Farmweek October 10, 2011

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Monday, October 10, 2011 Two sections Volume 39, No. 41

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

CHINESE DEmAND forcorn is expected to outpace thecountry’s production, so it shouldcontinue to be a buyer on theworld market. ..................................4

THIS STRANGE-LOOKINGapparatus is a weather station atone of three schools in Illinoisus ing a new pi lot wind energ ycurriculum. ..................................3

IF THE LA NINA lingers, itcould set up a possible repeat oflast year’s cold and blustery winterand a wet start to spring, a meteor-ologist says. ......................................2

Call to action!South Korea, Colombia, and Panama FTAsNOW is the time to make YOUR calls for FREE TRADE!

By Oct. 13, call both U.S. senators and your congressman

Urge them to vote YES this week on each of the three pending free trade agreements (FTAs)

Colombia FTA (H.R. 3078) – Panama FTA (H.R. 3079) – South Korea FTA (H.R. 3080)

Call U.S. Sen. Dick Durbin at 202-224-2152Call U.S. Sen. Mark Kirk at 202-224-2854Call your congressmanAnd please report your contacts to Farm Bureau!

At long last, House vote on FTAs appears imminenting for months and yearsfinally took place,” said Illi-nois Farm Bureau PresidentPhilip Nelson, who was inWashington for an AmericanFarm Bureau Federationboard meeting when theadministration sent the pactsto the House.

“I saw firsthand when I wasin Colombia and Panama ear-lier this year how importantpassage of the free tradeagreements are for creatingU.S. jobs and increasing mar-kets for farm commodities,”he said.

Passage of the FTAs is crit-ical, said Nelson.

“We want to urge all ourmembers to take time out oftheir busy schedules to climboff the combine or pick uptheir cell phones and call theircongressmen as well as the

BY DAVE MCCLELLANDFarmWeek

Three free trade agree-ments (FTAs), which havebeen awaiting congressionalaction for years, last weekappeared headed for decisiveaction.

Agreements with Colom-bia, Panama, and SouthKorea were sent to CapitolHill by the Obama administra-tion early last week and quick-ly moved through the HouseWays and Means Committeeto the floor of the Housewhere a vote is expected thisweek.

A Senate vote is expectedto follow soon.

“What we have been hop-

two senators stressing theimportance of the passage ofthese three FTAs.”

Government and privateindustry estimates speculatethe agreements will result in$2.5 billion to $3 billion inincreased U.S. export salesand lead to perhaps 20,000new jobs.

The three countries alreadyhave nearly duty-free status

for most of the goods theysell to the U.S., and the agree-ments would eliminate orgreatly reduce tariffs on mostU.S. agriculture and manufac-tured goods.

A stumbling block to actionon the three FTAs — whichactually were signed duringthe Bush administration —has been concern over work-ers who might lose their jobs

as a result of the agreements.The Obama administration

had held up sending the agree-ments to Congress until it wasassured benefits for workersdisplaced by foreign competi-tion would be approved.

The Senate last weekapproved the Trade Adjust-ment Assistance program (theworker aid bill), which address-es that concern, and the Houseis expected to take action onthe legislation in conjunctionwith the trade pacts.

It has been speculated thatthe administration wants atleast the House passage of theagreements in place whenSouth Korean President LeeMyung-bak visits the U.S. thisThursday.

Virtually all commodityorganizations were calling forswift approval of the FTAs.

Vote in Senateexpected soon

Downed corn presents harvest challenges; yields variableBY DANIEL GRANTFarmWeek

Downed corn has been achallenge to harvest for somefarmers around Illinois, but sofar much of it has been sal-vaged.

Yields, however, are all overthe board depending in part onwhat stage of the growing sea-son the corn went down andthe severity of the damage.

Steve Giertz, a farmer from

Biggsville in Henderson Coun-ty, recently spent about 2.5weeks harvesting 425 acres ofcorn, about one-third of hiscrop, that was severely goose-necked after it was hit with 60to 70 mph winds on LaborDay weekend.

“I feel like we could havecombined 1,000 acres fasterand easier” than it took to har-vest the 425 acres of downedcorn, Giertz told FarmWeek.“We just had to have perfectconditions. There was a lot ofmaterial out there.”

Giertz, who farms with hisbrother, Greg, and part-timeworker, Matt Daly, installed areel on his corn head that hehad used three years ago when100 mph winds hit the samefarm during the growing sea-son.

“We already had a reel from2008,” Giertz said. “We werelucky (this year). The corn wasalready made (prior to thewindstorm) and we didn’t get alot of rain after it happened.”

Giertz estimated they wereable to pick up about 95 per-cent of the downed corn andlost only about 10 bushels peracre from what otherwise

might have been 200-bushelcorn.

“We were amazed how wellit yielded,” he said.

Brian Duncan, a farmerfrom Polo and president of theOgle County Farm Bureau,also has 200-plus bushel corn-fields in his area.

But some fields, which werepummeled by a windstorm inJuly and hail in August, have

yielded less than 100 bushelsper acre.

“We had pretty severe windand hail damage,” said Dun-can, who noted the epicenterof the August storm droppedbaseball-sized hail on somefields.

“Some of it (corn in themost severely damaged fields)is under 100 bushels,” Duncansaid. “But crops that managed

to avoid the high wind and hailare producing a lot of 200-plusbushel yields.”

Duncan also is using a reelon his corn head to harvest thedowned corn. He noted onefield the corn was lodged sobadly he could combine it onlyin one direction.

“Unfortunately, the vast

Steve Giertz maneuvers a combine through severely lodged corn in one of his fields between Monmouth andBiggsville in Henderson County. He estimated the corn head with the reel attachment was able to pick up about95 percent of the damaged corn. Giertz said he was amazed at the yield of the corn, which was blown over bya Labor Day weekend windstorm. (Photo by Cyndi Cook)

See Downed corn, page 4

ETHANOL TRAIN DERAILS, BURNS — A trainwith more than 60 cars transporting ethanol derailed andcaught fire early Friday, causing officials to evacuate Tiskilwain Bureau County, The Associated Press reported.

The 131-car train, operated by the Iowa Interstate Rail-road, was transporting ethanol for Archers Daniel MidlandCo., according to a fire department spokesman. Witnessesreported hearing explosions and seeing huge flames.

At FarmWeek presstime there was no word on anyinjuries or possible causes of the accident.

STUDY: CELLULOSIC BIOFUELS WON’T SAT-ISFY RFS — The biofuel industry will not be able to meetthe cellulosic production requirements of the RenewableFuel Standard (RFS) without significant advancements intechnology or investment, according to a new study.

The National Academy of Sciences last week completeda study for Congress that outlined the challenges.

The RFS requires the production of 15 billion gallons ofcorn-based ethanol, 1 billion gallons of biodiesel, and 16 bil-lion gallons of cellulosic fuels be produced annually by2022. The ethanol and biodiesel requirements can beachieved, but the cellulosic goals probably cannot be,according to the report.

The U.S. currently has about 200 ethanol plants produc-ing more than 14 billion gallons of the corn-based fuel. Butthere currently are no commercially viable biorefineries forcellulosic ethanol, the report noted.

STATE AG GROUPS DONATE PORK — The Illi-nois Pork Producers Association, Illinois Corn MarketingBoard, and Illinois Soybean Association recently distributedmore than 34,000 pounds of ground pork to eight regionalfood banks associated with Feeding Illinois.

The effort was part of the “Pork Power: Partnering toFight Hunger in Illinois” campaign.

The donations, which were made during SeptemberHunger Action Month, will provide more than 136,000meals to families in Illinois.

Regional food banks that received pork donations arelocated in Chicago, Rockford, Peoria, Moline, Springfield,Urbana, St. Louis, and Evansville, Ind.

ASSIGNING VALUE TO CONSERVATION —Efforts to put an economic value on conservation work isfocusing attention on a variety of costs and benefits fromconservation.

The National Association of Conservation Districts hascommissioned a report “Conservation Benefits: Putting Val-ue Where It Belongs.”

Measurements and verification are essential for systemsthat attach economic values to conservation services,according to the report. Currently, USDA is working ontools to do those tasks.

Another key factor is allowing stacked landowner pay-ments for a variety of conservation services, such as waterquality protection and enhanced wildlife habitat. Thatreduces the winners-vs.-losers effect of public benefits com-ing at a cost to landowners.

T h e f u l l r e p o r t i s a v a i l a b l e o n l i n e a t{www.nacdnet.org/resources/reports/}.

FarmWeek Page 2 Monday, October 10, 2011

(ISSN0197-6680)

Vol. 39 No. 41 October 10, 2011

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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© 2011 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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Gary White - Northern IllinoisDoug McDaniel - Southern IllinoisEditorial phone number: 309-557-2239Classified advertising: 309-557-3155Display advertising: 1-800-676-2353

Quick TakesEMERGING ISSUES

Illinois requiring medical cards with some CDLs BY KAY SHIPMANFarmWeek

Illinois drivers with com-mercial drivers licenses (CDLs)last week received mailednotices from the Illinois secre-tary of state about a new pro-gram aimed at enforcing themedical card requirement.

This is the first time themedical card will be linked tothe CDL, according to KevinRund, Illinois Farm Bureausenior director of local gov-ernment.

Within a two-year periodthat starts Jan. 30, 2012, allCDL holders will have to visita CDL driver’s licensing facili-ty in person to declarewhether the medical cardrequirement applies to them,Rund said.

“Not just any driver’slicensing facility will do,” headvised. “There are only 47

offices in Illinois that accom-modate CDL drivers.”

If a farmer’s CDL expireswithin that two-year period, heor she may make the requiredvisit at the time the license isrenewed. However if the CDLwill expire after Jan. 30, 2014,that driver must make a specialtrip before that expiration date..

“Virtually any farmer whooperates a combination vehi-

cle, such as semis or a pickupand gooseneck trailer, musthave the medical card,” Rundsaid. “That’s because thefarmer exemption from themedical card applies onlywhen driving single-unit vehi-cles, not combinations.”

When farmers with CDLsvisit driver’s licensing facilities,they will have to declarewhether they operate as an“interstate” driver or as“intrastate,” Rund added.

