Central Iowa AgMag - 02-21-2013

AG Mag Central Iowa

!

Water, Please Their land thirsty for moisture, Central Iowa 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 Steady wind: Iowans remain ‘pretty darn positive’ about wind energy projects

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Spring 2013 AG Mag

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AG Mag

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Message from the Publisher

Central Iowa Ag Mag stands out because of its local focus It is with great excitement that we introduce the inaugural issue of Central Iowa Ag Mag, a publication focused on the success of Iowa 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-

ucts and services area agriculture professionals offer. Those of us working to produce this magazine are especially grateful for our advertisers’ support, for without it, producing this publication would not be possible.

The second issue of the Ag Mag will publish in August. It will examine how Dan Goetz 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 fared in 2013, and then delve into planning for next year.

We hope you enjoy this issue, and we hope you have a great 2013.

Regards,

Dan Goetz, publisher

In 2012, more than 6,000 Iowans participated in our meetings and webinars and called our hotlines and specialists for updates on crop, livestock, and horticulture issues.

Visit the Our Story website and learn more about how we benefit Iowans across the state. www.extension.iastate.edu/our-story

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AG Mag

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Index

AG Mag Central Iowa

Publisher Dan Goetz Advertising Director Jeff Holschuh Managing Editor Bob Eschliman Magazine Editors Larry Lough, Kathleen Schultz

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Page Design Jeff Rogers

COVER STORY

Reporters & Photographers Derek Barichello, Pam Eggemeier, Bob Eschliman, David Giuliani, Kayla Heimerman, Mandi Lamb, Philip Marruffo, Amy Martens, Alex T. Paschal, Nicole Wiegand, and Kyle Wilson

Feeling the Heat Farmers fear another year of drought could be devastating if commodity prices fall.

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 Central Iowa 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.

Feeding the world Newton High School senior James Leonard already is well aware of agriculture’s importance.

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Index Uncertainty, still, about Farm Bill

12

Potential tax burdens lifted

20

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

Legislative priorities

13

Iowa Farm Bureau sets its agenda for lawmakers in Des Moines.

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The “fiscal cliff” deal in the nation’s capital brought some blessings to farmers in Iowa and across the country.

Wind still strong in Iowa

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Wind energy projects are not meeting the same opposition here as in other Midwestern states.

Good talks, great food

Planting by the numbers

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heat

Feeling the

Threat of drought through 2013 has farmers worried

BY Matthew Shepard and Kayla Heimerman For Central Iowa Ag Mag

E

arly last year, Kellogg farmer Todd Lenz became concerned about drought-like conditions he saw around him. As nearby creeks began to run dry, he knew many farmers were getting worried.

“It’s a concern [now],” Lenz said.

“Farmers have been hauling water since last summer. The amount of water to recharge [the] groundwater is astronomical.” nnn The intense 2012 drought parched field crops throughout much of the

8 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

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.

Although Lenz said he was not affected much by the 2012 drought – “60-80

’’

miles south of here had it worse,” he said – this coming season could be trouble.

The Jasper County farmer saw an increase in sales for his products because other areas were affected by the drought. But if enought snowfall does not come this winter, his crops might struggle this coming season.

He also is concerned about livestock because of a hay shortage.

Continued on 94

4Continued from 8 Fort Atkinson Hay Auctions reported that hay bales usually cost about $35 a round, but with the drought, the price has increased to about $100.

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 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, Ill. “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

‘‘

Sarah Brown/Central Iowa Ag Mag

Cattle close in on Tony Allen of Diagonal 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.” crop insurance specialist for 1st Farm Credit Services in Rock Falls, Ill. “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 Most of the country remains in a drought, according to the U.S. Drought Monitor.

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

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

Emily Pratt, crop insurance specialist in Rock Falls, Ill.

’’

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.

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.

Continued on 104

AG Mag

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CONTINUED FROM 9 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-than-normal 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.

Meteorologists aren’t seeing much, though. Neither El Niño nor La Niña is dictating the weather right now, said Brad Rippey, an agricultural meteorologist with the USDA. “We’re in a neutral situation,” Rippey said. “It’s [ENSO] one of the very few things we have to give us some confidence in a forecast looking out many, many months, and we don’t have it this winter.”

Meteorologists then look elsewhere – at a mish-mosh of factors that affect weather

in ways that are much harder to predict.

“We’ve had highly variable weather so far,” Rippey said. “If I had to go out on a limb, that would be my forecast: periods of stormy weather at times ... a lot of extremes, from mild and dry to cold and stormy.

“I’m afraid to venture a guess into the spring.”

Other experts agree.

“We probably will not have a good, reliable outlook until we get to, let’s say the middle of January, or even to be really sure, to early Alex T. Paschal/For Central Iowa Ag Mag April,” Taylor said. “Usually by Chuck Rodebaugh, who farms commercial then, we do have weather patterns corn without irrigation in Lee County, Ill., is and a handle on them for what more concerned about how much prices will they will be for May through Sepdrop than he is about persistent dry conditions. tember [the growing season].”

Chuck Rhodenbaugh, who farms $8.50 a bushel this past summer – but a 1,600 acres of commercial corn withreturn to more normal yields this year out irrigation in Lee County, Ill., is worried could send them spiraling downward, less about the persistent dry conditions said Chris Hurt, an agricultural econoand more about the falling price of corn. mist at Purdue University Extension.

“I’m worried, yes, that it will be dry and we won’t get the yield we need,” he said.

The USDA predicts the midpoint “But I’m more worried about how much on 2012 corn will be $7.60 a bushel. the price is going to drop. ... With the If yields are more normal in 2013, the high cost of inputs, if that price gets back price could fall to $5.50, the largest ever down to that $3.50 figure, a lot of farmyear-to-year drop, Hurt said. But prices ers are going to go out of business.” won’t move sharply lower until producThe drought sent corn prices through tion becomes more assured as the seathe roof – to a record-high of about son progresses, he added.

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Newton Senior High School FFA chapter President James Leonard has grown up on a 500-acre farm about 10 miles north of Newton. There, Leonard himself has a small cattle operation consisting of nine head of feeder calves that he plans to sell in the summer.

