farmweek january 25 2010

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Monday, January 25, 2010 Two sections Volume 38, No. 4

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

U S E O F B T C O R N a n dother practices have led to a sig-nificant drop in European cornborers, but other pests lurk. ....5

IFB, SOYBEAN producerg r o u p s , a n d o t h e r s a r er e s p o n d i n g t o t h e n e e d s o fear thquake-stricken Haiti . . . . .7

BIOMASS CROP MISCANT-HUS took a major leap forward withthe unveiling of a mechanical planterand harvester at the U of I. ................6

READY OR NOT

Steve Frank, left, of FarmChem Corp, demonstrates some one-way valves for use on mini-bulk tanksto Duane Bracke of Rock River Lumber and Grain in Prophetstown during the Illinois Fertilizer andChemical Association annual convention and trade show last week in Peoria. The valves, along withtamper-proof seals, were developed to meet new Environmental Protection Agency requirements formini-bulk tanks that begin in 2011. Read convention coverage on page 5. (Photo by Daniel Grant)

BY KAY SHIPMANFarmWeek

Fifty ag groups, includingIllinois Farm Bureau, recent-ly urged Environmental Pro-tection Agency (EPA)Administrator Lisa Jacksonto use science in her agency’songoing atrazine study.

EPA is studying potentialhealth risks related toatrazine. At the end of thereview, the agency will deter-mine if it needs to revise itsposition on atrazine or ifcurrent use restrictions aresufficient.

IFB, Illinois Corn GrowersAssociation, Illinois Fertilizerand Chemical Association,and other members of theTriazine Network nationwideresponded to a Jan. 5 letterto Jackson from environmen-tal activists claiming to repre-sent mainstream agriculture.

The activists’ letter made itappear “that U.S. agricultureis not behind the safe use ofatrazine,” said Jere White,executive director of theKansas Corn Growers, in amedia teleconference lastweek.

“The reality is that agri-culture is behind the use ofscience,” White toldreporters.

Ag groups have supportedthe safety and scientificapproval of atrazine over thepast 15 years through threepresidential administrations,starting with President Clin-ton, according to the letter.

A conclusion to the cur-rent atrazine study won’tcome anytime soon. EPA’stimeline includes a scientificevaluation starting in Sep-tember of possible cancer-

causing effects related toatrazine.

EPA will use a scientificadvisory panel that wasestablished under the FederalInsecticide, Fungicide, andRodenticide Act (FIFRA) toconduct the review.

However, the agency isnot conducting a new study;it will review scientific litera-ture available before its 2003decision to reregisteratrazine as well as new stud-ies issued between 2003 and2010, according to an EPAspokesman.

IFB signs letterAg groups urge EPA to apply science in atrazine study

NCGA takes no-go stance on cap-and-trade planBY MARTIN ROSSFarmWeek

After months of evaluatingthe pros, cons, and controver-sies of congressional climateproposals, the National CornGrowers Association (NCGA)last week joined Farm Bureauin opposing U.S. House “cap-and-trade” measures.

Illinois Corn GrowersAssociation President Tim

Lenz told FarmWeek NCGAhad not so much taken a “neu-tral” stance toward the Housemeasure — as it had communi-cated to the public — as it hadbeen “undecided.”

NCGA also was awaitingUSDA‘s analysis of cap-and-trade implications and anNCGA-authorized InformaEconomics study Lenz deemedcrucial to identifying “the best

deal for ag we could get.”Both recently released stud-

ies project significant conver-sion of cropland into treesunder a system of greenhousegas (GHG) emissions caps andmarketable carbon “offsets.“

Informa concluded all U.S.corn growers would see higherenergy/input costs under theHouse bill, while many pro-ducers, particularly in the

northern Corn Belt, would notbe able to market offsets.

Also of concern was theU.S. Environmental ProtectionAgency‘s (EPA) threat to initi-ate its own GHG regulations ifCongress failed to pass climatelegislation, Lenz related.

The Strasburg producernoted concerns about whetherfarm state lawmakers would beable to both block cap andtrade and overturn EPA’sgreenhouse “endangermentfinding” — which could affectlivestock and other operations— under a “Democratic-con-trolled House.”

“We wanted to be at thetable, but we wanted to makesure we had the right informa-tion — how (cap-and-tradelegislation) was going to affectour growers,” Lenz said.

“Once it came out that itwas not going to be beneficialto our growers in the long run,we felt that we could nolonger stay ‘neutral’ and thatwe had to oppose it.“

He reported corn groupsare “still in negotiations” withthe Senate, where cap-and-trade proposals have stalledand the election of RepublicanScott Brown to replace the lateSen. Edward Kennedy (D-Mass.) has cast doubt on pas-sage of a Democrat-backedplan.

But even without congres-sional action, “you still have todeal with EPA” and other“unleashed activists” withinthe administration, Lenz said.Senate Ag Chairman BlancheLincoln (D-Ark.) last weekjoined with Sen. LisaMurkowski (R-Alaska) inefforts to block EPA GHGregulation under the federalClean Air Act.

According to the NCGA-Informa study, farm costincreases would be relativelyminor during the early years ofcap-and-trade implementation.However, as fertilizer and fuelmanufacturers and energyproviders face growing emis-sions compliance costs, priceswill significantly increase, plac-ing a proportional burden ongrowers, the study warned.

Lenz noted House provi-sions which offer fertilizerproducers initial offsets tohelp them transition to newregulatory costs and containnutrient prices. However,companies could sell offsets toother “polluters” rather thanapplying offsets to reducingproduct prices, he suggested.

At the same time, USDAChief Economist JosephGlauber projected nearly 35million U.S. crop acres could

See NCGA, page 2

FRIGID WEATHER AHEAD? — Frigid temper-atures that gripped Illinois and much of the U.S. thefirst half of this month could return in February.

WSI Corp., a weather forecast service, last week pro-jected temperatures from February through April willbe cooler than normal in the eastern two-thirds of theU.S.

“After a brief respite from the bitter cold in late Jan-uary, this rather extreme winter appears to be gearingup for an encore in February,” said Todd Crawford,WSI chief meteorologist.

“All of the important weather and climate factorsthat we monitor suggest winter will be coming backwith a vengeance,” he said.

SUPREME COURT REFUSES TO CLOSECANAL — The U.S. Supreme Court last week deniedan attempt by Michigan and other Great Lakes states toimmediately close the canal connecting Lake Michiganand the Illinois River. The states’ attorneys general saidthey wanted the closing to prevent Asian carp frommigrating into the Great Lakes.

The court noted that it had ruled only on the prelim-inary injunction seeking immediate closure. IllinoisAttorney General Lisa Madigan has argued the closurewould devastate commercial shipping and passengerindustries.

Hours after the court ruling was released, the U.S.Army Corps of Engineers announced Asian carp DNAhad been found in Lake Michigan; however, no live ordead Asian carp has been seen in the lake.

GROUP BACKS NOMINEES — A coalition offood and ag groups led by the National Pork ProducersCouncil urged quick U.S. Senate confirmation of nomi-nees for two key positions with the Office of the U.S.Trade Representative (USTR).

In a letter signed by 42 organizations, the coalitionasked that the full Senate approve Michael Punke asdeputy trade representative and Isi Siddiqui as USTRchief ag negotiator. “The U.S. needs strong leadershipin these key positions, and these gentlemen are emi-nently qualified to provide it,” the letter stated.

The Senate Finance Committee has approved bothnominees. Punke served as international trade counselwith the committee, followed by four years of dealingwith international affairs in the Clinton administration,including two years as senior policy adviser for then-USTR Ambassador Mickey Kantor.

Siddiqui also served in the Clinton administration, asUSDA deputy undersecretary and undersecretary formarketing and regulatory programs and as senior tradeadviser to then-Ag Secretary Dan Glickman. He alsoworked with USTR and represented USDA in ag tradenegotiations.

FarmWeek Monday, January 25, 2010

(ISSN0197-6680)

Vol. 38 No. 4 January 25, 2010

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

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© 2010 Illinois Agricultural Association

STAFFEditor

Dave McClelland ([email protected])Legislative Affairs Editor

Kay Shipman ([email protected])Agricultural Affairs Editor

Martin Ross ([email protected])Senior Commodities Editor

Daniel Grant ([email protected])Editorial Assistant

Linda Goltz ([email protected])Business Production Manager

Bob StandardAdvertising Sales Manager

Richard VerderyClassified sales coordinator

Nan FanninDirector of News and Communications

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

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

Quick TakesTRADE/POLICY

Continued from page 1be converted to forests or perennial grasses by 2050 underHouse proposals that reward practices that trap the greatestamount of carbon dioxide.

While Informa cites continuous no-till as another major off-set “opportunity,” it warned growers unable to adopt no-till willsee soaring cost increases with no benefits, further fueling thetemptation to “farm the carbon” through cropland conversion,Lenz suggested.

“That kind of puts a nail into the coffin,” he maintained.“You cannot switch 35 million acres of cropland and honestlythink that’s not going to affect food prices or affect the poorestmembers of society.”

NCGA

Nelson to lead trade advisory panelBY MARTIN ROSSFarmWeek

Illinois Farm Bureau Presi-dent Philip Nelson is takingon a new global mission, andhe hopes to enlist Congress’aid in helping make it a suc-cess.

As new chairman of theAmerican Farm Bureau Feder-ation’s (AFBF) Trade AdvisoryCommittee, Nelson will helpFarm Bureau evaluateprospects for a successfulWorld Trade Organization(WTO) Doha Round, investi-gate Asian trade issues, andraise public awareness on theimportance of trade.

Nelson takes the reins atthe committee’s March meet-ing.

