FarmWeek November 5 2012

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

haRVesT essenTially isover for 2012, and thus ends the21th installment of Cropwatcherreports. Most are glad to have theseason end. ...................................6,7

The naTion’s agingwaterways infrastructure is a “tick-ing time bomb” that could triggermajor disruptions in ag commerce,according to a new report. ............4

REMEMBERTO VOTE

TUESDAY

Monday, November 5, 2012 Two sections Volume 40, No. 45

European hog farmer: Group housing ‘harder system’BY DANIEL GRANTFarmWeek

Many hog farmers inEurope are going throughsome difficult times.

They not only face higherfeed and input costs, similar totheir American counterparts,but they’re also dealing withhigher production costs due toan ongoing transition in pro-duction methods.

Legislation that takes effectin January in the EuropeanUnion (EU) will require farm-ers to stop using gestation stallsand keep gestating sows ingroup housing.

The law specifically willrequire all dry sows to be ingroup housing at least fourweeks after service until oneweek before the expected timeof farrowing.

In the U.S., a number offood retailers/restaurant chainsin the past year announcedplans to source pork only fromproducers who do not usestalls. But most American farm-ers, for now, still have a choiceof swine housing systems.

Many farmers in the EU,meanwhile, had to absorb addi-tional costs to change theirfacilities to group housingwhile others have delayed mak-

according to ten Have.A switch to group housing

systems in the U.S. likely wouldincrease production and retailpork prices as well. And theremay not even be a benefit tohogs for such a switch.

Nine academic studies onsow housing over the past eightyears show no significant differ-ences in animal productivity orwelfare associated with use ofsow stall vs. group housing,Nelsen added.

ing the transition or maychoose to exit the business.

Annechien ten Have, a pigfarmer and member of theDutch Federation of Agricul-tural and Horticultural Organi-zation, recently discussed thechallenges of converting heroperation to group housingduring an interview with theRFD Radio Network andFarmWeek.

“I’m happy with the newsystem,” ten Have said. “But wehave problems.

“Every new housing systemhas problems in the beginning,”she continued. “There alwaysare costs (associated with build-ing new facilities or upgradingexisting structures).”

The hog farmer, who has320 sows in her operation, was-n’t specific about the total costto change her operation togroup housing or if she had tohire additional workers.

But the housing change affect-ed her production practices.

“Group housing is a hardersystem,” ten Have said. “If asow has a (health) problem, shecan’t survive there. Then youhave to put her in a smallergroup or crate.”

On the plus side, productivi-ty on ten Have’s farm has

increased by fourth-tenths of apiglet per litter.

But any additional produc-tion changes should be drivenby the market, not legislation,she maintained.

“When retailers want it, theyhave to pay,” ten Have said.“We don’t want more legisla-tion, otherwise farmers wouldhave no position to ask formore money (from consumersor retailers).”

Many European hog farm-ers have not adopted newhousing systems as quickly asten Have. Only seven EUstates, in addition to Swedenand the United Kingdom (UK),are expected to be fully compli-ant with the gestation stall banby 2013, according to TamaraNelsen, Illinois Farm Bureausenior director of commodi-ties. Nelsen is the leader of theIllinois Farm Bureau AnimalCare Project Team.

“In the meantime, the sup-ply of pork meat has decreasedmarkedly across the EU,”Nelsen noted. “That has result-ed in increased prices and upsetconsumers.”

The UK, for example, oncewas self sufficient in pork pro-duction but currently imports40 to 50 percent of its pork,

TEMPERATURE’S RIGHT

John Olson applies anhydrous ammonia to a field in rural McLeanon a cool, clear day last week. A drop in temperatures in recentweeks cooled the soils and allowed farmers to apply fall nitrogen.The University of Illinois Agronomy Handbook recommends waitinguntil the soil temperature reaches 50 degrees to apply fall nitrogen.Topsoil temperatures on Thursday ranged from 45.7 degrees inSouthern Illinois to 36.1 degrees in Northern Illinois, according tothe Illinois State Water Survey. However, fall anhydrous applica-tions are not recommended south of a line extending roughly fromJerseyville to West Union. More information on anhydrous applica-tions appears on page 2. (Photo by Cyndi Cook)

BY MARTIN ROSSFarmWeek

Tuesday could prove a crucial turningpoint in farm bill debate — that is, in what-ever form the debate might take.

According to Patrick Westhoff, directorof the national Food and Agricultural Poli-cy Research Institute, this week’s nationalelections largely may determine whetherCongress passes 2012, 2013, or 2014 ag leg-islation.

“The conventional wisdom seems to bethat if the election returns the current pres-ident and current makeup of Congress — aDemocrat Senate and Republican House —there’s probably a better chance of getting afarm bill done during the (post-election)lame duck session,” he told FarmWeek.

“It might not get done because of thefarm bill being so important — it might getdone as part of a large budget deal. But that

seems to be the single most likely scenarioto get the farm bill done over the next cou-ple of months,” he said.

“If there were a significant change — adifferent president or a change in party con-trol of the Senate or House — it’s muchmore likely no major decisions would getmade until everybody takes power.

“We’d do a temporary measure to get usbeyond January, and then, some time nextspring, we’d figure things out.”

House Majority Leader Eric Cantor (R-Va.) appears committed to his pledge to“raise the farm bill issue” on the floor dur-ing lame duck discussions, said Dale Moore,American Farm Bureau Federation deputypolicy executive director.

He predicted “Cantor’s going to stick tohis guns,” though House Speaker JohnBoehner (R-Ohio) may be equally adamantin his refusal to move the measure if it

appears to lack the necessary votes.Cantor has not indicated he would push

for an actual farm bill vote, Moore stressed.That opens “the whole gamut” of possibili-ties, he said, from passage of House AgCommittee proposals with or without agdisaster provisions to a mere three-monthor one-year extension of 2008 farm legisla-tion or lawmakers deciding “not to do any-thing” until 2013.

Even if a new Congress tapped existingSenate and/or House Ag Committee farmbill proposals, lawmakers could determinethe Senate’s proposed $23 billion or theHouse’s $35 billion in long-term ag spend-ing cuts are inadequate in reaching update2013 budget targets, Westhoff advised.

If Republicans take control of the WhiteHouse and both congressional chambers,

See Tuesday, page 4

Tuesday could decide farm bill outcome

HARVEST GUARANTEES — Crop insur-ance harvest price guarantees will be higher thanthose announced last spring. University of Illinoisag economist Gary Schnitkey has run numbers onhow this will impact county-level Group RiskIncome Protection (GRIP) policies.

Using simulated GRIP-Harvest Revenue (HR)payments as a guide, 2012 GRIP with HR pay-ments for corn will be large in some areas. The2012 crop insurance harvest prices will be $7.50per bushel for corn and $15.39 for soybeans. Rev-enue Protection (RP) and GRIP-HR insurancepolicies thus will make large payments under low-yield scenarios.

The range of estimated GRIP-HR payments isfrom a low of $312 per acre for the west cropreporting district to a high of $865 per acre for thesoutheast district, according to Schnitkey’s analysis.M o r e d e t a i l s a r e a v a i l a b l e a t(farmdocdaily.illinois.edu/2012/11/2012_har-vest_prices_for_corn_a.html).

POLL MONITORING, VOTER RIGHTS —Illinois Attorney General Lisa Madigan remindedvoters of their rights as they vote this week. Assis-tant attorneys general and investigators with theattorney general’s office plan to monitor Tuesday’sgeneral election around the state.

Voters have the right to vote if they are in linewhen the polls close at 7 p.m. A voter has the rightto receive a replacement ballot if he or she makesa mistake on a paper ballot.

No one is allowed to try to influence a voterwithin 100 feet of the polling place.

Voters may contact the attorney general’s officeif they encounter suspected improper or illegalactivities. Northern Illinois voters should call 866-536-3496, while downstate voters should call 866-559-6812.

ETHANOL PRODUCTION RISING —U.S. ethanol production surged to 825,000 barrelsa day last week, a six-week high and a 3 percentincrease from the previous week, according to aDepartment of Energy report.

Ethanol stockpiles rose 2.4 percent to 19.2 mil-lion barrels, the biggest weekly gain since June 15.Corn prices had fueled an early fall decline innationwide production, but winter fuel demand isperking up the market once again.

FarmWeek Page 2 Monday, November 5, 2012

(ISSN0197-6680)

Vol. 40 No. 45 November 5, 2012

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

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© 2012 Illinois Agricultural Association

STAFFEditorDave McClelland ([email protected])Legislative Affairs EditorKay Shipman ([email protected])Agricultural Affairs EditorMartin Ross ([email protected])Senior Commodities EditorDaniel Grant ([email protected])Editorial AssistantLinda Goltz ([email protected])Business Production ManagerBob Standard ([email protected])Advertising Sales ManagerRichard Verdery ([email protected])Classified sales coordinatorNan Fannin ([email protected])Director of News and CommunicationsMichael L. OrsoAdvertising Sales RepresentativesHurst and Associates, Inc.P.O. Box 6011, Vernon Hills, IL 600611-800-397-8908 (advertising inquiries only)

Gary White - Northern IllinoisDoug McDaniel - Southern Illinois

Editorial phone number: 309-557-2239Classified advertising: 309-557-3155Display advertising: 1-800-676-2353

Quick TakesNuTRIENT MANAGEMENT

Tuesday:• Michelle Damico, MichelleDamico Communications• Mike Marron, farmer and IllinoisSoybean Association director

Wednesday: • Brad Schwab, director of theNational Agricultural StatisticsService Illinois field office• Bob Bradley, professor emeritus,Illinois State University

Thursday:• Amy Bradford, GROWMARKmanager of corporate communi-cations• Mike Loyd, Farm Credit Services• Representative from BeckerUnderwood• Bob Stallman, American FarmBureau Federation president

Friday:• Sara Wyant, AgriPulse publisher• Rita Frazer, RFD Radio Networkanchor and broadcast editorreporting live from the NationalAssociation of Farm Broadcast-ers annual meeting in KansasCity, Mo.

To find a radio station near you thatcarries the RFD Radio Network, go toFarmWeeknow.com, click on“Radio,” then click on “Affiliates.”

Soil tests, temperature key for fall nitrogen managementAnhydrous spillsmust be reportedBY KAY SHIPMANFarmWeek

Farmers should check their soil nitrogen levelsand soil temperatures before applying fall fertilizer.

Questions about the amount of residual nitro-gen sparked an inventory of soil nitrate levelsaround the state. TheUniversity of Illinoisand the Illinois Councilfor Best ManagementPractices recommendfarmers base their fertil-ity budgets on fall soiltest results.

Anhydrous shouldnot be applied until soiltemperatures at the 4-inch depth have reachedand will remain below60 degrees Fahrenheit ifa nitrification inhibitoris included.

If no inhibitor is included, don’t apply anhy-drous until soil temperatures reach and will remainbelow 50 degrees.

“While applying once temperatures are 50degrees Fahrenheit does not automatically preventnitrogen loss, it does provide a better chance toprotect your investment,” said Fabian Fernandez,U of I crop scientist.

No fall nitrogen should be applied on any fieldsouth of a line extending from about Jerseyville toWest Union.

The Illinois State Water Survey posts daily tem-peratures of soil at the 4-inch depth. Go to{isws.illinois.edu/warm/soiltemp.asp}.

On average, soil temperatures reach 50 degreesFahrenheit and continue to go down in the firstweek of November in Central and Northern Illi-nois. Last week daily maximum 4-inch bare soil

temperatures ranged from the high 40s to the low50s.

In addition to timing and rate, safety ranks as athird critical factor when working with anhydrous.

