Farmweek sept 16 2013

IFB Leader s to Washington lear ned about the House water projects bill, which faces committee markup...................3

The future looks bright for the Illinois livestock industry, thanks in part to ample feed supplies and demand for manure.........................9

With harvest looming, farmers need to put family and employee safety at the top of their harvest preparation checklists...................10

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Illinois Farm Bureau mission: Improve the economic well-being of agriculture and enrich the quality of farm family life.

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Vilsack: ‘False discussion’ poses major farm bill risks Monday, September 16, 2013

Two sections Volume 41, No. 37

BY MARTIN ROSS FarmWeek

As Illinois Farm Bureau Leaders to Washington hit Capitol Hill in support of a farm bill, Ag Secretary Tom Vilsack urged House leaders to abandon “a false discussion about nutrition assistance” and work overtime to pass a comprehensive ag package.

Rep. Cheri Bustos

Meeting with farmer leaders last week, House Ag Committee member Cheri Bustos, DEast Moline, noted anticipated House introduction

LEADERSHIP CABINET OFF AND RUNNING

Periodicals: Time Valued

Excitement continues to build as membership grows in the ACTIVATOR ® Political Leadership Cabinet launched at the Farm Progress Show by Illinois Farm Bureau President Philip Nelson.

The new cabinet will help membership grow in political involvement and influence. An initiative of the organizations’ political involvement funds — ACTIVATOR, three special events will be held each year for cabinet members. The first event will include a nationally recognized speaker at annual meeting in December. (Photo by Cyndi Cook)

this week of a nutrition package expected to seek $40 billion in Supplemental Nutritional Assistance Program (SNAP) “food stamp” funding over the next 10 years.

The Senate proposes a $4 billion, 10-year cut in SNAP funding as part of its comprehensive five-year farm bill.

After a failed vote for a package cutting $20 billion in SNAP, the House opted to split nutrition provisions from the farm package — a decision opposed by IFB. Bustos was uncertain how House-Senate conferees might reconcile such a “huge difference” in proposed SNAP cuts, if indeed conferees could agree to reintegrate SNAP proposals into the final farm bill.

Given administration and widespread House opposition, Vilsack argued a $40 billion cut is “just not going to happen.”

In any event, with the House meeting relatively few days before the current 2008 farm bill extension expires Sept. 30, Bustos suggests colleagues may be forced to consider a second, short-term extension. “Then, I’m still very hopeful we’ll get a five-year farm bill,” she told IFB Leaders.

Vilsack urged House leaders to focus on timely farm bill completion, calling a comprehensive bill “a linchpin to revi-

talizing the rural economy.” In his view, the greatest risk of continued delay lies in the opportunity for lawmakers to appropriate existing farm direct payment funding for deficit reduction, he warned.

“This conTom Vilsack tinued delay not only fails to provide the certainty farmers need to be able to make long-term plans, potentially stalling the momentum we’ve created in the last five years,” Vilsack told FarmWeek at a Washington biofuels conference. “It also runs the risk of someone grabbing the resources that would allow you to reshape the safety net in a way that makes more sense than the current safety net.

“Added to the uncertainty of not having a policy and not having certainty about workforce through immigration reform is the uncertainty about whether you’re going to have a budget to even have (USDA) people on the job. That’s why I think Congress owes it to everyone to look at ways in which they can extend their (September) work schedule, so they can come to a resolution on some of these difficult

issues they’ve been putting off for a long time.”

The risks Without a farm bill, program priorities, including key global market promotion efforts, “essentially lose their authorization on Oct. 1,” Vilsack advised. While some “carryover resources” may be available for Foreign Market Development or Market Access Program activities, “they will run out very quickly,” he said.

According to Vilsack, that would limit USDA’s critical role in forthcoming foreign trade shows and thus curtail efforts to “reach out to markets all across the world.” He asserted that each dollar USDA programs invest in export promotion programs helps generate $35 in “trade activity.”

An even larger threat looms over ag exports and U.S. “goods and services across the board” without a new farm bill, he added. After Oct. 1, the U.S. would not be authorized to make $12 million in existing settlement payments to Brazil under the World Trade Organization’s ruling against U.S. cotton programs.

That could spur Brazilian trade retaliation, possibly to the tune of $850 million per year, Vilsack said. If a farm bill

preneurship. Lindvahl, a former Effingham high school teacher, discussed CEO during the American Farm Bureau Federation Rural Development Conference last week in Craig Lindvahl Bloomington.

“CEO equips students to do so many things ... teaches them how to

find what they need to know ... and offers them a menu of skills,” Lindvahl told FarmWeek.

Lindvahl peppered his presentation with examples of students who launched a myriad of products and services. Of 110 CEO graduates in the last five years, 109 entered college and one joined the Navy. He estimated 20 to 25 out of the 105 student-launched businesses still are operating.

CEO taps motivated students who must apply for the

year-long program and local investors who each contribute $1,000 annually and make a three-year commitment. Students earn high school credit for the class, and Lindvahl is exploring the potential for students to earn dual high school and college credits.

Each student starts a business after researching the potential and pitching their ideas to fellow classmates.

Twice a year, the students meet with bankers and investors and

Innovative class sowing entrepreneurial knowledge

BY KAY SHIPMAN FarmWeek

An innovative entrepreneurial class is nurturing business ideas and helping high school students appreciate their communities in five Illinois locations.

In Creating Entrepreneurial Opportunities (CEO), students create businesses from their ideas and learn about local businesses as part of the curriculum, according to Craig Lindvahl, executive director of Midland Institute for Entre-

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See Vilsack, page 3

See Innovative, page 2

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

Quick Takes

RURAL DEVELOPMENT

FarmWeek Page 2 Monday, September 16, 2013

ILLINOIS FARMERS SERVE WISHH – Four Illinois soybean growers have been re-elected to the American Soybean Association’s World Initiative to Soy in Human Health Committee.

Morton grower Dan Farney was re-elected treasurer.

Gary Berg of St. Elmo, Mike Marron of Fithian and Joe Murphy of Harrisburg will continue their committee service.

Sixteen soybean growers from 11 states serve on the trade development organization. Since U.S. soybean farmers founded WISHH in 2000, it has worked in 24 countries to improve diets, as well as encourage growth of food industries. The WISHH program, funded in part by soy checkoff dollars, is managed from ASA’s world headquarters in St. Louis. For more information, visit {wishh.org}.

CAMPAIGN FOR UGLY FRUITS, VEGETABLES –- Gourmet meals from misshapen fruits and vegetables has a German catering business going for ugly. The company’s goal is showing customers the produce is an attractive choice, according to Guardian Professional.

Worldwide, nearly 40 percent of fruit and vegetables go to waste before reaching consumers, according to the UN Food and Agricultural Organization (FAO). Lack of storage is the cause in some areas, while cosmetics sends produce to landfills in other regions.

Germany’s Culinary Misfits is attracting customers with its Ugly Fruit campaign and vegetables that are “like pieces of art.”

The FAO estimates that by 2050 global food production must increase by 70 percent.

FARM BUREAU MANAGER WINS AWARD — Stephenson County Farm Bureau Manager Bruce Johnson recently received the Illinois Cooperative Council’s Outstanding Cooperative Manager Award.

The award recognizes leaders who embrace cooperative principles and provide outstanding leadership to the members they serve.

Johnson has been serving farmers since he began his career as a GROWMARK feed salesman. He then worked as a market support manager for Producer’s Alliance before becoming a county Farm Bureau manager.

Johnson volunteers with many local organizations, including Rotary, the Stephenson County Fair and Stephenson County Beef Producers. He is a lifetime member of the National FFA. Johnson labeled his current Farm Bureau manager job as his “dream job” because “it allows me to interface and engage with so many outstanding professionals in this rewarding industry.”

Johnson was nominated by local dairy farmer, Doug Scheider, who is president of the Illinois Milk Producers’ Association.

Rural development specialists with several state Farm Bureaus and the American Farm Bureau Federation take a wagon tour of Rader Family Farm near Bloomington last week. The group learned about the farm’s agritourism and specialty crop venture that opened for the fall. During an AFBF Rural Development Conference, participants toured several value-added enterprises and agritourism businesses in central Illinois. (Photo by Cyndi Cook)

Illinois rural diversity displayed at AFBF development conference

Vineyard near Mackinaw.

The Ropp and Rader families discussed their Central Illinois may be synonygoals to add value to their farm mous with corn and soybeans, products and outreach to the FarmWeekNow.com but area farmers also grow nearby urban population in pumpkins and grapes, make arti- Check out our photo gallery from Bloomington and Normal. Spesan cheese and are involved with the Farm Bureau Rural Development cialty grower and vintner, Paul Tour at FarmWeekNow.com. agritourism. Twenty-eight staff Hahn, explained he started representing American Farm growing grapes to diversify his Bureau Federation (AFBF) and corn and soybean crops. nearly a dozen state Farm Bureaus got a flavor The rural development and commodity speof Illinois’ rural economy last week. cialists also toured the Twin Groves Wind Farm The staff participated in an AFBF Rural near Bloomington and the Sugar Grove Nature Development Conference hosted by AFBF Center near Funks Grove. and Illinois Farm Bureau. The conference County Farm Bureau Managers Bruce Johnwas organized by IFB governmental affairs son of Stephenson, Teresa Grant-Quick of Livand commodities division staff members. ingston, Jim Birge of Sangamon, Blake RoderDespite sweltering temperatures, the group ick of Pike-Scott and Brad Uken of Champaign experienced the breadth of Central Illinois discussed their county Farm Bureaus’ efforts to agricultural enterprises during a daylong tour. work with rural development and to strengthen Farm-related stops included the Ropp Jertheir local economies. sey Cheese Farm and Rader Family Farm, State FB staff also shared ideas and proboth near Normal, and Mackinaw Valley grams being used in their respective states.

BY KAY SHIPMAN FarmWeek

Innovative

(ISSN0197-6680) Vol. 41 No. 37 September 16, 2013 Dedicated to improving the profitability of farming, and a higher quality of life for Illinois farmers.

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Continued from page 1 present their business plans.

The students tour local businesses, including farms, and hear from local businessmen. Last year, the class visited 71 individual businesses and heard from 140 guest speakers.

One of the highlights is a student-organized business trade show where student products and services are displayed, Lindvahl said.

Currently, CEO is offered in Effingham, Sterling, LaSalle-Peru, Springfield and Crawford County. The program also is offered in Washington, Ind. It may be offered in six additional locations next year.

CEO students learn not

only to appreciate the skills needed to start and succeed in business, but also to appreciate their communities, according to Lindvahl. He surveys students about their communities before they start CEO and after they graduate.

Typically, three of 25 students starting CEO report they would return to their hometowns, but afterward 21 envision themselves returning.

One girl wrote before CEO she couldn’t imagine herself returning “and now I can’t imagine myself anywhere else,” Lindvahl said.

For business people, CEO changes the way they think about young people, he added.

Some businesses added new

services and products or adjusted their practices after hearing student ideas.

Agriculture makes a good fit for CEO, according to Lindvahl.

Last year, the Effingham CEO visited a grain far m, hog far m, flour mill, agrichemical-fertilizer dealer, grocery store and restaurant for a far m-to-fork tour.

He projected CEO could compliment FFA supervised agricultural experience projects as well as the Illinois State Board of Education career pathway initiative.

For more information, go online to {midlandinstitute.com} or {effinghamceo.com}.

GOVERNMENT

Page 3 Monday, September 16, 2013 FarmWeek

House intros river ‘reform’ plan sans tax hike A long-awaited new House water projects bill is about restructuring, rebuilding and, most importantly, “about reform,” House Water Resources Subcommittee Chairman Bob Gibbs, R-Ohio, told Midwest farmers last week.

House Transportation and Infrastructure Committee Chairman Bill Shuster, RPenn., released the Water Resources Reform and Development Act (WRRDA) last week. The committee scheduled a Thursday markup of the bill for WRRDA, which is supported by committee ranking member Nick Rahall, D-W.Va., and Gibb, who described bill details with Illinois, Ohio and Iowa Farm Bureau representatives in Washington.

