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Monday, August 3, 2009 Three sections Volume 37, No. 31

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

U.S. HOUSE LAWMAKERSremoved grain producers from potentialadditional bureaucracy and costs in newfood safety legislation. ................................2

DESPITE RECORD propaneinventories for this time of year,propane prices likely will movehigher in the months ahead. ........14

A SOUTHERN ILLINOIScongressman said he would fight thecurrent lockage fee proposal “everystep of the way.” ................................4

Crop outlook: Acreage shift, late harvest expectedBY DANIEL GRANTFarmWeek

The combination of a wetspring and late planting seasonwas more than just a three-month ordeal for farmers, par-ticularly in the eastern CornBelt.

The situation is expected incoming months to affect

everything from final acreagenumbers and crop prices toharvest progress, according tofarm leaders who last weekattended the Illinois FarmBureau Commodities Confer-ence in Springfield.

“The crops are about threeto four weeks behind,” saidRichard Ochs, IFB District 14director who farms in JasperCounty.

8 director and a farmer fromFulton County, said his cropsare far from made.

“The beans are way behind(as many were planted at the

end of June),” he said. “Andthe corn looks good from theroad, but it’s got a lot of wet

See Acreage, page 2

The late planting season isexpected to affect currentcrop acreage projections.USDA is conducting addition-al farmer surveys ahead of itsAug. 12 crop productionreport.

Rob Huston, general man-ager of AgriVisor, predictedUSDA this month will lowerits estimate of corn acresnationwide and increase itsprojection for soybean acres.

“Many analysts feel thecorn number may come downby about 500,000 acres,” saidHuston, who believes cropprices will remain weak priorto harvest.

“But the other piece to thepuzzle is yield,” which is pro-jected to average 153.4 bushelsper acre for corn nationwide,he continued. “A lot of ana-lysts feel this number may be alittle bit small. So the reduc-tion in acreage may be negatedby yield.”

However, yields are not agiven at this point, according toOchs. And the crops in Illinoishave a long way to go beforeharvest (see graphic on page 2).

“We could have an averageto good crop, but at the sametime, we could have a failure ifwe get an early frost,” Ochs

said. “It (the crop) is kind of alike a poker hand. We thinkwe’ve got a winner right now,but it could be a loser.”

Kent Schleich, IFB District

PUTTING FOR EDUCATION

Bob Effner, right, prepares to putt as his fellow Country Financial agents, from left, Wayne Atteberry,Jack Smith, and Brad Kallevig look on. The 13th annual IAA Foundation’s Illinois Ag in the Class-room (IAITC) Golf Outing occurred last week at the Elks Golf Club and Wolf Creek Golf Club in Ponti-ac. A total of 210 golfers took to the links to support the IAITC program. The outing’s live and silentauctions raised nearly $5,000. Livingston County volunteer Rosie Duffy donated 12 homemade piesto the cause, raising more than $3,000. Ticket sales for a ball drop raffle raised another $4,000.(Photo by Cyndi Cook)

‘The reductionin acreage maybe negated byyield.’

— Rob HustonAgriVisor

Producers would pay for fertilizer sector woesBY MARTIN ROSSFarmWeek

East Dubuque-basedRentech is one of the 29 nitro-gen fertilizer manufacturersremaining in the U.S. — 26other facilities have ceaseddomestic production since2000. It also is Illinois’ onlyplant.

Illinois Fertilizer andChemical Association Presi-dent Jean Payne sees the possi-bility that domestic nitrogenproduction — now at roughly5 million tons annually —could “move entirely off-shore” after 2015 underHouse cap-and-trade propos-als. That means higher costs

natural gas supplies, but hetold FarmWeek that at best,the technology would be inad-

equate “to completely supplyour energy needs.”

“It’s unsure how much costwe will incur due to having tobuy (federal) allowances forcarbon emissions,” he said.“Even more, we’re concernedabout the ‘dash for gas’ as

See Woes, page 3

for Illinois growers, U.S. joblosses, and questionable cli-mate gains, Payne maintained.

A key issue is future avail-ability of natural gas, the pri-mary feedstock for nitrogenfertilizers, if utilities and oth-ers that rely on coal powergeneration are forced by pro-posed greenhouse gas (GHG)emissions caps to switch to a

“cleaner” energy source. Natural gas, which generates

relatively low greenhouse emis-sions in energy applications,would be a likely “switchover”source, GROWMARK legisla-tive director Chuck Spencersuggested.

Rentech President JohnAmbrose is concerned bothabout the short-term directcosts associated with meetingnew emissions caps and thelong-term costs of competingin a climate-driven market.Ambrose emphasized that “tomake ammonia, you have touse natural gas.”

Rentech is eyeing biomass“gasification” to supplement

FarmWeekNow.comView video of Illinois Farm Bu-reau President Philip Nelsonon climate change legislationat FarmWeekNow.com.

RIVER OPEN HOUSE — The public is invited to anopen house — on the water.

The Mississippi River Commission is inspecting U.S.Corps of Engineers projects along the Illinois River,Aug.9–13 on board the U.S. Army Corps of Engineers’largest diesel towboat. The visit is part of the commission’sannual Low Water Inspection trip.

The Corps’ Rock Island District is hosting two publicopen houses aboard the towboat prior to the inspection trip.Open houses are from 4 to 7 p.m. Thursday at Peoria River-front Park, 200 Northeast Water St., Peoria; and from 10a.m. to 2 p.m. Saturday at Allen Park in Ottawa.

The open houses will provide information about theimportance of the Illinois River system.

M I C H I G A N A N I M A L C A R E B I L L M OV E SAHEAD — Michigan’s House Agriculture Committee lastweek passed new versions of bills that would make compre-hensive standards for farm animal care state law. Redraftedbills address many public concerns posed with the initialbills, yet assure consumers that Michigan livestock have beenraised with the highest safety and accountability standards.

“Our coalition looks forward to working with the Houseof Representatives to advance this legislation which standsto make Michigan a national leader in comprehensive farmanimal care,” said Michigan Farm Bureau President WayneH. Wood.

One interesting wrinkle to the legislation is that it is sup-ported by American Humane Certified, the farm animal wel-fare program of the American Humane Association.

The bills are drawing vocal opposition from the HumaneSociety of the United States, which denounced them as“controversial” and an “attempt to thwart meaningfulreform.”

RETAIL FOOD PRICES OUTPACE FARMERPRICES — Retail food prices grew faster than the pricesfarmers received for agricultural commodities, but researchby the Government Accountability Office (GAO) shows thatconcentration in the food and agricultural sectors has notaffected these trends.

GAO last week released a summary of research that wascompleted June 30. According to GAO, concentration gen-erally has increased at all levels of the food marketing chainand in all agricultural sectors since the 1980s.

While real annual per capita food expenditures haveincreased since 1982, households now spend a smaller shareof disposable income on food, according to GAO. Totalannual per capita food expenditures rose from $3,358 in1982 to $3,888 in 2007, in constant 2008 dollars.

GAO reports that household spending on food decreasedfrom 13 percent of disposable incomes in 1982 to 10 per-cent in 2007. Since 1982, overall food prices and food pricesin each of the five major agricultural sectors have increasedabout as much as prices for consumer goods and servicesoverall. However, from July 2008 through December 2008,food prices increased faster than the prices of other goodsand services.

FarmWeek Page 2 Monday, August 3, 2009

(ISSN0197-6680)

Vol. 37 No. 31 August 3, 2009

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STAFFEditor

Dave McClelland (dmcclelland@ilfb.org)Legislative Affairs Editor

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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 TakesFOOD SAFETY

Continued from page 1holes, uneven pollination,and we’re seeing a little nitro-gen loss showing.”

Schleich said he believedhis yield prospects were belowaverage for both crops, andcould be even worse if there isan early frost.

“We just cannot have anytype of early frost as mostpeople in our area think therewill be very little harvest inSeptember,” Schleich added.“Most of it will be con-densed in October andNovember and maybe intoDecember.”

Grain producers exempted in House food safety billBY MARTIN ROSSFarmWeek

U.S. House lawmakers res-cued grain producers frompotential new bureaucracy andcosts, but Senate work may benecessary to make House-approved food safety legisla-tion palatable for specialtygrowers stung in recent foodscares.

Citing low contaminationrisks for consumers, anamendment to proposalsexpanding U.S. Food and DrugAdministration (FDA) authori-ties exempt grain farmersfrom proposed new safetystandards and record accessprovisions.

The House plan wouldenable FDA to impose stricterstandards for food producers,recall suspect foods, and man-date facility inspections asoften as once a year in addi-tion to demanding improvedrecordkeeping.

While FDA does not covermeat, egg, and dairy productscurrently under USDApurview, it oversees feed andpet food safety, and ag groupsfeared the bill would encom-pass grain producers and ele-vators.

“Plenty of progress stillneeds to be made as this bill isaddressed by the Senate,” Illi-

nois Farm Bureau NationalLegislative Director AdamNielsen said Friday.

“But when it was voted outof committee, it was unclearhow it was going to impact

grain farmers. Corn and soy-bean producers aren’t generallysources for food safety issues— never have been — but forsome reason, this bill wasgoing to try to cover them.

“Over the last few days,some last-minute negotiationsproduced an exemption. Ithelped remove opposition wewould have to this bill.”

Lawmakers clarified theywould not require trace-backof grain delivered to elevators.Beyond grain operations, theHouse bill exempts farm-to-farm sales, direct farm-to-con-sumer sales, and farmers’ mar-ket products from its list offacilities subject to new federalregulations or fees.

The bill seeks new “scien-tific, risk-based” safety stan-dards for production and han-dling of “certain” fruits, veg-etables, nuts, and mushrooms.But FDA would be required to

consult with USDA in devel-oping standards and accessingfarm records for producttrace-back.

Missing is any indemnifica-tion for growers who sufferlosses through erroneous foodsafety advisories or recalls.FDA’s response to a 2008 sal-monella outbreak was blamedfor losses by tomato growerswho ultimately were cleared ofsuspicion.

Nielsen is hopeful theSenate will address protec-tions for producers affectedby FDA activities, notingSenate Majority Whip DickDurbin, a Springfield Demo-crat, has focused on foodsafety issues.

‘Plenty of progress stil l needs to bemade as this bill is addressed by theSenate.’

— Adam NielsenIFB national legislative director

Acreage

CLIMATE

FarmWeek Page 3 Monday, August 3, 2009

Continued from page 1power plants and other facili-ties try to move off coal,purchase more gas, and runup demand and the price fornatural gas.

“The ammonia fertilizerplants are dependent on nat-ural gas — it represents gen-erally 80 to 90 percent of

their costs of making ammo-nia. There’s going to be apoint, between taxes and nat-ural gas, that higher costs aregoing to have to be passedon — higher input costs forthe farmer.” Allowances and anhydrous

The industry also is uncer-tain about potential alloca-tion of annual emissions“allowances” to fertilizermanufacturers under newlaws.

House legislation catego-rizes ammonia manufacturersas an “energy intensive andtrade-sensitive” sector butdoes not identify other

industries that would beincluded in the sameallowance “pool” or the levelof allowances they mightexpect to receive.

With various industriesvying for a finite supply ofallowances, “who gets the‘free’ allowances is up in theair,” Ambrose said. Fertilizer

manufacturers must deter-mine the share of allowancesthey would need to remain a“domestic viable productionindustry,” GROWMARK’sSpencer said.

At the same time, Spencerstressed the challenge of“making the competitiveplaying field level” for U.S.companies under potentiallyunilateral emissions caps.

While natural gas can betraded worldwide, Spencernoted most countries cur-rently use their own gas pro-duction domestically, export-ing or importing relatively lit-tle.

