FarmWeek September 27 2010

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Monday, September 27, 2010 Two sections Volume 38, No. 39

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

LEGISLATIVE redistricting isso foreign to most voters theywon’t even venture a guess on howdistricts are drawn, according to arecent survey. ..................................3

AGRICULTURAL l e ader swould like to see the reach theEnvironmental Protection Agencyhas extended into farming short-ened up a bit. ...................................5

TWO ILLINOIS congressmenare critical of the omission of riv-er priorities from the recently pro-posed $50 billion infrastructureinvestment plan. ............................4

Producers mobilize for estate tax reform BY MARTIN ROSSFarmWeek

Rains had pre-empted theday’s fieldwork, so CarolynLawrence decided to alertpolicymakers to the poten-tially dire forecast ahead formany Illinois producers.

Lawrence and husband, Rob,who farm near Roseville in War-ren County, are the self-des-cribed fifth-generation “stew-ards” of their operation, an Illi-nois Sesquicentennial Farm.

They are among thousandsof Illinois farmers who havecontacted Democrat Sens.Dick Durbin of Springfieldand Roland Burris of Chicagothis month seeking federalestate tax relief for 2011.

As part of an earlier three-day Illinois Farm Bureau cam-paign, producers made 2,300-plus calls to the senators warn-ing them of the hit farm heirscould take under a Januaryreturn to a pre-2002 $1 millionestate tax exemption and a 55percent tax rate.

Farmers urged the pair toback a phased-in $5 millionindividual exemption sponsoredby Senate Ag Committee Chair-man Blanche Lincoln (D-Ark.)and Sen. Jon Kyl (R-Ariz.).

“We had a rainy day (onSept. 18), and our lawyer had

nois land values over the pastdecade — her husband’s par-ents paid $200 an acre for landnow valued at $7,000 an acre.

The Lawrences face particu-larly acute financial concerns:Rob’s parents reside at a nearbynursing home, and their carecosts currently consume most oftheir farm’s annual income.

While the elder coupleincorporated the family farm,formed trusts, and otherwise“did all they could to plan forleaving their estate to their chil-dren,” they did not anticipate areturn to a $1 million exemp-tion and “an estate tax of over50 percent,” Carolyn told sena-tors.

She warned them 2010could be “our last year of

farming” if Congress fails toact soon. A $5 million exemp-tion and an accompanying 35percent tax rate likely wouldrelieve the Lawrences of estatetax liability, she said.

The Lawrences do not sup-port a counterproposal by Sen.Dianne Feinstein (D-Calif.)that would defer family farmestate taxes under stringent eli-gibility criteria and the condi-tion land remains in productionand in the family. That wouldlimit the flexibility heirs mightneed to restructure or refinanceoperations, she said.

“And there also are non-farm heirs (within families),”Lawrence added. “To tiethings up for 10 years or moreisn’t fair to them.”

sent us a letter mid-week askingif we would write a letter,”Lawrence told FarmWeek fol-lowing a Thursday grain deliv-ery. “He has a lot of farmers in

the same situation, and I thinkit’s wearing on him, trying toadvise them on the best thing todo. So I ... sat down for an houror two, composed the letter, andsent it off to the senators.”

Last week, Senate FinanceChairman Max Baucus (D-Mont.) announced plans tointroduce legislation thatwould address the estate taxissue and extend expiring2001/2003 tax cuts (see page3).

However, Senate leaders lastweek said a vote on “exten-ders” would be delayed untilafter the November elections.

Lawrence noted a growingnumber of area farmers nearingretirement age as well as the“incredible” escalation of Illi-

Harvest nears halfway mark; yields remain disappointingBY DANIEL GRANTFarmWeek

More than half of the state’scorn crop likely is in the bin asthe torrid harvest pace contin-ued much of last week.

Illinois farmers as of Sept.20 had harvested 38 percent ofthe crop compared to just 1percent at the same time in2009 and the five-year averageof 12 percent.

Unseasonably warm tem-peratures and nearly ideal har-vest conditions allowed farmersto keep their combines rollinglast week until showers earlyFriday morning provided amuch-needed break for some.

“The corn is dry — under15 percent,” said Tim Lenz, aShelby County farmer andpresident of the Illinois CornGrowers Association, who asof Friday had harvested about75 percent of his corn crop.“It is just a matter of how fastyou can get it.”

Lenz estimated many farmersin his area could finish harvest inthe next two weeks, which wouldbe earlier than some farmerswere able to start harvest lastyear due to a late-developingcrop and numerous rain delays.

“It’s been almost ideal (con-ditions) with a few showers to

harvested so far,” he said. “Thecorn-on-corn has been the mostdisappointing, but even the corn-on-beans has not been good.”

USDA earlier this monthlowered its statewide corn yieldestimate from 180 to 174bushels per acre. The statewidesoybean yield, though, was pro-jected to average a record-high51 bushels per acre.

Soybean harvest as of thefirst of last week was 10 per-cent complete statewide com-pared to no progress in 2009and an average of 5 percent.

break it up,” Lenz said. “It’sbeen a lot better than last year,which was a nightmare.”

But while harvest conditionsthis season have been muchbetter than last year, yields arefalling below year-ago levels formany producers.

“Yields are a little downfrom last year, closer to thefive-year average,” Lenz said.

Production took an evenbigger hit in parts of the statethat were extremely wet thissummer. Terry Pope, a farmerfrom Burnside in Hancock

County and Illinois FarmBureau District 9 director, lastweek reported his area receivedmore than 50 inches of rainduring the growing season.

“In this area, it (corn produc-tion) is not very good,” Popesaid. “The big issue is we have alot of corn that was stunted.”

Pope on Friday reportedcorn harvest in his area was 40to 50 percent complete andyields ranged from just 44bushels to 145 bushels per acre.

“We have a lot of 60-, 70-,and 80-bushel corn that’s been

John Strader of rural Ashmore in Coles County last week was in his second day of soybean harvest after hav-ing finished harvesting corn. He farms 2,200 acres, half soybeans and half corn. He said corn yields aver-aged 175 bushels per acre, and his beans were starting out in the mid-50s. With a wetter-than-usual Junefollowed by a dry July and August, Strader characterized the corn yields as about average but said his soy-bean yields were good. Harvest this year is about a month earlier that last year, he said. Statewide, soybeanharvest was 10 percent completed as last week began. (Photo by Ken Kashian)

See page 3for more details

PRE-ELECTION BIODIESEL VOTE — In a jointletter to U.S. Senate Democratic and Republican leaders lastweek, the National Biodiesel Board (NBB) and theAdvanced Biofuels Association (ABFA), urged Congress toextend biodiesel, renewable diesel, and other biofuels taxcredits through 2011 before adjourning for Novembermidterm elections.

The request sought retroactive extension of the $1-per-gallon biodiesel credit, which expired Dec. 31, 2009. Thecredit’s lapse “and the Senate’s subsequent inability toaddress this issue has killed thousands of jobs and has madeAmerica more dependent on foreign oil,” NBB Vice Presi-dent of Federal Affairs Manning Feraci said.

“If Washington doesn’t step in before lawmakers leavefor the campaign trail, then they are essentially putting a vir-tual hold on our nation’s energy and economic security,”ABFA President Michael McAdams stated. “Industry cannotbe expected to continue to build and develop fuels of thefuture if the government does not hold up its end of thebargain.”

CLIMATE CLASH CHILLED? — Last week, SenateEnergy and Natural Resources Committee Chairman JeffBingaman (D-N.M.) declared climate change legislation deadfor the near future. Republicans are expected to gain seats inboth the House and the Senate, and passing climate changelegislation that mandates reductions in greenhouse gases willbe tough.

“I don’t see a comprehensive bill going anywhere in thenext two years,” said Bingaman, who supports climate legis-lation. “I’d be surprised if that kind of a comprehensive cli-mate and energy bill could pass both houses of Congress inthe next Congress, since they’ve been unable to pass it in thisCongress.”

URBAN SPRAWL AFFECTS WATER QUALITY —Sprawl in the developing Metro East area is contributingfecal bacteria and phosphorous to the Lower Kaskaskia Riv-er basin, Southern Illinois University-Carbondale (SIU) sci-entists have learned.

A three-year study of 43 river basin subwatershedsrevealed the urban subwatersheds contain significantly high-er levels of both E. coli and phosphorus on a day-to-daybasis than do the largely rural, agricultural subwatersheds.

“That surprised me,” said Jon Schoonover, SIU assistantprofessor of forestry who managed the project. “Peoplehave been pointing a finger at agriculture for years as a majorsource of water pollution, but our study showed that asurbanization increased, so did water quality problems.”

The report doesn’t specify the sources of the bacteria andphosphorous, but Schoonover and his colleague, KarlWilliard, have their suspicions. “As far as bacteria is con-cerned, two possibilities are home septic systems and com-bined sewer (sanitary and storm water in the same system)overflows,” Williard said.

Phosphorous fertilizer applied to urban lawns with com-pacted soil also is suspected of washing off during storms.

FarmWeek Page 2 Monday, September 27, 2010

(ISSN0197-6680)

Vol. 38 No. 39 Sept. 27, 2010

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Quick TakesGOVERNMENT

Nelson sees a ‘crack of optimism’ for WTOBY MARTIN ROSSFarmWeek

The discussions continue. So do the ques-tions and speculation about a successful resolu-tion of the World Trade Organization’s (WTO)Doha Round.

After making the rounds in Geneva, Switzer-land — the hub of Doha activity — IllinoisFarm Bureau President Philip Nelson sees a“crack of optimism” amid efforts to reach afinal WTO accord.

A shift to “small group discussions” mayresolve contentious individual issues and pavethe way for final consensus among the WTO’s153 member nations, he said.

But a lot depends on the willingness of Chinaand India to improve market access; the direc-

tion of and international satisfaction with U.S.farm policy reforms; and the outcome of world-wide elections, including currently unpredictableU.S. mid-term congressional races, said Nelson,chairman of American Farm Bureau Federa-tion’s Trade Advisory Committee.

