FarmWeek May 28 2012

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Monday, May 28, 2012 Two sections Volume 40, No. 22

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

IllINoIS Ag IN THE Class-room should fit nicely with newlearning standards to be adopted bythe state over the next two schoolyears. ..................................................11

To proTEcT their neck andears from the ravages of the sun,far mers should wear a broad-brimmed hat, says a dermatolo-gist. ................................................5

THE IllINoIS Departmentof Agriculture’s future hinges onreforming Medicaid and the statepension system, the IFB boardwas told last week. .........................3

ALL SMILES DOWN ON THE FARM

Kadence Brownlee of Hamilton didn’t let the fact that he is missinghis two front teeth deter him from enjoying the draft horse team atthe Hancock County Farm Bureau’s recent “Down on the Farm”event. In background is Larry Vance of Carthage, who drove theteam owned by Wayne Fecht, also of Carthage. See the story onpage 12. (Photo by Sara Brockman)

Stabenow hopes to ensure South doesn’t rile againBY MARTIN ROSSFarmWeek

Senate Ag Committee Chair-man Debbie Stabenow (D-Mich.) is working to calm anxi-eties south of the Mason-Dixonline so that farm state lawmak-ers can move smoothly toward aLabor Day farm bill deadline.

Stabenow recognizes hercommittee’s farm bill proposal“is still going to have to go to a(House-Senate) conferencecommittee to work out differ-ences,” Illinois Farm BureauPresident Philip Nelson said lastweek in an RFD Radio-FarmWeek interview.

Stabenow hopes to reconcileregional differences prior toscheduled Senate floor debate inJune and well before confereesconvene, he suggested. SenateMajority Leader Harry Reid (D-Nevada) is expected to schedulefarm bill floor debate in June,and if that occurs, Nelson sug-gested the House soon wouldfollow suit.

Existing concerns arefocused in the rice and peanutsectors (and to a lesser extent,some cotton producers), whosee the Senate-proposed Agri-cultural Risk Coverage (ARC)program offering far greaterbenefits for Midwest growers.

Facing likely elimination offarm direct payments, rice andpeanut interests have exploredthe possibility of some type ofcontinued, commodity-specific

countercyclical/target price pro-gram.

One proposed option wouldtrigger assistance if prices fellbelow $10.50 per hundred-weight of rice and $495 per tonof peanuts — well below levelsgrowers have sought.

“I think there is agreementboth in the House and Senateabout (proposed) consolidationof conservation programs from23 to about 13,” Nelson said. “Ithink there’s agreement thatthere need to be some efficien-

cies gained in nutrition as we cutabout $4 billion or so out ofthose programs.

“It really comes down toTitle I (the farm bill commoditytitle). We need to get someresolve there if we’re going totry to move the farm bill beforeelection. And we are concernedabout what the floor fight mightlook like.”

Nelson cited continued talkof capping crop insurance pay-ments, slashing premium sub-sidies, or tying program eligi-bility to individual annualadjusted gross income, espe-cially as the deficit-focusedSenate “Gang of Six” contin-ues to seek budget savings.

Gang of Six member TomCoburn (R-Okla.) authorized arecent Government Accounta-bility Office study of federalcrop insurance costs. Thegroup also includes SenateMajority Whip Dick Durbin, aSpringfield Democrat, andSen. Saxby Chambliss (R-Ga.),a former Senate Ag Commit-tee chairman who is leadingsouthern farm bill negotiators.

Chambliss acknowledgedStabenow’s desire for a timelySenate farm bill vote, butwarned that “without a bloc ofsouthern votes, it’s going to bedifficult.” While seeking “abridge to try to get to confer-ence,” the Georgia senatorwarned “it’s got to be some-thing meaningful.”

Beyond ARC, the SenateAg proposal includes a specialprogram carve-out for cotton— a Stacked Income Protec-tion Plan (known as STAX)option for upland cottongrowers similar to county-based crop insurance cover-age.

University of Illinois ageconomist Gary Schnitkeynoted projections that STAXwould offer greater per-acrepayments than would be trig-gered “under ARC for corn,soybeans, and wheat.”

In any event, the 2012 farmprogram would appear to be amoving target. Nelson advises“there are still details evolving

around ARC,” and suggestedmeetings between IFB leadersand legislators from Illinoiswill be “of the essence” asSenate and House votesapproach.

“There will continue to be

some refinement to (ARC) inthe proposals that are beingdebated,” he said. “As we getcloser to the floor debate, Ithink we’ll get a pretty goodhandle on what the final prod-uct will be.”

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Ag-related bills heading to the governorBY KAY SHIPMANFarmWeek

With an eye on Thursday’sscheduled adjournment, statelawmakers increased the paceof legislative work last week.

Illinois Farm Bureau suc-cessfully secured passage ofone of its legislative priorities,addressing misuse of slow-moving-vehicle (SMV)emblems.

The Senate passed HB4598, sponsored by Rep. PatVerschoore (D-Milan) and Sen.David Koehler (D-Peoria). Thebill now returns to the House

for concurrence.The legislation would

increase the current penaltyfrom $25 to $75 for improperusage of the emblems andexpand the definition of whatis illegal beyond use in a roadright-of-way.

Under the bill, an SMVemblem may be used only onan animal-drawn vehicle, afarm tractor, an implement ofhusbandry, or certain specialmobile equipment.

THE SENATE also passedand forwarded to Gov. PatQuinn HB 5539, which pro-

poses several changes to theIllinois Fertilizer Act. The billwas sponsored by Sen. MichaelFrerichs (D-Champaign) andRep. Lisa Dugan (D-Bradley).IFB supported the measure.

The legislation creates theNutrient Research and Educa-tion Council, a new privateentity made up of grower andfertilizer industry representa-tives that will manage nutrientresearch, education, and waterquality efforts, said Jean Payne,president of the Illinois Fertil-izer and Chemical Association(IFCA).

“This legislation will ensurethat agriculture’s strategy toreduce field nutrient losses andimprove crop yields throughthe ‘Keep it for the Crop’ pro-gram has a sustainable future,”Payne said.

If the governor signs HB5539, money from fertilizerlicensing, registration, andinspection fees will go directlyto the Illinois Department ofAgriculture for fertilizer quali-ty and safety programs. A sep-arate portion will be designat-ed for the Nutrient Research

See Ag bills, page 3

MORE CME CHANGES — Farmers who thought thecrop markets were skittish before or after the release ofUSDA reports in the past could see a new level of volatilityin the near future.

CME Group last week announced it will expand floortrading hours at the Chicago Board of Trade during majorUSDA crop reports, pending certification from the Com-modity Futures Trading Commission.

The expanded trading hours for USDA reports areplanned to begin June 12 with the release of the crop pro-duction and world ag supply and demand estimates.

USDA chief economist Joe Glauber last week announcedUSDA is reviewing release times for several of its major sta-tistical reports due to recent changes in market hours.

BIODIESEL BUZZ — More than 120 biodiesel indus-try leaders swarmed the Hill last week asking Congress toextend an expired biodiesel tax credit and urging the admin-istration to quickly clear EPA proposals to expand mandatedbiodiesel volumes in 2013 under the Renewable Fuel Stan-dard (RFS2).

“Washington’s failure to act on these two issues has effec-tively halted the momentum our industry built last year inproducing a record of nearly 1.1 billion gallons,” said AnneSteckel, National Biodiesel Board (NBB) vice president forfederal affairs. “It is locking up millions of dollars in invest-ments that could be creating jobs, purchasing equipment andfeedstock, and driving economic growth.”

Congress allowed the biodiesel incentive to expire Dec.31, and NBB hailed President Obama’s support for energytax credit extensions in an Iowa speech last week.

But biodiesel advocates have asked the administration toOK plans to increase RFS2 biodiesel volume requirementsto 1.28 billion gallons in 2013, up from 1 billion gallons thisyear. “(That decision) has been caught up in a bureaucraticdelay for nearly a year, without any explanation or justifica-tion,” Steckel said.

SOUNDING OUT FOR SCIENCE — The AmericanFarm Bureau Federation (AFBF) and the BiotechnologyIndustry Organization (BIO) are concerned that a Senateamendment, if approved, would undermine the regulatoryprocess and prevent the Food and Drug Administration(FDA) from fulfilling its mandate to review products basedon “sound science.”

The Senate is moving forward with consideration of theFood and Drug Administration Safety and Innovation Act,and Sen. Lisa Murkowski (R-Alaska) has introduced anamendment that would prevent FDA from making a finaldetermination on genetically enhanced salmon.

“Political interference in the FDA approval processamounts to Congress injecting market competition issuesand factional interests into what has always been a science-based process,” AFBF and BIO wrote in a letter to Senateleaders.

“Once this threshold is crossed, a precedent will be setand the regulatory system will become less credible to U.S.consumers and unpredictable to companies investing ininnovative technologies, as well as to their customers.”

FarmWeek Page 2 Monday, May 28, 2012

(ISSN0197-6680)

Vol. 40 No. 22 May 28, 2012

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

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© 2012 Illinois Agricultural Association

STAFFEditorDave McClelland ([email protected])Legislative Affairs EditorKay Shipman ([email protected])Agricultural Affairs EditorMartin Ross ([email protected])Senior Commodities EditorDaniel Grant ([email protected])Editorial AssistantLinda Goltz ([email protected])Business Production ManagerBob Standard ([email protected])

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Quick TakesENERGY

Tuesday:• Ag Weather with Chesapeake Meteorology• Bob Dinneen, president andCEO, Renewable Fuels Associa-tion• Heather Combs, IAA Founda-tion

Wednesday:• Tim Schweizer, IDNR• Ron Marshel, Fayette CountyFarm Bureau manager• Ken Cripe, Fayette County FarmBureau president• Dr. Chris Wiant, president ofWater, Quality and Health Council

Thursday:• Diane Handley, IFB’s affiliate association manager • David Blume, president ofBlume Distillation• Lance Tarachione, DeKalbagronomist

Friday: • Sara Wyant, AgriPulse• Mike Doherty, IFB economist• Story time with Alan Jarand

Illinois breakthrough unlocks ethanol potentialBY MARTIN ROSSFarmWeek

As the biofuels industryawaits the next big developmentin biomass ethanol, John Cau-pert hails a new “breakthrough”in cost-effectively producing cel-lulosic ethanol from an unex-pected source.

The corn kernel.Last week, Caupert, head of

Edwardsville’s Corn-to-EthanolResearch Center, announced suc-cessful conversion of the non-starch portion of the kernel intoethanol. That represents “the cul-mination of four years’ activity”and “the next step in the evolu-tion of biofuels,” he said.

Ethanol critics have chal-lenged industry ability to rapidlyramp up commercial fuel pro-duction from such sources asswitchgrass, miscanthus, or evencorn stover, despite projectedcellulosic capacity coming onlinein 2013-14.

While existing crop residuesare seen by many as the nextlogical step in cellulosic scale-up,using more of the kernel toimprove ethanol yields offerscurrent biofuels plants another

leg up in cost efficiencies and atesting ground for advanced bio-mass processing.

“The message this sends isthat there is still so much workthat can be done with the feed-stock corn,” Caupert said in anRFD Radio-FarmWeek inter-view. “This should be excitingfor all 211 existing (U.S.) cornethanol plants.

“We are proving theoreticalethanol yield increases of about5 percent through this conver-sion process. What makes thiseven that much more potentiallyattractive to the commercialmarketplace is that every tech-nology used in this particularresearch project is a ‘bolt-on’technology, market-ready today.”

Caupert also is hopefulimprovements in corn-basedethanol yields can help “defuse”continued consumer-media con-troversy over alleged “deple-tion” of food/feed crops forenergy production.

Further, federal biofuelsmandates are based on the

Steve Kelly, left, president of One Earth Energy ethanol plant in GibsonCity, explains the general principles and processes involved in the pro-duction of ethanol and distillers dried grains (DDGS) during a tour ofthe facility to officials from the Japan Ministry of Agriculture, Forestry,and Fisheries. They are left to right, Satoshi Yamada, Daisuke Kojo, andGen Furuhashi. Japan, the No. 1 market for U.S. corn, currently is go-ing through an approval process for low-oil DDGS. One Earth Energybegan operations in 2009 and produces 100 million gallons of ethanoleach year. (Photo by Becky Finfrock, Illinois Corn Growers Associa-tion/Marketing Board)

greenhouse gas “footprint” ofcorn/ethanol production anduse, and a 5 percent yieldboost from corn improves thatprospective footprint. “Weused everything that alreadyexists at the ethanol plant,without incorporating addi-tional (technical) resources orenergy resources,” Caupertrelated.

The center’s project receivedsupport from USDA and morethan $100,000 in matching fund-ing from a Florida company thatmade it possible to leverage anIllinois Department of Com-merce research/developmentgrant.

Resulting findings are “allpublic knowledge,” Caupert not-ed. That means a variety ofethanol plants eventually couldlower costs, improve profits, andoffer lower ethanol pump pricesfor beleaguered motorists.

“At the end of the day, theconsumer, the taxpayer, ownsthis technology,” Caupert main-tained.

