FarmWeek December 3 2012

Per

iod

ical

s: T

ime

Val

ued

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

A unique univeRsiTy

of Illinois laboratory acts as the“Consumer Reports” of ag ventila-tion products for the United Statesand many foreign countries. ..........8

The impoRTAnce oF thelivestock industry to Illinois wasdelineated at the recent IllinoisCommodity Conference. Even themanure is a valuable commodity. ....7

A decision to take advan-tage of a county Farm Bureaucost-share assistance/farm safetyprogram saved the life of a Liv-ingston County farmer. ................6

Monday, December 3, 2012 Two sections Volume 40, No. 48

Policymakers stalled at brink of cliff

Farm bill proposals wide-ranging; hope remainsBY MARTIN ROSSFarmWeek

Washington lobbyists andanalysts are straining to sepa-rate remedies from rumorsamid the “noise and chatter” atthe brink of the “fiscal cliff,”American Farm Bureau deputypolicy director Dale Mooretold FarmWeek Friday.

As the threat of severe Jan-uary “budget sequestration”cuts and tax hikes looms,House Speaker John Boehner(R-Ohio) reported the WhiteHouse and the House hadmade “no substantiveprogress” in reaching atax/spending compromise.

Bush-era tax breaks and araft of more recent businesstax incentives are set to expireDec. 31.

Illinois Farm Bureau ispushing lawmakers to main-tain the current $5 millionindividual estate tax exemp-tion and 35 percent estate taxrate, along with existing capi-tal gains tax rates and Section179 small business tax capitalexpensing provisions (seeaccompanying details).

If Congress takes noaction, the individual estatetax exemption will drop to $1million ($2 million per cou-

already-expired dairy pro-grams.

Further, inclusion of disas-ter assistance as part of anextension raises questionsabout farm bill funding andthe ag budget baseline avail-able to House and Senate ag

committees attempting toreformulate a new farm billnext session.

Extension thus may be amore complicated option thanconsidering “the two bills thatare already on the table,”Moore suggested.

ple), potentially exposing Illi-nois farm families with rela-tively modest land holdings toa 55 percent estate tax hit.

Congressional uncertaintyextends as well to the farm billdebate, which may or may notwind up being tied into anyfiscal cliff solution, Mooresaid.

Last week, Senate Ag Com-mittee Chairman DebStabenow (D-Mich.) main-tained the farm bill is “verymuch part of the discussion,”and offered up ag proposalsfrom the Senate and House agcommittees, which include sig-nificant cuts in farm programsand food stamps, as “a way tosave money.”

Leaders on both sides ofthe Hill continue to mulloptions that range fromincluding a new five-year farmbill (and possibly ag disasteraid) with a fiscal package ormerely extending 2008 farmbill provisions for a year with-out offering “anything con-crete in either direction,”Moore said.

Stabenow met Thursday

with Ag Secretary Tom Vilsackand other leaders of theHouse and Senate ag commit-tees. Senate Ag Ranking Mem-ber Pat Roberts (R-Kan.) stat-ed, “There’s still a concertedeffort to get a five-year farmbill,” and Vilsack urged law-makers to focus on a five-yearbill rather than an extension.

“Because of the savings inthe House and Senate ver-sions, somewhere between $23billion and $35 billion, leader-ship on both sides of the Hillcould decide to plug that intowhatever their solution is tothe fiscal cliff and avoidsequestration,” Moore said.

“Here’s language that’salready done. There’s certainlysome reconciling to be donebetween both versions of thebill, but they can’t be any furtherapart than some of the otherissues they’re working on.”

Even if extension provedthe stopgap solution, Moore isuncertain whether it wouldinclude further extension ofdirect payments and othergeneral commodity programsor merely reauthorization of

IFB: Talk about taxeswith D.C. lawmakersIllinois farmers worried about the impact of Congress’ cur-

rent tax impasse can make their voices heard on the Hill.Illinois Farm Bureau urges members to contact their con-

gressmen and senators regarding expiring tax provisions ofimportance to agriculture via the U.S. Capitol switchboard at877-I-ACT-4-AG (877-422-8424).IFB supports preserving the current $5 million personal

estate tax exemption, indexed to inflation and with a top taxrate of 35 percent. Average Illinois farmland values have tripledsince 2000, and producers may be unable to pass land andassets to the next generation if the exemption falls back to $1million at a 55 percent rate or even $3.5 million.Further, IFB is pushing to maintain a 15 percent capital

gains tax rate, boost the threshold for Section 179 small busi-ness expensing to $500,000, and continue bonus depreciation. Use of Section 179 in equipment purchases provides an

incentive for rural businesses, while bonus depreciation ofequipment aids in farm cash flow.IFB also supports long-term extension of biodiesel, cellu-

losic biofuels, biomass power, and wind energy credits.

Federal agencies are working to keepgoods moving on the Mississippi River aslawmakers, farmers, and commercial riverinterests seek support for rapidly removingpotential roadblocks to winter traffic.

Last week, the American Farm BureauFederation and 20 other national groupsurged President Obama to issue an emer-gency declaration that would expediteremoval of Mississippi River rock forma-tions that may seriously impede SouthernIllinois navigation by mid-December (seestory page 3).

In response to an Illinois Farm Bureaurequest, Illinois congressmen led by PeoriaRepublican U.S. Rep. Aaron Schock alsopushed for White House action. Midwestsenators reportedly were primed to followsuit.

In a letter to the assistant secretary ofthe Army, Gov. Pat Quinn offered statesupport to “fast-track” dredging and rockremoval in the Thebes/Grand Tower area.

The Illinois Senate has adopted a resolutionseeking emergency action.

Pike County Farm Bureau PresidentDavid Gay sees ample justification for exec-utive emergency intervention.

“Since this situation is really caused bythe ongoing drought, there’s no endpoint tothe crisis — at least, not one we can pre-dict,” Gay told FarmWeek. “If the river’sclosed for lock repairs or frozen for amonth or so, we can see when that’s goingto be over. This situation is not going toturn around anytime soon; not on its own.”

Last week, St. Louis Corps DistrictCommander Col. Christopher Hall toldindustry representatives and state and feder-al officials “we’re expediting every processwe can to get us where we need to be whenwe need to be.”

The Corps has continued dredging oper-ations “around the clock” since July toensure a safe 9-foot-deep, 300-foot-widenavigation channel from St. Louis to Cairo,

and “we are responding to the conditionswe see ahead of us,” Hall said.

The Corps has investigated rock removalfor six years: Funding for the work is inplace and environmental analysis necessaryto begin blasting has been completed. How-ever, under routine bidding procedures, theCorps doesn’t anticipate letting a contractuntil late January or February.

Under endangered species laws, workmust be complete by March 31 to accom-modate spawning by the pallid sturgeon.

Agency representatives saw limited alter-natives for ensuring navigable depths. Den-nis Wilmsmeyer, executive director of St.Louis’ America’s Central Port, suggestedtapping Lake Michigan waters to boostchannel depth, but the lake falls under jointU.S.-Canadian jurisdiction and a U.S.Supreme Court ruling that restricts releases.

Corps representatives noted short-term

See River, page 2

Lawmakers, groups intensify emergency river action

LICENSE PLATE HIKE — Illinois vehicleowners will pay $2 more to renew their licenseplates if Gov. Pat Quinn signs legislation passedlast week.

During the fall veto session, the Senate passeda bill increasing the fee to raise money for theIllinois Department of Natural Resources(IDNR). The increase will add an estimated $32million annually to IDNR’s budget.

IDNR Director Marc Miller said his agencywould use the funds for park upkeep and infra-structure repair.

HUNTERS BAG MORE ILLINOISDEER — IDNR reported hunters killed morethan 72,000 deer during the opening weekend ofthe firearm deer season. This year’s preliminarytotal is more than 5,000 higher than the firstweekend of the 2011 season. The season’s sec-ond portion occurred last weekend (Nov. 29-Dec. 2).

Pike County ranked No. 1 with 2,108 deerduring the first weekend, followed by the coun-ties of Fulton (2,048), Adams (1,938), JoDaviess (1,877), and Randolph (1,665).

About 60 percent of the deer killed werebucks. IDNR has issued more than 334,000firearm deer hunting permits so far for the 2012season.

AG CENSUS TO ASK NEW QUES-TIONS — Farmers will encounter new ques-tions on the 2012 agriculture census, accordingto USDA. The census will be mailed in mid-December.

For the first time, farmers will be asked abouttheir Internet use, crops used for renewableenergy, and land use. The information will becollected to help policymakers with programdevelopment and funding decisions, accordingto USDA.

Completed forms are due by Feb. 4. Afterreceiving a form, farmers may fill out the formand mail it back or complete an online versionat {agcensus.usda.gov}. Farmers are guaranteedby law that their information will be kept confi-dential.

FarmWeek Page 2 Monday, December 3, 2012

(ISSN0197-6680)

Vol. 40 No. 48 December 3, 2012

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

FarmWeek is published each week, except theMondays following Thanksgiving and Christmas, by theIllinois Agricultural Association, 1701 Towanda Avenue, P.O.Box 2901, Bloomington, IL 61701. Illinois AgriculturalAssociation assumes no responsibility for statements byadvertisers or for products or services advertised inFarmWeek.

FarmWeek is published by the Illinois AgriculturalAssociation for farm operator members. $3 from the individ-ual membership fee of each of those members go towardthe production of FarmWeek.

Address subscription and advertisingquestions to FarmWeek, P.O. Box 2901,Bloomington, IL 61702-2901. Periodicalspostage paid at Bloomington, Illinois, andat an additional mailing office.

POSTMASTER: Send change of address notices onForm 3579 to FarmWeek, P.O. Box 2901, Bloomington, IL61702-2901. Farm Bureau members should sendchange of addresses to their local county Farm Bureau.

© 2012 Illinois Agricultural Association

STAFFEditorDave McClelland ([email protected])

Legislative Affairs EditorKay Shipman ([email protected])

Agricultural Affairs EditorMartin Ross ([email protected])

Senior Commodities EditorDaniel Grant ([email protected])

Editorial AssistantLinda Goltz ([email protected])

Business Production ManagerBob Standard ([email protected])

Advertising Sales ManagerRichard Verdery ([email protected])

Classified sales coordinatorNan Fannin ([email protected])

Director of News and CommunicationsMichael L. Orso

Advertising Sales RepresentativesHurst and Associates, Inc.P.O. Box 6011, Vernon Hills, IL 600611-800-397-8908 (advertising inquiries only)

Gary White - Northern IllinoisDoug McDaniel - Southern Illinois

Editorial phone number: 309-557-2239Classified advertising: 309-557-3155Display advertising: 1-800-676-2353

Quick TakesGOvERNmENT

Tuesday:• Bryce Anderson, DTN chief agmeteorologist• Michelle Damico, MichelleDamico Communications• Andy Knepp, agronomist withMonsanto

Wednesday: • Jerry Millburg or KentMcFarland, Illinois Department ofAgriculture’s Market News•Stephen Ayers, architect to theCapitol

Thursday:• Reid Blossom, executive directorof the Illinois Beef Association• Bonnie McDonald, president ofLandmarks Illinois

Friday:• Sara Wyant, AgriPulse publish-er• Mike Doherty, senior economistfor Illinois Farm Bureau • Alan Jarand, RFD Radio direc-tor

To find a radio station near youthat carries the RFD RadioNetwork, go to FarmWeeknow.com, click on “Radio,” then clickon “Affiliates.”

Continued from page 1adjustments in river flows can be made at 28 Mississippi locksbut warned the combined lock pools would not provide enoughwater to sustain added depths for any extended period.

Water is being held at Carlyle Lake to provide a “short-termpulse” if needed to move “critical” cargo through the Thebesarea in deep Southern Illinois. But that would provide only a“one-time bump,” one Corps official advised.

Under the Missouri River Master Manual, congressionalapproval is necessary before officials could release added waterfrom the Missouri for “incidental benefits” such as Mississippinavigation, Corps spokesman Monique Farmer argued. Even atthat, Farmer questioned the amount of water “we can safelypush out of the Missouri.”

A group of Midwest senators including Democrat Sen. DickDurbin of Springfield have requested a U.S. Army Corps ofEngineers analysis on the impact of various water release levelson communities and other upstream interests. A report tentativelyis anticipated this week.

Meanwhile, U.S. Coast Guard Upper Mississippi sector com-mander Capt. Byron Black reported no current plans to close theriver to navigation. Black pledged efforts to “safely facilitatecommerce to the maximum extent possible.”

At the same time, he noted the possibility of “very real physicallimitations” to navigation should river levels continue to drop.

In that case, the Coast Guard could be forced to implementmeasures such as limiting barge loads to compensate fordecreased depth or barge tow widths to accommodate reducedchannel width, imposing one-way barge movements, or enlisting“helper boats” to assist tows. — Martin Ross

River

ONE BIG TREE!

The state Senate last weekconfirmedBob Flider ofMt. Zion asstate agricul-ture director.

