FarmWeek October 12 2009

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Monday, October 12, 2009 Two sections Volume 37, No. 41

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

A FEDERAL AGENCY sayst h e e t h a n o l i n d u s t r y h a s“matured” and no longer needsthe 45-cent-per-gallon federal taxcredit. .............................................4

A N A M E R I C A N FA R MBUREAU Federa t ion su r veyfound reta i l food pr ices havedeclined about 10 percent com-pared to a year ago. ...................10

A NEW STUDY SUGGESTSsoy producers and shippers havebeen significantly “overcharged” bymajor rail carriers. Reforms arebeing sought. ...................................5

IT’S PUMPKIN TIME

Jim Rogers rearranged some of the pumpkins at his Rogers Pumpkin Farm near Lomax in Hendersoncounty. Rogers and his wife, Kathi, grow 60-70 varieties of gourds, pumpkins, and squash on 15acres. Rogers said harvest is a week behind, and some varieties produced no crop because of wetgrowing conditions. Both yields and sizes are down this year, he said. Illinois historically has led thenation in pumpkin production. (Photo by Ken Kashian)

BY KAY SHIPMANFarmWeek

The U.S. EnvironmentalProtection Agency (EPA)announced last week the startof a new year-long study ofpotential health risks related toatrazine.

Syngenta, the herbicide’smanufacturer, anticipated areview and looks “forward to asafety review based on soundscience,” Sherry Ford, a Syn-genta spokesman, toldFarmWeek.

At the end of the review,EPA will determine if it needsto revise its position on

atrazine or if current userestrictions are sufficient.Atrazine is one of the mostwidely used and extensivelystudied agricultural herbicidesin the U.S.

EPA will use a scientificadvisory panel that was estab-lished under the Federal Insec-ticide, Fungicide, and Rodenti-cide Act (FIFRA) to conductthe review.

However, EPA is not con-ducting a new study, DaleKemery, an EPA spokesman,told FarmWeek. The advisorypanel will review scientific lit-erature available before EPA’s

2003 decision to reregisteratrazine as well as new studiesissued between 2003 and 20l0.

Syngenta believes “an ongo-ing transparent review is partof the ongoing process,” Fordsaid. However, she added thereview EPA has planned isbroader than the company hadanticipated.

In addition to reviewing sci-entific literature, the advisorypanel also will consider watermonitoring data that has beencollected since 2003.

As part of a 2003 decision,EPA required Syngenta in cer-tain watersheds to conduct

weekly monitoring during theatrazine-use season andbiweekly monitoring the restof the year. The advisory pan-el also will consider whatchanges, if any, are needed forsampling frequency and water-shed monitoring.

“In large measure, thisreview is ensuring that anynew science since the 2003decision is considered to seewhat, if any, changes may needto be made to the agency’s reg-ulatory framework foratrazine,” Kemery said.

EPA outlined a timeline for

EPA announces new atrazine health study

See Atrazine, page 3

Cap and t r ad e expo r t k i l l e r ?

Ag picture even bleaker under Senate planBY MARTIN ROSSFarmWeek

Economists now are paint-ing an even bleaker picture forU.S. producers under revised“cap-and-trade” projections.

The picture for Midwestfarmers — and consumers —would grow even darker undercurrent U.S. Senate provisionsfor determining winners and

Illinois Corn Growers Associ-ation President Rob Elliottmaintained the Senate plan“doesn’t appear very ag-friendly.”

“It doesn’t appear that iteven goes close to where theHouse tried to get,” Elliottsaid. “That would say thething’s probably not going towork for agriculture. It needs ahuge (ag) ramp-up before wewould give it a go-ahead.”

Under the Senate proposal,the president would identifyeligible “offset types,” with norequirement to consider agpractices.

The bill does not includeHouse-approved proposalsthat would forestall U.S. Envi-ronmental Protection Agencyconsideration of indirect landuse change as a measure of agbiofuels’ greenhouse impactand, in turn, federal support.

In an RFD Radio interview,Senate Ag Committee Chair-man Blanche Lincoln (D-Ark.)argued her committee wouldplay “a big role” in trying toshape a Senate bill that is more“fair and productive for agri-culture” and low-income con-sumers. “There is still a lot ofwork (to be done),” she said.

Young said further analysisof data collected by EPA indi-

cates House proposals by 2050would spur removal of “signif-icant” farm acreages for treeproduction.

Tree production is seen asthe key strategy for “seques-tering” carbon dioxide (CO2)in the soil and capturing car-bon “credits” for sale topotential greenhouse polluters.

Even optimal row-cropsequestration practices (suchas no-till) are unlikely to gen-erate major CO2 revenue formost farmers, Young said.

CO2 prices at $20 per toncould encourage diversion of12 million to 15 million acresfor forests, he suggested.Under best-case assumptions,EPA predicts carbon priceswould rise by at least $5-per-ton per annually, and with apotential $60-$100 long-termcarbon price tag, Young seesthe possibility of 60 millionacres of land coming out ofproduction by 2050.

If anticipated new nuclearplants and renewable powersources failed to materialize,offset demand could jumpstartCO2 prices to an initial $50per ton and 70 million acrescould shift to forest by mid-century, Young said.

See Senate, page 2

losers in the future “carbonmarket,” American FarmBureau Federation analyst BobYoung warned.

Soybean, poultry, and porkexports could plummet underclimate measures likely toreward a shift from ag produc-tion to widespread forestation,Young told FarmWeek Friday.

Where House legislation

authorizes USDA to deter-mine ag practices that wouldqualify producers to receivemarketable emissions “off-sets,” a Senate Environmentand Public Works Committeeplan would leave offset deci-sions to the White House.

Corn grower groups havetaken a wait-and-see stancetoward House proposals, but

AG SPENDING APPROVED — Congress hascleared $9 million-plus in USDA/U.S. Food and DrugAdministration (FDA) funds for Illinois projects. Thefiscal 2010 ag spending package now goes to PresidentObama for his signature.

The bill includes $3.5 million for the BiotechnologyResearch Development Center in Peoria to fund devel-opment of livestock productivity, crop yield, and vet-erinary medicine technologies.

The Illinois Department of Natural Resources Illi-nois Conservation Initiative was granted $576,000 forconservation efforts including wildlife management,wetlands and habitat restoration, and invasive speciescontrol.

The National Center for Food Safety and Technolo-gy at Summit-Argo will receive $2 million to continueFDA research into advanced detection technologiesand preventive controls. Congress provided $745,000to the University of Illinois for soy genomics andgenetic engineering research to improve drought resis-tance, disease tolerance, and resistance to soybean cystnematode and soybean rust.

Another $175,000 goes to the Chicago Botanic Gar-den’s Windy City Harvest program to teach individualsnew job skills.

AG STUDENT CUTS SOY TOY DEAL — APurdue University agricultural economics student notonly created a new modeling clay from soybeans, healso gained a $300,000 investment for his new ventureon a network business show.

Sawyer Sparks created Soy-Yer Dough for the uni-versity’s Burton-Morgan Entrepreneurship Program.The modeling compound, which comes in differentcolors and scents, sells for $2 a package at {www.soy-yer.com}.

Recently, Sparks pitched his idea on ABC’s “SharkTank.“ He sold 51 percent of his company to three ofthe program’s investors. Sparks is buying a licensingdeal that will create jobs in his hometown, Bloomfield,Ind. He plans to hire 10 to 15 full-time employees.

WHITE HOUSE GARDEN OFFERSSCHOOL TOURS — The White House has openedFirst Lady Michelle Obama’s kitchen garden for stu-dent tours. White House chefs will lead the tours andpass along tips for healthy eating.

In addition to walking through the South Lawn, stu-dent tourists will get to take a peek at the White Housebee hive.

The first lady and local students planted the gardenthis spring. Since then, hundred of pounds of freshvegetables have been eaten by guests and delivered tolocal food pantries.

Information, regulations, and online applications are avail-able at {www.whitehouse.gov/about/tours_and_events/garden/}.

FarmWeek Page 2 Monday, October 12, 2009

(ISSN0197-6680)

Vol. 37 No. 41 October 12, 2009

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© 2009 Illinois Agricultural Association

STAFFEditor

Dave McClelland ([email protected])Legislative Affairs Editor

Kay Shipman ([email protected])Agricultural Affairs Editor

Martin Ross ([email protected])Senior Commodities Editor

Daniel Grant ([email protected])Editorial Assistant

Linda Goltz ([email protected])Business Production Manager

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

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Quick TakesPRODUCTION

GREEN BEAN HARVESTER

Travis Kasterschmidt of Ripon, Wis., displays a sample of the green bean crop harvested last weeknear Manito in Mason County. Kasterschmidt, a Del Monte harvest boss, and his crew harvestedabout 4 tons of beans per acre on the 155-acre field. Illinois growers plant about 3,400 acres ofgreen beans, which are planted and harvested twice a year. (Photo by Ken Kashian)

USDA raises corn, bean yieldestimates and many eyebrowsBY DANIEL GRANTFarmWeek

USDA Friday raised its yieldestimates for corn and soy-beans despite the fact harvest isoff to such a poor start inmuch of the Midwest.

The national corn yield cur-rently is projected to average a

record-high 164.2 bushels peracre while the soybean yield isprojected to be the third-high-est on record at 42.4 bushelsper acre.

Yield projections in Illinoisremained unchanged from lastmonth at 179 bushels per acrefor corn and 44 bushels peracre for beans.

The high yields are projectedto produce the largest soybeancrop (3.25 billion bushels) andsecond-largest corn crop (13.02billion bushels) on record.

However, freezing condi-tions that were projected tomove into much of the Mid-west this past weekend, and the

possible continuation of thecool, wet pattern could forceUSDA in coming months toadjust its crop estimates (seethe Cash Strategist commentaryon page 15).

“The trade has been playingthe game that big crops tend toget bigger,” said Dale Durch-holz, AgriVisor market analyst.“But the longer we keepputting harvest off, the morefield losses will rise. We couldend up with yields not muchhigher than they are today (Fri-day).”

Joe Victor, vice president ofAllendale Inc., said the marketwas anticipating a frost/freezethis week that could nip cornproduction by 100 millionbushels while heavy rains anddisease pressure in the Southcould trim soy production by 5million bushels.

“The growing season, forthe most part, is over,” Victorsaid during a Friday teleconfer-ence hosted by the MinneapolisGrain Exchange. “We anticipateit could be a little bit lightercorn crop.”

The 2009/10 season aver-age price estimates were a littlelighter as well: USDA on Fridayprojected a range of $4.55 to

$5.15 per bushel for wheat(down 35 cents on the highend) and $8 to $10 per bushelfor beans (down a dime) whileit left the corn price estimatesunchanged at $3.05 to $3.65.

But strong demand shouldkeep pressure on prices. USDAraised corn feed use by 50 mil-lion bushels, food/seed/-industrial use by 5 millionbushels, and soy exports by 25million bushels to a record1.305 billion bushels.

“We may have alreadypassed the seasonal low (forcorn and beans), and once weget by mid-November, I thinkthis market has got someupside potential,” Durchholzsaid. “We’ve got a huge com-mitment on the books for soy-beans and soy products.”

Durchholz believes thewheat market also has limiteddownside risk.

“Wheat prices probably arelow enough,” he said.

U.S. wheat exports in com-ing months could increase dueto production problems in oth-er areas of the world, andprices could be pressured by apossible reduction of winterwheat acres due to the late row-crop harvest, Durchholz added.

FarmWeekNow.com

Continued from page 1Best-case prospects appear dim with House

rejection of funding for a nuclear waste dumpat Nevada’s Yucca Mountain, and Democratlawmakers continue to resist nuclear develop-ment. Without nuclear options, natural gaswould be the likely option for replacing coal-fired electrical generation, crimping gas suppliesand raising ag energy and input costs.

At $100-per-ton carbon by 2035, “we’re notexporting any soybeans at all,” and annual corn

exports could drop by 750 million bushels,Young said. (USDA on Friday projected cornexports for the coming year at 2.15 billionbushels).

Pork producers hit by high feed prices couldsee a 25-40 percent export drop and a 50-60percent jump in imported pork.

“Pork production would be down by athird,” Young predicted. “By the time you gotto 2050, it would be off by more than 40 per-cent.”

Senat e

L i s t e n t o a n a l y s t J o e V i c -t o r ’s c o m m e n t s a b o u t t h el a t e s t USDA crop repor ts atFarmWeekNow.com.

GOVERNMENT


the review. In February, theagency will seek a scientificreview of data from newepidemiology studies andhow that will be incorporat-ed into the atrazine assess-ment.

