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Monday, November 14, 2011 Two sections Volume 39, No. 46

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

USda laSt WEEk trimmedits corn and soybean productionestimates due to weather-inducedyield losses. The Illinois corn yieldalso was lowered. ............................6

an amEndmEnt to reduce reg-ulatory burdens on small cemeteriespassed in the House Executive Commit-tee but was not called for a vote on theHouse floor last week. ....................................3

StatE oFFicialS are ask-ing the public to report any feralhogs they may observe. The wildhogs pose a threat to livestock andwildlife. ............................................2

VETERAN TO VETERAN

BY KAY SHIPMANFarmWeek

The House and Senateoffered separate tax proposalslast week during the veto ses-sion, and both included provi-sions that would benefit andharm agriculture.

In the end, the harm out-weighed the benefits to agri-culture and resulted in IllinoisFarm Bureau opposing bothproposals, according to KevinSemlow, IFB director of statelegislation. Neither tax pack-age was brought up for a votelast week.

A beneficial proposal wouldraise the $2 million individual

state estate tax exemption to$5 million over two years.

However, a harmful pro-posal would decouple the statefrom the 2011 federal bonusdepreciation schedule — andmake that action retroactive toJan. 1, 2011.

“In omnibus bills, there aregood and bad componentssometimes. But IFB deter-mined the immediate impactof the loss of the bonusdepreciation was a greaterhardship and opposed bothproposals,” Semlow said. “IFBis working to have these provi-sions taken out of the taxpackages.”

If the bonus depreciationis decoupled retroactively, anindividual who made a largepurchase earlier this year, suchas a grain leg system, andthought it would qualify forbonus depreciation wouldlearn otherwise.

“People made sound invest-ments based on what the lawwas. They thought they wouldbe able to fully depreciatethose purchases on their taxreturns. Without the bonusdepreciation, they likely wouldhave had to pay higher taxes.That’s not fair,” Semlow said.

The motivation behindboth tax proposals is the tax

burden of the CME GroupInc., the parent company ofthe Chicago MercantileExchange and the ChicagoBoard of Trade. CME pays 6percent of all state corporateincome taxes.

There have been veiledthreats that the CME mightmove to a state with a morefavorable income tax struc-ture.

The House will return tothe Capitol Nov. 29 to discussthe tax issues.

In the interim, the HouseRevenue Committee will holdhearings and IFB will partici-pate in those, Semlow said.

House, Senate serve up tax proposal stews

Economists question basing policy on ‘new normal’BY MARTIN ROSSFarmWeek

In an economic/policyenvironment where “thenorm” is a moving target, farmbill veteran Barry Flinchbaughwarns lawmakers not toassume current high-profit,high-income ag production is“the new normal.”

The need for consensus onag policy/spending proposals

for considera-tion by the 12-member con-gressionaldeficit “supercommittee” is“getting downto the nitty-gritty,” theKansas StateUniversity ag

economist stressed during a

gathering of ag bankers inIndianapolis last week. But whatever else, congres-sional leaders must recognizethe importance of maintainingsome form of safety netdespite perceptions of agricul-ture’s current prosperity,Flinchbaugh said.

He acknowledged high grainprices and recent farm pro-gram savings, but maintained

that although “agriculture’shad some good years, it is notthe new ‘normal.’ ”

“There’s nothing less truethan that,” he told FarmWeek.Flinchbaugh cited the potentialramifications of a 2010“bumper crop,” cost volatility,waning federal ethanol sup-port, the European economic“meltdown,” and China“growing its own crops” for analready “cycle-based industry”(see page 5).

Virginia Tech economistDavid Kohl concurred, warn-ing lawmakers are looking atdramatic program changes “ata time when in two to threeyears, we may need them.”

Flinchbaugh is concernedabout the political dynamicsdriving farm bill debate. WhileHouse-Senate ag committeeshave put forward a $23-billionblueprint for the super com-mittee to assure crop insur-ance-safety net funding (if notfuture direct payments), hemaintained ag spending deci-sions remain in the hands of“freshmen in the House whodon’t know where little babiescome from” and a super com-mittee that includes only onereal “aggie” — Sen. Max Bau-cus (D-Mont.).

“I’m very comfortable with

the ag committees,” he said.“I’m very uncomfortable withletting a farm bill get on theHouse floor. (Long-time pro-gram critic Rep. Ron) Kindfrom Wisconsin’s already takenafter it, and you have thesefreshmen there who vote noon everything. You go over tothe Senate, and you have tohave 60 votes.

“If the Ag Committee lead-ers can get an agreement withMax Baucus, take the $23 bil-lion and a broad outline of thefarm bill, I certainly think I’dtake it, rather than running thechance of putting it on theHouse floor. But I’m not con-vinced the super committee isgoing to get anything done. Webetter have a backup plan.”

The super committee ischarged with identifying up to$1.2 trillion in cuts.

But it has authority to direct$600 billion in specific reduc-tions and order another $600billion in mandatory“sequestered” cuts to be deter-mined by lawmakers following2012 elections. According toFlinchbaugh, that shows “alack of responsibility in Wash-ington, on both sides of theaisle.”

Barry Flinchbaugh

See Economists, page 4

Lt. Col. Kelly Kilhoffer, left, a database administration specialist with Country Financial, Friday chatted withU. S. Rep. Adam Kinzinger at a brief Veterans Day gathering of Illinois Farm Bureau and Country employ-ees outside the IFB Building in Bloomington. Kinzinger, a Republican representative from Manteno and aNormal native, is a captain in the Air National Guard. Kilhoffer returned from Afghanistan about twomonths ago following a 15-month deployment with the U.S. Army Reserve. The sling he is wearing is aresult of surgery that has nothing to do with his military service. (Photo by Cyndi Cook)

investigation involved theNew York, Missouri, andMinnesota conservation andnatural resource depart-ments; Wyoming Game andFish Department; MontanaFish, Wildlife, and Parks; theOntario Ministry of NaturalResources; the Alberta Sus-tainable Resources Depart-

ment, and USFWS.

This year, IDNR hasreceived 170 tips about ille-gal activities to the poacherhotline at 877-236-7529.

Those tips either wereinvestigated or currently areunder investigation, Solanosaid. — Kay Shipman

ma and Daniel Bergsma,both of Ada, Mich.; DouglasBergsma, Rockford, Mich.;and Tom Hedke, Caledonia,Mich.

The Grundy County caseinvolves three individualswho were charged with ille-gally shooting 24 deer in Illi-nois and Canada over 10

years. The deer included apotential state-record-qualitybuck valued at $35,000.

Charges were filed against,Christopher Kiernan,Minooka; Garret Armstrong,Avon, N.Y.; and Larry Smith,Williamsburg, Ontario,Canada.

In addition to IDNR, the

OFF-YEAR MAKES PRICEY PECANS — Expectmore expensive pecans this holiday season. It’s an off-yearfor pecan production in Clinton County, said Karen Voss,who grows pecans with her husband, Ralph, near Carlyle.

Drought also reduced pecan production in manysouthern states where most of the U.S. crop is grown.The U.S. pecan crop is expected to be 14 percent smallerthan last year, according to USDA.

The average retail price for a pound of pecans isexpected to be about $11, compared to $9 in 2010,according to the South Georgia Pecan Co.

Another reason for higher prices — Chinese demand.The U.S. produces 80 percent of the world’s pecans, andChina typically buys a fifth of U.S. production. Pecans arevalued during New Years festivities.

ACREAGE REPORTING DATES STREAM-LINED — USDA last week announced it established 15common Acreage Reporting Dates (ARDs) for farmersand ranchers who participate in its programs.

The common reporting dates will reduce the reportingburden for producers and reduce USDA operating costsby sharing similar data across participating agencies.

The Risk Management Agency (RMA) and Farm Serv-ice Agency (FSA) will implement the new ARDs for cer-tain commodities July 15 and Aug. 15, 2012. The remain-ing ARDs will be implemented during the 2013 crop/pro-gram year, USDA said.

RMA previously had 54 ARDs for 122 crops whileFSA had 17 ARDs for 273 crops. The reporting dateswere consolidated into 15 common ARDs through theAcreage Crop Reporting Streamlining Initiative.

MIS-GUIDANCE? — U.S. Sens. John Barrasso (R-Wyo.) and Dean Heller (R-Nev.) last week were preparingto introduce an amendment to the Senate Energy andWater Appropriations “Minibus” to prevent the U.S.Army Corps of Engineers from finalizing its Draft Guid-ance on Identifying Waters Protected by the Clean WaterAct or from fast-tracking a regulation based on the draftguidance.

The measure is seen as crucial as regulators and somelawmakers continue efforts to redefine federal jurisdic-tion of “U.S. waters.” Earlier this year, the U.S. Envi-ronmental Protection Agency and the Corps publisheddraft guidance “that would significantly expand the reg-ulatory footprint of the Clean Water Act,” said Ameri-can Farm Bureau Federation regulatory specialist DonParrish.

“The draft guidance is inconsistent with current regu-lations and the Supreme Court decisions because itexpands jurisdiction to include isolated intrastate watersas well as ditches and other ephemeral features/streams;ephemeral streams flow only during, and for a short dura-tion after, precipitation events in a typical year,” Parrishsaid.