GETTING A RECORD EARLY START

Darren and Jesse Drew Friday were harvesting a 20-acre field of wheat east of Benton. The yield was inthe 50- to 55-bushel range (considered somewhat of a disappointment) and the moisture was at 14 per-cent. More combines are expected to get going this week. This is the county’s earliest wheat harvest onrecord by at least two weeks. (Photo courtesy of Franklin County Farm Bureau)

STATE

Page 3 Monday, May 28, 2012 FarmWeek

Continued from page 1and Education Council.

“This is an investment inagriculture and in water quality,”Payne said.

THE SENATE passed HB5642 that authorizes annual per-mit fees for concentrated animalfeeding operations (CAFOs). Itwill be sent to the governor. Thebill was sponsored by SenatorFrerichs and Rep. Michael Tryon(R-Crystal Lake).

Under HB 5642, the permitfees will vary depending on thesize of the operation. CAFOswith 1,000 or more animalunits will pay a $750 fee; thosewith between 300 and 999 ani-mal units, $350; and those withfewer than 300 animal units,$150.

IFB, Illinois Pork ProducersAssociation, Illinois BeefAssociation, and Illinois MilkProducers Association negoti-

ated with the Illinois Environ-mental Protection Agency toclarify that a permit would berequired only if a livestockfarm is discharging “to a waterof the United States.”

Farmers will not be requiredto have a National PollutantDischarge Elimination System(NPDES) permit or pay a fee ifthere is no such discharge or ifthey correct a situation thatmay have caused a discharge.

The number of farms thatwill be required to have a per-mit is expected to be limited.

LEGISLATION imple-menting reorganization of theIllinois Council on Food andAgricultural Research (C-FAR)passed in the Senate. HB 4447would put into place reorgani-zation recommendations madeby agricultural and commoditygroups several years ago. IFBsupports the bill sponsored by

Senator Frerichs and Rep.David Reis (R-Willow Hill).

THE SENATE passed HB5540 that would name the Illi-nois Department of Agricul-ture administration buildingafter John Block, former U.S.agriculture secretary and stateagriculture director. IFB sup-ports the legislation sponsoredby Rep. Don Moffitt (R-Gilson) and Sen. DarinLaHood (R-Dunlap).

IFB backs Quinn’s call for Medicaid, pension reforms

Lawmakers negotiate Medicaid changesState legislators had passed some Medicaid system

changes and continued to debate others at FarmWeekpresstime. Lawmakers were expected to work throughthe weekend given the remaining major issues of statepension reforms and the state budget. The GeneralAssembly is scheduled to adjourn Thursday.

BY KAY SHIPMANIllinois Farm Bureau last

week announced support ofGov. Pat Quinn’s call forreforms of Medicaid and statepension systems before Thurs-day’s scheduled adjournmentof the General Assembly.

Starting Friday, a three-fifths super majority in the leg-islature would be required topass the budget and reforms.

“The ever-increasing cost ofproviding necessary care toIllinois residents through Med-icaid needs to be addressed,”said IFB President Philip Nel-son. “We credit the governorfor putting forward a plan todo that.”

“I sincerely thank the Illi-

nois Farm Bureau,” Quinn saidduring a Statehouse press con-

ference. “Weare grateful tofarmers andfarm familiesacross Illinois.They’re theheart and soulof our state.”

Nelson alsocreditedQuinn for

urging the General Assemblyto address unfunded state pen-sion liabilities.

“It is not easy for someoneto take on the pension sys-tem, and we commend thegovernor for doing that,”Nelson said. “If the state’s

pension liability is notaddressed, it will draw thestate’s budget into a biggerhole.

“This will lead to a contin-uation of a business climatein Illinois that is not attractivefor businesses to locate orexpand here.”

Nelson also recognized thework of legislative leaders indeveloping solutions forreforming Medicaid and pen-sions.

Quinn noted about 40 per-cent of the state’s economy istied to agriculture and relatedindustries.

“Our No. 1 business in Illi-nois, our No. 1 vocation, isagriculture and all the things

that flow from agriculture,”Quinn said.

Currently, the state spends39 percent of its general rev-enue funds on Medicaid andthe state pension systems.

Illinois is expected to havenearly $2 billion in unpaidMedicaid bills by June 30, theend of the fiscal year.

The total is due in part to$1.9 billion in deferred bills

from the previous fiscal yearand to increased enrollmentfor Medicaid during the reces-sion.

Illinois will spend $5.2 bil-lion this fiscal year on thestate pension system. Overall,the state has an estimated $83billion of unfunded pensionliability, due to years of inade-quate pension contributionsand increased benefit costs.Gov. Pat Quinn

State’s ‘red ink,’ IDOA manpower needs raise concerns The future health of the Illinois

Department of Agriculture (IDOA)along with the rest of state govern-ment hinges on reforming Medicaidand the state pension system, theacting Illinois agriculture directorsaid last week.

“We need to stop the red ink,”Bob Flider told Illinois Farm Bureauboard members.

Flider thanked IFB for supportingGov. Pat Quinn’s call for reformingstate pension and Medicaid systems.

“Thank you for stepping forwardin a timely manner,” Flider said.

As the state has tackled budgetdeficits and funding problems,IDOA has seen its employeesreduced and general revenue funding

cut by more than 40 percent in thelast five years.

“IDOA has taken a huge hit overthe years,” Flider said.

Once more than 800 peopleworked at IDOA, now there are 375.In the past 10 years, every bureauhas reduced staff by 40 percent ormore, he said.

Asked about IDOA’s manpower tomonitor grain warehouses and eleva-tors, Flider said he believed there aregood people who are working hardgiven a 47 percent staff reduction in10 years.

“I have concerns that we’restretched thin,” Flider said.

Flider added he also is concerned

some employees may retire early toavoid changes if the General Assem-bly changes the state employee pen-sion system.

However, he didn’t have any esti-mates on how many employees mayretire or the bureaus and/or pro-grams that may be impacted.

In the meantime, IDOA is “push-ing hard to make sure E15 (15 per-cent ethanol blends) gets to market.But the oil industry is putting uproadblocks,” Flider said.

In Illinois, the state fire marshal,the Illinois Environmental Protec-tion Agency, and IDOA have a rolein getting E15 to market, Flider not-ed, adding, “We want to see it getthere.” — Kay Shipman

Syngenta, the principal manufacturer ofatrazine, has agreed to offer $105 million to

settle an 8-year-old law-suit with sev-eral Illinoiscommunitywater supplies.

Last week,the Swiss com-

pany indicated it was awaiting a decision bythe U.S. District Court for the Southern Dis-trict of Illinois on approval of the settle-ment.

Under the agreement, Syngenta “denies

any liability,” and the entities that broughtthe lawsuit acknowledge “they have notcommissioned and are not aware of any newscientific studies related to atrazine.”

Syngenta stated it and attorneys for sever-al community water systems settled the law-suit “to end the business uncertainty” andfurther legal expense.

Water utilities that detected any amount ofatrazine in raw or treated water previously orwithin 90 days of the settlement’s approvalare entitled along with the plaintiffs’ lawyersto payments from the $105-million fund.

Atrazine is used in more than 60 countriesaround the world, according to Syngenta.

FarmWeekNow.com

Listen to an interview with theIllinois Fertilizer and ChemicalAssociation’s Jean Payne aboutt he a t raz ine s e t t l emen t a tFarmWeekNow.com.

Ag bills

The state’s exportsincreased by more than 17percent in the first quarter of2012, according to the gover-nor’s staff. Gov. Pat Quinnwants to double the state’sexports by 2014.

In the first quarter, Illinoisexports totaled $17.2 billion,up from $14.7 billion for thesame period a year ago.

This was the state’s highestquarterly export figure inmore than a decade.

Much of the hike wasattributed to increased sales ofindustrial machinery, petrole-

um and coal products, autosand auto parts, and chemicals.

Illinois continues to rankfirst in the Midwest in exportsand foreign direct investmentand was the sixth largest U.S.exporting state in 2011.

Earlier this year, the gover-nor established the IllinoisExport Advisory Council.

The council, whose mem-bers include Illinois FarmBureau Vice President RichGuebert Jr., is developing rec-ommendations on state andfederal policies and programsrelated to trade.

Syngenta to pay $105 millionto settle atrazine lawsuit

State’s exports up 17 percent

‘We need to stop the red ink.’

— Bob FliderActing Illinois director of agriculture

government


Economist: ARC appears ‘pretty fair’ for IllinoisBY MARTIN ROSSFarmWeek

A new, Senate-proposed rev-enue safety net would have“roughly the same impact” for allIllinois farmers, according to Uni-versity of Illinois economist GarySchnitkey.

Schnitkey offered analysis ofthe proposed new AgriculturalRisk Coverage (ARC) during aHouse Ag Committee hearing on2012 farm bill commodity pro-grams (see accompanying story).

The Senate Ag Committeeargues ARC would help growersnationwide tailor protection,“meaning better protection againstreal risks beyond a farmer’s con-trol.”

ARC participants could useeither their own farm yield orcounty yield as a basis for revenueprotection.

According to CongressionalBudget Office numbers, ARCpayments would be roughly pro-portional to crop value,Schnitkey noted. That differs sig-nificantly from the way paymentscurrently are made based on baseacres and direct payment rates,“and whether that is equitable ornot is something for you all to

decide,” he testified.Because of its flexibility, he

believes ARC — when it pays out— would be equitable for farmersacross Illinois.

“From what I’ve looked at, ARCis a pretty fair program for Illi-nois,” Schnitkey told FarmWeek.“It treats different parts of thestate fairly evenly, and it does fill inin situations where crop insurancewouldn’t make payments.

“More farms in Southern Illi-nois likely would find the farmyield option more attractive. Iwould expect to see more farms inSouthern Illinois using the farmoption, compared with Northernor Central Illinois.”

ARC is a so-called “shallowloss” program, designed to protectagainst significant but non-cata-strophic losses and, in Schnitkey’sview, to serve as a complement tocrop insurance. An alternative“deep loss” program, designed tocover more catastrophic-level loss-es, “would pay very seldom in Illi-nois,” he said.

Illinois would have seen deeploss payouts only a few times overthe past 20-30 years, he concluded.ARC would help growers sufferinga multi-year price decline (see the

$3.50/$4 scenarios in the accom-panying chart), where a deep lossprogram “wouldn’t do anything inthose types of situations,”Schnitkey maintained.

He sees 2012 fall corn prices inthe high $4/low $5 range, given a“normal crop.” Under a normal pro-duction scenario, Schnitkey said,2013 prices could hover around$4.50 — well above ARC’s hypo-thetical payment trigger point.

“You have to get down toroughly $4 before ‘county ARC’would pay,” Schnitkey advised. “Itwould be the same for ‘farm ARC,’as well. ARC will react to the mar-ket: If market forces cause cornprices to come down, there wouldbe payments, but they would tran-sition out over time.”

Given current budget realities,that appears equitable to the Illi-nois Corn Growers Association(ICGA), which solicitedSchnitkey’s ARC analysis.

ICGA reiterated support for aprogram “that does not guaranteeproducer profitability, that oper-ates within the constraints of thefederal budget, that works withcrop insurance programs, and thatencourages a market-driven agri-cultural industry.”

This chart offers various corn price scenarios for poten-tial Champaign County payouts under the proposedAgricultural Risk Coverage (ARC) program. Calculationsinclude five-month prices that would be used in calculat-ing ARC payments (and presumably, prices farmerswould receive), crop revenue reflecting yields time price,per-bushel costs equaling $514 in non-land costs plus a$253-per acre Champaign County cash rent, and netreturns representing revenues plus ARC payments minusprojected costs. (Courtesy of University of Illinois Farm-doc.com and Illinois Corn Growers Association)

Ag groups push funding for export ‘partnerships’Major commodity groups

offer what they deem severalbillion reasons for continuedfarm bill funding of two strate-gic export support programs

The Senate Ag Committee’sfarm bill draft would extend cur-rent funding levels for bothMarket Access Program (MAP)and Foreign Market Develop-ment Cooperator Program(FMD) for five years. But in aletter last week, the U.S. MeatExport Federation (USMEF)acknowledged “it may be tempt-ing for some in Washington tocut funding for these programs.”

MAP helps U.S. farmers,exporters, companies, and non-profit trade groups finance activ-ities aimed at marketing and pro-

support of MAP-FMD funding:• The ag sector posted

trade surpluses of $29.7 bil-lion in fiscal 2010 and $42.7billion in fiscal 2011. Overallag exports are projected at$131 billion for the currentfiscal year, reportedly support-ing 1.1 million-plus U.S. jobs.

• Since MAP was created in1985, U.S. ag exports have risenmore than 400 percent. USDAestimates every $1 of MAP

spending returns $35.• A USDA-commissioned

study of MAP and FMD showsthat from 2002 to 2009, exportgains improved the averageannual level of U.S. farm cashreceipts by $4.4 billion.

• U.S. domestic farm supportpayments have fallen by about$54 million annually due tohigher prices resulting fromincreased demand abroad. —Martin Ross

moting commodities and prod-ucts abroad. MAP participantscontribute a minimum 10-per-cent match for federal funds (or adollar-for-dollar match for specif-ically branded promotions).