Gibbs deemed WRRDA “an important bill” in terms of addressing “aging infrastructure in our maritime system,” arguing “ag has a huge interest in this bill.”

The Senate passed its version of the bill in May. Both proposals include bipartisan, Illinois-sponsored measures aimed at setting the stage for new public-private funding partnerships in navigation infrastructure development.

Transportation Committee member and measure co-sponsor Cheri Bustos, D-East Moline, stressed the need to “figure out innovative ways of funding infrastructure.”

“Otherwise, you and I can’t live long enough to see this stuff done,” Sen. Dick Durbin, D-Springfield, a sponsor of the Senate partnerships measure,

told Illinois Farm Bureau Leaders to Washington.

At the same time, Gibbs noted WRRDA’s thrust toward reforms in the way projects are reviewed and implemented.

House Republican leaders told lawmakers the proposal “cuts federal red tape and bureaucracy, streamlines the project delivery process, improves competitiveness, strengthens water resources infrastructure and promotes fiscal responsibility.”

WRRDA would: • Create a pilot program that would allow the U.S. Army Corps of Engineers to identify 15 water resources development projects eligible to be financed through public-private partnerships.

• Establish hard deadlines and cost caps on project studies to help expedite work.

• Annually increase the amount of funding provided from the Harbor Maintenance Trust Fund (HMTF) for port maintenance and dredging. Shipping interests have complained about past diversion of HMTF funds for other purposes, and Gibbs noted only two of 10 major U.S. export ports can accommodate fully loaded, larger “post-Panamax” vessels that soon will be able to move through the newly expanded Panama Canal.

• Free up money from the industry Inland Waterways Trust Fund (IWTF) by reducing the trust fund’s share of the longdelayed, costly Olmsted Lock and Dam project on the Ohio River. It would require the Corps to study and report on bonding, user fees and other potential new lock funding sources.

The Olmsted project, plagued by continued federal funding

Insurance is a critical assurance in an environment of farm policy uncertainty, according to a pair of Illinois Farm Bureau Leaders to Washington and Farm Credit representatives.

During last week’s D.C. visit, Henry County leader and 1st Farm Credit Services loan officer Wade McLaughlin deemed crop insurance “a key tool” in annual planting decisions and crucial in providing a level of operational certainty for farmers and their lenders.

Crop insurance and federally subsidized crop premiums have “come under a bit of unfair criticism,” Ag Secretary Tom Vilsack told biofuels interests as leaders arrived in Washington. Vilsack acknowledged public skepticism toward direct payments, but defended premium support and efforts to establish a new farm bill revenue program to

“supplement” crop coverage.

He maintained the U.S. is “a food-secure nation,” but argued “to get that, you have to put a crop in the ground, and that’s expensive” in terms of operating and necessary capitalization and land costs.

Producers anticipating a bumper crop “can have easily a half-million dollars at risk” as a result of late-season drought or related disaster, the secretary said.

“Crop insurance is a partnership between the farmer, the government and the insurance company,” Vilsack said. “The farmer pays some, the government pays some, for these benefits for the entire economy and the entire country.”

Without adequate, affordable coverage, younger producers who suffer a single harvest failure can be “out of the ball game,” McLaughlin warned.

BY MARTIN ROSS FarmWeek

Above: U.S. Sen. Mark Kirk, RHighland Park, seated behind desk, reviews budget, conservation, infrastructure and other issues with Illinois Farm Bureau Leaders to Washington. The producer group made the rounds of Capitol Hill and discussed crop insurance, food stamps and biotech regulation with USDA officials.

(Photo by Martin Ross) Below: U.S. Rep. Jan Schakowsky, D-Evanston, left, discusses current congressional issues with Illinois Farm Bureau Leaders to Washington Jeff Fisher of Champaign, center, Kim Morton of Cook County and John Zumwalt of Iroquois County. (Photo by Bona Heinsohn)

delays and related cost overruns, is “the hole in your pocket all your money falls out of,” Durbin suggested. The project today is “taking almost 100 percent of the Inland Waterways Trust Fund,” Gibbs said.

However, he reported WRRDA does not include a proposed 9-cent-per-gallon increase in barge fuel taxes that feed the trust fund. Though Cook County leader Cindy

Gustafson noted the hike represents “a user tax users are actually willing to pay,” Gibbs argued the House Ways and Means Committee must approve the revenue-related measure, possibly through an anticipated “tax reform” bill.

The House Transportation Committee has released a brief video and a 14-page booklet promoting need for the bill.

The booklet compares the

costs of shipping soybeans from the U.S. to China to soy transportation costs from Brazil to China.

Currently, the Midwest has an 80-cent-per-bushel advantage over Brazil, Durbin noted. But the South American soybean giant is making major road, rail and river improvements.

“They’re making investments and we’re going backwards,” Gibbs lamented.

A healthy crop insurance program is especially vital given a mounting atmosphere of farm bill/farm program uncertainty, 1st Farm Credit Services Insurance Specialist Ryan Voorhees stressed. Mere farm bill extension offers little in

terms of long-term financial confidence, he said.

“If somebody 25 or 30 comes in wanting to make a 30year plan, it’s hard to make 30year assumptions based on a policy that’s only in affect for a year or two,” he told FarmWeek.

“You’re assuming that what you have currently will be in place 10 years down the road. That’s a very shaky assumption to be making when we keep on getting these one- or two-year pushes.” — Martin Ross

Continued from page 1 lag causes a major loss of U.S. market share, “we will have a hard time taking it back,” he warned.

SNAP decisions In his meeting with IFB leaders, U.S. Sen. Dick Durbin underlined the role of the SNAP debate on farm bill passage, especially among urban lawmakers.

An aide to Rep. Tammy Duckworth, D-Hoffman Estates, told Illinois farmers SNAP is “a really personal issue” for the Army veteran-turned-lawmaker, who voted against splitting commodity and nutrition provisions after sup-

porting the first, failed House farm bill attempt.

While Bustos admitted “I don’t know what the right number is” for Sen. Dick Durbin SNAP cuts, she suggested House allegations of program fraud and abuse are “exaggerated.” Durbin related discussions with a SNAP recipient who uses benefits at farm markets to buy fresh produce for her children

and a cancer patient who receives $800 a month in Social Security benefits and is dependent on SNAP and food bank offerings.

“I’m sure there are fraudulent recipients of food stamps, but I’m willing to fight for these two women,” the senator said.

Amid a growing groundswell of support for nutrition funding, Vilsack fears House threats to the program ultimately could harm producers far more than SNAP recipients. “The loser will not be the nutrition programs — it will be the farm programs,” the secretary said. “The reason? Math.”

Leader/lenders: Strong crop insurance program crucial Vilsack

GOVERNMENT

FarmWeek Page 4 Monday, September 16,2013

Oil industry attacks on RFS2 octane-motivated?

Ag Secretary Tom Vilsack joined the biofuels industry and Illinois farmers in urging House lawmakers to “not screw up something that’s working” — the federal Renewable Fuel Standard (RFS2).

Illinois Farm Bureau Leaders to Washington last week defended the biofuels mandate, which may be targeted for major changes or even repeal

by House Energy and Commerce committee members.

Biofuels interests are concerned by talk House Majority Leader Eric Cantor, R-Va., could even seek to attach RFS2 alterations to proposals to raise the federal debt ceiling.

In remarks to the biofuels group Growth Energy, Vilsack stressed ethanol’s role in “stabilizing and maintaining farm income,” providing “good-paying” rural jobs and offering consumers “less expensive gas.”

He noted the oil industry

recognizes ethanol’s benefits in providing crucial fuel octane.

So much so, that in his opinion, it’s attacking the RFS2 in the hope of sabotaging biofuels and appropriating ethanol production facilities for “10 cents on the dollar.”

“There’s no need for Congress to try to rewrite this Renewable Fuel Standard,” Vilsack said. “They got it right the first time. They set it up, and they created mechanisms that would allow adjustments from time to time.”

Growth Energy has launched a TV ad campaign, “You’re No Dummy,” to alert consumers to the oil industry’s “campaign of misinformation and unsubstantiated attacks.”

Attacks on the RFS2 are “just another excuse to try to shift the blame” for high gas prices, Growth Energy CEO Tom Buis told FarmWeek.

Meanwhile, Sen. Dick Durbin, D-Springfield, cited an “interesting coalition” in sup-

port of the standard, including Senate Environment Committee Chairman Barbara Boxer, D-Calif. Boxer is “all for the RFS2” because of green benefits from future cellulosic ethanol, he told IFB leaders.

IFB National Legislative Director Adam Nielsen deemed the RFS2 “a second farm bill in its impact on agriculture.” IFB Board member and Henry County farmer Wayne Anderson argued “we’ve got a heck of a good (corn price) basis” as a result of area producers being able to feed harvested grain to two nearby ethanol facilities.

Henry County grower Dennis Verbeck estimates he saves $25,000 in transportation costs through availability of Annawan’s Patriot Renewable Fuels. “The profit that’s generated from that plant comes back to the region,” the IFB leader added.

Vilsack supports ethanol advocates’ push to “distribute more, blend more,” citing

October “should be the month that something happens” to bring about sweeping new immigration reforms, an aide to House Judiciary Committee member Luis Gutierrez, D-Chicago, told Illinois Farm Bureau Leaders to Washington last week.

For Illinois dairy producer Bona Heinsohn and farmerlandscaper Chris Dahm, it can’t happen soon enough.

Even Gutierrez’ patience is “wearing thin,” legislative

counsel Alice Lugo said.

“Now is the time,” Heinsohn stressed.

The Judiciary Committee continues this month to assemble the pieces of new worker/border security policy, purportedly including a “kids” proposal to provide for immigrant children and a nonag “low-skill” labor measure.

Lugo saw prospects for immigration movement yet this fall, though she was uncertain whether it would take the

form of the House “piecemeal” approach, the ag sectorsupported comprehensive Senate package or even some yet-to-be-unveiled proposal.

Gutierrez, who serves on the Judiciary Subcommittee on Immigration Policy and Border Security, continues to await House proposals addressing “the 11 million” — undocumented workers currently in the U.S., and is concerned about some committee elements, Lugo noted. But “if there weren’t some positive things, the congressman wouldn’t still be in the room,” she said.

One of those reported positives is Judiciary Chairman Bob Goodlatte’s (R-Va.) ag worker plan, which is similar to a Senate counterpart supported by the influential United Farm Workers.

As DeKalb County dairy producers, Heinsohn reports

BY MARTIN ROSS FarmWeek

Big River Resources ethanol plant CEO Raymond Defenbaugh, left, listens as U.S. Ag Secretary Tom Vilsack outlines concerns about and benefits of the federal Renewable Fuel Standard. Vilsack keynoted last week’s meeting of the biofuels group Growth Energy in Washington.

(Photo by Martin Ross)

Brazil’s success in incorporating higher blend levels into its vehicle fleet, including “American companies’ cars.” That’s proof that, despite oil sector assertions, “it’s not the cars, it’s the distribution systems” that impede U.S. biofuels growth, he said.

Oil interests oppose retail expansion of 15 percent ethanol blends and USDA support for installation of “blender pumps” that can dispense higher blends because “they don’t want those distribution systems,” Vilsack charged.

she and her husband, Jerry, “rely heavily on immigrant, Hispanic labor.” However, she notes the existing federal H2A seasonal ag guest worker program fails to meet dairy sector needs.

Foreign-born workers handle most of the milking in the Heinsohn operation, which functions “three times a day, 24/7, 365 days a year,” said Heinsohn, Cook County Farm Bureau governmental affairs/public relations director, who supports an “overreaching,” cross-sector immigration bill.

“That labor is vital to our survival and continuation,” she told FarmWeek. “We need a long-term work source, so we cannot have individuals returning to their country (under H2A). By the time they’re able to apply for another visa, we’ve already filled that position and they’ve lost these skills.”

In his landscaping business, McHenry County grower and diversified agribusiness operator Dahm uses “pretty much all seasonal workers” because of a lack of winter activity.

During the last three to four years, he found it increasingly difficult to secure guest workers, and he noted efforts to tap substitute local labor “haven’t worked out at all.”