In April, EPA wants a sci-entific review of potentialnon-cancer health problemsbased on animal laboratorystudies.

The agency also is to pre-sent its plan for samplingand monitoring of commu-nity drinking water supplies.

In September, EPA plansa scientific evaluation ofpossible cancer-causingeffects related to atrazine.

The review is to includeresults from the NationalCancer Institute’s agricultur-al health study expected to

The U.S. Environmental Protection Agency(EPA) is establishing a new process that willallow the public to review and comment onrisk assessments and proposed registrationdecisions for pesticides.

This expanded process will apply to all newpesticide active ingredients and first food uses,first outdoor uses, and first residential uses.

“This new process will give the publicgreater opportunity to participate and under-stand decisions about new pesticides,” saidSteve Owens, EPA assistant administrator forthe office of prevention, pesticides, and toxicsubstances.

Starting Oct. 1 for certain registration

actions, EPA’s risk assessment and proposeddecision was added to the public docket andmade available for a 30-day public commentperiod.

After the comment period, EPA will publishits decision and responses to comments. Thiswill give the public the opportunity to commenton all major new exposure patterns for pesticideregistration.

Interested persons also will get informationsooner on reduced-risk pesticides being regis-tered that can replace some of the older, oftenmore toxic pesticides.

For more information, go online to {www.epa.gov/pesticides/regulating/index.htm}.

USEPA taking more public commentson pesticide registration decisions

be published next year. “The more open and

transparent the process is,the better. We believe in thescience,” Ford said.

Kemery added EPA “iscommitted to sound scienceand transparency in theatrazine human health sci-ence evaluation.”

EPA recently announced anew process for publicreview and comment on pes-ticide risk assessments (seeaccompanying article).

Asked how that processwould fit with the atrazinereview, Kemery answeredthe public may commentduring open meetings of theadvisory panel.

Information about the pan-el’s meetings can be found at{www.epa.gov/scipoly/sap/index.htm}.

Also the panel’s finalreports and recommenda-tions coming from each ofits meetings will be available

to the public.In addition, EPA said it

plans to meet with interestedgroups to explore ways to

inform the public morequickly about results ofatrazine drinking water moni-toring.

Continued from page 1

Atrazine

State revenue decline worse than anticipatedBY KAY SHIPMANFarmWeek

State revenues dropped, as expect-ed, in the first quarter of fiscal year2010, but the scale of the decline wasdisturbing, according to the GeneralAssembly’s economic forecasting arm.

Worse yet, the state economistswarned not to expect an abrupt staterevenue improvement even though theeconomy is recovering.

Overall, Illinois revenue was down$340 million for the first quarter com-pared to the same period last year, theIllinois Commission on GovernmentForecasting and Accountability (COG-FA) reported. However, that dropwould have been worse without a $289million gain in federal sources, econo-mists noted.

“The magnitude of the falloffs aresomewhat unsettling and serve as areminder that despite being in a recov-ery phase, revenues should not beexpected to abruptly improve,”reported Jim Muschinske, COGFA’srevenue manager.

The latest dismal revenue num-bers preceded the start of thefall veto session this week.

“The time-honored tra-dition of seeking supple-mental appropriationbills in the veto sessionis going to have adamper put on it thisyear,” said Kevin Sem-low, Illinois FarmBureau director of state legislation.“The state’s economic forecast is con-

tinuing a downward spiral.”Sales taxes were down a “stunning”

$244 million, Muschinske noted. Per-sonal income taxes dropped $278 mil-lion, and corporate incomes declined$113 million.

If the gains from federal sourceswere excluded, state revenue

falloff would be “a much morealarming $629 million,”Muschinske wrote in a Sep-tember revenue report.

The revenue realityputs even more pres-sure on the state budget,according to Semlow.

“State revenue fromtax sources continues to

fall. The current state budget, whichwas built on slightly declining revenue

estimates, is going to experience a sig-nificant negative impact,” Semlowsaid.

Semlow projected that state agen-cies and state programs may face a dif-ficult situation of delayed funding.

“This means that state vendors andindividuals who receive state grantsand funding assistance could see thoseprograms delayed or cut back evenmore,” Semlow explained.

Muschinske’s best-case scenariowould be a gradual improvement inthe rate of declining sales and incomerevenue by the end of June.

In the 2001 recession, the stateneeded about four quarters before theeconomic recovery was reflected inimproved revenue from income andsales taxes.

Illinois proposals onlineUSDA and the Commerce Department

received proposals seeking nearly seven timesthe amount of money available to expandbroadband Internet services,including 35 proposals for Illi-nois, said Jonathan Adelstein,administrator of USDA RuralUtilities.

“We see rural areas are recog-nizing the need for broadband,”Adelstein said during an inter-view on “RFD Today.” “Broad-band is as essential today as elec-tricity was in the past.”

The two federal agenciesreceived about 2,200 applicationsrequesting nearly $28 billion compared to the$4 billion available.

Adelstein anticipated the first selected pro-jects will be named in November. He said moreapplications will be accepted from Decemberthrough February, and the recipients will benamed in June before the program ends Sept.30.

Funding is to be used for infrastructure,

including fiber and new towers, but not foroperations, Adelstein clarified.

All the project proposals, including maps,are online at {www.broadbandusa.gov} and

may be searched by state.“You can see if someone isproposing to serve yourarea,” he said.

To search for Illinois pro-posals, go to the website andfind the “What’s new atbroadbandusa.gov” section.A Sept. 9 entry has a link to asearchable database of allfirst-round applications.Select Illinois to see propos-als that focus on or includeIllinois.

Several proposals would serve multiplestates, including Illinois. Other proposalswould serve specific Illinois communities,while still others focus on multiple counties.

Adelstein views broadband as an economicdevelopment tool for rural America and tech-nology that will give young people an opportu-nity to live and work in rural areas. — KayShipman

‘Broadband is asessential today aselectricity was inthe past.’

— Jonathan AdelsteinUSDA Rural Utilities

administrator

IDNR offering online surveyof Conservation Congress issues

The Illinois Departmentof Natural Resources(IDNR) is offering an onlinesurvey through Thursday oftopics to be discussed at theConservation Congress Oct.24-25.

A Conservation Congressplanning team will analyzeand present survey resultsduring the congress.

The survey is online at{http://dnr.state.il.us/nrab/cc.htm}.

At Conservation Con-gress, participants willreview, propose, and vote onrecommendations for electedand appointed Illinois offi-cials.

The topics will includeyouth recreation, access toprivately owned land, andconservation funding.

The survey asks individu-als’ opinions and provides

opportunity for suggestionsand comments.

Individual survey resultswill remain anonymous, andthose participating in thesurvey are not required togive a name or address.

Survey questions coverthree main issues of publicaccess, youth outdoor recre-ation, and funding.

For example, one ques-tion asks survey respon-dents whether they agree ordisagree that the stateshould raise funding forconservation and recreationfrom a variety of sources,taxes, and fees.

Another question asksrespondents about theirsupport for different incen-tives to encourage privatelandowners to open theirland to outdoor recreation.

Rural broadband projects outstrip funds

MARKETS


ICGA head : ‘ I n v e s tmen t ’ s t i l l n e e d ed

GAO report targets ethanol tax creditBY MARTIN ROSSFarmWeek

Despite a governmentagency’s call for an end to thefederal ethanol tax credit, nowis not the time to remove theincentive, said Illinois CornGrowers Association Presi-dent Rob Elliott.

A federal GovernmentAccountability Office (GAO)report concluded the 45-cent-per-gallon VolumetricEthanol Excise Tax Credit(VEETC) may no longer beneeded to stimulate cornethanol production becausethe industry has now“matured.” Congress shouldconsider ending the credit,GAO recommended.

GAO estimated the creditcould cost the U.S. $6.75 bil-lion in annual lost revenue by2015. The credit does notstimulate additional ethanol

and spur future cellulosicethanol production.

Ethanol infrastructuredevelopment is still lagging inregions including the south-east U.S., Elliott said.

Further, he noted “higherdemand profitability” generat-ed by ethanol incentives hasoffset farm program paymentspreviously triggered by $2corn.

Without the ethanol credit,Food and Agricultural PolicyResearch Institute (FAPRI)economist Pat Westhoff esti-

mates domestic ethanol pro-duction could fall by nearly 2percent by 2018, with a similardrop in ethanol use.

The credit, also available tothose who blend foreignethanol, is the basis for a 54-cent-per-gallon tariff imposedon ethanol imports.

Eliminating the tariffcould result in an added 8.8percent drop in domesticproduction and a possible128 percent increase inimported biofuel, Westhoffprojected.

consumption, the agencyargued.

The Washington-basedRenewable Fuels Association(RFA) called GAO’s analysis“little more than a bookreport, rehashing many of thecriticisms that have been lev-eled at the ethanol industryfrom a variety of special inter-ests without introducing anynew information.”

RFA deemed the ethanolcredit “instrumental” in help-ing building the U.S. renew-able fuels industry and crucial“as long as petroleum and fos-sil fuel companies that domi-nate the energy market con-tinue to receive preferentialtax treatment and hidden sub-sidies.”

“It’s really not the time topull the plug now,” Elliott toldFarmWeek. “(Ethanol pro-ducers) have been on the

bleeding edge of profitability,anyway.

“To me, this is a return oninvestment thing. I was read-ing where the ethanol industryput about $8 billion in tax rev-enue into the Treasury lastyear. It represents about ahalf-million jobs and some-where upwards of $70 billionin economic activity. In mymind, VEETC is an invest-ment.”

The federal renewable fuelsstandard (RFS) mandates 15billion gallons of annual corn-based ethanol and 21 billiongallons of cellulosic and“advanced” biofuels use by2022.

Because VEETC benefitsaccrue to fuel blenders, it hashelped fund distribution andretail infrastructure crucial tobuilding ethanol demandneeded to meet RFS targets

Industry to offer consumersmore animal welfare assurancesBY DANIEL GRANTFarmWeek

Consumers in coming months will receivemore assurances that any concerns about ani-mal welfare are being addressed by the agindustry.

An independent advisory group, theNorth American Food Animal Well-beingCommission for Beef (NAFAWC-Beef),recently was formed and will focus on issuesrelated to the health and well-being of beefcattle.

Meanwhile, American Humane Certifiedrecently launched a new training programdesigned tomeet the foodindustry’s callfor bettertraining ofpeople whohandle farmanimals.

“We hope toprovide assur-ances to ranch-ers and con-sumers,” saidJim Sartwelle,economist with the American Farm BureauFederation, who is an ad hoc member ofNAFAWC-Beef. “And, hopefully, it will leadto added confidence for consumers” whopurchase beef.

NAFAWC-Beef will seek increasedresearch funding for animal well-being, facili-tate the communication of research results ina timely manner, advance best managementpractices in cattle health and welfare, andserve as an unbiased science and production-based group to address concerns about ani-mal welfare.

“People across the country are looking formore information on animal care and han-dling and we’re eager to share our story withthem,” said Dan Thomson, professor of pro-

duction medicine and epidemiology at KansasState University and co-chairman ofNAFAWC-Beef.

Sartwelle said he hopes the new commis-sion not only will provide more informationto consumers about animal welfare but alsothat it will help the industry fend off attacksfrom activist groups.

He believes attacks on modern agriculturefrom groups with a “vegetarian agenda” willintensify in the future.

“We need to show folks (and assure con-sumers) we have an ample amount of sci-ence and training and as producers we do

things right,”he said. “Wealso need tothink aboutwhat we doand how wecan do it bet-ter.”

The com-mission’s pub-lic outreachefforts willinclude farmorganizations,

consumer groups, beef harvesting companies,veterinary groups, food retail and restaurantgroups, and animal welfare groups.

Elsewhere, American Humane Certified’snew training program for farm workers willfocus on early recognition of behavior orhealth problems that could be detrimental tothe individual animal or entire flock or herd.It also addresses animal welfare issues createdby a lack of worker/handler knowledge.

“It answers the industry’s need for edu-cation of existing and new employees sothey can ensure proper and humane animalwelfare and avoid potentially negativeissues,” Tim Amlaw, director of AmericanHumane Certified, said of the new trainingprogram.

‘We need to show folks (and assureconsumers) we have an ample amountof science and training and as produc-ers we do things right.’

— Jim SartwelleAmerican Farm Bureau Federation

CubaGO!:‘Experiment’ over;time to move on

After nearly a half century, the U.S.’ “experiment” with Cas-tro’s Cuba has failed, said Illinois Corn Growers AssociationPresident Rob Elliott.

The Warren County producer participated with a variety ofcommercial, academic, and humanitarian interests in a recentWashington “CubaGO!” briefing aimed at bolstering congres-sional support for Cuban travel and trade reforms.