FMD uses USDA funds tocreate, expand, and maintainlong-term ag export markets,through cost-share partnershipsbetween USDA and U.S. pro-ducer-processor “cooperators.”

USMEF called MAP andFMD “successful public-privatepartnerships” targeting smallbusinesses and ag co-ops.

“They’re absolutely importantto continued development ofoverseas markets,” AmericanSoybean Association spokesmanPatrick Delaney told FarmWeek.

“A lot of our members haveworked hand-in-hand with thoseprograms over the years and haveas a direct result seen overseasmarkets open up to them.

“And they go hand-in-handwith things like expandingtrade agreements, like (theprospective multi-nation)Trans-Pacific Partnership.”

USDA’s Foreign AgriculturalService (FAS) last weekannounced changes to MAPregulations aimed at clarifying,streamlining, and, ideally,improving cost efficiencies inprogram requirements. Thoseinclude expanded fraud preven-tion efforts and simplification ofthe MAP application process.

USMEF offers these points in

Global soy demand may be on the rise, butfor companies such as The DeLong Co. Inc.,identifying the right customer for the right prod-uct is crucial to tapping that demand.

DeLong, a Wisconsin-based elevator/suppli-er/exporter with containerized “trans-shipping”facilities at Joliet, has made use of the federal-ly funded Market Access Program (MAP) andForeign Market Development Cooperator Pro-gram (FMD).

With the help of those programs, DeLonghas worked closely with the United States Soy-bean Export Council (USSEC), which helpspromote soy products at international tradeshows and helps connect marketers withprospective global customers.

“Being a small- to medium-sized exporter,we don’t have the luxury of having offices orcontacts overseas,” DeLong export sales man-ager Brandon Bickham told FarmWeek.

“In the initial stages of our export business,when we were really starting to grow, we made

our contacts, found all of our new customersthrough the USSEC/ASAIM (American Soy-bean Association International Marketing)offices overseas.

“It would have been a very difficult proposi-tion to seek out good customers we couldmake good long-term relationships with with-out having the introduction we got from boththe U.S. Grains Council on the corn and DDGS(distillers dried grains) side and the U.S. Soy-bean Export Council on the soybean/soybeanmeal side,” he said.

Federal export promotion funding has aid-ed greatly in “taking a lot of the search anddiscovery” out of identifying foreign tofu orsoy “milk” producers or other buyers for spe-cialty beans, Bickham said. He creditedMAP/FMD in particular with helpingDeLong’s trade in non-GMO soybeans.

DeLong received Illinois’ AgricultureExporter of the Year in 2011, following nomi-nation by Gov. Pat Quinn. — Martin Ross

Export programs beneficial for Midwest shipper

USDA expands credit optionsUSDA last week announced it made substantial gains in expand-

ing credit opportunities for farmers around the country.Since 2008, the number of loans to beginning farmers climbed

from 11,000 to 15,000. Meanwhile, the total value of loans in persistent-poverty counties

since 2010 has increased 60 percent.“Over the past three years, we have expanded farm and operating

loans to Americans from all backgrounds to help raise a new crop ofproducers across the country,” said Ag Secretary Tom Vilsack.

USDA currently is seeking comments on a new microloan pro-gram designed to help small and family operations progress throughstart-up years until they eventually build enough capacity and equityto graduate to commercial credit.

Small farmers often rely on credit cards or personal loans, whichcarry high interest rates and have less-flexible payment schedules,according to USDA. The new microloan program, which would befor loans of less than $35,000, would offer more efficient processingtime of loans, add flexibility to some of the eligibility requirements,and reduce the application requirements.

USDA farm loans can be used to purchase land, livestock, equip-ment, feed, seed, and supplies or to construct buildings or makefarm improvements.

Farmers have until July 23 to submit comments about changes to theOperating Loan Program, which includes addition of the micro-loanproposal. The rule can be viewed at the website {www.fsa.usda.gov}.

Comments may be submitted online at {www.regulations.gov} orby mail to: Director, Loan Making Division, FSA, USDA, 1400Independence Ave, SW, Stop 0522, Washington, DC 20250-0522.

production


Dryness concerns intensify as temps heat upBY DANIEL GRANTFarmWeek

The good news for manyfarmers so far this season ismuch of the crop was plantedin a timely manner.

Corn planting in the stateas of the first of last weekwas 99 percent complete,well ahead of the five-yearaverage of 79 percent, while80 percent of soybeans werein the ground compared tothe average of just 37 per-cent.

“Many farmers took advan-tage of (warm and dry) condi-tions to continue planting,spraying crops, and cuttinghay,” the National AgriculturalStatistics Service Illinois fieldoffice staff noted last week inits weekly crop progressupdate.

The bad news, though, is a

because they’re waiting forsome type of rain,” Lewissaid. “I cut hay (Thursday) andgot about 25 percent of whatwe had last year.”

Crops in the majority ofthe state in the near termshould be able to get by ontopsoil or subsoil moisture,according to EmersonNafziger, University of IllinoisExtension crop systems spe-cialist.

Topsoil moisture statewidelast week was rated 3 percentsurplus, 64 percent adequate,and 33 percent short or veryshort.

“There should be enoughwater to keep the crop grow-

ing well into June,” Nafzigersaid. “At some point, ofcourse, we will need rain tokeep the crop growing up toits potential.”

The U of I noted the com-bination of early planting fol-lowed by dryness has resultedin some failures of corn rootsystems, which have produced“floppy corn” in parts ofNorthwestern and WesternIllinois and southeastern Iowa.

“The corn on the lightersoils is showing signs of stressas the moisture is getting awayfrom the roots,” said BernieWalsh, a FarmWeek Crop-watcher from WinnebagoCounty.

lack of rainfall is stressingsome of the early-plantedcrops and making it difficultfor freshly planted seeds togerminate.

“It’s like a desert here,” saidLonnie Lewis, president of thePope-Hardin Farm Bureauwho farms on both sides ofthe Ohio River. “It looks likeJuly.”

Portions of Northern, Cen-tral, and much of SouthernIllinois last week were rated“abnormally” dry by the U.S.Drought Monitor. There alsowere pockets in deep SouthernIllinois, Lewis’ farm included,in moderate or severe drought,according to the monitor.

And the situation wasexpected to worsen over theweekend as some of thehottest temperatures so farthis year (mid- to high 90s and

possibly approaching 100degrees in some areas) wereprojected to envelope thestate.

“We haven’t had enoughrain to get to the seed depthsince we planted in earlyApril,” said Lewis, who notedjust a few tenths of rain havefallen on his farm since April1. “We planted no-till cornand the ground is so hard theroots can’t grow.”

Meanwhile, many farmersin the drought-ravaged areasare delaying soybean plantinguntil there is moisture to ger-minate the seeds.

“A lot of guys haven’tplanted beans for six weeks

Hager: Dust may contributeto herbicide control issuesBY KAY SHIPMANFarmWeek

Farmers need to be aware that dusty field conditions mayreduce the effectiveness of postemergence herbicides, espe-cially glyphosate, according to Aaron Hager, University ofIllinois weed scientist.

“In some parts of the state it is dusty. Be aware this mighthappen. This could result in reduced weed control,” Hagertold FarmWeek.

Early planting and early emergence coinciding with drysoils have resulted in large amounts of dust in the air and set-tling on weed leaves when farmers are applying postemer-gence herbicides.

“Glyphosate is the big one ... it tightly absorbs soil parti-cles,” Hager explained.

Dust-coated weed leaf surfaces may reduce the herbicide’seffectiveness because some of the chemical may be absorbedmore by dust than the weeds.

Hager also noted herbicides require time to penetratethe waxy surfaces of weed leaves that may be coveredwith dust.

Unfortunately, there are no good answers to the problemother than a rain.

Given the height of weeds and the timing of herbicideapplications, weed scientists know farmers need to imple-ment management plans, Hager said.

He encouraged farmers to scout fields that were sprayedunder dusty conditions and consider follow-up treatment ifneeded.

Lethal exposure 2012: Working safely in the sun

sue mutations that result incancers, the subtle agingeffects of UVA rays can mask“pre-malignant” or lethalgrowths.

Most sunscreens begin tolose effectiveness after twohours, and Buescher recom-mends re-application atmid-morning or lunch. Shenoted some spray sun-screens provide the sameprotection as creams orlotions with a cleaner skin

feel. She urged use of sunglass-

es with UV protection to pre-vent melanomas that candevelop in the eye. Protectingthe neck and ears poses achallenge: Buescher recom-mended a broad-brimmed hatbe worn.

She recognized the rela-tionship between farmers andseed caps, but stressed cancerson the ears and scalp can betough to detect or treat in atimely manner. A bandanna or“doo-rag” over head and earscan provide some protection.

Even then, selection is key.A white T-shirt or rag canincrease light reflectivity andrisks to surrounding skin.Heat exhaustion also is apotential field hazard —Buescher cited increased avail-ability of lighter-weight UV-protective shirts, possibly onthe Internet.

Finally, farmers are notimmune to skin cancer risksinside a tractor or combinecab. Window glass helps blockUVB rays, but does little toprevent skin damage fromUVA rays, she said.

“It just gives people a falsesense of security,” Buescherwarned, advising farmers touse the same protective wearinside and outside of the cab.

BY MARTIN ROSSFarmWeek

To many farmers, the feelof the sun on their face maybe the best part of a day’sfieldwork. A few basic meas-ures can help producers avoiddiscovering summer’s darkerside.

To promote sun safety,the National Council onSkin Cancer Preventiondeclared last Friday “Don’tFry Day.” Skin cancer’s onthe rise due to ultraviolet(UV) overexposure. TheAmerican Cancer Society thisyear projects 76,000-plus newcases of malignant melanoma,the most serious form.

The Skin Cancer Founda-tion notes outdoor workersexperience twice the level ofnon-melanoma cancers asthose who work indoors.Lucinda Buescher, dermatol-ogy residency program direc-tor with Southern IllinoisHealthcare, told FarmWeekon-farm UV exposure neces-sitates farmers “being diligentand routine about using sun-protective measures.”

“They can use equipmentthat’s covered when possible,”she said. “I know a lot offarmers who wear long sleevesthroughout summer to protecttheir arms. But there are going

to be areas exposed daily andunfortunately during the mid-dle of the day when they’llprobably be most productive.”

Buescher believes thefarmer’s morning routineshould begin with applicationof sunscreen prior to fieldactivity. The ideal sunscreenformulation is a “broad spec-trum” SPF30 capable ofreducing the ravages of both“burning” (UVB) rays and tan-ning (UVA) rays now linked topotential skin cancers.

Tanning rays penetratemore deeply and cause morelong-term damage to skin.While sunburn can lead to tis-

Illinois policymakers should carefullyexamine all implications and potentialcomplications of “ag protection” laws,Illinois Farm Bureau President Philip Nel-son suggests.

Missouri’s state legislature hasapproved a measure that would make itillegal for employees of livestock opera-tions to hang onto videos or photos theytake of animal abuse.

Under the new law, anyone in posses-sion of such photos or video would have24 hours to report alleged abuse to lawenforcement.

Missouri Farmers Care Coalitionspokesman Dan Kleinsorge argues the law

would help prevent “an undercover inves-tigator” for animal rights interests or oth-ers from “sitting on” and/or editing video“for maximum impact” on the Web, onTV, or in films.

Instead, evidence of apparent animalcare abuses should be immediately sub-mitted to authorities “so that problem canbe dealt with through the proper chan-nels,” Kleinsorge said.

He argued the Missouri measure is dif-ferent from other so-called “ag-gag” billspassed in Iowa and Utah, which attemptto block suspect job applicants from mis-representing themselves to gain access tofarms. In an RFD-FarmWeek interview

last week, Nelson cited mixed feelingsabout such approaches to protecting oper-ations.

He said he is interested in seeing howthe Missouri law “plays out” before judg-ing whether Illinois should consider suchan action.

“I don’t know that this would doany good (for Illinois), given what wealready have on the books right now,”he said.

“I have mixed emotions about puttinganother layer of that type of protectionon top of things where you would hopecommon sense would prevail at the end ofthe day.” — Martin Ross

Nelson: Ag ‘protections’ merit careful consideration

Bernie Walsh, Durand, Winnebago County: Hot, dry,windy, dusty conditions with norain this past week. This makesfive full weeks now since we hadany more than 1 to 2 tenths of aninch of rain. Most of the corn stilllooks pretty good consideringthe lack of rain with most of ourcorn in the V-2 to V-4 stage. The

corn on the lighter soils is showing signs ofstress as the moisture is getting away fromthe roots. The soybeans also are pretty vari-able, with some fields looking pretty good, ifthey were planted deep enough to be in themoisture. There are lots of beans still lying indry dirt, waiting for some rain. We started ourcenter pivot irrigator last week — by far theearliest we have we have ever had to use it.

