FARM UPDATE
Page Twelve
Virtual farming I’ve almost always lived on a farm. I grew up in rural New Haven, Mo., on 45 acres where my parents kept between 10-20 head of cattle, chickens and a few occasional sheep that were 4-H projects. When I married my husband in 2006, I moved to Jersey County and onto the Marshall family farm. With the exception of one-and-a-half years when I lived in the town of Washington, Mo., in an apartment with my sister, and the three years I lived in the town of Stony Hill, Mo., I’ve always lived on a farm. (Though calling Stony Hill a town is a bit of a stretch - we had about 15 houses, an auto repair shop, a church and a bar all centered around the junction of Hwys. E and H in Gasconade County.) Since I’ve moved from Missouri to Jersey County, I’ve joined the social networking site, Facebook, as a way to keep up with my family and friends from back home. And lately, when I’ve logged onto Facebook, I’ve noticed some annoying application requests that keep popping up on my home page. The culprits: Farmville and Farm Town. For those of you that don’t know what Farmville and Farm Town are, they are simulated farming games that you can play through Facebook. And while I don’t play any of these games myself, because I’ve experienced too much real farm fun in my life, they are games where the sun always shines, crops are planted and harvested with the click of a mouse, livestock never gets out, there’s no need for crop insurance, and, if you’re on vacation or don’t log in often enough, your farm neighbors will come over and plant, water and harvest for you. Sounds just like real life, doesn’t it? At first, the farm town invitations of “Pam has sent you an apple tree for your Farm Town orchard. Won’t you be a kind neighbor and help Pam out by sending her a tree back?” didn’t bother me too much. Sure, if it helped my cousin six states and a time zone away feel like a farmer if I accepted her gift, I’d do it, even though I always accepted and never sent back, and logged out before I had to set up my own farm. But eventually, every time I opened Facebook, my home page began to look like this: “You have (34) FarmVille invitations” “You have (23) Farm Town invitations.” “Howdy friend! How’d you like to be neighbors? Come join me in FarmVille, where you can grow delicious fruits and vegetables on your very own farm!” “Here is a Dragonfly for your farm in FarmVille. Could you help me by sending a gift back?” “Here is a Cherry Tree for your farm in FarmVille. Could you help me by sending a gift back?” No, I can’t. Because I’m too busy on a real farm. But since FarmVille and Farm Town are the hottest games on Facebook, I’ve come up with an idea for the next big thing. If FarmVille/Farm Town would partner with the makers of the Nintendo Wii, they could make a pretty true-to-life simulated farming game. And I’ve even got some ideas to help them out. ■ Chasing Livestock. Upon purchasing Wii Fit - FarmVille/Farm Town, you must be required to submit your phone number to the game makers. You understand that by doing this, at any given time, day or night, you could receive a phone call stating that your livestock has gotten out, and you must run to your Wii Fit - FarmVille/Farm Town simulator and do sprints for 30 minutes. This could change during spring calving season, where instead of getting a phone
call that your livestock is out, you get a phone call saying you need to pull a calf. That exercise will be 45 minutes of resistance pulling on your Wii Fit - FarmVille/Farm Town simulator. ■ Ice Chopping. Every The Back day that there are subzero Forty temperatures, you must By Annette dress up in at least three Marshall layers of clothing, walk 10 minutes on your Wii Fit - FarmVille/Farm Town simulator, then pick up your Wii Fit - FarmVille/Farm Town ax tool, and simulate chopping water on a frozen pond for the livestock for 10 minutes. This must be done twice a day. ■ Hay Baling. This simulation must be done when you have at least three entire days to devote to it, and requires two or more players. This part of the game would require that you put up 750 square bales of hay, starting with cutting the fields (grab the Wii Fit - FarmVille/Farm Town steering wheel for this part), then raking, baling, offloading and stacking. Be sure to have a grab bag of spare parts nearby, because you never know when your baler could shear a pin and cause downtime. And you don’t want to lose points while you run into town to visit the equipment dealer. ■ Chainsawing. It’s early August, corn is shoulder high, and it hasn’t rained in three weeks. Just when you think all may be lost, a big storm brews on the horizon. Unfortunately, that storm brings the huge oak tree in the corner of the corn field down on your crop. Time to bust out your Wii Fit - FarmVille/Farm Town chainsaw tool. You can achieve bonus points by not opting to bring in the log splitter (don’t want to run over your remaining crops that are standing), and by splitting the large chunks of wood yourself. Grab that Wii Fit - FarmVille/Farm Town splitting maul tool, similar to the ax tool, just heavier, for this task. ■ Fence Building/Fixing. This is usually a result of the first activity, livestock chasing. This requires the Wii Fit - FarmVille/ Farm Town post driver tool. The object of this game will be to drive as many fence posts as you can in an hour. It’s a guaranteed upper body workout that will leave you unable to move your arms the next day. I’ve tossed the idea of Wii Fit - FarmVille/ Farm Town around to my husband, and he thinks it’s a winner, too. If anybody reading this column knows any video game designers and wants to take this idea and run with it, I’d be glad to serve on the advisory board. I’d also be glad to serve as an advisor for any iPhone app developers. I can hear the commercials now - “Need to pull a calf? There’s an app for that.” “Baler not tying a square knot? There’s an app for that.” Now that’s some technology I could use. In the meantime, if you want to look me up on Facebook and friend request me, I’ll be glad to be your friend as long as you don’t send me any FarmVille or Farm Town invitations. If you do invite me to FarmVillle or Farm Town, I might be forced to play dirty and send you back a hedge tree or a mulitiflora rose bush. Annette Marshall is a production artist for Campbell Publications and lives with her husband on a farm north of Grafton. When the ground thaws, they have plenty of fence building/fixing work that needs to be done so they can avoid livestock chasing. Until then, they’ll be chainsawing and ice chopping.
