Farm Focus 2015 by Herald & Review

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Kevin Kilhoffer, Journal Gazette/Times-Courier

A farmer harvests a field in Cumberland County last fall.

Farmer optimistic about coming year DAVE FOPAY JG-TC Staff Writer

MATTOON — One local farmer doesn’t share the somewhat pessimistic outlook some of his colleagues have about the upcoming growing season. John Doty was a Coles County delegate at the Illinois Farm Bureau annual meeting last month and said a survey of some delegates showed “a pretty good feel” of the farmers’ mood. Low prices because of last year’s record harvest led to the less-thanoptimistic outlook, but Doty said he thinks that will change. “It really created a phenomenal

demand with the dip in prices,” he said. About 500 delegates and other attendees at the annual meeting, which took place Dec. 6-9 in Chicago, responded to the survey, according to a news release from the Illinois Farm Bureau. It said the number of responses came to about 60 percent of the people who attended. The fall in commodity prices led the survey to show that “farmers are more uneasy going into the year,” state Farm Bureau President Richard Guebert Jr. said in the release. It said 70 percent of the farmers who responded to the survey

indicated they planned to reduce input or expenses this year. The most frequently mentioned method for that was delaying equipment purchases, followed by delaying or reducing chemical and fertilizer purchases, the release said. Doty, who’s been farming since 1972 and owns land on the Coles-Moultrie county line, said many farmers he knows already made needed equipment purchases before the New Year to take advantage of a federal tax incentive. “Basically, the only thing we can do in our operation is delay some equipment purchases,” he said.

He also said he hasn’t heard of any local farmers planning to cut purchases of farm chemicals. He said it’s good to rely on local agricultural service agencies for recommendations on how much to buy and where to use it. The survey at the annual meeting also asked participants if they thought drones or other unmanned vehicles would be useful in farming and if they planned to use them. The majority, about 70 percent, said they could be at least somewhat useful but 77 percent also said they don’t plan to use them, the news release said. Doty said he heard discussion about

unmanned vehicles at the meeting. Many think it’s “a technology looking for a use” but he thinks they could be a benefit, possibly with drainage and scouting crops. He also said there was “quite a bit of lively discussion” at the meeting about wind energy and how it might impact land use. The delegates got to met Gov. Bruce Rauner, then the governor-elect, and a state legislator from the Chicago area who serves as a liaison on agricultural issues for the state’s metropolitan areas. Contact Fopay at dfopay@jg-tc.com or 217-238-6858.

‘The more dedicated you are, the better things are for you’ Amish man talks about his farm; Horse Progress Days scheduled DAWN JAMES JG-TC Staff Writer

It’s all in a day’s work. For Eldin Schrock of rural Arthur, farming has been in his blood since he was born. He was raised on the farm that he currently runs. This hard-working young man left his family farm for nine years in his early married years, but returned to manage it 15 years ago. The job of operating his family farm is 24/7. “The more dedicated you are, the better things are for you,” said the lifetime Amish farmer.

He has 65 dairy cows and 25 horses. All of his equipment is horse-drawn, and he farms 80 acres of corn, 60 acres of hay, and 10-20 acres of beans annually. He said the beans are typically just a rotation item, and he sells them. All of his other crops are fed to the livestock and horses. For the past 15 years, he has been in charge of the daily operations at the farm located about a mile south of Arthur. His day starts at 4 a.m. and begins with milking the dairy cows. The livestock have always been his favorite part of his occupation. On a good day, he said he can have his duties done by 7 p.m., but most days he said it’s more like 10 or 11 at night, and just a few nights ago, it was midnight before he was able to call it a day’s work. He also enjoys being his own boss. Different seasons bring different

challenges all relating to the weather, he said. In the summer, the challenges are the hot and dry conditions. On the reverse side of that, wet weather can also be a battle. It can be tough getting the crops in the ground, he said. When making hay, the cloudy, wet weather can also pose problems. Eldin and his wife have seven children, and their oldest child is married.

Horse Progress Days

Hotfitting, a process that uses hot raw steel and allows for immediate reshaping, to shoe a horse is one of the newest topics at this year’s Horse Progress Days event planned for July 3-4 in Daviess County, Ind. According to one of the organizers of this year’s event, Dale Stultzfus, there have been classes shared in the past for shoeing a horse, but nothing like this one.

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The technique uses heated raw steel that can be reshaped as the shoe is being placed on the horse’s foot for the best fitting. After recently finishing the information guidebook, he said it’s not all-inclusive as there are always special or different topics that show up on the first day, adding a bit of a surprise element to the itinerary. Last year’s gathering in Holmes County, Ohio, attracted more than 32,000 attendees to the event that showcases the newest equipment in the 21st century for the horse farming industry. This is the founding principle of the event, said Stultzfus. The event continues to grow each year. The 22nd annual event is probably the biggest horse event in this country and possibly the world, he said. “It really is quite amazing,” he said. According to horseprogressdays. com, the mission statement is, “To encourage and promote the

combination of animal power and the latest equipment innovations in an effort to support sustainable small scale farming and land stewardship. To show draft animal power is possible, practical and profitable.” Educational seminars and clinics will be highlighted in the two-day happening. Schrock, who is one of six members on the board that oversees the program, said it’s not just for the Amish. More and more people are starting to become small farmers with often just an acre or two, he said. There are so many things going on that it’s hard for those attending to see everything in the two-day period. “You have a lot of different avenues you can go down,” he said. Some of the featured topics this year are as follows: AMISH/5

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Community gardening and urban farming workshop set

Sarah and Les Draper are shown with some of their native prairie grass near Greenup.

Kevin Kilhoffer, Journal Gazette/Times-Courier

Drapers to receive conservation award ROB STROUD JG-TC Staff Writer

TOLEDO — When Mattoon residents Les and Sarah Draper were looking for a place to live during retirement, they purchased woodlands along U.S. Route 40 in Cumberland County. “We just sort of planted ourselves down here,” Les Draper said. They also have planted warm season grasses and food plots for wildlife on this land since their 1994 purchase, and enrolled 55 acres in a timber management program. The Cumberland County Soil & Water Conservation District has honored the Drapers for these efforts with the 2014 Outstanding Conservationist Award. Les Draper said he has always been interested in conservation, due in part to him being an outdoorsman. He and his wife were members of Embarras Valley Quail Unlimited for 25 years, with Sarah Draper being a board member and treasurer for 24 years. “If someone does not work to preserve the land, our

grandchildren are not going to have any,” Sarah Draper said. She noted that Embarras Valley Quail Unlimited has established a scholarship for biological science majors at Eastern Illinois University. The Conservation District reported that Embarras Valley Quail Unlimited helped purchase equipment to establish native grass in the area through the Illinois Habitat Stamp Fund. The chapter paid the matching fund expenses that go with the stamp funding. In addition, the Embarras Valley chapter helped get free wildlife food plot seed to conservation districts in the area. The districts distributed the seed to landowners for wildlife food plots. “From 1991 to 2010, due to the efforts of Les and Sarah, landowners in Cumberland County planted over 2,500 acres of wildlife food plots, averaging 135 acres per year,” the Conservation District reported. This program ended when seed became difficult to get and too expensive. Before the Drapers moved onto their Cumberland County

property in 1999, they lived for many years on 15 acres south of the Coles County Memorial Airport. Les Draper said he planted 1,000 walnut trees on this highly erodible land, located along the Kickapoo Creek. The development of housing subdivisions near the airport “sort of took the wild away” from their woodland, Les Draper said. This led him and his wife to move to Cumberland County. Les Draper said their current woodland is near the Embarras River, so it is also highly erodible and not suitable for crops. Instead, he has planted 1,600 trees and a variety of prairie grasses there. “I decided to put it into native grass,” Les Draper said. “It is pretty, in the fall especially when the grass dries out and the wind blows through it and the grass waves in the wind.” After moving, Les Draper served on the Cumberland County Farm Bureau Wildlife Committee. Sarah Draper joined the Cumberland Nursing Center Auxiliary and is still active with this group “Les and Sarah have also

been very supportive of the Envirothon Program, where high school students compete at the local, state, and national level in their knowledge of conservation subjects such as wildlife, aquatics, soils, and forestry,” the Conservation District reported. The Drapers, married for 58 years, have three daughters — Connie (John) Carlson, Lynda (Ken) Trick, and Judy Draper and husband Bob Reed. They have six grandchildren and three stepgrandchildren. One grandson has been deployed twice to Iraq and another just returned from Afghanistan. Sarah Draper retired from General Electric after 33 years of service. Les Draper worked as an Oldsmobile mechanic and was in the trucking industry before retiring. Les Draper said he still hunts deer, but has retired from hunting wild birds. He and his wife still have their English setter hunting dog, Lady, who takes life easy at age 11. “She is a spoiled house dog,” Sarah Draper said. Contact Stroud at rstroud@jg-tc.com or 217-238-6861.

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URBANA — The Grow Springfield Community Gardening and Urban Farming Forum is planned from 9 a.m. to 1:30 p.m. Feb. 7 at the Illinois Department of Agriculture in Springfield. The workshop will serve as an opportunity for those who already manage or garden at community gardens or urban farms, or those who are interested in learning more, to meet and share best practices. Participants will hear from speakers from Columbia, Mo.; Peoria, Urbana, and Springfield. This event is sponsored by the University of Illinois Extension in partnership with other Grow Springfield members, including Illinois Stewardship Alliance, genHkids, Springfield Urban League, Lincoln Land Community College, Springfield Community Federation, and Springfield Community Garden Family Fit Center. A facilitated panel discussion will feature: Jessica Benassi, cofounder and president, Peoria Renaissance Park, Peoria; Cory Blackwell, Neighborhood Garden, Springfield; Billy Polansky, general manager, Columbia Center for Urban Agriculture, Columbia, Mo.; and Adam Saunders, public outreach coordinator, Columbia Center for Urban Agriculture, Columbia, Mo. Lindsay Record, program director, Illinois Stewardship Alliance, will present the Springfield Urban Agriculture Plan update. A brief presentation regarding the Grow Springfield network and its role in increasing community

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gardens and urban agriculture throughout Springfield will take place during lunch. The topics and speakers for the day’s two sessions will include: Session 1 Using Gardening as a Tool to Enhance Community — Jessica Benassi, co-founder and president; Per Ellingson, treasurer, community outreach/ diversity committee and founding member; and Nick Viera, community outreach/diversity committee, Peoria Renaissance Park Program Strategies to Help People Garden at Home and in Public Spaces: from Public Housing, to the subdivision, to the empty lot, to the school playground — Billy Polansky, general manager, Columbia Center for Urban Agriculture Session 2 Soil Fertility for Urban Gardens — Ashley Holmes, Urban Agriculture Research Lab, University of Illinois, Urbana Urban Farming in Columbia, Mo.: An overview of type, management style, history, and the road ahead — Adam Saunders, public outreach coordinator, Columbia Center for Urban Agriculture The registration fee is $20, which includes lunch and materials. For those who cost is prohibitive, there is an opportunity to attend at no charge. Registration by Feb. 5 is required. To register, go to https://web.extension.illinois. edu/registration/?Registratio nID=11263. For more information, call 217-782-4617.

