Farmweek oct 21 2013

As har vest pace quickened across the state, yield reports showed a marked improvement from last year’s drought.......3-4

Grain donations help fund a Livingston County faithbased organization assisting young men...............................8

Tis the season for adopted legislator fall har vest visits that include combine rides and grain elevator tours..........11-14

A service of

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Budget/debt agreement reached; post-mortem begins Illinois Farm Bureau mission: Improve the economic well-being of agriculture and enrich the quality of farm family life.

Monday, October 21, 2013

BY MARTIN ROSS FarmWeek

Periodicals: Time Valued

Congress and the president last Wednesday struck an 11th hour, temporary budget/debt limit deal that ended the federal government shutdown and left analysts mulling the potential economic and political damage left in its wake.

Lawmakers ended the shutdown with a stopgap spending bill extending through Jan. 15 and suspension of the U.S.’ $16.7 trillion borrowing limit until February. The agreement was reached on the eve of “debt limit” expiration and a feared U.S. default.

“The multi-billion-dollar question is how they’re going to bring these things to some kind of closure, some kind of workable solution, so they don’t have to spend a good part of the first quarter of next year going through what they’ve gone through over the last six weeks,” American Farm Bureau Federation Public Policy Director Dale Moore told FarmWeek.

By popular estimates, the two-week shutdown cost the U.S. economy about $10 billion per day. Illinois Farm Bureau National Legislative Director

Two sections Volume 41, No. 42

Adam Nielsen noted financial markets “were reacting to hourby-hour, day-by-day movements” in Congress. He argued “it would be awful to ask people to go through this exercise again several weeks from now.”

Now that a temporary agreement’s been reached, U.S. Rep. Rodney Davis, R-Taylorville, seeks a return to congressional consensus on “clean, bipartisan appropriation bills.”

“That gets criticized as a piecemeal approach, but frankly, that’s our constitutional appropriations approach,” Davis told FarmWeek. “That’s what we need to get back to so that we avoid these continuing resolutions that give us across-theboard cuts, that give us sequestration, that also made

us forget that the farm bill expired two weeks ago.

“The only way to stop these artificial deadlines from overtaking all the discussion in the media and in America is to get back to our constitutional appropriations process, where we don’t come down to the deadline. That’s what we used to do when the government worked.”

Now that the budget impasse is temporarily over, Davis anticipates the House Water Resources Reform and Development Act “finally getting the floor time it deserves” (see page 7). He further expects House-Senate conferees to quickly negotiate, the president to sign a final farm bill and “opportunities for tax reform and transportation reauthorization.”

The problem is “we’ve lost two weeks of time because Republicans and Democrats couldn’t figure out a way to sit down and come up with a common sense solution to fund government,” Davis lamented. At the same time, the U.S. and the European Union were forced to delay substantive trade agreement talks until December as a result of the shutdown.

AFBF’s Moore was uncertain how debate over contro-

versial issues such as tax reform or immigration will proceed heading into a 2014 election year. Democrats and Republicans will be “fighting for the hearts and minds of constituents” even as constituents struggle with what proposed policies “mean in real terms,” he said.

D i s r u p t i o n o f U. S. market-related repor ts during the shutdown has See Shutdown, page 2

HARVEST HANDICAPPING

Conferee sees farm bill as a ‘role model’

House-Senate conferees hope soon to hash out a long-delayed, new farm bill. Illinois’ representative on the conference committee hopes he can help provide something more — an example for a Congress in turmoil.

Taylorville Republican Rep. Rodney Davis, a sophomore on the House Ag Committee, has been named to the House-Senate farm bill conference committee.

Illinois Farm Bureau championed Davis’ Rep. Rodney appointment to the panel charged with negotiating Davis a long-delayed ag policy package. IFB President Philip Nelson notes the conference includes a relatively small Midwest contingent, and trusts Davis to provide “good input” relevant to Illinois producers.

“His principles on the farm bill are very similar to where we’re at on a number of fronts, whether it’s regarding crop insurance or the need to try to reform food and nutrition programs,” Nelson maintained.

While Davis reported conferees had been unable to convene amid “the whole dysfunctional situation we’re going through,” he briefly met with some of the 11 other House Republicans on the panel.

Conferees’ top priority is negotiation of “a good bipartisan bill that’s able to get out of both houses and signed into law by the president,” Davis told FarmWeek.

As a result of recent House Rules Committee action, lawmakers effectively have “remarried” commodity and nutrition provisions the House separated this summer, he noted. Davis anticiSee Conferee, page 7

FarmWeek on the web: FarmWeekNow.com

Kevin Witges (in cap), checks yields with Crop Specialist Eric Green of Southern FS in Jefferson County. Witges noted last year was the driest he’s seen since he began farming in 1995. This year produced the wettest spring he’s faced. For more on the harvest, see pages 3 and 4. (Photo by Mike Orso)

Illinois Farm Bureau on the web: www.ilfb.org ®

Quick Takes

GOVERNMENT

FarmWeek Page 2 Monday, October 21, 2013

SHARE-RENT RETURNS INCREASE — Share-rent landowners’ returns increased since 2006, with returns for high-productivity farmland averaging $343 per acre in 2011 and $371 per acre in 2012, according to a recent University of Illinois study.

These returns were above-average cash rents and roughly similar to the average cash rents on professionally managed farmland. Gary Schnitkey, U of I agriculture economist, said the data suggests moves away from sharerental arrangements should not be necessarily be based on the expectation of higher returns from cash rental arrangements.

Overall, average cash rent returns have been below sharerent returns. Cash rents were $179 per acre in 2008, $183 in 2009, $189 in 2010, $203 in 2011, and $231 in 2012.

Calculations were based on leases that share 50 percent of crop returns and 50 percent of cropping expenses (for example, seed, fertilizers and pesticides). These 50-50 share-rent leases are common in central Illinois.

SOYBEAN SUSTAINABILITY GRANTS AVAILABLE — Sustainability pays, especially for farmers who receive grants to test on-farm production practices that can build bottom lines, while protecting the environment.

The 2014 North Central Region — Sustainable Agriculture Research and Education (NCR-SARE) Farmer Rancher Grant Program offers competitive grants to support farmers and ranchers who want to explore sustainable solutions to problems through on-farm research, demonstration and education projects.

The Illinois Soybean Association (ISA) encourages Illinois farmers to seek grants to explore sustainability improvements. ISA uses soybean checkoff funding to support a variety of sustainability programs.

Past grants have funded farmer research into pest and disease management, crop and livestock production, education and outreach, as well as networking, quality of life, marketing, soil quality, energy and other areas.

NCR-SARE offers three types of grants: $7,500 for individuals; $15,000 for two farmers from two organizations; or $22,500 for three farmers from three organizations. Grant applications are on the group’s website at {northcentralsare.org}. Applications are due Nov. 14.

WORLD FOOD PRIZE AWARDED – Three biotechnology specialists received the World Food Prize last week for their achievements in developing and applying modern agricultural biotechnology methods.

Winners included Robert T. Fraley, Monsanto’s executive vice president and chief technology officer; Mary-Dell Chilton, Syngenta Biotechnology founder and researcher; and Marc Van Montagu of Belgium, founder and chairman of the Institute of Plant Biotechnology Outreach at Ghent University.

University of Illinois alum Fraley said he and Monsanto will match his share of the World Food Prize award to establish the Fraley-Borlaug Scholars in Plant Science scholarship at the U of I. The scholarship will fund female U of I students who are studying plant breeding and biotechnology. The matches will bring the total initial endowment to the university’s College of Agricultural, Consumer and Environmental Sciences to $250,000.

Norman Borlaug, Ph.D., recognized as the father of the Green Revolution, created the World Food Prize in 1986.

(ISSN0197-6680) Vol. 41 No. 42 October 21, 2013 Dedicated to improving the profitability of farming, and a higher quality of life for Illinois farmers.

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STAFF Editor Chris Anderson (canderson@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 Margie Fraley (mfraley@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 Michael L. Orso 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

USDA Illinois back in business

BY KAY SHIPMAN FarmWeek

USDA employees went back to work across Illinois last week, 16 days after the federal shutdown closed USDA service centers.

The Farm Service Agency (FSA), Natural Resources Conservation Service (NRCS) and Risk Management Agency (RMA) reopened. Local Soil and Water Conservation District (SWCD) employees also returned to offices in USDA Service Centers.

“All the systems have yet to come back online,” Scherrie Giamanco, FSA state executive director, told FarmWeek Thursday afternoon. Giamanco was hopeful the systems would be fully operational today (Monday).

“We’re glad we can all get back to work and back to business,” said Ivan Dozier, NRCS state conservationist.

While the RMA reopened, it wasn’t back to 100 percent yet, according to David Brunson, a senior underwriter in RMA’s regional office. “We’re two and a half weeks behind,” Brunson noted.

Giamanco said her employees are working as quickly as possible, but she estimated it would take a week before most FSA offices will make

payments, depending on the number of staff in each office.

“We are committed to getting payments out as soon as humanly possible,” Giamanco stressed.

Dozier said his staff are eager to resume working with farmers and landowners. “We’ll just have some catching up to do,” he said.

SWCD staff who had worked elsewhere during the federal shutdown returned to their usual offices shared with federal partners, said Rich Nichols, executive director of the Association of Illinois SWCDs. USDA last week canceled release of its monthly World Agricultural Supply and Demand Estimates as employees of the National Agricultural Statistics Service didn’t have time to collect and analyze the necessary data. It marked the first time USDA canceled a crop report since it began issuing them in 1866.

Crop progress reports, scheduled to be released by USDA Oct. 7 and Oct. 15, were also canceled.

USDA on Friday announced it will issue its monthly cattle on feed report Oct. 31, originally scheduled to be released Oct. 18.

Brazilian trade threat level high without farm bill?

BY MARTIN ROSS FarmWeek

A secondary U.S. “default” and continued ag policy questions raise concerns about potential setbacks for U.S. producers and exporters.

At the onset of the U.S. budget stalemate and government shutdown that ended Thursday, Brazil announced creation of a task force to review possible economic/trade options now that the U.S. ostensibly has “reneged” on its settlement agreement under a World Trade Organization (WTO) cotton dispute ruling, Washington trade policy consultant Paul Drazek told FarmWeek.

The U.S. has suspended payments that have been made to the Brazilian Cotton Institute since 2010 as part of a tradeoff for Brazil suspending WTO-approved retaliation under a ruling against U.S. cotton supports.

The U.S. made only a partial payment in September because of fiscal 2013 budget “sequester” cuts. Brazil’s intergovernmental task force is expected to issue recommendations for addressing payment suspension by Nov. 30.

“They’re going to start looking at retaliation again,” Drazek warned.

Brazil won WTO authorization for $831 million per year from the U.S., but the two nations agreed to an annual payment of $147 million divided into installments. House Ag Chairman Frank Lucas, R-Okla., reported Brazilian officials have threatened to apply import tariffs on more than 100 U.S. products in lieu of payments.

Potentially adding fuel to the fire is the current

Shutdown

Continued from page 1 generated uncertainty among “a number of our trading partners,” Moore said. But he questioned that the shutdown resulted in any major export “lost opportunities” as much as merely delaying delivery of U.S. goods.

Whether Congress’ temporary accommodation regarding the debt limit causes any lingering loss of confidence among trade partners

lack of a U.S. farm bill that sets direction for future domestic farm/commodity supports. Lucas noted Congress made key program changes in the now-expired 2008 farm bill to address Brazilian concerns, “but we still haven’t heard from Brazil on what additional changes are necessary to comply with our WTO commitments.”

