FarmWeek August 24 2009

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Monday, August 24, 2009 Two sections Volume 37, No. 34

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

T H E I L L I N O I S FA R MBureau board opposes the healthcare bill as currently written and hassome suggestions for reform. ........2

FARMERS LIKELY will paymore for seeds in 2010, a Monsantospokesman said. But new varietiesare expected to boost yields. ..........8

PORK PRODUCERS already aretaking a big-time hit, but losses areprojected to get even worse — in theneighborhood of $54 per head ..........5

Weather remains active; storms pound stateBY DANIEL GRANTFarmWeek

It probably feels like springall over again for many Illinoisfarmers as the weather patternlast week was more typical formid-May than mid-August.

Thunderstorms that pro-duced flash floods, strongwinds, and tornadic activityswept across portions of thestate last week.

From near Rushville inWest-Central Illinois toDanville in East-Central Illi-nois anywhere from 1 to 2.5-plus inches of rain fell, accord-ing to Ed Shimon, meteorolo-gist with the National WeatherService in Lincoln.

Meanwhile, tornadic activitydamaged numerous houses,outbuildings, crops, and treesin DeWitt, Logan, Morgan,Sangamon, and Scott counties.

One twister was reportedon the ground for at least 25miles from Williamsville toElkhart, Chesterville, and Bea-son. Numerous houses weredamaged or destroyed, a num-ber of injuries were reported,and thousands homes lostpower in the wake of thestorm.

No fatalities were reportedas of Friday, but some victimsof the storm reportedly were

in local hospitals.A large swath of field crops

was leveled in the area.Country Financial Friday

morning reported it hadreceived 206 claims of proper-ty damage, 44 claims of autodamage, and 19 claims of cropdamage from the storm. Italso reported 23 clients’homes, most nearWilliamsville and Loami inSangamon County, were unin-habitable.

Shimon said the peak sea-son for tornadoes in the stateis from April to June, but lastWednesday probably will endup as one of the most activesevere weather days of theyear.

“We don’t see a lot of tor-nado outbreaks in our area inAugust,” Shimon said. “Butthis (storm) had the makingsof severe weather.”

Rainfall totals for the month

See Weather, page 7

Bill Burris of rural Williamsville in Sangamon County clears debris from his five-acre cornfield located on theedge of Williamsville. The field was expected to be a total loss because of broken stalks and the amount ofdebris from trees and building materials from the nearby town. Before the storm, the field had yield potentialof 200 bushels per acre. The debris also will prevent the corn from being used as silage for Burris’ cattle. Inall, about 40 acres of Burris’ 500 acres of corn and soybeans were damaged. The heavily damaged build-ing in the background is the Williamsville Christian Church. (Photo by Ken Kashian)

BY MARTIN ROSSFarmWeek

The impact of House-proposed “cap-and-trade” measures would be felt in thefeedlot, the farrowing house, the milking par-lor, and, most significantly, in the producer’spocketbook, livestock industry analysts warn.

“Energy input costs through-out the food chain” wouldimpact the livestock sector, fromfeed costs to prices food manu-facturers would pay for meat,eggs, or milk, American FarmBureau Federation (AFBF) ener-gy specialist Alison Spechtmaintained. “There are numer-ous impacts we’re looking at,and not all those questions have answersyet,” Specht said.

The federal Energy Information Admin-istration predicts U.S. electricity customerscould face a 20 percent price increase in 20years under the House plan, with even high-er power costs anticipated after 2030.

If emissions caps on utilities and manu-facturers fuel new competition for naturalgas, climate policy could “hit the hog anddairy folks on the input side worse than any-one else,” according to AFBF livestock econ-

omist Jim Sartwelle.University of Illinois dairy specialist Mike

Hutjens cites already-hefty costs for on-farmmilk cooling equipment.

Illinois Pork Producers Association Presi-dent Phil Borgic sees climate regulation offer-ing bleak prospects for a swine industry “that’s

already gone throughits 23rd or 24thmonth of losses.”

“Our own powerbill runs $6,000 amonth, and (someanalysts are) talkingabout costs going atleast a third higher,”Borgic told

FarmWeek. “That would mean a $24,000 ayear increase strictly on my sow unit.”

And as costs increase, he fears packersand processors could attempt to trim energycosts by cutting personnel, shifts, or“increasing their margins” through lowerhog and cattle prices and/or higher meatcosts.

In a statement on the House measure, theNational Pork Producers Council (NPPC)expressed concern about “having to bear thecosts of GHG (greenhouse gas) emissions

controls while our competitors overseas arenot.” NPPC warned that could furtherreduce U.S. pork market share both domesti-cally and overseas.

However, rather than offsetting the com-petitive impact of new regulatory costs, Bor-gic argued proposed duties on meat import-ed from non-climate-regulated countrieswould merely “open another can of worms”on the global trade scene.Up the food chain

The House bill would exempt agriculturefrom emissions caps. However, packerscould be subject to emissions caps on a per-facility basis, forcing them either to reducetheir greenhouse “footprint” or buy poten-tially costly emissions credits from other sec-tors that have achieved reductions or carbon“sequestration” (capture and storage).

Further, House provisions open the doorto federal “performance standards” for non-capped sectors that fail to meet long-termemissions reduction goals.

While producers have significantlyreduced their “carbon footprint per unit ofoutput,” AFBF’s Specht suggests someswine units or feedlots eventually could be

See Climate, page 4

Climate bill would take a bite out of animal sector

QUINN SUPPORTS PORK PRODUCERS —Gov. Pat Quinn did his part to support Illinois porkproducers and clear up misconceptions about theH1N1 flu virus during the Illinois State Fair.

“There is a big challenge with H1N1 and a miscon-ception that pork causes that,” Quinn told a group ofreporters after he signed ag legislation. “That’s the No.1 challenge right now.”

Quinn told the assembled crowd he planned tobuy a pork chop sandwich from the Illinois Pork Pro-ducers Association at the Commodity Pavilion. “I wantto help them because right now they’re in a toughspot,” he said.

True to his word, the governor bought a pork sand-wich at the pavilion then gave an impromptu interviewon the Illinois Farm Bureau stage before chatting withfair visitors. See more on the challenge pork producersface with H1N1 misconceptions on page 16.

SALE OF CHAMPIONS SETS RECORDS —The Governor’s Sale of Champions of junior livestockwinners brought record prices for prize-winning poul-try, rabbits, and meat goat last week at the IllinoisState Fair.

Peter Elliot of Monmouth in Warren Countyreceived $8,000 for his grand champion poultry pentrio. Lexy Schafer of Brighton in Macoupin Countysold her grand champion rabbits for $7,500. Chris Cur-ry of Dawson in Sangamon County received $6,900 forthe grand champion meat goat.

Addie Girard of Pontiac in Livingston Countyreceived $30,100 for her grand champion steer, whileSarah DeSchepper of Altona in Knox County sold hergrand champion wether for $7,500. Codee Schlipf ofEl Paso received $15,000 for the grand champion bar-row.

Eighty percent of the sale proceeds goes to theowner of the champion animal while 10 percent goesto Illinois 4-H and 10 percent goes to the Illinois FFAAssociation.

RECALL READINESS — In the next year or so,meat processing plants will be required by USDA todevelop detailed product recall plans, officials toldattendees at a North American Meat Processors Asso-ciation conference on prevention of E. coli infection.

As required by the farm bill, USDA is developingrules processors must follow when writing recall plans.

USDA Food Safety and Inspection Service officialssaid mandatory recall plans will need to includedetailed information on personnel, procedures, evalua-tion of health hazards, product information and trace-back records, communication strategies, and how thepublic will be notified.

FarmWeek Page 2 Monday, August 24, 2009

(ISSN0197-6680)

Vol. 37 No. 34 August 24, 2009

Dedicated to improving the profitability of farm-ing, and a higher quality of life for Illinois farmers.FarmWeek is produced by the Illinois FarmBureau.

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© 2009 Illinois Agricultural Association

STAFFEditor

Dave McClelland ([email protected])Legislative Affairs Editor

Kay Shipman ([email protected])Agricultural Affairs Editor

Martin Ross ([email protected])Senior Commodities Editor

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Quick TakesGOVERNMENT

Illinois State Treasurer Alexi Giannoulias lastweek awarded 10 excellence in agriculturescholarships during Agriculture Day at the Illi-nois State Fair, Springfield.

Each recipient will receive a $2,500 BrightStart College Savings account. Winners wereselected for their academic achievement, com-munity service, and essays about their commit-ment to agriculture studies and careers.

The 2009 Excellence in Agriculture Scholar-ship winners are:

• Carmen Au, daughter of Rui Sheng Mai ofChicago, who will study food science at theUniversity of Illinois.

• Jeffrey Barnes, son of James and DanetteBarnes of Leland, who will study agriculturalbusiness at Joliet Junior College and later IowaState University.

• Jacob Becraft, son of Robert and LoriBecraft of Metamora, who will study chemicaland bimolecular engineering at the U of I.

• Matthew Doherty, son of Tom and Cheri

Doherty of Springfield, who will study agricul-tural engineering at the U of I.

• Will Glazik, son of Jeff and Rita Glazik ofPaxton, who will study crop science at the U ofI.

• Briana Grymonprez, daughter of Tim andShelly Grymonprez of Port Byron, who willstudy biotechnology and pre-veterinary medi-cine at the U of I.

• Kelsey Koster, daughter of Douglas andKelly Koster of Aurora, who will study foodscience at the U of I.

• Shelby Magnuson, daughter of Chris andSusan Magnuson of Normal, who will studyfood science at the U of I.

• Patricia Paulausky, daughter of Renee andRobert Verburgt of Lockport, who will studyagricultural and biological engineering at the Uof I.

• Eric Sommer, son of Todd and CherylSommer of Foosland, who will study agricultur-al accounting at the U of I.

Illinois treasurer awards 10 ag scholarships

Illinois State Treasurer Alexi Giannoulias, right, congratulates the recipients of Excellence in Agriculturescholarships, which were awarded during Ag Day at the Illinois State Fair. Ten students were selected fromamong 150 applicants. (Photo by Kay Shipman)

BY MARTIN ROSSFarmWeek

The Illinois Farm BureauBoard of Directors last weekreached the same prognosisoffered by policymakers andmillions of Americans: U.S.health care needs help.

However, the IFB boardalso concurred with a growingnumber of Americans at townmeetings across the country:House Resolution 3200, a mas-sive health care blueprint thatproposes expanded publichealth coverage and mandatoryinsurance coverage, is thewrong prescription for whatails rural families and commu-nities.

Friday, the board decided toseek American Farm BureauFederation opposition to thebill as currently written, whileoffering a few basic preceptsfor health care reform.

Elgin’s Mike Kenyon agreed“there’s room for improve-ment” in the health system.Directors cited legal tortreforms that would reduce mal-practice-related health costs

and proposed patient “porta-bility” — the ability to transfercoverage to another insurer orstate without fear of exclusionbecause of minor pre-existingconditions or other grounds.

Beyond concerns about theimpact of a proposed federallyadministered “public option”on the existing insurance sys-tem, IFB President Philip Nel-son questioned current pres-sure to rush “a 1,000-page billthat people don’t even knowwhat’s in it.”

“People want choice, theywant (health insurance) porta-bility, they want the decisionsto be made between them andtheir doctors, and they don’twant to add to the nationaldebt,” Dixon director JimSchielein said.

Fairview’s Kent Schleich,meanwhile, stressed the needto clarify what IFB supports interms of health reform.

IFB National LegislativeDirector Adam Nielsen notedIFB supports such smaller-scale measures as reasonableregulations and training

requirements for emergencyservices professionals and vol-unteers and incentives forrecruitment and retention ofrural physicians and other med-ical providers.

Beyond HR 3200, lawmak-ers have proposed a patchworkof proposals aimed at fixingportions of the system. Earlierthis month, Sen. Dick Durbin,a Springfield Democrat, intro-duced legislation that wouldallow services by certified reg-istered nurse anesthetists to bereimbursed by Medicare, help-ing ensure crucial rural criticalaccess hospitals can continueto provide surgical services.

Durbin also is sponsoringmore comprehensive legisla-tion that would allow smallbusinesses and the self-employed to band together instatewide pools to obtain lowerinsurance prices. The measurewould provide credits to helpoffset the cost of providinginsurance and ban premiumvariations that are based on aconsumer’s health status orgender.