FarmWeek Monday, November 14, 2011

(ISSN0197-6680)

Vol. 39 No. 46 November 14, 2011

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

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Quick TakesRuRAL ISSuES


State officials are asking the public toreport any feral hogs they observe becauseof the threat the wild hogs pose to live-stock and wildlife.

“The biggest concern is pseudorabies.They do carry it; it’s in their population,”State Veterinarian Mark Ernst toldFarmWeek. He noted swine brucellosis isanother disease carried by feral swine.

Jim Kaitschuk, executive director of theIllinois Pork Producers Association,encouraged individuals to report any feralswine they may observe.

“We have worked hard to eradicatethose diseases,” Kaitschuk said.

The state considers feral hogs to beswine that are not domestic livestock. Aninvasive species, they are known to carry atleast 30 diseases that are serious threats tolivestock, pets, wildlife, and humans. Theirrooting and feeding also increases soil ero-sion and damages crops and habitat.

Ernst said feral hog sightings have been

reported in Southeastern and SouthernIllinois as well as in Fulton and Knoxcounties. However, scattered sighting havebeen report “all over,” he added.

The best way to protect livestock healthis to have good biosecurity measures inplace, Ernst said.

He encouraged landowners and farmersto cooperate if they are asked by IllinoisDepartment Natural Resources (IDNR)staff to allow the hogs to be trapped ontheir property. “The goal is to whittle theirnumbers down so they don’t get to be aproblem,” Ernst said.

IDNR Director Marc Miller urgedhunters, especially deer hunters over thecoming weeks, to watch for feral hogs andreport any seen.

Anyone who sees feral swine shouldcontact IDNR’s wildlife resources divisionat 217-785-2511. Hunters in the field whosee feral hogs and have a valid Illinoisfirearm owner’s identification card may —with the landowner’s permission — legallyshoot the wild pigs, according to IDNR.

Pseudorabies threat

Landowners, hunters asked to report feral hog sightings

Eight face charges for poaching 55 deer Eight individuals face

multiple charges for two sep-arate deer poaching cases of55 deer in Cook and Grundycounties, according to theIllinois Department of Nat-ural Resources (IDNR).

“As far as poaching (cas-es), these were pretty signifi-cant for the department. Thesheer size and volume weresignificant,” Stacey Solano,IDNR spokesman, toldFarmWeek.

Solano declined to specifyhow either case came toIDNR’s attention and saidboth investigations areongoing.

The Cook County caseinvolves five individuals whowere arrested after a five-month investigation thatinvolved the Michigan andIndiana conservation depart-ments and the U.S. Fish andWildlife Service (USFWS).

The hunters shot several tro-phy-quality deer, including onebuck valued at $25,000, and 31animals in all.

The five are: Louis Bergs-ma, Galena; Jonathan Bergs-

‘The sheer size and volume were signifi-cant.’

— Stacey SolanoIllinois Department of Natural Resources spokesman

ALOT application deadline WednesdayFarm Bureau members are reminded

Wednesday is the deadline to apply for the Agri-cultural Leader of Tomorrow (ALOT) class of2012. The 2012 class activities and training willtake place in Southern Illinois, primarily at theRend Lake Resort.

ALOT is open to any Farm Bureau mem-ber who is actively engaged in agriculture andcommitted to serving as a leader andspokesman.

The program involves an orientation and 12days of training during January, February, andMarch. Participants learn communication skills,the political process, agricultural economics,and global issues.

The total program fee is $600. An application is available online at

{www.ilfb.org} or from your county FarmBureau. For more information, contact yourcounty Farm Bureau manager.

GOVERNMENT

Monday, November 14, 2011 FarmWeek

IEPA explains implementation of NPDES pesticide permits

New regulations that took effect Oct. 31 will impact pesti-cide applications “to or over water or at water’s edge” in Illi-nois, according to the Illinois Environmental ProtectionAgency (IEPA).

IEPA officials are working to explain how they will imple-ment the National Pollutant Discharge Elimination System(NPDES) pesticide general permit.

Illinois Farm Bureau strongly opposed U.S. EPA’s proposaland continues to work toward passage of federal legislation toeliminate the new requirement, said Nancy Erickson, IFBdirector of natural and envi-ronmental resources.

Darin LaCrone with IEPA’swater pollution control divi-sion said IEPA is working toshare information about thepermit and the responsibilitiesof permit holders with agri-cultural and other tradegroups and entities that wouldbe impacted.

“The typical process ofspraying in an agriculturalfield would not be required tobe covered under this permitunless they are spraying over water or at (the) water’s edge.Spraying of ditches or algaecides to most water bodies” wouldrequire a permit, LaCrone said.

In general, an NPDES permit may be needed by anyonewho uses a pesticide that is licensed for water and applies thatproduct to or over water or at water’s edge to control one ormore of the following: mosquitoes and other insects, weedsand algae, animal pests, forests, and other types of pests.

If a pesticide applicator is going to apply the pesticide to anarea larger than specific thresholds, that person also may needto develop and submit a pesticide discharge management planto IEPA and comply with other requirements.

However, some applicators who obtain permits may beexempt from the plan requirement, according to Erickson.

Those exemptions include: applicators who respond todeclared pest emergencies, entities defined as small businesses,and applications funded by the Illinois Department of PublicHealth under the state Vector Control Act.

IEPA is developing a fact sheet and a list of frequently askedquestions and answers about the permit and plans to post thatinformation online in the near future, according to LaCrone.

“We want to make ourselves available to answer questions,and we are willing to work with anybody in this first part ofoutreach effort,” LaCrone said.

IFB plans to provide members with more informationthrough county Farm Bureaus, FarmWeek, RFD radio, andupcoming workshops and meetings, Erickson said. — KayShipman


An amendment to reduce regulatory burdenson small cemeteries passed in the Illinois HouseExecutive Committee but was not called for avote on the House floor last week during theveto session.

A controversial state law set up new licensingand insurance requirements and fees for smallcemeteries. SB1830, sponsored by state Rep.Barbara Flynn Currie (D-Chicago), and sup-ported by Illinois Farm Bureau, wouldreduce some of the regulatory burdenplaced on the cemeteries.

“While regulatory changes mayhave been necessary to addresssuch problems as those thatoccurred at the Burr OakCemetery in the Chicago area,the new rules were especiallyburdensome for smallcemeteries,” said Bill Bod-ine, IFB associate director ofstate legislation.

The proposed legislativechanges came about aftercontinued discussions between the IllinoisDepartment of Financial and Professional Reg-

ulation, which administered the rules, and thecemetery industry.

The proposed changes include a full exemp-tion from the law for cemeteries that are familyor religious burial grounds; have not had aninternment, inurnment, or entombment in 10years; or are less than three acres in size.

The bill requires exempt cemeteries to applyfor an exemption every four years but pro-poses no fee for application and renewal.

The bill also provides a limited exemp-tion for a cemetery that has had 25 or few-

er interments, inurnments, or entomb-ments of human remains for each of

the preceding two calendar yearsand operates as a public or a reli-gious cemetery.

Cemeteries that qualify for alimited exemption also wouldneed to apply for a partial

exemption every four yearsand pay a $150 application orrenewal fee.

The law would continue torequire cemeteries with limit-ed exemptions to comply

with rules for reasonable maintenance, recordkeeping, and other actions.

General Assembly addressescontroversial cemetery rules

Regional superintendents ofeducation are poised to receivetheir first paychecks in morethan five months followingaction last week by the GeneralAssembly.

In a line-item veto, Gov. PatQuinn eliminated $11.3 millionin general revenue funds (GRF)for the superintendents.

“We’ve found a solution toget us through the year, but ourwork is far from over,” saidstate Sen. John Sullivan (D-Rushville). “Many questionsremain about the role of ROEs(regional superintendents) inIllinois, not to mention

how they should be funded,and I’m committed to finding apermanent resolution to thisissue.”

Sullivan and state Rep. FrankMautino (D-Spring Valley)sponsored SB2147 that woulduse the Personal Property TaxReplacement Fund to pay forregional superintendents for2012 only. Starting in 2013,those positions would again befunded through the GRF.

The veto override passed inthe House with a 74-36 voteand in the Senate with a 38-16-1 vote and will be sent to Gov.Pat Quinn.

The bill also creates a 14-member commission to studythe regional superintendents’duties and funding and toexplore streamlining ideas forefficiency. The commission isto report to the governor andlegislature by Aug. 1.

“This is a temporary solu-tion, but something had to bedone until a more permanentsolution is found,” Sullivansaid. “Not paying the regionalsuperintendents for the workwe require them to do, and theywere elected to do, would besetting a dangerous precedent.”— Kay Shipman

Lawmakers OK temporary fundingfor the regional superintendents

Farmers who must renew theirmanure management certifications tocomply with state law are encouraged toplan ahead because a higher number ofrenewals is anticipated in 2012.

“Those whose certification is lapsingshould have or shortly will receive a let-ter from the Illinois Department ofAgriculture (IDOA),” said WarrenGoetsch, head of IDOA’s environmentalprograms.

Goetsch encouraged farmers to planahead “because a limited number of ses-sions are out there.”

Dale Baird, University of IllinoisExtension coordinator, estimated about800 farmers may need to renew theircertifications. By comparison, 180-somerenewed certifications this year.

The state Livestock ManagementFacilities Act (LMFA) requires farmers

with operations designed for more than300 animal units to have manure man-agement certification and to renew thecertification every three years.