“2011’s going to be a very pivotal year in theWTO talks,” he predicted. “If progress can bemade coming out of small group discussions, ifwe can take things to the next step as it relates tothe service sector, the manufacturing sector, andagriculture, and we can conclude those during2011, I think we can have a successful round com-pleted.

“If that does not happen in 2011, I think it’sgoing to be very hard to complete this round oftrade talks. Given the elections of 2012 aroundthe world, (WTO talks) will be more politicizedthan they are today.

“But the positive thing I took away as wemet with the various embassies is that theUnited States is the major trading force in thisworld. Countries want to work with us; we justhave to be able to sit across the table and tryto figure out how that takes place in this par-ticular environment.”

Among the major stumbling blocks to a suc-

cessful DohaRound areimport tariffsthat present“obstacles toentering the Chi-nese market andthe Indian market,” Nelson maintained. Chinaimposes tariffs as high as 15-20 percent on somegoods.

However, world economic woes have instilled“a caution in the whole trade talk community,”Nelson said, citing heightened protectionistinstincts.

Economic collapse within Greece and otherEuropean Union (EU) nations, meanwhile, mayspur re-examination of the EU’s Common Agri-

cultural Policy “and how it fits in the big schemeof things,” he said.

Nelson reported many WTO nations willclosely monitor U.S. farm bill debate. A partic-ular focus is the WTO’s ruling that the U.S. hasmade insufficient progress in retooling pur-portedly trade-distorting cotton supports.

However, Brazil, which brought the originalWTO complaint against the U.S., appears to betaking a wait-and-see approach to congressionalfarm bill reforms. In order to stave off Braziliancountermeasures, the U.S. has agreed to payBrazil some $147.3 million per year in “dam-ages.”

The potential trade impact of the U.S.’November elections “came up at about everyembassy we visited,” Nelson related. The presi-dent’s seemingly vague trade policy signals andthe possibility of a party control shift on Capi-tol Hill have raised global speculation.

“If we see one of the (congressional) cham-bers flip, we’ll have to see if the president comesmore to the center of the debate as it relates totrade,” Nelson said. “In his State of the Unionaddress, he said he wants to see exports dou-bled. Well, let’s see how he plans to addressthat.”

‘ I f progress can be made coming out of smallgroup discussions, if we can take things to thenext step . . . I th ink we can have a successfulround completed.’

— Philip NelsonPresident, Illinois Farm Bureau

To boost servicein nine counties

Northwestern Illinois is thelatest region of the state toreceive federal funding for abroadband project.

Last week, Gov. Pat Quinnannounced the start of a $70million fiber-optic projectinvolving $46 million from theU.S. Department of Com-merce, $14 million from the

Illinois Jobs Now! program,and $10 million in privatefunding.

The project will cover thecounties of LaSalle, Ogle, Lee,Whiteside, Jo Daviess, Carroll,Stephenson, Winnebago, andBoone. About 485 jobs areexpected to be created.

“Illinois has won over $240million in federal broadbandfunding to date,” Quinn said.Over the past several weeks,federal broadband funding has

been announced for projects inseveral regions of the state.

The proposal for the north-west project was submitted byNorthern Illinois University onbehalf of the Illinois Broad-band Opportunity Partner-ship–Northwest Region, a con-sortium of public and privatepartners.

The latest project is one of17 broadband expansionawards announced for Illinoissince February.

Northwestern Illinois recipientof $70 million broadband project

FarmWeekNow.comTo listen to President Nelson’sin t e r v i ew on the s ta tu s o ft rade nego t ia t i on s , go t oFarmWeekNow.com.

GOVERNMENT


BY MARTIN ROSSFarmWeek

New health care tax requirementsrepresent one more “mosquito biteon the guy who’s about to get runover by a truck,” a Washington poli-cy specialist suggests.

Last week, Farm Bureau and morethan 25 other ag groups urged D.C.lawmakers to seek repeal of U.S.Internal Revenue Service (IRS) 1099reporting requirements that likelywill create a major paperwork bur-den for small businesses and farm-ers.

Under recently approved healthcare provisions, businesses mustissue a federal tax Form 1099 toevery unincorporated service andgoods provider to whom they paymore than $600 during a tax year.

Starting in 2012, producers alsowill have to issue 1099s to incorpo-rated businesses and providers, cov-ering virtually every ag “vendor”transaction.

The Senate rejected efforts toinclude 1099 relief in small businesstax legislation amid debate overDemocrat and Republican “duelingamendments” and proposals for

“paying” for rel ief measures,American Farm Bureau Federationpolicy special ist Pat Wolff toldFarmWeek .

Last week’s fai lure by SenateDemocrats to win the 60 votesneeded to move on fiscal 2011defense authorizations signaledmajor legislation is “pretty muchlocked up” until after Novemberelections, she said.

Illinois Farm Bureau Vice Presi-dent Rich Guebert Jr.’s operationcurrently issues 10 to 12 Form1099s per year. He warned thatnumber could exceed 100 if newrequirements come into play.

Expanded compliance wouldentail obtaining business informa-tion and tax ID/Social Securitynumbers from each vendor, as wellas the increased IRS manpowerneeded to review a resulting new“mountain of paperwork,” Guebertsaid.

Kankakee County grain andonion grower Bill Olthoff, whodeals annually with 50-some ven-dors, sees new requirements as “anadded cost of doing business thatisn’t needed.”

“The number of vendors we useis considerable — to have to writea 1099 for each one is cost-prohib-itive,” said Olthoff, an IFB boardmember. “This just isn’t necessary.

There are other ways to accomplishwhat (IRS) is trying to do in trac-ing income.”

Ag groups last week were pin-ning hopes on Sens. Mike Johanns(R-Neb.) and Bill Nelson (D-Fla.),who have offered small businessamendments to remedy this situa-tion. Guebert recommendedstraight-out repeal of the newrequirements or at least an agexemption; AFBF was collectingproducer concerns to include in1099 comments due this week toIRS.

New 1099 requirements ariseamid a raft of potential 2011 chal-lenges for farmers: Expiration of2001 tax relief provisions mayexpose more farm heirs to estatetax liability, boost the top capitalgains tax rate from 15 percent to20 percent, and hike individualincome tax rates for non-incorpo-rated producers from a top 35 per-cent to 39.5 percent.

The latter alone represents “a 5percent business tax increase forfarmers,” AFBF’s Wolff said.

“Now’s not the time to be doingthis kind of stuff,” she argued.

Rapid responseIllinois Farm Bureau mem-

bers broke from harvest activi-ty in droves Sept. 14-16 topush for federal estate taxreform.

Producers and othersplaced 2,327 calls to U.S.Sens. Dick Durbin, a Spring-field Democrat, and RolandBurris, a Chicago Democrat,on behalf of a higher estate taxexemption and a reducedestate tax rate (total contactswere as of FarmWeek’s Fridaydeadline).

Eighty-nine counties report-ed contacts. Sangamon Coun-ty Farm Bureau registered 312contacts, Cass-Morgan FarmBureau 197 contacts, and War-ren-Henderson Farm Bureau97 contacts.

1099 issue is one more ‘bite’ for tax-scarred producers

Redistricting drillEvery 10 years, a national census is conducted, and the

results are used to determine the need for new legislative dis-trict maps for state and federal elections.

The Illinois Constitution empowers members of the IllinoisHouse and Senate with drawing the district maps the year afterthe decennial census — 2011 in this case.

If lawmakers can’t agree on a map, a special commissiontakes a shot at it. The four legislative leaders each appoint twomembers to the commission.

If the eight commission members can’t agree, then the secre-tary of state must conduct a lottery (a name has been drawnfrom Abraham Lincoln’s hat) to select one of two individuals,each representing a different political party, to be the ninthcommission member. One party then has enough votes to endthe impasse and approve a map.

BY KAY SHIPMANFarmWeek

A major decision facingstate lawmakers next year isso foreign to most Illinoisvoters they don’t even ven-ture a guess about how leg-islative districts are drawn,according to a new Universi-ty of Illinois survey.

“It (district map drawing)is an invisible process,” Bri-an Gaines, a faculty memberin U of I’s Institute of Gov-ernment and Public Affairs,told FarmWeek.

Between April 30 andMay 10, the Institute sur-veyed 500 registered Illinoisvoters about legislativeredistricting and otherissues, such as trust in gov-ernment.

One third of surveyrespondents said they “nev-er” trust state governmentto do what is right, accord-ing to survey results.

Almost twice as many Illi-nois voters responded theywere more willing to trustthe federal governmentcompared to those who

were willing to trust stategovernment. Gaines specu-lated the state distrust per-centage would be even high-er today because state bud-get problems continued overthe summer.

As for legislative maps,

Gaines said he was surprised80 percent of respondentsdidn’t try to guess about themap-drawing processalthough they had six possi-ble options to a questionabout how the current statelegislative district map wasdrawn.

Fewer than 10 percentselected the most accurateresponse. (See box at right)

Likewise, near ly 77 per-cent responded they hadnot heard about an unsuc-cessful pet i t ion dr ive bythe League of WomenVoters, the I l l inois Cham-ber of Commerce, I l l inoisFar m Bureau, and othersto put a const i tut ionalamendment changing theredistr ict ing process onthe fa l l ba l lot .

Gaines noted voters’ lackof understanding about theredistricting process is a sub-stantial educational challengeto those who want to changethe current process.

“The League of WomenVoters ran up against that”challenge with its amend-

State government moredistrusted than federal

Election calendarOct. 5

Last day to register to vote Oct. 11

First day for early votingOct. 28

Last day for early votingNov. 2

Election Day

‘ I t (distr ict mapdrawing) is an in-visible process.’

— Brian GainesUniversity of Illinois

Institute of Government and Public Affairs

ment petition drive, Gainessaid.

Voters also lack a “gutreaction” to issues whenthey don’t understandthem, he added.

The Institute hopes tofurther its study of votersand legislative districtmaps, according toGaines.