IFB board: House healthplan wrong prescription

STATE FAIR


Gov. Pat Quinn, seated, hands a pen to Sen. Jacqueline Collins (D-Chicago) during an Illinois State Fair sign-ing ceremony of a bill to promote locally grown food. Collins was sponsor of the legislation. Looking on atleft is Illinois Farm Bureau Director Bill Olthoff of Bourbonnais, who served on the Illinois Local Food andFarms Task Force that worked on the legislation. (Photo by Kay Shipman)

Local food on menuat State Fair Ag DayBY KAY SHIPMANFarmWeek

State efforts to promotesales of locally grown foodbecame state law after Gov. PatQuinn signed HB 3990 on AgDay last week at the IllinoisState Fair.

“You are our heroes. Youmake it possible for us to havegood food,” Quinn told farm-ers and ag leaders gathered onthe ag director’s lawn for anannual award ceremony.

The bill creates goals forstate agencies to buy 20 percentof their food locally by 2020and for state-funded entities,such as schools, to have a 10percent local food goal by2020.

In addition, the law allowsstate-owned food buyers togive preference to locallygrown food.

The legislation also creates astate Local Food, Farms, andJobs Council to work with stateagencies and Illinois businesses,

groups, and individuals to builda local farm-food market.

“There’s a push by largeretailers and institutions to buymore fresh produce and to buyit locally,” said Illinois FarmBureau Director Bill Olthoff ofBourbonnais. Olthoff servedon the Illinois Local andOrganic Food and Farm TaskForce, which worked on thelegislation.

“We (task force members)also feel there is an opportunityfor small farmers to getinvolved in agriculture becausethey would not need the capitaloutlay (needed) for a grainfarm,” Olthoff added.

Sen. Jacqueline Collins (D-Chicago) and Rep. JulieHamos (D-Evanston) spon-sored the legislation. Whywould a Chicago senator spon-sor farm and food legislation?“It’s a win-win for all thestate’s citizens,” said Collinsduring the bill signing ceremo-ny.

“Ninety percent of thefruits, vegetables, and meatsthat Illinoisans eat is import-ed. I think that’s absurd,” thesenator said.

Quinn said he’s no strangerto locally grown food, which

has become a focus for thechef at the governor’s man-sion.

“We want to make sure thefood at the governor’s mansionis locally grown whenever pos-sible,” he added.

Olthoff envisioned the lawdoing more than increasingsales of locally grown food. It“will help the populace of thestate understand what it takesto produce food,” he conclud-ed.

New FSA leader keeping focus on agency’s farmer customersFarmers needn’t worry

about Jonathan Coppess, thenew national administratorof the Farm Service Agency(FSA), losing touch withfarmers or their issues. Hisfarmer relatives won’t lethim.

“I joke my dad and broth-er think they have a directlink to me. I hear if we makea mistake,” Coppess saidwith a chuckle during a visitto the Illinois State Fair onAg Day.

His father and brotheroperate the family grain farmin Ohio and his father-in-lawis an Illinois farmer (seeaccompanying box).

“I feel fortunate to havethis opportunity, to get achance to work on the issuesI care about,” Coppess toldFarmWeek. “I want to putthe focus on the countryside.That’s key.”

Currently, those issues aregetting farm disaster pro-grams in place, he said.

Final signup numbersaren’t available for the aver-age crop revenue election(ACRE) program, but enroll-ment probably will be lowerthan anticipated, according toCoppess.

He pointed out the pro-gram is complicated, requires“a lot of homework,” and isnew.

“It’s a new risk manage-ment tool, so it will be inter-esting to see how it changes

over time,” Coppess said.Asked about possible coun-

ty FSA office consolidations,Coppess answered that is the“farthest from my mind” anddeclined to discuss the matter.

Instead, Coppess said he isfocused on modernizing FSAtechnology, especially its com-puter systems.

Modern computer technol-ogy will help county offices,he said.

“My dad’s got better com-puter equipment in his com-bine than (they have) in thecounty (FSA) office,” Coppesssaid. And farmers aren’t ableto link their computers to theFSA office system, he added.

In addition to technology,Coppess is keeping an eye onhis customers and his staff.

“Farmers are our cus-tomers. We need to under-stand what farmers’ needs are

and understand the (localoffice) workloads,” Coppesssaid.

Coppess’ former boss,Democrat U.S. Sen. Ben Nel-son of Nebraska, stressed theimportance of understandingconstituents’ needs and issues,he said.

“It made him an effectiveleader,” Coppess said, adding,“I took that lesson to heart.”— Kay Shipman

Getting to know new FSA leader

Jonathan Coppess wasappointed administrator ofUSDA’s Farm Service Agency

(FSA) inJuly.

Previouslyhe was theFSA’s deputyadministra-tor for farmprograms.

Prior tojoining FSA,

Coppess was the ag legislativeassistant for U.S. Sen. BenNelson of Nebraska andworked extensively on the2008 farm bill.

Before moving to Wash-ington, Coppess practicedlaw in Chicago for four yearsand also worked as a grainmerchandiser at ArcherDaniels Midland where hewas responsible for com-modity purchasing,processed-product sales, andrelated hedging activitiesusing the Chicago Board ofTrade.

He grew up on his family’scorn and soybean farm inDarke County, Ohio, nearUnion City.

He and his wife, Susan,daughter of Rock IslandCounty Farm Bureau leaderTom Mueller, and theirdaughter, Abigail, live inWashington, D.C.

USDA Farm Service Agency Administrator Jonathan Coppess, left, chats with Illinois Farm Bureau PresidentPhilip Nelson, center, and Illinois Agriculture Director Tom Jennings on Ag Day at the Illinois State Fair. (Pho-to by Ken Kashian)

Jonathan Coppess

CLIMATE


Sept. 1 in Springfield

Diverse interests expected at climate rallyBY MARTIN ROSSFarmWeek

Illinois Farm Bureau is joining witha broad coalition of economic inter-ests to make members’ voices heardon costly “cap-and-trade” proposalsbefore the U.S. Senate takes up federalclimate debate.

Springfield’s Crowne Plaza Hotel isthe site for an 11:30 a.m. Tuesday, Sept.1, rally to address concerns about thepotential impact of proposed green-house emissions caps on future energy,consumer, and farm costs.

A lunch will follow the roughly 45-minute event — one of 22 rallies nation-wide sponsored by thegroup Energy Citizens tooppose House-approvedlegislation. IFB membersare encouraged to attend,and may contact theircounty Farm Bureau foradditional details.

An initial rally lastTuesday in Houston drewan estimated 3,500 people.IFB is part of a statewidecoalition that includes theIllinois Petroleum Council,the Illinois ManufacturersAssociation, the IllinoisPetroleum Marketers Association, theIllinois Coal Association, the IllinoisAssociation of Aggregate Producers, theIllinois Retail Merchants Association, theIllinois Energy Forum, the National Fed-eration of Independent Businesses, theIllinois Chamber of Commerce, the Illi-nois Fertilizer and Chemical Association,the Illinois Oil and Gas Association,Midwest Truckers, and GROWMARK.

could boost annual Illinois farm costs by$11,000 to $15,000 by 2020.

IFB and county Farm Bureaus aremobilizing member communicationswith Democrat Sens. Dick Durbin ofSpringfield and Roland Burris ofChicago. Producers may contact thesenators with one click at IFB’sInternet Legislative Action Center {capwiz.com/ilfb/state/main/?state=IL}.

“We felt it was important to have thisall-out effort,” IFB Governmental AffairsDirector Mark Gebhards told the IFBboard last week. “We do need to have apresence — we said we wanted to go all-out to oppose this, and we’re going all out.”

To watch video of last week’s Hous-ton rally, visit {www.energycitizens.org}.

IFB National Legislative DirectorAdam Nielsen cited growing recognitionthat cap-and-trade proposals would be“bad for the business community” (seedetails at right).

While the National Rural ElectricCooperative Association has adopted anessentially neutral stance on the plan,

individual Illinois co-opshave joined in opposingprovisions that wouldcause “a huge hit oncoal,” Nielsen said.

The Senate Environ-ment and Public WorksCommittee is expectedto unveil a climate draftsimilar to the House billSept. 8.

Senate MajorityLeader Harry Reid (D-Nevada) has asked thatcommittee and five oth-ers to complete a plan

by Sept. 28, though Gebhards questions“if they can keep this schedule,” given acurrent push for health care legislation.

Senate Ag Chairman Tom Harkin (D-Iowa) is pushing hard for an “opt-out”clause that would suspend domesticemissions caps if key developing coun-tries such as India and China fail toundertake similarly significant carbonreduction efforts.

IFB, meanwhile, has launched a mediablitz designed to “tell the story from afarm perspective,” reported IFB medialiaison Lori Laughlin.

In a FOX News segment aired lastweek, LaSalle County Farm Bureau Pres-ident Monty Whipple noted 60 percentof his own production costs are fuel-related, and IFB President Philip Nelsoncited projections that cap-and-trade

CAP AND TRADE: ILLINOIS IMPACTS?U.S. House cap-and-trade legislation could have a significant impact on the

Illinois economy, health, and even education, according to a new report by theNational Association of Manufacturers (NAM).

The House measure sets targets aimed at reducing greenhouse gas emis-sions to 17 percent below 2005 levels by 2020, 42 percent below 2005 levelsby 2030, and 83 percent below 2005 levels by 2050.

NAM estimates the price of carbon permits — what potentially regulatedcompanies would pay for annual carbon dioxide emissions — could reach $48to $61 per metric ton of CO2 by 2020 and could rise to $123 to $159 by 2030.

The association projected economic impacts for each state under scenariosranging from best-case costs to the highest anticipated costs under House pro-posals:

• Illinois would lose 88,400 jobs under a low-cost scenario and 120,340 jobsunder the worst-case scenario. Higher energy prices would lead to lower indus-trial output, along with greater competition from overseas manufacturers withlower energy costs.

• High energy prices, fewer jobs, and loss of industrial output would reduceIllinois’ gross state product by $1.7 billion to $2.9 billion per year by 2020 and$17.7 to $24.1 billion by 2030.

• Illinois’ major economic sectors would be affected by emission caps. Thecurrent two largest sectors, chemical manufacturing and machinery manufac-turing, show decreases in output of 6.1 to 6.7 percent and 6.8 to 8.4 percent,respectively, in 2030, according to the NAM report.

All manufacturing sectors would suffer output losses between 5.4 and 6 per-cent by 2030, with output from energy-intensive sectors dropping 10.7 to 11.7percent.

• Illinois coal production would fall between 70.5 and 76.8 percent and elec-tricity production would fall 9.6 percent to 16.7 percent. As a result, Illinois’5,955 schools and universities and 227 hospitals likely would experience a28.2 to 42 percent increase in energy costs by 2030.

NAM projections also indicate government agencies would see heightenedcosts for public transportation and vehicle fleets such as school buses.

Climate-based costs tough for processor to swallowTom Eickman’s a busy man

by anyone’s measure: Eick-man’s Processing Co. Inc.slaughters an average of 40head of cattle and 60 hogs aweek, runs smokehouse andcanning operations, and evencaters area events.

“We do most everything thebig guys do, just on a smallerbasis,” the company’s managersaid. Like the “big guys,” theSeward-based retailer-whole-saler wrangles daily with avariety of labor, food safety,and market regulations.

Unlike the big guys, Eick-man’s deals largely with small-er producers and regionalmarkets. Rising plant costs hitprocessors like Eickman’seven harder than they do larg-er packer-marketers, and Eick-man is concerned about theimpact of House climate pro-posals on his energy-intensive,third-generation operation.

Eighteen to 20 compressorsrun 24 hours a day year-roundto meet the plant’s refrigera-tion needs, and Eickmanreported electricity — andgas-powered smokehouses are

dioxide and other key emis-sions.

The U.S. EnvironmentalProtection Agency has identi-fied smokehouses as a poten-tial source of greenhousenitrogen oxide.

Eickman thus is unsurewhether climate legislation

might mean new regulatoryhurdles as well as higher costs.

“In the meat industry, wealways get lots of fun regula-tions coming down thepipeline — you just kind ofcross your fingers that theydon’t make it to us,” he said.— Martin Ross

running “almost non-stop.” In a business where con-

sumer safety is key and feder-ally monitored “hazard analy-sis-critical control point”(HACCP) meat handling pro-cedures are law, cutting energycosts is a challenge.