‘We feed the world’ NHS student already doing his part

BY AMY MARTENS For Central Iowa Ag Mag

Newton Senior High School senior James Leonard is just 18 years old, but he already is an avid farmer and businessman with a passion for all things agriculture. “[Farming] is important to me because we feed the world,” he said.

“Without agriculture and without farmers, a lot of people wouldn’t get food, and I just feel that it really helps and that I’m doing this for a good cause to help feed the world.”

Leonard grew up on a 500-acre farm about 10 miles north of Newton, where his family’s main crops are corn and soybeans. Leonard himself even has a small cattle operation consisting of nine head of feeder calves that he plans to sell in July or early August.

“My dad had hogs at our house, and he got out of that business and we had the empty barn space,” he said. “So I started buying some calves and feed-

James Leonard Age: 18 Home: Rural Newton School: Newton Senior High School FFA activities: Newton FFA president, South Central District sentinel, member of Program of Activities Team that received ninth at state in 2012, Supervised Agricultural Experience (SAE) is raising feed lot beef cattle Academic activities: Maintained 3.5 GPA throughout high school, member of Student Activities Advisory Committee Sports: 4-year varsity letter winner in golf, 3-year varsity letter winner in soccer Family: Father, Tim Leonard; mother, Michele Leonard; sister, Macy Leonard (16) ing them out, and it’s made me some money.”

When he’s not on the family farm, Leonard stays busy at school as the chapter president of the National FFA Organization at NHS, which has about 75 members.

“I ran for offices throughout my high school career and didn’t get them, so I got the short end of the stick there,” Leonard said with a laugh. “But this year, I ran for chapter president, and the chapter does an interview process with each applicant, so I gave a two-minute speech and members voted me in.”

With the title comes the responsibility of giving radio and newspaper interviews, as well as going on chapter visits and attending workshops and leadership conferences. Leonard cites one of his major accomplishments during his time in the FFA as his selection as a South Central District sentinel – one of six throughout the state of Iowa.

After his graduation from high school this spring, Leonard plans to attend Iowa State University to major in agricultural business and accounting. But the FFA will always be a part of his life.

“I will be an active member until I’m 21. Then, I’ll join a collegiate FFA ... and hopefully work on the family farm after college,” he said. “I’ll still be around town and be a supporter of the FFA. “Actually, we just started an alumni chapter of the FFA here in Newton, and I’ll be a member of that after I graduate.”

AG Mag

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Kicking the Can Down the Road, Again

Photo illustration by Alex T. Paschal for Central Iowa Ag Mag

Uncertainty for farmers remains after another extension of the Farm Bill

by Congress

12 Spring 2013

I

By Pam Eggemeier For Central Iowa 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 144

Farm Bureau states its top priorities for 2013

BY BOB ESCHLIMAN For Central Iowa Ag Mag

The Iowa General Assembly reconvened Jan. 14 for its annual 110-day session with a number of new legislative priorities. But the eyes of many farmers and rural landowners will be looking to see how legislators respond to calls from the Iowa Farm Bureau Federation to protect the state’s land owners and control the growth of property taxes.

Republican and Democratic leaders in both the House and the Senate have stated that property taxes – particularly commercial property taxes – will be a major focus of the 2013 legislative agenda.

IFBF President Craig Hill, in an interview in the most recent issue of the Farm Bureau Spokesman, said property taxes had increased sharply.

“Our continued efforts to protect property taxpayers are essential because, over the last decade, property

taxes have increased by over $2 billion, an increase of over 75 percent,” he said. “Farm Bureau members believe the primary objective of property tax reform should be to reduce the property tax burCraig Hill: den on all classes of President of the property.”

Iowa Farm Bureau Another major issue Federation will be how the state dips into a nearly $800 million budget surplus from the last budget year. Hill said IFBF members support using a draw-down of those funds for one-time expenses, such as property tax relief and infrastructure needs, but opposes any new long-term spending commitments from the surplus.

Other IFBF legislative priorities in 2013 will include: • Advancing conservation efforts and

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addressing water quality issues, • Protecting Iowa’s road and bridge infrastructure, • Positioning the state as the leader in bioscience research and development, and • Increasing legislative oversight in the rule-making processes of state boards and commissions.

Hill also said in the interview that IFBF would work to establish budget growth limitations for local governments as a way to further limit property tax increases.

“Reasonable limits are needed so property tax collections do not continue to outpace the economy and family wages,” he said. “In addition, protecting the productivity formula for property taxes on farmland will be a key focus, ensuring that agricultural land is assessed on its ability to produce revenue, rather than on the current market value, especially in this period of sharply higher land prices.”

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4Continued from 12 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, Ill., 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

David Rauch/Central Iowa Ag Mag

Randy Faber, who farms near Sublette in Lee County, Ill., 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. 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,”

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.

‘‘

’’

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

14 Spring 2013

Faber said. “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 Supplemental 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.

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. continued on 154

Alex T. Pascal/Central Iowa Ag Mag

Jim Schielein, a grain producer in Lee and Ogle counties in northern Illinois, favored doing away with direct payments in the 2008 Farm Bill. He said, “With prices recovering as they have, why are we getting these dollars?” Many farmers seem to have accepted the likelihood that direct payments are living on borrowed time.

4Continued from 14 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 sup-

ports 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.

“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 $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 said that the need for a longterm bill was the dominant ag issue discussed while she was on the campaign trail. She 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

15

‘The place to go’ Nicole Wiegand/Central Iowa Ag Mag

Ron Williams and David Gertsma finish their drinks before heading out on a Thursday morning. While a usual crowd of regulars fills the rustic dining room in the early morning, most patrons clear out by 10:30 a.m. before returning for lunch later in the day.

Homemade Iowa comfort food brings folks to the Sully square

By Nicole Wiegand For Central Iowa Ag Mag

B

usiness cards for the Coffee Cup Cafe in Sully, Iowa, don’t list an address. They simply read, “South Side of the Square.”

