FFA’ers from six chapters represent the first crew of Weed Warriors scouting Illinois fields. page 2
More than 1,100 farmers attended 11 watershed meetings hosted by county Farm Bureaus. page 3
WOTUS rule goes into effect Aug. 28 Monday, July 6, 2015
Opponents’ fight continues BY DEANA STROISCH FarmWeek
Periodicals: Time Valued
Opponents ramped up efforts last week to force the Environmental Protection Agency (EPA) and Army Corps of Engineers to withdraw their regulations governing “waters of the U.S.” The final rule, officially published in the Federal Register, goes into effect Aug. 28. More than 20 states and the American Farm Bureau Federation have already filed lawsuits to stop implementation. Illinois wasn’t among them. Meanwhile, representatives from a coalition of Illinois business organizations – from farmers to homebuilders – urged U.S. Sens. Dick Durbin, D-Springfield, and Mark Kirk, R-Highland Park, to support legislation (S 1140) that would require the agencies to rewrite the rule. “Our groups believe strongly that it’s time for Congress to reassert itself on clean water, and send EPA and the Corps of Engineers back to the drawing board with state and local agencies to develop a new rule before the end of the
year,” the group wrote to the senators. The coalition, which includes Illinois Farm Bureau, also held a teleconference Tuesday. The coalition’s concerns include an “illegal public relations campaign” in favor of the proposed rule, the final rule’s all-encompassing definitions and its ambiguity. “The final rule’s vague definitions make it easy for the federal government to regulate not only water, but land as well, and allow for the agencies to identify land as a tributary — which is subject to regulation — based on past, rather than current, conditions,” said Lauren Lurkins, IFB’s director of natural and environmental resources. “To make things worse, regulators don’t even have to be present on the land in question to regulate it. From their Washington D.C. offices more than 800 miles from Illinois, the agencies can use ‘desktop tools’ to establish the presence of a tributary on private lands.” Dan Eichholz, executive director of Illinois Association of Aggregate Producers, described the rule as a “double whammy” for the aggregate industry. “Not only could this make it much more difficult to open a new facility or expand an existing facility, but basically all the products we produce go into the construction industry,” Eichholz said. “This rule has the potential to essentially halt or significantly slow construction projects.” Bill Ward, executive vice president of the Home Builders Association of Illinois, said preliminary estimates show the average cost of permits for an average size See WOTUS, page 2
Lee County Farm Bureau members and guests celebrated during a 100th birthday party. page 11
GRAIN BUSINESS FLOODED
Two sections Volume 43, No. 27
Jersey County Grain Co. in Calhoun County near Hardin remains closed for business due to flooding from the Illinois River. Illinois’ rainy June entered the record books as the wettest in state history. Read more weather information on page 3. (Photo by Ken Kashian)
Macomb supporters teach key ag ed lesson
BY KAY SHIPMAN FarmWeek
Macomb ag education supporters put a modern twist on the rural tradition of barn raising; they built a high school agriculture program from the ground up. McDonough County Farm Bureau Manager Sarah Grant, one of the main organizers, called the effort “a labor of love.” In August, newly hired teacher Wyatt McGrew will harvest the fruits of that labor by teaching ag classes for the first time in decades at Macomb High School. “We had to develop our own blueprint,” added Robb Creasey, 1st Farm Credit vice president and another campaign leader. Macomb students and parents found themselves in a situation similar to those in other school districts. In the 1980s, the district closed its high school agriculture program. Macomb students could take ag classes through a cooperative agreement with a neighboring district, but the arrangement came with several hurdles, even making it difficult for Macomb seniors to graduate on time. In fall 2012, momentum to reopen the Macomb High School ag program reached a
tipping point with the founding of a nonprofit Macomb Agriscience Association (MAA) whose members include parents, educators, community ag leaders and representatives of ag businesses and organizations. “Somebody needed to be the engine to get it started,” said Bruce Eidson, senior research associate with DuPont Pioneer and another campaign leader. When Creasey’s oldest daughter, a 2015 graduate, told her father she was interested in agriculture, but “didn’t have a chance to experiment in ag through Macomb High School, that’s when the light bulb came on for me,” he recalled. “We felt, as a group, our kids were missing out on great opportunities for careers and college. Our kids were the ones getting shortchanged in the deal.” MAA approached the school board and district about reopening the ag program, but was told the district lacked funding. MAA proposed and received from the district a three-year commitment — if organizers raised $300,000 to privately fund an ag teacher’s salary and benefits, and support the program, according to Grant. The district had no mechanism to accept private funding, so a policy to accept
external funding was developed and passed in March 2014, Grant said. MAA launched a two-prong approach of fundraising and educating the community about the need for and value of ag education. Some residents didn’t even know the high school didn’t offer ag classes, Creasey noted. FFA officers talked to high school students to raise interest; ag education supporters marched in parades. Fundraising occurred in many places and forms, even grain bushel donations. To date, MAA has raised and collected pledges for $225,000, Creasey said. Andy Baker, director of Western Illinois University’s School of Agriculture, convinced the university’s Ag Mech Club and Alpha Gamma Rho fraternity to donate. Baker pointed out WIU ag education students can use Macomb High School ag classes for field experience. “I think we can at least triple the number of Macomb High School graduates who study agriculture at WIU,” Baker said. McGrew, the new Macomb ag teacher, earned his ag education degree from See Macomb, page 2