Farmers with more than 300 animalunits must attend an approved trainingsession or pass a written IDOA exam.Those with more than 1,000 animalunits must attend an approved trainingsession and pass a test.

Goetsch advised farmers to take intoaccount the size of their existing facilityand to adjust their certification needsaccordingly.

Certified livestock manager trainingworkshops will be held in 12 locationsaround Illinois beginning Dec. 7.

The majority are planned for Januaryand February. A workshop schedule isonline at {www.aces.uiuc.edu/news/sto-ries/news5957.html}.

A general curriculum is offered;however, several workshops are tai-lored specifically for either swine orbeef and dairy production.

To register for a workshop, callthe U of I Extension at 800-345-6087.

The cost is $30. If more than oneemployee from the same farm regis-ters, the first registration will cost$30 and each subsequent registrationwill cost $20.

The instructional manual may bebought at the time of registration for$62.50, including shipping and han-dling. The manual also is available oncompact disc for $32.50.

More information is available fromBaird by calling 815-978-2844 or by e-mailing him at [email protected]. —Kay Shipman

Dec. 7 first session

Farmers urged to plan ahead to renew LMFA certificationNov. 29

Market Ready workshop,Franklin CountyExtension office, Benton.

Dec. 3-6Illinois Farm Bureauannual meeting, PalmerHouse, Chicago.

Dec. 5-6University of Illinois AgMasters Conference,Urbana.

Dec. 7-8Cover crop conference,Decatur ConferenceCenter, Decatur.

Dec. 12 Farm Economic Summit,I Hotel and ConferenceCenter, Champaign.

DATEBOOK

policy


Continued from page 1He is concerned about some components of the $23 billion

super committee plan, including major conservation programreductions. “I never thought I’d see the day when we’d cut con-servation,” said Flinchbaugh, who offered the possibility that apared-back Conservation Reserve Program could drop from 32million acres to perhaps 27 million. And he is wary of so-called “shallow loss” revenue proposals(“The direction I hear we’re headed”) that in his view would pro-tect against relatively minor losses, influence planting decisions,and potentially cause market distortion, “especially if it’s basedon planted acres.”

Flinchbaugh insists “you have to look at some kind of histo-ry” when building an effective, wide-ranging revenue program,noting “wheat loses” under a program based on planted ratherthan base acres. “A base adjusted for what you plant” might be aviable program compromise, he said.

Economists

Ethanol sector ‘ready to stand on its own’?BY MARTIN ROSSFarmWeek

The ethanol industry “isready to stand on its own,” amajor biofuels producer pro-claimed last week.

During last week’s AmericanBankers Association AgBankers Conference in Indi-anapolis, Green Plains Renew-able Energy CEO Todd Beckertouted “great opportunities”for the ethanol sector and itscorn suppliers despite antici-pated elimination of the 45-cent-per-gallon volumetricethanol excise tax credit(VEETC) at year’s end.

The fuel blender’s credit hashelped generate today’s 12.5billion gallons in annual pro-duction capacity, and eliminat-ed $10 billion to $15 billion indirect farm subsidies throughhigher corn prices, Becker said.

But amid sustained attackson ethanol from “Big Oil, BigFood, and Big Environment,”Becker argued “there is no waywe can maintain credibilityuntil that credit is gone andforgotten.”

“We think it’s a big bull’s eyeon our back — people can say,‘Look at the ethanol industry— it’s highly subsidized,’ ”Becker told FarmWeek.

He sees five “fundamentals”fueling a positive outlook for“ethanol after VEETC,”including biofuels mandatesunder the federal RenewableFuels Standard (RFS2). The

U.S. Environmental ProtectionAgency (EPA) has set a targetof 13.2 billion gallons of con-ventional ethanol use in 2012,on track toward an eventual 15billion gallons RFS2 cap onmandated annual corn ethanoluse through 2022.

From a price standpoint,Becker sees ethanol remainingcompetitive with gasoline.Wholesale ethanol prices haveexceeded wholesale gas pricesover a total of only six monthsof the past three years, “withoutthe tax credit,” he noted.

“We’re still very profitable toblend,” Becker said. “No. 3, U.S.refiners have switched to an 84octane (fuel oxygen) level forabout 80 percent of their capac-ity. To get 84 percent octane,you have to blend with ethanol.

“No. 4, we’re the cheapestfuel in the world today. We’reexporting a lot of our fuel toplaces like Brazil, Europe, theMiddle East, Africa, and Asia.And ultimately we’ll see an E15renaissance — we’ll see 15 per-cent ethanol get into con-sumers’ cars. NASCAR runs itevery day in the highest-per-forming motor vehicles in theworld.”

E15 adoption “will take us to22.5 billion gallons” in nation-wide demand, Becker said. Cur-rently, exports are helpingabsorb surplus production (theU.S. sold 641 million gallons toBrazil during the January-August period), but he deemed

it “disgraceful we’re exportingour motor fuel while we’reimporting foreign oil.”

He nonetheless recognizesthe “continued battle” in deliv-ering E15 to gas pumps. Majorpetroleum producer-marketerssee each new gallon of ethanolas “a gallon of oil they don’tsell,” and “Big Oil and Big Autoare together” in their resistanceto conventional blends beyond10 percent, despite a lack ofauto industry blend testing, hesaid.

However, Becker seesNASCAR’s partnership withthe ethanol industry buildingE15 support among 90 million“NASCAR Nation fans.”

And the industry has seenethanol buy-in by such influen-tial petroleum players as ValeroEnergy, Koch Industries, Mur-phy Oil, Marathon, and Suno-co.

E15 penetration will be cru-cial to future market growth,Becker said. E85 offers thegreatest consumer savings evenwith a potential 15-20 percentlag in per-gallon mileage, butsustaining auto industrymomentum to expand flex-fuelvehicle offerings will be a ongo-ing challenge, he warned.

“E15 to E30 is going to beour best blend — that’s whatwe need to fight for,” Beckerheld. “At E30, there’s a very,very limited slip in miles, yetyou get better performancewith your vehicle.”

Ethanol mythbustersprepared to ‘retool’

After years of trial and error, boom and bust, bankruptcyand consolidation, and slings and arrows, the ethanol industryis ready to regroup and recapture consumer support.

That’s according to Todd Becker, CEO of Nebraska-basedGreen Plains Renewable Energy. Becker argues the ethanolindustry “is probably in thebest shape it’s been in since2006,” even if it’s no longer“the darling of agriculture.”

The industry is armed witha new, more diversified, moresustainable business modeland a growing body of evidence to refute “myths” regardingethanol’s impact on food supplies and prices and the environ-ment.

“We’re retooling the message, we’re defending ourselves,”Becker said. “When they came after ethanol a couple years ago,we did a horrible job defending ourselves. ‘Food vs. fuel?That’ll never stick.’ Until it stuck. ‘Big Oil? Of course theywant ethanol.’ Until they don’t.

“We were very disjointed as an industry, because we weremaking so much money that it was all going to last forever.Until it didn’t. By that time, it was too late. (Ethanol critics)changed the message; they changed public perception. Now,we’re battling back with great opportunities, great companies,great support, and a great fuel.”

Becker sees 2008 as a turning point in ethanol perceptionsand fortunes. But he rejects the notion that high corn priceswere behind major plant closings, instead blaming poor marketrisk management in a sector then plagued by “entrepreneurs,developers, and promoters” who failed to understand thedynamics of “a commodity-processing business.”

More stable, knowledgeable interests, including major ener-gy companies, came in in the wake of “high profile agriculturalbankruptcies” to reboot plants, Becker said. Thus, 40 percentof the industry is now in the hands of “bigger, better, morecapital-capable players,” he said.

The former ConAgra executive embraces an “ABC” modelfor the industry, emulating the diversification and scope of anArcher Daniels Midland, Bunge, or Cargill. “We needed to looklike a global agribusiness conglomerate, rather than just a singleethanol plant in the middle of Iowa,” he insisted.

Green Plains operates nine dry mill ethanol plants in six keycorn states, currently generating an annual 740 million gallonsper year. Recent installation of corn oil extraction technologyat all nine plants has allowed the company to produce 32.7 mil-lion pounds of oil in addition to distillers dried grains for live-stock and export markets.

The company also maintains 14 grain elevators, with acumulative 37 million bushels of storage, and nine fuel blend-ing terminals across the southeast U.S. and Gulf region.Thanks to the latter, “we’ve single-handedly opened newethanol markets,” Becker noted. — Martin Ross

FarmWeekNow.comListen to Todd Becker’s com-men t s abou t t h e po s i t i v eo u t l o o k f o r e t h a n o l a tFarmWeekNow.com.

Because Washington lawmakers could put abow on the next farm bill by Christmas, it’stough to package policy proposals that won’t befinalized until January.

Illinois Farm Bureau’s Resolutions Commit-tee (RC) has tried.

IFB delegates will debate ag policy prioritiesat IFB’s Dec. 3-6 annual meeting in Chicago.National policy proposals will be submitted forpossible review at the American Farm BureauFederation’s Jan. 8-11 annual meeting.

IFB Vice President and RC Chairman RichGuebert Jr. noted Congress’ deficit “super com-mittee” could endorse a “2012” farm bill planby Christmas or even Thanksgiving. The RC“bundled” elements of IFB Farm Policy TaskForce/Grassroots Issue Team recommenda-tions, using “what we’re seeing happening now”as a guide, he said.

