agmag
DeKalb County
SPRING 2020
Farmers Focus on Building Soil Health Daily Chronicle 1586 Barber Green Rd. DeKalb, IL 60115
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agmag
DeKalb County
Table of Contents
DO YOU WANT TO BE A HEMP FARMER? 4 The challenges of processing hemp in the Midwest
Recognizing and Managing Stress: 5
Mental Health in the Farm Sector
Soggy Saga to Continue for 2020?
The Benefits of Frost Planting
6
sow cold-even when its so cold: 7
Outlook points to wet months ahead
Return on Investment:
8
FARMER FOCUS:
9
Reducing input costs adds profitability for operation Farmers focus on building soil health
PREDICTION FOR SPRING:
10
A Grain of Truce:
12
Illinois corn, soybean production drops:
14
Stressful planting season could become routine Movement in Tariff Standoff
Wet planting season causes decrease in crop yields
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Project Manager: Lisa Angel Layout & Design: Bev Rogman
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So, you want to be a hemp farmer? The challenges of processing hemp in the Midwest
Phillip Alberti, University of Illinois Extension commercial agriculture educator, talks about various aspects of growing industrial hemp including the importance of selecting a field that is highly productive and well drained with low weed pressure. As farmers prepare for the second year of growing hemp in Illinois, the speaker says, processing hemp is a challenge since there are no grain or fiber processing plants in the Midwest. by Martha Blum - AgriNews Publications
SYCAMORE, Ill. — As growers prepare for the second year of growing industrial hemp, it is difficult for agronomists to recommend specific varieties for Illinois fields. “Currently, there are no Illinois bred varieties,” said Phillip Alberti, University of Illinois Extension commercial agriculture educator. “We’re taking genetics from other places and planting them in an area they were not bred for,” Alberti explained during a presentation at the Introduction to Industrial Hemp meeting organized by the University of Illinois Extension in Sycamore. “We don’t have plants that can fully optimize our growing conditions.” Varieties that are available to licensed Illinois growers are grown in places such as Colorado, Oregon, the European Union or Canada,
Alberti said. “We’re not sure how they are going to respond here, so we have a lot of work to do to develop breeding programs,” he said. Both industrial hemp and marijuana are cannabis plants. “What makes them different is the amount of the THC concentration in them,” Alberti said. Hemp is primarily dioecious which, means it has separate male and female plants, and that is different from corn and soybean plants that are self-pollinating plants. “Hemp is photoperiod dependent like soybeans, so the flowering is triggered based on day length,” Alberti said. Alberti explained there are different types of cannabis plants. “Sativa plants are bred from more temperate climates, and the plants are taller and have thinner leaves,” he said. “Indica plants are shorter in stature with broader leaves, and they are bred in cooler climates.” Next Steps Processing of hemp is also an issue in Illinois. “Currently, there are no grain or fiber processing plants in the Midwest,” Alberti said. “We are way behind Canada and the European Union that have established companies for processing and manufacturing of hemp, so we are importing hemp products that are used in clothing.” Illinois farmers can choose to grow hemp for grain, fiber or CBD. “Growing hemp for grain or fiber uses production systems that most represent Illinois growers because they are similar to row crops,” Alberti said. “Growing for CBD or flower production is more like a specialty
crop such as vegetables or cut flowers.” Hemp that will be harvested for fiber is chopped, baled and sent to a processor. Separating the hemp stalk produces several products. “The bast fiber is the most valuable portion, and it is used for textiles, building insulation and composites for car doors,” Alberti said. “The woody core or hurd is used for paper.” “During decortication, which is when the fiber is taken from the hurd, dust is created,” he said. “The dust can be collected, compressed and used as a biofuel.” Hemp seed oil is produced when the hemp seeds are cold pressed and the oil is extracted. “It’s high in protein, fatty acids and Omega 3s,” Alberti said. “The hemp seed oil is used as an additive to shakes and smoothies, and you will find it in the health food section of stores.” Cannabinoids are produced in the flower of un-pollinated hemp plants. “There are close to over 100 types, most of which we don’t know what they do,” Alberti said. “Cannabinoids bind to the receptors in your body and elicit a response.” “If the female plants are pollinated, they produce seed and the cannabinoid production shuts down, so that is why the males must be culled in a CBD production operation,” he said. Consumers are looking for specific tastes or smells with the CBD products they are purchasing. “The plant produces terpenes and flavonoids, which are the taste and smell compounds,” Alberti said. Good Start Alberti encourages farmers to plant hemp in highly productive fields
that are well drained with low weed pressure. “The plant doesn’t like standing in water,” he said. “Early season washouts were devastating for crops in 2019.” Plant hemp seeds when the soil temperature is higher than 50 degrees, Alberti said, and pay attention to planting depth. “I saw a 100-acre field get wasted last year because it was planted too deep or before a rain and the soil crusted over so the emergence was terrible,” he said. Hemp will germinate and emerge quickly with favorable conditions. “I saw fields up in the first week,” Alberti said. “Once the plants pop out of the ground, it has a slow growth phase where there is a lot more below ground growth than above ground.” This period, Alberti stressed, is a critical weed control period. “There are no herbicides labeled for this crop,” he said. “So, you need to have weed control methods like cover crops, tillage or mowing.” After 30 days, the plant goes into a rapid growth phase accumulating size before it flowers. “If you are a CBD grower you are out in the fields scouting and culling the male plants from about Aug. 1 to Aug. 20,” Alberti said. “Male plants are resilient and re-rooting is a problem, so you should get the whole plant out of the field.” Hemp for fiber plants reach maturity about late July, and hemp grown for grain is typically harvested during the end of September, Alberti said. “CBD hemp is harvested about the end of September or the first week of October,” he said.
