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Monday, April 25, 2011 Two sections Volume 39, No. 17

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

FA R M FA M I L I E S w i l l b eeverywhere — in person and inpictures — at this year’s IllinoisState Fair, which r uns Aug. 12through 21. ......................................6

LONG-AWAITED action onFree Trade Agreements with Pana-ma, Colombia, and South Koreashould reach the Hill “some timethis spring.” .....................................6

I L L I N O I S A T T O R N E YGeneral Lisa Madigan last weekfiled a water pollution complaintagainst the owner of a Jo DaviessCounty dairy farm. .......................2

Severe storms pound Illinois

Farm family survives harrowing encounter with tornadoBY DANIEL GRANTFarmWeek

A number of farms andhomes were damaged ordestroyed last week as severestorms, including at least twotornadoes, pounded the state.

Mark Prose, a farmer fromGirard in Macoupin County,knew the weather last Tuesday(April 19) could get “rough”

in his area based on stormwarnings and what he saw onthe radar.

But he and his family (wifeLisa and 6-year-old sonMichael) had no idea what wasto come when they wiselydecided to seek shelter in thebasement of their home.

“We were planning on eat-ing supper in the basementand about the time we satdown to eat the electricitywent out,” Prose toldFarmWeek. They were goingto get flashlights when an F-3tornado with wind speeds esti-mated at 150 mph barreled

15 others were damaged, andnumerous outbuildings weredamaged or destroyed nearGirard.

The storm also dumpedhail 2.75 inches in diameter inGreen County and 2.5 inchesin diameter in Calhoun andPike counties, the Illinois State

Water Survey reported.An estimated 69,000 Illi-

noisans were without powerafter the storms. Some stillwere without power as of Fri-day morning, according toDonnie Laird, a farmer from

See Tornado, page 3

onto their farmstead.The Proses first felt a sig-

nificant change of pressure intheir ears followed by rattlingnoises. The family quicklywent into the basement bath-room and Prose lay on top ofhis family.

“We could hear it (thehouse) coming apart above,”Prose said. “Then, in probably15 seconds, it was over.”

But the realization of whathad happened was just begin-ning for the Proses. Theirhome and entire farmsteadwas destroyed in those fewseconds.

“I waited a minute or soand headed toward the stairs(the subfloor remainedintact),” Prose said.

“As I made my way upstairs,I could see daylight. I knewthat was a bad sign,” he con-tinued. “When I got to the top,everything was gone. Thehouse was only 6 years old —we had just built it.”

But Prose quickly realizedhis family’s new home wasn’tthe only loss.

“The shed and all the binswere gone, too,” he said. “Myjaw just dropped.”

The National Weather Ser-

vice Friday confirmed two tor-nadoes from the storm, the F-3 that caused significant dam-age near Girard and an F-2(wind speeds estimated at 120mph) that caused damage nearHoney Bend just north ofLitchfield.

Two homes were destroyed,

BY MARTIN ROSSFarmWeek

The head of a family business advocacygroup sees “game-changing” movementtoward possible repeal of the federalestate tax, even if it takes the next yearand a half.

The American Farm Bureau Federationsupports the Death Tax Repeal Permanen-cy Act, a bipartisan House measure aimedat ending estate tax uncertainty for farmfamilies and small businesses.

A new analysis by the American FamilyBusiness Foundation concludes repealactually would boost overall governmentrevenues by $89 billion over a 10-yearperiod.

Barring congressional action, the indi-vidual estate tax exemption will return to apre-2002 $1 million level and the tax rate

to a high 55 percent when a current estatetax fix expires at the end of 2012. Illinoisland values alone could create widespreadtax exposure for farmers at that threshold.

The foundation’s analysis, by formerU.S. Treasury economist Stephen Entin,estimates 22,000 farms and 65,000 “familybusiness units” face estate tax liabilityeven under a current $5 million exemptionand 35 percent rate.

American Family Business FoundationPresident Dick Patten argued Congress’recent two-year hike in the exemption is“by no means a permanent solution.”

Patten recognizes straight repeal is anuphill battle: Many Democrats are reluc-tant to give up potential tax revenues.

But he sees hope in the current con-gressional environment: The House-Sen-ate Joint Committee on Taxation recently

hired new economists. In Patten’s view,that brings a fresh view of tax revenuesand costs, and lawmakers are under newpressure to provide permanent death taxrelief.

“Our organization went to all candi-dates for the Senate and House and askedthem to sign a Death Tax Repeal Pledge,”Patten told FarmWeek. “More than 500(bipartisan) candidates signed that pledge.Of those, 278 won their primaries. Ofthose, 131 are now members of the Sen-ate and the House.

“That creates game-changing numbersin both the House and the Senate thatmake repeal of the death tax much morepossible than it has been in the past.”

Patten faults congressional budget

See Tax, page 2

Mark Prose, left, a Macoupin County farmer, describes damage caused to his farm by an F-3 tornado dur-ing a conversation with John Earley of the Girard Emergency Management Agency and a former GROW-MARK employee. The twister destroyed Prose’s home (which is being removed in the background), grainbins, and shed. Prose and his family survived the storm in the basement of their now demolished home. Theyplan to rebuild on the same location. More photos appear on page 3. (Photo by Ken Kashian)

Time ripe for estate tax repeal debate?

FarmWeekNow.comView video of s torm dam-a g e i n W h i t e C o u n t y a tFarmWeekNow.com.

BUDGET POSSIBLE DEAL-BREAKER? —U.S. Rep. Collin Peterson (D-Minn.), ranking member ofthe House Ag Committee, last week said cuts in aHouse-passed budget proposal could make it politicallyimpossible to pass a farm bill next year.

Peterson said the Democrat-controlled Senate is cer-tain to reject the House budget, but if the two chamberscan’t agree on a compromise plan, House GOP leaderscould go forward with making the cuts unilaterally.

Peterson explained House farm bill passage oftenrequires garnering support from urban and suburbanlawmakers by expanding nutrition and conservationprograms. Big cuts to food stamps may make it tough togain urban support — the Republican-proposed budgetrevives a 1995 plan to turn the program into blockgrants to states.

“I just don’t think that given the economic climate,you can sell that big of a cut,” Peterson said.

SOBERING STATE BUDGET OUTLOOK —State Sen. Bill Brady and Rep. Dan Brady, both Bloom-ington Republicans, described the state’s dire fiscal situ-ation to constituents last week during the GeneralAssembly spring break.

“We’ve got to stop digging a (funding) hole,” the rep-resentative said. “It’s going to take quite some time toget out of it.”

At the end of March, the comptroller reported thestate had $4.5 billion in unpaid bills.

The state needs a combination of belt tightening,borrowing, and taxes to balance the budget, Representa-tive Brady said. He added the state cannot afford to addany new programs.

Illinois also is struggling to fund its state employeepension system. “If we don’t do something to the(state) pension monster, the state budget will implode,”Senator Brady said.

REGIONAL HABITAT PLAN FOR WINDFARMS — The U.S. Fish and Wildlife Service (FWS)and members of the wind energy industry last weekagreed to develop a wind energy habitat conservationplan for the Midwest.

The plan will outline measures to conserve threat-ened and endangered species that may be affected bywind farm development. In particular, the plan calls forconservation of Indiana bats as well as other protectedspecies in Illinois, Indiana, Ohio, Missouri, Iowa, Min-nesota, Wisconsin, and Michigan.

FWS received $3.3 million to develop a habitat con-servation plan to cover all threatened and endangeredspecies in the eight states. The regional approach isexpected to streamline compliance and reduce costs,according to an Illinois-based FWS supervisor.

FarmWeek Page 2 Monday, April 25, 2011

(ISSN0197-6680)

Vol. 39 No. 17 April 25, 2011

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Quick TakesGOVERNMENT

BY KAY SHIPMANFarmWeek

Illinois Attorney General Lisa Madigan lastweek filed a water pollution complaint againstthe owner of a partially constructed JoDaviess County dairy farm, alleging silageleachate from the dairy flowed into a tributaryof the South Fork of the Apple River lastOctober.

A.J. Bos,Bakersfield,Calif., owns thedairy, known asTraditionsDairy, locatednear Stockton.

Don Man-ning, a Rock-ford attorneyrepresentingBos, toldFarmWeek theincident was handled appropriately at the time.

“Traditions’ response was immediate andcooperative, and any potential issues arisingfrom the construction site were immediatelyresolved,” Manning said. “During the inter-vening months, there has been no suggestionof any harm or damage to any person, proper-ty, or to the environment generally, and webelieve that it is inaccurate to say that pollut-ing activity actually occurred.

“We feel (action taken by the dairy) shouldhave resolved the situation,” Manning added.

Bos’ Traditions Investments LLC wasnamed in the complaint filed with the IllinoisPollution Control Board (IPCB).

On Oct. 1, 2010, the Illinois Environ-mental Protection Agency (IEPA) investi-gated a citizen complaint about discol-oration in the west branch of the SouthFork, and IEPA inspectors traced the colorto a location at the dairy where a field tiledischarged into the tributary, according toMadigan’s complaint.

Test results of samples collected by theIEPA showed an elevated level of sus-pended solids attributable to the silageleachate, according to Madigan’s com-plaint. IEPA referred the matter to the

attorney general in October.Traditions’ employees told the IEPA the

silage was collected at the dairy in anticipationof livestock that had not arrived, and silageleachate was stored in a holding pit. A con-tract land applicator told inspectors he appliedthe silage leachate on five acres the previousday as well as on Oct. 1, 2010, according toMadigan’s complaint.

