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missouri farms 11

Shooting down wheat viruses with genetics

Read more on page 14 >>

Beans, beans, beans, corn, corn,corn, trucks, trucks, trucks, lines,lines, lines …

That could be the cheer for Har-vest 2014, which is finally windingdown. No matter who you are orwhere you work, I’m sure it hasbeen hard to miss long lines on areastreets and highways. Farmers havewaited up to five hours at a time todump one truck.

Elevators and their employeeshave been scrambling to find aplace to store this year’s recordcorn crop and an above-averagesoybean crop.

At times, elevators have beenclosed completely to give crewstime to move corn and beans.

With yields eclipsing even theprevious records of 2004, therewasn’t enough room to store it all.Elevators have resorted to giantground piles to stow the gluttony ofcorn.

Technology has no doubt had alot to do with the record yields.Vast improvements in corn andsoybean varieties mean morebushels per acre.

When we began farming in1984, Missouri’s average yield peracre was 80 bushels an acre. In

2014’s record harvest, they are pre-dicting more than 180 bushels peracre as a state average.

Locally, the average is esti-mated to be closer to 200 bushelsper acre.

Technology also means we canhaul more in larger trucks, gathermore with faster combines and takeit to the trucks faster with largergrain carts.

GPS can keep combines on therows, track yields and help aid op-erator fatigue, resulting in longerdays for working.

It all makes for a faster, moreefficient harvest. The faster you getthe grain to a bin, the faster you canget it out of the field.

But with everything there is atrade-off. On our farm, we foundtechnology actually may have de-layed harvest — or maybe it wasjust one employee’s misuse of tech-nology.

This em-ployee, whoshall not benamed, wasdemoted fromtruck driver tograin cartdriver a fewyears ago.C o n s i d e r i n gthe events ofthis year, the demotion really isn’tvery surprising.

You see, this year the employeeused a new smart phone for uses notcompatible with farming.

Using a phone to periodicallycheck the weather, keep up with themarkets or call a repair truck are alllegitimate uses on the farm. They,again, are examples of technologyimproving the farm business.

But this employee (at least ac-cording to the farmers) used newtechnology for evil, sometimes notpaying attention at all to their du-

ties. At times, the combine and truck

driver may have had to wait whilesaid employee, looked up longenough from the phone to actuallyget to work.

If you asked the employee, theywould probably have lots of ex-cuses. After all, how many yearswould the Royals really be in theplayoffs and the World Series?

Listening on the radio wasn’tgood enough when you could catchsome of the action live on thephone, read constantly updatedTwitter feeds and Facebook posts,and send timely texts to a cousinwatching the game in California.Does it really hurt the combinedriver to wait a few minutes? (Con-sidering some of the exasperatedcalls on the radio, the farmer’s an-swer would be “yes.”)

The employee would also arguethat getting to the 62nd level of

Candy Crushwas crucialenough theycouldn’t bedisturbed byan unimportantdetail like ano v e r f l o w i n gcombine bin ofcorn.

Doesn’t thecombine driver realize the dedica-tion climbing to that level can take?Expertise like that cannot berushed.

Of course the same could besaid about an important ending to along book on the employee’s Kin-dle.

Can the grain cart driver reallybe expected to stop in the middle ofa good scene to dump corn, just be-cause the truck made it back to theelevator? Hmmm, I didn’t think soeither.

The grain cart driver could also

argue that changing her – oops, Imean – their current Facebook sta-tus is much more important thanhurrying to dump a cartload ofgrain.

After all, they need to be timelyin liking posts and answeringqueries. Not doing so would berude, of course.

Now the employee was smartenough to keep the real reason fordelays a secret, at least for a while.

Answering the radio, the em-ployee came up with likely excusessuch as “I’m coming, I just losttrack of you behind that terrace.”Or, “Are you full already? I had noidea you could combine that fast.”

The excuses worked for a while,but I think eventually the farmerwised up to the real reasons. I couldtell he was figuring it out by the es-calating huffs and puffs on theradio.

With the secret out, the em-ployee came up with new excuses.“Well, you can’t really expect meto work 14 hours a day without anybreaks can you?” or “I’m tired …”(Did I mention this employee is areal whiner?)

