FarmWeek July 18 2011

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Monday, July 18, 2011 Two sections Volume 39, No. 29

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

a FeDeral agenCy is sig-nificantly reducing fees customersmust pay to file rail freight rate or“unreasonable pract ice” com-plaints. ..............................................8

a usDa unDerseCre-

tary announced last week theagency was looking at ways toimprove how it delivers informa-tion to farmers. ...............................3

County Farm Bureaus

and individual members are encour-aged to submit comments on inter-pretations of farm trucking rules bythe Aug. 1 deadline. ..........................2

Windstorms flatten thousands of corn acres BY DANIEL GRANTFarmWeek

Potential yield on thou-sands of acres of corn in Illi-nois was blown away in a mat-ter of minutes last week asstraight-line winds cut a largeswath through the region.

The storm, called a “dere-cho,” produced wind speedsnear 70 mph, damaged crops,knocked out power, anddowned tree limbs in a 550-mile path from central Iowa toDetroit, Mich., with some ofthe worst damage on a linefrom northeast Iowa, acrossNorthern Illinois, and up intosouthern Wisconsin.

A derecho is a long-lived,widespread, and damagingstorm associated with rapidlymoving showers and thunder-storms. Wind speeds in a dere-cho can exceed 100 mph,according to Bryce Anderson,DTN senior ag meteorologist.

“It didn’t last very long,”said Richard Beuth, who farmswith his son, Paul, near Sewardin Winnebago County. “But itkind of came in waves. I thinkthat made it worse.”

Beuth this year plantedabout 700 acres of corn, andthe majority of it (400 acres)was damaged to varyingdegrees by the storm.

However, “root-lodged cornthat is horizontal at pollinationwill have poor ear set and oftenfail to pollinate the side of theear that is facing down.”

A good portion of the dam-aged crop reportedly had notpollinated when the storm hit.

“I’d think (some of) the cornis young enough that it willcome back up,” Bob Dyer, IFBRegion 2 manager who lives in

Kankakee, said last week. “But,man, it looks bad right now.”

Overall, the strong stormknocked out power to about847,000 ComEd customers in Northern Illinois, the RockfordRegister Star reported.

The extensive loss of elec-tricity caused by last week’sstorm rivaled a 1998 ice storm

See Windstorms, page 3

Some of the lesser-damagedcorn on Beuth’s farm as of latelast week was righting itself,although it likely will be a “tan-gled mess to combine,” he not-ed. Other fields remained flat

in the days following the storm.“It was looking close to a 200-

bushel crop,” Beuth said. “Someof it, if we get rain, still could bea good crop. But the bad stuff(at harvest) could go anywherefrom zero to 50 or 60 bushels.I’m not real optimistic about it.”

Brian Duncan, a farmerfrom Polo and president of theOgle County Farm Bureau, saidthe storm flattened 500 acresof corn on his farm.

“The crop, overall, lookedreally good,” Duncan said onThursday. “Now, I’m not surewhat I’ve got.

“Some of the stuff thatwasn’t hit so bad seems to bestanding back up,” he contin-ued. “But what’s flat is stillflat.”

The crop’s ability to recoverwill depend on the severity ofdamage, its stage of growth atthe time of the storm, andweather conditions the rest of

the season, according to ToddThumma, a Syngenta agrono-mist from Morrison.

He noted damaged corn thathas not tasseled has the abilityto anchor in the ground andgooseneck back to a moreupright growing position.

“If the reproductive por-tions of the plant are upright atpollination, then you can oftenget good ear set,” Thumma said.

Richard Beuth, a farmer from Seward in Winnebago County, holds a lone corn stalk upright in this field aboutthree miles southeast of Pecatonica that was flattened last week by a severe storm that produced windspeedsnear 70 mph. The field prior to the storm appeared to have 200-bushel potential, but now Beuth is not veryoptimistic about it. (Photo by Roger Christin, Winnebago County Farm Bureau manager)

FarmWeekNow.comLearn more about the aftermatho f t h e s t o rm s i n I l l i n o i s a tFarmWeekNow.com.

BY MARTIN ROSSFarmWeek

As Congress and the WhiteHouse remained gridlockedover proposals to raise the U.S.debt ceiling, an AgriVisor mar-ket analyst warned ag marketsultimately could feel the “rip-ples” if policymakers ultimate-ly failed to reach an accommo-dation — an outcome hebelieves is unlikely.

Ratings agency Standard &Poor’s warns it could cut theU.S.’ prized AAA world creditrating, potentially affecting tradeand other global relationships ifa deal is not reached soon.

Sen. Dick Durbin, a Spring-field Democrat, warned last

week “it’s time to put the politicsaside — for the future of busi-ness, for jobs, and for the goodof the American economy.”

The ongoing debt ceilingdebate itself “doesn’t mean awhole lot to the dollar,” AgriVi-sor’s Dale Durchholz said in anRFD Radio-FarmWeek inter-view. But overall global debt andworst-case prospects for a U.S.impasse pose the potential forwhat he termed a “negativereplay” in the economy.

“The real ripples come ifwe technically have ‘default’ —they (Washington leaders)don’t come to an agreement toraise the ceiling and there’s nomoney there to pay off exist-

ing bonds and notes that arecoming due,” Durchholz said.

“Pushed against the wall,nobody in Washington’s goingto let that happen.

“Talks fell apart trying toput together a bigger package— scaling back debt withsomething like $4 trillion in(budget) reductions.

“Now, everybody’s trying totarget something roughly inthe $2 trillion range, in whichwe’d have a contraction offuture debt as we allow thedebt ceiling to rise. As long aswe don’t go into default, thatreally doesn’t matter.”

The ongoing European debtcrisis and the resulting “drag

on the euro” is a more pressingcurrency issue, he argued.While Greece “threw a tempo-rary Band-Aid” on its prob-lems, ratings analysts thismonth downgraded Portuguesecredit essentially to “junk bondstatus,” and Italy now is sharingdebt headlines with Ireland andSpain, Durchholz related.

At the same time, ChinesePremier Wen Jiabao reiteratedefforts to target domesticinflation, hinting at additionalinterest rate increases. Durch-holz cited “generally disap-pointing” Chinese trade datafor June and suggested China

See Debt, page 2

Analyst: U.S. debt ‘default’ unlikely prospect

STREAMLINING A BETTER BUSINESS CLI-

MATE — Gov. Pat Quinn last week signed legislationthat streamlines some of the state permit processesfor businesses.

Under the new law, the Illinois Environmental Pro-tection Agency (IEPA) will begin to use online permit-ting, processing, and tracking to make steps easier forbusinesses to navigate.

The new law also allows many low-polluting smallbusinesses to register with IEPA instead of goingthrough an extensive permit process.

The changes include many recommendations toimprove the state’s business climate supported by theVision for Illinois Agriculture.

FB ACT CALLING — Some Farm Bureau mem-bers and county managers last week received a specialphone message from Illinois Farm Bureau PresidentPhilip Nelson.

The automated call was a first for FB ACT (Agricul-tural Contact Team). Themessage reminded FBACT participants to con-tact members of Congressand urge them to pass freetrade agreements.

Some FB ACT membersand county Farm Bureau

managers signed up for the new notification feature. “We continue to evaluate the tools that we provide

to our members to help them be engaged and effec-tive,” said Liz Hobart, associate director of nationallegislation and policy development.

Contact your county Farm Bureau for more infor-mation about the new feature.

RFA DISPUTES USDA PROJECTION — Theethanol industry is expected to overtake the livestocksector as the biggest consumer of corn for the firsttime this year, according to USDA’s latest supply-and-demand report.

USDA’s estimate is based on an assumption that atleast 14.1 billion gallons of ethanol will be made thisyear, more than the federal Energy InformationAdministration’s (EIA) projection of 13.7 billion gal-lons, according to the Washington-based RenewableFuels Association (RFA).

“USDA is either finding ethanol production EIA isunaware of, or it is using out-of-date ethanol yields,”RFA’s Matt Hartwig said.

FarmWeek Page 2 Monday, July 18, 2011

(ISSN0197-6680)

Vol. 39 No. 29 July 18, 2011

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Quick takesgovernment

State Supreme Court upholdscapital bill and truck accessBY KAY SHIPMANFarmWeek

The Illinois Supreme Court last week upheldthe constitutionality of the state’s 2009 capitalbill, which included authoriza-tion for universal truck access.The justices’ decision reverseda January 2011 appellate courtruling that the capital bill wasunconstitutional and bills intro-duced in the General Assemblymust be limited to one subject.

“It is good to see theSupreme Court rule the capitalbill constitutional. What is evenbetter is that it sets the premisefor what is constitutional in thefuture,” said Kevin Semlow,Illinois Farm Bureau directorof state legislation.

“The justices found a ‘tie’

between all the portions of the bill — that evenapplies to the 80,000-pound access,” Semlowcontinued. “The interesting note is they tied theoverweight fees and where the funds go to the

General Revenue Fund andhow they were tied to the80,000-pound weight limit(authorization).”

The court stated: “Thereare no “smoking gun” provi-sions ... which clearly violatethe intent and purpose of thesingle-subject rule,” Semlownoted.

“The bottom line is that80,000-pound weight limits arelegal,” he said.

Authorization provisions foruniform truck weight limits upto 80,000 pounds have been ineffect since Jan. 1, 2010.

All portable, refillable pesticide containers, com-monly known as mini-bulk tanks, must meet newfederal requirements by Aug. 16. After that date,any existing non-compliant tanks can-not be used.

Tank owners are responsible forensuring their tanks meet the U.S.Environmental Protection Agency(EPA) standards that have beenposted since 2009.

If a container doesn’t meet therequirements, it must be repaired orreplaced and recycled.

For the past two years, agrichem-ical retailers and other tank owners

have been identifying the tanks that can nolonger be used and those that must be modified.

After the August deadline, agrichemical dealerslegally cannot fill a noncomplianttank, including those owned by afarmer or other individual.

For information about the stan-dards and whether a tank complies,contact your agrichemical dealer orthe Illinois Fertilizer and ChemicalAssociation (IFCA) at 309-827-2774.

A guideline of mini-bulk pesti-cide container regulations is post-ed on the IFCA website at{www.ifca.com}. — Kay Shipman

Aug. 16 deadline for mini-bulkpesticide tank rule compliance

Farm Bureau members stillhave time to comment on inter-pretations of farm truckingrules, according to Kevin Rund,Illinois Farm Bureau seniordirector of local government.

IFB recently submitted com-ments to the Federal MotorCarrier Safety Administration(FMCSA) and forwarded thatinformation to county FarmBureau offices. Those com-

ments also are available onlineat {www.ilfb.org} under“Issues/IFB CurrentIssues/Transportation.”

County Farm Bureaus andindividual members are encour-aged to submit comments bythe Aug. 1 deadline, said AdamNielsen, IFB director ofnational legislation.

Comments may be submit-ted online at {http://www.reg-

ulations.gov/#!submitCom-ment;D=FMCSA-2011-0146-0001}.

Comments may be be faxedto 202-493-2251 or mailed to: Docket Management Facility,(M-30), US Department ofTransportation (DOT), 1200New Jersey Avenue, SE, WestBuilding, Ground Floor, Room12-140, Washington, DC,20590-0001

Farmers have time to comment on truck rules

Continued from page 1is “really starting to show some economicweakness.” “I think people have to gear up and lookahead to start to see some economic drag onthe market,” he advised. “It wouldn’t be likewhat we had in ’08, but we could have some-what of a negative replay on the economic sideimpacting market prices over the next fewmonths.”

Meanwhile, U.S. policy uncertainties ondirect farm payments, future ethanol incentives,and action on key bilateral free trade agree-ments eventually could prove “a bit of a dragon the market,” but are not yet “overtly nega-tive” on a day-to-day, week-to-week basis, hesaid.

Under a Senate plan, the 45-cent-per-gallonethanol fuel blenders tax credit would be elimi-nated this summer, with savings used to paydown the deficit and fund biofuels distributionand retail infrastructure.