Thus, Dahm sees immigration reform as “critical,” not only for his business, but also for the range of area enterprises serving the Chicago collar counties and suburbanites who live there.

“There are landscaping and nursery businesses, even some truck gardening in the area that relies heavily on seasonal workers,” he noted. “In this day and age, people have really gone to lawn service. This affects almost everyone.” — Martin Ross

October promising for needed immigration reform?

Vilsack sees USDA as ag labor natural

The federal presence hasn’t always been a welcome one for either migrant workers or their ag employers. Ag Secretary Tom Vilsack would welcome the chance to see that change.

As technology changes, Farm Service Agency (FSA) offices are modernized and their program workloads shift, Vilsack suggests the need to “redefine what FSA offices will be in the future.” He sees FSA evolving into a “one-stop shop and information center.”

The agency’s new purview could come to encompass renewable energy, bioprocessing co-op or local food system guidance or, potentially, administration of ag labor issues, he said. Under House immigration proposals, USDA would be charged with overseeing new H-2C ag worker visas.

“USDA has a footprint out in the countryside that is more extensive than just about any other federal agency,” Vilsack told FarmWeek.

“We’re closely connected to people on the ground. Farmers are used to working with our FSA folks, so I don’t think they’d have any hesitancy about coming in and saying, ‘I need X number of workers.’ Secondly, it is the relationship USDA has with growers that makes them a little more comfortable talking with us, rather than another agency.”

The secretary acknowledged that amid growing budget constraints, USDA “over time” will see consolidation of existing FSA offices. Vilsack argued remaining offices must be “more relevant.” “Immigration is one way to do that.” — Martin Ross

Ag leaders learn about effective communication The Illinois Agricultural Leadership Program (IALP) Class of 2014 participants recently received a first-hand look at how to reach mass and social media outlets with effective messages.

The seminar included presentations on effective message development, delivery and distribution, and interviewing techniques.

Hall of Fame broadcaster and Illinois Agricultural Leadership Foundation Board Member Emeritus Orion Samuelson interviewed each participant for five minutes. The class watched interviews and learned from constructive points about making the best impression and developing answers.

The group also heard from Amy Roady, Illinois Soybean Association (ISA) communications director, who focused on the highly successful Illinois Farm Families (IFF) program. ISA and the Illinois Farm Bureau are part of the IFF coalition.

Katie Pratt, Lee County farmer and spokesperson for the U.S. Farmers & Ranchers Alliance, shared her experiences being a representative of agriculture to mostly social media audiences for the past year. She has addressed anti-agriculture sentiment through blogging, Facebook and Twitter.

Kevin Daugherty from the Illinois Farm Bureau Ag In the Classroom program showed examples of how agriculture is communicated to classroom students in the state with nationally recognized materials available for class members to utilize in their outreach efforts.

The Illinois Agricultural Leadership Foundation provides a two-year seminar series that develops knowledgeable and effective leaders aged 25 to 49 to become policy and decision makers for the agriculture industry. Information is available at {agleadership.org}.

PRODUCTION

Page 5 Monday, September 16, 2013 FarmWeek

USDA’s Harden focuses on priorities, farmers

BY KAY SHIPMAN FarmWeek

USDA’s new deputy secretary highlighted her roots as a Georgia farmer’s daughter along with hope for immigration policy reform and passage of a multiyear farm bill in Chicago last week.

Confirmed Aug. 1 as the second ranking USDA official, Krysta Harden said she selected the Know Your Krysta Harden Farmer meeting for her first speech as deputy secretary and praised efforts to connect farmers to markets and consumers. Harden said local food programs are a priority for USDA, Ag Secretary Tom Vilsack and her.

Policy priorities are House passage of a multiyear far m bill and immigration refor m, which “would ensure a dependable work force for agriculture,”

Harden said.

The deputy secretary admitted her optimism for immigration reform ebbs and flows. “There are days when I think it’s possible” and then other issues surface and receive more attention.

“I’m still optimistic because it’s the right thing ... But it’s going to be hard,” she said.

Harden, who served as

Vilsack’s chief of staff at USDA, filled the post vacated by former USDA Deputy Secretary Kathleen Merrigan, who resigned in March.

Harden also served as staff director for the House Agriculture Subcommittee on Peanuts and Tobacco.

A conference participant implied USDA shows a preference for working with large-scale farms, but Harden

refuted there is agency favoritism.

“There is an ongoing effort to find a balance of using USDA resources for all farmers,” she replied. “We want to help everyone who wants to make a living on the land ... make a living on the farm.

“We want to work with all farmers and all types of farmers ... We have a hungry

world,” Harden said.

“I will never be a person to pit farmer against farmer,” Harden said. “They are all in it for the right reason to feed people.”

She encouraged farmers and different ag sectors represented at the meeting to avoid fighting amongst themselves.

“You have an advocate in me ... I love what you’re doing,” Harden said.

Entrepreneur: Small-scale processing missing in local food growth Small-scale processing plants would help fill a gap between field and market for emerging specialty growers, according to a Wisconsin entrepreneur.

“The gap right now is artisan food processing,” said Rick Terrien of Wisconsin Innovative Kitchen, a state-inspected commercial kitchen owned and operated by a center supporting people with disabilities. Terrien spoke during the USDA Know Your Farmer meeting in Chicago last week.

Illinois Farm Bureau co-hosted the meeting and Cynthia Haskins, IFB manager of business development and compliance, participated.

Processing of fresh fruits and vegeta-

bles extends growers’ marketing season and opportunities, adds value to the produce and provides year-round farm income, Terrien said.

Terrien acknowledged incubator kitchens allow growers to rent space for processing, but countered small-scale processing plants would meet growers’ needs for a larger scale option.

Terrien suggested USDA Farm Service Agency’s microloan program might provide funding for small-scale processing projects.

An eligible applicant may borrow up to $35,000.

He illustrated the value for access to small-scale processing for a new grower who needed another outlet for her produce.

She bought and retrofitted a trailer for refrigeration and delivered 2,500 pounds of mixed vegetables to the Innovative Kitchen.

The produce was cleaned, chopped and bagged.

“Now she has people lining up to buy next year’s crop,” Terrien said.

He added products from a small processing plant can be identified as being from a specific grower or growers. The plants also provide flexibility to make products as complex or as simple as the buyers want.

Discussions are under way to start a small processor association that would include members from Illinois, Iowa, Minnesota and Wisconsin, Terrien reported. — Kay Shipman

Vilsack: Smithfield/Shuanghui deal underscores need for global standards

BY MARTIN ROSS FarmWeek

Whatever the market or economic implications of Smithfield Foods’ acquisition

by China’s top pork producer, Ag Secretary Tom Vilsack is not worried about the deal’s consumer safety implications.

Shuanghui International’s plan to buy the Virginia-based giant nonetheless underscores “that we’re dealing with a global agriculture.”

That necessitates international “science-based and rules-based” standards “that

WIU pops up purple, gold

Western Illinois University (WIU) cooked up a winning agritourism idea with its innovative marketing of special popcorn in WIU purple and gold.

The award caps six years of research and adding value to WIU’s organic research program.

The venture recently received a 2013 Salute to Illinois Agriculture Agri-Tourism Leaders of the Year Award.

Joel Gruver, WIU soil scientist and sustainable agriculture professor, started with an acre of purple and gold popcorn at WIU’s Allison Organic Farm. In 2009, WIU business student Jason Quaglia proposed marketing popcorn in

are consistent, consistently applied and consistently recognized,” Vilsack said in a Washington news conference.

“If we had that system, in that sense, it wouldn’t make any difference who owned what, because everyone would be playing by the same rules — everyone would be following the same procedures,” Vilsack said. “We’re not there yet. We have work to do on the international front.”

The federal Committee on Foreign Investment in the United States has signed off

microwaveable packages of WIU Rocky Popcorn.

Currently, Rocky Popcorn is sold in half-pound plastic bags and microwaveable bags at the School of Agriculture office in

on the tentative $4.7 billion Shuanghui-Smithfield deal.

Smithfield shareholders are expected to vote on the deal Sept. 24. Vilsack stressed USDA’s focus in the matter is “fairly targeted” — generally, “to ensure the safety of the food supply,” in part through the U.S.’ “equivalency” requirements for imported meat.

“We are very focused on making sure that whatever comes into this country from wherever it comes is safe, and anything produced inside this country is obviously going to

Knoblauch Hall on the Macomb campus. Hours are 8 a.m. to 4:30 p.m. Monday through Friday. For information, call the School of Agriculture at 309-298-1080.

continue to be subject to our inspection,” he said.

“I’m going to have faith and confidence in our food safety folks to continue to do good work. Hopefully, we get additional tools and more modern processes to be able to better protect American consumers.”

Vilsack challenged concerns about the safety of imported meat or poultry, arguing “some publications have not been clear about precisely what we’re dealing with here.”

He offered assurances about U.S.-raised poultry processed in “specific (Chinese) facilities we have audited and examined and that we believe are equivalent to anything that’s occurring on the U.S.” However, he predicted it would be “quite some time” before the U.S. approved importation of chicken both raised and processed in China.

U.S. authorities first must ensure “it doesn’t pose a threat to the American consumer,” Vilsack said.

Good Agricultural Practices webinar planned on farm food safety plans

New federal food safety rules for farmers, handlers and processors will be discussed during an Oct. 3 webinar presented by the University of Illinois Extension, Illinois Farmers Market Association, Illinois Stewardship Alliance and the National Sustainable Agriculture Coalition.

The webinar will run from 3 to 4:30 p.m. The webinar is free, but registration is required.

Topics will include an introduction to the Food Safety Modernization Act (FSMA) and preparing for FSMA with Good Agricultural Practices (GAPs) and on-farm food safety plans. A question-and-answer session will be offered.

U of I Extension offers this webinar and other GAPs training to help growers identify areas of high food contamination risk and prepare to write safety plans.

Register by calling 217-782-4617 or online at https://webs.extension.uiuc.edu/registration/?RegistrationID=8819.

For more information, contact Deborah Cavanaugh-Grant, U of I Extension educator, at cvnghgrn@illinois.edu or 217782-4617.

FarmWeek Page 6 Monday, September 16, 2013

CROPWATCHERS Bernie Walsh, Durand, Winnebago County: We had temps in the mid-90s for the first half of the week and no rain. These conditions are turning the corn and soybeans very fast, and harvest is going to start a lot earlier than we thought. Some of the early beans have dropped most of their leaves, and corn on lighter soils has turned completely brown. This early maturing is not good for yields.

Pete Tekampe, Grayslake, Lake County: Another hot, dry week in Lake County. We received 0.2 of an inch of rain. Cornstalks are drying down fast, especially on the lighter soils. I think it is too late for the moisture to help late beans.

Leroy Getz, Savanna, Carroll County: The corn crop was in the dehydrator all last week. The eastern side of the county received light rain, but we in the west had only a few drops. The real browned-out areas in the fields now have stalk quality problems and that could lead to standability issues. We combined a few rows to get corn to feed and it tested 26.5 percent. Yields appear to be very good. It has been real easy to get hay dried and baled.

Larry Hummel, Dixon, Lee County: How about that? We have been begging for rain the last two months and now that a few combines are harvesting corn and some soybeans are mature, what shows up in the 10-day weather forecast? Five days with a chance of rain. Corn yields will be better than last year, but still short of average. I heard one secondhand yield report — 90 bushels over last year in the same field at a whopping 127 bushels per acre at 22 percent moisture.

Joe Zumwalt, Warsaw, Hancock County: Harvest is just around the corner in western Illinois. Several producers have already started harvesting corn and are reporting promising yields. Moistures have ranged from 17.5 to the mid-30s. We plan on beginning as most of you are reading this issue. The beans are beginning to turn quickly even though we received between 0.5 to 1 inch of rain in the last week. Early yield estimates for soybeans look below average. Remember to think safety as you approach this harvest season.

Ken Reinhardt, Seaton, Mercer County: I caught a couple of tenths of rain at home midweek. There is some corn harvest getting started, with good yields so far as expected — earliest planting being the best. I have some soybeans that are not too far from being ready to cut.

