FarmWeek October 11 2010

THE CLOCK IS STILL ticking on the time that Congress has to act on the estate tax before it is revived at a highly unfavorable rate. .............2

ILLINOIS VOTERS will decide a constitutional amendment and a quirky U.S. Senate race when they go to the polls Nov. 2. ..........4

ILLINOIS STATE University last week began the countdown for the agriculture department’s centennial celebration in 2011. ...........9

Monday, October 11, 2010

Two sections Volume 38, No.

USDA corn production estimate shocks traders

BY DANIEL GRANT FarmWeek

Many traders and market analysts expected USDA on Friday to trim its corn production estimate based on disappointing yields in Illinois and other key parts of the Corn Belt.

But few were prepared for the extent of the cut as USDA chopped its corn production

FarmWeekNow.com Listen to market reactions from Dale Durchholz and Peter Georgantones at FarmWeekNow.com.

estimate by about a half billion bushels to a current total of 12.664 billion bushels.

The national corn yield average was slashed from 162.5 bushels to 155.8 bushels per acre. Many traders prior to the report expected USDA to lower the national yield estimate to about 160 bushels per acre.

The yield adjustment was even more severe in Illinois.

USDA lowered the estimated state corn yield average from 174 bushels last month to a current projection of 160 bushels per acre.

“I’m shocked,” said Paul Georgantones, market analyst with Investment Trading Ser-

vices, during a Minneapolis Grain Exchange teleconference.

“500 million bushels is a very significant adjustment from September to October.”

The report came one week after USDA increased its estimate for corn stocks by about 300 million bushels more than expected by traders. The corn market subsequently experienced an 85-cent price drop in the week prior to Friday’s crop report.

Now, bullishness is expected to prevail in the market as supplies suddenly got much tighter.

USDA on Friday also trimmed soybean production 2 percent to a current estimate of 3.41 billion bushels. The national average soybean yield was reduced 0.3 of a bushel from last month to a current estimate of 44.4 bushels per acre.

“The market will really respond to it,” Georgantones said of the crop report. “We’re headed to $6 corn pretty easily.

“The livestock people are really going to get hurt,” he continued.

“The days of $4 wheat, $3 corn, and $5 beans are long gone.”

He recommended end users, such as livestock producers, extend their coverage on any future price breaks and try to lock in a basis on corn.

Georgantones predicted bean prices could push to $12 or even $12.50 per bushel to buy acres

for next year. Corn prices also must remain at levels competitive enough to buy acres for next year as U.S. producers this fall are expected to plant more wheat.

“We do have supplies getting tight,” said Ankush Bhandari, director of economic research for Gavilon LLC, last week at the Export Exchange in Chica-

go. “But what’s more important for 2011 is corn will have to fight for acres. We need to get above 90 million acres to keep the demand base growing.”

The cut in U.S. soybean production also increased the need for South America to produce a big crop this winter.

“If the world economy ever

gets going, we will see (spot shortages) of commodities,” Georgantones said. “There’s going to be a real fight for acres.”

Soybean yields were better than expected in Illinois. USDA on Friday raised its estimated state yield average from 51 bushels last month to a current projected record of 52 bushels per acre.

PLEASING YIELDS

Steve Mersinger of rural St. Jacob in Madison County started his soybean harvest last week in this 120-acre field. Mersinger said he is pleased with both corn and soybeans yields on his farm this year. Soybeans have averaged 65 bushels per acre; corn 200 bushels per acre. Recent averages for his farm have been 50 bushels per acre for soybeans and 175 bushels per acre for corn. He credited timely rains throughout the growing season for the good yields this year. Additional photos appear at {www.ilfb.org}. (Photo by Ken Kashian)

AFBF dialogue begins; Illinois ahead of game?

Periodicals: Time Valued

BY MARTIN ROSS FarmWeek

As the American Farm Bureau Federation (AFBF) last week effectively launched its farm bill dialogue, Illinois Farm Bureau President Philip Nelson suggested IFB is wellpositioned to foster common ground between regional and even Midwest interests.

Last week, Nelson and other AFBF board members began to dissect upcoming policy issues, focusing on “the purpose of a farm bill.” Given severe budget constraints moving into 2011-12, the Seneca farmer stressed the need to

hone in and, ideally, reach nationwide consensus on program and policy goals.

Regional differences likely will emerge at AFBF’s January annual meeting. IFB’s Farm Policy Task Force is two meetings into farm bill study; a third in November will shape policy proposals for IFB delegate consideration in December.

That puts Illinois in a good position to address crossregional concerns and thus foster harmony in national debate. Mutual prioritization is crucial with agriculture facing “some of the least resources available in any farm bill any of

FarmWeek on the web: FarmWeekNow.com

us (on the AFBF board) has ever seen,” Nelson said.

Largely at issue is, “What is the South going to do?,” Nelson said Friday. He noted southern Farm Bureau presidents were largely in a listening mode at the AFBF meeting, but cited diverse views over existing “safety net” programs.

“Starting up front, you have direct payments at just shy of $5 billion (per year),” Nelson noted. “How are you going to carve that pie up? We’re looking at crop insurance — do we believe crop insurance needs to be refined?

“Will the SURE (disaster

assistance) program go away, or is there going to be an effort to try to keep it on life support? If so, where’s that money going to come from? Do we look at a county ACRE (average crop revenue election) trigger?

ACRE has caused some issues nationwide, as well.”

Also ahead of the game is the National Milk Producers Federation (NMPF), whose “Foundation for the Future” plan proposes to overhaul the federal milk pricing system, manage supply, and replace the price support program and the See Dialogue, page 2

Illinois Farm Bureau®on the web: www.ilfb.org

FarmWeek Page 2 Monday, October 11, 2010

GOVERNMENT

Quick Takes CRP PAYMENTS ON THE WAY — USDA this month will distribute about $1.6 billion in annual Conservation Reserve Program (CRP) rental payments and $3.8 billion in final 2010 direct payments.

“October (the first month of the federal fiscal year) is an important production month because CRP rental payments, direct and countercyclical payments, and now Average Crop Revenue Election (ACRE) payments are paid,” said Tom Vilsack, ag secretary.

Producers holding 744,000 CRP contracts on 416,000 farms will receive an average of $52.56 per acre in CRP rental payments, or an average of $3,955 per farm. Total enrollment in CRP currently stands at 31.3 million acres.

HSUS, PETA MORE BELIEVEABLE? — New research from the Center for Food Integrity (CFI) shows most consumers are twice as likely to believe the Humane Society of the United States (HSUS) and People for the Ethical Treatment of Animals (PETA) over farm organizations when it comes to humane treatment of farm animals.

The research was released last week at the CFI’s Food Summit in Chicago. The web-based survey was completed by 2,002 respondents selected to reflect the overall composition of the population.

After HSUS and PETA, farm animal veterinarians, USDA, and university experts ranked next, followed by state and national farm organizations and small livestock farmers. Largescale livestock farmers ranked last in animal welfare credibility.

“The research indicates consumers feel information from a non-governmental organization is significantly more credible than a group that profits from the meat industry,” said Charlie Arnot, CFI’s CEO. “The closer you are to the money, the less credible your information.”

Arnot said the results make it increasingly important for food system organizations to partner with credible groups and connect with consumers using shared values.

Illinois Farm Bureau and commodity groups currently are involved in a campaign to heighten the farmer’s image.

The research also reveals that consumers favor more laws to ensure the humane treatment of farm animals in their states, which explains why voters have looked favorably on HSUS-driven ballot drives in California, Michigan, and Ohio to reform livestock housing rules.

ILLINOIS GETS HEALTH $$ — U.S. Health and Human Ser vices Secretar y K athleen Sebelius last week announced awards of $727 million to 143 community health centers across the country to address construction and renovation needs and expand access to quality health care.

In Illinois, nearly $46 million in grants has been awarded to community health centers. Recipients estimate the grants — the first in a series of awards that will be made available to community centers under the Affordable Care Act — will help them serve some 55,133 new patients.

Community health centers serve nearly 19 million patients, delivering preventive and primary care services at more than 7,900 sites around the country. Charges for services are set according to income.

“The newly constructed or expanded community health centers will provide care to an additional 745,000 patients and much needed employment opportunities in both rural and urban underserved communities,” Sebelius said.

(ISSN0197-6680) Vol. 38 No. 41

October 11, 2010

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STAFF Editor Dave McClelland (dmcclelland@ilfb.org) Legislative Affairs Editor Kay Shipman (kayship@ilfb.org) Agricultural Affairs Editor Martin Ross (mross@ilfb.org) Senior Commodities Editor Daniel Grant (dgrant@ilfb.org) Editorial Assistant Linda Goltz (Lgoltz@ilfb.org) Business Production Manager Bob Standard Advertising Sales Manager

Richard Verdery

Estate tax dilemma generates farm déjà vu

BY MARTIN ROSS FarmWeek

Jim Howard feels a strong sense of déjà vu these days, as he contemplates many of his rural neighbors looking anew down the barrel of the federal estate tax.

Howard vividly recalls his legal tussles with the U.S. Internal Revenue Service (IRS) following the 1982 death of his 82-year-old mother.

After five years of making estate tax interest payments under an IRS settlement, the Henry County man reluctantly liquidated prized farmland — according to Howard, “one-sixth of her estate” — to settle his debt.

The Howard estate was valued above what was then a $200,000 individual trigger for estate tax liability. Howard’s anger has been fully rekindled as Illinois farm families face the prospect of returning to a potentially hair-triggered, 10-year-old $1 million exemption.

Illinois Farm Bureau supports U.S. Senate proposals to boost the individual exemption to $5 million ($10 million per couple). Under Bush-era tax reforms, the per-person exemption rose to $3.5 million in 2009 before the tax was repealed for 2010.

However, the tax will return Jan. 1 at pre2002 levels if Congress fails to act, and Howard questions applying a tax aimed originally at addressing family-owned monopolies to modern operations with major working assets but often limited family cash reserves.

If, as Howard argues, $200,000 was “nothing” in terms of land holdings in 1982, rising Illinois land values have moved producers with even a few hundred acres far closer to the estate tax trigger and potentially high estate and/or tax planning costs, he said.

“The money I had to send to Washington is probably miniscule by today’s standards, but it was an awful lot back then — it was an awful lot to me, and still is,” he said.

“You don’t have the earned happiness, you don’t have the earned income from it. It’s gone, like blowing a candle out.”

Rock Island attorney Philip Koenig, who helped Howard negotiate with the IRS, continues to represent farm landowners throughout his region. He agreed a $1 million exemption presses at “the net worths of most substantial farmers,” noting local land values have reached $6,000 per acre and a new combine purchase alone runs $250,000.

In the early ‘80s, land values were “artificially inflated,” encouraging farmland pur-

chases, Howard maintained. Area per-acre values dropped from the $3,000 range at the point of his mother’s death to roughly half that within a few years, but he was unable to adjust his tax liability under provisions that lock in estate values at death.

At going farmland rates, 400 acres in the Quad Cities area easily can ring in at $2.4 million, and that’s “not a big farm holding,” Koenig said. “Truly, $1 million is going to throw a lot of people back into the fold,” he told FarmWeek.

Jim Howard

In estate planning with a producer-client who holds 1,500 acres, he recognized a potential “liquidity problem” for the farm’s heirs.

Even estate tax formulas that offer discounts for participating farmers based on land’s cash rent productivity “as a remedy aren’t quite what they would have been 25 years ago,” given higher cash rents, Koenig said.

Further, he noted producers today cannot shift crops or activities to go with market flows and ebbs. That “lack of flexibility” further complicates liquidity for farm heirs, particularly those faced with estate tax liability.

Dialogue

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Hurst and Associates, Inc. P.O. Box 6011, Vernon Hills, IL 60061 1-800-397-8908 (advertising inquiries only) Gary White - Northern Illinois Doug McDaniel - Southern Illinois Editorial phone number: 309-557-2239 Classified advertising: 309-557-3155 Display advertising: 1-800-676-2353

Continued from page 1 Milk Income Loss Contract with a margin protection insurance plan.

Nelson gives NMPF “credit” for recognizing it may have to adapt to a $100 million annual dairy budget baseline.

At the same time, the Iowa

Farm Bureau Federation has come out early with a controversial proposal to surrender at least a share of direct payments for expanded risk management funding.

Nelson also stressed the importance of funding for the Market Access Program, Public Law 480, and other initiatives

that foster global markets for U.S. producers.