In the nearfuture, the peo-ple may beinvited todraw andsubmittheir ownstatelegisla-tivedis-trictmapsto theInsti-tute, hesaid.

Survey shows voters clueless about redistricting

GOVERNMENT


Rivers needs missing from president’s plan BY MARTIN ROSSFarmWeek

A vital link is missing fromPresident Obama’s plan toforge a better domestic infra-structure, according to a pairof Illinois congressman.

Democrat Reps. JerryCostello of Belleville and PhilHare of Rock Island wereamong those who criticizedthe omission of river priori-ties from the White House’srecently proposed $50 billioninfrastructure investmentplan.

The plan, in Costello’sview designed to “put peopleback to work,” ignores theimmediate and long-termeconomic potential of pro-posed new locks on theUpper Mississippi and Illi-nois Rivers, the lawmakerargued.

Construction of sevenmodern 1,200-foot locks hasbeen in limbo since 2007,when Congress reauthorizedthe Water Resources Devel-opment Act.

new lock construction willgenerate at least 28,000 jobs,as well as reducing lockdelays that boost ag trans-portation costs. Hare’s push,however, is not confined tonavigation funding — herelated estimates that theBurlington-Northern SantaFe Railroad lost $1 million aday during recent Midwestfloods.

That’s not to mention thedestruction to crops, grainstorage facilities, and othereconomically importantoperations behind the levees.“I get beyond angry when I

hear people say, ‘Well, it’sonly agricultural land behindsome of these levees,’” Haresaid.

An existing Corps-sup-ported plan would invest $6billion in Upper MississippiRiver system flood improve-ments, he said. That’s vs. $30billion in recent federal floodrelief, Hare stressed.

“They’re telling us thatwith inflation, if things goon like this for another sev-en to 10 years, we’ll be pay-ing out another $60/$70billion in flood relief,” hesaid.

“(Obama) mentionedroads, bridges, highways, rails,and airports, but he did notmention waterways,” Costellotold FarmWeek. “I sent hima letter to say that infrastruc-ture bill should include ourwaterway system.

“We authorized five lockson the Mississippi River andtwo new locks on the IllinoisWaterway system — they’reauthorized, but they’re notfunded. If we’re going to havean infrastructure bill toaddress the other modes oftransportation, waterways cer-tainly should not only be con-sidered but included.

‘‘We have structures onour waterways system thatare 75, almost 100 years old.We can no longer get partsto fix problems along theway.”

Commercial river interestsand the U.S. Army Corps ofEngineers have anted up toshoulder a portion of lockupgrades and construction,agreeing to higher barge fuel

taxes to replenish the InlandWaterways Trust Fund. Thetrust fund, currently low onreserves, was designed to pay50 percent of new locks ormajor rehabilitation.

With Illinois/Mississippiusers willing to accept a“heavy-duty tax,” Hare arguedCongress should expeditelock funding. Of the sevenlocks across Hare’s district, hesaid at least five are in “reallyserious condition.”

“All it’s going to take is abarge hitting a lock,” he said.

The Rock Island con-gressman cited reports that

Tags may be required for interstate transportBY DANIEL GRANTFarmWeek

U.S. livestock producers in the future may be required to tagtheir animals for identification purposes prior to moving themacross state lines.

Federal officials currently are considering such a require-ment as they draft new rules for animal disease traceability.

USDA is holding a series of public meetings on the pro-posed draft regulations and reportedly plans to have a draftrule ready by April 2011.

USDA in February scrapped its unpopular National AnimalIdentification System due to poor participation and is in theprocess of developing a “new, flexible framework for animaldisease traceability.”

The current proposal for interstate transport would requirelivestock producers to tag animals with a metal clip before theanimals are moved across state lines.

USDA reportedly would provide the tags to producers at nocharge and would be responsible for reading the tags at thetime of harvest, according to Jim Fraley, Illinois Farm Bureaulivestock program director.

Fraley last month attended a Joint Strategy Forum on Ani-mal Disease Traceability hosted by the United States AnimalHealth Association and the National Institute for Animal Agri-culture.

The proposal would address producers’ concerns about theprice tag of an animal traceability system in the U.S., but Fraleyquestioned whether the program would remain voluntary.

The American Farm Bureau Federation and IFB support avoluntary animal traceability system.

“We need a traceability system (to increase the responsetime to animal disease outbreaks and reduce the number ofherds affected by various outbreaks), everybody agrees withthat,” Fraley said. “But I’m not sure what USDA is proposingwould be voluntary.”

Last year, more than 19 million of the 30 million beef cattlenationwide and 9 million dairy cows crossed state lines, theAssociated Press reported.

“That would be a significant number of cattle” producerswould be required to tag, Fraley said.

More information about proposals for the new animaltraceability system is available at the Animal and Plant HealthInspection Service’s website {www.aphis.usda.gov}.

The future is here for cellulosic ethanol,according to one of the Midwest’s leading pio-neers in the field.

However, funding for tomorrow’s cellulosicindustry is more uncertain, Poet CEO JeffBroin warns.

Project Liberty, Poet’s planned 25-million-gallon-per-year cellulosic ethanol plant atEmmetsburg, Iowa, intends to use corn cobsand other post-harvest materials as feedstock.Broin told FarmWeek his company has made“tremendous strides” in collecting, transport-ing, and storing crop residues.

This fall, Poet plans to collect 56,000 tons ofresidues in the Emmetsburg area. According toBroin, that is “a pretty good representation ofwhat we’re going to need in the future.” The 22-acre Emmetsburg site will include the capacityto house 23,000 tons of biomass “bales.”

Poet also has studied collection of materialsfrom as far away as South Dakota and Texas.

Nearly two years of fine-tuning pilot opera-tions and a partnership with global technologyprovider Novozymes are expected to greatlyreduce the cost of processing biomass into fuel.

The Emmetsburg plant is slated to launch inearly 2012, pending approval of a U.S. Depart-ment of Energy (DOE) loan guarantee.

Broin stressed industry financing will be as

crucial as new technology and logistics to futurecellulosic commercialization.

Thus he sees extension of the soon-to-expire45-cent-per-gallon federal ethanol tax credit asimportant security, especially for biomass start -ups.

A recent USDA report estimated the U.S.needs more than 500 new biofuel plants, at aprojected cost of $168 billion, to meet a feder-ally mandated goal of 36 billion gallons ofrenewable fuels per year by 2022.

“As you go out to borrow money to build afacility like this, lenders are looking for long-term government programs,” Broin said. “Aone-year tax incentive just isn’t enough to moti-vate them. It’s important we have longer-termincentives out there so projects can be financedand become a reality.

“We’re going to need that (DOE) loan guar-antee — it’s very important to our process. Youcan’t finance the first of anything without somehelp from the government.”

The standard ethanol credit will expire Jan. 1without congressional action (a parallel creditfor use of cellulosic ethanol expires at the endof 2011). Rep. John Shimkus, a CollinsvilleRepublican, is spearheading a proposal toextend the standard credit to 2015 and the cel-lulosic credit to 2016.” — Martin Ross

Federal support crucial to cellulosic ‘firsts’

Growth Energy Chairman Jeff Broin, right, CEO of cutting-edge Iowa ethanol producer Poet, touts the needfor federal approval of 15 percent ethanol blends and support for improved biofuels infrastructure develop-ment, during a news conference recently in the U.S. House Agriculture Committee hearing room on CapitolHill. Seated at left is Tom Buis, CEO of Growth Energy, who helped “commemorate” the Organization of Pe-troleum Exporting Countries’ (OPEC) 50th anniversary. (Photo by Ken Kashian)

ENVIRONMENT


©2010 GROWMARK, Inc. A11423_6x8_aod

®

Agriculture’s link to gulf hypoxia is still murkyBY KAY SHIPMANFarmWeek

The direct connection between Illi-nois farms and hypoxia in the Gulf ofMexico remains murky.

Environmentalists and some govern-ment officials claim Midwest agricul-ture via the Mississippi River con-tributes 80 percent of the phosphorousand 70 percent of the nitrogen to waterin the Gulf.

Meanwhile, ag experts and otherofficials note increased fertilizer effi-ciency and widespread use of no-tilland other conservation practices havereduced nutrient runoff and soil ero-sion in the Mississippi River Basin.

Hypoxia is a depletion of oxygen inthe water that can affect aquatic life.

The size of the gulf hypoxia zonechanges depending on the amount of

rain received in the Mississippi RiverBasin, gulf water temperatures, and thenumber of hurricanes that mix thewater and reduce the zone, accordingto Dennis McKenna with the IllinoisDepartment of Agriculture.

McKenna has represented the statefor years on a national hypoxia taskforce.

“If we have more water move downthe (Mississippi) river, we get a largerhypoxic zone,” McKenna said.

Surprisingly, the BP DeepwaterHorizon oil spill hasn’t influenced thehypoxic zone, according to McKennaand a new national report.

McKenna explained the spilloccurred east of the mouth of the Mis-sissippi River while the hypoxic zonestretches from the river’s mouth to thewest.

Last week, the National Oceanic andAtmospheric Administration (NOAA),the U.S. Environmental ProtectionAgency (EPA), and the Office of Sci-ence and Technology Policy (OSTP)issued a report on the oil spill andhypoxia.

Microbes, which are consuming oilfrom the spill, have lowered oxygenlevels, but those levels have stabilizedand are not low enough to become ahypoxic zone, the agencies reported.

In addition, the hypoxic zone nor-mally is not found in deep water —3,300 to 4,300 feet down in this case —where the oxygen reduction has beenlinked with the oil spill.

Meanwhile, Illinois experts under-stand nitrogen sources, what happensto that nitrogen, and how it reacheswaterways, but more information about

phosphorous is needed, according toMcKenna.

He said new questions about theamount of phosphorous contributedby streambank erosion have beenraised. “This is something we need toknow if we’re going to solve the prob-lem,” he said.

However, requiring farmers tochange farming practices may result inunintended consequences that couldlead to other water quality problems,McKenna warned.