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Recognizing and Managing Stress and Mental Health in the Farm Sector: How to know when to ask for help by Jeannine Otto -AgriNews Publications
MALTA, Ill. — How are you feeling, really? I’m worried about you. You haven’t been yourself lately. Are you depressed? I’ve noticed you’ve been unhappy lately. Have you thought about suicide? “The start of the conversation is often the hardest part, but it’s really the most important,” said Dr. Josie Rudolphi, speaking on the topic she presented at the 2020 Illinois Crop Management Conferences sponsored by the University of Illinois Extension in Malta. Along with the farm management topics presented by her U of I Extension colleagues — Dr. Josie Rudolphi soybean cyst nematodes, weather and the 2019 and 2020 planting seasons, corn hybrids and herbicide resistance — Rudolphi discussed how to recognize stress and manage stress and mental health in the farm sector. “We see mental health concerns across all farm commodity sectors right now. It’s been a tough
couple of years for almost every commodity in the U.S.,” she said. Rudolphi, who joined the U of I in July 2019, has focused her research program on farmer mental health and recognizing the unique situations associated with farmer mental health. “We talk about identifying and spotting symptoms of mental distress, whether they are physical, behavioral or emotional. It’s really a toolkit on what people need in order to help if they notice a family member, a friend, coworker or business associate seems to be in distress,” she said. Starting that conversation can be difficult. It usually is precipitated by family or friends noticing sustained changes in someone’s behavior or mood. “What we can look for are changes in behavior or emotion. It might be really intense mood swings, people get easily agitated or easily irritated, people who have lost interest in things they once enjoyed or someone whose mood has changed drastically,” Rudolphi said. Noticing and noting those changes over a length of time is important. “A bad day is a bad day, but has it been a bad month or a bad season? You really want to look to see how their behavior has changed and how long have you noticed that change,” Rudolphi said. Once the conversation is started, people
shouldn’t be afraid to ask the toughest question. “If someone is especially distraught, don’t be afraid to ask the question if they’ve considered suicide or if they have thought about self harm,” Rudolphi said. She recommended keeping the phone number for the National Suicide Prevention Helpline in your phone or keeping a card with the number handy. Primary care physicians can be helpful in providing initial care, then referrals and help with insurance networks. “One of the best lines of defense is to see their primary care physician, if they have one and if that’s available for them. A lot of these physicians have training in mental health, and they are able to screen, diagnose and prescribe, if necessary. Another benefit is they will help you navigate the mental health services that are available in your insurance network,” Rudolphi said. For those who don’t have a primary care physician or who are reluctant to go to a doctor, help can be as close as a family member, friend or clergy. “I think we shouldn’t discount how therapeutic it is to talk to your loved ones and friends,” Rudolphi said
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Soggy saga to continue for 2020? Outlook points to wet months ahead by Jeannine Otto -AgriNews Publications
MALTA, Ill. — Trent Ford, the Illinois state climatologist, like many of us, is ready for spring. “If you’re like me, you’re pretty much ready for spring and no more of this wintery drizzle,” said Ford, speaking at the 2020 Illinois Crop Management Conference in Malta. That being said, he’s ready for just Trent Ford enough spring at just the right time, not too much spring all at once. “We don’t want to get there too quickly. If we rapidly transition to spring and we have this really warm March or April, that could see problems as far as snow melt is concerned,” Ford said. Water — how much and where and when — is a top concern on the minds of farmers and many others involved in agriculture in the Midwest right now. Farmers are still reeling from a soggy 2019 growing season that caused many to plant crops months later than normal or not at all. The top question is: Will they see a repeat in 2020? Ford’s answer: Yes and no, but more no than yes. “There will be flooding. There will be people who will have to make decisions based on too much water on their land,” he said.