The RC deemed crop insurance “the top pri-ority in future farm bill negotiations,” urgingincreased federal premium support and USDAauthority to develop new programs such asfarmer savings accounts.

“This is the first time we’re seeing a farm billwritten this way, without input from the farm-ing community, per se,” Guebert related. “This(IFB) policy will get nailed down in delegatedebate, but a lot depends on what happens ifCongress writes the bill before we get there.

“Members looked at crop insurance knowingwe’re probably going to lose a greater portion ifnot all of our direct payments. We see insuranceas the leading edge. And we want revenue assur-ance as we go down the road.”

The RC proposal argues for farm programchanges that reflect current trend-line yields“and provide loss ratio fairness across crops.”

The program revenue safety net should pro-vide “timely payments” based on regional orcounty rather than state revenue benchmarksand loss triggers and protect farmers from mul-ti-year price volatility, the RC held.

It supports a continued commodity loan pro-gram with rates above 2008 farm bill levels, and“payments or programs that compensate farm-ers for activities deemed socially or environ-mentally beneficial.”

“We’d like to see conservation programs keptintact, though we know we’re going to losesome dollars,” Guebert said.

Meanwhile, RC policy supports eliminatingthe Illinois estate tax while in the interim adopt-ing a current $5 million federal individual estatetax exemption with a maximum 16 percent statetax rate.

It supports reverting ownership rights forutility, pipeline, and underground gas storageeasements or leases to the surface landowner ifthey are unused or abandoned for 20 years.

RC draft deems cropinsurance ‘top priority’

ag ecoNomics 101


GaMe on? Global ‘convergence’ could affect ag fortunesBY MARTIN ROSSFarmWeek

The evolving and uncertainChina scenario, biofuels policyand economics, a return tohigher (i.e., normal) interestrates and a stronger dollar, andan ag “asset bubble” couldmean bumps ahead for U.S.farmers.

from an “asset-rich, cash flow-poor” to an “asset-rich, cashflow-rich” position, he said. That tempts producerstoward “the undisciplined pur-suit of more” — accumulationof a “fixed asset structure” thatcould prove problematic when anearly inevitable economic“correction” occurs over thenext decade, he toldFarmWeek.

“This ‘super cycle’ — whenall the markets line up, theweather lines up, people maketons of money — has lastedeight years,” Kohl said. “Yourtypical super cycle — we’ve hadfour since 1910 — has lasted2.8 to 3.4 years. What’s causedthis one? It’s a megatrend that’soccurring. There are five ‘gamechangers.’”

One of the key game-chang-ers is the “BRIC” — the semi-developed nations of Brazil,Russia, India, and China. Alongwith South Africa, the BRICsconstitute 20 percent of theworld economy and 50 percentof the world’s incrementalgrowth since 2000, Kohl noted.

Wells Fargo Bank ag econo-mist michael Swanson seesgrain exports to China alonebooming over the next decade

because of rising proteindemand. The pork-focused cul-ture likely “is going to diversify,”Swanson told FarmWeek,anticipating expanded Chinesepoultry production.

However, he sees a Chinesegrowth “hiccup” having agreater impact on U.S. farmlandprices than any U.S. economicor policy shift. While Europe iswitnessing widespread econom-ic turmoil, Kohl noted the Chi-nese have “yet to go throughtheir economic adversity.”

“It’s like an athletic team try-ing to win the national champi-onship — you’re going to gothrough a rough patch, and(China hasn’t) gone through itsrough patch,” Kohl said.

“What could cause a roughpatch? Political change, which isgoing to occur in China. Socialunrest: There’ve been 180,000uprisings in China this year. Orit could be military. Any one ofthose could change the gamepretty quickly.”

So advised economists at lastweek’s American Bankers Asso-ciation Agricultural BankersConference. Virginia Tech Uni-versity emeritus economistDavid Kohl argued the near-term fortunes of the ag econo-my are “all about convergenceand interconnection.”

Kohl said a number of eco-

nomic, policy,and globalforces haveconverged to“provide thebest of timesin these islandsof prosperity.”many farmershave graduated

Beyond the BRICs — Brazil, Russia, India,and China —economists at the National Agri-cultural Bankers Conference charted four otherkey issues that could impact ag fortunes in theyears ahead.

• Biofuels. Michael Swanson, ag economistwith Wells Fargo Bank North America, dismiss-es the idea elimination of the ethanol tax creditwill throw a flag on the play. He noted theethanol spot market has fluctuated significantlyjust over the six months, even with the credit.“Would it have been 40 percent worse in all

those situations without the credit?” Swansonposed. “My answer is no. (Fuel suppliers regu-latorily) have to buy it to blend it, and they doso whether they make money or not.”Despite faith in continued ethanol mandates

through the federal Renewable Fuels Standard(RFS2), Swanson noted some blenders earlierthis year found it cheaper to pay federal penal-ties rather than buy scarce biodiesel supplies.“If we ever saw that in ethanol, it would be ahuge liability,” possibly affecting political sup-port for the RFS2, he told FarmWeek.

• The U.S. dollar. The relatively low value ofthe dollar has helped spur U.S. exports evenas it has raised some import costs, VirginiaTech economist David Kohl noted.

• Interest rates. The long-term dip in inter-

est rates has been a positive game changer forproducers, but at this economic juncture, Kohlwarned a mere return to previously normalrates would constitute a “spike.” “That could bea major, major game changer,” he said.Federal Reserve Chairman Ben Bernanke

has pledged to hold the line on rates into 2013if economically necessary, but Kohl suggestsrates long-term are “out of Ben Bernanke’shands.” Currency shifts and wavering interna-tional “confidence” in the U.S. could spur high-er interest rates. “With long-term rates, we have to be very

concerned in the sense that 40 percent of ourU.S. federal debt is financed by foreign coun-tries,” he said.

• Mother Nature. According to Kohl, rough-ly 25 U.S. regions generate about 80 percentof domestic ag production, with 100-125 totalregions worldwide producing nearly 80 per-cent of world output.“Have a major weather event hit those

areas, and it’ll throw supply off,” he said. “Andthen, of course, we have $4-$7 trillion in ‘hot’money worldwide playing in the markets.They’ll play in gold, in the stock markets, in thecommodity markets. That’s one of the ele-ments that would really kick off volatility.” —Martin Ross

GAmE-CHAnGERS?

When farm clients complain about Washing-ton’s regulatory reach, rural lenders not only aresympathetic, they have a few cents of their ownto throw in.

During an Indianapolis ag bankers conference,American Bankers Association (ABA) ChairmanAlbert Kelly decried “the ream of regulatoryoverkill we’ve seen.” Overregulation threatens“what is necessary for this economy to grow,” theOklahoma bank CEO warned.

Community banks fear a raft of new require-ments as the administration interprets 2,700pages of 2010 financial reform measures. Thoserules could extend into “the tens of thousands ofpages,” said ABA’s Center for Agricultural andRural Banking Senior Vice President JohnBlanchfield.

The regulatory threat nonetheless extends“across the board,” from U.S. EnvironmentalProtection Agency (EPA) proposals that affectfarm borrowers to more stringent U.S. Depart-ment of Labor/Occupational Safety and HealthAdministration (OSHA) regulations that limitsmall business development, Kelly toldFarmWeek.

“All these folks believe they’re kings over king-doms,” he charged. “They’re running unmitigatedby the administration. Congress has become sogridlocked it’s unable to affect what’s going on,and so the administration’s running its agenda

through the regulators.“We have a small left-leaning administration

that’s absolutely wiping business out. People aregoing to quit — they’re uncertain; they don’tknow where they are tax-wise; they sure as helldon’t know where they are health-wise. They’rebeing hit harder in EPA audits, in OSHA audits.”

The Dodd-Frank bill imposes new “burdens”on rural bankers, and ag borrowers “may be askedquestions by their banker they’ve never beenasked before,” Blanchfield said. A new ConsumerFinancial Protection Bureau could require ag cus-tomers to supply age, race, sex, and other person-al data and bankers more detailed loan/loanapplication information.

Expanded reporting requirements likely willincrease loan costs “that get passed on to the cus-tomer,” Blanchfield told FarmWeek.

“Be prepared for the banker to ask you morein-depth questions about your marketing plan,your maintenance plan on your equipment ormachinery, how you’ll replace items that aredepreciated,” he advised farmers.

“The regulators are scrutinizing agriculturalloans very closely for safety and soundness pur-poses. The best way to get the credit you need isto prepare — answer in your head as many ques-tions as you can before you actually sit down withthe banker. The worst answer is, ‘I don’t know.’”— Martin Ross

Regulatory anxiety growing;new questions for ag borrowers?

David Kohl

FarmWeekNow.comGo to FarmWeekNow.com tohear David Kohl’s commentsabout what farmers should ex-pect economically.

production


USDA lowers crop yield estimates, demand projectionsBY DANIEL GRANTFarmWeek

USDA last week trimmed itscorn and soybean productionestimates due to weather-induced yield losses.

But the cuts are not expect-ed to spark any major marketrallies near-term as USDA alsoslashed demand projections forboth crops.

USDA in its Novembercrop report projected U.S.corn production this seasonwill total 12.3 billion bushels(down 123 million bushelsfrom last month’s estimate).Soybean production waspegged at 3.05 billion bushels(down 14 million bushelsfrom last month).

Yields nationwide were pro-

trimmed ending stocks of cornby 23 million bushels. But itraised ending stocks of beansby 35 million bushels (to a totalof 195 million bushels) due inpart to a 50-million-bushel cutin exports.