Ron Moore, Roseville, Warren County: We received 0.2 of an inch of rain last week — the first rain in about six weeks. Areas in eastern Warren County and western Knox and Fulton counties received up to 5 inches and high winds. There is a lot of crop damage and trees blown down. Rain now may help the beans. Some early-planted corn has been harvested with yields in the 170- to 190-bushel range. The beans are just starting to turn and will not be ready for another two to three weeks. We started chopping silage last week. Please remember to work safely this fall.

Tim Green, Wyoming, Stark County: Fall is here. Woke up Friday morning to some nice, cool temperatures for a change. The last couple of weeks definitely took the top end out of our corn yield and might have taken a lot of the yield out of the later-planted beans. Farmers are finding pods with one or two beans and not very many pods per plant. Rain would still help the later-planted beans. Corn yields are a little better than people thought. People think the early-planted varieties will probably be our better corn. Be safe.

Mark Kerber, Chatsworth, Livingston County: An extremely hot week pushed the corn quicker to maturity. Some have combined with moisture levels around 27 percent. Soybeans are also ripening with the early-planted Group II beans almost ready to harvest. There are still many fields that are very green yet. We will need good, dry weather in October to get these harvested. We finally received 1 inch of rain.

Ron Haase, Gilman, Iroquois County: The night of Sept.

11, we finally received some rain in a range of 0.6 to 1.05 of an inch of rain. The late corn and soybean crops will benefit the most from it. The appearance of the corn and soybean crops changed a lot over the last week due to the hot weather and dry soils. Bruno, our 3-year-old, kept asking why the cornfields were brown now. Most corn in the area is in the dent stage. Most soybean fields are at R7 or beginning maturity. This is a big change from how things were last week. After the release of the USDA report, the local closing bids for September 12 were nearby corn, $4.92; new-crop corn, $4.45; nearby soybeans, $14.84; new-crop soybeans, $13.78.

Brian Schaumburg, Chenoa, McLean County: The first rain in almost six weeks dropped 0.2 of an inch to 1.4 inches on farms near Route 24, but nothing further south. Corn harvest is inching along with moistures on 103- 107-day corn in the mid-20s.

Yields are at or above the 10-year average to the disbelief of staunch pessimists. Stalk quality will be an issue. Soybeans are 10 days to 2 weeks away and look to be at or below average.

Corn, $4.95; fall, $4.50; fall ’14, $4.74; soybeans, $14.69; fall, $13.74; fall ’14, $11.55; wheat, $6.03.

Steve Ayers, Champaign, Champaign County: The sky is falling, the sky is falling??? No, wait, it was just a few raindrops Thursday morning totaling 0.05 of an inch of rain. Just starting to see a few bean leaves turn yellow, so we continue to need rain desperately. Jon Carr of Topflight Grain in Milmine received about 8,000 bushels, but locations in Cisco and Emery received 20,000 to 40,000 bushels per day. Moisture is still 30 to 40 percent for most of the area. It’s National Farm Safety and Health Week so “let’s be careful out there!”

Wilfred Dittmer, Quincy, Adams County: I guess we finally know what a rain gauge is for. I could not believe 0.7 of an inch of rain had fallen Thursday morning. It may help fill the later bean pods, but I think kernel fill of corn is a has-been for 2013. Some combines are rolling in the southern parts of the county, but I have not heard any yield figures yet. Hay balers are still busy also. We may even have to dust off the lawn mowers if the large cracks ever get filled up. Have a safe week.

Carrie Winkelmann, Tallula, Menard County: We received 0.4 of an inch of rain this week, which didn’t even really settle the dust. Parts of the county got larger amounts of rains (up to 1 inch reportedly) and that should help the beans in those areas. Working on getting ready for harvest, but it looks like it might be October before we get in at this rate.

Tom Ritter, Blue Mound, Macon County: No field action last week. A few tried corn the previous week. Everyone is sitting by the sidelines waiting for moisture to decrease in the corn.

Markets and change in the basis has also gone against those wishing to pick the early corn.

The majority of the soybeans are still two to three weeks off, but there may be a few cut within 10 days. Farmers are optimistic on corn yields, but very concerned with the soybeans’ moisture deficit.

We received 0.3 of an inch of rain on Thursday. Most places did not even see the dust settle.

Todd Easton, Charleston, Coles County: Its official, harvest has started in Coles County with a couple of combines working on April-planted corn. Two tenths of an inch of rain did very little to slow down combines, as well as minimal help to the soybean crop. Moistures are running in a range of 23 to 28 with some unofficial yield estimates getting close to 200 bushels per acre. May corn is just being hand-tested and running from the lower to higher 30s. By next week, I’m sure there will be some trying their May-planted corn, ready or not. Please remember SAFETY FIRST for yourself and those around you.

Jimmy Ayers, New City, Sangamon County: On Sunday (Sept. 8) we received 0.4 of an inch of rain. Around Wednesday night/Thursday mor ning, we received another 0.2 of an inch.

Combines are rolling heavy in areas. We did a check and quite a few of our fields range anywhere from 144 to 217. Beans seemed to have shriveled up a little bit because of the excessive heat. There has not been much grain pre-sold at the elevator. In a normal year, they would have quite a bit more sales on the books than they have now. Hope you have a great week.

Doug Uphoff, Shelbyville, Shelby County: HOT AND DRY. Crops are burning up. We need a rain in A HURRY! I don’t think there’s any way beans will make 40 bushels if we don’t get a rain. The beans are dying, although there are quite a few pods, but we need rain to fill them. The corn should be getting close, although what has been checked is still high 20s to mid-30s. We received 0.01 of an inch of rain Thursday, so maybe it will buy us some time on pod fill.

David Schaal, St. Peter, Fayette County: Last Thursday, we had our annual county crop tour.

Corn yields came in at 157.42 bushels per acre with a sampling range of 116 to 209. Yields were up almost 120 bushels from last year.

Soybean yields were estimated between 25 and 57 bushels per acre, with an average of 38.4.

There has been a little bit of corn picked in the northern part of the county, but most of the corn harvest is 10 days to two weeks off.

Jeff Guilander, Jerseyville, Jersey County: Some combines (not mine) have started rolling. Early reports on mostly April-planted corn are good. Even with stands that were hurt by the early spring weather, ear size and kernel counts are up enough to balance out a slightly above average start to the harvest season.

Soybeans that started turning just will not get in any hurry, which is leaving a lot of us chomping at the bit to see if they are as bad as most seed companies are predicting. Hope to have some first-hand harvest reports next week, but I am afraid we are still a couple weeks out from getting too carried away.

Dan Meinhart, Montrose, Jasper County: It has been a very warm week. Thunderstorms moved through the area Tuesday afternoon leaving up to 2 inches of rain in a very isolated area. Most people received little or none. In the early corn, the stalks are drying up rapidly. A lot of silage has been chopped.

Kevin Raber, Browns, Wabash County: Warm, dry weather for most of this last week has sped up the corn dry down. The first-planted corn seems to be yielding well. I don’t have any of the earliest-planted corn, so I’m hoping to try some harvesting this week. Many early variety soybeans are starting to turn, but all of the beans could use a good, soaking rain to reach full yield potential.

Dean Shields, Murphysboro, Jackson County: We got a few showers on Thursday that didn’t amount to anything, maybe 0.1 to 0.3. There are several guys starting to pick April-planted corn. They are saying yields are good, but not great. A few bean fields are starting to turn, but a lot of beans were hurt by the lack of rain with premature dying. The question is how good it will be. All things considered, we are ready to go.

Page 7 Monday, September 16, 2013 FarmWeek

CROPWATCHERS Dave Hankammer, Millstadt, St. Clair County: It was another week of late summer weather.

Most of the area received up to a couple of tenths precipitation. As I traveled through the region, I noticed farmers harvesting some of the drier looking cornfields in the counties south of home. There were some early maturing soybeans harvested with reported yields in the 40 bushel range. Locally, some farmers may get started with corn harvest in the coming week as this crop is slow to dry down. Some soybean fields in the area have started to turn. Local grain bids are corn, $4.66; soybeans, $14.15; wheat $6.05. Have a safe week.

Randy Anderson, Galatia, Saline County: It’s been more than a month since we had a measurable rain here on the farm, and the crop sure is showing it. My estimate is we have probably lost 10 to 15 percent on the corn, but the beans are losing a little bit each day as we go without rain. Pastures are going downhill, so feeding hay could be possible this week. One of the concerns as we move closer to the harvest season is traffic on the road and the dangers of a fire when the field conditions are getting very dry.

Ken Taake, Ullin, Pulaski County: We started our corn harvest Thursday. Yields in the first field seemed to be about average. Moisture is running about 22 or 23 percent. It looks like in our early soybeans — midgroup III’s — will be ready to cut in about a week. It remained dry this week. We received only 0.2 of an inch of rain. A little shower on Wednesday and dust was flying again by Thursday.

Later beans could sure use a rain. Please take time and be careful as we start into this busy season.

USDA crop estimates bearish for corn, bullish for beans Reports received Friday morning. Expanded crop and weather information available at FarmWeekNow.com

expected to pressure prices.

USDA last week raised the season average farm price esti-

mate for soybeans by $1.15 per bushel to a range of $11.50 to $13.50 per bushel.

“That’s a pretty big chunk to take off (ending stocks) in one month,” Louise Gartner, analyst with Spectrum Commodities, said during a teleconference hosted by the Minneapolis Grain Exchange.

“The soybean market has the most potential upside,” she continued. “Yields are down, stocks are down and we haven’t even gotten into the heart of harvest.

From what we’re hearing of early harvest reports, (bean) yields are lower than expected.”

USDA left planted acreage intact, but Gartner believes harvested acres of corn and soybeans will decrease from current expectations as early as next month due to preventplantings and losses from drought and floods.

“I think a big adjustment to a c r e s i s c o m i n g d ow n t h e road,” Gartner said.

USDA in its crop production report last week surprised many

More farmers climbed into their combines last week in Illinois to begin corn harvest.

And, so far, early yield reports are encouraging for corn despite late-season dryness and drought.

Nearly 40 percent of Illinois, in central and northern

longer and yields are pretty good.”

USDA last week projected the Illinois cor n crop will average 165 bushels per acre, which is unchanged from its August estimate. Ears per acre, at 29,900, would be the highest ear count on record.

BY DANIEL GRANT FarmWeek

USDA last week acknowledged drought issues, particularly in the western Corn Belt, as it lowered its national soybean production estimate by 106 million bushels.

The soybean yield average was lowered from the August estimate by 1.4 bushels to 41.2 bushels per acre. If realized, U. S. f a r m e r s t h i s f a l l a r e expected to harvest 3.149 billion bushels of beans.

USDA subsequently cut soybean ending stocks by 70 million bushels to a total of 150 million bushels.

T he tightened supply is

FarmWeekNow.com

We have video of U of I’s Darrel Good reacting to this week’s reports at FarmWeekNow.com.

traders, though, when it boosted U.S. corn production by 80 million bushels to a record-large crop of 13.8 billion bushels.

The national yield average, 1 5 5 . 3 b u s h e l s, i s u p n i n e tenths of a bushel from last month’s estimate despite deteriorating conditions in the

heart of the Corn Belt.

“USDA acknowledged production issues with soybeans, but not so much for corn,” Gartner said. “Corn (prices) as a result took a pretty big hit.”

U S DA r e p o r t e d h i g h e r yields in the Central Plains and the South more than offset

yield reductions in Iowa and North Dakota.

Ending stocks of corn subsequently increased by 18 million bushels, while the season average price was trimmed by a dime to a range of $4.40 to $5.20, which would be well below last year’s record-high average price of $6.90 per bushel.

“I’m surprised USDA was that optimistic about corn (production),” Gartner said. “There are not a lot of reasons for the corn market to move higher.”

Wheat numbers released by USDA generally were bearish as well. USDA increased its world wheat production estimate by nearly 130 million bushels, including a 74 million bushel boost to Canadian wheat production.

