FarmWeek July 26 2010

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Monday, July 26, 2010 Two sections Volume 38, No. 30

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

THE CHICAGO PUBLICschools are interested in buying Illi-nois-grown fruit and vegetables toserve nearly 305,000 students.........2

WHILE SOME AREAS are stillgetting too much rain, others, suchas this field in Iroquois County, arein desperate need of moisture. ........7

A NEW PEST invading Illi-nois fields? No, just an insect-resembling implement designedby a father and son team. ............3

Will wind energy development spread from core areas?New assessment,grid issues keyBY KAY SHIPMANFarmWeek

News that Illinois has bet-ter wind resources than origi-nally believed coupled withrecent transmission con-straints may lead wind energydevelopers to move into newterritory, according to DaveLoomis, Illinois State Univer-sity (ISU) economics professorand director of the Center forRenewable Energy.

“I think we will see wind

development move south (inthe state) and be more spreadout,” Loomis said.

“We are starting to seetransmission constraints insome of the windiest areas,(development) shifting lower(from the north-central area),and counties have to deal withwind ordinances that neverhad to before,” Loomisexplained.

Part of that shift is due to a2010 Department of Energy(DOE) map developed byAWS Truewind. The mapshowed more regions of thestate have good wind

resources at higher elevations(shown in red on the accom-panying map).

“The new wind maps are

good news for Illinois,” saidWes Slaymaker, one of thepioneers of Illinois wind ener-gy and president of WESEngineering Inc.

A 2003 DOE wind map,which sparked the first wind

farms, showed good windresources exist in Bureau andLee counties. “That’s why thefirst (wind) farms went there,but a (new) better assessmentshows better wind resourcesare in the McLean Countyarea,” Slaymaker added.

The new map assesses windspeeds at 80 meters or about262 feet, higher than the 50-meter elevation of the earliermap. Even the caramel-col-ored regions that surround thered areas have good windresources.

“We’re seeing larger and See Wind, page 2

FarmWeekNow.comCheck out the new wind devel-opment in the Midwest bygoing to FarmWeekNow.com.

NO CHARM HERE

The third time was not a charm for this portion of a drowned out soybean field on the farm of Ron Moore,left, and Larry Moore, right, in Warren County. Neighbor Don Chipman helps survey the damage. TheMoores replanted this field twice after the initial crop was drowned out but had no luck establishing acrop on five acres. The remaining crop suffered some water damage. Last week heat stress also becamean issue for the crops. See more about current crop conditions on page 7. (Photo by Ken Kashian)

Economist: Ethanol credit analysis a ‘So what?’ reportBY MARTIN ROSSFarmWeek

A congressional report onthe “cost” of the federalethanol tax credit makes for anultimately unsatisfying read,according to an energy industryconsultant.

John Urbanchuk, technicaldirector with the naturalresources/environmental man-

agement consulting firmENTRIX, challenges the Con-gressional Budget Office’s (CBO)conclusion that under the credit,U.S. taxpayers pay $1.78 for everygallon of gasoline replaced byequivalent ethanol use.

The U.S. House Ways andMeans Committee reportedlyis eyeing a 20 percent reduc-tion in the 45-cent-per-gallon

ethanol blenders credit set toexpire Dec. 31. The measure,which would include a year’sextension of the credit and a54-cent-per-gallon tariff onimported ethanol, may be partof a “green jobs” bill expectedwithin the next two weeks.

By itself, CBO’s credit costestimate “doesn’t tell you any-thing,” Urbanchuk said. The

“‘So what?’ report” fails to con-sider ethanol’s offsetting “valueand importance” and “compar-ative costs” associated withimported petroleum, he said.

American Farm Bureau Fed-eration (AFBF) senior economistBob Young argued credit avail-ability spurs plant investment.Ethanol incentives foster “anoth-er domestically available (fuel)supply” during major petroleumprice run-ups, Young added.

“If it costs $1.78 to replacea gallon of gasoline with cornethanol, what’s the cost to tax-payers of that gallon of gaso-line?” Urbanchuk posed.

“(The report) doesn’t giveyou any kind of a comparativemeasure to decide whether that$1.78 is good or bad. If thatnumber was $1, would that bebetter? If it were $2, how muchworse would it be?

“The $1.78 would be offsetby the revenue taxpayers wouldget as a consequence of theeconomic activity generated bythe presence of the ethanolindustry. A healthy domesticethanol industry improvesnational security. It improvesour energy security; it maintainsour manufacturing sector.”

A 2005 CBO report notedcapital investments such as oilfield leases and drilling equip-ment are taxed at an effective 9percent rate vs. a 25 percentaverage U.S. business rate. Plus,the industry receives an esti-mated $4 billion a year in taxcredits, and Urbanchuk callscosts of militarily securing sealanes crucial to oil transporta-tion a “hidden subsidy.”

Farm Bureau supports a mea-sure by Collinsville RepublicanRep. John Shimkus and EarlPomeroy (D-N.D.) that wouldrenew ethanol incentives through2015. Growth Energy, a coalitionthat includes several ethanol pro-ducers, proposes phasing outcorn ethanol credits in favor ofethanol infrastructure funding..

CBO conceded the negativeimpact that January expirationof the biodiesel blenders’ taxcredit has had on that sector,and predicted ethanol con-sumption would drop 32 per-cent in the absence of theethanol credit.

“I read ‘consumption’ and‘production’ as basically thesame,” said Urbanchuk, whoprojects a potential 37 percentdrop in U.S. production with-out the blenders’ credit.

Removal of the creditendangers 112,000 jobs, AFBFand the National Corn Grow-ers Association warned law-makers last week.

For more on ethanolpolicy impacts,

see page 4

STATES AGAIN SUE TO CLOSE CANAL — FiveGreat Lakes states — Michigan, Minnesota, Ohio, Penn-sylvania, and Wisconsin — filed a lawsuit in U.S. DistrictCourt last week to close the canal connecting Lake Michi-gan and the Illinois River. The states claim the potentialthreat of Asian carp would destroy the sports-fishingindustry.

The lawsuit against the U.S. Army Corps of Engineersand the Metropolitan Water Reclamation District ofGreater Chicago seeks a preliminary injunction, whichwould temporarily close the locks connecting the river withthe lake.

In April, the U.S. Supreme Court declined to hear a law-suit filed by Michigan to close the locks.

EASY PICKINGS? — U.S. Rep. John Shimkus, aCollinsville Republican, is concerned congressional leadersfaced with deficit and legislative “pay-go” pressures couldallow the federal estate tax to return next year at a $1 mil-lion exemption and a top 55 percent rate. The tax tem-porarily expired last Jan. 1 at a $3.5 million 2009 exemp-tion.

Last week, the Senate rejected an amendment to theSmall Business Jobs Act to permanently repeal the tax.Sens. Blanche Lincoln (D-Ark.) and Jon Kyl (R-Ariz.) con-tinue to push a plan to raise the estate tax exemption to $5million and reduce the top rate to 35 percent over 10years.

A J.P. Morgan Chase analysis warns expiration of 2001Bush tax cuts — which included the estate tax phase-out— would result in $184 billion in reduced domestic spend-ing. However, Robert Rubin, former Clinton Treasury sec-retary and Citigroup chairman, argued estate tax revenuescould “fund deficit reduction, additional public invest-ment, or added assistance to those affected by the eco-nomic crisis.”

Key lawmakers “need to raise money, and this is a waythey can do it without actually casting a vote,” Shimkustold FarmWeek.

BIODIESEL LEFT BEHIND — Biodiesel againwas left behind last week as Congress approved a long-awaited extension of nationwide unemployment benefits.Amid continued controversy over the massive tax exten-ders package that included jobless benefits, lawmakersbroke up the bill into several components.

Proposed restoration of a $1-per-gallon biodiesel taxcredit that expired in January could find a new home inHouse “green jobs” legislation or an anticipated new ener-gy bill.

Illinois Farm Bureau National Legislative DirectorAdam Nielsen stressed current efforts would retroactivelyextend the credit (which encourages fuel suppliers to blendsoy-based biodiesel) only until Dec. 31, requiring a secondextension for 2011.

“It’s disappointing that this already has taken nearlyeight months,” Nielsen said.

FarmWeek Page 2 Monday, July 26, 2010

(ISSN0197-6680)

Vol. 38 No. 30 July 26, 2010

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STAFFEditor

Dave McClelland ([email protected])Legislative Affairs Editor

Kay Shipman ([email protected])Agricultural Affairs Editor

Martin Ross ([email protected])Senior Commodities Editor

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Quick TakesSTATE

Continued from page 1larger projects come online andbeing proposed,” ISU’s Loomissaid.

Currently, Illinois ranks fifthnationwide for installed capaci-ty of wind energy with 1,863megawatts. One megawatt ofwind energy can provide pow-er for 250 to 300 homes.

Across Illinois, wind farmprojects that would provideanother 16,000 megawatts havebeen proposed, according toLarry Flowers with DOE’sNational Renewable EnergyLaboratory.

Flowers acknowledged allthe proposed projects may notbe built.

However, the wind industryalready has contributed to Illi-nois’ economy, based on a2010 ISU study.

Existing Illinois wind farmshave contributed $8.3 million

annually in landowner pay-ments and $18 million annuallyin property taxes and created384 long-term operation jobsand 8,495 temporary construc-tion jobs.

Those wind projects willpump an estimated $3.2 billioninto the economy starting withconstruction and extendingthrough 25 years of operation,Loomis noted.

Existing I l l inoiswind farms havecontributed $8.3million annuallyi n l a n d o w n e rpayments.

Wind

Chicago school supplier seekingIllinois fruit, vegetable growersFarmers askedto supply infoBY KAY SHIPMANFarmWeek

The food service providerfor Chicago public schools isinterested in buying Illinois-grown fruit and vegetables toserve nearly 305,000 students.

Interested growers are beingasked to supply information byAug. 13. The purchases thatcould total $500,000 are tobegin in September.

Chartwells-Thompson Hos-pitality, the food serviceprovider, is working with FamilyFarmed.org, an Oak Park non-profit organization that sup-

ports locally grown food.Growers are asked to com-

plete an information form andfax, e-mail, or mail the form to

FamilyFarm.org, 7115 W. NorthAve., Oak Park, Ill., 60302. Thefax number is 708-763-9925.

The e-mail address is [email protected].

Last week, the Illinois Spe-cialty Growers Associationinformed its members about thepotential market.

Grower and operation quali-fications; types, grades, andamount of produce wanted; theinformation form; and otherrequirements are availableonline at {FamilyFarmed.org}.Click on “Request for Informa-tion.”

Eligible growers must haveproduct liability insurance of atleast $1 million. Preference willbe given to farmers who useintegrated pest managementand do not apply organophos-phate pesticides.

Gov. Pat Quinn signed two new laws that willexpand the customer base for Illinois specialtygrowers.

SB 615, sponsored by Sen. Linda Holmes (D-Plainfield) and Rep. LaShawn Ford (D-Chica-go), will help school districts find Illinois fruitand vegetable growers.

Under the new law, the Illinois Departmentof Agriculture will work with the Local Food,Farms, and Jobs Council to create an onlinedatabase of schools seeking to buy produce andgrowers seeking buyers. The new law will gointo effect Jan. 1.

HB 4756 sponsored by Sen. Toi Hutchinson(D-Chicago Heights) and Rep. LaShawn Ford(D-Chicago) will make it easier for low-incomeresidents to buy fresh produce at Illinois farm-ers’ markets.

The new law creates a Farmers’ Market Tech-nology Improvement Program to help peopleon public assistance use an electronic card toredeem food program benefits at farmers’ mar-kets throughout the state.

The farmers’ markets now will have theoption of obtaining electronic LINK cardequipment.

New laws should expand growers’ opportunities

CONSERVATION


High-rise implement seeds from above

Matt Birky, left, of Gibson City points out a special feature on a highboyhe helped adapt with his father, Don, second from left, to seed covercrops into standing corn. Looking on, left to right, are Paxton farmerStan Nelson, in background, Dave Bishop with the McLean County Soiland Water Conservation District (SWCD), Terry Bachtold with the Liv-ingston County SWCD, and Dale Stikkers with the Champaign CountySWCD.

A unique highboy, dubbed High Roller, dwarfs people gathered for ademonstration last week of the machine adapted by Don and Matt Birkyto seed cover crops into standing corn. The spray boom near the ob-servers is from another piece of equipment. (Photos by Ken Kashian)

BY KAY SHIPMANFarmWeek

Don and Matt Birky’sunique highboy, which can ele-vate to 10 feet, six inches ofbelly clearance, could attract acrowd just for its high-risingmaneuvers, but the father-sonteam created the special equip-ment for a tough job.

The highboy, dubbed HighRoller, was developed to seedlegumes and other cover cropsinto standing corn in Augustusing air pressure. The Birkys,who operate On Track Farm-ing Inc. in rural Gibson City,put the highboy through itspaces in a demonstration lastweek.

