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Monday, April 12, 2010 Two sections Volume 38, No. 15

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

SENATE DEMOCRATS haveintroduced their proposal for amethod to reform how legislativedistricts are drawn. .........................3

THE USDA REPORT Fridaywas not much of a market mover. Butthe soybean export estimate is up 13percent from last year, a record. ........6

IS ILLINOIS REALLY as cor-rupt as many believe? Not so, accord-ing to authors of a book on Illinoispolitics. But it is not without sin. .......3

FARMING THROUGH A LENS

Mercer County farmer and professional photographer Michael Zecher of Aledo combines his love offarming and photography, but doesn’t risk damaging expensive camera equipment by taking them intractor and combine cabs. Read how Zecher’s farm photos are attracting attention at art shows onpage 6. (Photo by Ken Kashian)

IFB task force to eye2012 farm bill goalsBY MARTIN ROSSFarmWeek

Illinois Farm Bureau isfielding a new farm bill studyteam well ahead of congres-sional debate to map out whatcould prove a crucial defenseagainst ag budget cuts.

A 36-member Farm PolicyTask Force will develop policyoptions for delegate consider-ation at IFB’s December annu-al meeting. Organizational pri-orities could then be presentedto Congress in preparation for“2012” farm bill debate.

U of I Extension unveils budget-cutting plan

county, he noted.Extension is being forced to

make changes because of statebudget problems. Gov. PatQuinn proposed cuttingExtension funding by $5.56million in his proposed FY2011 budget. Extension’s cur-rent budget is about $65 mil-lion.

Under the reorganizationplan, Illinois will have 30 mul-

ti-county Extension groups,each comprised of three tofive counties. Extension inCook County will continue asa single-county program.

Thirty county directors willadminister programs and ser-vices for the multi-countygroups. This means the 76 cur-rent county director positionswill be reduced by 46. Howev-er, many county director posi-tions are vacant, which willmean fewer actual personnelreductions, Gary Beaumont, Uof I Extension spokesman,told FarmWeek.

By May 10, individual coun-ties must submit proposedmulti-county partnerships toExtension administrators, whoare to respond by May 19. Themulti-county proposals eitherwill be accepted or adjusted,according to Beaumont.

The staff for each multi-

BY KAY SHIPMANFarmWeek

The University of IllinoisExtension will maintain its

local roots in a restructuringplan announced Friday to help

Centers will close,staff to be reduced

the service survive state bud-get cuts.

Interim Extension directorBob Hoeft released a planrevealing Extension will closeall regional education centers,reduce staff, and develop mul-ti-county partnerships — butkeep an office in every county.

“In our public meetings, weheard loud and clear from ourclientele how much they valueExtension programming andour local presence,” Hoeft saidin a prepared statement. Theplan maintains the localExtension presence in each

county group will include atleast a county director, a unitsecretary, three educators, anda staff person to manage vol-unteers.

About June 30, Extensionwill close the regional educa-tion centers in Carbondale,Effingham, Macomb, Matte-son, and Mt. Vernon. Educa-tors based in those centers willmove to county Extensionoffices.

The remaining centers willclose as soon as possible,depending on the buildingleases. Those centers are locat-ed in Champaign, Countryside,East Moline, East Peoria,Edwardsville, Rockford, andSpringfield.

“I think the general pieces(of the reorganization plan)we have known about,” saidMatt Montgomery, Mason

FarmWeekNow.com

The task force is set tomeet initially in late July inBloomington, with subsequentmeetings tentatively set forAugust and September.

Noting the White House’spush to trim ag spending otherthan that for nutrition, IFBPresident Philip Nelsonwarned against taking a merely“reactionary” approach tofarm bill development.

He recommended discus-sion of risk management orother options with farmers inother regions, rather than sim-ply watching future directfarm payments “eroded underthe budget knife.”

Payment limits in particular“are going to be a focus in abig, big way,” IFB Govern-mental Affairs and Commodi-ties Director Mark Gebhardswarned. Citing current pro-posals to cut more than $6 bil-lion in crop insurance funding,Nelson suggested “just hold-ing your own is going to be adifficult challenge” in theprospective budget environ-ment.

House Ag CommitteeChairman Collin Peterson (D-Minn.) plans to conduct aseries of farm bill hearings

See Farm bill, page 2

See Extension, page 3

Listen to Gary Beaumont’sinterview about Extensionr e s t r u c t u r i n g p l a n s a tFarmWeekNow.com.

DOCUMENT POOR FIELD CONDITIONS —Farmers should keep their cameras handy to documentruts and other field conditions that may cause them todeviate from their conservation plans for highly erodibleland (HEL), according to the Natural Resources Conser-vation Service (NRCS).

Keep the photos handy for later use. NRCS recom-mends farmers use tillage only in truly problem spots anddo only the amount needed to fill in ruts or break upcompacted soils.

NEW-STYLE CATTLE RUSTLING? — Police inKane County last week were investigating the theft of$5,000 worth of bull semen from a Hampshire-area dairyfarm. The semen was in a canister and frozen with liquidnitrogen.

The semen was intended to be used for breeding pur-poses next winter, according to a Kane County Sheriff ’sDepartment spokesman.

Police were checking to see if the theft could be relatedto similar complaints in southern Wisconsin, whererewards are being offered for information leading toarrests. One theft there involved about $20,000 in vials ofbull semen, police said.

GROWMARK ACQUISITION — GROWMARKand eight of its FS member cooperatives have acquiredthe business and inventory of Tri-County PetroleumInc. The acquisition includes the fuels and lubricant busi-ness located in the Southern Illinois towns of Greenville,Hamel, Pierron, Red Bud, Vandalia, and Wood River.

GROWMARK Lubricants of Bloomington pur-chased the Extreme Lubricants Brand and will service allof the lubricant accounts.

Tri-County Petroleum Inc. was established in 1978 andprovided fuels and lubricant products to 14 counties inSouth-Central Illinois and the metropolitan St. Louis, Mo.,area.

FS member cooperatives now will service fuel accountsin the 14 counties.

MILK A BEAUTY SECRET? — People who wantto maintain or improve their physical appearance shouldmake sure they “Got Milk,” based on a new marketingcampaign.

The California Milk Processor Board (CMPB) hasintroduced a new marketing campaign in which “BeautyBy Milk” counters are stationed near cosmetic sections ofselect department stores in the state.

Shoppers who stop at the milk counters can speak tobeauty consultants and learn about the benefits of the“wonder tonic” milk, they can sip on milk-based drinks,and experience a virtual makeover during the free visit.

CMPB wants Californians to know that proper nutri-tion with milk is key to achieving radiant skin and healthyhair and nails.

FarmWeek Monday, April 12, 2010

(ISSN0197-6680)

Vol. 38 No. 15 April 12 , 2010

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

FarmWeek is published each week, except theMondays following Thanksgiving and Christmas, by theIllinois Agricultural Association, 1701 Towanda Avenue, P.O.Box 2901, Bloomington, IL 61701. Illinois AgriculturalAssociation assumes no responsibility for statements byadvertisers or for products or services advertised inFarmWeek.

FarmWeek is published by the Illinois AgriculturalAssociation for farm operator members. $3 from the indi-vidual membership fee of each of those members go towardthe production of FarmWeek.

Address subscription and advertisingquestions to FarmWeek, P.O. Box 2901,Bloomington, IL 61702-2901. Periodicalspostage paid at Bloomington, Illinois, andat an additional mailing office.

POSTMASTER: Send change of address notices onForm 3579 to FarmWeek, P.O. Box 2901, Bloomington, IL61702-2901. Farm Bureau members should sendchange of addresses to their local county Farm Bureau.

© 2010 Illinois Agricultural Association

STAFFEditor

Dave McClelland ([email protected])Legislative Affairs Editor

Kay Shipman ([email protected])Agricultural Affairs Editor

Martin Ross ([email protected])Senior Commodities Editor

Daniel Grant ([email protected])Editorial Assistant

Linda Goltz ([email protected])Business Production Manager

Bob StandardAdvertising Sales Manager

Richard VerderyClassified sales coordinator

Nan FanninDirector of News and Communications

Dennis VerclerAdvertising 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 IllinoisEditorial phone number: 309-557-2239Classified advertising: 309-557-3155Display advertising: 1-800-676-2353

Quick TakesGOVERNMENT

this session. Nelson, in Wash-ington last month for Ameri-can Farm Bureau Federation’sMarch board meeting, arguedthat serious debate over provi-sions very likely would notbegin until 2012, possibly witha largely new Congress.

For example, Senate AgCommittee Chairman BlancheLincoln (D-Ark.) “may noteven be around (in 2011), ifyou look at the polls right

now.” Thus, advance researchand prioritization not onlymay help protect programbudget baselines but alsocould guide freshman lawmak-ers unfamiliar with agriculture.

“Unless we see a major(congressional) turnover inNovember, this administra-tion has really put a tremen-dous emphasis on ‘cut, cut,cut’ as it relates to farm pro-gram payments, to direct pay-ments,” Nelson advised. “Ithink we’re going to be some-

what on the defensive.”IFB’s group includes 18

county Farm Bureau presi-dents, one from each IFBdirector district; five membersof the 2010 IFB NationalAffairs and Marketing Com-mittee; eight IFB Grass RootsIssue Team members; fourcounty Farm Bureau managersfrom each region to serve asex-officio, non-voting mem-bers; and one IFB regionalmanager, also in a non-votingrole.

