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Monday, February 15, 2010 Two sections Volume 38, No. 7

FarmWeek on the web: FarmWeekNow.com Illinois Farm Bureau®on the web: www.ilfb.org

ILLINOIS FARM BUREAUscored big in getting its state leg-islative priorities introduced in billform before last week’s GeneralAssembly filing deadline. ...............2

CHAMPAIGN-BASED Illi-nois Fire Service Institute is plac-ing special emphasis on grain safe-ty in responder training sessionsthis year. .........................................7

THE ILLINOIS SOYBEANAssociation and the U.S. SoybeanBoard have developed a programdubbed “The Bean Team” to helpteach students about ag. ................3

NORWEGIAN LEGACY

This “Norwegian” totem pole was welded by the late Norman Larsenabout 20 years ago, according to his son, Jeff, and stands as his lega-cy on the family farm near Leland in De Kalb County. Larsen said hisfather constructed all sorts of items from agricultural equipment parts.(Photo by Ken Kashian)

Specialist: Antibiotics use on farms no major human threatBY DANIEL GRANTFarmWeek

The use of antibiotics on live-stock farms does not present amajor health risk to humans,according to Scott Hurd, seniorepidemiologist at the Iowa StateUniversity College of VeterinaryMedicine.

Hurd, who previously servedas the USDA deputy undersecre-tary for food safety, last weekduring a teleconference coun-tered numerous claims made by aCBS Evening News two-part spe-cial that focused on the use ofantibiotics on farms.

The news segments, which canbe viewed online at{www.cbsnews.com} suggestedthere are strong ties between theuse of antibiotics on farm ani-mals and the development ofantibiotic-resistant bacteria inhumans.

CBS Evening News host Katie

Couric also encouraged con-sumers to pay a premium if needbe to purchase “antibiotic-free”meats.

“If you look at the actual riskassessment, it says there virtuallyis no risk at all (associated withconsuming meat and developingresistance to antibiotics from thatmeat),” Hurd said.

Epidemiology is the study ofdisease and factors affecting

health and illness in populationsof humans and animals.

All antibiotics used in animalagriculture are approved by theFood and Drug Administrationand are subject to surveillance,said Richard Carnevale, a veteri-

narian and vice president of regu-latory, scientific, and internationalaffairs for the Animal HealthInstitute, who also participated inthe teleconference.

But if preventive antibioticsare banned from use on livestock,as proposed by legislation in theU.S. House of Representativesthat is opposed by Farm Bureau,humans could face additionalhealth risks.

More sick animals may make itto market in that scenario, accord-ing to Hurd, which could increasethe pathogens to which humansare exposed.

“If you ban all antibiotics,there won’t be any improvementto public health,” Hurd said.

“What you actually could endup with are more human-illnessdays. That’s a piece of the puzzlemany people don’t look at at all.”

The website{www.FactsAboutPork.com}

claims Denmark, which bannedthe use of most antibiotics inlivestock production, has experi-enced an uptick in human-antibiotic resistance — includinga tenfold increase in Methicillin-resistant Staphylococcus Aureus(MRSA) infections — since theban and recently had one of theworst salmonella outbreaks inDanish history.

“It’s ironic when Denmark

initiated the (antibiotic) ban(more than a decade ago) thestated goal was to improvehuman health,” Carnevale said.“Yet they readily admit theycan’t document a change to pub-lic health. It makes you wonderwhy they put the (livestock)industry through all this.”

Overall, Carnevale character-ized the CBS report as “short onfacts and long on speculation.”

Producers advised to check tax statements, paymentsBY MARTIN ROSSFarmWeek

Illinois Farm Service Agency(FSA) officials are working tomake tax time a little less vexingfor producers caught up in achange in USDA program proce-dures.

Illinois producers currently arereceiving federal 1099 tax state-ments for direct, average croprevenue election, ConservationReserve Program, and dairy pro-

gram benefits received as incomein 2009.

FSA Illinois program specialistStan Wilson stressed the majorityof 1099s will be accurate — con-cerns focus on producers whoreceived a 22 percent advance on2009 direct payments.

Last year, FSA moved to acentralized payment distributionsystem based at its Kansas Cityregional office. Payment advanceswere distributed or deposited inproducer accounts before thechange in systems.

That means current 1099s maynot reflect “offsets” from finalpayments but instead erroneouslylist the amount of the advanceplus the full amount of directpayments unadjusted for theadvance.

That could lead to producerspaying taxes on that extraamount.

Because advance offsets canbe applied “globally” to com-modity or conservation paymentson multiple farms owned or oper-ated by an individual, Illinois FSAprogram specialist Rick Gradenurged producers to check all doc-umentation to ensure informa-tion is correct on all 1099s theyreceive.

Producers who find or suspectan error in their 1099s shouldcontact their county FSA office

for payment verification or toseek a correction.

“Those producers who aredoing a great job of keeping trackof the payments they’ve received,comparing them to their depositsor U.S. Treasury checks they’vereceived, are going to know iftheir 1099s are right or incor-rect,” Graden told FarmWeek.

“The first thing they shoulddo is determine if the amount ofmoney they’ve received matchestheir 1099s.

“We’re concerned there will besome (farm) landlords out therewho may not understand whatthey have in their hands whenthey get it.”

As a result of the transition inpayment distribution procedures,producers last fall reported prob-lems ranging from deposit ofsome payments in wrongaccounts to letters informing pro-gram recipients they owed USDAmoney.

Graden noted USDA has con-ducted a comprehensive reviewof system problems, and hisagency has briefed county FSAson 1099 verification and correc-tion.

Wilson stressed the centralizedsystem likely will remain in place.

“It’s getting better, and it willget better, but it’s probably hereto stay,” he said.

FarmWeekNow.comFor additional information about leg-islation banning antibiotics in live-stock, go to FarmWeekNow.com.

RENT-A-RENEWABLE — Airport travel should bea breath of fresher air for Alamo Rent A Car, EnterpriseRent-A-Car, and National Car Rental customers asbiodiesel gets them to and from their destinations.

Enterprise Holdings last week launched efforts for itsentire fleet of more than 600 airport shuttle buses across50 North American markets to begin using at least 5 per-cent biodiesel (B5).

The company formally unveiled its latest clean energymeasure at the 2010 National Biodiesel Conference &Expo in Grapevine, Texas. Enterprise Holdings willimmediately convert buses in nine markets — includingChicago — to 20 percent biodiesel (B20) as a first steptoward its goal of converting its entire fleet to B20 overthe next five years.

The company expects to complete the conversion toB5 by spring of this year, with at least 50 percent convert-ed to B20 by the end of next year.

ASIAN CARP CONTROVERSY CONTINUES —Congress last week said “no” to a plan to disconnect thewaterways between Lake Michigan and the Illinois andMississippi rivers, according to Illinois Statehouse News.Michigan officials have called for closure of the mainshipping channels running into the lake to keep Asiancarp out of the Great Lakes.

Speaking against the plan during a Chicago news con-ference, U.S. Reps. Debbie Halvorson (D-Crete), Judy Big-gert (R-Hinsdale), and Danny Davis (D-Chicago) citedconcerns about the economic effects and potential flood-ing issues.

President Barack Obama has pledged $78.5 million tothe Great Lakes states to prevent the carp from spreading.

F R E I G H T M O V E M E N T S I G N A L I N GSTRONGER ECONOMY? — Freight is starting tomove again, indicating the economy is improving. “Theglobal recession had a massive impact on our economy,and the transportation industry was hit tremendouslyhard, but we are starting to see some movement that ispromising,” said Steve Jaeger with the Heart of IllinoisRegional Port District, based in Peoria.

October 2009 cargo statistics broke a 25-month stringof year-to-year declines in movement of industrial andconsumer goods. Forecasts for 2010 show a 10 percentincrease in transportation of finished goods and a nearly14 percent hike in movement of imported products.

The largest problem for transportation providers is thedepressed level of freight rates brought about by therecession. “The trucking companies with terminals inCentral Illinois have idled much of their equipment dur-ing the downturn but are beginning to see demand pickup,” Jaeger said.

Freight railroads are the healthiest in the transportationsector and largely remained profitable even as traffic lev-els fell by 20 percent or more in early 2009, Jaeger noted.

FarmWeek Page 2 Monday, February 15, 2010

(ISSN0197-6680)

Vol. 38 No. 7 February 15, 2010

Dedicated to improving the profitability of farm-ing, and a higher quality of life for Illinois farmers.FarmWeek is produced by the Illinois FarmBureau.

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STAFFEditor

Dave McClelland (dmcclelland@ilfb.org)Legislative Affairs Editor

Kay Shipman (kayship@ilfb.org)Agricultural Affairs Editor

Martin Ross (mross@ilfb.org)Senior Commodities Editor

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Linda Goltz (Lgoltz@ilfb.org)Business Production Manager

Bob StandardAdvertising Sales Manager

Richard VerderyClassified sales coordinator

Nan FanninDirector of News and Communications

Dennis VerclerAdvertising Sales RepresentativesHurst and Associates, Inc.P.O. Box 6011, Vernon Hills, IL 600611-800-397-8908 (advertising inquiries only)

Gary White - Northern IllinoisDoug McDaniel - Southern IllinoisEditorial phone number: 309-557-2239Classified advertising: 309-557-3155Display advertising: 1-800-676-2353

Quick TakesGOVERNMENT

Quinn gets budgetdelay — with strings

Gov. Pat Quinn last weeksigned legislation that allowshim to submit his state bud-get plan on March 10 insteadof Wednesday.

However by Feb. 24,Quinn must file a report onrevenues, expenditures, andfinancial liabilities with theGeneral Assembly. The billalso allows the public andstate lawmakers to submitbudget recommendations.

Quinn sought a similardelay last October, but didn’tsecure enough votes in theHouse to pass the measure.

The Illinois Constitutionrequires the governor todeliver his budget message inmid-February. Last year,Quinn was permitted to pre-sent his budget in Marchbecause he had been in officeonly a few weeks after suc-ceeding Rod Blagojevich. –-Kay Shipman

State lawmakers add IFB priorities to mixBY KAY SHIPMANFarmWeek

Illinois Farm Bureau saw itsstate legislative priorities intro-duced in bill form before lastweek’s deadline for a short-ened General Assembly springsession.

“This week starts theonslaught of committeework,” said Kevin Semlow,IFB director of state legisla-tion.

Semlow noted legislativeleaders have encouraged theirmembers to be selective about

issues. Feb. 11 was the deadlinefor bill introduction in theHouse.

One IFB legislative priority— SB 2566 sponsored by Sen.John Sullivan (D-Rushville) —was assigned to the SenateTransportation Committee.

