Central Illinois AgMag - 02-21-2013

AG Mag

NorthCentral Illinois

!

Water, Please

Their land thirsty for moisture, NorthCentral Illinois farmers mull options as planting draws near Numbers game: Why data now drives many decisions on today’s farms Cliff notes: How the ‘fiscal cliff’ deal helps and hurts you and your neighbors Wind shift: Opposition to wind farms is now more organized, and more vocal A Publication of Shaw Media

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AG Mag

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Message from the Publisher

NorthCentral Illinois Ag Mag stands out because of its local focus It is with great excitement that we introduce the inaugural issue of NorthCentral Illinois Ag Mag, a publication focused on the success of Illinois farmers and the agriculture industry. The magazine will feature best practices, discuss trends, and provide a forum for profitable ideas.

We intend to create a top-flight agriculture magazine that will stand out compared to all the rest. The way we intended to make it stand out is to make it the most locally focused agriculture publication in the market, and we are confident we have done that!

Inside this issue you will be able to read about the local impact last year’s dry weather had on our area and how other growers and agriculture professionals are moving forward. You will find profiles of local growers as well as information on yield statistics, best practices, tax and government policies, and more. You might even see names and photographs of people you know. There are even some tasty recipes for those who not only grow food, but who enjoy eating it, too.

Aside from the editorial content, this edition is packed full of locally based advertising about the valuable prod-

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The second issue of the Ag Mag will publish in August. It will examine how Sam Fisher the growing season is progressing and Publisher take a read on how local growers plan to market their grain and livestock. It will also feature vacation opportunities and profile area farmers’ favorite trips.

The final issue of the year will publish in November, with a two-pronged focus: It will examine how area growers products fared in 2013, and then delve into planning for for next year.

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Index

AG Mag

NorthCentral Illinois

Publisher Sam Fisher Advertising Sales Development Director Pam Pratt Editor Terri Simon Magazine Editors Larry Lough, Kathleen Schultz

14

Page Design Jeff Rogers

COVER STORY

Reporters & Photographers Elin Arnold, Derek Barichello, Donna Barker, Pam Eggemeier, David Giuliani, Kayla Heimerman, Becky Kramer, Barb Kromphardt, Philip Marruffo, Alex T. Paschal, and Nicole Wiegand Published by Sauk Valley Media 3200 E. Lincolnway Sterling, IL 61081 815-625-3600 Articles and advertisements are the property of Sauk Valley Media. No portion of the NorthCentral Illinois Ag Mag may be reproduced without the written consent of the publisher. Ad content is not the responsibility of Sauk Valley Media. The information in this magazine is believed to be accurate; however, Sauk Valley Media cannot and does not guarantee its accuracy. Sauk Valley Media cannot and will not be held liable for the quality or performance of goods and services provided by advertisers listed in any portion of this magazine.

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AG Mag

9

Drought Devastates Your Crops, Not Your Financial Future

Index

From farm to the classroom Kewanee High School senior Jessica Manthe has made the most of her time in FFA.

20 Uncertainty, still, about Farm Bill

22

No one is happy that the lawmakers in Washington, once again, have kicked the can down the road on the Farm Bill.

Legislative priorities

23 This summer’s drought has hit America’s producers hard.

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Farmland assessments may be the biggest agricultural issue to be debated in Springfield. But the state’s fiscal crisis looms large, too.

Good talks, great food Moreno’s on Main in McNabb is the place to be for conversation and, of course, bacon.

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26 Potential tax burdens lifted The “fiscal cliff” deal in the nation’s capital brought some blessings to farmers in Illinois and across the country.

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Index 33

Trying to block the transmission

Going high-tech on the farm

Joe Meyers of rural Mendota continues his fight against the proposed Rock Island Clean Line energy transmission project.

Bill Naffziger, who farms 2,000 acres in north central Bureau County, says data farming will only increase over time.

40

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Calendar of events March 5-7: Illinois Farm Bureau Leaders to Washington trip March 7: Market Outlook Seminar, Geneseo Moose Lodge March 14: Illinois Ag Legislative Day, Springfield March 22: Women in Ag Conference, Jumer’s in Rock Island June 17-21: Bureau, Lee and Whiteside County Summer Ag

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AG Mag

13

heat

Feeling the

Threat of drought through 2013 has farmers worried

By Barb Kromphardt and Kayla Heimerman For NorthCentral Illinois Ag Mag

R

ob Sharkey saw corn yields cut by more than 50 percent in the drought of 2012.

Sharkey farms 1,700 acres on the Stark/Bureau county line, including land that dates back to an ancestor’s purchase in 1854.

Land that historically produced more than 200 bushels of corn per acre yielded only about half that. nnn 14 Spring 2013

‘‘

History tells us not to anticipate the situation will correct completely during this year. It tells us to anticipate the problem will continue.

Elwynn Taylor, a professor of agronomy at Iowa State University

The intense 2012 drought parched field crops throughout much of the country, including the top corn-producing states in the Midwest, and delivered a punishing blow to yields across the nation.

Federal crop insurance, coupled with strong corn prices, made up for some of the loss. But the threat of another dry growing season – with agricultural land thirsty for water after fall rains and early winter snows failed to fully recharge soil moisture – has farmers worried.

’’

“It was pretty much across the board; everything failed this [past] year,” Sharkey said. “It didn’t matter the seed company, the seed variety – everything hit kind of around the same yield level. Corn needs water to grow.”

But crop rotation made a difference.

Sharkey said if he grew corn in a field in 2011, the 2012 corn yield was worse than if he had grown soybeans.

Continued on 154

4Continued from 14 “In talking to my neighbors, that’s kind of stuck in our heads,” he said. “I think there’s going to be a lot less corn on corn acres, and we’ll be doing more rotation.”

How bad was the 2012 drought?

The 2012 drought was the most intense and widespread drought to grip the United States since 1988.

It was comparable in severity to the droughts of the mid-1950s, said Elwynn Taylor, a professor of agronomy at Iowa State University and a climatologist for Iowa State University Extension.

More than 50 percent of the country was experiencing some level of drought conditions as of early January, according to the U.S. Drought Monitor.

The 2012 drought crippled corn production after six consecutive years of above-average corn yield, Taylor said.

In 2010, when the drought started, output for the first time in six years fell below the average. And in 2011, it fell even further.

“And in 2012, we were not only below the trend, we were in extreme drought,” Taylor said. “So, we had three consecutive years below the trend, and we’re likely moving into two more years.”

Withered crops limped through the

Alex T. Paschal/NorthCentral Illinois Ag Mag

Ron Gerken (right) and his son Terry farm 1,800 acres of commercial corn, soybeans and wheat west of Sterling in Whiteside County. They harvested 60 to 70 percent fewer bushels of corn and 25 percent fewer bushels of soybeans than anticipated last year. Still, Ron says, “this next year is going to be better.” Like other farmers in the region, Gerken is looking into the latest hybrid seeds, considering those varieties of corn that are most drought-resistant. summer on subsoil moisture deep into the ground, Taylor said. But most of that subsoil moisture is gone and has yet to be replaced – a special concern now that the ground has frozen.

“We did not have a full recharge over [the past] winter,” Taylor said. “Some

places had a normal recharge, but half didn’t.”

Irrigated crops did well, said Bob Rosengren, who grows corn and soybeans in Lee and Whiteside counties.

“Anything under water did survive and was a decent crop,” Rosengren said. “We kind of take it out of Mother Nature’s hands because we can make it rain.”

But according to the 2007 Census of Agriculture, the most recent survey available, only 2.09 percent of harvested cropland in Illinois is irrigated.

In Iowa, that figure is even smaller: 0.79 percent. Those numbers could increase in a 2012 survey that is being compiled.

Most growers slogged through the drought and made up for their losses with crop insurance, said Emily Pratt, a crop insurance specialist for 1st Farm Credit Services in Rock Falls.

“Those with adequate crop insurance were still able to conduct business as usual and even make plans for the coming year,” Pratt said. “The insurance made them feel secure in knowing that if they did have a loss, then some or all of their investment would be covered.”

Soil moisture still a concern Sarah Brown/NorthCentral Illinois Ag Mag

Cattle close in on Tony Allen of Diagonal, Iowa, as he takes feed to the herd. Allen is concerned what a continued drought through 2013 could mean for the more than 300 cattle he owns. “If it doesn’t rain, livestock will go away,” Allen predicted.

“You could not buy enough hay to keep cows going.”

Most of the country remains in a drought, according to the U.S. Drought Monitor. continued on 164

AG Mag

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Those with adequate crop insurance were still able to conduct business as usual and even make plans for the coming year.

CONTINUED FROM 15 A three-month drought outlook, released Jan. 3 from the Climate Prediction Center of the National Oceanic and Atmospheric Association, showed easing drought in northern Illinois, continued drought with some improvement in northwestern Illinois and eastern Iowa, and persistent or intensified drought throughout much of the rest of the country.

Soil moisture and water levels are at near-record lows – so much so that barge traffic on the Mississippi River has halted – and are not likely to fully recover by spring, said John Eise, a meteorologist for the Central Region of the National Weather Service.