Further, Drazek suggests the U.S.’ position in future multilateral trade talks could depend on forthcoming farm bill specifics. He sees the merest glimmer of hope for resumption of stalled WTO “Doha Round” negotiations amid plans for a December WTO ministerial meeting reportedly aimed at developing a “mini-package” that could jumpstart talks.

Where the Senate farm bill devises a new revenue protection proposal decoupled from pricebased supports, the House farm bill proposal includes a two-tiered farm program that continues commodity-specific target price protections.

Doha Round parties have explored directing countries to reduce purportedly price-distorting annual “amber box” subsidies by as much as 60 percent. Amber box subsidies are domestic measures that support prices or are directly related to production quantities. Thus, House-style provisions would make the U.S. “more susceptible” to exceeding new amber box limits, Drazek said.

In addition, he cites talk of potential WTO challenges, “a la Brazil,” that might attempt to hold commodity-specific subsidies liable for damage to producers in other countries, even if supports fall within amber box spending limits. remains to be seen. Moore does not discount continued “analogies to Greece, to the European Union” as the default deadline again approaches.

Nielsen hasn’t seen any “tangible impacts” of the debt limit debate in world markets. “During this recent budget episode, the European Union was able to complete its free trade deal with Canada,” he pointed out.

AROUND ILLINOIS

Page 3 Monday, October 21, 2013 FarmWeek

Grain trucks unload corn from an abundant harvest into a temporary storage facility at Alliance Grain Co. in Gibson City. General Manager Joe Thompson said he expects to temporarily store 1.2 million bushels of corn. The facility boasts 4 million bushels of permanent grain storage that’s not quite full. Thompson estimated 70 to 75 percent of corn harvest has been completed in his area. (Photos by Ken Kashian)

IDOA fielding requests for temporary grain storage

BY KAY SHIPMAN FarmWeek

A fast-paced harvest has filled grain elevators’ permanent storage and sent elevator operators scrambling for temporary storage for “great quality” grain. Stuart Selinger, chief of the Illinois Department of Agriculture’s (IDOA) warehouse bureau, described the demand for temporary storage as

“average to slightly below average” compared to previous years.

“The (grain) stocks were so low coming into the harvest” because elevators had more open storage space after the 2012 drought, Selinger told FarmWeek.

Temporary storage structures must have a permanent base; hot-spot detectors, aeration fans and ducts; rigid side-

walls; and a waterproof covering.

Selinger predicted demand for temporary storage approval will continue as more operators realize such storage is needed.

Usually, operators don’t request temporary storage approval until there is a need, he added.

“From all the reports we’ve gotten, the grain quality appears to be very

good,” Selinger said. “I have not heard the ‘A’ word,” he said, referring to aflatoxin. The bureau chief said he even hesitated to mention the mycotoxin that contaminated Illinois corn last year.

Although grain moisture this fall is testing above 14 percent to 15 percent, “the overall quality is very, very good,” Selinger said.

Analyst: Cloud of uncertainty could hang over markets

Editor’s note: Nick Klump, AgriVisor risk management specialist, is used to dealing with market swings due to changes with supply and demand along with investor interest. But the government shutdown, which Nick Klump came to an end Thursday, added another layer of uncertainty to the markets as farmers are in the midst of harvesting large corn and bean crops. Klump discussed the situation during an interview with FarmWeek and the RFD Radio Network®.

FarmWeek/RFD: The government shutdown was resolved last week. How

does that impact the markets?

Klump: USDA announced the National Agricultural Statistics Service will not issue its October supply and demand report (which was scheduled to be release Oct. 11). It will not be made up this month. It’s been canceled. So there’s still a lot of uncertainty.

Now we’ll look forward to the Nov. 8 report. Any kind of surprises to current trade estimates could be very volatile for the markets. Another big question is export sales. There has been business to China, but the question is how much volume.

FarmWeek/RFD: Is the farmer at a disadvantage trying to price grain right now?

Klump: I think they are at a disadvantage (due to the information gap caused by the 16day government shutdown).

That’s why they rely on people in the industry to provide that information, to some degree.

FarmWeek/RFD: What does a farmer do with his or her marketing plan at this point?

Klump: What I’ve been telling guys lately is we have a lot of corn coming out and the carry in the market doesn’t pay much to store corn into spring.

So, I’m telling them to sell across the scale in a cash sale and, if they want to get bullish longer term, maybe look at doing options which would protect you on the upside.

A big thing is there’s not a

lot of selling right now. A lot of farmers had three to four good money-making years, so there’s not really a dire need for producers to sell right now.

That eventually has to come to market. I wouldn’t get aggressive marketing right now.

FarmWeek/RFD: Is there anything on the horizon that could change the supply and demand outlook?

Klump: The U.S. is becoming more competitive in the world market now as prices backed off.

That said, South America is looking at producing a 5.7 billion bushel (bean) crop and, couple that with 3.1 to 3.2 billion bushels out of the U.S., and it’s starting to get awfully bearish in the bean market.

There’s a lot of talk among analysts we could see the low$11 to $10 range before the end of the year if everything goes well in South America.

FarmWeek/RFD: We saw an EPA (Environmental Protection Agency) report that proposed reducing the biofuels mandate in 2014 by 3 billion bushels. Will that have an impact on the corn market?

Klump: Short term we saw some market fluctuation when that came out. But I don’t really see EPA changing that number going into next year. I think it will stay the same.

Long term, obviously, if you take ethanol production away, there will be serious issues in the corn market.

Farmers will have an opportunity for one-on-one meetings with regional buyers at three Meet the Buyer events in November.

Farmers throughout Illinois are invited and may attend at no cost.

The first will be Nov. 4 at the Knox County Farm Bureau office, Galesburg. Buyers attending will include the Quad Cities Food Hub, Neimann Foods, Macomb Food Co-op, Knox College,

Augustana College, the Loffredo Foodservice and the buyer for all Illinois Hy-Vee stores.

University of Illinois Extension will present two educational programs — MarketReady at 9:15 a.m. and Good Agricultural Practices (GAP) at 11:30 a.m.

Between 2:15 and 4 p.m., a special chef-farmer networking session will be presented.

To sign up, contact the Knox County Farm Bureau at 309-342-2036 or online at

{knoxcfb.org}.

On Nov. 8, two chefs will start the event at the Kane County Farm Bureau office, St. Charles. Chefs Zak Dolezal of Duke’s Alehouse and Serena Perdue of Niche restaurants will give presentations.

Buyers will arrive midmorning. They will represent Meijers, Northern Illinois Food Banks, Soup to Nuts, Dominick’s, Mariano’s, Fox River Foods, Angelo Caputo’s Fresh Market, Fresh Moves

and Shop-N-Save.

U of I Extension will provide sessions on GAP and MarketReady. Representatives of MarketMaker online database will be available to register growers.

To sign up, call the county Farm Bureau at 630-584-8660.

A third event will be Nov. 14 at Southern Illinois University, Carbondale.

The day will start with U of I Extension educational sessions on MarketReady. A GAP

session will be presented during lunch.

Buyers will arrive midmorning. They will represent the Neighborhood Co-op, Camp Ondessonk, Rosemont Farmers, C.H. Robinson Co., Schnucks and Ole Tyme Produce Inc. A special networking session with regional chefs will occur between 2 and 3:30 p.m.

To sign up, contact the Jackson County Farm Bureau at 618-684-3129.

Three Meet the Buyer events are scheduled for November

HARVEST

FarmWeek Page 4 Monday, October 21, 2013

What a difference a year makes

Yields present a pleasant surprise

BY DANIEL GRANT FarmWeek

It’s hard for many farmers to forget the crop devastation caused by last year’s drought.

But above-average yields reaped by many farmers so far this year certainly makes it easier.

“We’re seeing a lot of good (yield) numbers from the reports we’re getting from producers and elevators,” Nick Klump, AgriVisor risk management specialist, told the RFD Radio Network®. “The national (corn) yield estimate, which is at 155.3 (bushels per acre) now, could be pushing

160-plus when it’s all said and done.”

Jesse Drew, a farmer from Benton (Franklin County), reported corn yields on his farm are 40 to 60 bushels above average this year. Last year, his cornfields — that made it to harvest — averaged between 5 and 30 bushels.

“We have no complaints after last year. Our corn is averaging 180 to 190 bushels,” Drew said during an Illinois Farm Bureau video interview.

“The beans are 40 to 60 bushels — just excellent. We had 18 to 20 last year.”

Kevin Witges, a farmer from Scheller (Jefferson County) reported similar harvest results.

“Last year, we got 30 to 35 bushels (per acre for corn),” Witges said during an IFB video interview. “This year, it’s 160 to 180.”

Just how bad was the crop damage last year? The average corn yield in Marion County was just 19 bushels per acre (the lowest in the state) and the average yield in five other counties was in the 20-bushel range.

In fact, the average soybean yield was larger than the average corn yield in six Illinois counties last year.

“Discing the corn down kind of made a guy sick,” Drew said of his memories from 2012.

Dryness and drought became an issue again about halfway through the current cropping season. Farmers believe the better yields this year resulted due to heavy early-season rainfall that built soil moisture supplies and the lack of extreme heat compared to last year.

“Last year was the driest I’ve ever seen,” Witges said.

“This year was the wettest early, then it turned dry. But we didn’t have 100-degree temps.”

Drew agreed that milder temperatures this season compared to last year helped this year’s crop.

“It was so hot at night last

Franklin County farmer Jesse Drew enjoys spending harvest time in the combine cab. His corn yields range from 150 to 200 bushels per acre compared to 5 to 30 bushels per acre during last year’s severe drought.

(Photo by Mike Orso)

year that the corn couldn’t pollinate,” he said.

Crop insurance was a key to survival last year.

“It costs $500 to raise an acre of corn,” Drew said. “To have no backup (in the form of

FarmWeekNow.com

We have a video with Jesse Drew and Kevin Witges talking about harvest this year compared to 2012 at FarmWeekNow.com.

crop insurance) is a pretty big gamble.”

Witges stayed in business despite having no crop insurance last year due to recordhigh crop prices. He’s not taking the same chance again.

“I didn’t have crop insurance last year,” he said. “I do this year because of last year.”

Farmers this year are dealing with the issue of lower crop prices as the result of larger supplies. Klump looks for that situation to continue, particularly if South America produces a record crop predicted by some analysts.

Traders last week estimated harvest in the U.S. was about 50 percent complete for soybeans and 40 percent complete for corn, Klump added. USDA will begin issuing crop progress reports this week after the government shutdown canceled the previous two harvest reports.

Late harvest no problem for wheat growers Wheat growers are making up for lost time due to the lateness of corn and soybean harvest, and are seeding the cereal crop behind combines at a steady clip.

Steve Stallman, a Randolph County farmer and Illinois Wheat Association president, on Friday estimated wheat seeding in his area is at least 50 percent complete.

‘ We g o t a l i t t l e moisture, so the wheat is ger minating and doing well.’

— Doug Beyers Shelby County farmer

“Wheat sowing is going quite well,” Stallman said.

“Beans are coming off a little later than normal, but as long as we have decent weather the last half of October, there’s still plenty of time to get wheat sowed.”

There were some concerns in the wheat industry last month that harvest delays could limit farmers’ ability to plant all their intended wheat acres.

Harvest in Illinois as of Sept. 30 was just 13 percent complete for corn (compared to the average of 34 percent) and 10 percent complete for beans, five points below average.