“It (the soybean stocks esti-mate) is not a burdensomenumber, but it’s more breathing

room than we’ve had for quiteawhile,” Pope said.

Season-average prices wereprojected to range from $11.60to $13.60 per bushel for beans(down 55 cents from lastmonth), $6.20 to $7.20 for corn(unchanged), and $7.05 to $7.75for wheat (down 15 cents onthe high side).

jected to average 146.7 bushelsper acre for corn (down 1.4bushels from last month) and41.3 bushels for beans (down0.2 of a bushel from lastmonth).

If realized, the U.S. corncrop would be the fourth-largest on record, but the aver-age yield would be the lowestsince 2003. The projected aver-age yield for beans would bethe second-lowest on recordsince 2003.

“At first you think (the cut incrop production) is a bullishdevelopment,” Clayton Pope,AgriVisor manager/marketanalyst, told the RFD RadioNetwork. “But USDA coun-tered the effect of that by low-ering demand as well.”

USDA surprised manytraders when it cut feeddemand for corn by 100 millionbushels. So far this year, USDAhas reduced feed demand forcorn by a total of 400 millionbushels.

“How can (USDA) cut feeddemand by 400 million bushelswhen we’re not seeing an increasein something else (particularly feedwheat, which was leftunchanged),” Randy Martinson,analyst with Progressive Ag, saidduring a teleconference hosted bythe Minneapolis Grain Exchange.“I don’t know what we’re feedingthose animals out there.”

The analysts believe distillersgrains may be displacing morefrom feed rations than expected.

USDA last week also

The theme for the 2012 GROWMARK essaycontest is “Cooperatives in a global environ-ment.”

Open to all Illinois FFA members, the contestis sponsored by GROWMARK and FS membercooperatives in conjunction with Illinois FFAleaders.

This year students are to focus on threequestions: What benefits do co-ops providetheir member-owners? How do co-ops improvethe quality of life in their communities? Howdo co-ops contribute to economic growth

throughout the world?Essays should be about 500 words in length,

typed, and double-spaced. The postmarked entrydeadline is March 15.

Additional details were sent to agricultureteachers and are available online at {www.grow-mark.com}. Click on “Our Commitments/Youth& Young Farmers/Essay Contest” icon.

The state winner will receive a $500 scholar-ship, and the winner’s FFA chapter will receive a$300 award. Four runners-up each will win a $125scholarship.

GROWMARK challenging FFA’ers to think globally

Harvest nearly complete; yield estimates shrink

Illinois farmers have discovered their corn crop was not asgood as previously indicated, based on last week’s USDA cropreport.

The latest report, which included field data in the estimates,projected an average statewide corn yield of 156 bushels per acre.

The statewide corn yield estimate was down 3 bushels from theOctober forecast. If realized, that estimate would represent a 1-bushel decline from last year’s yield average (157 bushels) and an18-bushel drop from the 2009 state average yield of 174 bushels.

“The final numbers are yet to be seen,” said Jim Reed, afarmer from Monticello and president of the Illinois Corn Grow-ers Association (ICGA). “I wouldn’t be surprised if it (the aver-age yield) drops a little more” when the final harvest numbers arereleased in January.

This year’s crop endured heavy rains early in the season, whichdelayed planting in many areas, followed by extreme heat anddrought during pollination. Wind damage, hail damage, and nitro-gen deficiency also were fairly common issues.

“The yields are much better than we anticipated, yet they’renot as good as 2009,” Reed said. “The (yield) variability through-out the state is as severe as I’ve seen in years. Within a 10-mileradius, there could be a 100-bushel difference in corn.”

USDA last week did not change its soybean yield estimate of46 bushels per acre for Illinois.

Total soybean production in the state, however, was projectedto plummet 13 percent this year compared to 2010 due to feweracres and smaller yields.

Illinois soybeans last year averaged a record-high 51.5 bushelsper acre.

Harvest in Illinois as of the first of last week was 94 percentcomplete for corn (16 percent ahead of the five-year average) and97 percent complete for soybeans (8 percent ahead of average),the National Agricultural Statistics Service Illinois field officereported.

Farmers as of the first of last week also had seeded 95 percentof the winter wheat crop in Illinois compared to the average of89 percent.

Some analysts last week projected U.S. farmers will boost cornplantings in 2012. But Reed believes that decision is far frombeing a slam dunk for many farmers.

“Given the existing high costs of inputs — fertilizer is up sub-stantially — it will be difficult to plant more corn acres based onthe current price of the crop,” he said.

The average price of corn since its summer peak has declinedabout $1.50 per bushel, according to the ICGA president. —Daniel Grant

EmErging iSSUES


nities available to anybody whois willing to step up and meetthe needs of commercial buy-ers,” he added.

Both MarketReady work-shops will run from 9 a.m. to3:30 p.m.

The workshops will be inthe Franklin County Extensionoffice, Benton on Nov. 29 andin the Knox County Extensionoffice, Galesburg, on Dec. 13.

Each workshop is limited to50 participants and advanceregistration is required.

Pike described the work-shops “as a way of openingthe eyes of producers to theseopportunities with commercialbuyers.”

But those needs are differ-ent from selling directly toconsumers through farmers’markets, he pointed out.

Workshop topics willinclude: food safety issues,product liability insurance,certification and audits, pric-ing and invoices, packagingand labeling, supply and deliv-ery, marketing, and qualityassurance.

Participants also will have

an opportunity to register onMarketMaker, a web-basedmarketing site, or to updatetheir current listing on thesite.

The workshops are spon-sored by the North CentralSustainable Agriculture

Research and Education Pro-gram, Farm Credit Services ofIllinois, and the U of I Exten-sion.

To register, call MaryHosier at 217-333-7512 or e-mail her at [email protected].

Workshops’ focuscommercial buyersBY KAY SHIPMANFarmWeek

Consumers and costs arecausing more commercialbuyers to seek sources forlocally grown foods andopening new markets forsmall and mid-size farm oper-ations, said a University ofIllinois Extension economicdevelopment specialist.

“The markets are evolvingrapidly. In commercial mar-kets, there is market access forsmall to mid-sized producersthat wasn’t there five yearsago,” said John Pike, a localfood systems and small farmeducator based in Murphys-boro.

Preparing farmers to workwith commercial markets willbe the focus of two free Mar-ketReady workshops Nov. 29and Dec. 13. MarketReady is a

curriculum-based programdesigned to help farmersunderstand best marketingpractices.

Today’s breadth of interest-ed commercial buyers isimpressive. They range fromrestaurants and grocery storesto schools and other institu-tions.

“They’re looking to sourcefood locally when it makessense,” Pike said.

“I think there are opportu-

Market access evolving rapidly for small, mid-size farms

‘I think there areopportunities avail-able to anybodywho is wi l l ing tostep up and meetthe needs of com-mercial buyers.’

— John PikeU of I Extension economic

development specialist

New buffer idea a promisingnutrient conservation practice

locations have not yet beendetermined, Jaynes said.

While the saturated bufferpractice holds promise inreducing nitrate levels in tilerunoff, it will not provide thetotal solution, Jaynes cau-tioned.

“We estimated it wouldmaybe reduce nitrogen loadingin streams by 10 percent ifwidely adopted,” Jaynessaid. — Kay Shipman

An Iowa soil scientist’s ideato reconnect riparian bufferswith field tiles produced prom-ising results in removingnitrate during its initial year.

Dan Jaynes with USDA’sNational Laboratory for Agri-culture and the Environmentdeveloped a saturated bufferpractice that uses a shallowsubsurface drain line along abuffer. The buffer tile wasconnected to a traditional six-inch drainage tile that draineda 50-acre field along BearCreek in Iowa.

“It worked better than Ithought it would,” Jaynes saidof his first-of-its-kind project.

The buffer tile and 1,000feet of buffer took about 60percent of the tile flow andremoved 100 percent ofnitrate from that water,according to Jaynes.

Despite his initial success,Jaynes warned against jumpingto conclusions based a year’sworth of data (Februarythrough July 2011) at one site.“It’s been one site, one year.We need to wait and see if wecan replicate it,” he added.

Harold Reetz, an Illinois-based agronomist who is

familiar with Jaynes’ project,described saturated buffers as“a new approach to filter offnitrate before it gets into thewater.”

Actually the term “saturat-ed” is somewhat misleading. “Idon’t want any water on thesurface (of the buffer) andkeep the water six to 12 inchesbelow the surface,” Jaynes said.Likewise, the buffer practicedoes not cause the water tableto rise in the adjoining field.

One unanswered questionis: Where will saturated bufferswork?

Jaynes said the ideal loca-tion would be a buffer that isdown-slope from the adjoiningfield. He speculated someareas in Illinois may be too flatwith heavy soils, such asDrummer soil, for the systemto work. Also sandy soils andbuffers located along a deepditch probably would notwork, he added.

With funding from anational Conservation Innova-tion Grant, researchers plan totest different applications forsaturated buffers by installingthem in nine sites in Illinois,Indiana, and Iowa. Specific

Illinois farmers now mayaccess a new “app” that calcu-lates optimum nitrogen fertil-izer application rates on theirAndroid phones, according toDennis Bowman, University ofIllinois crops Extension educa-tor.

A few years ago, U of IExtension specialists startedrecommending the maximumreturn to nitrogen (MRTN)model, which helps calculatethe economic optimum nitro-gen rate.

