A NOV. 10 DEADLINE to comply with U.S. EPA Spill Prevention, Control, and Countermeasures rules faces certain farmers. .............2
STATE SENATORS this week are to deal with part of the state budget deficit that stems from billions in state pension payments. ...3
PRAIRIE FARMS recently l a u n c h e d a “ Fa r m e r O w n e d ” campaign to highlight the farm families who supply all its milk. ....4
Monday, November 1, 2010
Two sections Volume 38, No. 44
Ideal harvest conditions interrupted by powerful storm BY DANIEL GRANT FarmWeek
The nearly ideal harvest conditions that persisted for much of the past two months were interrupted last week by a powerful storm that pummeled much of the Central U.S.
FarmWeekNow.com Listen to Jim Angel’s comments about October’s weather at FarmWeekNow.com.
Wind gusts of 60-plus mph were recorded over much of Illinois on Tuesday and the storm spawned three tornadoes in the state, according to Jim Angel, state climatologist with the Illinois State Water Survey. “This is the first time in a long time we’ve seen one that strong (in the fall),” Angel said of the storm. “It was fueled by warm air to the south (that clashed with) cold air to the north. In some cases, it set a record for low pressure.” The storm reportedly produced barometric pressure readings (which are a measure of the downward force the
atmosphere exerts per unit of a certain area) similar to a Category 3 hurricane. Fortunately, no serious injuries or fatalities were reported in Illinois, although there was significant wind damage, and about 75,000 electricity customers were without power from Northern Illinois and the Chicago suburbs down to southern parts of the state. Angel compared the strength of last week’s storm to a powerful system that on Nov. 11, 1940 surprised many residents of the Upper Midwest and took the lives of a number of stranded hunters. That event is known as the Armistice Day storm, having occurred on the anniversary of the end of World War I. Some market analysts predicted the storm last week could cut deeper into final corn yields. USDA last month already had cut its corn production estimate by about half a billion bushels due to disappointing yields in some areas. Corn harvest as of the first of last week was 68 percent
complete nationwide, well above the average of 49 percent. However, about 13.8 million acres of corn remained to be picked prior to the storm. There wasn’t much concern about crops in Illinois, though, as 97 percent of corn and soy-
according to Angel. Preliminary numbers on Friday showed Illinois received only about 1.4 inches, half its normal rainfall, for the month of October while the average temperature for the month was about 2.5 degrees above normal, Angel reported.
Ag consultant advises: Don’t turn back the clock BY MARTIN ROSS FarmWeek
John Eckley is an ag business consultant whose family acquired its farm in 1946. He takes estate tax concerns personally as well as professionally.
For more thoughts, see page 16 Eckley, a Bloomington marketing specialist, sees “extreme” worry about impending estate tax requirements among the Central Illinois producers with whom he interacts daily. If Congress fails to act, the
FOUR-LEGGED GLEANERS
Periodicals: Time Valued
beans were in the bin as of the first of last week. Farmers in the state had a quick harvest due to summer temperatures that were 2 to 3 degrees above normal, a dry August that sped up crop maturity, and nearly ideal fall conditions,
Angus cattle owned by Rick and Bob Ackerman of Freeport graze lazily in a harvested cornfield owned by the Ackermans’ father, Earl. There was a little ice on the stubble last week as the state experienced its first hard freeze. Does that mean Indian summer is not far behind? (Photo by Ken Kashian)
FarmWeek on the web: FarmWeekNow.com
basic estate tax exemption will drop back to a pre-2002 $1 million on Jan. 1, exposing many Illinois families to increased financial vulnerability. The exemption reached $3.5 million in 2009 before the estate tax was eliminated in 2010; Farm Bureau seeks a $5 million exemption when the estate tax returns in 2011. In an October letter to U.S. senators, the Family Business Estate Tax Coalition, which includes groups ranging from the American Farm Bureau Federation to the National Newspaper Association, chided Congress for failing to pass “meaningful estate tax relief ” prior to November elections. The coalition warned that “without a permanent solution, there are no assurances that these businesses and family farms will continue to operate in future generations.” “Our family’s been lucky enough not to hit any of the really major (estate tax) cycles,” Eckley told FarmWeek. “I remember in 1980 my grandfather was hoping to see Ronald Reagan change the exemption from $60,000 to $600,000. In his mind, that was huge. To go backward is absolutely to go the wrong way. “I definitely hear farmers talk about two things. One is estate planning; the other’s the day-today taxation issues, which are pretty significant, as well.” Beyond estate tax reversion, taxes on dividends are due to
‘ I definitely hear farmers talk about two things. One is estate planning.’ — John Eckley Ag business consultant
rise to the taxpayer’s top marginal rate — 39.6 percent for couples making $250,000-plus a year — from a current 15 percent on Jan. 1. And taxes on capital gains are set to bump from 15 percent to 20 percent. Amid the administration’s continued push for what it deems “middle-class” tax relief, Eckley suggests President Obama and congressional leaders are “very conflicted and confused about who is the middle class.” Because higher-income taxpayers have the resources to create their own tax “shelter system,” he argued “it’s the true middle-class who gets affected” by the return of the estate tax.
Illinois Farm Bureau®on the web: www.ilfb.org