“If we could jumpstart trade, that probably would gain us a lot more than some of the programs we’ve previously had in place,” said Nelson, also a member of AFBF’s Trade Advisory Committee.

FarmWeek Page 3 Monday, October 11, 2010

ENVIRONMENT

Regional water plans floated as key to state economy

BY KAY SHIPMAN FarmWeek

Two regions have plans to meet water needs up until the year 2050, but the rest of the state — and the state’s economy — also would benefit from similar planning.

“Without planning, it’s much more likely we’ll face crises that could be avoided by planning and stewardship,” said Derek Winstanley, a consultant to the Mahomet Aquifer Consortium and former director of the Illinois State Water Survey.

Regional water planning for East-Central and Northeastern Illinois started in 2006 with a mandate by then-Gov. Rod Blagojevich. Two regional planning groups analyzed current and future supplies, uses, and demands up to 2050.

The first plan released in June 2009 covers 15 counties, known as the Mahomet Aquifer region (see accompa-

nying map). The other plan released in March 2010 covers 11 counties in the Chicago metro area.

The impact of those plans and other water issues were discussed during the Illinois Water 2010 conference last

week in Champaign.

Planning for future water demands to accommodate population and industry growth while maintaining supplies for current uses is a critical need for the rest of the state, several speakers said.

Businesses considering expansion or relocation need ample and reliable water supplies and include that information in their siting decisions, said Alec Davis, an attorney with the Illinois Environmental Regulatory Group, which is affiliated with the Illinois Chamber of Commerce.

By developing regional water plans across Illinois, the state could demonstrate it has a plan to address potential shortages that might occur, Davis said. That would give businesses confidence “if you show them you’re ready for (water supply) uncertainties,” he added.

Creating a favorable business environment to nurture economic development in the state is one of the strategic themes of the Vision for Illinois Agriculture.

Gary Clark, director of Illinois Department of Natural Resources’ office of water resources, noted the regional plans would show industries that Illinois “understands (its water) resources, that conflicts can be dealt with — come to Illinois; we have adequate resources.”

Illinois modeled its regional water planning process on the process used in Texas, which has benefited from its water plans, Winstanley said.

“Texas produced water plans by regions to deal with expanding populations, expanding uses, and worstcase scenario droughts. Then it projected what it will do to try and meet (water) demands in the future,”

Winstanley said.

Work soon will start on water supply plans for a third area of the state — the Kaskaskia River Basin. A planning group, the Southwest Illinois Resource Conservation and Development Inc., will coordinate planning efforts, Clark said. The first meeting in the region will be Nov. 17.

However, state funding has been a problem in developing water supply plans. In fact, groups scrambled to find funding to complete the Northeastern Illinois plan after state funding was cut in the third year.

Clark said a state water use inventory is a key piece of regional water plans, but the inventory has never been adequately funded.

“We need a statewide water supply plan,” Clark said.

Funding is the crux of the issue.”

Some city water supplies will dry up in historic drought Drought supply planning urged When the next historic drought burns Illinois, six communities will run out of water and another 21 cities, home to 400,000 residents, face a 50-50 chance their water supplies won’t last, said a hydrologist with the Illinois State Water Survey (ISWS).

Despite that dire prediction, the state lacks overall water supply plans for a historic drought such as a twoyear drought that occurred from 1954 to 1956, Vern Knapp told participants at an Illinois Water 2010 conference last week in Champaign.

Some local officials are using the 1988 drought as a yardstick on whether their water supplies are adequate,

but that drought, although severe in some places, lasted only one year, not several, Knapp warned.

“It’s hard to convince people to act when they’ve not experienced those long-term droughts,” Knapp said. “When you’re in the midst of it (drought), you don’t know if it will be short or long and you have to plan as if it will continue for two years.”

The potential impact of droughts on surface water supplies was highlighted during regional water planning in EastCentral and Northeastern Illinois (see accompanying story).

Most of the concerns about inadequate supplies center on communities that rely on reservoirs or similar water storage systems that are vulnerable to drought.

To help communities gauge

if their supplies are adequate, ISWS rates communities as inadequate, at-risk, marginal, and adequate and estimates the probability of the community supplies lasting throughout an extended drought.

ISWS hydrologists believe that six communities, Altamont, Canton, Coulterville, Farina, Springfield, and Staunton, will run out of water during a historic drought; however, Springfield’s supply also will depend on how much water is used to generate power during the drought.

Canton, though on that list now, should be removed when it adds a pipeline to the Illinois

River, which is a less vulnerable water source than the lake from which the city now gets water, Knapp noted.

Even communities whose supplies are designated as marginal “will have to do a lot of scrambling to meet (water) needs during the last part of the drought,” Knapp said.

In planning, local officials need to understand that water withdrawal rates increase during a drought, Knapp continued.

Additional strain on water supplies “happens months before people realize they’re in a drought,” he said.

An additional wrinkle is the

lack of current information on some reservoirs. Knapp estimated about one-third of the reservoirs’ capacity has been estimated but never measured.

Hydrologists also lack data about the rates of streamflow in many rivers and streams. Some communities have planned to tap those water sources during drought.

“While (water) numbers are predicted as firm, they are not exact,” Knapp said. “In the midst of a drought, there will be a lot of stress on communities.

What will they do, cut water (use) or risk running out of water?” — Kay Shipman

GREEN BEAN HARVEST PROGRESS

State, Will County sue Enbridge over oil spill Illinois Attorney General Lisa Madigan and Will County State’s Attorney James Glasgow last week sued Enbridge Energy Limited Partnership alleging it violated state environmental laws stemming from a Sept. 9 pipeline spill near Romeoville.

“Enbridge must be held accountable for all of the environmental and public health impacts of this oil spill,” Madigan said in a prepared statement.

In the interim, the court issued a provisional order requiring Enbridge to identify and inspect all water mains, sanitary and storm sewers, private wells, and groundwater within half a mile of the leak; to assess the impact of the oil leak; and to ensure clean-up.

The lawsuit seeks to require Enbridge to pay all of the Illinois Environmental Protection Agency’s response and oversight costs related to the spill.

This was the second Enbridge pipeline spill this summer in the Midwest. The first one caused damage in the Kalamazoo River.

Enbridge Pipelines (Illinois) LLC is building a pipeline from Northern Illinois to Patoka in Marion County.

A green bean harvester dumps a load of second-crop beans into a cart on a Mason County field near Forest City. Seneca Foods has the contract for the crop. The beans were transferred into a semi before traveling 500 miles to a Wisconsin processing plant. Inset: The beans just before harvest. (Photos

by Dee Dee Gellerman, Mason County Farm Bureau manager)

FarmWeek Page 4 Monday, October 11, 2010

ELECTION ELECTION 2010

Constitutional amendment question focuses on recall

BY KAY SHIPMAN FarmWeek

Editor’s note: This article is part of Farm Bureau’s “Get Out the Vote” campaign. The goal is to encourage Farm Bureau members to become active in the political process and elect candidates committed to serving agricultural interests.

On Nov. 2, Illinois voters will vote on an amendment to the Illinois Constitution that would allow voters to petition for a special election to recall a governor and to elect a successor.

To pass, the measure will

FarmWeekNow.com You can view the secretary of state’s pamphlet on the recall amendment at FarmWeekNow.com.

require a favorable vote by a majority of all who vote in the election or at least a 60 percent favorable vote

on the question.

The proposed amendment would allow any registered voter to file with the State Board of Elections a notice of intent to circulate recall petitions no earlier than six months after the governor’s term in office begins.

The filing must include an

affidavit with the proponent’s signature and those of at least 10 Democrat and 10 Republican state representatives and at least five Democrat and five Republican state senators.

If the Board of Elections approves that action, the proponent would have 150

Survey aside, trade generating less ‘drumbeat’?

BY MARTIN ROSS FarmWeek

A new Wall Street Journal/NBC poll indicates increased public rumbling about free trade, but an American Farm Bureau Federation (AFBF) election analyst detects little anti-trade “drumbeat” on the congressional campaign trail.

Fifty-three percent of those polled by the Journal and NBC indicated they believe free trade agreements (FTAs) have hurt the U.S. vs. 46 percent of those surveyed three years ago.

However, despite post-recession anxieties — a past source of anti-trade sentiment, AFBF public policy specialist Linda Johnson instead sees an overwhelming campaign focus on government spending and domestic “jobs and the economy.”

“For once, trade and protectionism don’t appear to be out on the table,” Johnson said.

“I’ve not heard that trade’s at the top of anyone’s agenda out there. I don’t think there’s a drumFarmWeekNow.com beat at all.”

Listen to Christopher University of Mooney’s comments about Illinois Instit h e U . S . S e n a t e r a c e a t tute for GovFarmWeekNow.com. ernment and Public Affairs political scientist Christopher Mooney said “there was a day when this was a very resonant issue — in the NAFTA (North American Free Trade Agreement) era, when people were making movies about Japanese car companies and union guys were smashing up Hondas and stuff.”

“But it’s really not a big issue this

time,” Mooney said.

In recent RFD/FarmWeek interviews, Illinois’ U.S. Senate candidates, Democrat Alexi Giannoulias and Republican Mark Kirk, agreed in general on the economic benefits of trade, especially for the ag sector.

Kirk argued FTAs with Panama, Columbia, and South Korea would help “roll back some of the gains the Canadians have made against Illinois in grain sales” and, in the case of current U.S.-Korea FTA side-talks, help Illinois beef producers.

He noted most Columbian products enter the U.S. duty-free while tariffs are levied on most U.S. exports to Columbia, stressing tariff reductions on U.S. goods are “almost the sole effect of a free trade agreement.”

Giannoulias said new market opportunities are critical for the U.S. to meet “the growing world demand for food with American agriculture” and touted the need to “focus heavily and invest heavily in exports.”

“If the U.S. does not move quickly, we risk losing market share and opportunities for growth to our competitors,” he said.

At the same time, Giannoulias argued free trade must be “done right so that everyone is playing by the same rules.”

He said currency manipulation by China and others is “one of the reasons we’ve got these ever-increasing trade imbalances,” and urged efforts to “make sure we start seeing more ‘Made in America’ here in the United States.”

“Nobody’s arguing about exports — everybody thinks that’s wonderful, unless it’s exporting jobs,” Mooney said. “It’s that other side of the highway people worry about.”

IFB to host equine issues forum Oct. 23 Illinois Farm Bureau will host a one-day equine issues forum at 10 a.m. Saturday, Oct. 23, at the IFB office, 1701 Towanda Ave., Bloomington. Advance registration is required.

The program is geared for those who earn a living in the horse industry, as well as weekend enthusiasts.

Dr. Dennis French, University of Illinois veterinary med-

icine professor, will discuss the increase in unwanted horses, and Brad Schwab, director of the USDA National Ag Statistics Service Illinois field office, will present options for an Illinois equine census.

In breakout sessions, participants will discuss issues raised by the speakers.

The forum will conclude with participants reconvening

and sharing topics and recommendations from each breakout session.

Lunch will be provided.

There is no charge for attendance, but advance registration is required.

Register online by going to {www.ilfb.org/equineforum}, call IFB’s Brenda Matherly at 309-557-3151, or e-mail your registration to equineillinoisfarmbureau@ilfb.org.

days to circulate petitions and gather a number of signatures equal to at least 15 percent of the total votes cast in the gubernatorial election.

Of those signatures, at least 100 must come from 25 different counties.

The Board of Elections must certify or reject the petitions within 100 days.

If the petitions are certified, a special election for governor must be held within 100 days after the certification.

If a majority of voters favors the governor’s removal in the special election, the governor is

removed immediately.

Petitions must then be circulated for individuals seeking to be elected as the governor’s successor, and a special election for the succes-

Read one view on why farmers need to vote on page 16 sor must occur within 60 days.

Go to FarmWeekNow.com for more details about the proposed amendment along with arguments in favor and against the proposal.

Dual Senate ballot is ‘no small thing’ A little confusion at the voting booth this November could have major ramifications for Illinois producers, a University of Illinois-Springfield political scientist warns.

In an unusual election scenario spurred by an August U.S. District Court ruling, Illinois voters will be asked to vote twice for U.S. Senate on Nov. 2.

In addition to the general election to fill a six-year regular Senate term beginning in 2011, a special election is being held to fill the “unexpired term” being vacated by current junior Sen. Roland Burris following the election.

