PEACH trEES reaching full blossom so early in the season because of the extremely warm weather is reason for concern. ..............................................................3
A uniquE nEW business in Vermilion County that caters to the horse travel industry and grew out of a child’s dream is becoming quite successful. ..............................5
tHE EConomiC imPACt of the Illinois livestock industry continues to grow despite the fact that there are fewer producers and reduced numbers of some animals. ...................5
Monday, March 26, 2012
Two sections Volume 40, No. 13
Friday hearing
Safety net vital, farmers tell Ag Committee
Illinois farmers at a 2012 farm bill hearing Friday stressed the need for an insurancefocused safety net to address production and market volatility. During a U.S. House Ag Committee field hearing held in Galesburg at FarmWeek’s deadline, Knox County farmer and county Farm Bureau President David Erickson maintained “a reasonable safety net must still be a part of the farm bill to ensure that production agriculture can withstand the inevitable variability in prices and produc-
House GOP plan cuts ag spending — Page 3
Periodicals: Time Valued
tion, neither of which are in our complete control.” The hearing was held in Galesburg because U.S. Rep. Bobby Shilling, a Republican from Colona in Knox County, is a member of the Ag Committee and suggested the city as a site for one of four field hearings to be held throughout the nation. Erickson acknowledged the importance of federal crop insurance as a component of farm risk management, but warned that “too much emphasis on any single approach to
Offering testimony Friday in Galesburg at a U.S. House Ag Committee hearing on the 2012 farm bill were, from left, David Erickson, a cash grain farmer from Altona and president of Knox County Farm Bureau; Deb Moore, a cash grain and beef producer from Roseville; John Mages, a farmer from Minnesota; Blake Gerard, a rice, soybean, wheat, and corn producer from McClure; and Craig Adams, a farmer and beef producer from Ohio. (Photo by Cyndi Cook)
risk management is dangerous.” Deb Moore, a corn, soybean, and beef farmer from Warren County, also testified to the risky nature of farming and reiterated the importance Illinois farmers place on federal crop insurance programs. “The importance of an effective safety net for farm income has grown as the rising cost of farm inputs has increasingly pressured farm profitability,”
Moore testified. “We support risk management proposals and other programs that enable us to better manage risk, maintain planting flexibility, and avoid restructuring of the existing crop insurance program.” Other Midwest producers outlined possible improvements in crop insurance and offered suggestions for strengthening the revenue safety net in the
likely absence of farm direct payments. Meanwhile, Osco hog producer and National Pork Producers Council board member Gary Asay said he favored improving programs aimed at helping “keep feed grain prices competitive with the rest of the world.” He noted that feed comprises 60 to 70 percent of his input costs in producing a market hog,
at roughly 10.5 bushels of corn and 200 pounds of soybean meal per pig. “The rapid development of the corn-based ethanol industry together with other factors is threatening the U.S. pork industry’s competitiveness and the survivability of producers like me,” testified Asay, who raises some 9,000 hogs per year for Cargill. Both Asay and Erickson warned lawmakers against what the pork producer termed “unwarranted and costly provisions and regulations” that would impair U.S. agriculture’s global competitiveness. Ag Committee Chairman Frank Lucas (R-Okla.) and committee member Rep. Randy Hultgren, a Winfield Republican, joined Shilling at the hearing. “We’re extremely appreciative of Chairman Lucas and Representatives Schilling and Hultgren for holding a field hearing here in Illinois,” said Illinois Farm Bureau President Philip Nelson. “Hearings like these are extremely important because they enable farmers here in Illinois — and across the country — to make their voices and needs heard.” More on the hearing will be included in next week’s Farmweek.
Farmers get early jump on corn planting
and 57.8 to 61.3 degrees in 80 degrees. “The conditions out of the ground. Northern Illinois, according to are excellent.” Farmers who plant this earIt may have been midthe Illinois State Water Survey When asked if it was the ly are taking some risks, March on the calendar last earliest he’d ever planted corn, (ISWS). though. week, but May-like conditions Emerson Nafziger, Univerthe veteran farmer said, “My biggest concern is a allowed farmers in several mid-April frost,” Wentworth sity of Illinois crop systems “Absolutely. It’s very early for said. parts of the state to get a head this part of the state. specialist, said corn seed The average date of the last start planting corn. “But my feeling is we’re in a requires about 115 growing Dennis Wentworth, Downs, dry period (with a favorable degree days (GDD) to emerge. frost is around the first week of April in Southern Illinois, on the first day of spring last Much of the state last week forecast) and these are better mid-April in Central Illinois, week planted corn near LeRoy conditions than we’ve had in was accumulating 15 to 18 and late April in Northern Illiin McLean County. GDD per day due to the the last two or three years.” nois, according to Jim Angel, “We just started. We’re out Topsoil temperatures on the unseasonably warm weather. ISWS state climatologist. trying to get the planter set,” “We might see emergence in first day of spring (March 20) If the March-planted corn Wentworth told FarmWeek ranged from 61 to 64.8 degrees a week if it stays this warm,” is damaged by frost in coming said Nafziger, who noted some on a dry, windy day that feain Southern Illinois, 58.6 to See Early, page 3 tured temperatures in excess of 62.5 degrees in Central Illinois, early-planted corn already is FarmWeek on the web: FarmWeekNow.com Illinois Farm Bureau®on the web: www.ilfb.org BY DANIEL GRANT FarmWeek
FarmWeek Page 2 Monday, March 26, 2012
Quick takes EASTER TO BE U OF I PRESIDENT — Bob Easter, former dean of the College of Agricultural, Consumer, and Environmental Sciences, was named University of Illinois president designate last week by the U of I Board of Trustees Executive Committee after Michael Hogan resigned. Easter, who received Illinois Far m Bureau’s Distinguished Service Award in December, will become the 19th president, starting July 1. He retired briefly in October, but returned to serve as interim vice Bob Easter chancellor for research on the Urbana campus. In 2009, he served as interim provost and later as interim chancellor on the Urbana-Champaign campus. MEMORIAL SERVICE FOR IBA LEADER — A memorial ser vice was to be held today (Monday) for Maralee Johnson, 61, executive vice president of the Illinois Beef Association (IBA), who last week died of an inoperable brain tumor. “Maralee was a wonderful person and a passionate worker on behalf of all the beef producers of Illinois,” said Jeff Beasley, IBA president. “She will be sorely missed Maralee Johnson in so many ways.” Johnson worked for IBA for 23 years, including the past 13 as executive vice president. DISASTER APPEAL DENIAL, APPROVAL — The Federal Emergency Management Agency (FEMA) last week again rejected federal assistance for five Southern Illinois counties where a Feb. 29 tornado caused extensive damage and seven deaths. But the U.S. Small Business Administration (SBA) approved a disaster declaration, which makes low-interest loans available to homeowners, renters, and businesses in Saline County, as well as Franklin, Gallatin, Hamilton, Hardin, Johnson, Pope, White, and Williamson counties, Gov. Pat Quinn said in a statement. Quinn said he believed FEMA’s denial doesn’t reflect “the reality and devastation on the ground.” He added, “I remain committed to obtaining any and all assistance available to help our Southern Illinois communities recover.” Sens. Dick Durbin and Mark Kirk and U.S. Reps. John Shimkus and Jerry Costello issued statements criticizing FEMA’s decision. Four of the five counties seeking aid for tornado damage — Gallatin, Randolph, Saline, and Williamson — were designated federal disaster areas last year after severe floods. In February, Union County joined them after the devastating tornado. SCHOOL TAX PROPOSALS — Initiatives to impose a countywide sales tax for school construction and maintenance failed in two of three county elections last week. Saline County voters passed a 1 percent countywide sales tax. Voters in Washington and Morgan counties defeated similar measures by substantial margins. In both counties, the 1 percent sales tax increase was to be used for school facilities.
(ISSN0197-6680) Vol. 40 No. 13
March 26, 2012
Dedicated to improving the profitability of farming, and a higher quality of life for Illinois farmers. FarmWeek is produced by the Illinois Farm Bureau. FarmWeek is published each week, except the Mondays following Thanksgiving and Christmas, by the Illinois Agricultural Association, 1701 Towanda Avenue, P.O. Box 2901, Bloomington, IL 61701. Illinois Agricultural Association assumes no responsibility for statements by advertisers or for products or services advertised in FarmWeek. FarmWeek is published by the Illinois Agricultural Association for farm operator members. $3 from the individual membership fee of each of those members go toward the production of FarmWeek.