Continued from page 1

Farm bill

Following are members ofthe Illinois Farm Bureau FarmPolicy Tax Force and theirhome counties:IFB board members:

Mike Kenyon, KaneDale Hadden, MorganTroy Uphoff, ShelbyDarryl Brinkmann, ClintonFifth board representative to

be determinedBoard appointees:

Bob Gehrke, Kane Earl Williams, WinnebagoJeff Kirwan, MercerRich Henss, St. Clair

Fred Blessing, WayneRollo Burnett, MassacMonty Whipple, LaSalleBob Brackmann, DuPageDennis Haab, LivingstonDavid Gay, PikeRon Armbrust, MasonDavid Carr, MaconRobert Catey, CumberlandDan Kessler, ClaySteve Albrecht, GreeneDavid Uhlman, TazewellTed Mottaz, KnoxJerry Watson, Champaign

Grass Roots Issue Team:Randall DeSutter, Knox

Ronald Fluegel, StephensonDwayne Anderson, HenryMatt Hughes, McLeanKevin Green, VermilionMike Marron, VermilionDean Campbell, RandolphDonald Duvall, White

County managers (non-vot-ing):

Steve Arnold, KaneDeAnne Bloomberg, Rock

IslandTim Stock, MaconGarry Jenkins, Williamson

Regional manager (non-vot-ing): Brian Puetz, Peoria

IFB names Farm Policy Task Force members

BY MARTIN ROSSFarmWeek

Federal mandates aside, health care coverage“becomes very much an individual economicissue” under a new system that allows low-costopt-outs and appears to discourage saving tocover medical costs, economist Ross Korveswarns.

Tax-deferred health savings accounts (HSAs)were created in late 2003 as a way of enablingindividuals or families to coverhigh insurance deductiblesand/or unexpected medicalexpenses.

Money is deposited inHSAs pre-tax, and by 2011,the new health care law willplace new restrictions on howthose funds can be used.

A 20 percent tax penalty(double the current rate) willbe levied when an HSA holderuses money for non-qualifiedpurposes. Further, the lawcaps the maximum amountthat can be deposited annuallyinto an HSA at $2,500.

Korves is concerned newrequirements eventually could“squeeze out” health accountsas an option for those who choose bare-bones orhigh-deductible coverage or opt to pay annualfederal fines in lieu of more expensive insurance.

“Anything that would limit the effectivenessof those plans would end up hurting long-term,”he told FarmWeek. “I think the Obama plan isto pull away from those kinds of health savingsaccounts.

“When you buy into the Obama plan, you’re

saying you prefer that over the health savingsaccount plan. In many ways, I think the two ofthem are mutually exclusive.”

Further, he sees “no doubt” that given thecost of a policy vs. a $695-per-person or roughly$2,000-per-family fine, insurance opt-outs willsignificantly undercut congressionally projectedparticipation and thus the added, offsetting rev-enues insurers are expected to receive to com-pensate for the higher costs of providing care.

At a median $50,000-$60,000 annual income fora U.S. family of four, a$12,000-$15,000-per-yearhealth plan withoutemployer contributions“takes way too much ofyour income,” especiallyfor lower-risk younger con-sumers and seniors with ahistory of good health,Korves said.

He believes manyemployers likely willchoose to pay federalpenalties — $2,000 peremployee for those withfull-time payrolls of 50 ormore — rather than shoul-der the costs of offering a

health care plan.“If one of the members of a family works off

the farm and gets a health care plan provided,even if they may have to pay a third or half outof pocket, they will probably go ahead and stayin that plan,” Korves said.

“If the health savings account becomes lessattractive, I could see people possibly paying thepenalty.”

Will new health system boostor reduce farm coverage?

‘If one of the membersof a fami ly works offthe fa r m and ge ts ahealth care plan pro-v i d e d , eve n i f t h e ym a y h a v e t o p a y at h i r d o r h a l f o u t o fpocket, they will pro-bably go ahead andstay in that plan.’

— Ross Korveseconomist

GOVERNMENT


Continued from page 1County Extension director.Extension employees receiveddetails of the plan early Fridaywhen it was released statewide,he said.

U of I Extension employsabout 800 people whose posi-tions range from the director

to secretarial staff in localoffices and includes full- andpart-time staff.

Extension’s budget is 18percent federal funding, 46percent state funding, 21 per-cent from local counties, and15 percent from grants andrevenue-generating activities.


Senate Democrats lobbed the latestvolley on changing how Illinois drawslegislative district maps. Last week,Democrats introduced Senate JointResolution 121, a redistricting plan filedas a constitutional amendment.

Sen. Kwame Raoul (D-Chicago),chairman of the Senate Redistricting

Committee, noted both the Senate andthe House would have to pass the “Cit-izens First” measure by a super majori-ty (three-fifths of both chambers)before it would be put on the Novem-

ber ballot. Voters also would have topass the measure in order for the Illi-nois Constitution to be amended,Raoul added.

“We should create districts in a fairmanner and let the Republicans orDemocrats, the Green Party, the TeaParty, or whoever it is vote their per-son in,” Raoul said during a newsconference.

Supporters of anotherredistricting proposal, theFair Map Amendment Ini-tiative, are attempting tocollect enough voters’signatures to put thatproposal on theNovember ballot.

Friday atFarmWeek presstime,Illinois Farm Bureau’sLegislative Redistricting Working

Group had an opportunity to discussthe Senate Democrats’ proposal with

Raoul, according to IFB DirectorTerry Pope, working group chair-man.

The working group will reviewthe proposal and work with theIFB board, Pope added.

Raoul described the multi-ple steps in his Citizens

First measure to developnew legislative districtmaps. The map-draw-ing process would beoverseen primarily

by state legislativeleaders.

If none of thosemethods was suc-cessful, the mapwould be drawn by

a “special master” appointed by the

two senior justices on the IllinoisSupreme Court.

Raoul emphasized the Democrats’proposal would protect representationof the state’s diverse population.

Two years ago, a similar measurepassed with bipartisan support in theHouse (but failed in the Senate),according to Raoul. “We hope we getthe same bipartisan support,” headded.

Some political experts have suggest-ed Illinois institute Iowa’s redistrictingprocedure, which uses a computer todraw the map.

However, Illinois’ population ismore diverse than Iowa’s, Raoul said.

“The critical thing to look at is this(the redistricting proposal) wouldmove the state forward, not backward,and would reflect the true diversity ofthe state,” Raoul said.

Senate Democrats push legislative redistricting plan

FarmWeekNow.com

Visit FarmWeekNow.com to listen toSen. Kwame Raoul’s comments on anew legislative redistricting plan.

Author: Illinois’ political reputation may taint realityIllinois government has

problems, but the public mayperceive the situation as worsethan it really is, according to apolitical scientist and authorof a book on Illinois politics.

“I think the (Rod) Blagoje-vich saga tarnishes the Stateof Illinois and reinforces thesense that Illinois is one ofthe most corrupt states, evenif that is not true,” said JamesNowlan, senior fellow withthe University of Illinois’Institute of Government andPublic Affairs.

Nowlan and his co-authors, Samuel Gove andRichard Winkel, recentlyreleased an updated editionof “Illinois Politics: A Citi-zen’s Guide.” Gove is direc-tor emeritus of the Instituteof Government and PublicAffairs, and Winkel, a formerstate legislator, directs its

office of public leadership.Over the past several

weeks, the nation was remind-

ed of Illinois’ political scan-dals via former GovernorBlagojevich’s appearance onthe “Celebrity Apprentice”

television show. Last week,Donald Trump fired Blagoje-vich and ended his stint on theshow, but not before Blagoje-vich declared his innocence atevery opportunity.

Nowlan illustrated his pointabout the perception of thestate’s reputation by noting atax group ranked Illinois 30thout 50 states for its businessclimate. However, a recent pollof top chief executive officersranked Illinois as having the48th worst business climate.

“I think part of that (latterranking) is the bad reputationIllinois may have affecting thebusiness climate,” Nowlansaid.

In their book preface, theauthors admit they erred intheir 1996 edition by specu-lating that efforts to reducestate political corruptionwere successful.

The authors wrote: “We nowfind it hard to make the casethat corruption has abated,”given the conviction of formerGov. George Ryan, continuedprosecution of Chicago offi-cials and businessmen, andBlagojevich’s impeachment,conviction, and removal fromoffice.

Ironically, Illinois govern-ment corruption may be “a lit-tle less” today than it was in the1900s when bribed legislatorsshared a post-session jackpotof cash for their votes, accord-ing to Nowlan.

But the perception of statepolitical corruption may notchange in the near future ifNowlan’s U of I students areany indication.

Each year, Nowlan quizzesstudents in his American poli-tics class on whether theywould advise a brother to pay a

$1,000 bribe to have drunk-dri-ving charges dismissed. Overseven years, two-thirds of thestudents have favored paying abribe.

“It shocked me that theydidn’t reject the idea,” Nowlansaid. “Most of them are seniorsheaded to law school. That(response) suggests in Illinoisthere is a culture affectingmany offices; that in Illinois weplay the game the way we thinkothers have.”

In addition to a chapter onpolitical corruption, the bookexplains how the state govern-ment runs, how politics oper-ate, and some obstacles andopportunities for change.

“Illinois Politics: A Citizen’sGuide” is available from theUniversity of Illinois press at{www.press.uillinois.edu/} andfrom most major bookstores.— Kay Shipman

DuQuoin State Faircutting trotting derbies

The state’s two state fairs will see changesthis summer. The Illinois State Fair runs Aug.13 to 22 followed by theDuQuoin State Fair from Aug.28 through Sept. 6.