If foreign fertilizer suppli-ers aren’t required to providesimilar emissions reductionson a parallel timeline, theylikely would enjoy lower gasprices relative to U.S. compa-nies. That alone could “priceU.S. manufacturers out ofthe market,” Spencer warned. Competition andthe climate

Today, 55-plus percent ofU.S. farm nitrogen fertilizeris imported. Ambrose noted17 percent of importednutrient comes from nationsthat have initiated climatepolicies. However, China,India, former Soviet coun-tries, and key Caribbeanexporters “have not madeany moves to regulate car-bon.”

Aside from domesticemployment and the impor-tance of Illinois growershaving “a source of nitro-gen that’s local,” Payneargued importation ofnitrogen through the Gulfwould spur increased truckand rail greenhouse emis-sions “on a transportationsystem that’s already maxedout.”

Some fertilizer is movedby pipeline or reduced-emis-sions barge, but Payne noteda limited number of availableriver tows.

“If we continue to losenitrogen fertilizer plants tothose countries, we’re reallynot doing anything to helpcontrol the environment,”Ambrose said.

Will Senate climate plan be House lookalike?BY MARTIN ROSSFarmWeek

“Based on past experience,”a Senate climate blueprintexpected by early Septemberlikely will look like the IllinoisFarm Bureau-opposed Housecap-and-trade bill, AmericanFarm Bureau Federation(AFBF) regulatory specialistRick Krause told FarmWeek.

Krause, speaking at lastweek’s Illinois Farm BureauCommodities Conference inSpringfield, reported SenateEnvironment and Public WorksChairman Barbara Boxer (D-Calif.) plans to release a climatedraft for fall floor debate afterCongress’ August recess.

The House climate package,developed by Boxer’s Califor-nia colleague, House Energyand Commerce ChairmanHenry Waxman (D-Califor-nia), is “not something that wethought would be beneficialfor agriculture,” Krause said.

The bill aims to reducegreenhouse gas (GHG) emis-

lenges facing domestic nitro-gen producers” if it clearsCongress, GROWMARK leg-islative director ChuckSpencer reported Friday (seepage 1).

AFBF is “continually revis-ing” estimates of U.S. farmcosts under the House plan,Krause noted. A new study byIowa State University econo-mist Bruce Babcock predicteda “relatively small” impact forMidwest growers, but Krausesuggested Babcock hasfocused wholly on anticipatedfuture carbon prices — i.e.,offset opportunities — with-out considering extended mar-ket impacts.

“It doesn’t take intoaccount that if you raise car-bon prices, natural gas priceswill rise and fertilizer priceswill rise in accordance withthat,” Krause said.

According to Farm Foun-dation President Neil Conklin,a former USDA/Farm Crediteconomist who headlined last

week’s IFB conference, “miti-gating climate change, in theshort run, is going to cost usmoney.”

While he acknowledges thegrowing impact of climatechange on world agriculture,Conklin questioned purelyunilateral U.S. climate action:“If we don’t act globally, itisn’t going to work.”

China and India haveshown little inclination toimpose their own carboncaps.

Gardner Chair for Ag Poli-cy and University of Illinoiseconomist Bob Thompsonsaid adaptation to climaticchange will be necessary tomeeting long-term global fooddemand.

But “we’d pay a fairly highprice and get very little benefitin terms of slowing downgreenhouse gas accumulationbetween now and the middleof the century” by passingcap-and-trade legislation,Thompson told FarmWeek.

sions 17 percent from 2005levels by 2020, with an 83 per-cent reduction by 2050 bycapping emissions from utili-ties, manufacturers, and oth-ers.

Under the bill, USDAwould determine what agpractices would qualify asemissions “offsets” that regu-lated industries could buy tomeet new U.S. EnvironmentalProtection Agency (EPA) lim-its. But AFBF economistsproject energy and input costincreases under the bill wouldresult in an $8 million drop inannual U.S. ag net incomewithin the next decade.

According to IFB PresidentPhilip Nelson that translates toa potential $500 million “hit”for Illinois producers alone.

The IFB Board of Direc-tors voted unanimously tooppose legislation that cameout of the House. Nelson atthe Commodities Conferencecited estimates that theHouse plan would impact the

average Illinois farm to thetune of $11,000-$15,000annually in 10 years, noting“that’s a price you can’t passon to anybody else.”

“We are urging our mem-bers to contact their senatorsto oppose whatever happenson the Senate floor until theyaddress some of the concernswe have,” Krause toldFarmWeek.

GROWMARK also isopposed to the House climatebill “and sees significant chal-

Woes

IFB’S STANCE:• House cap-and-trade

legislation would have anegative economic impacton farmers.

• Cap-and-trade wouldhave a negligible impact onglobal warming.

• Cap-and-trade createsa gaping hole in thenation’s energy supply.

THE FERTILIZER FACTOR:The importance of natural gas

• Natural gas accounts for up to 90 percent of the costof producing a ton of ammonia. In 2008, the nitrogen fer-tilizer industry spent $3 billion on natural gas.

• Each $3 per million Btu (British thermal unit)increase in the cost of natural gas raises nitrogen fertiliz-er production costs by $1 billion, according to The Fertil-izer Institute.

• Since 2000, the U.S. nitrogen industry has closed 26fertilizer production facilities due largely to natural gascosts. Currently, only 29 plants operate in the U.S. —more than 55 percent of U.S. farm nitrogen fertilizer isimported.

• Today, natural gas meets 24 percent of U.S. energydemand. Americans used 23.2 trillion cubic feet in 2008;that was up 0.85 of a percent from 2007.

• Natural gas supplied about 64.9 million residentialcustomers and 5.5 million commercial and industrial cus-tomers in 2007. Because it provides reduced emissionsrelative to gasoline or diesel, many companies andmunicipalities are moving to natural gas-powered cars,trucks, and buses to reduce emissions. There are morethan 120,000 natural gas vehicles now operating onAmerican roads.

• According to the Energy Information Administration,natural gas-fired electricity generation is expected toincrease dramatically over the next 20 years, as newcapacity comes online. In 2000, 23,453 megawatts ofnew electric capacity was added in the U.S., nearly 95percent derived from natural gas.

• Domestic sources produced more than 20.6 trillioncubic feet (tcf) of the natural gas delivered to the U.S.market in 2008 — more than 88 percent of U.S. con-sumption. Of gas imported in 2008, 3.6 tcf arrived bypipeline, mostly from Canada, with the rest coming fromsuch countries as Trinidad, Egypt, Nigeria, and Algeria.

For more information on nitrogen fertilizer prices andmarkets, see page 14.

‘There’s going to be a point, betweentaxes and natura l gas, that h ighercosts are going to have to be passedo n — h i g h e r i n p u t c o s t s f o r t h efarmer.’

— John AmbroseRentech

GOVERNMENT

FarmWeek Page 4 Monday, August 3, 2009

Costello fighting lock fee ‘every step of the way’BY MARTIN ROSSFarmWeek

Barge interests called allhands last week to sink a pro-posed lockage fee that wouldpenalize Upper Mississippielevators and shippers.

Severalbipartisan Illi-nois congress-men havesigned ontoU.S. HouseTransporta-tion andInfrastructureChairmanJames Ober-star’s (D-

Minn.) “Dear Colleague” letteraimed at defeating a House-proposed per-barge, per-lockfee that would help financeriver improvements throughthe Inland Waterways TrustFund.

Currently, the waterwaysfund is replenished throughbarge diesel fuel taxes, butreduced reserves have somepolicymakers seeking new riv-er funding alternatives.

The existing fuel tax at leastdistributes the funding burden

across all river traffic, InlandWaterways Council MidwestArea Vice President PaulRohde argued.

Rohde calls the proposednew fee a “punitive approachto rivers that lock” that would“definitely be detrimental tothe State of Illinois.”

Under the proposed feestructure, an elevator locatedabove a given lock would facea serious competitive disad-vantage to those below thelock “just because of its geo-graphical location,” he said.

“The Lower Miss and anyother navigable waterways(without locks) currently pay-ing into the Inland WaterwaysTrust Fund essentially wouldget a free pass,” Rohde said.

“That would put the onuson only rivers that lock andonly traffic that goes throughthose locks to pay for theentire nation’s infrastructuralcapital improvements.

“The thing they’re not tak-ing into account are shipperchoices, and what a punitivetax like this would do (toward)moving traffic off the river ata time when we can ill-afford

to underutilize the country’smost environmentally friendly,energy-efficient means oftransportation.”

The importance of bargetransportation both for ag andenergy shipments is apparent inthe list of Illinois House mem-bers who have joined Oberstar’sefforts, from downstateDemocrats Jerry Costello ofBelleville and Debbie Halvor-son of Crete and RepublicansTim Johnson of Urbana, JohnShimkus of Collinsville, andAaron Schock of Peoria toChicagoland Democrats JesseJackson Jr. and Dan Lipinskiand Republican Mark Kirk ofHighland Park.

Costello said he has repeat-edly opposed Bush- and Oba-ma-proposed user fee increas-es, and told FarmWeek hewould fight the current lock-age fee proposal “every stepof the way.”

He conceded concernsabout “the long-term future ofthe Trust Fund,” and reported“we’re looking at options” toensure private cost-sharefunds needed to improve Mid-west navigation.

Rep. JerryCostello

Lawmaker opposes delaysin new transportation bill A Southwestern Illinois congressman is “adamantly opposed”to delaying highway legislation crucial to bolstering a crumblingnationwide transportation network and creating jobs “fordecades to come.”

U.S. Rep. Jerry Costello, a Belleville Democrat on the HouseTransportation and Infrastructure Committee, told FarmWeekhe and committee Chairman James Obserstar (D-Minn.) willcontinue to push a new $500 billion, six-year surface trans-portation package despite a recent Senate Commerce, Science,and Transportation Committee recommendation to extend thesoon-to-expire “highway bill” for 18 months.

Transportation Secretary Ray LaHood, Costello’s formerRepublican House colleague, has urged extension of the cur-rent six-year act.

Costello maintained “our highways, our roads, our bridges,our waterways, and our rail system are in terrible condition,”and said new legislation was crucial to upgrading domestictransportation. He was hopeful a House package would moveout of committee in September.

Costello said he was disappointed by diversion of recenteconomic “stimulus” funding for education, health care, andother programs.

“The entire stimulus package was supposed to go into infra-structure, which would have made permanent investments inour road/bridge/transit/waterway system, while at the sametime creating good-paying jobs and putting people back towork,” Costello told FarmWeek.

“If there is going to be a second stimulus bill — and I don’tknow if there will be or not — I have said I’m not voting for itunless it is all for infrastructure. Our infrastructure is fallingapart in this country.”

Further, he is seeking House funding for seven new UpperMississippi/Illinois River locks. The Water Resources Develop-ment Act (WRDA), which authorized construction of the mod-ern, 1,200-foot commercial locks, was passed in 2007, but Con-gress has been slow to fund the project.

The Senate proposes allocating $19 million for pre-construc-tion engineering/design work through fiscal 2010 spending leg-islation. House energy and water appropriations proposals cur-rently do not include funding, but Costello reported “we areattempting to get that done as we speak.”

Flood-damage-reduction projects in the Mississippi RiverValley would see the largest budget cut under the House spend-ing measure, losing $133 million from fiscal 2009 levels. Costel-lo supports approval of a “second” WRDA bill to addresscomprehensive Mississippi-Illinois flood management planning— a goal for Rock Island Democrat Rep. Phil Hare as well. —Martin Ross

Tierney: EPA waiver statementscreate ethanol ‘uncertainty’

Rumblings from the U.S. EnvironmentalProtection Agency (EPA) have generated a“really big uncertainty” about prospects forbreaking the 10 percent ethanol “blend wall,”Doane Advisory Services General ManagerWilliam Tierney warns.

Major biofuels producers have petitionedEPA to approve use of intermediateethanol/gasoline blends up to 15 percentethanol. Currently, only conventional gasolineblends of up to 10 percent ethanol may be soldnationwide.

Tierney cited industry consensus thatEPA would consider “all intermediateblends,” from 10.1 percent ethanol to E15,but recent statements by an agency officialappear to indicate EPA “is only going toevaluate E15,” he told producers at lastweek’s Illinois Farm Bureau CommoditiesConference.