U S DA b o o s t e d e n d i n g stocks of wheat by 10 million bushels and lowered the season average price estimate by a dime to a range of $6.50 to $7.50, which would be well below last year’s record average price of $7.77 per bushel.

and the five-year average of 12 percent.

“Soybeans are a shot in the dark. Nothing is close to harve s t ,” s a i d D r o s t e, w h o believes most soybeans won’t be harvested until October.

“We’re expecting soybeans to be average to a little below average.”

USDA last week trimmed its forecast for the average soybean yield in Illinois from 47 to 46 bushels per acre.

If the yield estimates are realized, Illinois farmers this year would harvest 1.96 billion bushels of corn (up 53 percent from last year) and 430 million bushels of beans (up 12 percent from a year ago).

Droste believes blooms and pods are set on soybeans, but a late-season rain could help fill the beans and boost y i e l d s. U n f o r t u n a t e l y, t h e forecast for this week called for more dry conditions and cooler temperatures with highs in the 60s and 70s and lows in the 40s and 50s.

Spears reported heat and

wind in previous weeks helped take the moisture out of corn. Moisture in his harvested corn last week ranged

from 17 percent to 32 percent. He har vested early to capture September premiums from ADM. —Daniel Grant

Harvest continues; big corn crop expected in Illinois

‘ Yi e l d s a r e a b o u t w h a t we t h o u g h t they would be.’

— Dustin Spears Lanark farmer

r e g i o n s, wa s i n m o d e r a t e drought last week with 3 percent of western Illinois in severe drought.

“Yields are about what we thought they would be,” said Dustin Spears, a farmer from Lanark who late last week had har vested about 150 acres of corn. “On the lighter soil, yields are poor due to the lack of rainfall. But crops on the g ood soils held on

“From what it looks like, we’re expecting yields to be average to above average for corn,” said David Droste, a far mer from Nashville who plans to start harvest today.

Soybeans, though, remain a mystery at this point as the late-planted crop is behind schedule. Three percent of the soybean crop was dropping leaves last week compared to 19 percent last year

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AROUND ILLINOIS

FarmWeek Page 8 Monday, September 16, 2013

Taxpayers’ Federation president taps her farm roots

BY KAY SHIPMAN FarmWeek

Carol Portman’s ties to agriculture and rural Illinois help the president of the Taxpayers’ Federation of Illinois (TFI) understand farmers’ interest in government and fiscal policy.

Farmers appreciate the connection between taxes Carol Portman and government services and the need for good schools and roads, Portman noted. “Unfortunately, they (farmers) can’t pick up and move if the tax burden gets too high,� she added.

TFI is a 70-year-old biparti-

san organization that works to ensure state and local governments collect a necessary level of taxes and spread the tax burden across the taxpayer spectrum. TFI also focuses on fair spending of tax dollars.

A native of Sullivan in Moultrie County, Portman brings strong Farm Bureau and policy connections to her post, which she assumed on Jan. 1.

She is the granddaughter of the late Charles Shuman, past president of Illinois Farm Bureau and American Farm Bureau Federation. Her father, Charles W. Shuman, was a delegate to the Illinois Constitutional Congress and her uncle, Paul Shuman, served on the IFB Board.

Memory of a debate between her father and the late

Workshop on specialty crop equipment

University of Illinois Extension and the Land Connection are sponsoring a workshop on equipment and techniques for specialty crops from 2 to 4:30 p.m. Sept. 21 on the PrairiErth Farm near Atlanta in Logan County. Registration will be from 1:45 to 2 p.m.

Topics will include improving efficiencies and planning by implementing a standardized bed system for all crops, needs for mechanical cultivation and use of plastics in organic specialty crops.

Participants will see a bed system and how each machine is designed to work within that system. A tour of the farm will follow.

To register, go online to {https://webs.extension.uiuc.edu/ registration/?RegistrationID=7794} or contact the U of I’s Deborah Cavanaugh-Grant at cvnghgrn@illinois.edu or 217782-4617.

Dawn Clark Netsch, former state senator and comptroller, helped shape Portman’s view on the state’s local units of government.

A drainage district may epitomize “a perfect example of good local government,� according to Portman. Twenty or 30 farmers who are impacted by a geographic issue can vote and create a narrowly crafted district that raises tax revenue to meet their needs. “Is that so bad?� she asked rhetorically.

Those same farmers couldn’t expect township or county governments to serve the same function because the

drainage problem may cross geographic borders, she added.

Portman acknowledged she assumed TFI leadership at an interesting fiscal time. Most attention has been focused on the state’s underfunded pension liability and other financial problems. One looming issue is the sunset of the temporary income tax increase. “Because of the scheduled rollback of (income tax) rates and pension reform, there are questions,� Portman said. “Everyone has got their eye on Jan. 1, 2015, when tax rates are set to drop substantially.�

The governor and General Assembly will have to grapple

with a loss of $6 billion annually. Portman reasoned that state spending would have to be cut dramatically, the temporary increase would have to be extended or made permanent or some combination of both options would be used.

Undoubtedly, IFB and TFI will be involved in upcoming policy debate.

The two groups have “a long mutual cross-pollination that goes back to the beginning of time,� Portman said with a laugh. TFI and IFB have a long history of working together, and the new TFI president wants to continue that tradition.

USDA

SEPTEMBER DEADLINE — Any succession-ininterest changes made to an operation that affect interest in base acres since the current Direct and Counter-Cyclical Program (DCP) contract on file was signed, must be reported to the local FSA office by close of business Sept. 30, according to Sherrie Giamanco, Illinois Farm Service Agency (FSA) executive director.

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sale of land; change of operator or producer, including an increase or decrease in the number of partners; foreclosure, bankruptcy or involuntary loss of the farm; and change in producer shares to reflect changes in the producer’s share of the crop or crops that were originally approved on the contract.

In the event of a successionin-interest, the ‘predecessor’ is required to refund any advance DCP payments received for the affected base acres before a payment can be made to the successor. Failure to report a succession-in-interest can result in contract termination and a loss of program benefits for all farmers involved.

More information is available at local FSA offices or online at {fsa.usda.gov/dcp}.

MICOROLOANS FOR NEW FARMERS — FSA offers microloans to meet the financial operating needs of beginning, niche and small family farms.

Eligible applicants may apply for up to $35,000 for initial start-up-expenses, such as hoop houses, essential tools, irrigation and annual expenses, including seed, fertilizer, utilities, land rents, marketing and distribution costs.

As financing needs increase, applicants can apply for a regular operating loan up to $300,000 or obtain financing from a commercial lender under FSA’s guaranteed loan program.

For information, contact the local FSA office for an appointment with a loan approval official.

FARM STORAGE FACILITY LOANS — The Farm Storage Facility Loan (FSFL) Program allows farmers of eligible commodities to attain low-interest

financing to build or upgrade farm storage and handling facilities.

The maximum principal for each loan is $500,000. Participants must provide a down payment of 15 percent with Commodity Credit Corp. (CCC) providing a loan for the remaining 85 percent drying and handling equipment.

More security is required for poured-cement open-bunker silos, renewable biomass facilities, cold storage facilities, hay barns and for all loans exceeding $50,000. Terms of seven, 10 or 12 years are available. Interest rates for each term may be different and are based on the rate that CCC borrows from the Treasury Department.

FSFL applicants may request their loan proceeds be disbursed as a partial disbursement and final disbursement when all construction is complete. The maximum amount of the partial disbursement will be 50 percent of the projected and approved total loan amount.

Applications must be submitted to the FSA county office that maintains the farm’s records, and the loan must be approved before any site preparation or construction can begin.

Loans are eligible for farm storage of: • Corn, grain sorghum, rice, soybeans, oats, peanuts, wheat, barley or minor oilseeds harvested as whole grain; • Corn, grain sorghum, wheat, oats or barley harvested as something other than whole grain; • Hay, renewable biomass and cold storage of fruit, nuts and vegetables; and • Lentils, small chickpeas and dry peas.

For information, contact local FSA county offices.

LIVESTOCK

Page 9 Monday, September 16, 2013 FarmWeek

Recent growth a positive sign for Illinois livestock industry

BY DANIEL GRANT FarmWeek

Livestock producers have struggled in recent years with high feed prices, limited availability of some feed products and drought among other challenges.

But the future looks bright for the industry, particularly in Illinois.

Ample feed supplies and strong demand for animal manure as a crop nutrient are among the factors expected to

drive expansion of the livestock industry in the state, according to Nic Anderson, business developer for the Illinois Livestock Development Group (ILDG).

ILDG members met last week at the Illinois Farm Bureau home office in Bloomington. Members of ILDG include the Illinois Beef Association, Illinois Corn Growers Association, IFB, Illinois Milk Producers Association, Illinois Pork Producers Association

Livestock briefs: LFTB, PEDV and COOL cause stir Livestock producers are keeping a close eye on the final stages of crop development and harvest.

Large crops obviously could ease some of the stress high feed prices caused in recent years. But as farmers gear up for harvest, here is a look at other key news items impacting the livestock industry.

Lean finely textured beef returns to school menus Lean finely textured beef (LFTB) is back on the menu at schools in four states, including Illinois, more than a year after a media firestorm choked demand for the beef product.

The 90 percent lean meat product made by South Dakotabased Beef Products Inc. (BPI) was dubbed “pink slime” in news reports last year.

BPI as a result of the negative publicity lost 80 percent of its business in 28 days, was forced to close three of its four plants (which eliminated about 650 jobs), and it even sued ABC News for defamation over its coverage of LFTB. USDA during the controversy gave schools in the National School Lunch Program a choice whether or not to order beef with LFTB. Most opted to order beef without LFTB. But three states — Iowa, Nebraska and South Dakota – continued to order the product and now four more states joined the list this year. Illinois, Pennsylvania, Virginia and Texas ordered about 2 million pounds of LFTB for the current school year, according to news reports.

“We will continue communicating the benefits of BPI’s lean beef,” Rich Jochem, BPI spokesman, said prior to the recent orders.

Manure handling guidelines designed to slow PEDV The swine industry last week released manure handling guidelines in an attempt to slow the spread of porcine epidemic diarrhea virus (PEDV).

PEDV resulted in significant losses of young pigs for some farmers since the virus was identified in the U.S. last May. “We know this virus is easily spread to uninfected pigs and clean farms by infected manure,” said Paul Sundberg, vice president of science and technology for the Pork Checkoff.

The Pork Checkoff, National Pork Producers Council and the American Association of Swine Veterinarians worked with vets and university experts to establish the new manure-handling guidelines available online at {pork.org/pedv}.

Farms should have clearly defined entrance and exit strategies to minimize cross-contamination with other farm traffic and maintain a line of separation between haulers, their equipment, workers and animals at each farm site, based on the guidelines.

Farmers also should separate manure-hauling equipment and personnel from animals and farm workers to avoid potential transmission of PEDV. County of origin labeling will continue The U.S. District Court of Columbia this month denied a request by meat industry groups for a preliminary injunction of the USDA mandatory country of origin labeling law (COOL).

The COOL requirements therefore will stay in place and retailers will have to abide by them.

“The question now is how Mexico and Canada, two of our largest trading partners, respond,” authors of the CME Group’s Daily Livestock Report noted. “Will they impose tariffs on U.S. pork, chicken and beef ?”

U.S. meat export demand could be affected by reactions to the ruling. — Daniel Grant

and the Illinois Soybean Association.

Livestock producers statewide filed about 90 notices of intent to construct or expand facilities with the Illinois Department of Agriculture during the first nine months of the year, Anderson reported.

“That’s about $40 million of investment in new and expanded facilities in the state,” he said.

Most of the new facilities (45) in the state are for pork production, but there also have been 25 facility projects involving beef cattle, about 19 in the dairy industry and 1 for turkeys.

Anderson believes lower grain prices and profitable livestock prices in recent months spurred some of the expansion.

“Lower grain prices I Nic Anderson think put a comfort level in the marketplace,” he said. “And there’s been good signals in the cattle market with demand. Pork is the same way.”

Al Lyman, a beef producer from Cambridge, will soon open a new cattle facility. He and his wife, Karen, recently hosted an open house.