Wednesday, February 24, 2010
Glad to be raised on the family farm
M
y father’s farm was located in Christian County about three miles northwest of Taylorville. Originally it consisted of 60 acres. Later another 60 acres was added, and then we were considered rich. When Abraham Lincoln was “riding the circuit” he would occasionally ride the train that, at that time, made its way through our pasture. There was still evidence to be seen of the place where the tracks had been. And, of special interest to my father and my brother, Melin, was the fact that two or three times a week an airplane flew over our house! An airplane in those days was something one just didn’t quite believe, and they made only rare appearances. Did I mention that this was in the 1920s? These were planes that flew mail from St. Louis to Springfield, about 30 miles north of us. We now know that Charles A. Lindbergh was one of the pilots who made that flight. It made no difference what was happening: when a plane flew over, my dad and Melin would drop everything and watch that marvel as it flew over, low and slow. If we were sitting around the big round oak dining table having our dinner (at noon) Dad would grab his hat--he always wore it outdoors--as he ran out the door, followed by Melin. Who cared that the mashed potatoes got cold or the (home made) ice cream melted, they’d seen a plane. When Melin was very young, there was an occasion when he was out in the barn lot. He had a bottle of milk, so he couldn’t have been any older than three, but he always remembered the event vividly. There was an odd sound, he looked up, saw a little plane flying along, and thought, “That’s for me!” When I was in high school my sister and Melin and I had an adventure when we went to a neighboring farm where a barnstorming pilot had landed and offered to give interested persons a ride. When Melin got out of that little plane after his flight he was convinced he had
found his life’s work. Guest My sister and I were Column just happy we’d gotten safely back on earth. BY MRS. There was always MARTHA JEAN work to be done on a WIELAND farm. Melin “bucked bales” many times, had a 4-H club experience with a successful Chester White sow, generally helped Dad around the farm. After graduating from high school he enlisted in the army, spent time becoming an airplane mechanic, then was accepted for training to become a Staff Sergeant Pilot (a rank that no longer exists) and spent many months flying in New Guinea during World War II. He was so unsophisticated that his first thought upon learning that’s where he would be going was to wonder whether one could get a good milkshake there. He received numerous medals during his time overseas and was promoted many times, coming home as a captain to fly in civilian life for TWA. I no longer live on a farm, but I remember fondly our solid, healthy, remarkable lifestyle as we lived it then. I understand that I can recall much of what has now been lost for all time. Who could make a living for a family of five from 60 acres, and who shucks corn these days? Who has time during the winter months to go call on neighbors just for fun? Who attends a one-room school, inhabited by students in all eight grades, with only one teacher? I’m glad that I can recall the Depression. I’m glad that I was born when I was. And I’m glad that my brother was born and reared on a real honest-togoodness farm so that he could serve our country well and become a respected and admired pilot. Submitted by Martha Jean Wieland, Jerseyville.
FARM UPDATE
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PUBLISHED BY CAMPBELL PUBLICATIONS: Calhoun News-Herald, Greene Prairie Press, Jersey County Journal, Pike Press, Scott County Times and The Weekly Messenger
A special farming and agricultural supplement to Campbell Publications FEBRUARY 24, 2010
FARM UPDATE
Page Two
Wednesday, February 24, 2010
Farm consignment auction features something for everyone By CARMEN ENSINGER Campbell Publications
Looking for some hog panels that still have a little life in them? How about a five-ton fertilizer spreader? Or, how about a 50-year-old tractor? One can’t just go to the supermarket and pick up these items, but farmers know where they can go to get such items, and it’s only down the road. Twice a year, auctioneer Jerry Joyce holds a huge farm consignment sale just on the outskirts of Greenfield. The last sale was held on Feb. 13 and hundreds of farmers from several states gathered to bid on just about any farm implement one could imagine. It’s hard to miss when a sale is going on because cars are lined up on both sides of the highway for more than half-a-mile in both directions. Another auctioneer, Larry Derricks, said the crowd was quite typical. “At the last sale we had, we handed out over 600 numbers,” Derrick said. “Rather than have a small farm sale, we try to put them all together and have it in one place – it draws in a much bigger crowd than if you were to have several small sales.” The auction has become so popular that some farmers have made it a tradition. Eighty-year-old Frank Ipock
“Larry Derrick is a friend of mine and I tell you what, if Larry told me he had a rooster that could pull a freight train, I wouldn’t argue, I would just hook it up and see where it went. He is just a wonderful person and if he says something runs, it’s going to run.”