Eickman’s maintains cool-ers at less than 38 degreesFahrenheit and freezers atzero, under the watchful eye ofUSDA and local health offi-cials. Eickman stressed “wecan’t just go through and turncompressors off.”

“If any variance were tocome up, your HACCP plankind of falls apart, you’re intoa lot more (safety) verification,and you’re prone to get a recallif you can’t prove that productyou’re producing has beenkept safe the entire time it’sbeen in production,” he toldFarmWeek.

“Most of the time, we tryto absorb (higher energycosts), but we deal more withthe smaller farmers. When wehave to say, ‘Hey, your pro-cessing bill is going up $5-$10,’ that really hurts the

smaller farmer. That $5 to $10could mean they’ll have toshut down their operation.”

Further, while farmerswould be exempt from House-proposed emissions caps, law-makers have not clarifiedwhich industrial sectors wouldbe required to regulate carbon

Continued from page 1subject to future regulatorydemands.

Currently vague emissionsrequirements also raise questionsabout how regulatory changescould affect dairy producersexpanding into processing andeven retail sales.

“The average (dairy) herd sizein Illinois is about 106 cows,” theU of I’s Hutjens added. “Is therea (regulatory) definition for 106cows vs. someone who has 1,000cows?”Down the feed chain

Beyond direct energy/inputcosts, livestock producers likelywould incur significantly higherfeed costs under House propos-als. “It takes corn to feed out

cows and pigs, and that corntakes energy to produce,” Spechtstressed.

Meanwhile, the plan offersnew emissions “offset” opportu-nities for producers andforesters who can sequester car-bon dioxide or other gases in thesoil. That could spur land usechanges such as movement ofcurrent production acres, pas-ture, or grazing areas into trees,Specht said.

The U.S. Environmental Pro-tection Agency (EPA) recentlyestimated 18 million acres ofnew trees would be planted by2020 under House measures,displacing land for food and feedproduction.

A 2005 EPA analysis indicat-

ed most new forest acres wouldemerge across the Corn Belt, theGreat Lakes states, and theSoutheast.

At the same time, Hutjensnoted studies indicating high-quality forages contribute moresignificantly to reducing bovinemethane emissions than lower-quality forages and that a high-grain ration is more beneficial toemissions reductions than a for-age-heavy diet.

While that offers options forimproving the carbon footprintof larger operations, it alsopoints the way toward substitu-tion of more expensive feed-stuffs at a time when prime for-age or crop acres could shrink infavor of new trees.

Climate

IFB’S STANCE:• House cap and trade

legislation would have anegative economic impacton farmers.

• Cap and trade wouldhave a negligible impact onglobal warming.

• Cap and trade creates agaping hole in the nation’senergy supply.

AG INCOME


Economic picture ‘bleak’ for pork producers; IFB respondsBY DANIEL GRANTFarmWeek

U.S. pork producers the past22 months lost nearly $4.5 bil-lion due to high input costs andslumping demand.

The on-farm losses sinceSeptember 2007 averaged about$21.37 for every market hog.

And just as it seemed theindustry had reached a low, newprojections indicate thingscould get even worse this fall.

“The outlook for fall isbleak,” said Don Butler, presi-dent of the National Pork Pro-ducers Council (NPPC). “Loss-es are projected in the neigh-borhood of $54 per head.”

Breakeven prices shot upfrom about $40-plus per hun-dredweight in 2006 to $60-plusin recent years as prices for feedinputs increased dramatically,according to Steve Meyer, presi-dent of Paragon Economics.

Meanwhile, slumping demand

caused by confusion about theoutbreak of H1N1 influenza,which was mislabeled “swineflu,” from April 24 through theend of the year is expected togouge producers for an addition-al $1.25 billion in losses.

“Losses occurred the pasttwo years because of high inputcosts,” Butler said. “But, to addyet more misery, the H1N1influenza was mislabeled swineflu and it exacerbated the porkindustry’s financial problems.”

Illinois Farm Bureau lastweek responded to the situationby sending a letter to Ag Secre-tary Tom Vilsack.

IFB requested USDA pressfor immediate opening ofexport markets; encourage theactive use of any public pro-grams to move more pork; urgethe immediate approval of pend-ing free trade agreements withSouth Korea, Colombia, andPanama; and meet with industry

leaders to develop public policygoals that promote future com-petitiveness of the hog industry.

“Hog futures continue todecline as have cash prices,” IFBPresident Philip Nelson, a porkproducer from LaSalle County,stated in the letter. “Moreover,speculation about the upcomingflu season and its potentialimpact is rattling the market.”

Hog futures that were near$70 per hundredweight prior tothe H1N1 outbreak last weekhovered in the low-$40 range.

“Futures prices imply lowercash hog prices through nextApril,” NPPC’s Butler said.“That suggests lower incomelevels for producers.”

Butler said the situationalready has forced some hogproducers out of business andif the trend continues, it couldlead to the loss of thousands ofjobs in rural America, reducedpork production, and ultimatelyhigher food prices.

NPPC last week also sent aletter to USDA urging it to use

various federal food programsto purchase as much as $250million worth of pork thatwould benefit needy consumerswho are struggling due to therecession.

NPPC further requested thatof the $1 billion appropriated toaddress the H1N1 virus $100million be used by USDA to aidthe swine industry through dis-ease surveillance, diagnostics, anddevelopment of a vaccine. TheIllinois Pork Producers Associa-tion endorsed the NPPC letter.

Taking it to the streetsEducator touts the factsabout the pork industry

Bill Fisher, an animal science educator atthe University of Illinois, has been trainedthrough the National Pork Board (NPB)Operation Main Street Program to speak withconsumers and clear up misconceptions aboutthe pork industry.

But Fisher, who lives in Champaign Countyand is one of about 720 speakers nationwidewho went through the NPB program, foundwhen he talked publicly in downstate Illinoisabout the pork industry he basically was

“preaching to the choir.”Therefore, he turned his attention to the third-largest market

for pork in the U.S. — Chicago.“I volunteered to go into the Chicago market. There’s an

urban audience that’s a lot less informed and one more genera-tion removed from agriculture,” Fisher told FarmWeek. “Theydon’t see corn and beans during their morning commute.”

Fisher this week will give a presentation titled “The PorkIndustry: More Than Just the Other White Meat” at the SouthRotary Club of Chicago (Wednesday), the Lions Club of Joliet(Thursday), La Villa Restaurant and Pizzeria in Chicago (Thurs-day), and the Rotary Club of Lansing (Friday).

His presentations will focus on what the pork industry is doing toprotect the environment, treat animals in a humane manner, andenhance the nutritional quality of pork. U.S. pork producers since 1983have trimmed the fat content of pork by 31 percent.

“We (in the pork industry) are working to constantlyimprove our ability to provide tasty, affordable, and nutritiouspork products in a responsible manner,” he said.

Fisher also will focus on presenting accurate informationabout the H1N1 virus, which in April was mislabeled “swineflu” by some media outlets and government agencies.

“It potentially could be a big issue (again) with the upcom-ing flu season,” Fisher said. “I hope I can get the proper infor-mation out there.

“People are so confused about it (H1N1),” he continued.“Some people are afraid to eat pork, to handle pork, and theythink pigs gave it to people. Obviously we’re seeing its effectsin the marketplace.”

People cannot get the hybrid H1N1 flu from eating or han-dling pork. The virus is spread human-to-human, according tothe Centers for Disease Control and Prevention.

However, a reduction in pork demand and disruption ofmarkets caused by confusion about H1N1 this year still couldtotal more than $1 billion in losses for pork producers, accord-ing to a recent estimate. — Daniel Grant

Bill Fisher

Growers better equipped to set ACRE prioritiesBY MARTIN ROSSFarmWeek

With Illinois’ four majorcommodities tentatively “in themoney,” some newly enrolledACRE (average crop revenueelection) program participantshave at least one more majordecision to make.

Based on 2009 projected rev-enues — the product of pro-jected average state yields andnational price estimates derivedfrom USDA’s Aug. 12 cropreport — ACRE paymentswould be triggered for Illinoiscorn, soybeans, wheat, and oats.

For a producer to receive pay-ments, individual losses musttrip a farm benchmark triggerbased on his five-year Olympicaverage ACRE yield and/orcounty “plug-in” yields. Cover-age is limited to a farm’s totalbase acres (producers receivepayments on 83.3 percent of

planted acres), but any acres overbase are ineligible for payments.

Under currently projected rev-enues, Illinois growers could seepayments of $27 per acre for corn,$12 for beans, $51 for wheat, and$42 for oats. (See chart)

New projections are impor-tant to producers who have moreplanted acres than base acres,who are allowed either to prorateprospective payments across allcrops according to each crop’spercentage of the total plantedacres, or prioritize which cropsare to be covered first.

Eligible growers have untilSept. 30 to make that decision,or their payments will be auto-matically prorated.

“If they think a certain com-modity has a higher likelihood ofmeeting their farm trigger thananother commodity, they maygive that commodity a higher pri-ority, especially this year,” Illinois

Farm Bureau risk managementspecialist Doug Yoder explained.

“As an example, if someonehad his corn planted on timeand it looks good, but got beansin really late and is worriedabout them, the beans may havea higher likelihood of triggeringpayments compared with corn.”

Weather-related corn lodgingconcerns or unexpected pestpressures also could influencepayment prioritization.

Final ACRE prices have beenset for wheat ($6.63 per bushel)and oats ($2.89), but the pricesof $4.13 for corn and $10.05 forsoybeans are preliminary.

Further, currently projectedstate yields are based on Nation-al Agricultural Statistics Service(NASS) harvest estimates, whileACRE yields will be based ontotal state production divided byplanted acres, once NASS pub-lishes final Illinois yields.

The clock is ticking on 2009 federal estatetax debate, and Illinois Farm Bureau is urginggrassroots action to blunt the future impact ofthe so-called “death tax.”

Congress soon will debate whether to maintainthe current estate tax exemption at $3.5 million aperson and the top rate at 45 percent.

American Farm Bureau Federation is encourag-ing beginning farmers in particular to sign a peti-tion aimed at reducing “the negative impacts estatetaxes have as (young farmers) look to start orexpand their operations.”

To support the petition, visit IFB’s Legislative ActionCenter at {capwiz.com/ilfb/state/main/?state=IL}.IFB hopes to obtain at least 250 Illinois signa-tures, and will offer Farm Progress Show visi-tors a chance to sign the petition.

Estate tax action is expected this fall — withoutcongressional action, the tax will be eliminated in 2010but could and likely would return at pre-2002 tax ratesand a $1 million individual exemption in 2011.

That concerns both estate tax opponents and law-makers worried about losing a federal revenue sourcein 2010, and IFB National Legislative Director Adam

Nielsen believes some sort of action will be taken toaddress estate tax “sunset” and reinstatement.

At the least, IFB urges Congress to boost theestate tax exemption to the highest level achiev-able — President Obama has voiced support for a$10 million-per-couple exemption.

IFB favors maintaining “stepped-up basis” —under which an heir’s estate tax basis equals fair mar-ket value of property at the time a producer dies,meaning less taxable gain when the property eventual-ly is sold — and increasing gift tax exemptions toreduce estate tax liability prior to death.

Farm Bureau supports two estate tax bills cur-rently on the congressional radar. The Death TaxRepeal Permanency Act would scrap the tax alto-gether. Supporters include the National TaxpayersUnion, which in an August letter to congressmen,argued the estate tax “punishes thrift, savings, andhard work — three attributes that are absolutelyimperative to getting our economy back on track.”

A second Farm Bureau-supported bill, theAmerican Family Farm and Ranchland Protec-tion Act, would boost estate tax exemptions forconservation easements. — Martin Ross

Estate tax reform mobilizing IFB

Bernie Walsh, Durand, Winnebago County: Goodgrowing conditions again lastweek with a little cooler tem-perature than we would like.We had 0.5 of an inch of rainwith showers on Wednesdayand Thursday, but no badstorms. There is still somewhite mold spreading in the

soybeans, but very little spraying forinsects. I am reporting from the Lake ofthe Ozarks and was able to see goodlooking corn and beans all the waythrough Illinois and into Missouri. The cropis definitely behind schedule and unevenin some fields, but in general looks good.

Pete Tekampe, Grayslake, Lake County: We received1.5 inches of rain last week inthree different showers. Earlycorn is looking good, whilelater-planted corn shows signsof spring problems. Beans arelooking good, but time is tick-ing away. Hopefully, we haveenough time left for them to

mature. Not much hay baled last week, butsecond cutting is starting to dry up. All weneed now is some sun and heat to speedup the process, but cooler temperaturesare in the forecast.