Former Ag Secretary John Block joined Illinois delegates inbacking proposals to end federal travel restrictions on U.S. citi-zens and residents and travel-related “transactions” that couldimprove U.S.-Cuban trade.

Illinois Farm Bureau national legislative director and Cuba-GO! participant Adam Nielsen questioned why “we can go toIran, we can go to Afghanistan, but we can’t travel freely toCuba.”

Amid the need for U.S. economic stimulus and practicalsolutions to Cuba’s sociopolitical challenges, Elliott believesboth countries would benefit from delivering “a little dose ofcapitalism” to the Communist island.

“(Cuban sanctions are) a 40-50-year experiment that appar-ently isn’t going anywhere,” Elliott told FarmWeek. “If wethink we’re going to get a different behavior by keeping thesame old way we’ve been operating in place, it’s probably notgoing to happen.

“Part of the thought process is that there are significanttourist and travel opportunities (Cuba) could garner revenuefrom.

“If they have a little revenue in the country, they may beable to buy some things from us — corn, soybeans, maybeeven meat for their people, who are under almost an old-timeCommunist rationing system.”

Sen. Dick Durbin, a Springfield Democrat and the Sen-ate’s second most powerful member, is a key proponent ofopen travel to Cuba. While the Obama administration ismore amenable than the Bush White House to normalizingU.S.-Cuban relations, Nielsen noted resistance to currentproposals among older anti-Castro Cuban-Americans inFlorida.

Brazil, Europe, and others are cashing in on open relationswith Cuba — Elliott noted the European Union is “making aton of money” on potato exports alone. Amid recent hurri-canes, idled farmland, and other growing ag problems, Cubahas been forced to rely largely on trade partners to meetdomestic food needs.

Further, Nielsen sees opportunities for U.S. communities toform “sister city” relationships and thus improve bilateralcommunications and understanding. That would help addressconcerns about Cuban human rights, he said.

“Any time Americans are able to travel, they’re able to influ-ence thinking and beliefs,” Nielsen said. “For many reasons,open travel is the right policy.” — Martin Ross

TRANSPORTATION


Rail study fodder for congressional reforms?BY MARTIN ROSSFarmWeek

A new report on soy railtransportation could providemomentum for rail reformefforts, Soy TransportationCoalition (STC) ExecutiveDirector Mike Steenhoek sug-gests.

The STC study, RailroadMovement of Soybeans andSoy Products, highlights thevolume of soybeans, soy meal,and soy oil moved by the railindustry on a national and state-by-state basis; key destinationsfor soy products; and ratesassociated with soy movements(see details below).

The report focuses on thevolume of soy products trans-ported at “potentially exces-sive” rates, states with soybeanindustries more dependent onrail, and carriers that haul thegreatest volumes.

Soy-based revenue among

further rail reforms beforeRockefeller can release a com-prehensive plan possiblyincorporating antitrust provi-sions.

Rockefeller’s STB-basedapproach is “much moreimportant to the shippingcommunity as a whole,”argued Steenhoek, who citedconcerns that stringentantitrust regulation actuallymight discourage investmentin improved rural rail capacity.

The STB could be “a moreeven mediator” in carrier-ship-per disputes, he agreed. Steen-hoek noted the bureaucratichurdles and costs associatedwith STB’s rate relief appeal

process — a process hedoubts “most grain elevatorsor even large processorswould view as accessible andcost-effective.”

At the same time, Class Icarriers are promoting a 25percent tax credit for railinfrastructure investment.Steenhoek sees merit in theconcept, particularly if indi-vidual shippers were allowedto apply credits toward on-sitefacilities that improve trans-portation efficiency.

“Ultimately, we don’t haveso much of a regulatory prob-lem in this country as we havean investment problem in thiscountry,” he said.

the largest “Class I” railroadsnearly tripled over the lastdecade, from $549 million in1998 to $1.505 billion in 2008.

An estimated 42 percent ofsoy rail shipments are trans-ported at rates the U.S. SurfaceTransportation Board (STB)would classify as potentiallyexcessive, according to STC.That resulted in a potential$120 million “overcharge” forshippers in 2007 alone, thestudy concluded.

A U.S. House JudiciaryCommittee proposal wouldrevoke the current rail indus-try exemption from federalantitrust laws, while SenateTransportation CommitteeChairman John Rockefeller(D-W.Va.) favors overhaulingthe STB, which oversees railcompetition issues. Steenhoekhopes the study might amp upthe “intensity of (lawmakers’)engagement” in rail reform.

“One of the things ourstudy does is show really howacute the problem is in ruralAmerica,” he told FarmWeek.

“We emphasized the vol-ume of soybeans and soyproducts that are moving atpotentially excessive rates andthen ascribed a dollar figure tothat to reflect how much mon-ey is not being retained in afarmer’s pocket and ... there-fore circulating on MainStreet.”

House-Senate disagreementis a potential obstacle tospeedy rail relief. Senatereform advocates fear passageof House proposals couldprompt Congress to abandon

TRACKING ILLINOIS SOY• Nationwide, BNSF Railway moves the largest volume

of soybeans, including 8.8 million tons in 2008. UnionPacific (UP) was the largest originator of both soy mealand soy oil shipments, at 6.8 million and 3.1 million tons,respectively.

• An average 19.35 percent of Illinois-produced beans,64.31 percent of Illinois meal, and 60.65 percent of thestate’s soy oil originated by rail in 2007 (the latest year ofdata available). The average railroad “haul” was 656 milesfor beans, 961 miles for meal, and 594 miles for oil.

• Canadian National led Illinois bean shipments in 2007with 993,738 tons of originations, followed in order byCSX, Norfolk Southern, and BNSF.

Norfolk Southern led meal shipments at 1.1 milliontons, followed by Canadian National, CSX, BNSF, UP, andCanadian Pacific. CSX led oil originations with 414,328tons, followed by Norfolk Southern, UP, Canadian Nation-al, BNSF, and Canadian Pacific.

• Total 2007 Illinois rail freight charges were $31.4 mil-lion for beans, $109.4 million for meal, and $23.9 millionfor oil. Average per-car charges were $1,150 for beans,$1,720 for meal, and $2,309 for oil. Average per-toncharges were $15.02 for beans, $26.20 for meal, and$25.37 for oil.

Nationwide uniform truck weight limits andincentives for short-line railroads are key tomoving containerized shipping to the next level,according to an ag transportation specialist.

A new rail study by the Soy TransportationCoalition (STC), indicates Pacific Northwest(PNW) ports in Washington and Oregon are themajor destinations for railroad movement of U.S.soybeans. Forty-eight percent of beans loadedinto rail cars are destined for the PNW, highlight-ing the strength of Asian export markets.

And that, in turn, underlines the need to bol-ster intermodal resources for containerized agshipments, according to STC Executive Direc-tor Mike Steenhoek.

Union Pacific is building a $370 million, 785-acre terminal and a 3,900-acre CenterPointIntermodal Center at Joliet capable of process-ing 500,000 ocean-going freight containersannually.

But Steenhoek sees improvements neededwell beyond the container yards to make newtransportation systems pay off for Midwestproducers.

Incentives to assure more “robust” regionalshort-line railroads would extend shipper accessto beyond Chicago-area and other major con-tainer “hubs.”

Semi tractor-trailer weight limits also bear

on extending container reach: “You can’t fill acontainer full of soybeans before you reachfederal interstate weight limits,” Steenhoeknoted.

Last week, the Coalition for TransportationProductivity, an alliance that includes more than100 shippers, sent a letter to U.S. House mem-bers encouraging their support for the Safe andEfficient Transportation Act of 2009.

The act would raise the interstate vehicleweight limit to 97,000 pounds, with a sixth axlerequired to maintain stopping distance andbraking capacity and reduce road wear.

Highway weight proposals likely will beincluded in forthcoming comprehensive surfacetransportation legislation.

What’s not needed are new federal costs forshipping commodities via container, Steenhoekstressed.

“One of the things being suggested rightnow is to increase taxes on containerized ship-ping in order to pay for our surface transporta-tion needs over the next six years,” Steenhoeksaid.

“When you tax something, you disincentivizeit at the same time. We’re going to be askingwhat the ramifications would be for the soybeanindustry if you tax containerized shipping.” —Martin Ross

Short lines, road weightskey to more container use

Proposed administration directionsin protecting scarce — or as in at leastone case, look-alike — species couldthreaten Illinois producers andag shippers.

Federal regulators are eveneyeing the impact of global cli-mate change in devising strate-gies for wildlife protectionunder the Endangered SpeciesAct (ESA), American FarmBureau Federation analyst RickKrause told FarmWeek.

Krause sees little administra-tion will to legislatively expand theESA, given potential for attack by crit-ics of the act. However, officials areworking to clear a backlog of “candi-date species” that purportedly warrantendangered or threatened status, and

that has spurred review of existing“critical habitat” designations.

In late September, the U.S. Fish and

Wildlife Service (USFWS) proposedtreating the shovelnose sturgeon as athreatened species under the ESA.

Efforts to regulate water flow toaccommodate pallid sturgeon spawning— potentially in conflict with river

barge traffic — are a key issue affectingnavigational reliability on the MissouriRiver. Waterways Council Inc. Vice

President Paul Rohdewarns current proposalscould impact UpperMississippi navigationand lock improvementsas well.

While according tosome estimates, shovel-nose sturgeon outnum-ber “pallids” 80-1, ESAoffers protection if a

species’ appearance is so similar to thatof an existing protected or endangeredspecies (i.e., the pallid sturgeon) that itmakes enforcing the law difficult.

Complicating the issues is the wide-spread hybridization that has occurred

between the species, making it all themore difficult to distinguish betweenthem.

The USFWS proposal would affectthe area south of the Melvin PriceLocks and Dam near Alton and theMissouri River from Montana to itsconfluence with the Mississippi.

ESA species designation easily couldexpand to the entire Upper Miss sys-tem if USFWS determines shovelnoseharvest is sufficiently high to threatenit and pallid populations, Rohdewarned.

“Given the impact to Missouri Rivernavigation that purportedly saving thepallid is having, we will continue tomonitor this latest attempt to increaseESA (designation) to shovelnose,” hesaid. — Martin Ross

‘We will continue to monitor this latestattempt to increase ESA (designation)to shovelnose.’

— Paul RohdeWaterways Council Inc.

Look-a l ike s t u r g e on n ew c and ida t e

Endangered species direction threat to Midwest ag

Bernie Walsh, Durand, Winnebago County: Cool and wetpretty much described theweek’s weather. We had onenice day on Wednesday and wecombined beans for about threehours, even though they were at15 percent moisture. We have avery good crop of corn andbeans in the field, but this year’s

harvest is going to be very late and very wet,according to the long-range forecast. Therehave been reports of low to very low testweight corn. Hopefully, it’s not all like that. Weneed a nice long Indian summer for the restof the fall.

Leroy Getz, Savanna, Carroll County: Rain about everyother day totaled 0.85 of an inchfor the week. There was limitedcombine activity on the sandiersoils. Bean yields are runningfrom 50 to 60 bushels to theacre. Corn yields are ranginganywhere from 110-240 bushelsper acre. Moisture in the corn is

from 20 percent up to high of 35 percent.Many green fields of corn are still there, butold Jack Frost was expected to change thatduring the weekend. Some guys are stillwaiting to chop silage on their late-plantedfields.

Ron Frieders, Waterman, DeKalb County: Anotherweek of disappointments. NoOlympics coming toChicagoland, but more impor-tantly, no fieldwork in the coun-ty. In the 40 years I havefarmed, we have always beenharvesting before Oct. 9. Localcornfield samples are in the

high 30s for moisture, and cool, wetweather is slowing its dry-down.Soybeans range from grass green to fullymature. As soon as the weather breaks,there will be some beans ready to go. Ahard freeze was forecast for the weekend,and more wet weather is expected afterthat. USDA reports Friday called forrecord corn yields, and markets were 10to 15 cents lower. Soybeans were 5 to7 cents lower.

Larry Hummel, Dixon, Lee County: It is starting to getscary. This time last year, wewere looking forward to finish-ing our soybean harvest in afew days. Fast forward to thisyear and the combine hasn’teven been in the field. Theweather forecast isn’t reassur-ing, either. There were

chances of rain through the weekend andthen again on Thursday. I haven’t evenmentioned the frost freeze that was in theforecast for the weekend. There will bevery few beans affected by the frost, butcorn will be a different story. I really don’tthink there is a very large percentage ofthe corn that has reached maturity in LeeCounty. I wouldn’t be surprised to see a 10to 15 percent yield loss from the last thirdof the corn crop.

