Vol. 7 No. 3 December 2012

FB Now Accepts Credit Card Payments for Dues In the next couple of months, you will receive your 2012-2013 Farm Bureau dues notice in the mail. We can now process credit and debit cards for pay-ment of your annual dues to Farm Bureau. Simply write your card number on the back of the notice when you send it in and we will process it immediately and shred your card information. You can also stop by the Farm Bureau office and we will process your card information while you wait and print you a receipt. When you pay your dues, please include the FOUN-DATION ($5.00) and State ACTIVATOR ($1.00) in your total payment. In the past, these were totaled in your annual dues statement. If you have any questions, don’t hesitate to call your Farm Bureau office in Pittsfield or Winchester.

ESTATE TAX ACTION NECESSARY For most farmers, pro-viding the country’s food, fiber and fuel is not just about making a living, it’s our way of life, a way of life we nurture like our plants and animals with the inten-tion of passing it on to our children, grandchildren and well beyond. But for some farm families, federal es-tate taxes can mean their most recent harvest was their last. Estate taxes, owed to the federal government by the farm owner’s surviving family members, can hit farm families harder than other small business own-ers because 86 percent of our assets are real estate-based. When Uncle Sam comes to pay his respects, surviving family members without enough cash on hand may be forced to sell land, buildings, or equip-ment they need to keep their operations going. In these circumstances, farm families’ heartache is felt well beyond the borders of our operations, as the rural communities and the businesses we support also suffer when farms downsize or disappear. And farmland close to urban centers is

often lost forever to devel-opment when estate taxes force farm families to sell off land to pay the taxes. A higher exemption and lower rates will give our farmers and ranchers a better chance to remain in operation when transferring from one generation to the next. This is why we are calling on Congress to pro-

vide an estate tax provision that would increase the ex-emption level to $5 million, and adjust it for inflation, and reduce the maximum rate to 35 percent. A vote for estate tax relief is not only a vote for Illinois farms; it is also one for the New York City family sitting down for a delicious pork dinner tonight.

The Pike and Scott County Farm Bureaus will be closedDec. 24 and 25 for Christmas and Dec. 31 and Jan. 1 for New Years

Page 2 December 2012

HOWDY! by Blake E. Roderick

I HEARD THE BELLS

“THE FARM POST (USPS 432-460) is published monthly by the Pike and Scott County Farm Bureaus,

PO Box 6, Pittsfield, IL 62363.” —————————————————————————

“Periodicals Postage Paid at Pittsfield and Winchester and at additional mailing offices. Postmaster: Send address changes to THE FARM POST, PO Box 6, Pittsfield, IL 62363.”

————————————————————————— Blake E. Roderick, Editor/Publisher

www.tworiversfb.org

FARM BUREAU STAFF

Blake E. Roderick, Executive Director Wanda Cody, Executive Assistant; Nancy Wood, Scott CFB Secretary;

Robert Manues, Custodian

SCOTT COUNTY FARM BUREAU BOARD OF DIRECTORS

Jeff Schone, President; Wayne Brown, Vice President; Dean Hubbert,

Secretary; Paul Stice, Treasurer; Jim Freeman, Jeff Hurrelbrink, Charles Powell, Chris Smith, Mike Swisher, Andy Sellars, and Mark Vortman

PIKE COUNTY FARM BUREAU PO Box 6

Pittsfield IL 62363 217-285-2233

217-285-2421 (fax) pikecfb@pikecfb.org

SCOTT COUNTY FARM BUREAU PO Box 50

Winchester IL 62694 217-742-3351

217-742-3184 (fax) scottcfb@scottcfb.org

PIKE COUNTY FARM BUREAU BOARD OF DIRECTORS

David Gay, President; Kim Curry, Vice President; Jeremy Thomas, Secretary; Brady Borrowman, Treasurer; Brandon

Gerard, Assistant Secretary; David Barton, Fred Bradshaw, Brad Dehart,

Edwin Harpole, Daniel Heavner, David Hoover, Rich Hoover, Kevin Keithly, Bryan Koeller, Jim Koeller, Adam Lawson, Roger Liehr, Bret