He expects congressionalrenewal of now-lapsed tradepromotion authority (TPA) —the presidential power tonegotiate trade agreementswithout fear of potentiallydeal-breaking legislativeamendments — to be “highatop the list” of committeepriorities.

TPA, which requires astraight up-or-down vote forU.S.-negotiated agreements,expired in 2007.

Nelson fears a lack ofadministration “fast track”authoritycould endan-ger delicatelycraftedColombian,Panamanian,and SouthKorean freetrade agree-ments (FTAs)awaiting con-gressional approval and futureconfidence in trade pactsnegotiated with the U.S.

“I don’t care who or whatparty is in charge — we needto have that trade negotiatingauthority,” he said last week.“A second, probably moreambitious goal, is to see ifwe’re going to get any move-ment in the Doha Round.

“It’s critical at this junctureto remove some of the tradebarriers we fight worldwide.One of the stumbling blocksin the Doha Round has beentrying to get China and Indiato make concessions that willallow trade to flow bothways.”

A new report by The Her-itage Foundation and The WallStreet Journal warns U.S. “lead-

ership in free trade is likely tobe further undermined by‘Buy American’ provisions in(2009) stimulus legislation andfailure to pursue previouslyagreed free trade agreements.”Trade Advisory Committee

members will explore marketaccess issues and related tradebarriers during a planned tourof China and Korea.

The group expects toaddress tariff and “phytosani-tary” (health- and safety-based) import barriers duringa September meeting withWTO Director-General PascalLamy in Geneva.

Domestically, Nelson,who was re-elected to theAFBF board earlier thismonth, stressed the panelwill work to “get in frontof consumers and voters inthis country about howimportant trade really is.”

“In Illinois, a third ofbasically everything wegrow ends up in the exportmarketplace,” he noted.

“If you don’t have a bal-ance of trade and takedown some of these tradebarriers, it has a dramaticimpact on our bottomline.”

Philip Nelson

Vague direction, iffy science raise climate concernsArmed with a vague pledge

to contain climate change andfacing growing skepticismtoward international data on“global warming,” U.S. policy-makers and world leaders maybe hard-put to develop near-term climate policies — or atleast sound ones.

International delegatesemerged from a recent Copen-hagen climate summit with ageneral, non-binding three-page agreement that essentiallyreiterates a commitment tolimit any future average worldtemperature increase to 3.6degrees Fahrenheit, reportedAmerican Farm Bureau Feder-ation climate policy specialistRussell Williams.

The agreement seeks fur-ther discussions through 2015— three years beyond expira-tion of the 1997 Kyoto Proto-col, a climate pact the U.S. nev-er joined. Williams, whoattended the Copenhagen sum-

mit, characterized the effort as“an unmitigated failure.”

“From our perspective, thiswas the best outcome we couldhave hoped for, which wasbasically nothing,” he toldFarmWeek. “As far as thedebate here, there’s going to beanother (climate) meeting inMexico City in December, sothe Senate has until Decemberto work on it. In light of the(2010 congressional) electionsituation, I’m not sure they canget anything done by then.

“Globally, the state of nego-tiations is at kind of a stand-off. The debate in Copenhagenconsisted primarily of devel-oped against developing coun-tries. That’s not going to goaway any time soon.“

Further doubts emergedwith last week’s report of keyerrors in the 2007 Intergovern-mental Panel on ClimateChange report, which has dri-ven U.S. cap-and-trade propos-

als. For example, the reportclaims Himalayan glacierscould disappear by 2035;authors meant to forecastmeltdown by 2305.

While such errors allegedlywere unintentional, the inci-dent follows last year’s flapover e-mails suggesting scien-tists have suppressed data thatcontradicts claims of growingclimate change.

According to environmentalpolicy adviser ChristopherHorner, 1985-2000 was thehottest period in recorded his-tory. But data collectionfocused on urban Europeanand U.S. locations, with nomeasurements taken at crucialSiberian temperature stations,documenting an “urban heatisland effect” but offering littleevidence of widespread warm-ing.

Further, carbon dioxide(CO2), a greenhouse gas linkedwith climate change, usually ispresent at higher levels whenatmospheric temperatures arehigher. Thus, elevated CO2levels do not necessarily pointto human-driven climatechange, Horner said.

While he does not dismissthe basic concept of climatechange, Illinois Corn GrowersAssociation President TimLenz warned, “Let’s not makeour whole nation noncompeti-tive when we don’t know that(climate regulations) would doany good,” Lenz argued. —Martin Ross

EMERGING ISSUES


Ag groups seek public’sperception of farmers

Hayseed? Mega-farmer? Factory farmer? Family operator?Illinois Farm Bureau and several state commodity groups

want to evaluate the public’s image of the modern “farmer” sothey can better communicate with non-farmers.

The groups recently started a project to determine the pub-lic’s view of farmers and use that information to develop “bestmanagement practices for communicating with non-farmers insupport of agriculture,” said Dennis Vercler, IFB director ofnews and communications.

In addition to IFB, the organizations involved with the pro-ject are the Illinois Soybean Association, the Illinois Corn Mar-keting Board, the Illinois Pork Producers Association (IPPA),and the Illinois Beef Association.

“We’re trying to discover the new public perception of thefarmer — because image drives all specific issues,” Vercler clar-ified.

The project is in the early stage and much information needsto be gathered, he said. The goal will be to develop informationthat may be used by all commodity groups.

Milwaukee-based Morgan and Myers public relations agencyand the Roper research firm are working on the program. Ini-tial survey results will be available in March.

Apparently, the public has a different perspective of a“farmer” than it does of a “commercial farmer,” according toRodney Weinzierl, executive director of the Illinois CornGrowers Association.

“We don’t understand what is causing the change (in percep-tion) when you change the term and what key words to use ornot use in messages,” Weinzierl added.

Jim Kaitschuk, IPPA executive director, noted his associa-tion has worked on producers’ image for several years. “Thisplan would create a baseline platform for work in the future,”he said. — Kay Shipman


Most 2009 high school graduates whostudied agriculture in high school contin-ued their education at the collegiate levelin the fall; however, only about 20 percentenrolled as ag majors, according to a recentsurvey of Illinois high school ag teachers.

Jay Runner, coordinatorwith Facilitating Coordina-tion in Agricultural Educa-tion (FCAE), released thesurvey results at a recentmeeting of the IllinoisLeadership Council forAgricultural Educationand the Illinois Committeefor Agricultural Educa-tion.

A total of 295out of319 high schools withag/horticulture programsresponded to the survey.

Statewide, 11,987 gradu-ates in 2009 took at leastone ag course during their high schoolcareers.

The 2009 influx of grads on communitycollege campuses was underscored by thesurvey results.

About 70 percent of all high school aggrads enrolled in a community college lastfall. Of those students enrolling as ag

majors, the percentage was slightly higherat 76 percent.

In comparison, 31 percent of all highschool ag grads enrolled in a university.About 24 percent of graduates majoring inagriculture enrolled in a university.

Runner noted a large increase in the num-ber of high school graduates expressing

interest in teaching agricul-ture. Four percent of allhigh school graduates aremajoring in ag ed.

“We know how importantit is to grow our own teach-ers,” Runner said. “That is amajor increase.”

The ag ed groups did notappear concerned that only21 percent of high schoolag grads were pursuing agri-culture degrees or startingag careers. Of all highschool ag grads, less than 1percent went directly intofarming after high school.

“The purpose of high school is to givestudents a chance to experiment and decide ifthey’re interested in a career,” Runnerexplained.

Several committee members added thegraduates, no matter what their career choice,will be better consumers because they willhave some knowledge about agriculture.

Survey: Most high school aggrads enter community colleges

‘The purpose of highschool is to give stu-den ts a chance toexperiment and de-cide if they’re inter-ested in a career.’

— Jay RunnerFacilitating Coordination in Agricultural Education

New farmers find higher credit limits available through IFAThe economic downturn

may have tightened some cred-it, but begin-ning farmersare finding theIllinoisFinanceAuthority(IFA) hasraised its capon what first-time farmersmay borrow

through the beginning farmerbond program.

Last year, Gov. Pat Quinnsigned legislation that raised

the limit on beginning farmerbonds through IFA. Thataction, a legislative priority forIllinois Farm Bureau, broughtstate law in compliance withthe higher loan limits specifiedin the farm bill.

Eligible beginning farmersin Illinois now may borrow upto $470,100, nearly double theprevious limit of $250,000,according to Eric Reed, IFAagricultural funding manager.

Although the higher limittook effect in mid-August,Reed told FarmWeek that he’sencountered some leaders and

young farmers who weren’taware the limit cap hadincreased.

The “bread and butterclient” for the beginningfarmer bond program is a farmfamily with a recent collegegraduate who wants to join thefarming operation, Reed said.

It is key for an interestedfarmer to meet the beginningfarmer bond eligibility require-ments.

An eligible borrower mustbe at least 18 years old, an Illi-nois resident, have a net worthof less than $500,000, and own

little or no farmland.IFA’s definition of “little”

farmland varies from countyto county, depending on acounty’s median-size farm. Forexample in McLean County, aneligible borrower could ownno more than 92.1 acres,which is less than 30 percentof the size of the medianfarm.

“One eligibility misnomer isan experience requirement,”Reed said. “The program doesnot require demonstrated farmexperience as long as the landpurchase will bring you into

farming,” he added.Since 2004 when IFA was

created, it has helped loan$54.6 million to beginningfarmers through the beginningfarmer bond program.

For more information aboutall IFA programs, including thebeginning farmer bond pro-gram, go online to {www.il-fa.com/products/agriculture/programs.html#BF}.

More details about thebeginning farmer bond pro-gram are available by clickingon the “More Information”link. —Kay Shipman

Eric Reed

A Biomass Conversion toHeat and Electricity Work-shop will cover conversionof solid biomass into heatand electricity and the supplychain components.