Illinois State Fair officials areworking with agriculture com-modity groups and buildingtrade unions to develop an inter-active farm exhibit for childrenon the ground’s southeast cor-ner, Amy Bliefnick, state fairmanager, said in an RFD-radiointerview last week.

Dubbed “Farmers’ LittleHelper,” the exhibit will feature activities toteach children and their parents about agricul-ture. “It’s all play and make believe,” Bliefnicksaid.

She envisioned young fair visitors feeding

hogs, milking cows, brushing sheep and gather-ing wool, collecting eggs, planting seeds, andharvesting vegetables. The children will thentake their produce to sell at a pretend farmers’market.

“We’re trying to support agriculture, educatepeople about agriculture, and doit in a fun way,” Bliefnick added.She said the idea came from asimilar exhibit she saw last yearat the Indiana State Fair.

Due to state budget cuts, theDuQuoin State Fair will elimi-nate the World Trotting Derbyand the Filly World TrottingDerby.

The World Trotting Derbywas one of the nation’s most

prestigious harness races and had attractednationally prominent competitors.

For more information about the fairs, goonline to {www.illinoisstatefair.info} and{www.agr.state.il.us/dq}. — Kay Shipman

Illinois State Fair to add child farm exhibit

‘It’s all play andmake believe.’

— Amy BliefnickIllinois State Fair manager

Excellence in Agriculture Scholarship — The Illinois statetreasurer’s office will award 10 $2,000 scholarships to Illinoishigh school seniors who plan to earn a degree and pursue acareer in agriculture or an agriculture-related field.

Applicants also must have a minimum 2.75 grade point aver-age, be an Illinois resident, and be accepted at an accreditedhigher education institution in Illinois.

Applications are available online only at {www.treasurer-.il.gov/programs/cultivate-illinois/scholarships.aspx}. All appli-cations must be postmarked on or before May 14. Applicationsmust include an essay, transcript, two letters of reference, and alist of extracurricular activities and honors.

Ag scholarship digest

Extension

RESEARCH


Major biofuels effort under way

Biomass and conservation seen as compatibleBY MARTIN ROSSFarmWeek

Midwest farmers are well-equipped and informed todevelop the next wave ofcrop-based biofuels and donot need added regulations tomaintain strides already madein soil conservation, accordingto a Farm Bureau policy ana-lyst.

A week after PresidentObama touted energy securitystrategy emphasizing newdomestic oil exploration anddrilling, USDA and the U.S.Navy outlined a joint focus onHawaiian biomass biofuelsproduction and use.

The Navy’s Office of Naval

Research is providing $2 mil-lion per year through 2015 tosupport research for produc-ing advanced biofuels fromsugar cane, in partnership withUSDA’s Agricultural ResearchService. The project will iden-tify strategies to supply feed-stock for biorefineries to pro-duce vehicle and jet fuels.

Last week’s announcementcame as USDA concluded apublic comment on implemen-tation of the 2008 farm bill’sBiomass Crop Assistance Pro-gram (BCAP), which is intend-ed to foster nationwide devel-opment of new feedstocksincluding crop residues, agwastes, and new energy crops .

USDA Deputy Under Sec-retary Kathleen Merrigan toldFarmWeek BCAP “is of greatinterest across the nation,”with USDA fielding more than20,000 comments.

The deputy secretaryacknowledged “we’ve got a lotto do” before issuing finalprogram rules. “It will be veryinteresting to see if there’ssome consensus around somekey areas. That would allow usto move more quickly,” shesaid.

As an isolated, militarilystrategic locale, Hawaii is aprime focus for homegrownbiofuels development, but

American Farm Bureau Feder-ation policy specialist Eliza-beth Jones stressed BCAP andrelated policies must be “asfarmer-friendly as possible.”

She urged USDA to remain“open-minded” in identifying“eligible materials” for bio-mass incentives and aware offarm conservation commit-ments in weighing the value ofcorn stover and other existingpost-harvest feedstocksagainst concerns aboutremoval of reduced/no-tillcrop residues from fields.

Some environmentalgroups have resisted stoverremoval and suggested USDA

impose additional conserva-tion measures to ensure ade-quate residue management.

“Farmers are stewards oftheir land — they’re not goingto be stupid,” Jones main-tained. “Trust us to do ourbusiness as we’ve been doing itfor years.”

BCAP provides directmatching payments to produc-ers and other “material own-ers” who deliver biomasscrops to a qualified conver-sion facility. The facility mustuse biomass to produce heat,power, biofuels, or bio-basedproducts for themselves orothers.

Researchers strive to ‘fix’ nitrogen issues in cornBY DANIEL GRANTFarmWeek

Researchers at the University of Illinois believe they canhelp “fix” the problem of rising nitrogen costs and other issuesrelated to fertilizer applications.

Kaustubh Bhalerao, U of I agricultural engineer, last weeksaid technology may be available in the next five to seven yearsthat would enable corn to fix its own nitrogen.

The new area of research that may change corn productionin the future is synthetic biology. Synthetic biology combinesscience and engineering to create novel biological functions andsystems.

“We’re rethinking a lot of different ideas we know aboutbiotechnology, environment, and ecosystems,” Bhalerao toldFarmWeek. “We’re going from understanding genes and howthey work to actually putting them together in novel ways.”

Bhalerao’s research focuses on building systems in whichbacteria behave like “amplifiers,” according to the U of I.

Bacteria are the key ingredient that fixes nitrogen in soybeanroots. Soybeans, as a result, are naturally high in nitrogen.

“Why don’t we teach corn how to do this?” Bhalerao asked.“This would reduce the need for the application of petroleum-based fertilizers.”

U.S. farmers currently use an estimated 21 million tons ofnitrogen, phosphate, and potash to fertilizer crops each year.More than half of the nitrogen and roughly 80 percent ofthe potash used on U.S. farms is imported from other coun-tries.

Bhalerao believes improved corn genetics could reduceinput costs and the need to import fertilizer, reduce fertilizerrunoff, and enhance food production.

“The energy needed to produce nitrogen fertilizer is becom-ing more expensive and likely will keep ascending,” he said.“The next concern is the availability of nitrogen,” particularlyin developing countries with poor infrastructure.

Experts estimate farmers worldwide must double food pro-duction by 2030 to keep up with the growing human popula-tion.

The food security issue “is not going to be solved with onemiraculous solution,” the ag engineer said. “This is our contri-bution to this problem.”

However, farmers in the next decade likely will not beable to plant corn, wheat, or rice that can fix their ownnitrogen even if the technology is available due to regulatoryand public perception issues that could slow the rate ofadoption.

“We have to interact with the public now rather than waituntil the technology is available to tackle the public perceptionissue,” Bhalerao said.

In the meantime, corn hybrids that can use nitrogen moreefficiently are in trials and could be commercially availablein two to three years. Precision ag also can help farmersimprove the efficiency of fertilizer applications, Bhaleraoadded.

Illinois 4-H in running for grant via online national fundraisingBY KAY SHIPMANFarmWeek

Illinois 4-H could receive a bonus in additionto a share of money raised in the first 4-H tex-ting fundraiser.

Through the end of April, the state 4-H thatreceives the most donations by mobile phone orin online donations at {www.4-H.org} will receive a $5,000 grantfrom JC Penney, said KristinWalter with the National 4-HCouncil.

Individuals may textCLOVER to 50555 to donate$10. Each donation will count asa state vote based on the donor’sarea code. A one-time donationof $10 will be added to thedonor’s mobile phone bill or willbe deducted from any prepaidbalance.

Participating wireless communicationproviders include AT&T, Verizon, T-Mobile,Sprint, and Nextel. All charges are billed by andpayable to the donor’s service provider.

“We welcome people to support this effort,”said Angie Barnard, executive director of the Illi-nois 4-H Foundation. Barnard noted donorswho go online may earmark their gift for Illinois.

The fundraising effort comes when theExtension Service and 4-H programs face tightbudgets and possible cuts.

“This (budget problem) ishappening to programs acrossthe country,” Walter toldFarmWeek. “The (National 4-H) Council is doing what it canthrough texting and mobile giv-ing and grants we provide to thestates.”

National 4-H is piloting thetext fundraising technology andwill provide it later to states sothey can use it on the state andcounty levels, Walter added.

For those with Facebook, additional infor-mation is available online at{www.facebook.com/4-H}. More than 90,000people have become fans of the 4-H Facebookpage that was launched last year.

Entomologists make 2010 pest predictions As corn and soybean pro-

ducers look ahead to a newgrowing season, a universalquestion arises. What insectswill pose a threat to crops thisyear?

Mike Gray, University of Illi-nois Extension entomologist,shares his predictions aboutJapanese beetles, soybeanaphids, European corn borers,and western corn rootworms.

Japanese beetle infestationswill continue to vex producersthis year, Gray said. Despitethe cold winter, snowcoveracross many areas of Illinoismost likely served as a bufferand enhanced the survival ofthe overwintering grubs.

On the other hand, soybeanaphid populations may bedown. David Voegtlin, a retiredentomologist with the IllinoisNatural History Survey, saidbuckthorn leaves were “drip-ping” with aphids last fall.

“Not surprisingly, a fungalepizootic swept through thisimpressive aphid buildup onbuckthorn and decimated thepopulation,” Gray said. “Con-sequently, I anticipate a verysmall spring flight from buck-thorn to soybean fields.”