They also need to declarewhether they are eligible forthe exemption from the med-ical card requirement that isfound in federal regulation 49CFR 391.45, he said.

For more on the CDL andmedical card program, goonline to the secretary ofstate’s website at{www.sos.state.il.us/depart-ments/drivers/cdl/home.html}.

Illinois Attorney General Lisa Madigan andseveral state legislators said they want lawmak-ers to make permanent a pilot program thatallows pharmacies to block illegal sales of a keymethamphetamine ingredient.

Last week Madigan visited Cahokia, Danville,and Quincy, which are among the communitieshardest hit by illegal meth production and use.

The attorney general said she will work withstate Sen. William Haine (D-Alton) and Rep.Jerry Costello II (D-Smithton) during theupcoming veto session to extend the program.

Since 2006, a state program has restrictedindividuals from buying more than two pack-

ages of pseudoephedrine at one time. Cus-tomers also have to show photo identificationand sign a purchasing log maintained by phar-macies.

A pilot system in operation since June 2010has allowed pharmacies to track pseu-doephedrine sales and to block any sales thatwould exceed the legal limit. Without an exten-sion, the pilot program is set to end in January.

Law enforcement and others point to thesuccess of the pilot program that they maintainhas resulted in stopping the sale of more than70,000 boxes of pseudoephedrine since June2010.

Attorney general seeks to make meth pilot permanent

Will La Nina bring cold, snowy winter?BY DANIEL GRANTFarmWeek

The return of La Nina,cooler-than-average PacificOcean temperatures thatinfluence global weather pat-terns, is not expected to createany additional harvest chal-lenges.

Bryce Anderson, DTN agmeteorologist, predicted nor-mal to below-normal precipi-tation across much of theMidwest this fall.

“The general harvest pat-tern should be pretty favor-able,” Anderson said.

But if La Nina lingers, itcould set up a possible repeatof last year’s cold and activewinter followed by a stormyfirst-half of spring, accordingto the meteorologist.

Illinois’ last climatologicalwinter (December throughFebruary) averaged 24.9degrees, 3.3 degrees belownormal, while snowfall rangedfrom 15 inches in SouthernIllinois to 45-plus inches inNorthern Illinois, reportedJim Angel, climatologist withthe Illinois State Water Survey.

Peoria last Decemberthrough February recorded itssnowiest winter on record withsnowfall accumulation of 52.5inches.

“The first part of winter weare looking for a cold start andthen for it to get stormier aswe go into spring,” Anderson

said.If La Nina and this past

year’s weather repeats itself inthe months ahead, farmersmay encounter another wetspring and subsequent plantingdelays in 2012. La Nina win-ters often are wetter than nor-mal in the Pacific Northwestand Ohio Valley.

“There is a chance nextspring that a pretty stormy sit-uation could redevelop” in theMidwest if La Nina persists,Anderson said.

Elsewhere, La Nina couldthreaten to keep the South

entrenched in severe droughtconditions as La Nina wintersoften bring drier-than-normalconditions to the southern tierof the U.S.

“This means drought islikely to continue in thedrought-stricken states ofTexas, Oklahoma, and NewMexico,” said Mike Halpert,deputy director of the Nation-al Oceanic and AtmosphericAdministration Climate Pre-diction Center.

In Illinois, September rain-fall averaged 3.53 inches,which was 0.34 of an inchabove normal. However, partsof Northern and SouthernIllinois last month received 4-6 inches of rain while areas inCentral Illinois received just 1-2 inches.

“Rainfall was stubbornlysparse in areas hardest hit bythe drought,” Angel said.

The statewide average tem-perature for the month, 63.2degrees, was 3 degrees belownormal.

That made it the 13th-coolest September on record,Angel reported.

FarmWeekNow.com

Check out the latest winter out-look from the Illinois State WaterSurvey at FarmWeekNow.com.

ENErgy EducatioN

Page 3 Monday, October 10, 2011 FarmWeek

New program channeling wind energy into classrooms

Rob Martin, left, a renewable energy student at Illinois State University(ISU), and Matt Aldeman, senior energy analyst at the ISU Center forRenewable Energy, install a weather station on the roof of the CubaMiddle-Senior High School, Cuba. The Fulton County school is one ofthree in Illinois using a new pilot wind energy curriculum that integratessite-specific weather data. (Photo by Jolene Willis, Illinois Institute forRural Affairs, Western Illinois University)

BY KAY SHIPMANFarmWeek

Students at three rural Illinois schools areusing the weather to apply principles of physics,chemistry, biology, and math through a pilot pro-gram known as Wind for Schools.

“This (program) is a great opportunity,” saidSuperintendent Roger Alvey, whose ElmwoodSchool District is pilot testing Wind for Schools.

“I am so impressed at how it encompassesbiology, physics, chemistry, and so many fields. Ithas relevance to everyday life and it’s hands on,”said Alvey, a former science teacher.

Wind for Schools is being developed andadministered by the Illinois Insti-tute for Rural Affairs (IIRA) atWestern Illinois University andthe Center for Renewable Ener-gy and College of Education atIllinois State University (ISU).

The Department of Commerceand Economic Opportunity (DCEO) is fundingthe program with a two-year grant.

In addition to the Elmwood district, the otherparticipating schools are Fulton County SchoolDistrict, Cuba, and Ridgeview School District,Colfax. Recently, a weather station was installedon a school building in each district and curricu-lum workshops were provided for teachers.

“The whole point is for Illinois site-specificdata to be integrated into the curriculum,” saidJolene Willis, IIRA wind energy program coor-dinator. “We’re excited about this initiative tointegrate wind energy into science curriculum.Wind energy is a growing part of Illinois’ econ-omy.”

Through the program, students are collectingreal wind and weather data and then incorporat-ing that information into classroom lessons,experiments, and projects. The curriculum hasbeen designed to fulfill relevant state learninggoals.

Material also will encompass STEM (science,technology, engineering, and mathematic) goals,according to Alvey.

Wind for Schools also fits with the state’s edu-cation goal to develop career-based learning aboutindustry sectors. The goal is for schools to imple-ment curriculum that builds upon concepts intro-duced in early grades all the way through collegedegree programs.

An introduction of energy concepts toyoung students is ideal for college programs,such as ISU’s renewable energy undergraduateprogram, according to David Loomis, directorthe ISU Center for Renewable Energy. High

school students who understandthose concepts will be preparedfor more advanced college-levelclasses, he noted.

“Students need to under-stand plain, old energy con-

cepts. Then you marry it (Windfor Schools) with wind concepts and all thewind and weather data,” Loomis said.

Wind for Schools’ materials are based oncurriculum from the National Energy Educa-tion Development Project, which has a websiteat {www.need.org}. The model turbine kits arefrom the Kid Wind Project, which has a web-site at {www.kidwind.org).

After the pilot program is assessed, a formalapplication for districts will be finalized for the2012-13 school year. “We estimate conserva-tively three to five schools will be selected toparticipate,” Willis said.

However, the long-term future of Wind forSchools hinges on funding for the programafter the two-year grant ends. “We’re continu-ously looking for sustainable funding,” Willisadded.

More information about Wind for Schoolsis available by contacting IIRA’s Fred Iutzi orLoomis at the Renewable Energy Center.

FarmWeekNow.com

Learn more about the Wind forSchools program in Illinois atFarmWeekNow.com.

Rural Development awards community and economic funding

Three Illinois-based energy producers wereamong 160 recipients nationwide to receive pay-ments to support production of biofuels,USDA announced last week.

“These payments can have a widespread eco-nomic benefit to our rural communities,” saidColleen Callahan, Rural Development state director.“The biofuel producers hire local workers, buy fromthe region’s farmers, and distribute their fuels to useon trucks and barges rather than ocean vessels.”

The Illinois-based recipients received pay-

ment for biofuel production in fiscal year 2010.Archer Daniels Midland received $2.571 millionfor producing biodiesel from canola oil at itsplant in Velva, N.D.

Incobrasa Industries Ltd., based in Gilman,received $1.771 million for producing biodieselfrom soybean oil.

Midwest Biodiesel Product LLC received$54,984 for biodiesel produced from animalfats, waste vegetable oil, and soybean oil at itsSouth Roxana facility.

Three Illinois energy firms receive biofuel payments

Three Illinois communitiesand two Illinois energyproviders will benefit fromfunding announced by USDARural Development.

“Improving public facilitiesin rural communities is neces-sary to ensure our towns andsmall cities continue to begreat places to live, raise afamily, and run a business,”said Colleen Callahan, directorof Rural Development in Illi-nois.

The Savanna Public Libraryin Carroll County will receive a$50,000 grant to replace win-dows with energy-efficientones. In April, the library alsoreceived a Rural Developmentgrant to replace the first eightof 24 windows.

Middle Fork Township inVermilion County will use a

$178,000 low-cost loan tobuild a new maintenancebuilding in Potomac, replacingtwo buildings that are morethan 70 years old.

Rural Development willguarantee the $1 million loanthe Benton Civic CenterAuthority has with SouthernIllinois Bank, Johnston City.The money will be used to

renovate the theater in theexisting civic center.

Energy providers Jo-CarrollEnergy and Coles-MoultrieElectric Cooperative willreceive funding to help createjobs.

“This funding requiresrecipients to use collaborativeefforts and regional approach-es to address local needs,”

Callahan said.Jo-Carroll Energy will

receive a $50,000 grantthrough the Rural BusinessOpportunity Grants program.Jo-Carroll Energy, an electrici-ty and natural gas provider,will use the money to establisha sustainable small businesssupport center in Mt. Carroll.

The center will provide

training, consulting, tools, andresources to help small busi-nesses in Northwestern Illi-nois improve their manage-ment resources.

Coles-Moultrie ElectricCooperative was selected toreceive a $740,000 loanthrough the Rural EconomicDevelopment Loan and Grantprogram.

The co-op will re-lend its 0-percent-interest loan to theMattoon Hotel and Conven-tion Center to build a 35,000-square-foot Hilton GardenInn facility in Mattoon.

Earlier this year, Coles-Moultrie was awarded anotherloan and grant through thesame program to support therenovation and modernizationof Sarah Bush Lincoln HealthCenter in Mattoon.

