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Monday, July 30, 2012 Two sections Volume 40, No. 31

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

thE IllInoIs Departmentof Agriculture has launched a newlogo and campaign to raise aware-ness and increase sales of Illinoisag products. ...................................10

An IllInoIs congressmanand others say it’s time to get seri-ous about improving the infra-structure on the nation’s water-ways. ................................................5

EvEry county in the statewill be eligible for emergency hayharvest and grazing of ConservationReserve Program land as of Thurs-day. ........................................................3

Drought evolved for months, could linger through AugustBY DANIEL GRANTFarmWeek

The effects of the 2012drought have been most evidentthe past two months.

The portion of the corncrop rated good to excellentsince May 20 declined morethan 70 percent in Illinois andmore than 60 percent in Indi-ana, Missouri, and Ohio.

“There has been a lot ofpeak heat since (the corn crop)went through pollination inJune,” Jon Davis, meteorologistwith Chesapeake Energy, saidlast week at the Illinois FarmBureau Commodities Confer-ence in Normal.

Davis reported there were asmany as 22 days with a maximumtemperature of at least 95degrees between June 20 and July23 in the central Midwest andeven more hot days in the Southduring that timeframe. Last weekfeatured several days with hightemperatures of 100-plus degreesin many parts of the state.

But while the drought hasbeen in the headlines for weeks,it actually started taking shapemonths ago. (See Jim Angel col-umn on page 16)

“We had the warmest winteron record,” Davis said. “It beganto set the stage for what has hap-pened here this summer.”

The warm winter meantthere was no permafrost layerin much of the Midwest,

which allowed evaporation tocontinue all season.

The situation worsened asprecipitation in the state the firsthalf of 2012 averaged just 12.6

inches, which was the sixth-dri-est on record. Meanwhile, por-tions of the Southwest experi-enced the third-driest Aprilthrough June on record.

“It got extremely dry in theRockies (earlier this year),”Davis said. “It was the start ofthe breeding ground of heatthat’s been the drought of 2012in the Midwest.”

Davis said elevated mixedlayers (EMLs) — hot air mass-es that move in arcs — havebeen funneling the extremeheat from the Southwest into

the Midwest for months.“The same mechanism was

involved in the droughts of the1930s and 1950s,” he said.“Those were set up by EMLs.”

And, unfortunately, that pat-tern is expected to continuethrough August.

“I think we’ll see more of thesame in August, below-normalrainfall and above-average tem-peratures,” Davis said.

About the only hope forrelief next month is a tropicalstorm. But Davis doesn’t seeany on the horizon.

“The tropics have beenincredibly quiet,” he said.“There’s no sign of anything forthe next two weeks.”

The hot weather pattern willweaken as the days shorten andthere is less radiation.

“But that won’t be until Sep-tember or October,” Davisadded. “For early August, itdoesn’t look good at all.”

Country offers crop premium deferral

House panel floats farm bill extensionBY MARTIN ROSSFarmWeek

Last week, U.S. Ag Secretary Tom Vil-sack offered insurers and growers leewaywith pre-harvest crop insurance costs whileoffering stern words on House SpeakerJohn Boehner’s (R-Ohio) assessment offarm drought and ag policy needs.

Vilsack asked insurers to voluntarilyoffer a short “grace period” for unpaidcrop insurance premiums. Country Finan-cial subsequently opted to defer charginginterest on unpaid spring crop premiumsuntil Nov. 1.

While that gives Country policyholdersan added 30 days to pay premiums withoutpenalty, October interest will be includedin obligations that come due Nov. 1, Coun-try crop underwriting manager LindseyRinkenberger stressed.

“We sort of relate interest deferral tobuying a large appliance and getting 60 daysto pay with no interest,” she toldFarmWeek. “The intent and hope is that byNov. 1, they will have the opportunity tohave some grain delivered to the elevator sothey can have cash to pay their premiums.”

USDA will not require insurers to payuncollected premiums until one month later.Interest deferral will have no impact on Coun-try earnings or reserves, Rinkenberger said.

Farmers who do not pay premiums in atimely manner face a 1.25 percent-per-monthinterest penalty. Producers with policies fromother companies should consult their agentabout premium deferral policies.

As of Thursday, Country had received1,695 production loss claims for 2012-plantedcrops. Illinois Farm Bureau risk managementspecialist Doug Yoder cited the positive “tim-ing” of premium relief: Under the 2008 farmbill, premium payments technically were to bedue this year in August rather than Octoberfor the first time, and the farm bill’s Supple-mental Revenue (SURE) disaster assistanceprogram expired last fall.

Vilsack drove home the importance ofboth a strong crop insurance program andSURE-style protections for livestock farm-ers, blasting Boehner’s failure to pushaction on a new farm bill.

The House Rules Committee reportedlywill consider a proposal for a one-yearextension of the 2008 farm bill Tuesday. Vilsack charged Boehner’s reasons fordeferring debate on a full bill “aren’t goodenough to justify delay on what has passedthrough the Senate, and what has passedthrough the House Ag Committee in abipartisan way, with bipartisan leadership.”

American Farm Bureau Federation policydirector Dale Moore is wary of rebooting

farm bill debate in 2013, questioning whetherthe budget situation “will be any better foragriculture than it currently is.” National CornGrowers Association President GarryNiemeyer argued the need for a new farm billthat enables farmers “to make sound businessdecisions for the next five years.”

Simple extension raises several issues,from an absence of emergency livestocksupport to the possibility that direct pay-ments scrapped in favor of new revenueprotections under new farm bill proposalsinstead could be tapped for deficit reduc-tion or “ad hoc” disaster aid..

Niemeyer maintained proposed newfarm program provisions would be“responsive to taxpayers.” And undermeasures approved by both the Senate andthe House Ag Committee, livestock andspecialty crop aid already would be “paidfor,” Moore told FarmWeek.

“Some folks are beginning to processand look at liquidating the herds,” Vilsacksaid. “They know full well at this point intime that there’s nothing else that can bedone beyond the steps we’ve taken to openup more haying and grazing areas.

“The sad reality is that Congress needsto do its work to get a disaster program inplace to provide help and assistance tothese producers.”

FarmWeekNow.com

Listen to comments from Jon Davison what weather to expect in com-ing weeks at FarmWeekNow.com.

HAY PRICES RISE — Hay has become muchmore valuable this summer as supplies are short andmany pastures burned up due to the drought.

The Arthur Sale Barn last week reported sales ofsmall square bales increased $2.75 to $3.50. Premiumalfalfa square bales there fetched $11.25 to $13 whilegood-quality bales brought $6.25 to $8.

Elsewhere, United Producers weekly hay auction inShelbyville brought an average of $7.55 for premiumsquare bales and $5 for good bales.

Reel’s weekly hay report from Congerville notedgrass hay bales increased by $1 in value from a weekago. Premium alfalfa small bales there brought $6.50 to$7.25 while good hay sold for $5 to $6.75 per bale.

Pasture conditions in Illinois last week were rated 91percent poor to very poor, 8 percent fair, and just 1percent good.

ESTATE TAX CONSEQUENCES — In a con-gressional Joint Economic Committee press call onestate taxes last week, American Farm Bureau Federa-tion (AFBF) Young Farmers and Ranchers ChairmanGlen Cope highlighted potential farm concerns if law-makers turn back the clock on the “death tax.”

During a discussion hosted by Rep. Kevin Brady (R-Texas), Cope recalled when his grandmother passedaway in 2009, the individual estate tax exemption was$3.5 million, significantly higher than the pre-2002 $1million exemption that will be in effect next year unlessCongress acts.

“If she had passed away when the exemption wasonly $1 million, that would have been devastating toour livelihood, because only roughly 10 percent of thefarm would have been exempt,” he said. “We wouldhave been forced to sell land, livestock, hay, and equip-ment to pay this tax.”

AFBF supports extending the current $5 millionexemption until the estate tax is repealed.

DAIRY FARM BROTHERS PARODY VIDEO— New York dairy farm brothers, Justin and FredWhite, filmed a parody of “Call Me Maybe” that is aslice of farm life. Entitled “Farm It Maybe,” the videofeatures 9-year-old Fred milking cows, popping up in acornfield, and explaining, “You cannot beat the farmin’life.”

With Lil’ Fred belting out the lyrics, viewers see acalf nursing, a milking parlor in action, and even theboys’ grandma on a riding mower.

Since the video was posted July 14 on You Tube, theWhites have become an Internet sensation. During aninterview on “Fox and Friends,” the boys said theywere inspired by the Kansas Peterson brothers andtheir video “I’m Farming and I Grow it.”

FarmWeek Page 2 Monday, July 30, 2012

(ISSN0197-6680)

Vol. 40 No. 31 July 30, 2012

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STAFFEditorDave McClelland (dmcclelland@ilfb.org)Legislative Affairs EditorKay Shipman (kayship@ilfb.org)Agricultural Affairs EditorMartin Ross (mross@ilfb.org)Senior Commodities EditorDaniel Grant (dgrant@ilfb.org)Editorial AssistantLinda Goltz (Lgoltz@ilfb.org)Business Production ManagerBob Standard (bstandard@ilfb.org)Advertising Sales ManagerRichard Verdery (rverdery@ilfb.org)Classified sales coordinatorNan Fannin (nfannin@ilfb.org)Advertising Sales RepresentativesHurst and Associates, Inc.P.O. Box 6011, Vernon Hills, IL 600611-800-397-8908 (advertising inquiries only)

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Quick TakesDrOughT

10 counties authorized for early CRP grazing BY KAY SHIPMANFarmWeek

The Farm Service Agency(FSA) last week authorizedemergency grazing of Conserva-tion Reserve Program (CRP)acres in 10 Illinois counties,effective immediately.

The counties are: Adams,Brown, Cass, Greene, Hancock,McDonough, Mason, Menard,Pike, and Schuyler.

No hay harvest on CRP acresis allowed until Thursday (Aug.2) when all counties become eli-gible for CRP hay harvest andgrazing.

Scherrie Giamanco, stateFSA executive director, remind-ed farmers there will be a 10 per-cent CRP payment reduction forearly emergency grazing of CRPacres.

Emergency CRP grazing is limited to live-stock farmers with drought-related pasture loss-es in the 10 counties.

Through Wednesday, eligible farmers willbe permitted to move livestock within the

10-county area. Farmers in those counties

who wish to graze livestock andthose with land enrolled in CRPwho wish to provide grazingprivileges to an eligible livestockfarmer must first requestapproval from FSA.

They also must obtain a mod-ified conservation plan from theNatural Resources ConservationService (NRCS). When farmersgo to NRCS, they need to haveinformation about the numberof livestock that will graze, saidDon King, FSA chief programspecialist.

Early grazing requirementsinclude: not grazing at least 25percent of each field or contigu-ous CRP field for wildlife, or notgrazing more than 75 percent ofthe stocking rate as determined

by NRCS.King suggested farmers call their county

FSA offices before going there to submit appli-cations. Information also is online at{www.fsa.usda.gov}.

River council hearsdrought impact — Thedrought’s impact varies alongthe Mississippi River, Lt. Gov.Sheila Simon and the Missis-sippi River CoordinatingCouncil heard last week.

Navigation through theupper Mississippi River downto the confluence of the Mis-souri and the Mississippi riversnear St. Louis has not beenimpacted by the drought,reported James Stiman, chiefof the water control for theArmy Corps of Engineers’Rock Island District.

However, the drought hasresulted in historically lowaverage river levels along themiddle Mississippi down to theconfluence of the Ohio andMississippi rivers near Cairo.Stiman reported low water lev-els are forcing reductions inbarge loads.

State water conservationand other drought-relatedinformation is online at{www.drought.illinois.gov}.

Nitrate testing — TheCentralia Animal Disease Labis providing “significantlymore testing for nitrate (incorn samples) than in yearspast, and we are glad to pro-vide that service,” Acting Illi-nois Director of AgricultureBob Flider told FarmWeeklast week.

Dr. Gene Niles, the lab’sdirector, has said the labplanned to continue providingtesting services through Aug.15 before the lab closes Aug.31 as a budget-cutting meas-ure.

“There is still a severe fund-

Drought news roundup— Mt. Pulaski in Logan Coun-ty has stopped bulk water salesbecause of low levels in thecity’s wells, according to theIllinois Environmental Protec-tion Agency. The pumping lev-el is the lowest level ever seenin those wells.

Free plant help — Farm-ers may bring a plant samplefor diagnosis Aug. 16 to theUniversity of Illinois Agrono-my Day. Experts in plant dis-ease, insect, and weed identifi-cation will be available at theplant clinic booth located inthe large tent.

Typically, a fee is chargedfor all samples, but AgronomyDay visitors will be permittedto bring one sample for a freediagnosis on a first-come, first-served basis.

Agronomy Day activitieswill start at 7 a.m. with one-hour tours departing every halfhour until noon. — Kay Ship-man

Aug. 2University of Illinois Dixon Springs Agricultural CenterAgronomy and Horticulture Field Day, 9 a.m. to noon,Simpson.