“Even if we received normal precipitation this winter, we would still have a deficit in everything from topsoil moisture to water levels [in ponds, streams and rivers],” Eise said. “Unless we have some good, wet snows that can percolate into the soil and recharge the soil moisture, we’re going to have problems going into the spring.”

Corn and soybeans survived the drought on subsoil moisture. Rooting conditions last year were near ideal, and observed corn and soybean roots were 8 to 9 feet in many places, Taylor said.

That deep rooting provided sufficient water to produce decent crop yields but resulted in moisture-depleted soil.

‘‘

’’

Emily Pratt, crop insurance specialist in Rock Falls

Many locations now require 16 to 18 inches of precipitation – because each foot of soil has a capacity for 2 inches of plant-available water – from the past October to May to adequately replenish subsoil moisture, Taylor said.

“That is not likely,” he said.

“Judging from normal precipitation and history, it’s not likely the soil will be fully recharged.”

Years of scant moisture, or drought years, often lead to an immediately subsequent year of below-average precipitation. After the 1988 and 1956 droughts, for example, 1989 and 1957 saw precipitation “shy of the normal,” Taylor said.

“History tells us not to anticipate the situation will correct completely during this year,” he said. “It tells us to anticipate the problem will continue.”

Forecast is unknown The spring forecast is fuzzy, at best.

Meteorologists look to the temperature of the surface waters in the Pacific Ocean near the equator to predict the weather. Warmer-thannormal waters are known as El Niño, and cooler-thannormal waters are known as La Niña. The cycle, together called the El Niño/La Niña– Southern Oscillation (ENSO), influences temperature and precipitation in the United States.

CONTINUED ON 17

Even if we received normal precipitation this winter, we would still have a deficit in everything from topsoil moisture to water levels [in ponds, streams and rivers].

John Eise, meteorologist for the National Weather Service

’’

Alex T. Paschal/NorthCentral Illinois Ag Mag

Chuck Rodebaugh, who farms commercial corn without irrigation in Lee County, is more concerned about how much prices will drop than he is about persistent dry conditions. for May through September [the growing season].”

Meteorologists aren’t seeChuck Rhodenbaugh, who ing much, though. Neither El farms 1,600 acres of comNiño nor La Niña is dictating mercial corn without irrigathe weather right now, said tion in Lee County, Ill., is Brad Rippey, an agriculworried less about the pertural meteorologist with the sistent dry conditions and USDA. more about the falling price “We’re in a neutral situof corn. ation,” Rippey said. “It’s “I’m worried, yes, that it [ENSO] one of the very few will be dry and we won’t things we have to give us get the yield we need,” he some confidence in a foresaid. “But I’m more worried cast looking out many, many about how much the price months, and we don’t have it is going to drop. ... With the this winter.” high cost of inputs, if that Meteorologists then look price gets back down to that elsewhere – at a mish-mosh $3.50 figure, a lot of farmers of factors that affect weather are going to go out of busiin ways that are much harder ness.” to predict.

The drought sent corn “We’ve had highly variable prices through the roof – to weather so far,” Rippey said. a record-high of about $8.50 “If I had to go out on a limb, a bushel this past summer – that would be my forecast: but a return to more normal periods of stormy weather yields this year could send at times ... a lot of extremes, them spiraling downward, from mild and dry to cold said Chris Hurt, an agriculand stormy. tural economist at Purdue “I’m afraid to venture a University Extension. guess into the spring.”

The USDA predicts the Other experts agree. midpoint on 2012 corn will “We probably will not have be $7.60 a bushel. If yields a good, reliable outlook are more normal in 2013, until we get to, let’s say the the price could fall to $5.50, middle of January, or even the largest ever year-to-year to be really sure, to early drop, Hurt said. But prices April,” Taylor said. “Usually won’t move sharply lower by then, we do have weather until production becomes patterns and a handle on more assured as the season them for what they will be progresses, he added.

4Continued from 16

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AG Mag

17

A changing farming world

Photos by Donna Barker/For NorthCentral Illinois Ag Mag

Wanda and John Ryan’s family farm was established in 1960, and throughout the years, this Stark County farming family has seen many, many changes.

76-year-old John Ryan talks about the past, present, future

By Donna Barker For NorthCentral Illinois Ag Mag

STARK COUNTY – John Ryan says he has seen a lot of changes in farming during his 76 years.

For one thing, the cost of land has increased sharply in those years. When his dad started farming in 1947, he bought 200 acres at $127 an acre. Today, cash rent brings three times that, Ryan said.

In 1967, as a young married man, Ryan bought his first farm – 100 acres at $680 an acre. At that time, people told him he paid too much, Ryan said, adding that today, farmland goes for several thousand dollars an acre.

John Ryan sits behind the wheel of his pickup truck, which his wife, Wanda, refers to as his mobile office. The family farm is pictured in continued on 194 the background.

18 Spring 2013

CONTINUED FROM 18 Ryan said another big change has been in the farming equipment itself.

His dad didn’t have a combine but used a corn picker to bring in the corn crop, which was the whole ear of corn. It wasn’t until 1965 that Ryan was able to buy his first combine, a used 303 International for $4,500, so he was able to convert from ear corn to shell corn.

Today, Ryan Farms has a 8230 Case International combine, which cost $355,000. The farming operation also has a 12-row folding corn head for the combine with a list price of $155,000.

The 40-foot International grain head for soybeans cost $76,000.

It’s amazing what the new combines can do in the way of technology, Ryan said. Today’s combines have a guidance system through which the driver doesn’t have to steer the machine, except at the end of rows. The new combines have programs that tell the farmer the bushel yield and the moisture of the crop as he goes through the field.

Also, computers can tell the farmer which fertilizer is needed where as well as how much is needed. Ryan said the computer even tells him whether tile is needed and the desired plant population for the field. With advancements in seeds and technology, yields per acre have also increased through the years, he said.

Technology has definitely accelerated during the past 10 years, especially the past five years, Ryan said. In his earlier days of farming, he never could have imagined a time when a combine could tell the farmer so much.

Another big change has been the education level of the farmer. When he was a young man, not a lot of young people went to college, especially for farming.

Farming was something the farmer learned by doing.

Today, with the establishment of junior college in the early 1980s, many

Donna Barker/For NorthCentral Illinois Ag Mag

Wanda and John Ryan love the land, which they have farmed in Stark County for several years. The Ryans have passed on their love for farming to their son, Carl, and their grandsons, Addison and Clayton. Here, John (center) discusses the family farming operation with Carl (left) and Addison. young people go to college for a degree in agriculture, including his son, Carl, and his grandsons, Addison and Clayton.

With his son and grandsons, as well as several employees during the busy times, Ryan has stepped back to more of a management position. He doesn’t run the new combine, nor does he operate a computer. Those duties are left to his son and grandsons.

Gone also are the days when the Ryans hauled their grain to market in wagons pulled by a tractor. Today, Ryan Farms has three semitrailers to haul the fruits of their labor.

Ryan said another change through the years is that more and more farmers need to diversify to supplement their incomes. As an example, his son has started a sandblasting and painting business, which he operates from the

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But several decades into farming, Ryan said there are a couple of things that have not changed.

For one, farmers still put in long hours during the spring planting and fall harvesting seasons. Though the new equipment is much more comfortable and efficient, most farms are much larger. Between him and his son, Ryan Farms now owns and rents 3,760 acres.

Those long hours are needed to get everything done, he said.

But the most important thing that hasn’t changed has been the farmer’s basic enthusiasm for farming. It’s a good feeling to know he and his family are being good stewards of the soil, taking care of it and preserving it for future generations, Ryan said.

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More than just cornfields ...

Kewanee FFA president says club offers many opportunities

By Donna Barker For NorthCentral Illinois Ag Mag

KEWANEE – The opportunities associated with the Future Farmers of America reach far beyond just learning how to plant corn, according to senior Jessica Manthe, president of the Kewanee High School FFA program.

FFA gives students multiple opportunities to learn the wide variety of agriculture-related fields, including crops and livestock, landscaping and horticulture, veterinarian technology, ag business and ag construction. FFA also gives students the opportunity to handle responsibilities and to develop leadership skills. The skills and knowledge learned through FFA can easily be applied to reallife situations, Manthe said. continued on 214

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Kewanee High School FFA President Jessica Manthe enjoys the antics of the lambs on the family farm, west of Kewanee. Manthe helps her family with the sheep operation, which includes about 120 Columbia and Corriedale sheep. Manthe says she has learned lots of ways to apply what she has experienced through FFA and her classroom studies in her role on the family farm.

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CONTINUED FROM 20 About 100 students take ag classes at Kewanee High and are automatically in FFA, Manthe said, adding about 50 of those students pay membership dues, which allows them to participate in all FFA programs and events.

Though Manthe lives on a family farm, where she and her family raise Colombian and Corriedale sheep, most of the FFA students at Kewanee High do not live on farms. Fortunately, the school has its own farm and greenhouse, where students can get hands-on experience in agriculture.

As an example, one student bought a calf and raises it on the school farm, and another student bought a horse.