The workshop will beMarch 11-12, at HeartlandCommunity College, Nor-mal.

The early registrationdeadline is Feb. 19.

Workshop participantswill be asked to help identifythe bottlenecks, challenges,and opportunities forresearch and for commercial-ization.

Featured speakers include:Colleen Callahan, IllinoisRural Development director;

Bill Johnson, Alliant Energybiofuel development manag-er; and John Regalbuto, Uni-versity of Illinois chemicalengineering professor.

Four panel discussionswill cover: views from endusers of biomass, technologyand equipment to transformbiomass, systems and mar-keting to create a new econ-omy, and relevant policiesand environmental regula-tions.

Seating is limited and ear-ly registration is encouraged.

The early registration feeis $80 and includes lunchesand materials.

After Feb. 19, the feeincreases to $120.

Workshop to focus on biomass conversion to heat, electricityTo register, go online to

{http://go.illinois.edu/biomassworkshop} or call 309-268-8160.

For more details, go onlineto {www.bioenergy.illinois.

edu/news/biomass.html} orcontact Natalie Bosecker [email protected], 217-244-9273.

Sponsors include the Uni-versity of Illinois; Western

Illinois University; IllinoisState University; HeartlandCommunity College; ChipEnergy, Goodfield; and Agri-cultural Watershed Institute,Decatur.

Community college network to expand ‘green’ job training

Gov. Pat Quinn announcedlast week a $1.7 million stategrant for the Illinois Commu-nity College Sustainability Net-work (ICCSN) to expand edu-cation and training for “green”jobs.

Money will be used to estab-

lish green jobs centers atSouthwestern Illinois College’sBelleville campus, the Collegeof Lake County, Grayslake,and Wilbur Wright College,Chicago.

ICCSN is a consortium ofcommunity colleges focused

on advancing students’ careersin renewable energy and ener-gy efficiency.

The state is providing fund-ing to 48 Illinois communitycolleges to help develop innov-ative programs in renewableenergy and energy efficiency.

RISK MANAGEMENT


Disaster assistance sensitive, frustrating issueBY MARTIN ROSSFarmWeek

Southern producers are “ina world of hurt” and badly inneed of timely assistance,American Farm Bureau Feder-ation (AFBF) policy specialistTara Smith told FarmWeek.

At the same time, Smithacknowledges the issue of so-called “ad hoc” disaster aid isa sensitive one given prospec-tive standing assistance underthe 2008 farm bill and con-cerns about Congress poten-tially reopening the farm billas part of the assistanceprocess.

Earlier this month, AFBFfarmer delegates supported adhoc assistance for both qualityand yield losses “whichincludes timely delivery, with-out opening the 2008 farmbill, and provides assistance toall segments of agriculture.”

Because of program structure,SURE payments will not reachproducers for at least a yearafter a reported disaster —“It’s not the timeliest assis-tance,” she said.

And SURE basically pro-vides “a bump-up in cropinsurance,” requiring farm par-ticipation in and designed to

complement risk managementpolicies or programs.

Smith stressed Southeastcrop insurance coverage “isn’twhat it is in the Midwest.”Policies are not available formany farmers, and higher“buy-up” coverage needed toensure effective protection iscost-prohibitive for southerngrowers, she said.

AFBF also is concerned bySenate provisions that wouldallow only counties that havereceived disaster declarationsby Nov. 17, 2009, to be eligi-ble for program crop assis-tance.

“This arbitrary cutoff datecould prevent some of ourhardest-hit farmers and ranch-ers from receiving assistance,and we urge you to allow all2009 disaster counties to beeligible,” the Farm Bureau let-ter stated.

Senate Ag ChairmanBlanche Lincoln (D-Ark.) andothers are sponsoring assis-tance measures, and AFBF in aletter asked the proposals betweaked to take into accountits concerns.

Illinois Farm Bureau Presi-dent Philip Nelson notedsouthern states‘ “frustration”with the supplemental revenueassistance (SURE) program,which was created as a newmechanism for delivering dis-aster protection. Like othernew programs, USDA onlyrecently issued final SURErules, and sign-up began Jan.4.

In addition, southern pro-ducers are unsure whether theestimated $5 billion in SUREfunds available over the life ofthe current farm bill willaddress current needs, he said.

“There is going to be

debate on this ad hoc assis-tance, but we have been vehe-mently opposed to openingthe farm bill to address it,”Nelson said.

Given last year’s productionand harvest challenges, south-ern growers are concernedabout the “timing” of SUREimplementation, Smith said.

Jan. 26Certified livestock manager and manure managementworkshop. 9:15 a.m. to 2 p.m. American Legion Post 252,Breese.

Illinois Tillage Seminar. 8 a.m. to 3:15 p.m. Pere MarquetteHotel, Peoria. Registration deadline Jan. 19. For informa-tion call 815-395-5710.

Feb. 2Illinois primary election.

Feb. 23-24Illinois Farm Bureau Governmental Affairs LeadershipConference, Crowne Plaza, Springfield. Contact yourcounty Farm Bureau or go online to {www.ilfb.org}.

Feb. 23Certified livestock manager and manure managementworkshop. 9:15 a.m. to 2 p.m. Stephenson County FarmBureau, Freeport.

Feb. 24Certified livestock manager and manure managementworkshop. 8:15 a.m. to 12:30 p.m. DeKalb County FarmBureau, Sycamore.

March 5-7Annual Illinois Horse Fair, Illinois State Fairgrounds,Springfield. Clinics, demonstrations, judging trials, andexhibits. For tickets, call 217-585-1600 or go to{www.HorsemensCouncil.org}.

March 9Certified livestock manager and manure managementworkshop. 8:15 a.m. to 12:30 p.m. Sangamon-MenardExtension, Illinois State Fairgrounds, Springfield.

March 16Illinois Ag Legislative Day. Howlett Building, Capitol Com-plex, Springfield.

The 2010 Illinois Perfor-mance Test (IPT) Bull Salecatalog recently was postedon the internet at{www.IPTBullSale.com}.

Producers can access thesite to view performancepedigrees and other pertinentinformation such as adjustedbirth, weaning, and yearlingweights for animals that willbe featured at the sale.

The IPT bull sale willbegin at 11 a.m. Thursday,Feb. 25, at the Illinois StateFairgrounds. The sale is theleadoff event for the IllinoisBeef Expo.

There are 123 perfor-

mance bulls in the catalog,including 65 Angus, 53 Sim-mental, three Polled Here-ford, and two Red Angus.

Producers who want ahard copy of the catalog orseek additional informationmay write Dave Seibert, salemanager, at 727 Sabrina Dri-ve, East Peoria, IL 61611;call 309-694-7501 extension224; or e-mail him at [email protected].

Additional informationabout the bull sale and theBeef Expo also is availableat the Illinois Beef Associa-tion’s website{www.illinoisbeef.com}.

Bull sale to kick offIllinois Beef Expo

RISKY BUSINESS: SPECIALTY CROPSMarch 15 is sales closing date for spring crop insurance.

Standard yield-based crop policies are available for Illinoisapples and peaches, green peas, popcorn, processing beans,processing sweet corn, and, in selected counties, cabbage.

Forage coverage is available in Stephenson and Jo Daviesscounties, with processing pumpkin coverage offered in Bureau,Fulton, Henry, Knox, Marshall, Mason, Peoria, Putnam, Stark,Tazewell, and Woodford counties.

USDA offers SURE loss calculatorUSDA has unveiled a web-based crop program payment cal-

culator to help producers determine the financial benefits theymay receive under the Supplemental Revenue Assistance Pay-ments (SURE) program.

The calculator, designed by USDA’s Farm Service Agency(FSA), collects information about farming operations, includingplanted acreage, actual production, insurance coverage data,and other federal disaster payments. The data are used to cal-culate an estimated crop loss payment.

The calculator provides an estimated 2008 program payment tohelp producers better understand what they may qualify for underSURE, but it does not constitute an application for the program.

The calculator is available on the FSA website at{www.fsa.usda.gov/sure}. For more information or to apply forSURE, producers should visit their FSA county office.

AGR-Lite valuable option for protecting value?In a new era of risk man-

agement, producers lookingto move beyond Illinois’corn-and-bean “monocul-ture” may fear culture shock.

But according to RogerSchnitzler, an agent with Peo-ria-based FARM InsuranceCo., adjusted gross revenue-lite (AGR-Lite) takes a “prettystraightforward approach” tomeeting the needs of bothgrain and vegetable growers.

And specialty producers

To date, AGR-Lite “hasnot been a rousing success”in Illinois, Schnitzler said.But given modern markettwists such as producerecalls, media-driven food

concerns, and potential foragroterrorism, he predictsgrowing appeal for a policythat protects against socialand consumer risks. —Martin Ross

seeking to protect added cropvalue may find the revenue-based, whole-farm product aninvaluable alternative to exist-ing yield-based fruit or veg-etable coverage, according toSchnitzler, who helped bringAGR-Lite to Illinois.

AGR-Lite, which debutedin Illinois in 2009, protectsagainst yield and/or priceloss due to unavoidable nat-ural disasters and marketfluctuations. Coverage

applies to most crop andlivestock activities — evenChristmas tree production —within an operation.

While conventional insur-ance is available for Illinoisapples and a few other horti-cultural crops, Schnitzlernotes standard crop cover-age often is “unrealistic inthe values it sets.”

“The federal crop insur-ance program values yourapples at $9.75 a bushel,”Schnitzler told growers atthe recent Illinois SpecialtyCrops Conference.