Wet, Wet, Wet
Outlooks based on long-term trends are showing that the moisture likely won’t be as widespread or severe as it was last year. Other conditions, including snowpack and rainfall, also point to a less soggy 2020 planting season throughout the northern part of the state. “We’re looking much better than we were last year as far as total precipitation,” Ford said.
In Illinois, 2019 finished as the fifth wettest year on record. The year was prevented from taking the top spot by a drought that plagued the southern half of the state in September. Meanwhile, in northern Illinois, the area saw the bulk of its yearly rainfall before summer even started. “Most areas around here got their normal total amount of precipitation in a year by June 1,” Ford said. Heading into 2020, the winter has been milder than last year, with January being wetter than last year and February setting up to be drier than the same time last year.
Winter Blanket
Snowpack in northern Illinois is also down. “In DeKalb, so far this year, between Oct. 1 and Feb. 11, we’ve had about 23 inches of snowfall. The normal is around 30 inches,” Ford said. Less snow cover may put a damper on skiing and snowmobiling, but for farmers looking toward planting season, it’s a plus in one respect. “One thing that warmer than normal temperatures can do, especially without a snowpack, is it can evaporate water out of the soils pretty quickly. That does help dry down the very top layer of the soil,” Ford said. Where there is snowpack is in the upper Mississippi and upper Missouri River basins and that bears watching, especially if that fast spring warm up does happen. “If this snowpack melts rapidly because of heavy rain up there and rapidly warming temperatures, we are going to see a lot of water come our way,” the state climatologist said. Ford noted that springs overall have been getting wetter and that 2020 is likely to follow that trend — but that doesn’t mean a 2019 rerun. “The outlooks for spring continue to show the odds of a wetter than normal spring, given our long term trends. That doesn’t mean 2019, but it does mean we will still see impacts related to excess water,” he said.
For better: What would help farmers this spring? n Dry, warm weather to help soil dry out and evaporate moisture. n Gradual, not immediate, move from winter to spring. n No extreme cold snaps. n Little to no additional moisture; little to no additional snowpack.
For worse: What would hurt farmers this spring? n Additional snowpack in the upper Mississippi River basin. n Prolonged cold that creates ice jams. n Heavy rain on top of snowpack. n Rapid transition from winter to spring and rapid melting of snowpack.
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Sow cold, even when it’s so cold The benefits of Frost Planting by Martha Blum - AgriNews Publications
FREEPORT — Farmers looking to improve their pastures or waterways, or cut down on feed costs can start doing it now, but the window in which to do it won’t be open for long. During a recent agronomy summit in Freeport, Laura Lant, an agronomist for Midwest Grass & Forage in Macomb, promoted the benefits of frost planting, a method of broadcasting seeds on the surface in late winter or early spring. The process lets nature do most of the work, relying on the freeze-thaw cycle and early showers to improve seed-to-soil contact. During this time of the year, soil can move up and down, drawing seeds into tiny cracks caused by the cycle, eliminating the needs for tilling. But time is of the essence. “We’re only 4 to 5 weeks away from frost seeding time,” said Lant during the Northwest Illinois Agronomy Summit on Jan. 14 in Freeport, an event hosted by University of Illinois Extension. During late winter, farmers can broadcast species such as clover or grass over pastures to thicken the stand and improve production. “It is an effective way to increase the pasture, whether you want to keep it in pasture for 3 to 4 years or you just need it to tide you by for a few months or until fall,” Lant said. Some forage species work better than others for frost seeding. “Clovers are the most common and probably the most economical,” Lant said. “Adding a legume will produce nitrogen, so that is very beneficial for yields and fertility of any grasses out there,” she said. “If you need something for 1 year, consider annual ryegrass, Italian ryegrass, Frosty clover or some of the red clovers.” After the 2019 growing season, where many
