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

Monday, November 11, 2013 Three sections Volume 41, No. 45

A fifth-generation roadbuilder serves as the latestrural infrastructure improve-ment proponent........................3

The Farmer VeteranCoalition helps military veter-ans return to their agriculturalroots............................................5

Illinois beef numbers con-tinue to grow, thanks to amplegrain supplies and lower feedcosts..............................................8

BY MARTIN ROSSFarmWeekAgriculture, consumers and, most of all, sci-

ence won in last week’s key Washington statevote on biotech labeling, according to IllinoisFarm Bureau President Philip Nelson.

Washington voters rejected aballot initiative calling for labelingof foods with genetically modi-fied organisms (GMO). Follow-ing weeks of campaigning byorganic and anti-biotech interestsand ag industry representativesincluding the national GroceryManufacturers Association, 54.8percent of voters opposed label-ing and 45.2 percent favored it.

Had the initiative been approved, Wash-ington would have been the first state with alaw requiring labeling — a move that wouldhave affected regional producers and, poten-tially, interstate commerce. While he recog-nizes the labeling debate did not end in

Washington, Nelson hailed victory. “We were pleased with the outcome,” he told

FarmWeek. “We believe you should not have tolabel ‘GMO products,’ given the fact that they’vebeen approved scientifically, they’ve gonethrough the scrutiny before they’ve come intothe marketplace, and we believe they’re safe.“I don’t know that this debate is over.

There’s still sensitivity out there among the anti-GMO crowd. But when you start looking at thisstate-by-state, this is a national, internationalissue, and this vote came out basically where thescience community is with the approvals thathave been put in place, verifying that theseproducts are safe.”Thirty-five of Washington’s 39 counties

weighed in against the labeling initiative. KingCounty (Seattle’s home) was one of the countieswith the heaviest pro-labeling vote, along withWhatcom County, which abuts the Vancouver,Canada, metro area; neighboring San Juan Coun-ty and Jefferson County, which includes theaffluent community of Port Ludlow.

Philip Nelson

Nelson: Science won the dayin Washington labeling vote

FIRE IN THE FIELD

This was the scene Oct. 31, after a tractor owned by Chenoa farmer Brian Schaumburg caught fire. Theblaze was attributed to corn residue that had accumulated in a rear axle. Read more about insightsgained from the accident on page 7. (Photo by Tim Lindenbaum)

USDA boosts crop estimates, lowers price projectionsBY DANIEL GRANTFarmWeekA boost in yield projections

more than offset a cut in har-vested acres as USDA Fridayraised its national crop produc-tion estimates for this season by146 million bushels for corn and109 million bushel for beans.USDA, in its first crop pro-

duction estimates since Sep-tember due to the governmentshutdown last month, peggedU.S. corn production at arecord 13.989 billion bushels,up 30 percent from last year.The average corn yield wasraised 5.1 bushels from theSeptember estimate to 160.4bushels per acre.

U.S. soybean productionwas projected to total 3.258billion bushels, up 7 percentfrom last year. The averagesoybean yield was raised 1.8bushels from the Septemberestimate to 43 bushels per acre.In Illinois, average yields

were pegged at a stout 180bushels per acre for corn, up75 bushels from a year ago, and49 bushels per acre for beans,up 6 bushels from last year.“A 1.9 million acre reduc-

tion in harvested (corn) areawas more than offset by a 5.1

bushel per acre increase in theforecast yield,” USDA noted inits world ag supply anddemand report.The harvested area for soy-

beans was reduced by 700,000acres. USDA, as a result of the

jump in crop production,raised its ending stocks esti-mates and lowered its averageprice estimates. Ending stocksfor 2013-14 were projected tototal 1.887 billion bushels forcorn, up 32 million bushels,and 170 million bushels forbeans, up 20 million bushels.The season average farm

price was estimated to rangefrom $4.10 to $4.90 per bushelfor corn, down 30 cents, and$11.15 to $13.15 for beans,down 35 cents. Wheat supplies for 2013-14

were raised 26 million bushelsdue to higher production. End-ing stocks of wheat were raised4 million bushels, and the sea-son average farm price was nar-rowed 20 cents to a range of$6.70 to $7.30 per bushel.Gary Hudson, a farmer

from Hindsboro and vice pres-ident of the Illinois CornGrowers Association, was“pleasantly surprised” with hiscrop yields this season, butremains concerned prices couldhover below breakeven levels.The University of Illinois

recently projected a breakevenprice for corn in the mid-$4range compared to $1.67 perbushel five years ago.“We’re pretty close to $4 (per

bushel) in our neighborhood,”Hudson told the RFD RadioNetwork®. “And I’m not sure $4is the bottom of this market.”Many analysts believe

USDA ultimately will raise thecorn production estimateabove 14 billion bushels.“We’re going to have about 2

billion bushels of extra cornthis year,” said Hudson, whobelieves demand could take a hitif the Environmental Protec-tion Agency lowers its ethanolmandate as speculated from13.8 billion gallons this year tojust 13 billion gallons in 2014.

“There is no logic in cuttingthe ethanol mandate at thistime,” Hudson said. “Last year,we had the worst crop in years

and we still made 13.8 billiongallons of ethanol. This yearwe have more (corn).” The use of crop insurance

and other risk managementstrategies subsequently willbecome increasingly importantfor farmers, Hudson added.

FarmWeekNow.comCheck out details of USDA’sNovembe r c rop r epo r t a tFarmWeekNow.com.

USDA ISSUES FRAUD ALERT — Farmers shouldbe aware of a fraudulent letter circulating to producersand/or contractors. USDA officials said the signature linein the letter reads “Frank Rutenberg,” and the senderclaims to be a USDA employee seeking information aboutthe recipient. 

These letters are fraudulent, the sender is fictitious andrecipients should not respond. Farmers who receive oneof these fraudulent letters should notify their local FarmService Agency or a USDA Service Center representative.

COUNTY COMMITTEE ELECTIONS UNDERWAY — Farmers should be receiving Farm ServiceAgency (FSA) County Committee Election ballots.They’re due back at local FSA offices Dec. 2.

Farmers and ranchers elected to county committeeshelp deliver FSA programs at the local level, applying theirknowledge and judgment to make decisions on commodi-ty price support programs, conservation programs, incen-tive indemnity and disaster programs for some commodi-ties, emergency programs and eligibility.

To be an eligible voter, farmers and ranchers must par-ticipate or cooperate in an FSA program. A person who isnot of legal voting age, but supervises and conducts thefarming operations of an entire farm may also be eligibleto vote.

Eligible voters who do not receive ballots can obtainone from their local USDA Service Center. Newly electedcommittee members and their alternates will take officeJan. 1.

CONFEREE CONTROVERSY — Before they’veeven had a chance to get down to serious negotiations,farm bill conferees are already the target of public con-troversy. The Humane Society Legislative Fund, the advo-cacy arm of the Humane Society of the United States, isspending $100,000 to advertise against a farm bill amend-ment that would limit state regulation of ag productionand 11 conferees who support it, including House AgCommittee member Rodney Davis, a Taylorville Republi-can.

Further, the recent lapse in a temporary federal stimu-lus increase in food stamp benefits has focused mediaattention on conference efforts to reconcile the Senate’sproposed $4 billion, 10-year cut in Supplemental NutritionAssistance Program (SNAP) funding and the House’s $40billion proposed cut.

Davis believes conferees can achieve significant foodstamp savings, while ensuring efforts to “get the benefitsto those who need them the most.” As for the timing ofthe stimulus SNAP hike expiration, he remains philosoph-ical.

“It’s a good way for me to remind folks that (federal)economic policy didn’t work, or we wouldn’t have near asmany Americans sti l l on food stamps,” Davis toldFarmWeek. “That shouldn’t happen if our economy’sactually producing jobs.”

FarmWeek Page 2 Monday, November 11, 2013

(ISSN0197-6680)

Vol. 41 No. 45 November 11, 2013

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Quick Takes EDUCATION

Illinois siblings share national FFA spotlightBY KAY SHIPMANFarmWeek

The 2013 National FFAConvention became “a con-vention of a lifetime” forTyler and Amy Loschen, Tri-Point FFA Chapter membersand siblings.

Tyler, a senior at the Uni-versity of Illinois Urbana-Champaign, was named theNational FFA 2013 AmericanStar Farmer. Amy, a freshmanat Lincoln Land CommunityCollege in Springfield, wonthe National FFA swine pro-duction entrepreneurshipproficiency award. Theyshared those achievementswith their FFA adviser andagriculture teacher, who hap-pens to be their mother.

“This truly was a conven-tion of a lifetime for ourfamily,” Tri-Point ag teacherand FFA adviser DianaLoschen told FarmWeek.The national FFA conventionwas Oct. 30 through Nov. 2in Louisville, Ky.

Those achievements alsowere memorable for the Illi-nois FFA Association.

Tyler brought Illinois FFAits first consecutive AmericanStar Farmer Award. Last year,Clayton Carley of Milford, amember of the Cissna ParkFFA Chapter, was namedAmerican Star Farmer.

No state has claimed con-secutive American Star Farm-ers in recent memory, accord-ing to James Craft, IllinoisFFA executive secretary.Craft didn’t remember Illi-nois ever producing consecu-tive American Star Farmers.

Considering Diana’s dualroles as FFA adviser and par-ent of two national awardfinalists, she joked “the stresslevel that has been buildingup for the last three monthsdropped.”

Tyler’s previous nationalFFA awards — he wonnational proficiency awardshis junior and senior years ofhigh school — contributed toAmy’s efforts. “When I sawhim, it really pushed me totry to be successful,” his sis-ter said.

Having family experiencewith national FFA awardsalso was helpful. Amy saidher mom and brother assistedwith her award application.Amy credited her father,Gary, a banker and formerhigh school ag teacher, forensuring she understood allthe financial aspects of herfarrow-to-finish operation,which is a partnership withTyler, and a show pig produc-tion operation.