Pete Tekampe, Grayslake, Lake County: What a differencetwo weeks makes. Two weeksago it was super wet, and now itis extremely dry. All the showersare either going north toWisconsin or south to wash thestreets of Chicago. Corn needs arain but still looks OK. Beans areabout 95 percent planted and

many are just emerging. I think it is too latefor any water to do any good for the winterwheat. Some good hay has been baled withthis great drying weather. Showers are fore-cast for three of the next seven days. I hopewe get one.

Leroy Getz, Savanna, Carroll County: Another week withno rain. A storm front passed onThursday, but it is still dry. First-crop hay has been made withexcellent quality. Corn and beansare all planted. They are growingand looking good but need mois-ture. Post spraying will start whenthe weeds decide to grow.

Potatoes are in full blossom. School is out,so the kids will be around to help. This sum-mer think rain. Growing degree units, 548.

Ryan Frieders, Waterman, DeKalb County: The past weekwe were busy spraying our cornwith post herbicide and applyingnitrogen. The winds have beenblowing for 24 hours so badly thatdust storms caused major acci-dents and power outages in thearea. It is unknown what the tollwill be on the growing crops. The

topsoil also has become very dry from thehigh winds and heat.

Larry Hummel, Dixon, Lee County: A shower sure wouldbe nice, but I guess we will haveto wait a little longer. Thursday90 degree temperatures and 40mph winds were rough on thecrops, especially any thatalready had some issues. I don’tthink I can remember a timewhen corn this small rolled up

like that. The corn around here is in the V-3to V-E stage. I have one field of no-till soy-beans that was rained on right after plantingthat has emergence problems. It has prettymuch run out of time for rain to soften up thesurface to get a few more beans through.

Ken Reinhardt, Seaton, Mercer County: Thursday’s 90-plus degree temperature with 40mph winds were tough on cropsand human spirits. Dust cloudswere evident at times. There arerain chances coming, but showlittle potential for meaningfulamounts. Soybean stands will bespotty in many fields without a

good, soaking rain. Early-planted corn con-tinues to look good.

Ron Moore, Roseville, Warren County: We did not get anyrain last week. We are definitelydry now and in need of a rain. Theheat and wind last week reallycaused the crop conditions todeteriorate rapidly. I plan on mow-ing some hay, so that may changethe weather patterns. Most of thepost-spraying on corn has been

done now. It has been a challenge to get thatjob done with 30 to 40 mph winds. More farm-ers in this area are sidedressing nitrogen oncorn this year. That opportunity should endsoon as the corn is now gettingtaller. Surprisingly, there are no reports of anyinsects in this year’s corn and bean crops.With the mild winter and early warm plantingweather that is one bright spot.

Jacob Streitmatter, Princeville, Peoria County: Almost allof the corn and soybeans areplanted for the first time. Therehas been a lot of replant of cornin the area. Some of it is due toflooding and some due to pythi-um, a seedling disease that killsoff the roots. This has thinned outa lot of corn already, and we are

still finding more cases.

Tim Green, Wyoming, Stark County: Pretty pleasant week,and a lot of corn was sprayed.People are trying to catch up ontheir Roundup applications.Crops are growing pretty well.The hot weather seemed tomake things pop. You can startto see some effects of the dryweather in some fields. A nice

half inch or 0.75-of-an-inch rain would begreatly appreciated. Beans that were planteda week ago are starting to come up. So farthey look OK.

Mark Kerber, Chatsworth, Livingston County: It was a dryand dusty week for most of us. Agood rain event missed most ofthe county except for the north-ern portions. Our yards are start-ing to dry out as are the thinnersoils. The evaporation rates goup as summer approaches.There are concerns of dryness

as there isn’t much subsoil moisture.Soybean planting is complete with a smallamount of replanting. Now we will see if weplanted the beans in moisture or dry dirt.Corn is growing but could use a drink.Nitrogen is being applied with concerns ofleaching out with the hot, dry winds. Roadand waterway mowing is starting along withbaling some of these grasses. Hay also isgetting baled. Next operation will be cornspraying with glyphosate. Markets feel thatrain will be coming.

Ron Haase, Gilman, Iroquois County: We finished plant ingcorn on May 22 and we are nowsidedressing nitrogen on ourfirst-planted cornfields. Otherfarmers were finishing up theirplanting of soybeans or theirreplanting of corn acres thatwere drowned out. On Sunday,May 20, a thunderstorm passed

through in the evening. We did not receiveany rain, but left the field because all thelightning and the threat of rain. Othersreceived from 1 to 4 inches of rain and hadwater standing in the fields again.We are dryhere. I have mowed my lawn only once in thelast four weeks. Corn in the area is anywherefrom emergence up to the V-5 growthstage. The corn planted two weeks ago istaking six days to emerge. Soybeans are tak-ing five to six days to emerge. The local clos-ing bids for May 24 were: nearby corn, $6.08;new-crop corn, $4.82; fall 2013 corn, $4.80;nearby soybeans, $13.69; and new-crop soy-beans, $12.43. One major project on ourfarm was completed on Wednesday afteralmost four weeks of work. We had our 1889horse barn repaired and covered with metalsiding and roofing.

Tom Ritter, Blue Mound, Macon County: Rain fell insouthern Macon County theweekend before last. A fewplaces got 0.3 or 0.4 of an inchbut our vicinity received only0.1 of an inch or less. The rainwas very much needed, espe-cially with the 90-degree daysleading up to Memorial Day

weekend with high winds sapping the mois-ture. Soybean planting has been complet-ed. Spraying has been halted by the highwinds. Farmers are fairly well caught upand even were resorting to getting roadsmowed before Memorial Day weekend. Atthis point, the crops are looking as good asthey ever have, but I am also pessimisticthat we are not headed for a great crop dueto the lack of moisture and especially sub-soil moisture. The prediction is for a hot,dry summer.

Brian Schaumburg, Chenoa, McLean County: Even card-carrying pessimists would haveto admit that this crop is off to anexcellent start. With GDUs at527 since April 15, corn growthstage is at V-3 to V-7 and soy-beans are at V-E to V-2. Rainfallhas been short but stands areeven and deeply rooted. Insect

problems are few and far between. Post-spraying is going quickly. Corn, $6.07; fallcorn, $4.93; soybeans, $13.61; fall soybeans,$12.41; wheat, $6.30.

Steve Ayers, Champaign, Champaign County: Sunday’s(May 20) rain varied from one-tenth at Rising to 4 inches in theRoyal area. Looks like we maybe into a rainy spell from June 3to 9. Soybeans are 84 percentplanted with 40 percentemerged. Corn is growing wellbut we are seeing some yellow-

ing due to herbicide carryover. The pest of theweek is the 13-lined ground squirrel thatmunches on corn kernels along roadsidesand waterways.

Wilfred Dittmer, Quincy, Adams County: The word is stilldry. Our last rainfall came on May4 and that only gives May 1.7inches of rain. Many beans thatwere planted a couple of weeksago desperately need a little helpfrom Mother Nature. Corn islooking good and off to an excel-lent start. Wheat fields are begin-

ning to turn, and it’s still May. A lot of hay isbeing cut.

Carrie Winkelmann, Tallula, Menard County: Well, myrequest for rain was notanswered. We did not get anyrain last week although spotsaround us got as much as 3inches and some places got hail.We could still use some mois-ture. I never thought the soy-beans would come up in dry soil,

but they have although they would look alot better if we could get a rain on them.Corn is knee high. Wheat is turning.Scouting alfalfa for leaf hoppers was onthe agenda last Friday.

Todd Easton, Charleston, Coles County: Yet anotherpredominantly dry week in ourarea has put the corn cropmostly in the V-4 to V-6 stageon defense mode, causing leafrolling and halted growth.Rains forecast for May 20 leftonly a trace to 0.25 of an inchof rain, giving the crops little

relief. Soybeans mostly are just emergingto V-1 with the driest areas having someemergence issues in spots. Field opera-tions are winding down for now as sprayingand sidedress applications, which weremore numerous this spring than everbefore, are completed. Next up will be soy-bean spraying if they get some moistureand decide to grow enough. Keep thosefingers crossed!

Jimmy Ayers, New City, Sangamon County: On Sunday(May 20), we received 0.4 of aninch of rain. The rain around uswas anywhere from nothing to2.1 inches north of Springfield.There were high winds and hailand pretty good damage upthrough there. Corn is V2 to V5. Alot of it is pretty green. A lot of

beans have emerged. We finished plantingour corn and beans, and I replanted a little bitof corn that didn’t come up. People are mow-ing and baling hay.

David Schaal, St. Peter, Fayette County: Rains acrossthe county on Sunday, May20, totaled from 0.1 of an inchup to 4 inches. We received4.5 inches in southern FayetteCounty. Rotary hoes are run-ning on soybean fields thatreceived more rainfall. Cornfor the most part is growing

and looking good. Producers are doingsome sidedressing of anhydrous or 28percent nitrogen on the earlier-plantedcorn to try to give it a boost. With the hot,windy weather here last week, the wheatis making a big change. I assume therewill be a lot of wheat being cut in the firstweek of June.


CROPWATCHERS

Dean Shields, Murphysboro, Jackson County: We arevery dry. We need rain quitebadly. We got a little bit thispast week, but it was veryscattered. It sure helped outthe crops. Corn planting basi-cally is complete down here,but it is not growing very wellbecause it is so dry. Soybean

planting is over because a lot of farmersstopped planting because it is so dry. Themajority of soybeans have been planted. Ihave heard of a few farmers starting to cutsome wheat. The yield has been runningfairly good from what I understand, and Iwill be cutting some wheat probably thisweek. First time for wheat for me in sever-al years. This week we hope to get somerain. It sure would be nice to get the Mayrains we normally have.

Randy Anderson, Galatia, Saline County: Only thing newto report this week is that we arenow nine inches of rain belownormal. Corn is showing signs ofstress, very uneven, and rollingup at midday. Things you see inJuly, not in May. Beans look likethey are in a holding pattern, notgrowing. I plan on starting to cut

wheat Tuesday. We have to wait on a rainbefore we can do any double-cropping.

Ken Taake, Ullin, Pulaski County: Hot temperatures anddry soils are the story here inPulaski County. We received 0.6of an inch of rain on Sunday (May20). I heard amounts across thecounty ranging from 0.2 of aninch up to 1.2 inches. With thedryness of the soils and the hottemperatures, the moisture left

rapidly. We were able to start planting beansagain on Monday (May 21) and finishedplanting on Thursday. Some farmers haveplanted all their beans and some are stillwaiting on rain. The soils are just so dry thereis not enough moisture to get beans up.Crops are really showing stress from thehigh temperatures and the lack of moisture.

Dan Meinhart, Montrose, Jasper County: Our area had lit-tle or no precipitation lastweek. An isolated area west ofus had heavy rain Sunday after-noon and evening (May 20). Thefirst part of the week was coolwith a warming trend toward theend of the week. Fieldwork con-tinued with wrapping up planting,

sidedressing corn, and applying post chemi-cals. Wheat harvest is approachingquickly. There is a slight chance of showersearly this week. A good shower would bemost appreciated.

Rick Corners, Centralia, Jefferson County: Many moredays like today (Friday) and it’sgoing to get serious. Thirty-fivemph winds and 90 degrees aretaking the sap out of things. One-foot-tall corn is rolled up likepineapples already. A lot of thebeans planted two weeks agoare going to be in very poor

stands. The ground went from wet to dry in acouple of days. We had some scatteredshowers Thursday night. Some got 3 inchesof rain and hail and others down the road ahalf mile got none. It looks like wheat harvestwill start this week. I don’t think there hasever been wheat cut in May in this neck of thewoods.

Kevin Raber, Browns, Wabash County: No rainfall this pastweek. There has been somerolling of corn plants during themiddle of the day. With near-record heat coming over the hol-iday weekend, our lack of soilmoisture will show up evenmore. On the flip side, this warm,dry weather is quickly moving

wheat harvest to us. I have heard some peo-ple will try to cut some wheat after the holidayweekend.

Doug Uphoff, Shelbyville, Shelby County: One inch of raintotal for May so far in our part ofthe county, but some in the coun-ty had 1 to 2.5 inches last week.Some had none. Sidedressing ofcorn has been completed andherbicides have mostly all beenapplied to the corn. Wheat iscoming on fast and harvesting

may start by the second week of June. I’msure a lot will be double-cropped. Cropfutures trading hours have been extendedand so have losses on crop prices. Shortcrops still have a long tail. So even though wethink the crop is short, the futures are tradinglower. According to the government, we areheaded for a record crop. We better start get-ting some moisture, then, because as far as Ican tell, most everyone is pretty short of it.Prices for May 24: direct corn, $6.35; elevatorcash corn, $6.14; last half August 2012,$5.18; fall 2012 corn, $4.94; new wheat,$6.45; direct beans, $13.99; cash beans,$13.72; fall beans, $12.46.

