Some truCkIng ISSueS have been resolved for farmers, but others need congressional clarification, according to AFBF. ................3
the drought and abnormally dry conditions in the wheat growing regions of the state are a concern to wheat producers. ......11
A joLIet junIor college student had an unusual internship on the Montana ranch owned by a former Illinois resident. ...............16
Monday, September 19, 2011
Two sections Volume 39, No. 38
Crop insurance support strong in the Beltway BY MARTIN ROSS FarmWeek
Periodicals: Time Valued
Not much is certain on Capitol Hill these days, with a 12member “super committee” holding the purse strings of and possibly even the policy playbook for the next farm bill. But Illinois Farm Bureau Leaders to Washington last week found broad bipartisan consensus on one key policy point: Direct payments may be in for a direct budget hit, but a rough U.S. crop season has driven home the need for a continued farm safety net featuring crop insurance. Leaders offered lawmakers a preview of IFB Farm Policy Task Force recommendations up for IFB board consideration this week. The plan seeks to offer growers a “simplified” farm revenue program and maintain existing crop premium subsidies. “Crop insurance is going to be the centerpiece of the next farm bill,” USDA Risk Management Agency (RMA) Deputy Administrator Michael Alston
told the Illinois producers. U.S. Sen. Dick Durbin, a Springfield Democrat, offers bleak prospects for continued direct payments but sees improved crop insurance as an economic necessity, arguing “the alternative is disaster assistance.” Ogle County Leader Daryl Cave argued crop insurance “guarantees us that if we pay a premium, we can farm for another year.” “The more money we can get into crop insurance, where people are covering their losses thoughtfully, the better off we are,” Durbin said. ‘Super’ savings or sequestration? Safety net funding depends in part on the bipartisan super committee, which must identify $1.5 trillion in 10-year deficit reductions by Thanksgiving. Committee members “don’t know that much about farm policy,” said American Farm Bureau Federation’s Mary Kay Thatcher, who urges them merely to recommend a “fair amount of cuts” and allow House and Senate ag committees to decide how funds will be distributed. Durbin sees that as the committee’s likely strategy. Congressional failure to pass committee-proposed cuts by Dec. 23 would trigger acrossthe-board budget “sequestration,” which could shave perhaps 9 percent from farm spending while exempting bigticket programs such as Social Security, Medicare, and food stamps, Thatcher told FarmWeek. Highland Park Republican Sen. Mark Kirk predicts Senate passage of the committee bill, but by no more than 51 votes. Insurance investigation Kirk warned IFB leaders that “in this budget environment, See Insurance, page 4
GETTING STARTED
A corn ear glistens in the sun as farmer Steve Kahle opens a field near Hudson. Kahle, who just started corn harvest late last week, reported corn in this field was at about 25 percent moisture with yields near 200 bushels per acre. Unfortunately, many corn ears around the state did not fill out as well as this one due to hot, dry conditions that started around pollination and continue to be a problem. USDA last week lowered the estimated statewide average corn yield by 9 bushels to 161 bushels per acre. (Photo by Ken Kashian)
FFA, ag teachers worry proposed labor rules will restrict students Would livestock shows be impacted? BY KAY SHIPMAN FarmWeek
High school students’ hands-on learning and their FFA projects may be severely restricted under proposed changes in federal child labor rules, according to state agriculture education officials. Last week, high school ag teachers and FFA advisers across Illinois were alerted to the impact of proposed revisions to child labor regulations in the Fair Labor Standards Act. Seneca High School ag teacher Jeff Maierhofer and his fellow members of the National Council for Agricultural Education were raising concerns last week in Washington, D.C. “No one in ag ed is saying students shouldn’t be safe,” Maierhofer told FarmWeek. “We think if we can supervise it (student ag work experiences), we can do a good job.” Maierhofer emphasized the proposed rules would not affect students working on farms owned by their parents. However, the vast majority of Illinois ag students would be impacted. In 2010, 90 percent of the Illinois high students taking agriculture class-
FarmWeek on the web: FarmWeekNow.com
es did not live on a farm, according to the Facilitating Coordination in Agricultural Education. “We have some real concerns and are watching it closely,” said Jim Craft, executive secretary of the Illinois FFA Association. The livestock industry and junior livestock competitions could see significant changes. The proposed changes would prohibit hired farm workers younger than 16 from performing certain tasks with animals. Those tasks include herding animals in confined spaces; working in a pen or stall with a boar, bull, or stallion; and helping with animal husbandry practices that are likely to result in unpredictable animal behavior. One unintended consequence of restricting students younger than 16 from driving a tractor may be fewer students with safe tractor driving experience, Maierhofer pointed out. “Unless you teach them tractor safety, I think it (regulations change) will have the opposite effect. There will be less tractor safety,” Maierhofer said. The ag teacher also questioned if a student younger than 16 legally could climb into a combine cab because the proposed rules would prohibit students younger than 16 from climbing a See Labor, page 2
Illinois Farm Bureau®on the web: www.ilfb.org