Former Gov. Rod Blagojevich appointed Burris to fill newly elected President Barack Obama’s seat in late 2008.

The official November ballot will include the four statewide candidates seeking the six-year term, followed by an option to select one of the same candidates to fill the vacancy for the unexpired term.

The candidate elected to fill the unexpired term will serve from the time election results are final on Dec. 3 until the new Congress convenes Jan. 3.

Theoretically, voting one ballot slate without the other could result in one candidate taking office in January and another voting on measures before Congress during a likely “lame duck” session in December.

Candidates for the Senate seat include Democrat Alexi Giannoulias, Republican Mark Kirk, Green Party candidate LeAlan Jones, and Libertarian Mike Labno. The ballot also includes a write-in option.

Christopher Mooney, a professor with U of I’s Institute for Government and Public Affairs, can recall no such situation occurring, at least at the congressional level, during his 15 years of studying the Illinois political scene.

The circumstances “are a little weird, but not unheard of,” and with Congress likely to address some major unfinished business following the mid-term elections, Mooney urges Illinoisans to vote carefully in the Senate race.

“They (Congress) are going to have lame duck sessions in D.C., and they may be doing some significant things there,” Mooney told FarmWeek. “The Bush-era tax cuts might be on the table, and some other things. That is an important vote.

“I assume people are just going to take two (ballots) and they’re not going to split their votes, so it’ll be whoever wins one will win the other. But people ought not just ignore it — it’s no small thing.” — Martin Ross

FarmWeek Page 5 Monday, October 11, 2010

ELECTION 2010

Major U.S. Senate candidates address issues Giannoulias has ser ved as Illinois state treasurer since 2007. From 2002 to 2006, he was senior loan officer and vice president at ChicaDemocrat go’s Broadway Alexi Giannoulias Bank.

How can the Senate reconcile the nation’s growing deficit with pressing economic, infrastructure, and program needs?

Giannoulias: I believe strongly that erasing our yearly budget deficits and paying down America’s debt should be our No. 1 fiscal priority when we rise out of the current recession.

My plan is based on four commonsense pillars of reform that will rein in America’s escalating debt and grow our economy.

We need to fundamentally change the way we budget our tax dollars and impose pay-asyou-go budgeting rules.

Second, we should rebalance the tax code so that it benefits the middle-class and working Americans, not the biggest corporations and the

Republican Mark Kirk

Kirk has represented Illinois’ 10th Congressional District since 2001. He ser ved as counsel to the House International Relations Committee from 1995 to 1999.

How can the Senate reconcile the nation’s growing deficit with pressing economic, infrastructure, and program needs?

Kirk: We need to encourage leaders to spend less and tax less because our trilliondollar deficit is way too high.

When we look at our infrastructure needs, we need to think outside the box to make sure that just because we are in a funding crunch doesn’t mean we stop all infrastructure investment. That investment leads to economy growth.

One of the things that I have been surprised at is how we have forgotten much of our economy history.

For example, I’ve asked people, “What is the No. 1 infrastructure project of President Lincoln?” Possibly his third greatest achievement after winning the Civil War

wealthiest Americans.

Third, if we are going to restore standing to our nation’s finances, we need to take another look at the health insurance industry and figure out the smartest way to move that forward.

Finally, we need to put all our options on the table and, you know, heed (U.S. Defense Secretary Robert Gates’) call to rein in non-essential defense spending.

I’ve cut my budget in the state treasurer’s office. I’ve cut my personnel by 17 percent from where it was under my predecessor. I know what it’s like to have to deal with budgets — real budgets — and I think that’s one of the problems in Washington, D.C. How can Congress best ensure a future of sustainable domestic energy independence? Do climate issues have a place in the energy debate?

Giannoulias: I support efforts to create a comprehensive market-based system that spurs investment and renewable energy and new cleanenergy jobs.

This can be achieved through several different mech-

anisms, including a national renewable energy standard or a market-based pollution trading system. I think if done correctly, this could and should be a boon for farmers.

Carbon sequestration projects like no-till farming and grassland and rangeland practices that capture carbon will provide new income.

I think we should extend the transmission grid to America’s rural areas so that we can efficiently export wind, solar, geothermal, and biofuel resources.

I think it’s important we do everything we can to ensure we have sustainable domestic energy, and I do think climate issues have a place in the energy debate.

We have to move eventually to a clean-energy future, and we have to do it in a way that I think will be and can be and should be helpful to farmers, which are the most important industry in the State of Illinois.

Agriculture is the backbone of Illinois’ economy. I understand that. I’ve seen it as state treasurer, and that is something I’m going to fight for in the U.S. Senate.

I had a chance to meet with corn growers when I met with

the Farm Bureau. The biggest concern I have, the biggest concern I’ve heard and one that I will fight for, is to increase the ethanol blend to at least 12 percent, if not 15 percent.

That is the No. 1 concern. I promise to take that fight to the U.S. Senate. I think it’s important. I do think it does have a future and an important one, especially for a state like Illinois.

I made that promise and I think we need to continue it.

How would you stimulate Midwest economic growth, particularly for farm families and rural communities?

Giannoulias: You don’t need to tell me the recession has taken its toll on family farms and rural communities. I get that; I know that.

That’s why my first major action as a candidate for the U.S. Senate was to release a comprehensive plan for rural America that includes provisions aimed at protecting the family farmer and spurring economic development in rural communities, like giving farmers and small businesses access to credit, building infrastructure to extend high-

speed Internet to underserved areas, and tapping the full potential of wind and biofuels technology.

In the state treasurer’s office, I have committed $4 billion in low-interest agriculture loans over four years — the largest amount ever in a market, more than any other state in the nation — and have doubled the amount available to farmers for long-term projects, based on feedback from loan program users.

I will expand this effort in the Senate.

Agencies including the U.S. Environmental Protection Agency (EPA) are advocating a greatly expanded regulatory agenda for farmers, landowners, and businesses? How do you perceive the federal government’s regulatory role?

Giannoulias: I think the EPA has, at times, a difficult job. We just need to make sure that within their rules and regulations, they don’t do things that will harm farmers and farming families.

We just want to make sure that the regulations aren’t overbearing on the farmers and their families.

and the Emancipation Proclamation was the TransContinental Railway Act that he enacted in 1862.

That was a classic public/private partnership in which the arrangements were so well designed that a vast amount of private capital was attracted to this project, and it transformed the United States. This can be done again.

We’ve seen this in other states. For example, the state of Indiana and Governor (Mitch) Daniels have been successful with this.

I want to go to the Senate to make sure that as we reduce our deficit, we don’t stop investment and infrastructure but we recall some of the spirit of Abraham Lincoln and the Trans-Continental Railway Act, which provided private capital to make sure the country kept rolling forward.

How can Congress best ensure a future of sustainable domestic energy independence? Do climate issues have a place in the energy debate?

Kirk: I am for a new bipartisan energy independence bill that will build 50 new nuclear power plants and will give permanent tax

credits to clean, green, and renewable fuels like ethanol, wind, solar, biodiesel, and hydro.

I’m particularly concerned that the Congress has given a faint or on-and-off green light to America’s inventors, because many of these production tax credits and encouragements only last between three and 10 years.

We need to send a permanent green light to America’s inventors.

I think it is particularly important to back ethanol and other renewable fuels, because there’s a hidden subsidy for foreign oil — the vast amount of blood and treasure that the United States has to pay through the Department of Defense and our heavy infrastructure to defend the Persian Gulf.

Over time, as we build domestic sources of energy, we don’t have to have that hidden subsidy and the country will be safer.

Every dollar we don’t send to Saudi Arabia and Iran probably makes us safer in of itself.

I think the consensus behind (the connection between energy and climate policy) has collapsed. I announced a year ago that I would vote against a cap-

and-trade bill.

I think, moving forward, what we should do is assess how the carrots can encourage us, especially Illinois agriculture, to participate, through ethanol, through switchgrass, and through other ways to create clean, American-made energy. I am for the “all-of-the-above” strategy to help us unhook from foreign oil.

How would you stimulate Midwest economic growth, particularly for farm families and rural communities?

Kirk: Well, No. 1, not raise their taxes. Governor (Pat) Quinn has called for a 33 percent increase of the state income tax.

There were 10 new taxes in the (federal) health care bill, and I think that has really discouraged a lot of small business decisions to potentially hire new people.

And, then, long-term, you want to upgrade the lock and dam system in Illinois to make sure we have a greater and cheaper access to our key export port, the Port of New Orleans.

Agencies including the U.S. Environmental Protection Agency are advocating a greatly expanded

regulatory agenda for farmers, landowners, and businesses? How do you perceive the federal government’s regulatory role?

Kirk: I am particularly concerned that right now we have a one-party state both in Springfield and in Washington, with no checks or balances. We need to send a senator to Washington who will serve as a check-and-balance.

Especially if the elections go the way we think, with many Republicans being elected, there is a danger that the administration will use its regulatory power to try to go around Congress.

We will want to make sure that we only have the regulations we need, and that they make sense and do not pose an overwhelming cost with little benefit, especially on small business owners, equipment providers, farmers, etc., that are key to the Illinois economy.

I’ve got to say, Illinois agriculture is one of our biggest successes and our No. 1 employer.

My watchword in the Senate is to be the proemployment senator for Illinois.

FarmWeek Page 6 Monday, October 11, 2010

CROPWATCHERS Bernie Walsh, Durand, Winnebago County: What a difference a year makes. This ideal harvest weather we have been having is great, and the TV weather man reminded us that one year ago on Sunday (Oct. 10), we had our first snow of the year. This year the forecast is for 80 degrees. Harvest is definitely in full swing for both corn and beans. Several farmers are finished with their beans, but there probably is 20 percent left in the field, but by the time you read this there will be a lot less. The soybean yields are holding up very well with many fields close to 60 bushels per acre, but the moisture has dropped to 8-9 percent so there has been some shatter loss.

Corn yields I have heard have been variable with some record yields and some disappointing yields on low ground that was way too wet. Have a good week and stay safe.

Leroy Getz, Savanna, Carroll County: A very dry week with only a few sprinkles on Oct. 2.

We had frost four mornings in a row. Soybean harvest is nearly finished. Yield monitors were reading from 40 to 90 bushels per acre. We finished our corn on Thursday. Good yields, low moisture and no LP. It has been very dry baling cornstalks, and it was hard to hold the bales together. However, the Mississippi River flooding closed the elevator at Savannah interrupting grain movement.

The river has now crested and is receding.

Larry Hummel, Dixon, Lee County: Soybean harvest sure is fun now that the next generation has joined our operation. My nephew runs the combine, my son fills the bins, and my brother and I keep busy helping them move from farm to farm, fixing tile, and all the other things that pop up during harvest. The best part of it is that I’m usually home by 7:30 p.m. and have plenty of time to pop some popcorn and watch a little TV. Soybean harvest is at least 80 percent completed in our neck of the woods with above average yields. Corn is closer to 50 percent done with average yields.

Joe Zumwalt, Warsaw, Hancock County: Harvest continues during what seems to be the best stretch of weather that we have had in the past two years.

Except for the late-planted fields, corn harvest is nearly wrapped up. Soybean harvest has been a little slower, however. Yields have been good, but the beans just don’t want to dry down very fast. Several producers have finished and are now doing tillage, mowing, and spraying. Harvest doesn’t take long when you can cover a lot of acres in a day. There is no chance of rain in our forecast so by this week, I’m sure we will a ready for a break and a long nap. Stay safe during these long hours.

Ken Reinhardt, Seaton, Mercer County: We are enjoying one of the nicest stretches of weather for what seems like years. Many can see the end of harvest or are even done. I finished soybeans Thursday. Sudden death took its toll. Fields without it were in the mid-60s; those with heavy disease pressure were in the mid-40s.

There are reports of 70 bushel-per-acre fields and some of 30-bushel fields around the area.

I started back on corn and found the moisture was down to 12 percent in some early corn.

There is a good article in the latest IPM bulletin from the University of Illinois on what went wrong with corn on corn this year, there are eight things listed.

Ron Moore, Roseville, Warren County: No rain to report this past week. Lots of sunshine and dry conditions. Corn harvest is 80 percent done in this area with below-average yields.

Soybean harvest is 60 percent done with above-average yields.

Corn is yielding in the 150- to 170-bushel range and soybeans are averaging in the upper 50s to low 60s.

