FarmWeek November 8 2010

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Monday, November 8, 2010 Two sections Volume 38, No. 45

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

DESPITE THE DEFEAT ofa key supporter of estate tax reformlast week, there is hope for action inthe lame duck session. .....................3

IAITC OFFERED classroomSmart Board lessons for the firsttime this fall in an effort to reachmore students. .................................9

THE NEED TO target pro-ducer priorities and lock in spend-ing “baselines” for the 2012 farmbill was highlighted last week. .......5

IT’S THAT TIME

With the soil temperatures having reached the 50-degree or colder threshold at the 4-inch depth in thenorthern two-thirds of the state, anhydrous ammonia applications have picked up steadily. Here, JohnHeiman, an employee of Grainco FS, Newark, applies anhydrous to a 120-acre field on the ChuckSteininger farm near Plano in Kendall County. Fall anhydrous ammonia applications in the southernthird of the state (south of Illinois 16) are not recommended. (Photo by Ken Kashian)

‘Official’ gubernatorialresults coming Dec. 3Democrats keepstate majoritiesBY KAY SHIPMANFarmWeek

Any question about whowon the Illinois governor’srace officially will end Dec. 3when the State Board of Elec-tions certifies the electionresults.

“The State Board of Elec-tions will be proclaiming thewinners on Dec. 3,” RupertBorgsmiller, spokesman forthe board of elections, toldFarmWeek.

A narrow margin separatedGov. Pat Quinn and state Sen.Bill Brady in their quest tobecome governor. On Thurs-day, the Associated Pressdeclared Quinn the winner,and Brady conceded the elec-tion Friday afternoon.

Borgsmiller outlined thetimeline for the “official” han-dling of last week’s electionresults.

County boards of electionshave up until Nov. 16 toprocess any absentee ballotsthat were postmarked by Nov.1. Likewise, county electionofficials have until Nov. 23 toconduct their canvassing ofelection results.

The state election boardwill certify all election resultson Dec. 3.

Although Republicansmade inroads in gaining Gen-eral Assembly seats, theDemocrats continue to holdmajorities in both the Houseof Representatives and theSenate. However, Democratslost their veto-proof majorityin the Senate.

Likewise, Republicansgained two state constitution-al officer positions in the pre-vious all-Democrat lineup.Dan Rutherford defeatedRobin Kelly in the state trea-surer’s race, while Judy BaarTopinka beat David Miller tobecome the new comptroller.Incumbents didn’t run ineither race.

“This election cycle provid-ed voters with a chance tovote for different (non-incumbent) individuals. Illi-nois Farm Bureau will workwith all the members of theGeneral Assembly and thestate constitutional officers toencourage them to supportagriculture,” said Kevin Sem-low, Illinois Farm Bureaudirector of state legislation.

Statehouse changesIn the Senate, the Democ-

rats lost two incumbents,altering the majority-minorityratio to 35 Democrats and 24Republicans, Semlow noted.In the House, the Democratslost six seats, including threevery close races.

See Official, page 2

Kirk grabs Senate seat; Hare defeat unexpectedBY MARTIN ROSSFarmWeek

Capping an emotional and surprising electionyear, voters witnessed upheaval in the U.S.House, loss of a “veto-proof majority” in theSenate, and election of an Illinois Republicansenator who could play a key role in upcoming“lame duck” debate.

That’s not to mention last Tuesday’s loss byCrete Democrat and House Ag Committeemember Debbie Halvorson and an unexpectedupset for Rock Island Democrat Rep. Phil Harethat leaves Illinois with a single downstateHouse Democrat in 2011.

Halvorson, who lost her 11th District seat to32-year-old Iraq War veteran Adam Kinzinger,was one of roughly a dozen House Ag Commit-tee members bumped in last Tuesday’s voting.That’s expected to significantly impact forth-coming farm bill debate (see page 3).

“It was an interesting night, and I think itpresents some challenges as well as a great dealof opportunity for what’s in front of you,” Illi-nois Farm Bureau President Philip Nelson toldIFB Farm Policy Task Force members lastweek.

Republicans recaptured the House by a pro-jected 239-183 margin, as voter dissatisfactionwith incumbent lawmakers and attraction tostringently conservative “Tea Party” candidatesreportedly contributed to more than 50 GOP“pickups.” Ohio Republican John Boehner isexpected to succeed controversial House Speak-

er Nancy Pelosi (D-Calif.). Senate Democrats retained their majority,

with Senate Majority Leader Harry Reid (D-Nev.) at the helm, but new Republican winseroded the 60-40 presidential veto-proof major-ity Democrat lawmakers have been able to wieldto their and the administration’s advantage.

House-Senate shifts nonetheless were amixed bag. Nelson noted ousted Rep. Jim Ober-star’s (D-Minn.) push for expanded federalwater jurisdiction became “very much an issue”for producers, while departing Senate Ag Chair-man Blanche Lincoln (D-Ark.) was an advocatefor estate tax reform (see page 3) who hadmerely begun farm bill discussions.

U.S. Rep. Mark Kirk, a Highland Park Repub-lican, narrowly edged out Illinois State Treasur-er Alexi Giannoulias for Illinois’ junior Senateseat, despite President Obama’s personalendorsement of the young Democrat.

While the pair waged a heated race targetingKirk’s padded military resume and Giannoulias’ties to his family’s failed bank, University of Illi-nois Institute for Government and PublicAffairs political scientist Christopher Mooneytold FarmWeek Kirk played well with “the clas-sic swing voter in Illinois” — the socially liberal,fiscally conservative “independent woman sub-urbanite.”

“There were few surprises — everybodyknew it was going to be really tight at the topof the (statewide) ticket,” Mooney said. “That

See Kirk, page 3

WIND INDUSTRY SUPPLY CHAIN — Illinois’manufacturing link in the wind industry supply chaincontinues to grow, according to the Environmental Lawand Policy Center. The center is to announce results ofits new report “The Wind Energy Supply Chain in Illi-nois” today (Monday).

In its study, the center identified 104 Illinois compa-nies that do business with the wind energy industry. Amajority of the firms are based in the Chicago area, butothers are located in Eastern, Western, and Southeast-ern Illinois.

The businesses range from manufacturers that areretooling to corporate headquarters of wind develop-ers to software, financial, and support services.

Illinois is now home to 25 wind energy farms,according to the report.

BIOMASS ‘BUG’ — Univers i t y o f I l l ino i sresearchers have confirmed the first report of a poten-tial new virus belonging to the genus Marafivirus inswitchgrass, a biomass crop being evaluated for com-mercial cellulosic ethanol production.

The virus is associated with mosaic and yellow streaksymptoms on switchgrass leaves and has the potentialto reduce photosynthesis and decrease biomass yield.Members of this genus have been known to causesevere yield losses in other crops — Maize rayado finovirus has been reported to cause yield reductions incorn grown in Mexico, Central America, and SouthAmerica.

“Viral diseases are potentially significant threats tobioenergy crops such as Miscanthus giganteus, energy-cane and switchgrass,” said Bright Agindotan, researchassociate with the Energy Biosciences Institute (EBI),located in the Institute for Genomic Biology at the Uof I.

“Our team at EBI has been charged with identifyingpotential pests and pathogens of these bioenergycrops.”

NEW BEET — USDA last week released plans toallow biotech sugarbeets to be planted next year — amove that would nullify an August federal court rulingthat invalidated the original approval issued by USDAfive years ago.

USDA’s proposal represents the preliminary stage ofthe process and will be followed by a 30-day commentperiod before the department makes a final decision.

USDA laid out three possible options in the propos-al, including an option not to re-approve the sugarbeetplantings, but said its preferred course of action wouldbe to “authorize the commercial production” of geneti-cally modified sugarbeets under strict regulations.

FarmWeek Page 2 Monday, November 8, 2010

(ISSN0197-6680)

Vol. 38 No. 45 November 8, 2010

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Quick TakesGOVERNMENT

Continued from page 1The power ratios in both

legislative chambers may becrucial in the next legislativesession.

“To override a gubernator-ial veto to increase bondstakes 36 Senate votes,” Sem-low said. “The SenateDemocrats will not be able todo this without some helpfrom the Republicans startingin January.”

The two races thatchanged the Democrats’ pow-er hold in the Senate wereRepublicans Suzi Schmidt’sand Sam McCanns’ defeats ofDemocrats Michael Bond and

Deanna Demuzio, respective-ly.

“The Illinois House saw amuch larger change than theIllinois Senate, but the HouseDemocrats retained theirmajority,” Semlow added.

In January, House Democ-rats will hold 64 seats whileRepublicans will have 54.

County school sales taxThree initiatives to put a

sales tax on the ballot forschools passed in six countiesacross the state.

The sales tax initiatives forschools passed in Knox,Macon, and Warren counties.Similar measures failed in Iro-

quois, Montgomery, and Sang-amon counties.

The law allows a countygovernment board to putbefore voters a question onwhether to establish an addi-tional sales tax for school con-struction.

The rate may be up to 1percent with the revenuegoing to school constructionor rehabilitation. Districtswould receive a proportionalshare of revenue on a per-stu-dent basis.

Previously, voters in onlyfive of 21 counties that votedon such a sales tax have passedit.

Official

Recall amendment passes, but the challenges remainBY KAY SHIPMANFarmWeek

Illinois voters last week approved a consti-tutional amendment that provides a means fora spec ia l e lect ion to reca l l agovernor; however, implemen-tation of a gubernatorial recallwill be difficult, according toKevin Semlow, I l l inois Far mBureau director of state legisla-tion.

The measure received wel labove the 60 percent approvalneeded for passage.