The optimal time to plant wheat in southern Illinois is from about Oct. 9 to Oct. 20 in order to establish a quality stand prior to winter, Stallman noted.

“But anytime before Halloween is fine,” he said. “We just up the seeding rate a bit.”

Fortunately, most of the crops are ripe and the harvest pace picked up dramatically in recent weeks.

Doug Beyers, a Shelby County farmer, had just 100 acres of beans left to cut as of last week.

“Wheat’s been going in good,” Beyers told the RFD Radio Network. “We got a little moisture, so the wheat is germinating and doing well.”

Wheat planting got under way on the farm of Kyle Brase in Madison County last fall. Illinois wheat growers in recent weeks reported planting is off to a good start this fall despite the lateness of corn and soybean harvest. (Photo by Daniel Grant)

Beyers as of last week planted 200 acres of wheat and planned to plant an additional 200 acres in the weeks ahead.

David Schaal, a FarmWeek Cropwatcher from Fayette County, said there’s been good

progress in his area as well.

“There have been a lot of beans cut around the area,” Schaal said last week. “There also has been some wheat sowed in the countryside and some has already emerged.”

Farmers in Illinois are com-

ing off an excellent year for wheat. The statewide average yield this summer, 67 bushels per acre, tied the record set in 2006.

Illinois farmers last year seeded 820,000 acres of wheat. — Daniel Grant

AG TECHNOLOGY

Page 5 Monday, October 21, 2013 FarmWeek

Dicamba-tolerant bean approval underlines concerns

BY MARTIN ROSS FarmWeek

The U.S. biotech bureaucracy appears to have bogged down as growers face the need to sustainably address heightened crop pressures.

Illinois Farm Bureau Senior Commodities Director Tamara Nelsen reports USDA’s requirement of an environmental impact statement (EIS) before approving a new dicamba-tolerant soybean trait will cause a major delay in approval of Monsanto’s new Roundup Ready Xtend (RRX) bean.

The product likely will not be available to U.S. growers until 2015 or later, despite existing Canadian and anticipated South American approvals, Nelsen said.

While USDA, the U.S. Environmental Protection Agency (EPA) and the Food and Drug Administration have refined their “coordinated framework” for product review, Nelsen argues the process has “gotten sidetracked” by recent lawsuits over production of Roundup Ready alfalfa and sugar beets.

She now fears the process will unnecessarily delay access to ostensibly safer, more effective weed control

options. Monsanto and BASF have developed new low-volatility glyphosate-dicamba and solo dicamba herbicide formulations to use with the RRX trait.

“The new RRX-compatible (herbicide) formulations are low-volatility. The tech/stewardship agreement to use RRX soybeans restricts farmers from using Banvel or similar (dicamba) products with the new soybeans, and the technology user agreement provides stewardship information annually on their proper use,” Nelsen noted.

Sid Abel, USDA assistant deputy administrator for biotechnology and regulatory services, concedes product review “can sometimes be a very lengthy process.” Monsanto first submitted its petition for dicamba-tolerant beans in July 2010.

Abel cited USDA efforts over the past two years “to be more predictable in (the petition) process and narrow timeframes down so we can get products to market. This one came in before that new process kicked off,” he related.

USDA submitted Monsanto’s petition for a 60-day public comment period in July 2012; in the past, the public was also invited to review environmental

Postharvest ag losses slippery but grave issue

In the U.S., aflatoxin largely is a grain quality issue, potentially cutting into the producer’s bottom-line profit.

In the developing world, the bottom-line impact of crop disease is written in far graver economic and human terms.

Global food security specialist John Lamb thus is joining an international probe of postharvest ag losses.

The Bill and Melinda Gates Foundation recently asked Lamb, former World Bank agribusiness team leader, to lead an investigation of widespread global losses and possible best practices that could help reduce them.

Investigators are expected to discuss their findings in March.

Lamb seeks more accurate indicators for loss potential and systems for measuring the toll of inadequate production, storage and marketing practices. Losses are spread across “the whole range of agricultural products,” from grain and produce to aquaculture and forest goods, he noted.

“Postharvest loss reduction is a major concern for the global food community, for development agencies, most country governments and, of course, for the consumer,” Lamb told FarmWeek at last week’s Food Integrity Summit in Rosemont.

“It’s been difficult to deal with, however. It’s quite difficult to define and to measure. And even though it’s known to affect virtually every commodity — plant and livestock agriculture alike — it varies quite a lot in circumstances from one place to another. Where the losses occur in the supply chain vary quite a bit as well.”

Some factors are easier to identify. Lamb reports aflatoxin and other fungal grain diseases pose “the most obvious impacts on economic growth by impeding trade and disrupting commerce domestically.” Small farmers are particularly affected by the marketability and safety of stored grain, he said.

Buyers report a rise in the global percentage of grain rejected due to mycotoxins, and disease problems appear to be intensifying within a range 35 degrees north and south of the equator, Lamb said. Some scientists theorize a link between growing mycotoxin problems and climate change — especially dry conditions that cause plant stress, susceptibility and postharvest moisture.

In former anti-biotech activist Mark Lynas’ view, genetic science is a key tool in stemming the tide of grain loss and safety issues. He argues “GMOs may well be more safe than their conventional alternatives.”

Biotech insect-resistant corn incurs reduced insect damage and thus is often “significantly lower in carcinogenic aflatoxins,” the climate author noted. “Organic corn may be very high in terms of this particular risk,” Lynas suggested. — Martin Ross

assessments of proposed products. Monsanto then submitted a fall 2012 petition for dicamba/glyphosate-tolerant cotton.

Based on cotton petition comments, USDA in spring 2013 decided a simultaneous EIS on both soy and cotton products might be “our best path forward,” Abel said. USDA is developing a draft EIS for comment and anticipated approval by February 2014.

A final EIS may be released by October 2014, with USDA/EPA decisions on product approval possibly

by November.

“We think now that our decisions are pretty synchronous,” Abel said. “We should both be out about the same time.”

Monsanto meanwhile has instituted a RRX training program for internal staff, product distributors and farmers. To date, the company has trained 5,000plus managers, salesmen and agronomists. Nelsen nonetheless reported “Banvel ‘horror stories’ continue to make the rounds.”

“That is why Monsanto and BASF developed completely new formulations,” she emphasized. “The product is not Banvel.”

Biotech convert: Industry must rethink labeling battle Mark Lynas is an avowed environmentalist, an internationally recognized author and adviser on global climate change. He’s a concerned consumer who believes unequivocally in market “transparency.”

Lynas is also an outspoken advocate for nuclear power as a clean energy alternative and biotechnology as a key tool in sustainably feeding a cramped planet. And he argues industry should rethink what he deemed an increasingly losing battle against biotech labeling.

At last week’s Food Integrity Summit in Rosemont, Lynas saw likely passage next month of Washington state ballot Initiative 522, which would mandate labeling of foods containing biotech ingredients. Recent polling indicated 2to-1 voter support for the initiative, he noted.

“My hunch is that this particular battle is well and truly lost,” Lynas said. Even if the courts subsequently ruled 522 unconstitutional, he warned its approval is a key win for organic and related interests seeking to hobble market competition through a patchwork of state laws.

While Lynas sees “no scientific case to be made for labeling” and accuses organic purveyors of advocating “prohibition based on superstition,” he maintained the 522 campaign is steeped in “bad science but good politics. Affordable food is no priority for the anti-GMO lobby.”

According to Lynas, a former European antibiotech organizer, the effort taps consumer suspicions about “secretive big business.” By opposing labeling rather than helping guide science-based nationwide labeling, biotech companies “have fallen right into this trap,” he said.

“Who can argue with the right to know what’s in your food?

“The only way to address this lack of trust, I think, is through full transparency,” Lynas told FarmWeek.

“If your baseline position is that you have to hide the fact that you’re using (biotechnology), how can you ever begin to sell it on its benefits?

I think we need to be in a differFarmWeekNow.com ent place Listen to Mark Lynas’ combecause the ben- ments about the need for transefits are clear, parency with biotech products they’re real and at FarmWeekNow.com. they should be something you could actually use to persuade consumers.”

Without biotech crop advances, “it’s going to be that much more difficult to address the challenges of climate change, of declining fresh water resources, of population growth,” said Lynas, vice-chairman of the World Economic Forum’s Global Agenda Council on emerging technologies. The world either must “sustain-

‘I think we need to be in a different place because the benefits are clear, they’re real and they should be something you could actually use to persuade consumers.’

— Mark Lynas Climate specialist, author

ably intensify farming” or face “plowing up all of the natural lands to feed the 9.5 to 10 billion people who will be living on the planet,” he advised.

The Rosemont summit dissected consumer perceptions regarding food production and marketing. Charlie Arnot, CEO of the sponsoring Center for Food Integrity, cited continued challenges in countering “that bias against ‘big,’ that bias against ‘industrialized’ food.”

Lynas indicted food marketers who use dubious production, nutrition or safety claims.

“Stop lying to consumers about the way your food is produced,” he admonished industry representatives. “Stop using happy cows on your butter and those kinds of things.” — Martin Ross

FarmWeek Page 6 Monday, October 21, 2013

CROPWATCHERS Bernie Walsh, Durand, Winnebago County: Soybean harvest was going just great until Tuesday morning when it started raining. We ended up getting 0.4 of an inch. Wednesday afternoon, it dried off just enough to switch to corn, and then we had light rain again most of the day on Thursday.

I think there are still 25 to 35 percent of the soybeans left to harvest. Only 20 to 30 percent of the corn has been harvested.

We could definitely use some drier weather to finish this year’s harvest. Have a safe week.

Pete Tekampe, Grayslake, Lake County: Got 0.3 of an inch of rain on Saturday (Oct. 12) and another 0.5 of an inch on Thursday with cloudiness and drizzle all day.

Beans are about 50 percent done with most of the rest still green. I finally finished three fields and did a whole field on Monday (Oct. 14).

Beans are running in the low to mid-40s because of the lack of moisture in July and August. Some corn has been started with the moisture in the high teens or low 20s. No yield reports yet. Please be safe.

Leroy Getz, Savanna, Carroll County: Colder weather with frost on Sunday (Oct. 13) and Monday (Oct. 14). Light rain several days totaled 0.25 of an inch.

Ninety-eight percent of the soybeans have been harvested. Corn combining has a long way to go.

Stalk quality and some lodged fields are still a concern. A dairyman called and said they were cutting their sixth crop of alfalfa. The cool weather will slow the drying process.

Ryan Frieders, Waterman, DeKalb County: The weather was not very cooperative for harvest again last week. A few soybeans were harvested early in the week.

Soybean progress is 75 percent in the area. Corn harvest has been slow due to the rain. Corn progress is 20 percent with little tillage done. I have not seen any anhydrous applied yet. We need a good stretch of sunshine and clear days to get some work done.

Larry Hummel, Dixon, Lee County: Several days of light showers gave everyone a break from the hectic pace of harvest.

The moisture in corn is mostly running between 18 and 23 percent, making it easier for dryers to keep up. Soybean harvest is winding down with less than 10 percent of the crop in the field. I look back at the amount of rain we had this season, and there is a stark difference in the first half to the second half. In the months of April, May and June, we had more than 17 inches of rain. In contrast, July, August and September just barely made it to the 3-inch mark.

Ken Reinhardt, Seaton, Mercer County: Feels like late fall.

Harvest is making good progress with the lack of rain delays. I’m on the last half of my acres. Continuous corn yields are outstanding this year, and in some cases, better than first-year corn. Pretty hard to understand why this is.

