FarmWeek January 10 2011

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Monday, January 10, 2011 Two sections Volume 39, No. 2

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

THE ILLINOIS AGRICUL-TURAL LEGISLATIVE Round-table discussed concerns about thefederal and the state EnvironmentalProtection Agency. .........................4

SPINNING WIND turbinesincrease the airflow near crops,but researchers are up in the airwhether plant growth and yieldsbenefit. ....................................13

THIS E15 LABEL has beenoffered by Illinois Farm Bureau asan alternative to the Federal TradeCommission’s much more inflam-matory “CAUTION” label. ...........5

TWISTER AFTERMATH

Brothers Steve and Gary Hoke, left to right, stack hay bales they were able to salvage from the re-mains of a century-old, three-story barn in the background. The barn was destroyed by a New Year’sEve day tornado that struck the Hoke’s farm near Petersburg in Menard County. There were about800 bales in the barn at the time of the storm. More photos and a story appear on page 7. (Photoby Ken Kashian).

Suite of state tax increases may be coming from sessionBY KAY SHIPMANFarmWeek

The Illinois House wasexpected to vote Sunday on alaundry list of tax increases, pro-gram reforms, and property taxrelief before the Senate takes upthe package this week in the finaldays of the lame duck session.

Constitutional officers andlegislators will be sworn inWednesday.

Gov. Pat Quinn, SpeakerMichael Madigan, and SenatePresident John Cullerton

reached a tentative agreement ona tax increase package thatwould address state funding

problems over the next 14 years,according to Bart Bittner, IllinoisFarm Bureau associate directorof state legislation.

“We’ve been concerned forsome time with the magnitudeof the state’s fiscal problems andappreciate the fact leadership islooking at solutions,” said IFBPresident Philip Nelson.

“As we monitor the evolvingproposals, we’ll look foraccountability on any new rev-enue generated and no new pro-gram growth until our fiscalissues are adequately addressed.As part of this equation, it iscritical the General Assemblylook at improving the businessclimate in Illinois,” Nelson said.

The proposed tax increaseswould generate an estimated$7.577 billion annually.

As of FarmWeek presstimeFriday, the proposal included afour-year increase in the person-al income tax with a portion of

the revenue designated for thedeficit, another portion forproperty tax relief, and portionto repay a 14-year borrowingplan.

After four years, a portion ofthe tax increase would remainto pay for property tax reliefand the borrowing plan. After14 years, a portion of the tax

increase would remain to con-tinue property tax relief.

A corporate income taxincrease also is being proposed.

The funding packageincludes a 14-year borrowingplan to generate revenue to payoverdue bills and make currentpension payments. A $1 perpack cigarette tax increase is

Congress could bring ceiling down on ag funding BY MARTIN ROSSFarmWeek

At a nearly $1.3 trillion cur-rent national deficit, Congressmust come up with an average$4,300 per American “in order

to get thingsback into bal-ance,” accord-ing to Ameri-can FarmBureau Feder-ation econo-mist BobYoung.

Farmerslikely will beasked to ante

up their share well before law-makers devise a new farm bill,Young warned.

The economist noted theU.S. today spends roughly“every dollar we take in” infederal revenues on defense,Medicare, Medicaid, SocialSecurity, and interest on thenational debt.

Roads and bridges, educa-tion, food stamps, farm pro-grams, and all the other gov-ernment programs demandfunding “over and above allthe money we take in,” he said.

The “deficit commission”proposes to trim $4 trillionfrom projected deficitsthrough 2020. Roughly $670billion of commission-targetedreductions ostensibly wouldcome from net debt interest,while a projected $20 billion in

savings would come from cutsin federal procurement — inYoung’s view, a dubious legisla-tive prospect given lawmakers’allegiance to major defensecontractors and suppliers.

“We’re going to end upneeding to talk about raisingthe national debt level, possi-bly in February or the first halfof March or so,” Young toldFarmWeek. “There’s a lot ofdiscussion about what folks aregoing to demand in order togrant that increase in debt lev-el.

“I think we’re going to talkabout deficit reduction in2011, and I think when we do,we’re going to have farm pro-grams on the table for part of

that conversation.”Illinois Farm Bureau

National Legislative DirectorAdam Nielsen noted nationaldebt is rising by $6 billion aday. He cited concerns fromnew House Speaker JohnBoehner (R-Ohio) and othersthat “the creditworthiness ofthe United States is in jeop-ardy” without an increase inthe debt ceiling.

In its Nov. 15 draft report,the White House-authorizedNational Commission on Fis-cal Responsibility and Reformsuggested trimming annualcommodity/conservationspending $3 billion by 2015.The commission’s final planhewed closer to $1 billion, tar-

geting direct payments. Beyond direct program hits,

Young cited the commission’sfocus on eliminating “ear-marks” — so-called “pork bar-rel” spending requested byindividual lawmakers andblasted by fiscal conservatives.House and Senate Republicansrecently vowed to reject ear-marks in the 112th Congress.

While he agreed many ear-marks are “egregious,” Youngnoted the Food and Ag PolicyResearch Institute (FAPRI),which provides key analysisfor Congress, remains “thelongest-standing ‘earmark’ inthe USDA budget,” funded for

Bob Young

being proposed with that rev-enue going toward new educa-tion funding.

The proposal also includes athree-year moratorium on newprograms and reform of Med-icaid, moves expected to pro-duce $200 million in savingsthis fiscal year and additionalsavings in future years.

FarmWeekNow.com

See Ceiling, page 4

More detai ls of the lameduck General Assembly ses-s i o n a r e a v a i l a b l e a tFarmWeekNow.com.

DAIRY AWAITING DECISION — Illinois AttorneyGeneral Lisa Madigan and her staff have not made a deci-sion regarding a permit for a Jo Daviess County dairy, despitemedia reports to the contrary, according to Robyn Ziegler,spokesman for the attorney general.

In October, the Illinois Environmental Protection Agency(IEPA) referred a matter involving the Tradition South Dairyof Nora to the attorney general; however, the referral “hasnot resulted in any public action,” Ziegler said. She said it wasnot appropriate to comment further on the matter.

IEPA alleges Tradition South Dairy caused or allowed adischarge of silage leachate into a tributary of the South Forkof the Apple River. The dairy is owned by A.J. Bos.

In December, an Illinois appellate court ruled in favor ofthe dairy and upheld a circuit court decision regarding a chal-lenge of the dairy’s permit to operate issued by the IllinoisDepartment of Agriculture.

CHAPTER 11 FILING IN ELEVATOR CASE — ACentral Illinois farmer who faces a lawsuit for his alleged partin an elevator failure has filed for Chapter 11 bankruptcy,according to “The Pantagraph.”

Robert and Julie Printz of Hudson filed for Chapter 11bankruptcy in U.S. Bankruptcy Court in Springfield inDecember, the newspaper reported. The bankruptcy filingestimates the couple owes between $10 million and $50 mil-lion to 85 creditors.

In May, the Illinois Department of Agriculture suspendedthe grain dealer and warehouse licenses of Towanda GrainCo. of McLean County. In June, Denver-based CoBank fileda lawsuit seeking more than $4.6 million from Robert Printz,who allegedly was advanced or borrowed millions from theelevator before it failed.

Evergreen FS bought the elevator’s assets and reopenedthe business last summer.

DDGS INTERESTS MOBILIZED — Voicing plans to“operate as normal in China,” the U.S. Grains Council(USGC) is coordinating an industrywide registration processfor U.S. companies interested in responding to China’s “anti-dumping” charges against U.S. distillers dried grains (DDGs).

China’s Commerce Ministry has launched a probe into theethanol feed co-product. The case, which charges U.S. DDGshave been “dumped” into the Chinese market at prices lowerthan those charged elsewhere, was initiated on Dec. 28. Whilea decision won’t be reached for at least a year, U.S. companieswere given only 20 days to register in the case.

During the investigation, the Chinese government has theauthority to impose higher duties on DDG exports. Today,there is a 5 percent duty on DDGs, but China’s announce-ment raises concerns that duties could climb to at least 50percent.

According to the Illinois Corn Growers Association(ICGA), those who register would be assigned a lower tariffif one were put in place, and those who don’t would facehigher tariffs. “If you are exporting DDGS to China (directlyor indirectly), or if you think you will in the future exportDDGS to China, you should register,” ICGA’s Philip Thorn-ton said.

FarmWeek Page 2 Monday, January 10, 2011

(ISSN0197-6680)

Vol. 39 No. 2 January 10, 2011

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

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© 2011 Illinois Agricultural Association

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Quick TakesSPECIALTY CROPS

Farmers: Think like customers — specialistBY KAY SHIPMANFarmWeek

Farmers need to find themarkets that best fit their farmand products and then tailortheir marketing strategies totheir customers, an Extensiondirect marketing specialist withThe Ohio State Universityadvised specialty growers.

“It’s mostimportant fora grower tofind a fit withthe buyer,”Julie Fox saidduring lastweek’s IllinoisSpecialtyCrops, Agri-tourism, and

Organic Conference in Spring-field. Fox advises growers andworks with farm marketingprograms in Ohio.

She encouraged farmers tofind buyers who have similarviews on local food and wantthe types of products thefarmer raises. She discouragedfarmers from trying to con-vince buyers what’s right orjudge the buyers’ definition of“local food.”

In exploring potential mar-kets, farmers need to considertheir farming operations andproducts from the consumers’viewpoint, according to Fox.

“Think like your customersbecause if you understandwhere they’re coming from …you’ll understand their issues(and concerns),” Fox toldfarmers.

She said farm business signsneed to be colorful to appealto tour groups of children andneed to have large lettering for

groups of senior citizens.Farmers also need to con-

sider everyone involved withtheir marketing strategy, sherecommended. Those individ-uals include family membersand farm employees.

“Are your family and work-ers willing to do what is need-ed to meet the market needs?”Fox asked. “If the people part(of the market strategy) fits,then look at your product,then places (to sell), planning,and processing.”

Fox said she doesn’t expectthe marketing trend or con-sumers’ interest in local foodsto change in the near future.However, she added that thereare several definitions of localfood.

Fox also encouraged farm-ers to market the qualities of

their products and farmingoperations of which they’reproud. For example, a farmermay offer customers on-farmactivities or emphasize farm-ing practices that are sensitiveto environmental concerns.

She also encouraged farm-ers to capitalize on cross-mar-keting opportunities with theircustomers.

An Ohio restaurant pro-moted dishes with farm-grownasparagus and encouraged cus-tomers who liked the meal totext the farmer. The farmergave a discount to any cus-tomers who sent a text andshopped at his farmer marketstand. Farmers are advised tofind markets that fit theiroperations and to tailor mar-keting strategies for their cus-tomers.

Julie Fox

The new year is bringingnew features and expandeduses for a University of IllinoisExtension online marketingprogram that has spread to 16states.

“Technology is the trend we(farmers) have to embrace.That’s where the market oppor-tunities are,” said Dar Knipe, aU of I Extension specialist andone of the originators of Mar-ketMaker.

The program is online at{www.marketmaker.uiuc.edu}.

Knipe and fellow Extensionspecialist John Pike discussednew features and upcomingplans for the 8-year-old market-ing database that received anational USDA award in 2010.

Several improvements havemade the program more con-sumer friendly, Knipe noted.

Consumers and other buyersmay search for farms with retailoperations and other businessoutlets. New mapping toolsalso have expanded users’ abili-

ty to search the site.One new function features

the in-season products in eachparticipating state. When a userclicks on a product, such as Illi-nois peaches, he finds a list ofall participating growers, farm-ers’ markets, or stores that sellIllinois peaches.

A new business spotlight onthe home page continually fea-tures a participating farmer orretailer. Knipe noted an Iowapoultry farmer gained a newretail market after her farm wasfeatured.

One feature that is still beingdeveloped would highlightunique specialty products thatreflect individual states. Knipesaid she would like a user to beable to scan MarketMaker forproducts, such as Ohio buckeyebaskets, and be able to buythem online.