The FFA group meets at least once a month, generally in the early evenings after other school practices are finished. At the meetings, members discuss old business and what has been accomplished, and look ahead to upcoming events.

During the fall, the FFA is in charge of planning the homecoming bonfire and hog roast. The group also does an annual plant sale in the spring and has sponsored donkey basketball tournaments. Special events have included ski trips, for which the group earns money through fundraisers. There are also various competitions and contests in which the students get to showcase what they have learned.

There’s also the state and national FFA conventions.

FFA is a lot of fun, Manthe said.

The 18-year-old Kewanee High School senior enjoys FFA’s many opportunities to meet different people through competitions and conventions. In her experience, people in the agriculture field are kind-hearted and caring.

Also, FFA and the ag classes at Kewanee High have opened up many career options, some of which aren’t directly related to farming. For instance, someone can get a degree in ag mechanics and end

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“It’s not just about going out in the field and growing corn,” Manthe said. “The agriculture field is a great industry, and I’m glad to be involved in it.”

Manthe said she will continue her study of agriculture next fall at Black Hawk East Junior College, south of Kewanee. From all possible selections, she has narrowed her choices to animal nutrition or landscape design, both topics she has studied at Kewanee High.

For freshmen coming into high school, Manthe encourages them to consider taking some ag classes and getting involved in FFA. “FFA has definitely been rewarding; I’ve just loved it,” Manthe said. “But you have to join to find out for yourself.”

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Kicking the Can Down the Road, Again

Photo illustration by Alex T. Paschal for NorthCentral Illinois Ag Mag

Uncertainty for farmers remains after another extension of the Farm Bill

by Congress

22 Spring 2013

I

By Pam Eggemeier For NorthCentral Illinois Ag Mag

n a business where uncertainty is a constant occupational hazard, the recent one-year extension of the 2008 Farm Bill does little to alleviate farmers’ fears of the unknown.

The Farm Bill extension was part of the last-minute “fiscal cliff” deal that was brokered in Congress on New Year’s Day. While more than 35 programs set to expire will now be authorized to operate at last year’s spending levels, farm advocates and legislators say they are disappointed in the inability of Congress to give farmers the security of a new five-year deal that would make it easier for them to plan.

“Uncertainty is the big thing,” said Adam

Nielsen, director of national legislation and policy development for the Illinois Farm Bureau. “Farmers are hoping that we’re not on a treadmill of Farm Bill extensions.”

Newly sworn-in 16th District Congressman Adam Kinzinger of Illinois said the uncertainty that lingers with the extension has been the biggest agricultural concern voiced by farmers in his district.

“Without knowing which insurance programs, or possible new regulations may be placed upon their industry, farmers are left vulnerable when deciding which crops, feed, or investments they should make for years to come,” Kinzinger said. continued on 244

Tax issues at top of legislative agenda

BY PAM EGGEMEIER For NorthCentral Illinois Ag Mag

Taxes were the predominant theme for agriculture lobbyists in Washington at the beginning of 2013, and the same holds true in Springfield.

State Rep. Frank Mautino, D-Spring Valley, has been spearheading efforts to ensure that taxes on farmland are assessed in a fair manner. Legislation has yet to be introduced, but the Illinois Farm Bureau has been working with the Illinois Department of Revenue in an attempt to keep farmers’ taxes from skyrocketing this year.

The Department of Revenue supports a proposal that would change how farmland values are determined. Since 1977, the taxes have been based on the land’s production rather than its market value. Because of wild fluctuations, in 1986 local governments instituted tax caps to make it easier for them and school districts to budget.

The Farm Bureau is lobbying to make sure the land continues to be taxed based on productivity, but it wants to fix the distortions created by the tax caps, according to Kevin Semlow, Illinois Farm Bureau director Rep. Jim Sacia: of state legislation.

Says farmland “The most important assessment “the thing is to make sure biggest agriculturthe Illinois Farmland al issue in Illinois Assessments law is fair right now” for everyone, and the distortions in the tax rates are addressed,” Semlow said.

The proposal would limit changes in the certified values of soils to 10 percent for Illinois’s medium cropland soil rather than the current 10 percent limit that now applies across the board.

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“Farmers have seen farmland assessment change dramatically, and I think this is the biggest agriculture issue in Illinois right now,” Sacia said.

While farmland assessments are directly related to taxes, Semlow says the Farm Bureau believes that the state’s budgetary problems, particularly $94 billion in unfunded pensions, also are tax issues that profoundly affect everyone in Illinois.

“This is the biggest issue in the General Assembly, and we [Farm Bureau] have worked closely to bring about true pension reform,” Semlow said. “The pension issue ultimately is about a shift in who pays.”

CONTINUED ON 46

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CONTINUED FROM 22 Kinzinger said that the impact of last year’s drought and historically slow economic growth make a five-year Farm Bill even more important.

Nielsen believes the extension is doubly frustrating because much of the heavy lifting for a new bill had been done, and a cash-strapped federal government stood to save a substantial amount of money in farm subsidy concessions. A bill passed by the Senate included savings of about $23 billion over 10 years. Another version in the House contained $35 billion in cuts, but a finished product never made it out of the House.

“Negotiations were taking place in December 2011,” Nielsen said. “We basically had the bill then, but it failed in the supercommittee. Now we’re back to square one.”

Randy Faber of Sublette was one of 14 state farmers to participate in the Illinois Farm Bureau’s Leaders in Washington trip in mid-September. The delegation had the opportunity to talk to legislative leaders one-on-one about the need for a new Farm Bill and participate in a rally at the Capitol. While Faber said it was a productive trip, his excitement was tempered by a healthy dose of reality.

“There was a lot of enthusiasm at the rally, and I was kind of surprised by the optimism by the congressmen,” Faber said.

David Rauch/For NorthCentral Illinois Ag Mag

Randy Faber, who farms near Sublette in Lee County, said that while he “was kind of surprised by the optimism of congressmen” during an Illinois Farm Bureau Leaders visit with lawmakers in Washington in mid-September, he never expected a new Farm Bill to be passed by the end of 2012.

“I just personally never did think we would get this done by the end of the year.”

Faber said he knew that the proposed cuts to the food stamp program would be a huge roadblock to getting a deal out of the House. The House version of the bill called for $16.5 billion in cuts, over a 10-year period, to the Supple-

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mental Nutrition and Assistance Program (SNAP), which makes up more than 75 percent of the Farm Bill budget.

Democrats feared that the cuts would eliminate food stamps for up to three million Americans.

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4Continued from 24 He also understood the gravity of the fiscal cliff negotiations, which forced the Farm Bill to take a back seat.

“There’s a $16 trillion debt,” Faber said. “You can’t keep kicking the can down the road when no one can tell you when you’re going to hit the wall. All you have to do it look at what’s happened in Greece and the rest of Europe.”

Congress and the ag community agree that the Farm Bill is outdated and the extension merely delays reform efforts.

Most heavily debated in the reform conversation is the funding for safety net programs, which are now extended in their current form for another year.

As crop prices have gone up during the period covered by the 2008 Farm Bill, crop insurance has clearly emerged as the risk management tool of choice in the Midwest. Direct payments have become the poster child of an antiquated Farm Bill.

The main objective for lobbyists in the next bill will be to protect the crop insurance programs that now cost the federal government about $9 billion a year, Nielsen said.

“We’re not pushing for direct payments, but now we have them for another year,” he said.

“It’s a great example of how this bill is out of step with the times. Farm Bureau is focused on preserving and enhancing crop insurance, but this is a symptom of a process that broke down.”

The ag sector booked record profits of $122 billion in 2012, fueling the argument to cut subsidies. Many farmers seem to have accepted the likelihood that direct payments are living on borrowed time. Some would even like to see them disappear.

Jim Schielein, a grain producer in Lee and Ogle counties in northern Illinois, served 10 years on the IFB board. He says he was in favor of doing away with direct payments in the 2008 Farm Bill.

“We could see it coming,” he said.

“Direct payments had their time and place, but they became untenable. With prices recovering as they have, why are we getting these dollars?”

Scott Irwin, professor of agriculture and consumer economics at University of Illinois, agrees that fixed direct supports are “dead on arrival,” but agriculture lobbyists want the next Farm Bill to include a different, more modern sort of safety net system in exchange.

‘‘

AP photo

Congressman Adam Kinzinger, a Republican who now serves the 16th District in Illinois, said “farmers are left vulnerable” in decisions about crops, feed and investments because of the uncertainty about the future of the Farm Bill.

‘‘

’’

The lack of certainty puts farmers in Illinois in a difficult position when it comes to planning, and it also impacts investment in agriculture.

Congresswoman Cheri Bustos, D-East Moline

“They are proposing replacement programs that work in conjunction with crop insurance and vary with market conditions,” he said. “I think the biggest concern for farmers this year is how robust the safety net will be in the next Farm Bill.

But making concessions during good farm times can be a slippery slope, especially now that the Farm Bill is likely to be drawn up while the debt ceiling deadline and appropriations bill expiration both loom on March 27.

