farmweek april 19 2010
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FarmWeek April 19 2010TRANSCRIPT
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Monday, April 19, 2010 Two sections Volume 38, No. 16
FarmWeek on the web: FarmWeekNow.com Illinois Farm Bureau®on the web: www.ilfb.org
THE OUTLOOK for a statebudget in May remains strong afterlawmakers returned from springbreak last week. ...............................3
MANY ILLINOIS farmersplanted more corn last week thanthey did during the entire month ofApril in 2008 and 2009. ................6
A ROBOTIC milking system isallowing a pair of Bond County broth-ers to improve their herd’s efficiencyand give them more free time. .............5
TAKING A BREAK
Ty Langham of rural Donnellson in Montgomery County takes a short break from working up a 5-acrefield he plans to plant to corn. Langham said he would wait a few days to let the soil dry out beforehe planted the field. He and his brothers, Hal and Nate, produce corn and soybeans and have adairy and feeder cattle operation. They will not have a wheat crop this year because their ground wastoo wet to plant last fall. (Photo by Ken Kashian)
Senate-approved redistricting plan moves to HouseBY KAY SHIPMANFarmWeek
The Illinois House last weekreceived a Senate-approvedproposal to change how statelegislative districts are drawn.A second measure, known as
the Fair Map Amendment,failed on a 5-6 vote in the Sen-ate Redistricting Committee.
By 36 to 22, the Senatepassed Senate Joint ResolutionConstitutional Amendment(SJRCA) 121, dubbed the Citi-
zens First Amendment andsponsored by Sen. KwameRaoul (D-Chicago).
Kevin Semlow, Illinois FarmBureau director of state legis-lation, explained SJRCA 121must go through several steps
before it could be put beforevoters.
“For the House to takeaction, the amendment mustgo through three full readingsand will be considered by theHouse Judiciary I-Civil LawCommittee,” Semlowsaid. “After that, the amend-ment must be passed by athree-fifths vote by May 2 tobe placed on the Novemberballot.”
Earlier, the IFB LegislativeRedistricting Working Grouphad analyzed SJRCA 121 aftera presentation on the proposalfrom Sens. John Sullivan (D-Rushville) and William Haine(D-Alton) along with Senatestaff.
Although SJRCA 121 con-tained some reforms called forin IFB policy, key provisionswere missing, the LegislativeRedistricting Working Groupdetermined.
The members concludedIFB’s priority was to focus onsupporting the Illinois FairMap voter initiative and itslegislative equivalent, SenateJoint Resolution Constitution-al Amendment (SJRCA) 104;however, SJRCA 104 wasdefeated in committee.
“We continue to supportthe Illinois Fair Map voter init-
Family stories wanted
AFBF kicks off federal ‘death tax’ campaignBY MARTIN ROSSFarmWeek
Hoping to see Congressgear up to put federal estatetax fears to rest by MemorialDay, the American FarmBureau Federation (AFBF) haskicked off a national campaignfocusing on farmers’ experi-ences with and concerns aboutthe “death tax.”
With farm families in lim-bo because of the temporaryestate tax repeal and the antici-pated return of the tax in 2011at pre-2002 rates and exemp-tions, AFBF President BobStallman last week reiterated apush for at least a $5 million-per-individual/$10 million-per-couple estate tax exemp-tion.
Following up on AFBF’s“Don’t Cap Our Future” cam-paign aimed at defeating con-gressional climate/cap-and-trade legislation, heannounced a new “Put DeathTaxes to Rest” campaignfocused on selected senatorsand aimed at putting a face onthe impact of estate tax liabili-ty on farm heirs.
Borrowing Ben Franklin’soft-quoted observation aboutthe certainty of death and tax-es, Stallman argued that “whenit comes to death taxes, there
is no certainty,” particularly ina producer’s ability to plan forsuccession of an operation.
Rather than flooding Capi-tol Hill with mass mailings,
AFBF has asked state FarmBureaus to provide grassrootsstories about the hardships thetax creates for farm owners
and heirs and young andbeginning farmers and thus“why we need reform,” hesaid.
According to Stallman, “keyHill leaders” indicate some leg-islative action may be taken bythe end of May, and the post-card/e-mail campaign will con-tinue through the MemorialDay recess.
If no action is taken by theend of summer, AFBF plansto launch a full-out “call toaction” during Congress’August break and continuing,
if necessary, through fall.Under a 2001 tax law loop-
hole, the estate tax will returnnext year with a mere $1 mil-lion individual exemption. InDecember, the Houseapproved a permanent $3.5million exemption (2009’sthreshold), but AFBF believesa $5 million exemptionadjustable for inflation and a35 percent rate would betterprotect farmers faced with ris-ing farm values.
“Politically, full (death tax)repeal is out for the time
being, though some day, wehope we’ll get back to fullrepeal,” Stallman toldFarmWeek.
“But right now, we have todeal with the legislative realityof the law reverting to a $1million exemption and a 55percent tax rate unless some-thing is done.”
To share personal experi-ences with the estate tax, con-tact Illinois Farm BureauNational Legislative DirectorAdam Nielsen at 309-557-3152 or [email protected].
FarmWeekNow.comListen to AFBF President BobStallman’s comments on estatetax re fo rm a t Fa rmWeek-Now.com.
See Redistricting, page 3
BIODIESEL BLUES NEAR END? — The $1-per-gallon federal biodiesel tax credit that expired atthe end of 2009 could be revived by Memorial Day ifHouse and Senate negotiators can agree on the finalversion of a tax bill.
House Ways and Means Committee ChairmanSander Levin (D-Mich.) said his goal was to havethe f ina l b i l l ready by late May. The lack of abiodiesel credit this season has prompted shut-downs and layoffs throughout the largely soy-basedindustry.
The House and Senate have been at odds over howto pay for various tax credit extensions. Levin said thekey obstacle is the need to secure a filibuster-proof,60-vote margin in the Senate.
ATLANTA GROWER ON POLICY PANEL —Central Illinois producer Ron Kindred will help theAmerican Soybean Association (ASA) develop ag pol-icy recommendations as part of a new 2012 Farm BillWorking Group. ASA leaders met recently withHouse Ag Committee Chairman Collin Peterson (D-Minn.) to discuss his plans for preliminary farm billhearings beginning this month.
“In establishing the working group, I attempted toidentify members who will bring experience in keyfarm policy, crop and revenue insurance, bioenergy,agricultural research, and trade, and perspectives fromall soybean production areas,” ASA President RobJoslin said. “I’ve also included past leaders who havebeen involved in previous farm bill debates to ensurethat ASA is fully prepared to offer and advocatemeaningful policies.”
Kindred, who raises 550 acres of corn and alfalfaand manages a small beef cow/calf operation nearAtlanta, is an ASA board member and secretary andpast ASA vice president.
OBAMA APPLAUDS CONSERVATION —President Obama last week declared “it’s the rightthing to do for the economy” to conserve workingfarm lands and ranches.
The president made his remarks before signing amemorandum outlining administration conservationgoals at a White House Conference on America’sGreat Outdoors.
The conference included panel discussions withlocal leaders from across the country. Ag SecretaryVilsack moderated a panel focusing on “Conservingworking lands for the benefit of all Americans,” whileInterior Secretary Ken Salazar moderated a panelfocused on “Connecting people to our lands, water,and wildlife.”
FarmWeek Page 2 Monday, April 19, 2010
(ISSN0197-6680)
Vol. 38 No. 16 April 19 , 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.
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© 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
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Quick TakesIFB IN ACTION
BY DANIEL GRANTFarmWeek
Chad Schutz, 31, certainlyappreciates the past.
The fifth-generation farmerfrom White Hall in GreeneCounty in his spare time trav-els the state “fighting battles”as a Civil War re-enactor.
“I’ve always enjoyed history,”Schutz said. “It (becoming aCivil War re-enactor) was a goodway to combine history” and apassion for horseback riding.
But, for as much as Schutzappreciates the past, he is evenmore excited about the future.The Schutz family in recentyears expanded its livestockoperation.
The move allowed Chad,his father, Kenny, his uncleBob, his brother, Brock, and acousin, Jake, to stay on thefarm. They also employ ahired man, Frank Rice, whohas worked with at least fourgenerations of the Schutzfamily.
“We’ve not experienced alarge growth in our land base(on the cash grain side of thebusiness),” Schutz said. “So,for everybody to come back, it(growing the livestock opera-tion) was a good way toexpand and keep everybodyemployed.”
Schutz, who last Decemberwas elected to represent Dis-trict 15 on the Illinois FarmBureau Board of Directors,has a particular interest in hisfamily’s cattle operation.
He started the cattle side ofthe business to complementthe family’s hog and cropoperations.
“It’s grown from 20 cowsto now we’re able to finish150” annually, Schutz said.
Three years ago the Schutzfamily put up a hoop buildingto finish cattle. They also useproducts such as straw andcorn gluten in feed rations tomake the cattle operation
moreeffi-cient.