The Illinois Farm Families(IFF) is a coalition of commodity

groups for beef,corn, soybeans,pork, and the Illi-nois Farm Bureau.It is accepting

consumers’ questions and post-

ing answers to those questionson its website {www.watchus-grow.org}.

FarmWeek is publishing thequestions and answers to shareinformation.

Q: Why do you treat ani-mals with antibiotics?

IFF: Just like you take a sickchild to the doctor, the sameholds true when one of our ani-mals gets sick. We work with ourveterinarian to diagnose the ani-mal’s illness, treat it, and nursethat animal back to health.

Q: Do you feel wind tur-

bines can affect farm animalsand even cause them to die?

Scott Jensen, Tiskilwa: Ourfarm has had wind turbines on allsides of us (within 1,500 feet) forseven years. We have and contin-ue to finish out feeder cattle inour feedlot, finish out pigs, and

have horses, dogs, and cats. Wehave experienced no ill effects onany of these animals. We havelived on this farm for 25 years.There has been no change in thehealth of our livestock or com-panion animals since the con-struction of the wind farm.

IFF offering answers to consumers’ questions

EMERgINg ISSUES


Matt Daly, left, and Steve Giertz adjust a reel on the corn head of Giertz’scombine as they prepared last week to harvest downed corn in HendersonCounty. (Photo by Cyndi Cook)

Continued from page 1majority of my acres were hit and hit pretty hard,” he said.

Duncan noted many farmers in Northern Illinois have juststarted harvesting. His corn moisture last week was between 18and 27 percent while soybean yield reports so far have been im-pressive.

Elsewhere, harvest last week was progressing rapidly in manyparts of Central and Southern Illinois.

“I’d say corn (harvest) is pretty well wrapped up,” GarryNiemeyer, a farmer from Auburn in Sangamon County, said lastweek. “And, in another week, there probably won’t be many soy-beans around.”

Statewide, corn harvest the first of last week was 32 percentcomplete, 4 percent behind the five-year average pace, while 12percent of soybeans were harvested, 15 percent behind the aver-age pace.

Downed corn

PUMPKIN PICKERS

Farm workers use a loader to harvest a pumpkin field near Morton owned by Jonathan Zehr. An esti-mated 9,000 acres of commercial pumpkins are being harvested this year near Morton, which isknown as the pumpkin capital of the world. About 85 percent of canned pumpkins sold nationwide areproduced at the Nestle/Libby’s facility in Morton. (Photo by Cyndi Cook)

USMEF: Proposed traceability rule a ‘step in the right direction’BY DANIEL GRANTFarmWeek

The U.S. Meat Export Federation(USMEF) believes a proposed rule toimprove the traceability of U.S. live-stock is a “step in the right direction”to help minimize animal disease out-breaks and maintain the flow of meatexports.

USDA in August issued a proposedrule that would require livestock, unlessspecifically exempted, to be identifiedwhen moved interstate.

Identification to satisfy the ruleinclude an interstate certificate of vet-erinary inspection or other documenta-tion, such as owner-shipper statementsor brand certificates.

The proposed rule encourages theuse of low-cost technology, such asmetal ear tags for cattle, to identify live-stock.

“Our proposal strives to meet thediverse needs of the animal agriculture

industry while also helping us all reachour goal of increased animal diseasetraceability,” said John Clifford, USDAchief veterinary officer.

An efficient animal disease traceabil-ity system would help reduce the num-ber of animals involved in an investiga-tion, reduce the time needed torespond, and decrease the costs to pro-ducers and the government, accordingto USDA.

USMEF recently released a study,conducted by researchers at ColoradoState, Kansas State, and Montana Stateuniversities, which suggested the lackof an efficient traceability system in theU.S. could be costly for producers.

The study noted the U.S. and Indiaare the only two major beef exportersthat do not have mandatory traceabilitysystems.

Meanwhile, other countries, such asJapan and South Korea (two of thehighest-value markets for U.S. red meat

exports), have adopted mandatorytraceability programs which eventuallycould lead to similar requirements forimports.

“If a disease outbreak occurs, ortrading partners implement importstandards in line with their domesticrequirements, the U.S. could be at a sig-nificant disadvantage,” said Erin Daley,USMEF economist.

“As we derive more value from theinternational markets (about 16 percentof U.S. beef and 29 percent of porkare exported), implementing traceabili-ty standards can help minimize thisrisk.”

The USMEF report concluded ani-mal health management and food safe-ty are the primary drivers behind mostcountries’ animal identification andtraceability systems.

However, some countries also areusing the traceability systems as mar-keting tools to enhance sales.

“Countries with well-developedmandatory animal identification andtraceability programs enjoy compara-tive advantages in red meat exports rel-ative to countries without such sys-tems,” the researchers said.

The U.S. already has experiencedwhat the loss of export markets can doto the livestock sector. USMEF esti-mated lost beef exports, from 2004 to2011, due to the discovery of BSEtotaled about $14 billion.

Daley noted a traceability systemwould not have prevented all that loss,but it likely would have reduced it byallowing markets to reopen sooner andwithout restrictions.

USDA will accept comments on itsproposed rule concerning interstatemovements of livestock until Nov. 9.

Comments can be submitted andmore information is available at thewebsite {www.aphis.usda.gov/trace-ability}.

USGC: Record Chinese corn crop won’t satisfy demandCorn Board, who was on theChina corn tour. “(Chinese)demand (for corn) will out-pace production.”

Chinese corn productionhas increased about 34 per-cent in the past six years. Butit is unlikely China will beable to produce its way outof the situation, according toUSGC members.

Chinese farmers use oldersingle-cross hybrids, plantabout 23,000 plants per acre

(compared to much largerplant populations in theU.S.), and harvest anywherefrom 60 to 80 percent of thecrop by hand.

“Yields don’t seem to begoing up (in China) likeyou’d expect,” said MikeCallahan, USGC seniordirector of internationaloperations. “You don’t seemany technological or agro-nomic advancements(there).” — Daniel Grant

The U.S. Grains Council(USGC) last week project-ed Chinese farmers thisyear wil l harvest a record-large corn crop.

China, however, st i l l isexpected to be a buyer ofcorn on the world marketas USGC projected Chi-nese demand wil l outpaceits corn production.

USGC made that pro-jection last week at theconclusion of i ts 15thannual China corn harvesttour.

“China wil l produce abumper crop this year,”Kevin Rempp, USGC advi-sory team member, said

last week during a telecon-ference.

USGC estimated Chinesecorn production will total 6.6billion bushels. Harvestedacres were projected at 76.35million, with an average yieldof 86 bushels per acre.

China typically maintainsenough corn stocks to satisfy25 percent of its domesticdemand, but its stocks cur-rently have dipped to about16 percent of demand asdomestic corn use hasexceeded production in sixof the last seven years.

“That’s why China hasemerged as a buyer of cornand why the world has strug-

gled to get its arms aroundwhat the long-term demandwill be,” said Tom Dorr,USGC president and CEO.

USGC estimated Chinafrom Oct. 1 through Decem-ber 2012 may have to import200 million to 400 millionbushels of corn.

Domestic corn prices inChina last week reportedlyhovered around $10 perbushel due to a tight supplyand strong demand.

“With 1.2 billion peopleand changing income levels,you can see higher demandfor quality protein,” saidDon Hutchens, executivedirector of the Nebraska

RuRAl IssuEs


Farm family bounces back from devastating tornadoBY DANIEL GRANTFarmWeek

Mark Prose, a farmer fromMacoupin County, could lookat this year’s crop as a disap-pointment because yields abouta third of the way through har-vest on his farm are 30 to 40percent below trend.

But at this point, Prose isjust thankful he has a crop andthat he’s able to harvest it.

Prose and his family (wife,Lisa, and son, Michael) in Aprilsurvived a direct hit on theirfarm by an F-3 tornado, whichproduced wind speeds estimat-ed at 150 mph.

The twister destroyed thefamily’s 6-year-old home (theProses were in the basement atthe time), the machine shed, andthree grain bins, and damagedmuch of their farm equipment.

“We could hear it (thehouse) coming apart above,”Prose told FarmWeek aboutthe storm shortly after it hit.“Then, in probably l5 seconds,it was over.”

The Proses have been pick-ing up the pieces of their shat-tered farmstead and rebuildingever since.

As of late September, con-tractors had closed up theProses’ new house and werepreparing for inside work. Abrick contractor also wasscheduled to begin work soon.

A new machine shed wasnearing completion on the

same site that just five monthsago was covered with damagedimplements and debris.

“It’s coming together,”Prose said of the farmstead.“Our goal is to be in the houseby January.”

Prose fortunately was wellinsured through Country Finan-cial and said he’s been happy sofar with adjusters’ decisions.

The family also has an exca-vation business and had plentyof help from family andfriends since the day of thetornado.

“We’ve gotten a tremendousamount of support from fami-ly, friends, and neighbors,”Prose said. “It’s been unbeliev-able.

“It pays to have those typesof friends (in the excavationbusiness),” he continued. “Wehad all the equipment we need-ed (for clean-up and construc-tion work).”

Prose’s farm equipment wasdamaged by the twister, but alocal John Deere dealer hadeverything repaired in time forplanting.

“I got everything planted ina fairly timely fashion,” Prosesaid. “And, so far, harvest hasgone pretty well.”

The Proses currently are liv-ing in a rental house nearby inGirard. But, despite the incon-veniences, they have a newappreciation for their farm-stead-in-progress and can’twait to return.

“We’re thankful everydaythat we’re safe,” Prose added.