Ken Reinhardt, Seaton, Mercer County: It was rain-ing again Friday morning —just half inch so far for theweek. A few beans were cutMonday (Oct. 5) andWednesday with moisture of13 percent to 19 percent.Corn remains too wet, mostly28 percent and up. The grow-

ing season was expected to end duringthe weekend with temperatures in themid-20s. There is quite a bit of corn thathas not matured, and a few soybeanfields that are green.

Ron Moore, Roseville, Warren County: We receivedjust a little under 1 inch ofrain last week. Harvest is stillnot in full swing. We havebeen trying to find some drycorn to harvest. Most of thecorn is still testing 25 percentor higher — some in the 30-percent range. Yields are in

the 180- to 200-bushel range. The pond-ed areas of the fields are really reducingthe field averages. We have not donevery many beans yet, so it is to soon toget a feel for the yields. The weatherforecast is for more rain and freezingtemperatures, so harvest likely will bedelayed next week also.

Jacob Streitmatter, Princeville, Peoria County: Anotherweek has passed in October andvery little harvest has started.Some soybeans came out on theone nice day we had last week.Some corn also was combined,but moisture was between 34 to36 percent. The corn crop is notmaturing very well. I had some

frost early in the week, but it did not kill toomuch. A killing frost during the weekend willturn a lot of corn brown. Hopefully, it will be anice week to follow, and I will be able to getsome soybeans out.

Mark Kerber, Chatsworth, Livingston County: Very wetand cold — not good conditionsfor harvesting. We did get twomore days of harvesting soy-beans in last week. Soybeansare yielding well, and we arefinding out that the RoundupReady 2 soybeans are not asgood as the Roundup 1 in my

neighbor’s side-by-side trial and other trials.Corn will be good, but will take a long time toharvest. As we were calculating how manyweeks and months it will take to get the cropthrough driers, it is starting to get scary.

Ron Haase, Gilman, Iroquois County: Soybean harvestcontinued for a couple days lastweek, but was stopped due torain. There were only a fewhours a day for a couple daysthat we could be in the field har-vesting. In the last 24 hours, wereceived a range of 1.2 to 1.5inches of rain on our farms. Many

soybean fields will be ready to harvest oncethe moisture dries down and the fieldsbecome fit to enter. Soybean yields have var-ied due to the amount of white mold.Cornfields in this area are in the dent stage(R5) or have reached black layer (R6). Cornmoisture is in the low 30s for most of thecorn. My hand samples tested from 29 per-cent to 35 percent moisture. Harvest is goingto be very challenging this year. The localclosing prices for Oct. 8 were: $3.38 for near-by corn and $9.29 for nearby soybeans.

Brian Schaumburg, Chenoa, McLean County: What next?Less than 10 percent of the crophas been harvested due to thecontinuous loop of bad weatherand high moisture content.Yields are still record-setting, butonly if the crops get harvested.There will be a lot of red ink onthe books after this year. At

least, we have our health, so I better get myH1N1 flu shot! Corn, $3.43, $3.59 forJanuary; fall and January soybeans, $9.16;wheat, $4.20.

Steve Ayers, Champaign, Champaign County: Combinesrolled Monday (Oct. 5) andWednesday with 0.3 inch of rainTuesday. It started raining againThursday and we had 2.1 inchesby Friday with more on the way.We were expecting frost on thepumpkin Sunday and Mondaynight with a hard freeze (26

degrees) Tuesday night, and more rain late inthe week. Harvest progress is at a snail’space. Last Monday the National AgriculturalStatistics Service pegged our district’s har-vest at 1 percent for corn and 7 percent forsoybeans. Gifford State Bank released a cornplot result with an adjusted 246.62 bushels-per-acre average with 21.7 percent averagemoisture planted on April 25. Think safety!

Harry Schirding, Petersburg, Menard County: Rainfall lastweek, 2.44 inches. Total rainfallfor October, 2.78 inches. Normalrainfall for October, 2.6 inches.Much of the corn has black lay-ered, so the forecast of freezingtemperatures should have littleeffect. Diplodia is the probablecause of damaged kernels pro-

ducers are finding. Damage discounts at theelevator of 10 percent or more are not uncom-mon. The longer term concern is how muchworse the damaged kernels will be beforeharvest can be completed. Most producersare pleased with yields in both corn and soy-beans. Limited soybean harvest and wetfields kept much of the intended wheat acresfrom being planted. Corn nearby, $3.45, up 22cents; soybeans nearby, $9.29, up 26 cents;corn for January, $3.44, up 25 cents; soy-beans for January, $9.33, up 15 cents.

Wilfred Dittmer, Quincy, Adams County: Good morningfrom a soggy Adams Countywhere the rain Friday was stillfalling after an all-day affairThursday that left 1.6 inches inthe gauge. The total for Octoberso far is about two inches. Somemachines were running over theOct. 3-4 weekend but have been

parked since and will be for awhile now. Mostare still working in corn with only a scatteredfew bean fields being opened up. We stillneed some warm harvesting days, but theweather report does not sound good for thenear term. Have a safe week.

Tom Ritter, Blue Mound, Macon County: A wet, dreary, coldweek delayed harvest. Corn andsoybeans are barely 10 percentcomplete in this area due not onlyto weather, but to the high-mois-ture corn. Yields, though, havebeen better than anticipated. Iwould rate them as very good, atleast on the corn that was planted

early. It remains to be seen on corn planted inlate May and June, which is still running 30percent or better. We have had terrible dryingconditions with the coolness and rain. We hadtwo days of harvesting last week, but theywere not very productive because the dayshave become shorter with the season. We justneed warm weather and some wind to bringthe late-planted corn along. But the forecastdoes not seem to be calling for that very soon.

Todd Easton, Charleston, Coles County: This harvest isstarting out exactly how we didnot want it to. Rain showers havebeen making the bean cuttingstop and go for producers andraising worries on how this fall willunfold. Yield reports for beans arecoming in at about 50 bushels inthe southern part of the county to

60 or above toward the northern part. No freshnews on corn yields as almost everyone is stillwaiting on the crop to dry out enough to har-vest and have been concentrating on beanharvest so far. The Thursday rainstorms havegiven us almost 2 inches so far, which willprobably stop any progress until this week.

Doug Uphoff, Shelbyville, Shelby County: We picked 30acres of corn, and then it rained.We cut 100 acres of beans, andthen it rained again. Then we cut40 acres of beans, and then itrained and it rained and it rainedand it remains soggy. Yields wereaverage, I would say. Crop pricesare going up. Hopefully, we will

get back into the fields soon.

David Schaal, St. Peter, Fayette County: We had heavyrains here on Thursday andThursday night and it was still lin-gering on Friday morning. Threeinches plus have fallen here inthe last few hours with parts ofthe county receiving more. Stillnot a lot of harvest in the area.There was a handful that I know

of harvesting, mainly in the northern part ofthe county. I haven’t heard too many yields,but everybody says their early beans will bethe best. Still not ready for a frost, but itsounds like one could be on the way. Rightnow, we need warm, dry weather. Hoping tostart harvest soon. Have a good, safe week.

Ted Kuebrich, Jerseyville, Jersey County: It rained allday and night Thursday. Wereceived a little more than 4.5inches, and at 5:30 Fridaymorning it was still raining. Therain came so hard and fast thatit caused many creeks toflood, closing many low-lyingback roads. The hard rain

mashed down fields of beans and washedout ditches in many fields. Corn yields arerunning from 180 to 210 bushels per acre.Some of the better yields are coming offground that has a slight roll so all the waterwas able to get away and less nitrogenwas lost. Jersey County Grain is getting insome loads of corn that are being dockedfor white mold. The dockage is runningabout 12 percent average. Some of theearly bean yields are running in the mid-50s to mid-60s. Prices at Jersey CountyGrain, Hardin: October corn, $3.55;January corn, $3.59; June 2010 corn,$3.76; October beans, $9.56; Januarybeans, $9.55; June 2010 beans, $9.17.

CROPWATCHERS


Kevin Raber, Browns, Wabash County: Lots and lots ofrain. It rained all day Thursdayand it was still raining Fridaymorning. There was a flash floodwarning out for all ofSoutheastern Illinois. There weretwo or three days fit for harvestlast week and a lot of beans werecut. The rain is sure to hurt the

wheat that has been sown and I don’t knowwhen it will be dry enough to sow wheat.

Ken Taake, Ullin, Pulaski County: It has been a wetweek here in Pulaski County.We’ve had about 4.2 inches ofrain since Monday night (Oct.5). It’s really soggy out and it’sstill raining as of this Fridaymorning. We did manage to getour early soybeans finishedbefore it started raining. We

won’t have any more beans ready for prob-ably another week, which is a good thing.The corn doesn’t seem to be drying veryquickly. Our non-GMO corn is not standingvery well. It is still going down. Moisture isrunning about 20 percent or a little more.Please remember to be careful during thisbusy season.

Rick Corners, Centralia, Jefferson County: Well, I belly-ached wanting rain and I got it.Six inches for the week and it isstill coming down. With harvestjust beginning, this is a real mess.

Dean Shields, Murphysboro, Jackson County: After hav-ing a very good week of harvest-ing here in Jackson County, therain started Thursday and con-tinued into Friday morning. Wereceived a total of 4 inches, andit looks like we are going to getmore. That has put a damper onharvesting. I apologize for not

making my report last week. Harvest wasgoing so well that when I got up to make myreport, my wife told me it was Saturday notFriday. Things were really busy. Yieldwise, thecorn is doing pretty well. But drowned-outholes and low areas in some of the fieldshave taken a toll. The same goes for soy-beans. The soybean yields have been good,but when you account for the holes in thedrowned areas, etc., yields decline for thefield as a whole. No milo has been cut yet, butthe crop seems to have nice heads. We willchug along here hoping to dry out after thisheavy rain and get back at it sometime thisweek. Hopefully, everybody is having a safeharvest.

Dan Meinhart, Montrose, Jasper County: Rainfall this pastweek as of 7:30 Friday morningwas more than 5 inches. And itwas still raining. Temperatureshave been cool. A few fields ofbeans have been harvested. Themajority of beans are still verygreen. Some silage choppinghas been done, but most are

waiting for the corn to mature more. A verylimited amount of corn has been shelled dueto extremely high moisture. A few fields ofwheat have been planted where field condi-tions permitted. Temperatures are expectedto be in the 50s for the high this week.

Bob Biehl, Belleville, St. Clair County: After Thursday andThursday night we are startingthe harvest season just as wedid the planting season — in amonsoon pattern. Actually, wewere a little dry at the beginningof the week, but we receivedright at 3.5 inches of rain in thislast weather front. It was a slow,

soaking rain, too, so that will really make itwet. Usually, with big rains, half to two thirdsruns off and the fields don’t end up as wet. Noharvest to report, but this coming week wasthe anticipated starting date. We will see howlong it takes to dry out. A little corn wasshelled in the area. I hear moisture is still 22to 27 percent. We are still susceptible to frost.The last corn needs a little heat yet for blacklayer and double-crop beans are pretty greenin places.

CROPWATCHERS


Reports received Friday morning.

More rain puts damper on harvest activityBY DANIEL GRANTFarmWeek

Harvest activity last weekpicked up for brief periodsaround the state, but mostcombines were parked on Fri-day due to wet conditions.

Large portions of thesouthern two-thirds of Illi-nois, Indiana, and Missouri asof Friday had received any-where from 2 to 4 inches ofrain, according to Ed Kieser,chief meteorologist at WILL— the public broadcastingservice of the University ofIllinois.

“It will be several daysbefore there’s even the poten-tial for it to be dry enough toget back in the field,” Kiesersaid.

Corn harvest in Illinois asof the first of last week was

of the crop is out of the fields.Kieser on Friday predicted

the cool, wet pattern couldcontinue this week.

“There is potential for rainagain (this) week,” he said.

“And we don’t see favorabletemperatures for maturationor dry-down of the crops.”

The majority of topsoil inthe state (93 percent), prior tothe latest deluge, was ratedadequate or surplus.

“It’s just frustrating,” Shau-man said. “There still is a lotof green in the stalks, so it’sgoing to be November (beforea lot of corn is harvested).”

Kieser on Friday projectedthe growing season would beover in much of Iowa, Min-nesota, Wisconsin, and partsof Northern Illinois becauseof an expected frost duringthe weekend.

“The growing season maycontinue in Southern Illinois,and in many Central Illinoislocations, it will be a closecall,” he added.

just 5 percent complete(compared to the five-yearaverage of 41 percent) whilesoybean harvest was just 6percent complete (comparedto the average of 40 per-cent).