McKenna recommended the statedevelop a consensus on priority water-sheds, determine the most cost-effec-tive and acceptable solutions, anddecide how those costs will be funded.

“If you’re going to spend billions ofdollars, you really need to have a plan,”McKenna said.

BY MARTIN ROSSFarmWeek

U.S. Senate ag leaders lastweek scrutinized the U.S.Environmental ProtectionAgency’s (EPA) growing reachand efforts to bring morefarmers under its regulatoryumbrella.

During a Senate Ag Com-mittee hearing, Jay Vroom,CEO of the trade groupCropLife America, warned“the businesses that supportAmerican agriculture haveseen serious deviations fromthe regular order, transparen-cy, and scientific integrity ofthe federal government’s pesti-cide review process.”

Vroom urged lawmakers tohelp put EPA “back on a pathto a more productive dialoguethat leads to reasonable, time-ly, and consistent solutions toour shared concerns.”

But American Farm BureauFederation regulatory special-ist Don Parrish sees majorroadblocks across that path.

Farmers are concernedabout a range of EPA issues,from new nutrient proposalsin the eastern Chesapeake Baythat could set the stage forexpanded livestock regulationsto expanded purview overpesticide spray nozzle applica-tions that eventually couldlimit crop protection options.

“I think this administrationis pushing for more ‘account-ability,’ and that means moreregulation of agriculture,” Par-rish suggested.

“They’re not being secre-tive about it: Whether it’s doneat the national or the state lev-el, this EPA’s pushing reallyhard to make sure there’ssome kind of regulatory hookfor farms.

“We’re very concernedthat’s going to have a reallydetrimental effect on our pro-

ductivity and our ability toproduce a secure food supply.”

Parrish sees a regulatorypush seemingly aimed at largerag operations that instead areraising costs for smaller,“local” producers, the latter ofwhich ostensibly is supportedby administration officials.

Lawrence Elworth, EPA’sag counselor, told IFB Leadersto Washington recently hewould seek “individual per-spectives” from new membersof EPA’s ag advisory commit-tee, which is to meet for thefirst time this week.

Of all economic sectorswithin the Chesapeake Bay,Elworth noted “agriculture isthe only one documented asmaking substantial contribu-tions to reducing nitrogen andphosphorus over the last 25years.”

He said he sees otherimprovements agriculturecould make in the area, buturged regulators to evaluateissues within individual water-sheds and devise practicesfarmers “can do, can afford todo, and can do and stay inbusiness.”

“There’s no use in makingchanges on the farm (if it goesout of business and) we haveit turn into a housing develop-ment,” he said.

Meanwhile, USDA is work-ing to educate EPA personnelwith little firsthand productionknowledge.

Under federal pesticide law,EPA must consider onlypotential chemical risks with-out regard to offsettingag/consumer benefits, butHarold Coble, with USDA’sOffice of Pest ManagementPolicy, told Leaders “we helpthem understand the benefits,anyway.”

USDA recently schooled 55EPA employees in pesticide

spray logistics, and was instru-mental in persuading EPA toexclude crop applicationsfrom new general pesticidepermits, at least for the pre-sent.

Coble called the federal

court ruling ordering EPA toregulate applications under theClean Water Act “one of theworst examples of overregula-tion and unnecessary regula-tion ever to come out of ajudge’s mouth.”

USDA is fighting congres-sional proposals to expandEPA permit authority underthe act “every chance we get,”he added. “We’re trying tomake sure common sense pre-vails, if it can,” Coble said.

U.S. Senate ag leaders question growing EPA reach

Bernie Walsh, Durand, Winnebago County: Showers thispast week put a stop to soybeanharvest, even though some corncombining continued. We startedon our beans on Sept. 17, andthe first field of 2.1 maturitybeans went 65 bushels per acre(bpa) at 12 percent moisture.That night we had 0.75 of an inch

of rain, and ever since then it has been toowet for the beans to dry back down. Reportson corn harvest around here keep coming inwith variable yields and moisture readings.There is some very good corn, especiallycorn after beans, with some all-time highyields. The corn-after-corn yields are comingin about average — 180 to 195 bpa. Themoisture levels are still in the mid- to low 20s,but I talked to one producer southwest ofSeward who reported corn at 13.5 percentout of the field, and that was running wellabove 200 bpa. Have a safe week.

Leroy Getz, Savanna, Carroll County: Temperature fluctu-ations and rain on three differentdays totaled 0.95 of an inch forthe week and 1.55 inches forSeptember. Corn harvest contin-ues without much delay. Some ofus are still letting it dry more inthe field. Moisture levels are inthe 17- to 20-percent range.

Yields are still considered good. Very fewsoybeans have been cut but they are readywhen it dries out again.

Larry Hummel, Dixon, Lee County: We have been trying tostick to soybean harvest, but a lit-tle shower every three days hasmade it more of a hit-and-missproposition. Yields have beengood. Two varieties that we har-vested were in the low to mid-60s, but the variety we are in nowis running in the mid-50s. The

soybeans that were hailed on were set backmaturity-wise and look more like they willmake 40 bushels. We haven’t harvested anycorn, but most people are reporting moisturein the 18- to 26-percent range and yields thatare average for corn on bean ground and 10percent below average for corn on corn. Therally in the markets has made for a niceopportunity to make some grain sales at ahigh level, but then again, I thought I wasselling at a good price when I sold someabout a dollar lower.

Joe Zumwalt, Warsaw, Hancock County: Harvest has movedalong at a pretty rapid pace. I wouldestimate that perhaps 50 percentof the corn is harvested in myimmediate area. Corn yields havebeen extremely disappointing formany producers in the area.Literally thousands of acres are notyielding averages better than 100

bushels per acre. In many cases, not even 50.Moistures have been low for the most part,ranging from 14 percent to 18 percent for whatwe have harvested so far. Very few beans, if any,have been cut and we are still two to threeweeks away from harvest for most of them. It isodd to be harvesting so much dry corn with bril-liant green soybeans, trees, and roadsides rightnext to it. An upcoming challenge may be all ofthe cottonwood and willow trees that havesprouted in the many wet holes around thearea. With a challenging harvest facing us, atleast we can be thankful for the improvement inthe market prices.

Ken Reinhardt, Seaton, Mercer County: More than 3.5inches of rain through the weekimpeded harvest progress. Nosoybeans were cut, but somecorn was shelled. It is going tobe a rough year on corn headsnow with all ditches from therain. I’m up to three so far.

Ron Moore, Roseville, Warren County: We received 3inches of rain last week on threedifferent days. The fields weredry, so we were able to harvestthe next afternoon. We are50 percent done with corn now.Last year, we had not even start-ed harvesting corn yet. Yields arestill lower than the five-year aver-

age. This year is one that will bring the aver-ages down. Very few beans have been har-vested in this area. The forecast is for dryweather this week and many of the beansshould be ready by then.

Jacob Streitmatter, Princeville, Peoria County: During theweek the rain kept a lot of com-bines out of soybean fields, butmost were still able to harvestcorn. If it is nice this week, Iwould bet there will be many soy-bean fields harvested. It looks asif 50 percent of the corn is har-vested. The moisture of my corn

has been running between 15 and 19 per-cent. Have a safe week.

Tim Green, Wyoming, Stark County: Harvest is rapidlygetting done around here. Cornis probably 40 percent to 50percent done. Moistures arereally good, so it helps us movealong really fast. Yields, unfortu-nately, have helped, too. Theyhave been somewhat disap-pointing — probably 30 to 40

bushels below last year. There is a lot of120- to 130-bushel corn. It seems corn onbeans is a little bit better. Beans yields so farhave been good, but there haven’t been a lotof beans cut. It seems that about the timethe beans get good and fit, it rains. Have asafe harvest.

Mark Kerber, Chatsworth, Livingston County: Harvest isgoing well, except for a few raindelays which bring back memo-ries of last year’s rains and mudduring harvest. Corn is disap-pearing fast, being dry and withfewer bushels to haul. Soybeansare ripe, and combines are tak-ing them out, weather permit-

ting. My dad always instilled in us that if thebeans are ready, you better get them,because you only have so many days tocombine them. We are getting a lot of prac-tice this year switching heads from corn tobeans. I can still picture 80 acres of soy-beans with a quarter-inch of ice on them inJanuary of 1972. Fertilizer and lime are start-ing to be applied when the wind isn’t blowing30 mph. Markets are due for a setback. Willthere be another surge up as predicted?There could be a lot of long liquidation some-day.

Ron Haase, Gilman, Iroquois County: Harvest was slowedup Tuesday by rain. We receivedfrom 0.75 to 0.9 of an inch. Thewind and hot weather helped drydown the crops that are still inthe field. About 75 percent of thecrops in the area have been har-vested. I have heard a range of47 to 218 bushels per acre on

corn yields. Soybean yields vary quite a bitas well, but I have not heard many reports.Local closing prices for Sept. 23: nearbycorn, $4.65, January corn, $4.91; nearbysoybeans, $10.66, January soybeans,$10.97.

Brian Schaumburg, Chenoa, McLean County: Howlingwinds and 90-degree heatpushed beans to maturity so wecould finally start harvesting.Corn harvest is mostly com-plete. As disappointing as cornyields are around here, beansapparently are a pleasant sur-prise. Bears and Illini on a two-

game winning streak? What a year! Corn,$4.60, January, $4.75, fall 2011, $4.26; soy-beans, $10.53, January, $10.68, fall 2011,$10.28; wheat, $6.28.

Steve Ayers, Champaign, Champaign County: Just lis-tening to the rhythm of thefalling rain this Friday morningas a cold front moves through.Temperatures will range from50 to 75 degrees this week asthings dry out. Combines tooka breather Wednesday morn-ing as we had 1.06 inches of

rain. Area corn harvest is more than70 percent completed and soybean har-vest more than 30 percent done. We have100 acres left to finish with corn yields inthe 160s at 15 percent moisture. TheSmartStax yields were disappointing,even though they looked green andhealthy all season. We will start beans thisweek. Kudos to the Ivesdale, Bement,Atwood, Sadorus, Seymour, and Pesotumfire departments for containing a field fireto 20 acres Tuesday afternoon with thosehigh winds. A combine, tractor, and augerwagon burned southeast of Ivesdale. Let’sbe careful out there!