Mark Kerber, Chatsworth, Livingston County: Another week of harvest with a couple of small rainouts. No mud yet, just dampness. Not good for soybeans left to harvest. Cooler weather has set in, feeling more like fall. Yields in our dry area are better than expected for no rain, but all anyone has to do is go north, south or east a few miles, and corn and soybean yields are much above average. Grain stocks are getting replenished across the country. The worry from end users won’t be such a concern as last year. Supply and demand will dictate market prices.

Ron Haase, Gilman, Iroquois County: Harvest continued this week with some light showers on Tuesday and Thursday, slowing up the pace. Our total accumulation was only 0.10 to 0.15 of an inch. Frost also arrived early in the week. Soybean harvest has been slowed up more than corn harvest.

We have had a couple of fields with corn yields second only to 2009 in their history, while another had its lowest yield since 1995. Rootworm damage to the corn roots caused the lower yield. Some of our corn had dried the week before, but some did not. One field we left on Oct. 8 was testing 28 percent, and it still was 28 percent on October 15. We have not attempted our corn planted the last week of May or in June. I expect the moisture level to be high in those fields as well. Due to the higher moisture levels, we are only 33 percent harvested. The local closing bids for Oct. 17 were nearby corn, $4.17; fall 2014 corn, $4.45; nearby soybeans, $12.77; fall 2014 soybeans, $11.47.

Brian Schaumburg, Chenoa, McLean County: Harvest is more than 75 percent complete in our area and we are down to our last field of soybeans. Intermittent rain events hampered soybean combining the last few days.

Fertilizer and lime are being spread, field tile is being laid and a little tillage is getting done. A windstorm flattened some of our last harvested corn. Even the replanted corn and beans were respectable yielders this year. The October insurance price is being watched for potential claims. Corn, $4.32; Jan., $4.46; fall ‘14, $4.56; soybeans $12.77; Jan., $12.82; fall ‘14, $11.40; wheat, $6.42.

Steve Ayers, Champaign, Champaign County: Plugn’ and chugn’ as we harvest between rain showers. Finished a soybean field Monday with 58.1 bushels per acre at 12.75 percent average moisture. A miracle for us with August rain at 0.1 of an inch, September at 0.65 of an inch and October at 1.05 inches.

As of Thursday, Dean at Premier Co-op said 60 percent of corn and 84 percent of soybeans have been harvested. Switched heads Wednesday and now cutting corn at 21 percent. I am amazed how green it still is, but frost may take care of that this week.

The bright Hunter’s Moon allows me to wander around without a flashlight. I found a woolly bear caterpillar and it looks like a mild winter! Let’s be careful out there!

Ron Moore, Roseville, Warren County: We only received 0.25 of an inch of rain last week. It stopped harvest for two half days, but we started again soon after it dried out. Yields are still holding up well. More fertilizing is going on, but no anhydrous yet; still too early and the soil is too warm. Corn moisture is now down in the teens and beans are just about perfect moisture — 12 to 13 percent. We still do not have any water in the creeks, and the cows still on pasture have to search for water and food unless they are being supplemented by their owners. Let’s hope for more rain in November after harvest.

Wilfred Dittmer, Quincy, Adams County: Greetings again from one of the driest parts of this county where my gauge has totaled 19.5 inches since March 1 and only 2.7 inches since July 1. Other than a few sprinkles, our gauge showed zero for the entire month of August, so where the yields are coming from remains a surprise. I think most have parked their corn head and are doing beans since they seemed to have all ripened at once. Some tillage is happening and wheat seeding along with fall fertilizing.

Have a safe week.

Tim Green, Wyoming, Stark County: Busy week harvesting. Bean harvest is approaching 70 percent complete. Corn harvest is starting to pick up speed and is close to 50 percent. Yields have been better than expected. Bean yields have been all over the board — 30 to 60 bushels per acre.

Farmers are quite amazed at all the work they need to do to their fields to get ready for next spring because of all the erosion that occurred last spring. Be safe.

Jimmy Ayers, New City, Sangamon County: We received one shower that left only 0.1 to 0.2 of an inch of rain in most areas. An enormous amount of beans were taken out this week. Corn is not far behind. People are pleased with bean yields. Some of the re-planted and later-planted corn is good, but some of it is not so good. It depends on the situation and how wet it was when it was planted. Overall, it has still been a pretty good harvest for both crops. I hope you have a safe week ahead.

Tom Ritter, Blue Mound, Macon County: It was a good week for picking corn, but lousy conditions for soybean harvest.

With little showers, cooler temperatures and shorter days, the remaining acres are going to be fairly tough. During this period, the beans have seemed to finished ripening. I would estimate soybean harvest at 60 percent, which is similar to corn.

May-planted corn is finally starting to show some dry down. Corn planted the first week or two of June is still staying pretty green and has a long way to go to get down to a decent moisture for harvest. Overall, farmers have been very pleased with yields, depending upon drainage situation, but still a lot of corn at 180 to 220 bushels. A lot of 50s and 60s in the soybeans.

Todd Easton, Charleston, Coles County: Soybean harvest is nearing the end despite intermittent showers. All but the last 15 percent or so of the crop is in the bin. Late-planted bean yields did fall off a bit, but overall the crop was very respectable considering how little water it had to work with. With soybeans done, attention is turning to the corn crop, which has dried 5 to 8 points from where it was in previous weeks. Yields, from what I have been hearing, are holding up in the 160 to 220 range. High ground was the land to farm this year. Many hilltops are seeing yields hardly thought possible, but low areas are quick to pull whole field averages back.

David Schaal, St. Peter, Fayette County: Harvest continues to roll along despite a couple of damp, misty mornings. Corn shelling really hit hard because of the weather conditions. Moisture levels on the corn are 15.5 to 19 percent. Right around this area, farmers are done with beans or just about to finish them up. Fall fertilizer and fall chemicals are also being applied.

Have a good, safe week.

Jeff Guilander, Jerseyville, Jersey County: I once had a teacher who said the secret to golf is to advance the ball toward the hole on every shot. It may not make for the prettiest round of golf, but at least you’re always making progress. That sums up this harvest pretty well. A lot of soybeans have been harvested, while waiting for corn to dry down. Corn, on the other hand, just won’t give up. Moisture is still high teens to mid-twenties, leaving most of us just trying to advance the ball, but the hole still looks awfully far away.

Dan Meinhart, Montrose, Jasper County: We had a mild, pleasant week with light showers at times, which slowed harvest. Harvest is progressing on early-planted corn and beans.

Later-planted beans are beginning to turn. Farmers are still waiting for later-planted corn to dry down. Wheat sowing continues. Fertilizer spreading and fall tillage have begun.

Dave

Hankammer,

Millstadt, St. Clair County: Combines continued to roll through fields last week. Many of the first-crop beans have been harvested and next year’s wheat crop is quickly being planted.

Corn harvest continues as farmers’ attention has been focused on the soybean crop. We did have a one-day delay this week, receiving up to 0.7 of an inch of rain. Temperatures have cooled down with highs in the 70s and lows in the upper 40s. Late-planted and doublecropped soybean fields have turned yellow this week. It appears these fields will produce a respectable yield considering the challenges this crop has met. Local grain bids are corn, $4.19; soybeans, $12.91; wheat, $6.70. Have a safe week.

Rick Corners, Centralia, Jefferson County: Bean harvest was in full swing and guess what?

More rain. Why couldn’t it rain this easy back in August? At this rate, we are definitely going to be trick or treating and combining. We may be eating turkey and combining.

Page 7 Monday, October 21, 2013 FarmWeek

CROPWATCHERS Kevin Raber, Browns, Wabash County: Small rain showers slowed harvest a couple of times last week. Corn harvest was able to continue, but bean cutting has been slow. I’ve been able to get some wheat sown; hoping to finish that job in the next few days.

Dean Shields, Murphysboro, Jackson County: The weather was fairly decent for harvest last week with some rain on and off.

Farmers trying to cut soybeans were kept out of the field because of a few showers. Corn harvest went fine. Yields seem to be good for corn and soybeans, as well as the milo.

Looking forward to the winter for a little rest and recreation. Everybody is trying to finish up harvest, so we hope to have another good week this week.

Randy Anderson, Galatia, Saline County: As I typed this, I sat back and thought about last year’s crop and how bad it was.

This year has been so bountiful.

Kind of makes a person feel really humble inside and know that you are not really in control; the Lord is. Crop harvest progress is around 50 to 60 percent in the county.

Yields are still hanging in there. Hoping to finish wheat planting Friday, as it has gone very well. Have a safe week out there as the hours keep grinding on and the sharpness gets dull.

Ken Taake, Ullin, Pulaski County: It has been a slow week harvest-wise here in deep southern Illinois. We’ve not had much rainfall accumulation, but we had a couple of days of drizzle, overcast and cloudy conditions. We managed to get in soybeans late one afternoon and spent a couple of afternoons in cornfields. Overall, I don’t think there was much harvest completed in Pulaski County. Clear weather is in the forecast for this week, so hopefully we will get a lot more accomplished. Take time and be careful this week.

WRRDA hopes high among river, port interests

BY MARTIN ROSS FarmWeek

W i t h l aw m a ke r s h av i n g reached a budget truce, the House reportedly is prepped

by Wednesday to begin debate o n t h e Wa t e r R e s o u r c e s Reform and Development Act (WRRDA).

The measure, already passed by the Senate, is aimed at streamlining the process for and spurring investment in needed navigational improvements. Illinois Farm Bureau will issue a legislative action request this week asking members to contact lawmakers in support of the measure.

IFB President Philip Nelson sees WRRDA as “the one

Reports received Friday morning. Expanded crop and weather information available at FarmWeekNow.com.

positive development going on in Congress right now. I think Congress is seeing the light of day, that we have to invest some money in infrastructure,” he said.

Nelson noted the importance of upgrading not only inland locks but also U.S. ports and harbors in some cases illequipped to handle the larger vessels expected to pass through the soon-to-beexpanded Panama Canal.

American Association of Port Authorities Navigational Policy Director Jim Walker stressed the need for legislation assuring “full use” of federal harbor maintenance tax revenues exclusively for har-

Rock Island Clean Line hearing Oct. 28

The Illinois Commerce Commission (ICC) will conduct another public forum on the Rock Island Clean Line (RICL) Transmission Project at 7 p.m. Oct. 28 at Mendota High School gymnasium. Doors will open at 6 p.m.

The hearing is a continuation of the public forum held in Mendota Sept. 18. People who signed up to speak at that forum, but did not testify due to time constraints will be allowed to speak first.

About 150 people asked to testify at the Sept. 18 forum.

Only half of them spoke before the standing-room-only hearing was closed after three hours of public comments.

There will not be an additional sign-up sheet at the forum, but if time permits the hearing officer will call on attendees who weren’t on the original sign-up sheet and allow them to provide comments on the record.

Clean Line Energy of Texas applied to the ICC for public utility status in October 2012. The company wants to construct a highvoltage direct current transmission line delivering 3,500 megawatts from northwest Iowa to Illinois and other eastern states.

Illinois Farm Bureau President Philip Nelson testified at the previous hearing, noting “RICL has not demonstrated that there’s a need to build this project.”

Nelson cited several reasons IFB opposes RICL: • Clean Line Energy is a private company, not a public utility. The company lacks a track record for building any transmission lines and owns no utility assets.

• The proposed route carves prime farmland because it does not follow existing right-of-way corridors.

• RICL has not firmly committed to using monopole structures for the entire route instead of lattice structures that would take more land out of production.