TheSchutzfamily alsoreduced itsrisk in the hogindustry in 1998 by switchingfrom a farrow-to-finish opera-tion to contract finishing.
“We feel we’re in a reallygood spot,” Schutz said.
Schutz and his wife, Stacy,have two children, Lana, 8,and Bridget, 5. He hopes thenext generation of his familywill have the same opportunityto farm.
“Ever since I was little, Ialways wanted to farm,” saidSchutz, who previously servedas the president of the GreeneCounty Farm Bureau and is a2008 Agricultural Leaders of
Tomorrow (ALOT) graduate.He also serves as chairman
of the administrative councilof Christ United MethodistChurch in White Hall and is amember of the Illinois BeefAssociation and the IllinoisWalking Horse Association.
Schutz, who obviouslywears a lot of different hats,also wears different Civil Waruniforms as part of his hobby.He has a Union-blue and Con-federate-gray uniform so hecan fill any role needed at eachbattle re-enactment.
“It’s an odd but interestinghobby,” Schutz said. “I have alot of very good friends I metthrough it.”
A highlight of Schutz’s Civ-il War hobby thus far was afew years ago when heappeared on “80 Acres ofHell,” a History Channel doc-umentary about Camp Dou-glas in Chicago.
Camp Douglas was as tractof land provided by theStephen A. Douglas estate thatwas converted from a UnionArmy training post into aprison camp. The campbecame infamous for its inhu-mane conditions and between1862 and 1865 an estimated6,000 Confederate soldiersdied there from disease, star-vation, or bitter cold winters.
Schutz portrayed a Unionguard in the film.
“It was pretty neat to watchthe History Channel and seeyourself,” he said.
Schutz, as the District 15director, represents Bond, Cal-houn, Greene, Jersey, Macoupin,and Madison counties.
Schutz appreciates past, excited about future
Chad Schutz, Illinois Farm Bureau District 15 director from White Hall, walks a horse on his farm recentlyduring a simulation of a soldier preparing for a Civil War battle. Schutz, who produces grain and livestockon his family’s farming operation, combines his passion for horseback riding and appreciation for historyinto a regular hobby of re-enacting Civil War battles. (Photo by Ken Kashian)
GOVERNMENT
FarmWeek Page 3 Monday, April 19, 2010
Continued from page 1iative (a petition drive to put the matter onthe November ballot),” Semttlow added.
In other legislative action, Gov. PatQuinn last week signed public pensionreform legislation.
The administration estimated the newlaw would save taxpayers more than $200billion over nearly 35 years and stabilize
current employee pensions. The legislation caps pensionable salary
at $106,800 and raises the retirement agefor full benefits to 67 with 10 years of ser-vice.
Employees will be eligible for reducedbenefits at age 62.
The changes apply only to new employ-ees and take effect on Jan. 1, 2011.
BY KAY SHIPMANFarmWeek
State legislators, fresh back fromspring break, worked expeditiously onlegislation, while the outlook for a Maybudget resolution remained strong lastweek, according to Kevin Semlow, Illi-nois Farm Bureau director of state leg-islation.
“Maybe it’s the spring air or just adesire to move quickly and not betrapped in the Capitol in yet anotherovertime session,” Semlow said.
For information on individual bills,go to FarmWeeknow.com.
“This is the time of year that pro-posals that did not see much actionhave a chance, or new ideas sprout andbloom into a legislative measure,” Sem-low explained.
In addition, the Senate and Househave continued with informationalbudget hearings.
Semlow anticipated another roll-outof a single massive appropriations billthat would be voted on within a fewhours. Many legislators have comment-ed they expect to vote on a state budgetin May, he added.
While the General Assembly is
scheduled to adjourn on May 7, Sem-low said he wouldn’t be surprised if thesession ended in late May.
Semlow speculated this year’s budgetoutcome will be similar to last year’s.The General Assembly will approvesome cuts, but not enough to offset the$13-billion shortfall.
Some political experts are specu-lating the funding problems won’t beaddressed until after the Nov. 2election, he said.
Both the Senate and Houseappropriations committeeshave heard the IllinoisDepartment of Agricul-ture’s (IDOA) proposedbudget.
Last week in aHouse Appropriationshearing, Ag DirectorTom Jennings notedthe number of IDOA employees andits budget are a fraction of what theywere just a few years ago, and this year’sbudget scenario will further exacerbatethe situation.
Rep. Frank Mautino (D-Spring Val-ley), the committee chairman, said thecurrent budget challenges are not thefault of the agency, but the result ofthe larger state budget problem. Theoutcome will be reduced funding for allstate agencies, including IDOA.
Jennings discussed the impact thatbudget problems are having on entities
that receive their funding throughIDOA’s budget. One of those is theUniversity of Illinois Extension.
At the hearing, representatives ofExtension Partners discussed Exten-sion’s plan to consolidate offices andreduce costs. During the hearing, legis-lators suggested that all entities that
receive funding through IDOA maywant to consider an approach similarto what Extension is doing, said BartBittner, IFB associate director of
state legislation.Adoption of new state fuel
standards is another issuethat has been discussed
recently, according to PaulCope, IFB assistant direc-tor of state legislation.The standards wouldensure the quality ofgasoline that Illinois is
receiving, blending with ethanol, andselling at gas stations to consumers.
However, the action on Illinois stan-dards has been put on hold for severalreasons, including a new national stan-dard set to take effect in May 2012 forall U.S. oil companies.
Major Illinois refineries and the oiland pipeline companies that supply fuelcoming from the Gulf of Mexico haveinformed legislators and IDOA that ifIllinois adopts new standards, therefineries and companies would need toproduce fuel specifically for Illinois,
store it in the Gulf, and send it throughthe pipelines that supply Illinois.
Cope noted IDOA is responsible forfuel inspection in Illinois and for ensur-ing fuel quality.
However, oil refineries in Illinoisthat do not receive oil from thepipelines also have informed IDOAofficials that if the state adopts newstandards they, too, will have to pro-duce gasoline that meets new Illinoisspecifications and store it onsite, Copeexplained. These companies also supplygasoline to other states that wouldn’thave the same fuel standards, he added.
The companies are saying theywould need to refine their fuel more tomeet the new Illinois standards andexpand their storage facilities for Illi-nois-specific fuel, which would add totheir costs.
However, if the state waits until2012 when the national standards areimplemented, then the Illinois-basedrefineries have said they will producethe same fuel for every state.
Over the past several weeks, theseissues have been discussed numeroustimes by members of the GeneralAssembly, IDOA, the Petroleum Mar-keters Association, American Petrole-um Institute, Illinois Corn Growers,Illinois Renewable Fuels Association,IFB, and other entities. IFB will keepmembers informed as the issue devel-ops, Cope said.
Spring fever?
Legislators stay busy with legislation and budget
FarmWeekNow.comVisit FarmWeekNow.com to checkon the status of IFB-supported legis-lation in Springfield.
MAKING CIDER
Aaron Graham, left, of Curtis Orchard & Pumpkin Patch in Champaign watches as Fuji applesbrought in from Michigan for a special order of cider move through the production line. At right areRandy Graham, left, co-owner and manager of the orchard, and Cameron Graham. Randy is the fa-ther of Aaron and Cameron. The orchard produces about 20,000 gallons of cider a year during itsnormal production period from August to December. Its cider is a blend of six to 10 apple varieties.Curtis’ 2010 season begins July 20. (Photo by Ken Kashian)
IDOA to sprout first greenroof on a state building
The Illinois Department of Agriculture (IDOA) soon will begreen in more ways than one.
The IDOA building on the Illinois State Fairgrounds inSpringfield will have Illinois’ first green roof on a state-operat-ed building, said David Blanchette, spokesman for the CapitalDevelopment Board (CDB). CDB is overseeing the roof pro-ject.
In June, rooftop trays will be planted with 22,000 square feetof sedum on the roof ’s upper central section.
The $2.093 million project includes repairs of the building’s
leaky roof. STR Partners Inc. of Chicago is the project engi-neer.
“The (project’s) major focus was to correct the leaking,”Blanchette said. “The second focus was to make the roof envi-ronmentally friendly and efficient, and the best way to do thatis with a green roof.”
Designed Roofing Systems Inc., Springfield, will replace sev-eral levels of the tar-and-gravel roof with insulation and a layerof white poly vinyl chloride roofing membrane.
Then, 2-by-2-foot trays that are four inches deep will beinstalled on the roof. The plants will arrive in the trays, and asmall crane will hoist the containers onto the roof. Employeesof Designed Roofing will unload and place the trays.
The added insulation will help lower energy costs for heatingand cooling, while the white membrane will reflect sunlight andalso help lower cooling costs, said Blanchette.