Jerry Quintin, director of the Lee County Farm Service Agency, says the next Farm Bill must not “throw out the baby with the bathwater” just because this year was the first time in 30 years that prices have exceeded production costs. There will always be numerous factors that farmers can’t control.

“We can’t forget the essence of these programs,” he said. “We have to remember the cyclical nature of farming and what we needed to do to get to the good times. We had $5 corn in ’96-’97, and then

’’

Negotiations were taking place in December 2011. We basically had the bill then, but it failed in the supercommittee.

Now we’re back to square one.

Adam Nielsen, director of national legislation and policy development for the Illinois Farm Bureau

$1.40 corn in ’98-’99. Lee County received about $25 million in drought insurance in 1988-’89. We lost a lot of farmers that year, but the insurance saved us.”

Newly elected U.S. Rep. Cheri Bustos of the 17th District in northwest Illinois, who received an appointment to the House Agriculture Committee, will work with the committee to craft the next Farm Bill. She said she will listen closely to her constituents to gauge their priorities. She said she was disappointed that a long-term bill wasn’t completed in the last Congress, but she understands that reconciling subsidies with the current budgetary crisis will be challenging.

“The lack of certainty puts farmers in Illinois in a difficult position when it comes to planning, and it also impacts investment in agriculture,” Bustos said.

“We need to have subsidy reform, but also need to remember that farmers are at the mercy of Mother Nature. They do need some kind of safety net in place, such as a strong crop insurance program.”

Bustos believes there will be an important teaching aspect to her committee work on the Farm Bill.

“It is important to educate Congress about how a Farm Bill is beneficial to everyone – not just those in agricultural districts – because of the impact it has on things like food prices and food safety,” Bustos said.

AG Mag

25

Becky Kramer/For NorthCentral Illinois Ag Mag

Waitress Amber Odle takes an order for breakfast from Sharon Johnson and Noelle Sauter, regulars at Moreno’s on Main in McNabb in Putnam County.

MEET AND EAT

Farmers gather for good talk, great bacon at Moreno’s on Main

By Elin Arnold For NorthCentral Illinois Ag Mag

MCNABB – If you want to find the best place to eat breakfast in any rural area, just look for the restaurant where all the farmers eat. You’ll be guaranteed a place that smells like freshly brewed coffee and sizzling bacon and sausage when you open the door.

Moreno’s on Main in McNabb is such a location, and it’s open at 5 a.m., seven days a week.

Look around and you’ll see waitress Amber Odle, who can take and deliver

26 Spring 2013

orders, refill coffee, keep up with every conversation, and fill every customer’s need without getting rattled by any occurrence ... and you never know what might happen next. The men are at one table, and the women at another – each group involved in its own conversations.

Focusing on the farmers, there was a great group gathered on one recent morning: Marty Keller, fourth generation farmer, who farms 700 acres in Putnam County; Roy Waldschmidt, fourth generation farmer with 120

acres of land in production; Richard Ashdown, who calls himself an educator and “a hobby farmer”; and Dr. John Ehrhardt, a retired large and small animal veterinarian.

What do they discuss?

“The early group is the gossiping group,” Keller said. “This crowd mainly likes to have a good time.”

“It’s a stress reliever,” Ehrhardt added.

“We talk about markets, weather and cash rents,” Waldschmidt said. continued on 274

Make this specialty German Apple Coffee Cake 2 eggs 2 cups flour 1 cup salad oil 2 teaspoons cinnamon 2 cups sugar 1/2 teaspoon salt 1 teaspoon vanilla 1 teaspoon baking soda 4 cups apples, pared and thinly sliced 1-1/2 cups nuts, chopped In a large bowl, beat eggs until foamy. Add salad oil, sugar and vanilla.

Mix with spoon.

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Bake at 350 degrees in a 9-by13-inch pan for 45-60 minutes. Frost when cool.

Frosting: Mix 1 8-ounce package cream cheese with 3 tablespoons butter, 1 teaspoon vanilla and 1-1/2 cups powdered sugar. Mix well. CONTINUED FROM 26 “You can’t find a lot of farmers loafing around because many of us have another job,” Keller said. “We have to for insurance. It’s become a necessity.”

“If you like the area you live in, you

Becky Kramer/For NorthCentral Illinois Ag Mag

Dr. John Ehrhardt (from left), Roy Waldschmidt and Marty Keller enjoy breakfast and good conversation at Moreno’s on Main in McNabb. have to adjust to what’s happening there,” said Ehrhardt, who said his father started the veterinarian business as a large animal facility. Later, Ehrhardt added on and built McNabb Veterinary Clinic, a small animal clinic.

“I have three sons living on the farm

right now,” Keller said. “They’re not all going to be able to make a living there.

Something’s going to have to change in a big way.”

Then there’s the question of technology.

CONTINUED ON 45

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OUDS LIFTED Farmers score victories in fiscal cliff deal

W

BY PAM EGGEMEIER For NorthCentral Illinois Ag Mag

ith taxes taking center stage late last year in the looming fiscal cliff negotiations, farmers and their tax planners were hoping for the best but preparing for the worst as 2012 came to a close.

While all the uncertainty over ag-related tax issues made planning difficult, the deal reached late on New Year’s Day not only included a one-year extension of the 2008 Farm Bill provisions, but some big tax victories that farm lobbyists had pushed hard for in 2012.

■■■ According to CPA John Berge, the three most important tax changes set for 2012 were a sizable decrease in the Section 179 expense deduction, the expiration of the bonus depreciation allowance, and the anticipation of higher estate taxes. Now none of those changes will come to fruition this year.

“This allows farmers to have more options for 2013 and gives them more flexibility,” Burge said.

Section 179 and the bonus depreciation allowance, often used in tandem, provide write-offs for equipment purchases that can help to shelter income during good years.

CONTINUED ON 30 Photo illustration by Alex T. Paschal/For NorthCentral Illinois Ag Mag

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CONTINUED FROM 29 Before the fiscal cliff deal, the dollar limit for the Section 179 expense deduction was to drop from $500,000 to $139,000 for 2012, and all the way back to $25,000 for 2013. The 100 percent bonus depreciation allowance applies to qualifying property with a longer shelf life acquired after Sept. 8, 2010.

The 50 percent bonus depreciation allowance applies to qualifying property acquired after Dec. 31, 2007. Both bonus depreciation allowances were to expire in 2012.

Now the maximum Section 179 deduction remains at $500,000 for 2012 and 2013. The 50 percent bonus depreciation allowance is extended through 2013. The ceiling for equipment eligibility also has been lifted to $2 million, instead of the $560,000 asset maximum that had triggered a phase-out of Section 179.

Berge said the extension of those write-offs at their current rates is important in stimulating small business and agriculture.

“Farming is a very capital-intensive business,” he said. “It takes a lot of capital to be successful. We saw a lot of equipment being purchased in 2011, and fewer capital purchases in 2012 because of the possibility of the tax changes. When the tax burden is less,

it’s a real incentive to invest in new technology.”

Illinois Farm Bureau members made federal tax issues a big priority in 2012, and lobbyists turned up the heat on Congress by putting out a legislative action request from Nov. 30 to Dec. 7.

The result was close to 4,000 participants banding together in support of retaining current estate tax and capital gains provisions, and extensions of the Section 179 deduction, as well as extensions of the renewable fuels and energy tax credits.

The estate tax keeps the personal exemption at $5 million for an individual and $10 million for couples. The exemption will be adjusted for inflation, making it $5.12 million in 2012 and about $5.25 million in 2013.

A worst-case scenario had the estate tax exemption falling to $1 million and the tax rate jumping from 35 percent to 55 percent. Earlier in the year, the Obama administration had been leaning toward a lower exemption of $3.5 million and a 40 percent tax rate. The tax rate is bumped to 40 percent, but retaining the permanent $5 million exemption was a big win.

“The fiscal cliff was all about tax issues,” said Adam Nielsen, director of national legislation and policy development for Illinois Farm Bureau. “The estate tax is done and it’s a great out-

come. We were really afraid the estate tax would drop to three-and-a-half million. We can live with the extra 5 percent on the tax rate.”

Berge believes the $5 million exemption is a fair amount, especially given the way farmland values have been rising.

“If this exemption would have dropped to $1 million, it would have excluded very few people,” Berge said. “The huge run-up in farm values is what was really scaring people.

The increases were far outpacing the exemption.”

Lee County farmer Randy Faber is on the Illinois Beef Association Board and active in Illinois Farm Bureau lobbying efforts. He said that if the $5 million estate tax exemption had been reduced, it would have caught people who thought the tax would never touch them.

“Today’s farmers need at least 700 acres to make a comfortable living,” Faber said. “With land values going up the way they are, 100 acres is worth about $1.4 million. I think congressmen understood the problem.”

Jim Schielein grows corn, beans and wheat in Lee and Ogle counties, and spent 10 years on the Illinois Farm Bureau Board of Directors. He said that tax policy has been at the top of agriculture’s legislative agenda for several years.

CONTINUED ON 42

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Decisions to make at tax time H&R Block franchise owner shares some of her expertise

BY DONNA BARKER For NorthCentral Illinois Ag Mag

With the April 15 tax deadline approaching, Illinois farmers are looking at income and expenses, and what can be done to make the most of both.