A website related to themodel was developed forfarmers at {http://exten-sion.agron.iastate.edu/soilfer-tility/Help.aspx}.

This system uses informa-tion supplied by a farmer on

current fertilizer and cornprices as well as the farm’slocation and crop rotation.

Using that information, thesystem creates a customizedrecommendation.

Recently, the U of I’s Bow-man created an application forAndroid smartphones ortablets.

The application is not yetavailable for the Iphone. Although the application isstill being tested, Bowmansaid he will share it with Illi-nois farmers who haveAndroid smartphones ortablets.

For more information, e-mail Bowman at [email protected] and enter “SendMRTN” in the subject line.

Phone ‘app’ calculates Illinois N rates

State


IFB Young Leaders share stories on new blogBY DANIEL GRANTFarmWeek

Do you know why farmersvaccinate calves, what planningalready is going on for nextyear’s crops, or how manyDairy Queen blizzards can bemade from thedaily milk pro-duction froman averagedairy cow?

Answers tothese ques-tions and oth-ers can be found on a newblog recently launched bythe Illinois Farm BureauState Young Leader Commit-tee.

The “Generation Agricul-ture” blog made its debut inlate August and is available at{http://ilfbyl.wordpress.com/}.It features postings from StateYoung Leader Committeemembers from around Illinois.

“It provides a little insightinto who we are, what’sgoing on in each district, andwhat’s going on at each(State Committee member’s)farm or in their daily lives,”said Jennifer Smith, IFB

Young Leader manager.IFB Young Leaders are 18

to 35 year olds who eitherfarm or have a vested inter-est in the industry. EighteenYoung Leaders serve on theState Committee, which is

chaired by SeanArians ofNormal.

“Along withbuilding rela-tionships, it isimportant that

we continue tolook to our consumers andbuild their trust in our prod-uct,” Arians stated in hisblog posting.

The target audience for theblog is Young Leaders andyoung farmers who can use themedium as a networking vehi-cle.

But the blog also is writtento help educate consumersabout farming practices, sea-sonal concerns in agriculture,and other information aboutfood production.

“It (the blog) is for any-body, but the target audience isother Young Leaders to helpgrow interest in the program,”

Smith said. “It’s been neat tosee their personalities comeout (via blog postings) and tolearn about what’s going onaround the state.”

Those interested in theblog also can follow it onFacebook and Twitter. TheYoung Leader blog as of lastweek had accumulated morethan 1,200 Facebook “likes”in about two months.

“The use of social media isbecoming increasingly impor-tant to agriculture,” said Mon-ica Stevens, Young LeaderState Committee memberfrom Altona. “Social media isa valuable tool we need to uti-lize to educate our non-farmfriends about our industry.”

Young Leader state awardwinners are featured on the

blog. It also will be a valuabletool to help introduce six newmembers of the State Com-mittee in January, Smith noted.

For those still wondering, adairy cow produces enoughmilk to make about 27 bliz-zards each day, according to a

blog posting by Brent Pollard,a committee member anddairy producer from Rock-ford.

FarmWeekNow.com

Visit the latest posts on the newI F B Young L eade r b l og a tFarmWeekNow.com.

‘It is important that we continue to look to our con-sumers and build their trust in our product.’

— Sean AriansIFB Young Leader State Committee chairman

Cover crops gaining ground, providing variety of benefitsMidwest seminartargeting farmersBY KAY SHIPMANFarmWeek

Farmer interest is growingin the use of cover crops dueto the variety of benefits theyprovide, according to conser-vation experts.

“The benefits are wellknown ... build (soil) organicmatter, control weeds, andmanage nutri-ents and soilhealth,” saidKent Bohn-hoff, districtconservationistfor the McLeanCounty NaturalResourcesConservationService(NRCS).

Practical,farmer-orient-ed informationabout cover crops and suc-cessful practices with themwill be offered Dec. 7-8 in theDecatur Conference Center,Decatur. It will be the firstMidwest farmer-oriented cov-er crop conference sponsoredby the Soil and Water Conser-vation Society (SWCS).

Over two days, the confer-ence will offer panels of farm-ers who will discuss theirexperiences, researchers whowill share the latest studies,and agronomists who willfocus on production practices.

“Farmers need to come inwith an open mind and recog-nize the principles (of usingcover crops) are the same, butwhat they hear works for aparticular farmer they willhave to tweak the system fortheir farms,” said Dan Towerywith Ag Conservation Solu-tions and a SWCS board mem-ber.

“We encourage farmers tostart out small and gain experi-

ence,” Towery added.Conservation projects using

cover crops are helping tospread the word and the tech-nology — even on relativelyflat fields.

For example, two CentralIllinois cover crop projects aretesting technology and prac-tices as well as collecting dataon the outcomes.

In Ford, LaSalle, Liv-ingston, Macon, and McLeancounties, a cover crop project

provided par-ticipating farm-ers with techni-cal expertise,cost-sharefunding, andother assistancethrough thelocal Soil andWater Conser-vation Dis-tricts.

A secondcover cropproject in

McLean County is assessingthe influence of cover cropson nutrient levels in field tilerunoff.

Cover crop “cocktail” isone of the hottest topics andrefers to the mixes of covercrops that are planted simulta-neously in fields, Towery said.Those mixes, along with equip-ment innovations, will be dis-cussed at the December con-ference.

The registration fee is $75and includes meals and materi-als. Hotel accommodations areseparate and may be arrangedby calling the conference cen-ter and hotel at 877-352-8800and referencing the “covercrops meeting.”

The conference will start at9:30 a.m. Dec. 7 and concludeat 4 p.m. Dec. 8. A detailedagenda and online registrationare available at{www.swcs.org/covercrops}or by calling Towery at 765-490-0197.

‘We encouragefarmers to star to u t sma l l a n dgain experience’

— Dan ToweryAg Conservation Solutions

FRoM ThE coUNTIES


BROWN — Farm Bureauand Brown County FFA

are taking orders for Floridaoranges, tangelos, grapefruit, andshelled pecans. Call the FarmBureau office at 217-773-2634by Thursday to order or formore information.

BUREAU — FarmBureau will sponsor an

educational meeting on ag kits at4 p.m. Wednesday, Nov. 30, atthe Farm Bureau office. SaraHildebrand will present the pro-gram. Teachers who attend willreceive continuing educationcredits. Call the Farm Bureauoffice at 815-875-6468 for reser-vations or more information.

HENRY — CountyFarm Bureaus, Universi-

ty of Illinois Extension, andBlack Hawk East (BHE) Collegewill sponsor a fall equine seminarfrom 6:30 to 8:30 p.m. Thursdayin the BHE Ag Arena. There isno charge for 4-H and FFAmembers. Cost for public is $5.Call the Farm Bureau office toregister.

• A market outlook seminarwill be at 6:15 p.m. Wednesday,Nov. 30, at the Moline VikingClub, Moline. Richard Brock,Brock Associates, will be thespeaker. Cost is $20 or $30 forwalk-ins. Call the Farm Bureauoffice at 309-937-2411 or theRock Island County FarmBureau at 309-736-7432 forreservations or more informa-tion.

• “Bushels for Hunger” con-tinues through Nov. 30 at partici-pating grain elevators in Henry,Mercer, Rock Island, Stark, andWhiteside counties. All proceedsfrom donated grain will be dis-tributed to the River Bend Food-bank. Contact your countyFarm Bureau office for moreinformation.

LASALLE — Amishcountry cheese and Flori-

da fruit may be ordered from theFarm Bureau. Stop by the officeor download an order form from{www.lasallecfb.org}.

• The annual meeting will beat 6 p.m. Tuesday, Nov. 29, atPitstick’s Pavilion. Tickets are$10 and are available at the FarmBureau office or from a memberof the board of directors.

• Boat storage space is avail-able at the LaSalle County 4-HFairgrounds. Cost is $10 a foot.Call the Farm Bureau office at815-433-0371 to reserve a space.

LEE — The Lee CountyFarm Bureau Founda-

tion is sponsoring a raffle withfive $100 prizes and one grandprize of $1,000. Tickets are$10. The winner will be select-ed at the annual meeting at 10a.m. Thursday, Jan. 19. Pro-ceeds will benefit the founda-tion to fund ag literacy pro-grams. Purchase a ticket fromthe Farm Bureau office or amember of the board of direc-tors. Call the Farm Bureauoffice at 815-857-3531 or e-

mail [email protected] formore information.

MCDONOUGH —

Farm Bureau, HaleyRisk Protection and AgronomyServices, Heartland InsuranceAgency, and 1st Farm CreditServices will sponsor a market-ing seminar “Crop Market Out-look, Strategies and Tools” at11:30 a.m. Monday, Nov. 21, atthe SRC Community OutreachCenter, Macomb. Lunch will beserved. There is no charge formembers, but there is a $10charge for non-members. Callthe Farm Bureau office at 309-837-3350 by Thursday for reser-vations or more information.

PEORIA — Florida citrusand Terri Lynn nut orders

are due by Monday, Nov. 21.Members may order oranges,grapefruit, and tangelos in 20- or40-pound containers. Nuts areavailable in one-pound bags.Delivery to the Farm Bureauoffice will be Wednesday, Dec.14. Call the Farm Bureau officeor go to the website for an orderform or more information.