Eventually I suggested this evilemployee be fired. The farmer’sreply, “I can’t do that because noone else would work for thatwage.” (Apparently, “All-you-can-eat as long as you cook it” isn’t asought after compensation packagefor other grain-cart drivers.)

Oh well, I guess next year thegrain cart driver will have to stepup their game in getting fired. Per-haps adding an I-pad and a satellitetelevision to the technology arsenalwould work.

She — I mean, they — can onlyhope.

Editor’s note: Any resemblanceof the bad employee to this authorare probably fictional, or at leastcan’t be proved …

Farm

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Marcia GorrellGuest Columnist

THE technology TRADE-OFF

Considering the events of this year, the

demotion really isn’t very surprising.

—Marcia Gorrell

“”

12 missouri farms

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Story by Rachael RodenbergConcordia FFA President

Every year a select number of Concordia FFAmembers are chosen to attend FFA National Conven-tion. This year 11 students were selected to travel toLouisville, Ky., for the 87th annual FFA National Con-vention. Concordia FFA members attending the con-vention were Kailey Bales, Riley Carter, LauraEdwards, Abram Frerking, Austin Freund, Joe Gash,Hanna Janik, Sabrina Limback, Derrick Lindstrom,Brendan McManus and Rachael Rodenberg. Mem-bers took a charter bus with the Green Ridge, LaM-onte, Lincoln and Warsaw chapters.

This year was extra special for the Concordia FFAChapter. Nora Faris was selected as the national win-ner for her Ag Communications proficiency. Also NickLimback received the highest degree you can earn inthe FFA organization the American Degree. TheConcordia FFA Chapter also received the 3-star rank-ing; this is the highest ranking that National FFA hasfor chapters.

Aside from attending the convention session towatch fellow members receive their awards, students

toured many places in Kentucky, including visitingDarby Dan horse farm in Lexington. At Darby Dan’sthey toured the home of the late Colonel E. R.

Bradley. Col. Bradley bred and raised thoroughbredhorses to race in the well-known Kentucky Derby. Thefarm sits on approximately 1,000 acres and is hometo eight stallions and approximately 200 mares. Thisis also where parts of the movie “Secretariat” wasfilmed.

The next stop on the tour was the Kentucky HorsePark. When the members arrived they were privilegedto take a horse-drawn tour around the park. The Ken-tucky Horse Park is home to several retired racehorses that you can learn about during its Show ofChampions. Also you can learn about different breedsat their Show of Horses from Around the World.

To end out the day, the Concordia FFA Chaptervisited Evan’s Orchard where they had a hay rideafter learning about the history of the farm. The farmcovers 175 acres, with 15 acres of apple and peachorchards and more than 20 acres in locally grownvegetables that will be fresh-picked and sold in atarea farmers’ markets. Other attractions at the or-chard are a large play area for children, a petting zoo,a small café and a shop where you can buy home-made fudge and other products made from the itemsthey grow.

missouri farms 13

Concordia FFA attends FFA National Convention

Photo furnished

Pictured from left to right: (Back) Rachael Ro-denberg, Abram Frerking, Joe Gash, Austin Fre-und, Derrick Lindstrom and Riley Carter. (Front)Laura Edwards, Hanna Janik, Nora Faris, SabrinaLimback, Brendan McManus and Kailey Bales.

Subscribe to The Concordian

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ThankYou!

LEIMKUEHLERINSURANCE SERVICESRobyn Leimkuehler,Owner

450 W Boyd St,Marshall,MO 65340Ph: 660-886-9775Fax: 660-831-1277

www.leimkuehlerinsurance.comrobyn@leimkuehlerinsurance.com

Auto. Home. Life.MedicareSupplements. Long Term Care.Crop insurance

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Call Eric Edwards1-800-223-9033

Fax 573-787-3311 • 573-353-580429636 Brick School Road • Clarksburg, MO 65025

jackssales@gmail.com

14 missouri farms

Disk Harrow features well-balanced designby Jessie Scottwww.agriculture.com

Residue management tillage has becomeone of the necessities of higher yields, saysLarry Kuster, of Sunflower.