That’s significant, the former USDA econo-mist warned, because many analysts see E12 orE13 as “a lock” for approval, while prospectsfor E15 are far less certain.

The small/off-road engine industryopposes an E15 waiver, alleging potentialperformance issues with mowers and othergas-powered equipment, and whatever theirvalidity, Tierney noted perceived “technicalissues surrounding an E15 blend approvalare substantial.”

If EPA denies a straight E15 waiver inDecember — as Tierney predicts — biofuelsproducers would be forced to “start the clockall over again” with a request for an E12-E13waiver. Thus, he anticipates an industry or evenfederal “pushback” if EPA “plays games” andrequires new petitions for additional blend lev-els.

Approval of E12-E13 blends could result ina 20-30 percent increase in ethanol demand“just at the stroke of a pen,” Tierney suggest-ed.

He noted ethanol blending margins currentlyare “attractive” for fuel suppliers, relative to 100percent gasoline, and higher blend levels couldfurther enhance profit potential for blenders. —Martin Ross

Illinois receivesstimulus fundsfor leaking tanks

Illinois received more than $7.4 million in federal stimulusfunds from the U.S. Environmental Protection Agency (EPA) toassess and clean up leaking underground tanks.

The funding will be used for overseeing assessment andcleanup of leaks from underground storage tanks or directlypaying for assessment and cleanup of leaks from federally regu-lated tanks where the responsible party is unknown, unwilling orunable to finance, or the cleanup is needed as an emergencyresponse.

This month, EPA regional underground storage tank pro-grams will enter into a cooperative agreement with Illinois EPA.The cooperative agreement will include more detailed descrip-tions of state spending plans.

“The Recovery Act support for underground storagetank cleanup is a great investment in environmental pro-tection and will provide long-term economic benefits forIllinois,” said Bharat Mathur, acting regional EPA admin-istrator in Chicago.

The H1N1 flu virus hasnot been found in any pigswithin the United States todate, according to the Cen-ters for Disease Controland Prevention (CDC).However, the virus wasdetected in pigs on a farmin Alberta, Canada.

CDC issued interim guide-lines for preventing the spreadof disease from humans to

pigs in petting zoos, hobbyfarms, and other non-commer-cial settings.

Flu viruses are thought tospread from infected peopleand pigs to other people andpigs mostly through coughingor sneezing, and through con-tact with virus-contaminatedsurfaces.

To prevent flu viruses fromspreading between people and

pigs, it is important for thoseworking with pigs in non-com-mercial settings to recognizeflu symptom and take precau-tions.

Anyone who is diagnosedwith flu or develops flu-likesymptoms should seek medicalcare, limit their contact withothers, and practice goodhygiene. That person alsoshould avoid contact with pigs.

CDC reports no H1N1 found in U.S. hogs

OUTLOOK

FarmWeek Page 5 Monday, August 3, 2009

Lehr predicts brightfuture for agriculture

Jay Lehr, science director for The HeartlandInstitute in Chicago, acknowledged farmersare pressured by everything from volatile com-modity and input prices to attacks by environ-mental and animal activists.

But the bottom line of the business,according to Lehr, is people must eat to sur-vive, and population projections indicate therewill be 2 billion more people on the planetwithin the next 50 years.

“The future of agriculture never has beenbrighter,” Lehr said last week during his keynote address at theIllinois Farm Bureau Commodities Conference in Springfield.“World demand for food is growing, and it will continue togrow.”

People in developed countries currently consume an averageof 65 grams of animal protein a day, and Lehr believes a growingmiddle class around the world will strive to obtain a similar diet.

Farmers can meet the growing demand for food through theuse of such tools as biotechnologically enhanced seed and pre-cision agriculture, he said.

“Biotechnology is the future of ag,” he said. “It will allow usto improve yields, reduce water intake, and provide health ben-efits to consumers.”

Meanwhile, precision agriculture allows farmers to be moreefficient. Tractors steered by global positioning systems (GPS),for instance, save money by reducing overlap of chemical appli-cations and lost yield from missed strips of land.

“The average person on the street thinks we farm like ourgrandparents did. We don’t,” said Lehr, who has worked in theag industry for 55 years. “We’re using tools that reduce inputsand increase yields. This is critically important” to feeding agrowing population and improving the environment.

It also is important for farmers to be more proactive in theircommunities so consumers have a better understanding of howtheir food is produced, Lehr said.

The number of people involved in production ag in the U.S.has declined from 20 percent to less than 2 percent, he noted.— Daniel Grant

Jay Lehr

Shift from deflationto inflation looming?BY DANIEL GRANTFarmWeek

The current period of defla-tion may be a drag on commodi-ty prices, but a shift to inflation

would presenta new set ofchallenges,according toRob Huston,general manag-er of AgriVi-sor.

“The gov-ernment inject-ed quite a bit of

money (into the financial systemand ailing industries) in the formof cash and credit,” Huston saidlast week at the Illinois FarmBureau Commodities Confer-ence in Springfield. “The con-cern now is inflation.”

Some projections show the

deflationary cycle could endsoon and inflation in comingmonths could creep near its his-toric average of 3 to 4 percent.

The shift, if realized, couldhelp boost commodity prices tohigher levels in the near-term.

However, a period of infla-

tion also could hurt demand forag products and drive up thecost of ag inputs that recentlyhave softened from historichighs.

“With as many jobs as we’velost and companies that havegone out of business, deflationis not a bad thing,” Huston said.

Rob Huston

Ellinger: Farmersmay face more risk

The ag economy still is in decent shapedespite the ongoing recession, according to anag economist.

Farm debt nationwide ($215 billion) is lowcompared to farm assets ($2.34 trillion), mostag loans have performed well, and credit gener-ally is available for most farmers, according toPaul Ellinger, an ag economist who recently wasnamed head of the department of agriculturaland consumer economics at the University ofIllinois.

“Agriculture is in a pretty safe spot,” Ellinger said last week dur-ing the Illinois Farm Bureau Commodities Conference in Spring-field. “We’re characterized as a relatively low-debt industry.”

Most community banks have weathered the financial storm byavoiding the subprime mortgage fiasco and because ag loans haveperformed well, he said.

“Most (ag) lenders are in relatively good shape and credit gener-ally is available for farmers,” Ellinger said. “But about 20 percentof all ag loans were done with banks involved in this crisis. So agwas not immune” to financial troubles, he said.

Ellinger believes there are signs of economic recovery, notingthe financial markets recently have become more settled and thehome market is beginning to stabilize.

So far this year, 64 banks have failed nationwide compared to305 banks that were on a “troubled list” a year ago, he reported.

But even if the worst is over, Ellinger believes farmers will beforced to absorb more risk as a backlash from recent economicevents.

Key risk challenges for farmers could involve commodityprices, input prices, cash rents and interest rates.

“We (in ag) are having a lot of risk pushed back on us,” he said.“If the crisis deepens, we can get a lot of domino effects in ag.”

Farmers in the near future may have limited access to long-term, fixed-rate financing due to uncertainty about interest rates.Ag lenders also may require farmers to provide more documenta-tion to obtain operating loans.

Meanwhile, farmers may get squeezed by tighter margins, par-ticularly if they’re paying high cash rents.

“All economics would support (a decline in cash rents),”Ellinger said. “But what we’ve seen in the past is cash rents areslow to react” to the market.

Overall, the farmland market will be a key barometer to gaugethe health of the ag industry: Real estate accounts for about 87percent of all farm assets, Ellinger added. — Daniel Grant

“It means people who don’thave jobs pay less for food andother goods.”

Huston reported unemploy-ment in the U.S. currently isabout 10 percent. The currenteconomic troubles frequentlyhave been compared to thoseduring the Great Depression,but unemployment at that timewas about 25 percent, he noted.

Meanwhile, any strengthen-ing of the value of the dollaralso could present a challenge toagriculture.

“Exports will be largelyaffected by the dollar,” he said.“A lower dollar is good forexports” as it allows U.S. prod-ucts to be more competitivearound the world.

Overall, Huston was bearishabout crop prices for theremainder of the growing sea-son but believes markets maystrengthen after harvest.

He recommended farmersemploy marketing plans thatprotect against downside riskand allow for upside potential.Prices in coming monthscould range anywhere from $7to $13 per bushel for beansand $3 to $4 per bushel forcorn.

Huston also predicted basislevels will weaken heading intoharvest.

Paul Ellinger

FarmWeekNow.com

Multi-media interviews and com-plete coverage of the IFBCommodities Conference areavailable at FarmWeekNow.com.

Bernie Walsh, Durand, Winnebago County: More of thesame here last week with coolweather and rain every fewdays. We had 0.4 of an inchThursday night but missed thereally bad storms. Two verybad hailstorms occurred 30 to40 miles west of us in the lasttwo weeks, with 2-inch hail

and lots of crop damage. We were able tocombine wheat last week and were veryhappy with a 90-bushel yield. The corn stilllooks good, but could use more warmweather. The Rockford Weather Bureaurecorded the coldest average temperaturefor the entire month of July in all the yearsrecords have been kept. It was 67 degrees— the old record was 68.8 degrees.

Leroy Getz, Savanna, Carroll County: Rain for theweek was 4.2 inches. July totalrain is 9.2 inches. A massivehailstorm hit Jo Daviess andStephenson counties alongthe state line on July 24.Severe crop damage resultedon 40,000 to 50,000 acres.There was more damage in

Wisconsin. A story and picture appear onthe next page. I received 1.4 inches of rainduring that storm. Then on July 27, 2.8inches caused local flooding in my area. Ihad many flood fences washed out. I com-bined my oats and they yielded about 65bushels at 10 percent moisture. No haywas baled in this area last week. Cropdusting planes are flying on fungicides.Soybeans are still not growing and arevery short. Yes, that field that was plantedtwo weeks ago was flooded out again.

Ron Frieders, Waterman, DeKalb County: Frequentrains and cool temperaturesare keeping crops stress free,but the lack of heat continuesto slow maturity. Two thirds ofthe cornfields are tasseling.This is at least two weeks laterthan average for the area.Soybeans look good. They are

shorter than normal and need growingdegrees to mature. My wife is wondering ifObama is going to have a “Cash forClunkers” program for old farm tractors.

Larry Hummel, Dixon, Lee County: Our wheat is final-ly harvested and delivered tothe elevator. It didn’t reachthe yield goal I had set, but87 bushels to the acre left alittle bit of profit in my pocket.The moisture averaged a littlemore than 15 percent, sothere was a pretty good dock,

but at least it is out. There hasn’t beenvery much good weather for combiningwheat or baling hay, for that matter. Wehave started to spray fungicide on thecorn varieties that I had planned to sprayearly this spring. I’m keeping a close eyeon the rest of the corn to see if this sum-mer’s wet weather causes a flare-up infoliar diseases. I did my first yield checkfor corn Thursday. It was planted May 5and is at the blister stage. The populationwas 32,000, the average ear had 720kernels. That comes up to a yield poten-tial of 260 to 290 bushels to the acre. Iknow it’s early and definitely not all of ourfields look that good, but for that field,that’s the potential. Soybeans are start-ing to set pods, so the window for apply-ing fungicide, if warranted, is soonapproaching. No sign of aphids, andJapanese beetles seem to be thinningout for now.

Ken Reinhardt, Seaton, Mercer County: I had 1 inch ofrain last week, bringing thetotal to 26 inches since May 1.I have never seen everythingso green at this time of year.The small fertilizer plant byKeithsburg has been struck bylightening 33 times this sea-son, with at least one worthy of

Internet fame. The biggest local hay pro-ducer said he finished his first cutting lastweek, with the best hay only being rainedon once. I just finished spraying soybeans.It was easy to see where last year’s refugecorn was by the amount of volunteer corncaused by corn borer. Seven planes areapplying fungicide on corn out of our air-port. There is some corn that looks fan-tastic — from the road, anyway.