The highboy was adaptedto custom plant cover cropsfor a Central Illinois projectoffered through Soil andWater Conservation Districts(SWCD). The goal is toincrease acres planted withcover crops by providingfarmers with technical exper-tise and cost-share funding.

With 3,200 acres enrolled in10 counties, participation hassurpassed the original goal of2,000 to 2,500 acres, said DaveBishop, resource conserva-tionist with McLean CountySWCD.

“These are cover crops forthe 21st century,” Bishop said.

The adapted highboy notonly will help seed cover cropsinto standing corn but alsowill address special conditionsin some fields, according toBishop.

“You can fly it (cover cropseed) on, but there’s getting tobe so many places in the coun-ty that you can’t fly on seedwith wind turbines (located infields),” Bishop said. “This

(highboy) is practical andmoves easily from place toplace.”

The Birkys adapted an Ag-Chem RoGator with uniquelydesigned legs for which theyare seeking a patent, DonBirky explained.

The 60-foot-wide boom has30-inch on center nozzles and

air pressure blasts the seeddown at 80 mph. Birky notedthe air-seeding machine willprovide even coverage over thewidth of the boom.

The highboy also has beenoutfitted with special featuresto move through standingcorn. It has an automatic steer-ing mechanism and a cameramounted underneath thatsends images to a nine-inchscreen inside the cab.

Birky explained he and Mattlearned from past experience it

can be difficult to see whererows are when driving throughtall crops, and it is even moredifficult when seated highabove standing corn.

“The wind really moves thecorn around. You can’t tellwhere the rows are,” Birkysaid.

The highboy also has twosets of light bars that tell theoperator where to turn on endrows and point out the exactrows for the return tripthrough the field, he added.

SWCD’s Bishop said hehopes to collect data duringthe project, including measur-ing how much seed gets caughtin the whorls of the standingcorn.

The Birkys not only adapt-ed the highboy for the covercrop project, they also are par-ticipating in the program. Theywill seed 300 acres of cornwith a mixture of hairy vetch,red clover, and radishes toincrease the field’s nitrogenlevels, Birky said.

The cover crop project isattracting attention outside of

Central Illinois. After themorning demonstration forlocal farmers last week, agroup of Clinton Countyfarmers, who have talkedabout working on a similarproject, was expected for anafternoon demonstration ofthe special machine.

However, seeding covercrops may not be the only usefor the Birkys’ high-rise high-boy.

“We’ve had incredible inter-est in putting the (hydraulic)legs on a liquid (highboy)machine to spray on fungi-cide,” Birky said.

FarmWeekNow.comMore pho tos o f t he newsprayer are at FarmWeekNow.com.

Construction on a high-speed rail route between Chica-go and St. Louis will start inearly September, Gov. PatQuinn announced last week.

An agreement between theIllinois Department of Trans-portation (IDOT) and UnionPacific (UP) Railroad will allowupgrades on an initial 90-milesegment of UP track. The $98-million project is fundedthrough federal stimulus funds.

Work will start on the 90-mile segment that extends fromjust north of Alton to south ofSpringfield. Work will thenresume just north of Spring-field to south of Lincoln.

Currently, a study is beingconducted to determine thebest route through Spring-field. Track upgrades willinclude the installation ofnew, high-speed rail and con-crete ties. Work could be com-

pleted as early as December.In January, the Obama

administration announced Illi-nois had been awarded $1.2 bil-lion in federal stimulus fundsfor high-speed passenger rail— one of only three states toreceive more than $1 billion.Federal investment in high-speed rail is expected to create6,000 jobs in Illinois.

Illinois’ high-speed rail sig-nature route, Chicago to St.Louis, received $1.1 billion forcorridor improvements. Theimprovements will allow pas-senger trains from Chicago toSt. Louis to travel up to 110mph.

The project includes newlocomotives and passengercars, rebuilding of track, addi-tional signaling devices at gradecrossings, and implementationof state-of-the-art signalingtechnology.

CORN, MR. PRESIDENT?

Will County Farm Bureau member John Kiefner, right, describes storage problems with moldy corn to Sene-gal President Abdoulaye Wade who toured Kiefner’s Manhattan farm last week with a delegation of 25cabinet members and other Senegalese leaders on a trade mission. Wade specifically asked to tour a cornfarm and mentioned his interest in buying Illinois corn and soybeans. The delegation and Illinois Agricul-ture Director Tom Jennings signed an agreement to increase trade opportunities between the West Africanation and Illinois. (Photo by Christina Nourie, Illinois Farm Bureau northeast legislative coordinator)

Work to start on Chicago-St. Louishigh-speed rail route in September

GOVERNMENT


Would credit redirection help foreign ethanol sales?BY MARTIN ROSSFarmWeek

While the idea of bolster-ing investment in renewablefuels infrastructure appeals toJohn Urbanchuk, the econo-mist warns repurposing theethanol tax credit could windup pumping more importedethanol into the U.S.

The ethanol coalitionGrowth Energy’s “FuelingFreedom” plan proposes redi-recting a portion of cornethanol tax credit funds to helpexpand availability of special-ized ethanol pumps and createethanol pipelines and shift theremaining portion “away fromthe oil companies” — fuelblenders who use the credit tooffset biofuels costs.

Urbanchuk, an independentconsultant, believes proposedredirection of incentivestoward fuel retailers and dis-tributors is “all fine and good.”But he stressed the blenderincentive is a “consumptioncredit,” designed to encourageU.S. ethanol production.

By shifting from a produc-tion focus, he said, Congresscould endanger the currentethanol import tariff, which

was created to prevent cheaplyproduced foreign ethanol fromgaining a competitive advan-tage via the blenders’ credit.

“The idea of providingsome inducement to improveinfrastructure is good, butthese are two different things,”Urbanchuk said. “If that taxcredit goes away, the tariff alsogoes away. Under World TradeOrganization rules, the tariffis illegal without the tax credit.

“What you’re doing is pro-viding an incentive for produc-tion to shift outside the U.S.,mostly to Brazil but to othercountries as well. What youthen have is an incentive toimprove distribution ofethanol in the U.S., but you’llmake it easier for Brazilianethanol to get around the U.S.”

Rep. John Shimkus, a Col-linsville Republican, supports astraight five-year extension ofthe ethanol credit and tariff.

“The corn growers/(Re-newable Fuels Association)position is we ought to be goingfor the 45 cents (per gallon taxcredit) and we shouldn’t sell outearly,” he told FarmWeek.

“I know there’s a conflict inthe House: Money is tight, and

Earl (Pomeroy, a North Dako-ta Democrat and Shimkus’ co-sponsor) has a challenge on hisWays and Means Committee.And there’s definitely an attackin the Senate (against a five-year extension).”

Meanwhile, Shimkus’Renewable Fuels MarketingAct would create a new systemthat enables the U.S. Environ-mental Protection Agency(EPA) to determine whethernew or existing fueling equip-

ment can safely handle higherethanol blends.

As of last week, 24 Democ-rat and 20 Republican co-sponsors had come on boardsupporting the extension — inShimkus’ view, “a good split.”

Farmers ‘pay the freight’ for transportation flawsProducers “pay the freight”

for transportation deficiencies,and farm profitability ridesheavily on future infrastruc-ture policy, according to Soy-bean Transportation Coalition(STC) Executive DirectorMike Steenhoek.

New analysis released bySTC confirms ag transporta-tion is “one of those areas thatreally does have an impact on

“Increasingly, there’s anunderstanding that it has amore sizable impact on incomethan they originally believed.Farmers really are the oneswho actually pay the freight.”

Illinois has a healthy high-way-rail-river network, butSteenhoek stressed shortcom-ings in all three of those areas.For example, he noted a con-tinued lag in rail infrastructureinvestment has hiked freightrates over the last five years,including soy tonnage rates“the federal government woulddeem as potentially excessive.”

Shippers respond “by pay-ing farmers less,” he said. Sea-sonal demand may influencerates, but he stressed carriersoverall “are in an elevatednegotiating position with theirrural customers,” regardless ofthe time of the year.

Steenhoek is wary of Con-gress imposing “draconian” reg-ulations that limit carrier prof-itability and infrastructure invest-ment. But he cited federal Sur-face Transportation Board (STB)reauthorization measures spear-headed by Sen. Jay Rockefeller(D-W.Va.) that seek balancebetween carriers and customers.

Although no House versionhas yet emerged, Rockefellerreportedly hopes to movereforms this session.

Ironically, Steenhoek saidrail carriers have gained anupper hand with rural shipperslargely because policymakers

have “hamstrung” competinghighway and river channels. Aquarter of U.S. bridges are rat-ed as structurally deficient or“functionally obsolete,” but amere 7 percent of 2009 federalstimulus funds went to trans-portation projects of any sig-nificant scale, he said.

Given an administrationemphasis on rail, Steenhoeksuggests next year’s federalhighway bill could include newincentives for private infra-structure investment. Henonetheless stressed the needto ensure fuel taxes are usedsolely to maintain and improveroads and bridges and that anyrail incentives are fundedthrough a different mechanism.

He hopes Congress soonwill address decades-old under-investment in the na-tion’slocks and dams. Producers andshippers have awaited approvalof federal funds for seven newUpper Mississippi/Illinois Riv-er locks since 2007.

However, Steenhoek sees a“growing chorus of people”who prioritize recreationaluses or even natural reversionof the rivers and believe “ourinterior waterways do not havemuch of a place for movingcommerce.”

“If farmers aren’t willing tobe advocates in this issue, wecan’t expect there will be oth-ers to take their place,” theSTC di rector warned. — Mar-tin Ross

farmer profitability,” Steen-hoek told FarmWeek.

The report, targeting Illinoisand six other Midwest states,concludes agriculture is largelya supply- rather than demand-driven market because of com-petition from other grain- andoilseed-producing nations. Thatresults in transportation costsbeing disproportionately passedto producers vs. buyers.

“There’s been a temptationamong farmers to believe thatonce delivery actually has tak-en place, it’s ‘out-of-sight, out-of-mind,’ and any of thesesubsequent costs associatedwith delivering that commodi-ty or products derived from itto the ultimate customer reallydoesn’t have much of animpact on individual prof-itability,” Steenhoek said.

An Iowa State University economist’s con-clusion that elimination of key ethanol sup-ports would have minimal impact on futurebiofuels production hinges on a wobblyassumption, Illinois Farm Bureau economistMike Doherty warns.

In a study released last week, Iowa State’sCenter for Agricultural and Rural DevelopmentDirector Bruce Babcock downplayed the poten-tial industry impact of eliminating the creditand an associated tariff on imported ethanol.

Because of projected strong demand forethanol in Brazil and a “largely saturated” U.S.ethanol market, elimination of ethanol import tar-iffs would have almost no impact on U.S. cornand ethanol markets in 2011, Babcock maintained.

With elimination of the tax credit, annual U.S.ethanol production could decline by roughly 700million gallons, causing corn prices to drop anaverage 23 cents per bushel, he projected.

Babcock admitted the impact of ethanolpolicy changes likely would grow by 2014 asBrazil ramps up biofuels export capabilities.But given Brazilian ethanol demand growthand production limits, he argued impacts

would remain “modest.”However, his conclusions are based on key

assumptions including U.S. approval of higherethanol blends by 2014 and U.S. ethanol pro-duction capacity reaching 15 billion gallonswithin five years.

As long as a long-term renewable fuels stan-dard (RFS2) mandate for biofuels use holds,production ultimately would drop by no morethan 500 million gallons and corn prices by nomore than 16 cents, Babcock said.

That’s far from a foregone conclusion, IFBeconomist Doherty said at a Champaign CountyFarm Bureau renewable energy forum last week.

He noted the U.S. Environmental ProtectionAgency already has lowered 2011 RFS2 targetsfor cellulosic ethanol use from an original 250million gallons to a mere 5 million to 17.1 mil-lion gallons, raising questions about whether“we can trust the mandates.”

“Bruce and I kind of part company overwhether those mandates will hold,” Dohertysaid. “They could fall apart; there may not bethe political will to keep them (in place).” —Martin Ross

Economist’s conclusions hinge on iffy premise

Congress must ensure agtransportation is not relegatedto the rear of the bus, SoyTransportation Coalition(STC) Executive Director MikeSteenhoek warns.

Steenhoek agrees lawmakersshaping the next federal high-way bill should help statesshare equitably in fuel tax rev-enues that feed highway opera-tions and maintenance nation-wide.

But transportation fundingformulas also must considerrural commerce and communityeconomics as well as the needsof suburban-metro commuters,Steenhoek emphasized.

Amid increased automotivecongestion, he sees a risingshare of highway funds shiftingto “urban America.”

“There’s a desire to makesure the money that goes to astate is more equal to (high-way) use that occurs withinthat state,” Steenhoek told

FarmWeek. “That soundsrational, but how do youdefine ‘use’?