If you’ve been to Sully, population 821, you know where the square is, and, as it’s the only restaurant in town, you probably know where the Coffee Cup is, too. While a restaurant has occupied the building along Fourth Street for nearly a century, the Coffee Cup as it stands today has been run by Robin and Darin Morvant of Sully since 2004.

16 Spring 2013

T-shirts hanging on the walls boast “Since 1970.” Robin explains that, while the property has changed ownership, the restaurant has retained its original integrity. Since 2004, the Morvants have made some renovations and a few changes to the menu, but haven’t altered anything drastically.

The menu, Robin explained, is chock full of homemade Iowa comfort food that keeps the regulars coming in day after day — some of them multiple times a day, like David Gertsma, Ron Williams and Gilbert Van Wyk. Gertsma and Van Wyk hail from nearby Lynnville; both are retired farmers. Williams, of Sully, has been a truck driver and is “almost retired,” according to a joking Gertsma.

Like clockwork, they meet around 9 a.m. each day. continued on 174

The Coffee Cup Cafe is the only restaurant in Sully, population 821. Its menu is full of homemade Iowa comfort food that keeps the regulars coming in day after day, says Robin Morvant. one of the restaurant’s owners since 2004.

4Continued from 16 It’s coffee for Williams and Van Wyk, but “never anything but iced tea,” for Gertsma.

“Well, Gilbert gets here about seven minutes after 9 o’clock. Anything later than that and he’s late,” Gertsma joked. “Some of us are here twice a day; Ron, he’s in here three times a day.”

“We just talk about anything and everything,” Williams said. “Our wives ask us what we hear in here, and you just can’t explain.”

“Sometimes you’ll learn something here about yourself you didn’t know before,” quipped server Tammy Fisher as she refilled a coffee for Van Wyk, who’s been frequenting the Coffee Cup for decades.

“I’ve been coming here pretty near 50 years now,” he laughed. “My dad used to come in here, and I did a few times, too. I must’ve started a bad habit early.

When I used to do seed corn, I’d park the truck out front, stop for coffee, and then go deliver.”

Over the course of those 50 years, the restaurant was briefly owned by Van Wyk’s grandfather and uncle, and his wife worked as a salad maker in the kitchen for 10 years.

“We know just about everybody, but there’s always strangers that come in,” he added.

It’s not just coffee and conversation that the men gather for each day – they come for the food as well.

“I like the triple deuce,” Williams said. “That’s two eggs, two sausages and two pieces of toast.”

“My wife and I are pancake lovers,” Van Wyk added.

Rightfully so, as the Coffee Cup’s pancakes have numerous rave reviews around the web, likely because of the homemade syrup. Among other favorites, explained Robin, are the hot beef sandwich, Dutch lettuce salad, and homemade pies.

Daily pie specials are listed on a whiteboard adjacent to the counter; this particular Thursday morning featured peach, banana cream, coconut cream and cherry. With the combination of home-cooked food, fantastic service and a friendly sea of faces around, the three wouldn’t go anywhere else.

“There’s got to be something good here, because we just keep on coming back,” Williams said.

“You know,” Gertsma added, “it’s kind of the highlight of the day for me.”

The Coffee Cup Cafe’s pancakes have received many rave reviews online, likely because of the homemade syrup.

Among the favorites at the Coffee Cup Cafe in Sully are the hot beef sandwich, pancakes with homemade syrup, and freshly baked pies.

AG Mag

17

Surviving the Newton woman recalls 1930s life in Kansas

DUST BOWL

By Nicole Wiegand For Central Iowa Ag Mag

Although Newton’s Marie Bookout has lived in Iowa since she was in fourth grade, the years that have passed haven’t erased her memories of enduring the Dust Bowl of the 1930s as a child in western Kansas.

“I was a little kid when we lived in Kansas,” Bookout, 84, said. “[Her father] drove the gas truck, and he’d fill it up and take it out in the fields to the combines. If they saw one of those dust storms coming, it’d be like a tornado now, but it’d just be a solid wall of dust.”

Such dust storms became the hallmark of the ecological phenomenon that swept across the American plains during the mid-1930s and was thusly deemed the “Dust Bowl.” continued on 194

Photos submitted

Marie Bookout (left) and her family pose for a portrait in Ness City, Kan., during the height of the Dust Bowl.

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CONTINUED FROM 18 Spurred by extreme drought and the utilization of farming practices that eliminated the prairie’s deep root structure, dry and dusty conditions left fields vulnerable to wind erosion.

Bookout’s family took extreme measures to evade the dust, even within the walls of their prairie home.

“After one of those storms, you’d have dust everywhere,” she said. “It just came in through nowhere.

“If there was a storm when mother was Marie Bookout cooking, you know, you’d have to keep lids on all the pots and pans, of course,” she recalled. “She would set the table and put a tablecloth over all the plates and forks and knives, and we’d have to stick our heads under the tablecloth to eat supper.”

It wasn’t just their food that Bookout’s family was concerned about – breathing in the dust was even more dangerous than eating it.

“Daddy built me a bed with sides on it, and mother would lay a damp sheet over it every night before bed,” Marie said. “You’d wake up after one of those

dust storms, and you’d have dust [an inch thick] on the outside of it. My mother worked herself half to death to keep me from breathing in dirt.

Just imagine having to rinse that sheet out every day, and then having to do it all again.”

Depending on the direction of the wind and the severity of the storm, Bookout and her family could predict where the devastating dust storms originated.

“We could tell almost the exact location of where the dust was coming from just by looking at the color,” she explained. “If The prairie near Marie Bookout’s home in Kansas was it was red, it was from a barren wasteland during the Dust Bowl years.

Oklahoma; if it was yellow, it was from Texas. ... to death to keep them from eating the If you were there, you could tell. food the people needed to eat. My fam“Lots of times they’d say, ‘That dust is ily tried to farm, tried the corn and the from Texas,’ and that’d mean it came wheat and could do pretty good with the clear over Oklahoma to get here.” wheat. Mother always had a milk cow or The dust took a toll not only on farmtwo, a hog, chickens and a garden. If you ers, but on the prairie wildlife as well. could feed the animals, you could exist.