Sharon Mercer, owner of 13 H&R Block franchises in north central Illinois, said most farmers come into H&R Block offices during November and December for tax planning – to look at where they stand with all their expenses and income. In Illinois, farmers are not required to file a quarterly estimate, as long as two-thirds of their gross income comes from farming.

When looking at tax planning, Mercer said farmers have the ability to control their level of income by putting some crops in storage and waiting for the new year – and, hopefully, better prices. This year, a lot of farmers sold their crops before the end of the year

because of the uncertainty of what would happen with the country’s “fiscal cliff,” she said.

Mercer said another tax planning consideration is how the farmer will handle the “expensing” Sharon (write-off) of a new Mercer piece of equipment or machinery in the year of purchase. The purchase would have to be made by Dec. 31 of the tax year, but the decision on how to handle the depreciation does not have to be made until the tax return is prepared. Buying a piece of machinery or equipment gives the farmer leeway in helping to control his level of income for the year, she said.

For 2012, a farmer can expense up to 50 percent of the cost of an item up to $139,000, depending on the farmer’s income. Previously, the farmer could expense up to 100 percent of the cost of an item, up to $500,000, again depending on the farmer’s income.

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tax time is the federal bonus depreciation, which is not based on income.

Since Illinois does not allow for a bonus depreciation, a portion of the federal bonus depreciation is added back on the state return.

It’s also possible for farmers to take advantage of farm income averaging. To qualify for that benefit, Mercer said, a person must be in the farming business in that year as an individual, as a partner in a partnership, or as a shareholder in an agricultural corporation. The income averaging is based on income from the three prior years as well as the current year, though the person did not have to be a farmer in the prior three years.

Looking ahead to the tax filing deadline, Mercer said farmers who do not file quarterly must file a tax return by March 1 and pay any owed balance in full in to avoid a penalty for not filing a quarterly estimate. However, an exception to the March 1 deadline allows the farmer to file one estimate payment

by Jan. 31, giving until April 15 to file a final return. If the farmer does file quarterly, the deadline is April 15 as it is for everyone else, Mercer said.

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AG Mag

31

The wind

of opportunity?

Shaw Media file photo

An aerial view of the Big Sky wind farm near Ohio. Opposition to such wind farms in Illinois is growing more organized and vocal as those who live close to them relate their experiences to others.

Opposition to turbines becomes more organized

W

BY DAVID GIULIANI For NorthCentral Illinois Ag Mag

ind farms go back only a decade in Illinois. The first one was Mendota Hills, near Paw Paw, a small village in the northwestern part of the state.

Lee County officials quickly approved the 63-turbine wind farm. The county’s zoning panel met just one night on the proposal. nnn In the years since, the county has given the green light for other wind farms – with essentially no opposition.

That’s not surprising. As the wind energy industry is quick to point out, poll after poll shows an overwhelming percentage of Americans support alternative energy.

32 Spring 2013

But those who live near wind farms often are unhappy with turbines in their midst. They complain about the noise, shadow flicker and vibrations, among other things.

And they’re relating their experience to others. As a result, opposition to wind farms is becoming more organized – and more vocal.

The latest wind farm in northwestern Illinois – the threecounty Green River project of Ireland-based Mainstream Renewable Energy – was bogged down for much of 2012 with hearings.

Neighbors of the proposed site attended public meetings regularly. But so did people from areas near other wind farms.

They had nothing good to say about living near turbines.

One of those people is Lee County farmer Wesley Englehart, who lives in the middle of a wind farm near the small village of Compton. Five turbines are on his property. continued on 344

Saying no to leasing to Clean Line

BY BARB KROMPHARDT For NorthCentral Illinois Ag Mag

Barb Kromphardt/For NorthCentral Illinois Ag Mag

Joe Myers has several problems with a proposed Rock Island Clean Line energy transmission project. An initial route proposal would have cut directly through his farm near Mendota. But he and many of his neighboring landowners still are protesting the project after a different route was chosen.

When Joe Myers first heard about the proposed Rock Island Clean Line energy transmission project, one of the proposed routes would have cut directly through his farm near Mendota.

“It was going to cut this farm in half,” Myers said. “The neighbor and I have been in the process for the last two years of putting an irrigator in here, and this was going to go right where the irrigator was going to be.”

Clean Line Energy Partners has since announced an alternative preferred route for the overhead transmission line, which would carry electricity produced from wind farms in the Midwest though Illinois and eastward.

But Myers and many of his neighboring landowners still are protesting the project.

“That kind of cleared us up here, but that ain’t the end of it,” he said. “We’re still involved in it.”

Myers has several problems with the project.

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AG Mag

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CONTINUED FROM 32 He has a little advice for farmers who are approached by wind farm companies: “Run like hell the other way.”

In June, a 72-turbine wind farm – known as Shady Oaks – went online in Lee County’s Brooklyn Township. It started with some fanfare. In late May, Illinois Lt. Gov. Sheila Simon climbed up the inside of one of the turbines.

During a brief presentation beforehand, wind farm supporters spoke of the jobs that wind farms bring to a community. And three school superintendents – invited by wind farm companies – touted the benefits of increased preoperty tax revenue from turbines.

“All that good news without mentioning renewable energy,” Simon said.

No wind farm opponents showed up. They hadn’t been invited.

So what does Englehart have against turbines?

They’re noisy, he said. While in his garage, he told a reporter to listen. A humming sound could be heard from nearby turbines.

He also said a turbine across the road will cause shadow flicker for a couple of hours later in the day during winter.

Years ago, Bruce Papiech of nearby Sublette approached Englehart about the wind farm that he was planning for Brooklyn Township.

At the time, Englehart felt comfortable with the idea. He signed a lease.

“I thought we were dealing with a local person,” Englehart said. “Pretty soon, he sold out.”

CONTINUED ON 35

Taking survey of the area’s wind projects Commercial wind farms in Bureau, LaSalle, Henry, Putnam, Marshall and Stark counties: • Crescent Ridge (Bureau County) 33 Turbines/54.45 megawatts • GSG (Lee/LaSalle counties) 40 Turbines/80 megawatts • AgriWind (Bureau County) 4 Turbines/8.4 megawatts • Grand Ridge (LaSalle County) 140 Turbines/210 megawatts • Providence Heights (Bureau County) 36 Turbines/72 megawatts • Top Crop (LaSalle/Grundy counties) 200 Turbines/300 megawatts • Big Sky (Bureau/Lee counties) 114 Turbines/239.4 megawatts • Mendota Hills (LaSalle County) 63 turbines/51.66 megawatts • Camp Grove (Marshall/Stark counties) 100 Turbines/150 megawatts Under construction • Bishop Hill (Henry County) 183 turbines/288.94 megawatts Proposed • Walnut Ridge (Lee, Whiteside, Bureau counties) 135 turbines/210 megawatts • Midland Wind Farm (Henry County) 70 turbines/104 megawatts • Minonk Stewardship Wind (Marshall County) ? turbines/40 megawatts • Spring Creek Wind Farm (Henry County) 135 turbines/200 megawatts • Stewardship Wind (Marshall County) 16 turbines/40 megawatts Community and privately owned turbines (<50kW): • Bureau Valley School District (Bureau County) 1 turbine/660 kilowatts • City of Geneseo (Henry County) 2 turbines/3,000 kilowatts Illinois Wind Power Totals: Total Turbines: 2095 turbines

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4Continued from 34 Mainstream Renewable Power ended up with the project, then sold it to Goldwind USA, a subsidiary of a Chinese company. (One objection to wind farms is that many are foreign-owned.)

For farmers who are interested in having turbines on their properties, Englehart advises them to put the towers farther from their homes. In his case, one turbine is within a quarter mile of his home. Four others are within a half mile.

Landowners, including Englehart, typically enter confidentiality agreements with wind energy companies, which means they are not supposed to reveal what they’re paid. However, he said he understands that his neighbors get the same amount – a flat fee every year.

Farmers ‘thrilled with turbines’ Windustry, a Minneapolis-based wind energy information organization, states on its website that wind lease terms can vary. But the rule of thumb is that landowners are given $2,500 to $5,000 a year for each turbine, the group said. Larger turbines can mean bigger payments.

One industry group estimates an even higher number for farmers’ turbine payments. The Iowa Wind Energy Asso-

‘‘

’’

If the turbines are making a lot of noise, then they’re having a mechanical problem. If a turbine is operating properly, they make very little noise. It’s a very low swoosh.

Harold Prior, executive director of the Iowa Wind Energy Association

ciation says farmers get an average of $6,000 a year for each turbine in the Hawkeye State. Its executive director, Harold Prior, says he knows of a farmer in northwestern Iowa who gets $10,000.

“The farmers I speak with are thrilled with turbines,” he said. “They wished they had more of them.”

Prior estimates that about half of farmers who host turbines live on their farms. Many of their neighbors get “good neighbor” payments from wind energy companies, but he didn’t know how much they received.

As for noise, Prior said, that shouldn’t be a problem.