The European corn borerreached all-time populationlows across Illinois last year.With such low overwinteringnumbers, Gray expects thespring flight of these insects tobe hardly noticeable.

Almost every year, the west-ern corn rootworm causessome management challenges,Gray said. However, densitieswere low in 2009.

“Considerable speculationhas arisen regarding whetheror not the large-scale increasein Bt usage may be suppress-ing corn rootworm popula-tions, similar to what hap-pened with European corn

borer densities,” he said. “Because Bt hybrids target-

ed at corn rootworms are con-sidered low-to-moderate dosein their toxic effects, I suspectenvironmental conditions lastseason served as the majorcontributor to the collapse ofthe corn rootworm popula-tion.”

Gray said the wet soil condi-tions last spring resulted inhigh mortality of western cornrootworm larvae soon afterhatch occurred. Thus, heexpects light to moderate infes-tations this year.

It’s too early to assess thepotential impact of insects thatmigrate into Illinois — blackcutworms, corn leaf aphids,potato leafhoppers, fall army-worms, and corn earworms.

For more information, readThe Bulletin online at{http://ipm.illinois.edu/bulle -tin}.

TRADE ISSUES


Bill addresses ‘convoluted’U.S.-Cuban export dealings

Restrictive U.S. Treasury policies and “convoluted” financialarrangements are linked to lackluster U.S. ag sales to Cuba,according to advocates of U.S.-Cuba reforms.

Texas A&M University ag economist Parr Rosson estimatescurrent Cuban travel/trade proposals would boost U.S. exportsby an annual $365 million while generating $1.1 billion a year innew economic activity and 6,000 new U.S. jobs.

Corn exports to Cuba were down 42 percent during the lastquarter vs. 2009, with soy meal and wheat exports down 60 and77 percent, respectively.

Improved Cuban access is key “now that we have additionalcompetition there, the fact that we need to create jobs at home,and the fact that we’ve lost the dominance of U.S. (ag) products,”Rosson argued.

The Cuban trade agency ALIMPORT attributes declines to“the cumbersome financial arrangements we require of ourexports,” he said.

Former North Dakota ag commissioner and National FarmersUnion President Roger Johnson stressed “how convoluted thetransactional relations are.”

North Dakota’s primary exports to Cuba have included peasand lentils. Producers “who wanted to make the deal” generallyhave needed to travel to Cuba as part of a state delegation,Johnson said.

After negotiating with ALIMPORT, producers shipped peas toa port near Cuba, “and then everything would sort of come to astop,” he said.

Cuban payment was required prior to shipment, and underU.S. restrictions, Cuban buyers were compelled to wire money“usually to France or some other European bank that had zeroU.S. ownership interest in it.”

“They would usually convert that money into a euro or someother foreign currency and then immediately reconvert that for-eign currency into a U.S. dollar, and wire the U.S. dollar back tothe bank that handled the account for my pea producer in NorthDakota,” Johnson related.

“The bank who handled the account would then get permis-sion from the U.S. Treasury Department to transfer that moneyinto the account of my pea producer, and once that had hap-pened, then my pea producer would call ALIMPORT and say,‘We got the money — we can now release the ship.’

“As you can imagine, days go by, and you lose money atevery step of that transaction. Every time you make a conver-sion, you lose money. And to do back-to-back conversionsbetween three different currencies, you’re guaranteed to losepiles of money. That’s the process we use today.” — MartinRoss

Broad-based strategy seen as key to Cuban reformsBY MARTIN ROSSFarmWeek

Bipartisan lawmakers hopesoon to take a major steptoward instituting freer tradewith Cuba and access to theisland nation, its people, andits tourists.

Last week, House Ag Com-mittee member Jo Ann Emer-son (R-Mo.) cited Ag Chair-man Collin Peterson’s (D-Minn.) goal of an April com-mittee vote on his TravelRestriction Reform andExport Enhancement Act.

The measure would expandallowable travel between theU.S. and Communist Cuba andallow direct payment for U.S.goods between Cuban and

U.S. banks, rather thanthrough other countries (seeaccompanying story).

It would attempt to easesales by allowing payment andtitle transfer for goods beforethey are offloaded in Cuba,rather than before they areshipped.

Emerson outlined a multi-layered strategy for buildingsupport for the bill, focusinginitially on House Ag and For-eign Affairs Committee mem-bers.

She noted Foreign Affairsmembers Bill Delahunt (D-Md.) and Jeff Flake (R-Ariz.)were “very instrumental” indeveloping travel provisions.

“Then we focus on mem-

bers of Congress who believeit’s our constitutional right totravel anywhere in the worldand that nothing from ourgovernment should prevent usfrom doing that,” Emersontold FarmWeek.

“We have a large group ofvery conservative memberswho feel strongly about that.”

The House Ways andMeans Committee, with pri-mary trade jurisdiction, will bekey to passage, with key mem-bers showing support.

However, Emerson predict-ed key Cuban-American law-makers will “fight, fight, fightvery hard against us.”

Rep. Lincoln Diaz-Balart(R-Fla.) recently blasted

Cuban leader Fidel Castro,who “wants the U.S. to apolo-gize to him for having keptthe U.S. market and its mil-lions of tourists and its bil-lions of dollars in financingfrom him.”

There has been no indica-tion of resistance to the mea-sure from House Speaker

Nancy Pelosi (D-Calif.), butEmerson was unsure of WhiteHouse support, suggesting“this is going to be a legisla-tive initiative at the moment.”

“At least we don’t have Sen-ate filibuster rules — thatmakes it a little easier for us toget things done,” Emersonmused.

River plan good for consumers, budget?Midwest producers and

shippers seek support for aplan that would refresh fund-ing for new river construction— transport of corn, soy-beans, fertilizer, coal, roadsalt, and the Illinois economyare riding on it.

Work needed to reopenMississippi River Lock 25north of St. Louis was nearcompletion last week amidwhat Waterways Council Inc.Vice President Paul Rohdecalled “a much later seasonopener than usual for theUpper Miss.” Last year, Con-gress approved stimulus fundsto repair the 600-foot lock.

At 70-plus years old, thelock is “no spring chicken”and has seen relatively littleimprovement over the years,Rohde noted in an RFDRadio-FarmWeek interview.

The site is one of five onthe Upper Miss slated formodern 1,200-foot locks, butCongress has yet to clearfunding for new construction.

Lawmakers also OK’d stim-ulus rehabilitation funds for

Lock 11 near Dubuque, theMelvin Price Lock at Alton,Lock 27 at Chain of Rocks,and the Illinois River’s crum-bling Lockport Lock.

Rohde hoped that by clear-ing U.S. Corps of Engineer’sUpper Miss basin “backlog,”stimulus support might reducecompetition for new con-struction funds for Lock 25,Lock 24 near Clarksville, Mo.;Lock 22 at Hannibal, Mo.;Lock 21 at Quincy; Lock 20 atCanton, Mo.; and Peoria andLaGrange locks on the Illi-nois.

However, the waningInland Waterways Trust Fund— an industry pool fed bybarge fuel taxes and used tomatch federal project dollars— remains a key obstacle tonew lock funding.

This week, the federaladvisory Inland WaterwayUsers Board is to consideran industry “capital develop-ment” plan that would boostper-gallon fuel taxes to gen-erate a projected $110 mil-lion in added annual trust

fund revenues.The Illinois Farm Bureau-

backed plan is an alternativeto what Rohde termed “a par-ticularly onerous” administra-tion-proposed per-barge, per-lock fee. The industry planwould give the users boardmore input in Corps planning,fostering a “service provider-and-customer” relationship,he said.

The plan, if approved,would move to Congress.Many consumers are unawareusers and shippers have beenpaying half of lock construc-tion costs since 1986 and thatefficient waterways trans-portation benefits “everymember of the consumingpublic” — and taxpayer,Rohde maintained.

“Illinois Department ofTransportation (IDOT) — allof the state DOTs of theUpper Midwest — needbarges to bring in road salt inorder to keep the cost of thatsalt low and keep IDOT andothers from going bankrupt,”he said. — Martin Ross

New agricultural market dynamics prod highway proposalsFederal transportation poli-

cy must reflect the impact ofag market consolidation, antic-ipated biofuels growth, andthe continuing producer driveto identify — and haul assetsto — more profitable markets,even across state lines.

So says American FarmBureau Federation policy spe-cialist Elizabeth Jones, notingFarm Bureau’s push for sea-sonal/short-haul interstate agtrucking exemptions in Con-gress’ forthcoming surfacetransportation reauthorization.

Of primary concern arecommercial drivers license(CDL) “hours of service”rules limiting the number ofconsecutive hours a driver canoperate a vehicle or truckgoods following other work.

The long, irregular hours facedby Illinois farmers last fallunderline the special circum-stances of ag truckers, Jonessaid.

“You’re not always driving,and farmers generally don’t gothat far away from home,” shenoted. “We’re not like long-haul truck drivers. Because wehave a certain growing season,we need those extended hoursto be able to get those cropsout of the field within a cer-tain timeframe.

“And as you have fewergrain elevators and cottongins, you have even farther togo. CDL requirements aren’tas important to someone mov-ing a lot of livestock, but ifyou have someone who’sretired or has a couple of

cows they take to market peri-odically, those are the peoplebeing fined $2,000 or $3,000(for CDL violations). It’s moreof a problem for your smallerproducer.”

Illinois Farm Bureau trans-portation specialist KevinRund sees two basic approach-es to addressing ag needs incongressional highway debate.