“What’s greater use — 100motorists driving to and fromthe office in an urban area or10 semis full of soybeansgoing to market, which willhave significant impact on arural economy and our abilityto feed ourselves? There’s abias against freight in thiscountry, and it certainly creepsinto the formula for how(highway) funds are appropri-ated.”

Congress also could bolsterinterstate commerce throughmore uniform commercial truckweights, Steenhoek said.

Using STC analysis, Iowarecently moved to allow all agfreight semis to have weights of90,000 pounds on six axles or96,000 pounds on seven axles— weights previously permittedfor livestock, constructionmaterials, and a few other uses.

In contrast, Illinois recentlyapproved an 80,000-pound/ -five-axle limit.

STC has explored a 97,000-pound/six-axle threshold,which Steenhoek said wouldenable grain producers to loadan additional 183 bushels ofsoybeans per semi and, onaverage, save a day’s work andexpenses each harvest season.

Demand for highway freightmovements is expected toincrease by 77 percent by 2035,“yet we have no confidencethe federal government willkeep pace by investing in infra-structure in that way,” he said.

Adding an axle to displacetruck weight would help safe-guard motorist safety and long-term “infrastructure integrity,”Steenhoek said.

“You could really take awaythe two primary argumentsagainst (increased semiweights),” he argued. — MartinRoss

Urban ‘bias’ in transportation funding?

ECONOMY


Vision for Ag leaders to explore state fiscal issues

different perspectives.“Even though this forum is

hosted by an agriculture-cen-tered coalition, we’re bringingin opinion leaders who repre-sent different viewpoints, butwho are all concerned aboutthe state’s future fiscal viabili-ty,” said Illinois Farm BureauPresident Philip Nelson.

“We want to help facilitatediscussion so Illinois, the state,is on sound financial groundso we can move forward toenrich not only the lives offarmers, but everyone in thestate,” Nelson added.

Johnson said his goal is toprovide clarity and understand-ing of the state’s financialproblems as well as a historicalperspective. “How did we get

here?” he asked.“We’ve had deficits before.

What is the difference betweenthe current and past deficits?”Johnson added.

The topic of cutting state

services has been raised manytimes, but Johnson explainedsuch cuts truly wouldn’t impactservices directly from stategovernment.

“The state doesn’t provideservices to a great extent,”Johnson said. “Those (budget)cuts would cut services provid-ed by others,” such as health

care providers.Johnson also plans to offer

the Taxpayers’ Federation’sthoughts on solving the state’sbudget problems.

In addition to Johnson, thespeakers will include GeoffreyHewings, director of theRegional Economic Applica-tions Laboratory at the Univer-sity of Illinois’ Institute ofGovernment and PublicAffairs; Kathy Ryg, presidentof Voices for Illinois Children;and Kristina Rasmussen, exec-utive vice president of the Illi-nois Policy Institute.

After the forum, a summaryof key points raised during thediscussion will be availableonline at {www.illinoisagricul-turevision.org}.


The state faces major finan-cial problems, but Illinoisanshear different estimates on thedepth of the deficit — num-bers so large their scale is diffi-cult to grasp.

“If we laid off every stateemployee, it would only fill 30percent of the deficit,”Thomas Johnson, president of

the Taxpayers Federation ofIllinois, told FarmWeek.

Johnson will discuss aspectsof the state deficit Aug. 3 at aforum on fiscal integrity spon-sored by the Vision for IllinoisAgriculture. The Vision goal isto raise awareness about thestate’s financial issues and todiscuss potential solutions.

The coalition will hear fromseveral speakers who represent

‘If we laid off every state employee, it wouldonly fill 30 percent of the deficit.’

— Thomas JohnsonTaxpayers Federation of Illinois

July 29University of Illinois Brownstown Agronomy ResearchCenter field day, 9 a.m. rain or shine. For information, con-tact Robert Bellm at 618-692-9434.

Aug. 5University of Illinois Dixon Springs Agricultural Center fieldday, 9 a.m. to noon, Simpson. For information, call 618-695-2441.

Aug. 13-22Illinois State Fair, State Fairgrounds, Springfield.

Aug. 17Ag Day, Illinois State Fairgrounds, Springfield.

Aug. 19Agronomy Day, University of Illinois, 7 a.m. to 2 p.m., CropSciences Research and Education Center (also known asSouth Farms) Urbana. For information, call 217-333-4256 orgo online to {http://agronomyday.cropsci.illinois.edu}.

Aug. 27 - Sept. 6DuQuoin State Fair, DuQuoin.

Sept. 7-9Illinois Agriculture in the Classroom Bike Ride in EasternIllinois. For information, call 309-557-2230 or go online to{www.iaafoundation.org}.

DATEBOOK

Bernie Walsh, Durand, Winnebago County: We finally gotsome much-needed rain. Afterwaiting for four weeks, wereceived 2 inches here at ourfarm on Thursday and Friday.There were much higheramounts throughout the countywith the southwest corner nearSeward getting 5.5 inches and it

was still raining Friday morning. This raincame just in time. It probably is too much forsome low areas but will greatly benefit everyother field. There doesn’t appear to be toomuch insect pressure in our fields, eventhough we have been catching 10 to 12western bean cutworm moths in our trap perweek. That compares to zero caught twoyears ago and only 12 caught all of last year.

Pete Tekampe, Grayslake, Lake County: We received 0.4of an inch of rain Friday morningand it is still drizzling. Corn looksbetter after a long, hot week.Beans also perked up. Bothcrops are looking good. Theywere calling for storms Thursdaynight to give us 2 to 4 inches ofrain, but most of those went

north of us. Most of the wheat is cut. It is alittle above average in yield, but lighter in testweight. Some of the spring grains have beencut but were below average. I know it will rainthis week, because it’s fair week in LakeCounty. Come out and enjoy the LakeCounty Fair at the new fairgrounds. See youthere.

Leroy Getz, Savanna, Carroll County: Thunderstormswere occurring Friday morningwith heavy rain. It was hot andhumid all week. We did get all ofour oats combined and strawbaled — the earliest I’ve everbeen done. Eighty bushels peracre plus 80 bales of straw. Cornand beans look excellent. There

are no diseases or bugs at this time. Somethird-crop hay has been cut while others aretrying to finish their second crop.

Ron Frieders, Waterman, DeKalb County: After morethan a week of very high temper-atures, crops are showingstress. The lower leaves onmuch of the corn are fired andbrown, much earlier than nor-mal. Insect pressure is growingin soybean fields and leaf-eatingis more evident. The hot and dry

conditions are favorable for aphids to moveinto the bean fields and populations need tobe monitored.

Larry Hummel, Dixon, Lee County: I am fairly confidentthat we will be the only farmersin Illinois drying corn this week.We have non-GMO corn sold forJuly delivery that is coming outof the bin at 15-16 percent mois-ture. To qualify for the 50-centpremium, it has to be below 15percent moisture. With that

much money left on the table, we are goingto fire up the dryer to pull about a point anda quarter out. I have been getting a little con-cerned that the rains have been going northand south of us, but after hearing reports of3-8 inches of rain in those areas, I feel bet-ter. We are OK on moisture for now, but tokeep yield potential up, we will need onebefore too long.

Ken Reinhardt, Seaton, Mercer County: Just a few tenthsof rain for the week. There werehuge rains just south and to thenorth. I actually saw a pivot run-ning down on the sand, the first Ihave seen this season.Fungicide flights on corn haveslowed down. It’s about time forapplications on soybeans.

Japanese beetles have been hard on thesilks on the outside rows of corn.

Mark Kerber, Chatsworth, Livingston County: Last weekwas another hot and dry one. Norain in our area for the secondstraight week. Corn is drying upand beans need a rain. Noinsect damage to report at thistime. We sprayed some soy-beans with fungicide — we willsee if it helps yields. It is a good

time to ride north. As we checked the corn allthe way to Canada, our area seemed to bethe driest. Markets are hanging in there.

Ron Moore, Roseville, Warren County: We received 2inches of rain last week. With thehot weather, it was welcome.The corn is not rooted very deepand any period of dry weatherwill start to put the crop undertoo much stress. Most of thecorn is pollinated now and start-ing to fill the ear. There is some

disease showing up in the corn. The fungi-cide we applied will help. The beans arestarting to flower and some fungicide isbeing applied to them. There are someminor infestations of bean leaf beetles andJapanese beetles. We will spray some ofthose fields, too. The pasture conditions aregood for this time of year. The cattle areonly grazing in the early morning and earlyevening to avoid the heat.

Jacob Streitmatter, Princeville, Peoria County: Anotherhot and dry week. It seems all therain stayed in the southern part ofPeoria County. The corn is look-ing better. The majority of it haspollinated and looks more even.Surprisingly, I have not seen thecorn suffer from the hot and dryweather yet. After scouting the

cornfields, I have found a lot of rust startingbut not much other disease at this time. It isalso notable that some of the corn is runningout of nitrogen and starting to fire. The soy-beans planted in May are getting close to R3and R4 stage.

Tim Green, Wyoming, Stark County: Very hot and dryweek. I hate to say it, but wecould use a nice little 1-inch rain.People are wrapping up cornspraying and moving to the beanspraying and deciding what tospray. There are reports of a fewJapanese beetles here andthere, but no big numbers yet.

People are getting ready for fall and gettingrid of some old corn.

Ron Haase, Gilman, Iroquois County: The weekbrought more heat and nomeasureable rainfall. So for themonth of July, we received 0.4to 1 inch of rain which fell onJuly 13. The 10-day forecastdoes not look too promising forrain, either. Corn in the area isanywhere from the R2 up to the

R4 or dough stage. Crop-dusters haveslowed down spraying local cornfields.Most soybean fields are anywhere fromR2 up to R5, which is the beginning seedgrowth stage. The local closing prices forJuly 22 were $3.51 for nearby corn, $3.52for new-crop corn, $3.74 for fall 2011corn, $10.28 for nearby soybeans, and$9.51 for new-crop soybeans.

Steve Ayers, Champaign, Champaign County: Monday(July 19) led off our wet weekwith 1 inch of rain, Tuesday with0.2 of an inch, Wednesday with0.4 of an inch, and Thursdaywith 0.5 of an inch for a total of2.1 inches. Thankfully, wemissed the strong winds thatwalloped our friends to the

south. One microburst dropped 2 inches ofrain in 20 minutes, so amounts varied wide-ly. This week we should have highs in themid-80s. Corn is about 15 percent doughstage and beans continue blooming andbeginning to pod. See you at the ChampaignCounty Fair!

Wilfred Dittmer, Quincy, Adams County: Another wetweek in our little corner of thestate with a little more than 3inches of rain collected in ourgauge. That brings our Julyrainfall total to a little morethan 7 inches, and no, we justdid not need it at all. I think allthe ditches and creeks got a

good flushing. Oh well, one fellow saidthe other day he still would rather see awet year than a dry one. Corn is enjoyingthe water, but it also would like to breathesome, too. Most is, as the song says, “tallas an elephant’s eye” and tasseled, butthere still are a lot of short and unevenfields. Early beans are pushing knee-highand blooming while later ones are look-ing good but have a long way yet to go.It’s both fair time and vacation time.Enjoy both while you’re able. Have a safeweek!

Brian Schaumburg, Chenoa, McLean County: Less thanan inch of rain for the month ofJuly leaves some to wonder howlawns, waterways, and crops arestaying so green. Aerial fungi-cide applications for corn arecomplete and we are contem-plating spraying our soybeans.Scouting for insects in beans

and finding few problems. Corn, $3.48, fall,$3.48; soybeans, $10.24, $9.34; wheat,$5.36.

Todd Easton, Charleston, Coles County: Seven-plus inch-es of rain hit the ground alongwith some furious winds. Cropswithstood the harsh weather forthe most part with some dam-age on the west side of thecounty and a lot more in neigh-boring Moultrie County. Corndevelopment looks to be well

ahead of average and will bring an early fallto go with our late spring. The calculationsfound on the University of Illinois’ WARMdatabase supports what we are seeing out inthe fields. It shows growing degree units forApril 15-planted corn at just over 1,900 —250 above average. Soybeans also are busyputting on pods and working to fill them andshould be benefiting from all of the rainfall.The Coles County Fair is under way with itsmany shows and activities. It’s always been agreat excuse to take an afternoon or two offfrom the farm and have fun with the family.See you there.

Jimmy Ayers, Rochester, Sangamon County: Wow, quitea week! Monday (July 19) westarted out with a smooth, gentlerain — 1.5 inches but high windsin some areas. Quite a fewstorms rolled through Tuesdayand three or more townsreceived damage. A lot of lightpoles and trees were knocked

down in the Gerard/Palmyra/Taylorville area.We ended up with 2.7 inches from those rainevents. In the area for the week, we had 4.2inches. We went from dry as I spoke a weekearlier to river banks full again. There weresome reports of more than 5.5 inches of rainin some spots around Sangamon County.Lincoln had several showers along the northside. Corn probably is responding real well tothe abundance of water if it wasn’t damagedby wind. There was pea size hail in differentareas, but not a lot of damage. Soybeansseem to be responding to additional mois-ture also. A little bit of roadside mowing, butnot a lot of activity on the farm.