Expanded search featuresnow allow users to seek farmoperations with certain charac-teristics, such as those with

Good Agricultural Practice(GAP) certification.

Knipe and Pike encouragedfarmers who already participatein MarketMaker to check theirprofile information and ensureit is current. By updating theirelectronic profiles, farmers maysign up to receive electronictrade alerts that would send ane-mail whenever a buyer posteda listing for a product or servicethe farmer offers, Pike said.

An agritourism MarketMak-er is being pilot tested inanother state and soon will beoffered in Illinois, Knipeadded.

Knipe and Pike said plansinclude adding informationabout institutional buyers’ andtheir requirements, farm-to-school buying and selling infor-mation, and mobile applica-tions.

“We’re at the point where wewant to kick MarketMaker upto the next level,” Knipe said.— Kay Shipman

U of I Extension improving MarketMaker

Miriam Cooper of Cooper’s Mill Apple Butter and Jelly Factory ofBucyrus, Ohio, helps Pat Curran sample some of the 36 varieties of jel-lies and apple butters at last week’s Illinois Specialty Crops, Agritourism,and Organic Conference in Springfield. Curran owns Honey Hill Or-chards near Waterman in DeKalb County. (Photo by Ken Kashian)

STATE GOVERNMENT

Page 3 Monday, January 10, 2011 FarmWeek

IFB to focus on state funding, environmental issuesHolding the line on state spending remains a top

Illinois Farm Bureau legislative priority for 2011. TheIFB board set the organization’s state legislative prior-ities during its December meeting.

IFB will seek passage of a state budget that pro-vides maintenance funding for within the current taxstructure for core agricultural programs. IFB also willsupport a no-growth program budget given the state’seconomic downturn and budget deficits. IFB has hada similar priority for the last several years.

“The state is going to have to live within its bud-get. This means no new programs unless there’s adesignated funding source,” said Paul Cope, IFBassistant director of state legislation.

Currently, the state’s budget deficit is estimated atabout $13.5 billion, and economic indicators do notsignal a fiscal turn-around any timesoon.

Meanwhile, statetax revenues contin-ue to decline. Law-makers and politicalleaders continue todiscuss possible taxincreases and pro-gram cuts or a com-bination of both toaddress state fund-ing problems.

Under the currenttax and revenue system, the IFB board seeks to main-tenance key Illinois Department of Agriculture(IDOA) programs and keep as whole as much as pos-sible other programs and those funded throughIDOA’s budget that provide direct support to produc-tion agriculture.

Environmental-related issues are at the heart of acouple of priorities.

IFB will seek legislation to reconnect mineralrights that have not been used in 20 years with thesurface land owner.

Bart Bittner, IFB associate director of state legisla-tion, explained the legislation would address issues ofmineral rights that were sold many years earlier butremained dormant. The idea would be to have dor-mant rights revert to the surface owner, he added.

IFB considers any action by the mineral rightsowner, such as development or even filing of a noticeof continued ownership, to mean the rights are beingused and those rights could not revert to the surfaceowner.

Under another proposal, the Illinois Environmen-tal Protection Agency (IEPA) wouldkeep confidential the name of anindividual being investigated for apotential environmental violationuntil the investigation is finished andenforcement proceedings started.

The proposal was sparked by a fishkill over Labor Day weekend in whichIEPA officials attributed a McLeanCounty farm as the likely source ofthe contamination. Later, the agencyannounced it was considering severalother potential causes.

IFB will seek legislation thatwould require IEPA staff to refrain

from making public comments about a case in whichthe investigation was incomplete.

Safety is at the heart of a fourth legislative priority.IFB hopes to pass legislation that would increasefines for misuse of slow-moving-vehicle (SMV)emblems.

Currently, the fine for misuse ofan SMV emblem is $25. IFB propos-es to increase the fine to $75 in thehopes it would discourageimproper uses.

SMV emblems are to beused to identify tractors, farmequipment, animal-drawn vehi-cles, and other slow-movingvehicles, Cope noted.

He said individuals whouse SMV emblems to markentrances to drivewaysand otherentrances cancause safetyproblems.— KayShip-man

The Illinois Agricultural Legislative Roundtable last weektentatively set its state priorities for the agriculture industry.

More than 50 agricultural organizations, universities,agribusinesses, and state and federal government represen-tatives attended a meeting in Bloomington.

The following list of state priorities is preliminary, pend-ing final consensus from all Roundtable members:

• Solve state budget problems.• Make Illinois a business-friendly state, including such

actions as embracing the Vision for Illinois Agriculture’sSmart Agenda goals and extending the research and devel-opment tax credit and the enterprise zone authority.

• Clarify permit requirements related to ConcentratedAnimal Feeding Operation (CAFO) and National PollutionDischarge Elimination System (NPDES) rules.

• Maintain state funding for agriculture education for ele-mentary through adult education levels.

• Support funding for the University of Illinois Exten-sion and the Council on Food and Agricultural Research (C-FAR).

• Seek state legislation to strengthen right-to-farm lawsand oppose legislative efforts that would be detrimental toagriculture by anti-agriculture organizations.

• Support agricultural research in Illinois while maintain-ing fiscal integrity.

• Seek legislative changes to the Illinois Fertilizer Act thatwould privatize the funds collected from the fertilizer indus-try for use on research and education programs.

• Support funding mechanisms for Soil and Water Con-servation Districts. — Kay Shipman

Ag groups set 2011 state legislative priorities

State money woes continue to ripple through ag industryby the four state universitieswith agriculture programsthat reported a long list ofdeferred maintenance pro-

jects, budgetcuts, and staffshortages.

One brightnote was anincrease innon-stateresearchfunding,especially$17.1 million

at the Southern Illinois Uni-versity College of Agricul-tural Sciences and $60 mil-

lion at the University of Illi-nois College of Agricultural,Consumer, and Environmen-tal Sciences (ACES).

ACES Dean RobertHauser, who reported for thefour state ag programs,attributed the influx ofexternal non-tax researchdollars to the fact that “whatwe do is of high interestright now.”

Illinois collegiate agricul-ture programs also are experi-encing enrollment increasesalong with demand for theirgraduates.

Students are reacting to

market signals that good jobsare available in agriculturefields, Hauser said.

However, the ag programscan delay needed facilityrepairs and infrastructureneeds only so long, Hausernoted. “This is serious. We’refacing something we haven’tfaced in a long time.”

IDOA, too, is facinguncertain impacts, especiallythose related to new the fed-eral food safety law, Jenningssaid. IDOA staff is reviewingthe new law to determine ifIDOA would have newresponsibilities.

Jennings expressed con-cerns that IDOA doesn’thave enough employees tostaff homeland securityresponse teams 24 hours aday, seven days a week.

He explained teams ofeight to 10 are needed andthat three people need to beavailable to fill each position,meaning 24 to 30 peoplewould serve on a team.

“We may be looking at ourpartners,” Jennings told theag groups. “We may talk toyou in the near future aboutresponding to potentialproblems.”

BY KAY SHIPMANFarmWeek

Agriculture agencies andeducational institutions are

grapplingwith fundingcuts andshrunkenstaffs in lightof the state’spoor finan-cial condi-tions, agleadersreported to

the Illinois Agricultural Leg-islative Roundtable lastweek.

However, representativesof those entities also notedthe General Assembly goinginto the weekend was dis-cussing tax increases andother budgetary actions, andthe legislature’s action couldchange the fiscal outlook.

The Illinois Departmentof Agriculture (IDOA) hascut staff dramatically andnow employs the smalleststaff in the past 35 years,said Agriculture DirectorTom Jennings.

“We’ve learned to bemore efficient and encour-age our partners to do thesame,” Jennings said.

IDOA’s pain was shared

Tom Jennings Robert Hauser

‘The state is going to haveto live within its budget. Thismeans no new programs un-less there’s a designatedfunding source.’

— Paul CopeIFB assistant director of state legislation

GOVERNMENT


Roundtable seeks congressional reins on EPABY MARTIN ROSSFarmWeek

Jean Payne and her col-leagues on the Illinois Agricul-tural Legislative Roundtablehope a new Congress can“bring some reason back” tofederal regulation, particularlyon the environmental front.

Last week in Bloomington,Roundtable participantsemphasized the need toaddress “oppressive regula-tions” chiefly through legisla-tion that would limit U.S.Environmental ProtectionAgency (EPA) regulations thatexceed congressional autho-rization and oversight.

Members also targetedforthcoming farmer taxrequirements and potentialfederal “hours of service”limits that could hinder sea-sonal ag transportation.

After watching “our friendsin the livestock industry” dealwith concentrated animalfeeding operation (CAFO)and National Pollutant Dis-charge Elimination System(NPDES) regulations, Payne,president of the Illinois Fertil-izer and Chemical Associa-tion, said she was “takenaback” to discover NPDESrules could be applied to pes-ticide applications under EPAdirectives.

The U.S. Clean Water Actwas never intended to address“terrestrial” crop applications,she argued. But Illinois’ draftNPDES permit could seepotentially thousands of Illi-nois pesticide applicators

“performing routine pesticideapplications that could beinferred to be subject to anNPDES permit” (see accom-panying story), she warned.“We have to fix this rule at thefederal level,” Payne insisted.

And the threat doesn’t endthere. EPA is eyeing new dustcontrol rules that could impact

not only feedlots, elevators,and input manufacturers andsuppliers but also ag move-ments on county roads.

States are struggling withdeveloping greenhouse gas(GHG) permits or surrender-ing to federal rules under EPAdirectives that, according toPayne reinforce the agency’sapparent power to “governwithout authorization.”

She is buoyed by indica-tions that “EPA is going to beat the Capitol every week”under new U.S. House leader-ship. Rep. Darrell Issa (R-Calif.) plans a series of hear-ings on EPA as chairman ofthe Oversight and Govern-ment Reform Committee.

Further, Collinsville Repub-lican Rep. John Shimkus, chairof the House Energy andCommerce Energy and JobsSubcommittee, pledgedincreased contact between hispanel and the agency.

“We hear there’s going tobe much more oversight ofEPA,” Payne told FarmWeek.“But it’s more than just askingthem tough questions. Thereneed to be actions taken tomake (EPA) accountable toour elected officials.

“EPA is just a branch ofthe government, not anautonomous branch of thegovernment. We’ve been reallystressing to our legislators,‘They report to you.’ Theycan’t regulate these activitiesunless Congress has given(EPA) the authority and thefunding to do so.”

To some extent, lawmakerscan rein in agencies by reiningin funding via annual congres-sional appropriations. Howev-er, Payne stressed U.S. EPAcan impose essentially unfund-ed regulatory mandates onstates, which face the threat ofenvironmentalist lawsuits ifthey do not or cannot comply.

Both new NPDES rulesand EPA-proposed green-house enforcement measureswere directed by the federalcourts. “You can take (EPA’s)funding away, but if you letthe rules lay out there, some-one will eventually pick themup and try to enforce themthrough the judicial branch,”Payne said.

Scott to Roundtable: Illinois under environmental gunBY KAY SHIPMANFarmWeek

Illinois is under pressure to deal with excess nitrogen andphosphorous in streams, rivers, and lakes or face an undesirablealternative, the head of the Illinois Environmental ProtectionAgency (IEPA) warned Illinois Agricultural Legislative Round-table members last week in Bloomington.

The U.S. Environmental Protection Agencyhas “put states on nutrient diets and forcedstates to take quick action ... We don’t want todo that,” IEPA head Doug Scott said in hisfirst appearance before the Roundtable.

Scott’s warning was sobering news for farmand ag groups that are seeking changes toIEPA’s proposed general state permit for pes-ticide applications.

Scott was asked why IEPA’s generalNational Pollution Discharge Elimination

System (NPDES) permit covered more pesticide uses than aproposed national NPDES permit. “Illinois has different situa-tions and may have to do more than other states because ofthat situation,” Scott told FarmWeek.