“If the turbines are making a lot of noise, then they’re having a mechanical problem,” he said. “If a turbine is operating properly, they make very little noise. It’s a very low swoosh. I’ve climbed them five times, been around them dozens of times.”

The opposition in Illinois and other Midwestern states, Prior said, is more organized than in Iowa.

“The mood is pretty darn positive with wind projects in Iowa,” he said.

Northwestern Iowa’s Pocahontas County, for instance, has seen virtually no opposition to wind farms, said Don McLain, the county’s zoning administrator.

Part of the reason is that the county is sparsely populated, he said. Pocahontas County’s population density is 12 per square mile, one-fourth of what it is in Lee County, Illinois.

Pocahontas County has 217 turbines; Lee County has 232.

Pocahontas’ first wind farm was built in 2007.

“The wind farms don’t really go near any towns in our county,” McLain said.

“Our experience has been very good.

The development in our county has been very good, and the associated employment has been very welcome.”

That’s especially beneficial in a county with a declining population, he said.

continued on 364

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AG Mag

35

4Continued from 35 The population dwindled by 15 percent between 2000 and 2010, according to the U.S. Census.

Not many wind farms in works Wind energy companies need two things for a successful project – a windy site and nearby access to transmission lines.

“The windiest sites have been built or are under leases,” said David Loomis, director of Illinois State University’s Center for Renewable Energy. “Companies are branching out to sites that are less windy and would need new transmission to be built to unlock the wind.”

He said the industry isn’t planning many more wind farms now.

“We have this pent-up demand” said Loomis, an ISU economics professor in Bloomington. “We have a lot of wind farms that have been issued permits but haven’t been built yet.

“The question remains, Will those get built before the permits expire?

No one wants to go out and do brand-new development until they see more movement on the existing permits.”

David Rauch/For NorthCentral Illinois Ag Mag

Wesley Englehart, who has five wind turbines on his farm near Compton in Lee County, has advice for farmers who are approached by wind farm companies: “Run like hell the other way.”

Examples of permitted-but-not-yetoperational wind farms are in Bureau and Ogle counties, both next door to Lee County.

As for Shady Oaks, Englehart wishes Goldwind’s plan had received more

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“I will be stuck with them for 25 to 30 years,” Englehart said.

“The turbines weren’t worth the money we’re getting.”

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Unique approach to wind proposals

By Nicole Wiegand For NorthCentral Illinois Ag Mag

White House official photograph

Jeff Heil, his father Richard (left) and President Obama tour the Laurel Wind Farm in Iowa’s Marshall County last summer. The president stopped at the farm during his 2012 campaign to promote wind energy.

When a handful of companies looked to set up a wind farm in southern Marshall County, Iowa, in 2007, Jeff Heil and his neighbors did something that hadn’t been done before: they drew up a contract with more than 60 landowners to participate in a wind farm that would benefit everyone, regardless of turbine location.

“There were two different brokers that sort of go out and develop the farms before they sell them off,” said Heil, a farmer from Haverhill, Iowa. “A few of us neighbors got together to chat about what was going on, because we didn’t want a checkerboard effect.”

Heil and his neighbors decided to do a bit more research, talking to other wind farmers, attending symposiums, and even contacting the Agricultural Law Center at Drake University.

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AG Mag

37

From the soil to the grain bin:

Data is driving efficiency

L

By Derek Barichello For NorthCentral Illinois Ag Mag

imitless.

That is how seventh-generation farmer and tractor dealer Adam Henkel describes the range of data available to farmers today.

“What do you want to know?” asks Henkel, who works for Johnson Tractor in Rochelle. “There are sensors that can tell a computer whatever you want, from tillage to planting to spraying to cultivating to erosion, all the way to harvest. You can track every single step of your crop since the moment you plant it, all the way to the grain bin, if you want.” nnn Henkel said the information is derived from a geographical info system, the same device being used in cars to tell drivers how to get from point A to point B. This information gives farmers a window into their crop like they never had before. continued on 394

38 Spring 2013

Photos submitted by Witmer Precision Services

ABOVE: Chuck Witmer of Witmer Precision Services in Mount Morris installs the sophisticated technology on a planter that will help a farmer place seeds in specific locations with 99 to 100 percent accuracy. Infrared sensors allow computers to communicate data to the farmer about rate populations, row clutches, the effects of speed and meter performance.

TOP: A view of the Witmer Precision Services shop in Mount Morris.

Photo submitted by Witmer Precision Services of Mount Morris

A “picket fence” row is established through precision planting. CONTINUED FROM 38 Some farmers, such as Henkel’s family, who farm in southeastern Lee County, cannot get enough data to make important decisions on crop placement and monitoring. Taking seeds and planting them in the most opportune location, avoiding double planting or skipped rows, and seeing problem areas within their field and analyzing data to see what went wrong.

“My family has never been afraid of trying something new to gain an edge,” Henkel said. “We’ve used it since the 1990s, and it continues to change the face of farming.”

Other farmers, however, see a price tag starting at $7,000 to $20,000 for top-of-the-line equipment and wonder whether it makes enough of a difference in increased yields or decreased costs to turn a profit. Henkel is certain it pays off, but he admits the difference is relative to the individual farmer.

“There are plenty of variables,” Henkel said. “There is a spreadsheet that says this equipment will save you an average of this many bushels, but there’s no guarantee how each farmer will use it. Farmer A may use his data differently than farmer B, and maybe farmer A sees more yield and farmer B uses less fertilizer or spray.

“It all depends on how much data they want and how much they want to use, whatever tells them what they need to know.”

Henkel guesses a little more than 50 percent of farmers are using data-driv-

en technology.

Old farmers like Monty Whipple in LaSalle County, who has spent more than 60 years in agriculture, have depended on their experience to tell them what’s happening in their fields.

The size of ears on the corn, for example, might tell him what area of his field is producing more than another.

“The real question for me is whether the data is telling me something I don’t know,” Whipple said.

The technology could cost as much as a field’s annual yield brings in.

“If a farmer has a system that’s working for them, they may be reluctant to take a risk, especially smaller farmers or hobby farmers,” Whipple explained.

The irony, to those who work closely with data-driven technology, is the risk that the technology seeks to eliminate.

For example, Witmer Precision Services in Mount Morris, Ill., provides datadriven technology for planting.

Meters are designed to place a seed out of its planter in a specific location.

Infrared sensors measure the accuracy with a goal of 99 to 100 percent. Computers communicate the data to the farmer about rate populations, row clutches, the effects of speed and meter performance.

Adjusting meters, vacuum pressure, transmissions and speed can perfect performance. Productivity can be maximized by increasing planter speed without compromising performance. Down force can be measured to eliminate costly root compaction and slotting.

“The equipment is designed for farm-

ers to control their planting before crops come up,” said Kelly Stevens of Witmer Precision Services. “They wouldn’t know they’ve skipped every 10th seed until the crop comes up, and then it’s too late.”

The cost of every skipped row or double seed adds up.

For example, if the equipment is able to rescue 10 bushels to the acre at $6 a bushel, that’s $60 for one acre, $600 for 100 acres and $6,000 for 1,000 acres..

“Farmers want to know how they can increase yields and reduce costs,” said Matt Lillpop, executive director for Whiteside County Farm Bureau in Illinois. “Data has always driven farming, whether it’s on a monitor in front of them, or figured at the end of the year.

Farmers are constantly looking at supply versus cost.”

Henkel said geographical info systems are becoming automatic features on new tractors. Most new tractors are designed to run automatically without a driver, so farmers can observe seed placement and track progress on a computer screen.

“There’s such a demand for them,” Henkel said. “There’s a demand for efficiency.”

While there isn’t as much of a demand for it, Henkel said, satellite trackers on trucks can monitor crops at harvest time from the field to the grain bin.

“Some companies want to measure the efficiency there,” Henkel said. “How much is being loaded? How quickly is it arriving? Is there a better way to do it all?

“The possibilities really are limitless.

What do you need to know?”

What technology is on the horizon?

Data-driven technology has grown leaps and bounds since it changed the face of farming when it was introduced in the 1990s. Here are other technologies on the horizon, according to the University of Illinois Extension offices: ■ A map visible from a mobile computer that shows where all farm vehicles are operating and their fuel levels, how much product has been applied or how much crop harvested, and even whether a piece of equipment is ready to break down.

■ Geographical information systems tracking livestock and barn animals.

■ Manufacturers are introducing controllers, drives and shutoff systems with ever-finer resolution and the ability to apply multiple products at variable rates. Controlled traffic systems, such as strip till, also have become a reality.

AG Mag

39

How soon before driverless tractors?

By Barb Kromphardt For NorthCentral Illinois Ag Mag

Bill Naffziger, who farms 2,000 acres in north central Bureau County, said data farming is nothing new.

“Farmers have always – from tally sheets to pocket books – they’ve always kept track of numbers,” he said. “It’s just the way we’re doing it now and the amount of information becoming available.”

Naffziger said modern data farming began with the advent of GPS technology in the late 1990s, and its popularity has spread.

“In the last five to seven years, the adoption rate has been really increased,” he said.