farmers planted forages on prevent plant acres or for emergency hay needs, Lant said there may be limited supplies of some seeds. “Make sure you’re planning ahead for those sooner rather than later,” she said. With little snow cover this year, Lant said, farmers have an opportunity to do some scouting of their pastures and hay fields. “If you were questioning some hay fields last year, do some scouting and then revise your plan of what you’re going to need this year,” she said. “Knowing that hay prices have gotten high at auctions, in central Illinois we’ve got some guys who aren’t livestock producers who plan to put in a hay field or two to capitalize on that market.” Lant encourages farmers to plant improved genetics when reseeding or renovating pastures. “All too often I see guys go cheap and skimp on pastures species,” she said. “They’re using products like Kentucky 31 that were developed in the 1930s and ‘40s and I don’t think anyone here would plant a corn hybrid or soybean variety from 2010 let alone something 50 or 60 years old.” A lot of innovations have occurred in forage seed production. “You may have to spend $10 to $15 more per acre, but see if that makes sense for your operation” Lant said. “Along with improving your systems and higher yield, you may find things like red clover with less hair that’s going to dry down quicker for dry hay or you may find a fescue that has a soft leaf and more palatable,” she said. There are options for livestock producers who think they may be short on feed early in the spring. “Fortunately, we’ve been able to have cows on stalks in a lot of places to help prevent this,” Lant said. “If you did get cover crops in, grazing Triticale, cereal rye or annual ryegrass in
the spring is a great option to keep feed costs down.” Another option is to plant something in late February to early March, such as a forage oat or forage pea. “That can be accomplished for $25 to $30 per acre and can really help to tide you over until you get to the summer annuals,” Lant said. “Last year, we sold a lot of summer annuals to folks who had never tried them before because of prevent plant and that really depleted the seed supply,” she said. “Teff seed produced in 2019 was planted in 2019, so there will be some seed shortages this year.” Therefore, Lant said, it is important for farmers to plan ahead and work with their seed suppliers early. “It’s not a desperate situation, but you need to make sure you’re focusing ahead this year more than normal,” Lant said. “If you have livestock and have never tried summer annuals, we encourage you to pick one and try it,” she said. “Teff grass is great quality and great for a beginner because you don’t have livestock health issues with prussic acid, like some of the other summer annuals.” However, Teff grass can be a challenge to get established. “You need to drill it about one-eighth of an inch deep, so if you have the equipment, it is a great option for high quality dry hay,” Lant said. Sorghum-sudan, forage sorghum, sudangrass and millets are good options, Lant said, because they produce high tonnage and high quality forage that is very cost effective to produce. “The downside for the sorghum-sudan family is they have a risk for prussic acid poisoning,” she said. “To avoid that, be sure you’re cutting above 12 inches, or after a frost, wait 7 days before turning livestock out.”
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Return on investment Reducing input costs adds profitability for operation by Martha Blum - AgriNews Publications
ROCHELLE, Ill. — Switching from a traditional tillage system to a no-till and cover crop program can result in
Aaron Clark
major benefits, including increased return on investment. “It is hard to get out of the mindset that I need to maximize how much I’m going to make this year,” said Aaron Clark, who farms in west-central Indiana and east-central Illinois with his uncle, Rick, and grandfather, Richard. “I urge you when you are trying to evaluate the optimal crop plan for your farming system to take a step back and look at the return on investment for the overall crop rotation of three or four crops,” he said during a presentation at the Illinois Conservation Cropping Seminar in Rochelle. “It takes a few years for the soil to go through a change to begin to see more of the benefits,” Aaron Clark said. “I think you’ll see after four or five years that it was a better way to go than just doing a corn-corn-soy or corn-soy rotation and that you’re are actually financially better off to have a more diverse crop rotation.” The Clarks have been planting no-till corn, no-till soybeans and cover crops for many years, as well as farming green for eight years. Their entire farm is in a fivecrop rotation that includes corn, soybeans, wheat, alfalfa and regen — which is a cover crop. In addition, the farmers plant 100% non-GMO seeds and 100% of the farm is in transition to organic.