Flider, aformer staterepresentative,had served asinterim direc-tor since his

Feb. 15 appointment and

March 1 nomination by Gov.Pat Quinn.

Proponents of the nomina-tion stated during Senatedebate they have been pleasedwith Flider’s performance asinterim director.

Illinois Farm Bureau sup-ported Flider’s nomination.

Flider served in the stateHouse from 2003 through2011.

During his tenure, he served

on several House committeesand held leadership positionson electric generation andrenewable energy committees.

In the months following hisappointment, Flider guided hisagency’s response to statebudget cuts and a statewideagricultural drought and itsconsequences.

The Illinois Department ofAgriculture employs about 370people.

State Senate confirms Flider as IDOA director

Bob Flider

John Fink, Pekin, stands in front of a sycamore tree planted by his grandfather, James Hurley, in 1861on the family farmstead near Easton in Mason County. The land was farmed for 60 years by Fink’s fa-ther, Floyd, and now is farmed by Fink’s brother-in-law, Merle Ratliff of Easton. (Photo by Ken Kashian)

DROUGHT

Page 3 Monday, December 3, 2012 FarmWeek

BY KAY SHIPMANFarmWeek

Illinois needs more precipitation before itfully recovers from the drought despite the

heavy rains of September andOctober, the state climatolo-gist said last week.

“The thing that concernsme the most is the subsoil.Sixty-four percent (of Illinoissubsoil) is dry to very dry,”Jim Angel said during theUniversity of Illinois AGMas-ters Conference in Urbana.

“Many of the farm pondsare not back up to normal, and stream flow isstill low,” Angel added.

Hydrologic droughts that affect ponds,rivers, and lakes require more time to recovercompared to agricultural droughts that hingeon soil moisture levels, he explained.

After a wet September and October, the

state experienced a dry November withstatewide rainfall totals that were about half ofaverage amounts through Nov. 25.

Recovery varies among regions. East-Cen-tral and Central Illinois “are close to beingnormal,” Angel said, while Western andNorthwestern Illinois “are struggling.” He not-ed rainfall totals for some areas remain 10 to14 inches below average.

The latest forecast is for above-average pre-cipitation in December for Southern Illinoisand major improvement is expected in thatregion’s drought conditions. Likewise, droughtconditions are expected to improve in North-western and Western Illinois.

“But for the western part of the Corn Belt,it looks pretty grim next spring,” Angel said.

However, Illinois likely won’t repeat thissummer’s drought in 2013.

“It’s extremely rare in Illinois history tohave back-to-back agricultural droughts,”Angel said.

Angel: Drought impact lingering

Jim Angel

Farm leaders stay focused on river woes, profitabilityBY DANIEL GRANTFarmWeek

Strong commodity pricesand an effective safety net(crop insurance) helpedmany farmers survive finan-cially through the 2012drought.

But farm leaders are con-cerned looming transporta-tion issues on the MississippiRiver and the lack of a newfarm bill could threatenfuture profitability.

Paul Taylor, newly electedpresident ofthe IllinoisCorn Grow-ers Associa-tion, and BillWykes, chair-man of theIllinois Soy-bean Associa-tion, dis-cussed their

concerns and prioritiesrecently at the Illinois Com-modity Conference.

“We’ve got an issue (withreduced flow on the Missis-sippi River that is expectedto limit barge movementsbetween St. Louis and Cairoby Dec. 10. See accompany-ing story),” said Taylor, whofarms in DeKalb County.“We’re pretty concerned.”

A reduction in barge ship-ments is expected to have anegative impact on cropprices in some areas andboost the price of inputs(mainly fertilizer) that areshipped on the river.

More than 500 milliontons of cargo is moved onthe Mississippi River eachyear.

“It’s going to have a nega-tive impact on our financialposition,” Taylor said.“Things will cost more.”

U.S. soybean exports,

which have been on a recordpace, also could take a hit ifbarge transportation is limit-ed this winter.

“We’re trying to promotesoybeans in any way, shape,or form we can to increasedemand and profitability,”Wykes said. “That’s a hugeconcern if a key mode oftransportation is taken awayfrom us. Basis levels definite-ly could be affected.”

Farmers in areas north ofSt. Louis, such as Central Illi-

nois and cen-tral Iowa,that dependon rivertransporta-tion for cropshipmentscould seebasis bidsplummet incoming

weeks if the middle Missis-sippi is closed.

However, farmers wholive along the Ohio River andsouth of Cairo, or near majorrail lines, could see a premi-um in local crop prices.

“It could really change theflow of grain,” Dale Durch-holz, AgriVisor senior mar-ket analyst, told FarmWeek.“Some farmers could be win-ners and others losers fromthis. It depends on whereyou live (and the nearby)transportation structure.”

The farm group leadersalso are concerned about thelack of a new farm bill.

“We’re concerned aboutlong-term profitability,” Tay-lor said. “A new farm bill isessential to provide a safetynet and revenue insurance.”

Wykes’ priority is to pushfor a new five-year farm billas opposed to an extensionof the existing bill.

Paul Taylor Bill WykesFarmers, crop advisers, andresearchers continue to analyzethe 2012 drought and its after-math. Some University of Illi-nois agriculture scientistsoffered preliminary lessonsthey learned during thedrought when they spoke atlast week’s AGMasters Confer-ence in Urbana.

“No droughts are createdequal,” cautioned EmersonNafziger, U of I Extensionagronomist.

He warned farmers andcrop advisers not to expectpractices that worked success-fully during the 2012 droughtto work successfully in futuredroughts.

“In most cases, water willbe our (yield) limiting factor,especially in corn,” saidNafziger. He speculated yieldswere hurt more by the watershortages than by the extreme-ly high summer temperatures.

Even with that caveat,Nafziger does not anticipatemajor corn yield boosts from

drought-tolerant hybrids.“Most drought-tolerant

hybrids won’t be marketedhere, and they improve yieldsmodestly,” Nafziger said.Some hybrids always havegrown better than othersunder drought conditions, headded.

“We can’t drought-proofcrops without irrigation, andthat’s not likely to happen on alarge scale in Illinois,”Nafziger concluded.

Spring soil tests will answerquestions about the amount ofnitrogen that remains in thesoil, said Fabian Fernandez, Uof I soil fertility specialist.

The amount of nitrogenthat will be available for nextyear’s crops will depend on theweather.

If spring is dry and cool, “Iam certain there will be a lotof nitrogen left,” Fernandezsaid. However a warm, wetspring potentially could resultin nitrogen losses.

Nafziger noted some “pret-

ty, scary high nitrogen levels”were found as part of a soilmonitoring project. Somewhatunexpectedly, some of thehigher nitrogen levels surfacedin Northern Illinois soils thatare still dry, Nafziger noted.

“It is not unusual to see(nitrogen levels) in the 20s(parts per million) and upperteens,” he continued. “Lessthan 10 (ppm) is the typical(nitrogen) level in the topfoot (of soil).”

“If you were a weed, youhad a good year,” quippedAaron Hager, U of I weedscientist, adding that weedcontrol was a challenge thisyear.

Hager warned farmers andcrop advisers to be aware ofthe potential for herbicidecarryover.

“I’m not convinced we’reout of the woods yet,” Hagersaid. “My concern is it willtake more moisture” toresolve potential carryoverproblems. — Kay Shipman

Lessons offered by 2012 drought

A reduced water flow in the Missis-sippi River could lead to price increasesfor fertilizer this winter and spring.

The U.S. Army Corps of Engineerslate last month reduced the flow froman upper Missouri River reservoir intothe Mississippi River.

The Corps is obligated by law toreduce the Missouri River flow fromthe Gavins Point Dam in South Dakotafrom 17,000 to 12,000 cubic feet persecond as a drought-related conserva-tion measure.

The reduced flow could suspend theCorps’ ability to maintain a navigablechannel for barge traffic on the Missis-sippi from St. Louis to Cairo.

“It’s not a question of whether ornot it will happen,” said Joe Dillier,GROWMARK director of plant food.

“The river levelwill fall in the Mis-sissippi, and itlooks like it willimpact barge traf-fic.”

Disruptions toriver navigationare expected tooccur by Dec. 10.

The onlyunknown at thispoint for rivershippers is howlarge of an impactthe reduced flow will have on bargetraffic.

Shippers can light-load some bargesand still manage to move some prod-ucts during the low flow. The Corps

also plans to removerock formations fromthe shipping channel,which could helpsome barges continueto roll down the river.

“The river is caus-ing a lot of uncer-tainty (in the fertiliz-er industry) rightnow,” Dillier said.“It’s so central to getsupply in — it’s a bigfactor (for prices).”

A worst-case sce-nario for the fertilizer industry wouldbe a closure of the river to at least 90percent of barge traffic from mid-December into February.

If such a scenario occurs, fertilizer

would have to be shipped into the Mid-west via more expensive rail options.Dillier said it could lead to spot short-ages of products and estimated pricescould increase 10 to 15 percent.

“If we have to go to the rail option,it will increase costs,” Dillier said. Inthe meantime, “It would be a goodthing (for farmers) to go ahead andsecure supply by forward contracting.That will put you at the front of theline.”

One barge carries the equivalent of60 trucks or 15 rail cars.

Some spot shortages of dry fertiliz-er already have occurred in the state.Dillier said that was due to a verystrong fall fertilizer application seasonthat thinned out local supplies. —Daniel Grant

Transportation issues could pressure fertilizer prices

‘The river is causing alot of uncertainty (in thefertilizer industry) rightnow. It’s so central toget supply in — it’s abig factor (for prices).’

— Joe DillierGROWMARK director of plant food

government


Climate issues loom; petition seeks to chill EPABY MARTIN ROSSFarmWeek

The U.S. EnvironmentalProtection Agency (EPA) isworking to “take the reinsfrom our elected officials,”according to an analyst withthe Heartland Institute.

Amid post-election con-cerns about potential new cli-mate regulations and EPAcontrol over rural air andwater, the Chicago-basedinstitute has collected 15,000-plus signatures on a petitionseeking to rein in the regula-tors.

Last week, former SenateEnvironment and PublicWorks Committee ChairmanJames Inhofe (R-Okla.)helped present the “citizens’petition,” which asks Con-gress to consider “deep cutsin the size, power, and cost ofthe EPA.”

It charged “an unprece-dented campaign has beenwaged to scare the Americanpeople into believing thattheir health, safety, and evensurvival was at stake because

to stay relevant. “Our elected officials

know better than to try toenact these harsh restrictionsand regulations, to put themin the form of legislation,because the public wouldn’tstand for them. EPA doesn’thave to answer directly to thevoters.”

The institute’s call went outas the United Nations (UN)convened a new round ofglobal climate talks. Past UNtalks yielded pledges by majorcountries to reduce green-house emissions and helppoorer nations adapt to cli-mate change.

New York Mayor MichaelBloomberg urged the WhiteHouse to refocus on climatechange in the wake of Hurri-cane Sandy.

Last week, UN Intergov-

ernmental Panel on ClimateChange Vice President Jean-Pascal van Ypersele asked,“Is it possible climate warm-ing has not influenced thisparticular event?”

In a recent Farm Founda-tion post-election roundtable,National Association ofCounties policy director ErikJohnston warned EPA alsomay revisit efforts to regulatefarm dust, bring new coun-ties under tight air standards,expand pesticide regulation,and reinterpret regulated“waters of the U.S.” (seeaccompanying story).

“EPA is always seeking toexpand its influence particu-larly over waters that were notset up to be regulated underthe Clean Water Act,” Taylorsaid. “It’ll continue to do so— you can bank on that.”

of manmade global warm-ing.”

The petition focused on cli-mate issues “because that’swhere EPA has been placingits primary focus of late,”institute Senior Fellow JamesTaylor told FarmWeek.

President Obama recentlyindicated he would revisitefforts to address climatechange during his second term— earlier White House effortsculminated in failure of car-

bon “cap-and-trade” legisla-tion that would have placednew air quality restrictions ona variety of sectors. EPA sincehas focused on rules aimedlargely at coal-burning powerplants.

“We’re seeing EPA lookingfor something to get its hooksinto to justify its existence,”Taylor said. “Small businessentrepreneurs are feeling thenegative consequences ofEPA trying to expand its reach

USDA premium adjustments shouldreduce 2013 insurance costs for farmersacross the state while establishing a moreaccurate and fiscally sound basis for address-ing crop risks.

The Illinois Corn Growers Association(ICGA) deemed newly announced Risk Man-agement Agency (RMA) crop premium re-ratings “a reasonable step in a farmer-driveneffort to enhance the program to function ina more equitable fashion.”

Under the second phase of a three-yearre-rating process, Illinois growers are expect-ed to see a statewide average 4 percentreduction in 2013 corn policy premiums andan average 9 percent reduction in soybeanpremiums.

Specific reductions will vary county bycounty based on county insurance loss levelsand by coverage level, Illinois Farm Bureaurisk management specialist Doug Yoderstressed.

In phase one of the re-rating process,2012 Illinois corn and soybean premiumsdropped an average 12 percent — nearlytwo-thirds of the state saw corn rate reduc-tions, while five counties incurred premiumincreases, and the premiums in the remainderwere unchanged.