days – most people only tell you the bad stuff that goes on, but there are still good people out there.” Ipock couldn’t remember the name of the farmer that helped him out, but he knew someone who did. “Larry Derricks know his name – I think he is a friend of his,” Ipock said. That man was White Hall farmer and Greene County board member Mark Strang. Derrick said it’s not unusual to see the same faces at the auctions. “There are a lot of repeat faces here today,” Derrick said. “Some of them make it a point to be at almost every sale we have.” But there are also new faces. Joe Fogle came up from Carmen Ensinger/Campbell Publications
Right: Randy Williams of Jacksonville looks closely at a vintage lathe as he waits for the farm consignment sale to start in Greenfield recently. Below: Charlie and Bill Barfield, of Jacksonville, inspect a backhoe before bidding at the farm consignment auction. Hundreds of pieces of equipment from numerous sellers were sold at the sale. Hundreds gather for the sale, which is held twice a year. It was the Barfields first time at the auction. Bottom: Joe Fogle of Jerseyville checks out a front loader prior to the start of the auction. Fogle was in the market for a backhoe to spread some dirt.
Jerseyville in search of a backhoe. “I just need it to move 100 yards of dirt, so I don’t want to buy a new one,” Fogle said. “I figured if there was one out there that it would probably be here.”
Wednesday, February 24, 2010
FARM UPDATE
Page Eleven
USDA production loss assistance underway Scherrie V. Giamanco, State Executive Director of USDA’s Farm Service Agency (FSA) in Illinois, said she wants to inform producers that USDA has implemented the new Supplemental Revenue Assistance Payments program (SURE) in accordance with the 2008 Farm Bill. FSA county offices began accepting producer application for benefits on Jan. 4 for crop production losses suffered during the 2008 crop year. “No sign-up deadline has been set for 2008 crop losses because FSA is waiting for automated computer software to be released,” said Giamanco. “Until the software is issued, FSA will accept applications and process producer payments manually so producers do not experience a delay in program benefits.” According to Giamanco, eligible producers who experienced crop production losses in crop year 2009 will not apply for SURE program benefits until fall of 2010 as seasonal average market prices, a critical element in calculating program payments, will not be finalized until October at the earliest. SURE provides crop disaster assistance payments to eligible producers on farms that have incurred crop production or crop quality losses. The program takes into consideration crop losses on all crops grown by a producer nationwide. SURE provides assistance in an amount equal to 60 percent of the difference between the SURE farm guarantee and total farm revenue. The farm guarantee is based on the amount of crop insurance and Non-insured Crop Disaster Assistance Program (NAP) coverage on the farm.
Total farm revenue takes into account the actual value of production on the farm as well as insurance indemnities and certain farm program payments. To be eligible for SURE, producers must have suffered at least a 10 percent production loss on a crop of economic significance. In addition, producers must meet the risk management purchase requirement by either obtaining a policy or plan of insurance, under the Federal Crop Insurance Act or NAP coverage, for all economically significant crops. For 2008 crops, producers had the opportunity to obtain a waiver of the risk management purchase requirement through a buy-in provision. Producers considered socially disadvantaged, a beginning farmer or rancher, or a limited resource farmer may be eligible for SURE without a policy or plan of insurance or NAP coverage. In addition to meeting the risk management purchase requirement, a producer must have a farming interest physically located in a county that was declared a primary disaster county or contiguous county by the Agriculture Secretary under a Secretarial Disaster Designation. Regardless of a Secretarial Disaster Designation, individual producers may also be eligible for SURE if the actual production on the farm is less than 50 percent of the normal production on the farm due to a natural disaster. For SURE, a farm is defined as all crops in which a producer had an interest nationwide. For more information on the new SURE program, please visit your nearest FSA county office or http://www.fsa.usda.gov. To make an appointment at your local FSA Office, please call to discuss SURE eligibility.