Jerry Kirbach of the Illinois Department ofAgriculture (IDOA) offered several safetyreminders:

First, farmers need to be sure they have soundpersonal protective equipment, especially gogglesand gloves. An ample supply of clean water mustbe easily accessible.

As for the equipment,check to be sure safetychains are in place, safetyclips are in the hitch pin, andthe hitch pin is sound, Kir-bach said.

“The first time youreceive a tool bar, do a walk-around. Make sure every-thing is in place,” he advisedfarmers.

By law, farmers mustreport anhydrous spills of100 or more pounds to localemergency responders, the

Illinois Emergency Management Agency (IEMA),the National Response Center (NRC), and theirlocal emergency planning committee.

IEMA’s emergency notification number is 800-782-7860. The reporting number for NRC is 800-424-8802.

After IEMA receives notice about an agricul-ture-related spill, the agency contacts the IDOA.

Local emergency responders and local emer-gency agencies vary from county to county.

When reporting a spill, a farmer will be askedthe name of the chemical and if it is extremelyhazardous; an estimate of the amount spilled; timeand duration of the spill; specific location;whether the chemical reached land, air, orwater; any known or anticipated health risks;precautions needed; and the name and tele-phone number of a person who should be con-tacted for further information.

‘The first time you receive atool bar, do a walk-around.Make sure everything is inplace.’

— Jerry KirbachIllinois Department

of Agriculture

Finance Authority waives application fee for farmers

The Illinois Finance Authority (IFA) is waiving the usualfee for farmers who apply for IFA programs through Jan. 31,according to Christopher Meister, IFA executive director.

Farmers who face drought-related losses may considerIFA’s lending programs, Meister said.

“These programs offer low-cost financing so farmers canmake it through to the next growing season,” he added.

The waiver will save farmers up to $300 for each applica-tion.

IFA programs include:• An agricultural restructuring debt guarantee program that

allows principal farm operators to consolidate existing debtand spread payments over a longer period;

• A working capital guarantee program that allows principalfarm operators to enhance credit eligibility for input costsrelated to planting and raising crops; and

• An agricultural loan participation program that assistslocal banks that lend to farmers by buying part of the bor-rower’s bank loan, allowing the borrower to access reducedinterest rates.

IFA has helped finance more than 500 agricultural projectsacross Illinois through guarantee, loan, and bond programsavailable to farmers.

For more information about the IFA’s ag lending programs,go online to {il-fa.com/agriculture} or call 618-244-2424.

EDUCATION

Page 3 Monday, November 5, 2012 FarmWeek

FOOD

for THOUGHT

Missouri farmer Nicole Reed describes her family’s care for little pigs to Missouri brothers and grocers Daveand Joe O’Neil, left to right, during a farm tour last week. An idea from the Madison County Farm BureauBoard of Directors sparked a discussion about gestation stalls and a hog farm tour for members of the Mis-souri Grocers Association. (Photos by Kay Shipman)

County Farm Bureau idea sparks grocers’ farm tourBY KAY SHIPMANFarmWeek

Missouri grocer JoeO’Neil knows cuts of pork,but last week for the firsttime he saw the care given tosows and baby pigs that ulti-mately produce those cuts.

“It’s amazing how they(farmers) keep track and howthey distinguish” all the hogs,O’Neil told FarmWeek as hewalked through a swine nurs-ery building.

O’Neil and his brother,Dave, along with the Mis-souri Grocers Association,

learned about gestation stallsand saw their use on theDeppe family farm, a farrow-to-finish operation nearWashington, Mo.

The idea for a tour beginin Illinois with the MadisonCounty Farm Bureau.

“Our committee felt it wasimportant for agriculture tocontact food retailers in theSt. Louis area to get (them)first-hand experience,” Madi-son County Farm BureauPresident Steve Koeller toldtour participants.

“We hope we can work

together and help everyoneunderstand this issue and theimportance of gestation

stalls,” Koeller said.Deppe daughter Nicole

Reed explained not only theimportance of gestation stallson her four-generation familyfarm but also how confinementbuildings improve animals’health.

Her comments were con-firmed by swine veterinarianDr. Steve Patterson, whoexplained reasons for gestationstall use.

Missouri farmer and formernational Farm Bureau YoungLeader Farmers and RanchersCommittee Chris Chinn alsospoke.

Group members includedIllinois Farm Bureau Vice Pres-ident Rich Guebert Jr., IFBDirector Chad Schutz, and IFBand Missouri Farm Bureaustaff.

“We really don’t get manyquestions (from customersabout gestation stalls),” com-mented O’Neil, who has abackground in meat cutting.

“I’m surprised by all the pub-licity it’s getting. I really don’tfind consumers with questions(about stalls).”

His brother, Dave, addedthe brothers previously talkedabout the unfairness of one-sided presentations against ges-tation stalls.

On his first visit to a mod-ern hog farm, Dave O’Neilnoted the extensive informa-tion collected about each ani-mal. “These people are veryintelligent,” he added.

Dan Shaul, state director ofthe Grocers Association, pro-posed the tour and discussionbe the start of an educationaleffort by grocers and farmers.IFB and the Missouri FarmBureau will discuss the grocers’farm tour and future educa-tional opportunities and tours.

“The worst thing that canhappen to us is when con-sumers come to us and we can’tanswer their questions,” Shaulsaid.

Illinois Farm Bureau Vice President Rich Guebert Jr., far right, and Madison County Farm Bureau PresidentSteve Koeller, second from right, chat with Missouri farmers, left to right, Tricia Kuenzel, Melissa Deppe, andNicole Reed during a tour of the Deppe family farm in Washington, Mo., last week. The farmers described toIFB members and members of the Missouri Grocers Association how they care for sows and young pigs

State offering local governments $1 billion for projectsAn Illinois Clean Water Ini-

tiative offers local govern-ments $1 billion in long-term,low-interest loans for drinkingwater and wastewater projects.

Gov. Pat Quinn recentlydirected the Illinois Environ-mental Protection Agency(IEPA) and the Illinois FinanceAuthority (IFA) to expand thestate’s revolving loan fund forwater projects.

The existing loan program,rules, and forms remain thesame, and no application dead-line exists.

The $1 billion in fundingwill be phased in over the nexttwo years and is financed

through the sale of bonds byIFA.

The Clean Water Initiativewill leverage federal grantfunds through IEPA’s existingloan program along with loan

repayments by the communi-ties.

Information about the ini-tiative and the applicationprocess is available at{epa.state.il.us/water/}.

Eleven Illinois grain dryer upgrades fundedEleven Illinois grain dryer upgrades were among 244 projects

nationwide selected for USDA’s Rural Energy for America Pro-gram (REAP) funding, U.S. Agriculture Secretary Tom Vilsackannounced.

REAP offers financial assistance to farmers, ranchers, andrural small businesses to purchase and install renewable energysystems and to improve energy efficiency.

USDA announced more than $16 million in energy funding.For more information on Rural Development projects, visit

Rural Development’s new interactive web map at{rurdev.usda.gov/RDSuccessStories.html}.

government


Continued from page 1he anticipates “the most important bill of 2013 will be abudget reconciliation bill.” In that event, current biparti-san House-Senate proposals could be cast aside, Westhoffsaid.

With current ag spending in place through March under abudget continuing resolution and 2012 commodity pro-grams operating through August, the House could simplymove to block reversion to 1949 farm legislation, Mooresuggested.

“Permanent” ag policy authority would kick in if an exist-ing farm bill expires without a new one, but Westhoff notedthe market and price perils of reactivating program policiesand triggers drafted in the 1940s.

“We’re confident that the issue of addressing the farm billwill be brought up,” Moore told FarmWeek. “What we don’tknow is how they intend to address it.”

Tuesday

Employer vigilance keyto avoiding penalties

In the face of heightened immigration enforcement,Midwest ag employers must dot their I’s and cross their T’swhile ensuring they don’t cross the line.

So says California lawyer Anthony Raimondo, who sug-gests seemingly burdensome worker paperwork may be thefarmer’s best protection against federal scrutiny or sanc-tions.

Amid gridlock over immigration policy and public con-cerns about undocumented foreign workers, federal laborenforcement is on the rise. Federal Form I-9 verifies aworker’s identity and legal authority to work in the U.S.

However, I-9 filings have become “such a routine part ofthe hiring process” that employers may neglect to properlyreview worker documentation, Raimondo warned. While it’snot unlawful simply to hire an unauthorized worker, hestressed “it’s illegal to knowingly hire an undocumentedworker.”

In some cases, “the I-9’s the thing that will keep anemployer out of jail,” he said. The lawyer urges producersto periodically audit I-9 paperwork and train farm managersand supervisors in the verification process.

Michigan dairy producers Johannes Martinus Verhaarand Anthonia Marjanne Verhaar were sentenced in 2011 tolengthy probation and fined nearly $735,000 for hiring and“harboring” illegal aliens. The pair was charged with failingto adequately verify worker eligibility.

“Ironically, we’re seeing enforcement more in the Mid-west than in California,” Raimondo told FarmWeek at lastweek’s American Farm Bureau Federation Labor Confer-ence in Rosemont. “Strangely enough, in California agricul-ture, the enforcement’s been somewhat limited. In the Mid-west, we’ve seen the fines, the jail time.”

An employee must complete an I-9 before performingany work; employers must provide new hires a list ofacceptable identification and work authorization docu-ments. For a list of documents, visit{uscis.gov/files/form/i-9.pdf}.

Employers should be able to “attest under threat of per-jury” that documents appeared legitimate and immediatelyfire workers they know to be undocumented, Raimondoinsists. They nonetheless walk a federal tightrope.

For example, they can’t require a worker to provide aSocial Security number. Employers shouldn’t fire a workersimply because they receive a federal “mismatch letter”questioning Social Security information, Raimondo said.

He recommends employers giving workers a 90- to 120-day deadline to resolve discrepancies with the Social Securi-ty Administration, to avoid discrimination or other claims.

“We can’t presume someone is an undocumented immi-grant because of their appearance or clothing or the colorof their skin or their ethnicity,” Raimondo stressed.

“If people can produce documents that are legitimate orappear legitimate, the employer has to respect those docu-ments and hire them.” — Martin Ross

Farm Bureau floats transitional ag labor planBY MARTIN ROSSFarmWeek

Farm Bureau hopes a pro-posed multi-tiered approach tomeeting U.S. ag labor demandsmight help restart the stalledfederal immigration debatewhile providing improvedoptions for foreign workersand ag employers alike.

The American Farm BureauFederation (AFBF) Board ofDirectors unanimously sup-ports a plan by AFBF’s multi-state Agricultural Visa Work-group that would enable cur-rently undocumented tempo-rary laborers to continue work-ing in U.S. agriculture as theyseek a path to legal status.

The plan proposes a newfive-year worker “ag card” anda two-pronged worker visa pro-gram that offers Contract-Temporary Worker or Non-Contract Temporary WorkerVisa options. The proposalwould not affect the existingfederal H-2A ag guest workerprogram, which has provenimpractical, especially for dairyoperations with year-roundproduction.

According to the workinggroup, the new plan offers“stability for employers andportability for workers” whoseek jobs in a number of sec-tors over a season or in long-term dairy or livestock employ-ment. AFBF has gained broadcross-sector support for theplan, which it hopes with otherag groups to pitch to Congressas a transition toward a moreeffective, permanent guestworker program.

At last week’s AFBF LaborConference in Rosemont,workgroup participant andMichigan Farm Bureau nation-al issues specialist Ryan Find-lay argued the ag card is aimedat longer-term workers“who’ve kept their nose clean”and whose talents are criticalto larger crop and livestockoperations.

Temporary worker visas aredesigned to assure “a future flowof workers” as current laborersretire from the ag workplace,Findlay said. Those individualscould enter the U.S. either towork for a specific employer orprovide services as needed,potentially in various regions.