“I haven’t done a thing.None of my beans are ready,and there’s no corn below 30percent moisture,” WendellShauman, a farmer from Kirk-wood and treasurer of the U.S.Grains Council, said last week.“It’s been a really, really slowfall for me.”

Shauman believes cornyields will be good and soy-bean yields should be decentin his area as long as the cropsdon’t suffer large amounts offield loss due to weatherissues and ongoing harvestdelays.

“I think (end users, includ-ing export customers) arecomfortable there will beplenty of supply,” he said.

But it could take weeks andeven months before the bulk

Farm audits for the second dairy herd retire-ment implemented this year by CooperativesWorking Together (CWT) have been completedand the majority of the 74,114 cows that pro-duced 1.5 billion pounds of milk have beensent to processing plants.

CWT in the most recent round of its dairyherd retirement removed 274 herds in 38 states,including 84 herds totaling 8,625 cows fromthe Midwest.

Overall, CWT this year has removed 225,783cows that produced 4.5 billion pounds of milk.

The majority of cows retired in the most recentround originated from the Southwest (31,476)and West (24,188).

“In recognition of the severity of the finan-cial crisis in the dairy industry, CWT auditorsmoved quickly to audit selected farms,” saidJim Tillison, CEO of CWT.

The dairy product index for September wasdown 30 percent compared to the same timelast year while the all-milk price last month of$12.70 per hundredweight was $5.50 below theaverage price for September 2008.

How much corn stover can a corn grower pick? How much corn crop

residue, or stover, can beremoved for biofuels usewithout harming the soil?

A USDA AgriculturalResearch Service (ARS)study of a 10-mile circlearound the University of

this would increase soil ero-sion by only 0.25 of a tonan acre per year.

Erosion levels could beminimized by harvestingstover from areas less sus-ceptible to erosion, byremoving stover at lowerrates, and by using conser-vation tillage, diverse croprotations, and other conser-vation practices, he said.

Archer used the model toestimate costs, including theexpense of replacing nutri-ents lost when the stover isremoved.

Other scientists involvedin the research program arestudying whether returningthe co-products of gasifica-tion to the soil can replacelost carbon and nutrients

and help prevent erosion. Ifso, additional stover couldbe harvested from soils thatare treated with co-prod-ucts.

Minnesota’s Morris campusoffers some clues.

Dave Archer, an agricul-tural scientist at the ARSNorthern Great PlainsResearch Laboratory inMandan, N.D., chose theMorris area because the uni-

versity plans to heat itsbuildings with gas releasedby a controlled burning ofcorn stover.

Using an ARS computermodel, Archer found that iffarmers in the area harvest-ed 40 percent of the stover,

Dairy cow numbers retired this year reach 225,000

COMMODITIES


Biodiesel powerful tool in ‘clean diesel’ pushBY MARTIN ROSSFarmWeek

With climate change andair quality in the public eye,diesel manufacturers andusers recently rolled out thebig equipment to raise aware-ness of industry advances.

Machinery from Caterpil-lar, Deere, Mack, and othersgreeted visitors at Washing-ton’s International TradeCenter a few bustling blocksfrom the White House, as thenational Diesel TechnologyForum (DTF) highlighted theneed for “clean diesel” in“powering key sectors of theeconomy.”

U.S. Environmental Pro-tection Agency AssistantAdministrator GinaMcCarthy told industry rep-resentatives federal dieselstandards by 2020 “will pre-vent, each and every year,over 8,300 premature deaths,over 750,000 respiratory ill-nesses like asthma, and 1.5million lost work days.”

At the same time, theNational Biodiesel Board tes-tified before the U.S. House

fuels. Federal ultra-low-sulfurdiesel requirements have dri-ven use of biodiesel as a fuelcomponent that suppliesengine lubricity in theabsence of sulfur.

“Growing attention togreenhouse gas emissions”should further impact cleandiesel strategies especiallyamong consumer light-dutyvehicle manufacturers, Fen-ton said.

DTF’s Washington show-case featured a range ofclean options, from an elec-trical hybrid school bus andCaterpillar’s electric drivetractor to Mack enginetechnology that uses deion-ized water and urea to con-trol truck exhaust emis-sions.

Some diesel fleets haveconverted to compressednatural gas. Biodiesel userequires few engine modifica-tions.

“The infrastructure tomake natural gas fuel avail-able is more expensive thanmaking biodiesel available,”Fenton said.

Small Business Committeeon the need to extend a fed-eral biodiesel blenders’ taxcredit currently set to expireDec. 31.

Clean diesel technologyinvolves a combination ofmore efficient engines, effec-tive vehicle emissions con-trols, and cleaner fuels, DTFpublic policy director DawnFenton stressed.

While DTF focuses onvehicle technology, she seesbiodiesel playing an impor-tant role in clean dieselefforts.

“There’s growing supportamong the various usergroups,” Fenton toldFarmWeek. “There arestronger and stronger effortsto try and honor a higher-blend use of biodiesel in var-ious equipment, particularlythe new equipment.

“Among most manufactur-ers, a B5 (5 percent biodiesel)level is pretty universallyaccepted, whether it’s inlight-duty diesel vehicles orheavy-duty. Frequently, youcan find up to B20 being

allowed with a lot of heavy-duty construction or agequipment without negating(engine) manufacturer war-ranty. Biodiesel’s being

viewed favorably.”Fenton credits a current

biodiesel push to new indus-try specifications for use of 6to 20 percent biodiesel

Italian tourist Annapina Laraia inspects a John Deere tractor during a“clean diesel” exhibition in Washington, D.C. Deere’s approach is acooled exhaust gas recirculation (EGR) system including a diesel oxida-tion catalyst that chemically breaks down pollutants and a particulate(soot) filter. The latest version of the technology is designed to meet2011 emissions regulations requiring at least a 90 percent reduction inparticulates and an up to 50 percent reduction in greenhouse nitrogenoxide from previous requirements. (Photo by Martin Ross)

Pork producers advisedto get flu vaccinations

The National Pork Board last week advised pork producers,farm personnel, and others who have contact with pigs to get aseasonal flu vaccination as soon as possible.

The typical flu season begins in October and can last through May.Pork producers and others who come into contact with pigs

also were advised to get a vaccination for the novel H1N1 flustrain as soon as those vaccinations are available.

The recommendations were made to help protect the nationalswine herd from catching the flu from humans. The H1N1 flustrain as of last week had not been detected in the U.S. swineherd, although isolated case of it were found earlier this year inherds in Argentina, Australia, and Canada.

Proper building ventilation and good hygiene also will helpreduce the transmission of the flu viruses in the hog industry.

“It’s more important than ever for producers and swine farmworkers to reduce the risk of getting sick and bringing the flu to thefarm or workplace by getting vaccinated,” said Liz Wagstrom assis-tant vice president of science and technology for the Pork Checkoff.

Although some media outlets continue to refer to the H1N1strain as “swine flu,” humans cannot contract the virus throughthe consumption of pork or pork products.

If not at risk, flu will last two weeks Most people who get the flu (either seasonal or H1N1) will

have mild illness, will not need medical care or antiviral drugs,and will recover in less than two weeks, according to the Cen-ters for Disease Control and Prevention (CDC).

Some people, however, may get flu complications thatcould result in hospitalization or death. Examples of flu-relat-ed complications include pneumonia, bronchitis, sinus infec-tions, and ear infections. The flu also may make chronic healthproblems worse.

For example, people with asthma may experience asthmaattacks while they have the flu.

People who fit the following categories are more likely todevelop flu-related complications if they get the flu:

Children younger than 5, especially those younger than 2;adults 65 or older; and pregnant women.

Risk categories include individuals who have cancer, blooddisorders, chronic lung disease, diabetes, heart disease, anddisorders of the heart, kidney, and liver.

PRODUCTION


Cash rent negotiations could be tricky again this yearBY DANIEL GRANTFarmWeek

Farmers and landownershave their work cut out whenit comes to determining 2010cash rental rates that are fairfor both parties.

Gary Schnitkey, Universityof Illinois Extension farmmanagement specialist,believes swings in crop pricesof $1 per bushel or more will

remain commonplace in thecoming year while input costsare all over the board.

“It’s hard to set cash rentswith all this volatility,”Schnitkey said last week duringa webinar hosted by DTN.

Schnitkey projected fertil-izer prices for next year willbe down significantly com-pared to 2008/09 levels whilecorn prices in 2010 were pro-jected to average $3.75 perbushel compared to $3.25 thisyear.

However, seed and powercosts are expected to remainnear historic highs and theoverall cost to grow next year’scrops still could be the sec-ond- or third-highest onrecord.

“It looks like 2009 will be alow-income year caused by rel-atively low commodity pricesand high costs,” Schnitkeysaid. “There looks to be somerebound in 2010 but (income)won’t be back to 2007 and2008 levels.

“This suggests cash rentsfundamentally should comedown,” he continued. “But wedon’t expect that.”

Instead, Schnitkey believescash rents could remain stablefor at least the next year.Farmers and landowners also

may pursue variable cash rentagreements that benefitlandowners when crop pricesare high but offer protectionfor farmers if crop prices arelow.

Ben Riensche, a farmerfrom Iowa who cash rentsabout 6,000 acres, expressedfrustration about the recentrun-up in rental prices.Nationwide, cash rents thisyear increased 5.3 percentwhile land values actuallydecreased by 3.2 percent,according to USDA.

“Farmers are very con-cerned cash rents have beenvery elastic on the upside andinelastic on the downside,”Riensche said during the DTNwebinar.

In Illinois, cash rents in2010 could decline by 5 per-cent, according to recent sur-vey of Illinois Society of Pro-fessional Farm Managers andRural Appraisers (ISPFMRA)members.

ISPFMRA members in Julyestimated cash rent levels fornext year could average $260per acre for excellent land,$210 per acre for good land,$160 per acre for average land,and $130 per acre for fair-quality land.

Farmers who don’t want topay those or higher pricesshould consider taking theirfinancial records/balancesheets to their landlords whenthey negotiate rates for nextyear, Schnitkey said.

FarmWeekNow.comCheck the latest cash rentinformation from the U of Iat FarmWeekNow.com.

Late outbreak of soy rustno yield threat

The fact that soybean rustin the past week was con-firmed in 13 Illinois countiesshould not be a concern togrowers.

The outbreak is late enoughin the season that it is notmuch of a threat to yields,according to Kevin Black,insect/plant disease technical

manager for GROWMARK.“In no case is significant

yield loss expected from soy-bean rust this year in Illinois,”Black noted in last week’s edi-tion of GROWMARK’s Pro-duction Solutions Newsletter.

Soybean rust as of lastweek had been detected inAlexander, Gallatin, Hardin,Jackson, Johnson, Massac,McDonough, Pope, Pulaski,Saline, Union, White, andWilliamson counties.

It is “remotely possible”soybean rust could build up tonoticeable levels in some ofthe very late-maturing fields inthose counties, Black reported.

But fungicide use was notadvised, particularly in soy-beans that have reached theR6 growth stage.

Growers who decide toapply fungicide to a late-maturing variety that has notreached the R6 stage shoulduse a triazole fungicide,according to Black.

But growers who make thisdecision should realize thatfungicide application at thistime won’t reverse or correctongoing infection from Cer-cospora leaf blight or otherfoliar pathogens, Black added.

Farmers can track themovement of soy rust onlineat {www.sbrusa.net}.

‘In no case is sig-nificant yield losse x p e c t e d t h i syear in Illinois.’

— Kevin BlackGROWMARK agronomist

CONSUMER


Economist: Food price decline may continue into 2010BY DANIEL GRANTFarmWeek

A recent survey of supermarketsaround the country conducted by theAmerican Farm Bureau Federation(AFBF) found retail food prices havedeclined about 10 percent comparedto a year ago.

The AFBF marketbasket survey,which tracks the price of 16 specificitems including milk, meat, potatoes,and cereal, concluded the averagegrocery bill for those items in thethird quarter declined by about 26cents.

The drop in prices was the fourthconsecutive quarter in which foodcosts have decreased, according toAFBF.

“Consumers continue to benefit

from modest, steady declines in retailfood prices at the grocery store,” saidJim Sartwelle, AFBFeconomist.

Sartwelle believesthe decline in foodprices is due in largepart to a sharp dropin energy prices.

Crude oil pricesrecently were downabout 50 percentcompared to historichighs established inJuly of 2008.

“As the worldgoes, so goes foodprices,” Sartwelle said. “We’ve seen alot of processing and transportationcosts go by the wayside.”