We are not getting the super yields on soybeans that other areas of the state are getting. Lots of fertilizer and tillage are being done. With the dry conditions and compacted fields from the last two falls, many people are doing some deep tillage. We should be done with our harvest this week.

Tim Green, Wyoming, Stark County: A very dry, warm week. Corn moisture levels are down into the 13 percent range. Harvest is rapidly going along. We are getting close to 75 percent done. There are still a few tough green-stemmed beans out there that were planted a little later than others and aren’t quite ready. Bean yields have been really good. It is kind of surprising that corn yields can be not as good and bean yields can be so good. I’ve heard bean yields as high as 80 bushels per acre. A lot of fall tillage is being done along with conservation work. Hope you have a safe harvest.

Mark Kerber, Chatsworth, Livingston County: Harvest is done in many locations, but a few fields are left to do. Dry ground is giving us a chance to continue with fall tillage. I stand corrected on the round spots missing in soybean fields. It is from voles, not ground squirrels. Voles are a small rodent that resembles a mouse and thrives on small plants. If the weather continues to be nice, many projects will get done that were put on hold from the wet last fall. These include tiling, waterway work, old fence removal, etc. Markets are waiting direction from Friday’s supply report. There is a lot of investor money that could go into commodities resulting in higher prices.

Ron Haase, Gilman, Iroquois County: The dry weather continued and so did the progress of harvesting and tillage. About 95 percent of the crops have been harvested in this area. Forty to 50 percent of the tillage also has been completed. Our full-season corn, 114-115 day, even dried down to 14 to 16 percent during the past week.

The local closing prices for Oct. 7 were: $4.74 for nearby corn, $4.81 for January corn, $4.38 for fall 2011 corn; $10.31 for nearby soybeans, $10.64 for January soybeans, and $10.17 for fall 2011 soybeans.

Brian Schaumburg, Chenoa, McLean County: With harvest nearly complete, farmers are fertilized up, tilled up, cleaned up and putting away for the season. A lot of repairs are now being done to tile and equipment that saw the effects of last year’s stresses. Yields ranged from the ridiculous to the sublime with beans above to well above average and corn mostly below.

Spreads are tightening from December to July leaving less carry and more marketing decisions to be made soon. Corn, $4.75, January, $4.90, fall 2011, $4.36; beans, $10.30, January, $10.47, fall 2011, $10.62; wheat, $6.09.

Steve Ayers, Champaign, Champaign County: A light frost was on the pumpkin earlier in the week while combines and tractors continued to roll. Corn harvest is essentially done and beans will be down to the short rows by this week. We had our best beans ever at 67 bushels per acre. Some varieties have tough green stems. Weather continues to hold with a chance of liquid sunshine Wednesday described as iffy to spotty.

Farmers are busy tilling, tiling, fertilizing, liming, maintaining equipment, seeding wheat, soil testing, and doing conservation work.

Still too warm for anhydrous application.

Let’s be careful out there!

Wilfred Dittmer, Quincy, Adams County: What another beautiful Friday morning here in our county. As I said a couple weeks ago, maybe we will have a normal harvest this year. I think we are having a near-perfect one as the dry days continue and the dust trails follow the combines back and forth across the fields. I think corn harvest is nearing perhaps 70 percent done and bean harvest is maybe 20 to 30 percent complete. A little tillage is happening in some of the early-harvested fields and a little fertilizer also is starting to move to the fields. Have a safe week.

Carrie Winkelmann, Menard County: The only rain we had during the week was a short storm on Saturday morning (Oct. 2) that kept us out of the field for the morning.

Because of the good weather, crops have been disappearing from the fields at a fast pace.

More people were working on beans than corn last week, which has evened up the amount of corn and beans left in the fields to about 20 percent. Bean yields are good, but not the bumper crop I was expecting after scouting before harvest. Beans definitely are better than corn, though. It will take another good weather week to get finished with beans and done with harvest, which is amazing when I think back to where we were last year.

Tom Ritter, Blue Mound, Macon County: Harvest is rapidly wrapping up with far less than 10 percent of corn and soybeans left to be harvested. I’m not even sure if there is any standing corn left in the area. Overall, farmers have been very pleased for the most part with yields of corn, as well as yield of beans. The beans especially have been outstanding and some of the best yields ever. A lot of tillage has been going on as farmers wrapped up and a lot of fertilizer has been applied, but it is way too soon to even be thinking about application of anhydrous ammonia.

Farmers are beginning to slow down a little bit and relax and looking forward to a long winter vs. the very short winter we had last year.

Todd Easton, Charleston, Coles County: I looked back at the Cropwatcher report I wrote exactly a year ago and it began by commenting on how harvest was having a far-fromideal start. It seems almost amusing now as we are concluding an all-but-perfect harvest season just a year later.

While corn harvest was convenient for the year, it was not as bountiful as we would have liked as the crop was dealt an unfair one-two punch with very wet and somewhat cool conditions right after emergence and then a super hot and dry August. The soybean crop, on the other hand, went in a bit late and looked to be in trouble with the difficult August also, but late rains in the area must have been just in time to finish what may be the best bean crop many have seen in the area. One or two drills came out this past week and sowed what little wheat seed could be found to start the next crop out in almost perfect conditions.

Jimmy Ayers, Rochester, Sangamon County: We received a small sprinkle Saturday morning (Oct. 2) last week. The majority of the crop has been harvested. There is some corn left, probably 10 to 15 percent, and beans have about 30 percent left. The majority of the activity last week was fieldwork. A lot of chiseling and fertilizing going on. Markets are back to a roller coaster ride. Hope you are on the right side of the ride.

Doug Uphoff, Shelbyville, Shelby County: Activities are winding down. We are going to finish with our plot today. That will be the last of the soybeans to cut. I would say in the northern part of the county everything is 95-98 percent done.

Fieldwork is 80 percent finished, so we will have time for some recreational tillage, which hopefully there won’t be much of, but we are relieving a lot of compaction problems with deep ripping. Some tiling and surface draining repairs are done. There has been some wheat sown. We put out 28 acres. We will be waiting to put on anhydrous toward the end of October or the beginning of November. Prices went down, but they are coming back. A good report came out Friday — ending stocks were lowered.

Cash corn, (Decatur prices) $4.98; January, $5.03; fall 2011, $4.61 and that’s with no trucking taken off; Decatur beans, $10.40; cash, $10.83; January/fall $10.42.

Have a safe week.

Page 7 Monday, October 11, 2010 FarmWeek

CROPWATCHERS David Schaal, St. Peter, Fayette County: On Saturday, Oct. 2, we received some light rain, which amounted to 0.15 to 0.2 of an inch, which shut down soybean harvest for that day. It gave farmers a break to catch their breath. On Oct. 3, farmers were right back to cutting.

From then on, we had another beautiful harvest week. Producers are really gaining on the bean harvest with a few of them finished up. We are hoping to wrap up this weekend (Oct. 9-10). Some wheat sowing is going on, along with some fall tillage.

Also, farmers are getting a chance to work on some waterways, cleaning them out and grooming them. Everyone keep safe for the small percentage of the harvest season left.

Kevin Raber, Browns, Wabash County: Harvest is just about complete. I finished Thursday. As you drive around the countryside, you can find a few bean fields, but I haven’t seen a cornfield for awhile. The beans I finished Thursday were disappointing. They were in light river bottom soil and made just 25 bushels to the acre. Wheat sowing is progressing rapidly. It’s going to take a good rain to get a good stand.

Dan Meinhart, Montrose, Jasper County: A couple tenths of rain fell Saturday morning (Oct. 2). Warm temperatures prevailed throughout the week. Light patchy frost appeared Sunday and Monday mornings (Oct. 3-4).

Harvest is moving right along.

The late-May and June-planted corn is still carrying moisture. It will be a week or two before the July-planted beans will be ready for harvest. More wheat is being put into the ground. Some of the earlier-planted wheat has emerged. Another mild week is expected.

Ken Taake, Ullin, Pulaski County: Another dry week here in deep Southern Illinois. We’ve had no rain. It’s been really good for harvest, but it’s really dry. We are down to less than 100 acres of soybeans to harvest. We just started sowing wheat and that has been into dust. There is no rain in the immediate forecast.

Please remember to be careful during this busy season.

Dean Shields, Murphysboro, Jackson County: We had another beautiful week for harvest and it is moving right along.

There is not much corn left in the field and most people are busy cutting beans. Big difference from last year when we had to mud everything out. Bean yields have been pretty good in places and not so good in others because of the dry weather and the type of ground the beans are on. Harvest is coming along well. A lot of wheat is being sown, so our acres might be up from last year. It’s been a good fall so far, and I hope it stays that way and lets us finish up on a good note. Safe harvest and take care.

Reports received Friday morning.

Expanded crop information available at FarmWeekNow.com

First freeze no problem; harvest continues to roll

BY DANIEL GRANT FarmWeek

Portions of the northern Corn Belt including Northern Illinois last week encountered the first frost this fall, effectively ending the growing season at some locations.

The situation was of little concern to farmers, though, as the majority of corn (74 percent) and half the soybeans were in the bin in Illinois as of the first of last week.

Meanwhile, the majority of the crops remaining in the field are safe from frost (98 percent of corn is mature and 97 percent of soybeans have turned yellow), according to the National Agricultural Statistics Service Illinois field office.

“If this was last year (when only 5 percent of corn and soybeans were harvested as of Oct. 4) we’d all be up in arms (about the frost),” said Jim Angel, state climatologist with the Illinois State Water Survey.

Ideal weather conditions so far this fall allowed farmers to harvest their crops at a torrid pace. The statewide average temperature in September was 66.8 degrees, 0.6 of a degree above normal.

“We are enjoying one of the nicest stretches of weather for what seems like years,” said Ken Reinhardt, a FarmWeek Cropwatcher from Mercer County. “Many can see the end of harvest or are done.”

The National Weather Service outlook this month called for increased odds of warmer and drier-than-normal conditions across Illinois. In fact, it’s been so warm and dry at some locations that several counties in Southeastern Illinois are in “moderate drought,” based on the U.S. Drought Monitor.

“This has been extraordinary to have such a long stretch of very mild weather,” Angel said. “A high pressure system has been the dominant factor” behind the warm, dry conditions in the Central U.S., he said.

In fact, high temperatures late last week and into the weekend pushed or surpassed the 80-degree mark at some locations.

The warm spell, while good for harvest, could delay applications of anhydrous ammonia, which are not recommended in the fall until the soil temperature is at or below 50 degrees on a consistent basis.

“You can’t look at the calendar this year and say

it’s time to put on fall anhydrous,” Angel said.

“You’ve got to watch the soil temperature. Obviously it’s going to stay high until we get cooler weather.”

Soil temperatures at the four-inch level in the state as of Friday were between 58 and 60 degrees, Angel reported. Farmers can check soil temperatures at the website {www.isws.illinois.edu} and click “data” followed by “soil temperatures.”

Don Guinnip last week near his home in rural Marshall in Clark County was planting the first of 40 acres of wheat he plans to sow this fall. Twenty percent of the winter wheat crop was seeded statewide as of the first of last week compared to 6 percent at the same time last year. Guinnip described his corn yields as average and said he was finding his soybeans were yielding only average to below average. He is waiting until it dries out a bit more to harvest his milo crop.

(Photo by Ken Kashian)

New IDOA brochure offers anhydrous safety tips The Illinois Department of Agriculture (IDOA) and Illinois Fertilizer and Chemical Association (IFCA) are urging farmers and agrichemical dealers to take precautions when applying anhydrous ammonia fertilizer.

To remind farmers and agrichemical dealers of the proper safety procedures for anhydrous applications, IDOA and IFCA have developed a brochure that highlights common transportation and application mistakes.

Accidents that occurred last spring are featured in detail, followed by recommendations on how they might have been prevented.

“Safety and stewardship are equally important when it comes to anhydrous ammonia application”

IFCA President Jean Payne said. “This is a product that is always under scrutiny, and thus everyone involved in the storage, transportation, and application of ammonia is responsible for ensuring the safe and proper use of this important plant nutrient.”

“Late and wet harvests the past two years left little time for farmers to replenish the nutrients in their fields before spring,” said Agriculture Director Tom Jennings. “With the prospect of an early harvest this year, they understandably may be anxious to get started on preparations for next year. However, it’s still a bit premature to start applying ammonia.”