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Friday, january 23, 2015

Coles County

Crop management Mott ‘Conservationist of the Year’ conferences set DAVE FOPAY JG-TC Staff Writer

CHARLESTON — About 30 years ago, there was a dirt go-cart track on the land where David Mott now has a pond he uses to provide an environment for woodland amphibians. He can tell you it’s called a “vernal” pond because it dries up each summer, which is actually a benefit because it discourages predators that might feast on tadpoles. “I’ve always had a real love of the natural world,” Mott said. “I feel like it’s my duty to try to keep some natural areas natural.” His work helping preserve woodlands and other natural environments as well as his sharing his knowledge with others led Mott to be named “Conservationist of the Year” by the Coles County Soil and Water Conservation District. Mott lives southeast of Charleston and his property sits in corner a bordering two naturals areas, a bonus because he works as a steward for both. One is the Warbler Woods Nature Preserve, land once owned by the late Barrie Hunt, an Eastern Illinois University professor and bird expert who Mott calls his “mentor” for learning about nature and conservation. The other is the Embarras Ridges Land and Water Preserve, which an organization called Grand Prairie Friends recently acquired and where Mott said he works to help restore it to “presettlement” conditions. His efforts at the nature preserves follow some he’s done elsewhere and what he’s taught others to do. Namely, the idea is to remove non-native plant species to encourage growth of natural species and to improve the overall biodiversity of the area. Two years ago, Mott finished a project in which he and Eastern

Kevin Kilhoffer, Journal Gazette/Times-Courier

David Mott stands next to a vernal pond on his property south of Charleston.

Illinois University biology students met with about 80 different county landowners to help them identify and deal with nonnative plants. The Soil and Water Conservation District, the Lumpkin Family Foundation and other private organizations provided grants to fund the four-year effort. “We went all over Coles County to teach landowners how to take care of their woods,” Mott said. Working with the landowners had a “much bigger impact” because most of the woodlands in the county are privately owned, he said, and several of the landowners have contacted him since then to “show me how much they’d done.” The Soil and Water Conservation District named a “Conservation Farmer of the Year” for each year for several years but

many of the county’s deserving farmers have already received, it, said Gary Kuhns, chairman of the district’s board. So, the district started “another avenue” for recognition by naming a “Conservationist of the Year” every other year, Kuhns explained. He said Mott was picked because of his contributions to the district, especially its agriculture education programs. “He was the one who made it possible to have our invasive species program,” Kuhns said. He also called Mott a “really engaging individual” who “fits in with everybody” and shares his knowledge. Mott said he wants to do something that helps landowners and the land itself. People can still make use of the land and see a larger benefit, he said. “The health of the land is

well as a board member of the Indiana Farrier’s Association. He was farrier for the Kentucky Cup Endurance pretrial for the World Equestrian Games in Lexington, KY. He services multiple disciplines of horses with the main focus being sport horses. Hank Highfield has been shoeing horses since 1986 with a primary focus on Hunter/ Jumpers and other sport horse disciplines. He is American Farriers Association Certified Journeyman. From 2003-05 he competed three times with American Farriers Association Farriers at national and international levels. In 2003 he was Calgary World Championships Blacksmiths Competition Rookie of the Year. In 2005 he won the Jim Linzy American Farriers Association’s outstanding clinician’s award and he has won multiple open division championships. He currently serves as chairman of the rules committee for the American Farriers Association, he is past president of the Indiana Farriers Association, and in 2012 he was official judge of the National Horseshoeing Competition. This is designed to be a very interesting and educational part of the 2015 seminar program at Horse Progress Days.”

dentistry for 10 years. Garber will address why it’s important to keep your horses’ teeth in good health. He is also a horse trainer. He provides dental care for about 700 horses a year.

judged by its biodiversity,” Mott said. “There will more plants and animals, more variety of everything.” Contact Fopay at dfopay@jg-tc.com or 217-238-6858.

URBANA (JG-TC) — The University of Illinois Extension is sponsoring upcoming presentations on crop management and on invasive pest control. The crop management conferences are taking place at different locations, the nearest of which will be in Champaign on Feb. 4 and 5. There will be eight locations for the invasive pest workshop, including Feb. 12 in Charleston. According to a news release from the Extension, the crop management conference will be geared toward farmers, crop advisers and other agriculture professionals. It said presenters will include faculty from the U of I Extension and the Departments of Crop Sciences, Natural Resources and Environmental Sciences and Agricultural Economics in the College of Agricultural, Consumer and Environmental Sciences. The release said presentations will focus on the most current crop, pest, nutrient and soil and water management research and

recommendations. Registration is required and includes lunch on both days. Advanced registration is $130; registration at the door is $150 by check only. The release said registration forms and more information about the conference are available online at http:// tinyurl.com/l9esp7u. The invasive pest control workshop locations include the Coles County Extension office and topics will include landscape and nursery pests, diseases and invasive plants, according to a news release. It said there will also be in-depth training sessions on identification and detection, life cycle and biology, hosts, sampling, management and commonly confused look-alikes. There will be hands-on activities to allow participants to examine pests and diseases in detail. The news release said people who are interested in attending should contact the Extension office at 217-5433755. A $40 registration fee will cover instruction, materials and lunch, it said.

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Making horse shoes from scratch and fitting them hot Source: Information guide for the 2015 Horse Progress Days event planned in Daviess County, Ind., Dale Stoltzfus

Shoeing Demonstration (Friday only) One new and interesting twist to Horse Progress Days has been added by the local planners for 2015. These three professional farriers will be competing against one another, making shoes on site and hot fitting them to actual horses. Justin Decker has been shoeing horses since 2001 with a primary focus on event and sporting horses. He is an American Farriers Association certified farrier who currently serves on the board of the Indiana Farrier’s Association and is chair of the certification board of that association. Steve Comer has been shoeing horses since 2003. He is American Farrier’s Association Certified Journeyman Farrier and an approved tester for that association’s certification program, as

Glen Garber, Horse Dentistry Glen Garber of Salem, Ind., has been working in horse

David Kline, Farming Aesthetics David Kline, an Amish farmer and church leader, and author of “Great Possessions,” “Letters from Larksong,” “Scratching the Woodchuck,” editor and publisher of Farming Magazine, naturalist, philosopher, father, grandfather, husband, talks about this side of farming. Anyone who touches the land, cares for it, nourishes it, tends it, coaxing it to yield up its bounty, should consider this seminar. Other topics are as follows: Wilmer Slabaugh, working with horses with bad habits; Dr. Jim Hynes, proponent of Modernized Relic Technology; Chris Jess, Horse Confirmation; and the Home Maker and Children’s Areas. In addition, professionals come from all over the world to offer their knowledge on things like round pen training, horse farming and other related topics, according to horseprogressdays.com.

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Lake Land reports strong job market for ag students ROB STROUD JG-TC Staff Writer

Kevin Kilhoffer, Journal Gazette/Times-Courier

IT instructor Scott Rhine shows some of the footage filmed by a drone at Lake Land College in Mattoon.

Lake Land College tests drone use for agriculture hand-held controller if it loses contact. Soon after acquiring the MATTOON — Lake Land guadcopter, Rhine presented a College’s new quadcopter drone soared above campus for demonstration for Lake Land Agriculture Division Chairman the first time last spring, with its digital camera taking photos Jon Althaus. The Agriculture Division and filming live video footage. wants to experiment with Scott Rhine, who is coorusing drones for instructional dinator of Lake Land’s IT purposes, Althaus said, adding Network Administration Prothat his students are interested gram and an IT/videography how they might someday use instructor, said that the small drones in their careers. quadcopter can fly for up to Althaus said drones have a 10 minutes before its battery lot of potential for crop scoutneeds recharging and that the ing and remote sensing, such high-definition footage from its gimbol-stabilized camera is as using infrared technology to look for changes caused by not shaky. diseases and pests to crops in “The video footage from it the field. is just rock solid,” Rhine said. How drones are used for “For me, as a videographer, it’s commercial purposes in the absolutely what I hoped for.” agriculture industry will be Rhine said the Phantom 2 determined by whatever reguVision Plus quadcopter, an lations are adopted by the Fedoff-the-shelf drone from DJI, has a lot of possible uses for his eral Aviation Administration, Althaus said. videography and videogameDennis Bowman, a commerdesign classes. He said the drone also has potential appli- cial agriculture educator with the U of I Extension, said the cations for the college’s agriculture classes. FAA is still developing regulations for drones and has a ban For example, Rhine said on commercial drone flights in the quadcopter can be programmed to fly over a farm place in the meantime. However, Bowman said the field and hover above specific FAA has been granting exempmap points given by a global positioning system. tion permits for some limited “It could take photos and we commercial use of drones. He said the permit holders must can stitch them all together,” Rhine said. He added that the have an FAA private pilot certificate and a spotter, keep the quadcopter is programmed drone within the operator’s to return to the user of its ROB STROUD JG-TC Staff Writer

line of sight, and meet other requirements. The Associated Press recently reported that the FAA issued a permit to Advanced Aviation Solutions in Star, Idaho, to make photographic measurements of farm fields, determine the health of crops, look for pests, and monitor if fields need watering. Bowman said farmers who don’t have FAA permits can fly “hobby kit” drones over their land, but could get in trouble with the FAA if their drone use leads them to turn on their irrigation systems or take other commercial actions. Still, Bowman said he is not aware of the FAA taking any actions against droneusing farmers. Interest in drone use is high within the agriculture industry, Bowman said. He noted that a Precision Aerial Ag Show was held last summer at the Farm Progress Show site in Decatur and that dozens of companies are already selling drone products with potential farm applications. “Drones allow you to see what your farm looks like from the air,” Bowman said. “Now, there is an opportunity to get that view that is relatively low cost and is something they can do for themselves.”