‘We’ve gotten at r e m e n d o u samount of sup-p o r t . I t ’s b e e nunbelievable’

— Mark ProseMacoupin County farmer

Mark Prose, a farmer from Girard in Macoupin County, poses near hissoon-to-be new farm house as construction workers frame a portion ofthe home. Just five months ago, an F-3 tornado with wind speeds esti-mated at 150 mph destroyed the Proses’ farmstead at the same loca-tion. Below, volunteer workers cleaned up the debris from the destroyedhome the day after the tornado. Prose hopes to move his family into thenew home in January. (Photos by Ken Kashian)

TAKING A BREAK

To encourage farmers, their employees, and the general public toslow down to avoid accidents each planting and harvest season,the Schuyler County Farm Bureau conducts a “Take a Break” safetypromotion. Farmers are given a snack and a drink and offered aslow-moving-vehicle sign. Their names also are entered into adrawing for fire extinguishers. This harvest, winners of the fire ex-tinguishers were Tim Phillips, Jason Grafton, and Leroy McClel-land. Here, Derrick Anderson and his wife, Kim, center, take abreak while receiving a snack from Schuyler County Farm Bureaumanager Kelly Westlake. While Derrick combined, Kim caught himon the go with the tractor and wagon to unload. (Photo by SchuylerAg Literacy Coordinator Jean Barron)

Bernie Walsh, Durand, Winnebago County: Beautiful har-vest weather here last weekbrought out the combines in a bigway. The beans have dried downbelow 13 percent and everyonewho has beans is combiningthem now. Corn also is beingharvested at lower moisture lev-els every day. 22 percent mois-

ture is the lowest I heard last week. Beanyields have been very good. We had somevery good weather up here this year, and theyields are showing it. Have a good and safeweek.

Leroy Getz, Savanna, Carroll County: Frost and freezingwith ice on Sunday, Oct. 2. Then,what a turnaround to beautiful,warm, and dry harvesting weath-er. Corn is testing in the low-20percent moisture range. Ouryields have been surprisinglygood on some refuge fields thatwe’ve harvested — 200 bushels

per acre. Soybeans are disappearing fromthe fields faster than I can write. All combinesare the same color — brown.

Larry Hummel, Dixon, Lee County: I think I will put myorder in now for about anothermonth and a half of weather justlike last week. Harvest is nowgoing full bore here in NorthernIllinois. It was a great week to har-vest soybeans, and yields areabout what we expected. Yieldsare coming in pretty close to last

year, which were 14 percent above our five-year average. We haven’t harvested any cornyet, but the reports I have heard are thatyields are below average, but still decent atabout 5 percent lower. Heat and wind werethe culprits. Moisture was plentiful all seasonlong.

Joe Zumwalt, Warsaw, Hancock County: Harvest contin-ues to progress at a record pacein my neck of Western Illinois.Many producers are finished orfinishing corn and the soybeansare leaving the fields just asquickly. I have only about 80acres of July-planted soybeansleft to harvest. Yields have been

surprisingly good. While I have heard ofrecord soybean yields, most in the area arearound average, which for this year is phe-nomenal. The dry conditions really madesoybean harvest more enjoyable, but it alsoallowed the beans to dry down so quickly thatthey were popping, and in some places, sig-nificant yield was lost. As I was walking byone field the other day, it sounded almost likepopcorn. There has been some tillage doneand a lot of dry fertilizer being applied. Enjoythis beautiful harvest weather.

Ken Reinhardt, Seaton, Mercer County: A beautiful harvestweek. Soybeans will be history ina few days with yields probablythe best ever. There have beenweigh wagon reports in the 90s.Apparently, healthy beans aremore important than rainfall. Weweighed 41 varieties in theMercer County SWCD no-till plot

and had an average of 74.5 bushels per acrewith a low of 64 and a high of 84.4.

Ron Moore, Roseville, Warren County: We did notreceive any rain last week andsoybean harvest began inearnest. We are about half com-pleted with harvest. Yields arelike the corn, better than expect-ed with the lack of rain in Julyand August — in the upper 50sto low 60s. With the warm and

dry weather, the moisture on the beans isbelow 10 percent, and harvest losses arehigher than normal. We should finish beanharvest this week and move back into therest of the corn. Some more has fallendown due to the high winds we had latelast month. Be sure to take a break andwork safely.

Jacob Streitmatter, Princeville, Peoria County: Corn har-vest is under way around thearea with moistures now runningin the mid- to low-20s. Soybeanharvest also has begun.Soybean yields have been a littlebetter than expected. A dry weekhas allowed a lot of soybeans toget cut. Have a safe harvest.

Mark Kerber, Chatsworth, Livingston County: Harveststarted for everyone this pastweek. Soybean fields are disap-pearing fast. The week startedwith beans a little wet andchewy. Two days later, all of thebeans went to 10 percent mois-ture — even the Group III’s.Amazing what warm weather

will do and that was with hardly any wind.Hopefully, this has dried the corn downsome and we can continue right into it. Havethe markets found a bottom?

Ron Haase, Gilman, Iroquois County: It was a dry week.Soybean harvest resumed lastFriday, Sept. 30. Many area soy-bean fields have been harvest-ed. There still are soybean fieldsthat are 10 days to two weeksaway from harvest. Corn harvesthas been minimal due to themoisture still being above the

level that farmers would like to start. Most ofthe corn that is being harvested is 20 to24 percent moisture. Our 111-day hybridthat we planted on June 3 still has notreached physical maturity or black layer.The milkline is 80 percent of the way downthe kernel. We have not started harvestingyet, but were trying to open up a field or twoFriday. Our driest corn is at 22 percent.Local closing bids for Oct. 6: nearby corn,$5.93; fall 2012 corn, $5.29; nearby soy-beans, $11.32; fall 2012 soybeans, $11.37.

Brian Schaumburg, Chenoa, McLean County: We happi-ly finished our corn on Thursdayand went directly into soybeans,as this beautiful stretch ofweather continues. Moistureshave dropped into the highteens and low 20s on corn andearly beans got down below10 percent. Yields are in a range

from 130 to 210 on corn and 50s to mid-70son beans. Markets “crashed” to these levels:corn, $5.98; January corn $6.13; fall 2012corn, $5.42; soybeans, $11.29; January soy-beans, $11.46; fall 2012 soybeans, $11.38;wheat, $5.89.

Steve Ayers, Champaign, Champaign County: What aweek! Combines are rollingeverywhere as we are enjoyingtemperatures 10 to 15 degreesabove normal. We finished cornFriday and changed heads tostart beans. We have neverdone that before, but the GroupIII beans are now ready. I am

hearing beans in the 50-plus yield range. AsI felt the flat pods on Labor Day, I felt any-thing above 20 bpa would be a miracle.USDA has our crop reporting district at18 percent corn harvested and 10 percentsoybeans harvested as of Oct. 3. Wheatwas being drilled last week. Let’s be carefulout there!

Wilfred Dittmer, Quincy, Adams County: What a color-ful fall harvest, from the brightred sunrise to the beautiful sun-set and the trees showing alltheir splendor day after day. Ithink this year will go down inthe record books as being dif-ferent in many ways, includingthe yields. Most corn seems to

be coming in a little better than expected,whereas soybeans are on the minus side.For the general area, corn is probably 90to 95 percent complete and soybeans areat a good start. Some fall fertilizer applica-tion has begun, but tillage is slow becausethe soils are just so dry. Mark up anotherweek with zero moisture and very dry con-ditions.

Carrie Winkelmann, Tallula, Menard County: The goodweather has made for a rapidharvest this year. Soybeansseem to be flying out of thefields, and with hot, dry tempera-tures, are getting very close totoo dry. Yields have been the sur-prising part of the soybean equa-tion. Who would have thought

that after a month and a half of no rain thatfields would be yielding as well as they are?There isn’t much corn left to harvest on ourside of the county. We have some yet to takeout and will move back to it when we finishup with beans. We have been spreadinglime, and I talked to several farmers whohave their wheat planted.

Tom Ritter, Blue Mound, Macon County: Beautiful week ofweather for bean cutting. Beansdisappearing at a very rapidrate. More than 60 percent ofthe soybeans have been har-vested at this point, and morethan 80 percent of the corn. Thispast week there was almosttotal concentration on soy-

beans. Yields are below average, but thereare some very good beans. The variableyields depend on soil type as well as lowground vs. high ground. Low ground sawyield reduction due to too much water inJune. High ground ran out of moisture inAugust. Yields are very variable within fields,but overall, soybean yields, considering theyear, have been very pleasing. It’s prettymuch in the same situation with corn yields.A lot of tillage has been done, and farmersare looking to wrap harvest up within the nextcouple of weeks.

Todd Easton, Charleston, Coles County: By the time thishits mailboxes, bean harvest inColes County and the surround-ing area will be practically fin-ished and combines will returnto the last remaining cornfields.Unfortunately, as producershave gotten into theirlater-planted bean fields, the

yields have tapered off a bit as the dry sum-mer had a bigger effect on the late-beans.Still, it could have been worse for the beancrop, so no complaining here. With harvestjust beginning to wind down, preparationsfor the next crop are already beginning.Fertilizer application and tillage operationsare picking up pace, and the ground seemsto be working very well after the moisturewe received a few weeks ago mellowedthings up a bit. Hopefully, this ideal fallweather pattern continues for awhile and weonce again get the fields in good shape forspring.

Jimmy Ayers, Rochester, Sangamon County: Anotherdry week last week. We havehad several combine fires inthe area. You might think aboutcarrying a leaf blower with youand blowing off your machine alittle more often than in thepast. A lot of beans are beingcut. Bean yields around our

place are running from 48 to 63 so far. I’veheard as high as 70-plus. There are still afew guys wrapping up the corn. Corn prob-ably is 70-80 percent done at this point.There is quite a bit of tillage going on withthose who plan to work the ground this fall.Be careful out there. We actually had anelectrical fire one on one of our units. Itdidn’t get out of hand, so we got lucky, butbe careful.

Doug Uphoff, Shelbyville, Shelby County: I’m sittinghere writing this reflecting on thecorn harvest that has been com-pleted on our farm. We weredone Oct. 6, which was a recordfor us. Average moisture wasaround 19, but when we finishedit was at 13.7. Average yieldswere 138 bpa at best. We had

167 bpa for April-planted corn, 155 forcorn-following-soybeans, 132 for corn-after-corn, and some timber soils went aslow as 86 bpa. We have 15 acres of dou-ble-crop beans and another 16 acres oflate-planted beans left and bean harvestwill be over. As I write this, the sun is risingas I’m about to finish planting wheat and Iam already looking forward to next yearand a more bountiful harvest. Be smart, besafe, and take a break for your family’ssake.

