I am excited! We’re bringing Randy Dowdy’s Next Level camp to Indiana/Michigan this fall!

This year, as we knock on harvest’s door, we can visibly see differences in our crops. When comparing high management acres to control areas, we see dry husks on green corn stalks with less dent in the kernel when black layer is reached. Soybeans we have pushed had a rich green color this summer and have pretty good pod counts.

In the past, I have alluded to some of the intensive crop management we are doing. Included in those are proper machinery maintenance, frequent soil and tissue sampling, flag tests, regular scouting, data analysis and others. We know that those things are not rocket science, however they are building blocks of pushing yield limitations.

We had some help. After several years of hearing Georgia corn grower Randy Dowdy speak whenever we could, we learned of an opportunity to join one of his ‘next level’ camps where he dives deep into production. We signed up. We don’t regret it. Knowledge has been gained though personal interaction both in the classroom and in the fields.

Willing to share

Our group became pretty tight pretty quick. Operations are willing to share for the benefit of learning from each other. No one is out of place. Cropping systems in our group vary greatly. Whether someone farms 80 or 8,000-plus acres doesn’t matter, camp is an atmosphere of learning. Many times we learn through others.

Though record yields are usually associated with Dowdy, the common sense focus also revolves around ROI and choosing methods and products that work. A scientific approach is aided by proprietary software and data analysis. Randy is a straight shooter. He is willing to share, but expects that we will do our part as well. This has been an immersive hands on process.

When we learned Dowdy was willing to add more camps, we decided to host. With our location at US 30 and US 31, we are within an easy drive for many operations to come and learn with us. Whether you’re from Indiana, Michigan, or elsewhere, if you’re interested in learning more about our camp, contact us at: [email protected]. For general program information and information on other camp sites, visit www.dowdycropinnovations.com. We plan to host the first session this December.

I hope this doesn’t sound like an advertorial. Even as a host, we pay to participate just like everyone else. We are simply excited to bring an opportunity like this back home to our area where others can benefit as well.

The opinions of the author are not necessarily those of Farm Futures or Farm Progress.