Get to know Wayne Rosenthal, newly named Illinois director of natural resources. page 2
Monday, April 20, 2015
Want to help northern Illinois EF-4 tornado victims recover? Check out ways you can help. page 3
St. Mary’s School students make plans to plant their container garden, thanks to IAITC. page 8
House votes to bury death tax
Two sections Volume 43, No. 16
PLANTING KICKS INTO GEAR
Rick Kaesebier of Elkhart begins the planting process in Logan County. Illinois farmers planted less than 1 percent of the corn crop as of early last week compared to the average of 9 percent. Read more about planting progress on page 7. (Photo by Ken Kashian)
Picking up the pieces
BY JOANIE STIERS AND CHRIS ANDERSON FarmWeek
U.S. House passage of the Death Tax Repeal Act of 2015 last week puts Illinois Farm Bureau members one step closer to eliminating an unfair tax that jeopardizes the transfer of assets to the next generation, according to IFB President Richard Guebert Jr. The House voted 240 to 179 to pass HR 1105. The vote marked the first time the House voted on an estate tax repeal in 10 years. According to the American Farm Bureau Federation, the vote increases the chance that the Senate will take up the issue, and that estate tax relief ranks as a candidate for tax reform legislation. Adam Nielsen, IFB director of national legislation and policy development, said U.S. Senate leaders remain mum on a timetable for consideration of the repeal. The Senate would need 60 votes to pass the measure unless it is considered under “reconciliation,” which allows legislation to pass the Senate with a simple majority, he added.
“Illinois Farm Bureau applauds the strong House vote in favor of death tax repeal,” said Guebert. “Roughly 90 percent of the value of family-owned farms in Illinois is tied to land, buildings and equipment that can’t easily be converted to cash, leaving some farm families unable to cover their enormous tax bill after the death of a family member.” Nielsen added that Illinois farmland values nearly tripled in the last 15 years. Three out of every 20 farms in Illinois could be valued over the $5.14 million estate tax exemption based on average farmland values. The exemption has failed to keep up with changing farmland values, he said. IFB members participated in a targeted action request last week, urging House Democrats to vote “yes” on the estate tax repeal. Illinois delegation members voting “yes” included Republicans Mike Bost, Rodney Davis, Bob Dold, Randy Hultgren, Adam Kinzinger, Peter Roskam and John Shimkus.
Northern Illinois tornado victims begin recovery process
BY DANIEL GRANT FarmWeek
Periodicals: Time Valued
Residents of northern Illinois counties affected by the April 9 tornado outbreak responded to the situation about as quickly as the storm hit the area. The massive tornado, classified as an EF-4 with wind speeds up to 200 mph, cut a devastating path through Lee, Ogle, DeKalb and Boone counties. There also were
damage reports in Winnebago and other surrounding counties. The towns of Fairdale and Rochelle took the brunt of the damage. News reports last week indicated about 50 homes in Fairdale were destroyed, while another 30 homes were ruined by the twister in Rochelle. There were two fatalities in Fairdale and multiple injuries across the area. COUNTRY Financial, as of late last week, received 1,709 damage claims (1,189 property and 520 auto claims), mostly in northern Illinois. A number of wind and hail damage claims also were reported in the Champaign and Edwardsville areas, according to Christopher Stroisch, COUNTRY spokesman. “A majority of claims were filed in northern Illinois after tornadoes touched in multiple communities, including Rochelle and Fairdale,” Stroisch said. “We expect to receive additional claims in the coming weeks as more residents are
able to inspect their properties.” Thousands of volunteers went to work soon after the
Greg Millburg, DeKalb County Farm Bureau manager, reported tremendous progress in terms of clearing
anticipate major planting delays as a result of debris and cleanup efforts. “I don’t think it will delay
‘I’m really blessed a lot of folks showed up out of the blue. I’d be under a pile of rubble for probably the next six months if it wasn’t for all the volunteers who helped us.’ — Todd Aves tornadoes struck to begin the cleanup and recovery process. Todd Aves, a dairy farmer from Belvidere, amazingly managed to milk his cows the next morning despite the fact he lost two machine sheds, half a milking parlor and a garage to the tornado. “I’m really blessed a lot of folks showed up out of the blue,” Aves said late last week. “We’re all cleaned up. I’d be under a pile of rubble for probably the next six months if it wasn’t for all the volunteers who helped us.” Ron Kern, Ogle County Farm Bureau manager, and
debris from farms and farm fields. “There is debris out in farm fields,” Millburg said. “The good thing is there is a groundswell of volunteers.” Kern noted, “There are hundreds of people doing cleanup. Not all, but a lot of the debris in farm fields has been removed.” Aves planned to start planting late last week. He also hoped to have a new building ordered for his farm by the end of last week. “We’re not going to let it (tornado damage) stop us,” he said. Kern and Millburg don’t
Boone County dairy farmer
planting in our county to any large degree,” Millburg said. Kern added, “it sounds like guys might be able to work at least some fields (now). Although, I have a feeling there will be some flat tires this spring.” Support for tornado victims was so great that fire departments have enough material items, according to the Farm Bureau managers. Monetary donations are preferred if people would like to help those in the area. Visit the Red Cross website {redcross.org} or call 1-800Red-Cross to make a monetary donation to benefit the tornado victims.