Madigan has asked the IPCB to schedule ahearing in Jo Daviess County, at which timeTraditions Investments will have an opportu-nity to answer the five counts, which include

water pollutionand operatingwithout aNational Pollu-tant DischargeEliminationSystem(NPDES) per-mit.

Each counthas a potentialcivil penalty of$50,000 per

violation and an additional $10,000 for eachday the violation continued.

In prior litigation, a plaintiffs’ group knownas HOMES sought to halt construction of thedairy. Traditions prevailed at the trial courtlevel, and last December an appellate courtupheld the trial court’s decision in favor ofTraditions regarding a challenge of a permitto construct the dairy issued by the IllinoisDepartment of Agriculture.

Most recently, the Illinois Supreme Courtupheld the Illinois appellate court’s ruling infavor of the dairy. The attorney general’scomplaint before the IPCB was filed after theIllinois Supreme Court’s ruling in Traditions’favor.

“As has been the case with respect to priorlitigation regarding this site, we intend torespond with appropriate filings in the properforum, and we expect that our client will be vin-dicated, as occurred in the trial court, the appel-late court, and the supreme court in theHOMES litigation,” Manning said.

He added, “We disagree that any additionalpermits or authorizations are required for thecompletion and operation of the dairy, and it ismy client’s intention to complete constructionand to commence operations.”

Madigan files complaintagainst dairy operationLawyer: Matter handled,no damage indicated

Continued from page 1analysts’ “static scoring,” which focuses exclu-sively on estate tax revenues without consider-ing how tax relief might spur economic growthand overall federal revenues for lack of actionon repeal of the tax.

That’s an “unrealistic” view of a tax that“confiscates capital out of the economy,” hesaid.

Entin suggested repeal would boost grossdomestic product by 2.25 percent and privatesector output and labor income by 2.34 per-cent. Resulting increases in other tax revenues“would more than offset the decline in theestate tax portion of the estate and gift tax,” hemaintained.

Past Congressional Budget Office directorDouglas Holtz-Eakin told the foundation 1.4million jobs would not “exist within the econo-my” under a 55 percent tax rate, Patten said.

Even under the temporary 35 percent rate,some 857,000 potential jobs are affected,Holtz-Eakin stated.

Patten sees the estate tax having a particular-ly harsh impact for rural America, hitting fami-ly businesses able to support large local pay-rolls but challenged to shoulder high taxes.

Estate tax liability can spur rural businessesto sell assets to outside corporations or retailchains that may, in turn, “truck (assets) out oftown,” he said.

“All of a sudden, you have a town withoutthat employer,” Patten said.

“You have a town where the family businesswas the source of philanthropy, supporting theLittle League teams and the scholarship pro-grams.

“All of those are lost when the death taxcauses these family businesses to have to selloff.”

Tax

‘We disagree that any additional per-mits or author izations are requiredfor the completion and operation ofthe dairy.’

— Don ManningAttorney representing Bos

WEATHER

Page 3 Monday, April 25, 2011 FarmWeek

A grain dryer was blown over into a bin of soybeans that sustained some damage in 90 mph winds Tuesday onthe Rusty Walsh farm at Carmi in White County. Two other bins of beans remained standing while several emptybins were destroyed. Also destroyed was the house Walsh was born in, and his current residence nearby hadwindows blown out. Many of the family’s friends last week were helping clean up debris from the storm. (Photoby J.C. Pool, Illinois Farm Bureau director from Broughton)

Heavy rains, severe storms, halt planting progressBY DANIEL GRANTFarmWeek

Planters were parked mostof last week as heavy rainssoaked the state.

Illinois farmers as of thefirst of last week had planted 9percent of the corn crop,which was on target with thefive-year average pacebut well behind last yearwhen 29 percent of thecrop was in the ground.

“There’s been nofieldwork done here,whatsoever,” said RickCorners, a FarmWeekCropwatcher from Jeffer-son County (Cropwatch-ers will begin their re-porting season in theMay 2 issue ofFarmWeek). “In anotherweek, it could start to bea concern.”

Farmers likely won’tbegin planting or returnto their fields anytimesoon. The majority ofthe state the first 20 days

of the month received be-tween 3 and 6-plus inches ofrain and more was falling Fri-day.

The state on average re-ceives about 3.8 inches of rainin April. So many locations al-ready had received above-aver-age rainfall with six days re-

maining in the month.“Waves of rainfall are head-

ing our way,” Dan Smith, me-teorologist with the NationalWeather Service office in Lin-coln, said on Friday. He pre-dicted rain showers could lastthrough Easter weekend andinto the first part of this week.

“We may start catching abreak (mid-week) and dryout a little bit,” he said.

Adam Edwards, afarmer from MacoupinCounty, said it could be atleast a week or longer be-fore farmers are back inthe fields in his area.

“We’re probably talkingMay now (before field-work resumes) if it keepsraining,” Edwards said.

He estimated 20 per-cent of the corn crop wasplanted in his area, butthe soil now is soakedand fields must be clearedof debris after at leasttwo tornadoes andstraight-line winds pum-

meled the southern half ofthe state last week.

“There are a couple farm-steads on the ground,” Ed-wards said. “It’s real bad.

“And there are some(corn) acres up, but none ofthat has been assessed yet,”he continued. “I imaginethere is some hail damage.”

Strong winds last weekdestroyed a small shed on

Corners’ farm. But he believes the wheat

crop mostly was unaffected bythe severe storms. The condi-tion of the state’s wheat croplast week was rated 65 percentgood to excellent, 26 percentfair, and 9 percent poor or verypoor.

“Like a friend says, ‘bad start,good finish,” Corners added.“That’s what we’re hoping for.”

Above: Helyn Seifert of Girard comforts family friend MarkProse two days after an F-3 tornado leveled his farmstead inMacoupin County. At right: More than 100 volunteers havehelped the Prose family clear debris each day since their farmwas struck by a tornado April 19. (Photos by Ken Kashian)

TornadoContinued from page 1

Jefferson County.Laird’s farm was hit by what

he believes were straight-linewinds. Several outbuildings weredestroyed, a barn was severelydamaged, and the shingles onhis father’s (Jim) home werepeeled off.

“I can’t confirm anything, butit looked like straight-line windsto me,” Laird said. “It did a lotof damage in town (Wal-tonville).

No severe injuries or fatalitieswere reported as of Friday fromthe outbreak of severe storms inIllinois.

Prior to the outbreak ofstorms “we were running out ofodd jobs to do (waiting for fieldsto dry out) but not anymore,”Laird added. “There is lot ofmetal and debris scatteredabout. It’s a miracle nobody gothurt.”

“There’s not a cut or nickanywhere,” Prose said of hisfamily’s health. “Neighbors,friends, and relatives have givenus overwhelming support.”

Prose said most of his ma-chinery was not badly damagedand already is repaired, so he willbe able to plant once debris ispicked up and fields dry out.

He also plans to build a newhome on the same site.

“We’re going to rebuild rightthere and try again,” he said.“It’s a lifetime experience that Inever wish on anybody”

Elsewhere, winds estimatedat 90 mph severely damaged theboyhood home of Rusty Walshin White County.

Fortunately, nobody was inthe house at the time of thestorm. Walsh also suffereddamaged to his nearby homeand his grain-drying operationand bins.

Jim Laird, left, and his son, Donnie, remove scraps of a tin roof that wereblown off a barn on their Jefferson County farm last week during a vio-lent storm in the southern half of the state. One shed was destroyed on theLaird’s cow-calf operation, three barns were damaged, and shingles onthe roof of Jim Laird’s home were peeled. (Photo by Ken Kashian)

GOVERNMENT

FarmWeek Page 4 Monday, April 25, 2011

McLean County farmer Brian Carlson, center, of LeRoy explains how heused a loan through the state treasurer’s link-deposit program to helpstart his farming operation. Looking on are Illinois Treasurer DanRutherford, right, and Illinois Farm Bureau President Philip Nelson.Rutherford announced the revamped link-deposit program during anews conference last week in Bloomington. (Photo by Cyndi Cook)

Rutherford unveils revisedag link-deposit program

Illinois State Treasurer Dan Rutherford last week rolled outa link-deposit program that had been revamped in an effort toimprove participation by farmers and financial institutions.

The new treasurer said that over his 99 days in office, helearned the program’s interest rates were not competitive, itrequired excessive paperwork, and the dollars available weremodest.

“We reconfigured the whole program,” Rutherford toldreporters last week during a news conference at the IllinoisFarm Bureau Building in Bloomington.

Under the new terms, eligible farmers may borrow up to$120,000 and eligible farm operations may borrow up to$240,000 at a maximum 4.5 percent interest rate for a one-year operating loan. For a long-term loan, an eligible farmermay borrow up to $200,000 at maximum 4.5 percent interestfor five years.

The state will charge lenders 1 percent interest for fundsthrough the link-deposit program.

“This is going to be a much more customer friendlyapproach for the people who utilize this program,” said IFBPresident Philip Nelson. “Making it more streamlined will goa long way in the minds of the business people across thestate.”