Leroy Getz, Savanna, Carroll County: Rain for theweek totaled 1 inch. Total forAugust, 3.3 inches. Corn isdeveloping nicely with ade-quate moisture and favorabletemperatures. We have goodear counts. Corn is starting todent. Some soybeans havebeen sprayed for aphids. Wet

conditions favor many soybean diseases.A visiting relative from Texas could notbelieve how green everything is in Illinois.

Ron Frieders, Waterman, DeKalb County: Dry soilsand heat stress are not anissue this year. A total of 4.75inches of rain last weekrecharged topsoil and shouldreally help with ear fill and podset. Crops are still behind inmaturity, and cool tempera-tures this summer are prolong-

ing the time crops will be vulnerable tofrost. Cool and wet conditions also aresetting up a perfect storm scenario forwhite mold. Some fields have outbreaks,and scouting is very important so youknow if you should apply a rescue treat-ment. Lots of combines are out of storagefor preseason inspections and repairs.Grain dryers and bins, as well as grain-handling equipment, are being scruti-nized as harvest preparation is in fullswing.

Larry Hummel, Dixon, Lee County: I looked back at thereport I wrote last year onAug. 22. A couple of thingsreally caught my eye.Early-planted corn was start-ing to dent. I haven’t seen any-thing close to that yet thisyear. And I mentioned $5 cornprices. Wow! Now we are look-

ing at fall prices below $3. One thing thatis similar to last year is aphid populations.They are increasing, but not at thresholdlevels yet. Last year, we ended up spray-ing all our beans for aphids. With amplemoisture and very little stress in theplants, I might wait a little longer to spraythis year and see if aphid populationscrash on their own.

Joe Zumwalt, Warsaw, Hancock County: It seems thatWestern Illinois has turned intoa rainforest. Over the past fewdays (Aug. 16-19), I receivedalmost 8 inches of rain. All Ican say is that it is a goodthing the crops are tall so theycan hide the standing water.But in reality, I don’t think the

rainfall hurt us a whole lot, except forsome very severe erosion in areas. Cropslook better all the time, but they are verydeceiving. Cropdusters have been busyspraying beans and the pilots bring backstories of some pretty sickly looking fieldsthat they have seen from the air. Cooltemps and this rain continue to push backharvest as well. It is now looking like lateSeptember before any combines arerolling.

Ken Reinhardt, Seaton, Mercer County: I had 2.5 inchesof rain for the week, some hadcloser to 4 inches. We may havehad a record low high tempera-ture Friday. Crop development islagging giving more time forproblems to develop. Suddendeath and white mold are startingto affect soybeans, along with

aphids. Various leaf diseases are increasingin corn. Some hybrids are being hit hard withnorthern leaf blight.

Ron Moore, Roseville, Warren County: We received 3.5inches of rain last week.Needless to say we are very wet.Cooler temperatures also arehere. We are still several weeksaway from even starting tomature this crop. It is still a strug-gle to find three to four days ofdry weather to mow the last cut-

ting of hay. One of the bright spots of all ofthis moisture is the pasture conditions arethe best I have ever seen for the middle ofAugust. We have plenty of grass to keep thecattle satisfied and not feed any extra hay.

Jacob Streitmatter, Princeville, Peoria County: Rains forthis past week totaled around2 inches. Soybeans have beenthe crop of talk around here. A lotof aphids have shown up recent-ly, and white mold is also a con-cern. My soybeans have a longways to go. I sure hope they getmore than a couple of pods per

plant. Most of the corn is either close to ordone pollinating. I have not found many dis-eases in the corn yet this year. I think weneed some consistent warmer weather topush the crop along so it can reach maturitybefore a frost.

Mark Kerber, Chatsworth, Livingston County: What adifference a week can make.We went from hot and dry towet and cool. Much of our areareceived well over 2 inches ofrain last week. What a criticalrain as thunderstorms rolledthrough, although not all areasreceived this rain. There are a

few reports of white mold showing up insome older numbers of soybeans. Someagronomist tells us that spraying will nothelp. Farmers are gearing up for fall, get-ting machinery and bins ready. It looks likewe will have plenty of time to attend theFarm Progress Show in Decatur. Marketsare bottoming, reflecting the size of thiscrop.

Ron Haase, Gilman, Iroquois County: The rain finallyreturned to our area. FromSunday through Thursday (Aug.16-20) the area received from1.5 to 3.3 inches of rain. Most ofthe cornfields in the area areanywhere from the milk stage(R3) up to the dent stage (R5).Did the dry weather reduce ker-

nel size and depth? Most soybean fields arein the beginning seed growth stage (R5).Most conversations about soybeans revolvearound the presence of white mold. Thelocal closing prices for Aug. 20: nearbycorn, $3.11; new-crop corn, $3.05; nearbysoybeans, $10.41; new-crop soybeans,$9.35. Plot tours have begun and manyfarmers have been learning more aboutwhat hybrids and varieties will be for sale in2010.

Steve Ayers, Champaign, Champaign County: Anothertextbook weather week with atotal of 1.6 inches of rain andmoderate temperatures sincelast Sunday (Aug. 16). Onecrop threat now is the thunderboomers that rumble throughwith high winds and hail. Wehad one Wednesday evening

that resulted in minimal damage. Corn isin blister stage with bean pods filling well.Aerial tours indicate lots of ponds like lastyear. The Pro Farmer crop tour put ourdistrict’s corn at 163.04 bushel per acrevs. a three-year average of 171.09 andbean pod count in a 3 x 3 square at1,171.01 vs. a three-year average of1,384.93. Illinois’ yield was put at 166.94and a 1,102 pod count, down a bit fromaverage. See you at the Half Century ofProgress event in Rantoul Thursdaythrough Sunday.

Brian Schaumburg, Chenoa, McLean County: Three inch-es of rain this past week shouldquiet fears that the crop wouldrun out of moisture. Corn is inthe milk to early dent stage.Soybeans are at R3 to R5. Whitemold is a continuing concern.Harvest prep is starting. Yieldchecks are coming, and I should

have an estimate next week. Corn, $3.13; fall,$3.02; soybeans, $10.48; fall, $9.23; wheat,$3.76.

Wilfred Dittmer, Quincy, Adams County: The sump pumpsare finally getting a break thisFriday morning after workingovertime the last few days. Asone person said, we should notcomplain about rain in August.But it is getting a little excessivesince my gauge picked up 8.8inches since last Sunday (Aug.

16). Of that, 3.5 inches came on Wednesdayafternoon in about one half hour. That bringsour August total to 11.4 inches and 34.6 forthe year. So if crops need 1 inch per week,this should be enough for the rest of the year.Some building damage occurred in the areathat day with the strong winds and a little hail.Corn and soybeans withstood the wind prettywell as far as one can see. It certainly couldhave been a lot worse.

Harry Schirding, Petersburg, Menard County: Rainfall lastweek totaled 3.35 inches. Totalfor August, 4.54. Normal forAugust, 3.5. Storms on the 18thand early 19th gave most of thecounty at least 3 inches butcaused little damage. A lot ofvariability in the corn yield poten-tial is seen between variety, loca-

tion, planting date, and tillage practices. Withsilage harvest still a few weeks away, manyproducers are planning for a harvest thatstarts late and continues well into November.Some are considering control measures foraphid populations that are approachingthreshold levels. The first signs of suddendeath syndrome are appearing in scatteredsoybeans fields. If the weather will cooperate,there should be time for one more cutting ofhay. Corn nearby, $3.09, down 11 cents; soy-beans nearby, $10.22, down $1.17; Januarycorn, $3.04, down 8 cents; January soy-beans, $9.45, down 62 cents.

Tom Ritter, Blue Mound, Macon County: This past weekmost people received just shortof or in excess of 3 inches ofrain in two different rains.Needless to say, we were verymuch in need of that moisture. Itwill be a major benefit to thesoybeans and some benefit tothe corn. We are starting to see

maturing in the little bit of corn planted inApril. Most corn, though, is well off.Accompanying the rain were some highwinds, which tended to lean and flattensome corn, but that is not a major problem.That will, however, make harvest a littlemore trying, as will having to handle thehigher moisture that we will probably have.Overall, farmers seem to be fairly optimisticthat we can have decent — which meansaverage — yields, but there will be lots ofareas in the fields that may pull that aver-age down. Soybeans are extremely short,but it is too early to tell about yield.

Todd Easton, Charleston, Coles County: We receivedthe rain I said we needed lastweek in most areas with accu-mulation ranging from just over0.1 of an inch to just under 1inch. From what I have seen, itwill do the corn some good andthe beans a lot of good. OurColes County Extension office

hosted a countywide corn yield check andasked me to participate in one of thegroups. The final countywide estimatecame out to be 154.5 bushels per acre,which was disappointing to most all whoparticipated. We all saw quite a bit of tipback that seems to have occurred in thelast week and a few pollination issues.Another observation I would make person-ally is that producers who pushed theirpopulations to the high side will be reward-ed for doing so when the combines roll. Asfor the soybeans, they really appreciatedthe rain and are doing well for now, buthave a very long way to go and really needthings to go right.

CROPWATCHERS


Rick Corners, Centralia, Jefferson County: We had a totalof 1.04 inches of rain in four dif-ferent showers last week. It’snot muddy, but it sure wasappreciated. It’s hard to believein a week it will be the first ofSeptember. As Jerry Reid usedto say, “We’ve got a long way togo and a short time to get

there.”

Kevin Raber, Browns, Wabash County: Rainfall amountsof 0.5 to 0.75 of an inch fell lastweek. You can see the earlycorn drying down. Some of thelate corn still has a way to go.There seems to be a lot of sud-den death starting up in theearly-planted beans. Everyday itseems to be getting worse. Next

week, I will have some corn yield estimatesfor our county.

Dean Shields, Murphysboro, Jackson County: We had 2inches or more of rain lastweek. We really didn’t need allof that, but we got it anyway.Because of the heavier rains tothe north of us, the MississippiRiver is forecast to go to about20 feet on the Chester Scale,which means our locks will be

closed. It is unusual to have the locks downin August in our area. Farmers are con-cerned about getting heavy rain and someinternal flooding because of it. The rest ofthe county seems to be doing OK with allthe rain. The corn and beans look good inthe well-drained areas. Just need to turn thespicket off a little bit! Milo is headed outpretty nicely now and coming along OK.There are not that many acres this year. Weare getting the equipment out and ready togo. Just thinking about harvest.

Ken Taake, Ullin, Pulaski County: It was a pretty calmweek here in deep SouthernIllinois. A lot of showers wentthrough, but we received onlyabout 0.4 of an inch of rain.We could have used a littlemore, but we are thankful forwhat we got. Grass in theyards is still growing well, so

growing conditions must be good for thecrops also. We are counting down thelate-summer activities, and people arestarting to get ready for harvest. Thecrops certainly are going to be late as faras harvest goes.

Ted Kuebrich, Jerseyville, Jersey County: JerseyCounty received between 1.5and 3.5 inches of rain lastweek. The heavier rain fell in afive-mile radius of Jerseyville. Ireported last week that the corncrop was looking very good.The cornfields that I was report-ing on were on some rolling

land on our farm at Fieldon. Last week Iwent down to the Illinois River Bottom andthe corn shows stress with all the rain thatwe have been having. On the rolling ground,the rainwater is able to run off. The bottomground is inside of the levy and with theIllinois River raising and lowering, there ismore of a chance for the water to pool,causing nitrogen loss. Cash corn, $3.27;new corn, $3.04; January corn, $3.14; cashbeans, $10.08; new beans, $9.45; Januarybeans, $9.58.

Dan Meinhart, Montrose, Jasper County: Rain accom-panied by strong winds movedthrough the area Wednesdayevening along the Interstate 70corridor. As much as 5 inchesfell in a short period of time,causing flooding and soil ero-sion. There is a large area tothe south that is still in need of

rain. The late-June planted corn is just nowbeginning to tassel. The beans are bloom-ing, but very few pods have been set.Given the reports crop scouts released thispast week, it is obvious they did not cometo this part of the state. We still need a lotof moisture and growing degree days tomake a crop. Cooler temperatures are pre-dicted for this week with only a slightchance of rain.