Tyler credited his “great

American Star Farmer Tyler Loschen of Kempton, a member of the Tri-Point FFA Chapter, shares the national FFA spotlight with his youngersister, Amy, national winner of the FFA swine production entrepreneur-ship proficiency award. The brother-sister duo enjoyed a special nation-al FFA convention in Louisville, Ky., with their mom, Diana, who is theirhigh school agriculture teacher and FFA adviser. (Photo courtesy DianaLoschen)

support system” of his fami-ly, his school administrationand his landlords who sawTyler win the Star Farmeraward, for helping him toachieve his goal.

Despite not growing up ona farm, Tyler said he alwayshad a passion to be a farmer.As a greenhand, he wasinspired to work for the high-est FFA awards when the2006 American Star Farmerand Illinois FFA’er, AndrewBowman, spoke to Tyler’sclass.

“Twenty acres and a smalllivestock operation, I neverthought my project wouldtake me anywhere, but it gaveme the drive to pursue” thatgoal, Tyler said.

After graduating in May,Tyler will join the Mycogenseeds sales staff of DowAgroSciences. He plans tocontinue his Simmentalcowherd, swine partnership

with his sister and farming,possibly expanding hisacreage some day.

Their advice for FFAmembers with high goals?

“I strongly encouragethem to keep their recordbooks in a timely fashion,”Amy said, adding FFA advis-ers should push their stu-dents to keep records.

“Lots of people don’t real-ize how successful their proj-ects” can become unless theykeep records, she said. Amyplans to study agricultureeducation and become an agteacher.

Tyler advised young FFAmembers “to find somethingthat interests you and seewhere it can take you.

“There are so many differ-ent (FFA) avenues you cantake that will take you toplaces you never thoughtpossible,” the newest Ameri-can Star Farmer concluded.

Illinois FFA’ers shineat the national FFAIllinois FFA chapters and members did “extremely

well” at the recent National FFAConvention in Louisville, Ky,said James Craft, Illinois FFAexecutive secretary.Kira Eidson, a member of the

Payson-Seymour FFA Chapter,won the national FFA creedspeaking contest.Trevor Edelman, a member

of the Prairie Central FFAChapter of Fairbury, won thenational FFA agriculturemechanic career developmentaward.The Pontiac FFA Chapter won the

Model of Excellence award.

TRANSPORTATION Page 3 Monday, November 11, 2013 FarmWeek

BY MARTIN ROSSFarmWeekDan McNichol knows infra-

structure. The writer and“fifth-generation road builder”has chronicled Boston’s mas-sive “Big Dig” highway con-struction project, served at thebehest of the White House andhas been cited for his coverageof Minnesota’s calamitous I-35W bridge collapse in 2007.Now, McNichol’s getting

to know rural infrastructure alittle better, cruising the high-ways, byways and the com-munities sustained by them,in a 1949 Hudson. In theauthor’s words, the vintagecar is “as old and rusty andenergy-defunct” as much ofAmerica’s infrastructure.He’s partnered with CASE

Construction Equipment in a“Dire States” tour aimed at pro-moting investment in rebuildingand rehabbing U.S. infrastruc-ture. Last week, he joined theIllinois Soybean Association(ISA) in a DeKalb-area visitMcNichol characterized as “aninvitation to get a close look atagricultural infrastructure.”He and ISA Transportation

Committee Chairman Paul Ras-mussen inspected DeKalb Coun-ty’s Keslinger Bridge, a 130-foottownship bridge that collapsed in2009 purportedly as a result ofheavy-duty traffic related to areapipeline construction.ISA and Informa Economics

have determined that on aver-age, each dollar invested inupgrading Illinois local bridgeswould return $10. KeslingerBridge, which crosses the Kish-waukee River, offers a reported-ly whopping $37.27 economicreturn for each dollar invested,in part due to “the agriculturalstrength of DeKalb County,”ISA transportation consultantScott Sigman related. When the I-35W bridge col-

lapsed in August 2007, “itknocked out rail, it knocked outbarge traffic, it knocked out localroads,” and essentially created“mayhem” for Minneapolis until

it was rebuilt a year later, he said.“If (a bridge failure) doesn’t

impact people immediately, itwill impact them later, down thesupply chain,” McNichol toldFarmWeek over coffee inDeKalb. “This bridge down theroad is one of the first links infarmers’ supply chain. Theycan’t even get their goods tomarket without doing a 16.7-mile runaround.”“I-35W was a much more

spectacular example of infra-structure — it affects the barge,maybe, that’s carrying the soydown to port.”Bridges, benefits and barriers The 28-foot-wide, 131-foot-

long span that had served as theAfton Township DeKalb bridgejust south of DeKalb, directlyserves an estimated 640 acres offarmland and prior to failurehandled “a significant amount oflocal commerce traffic, much ofwhich is assumed to have beeninfluenced by agriculture,”according to ISA-Informa.Informa estimates the bridge,when functional, provides $1.088million in annual benefits.Even before its failure, the

bridge was classified as “struc-turally deficient,” and afterbearing up under EnbridgeEnergy pipeline/constructiontraffic, it collapsed after a pick-up truck crossed it.The bridge was built in 1976.

“It’s relatively new,” Rassmussennoted. DeKalb County has suedEnbridge for $150,000 in report-ed damages, but as the partieswork toward a resolution andISA and others attempt to drumup broader support for address-ing bridge deficiencies, farmer/-truckers must absorb the addedcost of increased travel.The bridge outage has under-

lined other basic issues in ruralinfrastructure, ag transportationand access. Roadway weight lim-its and overweight permits varyacross township, county and statelines, generating added challengesand paperwork for soybean mar-keters, Rasmussen said. “We have to take the quickest

DeKalb bridge ‘first link’ in ailing infrastructure

Bipartisan lawmakers arguenew truck “hours of service”rules could actually increaserisks on the nation’s highwaysand seek to put the brakes ontheir implementation.Reps. Richard Hanna, R-

N.Y., Tom Rice, R-S.C., andMike Michaud, D-Maine, haveintroduced a measure to delaynewly imposed regulations onthe number of consecutivehours commercial truck driverscan spend on the road.The American Transporta-

tion Research Institute main-tains regulations enacted by theFederal Motor Carrier Safety

Administration (FMCSA) onJuly 1 will impose an annual$376 million cost on the truck-ing industry.Trucking companies have

argued new rules will causemore congestion during peakmorning travel and result intruck drivers being moreaggressive during hours spenton the road. Hanna, Rice andMichaud’s “TRUE Safety Act”would delay regulations untilan independent evaluation hasbeen completed.“The trucking industry is

really concerned about this,”Soy Transportation Coalition

Executive Director Mike Steen-hoek told FarmWeek. “Youhear a number of truckers talk-ing about this being a signifi-cant expense and voicing con-cerns smaller operators couldgo out of business. It’s a bigdeal to trucking companies, butthis request for having the rulesdelayed is going to be tough.”That said, Steenhoek sug-

gests the measure could help“stimulate some thinking” aboutcommercial trucking regs asCongress considers the next sur-face transportation bill prospec-tively next year. He sees trans-portation debate “really start to

accelerate” early next year.Under the House proposal,

truckers would revert to regu-lations in place prior to theJuly 1 imposition of 34-hour“restart” rules. Under newrules, truckers may not driveafter 60 to 70 hours on dutyover seven to eight consecutivedays. A driver may restart aseven to eight consecutive dayperiod after taking 34 or moreconsecutive hours off duty.Further, the Government

Accountability Office (GAO)would be required to assess themethodology the FMCSA uti-lized when establishing the new

34-hour restart rule. NewFMCSA regulations would notgo into effect until six monthsafter GAO submits its assess-ment to Congress.Hanna deemed it “wrong-

headed for the federal govern-ment to impose an arbitraryand capricious regulation thatimpacts almost every sector ofthe American economy with-out first finishing a study on itseffectiveness.”“There are legitimate con-

cerns that this new rule makesour roads less safe and hurtssmall business,” he said. —Martin Ross

Lawmakers want truck rules put in neutral pending study

Above: Illinois Soybean Association Transportation chairman andGenoa farmer Paul Rasmussen, left, eyes DeKalb County’s fallenKeslinger Bridge, joined by road construction expert and journalist DanMcNichol. McNichol, award-winning author of The Roads that BuiltAmerica, is traveling U.S. highways in partnership with CASE Construc-tion Equipment as part of the campaign Dire States: The Drive to ReviveAmerica’s Ailing Infrastructure. Below: McNichol with his 1949 Hudsonon the historic Lincoln Highway outside downtown DeKalb’s Lincoln InnRestaurant. (Photos by Martin Ross)

the DeKalb County engineerand other area officials “so thatthey can prioritize this bridge”with potential state and/or fed-eral funding sources, he toldFarmWeek.Grow local, ship globalMcNichol noted transporta-

tion infrastructure was near the“top of the food chain” in U.S.public importance in the post-World War II era, but “we’renow dropping quickly in ranks.”Amid South American infra-

structure upgrades, he fears U.S.growers could lose key marketshare to Brazil and others“doing a better job of deliveringsoy products to the world.”The current disconnect in

support of U.S. infrastructureinvestment is a matter not onlyof political polarity and gridlockbut also of “simply educating”taxpayers and consumers whomay not recognize the conse-quences of “something like notfixing this bridge,” he said.“There’s so much complexi-

ty between federal interests,local interests, state interests,”McNichol said. “Freight rail doesn’t want

anything to do with passengerrail. Passenger rail wants therights of way used by freight.How does it all work?“One section of infrastruc-

ture depends heavily on the oth-er, even though the people whoown those pieces of infrastruc-ture don’t see the connectionssometimes.”