According to the University of Illinois Agronomy Handbook, anhydrous applications should not begin

before the second week of October in Northern Illinois or before the third week of October in Central Illinois. Fall-applied nitrogen for corn is discouraged entirely in Southern Illinois south of Route 16.

Soil temperatures should drop to 50 degrees Fahrenheit before fall nitrogen is considered.

Daily, four-inch soil temperatures are available online at {www.ifca.com.} The site also shows soil temperature trends.

IFCA will distribute the brochure at its fall anhydrous ammonia safety schools. It also will make copies available to Illinois fertilizer dealers to share with their farmer customers. IFCA also will post the brochure and a 12-minute safety video on its website.

FarmWeek Page 8 Monday, October 11, 2010

MARKETS

Merrigan: ‘All of agriculture’ being challenged

BY KAY SHIPMAN FarmWeek

American farmers have their work cut out for them, no matter if they farm organically or conventionally, but USDA is working to expand markets here and abroad and is trying to revitalize rural communities to help farmers succeed, according to Deputy Agriculture Secretary Kathleen Merrigan.

“All of agriculture — when we look to the future — is being challenged. We’re going to have to produce more food to meet a growing world’s population, and we’re going to have to do so probably with limited water,” Merrigan told FarmWeek.

Last week in Chicago, Merrigan highlighted USDA’s efforts to improve school lunches and to discuss sustainable food production as a means to feed the world’s growing population.

Merrigan said sustainability will require agricultural innovation to meet many chal-

lenges: “Sustainability means economic, social, and environmental hope. And we need all three to succeed.”

Midwestern farmers will continue to be “champions in the export markets,” and USDA will continue its work on export marKathleen Merrigan kets for those farmers, she explained.

Merrigan noted U.S. agriculture has had a positive trade balance for nearly 50 years — a milestone marked by few other industries. This year, U.S. agriculture expects to achieve its second-largest export year in history — $107.5 billion.

Meanwhile, some Midwestern farmers are seeking opportunities in domestic markets that include regional and local food systems, Merrigan added.

For example, USDA is working to develop a farm-to-

school program that would have local growers selling directly to their schools. Merrigan admitted that type of marketing is not easy.

USDA wants to learn from growers and schools that have successful partnerships and to replicate “the dos and don’ts lessons around the country,” she said.

An additional benefit of a farm-to-school program would be to help young people learn how their food is produced and connect them with farmers, she noted.

In addition to marketing strategies, USDA also is helping farmers experiment with such practices as hoop houses to expand their growing season and their markets.

This year, about 2,700 farmers nationwide, including some in Illinois, participated in an Environmental Quality Incentive Program pilot project to compare hoop house production with traditional practices.

USDA also realizes the ag

economy depends on vital rural communities and “wants to broaden our concept of the farm safety net,” Merrigan said. Even if farm incomes increase, farmers need good rural schools and communities and access to health care, she explained.

“We’re building rural communities, revitalizing rural communities so they’re places people want to stay and

encourage their children to stay and raise a family,” Merrigan said.

Merrigan assured Illinois farmers that she and Agriculture Secretary Tom Vilsack value their hard work and are working hard on their behalf: “Americans should be exceedingly grateful for the work of farmers and ranchers ... We’re working our hardest to do right by their hard work.”

USGC: No bumper crop in China; U.S. corn exports could grow

BY DANIEL GRANT FarmWeek

Leaders of the U.S. Grains Council (USGC) believe China in the future will continue to be an importer of corn after years as a net exporter.

USGC this month conducted its annual China corn tour and projected corn production there will grow from estimates of 135 million metric tons to 155 million metric tons (5.3 billion to 6 billion bushels) last year to about 158 million metric tons (6.2 billion bushels) this season.

However, the slight bump in corn production (acreage in China this season increased 2 percent compared to last year) likely will not be enough to meet Chinese corn demand in the future.

“Production is up, but it’s not a bumper crop,” said Thomas Dorr, president and CEO of USGC. “We’re of the view longer-term that demand for corn in China will grow substantially,” he continued. “It’s a significant opportunity.”

China this year could import 2 million to 3 million metric tons of corn (78 million to 117 million bushels) from the U.S., and Dorr believes China will import another 3 million metric tons of corn in 2011.

But China’s need for corn imports could balloon to as much as 15 million metric tons (585 million bushels) by 2015, Dorr said.

“It’s very evident demand for feed and livestock production is growing consistently (in China)” at about 3 to 5 percent per year, Dorr said.

Meanwhile, China’s ability to significantly boost corn production is hampered in part by issues with seed quality and insect pressure, according to David Howell, a USGC Asia advisory team leader who took part in this year’s China corn tour.

USGC estimated China’s corn crop this year will yield anywhere from 80 to 95 bushels per acre.

“They have a lot of lodging and a lot of insect damage,” Howell said. “The average (Chinese) farmer has one to two and a half acres and an income of just $500 per year.”

The challenges to increase U.S. corn exports to China include trade-rate quotas and infrastructure limitations. U.S. corn competes with soybeans and distillers dried grains (DDGs) for cargo space.

“We think the demand growth for corn in China will stay strong but, much like soybeans early on, it will probably struggle in spurts,” Dorr said.

“We’re going to have to continue to focus on developing infrastructure,” he continued. “Unless we do that, we’ll be hard-pressed to service those markets” in Southeast Asia.

Chinese demand for DDGs is expected to grow as well because DDGs are not covered by quotas in China, which means there are no limits on imports of the ethanol byproduct.

FarmWeek Page 9 Monday, October 11, 2010

EDUCATION Centennial countdown

Illinois State University eyes future, marks past

BY KAY SHIPMAN FarmWeek

Illinois State University (ISU) is educating agriculture’s future leaders while preparing to celebrate its agriculture department’s accomplishments over the past 100 years.

Last week on the research farm near Lexington, ISU administration, faculty, students, and alumni began the countdown for the ag department’s centennial celebration in 2011.

“ISU always prides itself on providing students with a wellrounded education, especially practical application,” ISU President Al Bowman told FarmWeek.

Bowman noted the research farm and teaching laboratory provide practical application for ISU ag at a glance ag students and serve as major assets for the university.

Illinois State University “The (ag department’s) most agriculture department facts: valuable product is the experi• 322 undergraduate stuence students gain,” Bowman dents told the gathering.

• 21 graduate students This fall, ISU continued to • 28 faculty and staff attract more agriculture stu• $500,000 received annudents, according to Rob Rhykally for research erd, department chairman.

• $40,000 in scholarships Enrollment grew 10 percent for awarded annually a total of 322 undergraduates and 21 graduate students.

Growth also has been accommodated on ISU’s research farm, which was bought in 2000 and dedicated two years later, said Jeff Wood, dean of the college of applied science and technology and an agriculture education professor. It is the university’s third farm.

ISU’s first research farm was in Normal near the current location of the Ropp Agricultural Building, Hancock Stadium, Redbird Arena, and the Tri-Towers dormitories.

After the original farm buildings became obsolete, the university farm in 1962 was moved onto land in north Normal along Gregory Street. In 2000, ISU sold 132 acres and bought the land near Lexington.

To financially support the research farm as well as ag scholarships, the Horticulture Center, and special projects, the ISU Ag Alumni Association has started a special “100 by 100” fundraising campaign, said Bill Graff, Ag Alumni president and a Logan County farmer.

“We are grateful for the education we received and want that to be available for future (students),” Graff said.

Illinois to offer 4-H license plate The Illinois 4-H Foundation moved a step closer to creating a 4-H specialty license plate after Gov. Pat Quinn signed legislation officially endorsing the plate this year.

According to state criteria, the secretary of state must receive 1,500 requests for the 4-H specialty plate before production can begin.

Specialty license plates are authorized by Illinois law with the primary goal of raising money for an organization.

“This license plate will not only give more visibility to the 4-H organization and 4-H Clover, but also serve as an ongoing fundraiser for Illinois 4-H youth programs,” said Angie Barnard, director of the Illinois 4-H Foundation.

To request an Illinois 4-H license plate, submit the request form, available online at {www.4hfoundation.illinois.edu} and a $25 check made payable to the secretary of state. The nonrefundable fee will directly support Illinois 4-H youth programs statewide.

After 1,500 requests have been received, supporters will be notified when the plate becomes available. However, those who request the license plate will not be obligated to buy one upon its release.

Bob Crawford, supervising farm foreman for Illinois State University (ISU), discusses research cattle on the university research farm near Lexington. Last week, the ISU Agriculture Department offered a farm tour to kick off the celebration of its centennial. (Photo by Kay Shipman)

Growing Specialty Soybeans Makes More “Cents!”

Increasing your profit doesn’t always mean increasing the amount of land devoted to soybeans. By selling differentiated soybeans, you can bring in extra revenue without having to expand acres. Customers are looking for quality soybeans, and farmers choosing to grow unique varieties can receive a higher return price.

Isn’t it time you looked into getting more per bushel?

Visit soybeanpremiums.org to see what premium programs are in your area.

SOYBEAN P R E M I U M S.O R G

Funded by the soybean checkoff.

FarmWeek Page 10 Monday, October 11, 2010

ENERGY

FSA seeks rural input on biofuels strategy

BY MARTIN ROSS FarmWeek

Powered by the president’s renewed endorsement of ethanol, USDA is outlining a roadmap for nationwide biofuels development with Illinois as a key stop.

USDA has outlined a potential plan to develop “a successful biofuels market” capable of achieving the U.S. renewable fuels standards (RFS2) mandate of producing and delivering an annual 36 billion gallons of renewable transportation fuel by 2022.

In an effort to assess the draft plan — purportedly “a comprehensive regional strategy to help recharge the rural American economy” — USDA’s Farm Service Agency (FSA) is seeking input from “rural America” at a late Octo-

ber invitation-only meeting at the Illinois Farm Bureau Building in Bloomington.

USDA goals include compiling practical knowledge to guide biofuel crop production and identifying challenges and opportunities in feedstock development.

USDA’s biofuels planning process involves FSA, Rural Development, the Natural Resources Conservation Service, the Forest Service, and its Office of the Chief Economist and Office of Energy Policy and New Uses.

In addition, USDA, the U.S. Environmental Protection Agency, and others are working to devise future energy strategy through a White House-authorized Biofuels Interagency Working Group.

During an October meeting of

the Renewable Fuels Association, Heather Zichal, deputy assistant to the president for energy and climate change policy, called corn ethanol “a critically important renewable fuel source.“ She also hailed efforts to “accelerate the creation and rapid deployment of advanced biofuels” — potentially “one of the nation’s most important industries in the years to come.”

USDA Director of Alternative Energy Policy Bill Hagy told IFB Leaders to Washington recently that the existing ethanol industry is “about built out” under the RFS2’ 15 billion-gallon cap on corn-based fuel use, but suggested emerging biofuels sources will fuel new rural industries, jobs, and other components of the “new clean economy.”

Hagy noted USDA has

The blend well: The renewable future The U.S. Environmental Protection Agency (EPA) has attempted to charter the future of domestic biofuels development and use through the nation’s renewable fuels standard (RFS2).

At the same time, USDA is eyeing the national and regional logistics necessary to assure agriculture’s share of the 36 billion gallons of biofuels use by 2022 can be met (see accompanying story).

The two agencies nonetheless offer slightly differing views of the feedstock mix that will power ongoing ethanol/renewable diesel production: EPA Corn starch ethanol — 15 billion gallons (a set threshold under the RFS2) Switchgrass and other perennial grasses — 7.9 billion gallons Crop residues (corn stover, wheat straw, etc.)

— 5.5 billion gallons Soy biodiesel and corn oil — 1.34 billion gallons

Animal fats and yellow grease — 0.38 of a billion gallons Woody biomass (forestry residues) — 0.1 of a billion gallons (does not include short-term woody crops) Algae — 0.1 of a billion gallons Other sources (municipal solid wastes etc.) — 2.6 billion gallons USDA Corn starch ethanol — 15 billion gallons Dedicated energy crops (perennial grasses, energy cane, biomass sorghum) — 13.4 billion gallons Crop residues — 4.3 billion gallons Woody biomass (logging residues only) — 2.8 billion gallons Oilseeds (soy, canola, etc.) — 0.5 of a billion gallons USDA’s calculations did not factor in animal fats, municipal solid wastes, or algae.

U of I eyes ethanol credit options The 45-cent-per-gallon Volumetric Ethanol Excise Tax Credit (VEETC) currently provided to gasoline blenders who use corn-based ethanol expires Dec. 31, and biofuels proponents are concerned whether a post-election “lame-duck” Congress will extend the credit.