Under the current re-rate, North Dakotagrowers are expected to see an 11 percentaverage corn premium increase and SouthDakota a 15 percent average bump up.

RMA’s rate reform process, aimed at mov-ing insurance loss ratios toward levels intend-ed by Congress, was the result of more thana decade’s work by ICGA and the NationalCorn Growers Association. Jeff Scates, theICGA immediate past president, called RMAefforts “fiscally sound and budget wise.”

USDA Chief Economist Joe Glauber pre-dicts a possible $20 billion in crop loss pay-

ments this year. Payouts had exceeded $6.2billion as of Nov. 26.

Farmers themselves invested $4.1 billion-plus in premiums this year. But althoughCongress proposes to scrap direct paymentsand cut $25 billion to $35 billion in ag fund-ing over the next 10 years, public concernsabout drought-related payouts have put fed-eral premium subsidies at risk.

“We now have proof crop insurance cov-ers farmers during a disaster such as the 2012drought,” Yoder countered. “We also haveproof farmers have paid in more than theirfair share, as rate reductions under new RMAmethodology indicate.

“Basically, you could make the point thatwe’ve been overpaying in Illinois. We havehistorically low loss ratios, indicating wedon’t get our premium dollars back overtime, leading to these rate reductions.”

RMA, which previously calculated countybase rates based on loss experience over a36-year period, is now focusing on a 20-yearperiod, placing greater weight on recentyears. That reflects technology-driven yieldadvances and a reduced annual frequency ofcrop losses, Yoder said.

In addition, the agency is incorporatinglong-term weather data into rate adjustmentsin an effort to project how frequently insur-ers might expect to see a catastrophic losswithin a given region.

Twenty-year data will be compared with116-year trends to determine whether goodor bad weather “events” are over-representedin rate calculations.

RMA nonetheless has delayed full imple-mentation of its re-rate plan to help assurecounties hardest hit by this year’s drought donot see “astronomical” rate increases as aresult of an unusual one-year event, Yodernoted. — Martin Ross

Farm bill key frontin staying EPA’s hand

GROWMARK Governmental Affairs Director ChuckSpencer notes a lengthy list of potential federal regulationsthat have come back on the table with President Obama’s re-election.

Those include U.S. Environmental Protection Agency (EPA)greenhouse gas emission standards, ozone rules, stormwaterregulations, and the scope of jurisdiction over “the waters ofthe U.S.”

EPA also could look at restricting hydraulic fracturing or“fracking” technologies that could be used to tap new under-ground natural gas reserves, Spencer said.

“There are new regulations that have been under considera-tion, and I think the outcome of the election certainly bringsthem back into play, potentially on the same path they were onprior to the election,” he told FarmWeek.

“We need to take a very strong perspective on what we cando to make sure we inject science, our opinions, and our posi-tions into this process we have in front of us.”

For example, the farm bill debate offers a key opportunity tolimit EPA’s scope over pesticide use. Current Senate/House AgCommittee farm bill provisions would prohibit EPA fromrequiring further federal Clean Water Act (CWA) discharge per-mits for pesticide applications.

The measure, based on a 2011 House bill that stalled in theSenate, argues the Federal Insecticide, Fungicide, and Rodenti-cide Act (FIFRA) already covers ag pesticide labeling and useand that CWA requirements thus are repetitive.

Most states interpreted EPA’s initial pesticide permit require-ments to cover aquatic and some forestry applications. Howev-er, Spencer said he sees “nothing to prevent” EPA fromexpanding requirements to terrestrial farm field applications,though FIFRA “has been the law for decades.”

An EPA endangered species push is further complicatingpesticide use in key West Coast watersheds, while the mid-Atlantic states continue to contend with burgeoning nutrientmanagement regulations for the Chesapeake Bay watershed.

“It’s my strong feeling that a Mississippi River Basin initiativeis the next EPA focal point past the Chesapeake Bay,” Spencersaid.

“If that’s the case, shouldn’t we be watching and consid-ering activities the East Coasters are doing in response totheir challenge that we may be able to implement in a com-plementary fashion with the KIC (Keep it for the Crop)nutrient program and other watershed-based programs wehave in the Midwest?

“By gleaning the best applications and opportunities, wecould make any type of regulatory push less painful and moredecision-based, rather than having it just applied to us.” —Martin Ross

Insurance re-rate deemed goodfor Illinois growers, ‘budget wise’

‘Our elected officials know better thanto try to enact these harsh restrictionsand regulations, to put them in theform of legislation, because the publicwouldn’t stand for them. EPA doesn’thave to answer directly to the voters.’

— James TaylorHeartland Institute

pRODuCTION


IRRIGATION DEMAND SKYROCKETS

Cole Bishop, Michael Clifton, Jeff Richardson, and Arissa Bishop,left to right, place the pivot of an irrigation system supplied by Cen-tral Illinois Irrigation in a field near Teheran in Mason County. Thisyear’s historic drought caused sales of irrigation systems to skyrock-et, according to Steve Bitner, owner of Central Illinois Irrigation inHavana. “It will be our biggest irrigation year ever,” said Bitner,who has been in the business 23 years. And the situation is far fromover. The drought expanded by 2 percentage points nationwide lastweek. About two-thirds of the continental U.S. remains in moderateor worse drought. (Photo by Ken Kashian)

Researcher: Past rootworm resistance key to Bt longevity

“It was the earliest start I’veever seen,” Gray said, describ-ing a Cass County cornfieldthat had “lots of western cornrootworm and lots of damage.”

More widespread problemswith Bt-resistant rootwormshave surfaced in a Corn-Belt“crescent” that includes North-western Illinois, northeasternIowa, southern Minnesota,eastern Nebraska, and easternSouth Dakota, according toGray.

“Where we see problems(with rootworm resistance),typically (fields are planted to)... continuous corn and (farm-

ers) used that (Bt) trait consis-tently year after year,” Graysaid.

Siegfried points to the com-mon threads, rather than a sin-gle factor, as the cumulativecause for emerging rootwormresistance to a Bt trait.

“The result that some adult(beetles) emerged from earlyBt fields is proof thoseweren’t high doses,” Siegfriedsaid.

“My guess is not all thoseproblem fields were in an areawhere growers were not incompliance.”

Successful insect-manage-ment technology has involvedhigh doses of the toxic sub-stance (so only rare insectscan survive), refuges of non-transgenic plants, and highfarmer compliance withrefuge requirements, accord-ing to Siegfried.

“I can say with confidencewhen those factors hold, a(Bt) plant can be sustain-able,” Siegfried said.


University of Nebraskaentomologist Blair Siegfriedhas searched for commonthreads in the history of west-ern corn rootworm resistanceto help agriculture extend theeffectiveness of tools such asBt varieties to fight the pest.

He spoke at last week’s Uni-versity of Illinois AGMastersConference in Urbana.

Siegfried noted commonali-ties “keep cropping up” in thefailure of insecticides and croprotation to effectively controlrootworms.

In each situation, farmersuniformly applied a singletechnology over a broad area.“Growers were not given manyoptions,” he added.

“There is ample evidence ifwe chose to manage westerncorn rootworm with a singletactic that is uniformly wide-spread, we shouldn’t expect

anything different,” Siegfriedsaid. “It (resistance develop-ment) has happened at leastfour times.”

The entomologist said hehas high hopes that RNAinterrupter (RNAi) technologywill not repeat agriculture’searlier mistakes and will beable to extend the effective-ness of some current Bt traits.

RNAi, the technology usedin Flavr Savr tomatoes, is acomplex mechanism that givesman the capability of discover-

ing what genes do, heexplained.

In five years, farmers maysee the first commercially avail-able seed with the next genera-tion of rootworm traits involv-ing RNAi, Siegfried speculated.

If 2012 is any precursor,new technology will be wel-come in Illinois. U of I ento-mologist Mike Gray said he hadbeen skeptical about Mayreports of emerging adult cornrootworm beetles — at least afull month earlier than usual.

Illinois farmers need a focused approach andadvanced planning for cover crops, but thatwasn’t what happened this September andOctober.

“Cover crop vendors’ phones rang off thehook” during those months,said Joel Gruver, Western Illi-nois University (WIU) crop sci-entist. Farmers “should not askwhat to plant in September andOctober but ask what to plant(next year) in November andDecember,” he said.

Gruver offered a range ofcover crop information duringthe University of Illinois

AGMasters Conference last week in Urbana.“We need to make sure we have a focused

approach with cover crops — not a haphazard(approach to) cover crops,” he warned farmersand crop advisers.

Gruver recommended farmers plan the loca-tions that are best suited for cover crops anddecide their objectives for planting the crops,such as for use as livestock forage or reducingsoil compaction.

Farmers also need to consider the window oftime needed for planting, confirm seed avail-

ability, ensure readiness of seeding equipmentand available labor “because it (planting) hap-pens at a busy time” — and have contingencyplans ready, Gruver said.

Recently, a new decision tool (for Illinoisfarmers) became available online at{mcccdev.anr.msu.edu}.

A farmer may select any county and specifiedcover crop attributes. The tool offers county-specific information about establishment dates,frost risk, and frost seeding dates for a varietyof cover crops.

During his presentation, Gruver fielded sev-eral questions about seeding methods and tim-ing.

If a farmer contracts for aerial seeding, heshould be sure the company has experiencewith the process, Gruver advised.

Aerial seeding charges vary widely. A 2010WIU study found aerial seeding rates rangedfrom $8 to $15 per acre in Illinois and Iowa.

A farmer who is new to cover crops alsoneeds to carefully consider what to plant andwhat crop will follow, Gruver noted.

“Nobody should start with cereal rye beforea corn crop as an introductory cover crop,” hesaid. “For anyone starting, use cereal rye aheadof soybeans.” — Kay Shipman

Farmers, start planning for next fall’s cover crops

‘There is ample evidence if we chose to man-age western corn rootworm with a single tacticthat is uniformly widespread, we shouldn’texpect anything different.’

— Blair SiegfriedUniversity of Nebraska entomologist

Joel Gruver

Getting involved with Young Leaders,men and women ages 18 to 35, builds skillsand gains young people the experience need-ed to become an industry leader tomorrow.

Young Leader programs provide network-ing opportunities beyond a member’s countyand state with the American Farm BureauFederation Young Farmer & Rancher(YF&R) Achievement Award, Excellence inAgriculture Award, and Discussion Meet.

Three national winners this year will get

their choice of a 2013 Chevrolet Silverado or2013 GMC Sierra, courtesy of GM, and a paidregistration to the 2013 YF&R LeadershipConference in Phoenix, Ariz.

National runners-up will receive a Case IHFarmall tractor, courtesy of Case IH, a $2,500cash prize, and a STIHL Farm Boss, courtesyof STIHL.

For more information on the Young Leaderprogram and how to get involved, contactyour county Farm Bureau.

Young Leaders shape the future

SAfETy


Preventive measure saves Livingston County farmer’s lifeBY DANIEL GRANTFarmWeek

A decision to take advan-tage of a county Farm Bureaucost-share assistance/farmsafety program recentlyturned out to be the differ-ence between life and deathfor a Livingston Countyfarmer.

Doug Raber, 38, whofarms 1,300 acres in Liv-ingston County, recentlywalked away from a nastytractor rollover accident withonly minor injuries.

And he credits his latefather, Don, and the LivingstonCounty Farm Bureau for pro-moting and installing a rollbaron the family’s John Deere3020 tractor, for saving his life.

“I’m very thankful andgrateful my dad had the fore-sight to put it (the rollbar) onand utilize the LivingstonCounty Farm Bureau grantprogram that’s available,”Raber told FarmWeek.

“I remember my dad at thetime said it was a good idea,especially since I’m a youngfarmer and have a family (awife and two children 10 years

of age and younger),” he con-tinued. “The rollbar definitelysaved my life.”

The incident occurred Nov.24, the Saturday after Thanks-giving. Raber was using thetractor to push a brush piletogether on a newly acquiredfarm when the bank of adrainage ditch gave way. Theland shift caused the tractor totwist down an embankment inthe blink of an eye.

“I backed onto a washedout area and before I knew it,I was on my back,” Raber said.“It was on top of me in aflash. I just clutched the steer-ing wheel and held on.”

When the tractor came torest, upside down, the rollbarprovided 6 to 10 inches ofclearance between Raber’s faceand the tractor’s fender.

Rader was able to slide wayfrom the tractor on his ownand seek assistance.

“I wasn’t pinned orcrushed,” he said. “I went tothe hospital to get checkedout. I had a strained back andstiff neck, but no majorinjuries. I was pretty lucky.”

The Livingston County

Farm Bureau since 2002 hasoffered cost share assistance tofarmers to install rollbars onolder tractors. The programalso includes a partnershipwith local dealers who sell thesafety bars at cost.

“That’s what it’s for — thatone time something like thishappens,” Dennis Haab, presi-dent of the Livingston CountyFB, said of the program.