Evidentiary hearings are scheduled before the ICC for Springfield in December. ICC officials are expected to make a decision on whether to grant RICL public utility status and authority to construct the project next year.

bor/port projects. Walker noted eight of 10 coastal ports enforce vessel draft restrictions based on channel depth or width limitations, while the remaining two are “naturally deep.”

Meanwhile, Alton, Grafton and Hartford mayors joined Illinois Soybean Association ( I S A ) r e p r e s e n t a t ive s a t a Thursday news conference focusing on river issues including container-on-barge freight potential and public-private financing of waterways infras t r u c t u r e, a ke y t h r u s t o f WRRDA. Memphis Mayor A.C. Wharton, co-chair of the Mississippi River Cities and Towns

Conferee

Initiative, sees container-onbarge movement as a “rapidly developing industrial possibility” for his and other cities. ISA is continuing to explore container-on-barge potential with a variety of industry partners.

ISA transportation consultant Scott Sigman told Far mWeek WRRDA would help provide the U.S. Army Corps of Engineers key resources “to promote the reliability of the (Upper Mississippi) lock and dam system” for future container-on-barge and bulk river shipments.

But Mayor Larry Brown of Natchez, Miss., argued river interests are relying on congressional funding alternatives

Continued from page 1 pates a reunited final farm bill unless partisan conferees fail to come to an agreement on long-term food stamp funding reductions.

He hopes to preserve House provisions aimed at “keeping our strength in crop insurance” and “common sense regulatory relief ” through Davis-sponsored amendments that would require USDA/farm input on proposed U.S. Environmental Protection Agency ag rules. Davis suggests farm bill conferees can also provide an example for the postshutdown Congress.

“This conference committee is the first one of this Congress,” he said. “I think it has a chance to be a good role model for how Washington should work together again.

“A lot of folks have lost sight of the fact that the original farm bill that went down in the House — the one I preferred — had, overall, $40 billion dollars in (long-term) savings. These are the types of bills we need to hold up as examples of how Washington can work together in a bipartisan way to address this out-of-control spending and out-of-control debt.”

In a letter to conferees last week, American Farm Bureau Federation emphasized the need to move “a complete, unified bill” and to ensure 1949 “permanent law” is not repealed, as the House has proposed. Farm Bureau sees the option of permanent law kicking in on farm bill expiration providing assurances lawmakers will continue to make necessary ag policy reforms with each new bill.

The Senate has proposed a $4 billion cut in Supplemental Nutrition Assistance Pro-

rather than merely “on promises and authorization language.” The former Mississippi transportation director warned that when Midwest locks fail, “transportation fails in Natchez.”

“The Mississippi gets authorizations day and night, but very few appropriations,” Brown argued during the mayors’ teleconference.

“The Corps of Engineers, our biggest and best partner in river transportation, is fighting with one hand tied behind its back.

T h e y ’r e a l w a y s r e p a i r i n g locks that are 70 years old with parts that are no longer made.”

gram (food stamp) spending over the next decade, while the House’s nutrition bill includes a roughly $40 billion reduction.

Davis couldn’t suggest an ideal compromise figure for conferees, but he argued “we have to make some good, common sense reforms” in both nutrition and commodity programs.

The current House bill offers a 6.2 percent savings in ag-related spending over the 2008 farm bill and the Senate bill a 6.7 percent reduction.

“The food and nutrition side is 80 percent of all (farm bill) spending — the rest is the ag side,” he pointed out. “The farmers of my district already gave up direct payments — the agricultural community voluntarily gave up $20 billion on the ag side alone just to have strength in risk management programs and to have a long-term farm policy.

“We need to not lose sight of that point.

Much has been given up already. Farmers are willing to do what they can to reduce our deficits and pay down our national debt.”

As conferees awaited marching orders and a timetable for negotiation, Sen. Chuck Grassley, R-Iowa, advocated further reforms in farm program eligibility requirements, focusing particularly on restricting payments to those who are not “actively engaged” in farm operations.

Davis does not anticipate conferees considering new proposals that would “build out from either the House or Senate version,” though he suggested “we’ll have members from both sides try.” “We need to stick to the mission at hand,” he said.

RURAL LIFE

FarmWeek Page 8 Monday, October 21, 2013

Unique farm plants seeds of hope for teenagers

BY DANIEL GRANT FarmWeek

A 100-acre farm located about two miles south of Flanagan (Livingston County) looks like a typical Illinois operation from the road.

There are a variety of crops –- including corn, soybeans and alfalfa — along with livestock on and around the premises.

While the setting is somewhat ordinary in this rural landscape, what takes place on the farm is rather extraordinary.

Since 1896, the farm has been dedicated to turning around the lives of young children and teens. The farm, which previously was an orphanage, currently is the central Illinois campus of Salem4youth, a faith-based organization.

“Generally, we take in young men who are struggling right now,” said Steve McNair, coordinator of Salem4youth’s First Fruits 4 Youth program.

“They need structure.”

Most of the young men sent to Salem4youth’s program have struggled with anger management, defiance, truancy or substance abuse problems.

They come mostly from Illinois and surrounding states.

The young men at the facility not only must attend school and receive training in social skills, but they also must complete

See

chores on and around the farm.

They receive training in various other life skills, such as woodworking and greenhouse work, and compete on athletic teams.

“None of the guys want to be here (when they first arrive),” McNair said. “But if the guys graduate from our program (which takes about nine months to a year), the percentage is in the upper-90s of those who go on to graduate from high school.”

Gage, a teenager from the Chicago area, admitted he wasn’t excited about moving to a farm. But there’s no place he’d rather be at this point in his life.

“I had my doubts about this place,” said Gage, who works in the stable at least four days per week at Salem4Youth. “But now I know this is the right place for me. The city always will be my home, but the country definitely is where my heart is at.”

“It’s opened so much stuff for me,” he continued. “The only horse I’d seen before this is what police ride in downtown Chicago.”

Bill, a teenager from the Chicago area, plans to graduate from the program soon and attend college.

“I knew I needed to be here. I needed help,” he said.

“This place has opened up opportunities for me. I’ve been

Great

Things

For Agriculture!

Steve “Mac” McNair, right, coordinator of the First Fruits 4 Youth program, chats with young men on the campus of Salem4youth, an organization that provides schooling, faith teachings, responsibilities of a working farm and extracurricular sports activities for young men who need more structure in their lives. First Fruits 4 Youth helps fund the organization via crop donations from farmers and landowners. (Photos by Cyndi Cook)

able to follow some career paths (such as agriculture) that interest me.”

The facility not only teaches farm skills and values, it also is supported in part by farmers and agribusinesses, who donate time, equipment and inputs for the Salem4youth farm.

“We’ve had major players in agriculture bless us,” McNair said. “When we talk to grow-

ers, they appreciate helping young men and the rural nature of our work.”

The First Fruits 4 Youth program was set up as another way farmers and landowners can support the program. It allows farmers to donate a small portion of their crops to help maintain the program.

“It’s a way farmers can support a local organization in Illi-

nois,” McNair said. “We’re trying to forge ‘partnerships’ with some companies as well.”

Farmers who donated to the First Fruits program last year contributed on average about an acre’s worth of grain, McNair said. Most crop donations are received near harvest, but they are accepted year-round. For more information visit the website {firstfruits4youth.com}.

Young men walk a horse on the campus of Salem4youth, a faith-based organization and working farm that assists young people near Flanagan. One member of the program said the only horse he’d seen, prior to arriving at Salem4youth, were those ridden by police in downtown Chicago.

Statements sought from IFB candidates

Statements of candidacy from those seeking election to the positions of president and vice president of Illinois Farm Bureau (IFB) will be published in the Nov. 25 issue of FarmWeek.

• The statements must be no more than 300 words in length, and any copy exceeding that limit will be returned to the candidate for editing to the required length.

• Candidates also must submit biographical information, including name, address, age, family and farming information. This information will not be included in the statement of candidacy 300-word limit.

• All information must be typed. A color photo/image also must be submitted.

Information will be published alphabetically by the candidates’ last names.

Candidates must submit the information no later than Nov. 6. All information can be submitted in two ways: • By email. Submit your typed statement, biographical information and high-resolution image to Chris Anderson, IFB Editor of Content & Publications, via email at canderson@ilfb.org.

• By U.S. mail. Send your typed statement, biographical information and photo to: Chris Anderson, IFB Editor of Content & Publications, 1701 Towanda Ave., Bloomington, Ill. 61701.

Again, the deadline for submission is Nov. 6.

MARKETS

Page 9 Monday, October 21, 2013 FarmWeek

Propane proponents tout autogas as clean, cheap alternative

BY DANIEL GRANT FarmWeek

Propane fuel has come a long way. The first commercial sales of the fuel were completed by the American Gasol Co. in 1912.

Thanks to technological updates in the automotive industry combined with a favorable supply/price outlook, propane could be an increasingly popular fuel of the future.

“Propane is a good alternative,” said Scott Long, GROWMARK propane marketing and business development manager.

“We’re trying to enhance awareness of propane as an autogas.”

GROWMARK and local FS companies in Illinois and Wisconsin last week held five pro-

Robert Little, left, central region fleet sales manager for Roush CleanTech, discusses opportunities to expand the use of propane autogas, with Randy Meseke, right, GROWMARK facility equipment manager, next to a propane pump during a promotional event hosted by GROWMARK in Bloomington. (Photo by Ken Kashian)

motional events to promote propane autogas as an alternative to petroleum and com-

• Tom Phelps, Niemann Foods director of produce: Nov. 4 Meet the Buyer event • Joe Bandy, DuPont Pioneer manager: yield reports Thursday: Tuesday: • Jarrod Hudson, Beck’s Hybrids team • Illinois State Water Survey: ag weather sales agronomist • Cynthia Haskins, Illinois Farm Bureau busi• Deborah Lee, Four Winds Farm owner: ness development and compliance managherbal industry in Illinois er: Illinois Food and Agriculture Summit • Monica Nyman, St. Louis Dairy Council • Jean Payne, Illinois Fertilizer and nutrition educator: dairy foods in dental health Chemical Association president: fall nitroFriday: gen stewardship • Harry Cooney, GROWMARK energy cus• John Schillinger, Schillinger Genetics president tomer risk management manager Wednesday: • Ivan Dozier, Illinois Natural Resources • Brad Beaver, Illinois Department of Conservation Service state conservationist: Agriculture livestock waste management rebounding from the government shutdown program manager: training workshops for Certified Livestock Managers To find a radio station near you that carries • Leah Beyer, Illinois Soybean Association the RFD Radio Network, go to animal ag lead: U.S. Farmers & Ranchers FarmWeekNow.com, click on “Radio,” then click on “Affiliates.”

Alliance Boston Food Dialogues

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pressed natural gas fuels.

The promotional events in Illinois were held in Bloomington, Carbondale and at the Sangamon County Farm Bureau office in Springfield.

“There’s been tremendous technological improvements,” Long noted.

Propane fleet vehicles offer excellent performance in cold weather. They generally run quieter than diesel engines.

Safety features have been improved and converting vehicles to propane autogas can be done in a matter of weeks.

Meanwhile, the infrastruc-

2

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ture to support propane-powered vehicles has expanded nationwide, according to Rob Little, central region fleet sales manager for Roush CleanTech.

There currently are about 600 propane filling stations in Illinois, Little said.

“Propane is the opposite of diesel and gasoline,” Little said.

“It’s clean, domestic, abundant and inexpensive.”