The AFBF survey found the price ofbulk products that require the least

amount of processingdecreased the most. Theprice of whole milk, ched-dar cheese, and potatoes,for example, declined 27,23, and 22 percent, respec-tively, compared to a yearago.

But the cost of someprocessed items actuallyincreased, such as baggedsalad, which was up 16percent.

However, the share ofthe food dollar received by

farmers continued to decline and isabout 19 cents compared to about 33cents in the mid-1970s, Sartwelle noted.

Overall, the economist believes foodprices will continue to soften, providedenergy prices remain stable.

“We see a continuation of this trendon a year-to-year basis,” Sartwelle said.

But that doesn’t necessarily meanfarm commodity prices will remain low.

On the livestock side, Sartwelle said“economics have taken care of it” andthe number of hogs, dairy cows, andchick placements will continue todiminish until returns improve.

Meanwhile, crop prices couldrebound on the strength of higherexports that could be generated by aweakening of the dollar.

And gasoline prices that average$2.30 to $2.50 per gallon will continueto spur the production of moreethanol, he added.

IFB announces GRITs members for 2010Farm Bureau members

recently were named to IllinoisFarm Bureau GrassRoots IssueTeams (GRITs) for 2010. Thismarks the 14th year forGRITs.

The goal is to provide IFBwith feedback on marketing,technology, regulatory, andrural issues, as well as to gen-erate new approaches to prob-lem solving and policy devel-opment.

In 2010, an additional teamwas added and the other teamswere restructured to adapt toevolving issues.

Each year following GRITsappointments, IFB also sub-mits nominations to the Amer-ican Farm Bureau Federationfor assignments to its advisorycommittees.

Illinois nominees are select-ed from current and formerGRITs members, when possi-ble, to enhance continuity in

the problem-solving and poli-cy-development processes atthe state and national levels.

Team members and thecounty Farm Bureaus they rep-resent are as follows:

Conservation and naturalresources: Donald Duvall,White; Terry Ferguson,DeWitt; Kevin Green, Vermil-ion; John Gunter, Williamson;Alois Hoffmann, St. Clair;Donald Immke, Livingston;Rock Katschnig, Henry; FrankLearned, Peoria; Lonial Lovel-lette, Grundy; Jeffrey Schone,Scott; Aaron Wernz, Clark;Lindsay McQueen, Cumber-land County Farm Bureaumanager; and DarrylBrinkmann, Clinton, District16 IFB director.

Crop production andtrade: Timothy Baer, Tazewell;Robert Baumgart, White; Ray-mond Elder, Christian; JamesHarms, Livingston; Mary

Lewis, Bond; Michael Marron,Vermilion; Larry Martin, Madi-son; James Raben, Gallatin;Emmett Sefton,Macon; Earl Sorrells,Montgomery; DavidWyss, Woodford;Blake Roderick, PikeCounty Farm Bureaumanager; and SteveHosselton, Clay, Dis-trict 14 IFB director.

Equine: DennisAdams, Christian;Charlyn Fargo, Sang-amon; Bonnie Fer-rell, Peoria; C.W. Gaffner,Bond; Debra Hagstrom,Champaign; Gerald Kopping,Cook; Sam Lilly, DuPage; KimMiller, McLean; Sara Rhoades,Champaign; David Sadler, Ver-milion; Duane Strunk, Cham-paign; Garry Jenkins,Williamson County FarmBureau manager; and KentSchleich, Fulton, District 8IFB director.

Livestock and dairy:Patrick Bane, McLean; StevenBecker, Clinton; Gerry Ferrell,Peoria; Robert Guppy, Peoria;Steven Harnetiaux, Bond;Nathaniel Janssen, Lake; JamesNiewold, Ford-Iroquois;George Obernagel, Monroe;

Douglas Scheider, Stephenson;Bradley Temple, LaSalle; PatTitus, Douglas; Jill Frueh,

Bureau County FarmBureau manager; andMike Kenyon, Kane,District 1 IFB direc-tor.

Renewableresources and ener-gy: Charles Everett,Hamilton; RonaldFluegel, Stephenson;Dennis Haab, Liv-ingston; RonaldHohenbery, Peoria;

Leland Jones, Winnebago;Steve Launius, Washington;Glenn Meyer, Randolph; CindyMyer, McLean; Dwight Ring-hausen, Calhoun; Eric Rund,Champaign; Eleanor Zimmer-lein, Lee; Bruce Johnson,Stephenson County FarmBureau manager; and JimSchielein, Lee, District 4 IFBdirector.

Risk management andfarm programs: DwayneAnderson, Henry; DeanCampbell, Randolph; KennethDalenberg, Champaign; RandyDeSutter, Knox; Mark Hines,McLean; Matthew Hughes,McLean; Kim Morton, Cook;Dale Plumer, Schuyler; Richard

Ritter, Will; James Ufkin, Hen-ry; Dale Wachtel, Effingham;Matt Lillpop, Whiteside Coun-ty Farm Bureau manager; andChris Hausman, Champaign,District 12 IFB director.

Rural life: Robin Cruse,Champaign; Samuel DeNeal,Saline; John Eisenmeyer, War-ren-Henderson; Donald Guin-nip, Clark; James Launer,Macoupin; Glen Ludwig, Liv-ingston; William Mathena,Marion; Carleen Paul, Madi-son; Steven Weber, Henry;David White, Wayne; LindaWikoff, Knox; Teresa Grant-Quick, Livingston CountyFarm Bureau manager; andScott Halpin, Grundy, District5 IFB director.

Specialty crops and labor:Harry Alten, McHenry;Richard Curd, White; DavidDaniken, Bond; ThomasFeltes, DuPage; Glenn Gindler,Madison; Raymond Herman,Champaign; Patrick Horcher,Cook; Carol Meyer, Randolph;Richard Ramsey, Sangamon;Stanley Sipp, Piatt; RichardSteiner, Tazewell; AbbyCorzine, Crawford CountyFarm Bureau manager; and BillOlthoff, Kankakee, District 6IFB director.

‘ A s t h e w o r l dg o e s , s o g o e sfood prices.’

— Jim SartwelleAFBF economist

The Western Illinois Univer-sity (WIU) School of Agricul-ture will host prospective stu-dents Oct. 31 atits AgricultureOpen House.

The day willstart with registra-tion from 8:30 to9 a.m. inKnoblauch Hall,room 152, on theMacomb campus.Open house activities will con-tinue until 1 p.m.

This year, WIU will mark the90th anniversary of the four-year degree in agriculture at the

university. The open house willcoincide with the annual “AgDay” event at Hanson Field.

The open house event isintended specifically for highschool and transfer students,according to Brian Schullian,WIU ag student recruitmentcoordinator.

“Students will be able to seewhat Western’s School of Agri-culture can offer them in rela-tion to their individual agricul-ture-career interests,” saidSchullian.

Each student participant willhave his or her name enteredfor a $100 scholarship drawing,

and two scholarships will begiven away.

Presentations and a tour ofcampus, the research farm, andthe livestock center will be fol-lowed by a complimentarymeal. At the conclusion of theopen house, participants mayattend a 1 p.m. WIU footballgame with complimentary tick-ets.

For more information, con-tact Schullian at 309-298-1080 [email protected]. Anonline registration form and acampus map are available at{wiu.edu/ag/agopenhouse/2009announcement.php}.

WIU slates ag open house for prospective students

CONFERENCES


Corn, Soy Classicsdates announced

The University of Illinoisannounced the dates and loca-tions for the 2010 Universityof Illinois Corn & SoybeanClassics.

It marks the 13th set ofclassics, an educational pro-gram that offers the most cur-rent and timely informationrelated to crop production,marketing, and pest manage-ment.

More than 1,200 peopleattended last year’s events.

Dates and locations for2010:

• Jan. 6, Mt. Vernon Holi-day Inn, Mt. Vernon,

• Jan. 8, Champaign I Hoteland Conference Center,Champaign,

• Jan. 11, Crowne Plaza,Springfield,

• Jan. 12, DoubleTreeHotel, Bloomington,

• Jan. 13, Moline i wirelessCenter, Moline, and

• Jan. 14, Kishwaukee Col-lege, Malta.

Registration for the classicsand the new Ag Masters Con-ference may be completedonline by going to{www.cropsciconferences.org}. Interested persons also maycontact the U of I’s SandyOsterbur at 800-321-1296 formore information.

fungicide data, the globalfertilizer market, and envi-ronmental issues.

A panel of U of I Exten-

sion specialists will give theirassessment of the 2009growing season and offerprojections for 2010.

Following the presenta-tions, participants may dis-

cuss information from theprogram with friends andcolleagues at social activities.

The advance registrationfee for Dec. 1 is $135 andincludes lunch, refreshments,and program proceedings.

The on-site registrationwill start at 7 a.m. and theon-site fee is $175.

Dec. 2 will feature eightdifferent two-hour class-room-style intensive instruc-tion sessions.

Participants may registerfor four.

Registration for day twowill be on a first-come, first-

served basis and limited to120 total. Each class will belimited to 30 participants.

Topics will include cornnitrogen use, experimentdesign and analysis, soybeancyst nematode management,physiology of herbicide-plant interaction, managingglyphosate-resistant weeds,genomic applications forplant breeding and cropimprovement, Bt plants forinsect management, andunderstanding productclaims.

Each advanced sessionwill be offered twice.

For the second day, theadvance registration fee willbe $235. Participants whoregister in advance for bothdays will pay $350.

Registration also may behandled by faxing a complet-ed registration with paymentto 217-333-5299 or by mail-ing a completed registrationform to Sandy Osterbur,AW-101 Turner Hall, 1102 S.Goodwin Ave., Urbana, Ill.,61801.

Registration questions maybe referred to Osterbur at800-321-1296 or e-mail herat [email protected].

The University of Illinoiswill host its first Ag MastersConference Dec. 1-2 at theUniversity of Illinois I Con-ference Center, Urbana. Reg-istration is on a first-come,first-served basis, and thesecond day is limited to 120participants.

The Ag Masters Confer-ence will be significantly dif-ferent from the former CropProtection Technology Con-ference, which was an earlyJanuary conference, accord-ing to Mike Gray, U of Icrop sciences professor.

The conference programhas two distinct parts, eachrequiring separate registra-tion. Registration may becompleted online at{www.cropsciconferences.com/agmasters/}

The Dec. 1 program willfeature many speakers andtopics in a general sessionformat.

Topics will include thepotential for 300-bushelcorn yields, future cornhybrid development, geneticcontributions to higher soy-bean yields, glyphosate resis-tance management, interpre-tations of on-farm foliar

Replaces pesticide conferenceU of I to host new Ag Masters Conference

FarmWeekNow.comYou can register online forthe Ag Masters Confer-ence by going to Farm-WeekNow.com.

AROUND THE STATE


IFB to help counties ‘sign up’ for safetyBY MARTIN ROSSFarmWeek

Farm trucks, tractors, andcombines are prominent fea-tures on the Illinois fall land-scape. But with 2009 harvestconcerns creating greaterpotential danger on ruralroads, Illinois Farm Bureau isinvesting in greater statewideag visibility.

As part of an IFB Qualityof Life Action Team project,the organization has approved$4,000 to help countiesacquire and post fall farmsafety/warning signs. CountyFarm Bureaus can receive upto $200 to recover costs forIFB-approved public signs,placards, or stickers.

McLean County Farm

Bureau and the McLean CountySheriff ’s Department are post-ing “Start Seeing Farmers”

signs around the county, whileDe Kalb County has distributed“Harvest in Progress” signs.Eligible signs also may warn of

manure gas, grain bin suffoca-tion, or other ag hazards.

Given this year’s harvestdelays, IFB member servicesprogram manager Peggy Rom-ba suggests rural road safety inparticular will be crucial thisfall.

“Farmers are going to beworking much later into thenight because of the weatherchallenges they’ve had,” Rom-ba told FarmWeek as the ini-tiative was rolled out Friday.

“Over the Thanksgivingweekend, when thousands ofpeople are on the road, ourfarmers also may be, still har-vesting.”

For further information orto apply for funds, contactRomba at 309-557-2007.

Standing beside a mock accident scene involving a vehicle and a diskthat had been staged for National Farm Safety and Health Week,young Livingston County residents hold signs that are being postedabout the county and elsewhere to alert motorist to the fact that farmerswill be on the roadways in large numbers and for long hours once har-vest season gets into full swing. The “Start Seeing Farmers” signs weredeveloped through the McLean County Farm Bureau and the countysheriff’s department. Pictured are Livingston County Farm Bureau YoungLeader Chairman Brad Schmidgall, center, and Pontiac FFA membersChris Jackson and Shelby DeVito. (Photo courtesy of Livingston CountyFarm Bureau)

You can v o t eHistoric Illinois barn vying for preservationin national contestA historic Greene County

barn is competing in a nationalFFA and Campbell Soup contest.The Gregory Farm barn in WhiteHall is among 10 barns in ninestates nominated in a preserva-tion contest.