The Livingston Countyrollover protective structures

(ROPS) program won anAmerican Farm Bureau Feder-ation idea exchange award in2003. The program remainsopen to farmers interested inretrofitting older tractors withROPS.

Doug Raber, Gridley, back to camera, and Gary Collins, Flanagan, inspect the John Deere 3020 tractorRaber was operating when he backed onto a washed out area causing the tractor to overturn into a drainageditch. Raber, who walked away from the accident with only minor injuries, credits his late father, Don, and aLivingston County Farm Bureau program, with saving his life. Inset picture shows the rollbar as the tractor istowed away. (Photos by Amy Raber)

Regulators focusing on dairy sector risksBY MARTIN ROSSFarmWeek

Changes in the dairy indus-try have heightened the needfor stringent, comprehensivesafety measures — regardlessof whether Uncle Sam iswatching.

rary, foreign-born laborersworking more shifts andlonger hours.

Roughly nine months ago,OSHA launched a 12-pointsafety program focused onWisconsin’s dairy industry. Thestate’s ag death rate had risen66 percent in 2010, accountingfor 32 of 91 of Wisconsin’soccupational deaths.

OSHA regulates businesseswith 10 or more employees orthose businesses that housemigrant laborers. Ray helpsdairymen identify and dealwith hazards prior to OSHAfarm inspections.

“OSHA had planned ondoing a dozen visits this year,and ended up doing 15,” hetold FarmWeek.

“Some farmers just expectthere to be ‘hazards of thejob.’ But there really don’thave to be. There are costs tothose hazards — an insurancecost; the time needed toreplace a worker or havesomeone fill in while he recov-ers. There is a cost; it doesaffect your bottom line infarming.”

Dairy safety encompassesmanure safety, silo gas dan-gers, animal behavior, electro-cution risks, and risks associat-ed with grain production andfeed handling. Wisconsin’sdairy injuries cover the gamut:Ray noted NFMC has empha-sized tractor rollover protec-tion and retrofitting.

OSHA focuses on tractorand skid steer safety, properuse of power takeoff/trans-mission guards, electrical“lock-out” systems, labeling ofconfined spaces, fall risksrelated to horizontal bunkersilos, long-term noise expo-sure, and labeling of on-sitechemicals.

Chemical reporting require-ments recently changed, Raynoted. Further, many opera-tors are unaware they mustmaintain and post annual on-farm injury records — accord-ing to Ray, the first thing anOSHA inspector’s going toask for.

More outside hiring hasincreased risks related to unfa-miliarity with equipment oroperations and, in some cases,a worker language barrier.NFMC provides OSHA-required training in both Eng-lish and Spanish.

The center’s AgricultureSafety Consulting programincludes a multi-cultural, bilin-gual staff that develops tai-lored programs for Hispanicworkers. Bilingual safety sig-nage is crucial, Ray argued.

“Labels are only as good asthe people who understandthem,” he said. “If a sign for aconfined space just says ‘Don’tenter,’ they might not knowwhat that means. They’re notgoing to know the hazards ofthe chemicals they’re han-dling.”

That’s according to DennisRay, occupational safety spe-cialist and business develop-ment director with the Nation-al Farm Medicine Center(NFMC).

The U.S. OccupationalSafety and Health Administra-

tion (OSHA) has intensifiedscrutiny of the dairy industry.Ray has researched hazardprevention strategies for alabor-intensive, mechanizedsector open to both livestock-and grain-related risks andincreasingly reliant on tempo-

TESTING REACTION TIME

Bob Aherin, University of Illinois safety specialist, uses a reaction timer to demonstrate how fast thingscan happen when around heavy machinery. The timer demonstrates the time it takes a person to moveto avoid serious injury, which often is not possible. Ogle County Extension sponsored the grain han-dling and safety workshop last week at the Farm Bureau office in Oregon. (Photo by Cyndi Cook)

production


Soy growers strive for statewidequantity, quality improvements Many farmers this year were pleasantly surprised to find theirsoybean yields were quite respectable, considering the cropendured the worst drought in nearly a quarter century.

USDA last month pegged the average soybean yield in thestate at 43 bushels per acre, which is down just 4.5 bushelsfrom the previous year.

But members of the Illinois Soybean Association (ISA)believe there still is room for improvement of both the quanti-ty and quality of soy production in the state.

ISA this year held its Yield Challenge for the third consecu-tive growing season. Soybean growers in the competition werechallenged to grow soybeans in side-by-side plots, using inno-vative techniques to boost yields in one plot and traditionalpractices in other plots.

“We had some decent results,” said Ross Prough, an ISAboard member and farmer from Greenfield. “It dependedwhere you were in the state.”

Prough entered two plots in the Yield Challenge and producedyields of 70 and 72 bushels per acre compared to the traditionalplots on his farm that yielded 65 and 69 bushels, respectively.

“I figured it cost an extra $40 to $42 per acre (for the moreintensive management of the beans in the innovative plots),”Prough said. “It (the additional yield) paid for the extra cost.”

Winners of the Yield Challenge in each of the ISA districtswere Ag View North (District 1), Elburn Co-op (District 2),Blandinsville CPS (District 3), Sunrise FS (District 4), EhlerBros. Seed (District 5), Shipman Elevator (District 6), and FHRU-Trough (District 7).

ISA also recognized three farmers — Bob Pierson (District1), Don Rabe (District 1), and Dan Arkels (District 2) — whoachieved 80-plus bushel yields.

“We know it can be done,” Prough said of the increasedyields.

Illinois farmers each year produce about 160 million bushelsof beans. ISA hopes to increase statewide production to 200million bushels, according to Prough.

“We feel there will be increased demand for soybeans downthe road,” he said. “We want to meet that demand.”

But in order to meet world demand for soy, ISA also is striv-ing for improved bean quality. Processors require beans with atleast 35 percent protein and 19 percent oil levels to avoid dis-counts on the world market.

A soybean quality survey conducted by the U.S. SoybeanExport Council found U.S. soy protein levels have been trend-ing down since the 1980s and fell below 35 percent about fiveyears ago. U.S. soy oil levels were below 19 percent for theentire time period in the survey.

“It (improving oil and protein levels) has become a focus atthe association,” Prough said. “We need to get plant breederson board to look at that.”

For more information, visit the ISA website {ilsoy.org). —Daniel Grant

Analyst: Farmers will respond to tight crop suppliesBY DANIEL GRANTFarmWeek

The crop markets shouldgive farmers plenty of incen-tive to boost corn and soybeanplantings next year.

Jody Lawrence, president ofStrategic Trading Advisors, atthe recent Illinois CommodityConference in Bloomingtonpredicted U.S. farmers nextyear could increase corn andsoybean plantings by a com-bined 4 million acres.

Informa Economics this fallprojected U.S. farmers nextspring will plant 97.5 millionacres of corn and 80 millionacres of beans.

If realized, plantings ofeach crop in 2013 would be upfrom this year’s totals of 96.9million acres of corn and 77.2million acres of beans.

“It would be the largest

amount of corn and soybeansever planted,” Lawrence said.“Why? Because the marginsare great.”

The additional corn andsoybean acres likely will comeat the expense of cotton andto a lesser extent wheat plant-ings, according to the analyst.

Lawrence predicted cottonplantings next year willdecrease by 2.3 million acresand wheat plantings could beslightly less than a year ago.

He also projected 2.6 mil-lion acres of recently expiredConservation Reserve Pro-gram contracts will be putback into production next year.

“The future looks like thepast,” Lawrence said. “Thesouthern states are gettingback in the corn business(because cotton does notappear to be as profitable).”

Lawrence projected cornprices will remain bound in themid-$7 range through the endof the year while fluctuations

in the soybean market will bedependent on South Americanweather and Chinese beandemand.

If South America has nor-mal weather, he predicted soy-bean production there willtotal about 4 billion bushels.

“The story there (in SouthAmerica) is neutral to bearish,”Lawrence said. “The area thatwas hot and dry in Brazil has

gotten rain the last threeweeks. However, planting is alittle behind.”

Demand should keep afloor under bean prices,though. China committed to60 percent of its annual beanpurchases in just the first threemonths of the marketing year.

Lawrence, in his new-yearoutlook, predicted commodityprices will remain strong,stocks entering the year willremain tight, input prices willbe stable, crop insurance priceswill act as a floor, and basislevels could heat up to drawout the last of the old-cropcorn and wheat.

Livestock industry provides valuable nutrientsLivestock production is extremely important

to the state’s economy.Illinois’ livestock industry each year gener-

ates about $1.9 billion in direct economic out-put along with about $292 million in state taxes.

The value of livestock also is increasingwithin the ag industry as a byproduct of animalag, manure, is an essential nutrient that can off-set fertilizer costs.

“Livestock produce some valuable renewableresources,” Nic Anderson, business developer forthe Illinois Livestock Development Group, said atthe recent Illinois Commodity Conference.

Anderson estimated manure currently isworth about $100 per acre. Six pigs can fertilizeabout one acre per year, he noted.

The value of manure for nutrient manage-ment plans is increasing as commercial fertilizerprices remain high.

Prices statewide last week averaged $869 perton for anhydrous ammonia (up $4.22), $631per ton for diammonium phosphate (up $1.56),and $599 per ton for potash (up $1), according

to the biweekly Illinois Production Cost Report.Current economics suggest a 2,400-head swine

operation can generate about $15,000 in addition-al income from manure, according to Anderson.

The manure helps fertilize crops which arefed back to the livestock as part of a renewablecycle. Hogs each year in Illinois consume about94 millionbushels ofcorn and 28millionbushels ofsoy meal, saidAnderson.

Anderson,therefore, said he believes Illinois is a primelocation to expand the livestock industry to takeadvantage of the feed availability and croplandfor nutrient use.

“There’s a lot of potential for livestockgrowth in Illinois,” he said, noting Illinois pro-duces just 25 percent of the milk consumed inthe state. — Daniel Grant

‘The future looks like the past. Thesouthern states are getting back in thecorn business (because cotton doesnot appear to be as profitable).’

— Jody LawrencePresident, Strategic Trading Advisors

University of Illinois Extension will offerseveral Livestock Manager Certification work-shops, and producers are encouraged to pre-register to ensure a seat for the session that fitstheir schedule.

Advance registration also is encouraged toallow participants to receive a manual inadvance, which is important for those planningto take a written Illinois Department of Agri-culture (IDOA) test to get their manure man-agement certification.

The state Livestock Management FacilitiesAct (LMFA) requires producers with operationsdesigned for more than 300 animal units tohave manure management certification and torenew that certification every three years.

Producers with more than 300 animal unitsmust attend an approved training session orpass a written IDOA test. Producers with morethan 1,000 animal units must attend anapproved training session and pass a test.

U of I Extension also offers a series of fivequizzes on the Internet. Passing all five quizzeswill meet the state requirement of attending acertified livestock workshop.

The training manual is the national Livestockand Poultry Environmental Stewardship(LPES) Curriculum. Participants do not need anew manual if they have a 2003 or newer one.Workshops that are designated as beef/dairy orswine emphasis will concentrate on those pro-duction facilities.

Workshops that begin at 8:30 a.m. will end at12:30 p.m. with the IDOA exam being adminis-

tered afterward. The 9:30 a.m. workshops willend at 2 p.m., followed by the IDOA exam. Par-ticipants who arrive 20 minutes late cannot becertified as having attended the workshop.

The first workshop will be Dec. 11 at 8:30a.m. in the McLean County Farm Bureau Build-ing, Bloomington.

The January workshops, dates, and locationsare: Jan. 8, 8:30 a.m., (swine emphasis), KnoxCounty Extension office, Galesburg; Jan. 9,8:30 a.m., Adams County Extension office,Quincy; Jan. 22, 9:30 a.m.,(beef/dairy) Effing-ham County Extension office, Effingham; andJan. 23, 9:30 a.m., (beef/dairy) Clinton CountyExtension office, Breese.

The February workshop dates and locationsare: Feb. 26, 9:30 a.m., (beef/dairy) StephensonCounty Farm Bureau office, Freeport; and Feb.27, 8:30 a.m., DeKalb County Farm Bureauoffice, Sycamore.

The final workshop will be at 8:30 a.m.March 7, in the IDOA building, Illinois StateFairgrounds, Springfield.

To register for a workshop or buy a trainingmanual or CD with a credit card, call the Col-lege of Agricultural, Consumer, and Environ-mental Science marketing and distribution divi-sion at 800-345-6087.

Early registration fee is $30 per person and $20for each additional registrant from the same farm.The walk-in registration fee is $45 per person.

For more information, contact Laura Pepple,U of I Extension coordinator, at 217-244-0083or email her at [email protected].

U of I offers certified livetock training

RESEARCH


TM

When it comes to the success of your operation, you can rely on your local FS energy specialists. If your new equipment uses diesel exhaust fluid (DEF), your local FS Co-op and participating FAST STOP® locations have just what you need – convenient supply. From packaged or bulk DEF to even the dispensing equipment, FS has the products and the knowledgeable experts to help you go further.

FS – The people and the products to take you further. Go further with FS.

Scan the QR code to visit us on the web or go towww.GofurtherwithFS.com

Go further.