Dave Hankammer, Millstadt, St. Clair County: Lately I’vebecome confused. After witness-ing an occasional dusty whirlwindswirling through the local fields,then an online news service startsusing the image of a cactus toindicate the temperature highs inthe weather forecast, I’ve beenwondering if this is Southern

Illinois or the fictional Old West. This pastweek was another dry one for many in thearea. I’ve learned some farmers have beenwithout rain since late April. On May 20,some areas received up to 0.5 of an inch,while others received little to none. Despitethe lack of rainfall, the corn crop and early-planted soybeans are doing well. However,90-degree-plus temperatures will startstressing the crops. Most farmers are doneplanting first-crop soybeans, although thereare some who have decided to delay plantingsome of their fields due to the lack of soilmoisture and rainfall. They have decided towait for rain to ensure a uniform emergenceof the crop. Local grain bids are: corn, $5.89;soybeans, $13.72; and wheat, $6.29.


CROPWATCHERS

Reports received Friday morning.Expanded crop and weather information available at FarmWeekNow.com

Rise in farmland values less dramatic in first quarterBY DANIEL GRANTFarmWeek

Farmland values continuedto climb the first quarter ofthis year, the Federal ReserveBank of Chicago reportedthis month.

But the rate of increase thefirst three months of this yearslowed considerably com-pared to the rapid r i se inprices experienced last year.

The value of good farm-land through the first quarterincreased 8 percent in theSeventh Federal Reserve Dis-t r i c t , wh i ch inc ludes thenorthern two thirds of Illi-nois and all or parts of Indi-ana, Iowa, Michigan, and Wis-consin.

The rate of increase wasdown 12 percent from the pre-vious year when the value ofgood farmland increased 20percent in the Seventh District.

“There’s been a bit of aslow-down in the increases (ofgood farmland prices),” saidDavid Oppedahl, businesseconomist for the FederalReserve Bank of Chicago.“But there certainly still is asubstantial appreciation infarmland values.”

The rise in values may haveslowed so far this year due inpar t to lower commodi typrices, particularly for corn,

have remained low.”T h e a v e r a g e l o a n - t o -

deposit ratio in the first quar-ter this year dipped to 66.5percent, the lowest level in 16years.

Looking ahead, Oppedahldoesn’t foresee a major crashof the market any time soon.

“I don’t think we’re in abubble,” he added. “ Therecertainly has been support (in

the form of high commodityp r i c e s a n d s t r o n g f a r mreturns) for higher land valuesthe last few years.”

But lower returns and high-er input prices could put pres-sure on land values in comingmonths. Input costs in theSeventh District were up 6.6percent the first quarter thisyear compared to the sametime last year.

h o g s , a n d w h e a t , a n d a nincrease in the amount of landavailable for purchase, accord-ing to the economist.

“There have been moreproper t ies coming out ( tomarket) , so the supply (off a r mland ) i sn’t a s t i gh t ,”Oppedahl said.

The majority of ag bankers( a b o u t t w o - t h i r d s ) w h oresponded to the most recent

Federal Reserve Bank surveyanticipate ag land values willremain stable through the cur-rent quarter. The remainingone-third projected additionalincreases in farmland valuesduring the second quarter.

“It’s a very competitive loanenvironment,” Oppedahl said.“We have much lower debt-to-asset ratios (than the previoustwo decades) and interest rates

Haymakers: Quantity good, quality spotty so far Good growing conditions

this spring helped kickstart thegrowth and harvest of hayrather early this year.

Illinois farmers as of thefirst of last week had cut 68percent of the first alfalfa cropcompared to the f ive-yearaverage of just 19 percent.

The amount of red clovercut (69 percent) last week alsowas well ahead of the five-yearaverage pace (15 percent).

“Dry, hot, windy days driedthe soils out but made forexcellent haymaking,” saidLeroy Getz , a Far mWeekCropwatcher from Car rol lCounty.

Ron Moore, a Cropwatcherfrom Warren County, said a lotof hay has been baled recentlyin his area and so far the quali-ty is excellent.

But in other portions of thestate, some growers weren’t asfortunate.

Bob Gehrke, Illinois FarmBureau Distr ic t 1 d irectorfrom Kane County, said theq u a n t i t y o f h ay f r o m h i sfirst cutting was good, but

the quality was poor.“Of all the years making

hay, this is the poorest firstcutting I’ve ever had, basicallybecause of seven to eightdays of frost,” said Gehrke,who grows about 200 acres ofhay.

Meanwhile, many farmersanticipate getting an early starton wheat harvest as well.

Nearly half the wheat crop(45 percent) was turning yel-low as of the first of last weekcompared to the average of 1percent. — Daniel Grant

Auction CalendarTues,. May 29. 1 p.m. McDonoughCo. Land Auc. Silvanus-PetersonFarm, MACOMB, IL. Sullivan

Auctioneers, LLC. www.sullivanauc-tioneers.com

Thurs., May 31. 10 a.m. DeKalb Co.Land Auction. SOMONAUK, IL.

www.mgw.us.comSat,. June 2. 9 a.m. and 1 p.m.

Consignment Auction and Dale andDennis Gass Farm Sell-Out, MUR-PHYSBORO, IL. Canning Auctions.

www.canningauctions.comTues., June 5. McLean Co. FarmlandAuc. Steinlicht & Baker Farms, COL-FAX, IL. Soy Capital Ag Services.

www.soycapitalag.comWed., June 6. 10 a.m. Knox Co. LandAuction. Heirs of W. Robert Jencks,

RIO, IL. Van Adkisson Auction Service,LLC. www.biddersandbuyers.comWed., June 6. 10 a.m. Ford Co.Farmland Auc. GIBSON CITY, IL.

Busey Farm Brokerage.Thurs., June 7. 10 a.m. Logan Co.Land Auction. Hertz Farm Mgmt. Inc.

www.hfmgt.comFri., June 8. 10 a.m. Greene Co. LandAuction. Claire-Jane Trust, CARROLL-TON, IL. Worrell-Leka Land Services,LLC and Darrell Moore, Auctioneer.

worrell-leka.comSat., June 9. 9:30 a.m. Farm machin-ery and misc. John Barlow, GRAY-MONT, IL. Immke and Bradleys’

Auction Service.biddersandbuyers.com/immke

Sat., June 9. 9 a.m. Farm & IndustrialEq Auc. BALDWIN, IA. Powers AuctionService. www.powersauction.com

Sat., June 9. 9:30 a.m. Farm machin-ery and misc. Donald G. Barton,NORRIS CITY, IL. Jamie Scherrer

Auction Co. www.jamiescherrerauc-tion.com

Tues,. June 12. Will Co. FarmlandAuction. Salzmann Farm. Soy Capital

Ag Services.www.soycapitalag.com

Wed., June 13. 6 p.m. 1,460+/- Ac.Fulton Co., IL. CANTON, IL. UnitedCountry, Wallingford Group. duck-

creekauction.comWed., June 13. 7 p.m. Real EstateAuction. Fort Russell Mgmt. LLC,BETHALTO, IL. Henke Auction &

Realty, LLC. www.henkeauction.comThurs., June 14. McLean Co.

Farmland Auc. John Cox Farms. SoyCapital Ag Services. www.soycapita-

lag.com

environment


EPA proposals blow to Illinois energy, economy?BY MARTIN ROSSFarmWeek

The U.S. EnvironmentalProtection Agency’s prospec-tive regulatory agenda couldcause a serious economicbrownout for the energy sec-tor and farmers and otherswho depend on it.

That’s according to ToddWynn, director of the Ameri-can Legislative ExchangeCouncil’s (ALEC) Energy,Environment, and AgricultureTask Force.

ALEC, which includesstate legislators from acrossthe U.S., warns significantlyhigher consumer/businesscosts and major job losses

electricity and home naturalgas prices, and a 600 percentjump in utility coal prices,ALEC estimated.

Illinois Farm Bureau Presi-dent Philip Nelson, quoted inthe ALEC study, warned “anycosts incurred by utilities,refiners, manufacturers, andother large emitters to complywith GHG regulatory require-ments will be passed on to theconsumers of those products,including farmers and ranch-ers.”

“This is going to affectagriculture, as well — agricul-tural facilities use a lot ofenergy in their production,”Wynn said.

“There’s not a huge marginin agricultural production.You have a lot of competi-tion, and when you increasecosts such as energy, thatcould put a lot of farmers outof work.”

With 47 percent of Illi-nois’ electrical generationderived from coal, major

regs targeted by ALECreportedly could forceretirement of 8,000megawatts of electricalcapacity (enough to power

some six million homes),$1.8 billion in lost manufac-turing output and $2.1 inlost state and governmentrevenues by 2015.

New regulations could costIllinois’ coal industry $47.68million in lost revenue, ALECwarned.

could result from five specificEPA proposals affecting utili-ties and coal and related indus-tries (see accompanyingdetails).

“Mind you, there’s a wholeslew of EPA regulations com-ing out in the next few years,”Wynn told FarmWeek at aChicago global climate confer-ence last week.

According to ALEC analy-sis, Illinois heads a list ofstates likely to be most heavilyimpacted by EPA plans. WestVirginia, Ohio, Alabama,Michigan, Indiana, Pennsylva-nia, Tennessee, Kentucky, andNorth Carolina also made thetop 10.

Stringent new standardsnationally could lead to powerplant shutdowns, early “retire-ment” of at least 63 gigawattsof existing power capacity,energy price increases, and joblosses, ALEC warned. Illinoiscould lose nearly 29,000 jobsas a result of five forthcomingEPA actions, “and that’s notcalculating greenhouse gasemissions regulations,” Wynnsaid.

Added EPA attempts tocurb carbon dioxide and othergreenhouse gas (GHG) emis-sions alone could lead to a 50percent hike in gasoline andconsumer electricity prices, a75 percent boost in industrial

A prospering planting technology companyin Tremont in Tazewell County is part of Mon-santo’s new initiative to expand its businessinterests beyond plant breeding and biotechnol-ogy.

Monsanto last week announced it boughtPrecision Planting Inc. in Tremont for $210million, with a performance-based payment ofup to $40 million.

Precision Planting develops software, hard-

ware, and after-market equipment to help farm-ers improve the efficiency and effectiveness oftheir planting operations.

The acquisition dovetails with Monsan-to’s goal to help farmers improve agro-nomics and technologies in the field, andwill become part of the St. Louis-basedcompany’s newly formed Integrated Farm-ing Systems Unit, the St. Louis Post Dis-patch reported.

Monsanto acquires Tremont-based Precision Planting

Regulatory ripples:On the wrong track?

Economy Derailed: State-by-State Impacts of theEPA Regulatory Train Wreck, an American LegislativeExchange Council (ALEC) report based on a variety of eco-nomic studies, focused on five existing or proposed U.S. Envi-ronmental Protection Agency (EPA) regulations:

• The Utility MACT (Maximum Available Control Technolo-gy) Rule, a mercury air toxics standard, could require retro-fitting of as many as 753 electricity generating plants nation-wide with new pollution controls. ALEC argued MACT stan-dards are too stringent even for recently permitted plants“employing the best available technology.”

No new coal plants likely would be built under the rule, andup to 15 gigawatts of electricity could be forced into earlyretirement, ALEC warned. EPA projects the rule’s annual costat roughly $11 billion.

• According to ALEC, EPA’S proposed Boiler MACT Rule,focusing on industrial boiler emissions, threatens nearly800,000 jobs nationwide, though the agency “has not estimateda single health benefit for reducing the pollutants that this rulewas intended to address.”

• The Cross-State Air Pollution Rule, approved last July totarget power plant emissions that cross state lines, reportedlythreatens up to 7 gigawatts of electric generation. EPA esti-mates that the rule could cost $2.4 billion annually, thoughrecent data indicate emissions targeted by the plan havedeclined over the past few years.

• EPA is considering regulation of coal combustion residuesas a hazardous waste, which in ALEC’s view would have “sig-nificant consequences on electricity generation and a robustrecycling industry.”

EPA estimates the average regulatory cost over the next 50years at almost $1.5 billion per year. The rule would impact aroughly $2-billion-per-year coal ash recycling trade that usesthe byproduct for a variety of purposes.

• EPA also is considering cooling water intake rules thatwould require many fossil fuel and nuclear power plants toreplace their once-through cooling systems with cooling tow-ers, in an attempt to protect fish populations.

The move could affect more than 1,000 coal, oil steam, andgas steam generating plants (totaling 252 gigawatts of capaci-ty), as well as roughly one third of all current nuclear capacity(some 60 gigawatts). That could mean early retirement of up to41 gigawatts of power, ALEC suggested.

‘When you i n -c r e a s e c o s t ssuch as energy,that could put alot of farmers outof work.’

— Todd WynnAmerican Legislative

Exchange Council


Funded by the Soybean Checkoff

“It’s been a great experience for me. I’ve been able to interact with a lot of producers from around the state who are the best at what they do and learn from them.” Mike Marron, Soy Ambassador

“The Soy Ambassador program is a great way for the next generation of farmer-leaders to follow the Illinois Soybean Association board through the process of building relationships and building coalitions.”

Jerry Gaffner, Soy Ambassador

“I think it is an excellent program for younger farmers like me. It exposed me not only to farming in Brazil, but also how the Illinois Soybean Association board of directors and staff work together to improve our industry.”