Naffziger said it’s hard to say just how widespread data farming is because everybody uses it in different ways.

For row crop farmers, data farming has been used to automate applications in the field, while the livestock industry uses it to keep track of its animals.

“We have automatic feeders, and we have animal ID systems that will be able to tell by a certain herd size or lot size or a certain individual animal’s rate of gain automatically because every time they feed, they get weighed,” he said.

Naffziger, who raises row crops, said farmers used to manage things in row crops by the field, with the same application no matter the size of the field.

“Now we’ve divided that back into 60-by-60-foot grids, and everything that happens in that grid is a data point,” he said.

Naffziger said the younger farmers have been the quickest to adopt data farming, but older farmers see the value, as well. Equipment manufacturers are among the best sources for learning about data farming.

“You’d be surprised at how many older farmers are finding out how to make that technology useful in their operation,” he said.

The use of data farming is continually evolving. For example, in row crops application, Naffziger said, farmers had

40 Spring 2013

Barb Kromphardt/For NorthCentral Illinois Ag Mag

Bill Naffziger raises row crops on 2,000 acres in north central Bureau County.

Technology plays a big part in his operations. “We have automatic feeders, and we have animal ID systems that will be able to tell by a certain herd size or lot size or a certain individual animal’s rate of gain automatically, because every time they feed, they get weighed,” he said. to take data on a memory stick or PC card and take that physically back to the computer.

“Now we’re developing platforms that it will be real-time back into the Cloud or some other database that we can manage and operate,” he said. “Or we can share what information we have with our other business partners.”

Naffziger predicts driverless tractors will be in the fields in the next five years.

“That technology is there now, although it just might be somebody at the edge of the field controlling them,” he said. “In 15 years, it will probably be somebody controlling them from a desktop.”

Naffziger said the data farming landscape will change greatly throughout the next 15 years.

“It’s going to be really interesting where technology is going to go,” he said.

TASTES

FROM HOME Italian heritage of eastern Bureau County reflected in Ladd library’s cookbook

BY BARB KROMPHARDT For NorthCentral Illinois Ag Mag

LADD – You might expect a cookbook from a rural community to feature all-American food.

But many of the early settlers of Ladd – in eastern Bureau County – were Italian miners, so several of the recipes in “A Taste of Ladd” reflect that heritage.

The cookbook was the project of the Ladd Public Library, and spearheaded by library Director Amy Galetti-Bosi.

“The summer reading theme was ‘Reading Is So Delicious,’ and I just happened to get a flier from the Morris Press Cookbooks company,” Galetti-Bosi said. “I thought, hmm, this might work. We could kind of tie it together with the summer reading. Get the kids involved a little bit, get some of the community involved, and do a little bit of fundraising at the same time.”

Sample a ‘Taste of Ladd’

CONTINUED ON 42

“A Taste of Ladd” is available by sending a check for $14 plus $2.50 shipping and handling to the Ladd Public Library, 125 N. Main St., P.O. Box 307, Ladd, IL 61329, or by calling 815-894-3254.

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4Continued from 41 Pleas went out for recipes, including a note in every water bill, and the recipes came back – almost 500 of them.

“During our library board meeting, when we were talking about it, there were a few recipes that came up where someone said, ‘Oh, we absolutely have to get this recipe.’ ‘We absolutely have to have somebody submit it.’ ‘Somebody has to have Mary Torri’s Sick Soup.’”

And somebody did. In addition to Mary Torri’s Sick Soup, recipes for Italian favorites such as bagna cauda, polenta, and zuccerine cookies were submitted.

“That’s what we kind of were hoping for, to get some of the old recipes that everybody remembers from their grandmothers,” Galetti-Bosi said.

Galetti-Bosi said cookbooks like “A Taste of Ladd” help to tie the past with the present.

“For people my age, I think it’s nice to have that connection,” she said.

“Instead of just going to the computer and going to Pinterest or going to food. com or something to get a recipe, I think it’s nice when you have that community cookbook. You can say, ‘Oh, this came from so and so, so I know it’s going to be a good recipe.’”

Try some of these recipes:

Betty Piacenti’s Zuccerine Cookies

6 eggs 3/4 cup sugar 2 teaspoons anise extract 2 teaspoons anise seed 1/2 pound butter 1/4 cup whipping cream 4 cups flour 4 teaspoons baking powder 1/2 teaspoon salt Frosting glaze: 2 cups powdered sugar 4Continued from 30

“The estate tax really hits home with farmers,” Schielein said. “If we would have gone down to a $1 million exemption, about 97 percent of farmers would be subjected to the estate tax.”

Schielein said farmers played by the rules and did their estate planning as best they could, but the stress of getting farms from one generation to the next began to mount.

“In Northern Illinois, farmland values were up 22 percent just in the last quarter,” Schielein said. “It took the estate planning we’ve done and thrown it out the window.”

Schielein said his farm was owned by his parents and he helped pay for it. He feels fortunate that his land still is in the

42 Spring 2013

3 tablespoons boiling water 1 teaspoon anise extract Beat eggs well with a mixer. Add sugar, anise extract, anise seed, softened butter and whipping cream and mix well with a mixer. Add flour, baking powder and salt to egg mixture. Mix well and chill. Cut off a piece of dough and roll with your hands until about 4 inches long and the diameter of your little finger. Tie into a loose knot and place on a greased cookie sheet. Bake in a 350° oven until done, but pale in color, not browned, about 10 minutes. Cool and then frost. When frosting, coat zuccerines with a pastry brush or with your index and middle finger.

Frost tops and bottoms and place on waxed paper to dry.

Babba Ganoush

1 large eggplant, peeled and cut into 1/2-by-1/2-by-3/4-inch slices 2 large red peppers, sliced into 1/2-inch slices 2 medium red onions, sliced into 1/2inch slices 1/4 cup olive oil Sea salt Italian parsley Preheat oven to 250°. On a large jelly roll pan lined with foil, place all vegetables. Sprinkle liberally with sea salt.

Drizzle 1/4 cup olive oil and toss until coated. Place in oven for 1-1/2 hours, turning every 20 minutes. May add more olive oil as needed. Continue roasting until onions are translucent. Increase heat to 400° and roast an additional 1/2 hour, or until peppers start to turn brown.

Sprinkle with Italian parsley and put into a bowl. May add more salt if desired. May be served warm or cold over bruschetta toast, toasted pita bread or pita chips.

Forgotten Stew

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family; others have not been so lucky.

“These farms are your heritage, and the sweat and tears you’ve shared as a family,” he said. Unfortunately, because of the estate tax, many farmers have had to sell to move their land on to the next generation.”

Many people mistakenly believe that farm tax returns are due on March 1.

Individual taxpayers have an April 15 deadline. However, if they owe income tax, they may be subject to a penalty for underpayment of estimated taxes.

Farmers have a special provision that allows them to avoid the penalty if they file their return by March 1. A farmer is allowed to make a single estimated tax payment by Jan. 15, basing the payment on their prior year income tax liability. Making this payment extends

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1 (46 ounce) can chicken broth 3 eggs 1 cup bread crumbs, coarse 1/3 cup grated cheese Dash of nutmeg (optional) Bring broth to a boil. Beat eggs. Add bread crumbs and cheese. Mix well (it will be a thick paste.) Very slowly pour a small amount of broth into egg mixture just until well blended. Then pour back into remaining broth. Bring quickly to a boil. Remove from heat and sprinkle with nutmeg or parsley. the filing deadline to April 15.

Berge said the key to planning for farm taxes is understanding the uncertainties involved in the business.

“You have to plan for uneven income – there are good years and bad ones,” Berge said. “When planning taxes, we try to even out the good and the bad.

We prepay expenses in good years and try to maximize within the 10 to 15 percent tax bracket.”

That involves trying to project income as flat as possible, Berge said. That’s where the write-offs become important.

“Doing farm income averaging is a lot harder with less depreciation,” he said.

“We may suggest they not sell something or withhold inventory until the next year, depending on the tax rates for the next year or the income situation.”

The Farm Bureau and RICL

‘‘

Given the concerns ... and the strong opposition the proposed project has generated with farmland owners in Rock Island, Whiteside, Henry, Bureau, LaSalle and Grundy counties, the Illinois Farm Bureau Board voted to oppose the Rock Island Clean Line transmission line project and work to have the Illinois Commerce Commission deny ... the petition. ...

’’

4Continued from 33

F

arm Bureau has been aggressively engaged while working on a project which is proposed to run right through northern Bureau County, affecting a large number of landowners, our members. For the past few years representatives have actively attended both public and private meetings to stay in the know about the proposed project.

For those of you who may not be aware, this proposed Rock Island Clean Line Energy project would consist of approximately 500 miles of overhead, high-voltage direct current transmission lines, transmitting up to 3,500 megawatts of wind energy from Iowa, Nebraska, South Dakota and Minnesota and terminating at a conversion station in Grundy County.

According to its website, www.rockislandcleanline.com, the project is owned by Clean Line Energy, which is a private company founded by Michael Skelly, who led the development efforts at Horizon Wind Energy.