Given past court rulings,challenging the definition of“interstate commerce” (thebasis for federal trucker regu-lations) as it applies to produc-ers likely would prove “anuphill battle,” he said.

Lawmakers may be moreamenable to an “out-and-out”exemption for producers whotransport their own goods tomarket.

One approach would be toclassify transportation ofcommodities from the farm to“the first point of market” asan in-state rather than aninterstate movement, evenwhen initial markets are acrossstate lines. That would coverfarmers with nearby out-of-state terminals or other mar-kets.

A second possibility wouldbe to apply intrastate ratherthan interstate rules to all pri-vate carriers who do not crossstate lines. That might garnerbroader congressional sup-port, “but it would not takecare of the farmer who livesclose to and wants to haulacross the state line,” Rundsaid.

Arguing for exemptions at

all could prove a challenge giv-en congressional budget pres-sure. Rund noted the federalUnified Carrier Registration(UCR) Agreement, underwhich CDL licensees operate,is a revenue-generator, andsome lawmakers thus mayfavor more stringent enforce-ment of UCR rules.

“I think we could probablyshow a pretty good case forexempting farm trucks thatmove from farm to market,even if we had to put amileage limitation on it,” Rundsaid.

“Those typically are verysmall carriers, they’re relativelyfew in number, and conse-quently, the monetary ‘hit’there would not be that signifi-cant.” — Martin Ross

RURAL LIFE


BY DANIEL GRANTFarmWeek

The USDA crop report onFriday was not a “major marketevent,” according to BrianHoops, market analyst withMidwest Market Solutions.

The trade, instead, contin-

USDA crop report: Soy exports grow, but corn feed use declines

ues to deal with bearishnessgenerated by the March 31quarterly stocks and plantingintentions reports that indicat-ed crop supplies in the monthsahead should be adequate ifnot plentiful.

USDA on Friday did, how-ever, provide some positivenews for the markets by raisingsoy exports for the eighthstraight month, and it surprisedsome traders by boosting wheatexports and feed use.

The current soy export esti-mate is a record 1.445 billionbushels, up 13 percent fromlast year. Soybean ending stocksremained unchanged at 190million bushels.

“The market already tradeda lot of the bearish news (fromthe previous reports),” Hoopssaid during a teleconferencehosted by the MinneapolisGrain Exchange.

“One commodity that couldtake off is old-crop soybeans,”he continued. “U.S. supplies arefairly tight, and if we get theprice too cheap, demand couldincrease again.”

The season-average farmprice for soybeans was project-ed at $9.20 to $9.70 per bushel.

Meanwhile, USDA loweredending wheat stocks by 51 mil-lion bushels due mostly to a 40-million-bushel increase inexports and a 10-million-bushelboost to feed use.

“The wheat stocks numberstill is burdensome, but it’s notas big as last month,” Hoopssaid.

The season-average price forwheat was projected at $4.85 to

$4.95 per bushel.Elsewhere, USDA cut feed

usage of corn by 100 million

bushels as livestock producersin recent months trimmed thesize of the national hog andcattle herds. Ending stocks sub-sequently increased by 100 mil-lion bushels.

“That is a little negative,”Hoops said.

On the bright side, Hoopsprojected feed usage willincrease by the third and fourthquarters, and corn prices alsocould be pulled up by bullish-ness in the crude oil market.China also indicated it may pur-chase corn to boost internalstocks.

“The crude oil price hasbeen rallying (to an 18-monthhigh last week), but corn hasnot kept up,” Hoops said.“Eventually, it should lead tohigher corn prices.”

The season-average cornprice last week was projected at$3.50 to $3.70 per bushel.

USDA on Friday also boost-ed world production numbersfor corn by 78.6 millionbushels and beans by 58.7 mil-lion bushels compared to lastmonth.

South American soybeanproduction was projected at 1.9billion bushels in Argentinaand 2.4 billion bushels inBrazil.

FarmWeekNow.comView t h e l a t e s t mon t h l yUSDA supply-demand reportand trade reaction commentsat FarmWeekNow.com.


Mercer County farmerMichael Zecher believes farm-ing and photography havepoints in common: “Bothrequire patience, an understand-ing of science and technology, alove of what you do — and a

lot of cooperation from MotherNature.”

Zecher should know. Hefarms 2,200 acres near Aledowith his father-in-law, DouglasMcCaw, and squeezes time forhis budding career as a photog-rapher in between planting andharvest.

He’s been successful,although he’s relatively new atboth.

This is Zecher’s third springas a professional photographersince his work was first selectedfor exhibition in an Iowa artshow.

He also started farming in2009 after years of teachinghigh school agriculture andthen working in the seed pro-duction business.

“Some people buy aCorvette in their mid-life crisis.I decided to quit a great jobwith a stable company to startfarming. I think the Corvettemight have been cheaper,” hequipped. “What a year to startfarming!”

Zecher applies his knowl-edge of farming to his self-taught photography skills. Thatis evident in his delicate photoof a soybean seedling emergingfrom the soil or a dramatic shotof a combine moving through acornfield at dusk.

“I hope my love of agricul-ture is expressed through myphotos,” he said.

The public’s interest in Zech-er’s farm photos surprised thefarmer-photographer, whogrew up on a grain and live-stock farm near Crescent Cityin Iroquois County.

“My agriculture pictures areamong my best sellers. Thereare still a lot of people whohave a connection to the farm,”he said. “The ag pictures gener-ate the most interest (at artshows).”

Each year Zecher and hiswife, Jennifer, exhibit in about adozen art shows in Iowa andIllinois. Recently he participatedin his first Chicago area artshow and found people therewere as interested in farm pho-tos as people from smallertowns.

In addition to farm scenes,Zecher also has photographedwildlife and landscapes duringtrips to 22 national parks, 10Caribbean islands, and four for-eign countries. However, hisfarm scenes set him apart fromthe other photographers at theart shows, he noted.

As for simultaneously com-bining both jobs, while Zecherkeeps a small camera in histruck at all times, he doesn’thave any cameras in the com-

bine or tractor cabs. He jokedthat situation has caused him tomiss some spectacular photos,but added that he took thosepictures with his mind.

Zecher, a member of theMercer County Farm BureauMarketing Committee, said hesometimes uses his farm photosto help educate people aboutagriculture. For example, hisimage of a soybean seedlingsurfaced several questionsabout soybean production.

Zecher’s next art show willbe May 8-9 at the Beaux ArtFair in Davenport, Iowa.

Then he will take a break toget the crops planted before hit-ting the summer art shows andhearing visitors’ stories inspiredby his farm photographs.

His next Illinois exhibit willbe June 5 at Aledo’s RhubarbFest.

Zecher’s photos may beviewed in his online gallery at{www.zecherphoto.com}.

Farmer combines ag, photography in pictures A patriotic barn

in IroquoisCounty, Illinois,makes a sum-mertime scene.(Photographcopyright byMichael Zecher,Zecher Photogra-phy. All rights re-served.)

BRAZIL


Rains affecting harvest, delivery in BrazilBY PHIL CORZINELast report of the season.

Harvest is under way at ourfarms inBrazil and itlooks far toomuch like lastfall’s harvesthere — wet.On April 6 wegot 4.5 inchesof rain, andthe water wasover the

bridges.Luckily, even after a rain that

able. Most of the trucks, alldriven by independent opera-tors, haul 700 to 800 bushels,but often have been loadinglighter due to the roads.Freight costs for the trip runaround 55 cents per bushel.

We are delivering now onsome contracts that we madetwo weeks ago at $7.60 perbushel. Prices today (April 8)are around $7.

There are lots of unknownsfor Brazil for next year. Howwill near-breakeven prices forsoy affect the next crop?

What will be the net result ofBrazil forcing changes in theU.S. export and price supportprograms? And who will beBrazil’s next president.

The last time Brazil elected anew president, the real fell to 3.6to the dollar, and an exchangerate of 3.6 could almost doublesoybean prices in Brazil.

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

large, we’re normally back inthe field the next afternoon ifthe sun shines — one benefit tohaving lots of clay in the soil.

Working around the rains, wehave been able to get 25 per-cent of our beans harvested.We only have final yield resultsfrom our first small field of 60acres, which came in at 40bushels per acre.

That’s 12 percent below ourinitial expectations, no doubtdue to too many gaps in ourrains.

Most of our beans are being

delivered to a Bunge facility120 miles from our farms.The first 24 miles are on clayroads, and the rains are creat-ing havoc on that stretch.

We have the county roadpatrol out grading betweenrains to try to keep them pass-

Illinois farmers eligible for share of conservation innovation grants USDA last week

announced it will award $25million in fiscal year 2010 forprojects that would encourageadoption of innovative con-servation practices and tech-nology.

April 26 is the deadline toapply for the ConservationInnovation Grants (CIG) pro-gram that is administered bythe Natural Resources Con-servation Service (NRCS).

“The grants will assist pro-ducers in using market-basedapproaches to conservation

River Basin — this will helpUSDA further advance itsMississippi River BasinHealthy Watersheds Initiative,which includes Illinois; and

• $5 million for the Chesa-peake Bay Watershed.

USDA will use a two-phaseapproach to award grants thisyear. Applicants must submitpre-proposals to NRCS’national headquarters in Wash-ington, D.C., by April 26.

Full applications for select-

ed pre-proposals must be sub-mitted by June 4. All projectsmust include farmers whomeet eligibility requirementsfor Environmental QualityIncentive Programs (EQIP).

