The uniqueness of the soybean plant is explained by Russell Anderson.

SYRACUSE — The largest group ever to participate in the annual WACF Farm Tour gathered Wednesday morning on property that runs along Dillon Creek and is owned by Anderson Farms. This was the eighth annual tour given by Russell Anderson for the WACF.

The portion of property that the tour entailed covered approximately 2 miles or two-thirds of the entire Dillon Creek and was 2 miles due east of Lake Wawasee.

Anderson provided the approximately 30 guests a balanced look at farming. “I’m a farmer. I need this crop to produce revenue for the farm and for my family. I live on Lake Wawasee. My parents, my wife and I own a marina on Lake Wawasee. So our interest in Lake Wawasee and water quality is very important. Just as the farm is important to use and the income. I’m not going to give you a one sided approach. I’m going to try to give you both sides.”

“This tour is your tour.” he stated. “I can talk all day on things going on in this corn field.” Several stops were made along the tour, giving Anderson the opportunity to provide talking points, such as the soil and the importance on the type of soil, conservation efforts on the farm, an overview of the water cycle of the world and what a farmer needs to do to learn what limits the production of a crop in the field and the impact of what he does.

He also talked about the eco system of the soil, what is being done on the farm with an ultimate goal of “things of the farm to stay on the farm, things in the water stay in the water and not to mix. That’s our goal.”

Russell Anderson talks to the group about the stone dam in Dillon Creek that slows down the waterflow and about grass filter strips

He also spoke of the filter strip installed on the farm along Dillon Creek and how he expanded it an additional 20 feet. Additionally, he noted how much acreage he lost by doing so. “I felt it important,” he said.

Anderson, who studied agronomy at Purdue University, answered numerous questions from tour participants, including explaining the methods and benefits of no-till farming and use of cover crops. The tour included numerous educational points, such as why the corn stalks only produced one year of corn, the use of stone dams in the creek, how many gallons of water is created per acre when 2-3 inches of rain falls.

Farming methods on Anderson Farm was also touched on. Anderson noted the use of technology in soil testing the applying needed chemicals only to those areas such as potassium, lime and phosphorous. He also explained the application of nitrogen on the field.

“You have to choose the time of year in which the corn plant will need (nitrogen). We don’t apply until the moment the crop needs it, then we apply. It’s a very short window,” he said. With this he used the analogy of a growing child, noting nitrogen is needed by corn when it reaches knee high (equivalent to a child reaching the age of 14). This is when the corn is at its grand growth stage and grows the fastest. “There’s a a six weeks grand growth stage when corn absorbs the majority of the nitrogen.”