Congress’ one-year renewal of the credit inDecember served as an early “notice” of itsforthcoming demise, and that prospect now isengrained in “the psychology of the industry,”Durchholz argued.

Slight, legal “over blending” above the stan-dard 10 percent ethanol threshold is a not-uncommon practice that offers fuel suppliers aneconomic advantage, he noted. If the creditwere removed, “maybe we’d go back to under-blending a little bit,” reducing cumulativedemand, Durchholz said.

Debt

goverNmeNt

Page 3 Monday, July 18, 2011 FarmWeek

RC seeks ‘proactive’ approach to nutrient managementBY MARTIN ROSSFarmWeek

Amid fear of greater feder-al fertilizer regulation, the Illi-nois Farm Bureau ResolutionsCommittee (RC) argues IFBshould be “more proactive” inhelping guide nutrient man-agement policy, according toRC Natural Resources Sub-committee Vice ChairmanJack McCormick.

The RC thus is asking countyFarm Bureaus this summer tofocus discussion on nutrientissues. The RC meets in Novem-ber to finalize policy proposalsfor IFB delegate review thisDecember in Chicago.

Midwest producers arelooking with concern at U.S.Environmental ProtectionAgency (EPA) plans for“cleaning up” the eastern

nutrient load within a geo-graphically confined area.

The American FarmBureau Federation and theNational Association ofHome Builders are spearhead-ing a lawsuit against EPA’s

Chesapeake Bay plans, joinedby the Fertilizer Institute,National Pork ProducersCouncil, National Corn Grow-ers Association, the U.S. Poul-try and Egg Association, andthe National Turkey Federa-

Chesapeake Bay region, includ-ing standards for ag nutrient“total maximum daily loads.”Some fear the Chesapeakeregion could serve as a trial bal-loon for future regulation with-in the Mississippi River Basin.

“We want to use the bestmanagement practices we’vegot as much as we can, andpromote those, before we getthe regulations,” McCormicktold FarmWeek. “The U.S.EPA is actually pushing the(Illinois Environmental Pro-tection Agency) to do more. Ifwe can show we’re making agood faith effort, maybe wecan stall that off a little bit.

“We have a huge watershedjust like they do in the Chesa-peake Basin. EPA can movethose regulations here in aheartbeat. We’d like to be

ahead of that, if we can be.”During a Springfield visit

last week, Michael Scuse,USDA acting undersecretaryfor farm and foreign servicesand former Delaware state agsecretary, cited significant dif-ferences in environmental pres-sure within the Chesapeakeregion vs. the Mississippi RiverBasin.

Scuse noted explosiveannual population growthwithin the Delmarva Peninsu-la, which is shared byDelaware and portions of Vir-ginia and Maryland.

The region is one of theU.S.’ most concentratedpoultry production areas.Maryland’s 1,000 poultryfarms alone create 14,700jobs on the peninsula aswell as a potentially major

RC reviewing layersof levee authority

Three federal entities have had overlapping oversight ofthe nation’s levees, raising concerns over future protectionand development within the Mississippi River floodplain.

The Illinois Farm Bureau ResolutionsCommittee (RC) thus is asking members toconsider whether Federal Emergency Man-agement Agency (FEMA) levee certificationauthority should be transferred to the U.S.Army Corps of Engineers and the efforts ofa national levee advisory committee discon-tinued.

Certification of a levee to protect against amajor 100-year flood event relieves area resi-dents and businesses of floodplain develop-ment restrictions, removes flood insurance

requirements for properties under federally insured loans, and“dramatically reduces” costs for those who opt for coverage,IFB flood management specialist Kevin Rund related.

The U.S. Army Corps of Engineers inspects major leveesannually, but FEMA is conducting added inspections as partof floodplain remapping and has proposed decertification onthe Illinois side of the river in St. Louis’ Metro East area.

Last week, U.S. Rep. Aaron Schock, a Peoria Republican,won House approval for a flood insurance reform amend-ment that would delay implementation of new FEMA floodmaps for five years. Schock was backed by Collinsville Repub-lican Rep. John Shimkus and Belleville Democrat Rep. JerryCostello.

However, IFB’s Conservation and Natural ResourcesGrassroots Issue Team (GRIT) argues FEMA has imposed“unreasonable standards and an unreasonable time frame tofix levee problems” prior to decertification.

“The standards FEMA uses can vary from what the Corpsuses, and they haven’t finished work on levee certification onthe Missouri side of the river yet,” Rund said.

“The Metro East is kind of a special case: You have tensof thousands of people, hundreds of industries, lots of busi-nesses, and even refineries behind that levee. It’s going to betreated differently than, say, the Beardstown Levee (in CassCounty), which also faces potential decertification.”

In addition, the GRIT recommends allowing levee dis-tricts adequate time for repairs prior to decertification andaccounting for acceptable levels of water permeability insand levees.

Many Illinois levees are built using sand from the river. Anon-destructive amount of water may seep through sand lev-ees, and Rund said officials can’t reasonably apply the samestandards to sand and more impermeable clay levees.

Meanwhile, Hancock County Farm Bureau has asked theRC to consider supporting elimination of the National Com-mittee on Levee Safety, a group of federal, state, local, andprivate sector representatives authorized in 2007 to develop astrategic plan for levee safety to Congress.

Given existing Corps inspections and Upper Mississippi-Illinois River flood control recommendations, the WesternIllinois group argues the committee “creates unnecessaryexpense” and should be eliminated for budget savings.

Rund noted the panel tends to support levee improve-ments rather than elimination and has provided review ofsmaller, private levees not inspected by the Corps. At thesame time, its call for uniform national levee standards mayfail to consider regional differences in levee design and mate-rials.

“There has to be some recognition that you can’t simplyhave one standard to build a levee and assume it’s going towork in every location,” Rund maintained. — Martin Ross

Rep. AaronSchock

USDA considers streamliningof crop reporting proceduresBY DANIEL GRANTFarmWeek

Farmers frustrated by the redtape of USDA farm programsand inaccuracies and informa-tion gaps in commodity reportscould get some relief in the nearfuture.

USDA’s Farm and ForeignAgricultural Service (FFAS) isreviewing improvements that

could be made by consolidatinginformation required to partici-pate in farm programs adminis-tered by the Farm ServiceAgency (FSA), Federal CropInsurance Program, and the RiskManagement Agency (RMA).

The Ag Department also islooking for ways to get moretimely information, mostly viatechnology, to improve theaccuracy of commodity reportsissued by the National Agricul-tural Statistics Service (NASS).

Michael Scuse, acting under-

secretary of FFAS, met withbusiness leaders and farmerslast week at a roundtable meet-ing at the FSA state office inSpringfield.

The timing of the meeting,in which Scuse discussed theAcreage Crop ReportingStreamlining Initiative Project,was impeccable as USDA justlast month issued a crop

acreage/stocks report that con-founded and angered manyfarmers and traders.

After it released its Juneacreage report, USDAannounced it would resurveyfarmers in some areas to get abetter handle on the numbers.

“We’re looking for ways to bemore responsive to farmers,”said Scuse, who grows corn, soy-beans, and wheat in Delawareand formerly served as the secre-tary of agriculture in his homestate. “This (streamlining proj-

ect) will allow us to achieve a lotof goals and initiatives.”

Scuse in a news conferenceafter the roundtable meeting saidprecision ag technology will be akey to improving the timelinessand accuracy of NASS reports.

He believes many farmerswithin the next three to fiveyears will be able use computerchips to record acreage dataduring planting and yield data atharvest and download thatinformation directly to USDAcounty offices.

“I believe this will allowNASS to obtain more accurateand up-to-date numbers,”Scuse said.

Technology also will be thekey to allowing USDA agencies,such as FSA and RMA, to sharecrop reports from farmers toreduce paperwork requirements.

“Ultimately (farmers) may beable to give their crop reportsfrom home and they won’t have togo to the FSA office,” Scuse said.

The streamlining project isnot intended to reduce USDAoffices (there currently are 2,241nationwide) or personnel,according to Scuse. Farmerswho do not embrace technolo-gy still will be able to reportcrop information in person attheir local FSA offices.

“This is going to help ourstaff, because right now ourstaff is pushed to the limit(during busy seasons),” he said.“This will help us manage theworkload much better.”

‘We’re looking for ways to bemore responsive to farmers.’

— Michael ScuseActing undersecretary,

Farm and Foreign Agricultural Service

FarmWeekNow.comListen to Michael Scuse’s com-ments about revamping USDAcrop reporting procedures atFarmWeekNow.com.

Continued from page 1in the region that briefly left 865,000 ComEd customers withoutpower, according to the Rockford newspaper.

A separate storm that blew through Tuesday also caused winddamage in parts of Southern Illinois.

“There was a lot of wind with thunderstorms and quite a bitof corn blown down, some green snap, and some lodging,” saidKen Taake, a FarmWeek Cropwatcher from Pulaski County.“Time will tell how bad it will be.”

Windstorms

EnVIronmEnt


Tom Schwartz, front left, of FDC Grassland Services identifies a prairie plant seedling for Douglas Gucker,right, a certified crop adviser with the Agricultural Watershed Institute (AWI), and Robert Scoville, an environ-ment associate with Caterpillar Inc., before a research plot dedication ceremony last week. AWI will study avariety of biomass crops that were planted in research plots on 65 acres in Decatur owned by Caterpillar.(Photo by Kay Shipman)

CAT moves into biomass crop study projectBY KAY SHIPMANFarmWeek

Biomass crop researchgained a visible profile lastweek in Decatur when Cater-pillar Inc. and the Agricul-ture Watershed Institute(AWI) unveiled a 65-acreproject.

Traffic buzzed by as RonIngram, supply chain manag-

er for theDecaturplant, andSteve John,AWI execu-tive director,told assem-bled city,agribusiness,and financialrepresenta-

tives about the prairie bioen-ergy demonstration plotsacross from Caterpillar’splant.

“It’s a very visible exampleof our commitment to sus-tainability,” Ingram toldFarmWeek. “We hope it is agood example to other com-panies if they have marginal

land this (perennial grasscrop) is an option.”

John and Doug Gucker,AWI crop adviser, describedthe layout of 11 plots thathave been planted with avariety of native prairiespecies as potential perennialbioenergy crops.

The plants’ application forconservation and environ-mental benefits will be stud-ied along with the implica-tions for wildlife habitat,according to John.

AWI will use the plots tohelp educate farmers and toprovide technical and finan-cial advice about biomasscrop production, John said.

He estimated the 65-acreplots will yield 5 tons peracre when the plants reachfull maturity in three or fouryears.

City officials are interest-ed in biomass crops as apotential crop that wouldenhance water quality in LakeDecatur, the city’s mainwater source, said KeithAlexander, city director of

water management. About 500,000 farmland

acres drain into the lake’swatershed.

The city is interested inhaving farmers grow peren-

nial energy grasses on mar-ginal land within the water-shed, Alexander added.

Last week, the tiny bio-mass crops were difficult tospot, but should jump to

four or five feet in height bythe fall, said Tom Schwartz, awildlife biologist with FDCEnterprises Grassland Serv-ices. FDC contributed prairieseed for plots.

Ron Ingram

A group of Central Illinois farmers and bio-mass buyers was not selected for a BiomassCrop Assistance Program (BCAP) project, butthe group’s farmer leader recently discussedthe project and the BCAP program with topUSDA officials.

Prairie State Biomass, which covers 29 Cen-tral Illinois counties, applied to the Farm Serv-ice Agency (FSA) to be selected as a projectarea. Eric Rund, a Champaign County farmer,said he learned about future prospects forBCAP during a discussion with FSA officials inWashington, D.C.

Nationwide, FSA had $112 million forBCAP funding for fiscal year 2011, and thefirst two projects selected each cost $22 mil-lion, Rund recalled. There may be only four orfive project areas in the nation based on theremaining funds, he said.