McLean County farmer Brian Carlson, LeRoy, attested tothe link-deposit program’s value. In 2007, Carlson obtained alink-deposit loan from the Flanagan State Bank of LeRoy. Hewas able to buy used equipment to start his farming operationand later obtained two more loans through the program.

“The interest rate was the main thing; it helped me cashflow,” Carlson said. “I plan on using the program in thefuture to expand.”

“The changes by the Illinois state treasurer’s office to theAg Invest: Annual Agriculture program make the program abetter tool for providing farmers access to competitive inter-est rates for operating loans,” said Gary Ash, president andchief executive officer of First Farm Credit Services.

“When interest rates rise, this will become a very effectiveoption for farmers to consider locking in interest rates ontheir operating lines with local banks and Farm Credit Associ-ations,” Ash said.

Richard Ritter, senior vice president of agricultural lendingat Flanagan State Bank, agreed Rutherford’s changes haveimproved the ag link-deposit program and made it easier forborrowers to qualify. But given the current low interest rates,Ag Invest may generate more interest in the future wheninterest rates start to increase, he said.

Rutherford said he has committed $500 million for all link-deposit programs, including the revamped Ag Invest program.In six months, the treasurer and his staff will reassess themarkets and interest rates, lender and borrower participation,and other factors, he told reporters. — Kay Shipman

State lawmakers take actionbefore taking spring breakBY KAY SHIPMANFarmWeek

State representatives face a full plate oflegislation when they return to the StatehouseTuesday, following a one-week break. TheirSenate colleagues are scheduled to return May3.

Several bills of interest to Illinois FarmBureau were caught up in the legislative flurrybefore lawmakers recessed.

Two bills, SB 2209 and HB 3504, thatwould set proposed permit fees for confinedanimal feeding operations (CAFOs) were heldin committees in their respective chambers.

The House sponsor, Rep. Michael Tryon(R-Crystal Lake), and the Illinois Environ-mental Protection Agency continue to pushfor the fees and continue to call for negoti-ations on the issue.

IFB opposes both bills and continuesto work with the Illinois Pork ProducersAssociation, Illinois Beef Associa-tion, and Illinois Milk ProducersAssociation to share concernsand oppose implementation ofNational Pollutant DischargeElimination System(NPDES) fees for live-stock operations.

The deadline for pas-sage was extended forHB 1697, legislation thatwould ban tail docking ofcattle unless the proce-dure is done by a veteri-narian for health reasons. IFB opposes thebill, which is on second reading in the House.

In other action, the Senate passed fourbills supported by IFB.

On a 57-0 vote, the Senate passed SB 2010,sponsored by Sen. Michael Frerichs (D-Champaign).

It would replace the existing FertilizerResearch and Education Council with a simi-

lar program overseen by the NutrientResearch Education Council.

The legislation seeks to prevent moneyraised from fertilizer fees being used by thestate for other purposes.

The bill also would change and increasefees imposed on the fertilizer industry tofund the Illinois Department of Agriculture(IDOA) bureau of agriculture productsinspection program.

Senator Frerichs also sponsored SB 2012,which passed in the Senate. The bill wouldchange how the Illinois Council on Food andAgricultural Research (C-FAR) is funded. IFBsupports the legislation, which follows therecommendations of a C-FAR task force.

On a 58-0 vote, the Senate passed SB1852 as amended.

That measure provides for the creationof a farmers’ market task force by theIllinois public health director to help

review laws and regulations of prod-ucts and practices permitted at

farmers’ markets. The task forcealso will help enact statewideadministrative regulations forfarmers’ markets.

Trespass notification isthe focus of SB 1914,

sponsored by Sen. JohnSullivan (D-Rushville).

The bill proposes toadd marking of private

property through the useof purple paint on trees

or posts and to raise public awareness of themeaning of those markings.

The property owner still would mark his orher property or provide oral notice for notrespass as required by current law and may,but is not required to, add the purple paintsystem voluntarily.

This is a legislative initiative of the IllinoisForestry Association.

The University of Illinois isproviding free workshops tohelp grape growers prepare forthe growing season.

The Northern IllinoisSpring Vineyard Tune-UpWorkshops will be led by BillShoemaker, superintendent atthe U of I St. Charles Horti-culture Research Center andviticulturist with the IllinoisGrape Growers and VintnersAssociation (IGGVA).

The four identical work-shops each will run from 1 to 4p.m. at commercial vineyardsin Northern Illinois. Pre-regis-tration is not required.

The topics will include vine-yard fertility practices; canopymanagement practices ingrapevines; and integrated pestmanagement practices forvineyards.

Workshop dates and loca-tions are:

• Thursday (April 28), OldMill Vineyard, Metamora,located two miles west of Ill.Route 26 on Coon CreekRoad;

• Friday (April 29), Baxter’sWinery and Vineyard, Nauvoo;

• May 5, Famous FossilVineyard and Winery,Cedarville, located a half mile

west of Ill. Route 26 onCedarville Road;

• May 6, Blue Star Vineyardand Winery, Hebron, locatedone mile west of Ill. Route 47on Vander Karr Road.

For more information, con-tact Shoemaker at 630-584-7254 or e-mail him at wshoe-mak@illinois.edu.

The workshops are spon-sored by the IGGVA, the Illi-nois Department of Agricul-ture, and the crop sciencesdepartment in the College ofAgricultural, Consumer, andEnvironmental Sciences at theU of I.

Northern Illinois vineyard workshops planned

The Illinois Senate Redistricting Committeerecently announced more hearing dates andcommunities; however, all times and hearinglocations were not available.

Details are expected to be posted online at{www.ilsenateredistricting.com}.

Dates and cities are: April 21, 10:30 a.m.,

Southern Illinois University’s Student Union,Carbondale; 3 p.m., Elmhurst City Hall,Elmhurst; April 26, 10 a.m., Yorkville CityHall, Yorkville; April 28, south Chicago sub-urbs and Macomb; April 30, northwest Chica-go suburbs; and May 2, Alton and Chicago’swest side.

Senate Redistricting Committee posts more hearings

ENVIRONMENT

Page 5 Monday, April 25, 2011 FarmWeek

EPA: No Chesapeake on the Mississippi plannedBut ‘guidance’raises concernsBY MARTIN ROSSFarmWeek

Visiting the Corn Belt lastweek, U.S. EnvironmentalProtection Agency (EPA)Administrator Lisa Jacksondismissed concerns that heragency was eyeing ChesapeakeBay-style nutrient manage-ment standards for the Missis-sippi River Basin.

However, a federal CleanWater Act (CWA) “regulatoryguidance” document underconsideration by EPA and theU.S. Army Corps of Engi-neers has raised suspicionsthat Midwest farmers could bein for more stringent water-shed regulations.

In a move hailed by theAmerican Farm Bureau Feder-ation (AFBF), 170 bipartisan

But ag groups may find stiffopposition trying to rein in theEPA: A coalition of sportsand conservation groupswrote members of the Houseurging them not to sign theGibbs-Holden letter.

Ducks Unlimited, the IzaakWalton League of America,the National Wildlife Federa-tion, and Trout Unlimitedopposed efforts to sideline theguidance document.

Concerns about the docu-ment arose as lawmakers con-

tinued to push Senate legisla-tion aimed at blocking pro-posed new EPA pesticide appli-cator permits under the CWA.

The House has moved themeasure, and in what IllinoisFarm Bureau National Legisla-tive Director Adam Nielsendeemed “an attempt to getaway from the Senate Envi-ronment and Public Works”and its chairman, Sen. BarbaraBoxer (D-Calif.), the SenateAg Committee has taken upthe measure.

members of Congress havechallenged proposed regulato-ry guidance. At Farm Bureau’sbehest, Reps. Bob Gibbs (R-Ohio) and Tim Holden (D-Pa.) issued a “Dear Colleague”letter on the yet-unreleasedguidance document, garneringsupport from 23 Democrats.

In an Iowa visit last week,Jackson said EPA has no plansto implement pollution regula-tions in the Mississippi Basinsimilar to those being imposedin the eastern Chesapeake Bay,insisting “EPA is not targetingagriculture.” “I am ruling outthe need for us to move directlyto a regulatory mechanismwhen we have folks stepping upand are willing to do the con-servation measures,” she said.

But AFBF President BobStallman argued regulatoryguidance could provide aroadmap for EPA to designate“nearly all water bodies and

even some dry land” as subjectto rules that could dictateland-use decisions.

In a 38-page draft of thedocument, the EPA and Corpspredicted “the number ofwaters found to be subject toCWA jurisdiction will increasesignificantly.”

Redefining regulated watersis “far too important to bedecided by an informal guid-ance document,” AFBF regu-latory specialist Don Parrishargued. EPA/Corps guidancewould lead to new CWA per-mitting requirements, environ-mental lawsuits, and “less eco-nomic growth at a time whenour nation needs it most,”Stallman warned.

Stallman said the properprocedure for federal waterpolicy is either through formalEPA rulemaking, includingopportunity for public com-ment, or by legislation.

Lawmakers resist EPAtalk of new dust rules

U.S. House lawmakers have signaled they are ready for adust-up with the U.S. Environmental Protection Agency (EPA).

A proposed new House measure would at least temporarilyblock EPA from imposing more stringent nationwide “coarseparticulate” dust standards while exempting so-called “farmdust” from existing particulate rules.