“I’m striving to be a low cost input producer,” Rick Clark said. “My cost per acre of corn is $70 for nonGMO, untreated seed.” Aaron Clark compared costs for the farm between 2011 and 2019, including items such as applying nitrogen, lime and chemistry costs. “For 2011, which was the last year we did a sizable portion of tillage, we used 3300 horsepower to cover an acre of corn,” Clark said. “In 2019, we were not running the tractor over those acres, not burning the fuel and not putting wear and tear on the machine,” he said. “Our requirement is down to 1200 horsepower and our actual cash leaving the operation went from over $650,000 to less than $120,000 in eight years and that doesn’t even include machinery costs.” Moving to a no-till system with cover crops, Clark said, has resulted in yield stability for corn and soybean crops. “Before cover crops, our corn yield would fluctuate 28 bushels for our farm average, and after cover crops that went down to less than 5 bushels,” he said. “Soybeans is a similar story with almost a 9-bushel fluctuation in yield, and today it’s less than 3 bushels.” A more consistent yield aids with marketing the crops. “You feel more comfortable in the amount of bushels you’ll have to sell earlier, so if there’s a marketing event like China buying soybeans, you have the confidence to make sales a little earlier than when the combine moves through the field,” Clark said. “This is a system about building soil health, being a good steward, being regenerative and the yield will come along for the ride,” Rick Clark said. “You can adjust the fixed costs to better fit your yield environment like how much debt you can take on, the cash rent you can pay, or the capital expenditures you want to make,” Aaron Clark said. Although some farmers are concerned they will see reduced yields with a no-till and cover crop system, that is not the case for the Clarks. “The national corn trend line yield
is 4 bushels per acre, and we’re seeing our corn yield going up around 3 bushels per acre,” Aaron Clark said. “And it is a similar story with soybeans.” Purdue University does a mock budget that estimates the cost for a farmer to plant one acre of corn, and Clark did a similar budget for his farm. The Purdue numbers are based on an expected yield of 211 bushels per acre and a market price of $3.70 per bushel. “For my budget, I have our yield at 200 bushels per acre with the same market price,” Clark said. “This mock farm will lose money in 2020,” he said. “To breakeven, the corn needs to yield 222 bushels an acre, or the price needs to go up to $3.80 per bushel.
“With our system, our contribution margin is $100 per acre higher and our breakeven yield is 140 bushels per acre and the price can go to $3.11 per bushel,” he said. “That is all coming from keeping the inputs low, so we don’t need the same amount of yield.” Clark talked about the debt service coverage ratio that measures the ease that an operation has to pay off a debt the farmer has with a lending institution. “The Purdue mock budget has a debt service coverage ratio of negative 21 cents, and that means for every $1 of debt, the farmer has only 79 cents to pay it,” he said. “For every $1 of debt, our operation has we have $1.45 to pay it, and the industry standard is $1.20.”
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Farming Green Farmer focuses on building soil health. by Martha Blum - AgriNews Publications
ROCHELLE, Ill. — Rick Clark is focused on building soil health by using no-till, cover crops and farming green practices on his farm.
Rick Clark
Clark, who farms with his father, Richard, and his nephew, Aaron, near Williamsport, Indiana, has no-tilled soybeans for 15 years, no-tilled corn for 10 years, planted cover crops for 10 years and farmed green for eight years. “My father is my mentor, and he taught me how to think,” said the fifth-generation farmer. “That’s what is so valuable in today’s times, you have to be able to think quickly, think forward and be nimble.” Clark’s entire operation is in a five-crop rotation that includes corn, soybeans, wheat, alfalfa and regen. “In the regen part of the rotation, we’re not raising a cash crop,” he said during the Illinois Conservation Cropping Seminar in Rochelle. “We are putting in a cover crop program.” On the acres that have a cover crop, Clark does not look at it as a zero income. “It’s doing so much for you that you will gain for the next crop,” he stressed. “We have to stop looking at our cash flow systems on a one-year snapshot. We need to look at it over three, four or five years and average the cash flow across all the years of the rotation.”
Currently, 100% of Clark’s operation is in transition to organic. The farmers already are planting 100% nonGMO crops, and they do not use any starter fertilizer, fungicides, seed treatments or insecticides. “Farming green means I plant corn and soybeans in a growing cover crop and sometimes I don’t terminate the cover crop for up to 30 to 45 days,” Clark said. The benefits of farming green, he explained, includes maximizing what the cover crop was intended to do. “The last thing I want to do on April 1 is burn my cover crop to the ground because it hasn’t done much for me yet,” he said. “Barley, triticale and cereal rye are sequestering nutrients, so I want to let them do their job.” Although Clark was taught to plant corn before soybeans, he plans to never plant corn in April again. “Corn will always be planted after Mother’s Day,” he said. “I want to plant every acre of beans first and then focus on corn because I’ve got plants out there fixing free nitrogen, so I don’t want to shut the legume off at 20 to 30 pounds of nitrogen when I know it can fix 180 to 200 pounds of nitrogen.” Farming green helps with erosion control. “It’s all about biomass and how much material we can get on the ground,” Clark said. “You can walk into our fields right now and still see last year’s cereal rye, and I want to drill into that in the spring.” Farmers need to get their fields in a position to handle 2-, 3- or 4-inch rains. “We’ve got infiltration rates of 4 to 5 inches per hour,” Clark said. “Very little, if any, rain will run off our farm — it is all going straight down.” Increasing the pounds of biomass provides food for the microbes throughout the year. “In June and July, if you’ve got
Provided photo The primary benefit of growing radish as a cover crop is its ability to perform “bio-tillage” by growing a large taproot that can penetrate through compacted soil layers and alleviate soil compaction.