routes that accommodate ourmachinery sizes and weights,” hepointed out. “Research hasfound that increasing currentvehicle weight limits to 97,000pounds would allow for move-ment of 20 percent more prod-uct and could save the industryup to $84 million in costs everyyear. It would also decrease theneed for more truck drivers.Currently, nationwide, we have a100,000-driver shortage.”Sigman reported the group is

eyeing another dozen deficientbridges around Illinois, beyondthe first 12 highlighted as part ofits “Let’s Find a Way” campaign.Beyond “the processing andmaterials-handling infrastructurethis bridge supports,” the con-sultant emphasizes the Keslinger

Bridge has been a key conduitfor emergency services, schoolbuses and other local industries.ISA and other interested

stakeholders are working with

on funding large intermodalfacilities that serve combinedrail/truck/vessel needs, he said.But they remain concerned thatthose facilities today “are mov-ing containers into the country,not out of the country,” in partbecause of a concentration ofresources at ports or urban ter-minals where it’s easier to assem-ble high-capacity “unit trains”rather than at grain or other U.S.ag origination points.Further, Szabo notes con-

tainers currently are exemptfrom federal Surface Trans-portation Board oversight, lim-iting options for smaller ship-pers and those who must useregional “short line” railroadsto connect to Class 1 lines. Szabo cites an Indiana pop-

corn producer forced to truckexport corn to a Class I carrier’srail loading site in one-thirdempty containers to meet high-way weight restrictions. Thatpurportedly put the producer ata sharp freight cost disadvan-tage to South American com-petitors using state-owned lines. “What we need is a way to

have the same kind of trans-portation efficiency on stuffgoing out of the country,”Szabo maintained.“But it’s harder to put (an

outgoing) unit train togetherbecause almost no region inour country can fill up a unittrain — 100 cars with two con-tainers each, 200 containersfull of something — all byitself.”

national, multimodal freightnetwork. The report advocatesexpanded incentives for privateinvestment and “robust” publicinvestment in multimodalfreight infrastructure.

A proposed new grantprocess would encourage “sus-tainable” funding for projectsthat would have a regional ornational impact on the overallperformance of the multi-modal network. Szabo believesincreased public funding ofrail facilities would help fostera more “pro-competitive” railsystem that benefits ag ship-pers as well as major railroads.Szabo noted the panel

focused largely on major rail

carriers, arguing that overall,House Transportation “is not ashipper-friendly committee,”on either side of the aisle. Thereport’s recommendationswould neither significantly

help nor negatively impact agshippers specifically, he said.“It does acknowledge testi-

mony by agricultural folks whohave a particularly difficulttime with rail transportationbecause they lack competitiveoptions,” Szabo nonethelesstold FarmWeek. “It did atleast make a passing refer-ence to the fact that thereis a problem out there.”Rail shippers recognize the

value of a current industry focus

TRANSPORTATIONFarmWeek Page 4 Monday, November 11, 2013

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Midwest flavorlacking in SenateWRRDA conferees?To soybean transportation specialist Mike Steenhoek, the

lack of Midwestern senators on a conference committeedevoted to charting the future of Mississippi River com-merce is somewhat disconcerting.But Steenhoek, executive director of the Soy Transporta-

tion Coalition, was optimistic the House would inject astronger Heartland influence into negotiations toward a finalWater Resources Reform and Development Act (WRRDA).Joining Senate Environment and Public Works Chairman

Barbara Boxer, D-Calif., and ranking member David Vitter, R-La., on the committee are Democratic Sens. Max Baucus ofMontana, Tom Carper of Delaware, Ben Cardin of Marylandand Sheldon Whitehouse of Rhode Island, and RepublicansJames Inhofe of Oklahoma and John Barrasso of Wyoming.“You’re always going to see the chair and the ranking mem-

ber included,” Steenhoek told FarmWeek. “Vitter clearly getsthe prominence of the Mississippi River and southernLouisiana to the broader economy, including agriculture.“Given his chairmanship of the Senate Finance Committee,

having Sen. Baucus at the table is certainly essential, particular-ly if any (project-related) revenue-generating measures emerge.But I’d like to see more Midwestern and Plains states memberswho really rely heavily on the inland waterways system.”The House was expected to name conferees this week.

Steenhoek expects a stronger Midwest presence underHouse Transportation and Infrastructure Chairman BillShuster, R-Penn. He called Transportation Water ResourcesSubcommittee Chairman Bob Gibbs, R-Ohio, “about asstrong an agricultural advocate as you’d find.”The Transportation Committee also includes Illinois Ag

Committee members Rodney Davis, R-Taylorville, and CheriBustos, D-East Moline, who sponsored major WRRDA pro-visions. Steenhoek said the two legislators have been “reallyattentive to this issue.” Baucus’ participation ultimately could prove valuable if the

Senate Finance or House Ways and Means Committees take upindustry-backed proposals to boost barge fuel taxes as a water-ways project funding mechanism. While Steenhoek rates theprospect of a final WRRDA vote by the end of the year “veryhigh,” he sees no “strong or even modest momentum” for taxcommittee consideration of a barge “fee” hike this session.“You have all these other issues sucking the oxygen out

of the room, including the broader budget issues and fund-ing for the government,” he noted.“You have one side that wants to reduce spending and

reduce taxes, and the other side that’s trying to prevail onCongress for that not to happen. That’s the playing field,and if you’re trying to institute a new source of revenue forthe inland waterways system, that’s not very fertile ground.”— Martin Ross

House freight report seeks improvements in fundingBY MARTIN ROSSFarmWeekWhile a new House Trans-

portation and InfrastructureCommittee report offers littlemore than a nod to ag railshippers, it setsthe stage forefforts toupgrade the U.S.rail system andrural shippingefficiencies.So says Con-

sumers Unitedfor Rail Equity(CURE) Execu-tive DirectorBob Szabo. In its report

“Improving theNation’s Freight Transporta-tion System,” the transporta-tion committee’s Special Panelon 21st Century Freight Trans-portation urged Congress toauthorize a comprehensivenational freight transportationpolicy under the Departmentof Transportation (DOT).In preparation for 2014 sur-

face transportation bill debate,the panel recommends DOT, incooperation with the Army andCoast Guard, designate a new

EMERGING ISSUES Page 5 Monday, November 11, 2013 FarmWeek

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Coalition sows seeds linking farmers and veterans

Illinois Farm Bureau President Philip Nelson, left, and Ryan Erisman,Midwest Farmer Veteran Coalition representative, recently discussed theprogram and opportunities in Illinois.

BY KAY SHIPMANFarmWeekMarine Corps veteran Ryan

Erisman wants to return to hisfarm roots and help fellowveterans realize their agricul-tural dreams, too.“This is a second calling,”

Erisman said of veterans’goals to raise crops and live-stock, and to again provideneeded service.A Christian County native,

Erisman serves as the Midwest

representative for the FarmerVeteran Coalition. Founded in2008, the nationwide organiza-tion works to help veteranstransition into agriculturalcareers. The coalition works in fer-

tile ground. Since the 2001 ter-

rorist attacks, about 2.8 mil-lion veterans have served inthe military.Recently, unemployment

rates for all veterans improvedand are comparable to unem-ployment rates for nonveter-ans, based on informationfrom the U.S. Bureau of LaborStatistics. However, similar totheir nonveteran counterparts,the youngest veterans, ages 18to 24, have the highest unem-ployment rates.The Farmer Veteran Coali-

tion seeks different options forinterested veterans. This includes matching vet-

erans with farmer andlandowner mentors not onlygeographically, but also linkingthose with similar personali-ties, Erisman noted.Currently, Erisman has a

“handful” of veterans who areinterested in finding a mentoror mentors. He hopes to createa database of veterans and

potential farmer mentors.The coalition also works

with partner organizations toprovide veterans such oppor-tunities as conferences, farmtours, and educational work-shops and retreats.Erisman works with veter-

ans and farmers who have

diverse backgrounds and inter-ests. “We don’t support onetype of agriculture over anoth-er,” he noted.An Iraq veteran, Erisman

understands other veterans’dreams to work the land. He was raised on an organic

grain and livestock farm near

Pana. After 10 years in theMarines and two deploymentsin Iraq, Erisman and his wife,Sarah, settled in Seattle, butthey longed to raise a family ona farm and returned to Wis-consin where she was raisedand Erisman attended college. After a couple of seasons

farming rented land on a “hob-by scale,” Erisman’s goal is tostart a larger operation ofagroforestry integrated withlivestock near Madison, Wis.“We’re still trying to find landthat is affordable,” Erismanadded.As Erisman nurtures his

own farm dreams, he wouldlike to work with farmers andothers in agriculture interestedin supporting the agriculturecareers of other veterans, hesaid.For information, visit the

coalition’s website at {farmvet-co.org} or call Erisman at 608-618-9786.

Illinois was among six states selected for aspecial program to help veterans attain certifi-cation for in-demand civilian careers.The Veterans Licensing and Certification

Demonstration Policy Academy, formed by theNational Governors Association (NGA), willhelp Illinois create pathways for veterans toobtain state-level credentials for certain lawenforcement and health care careers. Gov. Pat Quinn, a NGA member, lobbied

for Illinois to be selected as a program state.Other selected states include Iowa, Minnesota,Nevada, Virginia and Wisconsin.

An Illinois Policy Academy team will set up aveteran bridge program for military medics toearn licensed practical nurse (LPN) and emer-gency medical technician (EMT) licenses and formilitary police to join civilian police forces. TheIllinois Department of Veterans Affairs willspearhead the veteran licensure effort in the state. Illinois and the other states will receive guid-

ance and technical assistance from NGA staffand faculty experts, as well as consultants fromthe private sector, research organizations andacademia.