The company develops high voltage, long-haul transmission lines connecting the best renewable resources in North American to communities that need power.

On Oct. 29, the Farm Bureau co-hosted an informational meeting with other neighbor-

Jill Frueh

Manager of the Bureau County Farm Bureau ing county Farm Bureaus in Hooppole in order to inform concerned landowners who might be impacted by the proposed project.

At the meeting, Farm Bureau staff updated the crowd of close to 140 people about the status of the project and informed landowners of their legal rights while sharing information they should know before they consider signing an easement agreement if the project moves forward.

So, where is the project today? The private company is petitioning for an order granting Rock Island Clean Line LLC a Certificate of Public Convenience and Necessity pursuant to Section 8-406 of the Public Utilities Act as a Transmission Public Utility and to Construct, Operate and Maintain an Electric Transmission Line and Authorizing and continued on 444

production, Myers is skeptical.

“I’d like to see you try to farm around a pole out in the middle of the field and all you lose is the 3-foot concrete base,” he said. “It’s kind of impossible.”

There also are financial risks. Myers spoke with his insurance agent, who told him he would be liable for any damage to the pole, and he couldn’t insure it.

“If we would happen to hit that thing out in the middle of the field, we’re liable for it,” he said. “We’re liable for the repairs; we’re liable for any down time; and we’re liable to the person on the other end if they lose business because we knocked the power out.”

Myers said land values would go down if the line is approved.

“I know if I was going to buy a farm, I would try not to buy one with one of these things on it,” he said.

Myers and other area farmers raise a lot of specialty crops, and they talked with the seed corn company they work for.

A lot of what they grow is sprayed by crop dusters, and Myers said the airplanes would not go anywhere near the transmission towers.

“Without them coming out and saying it, we would probably lose these contracts for our specialty crops,” he said.

Another problem is with the lease, which includes a permanent 200-foot easement.

“They basically would own the land, except I’m paying the taxes on it,” Myers said.

“That land would be theirs to do whatever they want to with.”

Myers also is concerned about the transmission pole itself. While a single pole is supposed to take only a small amount of land out of

AG Mag

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4Continued from 43 Directing Rock Island Clean Line pursuant to Section 8-503 of the Public Utilities Act to Construct an Electric Transmission Line. If approved the company can proceed with plans for the project.

In October the Illinois Farm Bureau filed to intervene in the Clean Line case before the Illinois Commerce Commission (ICC). Their main arguments in the ICC case are: • Clean Line is a private entity and should be denied public utility status as the company requests.

• Clean Line should be denied eminent domain authority.

4Continued from 37 “We tried to make a community type of contract instead of an individual one.”

Specifically, the contract outlines a base financial benefit to any landowner within the boundaries of the farm. In addition, landowners are compensated for each wind turbine constructed within the confines of their property.

Upon its completion, the Laurel Wind Farm was purchased by Mid-American Energy and was fully functional as of

• If permitted to construct: the company should be required to use monopole structures, the company should build the transmission line adjacent to the Interstate 80 right-of-way or following property lines, rather than following a route that cuts diagonally across open farmland.

Given the concerns outlined above, and the strong opposition the proposed project has generated with farmland owners in Rock Island, Whiteside, Henry, Bureau, LaSalle and Grundy counties, the Illinois Farm Bureau Board voted to oppose the Rock Island Clean Line transmission line project and work to have the Illinois Commerce Commission deny the company’s peti-

tion to construct a transmission line in Illinois.

At their November board meeting, the Bureau County Farm Bureau voted to support the Illinois Farm Bureau position on RICL with the exception of following Interstate 80’s right of way. Farm Bureau continues to monitor the progress of the project.

Wondering what you can do? If you have a concern with the project, we strongly encourage you to submit public comment to the ICC. Contact the Bureau County Farm Bureau for more information or printed instructions on how you can post public comments to the docket.

December 2011. After just a year of living in the shadow of the farm, Heil says his and his neighbors’ decision to lease their land has been a positive one.

“You know, you drive around the state and you see them, you know they look good from a distance, but if you live underneath one you think, What’s the impact?” he said. “Everybody had all these kind of concerns and questions.

“Farming around them is less of an inconvenience than I thought,” said Heil, who has five turbines on his property and two along his property bor-

ders. “We were worried about the roads they were putting down, but we use them for access, so it’s been more of a convenience than an inconvenience.

“Overall it’s been a good experience,” he said of the decision to lease his land – a decision that led to a visit from President Obama during his 2012 campaign in support of wind energy.

“Going in, we knew the pros and cons.

If we’re going to live within a mile or two [of ideal land], we’re still going to see turbines, so we figured, Why not do something beneficial to everybody?”

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Moreno’s on Main owner Linda Moreno has been in the kitchen cooking up great food for her restaurant customers since 1982.

4Continued from 27 “I don’t even try to get around a computer,” Waldschmidt said while waving his hands to say “no way.”

“Don’t even want to.”

Keller, on the other hand, likes to keep track of markets and the weather on his cellphone.

So, what’s the best thing to eat at Moreno’s? In unison, the farmers all said, “Bacon!”

That’s right – bacon. “[Owner] Linda [Moreno] makes the best bacon of anywhere around,” Ehrhardt said. “We’re simple people.

We have simple pleasures.”

Moreno, on the other hand, feels her best meals are biscuits and gravy, in addition to her skillets.

“We do sell a lot of bacon,” she said. “But we sell a lot of skillets, too!”

While much has changed in the agricultural and farming industry, at least one thing has been consistent with the fellows, especially when questioned about where they were eating breakfast 50 years ago.

“Right here!” they all said.

“Fat ran the place,” said Ehrhardt, referring to Fat

‘‘

Other farmer favorites • The Road Ranger Truck Stop in Princeton, Bureau County • The Serena Cafe in Serena, LaSalle County • The Barn House Restaurant in Kewanee, Henry County

Serving the Illinois Valley since 1906

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• Connie’s Country Kitchen in Toulon, Stark County • The Big Apple in Princeton, Bureau County Swain, who owned the restaurant years ago when it was called Swain’s Kiva.

Moreno has been in the restaurant business since 1982, starting out in Granville. When she tired of the tavern side of the business, she packed up her recipes and home-cooking and moved to McNabb in 2002.

Since then, Moreno’s on Main has been keeping this long-time restaurant location a bustling hub of the community.

Linda makes the best bacon of anywhere around. We’re simple people. We have simple pleasures.

Dr. John Ehrhardt, a regular at Moreno’s on Main

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4Continued from 23 Semlow says the pension reform proposals that are being discussed are based on one overriding premise – a shift to property taxes.

“A shift to more land-based taxation obviously means that farmers will shoulder more of the burden,” he said.

Farm Bureau’s top stated state legislative priority for 2013 is to push for passage of a budget that preserves current levels of funding for core ag programs without tax increases.

“Ag has been put in a hard spot the last 10 years,” Semlow said. “There have been dramatic cuts to staff in inspections, process permits, soil and conservation districts.

“We know the economy has been tough, but we need to preserve what we have.”

Farmers also are taking a keen interest in energy issues, which promise to be at hot state legislative topic. Sacia says that extracting oil, gas, and even coalbased energy through rock formations, known as hydraulic fracturing, has become a heated issue.

“There is a tremendous push on fracking,” Sacia said. “It’s going to affect the ag community because they own the land, and many environmental groups are getting involved.”

‘‘

Ag has been put in a hard spot the last 10 years. There have been dramatic cuts to staff in inspections, process permits, soil and conservation districts.

Kevin Semlow, Illinois Farm Bureau director of state legislation

Fracking allows gas and oil to be extracted from areas previously not thought possible. While supporters point to its importance in creating a more self-sufficient energy policy and the jobs it is creating, opponents says there are environmental hazards to groundwater and the air.

Farm Bureau supports legislation to set regulations for fracking that protect the land and water. In the renewable energy arena, ag lobbyists also would like to see legislation passed that brings consistency to wind power development – particularly in how landowners’ rights are protected.

Another problem Illinois farmers face is not a new one. Environmental regulations, especially on livestock farmers, will continue to be an issue in 2013. Sacia, who was born on a dairy farm and continues to farm as an “avocation,” believes that the EPA comes down too hard on livestock producers.

“This is an ongoing problem,” he said.

“EPA makes it tough on livestock and dairy, in my opinion overly so. Farmers

Contact Us

’’

are actually the best environmentalists; they have a long history of taking care of the land.”

Semlow doesn’t anticipate any huge changes regarding environmental issues and says that those issues are primarily handled through the administrative rule-making process.

The 98th General Assembly represents a considerable changing of the guard.

Its 41 new members will have a small learning curve in dealing with a legislative agenda full of critical and contentious issues. Sacia says that shouldn’t be a problem.

“They have to hit the ground running,” he said. “Within 6 months, you’re a reasonably effective legislator; after a year, you should be speaking up on issues and in committee.”

Semlow agrees that the high turnover shouldn’t slow the process.

“They catch on quickly, but it will be interesting to see how the freshmen handle it,” Semlow said. “With the large influx of new people, it should produce a lot of new ideas.”

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47