Looking for a Convenient Supply of DEF?

©2012 GROWMARK, Inc. A13242


A unique University of Illi-nois laboratory acts as the“Consumer Reports” of agventilation products for theUnited States and many for-eign countries.

The BioEnvironmental andStructural Systems (BESS) Labprovides the only third-party,unbiased testing of ventilationsystems used by the livestockand poultry industry aroundthe world. And companiesfrom across the country andthe world come to the Urbanacampus for testing data.

Last week, Steven Ford, aresearch engineer in the U of Iagricultural and biologicalengineering department,worked with a representativeof Monitrol, a Quebec compa-ny, and tested fans for theCanadian market.

Manufacturers test theirfans’ efficiency and airflowperformance at various staticpressures. Ford said test resultscan provide valuable informa-tion for farmers.

“It allows someone buying a

fan to consider, ‘Should I payanother $200 for this fan?’” hesaid. By comparing fan effi-ciencies, a farmer may learn hewould save $100 a year by buy-

ing a more expensive but moreefficient fan, Ford added.

Farmers, especially thosebuilding new facilities, shouldbe aware of the BESS Lab and

the data it has to offer, accord-ing to Ford.

“They need to ask the ques-tions. What kind of efficiency(does the fan have and has it)been tested by a third party?”he said.

In addition to testing agventilation and circulating fans,the BESS lab also offers test-ing of poultry light traps, air-flow-static pressure tests on airinlets, and greenhouse insectscreening.

Before the BESS Labopened in 1989, a consumercould ask if an ag fan was effi-cient, but wasn’t able to con-firm the information received,according to Ford.

“Customers want unbiased,third-party and standardizedtesting procedures,” Ford said.

BESS Lab works with largemanufacturers as well as smallcompanies that lack any test-ing facilities and do everythingfrom product development tofinal testing in the Urbana lab.

Many international ventila-tion companies, especiallythose that sell in U.S. markets,test their products at the BESS

Lab. They include many com-panies from such countries asSpain, Italy, and the Nether-lands and those in SouthAmerica.

Recently, a Colombiancompany has used the BESSLab to test products destinedfor the Colombian market.No fan testing labs are avail-able in that country, accord-ing to Ford.

The lab’s internationalreputation also benefits U.S.companies that use it, Fordnoted. “We have a web page(with testing data) so theyhave an international pres-ence, too,” he added.

U of I lab clears the air on agriculture ventilation

A fan made by Monitrol, a Quebec company, is ready for testing at the University of Illinois’ BioEnvironmentaland Structural Systems (BESS) Lab, Urbana. The research and testing lab offers the only third-party testing ofag ventilation products in the U.S. (Photos by Kay Shipman)

Steven Ford, a research engineer with the University of Illinois depart-ment of agricultural and biological engineering, checks fan test resultsat the U of I’s BioEnvironmental and Structural Systems (BESS) Lab, Ur-bana. The lab posts product test results online at {bess.illinois.edu}.

‘Customers wantunbiased, third-par ty and stan-dardized testingprocedures.’

— Steven FordUniversity of Illinois

ANNUAL MEETING


1st Farm Credit Services is an equal opportunity provider.

1st Farm Credit ServicesY O U R F I R S T C H O I C E ®

®

Want someLand?

more

1st Farm Credit Services can help!

ANNUAL MEETING FEATURE

Illinois broadcaster Orion Samuelson took a stack of his newly pub-lished book in which he wrote about his life to the Illinois Farm Bureauannual meeting in Chicago last week. Samuelson, who has broadcaston Chicago’s WGN-AM for more than 50 years, authored “You Can’t

Dream Big Enough,” a 400-pagehardcover “ … salute to the menand women who put food on ourtables, roofs over our heads, andclothes on our backs.” From hum-ble beginnings on a Wisconsindairy farm, Samuelson, along with

his long-time on-air partner, Max Armstrong, a veteran of the RFD Ra-dio Network in Illinois, are among the most recognized broadcastersin the state and nation. The two also produce the weekly TV show,“This Week in Agribusiness,” which airs over DirecTV, DISH, and ap-proximately 70 TV stations around the country. IFB members who did-n’t attend or missed Samuelson’s book signing at the annual meetingmay purchase the book on the Internet at {bigobook.com}.

FarmWeekNow.com

For the latest information andnews from the Illinois FarmBureau annual meeting, go toFarmWeekNow.com.

IDOA promoting local ag products for Christmas gifts

The Illinois Department of Agriculture (IDOA) wants localag products to top holiday shoppers’ gift lists.

Through Dec. 25, IDOA is repeating its successful Christmaspromotion of local products. Each day, one individual will beselected at random from IDOA’s Facebook and Twitter accountsto receive that day’s featured product.

To be eligible, individuals must “like” IDOA’s Facebook pageor follow the agency on Twitter. Only those at least 21 may wingifts donated by Illinois wineries.

The Illinois Pork Producers Association and Raber Packingof Peoria are donating a pork gift package as one of the prizes.Other prizes include foods, wines, plants, soy candles, and otherIllinois products.

“Illinois is a leading food processing state and offers a wideassortment of delicious items to choose from,” said Ag DirectorBob Flider. “Plus, every purchase helps not only our agricultureindustry but also our state economy.”

Last year’s initial 12-day promotion and contest was so suc-cessful that IDOA expanded the campaign to 25 days this year.

To sign up, visit and “like” IDOA’s Facebook page at {face-book.com/IllinoisDepartmentofAgriculture} or follow IDOAon Twitter at {https://twitter.com/#!/ILAgMarkets}.

NEW

The Mission of the IAA Foundation, Illinois Farm Bureau’s charitable foundation is to fund education, research, and charitable activities that benefit Illinois farm families and agriculture.

Attention Illinois State University Dept.of Agriculture Students: If selected for a scholarship, you may be eligible for an

additional award from the University.

TFf

itadnuo FA A Ieh tf oniossi MehTdnuo felbatirah cs’uaeru BmraF cdn ahcraese rnoitacud ednuf

sionill I,noio ts inoita

elbatirah c

av aer asnoitacilppAseu qro F.senilediug

faa

t

cdn a,hcraese r,noitacud ednufra fsionill Itfiene btah tseitivitca

.erutlucirg adna

elbatirah cseilima fmr

energy


Auction CalendarMon., Eve., Dec. 3. 6 p.m. Logan Co.

Land Auc. Mildred E. Shelton Estate, LIN-COLN, IL. Sanert Auction Service.

Mon., Dec. 3. 9 a.m. Absolute Eq. Auc.Martin Sullivan Inc., HAMILTON, IL.Sullivan Auctioneers, LLC. www.sulli-

vanauctioneers.comMon., Dec. 3. 10 a.m. Grundy Co.

Farmland Auc. Mitchell Farm, MAZON,IL. Richard A. Olson & Assoc. richardaol-

son.comTues., Dec. 4. 1 pm.. Whiteside Co. LandAuc. Charles Hamblock Heirs, ROCK

FALLS, IL. Van Adkisson Auction Service,LLC. vanadkisson.com

Wed., Dec. 5. Online Unreserved Auc.www.bigiron.com

Fri., Dec. 7. 9:30 a.m. Farm machineryand misc. eq. Peabudy’s North Eq.,PECATONICA, IL. Powers AuctionService and Pro-Auctions, LLC.

Fri., Dec. 7. 10 a.m. Retirement Farm Auc.Glenn and Miriam McNeil, WATAGA, IL. VanAdkisson Auction Service, LLC. www.bid-dersandbuyers.com or vanadkisson.comFri., Dec. 7. 7 p.m. Shelby Co. FarmlandAuc. Benjamin Howard Tull Est., SHEL-BYVILLE, IL. Gordon Price AuctionService. www.priceauction.com

Fri., Dec. 7. 10 a.m. Henry Co. Land Auc.WOODHULL, IL. Hertz Real Estate

Services. www.hertz.agSat., Dec. 8. 10 a.m. Retirement Auc.Gary H. and Ladonna Oxford, OMAHA,IL. Jamie Scherrer Auc. Co. www.jami-

escherrerauction.comSat., Dec. 8. 10 a.m. Jefferson Co. LandAuc. BELLE RIVE, IL. BuyAFarm.comSat., Dec. 8. 10 a.m. Investment LandAuction. First National Bank of Ottawa,MORRIS, IL. Richard A. Olson & Assoc.

richardaolson.comMon., Dec. 10. 9:30 a.m. Lg. 3

Generation Farm Close-Out Auc. MLSFarm, Inc., SHELBYVILLE, IL. Cory

Craig, Auctioneer. www.corycraig.comMon., Dec. 10. 10 a.m. DeWitt Co. LandAuc. FARMER CITY, IL. Hertz Real

Estate Services. www.hertz.agTues., Dec. 11. 10 a.m. Farm Eq. Auc.

Sharp Farms Inc., NEWARK, IL.Schrader Real Estate and Auction Co.,

Inc. schraderauction.comTues., Dec. 11. 10 a.m. Douglas Co.Land Auc. TUSCOLA, IL. Hertz RealEstate Services. www.hertz.ag

Wed., Dec. 12. Online Unreserved Auc.www.bigiron.com

Wed., Dec. 12. 6 p.m. Effingham Co.Land Auc. Jolene Gates Trust, EFFING-

HAM, IL. Auctions/Realty BySchackmann, Inc.

www.schackmann.comWed., Dec. 12. 10 a.m. Lg. Retirement Auc.Agri Tech Farms, NEW BOSTON, IL. VanAdkisson Auction Service, LLC. www.bid-dersandbuyers.com or vanadkisson.com

Thurs., Dec. 13. 10 a.m. AbsoluteInventory Auc. Johnson Tractor., JUDA,WI. Powers Auction Service Co., #91.

www.powersauction.comFri., Dec. 14. 10 a.m. Late Model C-IHEq Auc. Barry Brown Est., GALESBURG,IL. Van Adkisson Auction Service, LLC.

www.biddersandbuyers.comSat., Dec. 15. 9:30 a.m. Livingston Co.Land Auc. F. David and Frances DixonEst., ODELL, IL. Immke and Bradleys’

Auc. Service.biddersandbuyers.com/immke

Sat,. Dec. 15. 10 a.m. Stark Co. LandAuc. Nancy Rennick, TOULON, IL. John

Leezer, Broker.www.illinoisfarms4sale.com or

[email protected]., Dec. 15. 10 a.m. Late Model FarmEq. Dugan Farms, MULBERRY GROVE,IL. Aumann Auctions. www.aumannauc-

tions.comMon., Dec. 17. 9 a.m. Farm &

Construction Eq. Con. Auc. TREMONT,IL. Cal Kaufman and Brent Schmidgall,Auctioneers. tremontconsignmentauc-

[email protected]., Dec. 18. 6:30 p.m. Marshall Co.Real Estate Auc. Donald Hatten Estate,WASHBURN, IL. Kaufman Auction

Service. www.calkaufmanauction.com

Stover-to-ethanol answer to excess residue concerns?BY MARTIN ROSSFarmWeek

DuPont has taken the nextstep toward making next-gen-eration ethanol a reality and,according to DuPont Industri-al Biosciences biofuels direc-tor Jan Koninckz, creating abiomass cushion for corngrowers.

DuPont broke ground Fri-day on a 30-million-gallon-a-year cellulosic ethanol plant inNevada, Iowa. The companywill work with 50 to 100 farm-ers within a roughly 40-mileradius of the plant to gathernearly 360,000 dry tons ofcorn stover per year for con-version into fuel.

DuPont plans to collect atleast two tons of stover peracre from participatinggrowers’ fields followingharvest.

Working with farmers,equipment suppliers, contractharvesters, Iowa State Univer-sity researchers, and its owncorn subsidiary Pioneer,DuPont has gained “a goodunderstanding of what’s need-ed, agronomically, for afarmer to do this in a sustain-

that a new technology like theone we are commercializinghas a stable and predictablehome,” Koninckx said.

“These investments we are

going to make and that ourpartners and others like themwill make in the future arelarge. Uncertainty is the enemyof these investments.”

able way,” Koninckx toldFarmWeek.

As a result, stover collec-tion should be “synergisticwith the farmer’s operation,”he said. Stover collection is“more reliable” than the grainharvest and would provide anadded income cushion in yearssuch as 2012, Koninckx said.

“I think this is somethingthat will really change cornagriculture over the comingyears,” he argued. “Before long,we’ll think of two crops beinggrown — the grain and thestover. We foresee a continuedtrend of increasing (corn)yields and, therefore, a contin-ued increase in stover supply.”

That parallel developmentposes concerns about thepotential impact of excessresidues on corn yields,according to a new Pioneer-DuPont analysis.

Partial stover removalwould help accelerate springsoil warming, improve standestablishment and rotationoptions, and reduce nitrogenimmobilization, disease pres-sure, and tillage needs, thestudy concluded.

That’s “without negativelyimpacting the health and pro-ductivity of the soil,” DuPont-Pioneer agronomist AndyHeggenstaller said.