MATTOON — Lake Land College agriculture students have a 100-percent placement rate for jobs in their industry and many are able to start securing their employment before graduation, said Agriculture Division Chair Jon Althaus. Althaus, who is also an instructor at Lake Land, said there are an average of two to three jobs available for each of these students, with most going into agriculture production or agriculture retail. “The job market in agriculture has been extremely strong,” Althaus said. Students pursuing an associate’s in applied science degree in agriculture start getting supervised occupational experience in off-campus workplaces after completing their first semester, Althaus said. Many of these on-the-job training opportunities have turned into full-time jobs for the student workers, he said. In addition, Althaus said each student enrolling in the associate’s in John Deere Tech program at Lake Land must have sponsorship from a John Deere dealership. He said only 32 students a year are accepted into this John Deere Tech program, one of only a few offered through the John Deere Co. in North America. John Deere Tech students earn a salary while learning about John Deere equipment and servicing procedures at participating dealerships. Althaus said these students



Kevin Kilhoffer, Journal Gazette/Times-Courier

Agriculture instructor Jon Althaus speaks at Lake Land College.

typically get jobs with their sponsors after graduation. “We work strongly with folks in the agriculture industry and try to partner with them to provide students opportunities for on-the-job training,” Althaus said. Althaus said this training gives the students first-hand experience with the latest in agriculture technology, particularly precision farming. He said modern farm equipment uses satellite-guided technology to efficiently apply agriculture chemicals and fertilizer to fields, which creates fuel savings. “There is no danger of you going over the same path twice,” Althaus said. Lake Land’s Agriculture Division also offers transfer opportunities for students pursuing bachelor’s degrees in agriculture economics for farm management, agriculture

science education, and other ag-related majors. Althaus said the college works with a Growing Agriculture Science Teacher grant program, funded by the Illinois State Board of Education, that provides paid internships for five Lake Land and five district high school agriculture students. These interns are assigned to assist and train with agriculture instructors at area high schools. “Agriculture education is a field that has excellent job opportunities and statistics show that in the state of Illinois for the 2010-11 school year, there were 50 openings for agriculture teachers but only 19 agriculture education graduates to fill those positions,” Althaus said in a press release about the grant program. Contact Stroud at rstroud@jg-tc. com or 217-238-6861.

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Friday, january 23, 2015

Businesses accept land for farming, development KARSTEN BURGSTAHLER JG-TC Staff Writer

MATTOON — Money is far from the only currency area foundations will accept when it comes to donations. In fact, land could be the gift that keeps on giving. Foundations such as Sarah Bush Lincoln’s and Lake Land College’s will accept land donations, and donors can also consider placing bequeaths of land in a will. Amy Card, SBL Health Foundation director, said the largest donation the campus has received came from siblings Frank and Betty Lou Fisher — the two left an estate valued at $3.2 million to the hospital, Card said. Frank

Fisher was a farmer his whole life, while Betty Lou Fisher was a Registered Nurse at SBL before retiring in 1977. The land now sits in a trust managed by The First National Bank so that the hospital benefits from the crop yields, Card said in an email. “Income from it has benefited Health Center renovations such as new private patient rooms and renovation of the Emergency Department,” Card said in an email. “Future income will benefit our new Regional Cancer Center among many, many other future programs and projects.” Card said another crop yield trust was dedicated years ago

to helping patients without insurance and benefits to help pay health care costs. When it comes to donations, often the land has been in the family for years, so there’s usually someone set up to continue running it, she said. However, if someone needs to be hired to work the land, it’s up to a financial institution, which has a farm trust manager to oversee it, Card said — the last time SBL was invited to help in the process, the hospital decided to leave the decision to the financial institution. The land doesn’t necessarily have to be a farm. The most recent donation came on the

east side of Charleston, where the hospital built the Charleston Walk-In Clinic. “The donor specified that it had to be used for health care and it was an ideal location for our new services,” Card said in the email. “We proudly display the donor’s name on a plaque in that clinic.” Over at Lake Land College, the foundation doesn’t have any farm land it works off campus — the college, not the foundation, owns land on campus for students to work for agriculture classes. Executive Director for College Advancement Jacqueline Joines said the foundation does own a spot of donated

for example, she said. When it comes to land, Joines said she would have to sit down with the donor to discuss the logistics and determine whether or not Lake Land could accept it. The foundation and the donor would also have to discuss whether the college would find someone to continue to work the ground or sell it. “We have clear policies and procedures by which we would accept that, in terms of how to address the title, any hazardous concerns, any environmental concerns,” she said.

land off campus —- the land on which Neal Tire and Auto in Toledo sits. They lease it back to Neal Tire. “Burnham Neal owned it, and that was one of his gifts to us,” she said. “And so we just decided — he was giving us that building, and we just turned right around and said ‘we’ll lease it back to you.’” However, Joines said she has recently received inquiries and has met with several potential donors. Joines took over her post six months ago and said the college is greatly expanding the types of gifts it will receive and what those gifts can go to. The college recently received an IRA rollover gift,

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Brothers named county conservationists much of their work ethic from the challenge — to get a cover their grandfather, who David crop planted that doesn’t do Holste said lived to be 90 — he harm to your corn.” DIETERICH — It’s a cold The two have participated winter morning five miles south taught them work doesn’t hurt anyone, Daren Holste said. in the CSP for several years of town, but Daren and David Daren Holste said the two now — which, as Daren Holste Holste are hard at work on have tried a wide variety of pointed out, funds them to keep the farm. up the conservation efforts they The two are now hauling grain cover crops, including clovers, already have in place. It makes in the morning and the afterhairy vetch and cereal rye, it a bit more feasible to buy the noon, and David Holste is putand they purchased a Crustcover crop seed, Daren Holting the finishing touches on his Buster drill to assist in planting new house — the two are shiftcover crops. ste said. ing their main farm to where “That root being there opens David and Daren Holste also David Holste’s soon-to-be new up airways and pathways for switched to no-till farming as home stands. water to get down in there, to another method of reducing soil The two farm the land that’s be in the ground when the crop erosion. The process saves time been in their family for just needs it,” Daren Holste said. and money, David Holste said, more than 150 years — since In the new year, David Holste and just about any cover crops 1864, to be exact — and now said he’d like to expand cover they plant will have roots deeper work with a thousand acres. The cropping to all of their acres. than anyone could till at. two planted their own first crop “It’s always easy to plant a “It’s really less work, because in 1995. And while the snow and cover crop ahead of beans,” you don’t have all the time ice may cover up some of the David Holste said. “It’s the you’re spending — all the hours evidence of their conservation cover crop ahead of where on your tractor and all the fuel efforts, their techniques have you’re going to plant corn that’s to do all the tillage,” David garnered them recognition at the county level. The Holstes have been named the Effingham County Conservationists of the Year by the Effingham County Soil and Water Conservation District. Administrative Coordinator Denise Willenborg said the two We now offer Fixed Rate Loans are good conservation-minded Beginning Farmer Program Available people — they were awarded for their dedication to using cover Operating Loans & Equipment Loans crops to prevent soil erosion, No Early Pay Off Penalty as well as their participation in the Conservation Stewardship Program, which provides funds for maintaining conservation efforts, she said. David and Daren Holste lost their father in 1982; they learned 217/844-2400 KARSTEN BURGSTAHLER JG-TC Staff Writer

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Friday, January 23, 2015

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FARM NEWS IN BRIEF USDA sending $23M to Washington

Kevin Kilhoffer, Journal Gazette/Times-Courier

Christopher Walk stands next to a tractor near Neoga.

SALEM, Ore. (AP) — The U.S. Department of Agriculture is sending $23 million to Washington state for five conservation programs, including work to preserve farmland, help fish runs and prevent soil erosion. The Capital Press reports the federal dollars will be matched by conservation districts, tribes, nonprofit organizations and other groups involved in the projects. The federal money comes from a new program created in the 2014 Farm Bill. The projects include: A group of efforts in the Palouse Conservation District. Work led by Trout Unlimited on the Upper Columbia. Efforts to improve water quality and fish habitat in the Puget Sound. Water and fish habitat improvements led by the

It runs in the family

JG-TC Staff Writer

EOGA — Most high schoolers start out their careers at shops in the mall or fast

food joints. Christopher Walk started his by growing an over-the-road trucking company with his family’s business, Walk Stock Farms. The over-the-road trucking portion really developed when he was a freshman. He participated in a work program his senior year, where he went to school half a day and worked the other half. “I knew that hard work is what it would take,” he said. “I wouldn’t call it pressure. I’d just call it being busy. It’s something I’ve always had an interest in — when you enjoy what you’re doing it’s not as hard to do it.” Walk, who now serves as student trustee at Lake Land College, said he helped put people in place to run the division after he went off to college, but he still helps out whenever he can. Any time he’s out of school he helps out around the farm — for instance, in mid-January he filled in for the dispatcher, who was on vacation. Walk said he knew he wanted to get a degree and started considering Lake Land. His original plans focused on a twoyear degree, but that’s shifted somewhat — now he intends to pursue a bachelor’s degree with an eye on transferring to the University of Illinois at UrbanaChampaign. “That way I have the option, if I maybe wanted to go off the farm for a few years after college, maybe gain some experience out in the industry, then be able to take those skills from the industry and bring them back to the operation,” he said. After getting on campus, Walk

“I know the family’s operations here, and I have two other brothers that are back and I have a cousin that’s back also. I look forward to growing the operation with them. I worked with them from a young age and I wanted to keep doing that in the future.” Christopher Walk

wanted to become involved. He started by being a Student Ambassador, which gave him interaction with administrators around campus. He sat down with the former student trustee to see what taking over that position would entail. “Being the student trustee on the board, you really get to see the operations of the college,” he said. As the student trustee, Walk does plenty of networking, he said. Every other month he’ll travel to Springfield or Chicago, and he works with other student trustees from around the state. In February

Cumberland officials may revisit poultry plant incentives FAYETTEVILLE, N.C. (AP) — Cumberland County officials may reconsider tax breaks and other sweeteners for a proposed poultry plan that could employ 1,000 workers. The Fayetteville Observer reported that Cumberland County commissioners may vote Tuesday to set a public hearing on an incentives package for the Sanderson Farms plant. The Mississippi-based company told economic development officials last week that it is forgetting about Cumberland County. The decision followed a 4-3 vote by the commissioners two weeks ago to end the bid to lure the $95 million chicken processing plant.