PIATT — A raffle bene-fiting the Piatt County

food pantries and Piatt CountyFarm Bureau Foundation will beat 5 p.m. Saturday, Nov. 19, atTrailblazers, Monticello. Ticketsare $50 and include the raffle,steak or chicken dinner, anddrinks. A silent auction will beheld. Call the Farm Bureauoffice at 217-762-2128 for moreinformation.

• The Prime Timers will havea Thanksgiving dinner at noonThursday, Nov. 17, at the FarmBureau office. The StringtownLane Band will provide theentertainment. Cost is $9. Callthe Farm Bureau office at 271-762-2128 by Monday (today) forreservations.

VERMILION — Floridacitrus, nuts, snacks, and

cheese from Ludwig FarmsteadCreamery orders and paymentare due by Wednesday, Nov. 23,to the Farm Bureau office.Delivery to the Farm Bureauoffice will be Wednesday, Nov.23. Call the Farm Bureau officeat 217-442-8713 for more infor-mation or download an orderform from the website{www.vcfb.info}.

• The annual meeting will beat 6 p.m. (Illinois time) Tuesday,Nov. 29, at the Beef House Ban-quet Center, Covington, Ind.Tickets are $10 for “M” mem-bers and $20 for non-members.Entertainment will be providedby the Wabash College GleeClub. Tickets are available at theFarm Bureau office or from amember of the board of direc-tors and must be purchased byWednesday, Nov. 23. The Ver-milion County Farm BureauFoundation will sponsor itsannual silent auction.

• The 2012 county plat booksare available at the Farm Bureauoffice.

TALKING FARMLAND ISSUES

Newly “adopted” state Rep. Rita Mayfield (D-Waukegan) discusses mine subsidence of farmland withMacoupin County Farm Bureau Treasurer Fred Emery, center, and county Farm Bureau President Ed Mar-burger. On her first meeting with county Farm Bureau members, Mayfield learned about pork productionand petted her first pig at Dave and Mary Klaus’ hog operation. She drove a combine in Mike and LaurieDriscoll’s soybean field and saw an example of coal mine subsidence in a field. Mayfield said she wouldlike to return during planting and plans to host Macoupin County farmers for a tour of her district nextyear. (Photo by Christina Nourie, Illinois Farm Bureau northeast legislative coordinator)

profitability


Feeder pig prices reported to USDA*Weight Range Per Head Weighted Ave. Price10 lbs. $32.37-$51.54 $40.1740 lbs. $50.50-$51.50 $51.3050 lbs. n/a n/aReceipts This Week Last Week 25,307 24,466*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 $83.17 $86.54 -3.37Live $61.55 $64.04 -2.49

Export inspections(Million bushels)

Week ending Soybeans Wheat Corn11-03-11 49.2 10.2 22.210-27-11 49.6 20.8 31.1Last year 62.6 19.4 32.7Season total 257.2 472.2 248.3Previous season total 393.0 491.9 322.9USDA projected total 1375 975 1600Crop marketing year began June 1 for wheat and Sept. 1 for corn and soybeans.

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

Steers 124.93 122.00 2.93 Heifers 125.10 124.00 1.10

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$142.18 141.67 0.51

CME feeder cattle index — 600-800 Lbs.

Lamb prices

Make sure you end up with all the grain you harvestBY RANDY HOLTHAUS

As harvest 2011 winds down,I hope this year of surprisesresulted in mostly pleasant ones.

A roller coaster year of cool,wet spring, excessive heat and

humidity,drought, winddamage, andgloom anddoom esti-mates has sud-denly broughtreports of bet-ter-than-pre-dicted yields,

good-quality grain, and the needfor very little drying.

The most critical phase of thecrop year is now upon us —maintaining the stored crop.Improper aeration probablyaccounts for more lost bushelsand profitability than anythingelse.

We are not talking aboutspoiled grain. We’re talking aboutlost saleable weight due tountimely or over aeration, caus-ing over drying of the crop.

A rule of thumb states “Ifyou have never spoiled any grainin storage, then you are probablyspending about twice what youwould need to on aeration elec-tricity.” Electrical costs aside,how many bushels have you“blown away?”

Let’s say you end up with 13percent moisture corn in storageeither intentionally to be safe orby accident via your aerationpractices. You have effectively

given up 3 percent of your grainas a result of shrink loss.

Corn at 15 percent moisturecontains 8.5 pounds of water perbushel. Corn at 13 percent mois-ture contains 7 pounds of water.That’s 1.5 pounds lost fromevery bushel.

On a 25,000-bushel bin of

corn, that’s 37,500 pounds or4,491 gallons of water or 670bushels of corn you could havesold.

At a market price of $6.50 perbushel, that’s $4,355 of lost rev-enue plus the approximately 250KWH of electricity you’ve wasted.

In order to avoid the overdry-

ing effects of improper aeration,you have to be aware of the tem-perature and humidity of the airyou are blowing through thegrain.

The chart above shows themoisture equilibrium of corn.The equilibrium means theresulting moisture that corn will

be when exposed to air at a giventemperature and relative humidi-ty (RH).

As complicated as that maysound, if the only air that yourcorn is exposed to is 40 degreesand 65 percent RH, then theonly moisture that it can be is15.21 percent.

Of course, everything is vari-able, but you also can see theeffect of 60-degree air at 55 per-cent RH equals 12.56 percent.

Being diligent, aware, andkeeping the process in an accept-able range is the real key to suc-cess in winning the aerationgame.

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

Randy Holthaus

Farm Economics Summit set

Economists urge farmers to ‘stress test’ their operationsBY DANIEL GRANTFarmWeek

Many farmers probably aren’tthinking about a possible eco-nomic downturn given the factthat USDA projected record-high farm income this year.

But now is the time for farm-ers to stress-test their operationsso they are prepared for futureeconomic challenges.

That is a key message thatwill be directed to farmers andagribusiness professionals nextmonth during the 2011 Illinois

Farm Economics Summit meet-ings.

Sponsored in part by the Uni-versity of Illinois Extension, themeetings will be held Dec. 12 atthe I Hotel and Conference Cen-ter in Champaign; Dec. 13 at theCenter for Agriculture inSycamore; Dec. 14 at the BestWestern Prairie Inn in Gales-burg; Dec. 15 at the Holiday Innin Mt. Vernon; and Dec. 16 atthe Doubletree Hotel in Bloom-ington.

Registration for the event canbe completed online at{www.farmdoc.illinois.edu}.Those with questions may callSue Esposito at 217-333-5506.

“One of the key presenta-tions will focus on stress testingyour returns for next year,” saidDarrel Good, U of I Extensionag economist.

“The ag economy has beenpretty strong, but you need tosay, OK, where are the vulnera-bilities moving forward,” he con-tinued. “Input prices are goingup, and there is quite a bit of(commodity) price uncertainty.”

Gary Schnitkey, U of IExtension farm managementspecialist, will make the stress-test presentation. Good willoffer crop and livestock priceprospects for 2012.

“Right now, we’re looking athigh-$5 corn prices and close to$13 soybean prices, so you’d say2012 is looking like a fairly goodyear,” Schnitkey said.

But farm input prices thisyear are up 11.4 percent, and forthe first time could surpass $300billion nationwide, according toUSDA.

And higher cash rents areexpected to drive up break-evenprices. “It has a large impact,”Schnitkey said.

Many farmers at this pointare in good shape due in largepart to high commodity prices

driven by strong demand.USDA projected U.S. farm

sector debt will decrease from$246.9 billion in 2010 to $242.1billion this year.

Meanwhile, farm sector assetsthis year were projected to riseby 6.6 percent.

But the situation is differenton every farm, which is why theeconomists believe farmers

should stress-test their ownoperations.

“People need to push thenumbers and see where theirbreak-evens are at,” Good said.

The series of meetings alsowill feature presentations aboutUSDA crop reporting proce-dures, estate planning in uncer-tain times, crop insurance, andan overview of farm policy.

Slaughter Prices - Negotiated, Live, wooled and shorn 115-165 lbs. for165-205 $/cwt. (wtd. ave. 174.11); dressed, no sales reported.

PROFITABILITY

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

CASH STRATEGISTCorn Strategy

ü2011 crop: Leave an orderto sell another 10 percent ifDecember reaches $6.45.Hedge-to-arrive (HTA) salesfor late winter/spring deliveryare still the best for farm-stored grain. Changing spreadrelationships may have dimin-ished returns for commercialstorage. If so, plan salesaround tax considerations.

ü2012 crop: Price another10 percent of your new cropif December 2012 futures hits$5.87. At this date, we’drather use HTA contracts,unless you are offered a cashcontract with a good basis.

vFundamentals: TheNovember USDA report con-firmed ending stocks are goingto be relatively tight next year,but not as tight as somehoped. The European situa-tion has become a negativedrag on all markets. But thebiggest drag on corn pricesremains low world wheatprices, and the impact they arehaving on export demand.

ûFail-safe: Make sure bothsales are completed if Decem-ber 2011 corn falls below $6.30.

Soybean Strategyü2011 crop: European

financial uncertainty and goodSouth American prospectscontinue to drag soybeanprices lower. Last week’s newlow closes wore our patiencethin. Odds have turned againstseeing prices getting muchabove $12 again. Use a moveto $11.99 on January futures tosell another 10 percent. AHTA for winter/spring deliv-ery may pay if you store soy-beans on the farm. Commer-cial storage is a closer call.