“Most of you wouldn’teven sell your (defective)culls for $9.75 a bushel. Itworks fine, I guess, for thelarge commercial operationson the West Coast. It doesn’twork very well for most ofthe orchards in the Mid-west.“

AGR-Lite uses five-yearhistorical farm average rev-enue, based on a producer’sSchedule F or equivalentincome tax form and anannual farm report, to calcu-late a level of guaranteedindividual revenue. AGR-Litepremiums are federally subsi-dized, and policies can beused in conjunction withother coverage at a reducedpremium.

While AGR-Lite coveragemore accurately reflects theactual value of individualproduction, Schnitzler offerssome caveats. While the poli-cy formula provides foranticipated growth in anoperation, protections donot quickly or easily catch upto “extreme growth,“ herelated.

DATEBOOK

PRODUCTION


Most fertilizer applications on hold ’til springBY DANIEL GRANTFarmWeek

Farmers and ag retailersfor the second year in a rowhave a big job ahead ofthem once conditions are fitfor spring fieldwork.

The number of fertilizerapplications completed lastfall was below normal dueto the late harvest and poorfield conditions.

The situation was eerilysimilar to what took place inthe fall of 2008.

Illinois in 2008 and 2009received a combined averageof 100.8 inches of precipi-tation, which is 22.4 inchesabove normal, according tothe Illinois State Water Sur-

tions) done if we have a rea-sonable opportunity,” Eggle-ston said last week at theIFCA annual convention andtrade show in Peoria. “It justmay not be as timely.”

The weather will dictatehow quickly producers andag retailers can coveracreage this spring.

But Eggleston also hasconcerns about fertilizerdealers keeping up withfarmers, who steadily arefarming more acres andusing larger planters, andabout a possible switchfrom anhydrous ammonia tourea ammonium nitrate(UAN) solutions.

“There could be a switchin nitrogen sources” due tothe lack of fall applications,

Eggleston said. “Is thelogistical system in place tosupport the potentialchange?”

Eggleston suggestedfarmers in coming weeksand months should workwith fertilizer dealers to for-mulate a plan for this spring.

Farmers likely will belooking at steady to strongerprices for N, P, and K in thenext four months due to thepent up demand, he said.

The Illinois ProductionCost Report released thismonth showed a slightincrease across the state inthe average retail prices foranhydrous ammonia, urea,liquid nitrogen 28 percentspread, and diammoniumphosphate.

vey (see Page12).

“I’d sayfall fertilizerapplicationsin our areacame close to70 percent ofnormal,” saidJeff Eggle-ston, generalmanager of Hintzsche Fertil-izer Inc. in Maple Park and aboard/executive committeemember of the Illinois Fer-tilizer and Chemical Associa-tion (IFCA).

“We didn’t get all our P(phosphorus) and K (potas-sium) on due to the snow.”

It has been estimated

about half of all anhydrousammonia sold in Illinois typ-ically is applied in the fall.

Now, a portion of thatwork will be dependent onspring conditions.

“We need to be prepared(for a repeat of last year’spoor planting conditions),but I hope we get a betterseason,” Eggleston said.

Meanwhile, the workloadmay increase as some ana-lysts believe U.S. farmersthis spring could plant anadditional 2 million-plusacres of corn, compared tolast year, due in part to asevere drop (6.2 millionacres) in winter wheat seed-ings.

“There is no question wecan get it (fertilizer applica-

Jeff Eggleston

Are some fieldsshort on sulfur? U of I seeks answer

It may surprise farmers but recent reports suggest someIllinois fields may lack sufficient levels of sulfur.

Sulfur is the 13th most abundant nutrient in the earth’s crustand is essential for corn production, according to Fabian Fer-nandez, University of Illinois Extension soil fertility specialist.

He spoke recently during the Corn and Soybean Classic inBloomington and at the Illinois Fertilizer and Chemical Asso-ciation’s annual convention last week in Peoria.

However, “The frequency of sulfur deficiencies hasincreased,” Fernandez said.

Historically, sulfur applica-tion for corn has not been rec-ommended in Illinois becausesoil supply, manure applications,and/or atmospheric depositionwere sufficient to supply the sul-fur needs of the crop.

That situation has changed inrecent years due to greaterremoval rates by high-yieldinggrain, less atmospheric deposition,increased use of conservation tillage, and fewer manure applications.

“We have a lot less sulfur inputs and a greater output ofsulfur,” Fernandez said.

An average Illinois cornfield in 1980 removed 7.7 pounds ofsulfur per acre to produce 110-bushel corn compared to 2008when the average cornfield removed 11.6 pounds of sulfur peracre to produce 165-bushel corn, according to Fernandez.

Meanwhile, the amount of sulfur deposited by rainfall, whichFernandez referred to as “free fertilizer,” declined from roughly35 pounds per acre in the 1970s to about 13 pounds per acre in2005 due in part to effects of the Clean Air Act of 1970.

The U of I, therefore, is organizing sulfur trials throughoutthe state to see what effect, if any, sulfur applications have oncorn yields.

“We want to find out if there is a response, and, if so,where it is most likely,” Fernandez said.

Sulfur deficiencies most often are observed in low-organic-matter soils and soils with coarse texture with high leaching poten-tial. But Fernandez hopes to include all types of soils from all overthe state in the sulfur study, except those that have receivedmanure applications at any time during the past five years.

“The most important thing is to try to have as many loca-tions as possible to quantify if there is a response (to sulfurapplications) and if there is a response, where it is most likelyto occur,” he said.

Farmers interested in participating in the sulfur researchmay contact Fernandez via e-mail at [email protected] orby calling 217-333-4426. — Daniel Grant

‘ We h ave a l o tless sulfur inputsa n d a g r e a t e routput of sulfur.’

— Fabian FernandezUniversity of Illinois

Shift in crop pest populationscould alter management practices

A shift in insect popula-tions may alter the way corngrowers manage pests in thenear future.

University of Illinoisentomologists reported atthe Corn and Soybean Clas-sic in Bloomington thatdensities of corn nema-todes are on the rise inmost parts of the statewhile the number of Euro-pean corn borers (ECB) isat an all-time low.

Producers as a resultshould consider samplingmore fields for corn nema-todes, said Terry Niblack, Uof I Extension nematolo-gist.

As for corn borer con-trol, the increased use of Btcorn and a decrease inrefuge sizes for somehybrids likely will continueto shrink the population ofECB, according to MikeGray, U of I Extensionentomologist.

“They ECB are at histori-cally low levels,” Gray said.“This comes at a time whenBt usage continues to esca-late.”

The annual fall ECB sur-vey for Illinois in 2009found a record-low 1.2 per-cent of corn plants showedany sign of ECB injurycompared to the 10-yearaverage of 26.5 percent.

“Based on these numbers,I think we’ll see very fewcorn borer moths aroundporch lights or sticking towindshields this year,” Graysaid.

In fact, ECB populationsin Illinois have fallen tosuch low levels Graybelieves control measures tocombat the pest are “more

of an insurance policy” thanan integrated pest manage-ment strategy.

“The whole paradigm ofhow we manage pests con-tinues to change very rapid-ly,” he said.

Integrated pest manage-ment in the future “may bedifferent genes we inser tin plants as opposed todifferent control strate-gies.”

The situation is much dif-ferent, however, when itcomes to corn nematodes.

“We’re concerned becausewe’re seeing a lot more of acorn nematode problemthan we’ve ever seenbefore,” Niblack said.

The population of cornnematodes has expanded inIllinois due to changes toproduction practices (such

as more no-till, less use ofsoil-applied insecticides, andmore corn-on-corn) thatfavor the pest.

About 98 percent of Illi-nois fields have spiral nema-todes while about 88 per-cent of fields have lesionnematodes, Niblack report-ed.

But it’s hard to estimatejust how much damagenematodes cause to corn.

“Most injury from nema-todes looks like unevengrowth” so it’s hard todetect with the naked eye,Niblack said. “Damage canrange from no yield loss to15 to 20 percent yieldloss.”

Farmers, therefore,should sample each field fornematodes in order gogauge the potential for croploss and to develop manage-ment strategies.

“Sampling is the key,”Niblack added. “Manage-ment recommendationsdepend on what species wefind.” — Daniel Grant

FarmWeekNow.com

To learn more about the shift-ing pest problems in Illinois,go to FarmWeekNow.com.

BIOMASS



Biomass crop miscanthustook a major leap forward withthe recent unveiling of amechanical planter and har-vester at the University of Illi-nois.

U of I researchers in collab-oration with European bioen-ergy developer Tomax Ltd. andOklahoma machinery manu-facturer Bermuda King exhib-ited a mechanical rhizome har-vester and planter, dubbedRizogen, during the U of I

Bioenergy Feedstocks Sympo-sium at Urbana.

The equipment is the resultof three years of collaborationand may reduce productioncosts by as much as 40 percent,according to the U of I.

Pesotum farmer Eric Rund,

who attended the sympo-sium, expects to plant 20acres of miscanthus green-house plants this year.

Rund noted miscanthusproduction previously hasrelied on hand labor forplanting and harvesting.

Producers have used treeplanters for planting andpotato diggers to harvestmiscanthus rhizomes fromthe soil. Hand labor has lim-ited rhizome production andthe availability of miscanthusplanting material because thecrop is sterile.

The team’s goal was toremove manual labor, inte-grate the digging and grad-ing process, increase soilseparation, and improvequality and volume to reducecosts, said Gavin Maxwell, abioenergy consultant withTomax.

Recent U.S. trials with theRizogen equipment showed a200 percent increase in rhi-zome collection compared tohand-labor systems.

The planter also makes rhi-zome placement more uni-

form and matches groundconditions with rhizomeweight and quality.

The four-row planterincorporates separate hop-pers and placement channels.