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Frank Ipock Auction attendee
of Springfield, Mo., has been attending farm auctions for more than 50 years, and makes it a point to be at the Greenfield sales. “We usually pack up and come down a day or two before and stay in a motel so we can get here early the day of the sale,” Ipock said. “I’ve been going to farm sales all my life, but I especially like this one.” Ipock said one reason he likes the Greenfield sale is because he trusts the auctioneers. “Larry Derrick is a friend of mine and I tell you what, if Larry told me he had a rooster that could pull a freight train, I wouldn’t argue, I would just hook it up and see where it went,” Ipock said. “He is just a wonderful person and if he says something runs, it’s going to run.” Ipock said it is nothing for him to leave a sale with half dozen or more pieces of equipment. “One year I bought 32 tractors, sight unseen, and they delivered all of them to me,” Ipock said. “Last time we were here, we bought a couple of tractors and a 20-foot bushhog and a lot of smaller stuff. There are a couple of Allis Chalmers tractors here that I’d like to get today, and I always buy a truck or two while I’m here. I use them for a while and then sell them.” But it’s not only the wide variety that brings Ipock 350 miles – it’s the general nature of Greene County residents. “You always read about people lying and stealing from you, but the farmer is a different breed,” Ipock said. “One time, we broke down here in White Hall after buying a truck. We put gasoline in it instead of diesel. This fella stopped and asked if he could help us get it off the road. He asked us what we were going to do and I said I’d have to give my wife a call and have her come down and get us. The guy said he had a Ford Ranger, and we could drive it back. I said, ‘Man, you don’t even know me and I’m more than 300 miles from home.’ He said, ‘That’s OK, it will make it.’ He loaned us his truck. We drove it back to Springfield, and I filled it up with gas the next day, got a trailer truck and sent it back to him. “That’s the kinds of guys you run into around here. You never hear of anything like that happening these
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FARM UPDATE
Page Ten
llinois farmers and biodiesel industry may face losing proposition after biodiesel tax credit is removed The Illinois Soybean Association (ISA) and Illinois biodiesel producers are calling upon Senator Dick Durbin (D-Illinois) to work quickly with Senate Majority Leader Harry Reid and other Senate leaders to reinstate the biodiesel tax credit through the first moving piece of legislation available. “The tax credit needs to be included to protect the Illinois biodiesel industry, its employees and thousands of green collar jobs nationwide,” said Mike Cunningham, a Vermillion County farmer and ISA vice chairman who lives near a biodiesel plant. Senate Majority Leader Harry Reid (DNevada) announced drastic changes to the bipartisan jobs bill which removed the biodiesel tax credit extension, which is vital to the downward-spiraling biodiesel industry, and other energy provisions, from the quickly-moving HIRE legislation. According to the National Biodiesel Board, biodiesel production has ground to a halt and more than 29,000 jobs have already been lost across the industry since the tax credit lapsed on January 1, 2010. In Illinois, most biodiesel pro-
duction facilities are running at reduced capacities, idled or shut down. “We once had a thriving renewable fuels industry here,” said Cunningham, who lives in the same county as Danville-based Blackhawk Biofuels, LLC. “This is a ‘lose-lose’ proposition for our state and our nation.” “The biodiesel tax credit in the jobs bill is the only option being consider that will guarantee that workers can be put back to work the day after it is signed into law,” said Dan Farney, an Illinois Soybean Association farmer from Morton who recently attended the National Biodiesel Conference. “Illinois biodiesel plants are laying off more green collar employees every day that the tax credit is allowed to go unsigned. This just adds to our nation’s and state’s unemployment problems.”
Wednesday, February 24, 2010
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Wednesday, February 24, 2010
Peek says he’s green through and through By BETH ZUMWALT Campbell Publications “Going Green” or “Being Green” is the new buzz word in the media these days, but for 87year-old Earl Peek of Pittsfield it’s not about being environmentally friendly – it means John Deere green. “I started work for Hoover Brothers John Deere dealership (in Milton) in 1947, as soon as I got back from the Philippines,” Peek said. “From that time on, every time I had a birthday or Christmas, somebody got me something John Deere.” Peek found himself buying John Deere pieces and now, more than 60 years later, his collection is extensive. Peek has old pieces, new pieces, little pieces and big pieces. His collection includes more than 300 tractors, including models of the Old Waterloo. Numerous other pieces of farm machinery, a working train set, toys including a checker board with green and yellow checkers, dominos, towels, dinnerware, a set of lights, thimbles, dolls, stuffed animals, several mugs and cups, pictures, clocks and puzzles and countless other items round out the collection. He even has a model, still in the box, of the 1997 John Deere race car. “Every time I get a jigsaw puzzle with any-
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“I started work for Hoover Brothers John Deere dealership (in Milton) in 1947, as soon as I got back from the Philippines. From that time on, every time I had a birthday or Christmas, somebody got me something John Deere.”
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Earl Peek
618.498.1234 OR 217.285.2345 Kenneth E. Loy & Company, P.C. Certi¿ed Public Acountants
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FARM UPDATE
thing John Deere on it, I glue it together and frame it,” Peek said. But hands down, his most precious piece is a small picture frame in the shape of a barn with a small John Deere tractor in the lower left hand corner. The frame contains a picture of Peek and his older brother, Gene. The picture was taken in the Philippines in 1945. The picture represents a tragic story. “Gene had been over there three years,” Peek said. “I was being sent over.” Peek said he and his brother had been keeping close contact with each other, and Gene knew the approximate date Earl was going to land and hoped to meet him at the depot. “When I landed, I went to headquarters and asked if he had been there,” Peek said. “They told me they couldn’t tell me, even if they had remembered. As I was leaving, a guy came out the back door and yelled at me as I was walking away. He told me he could be court-martialed for what he was doing, but Gene had been through the day before and he was 50 miles north of there.” Peak went back to his quarters and later was playing cards with some buddies when someone came up behind him and knocked him out of his seat. It was his brother, Gene.