Meanwhile a similar Housebill, HB 4904, sponsored byRep. Rich Myers (R-Colch-ester), remained in the HouseRules Committee. Semlow saidthe legislation has drawn con-cerns from independent insur-ance agents.

Both bills would restorefarmers’ ability to drive all-ter-rain and utility-terrain vehicleson roads for farming purposesand also to cross roads withthe vehicles, he said.

Livestock producers are thefocus of HB 6142 — alsosponsored by Myers — thataddresses nuisance lawsuitsfiled against farms.

The bill would prohibit civillawsuits filed in anticipation ofa nuisance that might becaused by a proposed livestockfacility or expansion of anexisting facility that complies

with the state Livestock Man-agement Facility Act (LMFA),said Bart Bittner, IFB associ-ate director of state legisla-tion.

The bill also would allow adefendant who wins in a nui-sance case against a farm to bepaid for legal costs to defendthe case and reasonable attor-ney fees, Bittner added.

A recent ruling by the Illi-nois Supreme Court upheldthe rights of Sangamon Coun-ty pork producer Bob Youngto seek damages from a resi-dents’ group that had suedhim.

The group obtained a pre-liminary injunction that tem-porarily stopped construction,but the injunction later wasreversed and Young success-fully pursued legal action toseek damages for the con-struction delay.

Liability and recreation arethe main thrust of HB 5895,sponsored by Rep. Bill Black(R-Danville). The bill wouldrestore limited liability tolandowners who allow invitedguests to use their property atno charge for a variety ofrecreational activities.

Currently, landowners havelimited liability only for hunt-ing. In the past, similar billshave faced stiff opposition

from trial attorneys.Another IFB priority, the

restoration of equine harvest,would reverse a change enact-ed three years ago. HB 4812,sponsored by Rep. Jim Sacia(R-Pecatonica), would allowequine harvesting in the state.

“IFB supports the bill toimprove the end-of-life experi-ences for many equine thathave become worse and (tocorrect) an unintended conse-quence of earlier legislation,”Bittner said.

Illinois now faces problemsof abandoned horses in stateparks and other public areas assome horse owners struggle tofeed and care for the animalsduring a bad economy, a dis-mal horse market, and the highcost of euthanasia, Bitt ner

Presidents and chancellors of 14 state uni-versities last week asked Gov. Pat Quinn andComptroller Dan Hynes for a reliable scheduleof state payments to their institutions andoffered to help with a solution.

“The (financial) hole Illinois has managed todig for itself is so deep that it’s not going to beable to cut its way or tax its way out — it’sgoing to take combination of both,” said Stan-ley Ikenberry, president of the University ofIllinois. Ikenberry joined several fellow presi-dents at a Chicago press conference.

Across Illinois, the state owes the universitiesmore than three-quarters of a billion dollars,the presidents wrote.

John Peters, president of Northern IllinoisUniversity, said he worries every two weeks ifhe will be able to make his payroll. “We’re basi-cally living on tuition,” Peters said.

The presidents noted they have cut costs,enacted hiring freezes, and drawn on financialreserves. However, those actions can’t compen-sate for “the absence of hundreds of millionsof dollars in state appropriation payments,”they said.

Ikenberry put the situation in perspective:“We’re going to see a crisis of a dimension thatwe have not seen in our lifetimes,” without achange in strategy.

The presidents admitted a solution will notbe easy and offered their support in helpingresolve the matter and helping the public under-stand the current situation.

“The longer we wait, the deeper the hole; thedeeper the hole, the larger the tax increase andthe larger the cuts,” Ikenberry said. “The quick-er we get at this, the less the pain.” — KayShipman

University presidents seek budget answers

FarmWeekNow.comTo learn more about IFB’s state leg-islative priorities for 2010, go to

FarmWeekNow.com.

EDUCATION

FarmWeek Page 3 Monday, February 15, 2010

Sue Yarnell, left, ag literacy coordinator with the Moultrie County Soil and Water Conservation District, andHaley Loy, ag literacy director for Cook County Farm Bureau, make miniature wind turbines during a work-shop at last week’s Illinois Agriculture in the Classroom awareness conference in Bloomington. New renewableenergy teaching materials and class projects were among several workshop topics. (Photo by Kay Shipman)

Careers, ed materials energizing IAITCRenewable energy offers educational subjects

as well as potential careers across Illinois, ag lit-eracy coordinators and educators heard lastweek.

“The great thing about energy is even if wetalked about everything — you couldn’t touch itall,” Kelly Murphy, Illinois Farm Bureau educa-tion specialist, told participants in her renewableenergy workshop.

Teachers, ag literacy coordinators, and FarmBureau leaders learned about the growingrenewable energy industry and related educa-tional materials for students in kindergartenthrough 12th grade at the Illinois Agriculture inthe Classroom (IAITC) Awareness Conferencein Bloomington.

Through IAITC, studentscan learn about an industry inwhich they may wish to pursuea career, according to John Cau-pert, director of the NationalCorn-to-Ethanol Research Cen-ter (NCERC) at Southern Illi-nois University-Edwardsville.Case-in-point, four NCERCtrainees recently were hired atAbengoa, a new 88-million-gal-

lon ethanol plant at Granite City, Caupert noted.“The No. 1 thing we (NCERC) heard was a

need ... for qualified applicants to go to work (inrenewable fuel plants,)” Caupert said. “Trainingleads to biofuel jobs.”

In 2008, 500,000 people were employed

nationwide in the biofuels industry. Industry growth resulted in the creation of

29,000 new biofuels jobs that year, he added.Biofuel is one of the topics discussed in new

IAITC educational materials, including a newrenewable energy “Ag Mag,” displayed lastweek.

Murphy outlined possible lesson topics thatranged from the history of energy developmentto specific types of energy and their impact inIllinois.

To demonstrate wind energy, each workshopparticipant made a miniature wind turbine fromconstruction paper and a plastic straw. Anotherdemonstration project was a small solar-heatingdevice made from a cardboard pizza box.

Materials and information are availableonline at {www.agintheclassroom.org}.

Caupert speculated the biofuels industry willcontinue growing even as NCERC works withclients on cellulosic ethanol. However, the cellu-losic ethanol process needs to become morecost efficient, and many unanswered questionsremain about harvesting, storing, and handlingbiomass crops, he said.

NCERC started an initiative a year ago tooptimize starch-based ethanol production touse as little water as possible and make it morecost efficient, Caupert said.

Caupert added economic recovery is trick-ling into the ethanol industry. “We’re starting tosee an (ethanol) energy comeback,” he said.“And that’s a good thing.” — Kay Shipman

John Caupert

IAITC adding nutrition, agfacts to after-school programBY KAY SHIPMANFarmWeek

Illinois Agriculture in theClassroom (IAITC) is applyingits successful classroom materi-als to after-school programs inthe hope of filling an educa-tional niche and impartingnutritional information.

“This (after-school pro-gram) was a niche we wanted toget into. There’s not a lot of aginformation” provided to thosein after-school programs, saidCarrie Schreiber, Illinois Farm

Bureau education specialist.It’s a niche that could reach

many children. Last year, 16percent of Illinois children par-ticipated in after-school pro-grams, according to a survey bythe Afterschool Alliance.

Schreiber and Jackie Jones,IFB education manager, dis-cussed the new “After SchoolAgriculture” materials witheducators and ag literacy coor-dinators at the IAITC Aware-ness Conference last week inBloomington.

In August, the WalmartFoundation donated $50,000to IAITC, which used thegrant to develop the AfterSchool Agriculture program.The lessons and activities are

available to park districts,YMCAs, YWCAs, Boys &Girls Clubs, and other groupsthat offer after-school pro-grams. The program recentlywas presented during a statemeeting of park district staff.

The materials are gearedtoward two groups: students inkindergarten through thirdgrade and those in fourththrough sixth grades.

After School Agricultureoffers one week of 30-minutelessons and activities that eachfocuses on a single agriculturaltopic. There is enough materialfor five weeks.

Those topics are dairy, beef,pork, specialty crops, and piz-za. The pizza lessons cover allthe ingredients used to makepizza and those ingredients’link to agriculture.

Nutritional information isan important component ofmany lessons, and severalactivities include either stu-dent-made healthy snacks,such as pumpkin pie made in abag, or snacks provided by theadults.

“We don’t focus on obesity.We focus on nutrition. But byunderstanding about rightchoices and the importance ofactivity, we hope that we havean impact (on children’shealth),” Schreiber said.

Another healthy IAITC toolis a Nutrition Ag Mag that isbeing reprinted and should beavailable later this year. Thetopics covered include thefood pyramid, food label infor-mation, and the importance ofexercise. In the magazine, adietician talks about his careerand the importance of food-portion sizes.

Educators and volunteersinvolved with ag literacy founda variety of new educationalprograms at the Illinois Agri-culture in the Classroom(IAITC) Awareness Confer-ence last week in Blooming-ton.

The Illinois Soybean Asso-ciation and the U.S. SoybeanBoard developed a compre-hensive program dubbed “TheBean Team.”

Geared to fourth graders,the Bean Team covers a varietyof subjects from a plant’s life-cycle to foods and productsmade from soybeans to biofu-els.

The materials include aDVD with five 10-minutevideo segments about two stu-dents who learn about soy-beans. Accompanying work-sheets reinforce topics fromthe DVD.

IAITC has developed anadditional packet of lessons tocomplement the Bean Teammaterial, said Kevin Daugher-ty, IAITC education director.The Illinois material coversscience, social studies, math,

health and nutrition, reading,writing, and art. The lessonsare correlated to Illinois learn-ing standards.

Daugherty highlighted atransportation lesson thathelps students study how farmproducts are transported fromthe field to their final destina-tion.

Other workshops presentedinformation about availablematerials on dairy, farm safety,natural resources, and biotech-nology.

For more information or tofind materials, go online to{www.agintheclassroom.org}.— Kay Shipman

Wealth of educational materials available

State plans nutrition, obesity hearingsThe Illinois Department of Public Health has scheduled

several public hearings on the issues of nutrition and obesity. The purpose is to highlight problems linked to obesity, to

identify existing state and local initiatives and opportunities foraction, and to identify stakeholders.

Hearing dates and locations are: Feb. 26, 1 to 4 p.m.,Michael A. Bilandic Building, 160 N. LaSalle St., Chicago;

March 8, 10 a.m. to 1 p.m., Illinois Department of Agricul-ture, Illinois State Fairgrounds, Springfield; and

March 15, 10 a.m. to 1 p.m., Carbondale City Hall-CivicCenter, 200 S. Illinois Ave., Carbondale.

Anyone wishing to speak may sign in to testify at each loca-tion. Testimony should be limited to three minutes, and a writ-ten copy should be provided.