A new cattle barn on the farm of Al and Karen Lyman, Cambridge, nears completion. The new facility will allow the Lymans to expand their herd and improve cow comfort and efficiencies. Livestock farmers in Illinois so far this year have invested about $40 million for new or expanded facilities. (Photo courtesy of Al and Karen Lyman)

“We’re replacing some of the original pens (built in the 1940s and ‘50s),” Lyman said.

“We’ll feed more numbers.”

The new facilities will be more efficient and improve cow comfort. The expected growth of the herd also should provide future opportunities in the business for the Lyman family.

“Everything will be on slats with rubber slots and under a roof,” Lyman said. “It’s good for the environment (as manure will be contained and used as fertilizer for crops), and cow comfort will be better.”

R.D. and Jill Waddington recently re-entered the pork

industry. The couple opened a new 2,400-head, wean-to-finish facility on their farm near Assumption in Shelby County.

They had an open house on their farm last week.

“We felt this is a way to add value to our operation and a way to bring the next generation back to the farm,” Waddington told the RFD Radio Network. “The fertilizer value coming out of the (manure) pit every year will be a huge benefit as well.”

Overall, the livestock industry each year generates about $27 billion in economic activity in Illinois, according to the ILDG website {illinoislivestock.org}.

PRODUCTION

FarmWeek Page 10 Monday, September 16, 2013

Add basic safety to the fall harvest checklist

BY CHRIS ANDERSON FarmWeek

Grain bins stand empty and clean, ready to accept incoming corn. Fine-tuned and serviced combines await harvest duty or already roll down corn rows.

Harvest checklists seem complete. But what about attention to safety?

Just in time for harvest, National Farm Safety and Health Week occurs this week. The theme is “Working Together for Safety in Agriculture.”

Eric Vanasdale, COUNTRY Financial senior loss control representative, noted it takes an entire team – farmers and farm/safety organizations – to keep farmers, farm employees, family members and rural motorists safe.

According to the U.S. Bureau of Labor Statistics, agriculture remains the most dangerous job in America. Last year, 475 ag industry workers died.

The good news? The number decreased 16 percent from

2011 when 566 deaths occurred.

In Illinois, farmers set a new safety record. From July 2012 through June, 12 farmrelated deaths occurred in the state, according to a COUNTRY annual survey conducted with help from the Illinois

Press Association. That’s the lowest number of farm-related deaths reported by COUNTRY in 35 years of recordkeeping.

“We are happy to see the decrease in farm-related deaths, but our job is not finished,” Vanasdale concluded. “COUNTRY will continue teaming with other farm groups to ensure

that farmers stay safe. Even one death is too many.”

In March, Illinois Farm Bureau partnered with the Illinois Department of Transportation and Illinois State Police to launch “Caution: Slow Down, Share the Road.” COUNTRY and GROWMARK Inc. lent further support.

The rural safety awareness program continues as harvest gets underway.

The Quality of Life Action Team piggy-backed onto the spring effort to release “Rules of the Country Road,” a brochure packed with roadway safety reminders. Roadway collision deaths comprise the second leading cause of Illinois farm deaths.

COUNTRY reported four deaths due to roadway collisions, tied with four tractor rollover/runover deaths.

Peggy Romba, IFB program manager, noted the brochure fits into high school driver education programs as well as public places where rural motorists

FarmWeekNow.com

Check out our list of farm safety links at FarmWeekNow.com.

may gather, such as doctor office waiting rooms.

Some rules to keep in mind during harvest include: • Be aware of vehicles “hiding” behind standing corn at rural intersections. Approach these areas with extra caution.

• Rural motorists need to watch for slow-moving combines and tractors pulling wagons. The rectangular red and orange slow moving vehicle

emblem signals motorists to slow down immediately.

• Farmers and rural motorists can look out for each other while sharing narrow roads. Farmers should use signals when turning and watch to make sure motorists approaching from behind don’t try to pass as the farm equipment turns left.

Look for Caution: Slow Down, Share the Road banners throughout rural Illinois during harvest, reminding farmers and rural motorists roadway safety involves looking out for each other.

IFB ACTION PRIORITY: Protecting Illinois resources

Mike Klingner

Editor’s note: Mike Klingner, president of the river engineering firm Klingner & Associates, witnessed the ravages of the major 1993 and 2008 Midwest floods and has been heavily involved in the push for a comprehensive plan for flood management and other priorities within the Upper Mississippi and Missouri River system. In a FarmWeek/RFD Radio® interview, Klingner discussed the challenges in bringing new organization and forethought to Midwest flood management.

FarmWeek: How long have federal and local officials, farmers and communities been working to develop a comprehensive long-term strategy for the Illinois and Mississippi Rivers?

Klingner: We started working to get this through Congress right after the ’93 flood and had it authorized in the Water Resources Development Act (WRDA) of ’99. It’s been a long process, and certain refinements are still going on today. In fact, we had a recent meeting with the (federal) Mississippi River Commission on some of the ongoing work we’d like to see completed.

FW: What are the challenges to making this plan a reality?

Klingner: A lot of things have happened since WRDA ’99 and the original authorization. The problems that happened in New Orleans because of (hurricane) Katrina have really affected a lot of things dealing with flood protection systems.

The National Levee Safety Act that was part of WRDA 2007 has created a lot different tone in the type of inspections the Corps is doing — expectations regarding (levee) quality, expectations regarding the responsibilities of the local levee and drainage districts. There are 140 levee and drainage districts in the Upper Mississippi, from Thebes north, most of which are in Illinois, Missouri and Iowa along the main stem of the Mississippi or Illinois River. They have more responsibilities as far as maintaining things. They have new five-year inspections for many of these levee systems. In the past, it was (a more routine) annual inspection, but now they have this more stringent five-year inspection that is looking at a lot of the maintenance issues and imposing requirements on making improvements.

FW: But making improvements is no simple task.

Klingner: You’re dealing with the U.S. Army Corps of Engineers and FEMA (the Federal Emergency Management Agency), as well as state agencies, as far as permitting any improvements.

That adds a lot of cost and time just getting through the permitting process if you want to make a substantial improvement to your system. That’s leading to a lot of frustration. We have some of these unfunded mandates that limit resources, and we have limited ability to assess landowners (for levee-related costs). In Missouri and Iowa, they can assess highways; Illinois cannot.

That gives them a little revenue source that Illinois districts don’t.

©2012 GROWMARK, Inc. A Farm Bureau Affiliate A12248Rev

FW: What’s the solution?

Klingner: A lot of levee districts are looking at updating their assessment role — rather than just doing assessments for farmland, also including the industrial/commercial properties that they protect. That may get them a little more revenue, but very few state or federal dollars are out there. It’s mainly the districts themselves that are being required to raise the dollars necessary for ongoing operations and maintenance of these levee systems.

EXTENSION

Page 11 Monday, September 16, 2013 FarmWeek

IFB, Extension share common beginning

BY KAY SHIPMAN FarmWeek

The University of Illinois Extension and Illinois Farm Bureau owe each other tremendous debts.

Extension is marking 100 years of providing information in Illinois. However, the Extension was nurtured by early county Farm Bureau organizations and maintained a unique relationship with Farm Bureau for many years.

John J. Lacey outlined that relationship in his book, “Farm Bureau in Illinois.”

The first county agriculture expert was hired in 1912 in DeKalb County by the new DeKalb County Soil Improvement Association. Soil improvement associations later adopted the name Farm Bureau.

In the beginning, county Farm Bureaus selected a farm adviser from eligible men supplied by the U of I. Farm Bureau paid part of the farm adviser’s salary and supplied him with a car, an office and administrative help.

This arrangement gave the adviser an organization to support him and help with 4-H club work, soil improvement efforts and leverage to improve technology on farms.

The U of I had veto power over adviser appointments. One requirement for the job was five years of experience after graduation from an agricultural college.

The Illinois Agricultural Association (IAA), was first organized in 1916 during a meeting of the Illinois State Association of County Agriculturalists, a group of county agriculture advisers.

One year later, the USDA with cooperation from Extension undertook a campaign to organize county Farm Bureaus as a means of increasing food production.

In the late 1940s, Farm Bureau and Extension in Illinois would be forever changed.

As Farm Bureau grew in size and influence, other organizations complained a government agency should not “show favoritism” to any one farm organization, but should treat them alike.

A joint committee representing USDA and the Association of Land Grant Colleges and Universities was organized to make recommendations for Extension’s future. In a 1948 report, the committee stated that although cooperation with general farm organizations was desirable, formal operating relationships with such groups was detrimental to the public interest. That report was accepted and became USDA policy.

IAA then took steps to change the contracts between county Farm Bureaus and Extension. County Farm Bureaus made annual contributions to the U of I to be used for Extension activities instead of providing office space, a car and other benefits.

By 1953, IAA implemented a general plan across the state. The farm adviser’s office was located in a Farm Bureau building, but Extension paid rent and supplied the adviser with office staff and transportation from money largely supplied by Farm Bureau.

In 1963, the Illinois General Assembly passed a law allowing Extension to seek funding from

county governments.

Although Extension’s roots remain in rural communities, it has spread to urban areas of the state, said Bob Hoeft, interim associate dean for Extension and outreach in the College of Agricultural, Consumer and Environmental Sciences.

A centralized website of photos, Extension highlights and other information may be accessed at {web.extension.illinois.edu/100yrs}.

“Those who were active in those first years of Extension ... would be amazed at where we are today,” Hoeft said. “And I can’t begin to envision where we’ll be 100 years from now.”

John S. Collier, the first farm adviser in Kankakee County, drives a car provided by the county Soil and Crop Improvement Association in 1913. Collier and W.G. Eckhardt of DeKalb County became Illinois’ first county farm advisers on June 1, 1912. (Photo courtesy Kankakee County Farm Bureau)

AROUND ILLINOIS

FarmWeek Page 12 Monday, September 16, 2013

Central Illinois weaver continues long-standing tradition

BY DANIEL GRANT FarmWeek

All wheat growers sow wheat to begin the growing season.

But very few learn the art of weaving wheat, which is a skilled craft dating back to primitive times in Europe.

Many people previously wove wheat and other small grains into a variety of traditional symbols, known as “corn dollies,” to signify good fortune and fertility for the har vest season.

But the art of making corn dollies nearly died when religious traditions changed in Europe and har vest methods became mechanized.

An experienced corn dolly maker in England revived wheat weaving in the 1960s and the art was introduced in the U.S. in the 1970s, according to Dianne Ruff, a wheat weaver from Lincoln.

She is president of the Illinois and National Asso-

ciations of Wheat Weavers.

Ruff promoted her craft recently at the Illinois Wheat Forum in Highland.

The event was organized by the Illinois Wheat Association.

“I’ve been weaving wheat over 27 years,” Ruff said. “My mother (Berneice Naffziger) was a wheat weaver. She saw a book about it at a craft store and thought, ‘I’ve got a whole

field full of wheat.”

Ruff displayed everything from her hand-crafted corn dollies to windmills at the Illinois Wheat Forum.

“We (wheat weavers) can weave anything that has a hollow stem, such as wheat, oats and barley,” she said. “A lot of the ornaments are used for Christmas decorations. When (wheat art) is hung in the home, it means good health and may you never go hungry.”

The National Association of Wheat Weavers will

host a convention in St. Louis next spring (April 26) that will feature a trade show and classes for people interested in learning the centuries-old folk art of making corn dollies, wheat weaving (or plaiting) and other for ms of straw art.

For more infor mation about that event or to learn more about wheat weaving visit the websites {illinoiswheatweavers.org}, {nawwstraw.org}, or contact Dianne Ruff at 217732-1957 or email her at wheatwood47@gmail.com.

Antique tractor drive attracts record number

A record 48 antique tractor owners from southeastern Illinois participated in the recent Fifth Wayne County Tractor Drive. Proceeds totaling more than $660 will support the Wayne County Ag in the Classroom program.

Drivers presented brief histories about their tractors following lunch on the Tim and Tammy Chambliss far m.

Then they headed south to the Pioneer Soybean Production Plant near McLeansboro and the SynEnerg y gas plant for tours.