Beth Zumwalt/Campbell Publications
Earl Peek of Pittsfield has thousands of pieces of John Deere memorabilia displayed in his home. His most prized possession is a picture of him and his brother taken in the Philippines during WWII. The picture is in a John Deere frame and is the last one taken of the two together.
“They let us stay there together for three days,” Peek remembers. The two went their separate ways and within 30 days, Earl Peek got the message Gene was dead. “He got sick and they put him on a hospital ship and started to the United States with him,” he said. “He didn’t get to the states before he died. They buried him on an island, but later contacted my mother and said if she wanted him brought home for burial, the military would make arrangements, She did and he’s buried at the Glasgow Cemetery. My family all lived in Glasgow.” Peek served out his time in Japan after the war and applied for the job at Hoover Brothers. “I told them I didn’t know which end of a wrench was which and they sent me to school,” Peek said. “I worked for them and several other John Deere dealers before I retired.” Once Peak started on his career, his collection of John Deere items came naturally. He still collects items and checks regularly to see if any new puzzles are available. He has all of his items on display in his home, but keeps the boxes they came in. “They told me I should keep them in boxes, but I wanted them out where I could enjoy them,” he said. “ So I kept the boxes, but I keep them somewhere else.” After Peek’s first wife died, he remarried. Zona Peek said she enjoys the collection and is always on the lookout for something new and unusual. “But I told him when we got married, he’d have to keep it dusted,” she said. “Some of those little tractors are frail and it would be easy to break a wheel.” Peek’s most valuable pieces are in a sealed glass display case eliminating the need for cleaning, and family members come in several times a year and help with maintenance on the rest of the collection.
Page Three
FARM UPDATE
Page Four
Wednesday, February 24, 2010
FARM UPDATE
Wednesday, February 24, 2010
Page Nine
USDA announces planting transferability pilot project Scherrie V. Giamanco, State Executive Director of USDA’s Farm Service Agency (FSA) in Illinois, announced today that the USDA Farm Service Agency (FSA) Planting Transferability Pilot Project (PTPP) permits Illinois producers to plant approved vegetables for processing on base acres under the Direct and Counter-Cyclical Program (DCP) or Average Crop Revenue Election Program (ACRE). Eligible producers have until March 1, 2010 to sign up for the PTPP program. USDA will not accept any late filed applications. “PTPP offers producers the opportunity to diversify their crop production and better use their base acres. This project supports state farmers with additional sources of revenue and the production of healthy fruits and vegetables,” said Giamanco, Illinois FSA State Executive Director. PTPP allows producers to plant approved fruits or vegetables for processing on a farm’s base acres. Approved plantings include cucumbers, green peas, lima beans, pumpkin, snap beans, sweet corn or tomatoes. Without the PTPP, planting these crops on base acres would be prohibited. Base acres on a farm will be temporarily reduced each year on an acre-for-acre basis, for each base acre planted with an approved fruit or vegetable on that farm. Illinois has 9,000 acres approved for PTPP in 2010. Eligible participants must agree to produce one of the approved crops for processing and to provide the county FSA office with a copy of the contract between the producer and processing plant. Participants must agree to produce the crop as part of a program of crop rotation on the farm to achieve agronomic, pest and disease management benefits, and to provide disposition evidence of the crop. Participants must complete form CCC-749, which is available at the county office or online at http://www.fsa.usda.gov and file it with their county FSA office. For more information on PTPP or other farm programs, visit your local FSA county office or the Farm Service Agency Web site at http://www.fsa.usda.gov
Farm Credit announces $1,000 agriculture scholarships More than $20,000 of scholarships will be awarded to collegebound high school seniors who are pursuing agriculture-related curriculum and careers. Farm Credit Services of Illinois will present twenty-three $1,000 “We Understand” Agriculture Scholarships to current high school seniors. “Farm Credit is proud to invest in young people who have a passion for agriculture. We need some of the brightest of today’s youth to become tomorrow’s agricultural leaders,” said Dave Owens, Farm Credit Services of Illinois President & C.E.O. “The ‘We Understand’ Agriculture Scholarship program promotes the positive opportunities of exploring careers in the agriculture industry – including production agriculture.” Scholarship selections are based on a combination of academic achievement, participation and leadership in school and community organizations, and the applicant’s commitment level to an agricultural career. To be eligible, scholarship applicants must be high school seniors who plan to enroll in a college or university during the fall 2010 semester and who will be pursuing an agriculture-related academic major or career. Applicants must reside in one of the sixty southern counties in Illinois served by Farm Credit Services of Illinois. The scholarship application deadline is March 1, 2010. Applications for the “We Understand” Agriculture Scholarships are available at the 20 Farm Credit Services of Illinois branch offices and online at www.fcsillinois.com/scholarships.html. Questions about the scholarship can be sent to info@fcsillinois.com. This year marks the seventh year of the “We Understand” Agriculture Scholarship program. Following the selection of the 2010 scholarship recipients, more than $100,000 of college scholarships will have been awarded by Farm Credit Services of Illinois to 135 different “We Understand” Agriculture Scholars since 2004. Farm Credit Services of Illinois is a farmer owned cooperative with $2.5 billion of assets that provides competitive farm financing and delivers crop insurance expertise to 8,000 farm families, agribusinesses, and rural landowners in the southern 60 counties of Illinois
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Soil meeting in Scott Wayne Utterback/Campbell Publications
Farm Bureau hands out green bags
New officers were elected to the Scott County Soil and Water commission at its annual meeting last week. From left: Keith Devlin, secretary; Robert Smith, chairman; Andy Brockhouse, new director; Jim Mathews; and retiring director Henry Likes, Sr. The meeting covered some new laws that affect farmers and included a rousing game of soil and water trivia and door prizes.