David Schaal, St. Peter, Fayette County: Soybean harvestkicked into high gear aroundhere last week. The moisture onthe beans is down to 9 percent.Yields are decent. Early-plantedbeans and areas that happenedto catch some later rainfall areyielding 8 to 10 bushels better.A lot of the yields that I’m seeing

and hearing are in the upper 30s to low 50s.Crops are really disappearing across thecounty. Haven’t shelled any corn in a week,but moisture levels are coming down on italso from what I’ve been hearing. Wheatproducers are sowing and saying it’s goingin the ground in good condition. Keep har-vesting and be safe.


CROPWATCHERS

Dean Shields, Murphysboro, Jackson County: A greatweek in the weather depart-ment. Lots of sunshine and alot of fieldwork done. Corn har-vest is continuing and comingalong pretty well. Farmers arestill complaining about the lowyields. The bean harvest is infull gear also. There again,

they are complaining about the yieldsbeing down this year with the dry and hotweather. It was a busy week getting a lotof fieldwork done. Several farmers are get-ting the ground ready and are sowingwheat this year. There seems to be moreacres of wheat being planted this year.Harvest is coming along as fast as can beexpected. Take care of the harvest and becareful.

Ken Taake, Ullin, Pulaski County: It was a beautiful weekfor harvest weather-wise here indeep Southern Illinois, but it’sgetting awfully dry. We could real-ly use a shower. I didn’t know thatI thought I would be saying that.Harvest is progressing at a rapidpace. Our soybean yields contin-ue to be below average. Our

yields are probably averaging in the 40-bushel area. A few people in the area havestarted planting wheat. Please have a safeweek.

Dave Hankammer, Millstadt, St. Clair County: This pastweek was a busy one, with ideal fallweather allowing harvest and fieldactivities in the area. Most of thecorn planted up to mid-May hasbeen harvested. However, cornplanted late May and early June stillhas moisture levels in the mid-20-percent range. Farmers with these

fields are opting to allow them to stand and drydown while they harvest dry soybeans.Soybean harvest quickly got under way, asearly-planted first-crop beans matured. Severalfields in the area have been combined withreports of moisture levels as low as 9 percentand yields in the mid-30s. Fertilizer is beingapplied and disked in preparing those fields forwinter wheat plantings. Like the corn crop,bean harvest will be subject to the plantingdelays of last spring allowing farmers to per-form other field activities in between. Localgrain bids: corn, $5.85; soybeans, $11.18;wheat, $5.66. Have a safe harvest.

Kevin Raber, Browns, Wabash County: A very busy week.The nice weather has allowedharvest, wheat sowing, andtillage to progress rapidly. Mycorn yields have been a little dis-appointing, but my bean yieldshave been good so far. Wheatsowing is going well. With thewarm temperatures and good

soil moisture, it should germinate quickly.

Ted Kuebrich, Jerseyville, Jersey County: These lasttwo weeks the weather hasbeen perfect for harvest. Mybrother finished shelling ourcorn last week. The yieldswere 185 to 190 bushels peracre. The grain quality couldhave been a little better, butwith all the hot, dry weather we

had this summer, the crop turned out well.Bean harvest is under way and some of theyields on lighter soils are coming out at 35to 45 bushels per acre. On the better soilsthe yields are 50 to 60 bushels per acre.Prices at Jersey County Grain, Hardin:cash corn, $5.93; January 2012 corn,$6.01; cash beans, $11.16; January 2012beans, $11.60.

Dan Meinhart, Montrose, Jasper County: We had a mostlyclear, sunny, and mild week. A lotof corn and beans came out ofthe field. Reports of yields are allover the board. The moisture inthe later-planted corn is runningin the 20s. This week is expectedto be mostly clear and in the 80swith slight chances of rain in the

latter part of the week. Hopefully, it will beanother good week for harvest.


CROPWATCHERS

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

NCGA president: Technology helped avert crop disasterBY DANIEL GRANTFarmWeek

Garry Niemeyer, a Sanga-mon County farmer whorecently was elected presi-dent of the National CornGrowers Association(NCGA), believes there willbe enough corn to meetdemand this year despitenumerous production chal-lenges.

USDA recently increasedits estimate of total carry-out this year by 200 millionbushels. Carryout, com-bined with an estimatedcrop of 12.497 billionbushels, would provide atotal supply this year ofabout 13.6 billion bushels ofcorn, according to NCGA.

Looking ahead, Niemeyerbelieves corn growers needto develop more markets asyields continue to grow.

Implementation of freetrade agreements withColombia, Panama, andSouth Korea “would be ahuge boost to Americanfarmers,” he said.

Elsewhere, he pinpointedcrop insurance/revenue pro-tection as top priorities incurrent farm bill discus-sions.

Niemeyer, past presidentof the Illinois Corn Grow-ers Association, also calledon Congress and the Obamaadministration to move for-ward with upgrades to fivelocks and dams on the Mis-

sissippi River and two onthe Illinois River.

“We need to be a reliablesupplier” of corn to exportdestinations, the NCGApresident said. “We need toget to the point we canmove forward on the locksand dams. They were builtto last 50 years and they’realmost 80 years old.”

Other priorities forNiemeyer d=uring his one-year presidential term, whichconcludes Oct. 1, 2012,include addressing what hefeels are “excessive regula-tions” by the federal govern-ment and trying to resolve theaflatoxin issue that hascapped corn yields in someparts of the country.

“We will be able to pro-duce big crops and continueto meet the demand of all(corn) users,” Niemeyer told

FarmWeek.The new

NCGA presi-dent pointedto improvedfarming prac-tices andtechnologicaladvances incrop hybridsas keys to

growing enough corn tomeet booming demand, par-ticularly in the ethanol sec-tor.

The corn crop in Illinoiscurrently is projected toaverage 161 bushels per acre

despite the fact much of thesouthern two-thirds of thestate has been abnormallydry or in a drought sinceJuly 1.

“We fought a wet springand a hot, dry summer, andwe’re still coming up withthe third-largest crop in(U.S.) history,” Niemeyersaid. “If we had (planted)1980s-style hybrids (thisyear), it would have been adisaster.”

The average state cornyield in the historical-drought year of 1988, forexample, was just 72 bushelsper acre, which is less thanhalf of the projectednational average yield (148.1bushels) this year.

Garry Niemeyer

Farmers encouraged to register for certified livestock trainingUniversity of Illinois

Extension will offer severalLivestock Manager Certifica-tion workshops, and produc-ers are encouraged to pre-register to ensure a seat forthe session that fits theirschedule.

Advance registration alsois encouraged to allow par-ticipants to receive a manualin advance, which is impor-tant for those planning totake a written IllinoisDepartment of Agriculture(IDOA) test to get theirmanure management certifi-cation.

The state Livestock Man-agement Facilities Act(LMFA) requires producerswith operations designed formore than 300 animal unitsto have manure managementcertification and to renewthat certification every threeyears.

Producers with more than

emphasis) Sunrise Communi-ty Center Jasper CountyExtension office, Newton;Jan. 19, 8:30 a.m., (swine) St.Paul’s United Church ofChrist, Nashville; Jan. 25,8:30 a.m., (swine) KnoxCounty Extension office,Galesburg; and Jan. 26, 8:30a.m., Adams County Exten-sion office, Quincy.

The February workshopdates and locations are: Feb.8, 9:30 a.m., (beef/dairyemphasis) Clinton CountyExtension office, Breese;Feb. 9, 9:30 a.m.,(beef/dairy) EffinghamCounty Extension office,Effingham; Feb. 20, 8:30a.m., DeKalb County FarmBureau building, Sycamore;Feb. 21, 8:30 a.m., (swine)Carroll County FarmBureau building, Mt. Car-roll; and Feb. 22, 9:30 a.m.,(beef dairy) StephensonCounty Farm Bureau build-

ing, Freeport.The final workshop will

be March 7, 8:30 a.m., in theIDOA building, Illinois StateFairgrounds, Springfield.

To register for a work-shop or buy a training manu-al or CD with a credit card,call the College of Agricul-tural, Consumer, and Envi-ronmental Science marketingand distribution division at800-345-6087.

Early registration fee is$30 per person and $20 foreach additional registrantfrom the same farm. Thewalk-in registration fee is$45 per person. Manual andCD prices, including ship-ping, are $62.50 for a manu-al, $32.50 for a CD, and$87.50 for a manual and CD.

For more information,contact Dale Baird, U of IExtension coordinator, at815-978-2844 or [email protected].

300 animal units must attendan approved training sessionor pass a written IDOA test.Producers with more than1,000 animal units mustattend an approved trainingsession and pass a test.

U of I Extension alsooffers a series of five quizzeson the Internet. Passing allfive quizzes will meet thestate requirement of attend-ing a certified livestock work-shop.

Upcoming workshops willcover new information,including winter spreading ofmanure and planning forextreme conditions, solutionsto problems of feed storagerunoff, foaming manure stor-age, manure application inno-till systems, and manuremanagement tools.

The training manual is thenational Livestock and Poul-try Environmental Steward-ship (LPES) Curriculum. Par-

ticipants do not need a newmanual if they have a 2003or newer one. Workshopsthat are designated asbeef/dairy or swine emphasiswill concentrate on thoseproduction facilities.

Workshops that begin at8:30 a.m. will end at 12:30p.m. with the IDOA exambeing administered after-ward. The 9:30 a.m. work-shops will end at 2 p.m., fol-lowed by the IDOA exam.Participants who arrive 20minutes late cannot be certi-fied as having attended theworkshop.

The first workshop will beDec. 7 at 8:30 a.m. in theMcLean County FarmBureau building, Blooming-ton.

The January workshops,dates, and locations are: Jan.11, 8:30 a.m., Dixon SpringsAgriculture Center, Simpson;Jan. 18, 8:30 a.m., (swine

ALTeRnATive cROpS


Boone County farmer experimentswith canola in crop rotationBY DANIEL GRANTFarmWeek

Larry Anderson, aBoone County FarmBureau member, this yeardecided to experiment witha crop new to his rotation.

And it’s already drawingattention as neighbors havequestioned Andersonabout what’s growing in hisfield located off BusinessRoute 20 near Belvidere,just east of Rockford.