Wilfred Dittmer, Quincy, Adams County: Mostmachines will be parked foranother day or so due toovernight Thursday rainfall ofabout 0.5 of an inch. That,added to about 1.25 inchesduring the Sept. 18-19 week-end and another 1.5 inchesTuesday night, have made con-

ditions a little tough. Are we getting backinto the wet-weather pattern of last spring?Sure hope not. Several have started intheir corn, and some fields are history.Many others are still getting ready. Still nosoybeans close by that have been harvest-ed. Be careful as the harvest pace contin-ues.

Tom Ritter, Blue Mound, Macon County: Spotty rainsearly last week slowed harvesta little, but farmers are advanc-ing and corn harvest is up to atleast 90 percent complete.Farmers are just beginning toharvest soybeans, and lessthan 20 percent have been cut.Rain Friday morning will slow

harvest going into the weekend, especiallyfor soybeans. Overall, farmers are fairlypleased with corn. Yields have been allover the board, but soybean yields seem tobe a pleasant surprise. A lot of tillage workhas been completed, as well as some fer-tilizer application. Harvest is at least halfover. Last year at this point we had noteven started corn, so we are well ahead ofthe previous year.

Jimmy Ayers, Rochester, Sangamon County: We had0.4 of an inch of rain onSaturday (Sept. 18) and onTuesday we got 0.3 of an inchmore. Tremendous amounts ofcorn were shelled during theweek, and some got into theirbean fields. It appears thebeans are yielding a little more

than guys anticipated. Corn is all over theboard. We started out at 172 bushels peracre and worked our way down to a low of115 so far. I’m thinking that our averagewill probably be off 15 or 20 bushels. Itappears from our numbers that for every10 bushels lost we need to have a price 30cents higher to break even. It appearsnitrogen loss is the key in the reducedyields. Corn on corn seems to have suf-fered quite a bit more than any other.Some of our poor lighter dirt on the hillsprovided some of our best-yielding corn,which is the reversal from a normal year.Looks like the bean crop should be good.My corn is 70 percent harvested andbeans are maybe 10 percent done. Keepthinking safety as you travel your roads.Your family and friends need you.

David Schaal, St. Peter, Fayette County: A busy harvestweek here with warm tempera-tures and no rainfall. There wassome corn shelling, along withproducers heading to beanfields last week. Corn yields arestill, for the most part, good toexcellent. I finished with cornand started with beans on

Thursday. Beans that I have harvestedwere beans-on-beans and the yields aredecent. A little fall tillage work is going on.Some are itching to sow wheat. Grain mar-kets seemed to rally through the last weekof harvesting, so a “city slicker” told megood prices, good yields, so farmers havenothing to complain about. Happy harvest-ing and stay safe.

Ted Kuebrich, Jerseyville, Jersey County: We receivedabout 1 inch of rain last weekwith more on the way at the endof the week. In a couple ofweeks we will get a better ideawhat corn yields will be. So far,the corn is yielding between160 and 230 bushels per acre.Fields with good drainage have

the best yields. The hot, wet summer had aneffect on the corn crop. In parts of the coun-ty that received the most rain, the yield isdown about 20 bushels from last year.Jersey County Grain at Hardin is getting insome new beans and the moisture is run-ning 15 to 16 percent. Prices at JerseyCounty Grain, Hardin: Cash corn, $4.67,January 2011 corn, $4.94; cash beans,$10.80, October beans, $10.85, January2011 beans, $11.08.


CROPWATCHERS

Kevin Raber, Browns, Wabash County: No rainfall this pastweek. It is getting extremely dryhere in Southeastern Illinois.Corn harvest is probably 90 to95 percent done. This is theearliest I can remember finish-ing corn harvest. My corn wasprobably 15 to 20 bushels lessthan I would have guessed at

the middle of August. The beans that I cutwere good on the dark soils, but yields real-ly went down when going over the sandridges. The moisture was down to 9.5 per-cent on the beans I have cut.

Ken Taake, Ullin, Pulaski County: I managed to finish cornharvest on Monday, the 20th.Our corn yields were downabout 20 percent from our five-year average. Soybean harvestis just under way. There havebeen quite a few beans cut inthe area, but because of differ-ent combine issues we’ve cut

only about 25 acres. It appears yields wererunning in the area of 40 bushels per acre.Talking to area farmers, it seems soybeanyields are highly variable. I’ve heard every-thing from the 60s down to the lower 20s,depending on how the rains fell. Rememberto be careful during this busy season.

Rick Corners, Centralia, Jefferson County: Corn is most-ly done, except later-plantedand replant, which I hear is stillpretty damp. Bean harvest willstart in earnest this week.

Dean Shields, Murphysboro, Jackson County: It felt likeAugust last week, hot andhumid. Hopefully, some coolerweather is coming. Most of thecorn crop in Jackson County ispicked. A lot of farmers havejumped into harvesting soy-beans. The yields I’ve heard sofar are OK to average. I know

they say beans on the light soils burned upquite a bit. On the heavier soils, they aredoing better. The milo crop looks like it isheaded out real well, but I don’t know whenharvest will get started. The wheat sowershave been busy for the last few days. I don’tknow whether these will be the normal acresof wheat or more. Have a safe harvest.

Dan Meinhart, Montrose, Jasper County: We had a dryand very warm week withrecord-breaking temperaturesand some very windy days. Mostof the April-planted corn hasbeen harvested. Some farmersare working on the May-plantedcorn. A few fields of beans wereharvested last week, but for most

harvest is a week or more away. A few fieldsof wheat have been planted. There will be alimited amount of wheat sown this year dueto a shortage of seed. Several combine fireshave been reported due to the dry conditions.The forecast is for a cooler week with achance of showers at the beginning of theweek.

Bob Biehl, Belleville, St. Clair County: An excellent weekof corn harvest. We had 0.6 of aninch of rain on the Sept. 18-19,but started harvest again onMonday, Sept. 20. Only about athird of the corn remains to beharvested in our area. On Friday,a cold front was going throughbringing some scattered show-

ers, but it looked like the rain would be mini-mal. Virtually no beans have been harvestedin our area, but some late Group 3 beans aregetting close.

Page 7 Monday, September 27, 2010 FarmWeek

CROPWATCHERS

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

October weather forecast favorable for harvestBY DANIEL GRANTFarmWeek

Summer and the sum-mer-like weather conditionsmay have ended late lastweek, but the forecast forthe next month is favorable

for harvest to continue at arapid pace.

The National WeatherService (NWS) has predict-ed conditions will remainwarm and dry throughOctober.

much of this week wereprojected to have a late-summer-like feel with highsin the mid- to upper 70s.

The warm, dry stretchhas allowed crop harvest toprogress at a rapid pace.

“Everything is way aheadof schedule,” Huettl said.“It’s kind of a flip-flopfrom last summer (whichwas abnormally cool) to thissummer.”

Corn harvest nationwideas of the first of last weekwas 18 percent completecompared to just 4 percentat the same time last yearand the five-year average of10 percent.

Weather Services Interna-

tional (WSI) last week alsopredicted warmer-than-nor-mal conditions will continuethrough October.

“The combination of aLa Nina event, a relativelycold north Pacific, and arecord-warm north Atlanticare quite bullish for a verywarm October” in theNortheast and Midwest, saidTodd Crawford, WSI chiefmeteorologist.

WSI predicted warmer-than-normal temperatureswill continue throughNovember in the Northeastand Central U.S. beforeshifting to a colder-than-normal pattern in much ofthat area in December.

“The outlook for Octo-ber calls for a greater-than-normal chance of above-normal temperatures andbelow-normal precipita-tion,” said Kirk Huettl,meteorologist at the NWSoffice in Lincoln.

The average temperaturefor the first three weeks ofthe month in Illinois, priorto the slight cool-down dur-ing the weekend, was 2degrees above normal. Infact, high temperatures inthe state from Sept. 20 toSept. 23 ranged from 10 to15 degrees above normal,Huettl reported.

This followed tempera-tures for the climatological

summer (June throughAugust) that were thefourth-warmest on record inthe continental U.S., accord-

ing to the National Oceanicand Atmospheric Adminis-tration.

Autumn officially beganlast week, but temperatures

FarmWeekNow.comCheck out the latest weather out-look for the remainder of fall atFarmWeekNow.com.

U of I Extension answers questions about fall forageWhen should I apply

nitrogen in the fall?The University of Illinois

Extension recommends thatfall anhydrous be appliedwith a nitrification inhibitoronly after soil temperaturesdrop below 60 degreesFahrenheit.

No fall nitrogen shouldbe applied on any fieldsouth of a line extendingfrom Jerseyville to WestUnion.

U of I Extension alsorecommends ammoniumsulfate be applied only aftersoil temperatures stabilizebelow 50 degrees for severaldays. Slopes in excess of 5percent should not be con-sidered for surface applica-tions of ammonium sulfatein the fall or winter.

Urea-containing fertiliz-ers should not be applied to“designated corn” ground inthe fall or the winterbecause it converts tooquickly and thus may not be

it comes to cutting alfalfa.Farmers want adequate car-bohydrate reserves goinginto the winter to ward offwinterkill.

To establish those ade-quate root reserves, alfalfaneeds about a month (someexperts say more) of vegeta-tive recovery before a killingfrost induces dormancy.

Central Illinois typicallyexperiences its first killingfrost a week “plus or minus”Oct. 12. Thus, cutting alfalfa

in late September or earlyOctober most likely will notallow enough vegetativerecovery for the establish-ment of adequate rootreserves, indicating a muchgreater chance of significantwinterkill.

Late September or earlyOctober cuttings, therefore,are just too risky. A post-dor-mancy cutting is sometimes apossibility if done a coupleweeks following the firstkilling frost.

available to the crop in thespring.