“The men would all get together and “You know, it was an awful lot like that drag the [dead] critters up from the ‘Grapes of Wrath’ movie,” she added. corners of the fields and burn them,” “It showed what a hardship it was to she said. “We had to beat the rabbits make a living.”

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OUDS LIFTED Farmers score victories in fiscal cliff deal

BY PAM EGGEMEIER For Central Iowa Ag Mag

W

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 22 Photo illustration by Alex T. Paschal/Central Iowa Ag Mag

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AG Mag

21

Farmers receive ‘blessing’

By KYLE WILSON For Central Iowa Ag Mag

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Farmers, especially family farmers, received a “blessing” Dec. 31, farming consultant Ray Powell says.

Powell has helped southwest Iowa farmers with their business decisions and taxes for the past three decades through his business, Positive Farming Assistance, in Creston.

That great blessing, he said, came in the “fiscal cliff” deal, whereby the government permanently extended the federal law on the estate tax.

If that law had not been extended, those who inherit or buy the farm would have had to pay a 55 percent inheritance Ray Powell tax on any value above $1 million.

Because of the extension, heirs will pay estate taxes only on a farm’s value over $5.12 million.

“There is a very dramatic difference between $5.12 million and $1 million, especially because land values are high right now and several farms are above $1 million in value,” Powell said.

“This was a great blessing for farmers and really is an amazing help to many family farmers. They can breathe a little easier now that the government has made its decision.”

4Continued from 21

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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. continued on 234

CONTINUED FROM 22 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 outcome. 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, Ill., 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 in Northern Illinois, 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.

“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 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 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.”

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23

The wind

of opportunity?

Sarah Brown/Central Iowa Ag Mag

Wind turbines sprinkle the landscape in Bridgewater, Iowa, as part of Rolling Hills wind project in Adair, Adams and Cass counties. It is the largest wind farm in Iowa, with 193 Siemens 2.3-megawatt wind turbines.

Opposition to turbines not evident in Iowa

W

BY DAVID GIULIANI For Central Iowa 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.

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.

In more recent years, however, many people in rural areas of northern Illinois have become unhappy with turbines – or the idea of turbines – in their midst. They complain about the noise, shadow flicker and vibrations, among other things.

24 Spring 2013

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

But the opposition seen in Illinois and other Midwestern states is more organized than in Iowa, according to Harold Prior, executive director of the Iowa Wind Energy Association.

“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. continued on 264

Local farmer takes unique approach

BY NICOLE WIEGAND For Central Iowa 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 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. “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.

“We ended up selecting RPM Access to intermediate, get us set up,” Heil said. “We sort of created a new type of contract that hadn’t been done in the state of Iowa – a contract that allowed everybody in the border to participate financially.

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CONTINUED FROM 24 “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.

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

But the latest wind farm proposal in northwestern Illinois – the three-county 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.

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.”

Mainstream Renewable Power ended up with the project, then sold it to Goldwind USA, a subsidiary of a Chi-

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nese 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.

Iowa 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.

The Iowa Wind Energy Association estimates an even higher number for farmers’ turbine payments. The group says farmers get an average of $6,000 a year for each turbine in the Hawkeye State. Executive Director Prior says he knows of a farmer in northwestern Iowa who gets $10,000.

CONTINUED ON 27

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CONTINUED FROM 26 “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.”

CONTINUED FROM 25 “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 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

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

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 borders. “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?”

‘‘

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.”

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 scrutiny.

He regrets his decision to allow the turbines.

“I will be stuck with them for 25 to 30 years,” Englehart said. “The turbines weren’t worth the money we’re getting.”

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? Everybody had all these kinds of concerns and questions.

Jeff Heil, a farmer from Haverhill, speaking about the impact of wind turbines

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27

From the soil to the grain bin:

Data is driving efficiency

L

By Derek Barichello For Central Iowa 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, Ill. “There are sensors that can tell a computer whatever you want, from tilage 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 294

28 Spring 2013

Photos submitted by Witmer Precision Services

ABOVE: Chuck Witmer of Witmer Precision Services in Mount Morris, Ill., 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, Ill.

4Continued from 28

Photo submitted by Witmer Precision Services of Mount Morris, Ill.

A serviceman at Witmer Precision Services in Mount Morris, Ill., installs the “20/20 AirForce” to a planter. The AirForce measures the amount of down force in planting. Root zone compaction is caused when there is excessive down force applied to the row unit during planting. That compaction can cut yields.

‘‘

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

Adam Henkel, seventh-generation farmer in Rochelle, Ill.

’’

Some farmers, such as Henkel’s family, who farm in southeastern Lee County, Ill, 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-driven technology.

Old farmers like Monty Whipple in LaSalle County, Ill., 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. continued on 304

AG Mag

29

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.

Photo submitted by Witmer Precision Services of Mount Morris, Ill.

A “picket fence” row is established through precision planting. CONTINUED FROM 29 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 farmers 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?”

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DIALED OUT IN INTHE FIELD

By Nicole Wiegand For Central Iowa Ag Mag

As agricultural technology advances further, don’t expect local farmers to be left in the dust.

In fact, one Newton farmer has combined the capabilities of his smartphone and his tractor’s built-in GPS to keep his fields in tip-top shape while monitoring everything from fertilizer cover to crop yield. nnn Rolland Schnell, a Newton-area farmer, relies on GPS mapping and variable rate application input data to guide his farming decisions.

“I collect all my data, and I have since the late ’90s,” he said. “I compare layer yield data information from one year to the next and look at the yields on

Joseph Murphy/Iowa Soybean Association

Newton-area farmer Rolland Schnell stands with his combine, one of the many tools he uses to gather and map data while out in his fields.

Schnell relies on GPS mapping and variable rate application input data he receives on his smartphone and tractor to guide his farming decisions.

respective fields, and use that information in my planning.”

Harvest season is one of the most important times of the year for Schnell to gather statistics. The numbers he collects as he harvests help him to determine his needs as a farmer for the coming growing season.

“In the fall, a yield monitor plots data every second and records a plot with longitude, latitude and elevation,” he explained. “And you’re also recording grain flow, moisture and temperature, which boils down to bushels per acre.