Findlay noted his state annu-ally uses some 45,000 seasonalag workers in specialty crop,dairy, and livestock and poultryoperations.

“There’s a question mark asto how many of those workerscould be undocumented or ille-gal,” he told FarmWeek. “Westill need that labor — the cowsstill need to be worked; we stillneed to pick the apples.

“I think everyone through-out the U.S. would agree therehas to be some mechanism toallow workers who currently arehere to transition, to adjusttheir status, to allow them towork here — for them to beable to step forward and say,‘I’m not documented, but I’veworked in agriculture and Ipromise to work in agriculture,and I’m going to figure thingsout over the next five years.’”

Representatives of 10 stateFarm Bureaus developed work-

group proposals based ongrassroots input. Louisiana’sBrian Breaux noted acute work-er shortages over the past 15years, particularly in his state’spoultry, sweet potato, and sugarcane sectors.

“We have able-bodied (local)workers, but we have troublegetting them to accept ourjobs,” Breaux related.

Nearly 50,000 non-contrac-tual workers are needed at theheight of Yuma, Ariz.’s iceberglettuce season. On average,about half live north of theU.S.-Mexican border; the rest“commute” from Mexico.

But amid growing borderissues and what he termed Ari-zonans’ “xenophobic attitude”toward immigration, ArizonaFarm Bureau GovernmentalRelations Director Joe Sigg notes“all kinds of tensions” emerging.

Sigg stressed workgroupefforts to address political sen-sitivities regarding immigrantlabor. For example, ag cardholders could work in the U.S.year-round, but they would berequired to prove an ag workhistory and maintain continu-ous ag employment.

Workgroup members arguedthe plan would dovetail nicelywith electronic “E-Verify” sys-tems that help employersensure worker identity and eli-gibility. The plan reportedlywould ease anxieties amongboth ag employers and workers.

“If (immigration critics)trust E-Verify, then this pro-gram should work for them,”AFBF labor specialist KristiBoswell suggested.

A new United Soybean Board (USB) reportcalls the nation’s aging waterways infrastructurea “ticking time bomb” that could trigger majordisruptions in ag commerce.

A Midwest senator hopes to defuse thatbomb through legislation aimed at replenishingfunds needed to rehabilitate and modernize keyriver locks and ocean ports.

In its report, “America’s Locks and Dams: ATicking Time Bomb for Agriculture?,” USBfocuses on ag transportation on the Upper Mis-sissippi, Illinois, and Ohio rivers. An interactivemap (visit {unitedsoybean.org/americas-locks-dams-a-ticking-time-bomb-for-agriculture} onthe web) shows how failures at any of five lockscould affect agriculture.

A two-week failure at either Mississippi Locks20 or 25 reportedly could cost farmers $2.8 mil-lion, while a one-month shutdown could cost$4.9 million. A long-term closure at the 73-year-old LaGrange Lock would result in similar losses.

And that’s not counting the cost of lostopportunity. Alejandro Jaramillo, logistics man-ager with Colombian feed supplier Contegral,sees infrastructure improvement as crucial tothe U.S. competing with Brazil and Argentina inLatin American markets.

Concerns about South American port delaysalready weigh “in favor of the United States,”said Jaramillo, who recently toured East Alton’sMelvin Price Lock.

“If you have a well-developed supply chainand low crop transport costs to the export ter-minals, you could go to more markets with amore competitive price,” he told FarmWeek.

In 2007, Congress approved Locks 20 and 25and the LaGrange Lock for new 1,200-foot lockchambers, but lawmakers have not yet approvedconstruction funds. USB’s report came on theheels of Sen. Lamar Alexander’s (R-Tenn.)introduction of the American Waterworks Act,a measure designed to address lock and U.S.port funding challenges.

The bill supports provisions of an InlandWaterways Users-U.S. Army Corps of Engi-neers agreement that would boost revenues tothe Inland Waterways Trust Fund through a vol-untary barge fuel tax hike.

The waterways fund finances half the cost ofmost lock projects, and waning revenues havemade it tougher to promote federal lock funding.

At the same time, Alexander proposes tospeed lock construction permit approval.

The measure would provide full federalfunding for maintenance of harbors up to 50feet deep. Expansion of the Panama Canal willaccommodate ships with a 50-foot depth.

Alexander’s plan would authorize a five-yearharbor construction program to accommodateuse of larger, higher-capacity vessels anticipatedafter canal expansion is completed in 2014. —Martin Ross

Plan aimed at defusing ‘ticking timebomb’

production


Get Your Gator On!At the IAA Foundation Live Auction

Up for bid at the IFB Annual Meeting in Chicago on Saturday, December 1 at 3:45

Full spec sheet and video may be viewed at www.iaafoundation.orgAll proceeds benefit Illinois Agriculture in the Classroom

Not attending IFB Annual Meeting? Contact the IAA Foundation for phone-in

The Details:

Valued at $14,205i820T2

Illinois Farm Economics Summit Dec. 10-14

Farm economy going through transition periodBY DANIEL GRANTFarmWeek

The year 2012 was supposedto be a year of record-largecrop production and a drop-offin crop prices, based on numer-ous pre-season forecasts.

But farmers instead experi-enced just the opposite — amajor drop-off in crop produc-tion (due to the epic drought),record-high crop prices, andhistorically tight stocks.

Now, farmers are trying tosort through the unusual pro-

changes may be coming downthe road.”

The Economics Summitwill be held Dec. 10 at the IHotel and Conference Centerin Champaign; Dec. 11 at theIllinois Center for Agriculturein Sycamore; Dec. 12 at theBest Western Prairie Inn inGalesburg; Dec. 13 at theHoliday Inn in Mt. Vernon;and Dec. 14 at the DoubletreeHotel in Bloomington.

More information is avail-able and registration for themeetings may be completedonline at {farmdocdaily.illi-nois.edu}.

Overall, USDA projectednet farm income this year willreach a record-high $122 bil-lion as the value of this year’scrop and crop insurance were

projected to more than offsetdeclining milk sales and risingproduction expenditures.

But Good noted USDA’srecord income outlook masksthe fact that crop output wasextremely spotty and there are anumber of farmers dealing withfinancial difficulties.

“The USDA numbers alwayslook at total income and not thedistribution of that,” the ageconomist said. “There is ahuge amount of (income) vari-ability in the crop sector. And, ifyou include the livestock sector,the picture is very different. It’snot nearly as rosy.”

Overall, U.S. farm produc-tion expenses this year wereforecast at a record-high $325billion, up $18.6 billion from2011.

duction year, along with politicaluncertainty, as they plan aheadfor 2013 and beyond.

“Agriculture is in a state oftransition from this year —which featured the drought,high prices, and some likely biginsurance payments — to hope-fully a more normal productionyear next year,” said DarrelGood, University of Illinois ageconomist.

U of I specialists will host aseries of Farm Economics Sum-mit meetings around the state

next month to help farmers planfor issues such as price volatility,rising input costs, incomeprospects, crop insurance, croprotation decisions, and biofuelsand farm program policies.

The theme of the event is“managing for turbulent times.”

“Part of that (economicsoutlook) is how (crop) suppliesrebound and the whole biofuelspolicy (and its effect on sup-ply/demand),” Good said.“We’ll also see where we’re atwith the farm bill and what

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Disappointing yields shouldn’t affect plantingsMany farmers obviously

were disappointed with theircorn yields this year.

USDA last month lowered itsforecast for the state’s averageyield from 110 to just 98bushels per acre, down 59bushels from last year.

There also were reports ofadditional yield losses in somecorn-on-corn fields.

However, this year’s results arenot expected to have much effecton next year’s rotation plans. Infact, farmers in some areas couldplant even more corn.

“In the heart of the CornBelt, I don’t see a lot of changes(in crop rotation),” Daryl Starr,president of Advanced Ag Solu-tions, a consulting company thatworks with farmers in Illinois,Indiana, and Ohio, said recentlyat the Doane Ag Outlook Con-ference in St. Louis. “Therecould be incentives to go backto corn in Illinois.”

An early harvest this fallallowed many farmers to com-plete fall tillage and fertilizerapplications.

Steve Ruh, a corn grower fromSugar Grove (Kane County) plansto plant a large amount of cornacres in 2013. He believes most ofthe drought-induced yield variabil-ity on his farm this year was dueto differences in soil types asopposed to rotation choices.

“I think we’ll be heavy oncorn again next year,” Ruh toldFarmWeek. “The economicsstill favor corn.”

Corn yields on Ruh’s farmthis season ranged from 100 to180 bushels per acre.

“Genetics and seed qualityreally shined this year,” he said.“Twenty years ago, we wouldn’thave had near these yields (inthe midst of a major drought).”

Marty Foreman, senior econ-omist with Doane AdvisoryServices, predicted U.S. farmers

next year will plant 96.5 millionacres of corn, down slightlyfrom 96.9 million acres this year.

U.S. soybean plantings wereprojected to grow by 800,000acres next year to 78 million. “Theeconomics still say we need toplant more corn,” Foreman said.

“A reduction in some corn-on-corn (yields) won’t put toomuch downward pressure (onplantings in 2013),” he contin-ued. “But it will be a limitingfactor and keep corn acres fromjumping to 97 or 98 million.”

Soybean yields have been apleasant surprise this fall afterlate-summer rains saved a goodportion of the crop. USDA pre-dicted the Illinois bean crop thisyear will average 39 bushels peracre. USDA will update its cropproduction estimates on Friday.— Daniel Grant

Bernie Walsh, Durand, Winnebago County: We wentthe whole week without rain,so corn harvest continuednonstop. Lots of farmers arefinishing up with corn now,and there may be only 15-20percent left in the field. What ayear it has been! The combi-nation of very little rain and

several 100-plus degree temps during pollination result-ed in about half of last year’s corn yields. The variationin yields, even within a field, has been incredible. It wasnot uncommon to see the yield monitor go from 0 to 200all in the same row of corn. Thank goodness the beanswere better, with some surprising good yields of 60 to70 bushels per acre (bpa). Mother nature also had animpact on the beans with a late-season hail storm strip-ping some of the best fields down to single-digit yields.This will certainly be a year to remember, and as far as Iknow, we will all be back here farming again next year.Thank you to all the readers throughout this growingseason, and I look forward to reporting again next year.

Leroy Getz, Savanna, Carroll County: We endedOc tobe r w i t h a d r y week ,allowing most harvest to becompleted. Corn and soybeanyields were good and bad. Hayproduction was below average,even with the extra cuttings.My friend, Tommy, told me he

made his seventh cutting this week — a record for any-where. This year tested our endurance. Hopefully, 2013will be a better year. Thanks to the many readers forreading and responding to my reports. Now, don’t forgetto vote.

Ken Reinhardt, Seaton, Mercer County: It was finallya good week to finish soybeanharvest. Very l i t t le corn orbeans are left. Yields turnedout to be pretty much averageon crops other than somecorn-on-cor n f ie lds. Cornplanted after the rain delay

into May was better, but wetter than the late-April plant-ed corn. My no-till plot planted in mid-May went from176 to 238 bpa with about 200 bushels and a 20 per-cent moisture average. Anhydrous ammonia applica-tions have begun with good soil conditions. The subsoil,of course, is very dry and is a concern for next year.

Ron Moore, Roseville, Warren County: We did notreceive any rain last week.There are still just a few acresof corn and soybeans left inthis area, and those acresshou ld ge t har ves ted th isweek. The dry weather hasallowed lots of tillage and fer-tilizer application to take place.

This is the first week I have seen any anhydrous ammo-nia being applied. We finished cleaning the pits lastweek and should finish tillage this week. Soon the taskwill be planning for the 2013 crop year and the wintermeeting season. Have a wonderful holiday season anda great crop next year.