For more informationabout eligibility requirements,go online to {www.nrcs. -usda.gov/programs/eqip}.

For information and anelectronic application for CIG,go online to {www.grants.-gov}.

and innovative technologiesthat can put conservation onthe land,“ said AgricultureSecretary Tom Vilsack.

USDA wants to find cre-ative solutions for traditionalconservation issues, as wellas energy conservation, spe-cialty crops, and climatechange.

Grants also will fund pro-jects to improve water, soil andair quality, improve nutrientmanagement, and enhancewildlife habitat and pollinatorpopulations.

The CIG program will fundone- to three-year projectsthat target innovative on-the-ground conservation, includ-ing pilot projects, and fielddemonstrations up to $1 mil-lion per project.

USDA will divide the $25million into three categories:

• $15 million for nationwideissues, such as energy conser-vation and climate change;

• $5 million to address con-cerns within the Mississippi

Phil Corzine

Take safety precautionsduring lightning storms

As the spring thunderstorm season arrives, farmers and oth-ers who work outdoors need to remember key safety precautionsto avoid being struck by lightning.

Duane Friend, a University of Illinois Extension natural resourceseducator in the Springfield center, offered the following advice:

Seek shelter immediately if a thunderstorm is within six milesor closer. To estimate the distance, count the time from whenyou first see lightning until you hear thunder. If that is 30 sec-onds or less, the thunderstorm is within six miles.

Do not stand under or next to a tree. If you cannot get indoors,crouch in the open and stay twice as far from a tree as it is tall.

A group of people who are outdoors should stand severalyards away from one another. Don’t take shelter in an openpavilion or other small shelters unless they’re well grounded.

If you are indoors, avoid contact with corded phones or elec-trical equipment. Also avoid contact with plumbing, and do notlie on concrete floors or lean on concrete walls. Stay away fromwindows and doors, and stay off of porches. Lightning can entera building through electrical and phone lines, plumbing pipes, orradio/television antennas — either from a direct strike or fromwires or pipes that extend outside the structure.

Typical surge protectors will not protect equipment from astrike. During a storm, appliances and electronic equipmentshould be unplugged to the extent possible.

For more information on lightning and lightning safety, go tothe National Oceanic and Atmospheric Administration lightningwebsite at {www.lightningsafety.noaa.gov/overview.htm}.

Auction CalendarMon., Apr. 12. 10 a.m. 192 Ac. Warren

Co. Conrad and Liberta Taylor,ROSEVILLE, IL. Van Adkission Auction

Service.Sat., Apr. 17. 9:30 a.m. Construction Eq.

and Real Estate. Fern and Rex Dailyd.b.a. R.A.D. Excavators, DAHLGREN, IL.

Jamie Scherrer Auction Co.www.jamiescherrerauction.com

Sat., Apr. 17. 12 p.m. Fulton Co. LandAuction. The White Property, CUBA, IL.

Lowderman Auction Co.www.lowderman.com

Sun., Apr. 18. 10 a.m. Farm machinery.Cletus Martin Estate, LENA, IL. Jim

Calhoun, Auctioneers.www.calhounauciton.com

Tues., Apr. 20. 10:30 a.m. Ogle Co. LandAuction. George Schoen Trust, POLO, IL.

Lenny Bryson, Auctioneer.Fri., Apr. 23. 1 p.m. 143 +/- Ac. Knox Co.GALESBURG, IL. Westchester Auctions.

www.westchester-auctions.comSat., Apr. 24. 9 a.m. Equipment Auction.

Marvin Ton, EFFINGHAM, IL. SchmidAuction and Realty Co.

www.schmidauction.comSat., Apr. 24. 9 a.m. Consignment

Auction. PECATONICA, IL. Jim Sacia,Dan Powers, Lenny Bryson and Cal

Kaufman, Auctioneers.www.niteequip.com

PRODUCTION


2009 cash rents average $200-plus in 8 Illinois countiesThe average cash rent in

Illinois from 2008 to 2009was unchanged at $163 peracre, according to a surveyconducted by the NationalAgricultural Statistics Ser-vice (NASS) Illinois fieldoffice.

However, the most recentsurvey of about 10,000

highest-producing soils inthe state.

“Usually it (lease rates)boils down to what an acre isworth and what it’s capableof producing,” said BradSchwab, state statistician.

Areas with some of thelesser-producing soils sub-sequently featured the low-est cash rents in the state.The average rate last yearwas less than $100 per acrein 18 counties, which werelocated in the east-south-east, southwest, and south-

east portions of the state.Last year was the second

year NASS surveyed farmersabout cash rental rates andpublished county averages. Itstarted the survey due toindustry demand for suchinformation, according toSchwab.

He said NASS plans topost the 2010 averages thisfall so farmers and landown-ers can use that informationas guidelines to help deter-mine cash rents for 2011. —Daniel Grant

farmers in the state illustrat-ed the high variability ofcash rents paid throughoutthe state.

The average cash rent in2009 surpassed $200 per acrein eight counties, with a highof $237 in Macon County,while in Southern Illinoisrates averaged as low as

$66.50 per acre inWilliamson County.

The seven other countiesthat averaged $200-plus cashrents in the state — Logan($232), Sangamon ($223),Piatt ($218), Bureau ($210),McLean ($208), Christian($206), and Champaign($205) — have some of the

Farmers advised to remain patient this planting seasonBY DANIEL GRANTFarmWeek

Rain-weary farmers shouldremain patient this planting sea-

son despite aheavier work-load, advisedEmersonNafziger, Uni-versity of Illi-nois Extensioncrop systemsspecialist.

Otherwise,farmers who

get in a hurry could lower theircrop yield potential, increasethe chance of soil compaction,and heighten their risk of anaccident.

better shape,” he said.Meanwhile, the determina-

tion of nitrogen rates shouldbe no different this year. Acorn nitrogen rate calculatorthat focuses on economics foreach farm is available at {exten-sion.agron.iastate.edu/soilfertility/nrate.aspx}.

“I don’t think anybody willhold back corn acreage fromthe fear of not getting nitro-gen on,” Nafziger said.

Farmers will apply nitrogenbefore, during, and after plant-ing and also could switch toother forms, such as urea, tofertilize the corn crop.

Nafziger said the optimaltime to plant corn in Illinois

typically is the last half ofApril, but farmers shouldn’t beconfined to that time frame.

“We view the window asnarrower than it really is,” hesaid. “Corn planted the firstweek of May often is quite fineand seldom has lower yieldsthan corn planted a week ear-ly.”

The National AgriculturalStatistics Service state officereported less than 1 percent ofIllinois’ corn crop was plantedas of the first of last week.

Meanwhile, oat planting wasoff to a good start at 45 per-cent complete compared to 13percent last year and the five-year average of 18 percent.

USDA this month projectedIllinois farmers intend to plant700,000 more acres of cornand soybeans this spring thanthey did last year.

Current projections call forthe planting of 12.6 millionacres of corn (up 5 percentfrom last year) and 9.5 millionacres of beans (up 1 percentfrom last year) in Illinois thisseason.

“There’s not much reason atthis point to expect a big swingin those (planting) intentions,”Nafziger said.

He noted farmers last yearstruggled to plant their cropsyet still managed to produceaverage statewide yields of 174

bushels per acre for corn and46 bushels per acre for soy-beans.

“We can’t count on that(high yields after late planting)to be routine,” Nafziger said.“But I don’t think we need toget out there in the mud,either.”

Nafziger believes the risk ofsoil compaction remains highand advised farmers to makesure they establish a goodseedbed prior to planting. Hewas less concerned about thesoil temperature after therecent warm spell.

“Making a good seedbedmay be as simple as waiting aday or two until the soil is in

Ermerson Nafziger

FB IN ACTION


CUMBERLAND —The second annual

National Trail “Old CapitalRide” poker run will beginat 10 a.m. June 19 inCollinsville and Marshalland riders will meet at noonin Vandalia. This is afundraiser for ag literacy tosupport Bond, Clark, Cum-berland, Effingham, Fayette,Jasper, Madison, and St.Clair counties. Those pay-ing a $10 early bird entry feeby May 19 will receive a T-shirt. Register online at{www.aglit.org} or anyFarm Bureau office in thecounties listed above.

PEORIA — A defensivedriving course will be

from 9:30 a.m. to 2:30 p.m.Wednesday and Thursday,April 21-22, at the FarmBureau auditorium. DougSommer, safety specialist, willconduct the course. Cost is$10 for members. Call theFarm Bureau office at 686-7070 for reservations or moreinformation.

PIATT — The PrimeTimers will sponsor a

bus trip Friday, April 23, toSleepy Creek Vineyards. Thebus will leave the Farm Bureauoffice at 9:15 a.m., eat lunch atthe Beef House in Covington,Ind., and tour the winery.Cost is $25. Call the FarmBureau office at 762-2128 forreservations or more informa-tion.

WINNEBAGO —Farm Bureau and

Conserv FS will sponsor aused oil collection from 9 a.m.to noon Saturday at the Con-serv FS location, MeridianRoad. Members may bring upto a 55-gallon barrel of usedoil. Call the Farm Bureauoffice at 962-0653 or ConservFS at 964-5695 for more infor-mation.

• Farm Bureau will sponsortours April 27 to the HistoricAuto Museum, Roscoe; theAngel Museum, Beloit; andthe Bushnell Wheeler Man-sion, South Beloit. Lunch willbe at the Asian Buffet. Cost is$39. Call the Farm Bureauoffice for more information.