What are the risks if myforage is frosted early?

Frosted sorghums/sudangrassshould not be grazed until planttissue has dried for three or fourdays after a frost to allow “frostreleased” cyanide to escape fromthe damaged plant tissue.

If it is safe to graze pre-frost, it should be safe tograze after the frosted tissuehas dried. Sorghum-sudan-grass hybrids should be 24

inches tall to have tolerablelevels of prussic acid.

Frosted alfalfa/cloversshould be grazed only aftertissue is dry (frosted alfal-fa/clover may cause bloat).

Can Central Illinois farm-ers “get by” with a last cut-ting of alfalfa in late Sep-tember or early October?

Alfalfa/clovers really needa 30- to 40-day rest periodprior to dormancy, accord-ing to the U of I. Rootreserves are the issue when

Farmers look to manage glyphosate-resistant weeds Nearly 60 percent of

farmers who responded to arecent national poll said theyare changing their weed man-agement plans to deal withgrowing glyphosate resis-tance.

The poll, conducted byBASF Crop Protection,showed a similar portion offarmers are adding a pre-emergent herbicide with

growers indicated that tank-mixing glyphosate with resid-ual herbicides, or includingalternate herbicides with dif-ferent modes of actions,would be effective manage-ment practices for minimiz-ing weed resistance.

Five years later, the BASFpoll confirms that a majorityof farmers are putting thoseideas into practice.

residual control to battlestubborn weeds such as rag-weed, marestail, lambsquar-ters, and waterhemp.

“Lambsquarters are com-ing through higher rates ofglyphosate, leaving weedpressure and competition infields later in the season,”said one grower in the nation-al poll.

While only 23 percent of

respondents believeglyphosate resistance willimpact their yield this grow-ing season, the poll confirmsthat many farmers believethey need to take action nowto overcome the threat ofyield-robbing glyphosate-resistant weeds in the future.

A Purdue University studyconducted in 2005-2006found 40 to 47 percent of

‘ E ve r y t h i n g i sw a y a h e a d o fschedule.’

— Kirk HuettlMeteorologist

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GE salmon approval may offer upstream benefitsBY MARTIN ROSSFarmWeek

Federal approval of geneti-cally engineered (GE) salmonoffers inroads for future live-stock improvements as well aspossible benefits for Illinoisproducers.

The U.S. Food and DrugAdministration (FDA) contin-ues to review AquaBountyTechnology’s application tocommercialize AquAdvantagesalmon, a fish engineered toreach market weight in halfthe time needed for conven-tionally raised salmon.

AguaBounty arguesimproved production efficiencywould contribute to more sus-tainable aquaculture systems.

The company’s request, thefirst for a modified food ani-mal, has generated some con-troversy, and FDA’s VeterinaryMedicine Advisory Commit-tee (VMAC) last week hosteda discussion of salmon label-ing and other issues.

Biotechnology IndustryOrganization director of ani-mal biotechnology DavidEdwards cited FDA-vetted

“You could raise them closeenough to Chicago to harvestthe fish on-site and have themin the restaurants in Chicagothat evening,” Edwards said.“That would be some awfullyfresh fish, I’d say.

“Part of the nutritional

requirements for salmon aremet with plant-based materi-als. I’m sure that with some-thing high in protein — we’retalking in the soybean range— there’s the opportunity forsome of that feed to comefrom the Corn Belt.”

data documenting that theAquAdvantage salmon is“extremely similar” in nutri-tional composition to conven-tional farm-raised salmon — akey factor in federal approval.

Edwards acknowledged“there is a faction of peoplewho have questions about thetechnology,” and VMAC rec-ommended additional data thatmight verify the GE salmon’ssafety for human or animalconsumption. However, theconsumer advocacy group Cen-ter for Science in the PublicInterest anticipated AquaBoun-ty’s application would beapproved by the FDA.

Edwards sees “no set time-line” for FDA approval of theAquAdvantage trait, but theagency is accepting commentson labeling of productsderived from the salmonthrough Nov. 22. FDA alsohas released a draft 80-pageenvironmental assessment foreventual public comment.

AquaBounty has specifiedGE salmon — all sterilefemales — would be raised insecure inland facilities to avoid

contact with wild fish. Specialnetting would prevent birdsfrom carrying modified salmonoff-premises, wastewater treat-ment would be designed toprevent “escapes,” and eachbatch of modified salmon eggswould be inspected to ensurecontinued sterility.

Edwards sees FDA’s deci-sion impacting review of otherGE animals “coming downthe pipe,” such as pigs engi-neered to excrete less phos-phorus or BSE-resistant cows.Inland salmon production,meanwhile, could offer a “realopportunity” for Midwest pro-ducers, he suggested.

Grain entrapment training offered by GROWMARK

GROWMARK Inc. is looking for a local rescue team to sendto a grain bin entrapment training class conducted by an Iowasafety center.

The National Education Center for Agricultural Safety(NECAS) in Peosta, Iowa, is offering grain entrapment rescuetraining for first responders with simulation equipment donatedby GROWMARK, Nationwide Agribusiness, and Grain SystemsInc. (GSI).

“In our business, as well as the business of farming, there aretimes when one must enter a grain bin,” said Randy Holthaus,GROWMARK grain systems marketing manager. “In the eventof a problem, the actions of the first responders can mean thedifference between life and death, so timely training is key.”

FS Grain Systems has teamed up with Successful Farming maga-zine and GSI to send a local rescue team to be trained.

The training will be in Peosta; Assumption, Ill.; or at a localfacility. All travel, lodging, and training expenses for the teamwill be covered by FS Grain Systems.

The rescue squad recipients also will receive a $2,700 alu-minum rescue tube from GSI.

Anyone can nominate a local rescue team by completing aone-page form available at {www.necasag.org} or at{www.growmark.com}.

The AquAdvantage salmon offers a greatly accelerated rate of gain. (Photo by AquaBounty)

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FULTON — TheWomen’s Committee

will sponsor a pork chopcookout from 11 a.m. to 5p.m. Friday at the LewistownCounty Market. In recogni-tion of both October PorkMonth and Breast CancerAwareness month, all pro-ceeds will be donated to theSusan G. Komen Fund.

HANCOCK — FarmBureau, 1st Farm

Credit Services, and IllinoisPork Producers will sponsora pork burger cookout from11 a.m. to 1 p.m. Wednesdayat the Ursa Farmers Co-Op,Warsaw. State receives $650,000 for specialty crops

Illinois Department ofAgriculture (IDOA) Direc-tor Tom Jennings last weekannounced farmers andorganizations across thestate will receive nearly$650,000 in USDA specialtycrop grants.

“The purpose of thesegrants is to encourage addi-tional production and accessto nutritious, locally grownfruits and vegetables,” Jen-nings said.

A total of 37 projectswere selected for funding.

The government definesspecialty crops as fruits, veg-etables, tree nuts, driedfruits, horticulture, andnursery crops, includingfloriculture.

Recipients with FarmBureau connections include:

• Illinois Agriculture inthe Classroom will receive$10,000 to develop a newpumpkin Ag Mag to raiseawareness of specialty cropsand introduce more studentsto the concept of locallygrown foods and the farmersw h o g r ow t h e m .

• Jo D av i e s s C o u n t yFa r m B u r e a u w i l lr e c e ive $ 7 , 5 8 3 t o i m p l e -m e n t a m a r ke t i n g c a m -p a i g n t o p r o m o t e s p e -c i a l t y c r o p s a t l o c a lf a r m e r s ’ m a r ke t s .

• T h e I l l i n o i s S p e c i a l -t y C r o p G r owe r s A s s o c i -a t i o n w i l l r e c e ive$ 2 4 , 4 5 0 f o r a c o n f e r e n c et o e d u c a t e s p e c i a l t yg r owe r s o n a va r i e t y o fi s s u e s.

A l is t of the g rantrecipients and their pro-jects is avai lable onl ine at{Far mWeekNow.com}.

KNOX — TheWomen’s Committee,

Illinois Pork Producers Asso-ciation, 1st Farm Credit Ser-vices, and Knox County PorkProducers will deliver porksandwiches and apples Tues-day to local grain elevators.

• The Women’s Commit-tee and Williamsfield HighSchool’s home economicsclass will provide sacklunches to local elevators asa reminder to take a breakduring harvest. The sacklunches will be deliveredWednesday, as well asWednesday, Oct. 13 and 27.

LEE — The Lee Coun-ty Farm Bureau Agri-

culture in the Classroomteacher grant applications aredue Oct. 1. Teachers mustbe a graduate of a SummerAg Institute. Call the FarmBureau office at 857-3531 ore-mail [email protected] an application or moreinformation.

STARK — FarmBureau will sponsor

farm visits Tuesday, Oct. 5,for more than 80 second-

grade students and chaper-ones from Charter Oak Pri-mary School in Peoria. Thestudents will visit the MarkWilson farm, where theywill learn about raising andcaring for hogs. After lunchin the park, the students willvisit the Frank Shafer farmand learn about harvest andfarm safety.

WAYNE — FarmBureau will sponsor

an “Ag-Spired” art contest.There will be two categories

— photographic and artis-tic. Three winners in eachcategory will receive cashprizes. Deadline to returnentries is March 1. Go to{www.waynecfb.com} todownload a flyer, contestrules, and submission form.

“From the counties” items ar esubmitted by county FarmBureau managers. If you havean event or activity open to allmembers, contact your countyFarm Bureau manager.

U.S. hog inventory down 3 percent; price forecast appears profitableBY DANIEL GRANTFarmWeek

Meat supplies likely will remain tight, and livestockprices are expected to remain strong as USDA on Fridayreduced the swine inventory in the U.S. compared to lastyear.

All hogs and pigs as of Sept. 1 totaled 64.991 million head,down 3 percent from a year ago, according to the quarterly hogsand pigs report released Friday.

USDA also projected declines in the U.S. breeding inventory(5.77 million head, down 2 per-cent) and inventory of markethogs (59.2 million head, down 3percent).