The harvester lifts andbreaks apart rhizomes with adigging head that works simi-lar to a large garden tiller.

Rhizomes are placed on aseries of conveyor belts thathelp remove soil from therhizomes, which eventuallyexit on the side and fall ontoan adjacent trailer.

This year, the harvesterand planter will be availableonly to U.S. and EuropeanUnion nurseries. In 2011, theequipment is expected to beavailable to individual grow-ers.

“When this project started,the propagation of rhizomeswas done with shovels andlots of manual labor. Thesemachines will take miscant-hus production to a new lev-el,” said Timothy Mies, U ofI deputy operations directorat the Energy BiosciencesInstitute.

Miscanthus farming advances from shovels to machines

A new mechanical four-row planter has separate hoppers and placement channels. A metering system makesroot placement more uniform compared to hand-labor systems. The University of Illinois collaborated withTomax Ltd. and Bermuda King to develop a mechanical harvester and planter that were displayed recently inUrbana. (Photos courtesy U of I College of Agricultural, Consumer, and Environmental Sciences)

A rear view of the new mechanical miscanthus root harvester showsone of several conveyor belts that help separate soil from the rhizomes.

‘When th is pro-ject star ted, thep ropaga t i on o fr h i z o m e s w a sdone with shov-e l s a n d l o t s o fmanual labor.’

— Timothy MiesEnergy Biosciences Institute

REACHING OUT


Groups eyeing long-range Haitian recoveryBY MARTIN ROSSFarmWeek

As the people of Haiti strug-gle to survive the aftermath ofa major earthquake and lastweek’s aftershocks, soyresearchers and nutritionexperts already are consideringhow best to help survivors sus-tain and rebuild.

Their conclusion: With adeath toll well above 200,000and disaster-related healthissues merely compoundingdual concerns about povertyand HIV-AIDS, Haiti’s strugglewill merely have begun once therubble has cleared, and assis-tance must not stop once thenews cameras leave.

Thus, the Illinois SoybeanAssociation (ISA) is joining theWorld Initiative for Soy inHuman Health (WISHH), theWorld Soy Foundation (WSF),

Haitian students. The disasterwill leave many Haitian chil-dren orphaned or with a singleparent, and Ruby suggestsschools and other public insti-tutions thus may need toassume a far greater role inassuring juvenile nutritionneeds are met.

Soy nutrition has also beenapplied in efforts to manageHIV-AIDS in Africa and theCaribbean. Haiti is the West-ern Hemisphere’s poorestcountry, with roughly 5 per-

and the University of IllinoisNational Soybean ResearchLaboratory (NSRL) to exploreways to aid Haiti both immedi-ately and in its recovery.

ISA Executive Director LyleRoberts suggested “providingassistance with soy protein maybe one of the most effective“ways to help Haitians.

The Northern Food GradeSoybean Association plans todonate a cargo container ofsoybeans for use in Haitianrelief, and the soy groups areconsidering ways the beans canbe processed to provide thegreatest reach and impact.

WSF Executive DirectorNathan Ruby stressed neitherWISHH nor his own charita-ble foundation, both of whichare dedicated to global soynutrition and education, is “ashort-term or immediate

relief organization.” But given Haiti’s “rampant

suffering,” he an d others seepotential to redirect and“leverage” existing resourcesand programs to the island’snear-term recovery and long-term sustainability.

“Haiti’s frankly chronic mal-nutrition problems have onlynow been exacerbated by theearthquake,” WISHH DirectorJim Hershey told FarmWeek.“The nice thing about soy pro-teins — especially thoseWISHH and the University ofIllinois have been working on— is that they are protein-dense. You can provide a denserform of a needed nutrient.

“Haiti’s a classic case of long-term protein deficiency. (Devel-opmental) stunting rates, espe-cially in the rural parts of Haitiand the poorer parts of Port-au-Prince, are staggering.

“That was before the earth-quake, which took away people’slivelihoods and homes. Therewas a long-term problem before.Now, there’s going to be an evenworse long-term problem.”

The earthquake disrupted aWISHH/NSRL school feed-ing program targeting nutri-tion among some 300 female

IFB OKs Haiti donationThe Illinois Farm Bureau Board of Directors last week

approved a $2,500 corporate donation to Haiti earthquakerelief efforts.

Collectively, the Illinois Farm Bureau “family of companies“has contributed $27,500 to assist the people of Haiti. IFB alsois offering options for individuals who wish to make a donation.

The IAA Credit Union has opened a special account foremployees to contribute to relief efforts, with contributions fromIFB, Country Financial, and GROWMARK to be pooled andsent to the American Red Cross (ARC)-administered Interna-tional Response Fund.

Individuals also may contribute by texting “Haiti” on their cellphone to 90999, to donate $10. The ARC website‘s{www.redcross.org} Giving and Getting Involved section detailsways to help Red Cross provide Haitian relief.

The Haitian disaster has drawn support from across Illinois.Students and other representatives of the University of IllinoisCollege of Medicine have provided medical relief and treatedmalnutrition and disease problems in Haiti, and St. Louis-based Monsanto has contributed $50,000 for Red Crossefforts.

Farmer fellowship helping Haitian aid

Lexington farmer James Reimer flew out of Haiti just beforecalamity struck.

Reimer found his brief January tour of the poverty-strickenisland “eye-opening.” He finds the struggles ahead for Haitiunimaginable.

The Lexington-based Fellowship of Christian Farmers Interna-tional (FCF) last week was mounting a major relief effort for theHaitian people, coordinating with Cargill and Decatur-based ArcherDaniels Midland to supply cooking oil, Michigan Farm Bureau toprovide edible beans, and Louisiana growers to donate rice.

FCF is lining up truckers to haul provisions in cooperation withCentral Illinois’ Midwest Food Bank and accepting contributions todefray diesel fuel and other costs. Ohio’s Wright Air Force Base and aFlorida container facility may play key roles in shipping commodities.

Producer and project coordinator Mark Freed also anticipatesFCF partnering with Samaritans First and other ministries to assistin the Haitian cleanup from the earthquake and groups such as theFlorida-based ECHO (Educational Concerns for Haiti Organiza-tion) in helping restore island crop production. Humanitarianneeds likely will extend well beyond the capital of Port-Au-Princeand the earthquake’s epicenter. Freed cites concerns that displacedHaitians may migrate en masse to northern Haiti.

Reimer was part of a three-member group from LexingtonCommunity Church that joined with a larger delegation from Nor-mal’s Eastview Christian Church to celebrate completion of a newchurch in northern Haiti. He noted widespread poverty and inade-quate infrastructure, water, sewers, and housing in the island nation.

In the face of disaster and serious resource deficiencies,Reimer believes the most basic aid will be crucial in minimizingfurther loss of life, but he acknowledges the herculean chal-lenges facing relief workers.

“There isn’t a very good water supply,” he related. “Just dri-ving over the roads, it takes an hour and 45 minutes to go 12miles. That’s the problem I imagine they’re having now: just get-ting from one place to another.

“We flew out of Port-Au-Prince, which is the only major air-port in the country. They just have one landing strip — I can’timagine the problems they’re having moving things in and out.”

The Haitian crisis arises as FCF continues to mend Texas live-stock fences damaged by Hurricane Rita. The group’s post-Ritarelief effort — mobilizing producers with hay and trucks andcash donations — will serve as the “model” for the Haitian pro-ject, FCF Executive Director Dennis Schlagel reported.

With longstanding “ministry contacts” immersed in Haitian mis-sion work, FCF is well-positioned to identify post-disaster priorities.“When you work disaster, you have to have people on the ground,”Schlagel stressed. “We know these people.” — Martin Ross

To contribute to or offer volunteer services as part of FCF’s Hait-ian relief ef fort, contact the organization at 309-365-8710 or visitFCF on the web at {www.fcfi.org}.

cent of its adult populationinfected with HIV and highincidences of malaria, tuber-culosis, and diarrheal diseases.

A recent World Bank reportfocusing on Haiti argued poornutrition worsened by risingfood prices is reducing theeffectiveness of potentiallylifesaving AIDS drugs. Theimpact of soy nutrition in bol-stering immunity against theAIDS virus also could helpHaitians “fight off diarrhea,”Hershey said.

LIVESTOCK


Illinois deer hunting totalsincrease slightly this season

Deer hunters in Illinois tookslightly more deer in the 2009-2010 hunting season despite aslower fall season due to thelate corn harvest, according tothe Illinois Department ofNatural Resources (IDNR).

Based on preliminary figuresreleased last week, 189,277 deerwere harvested in Illinois fromfall through Jan. 17. In compar-ison, 188,901 deer were takenin 2008-2009.

“Illinois deer hunters takingto the field for the last threedays of hunting (Jan. 15-17)enjoyed some excellent condi-tions,” said Paul Shelton, IDNRforest wildlife program manag-er. “For mid-January weather,this was about as good as itgets.”

In late 2009-early 2010,hunters were more successfulin the late-winter antlerless onlyand special chronic wasting dis-ease seasons compared to theprevious year.

The 2009-2010 total forthose seasons was 17,826 com-pared to 12,552 the previousyear.

The top five county totalsfor 2009-2010 were: Pike, 8,131deer; Fulton, 5,344; Adams,4,613; Jefferson, 4,612; and JoDaviess, 4,147.

Of the total deer harvestedin 2009-2010, slightly morewere does (50.5 percent) thanbucks (49.5 percent). Thestate’s record deer hunting sea-son occurred in 2005-2006when 201,301 deer were taken.

Illinois Pork Expo Feb. 2-3 in PeoriaThe Illinois Pork Expo will

be held Feb. 2-3 at the PeoriaCivic Center.