“Heavy residue, particularly corn residue,can negatively affect the following season’scrop in many ways. Heavy residue remainingin the spring insulates the soil to prevent it fromwarming quickly, and field trash also holdsmoisture in the planting zone, which can delaytimely planting.

“Today’s high-yielding varieties are pro-ducing residue in volumes beyond the abilityof planter attachments to deal with it suffi-ciently to ensure optimal crop emergence,” ex-plains Kuster. “The growing popularity ofcorn-on-corn farming demands that residue besized and incorporated into the topsoil, where itcan begin decomposition quickly with the aidof soilborne beneficial bacteria and fungi.”

Size and bury residueThe 1436 series Sunflower disk has been

designed specifically for this task. All modelsof the 1436 series, from 21 to 36 feet, featurethicker wall tubing for a stronger, heavierframe. The machines are accurately balancedto accommodate heavy finishing reels and rideon larger tires, wheels, hubs, and spindles forimproved movement from field to road.

Sunflower engineers have offset the frontand rear disk gangs in order to allow the frontgang to clear-cut the entire width of the soilprofile.

The 1436 offers an optional dual cab-con-trolled spring-cushioned hydraulic fore-and-aftadjustment, as well as the standard mechanicaladjustment.

Durable designThe undercarriage of the 1436’s all-welded

frame is de-signed to com-plement themachine’s in-creased ground-holding weightwith biggerwalking tandem-mounted eight-bolt hub wheels, as well aslarger spindles and bearings throughout themodel range.

Extensive use of ultra high molecularweight (UHMW) bearings on gauge wheels, liftcomponents, and wing frames allows for fewermetal-to-metal bearing surfaces and less timespent greasing and maintaining the tillage tool.

The new lift system doesn’t have twist-and-strain complications with its design, which al-lows easy folding to transport heights rangingfrom 9 feet, 4 inches to 16 feet, 1 inch.

On the business end of the 1436, C-flexmounted gang assemblies provide rock protec-tion and are offset to center the standard be-tween the blades for optimal material flowthrough the machine.

Tillage optionsBlade spacings are 8¾ inches or 9½ inches

with 24-inch full-concavity boron blades, witha rollable boron blade option available.

“Sunflower’s trunnion bearings providepositive alignment, eliminate wear between thebearing and housing, and ensure positive lubri-cation with triple-lip seals that cannot be dam-aged by overgreasing,” Kuster says.

Behind the 1436, you have the option ofthree finishing reels. “You can choose either11- or 14-inch-diameter flat-bar reels for ag-gressive clod and residue crushing or the 14-inch-diameter chevron rod-type preferred forsoil compression,” says Kuster.

Prices range from $46,500 to $76,500.

Product Reviews

Shooting down wheat viruseswith geneticsContinued from page 11 >>>

world wheat market.That's the bad news. The good news is the duo's research is revealing some con-

ventional methods for disease control that could be implementedinto new wheat varieties sooner rather than later.

Doing so conventionally is less of a sure thing, though, sinceit relies on breeding with natural existing plant mutations ratherthan creating traits via genetic manipulation.

"We would hope the turn around time would be quick, but it’sstill classical breeding," Fellers says in a university report. "It’sa matter of developing markers and getting them in the varieties.We have been using Jagger and Karl 92, varieties that are alreadypast their prime, so we have to get them in some newer varieties."

Right now, the research, funded in part by the Kansas WheatCommission, remains largely in the "proof of concept" phase,Fellers adds, with the primary focus sticking to how some of theapplied concepts can be implemented in current wheat breedingmethods until the day genetic manipulation is allowed on a com-mercial scale.

The researchers are confident that day will come, though, somuch so they've applied for a patent for their RNA-based geneticvirus resistance breeding technique.

Ultimately, Trick says he hopes their research can yieldbroad-spectrum virus resistance, be it through conventionalbreeding in the short term or genetic manipulation further downthe road.

"If we were trying to target multiple genes, we’d have to makeanother vector for a second virus, then create that transgenic,which we have done. So, we have different plants that are ge-netically resistant to wheat streak mosaic virus and plants thatare resistant to triticum mosaic virus," he says. "We would liketo get something that has broad resistance to many differentviruses."