Information will be sought on the following points: • Examples of effective programs to address obesity;• Existing policies, programs, and coordination solutions to

address the obesity issue; and • Ideas on how Illinois can work more effectively to address

obesity.Written comments may be submitted by March 15. E-mail

comments to: DPH.MAILUS@illinois.gov with “Obesity Ini-tiative” in the subject line.

For additional information, go online to{www.idph.state.il.us} or contact the Illinois Department ofPublic Health at 217-557-0496.

‘This (after-schoolprogram) was aniche we wantedto get into.’

— Carrie SchreiberIFB education specialist

GOVERNMENT

FarmWeek Page 4 Monday, February 15, 2010

No more NAIS?

USDA’s new plan has ‘many unanswered questions’BY DANIEL GRANTFarmWeek

USDA this month seemedto respond to many producers’concerns about the NationalAnimal Identification System(NAIS) when it announcedplans to develop a new, flexibleframework for animal diseasetraceability.

“After concluding our lis-tening tour on the NationalAnimal Identification system... it is apparent that a newstrategy for animal diseasetraceability is needed,” said AgSecretary Tom Vilsack.

But, at least for the timebeing, the direction USDA willtake to ensure animal diseasetraceability nationwide is unclear.In fact, the latest announcementmay have created more ques-tions than it provided answers tothe ongoing animal ID debate.

“There are so many unan-swered questions, we’re notexactly sure what it all meansright now,” said Jim Kunkle,animal ID administrator withthe Illinois Department ofAgriculture. “It sounds like a

ly disease surveillance and pro-tection for the U.S. swine herd.

The U.S. swine industryalready has more than 90 percentof its farms identified throughpremises ID, according to USDA.

Meanwhile, SteveFoglesong, president of theNational Cattlemen’s BeefAssociation and a FultonCounty producer, encouragedUSDA to work closely withproducers to develop the newtraceability system.

“The plan appears to lay the

foundation for a flexible approachto animal disease traceability,including greater state involve-ment and choices in the use oftechnology,” Foglesong said.

Illinois Farm Bureau policy sup-ports a voluntary national animalidentification program adminis-tered by USDA that is confidential,cost effective, and not economi-cally burdensome to producers.

A question-and-answer sheetabout plans for the new animaltraceability system is available at{www.aphis.usda.gov}.

lot of it will be worked outdown the road.”

USDA essentially will startover with its animal ID programas it announced it will convene aforum with animal health leadersto initiate a dialogue about thepossible ways to achieve a flexi-ble, coordinated approach toanimal disease traceability.

The federal governmentspent about $120 million onNAIS, but only 36 percent oflivestock producers nationwideparticipated in the program.

USDA also announced it willrevamp the secretary’s AdvisoryCommittee on Animal Health toaddress specific issues, such asconfidentiality and liability.

There will be “ample oppor-tunity for farmers, ranchers,and the public to provide uswith continued input on theprocess,” Vilsack said.

In the end, USDA’s effortsreportedly will apply only toanimals moved in interstatecommerce; be administered bythe states and Tribal Nations toprovide more flexibility;encourage the use of lower-

cost technology; and be imple-mented transparently throughfederal regulations and the fullrulemaking process.

Kunkle said IDOA will con-tinue to promote premises reg-istration but “after that, I’mnot sure where it’s going.”

USDA’s announcement lastweek received mixed reviewsfrom livestock groups.

The National Pork Board stat-ed the elimination of NAIS doesnot change its objective, which isfor pork producers to have time-

President’s budget planappears to scrap lock ‘tax’BY MARTIN ROSSFarmWeek

The administration appears willing to back off from a newlock “tax” that could slow or even halt commercial traffic onthe Upper Mississippi River, according to national WaterwaysCouncil Inc. (WCI) Vice President Paul Rohde.

WCI applauded support for river improvements in the presi-dent’s fiscal 2011 budget proposal while pushing recommenda-tions aimed at “ensuring the continued vitality of the U.S.inland navigation system for the next 20 years.”

The budget proposes $350 million for improvements atLock and Dam 27 at Granite City and $136 million to completework at Olmsted Lock and Dam on the Ohio River.

The plan also seeks a specific timeline for construction ofnew 1,200-foot locks on the Illinois and Upper Mississippi riversapproved by Congress in 2007, beginning as early as 2011.

The administration last year floated a proposed per-barge,per-lock fee to replace existing barge fuel taxes that feed theInland Waterway Trust Fund. The trust fund was created to sharecosts of navigation improvements along the rivers, but revenueshave waned while demand for lock upkeep has grown.

The Inland Marine Transportation System Investment (IMTS)Strategy Team, comprised of U.S. Army Corps of Engineers person-nel and members of the congressionally authorized Inland Water-ways Users Board, proposes an alternative plan that would redirecttrust fund use toward navigation and seek lock funding on a per-pro-ject basis rather than on a more unreliable, bit-by-bit annual basis.

“We’ve interpreted that the administration is willing to seeprogress with something all (river) stakeholders can get onboard with,” Rohde told FarmWeek. “For the most part, thatshould take the lockage ‘tax’ off the table, though if you talkedto someone with the administration, he probably wouldn’t giveyou the same interpretation.

“Certainly, this Inland Waterway User Board/IMTS jointeffort is a much better approach than the punitive per-lock/per-barge fee, which would have killed traffic on the Upper Missis-sippi,” he said.

To direct available trust fund revenues to navigationimprovements, the IMTS proposes ending their use for dammaintenance. Rohde stressed “there are a lot more beneficiariesof the dams than of navigation,” noting funding for dam main-tenance was not included as a dedicated use under original trustfund authorization in 1986.

Renewable energy standardpreferable to cap and trade

A federal renewable electricity standard (RES)would greatly ramp up wind, biomass, and othernext-generation power sources at a lower long-term cost to consumers, alternative energy advo-cates maintained last week.

The administration is facing Senate and wide-spread industry resistance to House “cap-and-trade” proposals and thus appears to be shifting itsfocus to sustainable energy incentives rather thana carrot-and-stick climate approach.

Illinois Farm Bureau National LegislativeDirector Adam Nielsen thus questions support byselected renewable energy advocates for newgreenhouse regulations.

Solar, hydropower, geothermal, wind, and biomassorganizations joined to push a congressional energyagenda featuring an RES. Such a standard, whichwould require a percentage of domestic electricity begenerated through renewable sources, would helpassure demand necessary to sustain alternative energydevelopment and investment, the groups maintained.

Amid uncertainty over short-term renewabletax incentives (or, in the case of biodiesel, exten-sion of an expired federal blenders credit) andenergy sector willingness to embrace renewableenergy generation, “we’re on a roller coaster everyday,” American Wind Energy Association CEODenise Bode told reporters.

Solar Energy Industries Association CEORhone Resch touted carbon credits potentiallyavailable to non-fossil sources through cap andtrade. But Nielsen warned the renewables industrydoes not need greenhouse gas emissions caps for

utilities that would raise overall energy costs.“We’ve been talking about ideas like a renew-

able electricity standard for some time, and webelieve we can cut emissions without a complexcap-and-trade system that could damage theeconomy,” Nielsen said.

With cap and trade on the ropes, he sees sen-ators leaning toward an “all-energy” approachaimed at boosting renewables demand, nuclearpower development, clean coal, and even newdomestic oil exploration.

Farm Bureau supports a “renewable portfoliostandard” to stimulate electricity generation fromwind, biomass, solar, tidal, hydroelectric sources,livestock or landfill methane, with standardizationof associated tax incentives regardless of source.

President Obama has addressed proposals toset a 25 percent renewable energy goal for 2025.Bode urged approval of at least a 12 percent RESbeginning as early as 2011 or 2012 to power “a realexplosion of new jobs and manufacturing andgrowth” in wind and other sectors.

Renewable energy interests acknowledged resis-tance to an RES among some utilities that havesubstantial investments in coal or other assets andare reluctant to diversify power sources amiduncertainty over cost recovery, Bode said.

“A utility will not change that pattern unless thedetermination as to what’s in the public interestchanges,” the former Oklahoma utility regulatorsaid. “A renewable electrical standard basicallydetermines what’s in the public interest for a utili-ty.” — Martin Ross

Producers will be asked to handle yet one morepiece of paper this tax season, but the Internal Rev-enue Service (IRS) return address shouldn’t be causefor alarm or concerns about financial confidentiality.

As part of a new partnership between the IRSand USDA’s Farm Service Agency (FSA), farmprogram recipients are required to submit a CCC-927 individual or CCC-928 farm entity consentform for disclosure of tax information.

Under a revised average adjusted gross income(AGI) review process, the IRS will review tax datafor potential use in identifying producers who mayexceed commodity/conservation program incomeeligibility thresholds.

IRS will provide names and taxpayer identifica-tion numbers to FSA for further inquiry withoutsupplying tax records or specific income figures.

The 927/928 form acknowledges USDA can usethat information to ensure compliance with 2009payment eligibility (based on three-year average AGIcalculated over the 2005-2007 tax years) and 2010eligibility (based on 2006-2008 tax years).

“When this all first came out, people did not fully

understand what was going to be happening,” IllinoisFSA program specialist Stan Wilson toldFarmWeek. “Now, I think they’re more comfortablewith what’s happening and understand that we’re notgoing to be looking at IRS documents to find outwhat their income is at the county level.

“Anyone chosen for spot checks or who failsto respond (to FSA notification) will be handledat the state level. Even at that point, they’ll stillhave an opportunity to provide us with a (certifiedpublic accountant) or attorney certification.”

Forms will not be mailed to farmers, who in-stead can find them at their county FSA or online at{forms.sc.egov.usda.gov/eForms/welcomeAction.do?Home}. AGI compliance fact sheets and back-ground information are available on the FSA web-site at {www.fsa.usda.gov}.

Completed consent forms must be mailed to theaddress specified on the form — those submittedto county FSA offices will be returned to the pro-ducer. Consent is required: Producers who do notsubmit a 927 or 928 will be notified of non-compli-ance after June 1. — Martin Ross

AGI consent forms no reason for alarm

ENERGY

FarmWeek Page 5 Monday, February 15, 2010

RFS2 rules lift corn ethanol to (rigid) ceilingBY MARTIN ROSSFarmWeek

New rules under the revisedrenewable fuels standard(RFS2) should help the cornethanol industry reach the fed-eral ceiling for future “conven-tional biofuels” use, energyindustry analyst JohnUrbanchuk suggests.

However, whether cornethanol will be able to movebeyond that ceiling into long-term market growth remainsuncertain under questionablefederal “land use change” crite-ria, advised Illinois Corn Grow-ers Association (ICGA) Tech-nology and Business Develop-ment Director Dave Loos.