Brady Borrowman, left, and Terry Rush, right, show off the enviornmentally-friendly grocery bags the Illinois Farm Bureau was handing out Monday at County Market in Pittsfield. Inside the bags were tips for eating well on a tight budget and recipes for meals such as barbecue pork skillet.
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FARM UPDATE
Page Eight
Wednesday, February 24, 2010
Field borders benefit wildlife on the farm Weedy field borders and brushy fence lines may not be attractive to some people, but for many Missouri farm wildlife and game species, those places are prime real estate. Bobwhite quail, cottontail rabbits and many songbird species thrive in areas composed of native grasses, weeds and small shrubs. These plant communities provide critical areas for nesting, broodrearing and escaping from predators, said Bob Pierce, University of Missouri Extension fish and wildlife specialist. They also provide wildlife with food in the form of insects and seed-producing plants. A new MU Extension guide outlines techniques for establishing these edge habitats and describes how they not only help wildlife but can have agronomic and economic benefits as well. “Precision farming has demonstrated that these locations tend to be among the least productive areas of the field due to shade and competition from adjacent woodlands,” said Pierce, co-author of “Field Borders for Agronomic, Economic and Wildlife Benefits.” Field edges next to mature woodlands may suffer yield reductions of 30 percent
or more, making them unprofitable to plant, fertilize, treat with pesticides and harvest, Pierce said. Eligible landowners may receive rental or cost-share payments for converting certain croplands to wildlife habitat through state and federal conservation programs. “Wildlife will respond to habitat-management practices that provide food and cover,” Pierce said. Landowners can either plant a mixture of native grasses, legumes and shrubs, or establish field borders just by letting native vegetation take hold. Research has shown that these field borders should be at least 30 feet wide for maximum benefit. “A 30-foot-wide strip that is one mile long totals only about three acres,” Pierce said. “Although this is a trade-off for producing crops, the benefits to wildlife are tremendous.” The MU Food and Agricultural Policy Research Institute has studied detailed computer models of typical Missouri farms and found that at current crop prices many operations could see a modest revenue gain by enrolling underperforming acres in a conservation program. Field borders also produce a lot of insects. That’s good for quail chicks which
Illinois estate taxes may change By MARY PARKER Campbell Publications For 2010, neither the federal government nor the state of Illinois will collect estate taxes. At a meeting in Scott County on Thursday, Feb. 18, the Executive Director of Pike and Scott County Farm Bureaus, Blake Roderick, reaffirmed the bureau’s commitment to lobbying for a permanent repeal of all estate taxes. Federal taxes have followed the same plan since 2001. From 2001 to 2009, the exclusion amount increased while the top tax rate decreased. Put another way, estates paid lower taxes on less property each year for the past eight years. Legislators planned to repeal estate taxes for 2010, with 2011 seeing a return to early exclusion and tax levels. Illinois went along with the plan by repealing state estate taxes for 2010. Roderick spoke in Scott County of the Farm Bureau’s efforts to make the repeal permanent, but warned that both state and federal government would not be eager to give up such a large portion of their annual budget. He said that for 2010, an already tight state budget would be $280 million poorer for losing estate taxes.
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eat bugs during the nesting season, but it worries some crop producers. Will field borders bring pest insects to adjacent crops? Studies indicate that field borders with recommended mixtures of grass and forbs won’t hurt corn and soybean yields, Pierce said. The borders had no effect on the abundance of bean leaf beetles, a major soybean pest. In addition, these borders can harbor large populations of predators and parasites of European corn borers. This may reduce the abundance of that pest in cornfields, notes Bill White, supervisor of the Missouri Department of Conservation’s private lands programs. Borders can protect more than just the plants, White said. “Damage to combines and other equipment from overhanging tree limbs is eliminated when field borders are planted along wooded fence
lines.” Management of a field border is simply a matter of keeping these areas in an early stage of plant succession, Pierce said. Landowners can accomplish this through such practices as strip disking, prescribed burning and herbicide applications. By connecting hedgerows, brushy fence rows and ditch banks to areas such as woodlots and grasslands, landowners can create a network of habitats, making the land more attractive to birds and other wildlife. Rather than mowing these areas every year, Pierce suggests allowing them to grow up in natural vegetation such as blackberries, sumac, sassafras, grape vines and wild plum. MU Extension guide G9421, “Field Borders for Agronomic, Economic and Wildlife Benefits,” is available online at http://extension.missouri.edu/explore/ agguides/wildlife/g09421.htm
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Do you have an exciting or unique farm-related story that our readers would be interested in? We want to hear from you! We are always looking for stories you want to read about for our farm sections. Crops or cows, barns or beans, pigs or pumpkins, we want to hear what you want to read!