A BCAP project area is one in which one ormore farmers agree to grow and sell eligiblebiomass crops to one or more biomass conver-sion facilities. Rund said he urged U.S. Agricul-ture Secretary Tom Vilsack to support futurefunding for BCAP, especially if funding forother farm programs is cut. — Kay Shipman

Central Illinois group not selected for BCAP

Central Illinois farmer invites Obama to visit farm, promotes biomassChampaign County farmer

Eric Rund didn’t pass up achance to invite PresidentBarack Obama to visit hisrural Pesotum farm and get afirst-hand glimpse of bio-mass crops.

Rund recently representedIllinois as one of 19 individu-als from rural areas at a RuralDevelopment meetingchaired by U.S. AgricultureSecretary Tom Vilsack at theWhite House. Rund, head ofa biomass group, was encour-aged to apply to participate inthe meeting by Illinois RuralDevelopment DirectorColleen Callahan.

“He’s (Obama) from Illi-nois, and the University ofIllinois is doing the most

work on biomass (research)in the world,” Rund said ofhis impromptu invitation.

The chief executivelaughed and said he’d love tovisit, Rund added.

During the meeting, Rundfocused on farmers’ opportu-nities to grow “the next gen-eration of energy crops” onless fertile land.

“It’s a look to the future,”Rund said.

The meeting, referred toas a Rural Champions ofChange event, covered vari-ous challenges faced by ruralresidents.

One participant raisedthe importance of obtain-ing high-speed Internet inrural areas, another talked

about the need for restora-tion of roads that hadbeen destroyed by f loods,while a third mentionedthe marketing opportuni-ties for locally grown food,

according to Rund.Rund’s efforts to make a

case for biomass crops didn’tstop with his fellow ruralchampions.

“I lobbied all the top peo-

ple,” including Vilsack, topofficials in the Farm ServiceAgency, and several membersof the Illinois congressionaldelegation, he said. — KayShipman

Aug. 19 workshop,demonstration set

A unique research opportu-nity in Central Illinois willallow farmers to see if covercrops reduce nutrient levels infield tile runoff. The projectand a demonstration of seed-ing equipment will be thefocus of an Aug. 19 workshopfrom 9 a.m. to noon at theFranklin Farm near Lexington.

“This is a unique set of cir-cumstances,” said Dave Bish-op, resource conservationistwith the McLean County Soil

and Water Conservation Dis-trict (SWCD).

Bishop referred to the proj-ect fields that have been thelocation of a multi-year wet-land and water quality study byThe Nature Conservancy andUniversity of Illinoisresearcher David Kovacic.

The researchers have col-lected data on nutrient levels inthe tile runoff and changes innutrient levels as the watermoves through a series of wet-lands, said Maria Lemke, aresearcher with the Conservan-cy.

Now with a ConservationInnovation Grant from theNatural Resources Conserva-tion Service, the Conservancywill expand the research proj-ect to study the impact of acover crop on tiled fieldsplanted with a corn-soybeanrotation.

A cover crop mixture ofcereal rye and tillage radish willbe seeded next month intostanding corn on half of thestudy fields.

The other half won’t receivethe cover crop treatment, andresearchers will compare the

runoff results of the two.“We will directly monitor

the tile runoff. We know theinputs and we’ll know the(nutrient) exports. And wehave baseline (background)data,” Lemke said.

In addition to the uniqueresearch site, uniquely suitedequipment will be used to seedthe cover crop.

A custom RoGator that canbe elevated to 10 feet six inch-es of clearance will be demon-strated. The equipment wasadapted by the father-son teamof Don and Matt Birky. The

Birkys operate On TrackFarming Inc.

The August workshop anddemonstration will includepresentations about the fieldnutrient experiments at thefarm, conservation programs,and the potential use of covercrops as a conservation prac-tice.

There is no charge, butmeal reservations are neededby Aug. 12.

For more information or tomake a reservation, contact theSWCD at 309—452-0830. —Kay Shipman

Cover crop to be studied as a nutrient management tool

EmErging iSSUES


BY KAY SHIPMANFarmWeek

A smorgasbord of entities is focus-ing on locally grown food in Illinois.Last week, Illinois Farm Bureau host-ed a daylong Local Foods Connec-tions Summit to discover the manylocal food initiatives taking shape inthe state.

“How can we synergize our energyand all work together?” Cynthia Hask-ins, IFB manager of business devel-opment and compliance, asked sum-mit participants. “We need to mini-mize duplication and minimize costs.”

The summit attracted about 140representatives of government agen-cies, farm organizations, nonprofitgroups, University of Illinois Exten-sion, community colleges, and univer-sities.

The diverse interests were reflectedin the programs and services beingdeveloped, as well as those already

being offered to consumers and farm-ers.

“We have to be conscious all thetime about the coexistence that isneeded here ... so we can all grow,”Illinois Agriculture Director Tom Jen-nings told the group.

Educational initiatives ranged fromcommunity-college based food pro-grams for students to research-basedinformation and Extension programsfor farmers.

Through the Department of Com-merce and Economic Opportunity(DCEO), the state is funding educa-tional projects, such as communitycollege initiatives, and economic devel-opment projects to increase produc-tion of local food, said Warren Ribley,DCEO director.

Federal effor ts include USDA’s“Know Your Farmer, Know YourFood” init iat ive, programs toprovide value-added grants to

farmers, and fund ing tha t he lpsr u ra l communi t i e s develop localfood economic oppor-tunities, saidColleen Calla-han, statedirector ofRural Develop-ment.

In addition toallowing the sharing ofinformation, the sum-mit also planted seedsfor new collaboration.

For example, Illi-nois high school agteachers may receiveinformation from theU of I Extensionabout new food safetystandards and grow-ing practices toenhance their cur-riculum.

The state would get morebang for its food dollar if morelow-income people used LINKcards to buy produce fromlocal growers, according to Lt.Gov. Sheila Simon.

Speaking at last week’s Illi-nois Farm Bureau Local FoodsConnections Summit, Simonnoted an increase of state foodassistance purchases at farmers’markets by people with LINKdebit cards who are eligible forSupplemental Nutrition Assis-tant Program benefits.

Simon said her staff is seek-ing ways to expand the numberof farmers’ markets that acceptLINK cards from the current49 markets in 20-some coun-ties. Each dollar spent on local-ly grown food adds $1.34 tothe local economy, she said.

“We’re not going to be ableto grow everything here (in Illi-nois), but let’s take advantageof what we can grow,” Simontold summit participants.

“This means local jobs ...growing and transporting of

food. There is no way Illi-nois loses when we promotelocal foods,” the lieutenantgovernor said.

Simon said she would likeher staff to help connectfarmers with markets.

The lieutenant governoradded she also would like tostudy issues that could beaddressed, such as regulato-ry barriers to farmers, butthat would not jeopardizepublic health. — Kay Ship-man

Locally grown sprouting buffet of interests, programs

Lt. Gov. Simon links food programswith farmers and local economies

IDNR exploring Asian carpfor food pantry donations

The Illinois Department of Natural Resources (IDNR) isexploring a better use for the invasive Asian carp it is payingcommercial fishermen to take from Illinois rivers.

Jay Curtis, IDNR chief of staff, reported his agency is work-ing with Feeding Illi-nois, an associationof food pantries,about the possibilityof distributingdonated andprocessed fish tofood pantries. Muchof the fish now isground into animalfeed.

Curtis told theGovernor’s RuralAffairs Council theidea is in the development phase, but IDNR wants to build onits successful program of processed venison donations to foodpantries.

He quipped the Asian carp needs a new name and suggested“silver fin” to distinguish it from bottom-feeding carp.

The agency is considering the potential of canning orfreezing of the processed carp, according to Curtis.

The new market might even spark an increase in commer-cial fishing operations and fish processing and support nativefish species, he added. Curtis estimated the carp project mayhappen within a year.

While eradication of Asian carp won’t happen, “one of our(IDNR) goals is to draw (populations) it down as much as pos-sible,” Curtis told FarmWeek. “Let’s use this for good bene-fits for everybody.” — Kay Shipman

A reorganized Governor’s Rural AffairsCouncil will focus on two of the many issuesfacing rural Illinois, newly appointed memberslearned last week.

Locally grown food and emergency medicalservices surfaced as two issues that will be stud-ied by the council and two new subcommittees,said Lt. Gov. Sheila Simon, who chaired herfirst council meeting since she was elected tothe statewide office.

Illinois Farm Bureau Director Steve Hossel-ton of Louisville represents IFB on the council.

“I want to make sure the voice of rural Illi-nois is not lost in the shuffle of government,”Simon told council members who met last weekat Lincoln Land Community College, Spring-field.

Demands for emergency medical services arestraining local budgets and resources in ruralIllinois, said Jack Fleeharty, chief of emergencymedical systems for the Illinois Department ofPublic Health.

“Today we can do (medical) care in the fieldthat was unheard of before, but that bringsadditional expense and training,” Fleeharty said.

While rural communities usually can raiseenough money to buy and even supply anambulance, those same towns struggle to con-

tribute $200,000 to $500,000 annually to sustainambulance services, he said.

“We’re on the frontline. We see the patientswho do not have enough money to buy foodand medicine,” Dottie Miles, director of theJackson County Ambulance, told FarmWeek.Miles noted diabetic patients have even calledfor an ambulance crew to check their bloodsugar levels.

Fleeharty urged the council to support astate emergency medical service initiative and tohelp find sources of funding for those services.

Exploring opportunities for local food pro-duction also will be high on the council’s agen-da.

Illinois Agriculture Director Tom Jennings, acouncil member, said the local food effortsneed to include organic, conventional, andgenetically engineered crops.

“We can’t be exclusive; all can have access tothe marketplace,” Jennings told council mem-bers.

Those efforts include projects and initiativesby the Illinois Department of Commerce andEconomic Opportunity (DCEO), said TimLindsey with DCEO. Lindsey also reported onIFB meetings with farmers and produce buyers— Kay Shipman.

Rural council to focus on localfood and emergency services

‘Let’s use this for goodbene f i t s fo r eve r y -body.’

— Jay CurtisIllinois Department of Natural

Resources

Bernie Walsh, Durand, Winnebago County: Every yearbrings different challenges andlast week was no different.Early Monday morning (July11), straight line winds inexcess of 75 mph blew throughalmost all of Northern Illinoisand southern Wisconsin leavinglots of down corn, down trees,

and power outages in the worst areas.Unfortunately, the storm didn’t bring muchrain. We only received 0.3 of an inch, butwere glad to get that much. The downedcorn seems to be straightening up, exceptfor the very worst fields, but it will still makefor a slower harvest. Some wheat fields arenow being harvested in our area. I’ll have togive you a better report on wheat yieldsnext week. The big story now is near 100-degree heat after nearly four weeks withonly 0.3 of an inch of rain. Stay safe andcool.

Pete Tekampe, Grayslake, Lake County: A severe stormpassed through Lake CountyMonday morning (July 11).Power was lost, trees uprooted,and corn was bent over. Cornthat was 5 feet tall was only 2.5feet tall after the storm. Someparts of the county are still with-out power. It looks like most of

the corn straightened out, but about 3 or 4percent was broken off. Though it was asevere storm, we only got 0.6 of an inch ofrain. Luckily, a cool spell accompanied thestorm, but it is supposed to start heating upagain as they are calling for the 90s most ofthis week with not much rain. That will betough on the corn.

Leroy Getz, Savanna, Carroll County: Rain for the weekof 0.8 of an inch. Severe 75mph wind on Monday (July 11)blew over trees and power linesin the area and flattened thou-sands of acres of corn acrossthe northern counties. Very lit-tle corn green snapped — itwas just pushed and flattened.

Most fields have lifted in sort of a goose-neck fashion. Corn is tasseling and silking,so it remains to be seen what effect thisstorm damage will have on pollination. Ourfarm area was not affected by this storm.Wheat and oat fields stood excellentthrough it all. Hot days are causing rapidevaporation and more rain will be neededsoon.