Bob Biehl, Belleville, St. Clair County: We received 3 inch-es of rainfall in three different rainevents this past week without anyserious storm or wind damage.The rain was welcome, as bothcorn and beans were beginning toshow stress. Our corn is in thegreen fill stage and beans are stilltrying to add some height and

blooms. Pods are not prevalent in many fields.Grain markets really turned south. Old-cropbeans lost $2 per bushel in three ChicagoBoard trading days. Hard to believe. Wheat inthe bin is worth about $2 per bushel after allthe discounts.

Jimmy Ayers, Rochester, Sangamon County: This pastweek we received 2.5 inches ofrain in storms that caused quitea bit of damage in the county. Wehad a tornado tear up 26 homes,several businesses in town, achurch, and many crops in onearea. There was another tornadojust south of Springfield. Quite a

few trees were hit pretty hard. Several fami-lies were affected by the storms. Crops arestill growing and look very good. We still havefields that are a little short on nitrogen andare not drying up like normal for August. TheSangamon County Fair went off well withsome of the events canceled due to the rain.The week wasn’t good for hay. Just a fewguys were mowing roadsides.

Doug Uphoff, Shelbyville, Shelby County: We returnedfrom vacation to hot and dryweather. We did, however,receive 1.2 inches of rain — justwhat the doctor ordered. Thesoutheast part of the countyreceived 3.3 inches and severewind damage. Some cattle werekilled when a barn was blown

over on them, and corn was green snapped.One field of beans that had previously beendamaged by hail was finished off with straight-line winds. Some leaf disease in showing upin cornfields. Beans are anywhere from R1 toR5, and most corn is in the dough stage. Wedefinitely do not need an early frost. Fertilizerand seed decisions are in the early stages.Prices I have heard for fertilizer are $415 forNH3, $400 for DAP, and $600-plus for potash.Cash corn, $3.15; fall, $2.94; January, $3.09;fall 2010, $3.40; cash beans, $10.22; fall,$9.37; January $9.49, fall 2010, $8.89; wheat,$3.69; 2010 wheat, $4.25; farm diesel, $2.33;farm biodiesel, $2.20; road diesel, $2.81; roadbiodiesel, $2.66; gas, $2.54.

David Schaal, St. Peter, Fayette County: We had several show-ers at different times in the pastweek, but the rain gauge accumu-lated only about 0.08 to 0.09 of aninch. Places in the county hadstrong storms on Wednesdayevening with high winds and somehail. Crops continue to progress.Just to repeat my last report, we

are a month behind. No pest problems. We keeptalking of a big corn crop, and grain prices seemto show it. We need to be gearing up for harvest,but nobody around here is getting too excitedabout it yet. Still some soybean spraying goingon, along with some mowing.

CROPWATCHERS


Reports received Friday morning.

Continued from page 1 as of last week were 7.6 inches in Quincy, 3.18 inches in Peoria, 2.9inches in Springfield, 2.77 inches in Carbondale, 2.2 inches in Rock-ford, and nearly 2 inches in Chicago and St. Louis, Shimon reported.

“Overall, we’re already at or above normal rainfall totals forthe month in a lot of areas,” he said.

However, some portions of the state were dry through thefirst two weeks of the month, particularly on the eastern side ofthe state, according to the National Agricultural Statistics Ser-vice Springfield office.

Topsoil moisture as of the first of last week for the state wasrated 70 percent adequate, 21 percent short or very short, and 9percent surplus.

Weather

Illinois corn yield projected at 167 bushels per acreBY DANIEL GRANTFarmWeek

The crops in Illinois gener-ally look healthy from the road.

But a closer look at the fieldsof corn and soybeans conduct-ed last week by participants ofthe Pro Farmer Midwest croptour revealed signs of stress.

“We’re seeing tip backs (oncorn ears) of an inch or moredue to either a lack of pollina-tion or (kernel) abortion,” RogerBernard, director of the easternportion of the tour and ProFarmer editor, told FarmWeek

beans during the tour.“Pod counts are variable,”

Bernard said. “And we havenoticed we’re not seeing thebean height we’re used to see-ing, although a big bean plantdoesn’t always translate into abig bean crop.”

The crops in Illinois alsoare noticeably behind averagematurity dates, Bernard noted.

Six percent of the corn croplast week was in the dent stagecompared to the average of 40percent while 58 percent ofsoybeans were setting podscompared to the average of 87percent, USDA reported.

“We’re going to need afavorable finish to the growingseason across much of the east-ern Corn Belt,” Bernard added.

last week during a tour stop nearChenoa in McLean County.

The Midwest crop tour

officially estimated an averagecorn yield in Illinois of 167.1bushels per acre.

The estimate is well belowthe USDA projection earlierthis month of 175 bushels per

acre and would be down 12bushels per acre compared tothe average yield a year ago.

“There just weren’t those bigyields that one almost expects tosee out of Illinois,” said Bernard,who noted an estimate in an Iro-quois county field totaled about165 bushels per acre. “We talkedto the grower, and he said itwould be a 200-bushel crop in anormal year, but this year he did-n’t get it planted until May 15.”

A breakdown of the specif-ic tour observations andresults can be viewed online at{www.AgWeb.com}.

The Midwest crop tourdoes not estimate yields forsoybeans. “Everybody knowsAugust is the key month forbeans” to determine yieldpotential, Bernard noted.

Tour participants did, howev-er, conduct soybean pod countsand in Illinois those counts weredown about 15 percent com-pared to last year’s tour.

Yield-robbing problems suchas sudden death syndrome andwhite mold, which are commonin wet years, were found in soy-

FarmWeekNow.comFor more information on theresults of the Pro Farmer croptour, visit FarmWeekNow.com.

Roger Bernard, director of the portion of the Midwest crop tour spon-sored last week by Pro Farmer and editor of the publication, countsbean pods in a field near Chenoa. Tour participants found pod countsin Illinois this year are down about 15 percent compared to last year’stour findings. (Photo by Daniel Grant)

PRODUCTION


Soybean rust moving — slowlyBY KEVIN BLACK

Asian soybean rust has recently been found at low levels inwest-central Mississippi and southeast Arkansas soybeans,marking a new northward infection point for the season.

The lack of tropical weather systems in theGulf of Mexico, up to now, makes theprospect of possible Midwestern soybean rustinfections unlikely.

The remnants of tropical storm Claudetteand prospects of a strike by Hurricane Bill mayrapidly change the soybean rust situation in theSouth, but should not appreciably change thesituation in the Midwest.

Historically, tropical weather systems haveprovided conditions favorable for disease development and fornorthward transport of rust spores.

Some soybeans are beingharvested in Louisiana and oth-er southern areas.

One observer reported thatthis activity was resulting inclouds of dust and sporesbeing thrown into the air.

However, even if viable spores arrived in Illinois today, itwould take four to six weeks for the disease to build up todetectable levels, and then another two to three weeks for thedisease to get to damaging levels.

Frankly, this once again makes the risk of frost a greaterthreat to the soybean crop than the risk of soybean rust.

Kevin Black is insect and plant disease technical manager for GROW-MARK Inc. His e-mail address is [email protected].

Kevin Black

Prices for new seed genetics expected to increaseBY DANIEL GRANTFarmWeek

Farmers likely will have topay more for seeds in 2010,particularly for new varieties

that are projected to boostyields.

Brett Begemann, an execu-tive vice president for Mon-santo, told FarmWeek thatseed prices for the upcomingseason could see single-digitincreases.

He met last week with the

Illinois Farm Bureau Board ofDirectors in Bloomington todiscuss the issue.

The cost of RoundupReady 2 Yield, for instance,was projected by Monsanto toincrease from a weightedaverage of $69 to $72 peracre in 2009 to $74 per acre in2010.

Meanwhile, the cost ofRoundup Ready beans for2010 was projected to remainflat or post a slight increase ata weighted average of $52 peracre compared to a range in2009 of $49 to $52 per acre.

“I think we’ll see low, sin-gle-digit price increases”Begemann said. “For triplestack corn, (farmers) could

see everything from a flatprice up to a high single-digitincrease.”

The cost of GenuitySmartStax, Monsanto’s neweight-gene corn product,could be about $19 more peracre than triple stack varieties.

However, SmartStax isprojected to improve yields byabout 10 percent. Farmerswho plant SmartStax will beable to reduce their refugerequirement from 20 percentto 5 percent.

“We like to say we pricethe stuff to the value it cre-ates,” said Michael Dykes,vice president of governmentaffairs for Monsanto, whorecently met with IFB Mar-

keters to Washington partici-pants.

Monsanto’s pricing isbased on the value its prod-ucts deliver compared to oth-er available seed products,according to the companywebsite {www.monsanto.-com}.

And Monsanto spendsabout $3 million per day onresearch and development toproduce crops that have high-er yield potential, accordingto Dykes.

“As long as corn prices arearound $1.80 (per bushel) orhigher and soybeans are $6and higher, farmers will be

better off growing RoundupReady 2 Yield (beans) andSmartStax (corn),” Begemannsaid.

Seed production for 2010will include an estimated 8million acres for RoundupReady 2 Yield and 4 millionacres of SmartStax.

Meanwhile, glyphosateprices in 2010 likely willdecline: Dykes projectedMonsanto will operate itsproduction facilities at orclose to full capacity.

“We’ll adjust our pricesand be more competitive withChina in the marketplace,” headded.

FarmWeekNow.com

Listen to Monsanto’s explana-tion of seed pricing for 2010at FarmWeekNow.com.

Il l inois landowners sti l l have time tosubmit applications for the environmen-tal quality incentives program (EQIP)and the wildlife habitat incentives pro-gram (WHIP) before remaining fundsare al located, according to the NaturalResources Conservation Service(NRCS).

“We have a bit of EQIP and WHIPfunds remaining and are holding batch-ing periods every Friday until the fundsare gone. So get those applications inand get them in quick!” said Paige Buck,NRCS state public affairs special ist .

For more information, visit your localUSDA Service Center.

Still time to file EQIP, WHIP applications

SWEET DEAL

Todd and Mindy Smith of Waverly in Sangamon County munch onsweet corn grown on Twin Garden Farms, Harvard, sold in the Illi-nois Specialty Growers tent at the Illinois State Fair. The SpecialtyGrowers also sold melons, peaches, and apple cider all producedon Illinois farms. (Photo by Ken Kashian)

AGRONOMY DAY


Farmers encouraged to know, heed soil fertility levels BY KAY SHIPMANFarmWeek

Soil fertility varies acrossIllinois, but some fields don’tneed more phosphorous orpotassium to maintain cropyields, according to a Univer-sity of Illinois soil fertilityresearcher.

“If your soil fertility ishigh, you can remove thecrop, not apply (fertilizer), andstill do well,” Fabian Fernan-dez told farmers attending therecent U of I Agronomy Day.

Fernandez reported theresults of random soil sam-pling in more than 50 countiesscattered throughout the stateover the past two years. Ofthe tested fields, about 55 per-cent had phosphorous levelsabove U of I recommendedrates. “A lot of fields have alot of fertility,” he said.

Potassium levels were dis-tributed more evenly amongsampled fields. About a thirdof tested fields had ratesabove recommended potas-sium levels, a third testedwithin recommended levels,and the remaining third was

below U of I recommendedlevels.

“From the survey, welearned fields (potassium lev-els) are well above or wellbelow recommended rates.You need to know your soilsurvey levels,” Fernandezadvised.

However, many farmersalready have soil test informa-tion at their fingertips, basedon the survey results.

Eighty-two percent offarmers whose fields weresampled said they have theirfields tested every four years,while 11 percent said theyhave testing done at least everytwo years.

And a majority of surveyedfarmers, 58 percent, agree withthe U of I’s soil fertility levelrecommendations, Fernandeznoted.

To improve crop efficiencyof phosphorous and potassi-um soil levels, farmers shouldmanage the root zone withgood soil drainage, low soilcompaction, and little weedcompetition, he recommend-ed.

Fabian Fernandez, University of Illinois professor of soil fertility and plant nutrition, reports on soil fertilityrecommendations and fertilizer prices recently during Agronomy Day at the U of I. (Photo by Kay Shipman)

Pasture walk slated for SaturdayA pasture walk and program will start at 11:30 a.m. Saturday

on the Elton and Spring Mau farm at Arrowsmith in McLeanCounty. The farm is located on county roads 31086 E/1300 N.