For Pike and Scott counties, contact Beth Zumwalt ppnews@campbellpublications.net • wmnews@campbellpublications.net • 217-285-2345 For Calhoun, Greene and Jersey counties, contact Jong Cambron jcjnews@campbellpublications.net • 618-498-1234
FARM UPDATE
Wednesday, February 24, 2010
Page Five
Pork, soybean and corn groups donate $7,500 to Midwest Food Bank The Illinois Pork Producers Association (IPPA), Illinois Soybean Association (ISA), and the Illinois Corn Marketing Board (ICMB) presented the Midwest Food Bank with a check for $7,500 on Dec. 15 as part of the Pork Power: Partnering to Fight Hunger in Illinois campaign. The donation was made to support Gridley Meats’ continued processing of hogs donated by local pork producers. IPPA continued the Pork Power program during 2009 and partnered with ICMB, ISA and the Illinois Association of Meat Processors (IAMP) to build upon the success of the 2008 campaign in which the partners provided more than 100,000 pounds of donated pork to food banks in Illinois. “Nutritionists tell us that a healthy, wellbalanced diet including lean protein is important for managing weight, cholesterol levels and blood pressure,” says Mike Haag, a pork producer from Emington and current IPPA Vice President/Treasurer. “It is important that Illinois families have access to the nutrients they need not just during the holiday season, but throughout the year as well. Illinois pork producers are dedicated to producing safe, wholesome and affordable food and are proud to work with the partnering organizations to support the Midwest Food Bank and Gridley Meats’ pork donation program.” Donna Jeschke, a corn producer from Mazon, Ill., and immediate past chair of the IL Corn Marketing Board agrees that the partnership is the right thing to do at the right time. “This type of project is a winning situation for everyone involved, not just the Corn Marketing Board (www.ilcorn.org) or
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pork producers, but most importantly, our neighbors throughout Central Illinois will receive protein which is vital to everyone’s nutritional needs.” Pork Power is a natural partnership for soybean growers, says Matt Hughes, a soybean grower from Shirley, Ill. and assistant secretary-treasurer of the Illinois Soybean Association (www.ilsoy.org). “It is important for all of the Illinois commodity groups to work together for a common goal,” Hughes said. “As farmers, it is our responsibility to feed the world. The Pork Power program helps us start by feeding those in need in Illinois while also promoting the livestock industry, which is the top consumer of soybeans.” Ringger brothers Stan, Steve, Scott, and Brent were raised on a grain and farrowto-finish hog farm that Stan and Brent still operate today. Steve and Scott stayed in the field of agriculture, but not on the farm. They work for JBS United, a grain and feed company. In 1999, the brothers purchased a meat processing plant and locker, Gridley Meats. “A few years ago, we realized that by combining our efforts, we could fulfill a need within our community,’ said Steve Ringger. The farm began turning over pigs to the locker for processing, which in turn, donated the processed ground pork to local food pantries. Today, the Ringgers receive pig donations from approximately eight pork producers. The pork products are then donated to the Midwest Food Bank in Bloomington. “We deliver 3,000 to 4,000 pounds of donated pork to the Midwest Food Bank each month, which is then distributed to needy families throughout Central Illinois,”
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helping others, and they are doing so with a nutritious, high-quality product that is an important addition to our food bank. The donation by the pork, corn, and soybean groups will help us to further our efforts during these difficult economic times.” ISA is the statewide organization for Illinois soybean growers. The farmers on its board administer soybean checkoff funds to support research, promotions and educational programs designed to increase demand for Illinois soybeans and administer legislation and membership programs. Contact ISA at 309-663-7692, or visit www.ilsoy.org.