After last fall’s nutrient summit and additional meetings,IEPA is “reinvigorating stakeholders’ efforts to establish (waternutrient) standards,” and had a meeting last week to discussphosphorous standards, Scott noted.

“USEPA and environmental groups will not stand for a do-nothing approach or (for states) to study issues for a decade,”Scott said. He pointed to USEPA’s controversial actions in theChesapeake Bay area as the federal agency’s model.

Many Roundtable members outlined their concerns aboutthe proposed state NPDES permit in a letter sent to severalIEPA officials, including Scott and Marcia Willhite, chief ofIEPA’s water pollution control bureau. The groups’ main con-tention is that agricultural pesticide use does not fall under thescope of an NPDES permit.

In addition, IEPA’s proposed NPDES permit “is too broad,and compliance will be costly and time consuming” for agricul-tural operators, the Roundtable members wrote.

Roundtable members also sent a letter raising concernsabout USEPA’s actions to Illinois members of Congress.

Doug Scott

‘There need to beactions taken tomake (EPA) ac-countable to ourelected officials.’

— Jean PayneIllinois Fertilizer and

Chemical Association

AFBF offers first shot at defining prioritiesWith a new “dynamic” in

Washington, this week’sAmerican Farm Bureau Fed-eration (AFBF) delegatedebate will provide a crucialfirst stab at nationwide policypriorities before lawmakersdive into the 2012 farm bill.

Illinois Farm Bureau dele-gates will prioritize “direct

At last week’s Illinois Agri-cultural Legislative Round-table, he recognized “we’renot going to get everything”desired, given regional/cross-commodity differences espe-cially over average crop rev-enue election (ACRE) andsupplemental revenue(SURE) standing disasterassistance programs.

IFB President Philip Nel-son nonetheless stressed theneed to emphasize a “riskmanagement philosophy” inAtlanta.

IFB is wary of what Nel-son termed a “rhetorical”AFBF policy proposal ques-tioning ACRE’s continued“value” as a safety net andproposed dairy policy sup-porting “temporary” supplymanagement measuresopposed by Illinois delegates.

IFB seeks increased cover-age levels for ACRE, whichhas fared far better for Mid-west producers than for

growers in the South.Moving to a county ACRE

trigger — a major goal forsome ACRE reform advo-cates — would require signif-icantly increased annual pro-gram spending, Nelson said.

Ensuring a strong safetynet with limited dollars willrequire a unified ag front and,according to Illinois Agri-Women leader and Round-table participant Penny Lau-ritzen, lawmaker education.

Roundtable participantsstressed the need to maintainthe current ag budget base-line, protect crop insurance,and support adequate conser-vation funding in the nextfarm bill.

“We have a lot of incom-ing freshman who aren’tfamiliar with the history ofthe farm bill or agriculture,”Lauritzen told ag groups. “It’sgoing to be up to us to hope-fully enlighten them.” —Martin Ross

payments, obviously,” as wellas efforts to bolster the farmbill safety net through cropinsurance or other means,said IFB Farm Policy TaskForce Chairman DarrylBrinkmann, a delegate inTuesday’s policy discussionsin Atlanta, Ga.

When the task force was

formed, House Ag Commit-tee Chairman Collin Peterson(D-Minn.) intended to launchserious farm bill review thisyear. However, with a shift inHouse control and an influxof new members largely“elected on deficit control,”Brinkmann noted “the wholedynamic has changed.”

CeilingContinued from page 1

nearly 25 years through an annual line itemappropriation.

Eliminating all earmarks would save whatYoung sarcastically termed a “whopping”$16 billion per year, or only $53 of the$4,300 per capita he believes is needed toresolve deficit woes.

With “earmarks” under attacks, specificagency requests will be especially importantto preserving non-mandatory ag programsand initiatives, Nielsen suggested.

Ag/farm bill spending constitutes about2 percent of the federal budget, and com-modity spending roughly a tenth the cost ofpopular nutrition programs.

Direct payments account for 85 percentof farm program outlays. According toYoung, that leaves “only one pot” for law-makers eyeing commodity cuts.

Public perception won’t help: He noted“agriculture’s doing pretty well” relative tothe rest of the economy, posting some ofthe best debt-to-asset ratios in recent times.Farmers overall “have been prudent, verygood managers over the course of the last10-15 years,” Young said.

“Keep doing that,” Young advised. “ButI also will tell you that the folks in Con-gress know these numbers. They knowyou’ve been sitting on record net farmincome.”

GOVERNMENT


Case against E15 on rocky legal ground?BY MARTIN ROSSFarmWeek

A trio of petroleum industrygroups is asking a federal court torepeal U.S. Environmental ProtectionAgency’s (EPA) approval for “E15,” inwhat ag and biofuels interests see asan ultimately futile and costly effort.

This fall, EPA approved 15 percentethanol blends for 2007 model yearand newer vehicles.

But the National Petrochemicalsand Refiners Association is spearhead-ing a lawsuit challenging EPA authorityto enact federal Clean Air Act rules forsome vehicles and not others, arguingowners of pre-2007 vehicles couldunknowingly “misfuel” with E15.

Tom Buis, president of the biofuelsgroup Growth Energy, maintained“concerns about misfueling are prema-ture, as EPA is drafting a robust (E15)labeling rule and will conduct a vigorouspublic education campaign.” RenewableFuels Association spokesman MattHartwig suggested E15 lawsuits “onlyserve to delay the inevitable.”

“I think it will only serve to costthe taxpayers more money and causemore headaches for U.S. EPA, but Idon’t think there’s a case here,” IllinoisCorn Growers Association businessdevelopment director Dave Loos toldFarmWeek.

“I’m not overly concerned, exceptwhat this could mean in terms ofdelays.”

An EPA comment period on E15labeling ended early last week, andfinal labeling rules are expected within

60 days. Meanwhile, the U.S. Depart-ment of Energy has submitted testresults for 2001-2007 vehicles, andEPA soon is expected to announcewhether it will expand allowable E15use.

Growth Energy spokesmanStephanie Dreyer was unable to dis-cuss specifics of the E15 lawsuit, butshe reported the organization’s legalspecialists are examining “whetherthere are even grounds for a lawsuit.”In approving voluntary E15 sales, EPA“is not forcing anyone to use any-thing,” she said.

Buis stressed “this is not the firstfuel change in history,” recalling theU.S. phase-out of leaded gasoline. Thephasedown started in 1973, but EPAdid not totally ban on-road use ofleaded gas until 1996 — “People want-ed lead in their gasoline, because theythought they would lose octane if theydidn’t have it,” Loos said.

Further, EPA Office of Transporta-tion and Air Quality Director MargoOge cites EPA’s success in integratingmandated ultra-low sulfur diesel(ULSD) into the fuel mix and educat-ing diesel users. In June 2006, EPArequired ULSD as 80 percent of annu-al U.S. refiner output, and fuel sellerswere required to label fuel type andsulfur content.

Green Plains Renewable EnergyCEO Todd Becker noted proliferationnationwide of “blender pumps” offer-ing flex-fuel vehicle owners a range ofgasoline blends from E10 to E85 —including blends prohibited for stan-

dard cars and trucks. Becker arguedvehicle-appropriate fueling “comesdown to proper labeling that’s happen-ing already today.”

“The consumer can read correctlythe labeling that’s on the fuel pumpstoday,” the biofuels manufacturermaintained.

Language, color, and emphasis are viewed as key factors in determining whether the U.S.Environmental Protection Agency’s new pump label for 15 percent ethanol (E15) gasolineblends serves as a consumer advisory that supports E15’s integration into the market or awarning that could discourage E15 use. The word “Caution!,” with the orange back-ground, and a warning that improper E15 use could cause vehicle damage on the top leftlabel, which was designed by the Federal Trade Commission (FTC) for EPA, worry ag andbiofuels groups. Illinois Farm Bureau’s proposed example, top right, alerts consumerswhile playing up product identification and eschewing vehicle damage concerns, all on amore subdued blue background. The label offered by the national Renewable Fuels Asso-ciation (bottom left) and industry ethanol group Growth Energy (bottom right) furtherdownplay key advisory elements.

Schock lands trade,tax oversight roles

Illinois continued to rack up potentially influential U.S.House appointments last week as Rep.Aaron Schock, a Peoria Republican, receivedan unusual trio of House Ways and Meanssubcommittee assignments.

Most committee members serve on twosubcommittees, but Schock was appointedto serve on trade, oversight, and Social Secu-rity panels. The trade subcommittee overseesmultilateral and bilateral trade negotiationsand trade barrier issues.

Current congressional trade measuresinclude pending free trade agreementswith South Korea, Colombia, and Pana-

ma. The oversight subcommittee has jurisdiction overInternal Revenue Code and related issues. That sub-committee is expected to review portions of PresidentObama’s health care law — a target for many HouseRepublicans.

As previously reported, Illinois also snagged twonew seats on the House Ag Committee. FreshmanRepublican House members Bobby Schilling ofColona and Randy Hultgren of Winfield have beennamed to the committee.

The committee’s third Illinois member, UrbanaRepublican Tim Johnson, is chair of the subcommitteeaddressing rural development, research, and otherissues.

Collinsville Republican John Shimkus chairs the HouseEnergy and Commerce Environment and Jobs Subcommit-tee, a panel with U.S. Environmental Protection Agencyoversight.

Rep. AaronSchock

New tax law extends bonus depreciationIn mid-December, Presi-

dent Obama signed legislationthat would extend and expandthe depreciation bonusthrough 2012.

The recently passed TaxRelief, Unemployment Insur-ance Reauthorization and JobCreation Act provides 100 per-cent depreciation bonus forcapital investments that wereplaced in service after Sept. 8,2010, through Dec. 31, 2011.

Depreciation bonus helpsbusinesses cut their tax billwhen they buy new equipment.It applies to purchases of tan-gible personal property(including construction, min-ing, forestry, and ag equip-ment) with a Modified Accel-erated Cost Recovery Systemrecovery period of 20 years orless.

For equipment placed inservice from Dec. 31, 2011, to

Dec. 31, 2012, the bill providesa 50 percent depreciationbonus. The earlier Small Busi-ness Jobs Act of 2010, whichincluded a 50 percent deprecia-tion bonus, still applies to pur-chases made between Jan. 1,2010, and Sept. 7, 2010.

Bonus depreciation appliesto new equipment only, but isallowable for both regular andalternative minimum tax pur-poses.

Clarification1st Farm Credit Services

(FCS) amended projectedyear-end earnings for 2010,which were discussed in lastweek’s FarmWeek. Incomethrough Nov. 30 was roughly$68 million, and could benearly $80 million by Dec. 31.However, that figure has notbeen audited or officiallyreleased, and is merely a pro-jection.

NCBA seeks assistance for producersThe National Cattlemen’s

Beef Association (NCBA) isseeking assistance for produc-ers who were affected by thebankruptcy of Eastern Live-stock Co. of New Albany,Ind.

The Eastern Livestock Co.in November bought and soldcattle in 11 states, includingIllinois, and issued unfundedchecks to cattle producersand livestock market opera-tors.

Overall, Eastern owes morethan $130 million to 743 sell-ers in 30 states, according toUSDA’s Grain Inspection,Packers, and StockyardsAdministration.

NCBA in response last

month sent letters to USDAand the U.S. Small BusinessAdministration seekingfinancial assistance for pro-ducers affected by the bank-ruptcy.

“Hundreds of cattle pro-ducers and marketers, throughno fault of their own, havebeen financially harmed byEastern’s bankruptcy,” saidSteve Foglesong, NCBA presi-dent and a producer fromAstoria.

“We know Eastern may owemore than $130 million to pro-ducers, and without someshort-term financial assistance,many operations may beforced to shut down or sell offassets to cover costs.”

NCBA requested USDAprovide emergency access toshort-term, low-interest loansor government-backed loanprograms.