To help address the issue, two land-grant universities are suggesting use of a “variable” credit for blenders.

Illinois Corn Growers Association President Tim Lenz sees VEETC, combined with federal approval for higher ethanol gasoline blends, as crucial to meeting federal renewable fuels standard (RFS2) mandates for future biofuels use.

He noted E12 (12 percent ethanol) or E15 (15 percent ethanol) blends are necessary to spur continued blending by fuel suppliers “already up against the (10 percent) blend wall.”

But Lenz argues the credit is still important to continued manufacturer/investor confidence and thus to post-recession recovery and expansion within the industry.

“If it helps another ethanol plant get built or helps keep one from closing, then it does have an effect,” he told FarmWeek.

In the midst of debate over the credit and its perceived taxpayer “costs,” University of Illinois ag economist Mindy Mallory and her colleagues have compared the effectiveness and federal costs of the existing “fixed” credit and variations of a possible “variable” ethanol subsidy that would adjust credits based on market conditions.

Purdue University economists have proposed a variable blenders’ credit based on the price of

crude oil, with tax credits inversely related to the price of crude oil. Per-gallon credits would rise as oil prices dropped, ideally making ethanol blending more advantageous even with low-priced oil and/or gasoline.

U of I economists have devised a variable “blend margin proxy” credit based on gasoline and ethanol rather than on crude prices. That approach “more closely approximates the decision variable that blenders would use when they’re deciding whether or not to blend ethanol,” Mallory said.

Currently, the fixed credit’s key function is to encourage ethanol use to meet federal renewable fuels mandates, especially “when it wouldn’t be economical due to normal market forces to blend ethanol,” she said.

A variable credit would help bolster blender margins during those periods while conserving federal revenues when the energy market already is “supportive” of ethanol use, she told FarmWeek.

“When we do some simple calculations, the program’s a little less costly under a variable credit using the blend margin proxy,” Mallory said. “There are many, many different components that go into final blended gasoline, and to use just gasoline and ethanol is still a simplistic approach.

“But it’s a little cleaner than using crude oil prices. You’re paying the credit when the industry needs some support, and you’re not paying it when the industry’s doing fine on its own.” — Martin Ross

“very diverse authority” over biomass/biofuels development under the 2008 farm bill energy title (outlined in an accompanying story). He acknowledged “there are a lot of infrastructure challenges in getting product to the user.”

“We are going to continue to support Generation One development of (corn-based) biofuels, as well as Generations Two and Three,” he pledged, referring respectively to non-corn kernel fuel sources and third-generation “drop-ins” — bio-based fuels that could be used without blending into gasoline or diesel fuel.

The prospect of a pure “biogasoline” excites Eric Rund, a Pesotum farmer engaged in his own trials to gauge potential production of switchgrass as an energy crop.

Rund, who has traveled repeatedly to South America, noted “Brazil was in the U.S. looking for ethanol last year,” and envisions global as well as domestic markets for expanded biofuels production.

He stressed the need for new ag opportunities amid an increasingly volatile livestock markets. “I used to feed hogs,” the Champaign County producer related.

USDA offers broad support for next-gen feedstocks The 2002 farm bill set the stage for agriculture’s move beyond food and fiber into a new frontier — fuel — with introduction of a new energy title.

The 2008 farm bill authorized USDA to power producers toward the next generation of homegrown fuels. In 2009, the White House ordered rapid deployment of the fuels, USDA Director of Alternative Energy Policy Bill Hagy told Illinois producers.

“We have programs in the farm bill that can work with the ag producer in raising energy crops, harvesting and storing them, getting them to a (biofuels) conversion facility,” Hagy cited. “We have programs that can finance conversion facilities and then programs that help support the deployment of the finished product to the end user.”

Among USDA’s suite of biofuels/bioenergy programs: • The Biomass Crop Assistance Program (BCAP) aims to help producers grow new biomass crops and support the costs of harvesting, storing, and transporting energy crops or crop residues such as corn stover.

USDA received 25,000 comments on draft BCAP rules, and final rules should be released this fall. “We’re very close; we can see the light at the end of the tunnel,” Hagy said.

• The Biorefinery Assistance Loan Guarantee Program targets the next step in biofuels production, guaranteeing loans of up to $250 million for development, construction, and/or retrofitting of commercial biorefineries. Construction of a 40 million-gallon-per-year “second generation” biorefinery costs $320 million on average, Hagy estimated.

Two guarantees already have been approved — one for a Georgia facility under construction that will convert woody biomass into ethanol; the other to a California firm that plans to convert algae to biodiesel and multi-use “bio-crude” in new New Mexico. Five other applications are under review.

• Making green production greener is the goal of the Repowering Assistance Program (RAP), which provides payments to existing biorefineries to replace fossil fuels used to produce plant heat or power with renewable biomass.

The president recently awarded Nevada’s Lincolnway Energy the first $1.9 million RAP award to convert its coal-powered ethanol plant for wood and other biomass use.

• The Bioenergy Program for Advanced Biofuels provides payments to eligible producers to support expanded production of cutting-edge biofuels.

“There’s no competition for the funding,” which helps offset operational costs in producing next-generation fuels, Hagy stressed. Roughly $80 million in 2010 funding soon will be distributed among the pool of eligible program applicants.

• The Rural Energy for America Program (REAP) supports “proven” renewable energy sources, including wind or geothermal energy, biodiesel, and anaerobic digesters, through grants and loans for producers and businesses.

All sizes of operations qualify for REAP benefits, which also can be used to conduct farm/rural business energy audits.

More than 4,000 awards have been granted since 2003.

• USDA’s Biomass Research and Development can help fund study of and pilot/demonstration plants to produce cuttingedge fuels. Last year, 10 recipients were selected from among 900 applicants; final selections are being made for shares of this year’s roughly $33 million in program funding. — Martin Ross

FarmWeek Page 11 Monday, October 11, 2010

IFB IN ACTION

IFB announces GRITs members for 2011 Farm Bureau members recently were named to Illinois Farm Bureau GrassRoots Issue Teams (GRITs) for 2011. This marks the 15th consecutive year for GRITs. The goal is to provide IFB with feedback on marketing, technology, regulatory, and rural issues, as well as to generate new approaches to problem solving and policy development.

Each year following GRITs appointments, IFB also submits nominations to the American Farm Bureau Federation for assignments to its advisory committee.

Illinois nominees are selected from current and former GRITs members, when possible, to enhance continuity in the problem-solving and policy-development processes at the state and national levels.

Team members and the county Farm Bureaus they represent are as follows:

Conservation and natural resources: Roger Christin, Winnebago County Farm Bureau manager; Stanley Crites, Richland; Richard Gates, White; Lewis Hollis, Johnson; James Koeller, Pike; Tom Leeper, Adams; Lonial Lovellette, Grundy; Jonathon Manuel, Piatt; John Reitmeier, Champaign; Carolyn Simpson, Sangamon; Stanley Sipp, Piatt; Troy Uphoff, Shelby, District 11 IFB director; and David Wessel, Cass-Morgan.

Crop production and trade: Timothy Baer, Tazewell; Danelle DeSmith, Lee County Farm Bureau manager; Mark Elliott, Livingston; David Headley, Fulton; David Meiss, McLean, District 7 IFB director; James Raben, Gallatin; Ronald Schoenholz, Lee; Earl Sorrells, Montgomery; Steven Stallman, Randolph; Grant Strom, Knox; Roger Sy, Edgar; Ken Vancil, McDonough; and Kyle Winkelmann, Menard.

Change in screening program announced for IFB members Participants in the drug and alcohol screening program formerly run by the Illinois Agricultural Service Co. should now contact the Midwest Truckers Association (MTA) of Springfield.

MTA has been Illinois Farm Bureau’s service contractor of the program since its inception. The screening pertains to federal drug and alcohol screening regulations.

As of Oct. 1, the day-to-day interaction with participants in the program has been turned over to MTA, according to Kevin Rund, IFB senior director of local government.

For enrollment and testing, participants no longer should contact IFB. Instead they should contact MTA and make it known that they are a member of IFB. General questions about federal drug and alcohol screening regulations may be addressed to MTA. If the question is specific to farmers, Rund will continue to field those inquiries.

The address and telephone number for MTA is: Midwest Truckers Association, 2715 N. Dirksen Parkway, Springfield, Ill., 62702. The telephone number is 217-525-0310.

Equine: Richard Curd, White; Raymond Elder, Christian; Garry Jenkins, Williamson County Farm Bureau manager; Gerald Kopping, Cook; Sam Lilly, DuPage; Sara Rhoades, Champaign; David Sadler, Vermilion; Chad Schutz, Greene, District 15 IFB director; and Duane Strunk, Champaign.

Livestock and dairy: Tasha Bunting, Grundy County Farm Bureau manager; William Carlberg, Fulton; Pat Dumoulin, DeKalb; James Endress, Stephenson; Richard Hurst, Macoupin; Nate Janssen, Lake; Mike Kenyon, Kane, District 1 IFB director; Ray Krausz, Clinton; Lawrence Larson, Winnebago;

Hugh Moore, Jersey; George Obernagel, Monroe; Douglas Scheider, Stephenson; and David Taylor, Will.

Rural life: Donald Duvall, White; Steven Fourez, Vermilion; Scott Halpin, Grundy, District 5 IFB director; Annette McLane, Jo Daviess County Farm Bureau manager; Frederick Meyer, Tazewell; Deborah Moore, Warren-Henderson; Carleen Paul, Madison; Robert Pharis, Logan; Emmett Sefton, Macon; Norbert Soltwedel, Effingham; Steven Weber, Henry; David White, Wayne; and Linda Wikoff, Knox.

Risk management and farm programs: Dwayne Anderson, Henry; Katie Boruff, Henry County Farm Bureau manager; Kenneth Dalenberg, Champaign; Randall DeSutter, Knox; Christopher Gould, Kane; Dale Hadden, Cass-Morgan, District 10 IFB director; William Harmon, Peoria; Richard Heinz, Peoria; Mark Hines, McLean; Kevin Miller, Effingham; Cindy Myer, Madison; Fred

Reichert, Sangamon; and James Ufkin, Henry.

Renewable resources and energy: Robert Baumgart, White; James Burns, Winnebago; Andrew Goleman, Sangamon; Douglas Gucker, Piatt; Chris Hausman, Champaign, District 12 IFB director; Tiona Kimble, Marshall-Putnam; Jake Lieb, Piatt; Glenn Meyer, Randolph; Brian Niemann, Montgomery; Dwight Ringhausen, Calhoun; Blake Roderick, Pike County Farm Bureau manager; Eric Rund, Champaign; and Douglas Wilson, Livingston.

Specialty crops and labor: Donald Ahrens, Gallatin; Frank Carlson, Kane; David Daniken, Bond; Justin Durdan, LaSalle; Barbara Gard, Clark; Glenn Gindler, Madison; Bruce Johnson, Stephenson County Farm Bureau manager; J.C. Pool, Hamilton, District 17 IFB director; Richard Ramsey, Sangamon; Wayne Sirles, Union; Richard Steiner, Tazewell; Craig Tanner, Marshall-Putnam; and Fred Vangeison, Christian.

®

©2010 GROWMARK, Inc. A11423_6x8_aod

FarmWeek Page 12 Monday, October 11, 2010

FarmWeek Page 13 Monday, October 11, 2010

FROM THE COUNTIES

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UREAU — Bureau, Henry, and Stark County Farm Bureaus, and Mike Taylor, and Ron Behrends, Country Financial agents, will sponsor a defensive driving course from 10 a.m. to 3 p.m.

Tuesday and Wednesday, Nov. 9-10, at the Black Hawk College Community Education Center, Kewanee. Both days must be attended to receive certification. Cost is $30, which includes materials and lunch. Call the Farm Bureau office at 815-875-6468 by Monday, Nov. 1, for reservations or more information.

• Bureau, Henry, Knox, and Stark County Farm Bureaus and the respective University of Illinois Extension units will sponsor a fall equine seminar series the first three Thursday evenings in November from 6:30 to 8:30 p.m. The sessions are free for 4-H members, FFA members, and Black Hawk students. Cost for others is $9 or three sessions for $20. Call the Farm Bureau office at 815-875-6468 by Monday, Nov. 1, for reservations or more information for the first session on Nov. 4.

