ILLINOIS WHEAT ACRES are expected to climb this fall after dipping to 350,000 acres a year ago — one of the lowest totals on record. ............................................8
MONSANTO, originator of Roundup Ready soybeans, is working to ensure things go smoothly for growers and others when the soybeans go off patent. .................9
GROWMARK continued its r un of “g ood years” based on sales and income posted during the fiscal year that will end this week. .......................................12
Monday, August 30, 2010
Two sections Volume 38, No. 35
Gubernatorial candidates focus on ag, rural issues BY KAY SHIPMAN FarmWeek
A rural spin on education, the economy, and taxes drove the discussion as the two gubernatorial candidates addressed state ag leaders last week on a Bloomington farm. The Illinois Agricultural Legislative Roundtable heard
FarmWeekNow.com Video from the IALR’s candidate forum is available at FarmWeekNow.com.
the Democratic candidate, Gov. Pat Quinn, and his Republican opponent, state Sen. Bill Brady, discuss their platforms and answer audience questions in separate appearances. Quinn and Brady continued to differ sharply on income tax increases. Quinn repeated his support for raising income taxes to generate $3 billion for education. Brady countered the state must cut spending and live
within its fiscal means. After the audience question-and-answer period, Quinn told reporters he favors legislation that would require schools to reduce property taxes in return for more state aid. “If (schools) get more money for education, they have to agree to cut property taxes,” Quinn said. “I believe it should be mandatory ... I think you can pass such a law in Illinois.” Quinn said Brady’s proposal to cut state spending would put more pressure on districts to raise property taxes. Brady proposed the creation of an education property tax relief fund and funneling 10 percent of revenue growth into that fund. He said he also would save money by dismantling the Illinois State Board of Education and replacing it with a “downsized” department of education within his cabinet. Asked about Quinn’s proposal to require districts to cut property taxes, Brady dismissed the idea and added, “It sounds like a bunch of smoke and mirrors.” Both candidates highlight-
State Sen. Bill Brady
ed agriculture’s importance to the state’s economy. Quinn stressed the need to increase farm exports and said, as governor, he would promote Illinois ag trade. Brady focused on changes needed to make the state more business friendly and questioned why more time is needed to obtain permits to site ethanol and biodiesel
Gov. Pat Quinn
plants in Illinois than in other states.
U.S. senate candidates speak on ag issues — page 3 The candidates were asked what policies they would implement to encourage a vibrant livestock industry.
Brady answered he was more worried about overregulation of the livestock industry. The state already has in place strong livestock rules, he added. Quinn said the state “must make sure we cover the environmental front.” The state also must ensure its meat products are safe he said.
Variable subsidy offered as another ethanol option Periodicals: Time Valued
BY MARTIN ROSS FarmWeek
As congressional options begin to run thin for a stillevolving biofuels industry, a Purdue University economist offers one possible redesign for the ethanol “safety net.” Ag Secretary Tom Vilsack has pledged USDA support for congressional extension of the current 45-cent-per-gallon ethanol blenders tax credit. The credit for corn ethanol use expires Dec. 1, and Vilsack argued ethanol development “isn’t where it needs to be throughout the country.” A similar biodiesel tax credit continues to languish nearly nine months after its Jan. 1
expiration, as supporters continue to seek a tax or energy vehicle in which to include both biodiesel and ethanol credit extension. Amid industry uncertainty and continued media attacks on corn ethanol, Purdue University’s Wally Tyner has revived the idea of a “variable subsidy” which, Wally Tyner he argues, could reduce federal tax “costs” and provide more security for producers than do current fixed subsidy rates.
FarmWeek on the web: FarmWeekNow.com
“We could see ethanol plants close if the subsidy isn’t renewed in some form,” Tyner stressed, but he argued a variable rate would “insulate” biofuels producers from risk, because as oil and ethanol prices drop, the subsidy would increase. Under one scenario, no subsidy would be offered when oil prices reached a high of $90 per barrel. The subsidy would kick in at 17.5 cents per gallon when oil is at $80 and increase 17.5 cents for every $10 decrease in oil prices. Influential Republican U.S. Sen. Richard Lugar (R-Ind.) floated the concept a few years ago, but “it didn’t go any-
where,” Tyner told FarmWeek. But he sees shifting industry, political, and public dynamics spurring a rethink on the ethanol “safety net.” “Some folks felt they really got bad press when they were being blamed for high corn prices,” he said. “You had a subsidy that stayed at 45 cents even though oil was $140. The combination of that subsidy and high oil prices really kicked up demand for ethanol, which kicked up demand for corn.” Growth Energy, a coalition of ethanol companies and biofuels supporters, is floating See Ethanol, page 2
Illinois Farm Bureau®on the web: www.ilfb.org