He noted the plants also will store carbon dioxide, give offoxygen, and help absorb and filter any rain. — Kay Shipman
Redistricting
GOVERNMENT
FarmWeek Page 4 Monday, April 19, 2010
Breaking E-wall requires clearing roadblocks BY MARTIN ROSSFarmWeek
The ethanol industry continues tobattle to reach the next stages of pro-duction and market demand despite newestimates that more ethanol use couldsave drivers at least a nickel per tankmore.
According to the Renewable FuelsAssociation (RFA), U.S. drivers could save12-19 cents per gallon with higherethanol blend levels. The U.S. Environ-mental Protection Agency (EPA) isreviewing an industry proposal to permitethanol blends between the current stan-dard 10 percent and 15 percent (E15).
Based on current wholesale prices,ethanol is selling at 70-80 cents less thangasoline even before a 45-cent-per-gal-lon federal ethanol blenders tax credit isconsidered.
Ten percent blends thus should costat least 7-8 cents per gallon less at the
pump than gasoline without ethanol, butE15 would save motorists up to a nickelmore per gallon, RFA projected.
Factoring in the ethanol tax credit,consumers could save “a whopping 19cents per gallon” with E15, it stated.
But corn ethanol remains underattack. The Grocery Manufacturers ofAmerica, the American Meat Institute,the National Council of Chain Restau-rants, and others have challengedCollinsville Republican Rep. JohnShimkus’ push to extend the soon-to-expire ethanol credit for five years.
Environmentalists argue EPA hasgiven corn-based plants too much lee-way in renewable fuels standard (RFS2)rules, though EPA determined theymeet greenhouse emissions thresholdsrelative to gasoline based on new,revised global land use/climate data andlong-term corn yield projections.
University of Illinois Biofuels Law and
Regulation Program leader Jay Kesan seesRFS2 as “a victory for ethanol as a wholeand for ethanol from grain.” He hopes thebiofuels sector will prevail given federalgreenhouse reduction goals.
“Everyone’s trying to build new tech-nologies and processes to meet higherstandards,” he told FarmWeek at a U of IEnergy Biosciences Institute conference.
“The oil exploration people are tryingto do better; corn and ethanol produc-ers are trying to do better. It’s good tohave healthy competition, but it’s alsogood to have everyone moving in thesame direction.”
Kesan is encouraged by the federalBiomass Crop Assistance Program (seeaccompanying story), which will “putmoney in producers’ pockets” to pro-duce cellulosic feedstocks needed toreach long-term RFS2 goals.
He acknowledged that biomass pro-duction “has not really taken off in the
manner we’d envisioned,” noting EPAreduced its 2010 RFS2 cellulosic ethanoltargets from 100 million to 6.5 milliongallons. Cellulosic producers “can use allthe help they can get,” including ethanoltax credit extension, he said.
University of California-BerkeleyEnvironmental Law Program DirectorDan Farber is sharply critical of policieshe sees as skewed toward corn ethanol.
While he conceded corn ethanol “maynot be as bad as people have framed” interms of carbon emissions, Farber sug-gests the chief benefits of biofuels “man-dates” will be to boost fuel prices (in hisview, leading to reduced fuel use and loweremissions) and reduce red meat consump-tion through higher grain prices.
Not so, says ag industry consultantRebecca Richardson, who sees theindustry on “the cusp” of cellulosiccommercialization — if corn ethanol isallowed to thrive and “evolve.”
SRA poses concernsfor ‘crop-only’ insurers
As federal officials propose cuts at both ends of the crop insur-ance industry ledger, many insurers — and their customers —could be caught in the middle.
Ron Pridgeon, Country Financial vice president of corpo-rate actuary, warns a proposed new standard reinsurance agree-ment (SRA) being negotiated by USDA’s Risk ManagementAgency (RMA) and private companies could have a dramaticbearing on the financial survival of some insurers who “liveand die by the crop results.”
The SRA outlines the terms for the government to share inthe underwriting gains and losses of the companies as well asprovide expense reimbursements for delivery, policy process-ing, claims investigations and settlement, and other policyexpenses.
USDA is “attacking things from both directions,” trying toreduce underwriting profitability while realigning administrativecosts, Pridgeon said.
Because RMA pays expense reimbursements as a percentage ofpremiums, the government costs and some company expensesrose sharply when crop prices spiked in 2008, and as a result, hesaid, federal officials are “very frustrated.”
“Traditionally, the government reimbursement has not coveredour costs,” Pridgeon told FarmWeek. “To the extent (RMA) isnot covering our costs, it has a direct impact on the bottom line.
“The new SRA will drop our expense reimbursements dramati-cally and take an even greater portion of our underwriting gains(the portion of premiums above those used to cover claims). Thisis making it harder for insurers to cover the long-term costs ofproviding this coverage to their customers.”
The new SRA sets several key goals, including efforts to “main-tain producer access to critical risk management tools” whileensuring what it views as a “reasonable rate of return” for insur-ers. At the same time, RMA stressed the need to bring administra-tive-operating subsidies “closer to actual (policy) delivery costs.”
The new SRA also aims to equalize “performance” — or, as Prid-geon puts it, “spread some of the money” — between historicallymore profitable “ ‘I’ states” such as Illinois and “underperforming”states and “underserved” states such as Alaska and Nevada.
The industry already sustained an $8 billion cut in the 2008farm bill. Country has a diversified insurance portfolio andhealthy financial reserves, but Pridgeon noted some crop-onlyinsurers are not as fortunate. The proposed cuts could jeopar-dize their financial survival or at least the level of service theyprovide, he said.
“This year, premiums are down substantially for the produc-ers, at least in Illinois, because the volatility factors droppedspecifically for corn,” said Pridgeon. “That’s reducing theamount of premiums we’re taking in, but not our expenses.
“I understand where RMA is coming from; I’m working withthem so they understand where we’re coming from. I am hopefulthat we can work together to meet RMA’s goal of maintaining pro-ducer access while ensuring a reasonable rate of return for insur-ers.” — Martin Ross
New York plan Midwest model?A blueprint for New York
policymakers could help providea template for biomass/biofuelsproduction across the U.S.
An August 2009 order fromNew York’s governor called foran 80 percent reduction instatewide greenhouse gas(GHG) emissions from 1990levels by 2050. An estimated 40percent of the state’s GHGscome from transportation.
New York-based Pace Uni-versity’s Pace Energy and Cli-mate Center headed a 40-mem-ber team charged with design-ing a renewable fuels “road-map”/sustainable biomassfeedstock supply study to helprein in vehicle emissions.
Center Executive DirectorJames Van Nostrand toldFarmWeek the newly releasedstudy was designed to create anext-generation biofuels indus-try “in a sustainable way thatdoesn’t create an impact onfood prices.”
The group concluded thestate could achieve a 67-85 per-
cent long-term reduction inGHGs through increased bio-mass-based biofuels use alone.
The study focused on cellu-losic feedstocks that could beharvested in New York withoutsacrificing existing food produc-tion acres, siting of “biorefiner-ies” within the state to processthem, logistics of producing andtransporting biomass, anddistribution of new biofuels.
The center envisioned threepotential scenarios for cellulosicbiofuels development.
“Scenario One basically takesthe existing level of (New York)agricultural output and holds itconstant,” Van Nostrand said ata University of Illinois bioenergylaw and policy conference.
“Scenario Two recognizesthat we’ll probably haveincreased crop yields over thenext 10 years, and so we maybe able to achieve the same lev-els of crop output and foodoutput on fewer acres of land.That gives you more land avail-able for biofuels production.”
The first two scenariosinclude four biorefinery “clus-ters” across the state. A third,“distributed” scenario proposes24 smaller biorefineries.
According to Van Nostrand,that provides an answer to con-cerns about biofuels transporta-tion costs and emissions relatedto shipping them over greaterdistances. That also could gener-ate greater economic opportu-nity for more communities.
Van Nostrand estimates NewYork’s biomass/biofuels indus-try could provide 4,000-14,000jobs, roughly 10 percent ofthem at the refinery level, aquarter in the trucking sector,and the remainder in agriculture.
Unlike California’s disputednew low-carbon fuel standard,New York scientists did notemploy theoretical “land usechange” models related to thecarbon footprint of crop/-bio-fuels production, insteaddesigning a blueprint that“minimizes effects,” he said. —Martin Ross
Good landlord-tenant relations, or laws thatclarify landlord-tenant rights, could prove key inbiomass contract development.
According to University of Illinois law profes-sor Jay Kesan, no standard biomass produc-tion/marketing contract has yet emerged largelybecause USDA is shaping final details of the fledg-ling Biomass Crop Assistance Program (BCAP).
BCAP provides funding for owners and oper-ators of ag and forest lands to receive matchingpayments for eligible biomass materials sold toqualified conversion facilities for heat, power,bio-based products, or advanced biofuels pro-duction.
Payments are intended to assist with costs ofcollecting, harvesting, storing, and transporting bio-mass to the facility, for up to two years. BCAP alsowill provide producers of eligible renewable cropswithin a select area payments up to 75 percent ofthe cost of establishing the crop and annual pay-ments for up to 15 years for crop production.
