Nothing will induce total panic in a man more than the words “Do you know what today is?” When those words are uttered by his wife across the dinner table, the male brain immediately jumps into overdrive assessing all the possible answers and trying desperately to figure out which one is the correct one.

More often than not, the brain overheats and the man sheepishly replies, “No.”

This happened to me last week. I knew it was not our wedding anniversary, her birthday or any of the children’s birthdays or half a dozen other days I could think of. When I finally admitted I did not have a clue what was special about that day, she told me it was the anniversary of the day we moved to Indiana.

In fact, it was 25 years ago we left the Show-Me State and became Hoosiers. A sense of relief swept over me as I realized this was not going to cost me a truckload of chocolate to fix. “Oh really, that’s interesting,” I said in my best nonchalant voice.

The incident did, however, get me thinking about all that had happened in the past 25 years, how much about Indiana agriculture had changed, and some of the things that have not.

As I arrived in Indiana in June 1985 with a lot more hair and fewer children, I had no idea what the future had in store. My job was to build a statewide farm radio network for a company that knew little, if anything, about agriculture.

With a background in network operations and plenty of experience with Corn Belt agriculture, I set out to find what was unique about Indiana. My first stop was to see Bob Book, who was running what was then called the Indiana Ag Institute. Bob knew agriculture and, more importantly, he knew Indiana farmers.

His advice then and in the years since has been invaluable. My second appointment was lunch with Jane and Roger Stevens. Jane was working for Indiana Farm Bureau and Roger was Deputy Commissioner of Agriculture for Indiana. I have continued to work with Roger and Jane over the years, and they have been tremendous supporters of farm radio in Indiana.

My first broadcast was from a small windowless room in the back of a struggling television station in Indianapolis. I don’t think anyone in that building or anyone in the company that hired me had any idea what I was doing or why. This was a reality I quickly learned, and that still is true today. Despite the fact that Indiana is a major agricultural state, most Hoosiers are clueless about agriculture.
I did discover one group that was at least interested in agriculture, and that was radio station owners and managers in rural communities around the state. They understood how important agriculture was to the economy of their community.

Ironically one of the first of these to join the fledging little network was Andy Eubank from WSAL in Logansport. The irony is that, today, Andy is my broadcast partner and Vice President of Hoosier Ag Today. As I write, he is in China traveling with Lt. Gov. Becky Skillman on an agricultural trade mission.

One of the first big stories I covered as a Hoosier was the announcement of a new government program called the Conservation Reserve Program (CRP). Then-USDA Secretary John Block came to Sen. Richard Lugar’s farm in Marion County to make the announcement.

At the time, we thought it was just another USDA program designed to control supply under the guise of soil stewardship. CRP, however, has become a major success and has proven itself to be popular with producers and conservationists. It is still one of the pillars of the government’s efforts to control soil erosion. This is another thing that has not changed. When it comes to protecting the land, it is farmers who have the passion and do the work.

There have been plenty of things that have changed. Shortly after arriving in Indiana, I attended a press briefing at the Pioneer facility in Tipton where we learned about a new technology that would revolutionize food production.

Biotechnology and gene manipulation would change how farmers farm and reshuffle agribusinesses in a way never seen in agriculture before. Our present level of production and the future promise of increased production are all because of this technological revolution.

Another aspect of agriculture that has changed dramatically during the past 25 years is the livestock industry. Economic, environmental and social forces have combined to move hogs indoors, have increased the size of operations, and have reduced the number of producers in business.

The livestock business has also become the target of the activist community. This occurred not because of anything producers have changed but because activist groups have discovered they can make serious money by working against “factory farms.” Likewise, environmental groups and lawsuit attorneys have found attacking agriculture to be very lucrative.

Twenty-five years ago we talked a lot about how to reach and teach consumers. Today we are still talking about that, but at least now we are talking with each other. Agriculture is also more proactive and less reactive on consumer issues.

We have seen unbelievable strides in food production in the past 25 years. I hope we can see similar progress in consumer education over the next 25 years. And a special “Thanks” to you all for listening.

The views and opinions expressed in this column are those of the author and not necessarily those of Farm World. Readers with questions or comments for Gary Truitt may write to him in care of this publication.