bare ground those microbes are getting scorched,” Clark said. “But if we have an armor protecting the soil, under that mat it is a minimum of 10 degrees cooler than a bare spot in the field.” Cover crops help to limit evaporation. “We don’t think about this enough,” Clark said. In 2019, Clark didn’t plant any crops in April, he planted one day in May and the remainder of his fields were planted after June 2. “That whole time it was raining, we were filling our portfolio full,” he said. “Then Mother Nature turned the water off and we had 90 degrees and although we had some stress and yield loss, our systems hung in better than our neighbor’s with conventional tillage.” Clark has changed the maturities of the corn and soybeans he plants on his farm. He now plants 99- to 106day corn and soybeans that range from 2.0 to 2.8. “The hardest crop to get prepared for is corn because corn does not like competition,” he said. “So, we have to put species out there that will winterkill or something I can terminate with a roller crimper.” The cocktail of cover crops Clark
uses to get prepared for organic corn includes Haywire oats, Austrian winter peas, Balansa Fixation clover, sorghum/sudan and tillage radish. Clark has selected these specific varieties for reasons. Haywire oats provide lateral branching, he said, and the Austrian winter peas overwinter very well. “Sudan is one of the best promoters to grow mycorrhizal fungi, which are the fungi in the soil that are the network backbone of communication,” he said. Tillage radish is great for compaction, Clark said. “It is better for sequestering deeprooted minerals pulled back up into the tuber,” he said. “That tuber will store those nutrients and release them the next spring.” “Farmers can mitigate climate change more than any other sector in the world,” he said. “If we put a cover crop on every acre and stop tilling the soil, we wouldn’t have climate change because of the carbon dioxide would be in the ground where it belongs.” “Change is necessary,” he said. “If we continue to do things the way we’ve always done them, we’re never going to get any better, so change is the answer.”
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Another wetter-than-normal spring predicted Stressful planting seasons could become routine, hurting farmers and the economy
Shaw Media file photo Some farmers of the Illinois Valley didn’t catch a break with the weather last year until June, and they had to be quick to take advantage of a rare few days of uninterrupted sunshine to do tillage and planting. Unfortunately, some fields were left unplanted, and many that were planted included areas where work wasn’t possible because wet spots. By BEN ORNER - Capitol News Illinoist
SPRINGFIELD — The state’s climatologist is predicting Illinois farmers are likely to endure more burdensomely wet weather while they try to plant cash crops this spring after suffering major losses as a result of a record-wet planting season last year. April through June is likely to be wetter than normal in Illinois, according to rainfall projections from the National Oceanic and Atmospheric Administration, posing a challenge to corn and soybean farmers in the heart of planting season. Right now those farmers are calculating their losses after suffering through the wettest January to June in state history last year. Wettest of those months was May, which pushed planting of Illinois’ top two crops into June and July, when in an ideal year they’re in the ground in April. The result: Corn and soybean production dropped 18 percent and 20 percent, respectively, according to final yield numbers
from the U.S. Department of Agriculture. “Farmers should expect to deal with an increased frequency of wet winters and springs,” said Illinois’ State Climatologist Dr. Trent Ford, who expects wetter-than-normal conditions to become routine. Ford said all but far northwestern Illinois had above-average January precipitation. NOAA also projects a wetter-than-average February and March. “The last couple of decades especially we’ve seen our winters be wetter than previous decades,” Ford said. “That doesn’t mean more snow necessarily, it just means overall more precipitation.” For example, he said 20 of the past 25 winters in Peoria have been wetter than the city’s 120-plus-year average. “Preparing for wetter-than-normal conditions to be more common or happen more frequently is something that farmers should be doing in Illinois,” Ford said.
Harm to farmers and crops
Continuous wet planting seasons present a challenge to farmers, as late planting pushes back their entire farm timeline. State Rep. Charlie Meier, R-Okawville, grows 1,600 acres of corn and soybeans on his farm east of St. Louis. “Our planters started rolling on June 8, and it was not pretty,” he said. Delayed planting causes delayed harvest, which can lower end-of-year yields like farmers saw in 2019. Late harvests also leave farmers less time for tilling fields before it gets too cold, which breaks up compacted soil and deep field ruts that can hold too much water. Unfortunately for Meier, a lot of his tillage this fall “just did not happen.” “Those factors will all go into next year’s crop,” he said. Now in winter, Meier and other Illinois farmers are focused on getting tractors and equipment ready for planting season and hope they can better prepare their fields in the spring.
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“Any sort of pre-planting or field preparation,” Ford said, however, “that gets delayed if we have a wetter-than-normal March or early April.”