The theme for this year’sevent, which is billed as the

largest pork-specific tradeshow in Illinois, is “WorkingThrough Challenging Times.”

Activities will begin onTuesday, Feb. 2, with the annu-al meeting of the Illinois PorkProducers Association (IPPA)

from 10 a.m. to 1 p.m. The trade show will be

open on that day from 2 to 6p.m.

On Wednesday, Feb. 3, thetrade show will be open from8 a.m. to 4 p.m.

There will be seminars onpork production, animal wel-fare, and environmental issues.

There also will be seminarson Feb. 3 that will focus onpurebred and show pig pro-duction.

For more informationabout the Illinois Pork Expo,contact IPPA at 217-529-3100or visit the website{www.ilpork.com}.

FarmWeekNow.com

USDA study confirms safetyof pork exposed to H1N1

Research Service (ARS).ARS scientists received

samples of the H1N1 virusfrom the U.S. Centers forDisease Control and Preven-tion. The virus samplescame from people who hadbeen infected.

The scientists then inocu-lated 30 5-week-old pigswith the virus to determine

their susceptibility to H1N1.After several days, the

pigs’ muscles, lungs, liver,and other vital organs weretested for the virus.

The animals showed signsof upper respiratory dis-ease, but there was no evi-dence that the virus hadspread to any other parts ofthe body.

A recent study by USDAscientists provides addition-al confirmation that meatand tissue from hogsexposed to H1N1 do notcontain the virus.

“This research providesadditional reassurance forconsumers about the safetyof pork,” said Edward Kni-pling, administrator ofUSDA’s Agricultural

Check out the schedule andother activities at the IllinoisPork Expo by going toFarmWeekNow.com.

Fewer cattle placements could lead to higher pricesBY DANIEL GRANTFarmWeek

Market bulls may influencethe cattle market following lastweek’s release of USDA’s Janu-ary cattle on feed report.

USDA Friday reported theinventory of cattle and calveson feed in the U.S. (11.01 mil-

lion head) as of Jan. 1 wasdown 2 percent compared tothe same time last year.

Meanwhile, placements infeedlots during December(1.55 million head) declined by6 percent. In fact, the estimatewas the lowest for Decemberplacements in the past 11years, according to Rich Nel-son, director of research atAllendale Inc. in McHenry.

The placement estimate “isa bullish number for us,” Nel-son said. “And we expect low-er placements will last anothercouple months.”

Fewer cattle in feedlotscombined with lower weightslikely will reduce overall beefsupplies. Carcass weights forsteers were down in the latestreport by about 11 pounds peranimal while heifer weightswere down by about eightpounds, Nelson said.

The reduction in cattleweights likely was the result ofextreme winter weather andrallies in the corn market priorto the Jan. 12 crop productionreport, which was bearish tograin prices as USDA project-

ed a record-large corn andsoybean crop.

“The (lower) weights willtrim a little bit of productionoff in the first quarter,” Nel-son said.

After that, lower place-ments likely will reduce beefsupplies down the road. Nel-son predicted cattle prices ona live basis could average $85per hundredweight in thefirst quarter and possiblyreach $90 by the secondquarter.

However, cattle prices willbe very dependent on theeconomy and its effect on beefdemand.

“About 80 percent of pricemovements are based on theperception of beef demandand when the U.S. consumercomes back to beef,” Nelsonsaid.

Globally, U.S. beefexports increased 4 percentin November 2009 com-pared to the previous year,the U.S. Meat Export Feder-

ation (USMEF) reported.Japan in particular increasedimports of U.S. beef by 23percent.

“Despite the (BSE-related)limitations on beef exports toJapan from cattle under 21months of age, we continue toregain market share there,”said Philip Seng, USMEFpresident.

But beef exports for thefirst 11 months of 2009 stillwere down 10 percent in vol-ume compared to 2008.

FROM THE COUNTIES


BUREAU — TheWomen’s Committee

will sponsor cooking classfundraisers for the BureauCounty Farm Bureau Founda-tion. The classes will be from6 to 8 p.m. Tuesday, Feb. 16,and Thursday, Feb. 18, atSomeone’s in the Kitchen,Princeton. Chef MonikaSudakov, Chestnut Street Inn,will lead the classes. Cost is$40 per class or $50 for both.Call 815-454-2419 or [email protected] for reservations ormore information.

• The Young Leader Com-mittee will take part in theDistrict 4 YL curling outingfrom 6 to 9 p.m. Friday at theWaltham Curling Club, Tri-umph. Players must sign awaiver and are asked to wearclean tennis shoes. Cost is$10. If you are a FarmBureau member between theages of 18-35 and want toparticipate, call the FarmBureau office at 815-875-6468by Thursday noon for reserva-tions.

CALHOUN — Theannual meeting will be

at 6 p.m. Saturday, Feb. 27, atthe Calhoun Community HighSchool, Hardin. GlennGindler will speak about hisIFB China market study tour.

•An agroforestry workshopwill be from 9:30 a.m. to 3p.m. Friday, March 5, at St.Anslem’s Hall, Kampsville.Registration fee is $20 by Feb.23 or $30 at the door. Thefirst 20 Calhoun County FarmBureau members to registerwill receive a $5 discount.Topics will include agro-forestry, timber management,shitake mushrooms, and silvo-pasture goats. Call the FarmBureau office at 618-576-2233for reservations or moreinformation.

EFFINGHAM — Aplanning night for the

Legislative, Commodities and

day, Feb. 3, for reservations ormore information.

• The Mon-Clair CornGrowers Association annualmeeting will be at 6:30 p.m.Monday, Feb. 8, at the TurkeyHill Grange, Belleville. Call939-6197 or 233-6800 byMonday, Feb. 1, for reserva-tions or more information.

ST. CLAIR — The Mon-Clair Corn Growers

Association annual meetingwill be at 6:30 p.m. Monday,Feb. 8, at the Turkey HillGrange, Belleville. Call 939-6197 or 233-6800 by Monday,Feb. 1, for reservations ormore information.

WINNEBAGO — TheBoone, Ogle, and

Winnebago County FarmBureaus will sponsor a bus tripMonday, Feb. 1, to the CaseIH/New Holland TractorAssembly plant, Racine, Wis.

The bus will leave the Win-nebago County Farm Bureauoffice at 7 a.m. The group willeat lunch at the Old CountryBuffet, Racine, following thetour. Cost for bus and lunch is$30. Call the Farm Bureauoffice for more information.

• A truck regulations meet-ing will be at 10 a.m. Wednes-day, Feb. 3, at the Farm Bureauoffice. Kevin Rund, IllinoisFarm Bureau senior director oflocal government, will be thespeaker. Topics to be coveredare license requirements, com-mercial driver’s licenses, andmedical cards. Call the FarmBureau office at 815-962-0653for reservations or more infor-mation.

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

Marketing, and Local AffairsAction teams will be at 6:30p.m. Tuesday at the FarmBureau office. Dinner will beserved. Members are invitedto join one of the teams. Callthe Farm Bureau office at 217-342-2103 or e-mail [email protected] for reser-vations or more information.

FAYETTE — Theannual meeting will be

at 10 a.m. Thursday at theFarm Bureau office. Electionof directors will be held. Callthe Farm Bureau office at 618-283-3276 for more informa-tion.

HENRY — The YoungLeaders will sponsor a

“Who is the Next Generationof Family Farm Producers?”seminar at 6:30 p.m. Tuesdayat the St. Paul LutheranChurch, Orion. Ron Hanson,University of Nebraska-Lin-coln, will be the speaker. Callthe Farm Bureau office at 309-937-2411 for reservations ormore information.

LIVINGSTON —Doug Yoder, Illinois

Farm Bureau senior directorof marketing, will be thespeaker at a crop insuranceoptions meeting at 7 p.m.Monday, Feb. 8, at the FarmBureau office. Seating is limit-ed to the first 50 participants.Call the Farm Bureau office at815-842-1103 or e-mail [email protected] for reserva-tions or more information.

MERCER — ThePrime Timers will

have a potluck luncheon meet-ing at noon Tuesday at theFarm Bureau office. RyanBurchett, KWQC meteorolo-gist, will be the speaker. Callthe Farm Bureau office at 309-582-5116 for reservations ormore information.

• The annual meeting willbe at 5:30 p.m. Thursday at theAledo VFW Hall. The MercerCounty High School JazzCombo will provide the enter-

tainment. Call the FarmBureau office at 309-582-5116for more information.

MONROE — An agri-cultural land manage-

ment workshop will be from8:30 a.m. to 12:30 p.m. Fridayat the Monroe County Annex.Topics will include landownerand hunter rights and laws;land management and honey-suckle dilemmas; USDA con-servation programs; establish-ing wildlife food plots; andcrop, fertilizer, and chemicalupdates. Bring fire extinguish-ers to be checked. Lunch willbe served. Call the FarmBureau office at 939-6197 forreservations or more informa-tion.

• A Viewpoint meeting willbe at 8 a.m. Friday, Feb. 5, atthe Acorn’s. Breakfast will beserved. Call the Farm Bureauoffice at 939-6197 by Wednes-

Second federal broadband release totals $4.8 billionThe Commerce Depart-

ment’s National Telecommuni-cations and InformationAdministration (NTIA) andUSDA’s Rural Utilities Service(RUS) last week announced$4.8 billion in grants and loanswill be awarded for broad-band.

Recipients will beannounced by Sept. 30. Thiswas the second broadbandfunding release.

“In response to lessonslearned from the first fundinground, RUS is making impor-tant changes that will makethe process easier for appli-cants and target our resourcestoward last-mile broadbandconnections to homes andbusinesses,” said JonathanAdelstein, USDA’s RUSadministrator.