Address subscription and advertising questions to FarmWeek, P.O. Box 2901, Bloomington, IL 61702-2901. Periodicals postage paid at Bloomington, Illinois, and at an additional mailing office. POSTMASTER: Send change of address notices on Form 3579 to FarmWeek, P.O. Box 2901, Bloomington, IL 61702-2901. Farm Bureau members should send change of addresses to their local county Farm Bureau. © 2012 Illinois Agricultural Association
GOveRNmeNt
Farmers who own mini-bulk pesticide tanks must comply BY KAY SHIPMAN FarmWeek
Farmers who own their own portable, refillable pesticide containers, commonly known as mini-bulk tanks, must meet federal requirements in effect since last August. Tank owners are responsible for ensuring their tanks meet the U.S. Environmental Protection Agency (EPA) standards. If a container doesn’t meet the requirements, agrichemical dealers legally cannot fill it. Recently, EPA clarified steps needed by individuals who own mini-bulk tanks, according to Jean Payne, president of the Illinois Fertilizer and Chemical Association (IFCA). This spring and summer, the Illinois Department of Agriculture will be checking for compliance FarmWeekNow.com of these EPA To v i e w a n o n l i n e w e b i n a r regulations, a b o u t t e s t i n g m i n i - b u l k Payne said. The type of containers, visit FarmWeek Now.com. tank must be listed on a pesticide management approved list. Ask your local retailer to check the list. The tank must meet Department of Transportation (DOT) requirements. Tanks that
meet those requirements have a UN/DOT marking usually stamped on them. The tank must be leak-proof tested every two and a half years after it was manufactured. The tank owner is responsible for the testing. Instructions on how to test a tank are available on the IFCA website at {www.ifca.com}. A tank must have a unique identification number, such as a serial number or other unique identification. Tank owners may make their own identification number as long as it is unique, according to Payne. The identification number may be written in indelible ink on the tank or on an adhesive label that is attached to the tank. Tanks must have either a tamper-evidence device or a one-way valve. Payne noted tank owners may prefer oneway valves because any tank with a tamperevidence device that is later opened to remove the product must be cleaned before it can be refilled by a retailer. Tanks must be properly labeled for the product. If you own a mini-bulk tank and want clarification, you may visit the IFCA website at {www.ifca.com} or call 309-827-2774.
SIGNS OF SPRING
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 (bstandard@ilfb.org) Advertising Sales Manager
Richard Verdery (rverdery@ilfb.org) Classified sales coordinator
Nan Fannin (nfannin@ilfb.org) Director of News and Communications
Dennis Vercler Advertising Sales Representatives
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
A young calf watches warily as its mother and other cows graze on lush pasture on the farm of Bill Hennefent, Knox County Farm Bureau secretary. The first day of spring last week brought record warm temperatures to some parts of the state and the Midwest. Climatologists attribute the unusual warmth to a loop in the jet stream that is blocking cold air to the north. (Photo by Kelly Wagahoff, Knox County Farm Bureau manager)
Page 3 Monday, March 26, 2012 FarmWeek
Production
House GOP budget plan would slash ag spending House Budget Committee Chairman Paul Ryan’s (R-Wis.) 2013 budget blueprint, released last week, instructs the House Agriculture Committee to reduce spending by $33.2 billion over 10 years. The budget resolution breaks the reductions down as follows: $8.2 billion in the first year and $19.7 billion in the first five years, with the ultimate reduction of $33.2 billion in 10 years. Leaders of the House and Senate ag committees previously had targeted $23 billion in cuts over the next 10 years. The committee passed Ryan’s budget resolution on Wednesday. The spending reduction targets are the only numbers the House Budget Committee will pass along to the Ag Committee. It is Ag Committee members who decide how the reductions are implemented, Ag Committee Chairman Rep. Frank Lucas (R-Okla.) said in his statement on the budget resolution. “I would caution people about reading too much into the numbers or policy proposals in either the president’s budget or the Ryan budget,” Lucas said.
“They are only suggestions. During our process, both policy and deficit reduction targets will be developed in conjunction with Ranking Member (Collin) Peterson (D-Minn.) and members of the committee as we write a fiscally responsible farm bill that ensures Americans continue to have a safe, affordable, and stable food supply.” Peterson, ranking member on the House Agriculture Committee, said he found Ryan’s proposal “appalling.” “The Ryan budget proposes significant cuts in the farm safety net and conservation programs, and slashes spending on nutrition programs that provide food for millions of Americans,” Peterson said. The specifics on agriculture are limited, although the 99page Budget Committee document proposes reducing the fixed payments that go to farmers irrespective of price levels. It also would reform “the open-ended nature of the government’s support for crop insurance, so that agricultural producers assume the same kind of responsibility for managing risk that other businesses do.”
Dennis Wentworth, Downs, plants corn on the first day of spring in a field near LeRoy in McLean County. Wentworth said planting conditions last week were some of the best on his farm in the past two or three years. Conditions on the first day of spring featured 80-plus degree temperatures with strong winds. The topsoil temperature last week was near or above 60 degrees across much of the state. (Photo by Daniel Grant)
Early Continued from page 1 weeks, farmers won’t receive any federal assistance to replant the crop. No crop insurance payments for replanting will be issued for cornfields that are planted prior to April 6, the Risk Management Agency reported. Meanwhile, U of I corn variety trials suggest farmers
Blooms early for Southern Illinois peaches
BY KAY SHIPMAN FarmWeek
Calhoun County grower Debbie Hagen Kamp said she doesn’t remember another mid-March when her family’s peach trees were in full bloom. Peach trees began blooming the week of March 12 on the Hagen Family Orchard near Golden Eagle. Kamp said she asked other growers, and no one could remember an earlier full bloom. “Of course it’s a worry that temperatures could get too cold and freeze the crop,” Kamp said. The family has 20 acres of producing peach trees and another 25 acres of replanted peach trees. It also has 35 acres of apple trees, whose blooms were in a tight cluster last week. Southern Illinois growers aren’t the only ones with early blooms and concerns about cold weather. Missouri orchards also have bloomed about three weeks early, according to the University of Missouri. Many growers in Illinois and Missouri remember the
Blake Kamp and his mother, Debbie Hagen Kamp, check blossoms on peach trees at the Hagen Family Orchard near Golden Eagle in Calhoun County. Their peach trees bloomed three to four weeks earlier than usual due to mild temperatures. (Photo by Brenda Bizaillion, Calhoun County Farm Bureau manager)
crop-killing Easter freeze of 2007. Easter that year was on April 8, just as it is this year. Peach blossoms can withstand a light frost and still set a crop, but when the thermometer dips into the low 20s, heavy damage may occur. Kamp’s son, Blake, was more optimistic about his early crop: “If we get through the next couple of
weeks, we’ll be alright. The fruit will be a little earlier.” The family sells most of its fruit at a family retail store near Brussels, across the river from Marquette State Park. Its peach varieties include Red Haven, Glow Haven, Contenders, Loring, and Crest Haven. “I’m not too concerned,” Blake said. “We can’t change it anyway.”
who plant in March won’t gain any yield advantages compared to those who plant in April. “Planting in late March or early April has almost never produced higher yields than planting in late April,” Nafziger said. However, corn yields tend to decline when planting is
delayed well into May or later, as farmers are painfully aware after dealing with spring flooding/planting delays the previous two springs. Nafziger anticipates much more planting activity in this and coming weeks as April 1 typically is the “go date” for many in the southern twothirds of Illinois, he added.
FSA communicating more over Internet The Farm Service Agency (FSA) is converting its paper newsletters and postcards into electronic versions of E-newsletters, bulletins, and messages, said Scherrie Giamanco, state FSA executive director. FSA will provide access to newsletters, eligibility requirements, deadlines, and related information through an electronic news service hosted by GovDelivery. In the near future, county newsletters will be provided through GovDelivery, said Giamanco. By signing up for free online communications through GovDelivery, farmers may receive news, via email, directly to their homes or farm offices. They may select to receive federal farm program and farm loan information by topic, by state and/or by county. They also may select other options, such as receiving updates from every county in which they operate or have an interest. Farmers may sign up at their local county FSA office by signing an “AD-2047” that gives FSA permission to acquire their e-mail addresses. Due to government budget cuts, county offices no longer are sending paper newsletters.
Correction An individual in a picture accompanying a story on maple syrup making at Funk Farm in Shirley was misidentified in the March 19 issue of FarmWeek. Jonathan Funk was one of those emptying buckets of sap into a transport container.