Illinois among six states with veteran jobs programNorthwestern survey opportunityfor amputee farmers to be heardFarmers with arm or leg

amputations can provide infor-mation that may lead toimproved prosthetic technolo-gy and education for farmers.“This is an opportunity for

farmers to have a say and beheard ... to have a voice in whattheir problem areas are,” CraigHeckathorne, a research engi-neer at Northwestern UniversityProsthetics-Orthotics Center,told FarmWeek.Northwestern’s Rehabilita-

tion Engineering Center forProsthetics and Orthotics,Chicago, is conducting anationwide online survey offarmers and ranchers with armor leg amputations. The goal isto compile information aboutthe types of prosthetics farm-ers use and how well theyfunction for farm and ranchwork.“We can, on the research

side, come up with technicaldevices to help,” Heckathornesaid of insights that may begained from survey respondents.On the education side,

farmers’ specific work needscould be considered in pros-theses selection. As an exam-ple, Heckathorne noted legcomponents are selected basedon a person’s weight. However,if the individual is a farmerwho carries 100-pound bags offeed, that needs to be factoredinto the equation,Heckathorne explained.“There are things now thatcould help,” he added.The researchers are interest-

ed in the components farmersuse, how they are used andfarmers’ particular concerns,

such as lacking the ability tosquat. The researchers plan to

conclude the survey in earlyspring. They are collaboratingwith the National AgrAbilityProject.The online survey takes

about 15 minutes to complete,depending on the amount ofinformation provided. Thosewho take the survey online willbe anonymous unless they pro-vide contact information. Sep-

arate surveys are offered forarm amputations and legamputations. The arm survey is available at

{surveymonkey.com/s/Upper_Limb_NUPOC_v2a}. The leg survey is at {survey-

monkey.com/s/Lower_Limb_NUPOC_v2a}.Individuals may request a

printed copy of the survey bycontacting Heckathorne at312-503-5723 or c-heckathorne@north-western.edu.For information about the

project, visit {nupoc.north-western.edu/nupoc-research/other/px_agworkers}. — KayShipman

‘This is an oppor-tunity for farmersto have a say andbe heard.’

— Craig HeckathorneNorthwestern University

FarmWeekNow.comVisit the Farmer Veteran Coalition’s web-site by going to FarmWeekNow.com.

Ron Haase, Gilman, Iroquois County: Harvest was goingwell until rain on Nov. 6. We received0.3 of an inch. We resumed harvest-ing corn Thursday, but a breakdownstopped us Friday morning. Most ofthe crops are out and many fieldshave been tilled. We harvestedsome corn this week that tested 29percent moisture. It had been at 34

percent the week before. Most of the cornhas tested between 19 percent and 23percent moisture. We have 225 acres ofcorn still in the field. Overall, our yield isclose to average. The local closing bidsfor Nov. 7 were nearby corn, $4.04; fall2014 corn, $4.23; nearby soybeans,$12.64; fall 2014 soybeans, $11.20.

Wilfred Dittmer, Quincy, Adams County: Hello againfrom Adams County where the cornfields

are just about all history, as wellas the beans. I think everyonewas surprised at the yields withno more rain than some fieldsreceived. Some fieldwork hasbeen done, but no anhydrous yet.Rainfall came in at about 0.8 ofan inch for the week. Still time to

be careful as the calendar winds down foranother year.

Carrie Winkelmann, Tallula, Menard County: I amcrossing my fingers as I write this and hop-

ing that I am not going to jinx us,but by the time you read this weshould be done with harvest. Bynext week, I think almost every-one will be finished. Now time tothink about fall spraying andanhydrous, although many in thearea have already started.

Tom Ritter, Blue Mound, Macon County: Lost most oftwo days last week to inclimate weather.

We received anywhere from acouple of tenths to 0.5 of an inch.It tended to delay harvest andfieldwork. At this point, corn ismore than 90 percent completeand soybeans are definitelymore than 95 percent complete.What’s left has been slow going.

Overall, corn continues to stand relativelywell. Farmers are still very pleased withcorn and bean yields, especially cornyields. A lot of 180 to 220 bushel corn.Soybeans have been running around 60bushels for the season. We need everybushel to counteract the low prices we’refacing at the moment.

Todd Easton, Charleston, Coles County: After the fieldsdried last weekend, combines and tractors

worked into the night and contin-ued on into the beginning of theweek when around a 0.5 of aninch of precipitation paused field-work for a few more days. Muchof the northern part of the countyis harvested, but several corn-fields await harvest in the south-

ern half. Tillage, fall spraying and dry fertil-izer applications are progressing well, butanhydrous application was just gettingstarted. Double-crop beans are havingtrouble dropping down to a harvestablemoisture. Maybe next week.

Jimmy Ayers, New City, Sangamon County: Wereceived 0.5 of an inch of rain. There was

quite a bit of chiseling done and alot of anhydrous put on. Very fewbeans were cut. About 10 percentof the beans and 10 to 20 percentof the corn is left. Yields on later-planted June corn are better thanpeople would expect. A lot ofpeople wonder where the market

is going to go and whether storing the cropor selling it is the right thing to do. Weshould have finished Friday and cleanedthings up for the 2013 crop year. Hopeeveryone is having a safe and great har-vest.

Dan Meinhart, Montrose, Jasper County: It was 29degrees Friday morning, and Jack Frost

was everywhere. Showers movedthrough the area Tuesday andWednesday bringing harvest to ahalt. The late-planted corn andsoybeans are still carrying a lot ofmoisture. We are hoping for drier,warmer weather so we can com-plete harvest.

Bernie Walsh, Durand, Winnebago County: The on-again,off-again corn harvest continueduntil Tuesday afternoon when wehad another 12-hour soaking rain.It only amounted to 0.6 of an inch,but that’s all it took to stop harvestonce again. It dried out enough tostart combining Friday, and we willgo until the next rain delay. It looks

like there is still 30 to 40 percent of the cornleft in the field. Moisture is from the highteens to the low 20s and yields are still betterthan we expected. Have a safe week.

Leroy Getz, Savanna, Carroll County: Eight-tenths of aninch of rain this week stopped cornharvest for some producers. Manyfarmers have finished, but somewill still be working long hoursbefore they get done. There havebeen limited anhydrous ammoniaapplications. Wheat and rye seed-ings look good.

Ryan Frieders, Waterman, DeKalb County: Novemberbrought cold weather and morerain to our area. Hopefully, we willget back in the fields soon.Moisture for corn still remainsaround 21 percent. Natural dryingin the field seems to have stopped.

Larry Hummel, Dixon, Lee County: I may have jumped thegun when I estimated only 20 to 30percent of the corn was left to harvestat the end of the week. Surprisingly,basis level at the river terminalshas been firming up as we moveinto the tail end of harvest. I imag-ine Friday’s crop report will movemarkets dramatically in one direc-

tion or another. Bears seem to have the upperhand for now.

Ken Reinhardt, Seaton, Mercer County: A two-inch rainthe previous week (Nov. 1) then0.4 of an inch last week hasslowed harvest completion. Ihope to finish in a couple days.There is at least one corn pilearound; the first in several years.

Ron Moore, Roseville, Warren County: Rain last weekdelayed harvest again. We onlyreceived about 0.5 of an inch overtwo days, but it was enough to haltany fieldwork. We should be fin-ished by my next report and ontocleaning the cattle pits. There arejust a few fields left to harvest inthis area. Overall, yields in this

area were better than expected, but not arecord. Please work safely during the last fewweeks of fall work.

Mark Kerber, Chatsworth, Livingston County: Anothercrop year has passed, and it’s timeto make important decisions aboutnext year. We had two rain eventsthat slowed fall work, as the topsoilis a little muddy. Demand will becoming back with these lowerprices. Looks like the revenue por-tion of federal crop insurance will

pay some. Have a safe winter.

Brian Schaumburg, Chenoa, McLean County: There werethree suitable days for fieldworklast week before rain haltedprogress. Anhydrous applications,fall herbicide and tillage will needmany more good days in order towrap up. Elevators are offeringincentives to farmers with on-farmstorage to bring their grain to town.

The crop report will offer price direction untilthe next one rolls along. The reality of thehealth insurance debacle is the talk of theday. Corn, $4.10; Jan., $4.19; new, $4.37;soybeans, Nov/Jan., $12.51; new, $11.10;wheat, $5.99; new, $6.29.

Steve Ayers, Champaign, Champaign County: Rain of0.03 of an inch fell Tuesday and 0.3on Wednesday before cooling off to28 degrees. Harvest-o’-meter hasour USDA crop reporting district at90 percent corn and 96 percentsoybeans harvested, so we aredown to the short rows. Farmersare cleaning and maintaining har-

vest equipment while waiting for fields to dry.Let’s be careful out there!

Dave Hankammer, Millstadt, St. Clair County: Littleprogress has been made on har-vest since the first weekend ofNovember. Additional rain showersmoved through the area leaving 0.7of an inch of rain for the week. Soilconditions are wet, but not muddyunless you happen to be in a fieldthat recently had been tilled before

the rain. Local grain bids are corn, $4.05; soy-beans, $12.70; wheat, $6.51. Have a safeweek.

Rick Corners, Centralia, Jefferson County: We only hadabout 0.5 inch of rain onWednesday, but I think the groundis finally saturated because stand-ing water is not disappearing asquickly. Still lots and lots of crops inthe fields with a lot of growers downto double-crop beans. They are stillnot mature with moisture levels run-

ning more than 20 percent. We went to a wed-ding last weekend, and I couldn’t believe theamount of crops still in the field in southeast-ern Illinois, southern Indiana and westernKentucky. Harvest is a long way from com-plete in this neck of the woods.

Kevin Raber, Browns, Wabash County: Most early cropshave been harvested. Most cropsleft in the field are replant acres ordouble-crop beans. The wheatseems to be off to a good start. Noexcessive rains and warm tempera-tures have made for good emer-gence.

Dean Shields, Murphysboro, Jackson County: Most of thecorn and soybeans are gone. Somemilo needs to be harvested. Overall,I would say everyone is fairly satis-fied with yields. We are windingdown in Jackson County and shouldbe done shortly. I hope everyonehas a safe harvest.