Larry Hummel, Dixon, Lee County: It was an emotionalroller coaster ride this pastweek. It started out on a highnote when my stepdaughter’sboyfriend asked her to marryhim while surrounded by familyand friends at our annual pigroast. Monday (July 11) lookedpromising with rain in the fore-

cast and a nice storm front showing up onthe radar moving in from Iowa. By 7 a.m.,the mood had changed when damagingwinds flattened cornfields and blew treesover. We had one field with no damage andthe rest varied from completely flattened tolarge sections tipped at a 45-degree angle.Mother Nature corrected some of the prob-lems. The shorter corn is gooseneckingback up to the sun and should be able topollinate. The field across from our housealready was 6 to 7 feet tall and just startingto drop pollen. It hasn’t changed much. Bynext week, I should be able to tell how wellthat pollinated.

Joe Zumwalt, Warsaw, Hancock County: Crops inWestern Illinois continue toprogress and are trying torecover from the excessiverains which fell here in June.Most of the corn in the area isat or near full tassel, but thefields still are uneven. Corn onthe rolling ground looks pretty

decent, but the better, flat prairie and bot-tom ground still greatly varies in size andmaturity. The soybeans are looking betterand have regained some color. While thehot, dry weather is just what the doctorordered, I’m afraid that it won’t take long tohave too much of a good thing. Our cropsare so shallow rooted that it won’t take toomany 90-degree days to really show theheat stress. I finally was able to replant theflooded acreage last week, and I am anx-ious to finally unhook the planter.

Ken Reinhardt, Seaton, Mercer County: Just a coupleof spotty showers last weekand there is no rain in the fore-cast. There are some prettylarge cracks in the ground.Corn is pollinating now andthe coming high temperatureswill take some of the top endof the yield. Insecticides are

going on with fungicides on both corn andbeans. Japanese beetles continue to mul-tiply.

Ron Moore, Roseville, Warren County: We have notreceived any rain for the lasttwo weeks. I never thought Iwould say this, but we coulduse a nice shower now. Thecracks in the ground are gettinglarger by the day. The corn ispollinating and soybeans areflowering. Spraying of fungicide

has started and will continue for the nextfew weeks. It is forecast to be very hot anddry for the next two weeks and there issome concern about yield reduction if wedon’t get some rain soon. The soybeanslook good so far, but there are a lot ofshort beans. The pastures are starting toshow some dryness and it will be harder tokeep my cattle where they belong.

Tim Green, Wyoming, Stark County: Things look prettygood around here. It’s beenright at a month since we’vehad a rain. A lot of people aretalking about sprayingHeadline, when to spray it,what to spray. The Japanesebeetles have a lot of peoplescratching their heads. They

seem to be everywhere. Populations aren’treally big yet, but we are afraid they aregetting bigger, so people are little bit ill atease. The weather forecast for this week isnot promising. We are hoping for an inchof rain.

Mark Kerber, Chatsworth, Livingston County: Hot anddry are the conditions. Verytypical July weather. Our areamissed the storms last week.Early corn is tasseling andneeds a drink. Some corn-fields look like pineapple fieldsin the hot afternoons. You cansee some firing on the bottom

part of the plant. Soybeans also need arain to put on the maximum amount offlowers. They need unstressful conditionsto do this. Soybeans are very short as theywere planted later than normal. Fungicidespraying in corn and soybeans will be thenext field operation coming up. Producersare holding off new sales until the newcrop is determined.

Ron Haase, Gilman, Iroquois County: Our last rain wason July 1. With the corn using alot of water as it approaches orenters pollination, corn plantshave been rolling their leaves toconserve moisture during theheat of the day. The forecast isfor higher temperatures and dryweather. The majority of the

corn in this area will be pollinating duringthis time. Area cornfields range from theV-10 growth stage up to the R-1 growthstage. We have not begun any fungicideapplications at this point, as we wait for ourcorn to reach R-1. Herbicide applicationsin soybean fields are about wrapped up.These applications are being made whiletrying to avoid spraying heat-stressedweeds. Area soybean fields range from theV-5 growth stage up to the R-3 or begin-ning pod growth stage. Local closing bidsfor July 14: nearby corn, $7.21; new-cropcorn, $6.48; nearby soybeans, $13.92;new-crop soybeans, $13.51.

Brian Schaumburg, Chenoa, McLean County: Yetanother week of above normaltemperatures and no measura-ble rainfall. Growing degreeunits are at 1,470 and mostcorn is closing in on tassel (VT)to silking (R-1). Aerial fungicideapplications are up next on theagenda. Heat has kept the soy-

bean aphids at bay, but we are scouting forspider mites. Bagworms are feasting onour coniferous trees and bushes. Corn,$7.11, $6.43 fall; soybeans, $13.94,$13.44 fall; wheat, $6.62.

Steve Ayers, Champaign, Champaign County: We are inone of those areas where it issupposed to rain five minutesbefore it’s too late — the count-down has begun. At this criticalpollination period, our easterncrop reporting district is 13 per-cent corn silked with 5 percentof the district very short and 32

percent short of top soil moisture. With a five-day National Weather Service excessiveheat watch from July 17-21 and minimal rainchance, we hope crops are rooted deeplyenough they can handle the stress.Champaign area did receive 0.42 of an inchof rain Wednesday morning, but much of thecounty has received no precipitation so far inJuly. Choppers and ag cats are taking to theair for fungicide spraying, as some gray leafspot is appearing, especially in corn on corn.Beans are 16 percent blooming and somemarestail and water hemp are showingresistance, especially in no-till. Japanesebeetles are active, but no concern yet. The159th Champaign County Fair runs inUrbana from July 22-30. See you at the fair.

Wilfred Dittmer, Quincy, Adams County: Not a whole lot ofnews to report from our neck ofthe woods other than the heat isstill turned on and the weatherpeople are convinced it is goingto continue, so I guess we willsurvive as well as the crops do.Rain in the gauge for the weektotaled 0.5 of an inch, so maybe

fields can finally dry out some and get rootsto going down. Many cornfields have tas-seled and are doing well, while others haveareas of short and tall plants. Some beanfields look like the chemicals may not havebeen effective or some resistance is showingup. I think most wheat is harvested and hayis being put away. Stay safe wherever youare!

Todd Easton, Charleston, Coles County: The summerheat seemed to be stressingpeople much more than thecrops. A mid-week frontbrought little moisture but cool-er temperatures. EarlyApril-planted fields are com-pleting pollination and enteringthe R-2 blister stage.

May-planted fields are at the R-1 silk stage.We are more than 100 growing degree unitsabove the average accumulation. Thisshould help make our harvest not be exces-sively late this year. The yellow planes aremaking fungicide applications on many ofthe fields and probably will be busy for aweek or two. Soybean fields are still lookinggood as they generally are entering the R-3beginning pod stage. All the fields I havewalked through are at a good waist heightwith very good pod potential. Both cropsshowed their health by shrugging off theintense heat earlier in the week. Now all wecan do is hope for a few more good showersand reasonable temperatures through thenext month to bring both crops to maturityand not diminish potential yield. As we enterthe famous dog days of summer, pleaseremember to take the proper hot weatherprecautions for yourselves and the peopleand animals around you.

Jimmy Ayers, Rochester, Sangamon County: This pastweek we received only 0.2 of aninch of rain in two different show-ers. Corn is looking pretty good,and a lot of it is pollinating.Some spray planes have been inthe area. Beans have grownrather well. Markets seem to berebounding from the govern-

ment report that many of us had a hard timebelieving.

Ted Kuebrich, Jerseyville, Jersey County: Last week wasfair week in Jersey County andthat meant rain and tempera-tures in the 90s. Tuesday nightwas the fair parade, and aboutan hour before the start we gota storm with winds up to40 mph. The high winds blewdown and twisted corn in some

parts of the county. There are more yellowand wet spots showing up in bean fields.Prices at Jersey County Grain, Hardin: cashcorn, $7.25; fall corn, $6.49; January 2012corn, $6.71; cash beans, $13.94; fall beans,$13.46; January 2012 beans, $13.83;June/July wheat, $7.06.


CROPWATCHERS

Dean Shields, Murphysboro, Jackson County: Theweather last week was hot withquite a bit of rain in spots inJackson County. Some areashad 2-3 inches and others hadnone, which is aggravatingsome of the farmers who aretrying to get the creek bottomsand all of the low areas planted

again. Corn is all pollinated and lookingpretty decent in places. Sweet corn isbeing served at the supper tables now. Onbean planting, we are still trying to get inthe wet areas to replant and not havingvery good luck with that in my area. Wemay get the locks open to the Mississippimaybe later this week, and we will finallyget the water out. I’m officially done plant-ing and I think several other farmers are,too. The wheat crop came off pretty well,but there have been a lot of guys whowere not able to double-crop their wheatbecause it has been too wet. A lot of beanspraying has been going on. Can’t killthose old water hemp weeds, but we aretrying real hard to do that. We are mowingrights-of-way and enjoying the hot, hotweather.

Ken Taake, Ullin, Pulaski County: Hot and humid.Typical July weather seems tobe the theme for Pulaski-Alexander counties this pastweek. We did have some thun-derstorms that came throughthe area on Tuesday night. Wereceived about 0.6 of an inch ofrain, which was really welcome,

but some areas received almost 3 inches.There was a lot of wind with the thunder-storms and quite a bit of corn blown down,some green snap, and some lodging. Timewill tell how bad it will be. There still are afew farmers trying to replant soybeans andtalking about replanting more as the rivergoes down. It certainly continues to be achallenging year for those people. Pleasedo remember to take time and be carefulduring this time of year.

Dave Hankammer, Millstadt, St. Clair County: The pastweek brought quite a change fromstorm warnings to heat warnings.We have been experiencing day-time temperatures in the high 90s.At mid-week, 0.2 of an inch of rainfell. The positive side of the hightemperatures is it allowed soggyfields to dry out enough for field-

work. Sprayers were in the fields applyingpost-treatment herbicides in first-crop soy-beans and burndown treatment on recentplanted double-cropped soybeans. We wereable to get into creek bottom fields and plantthe last of the first-crop soybeans. Althoughconditions aren’t ideal, it is time to wrap up thisplanting season for better or worse. Despitethe heat and humidity, the corn and soybeancrops seem to be thriving. Corn planted inmid-May is now tasseling. Soybeans plantedin late May to early June are approximately afoot tall and starting to bloom. Some hay mak-ing is being done in the area. Local grain bids:corn, $7.19; soybeans, $13.89; wheat, $6.89.Have a cool and safe week.

Kevin Raber, Browns, Wabash County: Rainfall of 1.25inches this past week was prettymuch finished this planting sea-son. The corn on well-drainedsoils looks good, but there aremany stunted and drowned-outspots in most fields. The lastrain and wind caused somedowned corn. I still have beans

to spray, but wet soil has kept me out ofthose fields.

Randy Anderson, Galatia, Saline County Temperatureslast week ran in the upper-90s to100 degrees, and heat indexeswere 110 to 115 degrees. Thecrop withstood the hot tempera-tures because there is no lack ofmoisture. We received more than2 inches in the past week. Someearly corn is having fungicide

applications sprayed on. Talked to a friend ineastern Oklahoma, and he hasn’t had anyrain in seven weeks. He will have to startfeeding hay to his cattle this week. The mainproblem I see in our area is the issue ofexcessive rain. Looking forward to going tocounty fairs and enjoying the shows.

Doug Uphoff, Shelbyville, Shelby County: May corn start-ed pollinating last week. I just wishit could have all pollinated lastweek because it is supposed to bereally hot the next 10 days, which,unfortunately, includes the ShelbyCounty Fair July 18-20. The corn islooking very healthy here with nolesions from disease showing up

yet on the plant leaves. We are starting to seeRoundup-resistant water hemp in our beanfields. Some guys have cut rates in the pastand it’s starting to show up in resistantweeds. It might just be part of the resistantweed seed moving up from the South, or theplant adapting for survival. Whatever thecase, we are going to have to make adjust-ments to the herbicide program. Mowing isgetting caught up. With the heat, we haven’thad much of that to do and guys are gettingready for harvest. Have a safe week and taketime for family vacation.