“From the counties” items aresubmitted by county Farm Bureaumanagers. Call your Farm Bureaumanager if you have an event oractivity open to all members.

FROM THE COUNTIES

FFA’ers participate in youthconference’s first career fair

For the first time, a career fair was incorporated intothe Illinois Farm Bureau & Affiliates Youth Conferenceheld recently at the Decatur Conference Center andHotel.

More than 525 FFA members, county Farm Bureaumanagers, and FFA advisers from 80 Illinois countiesattended the conference, according to Mariah Dale-Anderson, IFB youth activities manager.

FFA members who are high school sophomores andjuniors chatted about scholarships, internships, leadershipprograms, and career opportunities with representativesof community colleges, universities, agriculture commodi-ty groups, and IFB and its family of companies.

Conference attendees also participated in personal andcareer development breakout sessions that outlinedopportunities in agriculture and provided informationabout IFB and its family of companies.

Richland College, Decatur, also provided tours of itsmobile biodiesel lab.

Before attending the Youth Conference, FFA memberswere required to attend a local county Farm Bureauacquaintance program that provided them with informa-tion about IFB and its family of companies. The pro-grams were conducted by counties throughout the statefrom September through February.

The annual two-day Youth Conference is sponsored byIFB and its affiliated companies, which include GROW-MARK, Country Financial, Prairie Farms, and the IAACredit Union.

For more information about IFB and affiliated compa-nies’ youth education program, go online to{www.youthed.org} or {www.facebook.com/ilfbyea}.

Above, Susan Moore, IAA Foun-dation director, discusses scholar-ships offered by the foundationwith an FFA member at the recentIllinois Farm Bureau & AffiliatesYouth Conference at the DecaturConference Center and Hotel. Acareer fair was offered for the firsttime during the event. At right,Western Illinois University studentBrett Gerace, right, chats with anFFA member. (Photos by MariahDale-Anderson, IFB youth activi-ties manager)

PROFITABILITY


Feeder pig prices reported to USDA*

Weight Range Per Head Weighted Ave. Price10 lbs. $34.75-$45.00 $39.8440 lbs. $71.00 $71.0050 lbs. $60.00 $60.00Receipts This Week Last Week

11,788 11,056*Eastern Corn Belt prices picked up at seller’s farm

MARKET FACTS

Confirmed lamb and sheep salesThis week 722 Last week 1,587 Last year 1,611Wooled Slaughter Lambs: Choice and prime 2-3: 90-110 lb., $115-$120; 110-130lbs., $118-$119. Good and choice 1-2: 30-60 lbs., $145. Slaughter Ewes: Utility and good 1-3: $44-$46. Cull and utility 1-2: $33-$34.

Lamb prices

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

This week Prev. week ChangeCarcass $72.69 $69.63 3.06Live $53.79 $51.53 2.26

Export inspections

(Million bushels)Week ending Soybeans Wheat Corn04-01-10 16.2 20.1 39.403-25-10 30.6 14.8 39.6Last year 21.2 17.2 44.5Season total 1253.8 708.4 1008.6Previous season total 948.0 860.2 970.5USDA projected total 1420 825 1900Crop marketing year began June 1 for wheat and Sept. 1 for corn and soybeans.

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

Steers $99.73 $96.12 3.61 Heifers $100.78 $96.08 4.70

USDA five-state area slaughter cattle price

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

This week Prev. week Change111.68 107.98 3.70

CME feeder cattle index — 600-800 Lbs.

Grain systems 2010: year of the dryerson this year has been allabout dryers. It seems thatmost producers are either con-sidering a dryer, buying theirfirst dryer, or replacing anexisting dryer.

Dryer sales on every levelare at all-time record highswith lead times at all manufac-turers already extending intolate summer or early fall.Grain bin and material han-dling equipment sales are allrunning well ahead of lastyear.

The wholesale steel markethas been creeping up since latefall as the steel industry hasfound a way to deplete inven-

BY RANDY HOLTHAUSAfter the trials and tribula-

tions of the fall of 2009, oneproducer comment we are

hearing overand over is, “Iwill never getcaught in thatpositionagain.”

Of course,the referenceis to theinability todry the 2009

crop, the long wait at the ele-vator, or the slow drying onthe farm.

The grain systems sales sea-

tories and limit production inorder to increase prices.

As seasonal winter dis-counts have played out, grainequipment prices are startingto increase. In the last month,we have seen 7 to 10 percentincreases from some manufac-turers.

If you have not locked inyour grain system upgradeand/or expansion plans forthis year, the window ofopportunity is closing quickly.

Most dealers are reachingthe point in which their laborschedules are nearly full. Man-ufacturer lead times arebecoming prohibitive to secur-

ing equipment in time toinstall it before harvest.

There is still limited time tocomplete some projects, butthe decision needs to be madenow.

If you have missed the boatfor this year, you can work onthe decisions, planning, anddesign done this spring/-summer and be on the sched-ule for next season.

As you make your decisions,reflect on the problems andissues your system had thispast fall. Did your receivingkeep the combine running?Was your wet holding ade-quate?

Was your dryer able to keepup with your harvest rate?

Do you have a storagedeficit? Does your aerationsystem adequately maintainthe stored grain? Does yourunloading system load thetrucks in a timely manner?

Ask yourself these ques-tions and address thoseproblems now while they arefresh in your mind. It will bemore difficult the longer youwait.

Randy Holthaus is GROW-MARK’s grain systems marketingmanager. His e-mail address [email protected]

Randy Holthaus

Oil, fuel prices accelerate to new 2010 highs BY DANIEL GRANTFarmWeek

A run-up in the prices ofcrude oil and diesel fuel, whichlast week reached new highsfor the year, likely isn’t a short-term spike.

Instead, higher-priced oiland fuel likely is a sign ofthings to come. Demand isincreasing at a time whenrefinery use is 15 to 20 percentbelow capacity, according toHarry Cooney, energy analystwith GROWMARK’s energydivision.

“We’ve made new highs incrude,” Cooney said last week.“We tend to rally (crude oil)

prices 80 percent of the timefrom winter into spring andearly summer.”

Crude oil prices last week

reached an 18-month highwhile the average U.S. dieselfuel price surpassed the $3-

mark for the first time sinceNovember 2008.

The average nationwideprice of diesel ($3.01 per gal-

lon) and regular gasoline($2.82 per gallon) last weekboth were about 80 centshigher than at the same time ayear ago, according to theEnergy Information Adminis-tration (EIA).

Cooney reported somespeculators believe crude oilprices in coming months couldsurpass $90 per barrel. If so,the price of gasoline, diesel,and propane likely wouldtrend up as well, Cooney said.

“Pump prices over $3 (forgasoline) shouldn’t be a sur-prise at all,” he said. “Demandis still under a couple yearsago, but it’s a lot better thanlast year.”

Cooney believes even aslight rebound in the econo-my will drive increaseddemand for oil and fuel. Fueluse on the farm this springalso is expected to be high asfarmers, who intend to plantmore corn and soybean acres,also have to catch up on field-work.

EIA last week projectedmotor vehicle gas consump-tion this summer will increaseby 40,000 barrels per day.

This comes at a time whenthe refinery use rate is project-ed to dip to 84.1 percent,which would be the lowestsince 1985, according to EIA.

Cooney explained the drop-off in refining by saying,

“Refinery profit margins thelast six months have beenpoor” (due to a previousslump in fuel demand).

The bulls in the oil and fuelmarkets could be tempered incoming months, though, if the

U.S. dollar continues to rally,Cooney said.

He recommended farmerslater this spring and summerlook for opportunities to booksome of their fall propaneneeds. ‘Pump prices over $3 shouldn’t be a sur-

prise at all.’

— Harry CooneyGROWMARK energy analyst

Monsanto may fall short of profit goalMonsanto, the world’s largest seed marketer, had a 17 per-

cent decline in profits during the second quarter, the companyreported last week.

Monsanto acknowledged it is unlikely to meet its goal ofdoubling its 2007 gross profit by 2012. Gross profit the past sixmonths is down 30 percent or $1.2 billion, the company said.

“While there may be options to make an accelerated pushfor 2012, it’s clear to me that achieving the objective wouldinvolve making short-term choices that are not in the long-range interests of business,” said Hugh Grant, Monsanto CEO,in a company statement.

The price of many seed varieties escalated in recent years,but Monsanto’s profit margin was squeezed by a drop in theprice of Roundup, its popular herbicide. Roundup prices haveplunged worldwide as generic competition flooded the globalmarket, the Associated Press reported.

Sales in Monsanto’s ag productivity segment, which includesherbicides and chemicals, declined 35 percent ($351 million)during the second quarter.

Overall, the company’s profit in the second quarter was $887million compared to $1.09 billion during the same time lastyear.

PROFITABILITY


AgriVisor Hotline Number

309-557-2274

AgriVisor endorsescrop insurance by

Policies issued by COUNTRYMutual Insurance Company®,

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AgriVisor LLC1701 N. Towanda Avenue

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309-557-3147

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

CASH STRATEGISTCorn Strategy

�2009 crop: Prices surgedlast week on talk of possibleChinese corn imports. Techni-cal factors played a part, too,with the market having justestablished a seven-week low.Rallies will be muted by weakfundamentals. Our target of$3.65 on July futures was hit,pushing total sales to 75 per-cent. We might sell another 15percent soon; possibly evencomplete them. Check theCash Strategist Hotline daily.

�2010 crop: Our target of$3.89 on December futureswas triggered, lifting sales to40 percent. Check the CashStrategist Hotline frequently; weplan to be 50 percent priced byearly May.