The Farm Dust Regulation Prevention Act is spearheaded byReps. Kristi Noem (R-S.D.), Robert Hurt (R-Va.), LeonardBoswell (D-Iowa), and Larry Kissell (D-N.C.).

Despite earlier House Ag Committee testimony in which shedismisses plans to revise current dust rules to include farms,EPA Administrator Lisa Jackson last week told reporters inIowa she would decide in July whether to tighten particulatestandards.

American Farm Bureau Federation regulatory specialist RickKrause warned new dust standards could affect such things ascropping and livestock activities, construction, and even sea-sonal transportation on rural roads.

Arizona and California policymakers already are mulling thepossibility of imposing speed limits of 10-15 mph on ruralunpaved roads to reduce dust “pollution,” he noted.

Concerns about the impact of tighter standards have attract-ed “a lot of signers” to Capitol Hill correspondence urgingJackson to drop any new plans, Krause told FarmWeek.

“The dust letters have been pretty popular,” he said. “Theysend EPA a big message not to mess around with things.”

Farm operations and rural traffic generate coarse particu-lates. Even now, EPA or state agencies can investigate an indi-vidual facility based on air monitoring data indicating even asingle particulate violation — data often submitted by environ-mental groups, Krause said.

Further, while the federal Clean Air Act includes an “excep-tional event” provision that exempts excessive particulate levelsrelated to a tornado or other natural events, EPA has theauthority to designate such events.

“They really don’t do that very much,” Krause said. “It’salmost like (exceptional event exemptions) don’t exist.” —Martin Ross

House seeks to chill EPA;courts may be next step

If Congress can’t halt federal greenhouse gas(GHG) regulations, the courts likely will, aFarm Bureau regulatory specialist suggests.

The U.S. House has approved a measure,spearheaded by House Energy and CommerceChairman Fred Upton (R-Mich.), that wouldblock EPA regulation of GHG emissions from“stationary” sources such as manufacturers,utilities, and, potentially, farm operations.

A similar amendment by Senate MinorityLeader Mitch McConnell (R-Ky.) failed in hisDemocrat-controlled chamber. McConnell’sproposal would have overturned EPA’s 2009ruling that GHGs posed a human health threat.

EPA is expected to begin regulating station-ary sources exclusively for greenhouse emis-sions July 1, though some standards alreadyhave been set under existing air quality permits.

New regulations would impact utilities andothers that emit greenhouse gases in excess of avarying range of from 75,000 to 100,000 tonsper year.

While McConnell’s measure garnered 50 votes,it fell 10 short of a necessary majority. AmericanFarm Bureau Federation regulatory specialist

Rick Krause was uncertain whether the Senatewould vote again to stay EPA’s hand. The WhiteHouse hailed “the Senate’s actions to defend theEnvironmental Protection Agency’s ability toprotect public health under the Clean Air Act.”

However, Krause noted suggestions evenwithin EPA that greenhouse controls are “theweakest link in its whole regulatory scheme.”

“I don’t know of anyone who thinks it’sgoing to stand up in court,” Krause toldFarmWeek. “There are already lawsuits filedagainst it. A number of states have filed, andeverything’s wrapped up into one big lawsuit.”

Meanwhile, EPA greenhouse reportingrequirements that set the stage for industry datacollection and emissions enforcement havebeen delayed until at least fall.

EPA already is regulating emissions fromcars and light trucks to be sold over the nextfive years, under an agreement with states andautomakers.

House legislation would allow that “mobilesource” program to proceed but bars any futureregulations on vehicle greenhouse emissions. —Martin Ross

Budget cuts ill omen for conservation spending?Illinois conservation inter-

ests were uncertain how ongo-ing statewide stewardshipefforts might be impacted bynearly $240 million in nation-wide conservation programcuts for the remainder of fis-cal 2011.

As part of a compromisecontinuing budget measureaimed at keeping the federalgovernment running throughSept. 30, Congress cut $119million from the WetlandsReserve Program (WRP), $80million from the Environmen-tal Quality Incentive Program(EQIP), and $39 million from

White House-authorized deficitcommission, as were farmdirect payments.

“Sometimes, when econom-ic times are hard, conservationgets kind of put on the back-burner,” Buck lamented. “Butit’s as important as ever that weget the funding to deliver con-servation solutions to Illinoisproducers. The soil’s still outthere; the water’s out there, andit needs to be protected. Noneof that’s changed.

“In 2012, we’re going to havea new farm bill. That planningneeds to go on right now, but it’skind of hard to do that kind of

planning when we’re in the mid-dle of this. It’s hard to be strate-gic when you’re cutting back.”

EQIP programs designed tocontrol field and feedlot runoffare important to Illinois pro-ducers facing possible new U.S.Environmental ProtectionAgency watershed nutrientmanagement standards, Associ-ation of Illinois Soil and WaterConservation Districts Execu-tive Director Richard Nicholssaid. Funding for equally vitaltechnical assistance “has notbeen sufficient” for years,Nichols warned. — MartinRoss

the Conservation StewardshipProgram (CSP).

Paige Buck, spokesman withthe USDA Natural ResourcesConservation Service’s (NRCS)Illinois office, said her agencywas unsure how fiscal 2011 cutswould be distributed across thecountry. Buck reported IllinoisEQIP funds have been largely“obligated” or committed forthe rest of the fiscal year,though near-term availability ofWRP funds remains a concern.

Illinois NRCS officials planto “keep on offering these pro-grams to our clients” andaccepting landowner applica-

tions until Washington offersfunding details, Buck toldFarmWeek.

However, short-term cutsraise concerns about how con-servation spending will fareunder forthcoming fiscal 2012appropriations measures and,long-term, in 2012 farm billdebate. Farm bill programspending generally is based onbudget “baselines” in forcewhen ag policy is written.

The CSP provides financialand technical assistance to pro-mote soil, water, air, andwildlife conservation. It recent-ly was targeted for cuts by a

MARKETS

FarmWeek Page 6 Monday, April 25, 2011

‘Votes are there’ for FTAs; White House action soughtBY MARTIN ROSSFarmWeek

Last week saw a flurry ofcongressional travel toColombia, a whirlwind of dataon free trade benefits, andfanfare for an agreement thatpaves the way for approval ofa U.S.-Panama free tradeagreement (FTA).

Now, it’s up to the WhiteHouse to sound off on long-awaited FTAs with Panama,Colombia, and South Korea.

U.S. Rep. Aaron Schock, aPeoria Republican whojoined bipartisan col-leagues on a Colom-bia fly-in last week,was hopeful thepresident wouldsubmit FTAs for acongressional votein June and Con-gress would clear theagreements by July.

Prospects for time-ly approval improved with theannouncement of a newagreement with Panama that,among other things, wouldrecognize the U.S.’ meatinspection system as equiva-lent to Panama’s own inspec-tion system. That would pro-vide even further duty-freeaccess for U.S. pork and beefinto the small but potentiallykey Central American market.

In an RFD Radio-Farm-Week interview, nationalTruth About Trade and Tech-nology Chairman Dean

Kleckner maintained “thevotes are there” for Congressto move all three agreements.Kleckner said the administra-tion “has said the right things”about trade expansion butquestioned what he sees as theWhite House’s “strictly politi-cal” delay in submitting them.

Colombia continues to shipgoods into the U.S. virtuallyduty-free, but Schock notedU.S. commodity exports to theSouth American nation have

fallen nearly 50 per-cent over the past

few years as aresult ofdelays inFTA pas-sage.

The manu-facturing sector

also has felt the impact ofFTA heel-dragging, with Illi-nois-based Caterpillar facinghigh Colombian tariffs onimported heavy equipment, hesaid.

“We had 80 percent of thewheat market two years ago,”Schock said during a telecon-ference from Colombia.“Because we have not signed atrade agreement and they’vesigned trade agreements withcountries like Argentina andnow Canada, our percentageof the wheat market has fallen

below 40 percent.American Farm Bureau

Federation trade specialistDavid Salmonsen reported theWhite House was “a littlefuzzy” about when it mightsubmit FTAs, but StateDepartment officials told himlast week all three FTAsshould reach the Hill “sometime this spring.”

Administration supportnonetheless remains contin-gent on Colombia and Panamaagreeing to “meet somebenchmarks” beyond the tradearena, he said. Colombiarecently agreed to new “laborperformance” standards aimedat addressing union-relatedhuman rights issues of con-

cern to FTA critics. “Usually, (the

president) doesn’tsend anything up (to

the Hill) unless he knows it’sgoing to pass,” Salmonsen toldFarmWeek.

Kleckner cited SenateFinance Chairman Max Bau-cus’ (D-Mont.) continued con-cerns about Korean treatmentof U.S. beef despite a recentFTA side agreement thathelped address beef and auto-motive trade issues and wascredited with winning FTAsupport from the United AutoWorkers (UAW) union.

The UAW announcement“surprised me,” he said, sug-gesting it helped win Demo-crat lawmakers to the FTA

Peoria Republican U.S. Rep. Aaron Schock meets with Colombian Pres-ident Juan Manual Santos during a trip to the Latin American nationlast week. Schock discussed pending free trade agreement issues withColombian cabinet-level officials, labor leaders, and business leadersalong with House Ways and Means Committee Chairman Dave Camp(R-Mich.) and other bipartisan colleagues. “All sides see the benefits ofthis agreement not just from a diplomatic and economic perspective,but because together we can work to put an end to the drug traffickingbusiness that has impacted both our countries,” Schock said. (Photocourtesy of the U.S. Embassy in Bogota, Colombia)

cause. But Kleckner fearsfurther FTA delays couldpush debate into the nextfederal election cycle anderode congressional enthusi-asm, especially given biparti-san worries about pendingcongressional redistricting

and reapportionment.“While it’s not perfect with

any of these countries, it’sgood,” he proclaimed. “We’regoing to be selling more andnot losing. We have to get at it.If there’s a time to vote, itwould appear to me it’s now.”