To place your Classified Ad

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To place your ad Marshallnews.comThen Missouri FarmsThen Online classifieds

Home of theJump Start Program!Congratulations to thehundreds of customers whohave taken advantage of the

Jump Start!Program!If you have ever had some badluck with your credit for whateverreason, but need to buy a car,

call Kristina Jasper at660-826-8320.We can help!

1500-1800 Gal. SS Sprayertank w/ or w/o baffles, onskids. Like new, $2500.660-341-9557

2011 Kuhn Vert Mixer,VSL150, excellent. 660-542-8416

Agco 25' 8000 grain table;(2) 830 Hugger Heads, allthru shop, fld rdy. 515-491-6131

Case 2020 '10, flex head,30 ft. $9,500. 217-430-0837

Great Bend 660, heavy dutyloader w/grapple fork, CIH5240 or 5250 mnts, nice.$4,500/OBO. 515-341-3188

Lexion 595R, '07, 1.365 hrs,Tracks, 4WD, rnd. bar, agleader, P.M.I. inspections &work done, field ready.145,000. 641-680-0805

Westendorf TA-76 Loader,brackets to fit CIH MagnumTractor. 573-721-1126

Brent 780 '06, 30.5x32 tires,hyd spout, shedded, exccond. $20,000. 641-680-0805

Brent 780 Grain Cart '07,big tires, tarp, hyd spout.515-210-9054

Cat Lexion 585R, '10, 410s.540e., loaded, nice trackmatch. $210,000 217-430-0837

CIH MXM 140 w/ldr, 1283hrs, 38's, joystick, $55,000;CIH Puma 140, '10, MFWD,1800 hrs, PS, $62,500. 217-430-0837

Gleaner R50 w/20' flex head5500 hrs, good shape.$15,000/OBO 402-209-1321

JD 4555 MFWD 8600 hrs,motor OH, 1500 hrs ag,New Mich. rad tires 18.4-42,exc., $40,000 641-919-4590

M&W 3400 Earthmastervert tillage tool '12, 34' wide,rolling bskts, hyd fore/aft,ecx! shedded. $42k. 660-424-0359

Meridian 2015 NEW FuelTrailer, 990 Gallon w/deftank. 40 GPM pump,$16,000. 319-371-7639

2014 Alfalfa 3x3 individuallywrapped bales; Big roundbales & 3x3x8. 641-919-9447

All Kinds Of Hay & Straw,sm sq, lg sq, lg rounds, del.in 18-24 ton loads. 217-322-4663

Row Crop Help, planting,spraying, trucking etc. CDLor able to get one, pay byexperience. 660-654-2207

76 Fancy blk Angus hfrs, 46AI'd to Net Present Value,30 naturally serviced toShow Me Select Calve EasyBull. Start calving 3/1 for 60days. $3000 per hd. 660-341-6445

Herd dispersal 40 bredcows, 4-7 years old, startcalving March 1. 660-752-6351

20' heavy duty alley/chute,adj 18" to 32", 4 gates, 2sliding gate. Sale $3,950.660-874-4455

Blk Ang hfrs, bred LBWReg. Ang bulls, start clvgFeb 8, all shots, Scourgaurd& poured. Central MO. 660-221-5688

18.4-26 Rice Fire. Tiresw/rims, fits CIH 1600, 2100& 2300 ser. combines rearwhls. One tire is new, other70-75 tread, $2,750. 573-864-5528

2 blk Angus bulls, ages 2 yrsgreat blood lines, shots,poured, ready to go to work.Kearney, MO 816-809-5758

Red Angus yearling & 18mo. old bulls, ultrasounddata, semen tested & guar-anteed. Delivery Avail. HeinCattle Co. 402-719-4389

Duroc, York & Hamp BoarsGood Selection. Paul Martin,Shelbina, MO, 573-822-4216

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Ph: 660-886-8693 • Fax: 660-886-4229E-Mail: schmitt.irrigation@sbcglobal.net

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That’s what you get when you buy a Valley®.We work hard to bring you the most advanced technology tohelp make your life easier.With Valley equipment you can bethere for the important moments in life and build a successfuloperation that makes you proud.

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