Propane costs recently were 40 to 50 percent less expensive than gasoline. Propane, which is made of 78 percent natural gas and 22 percent crude oil, earlier this year was priced at $2.50 per gallon cheaper than diesel fuel, Little reported.

And the price advantage should continue as an estimated 3.6 billion gallons of new propane supply is projected by 2020.

The fuel efficiency with propane autogas isn’t quite as a good as diesel, while diesel gets about 2 to 3 more miles per gallon than propane in school buses. But the lower price of propane more than offsets the difference in fuel mileage, Little said.

Propane also burns cleaner as it reduces emissions compared to diesel by 60 percent for carbon monoxide and 24

3

percent for greenhouse gases.

The City of Springfield recently equipped 24 fleet vehicles with bi-fuel conversion systems, allowing them to run on gas or propane. The move will bring an estimated savings of $82,000 per year and Springfield subsequently plans to convert 200 to 300 more vehicles in the future.

Macon County Farm Bureau members teamed with Maroa-Forsyth F FA’ e r s a n d F i r s t F a r m C r e d i t Services of Illinois to feed more than 400 area farmers delivering grain to local elevators last week.

Farm Bureau also partners with WDZQ Radio in Decatur, providing another 400 lunches. Local businesses donate pork, chips, caramel apples and drinks. (Photo

by Tim Stock, Macon County Farm Bureau manager)

download

All Ag. All Illinois. All Now.

FarmWeekNow.com Mobile App

FB IN ACTION

FarmWeek Page 10 Monday, October 21, 2013

COUNTY LEADERS GET AG LESSON McLean County Farm Bureau members showcased the importance of agriculture during the recent annual Leadership McLean County Agriculture Day. Leadership McLean County participants listened to Harry Dean of Leroy, top, discuss harvest conditions. Right: At Evergreen FS’ Holder Grain Elevator, location manager Gary Gaffeny, in red shirt, explains the grain drying process. “I think Ag Day was an amazing opportunity for emerging county leaders to have the chance to learn more about agriculture from those who are directly involved. Not only is agriculture important to our county but also to our state, country and world,” said Chris Reisinger, Farm Credit Services financial analyst and Leadership McLean County participant. Mike Swartz, McLean County Farm Bureau manager, served as Ag Day chair for the McLean County Chamber of Commerce event. (Photos by Ken Kashian)

Ag in the Cafeteria links farmers and school meals

BY KAY SHIPMAN FarmWeek

Illinois Farm Bureau (IFB) and Illinois Agriculture in the Classroom (IAITC) are launching the Ag in the Cafeteria program to help students connect

FarmWeekNow.com

Visit the Ag in the Cafeteria website for additional details on the program at FarmWeekNow.com.

Illinois farms and their school cafeteria meals.

The focal point is a colorful poster that highlights recommended meal servings of fruits, vegetables, grain, protein and dairy. IFB and the Illinois Agricultural Association Foundation are helping fund the poster.

“This is a great way to educate students on where their food comes from as well as about nutrition,” said Cynthia

Haskins, IFB business development and compliance manager.

The posters also feature Illinois farmers who grow specialty crops and grains, raise hogs and milk cows. The farmers’ stories and photos correspond to different sections on the plate and the glass.

School food service directors are encouraged to display posters in their cafeterias.

The IAITC webpage features lesson plans, books and other resources related to the My Illinois Plate poster.

“The more students have an opportunity to learn where their food comes from the better we will be,” said Kevin Daugherty, IFB education director.

For information, visit {agintheclassroom.org} and click on the Agriculture in the Cafeteria icon on the left side of the page.

Food dialogues explore farm size

Does farm size really matter? The subject will be explored from noon to 2 p.m. Thursday during the U.S. Farmers & Ranchers Alliance (USFRA) Food Dialogues in Boston. The dialogues will also be streamed live at {fooddialogues.com}.

Guest panelists will include Indiana farmer Leah Beyer; Michael Jacobson, Food Day founder and Center for Science in the Public Interest executive director; Nebraska farmer Bill Luckey; Lori Renzi, Charlie Baggs Culinary Innovations vice president; California farmer Bruce Rominger; and Michael Swanson, Wells Fargo Bank ag economist.

USFRA held two Food Dialogues sessions in Chicago earlier this year, one on biotechnology and the other on food transparency. The group, made up of more than 80 farm/commodity groups and allied industry representatives, has been holding the Food Dialogues over the last two years to encourage balanced discussions on food-related issues. Illinois Farm Bureau is an affiliate of USFRA.

DATEBOOK

Oct. 22-24 Fall veto session, Illinois State Capitol, Springfield Nov. 5-7 Fall veto session, Illinois State Capitol, Springfield

FB IN ACTION

Page 11 Monday, October 21, 2013 FarmWeek

Stephenson County FB hosts adopted lawmaker, 50 Chicago constituents for a Day in Country The Stephenson County Farm Bureau recently welcomed their newly adopted legislator, Rep. Fran Hurley, DChicago, and a busload of her constituents for a “Day in the Country� of farm tours and education about Illinois agriculture and food production.

The county Farm Bureau continued its tradition of hosting bus tours along with their adopted legislator that started with retired state Sen. Ed Maloney of Chicago.

The 50 guests, including several students from the Chicago High School for Agricultural Sciences, were welcomed with breakfast at the Visitors Center near Freeport.

The first stop was Pearl Valley Eggs/Pearl Valley Organix in Pearl City. Dave and Terri Thompson and their son, Ben, own and operate the facility with 1.1-million laying hens and new state-of-the-art egg processing equipment. In addition to marketing more than 850,000 eggs daily, the Thompsons compost and market the poultry waste as organic fertilizer.

Next, the group toured Bremmer Farms in Pearl City.

The family grain and livestock farm is owned and operated by Ron and Karen Bremmer and their sons, Chad and his wife,

BY CHRISTINA NOURIE

Henry County Farm Bureau Board member Rock Katschnig, center, discusses harvest with, left to right, state Reps. Daniel Burke, D-Chicago, and Don Moffitt, R-Gilson. Burke rode on Katschnig’s combine during his recent visit to his adopted county Farm Bureau. (Photo by Christina Nourie)

Henry County FB gives adopted lawmaker tour State Rep. Dan Burke, DChicago, brought Chicago police officers Tim O’Brien and Bobby LaFonte to Henry County for a recent harvest tour hosted by the Henry County Farm Bureau.

During seven-plus years, the Chicago representative and the county Farm Bureau have built a strong relationship through the Adopt-a-Legislator program. Burke meets with his adopted Farm Bureau members nearly every year during the Illinois Farm Bureau annual meeting.

Henry County is home to three firearm companies. To better understand the role those manufacturers play in the county’s economy, Burke and the officers toured ArmaLite, a small arms engineering company that manufactures firearms for commercial, law enforcement and military uses.

The group learned about firearm industry challenges and toured the plant manufacturing and assembly areas. They were given an opportunity to test shoot some firearms. Burke said he gained a better understanding how anti-firearm legislation and a poor state business climate could close a comBY CHRISTINA NOURIE

pany, such as ArmaLite, or cause it to relocate to another state.

Burke and his guests discussed legislative topics during lunch with several farmers and agribusiness representatives.

Then, the group visited Dennis Verbeck’s grain farm for a glimpse of soybean harvest and a chat about agricultural issues.

Seed production was next on the agenda with a tour of Wyffels Hybrids, an independently owned seed firm based in Geneseo. Owners Bill and Bob Wyffels provided a company history. During a tour of the production facility, the Chicago visitors learned about seed corn technology, field operations, seed conditioning and quality assurance.

A combine ride concluded the day’s activities with a visit to Rock Katschnig’s farm.

Burke saw harvest in action and learned more about corn harvest and farm machinery technology. Burke and his guests made plans to meet the Henry County farmers during the IFB annual meeting this December.

State Rep. Fran Hurley, D-Chicago, right, holds her new toy combine as she chats with Stephenson County Farm Bureau board members, left to right, Lynden Endress of Pearl City, Tom Flack of Shannon and Greg Kent of Lena. The county Farm Bureau hosted Hurley and a busload of her constituents for a day of farm tours. (Photo by Christina Nourie)

Deb, and Ross and his wife, Melanie. The Bremmers displayed much of their farm equipment and gave the visitors a tour of their livestock enterprise.

After lunch, the bus trip continued to Hunter Haven Farms, an 800-cow dairy owned and operated by Doug and Tom Block and their wives, Edie and Mary.

Hunter Haven uses an anaerobic digester, which pro-

vides electricity for the farm and many nearby homes.

Before the group returned home, the Stephenson County Farm Bureau treated them to ice cream at Alber Ice Cream Parlor in Freeport. This was a first farm visit and unique learning experience for many in the group.

Christina Nourie is the IFB northeast legislative coordinator.

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Christina Nourie is the IFB northeast legislative coordinator.

Soyfoods protect against colon cancer

University of Illinois scientists have evidence that lifelong exposure to genistein, a bioactive component in soyfoods, protects against colon cancer. Genistein represses a signal that leads to accelerated growth of cells, polyps and eventually malignant tumors.

The cells in the lining of the human gut are completely replaced weekly, said Hong Chen, a U of I professor of food science and human nutrition.

Chronic exposure to genistein, a soy isoflavone, reduced the number of pre-cancerous lesions in the colons of laboratory rats exposed to a carcinogen by 40 percent and reduced cancer signaling to normal levels, she said.

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FB IN ACTION

FarmWeek Page 12 Monday, October 21, 2013

Chicago lawmaker goes “big” for his southern Illinois tour

Rep. Marcus Evans, DChicago, decided to “go big or go home” and recently spent 2½ days visiting his adopted farmers in southern Illinois — at least a six-hour drive from his Chicago home.

As a newer lawmaker and House Agriculture Committee member, Evans said his visit was a valuable opportunity to learn more about the state’s agriculture industry and issues important to rural areas. Evans was accompanied by his friend, Robert Moore, who also is from Chicago and is interested in urban agriculture. Rep. Brandon Phelps, D-Harrisburg, joined Evans and Moore for a portion of their tour.

The Massac and AlexanderPulaski County Farm Bureaus helped Evans see many aspects of agriculture and local highlights, including the Superman statue in Metropolis, businesses and a local school.

The farm tour stops included a dairy farm. Evans not only had a chance to milk a cow by hand, but he also learned about modern technolBY CHRISTINA NOURIE

ogy used in dairy farming. One of the highlights for Evans was a combine ride on the Rollo Burnett farm.

The Chicago visitors also learned about agritourism and specialty crops when they explored a corn maze and toured a pumpkin farm. The representative visited with local farmers while doing some target shooting. Evans also toured an Archer Daniels Midland Co. grain facility and a locally owned country market.

During his visit to Meridian Grade School, Evans learned about obstacles facing the school after the building was closed due to mold. The representative noted the relationship between the southern Illinois school with nearly 100 percent of its students living at the poverty level and many schools in his Chicago district.

Another highlight was an evening reception and dinner at the Grand Chain Lodge along the Ohio River that was attended by more than 40 Farm Bureau members.

The representative said he looks forward to making his

Cooperatives…

Working together to grow.

For over 80 years, the FS System of member cooperatives has worked together to improve the profitability of farming. Through professional people, quality products, and exceptional service, we prove that by working together we grow together.

Celebrating Co-op Month.