Ron Moore, Roseville, Warren County: We received oneinch of rain last week. The corncrop has been improving latelyand looks very good right now.Pollination is almost complete inour area. Fungicides are stillbeing applied on corn andshould be finished soon. Thesoybeans have closed in the

rows and have started to flower and set a fewpods. There have not been any reports ofany insect problems yet. My cattle sure liketo reach through the fence to eat my corncrop, even though they have plenty of grassto eat for this time of year.

Tim Green, Wyoming, Stark County: Another very pleas-ant week, but temperatures stillare cool. Nights have been downin the mid- to low 60s, and we’vehad a few sprinkles of rain nowand then, but nothing major. Afew planes have started to sprayfungicide on corn. We have pret-ty much wrapped up the spray-

ing season on herbicides, and almost every-body is done spraying beans. Still keeping alook out for Japanese beetles, but they arenot much of a concern quite yet. We needsome nice, warm weather — the crop is real-ly behind. Beans are going backward. Theyjust don’t like all this wet weather.

Mark Kerber, Chatsworth, Livingston County: Rain wason the short side last week. Aswe close out the month of July,there has been no recorded 90-degree weather, and the air con-ditioner has been off more thanit was on. Our local co-op wastrying to begin its meeting whena 5-inch rain and lightning

delayed the start. The co-op had a great year— profits will be used to update facilities andpay patronages. Pollination seems to be per-fect as there is no insect pressure this year.Plenty of moisture and cool temperaturesalso have helped. My hat turned yellow withpollen as we scouted for leaf diseases.Higher-priced fungicides and lower-pricedcorn have kept spraying to a minimumunless warranted by certain hybrids.Soybeans are finally getting a little height asthey are setting pods and still producingflowers. We will need August rains to keepthis growing season productive. Last year,we were looking good at this time when therain shut off and the southern portion ofLivingston County was really hurt at grain fill.Markets have seemed to bottom. The newethanol plant in Gibson City is at full capaci-ty and is grinding a lot of corn everyday.

Ron Haase, Gilman, Iroquois County: Most of the cornplanted from May 9 to May 12either was pollinating or finishedpollination last week. The cornplanted May 20 or a few dayslater is also pollinating. So, mostcornfields in the area are in thesilking stage (R1) up to the milkgrowth stage (R3). Most soybean

fields are in the beginning pod growth stage(R3). Farm activities last week includedspraying herbicides in soybean fields, scout-ing cornfields for leaf diseases, sprayingfungicides in cornfields, learning more aboutaverage crop revenue election (ACRE), andmowing roadsides. We finished our fungicideapplication on corn Friday. We have appliedfungicide on 70 percent of our corn. Theother 30 percent is either healthy hybridsthat don’t need protection or check strips.Gray leaf spot is present in corn on corn withhigh residue present, and the lower cost ofapplying it ourselves is what led to our deci-sion to apply fungicide. Overall, there hasbeen a lot less fungicide applied on corn thisyear than in the last two years. Local closingprices for July 30 were: nearby corn, $3.26;new-crop corn, $3.16; nearby soybeans,$10.64; new-crop soybeans, $9.45.

Brian Schaumburg, Chenoa, McLean County: Moderatetemperatures and 1 inch of rainlast week kept crop prospects inthe positive. If we continue thispattern and get more sunshine,5- and 10-year average cornyields will be likely. Soybeansstill have a long way to go. Wemissed the damaging winds and

hail that hit farther east of McLean County.Spraying fungicides for foliar diseases hasincreased. Corn, $3.27, $3.12 fall; soybeans,$10.61, $9.36 fall; wheat, $4.21.

Steve Ayers, Champaign, Champaign County: TheChampaign County Fair wasblessed with a pleasant week.That’s the good news, but weneed some heat to mature bothcorn and soybeans. We are stillpopping tassels on corn. Doingthe math, that should put matu-rity in early October. We will be

OK if Jack Frost doesn’t nip us before ouraverage mid-October first frost date. Wehad 0.34 of an inch of rain in a storm earlyWednesday morning. A crop-duster fromTexas struck a power line Thursday southof Philo, but was able to return to Rantoulairport. Corn is showing gray leaf spot andrust. Soybean spraying, baling, mowing,and crop scouting continues.

Wilfred Dittmer, Quincy, Adams County: Another coolFriday morning with the ther-mometer standing at 57. It isclear and there was nothing inthe rain gauge all week. OurJuly total still stands at 3 inch-es and total for the year sinceMarch is 20 inches. Crops aredoing better, but we still need

more growing degree units to get to matu-rity. July is gone and fall is just around thecorner. These little beans could sure usesome more summer days. Most corn istasseled, and I saw a little aerial sprayinglast week. Support your county fair and allwho help make it happen.

Harry Schirding, Petersburg, Menard County:Pollination of the 2009 corncrop is nearly complete, butkernel counts appear to beslightly below those of 2008.Rootworm beetle numbers arebelow average this year, whichshould be positive for lowpressure next year. Japanese

beetle feeding is apparent in both cornand soybean fields; however, there havebeen few incidences where treatmentthresholds were met. Although not anaccurate indicator of yield, the height ofthe soybean crop, especially in 30-inchrows, is less than normal. Earliest soy-beans are nearly to the stage that will givethe maximum response from applicationsof fungicide. Corn nearby, $3.24, up 8cents; corn for January, $3.20, up 3 cents;soybeans nearby, $11.13, up 81 cents;soybeans for January, $9.59, up 31 cents.

Tom Ritter, Blue Mound, Macon County: We are in ourthird week with no major rains.We’ve had rains come close,but they stopped short or wentnorth or south, so the grass isturning brown and definitelyneeds a shot of moisture in thevery near future. Crops, over-all, look good considering their

late planting. Soybeans are starting toclose in the 30-inch rows, but both cropshave a long way to go before harvest.Some are spraying fungicides on corn.Not nearly as many acres are beingsprayed this year due to the crop prices.Corn planted in late May and early June isjust now at the stage where it needsspraying. Overall, prospects for the cropslook fair. A lot of areas in each field thathave had major stress over time will taketheir toll on yields.

Todd Easton, Charleston, Coles County: Salesmanseason seems to have start-ed, and I already have had afew come by. Fortunately, theirpricing this year seems to bemore realistic, but, of course,no seed prices yet. I hopethose numbers won’t be tooshocking. We received show-

ers last weekend (July 25-26) thatbrought 0.5 to a full 1 inch in places.Currently we are getting well-timed rainsand hopefully that will continue throughAugust. Our latest cornfields are getting agood start on pollination while the rest isdone pollinating in all but the low spots.I’m afraid those areas will be disappoint-ing when the combines roll through.Soybean fields have had some goodgrowth in just this last week. Most are inthe R2 stage and hopefully will continuethis and come closer to where theyshould be this time of year.

CROPWATCHERS

FarmWeek Page 6 Monday, August 3, 2009

Reports received Friday morning.

Doug Uphoff, Shelbyville, Shelby County: We finishedspraying soybeans last week forthe second time and are monitor-ing leaf disease in the cornfields.A lot less Headline is beingapplied this year due to cost ofputting the crop in and fallinggrain prices. We also baled haylast week for the second cutting.

Well, “we” didn’t. I had to drive the tractor dueto a severely sprained ankle, but Dad, theboys, and friends baled me out. Pardon thepun. We had a very nice fair two weeks ago.It was some of the nicest weather I can everremember having for the county fair. I reallyappreciate all the kind words I received forthe FarmWeek reports we all do. I met a manfrom Edwardsville, Glen Suns, 92 yearsyoung, who reads the cropwatcher reportsevery week. He helped build the fairgroundsin 1958. He was the county farm adviserthen. It made my week to talk to someonewho designed and help build a place that hasmeant so much to so many 4-H kids in thelast 51 years. Corn and beans are lookingbetter and most are in reproductive stagesnow. Soybeans are short for this time of yearexcept the few that were fortunate enough toget in earlier to plant them. July rain was 2inches. Grain prices on Thursday: cash corn,$3.28; fall corn, $3.12; January 2010 $3.27,beans, $10.61; fall beans, $9.49; January2010 $9.64; wheat, $4.08. Most farmers arefinally feeling caught up and are mowing,going to average crop revenue election(ACRE) meetings and plot tours, or planningvacations before the kids go back to school orcollege.

Bob Biehl, Belleville, St. Clair County: Scattered showersoccurred around the area thispast week. Some areas receivedas much as 0.5 of an inch, butmost areas just received a side-walk-wetter. It’s not too dry, butwe could use an inch of rain. A lotof corn is starting to tassel.Beans are sure slow starters this

year. A little spraying has yet to be done, butnot too much. Insect pressure is fairly low sofar, except for the waterways, which areloaded with grasshoppers.

Rick Corners, Centralia, Jefferson County: Another weekwith no rain. Excuse me, we hadone half of one tenth Thursday.Most all of the May-planted cornis tasseled now. I know everyonesays I’m always negative, but Ican’t for the world of me see howwe are going to get 6-inch-highbeans into the combine header

this fall. Some of those little buggers just willnot get going.

Jimmy Ayers, Rochester, Sangamon County: This pastweek we received a little over 0.6of an inch of rain. The weatherhas been cooler than normal,and crops are responding fairlyslowly. Beans did show a bit ofgrowth last week. There is a lot ofcorn that is still going through thepollination process. We have had

excellent weather for that type of activity — alittle moisture and lots of dew nearly everymorning. There have been some areas ofdamage from strong weather fronts thatmoved through. Wind being the most damag-ing in our area. Beans are running knee high,but some of them are as much as waist highin some 30-inch rows. Most of the sprayinghas been done. With the crop in our area, itdoesn’t seem like prices should have gone aslow as they have. Apparently, China is back tobuying again. Excellent move. Frost is thebiggest concern at this point.

Ted Kuebrich, Jerseyville, Jersey County: Jersey Countyreceived between 0.5 of an inchto almost 2 inches last week.The corn and beans are lookingbetter now that the crops arestarting to even out in mostfields. The smaller beans arebeing sprayed to clean out theweeds, grass, and volunteer

corn. You can still find Japanese beetles eat-ing on the corn and beans as you check thecrops. Cash corn, $3.43; new corn, $3.16;January corn, $3.33; cash beans, $11.36;new beans, $9.69; January beans, $9.82;cash wheat, $4.15

CROPWATCHERS

FarmWeek Page 7 Monday, August 3, 2009

Unusual July weather good, bad for crop developmentBY DANIEL GRANTFarmWeek

Farmers wondering if themonth that just ended reallywas July or if it was Septem-ber posing as July saw vari-ous effects on the crop fromthe unusual weather.

Whether the weather lastmonth was beneficial orharmful to crop developmentdepended on location, asusual.

The average temperaturein Illinois for the month wasabout 5 degrees cooler thannormal, according to MarkRusso, meteorologist withChesapeake Energy. He wasa featured speaker last weekat the Illinois Farm BureauCommodities Conference inSpringfield.

“If it’s not quite as hotduring the summer, itreduces the chance of heatstress during pollination,”Russo said.

And 62 percent of thecorn crop and 61 percent ofsoybeans in the state were

rated good to excellent as ofthe first of last week, accord-ing the National AgriculturalStatistics Service state officein Springfield.

However, extreme weathersuch as heavy rains, wind, andhail pounded the crops lastmonth at numerous locationsaround the state.

Eleven percent of the corncrop and 10 percent of soy-beans in the state last weekwere rated poor or very poor.

One storm in particularlate last month produced golfball- to tennis ball-sized hailand 60 to 70 mph winds thatdevastated some crops, par-ticularly in Bureau, Carroll, JoDaviess, and Stephensoncounties.

Leroy Getz, a FarmWeekcropwatcher from CarrollCounty, reported one of his50-acre cornfields inStephenson County may be acomplete loss after the July24 storm.

“The odor of dying plantswas very strong,” he said afterassessing the damage lastweek.