To receive BCAP subsidies, growers mustpartner with an area processor who guarantees a
home for harvested material, and once both par-ties understand program workings, Kesan seesbasic contract development “definitely coming.”By tying program support to a guaranteed buyer,BCAP itself provides an important market pro-tection for producers, he maintained.
But Neil Hamilton, director of Iowa’s DrakeUniversity Ag Law Center, sees several parties play-ing a possible role in contract biomass production.
“One of the underlying issues we have tolook at is who actually has the right to thosecrop residues — the farm tenant or the land-lord,” Hamilton told FarmWeek. “This session,the Iowa legislature passed a bill that says unlessthere’s an agreement in writing that indicatesotherwise, the tenant has the right to remove thecrop residues.
“The common law in Iowa probably wouldhave said they didn’t — that the residues wereowned by the owner of the property. The standardlease used by a lot of people in Iowa says specifi-cally you can’t remove those residues without theagreement of the landlord.” — Martin Ross
Landlord-tenant rights biomass contract issue
LIVESTOCK
FarmWeek Page 5 Monday, April 19, 2010
Robotic milking system works wonders in Bond CountyBY DANIEL GRANTFarmWeek
Brothers Kyle and KurtJohnson about six years agojumped at the chance to takeover the Bond County dairyoperation of their grandfather,Bill Schrage.
But it didn’t take long forthe brothers, who currently arein their late 20s, to encounterone of the biggest businessdecisions of their youngcareers.
“We knew we needed toupdate,” Kyle said. “Our parlor(which was built in 1957 andcould handle only 16 cows at atime) was pretty outdated.”
The limitations of the facil-ity meant the Johnsons ofGreenville had to work longdays (typically from about 4a.m. to 8 p.m.) to milk their80-cow herd. The situationalso impeded their goal ofexpanding the operation.
“We had to do something,”Kurt said.
The Johnsons initially con-sidered investing in a newmilking parlor and hiring out-side labor until they toureddairies in Wisconsin and Min-nesota that used robotic milk-ing systems.
“We were amazed,” Kylesaid. “We liked what we saw.”
The Johnsons subsequentlyinstalled a Lely Astronaut A3robotic milking machine ontheir farm and in Decemberconverted their operation to afully automated system.
There are two milkingdevices on the machine, each
is open 24 hours a day exceptfor two 15-minute wash cycles,and each can service 60 cowsper day.
The cows are drawn to therobots with high-energy feedand are able to eat and bemilked, at any time of the dayor night, without human inter-vention.
“We’ve increased produc-tion by about 10 to 12 pounds(per cow) per day,” Kyle said.“That is easily making the pay-ments to the bank” to coverthe cost of the robotic system.
In fact, the Johnsons calcu-lated the investment in therobotic milking system actuallywas cheaper than building anew parlor with traditionaltechnology and hiring out thelabor for their operation, Vil-laRosa Dairy.
Installation of the robotswas a snap, according to Kyle,who said they simply neededto run power and water to themachines. And, after a fewweeks to get the cows accli-mated to the new system, theoperation currently is averag-ing three milkings per animalper day.
“It’s more than just a milk-ing machine. It’s a great man-agement tool,” Kurt said.“We’ve been able to managethings a lot closer with theinformation (such as cowweights and somatic cellcounts) we get from therobots.”
The new system is workingso well the Johnsons plan toexpand their herd to 120 milk-ing cows within the nextmonth.
“It makes sense to max therobots out,” Kyle said. “Wealso started doing some con-tracting. The price of milk thelast two years (was very
Old dairy gets a new look
volatile) so we’re trying to lockin a price that allows us to livecomfortably.”
The Johnsons recently heldan open house to showcasethe robotic system. The eventdrew roughly 170 people.
The brothers also are will-ing to give private tours toproducers who may be consid-ering a robotic system, as simi-lar tours played a crucial rolein their decision.
“We’ve been really happywith it,” Kurt added. “We’vehad non-stop visitors.”
And even more important-ly, the brothers say that sinceupdating their operationthey’ve been able to spendmore time with their families— and get more sleep.
Brothers Kyle, left, and Kurt Johnson, Greenville, have a leisurely chat during a pleasant day last week astheir dairy cows are milked by a new robotic milking system installed in December. The Johnsons said therobotic system has increased milk output, improved herd management, and reduced human labor on theiroperation (VillaRosa Dairy) and provided an opportunity to expand the operation from 80 to 120 cows.(Photos by Ken Kashian)
A robotic milking machine gets into position to milk a cow at VillaRosaDairy in Greenville. The milking cups are directed by a laser. The newsystem at the facility has increased milk output by 10 to 12 pounds ofmilk per cow per day. It is fully automated and doesn’t require humanintervention for the milking process.
Say cheese? A dairy cow at VillaRosa Dairy in Greenville is so relaxed it appears to pose for a photo lastweek while being milked by a Lely Astronaut A3 robotic milking system. The cows are drawn to the milkingstalls by high-energy feed and are free to “milk themselves” at any time of the day.
FarmWeekNow.comV i e w o u r o n l i n e p h o t ogallery of the VillaRosa Dairyoperations in Greenville atFarmWeekNow.com.
PRODUCTION
FarmWeek Page 6 Monday, April 19, 2010
Corn planting off to best start in three yearsBY DANIEL GRANTFarmWeek
Many farmers in the stateplanted more corn last weekthan they did during the entiremonth of April each of thepast two years.
Emmett Sefton, a farmerfrom Dalton City in MaconCounty, on Thursday toldFarmWeek he was on pace tofinish planting corn by the week-end, depending on the weather.
Last year, the Seftons fin-ished planting corn on May 22.
“We’re very fortunate to getsome awfully good weather,”said Sefton, who estimatedcorn planting by the end oflast week was 30 to 40 percentcomplete in his area. “Theground is working real good.”
The warm, dry conditionsfor much of the past twoweeks was a sharp contrast toApril 2008 and 2009 weatherconditions, which were coldand wet. Farmers in the statethrough April 27 planted just 4percent of the corn crop in2009 and 5 percent in 2008compared to the five-yearaverage of 43 percent.
“I’ve farmed a long time (47years), and there never has beentwo years the same,” Seftonsaid. “We’re used to that.”
Elsewhere, Larry Miller,manager of the FranklinCounty Farm Bureau and afarmer from Thompsonville,estimated 25 percent of thecorn crop was in the ground in
his area late last week.“It really was ideal for corn
planting (last week),” Miller said.“We probably didn’t have betterconditions all of last year.”
The temperature last weekpeaked in the upper 80s inSouthern Illinois, low- to mid-80s in Central Illinois, andhigh 70s to low 80s in North-
ern Illinois, according to JamesAuten, meteorologist with theNational Weather Service.
“In the last week we’ve
been running on average 12 to15 degrees above normal,”Auten said on Friday. “Theground really is beginning todry out” due to warmer tem-peratures along with lowerdew points and gusty winds.
Some areas were gettinglight rain on Friday.
However, conditionsshould remain conducive tofieldwork for much of thisweek, although the tempera-ture likely will be closer tonormal, Auten said.
“This week looks dryexcept for a chance of precipi-tation late in the week aroundThursday,” Auten said. “Tem-peratures likely will fall back tothe 60s for highs, which iscloser to normal.”
Nationwide, corn planting atthe beginning of last week was3 percent complete comparedto 2 percent last year and thefive-year average of 4 percent.
Advice to farmers: monitor alfalfa growth
Farmers the next several weeks should monitor the growth ofalfalfa to maximize the relative feed value at the first cutting,according to Dave Fischer, University of Illinois Extension dairyeducator.
Development of the crop last week generally was ahead oflast year’s pace. Measurements in Southern Illinois alfalfa fieldsranged from 12 inches to as much as 14 inches in a ClintonCounty field and 18 inches at one location in Perry County.
“The sunny, warm conditions have the alfalfa crop just a littleahead of last year,” Fischer told FarmWeek prior to an oncom-
ing cold front and chance of thunderstorms latelast week.
The condition of the state’s alfalfa crop thefirst of last week was rated 73 percent good toexcellent, 23 percent fair, and just 4 percentpoor or very poor, according to the NationalAgricultural Statistics Service Illinois fieldoffice.
“We’re hoping to have a more ‘normal’ firstalfalfa harvest,” Fischer said. “That means bythe third and fourth weeks of April, things will
be happening” in Southern Illinois.Farmers in the meantime should measure the growth of the
alfalfa crop and monitor its condition and maturity stages.The goal, based on the Predictive Equation for Alfalfa Quali-
ty (PEAQ) program, is to harvest alfalfa when its relative feedvalue (RFV) is about 165 to 170. Producers can calculate theRFV of each of their fields at the website{http://peaq.traill.uiuc.edu/}.
“It’s important to measure every field,” Fischer said. “Onefield in a county could be 18 inches and another could be 20.”