Sean Kinsella, Soy Ambassador

“The Soy Ambassador program has been unique, especially for the all varied experience we have gained, whether it was traveling to Chicago or learning about aquaculture. It’s sort of like being part of the board, without having to make decisions yet.”

Rob Prather, Soy Ambassador

EDUCATION


Farming and agriculture fitperfectly with a statewide read-ing program to be offered thissummer by the Illinois LibraryAssociation.

With the theme “reading isso delicious,” Illinois Agricul-ture in the Classroom (IAITC)coordinators and volunteersshould contact their publiclibraries for opportunities,according to Kevin Daugherty,Illinois Farm Bureau educationdirector.

Last week, more than 80county AITC coordinators,Farm Bureau managers, andeducators met in Bloomington.

Daugherty and Laura Miller,IFB education specialist, dis-cussed activities and booksthat would connect agricultureand farming to summer read-

BY KAY SHIPMANFarmWeek

“I thought that agriculturewas just farming. I didn’tknow it was clothing, busi-ness, forestry, and much

Teacher’s ag exposure changes her, students, colleagues

Cathy Britts-Axen, a special education teacher at Central Middle SchoolDistrict in Burlington, participates in a Kane County Summer Ag Instituteactivity. After attending two Ag Institutes last summer, Britts-Axen spear-headed a team of six teachers who developed a multi-curricula ag-based project for 152 eighth grade students. (Photo courtesy KaneCounty Farm Bureau)

more,” one Kane Countyeighth grader wrote after hismiddle school’s first agricul-ture project.

An eye-opening experiencefor an eighth grade teacher

grew into the first agriculturalawareness/global food unitfor 152 eighth graders and asix-teacher team at CentralMiddle School District 301 inBurlington.

“My eyes were so openedto agriculture. It just blew mymind,” eighth grade specialeducation teacher CathyBritts-Axen told FarmWeek.

Last summer Britts-Axenwas amazed by the informa-tion she received at her firstSummer Ag Institute (insti-tutes focus on integrating agconcepts into the general cur-riculum). Britts-Axen’s experi-ences were so educational thatshe attended a second Sum-mer Ag Institute.

The students needed to“heighten their awareness ofagriculture ... We (teachers)have to be exposed” to agri-culture, Britts-Axen said. Shewanted to combine what shelearned with an eighth gradeservice project.

Suzi Myer, Kane CountyFarm Bureau ag literacy coor-dinator, remembered Britts-Axen: “She soaked up every-thing she could. She was soexcited. This (information)obviously went to her class-

ing programs that will beoffered to readers of all ages,especially children.

One project focused onfood production, making alunch box from small paperbags. AITC coordinatorsassembled the bags into scrap-books into which children maydraw pictures or paste foodlabels of their lunch foods.

The goal is to have childrenlearn who grew the ingredientsfor their lunches and wherethose foods were grown andprocessed, Miller said.

She suggested a wide varietyof food-related books andactivities that would be suitablefor summer reading activities.

The stories and activitieswould support state learningstandards for English and lan-guage arts, Daugherty noted.

For more information, con-tact your county ATIC coordi-nator or IAITC at 309-557-3334. — Kay Shipman

Illinois Farm Bureau education specialist Laura Miller, standing, helps coun-ty Farm Bureau managers and ag literacy coordinators make paper bagteaching tools for summer reading programs. (Photo by Kay Shipman)

Agriculture makes a natural fit for ‘delicious’ summer reading

room and other teachers.”Britts-Axen’s original idea

expanded to involve 152eighth graders, their teachers,and a two-day immersion intoagriculture with a global foodservice project for third-worldcountries.

She applied for andreceived an Illinois Agricul-ture in the Classroom (IAITC)grant, but confided she andher fellow teachers weredetermined to push aheadwith or without a grant.

The students not onlylearned about farming andrelated industries, but theyalso learned about global foodissues by working with theFeed My Starving Children, anon-profit organization withoffices in Illinois.

The students learned thehistory of crop rotation, mathapplications of futures trad-ing, and the science involvedwith genetic crop improve-ments and hydroponic sys-tems. They learned how U.S.farmers feed the world and

about the small amount ofsoil used to produce theworld’s food supply.

As an English assignment,the students wrote about theirexperiences, and Britts-Axensent samples of their workalong with her report toIAITC.

Another sign of the pro-gram’s success was the factthat no parent called theschool to ask why the studentswere learning about agricul-ture. “There’s always one thatquestions,” Britts-Axen noted.In fact, 20 parents volun-teered to help.

Britts-Axen and her fellowteachers are looking ahead tonext fall, a new eighth gradeclass, and more lessons aboutagriculture to build on thisyear’s success.

“I think agriculture is veryimportant,” a student wrote.“To me, it’s sad people seemnot to care that pretty soonfarms may be gone. Agricul-ture is so important to oursociety.”

Education


IAITC readying to help teachers, students with new ed standards

Milk Days, Horseradish Festival

Illinois commodities weekend festivals focus

A pair of festivals coming up this weekend (June 1-3)will pay tribute to two commodities well known in separateregions of the state.

In Northern Illinois, the 71st Annual Milk Days will beheld in Harvard Friday through Sunday. The tradition start-ed in 1942 when citizens of the McHenry County townwanted to honor area dairy farmers for expanding milk pro-duction to help with the World War II effort.

At the time, there were seven commercial dairies withina 15-mile radius of town that processed and shipped moremilk than anywhere else in the world. Harvard thus wasproclaimed the “Dairy Capital of the World.”

Milk Days grew into a three-day event that features adairy cattle show, a milk-drinking contest, a street dance,and live music each night.

In Southwestern Illinois, the Collinsville InternationalHorseradish Festival will be held Friday through Sunday.This year marks the 25th anniversary of the event.

The festival, which will showcase the root’s diverse culi-nary applications, also will feature “root games,” a 5krun/walk, and live music.

Collinsville, the self-proclaimed “Horseradish Capital ofthe World” produces about 85 percent of all horseradishconsumed by humans.

BY KAY SHIPMANFarmWeek

New learning standards, referredto as common core, will hit Illinoisclassrooms over the next two schoolyears, and Illinois Agriculture in theClassroom (IAITC) will be pre-pared.

Last week, AITC county coordi-nators learned more about the newstandards for kindergarten through12th grade students and how AITCresources will support educators andstudents.

“Ag in the Classroom will not goaway because of common core,”Kevin Daugherty, Illinois FarmBureau education director, toldcoordinators.

Illinois and 48 other states haveadopted new common core stan-dards for English, language arts, and

math to help measure a student’sproficiency in those subjects.

Science core standards have notbeen released, but are coming. Allthe standards are to be in place by

the 2014-2015 school year.Daugherty anticipated many

applications for AITC materialswith new science standards whenthose standards become available.

But educators won’t need to

guess about agriculture’s applicationwith new language arts standards.Agriculture-related books are usedas examples to teach new languagearts standards, Daugherty said.

Nationaleducators are“using agricul-ture (exam-ples), thebooks we’re(IAITC)already using,”Daugherty toldeducators.Daugherty and

his staff plan to analyze and corre-late the new standards to AITCmaterials and to present the infor-mation to teachers and county coor-dinators.

Educators nationwide are await-

ing not only all the new commoncore standards, but also how stu-dents will be tested on them.

Currently in Illinois, high schooljuniors statewide must take a combi-nation achievement test and collegeentrance exam. Achievement testsare given for reading and math ingrades three through eight and forscience in grades four and seven.

There is speculation students inevery grade will be tested four timesa year on the new common corestandards, according to Daugherty.

Daugherty envisioned a need forAITC materials and county coordi-nators who are prepared to helpteachers with materials related tonew common core standards.

Common core “is rapidly becom-ing the new normal for teachers,”Daugherty said.

‘Ag in the Classroom will not go awaybecause of common core.’

— Kevin DaughertyIFB education director

The 16th annual IllinoisAgriculture in the Classroom(IAITC) Golf Outing will beJune 14 at the Elks CountryClub and the Wolf CreekGolf Club, both in Pontiac.

The event raises money tobenefit agriculture literacy inIllinois.

The driving ranges willopen at 9 a.m. with a shotgunstart at 10:30 a.m.

A social hour, banquet, andauction sponsored by Coun-try Financial will start at 4:30p.m. at the Elks CountryClub.

The registration fee is $130per golfer or $520 per four-some, which includes greenfees and cart, lunch and din-ner, refreshments, drivingrange practice, team photo,and gift bag.

Those interested in attend-ing the banquet only may reg-ister for $50 each.

All golfers registered byFriday will be eligible for aspecial drawing. Golfers willcompete for a number ofprizes.

Promotional rates areoffered for family and teacher

or ag literacy coordinator par-ticipation. The family rate is$200 per pair. Golfers age 18and younger playing with aparent or grandparent are eli-gible for this discount. Ateacher or ag literacy coordi-nator may play free with threeadditional registrations.

Online registration is avail-able on the IAA Foundationwebsite at {www.iaafounda-tion.org} or by completing andmailing a registration form toIAA Foundation, 1701 Towan-da Ave., Bloomington, Ill.,61701.

Registration open for IAITC golf outing

Tours planned for local growersThe University of Illinois Extension in Fulton, Mason,

Peoria, and Tazewell counties and Spoon River College areagain working together to assist new and potential vegetableand fruit growers.

Two field tours are planned for June and July. The preregistration deadline for each tour is June 6.A June 11 tour will take place in the Fulton and McDo-

nough counties area. Participants will meet at Spoon RiverCollege, Canton, before traveling to a local grower in ruralFulton County.

The group will then travel to Barefoot Gardens,Macomb. The event will start at 1 p.m. and end about 7p.m.

On July 9, tour participants will meet at the Spoon RiverCollege campus.

The first stop will be Living Earth Farm near Farming-ton. The group also will tour Prescott’s Farm/Petal SongApiaries and another operation that has not been deter-mined. The event will start at 3 p.m. and end about 7 p.m.

The cost for each session is $20. Transportation will beprovided for the first 20 registrants.

To register, call the U of I Extension Fulton-Mason-Peo-ria-Tazewell unit at 309-547-3711.

SPOTLIGHT ON COUNTIES


EXPLAINING EQUIPMENT

Brown County Farm Bureau recently held its annu-al Farm Safety Day at the Brown County Elemen-tary School for Pre-K through fourth grade stu-dents from Brown County Elementary and St.Mary’s School. Here, Brown County Fire ChiefBrian Gallaher explains to some of the students

the workings of the department’s rescue equipment. In the background is a tractor displayed by A. C. Mc-Cartney which was used to teach students safety features of being around farm equipment. The studentswere able to take turns sitting in the tractor seat as they asked questions. Illinois Farm Bureau and Coun-try Financial co-sponsored the event. (Photo by Glenna Dormire, Brown County Farm Bureau manager)

HCFB ‘Down on the Farm’ eventdraws 200 elementary studentsBY SARA BROCKMAN

More than 200 first gradersfrom Hancock County elemen-tary schools participated in theeighth annual Hancock CountyFarm Bureau (HCFB) “Down

on the Farm” program at theHancock County ExtensionCenter. Students had theopportunity to visit eight dif-ferent stations.

Merlin Tobias, a farmerfrom Basco, spoke to the kidsabout agriculture in Illinois.

Other highlights included ahayrack ride, petting zoo,equipment tour, moo moomasks, milk a cow, farm safety,and farm chore races.

Prairie Farms Dairy donat-

ed 200 cartons of milk andMartin and Sullivan’s JohnDeere provided machinery forthe event.

Carol Jerrod, HCFBWomen’s Committee chairmansaid, “We feel it is important togive students a chance to expe-rience the farm life.

“It is quite the sight to see200 kids running around theExtension Center with smileson their faces. You can trulysee how excited all of the stu-dents were to interact with theanimals and milk the cows!”

More than 20 Farm Bureaumembers donated their timeand energy in making thisannual event a success.

Sara Brockman is manager ofHancock County Farm Bureau.She can be reached at 217-357-3141.

DISCUSSING DIFFERENCES

Chinese Vice Minister of Agriculture Zang Taolin, right, and otherdignitaries from People’s Republic of China, met recently with lo-

cal Cook County farmer MikeRauch of Tinley Park on a farmvisit in the county to discuss farm-ing and government differences.

(Photo courtesy Cook County Farm Bureau)

June 14IAA Foundation Golf Outing, Pontiac Elks and WolfCreek Golf Club, Pontiac.

Summer Horticulture Field Day, 8:30 a.m. to 2 p.m., Kuipers Family Farm near Mape Park. For reserva-tions, e-mail [email protected] or call 309-828-8929.

July 192012 Illinois Forage Expo, 9 a.m. to 3 p.m.,Pittsfield.

DATEBOOK

from the counties


COOK — Tickets areavailable for the Tues-

day, Aug. 7, Chicago WhiteSox game vs. the Kansas CityRoyals. Tickets are $18 forlower reserved seating and $11for upper box seats. Call theFarm Bureau office to requestan order form, visit{www.whitesox.com/fbn}(service fee will apply), or call866-769-4263 and use thecode “CCFB” (service fee willapply).