Climate connection
Scientists point to climate change, also referred to as global warming, as a main contributor to increased rainfall. As humans emit greenhouse gases such as carbon dioxide, they become trapped in the atmosphere. The more carbon in the atmosphere, the more moisture it can hold, increasing precipitation. “The connections there are pretty strong,” Ford said of wetter planting seasons and climate change. “In wet regions such as this, there’s abundant water supply at the surface,” he explained. “So as the atmosphere can take in more water, it does.” Scientists also expect heavy downpours to increase. “If we get a large amount of precipitation in one single event, what that can do is inundate the soil very quickly and then cause a lot of runoff and flooding,” Ford said.
Impact on the bottom line
Decreases in crop production not only hurt farmers, but trickle down into other industries like corn elevators and trucking companies, said Mike Doherty, a senior economist at the Illinois Farm Bureau. “Most of our ag businesses off the farm, which are a big part of the downstate ag economy, they all have lower revenues as well,” Doherty said. A soggy spring could also spell danger for Illinois farmers vulnerable to further crop losses, he said.
“You have costs no matter how much of a crop you raise,” Meier said, including rent, equipment and supplies. Government aid and insurance payments helped lessen the impact of low crop production last year, but they do not fix the problem. “There is a legitimate concern here,” Doherty said, as to the ability of some farmers to make debt payments on capital investments like machinery and land improvements. “That percentage of farmers is going to be a higher percentage than it was last year at this time,” he said. “We are poorly poised to deal with that.”
Adapting to a wetter future
Shaw Media file photo
The state’s climatologist is predicting Illinois farmers are likely to endure “There are strategies that can be more burdensomely wet weather while they try to plant cash crops this taken to adapt to a wetter spring,” spring after suffering major losses as a result of a record-wet planting Ford said, including soil conservation, season last year. field treatments and improving drainage. Meier said farmers may adapt by planting earlier, managing fields differently or using strains of crops that “Agriculture, especially here in the middle of the respond better to wet fields. Grain Belt, is a volume business,” Doherty said. “You learn to start planning,” he said, adding “You cannot make money off bushels you don’t that proactiveness helped him through periods of grow or that you don’t have.” drought in the 1980s. Being at the mercy of Mother Nature, he said, Constantly adapting to worsening weather will always be part of the job. conditions, though, might not work in the long “This is the nature of farming. You can’t control term, especially since crop production is what the weather.” brings in a farm’s income.
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A
grain truce OF
By Rachel Rodgers - For SVM AgMag
Movement in the tariff standoff with China and a revamped deal between the U.S, Mexico and Canada has farmers trading uncertainty for a brighter outlook
Recent activity with trade deals is painting a favorable picture for Illinois farmers who have been plagued by uncertainty with tariffs and difficult weather conditions. In December and January, Phase 1 of the U.S.-China trade agreement was signed and Congress passed the United States-Mexico-Canada Agreement, revamping the 25-yearold North American Free Trade Agreement. Phase 1 created a limited trade deal with China and halted tariffs that were set to go into effect Dec. 15. “Illinois farmers have expressed a profound desire to recapture lost export demand due to the prolonged trade war with China,” said Richard Guebert, president of the Illinois Farm Bureau. “As a result of retaliatory tariffs, sales of Illinois soybeans to China were cut in half from $2 billion in 2017 to $1 billion in 2018.” About 85 percent of surveyed Illinois Farm Bureau members identified “regaining lost ag export demand” as their top priority for 2020 in the organization’s annual survey in late November 2019. The Phase 1 deal calls for China agreeing to buy $200 billion more in U.S. goods compared to 2017, boosting agricultural sales by $32 billion over the next 2 years. “We are well positioned to fulfill China’s demand of soybeans, pork and additional commodities, and this agreement provides a pathway for the next generation of Illinois young farmers,” he said. “Good trade deals offer certainty to our heartland farmers and help grow our agricultural economy,” U.S. Rep. Cheri Bustos, D-East Moline, said. The United States-Mexico-Canada Agreement was passed by the U.S. House in December and the Senate in January.