Aug. 9-19

Illinois State Fair, Springfield.Aug. 16University of Illinois Agronomy Day, 7 a.m. to 2 p.m., CropSciences Research and Education Center, Urbana.

Aug. 24-Sept. 3DuQuoin State Fair, DuQuoin.

Aug. 28Meet the Buyers event, Highland Community College confer-ence center, Freeport. Registration deadline Aug. 24. Call815-235-4125.

DATEBOOK

ing shortage, and that waswhat caused the decision (toclose the lab). Overcomingthat is a huge obstacle,” Flidersaid.

Aflatoxin in corn — TheIllinois Department of Agri-culture is surveying some 280grain elevator operators in thestate about their plans to han-dle aflatoxin-contaminatedgrain. Aflatoxin levels are high-est during hot, dry summers.

Aflatoxins are chemicalsproduced by certain mold fun-gi and can be harmful or fatalto livestock at certain levels.

Streamflows down — TheIllinois State Water Surveyreported rapid drop in stream-flow. Some regions havereached or are close to 10-yearlow levels. Decline is expectedto continue in all parts of thestate with more regionsexpected to reach 10-year lowlevels this week or next.

Bulk water sales stopped

DroUGHT

Page 3 Monday, July 30, 2012 FarmWeek

HAY DEMAND HEATING UPFSA updates emergencyCRP grazing, hay harvestBY KAY SHIPMANFarmWeek

Illinois Farm Service Agency (FSA) officials last weekannounced every county in the state is eligible for emergencyhay harvest and grazing of Conservation Reserve Program(CRP) land starting Aug. 2.

In addition, 10 counties were approved for immediate earlygrazing only of CRP land.

Emergency grazing ends Sept. 30, and emergency hayingends Aug 31. Last week, USDA also granted farmers the right tosell hay from the emergency harvest.

Farmers who don’t own livestock may rent or lease grazingand haying privileges to eligible livestock farmers, USDA said.

Farmers may not graze or harvest hay on CRP acres within120 feet of a stream or other permanent body of water or acreswith life easements.

Eligible CRP acres include those planted in grasses andlegumes, native grass, salt-tolerant vegetation and that plantedto reduce salinity, and permanent vegetation with already estab-lished grass. CRP acres with wildlife habitat and wildlife corri-dors also are eligible.

Farmers must obtain approval from their local FSA staffbefore they harvest hay or graze CRP acres. They also mustobtain a modified conservation plan from the NaturalResources Conservation Service.

Some livestock farmers soon maybe able to request cost-share assis-tance to provide a water source fortheir animals, according to ScherrieGiamanco, Illinois Farm Service(FSA) state director.

Counties classified as “D3-Extreme Drought” by the U.S.Drought Monitor (see map below)may be eligible for cost-share assis-tance through the Emergency Con-

servation Program (ECP). If a part ofa county is classified as D3, the entirecounty is eligible.

Under ECP, qualified farmers mayseek financial assistance to providewater for their livestock during thiscritical time, Giamanco said.

Counties meeting the classificationmust still go through an approvalprocess before implementing ECP. Counties not designated as D3-

Extreme Drought also may qualify ifthey have a 40 percent shortage ofrainfall compared to normal rainfallfor the previous four months.

“It is unknown if funding will beimmediately available, but producerswho are interested can begin makingtheir cost-share requests, and theywill be notified as funds becomeavailable,” Giamanco said. “It isimportant for producers to talk to

their local FSA office prior to diggingwells or running water lines.”

ECP program participants mayreceive up to 75 percent of the costto implement approved temporaryemergency practices and up to 50percent for permanent practices.

For more information about ECPor other drought assistance, visit{www.fsa.usda.gov} or contact yourcounty FSA office.

Some counties eligible for cost share for emergency water

Rob Creasey of rural Macomb unloads a bale of grass for his 25 head of Charolais beef cattle. Thedrought has burned up pastures, cut hay harvest, and sapped crop yield potential. Hay prices recentlyshot up at many locations in the state due to short supplies. (Photo by Ken Kashian)

Expansion of drought being felt across the nationBY DANIEL GRANTFarmWeek

Scattered rains late lastweek provided little relief fordrought-stressed crops andfarmers.

The U.S. Drought Monitor

released Thursday showed thedrought last week continued tospread and intensify in muchof the Corn Belt.

In Illinois, the majority ofcounties are in extremedrought with the remaining

counties, located near theInterstate 80 corridor, in mod-erate to severe drought.

“We planted one of thebiggest corn crops in the his-tory of American agriculture,and we’ve watched it witheraway right before our eyes,”Philip Nelson, Illinois FarmBureau president, said lastweek at the IFB CommoditiesConference in Normal. “Nowthe drought is expanding.”

Ag Secretary Tom Vilsacklast week reported about 88percent of the nation’s corncrop and 87 percent of soy-beans are in drought-strickenareas.

The corn crop in Illinoislast week was rated 66 percentpoor or very poor, 27 percentfair, and 7 percent good whilethe bean crop was rated 49percent poor or very poor, 38percent fair, and 13 percentgood to excellent.

Last week’s crop ratingsmarked just the fourth timesince 1980 that none of theIllinois corn crop was ratedexcellent this late in the sea-son, according to JohnHawkins, IFB farm informa-tion web editor. The other

years that occurred — 2005,1988, and 1983 — also wereplagued by drought.

“Our farmers are nostrangers to uncertainty,” Vil-sack said. “But it’s even hard-

er to plan for the future whenwe don’t know how muchmore severe the drought willbe.”

Weather Services Interna-tional last week projected acontinuation of the droughtwith warmer-than-normaltemperatures in the central

U.S. in August.Jim Koeller, a farmer from

Pike County, last week report-ed the 100-plus degree heateffectively killed the rest ofhis corn crop. He predictedcorn yields of 60 to 90bushels in fields that pollinat-ed while other fields won’tmake 10 bushels per acre.

Pasture conditions also arebad, and hay supplies are low.

“Livestock producers areimmediately impactedbecause they don’t have thefeedstuffs,” Nelson said.

USDA last week projectedthe situation will cause foodprices to rise next year by 3 to4 percent.

“Food prices are goingup,” Nelson noted. “But notat the level (reported by somemembers of the media).”

Rick Tolman, CEO of theNational Corn Growers Asso-ciation, reported the farm val-ue of food ingredients con-sumers buy at grocery storesrepresents less than one-fifthof the price at the checkoutcounter.

“The price of farm prod-ucts has little impact on over-all food prices,” he said.

‘We planted oneo f t h e b i g g e s tcorn crops in thehistory of Ameri-can agriculture,and we’ve watchedit wither away rightbefore our eyes.’

— Philip NelsonIllinois Farm Bureau

the rivers

FarmWeek Page 4 Monday, July 30, 2012

Regulatory requirements frustrate flood protection effortsBY MARTIN ROSSFarmWeek

With irrigators pumpingfull-bore to salvage corn in thearea, last week may haveseemed an odd time to gatherlocal, state, and federal officialsfor a Western Illinois forum onflood control.

But to Hunt-Lima DrainageDistrict Chairman SamZumwalt, who witnessed theravages of 1993 and 2008flooding, the next big floodcould come next year.

During a Hancock CountyFarm Bureau-sponsored meetingon the Warsaw-area farm ofZumwalt’s son, Joe, local officialsand farmers challenged state andfederal regulatory hurdles toapproval of a $10 million projectto improve protections withinthe Hunt-Lima levee system.

The district hopes to raiselevee height by 12 to 18 inches toprovide 100-year flood protec-tion for roughly 30,000 farmlandacres and receive Federal Emer-gency Management Agency(FEMA) levee certification.

Certification is crucial tolocal activity and development:Costly insurance is mandatoryin areas where FEMA deter-mines levees provide inade-quate protection.

FEMA is re-evaluating certi-fications as part of a floodplainremapping process, and the dis-trict seeks to bolster the leveebefore new maps are released.However, the district to datealready has spent roughly$250,000 to address oftenduplicative permit, environ-mental, archaeological, and wet-

ies, and Klingner questioned“why an individual districtshould have to redo a bunch ofindividual studies.”

But Deschenes warned theCorps is a long way from real-ization of a comprehensiveplan, though it has weighedthe systemwide benefits andcosts of various “contingencyplans.” Zumwalt is frustratedby federal failure to factorcrop values into the potentialeconomic benefits of a plan.

“The bottom line is, thosecontingency plans are still in

the reconnaissance phase,”Deschenes told FarmWeek.“We need to move into the(plan) feasibility phase beforewe can even get an authoriza-tion from Congress and beable to move forward on someof these things.

“That doesn’t mean workstops. There are certainlythings that can be done locally,with interagency cooperationand the different levee dis-tricts, to begin to approach atleast some interim levels ofprotection.”

lands requirements (see accom-panying details).

“They request this, we givethem that, and then theyrequest something else,”Zumwalt told FarmWeekbefore meeting with represen-tatives of the U.S. Army Corpsof Engineers, the IllinoisDepartment of NaturalResources (IDNR), and otheragencies and state and federallawmakers.

The district’s current pro-jected $700,000 permittingprocess, begun early in 2011,has included a survey of areamussel populations and devel-opment of a plan to “miti-gate” the impact of construc-tion on six acres of wetlands.

Drainage CommissionerJonathon Hofmeister ques-tioned the logic of such require-ments, citing the role of leveeimprovements in protectingwetlands wildlife habitat.

Col. Mark Deschenes, newcommander with the Corps’Rock Island District, acknowl-edged concerns about “the per-mitting responsibilities that weshare with many agencies.” Hestressed the Corps must consid-er the potential impact of leveeimprovements “from Minnesotato New Orleans.”

“The interests of this leveedistrict are very much in linewith the interests of the Corps,”Deschenes nonetheless said. “Atthe end of the day, we’re allafter the same thing.”

Zumwalt sees the need forflexibility in floodplain policies,noting, for instance, that dis-tricts can’t use Corps-dredged

river material to bolster levees.Congressional approval of acomprehensive, coordinatedMississippi flood managementplan would help reconcile issuesbetween districts and neighbor-ing states and reduce duplicativeregulation, he argued.

For example, district con-tractor Mike Klingner suggestsa comprehensive plan wouldallow issuance of standardadvance permits for districtsseeking 100-year protection.The Corps has conducted some$16 million in floodplain stud-

During a tour of the Hunt-Lima Drainage District levee system, Col. Mark Deschenes, center, commander ofthe U.S. Army Corps of Engineers Rock Island District, discusses flood and levee concerns with drainage dis-trict Chairman Sam Zumwalt, left, and commissioner Dianne Barnett. Zumwalt emphasized the economic im-portance of flood management to both his area and farmers along the Mississippi. “The only way we can in-crease exports is down the river,” Zumwalt told FarmWeek. “We need to improve the river, and that takes im-proved levees.” (Photo by Martin Ross)

Deluge of levee regs impedes improvements In terms of its physical

impact, the move from existing50-year flood protection to a100-year level of protection is“a very minor improvement,”engineer Mike Klingner notes.

review project impact on rivermussel populations. TheCorps, IEPA, and IDNRrequire detailed wetlands analy-sis and “mitigation” plans.

“Now, there are newrequirements that not only dowe have to create a wetland ifwe disturb any — you have tohave a monitoring plan toshow it’s going to be main-tained,” Klingner toldFarmWeek. “So we have tofind a site the district can con-trol.”

Klingner and district offi-cials last week recommendedmeasures to streamline the reg-ulatory process, including:

• Allowing the regionalCorps district to conductrequired periodic reviews ofstandard 50-year or 100-yearlevees, with review of new lev-ees, major levee alignmentchanges, or larger 500-yearstructures referred to theCorps’ Upper Mississippi Val-ley Division or Washingtonheadquarters.

• Development of a “clear

written process” for IDNR lev-ee improvement permittingtapping current Corpsresources.

• Availability of levee-spe-cific IEPA application formsand a simplified process fortimely permit review.

Like his Hancock Countycounterparts, Prairie duRocher-Modoc Drainage/Lev-ee District Chairman RichGuebert Jr. notes efforts toensure “we’re ready” whenFEMA completes area flood-plain remapping.

However, with annual rev-enues of roughly $25,000, thedistrict is concerned aboutpotential regulatory costsahead.

“A study of (levee) under-seepage and slope stabilizationis going to cost us $300,000,”Guebert reported. “We’relooking at $1.2 million to $5.1million for necessary leveerepairs. It’s kind of hard tomake the math work with$25,000 a year income.” —Martin Ross

In terms of paperwork, it’s amonumental undertaking.

Klingner, contractor for theHunt-Lima Drainage District,hopes to wrap up the permit-ting process for planned dis-

trict levee improvements byyear’s end.

That process entails submis-sion of extensive reports, sur-veys, and other data to the U.S.Army Corps of Engineers, theFederal Emergency Manage-ment Agency (FEMA), and Illi-nois’ Department of NaturalResources (IDNR), Environ-mental Protection Agency(IEPA), and Historical Preser-vation Agency. The Corpsalone requires two separatepermits.