It’s also important for producers to monitor their own alfalfafields this spring as the U of I Extension recently fine-tuned itsPEAQ program and no longer will calculate average alfalfagrowth measurements for each region of the state.
That information was provided each of the past 13 years andappeared in a FarmWeek graphic, which has now been discon-tinued, in the weeks leading up to the first alfalfa harvest.
“The website will still be there,” Fischer noted. “This is agreat tool and it’s pretty simple.”
Farmers should measure alfalfa growth twice a week once thecrop reaches 14 to 16 inches in height, he said.
They also should check on the presence of alfalfa weevils,which currently are active in Southern Illinois.
At this point, Fischer recommended farmers avoid using afull-rate of insecticide, which has a 14-day wait period, to com-bat weevils and instead either apply a half-rate, which has a sev-en-day wait period, or harvest early.— Daniel Grant
Dave Fischer
Jerry Miller, Thompsonville, checks his planter set-up in a mid-round stop during the first day of his cornplanting season on April 12. Miller described planting conditions last week as “very good” as the tempera-ture was in the low 80s. It was estimated Franklin County farmers last week planted a quarter of their corncrop. (Photo by Larry Miller, manager of the Franklin County Farm Bureau)
POLICY
FarmWeek Page 7 Monday, April 19, 2010
Thompson: budget, global view to season ag debate BY MARTIN ROSSFarmWeek
Given budget pressures andglobal scrutiny, University ofIllinois economist Bob Thomp-son suggests Congress may beforced to replace “this jerry-built ag policy we have today”with a new safety net emphasiz-ing overall farm revenue.
Budget costs will be “thebiggest driver of the next farmbill debate,” Thompson toldFarmWeek. He sees the stagefor ag program scrutiny beingset amid mounting national debtand “our borrowing everythingwe’re spending in the (federal)stimulus program from abroad”(see accompanying story).
As Congress crunches num-bers, he urges farmers to consid-er what they want the U.S. gov-ernment to accomplish for agri-culture. As “the most capital-intensive sector of the Americaneconomy,” with a heavy relianceon debt rather than farm equityfinancing, production agricultureis “particularly vulnerable toextreme volatility,” he noted.
Thompson thus advocatessubsidizing a whole-farm revenueinsurance program that wouldenable producers to meet annualdebt obligations despite lowprices or poor yields or both.
“What are we spending mon-ey on?” he posed. “(Loan defi-ciency payments), countercycli-cal payments, direct payments,subsidies for crop insurance, anddisaster payments. We have agroup of overlapping programsthat are duplicative at times anddon’t really make any sense as apackage. It’s a jerry-built house.
“If we really wanted to make achange that would make sense,we’d take everything we’re spend-ing on all five of those programs,put it in a pot, make whatevercontribution you had to for deficitreduction, and then put the restinto a subsidy for a whole-farmrevenue insurance program.”
Thompson views the whole-farm component as crucial, giv-en pressure on commodity-spe-cific supports believed to influ-ence global markets and prices.Commodity-neutral paymentswould fall outside the WorldTrade Organization’s (WTO)“amber box” category ofcapped domestic ag subsidies.
Direct payments have beenincluded in the WTO’s unregu-lated “green box,” but Congressis feeling increased pressureover subsidies that benefit majorcommodities but do not supportfruit or vegetable producers.
Canada, Brazil, and others
have challenged the green boxstatus of direct payments. Thatcould leave the U.S. exposed toan unfavorable WTO rulingagainst the program mainstay.
The U.S. recently agreed toenter into concrete negotiationsto settle a longstanding disputewith Brazil over U.S. cotton sub-sidies, in exchange for Brazilpostponing trade countermea-sures set to kick in this month.Thompson called the deal “atravesty,” arguing domestic cot-ton interests persuaded the U.S.to “thumb its nose at the WTO.”
Rather than serving to“change the cotton program” inline with the WTO ruling, the2008 farm bill largely “reaf-firmed” it, the economist said.
Thompson cites further erosionin global perceptions of U.S. farmsubsidies at a time when prospectsappear dim for a WTO DohaRound agreement that wouldclarify future ag support levels.
“The way I see it, we bribedBrazil to back off until 2012 inimplementing retaliatory mea-sures it was authorized to take,”Thompson said. “We’ve boughtnothing in the court of publicopinion worldwide, other thanperhaps some further distasteabout the U.S. not honoring itsinternational commitments.”
U.S. debt — and resultingreliance particularly on China’ssubstantial financial resources— has left debtor and creditoralike poised on a “razor’sedge,” University of Illinoiseconomist Bob Thompsonwarned FarmWeek last week.
Failure to bring federalspending and the deficit intoline is “further increasing theclout China and Japan have overthe strength of the U.S. dollar,”said Thompson, who discussedkey issues with an Illinois StateUniversity audience last week.
China trimmed its holdingsof U.S. Treasury debt 1.3 per-cent in February — a fourthconsecutive decline that raisesconcerns the U.S. could facehigher interest rates in financ-ing soaring budget deficits.The Treasury Departmentreported China’s holdingsdropped $11.5 billion to $877.5billion, but China remains thelargest foreign holder of Trea-sury debt, followed by Japanwith $768.5 billion.
“Either one could unilater-ally determine the value of theU.S. dollar by how fast they tryto diversify their holdings ofU.S. government instruments,”Thompson argued.
“Either Japan or China ownsenough accumulated U.S. gov-ernment debt that if they start-
ed cashing it in at any point,they could drive the dollar aslow as they wanted to drive it.
“Obviously, neither of them,as important exporters to theUnited States, is inclined to dothat. If they drive the dollardown, they’re increasing the val-ue of their currencies relative tothe dollar, and that makes ithard to sell into the U.S. market.
“They’re sort of balancedon a razor’s edge, but they’reour bankers, and we prettymuch have to dance to thetune they dictate.”
Neither country is likely tocall their U.S. notes in the fore-seeable future, Thompson said.But he believes either couldboost interest rates to offsetany U.S. effort to “crank up theprinting press” and effectivelywrite down the value of itsdebt with “cheaper dollars.”
The future policy and tradeimplications of U.S. indebtednessare “very difficult to predict,” theeconomist said. Thompson not-ed the U.S. “obviously is not theonly country that’s encouragingChina to let its currency appreci-ate” in the interest of holding theline on Chinese imports.
However, Europeans gov-ernments with far lower debtprobably have “more leverage”over the Asian superpower, hesaid. — Martin Ross
Fiscal policy leaves U.S.in a precarious position
A plan aimed at speedingconstruction of new locks onthe Illinois and Upper Missis-sippi rivers has been floated toCongress, where shippers, pro-ducers, and others hope to suc-cessfully negotiate currentlychoppy political waters.
Last week, the federal advi-sory Inland Waterways UsersBoard supported recommenda-tions from an industry-U.S.Army Corps of Engineersworking group designed toimprove domestic navigationover the next 20 years.
The new Inland WaterwaysCapital Development Planwould require an increase in the20-cent-per-gallon fuel tax cur-rently paid by the barge indus-try. That would shore up awaning Inland Waterways TrustFund, which provides 50 per-cent of funding needed formajor projects such as sevennew 1,200-foot locks on theIllinois and Upper Miss.
The plan preserves the 50-50industry-federal cost-share for-mula for new locks and majorrehabilitation projects costing$100 million or more, but pro-poses 100 percent federal fund-ing for non-navigational damconstruction and smaller lockrehab projects that currently taptrust fund revenues.
Further, the plan seeks acost-share cap that would pre-vent the industry from havingto fund major cost overrunsthat result from delays in lock
construction. The plan anduser board recommendationswill be sent to Capitol Hill.
“It’s going to be a challenge toget a water resources bill movingthis year with the election andthe lack of bipartisan ‘energy,’for lack of a better word,” WCIMidwest Vice President PaulRohde told FarmWeek.
More than 150 industry“stakeholders” support the plan,including American Soybean andthe National Corn GrowersAssociations; Illinois FarmBureau and state corn, soybean,fertilizer and chemical, andbiotech organizations; and sever-al Illinois county Farm Bureaus.
GROWMARK, Cargill,Valero Energy, Citgo andMarathon petroleum companies,and Clarkson Grain Co. areamong corporate supporters.
The St. Louis Chapter ofDucks Unlimited is among thelatest in a list of diverse groupsurging plan passage.
The plan was promoted as analternative to a new, administra-tion-proposed per-barge, per-lock fee. Without added trustfund revenues and the plan’s newapproach to prioritizing andmanaging projects, “we will waittoo long to see the first new lockbuilt,” Illinois Farm BureauNational Legislative DirectorAdam Nielsen warned.