David Schaal, St. Peter, Fayette County: On Sunday, July10, excessive heat and humidityset in until Tuesday evening whenthunderstorms moved through thearea bringing with it winds thatbroke some corn off around thecounty. Replanting of beans is stillgoing on in the Kaskaskia Riverbottom. There won’t be a lot of

corn in the immediate area going to pollinatethis week. High temperatures are to return,so we don’t know how that will work. Grainprices recovered a little for the week. Staycool.

Dan Meinhart, Montrose, Jasper County: We had severalvery hot, humid days. Showersmoved through the area onTuesday evening leaving 0.1 to0.25 of an inch. Some beanswere planted this past week. Theearly corn has been tasseling.Post-emerge chemicals havebeen applied to beans. The

areas that have not received much rain thelast couple weeks sure could use some now.More hot and dry weather is in the forecastfor this week.


CROPWATCHERS

Reports received Friday morning. Expanded crop and weather infor-mation available at {www.farmweeknow.com}.

Analyst: Record demand for oil could be overstatedBY DANIEL GRANTFarmWeek

Phil Flynn, senior mar-ket analyst with PFGBest’sResearch, last week ques-tioned whether oil demandthis year will reach therecord levels predicted bythe U.S. Energy Informa-tion Administration.

Economic issues stillhang over the U.S. andEurope, among otherareas, and U.S. consumersappear to be cutting backtheir fuel consumption asprices remain well aboveyear-ago levels.

Quantitative easing is atool the federal govern-ment can use to drive downlong-term interest rates bypurchasing Treasury bonds.

The strategy is a boon tocommodity markets as itessentially puts a f loorunder prices and helpscommodities becomefinancial instruments,according to Flynn.

“If we do QE3 (a thirdround of quantitative eas-

ing), I think we’ll see com-modity prices soar again,”Flynn said. “We could betalking $110 to $120 (crudeoil prices) if we do QE3. Itwould have a major impacton gasoline prices.”

The average price of gaso-line (in the high-$3 range) asof last week was about 35cents below the May peak. Butprices still were up nearly $1per gallon compared to thesame time last year.

Mastercard Spending-Pulse, which tracks creditcard payments, recentlyshowed a reduction ingasoline purchases.

“I think the demand esti-mates (for oil) are overstated,”Flynn said last week during the10th annual mid-year com-modities panel discussionhosted by Dow Jones Indexesin Chicago.

But even if oil demandwanes the second half ofthis year, Flynn doesn’tlook for a major break inprices. Last week, crude oilprices at the New York

Mercantile Exchangeincreased into the high$90s after a decline in thevalue of the dollar.

“This year, I still thinkoil could trend toward $85(per barrel),” Flynn said.

Economic forces couldchange that prediction,though, if the federal gov-ernment opts for a thirdround of quantitative eas-ing in an attempt to boosteconomic recovery.

U of I’s Dixon Springs plans field dayThe latest agronomy and horticulture research being

conducted at the University of Illinois’ Dixon SpringsAgricultural Center, near Simpson, will be the focus of anAug. 4 field day.

The event will run from 9 a.m. until noon, rain orshine. Tours will depart at 9 a.m., with the final tourleaving at 10 a.m.

U of I specialists will discuss several topics, includinghigh-tunnel production for tomatoes, high-tunnel produc-tion for small fruit, tillage in corn production, soil testvariability, herbicide-resistant weeds in Illinois, andbioenergy sorghums for Southern Illinois.

Participants also may view an antique tractor display.The event is free and a meal will be provided.

Dixon Springs is located on Ill. 145 near Glendale. It is25 miles south of Harrisburg.

For more information, call the center at 618-695-2441.

Auction CalendarMon., July 18. 4:30 p.m. Estate

Auction. Harold R. Grossman Estate,Beverly A. Grossman, DECATUR, IL.

Cory Craig, Auctioneer.www.corycraig.com

Mon., July 18. 10 a.m. Bureau Co.Farmland Auction. W.P. Gross Farm,MENDOTA, IL. Joe McConville, Marty

McConville and Dick McConville,Auctioneers.

www.mcconvillerealty.comTues., July 19. 10 a.m. Ag Eq. Auction.DECATUR, IL. Taylor and Martin Real

Estate and Ag Sales, LLC.www.tmras.com

Tues., July 19. Ag Eq. ConsignmentAuction. Taylor and Martin Real

Estate/Ag Sales, LLC.www.tmras.com

Thurs., July 21. 10 a.m. Closing outauction. Robert & Phyllis Brandt, LIN-

COLN, IL. Mike Maske AuctionService.

Thurs., July 21. 10 a.m. Ag Eq.Internet Auc. Dean Ag Services.

www.purplewave.comThurs., July 21. 10 a.m. Farmland

auction. Loyola Koehler Trust. AMBOY,IL. Marty McConville, Joe McConville,

auctioneers.

Fri., July 22. 10 a.m. Champaign Co.Land Auction. Martha Lubben Estate,ST. JOSEPH, IL. Jim Clingan Auctionand Realty. www.jimclingnan.comSat., July 23. 9 a.m. Farm equipmentand miscellaneous. Rubin and WandaSaupe, MURPHYSBORO, IL. CanningAuction Service. www.canningauc-

tions.comSat., July 23. 10 a.m. Farm machineryand miscellaneous. Francis Jenner

Estate, Jean Jenner, MORRISON, IL.Public Auction Service. topauctions24-

7.com/paspoloSat., July 23. 11 a.m. 97 Ac.

Marion/Wayne Co. Line. Estate of EdithBrashear, CENTRALIA, IL. Daggs

Auction Co.Wed., July 27. 10 a.m. Ag Eq. InternetAuc. South Western Assoc. www.pur-

plewave.comTues., Aug. 2. Unreserved Public

Auction. CHICAGO, IL. Ritchie Bros.,Auctioneers. rbauction.com

Thurs., Aug. 4. 10 a.m. Farm machin-ery and miscellaneous. Warren Ulfers,FAIRBURY, IL. Immke and Bradley

Auction Service.biddersandbuyers.com/immkeFri., Aug. 5. 11 a.m. 255.75 Ac.

Morgan Co. David R. Jackson and RetaJackson, MURRAYVILLE, IL. Worrell-

Leka Land Services, LLC, Darrell Moore, Auctioneer. worrell-leka.com or

auctionzip.com (i.d.#16215)Fri., Aug. 5. 11 a.m. Farmland andreal estate. Helen Montavon Trust,COMPTON, IL. McConville Realty &

Auctioneering.Tues., Aug. 9. 10 a.m. Closing Out

Farm Auction. Bill and Carol McGuire,MAROA, IL. Martin Auction Services,

LLC. www.martinauction.comThurs., Aug. 11. 1 p.m. McDonoughCo. Land Auction. Barbara D. Heap

Farm, MACOMB, IL. SullivanAuctioneers. www.sullivanauction-

eers.comSat., Aug. 20. 9 a.m. Large MultiFarmer Auction. OKAWVILLE, IL.

Riechmann Bros., LLC. www.riech-mannauction.com, www.topauc-tion24-7.com and www.biddersand-

buyers.comTues., Aug. 23. 83.91 Ac. LaSalle Co.Soy Capital Ag Services, www.soy-

capitalag.comThurs., Aug. 25. Summer Farm

Closeout and Consignment Auction.Agri-Tech Inc., RAYMOND, IL.

Wed., Sept. 7. 605 Ac. Edgar Co. SoyCapital Ag Services, www.soycapita-

lag.com

markets


Rail complaint fees lowered; service improving?BY MARTIN ROSSFarmWeek

Rail customer satisfactionappears to be at a recent high.New federal reforms mayassure greater satisfaction forthose off the beaten track,according to Soy Transporta-tion Coalition (STC) Execu-tive Director Mike Steenhoek.

The federal Surface Trans-portation Board (STB)announced it would reducefees customers must pay tofile freight rate or “unreason-able practice” complaintsagainst carriers from a current$20,000 to $350. Shippershave argued high fees haveresulted in STB being “inac-cessible to those receivingunreliable rail service or pay-ing exorbitant rates,”

A drop in fees is “verywelcome news” for co-ops,small elevators, ethanol plants,and others, Steenhoek said.

“When one of the services(STB) provides is a process toseek rate relief or relief from

pressed” harvest that added tocarrier pressures in 2010,Steenhoek noted “quite favor-able” feedback even last fall.

Illinois Farm Bureau trans-portation specialist Kevin Rundreported a positive outlook at aMidwest Association of RailShippers conference last week.Steenhoek cited “a prettyrobust investment schedule”among key carriers, especially inresponse to production growthin the Northwest.

Major carriers had nearly athird of their rail cars in stor-age only a year or two ago.The number of stored carsnow has dropped closer to 10-15 percent of the fleet, Rundsaid.

“That’s an indicationfreight shipment is comingback,” he said. “It also mightspeak to the fact that withhigh fuel prices, some freight’sbeen shifted from truck torail.”

what may be classified as anunreasonable or burdensomepractice, but you have filingfees above $20,000, it reallycan be a barrier for an entityto get any kind of responsefrom the agency,” he toldFarmWeek.

“First, you have to makesure the potential reward ofsetting foot on this path jus-tifies that exorbitant cost.You often incur additionalcosts like attorney fees thatmake the whole processmore expensive. This verymuch restores the balancebetween railroads and railcustomers.”

Steenhoek doesn’t believethe downward adjustment willopen the floodgates to com-plaints. Large agribusinesseshave greater resources to pur-sue grievances, while smaller,remote customers often aredependent on a single carrierand are wary of “introducingfriction” into that relationship,he said.

But he suggests lower ratesmay spur greater carrier “cus-tomer orientation.” Steenhoeksees carriers “making someprogress,” based on STC’sannual spring rail “reportcard.”

Union Pacific was namedtop performer among sevenClass I railroads in STC’s sec-ond Rail Customer Satisfac-tion Index.

The survey included ship-pers of various sizes andscales and covered time per-formance, customer service,and costs.

Survey respondents gave2010 last-place carrier Cana-dian National a 38 percenthigher score, nudging it tothird place. BNSF, 2010’stop-rated railroad, slipped tosecond place; Canadian Pacif-ic rated lowest in perform-ance.

Shippers provided carriersan average 10 percent higherscore over 2010. Despite highgrain volumes and a “com-

Bishop: Many challengesare ahead for agricultureBY DANIEL GRANTFarmWeek

When it comes to feeding a larger popula-tion in the future, producing more with lesswill be a necessity, according to Grady Bish-op, director of the U.S. swine business unitfor Elanco Animal Health.

Bishop on July 27 will discuss “UsingKnowledge and Technology to Satisfy Localand Global Consumer Choices” at the Illi-nois Farm Bureau Commodities Conferenceat the Marriott Hotel and Conference Centerin Normal. He will be the keynote speaker atthe event.

“There are many challenges ahead of us” in agriculture,Bishop told the RFD Radio Network.

He noted the world population is projected to jump from 7billion people this year to 9 billion within the next 50 years.

“If we continue to grow the population the next 50 years,we’re going to have to double (the current) amount of foodproduction,” he said. Bishop will discuss how technology willhelp farmers meet that challenge.

He also will discuss how consumer buying/purchasingtrends and food marketing trends will affect ag production.

Identifying consumer demands and meeting those demandsalso will be a focus during the breakout sessions at the event.

Dennis Vercler, IFB director of news and communications,will make a presentation titled, “Illinois Farm Families: Build-ing Trust, One Consumer at a Time,” while Lori Laughlin, IFBdirector of issues management, will make a presentation titled,“Communicating with Consumers.”

More information about the Commodities Conference,including registration, is available online at {www.ilfb.org} andat county Farm Bureau offices.