“I use my smartphone extensively,” he said. “I’m always on it in for weather when I’m in the fields. During harvest time and planting time, I’m covering every square inch of my fields. With that bird’s-eye view, I record any problem areas in my field, like rocks, and I download the coordinates straight to my computer.”

That allows Schnell to combine data collected via his GPS devices with that sent directly from his phone for an accurate and complex map of each of his fields. Additionally, he employs applications on his phone to identify anything that might compromise the quality of his harvest.

“If I see a weed and am not sure what it is, I’ll look it up on my weed app and identify it.” Schnell said.

In addition to identifying weeds and pests with his phone, he keeps track of farm commodity markets throughout the season.

With those technologies combined, Schnell said, not only data collection, but data analysis, is becoming more attainable for farmers.

“There’s no question it’s allowing us to become much more efficient in every way,” he said, “which is the bottom line dollar.”

AG Mag

31

‘FRIENDS’ WITHTASTE

Newton library’s cookbook offers tasty, accessible recipes

BY MANDI LAMB For Central Iowa Ag Mag

For a variety of tasty recipes, from appetizers and breads to desserts and drinks, Newton residents need look no further than the Friends of the Newton Public Library’s “Cooking With Friends.”

“Cooking With Friends” features 170 pages of recipes submitted by more than 100 Newtonarea residents. The cookbook is divided into eight sections: Appetizers & Beverages; Breads; 3 col x 5.75” 3 col x 5.75” Soups & Salads; Meats, Poultry & Fish; Sides 3 col x 5.75” & Casseroles; Cookies, Candy & Snacks; Pies, Cakes & Desserts; and Miscellaneous.

3 col x 5.75” ■■■

Celebrating America’s Celebrating America’sFarmers Farmers

Celebrating America’s Far

An impressive variety of recipes is provided for any meal, from Bessie Mae’s biscuits, doughnuts, and pumpkin waffles for breakfast to lobster bisque, creamy spinach bake, and lemon-soy herbed pork tenderloins for a delicious multi-course dinner.

As for the dessert sections, the cookbook offers recipes for the most basic of desserts – such as brownies, pumpkin bars and snickerdoodles – to original family favorites like Marabeth’s Potato Chip Cookies and Great-Great-Grandmother’s Gingerbread.

They’re the humble heroes who rise before dawn and battle the elements. They put clothes on our backs and Dividers allow for quick and easy access to each section of food on our tables. Their genuine values and tireless work ethic are an inspiration to us all ... we salute them. the book, and each section begins with a page of relevant They’re the humble heroes who rise before dawn and battle the elements. They put clothes on our backs and I invite to joinvalues Farm Bureau in saying thanks They’re humble heroes whoand rise before dawn and battlefarmers. the They food on ourthe tables.

Theiryou genuine tireless work ethic areto anAmerica’s inspiration to uselements. all ... we salute them. cooking hints or tips, temperature guide, term list, converHelen Clausen put clothes on our backs and food on our tables.

Their genuine values and I invite you to join Farm Bureau in saying thanks to America’s farmers. sion chart, or calorie count list. The book has a short table 809 Fourth Avenue tireless work ethic are an inspiration to us all ... we salute them.

Grinnell, IA 50112 Helen Clausen of contents listing the main categories, but a more in-depth 641-236-8712 809 Fourth Avenue index lists the page number of each recipe in each section, Grinnell, IA 50112 rise before dawnthanks and battle elements.farmers.

They put clothes on IThey’re invite the youhumble to joinheroes Farmwho Bureau in saying to the America’s 641-236-8712 creating a well-organized cookbook with dishes for any kind food heroes on ourwho tables. andelements. tireless They workput ethic are on anour inspiration They’re the humble rise Their before genuine dawn andvalues battle the clothes backs andto us all ... of meal. food on our tables. Their genuine values and tireless work ethic are an inspiration to us all ... we salute them.

I invite you to join Farm Bureau in saying thanks to America’s farmers.

One of the best features of “Cooking With Friends” is the I invite you to join Farm Bureau in saying thanks to America’s farmers.

Helen Clausen three-ring binder easel format, which allows users to bend the Helen Clausen 809 Fourth Avenue 809 Fourth Avenue cookbook’s cover across the middle to prop it upright on the Grinnell, IA 50112 Grinnell, IA 50112 counter and flip through the pages with ease. The cookbook 641-236-8712 641-236-8712 also includes several pages for notes, a spot to list the name and page number of favorite recipes, and enough space to add a few more pages of favorite local recipes if the cook so desires.

Celebrating America’s Farmers

CONTINUED ON 33

32 Spring 2013

CONTINUED FROM 32 The cookbook was printed in 2009, but the Newton Public Library still has plenty for sale at a cost of $7.50 each.

Here are some recipes to try:

Bacon Cheese Ring (Rita Baker)

12 oz. bacon 1 lb. extra-sharp grated Cheddar cheese 6 green onion stalks, finely chopped 2 c. mayonnaise 1 tsp. cayenne pepper ½ c. slivered almonds Strawberry preserves Crackers or French bread Fry bacon until crisp. Drain well and crumble. In medium mixing bowl, combine bacon, cheese onions, mayonnaise and cayenne pepper. Mix thoroughly. Place almonds in the bottom of an oiled 7-cup ring mold; press cheese mixture into mold.

Refrigerate overnight. Unmold onto platter.

Put custard cup (or other small dish) in the center of the ring and fill with jam. Serve with crackers or small French bread slices.

Yield: 20 to 25 appetizer servings.

Chicken with Cranberry Sauce (Sharon Brown, Betty Asby)

4 med. Chicken breasts, halved, boneless, skinless 1 (8 oz.) btl. Catalina or fat-free French dressing

1 (16 oz.) can whole berry cranberry sauce 1 pkg. dry onion soup mix Preheat oven to 350 degrees. Spray a 9-by-13 inch pan with cooking spray.

Place chicken in pan. Mix sauce, dressing and onion soup mix in bowl. Pour over chicken. Bake 1 hour.