Even though it passed, thenew recall was crafted deliber-ately so the steps to do it wouldbe a challenge,” Semlow said.

“The crafters of the languagewanted to make sure someonewould really have to work to geti t d o n e . T h e i r g o a l w a s t oestablish a process so the recall could not beused on just a limited or personal issue.”

To start the recall process, a registered vot-er must file with the State Board of Electionsa notice to circulate recall petitions.

That filing must include the signatures of

at least 10 Democrat and 10 Republican staterepresentatives and at least five Democrat andfive Republican state senators.

If the Board of Elections approves thataction, the proponent wouldhave 150 days to circulate peti-tions calling for a special elec-tion to recall the governor.

Signatures on the petitionsmust equal at least 15 percentof the total votes cast in thegubernatorial election.

Based on the current elec-t ion, that would be 550,760signatures.

Of those signatures, at least2 5 d i f f e r e n t c o u n t i e s e a chwould need to contribute 100signatures.

Those signatures would haveto be certified by the Board ofElections before a special elec-

tion could be held. The governor’s future would depend on the

outcome of the special election.“Now there are two tools to remove a gov-

ernor, impeachment and recall,” Semlow not-ed.

Illinois Senators last week didn’t vote on abill that would address the state budgetdeficit linked to state pension payments.

The pension hole is $4.1 billion. By law,annual pension payments must be madeand those payments are consuminggeneral revenue funds that werebudgeted for other appropriations.

In May, the House had passedSB 3514, which allowed short-term borrowing by issuingbonds; however, the Senatedidn’t take up the bill then,and the matter remained unre-solved.

That remains the case after last week’s inaction.The borrowing measure will require a super-

majority, or 36 votes, to pass, said Kevin Sem-low, Illinois Farm Bureau director of statelegislation.

Senate Democrats will have a 37-22majority when they return for the fall

veto session scheduled for Nov. 16-18and Nov. 30-Dec. 2.

But in January, Senate Democratswill lose their veto-proof majoritydue to general election results.Republicans then will have 24seats with Democrats holding 35.— Kay Shipman

No Senate vote on pension plan;Illinois budget deficit deepens

‘The crafters oft h e l a n g u a g ewanted to makes u r e s o m e o n ew o u l d r e a l l yhave to work toget it done.’

— Kevin SemlowIllinois Farm Bureau director

of state legislation

GOVERNMENT


Continued from page 1comes down probably to can-didates of both parties withsignificant flaws their oppo-nents could exploit.

“Also, the Republican ‘wave’bumped up against a strongDemocrat political demograph-ic base in Illinois. It was anunstoppable force meets animmovable object kind of thing.Of course, somebody’s going towin, but it doesn’t get muchcloser than it did in both (Sen-ate and gubernatorial) races.”

Because he succeeds formerSenator Obama’s appointedsuccessor, Chicago DemocratRoland Burris, Kirk will takehis seat for a lame duck sessionset to begin Nov. 15. Spendingand tax debate — includingpossible estate tax reforms (see

story at right) — are expectedto dominate post-electiondebate that Nelson deemed“very critical for agriculture.”

Mooney noted that withtheir losses last week, Halvor-son’s and Batavia DemocratRep. Bill Foster’s respective11th and 14th districts “revert-ed to form” as previouslyRepublican strongholds.

Hare’s 17th district, held formany years by Democrat pre-decessor Lane Evans, was theNovember “wild card,” saidMooney, who characterizedHare as “a friend to agricultureand a friend to labor.”

The analyst noted “Tea Par-ty” support for Kinzinger andRepublican Bobby Schilling,the Moline pizza restaurantowner who defeated Hare.

Foster, a physicist whoopposed recent House cli-mate/cap-and-trade legisla-tion, lost to Republican stateSen. Randy Hultgren ofWheaton, who campaigned ona platform of lower taxes and“smaller” government.

Republican Reps. Judy Big-gert of Hinsdale, Don Manzulloof Egan, John Shimkus ofCollinsville, and Tim Johnson ofUrbana (Illinois’ other House AgCommittee member) retainedtheir respective 13th, 16th,19th, and 15th District seats.

Rep. Jerry Costello, a mem-ber of the House Transporta-tion and Infrastructure Com-mittee, became downstate Illi-nois’ sole remaining HouseDemocrat with his 12th Dis-trict re-election last week.

Kirk

Ag Committee shifts may change focus, timelineBY MARTIN ROSSFarmWeek

The 2012 farm bill timelineis likely to shift as a “newcrew” with potentially differ-ent views comes on board, agpolicy observers suggest.

With only 11 of 27 currentHouse Ag Committee Democ-rats returning and new Houseand Senate Ag Committee lead-ers taking the reins next session,“we’re going to have a lot of re-education to do” with freshmanlawmakers, American FarmBureau Federation (AFBF) pol-icy analyst Tara Smith toldFarmWeek last week.

Policy education will be“our No. 1 priority” once new

AFBF’s Smith said Stabenowcould place added emphasison specialty crops key to herstate’s farmers.

Woodall suggested antici-pated new House Ag Chair-man Frank Lucas (R-Okla.)could play a stronger role ingovernment “oversight” thancurrent chairman Collin Peter-son (D-Minn.), potentiallyspotlighting concerns aboutemerging U.S. EnvironmentalProtection Agency/USDAlivestock regulations.

Lucas also could play a piv-otal role in farm programdebate. While the Iowa FarmBureau Federation proposes toeliminate direct payments in

favor of enhanced safety netprograms, Illinois Farm BureauPresident Philip Nelson notesOklahoma’s “strong support”for maintaining them.

Budgetary forces already areexpected to influence farm pol-icy. IFB Governmental AffairsExecutive Director Mark Geb-hards warns Lucas faces aheightened challenge: a newcrop of “extremely fiscallyconservative folks” electedamid voter dissatisfaction.

“They certainly purchase a lotof crop insurance in Oklahoma,too,” Smith stressed. “I wouldguess Mr. Lucas isn’t going to beinclined to want to give up alot of funding in either.”

members are in place, likelypushing farm bill debate backa few months, Smith said.

“There’s going to be awhole new crew,” NationalCattlemen’s Beef Association(NCBA) Government AffairsVice President Colin Woodallsaid. “When you look at goinginto a farm bill, it’s not justabout the majority party — it’sabout both sides and havingfriends on both sides.”

Traditionally, Smith said,congressional ag policy tendsto be “relatively bipartisan,”with divisions emerging largely

along regional lines. Smith seesa potentially “very different”Senate Ag Committee underSen. Debbie Stabenow (D-Mich.), a likely successor fordeparting Chairman BlancheLincoln (D-Ark.) in 2011.

Woodall told FarmWeekNCBA has enjoyed “a prettygood relationship” with Sta-benow, who worked with cattle-men last year to promote provi-sions that would “protect us fromclimate change (legislation).”

However, while Lincoln hasmaintained a farm bill focuson commodity programs,

Estate tax debatecan’t ‘spill over’

Despite an election setback, National Cattlemen’s Beef Asso-ciation (NCBA) Government Affairs Vice President ColinWoodall believes proponents of estate tax relief will “grab it bythe horns” in the post-election “lame duck” session.

Woodall deemed lastweek’s election outcome“a mixed bag for the cat-tle industry,” noting “welost ‘friends’” includingSenate Ag ChairmanBlanche Lincoln (D-Ark.) and Rep. AlanBoyd, a moderate Flori-da Democrat on theHouse AppropriationsCommittee.

Lincoln also had ledefforts to boost the indi-vidual estate tax exemp-tion to $5 million, at a 35percent tax rate. NCBA now hopes to convince lawmakers thereturn of the tax next year, at a pre-2002 $1 million individualexemption and 55 percent tax rate, would exacerbate what heviews as “one of the biggest obstacles to maintaining familyfarms and ranches.”

Woodall sees Lincoln as “unwavering in her commitment” toestate tax reform, and anticipates she and Sen. Jon Kyl, a returningArizona Republican, will push action in the lame duck session.

“We can’t afford to let this thing spill over into the nextCongress,” he told FarmWeek. “This $1 million exemptionand a 55 percent tax rate on top of that are going to cover a lotof people in agriculture. We’re going to have people who losesignificant portions of their farms and ranches and some whojust completely go out of business because of this.

“Our message to this Congress has been, ‘Of all the things youhave to get done lame duck, a fix for the death tax is one of them.’”

The nature of that fix is “anyone’s guess,” he said. The Lin-coln-Kyl measure is backed in the House by returning Reps.Shelley Berkley (D-Nev.) and Kevin Brady (R-Texas).

NCBA also supports a Senate-proposed ag estate tax exemp-tion, and Woodall cites a proposal to temporarily extend estatetax and related Bush-era tax measures “to buy some time.”

He said the Lincoln-Kyl approach is NCBA’s preferredoption: “It would provide the most certainty and cover themajority of our members.” Factoring in facilities, equipment,land, “and the animals on the land,” he argued a family opera-tion can easily reach $1 million in estate value, forcing survivingfamily members to restructure or seek off-farm employment.

That doesn’t count the value of improved livestock geneticsand advanced breeding. Operators who’ve invested in genetics,new practices, branded programs, or alternative marketingarrangements “have some pretty significant value tied up inthose animals,” Woodall said. — Martin Ross

A biofuels industry leader has limited faith ina forthcoming congressional lame duck sessionbut higher hopes for — and confidence in —the newly elected Congress.

National Renewable Fuels Association Presi-dent Bob Dinneen sees “limited opportunities”for congressional approval of pro-growthethanol policies over the next month.

Extension of the 45-cent-per-gallon ethanolexcise tax, which expires Dec. 31, likely is “thebest that can be anticipated” during the lameduck session, he said.