Mau, a member of the Illinois Grazing Lands ConservationInitiative Committee, has 300 head of ewes and lambs in his pas-ture-based operation. The program will start at 11:30 a.m. and ameal will be served. The pasture walk will take place from 12:45to 2:30 p.m.

Mau has an extensive mix of forages for summer, fall-winter,and winter grazing.

From Bloomington, take Route 9 east for about 6.5 miles toRoad 2300 E. Turn south or right and go for a mile to the inter-section of 1300 N Rd. Turn east or left on 1300 N. The Maufarm is 8.5 miles east on the north side of the road.

Those coming from the east on I-74 should take the LeRoyexit and go north on Route 150. At the four-way stop turn left orwest and travel about a half mile until coming to a Casey’s on thenorth side of the road. Turn north onto county road 2600 E anddrive eight miles to 1300 N. Turn right or east onto 1300 N andgo 5.25 miles to the Mau farm.

For more information or to reserve a meal, call Richard Cobbat 217-333-7351 or Mau at 309-825-5435 or e-mail [email protected].

Learn-from-home classon farm business plan offered

Whether you’re a farmer who needs an increased creditline to expand your operation or a landowner seeking top-notch farmers to operate your farm, you’ll get help obtainingthe information you need in an online training programoffered by the University of Illinois Extension. The registra-tion deadline is Sept. 7.

During the class, participants will use a template to build awritten plan to help them reach their business goals. Throughe-mail and telephone support, the instructor will offer feed-back on improving the plan.

The e-mail class will begin Sept. 11 and end by Dec. 15, orearlier if the plan is completed earlier. Lessons will be accessedby e-mail and participants may study at their own pace. Comput-er access and e-mail are required. The cost is $65.

To register, log on to{http://web.extension.uiuc.edu/champaigncenter} or con-tact Kevin Brooks at [email protected] or 217-333-4901.

MARKETS


IFB to offer photos with Abe at Farm Progress ShowThe start of harvest may be

a ways down the road, but theFarm Progress Show is justaround the corner.

The annual event, billed asthe nation’s leading outdoorfarm show, will return toDecatur Sept. 1 through 3.

Farmers who attend thisyear’s show as always will get apreview of new products andservices in the ag industry, achance to test-drive newequipment, and the opportuni-ty to meet and talk with indus-try leaders.

Tickets at the door will be$10 per adult and $5 for stu-dents 13 to 17 years of age.Farmers in Illinois who ordertheir tickets online at{www.FarmProgressShow.com}can save $3 per ticket.

That website also can beused to view the daily scheduleand get directions to the show.

Illinois Farm Bureau willhost an exhibit tent and forthe third year in a row willoffer free souvenir pho-tographs.

“This year’s photo is trulycommemorative,” said SteveSimms, IFB promotion andgraphic arts director. “Thebackdrop features AbrahamLincoln on an Illinois farm.It’s just another way IllinoisFarm Bureau is celebrating the200th birthday of the manwho shaped American agricul-ture.”

The IFB exhibit also willfeature membership benefits,information about the growingYoung Leaders program, and

up-to-date weather and marketinformation each day. Moredetails about the IFB exhibitare available online at{www.ilfb.org}.

Elsewhere at the show,Country Financial will offerparticipants at its booth achance to calculate their finan-cial security through an inter-active computer program.

Visitors can use the Coun-try Crop Estimator to predictcorn and soybean harvestyields given different weatherscenarios. Country also willgive away a Cub Cadet lawntractor and 12 rocking chairs.

“As the largest farm insur-ance provider in Illinois,Country is dedicated to help-ing clients achieve financialsecurity,” said Sheri Bane,

director of commercialagribusiness and productdevelopment at Country.

Meanwhile, GROWMARKwill make its presence feltthroughout the event as the FSsystem is the official supplierof the Farm Progress Show.

FS staff provided seed,

agronomic recommendations,and full-season support ofdemonstration plots. FS also isthe official fuel supplier of theshow and will provide Diese-lex Gold Soy Biodiesel andgasoline for all field demon-strations, tram transportation,and show support vehicles.

Cattle market may be close to bottoming outBY DANIEL GRANTFarmWeek

The USDA cattle on feedreport released Friday mayhave some negative implica-tions on the market near-term.

But long-term prospectssuggest current prices may be

near a bottom and the marketcould be poised to improve,according to Dale Durchholz,AgriVisor market analyst.

Placements in feedlots dur-ing July (1.86 million head)were up 13 percent from ayear ago and were on the highend of trade expectations.

Cattle prices through theend of last week continued tohover in the low $80s.

“I suspect that as you stepback from the fray and look atthe fact that corn prices erod-ed from mid-June to mid-July,it gave a little incentive forpeople to place animals a littlemore aggressively,” saidDurchholz.

The Aug. 1 inventory of cat-tle and calves on feed (9.6 mil-lion head), on the other hand,was down 2 percent comparedto the same time last year.

Meanwhile, marketings offed cattle (1.93 million head)were down 5 percent from ayear ago.

Durchholz believes the com-bination of a smaller inventoryof cattle and the potential for aseasonal uptick in demandcould boost cattle prices.

Last year, weekly beef out-put dropped 13 percent fromsummer into fall, according toDurchholz. This year’s declinecould be slightly larger (seeCash Strategist on Page 15)

“I think we’re getting readyto turn the corner,” he said. “Ithink cattle prices (later thisyear) could get into the low$90s.”

FROM THE COUNTIES


BUREAU — The falltask force meeting will

be at 6 p.m. Tuesday, Sept. 8,at Wise Guys, Princeton.Members will be able tochoose from four main taskforce committees to partici-pate: education, memberrelations, farm business, andgovernment and policy.Meetings are held only twicea year. Call the Farm Bureauoffice at 815-875-6468 formore information.

CUMBERLAND —The Cumberland

County Fair runs throughSaturday. Stop by the FarmBureau booth and register towin daily prizes. The 4-Hlivestock auction will be at 6p.m. Thursday.

• A regional farm talkmeeting will be at 9:30 a.m.Thursday, Sept. 3, at the Hol-iday Motel, Olney. Call theFarm Bureau office at 217-849-3031 by Wednesday forreservations or more infor-mation.

• The membership picnicwill be at 5:30 p.m. Thursday,Sept. 3, at the Toledo Reser-voir Park. Call the FarmBureau office at 217-849-3031 by Tuesday, Sept. 1, forreservations or more infor-mation.

• Farm Bureau has FarmProgress Show tickets avail-able for $7 at the FarmBureau office. The show isSept. 1-3 at Decatur.

• The Illinois Ag in theClassroom bike ride will becoming through CumberlandCounty Sept. 8-10. Thoseinterested in biking or show-ing support should contactthe Farm Bureau office formore information.

HENRY — The mar-keting seminar series

will continue at 6:30 p.m.Monday, Aug. 31, at GloryDays, Geneseo. Rob Huston,AgriVisor LLC, will be thespeaker. This is the third offour seminars. A buffet din-ner will be served. Cost is$18 (unless paid for theseries). Call the Farm Bureauoffice at 309-937-2411 or theExtension office at 309-853-1533 for reservations ormore information.

KANKAKEE — Theannual legislative

reception will be held in con-junction with the KankakeeRegional Chamber of Com-merce from 5 to 7 p.m.Wednesday at the KankakeeCountry Club. Cost toattend is $30 for FarmBureau members and $60 fornon-members. Don Daake,Olivet Nazarene University,will lead a panel discussioninvolving area business lead-ers, state and national legisla-tors, and representativesfrom at least one state consti-tutional office. Call the Farm

Bureau office at 815-932-7471 for more information.

MONROE — TheMon-Clair Corn

Growers test plot programwill be at 6:30 p.m. Wednes-day at Greg Guenther’s farm,Belleville. Robert Bellm,University of Illinois Exten-sion educator, and Phil Sea-man, Abengoa Bioenergygrain merchandiser, will bethe speakers. Dinner will beserved. Call the FarmBureau office at 939-6197 or233-6800 for reservations ormore information.

PEORIA — A grass-roots picnic will be at

6 p.m. Thursday at FarmBureau park. Call the FarmBureau office at 686-7070 byMonday (today) for reserva-tions or more information.

• Farm Bureau will spon-sor a bus trip Wednesday,Sept. 2, to the Farm ProgressShow, Decatur. Cost is $25.Call the Farm Bureau officeat 686-7070 for reservationsor more information.

• Deadline to submit pic-tures for the photo contest isSept. 1. First, second, andthird place cash awards willbe given in three categories:farm related-scenes andactivities; nature and wildlife;and barn scenes. There alsowill be a Best of Show cashaward.

SANGAMON — TheMarketing Committee

will sponsor its annualAgriVisor steak fry meetingat 6:30 p.m. Monday, Aug. 31,at the Tom Modonia Park.Dale Durchholz, AgriVisor

LLC, will be the speaker.Cost is $10. Call the FarmBureau office at 753-5200 forreservations or more infor-mation.

• The Young Leader andMarketing Committees willsponsor their annual cornyield survey meeting at 7:30a.m. Friday, Sept. 4, at theFarm Bureau office. Lunchwill be served. Call the FarmBureau office at 753-5200 formore information.

ST. CLAIR — TheMon-Clair Corn Grow-

ers test plot program will beat 6:30 p.m. Wednesday atGreg Guenther’s farm,Belleville. Robert Bellm,University of Illinois Exten-sion educator, and Phil Sea-man, Abengoa Bioenergygrain merchandiser, will be

the speakers. Dinner will beserved. Call the FarmBureau office at 939-6197 or233-6800 for reservations ormore information.

VERMILION — TheAg in the Classroom

open house will be from 4 to7 p.m. Wednesday, Sept. 2,and from 4 to 5 p.m. Thurs-day, Sept. 3, at the FarmBureau auditorium. StaciWalker, ag literacy coordina-tor, will have ag learning kitsand materials available forteachers. Call the FarmBureau office at 217-442-8713 for more information.

“From the counties” items aresubmitted by county Farm Bureaumanagers. If you have an eventor activity open to all members,contact your county manager.

Wal-Mart feeds ag literacy efforts with IAITC donationBY KAY SHIPMANFarmWeek

Helping Illinois childrenlearn about food and agricul-ture makes sense for a compa-ny that sells $20 billion in

goods, includ-ing food, andservices in thestate.

That’s whythe WalmartFoundationdonated$50,000 to Illi-nois Agricul-ture in theClassroom

(IAITC) last week, said an Illi-nois Wal-Mart executive.

“A lot of folks take forgranted what it takes to getfood to the table,” John Bisio,director of public affairs andgovernment relations for Wal-Mart in Illinois, toldFarmWeek. “This is particu-larly gratifying to be able tosupport IAITC ... and helpnon-traditional students under-stand agriculture in Illinois.”

Bisio presented IllinoisFarm Bureau President PhilipNelson with a check on AgDay at the Illinois State Fair.

The educational componentof IAITC appealed to the Wal-mart Foundation, whichreceived 100 applications forfunding, Bisio explained. Hesaid he also appreciatesIAITC’s focus on teachingchildren about health andnutrition.

As a result of Wal-Mart’sdonation, IAITC will developan after-school ag program toteach children in gradeskindergarten through sixth thatpizza ingredients come fromfarms.

The nine-week program willbe available to park districts,YMCAs, YWCAs, Boys &Girls Clubs, and other groupsthat offer after-school pro-

to contact local Wal-Mart storemanagers.

“It’s not uncommon for aregional (Wal-Mart) buyer toput a national buyer in touchwith a local grower,” Bisioexplained. A grower could sup-ply as many as 25 stores,depending on the product andthe grower’s situation.

For Wal-Mart, “locallygrown is a big focus,” Bisiosaid.

grams, according to KevinDaugherty, IFB educationdirector.

Separate lessons on beef,pork, dairy, and specialty crops— all pizza ingredients — willbe distributed through countyFarm Bureaus and should beavailable in January, Daughertysaid.

In addition to education, Wal-Mart also is focusing on helpingfarmers sell produce and farm

products through local Wal-Mart

stores, Bisio said. The company is working to

identify potential growers andtheir products, Bisio added. Heencouraged interested farmers

John Bisio

FarmWeekNow.comLearn more about Illinois Agin the Classroom by visitingFarmWeekNow.com.