NTIA will allocate about$2.6 billion of which about$2.35 billion will be availablefor infrastructure projects. Inaddition, NTIA plans to

award at least $150 million forpublic computer center pro-jects, which will expand accessto broadband service andenhance broadband capacityat public libraries, communitycolleges, and other institutionsthat serve the general public.

RUS will allocate about$2.2 billion in this round forbroadband infrastructure pro-jects and will focus on last-

mile projects, which areexpected to receive the major-ity of funding.

RUS also will fund middle-mile projects involving cur-rent RUS program partici-pants.

A total of $7.2 billion infederal recovery funds will beawarded to expand access toand use of broadband ser-vices.

Illinois ag singles plan meetingThe Illinois Singles in Agriculture will tour several McLean

County sites and have a dinner-dance Feb. 12-14 at HawthornSuites, Bloomington.

The meal registration deadline is Feb. 2.Participants will register from 4 to 5:30 p.m. Feb. 12. Several

tours are scheduled for Feb. 13, concluding with a dinner anddance. Evening registration will start at 6:30 p.m. Breakfast andactivities will start at 8 a.m. Feb. 14.

The cost for all tours, meals, and the dance is $34. The feefor the dinner-dance only is $24.

Room accommodations are separate and must be arrangedthrough Hawthorn Suites at 309-829-8111.

For more information or to register, call 217-854-8388 or e-mail [email protected].

PROFITABILITY


Feeder pig prices reported to USDA*

Weight Range Per Head Weighted Ave. Price10 lbs. $36.00-$49.50 $43.0340 lbs. n/a n/a50 lbs. n/a n/aReceipts This Week Last Week

22,123 41,563*Eastern Corn Belt prices picked up at seller’s farm

MARKET FACTS

Confirmed lamb and sheep salesThis week 576 Last week 638 Last year 475Wooled Slaughter Lambs: Choice and prime 2-3: 90-110 lb., $110-$115. Goodand choice 1-2: 60-90 lbs., $135.Slaughter Ewes: Utility and good 1-3: $56-$58. Cull and utility 1-2: $56.

Lamb prices

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

This week Prev. week ChangeCarcass $67.92 $66.71 1.21Live $50.26 $49.37 0.90

Export inspections

(Million bushels)Week ending Soybeans Wheat Corn01-14-10 44.6 9.4 30.301-07-10 46.9 12.4 24.1Last year 37.9 7.6 27.5Season total 838.4 511.0 598.0Previous season total 590.7 697.8 590.2USDA projected total 1340 875 2050Crop marketing year began June 1 for wheat and Sept. 1 for corn and soybeans.

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

Steers $84.33 $84.31 0.02 Heifers $84.15 $84.50 -0.35

USDA five-state area slaughter cattle price

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

This week Prev. week Change97.22 96.79 0.43

CME feeder cattle index — 600-800 Lbs.

BY MARK DEHNERGetting the most out of

your diesel engine is extremelyimportant. Power, efficiency,and protection is what every

operatorwants.

In an earli-er FarmWeekcolumn, wediscussed theeight multi-functionalcomponentsof DieselexGold and the

benefits a diesel fuel usershould expect. Although each

of the eight components inDieselex Gold plays an impor-tant role, the detergency com-ponent has great value to theuser and will be the focus ofthis article.

Engine manufacturers rec-ognize the benefits of dieselfuel additives. Since conven-tional No. 2 diesel fuel con-tains no additives to reducethe formation of deposits,gum, varnish, or corrosion,the Cummins Engine Co.developed a test of its own(Cummins L10 InjectorDepositing Test) to evaluateadditive performance.

Cummins developed thistest because of problems withexcessive carbon buildupfound in the metering valvearea of the injector pintels. Ascarbon accumulated, itrestricted fuel flow into theinjector tip.

This caused less fuel to beinjected into the cylinder,upsetting the injector spraypattern, and resulting in aloss of power, reduced fueleconomy, and increasedemissions.

Over the last several years,we’ve seen major changes inengine design, such as com-

mon rail fuel injection. Fuel isinjected into cylinders at high-er pressures than ever (morethan 30,000 per square inch)for better atomization andemission control.

As a result, the fuel exists ina hotter environment, whichaccelerates the problem ofcarbon accumulation.

Using a potent detergencypackage, such as the onefound in Dieselex Gold, isimportant to minimizing car-bon deposits.

By keeping injectors clean,the spray pattern coming fromthe injector provides complete

atomization of the fuel so thatit burns completely and effi-ciently within the combustionchamber.

Clean injectors mean peakfuel efficiency, maximumhorsepower, reduced mainte-nance, and lower emissions.

Dieselex Gold received asuperior rating in the Cum-mins L10 Injector DepositingTest.

Mark Dehner is GROW-MARK’s marketing manager ofrefined and renewable fuels. His e-mail address is [email protected].

Detergents a great value for your diesel engine

Mark Dehner

Analyst: Risk management key to agriculture’s survivalBY DANIEL GRANTFarmWeek

Agriculture is in the midstof significant structuralchange, and farmers as a resultshould think more like a CEOof their individual operations,according to Sano Shimoda,president of BioScience Secu-rities.

Shimoda last week was thekeynote speaker at the IllinoisFertilizer and Chemical Asso-ciation (IFCA) annual conven-tion and trade show in Peoria.

“Most farmers grew upfocusing on production,” Shi-moda said. “The key now ismanaging risk.”

Some of the key driversinfluencing the ag industryinclude globalization, the bio-

fuels industry, increased use ofthe commodities markets byfinancial investors worldwide,and regulatory changes.

“The number of thingsout of farmers’ control hasincreased dramatically,” saidShimoda, who predictedvolatility likely is here to stayin the commodity marketsand for the pricing of inputs.

“This affects farmers’ability to plan.”

Farmers, therefore, shouldre-evaluate their businessplans.

New business models andthe continuation of rapid con-solidation in the industry willcreate new risks and opportu-nities, according to Shimoda.

“When the market changes,there is a need to re-evaluateyour business,” he said.

“Farmers have to be the CEOof their business.”

Farmers likely will requiregreater outside expertise torun a successful operation, hesaid.

And that’s where opportu-nities will open for ag retail-ers, Shimoda told IFCA mem-bers.

“Dealers have to shift froma product to an applica-tion/service mentality,” Shi-

moda said. “You have to focuson bringing expertise to addvalue to the customer.”

Otherwise, some ag dealer-ships or farm-related compa-nies could see their impor-tance to farmers diminish,Shimoda said.

Farmers already havechanged their buying habitsfor inputs due to price volatili-ty and tighter margins.

Some have shown a willing-ness to purchase generic pesti-cides, use a cheaper broker,make direct purchases of fer-tilizer at river terminals, andadd on-farm storage for vari-ous input items.

“In the supply chain, peo-ple who help farmers integratewill be the ones who are suc-cessful,” Shimoda added.

‘The number of things out of farmers’ controlhas increased dramatically.’

— Sano ShimodaPresident of BioScience Securities

Auction Calendar

Tues., Feb. 2. 10 a.m.63.3 Ac. LaSalle Co.Lucy Puetz Estate,

STREATOR, IL. Bradleys’and Immke Auction

Service.www.bradleyauctions

inc.comTues., Feb. 2. 10 a.m.Farm machinery andshop eq. Jerry Chism,

CHESTERFIELD, IL. RickStewart and Mike

Crabtree, Auctioneers.Sat., Feb. 6. 10 a.m.

Machinery Auction. Jimand Shirley Wiersema,MT. CARROLL, IL. JimCalhoun, Auctioneer.

www.calhounauction.comSat., Feb. 6. 10 a.m. 30

Ac. Warren Co.Genevieve M. Rose

Heirs, MONMOUTH, IL.Van Adkisson Auction

Service, LLC.www.biddersandbuyers

.comThurs., Feb. 11. 10 a.m.157 Ac. Livingston Co.

Joan A. Rimer and TrudyL. Wilson, DWIGHT, IL.Immke and Bradleys’

Auction Service.www.biddersandbuyers

.com/immkeThurs., Feb. 11. 9:30a.m. Late Model Farm

Eq. LA PORTE CITY, IA.Backes Auctioneers and

Realty. www.backes-

auction.comFri., Feb. 12. 10 a.m.

Farm Eq. Close-Out. TomFornoff, MANITO, IL.

Nehmelman Auction Co.topauctions24-

7.com/nehmelmanSat., Feb. 13. 9:30 a.m.3 Generation Collectionof Farm Eq. Larry and

Clara Julius, FREEPORT,IL. Pro Auctions, LLC.

www.mudcreekfarms.com/Pro-Auctions.htmlSat., Feb. 13. 10 a.m.

161 Ac. Mercer Co.William J. and Margaret M. Morris, ALEDO, IL.

Steve Relander,Auctioneer.

Mon., Feb. 15. 6 p.m.151.2 Ac. Coles Co.

Elizabeth Thrall Estateand Sycamore HoldingLLC, HINDSBORO, IL.Stanfield Auction Co.Wed., Feb. 24. 10 a.m.322 Ac. Effingham Co.

Carl Curtis, EFFINGHAM,IL. Stanfield Auction and

Pierce Farm Mgmt.Wed., Mar. 3. 2 p.m. 175

+/- Ac. Stark Co. RonElliott, BRADFORD, IL.Rick Rediger and BobJohnson, Auctioneers.

www.rickrediger.com orwww.biddersandbuyers

.comThurs., Mar. 18. Spring

Farm Closeout andConsignment Auction.Agri-Tech, Inc., RAY-

MOND, IL.