Anderson, who growscorn and soybeans, alongwith 30 acres of penny-cress that is converted intobiodiesel, last monthplanted 26 acres of canola.The crop last week wasabout 5 inches tall.

“It’s an alternative I’mtrying,” Anderson toldFarmWeek. “I’ve beenquestioned quite a bit(about the canola field)already.”

Canola, which is a typeof rapeseed and is relatedto the mustard plant, most-

ly is grown for oil,although its meal can beused as livestock feed.

Anderson has businesscontacts who will crush thecanola grown on his farmand then sell the oil torestaurants in the nearbyChicago market.

“I’ve been told you canget about 100 gallons ofoil per acre and it sells for$8 per gallon,” Andersonsaid.

The canola seeds aresmall, similar to alfalfa, soAnderson planted his cropon Sept. 1 with a regulargrass seed drill. He expectsharvest to begin by June.

“It comes out aroundJune 1, as opposed towheat which we harvestaround July 1, so I get anextra month to double-crop beans,” Andersonsaid.

Canola is a major fieldcrop in Asia, Canada, andEurope but it is relativelynew to Illinois.

Researchers at SouthernIllinois University andWestern Illinois Universityhave studied canola as analternative crop in thestate.

“A variety of peopleexperimented (with canola)in the ’90s, but it was notadaptable,” Fred Iutzi,WIU ag professor, told theMacomb Eagle in 2007.“Now, thanks to plantbreeders, it can equal soy-beans in yield.”

Canola, however,requires nitrogen fertiliza-tion so it may not matchthe profitability of soy-beans. Another problemwith the crop was its sus-ceptibility to winterkill.

Anderson located a qual-ity niche market for hiscrop, but marketing oppor-tunities for canola still arefairly limited in the state.He believes canola eventu-ally could be used as abiodiesel feedstock in Illi-nois.

TOUR TALKS

State Rep. Tom Morrison (R-Palatine), third from right, chats withWilliamson County Farm Bureau manager Garry Jenkins, far left,and Williamson County Farm Bureau leaders during a recent driv-ing tour of his suburban legislative district. The county Farm Bureau“adopted” Morrison this year. The legislator hosted the Williamsonand Cook County Farm Bureaus for a tour of the Arlington NationalRacecourse backstretch and quarters for staff and jockeys. Morrisonplans to bring his family to Williamson County Oct. 17 for farmtours and a combine ride with his son. He commented that theAdopt-a-Legislator program has opened his eyes to agriculture’s im-portance in Illinois and farmers’ concerns and challenges. (Photo byChristina Nourie, Illinois Farm Bureau northeast legislative coordi-nator)

Farmer to show experimentfor growing sweet cherries

Why are sweet cherries not grown commercially in SouthernIllinois? Answer: They have a tendency to split from too muchmoisture just as they are ready to pick, rendering the crop unfitfor sale, and rainfall in Southern Illinois is unpredictable.

An experiment by Jerry Mills at Mills Apple Farm, Marine,available for viewing by the public next month, seeks to addressthat problem. Mills reasoned that if he could control the amountof moisture available to the cherry trees, the fruit would notburst.

His solution was to put the trees in high-tunnel greenhouses,which will isolate them from the effects of unwanted rainfall.

Thanks to a grant from USDA through the Illinois Depart-ment of Agriculture, Mills was able to obtain two high tunnelsthat are large enough for small cherry trees.

Those interested in seeing this new enterprise may visit MillsApple Farm in Madison County on Nov. 5. There will be a shortprogram at 11 a.m. followed by lunch hosted by the Mills family.

There are no charges for the program or the lunch. Directions to the farm may be found at {millsapplefarm.com}

or get them by calling the farm at 618-887-4732.

State surveying walnut trees for fatal disease

The Illinois Cooperative Agriculture Pest Survey staff alongwith the Illinois Department of Agriculture are surveying walnutwood samples for an infectious disease known as thousandcankers disease (TCD).

Landowners and tree farmers are asked to report any blackwalnut trees that appear weak or dying without an obvious cause.

TCD originated in western states and is killing black walnuttrees in infected states. There is no known cure.

Several contiguous states, including Indiana and Missouri,have taken action to prevent importation of walnut nurserystock and raw wood that may be infected with TCS or the walnuttwig beetle.

For more information or to report suspected trees, contactKelly Estes, state survey coordinator, Illinois Cooperative Agri-culture Pest Survey, Illinois Natural History Survey, I-Building,Room 221, 1816 S. Oak St., Champaign, Ill., 61820.

Her telephone number is 217-333-1005 and her e-mail addressis [email protected].

fROm ThE COUNTIEs


CUMBERLAND —

Farm Bureau will spon-sor a stroke detection plusscreening from 9 a.m. to 4 p.m.Wednesday, Oct. 19, at the Tole-do Christian Church. The four-screening profile is $100 forFarm Bureau members. Call877-732-8258 for an appoint-

ment. Call the Farm Bureauoffice at 217-849-3031 for moreinformation.

• The Women’s Committeewill sponsor a pumpkin deco-rating contest during October.Pumpkins must be approxi-mately 9 inches in height andmust not be carved or punc-

tured. Age divisions are from 3to 15 years and older. Winnerswill be announced Friday, Nov.4. Bring decorated pumpkinsto the Farm Bureau office byOct. 31. Call the Farm Bureauoffice at 217-849-3031 formore information.

GRUNDY — A landlease issues workshop

will be from 8:30 to 11:30 a.m.Wednesday at the University ofIllinois Extension office, Morris.Gary Schnitkey, U of I Exten-sion farm management special-ist, will be the speaker. Cost is$10. Call the Extension office at815-942-2725 for reservations ormore information.

LASALLE — Boat stor-age is available at the

LaSalle County 4-H Fairgrounds.Cost is $10 per foot. Call theFarm Bureau office at 815-433-0371 to reserve a space or toobtain more information.

• LaSalle County plat booksare available at the Farm Bureauoffice. Cost is $20 for membersand $30 for non-members. Callthe Farm Bureau office for moreinformation.

LEE — Farm Bureau’sannual custom candle

orders and payment are due byFriday. Orders may be picked upFriday, Nov. 21, at the FarmBureau office. Order forms areavailable on the website{www.leecfb.org}, by calling the

Farm Bureau office at 857-3531,or by e-mailing [email protected].

• Farm Bureau has slow-moving-vehicle emblems avail-able at the Farm Bureau office.Cost is $5.

PEORIA — A flu,tetanus, and pneumonia

clinic will be Wednesday, Oct. 26.Flu and tetanus shots for mem-bers are $20. Pneumonia shotsfor members are $40. Call theFarm Bureau office at 686-7070for reservations or more infor-mation.

• A stroke detection plushealth screening will be Thurs-day, Oct. 27, in the Farm Bureauauditorium. Members will save$35 for all four screenings. Call877-732-8258 for an appoint-ment or more information.

STARK — The annualAntique Road Show will

be at 9 a.m. Friday, Oct. 21, atthe Farm Bureau office. Bringone or two of your possessionsand Jim Folger, Folger AuctionService, will discuss each itemand offer appraisals. Breakfastwill be served. Call the FarmBureau office at 286-7481 forreservations or more informa-tion.

STEPHENSON — Astroke detection plus

screening will be from 9 a.m. to4:30 p.m. Monday and Tuesday,Oct. 31-Nov. 1, at the Farm

Bureau office. Members willreceive a discount on the fullpackage of tests. Call 877-732-8258 for an appointment.

• Flu shots will be given from9 a.m. to 2 p.m. Wednesday, Oct.26, at the Farm Bureau office.Cost is $20 for members and $25for non-members with MedicarePart B accepted.

• Deadline for ordering TerriLynn holiday nuts and candy isFriday, Oct. 28. Delivery will bethe week of Nov. 21. Orderforms are available at the FarmBureau office or online at{www.stephensoncfb.org}. Callthe Farm Bureau office at 815-232-3186 for more information.

• A defensive driving coursewill be from 10 a.m. to 3 p.m.Wednesday and Thursday, Nov.9-10, at the Farm Bureau office.Doug Sommer will present theprogram. Call the Farm Bureauoffice at 815-232-3186 for reser-vations or more information.

• The family portrait programwill be from 9 a.m. to 5 p.m.Nov. 12-13 at the Farm Bureauoffice. Call the Farm Bureauoffice at 815-232-3186 for anappointment or more informa-tion.

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

EXPLAINING PULLING TRACTOR

Steven Nolte, right, University of Illinois agricultural engineering un-dergraduate, was at the Calhoun County Fair with this year’s Illini

Pullers quarter-scale pulling tractor.Nolte, a Calhoun County native and amember of the Calhoun County FarmBureau, explains the mechanisms of

the machine to county Farm Bureau President Robert Reed. The IlliniPullers each year build a new quarter-scale pulling tractor. (Photocourtesy of Calhoun County Farm Bureau)

Auction CalendarTues., Oct. 11. 7 p.m. Land AuctionMenard Co. Stephen Tice Jacobs, MIL-WAUKEE, WI. Sanert Auction Service.www.sanertauctions.com or auc-

tionzip.com auction id#2473Wed. Eve., Oct. 12. 7 p.m. ChampaignCo. Land Auction. Wandell’s Nursery,Gladys B. Lindstrom, ST. JOSEPH, IL.Jim Clingan Auction & Realty Inc.

www.jimclingan.comSat., Oct. 15. 11 a.m. Lee Co. LandAuction. Sammoura Gehant, WESTBROOKLYN, IL. Espe Auctioneering.

www.espeauctions.comMon., Oct. 17. 11:30 a.m. ChampaignCo. Farmland Auction. Stella J. WalkerEstate, RANTOUL, IL. Gordon HannaganAuction Co. www.gordyvilleusa.comMon., Oct. 17. 10 a.m. Champaign Co.Farmland. Hamm Farms, B&B Farms,RANTOUL, IL . Gordon Hannagan

Auction Co. www.gordyvilleusa.comWed., Oct. 19. 5 p.m. Absolute Farmland

Auction. Narmont Family Estate.

www.aumannauctions.comWed., Oct. 19. 7 p.m. Logan Co.