©2010 GROWMARK, Inc. A Farm Bureau Affiliate M12238

State Rep. Marcus Evans, second from left, D-Chicago, examines soybeans during his recent two-day tour to his “adopted” county Farm Bureaus. Looking on left to right are local farmer Danny Burnett; Robert Moore, also of Chicago; Rep. Brandon Phelps, D-Harrisburg; and Massac County Farm Bureau President Rollo Burnett. (Photo by Christina Nourie)

southern Illinois trek an annual event.

Christina Nourie is the Illinois Farm Bureau northeast legislative coordinator.

Farm Bureau members: Still time for SWAT applications

Farm Bureau members interested in emerging issues in agriculture have until Nov. 1 to submit applications for the Illinois Farm Bureau Strength With Advisory Teams (SWAT).

The three SWAT advisory teams are: Farming Production and Marketing, Local and State Government, and Conservation and Natural Resources.

Teams will identify emerging issues and provide input to the IFB Board of Directors on issues relating to farmers, production practices, rural life and other agricultural-related areas.

The three teams will guide and direct IFB as the members become experts on specific

issues, regulations and legislation on which they are focused.

Each team is comprised of 12 Farm Bureau members, an IFB board member and a county Farm Bureau manager.

The manager serves in an advisory capacity. Team members will be appointed to twoyear terms.

The teams meet four times a year for one-day meetings.

The first will be Jan. 30.

Applicants who aren’t selected for a team may participate in an advisory capacity as indicated by selecting specific issues on the application form.

For information, contact your county Farm Bureau, call IFB at 309-557-3929 or go online to {www.ilfb.org/swat}.

Symposium focus rural emergency responders

Rural central Illinois fire and rescue departments along with other pre-hospital care providers will have the chance to practice recovering a person from an actual grain bin during the Peoria Area Emergency Medical Services (PAEMS) annual symposium 7:30 a.m. to 4:30 p.m. Nov. 2 at the new Jump Trading Simulation & Education Center in Peoria.

Jump Trading is a collaboration of OSF HealthCare and University of Illinois College of Medicine at Peoria.

In addition to the simulated grain bin rescue, the EMS symposium will include a simulated labor delivery with “SimMom,” a simulation course involving a pediatric emergency and a lecture on airway apparatus.

Gary Ludwig, owner of Tennessee-based The Ludwig Group and firefighting/EMS consultant, will present a session on crime scene management.

For more information or to register for the symposium, go to {paems.org} and click on the link.

FROM THE COUNTIES

Page 13 Monday, October 21, 2013 FarmWeek

B

McDonough County Farm Bureau President Colby Hunt, left, shows state Reps. Norine Hammond, R-Macomb, center, and Sandra Pihos, R-Glen Ellyn, field data maps during Pihos’ recent visit to her “adopted” county Farm Bureau. (Photo by Sarah Grant)

McDonough County Farm Bureau hosts urban legislator The McDonough County Farm Bureau recently hosted its adopted legislator Rep. Sandy Pihos, R-Glen Ellyn, for a day of agriculture tours around the county. She was joined by her colleague Rep. Norine Hammond, RMacomb.

Pihos visited a kindergarten classroom at Macomb’s Lincoln Elementary for an Agriculture-in-the-Classroom lesson.

The representative and the Farm Bureau group also toured the TriOak Foods Feed

BY SARAH GRANT

Mill in Bushnell, Clarke and Kurt Kelso’s new hog barn and the Western Grain Marketing rail shuttle.

On the Hunt farm in Blandinsville, Pihos received an up-close look at harvest from McDonough County Farm Bureau President Colby Hunt.

Throughout the day, Farm Bureau members had the opportunity to share the concerns of the local agricultural community.

UREAU — Farm Bureau will sponsor Stroke Detection Plus health screenings from 8:35 a.m. to 4 p.m. Nov. 4 at the Farm Bureau office. Members will receive a discount. Call 877732-8258 to schedule an appointment.

• Farm Bureau and Illinois Ag in the Classroom will host a seminar from 4 to 6 p.m.

Wednesday at the Farm Bureau building for teachers to meet with Sara Hildebrand, Bureau County AITC coordinator. Call the Farm Bureau office at 8756468 or email aitc.bcfb@comcast.net for reservations or more information. Continuing Education Credits will be available for this seminar.

• Farm Bureau will co-sponsor a fall equine series from 6:15 to 8:30 p.m. Nov. 11 and 18 in the Ag Arena at Black Hawk College in Kewanee.

Nov. 11 speakers will include Ronald Rhoades, Horseman’s Council of Illinois, “Why Trail Ride” and Bob Elwell, Jubilee Saddle Shop, “Fitting a Saddle For Your Horse.” Nov. 18 speakers will include Drew Cotton, Black Hawk East equine instructor, “What the Feed Tag Really Tells You (and

What It Does Not)” and Aaron Mosher, Prophetstown, “Draft Horse Basics.” Cost is free for 4-H members, FFA members and Black Hawk East students and $5 for all others.

Call the Farm Bureau office to register by Nov. 5.

OLES — Farm Bureau Women’s Committee members will host a holiday make and take at 5:30 p.m.

Nov. 14 at the Farm Bureau office. Cost is $25. Call the Farm Bureau office at 3453276 by Nov. 1 to register.

• Farm Bureau will sponsor basic computer classes from 1 to 3 p.m. Nov. 12-14 at the Workforce Development Center. Cost is $15 for members and $20 for nonmembers. Call the Farm Bureau office at 3453276 by Nov. 1 to register.

• Farm Bureau will co-sponsor an American Farmland Trust’s Women Caring for the Land program from 10 a.m. to 2 p.m. Nov. 7 at the Lumpkin Family Center, Mattoon. Diana Ropp, Bates Commodities, will speak on commodities, risk management, farm business and conservation practices.

This is a free program open to women only. Call Teresa Bullock at 815-753-6365 or email

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tbullock@niu.edu for reservations by Nov. 1.

OOK — Farm Bureau will sponsor a member appreciation banquet at 5:30 p.m.

Nov. 7 at The Cotillion in Palatine. Cost is $12. Proceeds will benefit the foundation. Call the Farm Bureau office at 708-3543276 for reservations by Oct. 28.

ONROE — Farm Bureau will co-sponsor a calf sale at 4 p.m. Saturday at the Monroe County Fairgrounds.

A cattle clinic, including judging and fitting demonstrations, will begin at noon.

EORIA — Farm Bureau will host an equine round table at 6 p.m. Oct. 28 in the Farm Bureau auditorium.

• Ag Service Award nominations are due Oct. 30 at the Farm Bureau building. The award will be presented at Farm Bureau’s annual meeting Nov. 16 at Dunlap High School.

TARK — Farm Bureau will sponsor a photo contest. The winning photograph will be used on the cover of the 2014 plat book. The entry deadline is Nov. 29. Call the Farm Bureau office at 286-7481 or email starkcfb@agviewfs.com for contest rules and entry forms.

M

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Sarah Grant is manager of the McDonough County Farm Bureau.

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PROFITABILITY

FarmWeek Page 14 Monday, October 21, 2013

Attention farmers: Fertilizer ‘blue light special’ flashing

Fertilizer is looking cheap these days — even though as a farmer you may say it could never be cheap enough. But it really is a pretty good bargain. Current fall prices look to be the best “relative value to grain prices” in quite a while.

Joe Dillier Extra production is the biggest reason for the weakness in fertilizers. China is exporting more nitrogen and phosphate, driven by a “selfsufficiency” policy in overdrive. New nitrogen production in Algeria and the Persian Gulf is also adding supply to

BY JOE DILLIER

the mix. Global phosphate demand has been weak as India has trimmed its imports due to the weakness in its currency. And every manufacturer has been “de-bottlenecking” intensively, adding incremental capacity.

For potash, craziness around the abrupt breakup of the Russian-Belarusian export cartel continues, keeping downside pressure on prices all the while. Subsequent talk that the breakup would lead to more intense supply competition, as the Russian producer planned to run “flat-out” and let prices “go where they may,” has put buyers globally, especially Chinese and Indian importers, in “wait and see” mode.

The old saw in commodities

Cow-calf research update scheduled The Christian County Extension office in Taylorville will be the host site for a beef cow-calf field day and research project update at 9:30 a.m. Nov. 6.

The event will highlight the latest news on beef cattle grazing systems in place at the University of Illinois Dudley Smith Farm near Pana and research trials around the Midwest.

Jeff Lehmkuhler, University of Kentucky Extension beef specialist, will discuss “Kentucky 300,” a 300-day grazing program. Other topics will include supplementing heifers during summer, cows on cornstalks, calf performance on endophyte fescue and winter feeding options.

Morning refreshments will be provided by the Dudley Smith Initiative. To attend, visit {web.extension.illinois.edu/cjmm/} or call 217-287-7246 by noon Nov. 1.

M A R K E T FA C T S Feeder pig prices reported to USDA* Total Composite Weighted Average Receipts and Price (Formula and Cash): Weight Range Per Head Weighted Ave. Price 10-12 lbs. (formula) $37.07-$49.12 $44.37 40 lbs. (cash) $59.50-$76.00 $69.70 Recipts

This Week 110,242 *Eastern Corn Belt prices picked up at seller’s farm

Last Week NA

Eastern Corn Belt direct hogs (plant delivered) Carcass Live

(Prices $ per hundredweight) This week Prev. week Change $88.75 NA NA $65.68 NA NA

USDA five-state area slaughter cattle price (Thursday’s price) Steers Heifers

This week $129.93 $ 129.91

Prev. week NA NA

Change NA NA

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 NA NA NA

Lamb prices NA

NA prices due to federal shutdown.

Export inspections (Million bushels) Week ending Soybeans Wheat Corn 10/10/2013 47.4 25.3 21.7 10/03/2013 30.7 29.8 25.3 Last year 58.3 7.0 17.2 Season total 114.4 551.4 115.4 Previous season total 181.0 376.1 117.3 USDA projected total 1370 1100 1225 Crop marketing year began June 1 for wheat and Sept. 1 for corn and soybeans.

is that “high prices are the best cure for high prices.” In essence, the big peaks in fertilizer pricing in recent years are resulting in lower prices now.

And we are still a few years away in getting production from any of the new “greenfield” nitrogen projects that are being talked about in the U.S. The big question is — will prices still get cheaper soon?

Will they be substantially cheaper by spring?

Fertilizer pricing is affected by a variety of impossible-to-

predict global variables. Maybe China will throttle back its production to stem plant emissions and address its choking air quality issues. Perhaps unrest in Egypt or elsewhere in the Middle East will shut down production abruptly. Suppose China, as it appears to be doing in iron ore, will use the low price of potash to “re-stock,” driving a rebound in potash prices? Or maybe, the RussianBelarusian potash cartel will reform as Russian President Putin seems to be hinting.

Best guess is that spring fertilizer pricing won’t be higher than fall values, barring an unforeseen blowup. But my guess is they won’t be materially lower either, given the adjustments to date. Good news is fertilizer values for the foreseeable future should remain moderate in relation to grain prices, more moderate than we have seen in several years.

Joe Dillier is GROWMARK’s director of plant food. His email address is jdillier@growmark.com.

Cook County FFA’ers make farm visits Thirty Cook County FFA members recently attended an Ag Leadership Academy hosted by the Cook County Farm Bureau Foundation. The students toured Kilgus Farmstead in Fairbury where they learned about skills necessary to run a successful agribusiness.

BY DIANE MERRION

Students were fascinated to learn that many products from the Kilgus farm are sold in Chicago stores and restaurants, giving them a new understanding of the farm-to-table process. The FFA’ers then headed to Ropp Cheese in Normal where they watched cheese being made.

