ILLINOIS FARM BUREAU and other groups oppose a bill that would establish a new fee for some livestock operations. ......................2
ILLINOIS AGRICULTURE faces a leaner 2012 fiscal year under either the House or Senate budget proposals. ...........................................3
ILLINOIS ENTOMOLOGISTS are preparing for the invasive brown marmorated stink bug by seeking the public’s help. ..........................................7
Monday, May 23, 2011
Two sections Volume 39, No. 21
Farmers double corn plantings in one week Problems persist in southern tier BY DANIEL GRANT FarmWeek
The frustration of more than a month of planting delays was eased somewhat in many areas of the state as farmers more than doubled the amount of corn planted in one week. Illinois farmers from May 9 to May 16 planted a whopping 35 percent of the corn crop, which pushed planting progress from 34 percent complete on May 9 to 69 percent complete — just 5 percent behind the five-year average — as of last Monday (May 16). Planters last week continued to roll in areas where the soil was dry. “It was another week of hard work for producers as planters, cultivators, and sprayers continued to move at a fast pace,” said Todd Easton, a FarmWeek Cropwatcher from Coles County. Nationwide, 63 percent of the corn crop was planted as of the first of last week, compared to the five-year average of 75 percent. Twenty-two percent of the soybean crop was planted by May 16, compared to the average of 31 percent.
“The soil is working great where it dried out,” said Martin Barbre, who farms near Carmi in White County. Unfortunately, numerous cropland acres in Southern Illinois, particularly along the Mississippi, Ohio, Wabash, and Little Wabash rivers, remain too wet to work or are underwater. “There are fields that still have four to five feet of water on them,” Barbre said last week. “The water got to places we never dreamed it would get.” Barbre as of Friday had planted just 25 percent of his corn crop and estimated planting in his area was about 35 percent complete. He said some farmers already have returned corn seed and will plant some fields, if and when they’re fit, to soybeans. “The flood ground is just not drying out yet,” said Barbre, who had received about 20 inches of rain on his farm the past six weeks. “We’ve had all this cool weather that’s not helping.” The National Agricultural Statistics Service Illinois field office the first of last week reported corn planting was just 22 percent complete in the southeast portion of the state and 29 percent complete in the east southeast compared to 94
percent in the west, 86 percent in the northeast, 87 percent in the northwest, and 78 percent in Central Illinois. The forecast as of Friday was for more rain. “It’s frustrating to have these good prices and not get a crop in the ground,” Barbre said. He estimated as much as 30
percent of the wheat crop in his area was lost due to flooding. But, farther north, Dave DeVore, grain merchandiser for Siemer Milling in Teutopolis, expects a large increase in harvested acres in coming weeks compared to last year’s record low. The wet conditions have increased the threat of wheat
scab, but DeVore told the RFD Radio Network he hopes the cool temperatures helped keep the spread of that disease in check. The Illinois Wheat Association this week will conduct its annual Southern Illinois Wheat Tour and project yield potential of this year’s crop.
Ken Reinhardt, a farmer and FarmWeek Cropwatcher from Seaton in Mercer County, loads soybean seeds into a seed tender in this field near Aledo. Reinhardt finished planting soybeans on Friday and said planting conditions “were some of the best we had in a long time.” In all, Reinhardt planted about 2,800 acres of corn (including custom-planted acres) and about 600 acres of beans. (Photo by Ken Kashian)
Profs’ proposal spurs concerns, reaction Periodicals: Time Valued
BY MARTIN ROSS FarmWeek
From an engineering, economic, or agricultural viewpoint, proposals to allow continued flooding of some of the Midwest’s most fertile land don’t hold water, according to floodplain interests and analysts. Ag Secretary Tom Vilsack last week urged the U.S. Army Corps of Engineers to commit to rebuilding the Bird’s Point Levee as soon as possible. Some 130,000 farmland acres in Missouri remained underwater last week following destruction of the levee to protect the South-
ern Illinois town of Cairo. A trio of Southern Illinois University (SIU) specialists has asked the White House to consider “the much higher value” of that land “if it is left open to the river and allowed to be inundated regularly.” In a letter sent to President Obama, SIU agribusiness economist Silvia Secchi and zoologists James Garvey and Matt Whiles argued that damaged land within the floodway will cost “considerable treasure to recover.” They suggested the cost of the government buying that land “may result in far higher economic benefits in the long
FarmWeek on the web: FarmWeekNow.com
term for society at large.” According to Missouri Farm Bureau President Blake Hurst, letting the land be perpetually flooded is “an awful idea,” endangering floodplain residents, devaluing farmland, and creating a dangerous regulatory precedent. The Bird’s Point flood spillway includes extensive grain and specialty crop production and “our best soybean-growing lands,” said Hurst. He sees the government having a “moral obligation” to help return that ground to “the productive state it was in before the levee was blown.” Mike Klingner, a Quincy riv-
er engineer and Upper Mississippi, Illinois, and Missouri River Association vice chairman, argues the SIU letter is “so far out there, it’s hardly worth having a conversation about.” Beyond private property issues (Hurst fears farmers and homeowners without flood protection would virtually be forced to sell out), Klingner told FarmWeek a federal buyout “just doesn’t make sense.” He rejected the trio’s contention that leaving the area unprotected would relieve river pressure on other area lands and See Proposal, page 2
Illinois Farm Bureau®on the web: www.ilfb.org