The U.S. EnvironmentalProtection Agency’s (EPA)RFS2 rules provide “everythingwe need to get us to the 15 bil-lion gallons” prescribed forannual corn ethanol use by2022, Urbanchuk said.

Current ethanol plants are“grandfathered” under RFS2,but new cornstarch-basedsources must deliver a 20 per-cent reduction in greenhousegases (GHGs) below 2005gasoline emissions to qualify asconventional biofuels.

Corn ethanol did not meetEPA’s far higher standard for“advanced biofuels” expectedto provide much of an addi-tional 21 billion gallons inrenewable fuels use by 2022.

Under original federal crite-ria, corn ethanol came in with aGHGs reduction of only 16percent, but using new data

projecting higher corn yieldsand reduced inputs and re-analysis of potential global landuse changes and subsequentGHG impacts related to cornor ethanol production, EPArescored ethanol from newerplants as offering a 21 percentaverage greenhouse reduction.

“This removes obstructions togetting us up to the 15 billion gal-lons, and I think it allows us evento expand further than that,”Urbanchuk told FarmWeek.

“Corn ethanol’s pretty muchcapped at 15 billion gallons.The real issue is how we getthere from where we are today— about 11 billion (online pro-duction) or a little less.

“The issue is how (RFS2)would have affected plants thatare being built. We have (pro-duction) capacity of about 13billion gallons, and there’s

about another 1 billion-pluscurrently under construction.Anything newer, that additional1 billion and change, should beable to qualify under RFS2.”

But ICGA is unhappyabout continued “penalties”against corn ethanol as anexpanded fuel source based onEPA “being adamant aboutincluding international landuse change,” Loos said. While2007 energy legislationrequired EPA to consider “sig-nificant” indirect impacts, hequestioned whether highly the-oretical land use projectionsmeet Congress’ intent.

New satellite data and infor-mation on actual global land usechanges prompted EPA torevise corn ethanol’s GHG foot-print. However, EPA simultane-ously compressed its timetablefor biofuels-related land usechange from an original 100years to 30 years, ignoringethanol’s net long-term green-house benefits.

“If they’d kept it at 100years, we would have shown(cumulative) performance equalto reducing greenhouse gasemissions by about 50 percentcompared to gasoline,” Loossaid. “By performance, cornethanol would have been equiv-alent to an advanced biofuel.”

Sugar cane-based ethanolscores at a 61 percent GHGreduction and thus qualifies asan advanced biofuel, furtheropening the door to competi-tion from South Americanethanol, Loos warned.

Could corn-based cellulosicsraise greenhouse curve?

As more of the corn plant makes it into the domestic fuelmix, corn ethanol plants could score higher marks for green-house gas benefits under federal standards, industry observerssuggest.

John Urbanchuk, an energy industry consultant, doesn’tpreclude the possibility that the U.S. Environmental Protec-tion Agency (EPA) eventually could rescore corn ethanol’simpact as the industry matures, raising the demand ceilingunder the revised renewable fuels standard (RFS2) (seeaccompanying story).

Amid new technologies and improved plant efficiencies,“the ability to improve carbon footprint and emissions ispretty significant,” he said.

But Dave Loos, technology and business developmentdirector with the Illinois Corn Growers Association (ICGA),noted EPA’s current greenhouse gas calculations for cornethanol hinge on advancements such as “fractionation,”which allows plants to remove value-added co-products fromcorn prior to ethanol processing. However, Loos stressedfractionation currently is an “expensive technology.”

Further, EPA assumes newer plants will generate twice asmuch dry distillers grains (DDGs) as wet DDGs. Accordingto Loos, that is a “stretch” considering current livestockindustry trends on demand for wet DDGs.

One factor that could offer expanded corn ethanol marketpotential is the anticipated development of cellulosic biofuelsfrom crop residues and other sources.

Loos noted EPA has pegged potential GHG reductions fromethanol made from corn stover and cobs at 130 percent belowcumulative emissions from conventional gasoline, compared withcorn ethanol’s roughly 21 percent estimated reduction.

That theoretically could mean a more favorable federalview of prospective integrated plants that combine starchand cellulosic production. Loos notes ICGA’s interest indeveloping technologies to extract further ethanol from cornkernel fiber already available to processors.

“That would be, by definition, an ‘advanced’ biofuel (opento higher RFS2 use thresholds),” he told FarmWeek. “EPAwould have to figure how to assign credits to the cellulose-based ethanol vs. cornstarch-based ethanol.” — Martin Ross

EPA affirms biodiesel as an ‘advanced biofuel’The appearance of U.S.

Environmental ProtectionAgency (EPA) officials of latehas sparked anxieties amongbiofuels producers and pro-moters.

However, EPA was a wel-come presence at last week’s

Under RFS2 rules, whichscore biofuels according totheir greenhouse gas (GHG)impact, biodiesel, includingsoy-based biodiesel, is the“only advanced biofuel thathas reached commercializationin the U.S.,” he noted.

EPA Senior Policy AdviserPaul Argyropoulos acknowl-edged “the significant effortsof the NBB in working closelywith us throughout thisprocess.”

“There was a great deal ofconcern that biodiesel fromsoy oil would not have quali-fied under the originalRFS2,” energy industry ana-lyst John Urbanchuk toldFarmWeek.

“Now, it’s been deemed incompliance — it’s in goodshape. The industry was reallysuccessful in getting EPA toaccept it.”

RFS2 required use of 500million gallons of “biomass-based diesel” in 2009, increas-ing to 1 billion gallons in 2012.From 2012 through 2022, aminimum of 1 billion gallons

must be used domestically, andEPA has the authority toincrease minimum volumerequirements.

To qualify as biomass-baseddiesel, the fuel must reduceGHG emissions by 50 percentcompared to petroleum-baseddiesel fuel. As with corn-basedethanol, EPA revised analysisof soy biodiesel and conclud-ed it fits the criteria.

NBB had noted flaws inEPA’s initial biodiesel “lifecy-cle” methodology, includinginaccuracies about soybeannitrogen fixing, biodiesel co-product potential, the fuel’soverall energy balance, andincreasing soybean productionefficiencies.

The industry also contestedearly EPA global land useassumptions regarding soy-bean-biodiesel production.

The agency subsequentlyconcluded biodiesel fromdomestic soy oil would reduceGHG emissions by an average57 percent and, potentially,even as much as 85 percent.— Martin Ross

annual National Biodiesel Con-ference in Texas. Agency staffoutlined how, according toNational Biodiesel Board (NBB)CEO Joe Jobe, revised renew-able fuels standard (RFS2) ruleswill require 1.15 billion gallonsof biodiesel “to be entered into

commerce” in 2010.That will aid in “further

advancing the important roleof biodiesel in diversifying ournation’s energy portfolio whilecreating much needed, new‘green collar jobs,’” Jobe sug-gested.

Senate Majority Leader Harry Reid (D-Nevada)last week stripped extension of the recentlyexpired biodiesel blenders tax credit from a now-pared-down jobs package. That, according to Illi-nois Farm Bureau President Philip Nelson, endan-gers even more jobs in a promising industry.

The plan now omits several energy provi-sions, including the $1-per-gallon credit that hasbeen linked to expansion in the still-young soybiodiesel industry.

National Biodiesel Board (NBB) Washingtonspokesman Michael Frohlich said the credit “real-ly is an immediate need to this industry,” admon-ishing Senate leaders that “saving 23,000 jobs thatare in immediate jeopardy is inextricably linked toa true job-saving and creation agenda.”

The credit expired Jan. 1 along with other tax“extender” measures bumped from Decemberconsideration by health care and other congres-sional hot buttons.

The Senate Finance Committee pushed the

biodiesel measure’s inclusion in jobs legislation,and a spokesman for committee member CharlesGrassley (R-Iowa) criticized Reid’s action, argu-ing expiration of the credit “has meant lost jobsin biodiesel production in Iowa” and, potentially,43 other states, including Illinois.

“We have a number of biodiesel plants inthis country that are shutting down becausethose tax incentives went away at year’s end,”Nelson told FarmWeek Friday.

NBB will seek to have the Senate add exten-sion of the credit to the current package beforea final vote or attach it to another measure.

Language stricken by Reid also would haveextended important tax relief for flood recov-ery and rebuilding, Grassley’s aide noted.

The majority leader (Reid) “pulled the rug outfrom work to build broad-based support for taxrelief and other efforts to help the private sectorrecover from the economic crisis,” the Grassleyspokesman maintained. — Martin Ross

Biodiesel jobs at risk through credit rejection

‘Corn ethanol’s pretty much capped at15 billion gallons.’

— John UrbanchukEnergy industry analyst

YOUNG PEOPLE

FarmWeek Page 6 Monday, February 15, 2010

BY DANIEL GRANTFarmWeek

Some veteran farmers in recent years may have been blindsidedby what seems to be an increasing number of attacks on produc-tion agriculture by activist groups.

But it’s the next generation of farmers, such as the Illinois FarmBureau Young Leaders, who will have to meet those challengeshead-on to ensure the U.S. continues to have a healthy livestocksector in the future, according to Nic Anderson, business develop-er for the Illinois Livestock Development Group.

Anderson spoke to IFB Young Leaders (who range in age from18 to 35 years) at their recent annual conferencein Springfield. His presentation was titled “AnimalWelfare Issues — Identifying, Preparing, andResponding.”

Activist groups have various agendas, hewarned, and some have discovered that animalcare is a pressure point for elected officials whileothers have a defined motive to “stop animal pro-duction and meat consumption around theworld.”

“You’re the generation that’s going to speak (tothe challenge) and live with it,” Anderson told

Young Leaders. “It’s a huge responsibility.” A key to neutralizing attacks on the ag industry, according to

Anderson, is to do a better job educating consumers about foodproduction practices.

“Does the consumer who eats our product understand ourpractices?” Anderson questioned.

“Our job in agriculture is to be transparent,” he continued.“And there’s no better message a consumer can hear than onefrom an actual producer.”

Producers, therefore, should be prepared to speak in public andembrace opportunities to provide accurate information to con-sumers about food production and to “put a face on the industry,”said Anderson.

Farmers not comfortable with public speaking should considersome type of training such as the National Pork Board’s OperationMain Street program, the American Farm Bureau Federation’sConversations on Animal Care, and/or Masters of Beef Advocacyoffered by the National Cattlemen’s Beef Association, Andersonsaid.

He also encouraged Young Leaders and all farmers to puttogether a one-page fact sheet about their operations and distrib-ute them to local leaders so people know how to contact themwhen there is an ag or food-related issue.