Highly productive, relative-ly flat fields are best suited forstover removal, Heggenstallersuggested.

Koninckx envisions thenew Iowa plant as a full-scale“demonstration” model forfuture DuPont-licensed cellu-losic facilities. He foreseesstover-based production“rolling out very much like thecorn ethanol industry.”

He hailed the U.S. Environ-mental Protection Agency’sdecision to uphold 2013ethanol requirements underthe federal Renewable FuelStandard (RFS2). Koninckxdeemed “stability of policy”crucial in fostering new tech-nologies that emphasize use ofnon-food fuel sources.

Extension of a soon-to-expire, $1.01-per-gallon feder-al cellulosic ethanol tax credit“would add to that stability,”he said.

“In this large and matureenergy market, it is important

Biofuels industry: Restaurant studyignores energy impact on food costsBiofuels interests view a new report by a major chain dining

group as unpalatable and low on facts. A report commissioned by the National Council of Chain

Restaurants (NCCR) concludes corn ethanol mandates underthe federal Renewable Fuels Standard (RFS2) could cost itsmembers as much as $3.2 billion annually.Federal Ethanol Policies and Chain Restaurant Food Costs

suggests fast food restaurants could see cumulative costincreases beyond $2.5 billion as a result of ethanol mandatesrecently upheld by the U.S. Environmental Protection Agency.Full-service restaurants could incur more than $691 million

as a result of RFS2 fuel requirements, the report estimated.NCCR Executive Director Rob Green argued use of corn-

based ethanol under the RFS2 “has dramatically distorted themarket and increased costs throughout the food supply chain.”He maintained the the chain restaurant industry “has witnessedmarked increases in commodity prices and associated costs tothe tune of billions of dollars a year.”Tom Buis, CEO with the biofuels group Growth Energy,

argued the rising cost of energy is “the true culprit behind risingfood prices.” Commodity costs account for only 14 percent ofaverage food price, while the rest can be attributed to energy-driven processing, packaging, wrapping, storage, refrigeration,and transportation costs,” Buis said.“The latest attack on America’s renewable energy policy

blames biofuel for food cost increases while ignoring the 300-pound barrel of imported oil in the room,” argued Brent Erick-son, executive vice president of the Biotechnology IndustryOrganization’s Industrial and Environmental Section.Meanwhile, Renewable Fuels Association President Bob

Dinneen argued food prices are not rising abnormally high.According to USDA and the Department of Labor, annual foodinflation in 2012 and 2013 will be “right in line” with the 20-yearaverage, Dinneen said.In fact, post-RFS2 food inflation rates have, on average, been

lower than they were throughout the 1980s and early 1990s, hestated.A recent International Centre on Trade and Sustainable

Development analysis concluded corn prices wouldn’t havebeen any different in 2009-2010 without RFS2 mandates. Beef,broiler, pork, and egg prices would have been no different from2005-2010 with or without the RFS2, that study concluded.

FB IN ACTION


Beef issues highlight of ‘adopted’ lawmakers’ tourBY CHRISTINA NOURIE

Two “adopted” legislators,state Reps. Rita Mayfield (D-Waukegan) and ThaddeusJones (D-Calumet City)learned more about the state’sbeef industry during a recenttour co-hosted by theMacoupin County FarmBureau and the Illinois BeefAssociation.

The two urban legislatorswere joined on the tour bylocal legislators Rep. WayneRosenthal (R-Litchfield) andSen. Sam McCann (R-Car-linville).

The lawmakers werebriefed on several beef indus-try issues, and they discussedother legislative issues duringa lunch with local farmers.

Cattleman Larry Rhodeshosted the group for a tour onhis family farm near Car-linville. The legislators sawfirst hand how livestock farm-ers care for their animals, pro-tect the environment, and pro-vide a healthy food supply.

Both “adopted” legislatorscommented on the dedicationand hard work needed to run alivestock farm. They said theywere surprised only two peo-ple run the Rhodes farm andwill have new appreciation forbeef farmers the next timethey eat a steak or hamburger.

Christina Nourie is the north-east legislative coordinator for Illi-nois Farm Bureau. Her emailaddress is [email protected].

Macoupin County cattleman Larry Rhodes, left, answers questions from state Reps. Rita Mayfield (D-Waukegan) and Thaddeus Jones (D-Calumet City) during their recent tour of his farm. The Macoupin CountyFarm Bureau and the Illinois Beef Association co-hosted a meeting and farm tour for the two urban legislatorswho participate in Illinois Farm Bureau’s Adopt a Legislator program. (Photo by Christina Nourie)

Farm groups donate porkIllinois commodity organizations last week donated more

than 13,000 pounds of ground pork to the Midwest Food Bankin Bloomington.

The pork, which was donated by the Illinois Pork ProducersAssociation (IPPA), Illinois Corn Marketing Board, and IllinoisSoybean Association (ISA) through the Pork Power: Partneringto Fight Hunger in Illinois campaign, will be distributed to needyfamilies throughout Central Illinois.

“As farmers, we believe it is our responsibility to feed theworld,” said John Hagenbuch, a farmer from Utica and an ISAboard member.

Last week’s donation will provide more than 52,000 servingsof protein. The campaign since 2008 has generated more than1.25 million servings of pork for Illinois families.

“It is important that Illinois families have access to proteinnot just during the holiday season but throughout the year,” saidMike Haag, a pork producer from Emington and past presidentof IPPA.

Specialty crops, agritourism, organic conference slated

The Illinois Specialty Crops, Agritourism, and OrganicConference will be Jan. 9-11 at the Crowne Plaza Hotel inSpringfield.

The conference will feature more than 100 speakers and50 exhibitors. The agenda will offer four concurrent precon-ference workshops, general sessions, and breakout sessions.

On Jan. 9, participants may attend one of four preconfer-ence workshops on cover crops, high tunnels, basics oforchard establishment, and sweet corn.

The Jan. 10 general session will highlight the state’s spe-cialty crops industry and address several issues, includingproduce recalls, severe weather, herbicide drift, food safety,and new pests.

Breakout sessions will be offered Jan. 10-11. Session top-ics include: agritourism, fruits, vegetables, herbs, organicfoods, and emerging issues.

The annual banquet will be Jan. 10 and feature a keynoteaddress by Holly Spangler, farm wife and associate editor atPrairie Farmer magazine.

The 24th annual apple cider and 11th annual hard cidercontest will be held in conjunction with the conference.

To receive registration materials or exhibitor information,contact Diane Handley at 309-557-2107 [email protected].

A detailed conference agenda and cider contest details areonline at {specialtygrowers.org}.

A block of Crowne Plaza Hotel rooms has been reservedfor $89 per night. Call the hotel directly at 217-529-7777 andask for the Illinois Specialty Crops, Agritourism, and Organ-ic Conference room block to reserve rooms at the confer-ence rate.

FB IN ACTION


IAA Foundation offers scholarships to support ag The IAA Foundation will

award 64 scholarships rangingfrom $1,000 to $7,500 peryear for the 2013-2014 schoolyear. Agriculture students andIllinois Farm Bureau membersand their children are eligibleto apply. In all, the scholar-ships offered will total$148,100.

“It is a great privilege tosupport our next generationof leaders and encourage con-tinuing education in agricul-tural fields,” said SusanMoore, IAA Foundationdirector.

Students may apply for avariety of scholarships,including the Illinois FarmBureau Legacy of LeadershipScholarship, which is new thisyear.

One $7,500 Legacy scholar-ship is available for studentswho are beginning their junioryear, attending a four-yearuniversity in Illinois, majoringin a field related to the directsupport of the agricultureindustry, and who illustrateexemplary leadership.

Illinois State University (ISU)and the U of I (one scholar-ship for a student at each uni-versity).

Ten $4,000 scholarshipswill be awarded to studentsmajoring in crop science at anIllinois university. The univer-sity must offer an agriculturalcourse of study with a majorin crop production or cropscience discipline and mustprovide an emphasis on soy-beans.

Twelve additional scholar-ships of $2,000 each are fund-ed by Prairie Farms Dairy as atribute to former PrairieFarms Dairy executivesFletcher Gourley, LeonardSouthwell, and Roger Capps.

The scholarships are forchildren of Prairie FarmsDairy employees and produc-ers who sell milk to PrairieFarms.

A total of 20 Dorothy andWilhelmine Ratermann $1,000scholarships are available toresidents of Southern Illinoiscounties. The scholarshipsmay be applied toward anymajor at any accredited uni-versity, college, or community

college in the nation.All applicants must be high

school seniors accepted forenrollment or students alreadyenrolled at an accredited col-lege, university, or communitycollege.

Scholarships are awardedfor exceptional academic abili-ty, leadership, and financialneed. Previous winners of anIAA Foundation scholarshipare eligible to apply again.

Full eligibility guidelines,applications, and an activitiestemplate are available at theFoundation website {iaafoun-dation.org}.

Students attending IllinoisState University with declaredmajors in the Department ofAgriculture who are selectedfor an IAA Foundation schol-arship may be eligible for anadditional award from the uni-versity.

Completed applicationsmust be postmarked on orbefore Feb. 1, 2013.

For more information, con-tact your county Farm Bureau,the IAA Foundation at 309-557-2230, or email [email protected].

Three $7,500 general schol-arships are available to stu-dents accepted for enrollmentor enrolled at an accreditedcollege, university, or commu-nity college in the State of Illi-nois.

Another two $1,000 schol-arships, and a $1,100 IAAFoundation scholarship areavailable and may be used atany accredited university, col-lege, or community college inthe nation for the study ofagriculture, agribusiness, or anagriculture-related major.

Three Robert Rouse $1,100scholarships are available forstudents who are studyingagriculture or nursing, withpreference given to LakeCounty residents.

The William Kuhfuss$1,000 scholarship is availablefor a student with an agricul-tural background or studyingagriculture at an Illinois post-secondary institution.

The Greg Carney $1,500scholarship is available to aUniversity of Illinois studentwho is actively involved in

production agriculture and acurrent or former 4-H mem-ber. The Dale Butz $1,000scholarship is for a studentinvolved in production agri-culture attending any educa-tional institution.

The Illinois Award $1,000scholarship will be awarded toa graduating high school sen-ior who is majoring in a agri-culture or agriculture-relatedfield.

Priority will be given to stu-dents from Cass, Morgan,Stark, and Henry counties.

The Walter J. and Martha J.Wills $1,200 scholarship willbe awarded to a student atSouthern Illinois Universitywith a major in an agricultureprogram.

Two $1,000 HeartlandNational Agri-MarketingAssociation Steven A. Ham-merschmidt Memorial Schol-arships will be awarded to ajunior- or senior-level collegestudent majoring in agricultureor agribusiness with an inter-est in agriculture marketing,sales, or communications at

Coles County farmers learn about south suburban issuesBY CHRISTINA NOURIE

Several Coles CountyFarm Bureau membersrecently visited their “adopt-ed” legislator, Rep. WillDavis (D-East Hazel Crest),in his south suburban districtwhere they were joined bymembers of the Cook Coun-ty Farm Bureau.

Davis and the Coles Coun-ty Farm Bureau have beenlinked for seven yearsthrough the Adopt a Legisla-tor program.

The group discussed therepresentative’s very diversedistrict. He noted many ofhis district’s main legislativeconcerns were similar tothose of downstate Illinois— better funding for schools,job growth and economicdevelopment, and goodaccess to health care.

Davis also talked aboutthe issue of food deserts.Many populated areas of hisdistrict lack of full-servicegrocery store offering freshfruits, vegetables, and otherfoods needed for a healthydiet.

The group then took adriving tour of the district,stopping at the former site ofa busy shopping center andeconomic hub that eventuallywas closed, abandoned, andtorn down. Davis said he isworking to open new retailstores in the area to helprevitalize the neighborhood.

The group then traveledwest of Davis’ district to tourthe Chicago High School forAgricultural Sciences(CHSAS). The farmers saidthey were impressed that aschool with a focus on agri-culture and ag careers islocated in the city.

The farmers were taken ona student-led tour thatincluded the animal science,ag mechanics, ag finance andhorticulture departments.Approximately 40 percent ofCHSAS graduates major inagriculture-related fields incollege.

After the school tour,Davis took his guests to awell-known local eatery, HogWild, known for its porkchop sandwiches and ribs.

The tour concluded at theThornton Food Pantry inHarvey.

The pantry distributesfood to many economicallydisadvantaged people in thearea.

Davis said he appreciatedthat the Coles and CookCounty farmers spent a dayin his district learning abouturban issues. He said hehopes to attend the IllinoisFarm Bureau annual meetingin December.

Christina Nourie is the north-east legislative coordinator for Illi-nois Farm Bureau. Her emailaddress is [email protected].

EXPLORING AG CAREERS

Jackie Jones, left, Illinois Farm Bureau education manager, explains to Monticello High School agriculturestudents during an acquaintance day event last week how to use soybeans and other materials as teachingtools. During their exploration of local agriculture careers, the students also heard from Dan Maggart, thePiatt County Service Co. general manager. Piatt County Farm Bureau has organized the event for severalyears. (Photo by Karen Jones, GROWMARK Inc.)