MARKETS


Volatility expected to persist in commodity markets

Rains finally come for Brazil’s bean cropBY PHIL CORZINE

I’m writing to you from Illinois, but if I werein Brazil, I would be dodging raindrops. Rainsfinally have arrived in earnest at all three of ourfarms.

In southern Goias, our 2,200 acres of soy-beans are getting almost toomuch rain, and we are having atough time keeping up with ourapplications of herbicides andfungicides.

Surprisingly, given the hotand soggy conditions, wehaven’t had a significant out-break of rust here yet (knockon wood), and the crop is ad-

vancing rapidly toward what could be a goodfinish.

The first-planted beans, which have a matu-rity of about 110 days, should be ready for har-vest by the last week of February.

The 1,300 acres of soybeans at our secondrental farm, located in central Tocantins, is get-ting enough rainfall now, but we did sufferthrough some dry periods during planting.

The dry soils slowed germination and infect-ed some of the seedlings with a fungus, andnow we are fighting a fungal disease (not rust)on a portion of the area.

We are hopeful that the already-planned ap-

plications of fungicide plus the top-dress ofpotassium will diminish the disease’s effects onour plants.

At our farms near Araguacu, the rains wereeven spottier. We went 14 days without rainduring planting.

Planting took place over a six-week period,so we have fields starting to flower while wewait on others to germinate.

Now the rains are coming — we’ve had nineconsecutive days of rain totaling 8 inches.

A Jan. 6 report from Conab, the AgricultureMinistry’s crop-forecastingagency, estimat-ed Brazil’s plant-ed area up by2.6 percent butheld productionclose to lastyear’s 68.7 mil-lion metric tons(2.52 billion bushels) due to lower yields.

However, the rains apparently are spotty inMato Grosso, Brazil’s No. 1 production state, sothe jury’s still out on Brazil.

Phil Corzine is general manager of South AmericanSoy, a global production management and investmentcompany. His e-mail address is [email protected].

BY DANIEL GRANTFarmWeek

Price volatility in the com-modity markets is expected topersist much of this year aseverything from tight cropsupplies to fund action are dri-ving daily market swings.

Corn futures recentlyreached a 29-month highabove $6 per bushel, wheatfutures hit a 28-month highabove $8, and soybean futuresrecently reached a 27-monthhigh near $14.

“Outside forces the last sixmonths have really pushed andpulled the markets,” said PeteManhart, analyst and owner ofBates Commodities in Nor-mal.

He spoke last week at afarm profitability workshop inChampaign hosted by Soyate-ch and sponsored by the Illi-

nois Corn Growers and Soy-bean Associations.

“Overall, we’re bullish”about future price prospects,he continued. “We don’t thinkthere are enough acres to pro-duce enough crops to meetdemand.”

USDA on Wednesday willrelease its final crop produc-tion estimates for 2010 alongwith its winter wheat yieldestimate.

Manhart believes USDAwill trim its final corn yieldestimate, which currentlystands at 154.3 bushels peracre nationwide, and possiblyincrease the final bean yield,which currently is 43.9 bushelsper acre.

He also predicted USDAwill trim corn usage, becauseof lower feed demand, possi-bly raise soybean usage,

because of strong exports, andraise wheat acres compared tolast year.

The bull-run in the cropmarkets started last summerwhen drought cut into cropproduction in Russia and theUkraine and more recently wasfueled by drought concerns inArgentina along with floodingin parts of Australia.

“Any hiccups in any grow-ing regions will impact pricesbecause we are so tight on

supply,” Manhart said.U.S. corn ending stocks

(832 million bushels) as of lastmonth were down to the low-est level since 1995/96 andcarryout vs. usage was just 6percent.

Meanwhile, carryout vs.usage for soybeans last monthwas even tighter at just 5 per-cent as soy stocks totaled 165million bushels.

Crop prices last week actu-ally softened, though, as hedge

fund managers rearrangedtheir portfolios.

Looking ahead, Manhartbelieves the commodity mar-kets will continue to bepushed and pulled by fundactivity, the value of the dollar,and the direction of the econ-omy — along with the usualfundamentals.

“What can a farmer do? Settraps and sell on highs or pro-tect what he hasn’t sold,”Manhart added.

GROWMARK acquires four fertilizer terminals

Bloomington-basedGROWMARK Inc. last weekannounced it acquired fourfertilizer terminals, includingthree in Illinois.

GROWMARK and GeorgeLamb last week entered intoan agreement wherebyGROWMARK will acquireLamb’s Seneca Terminal inSeneca.

The acquisition includes45,000 tons of dry fertilizerstorage, dock, and acreage.GROWMARK plans to addliquid nitrogen storage at thesite.

“This acquisition is a strate-gic location for our membercooperatives and other cus-tomers,” said Rod Wells,GROWMARK director ofagronomy sales and opera-tions.

GROWMARK last weekalso agreed to acquire fertilizer

terminals in Illinois at Albanyand Mapleton along with onein St. Louis, all currentlyowned by CF Industries.

“This opportunity improvesour supply and service capabil-ities, while bringing increasedefficiency to our plant foodoperations,” said Jim Spradlin,GROWMARK vice presidentof agronomy.

Overall, the acquisitionsfrom CF Industries representabout 226,000 tons of dry andliquid plant food storage.

The size and scope of thefacilities will enhance GROW-MARK’s capability to makelarge-scale purchases of do-mestic and offshore fertilizerproduction.

“We will remain proactivein pursuing acquisitions andjoint ventures that support ourgrowth and service goals,”Wells added.

WEATHER


Active month: Heavy snow, tornado hit state in DecemberBY DANIEL GRANTFarmWeek

Most Illinoisans likely wel-comed the relatively unevent-ful weather last week.

A return to more season-able temperatures and littleprecipitation the first week ofJanuary followed a viciousmonth of December in Illinoisthat was the 12th coldest onrecord, featured between oneand 2.5 feet of snow at somelocations, and produced thun-derstorm activity the last dayof the month that spawned anF-3 tornado.

The twister, which report-edly was 200 yards wide andtraveled a 3.5-mile paththrough Menard County,packed winds speeds as highas 136 mph.

It was part of the same sys-tem, fueled by unseasonablywarm air from the Gulf ofMexico, that produced torna-does in the south and Midwestthat killed six people inArkansas and Missouri.

No deaths were reported inthe Lake Petersburg area, theepicenter of the twister’s dam-age in Menard County, but 22homes were rendered unin-habitable and a total of at least40 homes were damaged,according to report in the

Springfield State JournalRegister.

Brothers Steve and GaryHoke, who farm just south ofPetersburg, lost a century-old,three-story barn and a 100-by-50-foot machine shed in thetornado. It also caused exten-sive damage to four tractorsand other machinery andimplements, a corn crib, and agrain bin on the Hokes’ farm.

“I was in Petersburg eating

dinner at a New Year’s Evefish fry when the storm sirensounded,” said Steve Hoke,who looked outside but couldnot see the twister that hit hisfarm. “Then I got a call thatthere had been damage. It’snot exactly the way I intendedto start the new year.”

The Hokes as of last weeksalvaged some of the 800 haybales of hay that were intheir now-ruined barn, sometools, and some of theirequipment. But they stillwere waiting on repair esti-mates for their tractors.

“We’re trying to sort

through stuff now,” Steve said.“This time of year (there istime to make repairs). We’llhave everything up and goingby spring.”

Elsewhere, strong windsand heavy rains that batteredthe state on New Year’s Evecapped a wild month fromMother Nature.

The statewide average tem-perature in December was just24 degrees, 5.8 degrees belownormal, the Illinois StateWater Survey (ISWS) reported.

Snowfall last month totaled20.4 inches in Champaign-Urbana (the snowiest Decem-ber on record), 18.1 inches inBloomington-Normal (thesecond-snowiest December onrecord for that area), and 19.2inches in Peoria (the third-snowiest December).

The highest snowfall totalsfor the month, though, were30 inches near Galena and28.5 inches in Streator.

The statewide average pre-cipitation was just 1.8 incheslast month, which was 0.9 ofan inch below normal as mostof the moisture was in theform of snow, ISWS reported.

Brothers Gary and Steve Hoke, left to right, of Petersburg sort through hand tools and other small items ontheir farm to determine what they can salvage and what must go in the dumpster after an F-3 tornado rippedthrough their farm in Menard County on New Year’s Eve. The brothers lost several outbuildings, and fourtractors were damaged extensively by the twister. The brothers were waiting on machinery repair estimatesas of last week. (Photos by Ken Kashian)

Above: This debris field on the farm of brothers Steve and Gary Hokeof Petersburg was left in the wake of the New Year’s Eve tornado. Theimplements in the background are parked where a 100-by-50-foot ma-chine shed stood before it was destroyed by the twister. Below: Remainsof a century-old, three-story barn and lean-to are scattered about infront of a grain bin that lost its roof. Steve Hoke believes the body of thegrain bin remains standing because it was full of corn at the time of thestorm.


cornCHECKOFF

corn CHECKOFF Image Inform a growing world population of the benefits of the improving technology of grain production.

Establish the current level of support for farmers among influencers and by 2012 increase that level of support.

Making ethanol “greener”Increase Illinois corn usage for ethanol to 1 billion bushels by 2012.

Reduce the average cost of producing ethanol by 10 cents/gallon by 2010.

Demonstrate through research that the corn to ethanol carbon footprint can be reduced to 25,500 btu per gallon by 2012.

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The inaugural season at The Corn Crib was a home-run for family corn farmers. Families from around Illinois were exposed to family corn farmers and their crop as they enjoyed professional baseball as played by the CornBelters. At the more than 50 home games, audio and visual messages about corn were presented in an entertaining way to educate an entirely new audience. Pictured are the 2010-2011 officer team: (left to right) Larry Hasheider, Secretary; Kent Kleinschmidt, Treasurer; Scott Stirling, Chairman; Bill Christ, vice-chair

Partnering with other farm organizations in Illinois, ICMB undertook a ground-breaking research effort to determine what influential people think and feel about Illinois farmers. Two amazing lessons learned: 1) most people believe that the majority of farms are owned by corporations, not families; 2) the farmer pictured here is the image that most of the people surveyed indicated best matched their vision of what a farmer looks like. Hard lessons to learn, but the research paves the way for great opportunities for education.

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DOING THE GROUNDWORKannual report

For more information about Illinois corn checkoff programs, www.ilcorn.org

Where does Illinois corn go?Start Construction of two new lock replacements within the Upper Mississippi River Basin (one on the Miss. and one on the IL) by 2013.

Increase corn equivalent exports to 3 billion bushels by 2011.

Expand the usage of ethanol to a minimum of 12 billion gallons by end of 2010.

Provide infrastructure to allow for 35% more corn to travel efficiently within the state, country, and across the globe by 2011.

Negotiate favorable U.S. trade agreements in the next round of WTO which will allow the development of a more market oriented WTO compliant farm bill. (10/09)

Increase corn and corn co-product usage by the domestic and international livestock sector by 5 percent by 2013.

Increase Illinois corn and corn products consumption by livestock by 50 million bushels by January 1, 2010.

ICMB has several goals related to increasing corn utilization in specific markets. For instance, livestock feed, DDGS both domestic and world markets, and ethanol are primary areas of interest. By working with the IL Livestock Development Group and the livestock organizations in-state, ICMB has identified areas of needs and funded projects to help utilize corn and its co-products in a way that supports corn farmers and livestock farmers, maximizing livestock feed opportunities and efficiencies.

Where does Illinois corn go?