Farmer Image CampaignFarm families plan activities, effort to connect with State Fair visitors

BY KAY SHIPMANFarmWeek

Farm families will be every-where — in person and in pic-tures — at this year’s IllinoisState Fair.

“We believe it is a greatopportunity to talk with Illi-

Pavilion, the livestock barns,and the interactive Farmer’sLittle Helper educational area.

In certain fairground loca-tions, fairgoers will have anopportunity to meet farm fam-ilies and ask questions aboutfarming, Dunkirk said. In

addition, farm families whovisit the fair will be asked tohave their photos taken and toshare information about theirfarming operations, he added.

Activities also are beingplanned to link farmers, con-sumers, and food.

Fair visitors will be able toregister for $5,000 worth ofgroceries for a year.

Chicago-area mothers willbe invited to apply for an

opportunity to be one of five“field moms” who will partici-pate in a family-to-family farmtour later in the year.

“They will come to ourfarms to see what we do,”Dunkirk explained. He addedmore information about theactivity will be announced later.

During the fair, “we hopeto have conversations (withconsumers) ... and answertheir questions about howtheir food is raised,” Dunkirksaid.

nois residents about our farmfamilies and how we grow safeand healthy food,” said DerekeDunkirk, a Morrisonville porkproducer and president-electof the Illinois Pork ProducerAssociation (IPPA).

Dunkirk joined Illinois

State Fair Manager AmyBliefnick and Illinois Agricul-ture Director Tom Jennings ata fairground news conferencelast week to announce plansfor the fair.

This year’s fair theme, “Agood thing growing,” has anagricultural connection,

according to Bliefnick. The fair dates are Aug. 12-

21. Illinois Farm Bureau againwill coordinate the FarmBureau stage at the Commodi-ties Pavilion.

Photos of Illinois farmfamilies along with the IllinoisFarm Families logo (shownhere), which is part of thefarmer image campaign, willbe featured around thegrounds, in the Commodities

‘They will come to our farms to see whatwe do.’

— Dereke DunkirkPresident-elect, Illinois Pork Producers Association

FarmWeekNow.comView videos of Dereke Dunkirkand Amy Bliefnick discussingplans for the 2011 state fair atFarmWeekNow.com.

LIVESTOCK

Page 7 Monday, April 25, 2011 FarmWeek

Cattle market may have reached seasonal peakBY DANIEL GRANTFarmWeek

Cattle prices in recentweeks have been on fire eventhough the outdoor grillingseason has yet to heat up.

But the market may havereached its seasonal peak, ifconsumers adjust their bud-gets to account for higherfuel and food prices by trim-ming beef purchases,according to Dale Durch-holz, AgriVisor senior mar-ket analyst.

Steer prices in early Aprilreached a record-high $125per hundredweight. Prices asof last week receded slightly

than we (in the trade)thought.”

The friendliness of thereport, however, could be off-set by a pull-back in demand.

Durchholz believes cattleprices could continue to edgelower, although prices areexpected to remain high byhistorical standards, if demandsoftens.

“We’re starting to pick upsome modest indications ofresistance to higher (cattle andbeef) prices,” the analyst said.“We could see some push-back on the demand side thatcounters the positives of thereport.

“We’re probably at the sea-sonal peak for the cattle mar-ket right now,” he predictedlast week.

The cost of food ingredi-ents has trended up formonths and many retailers willbe forced to raise prices ifthey haven’t already, Durch-holz said.

“We’re starting to get to thepoint with food ingredientsthat there’s not much wiggleroom” for retailers, he said.

Fast-food giant McDonald’sCorp. last week announced aplan to offset higher foodingredient costs by increasingthe prices of some of itsmenu items.

McDonald’s projected U.S.food prices this year couldincrease between 4 and 4.5percent, which would be thehighest jump since a 5.5 per-cent increase in 2008.

but still traded close to $119per hundredweight.

The average price last year,by comparison, was about $93per hundredweight.

Meanwhile, the cattle onfeed report released Thurs-

day by USDA generally wasfriendly as marketings wereabove trade expectationswhile placements were a lit-tle below expectations,

according to Durchholz.USDA pegged March mar-

ketings at 1.99 million head,up 4 percent from last year,and March placements at 1.92million head, up 3 percentfrom a year ago.

Overall, the inventory ofcattle and calves in U.S. feed-lots as of April 1 totaled 11.27million head, up 5 percentfrom a year ago.

“Both (the marketings andplacements estimates) haverepercussions that are friend-ly,” Durchholz said. “Theysuggest the near-term supplyof cattle and supply in the dis-tant months may be tighter

FarmWeekNow.comThe complete catt le onfeed report is available atFarmWeekNow.com.

Meat exports off to sizzling start in 2011Consumers around the

world so far this year havenot backed down fromrecord-high meat and live-stock prices.

U.S. pork exports the firsttwo months of 2011 totaled337,160 metric tons valued at$831 million, up 11 percentin volume and 17 percent invalue compared to the sameperiod last year, the U.S.Meat Export Federationreported this month.

“We’ve done very welllately on exports,” said RonPlain, ag economist at theUniversity of Missouri-Columbia. “We exportedmore beef in 2010 than weimported, which is the firsttime that occurred since1947.”

Exports of U.S. beef inJanuary and February thisyear totaled 179,460 metrictons valued at $372 million,up 24 percent in volume and45 percent in value com-pared to the same time lastyear.

“We’ve been steadily recov-ering beef exports since 2003”when numerous marketsclosed to U.S. beef due to thefinding of BSE in a U.S. cow.

U.S. beef exports in Feb-ruary accounted for 12.9percent of total productioncompared to 10.6 percent ayear ago.

The trend is similar in thepork industry. U.S. pork soldoutside the U.S. in Februarytotaled 27 percent of pro-duction compared to 25.2percent at the same time lastyear.

Plain said improvementsin the world economy and aweak dollar are key factorsdriving U.S. meat exports.

“Then in some countriesyou have specialized situa-tions (contributing to largermeat purchases),” he noted.

“In South Korea, theyhave foot-and-mouth prob-lems so they’re euthanizing aportion of the (swine) herd,which increases pressure toimport more meat,” he con-tinued. “In Japan, domestic(meat) production was hurt abit (by earthquakes and thetsunami), which creates aneed to import more.”

In Japan, the leading valuemarket for U.S. pork, exportsin January and February wereup 19 percent in volume and17 percent in value com-

pared to last year. The othertop markets for U.S. porkduring the same time wereMexico, Hong Kong/China,South Korea, and Canada.

The top five markets forU.S. beef the first twomonths this year were Mexi-co, South Korea, Canada, theMiddle East and Japan. —Daniel Grant

GROWMARK to purchase Indiana seed company

GROWMARK last week announced it intends to purchasethe assets of Select Seed in Camden, Ind.

The transaction is expected to be finalized on May 1.Select Seed is a third-generation, family business. It primarily

is a corn sales and production company.GROWMARK also plans to offer soybean seeds through

Select Seeds.“This will increase our overall seed business,” said Ron Milby,

GROWMARK seed division manager. “We are interested in oth-er seed acquisition opportunities.”

Select Seed’s brand is sold through more than 100 activefarmer dealers in Indiana, southern Michigan, Ohio, and Ken-tucky.

GROWMARK, a Bloomington-based cooperative, providesag-related products, services, and grain marketing in 31 statesand Ontario, Canada. It owns the FS trademark used by affiliatedmember co-ops.

PRODUCTION

FarmWeek Page 8 Monday, April 25, 2011

Cuts in biomass assistance program questionedBY MARTIN ROSSFarmWeek

Congress’ decision to slash$134 million from the Bio-mass Crop Assistance Pro-gram (BCAP) may haveseemed a reasonable compro-mise to help keep the govern-ment running.

But amid global turmoiland energy-driven consumercosts, Ernie Shea questionshow cuts in promising renew-able energy programs willkeep the economy moving.

As prospective biomassproducers approach a May 27deadline for initial BCAP pro-ject involvement (see accom-panying story), Shea, projectcoordinator with the 25X’25national renewable energy ini-tiative, fears a major cut incurrent fiscal 2011 BCAPspending could bode ill forfuture biofuels/biomassspending.

The 2008 farm bill pro-gram, created to foster region-al clusters of energy crop pro-duction and processing, wastargeted for cuts in the latestcontinuing resolution

approved to sustain federaloperations through September.

But Shea argued BCAP andrelated programs represent “real

investments in a new economicopportunity for millions ofAmericans across the country.”Faced with reduced dollars,USDA reportedly may delaysome matching payments forBCAP participants, though “thatdoesn’t mean there won’t be anymoney available,” he stressed.

Shea noted fossil energysupplies are “finite,” andpointed out conflicts in theMiddle East are having amajor impact on overall ener-gy pricing.