A $5,000 grant will be awardedfor each of five barns that receivethe most online votes in an onlineelection through Jan. 5. Winningbarns will be announced in January.

The North Greene FFA Chap-ter nominated the Gregory Farmbarn through the National FFA Association, Josh Lawson, thechapter adviser, told FarmWeek.

Stories, photos, and video of eachbarn are online at {www.helpgrow-yoursoup.com}. Website visitors arelimited to one vote per day for theirfavorite barn. Campbell Soup also willdonate $1 for each vote cast, up to$250,000, to the National FFA.

The Gregory Farm, owned and oper-ated by the Jim Esarey family, dates backto 1821 when it was purchased byCharles Gregory through the Home-stead Act. The original barn was built in1909. Seven generations have lived and

worked on the family farm.The site to see video and photographs of the Esarey farm in

particular is {www.helpgrowyoursoup.com/barn_gregory.aspx#}.The Esareys serve as substitute teachers, judge FFA contests,

host tours and activities, and provide other support to the NorthGreene High School ag program and its FFA chapter, Lawson said.

Campbell Soup has formed a partnership with the NationalFFA and the National FFA Alumni. To date, Campbell and theFFA have restored five barns across the country and plantedcommunity gardens in Chicago, New York, Atlanta, Detroit, andCamden, N.J. — Kay Shipman

EPA, Illinois fertilizer manufacturer reach agreementU.S. Environmental Protection Agency

(EPA) Region 5 has reached an agreement withRentech Energy Midwest Corp. on alleged cleanair violations at the company’s ammonia fertiliz-er plant in East Dubuque.

The agreement, including a $79,700 penalty,resolves EPA allegations that Rentech’s industri-

al process refrigeration unit leaked excessiveamounts of refrigerant. Rentech voluntarilyreported the potential violations to EPA lastSeptember.

Rentech agreed to replace the leaking refrig-eration unit within a year with one that uses anon-ozone-depleting refrigerant.

‘ F a r m e r s a r eg o i n g t o b ew o r k i n g m u c hl a t e r i n t o t h enight.’

— Peggy RombaIllinois Farm Bureau

sponsor an informationalmeeting on the Aug. 2-6 trip toMichigan at 7 p.m. Tuesday,Oct. 20, at the Farm Bureauoffice. Call the Farm Bureauoffice at 815-962-0653 formore information.

• Prime Timers will sponsora program at noon Friday, Oct.30, at the Farm Bureau office.Joe Peterson, a local paleontol-ogist, will be the speaker.Lunch will be served at noon,followed by the program at 1p.m. Cost is $17, whichincludes lunch. Send yourreservation to the Farm Bureauoffice.

“From the counties” items aresubmitted by county Farm Bureaumanagers. If you have an eventor activity open to all members,contact your county manager.

FROM THE COUNTIES


office at 217-465-8511 for anappointment or more infor-mation.

HENRY — Bureau,Henry, and Stark

County Farm Bureaus willsponsor a defensive drivingcourse from 10 a.m. to 3p.m. Thursday and Friday,Nov. 12-13, at the BlackHawk College CommunityEducation Center, Kewanee.The course is open to those55 and older who are autopolicy holders. Those whocomplete both days of thecourse are eligible for a dis-count on their auto insur-ance. Cost is $20. Call theFarm Bureau office at 309-937-2411 by Monday, Nov. 2,for reservations or moreinformation.

• Bureau, Henry, Knox,

BUREAU — Bureau,Henry, and Stark

County Farm Bureaus willsponsor a defensive drivingcourse from 10 a.m. to 3p.m. Thursday and Friday,Nov. 12-13, at the BlackHawk College CommunityEducation Center, Kewanee.The course is open to those55 and older who are autopolicy holders. Those whocomplete both days of thecourse are eligible for a dis-count on their auto insur-ance. Cost is $20. Call theFarm Bureau office forreservations or more infor-mation.

• Bureau, Marshall-Put-nam, and Stark CountyFarm Bureaus will sponsor acollege open house from 10a.m. to 3 p.m. Wednesday,Nov. 18, at the Marshall-Putnam County FarmBureau, Henry. Several col-leges who offer agricultureprograms have been invited.Scheduled time slots forOhio, LaMoille, and Prince-ton schools are from 10a.m. to 11 a.m.; and BureauValley, Hall, and DePueschools are from 11 a.m. tonoon. All schools havebeen assigned a time slot.Call the Farm Bureau officeat 815-875-6468 for moreinformation.

CUMBERLAND —The Women’s Com-

mittee will sponsor a bus tripWednesday, Nov. 11, todowntown Chicago. Cost is$25. Call the Farm Bureauoffice at 849-3031 by Nov. 1for reservations or moreinformation.

EDGAR — FarmBureau will host a flu

shot clinic from 8 a.m. tonoon Thursday, Oct. 29, atthe Farm Bureau office.Cost is $25. Medicare Part Band Medicaid will be accept-ed. Call the Farm Bureau

and Stark County FarmBureaus, the University ofIllinois Extension, and BlackHawk East (BHE) will spon-sor a series of three equineseminars from 6:30 to 8:30p.m. Thursdays, Nov. 5, 12,and 19, in the Black HawkEast ag arena. There is nocharge for 4-H and FFAmembers and BHE students.Cost for others is $9 per ses-sion or $20 for all three ses-sions. Call the Farm Bureauoffice at 309-937-2411 forreservations or more infor-mation.

LASALLE — WendySanders, optometrist,

has joined the LaSalle CountyFarm Bureau discount pro-gram. She will offer a 15 per-cent discount on goods andvision-related services. It

cannot be combined withhealth insurance. Dr. Sandersis located at 641 First St.,LaSalle. Call the Farm Bureauoffice at 433-0371 for moreinformation.

LEE — Lee County platbooks are available at

the Farm Bureau office. Costis $30. Call the Farm Bureauoffice at 857-3531 or [email protected] for moreinformation.

• Custom candle orders aredue Friday to the Farm Bureauoffice. Payment is due with theorder. Delivery will be Friday,Nov. 20, to the Farm Bureauoffice. Call the Farm Bureauoffice at 857-3531 or visit thewebsite {www.leecfb.org} formore information.

WINNEBAGO —Farm Bureau will

Auction CalendarSat., Oct. 17. 10 a.m. Tools, cars andcollectibles. Marianne Schwahn, PON-TIAC, IL. Immke and Bradleys’ Auction

Service.Fri., Oct. 23. 6 p.m. 960 Ac. Jersey

Co. Boyer Creek Farm, JER-SEYVILLE, IL. Langham

Auctioneers.Fri., Oct. 23. 10 a.m. Estate land

auction. Ruth B. Hamm Trust, HUD-SON, IL. Haycraft Auction Co.

Sat., Oct. 31. 9:30 a.m.Consignment Auction. N.I.T.E.Equipment, PECATONICA, IL. Mon., Nov. 2. 7 p.m. 46.9 Ac.

Champaign Co. Donald R. Prather andBeverly Jane Prather, URBANA, IL.

Gordon Hannagan Auction Co.Fri., Nov. 6. 10 a.m. 160 Ac. BrownCo. Koch Farm, MT. STERLING, IL.

Sullivan Auctioneers, LLC.Sat., Nov. 7. 10 a.m. 127.5 Ac. FordCo. Burris Family Revocable Trust,

ROBERTS, IL. Schrader Real Estateand Auction Co., Inc.

Mon., Nov. 9. 10 a.m. 163 Ac.Woodford Co. Arthur P. Kennell

Residuary Trust, ROANOKE, IL. TerryWilkey Auction Service.

Mon., Nov. 9. 10:30 a.m. LandAuction Champaign Co. Norma J.

Elkins, PHILO, IL. Gordon HannaganAuction Co.

PROFITABILITY


Feeder pig prices reported to USDA*

Weight Range Per Head Weighted Ave. Price10 lbs. $16.00-$34.00 $28.2840 lbs. $26.50-$30.50 $29.9950 lbs. n/a n/aReceipts This Week Last Week

20,100 12,031*Eastern Corn Belt prices picked up at seller’s farm

MARKET FACTS

Confirmed lamb and sheep salesThis week 1,056 Last week 544 Last year 939Wooled Slaughter Lambs: Choice and Prime 2-3: 90-110 lbs, $98; 110-130 lbs.,$89.25-$91. Good and Choice 1-2: 60-90 lbs., $109. Slaughter Ewes: Utility andGood 1-3: $28-$32. Cull and Utility 1-2: $28.

Lamb prices

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

This week Prev. week ChangeCarcass $46.73 $45.44 1.29Live $34.58 $33.63 0.95

Export inspections

(Million bushels)Week ending Soybeans Wheat Corn10-01-09 12.5 18.0 38.409-24-09 7.5 24.2 34.3Last year 14.3 32.0 37.0Season total 38.7 290.9 182.4Previous season total 35.2 459.0 166.5USDA projected total 1305 900 2150Crop marketing year began June 1 for wheat and Sept. 1 for corn and soybeans.

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

Steers 81.71 82.78 -1.07Heifers 81.86 82.87 -1.01

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 Change93.55 95.36 -1.81

CME feeder cattle index — 600-800 Lbs.

Indemnification for losses in transportationBY PETE TROTTER

A new law went into effectin August that provides thatindemnification provisions inmotor carrier transportation

agreementscannot holdthe motorcarrierresponsiblefor liabilitiescaused by theother party.

While thislaw is new toIllinois, it rep-

resents a legislative trendresulting in enactment of simi-lar laws in a number of states,including Indiana, Missouri,Tennessee, Wyoming, Nebras-ka, Virginia, West Virginia,

North Carolina, and Kansas. Because many Illinois com-

panies ship products andmaterials or provide trans-portation services, the new lawmay broadly affect the transac-tion of business in Illinois.

Understanding the new lawrequires a basic understandingof the purpose of indemnifi-cation provisions. While suchprovisions may be consideredcomplex, indemnificationmerely constitutes one party’spromise to cover specifiedlosses of the other party incertain circumstances.

In that sense, indemnifica-tion is similar to insurance.The difference is that the pri-mary purpose of the agree-ment is not insurance or

indemnification, but insteadrelates to something else, suchas transportation.

In the case of motor carriertransportation agreements,indemnification provisionstypically are intended to pro-tect the shipper from lossescaused by the carrier.

However, indemnification isa negotiable item, and shippershave sometimes required thecarrier to protect them fromlosses in transportation whichwere caused by the shipper orby third parties.

The trucking industry hasargued that small carriers areforced to accept such provi-sions, even though they areclearly objectionable, becausethey need the shipping business.

Legislatures have respond-ed, as in Illinois, by barringindemnification which holdsthe carrier accountable whenthe carrier did not cause theloss.

Confusion arises withrespect to these laws becausethey are incorrectly interpretedto completely prohibit indem-nification provisions in trans-portation agreements.

However, many states per-mit contracting parties toagree to indemnify each other.While indemnification prohi-bitions vary in different states,they do not overturn the basicright of the parties to negoti-ate contractual provisions.

The new Illinois law merelysays that certain indemnifica-

tion provisions — those pro-tecting the party causing theloss from its own actions —are unenforceable.

The intent of the law isfairness in transportation con-tracts, an objective to which allparties ultimately can agree.

Indemnification provisionscontinue to be appropriate intransportation agreements.However, confusion regardingthe intent and application ofthe new law will persist, whichsuggests caution on the part ofall parties entering into thesecontracts.

Pete Trotter is GROW-MARK’s assistant general counseland privacy officer. His e-mailaddress is [email protected].

Pete Trotter

Despite inputs relief margins projected to remain tight Farmers should see some

relief on input costs next year,but profit margins are still like-ly to be squeezed.

Bruce Erickson, a PurdueUniversity agricultural econo-mist, said growers likely wouldsee the most savings on fertil-izer costs in the 2010 plantingseason.

“Some farmers were spend-ing as much as $200 per acreto fertilize the 2009 corn crop,more than rent in some cases,when you consider nitrogen, Pand K replacement, and anyliming requirements,” Erick-son said.

“Next year, it will be aboutone-third less — in our pro-jections, about $100 to $130per acre — depending on soilsand crop rotation.”

Erickson and his colleagues’estimates are available in the“2010 Purdue Crop Cost &Return Guide,” now availableonline at{http://www.agecon.purdue.edu/extension/pubs/index.-asp}. The guide gives esti-mates of input costs andexpected returns for the com-ing planting season.