Gearl Greenwalt of Wayne City, 90, received the Earl Smith Memorial Award as the oldest driver, while 16-year-old Eric Schumm of Wayne City was awarded the title of youngest driver. Schumm’s 1964 John Deere 2010 also captured the most original unrestored tractor award based on driver voting.

The oldest tractor award was presented to Ralph Hubele of Carmi, who drove a 1944 International Farmall H. Jack Knackmus of West Salem received an award for driving the farthest to the event — 58 miles. Winners received a 1/16 scale antique toy tractor.

Pictures from the event can be viewed at {facebook.com/waynefarmbureau}.

BY DOUG ANDERSON

Dianne Ruff, a wheat weaver from Lincoln, displays a hand-made windmill, along with other decorations made of wheat, at the Illinois Wheat Forum in Highland. The annual event, organized by the Illinois Wheat Association, drew 110 participants. (Photo by Daniel Grant)

Doug Anderson manages the Wayne County Farm Bureau.

Antique tractor drivers parade along a rural road as part of the Fifth Wayne County Tractor Drive. A record 48 participants drove in the event to raise funds for the county Ag in the Classroom program. (Photo

by Doug Anderson)

FROM THE COUNTIES

Page 13 Monday, September 16, 2013 FarmWeek

B

OND — Far m Bureau will sponsor a crop tour at 8:30 a.m.

Tuesday at the Far m Bureau office. Call the Far m Bureau office at 6643100 to register or for more infor mation.

ASS-MORGAN — Far m Bureau will sponsor an infor mational meeting for landowners and tenants affected by the Ameren Transmission Line at 1 p.m. Sept. 26 at the Jacksonville American Legion. Laura Har mon, Illinois Far m Bureau Office of the General Counsel, and an independent attorney will conduct the meeting. Call the Far m Bureau office at 245-6833 for more infor mation.

OOK — Far m Bureau will sponsor a giant pumpkin contest at 9 a.m. Oct. 5 at Puker ville Far ms in Lemont. Contestants may enter adult and youth pumpkin weigh-in contests, youth pumpkin decorating contest and pumpkin pie contest. Registration, entry guidelines and prize infor mation is available at {cookcfb.org}.

• Far m Bureau will sponsor an electronics recycling and shred day from 10 a.m. to noon Oct.

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12 at the COUNTRY Financial building in Oak Forest. Call the Far m Bureau office at 708-3543276 to register or for more infor mation.

RUNDY — Farm Bureau will sponsor a market outlook meeting at 6:30 p.m. Thursday at the Mazon American Legion.

Dave Dickey, WILL-AM 580 agriculture director, will be the moderator. Call the Farm Bureau office at 942-6400 to sign up or for more information.

EE — Far m Bureau will co-host a far mer appreciation day from 11 a.m. to 2 p.m. Saturday at Culver’s in Dixon and Rock Falls. Agriculture in the Classroom will provide children’s activities. Culver’s will donate 10 percent of sales that day to Lee and Whiteside Agriculture in the Classroom programs.

IVINGSTON — Far m Bureau will cosponsor a drive to collect monetary contributions and items to send to military personnel for the holidays. Mail contributions to Phone Cards for Troops, c/o Livingston County Far m Bureau, 901 W. Howard St., P.O. Box 410, Pontiac, IL, 61764 by Nov.

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Great

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For Agriculture!

5. Address checks to “Phone Cards for Troops.”

For a complete list of items being collected, call the Far m Bureau office at 8421103. Deadline to bring donated items to the Far m Bureau office is Nov. 5.

ONTGOMERY — Prime Timers will see “Deck the Halls” Dec. 1 at Conklin’s Barn II Dinner Theatre in Goodfield.

Price is $75. Call Pegasus Travel Agency at 217-5326906 for reser vations. After Sept. 30, available seats will be opened to the public.

ASHINGTON — The Issue Management Committee will spon-

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sor a policy development tool shed meeting at 11 a.m. Thursday at Maple Hill Dairy near Ashley. Call the Far m Bureau office at 3273081 to register or for more infor mation.

HITE — Far m Bureau will sponsor Life Line Screenings Oct. 2 at the Far m Bureau office. Members will receive a discount. Call 636-399-4753 to schedule an appointment.

• Members are asked to review map proofs for the 2014 plat book between 8:30 a.m. and noon and 1 p.m. to 4 p.m. this Monday through Friday at the Far m

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Bureau office.

HITESIDE — Far m Bureau will co-host a far mer appreciation day from 11 a.m. to 2 p.m. Saturday at Culver’s in Dixon and Rock Falls.

Agriculture in the Classroom will provide children’s activities. Culver’s will donate 10 percent of sales that day to Lee and Whiteside Agriculture in the Classroom programs.

“From the Counties” items are submitted by county Farm Bureau managers. If you have an event or activity open to all members, contact your county Farm Bureau manager.

Livingston ‘pulls in’ ag scholarship funds

Seventy-five participants from across the state pulled in $1,472 at the recent trap shoot fundraiser at the Livingston County Farm Bureau Gun Club.

The funds will go toward Elite Foundation Scholarships given through the Livingston County Farm Bureau Founda-

tion. Scholarships are awarded to college sophomores and juniors majoring in an agricultural field.

Winners in the 50 Bird Derby included Paul Carter,

first; Wes Ward, second; and John Payne, Tom Roe, Tal Parmenter and Butch Woods, all tied for third.

Livingston County Farm Bureau donated lunch for the fundraiser with help from members Dennis Haab, Rosie Duffy, Don Immke, Brenda Collins and Vickie Wright.

PROFITABILITY

FarmWeek Page 14 Monday, September 16, 2013

Hang on for the marketing roller coaster ride My children have always enjoyed riding roller coasters, whether it is the tiny one at the Pumpkin Festival or the big ones at amusement parks. However, I am not sure many of us are enjoying the roller coaster ride in today’s grain markets.

It has been some ride and I am afraid it will get a lot bumpier. A phrase continues to go through my head, and it is an oldie but goody, “Buy the rumor and sell the fact.”

This is not a new concept, but Cory Winstead now when this happens we have bigger, more volatile moves in the market. This year we again find ourselves in a weather market that has seen a wet spring and

BY CORY WINSTEAD

drier later summer in many areas.

The trade is watching each day to see any kind of change in the seven- to 10-day weather forecast.

These are updated daily and in many cases twice a day. This can cause extreme swings like we have seen in the bean market.

We have seen the market go from under $12 to $14 on the dry weather, but we have also seen it lose 30 to 40 cents on the rumor that a half inch of rain could fall on the northwestern part of the Corn Belt. This market will move whether we have rain or not — it will be based on what the forecast says.

Also, do not be surprised if it moves lower on the rumor of rain. And when it does rain, the market may actually move higher. In many cases, the market has built in the weather event before it actually happens. This can be applied to weather, USDA

reports or big export sales news.

When looking at the rest of this marketing year, the best thing to do is take advantage of spikes that we see in corn and beans. Keep an eye on the corn break-even level. For many, it is penciling out at around $4.20 cash. We are getting too close to this level and could find ourselves below it.

With beans being the story right now, they will be the most volatile. So, continue to take advantage of what the market gives you by making profitable sales when you can. The roller coaster ride will continue in our markets; the key is to plan for what to do in order to benefit from the upswings.

Cory Winstead is an account manager for AgriVisor. His email address is cwinstead@agrivisor.com.

Marestail – an old, broadleaf weed making a comeback in Illinois

Successful control of any weed population requires knowledge of how that particular weed develops and survives.

Marestail is mostly considered a winter annual weed, although it can emerge in the spring in areas south of Interstate 70.

Because it is a small-seeded broadleaf weed, it only needs moisture, sunlight and soil temperatures above 50 degrees to germinate. Once it germinates, it will form a small rosette and overwinter in this stage. This rosette will generally not be larger than the size of a quarter under the crop residue, making it difficult to find.

Upon the return of favorable growing conditions in the spring, the rosette will enlarge to about

BY BARRY NASH

6 inches in diameter, resulting in the marestail to “bolt” or begin rapid stalk and stem growth.

Once marestail exceeds 8 inches in height, it becomes very difficult to control.

Furthermore, if it is glyphosate resistant, the only methods of control are tillage or fallapplied herbicides. The ALS chemBarry Nash istry has never been consistent on controlling marestail post-emergence.

The photo was taken three weeks after an application of glyphosate plus an ALS herbicide. These plants did not die.

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) $33.75-$48.00 $39.91 40 lbs. (cash) $51.00-$59.00 $56.33 Recipts

This Week 109,522 *Eastern Corn Belt prices picked up at seller’s farm

Last Week 85,529

Eastern Corn Belt direct hogs (plant delivered) Carcass Live

(Prices $ per hundredweight) This week Prev. week Change $90.53 $84.78 $5.75 $66.99 $62.74 $4.26

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

This week $123.00 $122.90

Prev. week $122.00 $122.00

Change $1.00 $0.90

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 $155.93 $156.36 -$0.43

Lamb prices Slaughter Prices — Negotiated, Live, wooled and shorn 100-166 lbs. for 110-122 $/cwt. (wtd. ave. 118.13)

Export inspections (Million bushels) Week ending Soybeans Wheat Corn 9/05/2013 2.2 31.6 9.8 8/29/2013 1.4 37.1 17.8 Last year 13.0 20.9 10.2 Season total 1.6 372.8 8.0 Previous season total 12.6 279.2 9.3 USDA projected total 1315 1100 715 Crop marketing year began June 1 for wheat and Sept. 1 for corn and soybeans.

Thus, the potential exists for that plant to produce up to 200,000 seeds. This was a very common event throughout the state this year.

If a grower is concerned with marestail issues, we strongly encourage they sit down with their crop specialist after harvest and develop a solid weed management system. This will likely require the use of plant growth regulator herbicides (2,4-D, dicamba, etc.) applied after Halloween followed by a mid-April burndown program that includes a soil residual.

Keep in mind plant growth regulator herbicides are extremely effective on most winter annual weeds when applied in the fall. These herbicides are broken down primarily by soil microbial degradation. Once the soil tempera-

tures drop below 50 degrees, microbial activity becomes dormant. The herbicide remains active until soil temperatures improve. Winter annual weeds, such as marestail, are very sensitive to this herbicide mode of action, especially as they break dormancy. It is the soil residual effects from the growth regu-

Barry Nash is GROWMARK’s weed science technical manager. His email address is bnash@growmark.com.

IDPH officials met with raw milk producers from around the state last week at the Illinois Farm Bureau home office in Bloomington.

The Health Department is considering a two-tier system that would establish raw milk dairy farm permits in the state.

One tier would focus on what many farmers consider the critical elements to ensure safety of the product — clean animals, clean equipment, clean bedding and some type of system to cool the milk.

Another tier would be similar to regulations currently used for Grade A operations.

“I appreciate the state allowing us to be part of the process,” said Rick Boge, a raw milk producer from DeKalb, who attended the IDPH meeting. “As long as we work hand-in-hand, it will be for the betterment of Illinois farmers and consumers.”

Some raw milk producers were uneasy about the idea of the state conducting a one-time inspection of their farms.

But Boge believes the establishment of uniform guidelines in the raw milk industry could

increase consumer acceptance of the product.

“If there are some guidelines set, we can use them as a marketing tool to ensure the public that their concerns for healthy food are met,” Boge said.

Some producers and consumers believe raw milk consumption has health benefits, while others believe there are health risks associated with drinking it.

Either way, Boge believes raw milk likely will remain a niche product that has a place in the market. But he doesn’t foresee it competing directly with pasteurized milk produced on a large-scale basis.

“I don’t think (raw milk production) will challenge mainstream, commercial farms,” he said. “But it’s a way some farmers will be able to grow, and it will keep some small farms alive.”

There currently are about 60 raw milk producers in the state.

IDPH does not have a specific time frame to implement any new regulations for raw milk, DiVincenzo added.

lator herbicides that are most active on marestail.

For more information on developing a solid weed management system, contact your local crop specialist.

State seeks establishment of raw milk guidelines

BY DANIEL GRANT FarmWeek

Milk “does a body good,” and the Illinois Department of Public Health (IDPH) wants to ensure that remains the case for producers and consumers of raw milk.