When time matters, cook chicken in microwave, then add the rest of the ingredients and finish in the oven. The sauce works well with pork chops or pork loin as well.

toni, layer of Mozzarella cheese. Sprinkle with Romano cheese. Repeat until dish is full. Cover and bake in 325-degree oven about 30 to 45 minutes. Yield: 8 servings.

If you like less spice, you can put some ground beef in place of sausage. Any leftover sauce can be used at the time of serving.

Laura’s Rigatoni Casserole (Charlotte Townsend)

½ C. butter or margarine 1 c. vanilla chips, divided 2 eggs ½ c. sugar 1 tsp. almond extract 1 c. all-purpose flour ½ tsp. salt ½ c. raspberry jam ¼ c. sliced almonds In saucepan, melt butter. Remove from heat and add ½ cup vanilla chips, do not stir. In small mixing bowl, beat eggs until foamy. Add sugar. Stir in butter mixture and add flavoring. Combine flour and salt.

Add to egg mixture until just combined.

Spread half of batter into greased 9-inch square baking pan. Bake at 325 degree for 15 to 20 minutes or until golden.

Melt the jam, spread over the warm crust. Stir remaining chips into remaining batter and drop by teaspoon over jam layer. Sprinkle with almonds. Bake 30 to 35 minutes. Cool, cut into bars.

1 lb. rigatoni pasta 2 cloves garlic, chopped 1 lb. grated Mozzarella cheese ½ tsp. oregano ½ c. Romano cheese 1 ½ lb. bulk Italian sausage Salt & pepper, to taste 1 bay leaf 1 tsp. sweet basil 2 (12 oz.) cans tomato paste 2 tsp. sugar 2 (15 oz.) cans tomato sauce 5 to 6 cans water Brown sausage with garlic, salt and pepper. Add tomato paste, tomato sauce, water, oregano, bay leaf, basil and sugar. Cook about 2 hours. In 6 quarts of water, cook rigatoni until almost done; drain. In 3- to 4-quart casserole, put a layer of sauce, layer of riga-

Raspberry Almond Bars (Susan Hawk)

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33

The

Future of Farming

Iowa Farm Bureau

Mark and Stacy Boender are presented with the Iowa Farm Bureau Federation’s 2012 Young Farmer Achievement Award on Dec. 5 in Des Moines.

Mahaska County farmers win Young Farmer Achievement Award

By Laurie Johns Iowa Farm Bureau

Mahaska County farmers Mark and Stacy Boender were presented the Iowa Farm Bureau Federation’s (IFBF) 2012 Young Farmer Achievement Award on Dec. 5 at the organization’s annual meeting in Des Moines.

The annual contest honors young farmers who show outstanding management ability in their farming operations and involvement in Farm Bureau and community activities.

Receiving second place in the contest were Tom and Jessica Forbes of Monona County. Third place recipients were Erik and Emily Oberbroeckling of Clayton County.

The Boenders raise corn and soybeans, and also operate an excavating business.

Mark and Stacy both grew up on farms, so working with family members every day came naturally to them. Mark works with his father and brother, farming and running a custom farming business that offers a variety of services, including planning, harvesting, manure hauling, tillage work and more. The partnership also includes a custom farming business that now includes all five of Mark’s siblings.

“We grew up working together,” Mark wrote about his family in his

34 Spring 2013

Achievement Award application. “We can accomplish more together, build off each other’s strengths and grow our businesses. Family is very important to me.”

Mark and Stacy have been active on the IFBF Young Farmer Committee at the state and county levels and on the Mahaska County Farm Bureau board of directors. They also volunteer with their church and school board.

For their award, the Boenders will receive either a John Deere Tractor/ Loader combo (5-7R Series) for a oneyear or 300-hour lease, or a TX Gator, a 90-day NPNI (no payment, no interest) John Deere Farm Plan Certificate and an expense-paid trip to the 2013 Growmark annual meeting in Chicago. In addition, the winner will represent Iowa in the national Young Farmer Achievement Award competition at the 2013 American Farm Bureau annual meeting in Nashville.

The family also receives a family portrait, video and plaque.

The Forbeses started farming on their own in 1999, renting land and having the corn and soybean crops custom planted and harvested. They purchased equipment in 2001 and now offer a variety of custom farming services to area farmers. They also operate a seed dealership, offering the latest seed genetics and traits to

area farmers. Tom has served as the Monona County Farm Bureau young farmer chairman and also has served on the political action committee and county board of directors. Jessica also is involved with the local chamber of commerce and community economic development committee.

For their second-place honor, the Forbeses receive parts on Site Bin, a 90-day NPNI Farm Plan Certificate, a $500 gift certificate from Growmark, and a family portrait, video and plaque.

The Oberbroecklings raise corn, soybeans and feed hogs. They also offer custom farming services, including round baling, application and trucking. They farm with Erik’s parents, working the land that his grandfather started in 1961. The family also is building a swine wean-to-finish facility that will also allow Eirk’s brother, a recent college graduate, to join the family farm. The Oberbroecklings are involved with the Clayton County Farm Bureau and active with their church and community.

For third place, the Oberbroecklings receive a gift certificate from Grainger, a 90-day NPNI Farm Plan certificate, a GPS unit from Farm Bureau Financial Services, a John Deere-branded Safe, and a family portrait, video and plaque.

Make Temple Grandin proud

Laurie Johns Iowa Farm Bureau “Between the Lines”

I

n an age of political-correctness overload, it’s downright hypnotic to hear someone speak without filter or fear. But, then again, Temple Grandin always has been a trailblazer.

A designer of livestock handling facilities and a Colorado State University professor of animal science, Grandin has long been recognized as an expert by livestock farmers and meat processing folks; but it was the HBO movie about her life, starring Claire Danes, that made her a celebrity with consumers.

She uses her international fame to do a job that makes others shudder in their cowboy boots. No, I’m not talking about bull castration, pig wrangling or heavy-lifting. (She does those, too, no doubt.) What Temple advocates is ... deep breath! ... speaking out.

Speak up!

Step Forward!

Be Bold!