Submissions cover thewaterfront, from analysis oflevee structure and stability andplans for using dredged materi-al to strengthen levees to bio-logical and wetlands studiesand archaeological surveys toensure the project does not dis-turb sites of cultural or histori-cal significance.

Klinger, who is abouthalfway through the process,notes several duplicativerequirements by various agen-cies. Both the Corps andIDNR require districts to

Illinois Farm Bureau Vice President Rich Guebert Jr., left, and IFB boardmember Terry Pope eye river conditions at the Ursa Farmers Co-op atWarsaw. The pair addressed levee concerns at last week’s HancockCounty meeting and tour of the Hunt-Lima Drainage District levee sys-tem. (Photo by Martin Ross)

the rivers

Page 5 Monday, July 30, 2012 FarmWeek

Long-awaited lock legislation on the horizon?BY MARTIN ROSSFarmWeek

It’s time to get moving onthe nation’s waterways, U.S.Rep. Bobby Schilling believes.The Colona Republican cited2011 approval of legislationthat set the stage forimproved air travel and June’ssurprise passage of measuresthat pave the way for long-needed highway upgrades.

Midwest lawmakers haveraised hopes for considerationof “WRDA2” — WaterResources Development Actreauthorization — with pas-sage of surface transportationlegislation. WRDA2 is apotential vehicle for construc-tion of seven Upper Missis-sippi and Illinois River locksauthorized in 2007.

As election concerns loom,Washington lawmakersalready are “deferring somuch of their work to aneventual lame duck session,”Soy Transportation CoalitionExecutive Director MikeSteenhoek noted. Steenhoeksaid he is “not optimistic” the

man Barbara Boxer (D-Calif.)and Ranking Republican JimInhofe (R-Okla.) hinted atpossible committee action inthe near future but offered nospecific timetable.

Republican House Trans-portation and InfrastructureCommittee staffers suggestedlawmakers might take up amore policy-oriented measurevs. a “traditional WRDA bill”that locks in project funding,Rohde reported. He nonethe-less believes that approachcould incorporate WAVE4provisions and grant an effec-

tive “green light” to new proj-ects without funding specificearmarks.

“There are a host of sce-narios where a lame duck (ses-sion) could be very beneficialto a WRDA bill moving,”Rohde told FarmWeek.

“Even before that, if youlook at some members whohave quite a number of water-related projects in their dis-tricts, there could be motiva-tion to move a bill forwardprior to the election. Thatsaid, we’re back in the any-body’s guess mode.”

current Congress wouldaddress measures such asWRDA that are “not necessar-ily headline-generating bills.”

Schilling nonetheless antici-pates “a lot of focus” onwaterways transportation in2013. He sees continued inter-est in “WAVE4,” a bipartisanmeasure that would enable thebarge industry to replenishprivate revenues used to matchfederal lock funding and tight-en the U.S. Army Corps ofEngineers’ project planningsystem (see accompanyingdetails).

“This is almost like thenarrow road: They wait untilseveral people die on theroad and then widen it,” hetold FarmWeek. “I don’twant to wait until our locksand dams fail and then havebarge traffic stuck for amonth or two while they’reunder repair.”

Proponents of new lockconstruction face congression-al resistance to so-calledregional project “earmarks”and to any tax increase —

even one proposed by taxpay-ers. WAVE4 includes provi-sions of an industry-draftedplan that embraces a 6- to 9-cent hike in the current 20-cent-per gallon barge fuel taxto rebuild waterways trustfund reserves.

In mid-July discussions,House and Senate staffersremained hopeful about con-sideration of at least a“WRDA light” bill, accordingto Paul Rohde, Midwest vicepresident with the industrygroup Waterways Council Inc.Senate Public Works Chair-

Corps mulling reduced lock hours

As Mississippi River levels continued to drop along with thecargo that can move on the shallower waterway, a barge indus-try representative warns of potential post-drought navigationconcerns.

Faced with current operations/maintenance funding short-falls and increased costs of maintaining aging facilities, theU.S. Army Corps of Engineers has proposed by October tocurtail barge service hours at 63 locks and dams.

Hours tentatively would be trimmed at individual locksbased on 2010 commercial traffic volumes. Sites with at least1,000 “lockages” would continue to operate on a 24/7, year-round basis. Those with 500 to 999 lockages reportedly wouldmove to two shifts per day.

That would impact locks in the Minneapolis-St. Paul area,Waterways Council Inc. (WCI) Midwest Vice President PaulRohde noted. Proposals to move to one shift at locks with 100to 499 lockages could affect the Kaskaskia River Lock inSouthern Illinois, though lock operations manager James Hillcited Corps discussions about the possibility of trimminghours further.

Hill reported annual lockages today run in the “500 range,”but the lock is a key conduit for Gulf-bound crops and lime-stone for upstream users such as the Prairie State Energy Cam-pus, a state-of-the-art, coal-fired power plant that uses it in itsclean air scrubbers.

The Kaskaskia Regional Port District thus is helping makethe case for an exception to Corps plans with the hope of pre-serving around-the-clock operations.

“Tonnages and development are increasing here on theriverway,” Hill told FarmWeek. “Another (river) port is beingdeveloped, and with the commitments the navigation industryis developing associated with this waterway, there may be atime when they need to expand hours of shipping.”

Whatever the Corps’ final decision, at least one employeelikely would remain on duty around the clock to maintain thelock’s navigational pool, Hill said.

Rohde questions the Corps rationale for targeting servicehours, noting there are only sparse details available about pro-jected savings and other cost-cutting options. WCI plans tosurvey its members regarding the economic impact of cut-backs. — Martin Ross

WAVE4: RUNNING THE RIVERSWAVE4 — the bipartisan

Waterways are Vital for theEconomy, Energy, Efficiency,and Environment Act —attempts to bolster fundingcrucial to new lock construc-tion and prioritize key projectsacross the inland navigationsystem.The measure could be

included in Water ResourcesDevelopment Act (WRDA) leg-islation. WRDA approvalwould help the U.S. ArmyCorps of Engineers chart afuture course for efficient rivertransportation, according toCol. Mark Deschenes, com-mander with the Corps’ RockIsland District.“There really is no work

that gets done without author-izations,” the engineer toldFarmWeek last week. “One ofthe ways projects get author-ized has been the WRDA bill.Clearly, that can be an impor-tant step forward. The Corpsis serving the priorities of thenation. We will execute what isauthorized and appropriated.”

WAVE4 is co-sponsored byHouse Ag Committee mem-bers Tim Johnson, an UrbanaRepublican, and Jerry Costel-lo, a Belleville Democrat. Itproposes to: • Improve Corps project

management and processesto deliver projects on time andon budget. Cost overruns andcontinued construction delaysat the Olmsted Lock on theOhio River have spurred con-troversy over lock funding. ButWaterways Council Inc. VicePresident Paul Rohde cites acurrent roughly $8 billion inproject “backlog” that must beaddressed to keep river trafficrunning long-term.“It’s like we’ve almost given

up on infrastructure,” PikeCounty farmer Jim Koelleradded during a HancockCounty river tour last week.“It’s what keeps businessgoing, what keeps Americaproducing. It’s our future. Thelonger we abandon it, the fur-ther behind we’ll be.”• Impose a 30-45 percent

hike in the existing 20 cent-per-gallon barge fuel tax.Shippers and barge interestssupport the move to replenishthe Inland Waterways TrustFund, which shoulders 50percent of lock project financ-ing.Even if Congress OKs new

Upper Mississippi lock fund-ing, “we don’t have a trustfund to accommodate that,”Rohde noted. A Senate pro-posal to provide 75 percentacross-the-board federal fund-ing “is not sustainable, either,”he said.• Preserve the existing 50-

50 industry/federal cost-shareformula for new lock construc-tion and rehabilitation lockprojects costing more than$100 million. Under the bill,dam construction and smallerlock rehabilitation projectswould receive 100 percentfederal funding.• Set a cost-share cap on

new lock projects, ideally toprevent Olmsted-type issues.— Martin Ross

Farmers face higher freight ratesBY DANIEL GRANTFarmWeek

Most U.S. farmers obviouslywill have fewer bushels ofgrain and oilseeds to sell thisfall due to significant yieldlosses caused by the drought.

Informa Economics recent-ly projected national yieldscould average 134 bushels peracre for corn and 38.5 bushelsfor beans, compared to USDAestimates earlier this month of146 bushels for corn and 40.5bushels for beans.

And those estimates areexpected to decline each weekthe extreme weather continues.

“There are some issuescoming as we start to rationdemand,” Ken Eriksen, seniorvice president of transporta-tion, industrials, and energy forInforma, said last week at theIllinois Farm Bureau Com-modities Conference. “We’re incontinuous price volatility.”

The uncertain outlook forfarmers is exacerbated by sloweconomic growth in manycountries.

And to add insult to injury,

less-efficient transportationcapacity likely will lead to high-er freight rates at harvest,according to Eriksen.

“The drought doesn’t justimpact the crops,” he said.“There are problems on thelower Mississippi. (Shippers)have to load smaller bargetows (to avoid runningaground due to low water lev-els).”

Eriksen predicted bargefreight rates this fall couldjump by as much as 80 per-cent.

Other portions of the trans-portation sector also have issuesthat could lead to higher ship-ping rates.

Increased regulations and ashortage of qualified driverscould increase costs in thetrucking industry while railroadscurrently are moving about50,000 fewer cars per weeknationwide.

“Less-efficient transporta-tion capacity will lead to higherfreight rates,” Eriksen said.

Meanwhile, economicgrowth in the U.S. is expected

to rise slowly, from 1.7 percentin 2011 to 2.1 percent this yearand 2.3 percent in 2013.

“Consumer spending stillhasn’t been dynamic,” Eriksensaid. “That’s not a growth pat-tern that will change the unem-ployment rate. We’ve got to getabove 3 percent.”

Eriksen predicted the U.S.unemployment rate will declinemarginally, from 9 percent in2011 to 8.1 percent this yearand 7.4 percent in 2013.

Elsewhere, economicgrowth in China and India waspredicted to slow (from 9.3 per-cent last year to 7.7 percent thisyear in China and from 7.3 per-cent in 2011 to 5.6 percent thisyear in India) while Europe isexpected to experience negativeeconomic growth of 0.7 of apercent this year and 0.8 of apercent in 2013.

“We are in a transition econ-omy with a lot of challenges,”Eriksen said.

The good news is the con-sumption base will continue togrow and inflation so far is incheck in the U.S.

Bernie Walsh, Durand, Winnebago County: A little morerain lifted our spirits again lastweek. Tuesday morning we had alittle more than half an inch at ourfarm and 1 inch a few miles southof here. The corn didn’t look asrolled up after the rain, and thebeans are setting pods andshowing more blossoms. This

make us feel better for right now, but we alsoknow that there is very little soil moisture leftin any field, and to have any decent kind ofgrain fill, we are going to need more rain inthe next six weeks. Several are still sprayingfor spider mites in soybeans and puttingfungicide on soybeans. Thank goodness theforecast doesn’t call for any 100-degree days,at least for the next seven days.

Pete Tekampe, Grayslake, Lake County: We had earlymorning showers the first threedays of the Lake County Fair lastweek, with a total of a little morethan 1 inch. Too late for the corn,but the beans are looking betterand enjoying the showers. Thedays had been hot and humid.Hopefully, we will get timely show-

ers for the beans. Some good hay has beenbaled and some wheat straw, also.

Leroy Getz, Savanna, Carroll County: More 100-degreetemperatures with only 0.15 of aninch of rain on Thursday. Cropsare deteriorating more each day,but we are still better off than wewere in 1988. Livestock farmers,including us dairymen, are lookingat feed supplies and prices goinginto the winter months. Much feed

already has been used. Sale barns are report-ing large volumes of movement, which willlead to short supply later. Talk to your cropinsurance agent before recovering any crops.I pray everyone has insurance.

Ryan Frieders, Waterman, DeKalb County: It seems as ifwe are stuck in a weather rut. Itwas hot and dry every day lastweek. All of these 90-plus temper-ature days are really taking a tollon all vegetation, including thetrees. Showers for the weektotaled 0.2 to 0.5 of an inch butthey were spotty in coverage at

best. Spider mites are moving back into beanfields and spraying is being done for pests forthe second time. Airplanes continue to fly andsprayers roll trying to protect what little crop itseems there will be.

Larry Hummel, Dixon, Lee County: Anywhere from 0.2 of aninch of rain to 1.2 inches fell onThursday, but just as important, oreven more — the temperaturedropped into the 80s with lows inthe 60s. The bad news is that ourcorn that was stressed the mostreceived the least. With that said,I’m starting to feel more confident

in the yield potential out there. We are in a nar-row band that has received a few showers nowand then to keep the crops growing. I thinkthere is a good chance that we could end upwith 70-80 percent of our average yield. Wearen’t there yet, but a few more showers overthe next three weeks should finish this year offwith a somewhat respectful yield, all thingsconsidered. This will be my last report for acouple of weeks, while my wife and I leave ona mission trip to Bolivia. After your prayers forrain, keep us in mind.