Randy Anderson, Galatia, Saline County: The landscapehas really changed in the last twoweeks. Harvest is anywhere from85 percent to done. Double-cropbeans and some corn is all I haveleft. Wheat is looking good. Not asmuch planted this year as last yearin the county. Be careful out there.Plenty of deer accidents have been

happening around the countryside.

Ken Taake, Ullin, Pulaski County: We’ve had a busy weekshelling corn. We received about0.5 of an inch. The ground is sat-urated. We are down to less than100 acres of corn and still haveroughly 300 acres of soybeans. Ithink most people would be fin-ished with harvest if we couldhave one week of good, open

weather. Please remember to take timeand be careful as we are in this busy fallseason.

FarmWeek Page 6 Monday, November 11, 2013

CROPWATCHERS

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

Tuesday: • RFD Radio Network® team:live from the Local andRegional Food Summit• Harvey Freese, Freese-NotisWeather: ag weather• Michael Hirakata, Rocky FordGrowers Association chairman• Dave Alwan, Echo ValleyMeats owner• Peter Testa, Testa ProducepresidentWednesday:• Tim Schweizer, IllinoisDepartment of NaturalResources public relations liai-son: upcoming firearm deerseason• Kevin Black, GROWMARKinsect and plant disease tech-nical manager: field outlook• Sharon Covert, UnitedSoybean Board customerfocus action team chair:autumn vegetable soup review• Ken Klippen, Egg Farmers ofAmerica consultant: KingamendmentThursday:• RFD Radio Network team:live from the National

Association of FarmBroadcasting convention• Illinois Soybean Associationrepresentatives• Bob Stallman, AmericanFarm Bureau president:recapping a year in agriculture• Illinois Beck’s Hybrids repre-sentatives• Norman Sissons, MonsantoU.S. oilseeds productmanagement lead: newwebsite {soybeans.com}Friday:• RFD Radio Network team:live from the NationalAssociation of FarmBroadcasting Convention• Colleen Callahan, USDARural Development Illinoisdirector• Cindy Cunningham, NationalPork Board assistant vicepresident communications:why pork is so hot• Martin Barbre, National CornGrowers Association CornBoard president

To find a radio station near youthat carries RFD Radio Network,go to FarmWeekNow.com, clickon “Radio,” then click on“Affiliates.”

RISK MANAGEMENT Page 7 Monday, November 11, 2013 FarmWeek

Harvest prices issued; crop insurance claims rolling inBY MARTIN ROSSFarmWeekWith the last major piece of

the crop insurance revenueequation in place, producersand insurers are doing the on-farm math and, in some cases,factoring the impact of lateplanting and “replants.”As of last week, COUN-

TRY Financial had fieldedmore than 2,000 productionloss claims — less than halfthe claims submitted as of thatpoint in 2012. Claims acceler-ated following USDA RiskManagement Agency announce-ment of 2013 harvest revenueprices.The November corn price

losses “to the penny,” Wor-thington stressed. “That’s our job,” he told

FarmWeek. “If farmers sus-pect they may have a loss, theyshould report their claim assoon as possible so we can getan adjuster out there to gatherinformation and work on theclaim. “This is a more normal year,

for certain — I don’t expectwe’ll have near the claim issueswe had last year, though therewill be spots where people willhave claims. The further southyou go, the more we may seethat. Late planting of soybeansmay have created some issues— it’s the same with some of

the replanted corn that didn’tdo as well.”Whi le the har vest pr ice

announcement paves the wayfor fall RP loss payments, finalcounty yields for GRIP andproduction-based Group RiskPlan policies will not be knownuntil March or April. Producers should consider,

with the help of their account-ant or f inancial counselor,whether to defer RP loss pay-ments until the 2014 tax year,Worthington noted. To qualifyfor payment deferral, farmersmust have a tax-documentedhistory of deferring 50 percentor more of crop sales to thefollowing year.

was $4.39 per bushel, whilesoybeans posted a $12.87 har-vest price. Revenue Protection(RP) and county-based GroupRisk Income Plan (GRIP)-Har-vest Revenue policies base theprice component of individualor county revenue losses on thehigher of spring or harvestaverages.This year’s spring average

corn price was $5.65, while thespring soybean average was$12.87. Harvest yields and farm“deductibles” — the percent-age of loss not covered — willdetermine whether individualRP losses trigger. For example,a grower who purchased 80percent unit coverage has a 20

percent deductible and wouldsubmit a claim if yields weredown 21 percent from actualproduction history. COUNTRY Crop Claims

Supervisor Steve Worthingtonreported adjusters were alreadyou t on f a rms “measu r ingbins.” COUNTRY last weeksupplied agents and crop spe-cialists updated loss calculatorsoftware for individual andcounty-based coverages withspring base and harvest pricesloaded.Producers are asked to pro-

vide COUNTRY representa-tives with approximate yieldson a unit-by-unit basis, butaren’t expected to calculate

Tractor fire offers valuable lessons in protectionIt happens in seconds, and a

farmer has a few more secondsto respond. Within minutes, atractor fire can wipe out hun-dreds of thousands in capitaland personal investment.It happened to Chenoa-area

farmer Brian Schaumburg,mid-afternoon Oct. 28, as hewas tilling cornstalks. Fortu-nately, Schaumburg was able toescape injury. He had taken thetime in advance to insure notonly machinery but also thebig-ticket technology and gearalong for that fateful ride.The McLean County farmer

notes cab contents routinelyinclude precision/global posi-tioning system (GPS) moni-tors, cellphones, two-wayradios and tools. “Total tractor damage was

around $300,000,” Schaum-burg told FarmWeek. “Butthese cab contents and inci-dentals cost a few thousanddollars.“I lost prescription glasses

and sunglasses. That’s $500there. There was a cellphone,an FM radio — a couple hun-dred there, even though mycellphone insurance coveredthat. There was an electricgrease gun — that’s $200-$300.” Schaumburg noted an

“excellent response” fromChenoa, Lexington and Grid-ley fire departments, thoughverifying his rural address witha Bloomington-based 911 dis-patcher proved a challenge. Asa result, he recommends farm-ers consult local emergencyservices or insurers on neces-sary 911 information prior toseasonal fieldwork.Schaumburg also was

pleased with his insurer’sspeedy claims response — hecited “horror stories” amongunderinsured farmers andstressed the need to researchspecific protections underproperty/liability policies. Pro-

ducers may overlook the needto ensure activation forGPS/ag management systems(AMS) is covered, he warned.As long as it’s connected in

the tractor/combine cab,GPS/AMS equipment normal-ly is considered part of a trac-tor damage claim, according toDarryl Tinges, a FairburyCOUNTRY Financial agentwho assists in his brother’sfarming operation. If portableequipment is moved into ahome or machine shed wheredamage is sustained, that mayraise coverage issues, he said.GPS reactivation should be

specified in the farm serviceprovider’s agreement, Tingessaid.Tinges encourages clients

to continually update equip-ment and farm personal prop-erty inventories to ensure cov-erages are up to date. Henotes a considerable “influxof new machinery” on clients’farms over the last three yearsalone.“I had a combine fire a cou-

ple of years ago,” the agenttold FarmWeek. “The owner’sclaim was settled within threedays, just simply because hewas very conscientious aboutcontacting me whenever therewas any change in machinery.”Schaumburg plans in the

future to keep a fire extin-guisher in his tractor/combinecab in addition to outside cab-mounted gear. He urges pro-ducers to keep a blanket orcanvas tarp on board tosmother a flash fire and,potentially, contain damage.Tinges includes a leaf blow-

er on the equipment safety listto remove accumulated field“trash” that can ignite.Schaumburg’s fire reportedlywas caused by corn shucks thathad collected in the rear axlearea.At the same time, Schaum-

burg now sees the need to

keep his cellphone in his pock-et rather than potentially outof reach in the cab. Luckily, afriend working in the field withhim offered his phone to call911 as Schaumburg’s device —along with valuable data —burned in the cab.“This stuff doesn’t happen

when you expect it,” Schaum-

burg emphasized. “I’ve got myphone sitting on my dashbecause I just got done talkingto my broker. The first thing Ithink of when a fire breaks outis not, ‘Grab my phone.’”Operators also may not

think of grabbing (or may notbe able to grab) the memorycard from their GPS unit,

potentially resulting in loss ofcrucial electronic data.That suggests backing up

data on the home or officecomputer on a daily or every-other-day basis — a practicemore common in the ’90swhen cards held significantlyless data, Schaumburg said. —Martin Ross

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Moo-ving on up; Illinois beef herd bucks national trendBY DANIEL GRANTFarmWeek

The cows are coming hometo Illinois.

The Prairie State is at thecenter of a resurgence in beefcow production as U.S. feedlotsmigrate from the southwestback to the Midwest.

U.S. beef cow numbers thisyear dwindled to the lowest levelsince 1952 due in part to tightfeed supplies and high feed costs.

But, in Illinois, the beef cat-tle industry exhibited positivegrowth in recent years andappears to be in position tobecome an even stronger forcein the future.

“We have a thriving industryright now,”Reid Blossom,executive vicepresident ofthe IllinoisBeef Associa-tion, toldFarmWeek.“There’s a lotof demand forfeeder cattle.

Supplies are low.”Prices of feeder calves,

ready to go to feed, havebrought anywhere from $1.65

to $1.85-plus per pound atrecent auctions in the state,Blossom reported.

“From everything we see, itsuggests we could sustain thetypes of returns we’re seeingnow for another three years,”Blossom said. “It’s likely we’llsee another few years of growth(of the cattle industry in Illi-nois). We’re excited about it.”

Illinois cattle producersadded 114,592 head of beeffinishing spaces since 2006.

The situation has been justthe opposite in parts of theSouthwest where some herdswere liquidated in recent yearsdue to a lack of feed and highfeed prices caused by drought.

“Some of the big cattlefeeders (with 30,000 to 40,000head) are going out of busi-ness (in the south),” Blossomsaid. “Yet, we have smallerproduction systems in Illinoisthat are really profitable.”