• lIllinois corn supply: 1972 mil bu• Exported out-of-state: 1047 mil bu• Feed use in-state: 121 mil bu - Dairy 9 mil bu - Beef 17 mil bu - Hogs 83 mil bu - Poultry 9 mil bu - Other 2 mil bu

• Processing in-state: 811 mil bu - Ethanol wet mill 151 - Ethanol dry mill 354

In the past, corn checkoff dollars focused on ethanol market expansion through usage opportunities. More recently, due to policy and regulation challenges, the key to expansion is making ethanol “green.” While the ICMB does not do any lobbying, it certainly can do the groundwork, providing scientifically derived data and evidence that indicates the viability of corn based ethanol as a renewable fuel. This year was a key year for that type of work. Illinois corn checkoff funded research demonstrated the improving efficiencies of ethanol production and energy output; the decreasing water usage for a gallon of ethanol, and most significantly provided evidence that undeniably disproves the notion of indirect land use change.

Making ethanol

“greener”Corn as an advanced biofuelThe energy value per gallon of ethanol has improved dramatically. As evidenced by an ICMB funded study, ethanol plants have reduced the energy needed to produce on gallon of ethanol from 37,000 btu’s in 2001 to 28,600 in 2008. On average, a gallon of ethanol provides at least twice as much energy as it did to produce the fuel.

Reducing water usageThe water needed to produce one gallon of ethanol has been slashed from over 4.5 gallons to just 2.7 gallons on average. In contrast, each average Sunday paper requires 150 gallons of water!

Corn kernel fiber to ethanolThere is a significant amount of unrecognized fiber (cellulose) in each corn kernel. ICMB research demonstrates that corn kernel fiber ethanol meets the expectations for advanced biofuels and advances corn based ethanol farther along the path to further acceptance in this country as a “green” fuel.

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RISK MANAGEMENT


Will ‘combo’ policies appeal to Illinois growers?BY MARTIN ROSSFarmWeek

Streamlined “combo” cropinsurance policies could helpbring some of Illinois’ roughly20 percent uninsured producerson board this spring, IllinoisFarm Bureau risk managementspecialist Doug Yoder suggests.

Last fall, USDA’s Risk Man-agement Agency unveiled itsbasic “yield protection” and“revenue protection” productsfor wheat producers, eliminatingyield-based actual productionhistory (APH) and revenue-based income protection, croprevenue coverage (CRC), andrevenue assurance (RA) policies.

This spring, corn and soy-bean farmers will have the samegreatly simplified options.Roughly 80 percent of thestate’s corn-soybean farmerscurrently purchase crop insur-ance.

“In my opinion, this elimi-nates the potential confusionover which policy covers what,”Yoder said. “It simplifies theselection process. It also elimi-nates a choice.

“Before, if farmers wanted arevenue-based policy, theycould choose CRC or RA. A lotof times, that decision camedown to which one was cheap-

of the harvest election shoulddepend largely on whether theyuse insurance as a grain market-ing tool, Yoder maintained.

Growers who hope to takeadvantage of high prices andlock in a significant number of

bushels ahead ofharvest through for-ward contracting,hedging, or otherstrategies likelywould be “strongcandidates” fordefault harvest priceelection.

“If you’re notlikely to do a lot offorward contracting,if you can look atyourself in the mir-ror and say, ‘Eventhough prices arehigh, I know I’m notgoing to sell morethan about 10 or 15

percent,’ I would challenge youas to why you’d need to spendthat extra premium,” he said.

“If you buy that harvestprice option, that’s basically acall option. If the market goesup at harvest time, you get ahigher price. Those people whoaren’t going to sell grain aheadof time already own it.”

Under policy restructuring,both basic yield and revenuepolicies will be based on theFebruary average price, furthersimplifying coverage decisions.The previous actual productionhistory (APH) yield policy wasbased on a separate price setearlier by the Federal CropInsurance Corp.

Combo changes do notaffect county-level crop cover-ages, which include yield-basedgroup risk protection (GRP) orrevenue-based group revenueincome protection (GRIP) orGRIP with harvest revenue.

As always, GRIP is a poten-tially more advantageous prod-uct for growers whose annualyields generally track with coun-tywide averages.

er. They had different rate-set-ting mechanisms to determinepremiums. Now, they don’t.

“If implemented as we envi-sion, the combo product simpli-fying the selection process couldlead to increased (crop insurance)usage. I thinkmost farmersare pretty com-fortable withhow cropinsuranceworks, but itcan be techni-cal, it cansomewhat bedifficult tounderstandwhen you’refirst gettingstarted. Thissimplificationshould easethat uncertaintyor uneasiness.”

That said, premiums shouldbe “noticeably higher” this sea-son because of solid 2010 cropsand prospects for high springprices. ”The product you’reinsuring is going to be worthmore this year,” Yoderexplained.

Further, the new revenuepolicy appears to be based moreclosely on the RA rate-setting

mechanism than that for CRC,which offered at least slightlylower premiums for Illinois pro-ducers during periods of highand volatile crop prices.

Previously, growers could optfor RA with guarantees based

on February average prices or anRA policy with an added Octo-ber harvest price election.

Combo offerings include abasic revenue policy that pro-vides both price options, trig-gering claims based on the high-er of the two, and a policy witha harvest price exclusion, at alower premium.

Whether producers opt out

RMA proposes rewardsfor good ‘performers’

Safe drivers frequently are rewarded with lower premiums.USDA now is proposing to give back to crop insurance cus-tomers who’ve taken less from the system.

USDA last week launched a 15-day comment period (endingJan. 21) on a proposed “good performance” refund program forcrop policyholders who haveclaimed minimal or no lossesover an extended period, as wellas selected “beginning” farmers.

USDA Risk ManagementAgency Administrator WilliamMurphy reported nearly $75 mil-lion would be available annually for the program. Farmers couldreceive anywhere from $25 to $25,000 per year back on the non-subsidized, out-of-pocket portion of their premiums.

The program would be funded through a $2 billion reductionin insurance company reimbursements under last year’s renegoti-ated RMA standard reinsurance agreement.

March 15 is the sales closing date for Illinois policies, andMurphy was hopeful the prospect of premium refunds wouldencourage corn and soybean growers to buy higher coverage lev-els, even with likely higher 2011 premium levels.

“When we talk about the 20 percent (of Illinois corn andbean acres) we don’t insure, one reason we don’t is that it’s goodblack dirt that seldom has losses,” Illinois Farm Bureau riskmanagement specialist Doug Yoder told FarmWeek. “A goodperformance discount may help get that ground insured.”

Refunds would be available to eligible producers who havepurchased federally subsidized policies for seven to 10 years withno more than one annual loss; producers with four to six years’coverage with no losses; and some beginning farmers who havebeen farming for one to three years and whose premiums haveexceeded their loss payments.

Rewarding positive performance could benefit the crop insur-ance program and its producer-customers overall, Yoder said. Heargued the plan could discourage insured farmers from claimingsmall or insignificant losses so they could qualify for a refund lat-er, potentially lowering claims volume and administrative costs tocrop insurers and potentially leading to reduced overall premiums.

Murphy noted premium discounts previously were writteninto crop policies but discontinued in the 1990s. With corn andsoybean producers comprising roughly 60 percent of the cropinsurance program, he sees Illinois, Iowa, and southern Min-nesota as “major pockets” for prospective new refunds.

“So go those two crops’ experience, so goes the experiencefor our entire agency,” Murphy told RFD Radio. “We’ve had verygood experience over the last 10 years.”

For information or to comment on the refund proposal, visitRMA on the web at {www.rma.usda.gov}. — Martin Ross

FarmWeekNow.comListen to our RFD Radio interviewwith a Risk Management Agencyspokesman about insurancechanges at FarmWeekNow.com.

FROM THE COUNTIES


BROWN — The annualmeeting will be at 6:30

p.m. Wednesday, Jan. 19, at theKnights of Columbus Hall, Mt.Sterling. Retired Judge DavidSlocum will be the speaker.Tickets are $6.50 and are avail-able at the Farm Bureau office.Call the Farm Bureau office at217-773-2634 for reservations.

COLES — Family bowl-ing will be held Saturday,

Jan. 22, at the Charleston Lanes,1310 E Street, Charleston. Reg-istration will begin at 3 p.m.with bowling to follow. Thecost is $2.50 per game, and shoerental is $2 a pair. Contact theoffice at 345-3276 by Jan. 20.

FORD-IROQUOIS — Amarketing meeting will

be held at 7 p.m. Monday, Jan.17, in the Farm Bureau buildingin Gilman. Doug Yoder, IllinoisFarm Bureau senior director ofaffiliate and risk management,will present an update on thecrop insurance program andprovide information on usingmarketing tools available to pro-ducers. He also will demon-strate how to gain marketingexperience without the risk ofusing real money or bushelsthrough an online marketingsimulator. Clayton Pope,AgriVisor LLC, will provide acommodity price outlook.

HANCOCK — TrinityLutheran Church in

Carthage will hold a promotion-al meeting about “Share theHarvest” at 6:30 p.m. Monday,Jan. 17. Anyone interested inparticipating or helping with theprogram is encouraged toattend. A free dinner will beserved, but reservations areneeded by Wednesday and canbe made by contacting thechurch at 357-2468. Last yearthe “Share the Harvest” pro-gram worked with 12 HancockCounty churches, and produc-tion from 40 acres of land wasdonated. Proceeds from thoseharvested acres were sentthrough Food Resource Bank toa third world country to helppeople there improve their agri-culture. The group chose tohelp an area in Guatemalawhere work is being done todevelop sustainable agriculturethrough green house and irriga-tion projects.

• The Hancock County Soiland Water Conservation Districtwill hold an open house at itsoffice in Carthage from 7 a.m.to 5:30 p.m. Thursday, Jan. 20.

KANKAKEE — TheKankakee County Farm

Bureau Governmental Affairsand Marketing Committee willsponsor a WILL AM 580 Mar-ket Outlook panel discussion at7 p.m. Tuesday, Jan. 18, at theUniversity of Illinois Extensionoffice in Bourbonnais. Registerby calling the Farm Bureauoffice at 815-932-7471.

LASALLE — The LaSalleCounty Farm Bureau

vation deadline is Friday, Jan.21. Call the office at 618-233-6800 for more information.

STARK — The annualYoung Farmers’ blood

drive will be from noon to 6p.m. Friday at the ToulonCongregational Church.Donors and volunteers areneeded. Call the Farm Bureauoffice at 286-7481 for moreinformation or to volunteer.

VERMILION — Themarket outlook seminar,

sponsored with WITY, will beMonday, Jan. 17, at 9:30 a.m. inthe Farm Bureau auditorium.Panelists Paul Coolley withADM Investor Services, PeteManhart with Bates Commodi-ties, and Matt Payne with TheAndersons will give their out-look on the markets for thecoming year.

• The Marketing Committeeis hosting an “InternationalGrain Markets: Connecting Ver-milion County to the World”program at 6:30 p.m. Wednes-day, Jan. 19, in the Farm Bureauauditorium. Burt Etchison,Stewart Grain in Bismarck, willdiscuss his company’s container-loading operation and grainmarketing opportunities. JoeDaughhetee and Phyllis Parkswill talk about their recent trip

to Brazil to learn more aboutour trading competitors.

WABASH — The annualmeeting will be at 6:30

p.m. Monday, Jan. 17, at Keens-burg Christian Church. RSVPto the Farm Bureau office byWednesday at 618-262-5865.

WINNEBAGO —Farm Bureau will

sponsor a 14-day, 13-night tripJuly 25 through Aug. 7 to Alas-ka. Tours will include Denali,McKinley Explorer Rail Dis-covery Sternwheeler, and aglacier cruise. For more infor-mation, contact the FarmBureau at 815-962-0653.

WOODFORD — AYoung Leader meeting

will be at 7 p.m. Tuesday at theFarm Bureau office. The meet-ing is open to all Farm Bureaumembers 35 years of age oryounger. Call the Farm Bureauoffice at 437-2347 for moreinformation.

• An informational meetingon the spill prevention controland countermeasures rulingregarding oil and fuel storagewill be at 1 p.m. Wednesday atthe Farm Bureau office. DonHerring, Evergreen FS, will bethe speaker. Call the FarmBureau office for more informa-tion.