A University of Missouri equine veterinarianwarns the negative impacts of the drought havecaused an increase in Missouri horses infectedwith Corynebacterium pseudotuberculosis. It isa bacterial infection that can cause painfulswelling, abscesses, and inflammation in thelegs, chests, and abdominal cavities.

“Under normal conditions, this disease isuncommon in Missouri,” said Philip Johnson, aprofessor of equine medicine and surgery in theCollege of Veterinary Medicine.

Because of extremely dry weather, an abnor-mally large number of cases have popped upthroughout Missouri. The disease is contractedthrough abrasions in the skin, as well as by bitesfrom flies and ticks.

Johnson advised horse owners to watch forswelling in their horses’ chests or swollen abscessesand sores on their legs. Infected horses also may belethargic and have a loss of appetite.

An infection left untreated for too longcould result in horse lameness and even death ifthe infection moves into internal organs.

Johnson also recommended quarantining anyhorses suspected of being infected, because adraining abscesses can spread the disease tohealthy horses.

Treatment typically involves draining anyabscesses close to the surface of the skin and allow-ing them to heal. He recommended antibiotics onlyif the abscesses are deeper under the skin or if theinfection has moved to the internal organs.

Drought linked to infections in Missouri horses

frOm ThE cOunTiEs


BUREAU — The YoungLeader Committee will

sponsor a holiday gatheringand Ugly Sweater party at 6p.m. Thursday, Dec. 13, at theYe Olde Underground Inn,Princeton. Members who are18 to 35 are invited. A contestfor the ugliest sweater will beheld. Call the Farm Bureauoffice at 815-875-6468 byMonday, Dec. 10, for reserva-tions or more information.

• Country Financial willsponsor an education fundingand wills seminar at noonWednesday, Dec. 12, at WiseGuys, Princeton. Lunch willbe served. Rick Morgan,

Country Financial seniorfinancial security consultant,will be the speaker. Call theCountry Financial office at309-945-4800 for reservationsor more information.

CHAMPAIGN — TheDistrict 12 Young

Leaders Committee will spon-sor its annual Illini Farm ToyShow Jan. 4-6 at the HolidayInn and Convention Center,Urbana. Dates and times areFriday, 5 to 9 p.m.; Saturday, 9a.m. to 5 p.m.; and Sunday, 9a.m. to 2 p.m. Cost is $3 foradults, $2 for children ages 6-12; and under 6, free. A liveauction will be at 10:30 a.m.

Saturday. Admission on Sun-day is free with a free-willdonation going to local Ag inthe Classroom programs.

CHRISTIAN — AnAmeren high-voltage

transmission line meeting willbe at 3 p.m. Wednesday, Dec.19, at the Farm Bureau office.Illinois Farm Bureau staffmembers will discuss issuesdealing with a utility company.Call the Farm Bureau office at217-824-2940 for reservationsor more information.

COOK — Vote in thisyear’s Trim the Tree

contest. Entries are availableat {cookcfb.org}. Deadlinefor voting is Dec. 17. Thefirst place winner will receive$250, and second place willreceive $100. Additionalinformation is available on thewebsite {cookcfb.org} or call708-354-3276.

• Spend Friday nights atChicago Steel hockey games.Members will receive a com-plimentary gift with the pur-chase of a $5 ticket. Visit thewebsite for game dates anddetails.

• Members may purchasereduced-price tickets to theChicago Wolves vs. the

Abbotsford Heat game at theAllstate Arena, Rosemont.Contact Art Antram at 847-724-1652 for tickets.

LEE — Members havereceived ballots for

election of the Lee CountyFarm Bureau Board of Direc-tors. A proxy may be formembers unable to attend theannual meeting on Jan. 10.Deadline to return ballots andproxies to the Farm Bureauoffice is Dec. 14.

MADISON — FarmBureau will sponsor

a marketing meeting at 7p.m. Tuesday, Dec. 11, atthe Farm Bureau auditori-um. Guest speakers will beRobert Bellm, Extensioneducator, and Dave Mar-shall, market analyst andcommodity broker. Call theFarm Bureau office at 618-656-5191 by Wednesday forreservations or more infor-mation.

PEORIA — ThePrime Timers will

meet at 10:30 a.m. Wednes-day at the Flanagan House,Peoria, for a guided tour.The Flanagan House is Peo-ria’s oldest house and hasnumerous collectables from

the 1840s era. A hot lunchat the Farm Bureau officewill follow the tour. Cost is$10. Call the Farm Bureauoffice at 309-686-7070 forreservations or more infor-mation.

• Orders for Floridaoranges, grapefruit, tangelos,and Terri Lynn nuts may bepicked up Wednesday, Dec. 12,at the Farm Bureau auditori-um.

VERMILION —Exhibitors may sign up

for the annual Illini Farm ToyShow Jan. 4-6 at the UrbanaHoliday Inn. The event issponsored by the Champaign,Douglas, Edgar, and VermilionCounty Farm Bureau YoungLeaders Committees. A spe-cial event at 10:30 a.m. on Sat-urday will be a farm toy con-signment live auction. CallKurt Wolken at 217-202-2730or email him [email protected] forexhibitor or auction informa-tion.

“From the counties” items are sub-mitted by county Farm Bureau man-agers. If you have an event or activityopen to all members, contact yourcounty Farm Bureau manager.

District 18 Equine Committee member Mike Meisenheimer gave a bitesand bits presentation to a group of young equine enthusiasts during therecent Massac County Youth Fair. (Photo courtesy Massac County FarmBureau)

Youth equine clinic seen as a hitSixty youth and parents attended the recent youth equine clin-

ic at the Massac County Youth Fair. The program rotated participants among five presentations:

happy trails, presented by theU.S. Forest Service; bits andbites, presented by MikeMeisenheimer and Garry

Jenkins; horse first aid, presented by veterinarian Bambi Fox;brushes and combs, presented by Cheryl and Dylan Easley; andtack and saddle cleaning, presented by Sue Perina.

After viewing the presentations, everyone gathered outsidefor a “Horse Sense” activity presented by Sheryl King.

Lunch was provided by the District 18 Equine Committee.After lunch, the youth were quizzed on things they learned at theclinic.

Each participant left with a bucket of goods either bought bythe Equine Committee or donated by Country Financial andMcKinney Western Store.

A similar event is expected to be held in the spring.

DATEBOOK

Dec. 10 Farm Economic Summit, I Hotel and Conference Center,

Champaign. More information at {farmdocdaily.illinois.edu}.Dec. 11

Farm Economic Summit, Illinois Center for Agriculture,Sycamore. More information at {farmdocdaily.illinois.edu}.Dec. 12

Farm Economic Summit, Best Western Prairie Inn,Galesburg. More information at {farmdocdaily.illinois.edu}.Dec. 13

Farm Economic Summit, Holiday Inn, Mt. Vernon. More infor-mation at {farmdocdaily.illinois.edu}.Dec. 14

Farm Economic Summit, Doubletree Hotel, Bloomington.More information at {farmdocdaily.illinois.edu}.

profitability


Export inspections(Million bushels)

Week ending Soybeans Wheat Corn11-22-12 45.5 7.8 15.911-15-12 66.8 11.4 14.4Last year 41.8 16.5 36.1Season total 547.2 446.5 198.6Previous season total 397.1 519.0 362.1USDA projected total 1055 1200 1250Crop marketing year began June 1 for wheat and Sept. 1 for corn and soybeans.

Feeder pig prices reported to USDA*Weight Range Per Head Weighted Ave. Price10 lbs. $32.25-57.71 $44.0540 lbs. n/a n/a

Receipts This Week Last Week 85,296 88,134*Eastern Corn Belt prices picked up at seller’s farm

MARKET FACTS

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

This week Prev. week ChangeCarcass $80.45 $72.74 7.71 Live $59.53 $53.83 5.71

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

Steers 128.11 127.33 0.78 Heifers 127.00 127.59 -0.59

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 Change 146.24 143.03 3.21

CME feeder cattle index — 600-800 Lbs.

Lamb prices

(Thursday’s price)

Slaughter Prices - Negotiated, Live, wooled and shorn 130-145 lbs. for90.50-95.50 $/cwt. (wtd. ave. 93.22)

Illinois farmers’ prices affected by out-of-state corn importsBY SHALENE REEVES

With the U.S. corn harvestover and ending stocks pro-jected to be extremely tight

due to thedroughtaffectingmuch of theMidwest thispast summer,why aren’t weseeing cornprices rise inIllinois, a state

with more than a dozenethanol plants? What startedout as an ideal spring quicklyturned tragic for many in thecentral and southern portionsof the state and that hascaused an unprecedentedchange in traditional grainmovement this fall.

Many areas in Illinois werehit hard with aflatoxin, anunfortunate byproduct of thedrought. Aflatoxin poses aserious headache for ethanolprocessors as it becomes moreconcentrated in their co-prod-ucts.

Historically, most ethanolplants have had an aflatoxintolerance level of 20 parts perbillion on corn coming intotheir facilities. However, themagnitude of aflatoxin in thecentral and southern parts ofIllinois has forced some loca-tions to lower their acceptancelevel.

As harvest progressed,many Illinois processorsbecame inundated with afla-

toxin corn, forcing them todramatically expand their buy-ing territory. While Illinois’corn yield was the lowest it’sbeen in almost 25 years, severalfringe states had significantlylarger crops. A surplus ofcorn in the Delta during har-vest, for example, had marketsthere trading at large dis-counts.

This allowed barges of“quality” corn to be broughtup the Mississippi River earlythis fall into Illinois. Traders

estimate that roughly 80 to 100barges of corn (a barge holdsabout 52,500 bushels of corn)were shipped to Illinois,offloaded, and moved into theprocessor market.

Illinois also has seen cornmove into the state from theNorthwest. Places such asNorth Dakota, whose cornwould traditionally move intothe Pacific Northwest exportmarket, are sending corn southinstead.

Illinois ethanol plants have

taken advantage of the recordcrop this year from that region,coupled with weakness in itstraditional market and the factit does not have quality issuesfrom aflatoxin.

This has allowed ethanolplants to rail corn into theirplants as well as bring trainsinto outlying locations tooffload and truck into theirfacilities.

As we move forward thisyear, ethanol plants in Illinoisare expected to continue to

struggle to source good-qualitycorn. With end-of-year stocksexpected to drop to just 5.8percent of annual demand,local prices for “quality” corneventually should increase.However, as long as the exportmarket remains slow, corn willcontinue to move into the statefrom non-traditional areas.

Shalene Reeves is MID-COCOMMODITIES’ commodityrisk consultant. Her email addressis [email protected].

Shalene Reeves

Economic outlook encouraging for livestock producersBY DANIEL GRANTFarmWeek

Livestock producers whoweathered this drought-strick-en year could see better timesahead.

In fact, livestock econom-ics already have improvedsince late summer when cropprices peaked at $8.49 perbushel for December cornfutures and $540 per ton forsoybean meal futures, causing

feed prices to spiral.“Those (pork producers)

who did not panic (and lock inhigh feed prices, low hogprices, or sell out) are facingmuch smaller losses than wasfeared at the height of the cri-sis,” said Chris Hurt, PurdueUniversity Extension econo-mist.

Futures prices recently wereabout $1 per bushel lower forcorn and $125 per ton lowerfor soy meal compared to theearlier peak prices. Hog pro-duction costs decrease byabout $12 per head for every$1 decrease in corn futuresprices and $100 decrease insoy meal prices, according toHurt.

The changes in feed andhog prices since Septemberreduced anticipated losses inthe hog industry by about $30per head, he said.

“It’s a little better outlook(for hog producers than it waslast summer),” Gary Asay, ahog producer from HenryCounty and a member of theNational Pork ProducersCouncil Board of Directors,told FarmWeek at the recentIllinois Commodity Confer-ence.

“There’s been some cut-back of the sow herd,” hecontinued. “But (crop) yieldswere a little better thanexpected (which could easefeed prices), and hog futures

CONSERVATION LOANS — Funding isavailable for guaranteed conservation loans tohelp farmers implement conservation practiceson their land to protect natural resources,according to Scherrie Giamanco, state executivedirector for the Illinois Farm Service Agency(FSA).

The loans help farmers implement any Nat-ural Resources Conservation Service (NRCS)-approved conservation practice, including wastemanagement systems, conservation structures,or water conservation measures, Giamanco said.

Unlike other FSA guaranteed loan programs,conservation loans are not limited to family-sized farms. Individuals who normally may notqualify for an FSA guaranteed farm operating

or ownership loan may be eligible for a conser-vation loan.

The loan limit is $1.302 million; interest ratesand terms will vary. The maximum guaranteeFSA can issue is 75 percent.

A streamlined application process is avail-able for applicants with a strong financial posi-tion.

Interested applicants who do not have anNRCS-approved conservation plan should workwith local NRCS staff to develop one.

Lenders may reduce risk, increase liquidity,and offer lower rates by selling the guaranteedportion in the secondary market.

For information, contact a lender or thelocal FSA staff.