Some cattle feeders in Illinoishave made as much as $200 perhead in recent months.

The main key to success forthe Illinois cattle industry is theample availability and lower-priced feed compared to otherparts of the country, accordingto Blossom.

Transportation costs alsoare a factor.

“The fact that cattle feedingoperations (in Illinois) haveaccess to ample grain, by-prod-ucts and co-products really helpsthe margins,” Blossom said.

Expansion of the beefindustry in Illinois alsoimproved efficiency as newstructures increased cow com-fort and performance.

“We see people makinginvestments in new feedingfacilities,” Blossom said. “Theyoptimize cattle comfort andthereby performance, whichtranslates right into efficiency.”

Expansion of the livestock

industry also has been an attrac-tive option for farmers lookingto expand their operation, addanother revenue stream or helpcreate opportunities for youngpeople to join farms whom oth-erwise have been blocked byrecord land prices and cashrental rates, Blossom added.

Interest in growing the live-stock industry also has beenspurred by the Illinois LivestockDevelopment Group (ILDG),comprised of the Illinois BeefAssociation, Illinois CornGrowers Association, IllinoisFarm Bureau, Illinois Milk Pro-ducers’ Association, IllinoisPork Producers Association andIllinois Soybean Association.

ILDG members poolresources to develop long-term,producer-driven strategiesaimed at restoring profitabilityto the state’s livestock industry.

Final BSE rule could boost U.S. beef exportsThe U.S. earlier this month

finalized new import rules forcattle and beef that complywith international standards toprevent bovine spongiformencephalopathy (BSE).

The new revisions, whichwill be published in the near

future and take effect 90 daysafter that, are not expected toweaken U.S. safeguardsagainst BSE, also known asmad cow disease, but couldboost trade.

“This rule brings our coun-try in line with internationallyaccepted standards set by theWorld Organization for AnimalHealth,” said Bob McCan, pres-ident-elect of the National Cat-tlemen’s Beef Association.“This will solidify the U.S. com-mitment to basing trade rela-tionships on internationallyrecognized, science-based stan-dards.”

The new rules could jumpstart U.S. beef exports to marketssuch as the European Union.

Some markets haveremained closed to U.S. beef or

have limitations since BSE wasdiscovered in a cow in Wash-ington State in 2003.

“We think (the new BSErule) will be good for marketaccess,” McCan said. “We hopeit will convince other countriesto remove any related BSErestrictions they have on tradefor U.S. cattle and cattle prod-ucts.”

The U.S. in May received anupgraded BSE status from con-trolled risk to negligible risk.

Beef exports in recent yearsfinally returned to levelsachieved prior to the findingof BSE in the U.S. a decadeago.

“We’ve come a long way,”McCan said. “We’ve beenworking on the final (BSE) rulesince (2003).” — Daniel Grant

Reid Blossom

A new innovative partnershipof agriculture, city governmentand environmentalists will workto reduce nitrate levels in LakeSpringfield.

Those involved are the IllinoisCouncil on Best ManagementPractices (CBMP), Springfield’sCity Water, Power and Light(CWLP) and National Fish andWildlife Foundation-Conserva-tion Partners. Illinois FarmBureau is a member of CBMP.

CBMP will coordinate theefforts of farmers, ag retailers,CWLP, the Sangamon CountySoil and Water ConservationDistrict and Lincoln Land Com-munity College.

Local ag retailers will encour-age farmers to use a systemsapproach to nitrogen manage-ment, including a soil test pro-gram known as N-Watch. DanSchaefer, CBMP director ofnutrient stewardship, noted Illi-nois on-farm research showsmanaging nitrogen with splitapplications can minimize envi-

ronmental impact, optimizeyields and maximize nutrient use.

CWLP will help cost-sharethe expense of N-Watch soiltests that will improve the under-standing of the nitrogen cycle inindividual fields within the water-shed.

To assess weather impact onnitrate movement, the SWCD isoverseeing a series of rain andweather gauges in the watershed.Lincoln Land students are takingin-stream water samples of laketributaries and testing for nitrate.The students will share thoseresults with CWLP.

CBMP and the county SWCDare promoting planting of morecover crops within the watershedas a best management practicethat can improve water and soilquality.

The National Fish & WildlifeFoundation-Conservation Part-ners is providing matchingfunds.

For more information, visit{illinoiscbmp.org}.

New partnership to focuson Lake Springfield nitrates

FROM THE COUNTIES Page 9 Monday, November 11, 2013 FarmWeek

BUREAU —FarmBureau will co-host a col-

lege open house day for agricul-ture from 10 to 11:30 a.m. and12:30 to 2 p.m. Wednesday at theMarshall-Putnam Farm Bureaubuilding in Henry. All sopho-more, junior and senior highschool students from Bureau,Marshall, Putnam and Starkcounties who are interested inpursuing a career in an agricul-tural field are invited to attend.Contact the Farm Bureau officeat 875-6468 for more informa-tion.

HANCOCK — Theannual meeting will be

held at 7 p.m. Nov. 21 at theFarm Bureau office.

PEORIA— Citrus and nutorders may be placed at

{peoriacountyfarmbureau.org}.Deadline to place orders is Nov.22. Orders may be picked up atthe Farm Bureau auditorium onDec. 18. • Farm Bureau will sponsor a

farm toy show Dec. 3-5 at thePeoria Civic Center during theGreater Peoria Farm Show. Formore information visit {peoria-farmtoyshow.com}.

VERMILION— Theannual meeting will be

held at 6 p.m. Dec. 2 at the Beef

House Banquet Center in Cov-ington, Ind. Cost is $10 for Mmembers and $20 for A mem-bers. Philip Nelson, Illinois FarmBureau president, will be thespeaker. Tickets are available atthe Farm Bureau office until Nov.26.

WAYNE— Farm Bureauwill sponsor Stroke

Detection Plus health screeningson Nov. 19 at the Farm Bureauoffice. Members will receive a dis-count. Call 877-732-8258 toschedule an appointment.

WINNEBAGO-BOONE— Young

Leader members will sponsor anAngel Tree Project, located in theBelvidere PNC Bank lobby,beginning Nov. 25. The angel treewill be open Dec. 6 duringBelvidere’s Hometown Christ-mas. Unwrapped gifts may bedelivered to the Farm Bureauoffice or the PNC Bank lobby byDec. 13. For more informationcall the Farm Bureau office at962-0653.

“From the Counties” itemsare submitted by county FarmBureau managers. If you have anitem or event that is open tl allmembers, contact your countyFarm Bureau manager.

Chris Magnuson, left, Illinois Farm Bureau executive director of operations/news and communications, pointsout some historical artifacts on display at the IFB home office in Bloomington, while Jiayun Tu, right, Universityof Illinois, and a delegation of Chinese ag bankers look on during a tour. The delegation of 25 Chinese agbankers is studying ag finance and risk management in Illinois through the U of I’s China Executive Leader-ship Program. (Photo by Daniel Grant)

Chinese ag bankers study farm industryBY DANIEL GRANTFarmWeekRisk management has

become increasingly importantfor farmers from the U.S. andaround the world.That was evident as a delega-

tion of Chinese ag bankerstoured the farm industry in Illi-nois and made stops at the Illi-nois Farm Bureau, 1st FarmCredit Services and the ChicagoMercantile Exchange.The tours were part of the

University of Illinois’ ChinaExecutive Leadership Program. The program, now in its20th year, currently is deliveringag and financial managementtraining to 25 senior officialsfrom the Agricultural Develop-ment Bank of China who arestudying agriculture in Illinoisthrough Friday.“They (the Chinese ag

bankers) are focusing mainly onrural development and trying tobuild up the ag industry (in Chi-na),” said Matthew Gadbury,program coordinator at the Uof I. “They’re seeing how wedo things and what they canlearn here to improve” the agsector in China.

Farming in China generallyis on a much smaller scale andmuch more labor intensive thanin the U.S.The Chinese also face a

quandary of how to feed agrowing population at a timewhen farmland is declining dueto urban development.“They (the Chinese) have

about the same space as we doin the continental U.S., but theyhave more than three times asmany people and not as muchusable farmland (due to moun-tainous terrain),” Gadbury said. The fact that China’s popula-

tion, currently close to 1.4 bil-lion people, is growing andhuman diets are improvingthere likely will maintain itsplace as one of the world’s topimporters of ag products.“They (the Chinese) are real-

ly not a major competitor (ofag products produced in Illi-nois),” Gadbury said.China could increase crop

production with more wide-spread acceptance and use ofbiotechnology. The U of I program provid-

ed education about biotechnol-ogy to the delegation of Chi-

nese ag bankers.“Honestly, we’re not going

to feed the world without it(biotechnology),” Gadburyadded.

McLean County SWCD plans cover crop tourThe McLean County Soil and Water Conservation District

(SWCD) will host a cover crop tour from 8 a.m. to noon Nov.20. The tour registration deadline is Nov. 18.Participants will tour several Illinois Department of Agricul-

ture (IDOA) cover crop demonstration sites along Interstate 55near the Shirley and Chenoa exits. Transportation and a meal willbe provided.Roger Windhorn, Natural Resources Conservation Service

(NRCS) soil scientist, will discuss the benefits of cover crops.The tour is sponsored by the county SWCD, NRCS, IDOA,American Farmland Trust, The Nature Conservancy and theLumpkin Family Foundation. To register, contact the countySWCD at 309-452-0830, extension 3.

PROFITABILITYFarmWeek Page 10 Monday, November 11, 2013

This week Prev. week ChangeSteers $131.00 $133.00 -$2.00Heifers $131.00 $132.94 -$1.94

Export inspections

Feeder pig prices reported to USDA*Total Composite Weighted Average Receipts and Price (Formula and Cash):Weight Range Per Head Weighted Ave. Price 10-12 lbs. (formula) $38.00-$64.62 $47.0940 lbs. (cash) $62.50-$84.00 $77.03

Recipts This Week Last Week 96,565 71,126*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 $80.83 $83.60 -$2.77Live $59.81 $61.86 -$2.05

USDA five-state area slaughter cattle price

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

This week Prev. week Change $167.14 $165.11 $2.03

CME feeder cattle index — 600-800 Lbs.