ANCOCK — The Memorial Hospital fundraiser — October Moon barn dance — will be from 6 p.m. to midnight Saturday at the Sullivan Auction Barn, Hamilton.

• A “Share the Harvest” program will be at 2 p.m. Sunday, Oct. 17, at the Minor Garrelts farm, 1256 E County Road 1800, Hamilton. Call the Trinity Lutheran Church at 217-357-2468 for more information.

• It’s dues renewal time.

Those who did not receive their renewal notice should call the Farm Bureau office at 217-357-3141.

ACKSON — The District 18 Equine Committee will sponsor an equine seminar at 6 p.m. Tuesday, Oct. 26, at the Southern Illinois Sale Barn, Goreville. Ron Beasley, a veterinarian, and Matt Jenkins, a farrier, will be the speakers. Admission is free. Call any Farm Bureau in District 18 for reservations.

ASALLE — Farm Bureau has added a new discount to its list of local membership discounts.

Woody’s Steakhouse, 1321 LaSalle St., Ottawa, is offering a free dessert with purchase of an entrée. Call the restaurant at 815-433-2400 for reservations.

EE — Custom candle orders and money are due by Friday. Orders may be picked up Monday, Nov. 22, at the Farm Bureau office. Call the Farm Bureau office at 8573531 or visit the website {www.leecfb.org} for more information.

ONTGOMERY — The Prime Timers will meet at noon Wednesday, Oct. 20, for a luncheon and meeting. A meatloaf dinner will be served. Cost is $8.

Mike Watson, conservation officer, will be the speaker.

Participants must be Montgomery County Farm Bureau members and 55 years of age or older to attend. Call the Farm Bureau office at 217532-6171 for reservations or more information.

EORIA — A defensive driving course will be

Auction Calendar

Soy Capital Ag Services. www.soycapitalag.com Thurs., Oct. 28. 6 p.m. 394 Ac. Schuyler and Adams Co. Rowland Farms, GOLDEN, IL. Sullivan Auctioneers, LLC. www.sullivanauctinoeers.com Thurs., Oct. 28. 7 p.m. 80 Ac. White Co. Wayne and Deanna Williams, GRAYVILLE, IL. Carson Auction, Realty & Appraisal Co. www.carsonauctionandrealty.com Fri., Oct. 29. 10 a.m. 117.3 Ac. Macoupin Co. Estate of Ernest Glenn Slightom, ATWAER, IL. Glenn E. Karrick, Auctioneer.

Fri., Oct. 29. 10 a.m. Land Auction Hall Co., NE. GRAND ISLAND, NE. Farmers National. www.farmersnatinoal.com Sat., Oct. 30. 10:30 a.m. 116.68 Ac. Rock Island Co. Jane T. Olson, Mary L. Spohnoltz, Eileen T. Grosso, BUFFALO PRAIRIE, IL. Steve Relander Auctioneer/Farm Broker. www.relanderauctions.com Mon., Nov. 1. 10 a.m. 239.61 Ac. Woodford Co. Jones Family Farm, EL PASO, IL. Terry Wilkey Auction Service. www.terrywilkey.com Mon., Nov. 1. 10:30 a.m. 137.54 Ac. Vermilion Co. Womacks Estate, ROYAL, IL. Gordon Hannagan Auction Co. www.gordyvilleusa.com Wed., Nov. 3. 10 a.m. 40 Ac. Moultrie Co. Trust of John E. Reuss, c/o Scott State Bank Trustee, BETHANY, IL. biddersandbuyers.com-keyword-lamendola. autionzip.com-ID #5614 Wed., Nov. 3. 960 Ac. Lee Co. Soy Capital Ag Services. www.soycapitalag.com Fri., Nov. 5. 10 a.m. Farmland Auction.

Suzanne Pennington, DELAVAN, IL. Nehmelman Auction Co.

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Thurs., Oct. 14. 10:30 a.m. 75 Ac. LaSalle Co. Farmland. Roseland Hinton Trust, SENECA, IL. Auctioneers: Dick McConville and Marty McConville. www.biddersandbuyers.com, www.mcconvillerealty.com, auctions@mcconvillerealty.com Thurs., Oct. 14. 1 p.m. 160 Ac. Iroquois Co. Land. Robert Randolph Estate, PAXTON, IL. Schmid Auction & Realty Co. schmidauction.com Sat., Oct. 16. 10 a.m. Public Auction.

James F. Ribordy Estate, Joyce E. Ribordy, PONTIAC, IL. Immke and Bradleys’ Auction Service. biddersandbuyers.com/immke Wed., Oct. 20. 7 p.m. 107 Ac. Sangamon Co. Tomlin Bros., PLEASANT PLAINS, IL. Middendorf Bros.

Auctioneers and Real Estate. www.middendorfs.com Thurs., Oct. 21. 10 a.m. 73.1 Ac. Bureau Co. Martin Farm, LADD, IL. Auctioneers, Joe McConville and Marty McConville. www.mcconvillerealty.com, www.biddersandbuyers.com, auctions@mcconvillerealty.com Thurs., Oct. 21. 10 a.m. 80 Ac. Livingston Co. Robert W. Brown and Susan K. Brown et. al., Immke and Bradleys’ Auction Service. biddersandbuyers.com/immke Sat., Oct. 23. 9:30 a.m. Farm machinery and miscellaneous. Walter and Betty Stephens Estate, CONGERVILLE, IL. Schmidgall Auction Services, Inc. www.topauctions24-7.com/schmidgall or schmidgallauctions.com Sat., Oct. 23. 10 a.m. Farm Land Auction. Heil Farm, SIBLEY, IL. Bill Kruse, Auctioneer.

Wed., Oct. 27. 98.72 Ac. Jefferson Co.

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from 9:30 a.m. to 2:30 p.m.

Wednesday and Thursday, Oct. 20-21, at the Farm Bureau auditorium. Doug Sommer will be the instructor. Cost is $10 for members 55 years of age or older.

• A Proctor Hospital Health Clinic will be Wednesday, Oct. 27, at the Farm Bureau auditorium. Flu, tetanus, and pneumonia vaccines will be available for members. Call the Farm Bureau office at 686-7070 for an appointment.

IATT — The Prime Timers will sponsor a trip Tuesday, Oct. 26, to Southern Illinois. Stops will include two wineries, a fudge shop, and a lunch buffet.

Cost is $50. Call the Farm Bureau office at 752-2128 by Tuesday, Oct. 19, for reservations or more information.

OCK ISLAND — The Rock Island County Farm Bureau Foundation will sponsor its main fundraiser, Harvest Gala, at 6 p.m. Friday, Nov. 12, at the iWireless Center, Moline. A silent and live auction will be held. Tickets are $50. Reservations and payment are due

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to the Farm Bureau office by Tuesday, Nov. 2. Call the Farm Bureau office at 309736-7432 for more information.

• Farm Bureau and area county Farm Bureaus will join together with local elevators to raise money for the RiverBend Foodbank with a “Bushels for Hunger” campaign. Producers may donate bushels of corn or soybeans to the campaign. Call the Farm Bureau for a listing of participating elevators. The program will continue through Nov. 30. Call the Farm Bureau office at 309736-7432 for more information.

TEPHENSON — Flu shots will be given from 9 a.m. to 2 p.m. Tuesday at the Farm Bureau office. Cost is $20 for members and $25 for non-members. Medicare Part B will be accepted. Free hearing screenings will be available at the same time, with amplified telephones on display.

• A defensive driving course will be from 10 a.m. to 3 p.m. Tuesday and Wednesday, Nov. 16-17, at the Farm Bureau office. Doug Sommer

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will conduct the course. Cost is $15 for members and $25 for non-members. Lunch is included. Call the Farm Bureau office at 815-232-3186 for reservations or more information.

• Orders for holiday nuts and candies from Terri Lynn must be placed and paid for

by Friday, Oct. 29. Call the Farm Bureau office at 815232-3186 or print the order form from the website {www.stephensoncfb.org}.

• A family portrait program for members will be from 9 a.m. to 5 p.m. Saturday and Sunday, Nov. 13-14, at the Farm Bureau office. A free 8 x 10 portrait will be given for each sitting. Call the Farm Bureau office at 815-232-3186 for an appointment or more information.

• The annual meeting will be at 7 p.m. Tuesday, Nov. 23, at the Highland Community College. Pie and beverages will be served. Entertainment will be provided by the Freeport High School Varsity Choir. Call the Farm Bureau office at 815-232-3186 for reservations or more information.

FarmWeek Page 14 Monday, October 11, 2010

PROFITABILITY

Use technology to guide future decisions

BY SID PARKS

So far I’ve heard of some very impressive yields from producers, while at the same time the overall field averages are down this year.

It likely was no surprise to anyone who endured the well-aboveaverage rainfall this growing season.

Sid Parks In Central Illinois, we accumulated onethird more than the normal precipitation for the season.

Plant stand and nutrient losses from water ponding were sometimes difficult to see from the road. I have had a few opportunities to observe this from the air this year, as well as reviewing imagery obtained from our remotesensing program or mapping yield data collected via yield monitors.

How does a person make use of today’s technology, or do you simply hope the problems don’t happen again?

Allow me to share a few ideas.

First, if I had a combine, it would be equipped with a yield monitor AND GPS positioning equipment. This would allow me to document any wet areas, and quantify how much impact they actually had on yields.

These queries could tell me if or where I might need additional drainage.

I also could use these yield maps to document nutrient removal by the crop and replace what is taken off as grain. This, along with a good soil-sampling program, can help maximize nutrient efficiency.

Second, I had the opportunity to gather a “bird’seye” view of the damage to some fields via remote sensed technologies. These image products are tools that can direct a crop professional to areas showing stress, perhaps still in time to do something about the growing crop, but at least allowing the opportunity to pinpoint

BY DANIEL GRANT FarmWeek

The margins in livestock production may tighten in coming weeks and months, but overall the industry is expected to remain profitable through the fourth quarter.

John Harrington, DTN livestock analyst, last week in a market outlook webinar hosted by DTN projected prices in the fourth quarter could average $75 per hundredweight for hogs on a dressed basis and $96 to $97 per hundredweight for cattle.

Feeder pig prices reported to USDA*

Weight 10 lbs.

40 lbs.

50 lbs.

Receipts

Range Per Head Weighted Ave. Price $33.50-$45.00 $39.90 $50.00-$56.96 $55.02 n/a n/a This Week Last Week 26,912 21,003 *Eastern Corn Belt prices picked up at seller’s farm

Eastern Corn Belt direct hogs (plant delivered) (Prices $ per hundredweight) This week Prev. week $71.10 $75.46 $52.61 $55.84

Change -4.36 -3.23

USDA five-state area slaughter cattle price Steers Heifers

This week $94.98 $94.99

the problems for next time.

Third, I would work with my FS crop specialist to learn if there are recommendations on how I might reduce risk of nitrogen loss

to any future corn crop.

Should I consider different sources, adoption of loss-protection products, or timing for nitrogen management?

Should split applications be

Sid Parks is GROWMARK’s manager of precision farming. His e-mail address is sparks@growmark.com.

Livestock production projected to remain profitable

M A R K E T FA C T S

Carcass Live

This aerial shot shows some of the serious ponding that took place during the growing season in Illinois and Iowa.

considered as a way of reducing exposure to N loss from excess rainfall?

If similar situations appear in future years, should I consider supplemental N applications to “rescue” the crop?

Nitrogen management in particular should be considered as a system rather than just an application of a product.

Contact your FS crop specialist for help with these or other production questions or for any FS Green Plan solutions for your farm.

(Thursday’s price) Prv. week Change n/a $95.75 -0.76

CME feeder cattle index — 600-800 Lbs. This is a composite price of feeder cattle transactions in 27 states.

(Prices $ per hundredweight) Prev. week Change 110.03 -0.25

This week 109.78

Lamb prices Slaughter Prices - Negotiated, Live, wooled and shorn 120-155 lbs. for 125149.50 $/cwt., dressed, no sales reported.

Export inspections (Million bushels)

Week ending Soybeans Wheat Corn 09-30-10 16.4 24.2 35.5 09-23-10 19.2 24.9 36.4 Last year 13.5 22.3 46.4 Season total 59.0 379.1 167.1 Previous season total 40.6 298.1 192.2 USDA projected total 1520 1250 2100 Crop marketing year began June 1 for wheat and Sept. 1 for corn and soybeans.