Local Affairs Committee willsponsor an informational meet-ing about application of munici-pal sludge at 10 a.m. Tuesday,Jan. 18 at Pitstick’s Pavilion inOttawa. On the agenda are JerryHutton, Illinois EnvironmentalProtection Agency; GaryMcCandless, Illinois EmergencyManagement Agency, and GregFirrantello, Stewart Spreading.For more information, contactthe Farm Bureau office at 815-433-0371.

LEE — Lee, Ogle, andWhiteside County Farm

Bureaus, and Sauk Valley Bankwill sponsor a family farms tran-sition dinner program at 6 p.m.Tuesday, Jan. 25, at the PostHouse, Dixon. Ron Hansen,University of Nebraska, will bethe speaker. Call the FarmBureau office at 857-332 or e-mail [email protected] by Fri-day for reservations.

• The Young Leaders willattend a Rockford Ice Hogshockey game Saturday, Feb. 5.Tickets are $11. Call the FarmBureau office at 857-3531 or e-mail [email protected] by Fri-day for reservations or moreinformation.

• The Lee County FarmBureau annual meeting will be at10 a.m. Thursday at the FarmBureau office. Coffee anddonuts will be provided.

MCLEAN — Learn thefacts on how to comply

with the new oil spill preventioncontrol and countermeasuresrule at 7 p.m. Thursday at theFarm Bureau building. DonHerring, Evergreen FS energymanager, will discuss the rule,answer questions, and provideresources to help keep a farmspill prevention plan up to date.The workshop is free and opento all farmers. Reservations areencouraged but not required.Call the Farm Bureau office at663-6497 or [email protected] for more infor-mation.

MERCER — The Mar-keting Committee will

sponsor its winter market out-look program at 7 p.m. Thurs-day at the Farm Bureau office.Dale Durchholz, AgriVisorLLC, will be the speaker. Callthe Farm Bureau office at 309-582-5116 for more information.

• The annual meeting will beat 5:30 p.m. Thursday, Jan. 27, atthe VFW Hall, Aledo. A porkchop dinner will be served. Costis $3. Call the Farm Bureauoffice at 309-582-5116 by Friday,Jan. 21, for reservations or moreinformation.

• A variety of nuts and candyis available at the Farm Bureauoffice.

MONROE — Agricul-ture and rural issues

will be the subject of an updateprogram at 8:30 a.m., Friday, Jan.21, at the annex. Sheriff DanKelley and representatives ofthe conservation police, highway

engineer, Natural ResourcesConservation Service, Exten-sion, and a grain merchandiserwill speak. Breakfast will beserved. RSVP to 939-6197 byJan. 18.

PEORIA — A marketand weather outlook

will be presented at 8:30 a.m.Thursday, Jan. 20, in the FarmBureau auditorium. MikeMcClellan will discuss weatherfor the 2011 growing season.Call the Farm Bureau officefor reservations at 686-7070.

• A crop insurance meeting isscheduled for 9 a.m. Wednesday,Jan. 26, in the Farm Bureauauditorium. Doug Yoder, Illi-nois Farm Bureau risk manage-ment specialist, will discuss 2011crop insurance changes andoptions available to farmers.Call the Farm Bureau office forreservations.

ST. CLAIR — The YoungFarmers will hold a blood

drive from 3 to 7 p.m., Tuesday,Jan. 18, at the Farm Bureaubuilding.

• The annual meeting will beFriday, Jan. 28, at Augustine’s inBelleville. Tickets are $10 perperson and may be purchased inadvance at the Farm Bureauoffice. The entertainment willbe music by Joe Powell. Reser-


IFB IN ACTION

New YL chairman ready for a busy yearBY DANIEL GRANTFarmWeek

Sean Arians, Normal, thisyear will complete his term on

the IllinoisFarm BureauYoung Leader(YL) Commit-tee as its new-ly selectedchairman.

And 2011should be abusy year for

Arians, whostarted in

Young Leaders in 2000 at thecounty level in WoodfordCounty, as Young Leaderslook to accomplish variousgoals and implement programchanges.

“It’s going to be an interest-ing year,” Arians said. “Work-ing with leaders from eachcounty is always fun.”

IFB Young Leaders willhost their state conference inSpringfield Jan. 28-30. IFBPresident Philip Nelson isamong a list of speakers forthat event.

Young Leaders at the stateconference also will announcethe finalists for the YLAchievement and Excellenceawards. The state winners ofthe awards will be announcedin August during the Agri-Quiz Bowl at the Illinois StateFair.

The timeline for the twotop YL awards is new this yearto allow state winners more

time to prepare for nationalcompetition. State winnersrepresent Illinois each yearduring the American FarmBureau Federation (AFBF)annual meeting in January. Thewinners previously wereannounced in December dur-ing the IFB annual meeting.

The YL state conferenceand AFBF annual meeting willbe followed by the YoungLeader Ag Industry Tour,which this year will be heldMarch 1-6 in Arizona.

Young Leaders also areexpanding their presenceonline after introducing a Face-book page last year.

“Anymore, it’s a primarymeans of communication,”Arians said of Facebook and

55 IFB members namedto serve on Action Teams

The Illinois Farm Bureau Board of Directors has recentlynamed 55 members who will serve on the 2011 IFB ActionTeams.

Action Teams will meet twice in 2011 to develop recommen-dations to the IFB board for statewide organization projects andprograms in Education, Membership, Quality of Life, and PublicRelations.

Recent Action Team projects include ag information posterswith a Route 66 theme, mini sessions at IFB annual meeting onfarm succession planning, reusable membership tote bags, andpro-livestock billboards on I-80 near Ottawa.

Team members, including chairs and vice chairs, and theircounty Farm Bureaus are as follows:

Education: Gail Pollard, Winnebago; chair, Carleen Paul,Madison; vice chair, Sharon Barr, Hancock; Mike Chwasczinski,Washington; Audrey Davis, McHenry; Tom Feltes, DuPage; BobJohnson, Grundy; David King, Tazewell; Paul Mariman, Macon;Leonard Sheaffer, Lee; Dale Wachtel, Effingham; and DanaWhite, Woodford.

Membership: Dennis Verbeck, Henry, chair; Phillip Butler,Warren-Henderson, vice chair; Greg Anderson, DeWitt; JoshCurry, Henry; Monica Green, Douglas; Dave Krebel, Monroe;Ross Prough, Greene; Paul Rickey, Warren-Henderson; JimShanklin, Marshall-Putnam; Darrin Storm, Shelby; and LindaWikoff, Knox.

Public Relations: Connie Schneider, chair, McLean; DavidHeadley, Fulton, vice chair; Joyce Bucklin, Greene; JesseEdlefson, Henry; Mitch Heisler, Henry; Mike Hennenfent,Knox; Bob Kapraun, Woodford; Kevin Luthy, Randolph; Kim-berly Meier, Stephenson; Kevin Miller, Effingham; DeborahMoore, Warren-Henderson; Diane Murphy, Montgomery;Keith Mussman, Kankakee; Vernon Schiller, McHenry; RobSharkey, Bureau; Karl Spencer, Jasper; Jacob Streitmatter, Peo-ria; Kevin Urick, Henry; Steve Weber, Henry; and Nick Wurl,Effingham.

Quality of Life: Carrie Boelens, Henry, chair; Carol Jerred,Hancock, vice chair; Marion Barr, Hancock; Ray Dieter, Liv-ingston; Don DuVall, White; Elaine Kapraun, Woodford; JulieKern-Morrison, Sangamon, Steve Launius, Washington; Christi-na Lionts, Sangamon; Pat Titus, Douglas; David Wessel, Cass-Morgan; and Marguerite Zahnd, Champaign.

Leading the Action Coordinating Council are Chair DennisVerbeck, Henry, and Vice Chair Carleen Paul, Madison.

The Illinois State Board of Education isaccepting applications from high school seniorsfor the National Youth Science Camp (NYSC)June 30 through July 24 in West Virginia. Appli-cations are due Jan. 28.

Two students will be selected as official Illi-nois delegates, allowing them to receive a fullscholarship.

The NYSC program attracts outstanding sci-ence students from all 50 states for lectures andhands-on research projects presented by scien-tists from a variety of scientific fields.

Students are challenged to explore newareas in the biological and physical sci-ences, art, and music. Student campers alsopresent seminars covering their own areas

of research and interest.In Illinois, representatives from the gover-

nor’s office and the State Board of Educationwill review the applications. Selection will bebased on a student’s achievement in math orscience; school and community leadership; skillsoutside of the sciences and academic pursuits;and intellectual curiosity.

Information about the camp and an applica-tion are available online at {www.nysc.org} orby calling 217-557-7323.

Completed applications should be sent to: Illi-nois State Board of Education, Attn: Gil Downey,NYSC Selection Coordinator, 100 N. First Street,C-215, Springfield, Ill., 62777-0001. It may be e-mailed to [email protected].

Illinois students soughtfor summer science camp

CIDER TASTING TRADITION

Apple cider judging is an annual tradition at the Illinois Specialty Crops, Agritourism, and Organic Con-ference in Springfield. From left are Frank Dorris of Dorris Farms, East St. Louis; Mark Seibel, of FB-Science Inc.; and Harry Alten of Alten Farms of Harvard in McHenry County. (Photo by Ken Kashian)

Sean Arians

AFBF names six Illinois farmersto commodity advisory committees

The American Farm BureauFederation (AFBF) Board ofDirectors has named six Illinoisproducers to its 2011 commod-ity advisory committees.

They are: Harry Alten, Har-vard, labor; Chad Leman, Eure-ka, swine; Kevin Miller, Teu-topolis, feedgrains; Steve Pit-stick, Maple Park, soybeans;Howard Schoenholz, Paw Paw,wheat; and Craig Tanner, Speer,ag nursery and greenhouse.

IFB’s advisory committee

representatives will attend na-tional meetings of the AFBFadvisory committees in Wash-ington, D.C., in February.

Commodity advisory com-mittees provide an opportunityto discuss and recommend so-lutions to problems that direct-ly affect the commodity forwhich the member is appoint-ed. The committees serve in anadvisory capacity to the presi-dent and AFBF Board of Di-rectors.

social media. “We’re trying totake advantage of that to getmore people involved.”

And getting farmersinvolved in leadership activi-ties at the grassroots level iseven more important thesedays as the overall number offarmers continues to decline,according to the YL Commit-tee chairman.

“It’s our challenge to makeit at the front of young farm-ers’ minds that grassrootsefforts still are as vital today

as they were back when FarmBureau was started,” Arianssaid.

Arians, who has a degreein agribusiness/businessadministration from IllinoisState University, currentlyworks as an education coordi-nator for Precision Plantingof Tremont, which special-izes in after-market planterparts.

He hopes eventually to getinvolved in his family’s farmin Whiteside County.

WIND ENERGY


Wind turbines may help crops, but key questions remainBY KAY SHIPMANFarmWeek

Spinning wind turbineschange the microclimateand increase airflow nearcrops, but researchersremain up in the air onwhether plant growth andcrop yields also benefit, aU.S. Department of Energy(DOE) researcher toldFarmWeek.

“You can see the turbinesgenerate turbulent condi-tions that reach the (field)surface,” said Gene Takle,an agricultural meteorologyexpert at DOE’s Ames Lab-oratory and an Iowa StateUniversity professor.

“But we don’t know yet ifit will impact plant growthor yields,” Takle added.“Those are the key ques-tions farmers are interestedin.”

Farmers in several partsof Illinois may be curious.In 2010 alone, Illinois winddevelopers brought online427 turbines with the capac-ity to generate 716megawatts of electricity.

In 2010, Takle and aresearch team studied howwind turbines interactedwith corn over severalmonths. Takle’s scientificcuriosity was sparked byviewing Chinese crop fields

crop, especially at night, andincrease airflow. The cropsdownwind of a turbine alsotake up more carbon diox-ide, but Takle said he wasnot sure why that occurred.

Takle speculated the tur-bines may influence somegrowing conditions. For

interspersed with fruit treesand years of research onU.S. ag windbreaks.