Lamb prices

(Thursday’s price)

NA

(Million bushels)Week ending Soybeans Wheat Corn10/31/2013 80.6 7.1 31.310/24/2013 83.7 16.6 27.0Last year 61.0 14.0 15.4Season total 338.5 596.6 206.7Previous season total 371.2 416.9 158.7USDA projected total 1370 1100 1225Crop marketing year began June 1 for wheat and Sept. 1 for corn and soybeans.

Upgrade coolant to boost heavy-duty engine performanceBY TOM DREWHeavy-duty engines demand

cooling system protection thatgoes beyond that offered by

conventionalcoolants for-mulated forautomobilesand light-dutytrucks. Highermileage, heav-ier loads andextended serv-ice intervalsare the reality.

Historically, more than 40percent of a diesel engine’sdowntime can be attributed tocooling system problems, so itis important the coolant select-ed is formulated specifically forthe unique requirements ofheavy-duty engines. Common causes of coolant

system downtime in heavy-dutyengines include cavitation, orpitting, of wet sleeve cylinderliners, corrosion of systemcomponents and poor heattransfer due to scale buildup.If the coolant in use has

excessive inhibitor levels, phos-phate and silicate dropout canoccur, leading to premature waterpump failure, radiator blockageand/or heater core problems.There are two, heavy-duty

coolants that work overtime tohelp minimize threats to equip-ment breakdown, leaving timefor other projects. They bothfeature heavy-duty coolant tech-nologies recommended by origi-nal equipment manufacturers:

• An organic acid technolo-gy (OAT) extended lifecoolant.

• A fully formulated tech-nology, supplemental coolantadditive (SCA) pre-chargedcoolant. These coolants are recom-

mended for use in cooling sys-tems for all types of heavy-duty diesel, gasoline and natu-ral gas engines:FS Extended Life

Coolant/Antifreeze featurespatented OAT that deliverstotal cooling system protection

for 1 million miles of on-roaduse (eight years or 20,000 hoursof off-road use) without theuse of SCAs. It is phosphate,silicate, nitrate and borate-free.This globally formulated

coolant uses proprietary organ-ic corrosion inhibitors to pro-vide outstanding long-term wetsleeve liner cavitation and cor-rosion protection of all coolingsystem metals.FS Fully Formulated

Coolant/Antifreeze is a heavy-duty, pre-charged coolant thatensures proper diesel additive

levels, so there is no need foradditional SCAs at initial fill orwhen topping off. With theadvantage of low total dis-solved solids, low silicate andincorporating nitrite, it pro-vides superior wet sleeve linercavitation protection.It also includes a phosphate-

free formula that reduces therisk of scale, and state of the artcorrosion inhibitors, eliminatingthe need for expensive deion-ized water. The inhibitor systemis designed to last for 250,000miles when properly maintained.

For proven performance inheavy-duty service, you have aquality choice — FS ExtendedLife Coolant, the latest inorganic acid technology, or FSFully Formulated Coolant.Both are engineered to deliverthe performance needed tomeet today’s demanding expec-tations for longer engine andcooling system life.

Tom Drew is GROWMARK’senergy wholesale account manager.His email address is tdrew@grow-mark.com

Tom Drew

The drop in crop prices in recent monthsapparently hasn’t affected the farmland market… yet.Two recent farmland auctions netted some

eye-popping returns in the state.A 960-acre farm in Douglas County recently

sold for $14,583 per acre. Elsewhere, the sale of 1,021 acres inSchuyler County this month netted $7.84 mil-lion. Notable sales at that auction included a35-acre tract that sold for $20,500 per acre andthree tracts, totaling about 137 acres, that soldfor $14,000 per acre.“We aren’t seeing any farmland price

declines, yet,” said Gary Schnitkey, Universityof Illinois Extension farm management spe-cialist. “Farmland is still, from a long-runstandpoint, an attractive investment.”Schnitkey projected crop prices will remain

relatively flat or lower for an extended period.But the farmland market and cash rental ratescould remain high near term as there often is alag time between price moves for crops com-pared to the farmland market.That type of scenario will tighten farmers’

margins. Schnitkey believes farmers most likely

to feel the pinch are those who cash rent themajority of their acres and who pay above-average rental rates for their ground. Schnitkey conducted farm financial simula-

tions, posted at {farmdocdaily.illinois.edu}, thatprojected farmers who cash rent more than 90percent of their acres and pay $25 or more peracre for cash rent than the county average willface the greatest economic challenge in the future.“Those (farmers) who cash rent most of their

land and pay high cash rents don’t have manyoptions to mitigate their land costs,” Schnitkey said. “Per acre returns will decline, decreasing the

ability to pay high cash rents from returns,” hecontinued. “This situation may require somefarms to adjust.”Schnitkey and other well-noted economists will

discuss the situation in greater detail Wednesday ata farmland market conference in Champaign.Joe Glauber, USDA chief economist, will be

a keynote speaker at the event, which will beheld at the Hilton Garden Inn, 1501 S. Neil St.,Champaign, from 9 a.m. to 3:30 p.m.Details about the farmland conference are

available online at {agengage.com/farmland-markets2013/}. — Daniel Grant

No break in farmland/cash rent prices, yet

Rain delays harvest, aids winter wheat and topsoilBY DANIEL GRANTFarmWeekAnother round of rain

events last week improved top-soil moisture conditions acrossmuch of the state.But the cool, wet weather

meant a number of farmersmust wait to put the finishingtouches on this year’s corn andsoybean harvest.Harvest in the state as of the

first of last week was 83 percentcomplete for corn and 92 per-cent complete for beans. Theharvest pace for both crops was7 percent ahead of the five-yearaverage, according to theNational Agricultural StatisticsService Illinois field office.“We got done (with harvest)

Tuesday (Nov. 5) morning,”Terry Sturgell, a farmer fromParis and president of theEdgar County Farm Bureau,

told FarmWeek. “We would’vegot done Monday, but we got atruck stuck on Sunday.” There are still fields of corn

and soybeans left to be harvest-ed in eastern Illinois, Sturgellreported. In southwest Illinois,John Brink, of Richview(Washington County) estimated10 percent of corn remained infields in his area.The end of daylight savings

time the first weekend of themonth and the transition ofseasons won’t help the situation.“There are a lot of double-

crop beans (planted in earlyJuly) still in the field,” Brinksaid. “Now we’re fightingshorter days and cool, wet con-ditions. The drying opportuni-ties are diminishing.” And the forecast beyond the

weekend didn’t look promisingto speed up the drying process.High temperatures were predict-ed to be close to 60 degrees dur-ing the weekend before fallingthis week to highs in the 30s and40s with lows in the 20s, accord-ing to AccuWeather.com. Therealso is a chance this week ofscattered rain or snow.“I have several neighbors

who have crops in the fields,”Sturgell said. “I hope they canget them out before the weath-er gets really bad.”The recent rain was a bless-

ing for the winter wheat cropand topsoil moisture.Topsoil moisture ratings in

Illinois last week improved to 30percent short or very short, 67percent adequate and 3 percentsurplus. Topsoil moisture thelast week of October was rated60 percent short or very short.Meanwhile, more than a

quarter of the wheat crop (27percent) emerged a week ago

to push total emergencestatewide to 75 percent, 11 per-cent ahead of the average pace.“Most of the wheat got

planted in the optimum window(the second half of October),”said Brink, whose county (Wash-ington) grows about 10 percentof all wheat produced in Illinois.“It all emerged real well. I’d saythe wheat crop looks really goodfor this time of year.”Illinois wheat growers after a

late start in some areas planted95 percent of the crop as of thefirst of last week, well ahead ofthe average pace of 84 percent.

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PROFITABILITY Page 11 Monday, November 11, 2013 FarmWeek

Corn Strategyü2013 crop: The rebound

in corn prices after Friday’sUSDA report is a sign the bearmarket may be exhausted fornow. But plan to use a rallyover $4.40 on March futuresto make needed sales. Whenwe do recommend sales again,it should pay to look at thoseforward bids to take advantageof the carry in corn futures.

ü2014 crop: Putting theuncertainty of the currentcrop behind should relievesome of the downside pres-sure on new-crop prices.Even then, you may have towait well into 2014 beforebeginning pricing. A moveback near $5.00 is not yet outof the question.

vFundamentals: Cornprices, along with the othergrains, managed to findstrength in the wake of theUSDA report even thoughthere was nothing fundamental-ly bullish in the data. Thestrength noted after the reportsimply suggests the decline inprices, at least for now, hadexhausted itself. With supplyuncertainty now resolved,demand will take “center stage.” Soybean Strategy

ü2013 crop: Like corn, soy-bean prices rallied after thereport even though there wasn’tanything fundamentally bullish.Use a rally to $13 on Januaryfutures to get sales to 70 percent.

ü2014 crop: With the priceratio between soybeans andcorn dictating an acreageshift, it will be important toget some production pricedearly this year. Continue totarget a move to $11.90 onNovember 2014 futures tomake a 10 percent sale.

vFundamentals: Whiledemand will take center stagewith the size of our crop nowpretty well determined, supplyuncertainty will remain a part ofthe picture because of SouthAmerica. Their planting has got-ten off to a good start withsome areas of Brazil nearlydone. Argentine planting is only10 percent complete, but that’snormal. More important, recentweather has been very good,enhancing the perception theyshould have big crops this year.

ûFail-safe: If January

futures drop under $12.75,boost sales to 70 percent.Wheat Strategy

ü2013 crop:Wheat has littlepositive going for it from a fun-damental perspective. But awinter without a weather scarewould be a bit unusual. But,that may not come until some-time after the first of the year.Use a rally to $6.85 on ChicagoMay wheat to make catch-upsales, using the forward deliveryprice to take advantage of thecarry. If basis seems wide, use ahedge-to-arrive contract.