Tim Green, Wyoming, Stark County: It was a busyweek. Things dried out a little.Tillage and some fall anhy-drous applications were start-ing the end of the week. Thereare scattered fields of soy-beans yet to harvest. Corn ispretty well wrapped up. Theharvest was a little better than

we all thought, but not as good as we hoped. As the oldsaying goes: “There’s always next year.” Be safe. Have agood winter.

Mark Kerber, Chatsworth, Livingston County: Anoth-er planting, growing, and har-vesting season is behind us.The weeks , mon ths , andyears seem to fly by. This yearfor many, gave us droughtalmost as bad as what we hadin 1988. It’s time to sit downwith a federal crop adjuster if

you had insurance and close out 2012. This past weekwas dry, and most everyone completed harvest. Thereis much tillage going on, as the soil is working well. Thestrip-till guys have started their operations. Our inputprices are pretty much determined for next year, but theuncertainty of yield and price make it interesting. Have agreat winter and we will see you at the farm shows.

Ron Haase, Gilman, Iroquois County: With the drierweather, it was a busy week inthe fields. Fertilizer and limewere spread. The soil dried outto allow tillage to resume andanhydrous ammonia to beapplied. Harvest continues forthe last remaining corn andsoybean fields. We need three

full days to finish our corn. In looking over the results ofour cornfields, the fields we planted in April were notprofitable. The fields that we planted in May have allbeen profitable. The corn we planted in May avoidedpollinating during the extreme heat and was able to ben-efit from the late-season rains. Overall, our averagecorn yield for all our farms combined will be our worstsince 1995. This is due to the corn we planted in April.The local closing bids for Nov. 1: nearby corn, $7.51; fall2013 corn, $6.07; nearby soybeans, $15.49; fall 2013soybeans, $13.17.

Brian Schaumburg, Chenoa, McLean County: NH3applications are in full swingand some combines are stillworking in soybeans. The year2012 can be summarized asfollows: a fast start in excellentconditions, low subsoil mois-ture, a wedding, tr iple-digitheat, 10 percent of normal

rainfall, aflatoxin, insurance claims, and a late bean har-vest. We always start out hopeful and end up thankful. Ican’t wait to see what next season brings! Blessings toall. Corn, $7.53; January, $7.58; fall 2013, $6.21; soy-beans, $15.35; January, $15.37; fall 2013, $13.17;wheat, $8.27.

Steve Ayers, Champaign, Champaign County: Part-ing is such sweet sorrow forthis year’s roller-coaster ride ofa growing season. We finishedbeans last week with yieldsranging from 47-51 bpa. TheLabor Day rains were a beanmaker for us. Countywide, weare 97 percent finished with

corn and 83 percent with soybeans. Topsoil moisture is5 percent short, 89 percent adequate, and 6 percentsurplus. Compare that with May 3 at 3 percent short, 96percent adequate, and 1 percent surplus, so we areabout back to where we started this season. My sisterlives 15 miles north of New York City. Sandy was not toobad for her family but power still looks several days offand gasoline is nowhere to be found for their generator.It’s going to be a long recovery for New York and NewJersey. Happy trails to you, until we meet again!

Wilfred Dittmer, Quincy, Adams County: Another yearof crop watching is drawing toa close, and what a year itwas. From the exceptionallydry early spring to the hot drysummer, it has been a chal-lenge to everyone. Thanks toall you faithful readers for yourcomments and input. Even

though the bins are not full this year, the year 2013hopefully will be better. Have a safe winter.

Tom Ritter, Blue Mound, Macon County: Harvest andmost tillage work are virtuallycompleted in this area. Anhy-drous tanks started rolling withquite a few acres being treat-ed. Overall, farmers are wind-ing down the fall season. Mostare fairly pleased with yields,even though they were all over

the board. Hopefully, crop insurance will make up anyshortfall, and the higher prices definitely will take someof the sting out of short yields. Overall, corn seemed tohave more of a major hit than soybeans. There is a bigelection this week. Don’t forget to vote.

Todd Easton, Charleston, Coles County: A break inthe wet weather pattern gaveColes County producers anexcellent week to finish upcrop harvest and fall tillagework . Ser v ice companieshave been busy with dry fertil-izer application and startinganhydrous ammonia applica-

tions in a few fields. If the weather stays clear over thenext week, the end of the year’s fieldwork will be insight, and we will gladly move on to the next year.Watching a whole crop that we invested so much time,effort, and money into get all but wiped out by forces

well out of our control is a hard reality to get through.But with a farmer’s resolve, we did. We have reached theend of another interesting Cropwatcher season and willsee you again next May for the crop year I’m dubbing“Lucky 13.” Until then, have a good off season with thefamily and don’t forget to cast a vote for the future of thisgreat nation.

Jimmy Ayers, New City, Sangamon County: This pastweek we received half of aninch of rain. Fieldwork was fin-ishing up. Anhydrous applica-tors were rolling along prettyhard. This year will go down inthe books. It started out look-ing like an excellent year andended up with yields all over

the board. We had some corn here produced as low as57 bpa. Beans were actually good for the year at 48 to72 bpa. Drought years are hard to predict and hard toplan for. You don’t want to make drastic changes overthings that you noticed this year. The drought did showus how different varieties of corn react to stress. Hopeyou have a great winter.

Doug Uphoff, Shelbyville, Shelby County: How timeflies! This is our last report.What a year! It’s one for therecord books as far as cornyields and the price of com-modities go. We started theyear looking l ike we had abumper crop on the way andthen the heat and dry weather

came. Fortunately, the first week of August brought rainand salvaged bean yields in our part of the county. It didmess up maturity of our 3.4-maturity beans. We finallygot those cut, by the way. Quite a bit of wheat is going inthe ground. We planted 40 acres early and are planting25 more acres that just dried up enough to plant. See yanext year. Don’t forget to vote. Also pray for those on theEast Coast. It has been a pleasure writing for Crop-watchers this year, and I deeply appreciate all the posi-tive response I have received for doing it.

David Schaal, St. Peter, Fayette County: A recap of2012: This spring got off to apretty good start. Planting wasabout normal for us, then rainscame after some mid-Apr i lcorn was in the ground. It was10 days into May when wereturned to the fields. SomeApr i l co r n was rep lan ted ,

which, looking back, was a mistake. But then May cornwent in great, jumped out of the soil, and looked good.Then summer heat hit early and when it hit, it was hereto stay with 100-plus degree days, no cool-down atnight, and no rainfall. Rains came in late August andsomehow saved the soybean crop. Corn was absolutelyhorrible. Couldn’t even report yields on some, becausethere was none. Now rains come pretty easy. Farmerswith double-crop beans are rutting fields as they harvest.Producers wanting to sow wheat are chipping stubblefields open to dry them out. There was some wheatsown last week, along with the fall spraying, spreading offertilizer, and also some fall tillage. We’ll see ya in 2013,and we’re hoping for a better corn report next year.

Jeff Guilander, Jerseyville, Jersey County: With har-vest done, many have startedfall tillage and fertilizer applica-tions. Last week it looked likewe may be in for a short fallwith the rain, but now it lookslike we will get a good jump on2013. It always amazes mehow much can be accom-

plished in a week when things fall into place. Best of luckfor 2013.

Dave Hankammer, Millstadt, St. Clair County: Theweather this past week wascool and dry, which allowedfields to dry out. The high tem-peratures in the 60s and lowsnear the freezing point remindus of a typ ica l fa l l season.Farmers this past week made a

push to plant winter wheat as soil conditions becamesuitable for tillage. Some earlier-seeded wheat fieldshave been treated for fall aphids. The extended warmtemps into the fall allowed insects to be a pest in thegrowing crop. Any crops remaining in the field at the timeof this report will soon disappear as farmers will bewrapping up the harvest season. One important chorethat needs to be done this season is to get out and votefor the candidates of your choice. Local grain bids: corn,$7.07; soybeans, $15.36; wheat, $8.34.


CROPWATCHERSLast report of the season.

Ken Taake, Ullin, Pulaski County: It was a beautifulweek weather-wise here indeep Southern Illinois. I thinkeverybody was in the field. Wemanaged to spread quite a bitof lime, and that’s been ourmain activity for the last week.Harvest has all but finishedhere. There are still a few fields

of soybeans left — mostly double-crop beans that gotplanted later and had slow emergence because of thedry soils. To summarize the year: Probably the biggestthing is I’m glad it’s over. Our final corn yield was aboutequal to our soybean yield, so that gives you an idea ofhow poor things were here in deep Southern Illinois,and we were better than some. I guess it’s time to juststart looking forward to next year, and, hopefully, it willbe better. Please have a safe winter and be careful ifyou are finishing your harvest activities.

Dan Meinhart, Montrose, Jasper County: We had amostly sunny, cold, and windyweek. Corn and bean harvesti s p re t t y we l l w rapped upexcept for some double-cropbeans. Wheat sowing is almostcomplete. Fertilizer and limeapplication continues alongwith fall tillage.

Dean Shields, Murphysboro, Jackson County: Norain last week, so we wereable to finish soybean harvest.All I have left is a few wheatfield beans, but the rest of thecrop is done. I believe most ofthe wheat in this area hasbeen planted by now with a lot

of it up and looking good. The bean harvest, yield wise,came in better than expected as a whole, but not verygood compared to average. Last year, I had the worstflood of my farming life, and this year, I had the worstdrought of my life. I wonder what will come next year?We will just have to wait until then to see. This is why welove the job. Everyone have a safe winter.

Randy Anderson, Galatia, Saline County Thanks toall for reading and the encour-agement to write this summer,although there’s not a lot toreport on the farm at times andI get too busy to write or call in.Final numbers on corn yields:15 bpa and soybeans, 16 bpa.Wishing all fellow farmers a

much better and prosperous year in 2013!

Rick Corners, Centralia, Jefferson County: Battlesare still going on, but the waris about over — the 2012 cropyear that is. Wheat is beingsown like it’s the first week ofOctober and not the first weekof November. I guess it willcome up in standing water.Lots of beans remain in the

fields. We finally had a killing frost Thursday night, sonow maybe they will get ripe. Probably some peoplewish they would have taken a disc to some of the dou-ble-crops last summer. Oh well, next year will be better.That’s the thought that keeps us going. Happy trails toyou, until we meet again.

Kevin Raber, Browns, Wabash County: I cut the first ofm y d o u b l e - c r o p b e a n sThursday. The beans weredry, but the yield was about30 bushel an acre. That’s agood yield for double-cropbeans in a normal year —exceptional for this growingseason. In closing out my

reports for 2012, I will say it will be a year that will beremembered, but as always, the Lord has blessed uswith another successful harvest. Be safe finishing up2012 and plan for an interesting 2013.


Reports received Friday morning. Expanded crop and weather infor-mation available at FarmWeekNow.com

CROPWATCHERS

Orr Beef Center plans Wednesdayopen house

The Orr Beef ResearchCenter, Perry, will host anopen house Wednesday,starting at noon. Registrationis not required.

The event will start with ameal, followed by a discus-sion, demonstrations, and atour.

Discussion topics willinclude production practicesto reduce feed costs, feedingcorn silage, and pasture man-agement.

The demonstrations willbe: calving season tips, sam-pling forages for testing, andtreating cornstalk bales withliquid feed supplements.

Biosecurity measuresrequire farmers not to wearclothing, boots, or shoes pre-viously worn in feedlots orpastures unless they havebeen washed.

More information is avail-able by calling Travis Meteeror Nathan Post at 217-236-4961.

Drought recovery continues; harvest nears completionsub-soil moisture,” he added.