Although his results arepreliminary, Takle said hefound a measurable impactof wind turbines on crops.

The turbine blades changethe turbulence over the

Wind turbines, such as those in Illinois, influence crop field microclimates, but researchers don’t know yet ifthe turbines impact plant growth or yields, according to scientists at the U.S. Department of Energy’s AmesLaboratory. (FarmWeek file photo)

example, increased airflowmay help dry dew andreduce conditions favorableto fungus and moisture-lov-ing pests.

A future experimentmight measure dew durationand other factors related tohigh-moisture diseases, Tak-

le said. Some moisture fluxmeasurements have beentaken but not enough for adefinitive answer, he said.

Takle admitted dryingconditions would be positivein wet years, but could be anegative during dry years.

“We’re not sure if it’slarge enough to be animpact,” he added. “Weneed to look at it in moredetail in normal (growingseason) years. What aboutdry years? We want to get tothe bottom of it so we canrespond in a scientificallydefensible manner.”

Another potential turbinebenefit may be an influenceon air temperatures. Extraair turbulence likely quick-ens the heat exchange whensun-warmed crops give offheat into the atmosphere.This would allow crops tostay slightly cooler duringhot days.

On cold nights, turbu-lence from turbine bladesstirs the lower atmosphereand keeps nighttime temper-atures warmer around crops.This might help crops wardoff an early fall frost.

Takle said he has pro-posed additional studies onwind turbines’ influence oncrops but has not heard ifhis research will be funded.

“If you see the Depart-ment of Energy’s goals forwind energy and turbines, itwants a lot of turbines,”Takle said. However, thegovernment has focusedmore on urban-related tur-bine issues and less on theimpact to crops, he noted.

“I hope our (agresearchers’) voice is heard.We want to be up-front andanswer these questions,”Takle said.

Wind farm siting, zoning, taxing conference focusThe latest information on siting,

zoning, and taxing of wind energyfarms will be offered by the IllinoisWind Working Group Feb. 9 at the Mar-riott Hotel & Conference Center, Nor-mal. The early registration deadline isFeb. 1.

Registration will start at 7:30 a.m. andthe program will conclude at 4:30 p.m.

Session topics include the best prac-tices for county boards and zoning

boards, roads and school district taxa-tion, county ordinance revisions, andproperty value guarantees and decom-missioning.

The early registration fee is $40 forgovernment employees and members ofcounty boards and zoning boards. AfterFeb. 1, the fee increases to $60. The earlyregistration fee is $95 for all other partici-pants and increases to $125 after Feb. 1.

To register online, go to

{www.RenewableEnergy.ilstu.edu} andselect this conference under “Upcom-ing Events,” then click under “registra-tion.”

Registration forms and informationalso are available from the Illinois StateUniversity Center for Renewable Ener-gy, Campus Box 5020, Normal, Ill.,61790-5020. Questions may be referredto 309-438-7919 or by e-mailing [email protected].

The Illinois Clean Energy Communi-ty Foundation (ICECF) is offering anew energy efficiency incentive grantprogram for qualifying members of Illi-nois electric cooperatives.

The program provides an incentivefor lighting upgrade projects of ICECF-qualifying entities supplied electricity bya cooperative.

Facilities, such as schools, local govern-ment buildings, and other 501c3 not-for-profit entities qualify for the ICECFincentives. For complete program details

and eligibility standards, go online to{www.IllinoisCleanEnergy.org}.

Under this program, up to $20,000 isprovided to applicants not covered byICECF’s current lighting programs orthe investor-owned utilities’ EnergyEfficiency Portfolio Standard (EEPS)programs.

In addition to the lighting incentive,funding is available for qualifying facili-ties for geothermal heat pump installa-tions, design of new “green” Leader-ship in Energy & Environmental Design

(LEED) certified buildings, and renew-able energy systems using solar photo-voltaic arrays, solar thermal installa-tions, and wind turbine projects.

Applicat ions for 2011 may bedownloaded from the ICECF web-site or contact Bob Romo at ICECFat 312-372-5191 or by e-mai l atbromo@il l inoiscleanenerg y.org.

Information also is available fromJohn Freitag with the Association ofIllinois Electric Cooperatives at 217-241-7973 or [email protected]

Energy efficiency grants available for some co-op members

Environmental, conservation topics focus of regional tillage seminarsA series of regional tillage

seminars will provide farmersthe most up-to-date researchand information on soil con-servation practices and envi-ronmental issues. The registra-tion deadline is Jan. 18.

Experts in soil fertility, cov-

er crops, water quality, andconservation tillage will leadthe day-long event. The datesand locations will be Jan. 25,Parkland College, Champaign;Jan. 27, Milan CommunityCenter, Milan; and Jan. 28,Joliet Junior College, Joliet.

Speakers will include Illi-nois Environmental Protec-tion Agency (IEPA) WaterBureau Chief Marcia Willhite,Indiana state agronomist Bar-ry Fisher, University of Illinoiscrop science professor FabianFernandez, Western Illinois

University agronomist JoelGruver, and McLean Countyresource conservationist DaveBishop.

A discussion on nutrientreduction and best manage-ment practices is timely giventhe ongoing activities in the

Chesapeake Bay Watershed toimprove water quality and thepotential implications for Illi-nois.

Each seminar will run from8:30 a.m. to 3:15 p.m. The reg-istration fee is $25 per personand includes lunch.

For reservations for the Jan.25 seminar, contact the Cham-paign Extension Center at217-333-4901. For reserva-tions for the other seminars,contact the Boone CountyExtension Unit at 815-344-3710.

The seminars are sponsoredby the Illinois Department ofAgriculture, the University ofIllinois Extension, the NaturalResources Conservation Ser-vice, the IEPA, and state soiland water conservation dis-tricts.

PROFITABILITY


Weight Range Per Head Weighted Ave. Price10 lbs. $34.77-$55.75 $45.9540 lbs. $58.50-$73.00 $70.9050 lbs. n/a n/aReceipts This Week Last Week

30,959 36,500*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 $70.52 $70.17 0.35Live $50.48 $50.48 0.00

Export inspections

(Million bushels)Week ending Soybeans Wheat Corn12-30-10 20.2 10.3 15.612-23-10 30.7 19.8 42.6Last year 38.8 10.1 30.8Season total 789.7 649.1 568.6Previous season total 751.7 492.0 550.3USDA projected total 1570 1250 1950Crop marketing year began June 1 for wheat and Sept. 1 for corn and soybeans.

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

Steers $104.59 $106.88 -2.29Heifers $105.00 $106.74 -1.74

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 Change123.38 122.58 0.80

CME feeder cattle index — 600-800 Lbs.

Slaughter Prices - Negotiated, live, wooled and shorn 125-175 lbs 135-160$/cwt., dressed, no sales reported.

Lamb prices

AgriVisor launches new websiteAgriVisor LLC last week launched a new website. The site, {www.agrivisor.com}, features an updated design

which incorporates many new features and makes previouslyexisting features easier to find.

Visitors to the site will learn about the products and servicesoffered by AgriVisor, as well as have access to daily market

updates and advice.“AgriVisor is excited about

our new website because it pro-vides timely information in aneasy-to-access manner,” said

Cory Winstead, AgriVisor riskmanagement specialist. “The site allows farmers and elevatorsalike the opportunity to receive information that can helpimprove their profitability and reduce their risk.”

AgriVisor LLC is a joint venture between GROWMARK Inc.and Illinois Farm Bureau and offers grain and livestock market-ing analysis. AgriVisor also offers brokerage services, CrossoverSolutions, and premium advisory services. AgriVisor servicesare provided through participating grain elevators.

FarmWeekNow.comTo visit the new AgriVisor web-site, go to FarmWeekNow.com.

Don’t ignore storage tank filtersBY MATT THOMAS

When was the last time youchecked the operability ofyour fuel storage tank? Tankfilters are one of the single

most impor-tant, yet vast-ly overlooked,items in theequipmentindustry.

With thedemand forcleaner, moreefficient

engines comes the demand forsmaller micron filtration. The2011 line of FS Bio-Power fil-ters provides you with filtersthat match your equipment fil-ters. You might be askingyourself, “Why do I need tofilter my fuel? Isn’t the fueldelivered to my tanks alreadyclean?”

In short, that answer usuallyis yes, but your storage tank isn’t100 percent clean. Natural cir-cumstances which occur overtime produce rust, dirt, and cor-rosion, so once fuel is placed inthe tank, it is no longer 100 per-cent clean. Therefore, filteringthe fuel at the storage tank is animportant step.

Industry-leading equipmentmanufacturers have outfittedtheir engines with two-micronfinal fuel filters, at an averagecost of $120 per filter. Theaverage retail cost of a two-micron FS Bio-Power storagetank filter is $30, saving you 75percent on average.

In addition to that savings,the FS Bio-Power filter is con-sidered progressive density.Progressive density is like hav-ing two filters in one becausethere are two media inside thefilter, the first being 10-micronand the second being two-

micron. Also, the progressivedensity filter is impregnatedwith hydrosorb, which willremove water trapped insidethe fuel tank.

This provides you withproper filtration to match yourequipment filter, while reduc-ing the frequency of replacingthe storage tank filter. Proper

filtration at the storage tankmay have an initial start-upcost, but your return oninvestment will certainly payyou back.

Matt Thomas is GROW-MARK’s facility equipment prod-uct specialist. His e-mail address [email protected].

Bullish oil market fuels higher gas, diesel pricesBY DANIEL GRANTFarmWeek

The recent jump in gasolineand diesel fuel prices unfortu-nately could be the rule ratherthan the exception this year.

National average prices atthe pump the first of last weekwere up 53 cents per gallonfor diesel fuel (to an averageof $3.33 per gallon) and 40.5cents per gallon for regulargasoline (to an average of$3.07 per gallon) compared tothe same time last year, theEnergy Information Adminis-tration (EIA) reported.

EIA pointed to highercrude oil prices and higherrefiner margins as key reasonsfor the hike in fuel prices.

Crude oil prices recentlyreached a 26-month high, top-ping $92 per barrel.

“We could see (the price ofoil) reach $95 (near term) andby spring I would not beshocked to see $100 crude,”said Jackie McKinnis, GROW-MARK energy analyst. “But Idon’t think we’ll see anythingclose to what we saw in 2008”when oil prices peaked at $147per barrel.

Higher oil prices likely willlead to even higher fuel pricesthis spring, said McKinnis,who didn’t rule out gas pricesin coming months reaching$3.50 per gallon.

Farmers who need to stockup on fuel for the spring

planting season, therefore,may want to look for lulls inthe market in January and Feb-ruary to make their purchasesand avoid the possibility ofpaying higher prices in Marchand April.

“Typically, there are four orfive good opportunities to

pick up product cheaper (inJanuary and February) andthen (the fuel market) ralliesinto spring,” McKinnis said.

EIA in its recent short-term outlook projected thenational price of regular gaso-line this year will average $3per gallon while the national

price of diesel fuel was pro-jected to average $3.23 per gal-lon.

Oil prices have trendedhigher in recent months due inpart to stronger demand andsupport from investors whouse crude oil and other com-modities as a financial hedge,according to McKinnis.

“The supply/demand pic-ture has improved a lot sincelast year,” the analyst said.

Long-term, oil demand isprojected to swell and pushfuel prices even higher.

China, which currently usesabout 9 million barrels ofcrude oil per day, by 2020 isprojected to match the currentrate of use in the U.S. of 20million barrels per day. And by2030, China is on pace to useas much as 40 million barrelsof crude oil per day, McKinnisadded.

Matt Thomas

Milk price drops $1.61 The Class III price for milk adjusted to 3.5 percent butterfat

for the month of December was at $ 13.83 per hundredweight,$1.61 lower than the previous month.

This latest price announcement confirms a more than $3 dropin the price of milk since the highs seen in October. It comes ata time when crop prices are at all-time highs, and the increase infeed costs places a great deal of pressure on the dairy farmer’sbottom line.