The price projections would be significantly higher than price averages last year of $55 per hundredweight for hogs and $83.50 for cattle.

The fourth quarter hog price projection “is $5 lower than the third quarter, but it just towers above the $55 shell-shocked market we had to endure last year,” Harrington said.

Pork demand plummeted last year in the wake of the H1N1 outbreak, which originally was mislabeled “swine flu.”

This year, however, consumer spending on pork is up 2.5 percent and Harrington projected exports for the year could total 4.3 billion pounds, up 5 percent from 2009.

The stronger demand for pork combined with the fact

hog slaughter this year is down 3 to 3.5 percent from a year ago should continue to support prices.

Harrington projected pork producers this year could turn an average profit of $10 to $15 per head.

Margins could be tighter for cattle producers, though, particularly those who purchased feeder cattle earlier this year at prices above $100 per hundredweight.

“We haven’t had profits (in the cattle market) every day of the year, but a good many,” Harrington said.

“I think going forward the average of $96 to $97 in the fourth quarter will continue to reflect the improved demand curve we’ve seen throughout 2010,” he continued. “But it

probably doesn’t improve upon it.”

Harrington projected beef exports for 2010 could total 2.2 billion pounds, up 17 percent from a year ago.

“It’s the best shipments we’ve seen since 2003 before the BSE scare,” Harrington said. “It’s been a long road back.”

Meanwhile, lower carcass weights (which have averaged about 11 pounds lighter than last year) should balance out the fact that cattle slaughter this year is up about 2 percent compared to a year ago, according to the analyst.

“We’ve got more manageable supplies,” Harrington added. “The question going forward will be how good is demand.”

Corn-on-corn yields took big hit this season Illinois corn yielded less than expected in most areas in 2010, and corn following corn was particularly hard hit. Because current crop acreages are skewed toward corn, at least 20 percent of the 2010 corn in Illinois followed corn.

“This follows a period of several years during which corn following corn has often yielded about the same as corn following soybean,” said University of Illinois Extension crop specialist Emerson Nafziger.

“It has been common, particularly in the corn rootworm variant areas of Illinois, to have yields of corn following corn to be as high as those of corn following soybean, especially since the advent of rootworm-resistance traits.

“For many producers, lower yields of corn following corn come as a shock.”

Corn following corn was challenged from the start, Nafziger said.

“In many fields, corn never looked very good,” he said. “Compared to corn following soybeans, emergence was uneven, crop color was poor, and the crop struggled to take up enough nitrogen to grow well, regardless of nitrogen rates and management.

“With May and June being so wet, many who waited to apply nitrogen until after planting struggled to get it applied on time. Nitro-

gen availability was an issue in these fields, but also in fields where N was applied on time.”

Nafziger said a number of factors contributed to disappointing yields in corn following corn.

“Soils were too wet to do a good job of tillage, whether we did that last fall or this spring, and more than the usual amount of residue remained on the surface,” he said.

“Soils were wet and fairly cold coming into April. The surface residue and cool, wet soil conditions combined to get the crop off to a tough start.”

Soil temperatures didn’t increase until after mid-May, Nafziger said. The corn crop was up by then, but in many fields it already was uneven and appearing sickly.

Meanwhile, tilled corn-on-corn fields were more likely to take in rain that fell in May and June, causing soils to remain cool and slowing drying rates.

“Because of this, I believe roots were damaged early and may never have recovered fully,” Nafziger said.

For more information, check out the Oct. 7 edition of The Bulletin, an online publication written by U of I Extension specialists in crop science, at {http://ipm.illinois.edu/bulletin}.

FarmWeek Page 15 Monday, October 11, 2010

PROFITABILITY Corn Strategy

C A S H S T R AT E G I S T

And another corn shocker!

USDA reports are doing a good job of jerking traders around this year. It may be some time before we know the true fundamental structure of this crop.

The 6.7-bushel reduction in the yield forecast for this crop was more than even the most bullish analyst expected. The 155.8-bushel forecast is even below the number key analysts were looking for as a final yield.

The yield change from the September to the October report was the second largest change to the 9-bushel increase in the 2004 crop reports. Both of those far eclipsed other changes in the past.

In the 2004 crop year, USDA started relatively low, forcing a big increase in October. This year was the opposite as USDA started at a relatively high level. A lower yield may have been warranted.

But one would have thought USDA should have been able

Basis charts

to better forecast the crop in September with this year’s advanced maturity.

Historically, there is a precedent for big crops to get bigger and small crops to get smaller.

But there’s only one or two years with big changes, all but eliminating that as a guideline.

In breaking down the components of yield, ear numbers, and ear weights, it was the ear weight that appears to have taken the biggest hit. The ear count per acre slid 90, a change that is within parameters of a “normal” report-toreport change.

The implied ear weight declined from .346 of a pound to .330. It’s now at the low end of the range that has persisted since USDA expanded its field data collection from seven to 10 states in 2004.

And the ear weight is among the lowest on the seven-state data going back another three to four years.

Traders may not openly ask, but one has to wonder, did USDA go too far? If we could see the indications from each part of the survey, the field data and the mail/phone survey, one might get a better insight, but those results won’t be released.

The 150-million-bushel increase in the feed/residual demand was curious given the smaller production and tighter supply/demand forecast.

While we cannot say for certain, there’s a chance this supply/demand report could be the “high-water mark” for the demand forecast. Time will tell.

History has proven that short crops do have long tails.

In other words, price peaks tend to come early.

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2010 crop: The bullish USDA production estimate positions the December contract to move to its next target near $5.50. However, given these latest changes, there’s reason to think USDA might have projected the tightest supply/demand scenario for this crop, or nearly so. Use strength to wrap-up sales.

There’s precedence for harvest rallies like this one to be the best selling opportunity.

Hedge-to-arrive (HTA) contracts for winter/spring delivery may be a good tool, but because carry has been taken out, check them against cash sales.

2011 crop: Use this rally to boost new-crop sales to 20 percent. High current prices could begin a demand rationing process that could extend into the new crop.

Fundamentals: Small crop and a weak dollar.

There’s little left to bring more buying into the corn market.

Speculative funds already hold huge longs. End users aren’t likely to chase strength in a big way. And persistently high prices could start demand rationing.

Soybean Strategy 2010 crop: On the surface, the soybean numbers were friendly, but not enough to warrant prices posting limit gains Friday. There’s a chance we could be seeing the highest demand forecast for this crop.

We’d use this rally to wrap up sales. Like corn, harvest rallies like this one tend to be the best marketing opportunity.

2011 crop: Use strength to boost sales to 20 percent.

Current high prices could start the demand-rationing process, weakening prices by the time planting begins.

Fundamentals: Even though USDA projected a slightly lower yield, that yield still eclipses last year’s record.

The 1.2-million-acre decline was the most significant production feature. The increase in the export forecast to a new record was equally surprising.

It appears to be based on early sales. But unless a South American crop problem

occurs this winter, those could quickly slow, allowing the ending stocks to rise from Friday’s 265-million-bushel forecast.

Wheat Strategy 2010 crop: The USDA report provided the momentum to carry wheat prices higher again. Prices on the December contract closed above the 20- and 50-day moving averages. Old-crop sales are complete. Take advantage of current strength to wrap them up, if you haven’t already done so. HTA contracts for winter delivery are still the best marketing tool.

2011 crop: Use rallies to $7.70 on Chicago July 2011 futures for catch-up sales. If basis is wide compared to this past summer, consider a HTA contract.

Fundamentals: The tone in the wheat pit is being set by the corn market. The USDA report trimmed world wheat production by 1.6 million metric tons, 1 million tons of which was out of the U.S. U.S. 2010/2011 wheat ending stocks, at 853 million bushels, were a little below expectations but not significantly so. Winter planting has steadily progressed, but scattered dry pockets are causing some concern.

FarmWeek Page 16 Monday, October 11, 2010

PERSPECTIVES

When is a walking stick not a cane?

T

he people of Illinois once again will study them. Hard. The late Sen. Paul Simon’s have an opportunity to vote in last book was “Our Culture of Panderstatewide elections Nov. 2. More ing.” That’s us. Our culture. That’s not good. than steak is on the table!

We really need to put a stop to politicians I have a favorite quote from who operate by promising more than they Abe Lincoln. Of the millions can deliver and spending more than the govof words he spoke or wrote, ernment has.

It’s time to confront our candidates. Ask his “House Divided” speech of the hard questions: “Will you spend more 1858 is one of his most than our government has to spend?” “Will famous. you stop adding new expenses until at least At the beginning of it, we have money to pay for them?” translated into modern Eng“Can you do the hard work of balancing lish, he said in essence: If we knew where we are, and where an honest budget?” “Can you stand up to your party leaders and state officers who we want to go, we could more LIN want to force you to vote for new programs, easily figure out how to get WARFEL when we don’t have enough money to pay for there. the ones we now have?”

I like that!

Illinois is Where are we blessed in many in Illinois govEditor’s note: This is the second in a series of ways. We have fine, ernment? That columns focusing on Farm Bureau members’ productive soils — picture is not responsibilities in the up- some of the best in pretty. In fact, we coming election. The goal the world. We have are documented is to encourage Farm Bu- world-class univeras the worst in reau members to become sities, and we state borrowing a c t i v e i n t h e p o l i t i c a l export huge quanper capita, and process and elect candi- tities of products we are at the low dates committed to serv- worldwide every end in many ing agricultural interests. year. I could go on important cateabout the really gories.

People from other states make jokes about good things in Illinois.

I believe our government should reflect our situation, but it is far from funny. This is the good folks of Illinois. our home!

Please study the candidates. Challenge For too long, too many good Illinois peothem. Vote, and ask your family members, ple have closed one eye to the political leadership and their actions or inactions. The citi- friends, and neighbors to vote! Help Illinois turn a corner and start up instead of spiraling zens — you and me — need to step up and face the situation, and do more than maintain down. the status quo.

Lin Warfel is a farmer in Champaign County.

How can we make it better? Where do we Recently, he served on the Illinois Farm Bureau Legwant to go? How can we make a difference? islative Redistricting Working Group.

Candidates have been chosen, so we can

A riddle is a mystifying, sometimes misleading puzzle asked as a question and requiring ingenuity to answer. Riddles probably have existed for nearly as long as language itself.

Most of us remember trying to figure out riddles as we were growing up. And then when we heard the answer, the response was something like, “Duh!” Remember these? What is black and white and red all over? In case you forgot, that would be a newspaper. When is a door not a door? When it is ajar!

Let me pose a riddle for your consideration: When is a walking stick not a cane? Give up? When it is an insect, that’s when.

TOM The walking sticks that humans use also are TURPIN known as canes, and some insects are called walking sticks. These creatures got their name because they resemble sticks, and they do walk.

There are about 3,000 different kinds of insect walking sticks.

Sometimes called stick insects, these creatures resemble the twigs — and sometimes even the leaves — of the plants on which they feed.

Walking sticks vary in size. Some are only about a half-inch long. Others are some of the largest insects in the world and measure more than 20 inches in length.

Some insect walking sticks have wings while others are wingless. In some species, the males have wings while the females do not.

The physical structure of walking stick insects is a natural camouflage system. These insects blend into their environments so completely that many times they go unnoticed by the casual observer. Even insect-eating birds sometimes fail to notice walking sticks.

In addition to obvious camouflage, stick insects have other methods of protection. Many remain motionless as they cling onto plants during daylight hours.

A few species have leaf-like legs; these species actually will sway when hanging from a plant in order to resemble leaves swaying in the breeze. One species that does this is called the Australian stick insect.

A cage full of Australian stick insects can sometimes be induced to exhibit the swaying behavior by a shout. Following the shout, the insects start swaying as if to say, “Nobody here — just us leaves swaying in the breeze!”

Another method of protection is the presence of spines on some stick insects. Not only do the spines on their bodies and legs make them look fearsome, the stick insects use the protrusions to poke a predator that might have discovered them.

Walking sticks feed on leaves. Most species of walking sticks are found in the tropics; however, temperate regions are home to a few species of walking sticks. Generally, most people don’t see the insects because of their camouflage and the fact that many feed high up in trees.

In Indiana, spectacular populations of walking sticks are sometimes found in oak forests.

These insects can be so thick in the trees that a person standing below them is bombarded with eggs and insect manure, called frass, falling like rain.

Tom Turpin is an entomology professor at Purdue University, West Lafayette, Ind. His e-mail address is turpin@purdue.edu.

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