Lipcaman, Steven Myers, Mark Nation, Andrew Sprague, Mark Sprague, Jim

Swartz, and Jim Van Dyne

Last year, about this time, I put the fin-ishing touches on the December Howdy!. Captain, yes you read correctly, Captain Rod-erick who was then a 1LT was spending his Christmas in the desert sands of Kuwait. After finishing the column and send-ing it to print, I had this great idea for this year’s Christmas message. With so many of our young men and women overseas and in harm’s way, I thought about holiday songs written during war years. So I added it to my calendar for 2012. Songs from The War on Terror which in-cludes the Afghanistan and Iraq wars haven’t made it as standards yet. They all center on getting Daddy home for Christmas. Some of the ones worth a listen include Santa Bring My Daddy Home, Bring My Daddy Home, and Wartime Christmas Song. Feliz Navidad, We Need a Little Christ-mas, and Have a Holly Jolly Christmas, now standard shopping mall listening fare, are Vietnam era songs. Way too many of this era’s songs were of the novelty variety such as Snoopy’s Christmas—a Vietnam War song about World War I. So many of today’s favorite Christmas tunes were written or introduced during World War II. Songs such as White Christmas, Have Yourself a Merry Little Christmas, The Christmas Song (Chestnuts Roasting...), and even Rudolf the Red Nosed Reindeer were a product of the WWII years. There are a couple of songs of note re-garding World War I not including the afore-mentioned song about Snoopy. There is a very compelling song Christmas in the Trenches which is about the Christmas Truce of 1914. Along the line of trenches, near the Eng-lish Channel, in France, British forces faced off against the Germans at Christmas 1914. While the accounts over the past 98 years have been highly romanticized, a truce broke out among the combatants on Christmas Eve. My mind turns to the singing of Stille Nacht by the Hun; answered with Silent Night sung by the Tommies. This to be followed by games of soccer, exchanges of tobacco and chocolate, and general fraternization among the opposing sides. The truce was a bright, if albeit short lived, moment in the grueling and inhumane “War to end all Wars.” On Christmas day in 1863, Henry Wads-worth Longfellow, who had just lost his wife and just received word that his son had been seriously injured in a battle near Fredericks-burg, wrote a poem. While the poem was not

turned into a song for another ten years, I still consider it a war time song, this one from the Civil War. Longfellow wrote of the nostalgic nature of the bells and how they reminded people across the Christian world of the promise of the day.

I heard the bells on Christmas DayTheir old, familiar carols play, and wild and sweetThe words repeatOf peace on earth, good-will to men!

And thought how, as the day had come,The belfries of all ChristendomHad rolled alongThe unbroken songOf peace on earth, good-will to men!

Yet as the day progressed, the pealing of bells was now more a tolling.

Till ringing, singing on its way,The world revolved from night to day,A voice, a chime,A chant sublimeOf peace on earth, good-will to men!

The verses we don’t see in our Christmas songbooks or hear on the radio refer directly to the great conflict between Americans.

Then from each black, accursed mouthThe cannon thundered in the South,And with the soundThe carols drownedOf peace on earth, good-will to men!

It was as if an earthquake rentThe hearth-stones of a continent,And made forlornThe households bornOf peace on earth, good-will to men!

And the dark mood reaches its nadir in verse six.

And in despair I bowed my head;“There is no peace on earth,” I said;“For hate is strong,And mocks the songOf peace on earth, good-will to men!”

But then, the bells, the Christmas bells, rang out and the poet’s undefeated spirit ral-lies, revealing the Truth of Christmas.

Then pealed the bells more loud and deep:“God is not dead, nor doth He sleep;The Wrong shall fail,The Right prevail,With peace on earth, good-will to men.”

So in this time of war and conflict, remember, please remember, the thousands of service men and women on the front lines, at some re-mote outpost, or in a hospital recovering from wounds. And remember when you hear the bells on Christmas Day; sing along with them, “Peace on Earth, Good-Will to Men.” Note: You can find a pdf version of this Howdy! with links to the songs that ap-pear here at www.tworiv-ersfb.org.