Domestic demand for butter and cheese was lighter thanexpected during the year-end holidays.

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

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CASH STRATEGISTCorn Strategy

�2010 crop: The March con-tract slide below $6. suggests atop may have been seen. Still,short-term direction will beinfluenced by the USDAreports Wednesday. You shouldhave priced remaining bushels,other than “gambling bushels,”when March was above $6.Hedge-to-arrice (HTA) con-tracts for winter/spring deliverystill look like the best marketingtool, but check returns againststorage costs.

�2011 crop: There’s a possi-bility December futures couldmove near $6. before peaking,but there’s a possibility it’sputting in a double top at $5.65.The gross income per acre is toohigh not to make a sale at theseprices. Get caught up now.

�Fundamentals: Thelooming USDA reports are thekey fundamentals at themoment. But Argentine weath-er remains a focus of the trade.Scattered showers movedthrough the region, but addi-tional moisture is needed forArgentina to have a good crop.The current forecast calls formore chances in the short-term,but amounts are uncertain.Soybean Strategy

�2010 crop: The soybeanrally was rejected at a levelthat contains a number ofprice objectives. Further gainsmay be dependent on theUSDA reports and Argentineweather. Use current prices tosell soybeans, other than whatyou want to gamble with.

�2011 crop: There’s a chancenew-crop prices could move ashigh as current old-crop prices,but that may not come until latewinter/spring, if it does at all.Because November futures mayhave completed the move up offthe summer low, we urge you toget caught up now.

�Fundamentals: Once theUSDA reports are behind, thetrade’s attention will return toArgentina and China. Rain andcooler temperatures keptArgentine crop conditionsfrom getting worse the firstweek of the year. Whether thatsignaled a more permanentshift is still not certain, but it isa possibility. Chinese demandhas softened with uncertain

monetary policy, neutral to neg-ative crush margins, and rela-tively high port stocks.Wheat Strategy

�2010 crop: The Marchcontract is nearing the $7.70support. If it violates this,especially if it breaks $7.66, itwould give the short-term amore negative price look. Thekey fundamental remainsuncertainty about qualitymilling wheat supplies. Youstill should wrap up sales if youhave inventory. Because of thefutures carry, HTA contractsfor winter/spring delivery arestill the most attractive tool.

�2011 crop: Use pricesabove $8.30 on Chicago July2011 futures to make catch-upsales. We even consideredadding to them because ofprice, but believe it’s too earlyto go beyond 50 percent. Ifbasis is wide on cash contracts,use a HTA contract.

�Fundamentals: Thetrade is keeping an eye on Aus-tralia, as the northern regioncontends with flooding. How-ever, the vast majority of thewheat crop is grown andexported farther south, missingthe excessive rains. The U.S.Plains remain extremely dryand vulnerable to winter kill.

In the short term, little elsematters other than the JanuaryUSDA reports. Traders stillremember all too well the neg-ative shocks on last year’sreports, numbers that sentprices reeling over the first sixmonths of the year.

On Wednesday, USDA willrelease its final productionforecasts for crops, Dec. 1grain stocks levels, U.S. andworld supply/demand esti-mates, and the first winterwheat planting forecast.

Generally, the trade is look-ing for a slightly smaller cornproduction estimate (12.5 bil-lion bushels), with soybeanproduction (3.37 billion) nearlyunchanged from November.Given the early harvest, thetrade seems to feel USDA wasable to closely forecast produc-tion potential in its last report.

The slight reduction in cornyield expectations many areusing is tied to the premise theJanuary yield usually is slightlysmaller in years it is reduced inOctober and November.

The smaller ending cornending stocks expectations (779million bushels) is based onexpectations USDA will raiseits ethanol grind forecast.Expectations for anotherreduction in the soybean end-ing stocks forecast (157 million)are tied to the idea USDA againwill raise its export forecast.

The most anticipated report

Basis charts

may be the Dec. 1 grain stocksreport, especially the corn stocksestimate. The range for this num-ber is unusually wide at morethan 1 billion bushels. Much ofthat can be tied to the volatility ofcorn stocks in the last two quar-terly reports. June’s estimate was300 million less than the tradeexpected, while September’s was300 million more.

There were a lot of reasonsadvanced in the wake of bothas to why the USDA numberwas different than expected,but there is little “concrete”justification as to why thenumbers “are what they were.”This report may not resolvethe dilemma, as the Decembernumber has a history of being“volatile.” It may be Marchbefore analysts begin to get asense of the actual supply.

It is surprising the range forthe soybean stocks estimates ismore than 100 million bushels,as consumption is well docu-mented. Still, most numberscluster around last year’s 2.34billion bushels.

The other number tradersare looking forward to is thefirst winter wheat plantingprojection. On average, theylook for a 3.6 million-acreincrease from last year’s extra-ordinary low acreage.

You will remember that lastyear’s wet fall caused plantingdifficulties in both the GreatPlains and Corn Belt, causingacreage to drop sharply.

Given last year’s problems,this year’s good fall weather, andhigh wheat prices, it’s a little sur-prising to see analysts expect win-ter wheat plantings to rise only3.5 million acres. Two millioncomes in soft red wheat, and 1.5million in hard red winter wheat.

There is a history of theUSDA December plantingnumber coming in belowexpectations, and some may beaccounting for that. But giventhe flip in the situation fromlast year to this year, we’d beless inclined to expect that.

Last year’s report ended upbeing a “game changer” for thefirst part of the year. Given theuncertainty, this year’s could be,too. We’ll know on Wednesday.

Cents per bu.

Major crop reports coming

PERSPECTIVES


When feeding corn distillersgrains (DGS) in beef cattlegrow-finishing diets, producersshould have three primary con-cerns about DGS:

• Inconsistency in nutrientcomposition;

• High sulfur concentra-tions; and

• Percent moisture of theDGS.

Nutrient composition on apercent of dry matter basis canvary from ethanol plant toplant and between loads pro-

duced by thesame plantwith consider-able week-to-week variation.

However,most plants arebecomingmore consis-tent in produc-ing DGS withless variation in

protein, fat, and element con-centrations than they did just acouple of years ago.

In fact in some states, suchas Illinois, several ethanolplants are very professional indocumenting the quality ofDGS produced. The inconsis-tency concern relates to incon-sistent cattle performance ifthe nutrient composition ofthe DGS varies more than 5percent.

Sulfur concentrations incattle diets above 0.4 of a per-cent of the total diet dry mat-

ter can result in sulfur toxicitysymptoms and PEM (polioen-cephalomalacia).

Generally, we have littleconcern regarding sulfur toxic-ity unless the DGS inclusionrate exceeds 40 percent of dietdry matter and the DGS sulfurconcentration exceeds 0.9 of apercent.

Moisture variability of DGScan be the cattle feeders’biggest concern. DGS above60 percent moisture candecrease substantially dry mat-ter intake and lower cattle per-formance.

In addition, DGS above 60percent moisture does notstore well, especially in warmerweather, and can deterioraterapidly.

An abrupt dietary switchfrom 50 percent moistureDGS to 70 percent moistureDGS can throw cattle off feedand negatively affect the costof grain.

Most cattle feeders alsoshould have three marginalconcerns regarding the feedingof DGS. They are:

• Increased phosphorouslevels in manure;

• Increased incidence offecal E. coli; and

• Increased concentrationsof mycotoxins in DGS.

In several research studies,researchers have observedincreased concentrations ofphosphorous in the manure ofcattle fed higher inclusion lev-

els (40 percent or more of thediet dry matter) of DGS.

Higher manure phospho-rous concentrations can be aconcern when land-applyingthe manure, especially if thesoil concentration of phos-phorous is high. Therefore, themore phosphorous the manurecontains, the more acresrequired for manure applica-tion.

The concern regarding therelationship between E. coliconcentrations in the fecesfrom cattle fed DGS and theamount of DGS fed is notcompletely understood.

Unpublished research at Illi-nois State University (ISU)suggests there is no relation-ship between fecal E. coli con-centration and dietary inclu-sion of DGS, but publisheddata by other researchers havefound a linkage.

I have speculated otherenvironmental factors, such asenvironmental temperature,rainfall, lot conditions, and cat-tle stress have more effect onE. coli than does the dietaryinclusion level of DGS.

Mycotoxin concentration inDGS is of greater concern inswine and poultry diets than itis for cattle diets.

Even so, cattle feedersshould be cognizant of DGSmycotoxin concentrations,especially in years when weath-er conditions increase the like-lihood of mycotoxins in

shelled corn as the ethanolproduction process concen-trates the mycotoxin level inDGS.

Cattle feeders always shouldrequest a current DGS nutrientprofile that includes a myco-toxin concentration analysis.

Finally, cattle feeders needto consider storage of high-moisture DGS. In researchconducted at ISU, we success-fully stored wet DGS of 40 to60 percent moisture for up toeight months during warmerweather, including over thesummer. We used both the

“vacuum method” and the“salting method.”

I recommend storing wetDGS in a bunker by sprinklingone pound of salt per onesquare foot of surface area onthe top of the piled DGS.Then, cover the pile with aplastic tarp. This is a low-cost,effective method of storingwet DGS without — or withminimal — nutrient loss.

Paul Walker is an agriculture pro-fessor at Illinois State University,Normal. His e-mail address [email protected].

PAULWALKER

What we know about the value of DGS in finishing diets

“She wants to be an actress, but she’s my best producer.”

As one year ends and anotherbegins, it’s common to reflect.

The process is the same at Illinois’USDA Rural Develop-ment. Here are the top10 things we thoughtyou should know ... bythe numbers.10. 53 community

and non-profit projectswere funded, providingessential services to606,000 residents.9. 12,200 households

were assisted withaffordable housing opportunities.8. 5,256 home loans were made.7. 47 water projects were financed

to provide safe, dependable water to40,800 users.6. 247 business loans and grants

were approved to help 197 businessand job development projects.5. Nine broadband projects were

awarded to create high-speed Internetaccess for 394,737 residents in parts of35 counties.4. 4,400 customers will benefit from

enhanced telephone and electric ser-vices made possible through IllinoisRural Development.3. 143 renewable energy projects

were funded to assist in energy inde-pendence.2. $2 million, on average, was invest-

ed every day by Rural Development.

And the No. 1 thing you shouldknow about Illinois’ USDA RuralDevelopment investments in 2010 —676,200 people stand to benefitthrough the financial empowermentprovided by Rural Development.

That’s the year in review, by thenumbers. But there’s more.

The close of the fiscal year coincid-ed with the end of the AmericanRecovery and Reinvestment Act.

During the 19-month period thatRecovery Act funding was available,Illinois’ Rural Development invested$485 million to support 63 rural com-munity, business, broadband, andhome projects.

When all the numbers were tallied,Illinois’ Rural Development helpedmeet needs and make improvementsthat are affecting one in every 26 ruralIllinois families!

Illinois’ recipients capitalized on$744,252,366 in affordable loans andgrants.

And the cost to taxpayers wasonly 1.6 cents in administrative

cost per dollar distributed.In return, 30,500 individuals are in

good homes; seven communities haveimproved library services; four hospi-tals and clinics are keeping good healthcare close to home; and 1,835 jobsopportunities are viable through busi-ness programs.

Those projects were among the6,126 financed in 2010.

But of all the numbers, the mostimportant one is incalculable. Andthat’s the impact these investments willhave on the future of rural Illinois —the stabilization of our rural economy,and the improvement in the quality oflife.

Next, we’ll focus on 2011. USDARural Development already is providingassistance to meet the needs and chal-lenges of the new year.

Colleen Callahan is director of USDA RuralDevelopment in Illinois. Her family raises Anguscattle on their Kickapoo farm. Her e-mailaddress is [email protected].

COLLEENCALLAHAN

Numbers tell the success storyof Rural Development in 2010

FarmWeek January 10 2011

Documents

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