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is to eventually bring all the knowledge he’s gained back to where it all started in Neoga, he said. “I know the family’s operations here, and I have two other brothers that are back and I have a cousin that’s back also,” he said. “I look forward to growing the operation with them. I worked with them from a young age and I wanted to keep doing that in the future.”

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he’ll head out to Washington, D.C. with LLC President Josh Bullock and board Chair Mike 217-232-2113 Contact Burgstahler at kburgsSullivan to talk about issues on tahler@jg-tc.com or 217-238-6839. a national level. At the state level, the big discussion is affordable comWork Shop Garden Shed Lofted Cabin Mini Garage munity college, he said — and while proposed tuition-free FREE Custom community college may be Delivery! Colors Built (Within 25 miles) a long way off, the goal is to increase funding for community college financial aid, he said. “We think that way that #1 Metal Roofing Maintenance Treated Joists Condensation amount can be better used at & Siding Free & Flooring Barrier the community college level, since it is a lot more affordable,” 217-543-3525 3 miles west on Rt. 133 & Raymond H. Miller he said. 2¼ miles South of Arthur Hours: Mon - Fri 8 – 5 or 5 miles North off Rt. 121 Walk’s plan after graduation

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Friday, january 23, 2015

Rollover protection recommended DAWN JAMES JG-TC Staff Writer

As in any industry, accidents can occur. Farming happens to have the highest fatality rate of any other industry, according to Peggy Romba, Illinois Farm Bureau program manager. In Illinois, tractor rollovers are the leading culprit, accounting for 70 percent of all farming deaths. Seventy five percent of those rollovers are on the side, while 25 percent are to the rear. Also, farmers falling from tractors make up 20 percent, while runovers round out the remaining numbers. The Illinois Farm Bureau Quality Life Action Team is working toward offering rebates to farmers who are interested in a measure of protection known as RollOver Protective Structures (ROPS). Equipped with a roll bar or cage frame, the safety mechanism provides a zone of protection for the operator of the tractor. When using a seat belt, the operator is kept inside the zone of protection. Tractors that are not equipped with the item allow farmers only a 20 percent survival rate. With it and the use of a seat belt, a 99 percent survival rate has been determined. Within the next few months,

area farmers are encouraged to contact their local farm bureau office if they are interested in retrofitting their tractors with a ROPS. Funds will be offered on a first-come, first-serve basis and will be limited, Romba said. She said that 45 to 50 percent of tractors still do not have a ROPS unit. Tractors may not be equipped with an ROPS because farmers are using tractors from before 1986 or because a farmer has removed it. According to the website public-health.uiowa.edu/ gpcah/resources/tractor-overturns.html, individuals should never build and attach their own ROPS unit. Contact an implement dealer, farm bureau office, or Google the Kentucky ROPS Guide or NYCAMH ROPS Retrofit Program for more information. According to Romba, if a

Judge: Dairy pollution threatens valley’s water

SPOKANE, Wash. (AP) — A federal judge has ruled that a large industrial dairy in eastern Washington has polluted drinking water through its application, storage and management of manure, in a case that could set precedents across the nation. U.S. District Judge Thomas O. Rice of Spokane ruled Wednesday that the pollution posed an “imminent and substantial endangerment” to the environment and to people who drink the water. Rice wrote that he “could come to no other conclusion than that the Dairy’s operations are contributing to the high levels of nitrate that are currently contaminating — and will continue to contaminate ... the underlying groundwater.” “Any attempt to diminish the Dairy’s contribution to the nitrate contamination is disingenuous, at best,” Rice wrote in the 111-page opinion, in which he granted partial summary judgment in favor of environmental groups that sued the dairy. A trial has been scheduled for March 23 in Yakima to decide how much pollution the Cow Palace dairy of Granger was causing and what steps should be taken as a remedy. Jessica Culpepper — an attorney for Public Justice, who helped represent the environmental groups — said this was the first time a federal court has ruled that improperly managed manure is a solid waste, rather than a beneficial farm product. This is also the first time that the federal Resource Conservation and Recovery Act, which governs the disposal of solid and hazardous waste, was applied to farm animals, Culpepper said. Those standards can now

be applied across the nation, Culpepper, of Washington, D.C., said. Attorneys for Cow Palace said they were already considering an appeal, regardless of the trial outcome. “It may very well be that the appeal will happen sooner than expected,” said attorney Brendan Monahan of Yakima. The civil lawsuit was filed by environmental groups — including the Community Association for Restoration of the Environment and the Center for Food Safety — and relied only on the likelihood of unlawful pollution, not absolute proof as in criminal cases. According to the ruling, Cow Palace has 11,000 cows that create more than 100 million gallons of manure each year. The decision “connects these industrial dairies to contamination of the drinking water of thousands of lower Yakima Valley residents,” the environmental groups said in a press release. The manure is spread on fields, turned into compost and stored in large impoundments. “They were storing it in lagoons that are leaking like crazy,” Culpepper said. “It will take a lot of work to clean it up.” The environmental groups sued on behalf of thousands of families in the lower Yakima Valley who rely on groundwater through wells. The valley is a heavily agricultural area located about 150 miles east of Seattle. “It is long past due that these dairy factories be held accountable for their toxic waste and compromising of human health,” said George Kimbrell, attorney for the Center for Food Safety. PollutioN/11

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overturns such as being aware of terrain changes including ditches, holes, slopes or unstable ground, working near or by embankments, and handling large loads on a front-end loader. A few tips to alter the risk of overturning a tractor from the rear include the following: Loads should be hitched at the drawbar and no higher Weigh down the front with weights for stability Never change gears while working a slope farmer has more than one Progress forward slowly tractor and is having a hard with gradual changes in speed time choosing which one to Drive down a hill and avoid retrofit, as the cost is between backing downhill $800 and $1,200, then he/she Drive around ditches should choose the tractor that rather than through them is used during the most highSide rollovers can be risk activities such as mowing and endloading. She said most thwarted by considering the of the accidents occur when following suggestions: Before traveling at higher mowing on an incline. speeds, lock the brake pedOverturning a tractor can be costly not only monetarily but als together physically. The website public Use low gear and speeds health.uiowa.edu/gpcah/ and match speed to conditions resources/tractor-overturns. and loads html states that one in seven When turning, slow down farmers who overturn a tractor When going downhill, use become disabled. Also, seven engine braking in 10 farms will go out of busi Avoid steep slopes Turn downhill not uphill, ness within five years of a death if tractor becomes unstable resulting from a tractor acciThe above tips and more can dent. Also, 80 percent of fatalibe found at the website publicties in tractor rollovers involve health.uiowa.edu/gpcah/ experienced tractor drivers. The website also addresses resources/tractor-overturns. html. safety measures to ward off

Mid-Missouri hog farm opponents seek new hearing COLUMBIA, Mo. (AP) — Opponents of a proposed hog farm that would house 10,000 breeding sows in mid-Missouri have requested a hearing to stall construction until an appeal challenging the facility’s permit is complete. The move by the Friends of Responsible Agriculture is the latest step in a monthslong fight to stop construction of the farm in Callaway County, The Columbia Daily Tribune reported (http://bit. ly/1BYJcKV ). The group has filed a separate appeal of the Department of Natural Resources’ decision to grant a permit allowing the Callaway Farrowing farm on 20 acres near Kingdom City. “The reason it’s so important that we get this stay is so it stops everything, construction-wise, before the appeal process is taken care of,” Jones said. “We’re very hopeful we can get that decision turned around with our attorneys’ guidance.” Area landowners were first notified in May of the proposed farm, to be operated by

Eichelberger Farms of Wayland, Iowa. Opponents held two public meetings and submitted a petition with 1,400 signatures, citing concerns about the potential smell and water pollution from farm runoff, the company’s engineering documents and its waste management plans. The state granted the permit Nov. 21, saying many of the opponents’ concerns were out of the state’s jurisdiction and Missouri law requires a permit to be issued within 60 days of receiving an application. An initial request for a stay was rejected after Friends of Responsible Agriculture missed a Jan. 2 meeting with representatives of Callaway Farrowing — a meeting that Jeff Jones, a member of the opposing group, said took place without their knowledge. A lawyer with the Administrative Hearing Commission said the request for another meeting is pending and the appeal hearing for the Department of Natural Resources permit will be Feb. 10.

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Friday, January 23, 2015

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Wild horses in North Dakota focus of study LAUREN DONOVAN The Bismarck Tribune

BISMARCK, N.D. (AP) — Dan Baker is not like an expectant dad waiting to find out if it’s a boy or a girl. He’s the opposite, hoping to hear that all the pregnancy tests come back negative. Baker, a research biologist at Colorado State University’s animal reproduction and biotechnology laboratory, is the man in charge of an experimental contraception program in the wild horse herd at Theodore Roosevelt National Park, The Bismarck Tribune reported. There is hope that Baker’s work is productive — not reproductive. Within a month, he’ll know if he’s onto something that will have implications far beyond this singular herd in this one park — or if he’s back

The Associated Press

In a Dec. 16 file photo, Izabella Gosttschall, right, and her sister, Sophia, talk to one of the remaining horses at the Masterpiece Equestrian Center in Davie, Fla. Izabella recently lost her horse to a batch of feed tainted by additives safe for other livestock but toxic to horses.

