COLBY HUNT, McDonough County Farm Bureau vice president, is a national online celebrity for his brief Twitter reports about farming. ..........2
USDA’S OFFICE OF PEST Management Policy represents agriculture’s interests with the U.S. EPA. ................................................3
THE LONG-TERM FUTURE looks bright for the state livestock industry, according to the Illinois Livestock Development Group. .........7
Monday, February 7, 2011
Two sections Volume 39, No. 6
Momentum builds to rein in EPA authority BY MARTIN ROSS FarmWeek
Illinois Farm Bureau President Philip Nelson is expected to address producer concerns about the potential costs of U.S. Environmental Protection Agency (EPA) greenhouse gas (GHG) regulation this week on Capitol Hill. Nelson tentatively will testify before the House Energy Committee regarding the need to rein in EPA regulation of “stationary” (non-transportation) GHG sources. Energy and Commerce Chairman Fred Upton (R-Mich.) has floated a proposal to prohibit EPA from regulating carbon emissions under the Clean Air Act and reportedly has scheduled a Wednesday hearing to solicit feedback on the issue. Committee member John Shimkus, a Collinsville Republican who chairs the panel’s Energy and the Economy Subcommittee, has pledged increased EPA oversight this session. Meanwhile, American Farm Bureau Federation (AFBF) hailed Sen. John Barrasso’s (RWyo.) introduction of the Defending America’s Affordable Energy and Jobs Act, which aims to restrict EPA’s
greenhouse authority under not only the Clean Air Act but also through other federal statutes such as the Endangered Species Act or Clean Water Act. Any future greenhouse regulations related to human health concerns must focus solely on climate change issues — the basis for a federal court decision that granted EPA greenhouse authority. AFBF President Bob Stallman wrote to Barrasso last week pledging support for the bill. According to EPA estimates, more than 37,000 farming operations (including 90 percent of livestock production) would be affected by the proposal, at an average cost of $23,200 per permit. Overall, that could cost the ag sector more than $866 million. According to Stallman, producers would suffer additional “indirect economic impacts” related to GHG regulatory costs incurred by utilities, refiners, and manufacturers and passed on in the form of higher fuel, fertilizer, and energy costs. IFB Director of National Legislation Adam Nielsen applauded Barrasso’s intent but suggested the Upton bill might garner greater support than Barrasso’s more “expansive” measure, which likely would fall under mul-
tiple committee jurisdictions. Proposals to stay EPA’s hand already have drawn fire from Senate Environment Chairman Barbara Boxer (D-Calif.) and groups such as the Natural Resources Defense Fund and the American
Lung Association (ALA). Nielsen noted challenges to their contention that revocation of EPA authority would endanger public health, given that legislation focuses on carbon rules and not on more
“traditional” pollutants. “Is carbon dioxide really threatening human health?” he challenged, noting CO2 is the chief byproduct of human respiration and a vital component of plant development.
DIGGING OUT
Curtiss Robbins of Bloomington last week was among the numerous Good Samaritans throughout the state who pitched in to help others following a blizzard which dumped several inches of snow on the ground and strong winds whipped up large drifts. He was helping to clear a path for his friend and farmstead owner, Catherine Thomas of rural Bloomington. Thomas’ daughter, Shanell, who has worked with horses since she was 7 years old, has started a business in which she trains horses and teaches children to ride them. (Photo by Ken Kashian)
Ag banker: Another farm crisis not out of the question Periodicals: Time Valued
BY DANIEL GRANT FarmWeek
Historically high commodity prices and escalating farmland values experienced in recent years probably remind many veteran farmers of another golden era in farming — the 1970s. But that era came to a screeching halt as a classic boom-and-bust cycle led to the 1980s farm crisis. So will history repeat itself ? Bob Boesdorfer, senior vice president of commercial and agribusiness banking for First Midwest Bank in Danville, said another farm crisis is not out of the question. But he hopes those in the industry learned enough lessons more than a quarter-century ago to avoid a repeat of that disaster. “In the 1970s, we had good cash flows
For more thoughts, see page 5 and a buildup of land values (similar to current conditions),” Boesdorfer said. “Then (in the early 1980s) interest rates went through the roof (as high as 23 percent), revenues came down as we had three or four poor production years, and the value of farmland went down,” he continued. “It was the perfect storm.” Some farmers who purchased land in the 1970s when prices were soaring by as much as 30 percent annually were overwhelmed with debt in the 1980s. “Are we positioning ourselves to see that again? Maybe,” Boesdorfer cautioned.
FarmWeek on the web: FarmWeekNow.com
Many key factors that will shape the future of the ag economy, such as commodity prices and interest rates, obviously are out of farmers’ control. “What you can control is how much debt you carry,” Boesdorfer told Illinois Farm Bureau Young Leaders. “Those who survived (the 1980s farm crisis) managed their debt and had working capital.” Boesdorfer encouraged Young Leaders to try to keep their debt-to-asset ratio below 40 percent and working capital at at least 30 percent of annual gross income. Young farmers in particular should establish good working capital before they consider major long-term investments such as purchasing farmland, he added.
Illinois Farm Bureau®on the web: www.ilfb.org