While Dinneen deemed even a one-year cred-it extension crucial before Congress adjourns inDecember, he believes key lawmakers intend to“tee up a discussion of the future of the ethanolprogram in the coming Congress.”

He is optimistic about the 112th Congress.While “strong ethanol proponents” such asReps. Earl Pomeroy (D-N.D.) and StephanieHerseth Sandlin (D-S.D.) lost re-election bids,Dinneen anticipated continued efforts byreturning biofuels backers Sen. Chuck Grassley(R-Iowa), Collinsville Republican Rep. JohnShimkus, and Mark Kirk, a Highland Park con-gressman elected to Illinois’ junior Senate seat.

Ethanol “is not now, nor has it ever been, apartisan issue,” Dinneen stressed, noting gener-ally that “those who were defeated werereplaced with equally strong advocates for val-

ue-added agriculture and ethanol.” He sees even the new cluster of fiscally con-

servative “Tea Party” Republicans embracingpro-ethanol policies, “if they come to under-stand that the ethanol program actually savesthe government money” via reduced federalpayments for corn growers and increased taxrevenues through domestic economic growth.

“Does anyone believe that Kristy Noem(Herseth Sandlin’s Tea Party-backed successor)will not be a strong voice for ethanol?” Dinneenposed. “I don’t think the Tea Party membersnecessarily want us exporting jobs or our energysecurity any more than anybody else does.”

Concerns over ethanol credit extension haveled to a variety of compromise proposals, includ-ing reduction of the credit, a variable-rate creditbased on gas prices or fuel blender cost margins,or a credit phase-down accompanied by increasedfunding for ethanol infrastructure nationwide.

Dinneen maintained immediate credit extensionto sustain industry confidence is most critical: “Thelevel of the credit is probably less important.” Ifthe credit is not in place on Jan. 1, he warned dis-cretionary ethanol blending will “evaporate.”

Under what has become a “spot market busi-ness” with few long-term contracts, ethanoldemand would then “plummet,” Dinneen said.“That will shut plants; that will cost jobs,” headvised. — Martin Ross

Will new Congress see ethanol benefits?

INFRASTRUCTURE


Transportation panel mulls highway funding optionsBY MARTIN ROSSFarmWeek

With federal fuel taxes fail-ing to meet modern-day needsa regional panel is eyeing newways of funding highwaymodernization.

The majority of partici-pants in an ongoing MidwestAgricultural Transportation(MAT) summit favor graduallyraising per-gallon highway fueltaxes over the next five yearsand dedicating a share of oth-er transportation-related taxesfor highway maintenance andimprovements.

Fuel taxes feed the federalHighway Trust Fund, but theyare “proving to be inadequateto even pay for current pro-grams,” much less future high-way spending, according toLinda Wheeler of the Trans-portation for Illinois Coali-tion.

The MAT panel was opento exploring statewidemileage-based user fees simi-lar to Oregon’s proposed per-mile travel “tax,” and favoredadded federal flexibility inallowing states to adjust high-way tolling and “congestionpricing.”

Beyond providing road rev-enues, the latter could helpease congestion on moreheavily traveled highways andthus improve efficiency of agand other freight movements.

Last week, former U.S.Transportation SecretariesNorman Mineta and SamuelSkinner urged Congress tophase in a “vehicle miles trav-eled” tax over the next decade.They noted improvements infuel efficiency and failure toadjust fuel taxes for inflationhave eroded “gas tax” rev-enues.

While she acknowledged amileage-based assessment is

to cross U.S. docks and bor-ders is expected to grow from40 million units to 110 mil-lion.

The American Associationof State Highway and Trans-

portation Officials suggestedapplying 5 percent of cus-toms fees toward freighttransportation improvementscould bring in $1.8 billionper year.

controversial,” Wheeler notedthe approach is gaining wide-spread attention within thetransportation sector.

“The truth is, as we moveaway from your petroleum-based (fuels) in the cars,either our motor fuel tax isgoing to have to skyrocketor we’re going to have tofind a different way tofinance ... road construc-tion,” she said.

In 2001, Oregon state legis-lators authorized a Road UserFee Task Force to examinerevenue alternatives to thestate’s gas tax. The “purchas-ing power” of the fuel tax haderoded as inflation surpassedrevenues, voters opposed taxincreases, and motorists wereable to drive more miles onless gas.

The task force arrived at amileage-based fee as “a fair,simple, and affordable way togenerate revenue.” The Ore-gon Department of Trans-portation (ODOT) tested thefee in a Portland pilot pro-gram from spring 2006 toMarch 25, 2007, with tempo-rary on-board devices installedin volunteer vehicles to mea-sure and transmit taxablemileage.

ODOT has reasoned thatat 1.2 cents per mile traveled,an average vehicle would paythe same amount in mileagefees as it would in gas taxes.But after start-up, the depart-ment argued, a mileage feewould begin to generate morerevenues than the gas tax, giv-en rising vehicle fuel efficien-cy.

Proposed use of on-boarddevices to ensure compliancehas generated concernsabout agencies tracking indi-vidual movements and “loca-tion history.”

Other possible fundingsources considered by MATincluded customs fees leviedon imported goods. Over thenext 15 years, the number ofshipping containers expected

As attention shifts to the importance ofinfrastructure in economic revitalization,Washington has treated river transportation assort of a stepchild.

Midwest rail, highway, and “multimodal” trans-portation interests last week placed increasedemphasis on future waterway needs, including con-cerns about the Inland Waterways Trust Fund —the currently waning repository for barge fuel taxesneeded to match federal lock construction funds.

Jack Bernhardt, executive vice president withSavanna-based Riverport Railroad, told otherMidwest Agricultural Transportation summitparticipants he was “highly respectful of ship-ping via barge.” He cited the role of barge navi-gation in easing surface traffic congestion andcontributing to a more environmentally friendly“green shipping process.”

A typical 15-barge river tow can take 1,050truckloads of freight off the highways or dis-place 216 rail car loads, according to thenational Waterways Council Inc. (WCI).

Bipartisan Illinois congressmen criticizedWhite House failure to include navigationimprovements in a recently proposed $50 bil-lion infrastructure initiative. Bernhardt notedU.S. Rep. Mark Kirk, a Highland Republicanwho won in last week’s Illinois U.S. Senate race,supports increased lock funding.

Meanwhile, senior Illinois Sen. Dick Durbin, aSpringfield Democrat, is working to keep Illi-

nois/Chicago River locks open amid efforts tocontrol the invasive Asian carp from spreading intoLake Michigan.

A new study by the environmentalist NaturalResources Defense Council recommends build-ing two “strategically placed” dams on Chica-go-area waterways to stop Asian carp fromentering Lake Michigan.

The proposal would not completely separatewaters above and below the dams, and the WCIargues such barriers would halt regional bargetraffic.

“We’re dealing right now with so much pres-sure from the other Great Lakes states in termsof even closures on waterways up in the Chica-go area,” warned Jim Farrell, executive directorwith the Illinois Chamber of Commerce Infra-structure Council.

“That could have a great detrimental effect onshipping, not just for agricultural purposes but alsofor construction purposes and what-have-you.”

“It would be a disaster,” Bernhardt said.River concerns focus not only on the Upper

Miss/Illinois system. At a recent Midwest water-ways symposium, U.S. Army Corps of Engineers’Great Lakes and Ohio River Division ProgramDirector Michael White warned the Ohio Rivernavigation system is “at a tipping point,” with 31percent of the system at what he termed a “D” oran “F” grade and in need of urgent or immediateattention. — Martin Ross

River infrastructure priorityfor MAT summit group

Piatt Co. grain company closes;creditors urged to contact IDOA

A financially troubled Piatt County grain company voluntarilysurrendered its operating licenses on Nov. 1, according to theIllinois Department of Agriculture (IDOR). Mansfield GrainInc. surrendered its grain dealer and grain warehouse licensesand was ordered to stop doing business.

IDOA officials assumed control of the Mansfield company,including its grain assets, and began the process of settlingclaims and paying creditors.

IDOA officials urged anyone who has sold grain to the com-pany and has not been paid in full or has grain stored in the600,000-bushel facility to either stop by Mansfield Grain or con-tact IDOA’s bureau of warehouses to file a claim.

The deadline to file claims is Jan. 29, 2011, or seven days fromthe date notice was mailed to a particular claimant, whichever islater.

The warehouse bureau may be reached by calling 800-654-0882 or by writing to the Illinois Department of Agriculture,Bureau of Warehouses, State Fairgrounds, Box 19281, Spring-field, Ill., 62794-9281.

Mansfield Grain was a member of the Illinois Grain Insur-ance Fund. That means individuals with valid claims related tothe facility are protected under the Illinois Grain Code.

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FARM POLICY


Deficit hovers over ag in and outside ‘baseline’BY MARTIN ROSSFarmWeek

With or without a new fis-cal vanguard on Capitol Hill,the staggering federal deficit“is not a situation that’s goingto go away,” a Washingtoneconomist warned IllinoisFarm Bureau Farm PolicyTask Force members lastweek.

That underlines the need totarget producer priorities andthen lock in program spend-ing “baselines” for the 2012farm bill, while accounting forcurrent programs that operateessentially off the budgetbooks, American Farm BureauFederation (AFBF) senioreconomist Bob Young toldthe panel.

The task force formulatedproposals for considerationby IFB’s Resolution Com-mittee (RC) this week. Farmbill resolutions passed on bythe RC then will be acted onby producer-delegates atIFB’s December annualmeeting in St. Louis.Approved resolutions will beforwarded for nationwidedebate at AFBF’s 2011 annu-

pilot electronic “food stamp”program for fresh fruit-veg-etable purchases, specialtycrop research, biomassresearch and development,farmers’ market promotion,and the popular “McGovern-Dole” food aid program.