Settlement reached in horse deaths caused by tainted feed The feed arrived at the center in September but it was weeks before anyone realized something MIAMI BEACH, Fla. — A was wrong with all the horses at Florida equestrian center where Masterpiece. 22 horses were poisoned by Since the first deaths in Octotainted feed has reached a settleber, the horses’ owners have tried ment with the company that to keep their animals comfortable, produced and sold the feed. lavishing attention on them with Two horses had to be eutha“spa days” in their stables. All nized Dec. 26, bringing the death riding lessons were suspended, toll at Masterpiece Equestrian Center in Davie to six since Octo- and the parents of the center’s ber, said Andy Yaffa, the attorney youngest riders struggled to explain how all the horses, not representing the center and the just one or two, were dying and owners of 20 of the horses. there was nothing anyone could All the horses at the center ate the contaminated feed, and all are do except give the horses extra expected to eventually die from it. treats and grooming. Lakeland Animal Nutrition Their owners can do little except keep vigil over the animals as their has said the contamination was limited to the feed at Masterpiece, health fails. and no other horses elsewhere The terms of the settlement were reported sickened because of last week with Lakeland Animal it. The Lakeland-based company Nutrition are confidential, but Yaffa said Monday that his clients recalled the product, stopped producing equine feeds and will be able to buy new horses acknowledged that feed delivered and care for the remaining ailto Masterpiece contained monening horses. The afflicted horses range from sin and lasalocid, anti-bacterial ponies worth $25,000 to $50,000 additives safe for livestock such as cattle and some poultry but toxic to elite competitors worth hunto horses’ muscles. dreds of thousands of dollars. General manager Jonathan “The remaining horses conLang said the 95-year-old comtinue to deteriorate — unfortunately,” Yaffa said. “We knew they pany was devastated by the losses would but did not want to believe at Masterpiece. “Although their beloved aniit. We also did not realize it would mals could never be replaced, it is be so fast.” JENNIFER KAY Associated Press

our hope that this settlement will bring them some peace and allow them to continue pursuing their passion for equestrian care and sport,” Lang said in an email. Necropsies performed on four horses that died at Masterpiece before the settlement last week confirmed monensin poisoning. The remaining horses all showed the same progressive symptoms,

including difficulty standing, but no more necropsies will be needed, Yaffa said. “We know what’s causing this,” Yaffa said, adding that Lakeland Animal Nutrition had “acted honorably throughout the restoration process.” Florida’s Department of Agriculture and Consumer Services is investigating.

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to square one. The samples are in, and tests will be run soon. He hesitates to even guess at the results. “It’s totally unknown. It could be anything between no effects all the way to permanent sterilization. This question has never been answered,” Baker said. If his experiment works, it could be a new way to control the park’s constantly expanding wild horse herd and possibly the thousands of wild horses on Bureau of Land Management land. The method also could have uses in the control of unmanaged wild dog populations in Third World countries, or simply to suppress fertility in domestic horses, dogs and cats. WILD hORsEs/13

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Friday, January 23, 2015

Seed libraries struggle with state laws limiting exchanges “As a farmer, I understand why these laws are in place.” But, “Regenerating your own seed is a human right.”

SCOTT MCFETRIDGE Associated Press

DES MOINES, Iowa — For thousands of years, people have exchanged seeds to grow terrific tomatoes or produce the perfect potato, but a new effort to loan and borrow seeds has created a conflict between well-meaning gardeners and state agriculture officials who feel obligated to enforce laws restricting the practice. Seed exchanges have sprouted up in about 300 locations around the country, most often in libraries, where gardeners can exchange selfpollinating seeds rather than buy standard, hybrid seeds. In spots like Duluth, Minnesota, the conflict with agriculture departments has surprised gardeners and library officials, who established exchanges to meet a growing interest in locally grown food and preserving certain varieties, never thinking to examine the intricacies of state seed laws. “It’s about the philosophy, the legacy of shared seeds,” Duluth Library Manager Carla Powers said. Its seed exchange is operated by library employees and volunteers out of a converted wardrobe. “It’s about sharing with our friends and neighbors in the community.” Agriculture officials say they weren’t looking for a fight but felt obligated as they became aware of the increasingly popular seed libraries to enforce laws, which are largely uniform across the country. Intended to protect farmers, the laws ensure seeds are viable, will grow the intended plant and aren’t mixed with unwanted seeds for weeds or plants. Even though most of the laws refer to “sales” of seeds, that term is defined to include exchanges — where no money changes hands. “Everybody thinks we’re the big, evil, bad government, but it’s much more complicated than people are aware,” said Geir Friisoe, director of the Minnesota Department of Agriculture’s Plant Protection Division. The issue first arose last summer in Pennsylvania, when a state inspector became aware of a seed exchange at a public library in Mechanicsburg that appeared to violate the law. State Agriculture Department Deputy Secretary Jay Howes said his office “sent them a nice letter” that outlined the problem, noting seed distributed by the

POLLUTION From 9

Rice’s ruling criticized the Cow Palace and its owners, Bill and Adam Dolsen, saying they appeared to minimize the dangers posed by nitrates, including “Blue Baby Syndrome,” a condition that can result when babies consume formula mixed with nitrate-contaminated water. “Alarmingly, Defendant Cow Palace’s briefing seems to suggest that this Court wait to act until a young infant in the area is first diagnosed with methemoglobinemia, a health effect that occurs at the lowest dose of nitrate consumption,” Rice wrote. Cow Palace owners said they are deciding what to do next. “We are reviewing the ruling and will be charting a course forward with our attorneys,” president Adam Dolsen said in a statement. “We understand that this case has wide-reaching implications that extend far beyond

heads Nebraska’s seed control office, said if the organizers of such libraries persist, he’ll likely seek guidance from a state attorney about how to proceed. The issue also might arise in the Nebraska Legislature, Svik said. Friisoe said his office will propose changing Minnesota law to allow occasional exchanges and those operated by charitable groups. Meanwhile, Oakland, California-based Sustainable Economies Law Center is providing information to seed libraries about state laws, including an online “Seed Law Tool Shed” that compiles relevant sections. Neil Thapar, a lawyer for the center, said his group planned to help state legislatures draft measures that would allow the libraries. “We think it’s a right people have,” Thapar said. “It’s part of our culture.”

Betsy Goodman, organic farmer

The Associated Press

In this Dec. 18 photo, Betsy Goodman handles seed packets at the Benson public library in Omaha, Neb. Goodman established a seed library at the library branch in 2012, and patrons checked out nearly 5,000 packets this year.

Nebraska, library branch in 2012. This year, patrons checked out nearly 5,000 packets, and the program will expand to two more branches on Jan. 1. “As a farmer, I understand why these laws are in place,” said Goodman, who works at an organic farm. But, she added, “Regenerating your own seed is a human right.” Despite the existence of several seed libraries in Nebraska, they’re probably not legal. David Svik, who

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In this Dec. 18 photo, Betsy Goodman pulls seed packets at the Benson public library in Omaha, Neb.

library needed to be tested and the library would have to be licensed. State officials and the library quickly resolved the situation by agreeing to hold one-day seed swaps, Howes said. Despite the agreement, some were puzzled about why the state had demanded changes. The department felt it was wrongly portrayed as cracking down on well-intentioned gardeners, when officials had little choice.

the Yakima Valley and throughout agriculture,” Dolsen’s statement said. Rice also rejected Cow Palace’s defense that septic tanks contribute significantly to contaminated groundwater, noting the U.S. Environmental Protection Agency found that 224 residential septic systems near the dairies produced less than one-tenth of 1 percent of the waste generated by the other dairy defendants. The environmental groups in 2013 filed lawsuits against Cow Palace, Liberty Dairy, H&S Bosma Dairy and George DeRuyter and Son Dairy. The case against Cow Palace was scheduled for trial first. The dairies are located close to each other, and the facts and arguments are the same in all four lawsuits, Culpepper said. The dairies contended that manure was a beneficial farm product. “We argued there was so much manure it can’t be used as a beneficial product,” Culpepper said.

“When state law was written, probably 10 years ago, there was no such thing as a seed library, so the law didn’t anticipate this,” Howes said. Advocates of seed-sharing programs said they don’t necessarily blame agriculture departments, but some express frustration that laws focus on the needs of modern hybrid seed producers while limiting age-old, person-to-person seed exchanges. It’s hard to justify restricting

the small-scale exchanges, according to John Torgrimson, the executive director of the Seed Savers Exchange, which maintains a seed bank of more than 20,000 varieties. His Decorah, Iowa-based group meets the standards of all U.S. seed laws. “There’s almost no danger,” he said. “This is not a risk to agriculture in any state. This is not a risk to our food supply.” Betsy Goodman established a seed library at an Omaha,