The Holidays are Here and the Duck is Lame

Its official, the holidays are upon us. We narrowly es-caped the rapid fire of election ads and weren’t even finished with the Thanksgiving meal before being fa-la-la-la-la’d with luxury cars wrapped in bows and soft drink-swigging polar bears. As the commercials indicate, December is a time for celebration and giving (and receiving). In the political arena, on the other hand, December is typically a down time. This especially holds true when new congressional members have just been elected and the previ-ous Congress is in lame duck mode. But, if Congress doesn’t act soon on several significant outstanding items, all of our gooses will be cooked. Deck Congress’ Halls Before we even think about throwing on the Yule Log, we need to get our legislative house in order. If Congress doesn’t make some important decisions before Jan. 1, the U.S. econ-omy will drop off what is being termed the “fiscal cliff.” A plan needs to be hatched to cut $1.2 trillion over the next 10 years from the deficit, something of which Congress has known about for awhile. If Congress doesn’t act by the end of the year, automatic, across-the-board government cuts will kick in, affecting more than 1,000 federal programs, many of which will impact agri-culture. For example, all commodity and many conservation programs will be cut by 7.6 percent next year. And agriculture research, Extension activities, food safety and rural economic development programs are just a few others that will be cut by 8.2 percent in 2013. Crop insurance will survive the first year, but will likely face cuts in year two. While all Americans will feel the impact, the cuts will slice right through rural America, which is so dependent on Extension services and rural development. With Boughs of Folly The fiscal cliff will also impact tax breaks. An important one for farmers is the estate tax, which will revert from a $5 million exemption at a 35 percent tax rate to a $1 million ex-emption with a top tax rate of 55 percent. This could impact one out of every 10 farms and make it almost impossible for young farmers to carry on their family operations. The capital gains tax rate will also increase come Jan. 1, from 15 percent to 20 percent. This, too, will greatly impact farmers. Because capital gains taxes are imposed when build-ings and farmland are typically sold or transferred to new or expanding farmers, it will become more difficult for farmers to shed their assets or upgrade their businesses. Congress has a lot on its holiday plate during the next several weeks. By the way, did I mention that we still don’t have a farm bill? But, that’s a topic for another day, maybe over eggnog . . . Until then, have a happy and safe holiday season.

December 2012 Page 3

Looking ahead to the 2014 completion of the Panama Canal expansion, a bipartisan group of senators is planning to offer a bill to help ensure construc-tion of the Chickamauga Lock. The American Waterworks Act would create a wider and lon-ger lock able to handle mul-tiple jumbo barges at a time, increasing the volume of cargo that can come through the lock while decreasing the time it would take to get it through. Updating locks and dams along critical shipping waterways is vital to the efficient transport of U.S. farm commodities, said Andrew Walmsley, American Farm Bureau Federation trans-portation specialist. “The river structures now in use were built many decades ago and were not designed to accommodate today’s longer barge tows that are absolutely necessary in order to compete

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American Waterworks Act Among other things, the bill would: -Remove the requirement that Olmsted Lock be funded using Inland Waterways Trust Fund revenue. -Provide full federal funding for maintenance of harbors up to 50-feet deep. (Currently it is only full funding up to 45 feet, but the Pa-nama Canal expansion will ac-commodate ships with a 50-foot depth.) -Speed up construction permit approval and provide states with the ability to appeal slow moving regulatory decision making. -Authorize a 5-year construction program to expand harbors to accommodate the larger ships expected after the Panama Ca-nal expansion. -Increase revenue to Inland Wa-terways Trust Fund in a manner consistent with the agreement between the Inland Waterways Users and the U.S. Army Corps of Engineers.