Joe Zumwalt, Warsaw, Hancock County: I’m beginning tosound like a broken record.While a few widely scatteredrains occasionally movedthrough the area, excessive heatand dry weather seem to be thenorm. Yield potential declinesevery day. Early estimates rangefrom 25 to 140 bushels per acre.

The soybeans still have a chance if we startto receive rain soon. Hay and pastures arereally running short. Fall is just around thecorner in Western Illinois.

Ken Reinhardt, Seaton, Mercer County: Rains were most-ly just a tease for the week. Asmuch as 1.2 inches fellWednesday night in Aledo, butoutside of town very little wasreceived. It is still relatively greenhere and one does not have totravel far in any direction to real-ize how fortunate we are.

Ron Moore, Roseville, Warren County: We received 0.25of an inch of rain on Thursday.That was the first rain for themonth of July. Two miles away atanother farm we did not get any.That seems to be the way thissummer has gone. No wide-spread rains and what we did getwas not enough. I have some

early-planted corn that is fully dented andthe rest will be this week. Rain at this pointwill not help the corn, but it will help the soy-beans. They are still flowering and startingto set pods. The insect population hasexploded. We are spraying for Japanesebeetles, beanleaf beetles, and spider mites.The corn borer beetles have moved into thesoybean fields since the corn is starting tolose its color. Hopefully, spraying for themwill help on next year’s corn. We have start-ed to move cattle home from the pastures.No water or grass is making it a challenge tohave livestock.

Tim Green, Wyoming, Stark County: Another dry, warmweek — not as hot as in the past,but almost. It really doesn’t mat-ter now. Corn damage is severe.Corn-on-corn is pretty bad. Corn-on-beans is holding up a little bitbetter, but I’m afraid all of it isgoing to be very disappointing.The talk around here concerns

spider mites: If you have them, and shouldyou spray if you do? If it doesn’t rain, it does-n’t matter. A few areas got a little bit of rainlast week — half an inch. I think those peopleprobably are going to spray for spider mites.The rest of us are scratching our heads onhow much more money to spend on a cropthat is going to be very low.

Mark Kerber, Chatsworth, Livingston County: Crop watch-ing maybe should be called cropdeterioration watching this sum-mer. We missed another chancefor rain as a front went throughand cooled us off. Corn yields willbe at disastrous levels.Producers are hoping to haveenough corn to fill contracts.

Soybeans had a chance to be average a fewweeks ago, but now with no rain they are tak-ing yield hits also. Spider mites are showingup, but there isn’t much spraying activity asproducers don’t want to put more money intothis crop. Federal crop insurance will be oursavior to recoup the expenses it takes to pro-duce a crop. It has been a hot summer forfairgoers. The heat is really hard on the ani-mals. My neighbor dug a hole 24 feet deepand came back the next day to find absolute-ly no water had leaked into the hole.Normally, it would have filled up. The groundis dry.

Ron Haase, Gilman, Iroquois County: Another weekpassed with above-averagetemperatures and a lack of rain-fall. Most cornfields in the areaare in the R4 (dough) growthstage. Corn developmentranges from the R1 (silking)growth stage on up to the R5(dent) growth stage. Yield

expectations continue to decline as the hotand dry weather continues. Most soybeanfields are at the R2 (full bloom) or the R3(beginning pod) growth stage. Soybeanfields continue to be scouted for pests.Local closing bids for July 26 were: nearbycorn, $8.08; new-crop corn, $7.82; fall2013 corn; $5.88; nearby soybeans,$16.71; new-crop soybeans, $15.50; fall2013, $12.14. The construction of our newshed has helped to keep our focus awayfrom the crop deterioration and droughtconditions.

Brian Schaumburg, Chenoa, McLean County: Three moredays of 100-degree heat andonly scattered showers tookprospects down another notchthis past week. We are nowpreparing for how to deal withaflatoxin and other maladiescaused by the drought. Accurateyield checks will be difficult to

attain due to crop variability. “Can’t miss” mar-keting plans are being touted to enhanceinsurance claims. Past advice to find arespected commodities broker, study, andmake your own informed decisions looks verysound in these turbulent markets. Corn,$8.01; fall, $7.72; soybeans, $16.81; fall,$15.42; wheat, $8.34.

Wilfred Dittmer, Quincy, Adams County: It was the samestory around our place last week:DRY. The situation gets moreserious as the days wilt away.Then we say to ourselves, maybenext year will be better, but whoknows, maybe it will be worse.Some are chopping for feed, butthere is very little grain. I guess

farming always was, and will continue to be, agamble. We received about 0.3 of an inch ofrain Thursday and Friday, but the situation outthere is not pretty. Poorest crop I have everhad.

Carrie Winkelmann, Tallula, Menard County: It tried to rainon us last week, but none man-aged to hit the rain gauge. So it isjust that much drier than when Iwrote last week. The beans areblooming but not setting pods. Thecorn is still alive somehow, but indefinite decline. My dad cleanedout and fertilized his garden for

next year. Hope springs eternal.

Tom Ritter, Blue Mound, Macon County: Seems like thisis the same ole report. No rainwithin the last reporting periodhere. It did manage a slightsprinkle, but not enough to evenwet the sidewalks. Crop contin-ues to dry down dramatically.The last real rain we had was 0.4of an inch in early June and

before that a little more than 1 inch in mid-April. Many farmers are talking of harveststarting somewhere between Aug. 15 and20. Pollination has been variable, but for themost part good. However, most ears havetipped back significantly. Corn is starting todent. Rain would not be very helpful at thistime for corn. Beans are still blooming and agood rain would bring on more blooms.Moisture systems that come this way, theyjust dry up due to the atmospheric condi-tions. There is still some spraying going onfor spider mites. Farmers also fear an afla-toxin problem and possibly aphid problemsappearing right at the end.

Todd Easton, Charleston, Coles County: It just keeps get-ting worse. Corn has entered thedie-down phase and may beready to harvest in the next cou-ple of weeks if it stays upright.For some reason, I keep walkingout in those fields and all I find isshrinking yields. Bean fields arefinally giving up also as blooms

fall to the ground, and chances of any of thoseplants making seed disappear. Word aroundthe countryside is that this will be a very slowfall as the work normally done by producerswill be greatly limited. Even if all the fieldsmake enough to have a combine go throughthem, tillage and anhydrous ammonia appli-cation will not be possible until we see at leasta foot of rainfall. On top of that, dry fertilizerapplications will either be reduced or put off,leaving us wondering what we will do with ourtime. I get stopped by readers asking why Ihave nothing good to put in this column lately,and the best answer I have is that FarmWeekdoes not want me to write fiction.

Jimmy Ayers, New City, Sangamon County: This pastweek stayed the course with norain, and it was extremely hot.Tied a temperature record of 103one day before it cooled off at theend of the week. Corn and beansare both suffering. It’s a shame towatch really good beans deterio-rate like they are. Some of the

corn ears are white and starting to droop. It islooking pretty tough from what this area nor-mally produces. It’s certainly not normal.Harvest probably will go pretty quick with nomore than what’s going to be out there.Remember, if you have a field at an intersec-tion take a few stalks down, it could savesomebody’s life.

David Schaal, St. Peter, Fayette County: Another hotweek with no precipitation. I hateto keep repeating myself, butcrops just continue to deterio-rate. There are reports of spidermites chewing on soybeans, butmost farmers are just lettingthem eat. Air conditioners con-tinue to work hard. Lawnmowers

have been in a rest mode with few hoursbeing put on them. Might be just like thecombines this fall.

FarmWeek Page 6 Monday, July 30, 2012

CROPWATCHERS

Randy Anderson, Galatia, Saline County Some rainshowers fell throughout thearea. Some places had damag-ing winds. Rain amounts hereon the farm were anywhere from0.7 of an inch to little more than1 inch. I’m hoping that will helpmaintain what beans we haveout there. It was nice to see

some of our friends at the fair last week,and congratulations to all the kids whowent to the fair and showed. Whether youwin a ribbon or not, it teaches you that ifyou want something in life, you have towork for it. I would like to say a big hello toone of our readers, Miss Haribson, and herpolled Herefords.

Ken Taake, Ullin, Pulaski County: Another week of thesame — hot and dry. I think thecorn has done all it’s going to do.It has just given up. Between thedry and the poor pollination withthe high temperatures, I think it’sgoing to be a very disappointingcorn crop. We keep saying thesoybeans have a chance if we

could get some timely rains. I’m afraid we’rerunning out of time for those, too. It showeredThursday afternoon, but we received lessthan 0.3 of an inch here at our farm. Whilethat may freshen things up for a day, it is cer-tainly not going to be enough to break thedrought.

Dave Hankammer, Millstadt, St. Clair County: I don’t havemuch of a report this week. I spentthe first part of the week at the coun-ty president’s meeting inBloomington and the CommodityConference in Normal. I spent therest of the week in South Bend, Ind..However, when I called home, I wastold it was hot with triple-digit temper-

atures. For those who are interested, they had0.75 of an inch of rain in South Bend. I would liketo remind everybody who is going to make a cropinsurance claim to contact their crop insuranceagent and the FSA office for the latest drought-relief updates and insurance procedures.

Rick Corners, Centralia, Jefferson County: Thursday – 2p.m. – beeeeep! The NationalWeather Service in St. Louis hadissued a severe thunderstormwatch for Jefferson County.Surely not. I must be hearingthings. By 4 p.m., thunder. Boy,here it comes. Not! Had twodrops! It all went south. By 6:30

p.m., it was still rumbling down there. This isjust not our year. Goodbye, beans, it’s beennice knowing ya.

Dean Shields, Murphysboro, Jackson County: We had anoth-er week of hot, dry weather withheat indexes around 105. Corn andbeans were suffering. Friday night,along came 1 to 1.5 inches rain.That was the first substantial rainwe had had in quite awhile. It mayperk the beans up and let themhang on a little longer. The corn sit-

uation is pretty bad. Hope we get more rain inthe coming weeks to help the beans out.

Doug Uphoff, Shelbyville, Shelby County: Rain? Hmmm.What does it look like? Rain onthe corn right now would doabout as much good as 10,000C130s dumping water over a for-est fire that’s already burned theforest. We are at black layer andyields are 0 to 70 at best. I hopeI’m wrong. Test weights will be

horrific along with quality. A crop south ofShelbyville will be next to nonexistent. Beans,I am told by an agronomist, need 2 inches ofrain. Then we need an inch every seven to 10days after with lower temps and higher humid-ity to have a remote chance of a below-aver-age crop. The beans have 8-10 pods per plantright now, and they have stopped flowering inthe 95-105 degree heat. I’ve been feeding haysince June 1 and am out of old hay. First cut-ting, 440 bales; second cutting, 354 bales;third cutting, 38 bales. Good news? There isalways next year. And, yes, I am a Cubs fan!

Dan Meinhart, Montrose, Jasper County: It was anothervery hot and dry week. No rain.Crops continue to deteriorate.Soybean plants are shrinking insize. If there is no rain in the nextweek or two, soybeans are prettywell finished. Some farmers arechecking into the possibility ofbaling the beans for hay due to

the shortage of hay. Crop adjusters are report-ing that in fields they have examined cornyields are averaging 1 to 2 bushels an acre.Silage choppers are running full blast. Somefarmers are planning to chop a two-year sup-ply of silage. Forecast is for temperatures inthe lower-90s with a slight chance of rain thisweek.

Page 7 Monday, July 30, 2012 FarmWeek

CROPWATCHERS

Reports received Friday morning. Expanded crop and weatherinformation available at FarmWeekNow.com

Hot, dry conditions raise aflatoxin concernsBY KEVIN BLACK

Aspergillus flavus ear rot and storage mold areprevalent primarily in hot, dry seasons such as theone we are facing now.  High kernel moisture andhigh air temperatures favor disease development inthe ear. 

Once the mold is established in the kernels, itcan continue growing on the grainin storage.  Aspergillus flavus is thepathogen that causes formation ofaflatoxin. 

The presence of Asperg i l lusmold does not guarantee that afla-toxin wil l be present, but smallamounts of Aspergillus mold arec a p a b l e o f p r o d u c i n g l a r g eamounts of aflatoxin under idealconditions.

Aspergillus flavus can grow on any part of thecorn ear but often is found on ear tips.  Insectdamage will foster Aspergillus mold growth, as willother sources of damage to the ear. 

Extensive earworm damage to corn ear tips maycontribute to mold growth when such damageoccurs. 

A shortage of nitrogen also will contribute toAspergillus mold growth.  The mold typically hasa gray-green or olive green color and powderytexture.  Aspergillus mold produces a substancethat will f luoresce, or glow, under black light.This i s par t icu lar ly not iceable on g round orcracked corn.  Elevators often use blackl ightscreening to detect the presence of Aspergillusmold, but this test does not detect the presenceof aflatoxin.