FarmWeek Page 4 Monday, March 26, 2012
laNd values
ISPFMRA: Illinois land values jump 20 percent in 2011 BY DANIEL GRANT FarmWeek
The value of Illinois farmland continues to creep up after an amazing run last year, according to members of the Illinois Society of Professional Farm Managers and Rural Appraisers (ISPFMRA). Good to excellent farmland jumped from a range of $8,000 to $9,000 per acre at the beginning of 2011 to an average of $10,000-plus per
FarmWeekNow.com Listen to Don McCabe’s comments about the Illinois farmland market at FarmWeekNow.com.
acre by last summer — the first time in Illinois history that excellent land values averaged five digits. The average price of excellent farmland in the state as of
Dec. 31 was estimated at $10,460 per acre, up 20 percent for the year. “It’s an amazing increase,” said Don McCabe of Soy Capital Ag Services and chairman of the ISPFMRA Illinois Farmland Values and Lease Trends report released last week. Increases in Illinois farmland prices from 1970 to 2011 averaged 6.7 percent per year. Yearly increases in farmland prices jumped to an average of 12 percent from 2005 to 2011. High commodity prices that boosted farm income have been the main driver in rising farmland prices in recent years, according to the ISPFMRA survey. “Farmland values are income-driven right now,” McCabe said. Local farmers last year bought the majority of farm-
Farm managers: Communication key to establishing fair cash rents If “location, location, location” is the key to determining real estate values, then “communication, communication, communication” likely is just as important in establishing a fair cash rent for farm ground. Members of the Illinois Society of Professional Farm Managers and Rural Appraisers (ISPFMRA) last week recommended farmers and landowners maintain an open dialogue each season to stay on top of the ag industry’s highly volatile markets. “It’s hard to identify a (cash rent) value when you have different perspectives on each farm,” Tim Harris of Capital Agricultural Property Services said last week at the 2012 Illinois Land Values Conference hosted by ISPFMRA in Bloomington. “So how do you make a lease fair to the owner and operator?” he continued. “You have to have an honest and frank conversation with the people you’re working with.” Some farmland owners prefer a fixed cash rent in which they have guaranteed income while others prefer leases that share the risk but also spread the wealth in good income years, Harris noted. Traditional cash rent agreements are the most common leases in Illinois followed by traditional crop share and variable cash rent agreements. “Leases are becoming more diversified to meet clients’ needs,” said Ed Kiefer of Hertz Farm Management. The situation is even trickier in Illinois where a wide array of soil types comes into play. Average cash rents this year range from a low of $154 per acre for the lower third of leases on fair ground to a high of $418 per acre for the top third of leases on excellent ground. “The range (in rates) has gotten larger over time,” said Gary Schnitkey, University of Illinois Extension farm management specialist and ISPFMRA secretary/treasurer. Record income last year encouraged some farmers to bid up cash rents as high as $500-plus per acre. “Cash rent values are up considerably,” Harris said. “The last couple years, a 20 to 30 percent change in cash rents is not unusual.” Cash rents between 2011 and 2012 in Illinois increased a average of $60 per acre for excellent and good-quality land, $50 per acre for average ground, and $35 per acre for fairquality farmland, according to ISPFMRA. The trend is expected to continue as long as farm prices and income remain strong. The farm managers, therefore, recommended farmers/landowners consider various types of variable or flexible cash rent arrangements and stick to one-year leases due to the highly volatile environment. — Daniel Grant
land, 64 percent, while local and non-local investors snatched up 26 percent of farmland that was sold in the state. The rest was purchased by relocating farmers, institutions, and others. Public auctions have become a more popular method of selling farmland: The portion of land sold at
auction increased from 37 percent in 2010 to 44 percent in 2012. In fact, nearly every county in the state last year recorded a land sale that set a new, record-high price, according to the study. “Higher (land) prices pulled more supply on the market,” McCabe said. “It looks like
that’s continued into this year.” ISPFMRA members are cautiously optimistic land values will remain strong this year and into the future, according to Gary Schnitkey, University of Illinois Extension farm management specialist who also is the ISPFMRA secretary/treasurer. The majority of ISPFMRA members, 60 percent, projected the yearly increase in land values the next five years will average between 0 and 5 percent. “That would be closer to the historic averages and not what happened the last couple years,” Schnitkey noted. Overall, average Illinois land values last year ranged from a low of $3,150 per acre for average/fair land in Southern Illinois to $13,000 per acre for excellent ground in Central Illinois.
Farmer input sought on Internet training BY KAY SHIPMAN FarmWeek
A Lake Land Community College professor is seeking input from far mers and rural residents to help develop rural and ag-oriented Internet curriculum and training programs. Mike Rudibaugh, also the mapping director with Partnership for a Connected Illinois, wants feedback on topics that have applications to high-speed Internet. Increasingly, government and far m infor mation is being delivered online. Last week, the Illinois Far m Ser vice Agency (FSA) reminded far mers it is converting paper newsletters and postcards into digital infor mation for the Internet. Due to government budget cuts, county FSA offices are no longer mailing paper newsletters. Far m Bureau members may send feedback to Rudibaugh via e-mail to mike.rudibaugh@broadbandillinoi.org or mail them in care of Brenda Matherly, Illinois Far m Bureau, 1701 Towanda Ave., Bloomington, Ill., 61701. Rudibaugh would like feedback on the following potential computer class subjects or other topics of interest: • Real-time weather and market data: Would you like training related to Internet applications of real-time weather and market infor mation that target both economic and weather variables that impact far ming?
• Aerial images: Are you interested in classes that would connect you to free far m-level aerial photography and satellite images that may be used to assess crop stress or loss and impacts from flooding or other factors? • Updating data or uploading processes related to local and state gover nments: Do you want to learn how to reach local and state agencies’ data on land uses and assessments, such as those used for property tax assessments, land use, and soil maps? • Local or regional ag support ser vices: Are you interested in learning how to find and use infor mation from agricultural agencies, such as Soil and Water Conser vation Districts and local USDA ser vice centers? • Online education: Would you like to learn how students may take community college and university courses over the Internet and reduce their expenses? • Health care: Are you interested in learning how to research and use the Internet to find health care infor mation related to diagnosis and care providers and the digital medical records process. • Social networking: Would you like training on how such social networking tools as e-mail, audio, and video can be used to communicate with family members, especially those who don’t live nearby?
IDNR reviewing deer management The Illinois Department of Natural Resources (IDNR) is reviewing its deer management program to decide if changes are needed in hunting seasons, hunting rules, and the effort in some northern counties to reduce the deer populations and limit the spread of chronic wasting disease (CWD). The review was recommended in 2008 by the state’s Joint Legislative Task Force on Deer Population Control. In the future, IDNR will analyze programs and give the public an opportunity to comment on management goals.
The state task force had recommended a statewide 14 percent reduction in the deer herd (as indicated by the rate of deer-vehicle accidents), with specific county goals. The statewide accident rate is close to the identified goal, although it is still higher than desired in some counties. In 2009, IDNR expanded a special CWD deer season and targeted herd reduction in counties where the fatal deer disease was identified. IDNR has used sharpshooters to reduce deer populations in CWD hotspots in Northern Illinois; however, state budget cuts are causing IDNR to explore its options.
Page 5 Monday, March 26, 2012 FarmWeek
livestock
Unique new business caters to horse travel industry BY DANIEL GRANT FarmWeek
What do you get when you cross a child’s imagination with the resourcefulness of two horse and nature lovers? In East-Central Illinois, the result is a unique new business that caters to the horse travel industry.
FarmWeekNow.com Learn more about horse hotels located in Illinois at FarmWeekNow.com.
Don and Debbie Mills, Indianola, recently opened a horse motel on their farm. Don, a retired railroad engineer, also grows corn and soybeans, and Debbie is vice president of partnerships for the Center for Occupational Research and Development. The Mills, who have lived on their farm for nearly 40 years, admitted they didn’t know there was demand for
facilities to lodge horses for travelers until they researched it. The idea for a horse business came from their grandson, Owen, who received a mare from a neighbor, Rick Knight, to help ease Owen’s battle with Crohn’s Disease.