“Just because these pro-grams are not in the baselinedoesn’t mean they don’t have aconstituency,” Young advised.

In addition, the baselinedoesn’t consider $1.5 billion in

payments being made to Brazilover a 10-year period as partof a settlement in Brazil’sWorld Trade Organizationcomplaint against U.S. cottonand related programs.

While some believe a simpleextension of the 2008 billmight pose “the least pain

possible” to producers, anextension fails to address non-baseline programs and expen-ditures, Young said.

And it doesn’t factor in newprograms or program changesproposed by various ag groups.

The National Milk Produc-ers Federation proposes a new“margin protection plan” toreplace existing milk price sup-ports, USA Rice Federationseeks development of costmargin protection and downed

rice crop insurance add-onsand ACRE and SURE revi-sions, and pork producershave floated a new livestockgross margin program.

“The pork folks are goingto have to go out and find anew pot of money to makethat happen,” Young argued.

al meeting in Atlanta, Ga.IFB President Philip Nelson

stressed “we need some direc-tion coming out of Illinois,”given diverging regional andcommodity-specific proposalsbeginning to emerge and newprograms envisioned by dairy,rice, and other sectors.

New programs, as well asthe merits of existing farmprograms, may come undereven heavier scrutiny by a newCongress salted with stern fis-cal conservatives.

Young noted “We expect tocontinue to run pretty bigdeficits,” citing CongressionalBudget Office (CBO) projec-tions of an $800 billion-plusdeficit heading into 2012 evenshould the Bush tax cuts beeliminated and the estate taxreturn in 2011.

Determining how the farmprogram impacts the deficitpicture will fall to a handful ofCBO commodity specialistswho operate under strict fed-eral guidelines. For CBO pur-poses, the ag baseline assumescontinuation of 2008 farm billprovisions following the cur-rent bill’s expiration.

Direct payments, marketingloans, and the average croprevenue election (ACRE) pro-gram are included in the base-line. But some programs donot have a baseline, includingthe supplemental revenuestanding disaster program(SURE, see accompanying sto-ry) and the wetlands reserveprogram (WRP).

Other initiatives outside theofficial baseline include begin-ning farmer development, a

Soybean growerseligible for aid

Soybean growers in 58 Illinois counties will be eligible forfederal crop assistance program (CAP) payments, provided theycan prove a 5 percent or greater loss in bean yield or qualitylosses from the 2009 growing season and farm in a county des-ignated as a primary disaster county in 2009.

The payment rate is $15.62 per planted and “consideredplanted” acre. Crops did not need to be covered by crop insur-ance or Non-insured Crop Disaster Assistance Program in2009 to be eligible.

The sign-up period already has begun and will continuethrough Dec. 9 at USDA Farm Service Agency (FSA)offices. To apply, anyone with a share of an affected crop mustsubmit an FSA 860 2009 CAP application form to their FSAoffice.

“I’d encourage all producers who suffered a 5 percent orgreater loss on soybeans in 2009 to contact their FSA office todetermine if their county is eligible,” said Illinois Farm Bureaurisk management specialist Doug Yoder.

In mid-September, the administration announced it wouldimplement a $630 million 2009 disaster assistance packageunder USDA’s Section 32 Program — a permanent appropria-tion funded through department fees. Senate Ag ChairmanBlanche Lincoln (D-Ark.) had urged use of federal discre-tionary funds after lawmakers failed to approve 2009 ag assis-tance provisions.

Economist: SURE no sure bet for next farm billSURE would appear to be a

questionable bet in strength-ening safety net options underthe next farm bill.

University of Illinois econ-omist Gary Schnitkey con-cedes SURE — the 2008 farmbill’s supplemental revenue

at least 5 percent toward grossfarm revenue.

• A producer must farm ina county designated or adja-cent to a county designated asa disaster area. Cook, DuPage,Grundy, Kendall, Marshall,

Putnam, and Will countieswere ineligible for 2008 disas-ter payments.

• SURE revenue must beless than the original SURErevenue guarantee. BecauseSURE is a whole-farm pro-gram, guarantee and revenuecalculations are based oninsurance guarantees andwhole-farm production,respectively.

Base prices ($5.40 for cornand $13.36 for soybeans in2008) are used to calculateguarantees, while season-aver-age prices ($4.05 for corn and$10 for soybeans in 2008) areused in the revenue calcula-tion. Because base prices forcorn and beans were signifi-cantly above season-average

prices, the majority of farmsreported revenue less than theguarantee.

Recent congressionalapproval of ad hoc disasterassistance — annual assistancethe standing disaster program

was designed to replace —raises the question “why wehave this program at all,”Schnitkey said.

Further, he notes the aver-age crop revenue election(ACRE) program likely wouldprovide relief in years whenSURE payments are trig-gered.

Schnitkey points outSURE has no official budgetbaseline, meaning legislatorslikely would have to tap otherfarm program funds to con-tinue it. “Beefing up ACREand the crop insurance pro-gram, in my opinion, wouldbe a better alternative thancontinuing the SURE pro-gram,” he maintained. —Martin Ross

assistance program — candeliver significant payments toeligible producers.

But he argues “you wouldn’twant to base your risk manage-ment program on SURE pay-ments,” given the complex eli-gibility-payment criteria that

give SURE a “roulette-wheelnature.”

For example, farmers mustsustain a 10 percent yield losson at least one crop to qualifyfor a SURE payment.

“Just one bushel could

mean the difference between a$40 payment per acre and a $0payment per acre,” Schnitkeytold FarmWeek. “Most farm-ers in Illinois didn’t qualify(for recent 2008 SURE pay-ments) because they didn’thave a 10 percent yield loss ona crop. It’s a complicated pro-gram.”

Further, to qualify forSURE payments:

• Gross annual farmincome reported to the U.S.Internal Revenue Service mustbe less than $2.5 million,unless 75 percent of thatincome comes from agricul-ture.

• Producers must insure all“economically significant”crops — those that contribute

‘Beefing up ACRE and the crop insurance program,in my opinion, would be a better alternative thancontinuing the SURE program.’

— Gary SchnitkeyU of I ag economist

‘Just because these programs are notin the baseline doesn’t mean they don’thave a constituency.’

— Bob YoungAmerican Farm Bureau Federation economist

BRAZIL


Planting finally getting under way in BrazilBY PHIL CORZINE

As you wrap up your tillagefor the 2010 crop, things are just

getting rollinghere in Brazilfor 2010-2011.Our companyhas expanded,renting twoadditionalfarms. Thisyear, we will beplanting 5,000acres in three

locations in two Brazilian states.In the state of Goias, we are

planting 2,220 acres of soybeanson a farm sitting on a 3,000-foot

the next four months.The late start is a problem,

however, for areas that try to dotwo crops. Not planting soy-beans until November meansplanting for second-crop corngets pushed into February oreven March, and that wouldmake it dicey to get the corn cropfinished before the dry seasonstarts and the rain runs out.

It’s more complicated onfarms in Mato Grosso wherecotton follows soybeans. Soy-beans, although they are plantedfirst, are in reality the secondarycrop on these farms. Is therestill enough time for those

farms to get the soybeans plant-ed and harvested in time to getthe cotton in on time? Or willthose soybeans not get planted?

Consulting firms here arereporting that the state of MatoGrosso had just 23 percent ofits soybeans planted as of Oct.20 vs. 40 percent the year before.But the rains have started nowand the planters are moving —we should know more soon.

Phil Corzine is general managerof South American Soy, a globalproduction management and invest-ment company. His e-mail addressis [email protected].

plateau. We started plantinghere Nov. 3. As in much ofBrazil, the rains here came latethis year, and planting is abouttwo weeks behind normal.

In Tocantins, we rented a farmto our north where we will beplanting 1,360 acres of soybeans.On our own farms outside ofAraguacu, we are planting 1,430acres of soy and 120 acres of corn.In Tocantins, the rains started righton schedule, and we expect to startplanting Wednesday.

La Nina and the late start ofthe rains are the main topics ofconversation in Brazil right now.Although they started late, farm-

ers I saw in the state of Goiasseemed to be making goodprogress with planting.

The planting window here inBrazil is very long, so the latestart likely won’t have mucheffect on farms that only plant asingle crop of soybeans. Moreimportant for those farms willbe how regular the rains are for

Phil Corzine

NOAA predicts wet winter for the state

Drought could dissipate in Southern IllinoisBY DANIEL GRANTFarmWeek

Drought conditions that con-tinue to linger in parts of South-ern and Southeastern Illinoiscould dissipate over the winter.

Jim Angel, state climatologistwith the Illinois State Water Sur-vey, believes the combination ofwinter precipitation and lowdemands on soil moisture thenext several months could helprecharge soil moisture levels intime for planting next spring.

“Coming into spring, soilmoisture should be in good

and other parts of the easternCorn Belt, Angel said. “That areais expected to have an increasedchance of above-normal precipi-tation (this winter). That may begood news, as long as we don’tget too much of a good thing.”

If the forecast is realized, itwould be the second consecutivewinter with an active storm pat-tern in the Midwest. Snowfalllast winter was about 1.5 timesabove normal in Northern andCentral Illinois.

Relief from dryness anddrought was not in the forecastfor the deep South, however.NOAA predicted the precipita-

tion pattern this winter could bedrier than normal for the GulfCoast states.

Meanwhile, the tempera-ture this winter was predictedto be milder than last season.NOAA predicted an increasedchance of above-normal tem-peratures in the southern two-thirds of the state. Its temper-ature forecast was neutral forNorthern Illinois.