Doug Uphoff, Shelbyville, Shelby County: The northernpart of Shelby County was pum-meled by strong wind, hail, andrain July 19. Findlay andMoweaqua were especially hardhit. Sullivan in Moultrie Countywas hit even harder. Crop andtree damage was extensive andtwo Verizon towers east of

Findlay were put to the ground. We had agood fair in the county last week. It is alwayslike a family reunion each year. We alsoreceived 2.5 to 5 inches of rain in the coun-ty. Rain is robbing us of yield this year in theform of denitrification and saturated soils notallowing oxygen to the root systems of soy-beans. The wind and hail made a lot of greensnap corn. We also lost a lot of leaf areawhich definitely will hurt yields as well ascause some more disease problems. The 20-inch rows and split rows did not take the windas well and seem to have a more severelodging problem.

David Schaal, St. Peter, Fayette County: Since lastreport, I received a little morethan 3 inches of rain. The rain-fall was very welcome here.This rain, I think, has helpedour corn crop and it alsohelped our soybean croptremendously. Some corn wasshowing some firing signs. Our

corn never has been stressed and neverhas rolled up at any point. Very unusual forthe crops here not to suffer at some point.Soybeans are growing well. They areblooming and have adequate moisture.Some bean fields also have another flushof weeds coming through. I am sure spray-ing will be picking back up as ground con-ditions permit. Producers are on cruisecontrol getting prepared for the fast-approaching harvest.


CROPWATCHERS

Dean Shields, Murphysboro, Jackson County: Theweather last week was hot andhumid again. We did have ashower come through that gaveus 0.5 of an inch of rain. Not allof Jackson County got that rain.There are still some dry spots.The corn and beans are growingpretty well. We need a little more

rain here and there. Mostly, we are finishingup some spraying and doing some mowing.Thinking about getting stuff out and ready forharvest pretty soon. The important thing inmy area is that the river is still high and weare still pumping water to keep our lowlandsdry. It’s a later-summer job, so vacations arebeing taken and a few repairs are beingdone. Stay cool and be careful.

Ken Taake, Ullin, Pulaski County: It was another typicalsummer week here in deepSouthern Illinois — I mean hotand dry. Crops seem to be doingOK, but they sure could use ashower. I don’t know how muchthe corn has been hurt by thehot weather, but it was extreme-ly hot and humid this past week.

At least the grass in the yard is a little bitgreen, so we are hopeful. I guess we will findout this fall how things did. Please have agood summer.

Dan Meinhart, Montrose, Jasper County: It rained almostevery day again this past week.Heavy rain on Monday afternoonand night (July 19) brought floodedfields and roadways. The creeksand rivers came out of their banks.We have had 8 to 10 inches of rainthe past two weeks. In June, wereceived 12 inches or more of rain.

This has put a lot of stress on the May and June-planted corn. Beans also are under great stress.The May corn is tasseling. Some bean fields arein dire need of being sprayed. In some situa-tions, fungicides are being applied by air oncorn. Hay baling has been on hold for the lasttwo weeks. There are some fields that have notbeen planted. The weather has been very hotand humid. There is hope for a little cooler anddrier weather this week.

Rick Corners, Centralia, Jefferson County: Holy cow,Harry! Two-tenths of an inch ofrain every other day. If it keepsthis up for another month, we aregoing to have one heck of a beancrop. Everything looks reallygreat around here now.

Ted Kuebrich, Jerseyville, Jersey County: Jersey Countyreceived 3 inches of rain lastweek. The corn and beans lookexcellent for the most part. Youcan see some spots in the fieldswhere the crops stood in toomuch water during the growingseason. The temperature hasbeen very hot with the readings

in the high 90s. Prices at Jersey CountyGrain, Hardin: July corn, $3.53; fall corn,$3.55; January 2011 corn, $3.68; July 2010beans, $10.38; fall 2010 beans, $9.66;January 2011 beans, $9.93; July wheat,$5.40.

Kevin Raber, Browns, Wabash County: Hot weather is stillcovering Southern Illinois. Wehave had some rain, so the cropconditions are holding up well.I’m beginning to hear about croptours and yield checks, so Ishould have some yield guessessoon. Our local 4-H fair is thisweek, so I encourage everyone

to attend and help support the work that ourlocal 4-H kids and leaders have done thispast year.

Page 7 Monday, July 26, 2010 FarmWeek

CROPWATCHERS

Reports received Friday morning.Expanded crop information available at FarmWeekNow.com

The heat is on: Crops, livestock under stressBY DANIEL GRANTFarmWeek

Heat index readings in thetriple digits last week stressedhumans, crops, and livestockaround the state and parts ofthe Midwest.

Rolled corn leaves causedby heat stress have been quitecommon in recent weeks.Meanwhile, weight gain andmilk production in livestockare expected to decline untiltemperatures return to morecomfortable levels.

“If we get a lot of heat, Ithink we’ll see heat stress onthe corn even though we’veh a d m o r e wa t e r t h a n weneed,” said Larry Moore, afarmer from Warren County.

Moore estimated his corny ie ld potent i a l a l r eady i sdown about 10 to 15 percent

“The fact that beans havebeen wetter than normal (andsome were planted late) sug-gests there may be problemswith yield,” said Moore, whoplanted and replanted onebean field this season threedifferent times.

Elsewhere, a combinationof extreme heat, high humidi-ty, and no wind last week wasa blamed for the death ofmore than 2 ,000 cat t le infeeding operations in Kansas,the Associated Press (AP)reported.

R e n d e r e r s r e p o r t e d l ycouldn’t handle all the car-casses and as many as 900 ofthe dead ca t t l e had to beburied.

“I’ve never seen anythinglike this,” Ken Powell, envi-ronmental scientist with the

K a n s a s D e p a r t m e n t o fHealth and Environment, toldAP. “Usually we have a fewhundred head (die of heatstress) in the summer. Twothousand is a lot higher thannormal.”

On dairy farms, milk pro-d u c t i o n wa s e x p e c t e d t oplummet as the mercury con-tinued to rise last week.

“With the hot tempera-tures, it’s very hard to keep(livestock) cool,” said Jim Fra-ley, Illinois Farm Bureau live-stock program director. “Wewill lose milk production.”

Livestock are unable toperspire, so Fraley recom-mended producers make suretheir animals have adequateshade and fresh water alongwith sprinklers and fans forthose housed indoors.

this year due to water damageand leaching of nitrogen inrecent months.

“The (corn) roots are shal-low,” he said. “If it stops rain-ing, I th ink we’ l l see heatstress.”

The condition of the U.S.corn crop last week deterio-rated slightly, according toUSDA, as the amount ratedgood-to-excellent declinedfrom 73 percent to 72 per-cent. The rest of the crop lastMonday was rated 19 percentfair and 9 percent poor orvery poor.

The condition of the soy-bean crop last week actuallyi m p r o v e d , a c c o r d i n g t oUSDA, as the portion of thecrop rated good to excellentincreased from 65 percent to67 percent. The rest of the

soybean crop last week wasrated 24 percent fair and 9percent poor or very poor.

Early conditions likely promoted SDS or BSRBY KEVIN BLACK

We nor ma l l y don’t s e esymptoms of sudden deathsyndrome (SDS) or brownstem rot (BSR) until much lat-er in the season, often in

August. Thisyear, we maysee character-i s t i c S D Ssymptoms al i t t l e ear l i e rthan usual.

Both SDSand BSR arecharacterizedby yellowing

between leaf veins, progress-ing to interveinal necrosis,especially on top leaves (seepicture). Veins tend to staygreen, even when the necroticareas between veins dry upand fall out.

Following are some obser-vations and facts concerning

ing of the cortical tissue. Thelower stem symptoms oftenare best seen in cross-section.

• Browning of the pith is akey symptom of BSR but doesnot occur with SDS.

• Late in the season, withSDS, leaflets will often dropoff the petioles. The petiolesremain attached and stick outfrom the stem. This is in con-trast to BSR, where leafletsremain attached to the peti-oles, which droop, but remainattached to the stem.

• Two key SDS manage-ment efforts include plant inginto warm soils (greater than60 degrees Fahrenheit) and

use of SCN-resistant soybeanvarieties (where SCN is a con-firmed pest). It is should be agiven that crop rotation bepracticed.

• Soybean breeders are suc-cessfully selecting soybeanlines that resist or tolerateSDS.

This information is usuallypublished in seed company lit-erature. Many of these lines,not surprisingly, also are SCNresistant.

K e v i n B l a c k i s G R OW -MARK’s insect and plant diseasetechnical manager. His e-mailaddress is [email protected].

SDS and BSR, along with afew management tips:

• SDS is caused by a speciesof the Fusarium fungus (Fusar-ium virguliforme). This Fusari-um species shows up in envi-ronments where it receivesassistance in infecting the soy-bean roots.

• Soybean Cyst Nematode(SCN) is a pest whose pres-ence is often correlated withSDS infection.

• Slow soybean growth incool soils (as with early planti-ng) has also been linked withSDS infection.

• The interveinal chlorosisthat characterizes SDS andBSR is not actually the diseaseitself but is caused by a toxintranslocated from the rootsand lower stem to the upperpart of the plant.

• Soybean infection by SDSand BSR occurs early in the

season, while the leaf symp-toms typically show up duringpod fill.

• For SDS, lower stem androot symptoms are difficult tosee, but often include darkstreaks in the root and a gray-

Continued hot, dry weather hasleft sizable cracks in the soil infields near Gilman. (Photo byCropwatcher Ron Haase)

Kevin Black

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New herbicide-resistant waterhemp strain IDedWeed controloptions dwindle BY DANIEL GRANTFarmWeek

Farmer options to controlwaterhemp continue to dwin-dle in Illinois.

Researchers last week con-firmed waterhemp in CentralIllinois is resistant to hydrox-yphenyl pyruvate dioxygenase(HPPD)-inhibiting herbicides.

The population of waterhempresistant to HPPD-inhibitors wasdiscovered in a field of seed cornin McLean County. It wasunknown as of last week if thelatest finding of herbicide resis-tance was an isolated case or ifresistance to HPPD-inhibitors ismore widespread.

“It’s clear this populationappears to be quite difficultand contains resistant genes,”said Chuck Foresman, manag-er of weed resistance strate-gies for Syngenta.

Waterhemp populations inthe state the past 20 yearsdeveloped resistance to ALS(acetolactate synthase)inhibitors, triazine, PPO (proto-porphyrinogen oxidase)inhibitors, and glyphosate.

“We continue to find bio-

agement plan for each field;rotate herbicides; rotate crops;and use multiple modes ofaction in tank mixes, pre-emer-gence herbicides, tillage, andcover crops to reduce the devel-opment and spread of herbicideresistance in weed populations.

Otherwise, if the problem isallowed to persist, Hager didn’t

rule out the possibility that somefarmers eventually may be back tousing cultivators in certain fields.

Hager discussed the situa-tion last week during the IllinoisSoybean Association’s ResearchTour in Urbana. Herbicide-resistant weeds also will be dis-cussed Aug. 19 at the U of IAgronomy Day in Urbana.

types with resistance to variousherbicide classes,” said AaronHager, University of IllinoisExtension weed specialist. “This(latest finding) represents the fifthherbicide family to which water-hemp has developed resistance.”

Farmers as a result havefewer options to control weedsthat complement the commonRoundup Ready system thatfeatures glyphosate. The major-ity of soybeans planted in theU.S. are Roundup Ready.

“In soybeans, the options(to control waterhemp and oth-er glyphosate-resistant weeds)are becoming very, very limit-ed,” Hager told FarmWeek.

In Illinois, glyphosate resis-tance has been confirmed inwaterhemp and marestail, andsome populations of giant rag-weed are believed to have thesame resistance. Nationwide,about 10 weed species haveresistance to glyphosate.

But waterhemp is “handsdown our dominant concern inIllinois,” Hager said.

If waterhemp is not con-trolled, full-season interferencefrom the annual broadleaf cancreate as much as a 42 percentyield loss in soybeans, accord-ing to the weed specialist.

Hager and Foresman

believe herbicide resistancehas become more of a prob-lem due to an over-reliance ona few modes of action.

“If you use the same thingover, and over, and over, that’show instances of resistancedevelop very quickly,” Hager said.

Foresman recommendedfarmers develop a weed man-

The recent run of warm weather could con-tinue next month.

Jeff Doran, senior business meteorologistwith Planalytics — a Philadelphia-based busi-ness weather intelligence provider — last weekprojected hot temperatures in Illinois nextmonth with normal to above-normal rainfall.