Farmland Auc. LINCOLN, IL. Illini Bio-Energy, LLC.

Sat., Oct. 22. 10 a.m. Real Estate andPersonal Property. Donna E. SteinemanEstate, STEWARDSON, IL. Gordon PriceAuction Service. www.priceauction.comTues., Oct. 25. 7 p.m. Morgan Co. LandAuction. Dr. Donald E. Kolmer Estate,JACKSONVILLE, IL. Middendorf Bros.

middendorfs.comWed., Oct. 26. 10 a.m. 85 Ac. Lee Co.AMBOY, IL. Martin Goodrich & Waddell

Inc. www.mgw.us.comWed., Oct. 26. 6 p.m. Lawrence Co. LandAuction. John Land and Michelle Land.Gregg Parrott, Auctioneer. www.sella-

farm.comThurs., Oct. 27. 6 p.m. White Co. LandAuction. Bankston Creek Land Trust,NORRIS CITY, IL. Gregg Parrott,Auctioneer. www.sellafarm.com

Thurs., Oct. 27. 10 a.m. LaSalle Co.Farmland Auction. Estate of Doris E.

Chalus, UTICA, IL. Dick McConville andJim Elliott, Auctioneers.

profitability


Feeder pig prices reported to USDA*Weight Range Per Head Weighted Ave. Price10 lbs. $22.00-$48.65 $37.9540 lbs. n/a n/a50 lbs. n/a n/aReceipts This Week Last Week 16,613 13,497*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 $90.90 $84.10 6.80Live $67.27 $62.23 5.03

Export inspections(Million bushels)

Week ending Soybeans Wheat Corn9-29-11 10.6 22.1 28.49-22-11 7.7 21.7 34.8Last year 26.6 31.2 38.0Season total 42.9 394.1 110.9Previous season total 69.3 386.1 171.0USDA projected total 1540 1295 1900Crop marketing year began June 1 for wheat and Sept. 1 for corn and soybeans.

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

Steers 118.80 117.00 1.80 Heifers n/a n/a n/a

USDA five-state area slaughter cattle price

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

This week Prev. week Change 135.23 133.42 1.81

CME feeder cattle index — 600-800 Lbs.

Lamb prices

Slaughter Prices - Negotiated, Live, wooled and shorn 120-185 lbs. for 170.50-205$/cwt. (wtd. ave. 181.97); dressed, no sales reported.

BY DANIEL GRANTFarmWeek

The near-term outlook for commodity mar-kets is bearish but the longer-term viewappears more favorable, according to DarinNewsom, Telvent DTN senior analyst.

Corn prices last week tumbled to a 9.5-month low and soybean and wheat prices fol-lowed the downtrend as concern about thesluggish U.S. economy, European debt, and ris-ing value of the dollar helped take the windout of the market’s sails.

Corn stocks earlier this month were project-ed at 1.13 billion bushels, more than 200 mil-lion bushels above trade expectations.

“My general outlook for the market is bear-ish,” said Newsom, who last week was the fea-tured speaker during a fourth-quarter com-modities outlook webinar. “Commodities ingeneral could see a lot of pressure Octoberthrough December.”

Newsom said crop prices may have peakedfor the calendar year. Corn futures topped outat $7.99 per bushel before the recent slide.

“I think it will be difficult for the market torally (to that level again) by the end of 2011,”

Newsom told FarmWeek.End-users who need to rebuild grain sup-

plies should take advantage of lower prices thisfall.

Newsom projected the crop markets, partic-ularly corn, could rally again later this year orearly in 2012.

“Looking at the May-July (corn) futuresspread, there’s not much carry,” Newsom said.“That tells me the commercial traders still areconcerned about whether there are enoughsupplies to meet demand.”

Newsom predicted corn prices in early 2012could rally back to $7-plus.

“Those (projections) saying the corn marketis finished are very premature,” Newsom said.“We’ve seen a sell off. Yes. But we haven’t real-ly solved the fundamental supply-demand situ-ation. That ultimately should provide support.”

Old-crop corn stocks, as of Sept. 1, wereabove trade expectations but also were down34 percent compared to the same time a yearago.

Newsom predicted an acreage battle also ispossible this spring, which could provide pricesupport early in 2012.

Analyst: Corn market could rebound from recent drop

Managing for optimum soil fertility still best betBY SID PARKS

A timely shower or two, cou-pled with some extraordinarymarket opportunities, have posi-

tioned 2011 aspotentially thebest year everfor some pro-ducers. Yetfor many oth-ers, this hasbeen a verychallengingyear.

I have visited with severalfarmers in those tougher areas,and one positive comment I’veheard is yields were betterthan they feared they wouldbe. What caused the variancefrom what they expected? It islikely just fundamentals.

The first factor contributingto grain yield is weather, adesired balance of moisture,temperature, and solar energy.Setting the weather aside, thenext most important category isproper plant nutrition, followedby seed selection and place-ment, and pest control, includ-ing weeds, disease, and insects.

Optimum plant nutritionstarts with a current soil test(within three years) as the basisfor making a proper recom-mendation. Realistic yieldgoals or actual yield monitordata also are requirements forproperly identifying crop fer-tility needs.

Corn yields, on average,have increased roughly 1.5

bushels per year over the past30 years due to improvedgenetics and production prac-tices. However, when you lookat actual nutrient applications,total fertilizer volume appliedactually is trending down.

While this doesn’t appearto have had a negative impacton production, it is not a sus-tainable trend. Every bushelof grain removed from thefield also removes nutrientsfrom the soil. If not replaced,the consequence is lower soiltest values as evidenced in the2010 study published by theInternational Plant NutritionInstitute, The Fertility of NorthAmerican Soils.

This report analyzed datafrom 4.4 million soil samples

submitted by 70 major NorthAmerican soil testing labora-tories. These data were com-pared to those collected in2005 and reveal a roughly 19percent reduction in medianphosphorus levels. Thereduction in potassium also is

very close to critical levels forexpected crop response.

When you couple reducedsoil test levels and an environ-ment short on moisture orother plant stresses as wasexperienced by some in 2011,inadequate plant nutrition has

a direct negative effect onyields. In my experience,those producers whose fieldsdid better than they fearedgenerally managed for opti-mum fertility and plant rootshad an easier time findingneeded nutrients.

Your FS crop specialist hasmany tools they can use to helpmake sound agronomic recom-mendations. Good, representa-tive soil testing and variablerate nutrient management aretwo important methods formaximizing grower profitabilitywhile reducing risks.

Sid Parks is GROWMARK’smanager of precision farming.His e-mail address [email protected].

Sid Parks

Farmers urged to watch for, report kudzuInvasive weed is hostfor soybean rustBY KAY SHIPMANFarmWeek

Kudzu, an invasive weed,now grows as far north asCook and Rock Island coun-ties, prompting state naturalresource officials to ask farm-ers and landowners to reportsuspected infestations.

“We’d like to get to GroundZero (with kudzu popula-tions),” said Jody Shimp withthe Illinois Department ofNatural Resources (IDNR).“This is a state noxious weed.”

Shimp, who is leading stateefforts to control kudzu, andGeorge Czapar with the IllinoisState Water Survey recentlypublished a new “Kudzu Iden-tification Guide.” The guide isavailable online at{http://dnr.state.il.us/orc/Invasive_Species/pdf/Kudzu_ID_Guide.pdf}.

Kudzu spreads rapidly andsmothers native vegetation,said Ben Dolbeare, IDNRinvasive species project manag-er. The thick, heavy vines alsocan make it impossible forinfested areas to be used forhunting or other purposes,Dolbeare said.

Kudzu is a threat to agricul-ture because it is an alternativehost for Asian soybean rust.

Shimp and Dolbeareadvised farmers and landown-ers to watch for and reportpotential kudzu populationsby calling Shimp at 618-435-8138, extension 127, or Dol-

beare at 217-785-8688.Dolbeare said a Pike County

landowner contacted him lastweek about a possible five-acrekudzu site.

Kudzu may be confusedwith other rapidly growingvines, such as wild grape, poi-son ivy, or the Virginia creeper.However, kudzu has trifoliateleaves that help distinguish itfrom other vine species.

When individuals call withsuspected sightings, Shimp saidhe asks a series of questions todetermine if the plants arekudzu.

It is possible to control theweed, but control requires per-sistent monitoring and repeat-ed treatment. It is difficultbecause of the plant’s exten-sive, starchy roots. To date,Shimp has helped treat 148 to158 kudzu populations aroundthe state.

“If they need help witheradication, we have offered

that in the past as the funds areavailable,” Shimp said. “Thereare effective treatments ... Ittakes a five-year commitment.”

PROFITABILITY

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309-557-2274

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Policies issued by COUNTRYMutual Insurance Company®,

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

CASH STRATEGISTCorn Strategy

ü2011 crop: December’sclose above $6 was a sign thesix- to seven-week low mayhave been seen. A better signwould be a close above $6.09.Wait for December torebound to $6.60 to makecatch-up sales. We may use arally to that level to add tosales. Low prices should stim-ulate demand, but the odds ofseeing corn prices getting backabove $7 again are remote.Due to the modest futurescarry, hedge-to-arrive (HTA)sales for late winter/springdelivery still work for farm-stored grain.

ü2012 crop: Use rallies to$5.95 on December 2012futures for catch-up sales. Wemay add to sales at that level,or slightly higher.

vFundamentals: TheSept. 1 stocks were a bit of ashock to the trade, but stillwere big enough to push themarket close to a level thatwould have negative repercus-sions. The October 12 USDAreport will further clarify thesupply situation, shifting moreof the attention to demand.We expect the passing of thatreport to stimulate end userbuying, as they push coverageat least into mid-winter.

Soybean Strategyü2011 crop: The soybean

market shifted into a short-term, choppy sideways trendlast week. Demand shouldbecome more robust with thepassing of the Oct. 12 USDAreport. Wait for a rally to$12.70 on November futuresto make catch-up sales. Wemay add to sales at that level.A HTA for winter/springdelivery may pay if you canstore soybeans on the farm.If you have basis open on har-vest or post-harvest delivery,set it now.

