CALIFORNIA FARMERS are attempting to get a clarification of what Proposition 2 in that state will mean to them. .........................2
THE USDA ACREAGE report released last week had some stunning figures. It put soybean acres at 77.483 million acres, a record. .........7
A PORK ANALY ST says it may take a 10 percent reduction in the sow herd before profits can return to the hog industry. ..........14
Monday, July 6, 2009
Two sections Volume 37, No. 27
A new look for FarmWeek When Congress approved the wording of the Declaration of Independence on July 4, 1776, the founding fathers set in motion the beginnings of a new, sovereign nation whose 233rd birthday we celebrated this past weekend. It seems a fitting time for us to launch something that if not exactly new is at least different — the look of FarmWeek. FarmWeek, which had its beginnings on June 10, 1974, has gone through a few updates over the years, but has had the same basic format and appearance since 1998. Some changes you see today are subtle: A somewhat larger text type and a few more graphics. Some are more noticeable: There are now two profitability pages — pages 14 and 15 of this issue — and the Perspectives page is now on the final page of the publication. I hope you find the publication a little easier to read and somewhat more pleasing to the eye. Either way, I would appreciate hearing from you. My e-mail address is dmcclelland@ilfb.org. — Dave McClelland, editor of FarmWeek.
WELL ABOVE THE KNEES
While many Illinois farmers were dealing with corn that was less than ankle high when July 4 arrived, some were far more fortunate. FarmWeek Cropwatcher and Carroll County dairyman Leroy Getz last Friday searched for the tassel in corn measuring 94 inches tall in a 30-acre field in rural Mt. Carroll. The field, on Getz’ cousin’s farm, was planted April 24, although most farmers started planting corn the first part of May. An update on the USDA crop acreage estimate is on page 7. (Photo by Ken Kashian)
Does climate plan enhance or erode bottom line? BY MARTIN ROSS FarmWeek
Despite projections of soaring energy and input costs under House-approved “cap-andtrade” measures, U.S. Ag Secretary Tom Vilsack sees domestic agriculture adapting and even flourishing under a new climate management agenda. Speaking before the Chicago Council on Global Affairs last
week, Vilsack hailed passage of the measure, which would cap nationwide greenhouse gas (GHG) emissions, even while acknowledging producer concerns about “exactly how this bill’s going to impact the way we do business.” He called on the Senate to pass
At a glance Sweeping climate ‘cap-and-
Periodicals: Time Valued
trade’ legislation has cleared the House. Senate Majority Leader Harry Reid hopes for full Senate debate by fall.
it and the president to sign it. The House Energy and Commerce plan, which includes compromise measures that exempt agriculture from GHG caps and recognize farm and forestry contributions to emissions reductions, cleared the House 219-212. Under the plan, USDA would determine ag practices eligible to earn emissions “offsets” that could be sold to capped industries. The American Farm Bureau Federation (AFBF) nonetheless was disappointed by House pas-
sage and is committed to defeating the overall measure in the Senate. Rick Krause, AFBF senior director of congressional relations, sees the tight House vote as a challenge for supporters, who must garner 60 Senate votes to head off a potentially fatal Republican filibuster. Vilsack stressed the need to “think differently” amid a rapidly aging producer population. He noted the average U.S. farmer’s age has risen from 55 to 57 over the past five years, while it has been reported nearly 50 percent of producers today must work 200 days a year off the farm “in order to be able to keep the farm.” “We’re going to see further consolidation on the large farm side, and we’ll see more of these small farm operations, but you won’t see anything in the middle,” he predicted. “What we want for rural America, for all of America, is to have a healthy percentage in all of those three categories. “I think this climate change bill and the complementary energy aspects of it enhance bottom line opportunities for mid-sized and smaller operations.”
FarmWeek on the web: FarmWeekNow.com
Health care reform is expected to take priority in the Senate, and Krause believes many senators may be reluctant immediately to tackle another controversial, costly bill. Without further revisions, Illinois Farm Bureau President Philip Nelson warns the climate change bill could cost farmers $5 billion per year in increased electricity, fuel, and fertilizer costs starting in 2020 and would “reduce farm income, damage our ability to compete, and create an energy deficit that we will not be able to simply wish away.” Energy and Commerce member John Shimkus, a Collinsville Republican, warns the bill could boost gas prices by 77 cents per gallon and hurt air travel and shipping industries. Amid estimates that annual personal income could drop $471 million in 2012 in his district alone, he questioned measures that would fuel “higher unemployment and huge costs to consumers.” The U.S. Environmental Protection Agency predicts the bill would encourage development of “clean” coal, biomassfired, power plants which
sequester carbon dioxide emissions underground, as well as emissions-free nuclear power. Nelson argued “we don’t live in that world,” and if coal and nuclear critics spur a push toward natural gas to generate electricity, that would restrict supplies for fertilizer and grain drying. During a recent Agribusiness Roundtable in Bloomington, IFB Vice President Rich Guebert Jr. suggested a shift to gasgenerated power could double or triple anhydrous prices. If “huge problems” with fertilizer costs or availability appear imminent under GHG regulation, “we will have to make some adjustments,” Vilsack assured. However, he believes ag carbon offset opportunities will “equal or exceed those input costs,” providing producers a “substantially greater” source of green income than existing ag conservation programs. He anticipates a “dynamic energy” being applied to agronomic and nutrient strategies under a climate-driven regime: See Climate, page 4
Illinois Farm Bureau®on the web: www.ilfb.org