“Under the plan, if adoptedby Congress and signed intolaw by the president, construc-tion on (Upper Miss) Lock 25
Sweeping river reform plan on way to Hillwould begin next year,” Nielsennoted. “Construction on Lock22 would begin a few years lat-er.” — Martin Ross
EDUCATION
FarmWeek Page 8 Monday, April 19, 2010
University of Illinois graduate students Edhilvia Campos, left, and BrianCho study a gel showing expression of small RNAs in soybean tissue.They are working in a lab that is part of the molecular group in the Uof I’s Illinois Plant Breeding Center program. (Photo courtesy U of I)
University of Illinois graduate students, left to right, Charles Cole Hendrix, Joshua Bates, and Justin Ma, in-spect soybeans in the greenhouses next to Turner Hall. The three grad students are among the wave of futureplant breeders involved with the U of I Illinois’ Illinois Plant Breeding Center. (Photo courtesy U of I)
U of I nurturing future plant breedersBY KAY SHIPMANFarmWeek
Improved crop yields, pestand disease resistance, plantstress tolerance, and other sci-entific breakthroughs are the
goal of future plant breedersstudying at the University ofIllinois’ Illinois Plant BreedingCenter (IPBC).
“I’d like farmers to knowwe’re looking out for their bestinterests,” Rita Mumm, IPBC’sdirector, told FarmWeek.Without the next generation ofplant breeders, new cropadvancements won’t beachieved, she noted.
“I feel I’m part of the scien-tific community that is work-ing on behalf of farmers inthe U.S. and around the world— and those of us who eat,”Mumm added.
The nation is experiencing asevere shortage of plantbreeders, and the demand isexpected to continue as morethan half of the seed industryworkforce will retire within thenext 10 to 15 years.
Mumm estimated U.S. insti-tutions that educate graduate-level plant breeders are meet-ing less than two-thirds ofindustry demand.
IPBC was organized a yearand a half ago to help meet thedemand for plant breeders withmaster’s degrees and doctor-ates. In that brief time, itsgraduate program has grown90 percent.
Twenty-nine professors invarious crop and disciplinaryareas teach at IPBC and men-tor students who conduct the-sis research in the labs. Moststudents are awarded assistant-ships or fellowships.
IPBC awards 21 merit-basedfellowships, sponsored byindustry and privatedonors. Mumm said it’sencouraging to see a “rallyingof the seed industry” to sup-port the next generation of
plant breeders. Mumm encouraged interest-
ed students to go online to{http://plantbreeding.illinois.edu} for information aboutIPBC and educational oppor-tunities.
Admission is a two-stepprocess. Students first mustapply to and be accepted by theU of I Graduate College. Oncethey are accepted, students mayspecify their interest in agricul-ture and plant breeding.
She recommended studentsalso contact IPBC facultymembers about their researchareas and whether they haveany openings in their lab. “I tellstudents, ‘Don’t be shy aboutcontacting faculty members,’”Mumm said.
One of Mumm’s concernshas been decreased interest ofstudents who grew up onfarms. She speculated somestudents may mistakenly con-sider plant breeding a low-techfield.
“We’re making break-throughs all the time in genet-ics,” Mumm said. “It’s a red-hot area, very cutting edge.Farm kids, there are greatcareer opportunities outthere.”
‘ I t ’ s a r e d - h o tarea, ver y cu t -ting edge.’
— Rita Mummdirector
University of Illinois’ IllinoisPlant Breeding Center
and gratuit ies. Call theFa r m Bure au o f f i c e a t217-465-8511 for reserva-t ions or more infor ma-tion.
• F a r m B u r e a u w i l lsponsor a bus trip Aug. 6to Wrigley Field to see theChicago Cubs vs. Cincin-nati Reds game. Cost is$80, which includes bus,admiss ion to the game,and gratuity for the busd r i ve r . C a l l t h e Fa r mBureau office at 217-465-8511 for reservations ormore information.
“From the counties” itemsare submitted by county FarmBureau managers. Contactyour Farm Bureau manager ifyou have an event or activityopen to all members.
HAPPENINGS
FarmWeek Page 9 Monday, April 19, 2010
CU M B E R L A N D— Fa r m B u r e a u
wi l l sponsor a bus t r ipSunday, Aug. 15 , to St .Louis to see the St. LouisC a r d i n a l s v s . C h i c a g oCubs game. The bus willl e ave the Far m Bureauoffice at 10 a.m. Cost is$65 for members and $70for non-members. Cal lthe Farm Bureau office at217-849-3031 for reserva-t ions or more infor ma-tion.
ED G A R — Fa r mBureau will spon-
sor a bus trip May 12 tothe Beef and Boards Din-ner Theatre, Indianapolis,Ind., to see “Always PatsyCline.” Cost is $68, whichincludes bus, buffet lunch,admiss ion to the show,
FROM THE COUNTIES
A new temporary exhibitabout harness racing will openMay 1 at the Abraham LincolnPresidential Library, Spring-field.
The centerpiece will be 35framed, original Currier & Iveslithographs that depict eques-trian scenes from the1800s. These color illustrationswill be complemented by origi-nal artifacts from the Presiden-tial Library’s collections.
The exhibit may be viewedweekdays free of chargethrough Aug. 31.
The Currier & Ives litho-
NRCS accepting Ag Water Enhancement Program proposals
The Natural Resources Conservation Service (NRCS)has $61.2 million available for Agricultural WaterEnhancement Program (AWEP) projects.
The funding will help farmers conserve surface andground water and improve water quality on agriculturalland. May 17 is the deadline for partner organizations tosubmit proposals.
“By working with our partners, we will see more waterconservation on working lands and more opportunities toimprove water quality,” said Bill Gradle, NRCS state con-servationist.
AWEP projects are implemented after NRCS enters intoagreements with eligible entities to help landowners planand implement conservation practices in established pro-ject areas.
Eligible partners include federally recognized IndianTribes, state agencies, local governments, agriculturalassociations, and other producer groups, such as irrigationassociations, agricultural land trusts, or other non-govern-mental groups that have experience working with farmers.
After an AWEP project area has been approved andannounced, individual farmers may apply for programbenefits through their local NRCS office.
Types of water activities may include: water quality orwater conservation plan development; water conservationrestoration or enhancement projects; water quality orquantity restoration or enhancement projects; irrigationsystem improvement and irrigation efficiency enhance-ments; activities to mitigate the effects of drought; andactivities to help achieve water quality or water conserva-tion benefits on agricultural land.
For more AWEP information or to apply, go online to{www.nrcs.usda.gov/programs/AWEP/}.
Harness racing exhibit to open at Lincoln Librarygraphs are on loan from TheHarness Racing Museum &Hall of Fame, Goshen, N.Y. Afull-size horse figure and twosulkies will be on display cour-tesy of John Cisna.
The Presidential Librarywill add items from its owncollections that reflect the his-tory Illinois’ horse racingindustry. The items include:
• 1836 race results andmembership lists of thePetersburg, Ill., Jockey Club, agroup that used the racetracksurveyed by Abraham Lin-coln;
• Photographs of Old Bob,the last horse Lincoln ownedbefore leaving Springfield aspresident-elect; and pho-tographs of Ulysses S. Grant’sthree black horses his saddleused in the Civil War; and
• Vintage photographs,postcards, and publicationsfrom horse races at theDuQuoin and Illinois Statefairs.
For more information, goonline to {www.president-lincoln.org}. The library isopen free of charge weekdaysfrom 9 a.m. to 5 p.m.
Co-op Youth Conference planned at SIUSouthern Illinois Univer-
sity’s (SIU) division of con-tinuing education alongwith its College of Agricul-tural Sciences will host theCooperative Youth Confer-ence June 3-4 on the Car-bondale campus.
Participating high schoolseniors and juniors willlearn about cooperatives
through hands-on activities,attending workshops led bycooperative employees, andtouring local cooperativebusinesses.
The conference will start at9 a.m. June 3 and conclude at1:30 p.m. June 4. Interestedstudents must submit a $30deposit to hold a seat. Themoney will be returned when
they attend the conferencebecause each attending stu-dent will be sponsored by acooperative or county FarmBureau.
For more information or toregister, contact the division ofcontinuing education at 618-536-7751 or go online to{www.dce.siu.edu}.
For information aboutsponsoring a student par-ticipant, contact the divi-sion’s Jack Welch at 618-536-7751.
Eisenhower Fellowships seeks farmer applicants
Eisenhower Fellowships, an international leadershipdevelopment program, is accepting applications fromexperienced farmers for a 2011 Agricultural Fellowship.
The successful applicant will receive a custom-designed, all-expenses-paid program overseas for up tofive weeks in one or two countries where he or she willfocus on agricultural issues.
Applicants must be a practicing farmer, aged 32-45,have demonstrated leadership experience, be a U.S. citi-zenship or permanent resident, and be willing to committo at least 15-20 years of further active leadership in agri-culture.
Application deadline is July 1, 2010. All Interviews will be held in mid- to late July.For more information and to download applications, visit
{www.eisenhowerfellowships.org} or contact Julia Ransom,Eisenhower Fellowships, at [email protected],or by phone at 215-546-1738.