ü2012 crop: Wait for a rallyto $12.50 on November 2012futures for catch-up sales. Wemay add another sale if theprice approaches $13.

vFundamentals: Funda-mentals have been taking aback seat to financial/eco-nomic influences the last fewweeks. But fundamentalsmostly have been a little morenegative than positive. Priceshave reached levels that

should stimulate demand. Chi-nese workers return from holi-day this week. And crush mar-gins have started to improve,which should bolster processordemand.

Wheat Strategyü2011 crop: The market is

showing signs of bottoming.Chicago December futuresneed to close above $6.32 tooffer the first good sign theminor trend has turned up.Hold off making catch-up saleswith the market positioned toput in a short-term low. Wemay recommend another 20percent sale depending on theextent of the rebound. Check

the Hotline daily. The carry infutures still pays for commer-cial storage, making a HTAcontract for winter or springdelivery the best sales tool.

vFundamentals: Itappears the short-term outlookfor Europe’s debt may haveturned a little more upbeat.This allowed the outside mar-kets to provide some support.But the Southern Plains isexpected to pick up muchneeded rain. That shouldaccelerate the planting pace.And, the Ukraine finally elimi-nated export duties, paving theway for its merchants to sellgrain more aggressively.

Cents per bu.

Wheat remains key to corn prices


Since mid-winter, especiallysince spring, wheat has had anincreasingly important influ-ence on corn prices. Wheatprices have been trending low-er since their February peak,steadily moving toward theprice of corn. Wheat had ashort-term rally, but it quicklyfaded when a large world croplooked secure.

The spread between wheatand corn prices steadily declinedfor both cash prices and nearbyfutures, hitting a low as harvestgot under way. At the closestpoint, nearby wheat futures were66 cents under corn.

In May it appeared wheatwas starting to make its wayinto feed rations. One ethanolproducer was using a 10 per-cent wheat blend this summer.

Even though the recent Sept,1 wheat stocks number castdoubt on high levels of feedingin the U.S., we’d be reluctant tobelieve it isn’t larger than lastyear until supply and importsare more accurately known.

But, the impact low wheatprices is having on corn thisyear lies not in the U.S. but inthe world. Ending wheat stocksoutside of the U.S. and Chinaare set to grow about 4 millionmetric tons (mmt), about 147

million bushels, this year. And even though USDA

increased its wheat feeding esti-mate 5 mmt. in these foreignlands since May, there’s reasonto think they could grow evenmore as long as wheat pricesremain competitive to corn.

At some locations, notablythe Ukraine and Russia, millingwheat prices are below cornprices, with feed quality wheateven lower yet. And their cornprice is below ours. It’s in thosecountries, as well as othersaround the world, that wheat willdisplace corn in feed rations.Because of that, the potentialnegative repercussion for cornprices lies in our export trade.

Historically, though, wheatand corn prices rarely remainthis close for much more than ayear. And, we’ve been at levelsat which wheat competes withcorn for five to six months.

The shift in the wheat/cornspreads in the last month sug-gest we might finally havefound a low point. The patterncount on the spread betweennearby futures, as well as nextJuly’s, suggest that.

But it may take some timefor the fundamentals of eachto change enough to force thespreads wider again, reducingthe competition between thetwo in the feed bunk. Untilthen, it’s important for all pro-ducers to follow the wheatmarket. As long as wheatstruggles to rally, corn will havelittle upside potential.

pERSpEcTIvES


Letter policyLetters are limited to 300

words and must include a nameand address. FarmWeekreserves the right to reject anyletter and will not publish polit-ical endorsements.

All letters are subject toediting, and only an originalwith a written signature andcomplete address will beaccepted.

A daytime telephone num-ber is required for verification,but will not be published.

Only one letter per writerwill be accepted in a 60-dayperiod. Typed letters are pre-ferred.

Send letters to: FarmWeek Letters

1701 Towanda Ave.Bloomington, Ill., 61701

USDA becoming U.S.Dept. of Food Stamps?Editor:

The USDA is becoming theUSDFS (U.S. Department ofFood Stamps).

It is fair to question directcommodity payments whencorn is more than $4 a bushel.It also is fair to question cropinsurance when that programmostly benefits those withpoor soil, land in flood areasor in a dry plains state, and, ofcourse, insurance companies.

What is not being ques-tioned is our governmentincreasing the welfare statewhile cutting commodity andcrop insurance programs.

Nutrition programs (foodstamps, the Women, Infants,and Children program, etc.)are budgeted for $111.9 billionin 2012 up from $94.2 billionin 2010 — an 18.7 percentincrease in two years.

Those payments make thecommodity payments and cropinsurance — which continue

to be on the budget choppingblock — almost insignificantin comparison.

Indeed, the total number ofthose on food stamps hasincreased from 17.3 million in2001 to 44.3 million in 2011.No matter the economic con-ditions, these numbers contin-ue to grow and those pro-grams increasingly become themain role of the USDA.

Politicians, the media, andagricultural organizations allseem to ignore this reality.FRANK W. GOUDY,Cuba

Prefers organic vegetablesto the GMO varietiesEditor:

In a recent FarmWeek arti-cle, Consuelo Madere (Mon-santo vice president of globalvegetable seeds) is smilingadoringly at a head of Mon-santo’s Seminis Easy Harvestbroccoli while ignoring a headof “conventional” broccoli. Imuch prefer the appearance of

the conventional broccoli, butMonsanto’s new broccolimakes mechanical harvest easi-er — and not a word aboutnutrition, taste, and texture!

Monsanto hopes to incor-porate “backyard garden taste”into the commercial tomatovarieties available year round.This after big agribusinessbred these varieties of uniformsize, shape, and most impor-tantly, shipability. The result istomatoes with little of the tex-ture, flavor, aroma, and eyeappeal of backyard gardentomatoes.

And nutrition? Thirty per-cent less vitamin C, 30 percentless thiamin, 19 percent lessniacin, and 62 percent less cal-cium, but 14 times as muchsodium (Tomatoland: How Mod-ern Industrial AgricultureDestroyed our Most Alluring Fruitby Barry Estabrook).

We already have thousandsof tomato varieties — giftsfrom about 470 million yearsof land plant evolution by nat-

ural selection and thousands ofyears by artificial selection by ahuge number of farmers. Forme, this enormous diversity ofsizes, shapes, colors, tastes,textures, and aromas — alongwith their high nutritional val-ue — is highly preferable toMonsanto’s efforts.

Madere also touts Monsan-to’s Crisphead Romaine CrossLettuce. But as with tomatoes,for the same historical reasons,we have hundreds of nutri-tional lettuce varieties, withtheir unique shapes, textures,colors, and tastes.

Finally, Monsanto has a newGMO triple-stack sweet corn.Ms. Madere praises its advan-tage of not having to besprayed with insecticides. Butthe cells of the GMO sweetcorn are synthesizing insecti-cides. Therefore, sweet cornfrom industrial farms hasexternal or internal insecti-cides!

I have eaten much sweetcorn without either class of

insecticides, yet it was almostfree of insect damage. Grownorganically, it also has greattaste, texture, and aroma. HERMAN BROCKMAN,Congerville

LETTERS TO THE EDITOR

If you have a bigger amyg-dala than other people, you

might just bethe kind ofperson knownas a social but-terfly. At leastthat is whatresearch fromNortheasternUniversity inBoston hassuggested.

I’ll admit it.I didn’t even know I had anamygdala! Oh, I might havelearned about it in some

human anatomy class yearsago, but if I did, I have forgot-ten. At any rate, I certainly did-n’t have any notion of whethermy amygdala is any bigger thanthat of anyone else.

So what is the amygdala? Itis one of two very smallalmond-shaped and pea-sizedgroups of nuclei hidden deepwithin the folded hemispheresof the brain cortex.

And what does it do? Itappears that the amygdala isassociated with aggressivebehavior and what has becomeknown as the “fight or flight”

response associated with fear.And that is why there is a

connection between the amyg-dala and the behavior of peo-ple who are sometimes calledsocial butterflies. Social butter-fly is a term often used todescribe folks who are extro-verted and comfortable insocial situations.

The Northeastern Universi-ty research showed that suchindividuals possess a largeamygdala. Larger, at least, thanthe same structure in peoplewho clearly are not as social —the wall flowers among us.

Exactly how the concept ofsocial butterfly came about isnot clear. However, thedescriptive terms social butter-fly and flapper appear to sharesimilar origins.

Historically, the word flap-per has been used to describethe wing action of fledglingbirds learning to fly.

The word flapper gainedwidespread usage in the Unit-ed States in the 1920s, begin-ning with the movie “TheFlapper.”

Flappers were brash youngwomen whoflaunted theirdisdain foracceptablebehavior bythe way theydressed andacted.

At the sametime the termsocial butterflysurfaced inreference to aperson, nor-mally awoman, who gained successand popularity by being in theright place at the right time.

Why was the concept of asocial butterfly applied towomen more than to men? Itprobably reflected the attitudeof the times relative to therole of women in society.

The term flapper was usedexclusively in reference towomen who obviously werebending the gender restric-tions of the times. This was

frequently the case withwomen who were called socialbutterflies as well. However,when the term first came intouse, it applied to both menand women.

The human social butterflyis an analogy of a real butter-fly flitting from flower toflower. So how accurate is theanalogy?

Butterflies do flit fromflower to flower as they seeknectar for their food. Thisbehavior is obvious to anyonewho has watched butterflies in

a bed of flow-ers or in a fieldof clover blos-soms.

On the otherhand, calling abutterfly asocial creatureis an error.There are sometypes of insectsthat are social— some bees,some wasps,and all ants and

termites — but not butterflies.So if it is the size of the

amygdala that determinessocial butterfly behavior ofhumans, how can some insectsbe social when they don’t evenpossess an amygdala?

That’s something for yousocial butterflies to ponder.

Tom Turpin is a professor of ento-mology at Purdue University, WestLafayette, Ind. His e-mail address is [email protected].

TOMTURPIN

Social butterfliesof the human and the insect worlds

‘The humansocial butterflyis an analogy

of a real butter-fly flitting from

flower toflower.’

Documents

Farmweek October 10, 2011