When Aspergillus mold or aflatoxin is found ina field, there are a few management steps thatshould be followed.  The combine should be set tol e ave l i g h t we i g h t o r d a m a g e d g r a i n i n t h efield.  Most of the af latoxin wil l occur in thisgrain. 

Grain should be harvested at a relatively highmoisture (25 percent), should be dried quickly to15 percent moisture, subsequently dried to 13 per-cent moisture if the grain is to be stored, andmaintained at this level. 

The mold does not reproduce well at moisture lev-els below 15 percent but may develop hot spots in

storage if grain is not further dried to 13 percent.  Where possible, affected grain should be sold or

fed to catt le, as long as act ion levels are notexceeded.  Infected grain should not be stored forlong periods of time. 

If stored, the grain should be mixed with a sti-ration device and/or sampled frequently to detecthot spots and mold growth.  Local elevators andgrain terminals sometimes are willing to help mar-ket infected grain by putting together bulk ship-ments destined for special handling and feeding tofinishing cattle.

Kevin Black is GROWMARK’s insect and plant dis-e a s e t e c h n i c a l m a n a g e r . H i s e m a i l a d d r e s s i skblack@growmark.com. Example of Aspergillus flavus ear rot. (Mike Scheer photo)

Kevin Black

David Butler, seated on bale, a dairy farmer from Arrowsmith in McLean County, discusses the impact of the drought onhis operation during an interview with a South Korean news agency. The drought has reduced feed supplies, increasedfeed prices, and reduced milk output on some dairy farms. It also could affect reproductive rates of livestock into nextyear. (Photo by Jim Fraley, Illinois Farm Bureau livestock program director)

risk maNagemeNt

FarmWeek Page 8 Monday, July 30, 2012

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Solid crop insurance strategy seen as ‘no-brainer’BY MARTIN ROSSFarmWeek

Illinois farmers are realiz-ing that crop insurance is, asUniversity of Illinois riskmanagement specialist BruceSherrick puts it, a “no-brain-er.”

But crop insurance strate-gy isn’t. Farmers who putforethought into risk protec-tion this season may face farfewer headaches heading into2013.

“The past couple ofyears, it (crop insurance)hasn’t been the most prof-itable thing to invest in,”said Greene County farmerChad Schutz, who insures100 percent of his acres.“But it’s part of doingbusiness. This is a yearwhere (having crop insur-ance) is really going to payoff.”

Given federal premiumsubsidies, crop RevenueProduct (RP) coverage thatcovers real productioncosts makes “a lot of sensein most cases,” Sherricksaid. But choosing the right

Service Agency units, whichseparates higher- and lower-yielding acres, likely wouldhave provided greater droughtprotection, Gehrke admits.“But there’s definitely anadvantage to having any cropinsurance this year,” he said.

House-Senate farm bill pro-posals would replace directpayments and other crop pro-grams with a new revenue safe-ty net — in the case of theHouse plan, a dual optionaimed at meeting respectiveMidwest and southern farmerconcerns. Sherrick stressed theneed for a program that workswith rather than “undermines”crop insurance.

“What we’ll discover is thatif we start out next March with

$7 (corn) prices, crop insur-ance is going to look reallyexpensive on a cash flow basis,because it’s going to be cover-ing really highly valued rev-enue,” he suggested.

“If we get to next springand we have $4 prices, cropinsurance is going to look kindof cheap on a cash flow basis,because we’re covering revenuethat’s not that highly valued.

“But in both of those cases,that’s fairly priced insurance,and we have a subsidy on top.You have to start with underly-ing crop insurance,” said Sher-rick.

type of revenue coverage iskey, as well.

For example, corn growersthis spring could have optedfor standard RP, which trig-gers losses based on the high-er of a $5.68-per-bushelspring price or a harvestprice, or RP with a harvestprice exclusion.

In addition, Illinois farm-ers were offered the Trend-Adjusted Actual ProductionHistory (APH) Yield Optionfor the first time this spring.That allowed eligible policy-holders to elect to have theirAPH yield adjusted based ontheir county’s historical yieldtrend.

“Clearly, regular RP wasthe best choice this season,and the highest (coverage)election you could have wasthe best choice,” Sherrick toldFarmWeek.

“On top of that, trendadjustment is an absolute no-brainer. There is virtually nocase where doing that was notthe right decision.”

Of course, policyholderscan’t anticipate all possible

scenarios. This spring, KaneCounty farmer Bob Gehrkepurchased a regular RP policyon an enterprise unit basis,which covers all corn/beanacres within a county. The2008 farm bill increased pre-mium subsidies for enterprisecoverage.

Higher-cost “optional”coverage of individual Farm

‘The past couple of years, it (crop insur-ance) hasn’t been the most profitablething to invest in. But it’s part of doingbusiness.’

— Chad SchutzGreene County

Doug Yoder, senior director of affiliate and risk management, discussedcrop insurance and several drought-related issues at this year’s Com-modities Conference in Normal. (Photo by Cyndi Cook)

FarmWeekNow.comView Doug Yoder’s commentson how crop insurance is help-i n g I l l i n o i s f a r m e r s a tFarmWeekNow.com.

Watershed groupto host field day

The Agricultural Watershed Institute (AWI) will provideinformation about cover crops, biomass, and related topicsThursday, Aug. 9, during a field day on the Farm ProgressShow site in Decatur. Registration and tours will start at 8:30a.m.

Attendees will hear about energy crop research in Illinois.Other presentations will include use of biomass for home andfarm heating and cover crop production.

Natural Resources Conservation Service and Farm ServiceAgency staff will discuss available programs for cover crops andother conservation practices.

The program will conclude with lunch and equipment displaysby local vendors.

For more information or to register, call AWI at 217-877-5640or email AWI’s Doug Gucker at dgucker@agwatershed.org.

trade

Page 9 Monday, July 30, 2012 FarmWeek

Auction CalendarSat., Aug. 4. 9 a.m. Putnam CoFFA Alumni Con. Auction.

GRANVILLE, IL. Bradleys’ andImmke Auction Service.

www.bradleyauctionsinc.comSat., Aug. 4. 9:30 a.m. EstateAuction. James (Jim) Schlipf

Estate and Lena Schlipf, EURE-KA, IL. Schmidgall AuctionServices, Inc. www.topauc-tions24-7.com/schmidgall or

www.auctionzip.com/schmidgallSat., Aug. 4. 9 a.m. Farm machin-ery and misc. Estate of DennisMerriman, VANDALIA, IL. HanoldAuctioneering. www.hanoldauc-

tioneering.comSat., Aug. 4. 10 a.m. Farm Eq.Auc. Bob and Jan Zarn, STOCK-TON, IL. Jim Calhoun, Auctioneer.

www.calhounauction.comSat., Aug. 4. 9 a.m. Semi-AnnualWashington Co. Farm MachineryAuction. NASHVILLE, IL. SchallerAuction Service. www.auc-

tionzip.comSat., Aug. 4. 10 a.m. Estate

Auction. Howard J. Gilles Estate,KICKAPOO, IL. Col. Gail Cowserand Col. John H. Bliss. www.bid-

dersandbuyers.com,www.cowserauction.com orwww.illinoisauctioneers.orgSat., Aug. 4. 10 a.m. Huge

Auction. John and Julie Gross,DAMIANSVILLE, IL. Mark Krausz

Auction Service.krauszauctions.com

Sat., Aug. 4. 12 p.m. Fulton Co.Land Auction. Ione Hamman Est.,LONDON MILLS, IL. LowdermanAuction & Real Estate. www.low-

derman.comMon., Aug. 6. 10 a.m. Johnson

Tractor Absolute Inventory Auction.JUDA, WI. Powers Auction ServiceCo. www.johnsontractor.comWed., Aug. 8. Online Only

Unreserved Auction. bigiron.comWed., Aug. 8. 6 p.m. Madison Co.Land Auction. Eckart FamilyMembers, COLLINSVILLE, IL.

Schrader Real Estate and AuctionCo., Inc. schraderauction.comThurs., Aug. 9. 10 a.m. 80 Acre

Farmland Auc. Walter “Skip” Shaw,GIBSON CITY, IL. Bill Kruse,

Auctioneer.Thurs., Aug. 9. 10 a.m. 2 80 Ac.Tracts of Farmland. Clarence CoxEstate, GIBSON CITY, IL. Bill

Kruse Auctioneer.Thurs., Aug. 9. 10 a.m. Farmmachinery. Lee and CherylYounker and Danny and Peg

Geiss, PEOTONE, IL. Richard A.Olson and Assoc.richardaolson.com

Thurs., Aug. 9. 7 p.m. ChristianCo. Farmland Auc. Jeff and HelenRhoades Estate, ASSUMPTION,IL. Wm. Beck Auction & Realty.

Schroeder/Huber LLC.wmbbeck@ctiwireless.com orwww.schroederhuber.com

Thurs., Aug. 9. 2 p.m. MoultrieCo. Land Auction. CHAMPAIGN,IL. Schrader Real Estate and

Auction Co., Inc.schraderauction.com

CANCELLED ~ Thurs., Aug. 9.Summer Farm Closeout and

Consignment Auc. Agri-Tech Inc.Fri., Aug. 10. 9 a.m. Henry Co.Land Auction. ANNAWAN, IL.

Schrader Real Estate and AuctionCo., Inc. schraderauction.comSat., Aug. 11. 10 a.m. RealEstate, Approx. 84 Ac., House,Barn, etc. Lindell and LindaWalker, ANNA, IL. Joe Ollis

Auction Service. www.ollisauc-tion.com

Sat., Aug. 11. 9:30 a.m. Farmmachinery. Anderson Bros.,

SOMONAUK, IL. Chris Wegener,Mike Espe and Joe Wegener,Auctioneers. www.go2wegener-

auctions.comMon., Aug. 13. 10 a.m. DouglasCo. Land Auction. Murray Wise

Associates, LLC. murraywiseasso-ciates.com

Wed., Aug. 15. 10 a.m.Winnebago Co. Land Auc. TheVern A. Davis Trust Farm, ROCK-TON, IL. www.mgw.us.com

Thurs., Aug. 16. 10 a.m. EstateSale. Terry Johnson Estate, GIB-

SON CITY, IL. Bill Kruse,Auctioneer. billkruse.net

Caterpillar CEO sees growth markets outside U.S.BY DANIEL GRANTFarmWeek

Peoria-based Caterpillar isin strong financial shape.

The company last weekannounced a second-quarterprofit per share of $2.54, anall-time quarterly record anda 67 percent increase overprofits in the second quarterof last year.

“Our global footprint, thebreadth of industries weserve, and our extensive lineof products and serviceshave helped us achieve theserecord-breaking results dur-ing this time of heightenedeconomic uncertainty,” saidDoug Oberhelman, chair-man and CEO of Caterpil-lar.

A key reason for Caterpil-lar’s success is its presencein foreign markets. Oberhel-man last week at a meetingwith County Farm Bureaupresidents at the IllinoisFarm Bureau Building inBloomington, said Caterpil-lar exports 80 to 90 percentof the mining trucks andbulldozers produced at its

town Peoria. Caterpillar cur-rently is headquartered in a45-year-old downtown build-ing.

“We spent a lot of timeon this (and decided) that wehave such deep roots in thePeoria area that, rather thanstart the bargaining sweep-stakes, we will keep ourheadquarters in Illinois,”Oberhelman said.

Caterpillar wasapproached by leaders of atleast five states about mov-ing the location of its head-quarters.

The company has its

proving grounds, salesdemonstration area, foundry,and bulldozer plant in thePeoria area.

Caterpillar’s sales and rev-enues for 2012 last weekwere projected to rangebetween $68 billion and $70billion.

“I am cautiously opti-mistic about the world econ-omy in 2013, very positiveon the long-term prospectsfor global growth, and excit-ed about the role Caterpillarwill play in making thatgrowth happen,” Oberhel-man added.

Decatur and East Peoriaplants.

“Exports are a huge pieceof our business,” said Ober-helman, an IFB member,who noted Caterpillarexports last year totaledabout $20 billion.

Why is Caterpillarfocused on growing its busi-ness in other markets? About95 percent of consumers liveoutside the U.S., Oberhel-man said.

He believes maintainingand increasing market access,improving infrastructure,and tax reform are among

the keys for U.S. companiesto remain competitive in theglobal marketplace.

“I see China, India, andBrazil investing billions ininfrastructure, which willmake these countries morecompetitive,” Oberhelmansaid.

Caterpillar will remainheadquartered in Peoriadespite previous concernsvoiced by company leadersabout Illinois’ unattractivebusiness climate.

The company announcedearlier this month it will con-struct a new office in down-

Grants helping 41 farmers’ markets make electronic salesShoppers will be able to charge pur-

chases of fruits, vegetables, and otherproducts at an additional 41 farmers’markets in 22 counties across the state,Lt. Gov. Sheila Simon announced lastweek.

USDA grants of $1,200 each will beused for a wireless machine that willaccept credit cards, debit cards, andLINK cards for federal food assistance.

Currently, 49 out of 300 farmers’markets use the wireless machines.

The 41 selected farmers’ marketsrange from large operations with nearly100 vendors to small ones with fewerthan five farmers.