“August continues to look warmer than nor-mal,” Doran said last week at a weather intelli-gence symposium in St. Louis. “We’re looking atpotential heat stress.”

The forecast is based in part on a transitionfrom El Nino to La Nina (the latter reflectivelycooler-than-normal water temperatures in thePacific Ocean). “A La Nina summer supportsmore heat,” he said.

Crops may not lose as much yield potential tothe heat — if it continues — this year comparedto other years due to a quick growing pace andadequate soil moisture in many key growingregions, according to the meteorologist.

USDA last Monday reported 65 percent ofthe U.S. corn crop was silking compared to thefive-year average of 47 percent. In Illinois, 89

percent of the corn crop last week was silkingcompared to just 24 percent last year.

Meanwhile, 64 percent of the Illinois soybeancrop was blooming last week compared to 22 per-cent last year and the five-year average of 56 percent.

Doran projected rainfall next month could benormal in the northern two-thirds of the statewith a greater chance for above-normal precipita-tion in Southern Illinois. He also predicted rainfallin September could create some harvest delays,particularly in areas with previously saturated soils.

A key component of the potential rainfallactivity in coming months is the possibility ofabove-normal storm activity in the Gulf ofMexico. Doran projected 16 named stormscould pass through the Gulf in coming months,compared to an average of nine or 10, and 10to 12 could become hurricanes.

“Hurricane season is going to be veryactive,” Doran predicted.

Elsewhere, a cool/wet weather pattern devel-oping in South America has the potential to cre-ate issues for the upcoming planting season inBrazil and Argentina. — Daniel Grant

Meteorologist: August could be warmer than normal

PRODUCTION


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Always follow IRM guidelines and grain channeling requirements.

Brownstown Agronomy Field Day set for Thursday

The University of Illinois Brownstown Agronomy ResearchCenter will start its field day at 9 a.m. Thursday. The event willbe held rain or shine.

Presentations will be given on several topics, including nitro-gen additives for corn and wheat, new weed management devel-opments, corn additives and yields, soybean seedling diseases,and Japanese beetles and other pests.

The last tour will start at 9:20 a.m. A free meal will be served.The research center is located on Ill. Route 185, south of

Brownstown. For more information, contact Robert Bellm at618-692-9434.

Landowners in the lowerIllinois River-SenachwineCreek Basin have untilWednesday to signup for theWetlands Reserve Enhance-ment Program (WREP).WREP pays landowners topermanently restore wetlandhabitat to benefit water qualityand wildlife.

A priority will be given tofrequently flooded croplandalong the Illinois River inWoodford, Peoria, Tazewell,and Marshall counties. The ini-tial signup target is croplandsurrounding the Upper PeoriaLake.

Enrolled lands will berestored as wetland habitat,generally under a permanentconservation easement.

Eligible landowners mayreceive up to $3,200 per acrefor permanent conservationeasements on land that is

enrolled and accepted intoWREP. Additional WREPsignups will be announced inthe future.

Funding for WREP is beingprovided by the MississippiRiver Basin Initiative throughan agreement between theNatural Resources Conserva-tion Service (NRCS) andDucks Unlimited.

The goal is to enroll 500acres along the Illinois Riverover the next five years,according to Eric Schenck, aregional biologist with DucksUnlimited.

Landowners should visittheir local NRCS county officefor more information or tosubmit an application. Tospeak with a local DucksUnlimited representative, con-tact Schenck [email protected] or 309-224-5651.

Deadline Wednesday for special WREP signup


Macoupin County farmerDale Conrady joked that thejury is still out on growingstrawberries under a plastic-covered tunnel, but he alreadyhas learned that his new pro-duction system will withstandstrong winds after a stormblew through the Hettick arealast week.

Conrady and his wife,Becky, are part of a nationalpilot project through the Nat-ural Resources ConservationService (NRCS) to determineif high-tunnel production is agood system for growing veg-etables and other specialtycrops.

NRCS offered special envi-ronmental quality incentiveprogram (EQIP) grants forthe three-year study.

Illinois is one of 38 statesparticipating in the pilot pro-ject. The goal is to learn if thetunnels will reduce pesticideand fertilizer use, maintainsoil nutrients, extend the

growing season, or increaseyields. Becky Conrady said sheread about the pilot project inFarmWeek.

“The idea is to extend thegrowing season for two orthree weeks, to get the cropsin the ground earlier, or toextend the growing season lat-er,” said Gabe Gibson, soilconservationist withMacoupin County NRCS.

In return for the grant, theConradys and other partici-pants must apply the samemanagement practices tocrops growing outside thehigh tunnel and keep threeyears of records comparingthe two production systems,Gibson added.

The Conradys connectedtwo tunnels together to createa 30-by-192-foot coveredgrowing space.

They covered the structurewith polyethylene in early Julyand planted strawberries July16 and 17. Dale Conrady saidhis goal is to have strawber-ries ready to pick by Mother’s

Macoupin County farm’s tunnelpart of NRCS pilot project

Day instead of the traditionallate May harvest.

Weather problems duringthe last four growing seasonsinfluenced the Conradys’ deci-sion to try high-tunnel pro-duction.

“I know it’s (the tunnel)going to help,” Conrady said.“It’s definitely a learningexperience.” Conrady said hehad read research showinghigh-tunnel systems allowfarmers to harvest 90-some

percent of their crop com-pared to 65 in a traditionalmatted-row system.

More information and pho-tos of their operation areonline at {www.backwoodsberryfarm.com}.

Family and friends of Dale and Becky Conrady help cover a 30-by-192-foot tunnel that is being used to growstrawberries at Hettick in Macoupin County. The Conradys are part of a national pilot project through theNatural Resources Conservation Service to determine if high-tunnel production is good for growing vegeta-bles and other specialty crops. (Photo courtesy Dale and Becky Conrady)

LIVESTOCK


Farm Bureau seeks extension for livestock commentsBY MARTIN ROSSFarmWeek

Farm Bureau hails USDAefforts to correct practicesthat leave many poultry pro-ducers indefinitely indebted tointegrators.

However, proposed newfederal livestock rules shouldnot pre-empt potential market-

analyze the rule,” Stallman stated.At a House Ag livestock,

dairy, and poultry subcommitteehearing last week, respectivechairman and ranking memberDavid Scott (D-Ga.) and RandyNeugebauer (R-Texas) ques-tioned whether proposed PSAchanges reflect Congress’ intentin the 2008 farm bill.

Regulatory changes “willimpact each operation different-ly,” depending on livestockspecies and type, producer mar-keting arrangements, and thelocation of operations relative toslaughter and processing facili-ties, Stallman argued. Added timeis needed to fully analyze legal,economic, and policy impacts ofbroader rules, he said.

AFBF has not yet submittedits own comments on proposedlivestock purchasing rules, butSmith noted “several ways inwhich they’re going to hinderour producers’ ability to selltheir product.”

Proposed rules would prohibitpackers from entering into exclu-sive arrangements with dealersother than those the packer hasformally identified as “packerbuyers” or from buying orreceiving livestock from anotherpacker, its parent company, or itswholly owned subsidiary.

“We’re not sure what kindof abuse (USDA) is trying toget at; we’re not sure what kindof bad behavior they’re tryingto stop with this rule,” shesaid. “In the meantime, our

fear is they’re doing damage toa lot of the marketing arrange-ments and marketing opportu-nities our farmers have.

“If it thinks abuse is takingplace, USDA already has com-plete authority to put a stop toany unjustly discriminatory,deceptive, unfair practice. Butwhen we asked point-blank foran example of where this sys-tem’s been abused in terms ofpurchasing practices, they(USDA officials) couldn’t giveus an example. They haven’ttried to prosecute an example.”

At the same time, Smithstressed “there are a lot of pro-visions in the rule we support,”including producer protectionsin the poultry sector — a poten-tial template for swine integra-tion and contracting.

Indebted producers areforced to accept “whatever con-tract’s put in front of them,” andregional integrators have beenaccused of demanding ongoingpoultry facility upgrades “just tokeep that producer in debt andforce them to sign that nextcontract,” she said.

USDA’s plan gives integra-tors a limited window afterpoultry or swine houses arebuilt to require further capitalinvestments. Integrators mustdemonstrate how growerswould recoup 80 percent oftheir added investments, andcontracts must be drawn for areasonable period to allow forcost recovery.

ing innovation and efficiencies,especially in the absence of evi-dence that any widespreadabuse has taken place, AmericanFarm Bureau Federation(AFBF) policy specialist TaraSmith told FarmWeek.

In a letter to Ag SecretaryTom Vilsack, AFBF PresidentBob Stallman requested a 120-

day extension of the commentperiod for proposed new fed-eral Packers and Stockyard Act(PSA) rules.

The current 60-day commentperiod is due to close Aug. 23 —AFBF seeks an opportunity forfurther input through Dec. 21,“to provide our organization andproducers adequate time to fully

The science of livestock antibiotic use andhuman antibiotic resistance is far from “set-tled,” according to U.S. House Energy andCommerce Committee member John Shimkus,a Collinsville Republican.

Shimkus, who heard testimony regardinglivestock antibiotics at a July subcommitteehearing, told FarmWeek Rep. Louise Slaugh-ter’s (D-N.Y.) proposal to restrict “sub-thera-peutic” or preventative antibiotics use may be“setting the table for the next Congress.”

Slaughter’s bill would require U.S. Food and DrugAdministration (FDA) re-review of seven classes ofantibiotics used in both veterinary and human care.

Shimkus argued FDA already has full author-ity to assess the safety of livestock antibioticsuse for humans throughout the food chain. Hesuggested no major FDA controversy regardingveterinary drugs has arisen because no scientificproof has yet emerged.

Shimkus said most of the purportedly “unequiv-ocal” evidence of livestock antibiotic use impactinghuman health presented to his subcommittee was

based on “rehashed,” non-peer-reviewed, largelyinternational studies. U.S. producers and consumers“don’t want to trust European studies,” said thecongressman, who cited concerns that the Euro-pean Union may be seeking tighter U.S. standards togain a competitive trade advantage.

“If someone can show us a direct link toantibiotic use in animals that increases antibioticresistance in humans, we’ll be the first ones to say,‘We have to address this issue,’” Shimkus said.

“All we’re saying is, do peer-reviewed research,bring all the stakeholders in, empower them, and let’smake a decision. This is like the climate debate:They’re saying the science is settled. I don’t think it is.”

Shimkus maintained the debate has beenmuddled by confusion over disease-specific ther-apeutic vs. “non-therapeutic” antibiotics use andespecially over use of products supposedly asgrowth promoters. Rather than spurring sponta-neous growth and development in livestock, “it’sthat these animals are healthier,” he stressed.

“Since they’re healthier, they’re bigger,”Shimkus said. — Martin Ross

Shimkus: Science not final in antibiotics debate

BY DANIEL GRANTFarmWeek

Cattle prices could soften in coming weeks as the U.S. inven-tory of cattle and calves on feed for the slaughter market as ofJuly 1 (10.1 million head) was up 3 percent compared to last year.

Meanwhile, placements in feedlots in June (1.63 million)increased 17 percent from a year ago, USDA reported Friday inits cattle on feed report.

The large jump in placements is due in part to the fact thatplacements the previous two years were at historically low levels.

But the numbers still suggest there will be more animals com-ing off feed near-term, which could keep a lid on prices throughthe summer, according to Dale Durchholz, AgriVisor marketanalyst.

“If we get some relief from the heat and humidity (which hasreduced supplies due to cattle deaths), things could softendown” in the cattle market, Durchholz said.

Steer prices could decrease from $94 to $95 per hundred-weight to the low-$90s in coming months before rallying again inthe fall, he said.

Long-term, though, the outlook is more optimistic. USDA onFriday also released inventory estimates for all cattle in the U.S.which showed the number of beef cows as of July 1 is down 2percent while the number of milk cows and the number ofcalves are down 1 percent.

“With the calf crop down, this argues feeder cattle pricesshould be good into 2011,” Durchholz said.

Another factor supporting beef prices is the export market.Beef export demand in May increased 34 percent compared tothe same time last year.

The average price of choice beef followed suit as itincreased 2 cents per pound from May to June. The averageretail price in June, $4.49 per pound, was up 21.4 cents com-pared to June 2009, Ron Plain, University of Missouri ag econ-omist reported.

Cattle on feed, export demand increase

FB IN ACTION


Don’t miss our Early Season Sale from March 17-31, 2010

website Phone: (000) 000-0000Contact: Name

Member Company Name

©2010 GROWMARK, Inc. A11425_6x8_aod

MAKING A STATEMENTAdopted lawmaker, studentstake county fair field trip

Winning essays about the importance of agriculture led to arecent field trip to the LaSalle County 4-H Fair with their staterepresentative for 40 fifth graders from Aurora.

State Rep. Linda Chapa-LaVia (D-Aurora) and her adoptedcounty Farm Bureau hosted the students from Nancy Hill Ele-mentary School. The essay contest was open to all schools inChapa-LaVia’s district. Rep. Frank Mautino (D-Spring Valley)joined the group at the fair.