PROFITABILITY
FarmWeek Page 10 Monday, April 19, 2010
Feeder pig prices reported to USDA*
Weight Range Per Head Weighted Ave. Price10 lbs. $34.45-$50.00 $40.8140 lbs. $70.00-$75.00 $73.2650 lbs. n/a n/aReceipts This Week Last Week
27,771 11,788*Eastern Corn Belt prices picked up at seller’s farm
MARKET FACTS
Confirmed lamb and sheep salesThis week 926 Last week 722 Last year 1,211Wooled Slaughter Lambs: Choice and prime 2-3: 90-110 lb., $110. Good andchoice 1-2: 60-90 lbs., $135. Slaughter Ewes: Utility and good 1-3: $43-$45. Cull and utility 1-2: $32-$36.
Lamb prices
Eastern Corn Belt direct hogs (plant delivered)(Prices $ per hundredweight)
This week Prev. week ChangeCarcass $78.09 $72.69 5.40Live $57.79 $53.79 4.00
Export inspections
(Million bushels)Week ending Soybeans Wheat Corn04-08-10 13.4 17.1 32.004-01-10 17.1 21.2 41.9Last year 24.3 21.0 33.1Season total 1268.1 726.6 1044.4Previous season total 972.3 881.3 1003.6USDA 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 $97.67 $99.73 -2.06 Heifers $97.25 $100.78 -3.53
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 Change113.45 111.68 1.77
CME feeder cattle index — 600-800 Lbs.
In pursuit of those maximum corn, bean yieldsBY MATT HYNES
We have heard a lot of talkabout the idea of obtainingmaximum yields for both corn
and soybeans. The discus-
sion has comeabout becausethe worldpopulation isprojected togrow to morethan 9 billionpeople by2030, while
the amount of arable land percapita decreases. So how willwe be able to feed all the peo-ple?
This problem is compound-ed by the fact that whenincomes rise in developingnations, people shift their dietsfrom strictly carbohydrate-based to a diet including more
calories from protein sourcessuch as meat, milk, and eggs.
Just to meet those demands,the world agricultural commu-nity will have to increase cornproduction by 76 percent andsoybean production by 125percent.
The growth demand forfeed alone is projected torequire approximately 250 mil-lion incremental acres from2000, more than the totalacreage planted to U.S. corn,soybeans, and cotton today, ifyields remain constant.
So how do we get there?There are three pieces to thepuzzle: breeding, biotech, andagronomics. It will take acombination of all three toaccomplish feeding the world.
Today, we have to rely onthe major seed companies andtrait providers to improve the
breeding and biotech. Thefinal piece of the puzzle isagronomics.
The American farmer andpartners such as the GROW-MARK System will have a sig-nificant role to play in shapingthe agronomics.
We have launched an FSGreen Plan Solutions On-Farm Discovery program inpursuit of maximum yield.This program is designed totake the leadership position inworking with growers toapproach the market different-ly and explore new ideas on
how to raise yields. This means recommending
and positioning the righthybrids and varieties and look-ing at new and better ways tocontrol weeds and protect thecrop through fungicides,insecticides, nematicides, andbiological methods.
We will look at anythingthat may be limiting yields.This is called the “Law of theMinimum” — certain environ-mental conditions, culturalpractices, and nutrient concen-trations are necessary to maxi-mize harvest yield.
Any one individually canlimit the potential yield ofwhat comes out of the bag,regardless of whether all otherconditions, cultural practices,and/or nutrient levels pro-mote maximum yield.
Talk to your local FS cropspecialist if you are interestedin being part of this excitingprogram and continuing tokeep the U.S. farmers the bestin the world.
Matt Hynes is FS’ seed sales andmarketing manager. His e-mailaddress is [email protected]..
Matt Hynes
Agriculture Index debutsDTN product takes ‘economic pulse’ of ag economy
BY DANIEL GRANTFarmWeek
Market analysts, investors,and anybody else concernedabout the economic recessionthe past two years likely keptan eye on the Consumer Con-fidence Index (CCI)
The CCI, which was startedin 1967, is calculated eachmonth from informationgleaned from household sur-veys of consumers’ opinionson current economic condi-tions and expectations of theeconomy in the future.
However, when it came toeconomic forecasts for farm-ers and agribusinesses, similarinformation about the ageconomy was difficult to find.
Until now, according toMary Rose Dwyer, DTN prod-uct manager.
DTN today (April 19)unveiled its new AgricultureConfidence Index (ACI) thatis designed to gauge the finan-cial health of the ag sector.
“It’s important to take theeconomic pulse of the agindustry,” Dwyer toldFarmWeek. “This informa-tion (in the past) was not avail-able.”
The ACI, which DTN pro-moted as “the industry’s firstindex designed to determinethe level of optimism produc-ers have concerning the cur-rent and future financial healthof their operations,” was mod-eled after the nationally recog-nized CCI.
DTN/The ProgressiveFarmer with the launch of theACI will survey a sampling of500 American farmers threetimes each year — pre-plant -ing, pre-harvest, and at theend of the year — to producethe index.
The ACI then can be usedas a resource to assist farmersand agribusinesses with day-to-day or long-term businessdecisions.
“Producers can look (at theACI) as a way to get a broaderindustry perspective and com-
pare their operations to oth-ers,” Dwyer said.
“For agribusinesses, thiswill be good information thatcould impact everything frominventory planning to businessdecisions.”
The survey for each ACIwill draw on the most recentdata from the USDA Ag Cen-sus (2007) to ensure each sam-pling is representative of themajor types, sizes, and loca-
tions of U.S. farms.Farmers selected for the
survey will be asked a handfulof questions that will gaugetheir level of optimism forcurrent and future inputprices, commodity prices, andfarm income, among othereconomic indicators.
Those interested in thefindings may view the ACIonline at {www.Agriculture-ConfidenceIndex.com}.
USDA recently projected U.S. net farm income this year will total $63 bil-lion. If realized, farm income would be up 11.8 percent compared to2009 but would be $1.4 billion below the most recent 10-year average.Crop receipts this year were projected to decline by $6 billion while live-stock receipts were projected to rise by $11.5 billion. DTN will ask 500farmers their opinions about farm income and other economic indicatorsthree times a year to produce its new Agriculture Confidence Index (ACI).The ACI debuted this week.
PROFITABILITY
FarmWeek Page 11 Monday, April 19, 2010
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CASH STRATEGISTCorn Strategy
�2009 crop: Prices on Julyfutures penetrated both $3.71and the 20-day moving averageresistance levels. This opensthe door for a possible moveto $3.75-$3.85. However, thelonger-term bias remains bear-ish with the 40-week cycleexpected to bottom in June.Get sales to 90 percent com-plete with July futures tradingat $3.70 or higher. We mightcomplete them at any time.Check the Cash Strategist Hot-line daily.
� 2010 crop: Our $3.89target on December futureswas hit, lifting sales to 40 per-cent. Check the Cash StrategistHotl ine frequently; we mayincrease sales to 50 percent atany time.
�Fundamentals: CornBelt farmers are expected tomake s ign i f i cant p lant ingprogress with the nearly idealconditions. The seven- to 10-day maps call for more of thesame, although temperaturescould drop back to nearer nor-mal. Hopes are still alive thatthe Chinese will provide someexport business.
�Fail-safe: If July futuresdrop below $3.65, wrap upold-crop sales.Soybean Strategy
�2009 crop: Rising Chi-nese import forecasts and firmcash markets have lifted soy-bean prices steadily higher.Use short-term rallies for mak-ing catch-up sales. Prepare towrap up old-crop sales at anytime. Check the Cash StrategistHotline frequently.
�2010 crop: The rally haslifted prices to a level at whichupside progress will be moredifficult. Get sales to 40 per-cent complete now.
�Fundamentals: Chinesesoybean import expectationswere revised upward this pastweek. The persistent premiumof domestic prices is pushingusers to import more of theirneeds than previously antici-pated. Some of that will comefrom the U.S. with logisticalissues capping users’ ability toobtain supplies from SouthAmerica. China’s dispute withArgentina over soybean oilimports may help boost soy-bean imports, too.
�Fail-safe: If July futuresdrop below $9.84, wrap upold-crop sales.Wheat Strategy
�2009 crop: Wheat con-tinues its choppy sidewaystrade with a slightly positivebias. The July contract is backabove the 20-day moving aver-age. However, rallies may belimited by the influence of the40-week cycle that is expectedto bottom in June. Pricesreached our $4.70 target onMay futures, wrapping up old-crop sales. If you failed topull the trigger, use rallies toget it done.
�2010 crop: Chicago Julyfutures hit our $4.90 target tomake an initial 25 percent sale.We may advise additional sales atany time, especially for thosewho sell wheat at harvest. Checkthe Cash Strategist Hotline daily.