At the time these estimateswere prepared, Chicago Mer-

cantile Exchange Groupfutures indicated that fall 2010cash prices were near $3.30per bushel for corn and $8.40for soybeans. These prices arelower than what was used inthe 2009 budget estimates by70 cents for corn and 30 centsfor soybeans.

It’s fairly certain that thesecosts and returns will changebefore anything is planted nextspring, but the estimates pro-vide a starting point for think-ing about 2010, Erickson said.

“The guide provides a gener-al barometer for people who do

their own budgets,” he said. While fertilizer prices alreadyhave come down, Erickson saidoverall costs remain relativelyhigh and have not come downas much as commodity prices.Today’s grain prices are placingdownward pressure on the seedand crop protection companies.

“Some technology fees haveincreased, and we know listprices of some of the newesthybrids have gone up, but we’realso hearing of significant dis-counting,” Erickson said.

Also, some input suppliersalready have announced sub-

stantially lower glyphosateprices.

“For the second year in a row,farmers’ margins will be lessthan they were in 2007 and2008,” Erickson said. One cost-saving area could be machinery.Erickson said industry reportsshow sales of new large farmmachinery are down, whichcould keep a lid on the cost ofthose purchases. On the otherhand, interest in buying usedequipment is on the rise.

“There could be some bar-gains on new equipment outthere,” he said.

BY DANIEL GRANTFarmWeek

An assortment of new labels on milk con-tainers designed to differentiate products andin some instances add value actually may have adetrimental impact on demand, according to arecent study.

An economic study conducted byresearchers at the University of Delaware, theUniversity of Wisconsin, and Cornell Universi-ty concluded increased labeling of milk couldportray conventional products in a “negativelight” and lead to decreased demand for milkof all types.

Results of the study will be published in theNovember issue of the American Journal ofAgricultural Economics and it currently isavailable online at{http://www3.interscience.wiley.com/cgi-bin/fulltext/122511592/HTMLSTART}.

“The introduction of new food productsthat portray conventional products in a nega-tive light can have a significant impact on stig-matizing the demand for conventional prod-ucts,” said Harry Kaiser, one of the authors ofthe study titled “Does Production Labeling Stigma-tize Conventional Milk?”

The study estimated labeling claims oforganic milk reduced demand for conventionalmilk by 45 percent while labeling claims ofmilk that is free of added hormones reduceddemand for conventional milk by 33 percent.

Several large companies, including Wal-Mart, Kroger, and Starbucks, in recent yearsimplemented bans on all milk produced withrecombinant bovine somatotropin (rBST),

which is a naturally occurring hormone inbovine that allows cows to produce up to 10percent more milk.

The study showed that labeling products asrBST-free, even though the hormone exists inall milk and has no known side effects, createsa perception among consumers that milk notcarrying such a label is somehow inferior.

“The implication of the stigma effect foundhere is that the dairy industry will have to con-front the issue head on or risk a possibly majornegative impact on milk consumption,”according to the study.

In 2006 about one-third of dairy cows inthe U.S. reportedly received supplemental r-BST. The removal of the technology fromfarms is expected to increase milk prices andreduce income on dairy farms by about 80cents per cow per day, according to MikeHutjens, University of Illinois Extensiondairy specialist.

“There are two losers in this argument,”Hutjens previously told FarmWeek. “Theconsumers lose because they’re being asked topay a higher price (for milk that has the samenutrient content and hormone levels) andfarmers lose because they’re not allowed to usea technology that will produce more milk witha little more profitability at a lower cost.”

The timing of the findings probably ishard for dairy producers to swallow. The eco-nomic recession has hurt dairy demandworldwide and a surplus of milk has weighedheavily on prices, creating massive losses inthe industry and forcing some producers toexit the business.

New labels may be detrimental to milk demand

PROFITABILITY


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CASH STRATEGISTCorn Strategy

�2008 crop: We’re stillwilling to hold inventoriesuntil after harvest or use amarketing strategy that wouldkeep pricing open until laterthis year.

�2009 crop: The marketaction continues to indicatethe seasonal low has beenseen. In the short term,though, prices could correctlower as the pace of harvestaccelerates. Use these levels toprice any bushels you need tomove at harvest. Still, if youhave the ability to storebushels, we expect betteropportunities later in the mar-keting year.

�Fundamentals: TheUSDA October productionforecast was not much of asurprise. As discussed in thearticle at left, we don’t believethere’s a chance yields will gomuch, if any, higher. At thesame time, the demand baseappears to be large enough toabsorb this crop. And giventhat corn prices are relativelyattractive, demand couldexceed expectations.Soybean Strategy

�2008 crop: This pastweek’s action all but put to restthe possibility of soybeanprices going lower. We thinkthere will be better prices thanthose available today to wrapup sales on any bushels youstill have.

�2009 crop: Given thenearly $1 rally off the lows,soybean prices may struggle togo higher yet in the shortterm. If you still need to pricesoybeans for harvest delivery,do it now. But if you canstore soybeans, plan to holdthem into winter.

�Fundamentals: Detailsof the latest USDA productionforecast indicate the crop is notlikely to get bigger and easilycould decline slightly. At thesame time, the export commit-ments of soybeans and prod-ucts point to strong demandinto the winter. Either pricesneed to go higher to pull soy-beans out of producers’ handsor basis levels will remainunusually strong. Both are pos-sible considering the competi-tion between exporters and

crushers for soybeans.Wheat Strategy

�2009 crop: We areinclined to think wheat priceshave put in a short-term lowand possibly a long-term one,too. Prices on Decemberfutures have penetrated the20-day moving average, signal-ing a short-term end to thedecline. Still, prices mayremain choppy as fundamen-tals remain weak. We stillfeel better pricing opportuni-ties will come this fall or win-ter, so hold off sales. Evenbefore considering catch-up

sales, we’d wait to see ifChicago December futures canattempt to rally back above $5.

�Fundamentals: TheOctober report numbers weremore negative for wheat thanother commodities. USDApegged 2009/10 U.S. wheat end-ing stocks at 864 millionbushels, up from September’s743 million bushels. In addition,world stocks were increased to668.12 million metric tons, up4.4 million from last month.Still, at some point negativenumbers cease to drive priceslower. We might be there.

Now that the industry hastwo reports under its belt thatoffer details about yield, it’spossible to envision the trackahead and where yields ulti-mately might end up.

In the wake of the Septem-ber report, one could seechanges ahead for soybeanyields because of changes inboth pod numbers andimplied pod weights. It wasjust difficult to forecast howthey might fit together.

As it turns out, the expect-ed decline in pod weights was

Basis charts

fully offset by the expectedincrease in pod numbers.From here forward, though,pod numbers won’t changemuch, or increase just slightly.

Pod weights, though, are stillrelatively high, even exceedingthose of 2005’s record yield.Only 2006 weights exceed thecurrent forecast, and harvestoccurred at a normal pace thatyear. This year’s slow harvestand poor harvest weathercould cause harvest losses tobe slightly larger than normal,cutting into yields and the esti-mated pod weight.

For corn, the ear count nowchanges very little, makingyield changes dependant onear weights.

The current ear weight is sec-ond only to that in 2004. Onecould argue there’s a chanceweights could move up towardthat level, but the tendency is forthe final ear weight to be nohigher than the October fore-cast. On average, ear weightstend to decline a little, somethingthat cannot be ignored this yearbecause of quality issues. Likesoybeans, a slow harvest couldboost harvest losses, too, cuttinginto the implied ear weight.

In the end, we see little upsidefor corn and soybean yields toincrease. But, they could slipfrom current forecasts and thatis especially true for soybeans.

Cents per bu.

Higher national yields unlikely

PERSPECTIVES


With the exhausted state of the economy and theongoing struggle in the financial markets, Americansare frantically searching for answers on how to recover— or even maintain — their current status.

Skeptical of fragile business struc-tures and fed up with unethical busi-ness practices, consumers are dismayedby the situation and all the reasonsbehind it.

Americans desire trust and commit-ment in their business relationships,and they want reliable businesses withsound ethical standards. They trustcooperatives for these and other rea-sons.

Cooperatives are businesses ownedand controlled by the people who use their services orpurchase their products — individuals who haveformed an alliance to meet a common economic,social, and cultural need.

Cooperative businesses are all around us — thereare 29,000 co-ops in the U.S. — and Americans havecome to depend heavily on the variety of goods andservices they provide. There are cooperatives in manysectors, including biofuels, telecommunications, elec-tric, grocery, farm supply, credit unions and ag lendingassociations, and marketing cooperatives.

According to a recent University of Wisconsinstudy, cooperative businesses account for more than$650 billion in revenue and two million American jobs.

The GROWMARK System is comprised of its FSand grain member cooperatives and subsidiaries, andemploys more than 7,000 people who in turn servemore than 250,000 farmers. GROWMARK doesbusiness in 23 states, Ontario, Canada, and Mexico.

GROWMARK has a strong cooperative heritageand deep roots within the American economy. Morethan 80 years ago, a group of Farm Bureau membersseeking a reliable supply of quality products at a rea-sonable price joined together to accomplish this goal.

It was this cooperation that led to the first FScooperatives, which today make up the GROW-MARK System of cooperatives. The GROWMARKSystem now generates billions of dollars in economicactivity.

Cooperatives throughout the U.S. celebrate Octo-ber as Cooperative Month and recognize the value ofthe cooperative way of doing business. People trustcooperatives because they own and control part ofthe business, which gives members a role in maintain-ing ethical business practices, sound operations, first-rate customer service, and a strong commitment totheir communities.

These characteristics are rarely all found in thestructure of a business and are what sets cooperativessuch as GROWMARK and FS apart from other busi-nesses.

Dan Kelley is GROWMARK’s chairman of the board andpresident.

Cooperatives offer strength in commitment

DANKELLEY

Farming: Original ‘green collar job’

As the economy loses blue collar and white col-lar jobs, one bright spot in the employment outlookappears to be so-called “green collar jobs.” Butwhat exactly are green collar jobs?

Vice President Joe Biden described green collarjobs this way: “They provide products and servicesthat use renewable energy sources, reduce pollu-tion, and conserve energy and natural resources.”

Biden did not say this, but by his definition farm-ing is a green collar job. In fact, farming is the orig-inal green collar job.

Farmers were among the original users ofrenewable energy to provide products and services.

Early agriculturalists relied on solar power togrow crops just as we do today. They used wind

power to draw water and grind graininto flour. They built irrigation sys-tems to make more efficient use ofthe water.

Yet, the term “green collar jobs”was unheard of until recently. It wasfirst used as the title of a book 10years ago, but there were referencesto green collar workers prior to that.

It became part of everyday vocab-ulary during the last presidential

campaign when the candidates, particularly Presi-dent Barack Obama, talked about creating millionsof green collar jobs.

There already were millions of green collar jobsa hundred years ago, but the rise in agricultural pro-ductivity made many of those farmers unnecessary.

They went to the cities and took blue collar jobsin manufacturing. As manufacturing jobs movedoverseas in more recent times, white collar and ser-vice sector jobs replaced some of that employment.

The farmers who stayed on the land built Ameri-can agriculture into the unparalleled success it istoday. They don’t get enough credit for their greencollar accomplishments over the years.

Before there was an environmental movement,farmers were learning and adopting soil and waterconservation measures. It was a painful lessontaught by the Dust Bowl of the 1930s.

During the Great Depression, the AmericanFarm Bureau Federation (AFBF) and othersencouraged research into ethanol from corn and avariety of other crops and crop residues.

They were decades ahead of the times, but againin the 1970s Farm Bureau revived its push forrenewable fuels.

AFBF and state Farm Bureaus also were leadersin conservation tillage, well-water testing, and manyother environmental improvements of the 20thCentury.

And just as they were with ethanol, farmers wereearly adopters of modern wind energy and the useof methane from manure to generate electricity.

The green collar economy is really not a newthing for farmers or even for this country in timesof economic trouble.

President Franklin Roosevelt had a similar ideawith the Civilian Conservation Corps. It’s just a lit-tle more high-tech this time around — installingsolar panels, weatherizing homes, building a newpower grid, and hybrid cars.

Long after the current excitement about thegreen economy has worn off, American farmersand ranchers will remain green collar workers asthey always have been — efficient producers offood, fiber, and fuel, and stewards of naturalresources.

Stewart Truelsen is a regular contributor to the Focus onAgriculture column series and an author about the AmericanFarm Bureau Federation history. His e-mail address [email protected].

STEWARTTRUELSEN

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FarmWeek October 12 2009