The economic impact of the livestock industry continues to grow in Illinois despite the fact that there are fewer producers and fewer total head of some species of animals in the state. The entire livestock complex — including production, meat, and dairy processing — last year produced more than $27 billion of total impact on the state’s economy, according to an updated University of Illinois study requested by the Illinois
Livestock Development Group (ILDG). The most recent economic impact is up from $21 billion in 2004. “The Illinois livestock and meat and dairy processing industries provide a significant source of revenue for our local, regional, and state economies, while employing 1.4 percent of the state’s workers and contributing to our local, state, and federal taxes” said Rob Shaffer, a cow-calf producer
Debbie Mills walks one of her family’s horses in a pasture in front of a new horse barn that was constructed to serve as a horse motel. Mills and her husband, Don, who live on a farm in southern Vermilion County, recently entered the horse travel industry at the request of their grandson, Owen. (Photo by Daniel Grant)
“We’ve been going to Wyoming (with Owen and granddaughter Tessa) for years so the kids could go camping and trail riding,” Debbie said. “He (Owen) came up with the plan to put together a horse business. “We humored him at first,
but it really grew into something.” Mills Farm has a new horse barn with three Amish-built stalls, two camper spots, nearly 4 miles of trails, a training arena, and a small pond stocked for fishing. They expect the busy sea-
son will be spring to fall as people travel with their horses to shows, rodeos, and various destinations for trail rides. “This was all for the grandchildren,” Debbie said. “They dreamed it, and I put a pen to paper to make it work.” The Mills already have had such good response to their new horse motel and other amenities that they plan to add at least three more stalls, a boardwalk between their barns, and a sitting area for campers. “I did the research and found out there is a whole (equine travel) industry,” Debbie said. The website {www.horsemotel.com} lists 15 operations in Illinois, including Mills Farm, that provide overnight boarding for horses. The Mills Farm is located about 20 miles south of Interstate 74 in southern Vermilion County. For more information, visit the website {www.millsfarm.info}.
Study: Economic impact of livestock industry grows in Illinois ‘The Illinois livestock and meat and dairy processing industries provide a significant source of revenue.’ — Rob Shaffer Illinois Livestock Development Group chairman
from El Paso and ILDG chairman. As of 2007 there were 14,800 cow-calf operations in the state, 3,700 fed cattle operations, 1,200 dairy operations, 2,900 hog operations, 1,900 sheep operations, 470 goat operations, 938 poultry operations, 3,071 horse farms, and 29 aquaculture operations. The pork industry since 2000 has grown by 14.4 percent in the state, and the poultry meat and eggs sector has grown from a “very low base.” But gross receipts have declined the past decade for milk, beef, sheep, and lambs, according to the study. “While the industry has realized a number-of-animals decline during the past 30 years, since 2000 Illinois still shows modest growth in the real value of products sold,” Shaffer said. And consumers around the world likely will continue to demand increased production of livestock. Meat consumption from the mid1990s through 2010 grew by about 15 percent, according
to the report. A full copy of the report can be viewed at the ILDG
website {www.illinoislivestock.org}. Click on the “research” tab.
FarmWeek Page 6 Monday, March 26, 2012
livestock
Calving season off to good start for YL chairman BY DANIEL GRANT FarmWeek
Monica Stevens, Illinois Farm Bureau Young Leader chairman, basically is on call 24 hours a day this time every year because of the calving season. And that’s just the way she likes it. “This is my time of year,” she told FarmWeek last week during the State YL Committee meeting in Bloomington. “I love this segment of our industry. “You can see the effects of all your hard work,” she continued. “Efforts in nutrition, health, and care for your herd really show during calving season.” Stevens of Altona in Knox County is the third generation of her family to raise purebred
Shorthorn cattle. Her grandfather purchased the first cow/calf and started the herd in 1943. So far this season, Stevens’ herd has delivered 15 calves, including a set of twins. That’s about one-quarter of the way through the calving season for the YL chairman. “The weather has been great during calving season,” said Stevens, who noted the calves’ weights so far have averaged about 85 pounds. “Once they’re born, they’ve had a really great start.” Stevens’ herd is on a feeding schedule that promotes many of the births to occur during the day. But it’s not uncommon for her to get up in the middle of the night to check on cows that are close to giving birth.
Monica Stevens, IFB Young Leader chairman from Altona (Knox County), places a temporary identification tag on a newborn calf. Stevens, a thirdgeneration cattle producer, said the unseasonably warm weather so far this spring has been good for the calving season. (Photo by Glenn Stevens)
“We’ve had to pull a few calves,” she said. “I had to call the vet at 1 a.m. one morning because a calf was coming out backward. He (the vet) got there at 2 a.m.” and delivered a healthy calf. Once each calf is born, it is weighed, goes through a vaccination program, and receives a temporary identification. “My dad (Glenn) and I
take great pride caring for the cattle. They are well cared for,” Stevens said. “I live by the motto ‘My cattle eat before I do’.” Young Leaders this summer will spotlight various segments of the state’s top industry with an ag tour of Southern Illinois. Another YL ag tour will be held in the northeast U.S.
“A lot of people don’t realize how much business ag brings to Illinois, and the livestock industry is a large part of that,” Stevens said. Stevens plans to write about calving season next month on the IFB Young Leader blog that is online at {http://ilfbyl.wordpress.com}. The blog contains entries from all the YL State Committee members.
versity of Missouri, reported. Cattle prices near-term The higher cattle weights, could slide and perhaps put in a seasonal low as beef supplies combined with a lack of consumer demand appear “adedomestically, quate” to meet helped boost demand, according to ‘ W e h a v e a d e - beef supplies. reportRich Nelson, quate supplies (of USDA ed beef in cold director of beef and cattle).’ storage at the research at end of FebruAllendale Inc. ary totaled 466 in McHenry. — Rich Nelson million USDA in its Allendale Inc. pounds, up 1.4 monthly cattle percent from on feed report last year. released Friday “Short-term, I look for a estimated the inventory of cattle general slide (in the cattle marand calves in U.S. feedlots on ket), which always happens March 1 totaled 11.67 million head, up 3 percent from last year. between spring and summer,” Nelson said. Placements in feedlots, The analyst projected cash which totaled 1.71 million cattle prices could dip to $116 head, also were up 3 percent per hundredweight compared from the same time last year. to higher prices the first quar“The report was close to ter. The price of slaughter (trade) expectations,” Nelson steers in February averaged said. “We have adequate sup$125 per hundredweight, up plies (near-term).” $17.10 compared to the same Cattle slaughter last week totaled 605,000 head, down 4.4 time a year ago. “Compared to what we’re percent from a year ago. But used to, that (estimated seaheavier slaughter weights (see sonal low of $116) isn’t a bad graphic) made up for the price,” Nelson said. “But some shortfall of animals. Slaughter weights have been cattle feeders still could face some losses” due in part to above year-ago levels the past high production costs. nine consecutive weeks, Ron The cattle market is expectPlain, ag economist at the Uni-
ed to rebound the second half of the year, particularly in the fourth quarter, as a dwindling herd pressures beef supplies. “Long-term, we’ll be looking at small supplies, which will show up at feedlots,” Nelson said. He predicted December cattle futures could reach $136 per hundredweight by the fourth quarter. Year-to-date beef production through last week was down 3.5 percent compared to 2011. Marketings of fed cattle in February totaled 1.76 million head, down 2 percent from a year ago, USDA reported. — Daniel Grant
Cattle market could slide near-term
Thistle identification important for management Most livestock producers have had thistle problems at one time or another. Unfortunately, not all thistles are alike, and likewise they cannot be controlled alike, according to Matt Montgomery, Extension educator with the University of Illinois Extension. The musk thistle is dispersed throughout Illinois, Indiana, Iowa, Missouri, and Kansas. It is a biennial with lavender flowers and grows a couple to several feet tall. The leaves are deeply lobed but aren’t very hairy. The underground portion of the plant consists of a taproot. Bull thistle also has a taproot and is a biennial. Its leaves are deeply lobed, hairy, and spiny. The flowers are about the same width as the musk thistle’s, but bull thistle flowers tend to be dark red to purple. The flower itself opens atop a bulb-like mass. Mature bull thistles tend to be about half to three-quarters the size of mature musk thistles. Canada thistle is a perennial with leaves that are somewhat lobed, rather smooth, spiny, and crinkled. Canada thistle flowers are lavender and also
open atop a bulb-like mass; however, the flowers are much smaller than the flowers of the musk thistle or bull thistle. Unlike musk thistle or bull thistle, Canada thistle produces a network of horizontal roots. All three are best managed in the seedling stage, Montgomery said. After that stage, the best time to control the thistles varies depending on whether they are a biennial or perennial. Biennials, such as musk thistle and bull thistle, form a circular cluster of leaves during their first year, bolt out a seed head the second year, and then die. Perennials, such as the Canada thistle, grow year after year. The network of horizontal underground roots allows them to overwinter across multiple seasons. Biennials are best managed in the rosette stage when there is a ground cluster of leaves and before a seed head shoots out, Montgomery said. Perennials are best managed just before flowering or just before dormancy when herbicides are most likely to translocate into the root system, he said.