SENATORS URGE WATERWAY IMPROVEMENTSin a global market,” Walmsley said. “While these out-dated locks and dams make our trans-portation system less efficient, our competitors in countries such as Argentina and Brazil are aggressively modernizing their own transportation infra-structure.” Underscoring how im-portant sound waterway in-frastructure is, AFBF’s David Salmonsen, trade specialist, and Veronica Nigh, economist, recently led a group of Farm Bureau leaders on a tour to St. Louis, Mo., New Orleans, and Panama to consider how the expansion of the Panama Canal locks will affect U.S agricultural trade. “We saw first-hand the opportunities for competi-tive agricultural trade and the challenges to the maintenance and improvement of U.S water-ways, which carry more than

60 percent of U.S. corn and soybean exports,” said Nigh. Congressional lawmakers are focusing not only on how much more barges will be able to carry if infrastructure improvements are made, but the load that will be taken off of the nation’s highways. During a Senate Appro-priations Energy and Water Subcommittee hearing earli-er this year, American Water-works Act sponsor Sen. La-mar Alexander (R-Tenn.) said that completing the Chicka-mauga Lock, located in Chat-tanooga on the Tennessee River, would “take 100,000 heavy trucks off I-75 while allowing 6.7 million tons of cargo to move through the lock.” The American Water-works Act would revamp the funding formula used to pay

for waterway infrastructure projects. According to Alexan-der, the legislation would free up funds in the Inland Water-ways Trust Fund to be used on priorities such as Chickamauga Lock by ending the require-ment that trust fund revenues go to pay for Olmsted Lock on the Ohio River, a project that has been soaking up almost 90 percent of fund revenues. Sec-ond, Alexander said, it would nearly double the amount of money in the trust fund by in-creasing the fees paid by barg-es—a move barge owners are on board with. “We have two trust funds to deal with waterway infra-structure like the Chickama-uga Lock, and neither of them works,” Alexander said during a late October event at the lock. “The Harbor Maintenance Trust Fund collects a lot of money, but doesn’t spend it well. The Inland Waterways Trust Fund doesn’t collect much money, but spends it well. This bill would fix the way our ports and waterways are funded so that we can meet the challenges they face, and passing this bill would mean Chickamauga Lock gets the funding it will need to be completed.” Alexander is expected to introduce his bill during Con-gress’ lame duck session. There is also the possibility that he will try to incorporate it into the Water Resources Develop-ment Act. Similarly, six other sena-tors recently wrote to the Sen-ate Environment and Public Works Committee urging com-mittee members to provide for Mississippi River infrastructure improvements in the Water Re-sources Development Act. Sens. Claire McCaskill (D-Mo.), Dick Durbin (D-Ill.), Tom Harkin (D-Iowa), Roy Blunt (R-Mo.) and Chuck Grass-ley (R-Iowa) said the deterio-rating lock and dam infrastruc-ture along the Mississippi River was of particular concern. Recently, traffic on the Up-per Mississippi River was shut down after a protecting wall at Lock 27 failed. Lock 27 is locat-ed at Chain of Rocks Canal near Granite City, Ill. “This shut down comes during one of the most im-portant periods of the year as Midwestern agriculture, one of the primary users of the water-ways system, is in the midst of harvest,” the lawmakers wrote. According to the senators, shut-downs like this could im-pact not just current shipments on the river, but the overall reli-ability and timeliness of using the inland waterways system. McCaskill and her col-leagues suggested that as the Environment and Public Works Committee considers a new Water Resources Development Act, the committee should work with stakeholders to find a way to expedite the construction and operation of projects to modernize the locks and dams on the Upper Mississippi River.