He emphasized energyprices are a key contributor to“price spikes we’re seeingacross the economy.”

President Obama last weekannounced a new task force toinvestigate high gasolineprices.

“We certainly recognize thedire financial straits the coun-try’s in; we recognize the needto cut back spending,” Sheasaid. “But we are encouragingour policymakers to ensure thecuts they’re making are fair,are balanced, and are appro-priate in terms of the nationalchallenges we face.

“If, in fact, they’re going tobe reducing subsidies forrenewable energy programs,we would expect they’d also bemaking reductions in othersubsidies for other forms ofenergy, such as those the oiland natural gas industrieswould enjoy.”

‘We are encour-aging our policy-makers to ensurethe cuts they’remaking are fair,a r e b a l a n c e d ,and are appropri-a t e i n t e r m s o fthe national chal-lenges we face.’

— Ernie Shea25X’25

Illinois FSA preparingfor project deadlineBY KAY SHIPMANFarmWeek

Illinois biomass growers and buyers have a May 27 deadline toapply for a biomass crop assistance program (BCAP) project area.

Previously, the Farm Service Agency (FSA) announced therewould be project areas, but it released the application deadlineonly last week.

A BCAP project area is a geographic area in which one ormore farmers have agreed to grow and sell eligible biomassmaterials to one or more biomass conversion facilities. Farmersand conversion facilities must apply jointly to FSA.

Jamie Diebal, Illinois FSA conservation program specialist,said interested applicants should go to the FSA website{www.fsa.usda.gov/energy} for the latest details and forms.Applications must be submitted to the state office by the Maydeadline, Diebal noted.

The Illinois Biomass Working Group (IBWG) “will try toact as a clearinghouse to link together” individuals who areinterested in a project area, said Fred Iutzi, IBWG facilitatorand agriculture and renewable energy program manager at theIllinois Institute for Rural Affairs at Western Illinois University.

IBWG may be contacted online at{www.illinoisbiomass.org} or by contacting Iutzi at 309-298-1453 or e-mail f-iutzi@wiu.edu.

A BCAP project area application will require a great deal ofinformation, such as studies on feedstock availability and eco-nomic impact, as well as planning between buyers and sellers,according to Iutzi.

Technical questions about BCAP should be directed tocounty and/or state FSA offices; however, all the details aboutthe project area program have not been released, according toDiebal. She anticipated additional information will be postedon the website once it becomes available.

Iutzi viewed the planning and application process as neces-sary steps to develop biomass in Illinois. “It’s sound projectdevelopment,” he concluded.

Ag science speaker draws crowd, opinions

Agriculture’s contribution to Illinois State University’s Science &Technology Week attracted a standing-room-only crowd to a pre-sentation on the benefits of herbicide usage in crop production.

Last week Leonard Gianessi, director of the Washington,D.C.-based Crop Protection Research Institute and CropLifeFoundation, described how herbicides have reduced hand laborand increased crop yields, benefiting societies around the world.

“Any agricultural system that condemns a large segment ofthe population to the drudgery of hand weeding, that countrywill not move ahead economically,” Gianessi said.

Gianessi compared conventional agriculture methods to thoseused in organic farming. Organic production uses tillage andhand labor to manage weeds, he said.

A woman who identified herself as an organic farmer chal-lenged Gianessi and said organic farmers also use mulch, covercrops, and crop rotation to manage weeds. Several audiencemembers raised their hands when the woman asked organicfarmers to identify themselves.

After a man commented on the value of hand labor in fields,Gianessi responded: “I’m trying to point out the magnitude. Youwould need tens of millions (of workers), and I don’t think thestudents of America would volunteer to do that.”

In addition to many ISU students, the audience included sev-eral conventional farmers, including Ron Moore, chairman ofthe Illinois Soybean Association, which had sponsored Gianessi’spresentation.

Afterward, Moore said the discussion “exposed students toissues that are out there.” “I applaud the farmers who are tryingto find a niche market,” Moore added.

Rob Rhykerd, chair of ISU’s agriculture department, conclud-ed that the science week event “served its purpose.”

“There was good, healthy, open discussion,” Rhykerd said. “Itwas a successful event with an exchange of opinions.” — KayShipman

FROM THE COUNTIES

Page 9 Monday, April 25, 2011 FarmWeek

BUREAU — Bureau,Henry, and Stark County

Farm Bureaus, along with theKewanee Fire Department, willsponsor a SAFE (SurroundingArea Farm Emergency) coursefor fire, rescue, and EMSproviders in those counties. Theeight-hour session will be Satur-day, May 21, at the KewaneeFire Department. Cost is $10.Call the Farm Bureau office at815-875-6468 by May 6 for areservation form or more infor-mation.

• Applications are availablefor the Bureau, Lee, and White-side County Summer Agricultur-al Institute June 13-17 at theBureau Valley High School,Manlius. Cost is $100, or $80 ifthe teacher is a Farm Bureaumember. Applications are avail-able at the Farm Bureau office.Deadline to return applicationsis Friday.

CASS-MORGAN —Farm Bureau will spon-

sor an informational meeting onthe FutureGen project at 7 p.m.Tuesday at the Berea Church,Prentice. The meeting is onlyfor Farm Bureau members, whomust have current Farm Bureauidentification. Call the FarmBureau office at 217-245-6833for more information.

LEE — Applications forthe Bureau, Lee, and

Whiteside County Summer AgInstitute June 13-17 are availableon the website{www.leecfb.org}. Cost forFarm Bureau members is $80and $100 for non-members.Deadline to apply is Friday.

• A retirement open housefor Judy Sharkey, Farm ServiceAgency (FSA), will be from 1 to4 p.m. Friday at the FSA officein Amboy.

LASALLE — FarmBureau will sponsor a

bus trip June 14 to see theChicago Cubs vs. MilwaukeeBrewers at Wrigley Field, Chica-go. Cost is $85 for membersand $95 for non-members if

paid by May 20. After May 20,the price increases to $90 and$100, respectively. Call theFarm Bureau office at 815-433-0371 for tickets or more infor-mation.

STEPHENSON — TheProgressive Agriculture

Safety Day for children 6 to 14will be from 8 a.m. to 12:45 p.m.Saturday, May 14, at theFreeport fairgrounds. Registra-tion forms are available at theFarm Bureau office or online at{www.stephensoncfb.org}.Deadline for reservations is Fri-day, May 6. Call the FarmBureau office at 815-232-3186for more information.

• The Chicago Getaway bustrip is Saturday, May 14. Drop-off and pick-up points will beNavy Pier, the downtown shop-ping area, and the museum com-plex. Information is availableonline at{www.stephensoncfb.org} orcall the Farm Bureau office at815-232-3186.

UNION — Farm Bureauhas four scholarships for

high school seniors who willpursue a degree in an agricultur-al field. Scholarship applicationsare available at area high schoolsand the Farm Bureau office.Deadline to return applicationsis May 9.

VERMILION — FarmBureau will sponsor a

Summer Ag Institute workshopJuly 11-15. Presentations onclassroom activities, visits withfarmers to learn about today’sagriculture, and tours to variousfarms and agribusinesses will beheld. Cost is $150. Teacherswill receive up to 40 continuingprofessional development units.Reservations are due May 1.More information is available onthe website {www.vcfb.info}.

“From the counties” items are sub-mitted by county Farm Bureau man-agers. If you have an event or activityopen to all members, contact yourcounty Farm Bureau manager.

SHOWING SUPPORT

Micheal Ayers, left, chairman of the Illinois Committee for EmployerSupport of the Guard and Reserve (ESGR), last week presented Illi-nois Farm Bureau President Philip Nelson with a certificate of ap-preciation and a Patriot Award lapel pin for the organization’s sup-port of employees who serve in the National Guard and Reserve.Nelson signed the first pledge of support in 2009 and resigned thepledge last week. Receiving similar awards were Susan Moore, di-rector of the IAA Foundation, and Holley Hinthorn, a manager ofcomputer operations for Country Financial. (Photo by Cyndi Cook)

SUPPORT FOR LOCAL ANIMAL SHELTER

The Fulton County Farm Bureau Young Farmers Committee presents $500 in cash and supplies to theHumane Society of Fulton County, which operates ananimal shelter. The money was made possible througha Monsanto Builds American Communities grant thecommittee was awarded. The Young Farmers encour-aged others to donate to and support local animalshelters instead of the Humane Society of the United

States. Pictured left to right are Young Farmer Committee members Joe Tolley and Keith Mellert; shel-ter volunteers Andrena Roth and Jeanette Ewing; Young Farmers Chairman Julie Mellert; and YoungFarmer member Justin Vigna. (Photo courtesy Fulton County Farm Bureau)

PROFITABILITY

FarmWeek Page 10 Monday, April 25, 2011

Feeder pig prices reported to USDA*Weight Range Per Head Weighted Ave. Price10 lbs. $32.00-50.62 $39.7540 lbs. $69.00-76.19 $74.2050 lbs. n/a n/aReceipts This Week Last Week

34,996 30,969*Eastern Corn Belt prices picked up at seller’s farm

MARKET FACTS

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

This week Prev. week ChangeCarcass $90.50 $91.32 -0.82Live $66.97 $67.58 -0.61

Export inspections

(Million bushels)Week ending Soybeans Wheat Corn4-14-11 14.2 35.7 32.24-07-11 22.2 28.8 40.7Last year 16.5 18.3 40.6Season total 1336.6 1061.8 1077.4Previous season total 1293.4 749.8 1100.7USDA projected total 1580 1275 1950Crop marketing year began June 1 for wheat and Sept. 1 for corn and soybeans.