Chris Anderson,spokesperson for CountryFinancial, said crop damageclaims from the storm as oflast week totaled 24 in BureauCounty, 26 in Jo DaviessCounty, and 32 in StephensonCounty.

On the bright side, thecooler-than-normal tempera-tures in July suggest increasedchances of a warm autumn,according to Josh Darr, mete-orologist with ChesapeakeEnergy.

“After a cold July, we’remore likely to have a warm

autumn,” Darr said. “Thatcould very critical to the cropas it’s kind of lagging behindnormal.

“That’s not to say there’sno freeze risk,” he continued.“But (historical trends) leantoward a decreased possibilityof an early freeze.”

The first freeze typicallyarrives around Oct. 1 inNorthern Illinois, Oct. 15 inCentral Illinois, and Nov. 1 inSouthern Illinois, Darr added.

These corn plants located near Kent in western Stephenson County show the effects of major hail damagethat occurred during a severe storm that passed over Northern Illinois on July 24. The storm produced golfball- to tennis ball-sized hail and 60 to 70 mph winds. The 50 acre field prior to the storm had the potentialto yield about 150 bushels per acre. Now it may be a complete loss. (Photo courtesy of Leroy Getz,FarmWeek cropwatcher from Carroll County).

CorrectionThe U.S. Department of

Interior’s wild horse adoptionwill be Aug. 7 and 8 at theInterstate Center on the westside of Bloomington.

Forty horses will be offeredfor adoption. They can beviewed from 2 to 7 p.m. Fri-day at the center, and adop-tion on a first come, firstserved basis will be from 8a.m. to 5 p.m. Saturday.

The dates carried in theJuly 27 FarmWeek were cor-rect, but the days of the weekwere in error.

New Holland Ag supplying1,250 tractors to Iraq

New Holland Agriculture, the global manufacturer and sellerof ag equipment, is supplying an additional 1,250 tractors to theIraq government.

The first 400 of the 1,250 New Holland tractor kits alreadyhave been supplied to an Iraqi plant, and more than 300 unitshave been delivered to farmers and are operating in the coun-try’s fields. An additional 200 tractor kits are en route to Iraq’sIskandiriyah assembly plant.

Sufficient parts stocks also have been provided to ensureminimum machine “down” time.

RESEARCH

FarmWeek Page 8 Monday, August 3, 2009

Researchers monitor rainfall for soy rust sporesBY DANIEL GRANTFarmWeek

Researchers currently moni-toring the chemistry of rainfallat sites around the country may

said David Gay, program direc-tor for the National Atmos-pheric Deposition Program(NADP) at the ISWS and theUniversity of Illinois.

NADP has analyzed thechemistry of rainfall samplesfrom around the country forabout 30 years and is knowninformally as the acid rain net-work. In 2005, it started test-ing samples from about 80 ofits 250 collection sites for thepresence of rust.

Overall, NADP each yearanalyzes the chemistry of about12,000 to 13,000 rainfall samplescollected from around the coun-try. The genetic work to deter-mine the presence of rust thenis completed by researchers atthe University of Minnesota.

“Since the NADP is used tomonitor precipitation chemistrynationwide, it was an ideal plat-form to study deposition ofsoybean rust spores,” Gay said.“If there is a presence of sporesin the sample, we can find it.”

And once spores are found,researchers can use that infor-mation to track the path of thedisease and predict where it maytravel in the future.

“We know where the diseaseis and with atmospheric modelswe can predict where it’s goingto be,” Gay said.

Information about rust isvital to soybean growers so theyknow when a fungicide applica-tion may be warranted to avoida yield loss.

Soy rust was found in theU.S. about five years ago. Prob-lems with the disease thus farhave been confined to thesouthern U.S., so there has notbeen a need to spray for rustthus far in Illinois.

The disease has the potentialto damage soy plants in Illinois,but rust so far this year has beenconfirmed in just 31 counties infive Gulf states.

“Drought conditions (in theSouth) certainly have slowed itdown,” said Kevin Black,insect/plant disease technicalmanager for GROWMARK.“We’re getting to the point (thisseason) that even if rust blew upfrom the South, it likely wouldn’tcreate a great problem for us.”

Information about NADP isavailable online at{http://nadp.isws.illinois.edu}.Farmers can track the weeklymovement of soy rust online at{www.sbrusa.net}.

not be able to stop soybean rustspores from entering the atmos-phere.

But each time it rains,researchers at the Illinois State

Water Survey (ISWS) are show-ered with vital information such aswhere rust spores are located andwhen they arrived on the scene.

“If something is transportedin the rain (such as rust spores),we can tell you where it camedown and when it came down,”

Brenda Riney, a lab technical as-sistant for the National Atmos-pheric Deposition Program at theI l l inois State Water Sur vey inChampaign, analyzes the chem-is tr y of a rainfal l sample. Re-searchers the past four years haveused rainfall samples to determineexactly where and when soybeanrust spores were deposited at spe-cific locations. (Photo by DanielGrant)

USDA/DOEaward grants

Ag Secretary Tom Vilsackand U.S. Energy SecretarySteven Chu have announcedgrants totaling nearly $6.3 mil-lion for genetics-basedresearch aimed at improveduse of plant feedstocks forbiofuels production.

The seven awards (none inIllinois) are designed to broad-en the nation’s energy portfolioand “decrease our dependenceon foreign oil,” an interagencynews release stated.

Grants will be awarded toUSDA-ARS Northern PlainsArea in Lincoln, Neb., $1.183million; USDA-ARS WesternRegional Research Center,Albany, Calif., $1.3 million;University of Georgia, twoseparate grants of $1.2 mil-lion and $705,000; MichiganTechnological University,$900,000; University of Flori-da, $643,000; and Universityof Nebraska, $390,000.

FB IN ACTION

FarmWeek Page 9 Monday, August 3, 2009

Action Teams elect leaders, seek additional volunteersBY DANIEL GRANTFarmWeek

Illinois Farm BureauAction Teams met thismonth to elect leaders, dis-cuss new ideas, and preparefor next year.

Dennis Verbeck, a farmerfrom Henry County, waselected chairman of theAction Coordinating Councilfor 2010 while Greg Leigh ofFulton County was electedvice chairman.

Volunteers elected to leadindividual Action Teams for2010 are Verbeck, chairman,and Dave Krebel (MonroeCounty), vice chairman, ofthe membership team; KeithMussman (Kankakee Coun-ty), chairman, and ConnieSchneider (McLean County),vice chairman, of the publicrelations team; Gail Pollard(Winnebago County), chair-man, and Pat Koelling(Washington County), vicechairman, of the educationteam; and Leigh, chairman,and Carrie Titus (HenryCounty), vice chairman, ofthe quality of life team.

“Hopefully, we can make acontribution to the organiza-tion, help it move forward,and promote the organiza-tion,” Verbeck toldFarmWeek.

Projects in various stagesof work or that recently werecompleted include a recruit-ment incentive program thatoffers IFB members whosign three or more new vot-

ing members $10 and a CaseIH toy combine at the FarmProgress Show; a new mem-ber website{www.ilfb.org/member} waslaunched; “Share the RoadSafely” fact cards that offerdriving tips for motorists andfarmers now are available fordistribution; and a farm edu-cation video “Look, it’s aWatchamajig!” will be avail-able to county Farm Bureausafter a program by the samename produced brochures forinterstate rest stops.

“It’s neat to see some ofthe projects that come out ofthere,” said Verbeck, who willprovide an Action Teamupdate next month to theIFB board. “Over our histo-ry, some of the projects havebeen so successful the (IFB)board decided to carry themon over the years,” he said.

Action Teams currentlyhave about 40 participants.

“We have several openingsfor the coming year,” Ver-beck said. “We meet twice ayear (in February and July)and you can choose yourteam of interest.”

Verbeck urged IFB mem-bers to consider volunteeringfor Action Teams, noting,“Those of us in agricultureprobably don’t spend enoughtime promoting ourselves.Then negative stories comeout and that’s what peopleremember.”

A proactive approach “laysthe foundation to offsetsome of the criticism,” headded.

Information about ActionTeams is available online at{www.ilfb.org} and by click-ing on “Programs and Activi-ties” followed by “Commit-tees/Volunteer Groups.”

Dennis Verbeck Keith Mussman Gail Pollard Greg Leigh

EQUINE WORKSHOP

The second Livingston County Marketing Committee Equine Work-shop, held during the 4-H Fair, drew ap-proximately 70 horse owners. Kevin Kline,University of Illinois equine specialist, shownleading a horse toward a trailer, gave a pre-

sentation on “The Psychology of Trailer Training and Horse Han-dling.” The Marketing Committee has begun to provide information-al workshops for the horse industry because there are 219,000horses worth $330 million in Illinois. They consume about 500,000tons of hay and grain (at a cost of $100 million a year). The work-shop may become an annual event. (Photo courtesy of LivingstonCounty Farm Bureau)

LEGISLATOR GETS LOWDOWN

Rep. Mark Walker (D-Arlington Heights), center, learns what goesinto a dairy cow’s diet from Matt McCoy ofthe McCoy dairy farm near Palestine whileSean Sheerod of the Vita Plus Co. looks on.Recently adopted by the Crawford County

Farm Bureau, Walker last week attended a farm tour in the county.During his visit, he toured the LincolnLand Agri-Energy ethanol plantin Palestine and visited the Weger family grain farm near Palestineas well as the McCoy operation. Rep. Roger Eddy (R-Hutsonville) at-tended for part of the day. Issues discussed included animal welfare,cap and trade, and the daily operation and cost of running a farm.(Photo by Christina Nourie, northeast legislative coordinator for Illi-nois Farm Bureau)

EDUCATION

FarmWeek Page 10 Monday, August 3, 2009

WIU taps renewables interest with degree programBiofuels, windpolicy focusBY KAY SHIPMANFarmWeek

Western Illinois University(WIU) is launching a new degreeprogram for students seekingcareers in renewable energy.

“We’re blasting off,” WilliamKnox, director of WIU’s honorscollege, said at a recent wind ener-gy conference in Bloomington.

The renewable energy pro-gram is part of the interdiscipli-nary studies in the honors college;however, the program is open toall students and is not limited tohonors students, Knox explained.

Starting this fall, renewableenergy students may choose to

more and more communitycolleges are offering two-year

degrees and certificates inwind energy,” Knox said.

focus on biofu-els, wind energy,or policy, plan-ning, and man-agement. Theywill work towarda bachelor’sdegree and com-plete internshipsas part of the program.

For example, the NationalCorn-to-Ethanol Research Cen-ter in Edwardsville is interestedin working with WIU studentswith a biofuels focus, Knox said.

Students focusing on biofu-els technology will study thetechnological aspects of usingplant materials to produceethanol and fuel. Those study-ing wind energy will study thetechnological and business

aspects of wind power facilities. Students in policy, planning,

and management will focus onpublic policies that affect thedevelopment and uses ofrenewable energy, includinglaws, contracts, and regulations.

WIU’s goal is to accept 10students into the new programeach year, according to Knox.Michele Aurand, the program’sacademic adviser, may be con-tacted at 309-298-2586 or by e-mailing MJ-Aurand@wiu.edu.Information about the pro-gram is available online at{www.wiu.edu/IDST}.

The university also plans tocontinue working with com-munity colleges whose stu-dents want to pursue bache-lor’s degrees. “We’ve found

WIU renames school of agricultureWestern Illinois University’s

(WIU) department of agricul-ture was renamed the schoolof agriculture, effective July 1,according to WIU College ofBusiness and TechnologyDean Tom Erekson.

William Bailey, the agricul-ture department chair, serves asthe agriculture school director.

“The name change toschool of agriculture betterreflects the professional natureof our program and differenti-ates Western’s program fromother programs in the stateand reminds our alumni that

WIU values its agricultureunit,” Erekson said.

WIU‘s school of agricul-ture houses a range of ag-related areas of study, includ-ing business, technology, edu-cation, animal and soil science,horticulture, natural resources,and urban forestry.