�Fundamentals: Wheatcontinues to feel the pressureof big global supplies. Thathas been reflected in weeklyexport sales again, as they arestarting to fall short of expec-tations. Wheat will be morevulnerable to cold weatherover the next few weeks, a fac-tor that may temporarily limitdownside risk.
As you know, rapid plantingprogress tends to ensure goodyields for any corn crop. Thiswinter nearly all weather fore-casters were concerned the wetsoils and heavy snowcover couldlead to another troublesomespring. Such has not been thecase.
Unusually warm temperaturesand drier than normal weatherhave rapidly depleted the excesssoil moisture across a wideswath of the Corn Belt and theSouth. Although temperaturesare expected to fall back towardmore normal levels, precipita-tion for the next seven to 10days is generally going to be lessthan normal. And the new 30-day forecasts favor a relativelynormal May.
In the accompanying graphic,we have compared corn yields(as a percent of trend) to plant -ing progress by May 1. Weallowed a one-week shift in the
Basis charts
planting data prior to 1990 toequalize the general shift to earli-er planting and increase in plant -ing capabilities in recent years.
It’s interesting to note thatfew yields fall short of 95 per-cent of trend no matter theplanting date. The two yearsthat had yields well under trendeven though corn planting hadgone reasonably well were 1974(77.8 percent of trend) and 1988(76.9 percent of trend).
If you discount those twoyears because of continuedweather problems during thegrowing season, corn yields onaverage tend to come in 1.5 per-cent above the trend we areusing. That points to a 163-bushel average corn yield for thecrop being planted.
Furthermore, if you kick out1976 and 1980, summers thathad moderate weather stress aswell, the average of the years islifted to 2.8 percent above trend,a 165-bushel yield.
So far, there are some weatherparallels to 1977, suggesting it’s ayear to keep an eye on. Plantingwent well that year and the yieldwas good, the second bestbehind 1972’s record. But it wasstill a little below what we con-sider the best-fit trend yield.
That year’s crop came on theheels of a year when corn andwheat stocks were building. Andeven though the crops weren’tnecessarily exceptional, theywere still large enough to allowsupplies to build even further.
That’s the danger of this year,especially with planting goingwell. Not only does it tend topoint to good yield potential, butwe’ll probably add acreage, too.And just like 1977, we can fore-see the possibility of suppliesgrowing a little more.
Cents per bu.
Trend points to higher yields
PERSPECTIVES
FarmWeek Page 12 Monday, April 19, 2010
“The infra-structure (andultimately thedynamics) ofagriculture ischanging athigh speed.How can theIFB prepare
the farming population for thenext big step?”
Pat TitusDouglas County
“Making thebest out ofunfavorablerulings andlegislationand figuringout a way tomake thosework for
agriculture .”
Don DuvallWhite County
LEADER TALK:What policyissue should
Farm Bureau beaddressing in thenext five years?
Editor’s note: Members of theIllinois Farm Bureau Grass-roots Issue Teams (GRITs) wereasked for their views on sever-al questions. Their responseswill appear periodically on thePerspectives page.
“The inte-grated roleof agriculturein food,fiber, envi-ronment,hunger, andhealth.”
Sam LillyDuPage County
“Regulationson grain mar-ket partici-pants thatfacilitategood balancebetweenfarmers, endusers, and
speculators.”
Dale PlumerPike County
On April22, 1970,morethan 20
million people celebrat-ed the first Earth Day.Sen. Gaylord Nelsonwas responsible for thecreation of Earth Day.He tried to get it put onthe political agenda asearly as 1963, but otherissues overshadowedthe “environment.”
On Nov. 30, 1969, alengthy article in theNew York Times abouta day of observance inthe spring of 1970 onenvironmental concernsgave the environmentalmovement the spring-board it needed.
That is when the grassroots effort took hold.People began to raise their voices about what washappening to the land, rivers, lakes, and air. Ifthis grassroots effort sounds familiar, it is alsowhat Farm Bureau is all about.
Even though Earth Day is aone-day observance, farmersobserve Earth Day every day.Whether it is their decision to no-till farm or use conservationtillage, grass waterways, terraces,or filter strips along water cours-es, farmers are environmentalistseach day.
The reduced use of chemicalsand fertilizers plus the way they
are applied through precision methods are otherways farmers are protecting the environment.
Every year, teachers will teach students aboutEarth Day and how those students can make adifference. Agriculture should be part of the les-son plan.
Farmers help provide food for the world anddo it in an environmentally sensitive way. Farm-ers need to become teachers and tell their ownstory instead of letting others who are notinvolved in agriculture tell their views of farm-ing.
It is encouraging to know that the youngergeneration is involved.
About two years ago, students at PontiacTownship High School started a prescriptiondrug disposal program to properly dispose of
unwanted orunused drugs.Before the pro-gram was enacted,many peoplewould simply flushtheir drugs downthe toilet.
It doesn’t soundlike a problem, buta huge one wascreated becausethe active ingredi-ents in the drugsdid not breakdown during thewater treatmentprocess. The activeingredientsremained active foryears and seriouslyaffected water
quality. Due to the efforts of these students, theprogram spread across the state and the country.
Every effort, no matter how small, does makea difference.
After serving several years on the IllinoisFarm Bureau Grass Roots Issue Team on NaturalResources, I have learned a great deal about howFarm Bureau policy is developed. It is truly fromthe members.
Illinois is a large state with diversity from onearea to another. Our team addressed issues suchas coal mine subsidence, wind energy, conserva-tion issues, water quality, and water withdrawalissues. Many are issues that need to be addressednow because they have consequences in the nearfuture.
Even though farmers do many things now,there is always more that can be done. Simplethings such as recycling used oil through a certi-fied recycler, taking farm chemicals and haz-ardous household waste to proper collectionpoints, recycling used pesticide containers, andtaking used tires to be recycled are just a fewways that farmers can help out even more tokeep their environment clean for future genera-tions.
Celebrate Earth Day on Thursday, but remem-ber that Earth Day is everyday for farmers.
Dennis Haab, Forrest, is the president of the LivingstonCounty Farm Bureau. He serves on the RenewableResources and Energy GrassRoots Issue Team and onthe conservation subcommittee of the IFB Farm PolicyTask Force.
When Chicago lost toBrazil in its bid to host the2016 Summer Olympics, manyresidents were disappointed.Now, the city has sufferedanother disappointment withthe removal of a 25-foot-tall
sculpture oftwo farmersfrom a smallplaza along thecity’s Magnifi-cent Mile.
The three-dimensionalsculpture by J.Seward John-son Jr. has
completed its year on loan tothe city and attracted manypassersby while it was present.It was named “God BlessAmerica,” but almost everyonerecognized it as a version ofGrant Wood’s famed painting,“American Gothic,” whichcoincidentally hangs in Chica-go’s Art Institute.
What is it about “AmericanGothic” that has so captivatedpeople over the years? Couldit be the couple’s stoic expres-sion, which seems reassuringin hard times? Maybe it istheir obvious self-reliance thatwe envy.
Wood did not intend topaint a classic portrait of anAmerican farm couple; cer-tainly not one that would havesuch lasting effect. His sisterposed as the woman in the1930 painting, and a local den-tist was handed a hayfork andenlisted to be her father orhusband or brother —depending on the story youhear.
Farmers weren’t quite surewhat to make of the painting.
Like it or not, the picture isone of the most-recognizedpaintings in the world. Sure, itwould have been nice if Woodhad painted the man andwoman with smiles on theirfaces, but there wasn’t much tosmile about then.
Crop and livestock prices
were plunging as Wood fin-ished his work and the GreatDepression gripped thenation. “American Gothic”along with the red barn, mold-board plow, milking stool, andtractors — such as Interna-tional Harvester’s Farmallseries — are icons of Ameri-can agriculture.
Like Wood’s painting, thered Farmall tractors also dateback to 1930. In some ways,the American public’s appreci-ation for and understanding offarming never really left thatera.
The American Farm BureauFederation and other agricul-tural organizations haveworked hard to update theimage of the American farmerand paint a portrait of modernagriculture, its importance toour economy, and the environ-mental benefits we derive fromit. But it is difficult to over-come nostalgia.
No doubt there were peo-ple who missed the plow horseas mechanization transformedfarming a century ago, andthere are similar feelings todayas agriculture is transformedby science, technology, andglobal markets. These feelingsare understandable, but theyprovide fertile ground for crit-ics of production agriculture.
Yet, some things haven’tchanged. The vast majority offarms today is still family-owned and operated, and thetraits we’ve admired in farmersand ranchers — on canvas orin real life — are still evident;the values they hold dear arethe same.
In this way, American agri-culture is drawing on the bestof the past to meet the chal-lenges of the future.
Stewart Truelsen is a regular con-tributor of American Farm Bureaucolumns and is author of “ForwardFarm Bureau” about the AmericanFarm Bureau Federation’s 90thanniversary.
STEWART TRUELSEN
DENNISHAAB
The image of farmerspast influences today