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

Steers 118.89 119.04 -0.15Heifers 118.85 118.71 0.14

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 Change132.40 134.37 -1.97

CME feeder cattle index — 600-800 Lbs.

Slaughter Prices - Negotiated, Live, wooled and shorn 125-175 lbs. for 165-200 $/cwt.(wtd. ave. 185.56); dressed, no sales reported.

Lamb prices

Illinois both a farming, mining stateBY PETE TROTTER

Illinois is a farming state —75 percent of the land isfarmed. Illinois also is a coalstate — 68 percent of the landhas coal.

Economicviability ofmodern min-ing, combinedwith potentialdamage to thefarm, meansthat the inter-ests of theIllinois

farmer and the miner mayconflict.

Illinois coal is high in sulfur,which has made it less mar-ketable due to environmentalconstraints, but power plantshave been upgraded to permitthe use of high-sulfur coal.

Improvements in miningtechnology also have con-tributed to the economic feasi-bility of mining Illinois coal,as automated modern longwallmining increased productivityby 50 percent. However, long-wall mining involves plannedsubsidence within mine panels— the collapse of the surface

by four feet or more. Minepanels can be 1,000 feet bytwo miles in size, and minescan cover thousands of acres.Farm impact may includedrainage, erosion, and farmstructure damage.

Can a farmer prevent coalmining? The question firstturns on whether the farmerstill owns mineral rights to theland.

The right to extract miner-als, including coal, can be sev-ered from surface rights in amineral deed. Ownership ofmineral deeds may be difficultto determine because sever-ance may have occurred longago, further complicated ifrights defaulted to the localcounty for tax reasons. A titlesearch can assist with deter-mining ownership rights.

If the farmer owns the min-eral rights, the coal miningcompany may propose a sur-face damage agreement offer-ing compensation for a releaseof mining damage claims.

Alternatively, the companymay offer to lease the mineralrights or to purchase the land.The farmer has discretion to

accept or reject these propos-als.

If the farmer no longerowns the mineral rights, theserights may be purchased fromthe current owner. Again, atitle search can be helpful.

If a coal mining companyowns the mineral rights andwill not sell those rights to thefarmer, the farmer may not beable to prevent mining.

However, unless surfacedamage claims are explicitlywaived, Illinois law requirescoal mining companies torepair damage caused by min-ing, including subsidence.

Review of the mineral deedand any surface damage con-tract will clarify whether anexplicit waiver of mining dam-age claims has been granted.

Even if such a waiver hasbeen granted, future legislativeor judicial activity may providerelief. In the meantime, vigi-lance and proactive measuresare in order.

Pete Trotter is GROW-MARK’s associate general counsel.His e-mail address is ptrotter-@growmark.com.

Golf outing to raise money for IAA Foundation

The largest golf outing to benefit agriculture literacy in Illi-nois will be June 16 at the Elks Country Club and the WolfCreek Golf Club in Pontiac. The 15th annual Illinois Agricul-ture in the Classroom (IAITC) Golf Outing will be hosted bythe IAA Foundation.

“Join us for a great day ofgolf for a great cause,” saidSteve Wentworth, event chair-man. “The money raised duringthe outing will help bring Agri-culture in the Classroom tomore schools across Illinois.”

Driving ranges open at 9 a.m.with a shotgun start at 10:30a.m. for this scramble-styletournament. Golfers will com-pete for a number of greatprizes. A social hour, auction,and steak dinner sponsored byCountry Financial will concludethe evening.

The registration fee is $130 per golfer or $520 per four-some. Those interested in attending the banquet only may reg-ister for $50.

Online registration is available on the IAA Foundation web-site at {www.iaafoundation.org} or by calling 309-557-2230.

New promotional rates are being offered for family andteacher participation. The family rate is $200 per pair, a $60discount. Golfers age 18 and younger playing with a parent orgrandparent are eligible for this “twosome” discount. A specialIAITC rate for a teacher or ag literacy coordinator will allowthat golfer to play free with three additional registrations, a$130 discount.

“We look forward to seeing old friends and new teams outon the course this year for a day of fun and friendly competi-tion,” said Susan Moore, director of the IAA Foundation.

“We are optimistic that our farmers will have completedspring work and can celebrate a successful planting with somewell-deserved time on the course,” Moore continued. “Weencourage our farmer teams to sign up early, and if fieldworkkeeps them away, they can contact us for accommodations.”

‘ T h e m o n e yraised wi l l helpbr ing Ag in theC l a s s r o o m t om o r e s c h o o l sacross Illinois.’

— Steve WentworthEvent chairman

Pete Trotter

BY DANIEL GRANTFarmWeek

A recent run-up in the price of various com-modities, particularly in the energy sector, coulddampen farm commodity demand in comingmonths.

U.S. consumer prices in March were up ahalf-percent from the previous month and 2.7percent from a year ago.

The average price of a gallon of regulargasoline last week topped $4 per gallon in sixstates (Alaska, California, Connecticut, Hawaii,Illinois, and New York), accord-ing to AAA’s Daily Fuel Gauge. Itwas the first time prices sur-passed $4 per gallon since gastopped out at a nationwide aver-age of $4.11 in 2008.

Retail surveys suggestmotorists have responded to high-er prices by reducing purchases,the Associated Press reported.

The rise in the price of gasand other commodities alsocould have a negative impact ondemand at the meat case.

“With some weakness in theU.S. economy (unemploymentlast week was 8.8 percent) andgas prices going up fast, con-

sumers are finding disposable income gettingsqueezed,” said Ron Plain, ag economist at theUniversity of Missouri-Columbia. “I’m worriedmeat demand will back down.”

Meat, livestock, and crop prices in recentmonths surged to historic highs, and in somecases record prices, driven by strong demandand tight supplies.

Overall, food price inflation in Marchincreased 2.9 percent compared to the sametime last year, according to the CME GroupDaily Livestock Report.

Meanwhile, energy prices last monthincreased 15.5 percent compared to March 2010.

“Part of the reason why retail food priceshave not increased more is that raw food mate-rials make up only a portion, and often a smallportion, of the overall retail price,” authors ofthe Daily Livestock Report noted.

The rising costs of inputs are expected tohave a large impact on farmers’ bottom linesthis year. USDA recently projected farm pro-duction expenses this year will reach a record-high $274 billion.

Economist: Inflation could dampen consumer demand for commodities

‘ C o n s u m e r s a r efinding disposablei n c o m e g e t t i n gsqueezed.’

— Ron PlainAg economist

PROFITABILITY

FarmWeek Page 11 Monday, April 25, 2011

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

CASH STRATEGISTCorn Strategy

�2010 crop: Recent marketaction suggests a short-termtop is in place, positioningprices to drift sideways to low-er into a short-term cycle lowdue in early May. If Julyfutures drop below $7.13-$7.22 prices could slip to $7.Use rallies to wrap up sales,other than gambling bushels.Hedge-to-arrive (HTA) con-tracts for summer delivery arethe best marketing strategy.

�2011 crop: Decemberfutures are showing initial signsthey could be topping. If theyclose below $6.50, critical sup-port at $6.25 could be tested.Technically, a close below thatwould not be good. Given theinitial topping signs and thedownside risk, boost new-cropsales to 40 percent now. Atthe moment we prefer HTAsfor fall/early winter delivery.

�Fundamentals: Therecent rally was tied to fore-casts for cool/damp conditionsto persist in the Midwest. Thelatest 11- to 15-day forecastcalled for potentially drierweather. And the new 30-dayoutlooks were mostly normal,except for the Northern Plains.Soybean Strategy

�2010 crop: Spreadunwinding against both cornand wheat may have beenresponsible for soybeanstrength more than fundamen-tals. Unless weather becomes aproblem this summer, old-cropprices have limited upsidepotential. If you still haveinventories, use rallies to$13.70 on July to wrap up sales.

�2011 crop: Uncertain new-crop fundamentals are some-what supportive, but softeningdemand from China and steadi-ly rising South American num-bers still could leave the worldwith adequate supplies evenwithout larger U.S. plantings.Given November futures inabil-ity to hold $14, you shouldincrease your sales to 40 percentnow. Use a fall/early winterHTA contract if possible.

�Fundamentals: Talk con-tinues to center around Chi-nese cancellations, but theybought a small quantity fromthe U.S. last week. Their crushmargins remain poor, and there

are signs pork demand may beslipping. The best place foracreage gains this year are inthe Northern Plains.Wheat Strategy

�2011 crop: The short-term trend in wheat hasturned back higher, withprices on the Chicago Julycontract again trading abovekey moving averages. Its closeabove the 100-day movingaverage ($8.25) opens the doorfor it to test the previous highat $8.43 and psychologicalresistance at $8.50. Use rallieson Chicago July futures forcatch-up sales. Check the Hot-

line frequently; we could rec-ommend additional new-cropsales at any time. We preferHTA contracts, especially forwinter delivery, if you have thecapability to store wheat.