Share!

Temple says farmers need to get better at that, because the good news of farming is being hijacked by fear mongers who have a “bone to pick” with progress.

Grandin spoke to Iowa farmers at the 94th Iowa Farm Bureau Annual Meeting. Her progressive, “straight talk” keynote was delivered like a shot across the bow of a battleship; more than a thousand Iowa farmers sat in rapt attention as she talked about the public’s thirst for farming knowledge.

“I talked to one student at the University of Colorado-Boulder that thought if beef cattle went to Whole Foods they were born on pasture, and if they went to Safeway or Kroger or someplace like that, they were born in a feed yard,” Grandin said. “I explained to them that no beef cattle are born in a feed yard.

The most basic things people just don’t know. It’s kind of appalling.”

Grandin says the majority of farmers and consumers she talks to are receptive.

“The public is who we need to be talking to,” she said. “Because one of the big problems we’ve got today is [that] the Internet increases the voice of radicals.

“I don’t care what the issue is: if you’ve got a big, fat mouth, you can make a big, huge splash on the Internet. Well, the people that we need to be

Shaw News Service file photo

Temple Grandin admires a model cattle truck designed by Randall Witmer of Dixon, Ill., during a tour of Dale Pfundstein’s farm in rural Sterling, Ill., in July 2010.

Grandin says farmers need to get better at speaking out and being advocates for themselves and their industry.

‘‘

But, the true message we all need to embrace is the need for being there to answer questions, share a story, listen to consumers, and provide choices. Speaking out actually is easy, once you get started.

communicating with are the people in the middle, the public.”

Grandin acknowledged that while there are things the public needs to learn about farming, there also are certain things that are harder for them to embrace because sometimes the scale and innovation of farming and food production surprises consumers.

“But, they need to know that big isn’t bad. Small isn’t necessarily good.”

But, the true message we all need to embrace is the need for being there to answer questions, share a story, listen to consumers, and provide choices. Speaking out actually is easy, once you get started.

Whether it’s done through fun chan-

’’

nels, like on You Tube, or simply by taking a little extra time to chat about where bacon comes from while you’re in the checkout aisle at the grocery store, the stage is yours.

You don’t have to be a celebrity. You don’t need a college degree. You just need passion. And that, my friends, is one thing today’s responsible Iowa farmers have, in spades.

Now, wouldn’t Temple be proud?

“Between the Lines” is written by Iowa Farm Bureau Public Relations Manager Laurie Johns and examines rural life and the role agriculture plays in the lives of all Iowans.

AG Mag

35

Farmland value reaches historic heights

By Iowa State University Extension

A

verage Iowa farmland value is estimated to be $8,296 per acre, an increase of 23.7 percent from 2011, according to results of the Iowa Land Value Survey conducted in November.

This is the third year in a row of values increasing by more than 15 percent. The 2012 values are historic peaks.

The increase is somewhat higher than results of other recent surveys of Iowa farmland value: the Chicago Federal

Reserve Bank estimated an 18 percent increase in Iowa land values from October 2011 to October 2012, and the Iowa Chapter of the Realtors Land Institute estimated a 7.7 percent increase from March to September 2012.

“The difference in survey estimates could be due to values increasing more rapidly in the past few months than earlier in the year. Better-than-expected crop yields and the level of land sale activity due to the proposed changes in land-related taxes contributed to the

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increasing values,” said Mike Duffy, Iowa State University economics professor and extension farm management economist who conducts the survey.

“The Iowa State survey samples different populations, and uses different wording than the other surveys. This could also lead to different results especially in times of uncertainty. Even within the Iowa State survey there was considerable variation in the estimates.”

CONTINUED ON 37

4Continued from 36 O’Brien County had an estimated $12,862 average value, the highest average county value. O’Brien County also had the highest percentage increase and highest dollar increase in value, 35.2 percent and $3,348, respectively.

Osceola, Dickinson and Lyon counties also saw 35.2 percent increases.

The Northwest Crop Reporting District, which includes all four counties, reported the highest land values at $12,890, an increase of $3,241 (33.6 percent) from 2011.

“The 2012 land value survey covers one of the most remarkable years in Iowa land value history,” Duffy said.

“This is the highest state value recorded by the survey, and the first time county averages have reached levels over $10,000. While this is an interesting time, there is considerable uncertainty surrounding future land values.”

Why values are increasing Duffy said understanding some of the causes for the current increase in farmland values is helpful in assessing the situation. Farmland values are highly correlated with farm income. As farm income increases, so will land values.

In 2005, corn prices averaged $1.94 per bushel in Iowa. The preliminary

‘‘

The 2012 land value survey covers one of the most remarkable years in Iowa land value history. ... While this is an interesting time, there is considerable uncertainty surrounding future land values.

Mike Duffy, Iowa State University economics professor

estimated price for November 2012 is $6.80. Soybean prices changed from $5.54 to $13.70 over the same period.

Coming into 2012 there was a general sentiment that prices would decline from their peaks. But, the drought changed this and the prices remained at high levels. How long the high prices will last is unknown.

There has been considerable variation in commodity prices over the past few years, but farm income has increased substantially. The Iowa State economist goes on to say, the increase in income has been the primary cause for the increase in farmland values, but not the only one.

“There are other causes for the increase,” Duffy said. “Interest rates are at the lowest level in recent memory.

Farmland purchased by investors went from 18 percent in 1989 to 39 percent of purchases in 2005, but investor purchases are back to the 1989 level of 18 percent this year after decreasing for the third year in a row.”

Another key component is the costs

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’’

of production. In the past, costs have risen in response to higher commodity prices. This is especially true for rents.

Iowa State University estimated costs of crop production have shown a 61 percent increase in the cost per bushel since 2005. Without land, the increase has been 87 percent.

Duffy believes there still is discipline in the land market, while land values have increased 64 percent in the past three years, in 2009 values did decrease by 2.2 percent. Therefore, it is prudent to be mindful of the factors that influence land values. The economist said there are several key components to watch: n Weather related problems – both here and around the world. n Government policies – especially policies related to estate and capital gains tax rates. n The amount of debt incurred with land acquisition. n What happens to input costs – land being the residual claimant to any excess profits in agriculture.