IDPH is in the process of establishing guidelines/minimum standards for raw milk production to protect operations that produce the milk and consumers who drink it.

Illinois is one of 29 states allowing some form of on- or off-farm raw milk sales. But farmers are not allowed to advertise raw milk sales and customers must bring their own containers.

Other than than those guidelines, farmers who have a few cows and sell milk only on their farms are not required to obtain permits in Illinois.

“We don’t have any rules (pertaining to the production of raw milk),” said Steve DiVincenzo, acting dairy program manager with IDPH. “So we’ve reached out to raw milk producers to get their input on how to structure sales of raw milk.”

PROFITABILITY

Page 15 Monday, September 16, 2013 FarmWeek

CASH STRATEGIST

USDA reports provide key insights

The September USDA reports always provide important insight into the potential corn and soybean crops. The corn plant and ear population counts and soybean pod counts always provide insight into how the production forecasts might unfold on future USDA reports.

From corn ear count data and projected yields, one can come up with a derived ear weight for the 10 objective yield states. The September ear weight, .3125 pounds was down from the .3190 pound mark implied by basic data in the August report.

This year’s September ear weight was just over the September 2011 ear weight, which happened to be close to the final weight that year. Given the heat that occurred during pollination that summer, and modest late season dryness, one shouldn’t expect this year’s ear weight to drop much lower, if at all. But, it’s also not likely to increase given the recent dryness and shallow kernel depth.

Ear count traditionally declines a little from the September estimates. But the average change in ear count into the final number would account for no more than a 0.2 bushel reduction in yield in the objective yield states. And because states outside of the 10 primary states have had better conditions, the final national yield is likely to close at 155 bushels.

The soybean yield has more downside risk than upside potential. Both pod numbers and pod weights will change

through the series of reports.

Pod weight is likely to go lower given the high starting point.

But pod number changes are less certain.

Interestingly, the USDA started with a pod weight above the five-year average, and not that far from the lofty size experienced last year. The .0106 ounces September pod weight was above the five-year average for both the September report (.0100) and the final report (.0099).

By all arguments, the pod weight should decline. But, pod numbers are unusually low — closer to last year’s numbers than the typical count of the eight years prior to 2012. Pod weights and pod counts counterbalance each other to a degree, when one is low the other is high, and vice versa.

Through the reports, pod counts tend to rise on average 8 percent. Last year, the count increased just over 7 percent.

Even if pod counts have a typical increase, they would still be 11 percent less than average and only 9 percent higher than a year ago.

Combining last year’s pod count increase and the average pod weight that existed prior to last year results in a 38.5 bushel yield in the 11 objective yield states. That would imply a national soybean yield 1/2 bushel either side of 40 bushels.

The last few weeks, there’s been a lot of talk about this year’s crop not having a yield as good as last year’s 39.6 bushel/acre. The high initial pod weight will likely reinforce the notion. But understanding the relationship between pod weights and pod counts, and this year’s low pod numbers, there’s reason to think this year’s yield could still be a little higher than last year’s.

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Corn Strategy

ü2013 crop: New crop prices could slip slightly yet, but technical features indicate there should be a better marketing opportunity in October, with December futures potentially getting close to $5 again. ü2014 crop: With talk about acreage shifting, December 2014 futures should have potential to rebound to the $5.30 to $5.40 range again.

Hold off sales for now. vFundamentals: The upward revision in the yield caught the trade a little by surprise. It did reinforce the notion that summer weather didn’t hurt yield as much as some had feared. Still, there’s going to be an ongoing discussion about how much the USDA might reduce acres on the October report. The FSA acreage update on September 15 might provide some insight. But even using some of the larger revisions being discussed, it’s difficult to build a scenario with ending stocks dropping much below 1.5 billion bushels, if at all.

Cents per bu.

could

Soybean Strategy

ü2013 crop: Undoubtedly, U.S. soybean fundamentals look tight for the coming year, even though world fundamentals could become moderately abundant. But short-term attitudes appear set to lift November futures to a new contract high. Plan to add to sales if November futures move to $14.70. ü2014 crop: The change in the soybean/corn price ratio will stimulate plantings in South America, and likely in the U.S. next spring. Make an initial 10 percent sale if November 2014 futures reach $12.50. vFundamentals: The reduction in the yield on the September report will only reinforce talk the final yield will be lower yet. That should keep prices firm in the short term. But, higher prices ahead of South American planting will only stimulate an increase in plantings there. We also hear early plantings have started in Mato Grosso, with some targeting harvest at the start of the new year. That could undermine export demand much earlier than last year.

Wheat Strategy

ü2013 crop: The price action, no matter the class of wheat, continues to suggest prices have yet to reach a longterm low. For now, the trend may have shifted sideways.

Wait on a rally to $6.75 on Chicago December futures to make catch up sales. We may use a rally to that level to add to sales. If wheat is farm stored, consider a winter/spring HTA to make some storage income. ü2014 crop: Even though there isn’t a good fundamental argument for higher prices, the current decline may have

exhausted itself for now. Plan to initiate sales if Chicago July futures rebound to $6.95 to $7.25. vFundamentals: Demand for wheat continues to be good, not only for U.S. wheat, but wheat from other exporting countries, too. Ukrainian exports may slow with the emphasis shifting to corn.

And Russian exports have been slower than hoped, with emphasis on rebuilding stocks.

Brazil recently increased the amount of tariff-free wheat they would allow to be imported by the end of November.

PERSPECTIVES

FarmWeek Page 16 Monday, September 16, 2013

Farmers’ influence continues to grow

Dale and Linda Drendel, standing far left, hosted the Illinois Farm Families field moms at Lindale Holsteins, near Hampshire in Kane County, and answered questions about their cows and milk production. (Photo by Cyndi Cook)

Field moms share views on dairy cows and milk Through their eyes

Editor’s note: Field moms with Illinois Farm Families (IFF) toured the dairy farm of Dale and Linda Drendel near Hampshire in Kane County this summer. IFF is a coalition of commodity groups for beef, corn, pork, soybeans and the Illinois Farm Bureau. Below are excerpts from the Chicago-area moms’ blogs that may be read online at {watchusgrow.org}.

Christina Lee, LaGrange Park Milk is antibiotic free ... period!

There is the conventional and the organic way. Conventional cows are given antibiotics when the cow is sick; however, that cow’s milk is discarded for four days making sure all the antibiotics are out of its system before milk goes to the tank. Organic cows are never given antibiotics, which means if that cow gets sick they must get rid of the cow.

Again, it’s all choice for the consumer.

It’s like Match.com for cows. On a dairy farm, artificial insemination is common to get cows pregnant. If you have 1,000 cows, a farmer would need way too many bulls to get the cows pregnant.

Therefore, farmers search through a catalog and have the choice of choosing the semen of the Brad Pitt of Bulls. Of course, the Brad Pitt of Bulls semen can come with a hefty price tag. Dale says it’s all about bringing genetics into your herd from all over the world. Once inseminated and the heifer gives birth to her calf, 60 to 90 days after the

birth that heifer can breed again. It’s like an ongoing pregnancy. Can you imagine?

Janelle Floerke, Orland Park A good way to think of a dairy cow is a marathon runner and a beef cow is a weight lifter. Cows are heavy animals and eat a variety of food.

Without a good variety of food, their milk production can be affected.

We do not have enough dairy farms to supply our state with dairy products. Sometimes our supply comes from Wisconsin.

Having a dairy farm is a true commitment. Dairy cows need to be milked every day twice or three times a day depending on how the farmer operates his farm.

Tanja Saarinen, Oak Park The biggest surprise was the fact that at a farm which produces conventional milk, the cows are allowed outside.

As the routine on a dairy farm is set in stone since the cows have to be milked twice a day, the cows themselves know the routine. When the bell rings for milking, the cows start walking towards the milking area and wait patiently for their turn at the door.

Sharon Blau, Des Plaines

A cow weighs 1,500 pounds, which seems large until you are standing next to one. During the milking demonstration, I was standing close to a cow that started to leave the parlor. Needless to say, my deodorant failed.

Cows eat total mix ration. The mixture helps with higher milk production because grass-fed only cows have a lower milk output.

Dairy is the perfect postworkout recovery food. Forget the energy drink, grab a glass of milk or a slice of cheese.

Amina Nevels, Chicago Over the last few years, I’ve been convinced that cows should only eat grass and not corn. Well, it looks like they are only eating grass, as corn is part of the grass family. Go figure!

The cows I met at the Drendel Farm were eating a nutritious and balanced mixture of rolled corn, cotton seed, corn silage, alfalfa, corn gluten and bailed hay called a TMR (total mix ration). As a result of this mix, cows eat everything instead of choosing their favorites (which would totally be corn).

Purely grass-fed cows don’t produce as much milk and need a lot of land to graze. It would be incredibly challenging to provide the necessary acreage to sustain dairy cows, especially with suburban life encroaching upon farmland.

The U.S. can only sustain about 9 million milking cows on our current land structure.

Well-known political figures, artists, actors, entertainers and the like are deemed to be important, according to Time magazine’s list of “100 Most Influential People.”

One person not on the current list is the American farmer.

Now sure, one could say that listGLEN COPE ing categories guest columnist of people could open the door to many groups worthy of the list.

Why list the American farmer?

One reason is that we as Americans enjoy one of the highest standards of living in the world. Much of that standard is a direct result of farmers and their daily efforts to provide affordable food for our country.

American farmers have significant influence considering the average citizen spends only about 10 percent of his or her disposable income on food.

This frees up income that can be used to increase quality of life for all hard-working Americans — income that is used for a better car, home or even college tuition.

Affordable food is one of the main reasons America is the economic superpower that it is.

In the last 100 years, American farmers have made great strides toward efficiencies in food production.

Farmers also are making

improvements in conservation through the use of no-till, precision agriculture and other technologies that reduce soil erosion, inhibit nutrient runoff and increase yield.

Farming may not be as glamorous as the lifestyles of the famous people listed in Time.

That’s not surprising, as the American farmer’s workday often begins before the sun rises and ends well after it has set.

In addition, the responsibilities of caring for livestock and crops rarely afford farmers time for a much-needed vacation.

Yet when Americans walk into the grocery store and find the shelves completely stocked from floor to ceiling with affordable food, most don’t stop to consider the dedication and contributions of the American farmer.

Today’s consumers seem to think it will always be this way.

Fortunately for this country, American farmers want to continue to do what they have always done whether or not they receive the credit they deserve from those in the mainstream.

In the meantime, American farmers will continue to be among the best “influencers” in our society whether or not Time’s editors deem them worthy of notice.

Glen Cope, a Missouri farmer, previously chaired the American Farm Bureau Federation’s national Young Farmers & Ranchers Committee.

LETTER TO THE EDITOR

Coal severance tax discussed

Editor: A recent study points out how the state of Illinois is spending more to promote the coal industry than the corporations are paying in taxes and revenue. It points up the real need for a coal severance tax from these companies that are selling Illinois coal out of state for huge profits.

“Downstream Strategies” came out in June on “the Impact of Coal on the Illinois State Budget, FY2011.” Our legislators need to review the true needs and priorities of Illinois, especially with our current budget problems. We cannot afford to supplement industries with grants when they are not providing the number of jobs originally promised, and are allowed to ship coal out of state and out of country without paying their fair share of severance tax to the state. Other states charge severance taxes. Why doesn’t Illinois?

Then there are problems of

permanent damage to farms as well as air pollution and water contamination, which are caused by our local mining. Such a tax could provide funds for repairing some of the damage left behind, as well as corporations being required to set up funds in their original permit for this purpose.

The study showed that out of 17 companies operating coal mines in Illinois in 2010 only three were required to pay corporate income tax. Only 34 percent of Illinois coal in 2010 was produced by companies with corporate income tax liability.

The study showed taxes on coal came to $1.4 million, an amount equal to total state expenses.

The authors recommended the following actions — a state severance tax on coal; a permanent trust fund (could help with mining damages); detailed analysis of full costs and benefits of grant programs supporting coalrelated projects; and implement more oversight.

CATHERINE EDMISTON Abingdon