Unfinished Business Congressional lawmakers returned to Capitol Hill last month with less than a month to reach an agreement on scheduled tax hikes and spending cuts. If Congress can’t get a budget deal done, a series of tax increases and spending cuts dubbed the “fiscal cliff” take effect on Jan. 1. But a budget deal could be a long row to hoe with Democrats and Republicans fairly far apart on how to address the looming fiscal cliff. President Barack Obama said he is willing to compromise with Republicans, but he’s adamant that tax cuts be limited to those who make $250, 000 or less. For their part, Republicans are firm in their position that increased tax rates on higher earners will slow job expansion. House Speaker John Boehner (R-Ohio) wants to reduce tax rates, eliminate special-interest loopholes and rein in government benefits. Among the tax rates slated to jump on Jan. 1 are those tied to estate taxes and capital gains. While the top tax rate for the estate tax will climb from the 35 percent in place now to 55 percent, the exemption is slated to drop from the current $5 million to $1 million per person. The spousal transfer for the exemption will also disappear. Until estate taxes are permanently eliminated, farmers want Congress to keep or improve the current exemption, in-dexed for inflation, maintain spousal transfer and continue the top tax rate. “If Congress doesn’t act on estate taxes, as many as 10 percent of farm and ranch families could be faced with mak-ing critical decisions to sell land, buildings or equipment to pay the tax, ” said Pat Wolff, American Farm Bureau Federation tax specialist. The top long-term capital gains tax rate is also scheduled to rise in the new year, from the current 15 percent to 20 per-cent, and the dividends tax rate will more than double to 39.6 percent. Nationwide, 40 percent of all agricultural producers report some capital gains, nearly twice the share for all taxpayers. In addition, the average amount of capital gains reported by farm-ers is about50 percent higher than the average capital gains re-ported by other taxpayers, according to AFBF. In one respect, the fiscal cliff, or at least prospect of it, could be good for farm-ers and ranchers. There is speculation that it will compel lawmakers to fi-nalize a farm bill in order to reap some of the savings the bill could provide. The Senate-passed version of the bill, approved in June, would save $23 billion over 10 years. The House Agri-culture Committee’s legislation, passed in July, provides a $35 billion savings. The gap in savings is primarily due to cuts to the Supplemental Nutrition Assistance Program, formerly known as food stamps. Many of the programs in the2008 farm bill expired on Sept. 30and growers need to have a new bill in place to start planning for the upcoming year. One of the few items not related to the budget that Con-gress is expected to take up is permanent normal trade relations for Russia. Without congressional passage of PNTR, the U.S. is not ben-efiting from Russia’s accession to the World Trade Organization. “U.S. farmers and ranchers are anxious for the more certain and predictable access to Russia’s markets that PNTR and Rus-sia’s WTO membership will provide,” said David Salmonsen, AFBF trade specialist.

Page 4 December 2012

L A N D A T L A S & P L A T B O O K

PIKE COUNTY I L L I N O I S

2012

The 20th Edition

Compiled and Published byROCKFORD MAP PUBLISHERS, Inc.

www.rockfordmap.comYOUR TRUSTED SOURCE FOR PARCEL MAPS AND SPATIAL DATA

Photo Courtesy of Ken Kashian, Illinois Farm Bureau®.

Distributed byPIKE COUNTY FARM BUREAU

1301 East WashingtonPittsfield, Illinois 62363

®

Contact:Two Rivers FS, Inc.

www.tworiversfs.comwww.facebook.com/TwoRiversFS

www.GofurtherwithFS.com

Happy Holidays to you and yours from our family at FS.

About the Truck1:64th scale die cast Illinois Farm Bureau Peterbilt 379 Day Cab Tractor with East End Dump Trailer. Precision details, painted in striking blue with 2013 imprinted on the cab. Illinois Farm Bureau and Harvest for All logos appear on the cab as well as the mud fl aps of the truck and trailer! This is the fourth truck in an annual series!

Usually, collecting for a food drive means digging through the pantry for canned fruit or your pockets for loose change. Now, thanks to Illinois Farm Bureau’s Young Leaders, you can start a “collection” that will not only help area families, but also increase in value over time. When you buy a limited-edition truck and trailer collectible, 100% of the profi ts will go to the Harvest for All Food Drive!

MY782T2

Reserve Your Harvest for All Truck TodayThis is a limited edition of 250 truck/trailer combos. At only $60 for the pair, and the fourth in the series, they are expected to go fast! We have only a few of the previous year's trucks still available. Don't miss out, reserve your truck and add to your fi ght the hunger collection today! For details, see attached order form or contact Jennifer Smith at jsmith@ilfb.org or 309-557-2024.

About Harvest for All According to the USDA, nearly 1 in every 10 households in Illinois faces hunger this year. That’s why IFB’s Young Leaders team up with Feeding America, the nation’s largest food bank. Throughout the year, they donate food, funds and people power to create a hunger-free Illinois. The proceeds of this collectible truck help reach their goals.

