By RICK A. RICHARDS
Indiana Correspondent

WANATAH, Ind. — Preparing for 250 guests is never easy. Showing off the farm means power-washing the concrete spill pad, getting the combines and sprayers lined up just so, cleaning the barn and filling the horse troughs with ice and soda.

For Jeff and Andrea Mitzner all that turned out to be a bit rushed because of a trip to the Indiana State Fair, but in the end everything came together just in time for the 34th annual LaPorte County Row Crop Food Producers tour Aug. 17.

Mitzner Farms, five miles south of Wanatah on U.S. Highway 421 in southern LaPorte County, is a 1,700-acre operation that produces corn and soybeans, seed corn, cucumbers, green beans, onions and tomatoes. In 2005, the Mitzners were named the American Farm Bureau Federation Young Farmers for their leadership and business excellence.

“I never really imagined all this when I started farming,” said Jeff Mitzner, who began in 1986 while still in high school. Then, he farmed 40 acres, going on to graduate from the Purdue Ag Short Course in 1990.

In 1999, looking for a way to enhance his bottom line, he began raising specialty crops. “There was more money in it. Of course there was a bigger risk, but there also was a bigger reward. We kidded ourselves a bit, calling this place the ‘Anything for a Buck Company.’

“But,” said Mitzner, “we take pride in what we do. I always try to be the best I can.”

During the tour, visitors got an up-close look at the Mitzner farm, from the indoor concrete fertilizer dike to the center pivot irrigation system, to the fields of cucumbers and green beans to the row of fuel trucks in front of the barn that belong to Triple J-Mar Petroleum, another business in which Mitzner is a partner.

Like her husband, Andrea Mitzner comes from a farming background, but instead of crops, she grew up raising hogs.

“We’re proud of what we do here and hosting this is a big deal for us,” said Andrea. “This is kind of a meshing of the city and the country. A little bit ago, I had a woman tell me she had no idea what took place here and she lives just five miles up the road in Wanatah.”

That is what the annual tour is all about. Invitations are sent to political leaders, friends of agriculture, other farmers and special guests so they can get a firsthand look at how a family farm operates.

Mitzner’s farm neighbors helped by serving as tour guides and in the process had a chance to talk about what they do.   

It turns out many of those farmers either partner with Mitzner in major equipment purchases or are customers of his petroleum or custom spraying businesses.

“Every time we sign another contract (for green beans or cucumbers), I ask myself, ‘Oh boy, what are we getting into?’” said Andrea. “It’s scary. We learn to deal with the risk. It’s so dependent on the weather. Mother Nature and I have had long discussions and I’ve tried to include her in my circle of friends, but she doesn’t want to jump in.”

Jeff explained this year has been difficult for green beans. Normally, he’s able to plant two crops of beans – one right after the other – but after white mold appeared in the first crop in one field, he decided not to plant a second until he figured out what the problem was. He’s working with Purdue to come up with an answer.

For both cucumbers and green beans, Mitzner has to apply nitrogen since neither crop produces its own. That means he also has to control the amount of water on the fields, which is why he irrigates.

“We grow the cucumbers for Hartung Brothers out of Wisconsin and their supplier is Vlasic,” said Mitzner. “Green beans are trucked from here to a cooler on Indiana 8, where they’re cooled to 45 degrees. Once they’re cooled, they’re trucked to Bells, Tennessee, where they’re processed by Pictsweet.”

But once loaded after being cooled, Mitzner said the trucker has to deliver his load within 10 hours. “If it takes longer, the driver buys the load. We can’t take a chance of keeping the beans on the truck any longer because of the threat of mold developing.”

The Pictsweet brand is sold by Walmart and Mitzner explained anyone who buys a can has about a 50 percent chance of getting LaPorte County green beans, since farmers in the county supply about half the beans for Pictsweet.

One of the visitors at the tour was U.S. Rep. Joe Donnelly (D-Ind.). Although he has visited countless farms since being elected to Congress in 2006, he said each visit is a learning experience.

“I learn something new all the time. Just talking about the irrigation system and that it costs $1,100 an acre to run, you realize how much these entrepreneur farmers are putting at risk each year,” said Donnelly.

Although he’s no longer on the House Agriculture Committee, Donnelly said he still wants to have a voice in agriculture. “I want to be out there telling everyone, ‘Listen, these are the signatures of being an entrepreneur. This is America at its best.’

“I want to be a strong voice for our farmers. When I was on the Ag Committee, I was one of the voices that helped put programs in place that made it possible to more easily raise specialty crops. I have an ag advisory board and they’re the ones who told me they needed the additional acres for specialty crops.”

Neighbor Ron Herrold said it’s important farmers cooperate and spread the cost of major equipment out among themselves. “That’s why specialty crops are so important,” he added.

Vern Schafer, a member of the Row Crop Producers, also is a partner with Mitzner in the custom spraying business. “A few years ago, Jeff approached me and said we needed a sprayer. I told him I’d do that as long as I could use it whenever I wanted to,” said Schafer.

At that time, a used sprayer cost $65,000 and the partners couldn’t find one suitable for what they needed. On a trip to Illinois, Schafer found an almost-new sprayer that had all the bells and whistles the two were looking for.

“I called Jeff and told him I had good news. The good news was I found a better machine than the one we had looked at, but the bad news was is cost almost twice as much.”

At $105,000, the sprayer was at the high end of the partners’ budget, but after a discussion, they bought it and haven’t looked back. They formed MS Ag, which keeps their sprayer busy in fields across the area.

“It’s been a good investment for us. Using GPS, MS Ag is able to track how many times they’ve sprayed a field, what has been sprayed and how much has been sprayed. We have a complete record of everything on a data card,” said Shafer.

The idea, said Mitzner, is to keep his equipment busy so that it’s making money when not being used on his or his partners’ land. It also helps diversify the business, which is the reason he got involved with Triple J-Mar Petroleum, a business his father, Jim, started in 1972.

Today, it’s managed by his mother, Marlene, and his brother-in-law, Ray Charlesworth; Mitzner is vice president. The company supplies fuel and oil products to area farmers and also operates retail stores in Wanatah and Westville, Ind.