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Rancher’s wish: a legacy of his land pristine forever more than 20,000 acres in St. Lucie County. “Should I talk?” Simmons FORT PIERCE, Fla. (AP) — asked John Browne, the land Bud Adams, slim and dressed acquisition administrator of in blue jeans and a blue buttonthe Florida Forest Service, the down shirt and cowboy boots coordinator of Florida’s Rural and a cowboy hat, drove his Ford and Family Lands ProtecExplorer around his ranch in tion Program. western St. Lucie County, look“Yes, you should,” ing at his land and his cattle. His Browne said. truck, with manure caked in the Inside the meeting room, tires, jounced in the ruts of rough Adam Putnam, the state compaths. He’s been the president of missioner of agriculture, found the Florida Cattlemen’s AssoSimmons and her father, Lee, ciation. He’s been named landBud Adams’ oldest. He shook owner of the year by the Florida their hands. “Good to see you,” Fish and Wildlife Conversation he said. “How are y’all doing?” Commission. He’s a member of Simmons, 32, a Florida State the Florida Agricultural Hall of graduate, is a company direcFame. Now he showed his guests tor in charge of the ranch’s real his bounty, pointing to heifers estate interests. She can wear and calves, herons and hawks, jeans and boots and go on gator egrets and turkeys, baby gators hunts. She can wear high heels and boxes of bees, centuries-old and hoop earrings and talk to hammocks of cypress, pine and Tallahassee shot-callers. palm. He stopped the truck. A “That LeeAnn,” Adams had hot breeze blew through Spanish said back at the ranch, “she can moss. He plucked a fat grapefruit work with anybody, cowboys and knifed off its top and sucked or senators. She’s talked like an on a juicy wedge. adult since she was 3 years old.” This land, unpolluted and “Eventually it would be nice pristine, was here before he to put the whole ranch under was here. All he has done, he easement,” Simmons had said explained, is keep it intact. in the Capitol lobby. “We never “So far,” he said. thought it would take this long. What Adams wants, here near The Associated Press We’re not in a hurry. But my the end, coming up on 89 years Bud Adams closes the door to his home near a collection of his cowboy hats at his ranch in Fort Pierce, Fla., on Dec. 10. grandfather would tell you difold, is for the ranch land that ferently. He’s 88. He’s in a hurry.” bears his name, some 40,000 bear fruit, and grasses grow to Osceola County. The purchase There was an invocation from acres spread over four Florida cover the prairies,” he wrote in price, 90 percent of the lowest a local pastor, the Pledge of counties, to remain the way it is his book A Florida Cattle Ranch appraisal, was a little more than — for his children, for their chilin 1998. “Bees suck nectar from $2.6 million. The state would pay Allegiance from a class of area third-graders and a presentation flowers and distribute the pollen roughly 75 percent of that, the dren, for the children’s children. concerning Toys for Tots. Awards that makes the fruit possible. National Resources ConservaThree-quarters of the people were given to some firefighters, Birds eat fruit, and cattle graze tion Service the rest, at about who voted in Florida on the first on the tender grass. Their hooves $1,700 an acre. That’s much less a state trooper. Pictures were Tuesday of November want the break up the soil to accept new than the richest offer Adams same thing. The language on the posed, snapped. Simmons sat, seeds which are spread by the ever got, from a developer — and ballot for the Florida Water and birds. The manure of all creasaid no to — which was in 2005: Land Conservation Initiative, $15,000 an acre for all of his Amendment 1, stated the aim: tures nourishes the soil. AdAMS/13 “to acquire, restore, improve, “No one has greater stake in and manage conservation lands.” preserving the land in its natural But the crux of the question: condition than those whose Complete Auction Service Did interested citizens of Florida families have lived for generawant the state to spend billions tions with its endless change, its Machinery Sales of dollars of taxpayer money to perpetual beauty, and its occaReal Estate Sales buy environmentally important The Associated Press sional cruelties. . Whoever owns Estate Auction Sales property and then just let it be? and uses the land merely holds it Bud Adams pauses during lunch in his home at his ranch in Fort The answer was overwhelmin trust for future generations.” Pierce, Fla., on Nov. 2. STANFIELD AUCTION ingly yes. The Adams Ranch has been Michael Stanfield On the St. Lucie portion of the saying: “Grits is good, grits is climate. Adams began to believe focused on conservation ease4504 State Hwy. 130 ranch, Adams pulled up to the tough, thank the Lord we got the secret — if there was one ments for the past 10 or so Charleston, IL 61920 • 345-7772 house he has lived in since 1949, grits enough.” — was to live in harmony with years. Conservation easements www.stanfieldauction.com open windows the only AC, for Much of St. Lucie County, on one’s surroundings. Coexistence, are legal agreements between a his regular noon lunch. He stiff- the Atlantic coast, was still fron- not willful dominion, was the landowner and usually a governshuffled inside and to his chair tier. In Fort Pierce, people went best way. ment entity in which the owner at the head of the table, where to government buildings, dime Meanwhile, freezes near gives up the development rights. he drank unsweetened tea and stores and feed stores. Shoeless Orlando pushed citrus growers Because the land can no longer ate sliced avocado, black-eyed Seminoles came to town to sell south, toward the Adams Ranch, be developed, its value goes We stock a complete peas and spaghetti with sauce. huckleberries and hides. But to and the Coca-Cola company, down, which in turn reduces He wears hearing aids. Often, the west, across the peninsula, purveyor of Minute Maid orange the estate tax, or death tax, that line of BATTERIES he has to have skin cancer spots all the way to the Gulf of Mexico, juice, came looking for land, must be paid when the land STARTERS – ALTERNATORS removed from his face, the result was inhospitable open range, intent on making ranchers offers is passed along to the owner’s Custom made of a life spent on the back of a unfenced cattle on unbroken they couldn’t refuse. In the mid heirs. Adams thinks conservation horse. A few years ago, he had pasture, a vast swath extend‘50s, Adams remembers, the easements are a good idea for BATTERY CABLES a quadruple bypass, and now, ing from the wild, impenetrable company offered him and his him and his ranch. But funding again, he could feel his breath Everglades north to what Walt father $5,000 an acre for 5,000 comes and goes depending on getting short. Disney would do to Orlando. acres, $25 million. They refused. the vicissitudes of the economy He leaned to his left to feed his Florida was the last of the states If citrus covered Florida first, and the priorities of politicians. wife, the former Dorothy Snively, in the East to be settled, espehouses covered Florida next, and The family applied in 2006 for a to whom he has been married for cially South Florida, because in the ‘60s, Frank Mackle of the then-5-year-old program called 309 N. 15th 1519 Madison 65 years, the past 10 of which she of Indians, animals and bugs, General Development CorporaFlorida Forever. In 2008, the Mattoon Charleston has had Alzheimer’s. She sat still swamps and heat. Adams as a tion bought 40,000 acres of his family put 780 acres under ease258-VOLT 345-VOLT in a wheelchair. He held a fork boy went out to the country to own. South of the Adams’ land, ment. The leader of the Adams (258-8658) (345-8658) Mon.-Fri. 8-5, Sat. 8-12 of noodles to her mouth. She hunt fowl and deer. he started Port St. Lucie. St. Ranch’s latest easement efforts looked at him, her eyes bright In the wake of the Depression, Lucie County, with a population is LeeAnn Adams Simmons — blue and unblinking, and took lots of land was next to worthof barely more than 7,000 when Bud’s granddaughter. • 24 Hour Road Service & Towing a bite. less, beset by back taxes. Alto Adams was a toddler and only ... “Good, good,” Adams said. Adams Sr. had in mind to buy a 11,000 when he was a teenager, TALLAHASSEE. • Complete Truck & Equipment Repair ... small plot, but a man who lived kept getting bigger — more than LAST MONTH. • Full Service Semi Tractor & Trailer Repair HIS GRANDFATHER was a in Iowa wanted to unload all his 20,000 in 1950, almost 40,000 “I don’t want to talk if I don’t • Recovery & Vehicle Rescue Civil War orphan who never Florida ranch land, all 40,000 in 1960, more than 50,000 in have to,” Simmons said at Florilearned to write his name. His acres, for $1.50 an acre, and it 1970 — and Port St. Lucie kept da’s Capitol, outside the Cabinet • Heavy Trucks • R.V.s • Autos father was a state Supreme was fine if Adams’ dad simply getting closer. Meeting Room. The Adams Court judge. paid when he could. Sold. That And on Nov. 30, 1971, at a Ranch was on the day’s agenda. He was born Alto “Bud” was in 1937. gathering marking Adams’ “I think it would be useful Adams Jr. in the house of a Ten years later, after Adams mother’s 70th birthday, his if you said something,” said doctor in Fort Pierce on April finished a two-year stateside father spoke to the whole family, Charles Lee, the director of 4, 1926, Easter Sunday, toward stint in the Navy during World and to his son in particular. advocacy for Audubon Florida. what turned out to be the tail War II and then graduated from “No one life stands alone, “To put a face to the transacend of the first great Florida the University of Florida, his without attachments to others,” tion.” 3601 Lakeland Blvd. land boom. father made him his partner. Alto Adams Sr. said. “It is proper Gov. Rick Scott and the CabiMattoon, IL The span of his life traces the Alto Adams’ ranch became Alto that you take justifiable pride net were set to consider a 1,536Located at Rt. 45 & I-57 Service Company modern history of the state. Adams & Son. in who you are. This heritage is acre easement, a mixture of The house in which he was In the ‘50s, Adams and his yours, to have, to hold, and to pasture and wetlands in eastern • (217) 234-3933 • (217) 235-1448 a boy was two stories up a hill wife had their children, first Lee, build upon.” from the railroad tracks, with then two daughters, twins who The population of St. Lucie trains two or three times a day were born premature and didn’t County continued to surge, to carrying to Miami people from live past three weeks, then Mike, almost 90,000 in 1980, more up north. In the 1920s they then Robbie. than 150,000 in 1990 — other brought people looking to make Adams created cattle, too, ranchers sold their land to buildmoney; in the ‘30s they brought astutely mating Hereford bulls, ers of houses — but Bud Adams people trying to find work. Dur- more attractive at market but never did. bigger and hairier, and Brahman ing the Depression, hobos leapt In 1991 he received the Florida cows, leaner, rangier descenfrom boxcars and scampered Cattlemen’s Association Envitoward the Adams house and dants from India and Spain, ronmental Award, and a National knocked on the door, asking for to make a new breed he called Cattlemen’s Foundation Envifood. So many decades later, Brafords. They were particuronmental Stewardship Award. Adams recited a childhood larly well-suited for the Florida “Plants in Florida flower and MICHAEL KRUSE Tampa Bay Times

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WILD HORSES From 10

Baker’s work in what he calls a perfect — not to mention beautiful — outdoors laboratory dates back to 2009. “It’s such a great natural lab out there. The area the horses are confined in is large, but not too large. It’s great landscape, and we can find them most of the time,” he said. In 2009, during the park’s scheduled wild horse roundup and herd reduction, Baker vaccinated 28 wild horses with GonaCon, a vaccine that has been used to suppress pregnancy in captive animals, not free-roaming wild ones such as those in the park. The results were poor. Half the vaccinated mares became pregnant and, within three years, they all did.