Rich Guebert Jr. vice president of the Illinois Farm Bureau whoalso spoke at the Young Leader Conference, promoted a newfarmer image campaign in Illinois spearheaded by IFB that will tar-get consumers.

“Each one of you has to be part of that,” Guebert told YoungLeaders.

Anderson: Young Leaders must‘put face’ on the ag industry

Nic Anderson

University of Illinois dairy science professor Mike Hutjens, second from left, provides hands-on lab experi-ence for community college students from across Illinois. The students were enrolled in the first animal scienceintroductory course offered by the U of I through participating community colleges. (Photo by Heather Miller,U of I office of continuing education)

Community college students accessing U of I ag classes

Agriculture needs leaders.Since 1982, the Illinois Agri-cultural Leadership Founda-tion (IALF) has been instru-mental in providing leadershipdevelopment for Illinoisagribusiness professionals andproducers ages 25 to 49.

Those accepted into theprogram are the automaticrecipients of a $27,000 schol-arship and a once-in-a-lifetimeexperience.

Over the course of twoyears, the IALF delivers 14 dif-ferent seminars designed to

promote leadership develop-ment specific to agriculture.Many seminars are skill- or

knowledge-based. These seminars take place at

a variety of locations withinIllinois.

Also included in the cur-riculum are national and inter-national travel seminars. Laterthis month, the class of 2010

will be heading to Brazil andArgentina to learn more aboutthose two farm economies,governments, and cultures.

To date, the IALF has spon-sored trips to nearly 40 differ-ent countries as part of itsprogramming.

Applications for the class of2012 are being accepted untilMarch 31. Interested personsshould call Mark Bloom at309-837-7711.

More about the IALF canbe found by visiting{www.agleadership.org}.

IALF seeks members for class of 2012

BY KAY SHIPMANFarmWeek

Their classrooms are computers around thestate. But for one class, they’re all taught by aUniversity of Illinois College of Agricultural,Consumer, and Environmental Sciences(ACES) professor.

Welcome to ACES Access, a program thatoffers students an online introductory ag coursethrough participating community colleges.

Last fall, the program started with an intro-ductory animal science course taught by MikeHutjens, U of I animal science professor.

This semester, Howard Brown, an assistantadjunct professor in crop sciences, is teachingan introductory plant science course to 18 stu-dents from six community colleges.

Students participate in online lectures andthen come to the Urbana campus for laboratoryinstruction on two Saturdays.

“The virtual campus has no borders, onlydifferences in time zones,” Brown said.

“I’m excited about the future of higher edu-cation using the online classroom tools,” hecontinued. “Just think, a student who is workingfull-time and attending a local community col-lege can now consider a career in an agriculturalfield even though the local campus does not

offer the basic courses in crop or soil sci-ence.”

Participating community colleges offerACES Access courses through regular semes-ter registration.

Students pay their community college’stuition rate and earn course credit from theircommunity college.

Those wanting to pursue bachelor’s degreesmay transfer ACES Access credits later to theU of I or another four-year college.

Brown noted ACES Access courses allowcommunity college students to completerequired basic courses so they are eligible toenroll in higher level courses at a university.

Additional introductory courses areplanned in soil science and horticulture. ACESAccess was developed to expand the range ofagriculture courses that community collegescan offer students.

Participating community colleges eitherhave no ag program or have small programsand need a few courses to supplement their agprograms, according to Heather Miller, pro-gram director U of I office of continuing edu-cation.

For more information, contact Miller athmiller1@uiuc.edu or 217-265-6568.

FARM SAFETY

FarmWeek Page 7 Monday, February 15, 2010

Late harvest problems pose post-harvest risksBY MARTIN ROSSFarmWeek

The grain bin is always apotentially lethal environ-ment. But a wet fall and lateharvest have heightenedimminent and unseen risksfor producers and rural res-cuers.

That’s according to theChampaign-based IllinoisFire Service Institute, (IFSI),which trains fire and medicalresponders statewide in han-dling farm and other special-ized emergencies.

This season, IFSI is plac-ing special emphasis on grainsafety in 2010 respondertraining sessions both at theUniversity of Illinois campusand in rural locales.

Noting a fatal late-Januarygrain bin entrapment in Shel-by County, IFSI’s retiring agprogram director DuaneBales suggests grain “bridg-ing” — formation of a fragileand deceptive surface in high-er-moisture stored grain —could lead to more producergrain entrapments this year.

Bales cited a higher-than-usual incidence of winter bin-dryer fires on-farm and atcommercial facilities, likelyrelated to extended grain dry-ing. Dave Newcomb, Bales’soon-to-be-successor, report-ed an elevator to which herecently delivered grain wasin its “11th week of drying24 hours a day, seven days aweek.”

In addition, storage ofhigh-moisture corn poses a

greater danger of fungalmycotoxin development andinhalation. Mycotoxins arepotential carcinogens thatresist decomposition in thebody and imperil the long-term health both of produc-ers and exposed rescue work-ers.

“It’s going to be hard toconvince the farming commu-nity that you need to havesome sort of a respiratorwhen you’re in cleaning thatgrain bin,” Bales toldFarmWeek.

“We can’t do things the waywe did growing up. It’s amaz-ing I’m still alive, from all thethings I did on the farmgrowing up.

“Now, we’re more aware.We have an unbelievable num-ber of grain bin/ag rescueclasses already scheduled forMarch, April — just aboutevery weekend, somewhere.”

Newcomb stressed the rel-atively low cost of preventingmycotoxin inhalation. A boxof 20 N95 respiratory masksis available at most farm,drug, or general retail outletsfor less than $15 and shouldprovide adequate protection,he said.

The more repeated a pro-ducer’s unprotected expo-sure to mycotoxins, thegreater the long-term threatof disease. Newcomb saidgrowers who work regularlyin grain may develop a toler-ance, and symptoms of life-threatening conditions thusmay not be diagnosed while

simple treatment is possible.Meanwhile, entrapment

remains an imminent threat.Newcomb noted producersoften work long hours alone,and cited even higher graininjury rates among thoseunder 16 and over 60.

Once a person is sub-merged in stored grain,immobility and subsequentsuffocation can occur in sec-onds. While participating asthe “victim” in an entrapmenttraining exercise, Bales relatedthat “The only thing I coulddo was wiggle my toes in mysteel-toed shoes.“

While a variety of grainbin rescue devices haveemerged, including rescuetubes that contain the grainsurrounding the victim andaid in extrication, they arecostly. Some emergencydepartments have fabricatedtheir own versions of thetube, while other regionaldepartments are pooling moreexpensive equipment.

But timing remains a cru-cial and difficult challenge:Newcomb reported the aver-age bin rescue may take threeto five hours after an entrap-ment is reported, respondersalerted, and rescue resourcesmarshaled.

And too often, he added,“farm accidents are reportedwhen somebody doesn’t comehome for lunch or supper.“

A firefighter releases grain from a miniature storage bin during a classat the Illinois Fire Service Institute’s (IFSI) Champaign training facility.For information on IFSI and upcoming ag-related safety courses, visitthe institute on the web at {www.fsi.illinois.edu}. (Photo courtesy of theIllinois Fire Service Institute)

A little snow on the roof — or a lack thereof — can helpproducers avoid a dangerous, costly bin blaze, according toGrain and Feed Association of Illinois Executive Vice Presi-dent Jeffrey Adkisson.

Beyond fire risks related to extended grain drying (seeaccompanying story), Adkisson notes “hot spots” can formin higher-moisture stored corn. Deteriorating grain mayspontaneously combust, sparking a bin fire.

Commercial facilities avoid formation of hot spots byusing temperature cables to monitor potential heat buildup,removing or circulating suspect grain, or even running cornback through the dryer. Adkisson suggests various strategiesfor determining whether bin grain should be recirculated.

One is to open the bin hatch and smell the grain: A musty,sour, or fermented odor indicates corn may be beginning togo or has gone out of condition, raising odds of heat accu-mulation.

Producers can use a long, slender rod to safely probe cornfor hard, compacted or moist areas, or use a grain thermome-ter attached to the rod and submerged at an eight-foot depthto gauge daily temperature (as little as a 3 to 4 degree Fahren-heit increase can indicate problems).

“Another little trick of the trade, at this time of the year,is to make sure that if that bin normally gets snow on theroof that it has snow on the roof — that it’s not heatedinside and the snow’s melting off,” Adkisson toldFarmWeek.

“If the roof on one bin has snow and the snow on thenext one is melting or dripping off, that may be a sign youneed to check your bin.” — Martin Ross

Snow on the roof:

Spotting the hot spots

PRODUCTION

FarmWeek Page 8 Monday, February 15, 2010

LEARNING CREATIVITY

The 2010 Agricultural Leaders of Tomorrow (ALOT) class recently at-tended a day of creativity training with David Williamson, artist andpoet, leading members through activities designed to enhance theircreative problem-solving abilities. Pictured from left kneeling arePaul Burrs, Dixon; Ruth Zeldenrust, Chicago Heights; Williamson;and Brad Shippert, Amboy. Standing from left are Bona Heinsohn,Harvard; Matthew Kellogg, Yorkville; and Kevin Faivre, Clare.Twenty-two participants from 11 counties are attending weekly ses-sions at the De Kalb County Farm Bureau in Sycamore. (Photo byKen Kashian)

USDA trims corn, bean stocksBY DANIEL GRANTFarmWeek

The USDA crop reportreleased last week was “some-what friendly” to the corn andsoybean markets, according tomarket analyst Brian Rydlundof Country Hedging.

But a large supply of wheatlikely will continue to weighthat market down as USDAlast week increased endingstocks of wheat by 5 millionbushels to a total of 981 mil-lion bushels.

“We continue to have plen-tiful supplies of wheat,” Ryd-lund said during a teleconfer-ence hosted by the Minneapo-lis Grain Exchange.

The jump in wheat stockswas due to imports of feedwheat from Europe and SouthAmerica into the SoutheasternU.S., USDA reported.

“It’s purely economical,”Rydlund said of the imports offeed wheat into the U.S.despite a large, domestic sup-ply. “That tells us wheat is toohigh priced in the U.S. andwe’ve missed out on a lot ofexport opportunities.”

The outlook last week was

more positive for corn andsoybeans.

USDA trimmed endingstocks of beans from 245 mil-lion to 210 million bushels dueto a 10-million-bushel increasein crush and a 25-million-bushel increase in exports.

U.S. soy exports currentlyare projected at a record-high1.4 billion bushels.

“We’ve been on a greatpace for crush, and exportshave been phenomenal,” Ryd-lund said.

Meanwhile, USDA lastweek nudged ending stocks ofcorn from 1.764 billion to1.719 billion bushels. Cornused for ethanol productionincreased by 100 millionbushels.