Page 7 Monday, March 26, 2012 FarmWeek
LIVESTOCK
U of I study: DDGS safe to feed to pigs University of Illinois researchers report that hogs can be fed distiller’s dried grain with solubles (DDGS) despite the sulfur content. “When you buy DDGS, you don’t have to be concerned about the level of sulfur it contains because there doesn’t appear to be any impact on pig performance,” said Hans Stein, U of I animal science professor. DDGS is an ethanol coproduct. To maintain a stable pH in fermentation vats, ethanol producers use sulfuric acid, which results in a DDGS sulfur content that varies according to how much sulfuric acid was used. Until now, the effect of low levels of sulfur in the diet on growth performance in pigs fed DDGS had not been determined, Stein said. “Sulfur is toxic to cattle. If there is 0.4 percent sulfur in the diet, cattle start getting sick,” Stein said. “Because there hasn’t been any work on sulfur toxicity with swine, we wanted to determine how sulfur affects palatability and performance in pigs.” In a recent study, Stein’s research team compared a
low-sulfur (0.3 of a percent sulfur) DDGS diet with a high-sulfur (0.9 of a percent sulfur) DDGS diet. The same DDGS were used in both groups. The researchers compared palatability and growth performance of the pigs fed the low-sulfur and high-sulfur diets. “We conducted four experiments: two with weanling pigs and two with growing-finishing pigs,” said Stein. “In both weanling pigs and growing-finishing pigs, there was absolutely no difference between the two. The levels of sulfur we used in our experiments had no impact on palatability or pig growth performance.” Stein said the research results would be useful to farmers who are interested in incorporating DDGS into swine diets, but further research is needed to determine whether excess sulfur from a high-sulfur DDGS diet is deposited into swine tissues. The research was published in the “Journal of Animal Science.” Researchers included Stein, Beob Kim of Konkuk University in Seoul, South Korea, and Yan Zhang of the National Corn to Ethanol Research Center in Edwardsville. Funding was provided by the National Pork Board.
EQIP assistance available for livestock operations The Environmental Quality Incentives Program (EQIP) can assist Illinois livestock operators of all kinds. EQIP, a voluntary program through USDA’s Natural Resources Conservation Service (NRCS), offers farmers technical guidance and funding to fix resource problems such as erosion, nutrient application issues, and manure management. “These are just some of the very real issues on Illinois farms that producers deal with every day,” said Ivan Dozier, NRCS assistant state conservationist. “They affect the longterm health of their operation, the health of the land and livestock, and water quality,” “If you’ve noticed a new issue on your ground or if you have an old concern that just keeps coming back, give us a call,” Dozier said. The list of EQIP solutions available covers a wide range of practices. NRCS reminds farmers that EQIP also offers planning and design assistance at no cost for conservation practices needed in livestock operations, such as forage species selection, pasture management, water facilities, or rotational grazing strategies. Resource issues associated with confined livestock operations always have been a priority for NRCS. EQIP practice options for producers with confined beef and hog operations offer helpful solutions for air quality, manure transfer, nutrient management, and more. “For many, the financial assistance NRCS offers with EQIP is critical to successfully manage and treat excess nutrients generated from large farm operations,” Dozier explained. Farmers still have time to submit an application for EQIP. Contact your county NRCS team for an appointment and more information.
RAISING DUST
Chris Stoller of Gridley stirs up a cloud of dust as he works part of the 3,000 acres of ground near Lexington that he farms in partnership with his father, Roger, and Bruce Klein. Summer-like temperatures allowed a great deal of fieldwork to get done last week, but lack of soil moisture was becoming a bit of a concern. (Photo by Cyndi Cook)
FarmWeek Page 8 Monday, March 26, 2012
AROUND ILLINOIS
County Farm Bureaus mobilize to feed local hungry BY KAY SHIPMAN FarmWeek
County Farm Bureau leaders in Fayette and Bond counties literally are stepping up to the plate to help feed hungry families in their counties. Starting its second year, Fayette County Farm Bureau is working with the Central Illinois Foodbank to find county locations and volunteers to help distribute food through mobile pantries, said Kristy Gilmore, the Springfield-based Foodbank’s manager of food and agency resources. An extra challenge this year is raising $1,100 for a one-day visit of the mobile pantry due to the Foodbank’s budget cuts. Fayette County already has raised funding for an April 14 mobile pantry and is working to raise $2,200 for two more visits, while Bond County Farm Bureau is working to raise the money and to help with the mobile food pantry, said Ron Marshel, the manager for both county Farm Bureaus. “Without their (county Farm Bureaus) support, we won’t be able to continue to have mobile
Fayette County Farm Bureau President Ken Cripe helps a woman and child receive food from a 2011 mobile food pantry through the Central Illinois Foodbank. The county Farm Bureau has helped find locations and funding for the mobile pantries, and county Farm Bureau volunteers have helped unload and distribute food. (Photo courtesy Central Illinois Foodbank)
food pantries” in those counties, said Gilmore, who coordinates the mobile pantries for rural and underserved counties. A mobile pantry is a truck and 26-foot trailer that holds 12,000-pounds of food, includ-
“They’ve been phenomenal,” Gilmore said of the county Farm Bureau leaders and staff. She noted how county Farm Bureau volunteers have contacted civic groups and churches to help staff food distributions. The county Farm Bureau also helped find a forklift to unload the 12,000-pound load that otherwise would need to be done by hand. Marshel said he has been touched by the number of families with young children, elderly, and people with disabilities who have been served. “People will say, ‘God bless you,’ and ‘I didn’t know where my next meal was coming from.’ Once you start volunteering, you’re hooked,” Marshel said. “Many of my directors have told me, ‘This
is really great.’” The mobile pantries meet a need in the two counties, according to Marshel. For example, Fayette County has several smaller food banks, but none has refrigeration space and are not able to offer fresh produce or milk. Central Illinois Foodbank serves 21 Central Illinois counties and works to offer mobile pantries in Bond, Christian, Fayette, Green, Logan, and Morgan counties. The Foodbank has seen requests for food grow by 40 percent over the last couple of years, and that continues to rise, Gilmore said. “Our (county Farm Bureau) directors, even though they’re busy farming, they take time to help do this. It’s just contagious,” Marshel said.
ing fresh fruit and vegetables, enough for 200 to 400 families. With help of 25 to 30 local volunteers, the mobile pantry arrives, unloads, and distributes food within a couple of hours every other month.
Illinois Farm Bureau Leadership Academy participants work on a group project during the recent event in Springfield. Left to right are Rollo Burnett of Massac County Farm Bureau, Joseph Zumwalt of Hancock County Farm Bureau, and Chris Gould of Kane County Farm Bureau. (Photo by Dave Stille, IFB training and development manager)
Second IFB leadership class graduates Eleven county Farm Bureau leaders from around the state graduated from the recent Illinois Farm Bureau Leadership Academy in Springfield. This marks the second year of the training program. Over two and a half days, the leaders received hands-on training and presentations from industry and business leaders. The participants also worked on team projects and activities. Graduates and their county Farm Bureaus were: David Haase, FordIroquois; Joseph Zumwalt, Hancock; Kyle Embry, Jo Daviess; Chris Gould and Dale Pitstick, both of Kane; Jason Bunting, Livingston; Edward Leonard Jr., Macon; Rollo Burnett, Massac; Marie Denzer-Farley, McLean; Randall Bulthaus, Ogle; and David White, Wayne. Speakers discussed leader ethics, working with elected officials, and issue management. County Farm Bureau boards nominated up to two leaders for the academy. Participants were selected from the nominee pools by a panel of judges.
Tractor run garners $1,300 Twenty-seven tractors — big, small, new, and old — recently made a 20-plus mile trek around Jackson County for a good cause. All $1,300 raised by the poker run operated by the Jackson County Farm Bureau Young Farmers during the event was donated to Cardinal Glennon Children’s Foundation. The drive started at Canning Auction, looped through the nursing home in Murphysboro, down Gartside Street to Murphysboro Lake and across the Ava Blacktop and into the countryside.
The riders stopped at Glenn Schlimpert Recreation Area, where they were given homemade treats made by the Farm Bureau Women’s Committee and provided water supplied by Rural King. The drive eventually ended up back at Canning Auction, where riders were provided lunch by Hilltoppers 4-H Club. Prizes for winners of the poker run were donated by NAPA, Davis Farm Supply, Suchomski Farm Equipment, H-R Power-Vergennes, & Morton Buildings.