The school also overseesmore than 700 acres of farm-land and several hundred headof beef, sheep, and swine. Itshares research informationwith the public through fielddays and livestock programs.

“Designating the agricul-ture department as the schoolof agriculture more accuratelyreflects the breadth and com-plexity of our extensive pro-grams,” Bailey said.

WIU‘s school of agriculturecontinues as a unit within the Col-lege of Business and Technology.A new website, featuring a blog, auser-friendly photo gallery, and in-depth information about agricul-ture programs at WIU, will belaunched at {www.wiu.edu/ag}.

In addition, as part of theschool of agriculture designa-tion, an advisory board com-prised of local, state, andnational agriculture profes-sionals will be established tofurther advance the missionand programs of the school.

For information, call 309-298-1080 or visit {www.wiu.edu/ag}.

USDA seeksinput on standards

The Natural ResourcesConservation Service (NRCS)is seeking public comment onits conservation practice stan-dards to help improve pro-gram delivery. Comments willbe accepted until Aug. 11.

Public review of conservationdelivery standards will ensure pro-grams in the 2008 farm bill are rel-evant to local ag, forestry, and nat-ural resource needs, including spe-cialty crops, organic crops, nativeand managed pollinators, andbioenergy crops.

All comments will bereviewed and considered forincorporation into final rulesdirecting delivery of conserva-tion programs.

Comments may be submit-ted online, by mail, or by faxto 202-720-5334.

To submit electronically, vis-it {www.regulations.gov}.Mail comments to NormanWidman, National Agrono-mist, USDA, NaturalResources Conservation Ser-vice, Conservation PracticeStandard Comments, P.O. Box2890, Washington, D.C., 20013.

GOVERNMENT

FarmWeek Page 11 Monday, August 3, 2009

Hours of service exemption applies to some intrastate driversBY KAY SHIPMAN FarmWeek

Transportation hours ofservice regulations generallyapply to drivers of vehicleswith a gross vehicle weight orgross vehicle weight rating ofmore than 10,000 pounds usedfor business purposes.

Illinois Department ofTransportation (IDOT) audi-tors will check a driver’s maxi-

hours of service regulations foragricultural moves during theplanting and harvest seasons.

In Illinois, a driver is exemptfrom completing a log book ifhe or she:

• Operates the vehicle with-in 150 air miles of the normalwork-reporting location;

• Returns to the work-reporting location and isreleased from work within 12consecutive hours;

• Has at least 10 consecutivehours off duty following 12hours on duty;

• Does not exceed 11 hoursof driving time following 10consecutive hours off duty.

The vehicle owner/operatormust maintain accurate timerecords for six months indicat-ing:

• The time the driver reportsfor and is released from duty;

• The total number of hoursthe driver is on duty; and

• The driver’s name and dateon each time record.

Remember, intrastateexemptions apply only to thedriver’s hours of service. Med-ical cards, drug and alcoholtesting, maintenance records,etc., may still apply. If you haveany questions, call the IDOTdivision of traffic safety at 217-785-1181.

mum hours of service and hisor her time record, which isrequired, during an IDOTcompliance review.

Illinois has adopted the fed-eral hours of service regula-tions and, for the most part,the federal and state regulationsare the same. Most farmers areviewed as interstate drivers andare subject to federal hours ofservice regulations and exemp-tions.

However, Illinois makessome allowances for intrastatedrivers. For example, Illinoisgrants an exemption from alog-book requirement forintrastate drivers traveling with-

in a 150-air-mile radius, agreater radius than the 100-air-mile federal exemption.

In Illinois, intrastate carriersgenerally are exempt from

Orr beef field dayslated for Aug. 26

The University of IllinoisOrr Beef Research Centernear Perry in Pike County willhold its annual field day onWednesday, Aug. 26,

The field day, which willstart at 4 p.m., will highlightthe Orr Beef Research Cen-ter’s research and demonstra-tion programs as well as anumber of current topics rele-vant to the beef cattle indus-try.

Tours of the center’s calv-ing barn, feedlot, pastures, andresearch facilities will be con-ducted. A complimentaryevening meal of beef brisketsandwiches will be served. Pre-registration is not requiredand there is no registration feeto attend.

For additional information,contact Nathan Post at 217-236-4961.

Orr field dayset for Aug. 19

The University of Illinoiscrop sciences department andU of I Extension will have afield day beginning at 4 p.m.Wednesday, Aug. 19, at theOrr Agricultural Research andDemonstration Center.

The Center is located innortheastern Pike County onRoute 104 about four mileswest of the junction with Route107, or about midway betweenJacksonville and Quincy.

Field day topics will addresscurrent issues in crop manage-ment and crop protection forproducers, advisers, agribusi-ness people, landowners, andothers who deal with and areinterested in crops. Presenta-tions will be made by U of Ispecialists.

The first tour will leavefrom the buildings at 4 p.m.,and additional tour groups willleave the headquarters at 20-minute intervals, with the lasttour leaving at about 4:40.Each tour will last about 90minutes.

Dinner will be availableafter the tour at no cost tothose who take the tour.

For more information, con-tact Mike Vose at 217 236-4911.

FROM THE COUNTIES

FarmWeek Page 12 Monday, August 3, 2009

CASS-MORGAN —The annual “Member

Appreciation Dinner and MeetYour Legislator” program willbe at 5:30 p.m. Monday, Aug.17, at Hamilton’s, Jacksonville.Call the Farm Bureau office at217-245-6833 by Monday, Aug.10, for reservations or moreinformation.

CHAMPAIGN — FarmBureau will sponsor a

“Preparing for Tomorrow’sHarvest: AgriEnergy” seminarfrom 9 a.m. to 4 p.m. Tuesday,Aug. 11, at the Tony Noel Agri-cultural Center, Parkland Col-lege, Champaign. Speakers willinclude former U.S. Rep. TomEwing; director of the Centerfor Advanced BioenergyResearch Hans Blaschek; VicePresident of Biofuels for Mon-santo Technology MarthaSchlicher; and Illinois stateDirector of Rural Develop-ment Colleen Callahan. Cost is$25, which includes lunch. Callthe Farm Bureau office at 217-352-5235 or go online at{www.ccfarmbureau.com} forreservations or more informa-tion.

COOK — Farm Bureauwill sponsor a Night

with the Cook County FarmBureau Saturday, Aug. 15, atthe Schaumburg Flyers vs.Kansas City T-Bones. Cost is$7.50 for reserved seat, $15.08for adult picnic, and $7.54 perchild for picnic. Call the FarmBureau office at 708-354-3276or go online at

{www.cookcfb.org} for moreinformation.

• The annual Family Cele-bration Picnic will be from 1 to4 p.m. Saturday, Aug. 22, at theChildren’s Farm at the Center,12700 Southwest Hwy., PalosPark. Lunch will be served at1:30 p.m. Tickets are $12 foradults, $6 for children 3 to 12,and children 2 and under mayeat for free.

JERSEY — The MarketingCommittee will sponsor a

pork promotion from 4 to 7p.m. Tuesday at the State StreetFarmers’ Market. Jersey CountyFarm Bureau members willreceive 50 cents off a pork chopor burger sandwich by showingtheir membership card.

KNOX — Doug Yoder,Illinois Farm Bureau

senior director of marketingand risk management, will bethe speaker at an average croprevenue election (ACRE) meet-ing at 9 a.m. Thursday at theKnox Agri Center. Call theFarm Bureau office at 342-2036 for reservations or moreinformation.

LIVINGSTON — TheSafety Safari for Kids

has been rescheduled to 9 a.m.to 2 p.m. Wednesday at the 4-HPark, Pontiac. Call the FarmBureau office at 815-842-1103to register or for more infor-mation.

LEE — A policy devel-opment meeting will be

at 7:30 p.m. Tuesday at theFarm Bureau office. Members

may take part in this grassrootsprocess to help shape FarmBureau policy. Call the FarmBureau office at 815-857-3531or e-mail leecfb@comcast.netfor more information.

• Farm Bureau will sponsorits 15th annual Farm Visit Dayfrom 10 a.m. to 2 p.m. Satur-day. Buses will leave Wood-haven Association to visit thehost farm. Tickets are availableat Woodhaven’s main officeand are required to board thebus. Call Woodhaven’s officeat 815-849-5200 or the FarmBureau office at 815-857-3531for more information.

MONROE — Mem-bers and their families

are invited to the ice creamsocial at 7 p.m. Thursday at thecounty fairgrounds. A ventrilo-quist will provide the entertain-ment.

MONTGOMERY —The Prime Timers will

sponsor a bus trip Tuesday toFairmount Park Race Track,Collinsville. The bus will leaveat the following times and loca-tions: 9:35 a.m. downtownpark, Nokomis; 10:05 a.m.Farm Bureau office; and 10:20a.m. former Kroger parkinglot, Litchfield.

• Kevin Rund, Illinois FarmBureau senior director of localgovernment, and Paul Hentze,Illinois State Police District 18,will present an “On the Road”seminar at 7 p.m. Wednesday atthe M&M Service Co. fertilizerplant, Litchfield. Topics will

include U.S. Department ofTransportation numbers, com-mercial driver’s license require-ments, and medical cards. Theprogram is sponsored byMacoupin and MontgomeryCounty Farm Bureaus andM&M Service Co. Call theFarm Bureau office for moreinformation.

ROCK ISLAND — ARules of the Road sem-

inar will be at 7 p.m. Tuesday,Aug. 11, at the Farm Bureauoffice. Kevin Rund, IllinoisFarm Bureau senior directorof local government, and JoeyDelarosa, Illinois State Policecommercial vehicle officer,will be the speakers. Call theFarm Bureau office at 309-736-7432 for reservations ormore information.

• The Rock Island CountyFarm Bureau Foundation golfouting will be at 8 a.m. Friday,Aug. 14, at the HighlandSprings Golf Course, RockIsland. Cost is $60 or $290 fora foursome plus a hole spon-sorship. Call the Farm Bureauoffice for more information.

• The annual meeting willbegin with dinner at 5:30 p.m.Thursday, Sept. 3, at the MilanCommunity Center. A View-point meeting will be held withU.S. Rep. Phil Hare (D-RockIsland), Jim Bohnsack, countyboard chairman, and localFarm Bureau directors attend-ing.

WARREN-HENDER-SON — A farm safety

planning meeting will be at 10a.m. Wednesday at the FarmBureau office. A farm safetyday on Sept. 30 for fifth gradestudents and on Oct. 1 for sev-enth grade students will beplanned.

• Farm Bureau will sponsoran informational meeting onaverage crop revenue election(ACRE) at 1 p.m. Thursday atthe Farm Bureau office. DougYoder, Illinois Farm Bureau,will be the speaker. MarkPhillipson, Warren CountyFarm Service Agency, andCindy Bridgford, HendersonCounty Farm Service Agency,also will attend. Call the FarmBureau office at 309-734-9401for more information.

• Farm Bureau and WyffelsHybrids will sponsor a market-ing and crop report breakfastmeeting at 7 a.m. Wednesday,Aug. 12, at the Farm Bureauoffice. Call the Farm Bureauoffice at 309-734-9401 for reser-vations or more information.

• Farm Bureau and CountryFinancial will sponsor an edu-cational long-term care insur-ance seminar at 2:30 p.m.Thursday, Aug. 13, at the FarmBureau office. Call the FarmBureau office at 309-734-9403for reservations or more infor-mation.

• Farm Bureau will sponsora program at 6 p.m. Thursday,

Aug. 13, at the Farm Bureauoffice on how to plan financial-ly for a family with specialneeds. Rick Morgan, an attor-ney, will discuss special needstrusts. Call the Farm Bureauoffice at 309-734-9403 byMonday, Aug. 10, for reserva-tions or more information.