The students’ first stop was at Stoller’s Farm Equipment,Ottawa, where they learned the role machinery plays in growingand harvesting crops.

Then it was off to the 4-H fair where the students and Chapa-LaVia toured the livestock barns, chatted with 4-H’ers aboutraising farm animals, and rode on their first hayrack around thegrounds.

Many of the students were able to touch a cow, pig, or a goatfor the first time. The visitors also learned how farmers care fortheir animals, making sure they are fed, watered, and kept coolduring the summer.

Livingston County Farm Bureau Young Leaders promoted animal welfare and the humane treatment oflivestock at the recent Livingston County 4-H Fair. Posters depicting young 4-H members caring for theiranimals with the slogan “Champions of Animal Care” were hung in six of the livestock barns at the fair.The text at the bottom of the poster provided a positive message about farmers taking good care of theirlivestock to the non-farming public visiting the fair. Shown are Brad and Anna Schmidgall, Forrest, Liv-ingston County Farm Bureau Young Leader chairman and secretary, respectively, who hung the posters.The idea to promote the livestock industry and animal care came from county Farm Bureaus in IllinoisFarm Bureau District 2. (Photo by Teresa Grant-Quick, Livingston County Farm Bureau manager)

LaSalle County 4-H’er Benjamin Temple, center, answers questions fromAurora students about caring for his lamb. The 12-year-old son of Bradand Kara Temple chatted with the fifth graders who toured the LaSalleCounty 4-H Show along with state Rep. Linda Chapa-LaVia (D-Aurora).The LaSalle County Farm Bureau “adopted” Chapa-LaVia through FarmBurea’s Adopt-a-Legislator program. (Photo by Christina Nourie, IllinoisFarm Bureau northeast legislative coordinator)

Dixon Springs Center field day Aug. 5 The University of Illinois Dixon Springs Agricultural Center,

Simpson, will host its field day from 9 a.m. to noon Thursday, Aug. 5. The program will include information on several topics,

including enhancing corn production, non-native invasive plantspecies, soybean seedling diseases, high tunnels for extendinggrowing seasons, beef cattle research, canola production, andblueberry production.

A free meal will be provided.The center is located on Ill. Route 145 near Glendale, 25

miles south of Harrisburg.For more information, call 618-695-2441.

AuctionCalendar

Tues., July 27. 7 p.m. 96.5Ac. Farmland. CaroleBratton and William

Atchley, Family of LowellPeddicord, JOHN-

SONVILLE, IL. CarsonAuction, Realty & Appraisal

Co.www.carsonauctionandr

ealty.comThurs., July 29. 10 a.m.158 Ac. Farmland. MarjieMunsson, ROBERTS, IL.

Bill Kruse, Auctioneer.Thurs., July 29. 10 a.m.158 Ac. Farmland. Marjie

Musson, ROBERTS, IL. BillKruse, Auctioneer. bil-

lkruse.netSat., July 31. 8:30 a.m.

Estate Auction. Ward “Joe”Cain Estate, PANA, IL.Cory Craig, Auctioneer.www.corycraig.comSat., July 31. 10 a.m.

Machinery and collectortractors. Larry Armstrong

Estate, ODELL, IL. Immkeand Bradleys’ Auction

Service. biddersandbuy-ers.com/immke and

bradleyauctionsinc.comSat., July 31. 10 a.m.

Monroe Co. Land Auction.Edward Rickert Trust,WATERLOO, IL. buya-

farm.comSat., July 31. 9:30 a.m.Estate Auction. Estate of

Julius Kartheiser,YORKVILLE, IL. DeBolt

Auction Service, Inc.www.deboltauctionservic

e.comWed., Aug. 4. 10 a.m.

Farm machinery. Haroldand Mary Becker, EMING-

TON, IL. Immke andBradleys’ Auction Service.www.biddersandbuyers.c

om/immkeFri., Aug. 6. 10 a.m. Lg.

Farm Eq. Auction. Estate ofLloyd E. Nafziger, HOPE-DALE, IL. Jerry Watkins

Auction Team.www.watkinsauctiontea

m.comSat., Aug. 7. 9:30 a.m.

Equipment. DaleConvention Center,

Organizers, DALE, IL.Jamie Scherrer Auction

Co.www.jamiescherrerauctio

n.comTues., Aug. 10. 10 a.m.

Farm Eq. Auction. ThomasRogers Charitable

Remainder Trust, MAROA,IL. Mike Maske Auction.

www.maskeauction.comThurs., Aug. 12. 7 p.m.

240 Ac. Clay Co.Farmland. Linda Love andVeronica Wilkey, Family ofThomas L. and Kathryn M.

Clark, CLAY CITY, IL.Carson Auction, Realty &

Appraisal Co.www.carsonauctionandr

ealty.comThurs., Aug. 19. 10 a.m.292.13+/- Ac. Champaign

Co. MAHOMET, IL.Wallace Land Company.www.wallaceland.com

FB IN ACTION


Firefighters learn how to conduct grain entrapment rescueBY BRENDA SEBOLDT

More than 150 volunteerfirefighters and farm familiesfrom Monroe and Randolphcounties participated in arecent grain bin entrapmentand farm safety program atthe Gateway FS facility inEvansville.

The firefighters participat-ed in the hands-on workshoptaught by GSI Group and theSafety and Technical RescueAssociation (SATRA) instruc-tor George Lovell.

John Lee, director of safe-ty, health, and environmentalservices with the Grain andFeed Association of Illinois,provided information on

grain bin engulfment, grainbin fires, and grain dustexplosions.

The training provide thefire departments with back-ground information on grainbin rescue techniques anddemonstrated the best tech-niques for their victim’s saferemoval.

Maeystown firefighter andFarm Bureau Board memberDan Mueller was the “victim”in his group. He said theevent was a good demonstra-tion of what happens in agrain entrapment.

Bob Gross and ChrisDeterding of the MonroeCounty Electric Cooperativepresented their live linedemonstration for the fire-fighters and farm families.

A highlight of the nightwas the landing of the Arch

George Lovell, left, Safety and Technical Rescue Association instructor,talks rescuers through the extraction of a grain entrapment “victim.”(Photo courtesy of Monroe County Farm Bureau)

Helicopter used for medicalemergencies.

The Waterloo Fire Depart-ment brought its fire housedisplay, and attendees wereable to see firsthand what todo if their house catches fire.

Glen Muench of GatewayFS’ structures departmentpresented information onPTO safety. Attendees werereminded about safety pre-cautions while riding an ATV.

The program was spon-sored by Gateway FS Inc.,Monroe County FarmBureau, Randolph CountyFarm Bureau, and a grantfrom Illinois Farm Bureauand Country Financial.

Brenda Seboldt is manager ofMonroe County Farm Bureau.She can be reached at 618-939-6197.

RAISING FUNDS FOR AG LITERACY

Wayne Keller, left, owner of Buyafarm.com, congratulates Zack Millerfor placing second in the special youth trap shoot competition duringthe fourth annual Pull for Agriculture Education at the World Shootingand Recreation Complex in Sparta. About 190 individuals competedin the trap shoot and another 144 tested their skill in the sporting clayscontest. An estimated $4,000 was raised to support agriculture litera-cy programs. (Photo courtesy of Randolph County Farm Bureau)

WIU institute’s oilseed biofuels field day Friday

Holst Farms, in conjunction with Western Illinois University’sIllinois Institute for Rural Affairs, will have a farm-scale biofuelsfield day from 11 a.m. to 2 p.m. Friday on the Holst farm,Augusta.

The program will include presentations on sunflower andcanola oilseed crops, on-farm oil processing, and on-farm use ofstraight vegetable oil as fuel. Tours of the oilseed-crushing facili-ty, double-crop sunflower field, and Flower Creek hydroponictomato greenhouse are planned.

“The Holsts have been double-cropping sunflowers after thewinter wheat crop and crushing the seed into oil for four years,”said Fred Iutzi, program manager of the Illinois Value-AddedSustainable Development Center.

The Holsts blend straight vegetable oil fuel into diesel fortheir late-model tractors and trucks and have displaced about athird of diesel fuel they previously used.

The event is free. Pre-registration is not required, but largegroups are asked to give advance notice to Luke Holst at 217-430-3945 or [email protected]. Directions to the farm alsomay be obtained at that number.

FROM THE COUNTIES


BUREAU — FarmBureau will sponsor a

free family portrait programfor members. Appointmentsare available from 3 to 8 p.m.Tuesday and Wednesday at theFarm Bureau office. There willbe one free portrait per familyor household. Call the FarmBureau office at 815-875-6468for a first-come, first-servedreservation.

CHAMPAIGN — FarmBureau will sponsor a

land use seminar from 9 to11:30 a.m. Tuesday, Aug. 3, atthe Farm Bureau auditorium.Cost is $10. Registrationforms are available at the FarmBureau office or at the website{www.ccfarmbureau.com}.Call the Farm Bureau office at217-352-5235 for more infor-mation.

• Farm Bureau will sponsora commercial driver’s licensecourse at 7:30 a.m. Saturday,Aug. 7, at the Farm Bureauauditorium. Cost is $50 formembers and $55 for non-members. Registration formsare available at the FarmBureau office or at the website{www.ccfarmbureau.com}.Deadline for reservations isFriday.

COLES — The mem-bership picnic and

Foundation silent auction willbe at 5:30 p.m. Friday, Aug. 20,at Morton Park, Charleston.Call the Farm Bureau office at345-3276 by Wednesday, Aug.11, for reservations or moreinformation.

DEWITT — A policydevelopment call-in

program will be from 9:06 to10 a.m. Friday, Aug. 6, onWHOW Radio 1520. Call 217-935-9900 with ideas and sug-gestions for Farm Bureau poli-cy.

• The DeWitt County FarmBureau Foundation annual golfouting will be at 8 a.m. Friday,Aug. 13, at Woodlawn CountryClub, Farmer City. Cost is $75for golf and lunch.

Call the Farm Bureau officefor more information.

EFFINGHAM — AProgressive Agriculture

Safety Day for children ages 7to 16 will be from noon to 2p.m. Friday at the EffinghamCounty Fairgrounds. Hands-ondemonstrations will focus onfire, guns, grain, power take-off, and underground utilityhazards. Participants willreceive a safety T-shirt, bag ofgoodies, and a coupon forlunch at the Pork Producers’stand. Call 217-342-2103 forreservations or more informa-tion.

• The Young Farmers Com-mittee will sponsor a foodpantry drive for all EffinghamCounty 4-H clubs. Bring foodpantry items to the fairgroundsthrough Aug. 4. Clubs thatbring the most donations

The group will see the play“Dividing the Estate” at theoutdoor theater. Dinner willbe at the Golden Corral. Par-ticipants must be a Mont-gomery County Farm Bureaumember and 55 years of age orolder. Cost is $39. Call theFarm Bureau office at 217-532-6171 for reservations or moreinformation.

PEORIA — Ag Nightwill be at the Peoria

Chiefs vs. Wisconsin TimberRattlers game at 7 p.m.Wednesday. There will be ag-related trivia, activities, and dis-plays at the game.

• Peach orders may bepicked up from 8:30 a.m. to 5p.m. Thursday, Aug. 5, at theFarm Bureau office.

• A Stroke Detection Plushealth screening will be Tues-day, Aug. 10, at the FarmBureau office. Call 877-732-8258 for reservations or moreinformation.

• Farm Bureau will sponsora bus trip Tuesday, Aug. 17, tothe Illinois State Fair, Spring-field. Cost is $20, whichincludes admission. Call theFarm Bureau office at 686-7070 for reservations or moreinformation.

ROCK ISLAND — Aninformational meeting

for kicking off AgXperiencewill be at 7 p.m. Thursday atthe Farm Bureau office. TheAgXperience will be Sept. 16-17 at the Rock Island CountyFairgrounds and John DeerePavilion.

• The District 3 summermeeting will be at 6:30 p.m.Monday, Aug. 9, at Kenny andMarilyn Bushes’ farm. Toursof their museum will be at 5:30p.m. Mary Ellen Fricke, IllinoisFarm Bureau promotions man-ager, will present the program“Standing up for Agriculture:Using Social Media and theInternet.” Call the FarmBureau office at 309-736-7432by Friday for reservations ormore information.

• The Rock Island CountyFarm Bureau Foundation golfouting and fundraiser will be atnoon Friday, Aug. 20, at IndianBluff Gold Course. Cost is$60 per person or $240 for afoursome. Call the FarmBureau office at 309-736-7432for reservations or more infor-mation.

• Farm Bureau’s annualmeeting will be at 5:30 p.m.Thursday, Aug. 26, at theMilan Community Center.Riefe’s and Reason’s PrairiePride will serve dinner. Aninteractive Kids Zone will beavailable for children. Cost is$8 for members. and childrenages 4 and under are free. Callthe Farm Bureau office byThursday, Aug. 19, for reserva-tions or more information.