ADAMS From 12

legs crossed, waiting, her right foot bouncing nervously. Finally the Adams Ranch was up. She stood behind a lectern. She brushed her hair behind her right ear. She looked at the governor and his Cabinet. “On behalf of Adams Ranch, I would like to thank the governor and Cabinet for considering this conservation easement purchase today. “Conserving this 1,500 acres is a step towards conserving a complete ecosystem that is home to numerous endangered and protected wildlife species. Cattle and wildlife have used this land together for over 400 years. They are mutually dependent on each other. Cattle keep the brush down and improve habitat for nesting birds such as turkey and quail.” At the ranch, in the office, Adams watched his granddaughter on a video feed on a computer. In Tallahassee, in the meeting room, Scott rocked in his chair. Attorney General Pam Bondi rested her face in the palm of a hand. Putnam leaned back and put his pen to his mouth. “Also being protected,” Simmons continued, “is a 75-yearold cattle ranch that is the 12th-largest cow-calf ranch in the country. The second, third and fourth generations are now running the family business together. “The Rural and Family Lands Protection Program is a tool that can be used to ensure that a ranch operation can stay in agriculture production in perpetuity. This will protect our nation’s food supply, grasslands and watersheds while staying on the local tax rolls and providing jobs. This program will help prevent large old Florida ranches from being fragmented, preserving the 500-year-old ranching heritage in Florida. It is a win for everyone. It is a win for the state because there will not be any management costs while receiving the benefits of large landscape conservation. It is a win for the local governments that will continue receiving taxes without having to provide extra services. It is a win for the rancher who can continue to work the land and be able to pass the land down to the next generation. And it is a win for the wildlife that will continue to have a home. “We still have more to

Friday, January 23, 2015

“It’s such a great natural lab out there. The area the horses are confined in is large, but not too large. It’s great landscape, and we can find them most of the time.” Dan Baker, a research biologist at Colorado State University’s animal reproduction and biotechnology laboratory

What they’ve since learned is that, even though the park’s wild horses are in excellent physical condition, with good forage, they carry a big parasite load, which may have prevented the kind of antibody response needed to suppress pregnancy. “Real world horses get injured, or have fence cuts,

is completed, but we will continue to move forward with this program in the future as more funding becomes available. “Thank you,” Simmons said, “and I’m here to answer any questions.” No questions. Bondi made a motion to pass. Putnam seconded. “The motion carries,” the governor said. In the lobby, Charles Lee, of Audubon Florida, said, “The word perpetuity appears in these easements, and perpetuity is a long, long time.” About Bud Adams, Putnam said, “He’s a giant in Florida agriculture.” About Adams Ranch and the easement, Putnam said, “It’s the next incremental step in protecting the landscape that the Adams family has protected for generations.” ... THE NEXT MORNING at the ranch, past the blue and white lights of Orlando and the big-box stores on the banks of Interstate 95, two bulbs burned through the dark in the horse barn. Cowboy Blaine Matthews fed the quarter horses buckets of pellets. “Plenty of nutrition, plenty of fat,” he said. “Plenty of energy. We ride these suckers every day.” “Morning,” he said to three other cowboys, including Stewart Adams, 29, son of Robbie, grandson of Bud, father to two 3-year-old girls and a boy who’s not quite 1, Bud’s first great-grandchildren. Stewart, dressed in boots and spurs and blue jeans and a tan Carhartt coat, checked the temperature on his iPhone, a digital glow in the barn. Florida cold: 43 degrees. “Bill get passed?” he asked a guest, referring to the easement. Yes, he was told. He used Google Earth on his phone to pull up an image of the acreage, a slice of the Adams’ Osceola ranch, about an hour north. “Pretty in there,” he said. “I’m just glad my kids can see it.” The cowboys brushed and saddled their horses. This morning’s task was to corral in a nearby pasture 92 bulls, not yet visible but audible, a mixture of screaming and snorting, the impatient sounds of calves waiting to happen. The cowboys drove them into a fenced-in chute and finally into a pen next to the barn. The bulls had wet, messy

and their immune systems go toward those things rather than suppressing the hormones that control reproduction,” Baker said. Last year, the park conducted another wild horse roundup and that’s when Baker’s research took a step further. The same 28 mares were revaccinated to learn whether a second booster of the same drug would achieve a higher antibody response and improve contraception. Last month, volunteers collected fecal samples dropped on park ground by as many of the 28 vaccinated mares as could be located. By measuring the feces for estradiol, a hormone excreted by a fetus, Baker’s lab team will soon know if the revaccination was successful. “As the fetus matures, the concentration of estradiol gets

higher and higher. If it’s 10 (nanograms per gram), they’re not pregnant. If it’s 100, they are. In a couple of weeks, after we’ve looked, if everything’s really high, the study’s over,” Baker said. The proof will be in the lab, but the mares will also be observed in the spring to verify the actual foaling rate. Blake McCann is the park’s wildlife biologist, a man who prizes science and wildlife equally. McCann’s hopeful the revaccination works, too, but for reasons that have more to do with the horses, than the science itself. He’d like to see the park bring to an end the longstanding practice of controlling the wild horse population with controversial helicopter-driven roundups and transport to public livestock sales barns.

and huffed clouds of breath. A couple dozen Red Angus were let into the pen. They pushed against each other, head to head, a few of them attempting to mount others from behind. Some scuffled in a corner and snapped a board on a gate. “Hammer,” Stewart Adams called to another cowboy. Bud Adams stiff-shuffled into the pen, into the middle, the soft dirt sticking to his shiny brown boots, and he faced the loose, kinetic semicircle of bulls. He conferred with one of his managers. His grandson stood close with a long prod just in case. Adams eyeballed this crop, looking at height, length and girth, and then he pointed at different bulls, picking which ones should be put next to which cows, to make the best possible calves. “I don’t like him,” he said to the manager about one of the bulls, “but I like his calves.” Done, Adams left the pen, walked back through the barn and toward the office. He stopped near a car and put his hand on the side, steadying himself. Six days before, he had had a stent inserted in an artery of his heart. Now he tried to catch his breath. “Out of gas,” he said. Inside the office, he talked more about his land and about how much he loves it. “I hate to leave it,” he said. ...

touching the native vegetation.” He pointed out a small sign touting the future site of a community called Destiny. A big-shot developer and a co-founder of the Subway sandwich empire bought more than 40,000 acres of prairie to make another Orlando. It was a foolhardy idea from the get-go, in 2006, and it got worse from there. The economy didn’t cooperate. The project stalled. Lawsuits followed. The planners are suing each other. “They bought up all this land,” Adams said. He took a left on South Canoe Creek Road, then another left on a road toward his property, which started shortly after a sign that said PAVEMENT ENDS. He showed this bounty, too, more hammocks, more pasture, home to about 5,000 cows, twice that number of cattle depending on bulls and calves and the time of the year. He has seven miles of virgin Lake Marian lakefront. “There are a lot of eagles that feed in this lake,” he said. He drove past his old hunting lodge, where he used to go with his friends. Now his friends’ sons go. The sons of their sons do. “All my friends are dead,” Adams said. It was quiet in the truck on the drive back, except for the high-pitched whine from Adams’ hearing aids, a sound like a mechanical mosquito. Nobody said anything. Deference. It was quiet, too, at regular noon lunch. Beef stew this time. A space heater in the corner kept the room warm. Adams’ wife wore a white sweater and red nail polish. He fed her a coin-sized piece of carrot. It fell onto her front. She looked at him with those blue, unblinking eyes. He held a piece of meat on a fork in front of her face. She bit. She chewed.

ADAMS DROVE his Explorer west on State Road 68, then north on U.S. 441, heading toward his ranch in Osceola County, the site of his two conservation easements. He pointed out on the roadsides clutches of invasive Brazilian pepper trees. He said many people kill them by spraying herbicide. The Adams Ranch method: Pull them out. “We have a guy who goes in and just kills the Brazilian

Instead, if the revaccination controls pregnancy by even 50 percent, McCann said becomes more feasible to also lure the wild horses into a makeshift corral in their own environment and remove small select numbers for sale right there. That practice would be much less traumatic all around for humans and horses, he said. He plans to conduct a corral trap this year to start learning how and to manage the 142 wild horses currently in the park, a number well above the 40 to 90 population considered ideal. Some doses of the second vaccine were delivered by dart, which was acceptable for the experiment. “For research, yes, but to use that as a management tool, we would have to go into an environmental impact statement. Darting animals is not part of our management plan,”

McCann said. Whether through contraception or smaller removals from the temporary corrals, McCann said he does not want to see wild horse numbers return to the all-time high of 200 that were there last year when 103 were culled and sold at Wishek Livestock. “I don’t want to get to 200 again and do another helicopter roundup. With the corral trapping, we can remove a dozen or so every year and get the young mares out before they become reproductively active,” he said. That said, McCann said he’s hoping Baker’s work is productive, not reproductive, as it were. “I would like to see the vaccine be a viable tool. We always have to be adaptable as a situation unfolds. I’m hopeful it’s effective,” he said.

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Farmer gives historic building new life in Smith Center TIM UNRUH

The Salina Journal

SMITH CENTER, Kan. — When Nathan Jacobs figured out where he wanted to raise his three daughters, it turned out to also be among his favorite places — home with his family, friends and the warmth of a welcoming community. As a bonus, the 33-year-old farmer is helping his hometown and county flourish by keeping a downtown landmark alive, The Salina Journal reports. The historic First National Bank building, built in 1889 and on the National Registry of Historic Places, lives on today, thanks to the Kansas Preservation Alliance, which restored the structure. Jacobs bought the building in October and injected more than $250,000 into the project. “Without them investing in the building and doing some of the work before I purchased it, this wouldn’t have happened,”

Jacobs said. The old bank soon will house at least two businesses and “hopefully” more, he said. “I always dreamed that it would be my office, but it didn’t work out that way,” said Garoleen Wilson, director of Smith County Economic Development. The top floor is being rented to MAK Collections, a Phoenixbased company that helps individuals and businesses collect unpaid bills. One of the owners, Brandon Hrabe, spent summers with his grandparents in Smith County, Wilson said. “He came here from Arizona and wanted to raise his kids in a small town,” she said. Wilson said that Morgan Gauby, an Edward Jones financial adviser, is renting the front half of the main floor. She is a native of Washington County and was living and working in Topeka before moving to Smith Center.

The project has provided work for John Franklin, owner of Solid Rock Construction, a local contractor. “He also moved here because of family ties,” Wilson said. Unlike many from his Smith Center High School Class of 1999, Jacobs decided to give up a higher income for the fruits of home. Jacobs, a 2004 graduate of Kansas State University with a degree in finance and a minor in economics, started a career with a small company and moved to larger ones. “We thought we’d lost him forever,” Wilson said. “But he had kids and moved back here.” At his last corporate stop, he was working for Gavilon Grain in Abilene and bowed to a passion for farming. He returned home to farm with his dad, Brent Jacobs. “I think (Smith County) is a good place to raise a family, with a good community and

good schools,” he said. “I make a lot less money, work a lot more hours, and I couldn’t be happier doing it.” The efforts, investment and decisions by Jacobs are giving hope to a town in an area that has seen people migrate out for generations. “In these rural counties, we have declining population,” Wilson said. “It continues to spiral, and a lot of downtown buildings are left to deteriorate.” The local economic development corporation was able to provide some no-interest money and a storefront grant, Jacobs said. MAK will move into its new digs by Feb. 1 and the Edward Jones office will open by March 1. “I want the community to thrive so my children have the opportunity to come back here if they choose,” Jacobs said. “Twenty years from now, my kids are going to graduate from college.”