“The breeding herd is thelowest on record,” said Bob

Brown, an independent marketanalyst from Edmond, Okla., during a teleconference hosted bythe National Pork Board.

Brown also noted sow and boar slaughter from June throughAugust declined 15 percent compared to last year and was thelowest on record.

The USDA swine inventory estimates generally were in linewith trade expectations and are expected to set the stage forcontinued profits in the industry.

“We (in the hog industry) are making very good money,” saidRon Plain, University of Missouri Extension economist.“Futures (prices) look very good.”

Spot October hog prices ended the day Friday up 60 cents at$79.02 per hundredweight while nearby December prices wereup 42 cents at $76.45.

Brown, Plain, and Shane Ellis, livestock economist at theIowa Beef Center, estimated hog prices in the fourth quar-ter will range from $74 to $76 per hundredweight andbetween $74 and $78 per hundredweight the first quarter of2011.

“It’s looking profitable until August of next year,” Ellissaid of Iowa State University’s hog market projections,which took into account a recent run-up in corn pricesnationwide.

Hog producers in August, for example, turned an estimatedprofit of $35 per head despite higher corn prices. Ellis estimat-ed hog producers for the year will recover about 70 percent ofwhat they lost in 2009.

Higher corn prices may slow expansion in the hog industry,though.

Plain noted the pigs saved per litter in the most recent quar-ter, at 9.81, increased just 1.1 percent compared to the tradeestimate of 1.5 percent.

“We knew that once we stopped cutting the breeding herd,we’d see a drop-off in the number of pigs saved per litter,”Plain said. “But this was a bit more of a drop-off than we wereexpecting.”

Swine numbers trended in the opposite direction in Illi-nois. The total inventory of hogs and pigs in the state as ofSept. 1 (4.4 million head) was up 4 percent compared to lastyear.

The number of market hogs (3.91 million head) increased 3percent while the breeding inventory (490,000 head) was up 4percent statewide.

FarmWeekNow.comMore detai ls f rom the Sep-tember hogs and pigs reportare at FarmWeekNow.com.

PROFITABILITY


Feeder pig prices reported to USDA*Weight Range Per Head Weighted Ave. Price10 lbs. $35.10-$42.36 $39.1140 lbs. $50.00-$58.98 $54.4650 lbs. n/a n/aReceipts This Week Last Week

25,557 23,985*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 $81.32 $75.81 5.51Live $60.18 $56.10 4.08

Export inspections

(Million bushels)Week ending Soybeans Wheat Corn09-16-10 12.1 29.9 28.509-9-10 7.3 32.3 43.0Last year 1.1 26.9 41.0Season total 22.7 326.5 88.3Previous season total 19.3 251.1 110.2USDA projected total 1470 1200 1975Crop marketing year began June 1 for wheat and Sept. 1 for corn and soybeans.

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

Steers $97.00 $97.88 -0.88Heifers $97.00 $97.90 -0.90

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 Change109.92 112.22 -2.30

CME feeder cattle index — 600-800 Lbs.

Slaughter Prices - Negotiated, Live, wooled and shorn 115-160 lbs. for117.38-153.86 $/cwt., dressed, no sales reported.

Lamb prices

Manage risk by not putting all eggs in one basketBY JEFF LYNCH

Breakfast used to begin with a walk to the chicken house.Farmers first practiced risk management by putting their eggsinto multiple baskets, thus diversifying their holdings.

No one intends for egg baskets to break, but such is a fact oflife — sometimes there are no eggs for breakfast.

Of course, risks are different today, but the importance ofidentifying and managing risk is the same as itwas then. To prepare for the unexpected, wemust first define our exposure to risk.

There are many “egg baskets” today’s farm-ers must keep a close eye on. From commodityprices, seed varieties, and interest rates, togeography (multiple location operations makeit critical to keep updated on weather vari-ances), production practices (crop rotation),and off-farm employment, farmers have a lot

to keep track of. On top of these, add water usage/quantity, crop insurance,

land ownership, and public policy. These combine to create nearly a dozen items or areas farm-

ers must monitor to reduce risk, improve profitability, andenhance competitiveness in an ever-changing global economy.

We must accept risk; it is always among us. We cannot predictthe weather, the markets, or changes in technology or farm policy.

This is not necessarily a bad thing; after all, without risk, therewould be no reward. Risk is inherently necessary to have value.

What is the moral of the story? Identify your risks and con-sider what tools there are to manage those risks. Things such ascrop insurance, hedging crop inputs or outputs, fixed-ratefinancing, using several different corn varieties, proper soil fer-tility, and other various tools can help manage the risk or thenumber of eggs being placed in one basket.

Relative to other professions, farmers have more than theirfair share of risk. Your local FS has a variety of individuals whocan help you manage the various risks in your business.

Use them to help you be on the lookout for any event thatcould interrupt your business goals. That way, if one basketbreaks, you can still enjoy breakfast.

Jeff Lynch is GROWMARK’s assistant treasurer. His e-mailaddress is [email protected].

Jeff Lynch

Recession ‘officially’ over

Farmers optimistic about future BY DANIEL GRANTFarmWeek

A survey of Americanfarmers recently found thegloominess exhibited lastspring has been replaced by afair amount of optimism.

The DTN/ProgressiveFarmer Agriculture Confi-dence Index (ACI), which isbased on a random survey of500 producers in the U.S.,this month totaled 140.

Any score above 100 indi-cates optimism, according toMary Rose Dwyer, managerof the Ag Confidence Index.The initial survey of farmersfor the ACI was conductedin April and that score wasrecalibrated to 100 to serveas the baseline for the index.

“Since we last sampledproducers, there was a good,

strong growth of optimism,”Dwyer told FarmWeek.

“I think maybe the strongoptimism has to do with thefact we’re in different stagesof the farm year,” she con-tinued. “When we surveyedfarmers in April, there was alot of anxiety about planting.Now that we’re into harvest,they have a better feelinghow their year will be.”

The yearly outlook alsohas improved dramatically inrecent months due to marketrallies in the crop and live-stock sectors.

The Present SituationIndex portion of the ACI,which reflects producer sen-timent regarding input pricesand net income, was a strong180 while the ExpectationsIndex, which measures senti-

ment 12 months from now,was a more reserved 118.

“What a difference a fewmonths makes in terms ofproducers’ optimism,”Dwyer said.

The next producer surveywill be conducted in Decem-ber.

In other economic news,the Business Cycle DatingCommittee of the NationalBureau of EconomicResearch last week declaredthe U.S. recession officiallybegan in Dec. 2007 and end-ed in June 2009.

The 18-month recessionwas the longest economicslump in the U.S. sinceWorld War II. Previously, thelongest postwar recessionwas 16 months, whichoccurred twice (1973 to 1975and from 1981 to 1982).

The current economicoutlook for the U.S. isn’texactly upbeat, however.Unemployment continues tohover around 9.5 percentand the growth of the grossdomestic product (GDP) hasyet to surpass pre-recessionlevels.

The committee noted eco-nomic activity after a reces-sion typically is below nor-mal in the early stages ofexpansion.

Any future downturn inthe economy now will belabeled a new recession asopposed to a continuation ofthe one that began inDecember 2007.

Landowners may apply for buffer program

The 30th annual Illinois Corn Husking Con-test will be held Sunday, Oct. 3, on the Harlanand Barb Jacobson farm 3.5 miles south ofRoseville (on the west side of Highway 67) inWarren County.

A paid membership in the Illinois State CornHusking Association (ISCHA) of $15 isrequired to pick in the state contest for adultclasses, and there is a $3 membership fee foryouth.

There will be a limited number of plots, so

those interested in participating in the contestshould register by Tuesday.

The state contest will begin at 9 a.m. Thereare 10 classes that will qualify contestants forthe national contest, which this year will be heldin Oakley, Kan., on Oct. 16 and 17.

For more information, contact DickHumes, ISCHA president, after 7 p.m. at309-729-5261 or Frank Hennenfent at 309-426-2854 or visit the website{www.illinoiscornhusking.com}.

The Illinois Buffer Partnership, whichincludes the Illinois Farm Bureau andTrees Forever, is accepting applicationsfrom landowners who would like to partici-pate in the 2011 program. The applicationdeadline is Dec. 31.

The partnership’s goal is to improvewater quality by establishing buffers oftrees, shrubs, and grasses along streamsand in wetlands in the state.

Individuals eligible to participateinclude farmers, rural landowners, andwatershed residents. Participants are eligi-ble to receive up to a maximum of $2,000in cost-share funds and may participate ina half-price seed deal with GROWMARKInc.

Participants also host a field demon-stration day and share their knowledgewith interested friends and neighbors.

Applicants will be notified in Februaryif they have been selected to participate.

For an application or more informa-tion, contact Trees Forever at 800-369-1269 or go online to{www.treesforever.org/Content/Get-Involved/ Programs /Illinois-Buffer-Part-nership.aspx}.

Between 2000 and 2008, Illinois has had146 demonstration projects; 3,624 acresof buffers planted with 868,546 trees andshrubs; 44 miles of streams protected;and involved more than 1,000 landownersand volunteers.

State corn husking contest Oct. 3

PROFITABILITY


AgriVisor Hotline Number

309-557-2274

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Policies issued by COUNTRYMutual Insurance Company®,

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CASH STRATEGISTCorn Strategy

�2010 crop: Even thoughDecember futures reboundedat week’s end, the drop below$5 was an indication the rallycould be ending. The minorlow could have been the sev-en-week low, or the breakhinting the market may bepoised to slip into it. Becausedownside risk is as large as itis, we think you should getsales up to recommendations.Storage costs are too steep towarrant storing corn off thefarm. A hedge-to-arrive(HTA) for March delivery maywork, especially for farm-stored grain.

�2011 crop: We still thinkthis is a good point to beginsales. Use rallies to get up torecommendation.