Grady Bishop

ENERGY


MAKING A STATEMENT

Darren Riskedal of Leland in LaSalle County sported a message on the back of his T-shirt last weekwhile volunteering during the 4-H hog show at the LaSalle County Fair. Riskedal is president of FFASection 7, which includes Somonauk, Leland, and Sandwich schools. (Photo by Ken Kashian)

Producers weigh pros, cons of new cropBY MARTIN ROSSFarmWeek

Wendel Lutz recalls Illinois’forays into canola, Austrianpeas, and a parade of otherwould-be crop contenders thatfailed to take root.

But while the Champaign-area producer takes a cautiousview of potential new opportu-nities, he told FarmWeek his“natural curiosity” remains“unscathed.” Lutz thus was will-ing last week to partake in eggsbenedict and discussion of pen-nycress as a possible new sourceof farm revenue.

During one of a series ofbreakfast grower “recruitment”meetings in Bloomington, Pen-nycress Partners Inc. (PPI) Pres-ident Brad Glenn cited “a lot ofinterest” in the overwinteringoilseed crop. “Obviously, withthis being a new crop, there area lot of questions,” he nonethe-less noted.

Pennycress can be planted asan energy/cover crop followingcorn or soybean harvest andharvested prior to spring plant-ing, and its seed has a 36 per-cent oil content deemed optimalfor renewable diesel production.PPI seeks to contract 10,000acres to seed this fall.

Over the course of “severalhostile springs,” wheat has failedto provide Lutz the optimalrotation option he seeks. Hehopes to determine whetherpennycress might offer ahardier, “more dependable”winter alternative for ensuringsoil health as well as an addi-tional income source.

At the same time, givenrecently dicey conditions, Lutzsaid he must weigh the timing ofpennycress harvest against the

continues BCAP energy cropfunding, “we’ll certainly takeanother run at it,” Johnsen toldFarmWeek.

“Clearly, we have a model for

economic and environmentalbenefit that’s second to none,”argued Johnsen, former directorof USDA’s Peoria ag researchlaboratory.

need to deal with any springplanting complications.

“A profitable crop can takeup any portion of your time,”Lutz said. “That’s OK. But it hasto be profitable, you have tohave distribution, you have tohave a price, and you have tohave a track record of a goodyield.

“And the logistics have towork out — I’m as interested inthe logistics of how we’re goingto do this type of thing as muchas in what the returns are. Howare we going to handle this stuffout of the field? Do I have tohold onto it? How far away do Ihave to haul it or get it hauled?”

McLean grain farmer RandyStrubhar sees pennycress as apossible double-crop option thatcould help him extract addedprofit from more marginalground. He finds the prospectof a new overwinter option“very appealing.”

Following germination, pen-nycress develops “rosettes” (leafclusters) that help store energyover the winter months. Beyondcontributing to hardiness, thatalso enables plants to flower andset seed early, “with more pro-ductivity,” according to PeterJohnsen, chief technology offi-cer with PPI partner ArvensTechnology Inc.

Beyond agronomic and logis-tical concerns, energy crop pro-duction is a relatively new fron-tier. But as the “food vs. fuel”issue continues to flavor debateover corn ethanol incentives,Glenn notes pennycress is “anon-food alternative that doesn’tdisplace corn or soybeans,” andthus is less vulnerable to publicperception.

PPI sought a development

boost through USDA BiomassCrop Assistance Program(BCAP) “project area” funding,but its application was declinedat the federal level. If Congress


mArKETs


July 19University of Illinois Northern IllinoisResearch Center field day, near Shabbona.Tours to start at 4 p.m. For information, con-tact Russ Higgins at 815-274-1343.

July 20University of Illinois Northwest Research Centerfield day, Monmouth. Tours start at 9 a.m. Forinformation, call the center at 309-734-7459.

Good agricultural practices workshop, 9 a.m.to 3 p.m., University of Illinois Extension cen-ter, Westchester. For information or to regis-ter, call 708-679-6889.

July 24Pull and Cast for Illinois AgricultureEducation, World Shooting and RecreationComplex, Sparta.

July 27

Illinois Farm Bureau Commodities Conference,Marriott Hotel and Conference Center, Normal.

July 28University of Illinois Brownstown ResearchCenter field day, Brownstown. Tours start at 9a.m. For information, call 618-427-5239.

Aug. 3Western Illinois University Allison OrganicFarm field day, near Roseville, starting at9:30 a.m. Advance registration required formorning session and lunch. Call IllinoisOrganic Growers at 217-454-1204.

Aug. 4University of Illinois Dixon Springs AgriculturalResearch Center field day, 9 a.m. to noon,near Simpson. For more information, callDixon Springs at 618-695-2441.

Aug. 12-21Illinois State Fair, Springfield.

DATEBOOK

BY DANIEL GRANTFarmWeek

Wild price swings in thecrop markets no longer areunusual.

In fact, it may be the newnorm, according to Jack Scov-ille, vice president of PriceFutures Group.

Scoville last week said pro-jected corn prices the rest ofthis year could range from alow of $4.50 per bushel(although he believes the lowend of the range is closer to$5.50) to a high of $8-plus.

“I expect highly volatilegrain prices the next sixmonths,” Scoville said duringthe Dow Jones Indexes mid-year commodity outlook meet-ing in Chicago.

Uncertainty about potentialcrop yields, total acres, andweather concerns will fuel thevolatility, he noted.

USDA currently is resurvey-ing farmers in some states torecalculate its crop acreage esti-mates. The new estimates won’tbe known until next month.

Meanwhile, a recent bout ofhigh heat and humidity withlittle moisture in some areas ofthe Corn Belt, coupled withthe ongoing drought in thesouthern U.S., is making sometraders and end-users nervousabout potential crop yields.

USDA last week predictednational yield averages of 158.7bushels per acre for corn and43.4 bushels per acre for beans.

The majority of the corn(69 percent) and soybean crops(66 percent) last week was rat-ed good to excellent.

However, crop developmentis behind after rain delayedplanting, and cool tempera-tures earlier this season slowedgrowth in some areas. Lastweek just 14 percent of thecorn crop was silking com-pared to 36 percent last yearand the average of 26 percent.

Twenty-one percent of soy-beans were blooming com-pared to 38 percent last yearand the average of 33 percent.

“There is reason to believethere could be less than trend-line yields,” Scoville said.“That’s something the marketis trying to define right now —what the potential yield losses

may be, if any, and how will itaffect prices.”

Scoville projected cornprices will trade around $6.75 to$7 if there is reasonably goodweather the rest of this seasonwith a possible drop to $6 orbelow if crop production thisseason is better than expected.

“If there are indicationswe’ve lost yield (due to lostacres or weather issues), therecould be rallies back to $7.50to $8-plus,” he noted.

Soybean prices have anupside to about $13.50 if thereare any production concernsthis season. But if there is areally good crop, prices couldtest $10, Scoville added.

Analyst expects roller coasterride to continue in crop markets

‘There is reasonto believe therec o u l d b e l e s sthan t rend- l ineyields.’

— Jack ScovilleVice President

Price Futures Group

trade


Ag panel views mutual benefits of trade and aidBY MARTIN ROSSFarmWeek

Capitol Hill is a strategiccommand center in the war onhunger and the battle to buildag markets abroad, according toa congressionally backed Wash-ington hunger organization.

Last week, U.S. House Agforeign ag subcommittee Chair-man Timothy Johnson, anUrbana Republican, led a farmbill hearing on trade, food aid,and ag development programs.

Subcommittee rankingDemocrat Jim Costa (D-Calif.)touted the benefits of tradeand aid programs “for Ameri-can farmers, our economy, andin advancing our foreign policyobjectives.” Ag exports supportnearly 1 million jobs and athird of U.S. ag sales, officialstestified at the hearing.

Suzanne Heinen, USDAForeign Agricultural Serviceacting administrator, arguedexport development programssuch as the farm bill’s MarketAccess Program (MAP) havebeen a key component in build-ing relations between U.S.

industries andtheir foreigncounterpartsand customers.

MAP hasbeen a repeat-ed congres-sional budgettarget, thoughit survivedrecent Houseproposals to eliminate pro-gram funding.

Food aid also faces thebudget knife. Nancy Lindborg,U.S. Agency for InternationalDevelopment assistant adminis-trator, noted many recipients ofendangered federal Food forPeace Title II aid “have becomeself-sufficient or even foodexporters and international(food) donors themselves.”

Margaret Zeigler is deputydirector with the non-profit,bipartisan Congressional HungerCenter, which aims to createwhat she called “a new genera-tion of anti-hunger leaders.”Congress can help “end hungerthrough public policy” whilebuilding future markets for U.S.

goods, she told FarmWeek at aWashington ag-industrial devel-opment “summit.”

The House’s fiscal 2012 agspending bill was “very hard onour traditional food aid andassistance programs,” Zeiglersaid. She cited AppropriationsAg Subcommittee ChairmanJack Kingston’s (R-Ga.) successin blocking moves to complete-ly “zero out” major programs,and hoped the Senate wouldrestore at least a share of fund-ing struck by the House.

“The ability for the U.S. toexport machinery and crops andtechnology and seed to develop-ing countries can be supportedby these (aid) partnerships, aswell as those countries beingable to export to us,” Zeiglerstressed. “Trade is a win-win foreveryone involved.”

Former House Select Commit-tee on Hunger Chairman TonyHall launched the Hunger Centerin 1993. Reps. Jo Ann Emerson(R-Mo.) and James McGovern(D-Mass.) — co-chairmen of theHouse Hunger Caucus — arecenter board co-chairmen.

Latest biotech/butterflyflap underlines needfor sound product data

The monarch butterfly once was the mascot of the move-ment against Bt corn. Now, it has emerged at the center of con-troversy surrounding Roundup Ready corn and soybeans.

The debate focuses on the eradication of milkweed —whichharbors and provides food for the insect — from at least 100million row-crop acres. Use of glyphosate-tolerant crops hasenabled widespread use of Roundup herbicides, and as a result,milkweed is “virtually gone,” said University of Kansas insectecologist Chip Taylor.

That threatens the monarch, Taylor argued. A new paper inthe Insect Conservation and Diversity journal attributesreduced winter monarch populations in central Mexico in partto milkweed “losses” in points as distant as the Midwest.

The study cites other possible factors including weatherextremes, land development, and illegal Mexican logging.

Monsanto scientist Tom Helscher notes a separate study indi-cating reduced milkweed populations in Iowa are “poorly corre-lated with estimates of the size of overwintering (butterfly)populations in Mexico,” and questioned “what effects weedmanagement has had on the migration overall.”

“The question only becomes more complex when consider-ing the North American habitat broadly, where land use, nativevegetation, climate, and farm practices differ significantly fromregion to region” Helscher told FarmWeek.

Biotechnology Industry Organization spokesman KarenBatra cited additional speculation that monarch populationshaven’t so much declined as migratory patterns have “fluctuat-ed” with land use and other changes.

Noting media accounts quoting one entomologist as labelingthe monarch “the Bambi of the insect world,” Batra stressedthe need to “keep the arguments reason-based and not emo-tion-based.”

That’s vital as developing nations sort the pros and cons ofGMO crops that could contribute to food security, according toMargaret Zeigler, deputy director with the CongressionalHunger Center.

Zeigler sees “a real need for improvement in yields and thenutritional quality of foods,” possibly through advances inindigenous crops such as millet, sorghum, or cassava. Thatrequires “honest dialogue” between government officials, globalfood agencies, biotech companies, and nations like the U.S.experienced in GMO production and regulation, she said.

She defended the federal “Feed the Future” Program andsimilar initiatives that provide information and support todeveloping country policymakers and ag/food ministries butthat currently are under the congressional budget ax.

“Those budgets contain ag research support for universitiesin the U.S. and in partnerships overseas, to assist countries indeveloping policy and regulatory frameworks and better under-standing the science around improved agriculture and biotech-nology applications,” Zeigler told FarmWeek. — Martin Ross

Rep. Tim Johnson

Horse Days to offer equineworkshops, competitions

Horse Days 2011 will bring several activities and events forthe first time to the Boone County Fairgrounds, Belvidere, Aug.19-21. Illinois Farm Bureau is one of the sponsors.