PROFITABILITY


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

�2009 crop: Corn priceshave declined to what shouldprove to be very strong sup-port. They are poised to makea 20-week cycle low. Upsideresistance will be felt at the$3.85-$3.92 down gap, $3.95,and $4. Increase old-crop salesto 50 percent if March rallies to$3.94. We may boost sales evenmore, so check the Cash Strate-gist Hotline frequently. Do notplan to store corn into springunless you are confident of itsquality, and we already are hear-ing of issues.

�2010 crop: If Decemberfutures rebound to $4.24, makea 20 percent new-crop sale.Check the Cash Strategist Hotlinedaily; we could adjust that targetdown at any time.

�Fundamentals: Lastweek’s export sales were above2 million metric tons (78 millionbushels). We consistently arehearing more active buyinginterest in the world markets atthese lower prices. The latestfundamental changes, though,put the corn market in the posi-tion of needing leadership fromthe other grains to turn up.Soybean Strategy

�2009 crop: New Chinesemoves to slow their economyand a surge in the value of thedollar kept the soybean com-plex on the defensive. SouthAmerican production expecta-tions are becoming increasinglynegative with early harvestunder way. Boost sales to 50percent if March hits $10.05.That price and/or quantitycould change at any time; checkthe Cash Strategist Hotline fre-quently.

�2010 crop: Leave an orderto make a 10 percent sale ifNovember futures reach $9.95.Check the Cash Strategist Hotlineoccasionally for possiblechanges.

�Fundamentals: The per-ception that export business isgoing to quickly go away whenSouth American suppliesbecome available is keeping thecomplex under pressure. Still,U.S. soybean and soybean mealsales remain exceptionallystrong. Nearly 1.5 million met-ric tons (55 million bushels) ofsoybeans were sold last week.Argentine weather should be

watched closely; the latest fore-casts call for dry, warm condi-tions.Wheat Strategy

�2009 crop: Technicaldamage has been done in theMarch contract with prices slip-ping below the psychological $5support. However, furtherweakness should be limited bythe pending 20-week cycle low.Plan to make a 10 percent saleif Chicago March futures hit$5.59, bringing the total to 90percent.

�2010 crop: Use a rally to$5.83 on the Chicago July con-

tract to make an initial 25 per-cent sale. Check Cash StrategistHotline daily as this target couldbe adjusted at anytime.

�Fundamentals: Thewheat market is trading on limit-ed news, other than the implica-tions of the recent USDAreports. The InternationalGrains Council forecast worldwheat production will fall 3 per-cent in 2010/2011. That wouldbe 21 million metric tons (771million bushels) less than lastyear, but still the third largest onrecord. On a positive note,world trade has picked up atthese lower price levels.

Even as the South Ameri-can harvest approaches, soy-bean and soybean meal

Basis charts

exports continue to be excep-tionally good. Shipments arekeeping up with sales, ensuringexceptional exports this year.

We wouldn’t be surprised ifUSDA is forced to raise its fore-casts even further on subse-quent supply/demand reports.The U.S. already has sold 91 per-cent of the current forecast andshipped 61 percent.

The lower prices for bothwheat and corn are stimulatingworld trade. Purchases of U.S.wheat and corn reached newmarketing year highs last week.And, from what we hear on adaily basis, this past week’s activ-ity should be nearly as good.

Activity in the corn exportmarket should be monitoredespecially closely. With theaggressive soybean shippingprogram slated to slow down alittle, exporter’s “load out” willstart to free up, which mayhelp boost corn business.

Cents per bu.

Soy export sales remain impressive

PERSPECTIVES


2009 growing season:

ONE FOR THE RECORDS

Illinois’ 2009 growing season was one of most chal-lenging because of three unusual weather features: anextraordinarily wet spring, a cold summer, and a wet fall.

The year 2009 started out colder than normal in Janu-ary — sound familiar? By February and March, tempera-tures had risen to slightly above normal.

After a dry January, February and March had slightlyabove normal precipitation. By the end of March, soil

moisture was near normal. At thatpoint, conditions looked good for theupcoming growing season.

April brought the first sign oftrouble.

The statewide precipitation was 6inches, 2.2 inches above normal and theninth wettest April on record. The rainscontinued in May and June with anadditional 10.9 inches of precipitation.

The combined rainfall total forspring was 16.7 inches, 4.6 inches above

normal, which is about an extra month’s worth of rain. By the end of June, soil moisture, stream flow, lake

levels, and shallow groundwater levels were abovenormal throughout the state. Temperatures wereclose to normal from April to June.

July was the turning point as record-setting colddescended on the state. The average statewide tem-perature was 70.2 degrees, 5.2 degrees below normaland the coldest July on record in Illinois. July, normal-ly the hottest month of the year, was colder thanboth June and August last year.

While Southern Illinois reported a few July dayswith temperatures in the 90s, much of the rest ofthe state saw none. The normal range of days in the90s in July typically is between five in Northern Illi-nois to 15 in Southern Illinois.

Another remarkable feature of last July was theconsistency of the colder-than-normal temperatures.Statewide, every day was below normal except forJuly 11.

While this was good news for savingenergy with air conditioners, corn grow-ing degree days in July were down anaverage of 16 percent around the state.

August continued the cool trend withtemperatures averaging 71 degrees, 2.2degrees below normal and the ninth cold-est August on record. Although July rain-fall was slightly above normal, Augustrainfall was near normal.

If summer seemed gloomy with lots ofrain and cold temperatures, it was. While nolong-term sunshine records are kept acrossthe state, the one sunshine recorder still inoperation in Chicago reported 53 percentof the possible sunshine this summer, anew low for Chicago. Normal summer per-cent of the possible sunshine is 67 percent.

By the end of August, another cropconcern was the prospect of an earlyfrost. Normal first-frost dates range fromearly October in Northern Illinois to late October inSouthern Illinois.

It comes as no surprise that a colder-than-normalSeptember increases the chance of an early frost.Fortunately, September was the only normal monthof the growing season. Temperatures were normaland rainfall was actually 1 inch below normal.

October erased any ideas of a nice end to thegrowing season. Colder and wetter conditionsreturned to the state. The statewide average tempera-ture was 49.8 degrees, 4.4 degrees below normal andthe sixth coolest October on record. Statewide pre-cipitation was 8.3 inches, 5.4 inches above normaland the second wettest October on record.

Milder conditions prevailed in November withtemperatures 5.7 degrees above normal and the sec-ond warmest November on record. However, it cametoo late to help much in the field. The remaining cornand soybeans continued to be slowly harvested in

November and December.So what happened in 2009? We know the spring and fall were fairly active with

several large low-pressure systems moving throughthe Midwest. And we know that the mid-summer wasdominated by colder air from Canada. However, wedo not fully understand the underlying causes ofthese rare conditions.

Both 2008 and 2009 were extraordinarily wet witha combined precipitation of 100.8 inches, 22.4 inchesabove normal. No other back-to-back years in mod-ern history have been as wet.

While the records are spotty in the 1800s, thereappears to have been a period from 1845 to 1851with consecutive unusually wet years. It is possible tohave another abnormally wet year, but the odds arepretty slim.

Jim Angel is the state climatologist with the Illinois State WaterSurvey. His e-mail address is [email protected].

Corn harvest became an unusual challenge in deep snow in many places,including this Livingston County field. (File photo by Teresa Grant-Quick,Livingston County Farm Bureau manager)

JIMANGEL

Flooded fields were common across Illinois last spring, including thisMcLean County field outside of Bloomington. (Photo by Daniel Grant)

I don’t even remember a timewhen the farmers, ranchers, andthe broad ag industry were

threatened morethan we aretoday.

We have anew and ener-gized corps ofcritics out therewho want to tellus how to doour job. Stateand federal gov-ernments are

being pushed to pass laws andregulations to deny us propertyrights and the ability to competeglobally in food production.

Let’s concentrate on the chal-lenge to animal agriculture.

Issue No. 1 — horse slaugh-ter. In the past three years, wehave stood and watched ourmarket for unwanted horsesstolen from us. Horses are per-sonal property.

Now we have to ship them toMexico or Canada to get any-thing. The shipping cost eats upmost of the value. There is astrong demand for horse meatin Europe and Asia, but wearen’t allowed to process andship there. Now we haveunwanted horses roaming pub-lic land and even on the roads.

The Humane Society of the

U.S. (HSUS) succeeded in pass-ing Proposition 2 in Californiawhich will destroy the Califor-nia egg industry. HSUS alreadytook gestation crates away fromthe few pig farmers there are inFlorida.

With the help of the newgeneration of people who arefar removed from the farm, theanimal rights crowd is aiming tonot just reform how we care forour animals but to destroy ani-mal agriculture. That is theirultimate goal.

The whole ag industry needsto form a united front to chal-lenge our enemies and buildsupport for our cause. We have

an impressive case to make. Ag is one of the few indus-

tries in the country that everyyear runs a trade surplus. Wedeliver to our citizens the mostreasonably priced food in theworld. Millions of jobs are atstake. We don’t want to raiseour pigs, chickens, and cattle insome other country.

One encouraging develop-ment was the passage of a ref-erendum creating a “LivestockStandards Board” in the state ofOhio. That board can set stan-dards to prevent out-of-stateactivist groups from dictatinghow food is produced in Ohio.

The board members will

include the state director ofagriculture, family farmers, vet-erinarians, a representative froma local humane society, and con-sumers. We hope this success-ful effort may serve as a modelfor other states to follow.

Commercial agriculture pro-duction is under assault like Ihave never seen before. Weneed to come together and pro-tect this great industry.

John Block of Gilson, a former U.S.agriculture secretary, is a senior policyadviser with the Washington, D.C.,firm of Olsson, Frank, Weeda, andTerman. His e-mail address [email protected].

United front is needed to support our animal agriculture

JOHNBLOCK

farmweek january 25 2010

Documents

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