Topsoil moisture last weekin the state was rated 80 per-cent adequate to surplus, with20 percent short or very short.However, the majority of sub-soil moisture (57 percent), lastweek still was rate short orvery short.

The improvement in condi-tions was the result of above-average precipitation the pasttwo months. The statewideaverage precipitation in Octo-ber was 3.9 inches, 0.7 abovenormal, while the temperatureaveraged 52.2 degrees, 1.9degrees below normal.

A band of the state fromQuincy to Champaign received4-7 inches of rain last month.

“We’ve had welcome rainshere lately, 4.5 inches sinceOct. 15,” said Steve Ruh, afarmer from Kane County’sSugar Grove in Northern Illi-nois. “The soil definitely isgetting recharged.”

BY DANIEL GRANTFarmWeek

A cool, wet October easedthe drought at many locationsin Illinois, particularly south ofInterstate 80.

In fact, the majority of thesouthern two-thirds of thestate no longer is in drought

and now is abnormally dry orback to normal (see graphic).

“In the last two months,especially in central and south-ern portions of the state,we’ve made good progressrecharging the soil moisture,”said Jim Angel, state climatol-ogist with the Illinois StateWater Survey. “There still aresome lingering shortages of

The driest was the north-west sector in the state lastweek. It was listed as in mod-erate drought compared tosevere drought last month.

Meanwhile, the droughtintensified west of the Missis-sippi River last week whileflooding inundated the EastCoast due to Hurricane Sandy.

“The drought has shiftedwestward,” Angel said. “TheHigh Plains are the hardestarea at the moment. It couldcause some lingering concernsnext spring.”

Farmers in recent weeksmade a great deal of progressin their fields, despite thereturn of more consistentrainfall in much of the state.

Harvest last week was 94percent complete for corn,compared to the average of 69percent, and 87 percent com-plete for soybeans, comparedto the average of 80 percent.

The majority of sorghum

(86 percent) last week was har-vested statewide, compared tothe average of 65 percent,while 81 percent of the winterwheat crop was planted, slight-ly ahead of the average paceof 79 percent.

The drought in Illinois, which reached its peak in August, had eased con-siderably and even had dissipated in some areas as of last week.

FarmWeekNow.com

Check out the latest drought infor-mation for Illinois at FarmWeek--Now.com.

East Coast recovering from superstorm

Commodity markets return to ‘business as usual’Hurricane Sandy, which

turned into a superstorm lastweek when it slammed intothe eastern U.S. coast, leftquite a trail of devastation.

The storm as of late lastweek caused at least 72 deathsin the U.S., grounded morethan 18,000 flights, andknocked out power to an esti-mated 8.2 million householdsfrom New York to as far westas Wisconsin.

The situation also causedthe New York Stock Exchangeto close for two days. It wasthe longest weather-relatedclosure of the exchange sincea blizzard dumped nearly twofeet of snow on New York onMarch 12 and 13, 1888.

The equity marketsreopened Wednesday. In

Chicago, the markets remainedopen during normal businesshours at the CME Group, buttrade reportedly was light earlyin the week.

But by late last week it wasbusiness as usual.

“Some people were worriedabout pent up demand but,obviously, we didn’t see that,”Terry Duffy, executive chair-man of the CME Group, toldFox Business News. “We’rekind of seeing business asusual.”

Crop prices dipped on Fri-day but remained strongthroughout the week.

“There was a little lightertrading (immediately after thestorm),” said Nick Klump,AgriVisor risk manager spe-cialist. “But I don’t think

(Sandy) had too much impacton the grains.”

IHS Global Insight lastweek predicted Sandy causedabout $20 billion in damageon the East Coast and any-where from $10 billion to $30billion in lost business.

But it’s not expected toimpact the overall U.S. econo-my to nearly the extent ofHurricane Katrina in 2005,which caused a massive run-up in the price of fuel and nat-ural gas.

In fact, fuel prices at manylocations in the U.S. notaffected by the storm actuallydecreased last week.

“Unlike Hurricane Isaacearlier this year (and Katrina),Hurricane Sandy impacted anarea that is a major consumer

of gasoline rather than amajor producer,” the AAAFuel Gauge Report noted.

Gasoline demand last weekdeclined by an estimated 1million to 2 million barrels perday.

Demand also is expected tobe the key driver of the cropmarkets for much of the restof the year now that harvest isnearly complete.

“The story right now isdemand is not slowing downfor soybeans, and we’re start-ing to get some worries aboutSouth American weather (thatcould affect soy plantings),”Klump said. “For corn,ethanol production was higherlast week but, overall, corndemand still is pretty dis-mal.” — Daniel Grant

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Farmers seeking the latest research resultsand tips to improve soybean yield potential canaccess the information througha new soybean checkoff-fundedbooklet.

The Illinois Soybean Associa-tion (ISA) and Illinois State Uni-versity’s Ag Department part-nered on the project, which wasled by the United Soybean Boardthrough its tech transfer program.

The program shares resultsfrom checkoff-funded produc-tion research with U.S. soybeanfarmers.

The booklet, titled “IllinoisSoybean Production Guide –Systematic Strategies to Increas-ing Yields,” is available online or in papercopies. It provides farmers with the latestapplied research results and tips to improveyield potential at each stage of soybean devel-opment.

Kevin Black, GROWMARK agronomist,assisted on the development of the produc-

tion booklet.“There are so many decisions

we make between planting andharvest that can affect soybeanyields,” said Ross Prough, a soy-bean grower from Greenfieldand ISA’s vice chairman foryield. “The booklet is a usefultool to guide decisions andmanagement practices at eachstage of production.”

Key production recommen-dations deal with seed selection,planting, pest and disease con-trol, harvest, and storage duringeach of the following stages:

preplant, planting, vegetative growth, bloom topod maturity, and maturity.

The booklet is available online at{ilsoy.org/isa/profitability/}. For a paper copy,contact ISA at 309-663-7692.

ISA provides tips to improve soy yields

‘The booklet is au s e f u l t o o l t oguide decisionsand managementpractices... .’

— Ross ProughISA vice chairman for yield

Nutritionist: Technology can boostfeed efficiency in livestock industryBY DANIEL GRANTFarmWeek

Livestock producers this yearhave been forced to maximizeevery resource to feed theirherds to make up for drought-induced crop and forage losses.

In some cases, farmers werenot able to source enough feedor cover the high costs of thefeed in order to maintain theirherds or flocks.

“The drought hurt animalagriculture a great deal,” JimSullivan, an animal nutritionistwith J.E. Sullivan Enterprise,said last week at the Doane agoutlook conference in St.Louis. “There is a lot of liqui-dation taking place right now.

“About 70 percent of thecost of meat and milk produc-

tion is feed,” he continued. “Andit’s about doubled in cost.”

Sullivan believes technologycould be a vital tool in helpinglivestock producers avoid asimilar feed crisis in the future.

“I believe there is an oppor-tunity for plant geneticists tohelp animal agriculture,” he said.

Sullivan this fall surveyedmembers of the AmericanFeed Industry Association tosee what crop improvementswould be most beneficial tolivestock feeders.

The majority of respon-dents (70 percent) would liketo see more protein (a higherlevel of specific amino acids)and higher energy content infeed. Forty percent requestedincreased digestible fiber.

Production and storabilitytraits in crops also could helplivestock producers. Eightypercent of survey respondentssaid they would like to seeincreased resistance to mold incrops, 70 percent would preferfaster drying of hay crops, and60 percent would like to seeforages that exhibit fasterregrowth after harvest.

“We need technology,” saidSullivan, who was raised on adairy farm near Freeport. “Weneed to continue to improvethe efficiency of feed produc-tion around the world.”

U.S. livestock numbers arepredicted to decline next year dueto drought-related liquidation.But, long-term, Sullivan predict-ed the outlook for livestock pro-duction and demand is good.

“The outlook for thedemand of animal feed isgrowing,” he said. “Worlddemand for animal protein isincreasing.”

Animal agriculture con-sumes roughly 55 percent ofcorn (including distillers grains)and 94 percent of soybean mealin the U.S., Sullivan added.

Chicago Farmers’ meeting will focuson ag policy

Domestic and global agricul-tural policy will be featured atthe Chicago Farmers Nov. 14meeting in the Illini Center, 200S. Wacker Drive, Chicago. Thereservation deadline is Nov. 13.

Bob Thompson, Universityof Illinois professor emeritus,will discuss global ag policiesand the latest on the farm bill.

Registration will start at11:30 a.m. followed by lunchand the program at noon.

The cost for members is $25in advance or $35 at the door.The cost for non-members is$50.

For information or reserva-tions, go online to {chicago-farmers.org} or call 312-388-3276.

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Notice of Annual Meeting

Illinois Agricultural Association

Notice is hereby given that theannual meeting of the members of theIllinois Agricultural Association willbe held in the Palmer House Hotel, 17East Monroe Street, Chicago, Illinois,60603, on Saturday, December 1,Sunday, December 2, Monday,December 3, and Tuesday, December4, 2012 with the official meeting ofvoting delegates convening at 8:00a.m. on Monday, December 3, for thefollowing purposes:

To receive, consider and, ifapproved, ratify and confirm thereports of the officers and the actsand proceedings of the Board ofDirectors and officers in furtheranceof the matters therein set forth sincethe last the last annual meeting of theAssociation.

To elect nine (9) members of theBoard of Directors to serve for a termof two years.

To consider and act upon suchproposed amendments to the Articlesof Incorporation or to the Bylaws ofthe Illinois Agricultural Associationand upon such policy resolutions asmay be properly submitted.

For the transaction of such otherbusiness as may properly comebefore the meeting.

James M. JacobsSecretary

BY MARTIN ROSSFarmWeek

As the U.S. Environmental Protection Agency(EPA) struggles toward a decision on 2013 ethanolmandates, biofuels and related industries continueto project reductions in the amount of corn need-ed to meet ethanol goals.

Last week, Novozymes announced the launchof a new biofuels enzyme product, Avantec, whichreportedly would enable ethanol producers to gen-erate 2.5 percent more in biofuels from a bushelof corn.

Technological advances such as improved starchconversion enzymes and ethanol-specific cornvarieties are chipping away at ethanol corn con-sumption.

EPA is expected by Nov. 15 to rule on a requestto waive 2013 ethanol use requirements based onconcerns about the impact of biofuels demand onfeed and food supplies and costs.

But reduced per-gallon corn demand also is cru-

cial to a biofuels industry that has been forced todownscale production amid drought-year marketconditions and low profit margins.

Novozymes Executive Vice President Peder HolkNielsen argues “Corn is the single biggest input costfor an ethanol producer. “As corn prices have risen,profits have disappeared,” he said.

Today, a typical U.S. ethanol plant may use900,000 tons of feed-grade corn per year to pro-duce 100 million gallons of ethanol, 300,000 tonsof distillers dried grains (DDGs) and, in manycases, up to 8,500 tons of corn oil. Novozymesestimated use of Avantec could save 22,500 tonsof corn annually while maintaining ethanol out-put.

The company estimates nationwide use of emerg-ing enzyme products alone could save 3 million tonsof corn annually. Over the past five years, improve-ments in enzyme technology reportedly have helpedthe industry increase starch conversion to sugar andsubsequently ethanol by 5 percent.

At the same time, the crop development indus-try continues to focus on increased productionefficiency through corn biology. Syngenta’sbiotech Enogen corn, approved 1 1/2 years ago,includes heightened levels of amylase, an enzymethat accelerates starch breakdown.

“It speeds the process up and makes it muchmore efficient for the ethanol plant,” SyngentaEnogen account lead James Harp toldFarmWeek. “And there’s no yield drag associat-ed with Enogen — whatever’s happening withregular corn in the field is happening withEnogen.”