�Fundamentals: Cornhas little fundamental friendlynews being under the shadowof large, and growing, U.S.stocks and generally favorablewe a t h e r . We a r e h e a r i n grepor t s of sca t te red cor nplanting across the Midwest.That talk will increase if the 6-to 10-day weather forecastholds up.Soybean Strategy

�2009 crop: Even thoughSouth American supplies willincreasingly soften demand forU.S. soybeans and products,supplies are still tight enoughin the shor t t e r m to keepprices firm. Use rallies above$9.60 on July to make catch-upsales. We may wrap-up old-crop sales if July pushes intothe $9.70s; check the CashStrategist Hotline frequently.

�2010 crop: The recentsu rg e ca r r i ed p r i c e s h i ghenough to lift sales to 30 per-cent. We might increase salesto 50 percent at any time.

�Fundamentals: The newU.S. supply/demand numbersshould help resolve some ofthe uncertainty surroundingU.S. supplies until the newcrop arrives. South Americanhar vest is going wel l withBrazil more than 75 percentcomplete and Argentina nearly30 percent. Even with theirproduction numbers beingraised slightly, transportationand port capacity limitationsshou ld a l low modes t U.S.

exports to persist.Wheat Strategy

� 2 0 0 9 c r o p : W h e a tprices were temporarily liftedby short-covering activity.Still, without an unexpectedcold wave, the market likelywil l maintain a downwardb i a s t h r o u g h t h e s p r i n gmonths. Prices reached our$4.70 target in the May con-tract to wrap up old-cropsales. If you failed to pullthe tr ig ger, use ral l ies forcatch up sales.

�2010 crop: Our $4.90

target on Chicago July futuresto make an initial 25 percentsale was reached. We couldadvise additional sales at anytime; check the Cash StrategistHotline daily.

�Fundamentals: Wheatcontinues to feel the pressureof large global supplies. Inaddition, prospects for the win-ter wheat crop continue toimprove with the latest cropreport indicating 65 percent ofthe crop was in good to excel-lent condition. That’s amongthe best initial spring ratings inthe last 15 years.

The exceptional, somemight say unexpected, goodweather over the past fewweeks has made conditionsgood enough to allow somecorn planting in scattered loca-tions across the Midwest.

Probably one of the betterharbingers of a better plantingseason this year than the last twohas been the good early progressfor oat planting across the upperMidwest. By Easter Sunday,Iowa farmers had 28 percent oftheir oat acreage planted, aheadof last year’s 7 percent and theaverage of 13 percent.

Other than in the South,corn planting has been limitedenough that it doesn’t yet“show on the radar screen.”Most of the activity over thelast week where field condi-tions have been good enoughhas been field preparationand/or fertilizer application.

The opportunity to get agood start on fertilizer applica-tion is a benefit not only to

Basis charts

farmers but also the fertilizerindustry. Because so littlenitrogen was applied in centraland northern Midwestern areaslast fall, an inordinate amountwas left to apply this spring.With good weather allowing anearly start to nitrogen applica-tion, the window of opportu-nity has been widened and that,in turn, is helping prevent spotshortages that would haveoccurred if the time frame hadbeen compressed.

This week, most areas of theMidwest will pass the date oncrop insurance policies regardingreplanting provisions. If currentlong-range weather forecasts forwarmer-than-normal tempera-tures and normal to slightly wet-ter-than-normal moisture holdup, corn planting will accelerateacross the Corn Belt.

On the accompanying graph-ic, we have depicted the averagepace of corn and soybeanplantings for the five years priorto 2008. If current forecastshold up for the next two weeks,corn planting might match thepace illustrated, suggesting 50percent of the crop could be“in the ground” by May 1.

If planting goes that well, itwill tilt the bias for yield expec-tations upward from 160bushels per acre.

Good early planting progressalso would tend to increase thechances of seeing more cornplanted than the USDA pro-jected in the recent prospectiveplanting report. Since 2000,the average of corn plantings inthe June report have risen 1million acres from the Marchestimate.

The same could be said forsoybeans, except for the plant ingchange. They have tended todecline 600,000 acres from onereport to the next since 2000.

Cents per bu.

Some planting under way

PERSPECTIVES


Did you know that Charles Darwin studiedearthworms for decades? His final publicationwas a book detailing his studies of them called“The Formation of Vegetable Mould,” pub-

lished in 1881. Earthworms areamazing creatures whose role insoil fertility and garden healthare easily overlooked.

If you’re like me and shred alot of papers, try compostingthem. If you put shreddedpaper in a compost pile, earth-worms will come up and eat it,digest it, and turn it into morecompost.

Paper is the No. 1 material togo to landfills, so this is a great way to reducelandfill use.

In her book “The Earth Moved,” Amy Stew-art stated that earthworms existed as long as350 million years ago.

Their ancestry lies in water-dwelling organ-isms, which helps explain their inability to with-stand a dry environment.

They have survived the five major extinc-tions, and yet they are one of the least studiedorganisms. Many species of earthworms haveyet to be methodically studied, catalogued,described, and named. To date, there are morethan 4,500 species, and counting.

In Christopher Lloyd’s book “What on EarthEvolved?” the 100 most successful organismswere rated according to their overall impact onthe earth, life, and people.

The No. 1 most successful species was —the earthworm.

According to Lloyd, there could be nohuman civilization if not for earthworms, dueto their beneficial effects on soil fertility andaeration.

Darwin clearly concurred on the importanceof earthworms. He wrote: “It may be doubtedwhether there are many other animals whichhave played so important a part in the historyof the world as have these lowly organized

creatures.” Darwin discovered, through careful observa-

tion, that earthworms recognized the most effi-cient way to take pine needles underground —by their joined ends rather than their tips. Healso discovered that they could distinguish themost efficient way to pull a triangle of paperinto the ground — by a corner rather thanbroadside.

Red wigglers and red worms are good com-posters that usually can be found at the localbait store. They prefer the rich organic environ-ment of a compost pile to soil.

The common earthworm, or nightcrawler,prefers the soil environment. Earthwormsbuild burrows in the soil and leave smallmounds of castings near the entrances. They

can ingest soilalong withdecaying organ-ic matter.

There is adownside toearthworms,however. InMinnesota,where there areno native

ground-dwelling earthworms, discarded fishingworms have invaded the forest areas, wreakinghavoc on the ecosystem.

Tree seed-lings, ferns, and wildflowers arethreatened. In areas where earthworms havetaken over, soil is eroding away, carrying valu-able nutrients with it.

So, don’t throw away your unused fishingworms. Instead, take them home and start acompost pile or invest in a well-designed wormbin. The “gardener’s gold” you get will be wellworth the small effort you put into it.

Mari Loehrlein is a horticulture professor in the Schoolof Agriculture at Western Illinois University,Macomb. Her e-mail address is [email protected].

MARILOEHRLEIN

President Barack Obamahas set an ambitious goal ofdoubling our exports and cre-ating two million jobs in thenext five years. That’s veryencouraging. We need to do

somethingabout jobswith a 9.7 per-cent unem-ployment rateand a sputter-ing economy.

Let’s not kidourselves.That goal willbe very hardto achieve but

now is the time to get started.A good place to start

would be to resolve a costlytrade dispute that we havewith Mexico. Mexico is oneof our biggest markets in theworld, but our refusal to liveup to our obligations in theNorth American Free TradeAgreement (NAFTA) hascost us $2.6 billion in exportsand 25,000 jobs.

Here is the history:The 1994 NAFTA pro-

vides that Mexican trucks canhaul freight into and out ofthe U.S. That provision wassupposed to be fully imple-mented by year 2000.

Congress, pushed by theTeamsters Union, would notallow the policy to take effect.The Teamsters complainedabout safety, even though theMexican trucks were requiredto meet the same standards asour own.

The dispute with Mexicohas been going back andforth for 15 years. Now weare suffering with serious joblosses.

Also, right now we arelooking down the barrel atanother potentially majorretaliation by Brazil. We haveless than 30 days to resolvethat dispute that could resultin major tariffs in our exportsof cars, cotton, and ag prod-ucts.

The Senate has spent yearsignoring trade agreementsthat are already negotiatedand ready to be enacted.

Agreements with Colom-bia, South Korea, and Pana-ma could mean billions ofdollars in exports and thou-sands of jobs for us. In addi-tion, there is no time like thepresent to facilitate moretrade with Cuba.

While we have been sittingon our hands, other countrieshave been signing tradeagreements with Asian andSouth American countries. Ifwe are serious about meetingthe president’s goal of dou-bling trade, we had better getstarted.

President Obama says it’sall about “jobs, jobs, jobs,” solet’s get started.

I encourage you to accessmy website, which archivesmy radio commentaries dat-ing back 10 years. It will goback 20 years when complete.Check on what I said backthen. Go to {www.johnblock-reports.com}.

John Block of Gilson, a formerU.S. agriculture secretary in theReagan administration, is a seniorpolicy adviser with the Washington,D.C., firm of Olsson, Frank,Weeda, and Terman, which special-izes in ag issues. His e-mailaddress is [email protected].

Resolving trade disputeswould boost economy

JOHNBLOCK

“I’ll stop saying you’re a nag, if you stopsaying I always make a pig of myself.”

LOWLY, BUT

GREAT

Throughout history, earthworms have madebiggest impact on earth, life, and humans

The No. 1most suc-cessful

species was —the earthworm.

farmweek april 12 2010

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