�Fundamentals: Thereare subtle signs the surge inprices may be starting toration demand. Last week’slower-than-expected exportsales were a hint demand maybe moderating. Going for-ward, the trade is going tokeep a close eye on theethanol industry, especiallywith ethanol prices at a premi-um to gasoline blends.Soybean Strategy

�2010 crop: A steepdecline in the dollar’s valueignited the latest wave of buy-ing carrying soybean prices tonew highs. Prices havereached what should be strongresistance. Get sales up torecommendation. If you storesoybeans commercially, wewouldn’t discourage you fromwrapping sales up.

�2011 crop: If SouthAmerica has another big crop,new-crop prices will be lowerthis spring. Make an initial 10percent sale now.

�Fundamentals: Yieldreports continue to be verygood, confirming what USDAhas indicated, this is a verygood crop. Chinese buyinghas continued to be verygood, but their buying mayslow the next couple of weeksthrough a couple of fall holi-days. It is important toremember we are starting toharvest a large crop, and withprices at these levels, producerselling off the combine shouldincrease. A $1 break would

not be a surprise.Wheat Strategy

�2010 crop: Wheat pene-trated the 20-day moving aver-age, hinting the trend is shift-ing lower. Chicago Decemberfutures subsequently droppedthrough the 50-day movingaverage, adding to negativetechnical features. Old-cropsales were wrapped up whenChicago December futurestraded to $7.40. Use rallies toget sales wrapped up. Storagehedges, or HTA contracts, forwinter delivery are still thebest tool.

�2011 crop: Use rallies to

$7.40 on Chicago July 2011futures for catch-up sales. Ifbasis is wide compared to thispast summer, consider a HTAcontract.

�Fundamentals: Exportbusiness has started to slow.For the second week in a row,Egypt canceled purchases fordelivery in the next marketingyear. Egypt did buy some hardwheat from the U.S., but we arethe only source until Australiancrops become available.Weather in Russia remains onthe radar, but some of the dri-est areas have picked up rains.Still, soil moisture reserves arelow.

This summer’s weatherproblems in former SovietUnion countries, Russia, theUkraine, and Kazakhstan hadthe greatest impact on wheatfundamentals. But becausethe first two raise a lot of bar-ley and feed-quality wheat, thesituation has implications forcoarse grain fundamentals,too.

The industry has becomeeven more sensitive to thechanges in the world with talkthat the yield of the U.S. corncrop is destined to declinemore based on the disappoint-ing early yield reports.

Given the current U.S. yieldforecast, the stocks-to-useratio of coarse grain suppliesoutside the U.S. and China isexpected to dip to 11.3 per-cent. That’s not quite as tightas it was in 2001 and 2007.

If one uses a three-bushellower U.S. corn yield, the

Basis charts

stocks-to-use ratio drops to10.4 percent. That is slightlytighter than 2001 and 2007,but it’s still not as tight as itwas in 1996, the last time Chi-na bought significant amountsof corn.

That’s assuming the higherprice levels do not slowdemand, but they will. It’s justthe extent of demandrationing that’s difficult toascertain when the marketseems wholly focused on sup-ply issues.

Last week, we talked aboutpast markets that rallied intoharvest. In each of those cas-es, the high prices hurtdemand more than traderscould foresee when they werefocused on supply uncertainty.It is interesting that two of theyears with harvest rally topscame during recessions, 1974and 1980. And the third one,1983, came just after a reces-sion ended.

The two instances in whichrallies continued through fallinto the next year came duringtimes when economic activitywas relatively robust.

China’s intentions may bethe biggest uncertainty themarket faces going forward.And that uncertainty extendsbeyond possible corn importsto basic economic policy.

The Chinese continue tohave a problem reigning ininflation, not only for food,but in general. They couldjust as easily raise interest ratesto slow economic growth asincrease commodity importsto deal with inflationary prob-lems. The former would havenegative repercussions.

Cents per bu.

Coarse grain supplies tighter

PERSPECTIVES


LETTER TO THE EDITOR

If you eat today,thank a farmerEditor:

American supermarkets areamazing places.

Nowhere in the world issuch a wide array of food avail-able to everyday consumers.

It’s important to considerthe farmers, ranchers, andgrowers who work every day toproduce this bounty of food,fiber, and fuel we use every day.

Farmers are skilled business-people who work week days,weekends, even holidays. Theypamper the soil and the plantsthat spring from it; carefullytend to their livestock; steer$100,000 harvesting machines;and still find time to managetheir business spreadsheetswith the patience of an accoun-tant.

There are approximately 2.2million productive farms in theUnited States. Most of themare small, family-run operationsthat produce less than $250,000of annual revenue and haveexpenses that can consume asmuch as 90 percent of that rev-enue. Many, if not most, farm-ers and ranchers work otherjobs to supplement theirincomes.

So what does this hard workof our farmers, ranchers, andgrowers mean? In short, a lot.

It means U.S. consumers payless of their income for foodthan consumers in any othernation. And it means that inthe future the energy that pow-ers our cars and towns can berooted in our forests and fields,not in foreign oil fields.

So this week I am askingthat you join my colleagues andme at the U.S. Department ofAgriculture in thanking Ameri-ca’s farmers and ranchers fortheir role in making America atruly great nation.Scherrie V. Giamanco,Illinois Farm Service Agencyexecutive director

Sometimes, simply asking aquestion may create more prob-lems than initially imagined. Forexample, “Does this milk tasteOK?” is a simple question thatmay lead to unexpectedresults, such as pouring themilk down the drain beforetasting it.

I am broaching a ques-tion that is being asked inU.S. agricultural circles —Might the U.S. animal pro-duction industry move off-shore?

I ask the question, not to cre-ate problems but to provide someinsight into a very important issue that hasbecome part of the agricultural conversation around the state.

At one time, most of the clothes we pur-chased were made in the U.S. A similar situationexisted for furniture, home appliances, and elec-tronics.

But those industries have changed dramatical-ly over time, including moving off shore. Whilethe industries may have left the U.S. for a varietyof reasons, the consequence of their move isthat most of their products are now made some-place other than the U.S.

Might U.S. meat and poultry production, fol-lowing the lead of those industries mentioned

above, also move offshore?The question is not as farfetched as it might seem. As I’ve

previously discussed, animal welfare activists have placed, areplacing, and will continue to place restrictions on how livestockis handled.

But the challenges facing production animal agriculture in theU.S. are not limited to the issues raised by animal welfare sup-porters.

Costs incurred in meeting food safety regulations will contin-ue to rise. Environmental costs associated with odor, trans-portation, or effluent disposal also will continue to rise as regu-lations become more complex and more strict.

The recent news of salmonella found in eggs produced in

Iowa probably will increase thecriticism of the poultry industry and

renew awareness of all of the issues for which ithas been criticized — including not enough space and notenough fresh air for the chickens.

The hog industry is facing criticisms similar to the poultryindustry. And the beef industry faces concerns common to theothers — too much manure and too much odor. Solutions tothese issues are expensive and may make those industries lessefficient.

So, as costs go up and efficiency declines, might major U.S.meat companies shift their production systems offshore, whileretaining control, to escape burdensome and expensive domes-tic regulation?

I don’t know the answers to the question. But at least oneindustry group has begun research into trying to understand thepotential impact on U.S. consumers of a shift in animal produc-tion offshore.

The problem is that, in attempting to understand thoseimpacts, more questions will be asked than answered:

Do U.S. consumers care where their animal protein is pro-duced? What does a shift mean for U.S. food security?

How much do U.S. consumers value a safe food supply? Howimportant is a transparent and carefully inspected food supply?

Tough questions that are difficult to answer. But they need tobe asked and, eventually, they will be answered.

William Bailey is the director of the school of agriculture at WesternIllinois University, Macomb. His e-mail address is [email protected].

Rural landowners have manyresponsibilities when it comes

to their proper-ty, includingdisposing oftrash —whether it’stheirs ordumped ontheir propertyillegally by oth-ers.

That’s why anew campaign

to prevent illegal dumping inIllinois is a good idea for every-one, especially rural landown-

ers. During a public launchWednesday at a former dump atMarkham in Cook County, thestate Departments of PublicHealth and Natural Resourcesalong with the state Environ-mental Protection Agency andOffice of Attorney General areexpected to draw attention tothe problem and ask for thepublic’s help.

The state also is seeking helpfrom local governments, lawenforcement, and organiza-tions, such as Farm Bureau, toeducate people and help stopillegal dumping. The focus is on

illegal dumping of garbage,rubbish, and refuse on some-one’s property without his orher consent.

Illegal dumps are potentialhealth and safety hazards. Forexample, mosquitoes that cancarry West Nile Virus and atype of encephalitis can breedin rainwater that accumulates indumped tires or other trash.

Under state open-dumpingregulations, violators facepenalties and clean-up costs.However, it is difficult to catchsomeone in the act — andprove — that individual was

responsible for the illegaldumping.

The state agencies involvedwith the campaign are recom-mending illegal dumping bereported first to local countyand city law enforcement bycalling a non-emergency num-ber.

Farmers and rural landown-ers also can take steps to pre-vent people from dumpingtrash on their land.

Post “no trespassing” and“no dumping” signs at a site.Restrict people’s access to a site,especially by preventing anyone

from being able to drive to thesite. That can be accomplishedby digging a deeper ditch,putting down railroad ties, orinstilling a locked cable to pre-vent access.

Illegal dumping isn’t justunsightly, it’s also unhealthy andpotentially dangerous. Makingpeople aware of the problem isa good first step. Preventingillegal dumping from happen-ing will take a united effort.

Kay Shipman is the legislativeaffairs editor for FarmWeek. Her e-mail address is [email protected].

Landowners’ constant refrain: Don’t dump on us

KAY SHIPMAN

WILLIAMBAILEY

Illustration by Sharon Newton

MOVINGAWAY

Might the livestock sector relocate

offshore?

FarmWeek September 27 2010

Documents

illinois farm bureauon

estate tax reform

nonfarm heirs

estate tax of over50

millionestate tax exemption

formany illinois producers

thousandsof illinois

hit farm heirscould