Page 9 Monday, March 26, 2012 FarmWeek
fROM THE COuNTIES
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UREAU — Farm Bureau will sponsor an informational meeting for the New Zealand and Australia trip at 2 p.m. Thursday at the Farm Bureau office. The trip will be Jan. 22-Feb. 7, 2013. • Wellness screenings will be from 8:30 a.m. to 3:30 p.m. Tuesday, April 3, at the Farm Bureau office. Screenings will include carotid arteries, abdominal aortic aneurysm, peripheral artery disease, and osteoporosis. Cost is $100. Call 877-732-8258 for an appointment. DGAR — Deadline for the Edgar County Farm Bureau Foundation scholarship applications is Friday. The application is on the Farm Bureau website at {www.edgarcountyfarmbureau.org}. AYETTE — A discussion on carbon sequestration in Fayette and surrounding counties will be at 8:15 a.m. Wednesday on WPMB 1500 AM or 104.7 FM. Laura Harmon, Illinois Farm Bureau assistant general counsel, and Rae Payne, Illinois Farm Bureau senior director of business and regulatory affairs, will participate in the discussion. ACKSON — Farm Bureau will sponsor a livestock outlook meeting at 6:30 p.m. Monday (today) at the Goreville Sale Barn. Dinner will be served. Call the Farm Bureau office for more information. • Farm Bureau will sponsor an equine outlook meeting at 6:30 p.m. Tuesday at the Goreville Sale Barn. Door prizes will be given. Call the
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Farm Bureau office for more information. NOX — Farm Bureau and the Galesburg Area Chamber of Commerce will sponsor a Farm City Day at 5 p.m. Tuesday at Knox College. Dinner will be served. Carl Ice, Burlington Northern Sante Fe Railway president and chief operating officer, will be the speaker. Tickets are $20 and may be purchased at the Farm Bureau office. EE — District 4 Young Leaders from Bureau, LaSalle, and Lee County Farm Bureaus will have a pizza and bowling party Thursday. Pizza will be at 6:30 p.m. at Mama Ciminos, with bowling to follow at Plum Hollow Family Center, Dixon. Call the Farm Bureau office at 815-857-3531 or email leecfb@comcast.net for reservations or more information. IVINGSTON — Farm Bureau will sponsor an “On the Road” seminar at 7 p.m. Thursday at the Farm Bureau office. Kevin Rund, Illinois Farm Bureau senior director of local government, will be the speaker. Trucking laws will be discussed. Call the Farm Bureau office at 825-842-1103 for reservations or more information. ONROE — The AgriScience Expo open house will be at 10:30 a.m. Saturday at the Monroe County Annex. Seventh grade students will conduct their own AgriScience investigation as part of the AgriScience Roadshow, which is funded by Monsanto’s “America’s Farm-
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ers Grow Communities” program. Call the Farm Bureau office for more information. • A public forum on the proposed wind tower ordinance will be from 7 to 8:30 p.m. Thursday, April 5, at the Monroe County Courthouse west meeting room. Call the zoning office at 939-8681, ext. 260, for a copy of the proposed ordinance contract. EORIA — A “Farmers’ Marketing – Rise of the Peoria Locavore” session will be from 6:30 to 8 p.m. Tuesday at the Farm Bureau office. Deborah CavanaughGrant, University of Illinois Extension, will discuss “The Art and Science of a Farmers’ Market Display” and ElevatePR will discuss social media fundamentals. Call the Farm Bureau office for more information.
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• Deadline to return Foundation scholarship applications is Saturday. The Foundation is offering five $1,000 scholarships to students pursuing an agriculture-based degree. Call the Farm Bureau office at 686-7070 for more information. TARK — Farm Bureau will sponsor an informational meeting at 6 p.m. Thursday at the Farm Bureau office for the Jan. 22 through Feb. 7 trip to Australia and New Zealand. The trip also is open to nonFarm Bureau members. Call the Farm Bureau office at 309-286-7481 for more information. NION — Farm Bureau will sponsor a livestock outlook meeting at 6:30 p.m. Monday (today) at the Goreville Sale Barn. Din-
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ner will be served. Call the Farm Bureau office for more information. • Farm Bureau will sponsor an equine outlook meeting at 6:30 p.m. Tuesday at the Goreville Sale Barn. Door prizes will be given. Call the Farm Bureau office for more information. ABASH — Farm Bureau will sponsor a Farmers’ Share breakfast from 7 to 8:30 a.m. Wednesday at Hogg Heaven BBQ. There will be a choice of three breakfasts served with juice and coffee for 25 cents per person.
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“From the counties” items are submitted by county Farm Bureau managers. If you have an event or activity open to all members, contact your county Farm Bureau manager.
Cook County FB celebrates 25 years of AITC The Cook County Farm Bureau Board of Directors along with volunteers, presenters, and former staff celebrated the 25th anniversary of the Ag in the Classroom (AITC) program in Cook County earlier this month. Fifty people gathered to reminisce about their years with the program and share their memories. Gail Petersdorff, the first AITC coordinator, spoke about the beginnings of the program in 1986 and how she developed the concept of reaching out to Cook County children. Haley Siergiej spoke about her additions to the program, including the Ag Leadership Academy (a day-long program in which urban high school students who belong to the National FFA organization are given the opportunity to see farms and agribusinesses along with learning about the diversity of careers available in agriculture) and Ag Day (an event for urban third grade students to experience agriculture up close and personal by spending two hours rotating through “ag stations” at varying locations). Diane Merrion, the current coordinator, added some thoughts about the future of Ag Literacy efforts and outreach. Jim Bloomstrand and Joan Ramsey, who have been presenters for 10 years and have given the AITC program to more than 80,000 students in
Cook County during that time, were honored for their service. Kevin Daugherty, director of Illinois Agriculture in the Classroom (IAITC), spoke about
of the impact of the program both in Illinois and across the country. In 1981, at the invitation of USDA, representatives of agricultural groups and educators attended a meeting in Washington, D.C., to discuss agricultural literacy. A national task force was selected from this group, which was represented by agriculture, business, education, and governmental agencies. This new task force recommended that USDA be the coordinator and that it sponsor regional meetings to help states organize their own programs. As a result, in 1981, USDA established AITC. For many years in Illinois, the Illinois Farm Bureau was the state contact for AITC. In the fall of 2005, the IFB AITC program merged with Partners for Agricultural Literacy to form IAITC, combining the efforts of a number of entities interested in ag education.
3 county Farm Bureaus honored for ag literacy
Recently Kent Prather, director of the Schuyler County Farm Bureau, went with his church, the Corner Stone Christian Church, to assist students at the Sonlight Academy in Por t-au-prince, Haiti. His main focus was helping the school maintain and repair equipment. But while there, Prather also shared an Ag in the Classroom lesson on trees and corn with 26 fourth grade students. Afterward, the students were given M & M candy, learning that corn syrup helped make the candy sweet. (Photo taken by Corner Stone Christian Church volunteer Holly Still, courtesy of the Schuyler County Farm Bureau)
Three Illinois county Farm Bureaus were awarded $500 mini-grants each for agricultural literacy efforts by the American Farm Bureau Foundation for Agriculture. Marshall-Putnam Farm Bureau received a grant for a mobile farm exhibit, resource libraries, books, and DVDs to help teach about agriculture in elementary schools. Massac County Farm Bureau received a grant for an agri-board game with questions related to all aspects of agriculture. Piatt County Farm Bureau received a grant for a book barn filled with ag-related books, games, props, and farm machinery. The grants are funded
through the White-Reinhart Fund for Education programs, which is used to fund new projects or extend existing ones. Selection criteria included the effectiveness of the strong
Auction Calendar Mon., Mar. 26. 9:30 a.m. Lg. Spring Machinery Auction. TAYLORVILLE, IL. Micenheimer Auction Service. www.micenheimer.com Wed., Mar. 28. 10 a.m. Land Auction. Grandchildren of Cecil A. Long, ASSUMPTION, IL. Wm. Beck Auction & Realty. www.williambeckauctions.com Wed., Mar. 28. 9:30 a.m. Huge 41st Annual Farmers’ Con. Auction. ALBERS, IL. Mark Krausz Auction Service. krauszauctions.com Thurs., Mar. 29. 7 p.m. Montgomery Co. Farmland. BUTLER, IL. aumannauctions.com Thurs., Mar. 29. 10:30 a.m. Estate Auction. Thomas Embry Estate, HANOVER, IL. Powers Auction Service. www.powersauction.com Thurs., Mar. 29. 6 p.m. Mason County Farmland. Margareta A. Furrer, EASTON, IL. Knollenberg Auction Service.
connection between agriculture and education and how effectively the programs encouraged students to learn more about agriculture and the food and fiber industry. www.knollenberg.net or www.auctionzip.com ~ #16096 Thurs., Mar. 29. 10 a.m. 80 Ac. Ford Co. Barry and Gloria Brown, PIPER CITY, IL. Immke and Bradleys’ Auction Service. biddersandbuyers.com/immke Fri., Mar. 30. 10 a.m. Land Auction. GRIDLEY, IL. John Leezer, Broker. www.illinoisfarms4sale.com Fri., Mar. 30. 11 a.m. Farm machinery. Bill Walker, BRISTOL, WI. Gordon Stade, Auctioneer. www.gordonstadeauctions.com Fri., Mar. 30. 9:30 a.m. Northwest Eq. Area Farmers and Dealers Auction. OREGON, IL. www.northwestequip.net Fri., Mar. 30. 11 a.m. Christian Co. Farmland. Yolande V. Branham 1994 Revocable Trust, OWANECO, IL. Cory Craig, Auctioneer. www.corycraig.com Sat., Mar. 31. 1 p.m. Real Estate. Estate of Philip L. Lowe, JOHNSONVILLE, IL. Carson Auction & Realty Co. wwwcarsonauctionandrealty.com
FarmWeek Page 10 Monday, March 26, 2012
profitability
Maximizing your grain system is all about the combine BY RANDY HOLTHAUS
As we bid farewell to the “winter that wasn’t” and await the green flag start of another new crop year, it’s a great opportunity to use the upcoming windshield time to ponder how to maximize the performance of your grain handling system.