AGRI-QUIZ BOWL MATCH

The Livingston County Farm Bureau Young Leaders 1 and St. Clair County Farm Bureau Young Lead-ers 1 compete during the Agri-Quiz Bowl at the Illinois State Fair last week. Stephenson County FarmBureau Young Leaders 1 took top honors followed by St. Clair Farm Bureau 1 in second, VermilionCounty Farm Bureau Young Leaders 1 in third, and Livingston Farm Bureau 1 in fourth. Thirty-oneteams competed in the event. (Photo by Ken Kashian)

Illinois Farm Bureau is seeking members forinvolvement in Action Teams.

Applications for Action Teams are availableat county Farm Bureaus or by going online to{www.ilfb.org} and clicking on “Programs andActivities.”

Applications are due by Dec. 4.Members who apply may select the Action

Team that best meets their interests. The four

Action Teams are public relations, education,membership, and quality of life.

Each team is comprised of 10 to 15 menand women with a variety of leadershipexperiences. Teams meet twice a year toturn their ideas into specific Farm Bureauprojects.

For additional information, contact yourcounty Farm Bureau manager.

IFB seeks Action Team members


GROWMARK


Last of a series

Strategic direction leads GROWMARK to Ontario, East CoastBY HEATHER MILLER

Compare the GROWMARK Systemof today with the cooperative formedmore than 80 years ago, and there aretwo very different pictures.

In 1927, GROWMARK operated inIllinois. In the 1960s, business expand-ed into Iowa and Wisconsin. Today, theregional cooperative conducts businessin 23 states and the province of On-tario.

The evolution to an international or-ganization began in 1995 whenGROWMARK moved into Ontario,Canada. Ontario operations includemember cooperatives, similar to localFS companies in the U.S., FS Partners,a retail division directly controlled andowned by GROWMARK, and regionalsupport services including warehous-ing, marketing programs, training, andmore.

GROWMARK also has partial own-ership of UPI Energy, which servesOntario member cooperative energyneeds, and Great Lakes Grain, a part-nership with AGRIS Cooperative Ltd,the largest member cooperative in On-tario.

“GROWMARK has brought signifi-cant benefits to Ontario, including

market clout, stability, and long-termprofitability,” said Claude Gauthier,GROWMARK Ontario region manag-er. “In return, we in Ontario are addingsales volume to the system and we’vealso added a dimension, makingGROWMARK a North-American or-ganization.”

In December 2002, GROWMARKacquired the assets of Agway’s agrono-my business and created GROW-MARK FS (GFS) LLC. The whollyowned subsidiary of GROWMARKprovides wholesale and retail agrono-my solutions and services in the east-ern U.S.

GFS operates 37 retail plantsthroughout New York, Pennsylvania,New Jersey, Delaware, Maryland, andparts of Virginia.

“GROWMARK was interested ingrowing in the retail business, and the

venture with GFS offered that oppor-tunity outside of the core geography,”said Steve Buckalew, GROWMARKvice president of eastern retail opera-tions.

“This created major geographicalexpansion for GROWMARK, and ithas been a great thing for farmers onthe east coast.”

The Agway acquisition also includeda full-line seed company, Seedway LLC.Seedway is the largest seed company in

the Northeast/Mid-Atlantic U.S. andsupplies farm, turf, and vegetable seedto farmers from the Rocky Mountainsto the East Coast. It’s headquartered inHall, N.Y.

“When GROWMARK obtained theSeedway and GFS businesses in theeast, it opened up the northeast andmid-Atlantic markets,” said BruceUlmer, Seedway director of marketingand employee education.

“GROWMARK is a leader in theMidwest farm seed industry, but it was-n’t as familiar with vegetable seed. Thisacquisition gave GROWMARK expo-sure both in a different side of theseed industry and in a different regionof the country.”

Heather Miller is a GROWMARK cor-porate communications intern. Her e-mailaddress is [email protected].

David Coia, left, a Delaware farmer and aGROWMARK FS (GFS) customer, and GFScrop specialist Salvatore Pustizzi discuss theupcoming leek crop in a field in Delaware.GFS is a wholly owned subsidiary ofGROWMARK. (Photo provided by GROW-MARK)

China starts constructionon 10-gigawatt wind farm

China recently broke ground on a$17.6 billion wind farm in northernChina capable of generating more than10 gigawatts.

It is the first of seven planned megawind farms in China, each with morethan 10-gigawatt capacity.

The Gansu province wind farm pro-ject is mind boggling in its generationcapacity.

One gigawatt equals 1,000megawatts. McLean County’s TwinGrove Wind Farm has 240 turbineswith a total capacity of 396 megawatts.The Gansu wind farm is expected togenerate 20 gigawatts by 2020, accord-ing to the Chinese government.

China is committed to generating 3percent of its total energy from non-hydro power renewable sources by2020.

PROFITABILITY


Feeder pig prices reported to USDA*

Weight Range Per Head Weighted Ave. Price10 lbs. $6.00-$31.25 $20.8840 lbs. n/a n/a50 lbs. n/a n/aReceipts This Week Last Week

19,902 12,316*Eastern Corn Belt prices picked up at seller’s farm

MARKET FACTS

Confirmed lamb and sheep salesThis week 810 Last week 1,253 Last year 957Wooled Slaughter Lambs: Choice and Prime 2-3: 90-110 lbs, $98; Choice andPrime 2-3 110-130 lbs., $93.50. Good and Choice 1-2: 60-90 lbs., $105.Slaughter Ewes: Utility and Good 1-3: $26-$29. Cull and Utility 1-2: $26.

Lamb prices

Eastern Corn Belt direct hogs (plant delivered)(Prices $ per hundredweight)

This week Prev. week ChangeCarcass $44.31 $45.67 -1.36Live $32.79 $33.80 -1.01

Export inspections

(Million bushels)Week ending Soybeans Wheat Corn08-13-09 5.6 13.9 40.908-06-09 10.1 15.0 35.9Last year 6.5 38.6 45.0Season total 1202.4 145.3 1679.5Previous season total 1097.3 268.6 2262.0USDA projected total 1210 980 1700Crop marketing year began June 1 for wheat and Sept. 1 for corn and soybeans.

(Thursday’s price)This week Prv. week Change

Steers 82.23 82.42 -0.19Heifers 82.17 82.00 0.17

USDA five-state area slaughter cattle price

This is a composite price of feeder cattle transactions in 27 states.(Prices $ per hundredweight)

This week Prev. week Change100.66 100.48 0.18

CME feeder cattle index — 600-800 Lbs.

Time to give grain system pre-harvest TLCBY RANDY HOLTHAUS

Unless you have ESP, It’shard to predict what this fallhas in store for you and your

grain system.Don’t rely onluck when itcomes toyour grainequipment.

A presea-son servicecheck willhelp identify

potential equipment problemsand enable you to correctthem before your bins are fullof wet grain. Preventingdowntime with a preseasoninspection will be money and

time well spent. The following items should

be checked to prepare yourgrain system for harvest:

The first priority is safety.Inspect and make sure everyshield is in place and workingproperly to protect you, yourfamily, your workers, and ser-vice providers. Take a walkaround your entire facility andnote every moving part andelectrical connection.

If you see anything that isnot as it would be if it werebrand new, fix it now so itdoesn’t cause a catastrophewhen you are caught up in thebustle of the busy season.

Inspect empty bins for evi-

dence of leaks, corrosion, andpests. Wire brush or sand offred rust and recoat with soyzinc primer or cold galvaniz-ing paint.

Clean out old grain, fines,chaff, and dirt. Inspect binfloors for collapse, holes or softspots where supports may havefailed. Flashing should be secureand not leaking grain into theplenum. Check the plenum forfines buildup or leaked grain.Seal evident air and water leaks.Seal concrete cracks to keep outwater and pests.

Make sure your receivingand handling equipment isready to run. Auger flightsshould have flat edges. Sharp

flighting causes excess graindamage, is dangerous to workaround, is subject to failure atany time, and needs to bereplaced.

Tubes, housings, trunking,and spouting need to beinspected for wear spots, dis-coloration and dents. Bearingsshould run free and acceptlubrication readily.

Pulleys, belts, sprockets,and chains need proper align-ment and tension and aninspection for damage orwear. Lube all joints and gearboxes to manufacturers’ speci-fications.

Electrical equipmentshould be thoroughly inspect-

ed for exposed wires, looseconnections, rodent damage,open junction boxes, and gen-eral integrity by a trained pro-fessional before being tested.

Make sure safety circuitsand components are in placeand operating properly. Thesegeneral inspection proceduresapply to all gas-fired equip-ment and accessories.

A little TLC now will paybig dividends in reduced downtime and peace of mind dur-ing harvest.

Randy Holthaus is GROW-MARK’s grain systems marketingmanager. His e-mail address [email protected].

Randy Holthaus

Are farmers paying too much for federal crop insurance? BY DANIEL GRANTFarmWeek

Farmers who had issueswith the federal crop insurancein recent years may see someadjustments to the program inthe future.

The RiskManagementAgency(RMA) is inthe process ofreviewingcrop insur-ance pricingmethodology,according to

William Murphy, RMA admin-istrator, who met this monthwith participants of the Illi-

nois Farm Bureau Marketersto Washington.

“There are concerns thatfarmers in Iowa and Illinoisare paying excessive rates andnot getting enough out of theprogram,” Murphy said.

Analysis of the crop insur-ance industry conducted byIowa State University conclud-ed corn and soybean farmersin Illinois, Iowa, and Indianafrom 2000 to 2008 paid $768million more in premiums thanthey collected in indemnities.

Last year, the federal cropinsurance program took inabout $10 billion in premiumsand issued about $8.8 billion inpayments, according to Murphy.

Mike Clemens of theNational Corn Growers Asso-ciation recently testified beforethe House Ag Subcommitteeon General Commodities andRisk Management that if

indemnitypayments areconsiderablyless than pre-miums paidthen premi-ums perhapsshould belowered toreflect actuallosses.

But Mark Hines, a farmerfrom Downs in McLeanCounty, said he expected high-er crop insurance rates lastyear due to higher commodityprices at the time.

Liability on all crops insuredlast year increased by about$20 billion and totaled nearly$90 billion (see graphic).

“Insurance coverage peracre went up substantially (inthe past year),” Hines said.“But you are protecting a lothigher-value crop, especiallylast year.”

Hines believes a lot offarmers took lesser crop insur-ance coverage to deal withhigher premiums.

Meanwhile, some organiccrop growers feel there is a dis-parity in coverage levels as theymust use the same price elec-tion as growers of convention-al crops even though organicproduction generally yields lessbut has a higher market value,according to Murphy.

“We’re going to continue tolook into that,” he said.

Another emerging issue forRMA is providing coveragefor energy crops that don’thave a proven productionrecord in the U.S.

Some farmers who growalternative crops for energyproduction initially couldstruggle to get insurance

and/or secure operating loans.“That’s problematic for

insurance,” Murphy said. “Weneed a (cropping) history todo rate projections.”

RMA likely will apply crite-ria used for the pasture, range-land, and forage product to

provide insurance for energycrops that don’t have an estab-lished production history,Murphy noted.

For more informationabout crop insurance, Murphysuggested producers visit thewebsite {www.rma.usda.gov.}.

William Murphy Mark Hines

Now ideal time to control brushMany farmers and landowners struggle to keep unwanted

trees and shrubs from becoming established in fencerows,drainage-ditch banks, pastures, rights-of-way, and other areas.

Brush can be controlled effectively by mechanical or chemicalmethods or by a combination of the two, said Bob Frazee, Uni-versity of Illinois Extension natural resources educator.

Frazee noted now is an ideal time for attacking brush problems.Mechanical brush control is time consuming and costly, but

may be necessary in places where herbicide use is not desirable.Mechanical control may be accomplished by cutting, girdling, orgrubbing a tree or shrub.

Chemical brush control uses herbicides to control the plantor minimize resprouting. It is important to carefully and com-pletely read and follow herbicide label directions, Frazee said.

There may be restrictions on grazing or harvest periods orlimits on applications to aquatic areas and drainage ditches.

Brush herbicides may be applied as foliar treatment to leaves, asa basal-bark or cut-surface treatment on the stem or trunk, orapplied to the soil. The method selected should depend on the her-bicide applied, the site, the season, and the environment, he noted.

Brush herbicides are categorized by their mode of activity.Some brush herbicides are selective; however, Frazee cautionedcare is needed with even selective herbicides because they caninjure desirable plants if the product is allowed to drift, run off,or leach out of the treated area. Nonselective herbicides will con-trol all vegetation in the area.