Last year, the average tem-perature from Decemberthrough February rangedfrom one to five degreesbelow normal throughout thestate.

shape,” Angel said. “There’s nodemand on soil moisture (duringthe winter) and we always getsome type of precipitation.”

In fact, the National Oceanicand Atmospheric Administration(NOAA) recently predicted awetter-than-normal winter forIllinois and much of the OhioValley where drought conditionsspread in recent months.

The most recent U.S.Drought Monitor definedlarge portions of Eastern andSouthern Illinois as “abnor-mally dry” with a “moderate

drought” in Southeastern Illi-

nois. Drought conditions tothe east and south of South-ern Illinois were defined as“severe” and even “extreme”in parts of southern Indiana,southwest Ohio, Kentucky,and Missouri.

“We’ve got dryness issues inSouthern and Eastern Illinois”

Wheat seeding winds down; acres back to normal

The quick pace of the corn and soybean harvest and dry con-ditions this fall allowed wheat growers to plant their crop earlycompared to the five-year average.

Illinois farmers as of the first of last week had seeded 98 percentof the winter wheat crop compared to just 35 percent at the sametime a year ago and the five-year average of 82 percent, the NationalAgricultural Statistics Service (NASS) Illinois field office reported.

“As wet as it was last year during the normal planting period,it was almost the opposite this year,” said John Brink, a farmerfrom Washington County and president of the Illinois WheatAssociation. “It’s extremely dry in my area.”

The problem now is the dry conditions in some key wheat growingareas of Southern Illinois have made it difficult to establish quality stands.

The portion of soil moisture rated short or very short as ofthe first of last week was 100 percent in the southeast district, 83percent in the east/southeast district, 79 percent in the south-west, and 78 percent in the east, NASS reported.

“I planted some wheat this year (to try to take advantage ofattractive prices), but the stands are very spotty,” said DougUphoff, a farmer from Shelby County.

“We got about half an inch of rain 10 days ago that caused most ofthe drier spots to germinate,” Brink said on Thursday. “But there is con-cern if the soil will stay damp enough to keep the seedlings viable.”

Brink said most of the better-looking stands in his area are infields that were planted early.

“There is an old adage that if you sow wheat into dust, thebins will bust,” Brink said. “We’ll see if that holds true.”

Wheat acres are expected to rebound in Illinois this year afterreaching a record-low of just 350,000 acres a year ago.

“Wheat seedings, acre-wise, have been all over the place thelast five years,” Brink said. “I’d estimate (acres) could be slightlyabove average this year.”

Wheat seedings in Illinois from 2005 to 2009 averaged778,000 acres and peaked at 1.2 million acres in the fall of 2007.— Daniel Grant

FarmWeekNow.comCheck out the latest winterweather and drought outlookmaps at FarmWeekNow.com.

COMMODITIES


©2010 GROWMARK, Inc. A11426_6x8_aod

Ag economist evaluates performance of grain delivery systemBY DANIEL GRANTFarmWeek

This past March markedthe 10th anniversary of theChicago Board of Trade’s(CBOT) implementation ofnew grain contract deliveryterms.

CBOT, starting with itsMarch 2000contracts,expanded thedelivery areafor its soy-bean con-tracts to a383-mile sec-tion of theIllinois andMississippi

Rivers from Burns Harbor,Ind., to St. Louis. A 184-milesection of the Illinois Riverfrom Burns Harbor to Pekinwas established as the deliv-ery area for corn futures.

Originally, Chicago hadbeen the delivery point spec-ified in corn and soybeancontracts.

The Commodity FuturesTrading Commission (CFTC)approved the new grain con-tract delivery terms in thespring of 1998.

CFTC first directedCBOT to revise deliveryspecifications for corn andbean contracts in 1996, inpart due to an allegedattempt in 1989 to cornerthe soybean market knownas the “Ferruzzi episode,”according to Scott Irwin,University of Illinois ageconomist.

CBOT also had beengrappling for years with thefact that Chicago no longerwas a prime location for a

improved for CBOT con-tracts (CBOT in 2009 addednew delivery locations andswitched to variable-storagerates) but continued to beweak for the Kansas Citywheat futures market, whichdid not adopt variable-stor-age rates.

However, the system stillneeds to be monitored forflaws, and improvementsshould be considered, partic-ularly for the wheat market,according to Irwin.

Irwin and other U of I

economists in recent yearsproposed CBOT eliminateChicago and Toledo as deliv-erable markets for the wheatcontract and switch to a Mis-sissippi Waterway deliverysystem.

“CBOT attempted toaddress that,” Irwin said.“But, in the long run, those(wheat) contract termsinevitably will have to berevisited.”

If CBOT should considertaking action, it could tweakthe system or attempt tooverhaul it and include moreplayers.

“Agriculture has changed alot,” Irwin said. “There arealternative delivery systemsthat could be considered thatwould give wider access tofarmers with short futurespositions.

“But it’s not automaticthat it would be a good idea,”he added. “The cost vs. bene-fits (of expanding the deliv-ery system) would have to becarefully considered.”

Illinois Farm Bureau con-tinues to monitor the situa-tion.

grain terminal due to shifts inthe pattern of grain flows inthe U.S.

“You want your deliverylocation to be representativeof the main commercialflows of a commodity,” Irwinsaid.

The delivery locations,therefore, were moved down-state into prime corn andsoybean country. The newfocus on a river delivery sys-tem also meant claims oneach commodity shifted fromwarehouse receipts to ship-ping certificates.

Shipping certificates areissued by companies, calledregular firms, that meetworking capital and networth requirements set byCBOT, according to the June2010 issue of The Journal ofFutures Markets.

A minimum net worthrequirement to be approvedas a regular firm for deliveryin corn and bean markets wasset at $5 million.

The stakes were set highto ensure an efficient system,according to Irwin.

“The system never was setup to allow anyone who has ashort futures contract todeliver grain,” the ag econo-mist said. “If you have10,000 farmers with 5,000-bushel lots vs. two commer-cial (firms) dealing the sameamount of business, (the lat-ter) is much more efficient.”

And an efficient system isvital to help cause conver-gence between cash andfutures prices in the market-place, he said. Meanwhile,farmers who seem left out ofthe system actually benefit

because they don’t bear thecosts of bringing the twomarkets (cash and futures)together.

“Outside of the recentepisode (when cash prices didnot converge with futuresprices from 2006 to 2008, thuslimiting the effectiveness ofgrain hedges), it’s worked rea-sonably well for corn and soy-beans,” Irwin said.

Basis this year returned tonormal levels for corn andsoybeans. Meanwhile, thewheat basis this past harvest

Scott Irwin

NGFA fears another commodity market bubble

The National Grain and Feed Association (NGFA) lastmonth warned the Commodity Futures Trading Commission(CFTC) that conditions exist that could result in a replay ofthe market volatility that occurred in 2008.

“The rapid escalation of agricultural futures prices during2008 and the resulting disconnect of cash and futures valuesdramatically increased risk for grain purchasers and hedgersand caused extreme financial stress attributable to massivemargin requirements” to maintain hedge positions, accordingto NGFA.

“With investment capital again seeking enhanced returnsand many financial advisers recommending commodities asan investment vehicle, it appears the stage is set for anotherinvestment-fueled spike in futures prices.”

If futures prices continue to push higher, some grain buy-ers may be forced to limit forward-contract grain purchasesfrom U.S. farmers, a situation that played out in 2008, NGFAtold CFTC.

NGFA, therefore, called on CFTC to set future speculativeposition limits at levels that ensure proper functioning of agfutures markets for traditional commercial users, such asgrain elevators, feed manufacturers, and farmers.

NGFA also urged CFTC to establish speculative positionlimits at levels that are appropriate for enhancing futuresmarket performance and convergence of cash and futuresmarket values during the futures contract delivery period.

HISTORY


1

Antique tractor plowing bee creates a buzzBY DANIEL GRANTFarmWeek

Those farmers who mayhave forgotten what a plowlooks like had a chance torelive part of agriculture’shistory recently in CentralIllinois.

An antique tractor plow-ing bee, organized byTazewell County FarmBureau member LouisWeishaupt, was held Hal-loween day near Mackinaw.

A total of 53 farmers andantique tractor enthusiasts, arecord turn-out for theeight-year-old event, plowed80 acres of farmland usingonly tractors at least 50 yearsold and mostly two, three,and four-bottom plows. Theevent, which was free to thepublic, attracted about 100spectators.

“This was one of the bestones we’ve had,” saidWeishaupt, who noted thequick harvest and dry weath-er made ideal plowing condi-tions. “We had all makes andmodels (entered in the bee),everything from Case, John

Deere, and IH (InternationalHarvester) to MinneapolisMoline and Ford.”

Weishaupt came up withthe idea of hosting a plowingbee as a way to showcase thecapabilities of antique trac-tors. This year’s event fea-tured tractors that were builtno later than 1959.

“There are quite a few ofus here and in surroundingtowns who go to antiquetractor pulls,” Weishauptsaid. “But there you only getto run them 300 feet downthe track and that’s it. So, Ithought, ‘Why don’t we havea plowing bee?’”

Weishaupt has hosted anantique tractor plowing beeevery year since 2002 withthe exception of last year,when the event was can-celed due to the late har-vest and wet field condi-tions.

“I hope to keep it goingevery year, as long as there’sinterest,” he added.

Weishaupt, a lifelongfarmer, and his family ownsix antique tractors.