“The increased ethanolusage was not a surprise,” the

analyst said. “Margins in theethanol industry are decent,and more plants are comingon line.”

However, Rydlund believescorn exports will trend downin coming months due toongoing quality issues andcompetition from Argentina.

He estimated there still is asmuch as 100 million bushels ofcorn in the fields in the Dako-tas, not to mention scatteredfields in other states includingIllinois.

“That probably won’t gettaken out until late spring orearly summer,” he said.

USDA’s season averageprice estimates last week were$3.45 to $3.95 per bushel forcorn, $8.70 to $10.20 forbeans, and $4.75 to $4.95 forwheat.

Pearson: Population growth key to fostering ag demand

The recession in the U.S. and other parts of the world hascut into demand for ag products.

But, long-term, the outlook for ag markets remains positive,according to Mark Pearson, host of the nationally syndicatedpublic television program “Market to Market.”

Pearson, who previously served as Iowa’sassistant secretary of agriculture, provided aninsightful and entertaining look into thefuture of ag during his keynote address at therecent Illinois Farm Bureau Young LeaderConference in Springfield.

“The thing that underpins (demand poten-tial) is population growth,” Pearson toldYoung Leaders.

Pearson reported the world’s urban pop-ulation by 2015 is expected to outnumber

the rural population for the first time in history and, by2050, the overall world population is projected to increaseby 50 percent.

“That’s a positive for us in the food production business,”he said.

The spike in commodity prices in 2008 was rare, but itserved as an example of what can happen when demandgrowth pressures food production capabilities. About 100,000people joined the middle class each day in 2008, according toPearson.

“Demand for our products exploded,” he said. “I think thisis a snapshot of what we’ll see down the road.”

Pearson also envisions a number of challenges for the agindustry in the near-term and more distant future.

He believes there will be greater competition for energyproducts (he reported oil consumption in China in recentyears has increased from 6 million barrels per day to 9 mil-lion barrels per day); proposed cap-and-trade legislation, ifenacted could increase farm expenses; and pressure on theag industry from activist groups likely will intensify in thefuture.

Pearson said his outlook for ag this year is pretty friendly.“Consumer confidence has popped back up fairly strong,”

he said. “I expect that to continue in 2010.”He predicted between now and planting time corn

prices could bounce back by as much as 30 cents perbushel and soybean futures prices could climb back above$10.

Meanwhile, the livestock markets are projected to improvethis year compared to last year with cattle prices possiblyreaching $92 to $94 per hundredweight at some point this year,Pearson said.

The market Pearson was the least optimistic about forthis year is wheat. “With excessive supplies of wheat, we’llsee continued pressure on that market this year,” he specu-lated. — Daniel Grant

Mark Pearson

FROM THE COUNTIES

FarmWeek Page 9 Monday, February 15, 2010

BUREAU — KevinGale, AgriGold

Hybrids regional agronomist,will be the speaker at anagronomy update meeting at6:30 p.m. Monday, March 1, atthe Farm Bureau office. Din-ner will be served. Call theFarm Bureau office at 815-875-6468 by Monday, Feb. 22,for reservations or moreinformation.

• An informational meetingfor the spring Farm Bureautask force groups will be at 6p.m. Tuesday, March 2, at theWine Cellar. Members maychoose from four main taskforces on which to serve.Those include Education,Member Relations, Farm Busi-ness, and Government andPolicy. There are only twomeetings a year to attend.Call the Farm Bureau office at815-875-6468 by Monday,Feb. 22, for reservations ormore information.

CARROLL — Aninformation meeting

for a trip to Niagara Falls,Toronto, and Michigan will beat 6:30 p.m. Wednesday, Feb.24, at the Naaman Diehl audi-torium. The trip will be fromAug. 28 to Sept. 2. Call theFarm Bureau office at 815-244-3001 for reservations ormore information.

CASS-MORGAN —Applications for the

Cass-Morgan Farm BureauFoundation scholarships areavailable at the Farm Bureauoffice, Cass and MorganCounty Extension Serviceoffices, high school agricul-ture departments, and guid-ance counselors’ offices. Callthe Farm Bureau office at245-6833 for more informa-tion.

CHAMPAIGN —Viewpoint meetings

will be held at the followingdates and locations: 11:30a.m. Wednesday, Hideaway atthe Woods, Mahomet; 7:30a.m. Thursday, Sadorus Pub;7:30 a.m. Friday, StantonTownship Building; and 11:30a.m. Thursday, Feb. 25, PhiloTavern. Breakfast or lunchwill be served accordingly.Topics to be discussed will bebiofuels, climate change, andan update on the proposed 1percent sales tax for educa-tion. Call the Farm Bureauoffice at 217-352-5235 formore information.

COLES — Coles Coun-ty Farm Bureau Foun-

dation, Robert M. and Vir-ginia C. Moore Memorial, JimShrader Memorial, and JamesMetzger Memorial scholar-ships are available for studentswho are or will be studying anagriculture-related course.Students must be FarmBureau members or a depen-dent of a Farm Bureau mem-ber in good standing. Appli-

cations are available from highschool guidance counselors,Lake Land College, or theFarm Bureau office. An e-mail copy is available fromcolescfb@consolidated.net.Deadline to return applica-tions is 4 p.m. March 15. Callthe Farm Bureau office at345-3276 or 234-2125 formore information.

EDGAR — Larry Ack-er, 3-F Forecasts, will

be the speaker at a weatheroutlook meeting at 10 a.m.Wednesday, Feb. 24, at theFarm Bureau office. Call theFarm Bureau office at 217-465-8511 for reservations ormore information.

• Dan Zwicker, ADM mar-keting, will be the speaker at abreakfast outlook meeting at 7a.m. Wednesday, March 10, atthe Crossroads Restaurant,Chrisman. Call the FarmBureau office at 217-465-8511for reservations or moreinformation.

FORD-IROQUOIS —Farm Bureau will spon-

sor three Viewpoint breakfastmeetings: Thursday, Percfec-tion Coffee House, GibsonCity; Thursday, March 4,Donovan Co-op Elevator,Martinton; and Monday,March 8, Happy Days Diner,Roberts. All meetings willbegin at 7 a.m. Call the FarmBureau office at 800-424-9756for more information.

HANCOCK — FarmBureau will sponsor a

promotion as part of FoodCheck-Out Week at 10 a.m.Friday at the Farm Bureauoffice. Farm Bureau willdonate $150 and an additional$800 worth of soy foods,compliments of the IllinoisSoybean Association and Illi-nois Soybean Checkoff pro-gram, to local food pantries.

KANE — Farm Bureauhas two events planned

for Food Check-Out Week.Volunteers from Kane andDuPage County Farm Bureausand Kane County CornGrowers will deliver boxedlunches, farm facts, and FarmBureau policy resolutions tonine local legislators’ offices.The annual “Food Check-OutChallenge” will be at 10:30a.m. Friday, Feb. 26, at theBatavia Jewel-Osco. StateRep. Randy Ramey Jr. (R-Car-ol Stream) and Farm Bureau’sadopted state Rep. SaraFeigenholtz (D-Chicago) willrace to gather food for theNorthern Illinois Food Bankand Lakeview Pantry, Chicago.

KANKAKEE — Theannual meeting will be

at 5:30 p.m. Thursday, Feb. 25,at the Kankakee Elks Lodge.Dave Magers, Country Finan-cial chief financial officer, willbe the speaker. Cost is $10for members and $30 for non-members. Call the Farm

Bureau office at 815-932-7471for tickets or more informa-tion.

LIVINGSTON — TheWomen’s Committee

will sponsor a WJEZ 98.9radio quiz contest daily for$40 worth of groceries duringFood Check-Out Week, whichwill be Sunday through Satur-day. Free reusable grocerybags will be distributed to areagrocery stores.

MENARD — KevinRund, Illinois Farm

Bureau, will be the speaker atan On the Road seminar at 9a.m. Thursday, Feb. 25, at theFarm Bureau office. Call theFarm Bureau office at 632-2217 by Monday, Feb. 22, forreservations or more informa-tion.

MONROE — TheMonroe County Farm

Bureau Foundation has schol-arships available for highschool seniors who will con-tinue their education in an ag-related field. Deadline toreturn applications is Friday,Feb. 26. Call the Farm Bureauoffice at 618-939-6197 for anapplication or more informa-tion.

PEORIA — The PeoriaCounty Soil and Water

Conservation District’s(SWCD) annual meeting willbe at 8 a.m. Saturday at theBrimfield Grade School. Callthe SWCD office at 671-7040for reservations or moreinformation.

PIKE — The Pike andScott County Farm

Bureaus will sponsor a meet-ing on wind energy leases at 2p.m. Monday, Feb. 22, at theFarm Bureau office, 1301 E.Washington, Pittsfield. RaePayne, Illinois Farm Bureausenior director of legislativeand regulatory affairs, andRyan Gammelgard, IllinoisFarm Bureau attorney, will bethe speakers. Topics willinclude construction mitiga-tion, crop damage payments,property tax payments, andliability issues. Call the FarmBureau office for more infor-mation.

SCHUYLER — FarmBureau will celebrate

Food Check-Out Day from 10a.m. to 2 p.m. Friday at theRushville County Market.This is the day the averageperson has earned enoughincome to pay for groceriesfor the year. A Farm Bureaurecyclable grocery bag will begiven to customers. Six $21

gift certificates will be given.That represents the amount afarmer receives out of every$100 spent on groceries.

SCOTT — The Scottand Pike County Farm

Bureaus will sponsor a meet-ing on wind energy leases at2 p.m. Monday, Feb. 22, atthe Farm Bureau office,1301 E. Washington, Pitts-field. Rae Payne, IllinoisFarm Bureau senior directorof legislative and regulatoryaffairs, and Ryan Gammel-gard, Illinois Farm Bureauattorney, will be the speak-ers. Topics will include con-struction mitigation, cropdamage payments, propertytax payments, and liabilityissues. Call the Farm Bureauoffice for more information.

WARREN-HEN-DERSON — The

Education Focus Group andYoung Farmers Committeewill sponsor a trucking com-pliance seminar at 10 a.m.Friday at the Farm Bureauoffice, Monmouth. JeffreyAlexander, Illinois Depart-ment of Transportationcompliance officer, will bethe speaker. Call the FarmBureau office at 309-734-9401 for more information.