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AG Mag

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March-July Area Ag Calendar March Friday, March 1 8 a.m.-4 p.m. Iowa 4-H Scholarship Applications Due to State 4H Office Wednesday, March 6 1:30-4 p.m. Ornamental & Turf Applicators CIC, Vinton Thursday, March 7 12:30-1 p.m. Bi-weekly radio program, KFJB Marshalltown 4-5:30 p.m. Babysitting Clinic, Grinnell Friday, March 8 10 a.m.-2 p.m. Private Pesticide Applicator Testing, Van Horne Saturday, March 9 9 a.m.-3:30 p.m. Early Childhood-Positive Behavior Intervention & Supports, Newton Wednesday, March 13 9-11:30 a.m. Certified Handlers CIC, Vinton 6:30-7:30 p.m. 4H County Council Meeting, Vinton Thursday, March 14 1:30-4 p.m. Private Pesticide Applicators Training, Marshalltown 7-9 p.m. Private Pesticide Applicator Continuing Education, Montezuma Monday, March 18 6:30-8 p.m. The Family Storyteller: “Have You Seen My Duckling?” Newton Thursday, March 21 9 a.m.-4 p.m. Nonprofit Management Academy, Marshalltown 12:30-1 p.m. Bi-weekly radio program, KFJB Marshalltown Saturday, March 23 9 a.m.-3:30 p.m. Early Childhood-Positive

Behavior Intervention & Supports, Newton 9-11 a.m. 4H Derby Swine Weigh-in/Breeding Gilt Tagging/Heifer Tagging, Vinton Sunday, March 24 1-5 p.m. 4H Volleyball Tournament, Vinton April Wednesday, April 3 7-9 p.m. Private Pesticide Training, Traer Thursday, April 4 12:30-1 p.m. Bi-weekly radio program, KFJB Marshalltown Friday, April 5 – Sunday, April 7 8:30 a.m.-5 p.m. Kirk Stierwalt Show Cattle Clinic, Grinnell Wednesday, April 10 6:30-7:30 p.m. 4H County Council Meeting, Vinton Thursday, April 18 12:30-1 p.m. Bi-weekly radio program, KFJB Marshalltown May Thursday, May 2 12:30-1 p.m. Bi-weekly radio program, KFJB Marshalltown Saturday, May 4 8 a.m.-Noon 4H Sheep/Meat Goat Weigh-in & Breeding Gilts Tagging, Vinton Wednesday, May 8 6:30-7:30 p.m. 4H County Council Meeting, Vinton Thursday, May 16 12:30-1 p.m. Bi-weekly radio program, KFJB Marshalltown

AG Mag Central Iowa

July Thursday, July 4 12:30-1 p.m. Bi-weekly radio program, KFJB Marshalltown Wednesday, July 10 – Sunday, July 14 8 a.m.- Midnight Central Iowa Fair, Marshalltown Wednesday, July 17 – Sunday, July 21 8 a.m.-Midnight Tama County Fair, Gladbrook Thursday, July 18 – Monday, July 22 8 a.m.-8 p.m. 2013 Poweshiek County Fair, Grinnell Thursday, July 18 12:30-1 p.m. Bi-weekly radio program, KFJB Marshalltown Saturday, July 20 – Friday, July 26 8 a.m.-10 p.m. 2013 Jasper County Fair, Colfax Wednesday, July 24 – Sunday, July 28 8 a.m.-10 p.m. 2013 Benton County Fair, Vinton

Look for our next edition of

!

Water, Please

AG Mag Central Iowa

Their land thirsty for a moisture, Central Iow s as ion opt ll mu rs me far r planting draws nea

y data Numbers game: Wh isions now drives many dec on today’s farms

August 2013

Cliff notes: How the ‘fiscal cliff’ deal helps and hurts you and your neighbors remain Steady wind: Iowans about ‘pretty darn positive’ ts wind energy projec Media A Publication of Shaw

38 Spring 2013

June Thursday, June 6 12:30-1 p.m. Bi-weekly radio program, KFJB Marshalltown Wednesday, June 12 6:30-7:30 p.m. 4H County Council Meeting, Vinton Thursday, June 20 12:30-1 p.m. Bi-weekly radio program, KFJB Marshalltown

Spring 2013 AG Mag 1

Featuring additional coverage in Jasper, Poweshiek, Marshall, Tama, Benton, Marion and Mahaska Counties.

Index of Advertisers ADM Grain ....................................................... 27 Agrigold Seed ................................................... 33 All Things Satellite ............................................. 2 Baxter Oil Co. ................................................... 40 Clemon-Maki Insurance.................................... 37 Colfax Livestock Sales ....................................... 6 Daltons Farm Toys ............................................ 25 Dingeman Concrete Construction ..................... 26 Farm Bureau...................................................... 23 Farm Bureau Financial-Helen Clausen ............. 32 Farm Bureau Financial-Agents ......................... 18 First Newton National Bank ............................. 39 G.F.-Ag Inc ....................................................... 37 Goos Implement LTD. ...................................... 10 Grinnell Implement Store ................................. 26 Hamilton Glass.................................................. 20 Hatzer & Nordstrom ........................................... 5 Iowa Family Farms ........................................... 20 Iowa Grain Systems .......................................... 21 Iowa State Extension........................................... 4 Johnstone & Associates..................................... 21 Key Coop .......................................................... 22 Killduff Feed and Grain .................................... 23 Lauterbach Buick GMC .................................... 27 Midwest Biotech ............................................... 39 New Century FS.................................................. 7 O’Grady Chemical Corp ................................... 13 Prairie Brand Seed ............................................ 19 Rohrer Fertilizer Inc .......................................... 39 Shawn’s Hay Grinding ...................................... 33 S.I. Distributing................................................. 36 Southard Implement Co ...................................... 3 Stayner Insurance Agency................................. 30 Sullivan Auctioneers ......................................... 10 Sully Farm Supply Inc ...................................... 25 Tama County Mutual Insurance ........................ 36

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