The hours will be 6 a.m. to 11 p.m. each day. A main feature will be a horse pull competition featuring hors-

es from throughout the Midwest and Canada. The event will include a horse show with Western and English

events, a drill team demonstration with teams of miniature hors-es, and demonstrations and contests for dogs.

Workshops will be offered on a variety of topics, and anexhibit area will feature products and services offered by morethan 100 vendors.

The daily admission cost is $7 per person at the gate. FarmBureau members will receive a $2 discount on admission tickets.Children younger than 12 and adults older than 65 may attendfree of charge. A three-day pass is available for $35 in advance.Campsites are available on the grounds.

For more information or to buy a three-day pass, call 866-675-2783 or by go online to {www.horsedays.net}.

from the counties


COLES — The ColesCounty ag breakfast will

be at 7 a.m. Tuesday, July 26, atthe Lumpkin Education Center,Sarah Bush Lincoln Health Cen-ter, Charleston. Jim Angel, stateclimatologist, will be the speaker.Cost is $7. Call the FarmBureau office at 217-345-3276for more information.

EFFINGHAM — FarmBureau is taking orders

for Red Haven peaches untilMonday, July 25. Cost of onebushel is $36; one-half bushel,$19; and one-fourth bushel, $10.Delivery will be to the FarmBureau office Thursday after-noon, July 28. Call the FarmBureau office at 217-342-2103for more information.

FULTON — FarmBureau will sponsor a

pool party and cookout for allmembers at 6:30 p.m. Friday atBig Creek Park, Canton. Callthe Farm Bureau office at 547-3011 for more information.

• The Women’s Committeewill sponsor a pork cook-offcontest at 11 a.m. Saturday, July30, in the band pavilion at theFulton County Fair. Prize mon-ey will be given. Entry formsare available at the Farm Bureauoffice and in the fair book.Deadline to return entries isTuesday, July 26, to the FarmBureau office. Call the FarmBureau office at 547-3011 formore information.

• The Marketing Committee

and the Canton Ingersoll Air-port will sponsor their annualcrop flyover Thursday and Fri-day, Aug. 4-5. Cost is $30 formembers and $40 for non-mem-bers. Flights will begin at 8 a.m.Participants will go in groups ofthree and are encouraged to reg-ister as groups. Deadline to reg-ister with payment is Tuesday,Aug. 2. Call the Farm Bureauoffice at 547-3011 to register orfor more information.

LEE — The YoungLeader Committee at 10

a.m. Friday will tour the PatriotRenewable Fuels plant inAnnawan and Mower Soil Test-ing Plus Inc. Lunch will be pro-vided. Call the Farm Bureauoffice at 857-3531 or [email protected] for reserva-tions or more information.

LIVINGSTON — TheLivingston County Farm

Bureau Foundation Board willsponsor a booth from 10 a.m. to7 p.m. through Thursday in theCommercial Building during theLivingston County 4-H Fair. Afundraiser of up to 20 itemswith $1 tickets will be sold todetermine the winner. A silentauction will be available for larg-er items. Students who havebeen recipients of scholarships

and Farm Bureau directors willwork the booth during the fair.

MACON — The annualmeeting and apprecia-

tion dinner will be at 6 p.m. Fri-day, July 29, at the Macon Coun-ty Fairgrounds. Tickets are $2and are available at the FarmBureau office through Thursday.

ROCK ISLAND — TheDistrict 3 Farm Bill

Roundtable will be at 6 p.m.Monday, Aug. 8, at the MilanCommunity Center. Dinner willbe served. Jeff Kirwan, District3 Illinois Farm Bureau farm pol-icy task force member, andAdam Nielsen, Illinois FarmBureau director of national leg-islation, will be the speakers.Call the respective Farm Bureauoffices by Thursday, Aug. 4, forreservations or more informa-tion.

• The Rock Island, Henry, andMercer County Farm Bureauswill sponsor an on-the-road sem-inar at 10 a.m. Monday, Aug. 22,at the Reynolds Legion. KevinRund, Illinois Farm Bureau sen-ior director of local government,will be the speaker. Call theRock Island County FarmBureau office at 309-736-7432,the Henry County Farm Bureauoffice at 309-937-3960, or the

Mercer County Farm Bureauoffice at 309-582-5116 for reser-vations or more information.

STARK — The YoungFarmers will sponsor a

kiddie pedal pull at 2:30 p.m.Saturday during the WyomingCorn Boil. Trophies will beawarded to the top three in thefollowing age groups: 4 to 5, 6to 7, 8 to 9, and 10 to 12.

• Farm Bureau will sponsor abus trip Wednesday, Aug. 24, toCirca 21 to see Nana’s NaughtyKnickers. Cost is $80, with pay-ment due with registration. Callthe Farm Bureau office at 286-7481 by Aug. 3 for reservationsor more information.

WOODFORD — Anon-the-road seminar

will be at 7 p.m. Tuesday at theFarm Bureau office. KevinRund, Illinois Farm Bureau sen-ior director of local govern-ment, will provide an update ontrucking and transportation ofgrain. Call the Farm Bureauoffice at 437-2347 for reserva-tions or more information.

“From the counties” items are sub-mitted by county Farm Bureau man-agers. If you have an event or activityopen to all members, contact yourcounty Farm Bureau manager.

A young attendee at the recent Jo Daviess County Farm Bureau FarmFun Day tried her hand at holding a piglet. (Photo courtesy of JoDaviess County Farm Bureau)

350 attend Jo Daviess Farm Fun DayBY ANNETTE MCLANE

The weather may have been threatening rain, but a few raindropsdid not stop more than 350 visitors from Apple Canyon Lake and

the surrounding areas fromattending the Jo DaviessCounty Farm Bureau’s fifthannual Farm Fun Day inlate June.

Attendees had the opportunity to make ice cream, milk a cow,make butter, “drive” a John Deere tractor, prepare a “feed sack” oftrail mix, create “circle of earth” bracelets, make “beanie baby” neck-laces, and visit animals, including a sow and piglets, calves, sheep, andgoats.

Farm Bureau board member Ron Lawfer, his wife, Julie, and son,John, brought two dairy cows that patiently waited as guests had a goat trying to milk by hand. This was by far one of the most popularactivities of the day. Children kept coming back for a second or thirdtime at milking.

“I am just happy to expose people to the world of farming andagriculture,” said Lawfer. “So many people have no idea what’sinvolved in bringing you a glass of milk. I really feel strongly aboutthe farming profession, and this is why I do this. This is a passionfor me.”

Farm Bureau board member George Kepner and his daughtersbrought a sow and piglets, and several young attendees held thepiglets.

Another highlight of the day was making homemade shaken icecream. Everyone got a workout as they shook a Ziploc bag ladenwith cream, milk, sugar, vanilla, ice cubes, and salt into the ice creamtreat.

All in all, the day was a hit, and it was great to see everyone soexcited about promoting agriculture!

Annette McLane is manager of Jo Daviess County Farm Bureau. Her e-mail address is [email protected].

profitability


Feeder pig prices reported to USDA*Weight Range Per Head Weighted Ave. Price10 lbs. $17.00-$48.97 $34.8440 lbs. $37.00-$69.58 $53.1250 lbs. n/a n/aReceipts This Week Last Week 27,286 36,039*Eastern Corn Belt prices picked up at seller’s farm

MARKET FACTS

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

This week Prev. week ChangeCarcass $88.72 $91.62 -2.90Live $65.65 $67.80 -2.15

Export inspections(Million bushels)

Week ending Soybeans Wheat Corn7-07-11 4.5 21.1 31.76-30-11 5.2 25.5 36.5Last year 7.1 14.2 38.8Season total 1428.6 124.5 1517.6Previous season total 1377.3 87.3 1571.9USDA projected total 1540 1295 1900Crop marketing year began June 1 for wheat and Sept. 1 for corn and soybeans.

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

Steers 110.74 114.00 -3.26Heifers n/a 137.48 n/a

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 Change 139.33 137.48 1.85

CME feeder cattle index — 600-800 Lbs.

Slaughter Prices - Negotiated, Live, wooled and shorn 120-185 lbs. for191.32-220 $/cwt. (wtd. ave. 204); dressed, no sales reported.

Lamb prices

Using technology to monitor your crop fieldsBY SID PARKS

You’ve likely heard itsaid, “You can hear thecorn growing!” While myears are certainly not that

good, youcan definite-ly see rapidgrowth overa just a fewdays withgood mois-ture andheat that weare experi-

encing this time of year.As the corn crop nears

full height, walking fieldsscouting for pests or irreg-ular areas isn’t a lot of fun,especially on hot, humiddays. As a result, someproducers and serviceproviders alike may settlefor scouting things fromthe road.

In these circumstances,wouldn’t it be great to seewhat is happening insidethe field? One option youmight consider is remotesensed imagery.

While not a new technol-ogy, remote sensed imageryis gaining popularity inrecent years and for severalreasons. Among these areincreased access, improvedtechnology, larger farms,and higher crop prices.

Several sources ofimagery are available,

including that taken bysatellite or aerial sensors,mounted on airplanes oreven smaller remote con-trolled drones.

Types of image productsavailable vary from simplecolor or black and whitephotos, to image productsderived from using otherwavelengths of light.

The basic principle isplants and soils haveunique light absorption andreflectance signatures. Thisresults in the colors andtextures being “seen” dif-ferently, and be used torender an image product

that imitates crop growthor stress.

While these products canbe used to identify poten-tial areas of variability infields, they won’t definitelytell you the cause. Theycan become the basis fordeveloping managementzones, or help direct atten-tion to a particular area in afield for ground-basedscouting.

Other uses include moni-toring damage from storms,or estimating potential cropyields.

Remote sensed imageproducts use various com-

binations of light wave-length and reflectance toreveal variation differencesin crop performance oroccurrences of crop stress.

Types of image productsinclude ground cover orcrop density maps, relativegreenness maps, soil bright-ness, and NDVI (Normal-ized Difference VegetationIndex).

Costs for products andservices vary based uponproduct type, image resolu-tion, frequency, and serviceprovider. Higher resolu-tion provides sharperdetail, but makes imagery

more expensive.I would encourage you to

consider how remoteimagery might be of use toyou in your future opera-tion management and deci-sion making.

Your FS crop specialisthas access to tools andservices to help with infor-mation management,empowering you to be ableto use this information onyour farm.

Sid Parks is GROW-MARK’s manager of precisionfarming . His e-mail address [email protected].

Sid Parks

USDA boosts corn, wheat exports but lowers price forecastBY DANIEL GRANTFarmWeek

USDA last week sur-prised some traders when itraised its estimates of cornexports and corn used forethanol by 100 millionbushels each.

The jump in cornexports was tied to rumorsof increased purchasesfrom China.

The Ag Department alsoraised its projection forwheat exports by 100 mil-lion bushels.

“Everybody was kind ofstepping back from thenegatives (of recent priceaction in the crop markets)

thinking China is going tocome to the market in a bigway,” Dale Durchholz,AgriVisor market analyst,told the RFD Radio Net-work. “That remains to beseen.”

Large supplies of corn,wheat, and soybeans, how-ever, are expected to keep alid on prices despite thebump in usage projections.Season-average crop priceestimates last week werelowered by 40 cents to asmuch as $1 per bushel (seegraphic).

USDA last week project-ed U.S. winter wheat pro-duction this year will total1.49 billion bushels, up 3percent from last month.The national average wheatyield was projected at 46.2bushels per acre.

In Illinois, the averagewheat yield was projectedat 61 bushels per acre,down 1 bushel from theJune estimate. Wheat har-vest as of the first of lastweek was 86 percent com-plete statewide, just 1 per-cent behind the five-yearaverage pace.

Meanwhile, USDA lastweek raised its corn pro-duction estimate for theU.S. by 270 million bushelsand boosted ending stocks175 million bushels to 870million bushels based onlast month’s larger-than-

expected estimate of plant-ed acres (92.3 million).