ü2014 crop: Althoughthere may be short-term risk

of seeing slightly lower prices,we aren’t interested in chasingthe market lower at this time.

vFundamentals: The newUSDA supply/demand fore-casts didn’t contain the mildlyfriendly structure the tradeexpected to see. Still, it’s impor-tant to note the persistentdecline in the corn price is tilt-ing the balance away from usingas much wheat for feed. Still,supply features could give themarket a boost with minorissues with the Australian crop,and the possibility for winterweather to undermine potentialof crops in the Black Sea area.

Cents per bu.BIG crops are no surpriseUSDA didn’t surprise any-

one with its much anticipatedNovember crop estimates.The cancellation of the Octo-ber report left the industry insomewhat of a vacuum, butthe constant barrage of highyields had already girded theindustry for large crop num-bers.In the end, the surprise

may have been that produc-tion and ending stocks num-bers weren’t larger yet. Lead-ing up to the report, therehad been talk of the possibili-ty the corn ending stocksmight be more than 2 billionbushels with the soybeanstocks estimate possiblyeclipsing 200 million bushels.As you know, neither provedtrue setting the stage for arebound. But, it’s important to under-

stand there’s nothing funda-mentally bullish for any of thegrains at this time. To be sure,there will be volatility in theweeks/months ahead, butunless something radicallychanges, these markets aregoing to face negative supplyissues.The November USDA

corn estimate was a whiskerunder the 14-billion-bushelmark. And the final estimate,if history holds up, may endup slightly over that level.USDA did cut corn acreagenear 2 million with the plant-ed number cut 100,000 morethan that and the harvestnumber the same level underthat. The 160.4-bushel yield was

the third time the U.S. corncrop has had a yield over 160bushels, and was onlyeclipsed by 2009’s 164.7-bushel yield.The ending stocks though

were little changed at 1.887billion bushels. That’s big byany measure compared towhat we have dealt with thelast few years. Coupled withthe fact that farmers are hold-ing an unusually large percent-age of the crop unpriced, anda huge crop at that, it willmake it difficult for corn tosustain rallies through winterinto spring.Even the soybean forecast

was a moderately negative sur-prise with the 3.258-billion-bushel crop estimate 40 mil-lion bushels larger than expect-ed. Like corn, the acreage wasrevised down, but only 700,000acres for both planted and har-vested. The yield was near 1 bushel

larger than anticipated. Anincrease in pod weight and inpod numbers both contributedto the higher yield forecast.And like corn, there is a slighttendency for yields to increaseon the final estimate. USDA increased demand

103 million bushels, using upmost of the increase in supply.Thirty million is designated tothe crush with 80 million des-ignated for the export sector.A reduction in the residualaccounted for the unexplainedshift. Even so, the ending stocks

number was revised up 20 mil-lion to 170 million bushels,moving the number up, notdown. In the end, it leaves world

buyers seeing considerablymore comfortable suppliesthan they have had the last twoyears. Notably, the soybeanproduction numbers for thelast three years are 239, 267and 283 million metric tons. Unless something radically

changes with the potential ofSouth American crops, that’sgoing to leave buyers less will-ing to chase rallies. That maybe especially true short termwith the huge soybean exportsales the U.S. already has onthe books.

PERSPECTIVESFarmWeek Page 12 Monday, November 11, 2013

A recent study by Ketchum,a leading global communi-cations firm, points tothe emergence of an

increasingly influential group ofconsumers — food e-vangelists. Foragvocates — those involved withadvocating on behalf of agriculture— food e-vangelists may be themost important group to engagewith on agricultural and food policyissues.

Ketchum’s third “Food 2020” survey wasconducted among 1,800 respondents in early2013, in the United States, United Kingdom,China, Italy, Germany and Argentina. Inevery country studied, food e-vangelistswere identified as a vocal set of people whoare speaking out on food issues. They drivedialogue on hot food topics and are influen-tial.

Historically, agriculture has focused itsmessages and policy efforts on a top-downapproach, relying on influence from govern-ment, scientists, policymakers and tradition-

al media. The Food 2020

study concludes thatpower is shifting awayfrom the traditional

top-down influence to bottom-up with foode-vangelists as the leading group influencingpolicy, product choices and food purchases.

Food e-vangelists tend to be young,female mothers who are financially secure.However, they are not defined by demo-graphics, but psychographics. They areaction-oriented and regularly take it uponthemselves to learn about issues and influ-ence others by sharing their findings, bothon and offline.

Two-thirds conduct online research toinform their opinions when they see a newsstory about a banned food item; 40 percentshare opinions about eating and food pur-chasing habits with friends and family; and38 percent frequently recommend or critiquea food brand.

They are not experts, but others listenand respond because they see food e-vange-lists as “people like me” who share informa-tion by word-of-mouth, either in person orthrough social media.  

Food e-vangelists are driven by values,ranking values-based food attributes as moreimportant than price. The study concludesthat earning their trust is based on a formu-la: Health + Transparency + Cause.

More than half (54 percent) want ingredi-ent information, including source, process-ing, production techniques and names offarms or suppliers on labels. They also wantfood to meet their “healthy” criteria, findtransparency throughout the food chain andmake food more accessible to families inneed.

They also say that food companies arenot meeting their expectations of trans-parency. They dismiss “messaged” informa-

tion, preferringto be engaged with

as partners. They say there is less informa-tion than they want in grocery stores abouthow food is grown and raised.

Retailers are the front line for consumerinteraction and are thought of as credible,unbiased neutral third parties in the buy-ing/selling process.

They use blogs and social media toshare opinions about food issues. Theyexpect companies to engage with themusing social media for direct and opencommunication.

They have high expectations that glob-al food companies wil l work with theminteractively on product improvementsand new products, communicate trans-parently about sourcing and manufactur-ing processes, and answer questions.

As power over food and agricultureshifts to the food e-vangelists, they wil lexer t inf luence not only with friends,families and others in their close circles,but also the retai lers, restaurant chainsand food manufacturers who drive agri-cultural policy through procurement andmarketing directives.

Agriculture must work closely withretai lers to provide information andtools to help them engage on food pro-duction issues, but in terms that relate toeveryday consumers. 

Because of their desire to learn, wil l-ingness to act on their positions, abil ityto inf luence others and values-baseddecision making, food e-vangelists are agolden audience for farmers, farm fami-l ies and agvocates to engage with direct-ly.

While many agvocates are making greatstrides in social media with their ownblogs, Twitter feeds, Facebook pages andother forms of outreach, it wil l beimportant to reach out to the food e-van-gelists, identify them, l isten to their con-cerns and perspectives; build trust andrelationships based on shared values; andshare agriculture information and con-cerns with them in person and throughtheir social media outlets.               

For agriculture, it wil l require a shiftfrom being just agvocates to becoming agand food e-vangelists.

Robert Giblin is an occasional contributor to theAmerican Farm Bureau Federation Focus on Agri-culture series. He writes, speaks and consults aboutagricultural and food industry issues, policies andtrends.

ROBERT GIBLIN

guest columnist

Food e-vangelistsimportant audiencefor farmers, agriculture

News of a delayed taper-ing of the Quantitative Eas-ing (QE) program wascheered by investors. Stockand bond prices both movedhigher and rates came down,reacting to the continuedeasy money policy of theFederal Reserve.

Recall in June ChairmanBen Bernanke spooked the

marketswhen hehinted thatthe programwould soonbegin towind down.He nevergave an exactdate, but theinference wasthe changes

would begin sometime in thefall.

Once the euphoria fromthe latest delay faded, mar-ket volatility began toincrease as Fed governors hitthe airwaves and remindedinvestors that the taperingdecision was still imminent.But they hedged by saying itwas totally dependent oneconomic data.

In other words, if theydidn’t see sustained strengthin employment numbers orother signs that the economywas on firm footing, theywould likely choose not tochange the current pace ofmonetary injections.

Conversations then beganswirling about the actual rea-son for the delay. Is theeconomy worse than every-one expected? Was the deci-sion made to give wiggleroom to the new incomingFed chair, who we now knowis Janet Yellen? Or was this apreventative measure madein reaction to upcominggovernment talks that tookcenter stage?

The Fed knew a reductionin stimulus measures at thesame time Washington wasstruggling with a govern-ment shutdown and debtceiling breach would not bewell received.

With the QE decisionpostponed, investors had

more time to ponder theongoing U.S. governmentshutdown. Not to diminishthe issues faced by thosedirectly impacted by theshutdown, but this is a rela-tively common occurrence.In fact, the government hasendured 17 prior partialshutdowns in the last 37years.

Some would argue thatthis time was differentbecause it was based on sucha fractured partisan debate.

However, most of theshutdowns in the past hadsimilarly passionate, ideolog-ical views driving the shut-down.

The second issue debatedin Washington was aboutincreasing the U.S. debt ceil-ing from the current $17 tril-lion level. After the compro-mise was reached, the mar-ket could focus on morefundamental issues, such aseconomic growth and corpo-rate earnings.

Until concerns surfacedabout the shutdown and thedebt ceiling, the stock mar-ket had remained incrediblyresilient.

In fact, the Standard &Poor‘s 500 Index recordedan all-time closing high onSept. 17. On a day-to-daybasis, stocks continue toreact to each piece of eco-nomic and political news,but taking a longer termview suggests these dailyevents are just “noise” in amarket that has graduallybeen advancing since thebottom of the recession of2008-09.

Benjamin Graham, con-sidered the father of valueinvesting, once describedthe stock market in theshort term as a votingmachine and in the longterm as a weighing machine.

Today’s markets providea great illustration of thatin reaction to daily eventsas compared to overallstock movements.

Derek Vogler is vice presidentof investments at COUNTRYFinancial.

DEREKVOGLER

Daily events and stock movement drives markets

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