PROFITABILITY

FarmWeek Page 10 Monday, February 15, 2010

Feeder pig prices reported to USDA*

Weight Range Per Head Weighted Ave. Price10 lbs. $33.00-$49.00 $40.4040 lbs. $63.00-$65.22 $64.7250 lbs. n/a n/aReceipts This Week Last Week

23,589 18,140*Eastern Corn Belt prices picked up at seller’s farm

MARKET FACTS

Confirmed lamb and sheep salesThis week 396 Last week 534 Last year 495Wooled Slaughter Lambs: Choice and prime 2-3: 90-110 lb., $106.50-$115.Good and choice 1-2: 60-90 lbs., $135.Slaughter Ewes: Utility and good 1-3: $56-$60. Cull and utility 1-2: $56.

Lamb prices

Eastern Corn Belt direct hogs (plant delivered)(Prices $ per hundredweight)

This week Prev. week ChangeCarcass $62.82 $61.82 1.00Live $46.49 $45.75 0.74

Export inspections

(Million bushels)Week ending Soybeans Wheat Corn02-04-10 39.6 16.9 27.101-28-10 43.6 17.9 39.4Last year 30.5 19.3 30.5Season total 978.3 564.5 693.6Previous season total 715.9 745.5 680.1USDA projected total 1400 825 2000Crop marketing year began June 1 for wheat and Sept. 1 for corn and soybeans.

(Thursday’s price)This week Prv. week Change

Steers $87.92 $84.00 3.92 Heifers $87.90 $85.00 2.90

USDA five-state area slaughter cattle price

This is a composite price of feeder cattle transactions in 27 states.(Prices $ per hundredweight)

This week Prev. week Change99.52 98.43 1.09

CME feeder cattle index — 600-800 Lbs.

Bankruptcy trends demand producer awarenessBY PETE TROTTER

Given the recent economicdisturbances, these numbersmay not surprise you: Morethan one million bankruptcies

were filed in2008; nearly1.5 millionbankruptcieswere filed in2009.

Beyondincreases inoverall num-bers, recentbankruptcy

trends also include moreemployed individuals, morehigh-wage earners, and morecomplete liquidations.

In 2008, volatility in thecommodity markets createdfinancial instability, with wide-spread ramifications for theagricultural industry evidencedin the alarming developmentsin the early days of the Vera-Sun Energy Corp. bankruptcy.

In 2009, perhaps moreastounding than the fact thatGeneral Motors and Chryslerfiled bankruptcy was theextensive government inter-vention and the precedent-set-ting deviation from the ordi-nary bankruptcy process inthese cases.

So what does this mean foryou? Increased bankruptcy fil-ings and changes in bankrupt-cy processes mean that bank-ruptcy may be more likely forthose you do business with andmay be more unpredictable

and costly for you. You maywant to act to reduce yourexposure.

Some try to contractuallyeliminate these exposures.You might require access torecords of those with whomyou do business, require themto give you notice of certainbusiness problems, or requirecertain insurance coverage.You also might include lan-guage which automatically ter-minates your contracts if thecounterparty files bankruptcy,or you might use forward con-tracts to take advantage ofcertain bankruptcy rights.

However, contractual mea-sures yield limited results.Insurance, notice, and accessmay not be sufficient. Auto-matic termination provisionsmay be void in bankruptcy.

You may have difficultyqualifying for the forward con-tract exemption. Also, execu-tory contracts — those withsomething left to be per-formed — lose many contrac-tual advantages because thebankruptcy debtor is free toretain or reject these agree-ments.

Perhaps the most importantthing you can do is to maintainor increase your awareness.Awareness of bankruptcytrends and other developmentsallows you to appropriatelyrespond to a bankruptcy filing.

Awareness of the bankrupt-cy process can be crucial: Onone hand, preference chal-

lenges can cost you paymentsmade before the bankruptcy;on the other, certain productdeliveries may be eligible forpriority as administrativeclaims.

Awareness of the financial

condition of those you dobusiness with, before and aftera bankruptcy filing, can be keyto preventing or minimizingthe damage.

Instead of leaving aware-ness of such issues for a bank-

ruptcy crisis, a preventive andproactive approach can helpyou reduce your exposure.

Pete Trotter is GROWMARK’sassistant general counsel. His e-mailaddress is ptrotter@growmark.com.

Pete Trotter

USMEF leader: Exports keyto prosperity in livestock sectorBY DANIEL GRANTFarmWeek

Phil Seng, president andCEO of the U.S. Meat ExportFederation (USMEF), believessome countries will come outof the recession quicker thanthe U.S.

That’s good news for U.S.livestock producers as U.S.meat exports are projected toincrease and possibly helprestore profitability to the beefand pork sectors.

“Exports have been one ofthe bright spots for the pork

industry,”Seng said atthe recent Illi-nois PorkExpo. “Weexport aboutone out ofevery fourhogs (pro-duced in theU.S.). That’s

very critical to profitability.”Exports of pork and beef

the first 11 months of 2009were down 10 percent. How-ever, the tide appeared toturn in November as porkexports for the month (373.8million pounds) reached 2008levels for the first time sinceMarch 2009 while beefexports for the monthincreased 4 percent.

“We’re seeing a lot ofcountries, particularly inAsia, already coming out ofthis recession,” Seng said.

“This is very positive for thepork industry and otherexports.”

USMEF projected meatexports from 2010 through2015 will post an annualgrowth rate of 3 to 5 percent.

In the near-term, Seng saidmeat exports to Mexico havebounced back since the H1N1fiasco last summer, the mar-kets in China and Russia maybe reopened to U.S. pork, anda pending free trade agree-ment with South Korea wouldreduce duties on U.S. porkbellies from 20 percent tozero.

“The international market-place looks very promising forthe U.S. pork industry,” hesaid.

And meat exports couldbecome even more critical toU.S. livestock producers. U.S.pork consumption the past

two years declined by 1.3pounds per person in 2008and 0.4 of a pound in 2009with another decrease project-ed this year, Seng reported.

“I think the export marketis the avenue to prosperity,” hesaid. “As we see populationand per capita (incomes)increase, we’ll continue to seemore demand as people switchfrom cereals to protein(diets).”

The U.S. from Januarythrough November last yearexported 1.8 billion poundsof beef valued at more than$2.8 billion and 3.7 billionpounds of pork valued atabout $4 billion, according toUSMEF.

In fact, even though U.S.pork exports last year slippedfor the first time in 17 years,pork exports since 2004 havedoubled, Seng said.

It is possible to feed some moldy corn tolivestock if the grain is properly cleanedand/or blended down, according to Universityof Illinois Extension livestock specialists.

However, farmers this year should takeextra precautions with grain in on-farm storageto make sure contaminated corn doesn’t sickentheir animals.

“We have a lot of vomitoxin-infected grainsitting in bins right now,” Hans Stein, U of IExtension swine nutritionist, said recently atthe Illinois Pork Expo.

In fact, recent laboratory tests of 485 sus-pected grain samples taken from the Midwestconfirmed some level of mycotoxin, includingvomitoxin, in 77 percent of the samples,according to Mike Hutjens, U of I Extensiondairy specialist.

“We’re seeing plenty of vomitoxin in cornall over the Midwest,” Hutjens said.

Farmers with corn in on-farm storageshould monitor it regularly to make sure it

doesn’t go out of condition, Hutjens said.Farmers also should attempt to keep the

grain stored at temperatures of less than 50degrees and try to mix and feed some of thecontaminated grain before temperatures beginto warm up this spring.

“Try to use the infected grain first,” Steinadvised. “We could see some mycotoxingrowth this spring and summer.”

Some toxins, such as Diplodia, are not toxicto pigs but feeding contaminated corn can low-er feed intake.

“Watch for signs such as lower feed intakeand loose manure,” Hutjens told farmers.

Cattle and poultry are less sensitive to cont-aminated corn, but if producers plan to feed itto swine, they at least should avoid feeding itto the breeding herd, Stein said.

Farmers also were advised to monitor dis-tillers corn by-products and silage as both cancarry toxins from contaminated corn into feedrations. — Daniel Grant

Contaminated corn poses feed issues

Phil Seng

PROFITABILITY

FarmWeek Page 11 Monday, February 15, 2010

AgriVisor Hotline Number

309-557-2274

AgriVisor endorsescrop insurance by

Policies issued by COUNTRYMutual Insurance Company®,

Bloomington, Illinois

AgriVisor LLC1701 N. Towanda Avenue

PO Box 2500Bloomington IL 61702-2901

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CASH STRATEGISTCorn Strategy

�2009 crop: Corn acts asthough it’s trying to turn upout of a 20-week low. Marchfutures need to close above$3.68 to confirm the short-term trend again has turnedup. Increase old-crop sales to60 percent if March rallies to$3.85. We may boost saleseven more; check the CashStrategist Hotline frequently.You should consider lockingup the basis on any bushels tobe moved over the nextmonth. Higher prices willspark increased farmer selling.

�2010 crop: If Decemberfutures rebound to $4.10, makea 20 percent new-crop sale.Check the Cash Strategist Hotlinedaily; we could adjust the targetor amount at any time.

�Fundamentals: Therecent rally was fueled by afriendly USDA sup-ply/demand report.2009/2010 ending stocks werelowered to 1 .719 billionbushels, a shift the trade didn’tanticipate. Export projectionswere cut by 50 million bushels,but that was counterbalancedby a 100-million bushelincrease in ethanol processing. Soybean Strategy

�2009 crop: There wereforecasts for a larger Braziliancrop last week, but there alsowas news that hinted forecast-ers may be overreaching reali-ty. Technical features areturning more positive for theshort term. Boost sales to 50percent if March futuresrebound to $9.75. The priceor amount could change atany time; check the CashStrategist Hotline frequently.

�2010 crop: Leave an orderto make a 20 percent sale ifNovember futures reach $9.59.Check the Cash Strategist Hotlineoccasionally for changes.

�Fundamentals: Conflict-ing news about the Braziliancrop last week subdued interestin pressing the short side ofsoybean prices. At the sametime cash basis levels andreduced deliverable suppliessuggested pipeline inventoriesare getting tight. This comes ata time when the export paceremains robust and processordemand remains high. Inessence, prices need to rise to

pull soybeans out of producers’hands. And, with prices belowcost of production, the samecan be said for South America.Wheat Strategy

�2009 crop: Wheat futuresclosing above the 20-day mov-ing average hinted prices maybe poised to turn higher. Weneed to see the Chicago Marchcontact move above $5.20 toconfirm the 20-week cycle hasbottomed, turning the short-term trend up. Make a 10 per-cent sale if Chicago Marchfutures hit $5.44, bringing thetotal to 90 percent.

�2010 crop: Use a rally to$5.65 on Chicago July futuresto make an initial 25 percentsale. Check the Cash StrategistHotline daily as this target couldbe adjusted at any time.

�Fundamentals: Exportactivity continues the morerobust pace that surfaced abouta month ago. In the shortterm, that is helping counterthe negative aspects of theoverall supply/demand balance.The small increase in endingstocks to 981 million bushelswas a result of a small boost inimports, a factor that alreadyhad been built into prices.