WAYNE — Wayne andEdwards County Farm

Bureaus and the Farm ServiceAgency will sponsor an averagecrop revenue election (ACRE)update meeting at 7 p.m. Mon-day (today) at the Community ofChrist Church, Fairfield. DougYoder, Illinois Farm Bureausenior director of marketing andrisk management, will be thespeaker. Call the Farm Bureauoffice at 842-3342 for reserva-tions or more information.

• Farm Bureau will sponsorits annual appreciation dinnerfrom 5 to 7 p.m. Friday at theCumberland PresbyterianChurch, Fairfield. Tickets are$2, but children 12 and undermay eat for free. Take-outs areavailable. A silent auction willbenefit the Wayne County Agin the Classroom program.Donations for the auction willbe accepted. Purchase tickets atthe Farm Bureau office.

• The first annual WayneCounty Antique Tractor Drivewill be on Labor Day, Sept. 7.The event will begin and end atGrainergy Farms, north ofGeff. Drivers may register bycalling the Farm Bureau officeor by stopping by the office.

WHITE — FarmBureau will sponsor its

annual appreciation lunch from11 a.m. to 1 p.m. Wednesday,Aug. 12, at the Floral Hall,White County Fairgrounds.Call the Farm Bureau office at618-382-8512 by Wednesdayfor reservations or more infor-mation.

• The Young Leader Com-mittee will sponsor a pedal pullat 3 p.m. Saturday at the FloralHall at the county fairgrounds.Cost is $1. First- and second-place trophies will be awardedin each class. Consult the fairbook for rules or call 618-382-8512 for more information.

WHITESIDE — FarmBureau will host an

antique tractor drive Monday,Aug. 17. The ride leaves thecounty fairgrounds at 8 a.m.and travels to Coleta andreturns through Morrison-Rockwood State Park. Registra-tion is $35 per tractor. All pro-ceeds will benefit the county’sAg in the Classroom program.Deadline to register is Friday.Call the Farm Bureau office at815-772-2165 for a registrationform or more information.

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

GROWMARK

FarmWeek Page 13 Monday, August 3, 2009

Fourth of a series

Energy field spawns GROWMARK growthBY HEATHER MILLER

GROWMARK today is oneof the largest agriculturecooperatives in North Ameri-ca with expertise in seed, agro-nomic solutions, facility plan-ning, and logistics. The root ofthe cooperative lies in theenergy field, however.

“The FS System began inthe 1920s to provide a reliablefuel supply for farmers, “ saidMark Dehner, GROWMARKmarketing manager of refinedand renewable fuels.

“Over the years, GROW-MARK has evolved into bulkfuel sales, lubricants, propane,and biofuels, as well as ourFAST STOP brand in theretail sector.”

Strong member coopera-tives and an exceptional line ofproprietary products make thedifference in the energy busi-ness.

“FS members have the mostknowledgeable sales force inthe industry and GROW-MARK has its own line ofproducts like Dieselex Goldand SURE-FLO, which per-form exceptionally well andcreate value for the user. That

creates loyalty among our cus-tomers,” Dehner said.

The GROWMARK energydivision also prides itself onbeing forward-thinking interms of both new productdevelopment and price riskmanagement. “Price risk man-agement gives us the ability torun forward-pricing con-tracts,” said John Cripe,GROWMARK energy risk

manager. “Our fixed-priceprograms on diesel, gasoline,and propane add a lot of mar-keting flexibility and in pastbull market years they havehelped save end users a lot ofmoney.”

Chris Salrin, propane prod-uct manager, credits risk man-agement, along with productreliability, with much of thegrowth in the propane indus-try. Five years ago, GROW-MARK and its member coop-eratives marketed 200 milliongallons of propane; this year,that number increased to 280million gallons.

“GROWMARK is a com-pany people know they cantrust. Our propane supply isreliable and our members

cooperatives are experts intheir markets,” Salrin said.

Another feature that addsstrength to GROWMARK isits breadth of growth.

GROWMARK owns a por-tion of the National Coopera-tive Refinery Association inMcPherson, Kan., whichserves as a key supplier ofrefined fuels and propane.

“Ten years ago, GROW-MARK began marketingrefined fuels to independentgas stations, truck stops, andwholesale distributors in stateswest of FS core members inorder to expand GROW-MARK’s business,” saidBrendy Lee, west manager ofrefined and renewable fuelsproduct.

GROWMARK also recentlyacquired a refined fuels termi-nal near Petersburg, Ill., tosolidify its supply of fuels.

Other energy acquisitionsinclude the assets of McCollis-ter and Co., Council Bluffs,Iowa, a manufacturer ofheavy-duty lubricants.

“GROWMARK energy isconstantly looking at ways wecan expand and complementthe efforts of our membersby growing our own businessin areas where we haven’tbeen before,” Salrin conclud-ed.

Heather Miller is a GROW-MARK corporate communicationsIntern . Her e-mail address ishmiller@grow-mark.com.

GROWMARKa biofuels leader

In the late ’70s, GROW-MARK was one of the firstcompanies to market ethanol.“We became involved inrenewable fuels for two rea-sons,” said Mark Dehner, mar-keting manager of refined andrenewable fuels.

“The first was to create anadded value for our customers’crops. The second was tolessen our dependence on for-eign oil and create cleaneremissions. To our organiza-tion, it seemed like the rightthing to do.”

Naturally then, when theAmerican and Illinois SoybeanAssociations approachedGROWMARK in 1994 aboutparticipating in field trials ofbiodiesel, the organization wasquickly on board.

FS member companies test-ed the new fuel and after asuccessful trial period,GROWMARK began market-ing biodiesel in 2000.

In nine years, sales haveincreased dramatically, to 27million gallons of biodiesellast year. GROWMARK noweven holds partial ownershipin a biodiesel plant in Mexico,Mo.

Locally owned FASTSTOPS also are making animpact on the industry, Dehn-er said, adding that the FSmember cooperative retail out-lets are leaders in E85 sales. —Heather Miller

PROFITABILITY

FarmWeek Page 14 Monday, August 3, 2009

Feeder pig prices reported to USDA*

Weight Range Per Head Weighted Ave. Price10 lbs. $14.00-$32.86 $26.6840 lbs. $25.00-$26.00 $25.6850 lbs. n/a n/aReceipts This Week Last Week

25,895 20,779*Eastern Corn Belt prices picked up at seller’s farm

MARKET FACTS

Confirmed lamb and sheep salesThis week 679 Last week 755 Last year 963Wooled Slaughter Lambs: Choice and Prime 2-3: 90-110 lbs, $98; 110-130 lbs.,$91.25-$92.50. Good and Choice 1-2: 60-90 lbs., $105.Slaughter Ewes: Utility and Good 1-3: $25-$29. Cull and Utility 1-2: $25.

Lamb prices

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

This week Prev. week ChangeCarcass $52.40 $57.01 -4.61Live $38.78 $42.19 -3.41

Export inspections

(Million bushels)Week ending Soybeans Wheat Corn07-23-09 8.1 10.7 52.207-16-09 13.7 14.4 39.4Last year 14.4 21.6 43.5Season total 1180.5 100.8 1550.1Previous season total 1069.0 166.7 2142.6USDA projected total 1210 980 1700Crop marketing year began June 1 for wheat and Sept. 1 for corn and soybeans.

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

Steers 82.00 83.04 -1.04Heifers 81.50 82.47 -0.97

USDA five-state area slaughter cattle price

Look for propane prices to move higherBY CHRIS SALRIN

“May you live in interestingtimes.” These oft-referencedwords, at face value a blessing,are actually a curse. Their

implication isthat you willexperiencemuchupheavalinstead of“uninterestingtimes”marked bypeace andtranquility.

The past year has had itsshare of interesting times, andthe future undoubtedly willoffer its own share of surpris-es. To bring some “tranquili-

ty” in the months ahead, fol-lowing is a general overview ofthe current propane marketand what the future may hold:

Currently, U.S. propanestocks total 64.4 million bar-rels, 30 percent more than thefive-year average. Regionally,Midwest stocks are 30 percenthigher than average levels withthe Gulf Coast 35 percentabove historical levels.

New supply that cameonline in the past 12 monthshas served to cushion Midwestinventories, while the GulfCoast continues to workthrough the excess inventoryfrom winter as petrochemicaldemand waned.

In fact, because of the sup-

ply situation, propane’s valuerelative to crude has been athistorically low levels for thepast three months.

Interestingly, as the propanemarket works through the sup-ply/demand imbalance duringthe coming months, propane’svalue to crude shouldstrengthen and return to “nor-mal” levels.

Even if crude prices remainunchanged, propane pricescould firm more than 50 per-cent as the propane/cruderelationship returns to equilib-rium.

Granted, there is a lot ofinventory to work through, soprices may not increase a full50 percent from current levels,

but again history suggests cur-rent prices are undervalued.When a market is undervalued,it attracts buyers.

Additionally, crude pricesare in carry — that is, pricesfor future months are higherthan current prices. Whatthis tells us is that there is a“premium” associated withhaving crude available in thefuture.

Propane prices are likely tofirm even if crude pricesremain unchanged, and yet themarket expects crude valuesto be higher in the monthsahead.

Despite record propaneinventories for this time ofyear, propane prices likely will

move higher in the months tocome as propane’s value rela-tive to crude returns to morehistorical levels and as crudevalues trend higher.

In addition, reboundingenergy demand because oflower prices and a weaker U.S.dollar also will likely con-tribute to stronger pricing.

If you haven’t already, besure to talk with your local FScooperative for its contractingand even-payment programsand enjoy some “peace ofmind.”

Chris Salrin is GROW-MARK’s propane product manag-er. His e-mail address is csal-rin@growmark.com.

The Class III price for milk adjusted to 3.5 percent butterfatfor the month of July was $9.97, unchanged from the previousmonth.

The hot weather that has gripped the West, one of the majordairy production areas of the country, certainly will have animpact on milk production.

As this shortfall takes effect, and as herds are retired throughthe producer self-help program, milk prices should start torespond to tighter supplies.

We also are nearing the time of the year when demand startsto pick up as the school year begins.

Chris Salrin

Milk price remains unchanged

Analyst: Fertilizer could be ‘much cheaper’ than last yearBY DANIEL GRANTFarmWeek

Fertilizer prices this sum-mer and fall could be “muchcheaper” than last year despitea recent uptick in the price ofanhydrous ammonia, accord-ing to Bryce Knorr, FarmFutures senior editor andcommodity trading adviser.

The price of ammonia atthe Gulf increased late lastmonth by about $75 per ton.

Knorr believes recent priceincreases of fertilizer — ureaprices at the Gulf last weekincreased by about $10 perton while the cost of diammo-nium phosphate (DAP)jumped $5 per ton — are aseasonal function of the mar-ket and not an indication ofanother massive price run-upsimilar to last year.

“Fertilizer is going to bemuch cheaper (this year) byabout half or more,” Knorrtold FarmWeek.

“Some people (last year)

got stuck paying $1,200 perton (for anhydrous ammonia)if they were forced to buy atthe top of the market.”

Knorr believes farmers thissummer and fall may purchaseanhydrous ammonia for any-where from $400 to $500 perton.

Offers late last month forfall delivery in Illinois hoveredin the mid-$400 range, hereported.

Natural gas, the primaryfeedstock of nitrogen-basedfertilizers, remains cheap com-pared to past prices, accordingto Knorr.

And natural gas prices for2009 and 2010 are projectedto average significantly lessthan last year (see graphic),according to a recent forecastby the Energy InformationAdministration.

Knorr recommendedfarmers begin talking to fer-tilizer dealers if they haven’talready to find out what’savailable and to seek priceinformation. A significantnumber of dealers mayrequire farmers to pre-pay forfertilizer or provide a largedown payment to secureinventory.

“I don’t expect the same

volatility this year as last year,”Knorr said. “But farmers stillare probably going to have aless informal relationship withsuppliers than in the past.”

Knorr attributed the recentincreases for ammonia, urea,and DAP to demand returningto the market.

“The (fertilizer) markettends to slow between plant -ing seasons in the northernand southern hemispheres,”he said.