Only $60Proceeds go to Harvest for All

Collect This Truck & Help Drive Out Hunger

GOT DEER? HELP US STOCK FOOD PANTRY FREEZERS WITH VENISON

Free Processing of deer destined to food pantries is provided by Access Illinois Outdoors, Pike and Scott County Farm Bureaus, and Illinois Sportsmen Against Hunger at the following processors through the coming deer season:

Jones Meat & Locker, Jacksonville 217-243-2212 (call first) Magro’s Processing, Pittsfield Industrial Park 217-438-2880 The Butcher Block, Quincy 217-222-6248 pickup at Barry Travel Plaza Valley View Custom Meats, Pleasant Hill 217-285-4805 For more information Contact: 217-285-2464 or 217-491-2401 after business hours.

GOT MONEY? Your tax deductible contribution to the Two Rivers Farm Bureau Foundation will help defray process-ing costs. The more money collected, the more venison is delivered. Each ounce of ground venison is an ounce of protein many of the hungry live without. Please make checks payable to Two Rivers Farm Bureau Foundation and mail them to PO Box 6, Pittsfield IL, 62363. Make a note that this is for the deer to food project.

The time to give is now.

This year it’s easy to get on everyone’s good list, not just Santa’s! All it takes is the gift of a limit-ed-edition farm collectible, offered by the Illinois Farm Bureau Young Leaders, and your name is sure to go to the top of the list. That’s because 100% of the pro-ceeds go to the Harvest For All Food Drive! When you purchase the 2013 limited-edition truck and trailer collectible for only $60 you’ll be helping to feed area families. Plus, displaying the truck can become a daily reminder of how Illinois’ farming com-munity unites to feed the world and the neighbors down the road. The truck is a 1:64th scale die cast Peterbilt 379 Day Cab Tractor with East End Dump Trailer. It is painted in striking blue with 2013 imprinted on the cab. Illinois Farm Bureau and Harvest for All logos appear on the cab as well as the mud flaps of the truck and trailer. There are 250 trucks in this edition

Make Everyone’s Good List With IFB Young Leader Collectible Truck

and it is the fourth truck in an annual series. One in six people in the United States don’t know where their next meal is coming from. That’s why IFB Young Leaders team with Feeding America, the nation’s largest food bank. Throughout the year, they donate food, funds and people power to create a hunger-free Illinois. Last

year, they raised $401,000, enough to provide 3.2 mil-lion meals. They also do-nated more than 503,000 pounds of food and gave 4081 hours of volunteer time. Why not order several trucks… and make sure you are on everyone’s good list. Visit ilfb.org/youngleaders to download the order form or call (309) 557-2536.

Stewardship, Neighbor-to-Neighbor Farming Urged The American Farm Bureau Federation is pleased with the outcome of a year-long discussion of the Agriculture Depart-ment’s Advisory Committee on Biotechnology and 21st Century Agriculture on ways to promote coexistence in agriculture. The AC21 presented its report to Agriculture Secretary Tom Vilsack to be used as guidance to enhance working relationships among farmers growing different types of crops, specifically biotech and non-biotech crops. In 2011, Vilsack tasked the AC21 with providing recommen-dations for strengthening coexistence among various agricul-tural production methods. American Farm Bureau Federation Vice President Barry Bushue, a member of the AC21, said the report’s recommendations could benefit all of agriculture. The AC21 report highlights the importance of diversity in U.S. agriculture and the history of successful coexistence in identity-preserved markets, whereby production practices maintain each crop’s integrity and purity. “Finding ways to work together to serve specialty, high-value markets is one of the greatest strengths of the U.S. agri-culture industry,” said Bushue. “As American farmers continue to innovate, I am optimis-tic that our recommendations can help identify coexistence practices where they are working, improve stewardship where needed and mitigate much of the underlying concerns about the real and perceived risks related to coexistence,” continued Bushue, noting that the committee’s report emphasizes proac-tive grower outreach and education. The AC21 also explored the idea of compensation to ad-dress economic losses by farmers whose crop value may be reduced by the unintended presence of biotechnology but de-termined that a compensation mechanism isn’t necessary or justified at this time. “I’m pleased our committee carefully weighed the evi-dence, listened to the needs of growers and choose to em-phasize improved stewardship and neighbor-to-neighbor coex-istence,” said Bushue.