For most students, seeing these operations up close was a life-changing experience. “I never really knew the aspects of a dairy operation, but today opened my eyes to the agricultural world,” stated one Chicago high school student.

Cook County FFA members feed a dairy calf on the Kilgus Farmstead at Fairbury. Thirty members recently attended an Ag Leadership Academy hosted by the Cook County Farm Bureau Foundation that took them to the farm. (Photo by Diane Merrion)

Another reflected, “This trip really opened my eyes to how life on a farm is. The farms were family owned and operated. Even though it can be a small operation, it is a big responsibility.”

Following the tours, students visited Pontiac High School’s FFA Chapter where

leadership activities were conducted. The program ended with a pork dinner and the chance for students to get to know one another and share program similarities and differences.

Diane Merrion is Cook County Farm Bureau ag coordinator.

Cassidy, sons experience DeWitt County agriculture

State Rep. Kelly Cassidy, DChicago, provided her three sons Josh, Daniel and Ethan with an agriculture lesson during their fall tour of DeWitt County.

Cassidy was adopted by the DeWitt County Farm Bureau in 2012 and hosted her downstate farmers on an urban agriculture visit and tour of her Chicago district.

For her downstate visit, the representative accepted an invitation to bring her sons for a combine ride, a tour of a horse farm and a visit to the Apple and Pork Festival in Clinton. After the horse farm visit, her oldest son decided to put a horse on his holiday list.

Cassidy said she gained a better understanding of crop production, harvest operations and the equine industry. Her boys were thrilled to ride in a combine. The Apple and Pork Festival was an opportunity for

BY CHRISTINA NOURIE

the city visitors to experience rural life and get better acquainted with DeWitt County residents.

Christina Nourie is the Illinois Farm Bureau northeast legislative coordinator.

State Rep. Kelly Cassidy, left, and her sons Josh, Daniel and Ethan discuss harvest with DeWitt County Farm Bureau Directors Jack Young, center, and Randy Toohill. Cassidy and her sons rode in a combine, visited a horse farm and experienced the Apple and Pork Festival during their tour. (Photo by Christina Nourie)

PROFITABILITY

Page 15 Monday, October 21, 2013 FarmWeek

CASH STRATEGIST

Corn Strategy

ü2013 crop: Even though corn prices have recovered from last week’s break, they haven’t done anything to indicate the trend has turned higher. The next good selling opportunity may not come until well into the new calendar year. Use prices above $4.40 on December futures to make needed sales. ü2014 crop: The move to a new low may have eliminated any near-term pricing opportunity. Still, we think there will be an opportunity to begin pricing over $5.00 on December 2014 futures in early 2014. For now, we are reluctant to sell weakness. vFundamentals: With each passing day, it becomes more apparent the national yield is higher than the USDA forecast in September. Their next report will be on Nov. 8. Acreage will be reduced, but the higher yield should still keep the projected output near 14 billion bushels.

Over the next few weeks, the U.S. is still going to have competition from Brazil and Ukraine in the world export market.

Cents per bu.

Soybean Strategy

Harvest pace is good

Given the late start to planting this year and the cool weather through the middle of summer, the harvest pace has been reasonably good so far.

Until this past week, weather has not been much of an inhibiting factor in many areas.

But even though harvest is being completed at an acceptable pace, it has not been fast enough for the end users. The

small old-crop inventories, and slower than normal harvest, have kept bids for immediate delivery high to fill the shortterm demand.

Harvest has not quite gotten far enough along to force any sales of extra/excess bushels either. But we believe that will come, as well as sales producers will need to make to start accumulating cash to pay post-harvest bills.

Winter wheat planting has been reasonably fast this year.

The first condition report should be released in the next couple of weeks, and should be better than recent years.

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ü2013 crop: This week’s rally opened the door for a potential move toward $13.20 on November futures. Use a rally beyond $13.06 to make catch-up sales. We still see a good chance of a drop near $12 by the end of the year. ü2014 crop: The higher soybean/corn price ratio is stimulating plantings in South America, and is expected to do the same in the U.S. next spring. Price the first 10 percent if November 2014 futures rebound to $11.90. vFundamentals: Even though we do hear occasional lower yields, the preponderance of reports are very good.

That leads us, and others in the trade, to expect the USDA to forecast a larger yield in the Nov. 8 report. Even though acres should be reduced, the total crop size could increase.

Early weather hasn’t been great in South America, but is not bad enough to get worried about yet either. And we are hearing some Mato Grosso, Brazil, farmers are considering planting second-crop soy-

beans instead of corn this year.

Wheat Strategy

ü2013 crop: New threats on the Argentine crop have lifted Chicago December futures near the top of the expected short-term range. Get sales to 70 percent complete. If wheat is farm stored, consider a winter delivery with a hedge-toarrive contract based on March futures to capture some additional storage income. ü2014 crop: Leave an order to make a 10 percent sale if Chicago July futures reach $7.10. vFundamentals: The

Argentine government surprised the trade with a lower crop estimate last week, 8.8 million metric tons (mmt). That’s well off the 10 mmt-plus number the trade has been using, including traders at the Buenos Aires Grain Exchange. At the same time, there’s threat of a rail strike in Canada. The combination could temporarily keep export demand for U.S. wheat relatively strong. But India has finally decided to get serious about disposing some of their wheat stocks. Those supplies, along with those to come out of Australia and Canada, should cap what buyers are willing to pay.

PERSPECTIVES

FarmWeek Page 16 Monday, October 21, 2013

Imagine our world without orange juice

SWAT delves into conservation, resource issues for Farm Bureau

The Illinois Farm Bureau (IFB), throughout its history, has been driven by the ideas and efforts of its membership.

It has encouraged and fostered the involvement of all members to guide and enhance the value of the organization.

Through the efforts of the members, IFB can then develop plans to be involved and provide a singular message on behalf of the memRANDY bership. From this idea, the DARR Strength With Advisory Teams (SWAT) was formed.

SWAT members from around the state have gathered throughout 2013 to learn and discuss pertinent issues that currently affect the membership.

Through these efforts, SWAT members were given the task to be prepared to tell a story of what they have learned and to communicate with their local membership about the issues The Conservation and Natural Resource SWAT mentioned and discussed a wide array of subjects. One primary issue was hydraulic fracturing. Robert Finley, director of the advanced energy technology initiative at the Illinois State Geological Survey at the University of Illinois, gave a fascinating presentation on the process of hydraulic fracturing.

Currently, there are more than 20,000 hydraulically fractured wells in Illinois. The major point from his presentation was that if a well is installed properly, there will be no adverse effects to the environment.

Most importantly, if a well is not installed properly, not only will the environment not be protected, but profits also will be lost.

In hydraulic fracturing, profitability and environmental protection walk hand in hand.

Two other primary issues discussed by Conservation and Natural Resource SWAT were nutrient management in watersheds and Concentrated Animal Feeding Operations (CAFOs) around the state.

The Illinois Environmental Protection Agency (IEPA) started the process of developing an Illinois nutrient reduction strategy plan. This plan is being mandated

by the U.S. EPA and must be done within a year.

States along the Mississippi River watershed must submit a plan to reduce nutrient losses by 45 percent in order to reduce the hypoxia zone in the Gulf of Mexico. Studies are being conducted to discover ways to effectively control nutrient loading and runoff into Illinois watersheds.

With CAFO issues, the IEPA has authority over the state CAFO program and the power to develop its own CAFO rules. Rulemaking to amend the CAFO rules currently is pending before the Illinois Pollution Control Board.

It will be necessary for agriculture groups to be involved in discussions regarding these issues in order to protect the environment and ensure sufficient agricultural production to feed an increasing population around the world.

In addition, the Conservation and Natural Resource SWAT also discussed the use of cover crops to conserve and restore the organic health of soils.

Once used as a normal practice through other means, such as set aside, multiple crop rotations and in more recent years the Conservation Reserve Program, cover crop science has been introduced to allow growers to invest in the health of their soils, while keeping soils in production.

However, there is still much to learn through the use of strategically planned and placed cover crops.

Currently, the Illinois Department of Agriculture has developed a three-year pilot project of 14 plots of 500 total acres around the state. The uses of cover crops present issues pertaining to crop insurance programs and the application of those insurance products.

The 2014 Conservation and Natural Resource SWAT will continue working on issues surrounding Illinois agriculture.

Through its efforts, IFB members can be informed and instrumental in directing the efforts to help Illinois agriculture move forward in an ever-growing world.

Randy Darr serves on the Conservation and Natural Resource SWAT. The owner of Soil-Right Consulting Services Inc. in Shipman, Darr is a member of the Macoupin County Farm Bureau and has served on its board of directors for nine years.

I can’t even imagine a morning without this delicious drink. It’s been a sunrise ritual for as long as I can remember for me as well as my children.

I wouldn’t let my kids drink soda. Yet, they could gulp gallon after gallon of orange juice. Now my grandchildren are receiving the same treatment. They drink orange juice all the time and love it.

What if it disappears from our diets? That would be a very unfortunate development.

Orange juice not only tastes great, but it’s also an excellent source of nutrition. Its vitamin C boosts our immune systems and also serves as a catalyst for other vitamins and minerals.

About seven in 10 American homes buy orange juice.

Yet, we could be on the verge of losing this important drink. Orange groves across Florida, which CAROL produce the KAISER vast majority of our country’s orange juice, have fallen sick.

A disease called citrus greening has ravaged them.

Citrus greening is a bacterial disease that probably originated in China a century ago.

It has spread around the planet because of the psyllid, a louselike insect that sucks tree sap.

As these bugs travel from leaf to leaf, they disperse bacteria that devastate orange groves. The trees lose their color and their fruit becomes salty and bitter. For all practical purposes, they’re inedible.

Florida’s orange production varies from year to year, but overall it has dropped sharply — and it could vanish entirely if citrus greening isn’t stopped.

Despite a broad, desperate global search, no member of the citrus family shows any resistance to the bacteria, so conventional breeding methods won’t offer help. Although pesticides can slow down the disease, the trees themselves essentially are defenseless.

“The industry that made

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Florida,” warns U.S. Sen. Bill Nelson, a Florida Democrat, “is totally threatened.”

Unfortunately, there is no known cure for citrus greening. But perhaps there’s a solution — biotechnology.

Scientists believe they have discovered a way to save our orange juice supply. It involves taking a gene from spinach and inserting it into orange trees. It won’t make our juice taste like spinach, but it may save this excellent morning beverage from virtual extinction.

We won’t know for a few years. Greenhouse tests are promising and field trials are ongoing. Orange growers are optimistic they’ll finally beat the bacteria.

This is the same basic technology that already has revolutionized agriculture from the cornfields of Illinois to the papaya farms of Hawaii.

Around the world, millions of farmers have harvested more than 3 billion acres of biotech crops that carry a natural resistance to weeds and pests.

As a result, we’re growing more food on less land than ever before — an incredible benefit for both productivity and the environment.

If biotechnology moves into the orange groves, we’ll save one of our favorite drinks. We’ll save more than that, too, because we do more with oranges than merely extract their juice. Their peels and pulp go into everything from feeding livestock to scenting candles.

The defeat of citrus greening will help us save a favorite drink as well as keep prices in check on other consumer goods. Jobs are at stake as well — 76,000 in Florida’s $9-billion orange industry.

I don’t want to think about a world without orange juice.

Let’s hope that biotechnology comes to the rescue.

Carol Keiser owns and operates cattle feeding operations in Illinois, Kansas and Nebraska. She is a Truth About Trade & Technology board member {truthabouttrade. org}.

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