Louis Weishaupt of Mackinaw pulls a plow with his 1948 Farmall M during a recent antique plowingtractor bee in Tazewell County. The Farmall M has been owned by the Weishaupts for nearly 40 years.Weishaupt also uses it each year to pick corn at the annual Half Century of Progress show in Rantoul.(Photo by Ken Kashian. Additional photos appear at {www.ilfb.org}. Click on Ken Kashian’s photogallery.)

GROWMARK selects Solberg as new chief executive officer

The GROWMARK board of directors last week select-ed Jeff Solberg as its new chief executive officer.

Solberg will replace retiring CEO BillDavisson on Jan. 3, 2011.

“GROWMARK is a $6 billion organiza-tion experiencing a period of significantgrowth,” said Dan Kelley, chairman of theboard and president of GROWMARK.“Jeff has the skills, knowledge, experience,and support to lead GROWMARK success-fully into the future.”

Davisson hired Solberg 34 years ago as afinancial analyst. Solberg, who is a 1974business administration graduate of Illinois

Wesleyan and received his master’s of business adminis-tration degree from the University of Illinois in 1976,also held the positions of cash manager, assistant treasur-er, vice president of finance, and senior vice president offinance for GROWMARK.

Solberg is the past president and chairman of the Insti-tute for Cooperative Finance Officers.

“It is an absolute privilege to be able to follow in theshoes of Bill Davisson,” Solberg said.

“It’s the type of job everybody dreams about.”GROWMARK is a regional cooperative that provides

ag-related products, services, and grain marketing in 23states and Ontario, Canada.

“It’s critical we continue to provide the value to mem-bers through the knowledge we have, technology webring, and processes we have so members continue to besuccessful,” Solberg said.

More information is available at {www.growmark.com}.

Jeff Solberg

Did you know?The Mayflower, the ship that crossed the Atlantic in 1620

with 102 colonists, still exists — sort of. After the ship returnedto England from its historic voyage, it was purchased in 1624 bya farmer named Russel. Russel floated the Mayflower up theThames River to his farm.

He disassembled the ship and used the timbers to build a barnthat still stands today in Old Jordans, Bucks, in the United King-dom.

outlook meeting at 7 p.m.Monday (today) at the FarmBureau auditorium. ChuckShelby, Risk ManagementCommodities, will be thespeaker. Call the Farm Bureauoffice for more information.

• Florida citrus is availableto purchase in 2/5 and 4/5bushels, along with nuts andsnacks. Orders and paymentare due to the Farm Bureauoffice by Wednesday, Nov. 24.Delivery will be Monday, Dec.13. Call the Farm Bureauoffice for more information ordownload an order form fromthe website {www.vcfb.info}.

• The Vermilion CountyFarm Bureau Foundation willsponsor its annual silent auc-tion during the annual meetingMonday, Nov. 22. Past itemsincluded sports memorabilia,food items, and saving bonds.Contact the Farm Bureauoffice at 217-442-8713 if youhave an item to donate for theauction so it can be publicized.

FROM THE COUNTIES

CHAMPAIGN — TheChampaign County

Farm Bureau Foundation willsponsor its annual “Harvestour Youth” scholarship gala at4 p.m. Sunday, Nov. 14, atFarm Credit Services,Mahomet. A silent and liveauction will be held, along witha meal and games. Tickets are$25 and are available at theFarm Bureau office. ContactDebby Rehn, foundation direc-tor, at 352-5235 for moreinformation. Visit{www.ccfbfoundation.com}for more information on thefoundation.

EFFINGHAM — FarmBureau and St. Antho-

ny’s Memorial Hospital willsponsor a “Cultivate YourHealth” fair from 3 to 6 p.m.Wednesday at the Farm Bureauoffice. Complimentary healthscreenings will include bloodpressure, blood cholesterol,and blood glucose. Dr. LanaSchmidt will conduct skin can-

cer screenings by appointmentfrom 4 to 6 p.m. Appoint-ments may be made by callingthe Farm Bureau office at 217-342-2103.

• The Prime TimersThanksgiving dinner and gath-ering will be at 6 p.m. Thurs-day at the Centenary UnitedMethodist Church, Effingham.Marty Williamson and Grattonand Marylynne Toliver willprovide bluegrass music. Costis $8 for members and $13 fornon-members. Bring one itemfor the local food pantry.Reservations and payment aredue by Monday (today). Callthe Farm Bureau office at 217-342-2103 for more informa-tion.

• The Young Farmers Com-mittee is sponsoring a foodpantry drive for all EffinghamCounty 4-H clubs. Bring foodpantry items to the EffinghamCounty 4-H AchievementNight Sunday, Nov. 14, at theFaith Lutheran Church,

Shumway. Donations will beweighed and the club thatdonates the most will receive apizza party at its next clubmeeting. Call the Farm Bureauoffice at 217-342-2103 formore information.

HANCOCK — Theannual meeting will be

at 7 p.m. Thursday, Nov. 18, atthe Farm Bureau office. Callthe Farm Bureau office formore information.

LASALLE — Theannual meeting will be

at 6:30 p.m. Wednesday, Dec.1, at Pitstick Pavilion, Ottawa.Cost is $7.50. Call the FarmBureau office at 815-433-0371by Monday, Nov. 29, forreservations or more informa-tion.

LEE — A harvest cropmarketing workshop

will be at 7 p.m. Tuesday, Nov.23, at the Rock River Golf andPool, Rock Falls. Steve John-son, Iowa State UniversityExtension farm management

specialist, will be the speaker.The program is sponsored byLee, Ogle, and WhitesideCounty Farm Bureaus andSauk Valley Bank. Call theFarm Bureau office by Mon-day, Nov. 15, for reservationsor more information.

MENARD — Theannual meeting will be

at 5:30 p.m. Friday, Nov. 19, atthe PORTA High School.There will be a report fromLincoln Land FS. Mary EllenFricke, Illinois Farm Bureaupromotion manager, will bethe speaker. Call the FarmBureau office for more infor-mation.

PEORIA — The dead-line to order Florida cit-

rus and Terri Lynn nuts isMonday, Nov. 22. Orders maybe picked up Wednesday, Dec.15, at the Farm Bureau audito-rium.

VERMILION — TheYoung Leaders Com-

mittee will sponsor a market

IFB IN ACTION


IAITC adds ‘smart’ technology, reaches more studentsBY KAY SHIPMANFarmWeek

Illinois Agriculture in theClassroom (IAITC) is offeringagriculture concepts for the lat-est in educational technologywith new Smart Board curricu-lum.

The new ag-based lessonsoffer “kind of a fieldtrip on thebulletin board in the class-room,” said Kelly Murphy, Illi-nois Farm Bureau educationspecialist.

Last week Murphy and JackieJones, IFB education manager,reported on IAITC technologyand programs to members ofthe Illinois Committee forAgricultural Education (ICAE)and the Illinois LeadershipCouncil for Agricultural Educa-tion (ILCAE).

Smart Boards are interactive,electronic “chalkboards” thatallow teachers and students tosimultaneously view and workon computer-based informa-tion.

Murphy noted Smart tech-nology is spreading rapidlyamong school districts, andIAITC first offered classroomSmart Board lessons this fall.The new technology offersteachers a helping hand andexpands the capacity of IAITCmaterials.

For example, an IAITCSmart-based lesson about ahungry caterpillar that eats Illi-nois-grown commodities alsowill read to students, helpingyoung readers with unfamiliarwords, Murphy noted.

In addition, each Ag Mag

includes one or more inter-views with agricultural profes-sionals; however, those soonwill include on-site video inter-views that students may viewvia Smart Boards.

The electronic capacity ofSmart-based technology means“we’re not limiting the space orinformation we share” com-pared to printed material, Mur-phy explained.

Future teachers are usingSmart-based technology in col-lege, and IAITC is takingadvantage of their need forcurriculum, Murphy said.

“College students are nowrequired to do this (use Smarttechnology) for their curricu-lum. They’re excited to click onthis (IAITC information) andget ideas,” she added.

IAITC also is using ag-based materials and conceptsto help teachers prepare stu-dents for standardized tests,Jones reported.

Across the state, publicschool students in the fourthand sixth grades take the Illi-nois Standards AchievementTest (ISAT). IAITC nowoffers teachers in those gradesvocabulary, math, reading, andshort-essay lessons based onagricultural topics presented inAg Mags.

In addition, the IAITCquestion format is similar tothe ISAT questions.

This repetition helps stu-dents become familiar with thestandardized test format,Jones added.

In the near future, IAITC

plans to develop similar AgMag testing material based onTerra Nova achievement tests,which are used in manyparochial schools around Illi-nois.

IAITC continues to reachmore educators and studentsaround the state, the womenreported.

For the 2009-10 schoolyear, IAITC materials wereused by 30,454 teachers andreached 486,610 students.About 1,300 collegiate educa-tion majors attended a work-shop about IAITC materialsand services, and 2,899 volun-teers presented ag literacyclassroom lessons. In addition,39 summer agriculture insti-tutes were scheduled for edu-cators.

IAA Foundation caps successful summer, fall fundraisersThe IAA Foundation netted

more than $80,000 throughfundraising activities this summerand is looking ahead to severalfundraising activities at the IllinoisFarm Bureau annual meeting inSt. Louis.

“I am grateful for the supportshown to the IAA Foundationthrough participation in ourfundraising events, and ampleased with our financial resultsthis year when both fundraiserssurpassed 2009 earnings,” saidSusan Moore, IAA Foundationdirector.

All event proceeds support theIllinois Agriculture in the Class-room (IAITC) program.

In July, 200 golfers participatedin the IAITC Golf Outing at theElks Country Club & Wolf Creek

Golf Club, Pontiac. The golf out-ing netted more than $43,000.

