(Decatur County, IN) – If you’re an Indiana farmer who’s interested in putting some soil health practices into place, there’s a new farmer-led mentor program called Farm Advisors that’s been set up to help.
It connects farmers who are interested in implementing soil health practices with other farmers who have already been using those practices on their farms.
One of those farmers who is serving as a mentor with the Farm Advisors program is Decatur County farmer Roger Wenning. He also serves on the Board of Directors for the Indiana Soybean Alliance.
“Give these new guys starting a chance to call someone that’s already been through it,” says Wenning. “I started this back in the mid 80’s, so there wasn’t anybody to call back then. You just had to learn it all on your own. But now, there are enough people that you can call. None of the mentors are going to get paid for anything. That was part of the plan. This just gives a chance for these guys to be successful.”
Wenning says he and other farmer-mentors are available to answer questions about equipment advice, cover crop recommendations, and more.
He says the biggest mistake that young farmers make when trying out new soil health practices is skipping many of the early steps of the process.
“You just cannot start in the middle. You have to follow this multitude of steps it takes to be successful,” says Wenning. “I had a guy come out for the first time when I tried to no-till. I questioned it, and I had just gotten a planter to do it. I called [another farmer] who been no-tilling and he said, ‘I’ll be there in a little bit.’ He was out crawling behind my planter, checked everything out, and said, ‘Here you go!’ He made sure I was successful—and that’s what we’re doing now is to help the next person be successful.”
The Farm Advisors program is supported by the Indiana Soybean Alliance and Indiana Corn Marketing Council and was launched just last summer.
A five-person board of farmers directs the overall program. The board includes Jamie Scott, Rodney Rulon, Mike Brocksmith, Cameron Mills and Dan DeSutter. The program, currently operating under the Conservation Cropping Systems Initiative (CCSI), aims to be operating on its own within the next three years.
To learn more about the program and get involved as a mentor or mentee visit FarmAdvisors.ag.
(Story by C.J. Miller/Hoosier Ag Today)