The No. 1 rule: It’s all about the combine. If you break down the driving force behind every grain system’s primary purpose, it’s about keeping the combine running. When the combine is sitting still, you are not happy. It means that somewhere down the line you have a bottleneck
Agronomy handbook available online University of Illinois crop sciences professor Emerson Nafziger announced Friday that the Illinois Agronomy Handbook is now available online at {http://extension.cropsci.illinois.edu/handbook}. According to Nafziger, “For decades, the Illinois Agronomy Handbook has been a major source of agronomic information in Illinois and throughout the Corn Belt.” Since it was first produced in the 1970s, it was updated 22 times until the 20012002 edition. The subsequent edition, named the 23rd, was current until 2009, during which time an online version that included some calculators was developed. “A few years ago, we decided to do another, more thorough revision,” said Nafziger. The result was the 24th edition, published in mid-2009, which completely revised some sections. After its publication, the web-based 23rd edition was taken down. Nafziger said the 24th edition has enjoyed good sales and is in wide use. But without special funding and with the need to sell paper copies to recoup the investment in the handbook, it is has not been possible to put up a web-based version until now. “We hope to get some of the calculators revamped and running in the near future,” he said. Chapters can be viewed and downloaded from the website. “While we expect that this may be the last time the handbook is published as a book on paper, we think that individual authors will now be able to revise chapters as needed,” Nafziger said. “We also anticipate that the chapters may form the framework on which we can add other information and links as they are developed.”
M A R K E T FA C T S Feeder pig prices reported to USDA* Weight 10 lbs. 40 lbs. 50 lbs. Receipts
Range Per Head $33.08-51.64 n/a no longer reported This Week 130,995 *Eastern Corn Belt prices picked up at seller’s farm
Weighted Ave. Price $41.79 n/a by USDA Last Week 88,144
Eastern Corn Belt direct hogs (plant delivered) Carcass Live
(Prices $ per hundredweight) This week Prev. week $78.97 $83.81 $58.44 $62.02
Change -4.84 -3.58
USDA five-state area slaughter cattle price Steers Heifers
(Thursday’s price) (Thursday’s price) Prev. week Change This week 126.82 126.19 0.63 126.85 126.18 0.67
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 This week 154.05 155.71 -1.66
Lamb prices Slaughter Prices - Negotiated, Live, wooled and shorn 120-170 lbs. for 143.97-183.10 $/cwt. (wtd. ave. 152.12); dressed, no sales reported.
Export inspections (Million bushels) Week ending Soybeans Wheat Corn 03-15-12 23.7 21.0 23.2 03-08-12 26.3 31.7 38.5 Last year 30.0 26.1 30.9 Season total 958.5 795.6 897.4 Previous season total 1244.8 938.7 920.6 USDA projected total 1275 1000 1700 Crop marketing year began June 1 for wheat and Sept. 1 for corn and soybeans.
holding up your ability to harvest your crop and complete your post-harvest work. Grain system maximization must start at the combine. Consider the amount of grain it is capable of injecting into your harvest process. Do Randy Holthaus the math and determine the bushels per hour harvested times the number of hours that you want to run each day. Divide the number of bushels harvested by the size of the grain cart and/or truck(s) that will transport the grain to the receiving point to determine the number of trips. Factor in the distance you need to travel and the time needed to travel that distance. Travel time is directly affected by how fast the receiving point can unload the transport vehicle. Receiving speed is directly impacted by pit size,
handling equipment capacity, and the amount of wet holding capacity. Wet holding capacity is
combine is parked and you are waiting. Sound complicated? It isn’t really as difficult as it seems.
If you break down the driving force behind every grain system’s primary purpose, it’s about keeping the combine running.
directly impacted by the size and speed of the dryer, which is directly affected by the grain moisture. Drying capacity is also directly affected by whether you run your dryer at full heat or heat/cool. Grain dried with full heat needs time to steep and eventually be cooled to ambient temperature. Dry grain storage capacity and your ability to unload and ship the dry grain quickly, especially if you have a storage deficit, also can jam up the process. Wherever the problem surfaces, the end result is always the same — the
Grain system maximization is an exercise in logistics and well-rehearsed choreography. Every single component and step in the process has to be analyzed and considered for the part it plays. It all starts at the combine! Your FS grain systems specialist is specifically trained to assist in analyzing and identifying your system’s bottlenecks to keep your combine running. Randy Holthaus is GROWMARK’s grain systems operations manager. His e-mail address is rholthaus@growmark.com.
Page 11 Monday, March 26, 2012 FarmWeek
PROFITABILITY Corn Strategy
CASH STRATEGIST
Focus on Chinese soybean imports Chinese soybean purchases continue to get a lot of attention in the trade. The focus ramped up a little more last week when the governmentconnected “think tank,” the National Grains and Oilseeds Information Center, indicated imports through the first half of this year would be 25 percent larger than they were last year. The significance of that may be distorted somewhat given that imports the first five months of 2011 were no larger than they were in 2010 because of poor processing margins. Through February, actual imports only were 13 percent larger than 2010’s subdued pace. That suggests the pace of imports needs to accelerate to achieve the projected 25 percent increase. March imports are expected to reach 5.8 million metric tons (mmt), a 33 percent increase over the February level. But April’s imports are expected to slip back below 4.0 mmt. That would force the Chinese to import slightly more than 6 mmt in May and June for imports to reach the stated goal. While not impossible,
they’ve only imported 6 mmt one other time, and then it was not done in consecutive months. But if April’s imports were to reach 5 mmt, it potentially would be possible to reach that 25 percent increase. The other question is from where the imports will come. Through February, 6.2 mmt of Chinese imports have come from the U.S., down from 7.1 mmt last year. For the marketing year, our sales to them have totaled only 20.4 mmt, with 18.2 mmt having been shipped. Last year we had sold 25.2 mmt and shipped 20.7 mmt. Our sales/shipments were reduced by the ample supply still coming out of South America. Going forward, we expect South America to be its typical aggressive seller/shipper in the post-harvest period. If so, our sales/shipments to China into summer may not be much larger than they were a year ago. Through the rest of our marketing year, we may only need to sell the Chinese 7 million to 8 million bushels a week to cover what they need to buy from us. As we have said before, the fundamental benefit of the smaller-thanexpected South American crops comes with our newcrop export campaign. And the level of those sales/shipments depends in part on the robustness of the Chinese economy.
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ü2011 crop: The ease with which corn prices decline enhance the odds the market is ready to turn down into the 20-week low coming in early May. Make catch-up sales on strength. Under the right circumstances, we might even recommend wrapping up sales. ü2012 crop: Use rallies to $5.60 on December futures to make catch-up sales. We could add another sale at any time; check the Hotline daily. vFundamentals: The break in prices wasn’t surprising given the talk of early planting in various locations across the three “I” states. But most producers are holding off until insurance replant guarantees take hold in early April. The action this coming week, ahead of Friday’s planting and grain stocks reports, could be choppy unless financial influences dictate otherwise. Early expectations indicate corn acres should come in at 94 million to 95 million. And given the old-crop fundamentals, the stocks report could be as important as the plantings.
Soybean Strategy
ü2011 crop: Ongoing talk about smaller South American crops and Chinese buying is supporting prices. But technical indicators suggest this move up has become overdone. We could wrap-up oldcrop sales at any time. Fundamental support may weaken unless weather becomes an issue this summer. ü2012 crop: Use rallies for catch-up sales. With November futures near a key objective, we could recommend another sale at any time, but may wait to see Friday’s USDA reports. vFundamentals: The Argentine government estimated its farmers’ output would be 44 million metric tons (mmt) this year, within the 43.5-44 mmt range previously forecast. But given month-long rains, it easily could end up being closer to the USDA’s 46.5 mmt forecast. While harvest is just starting, yield reports may offer an insight on how late rains impacted the crop.
