Daniel has been consulting with growers in Indiana, Michigan, and Ohio for 48 years. He grew up on a family farm between Granger, Indiana and Edwardsburg, Michigan. His father was known as an innovator planting cover crops and using no till as early as the 1960's. After graduating from Penn High School, Mishawaka, Indiana, Dan Pursued a B.S. in Agronomy at Purdue University. He was drafted into the U. S. military and completed training for the Indiana National Guard. He received a master's degree in Agronomy at Purdue studying Nitrogen and Phosphorus runoff from four Northeast Indiana Soils. He participated in a large EPA-funded investigation called the Black Creek Project and was instrumental in the introduction of conservation practices in the Western Lake Erie Basin.

 

Dan then entered the production agriculture field, often providing agronomic recommendations and ensuring that the products sold were both effective and profitable for customers. Surviving the late 1970's and early 1980's was a great challenge using limited budgets to maximize return. This led to encouraging growers to use no till to reduce equipment costs, fuel expenditures and conforming with new government regulations. The agricultural chemical sector exploded with new products. Participating in farm trials and working with industry technical experts during development gave Dan the ability to give sound advice. Soil and tissue sampling was always a starting point to help growers be successful. GPS, NRCS soil maps and Veris technology allowed him to be more precise in decisions to separate fact from fiction.

Micronutrients became an important study to help growers who were irrigating low CEC soils. The advent of foliar nutrients really challenged the traditional thoughts of soil fertility and plant nutrition. Again, monitoring field results became easier with yield monitors to ascertain efficacy.

 

In recent years retirement came with an opportunity to work with Adams County SWCD and a NRCS grant for the Western Lake Erie Basin assisting growers in conservation practices including cover crops, inter seeding cover crops and soil fertility practices especially to better utilize manure. Dan appreciates his wife Donita and sons Ben and Tim who sacrificed time to support the long hours required in the production of a successful crop. He thanks God for the opportunity to learn and use His wisdom and resources for God's Kingdom.