Enogen varieties are grown under contract incooperation with regional ethanol plants. Monsan-to, meanwhile, offers high fermentable corn(HFC) varieties under its Processor Preferred ban-ner.

Use of HFC hybrids can improve per-plantcorn-to-ethanol conversion by 2 to 4 percent,according to Monsanto.

Will new technology help defuse corn/ethanol debate?

Time cites projectThe green marine technology behind the Illinois soybean

checkoff-funded Velella Mariculture Project has been named toTime magazine’s “50 Best Inventions of 2012” list.

Citing growing global demand for Omega 3-rich marine fishand stagnant wild fish harvests, Time highlighted the Hawaiianproject as a model for aquaculture practices that pose no dis-cernible environmental impact. The project is featured inTime’s Nov. 12 issue now available on newsstands.

The research project raised kampachi, a tropical yellowtailfish, in a single unanchored, submersible net pen tethered to amanned sailing vessel and drifting on deep ocean currents threeto 75 miles off Hawaii’s Big Island.

Kampachi were fed a “sustainable” commercial diet thatreplaced significant amounts of fishmeal and fish oil with soyand other alternative ag proteins. No antibiotics, hormones, orpesticides were used throughout the seven-month trial, whichconcluded with a February 2012 harvest.

Kampachi Farms co-CEO Neil Anthony Sims reported thefish showed “phenomenal growth rates and superb fish health,”while their offshore cultivation had no negative impact onwater quality, the ocean floor, wild fish, or marine mammals.

Times’ recognition “further validates the commitment of theIllinois Soybean Association (ISA) to fund visionary researchthat develops cutting-edge aquaculture technologies and soy-based feed to help grow a sustainable supply of healthyseafood,” said Duane Dahlman, a Marengo soybean farmer andISA vice chair for aquaculture.

Other partners in the Velella Project included the NationalOceanic and Atmospheric Administration, the National ScienceFoundation, Lockheed-Martin, the International Copper Asso-ciation, and Ocean Farm Technologies.

During a recent Soy and Grain Trade Summit in NewOrleans, George Chamberlain, technical director and co-ownerof Nebraska-based Integrated Aquaculture International, notedmarine fisheries “have hit their limits” and investments in wildcatch have dropped significantly.

At the same time, global income growth continues to feeddemand for fish, particularly in Asia, he said.

“The only way to grow the seafood supply is through aqua-culture,” Chamberlain argued. — Martin Ross

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Farm bill key in realizing FTA benefits?BY MARTIN ROSSFarmWeek

New doors are opening inLatin American trade. Con-gressional farm bill actionmay determine the extent towhich U.S. farmers areallowed to capitalize on thosemarket openings.

Under a new U.S.-Panamafree trade agreement (FTA)enacted last week, the CentralAmerican nation eliminatedduties on roughly half of its agimports from the U.S.

That includes high-gradebeef, frozen turkeys, crude soy-bean and corn oil, soybeans,soybean meal, wheat, sorghum,dairy whey, cotton, peanuts,almost all fruit products, andmany processed products.Panama’s slated to scrap mostremaining tariffs on U.S. aggood within 15 years.

Further, new tariff rate quo-tas (TRQs) provide reducedduties for specified volumes ofU.S. standard-grade beef, pork,corn, rice, dairy products, andchicken leg quarters.

A U.S.-Colombia FTA willoffer similar gains, immediatelyeliminating duties on wheat,

USGC educate foreign cus-tomers in DDG nutrition, use,and storage. As a result ofUSGC efforts, a major Ecuado-ran company has purchased itsfirst 3,000 metric tons ofDDGs. USGC will offer semi-nars for Ecuadoran nutritionistsand end users prior to itsDecember arrival.

Alejandro Jaramillo is logis-tics manager with Colombianfeed supplier and poultry/swineintegrator Contegral. Contegralpurchases U.S. corn, beans, corngluten meal and feed, andDDGs, though Jaramillo noted

South American corn and beanscurrently are cheaper because ofthe U.S. drought.

“In soybeans and soybeanmeal, you have better proteinlevels than the Argentiniansoybean meal,” he told Farm-Week. “South American cornis harder, so it’s better for thesupply chain. But both (U.S.corn and beans) are good.

“If we had a normal crop inthe United States, a normal cropin South America, and similarprices, I think our point of pur-chase would be the UnitedStates.”

soybeans, soy meal and flour,high-quality beef, bacon, barley,fruit and vegetable products,peanuts, whey, cotton, and themajority of U.S. processedproducts.

U.S. Grains Council (USGC)Central American consultant Ale-jandro Gonzalez cites key growthin poultry, pork, and dairy pro-duction across his region. Gonza-lez recently joined a South Amer-ican delegation on an IllinoisCorn Marketing Board tour offarms and ag distribution/trans-portation facilities.

Ethanol-derived distillersdried grains (DDGs) are joiningcorn, beans, soy meal, corngluten meal, and wheat in rou-tine “vessel combinations”ordered by feed buyers acrossthe region, the Costa Rica-basedconsultant told FarmWeek.

Gonzalez sees far greatermarket gains to be madethroughout Latin America,especially through use of fed-erally supported export pro-motion programs. However,future funding for USDA’sMarket Access and ForeignMarket Development pro-grams (MAP and FMD) is in

limbo without a new farm bill.MAP and FMD help buyers

grasp “the whole picture ofhow the grain system works,”Gonzalez said. Through pro-gram funding, Colombia,Ecuadoran, and Peruvian offi-cials toured an Illinois ethanolplant, a container facility thatloads DDGs for export, and theMelvin Price Lock at East Altonafter attending the 2012 ExportExchange in Minneapolis.

“With the ethanol plants(producing feed ingredients),people need to be aware ofwhat’s going on in the globalmarketplace,” Gonzalez said.“They’re really eager to seehow much DDGs are pro-duced.

“And in a year like this, withdrought in the U.S., we need toreassure our business partnersthat U.S. farmers are here andthat next year, they’re planningto make a special effort in orderto try to produce a big crop.Part of the usefulness of MAPand FMD is to explain how thesystem works and to help thembe more secure about the wholesystem.”

Export programs help

The Velella Mariculture Project, funded by the Illinois soybean check-off, raised fish in a submersible pen drifting on deep ocean currentsoff the Hawaiian coast. Time magazine has cited the project’s poten-tial for sustainable aquaculture production. (Photo by Bryce Groark)

the planet


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IFB economist helps Paraguay cultivate diversityBY MARTIN ROSSFarmWeek

Paraguay is the world’sfourth largest soybeanexporter. Familiar names suchas Archer Daniels Midlanddot the landscape. Farmsalong the road that followsthe Parana River offer whatMike Doherty calls a modern“Midwestern feel.”

But the Illinois Farm Bureaueconomist found a differentParaguay off the main drag —a country of rutted roads and

tin-roofed homes, farmersscrabbling for subsistence, anda farm feel closer to that of theU.S. in the 1940s or 1950s.

Doherty hopes to help unifythe two Paraguays throughcrop diversification and “insti-tutional strengthening.” Tap-ping into IFB’s nearly century-old cooperative origins, heattempted to show Paraguayanfarmers how, collectively, theymight grow sustainable marketsin oranges or tea.

“Paraguay’s the fastest-growing soybean exportingcountry, but that’s not what Iwas there to work on,” he said.“Paraguay has a need to sup-port the other tier of farmerswho aren’t part of soybeanproduction.

“They have some back-ground in specialty crop pro-duction, but they needstrengthening. They need to gettogether and form cooperativesso they can do a better job ofmarketing and earning incomefrom specialty crops.”

of America is well-inten-tioned young college-educat-ed Americans who may notknow much about productionagriculture or ADM buildinga big soybean plant.

“They don’t get an oppor-tunity to gain any impressionof what the typical Americanfarmer has to offer in thearea of cooperative market-ing.”

Doherty, a former PeaceCorps educator who onceworked with Dominican sugarproducers through USDA,focused on potential local andexport markets for Paraguayancitrus, Yerba mate tea, or pas-sion fruit juice. He met withfarmers as a volunteer withthe Washington-based Agri-cultural Cooperative Develop-ment International/Volun-teers in Overseas CooperativeAssistance.

Doherty noted Paraguay is

“pretty heavily weighted”toward soybean and beefexports — Brazilian-style farm-ing methods were introduced inthe 1960s. Illinois farmers canbenefit from their Paraguayancounterparts developing “mar-kets outside the typical com-modity markets,” he said.

Market development andincome improvement somedaycould translate to increased U.S.ag exports to Paraguay. Howev-er, Doherty sees agriculturalgood will as the most immedi-ate U.S. benefit of buildingParaguay’s productive prof-itability.

The Paraguayan government“has a long history of beingvery open to outside invest-ment,” he noted. U.S. engage-ment with Brazil has led to jointventures with and investmentopportunities for Midwestgrowers, and over the pastdecade, Paraguay has seen rapideconomic growth, Dohertysaid.

“What little U.S. presence

there is in the rural areas iseither from Peace Corps vol-unteers, who generally don’thave a strong ag background,or big ag companies,” hestressed. “Their impression

Illinois Farm Bureau economist Mike Doherty, right, enjoys a yerba mate tea break with Osmar Mereles,left, an agronomist formerly involved with the Paraguay Productivo development project; Ever Almada,center, a purchasing manager and fieldman with Frutika, an orange juice processing company; and,standing, Paraguayan farmer Cecilio de los Santos, president of the producer group CITRICOOP.

FB IN ACTION


Scott County tour gives ‘adopted’ lawmaker farm experiencesBY CHRISTINA NOURIE

State Rep. Art Turner Jr.(D-Chicago) took a jam-packed tour of Scott Countyagriculture last week on hisfirst farm visit.

Turner and his guest, AlishaKulek, spent the morninglearning more about agricul-ture. The Scott County FarmBureau “adopted” Turner in2011.

Over breakfast, Turner andseveral Scott County FarmBureau members discussedissues such as the sales taxexemption on ag inputs, estatetax, gestation stalls, tail dock-ing, locks and dams, and theneed for the overtime exemp-tion for agriculture.

Turner said he appreciatedlearning more about theseissues and having the opportu-nity to talk directly with thefarmers.

Next, the group toured Lin-colnLand FS, Winchester,where the farmers explainedhow they use anhydrousammonia and some of theirsafety and theft concerns.

The group then visited the

Arends-Awe John Deere deal-ership, Riggston.

Turner examined severalpieces of machinery andclimbed into a tractor cab. Heand owner Doug Awe dis-cussed the state’s fiscal climateand challenges faced by smallbusinesses.

Turner got experience driv-ing a John Deere tractor on theCharles Powell farm. Turnerand Kulek also drove Powell’sATV and learned about anATV’s use in farm work.

On the farm of Jeff Hurrel-brink, Turner and Hurrelbrinkapplied anhydrous ammonia tothe farmer’s fields. Turner saidhe was amazed at the amountof technology in farm equip-ment, especially the GPS andauto-steer system.

The Scott County farmersare planning to visit Turnerand his district in Decemberwhen they attend the IFBannual meeting.

Christ ina Nourie is theIFB nor theast leg is lat i ve coor-dinator. Her email addr ess [email protected] g .

Wayne Brown, second from left, Scott County Farm Bureau vice president and an employee at Arends-AweJohn Deere dealership, explains farm equipment to state Rep. Art Turner Jr. (D-Chicago), third from left, dur-ing Turner’s Scott County tour last week. Looking on are Blake Roderick, executive director of Pike and ScottCounty Farm Bureaus, and Alisha Kulek of Chicago. (Photo by Christina Nourie)

Deadline nearing to apply for new advisory teamsFarm Bureau members may

submit applications for one ofthree new issue advisory

teams until Dec. 6.Illinois Farm Bureau is

developing Strength WithAdvisory Teams (SWAT) tosurface emerging issues in agri-culture, provide a vision forIFB and the agriculture indus-try, and help guide issues.