“Now we’re seeing peoplestart to book orders” whichmay indicate prices have bot-tomed for the season.

PROFITABILITY

FarmWeek Page 15 Monday, August 3, 2009

AgriVisor Hotline Number

309-557-2274

AgriVisor endorsescrop insurance by

Policies issued by COUNTRYMutual Insurance Company®,

Bloomington, Illinois

AgriVisor LLC1701 N. Towanda Avenue

PO Box 2500Bloomington IL 61702-2901

309-557-3147

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

CASH STRATEGISTCorn Strategy

✓2008 crop: Last week’smarket action confirmed betterpricing opportunities should lieahead to make needed old-cropsales. If you haven’t locked inthe basis, wait for days of priceweakness to consider doing so.Plan to make sales if Decem-ber futures rally to $3.50 orhigher. If storage is available,it may pay to carry some inven-tory into next year, but it maybe winter before the marketwill more than cover the cost.

✓2009 crop: Recent actionsuggests the short-term pricetrend has turned up. IfDecember gets above $3.50,there’s potential up to $3.75.Hold off new-crop sales fornow, but we may add a smallsale and/or recommend need-ed harvest sales on thisrebound. Check the CashStrategist Hotline frequently.

❖Fundamentals: Weatherconditions throughout theMidwest remain non-threaten-ing, with below-normal tem-peratures and adequate mois-ture levels. However, develop-ment is lagging, leaving thecrop more at risk to fallweather problems. Soybean Strategy

✓2008 crop: Old-cropsoybeans still face the prob-lem of flat prices and basislevels being premium to new-crop values. Last week trig-gered catch-up sales. If youstill have old crop, use ralliesabove $9.75 on Novemberfutures to make sales.

✓2009 crop: Last week’ssurge indicated we should seesomewhat better sellingopportunities over the nextfew weeks. November’s pushto $9.75 offered an opportuni-ty to make catch-up sales orharvest delivery sales. Keepclose contact with advicethrough the Cash Strategist Hot-line, as we may recommend anadditional sale if prices moveback near the June highs.

❖Fundamentals: The Chi-nese government not onlyfailed to sell any inventories,but Chinese crushers aggres-sively stepped up the pace ofnew-crop U.S. soybean pur-chases. Adding last Thursday’s65-million-bushel sale to Chi-

na, our new-crop sales couldtotal 340 million bushels. Thateclipses last year’s 241 millionbushel record, which in itselfwas sharply higher than normal.Wheat Strategy

✓2009 crop: Prices tookout the previous $5.12 low onthe September contract, butthere was no downside follow-through. If the Chicago Sep-tember contract would moveback above the last highs at$5.27 and $5.28, it wouldenhance the odds that a short-term low has been seen. Con-tinue to hold off additional

sales. Better pricing opportuni-ties should come in late sum-mer/early fall. If your sales lagrecommendations, use ralliesnear $5.50 to get caught up.

❖Fundamentals: The fun-damental structure of thewheat complex changes little.However, weekly export salesprovided a glimmer of hope.Latest week’s sales, 575,000metric tons (20.74 millionbushels), were above tradeexpectations. The large size ofEgypt’s purchase last week addsto signs that buyers see presentprices offering good value.

The August crop report isalways an anxiously awaitedreport, maybe more so thisyear because of the late plant-ing and the unusually mildgrowing season.

Analysts and traders havegravitated to the idea that thegood crop ratings and mildweather imply excellent yieldpotential. More than a fewpeople have talked about thepossibility of seeing recordyields, corn yields in particular.

Just two weeks ago, Univer-sity of Illinois economistsindicated their model basedon temperature and precipita-tion projected record yieldpotential for corn and soy-beans. Iowa State Universityclimatologist Elwynn Taylorhas compared this growingseason to 1992 and 2004.Both were mild and both end-ed with new record yields.

But both years were charac-terized by a faster-than-nor-

Basis charts

mal planting pace, especially2004.

We have looked at growingseasons since 1970, and havefound three years in which thecrop was both planted late andJuly was generally cooler thannormal — 1984, 1996, and 2008.

We found the final cornyield during those years was at,or slightly above, the trendyield we use. That would inferpotential for a 157- to 158-bushel corn yield, whichwould not set a record.

Soybean yields in thoseyears tended to be disappoint-ing. The soybean yield in 1996was near trend, but both1984’s and 2008’s yield, respec-tively, fell 9 percent and 8 per-cent below trend. That wouldimply a yield closer to 40bushels than the 42.6-bushelnumber estimated by USDA.

The August crop reportmostly is a population count.There’s not a lot of other datafor USDA enumerators to col-lect at this time, although theydo look at the node count onsoybeans.

Knowing their procedurefor estimating the corn yield inthe August report, we areinclined to think they will pro-ject a national corn yield near157 bushels per acre. USDAhas been using 153.4 bushelsin its supply/demand forecasts.

It’s more difficult to deter-mine what USDA might usefor a soybean yield. However,we have heard that node countsappear to be higher this year.

That leads us to believe theforecast may be in the 41- to41.5-bushel-yield range, poten-tially matching the previous highfor an August forecast. That’sstill below the 42.6 “model”number USDA has been using.

Cents per bu.

August report much anticipated

The value of that kind of Twitter or Facebook mes-sage cannot be quantified, but it’s the type of reassur-ance, accountability, and responsiveness consumersare seeking and expect.

Angela Hoffman, an Indiana native and graduate of Pur-due University, is a public relations intern at the AmericanFarm Bureau Federation.

PERSPECTIVES

FarmWeek Page 16 Monday, August 3, 2009

The main purpose of the House-approved H.R.2454, the “American Clean Energy and Security Actof 2009,” is to put in place a system by which car-bon dioxide (CO2) emissions ultimately are reduced.

The Environmental Protection Agency (EPA) hasstated that CO2 is a dangerous gaswhich is linked to global warming.The unfortunate news is that CO2touches all our lives in some waysuch as mowing your yard, takingthat car or motorcycle trip, the fizzin your soda, exhaling when youbreath, and, of course, in the pro-duction of goods and services (elec-tricity being one).

When SIPC (Southern IllinoisPower Cooperative) ran the numbersfor our emissions, we estimated an

impact to the homeowners (many of whom arefarmers) in our region of $240-$1,300 per year perhome.

Moreover, if the bill moves forward as is throughthe Senate and is signed by the president, it willleave open the potential for market speculation. IfCO2 emission allowances jump in price, utility billscould jump to several thousand dollars per year foreach homeowner.

The costs from SIPC affect a population of near-ly 200,000 people in our region. An electric coopera-tive is owned by each member (the customer) and itis not in business to make a profit; therefore, what-ever it costs to produce and transmit the power toyour home is all that a cooperative charges.

But each time SIPC is impacted with a costincrease, that increase must be passed on to themember/customer. This would include the newlegislation, if it becomes law.

I thought it was time to speak out on thepotential impacts to each person who uses

electricity in their daily lives. Illinois is ranked No. 3 in CO2 emissions for

every kilowatt of electricity produced. Only Ken-tucky (No. 1) and Minnesota (No. 2) rank higher.

The reason for the high rankings is that we getmost of our energy from coal. About 70 percent ofthe energy in the Midwest is produced from coal-fired generation.

SIPC produces most of its generation from coal-fired sources with natural gas and hydro roundingout the final numbers.

The House bill would allow trading (buying andselling) for a portion of the total CO2 allowancesneeded to generate electricity. The other portion ofthe CO2 allowances is being given out at no chargeto electric utilities; however, as time passes, thosefree allowances will disappear.

The reason for the reduction in free allowancesthrough time is that the bill entices electric utilitiesto reduce their CO2 emissions as each year passes.

SIPC has a concern for each concept that is listedabove. First, trading of allowances introduces specu-lation by traders and creates more volatility inallowance pricing.

Second, there are no commercially available,proven, cost-effective technologies we can purchaseto install on our plants to reduce CO2.

If H.R. 2454 becomes law, prices for transportinggoods and services also will increase as it affectstransportation fuels. All coal and supplies to SIPCare delivered by truck.

The numbers in H.R. 2454 will change as it makesits way through the U.S. Senate; however, I wantedthe people of Southern Illinois to get some conceptof the costs we are looking at if this bill becomeslaw as is.

SIPC believes that more time should be given forresearch and development to find a lower-cost tech-nology to keep everyone’s electric bill affordable.

Moreover, SIPC really needs more time to developrenewable resources beyond what it currently has.

With H.R. 2454, the start date for reducing CO2emissions is Jan. 1, 2012; however, utilities wouldneed to begin making decisions on how to meet anynew law as soon as it passed.

It is highly unlikely that most utilities startingtoday could have a new hydro dam, wind farm, orbiomass plant permitted and in operation by 2012.

In summary, if H.R. 2454 becomes law, the peo-ple of Southern Illinois (and in many Midwesternstates), will see sizable increases on their electric bill.

For cooperative members and municipal cus-tomers in our region, those costs could range from$240 to $1,300 per year as a minimum.

SIPC along with the utility industry needs moretime to develop the technology to cost-effectivelycapture and store CO2, and more time to developadditional renewable resources to help offset theCO2 emissions is needed.

SIPC would like a cap (safety valve) put on theallowance price so that market speculation andvolatility do not create unbearable price increases toelectricity prices.

The best solution to avoid market volatility is forthe government to issue all allowances needed forSIPC’s emissions and assist in helping find a tech-nology solution to reduce CO2. As the technologycould be affordably implemented, those freeallowance allocations could be reduced.

I would encourage each reader to make his or hervoice heard by contacting our U.S. senators as billH.R. 2454 moves to the U.S. Senate for debate.

Tell them your concerns and let them know youare watching this proposal closely.

W. Scott Ramsey is president and general manager ofSouthern Illinois Power Cooperative in Marion. His e-mailaddress is sramsey@sipower.org.

W. SCOTTRAMSEY

Climate change law could cost you $1,000 or more per year

Billions of people turn to the Internet daily search-ing for access to instant information. On Googlealone, there are 31 billion searches every month. Welive in exponential times. With radio, it took 38 yearsto reach a market audience of 50 million; with Face-book, it took a mere two years.

Social media is sweeping the nation as well as theagricultural community.

According to a recent American Farm Bureau Fed-eration survey of youngfarmers and ranchers, amongthe 92 percent of young(aged 18-35) farmers andranchers who use computers,

46 percent regularly use some form of social media. The growing discovery of

Web-based tools, such asFacebook and Twitter, is notonly changing the way wecommunicate with oneanother, but also is shapingthe way people form opin-ions, ultimately driving con-sumer preferences.

Likewise, more and morefarmers and ranchers areusing social media to buildbridges of understandingwith consumers.

While a number of agri-culturists are using socialmedia to connect with like-minded individuals, many areengaging in conversationswith others who hold differ-ent opinions but who hungerfor information from “real” farmers. This presence isvital as activist groups also use social media to plantseeds of doubt about modern agricultural practices.

Food safety is one topic fostering all types of con-versations in social media circles. There are numerousforums, blogs, Twitter messages, and Facebook pagesin the cyber world about food and how it is pro-duced.

All too often, these platforms are one-sided andnegative. But therein rests an opportunity for positiveengagement.

Engaging and interacting with critics and con-sumers can be challenging and uncomfortable, but inour convenience-driven society, if the farmer’s side ofthe story goes untold in social media circles, thedoubters are not going to take the time to dig for thefacts.

That is one big reason why using social media tojoin the con-versation hasbecome moreof a businessresponsibilitythan a socialluxury.

By embrac-ing today’scommunica-tion tools andconveyingauthentic,thoughtfulmessagesabout all thevalues-basedactivities thatgo into mod-ern food pro-duction, farm-

ers and ranchers are making a difference.A farmer can send out a simple message like, “It’s

a hot one today! Headed out to check the animals.”

Social media bridges gap between consumers and producers

ANGELA HOFFMAN

guest columnist

‘You’re biting the hand that seeds you.’