In September, 50 cyclists ped-aled in the IAITC Bike Ridethrough Ford, Grundy, Iroquois,Kankakee, Livingston, and Willcounties. They netted more than$37,000 and visited 30 schools,reaching more than 5,000 stu-dents with lessons on agricultureand bicycle safety.

Fundraising activities at annualmeeting will start Dec. 4 with anice cream social sponsored byPrairie Farms Dairy from 3:15 to

4:15 p.m. The live auction willstart at 3:45 p.m.

The silent auction will start at1 p.m. Dec. 4 and conclude at 4

p.m. Dec. 6. A country storehighlighting several new productswill operate during the samehours.

In addition, teams will com-pete in the seventh annual triviacontest, starting at 8:15 p.m. Dec.5. — Kay ShipmanFarmWeekNow.com

Entries are being acceptedfor the seventh annual triviacontest to raise money for theIAA Foundation and IllinoisAgriculture in the Classroom.

The contest will be Sunday,Dec. 5, during the Illinois FarmBureau annual meeting in theRenaissance Grand Hotel, St.Louis, Mo.

Registration is limited to thefirst 45 teams.

Teams of eight test theirknowledge in two divisions.

One is for Farm Bureau leadersand the other is for staff andcorporate members. The teamwith the most correct answerswins.

The cost is $12.50 per per-son for teams that registerbefore Dec. 2. After Dec. 2, thecost is $17.50 per person. Reg-istrations will be accepted atthe door based on availability.County Farm Bureaus also maysponsor a trivia round for $300.

Teams also will compete for

best representation of thisyear’s theme — Flashback.Teams will be judged on cre-ativity and originality of cos-tumes, decorations, and props,and members’ enthusiasm.

Last year, the contest raisedmore than $7,000 for ag literacyprograms.

For more information or toregister, contact the IAA Foun-dation, 1701 Towanda Ave.,Bloomington, Ill., 61701, or e-mail [email protected].

Teams sought for IFB annual meeting trivia contestFor addi t iona l in format ionabout the IAA Foundation, goto FarmWeekNow.com.

PROFITABILITY


Feeder pig prices reported to USDA*Weight Range Per Head Weighted Ave. Price10 lbs. $30.67-$42.45 $37.4140 lbs. $42.00-$56.09 $49.3450 lbs. n/a n/aReceipts This Week Last Week

25,300 26,724*Eastern Corn Belt prices picked up at seller’s farm

MARKET FACTS

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

This week Prev. week ChangeCarcass $59.02 $58.27 0.75Live $43.67 $43.12 0.56

Export inspections

(Million bushels)Week ending Soybeans Wheat Corn10-28-10 60.3 16.2 25.610-21-10 70.7 23.6 24.0Last year 67.0 12.0 27.5Season total 314.4 470.2 283.8Previous season total 225.7 362.5 301.8USDA projected total 1520 1250 2100Crop marketing year began June 1 for wheat and Sept. 1 for corn and soybeans.

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

Steers $96.37 $99.97 -3.60 Heifers $97.28 $99.79 -2.51

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 Change111.32 111.07 0.25

CME feeder cattle index — 600-800 Lbs.

Slaughter Prices - Negotiated, Live, wooled and shorn 125-170 lbs. for 120-149.98 $/cwt., dressed, no sales reported.

Lamb prices

U.S. farm income outlook positive for 2010BY JIM CHARLESWORTH

I remember my economicsprofessors at the University ofWisconsin four decades agostating the importance of agri-

culture infeeding thegrowingworld popula-tion.

Lookingback, theywere right,but how doesagriculturelook going

forward?World food demand is

expected to double by 2050,influenced by global popula-tion expansion and risingincome levels. World grainproduction and consumptionhave increased fourfold since1990.

Net cash farm incomereached a record high ofslightly more than $90 billion

in 2008 but dropped signifi-cantly in 2009 to approximate-ly $69 billion.

Net cash farm income for2010 is expected to increase 23percent, or $16.2 billion, andmove well above the previous10-year average.

Total cash receipts areexpected to increase 6.5 per-cent to slightly more than$300 billion in 2010.

Crop cash receipts areforecast at $164 billion in2010, $600 million above2009, reflecting offsettingtrends in different crop cate-gories:

• Sales of corn for grain,the largest single source ofcrop cash receipts for U.S.farmers, is forecast at $40.3billion in 2010.

• Soybean receipts in 2010are expected to reach a record$30.5 billion, reflecting anexpected record harvest andhigh soybean prices.

Livestock cash receipts areforecast at $137.5 billion in2010.

• Dairy cash receipts areexpected to increase $6.4 bil-lion to $30.7 billion in 2010.Milk production is expectedto increase through produc-tivity gains. Milk prices alsoare expected to increase.

• Cattle cash receiptscould increase to $48.6 billionin 2010, based on expected

higher prices. • Hog receipts could rise to

$18.1 billion in 2010, due tolower hog numbers andimproved domestic and for-eign demand.

Producers will rely less ongovernment farm paymentscompared to recent years, lev-eling out at nearly 14 percentof net cash farm income.Fixed direct payments andconservation program pay-

ments will anchor governmentsupport to producers.

Farm production expensesare expected to increase 1.1percent in 2010 after a 4.1 per-cent decline in 2009.

The farm sector balancesheet will remain favorable. Asolid foundation for net cashfarm income boosts assetaccumulation and debt man-agement.

The future outlook for agri-culture is positive. I wouldoffer today’s students the sameadvice my economics profes-sors gave 40 years ago: U.S.agriculture will continue toplay a prominent role in theglobal economy and will pro-vide excellent opportunitiesfor those who elect to work inthis industry.

Jim Charlesworth is GROW-MARK’s marketing research direc-tor. His e-mail address [email protected].

Jim Charlesworth

Analyst: Funds, not fundamentals, behind bull marketBY DANIEL GRANTFarmWeek

The crop markets haveresponded, both positively andnegatively, to supply anddemand issues this harvest sea-son.

Prices dropped in Septem-ber when USDA boosted end-ing stocks and prices shot backup the following month whenUSDA cut its production esti-

mates for corn and soybeans.But, while many traditional

crop marketers have beenwatching the fundamentals formarket direction, it actually isthe speculators in the marketswho are behind the recent bull-run, according to Dale Durch-holz, AgriVisor market analyst.

And it could be those samespeculators who end the bull-run, he warned.

“Money has been the driverof this bull market,” Durch-holz told FarmWeek. “It’snot the fundamentals, neces-sarily, although the fundamen-tals have enhanced the moveson a couple occasions.”

Speculative/hedge funds asof the end of September werelong (a position in which acommodity contract is pur-chased with the expectation itwill rise in value) in futuresand options on more than 2billion bushels of corn andabout 800 million bushels ofsoybeans.

“(Investors) are attracted tothe (commodity) marketplacebecause the yields are so lowon traditional investmentmedia,” Durchholz said. “Thefunds viewed commodities ashaving better potentialrisk/reward rates.”

Index fund investments inthe commodity markets subse-quently soared from roughly$277 billion in 2009 to about$320 billion this year.

However, the bull-run thatfund traders helped drive incrop markets actually couldslow the rate of future invest-ments.

“The risk/reward is not asgood as it once was (as cornfutures nearly reached $6 perbushel and soybean futuressurpassed $12),” the analystsaid. “The spec money (incommodities) has sloweddown.”

The danger now is anydownward market actioncould trigger fund investors topull out of the market.

“There is risk of a huge liq-uidation break,” Durchholz

said. “And it could be brutal.I’m not saying we’re goingback to $3 (corn), but futuresthat were $5.70 to $5.80 in aheartbeat could be back under$5.”

Durchholz urged farmers

to use risk management strate-gies to survive the marketvolatility. Market updates andtips are posted each week at{twitter.com/agrivisor} andavailable to those withaccounts.

Milk price climbsfor 7th straight month

The Class III price for milk adjusted to 3.5 percent butterfatfor the month of October was $ 16.94 per hundredweight. Thisis 68 cents higher than the previous month and the seventhstraight month prices have increased.

Producers are pleased milk prices are keeping pace with steeprises in corn and protein costs.

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

�2010 crop: Corn futurescontinue to push to new highsbut have yet to display an abilityto sustain upside momentum.Even though higher prices arepossible, we believe the risk ofownership has become toolarge to hold corn unpriced.Hedge-to-arrive (HTA) con-tracts for winter/spring deliv-ery may be the best marketingtool. But because the cost ofcarry has diminished, checkthem against the cost of carry-ing inventories.

�2011 crop: From a risk-management perspective, thegross income offered by new-crop sales is too large not tostart pricing next year’s out-put. Once prices start todiminish demand, the impactcould last into the new crop.

�Fundamentals: Thedecline in the dollar, and expec-tations the November USDAreports will show a tighter fun-damental structure yet are hold-ing up corn prices. After theUSDA report, there will be lessopportunity for news about bigfundamental changes, makingthe situation more vulnerableto a wave of profit-taking. Soybean Strategy

�2010 crop: The FederalReserve news and its impacton the dollar triggered anotherwave of speculative buying insoybeans, lifting prices to thenext key resistance level. Wecontinue to believe the largespeculative positions havemade the risk too large to jus-tify holding significantunpriced inventory.

�2011 crop: Gross incomeper acre is too large to notmake an initial sale. We stillbelieve having 20 percentpriced is a good risk-manage-ment strategy.