USDA

Farm ServiceAgency

prices are looking up.” Dereke Dunkirk, a pork

producer from ChristianCounty and president of theIllinois Pork Producers Asso-ciation, noted Illinois’ swineherd as of Septemberincreased 1 percent this yearcompared to last year.

“We’ve not seen the liqui-dation numbers that were pre-dicted,” he said. “Now thatharvest is behind us and priceshave gone through the spike,we (livestock producers)maybe see light at the end ofthe tunnel.”

Jeff Beasley, a cattle pro-ducer from Creal Springsand president of the IllinoisBeef Association, also ismore optimistic heading into2013.

“We’re, no doubt, still look-

ing at high feed prices,” hesaid. “But the corn crop wasnot quite as bad as we thoughtand beans were better, so (thefeed outlook) is not as bad aswe thought it would be.”

Late-season rains alsoregenerated pasture growthand extended the grazing sea-son.

Meanwhile, Beasley looksfor strong to higher cattleprices next year because herdnumbers have been thinned.

“In general, the marketingoutlook looks pretty good,” hesaid. “So many cattle went totown early; it’s going to havean impact.”

The inventory of cattle andcalves on feed in the U.S. lastmonth declined 5 percentfrom the previous year, USDAreported.

‘Those who didnot panic are fac-ing much smallerlosses than wasfeared.’

— Chris HurtPurdue University economist

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 anyprojections, recommendations, or advice orany other act of omission.

CASH STRATEGISTCorn Strategy

ü2012 crop: March cornfutures reached importantresistance last week and wasresoundingly rejected. Youshould have used strength tomake catch-up sales. If not,use a rebound to $7.60 on thatcontract.

ü2013 crop: December2013 not only reached our$6.25 target for making catch-up sales, but also moved tostronger resistance above$6.40. Use a rebound to thatlevel to make catch-up sales.We could add another incre-ment at any time; check theHotline frequently.

vFundamentals: Talk ofpotentially better export busi-ness the latter part of the mar-keting year, along with thesurge in wheat prices, liftedcorn prices to critical pricelevels. Meanwhile, short-termdemand features, especiallyfor exports and processing,remain soft. Transportationdemand to ship soybeans maycontinue to encroach on theability to move corn to exportfacilities, helping keep ourcorn priced at a premium tothe rest of the world, addingto export woes.

Soybean Strategyü2012 crop: The positive

short/intermediate termdemand picture should contin-ue to limit downside risk forsoybean prices. Continue totarget a rally to $14.80 on Janu-ary 2013 futures to make catch-up sales. We could add a sale atthat level; check the Hotline ifprices get close to that level.

ü2013 crop: Use pricesabove $13 on November 2013futures for catch-up sales. Weare considering adding anoth-er increment on strength, butwant to be patient while thepicture continues to develop.Check the Hotline occasionallyfor an update.

vFundamentals: Demandfor soybeans is giving the com-plex the strongest short-termfundamentals of the majorcrops. At a minimum, thatshould remain a positive forcein the cash market, if not thefutures. Mississippi Riverissues are about to escalate,enough to possibly impinge onthe pace of export shipments.

Scattered weather issues per-sist in South America, but notenough to downgrade produc-tion potential yet.

Wheat Strategyü2012 crop: The mid-

November low still looks likeit was a short-term bottom.The trend has turned up again,but it could shift into a choppysideways pattern with priceshaving reached key levels. Usea rally to $8.90 on Marchfutures for catch-up sales.

ü2013 crop: Make catch-up sales when Chicago Julyfutures trade above $8.67.Check the Hotline frequently;

we could add a sale at any time.vFundamentals: The

recent strength in wheat priceshas come from continued con-cern about conditions in theSouthern Plains. The mostrecent condition report indicat-ed only 33 percent of the winterwheat crop, mainly hard red win-ter, was rated good/excellent,the lowest rating it has ever hadprior to dormancy. Currentweather forecasts call for onlylimited precipitation in the west-ern Great Plains the next sevento 10 days. The trade remainshopeful demand will pick up,but wheat from other countriesis still priced at a discount.

Cents per bu.

Page 15 Monday, December 3, 2012

Unlike prior years, this yearthe pace of corn grinding toproduce ethanol has gotten offto a slow start. Part of the issuehas come from a general declinein gasoline demand. The per-sistence of poor profitability inthe corn ethanol productionsector has had an impact, too.

In September, gasolinedemand in the U.S. dropped1.9 percent from last year.That was the weakest it hadbeen this calendar year and thelowest September demandsince 2008, a month in whichhurricanes curbed demand.

High prices may be a partof the mix, with the nationalaverage gasoline price hitting arecord for September. Recentdata indicated gasoline priceswere at their highest level ever

during Thanksgiving, too. From a corn consumption

perspective, the persistence ofpoor profitability in cornethanol production may be themost troublesome.

October was the 10th con-secutive month in which plantslost money processing corn.And it was worse than in thesummer when corn prices werehigher. Corn prices have sinceflattened out, but so haveethanol and gasoline prices.

Unless crude oil and gasolineprices strengthen into winter,neither will ethanol, sustainingpoor profitability. At the sametime, rising imports havebecome a drag on prices anddomestically produced product.

We are grinding at a paceconsistent with the USDA pro-jection, but one that may haveonly limited hope of improve-ment. If our economy contin-ues to struggle, and importscontinue to rise, the pace couldslip, especially if the return overvariable costs erodes further.

Corn ethanol demand weak

perspectives


Economics is not an experimental sci-ence. We can’t say to Congress,“Honorable ladies and gentlemen,

please drastically raise taxes and cut spending allat once so we can measure the effects on theeconomy of changes in the federal govern-

ment’s budget.” This is not what elected offi-

cials do.Except that’s just what is

scheduled to happen come Jan.1, 2013.

What a great experiment!Think how much we’ll learn.Unfortunately, we’d all have tolive inside this experiment. Wewould be the mice in the maze.

It’s the famous fiscal cliff, ofcourse. Come Jan. 1, the Bush-era tax cutsexpire, so everyone’s tax rates will increase. Thetwo-year cut in the Social Security payroll taxwill expire, raising taxes some more.

The Alternative Minimum Tax won’t beadjusted for inflation, so millions of people willsee their taxes rise still more. Automatic spend-ing cuts will kick in, reducing both defense andentitlement spending. Extended unemploymentinsurance will expire; so two million people willlose benefits. And Medicare payment rates todoctors will be cut.

You can get the amazing details from theCongressional Budget Office (CBO) in its annu-al budget and economic projection, at{cbo.gov/publication/43539}.

Add it up; these changes will yank about$500 billion out of the economy. Higher taxesand lower entitlement payments will cut spend-ing by households and businesses. Governmentwill spend less, laying off employees and cancel-ing contracts with businesses.

With spending down, businesses will haveless reason to produce goods and services, sothey’ll cut production and reduce employment.The spending loss amounts to about 3 percentof the economy. Since output has been growingat less than 3 percent per year, the loss of thatspending will turn growth negative. That’s arecession.

The CBO projects a half-point decline ingross domestic product (GDP) by the end of2013, with the unemployment rate climbingback above 9 percent.

But wait! With higher taxes and lower spend-ing, the federal budget deficit will decrease, andwe’ll add less to the national debt. That’s a goodthing, right?

Yes it is. The CBO projects that the highertax rates and lower spending will begin toreduce the national debt as a share of GDP. By2020, the debt will be down to 61 percent ofGDP and falling. Now, it’s 73 percent and rising.

When taxes are less than spending, the feder-al government borrows the difference. Eventu-ally, with too much borrowing, lenders will onlylend at higher interest rates.

Higher rates reduce borrowing by businesses.Investment projects that would have added newequipment and better technology don’t getdone. Economic growth slows down. The Fed-eral Reserve may try to hold interest rates downby increasing the money supply, but that leadsto inflation.

It’s a nasty choice: recession and unemploy-ment now, or high interest rates, inflation, andslower growth later.

There may be a way to avoid this nastiness.Deficits are not causing problems now. We’ve

been running huge deficits since 2008, yetlenders still are falling all over themselves tolend to the federal government.

Interest rates are at record lows. Inflation islow, too, despite trillions in new money createdby the Fed. The problems we expect to see fromall that borrowing are nowhere to be found.

That’s because an economy trying to emergefrom recession is different from one that’s fullyrecovered. We’ve got unused capacity — work-ers without jobs, buildings without tenants, fac-tories closed or producing less than they could.That keeps wages, rents, and prices from rising,so we don’t get inflation.

Banks have money to lend but don’t seeenough low-risk borrowers. Money not lent ismoney unspent, so it doesn’t add to economicgrowth. Federal government borrowing andspending in an economy like this gives busi-nesses a reason to produce and hire. It doesn’tcrowd out private investment.

Deficits now are OK. They help our econo-my. Congress needs to agree to keep taxesdown and maintain spending in 2013. Once theeconomy has recovered, we’ll need to bringdown those deficits to prevent high interestrates and inflation.

Congress needs to agree on a plan to getthat done. Forget the experiment. We aren’tmice in a maze. We aren’t lemmings on a cliff,either.

Larry DeBoer is a professor of agricultural economicsat Purdue University, West Lafayette, Ind. His emailaddress is [email protected].

As we head ever nearer tothe so-called fiscal cliff, willthose in Congress who haveavoided dealing with this issuefor the last 12 months find thespine to act?

The fiscal cliff refers to theautomatic spending cuts andtax increases that Congressand the president imposed onthemselves in order to agreeon increasing the borrowinglimits of the U.S. Treasury.

No one in governmentactually believed it would everreally occur because Congresswould agree to some sort ofcompromise before it was trig-gered. Unfortunately, neitherpolitical party has evenaddressed the issue, let aloneresolved it. Therefore, if noth-ing is done before the end of2012, budget cuts and taxincreases will occur automati-cally.

Many pundits think thatgoing over thefiscal cliff willbe the end ofthe world aswe know it. Itwould lead tomuch lowereconomicgrowth andquite possibleanother reces-

sion.While it certainly would be

uncomfortable initially, it alsocould start some serious con-versations between the twopolitical parties about solvingour long-term budget deficit.Everyone knows somethingmust be done; the math justdoesn’t support the currentpath we’re on. But who will bethe first to admit that taxesmust rise and spending mustfall?

Wall Street loves to prog-nosticate, and an election givesit ample opportunity to do so.Romney said he would replaceBen Bernanke, chairman ofthe Federal Reserve. This ledsome to speculate that the eraof Quantitative Easing wouldend, which would be bad forstocks and bonds.

Wall Street firms hadbacked Obama in 2008, butwere backing Romney in thiselection in an attempt to haltsome of the re-regulation thathas occurred since the GreatRecession of 2008.

Now these Wall Street firmsfear even harsher regulationscould be headed their way inretaliation for their support ofthe challenger..

Obama had come to anagreement with the health careindustry to get his health careinitiative passed in 2010. Rom-ney said he wanted to undo

this legislation. Therefore, pundits assumed

that an Obama victory wouldbe good for health care stocks.Also, an Obama re-electionseemed to assure that the easy-money policies of the Fedunder Bernanke would contin-ue ad infinitum.

On Nov. 7 with the marketsknowing the election winner,the Dow Jones was down 312points. Some said it was causedby the election results. Others,including us, believe there isfinally some news coming outof Europe on its economicand debt problems, and thenews is not good.

The German economy,which has been the lynchpin ofEurope, is slowing more thanpreviously thought. Also, thedebt problems of Greece andthe other profligate spenders,which politicians there hadhoped would be solvedthrough economic growth andnot austerity, are still notresolved.

What’s truly surprising isthat this is the same situationthat has existed for more thantwo years and was supposed tobe addressed when the Euro-peans came back from theirsummer vacations in August.We’ve been waiting sinceLabor Day for something tohappen to resolve the situa-tion.

Instead, we’ve seen some ofthe calmest financial marketsof the past five years, almostas if there was nothing wrong,just no news upon which toreact. Not only has the prover-bial can not been kicked downthe road, absolutely nothinghas been done.

The markets are still wait-ing for Spain to ask for helpfor its insolvent banks and forGreece to finally meet one ofits deficit goals given it by theEuropean Central Bank.

We don’t think much isgoing to change as a result ofthe election outcome.

The Fed will stay accom-modative, interest rates willremain low, stocks will treadwater, regulation will expand,income generation will be dif-ficult to achieve, and investorswill remain starved for yield.

Investors already havemoved into far riskier invest-ments than they have everowned before in an attempt tomaintain yields and returns.

We can only hope thesearch for yield in theseunfamiliar surroundings hasnot led them into a mine-field.

Bruce Finks is vice president ofinvestments for Country Financial.

Lookingover the

fiscal cliff

LARRYDEBOER

BRUCEFINKS

A post-election lookat the fiscal cliff, Europe

FarmWeek December 3 2012

Documents

farm billdebate

illinois farm bureauon

ag disasteraid

ag proposalsfrom

county farm bureaucost

senate ag committees

senate agcommittees

house agcommittees