�Fundamentals: Growingconditions both domesticallyand internationally continue todominate the trade’s attention.The southern U.S. Plainsremain extremely dry, whilewet soils in North Dakota andCanada are preventing theplanting of this year’s springwheat crop. In addition, thereare dry weather issues in Eng-land, France, and Germany.

and Northern Plains. But it’snear normal across much ofthe Corn Belt.

In April 2008, it was signifi-cantly wetter than normalfrom eastern Kansas andNebraska east. The NorthernPlains were a little dry in 2008,as was the deep South. April2009 was similar, except it wassignificantly wetter in theNorthern Plains and closer tonormal across the southernCorn Belt.

In May 2008, precipitationwas mostly above normalfrom the Central Plains to theeastern Corn Belt. The situa-tion was similar in 2009, withthe heaviest amounts in thecentral Corn Belt.

We started those yearswith wet soils across much ofthe Corn Belt, only to haveheavy rains that kept soilmoisture conditions extreme-ly wet, causing corn plantingto get off to historically slowstarts. Given the moisturedifference, planting may gobetter than expected this yearunless May weather isextremely wet as it was in2008 and 2009.

The Northern Plains is aplace to watch, with soil mois-ture nearly as wet as it was in2009. Significant acreage waslost in North Dakota to bothspring wheat and corn, withsoybean acreage rising becauseof planting issues.

As much as everyone dwellson comparisons with 2008,current planting conditionsthis year have major differ-ences compared to that year.

Southern planting has gonewell. And there’s even beensome good progress acrossthe southern part of the CornBelt. Weather forecasts formost of the Corn Belt andNorthern Plains remain cool,and damp. But forecasts werebecoming more uncertain justahead of Easter.

The key feature to focus onis soil moisture because it isknown. At present, soils aredry across the South, a littlewet in the east/southeasternpart of the Corn Belt, and wetin the northwestern Corn Belt

Cents per bu.

Planting conditions different than 2008

PERSPECTIVES

FarmWeek Page 12 Monday, April 25, 2011

FutureGen commentsEditor’s note: In an

effort to accommodate severalletters to the editor on theFutureGen project in MorganCounty, FarmWeek has editedthese letters to reduce theredundancy and allow all writ-ers to make their key points.

Editor:As an owner of farmland in

Morgan County, I question whyFutureGen wants to experi-ment with CO2 storage underprime farmland. One smallleak or accident will wipe outthis God-given land so it willno longer be viable to raisecrops or feed livestock.

One day we will wonder whywe have a shortage of grainbecause of this experiment.

Is this good stewardship ofthe land for future generations?MAYMIE BERGSCHNEIDER,Jacksonville

Editor:A FarmWeek interview

with Ken Humphreys, CEO ofFutureGen, finally acknowl-edged what many of us in theAlexander vicinity had beensaying for months to Jack-sonville business groups — thepipeline will be done by aTexas-based firm.

Jacksonville groups haveconsistently championed thisunderground storage facilitybecause of the thousands ofjobs it would create for areaand other Illinois residents.

We have maintained that thearea will see a temporary boostin the economy, but it will notresult in the numbers of long-term jobs widely reported byJacksonville groups supportingthis project. MIKE FLYNN,Alexander

Editor:I’m very disturbed by the

lack of support farmers andfarm owners have receivedfrom Farm Bureau concerningthe FutureGen project. Whyhas Farm Bureau taken a neu-tral stance?

Studies from respected sci-entists name all sorts of poten-tial environmental hazardsfrom carbon sequestration.Even environmental advocacygroups are opposed to carbonsequestration.

The U.S. Department ofEnergy estimates carbonsequestration will result inabout 50 percent higher energycosts to consumers. So who’sthe big winner? Coal compa-nies that will sell 40 percentmore coal.

Meanwhile, farmers andfarm owners in our area will befacing higher energy bills, emi-nent domain battles, and livingover the top of a major envi-ronmental hazard.DAVE AND RACHAELDAVENPORT,Morgan County farmers,Cass-Morgan Farm Bureaumembers

Editor: I wanted to let you know

that not all parties involved arein favor of the FutureGen pro-ject. We live in Cass Countyand will soon be landowners inMorgan County and are strong-ly opposed to the project.

There are many unansweredquestions and environmental-concerns which need to beaddressed before this new tech-nology can be seen as beingsafe and ecologically friendly.Until there is better proof, wedo not feel this is good landstewardship.

Please remember that yourepresent the farmers of Illi-nois, and that those farmers usethe land to produce food andfuel for the world. They andtheir neighbors need facts tomake sound decisions on majorchanges to the use of their landand the impact that use willhave on the future value of the

land both as an investment andas fertile, productive agricultur-al ground.

We need to make a consid-ered decision and not be influ-enced by all the urgency tospend $1 billion of taxpayermoney. ELEANOR TALKEMEYER,Arenzville

Editor:I am a Morgan County

native, and my family retains avested interest in the farm there.

Because of so many unan-swered questions and environ-mental concerns, we, and hun-dreds of others who havesigned petitions, stronglyoppose this admittedly experi-mental project.

FutureGen CEO KenHumphreys was quoted in03/01 New York Times as say-

ing, “Exactly how the carbondioxide will behave is uncer-tain ... the gas might cover2,500 acres, or perhaps10,000,”and that before injec-tion can begin, “... a change inIllinois’ liability law” will beneeded.

One of the most perplexingof my many unanswered ques-tions: How is it that a handfulof people, who’ve apparentlyaccepted offers they cannotrefuse, can control the fate,quality of life, and destiny ofeveryone for miles aroundthem?

People seem ignorant orunmindful that this would notbe a contained (CO2) disposalsite, as we count on toxic orother waste storage to be.MARILYN SCHUTT,Mill Spring, N.C. (MorganCounty native)

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LETTERS TO THE EDITOR

Illinois farmers have experi-enced cool, wet soils before,but the conditions the 2009growing season — and the corn

yields — wereunique.

Illinois cornyields that yearwere near-recordhighs andoccurreddespite highlyunusual grow-ing seasonweather with

exceptionally low temperaturesand heavy rainfall, serving asthe record wettest and coldestgrowing season in the past 70years.

Most months from Marchthrough November had aboveaverage precipitation and belowaverage temperatures. Duringthat cool and wet growing sea-son, several agricultural expertspredicted below average cornyields.

The wet, cold spring greatlydelayed planting of corn, usual-ly detrimental to yields. Pastresearch has shown that wet,

cold springs acted to decreaseyields.

The wet and cold fall in 2009delayed harvesting, a situationalso considered detrimental tocorn yields. Research has shownthat persistent wetness in pastfalls delayed harvesting andreduced yields.

A study of 2009 was done totry to assess why near-recordcorn yields came with weatherconditions previously thoughtto be crop limiting. Assessmentwas based on comparison ofyields in prior years with weath-er conditions similar to those in2009.

Examination of weatherconditions of past growing sea-sons in Illinois, dating back to1940, revealed very few yearswith wet and cool conditionsduring most of the growingseason. No past year exactlymatched the conditions of2009.

The 2009 growing seasonhad precipitation that was 14.6inches above average and a tem-perature that was 1.2 degreesbelow average. Together, these

are the greatest seasonaldepartures on record dat-ing back to 1940. All themonths from Marchthrough October hadabove-normal rainfall, andonly June had above-nor-mal temperatures.

Examination of pastclimate data for Illinoisfor 1941-2009 found thatfour past years had grow-ing season conditions sim-ilar to those in 2009. Theseyears included 1945, 1970,1974, and 1990.

The yield values for 2009 andthe four similar seasons werecompared with the expectedaverage yield values. Thisrevealed that 2009 had a cornyield of 174 bushels per acre,which was 5 bushels above thatexpected with average weather,a significant difference.

However, the yields in thefour similar weather seasonswere all well below average yieldexpectations.

Crop yield-weather modelsdeveloped during the 1950-1990 period were used to testthe 2009 weather conditions.All the models showed adecrease in corn yields for1945, 1970, 1974, and 1990.

These model results help indi-cate why agricultural expertswere predicting low yields dur-ing 2009.

Field experiments with cornin Central Illinois conductedduring 1988-1994 involvedapplications of various increas-es to the natural rainfall by plus10, plus 25, and plus 40 percent.These tests showed that theincreases of 25 and 40 percentin near-average season rainfallled to corn yield decreases.

In summary, the wet andcool weather during the 2009growing season in Illinois pro-duced exceptionally high cornyields that were well aboveexpectations.

Crop experts, most farmers,and outputs from crop-weathermodels failed to correctly pre-

dict the magnitude of the state’sfinal yield.

The inability to predict theabove-average yield in 2009likely resulted from awarenessthat past similar cold and wetseasons had resulted in relative-ly low corn yields.

The unusual 2009 outcomelikely reflects ongoing improve-ments in plant genetics, makingcorn less sensitive to weatherstress, and new farming prac-tices that collectively producedifferent outcomes in recentyears from those in similargrowing seasons 10 to 60 yearsago.

Stanley Changnon is chief emeritusof the Illinois State Water Surveyand a geography professor at theUniversity of Illinois.

STANLEYCHANGNON

In 2009, Fayette County Farm Bureau President Ken Cripe of Vandalia looksover a cornfield that was drowned out or had a stunted crop due to numerousrounds of heavy rain. (FarmWeek file photo)

ONE FOR THE RECORDSIn 2009, Illinois farmers coped with a wet, cool growing season.They were not anticipating whatthey harvested in their cornfields.