The most recent “Illinois Agricultural Pest ManagementHandbook” is available for $27 plus shipping by ordering directlyfrom the U of I’ Publications Plus.

The e-mail address is [email protected] or ordersmay be placed at the toll-free number 800-345-6087.

This publication contains the latest recommendations for alltypes of ag insect, disease, and weed problems, including brushcontrol. For those who want to use the Internet, the handbookis available online at {www.ipm.uiuc.edu/pubs/iapmh}.

PROFITABILITY


AgriVisor Hotline Number

309-557-2274

AgriVisor endorsescrop insurance by

Policies issued by COUNTRYMutual Insurance Company®,

Bloomington, Illinois

AgriVisor LLC1701 N. Towanda Avenue

PO Box 2500Bloomington IL 61702-2901

309-557-3147

AgriVisor LLC is not liable for any damageswhich anyone may sustain by reason of inac-curacy or inadequacy of information providedherein, any error of judgment involving any pro-jections, recommendations, or advice or anyother act of omission.

CASH STRATEGISTCorn Strategy

✓2008 crop: With short-term price rallies increasinglyremote, we’re inclined to holdinventories until after harvest,or use a marketing strategythat would keep pricing openuntil later this year on anyinventories you may still have.

✓2009 crop: Upside poten-tial is limited by the pull of thecoming 20-week cycle low andapproach of harvest. We expectDecember futures to bottomclose to $3. Unless Decemberfutures unexpectedly rally intothe $3.40s, hold off on catch-upsales until sometime after har-vest unless you need to movebushels at harvest for space rea-sons. Even then, we would usea marketing strategy that keepspricing options open.

❖Fundamentals: Increasingpotential for a relatively largecrop has been lifting the negativesentiment for corn prices. Anunexpected early frost/freeze isabout the only event that couldreverse the negative price bias inthe near term, and that won’tcome into play until mid-Sep-tember at the soonest. Soybean Strategy

✓2008 crop: The old-croppremium started to rapidly dis-appear in some locations thispast week. The fast changetriggered ideas that endingstocks may be larger thanpresently forecast. If the old-crop premium has mostly dis-appeared, we prefer to carryinventories until after harvest.

✓2009 crop: Use rallies to$9.90 on November futures forneeded harvest or catch-up sales.Unless November futures dropbelow $8.80, we expect to seestronger markets again after the8-9 week cycle bottoms in Sep-tember. In this volatile environ-ment, it may pay to check theCash Strategist Hotline occasionally.

❖Fundamentals: The croptour that crossed the Midwestlast week found pod counts werelower except in western parts ofthe Corn Belt. Everyone agreed,though, this crop needs time toachieve yield potential. Chinacontinues to buy soybeans, liftingnew-crop sales to 405 millionbushels, double the five-yearaverage. India’s monsoon seasonhas been disappointing this year,

potentially increasing demand forproducts from the U.S. over thenext few months.Wheat Strategy

✓2009 crop: Wheat pricescontinue to slip lower, withfutures approaching lastDecember’s low. The market isin the window for the seasonaland 40-week cycles to bottom.We see limited downside risk atthese prices. Hold off addition-al sales; better pricing opportu-nities should come this fall orwinter. Prices have gotten solow that we don’t even seepotential for a good short-term

catch-up sale opportunity.❖Fundamentals: There’s

no doubt U.S. and world supplieswill be abundant this year. Atthis time, though, the action ofbuyers may be a more importantprice influence. In that light,Egypt’s larger purchase last weeksignaled that a key world buyermay see current prices represent-ing good value. Longer term,there is potential for supply vari-ables to tighten depending onweather’s impact on crops inArgentina, Australia, and India.All have some element of riskover the next few months.

Meat supplies this summerhave overwhelmed demandespecially the last three tofour weeks. While demandmay not have been as bad as ithas been made out to be, itwas soft enough to cause theemotional ingredient to getextremely negative.

During the summer, cattleprices have drifted sideways inthe low $80s. The hog markethas seen the bulk of the pres-sure in recent weeks. While it’snot unusual for hog prices todecline relatively hard in thelatter part of August, this year’sdecline seemed especially hard.

Given the mediocre summerpeak, the break in August hasseemed even more significant.

The pork sector has strug-gled partly because the exportmarket was not able to absorbsupplies like it did a year ago.June’s pork exports were thesmallest monthly volumesince December 2007.

The big change from lastyear was the steep decline inshipments to China. Last year,shipments were high as theChinese were replacing theirdecline in production tied todisease and to pre-Olympicinventory accumulation.

The biggest shift in whatlies ahead over the next fewmonths will be the seasonaldecline in beef supplies, and it

Basis charts

should be a steeper declinethan usual. Placements havedeclined more than 2 percentfrom last year so far. The Aug.1 on-feed number could be thesmallest this decade.

Last year, weekly beef outputdropped 13 percent from sum-mer into fall. This year’s declinecould be slightly larger yet.

While beef output declinesinto winter, pork will increase.Given current hog inventories,they could rise 15 percent. Theshift in supplies may keep redmeat supplies close to summerlevels into year’s end.

But, if economic activitycontinues to improve, demandshould become a little morerobust, lifting the combinedprice structure from the levelsthat prevail today.

Data from Canada indicatedcattle and pork industries thereare continuing to contract,especially the breeding herds.That and the contraction in theU.S. could result in smaller redmeat supplies in 2010. Whilethat won’t help the supply situ-ation this fall, it could bolsterdemand to put meat into stor-age, helping boost demand andprices into winter.

In summation, at this time,the red meat situation looksabout as negative as it can be.Negative emotions are aboutas high as they can get, espe-cially for hogs. Obviously, cat-tle prices should rise easierthan hogs during the fallbecause of the seasonaldecline in supply. But hogprices also might have fallenabout as low as they are going.

Steers are currently tradingin the low $80s. By year’s endthey could get back to the low$90s. The last time hog pricesput in a major low, 2002, theyrallied from $20 at the begin-ning of September to the low$30s by October.

We wouldn’t be shocked to asimilar occurrence, possiblymoving from the low $30s tothe high $30s, maybe even $40,by early October. As suppliesincrease, they could settle backinto the mid-$30s for the sea-sonal low at the end of theyear.

Cents per bu.

Is meat decline near an end?

PERSPECTIVES


The week the H1N1 virus stole the farmCall it H1N1, please. The last week of April 2009 will be a

week hog farmers will never for-get. The week changed our lives andnot in a positive way.

The last week of April is when theH1N1 flu outbreakbecame news. Mostmedia outlets taggedan inappropriate nameto the flu virus. Theunintended conse-quence of callingH1N1 the informalname “swine flu,” hasbeen devastating toall farms that raisehogs, including myfamily farm.

Because of the unfortunate namechoice, exports of U.S. pork havedropped, eliminating a key market rallythat is typically seen each summer. Thissummer’s rally was especially crucial;hog farmers have lost money since Sep-tember 2007.

In fact, hog farmers have lost morethan half of their accumulated equitysince September 2007. Hog farmersdesperately needed a summer rally toreturn profit to our farms. The othername for H1N1 stole this from us.

Call it H1N1, please.There are many important facts

about H1N1 that help set the recordstraight — a matter especially importantnow that H1N1 is once again rearing itsugly head and the unfortunate monikeris creeping back intothe news media.

The H1N1 flu virusis not in pork. H1N1influenza is not a food-borne illness.

The safety of porkand pork products hasbeen affirmed by theUnited Nations’ Foodand Agriculture Organi-zation, the World Orga-nization for AnimalHealth, the WorldHealth Organization,and the World TradeOrganization.

Agriculture SecretaryTom Vilsack has saidthat U.S. pork is safe toeat. His statement is supported byrecent research conducted by theNational Animal Disease Center andinternational researchers.

Influenza is a respiratory disease, andthe virus is not found in the blood ormeat of healthy pigs or in pigs that haverecovered from the illness. Of course,sick pigs are never allowed to enter thefood supply.

Hog farmers have protocols estab-lished for caring for animals that devel-op illness. Ill pigs are not sent to mar-ket. Just like humans, pigs can get ill,

but like humans, they recover.Call it H1N1, please.My family consumes the same food

as other Americans. I want to ensure myfamily has a safe food supply that israised in the United States.

The best way to help ensure the safe-ty and security of our domestic foodsupply is to support the U.S. hog indus-try.

Buy and enjoy U.S. pork and encour-age your lawmakers to support tradeagreements to open export markets.U.S. pork is safe and nutritious, and hog

farming con-tributes neededjobs in the Unit-ed States.

So, do yourcountry and U.S.hog farmers afavor — call itH1N1, please.

Remind thenews outlets yourely on for time-ly and accurateinformation —it’s H1N1.Together, wewill beat thisbug, and withyour support,U.S. hog farmers

will survive until our markets turnaround.

Eat pork, and call it H1N1, please.

Chris Chinn, a Missouri hog producer, is amember of the American Farm Bureau’sPartners in Agricultural Leadership program.Previously she served as chair of AFBF’snational Young Farmer & Rancher Commit-tee.

CHRISCHINN

Inquiring minds wonder if drunken bees slur their buzzRecently honey bees from

my hives discovered some waxand honey that had beenstanding in the barn for a cou-ple of months. As honey beeswill do when given such anopportunity, they immediatelybegan cleaning up the honeyand carrying it back to the

hive. However,

some of thebees seemedto be havingtrouble flying— and walk-ing.

The beeswere behav-ing as if theywere drunk,staggeringaround and

bumping into things. As itturns out, they were drunk!

Some of the honey hadbegun to ferment, resulting inthe production of alcohol. Thebees were drinking a version ofhoney wine, an alcoholic bev-erage known as mead. And thebees were behaving just likehumans who have had a bittoo much to drink.

The fact that many animals,including insects such as beesand wasps, will consume sub-stances containing alcohol and,as a result, get inebriated haslong been known.

Some 2,300 years ago, theGreek philosopher Aristotlenoted that pigs got a bit tipsyafter consuming rotten andfermenting fruit.

Past writers and amateurand professional filmmakersalike have recorded in wordand picture the alcohol-induced antics of several kindsof animals.

The animals became victimsof demon alcohol when theyate ripe fruit that had fallenfrom amarula trees. Fermenta-tion of the fruit in the animals’stomachs resulted in alcoholproduction.

The alcohol had the sameeffect on the animals as it doeson humans — they got drunkand stumbled around.

Insects, such as my honeybees, also behave in strangeways as a result of consumingalcohol. It has been reportedin research studies that alcoholconsumption resulted in beesflying less, walking less, andgrooming less. But the beesspent more time upside down.

As with humans, one of thefirst obvious symptoms ofalcohol on the body is lack ofcoordination. So the ability ofbees to stand on their six legsis diminished. Consequently,drunken bees spend more timefalling down onto their backsthan do their sober colleagues.

But drunken bees havemore problems than loss ofmuscle control. They may notbe able to return to the hivebecause they are unable to fly.In addition, bees walking aremore likely to be injured in anaccident or be consumed bypredators.

If by chance an inebriatedbee does manage to return tothe hive, it is likely to be reject-ed by the guards because it isacting strangely.

Now biological researchersare attempting to understandthe physiological basis foralcoholism in animals bystudying the effect of alcoholon insects, such as the honeybee and the fruit fly. Insectsand humans have similar ner-vous systems so an under-standing of how alcoholaffects the system in insectsmight be relevant to humans aswell.

As it turns out, the wayalcohol affects the insect’sbody is determined by geneexpression. The fruit fly, theinsect that has for centuriesbeen the laboratory animal forgenetic study, responds toalcohol in similar fashion toother animals.

These flies get drunk andcan’t walk, fly, or even cling toa surface. Recent research hasshown that the expression of

almost 600 genes in the fruitfly was affected by exposureto alcohol.

Because humans and fruitflies at the gene level respondto alcohol in the same way, anunderstanding of how alcoholworks on the flies might givesome insight into how alcoholworks on humans. This wouldbe especially important to anunderstanding of how geneticmakeup contributes to alco-

holism in humans. The gene and behavioral

similarities between insectsand humans relative to theeffects of alcohol raise a ques-tion in my mind about mydrunken bees. Are those beesslurring their buzz?

Tom Turpin, a professor of ento-mology, at Purdue University, WestLafayette, Ind. His e-mail addressis [email protected].

TOMTURPIN

“It would be appreciated if you not chew yourcud so loudly.”

FarmWeek August 24 2009

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