�Fundamentals: Thepace of soybean export salesslowed a little this past week,including the pace of Chinesebusiness. This past week,there were no sales to Chinareported on USDA’s dailyreporting system, hinting salesmay be even slower. Eventhough sales are being accu-mulated at a faster-than-expected pace, they can slowsharply at any time, even come

to a temporary halt. Andalthough shipments are good,they aren’t any better than lastyear if you adjust for the har-vest pace the last two years.Wheat Strategy

�2010 crop: Upsidemomentum returned to themarket because of the declinein the dollar. The ChicagoDecember contract penetratedthe 50-day moving average andthe psychological $7 level. Thenext resistance comes at $7.28.Use the current strength towrap-up sales if you still haveinventories. HTA contracts forwinter delivery still appear the

best marketing tool.�2011 crop: Use rallies

above $7.90 on Chicago July2011 futures for catch-upsales. If basis is wide com-pared to this past summer,consider a HTA contract.

�Fundamentals: Wheatprices rode the wave of com-modity enthusiasm emanatingfrom the decline in the dollarthis past week. The westernpart of the Great Plains con-tinues to remain dry, as doesthe western part of Australia.But weather forecasts includerain for soft red areas in theCorn Belt and the South.

The three major commodi-ty indices have moved close tocritical benchmarks. Because

Basis charts

these indices are made up of anumber of commodities, onehas to be a little “flexible” inobserving the absolute sup-port and resistance points.

While there’s nothing toindicate the trend in commod-ity prices is about to turndown, because these indicesare all near important bench-marks, it’s important to watchfor any sign of a change untilthey push significantly throughthe key levels.

Both the CRB (CommodityResearch Bureau) and Gold-man Sachs indices have beenless robust in their gains fromthe 2008 lows as the commodi-ties included are weighted,especially to energy. Never-theless, even though they lookdifferent, they can tell ussomething about what may lieahead.

Cents per bu.

Commodity turning point ahead

PERSPECTIVES


LETTERS TO THE EDITOREditor’s note: Spending for

all agriculture subsidies totals$13.66 billion. That represents1.05 percent of the federaldeficit of about $1.3 trillion.

Agrees now is time to end farm subsidiesEditor:

I am writing to support TonyThoele (Oct. 25 letter) in thatthis would be a good time toend farm subsidies. The U.S.government’s role in agricultureincreased dramatically under theRoosevelt New Deal.

And the programs have per-sisted long after the end of theeconomic conditions that wereused to justify them. The twoexplanations for the farm pro-grams are they are in the publicinterest and they redistributewealth to the agriculture sectorand maintain the small familyfarm.

However, the programs con-vey most of the benefits tothose individuals and corpora-tions whose wealth and incomesare much more than the averagetaxpayer who is footing the bill.DORIS GOSNELL,Lawrenceville

Eliminate subsidies afterUncle Sam leaves farmingEditor:

Most farmers readily agreewith Mr. Thoele’s letter in theOct. 25 edition. However, aglimpse at history is in order.Our government decree wasWE are expected to supply theworld with cheap food.

Most would gladly bidfarewell to all subsidies as longas government gets out offarming first. Some claim thatsupply and demand does notwork with agriculture. Consid-er that “Uncle Sam” has beenin control of the process forabout a generation.

If you think Washington is“hands off ” of agriculture,recall the annual census forms.It used to have strong languagewithin the opening paragraph,which led us to believe that fail-ure to respond would surelyresult in the death penalty.

A now-deceased friend,George Handel, was managerof one of the largest cow/calfherds in the state. He did notcare for the census and one daygot a visit from some “G” men.

With colorful vernacular,George told them the census iswhat the government uses towreck the markets. I seem torecall that George also toldthem that he might have a usefor their census forms, as longas they printed them onsmooth paper. He must havenailed it right, they never both-ered him again.CHET PEUGH,Chadwick

New GIPSA rulescarry large price tagEditor:

I read about the recentGrain Inspection, Packers, andStockyards Administration(GIPSA) upgrade of the Pack-ers and Stockyards Act in theOct. 25 FarmWeek.

It quoted a study by theAmerican Meat Institute whichsaid Illinois consumers wouldhave to pay $105 million morefor meat products. It didn’t sayover what time period.

If you extended this to 50states, it would be well over $1billion. The president of theNational Pork Producers Coun-

cil and the National CattlemenBeef Association predict it willcause financial disaster to manyproducers.

Who will get the extraspread in billions of dollarsbetween producer and con-sumer?

One hundred fifteen con-gressmen wrote Ag SecretaryTom Vilsack to delay the newGIPSA rules. Six of thebiggest meat packers gave morethan $400,000 to current con-gressmen.

I haven’t seen or read thenew GIPSA rules. Perhaps

some enthusiastic regulator hasincluded a rule that isn’t practi-cal to carry out.

USDA’s effort to establish anational cattle identificationprogram failed in part becausezealous regulators inserted arequirement that farmers andranchers had to report toUSDA every time they movedcattle to another pasture on thefarm. They had to report thisin four days. Had this beenknown earlier by more, it mighthave been possible to change.WILLIAM SCHRAGE,Greenville

Letters are limited to300 words, and a name andaddress must accompanyeach letter to be published.

FarmWeek reserves theright to reject any letter.No political endorsementswill be published.

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Letter to editor policy

Editor’s note: Ernest Thorp, 89, is amember of the DeWitt County Farm Bureauand still flies his own plane. Wednesday isVeteran’s Day, and FarmWeek honors allveterans for their service to our country.

Ernest Thorp had two consumingpassions when growing up on a farmoutside Wapella — farming andflying. A child of the Depression, hehas had plenty of opportunity to pursueboth over the course of years.

Thorp was a college student at Illi-nois State University in 1941 when heearned his civilian pilot’s license. Twoyears later, he was training to fly B-17Flying Fortresses.

By early 1944, Thorp was engagedand in England, serving as a copilot on

missions overNazi-occupiedEurope. He feltvery much like atarget whenever

he flew missions in the lumbering B-17,always part of a tight formation of air-craft headed to Germany andback. They were exposed and vulnera-ble in those formations, prey to Ger-man fighters, and fat targets to alert flakgunners.

“Average life of a B-17 – 231 days or 21missions,” Thorp wrote in the diary hefaithfully maintained throughout thewar. Even so, it was safer to stay in theformation, protected by an intricateweb of interlocking machine gun firewoven by scores of .50-caliber machineguns.

The target for Thorp’s 18th combatmission on Aug. 4, 1944, was an oilrefinery in Bremen, Germany. Not until

the morning mission briefing did hediscover he would be the copilot fora green crew in a beat up old air-craft; otherwise, it seemed like aroutine mission.

The formation was hugging theGerman coastline when it ran intoflak, with Thorp’s No. 1 engine tak-ing a hit. Thorp and thenavigator were able toget things under con-trol, and argued forstaying in the for-mation, but thepilot insisted onturning back forEngland.

That maneuvertook them awayfrom the safety ofthe formation andback into the sightsof vigilant flak gunners.

Soon No. 4 engine wasgone as well, and the resulting fire gavethe crew no choice but to bail out overthe North Sea.

A thankful Thorp was eventuallyfished out of the water by a sympathet-ic German fisherman, himself a POWin England during World War I. For thenext year, Thorp concentrated on sur-viving while being shuttled through asuccession of POW camps.

The first stop was Stalag Luft III (laterto become famous as the Great Escapecamp). Unbeknownst to him, the RedCross had initially reported him dead tohis fiancée and parents back in Illinois.Only when Thorp got a chance to mail aletter home did they discover the truth.

“Dear Folks,” he wrote in that firstletter. “By now you know I’m safe and well. Ihave been very lucky and grateful to God …Don’t forget to cover all the past home news.Please send me double-edged razor blades,shorts, wool socks, toothpaste, and pajamas —and chocolate.”

When Soviet armies pressed into theGerman homeland, the prisoners weretransferred from camp to camp, movingsteadily deeper into the German interi-or. Chaos and uncertainty ruled the day,and through it all, a gnawing hunger wasErnest’s constant companion.

Only the occasional Red Cross pack-age kept the specter of starvation at bay,and those became scarcer as the Ger-man empire crumbled aroundthem. Despite the constant turmoil,Ernest managed to maintain his diary,

chronicling his daily struggle to sur-vive, carefully recording both the sig-nificant and mundane.

By the spring of 1945 rumors ofthe war’s end and the Americans’ lib-eration swirled through thecamps. Thorp was at Stalag VII-Anear Mooseburg when he spottedseveral “P-51s with red tails manned byNegroes,” strafing the railroad that rannear the camp. “We could see them circleinto position, dive down and see the flash offire from their machine guns,” he wrote.

April 29 was Thorp’s personal“liberation day,” the day when Ameri-can troops finally reached the camp.“We shook hands with all the G.I.s wecould get a hold of ... My feeling of elationgave me a funny feeling in the throat andstomach as well as tears in my eyes.”

It was the first of many emotionalmoments for Thorp as he made theslow but inexorable journey home toWapella, ever closer to realizing hisdream of a reunion with his fiancéeand family.

Thorp remembers well his arrival inNew York City harbor. “The biggest

impression I had” he related 64 years later,“was when we passed by the Statue of Liberty… There wasn’t one word — it was strictlysilent as we passed by that Statue of Liberty.What we were fighting for was that statue —what it stood for ... That was really a momentthat I didn’t think would happen, but it did.We were home.”

Too many of us today take our vet-erans and their sacrifices for granted.Hearing stories like Thorp’s reminds usof the real price of freedom.

Mark DePue is the director of oral history at theAbraham Lincoln Presidential Library, Spring-field. You can listen to Ernest Thorp’s entire sto-ry and those of other veterans online at{http://www.alplm.org/oral_history/projects.html}.

MARK DEPUE

guest columnist

Freedom is not freeAn Illinois veteran’s WW II story

Ernest Thorp

FarmWeek November 8 2010

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