Several undergraduate agriculture students are dusting up on their farm skills after dry weather conditions brought on an early harvest. The future farmers enrolled in Agriculture 450 started harvesting their crops grown on the university’s land, three miles south of State Street, after they noticed a threatening corn stalk rotting. The disease leaves the plants flat and difficult to combine. “The dry conditions made the stalks a lot weaker. The windy conditions have caused them to break off near the ground,” said Greg Vogel, farm supervisor. Over the course of a year nearly 100 students take part in the classroom setting, which gives seven committees the responsibility over nearly 1,300 acres of corn and soybean crop land, swine production, decision-making and maintenance of the farm. The committees include crops, machinery, building, finance, marketing, public relations and swine production, said Larry Trede, associate professor of agricultural education and studies in charge of the Ag 450 farm. “Each committee manages that phase of the farm. Generally all members of the class get involved in each level of the farm,” he said. The class was created as a capstone course in agriculture to give students experience on a typical Iowa farm, Trede said. “Everyone goes through colleges having theories presented to them and this allows them to take those theories and see how they operate,” said Vogel, agricultural specialist in agricultural education and studies. Scott Mickelsen, teaching assistant for the course, said the class familiarizes the students with the decision-making process. “They have to use their communication skills and arrive at solving a problem and implementing a decision,” said Mickelsen, graduate student in agricultural education and studies. An unusual weather year has created many complications for the team. “The crops are matured enough, but the dry weather brought on the final phase of maturation quicker,” Vogel said. “Hybrids are bred and engineered for grain production. Yet, the tendency of the plants pours the nutrition into the grain rather than the stalk.” Nick Hoffman, senior in agricultural studies, spends about 20 hours outside of class working at the farm. He said he has seen the problems from the hybrid varieties. “It is just the way the varieties are genetically modified to do certain things,” he said. “Some numbers are just weak in stalk strength.” Although the weather has been unusual, Vogel said he expects yields to remain high. He said the problem will be getting the corn picked since it is lying flat. “It is real slow going, and it’ll just make harvest spread out a little longer,” he said. Hoffman said the operation side is also frustrating this year. “When you’re used to running it at three or four miles per hour and then have to go down to one mile per hour it takes a lot more patience with the stalks the way they are,” he said. The farm is completely self-sufficient and has a budget of nearly $500,000 per year. The farm itself has a net worth of slightly more than a $1 million. “Part of our mission goal is to make a profit four out of five years,” Trede said. The profit is put directly back into the farm for upgrading equipment and buildings. “You learn the little things,” Hoffman said. “You have to market your crops and livestock to maximize profit and everybody has to come together to make it work.”