USDA last week raised itsforecast for the Brazilian soy-bean crop 1 million metrictons (36.7 million bushels) to atotal of 66 million metric tons(2.42 billion bushels). It leftthe Argentine soybean esti-mate unchanged at 53 millionmetric tons (1.95 billionbushels). The Brazilian gov-ernment forecast a 66.7-mil-lion-metric-ton (2.44-billion-bushel) crop at the beginningof the week as well.

Even with the upwardadjustments for Brazil, thereare many in the trade whothink both it and Argentina’scrop could be larger yet. Wehave heard some use a 68 mil-lion to 70 million number forBrazil and a 55 million to 56million number for Argentina.We are not in that camp.

The trade seemingly hasbeen focused mostly on weath-er in Mato Grosso the lastmonth, and even then mostlyin the better areas. Rainfall hasbeen significantly less plentifulto the east in Minas Gerais andGoias. Last year, those twostates accounted for nearly 11million metric tons of Brazil’s57-million-metric-ton crop.

Even though the weatherhasn’t been devastating in thelatter two states, moisture hasbeen short enough to be a dragon yield potential.

In Mato Grosso itself, yield

Basis charts

on early-harvested soybeans ineastern parts of that state havebeen running about 60 percentof normal. One analystexpects the state’s output tocome in 1 million tons undertheir government’s estimate of18.96 million tons.

The southern states havebeen too wet through much ofthe growing season. Lastweek’s weather contained someintense heat, but conditions areexpected to moderate for theforeseeable future. Eventhough conditions have beenrelatively good, last week’s heatmay have impacted cropsenough to cap potential.

The Argentine governmenthas yet to issue an official cropforecast for this year. Howev-er, the Buenos Aires GrainExchange is issuing weeklycrop updates, along with pro-duction forecasts.

Last week, the exchangeforecast this year’s soybeancrop at 52 million metric tons,and the corn crop at 18.4 mil-lion (725 million bushels).USDA forecast Brazil’s corncrop at 51 million metric tons(2.01 billion bushels), slightlyabove the Brazilian govern-ment’s estimate. However, thatgovernment in new updateslast week lowered its corn esti-mate slightly.

Traders believe that last week’srains, along with previous goodsoil moisture, kept recent heatfrom having a significant negativeimpact on yield potential.

Still, over a 10-day span acouple of weeks ago, dailyhighs were in the 95- to 100-degree range, a level thatstresses crops to some degree.

We also have been told fertil-izer usage was a little lower inBrazil and Argentina this year,which may limit yield potentialfor the corn and soybean crops.

While we expect to see goodcrops in both countries thisyear, current private expecta-tions may be a bit exaggerated.While those estimates aren’tlikely to give the market theenergy to get back to recenthighs, they could be enough ofa force to help prices recover asignificant portion of recentlosses.

Cents per bu.

South American crop update

PERSPECTIVES

FarmWeek Page 12 Monday, February 15, 2010

Longwall mining couldaffect farmer generosityEditor:

After reading about theKane County Farm Bureauprogram of donations to localfood pantries in the Jan. 18edition, I had a distressingthought. In the article, a reliefagency coordinator spoke of a“growing cycle of hunger andpoverty” across America.

It was disturbing to think ofwhat is to become of the gen-erous contributions by Illinoisfarmers to these causes whentheir ability to produce cropsis diminished by the harmfuleffects of longwall mining.

The impact of the irre-sponsible permitting of thismining method on the flatfarmland of Illinois will soonbe felt by others as well as thefarmer whose cropland hassubsided.

As I see it, the logical pro-gression will be: loss of crop-land, which leads to loss ofcrops and income, whichresults in the inability of theproducers to share their har-vest with the needy.

This is just one reason thatour Farm Bureau and electedofficials in government needto devote a lot more attentionto the effects of longwall min-ing under Illinois’ prairielandfarms.

The introduction of long-wall mining to Midwest farm-land will be just as disastroushere as mountain-top removalis in Appalachia.

It is hard to imagine amore irresponsible burden to

place on the agricultural indus-try.

I suggest that Farm Bureausend a message to Congress ofnot only “Don’t Cap OurFuture” but “Our Future IsOur Land. Don’t Sink It.”WILLIAM C. SCHROEDER,Hillsboro

* * * * * Solution to antibioticsuse is not that clear Editor:

In response to Terra Brock-man and her column aboutinjecting common sense intothe use of antibiotics in live-stock, I applaud her attitude.Like Will Rodgers used to say,“Common sense ain’t all thatcommon.”

It is clear that she is correctin being concerned about thechange of reducing the effec-tiveness of antibiotics byoveruse. But let’s not throwagriculture under the bus justyet for how and why producersuse non-therapeutic methods.

Let’s examine Terra’s state-ment that eliminating non-therapeutic use of antibiotics“will yield cost savings frommoney not spent on unneces-sary pharmaceuticals, thusincreasing farmers’ profits andproductivity, while keepingmeat prices reasonable.”

I don’t know about Terra,but I spent 25 years raisingconfinement livestock. Eco-nomics and meatpackers foryears have slowly forced smallproducers out of business tothe point that most of ourmeat is produced by large con-finement operations. I person-

ally hate this, but it is the reali-ty of providing reliable andcheap meat, which everyone ismore than glad to take advan-tage of.

The reality of many animalsconfined in a small area is thatdisease risks are much higher,almost a dead certainty. Theold adage “an ounce of pre-vention is worth a pound ofcure” applies.

When no prevention isused, largescale outbreaksoccur. These outbreaks aremuch more difficult to control,and it takes a lot of antibioticsto treat them. Sick animalstake more time to market andthus cost more to produce, justthe opposite of Terra’s theoryof cost savings and productivi-ty.

The antibiotic problem is areal concern, but the solutionsare not as clear as some wouldlike them to be. The producersprovide cheap meat that peo-ple want but are vilified fordoing it.MARK LOUNSBERRY,Oakford

* * * * * Can’t curry favorthen slap EPAEditor:

A front-page article inFarmWeek (Jan. 25, 2010)reports that Illinois FarmBureau (and 49 other aggroups) urged EnvironmentalProtection Agency (EPA)Administrator Lisa Jackson to“use science” in EPA’s ongoingatrazine study.

In the other front-page arti-cle, the author quotes Illinois

Corn Growers AssociationPresident Tim Lenz as saying:“But even without congression-al action, ‘you still have to dealwith EPA’ and other ‘unleashedactivists’ within the administra-tion.”

It seems unwise for IllinoisFarm Bureau to attempt to cul-tivate a productive relationshipwith the EPA on the one hand(concerning the study ofatrazine) and on the other handbrand the EPA as ”unleashedactivists.”

I also find it peculiar andinconsistent that Illinois FarmBureau urges the EPA to usescience in its atrazine study butcriticizes the use of science (thepeer-reviewed literature by theworld’s most qualified climatescientists) in article after articleof FarmWeek.

I often find in these articlescomments on climate changeby people who appear to me tonot be climate change scientists.

An outstanding example isthat (according to the Union of

Concerned Scientists andGrist) the only scheduledspeaker on climate at the recentannual meeting of the Ameri-can Farm Bureau Federationwas Christopher Horner, anattorney with the CompetitiveEnterprise Institute, an indus-try-funded, anti-regulationthink tank. Mr. Horner’s title?“Global Warming: A Red HotLie?”

In a letter (Jan. 7, 2010) toAmerican Farm Bureau Federa-tion President Bob Stallman,47 scientists with expertise inclimate, agriculture, and othersciences attempted to educateMr. Stallman about “ ... thegrave risks that climate changeposes to the world and U.S.agriculture.”

I urge FarmWeek to pub-lish this letter to Mr. Stallman.Furthermore, I hope that someof these scientists will be con-sulted in future articles on cli-mate change in FarmWeek. HERMAN BROCKMAN,Congerville

Letter policyLetters are limited to 300 words, and a name and address

must accompany each letter to be published.FarmWeek reserves the right to reject any letter. No polit-

ical endorsements will be published.All letters are subject to editing, and only an original bear-

ing a written signature and complete address will be accepted.A daytime telephone number is required for verification; how-ever, the number will not be published.

Only one letter per writer will be accepted in a 30-day peri-od. Typewritten letters are preferred.

Please send letters to:FarmWeek Letters1701 Towanda Ave.

Bloomington, Ill., 61701

LETTERS TO THE EDITOR

“It takes a village to raise a child” ...but today it takes more than the vil-

lage. And USDA RuralDevelopment can bethat support to helprural communitiesstay viable and grow.

Our communityprograms can offerfinancing in areas thatare critical to keepinga community relevant.

Public libraries canprovide the cultural and technologicalresources for the communities theyserve. Libraries have the resources tohelp us bridge the digital divide andboost the economic vitality of our

rural communi-ties.

Libraries

can help you find information on jobs,colleges, and school projects. They are

the best and least expensive source ofentertainment. They also offer com-puter access, an amazing array of ref-erence books, and best of all — librar-ians know where to find absolutelyeverything.

And if you have a library card atone library in Illinois, you have onefor virtually all of them thanks to thestate’s highly touted inter-library loanprogram.

Illinois has 641 public libraries, and78 percent of them recently respond-ed to an assessment survey that identi-fied capital needs amounting to $805million. They reported needing fundsfor new buildings, additions to exist-ing buildings, and general repairs andrenovations.

Funds are needed for technologyupgrades and modifications to makelibraries accessible. Seventy-fivelibraries are more than 100 years old,and another 141 are more than 50years old. All this is happening at atime when the number of cardhold-ers and library attendance is up.

Make an assessment of yourhometown library. Does your town (of20,000 or fewer population) need a

new library? A library renovation?New library tables? New library tech-nology? A library bookmobile?

Illinois USDA Rural Development,alone, has more than $3 million inloan money available and $500,000 ingrants specifically allocated forlibraries in rural communities.

Eligible applicants are municipali-ties, counties, special-purpose districts,and non-profit corporations. Theterms for the loan include a current 4percent fixed-interest rate for up to 40years in length. Security is required, ofcourse, but the funding is availableonly through Sept. 30 of this year.

If you are on a library board, vol-unteer at your library, use your library,or would use your library if ... USDARural Development can help your vil-lage raise your children.

Colleen Callahan is the director of USDARural Development in Illinois. Her familyraises purebred Angus cattle on their Kick-apoo farm. Her e-mail address is Colleen.Callahan@il.usda.gov. She will discuss otherprograms and potential funding opportunitiesfor rural communities in future issues ofFarmWeek.

COLLEENCALLAHAN

Rural Development offers help to rural libraries