The markets must obtain certifica-tion to accept federal food assistancebenefits through the USDA Food andNutrition service and sign a contractwith the Illinois Department of Agri-culture (IDOA).

“We expect sales of local foodsacross Illinois, from urban gardens in

Chicago to farms in Alexander County,to increase because of this program,”Simon said.

The grant program is administeredby IDOA and the Illinois Departmentof Human Services with support fromthe lieutenant governor’s staff.

Additional funds remain and grantapplications will be accepted on a first-come, first-served basis. For moreinformation, call 217-524-9129 or goonline to {www.agr.state.il.us}.

MARKETS

FarmWeek Page 10 Monday, July 30, 2012

New logo, campaign promotes Illinois ag productsBY KAY SHIPMANFarmWeek

Spotting Illinois agricul-ture products just got easier.

The Illinois Departmentof Agriculture (IDOA) haslaunched a new logo andcampaign to raise awarenessand increase sales of Illinoisag products.

“The idea is to give con-sumers an easier way to findIllinois products,” JenniferTirey, head of IDOA’s mar-keting and promotionsbureau, told FarmWeek.

Tirey envisions the logoappearing in grocery storesand restaurants, farm standsand wineries, and on allsorts of packages containingag or agribusiness productsproduced, processed, pack-aged, or distributed in thestate.

The logo also may beused by companies with

headquarters in Illinois.Farmers and others inter-

ested in using the logo mustsubmit an application toIDOA and pay a one-timefee of $20 to download ahigh-resolution version ofthe logo, Tirey explained.

IDOA is screening appli-cants to ensure the logo isused only on Illinois prod-ucts.

IDOA also is selling

stickers, banners, shelfsigns, and T-shirts with thenew logo.

Along with the new logo,IDOA launched a new cam-paign encouraging con-sumers to spend $10 of theirweekly grocery budget onIllinois products.

The goal is for consumersto apply the $10 they wouldspend anyway specifically topurchase Illinois goods,

Tirey said.Special promotions of the

campaign and the logo willtake place during the IllinoisState Fair. FFA chapters acrossthe state also are promotingthe logo’s use in their commu-nities.

IDOA is encouraging agentities and consumers to sub-mit digital photos and/or com-ments on creative uses andpromotions with the new logoto {www.agr.state.il.us/market-

ing/ilprodlogo}.Since the launch, IDOA has

received about 50 applicationsto use the logo and positivecomments about the logo andcampaign, according to Tirey.Applications are beingapproved within a day or two,she added.

For more information, goonline to {www.illinoispro-ductlogo.com} or call IDOA at217-782-2172 and ask for Illi-nois product logo information.

USMEF: U.S. still low-costproducer of ag productsBY DANIEL GRANTFarmWeek

A recent run-up in cropprices has tightened marginsfor livestock producers.

But it shouldn’t affectdemand for U.S. ag productsaround the world, according toDan Halstrom, senior vicepresident of marketing andcommunications for the U.S.Meat Export Federation(USMEF).

In fact, he believes the out-look for U.S. meat exports isquite positive.

“Everybody is strugglingwith the drought,” Halstromtold FarmWeek at the IllinoisFarm Bureau CommoditiesConference in Normal. “Butthe thing to remember is we’restill the low-cost producerglobally.

“If the price (of corn) is $8to $9 a bushel here, it’s goingto be $10 to $11 in a place likeChina,” he continued. “We’restill very competitive globally.”

Last year is a prime exampleof the U.S. meat industry’s abil-ity to compete worldwide.Domestic hog and cattle pricesreached record highs in 2011yet U.S. exports still reached arecord $6.1 billion for pork and$5.4 billion for beef.

The export market last yearadded a record-high $209 tothe value of each beef cow and

$58 to the value of each hog inthe U.S.

“Significant dollars for everyanimal slaughtered (in the U.S.)can be attributed to the exportmarket,” Halstrom said. “Andthe growth prospects lookpretty good going forward.”

New markets are emergingfor U.S. pork and beef in Cen-tral and South America due toeconomic growth.

Elsewhere, Halstrom antici-pates Japan by the end of thisyear or early in 2013 willchange its import restriction onU.S. beef from cattle 20months or younger to 30months of age.

The current age restrictionallows just 25 percent of U.S.beef to be sold in Japan.Expansion of the age restric-tion to 30 months would quali-fy 95 percent of U.S. beef forsale to Japan.

“We could see it by the endof this year,” Halstrom said.“Japan is the No. 1 marginmarket for packers.”

He noted Russia also is abeef-deficit market, whichoffers growth potential for U.S.meat exporters.

Overall, the U.S. last yearexported about 28 percent ofthe pork produced here, 14percent of the beef, 45 percentof the soybeans, and 14 per-cent of the corn.

TALKING PEPPERS

Jerry Jimenez, left, who operates the specialty crop farm Rancho Bel-la Vista at Cobden in Union County, chats about his pepper crop andhow the drought is affecting it with Karis Gutter, USDA under secre-tary for farm and foreign agricultural services. Gutter also visited abeef farm in Johnson County and a cornfield in Pulaski County. (Pho-to by Tammie Obermark, Pulaski-Alexander Farm Bureau manager)

FB IN ACTION

Page 11 Monday, July 30, 2012 FarmWeek

Tuesday: • David Miller, president and CEOof iBio • Jon Davis, ChesapeakeMeteorology• Dennis Bolling, president andCEO, United Producers• Claire Benjamin, Illinois FarmBureau ambassador

Wednesday• Joe Kath, Illinois EndangeredSpecies manager• Troy Uphoff, farmer and IFBboard member• Jim Fraley, IFB livestock programdirector

Thursday• Illinois Corn Growers represen-tative• Bonnie McDonald, president ofLandmarks Illinois

Friday:• Adam Nielsen, IFB director ofnational legislation• Ryan Whitehouse, governmentaland public affairs director forMcLean County Farm Bureau• Sara Wyant, AgriPulse publisher• Mike Doherty, IFB senior econo-mist• Alan Jarand, RFD radio director

State Sen. Kwame Raoul (D-Chicago), right, chats with Jefferson County Farm Bureau leaders during their re-cent tour of his Chicago legislative district. Left to right are John Howard; Carmella and John Kiefer, countyFarm Bureau president; Illinois Farm Bureau Director J.C. Pool of Hamilton County; and Adrienne Irmer andRicardo Louis, two of Raoul’s staff. (Photo by Christina Nourie)

Jefferson, Hamilton FB leaders visit ‘adopted’ legislators in ChicagoBY CHRISTINA NOURIE

To strengthen the relation-ship with their “adopted” leg-islators, eight members fromthe Jefferson and HamiltonCounty Farm Bureaus recentlytook a train to visit those legis-lators in Chicago.

They toured the legislativedistrict of state Sen. KwameRaoul (D-Chicago) and stateRep. Kimberly du Buclet (D-Chicago).

Raoul has been an adoptedlegislator since 2005 while duBuclet is one of the newestadopted legislators. The legis-lators planned a visit thatfocused on Chicago neighbor-hoods of Hyde Park and SouthShore.

Farm Bureau members, thelegislators, and staff membersdiscussed several legislativeissues pertaining to bothChicago and Southern Illinoisduring the visit.

The legislators were inter-ested in understanding theimpact of severe drought con-ditions in Southern Illinois andhow the drought also impactstheir urban communitiesthrough higher food prices anda limited supply of fresh pro-duce.

The group had a privatetour of the DuSable Museumof African-American History,a museum featuring manyexhibits which promote theachievements, contributions,and experiences of African-Americans.

The tour also included theSouth Shore International Col-lege Preparatory School, a newselective-enrollment highschool that offers curriculumfocused on awareness of for-eign cultures taught throughlanguage, studies, and interac-tive field experiences.

Currently, the school doesnot have an ag or horticultureprogram, but there is interestin establishing one and work-ing with Farm Bureau toadvise school officials in thateffort.

The final stop was theSouth Shore Cultural Center, ahistoric and cultural facilitybuilt in 1916 and recognized asa Chicago landmark in 2004.

Formerly the South ShoreCountry Club, the facilitystands on 64 acres along LakeMichigan and features a solari-um, formal dining hall, PaulRobeson Theater, WashburneCulinary Institute, and the Par-rot Cage Restaurant, where theFarm Bureau leaders dinedwith their Chicago hosts.

The farmers invited bothlegislators, their families, andstaff for fall harvest visits toJefferson and Hamilton coun-ties. Farm tours will give theChicago folks first-handknowledge of how the droughthas affected this year’s crop.Both said they look forward totraveling to Southern Illinois.

Christina Nourie is the IllinoisFarm Bureau northeast legislativecoordinator. Her email address iscnourie@ilfb.org.

Precision organic ag WIU field day focus

Precision in organic agricul-ture will be the focus of theAug. 11 field day at the West-ern Illinois University’s (WIU)Allison Farm. The registrationdeadline is Aug. 8 for individu-als planning to eat lunch.

Field day activities will befrom 9 a.m. to 3 p.m. at theDakin Farm shop and the Alli-son Organic Farm, nearRoseville, according to JoelGruver, director of WIU’sorganic research program andan assistant professor.

Registration will start at 9a.m. in the farm shop, followedby an overview of recentresearch on the Allison Farmand presentations on geo-graphic positioning systems(GPS) and precision cultiva-tion. An expert panel oforganic grain farmers will dis-cuss GPS guidance and otherprecision technologies.

A free meal of local farmproducts will be provided. Theevent is free, but registration isrequired for those planning toeat lunch.

At about 2 p.m., the pro-gram will move to the farm forwalking tours of research andproduction fields. An equip-ment demonstration also isscheduled, weather permitting.

To register or to get direc-tions, contact Andy Clayton at309-298-1172 or 217-322-2639or the WIU School of Agricul-ture at 309-298-1080.

FB IN ACTION

FarmWeek Page 12 Monday, July 30, 2012

DUCKY TIME AT THE FAIR

Addison and Gianna Tarr, left to right, spend some time with aduckling being held by Taylorville FFA member Katie O’Brien dur-ing the recent Christian County Fair. Approximately 500 youthtoured the interactive farm sponsored by the Christian County FarmBureau and the Taylorville FFA. The youth had an opportunity to do“chores” at the interactive farm that included picking apples, gath-ering eggs, milking a cow, and digging potatoes. (Photo by MellisaHerwig, Christian County Farm Bureau manager)

SCRAMBLING TO RAISE FUNDS

Matt Hefley of Fairfield tees off as teammates, from left, Mike Molt,Blaith Belangee, and Michael Molt spot his ball during the FourthAnnual Young Leader Golf Scramble held recently in Fairfield.Fourteen teams participated in this year’s event, which had 32sponsors. The the team of Darrell Arview, Joe Mitchell, SteveDawkins, and Kent Nale won first with a score of 57. The teamwon four tickets to a Cardinals game donated by Roark Trucking ofCarmi. Funds raised from this year’s golf scramble will supportYoung Leader programming (including the annual collegiate schol-arship), the Progressive Agriculture Safety Day program, and par-ticipation in Illinois Farm Bureau Young Leader programs. A total of$2,800 was raised by the event. (Photo courtesy of Wayne CountyFarm Bureau)

FAIR VISIT FOR ESSAY WINNERS

LaSalle County 4-H’er Rachel Duffield holds a chicken for students from Aurora to pet as theyoungsters visited the recent LaSalle County Fair while teacher Alicia Gorski, left, looks on. Thirtyfourth grade students from two Aurora schools made the trip to LaSalle County as a reward for astudent from each school winning an essay contest sponsored by the county Farm Bureau and itsadopted legislator, state Rep. Linda Chapa-LaVia (D-Aurora). This was the third year for the essaycontest. The students also toured an equipment dealer and encountered Illinois Farm Bureau Presi-dent Philip Nelson and his son, Kendall, at the fair. (Photo by Jeff Hartman, LaSalle County FarmBureau manager)

FarmWeek

ADVERTISING DEADLINESREADER SUBMITTED CLASSIFIED ADS (LINE ADS)

Wednesday at 10 a.m.COMMERCIAL DISPLAY ADS (BORDERED ADS)

(Including but not limited to: livestock, auctions, equipment)

Monday at 4:30 p.m.N-04W

from the counties

Page 13 Monday, July 30, 2012 FarmWeek

BROWN — FarmBureau and Country

Financial will sponsor a cus-tomer appreciation openhouse from 4 to 7 p.m.Thursday, Aug. 9, at theAmerican Legion Hall, Mt.Sterling. Dinner will beserved. Call the Farm Bureauoffice at 217-773-2634 or theCountry Financial office at217-773-3591 for more infor-mation.

CHAMPAIGN — TheAg Leaders of Yester-

day, Today, and TomorrowCommittee will sponsor a bustrip Wednesday, Aug. 8, to theChicago Board of Trade. Thebus will leave the FarmBureau parking lot at 9 a.m.Cost is $40, which includesbus and a visit with a trader.Lunch will be on your own.Call the Farm Bureau officeat 352-5235 for reservationsor more information.