ST. CLAIR — The Mon-Clair Corn Growers test

plot tours will be at 6:30 p.m.Monday, Aug. 9, at Dale Hau-drich’s farm, Hecker, and at 6p.m. Monday, Aug. 16, at GregGuenther’s farm, Belleville.Call the Farm Bureau office at939-6197 or 233-6800 byTuesday, Aug. 3, for reserva-tions or more information.

STARK — The YoungFarmer Committee is

starting a program to helpyoung people stay involved inproduction agriculture. Theprogram is to connect peopleages 18 to 35 interested infarming with older farmerspreparing to transition out ofthe business. Names and con-tact information for youngfarmers are being compiled atthe Farm Bureau office. Callthe Farm Bureau office at 286-7481 to be included on the list.

WAYNE —- Theappreciation dinner

will be from 5 to 7 p.m. Friday,Aug. 13, at the CumberlandPresbyterian Church, Fairfield.Tickets are $2, with children12 and under free. Takeoutsare available. There will be asilent auction to benefit theWayne County Ag in theClassroom program. Deadlineto purchase tickets is Friday,Aug. 6. More information isavailable at the website(www.waynecfb.com}.

• The annual Wayne CountyTractor Drive will be Sept. 6.The event will begin and end atthe Wayne County Fairgrounds,Fairfield. Lunch and publicviewing will be at Shreve’sPumpkin Patch, Barnhill. Dri-vers may register by calling theFarm Bureau office at 618-842-3342 or by downloading a reg-istration form from the website{www.waynecfb.com}.

WHITE — The annualWhite County crop

tour will begin with breakfast at7 a.m. Wednesday, Aug. 4, atthe Farm Bureau office. Lunchwill be served following thetour. Call the Farm Bureauoffice at 618-382-8512 by Fri-day for reservations or moreinformation.

• The Young Leader Com-mittee will sponsor a pedaltractor pull at 3 p.m. Saturday,Aug. 7, at the White CountyFair. Multiple weight classeswill be offered. Rules are in theWhite County Fair book oronline at {www.whitecfb.com}.

• The member appreciationlunch will be from 11 a.m. to 1p.m. Wednesday, Aug. 11, in theFloral Hall, White County Fair-grounds. Call the Farm Bureauoffice at 618-382-8512 by Fri-day, Aug. 6, for reservationsand to be entered into a draw-ing for prizes.

“From the counties” items aresubmitted by county Farm Bureaumanagers. If you have an event oractivity open to all members, contactyour county Farm Bureau manager.

(determined by weight) willreceive a pizza party at the nextclub meeting. Call the FarmBureau office at 217-342-2103for more information.

• The Young Farmers Com-mittee will sponsor a pedaltractor pull at 3:30 p.m. Friday,Aug. 6, at the county fair-grounds, Altamont. There willbe different age categoriesfrom 4 to 11 years. Participantswill receive a coupon for a freeice cream cone at the 4-HDairy Bar. Call the FarmBureau office at 217-342-2103to register.

• The Partners for Ag Litera-cy will sponsor ag literacy pro-grams at 11 a.m. Aug. 2-4, atthe Effingham County Fair,Altamont. Participants willmake paper plate chickens andputty eggs, homemade bread,and clothes pin sheep. Call theFarm Bureau office at 217-342-2103 or 217-347-7107, ext. 3,for more information.

FORD-IROQUOIS —A policy development

meeting will be at 7:30 a.m.Monday, Aug. 9, at the HappyDays Diner, Roberts. AdamNielsen, Illinois Farm Bureaudirector of national legislationand policy development, will bethe speaker.

• An On the Road seminarwill be at 7 p.m. Monday, Aug.16, at the Farm Bureau office.Kevin Rund, Illinois FarmBureau transportation special-ist, will be the speaker.

FULTON — TheWomen’s Committee

will sponsor Amanda Havensin the queen pageant at 7 p.m.Monday (today) during the Ful-ton County Fair.

• The Women’s Committeewill sponsor the Best MilkMustache contest at 2 p.m.Thursday in the MerchantBuilding during the fair.

• Directors will combinemoney with Riverland FS tobid on livestock during the auc-tion, which begins at 3 p.m.Thursday.

• The Young Farmer Com-mittee will sponsor the pedaltractor pull at 2:30 p.m. Fridayat the fair.

• The Women’s Committeewill conduct the beef cookoffcontest at 11 a.m. Saturday atthe fair.

• Winner of the YoungFarmer’s farmer tan contestwill be announced during theevening events Saturday.

HAMILTON — Asummer Viewpoint

meeting will be at 6:30 p.m.Monday, Aug. 2, at the DaleCommunity Center. McPeakFish Market will provide thedinner. Call the Farm Bureauoffice at 643-2347 for reserva-tions or more information.

• Tickets are available for thebus trip Sunday, Aug. 1, to seethe St. Louis Cardinals vs. thePittsburgh Pirates game. The

bus will leave the Farm Bureauoffice at 9 a.m. Passengers alsowill be picked up at 9:45 a.m. atthe Mt. Vernon Wal-Mart.Cost is $40. Call the FarmBureau office for reservationsor more information.

HENRY — TheWomen’s Market out-

look seminar will be at 6:30p.m. Monday, Aug. 2, at theBig River Resources ethanolplant, Galva. Cathy Ekstrand,Stewart-Peterson senior mar-ket adviser, will be the speaker.Call the Farm Bureau office at309-937-2411, the KnoxCounty Farm Bureau office at309-342-7392, or the StarkCounty Farm Bureau office at309-286-7481 for reservationsor more information.

JEFFERSON — Ticketsare available for the bus

trip Sunday, Aug. 1, to see theSt. Louis Cardinals vs. thePittsburgh Pirates game. Thebus will leave the Farm Bureauoffice at 9 a.m. Passengers alsowill be picked up at 9:45 a.m. atthe Mt. Vernon Wal-Mart.Cost is $40. Call the FarmBureau office for reservationsor more information.

LEE — The YoungFarmer Committee is

sponsoring a “Harvest for All”food drive that will runthrough Aug. 15. The commit-tee will collect non-perishablefood items that will be donatedto Lee County food pantries.Cash donations will be accept-ed. Collections will be at theFarm Bureau office and theWoodhaven Association mainoffice, Sublette. Call the FarmBureau office at 815-857-3531or e-mail [email protected] more information.

MONROE — TheMon-Clair Corn

Growers test plot tours will be6:30 p.m. Monday, Aug. 9, atDale Haudrich’s farm, Hecker,and at 6 p.m. Monday, Aug. 16,at Greg Guenther’s farm,Belleville. Call the FarmBureau office at 939-6197 or233-6800 by Tuesday, Aug. 3,for reservations or more infor-mation.

• The Ice Cream Social andMeet the Candidates night willbe at 7 p.m. Thursday, Aug. 5,at the fairgrounds. Attendanceprizes will be awarded.

MONTGOMERY — Acustomer appreciation

dinner for Farm Bureau mem-bers, patrons of M&M ServiceCo., and clients of Mont-gomery County CountryFinancial agents will be from 5to 7 p.m. Saturday at theKnights of Columbus Hall,Taylor Springs. Tickets areavailable at the above locations.Call the Farm Bureau office at217-532-6171 for more infor-mation.

• The Prime Timers willsponsor a bus trip Sunday, Aug.22, to New Salem State Park.

PROFITABILITY


Feeder pig prices reported to USDA*

Weight Range Per Head Weighted Ave. Price10 lbs. $35.10-$41.50 $39.3040 lbs. $56.33-$60.00 $58.0050 lbs. n/a n/aReceipts This Week Last Week

29,399 30,754*Eastern Corn Belt prices picked up at seller’s farm

MARKET FACTS

Confirmed lamb and sheep salesThis week 816 Last week 730 Last year 755Wooled Slaughter Lambs: Choice and prime 2-3: 90-110 lb., $118; 110-130 lbs.,$132. Good and choice 1-2: 60-90 lbs., $125. Slaughter Ewes: Utility and good 1-3: $44-$46. Cull and utility 1-2: $38-$44.

Lamb prices

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

This week Prev. week ChangeCarcass $78.57 $72.76 5.81Live $58.14 $53.84 4.30

Export inspections

(Million bushels)Week ending Soybeans Wheat Corn07-15-10 6.9 22.4 38.907-08-10 7.0 14.3 38.7Last year 13.9 14.5 40.8Season total 1378.6 108.9 1607.9Previous season total 1172.5 90.7 1499.7USDA projected total 1455 900 2000Crop marketing year began June 1 for wheat and Sept. 1 for corn and soybeans.

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

Steers $94.89 $93.95 0.94Heifers $94.96 $94.00 0.96

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 Change111.93 112.70 -0.77

CME feeder cattle index — 600-800 Lbs.

Several ways to deal with fuel system issuesBY MARK DEHNER

Want to reduce fuel costsand headaches? Take goodcare of your fuel and fuelingsystem. Issues with fuel sys-tems are on the rise because ofultra low sulfur diesel (ULSD)fuel, biodiesel, finer fuel filter

media, andhigh-pressurecommon railinjection sys-tems.

Fifteenparts per mil-lion (ppm)ULSD has ahigher solu-bility factor

than 500 ppm low-sulfurdiesel. This means that sedi-ment sitting on the bottom ofstorage tanks may be pickedup and carried along with theULSD fuel. This results inmore contaminants hitting fil-ters on storage tanks or in fuelsystems.

Also, ULSD has a higheraffinity for water, increasingthe likelihood of it precipitat-ing to the bottom of the tankand creating an environmentfor bacterial growth. Fuelstorage tanks should bechecked periodically for water.

Similar to ULSD fuel,biodiesel also acts as a solventand loosens deposits sitting instorage tanks. Becausebiodiesel blends are relativelynew, they often are blamed forplugged filters.

A closer examination, how-ever, reveals that filters typicallyplug with sediment from dirtystorage tanks. Fuel tanks shouldbe checked on a regular basis.If a large amount of sedimentis found, it should be removed.

The fuel systems on manyof today’s engines areequipped with two micron fil-ters and require extremelyclean fuel. The two micronfilters plug quickly if contami-nated fuel is introduced intothe fuel system.

on storage tanks accordingly.• Keep extra filters on

hand.• Use a good-quality fuel

such as FS Dieselex Gold thatcontains additive chemistry tominimize the effects of mois-ture, sedimentation, and oxida-tion.

Mark Dehner is GROW-MARK’s marketing manager ofrefined and renewable fuels. His e-mail address is [email protected].

It is easier and cheaper tofilter the fuel at the storagetank than it is to change fuelfilters on equipment in thefield. If storage tank filtersare “catching” more contami-nants in the fuel, they aregoing to plug more frequently.

Operators should haveplenty of extra filters onhand. Transfer tanks alsowarrant filtration since theycan contain water and sedi-ment, too.

The fuel systems on many

of today’s engines also have aninjection system called a highpressure common rail. Theextreme pressure and heat ofthese systems can cause fuel tooxidize faster than normal,creating contaminants that re-circulate through the fuel sys-tem and eventually plug filters.

For best results:• Periodically check bot-

toms of storage and transfertanks for water and sediment.

• Check engine filtrationrequirements and match filters

Mark DehnerWill Wall Street reform bill impact ag markets?BY DANIEL GRANTFarmWeek

The Wall Street Reform andConsumer Protection Actpassed by Congress this monthreportedly is an effort to avoida repeat of the ongoing finan-cial crisis.

The bill will regulate over-the-counter derivatives (con-tracts that are traded and pri-vately negotiated directlybetween two parties withoutgoing through an exchange).

These products, which pre-viously have not been regulatedin the U.S., were at the centerof the financial crisis in 2008,according to the CommodityFutures Trading Commission(CFTC).

Credit default swaps (aswap contract in which thebuyer makes premium pay-ments to the protection sellerand in exchange receives a

payoff if a credit instrumentgoes into default), for exam-ple, were blamed for draggingdown the insurance companyAIG.

“Standardized derivativeswill be required to trade onopen platforms and be submit-ted for clearing to central coun-terparties,” said Gary Gensler,CFTC chairman. “This willgreatly improve transparencyand lower risk in the market-place.”

It was unknown last weekwhat, if any, impact the legisla-tion could have on agriculturalcommodity markets.

“The big issue with this is(Congress) passed a law, but(congressmen) really haven’twritten any regulations,” saidDale Durchholz, AgriVisormarket analyst.

“It becomes a game of thedevil is in the details. And,without knowing the specificregulations, it’s hard to say ifthere will be any impact backto agriculture.”

Durchholz speculated thenew regulations could reducevolatility in the commoditymarkets. But over-regulationalso could dampen economicactivity and take away opportu-nities.

“The funds aren’t always thebad guys,” said Durchholz,who noted hedge or specula-tion funds generally supportcommodity prices.