Brazilian expectations are eroding as well, but neither is as important as our new crop.
Wheat Strategy
ü2011 crop: The trend in prices turned down when Chicago May futures closed below $6.38. Prices should slip lower into seasonal lows this summer, but they could experience a modest, shortterm rebound beforehand. Use rallies to wrap-up oldcrop sales. With the end of the marketing year winding down, use the cash market to make sales unless basis is unusually wide, but don’t carry inventories beyond April.
ü2012 crop: Use rallies to $6.60 on Chicago July futures to make catch-up sales. Producers selling 100 percent off the combine need to be aggressive in making sales on rallies. If the market were to rebound after the reports, we could recommend another 10 percent new-crop sale. Stay close to the Hotline. vFundamentals: The fundamental structure for wheat remains weak unless something happens to the crop this spring. Our new crop looks good, with the Southern Plains having picked up needed moisture.
FarmWeek Page 12 Monday, March 26, 2012
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Greek debt, interest rates key investment questions The Greek sovereign debt deal was finalized over the weekend of March 9, and you’ve probably been waiting with baited breath to know the outcome. Greek bondholders representing 83.5 percent of total holding voted in favor of BRUCE accepting new FINKS bonds from Greece worth about 46.5 percent of their original par amount. In other words, if you owned $10,000 of these bonds, you just got new bonds worth $3,150 plus $1,500 cash. In addition to getting a reduced value, you also get a reduced interest rate to help Greece try to balance its budget in the future. Yields on the new bonds are between 3 percent and 5 percent. To add insult to injury, the new bonds are trading in today’s bond market at about 22 cents, which means your $4,650 value just got reduced to about $2,200, which is the $700 value of your new bonds added to the $1,500 cash. You might think that, after forcing bondholders to suffer a 78 percent beating on their bond holdings, the Greek debt crisis would be over. Well, you’d be wrong. Most experts think this step merely has kicked the can down the road. Greece still
has huge amounts of debt that cannot be repaid even after this debt swap. The trade group that determines whether Credit Default Swaps (CDS) will be triggered by the Greek debt swap has finally decided that forcing a 78 percent loss on bondholders does constitute a default and CDS will be triggered. First estimates are that only $3 billion net of CDS on Greek debt is outstanding, but we don’t know the details on the total or how much counterparty risk there might be on the payoffs. Meanwhile, investors are turning their attention to some other countries, especially Portugal and Ireland, to determine what might happen to those countries and their lenders. Right behind them are Spain and Italy. The front page of Barron’s last week asked, “Could this be the worst time to buy stocks?” The writer then goes into several historical arguments, along with technical analysis, to show why this may, indeed, be the case. On the flip side of this argument, another research publication points out that never in history have so many central banks around the world provided so much liquidity in so short a period of time as has occurred over the past three years. Surely, they argue, such an enormous amount of liquidity should drive the prices of risky assets (i.e., stocks) higher. There is an old adage that
an investor should never fight the Federal Reserve. The Fed certainly has flooded the world with liquidity and has driven down interest rates over the past three years. This easy money policy, which has taken bond yields to below 2 percent and money market yields to near-zero, has forced investors who are normally not risk takers to buy risky assets in an attempt to get some kind of return. Higher yields can be found, but only if an investor is willing to accept much higher risk than he/she would have ordinarily taken. Our fear is that the additional risks being accepted by investors today are not fully understood and could result in either not achieving their expected rate of return or in outright losses. While there are some sectors and individual stocks that we think are compelling values in today’s market, we don’t think there are enough of them to warrant increasing equity exposure overall. It’s also difficult to imagine that buying a 10-year Treasury Bond yielding 2 percent will provide positive returns each year over its life. Holding cash in money market accounts earns a whopping 0.10 of a percent if you’re lucky. Fed policy has made life difficult for all investors. However, memories of game theory in college remind me that there are times when you shouldn’t try to maximize your returns. Sometimes you just try to hang on to what
you’ve got. It is difficult to understand why domestic equity markets have been so complacent in light of the developing problems in Greece and certain other European countries. At the very least, impact will be felt in the financial sector as credit default swaps on Greek debt are triggered and settled. But why does it seem that we are the only ones worried about what will happen if, or when, additional countries go the same route as Greece? The S&P 500 is up more than 9 percent year-to-date and is trading at a four-year high. Even as we look for signs to become more positive, we remain defensive. With today’s record-low interest rates, investors are beginning to stretch for yield. With the fear of recession receding, investors this year have poured $15 billion into mutual funds that invest in riskier “junk” bonds. Last year’s total was $14 billion. Credit quality spreads are tightening in all bond sectors as money chases yield. So far, investors have been rewarded for the additional risk because junk bonds have returned more than 5 percent this year vs. negative returns for Treasuries. However, this relationship could reverse quickly if more economic disruptions come out of Europe. Bruce Finks is the vice president of investments for Country Financial.
Does agriculture need to prepare for an insect invasion? It was Dec. 23 in Macomb when the possibility of insect problems this summer was first brought to my attention. Dec. 23 is my granddaughter’s birthday. An excellent young farmer from Scott County was helping celebrate with his family. The young farmer noted, upon seeing gnats around my patio as my granddaughter celebrated her birthday outside WILLIAM with her friends, that we BAILEY could expect a lot of insects this summer. The temperatures simply had not been cold enough to harm the insect population, he said. Well, how warm have temperatures been? For December, the statewide average temperature was 5.9 degrees above average — the ninth warmest December on record, according to the Illinois State Water Survey (ISWS). That trend continued into January with statewide average temperature 6.6 degrees above normal. The ISWS said that was the sixth warmest DecemberJanuary and the ninth warmest November-December on record.
Recall the winter of 2010-2011? The average statewide December-January temperature was more than 10 degrees below normal. So what do these early warm temperatures mean for insects and agriculture? It turned out that answering that question was more difficult than I suspected. I checked with several university specialists about this question and learned that simply having warmer-than-normal temperatures affects different insects in different ways. It may increase some populations while harming others. One thing to consider is whether the insect spends the winter above ground or below. Higher-than-normal temperatures help the above-ground insects survive, but the lack of insulating snow cover could harm other insects. Also, a warmer-than-normal winter could force some insects into activity earlier than normal and they use up accumulated body energy before spring food sources become available. Those insects could simply starve to death. Further, the warmer-than-normal weather also could encourage the number of beneficial insects — those that depend on other insects for survival — to increase. This could help to moderate spring insect populations.
Finally, the warmer weather could increase the life cycle rates and encourage insects to move north more rapidly than normal. The impact of a greater population of insects on crops also is difficult to predict. For example, if insects emerge earlier than normal because of warm temperatures, their impact on a crop depends on the crop’s stage of development. If insects arrive at a cornfield for a “feast” before the corn is even planted, the insects’ survival comes into question unless they can find another food source. So it seems early planting would help keep insects alive, but a wet spring, with delayed planting, could reduce some insect pressure, at least this year. With so many factors affecting the number of insects and their impact on crops, a prediction for this summer is more difficult than I anticipated. However, I intend to start stocking up on citronella candles, just to be safe. William Bailey is the head of the School of Agriculture at Western Illinois University, Macomb. His e-mail address is WC-Bailey@wiu.edu.
LETTER TO THE EDITOR What are the benefits of state’s wind farms
Editor: Don Ellingson’s column in FarmWeek reveals a lot about the costs and benefits of wind turbines. Looking over his column, it appears that the taxpayer is funding most of the costs incurred. The benefit from generated energy is limited, seeing that the generators are running only about 30 percent of the time. The dollars that the schools receive through property tax are highly subsidized by money which comes from the U.S. Treasury, which comes from the taxpayer. Also, state funding to schools is reduced because of the subsidized property tax they receive from the wind farms. Why does the federal government subsidize these towers when money could be more wisely invested directly in our schools and education system where it is so desperately needed instead of diluting (wasting) it by building towers where the cost outweighs the benefits? Doing this would eliminate the need for property taxes to be used for education. The property tax is a flawed and unfair tax, and should be replaced with income tax, which is based on ability to pay. Property tax is not. Why do landowners who have towers on their property want a fund for decommissioning when the tower is abandoned? Why would they need this if the towers are so great? Also, some think that the towers aren’t a problem for spray planes. Maybe they should ask the pilots who fly the planes. With our government trillions of dollars in debt, do we want this cost added to the debt by subsidizing wind farms which do not have a record of long life or great productivity of energy? Lastly, do we really want the landscape of this beautiful country covered with towers which are disruptive and intrusive to many? What a sight to leave to our posterity! When we consider the real cost, the answer is obvious. MARVIN PFISTER, Roanoke
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