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said Steve Ringger. The Midwest Food Bank was created just six years ago when the Kieser family began providing food out of a shed on their family farm. The Midwest Food Bank began by serving about 10 food pantries in McLean County. Today they serve more than 500 organizations across the Midwest. The food given out each month now reaches more than 100,000 people. “The Ringgers and the other pork producers who donate pigs are helping to bridge the gap between prosperity and poverty,” said David Kieser, President, Midwest Food Bank. “They have taken on the challenge of
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FARM UPDATE
Page Six
Wednesday, February 24, 2010
Wednesday, February 24, 2010
FARM UPDATE
Page Seven
Jerseyville instrumental to company’s initiative to double crop yields By JONG CAMBRON Campbell Publications Jerseyville’s research facility, located just south of town, is an integral portion of Monsanto’s goal of doubling yields in major crops by 2030, officials say. The initiative, which was announced during the summer of 2008, is to increase food production by doubling yields in cotton, soybeans and corn. But to do that, specific genes are being introduced to those crops and then researched and monitored at the Jerseyville plant and its sister sites. “We’re here to provide information and be part of solutions to support Monsanto’s biotechnology and Monsanto,” Wally Bates, Jerseyville’s site manager, said. To reach its goal to double yields by 2030, the St. Louisbased company stated that it would have to develop better seeds. “We are always looking for that one that’s got the trait that’ll help us protect that plant to get to that 300 bushel per acre,” Bates commented. “Every year we make progress towards increased yields. If you’ll look at yield data from the last 10, 15 years, you’ll see that yield just keeps going up. With steady research and quality research we are producing here, and our sister stations produce, every year it keeps moving that yield. How close are we? I think we are moving in the right direction.” Currently, the average yield nationwide for corn is 165.2 bushels per acre, Nick Weber, Media Manager of Monsanto Public Affairs, said, citing figures from the United States Department of Agriculture. In Illinois, the yields were a touch better at 170 to 180 bushels per acre, he added. The potential for the high yields is there, Joe Cordes, a member of the Farm Team, said, but it’s “limited by stress.” As an example, he said his father, who farms 700 acres in Greene County, sees a few acres of corn that yields 300 bushels per acre, but the rest yields much lower than that. “The yield potential is there, the traits are just trying to unlock that potential or make it, I guess, more realistic in a broader spectrum over more acres,” Cordes said. “Where traits come in, as far as yield goals in 2030, is to limit, mitigate those stresses, whether it be nitrogen, whether it be bugs, whether it be drought.” Jerseyville could be the place where that particular gene that could help influence yield results is found. Jerseyville
already has the distinction of being the site of the first farm in the world where a biotech crop – a tomato - was tested in 1987. The site was also home to the first triple stacked corn trial in 1998, according to Monsanto. The plant that covers approximately 250 acres and employees 21 full-time workers who are separated into teams, has been in operation since 1984, when chemical tests took place on the farm off Davidson Road. There’s the Farm Team; Seed Processing; Breeding; Greenhouse;
“We learn something from something that isn’t successful as much as we learn from something that is successful. We want success all the time, but we understand success can come from a failure, too. Success we see in five years could be something from a failure this year.”
Wally Bates Site Manager and Yield & Emerging Technology. There is also a site maintenance worker. During the spring and summer when the crop season is in full swing, there could be at least 100 people on site, with half of them scientists from St. Louis conducting field research. “This is what it takes to support a research facility,” Bates said. During the summer, the facility will hire at least 30 fulltime workers to help, Cordes said. “Those will be local high school, college kids, temporary workers,” Cordes explained. “A general day out here in the summer, there will be 50 people reporting to Jerseyville, easily. Then there might be another 50 people out here from St. Louis. It’ll be noisy and busy. There’ll be something going on everywhere.” The facility became a biotechnology research center in
2003 – Part II of Monsanto’s four-step development process. The first step, which occurs at Chesterfield Village, in suburban St. Louis, is discovery. “That’s where they find out the genes that go into the corn, cotton, soybean, canola plants,” Weber. “That’s where the research begins.” Then the genes are brought to Jerseyville and its sister sites to test the proof of the concept in the field, Weber explained. “In order to do that, we are going to put out well over 100,000 controlled plots to provide quality research and information that they need,” Bates said. These plots are 23 feet long and five feet wide. The Jerseyville facility also has approximately one acre of greenhouse space that’s utilized for controlled research. The site’s seed platform produces 250,000 packets of seed that are then sent out to farms across the country for trait integration – Part III. That’s when the seeds are tested in a larger environment and into breeding populations, Bates stated. The final step is commercial when the seed is finally introduced to farmers. The four-step process takes an average of 12 years, Cordes said. “A lot of the stuff we do out here in the field (in Jerseyville), it’s the last time it ever sees the field,” he said. “It’s the first step. It’s still trial and error. We are still sorting and finding the product.” Whatever the outcome, Bates said his team learns from both failures and success. “We learn something from something that isn’t successful as much as we learn from something that is successful,” Bates said. “We want success all the time, but we understand success can come from a failure, too. Success we see in five years could be something from a failure this year.” The site received a $3 million expansion in late 2008 that included 22,000 square feet of new building or renovation. “This expansion solidifies Jerseyville’s role as a center of biotechnology for the globe,” Steve Padgette, Monsanto’s vice president of biotechnology, said during the expansion announcement. “The work done at this historic facility is a key part in our R&D (research and development) process. As someone who was involved in the beginning of biotechnology there, it’s personally rewarding
to continue our investment in the Jerseyville facility and, subsequently, the Jerseyville community.” Bates agreed the increase in the site has helped speed up the research. “With the same amount of people, and the space and the equipment we put in with the expansion, it has really allowed us to put things into the pipeline at a faster pace and a more reliable pace,” he said. “It’s helped us tremendously. I think we got benefits from all over the place.”
Jong Cambron/Campbell Publications
Opposite Page: The brown bag is used to capture pollen for cross pollination research. Top Left: Cotton is grown and harvested at the Jerseyville Monsanto facility. Top Right: Paul Zykan, a member of the TDP Greenhouse team, shows off a cotton plant that’s being grown at the Jerseyville facility. Bottom: Corn, which is being grown in a greenhouse during the winter season, is one of the crops that is researched at the Jerseyville Monsanto facility.
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