HENRY — Henry andRock Island County

Farm Bureaus will sponsor amarketing program at 6:15p.m. Thursday, June 21, at theMoline Viking Club, Moline.Steve Johnson, Iowa StateUniversity Extension farm andag business management spe-cialist, will be the speaker. Abuffet dinner will be served.Cost is $20 if pre-registered or$30 for walk-ins. Call theHenry County Farm Bureauoffice at 309-937-2411 or theRock Island County FarmBureau office at 309-736-7432for reservations or more infor-mation.

• Members may purchasediscounted tickets to the Hen-ry County Fair, which will beJune 19-24. Call the FarmBureau office at 309-937-2411for more information.

• The Young Leaders willsponsor the pedal tractor pullat 12:30 p.m. Saturday, June23, at the Midway Tent, HenryCounty Fairgrounds. Call theFarm Bureau office for moreinformation.

LASALLE — The annu-al LaSalle County Farm

Bureau Foundation Ag in theClassroom golf outing andbenefit will be at noon Friday,June 29, at Senica’s Oak RidgeGolf Course, LaSalle. Cost is$65, which includes golf, cart,and steak dinner. Call theFarm Bureau office at 815-433-0371 for reservations ormore information.

LEE — Bureau and LeeCounty Farm Bureaus

will sponsor their annual golf

outing at 9 a.m. Friday, June29, at Timber Creek, Dixon.The tournament will be a four-person scramble. Cost is $200,which includes golf, cart, andlunch. All proceeds will bene-fit the Ag in the Classroomprograms. Call the FarmBureau office at 815-857-3531or go online to{www.leecfb.org} for moreinformation.

• Carroll, Lee, Ogle, andWhiteside County FarmBureaus, and Sauk Valley Bankwill sponsor a marketing work-shop at 7 p.m. Wednesday, June20, at the Comfort Inn, Dixon.Steve Johnson, Iowa State Uni-versity Extension farm man-agement specialist, will be thespeaker. Call the Farm Bureauoffice at 857-3531 or [email protected] by Friday,June 15, for reservations ormore information.

MADISON — FarmBureau will sponsor a

grain agreement meeting at 7p.m. Tuesday, June 5, at theFarm Bureau office. JerryQuick, former Illinois FarmBureau senior counsel, will dis-cuss grain contracting arrange-ments. Call the Farm Bureauoffice at 618-656-5191 forreservations or more informa-tion.

PEORIA — The Mar-keting Committee will

sponsor a market outlookmeeting at 6:30 p.m. Tuesday,June 19, at the Farm BureauPark. Darren Frye, WaterStreet Solutions, will be thespeaker. Cost is $5, whichincludes a rib-eye sandwichmeal. Tickets are available atthe Farm Bureau office orfrom a board director.

• The Legislative Commit-tee will sponsor a bus tripThursday, June 28, to Spring-field. Participants will visit theExecutive Mansion, the OldState Capitol and the currentcapitol, the Illinois Depart-ment of Agriculture building,and a farmers’ market. Cost is$40, which includes lunch atthe Golden Corral. Call the

Farm Bureau office for moreinformation.

STEPHENSON — AStroke Detection Plus

event will be from 9 a.m. to4:30 p.m. Monday and Tues-day, June 18-19, at the FarmBureau office. Farm Bureaumembers will receive a dis-count on the package price.Call 877-732-8258 to schedulean appointment.

• The “Stephenson Scenes”photo entries are due June 19.Public voting at the Stephen-son Ag breakfast and countyfair will determine the winners.Visit {www.stephenson -cfb.org} for more information.

• The Stephenson CountyFarm Bureau Foundation silentauction will be from 6 to 10a.m. Saturday, June 23, at theStephenson Ag breakfast at thefairgrounds. Proceeds willsupport scholarships and edu-cation needs.

• A blood drive will be from6:30 to 11:30 a.m. Saturday,June 23, during the StephensonAg breakfast at the fairgrounds.First-time donors will receive afree season pass to the fair, andall donors will be reimbursedfor their breakfast.

• Seats are still available forthe Cubs vs. Brewers ballgame

Aug. 20 at Miller Park. The buswill leave Freeport at 4 p.m.Cost is $65 for members and$70 for non-members. Call815-232-3186 for reservations.

VERMILION — FarmBureau will host Agri -

Visor’s marketing skills work-shops at the Farm Bureauoffice. Three workshops willbegin with Basics on Monday,June 25; Strategies and Imple-mentation on Monday, July 16;and Advanced Ideas on Mon-day, Aug. 6. All sessions willbegin at 6:30 p.m. Cost is $30for each session or $70 for allthree. Reservations are neededby Wednesday prior to eachworkshop. Call the FarmBureau office at 217-442-8713for more information.

WINNEBAGO —

Farm Bureau willsponsor a bus trip Thursday,June 7, to the Chicago Cubsvs. Milwaukee Brewers gameat Miller Park, Milwaukee.The bus will leave the FarmBureau office at 9:30 a.m.Cost is $55. Tickets are soldon a first-come, first-servedbasis. Call the Farm Bureauoffice for reservations ormore information.

• Farm Bureau will spon-sor a defensive driving

course from 10 a.m. to 3 p.m.Tuesday and Wednesday, June12-13, at the Farm Bureauoffice. Cost is $18. Lunchwill be served. Call the FarmBureau office at 815-962-0653 for reservations ormore information.

• The Boone and Win-nebago County Farm BureauPrime Timers will sponsor abus trip Wednesday, June 27,to the Dancing Horses The-ater, Lake Geneva. Partici-pants will see an exotic birdshow, followed by lunch andthe Dancing Horses show.The bus will leave the Win-nebago Farm Bureau officeat 9:30 a.m. and the CherryVale Mall at 9:45 a.m. Costis $70 for adults and $60 forchildren 12 and under. Callthe Farm Bureau office at962-0653 by Friday, June 8,for reservations or moreinformation.

“From the counties” items aresubmitted by county FarmBureaumanagers. If you have an event oractivity open to all members, contactyour county Farm Bureau manager.

Cover crop field day, pasture walk planned

Cover crops and pastures will be the focus of a field dayfrom 10 a.m. to 3 p.m. Saturday in Arrowsmith. Reservationsare requested for a meal and hand-out materials.

The activity will start with a cover crop program, whichwill include financial assistance options and nitrogen applica-tions. A meal will be provided at no charge to registered par-ticipants.

The pasture walk will start at 1 p.m. with information onrotational grazing, endophyte-friendly fescues, extending thegrazing season, and pasture improvements.

The event is sponsored by the Illinois Grazing LandsConservation Initiative, Kankakee County Graziers, IllinoisForage and Grassland Council, University of Illinois Exten-sion, Natural Resources Conservation Service, EarlybirdFeed & Fertilizer, Schuette Seeds, and Pro Harvest Seeds.

To register or for more information, call Elton Mau at309-825-5435 or e-mail him at [email protected].

profitability


Export inspections(Million bushels)

Week ending Soybeans Wheat Corn05-17-12 12.7 24.9 23.305-10-12 20.5 28.0 27.6Last year 9.5 31.2 36.1Season total 1133.4 993.6 1160.4Previous season total 1382.0 1229.0 1265.4USDA projected total 1315 1025 1700Crop marketing year began June 1 for wheat and Sept. 1 for corn and soybeans.

Feeder pig prices reported to USDA*Weight Range Per Head Weighted Ave. Price10 lbs. $27.14-$46.50 $38.0640 lbs. $62.99 $62.99

Receipts This Week Last Week 109,268 136,990*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 $79.89 $78.57 1.32Live $59.12 $58.14 0.98

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

Steers 120.75 n/a n/a Heifers 122.20 118.00 4.20

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 n/a 148.38 n/a

CME feeder cattle index — 600-800 Lbs.

Lamb prices

(Thursday’s price)

Slaughter Prices - Negotiated, Live, wooled and shorn 110-160 lbs. for140-162 $/cwt. (wtd. ave. 155.99).

June 1 deadline approaches for these Farm ServiceAgency (FSA) programs:

The enrollment for 2012 Direct and Countercyclical Program(DCP)/Average Crop Revenue Election (ACRE) program willend Friday.

Remember all farmers with an interest in DCP base acresmust be included on the DCP/ACRE contract and receive ashare of DCP/ACRE payment for the farm.

All farmers receiving a share greater than zero on theDCP/ACRE contract must sign the contract no later than Friday.Changes on the farm, such as ownership changes, farmer changes(individuals and entities), and crop-share arrangement changes, afterenrolling in DCP/ACRE must be reported to your local FSA office.

Changes to 2012 DCP/ACRE contracts cannot be made afterSept. 30, 2012. The sign-up for 2010 losses under the Supple-mental Revenue Assistance (SURE) Program runs through Fri-day. SURE provides benefits for farm revenue losses due to nat-ural disasters that occurred during the 2010 crop year.

SURE is available to eligible farmers on:•Farms in counties with ag secretarial disaster declarations,

including contiguous counties, that have incurred crop produc-tion or quality losses, or both, and includes all crops grown by aproducer nationwide, except grazed crops.

• Any farm on which, for the crop year, the actual farm pro-duction is 50 percent or less than the farm’s normal productionbecause of disaster-related conditions.

USDA

Farm ServiceAgency

We’re swimming in natural gas liquids/propane this summerBY RANDY MILLER

The summer driving seasontypically is the time whenpropane and natural gas inven-tories rebuild after a long win-ter heating season.

With record or near recordwarm temperatures this pastwinter, inventories are alreadynear late-summer levels. Natu-ral gas and natural gas liquids,

including propane producedfrom shale plays in the UnitedStates, are at record produc-tion levels and will continue togrow (see chart).

So much natural gas isexpected to be produced thatmany in the market fear thatstorage facilities will be fullbefore the heating seasonarrives.

Let’s lookat some ofthe numbersto see wherewe might endup before theheating sea-son starts.

Currentpropane

inventory levels in the U.S. aremore than 50 million barrels;the five-year average is 30 mil-lion barrels in early June.

Inventory builds have aver-aged more than 20 million bar-rels, which would put us atmore than 70 million bushelsby the end of October. Oldtimers (like me) would tell youthat comfortable inventory lev-els in the U.S. to start the heat-ing season need to be around60 million barrels, so the num-bers say that we will start thatseason in great shape.

Natural gas stocks look sim-ilar right now, but could bedrawn down a bit this summeras they are used to produceelectricity for cooling. If cur-rent temperatures are an indi-cation of what’s to come, itcould be a hot one.

Natural gas inventories in theU.S. currently are at 2,600 bil-lion cubic feet (bcf), some 800

bcf above the five-year average. With average builds this sum-

mer, inventories of natural gaswould be at 4,500 bcf. In U.S.history, natural gas stocks havenever been above 4,000 bcf.

Within the United States,production increases due toshale production plays haveresulted in 90 percent of thenatural gas demand being sup-plied from within.

Propane, now 70 percentmade from natural gas, is beingexported to other countries —something unheard of five yearsago. What will keep inventoriesin check? Look for continuedincreases in export activity.

Exports, mainly from theGulf Coast area, in 2011 aver-aged nearly 3.75 million barrelseach month. Export facilitiesare expanding and capacity isexpected to increase by August,doubling within a few years.

What to do as market condi-tions are ever-changing? Keepin touch with your local FSpropane salesman who canoffer you programs to takeadvantage of the current mar-ket situation.

Randy Miller is GROW-MARK’s propane operations man-ager. His e-mail address [email protected].

Randy Miller

Fuel prices may have peaked early this yearBY DANIEL GRANTFarmWeek

Gasoline prices reaching $5 per gallon thissummer, a concern when some local prices topped$4 recently, isn’t expected to materialize after all.

In fact, fuel prices already may have peakedfor the year, according to Jackie McKinnis,GROWMARK energy analyst.

“I’d say we’ve probably seen our high thisyear, unless something happens with Iran (thatcauses oil prices to skyrocket),” McKinnis toldFarmWeek.

The national average prices of regular gaso-line and diesel fuel, as of last week, trendeddown for the sixth consecutive week.

The average gasoline price, from April 9 toMay 21, dropped from $3.88 to $3.62 while theaverage price of diesel during the same timeeased from $4.15 to $3.96.

“The old-time trend is to peak out closer toLabor Day,” McKinnis said. “But the last threeyears, since the recession, we tend to peak outearlier around June or July. The same thing hashappened so far this year.”

McKinnis believes fuel prices mostly trendedlower due to plentiful gasoline andoil stocks, concern about Greecepotentially exiting the euro systemwhich could worsen Europe’s debtproblem and reduce fuel demand,and a strengthening dollar.

“The dollar has been making abig surge,” she said. “That tendsto weaken commodities.”

Oil prices recently dippedbelow $90 per barrel.

The Organization of Petrole-um Exporting Countries(OPEC) has been ramping upproduction to ease high pricesand maintain demand, accordingto the analyst. Oil supplies this

month were near a 22-year high.“OPEC has been actively overproducing to

try to get prices to stay down,” McKinnis said.“It’s working.”