CHRISTIAN — An FSfield day will begin at

8 a.m. Tuesday at the FarmBureau office. Following thetour, the group will return tothe Farm Bureau office toanalyze data. Lunch will beserved. Call the Farm Bureauoffice at 824-2940 for reser-vations or more information.

• A crop disaster meetingwill be at 6 p.m. Thursday atthe Farm Bureau office.Doug Yoder, Illinois FarmBureau senior director ofaffiliate and risk manage-ment, will be the speaker.Call the Farm Bureau officeat 824-2940 by Tuesday forreservations or more infor-mation.

CLARK — The annualFarm Bureau picnic

will be at 5:30 p.m. Friday,Aug. 10, at Mill Creek Park.Call the Farm Bureau officeat 217-382-4144 by Wednes-day, Aug. 8, for reservationsor more information.

CRAWFORD — FarmBureau will sponsor a

trucking regulation update at9 a.m. Thursday at theOblong Community Center.Kevin Rund, Illinois FarmBureau senior director oflocal government, will be thespeaker. Call the FarmBureau office at 618-544-3792 for reservations ormore information.

EFFINGHAM —Farm Bureau will

sponsor an oil and gas leasingmeeting at 1 p.m. Tuesday atthe Farm Bureau office. Lau-ra Harmon, Illinois FarmBureau assistant generalcounsel, will be the speaker.Call the Farm Bureau officeat 217-342-2103 for reserva-tions or more information.

• Farm Bureau will spon-sor “On the Road” seminarsat 7 p.m. Tuesday and 9 a.m.Wednesday at the FarmBureau office. Trucking reg-

ulations will be discussed.Call the Farm Bureau officeat 217-342-2103 for reserva-tions or more information.

• The Young Farmers andPartners for Farm Safety 4Just Kids will sponsor a Pro-gressive Agriculture SafetyDay from noon to 2 p.m. Fri-day at the Effingham CountyFairgrounds. Hands-ondemonstrations at six stationswill highlight hidden hazardsof the farm and rural sur-roundings. Registration isavailable on site, but aparental signature is required.Call the Farm Bureau officeat 217-342-2103 for moreinformation.

• The Partners for Ag Lit-eracy will help sponsor ag lit-eracy programs at 11 a.m.Monday through Wednesday,Aug. 6-8, at the EffinghamCounty Fair, Altamont. Eachday will feature differentactivities designed to helpparticipants understand agri-culture and how it affectstheir daily lives. The boothwill be located in front of the4-H livestock show building.

• The Young FarmersCommittee will sponsor apedal tractor pull at 3:30 p.m.Friday, Aug. 10, at the CountyFairgrounds. Altamont. Chil-dren 4 to 12 years of ageneed to bring $1 to be donat-ed to local food pantries.South Central FS will spon-sor trophies for three age cat-egories. Each participant willreceive a coupon for a freeice cream cone at the 4-HDairy Bar. Call the FarmBureau office at 217-342-2103 to register, and registra-tion is available on site.

FULTON — The Mar-keting Committee and

the Canton Ingersoll Airportwill sponsor their annualcrop flyover beginning at 8a.m. Thursday. Cost is $45for members and $60 fornon-members. Participantswill go up in groups of three.Payment and reservations aredue by 4 p.m. Tuesday. Par-ticipants may request morn-ing or afternoon flights. Callthe Farm Bureau office at547-3011 for more informa-tion.

KANKAKEE — FarmBureau will have a

booth Wednesday throughSunday during the countyfair. Information, publicopinion surveys, and educa-tional activities for childrenwill be available. The ag pro-fessionals breakfast will be at7 a.m. Thursday with JerryCarroll, agricultural comedi-an, providing the entertain-ment. Cost is $10. Registerfor the breakfast by callingthe fair office at 815-932-6714. The Young LeaderCommittee will sponsor itsannual Ag Olympics for

county 4-H clubs at 3 p.m.Sunday in the cattle show are-na.

LASALLE — TheClean Line Energy

meeting scheduled for 6 p.m.Wednesday has been can-celed.

• Farm Bureau will spon-sor an “On the Road” semi-nar at 7 p.m. Monday, Aug.13, at the Farm Bureauoffice. Motor vehicle lawswill be discussed. Call theFarm Bureau office at 815-433-0371 for reservations ormore information.

• The Prime Timers Com-mittee will sponsor a defen-sive driving course from 8a.m. to 12:30 p.m. Wednes-day, Aug. 22, at the FarmBureau office. Cost is $20for members over the age of55. Non-member cost is $25.Call the Farm Bureau officefor more information.

LEE — Bureau and LeeCounty Farm Bureaus

will sponsor a boat ride Fri-day, Aug. 17, on the LaSalleCanal and a tour of theHegeler Carus Mansion.Cost is $34 and includeslunch. Call the Farm Bureauoffice at 825-857-3531.

• The District 4 meetingwill be at 6 p.m. Monday,Aug. 20, at the Mendota CivicCenter. Dinner will beserved. Kurt Bock, CountryFinancial chief executiveofficer, and Kevin Semlow,Illinois Farm Bureau directorof state legislation, will bethe speakers. Call the FarmBureau office by Wednesday,Aug. 15, for reservations.

• The Young Leader Com-mittee will sponsor a Harvestfor All food drive throughAug. 31. Donations of non-perishable food items or cashdonations may be taken tothe Farm Bureau office. Allitems will be donated to LeeCounty food pantries.

• The Public RelationsCommittee will sponsor a LeeCounty Field Moms programfor non-farm moms to learnabout agriculture throughfarm tours and conversationswith farmers. Those who areinterested may return anapplication to the FarmBureau office by Wednesday.Applications are available onthe website{www.leecfb.org}.

LIVINGSTON —Farm Bureau will cele-

brate its 100th anniversaryfrom 4 to 7 p.m. Saturday,Aug. 25, at the 4-H Park,Pontiac. Those who have anantique tractor to displayshould contact the FarmBureau office at 815-842-1103 or email tvlcfb@fron-tier.com. Provide your name,address, phone number, andtractor model.

• Dinner will be served at

the 100th anniversary cele-bration from 4 to 7 p.m.Evergreen FS will sponsor apedal tractor pull at 5 p.m.Former Livingston CountyFarm Bureau presidents willshare highlights of their serv-ice, and the first LivingstonCounty Farm Bureau Distin-guished Service Award win-ner will be announced at 6p.m. Door prizes will be giv-en. Call the Farm Bureauoffice at 815-842-1103, emaillivcfb@frontier.com, orreturn the postcard receivedin the mail by Friday, Aug. 10,for reservations.

MONROE — Mem-bers and their fami-

lies are invited to the Meetthe Candidates meeting andice cream social at 7 p.m.Thursday at the MonroeCounty Fairgrounds. Prizeswill be awarded.

• Farm Bureau will spon-sor a family farm tax changesand planning meeting at 7:30a.m. Thursday, Aug. 9, at theMonroe County Annex.Breakfast will be served. Callthe Farm Bureau office at939-6197 by Thursday forreservations or more infor-mation.

• The Mon-Clair CornGrowers test plot will be at 6p.m. Wednesday, Aug. 8, atGreg Guenther’s farm,Belleville. Dinner andupdates will be at the St. ClairCounty Farm Bureau office.Call the Farm Bureau officeat 939-6197 or the St. ClairCounty Farm Bureau office at233-6800 by Thursday forreservations or more infor-mation.

MONTGOMERY —The Young Leaders

hybrid and variety plot tourwill be from 6 to 8 p.m.Thursday at Carl Marten’sfarm, Raymond. Door prizeswill be given and a light din-ner served. Call the FarmBureau office for more infor-mation.

PEORIA — Orders forCalhoun County

peaches are due Wednesday.Peaches are available in 25-pound boxes. Delivery willbe Thursday at the FarmBureau auditorium. Orderforms are available at thewebsite {www.peoriacounty-farmbureau.org} or in theJuly Farmer newsletter.

• The Peoria County 4-HFair will be Wednesdaythrough Friday at ExpositionGardens, Peoria. The YoungLeaders will sponsor a tractordrive contest from 4 to 6 p.m.Thursday. Other events onThursday are the buyer’s mealat 5 p.m. and the 4-H live-stock auction at 7 p.m.

RICHLAND — FarmBureau will sponsor a

blood drive from 12:30 to5:30 p.m. Monday, Aug. 6, at

the Community Building,Olney. The names of donorswill be entered into a drawingfor four Holiday World tick-ets. Call the Farm Bureauoffice for more information.

• The Young LeadersCommittee will sponsor atrap shoot at 11 a.m. Satur-day, Aug. 18, at the CountryLine Gun Club, Noble. Pre-registration fee is $25 perperson or $100 for a team offive. Tickets for the raffle ofa Remington 870 shotgun,which is sponsored by Slu-naker Gun Shack, are $5each. Call the Farm Bureauoffice at 618-393-4116 or aYoung Leader Committeemember for tickets or reser-vations.

ST. CLAIR — TheMon-Clair Corn Grow-

ers test plot tour will be at 6p.m. Wednesday, Aug. 8, atGreg Guenther’s farm,Belleville. Dinner andupdates will be at the FarmBureau office. Call the FarmBureau office at 233-6800 byThursday for reservations ormore information.

VERMILION — FarmBureau will sponsor an

“On the Road” truck infor-mation meeting at 9 a.m.Tuesday at the Farm Bureauoffice. Kevin Rund, IllinoisFarm Bureau senior directorof local government, willprovide an update on truck-ing issues. Call the FarmBureau office for more infor-mation.

WABASH — FarmBureau will sponsor

its annual yield survey at11:30 a.m. Friday at the FarmBureau office. Lunch will beserved. Call the FarmBureau office for more infor-mation.

• The annual Young Farm-ers’ tractor and truck pull willbe at 4 p.m. Sunday, Aug. 12,at the Wabash County Fair-grounds. Call the FarmBureau office at 618-262-5865 for more information.

• Visit the Young Farmers’stand from 11 a.m. to 9 p.m.Aug. 8-11 during Ag Days.Pork burgers will be servedeach day. Pork tenderloinswill be served on Wednesdayand Thursday, Aug. 8-9; andsmoked pork chops on Fridayand Saturday, Aug. 10-11.

WAYNE — The mem-ber appreciation din-

ner will be from 5 to 7 p.m.Friday, Aug. 10, at the CPChurch, Fairfield. Tickets are$2. Children 12 and undereat free. Tickets are availableat the Farm Bureau office.

“From the counties” items aresubmitted by county Farm Bureaumanagers. If you have an eventor activity open to all members,contact your county Farm Bureaumanager.

proFitability

FarmWeek Page 14 Monday, July 30, 2012

Export inspections(Million bushels)

Week ending Soybeans Wheat Corn07-19-12 15.8 11.6 19.607-12-12 14.9 15.2 22.2Last year 6.4 23.7 38.8Season total 1266.6 127.8 1386.8Previous season total 1441.6 167.9 1595.7USDA projected total 1315 1025 1700Crop marketing year began June 1 for wheat and Sept. 1 for corn and soybeans.

Feeder pig prices reported to USDA*Weight Range Per Head Weighted Ave. Price10 lbs. $12.88-$46.50 $37.0340 lbs. n/a n/a

Receipts This Week Last Week 95,967 107,724*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 $85.71 $86.56 -0.85Live $63.43 $64.05 -0.63

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

Steers 114.00 112.09 1.91 Heifers 114.00 112.00 2.00

USDA five-state area slaughter cattle price

This is a composite price of feeder cattle transactions in 27 states.(Prices $ per hundredweight)

This week Prev. week Change 134.18 137.39 -3.21

CME feeder cattle index — 600-800 Lbs.

Lamb prices

(Thursday’s price)

n/a

Fuel supply shortage rattles suppliers, distributorsBY CHARLIE LABELLE

A tight fuel supply situa-tion has suppliers and distrib-utors across the Midwest rat-tled this summer. The circleon the map around the Chica-

go area showswhere it allbegan in May2012.With thePlains States’wheat harvestahead ofschedule, twovery largeChicago

refineries had productionissues. Another refinery inRobinson, Ill., also went downunexpectedly. Basis values(price relationship to theNYMEX futures market) inChicago shot up like thespaceship Endeavour. Supply points in Illinoisbegan to run out, so distribu-tors had to find alternatesupply. Those alternatives ledthem hundreds of miles intoIowa, Missouri, and Wiscon-sin, putting strain on thegasoline and diesel fuelstocks in the Magellan sys-tem (a fuel management plat-form).

This, in turn, has causedreduced supply in the Nu -Star system that runs fromOklahoma, up throughKansas, Nebraska, SouthDakota, and into NorthDakota. The Magellan and

NuStar systems are referredto as “shallow troughs,” asthey hold a lot of inventory,but fill up quickly, and,unfortunately, can be drawndown just as quickly. In May and June, ReidVapor Pressure (rvp) is atits best for the year. TheEnvironmental ProtectionAgency requires summergasoline to be down to ninepounds of pressure for peakautomobile operability andless smog in the atmos-phere.