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“We are well positioned to fulfill China’s demand of soybeans, pork and additional commodities, and this agreement provides a pathway for the next generation of Illinois young farmers.” Richard Guebert President of the Illinois Farm Bureau
In the agreement, U.S. exports to Canada and Mexico would increase by $19.1 billion (5.9%) and $14.2 billion (6.7%), respectively. U.S. imports from Canada and Mexico would increase by $19.1 billion (4.8%) and $12.4 billion (3.8%), respectively, according to a U.S. International Trade Commission report. One in every five acres in Illinois is planted to feed Mexican and Canadian consumers, Guebert said. “While no agreement is ever perfect, we worked across the aisle to help negotiate a foundation for future trade that addresses the needs of the district, has the toughest enforcement mechanisms our country has ever seen and will serve all Illinoisans,” Bustos said. Illinois farmers export 40% of their corn, 13% of their beef and 34% of their pork to Canada and Mexico. “Bringing this trade deal into the 21st century will give our workers, farmers, ranchers, manufacturers, and innovators a chance to compete in the international market and allow for better digital trade opportunities,” said U.S. Rep. Adam Kinzinger, R-Channahon. “The USMCA will also create 176,000 new jobs in America and produce over $68 billion in new economic activity.” The agreement is also vital for Illinois corn farmers. “Trade with Mexico and Canada is a vital part of the market for Illinois corn, with both countries making up 25% to 30% of corn sales leaving the country,” said Bill Leigh, president of the Illinois Corn Growers Association. The deal also creates a biodiesel tax credit that could benefit soybean farmers. “We have endured a down farm economy, the ongoing trade war, and other hardships including bad weather this year,” said Ron Moore, soybean farmer and director of the American Soybean Association. “This tax credit will help expand markets and provide certainty for the soybean industry.” Illinois Agrinews contributed to the article.
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Illinois corn, soybean production drops by roughly 20 percent Record-wet planting season caused dramatic decrease in crop yields Story by BEN ORNER - Capitol News Illinois
SPRINGFIELD — Production of Illinois’ two most valuable crops fell by roughly one-fifth last year, according to final crop yield numbers released in January by the U.S. Department of Agriculture. Corn and soybean growers saw production drop 18.6 percent and 20.4 percent, respectively, compared to 2018. Farmers harvested just over 1.8 billion bushels of corn, down from more than 2.2 billion the year before. Soybean production decreased from around 667 million bushels to just over 532 million. 2019 was the worst year for corn since 2012, when farmers produced about 1.3 billion bushels. Soybean production had its worst year since 2013, which saw 461 million bushels. Yield per acre was down 14 percent for corn at 180 bushels and 15 percent for soybeans at 54 bushels. That’s the lowest for corn since 2015 and the lowest for soybeans since 2013. Wetter-than-normal planting and growing conditions are to blame for last year’s stunted production, said Mike Doherty, senior economist at the Illinois Farm Bureau in Bloomington. “We had the latest-planted corn crop at least in my history of 30 years as an ag economist here” because of record-breaking spring rain, Doherty said. “I’ve never seen anything like it.” January through June was the wettest first six months on record in Illinois, according to the state climatologist’s office. In April, the month when farmers begin to plant corn and soybeans, less than a week was suitable for planting. Illinois then saw its third-wettest May and wettest June in state history, forcing many farmers to plant most of their crop in the summer. “Just about every time these farmers were turning around, they were being hammered with the worst field conditions that they had seen,” Doherty said. Record spring rain and periods of untimely rain during the fall harvest season forced late harvests across the state. Only 93 percent of Illinois’ corn crop was harvested by the end of November, according to USDA figures, the lowest total in a decade. “It was probably one of the most stressful growing seasons that most farmers can probably remember,” said state Rep. Dan Swanson, R-Alpha. Swanson grows about 1,600 acres of corn and soybeans on his farm in western Illinois. He has yet
Mike Vaughn/For North Central Illinois Ag Mag It was well into November when a Bureau County farmer was photographed harvesting his corn crop. Late spring planting and then wet fields in autumn pushed back the traditional harvest window.
to calculate his yields but predicts “considerably less than what we wanted or needed.” In 2018, 100 percent of Illinois’ corn and soybeans were harvested by late November, according to the USDA. Swanson said in January he knew of some farmers in his district who still had crops yet to harvest. Despite the difficult year, Illinois farmers were able to harvest 97 percent of corn acres planted and 99 of soybean acres. Illinois also continues to be a national leader in those two crops, producing the most soybeans of any state and the secondmost corn, behind Iowa. Nationally, soybean yields were down 20 percent from 2018. The top 16 soybean-producing states saw production drop between 8 percent in Kansas
and 42 percent in South Dakota. Only Delaware, North Carolina and Pennsylvania saw increases. Corn yields dropped only 5 percent nationally. A number of top-growing states, however, saw significantly lower totals, including Minnesota, Indiana and South Dakota. The low yields reported across the country were not as bad as experts had predicted, Doherty said. He says government assistance like crop insurance programs and trade aid payments helped cushion the blow for farmers. “Given the yield numbers we had in Illinois, we would have had particularly some counties where the entire county’s economy would have been a disaster,” he said.
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