Meanwhile, U.S. oil production has been bol-stered by increased production in North Dako-ta, which recently moved ahead of Alaska as thesecond-largest oil-producing state in the U.S.behind Texas.

The reopening of a pipeline from Oklahomato Texas also has allowed domestic oil to beshipped around the country and narrow thespread between domestic and imported crude.

Oil production has expanded in North Dako-ta due to improved horizontal drilling techniquesin the Bakken oil shale field and Three Forks for-mations in the western part of the state.

An early corn harvest in the South and Mid-west could pressure diesel prices, though. Dieselfuel is used more widely around the world thangasoline, and diesel stocks subsequently are tight.

“Diesel is our strongest market,” McKinnissaid. “With the possibility of an early harvest,there is a fair chance diesel prices could make arun near previous highs.”

PROFITABILITY

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CASH STRATEGISTCorn Strategy

ü2011 crop: Old-cropprices have carried a premiumto the new crop through thewinter because of perceivedtight stocks. Recent action inthe futures spreads and spotbasis levels indicate old-cropprices may be starting to grav-itate to new-crop price levels.This indicates producersshould be more aggressive inpricing remaining old-cropsupplies. Use prices above $6on July futures to wrap upsales.

ü2012 crop: Use ralliesnear resistance at $5.28 and$5.35 on December futures tomake catch-up sales. We mayadd a sale if December hits$5.25; check the Hotline close-ly. We prefer hedge-to-arrivecontracts for making sales, butplan to tie up the basis bymid-summer.

vFundamentals: Thecorn crop is off to a greatstart, with the first conditionreport indicating 77 percent ofthe crop was in good/excel-lent condition. That was thefourth-best start in recent his-tory. But traders and produc-ers already are discountingpotential because of the per-sistent dry weather and emerg-ing drought spots.

Soybean Strategyü2011 crop: Soybean

prices continue to erodebecause of economic fearsdespite perceived positivedemand signals. Action indi-cates this market is “out ofgas” for now. We urge you touse rallies to $13.75-$13.90on July futures to sellremaining old-crop soybeansother than any “gamblingstocks” you want to hold intosummer.

ü2012 crop: Use rallies to$13 on November futures toget sales up to recommenda-tion. Check the Hotline; wemay add to sales at that mark.

vFundamentals:Demand looks good on thesurface, but talk of Chinesecancellations last week sud-denly made the industry con-cerned it may be overly opti-mistic on long-term expecta-tions. Poor world economicnumbers and a persistentlystrong dollar are underminingexpectations as well. U.S. pro-

duction hopes have become alittle uncertain with fear thedry weather in the Southpotentially will cut double-crop plantings and may bestressing some of the single-crop plantings across the Mid-west.

Wheat Strategyü2012 crop: Wheat prices

quickly set back following asteep short-covering rally. Usecurrent strength to makecatch-up sales. Leave orders toprice another 15 percent ifChicago July trades above$6.80. Producers selling 100percent off the combine needto be aggressive making saleson this rally.

vFundamentals: The

recent price surge was tied toconcern about dry weather inthe U.S. Plains, Russia, China,and Australia. However,some of this concern haseased, with weather forecastsindicating improving condi-tion, especially in Australiaand Russia. U.S. winter wheatharvest has reached southernKansas where yields couldprove disappointing becauseof the recent hot, dry period.Still, the hard red winter cropwill be significantly betterthan last year’s crop. Andunless a significant problemdevelops, wheat fundamentalswill only be “less negative”than they were a couple ofmonths ago.

Cents per bu.

Long growing season ahead


them useful. They are a subjec-tive look at the crop, and arenot based on “hard” data. The2010 crop year was a perfectexample of why one shouldtreat them with care. That year,the condition rating persistentlyindicated the crop was signifi-cantly better than it really was.

We don’t get too wrappedup in the week-to-weekchanges in the condition rat-ings because they are subjec-tive. Instead, we prefer to lookat the trend. We’ve also foundit’s not good to draw manyconclusions about them untilmid-July. Even on good years,they’ve tended to fade intolate-July/early-August, only toimprove after.

For now, all the corn ratingtells us is the crop looked goodafter it emerged. Since lastweek’s survey, moisture sup-plies have deteriorated. Alongwith other factors, that shouldlead to a lower rating afterMemorial Day. And the condi-tion likely will decline untilthere’s a general rain across theMidwest.

It may be another couple ofweeks before USDA releasesits initial rating for soybeans.Unless there’s widespread rainsoon, the initial rating will notbe as good as it was for corn.But, everything we’ve saidabout using the crop rating forcorn is true for soybeans aswell. These early numbersdon’t mean much.

The initial U.S. corn cropcondition rating was historical-ly high but not surprisingly so.Only three other times in his-tory, 1991, 1994, and 2007,has the initial rating been high-er than this year’s but not bymuch.

National ratings were firstavailable in 1988. Of the threehigher starts, two ended upwith corn yields slightly belowtrend, while one (1994) waswell above trend. That crophad a new record yield, 138.6bushels per acre.

The accompanying graphicis an index of the crop ratingswe first put together 20 yearsago. It’s calculated using onepoint for each percent in thevery poor rating, ranging up tofive points for each percent inthe excellent rating. We thensum the total of all categories.A number of people are nowusing a similar index rating.

We prefer an index-basedrating to the good/excellentcategories usually quotedbecause it takes into accountthe portion of the crop in theextremely poor categories.

Even then, we view the con-dition ratings with a highdegree of skepticism but find

pERspEcTIvEs


Here’s something to chew on: In2010, Illinois’ 76,000 farmers generated$16 billion in economic output, secur-ing the state’s position as one of themost productive growing regions in theworld.

What if we could do even more?Traditionally, Illi-

nois has shipped muchof what it grows out ofthe state and importedmost of the food con-sumers buy at the gro-cery store. But inrecent years, newopportunities haveopened up to comple-ment and build uponour existing assets bydeveloping a strong local food econo-my.

The economic development poten-tial of this trend is enormous. Accord-ing to a recent study, if the State ofIllinois met its demand for fresh pro-duce with production from Illinoisfarms, farm sales would increase by$264 million and 2,600 jobs would becreated. Add products like meat, milk,and grains to the list and the impactwould be even greater.

A strong local food economy is builton relationships between farmers andconsumers. Sometimes it’s a direct con-nection, like those forged at farmers’markets. Other times it’s indirect: Con-sumers find local products at the gro-cery store, in restaurants, in theirschool, or hospital, or workplace cafe-

terias. Unfortunately, building theseindirect connections is more difficultthan it might seem.

Take Ken Ropp, a Central Illinoisdairyman whose family started RoppJersey Cheese in 2006. He now sells 60varieties of cheese at a farm store,

farmers’ markets, anever-growing list ofgrocery stores, andeven local schools.

But he faces a majorchallenge: Ken spendsthe majority of histime distributingcheese to 140 loca-tions within 100-mileradius of the dairy inNormal, which limits

his ability to scale up.Other Illinois producers are chal-

lenged by a lack of processing, pack-ing, or storage space to get their prod-ucts ready to sell.

Whether it’s preparing local food forsale or distributing it to buyers, Illinoishas a serious deficit when it comes tolocal food infrastructure.

Enter an innovative business con-cept called a food hub. Food hubsserve as central collection points forproducts from many small and mid-sized farms; they provide space andequipment for storage, and they oftendo processing and packing.

With the volume of products theycollect from the many local farms theywork with, food hubs can sell to largebuyers such as regional grocery chains.

Many hubseven have adistributionarm thatdelivers the products.

Food hubs help smalland mid-sizedfarms and ranch-es reach marketsthey could neveraccess on their own.Nationwide, nearly 200food hubs are connectingfarms with these new opportu-nities, putting people to workand expanding consumeraccess to healthy, local food inthe process.

Food hubs are one piece of abroader economic developmentstrategy that taps into the boomingconsumer demand for local food in Illi-nois.

That’s why earlier this year, theUSDA and the State of Illinoisannounced a collaborative effort tohelp jumpstart food hubs, workingclosely with partners such as the Uni-versity of Illinois Urbana-Champaignand the Illinois Farm Bureau.

We developed a streamlined fundingapplication checklist to help farmersand businesses navigate state and fed-eral grants and loans to support foodhubs. We are conducting technicalworkshops and hosting events to con-nect farmers and buyers. As we travelthrough the state to share theseresources, one thing is clear: With the

right infrastructure,we can bridge the gap between Illinoisfarmers and consumers, between ourstate’s rural communities and urbancenters. If we do it right, everyonebenefits.

In late April, nearly 200 food hubdevelopers from across the countrymet in Chicago to share strategies andbest practices. It was fitting that theychose Illinois to hold their event.

It is a state with enormous agricul-tural resources — and a great pool ofconsumers. If we make the connec-tions, we’ll be serving up both betterdinners and a stronger economy.

Sheila Simon, Carbondale, is the lieutenantgovernor of Illinois. Kathleen Merrigan isdeputy secretary of the USDA.

Making the right connectionswith local food producers, buyers

SHEILASIMON

KATHLEENMERRIGAN

My family participated in the“Ag Pizza Party” to show oursupport for Domino’s Pizza,which recently announced it

would rely onanimal expertsto determinethe best way toraise farm ani-mals for foodproduction.

As a farmer,I respectDomino’s forits commonsense decisionand for trust-

ing the experts in animal care.That’s why we are among thethousands of families acrossthe nation to show a little loveback to Domino’s.

When we picked up our piz-za after a 45-minute drive fromthe farm, we also left a thankyou card with the manager let-ting him know we valuedDomino’s support for farmers,ranchers, veterinarians, andnutritionists.

Our family relies heavily onthese experts to take care ofour hogs. They are not just ani-mal care specialists; they are apart of our family farm man-

agement team. They know thenuts and bolts of our farm andfamily, and they help us cus-tomize the care we give ourlivestock. Every farm is differ-ent, just as every person andbreed of animal is different.

Our family has been raisinglivestock for five generations.It’s a tradition we are proud ofand we hope our children willhave the opportunity to oneday follow in our path. Our ani-mals rely on us seven days aweek to care for them. We dothis no matter the hour of theday or the day of the week.

Animal care is a top priorityfor our family. That’s why werely on the expert advice of ourveterinarian, nutritionist, andother animal experts when itcomes to the daily care we giveour hogs and cattle.

We use gestation stalls onour farm to protect our sowsduring pregnancy from larger,more aggressive “bully sows.”The stalls also allow us to mon-itor feed intake of each individ-ual sow and tailor nutritionalneeds individually.

If a sow isn’t eating, weknow it right away and can pre-vent problems from occurring.

We also are able to give eachsow individual hands-on caredaily by using the stalls. Ouranimals are well cared for, con-tent, and comfortable. Until theanimal experts we work withtell us there is a better way, wewill continue to protect andcare for our sows in this way.

So, with the onslaught ofanimal rights activism playingout in the marketplace, thedecision by Domino’s speaksvolumes to me as a farmer. Itshows the company trusts theexperts I trust. And it showsthey trust me. I appreciate that.

The trust demonstrated byDomino’s also shows me thatthe pizza company does notwant to force regulations onfarmers.

There’s already a lot of con-solidation in hog farming inAmerica, with independent hogfarmers declining the most innumbers.

We own our facilities andour animals. We have a bigstake in the success of ourbusiness and in the happinessof those who buy bacon, ham,and sausage made from ourhogs.

Mandating unrealistic time-

lines on family farmers regard-ing the animal care methodsthey choose could force morehog farmers out of business. Iknow that is not the goal ofany company, but the unintend-ed consequences of decisionslike these can greatly influencefamily farms like mine.

Thank you, Domino’s, forsupporting our farm and ranchfamilies.

Chris Chinn, a fifth-generation hogfarmer from Clarence, Mo., is a for-mer chair of the American FarmBureau Federation’s national YoungFarmers and Ranchers Committee.

Many farmers ‘pay it forward’ with Domino’s pizza

CHRISCHINN

Reader questionsNAFTA successEditor:

In your May 14 edition ofFarmWeek, you ran an articletitled “NAFTA succeedsbeyond expectations, spurseconomies” by John Block,former U.S. agriculture secre-tary.

I was a little puzzled bywhat Mr. Block was implying.Yes, U.S. agricultural exportswere up to both Canada andMexico, and total trade hadincreased, but is there more tothis picture?

Labor statistics by theEconomy Policy Institute showa loss of 682,900 U.S. jobs.According to the United States

Census Bureau, U.S. trade withMexico in 1993 was a deficit of$10.8 billion and in 2011 adeficit of $65.6 billion. U.S.trade with Canada in 1993 wasa deficit of $10.8 billion and in2011 a deficit of $35.6 billion.

The combined U.S. 2012deficit for the two countries isrunning at a rate of more than$100 billion. The net effect ofNAFTA is corporate profitsare up, but Americans have lostjobs and U.S. trade deficit hasballooned.

I cannot see how these factscan be construed by Mr. Blockas “NAFTA has succeededbeyond imagination.”

KEITH GRAY WESTLAND,Berwyn

LETTER TO THE EDITOR

Documents

FarmWeek May 28 2012