Study: $18B to divert Missouri River to irrigate farmland KANSAS CITY, Mo. (AP) — Building a 360-mile aqueduct to reroute water from the Missouri River to irrigate crops in western Kansas where underwater stores are being exhausted would cost $18 billion and require an additional $1 billion each year to operate, a new draft report shows. The U.S. Army Corps of Engineers estimates that building an aqueduct to transport excess water from the river would take 20 years and cost $12.2 billion, plus $5.8 billion in interest. The estimate doesn’t include the costs of permits or restoring habitat lost as a result of the project, which could boost the cost “significantly higher,” said John Grothaus, chief of the water planning section for the corps’ Kansas City district. The proposed concrete-lined canal and 15 pump stations would start near White Cloud,

along the Nebraska border, and end near Utica. A similar 1982 analysis, undertaken at the request of Congress, estimated construction would cost $3.7 billion and interest $4.2 billion. “Nothing materialized, and it looks like they kicked the can down the road at the very least,” Grothaus said. The Kansas Water Office posted a draft summary, which included the corps’ findings, online this month and will present the complete analysis Jan. 29 to an advisory entity called the Kansas Water Authority. A state committee tasked with updating the 1982 analysis asked for the study because water levels are declining in the Ogallala Aquifer, a vast network of underground water locked in the porous limestone deep below the surface in the High Plains region of the U.S., stretching from Wyoming and

South Dakota to the Texas and Oklahoma panhandle regions. It is the primary source of fresh water for the entire area. Kansas Gov. Sam Brownback has said that Ogallala’s storage could be nearly 70 percent spent in 50 years if nothing changes. “This is a lot of money,” said Kansas Senate Natural Resources Committee Chairman Larry Powell. He estimated that, with the report showing that water from the aqueduct would cost farmers $450 peracre foot in today’s dollars, it would cost upward of $90,000 to irrigate 100 acres of corn. At that price, he asked, “is it going to be feasible to raise corn to feed cattle? It might not be.” The project already has received some pushback, with Missouri Gov. Jay Nixon calling it “ill-advised” in a November 2013 letter to Brownback.

Nixon spokesman Scott Holste said in an email Wednesday that the governor’s position remained the same. Earl Lewis, assistant director of the Kansas Water Office, said, he didn’t know the chances for the project being pursued and acknowledged that concerns had been raised. “Anytime you talk about a significant amount of water and you are talking about moving water from one place to another, you are going to create some controversy,” Lewis said. “Even the study of looking at it, there is controversy being created with it right now.” But he said that in Western states where water-transfer projects have been completed, the benefits are “significant.” The aqueduct, he said, “becomes a policy question. What do we want to see happen in the future? And how do we want to see it happen?”

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Mississippi ag values again set to top $7B STARKVILLE, Miss. (AP) — The overall projected totals for Mississippi’s crop values should top $7 billion for the third straight year, experts say, despite low prices for some goods. John Michael Riley, agricultural economist with the Mississippi State University Extension Service, said his preliminary estimate of 2014 is over $7.7 billion. Final figures will be available in May. “The row crops sector of the agricultural economy took a bit of hit, but there were pockets of that sector that saw improvements, such as cotton and rice,” Riley said. “On the bright side, the livestock sector is doing well with all three segments — beef cattle, dairy cattle and hogs — showing double-digit improvements, percentage wise, from the previous year.” Poultry remained in first place with a $3.13 billion projected total value. At $2.88 billion, broilers showed a slight increase from 2013. Egg values were up nearly 10 percent, reflecting strong demand and price. Forestry is the state’s No. 2 commodity. It saw a 13.8 percent increase in value, driven by an improvement in housing starts. At $1.28 billion in 2014, the state’s forest harvest value

has increased 48 percent since 2009, when the effects of the recession first began to hit the industry. James Henderson, an associate forestry professor with the MSU Extension Service, said he expects this positive trend to continue. “Expectations are for a nearly 20 percent increase in total U.S. housing starts in 2015 as more first-time buyers enter the housing market,” Henderson said. Soybeans — Mississippi’s top row crop — was third overall with a preliminary estimated value of $1.17 billion. Producers harvested about 200,000 more acres more than the previous year, for a total of about 2.19 million harvested acres. The projected yield of 52 bushels per acre, if realized, would set a record. “We saw a much lower price for soybeans than in 2013,” Riley said. “However, the second largest crop ever produced in the state offset most of the drop in prices.” Others in the report: — Cotton was No. 4 with an estimated value this year at $403.6 million. Darrin Dodds, cotton specialist with the Extension Service, said producers planted 420,000 acres in cotton in 2014, up from

295,000 last year. “Like last year, we were late planting because of cool wet weather,” Dodds said. “We were worried about time on the back end to make a crop, but fortunately, we had a long fall and got some hot weather in September, which helped tremendously.” — Cattle was No. 5 with an estimated production value of $396.7 million, up 33 percent from 2013. Riley said cattle remain in short supply after droughtinspired sell-offs. With consumer demand remaining strong and feed costs remaining low, the outlook for 2015 looks promising. — Corn was sixth at $349.6 million; its lowest overall value since 2009. “Mississippi producers dropped from 830,000 to 520,000 harvested acres of corn and saw about a $1.73 drop per bushel in price. With a current projected price of $3.62 per bushel, it’s the lowest price we’ve seen since 2006,” Riley said. Riley said the 55.3 percent drop in corn from 2013’s values was more of an issue of lower acres than lower prices. — While the catfish industry has declined for several years, production has been steady

since the significant decrease in water acres in 2010-2011. “The price has come up 20 cents per pound based on the lower supply, and that has kept those who decided to stay in the industry going,” Riley said. “The drop in soybean price has helped this industry as well.” Total production of catfish is down 13.4 million pounds in 2013 to 156.9 million total pounds in 2014. The combined total value for catfish, stockers, fingerlings and fry is $197.3 million, up 11.1 percent. — Rice prices and acres were up. Producers harvested 190,000 acres with a yield of 7,200 hundredweight and a price of $13.68 per hundredweight. Rice was No. 8 spot

with an estimated value of $174 million. — Hog producers saw a 21.5 percent increase this year, with an estimated production value of about $153 million and a No. 9 ranking in 2014. “Short supply due to the porcine epidemic diarrhea virus that was causing piglets to die was the biggest factor, so we had an overall drop in production across the U.S.,” Riley said. “The smaller supply caused the price increase. Mississippi producers increased their hog inventories a few years ago, and while they’ve pulled back a little because of the virus, inventories are much higher than in previous years.” — Specialty crops were

ranked 10th with a preliminary value of $113.6 million. The industry includes nursery and ornamental plants. — Hay fell three spots to No. 11, with a $105.3 million production value, down 11.4 percent. — Sweet potatoes saw increased acres and prices, resulting in a preliminary crop value of $96.2 million for 12th on the list. Other 2014 crop values and their percentage changes compared to 2013 are wheat at $66.9 million, down 57.2 percent; milk at $44.6 million, up 10.1 percent; grain sorghum at $39.3 million, up 37.8 percent; and peanuts at $20.8 million, down 30.7 percent.

Illinois farmers share expertise genetically modified crops, ethanol and the government’s farm bills. He said there was a focus on how food is raised, what the future will look like and whether there is going to be enough food to feed a growing population 20 to 30 years down the road. “I just wanted to make them know that we truly care about what we do, and Dad and I, we want to make sure that we’re preserving the ground for the next generation,” Howe said. “We want to make sure that not only ours but all farms are viable pieces of ground for our children and great-grandchildren.”

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PEORIA — An academic colloquium at Yale University is not someplace where farmers tend to hang out. Typically, a colloquium is a place where graduate students and professors attend presentations by visiting professors to discuss ongoing studies and theories. However, in mid-September, two Lewistown farmers found themselves speaking in front of a crowd of East Coast intellectuals in New Haven, Conn. Matt Howe of Lewistown and his father, David, run a farm that has been in the family for 131 years. They grow corn and soybeans and raise beef cattle. Basically, they fit the standard mold of Midwest farmers. On Sept. 19, the two men served as the speakers at one of the weekly sessions of the university’s 11-week-long Agrarian Studies Program colloquium series and provided a firsthand account of how modern American farming works. “It was a little bit intimidating at first because the people that were in attendance there — there were professors from universities around the nation and even the world,” Matt Howe said. “There’s a real concern with them about where their food is coming from today and who is growing their food.” Howe found out he had been selected to speak more than a year ago and over the course of a year he carefully documented his work as a farmer, from planting in the spring to harvest in the fall and beyond. He wrote an accompanying paper and submitted it to the university to distribute to potential colloquium attendees. For Howe, it was an opportunity to use his experience to educate the future lawmakers and lobbyists, the ones who will be working on the farm bills that actually affect the livelihoods of people like Howe and his father. It was an opportunity to lobby on behalf of Midwest farmers. Howe believes he and his father brought a perspective to the colloquium series that has been missing. “They talked a lot in theory there, but we were the first ones who truly had to deal with it, that it truly affects. You can bring in professors from around the world to talk about it, but at the end of the day it’s not their livelihood that is dependent on these bills that Congress passes.” Ryan Hall, the Agrarian Studies Program coordinator at Yale, echoed Howe’s statement. Hall described Yale’s agrarian studies program as a working group made up of people who study things such as history, anthropology and sociology and who have a broad interest in rural life. The colloquium series “brings in visiting scholars who talk about their academic work but who usually don’t bring real-world experience in agriculture. “It was probably one of my favorite visits we’ve ever had,”

Hall said of the Howes’ presentation. Hall was especially struck by a few topics the Howes discussed, such as how complex and complicated modern farming is and how much collaboration goes into a family farm. Plus, with so much discussion he hears about the decline of the family farm, Hall said it was great to see farmers like the Howes, who are aware of the difficulties of family farming but are “also very optimistic about the future.” Howe said many questions they received touched on the hot topics concerning modern agriculture — including

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