Funds reportedly were longon 16 million bushels of cornin mid-June when Decembercorn futures hovered around$3.50 per bushel, which was agood time for end-users to buygrain.

But long positions on cornas of July 13 increased to 790million bushels and cornfutures subsequently increasedto $4.05, which presented aselling opportunity for grainfarmers.

Research by economists atthe University of Illinois andSouthern Illinois Universityrecently concluded billions ofdollars invested by speculatorshelps stabilize prices ratherthan drive them up.

“Restricting investmentsby speculators could doexactly what these proposals(in the Wall Street reform bill)are trying to avoid,” saidScott Irwin, U of I econo-mist.

The outlook for the grain and energy mar-kets through 2010 doesn’t appear to be any-thing for farmers to get too excited about —on the high or low side.

Market analysts last week at the ninth annualDow Jones Indexes mid-year commodities out-look event in Chicago predicted grain and oilseedsin coming months will remain relatively steady.

Oil and fuel prices, meanwhile, coulddecline later this year, which suggests farmersthis fall may not experience another drasticincrease in input prices.

“In all likelihood, we’re starting to moveinto an extended sideways period (in the grainand oilseeds markets),” said Jack Scoville, vicepresident of Price Futures Group.

Scoville believes the grain markets in recentweeks tested the low end of trading ranges.Strong demand should counterbalance theprospect of big crops this fall and keep cropprices from sliding to low levels not seen sincebefore the 2008 bull run.

In fact, crop production challenges elsewherein the world (drought in Europe and Russia andextreme wetness in Canada) could be beneficialto U.S. farmers, according to Scoville.

“When you look around the world, there aresome problems starting to show up,” he said.“That should support prices.”

Scoville projected soybeans could trade in arange of $8.50 to $11 per bushel while corncould trade from $3 to $4.25 per bushel.

A Reuters poll of market analysts, including

AgriVisor, last week projected a trading rangethe rest of the year for corn ($3 to $4.30 perbushel) wheat ($4.70 to $7.20 per bushel) andsoybeans ($8 to $10.40 per bushel).

Scoville believes the current price rangeshould provide an opportunity for grain sellersand buyers to lock in profit.

Overall, the Dow Jones Commodity Indexwas down 9.6 percent for the first half of thisyear, led by grain futures which collectivelydeclined 16.5 percent.

Oil prices also could be poised to declinelater this year, according to Phil Flynn, seniormarket analyst with PFGBest’s Research. Thesituation could unfold as economic stimulusmoney runs out and the market is faced withstrong supply.

“We could see the price of oil back down,”Flynn said. “We could see $40 (per-barrel oil)by the end of the year (barring any supply dis-ruptions from hurricane activity in the Gulf ofMexico).”

The Energy Information Administration(EIA), however, was included to see higher oilprices, projecting prices the second half of thisyear will average $79 per barrel.

EIA projected oil prices will translate to anaverage price of $2.80 per gallon for regulargasoline through the summer driving season(April 1 to Sept. 30) compared to an average of$2.44 last summer.

Flynn projected gas prices by the end of theyear could dip below $2. — Daniel Grant

Grain, oilseeds projected to trade sideways

‘ I t b e c o m e s ag a m e o f t h ed e v i l i s i n t h edetails.’

— Dale DurchholzAgriVisor market analyst

PROFITABILITY


AgriVisor Hotline Number

309-557-2274

AgriVisor endorsescrop insurance by

Policies issued by COUNTRYMutual Insurance Company®,

Bloomington, Illinois

AgriVisor LLC1701 N. Towanda Avenue

PO Box 2500Bloomington IL 61702-2901

309-557-3147

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

CASH STRATEGISTCorn Strategy

�2009 crop: Use currentstrength to wrap up remainingold-crop sales.

� 2010 crop: Decemberfutures have been unable to sus-tain prices above the psycholog-ical $4 mark. Sales should havebeen boosted to 50 percentwhen December futures fellthrough $3.98. Boost sales to60 percent if December fallsthrough $3.84.

�Fundamentals: The fun-damental picture for corn hasn’tchanged much. Prices gainedshort-term strength on spilloversupport from wheat. Upwardmomentum appears to be dwin-dling, and weather is starting tobecome a non-issue with muchof the crop having pollinatedwith little stress. Weekly exportsales were supportive this lastweek, 1,154,900 metric tons(44.8 million bushels), slightlyhigher than expectations. Chi-na bought another 58,700 met-ric tons (2.3 million bushels) for2009/2010 delivery. Total new-crop sales are just above 3 mil-lion metric tons (117.9 millionbushels), about average for thistime of year. Soybean Strategy

�2009 crop: We are startingto see old-crop basis levelsweaken, indicating the premiumold-crop prices have over thenew crop is coming to an end.Wrap-up sales now.

�2010 crop: If Novemberfutures fall though $9.60, boostnew-crop sales to 60 percent.Check the Cash Strategist Hotlineoccasionally to see if we changethat trigger price.

�Fundamentals: Weatherand its impact on the size ofour crop will be the primarymarket driver the next fewweeks. Crop condition ratingshave been slipping, but that’snot unusual for a normal year.There are a lot of opinionsabout the potential size of thisyear’s crop, but it still hasn’texperienced any extreme stress.Even with last year’s late plant -ing, USDA projected a 42.3-bushel yield in August. We can-not imagine USDA starting a lotlower this year. Given demandexpectations, yields may need todrop below 41 bushels beforetraders start to become con-

cerned that supplies are tootight.Wheat Strategy

�2010 crop: The upwardtrend in wheat remains intactwith the trade worrying aboutinternational conditions. Saleswere increased to 70 percentwhen Chicag o Septemberfutures reached $6. Use currentstrength for catch-up sales. Forproducers who can store wheat,i t i s wor th not ing s toragehedges are attractive this year.

�2011 crop: A 15 percentsale was triggered when Chica-go July 2011 futures reached

$6.60, bringing the total to 25percent. We may recommend anadditional sale if Chicago July2011 futures penetrate $7.

�Fundamentals: Hot, dryweather continues to cut thepotential size of crops in theBlack Sea countries, Russia,Kazakhstan, and parts of theUkraine. And short-term weath-er forecasts do not offer any signof relief. The Ukraine cut its2010/2011 grain export forecastto 16 million metric tons (587.8million bushels). Russia mayhave little, if any, grain to exportthis year.

The recent surge in grainprices has come on weatherfears, but it has been specula-tors, in particular managedmoney (hedge) funds, thathave been the major buyers onthe rally. Commercial long

Basis charts

positions in corn and soybeanshave slipped lower, indicatingend users are not chasing themarket.

Commercial wheat longshave risen a little in Chicago,whi le they’ve been most lyflat in Kansas City. A rise inlong positions would be con-sistent with increased enduse r buy ing w i th ha r ve s twinding down.

Even though the long posi-tions held by hedge funds haverisen sharply, they are sti l lbelow the highs of the lastcouple years. And the datashown don’t include the lastupward surge starting July 15,so their long posit ions areprobably larger yet.

Given the right factors, theycou ld buy more , c a r r y ingp r i c e s h i g h e r y e t . B u t i twouldn’t take much to pushprices lower, triggering stopson their long positions andpotentially triggering a sharpprice decline.

Cents per bu.

Speculators behind grain strength

PERSPECTIVES


“Be proactivewith govern-ment agencieson rules andregu la t ionsthat affect agproduction.”

Duane StrunkChampaign County

“Maintainingfarmer inputinto politicald e c i s i o n -m a k i n g o nthe township,county, ands ta t e l e ve l sw i t h f e w e r

farmer members to do thework .”

Don GuinnipClark County

LEADER TALK:What policyissue should

Farm Bureau beaddressing in thenext five years?

Editor’s note: Members of theIllinois Farm Bureau Grass-Roots Issue Teams (GRITs) wereasked for their views on sever-al questions. Their responseswill appear periodically on thePerspectives page.

“Educate thepublic aboutagr icu l ture— w h e r efood comesfrom.”

Ron HohenberyPeoria County

“Agriculture’sability to pro-d u c e f o o dand fiber inan ef ficientand sustain-able manner.”

Stan SippPiatt County

Renew farmers’American dream with estate tax reform

Most Americans are taught from their youngestdays that hard work and good planning increase thelikelihood of a bright and prosperous future. In manyways, this is the American ethos — a key to the

American dream. Another distinctly Ameri-

can wish is for the next gen-eration to experience a bet-ter life than the current one.

All parents want their children to do better than theydid, and this hope is even greater for their grandchil-dren.

Throughout our nation’s history this hope hasheld true. For farmers, ranchers, and other smallbusiness owners, the expectation is that their heirswill be able to remain in the family business andcarry on.

This is as true for the owner of an Iowa farmor a California ranch as it is for the owner of aBrooklyn deli.

However, that shared dream is threatened byestate tax provisions that take effect on Jan. 1.On that date, the estate tax returns with avengeance.

Unless Congress acts this year, the federalestate tax rate beginning in 2011 will be 55 per-cent on all assets exceeding $1 million. Thisonerous rate will hit even the smallest farmand the smallest pizza shop.

The estate tax burden is particularly heavy on farm-ers because agriculture requires a large amount ofcapital assets, such as land and equipment, to generatethe same dollar in income that another type of busi-ness could generate with less.

With this low $1 million exemption, as many as 10percent of farms and ranches could owe estate taxesnext year, according to USDA.

In comparison, only about 1.5 percent of farmshad to pay the tax in 2009, when the exemption was$3.5 million.

When estate taxes are due, surviving family mem-bers without enough cash on hand may be forced tosell land, buildings, or equipment they need to keeptheir operations going, just to pay the tax bill.

Rural communities and businesses suffer whenfarms and ranches are dismantled and farmland issold. When that occurs near urban centers, farmlandis often lost forever to development.

A higher exemption and a lower rate will give farm-ers and ranchers a better opportunity to transfer theirfamily-owned businesses to the next generation.

Farm Bureau is calling on Congress to support abipartisan amendment to H.R. 5297 that has beenintroduced by Sens. Blanche Lincoln (D-Ark.) and Jon

Death, taxes,and uncertainty

JOHN HART

guest columnist

Kyl (R-Ariz.). The amendment provides estate taxrelief by increasing the exemption level to $5 million,adjusting it for inflation, and reducing the maximumrate to 35 percent.

Taking such action is fair and right. It will be oneway Congress can show it still believes in the Ameri-can dream and that it truly values small business,including families who farm and ranch.

Congress can send a message that hard work is stillrewarded in the United States.

Estate tax relief will give future generations hopethey can maintain the family legacy and keep thefarm.

Most importantly, estate tax relief will keep alivethe American dream: If you work hard and planahead, you can pass the fruits of your labor to yourchildren and grandchildren.

By supporting estate tax relief as included in theLincoln/Kyl amendment, members of Congress canhelp preserve that distinctly American vision.

John Hart is director of news services for the American FarmBureau Federation. His e-mail address is [email protected].

The big worry in the country is all about jobs.Businesses aren’t hiring. Banksaren’t making loans.

One very obvious obstacle togrowing the economy is that indi-

v i d u a l s a n d b u s i n e s s e s a r euncertain about the rules ofthe game.

New regulations affectingbusiness are proposed every

day.The Environmental Pro-

tection Agency could have amajor impact as it rushes to regu-late carbon dioxide. Cap and trade is still a big

question mark. We have trade agreements pending

that could mean jobs, but will theyever get done? Look at all the jobs lost

in the Gulf region with the administra-tion’s moratorium on drilling.

And let’s not forget the failure ofCongress to give us some direction on

the “death tax.” Farmers, ranchers, and small businesses of all

kinds are sitting in limbo not knowing what theplan is.

In 2009, the estate tax rate was 45 percent with a$3.5 million exemption. This year, there is no tax.That will remain the case unless Congress retroac-tively imposes one.

Next year, the tax comes roaring back at a toptax rate of 55 percent and a $1 million exemption.That will hit 44,000 estates — eight times as manyas in 2009.

Estate taxes can destroy a family business. Farm-ers and ranchers don’t have a lot of money sittingaround. To settle an estate, they might have to sellthe farm.

What is Congress going to do? We don’t know.With this kind of uncertainty, a lot of businessesare not going to grow or expand until they knowwhat the rules are.

The Family Business Estate Tax Coalition hadthis to say: “The uncertainty of the current law hasleft many family-owned businesses and farmsguessing about their estate tax liabilities and unableto make prudent business decisions.”

The American Farm Bureau, to its credit, haslaunched the “Put Death Tax To Rest” campaign.Tell your members of Congress to get it done.

John Block of Gilson, a U.S. agriculture secretary in the Rea-gan administration, is a senior policy adviser with the Wash-ington, D.C., firm of Olsson, Frank, Weeda, and Terman.His e-mail address is [email protected].

JOHNBLOCK

Illustration bySharon Newton

FarmWeek July 26 2010

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