Some metro areas, (KansasCity and Atlanta, for example)are required to use below sev-en pounds rvp. This grade offuel needs more refining toproduce, and is usually tight inthe summer.

Nine-pound fuel also takesextra processing and also canbecome scarce. The rvp gradu-ally returns to 11.5 pounds inlate September, 13 in October,and then to the winter require-ment of 15 by December. The “forward curve” on thefutures market also reducesgasoline supply. The spreadbetween the front month onthe NYMEX vs. the futuremonths (the curve) has beenhigh, as much as a minus-40-cent spread going out toDecember.

With this in place, refinershave no incentive to produce alot of gasoline and hold itover to the next month, just

to lose a lot of money in theprocess. The next piece of the sup-ply puzzle is global pricing forfuels. Currently, diesel pricesare higher in other parts ofthe world, so distillate exportscontinue to strain supply herein the U.S. terminal outagescontinue to be a problem, sokeep your diesel storage tanksas full as possible. Contact your local FS ener-gy specialist for more infor-mation.

Charlie LaBelle is GROW-MARK’s senior energy analyst.His email address isclabelle@growmark.com.

Charlie LaBelle

Farmers may treat low-quality forage to improve nutritional value for feed

With drought-stressed pas-tures and hay shortages, cattle-men with limited forage suppliesmay be forced to use cropresidue, such as wheat straw orcornstalks, or other low-qualityforages as feed, according to PaulWalker, animal science professor at Illinois StateUniversity.

Walker offered several recommendations forfeeding low-quality forages.

“Low-quality forages’ major limitations aretheir deficiencies in crude protein and digestibleenergy,” Walker said.

Research done in the 1980sshowed treating low-quality for-age with anhydrous ammonia willraise crude protein content by 6to 8 percentage points, increasedigestibility by 5 to 7 percentagepoints, and increase intake by 20percent.

By treating the forage withammonia, it no longer will bedeficient in crude protein, andthe animals will be able to con-sume additional energy because of improveddigestibility, Walker noted.

He emphasized the value of the treated for-age must offset the costs of the treatmentprocess and the treated forage must be theleast-cost method to meet the animals’ nutri-tional needs.

“It is very important for producers consider-ing ammoniation to carefully consider the eco-nomics of the process,” Walker stressed.

The three costs associated with ammonia

treatment of low-quality forageare: harvest or purchase of theforage, cost of the ammoniatreatment, and cost of an enclo-sure.

Ammonia must be appliedwithin a sealed enclosure to pre-

vent vaporization into the atmosphere, Walkernoted.

Also treated forages cannot be exposed toprecipitation. Plastic sheeting, bale tubes, or aplastic greenhouse or shed must be used fortreatment and storage.

Walker estimated the costs will range from

$16 to $24 a ton, excluding the cost of addition-al labor or machinery needed to move the for-age into and out of the treatment and storagesites.

Walker advised applying anhydrous ammoniaat a rate equal to 3 percent of forage dry matteror 60 pounds per dry ton of forage. If anhy-drous costs about $830 per ton or 41.5 centsper pound, it would add $24.90 to every ton offorage or about $12.45 to each 1,000-poundround bale of straw.

FarmWeekNow.com

Learn more about treating for-age products with ammonia atFarmWeekNow.com.

‘Low-quality forages’ major limitationsare their deficiencies in crude proteinand digestible energy.’

— Paul WalkerIllinois State University animal scientist

PROFITABILITY

AgriVisor Hotline Number

309-557-2274

AgriVisor endorsescrop insurance by

Policies issued by COUNTRYMutual Insurance Company®,

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

CASH STRATEGISTCorn Strategy

ü2011 crop: Sell remainingold-crop bushels.

ü2012 crop: The struggleprices are having suggests itmay be difficult to sustain gains,even if they reach new highs.Do comprehensive yield checksto access your productionpotential. Get to 70 percentpriced on a conservative assess-ment of the bushels you’ll haveto sell, but don’t exceed yourinsurance guarantee.

ü2013 crop: Leave ordersto get sales up to 20 percent ifDecember 2013 futures tradeabove $6.50.

vFundamentals: Weathercontinues to stress the crops,dragging potential lower. Thetrade seemed to be trading ahigh-130 national yield to startlast week. By week’s end,traders may have been work-ing with a low-130 level.That’s getting close to a levelcomparable with 1988 yields.Demand is becoming asimportant as supply, and evi-dence is starting to surfacethat high prices are havingnegative repercussions.

ûFail-safe: If Decemberfutures close below $7.45,make sure sales are at recom-mended levels.

Soybean Strategyü2011 crop: Wrap up old-

crop sales. ü2012 crop: Determining

yield for soybeans is a moredifficult call than it is for corn.But if you are comfortablewith yield potential, get salesto 70 percent of a conserva-tive output.

ü2013 crop: Add another10 percent sale if Novembersoybeans reach $12.90 again.

vFundamentals: Thelarge long position held by thebig speculative funds helpeddrive prices sharply lower thispast week. Those same fundscontinue to leave the complexvulnerable to hard breaks,while the volatility and risklikely will diminish buyinginterest from them. Chinacontinues to be a steady buyer,but high prices are discourag-ing others from willingly push-ing coverage forward. Thereare scattered signs the highprices are cutting into thedemand base, in the protein

sector in particular.ûFail-safe: If November

futures close below $15.61,make sure sales are at recom-mended levels.

Wheat Strategyü2012 crop: History has

demonstrated the wheat mar-ket isn’t able to hold above$9.50 for a sustained period.Sales were boosted 20 percentwhen Chicago Septemberclosed below the $8.90 fail-safe. If you failed to pull thetrigger, use rallies above $9 onChicago September to getcaught up.

ü2013 crop: An initial 15percent new-crop sale shouldhave been made when our

fail-safe was triggered. Makecatch up sales with ChicagoJuly futures trading above$8.20.

vFundamentals: Wheatcontinues to be influenced bythe corn market, but has somefundamental support. Thetrade remains concerned aboutgrowing conditions in theBlack Sea region, with ongoingdry weather reducing output.Domestically, though, the sup-ply picture is a little better withthe North Dakota wheat tourestimating a better-than-expected 45.5-bushel yield.

ûFail-safe: If Chicago Sep-tember closes below $8.90,make sure sales are at recom-mended levels.

Cents per bu.

Crop condition mirroring 1988

Page 15 Monday, July 30, 2012 FarmWeek

see who can project the lowestyield, corn in particular. Anearly-week survey indicatedtraders on average were using a130.8-bushel yield.

Another private individualthat uses planting dates, tem-perature, and moisture dataprojected 136.5 bushels early inthe week. At week’s end, Infor-ma projected a 134-bushelyield, while Lanworth, a com-pany that uses satellite imagery,projected 122 bushels. A 1988-type yield this year would be123 to 128 bushels/acre.

Meanwhile, being lost in theprice discussion is the demandside of the equation. Thereare no indications the govern-ment is going to change theethanol mandate, but poorprofitability continues toreduce the weekly grind.

Livestock producers herehave started to look at ways toimport feed grains. Mean-while, all producers are feelingthe pinch of high grain prices,both those in the U.S. as well asthose around the world.Rationing has begun.

Given the persistence of thehot, dry weather and all of thecomparisons to 1988, we feltcompelled to give you an updateon the crop condition ratings.Whereas a month ago, it wasunclear whether this year’s cropswould follow the 2002 patternor the 1988 pattern, the evi-dence is now undisputed.

Nevertheless, there alreadyis scattered talk that this year’scrops could be even worsethan those in 1988. Whilethat’s not impossible, it’simportant to remember that1988’s crops were in muchworse condition from the startthan was the case this year.

While the poor/very poorratings are not much differentthan they were in 1988, thegood/excellent ratings are stilla little better.

Meanwhile, it seems likethere’s a race in the industry to

pERspEcTIvEs

FarmWeek Page 16 Monday, July 30, 2012

LETTER TO THE EDITOREarly CRP release won’t help allEditor:

I do not want to sound ungrateful,but release of CRP (ConservationReserve Program) acres for hayingand grazing in Piatt County will nothelp my cattle operation. Nearly allthe conservation practices in Piatt

County are on the list of practicesthat prohibit haying and grazing.

It is unfortunate these restrictionsexist; I could have used the extra hay.

The CRP on my farms are filterstrips and grass terraces and theseare on the no-haying list.SAM BRANDENBURG,

Milmine

Illinois and much of theMidwest are facing a majoragricultural drought thatrivals the 1988 drought in its

severity.While rare, drought is a major

feature of the climate of Illinois.We define drought asan extended periodof below-normalrainfall that leads toimpacts on the envi-ronment and/oreconomy.

Sounds vaguedoesn’t it?

There is no uni-versally accepted

definition because: 1) drought is nota distinct event like a flood or bliz-zard, and 2) drought means differentthings to a homeowner, a farmer, ora water supply manager.

Finally, the timing and durationof drought will determine who feelsthe impacts. In general, agricultureis most sensitive to short-termdrought coupled with high tempera-tures during the growing season.

On the other hand, most of ourmajor water supplies only respondto droughts that continue into thewinter and the next spring.

In hindsight, our current droughtprobably began this winter. Precipi-tation amounts, both rain and snow,were below normal in January, Feb-ruary, and March. More importantly,temperatures were much above nor-mal during that time, causing thesoils to be unusually dry by the startof April.

March temperatures were thewarmest on record and averaged14.5 degrees above normal, moretypical of what you would expect inlate April or early May. The short-term benefit of the warm, dryweather was that field operationswere not hampered by wet weatherlike we saw in the past three springs.

The warmer and drier-than-nor-mal conditions continued in Apriland May. While the state averaged 75percent of normal precipitation dur-ing this period, the southern third ofthe state was much drier withamounts that were closer to 50 per-cent of normal.

By the end of May, USDA’sNational Agricultural Statistics Serv-ice had reported the top soil moisturein the state at 48 percent “short” and15 percent “very short.”

June was the turning point in the

growing season for much of Illinois.The statewide average precipitationwas 1.8 inches, 2.3 inches below nor-mal and the eighth driest June onrecord. Temperatures averaged 1degree above normal, but the monthfinished out with temperatures in theupper 90s and low 100s just as theearly corn was starting to pollinate.

High tempera-tures anddrought go handin hand in Illi-nois.

Many of ourdaily high tem-perature recordsacross the statewere set in thepast droughts of1934, 1936, 1954,and 1988. As thesoil and the vegetation dry out, it ismuch easier to heat up the surface,causing temperatures to climb.

Hot, dry weather continued in Julywith temperatures averaging about 6degrees above normal. It could endup as the second warmest July on

record, just behind July 1936. Manysites in Illinois have reported highs inthe low 100s on several occasions.

While some areas in Northeasternand Southeastern Illinois havereceived rainfall of 1 to 3 inches,much of the state remains far below1 inch.

As a result, we are on track forpossibly one ofthe driest monthsof July on record.

It is interestingto compare thisdrought to the onein 1988.

While thewarm, dry weatherstarted this year inJanuary, the 1988drought startedlater in April. By

the end of June, the year-to-date pre-cipitation deficit was 7.8 inches in1988 and 7.3 inches in 2012.

That makes the two droughts verysimilar through June. However, theprecipitation in July 1988 was 2.6inches, a 1.4 inch deficit. So far, this

July has been much drier at 1.1 inch-es, a deficit of 3.9 inches. To makematters worse, this July was muchwarmer with temperatures morethan 6 degrees above normal whileJuly 1988 was only 2.2 degreesabove normal.

It is very hard to recover fromdrought in the summer months. Therecovery in 1988 did not begin untilthe fall when cooler temperaturesand widespread rains began torecharge the soil moisture andreplenish lakes and rivers.

Even a return to timely rains andcooler temperatures in August willnot undo much of the damage, butit could help some fields.

In summary, the 1988 and 2012droughts were comparable throughthe end of June.

However, the preliminary num-bers for July suggest this drought isnow more severe than the 1988event.

Jim Angel is state climatologist with the Illi-nois State Water Survey at the PrairieResearch Institute on the campus of the Uni-versity of Illinois Urbana-Champaign.

Institute home of state surveys

The Prairie Research Insti-tute is a multidisciplinaryresearch institute chargedwith providing objectiveresearch, expertise, and dataon the natural and culturalresources of Illinois.

Established as a unit of theUniversity of Illinois atUrbana-Champaign by the Illi-nois General Assembly in2008, the Institute comprisesthe Illinois Natural HistorySurvey, Illinois State Archaeo-logical Survey, Illinois StateGeological Survey, IllinoisState Water Survey, and Illi-nois Sustainable TechnologyCenter.

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2012 drought on verge of topping ’88 drought

Shriveled corn plants bake in the heat on Kevin Ulrich’s farm in Pulaski County. (Photo byTammie Obermark, Pulaski-Alexander Farm Bureau manager)

JIMANGEL

‘In hindsight, ourcurrent droughtprobably began

this winter.’