“The usage numbersunderpin the importance ofthe next six to eightweeks,” said Brian Basting,market analyst withAdvance Trading, during ateleconference hosted bythe Minneapolis GrainExchange. “It’s critical weget a good finish this sea-son.

“We’ve seen indicationsof quite a bit of heat in alot of areas (in the U.S.),”he continued. “Heat is notgood for corn, especially atpollination.”

Basting believes USDA,which currently is resurvey-ing some farmers aboutplanted acres, ultimatelycould revise its acreageestimates for corn andwheat.

The amount of springwheat acres expected to beharvested for grain was leftunchanged from last monthat 13.2 million acres.

“That number has to betaken with a grain of salt,”Basting said. “We expectsome reduction of thenumbers next month, withestimates of a half-millionto one million acres lost(from spring wheat produc-tion due to f looding in thenorthern Corn Belt).

For soybeans, USDA lastweek reduced its produc-tion estimate by 60 millionbushels to 3.225 billionbushels, estimated a nation-al yield average of 43.4bushels per acre, trimmedexports by 25 millionbushels (to 1.495 billionbushels), and lowered end-ing stocks by 15 millionbushels to 175 millionbushels.

PROFITABILITY

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

309-557-3147

AgriVisor LLC is not liable for any damageswhich anyone may sustain by reason of inac-curacy or inadequacy of information providedherein, any error of judgment involving anyprojections, recommendations, or advice orany other act of omission.

CASH STRATEGISTCorn Strategy

ü2010 crop: If you stillhave old-crop, make sure basisis locked up. Use rallies nearthe $7.23 high on Decemberto complete pricing.

ü2011 crop: The cornmarket is a classic weathermarket. It’s important toremember, once it peaks, theinitial break usually is fasterthan the rally. The trend for20-week low due in earlyAugust still implies softer mar-kets are ahead. Strong resist-ance on December futuresstarts at $7.23. Use ralliesabove $7.05 for catch-up sales.We might recommend addinga small sale at any time; checkthe Hotline frequently.

vFundamentals:Demand may have been thestory in the wake of theUSDA supply/demand fore-casts. But now, the focus iswholly on supply. Whileeveryone is focused on thesupply, and the heights pricesmight be carried to, they forgetthat higher prices do have neg-ative demand repercussions.

xFail-safe: If Decemberfalls through $6.60, make suresales are at recommended levels.

Soybean Strategyü2010 crop: With prices

back near the winter highs, it’stime to dispose of any inven-tories you might have.

ü2011 crop: Production riskis the big unknown, but Augustweather is more important tosoybeans than July weather.There’s still a chance of seeingnew highs, but soybeans havehad difficulty moving above $14all year. Use strength for catch-up sales. We could add a smallsale at any time; check the Hot-line frequently.

vFundamentals: Supplyis the cornerstone of currentstrength, along with pricesremaining historically low rel-ative to corn. But the persist-ence of high prices is havingnegative repercussions ondemand. New-crop exportsales are not increasing as fastas they were last year at thistime. And poor margins con-tinue to undermine ourdomestic processing market.The first estimate on June’scrush was 1 million bushels

less than expected.xFail-safe: Make sure

sales are at recommended lev-els if November drops below$13.75.

Wheat Strategyü2011 crop: The short-

term technical picture in wheathas improved and a significantlow may have been estab-lished. The market could gainmomentum with harvest pres-sure starting to ease. Increasesales to 65 percent if ChicagoSeptember futures trade to$7.69. We prefer hedge-to-arrive contracts for winter orspring delivery if you have the

capability to store wheatbecause of the large carry.

vFundamentals: Thewheat market is riding the coat-tails of corn higher, as the overallfundamental picture in wheatremains neutral to negative.Winter wheat harvest in theGreat Plains is peaking with 63percent done. Weather also isbenefiting the late-planted springcrop in the U.S. and Canada.Export business remains routine,with Black Sea countries aggres-sively competing for world busi-ness. Their production expecta-tions continue to improve, as dothose in Western Europe.

wheat production is only 60 per-cent as big as coarse grain, it’sstill a formidable supply.

According to the mostrecent indications, world wheatoutput could get slightly larger.Russian crop expectations haveincreased because of good ear-ly yields. A key private analystraised EU wheat output nearly5 million metric tons (mmt.),183.5 million bushels, becauseof good yield reports.

Outside of the U.S. andChina, there’s an extra 10mmt., and maybe as much as15 mmt. of wheat and coarsegrain compared to the twoyears mentioned. That’sequivalent to 400 million to600 million bushels of corn.

That extra supply, alongwith persistent high prices,could cut into export demandfor U.S. corn and wheat. Thatwould leave extra supplies tomeet potential Chinese cornimports, and domestic feeddemand. And as long aswheat remains abundant andcheap, China might choose tobuy it in lieu of corn.

So amid the current excite-ment about weather and thepotential implications on cornoutput, remember there areother factors that just as quick-ly could be diminishingdemand. A severe drought anda sharp decline in corn outputmight be the only feature thatcould alter this picture.

The corn trade seems to bewholly focused on the plight ofthat particular market, forgettingthe implications wheat couldhave on the fundamental struc-ture. This is especially true in theworld where wheat is fed moreaggressively than it is in the U.S.

The trade should have beenreminded of the substitutabili-ty a couple of weeks ago whenThe Andersons indicated itwas blending wheat into cornto be processed at its ethanolplants. Wheat has long beenused for that purposed in theEuropean Union (EU).

But amid the emerging weath-er concern and Chinese cornbuying, it’s the U.S. and worldcorn/coarse grain fundamentalsthat have gotten the most focus.

The recent estimates for theworld coarse grain supply/ -demand structure suggest poten-tial for record tightness as indi-cated by stocks as a percent ofuse, or days of supply at the endof the marketing year.

But if one adds wheat intothe mix, neither the world situa-tion as a whole, nor the situationoutside of the U.S. and China, isas tight as it was in 2006/2007or 2007/2008. Even though

Cents per bu.

Wheat is key to corn market


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LETTERS TO THE EDITORTake a hard lookat county sales taxEditor:

There is something goodhappening in Illinois K-12schools, and it deserves agood hard look from farmleaders and other civic-mind-ed folks: the 1 percent countysales tax for capital needs forschools.

The law available to all Illi-nois counties is a major shiftin funding school buildingsfrom property taxes to salestaxes.

For those counties thathave adopted the law, it isworking in noteworthy ways.

It is reducing property tax-es, and it is providing a solidrevenue source to update,remodel, and/or build needednew buildings.

In Champaign County, thissummer, 30 constructionprojects are in progress in K-12 schools.

In the cases of Champaignand Urbana, very-long-needednew buildings are in theworks, and much-neededrepairs and updating are hap-pening.

In my local district, most ofthe south half of the county,bonds that were being paid

for by property taxes arebeing funded by the 1 percentsales tax. Imagine!

Illinois has many K-12buildings in the 50- to 100-year age range. Funding newbuildings through propertytaxes has not worked well.

Roofs, windows, heatingsystems, electrical and plumb-ing problems are the norm.Efficiency? Energy conserva-tion? Adequacy? All suffer.

Take a hard look at yourcounty school buildings, andmake a decision about whatshape they are in.

In many more counties, the1 percent county sales tax canhelp reduce and relieve prop-erty taxes, and at the sametime provide a better sourcefor updating, remodeling, orbuilding new buildings foryour students and teachers.LIN WARFEL,Tolono

Advocates organic hogand dairy productionEditor:

According to “Ag Legisla-tive Roundtable immerses indairy issues” (FarmWeek,June 20, 2011), the “most effi-cient” dairy would have 4,000to 5,000 cows (Mr. George

Kasbergen) and the “opti-mum efficient” size of a dairyis 3,500 cows (Mr. Nic Ander-son).

But I found no definitionof efficiency for the “dairyindustry.” Is it some unit ofmilk produced per some unitof labor? Or per some unit offossil energy used? Or some-thing else?

In the same article, per-formance is defined as theaverage milk production. Isthat the average amount ofmilk produced per cow perday? Or per lactation? Orsomething else?

Mr. Anderson says that per-formance (average milk pro-duction) is a measure of thecare given to the cows.

Could the average numberof lactations per cow for aherd also be a measure of thecare given to the cows? Or theaverage cost of antibioticsand veterinary services percow per year? Or somethingelse?

Finally, would many familysmall organic dairies be betteroverall than one dairy ofthousands of cows?

In the same issue ofFarmWeek, the article “Vet-erinarian: Ban on select

antibiotics could backfire”says that antibiotics are usedto “prevent and control dis-eases to maintain the healthof pigs.”

I think that this is in ref-erence to the continuous useof antibiotics in the feed ofswine in confined animalfeeding operations(CAFOs).

But it is neither necessarynor ethical to add antibioticsto our daily diet to maintainour health! The obvious conclusionis that the environment ofCAFOs requires the exten-sive use of antibiotics,whereas the way humansraise their children does not. Thus, the solution is tolearn how to raise swine sothat antibiotics are notneeded to maintain their

health. One way is to raisethem organically. HERMAN BROCKMAN,Congerville

When does cropchange possession?Editor:

A farm owner does notreceive a share of the cropuntil the crop yield is weighedover scales — usually at thelocal elevator where it is soldor stored.

The renter has to weigh thecrop at the scales before divid-ing it. My contract states cropto be divided at elevator.

Bigger trucks and equip-ment tempt government’sgreedy ways but as long asfarmers pay their taxes, theyhave rights to roads.MARTIN SHONK, Annapolis

Recently I went to the homepage ofthe U.S. Department of Agriculture.

Among the subjects highlighted onthe homepage were childhood obesity,waste water treatment plants, climatechange, rooftop gardening, energy, anddietary guidelines. All of these are

important but not top-ics I expected USDA tohighlight.

I did see somethingon food and decidedto follow that linkbecause of the rela-tionship between foodand agriculture.

As a result of thatsimple decision, Ilearned that Macombhas something in com-

mon with Bloomington and Pekin.And Goofy Ridge (an unincorporat-ed community in Mason County) hassomething in common with PeoriaHeights.

The link I followed discussesfood deserts in the United States.

The phrase, food deserts, wasnew to me. But since it was fea-tured on the USDA homepage,I assumed it was fully under-stood in Washington, D.C., butperhaps less well so outside theBeltway.

It turns out food desertshave been discussed in lead sto-ries in a number of publica-tions, including Time magazineand the Chicago Tribune. It is good toknow that those two publications arenow following activities at USDA.

So what is a food desert? It isdefined by USDA as “low-incomecommunities without ready access tohealthy and affordable food.”

To qualify as a low-income com-munity, income in the area must fallbelow certain levels. Further, at least33 percent of that low-income com-munity must reside more than onemile — or in rural areas 10 miles —from a supermarket.

The food desert concept has its

roots in the Healthy Food FinancingInitiative (HFFI), a partnershipbetween USDA, the Treasury Depart-ment, and the Department of Healthand Human Services. The goal of thatpartnership is to develop and equip“grocery stores, small retailers, cornerstores, and farmers’ markets with freshand healthy food.”

A food desert map linked to theUSDA homepage identifies the areas ofthe U.S. that are food deserts. Accord-ing to that map, Macomb and parts ofBloomington, along with Pekin andparts of Peoria are in food deserts.

But Peoria Heights and Goofy Ridgeare not. In fact, most of Illinois is not a

food desert, but parts of Chicago are. Now that the food deserts have

been identified and the HFFI partner-ship agencies are working together, thenext step is for someone to producethe agricultural products — the freshand healthy foods — to go into thegrocery stores so that Macomb, andother places will no longer be consid-ered food deserts.

I saw nothing about that key step onthe USDA homepage. But I will keeplooking.

William Bailey is director of Western IllinoisUniversity’s School of Agriculture. His e-mail address is [email protected].

Finding the Food deserts

ACross illinois

WILLIAMBAILEY

Documents

FarmWeek July 18 2011