“Agriculture is changing; thedynamics are changing. Theseteams will capture the strengthof this organization and guidethe organization and industry,”

said Mark Gebhards, IFB exec-utive director of governmentalaffairs and commodities.

“The teams will provide anew platform to better investi-gate and prepare the organiza-tion to understand, influence,and adapt to the changing reali-ties in production agriculture,the rural economy, and ruralfamily life,” Gebhards noted.

A Conservation and NaturalResources Team will work onissues related to environmentalregulations, conservation pro-grams, forestry, concentratedanimal feeding operations, per-mitting, pesticide use, and relat-ed topics.

A Farming Production andMarketing Team will focus onissues related to crop produc-tion, marketing, risk manage-ment, trade, technology, farmpolicy, livestock, equine, localfoods, specialty crops, andrelated sectors.

A Local and State Govern-ment Team will address ruraldevelopment, local govern-

ments and economies, elec-tions, education, energy, trans-portation, and related issues.

The three teams will identifyissues and provide input to theIFB Board of Directors onissues relating to farmers, pro-duction practices, rural life, andother agriculture-related areas.“One of the goals of theseteams is to be proactive insteadof reactive to those changingdynamics,” Gebhards said.

Each team will guide anddirect IFB as the membersbecome experts on specificissues, regulations, and legisla-tion on which they focus.

Each team will have 12Farm Bureau members, an IFBboard member, and a countyFarm Bureau manager who willserve in an advisory capacity.

Team members will beappointed to two-year terms.For the initial year only, termswill be staggered. Eighteenmembers will be selected forone-year terms and 18 for two-year-terms.

The teams will meet fourtimes each year for one-daymeetings with the first meetingset for Jan. 31.

Applicants not selected for ateam may participate in anadvisory capacity as indicatedby selecting specific issues onthe application form.

“Individuals who are notselected to serve on a team orjust have an interest in some ofthe topics will still have anopportunity to guide the issuesby serving on an ad hoc adviso-ry group,” Gebhardsexplained.

For information, contactyour county Farm Bureau, callIFB at 309-557-3984, or goonline to {ilfb.org/swat}.

FarmWeekNow.com

For more information on the newStrength with Advisory Teams,go to FarmWeekNow.com.

FROM THE COUNTIES


BROWN — Deadline toorder Florida oranges,

tangelos, grapefruit, red deli-cious apples, and pecans is Fri-day, Nov. 16. Delivery to theFarm Bureau office will beTuesday, Dec. 11. Call theFarm Bureau office at 217-773-2634 to place an order.

BUREAU — Bureau,Marshall-Putnam, and

Stark County Farm Bureauswill host a college open housefor agriculture students from10 to 11:30 a.m. and from12:30 to 2 p.m. Wednesday,Nov. 14, at the Marshall-Put-nam County Farm Bureauoffice, Henry. All sophomore,junior, and senior studentswho are interested in pursuinga career in an agricultural fieldare invited. Call the FarmBureau office at 815-875-6468for more information.

• Bureau, Henry, Knox,Mercer, and Stark CountyFarm Bureaus, and the Univer-sity of Illinois Extension unitswill host their second fallequine seminar from 6:15 to8:30 p.m. at Black Hawk East(BHE) Ag Arena. BrendaMatherly, Illinois Farm Bureauassistant director of local gov-ernment, will discuss the state’sequine industry policy devel-opment and legislation. RachelRock Robinson will have stu-dents represent three hunt seatdisciplines. There is no chargefor 4-H members, FFA mem-bers, and BHE students. Costfor others is $5. Call the FarmBureau office for more infor-mation.

• Farm Bureau will sponsora crop insurance seminar at 7p.m. Tuesday, Nov. 13, at theFarm Bureau office. John P.Gorman, CliftonLarsonAllenLLP, will discuss crop insur-ance claims and payments.Alan Davis, Country Financialcrop specialist, will introducetrend yield adjustment andhighlight 2013 information.Call the Farm Bureau office at815-875-6468 by Monday, Nov.12, for reservations or moreinformation.

LASALLE — Orderforms for Amish

cheese, Florida fruit, KDCreek Beefsticks, and CC’sSpecialty Foods are available atthe Farm Bureau office or onthe website {lasallecfb.org}.

• Boat and auto storageunits are available at theLaSalle County 4-H Fair-grounds. Cost is $10 per foot.Call the Farm Bureau office at815-433-0371 for more infor-mation.

LEE — Lee, Carroll,Ogle, and Whiteside

County Farm Bureaus andSauk Valley Bank will sponsora marketing workshop at 7p.m. Monday, Nov. 19, at theComfort Inn, Dixon. SteveJohnson, Iowa State UniversityExtension farm management

specialist, will be the speaker.Call the Farm Bureau office at857-3531 or go online to{[email protected]} byMonday, Nov. 12, for reserva-tions or more information.

LIVINGSTON — FarmBureau, Bank of Ponti-

ac, and the Pontiac First Unit-ed Methodist Church will col-lect money for internationalphone cards and items to sendto military personnel for theholidays. Contributions forthe phone cards may be sentto: Phone Cards for Troops,Livingston County FarmBureau, PO Box 410, Pontiac,Ill. 61764. Call the FarmBureau office at 815-842-1103or visit the website{livcfb.org} for a listing ofitems to be sent. Deadline forcontributions is Tuesday.

RANDOLPH — Ran-dolph and Perry Coun-

ty Farm Bureau Ag in theClassroom coordinators willsponsor a kindergartenthrough eight grade teacherworkshop from 4 to 6 p.m.Wednesday, Nov. 14, at theFarm Bureau office. Teacherswill receive continuing profes-sional development units. Callthe Farm Bureau office at 618-443-4511 or [email protected] reservations or more infor-mation.

VERMILION —Orders and payment

for Florida citrus, nuts andsnacks, Ludwig FarmsteadCreamery cheese gift boxes,Leiding’s Meats Bavarian hams,and honey are due by Monday,Nov. 10. Delivery will beMonday, Dec. 10, to the FarmBureau office. Call the FarmBureau office at 217-442-8713for more information. Orderforms are available on thewebsite {vcfb.info}.

“From the counties” items aresubmitted by county Farm Bureaumanagers. If you have an event oractivity open to all members, con-tact your county Farm Bureaumanager.

Lee County ‘field moms’ relish farm tourBY KAY SHIPMANFarmWeek

A combine ride and anopportunity to learn howfarmers grow corn and soy-beans recently providedadventures for Lee County“field moms.”

Anita Johnson and JuliePenne, both from Sterling,toured Sheaffer Acres, theDixon farm of Lee CountyFarm Bureau President JimSheaffer and his son, Kyle.

The county Farm Bureauinformed the local non-farmwomen about farming in amanner similar to the field

moms program of IllinoisFarm Families.

“This farm tour and beingable to see the inner work-ings of a corn and soybeanfarm was a way to see howfarming people live their dai-ly lives,” Johnson reported.

The field moms wereafforded “hands-on observa-tions that you couldn’t getanywhere but where it hap-pens, on the farm.” she said.

Not only did the womenride in a combine, but John-son added she learned about“machinery that I didn’teven know existed.”

In addition to crop pro-duction, the field moms andfarmers discussed seeddevelopment and uses ofcorn and soybeans.

“Mr. Sheaffer was full ofinformation on all these top-ics and more, and very opento all our questions, provid-ing detailed answers,” John-son said.

“Meeting these farmersand hearing them talkabout farming makes meglad they’re the ones pro-ducing our food/prod-

Lee County Farm Bureau President and host farmer Jim Sheaffer, left,explains how grain is stored at Sheaffer Acres to local field moms, Ani-ta Johnson, second from left, and Julie Penne, both of Sterling. Lookingon is Sheaffer’s son, Kyle. (Photo by Danelle Burrs, Lee County Farm Bu-reau manager)

ucts,” Johnson said. “They seem to love their

chosen life’s work, and that’spretty important when pro-ducing necessary products

for so many people.”

Danelle Burrs, Lee CountyFarm Bureau manager, contributedto this story.

profitability


Export inspections(Million bushels)

Week ending Soybeans Wheat Corn10-25-12 63.4 9.7 15.510-18-12 65.2 16.5 10.4Last year 49.6 20.9 31.1Season total 309.3 402.8 143.3Previous season total 208.0 462.2 226.1USDA projected total 1055 1200 1250Crop 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. $32.25-47.00 $39.01 40 lbs. $50.54-61.00 $58.73

Receipts This Week Last Week 100,963 92,988*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 $78.13 $79.40 -1.27 Live $57.82 $58.76 -0.94

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

Steers 126.22 126.95 -0.73 Heifers 127.00 126.98 0.02

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 n/a 144.92 n/a

CME feeder cattle index — 600-800 Lbs.

Lamb prices

(Thursday’s price)

Slaughter Prices - Negotiated, Live, wooled and shorn 86-195 lbs. for88.86-115 $/cwt. (wtd. ave. 102.33)

FSA BALLOTS MAILED — Ballots forthe Farm Service Agency (FSA) county com-mittee elections are being mailed to eligible vot-ers today (Monday). Eligible voters who do notreceive a ballot should contact their county FSAoffice.

Voters must complete and return their bal-lots to their FSA county office by the close ofbusiness on Dec. 3. Mailed ballots must bepostmarked by midnight Dec. 3.

To be eligible, a voter must be of legal votingage and have an interest in a farm or ranch as anindividual or an authorized representative of anentity. Both spouses are eligible when propertyis owned jointly.

An individual who is not of legal votingage may vote if he or she supervises and con-ducts the farming operations on an entirefarm.

Eligible voters also must participate or coop-erate in any FSA program provided by law.

NEW REPORTING REQUIRE-MENTS— Farmers who grow fall-seededsmall grains, forage crops, apples, and peacheshave new acreage reporting requirements,according to Scherrie Giamanco, executivedirector for Illinois FSA.

By Dec. 15, a 2013 acreage report must besubmitted for perennial forage crops of grass,hay, alfalfa, and pasture and fall-seeded wheat,

rye, and barley. Apple and peach growers mustsubmit a 2013 acreage report for those crops byJan. 15.

Those dates also are the same ones to bereported to your crop insurance agent whencarrying federal crop insurance.

For the 2013 crop year only, late-file fees willnot be assessed if acreage is reported by June30, 2013. Previously, reports for those cropswere not due to FSA until later in the springand summer. This change is part of a nationalinitiative to align acreage reporting datesbetween FSA and the Risk Management Agency(RMA).

All acreage uses must be reported for a farm,including cover crops and crops on non-crop-land, such as land on which hay is harvested orgrazed grassland.

Accurate reporting of the crops’ intendeduse is important. FSA determines program eligi-bility based on crops’ intended use, and farmerscannot revise that information after they havereported it.

Farmers should contact their local FSAcounty office if they are uncertain about report-ing deadlines, which are are crucial to meet FSAprogram eligibility requirements. Reports filedafter the established deadlines must meet cer-tain requirements to be accepted, and farmersmay be charged late fees.

USDA

Farm ServiceAgency

Milk roars past $20The Class III price for milk adjusted to 3.5 percent butterfat

for the month of October was $21.02 per hundredweight,$2.02 higher than the previous month.

It also marks the first time milk prices have been above $20in the past 15 months.

Milk prices are following their typical strong fall showing.Demand is expected to stay strong as good ole fashioned homecooking and baking will help spur interest in butter and milk inthe months to come.

Proper storage, handling of grease importantBY TOM DREW

Greases were createdbecause liquid lubricants don’talways remain at the point of

applicationand may needto be replen-ished, some-times fre-quently.

Lubricatinggrease is sim-ply base oilwhich hasbeen thick-

ened. The thickness in the fin-ished grease comes from athickening agent.

Greases typically contain70 to 90 percent base oil,which is usually no thickerthan crankcase oil. Greasesalso can contain additives thatimprove performance andcolorants to enhance appear-ance.

The thickener is not solublein the oil it thickens, but musthave some attraction to the oil.When there is a large percent-age of thickener, the attractionis strong.

As more oil is mixed in, theattractive forces between thethickener and oil decrease.Visible oil that has separatedfrom the grease is known as“bleed.”

The loosely held oil is partof the lubricating mechanismin grease. A dry, non-bleedinggrease can sometimes be noisyin service.

Grease has a tendency tobleed while in storage. The

amount of bleed increaseswith time and, generally, withtemperature. Up to a 5 per-

cent bleed rate is consideredacceptable.

The oil can be removed orstirred back into the greaseand will not affect its consis-tency or performance.

Contaminants can deterio-rate grease performance. Ifcontainers are not tightlysealed, contaminants may enterthe stored product.

Moisture can enter contain-ers that appear to be sealed,rusting the container andchanging the product.

Air pockets usually are onlyseen in cartridge tubes andtypically develop from storingthe tube on its side, but faultykeg or drum pumps can createair pockets in kegs or drums,too.

Cartridge tubes should bestored in an upright position.All grease containers should bestored out of the elements andunder cover at moderate tem-peratures.

Grease compatibility is a

question that often is raisedwhen one type of grease isreplaced by another. If two

greases are not compatible,problems can occur.

When incompatible, it isrecommended that greases notbe mixed while in service. Ifpossible, the piece of equip-ment should be completelycleaned of the old greasebefore applying the newgrease.

If it is not possible toshut down the equipmentbefore changing to the newgrease, a running changemust be made. The oldgrease should be flushedfrom the equipment with thenew grease.

Your local FS energy spe-cialist can assist you inchoosing the proper greasesand answer your questionsabout storage and perform-ance.

Tom Drew is GROWMARK’slubricant marketing manager. Hisemail address is [email protected].

Tom Drew

‘Greases typically contain 70 to 90 per-cent base oil, which is usually no thickerthan crankcase oil. Grease has a tenden-cy to bleed while in storage. The amountof bleed increases with time and, general-ly, with temperature. Up to a 5 percentbleed rate is considered acceptable.’

PROFITABILITY

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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

ü2012 crop: Decemberfutures remain mired in a side-ways trend bounded by thelow $7.60s on top and $7.32on the bottom. There’s achance December could test$7.05 again, but that’s a worst-case scenario. We still preferto wait for December futuresto trade to $7.70 before mak-ing catch-up sales.

ü2013 crop: Use rallies to$6.40 on December 2013futures for catch-up sales. Wecould use a push to $6.50 toadd another increment.

vFundamentals: Newspointing to a shift in funda-mentals continues to be lack-ing. Export business remainslackluster with competitorsBrazil and the Ukraine in par-ticular, still doing most of thebusiness. The ethanol grindimproved a little last week, butevery few days we hear ofanother plant being shutteredbecause of poor margins. Wetweather in Argentina remainstroublesome, enough to causesome acreage to be shifted tosoybeans. Planting there is 40percent complete, well behindlast year’s 56 percent pace.

Soybean Strategyü2012 crop: Soybean

prices drifted sideways overthe past week, but the com-plex still has a positive short-term fundamental structure.Continue to wait for a moveback above $16.50 on Januaryfutures to make catch-up sales.

ü2013 crop: With theshort-term trend havingturned up, patience should berewarded. But use ralliesabove $13.60 on November2013 futures for catch-upsales. We may add anotherincrement at that level as well.

vFundamentals: Soybeandisappearance remains robust.For the second consecutiveweek, export shipments weremore than 60 million bushels.The crush margin remainsgood, indicating the crushpace should remain ahead oflast year, too. South Americanweather will continue to be akey part of the complex.Showers helped moisture con-ditions a little in northernBrazil, but it’s still uncertainwhether the pattern has shift-

ed to the summer rainy sea-son. And there’s not a clearsign yet that Argentina’s wetpattern is coming to an end.

Wheat Strategyü2012 crop: Wheat

remains stuck in a choppy,sideways pattern. For thetrend to turn up, ChicagoDecember futures need toclose above $9. Use ralliesabove $8.80 for catch-up sales.

ü2013 crop: Make catch-up sales when Chicago Julyfutures trade above $8.80.Check the Hotline frequently;we could add a sale at any time.

vFundamentals: Issues

with the wheat crops in Aus-tralia and Argentina couldtighten the world fundamen-tals a little more. But thesituation is still not as tightas it was two years ago, letalone four to five years ago.The first rating for our newcrop was 40 percentgood/excellent. That’s evenlower than last year’s initialrating of 47 percent. Inter-estingly, the Kansas rating isabout the same, with thestates around it worse thanlast year. The soft red cropin the Corn Belt and theSouth is better than lastyear.

Cents per bu.

Page 15 Monday, November 5, 2012

With as fragile of an econo-my as we currently have, thispast week’s events on the East-ern Seaboard could be enoughto push economic growth intonegative territory again. That’swhat happened in 2001 in thewake of the attack on theWorld Trade Center.

In 2001, our economy wasstill reeling from the dot-combreak in the equity markets thatbegan in 2000. Growth hadslowed precipitously, initiallyslipping into negative territoryin the first quarter of 2001before recovering somewhat inthe second quarter. The impactof 9/11 on our financial sectorwas enough to tip growth backinto negative territory again inthe third quarter.

This time around, theimpact encompasses a muchwider geographic area, and abroader number of businesses,which could undermine grossdomestic production easierthan it did with 9/11.

And to make matters evenmore difficult, this event comesas the holiday season is set toget under way which could havemore impact on the retail andservice industries in that part of

the country. And the areaincludes a significant portionof our population. The areaaffected by Sandy is said toaccount for 23 percent of ourgross domestic production.

Early estimates have sug-gested the blow from the hur-ricane could reduce fourthquarter growth by 0.6 of a per-cent. While that wouldn’t beenough to push activity intonegative territory, the risk ofactivity slipping to negativeterritory is relatively large.

And even though this par-ticular instance didn’t come inthe wake of a huge break inthe stock market as did 9/11,this one is coming in the midstof other major worldeconomies performing poorly,notably Europe and Japan.

But just as the economy tooka hit after 9/11, it also rose fromthe ashes like a phoenix. Andthis one will, too, maybe evenmore so. Rebuilding/recon-struction efforts may comequicker, cover a wider geograph-ic area, and potentially involvemore small businesses.

The grain markets aren’tlikely to feel much impact, oth-er than an indirect influencefrom other markets. But adecline in activity could havenegative repercussions on themeat sector, beef in particular,especially with the holiday sea-son getting under way.

Storm an economic red flag?

perspectives


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Tree-tacularHave you ever attended a reading of

Edgar Lee Masters’ poems at Oak HillCemetery in Lewistown during the SpoonRiver Scenic Drive?

These poems are epitaphs of dead citi-zens, delivered by actors portraying thedead themselves.

Cemeteries areinteresting places tovisit. They serve thespiritual needs of theliving as well as keep

alive memories of the dead. Moreover, astroll through the monuments seems tobring alive the history and culture of thosepeople and their community.

Cemeteries are often beautiful naturalsettings. {Cantonillinois.org} describesGreenwood Cemetery in Canton as a place“encompassing rolling hills, a gentle valley,fields, and natural woodland.”

For me cemeteries are also a place to seeoutstanding trees. There are many reasonswhy cemeteries offer superior trees.

Cemetery trees are not disrupted bypower lines, sidewalks, driveways, or otherurban features that impact a tree’s growth.

Trees are often left alone in a cemeteryand allowed to grow to their natural heightand spread. For this reason, cemetery treesare often found on big tree registers andsome cemeteries also serve as arboretums.

A great example is Spring Grove Ceme-tery and Arboretum in Cincinnati, Ohio.Nineteen state champion trees are foundthere, including an 82-foot-tall yellowbuckeye that is 64 feet wide.

Spring Grove Cemetery is so spectacular

that it was a required student field tripwhen I took the woody ornamentals classat the University of Illinois.

Similarly, many trees in ArlingtonNational Cemetery in Washington, D.C.,have special meaning. The famous Arling-ton post oak hangs over John F. Kennedy’s“eternal flame.”

Eight thousand trees are found acrossArlington’s 652 acres. The oldest is the300-year-old white “Taft oak” by PresidentTaft’s grave.

Nine big trees in Illinois are found incemeteries. These include a flowering dog-wood in Texico, a slippery elm in Lemont,and an eastern white pine in Princeton.The pine is 97 feet tall and 49.3 feet wide.

Go to {web.extension.illinois.edu/forestry/il_big_tree.html} for a complete listing of reg-istered big trees in Illinois.

Sometimes trees are simply placed incemeteries for their special meaning.

Yew and cedar suggest eternal life. Cher-ry represent the Japanese idea of “the per-fect death.”

Oaks symbolize power or victory. Pinesmean immortality, while poplars conveysorrowful memories.

Roses signify completion and willowsserve as a perpetual mourner.

Cemetery trees are special. In the wordsof Andrea Gibson: “Forests may be gor-geous, but there is nothing more alive thana tree that learns how to grow in a ceme-tery.”

Rhonda Ferree is a horticulture educator with the Uni-versity of Illinois Extension.

Have you ever wonderedwhere our food came from? Imean, where in the world didgreen beans, carrots, wheat,and rice originate?

And how did plants fromall over theworld come tobe standardfare at ourtables?

It all startedwhen peoplewent from col-lecting wildplants to culti-vating them.They eventual-

ly began saving their ownseeds from year to year. Thisled to the development ofgenetic types of crops thatevolved under the specific cli-mate, soil, and agriculturalpractices of a given area. Thuswere “landraces” born.

This longstanding traditiondates back to the earliest yearsof agriculture. In the words ofone scientist; “Even the earli-est farmers were competentbiologists who carefully select-ed plants with characteristicsthat lived and reproduced inthe farmer’s environment andwere useful to local con-sumers.”

Landraces are geneticallymixed such that they yield wellunder a variety of environ-mental conditions. Everyfarmer or gardener knows justhow important that is, giventhe vagaries of the weather

from one year to the next.In my garden, for example,

the last two years were notgood ones for tomato produc-tion, yet this year was stellar(due in no small part to myability to irrigate my crop).

Each year posed its ownweather challenges — a coolspring, a dry July and August,an unusually warm spring anda hot, dry summer.

Nowadays heirloom vegeta-bles are gaining in popularity.Heirloom varieties often arefavored by home gardenersand market farmers for theircolorful variation, comparedto the grocery store types, aswell as for their flavor. Theyoften came over to Americawith immigrants a century orso ago.

Some people like heirloomvegetables and flowersbecause they can save theirown seeds and get a similarcrop the following year.

If you want to save yourseed each year, check out web-sites by the International SeedSavers organization or a booksuch as “Seed to Seed” bySuzanne Ashworth for details.

Who knows, maybe you’llstart a new tradition of heir-looms to pass on to your ownsucceeding generations.

Mari Loehrlein is a professor ofhorticulture and landscaping in theSchool of Agriculture at WesternIllinois University. Her emailaddress is [email protected].

RHONDA FERREE

guest columnist

Woods not only home of beautiful foliage;superior trees often grow in cemeteries

MARILOEHRLEIN

Saving of seeds startedplants still grown today

Don’t forget to voteon Tuesday

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FarmWeek November 5 2012