ü2012 crop: Wait for a rallyto $11.99 on November 2012futures to price another 10 per-cent. We prefer HTA contracts,but would use a cash contract ifthe basis level is good.

vFundamentals: Exportbusiness finally picked up a lit-tle last week, but the pace ofsales is still lagging last year,and our total commitments arealready 370 million bushelsbehind last year. Planting isstill going well in South Amer-ica, with current moisture sup-plies providing good earlyconditions.

ûFail-safe: Make sure sales

are completed if January soy-beans drop below $11.60.

Wheat Strategyü2011 crop: The trend in

wheat remains choppy due tofinancial market influences.Make catch-up sales if Chica-go March futures trade to$6.50. Make another 20 per-cent if March rebounds to$6.55. Stay close to the Hot-

line as we could adjust targetsat anytime. The carry infutures still pays for commer-cial storage, makingwinter/spring HTA contractsthe best tool.

ü2012 crop: Plan on mak-ing an initial 20 percent sale if

Chicago July 2012 hits $6.88. vFundamentals: The

November USDA report wasneutral/friendly regarding U.S.fundamentals. But worldnumbers continue to paint acomfortable to burdensomepicture. And it’s the suppliesoutside of the U.S. that arekeeping world business away.Recent rain and snow hasimproved the conditions inthe Southern Plains. If any-thing, the world is more wor-ried about next year’s BlackSea area crops.

ûFail-safe: Make sure salesare completed if March wheatcloses below $6.30.

Cents per bu.

U.S. grain exports dragging


end of the marketing year, only1.5 billion bushels were exported.

A year ago, soybean demandfrom this time forward wasundermined by the large SouthAmerican crops. This year,corn export demand is beingundermined by the ample sup-ply of feedgrains and wheatoutside the U.S, both selling ata discount to U.S. corn.

Wheat exports continue tostruggle because of large worldsupplies. Outside of the U.S.and China, production was up8 percent, with total suppliesincreasing 5 percent.

And expectations for anoth-er large South American cropare inhibiting soybean exportdemand.

The corn trade tries to talkup this year’s pace of exportsales relative to last year andthe projected pace based on theUSDA forecast. And sales aregood, with 53 percent of theforecast of 1.6 billion bushelsalready sold.

Soybeans may offer a usefulinsight. Last year at this time, wealready had sold 73 percent ofthe export forecast, 1.57 billionbushels. That forecast was raisedagain in December, but by the

pERSpEcTIvES


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words and must include aname and address.FarmWeek reserves the rightto reject any letter and willnot publish political endorse-ments.

All letters are subject toediting, and only an origi-nal with a written signa-ture and complete addresswill be accepted.

A daytime telephone num-ber is required for verification,but will not be published.

Only one letter per writerwill be accepted in a 60-dayperiod. Typed letters are pre-ferred.

Send letters to: FarmWeek Letters

1701 Towanda Ave.Bloomington, Ill., 61701

Government robbing Americans of freedomEditor:

The farming community’ssubjected to draconian regula-tions to control every aspect offarming and ranching, basedon the debunked premise thatman caused global warming.Legitimate, unbiased scientistsconclude the sun as being theoverwhelming influence, withman’s impact being mathemati-cally negligible.

The Environmental Protec-tion Agency categorizesmethane gas, dust, and hay aspollutants. Putting chips inlivestock, sterilized seed,attempts to outlaw gardening,highly restrictive zoning,mandatory commercial driverslicenses, rural councils, wind-mills, etc., contradict necessity.

Ethanol makes little sense,given the abundance of naturalgas, coal, and oil and given thedisastrous ramifications ofsoaring food prices.

Spread the wealth, openborders, blanket amnesty,nationalized health care, car-bon taxation, choking regula-tions, egregious insurmount-able debts and deficits —they’re setting us up for cata-strophic failure.

What happens when subsi-dies cease because there’s nomoney? Foreclosure! Thegovernment owns the farms,similar to fannie and freddie’s(government programs)achievement. The governmentwill fully control the means ofproduction of food, the majortenet to a communist society.

Only the largest corporatefarms will exist. Some say oneworld government, others sayone world corporation. It’sabout money and power,intentionally stripped from thepeople, simultaneously creatingdependency on governmentfor basic necessities.

Expect a worldwide superdepression followed by WorldWar III, starting in the MiddleEast, enabled by our govern-ment. Corrupted politicianswill provide for our safety,stripping more freedoms andretaining continuity of govern-ment; to rebuild a world socie-ty in their controlling Commu-nist/Fascist framework.

In case of the likely worst-case scenario, prudence sug-gests you stock heavily withthe logical provisions, foodand precious metals, especiallylead and copper.

Meanwhile, understanding

Americans must unite, educate,and fight the tyranny, thosewho promote such obviousdebilitating bunk; rising aboveshort-sighted, short-term indi-vidual profits. Freedom iscostly, yet priceless!MARK THOMPSON,Dewey

Keep post offices open in rural areasEditor:

Recently, our communityand others throughout ruralIllinois and the nation werenotified of possible closures oftheir post offices. Level 11offices were primarily targetedfor now. Level 11 and 13offices are the most prevalentin rural America serving com-munities of 200 to 600 popula-tion and adjacent areas. Ourpost office services people ontwo adjacent post office ruralroutes, but we are the closestactual office at nine miles.

The PMG (postmaster gen-eral) has a goal of reducingpost offices from 32,000 to16,000 nationwide in 10 years.This means closure of virtuallyall Level 11 and 13 offices andperhaps reaching higher, mak-ing post offices 10-20 milesapart. Postal officials both

blame and encourage Internetusage. They encourage Click‘n Ship, but are not countingthat revenue in office revenueparameters on which they arebasing closure studies.

Rural patrons tend to beolder, slower in embracing newtechnology, have fewer com-puters or use them in limitedways, lack good access to high-speed service, and do not haveaccess to alternative options ofretail operations in drug/gro-cery/office supply stores, cur-rency exchanges, etc.

Some patrons no longerdrive and are hesitant toimpose on others. Retail pack-ages weighing 13 ounces ormore, unless paid for online,MUST be handled over a retailpostal counter.

Post offices are the heart ofsmall rural communities thatcan never be replaced — theyprovide multiple postal servic-es, a social component, theonly face of government wesee daily, and the most viableplaces for posting governmen-tal notices and other area activ-ities.

I urge not only members ofany community facing possibleclosures but all rural con-stituents, the Illinois Farm

Bureau, and the AmericanFarm Bureau Federation tocontact our U.S. senators andcongressmen and let themknow loud and clear that ruralpost offices are a priority.Remember, your communitycould be next.JOANN BUTZOW,Wellington

LETTERS TO THE EDITOR

U.S. Agriculture Secretary TomVilsack recently laid out his priori-ties for the upcoming farm bill.

Now this bill is about a wholelot more than farming — it’sabout supporting the jobs of thefuture; it’s about keeping pacewith the changing needs of agri-culture and rural America; and it’s

about providing afood supply for thenation.

As Congressworks to write thisbill, it will have to

look for ways todo more withless. It must sim-plify programs

and find innovative solutions tofuture challenges while still mak-ing targeted investments to keepagriculture productive and ruralcommunities vibrant.

It’s our responsibility tostrengthen agriculture, whichtoday is a bright spot in the Amer-ican economy.

As Congress writes the bill, itshould build on that record byfocusing on three core principlesthat have shaped the success ofthe American farmer: maintaininga strong safety net, supportingsustainable productivity, and pro-moting vibrant markets.

In businesses as risky as agri-culture, a strong safety net cankeep natural disasters from put-ting farm families out of

business. Our safety net shouldquickly provide assistance to pro-ducers of all types and sizes whenthey need it — and only whenthey need it.

It is important to supportbeginning farmers, who are partic-ularly vulnerable to disasters andother unpredictable events.

At the same time farmers andranchers must be able to producean affordable, quality product yearafter year. That means continuinginvestments in research to main-tain our farmers’ leadership as themost productive in the world andinvesting in conservation to sup-port healthy, productive soil and aplentiful water supply.

Finally, the farm bill shouldcontinue to promote vibrant, fair,and diverse markets — at homeand abroad — for farmers andranchers of all types and sizes.

We should continue efforts toexpanded markets for “grown-in-America” goods abroad, whichwill help support record agricul-tural exports and more than 1 mil-lion American jobs this year. Atthe same time, we should look toexpand opportunities here athome for producers interested inlocal and regional markets.

And the farm bill legislationmust address the needs of ruralAmerica. It needs to continue tosupport our efforts to develop arenewable industry that willimprove incomes for farmers,

create jobs in rural America, andincrease our national security. Inthe past two years, USDA hashelped create or save more than250,000 rural jobs.

The farm bill should improverural development programs tomake the federal governmentthe best partner possible forpeople and businesses in ruralcommunities.

That means making it easierfor people to access USDAsupport, ensuring that emerg-ing rural businesses have thecapital they need to grow andcreate jobs, and investing incommunities pursuing regionalgrowth.

Today, the future for Ameri-can agriculture is bright — as isthe future of our rural commu-nities.

We must build on this posi-tive outlook and prepare forthe challenges and opportuni-ties ahead.

This farm bill should helpmove our nation and our econ-omy forward, creating jobs,providing a safety net for mil-lions of Americans, supportingrural communities, and build-ing on the incredible success,productivity, and strength ofAmerican agriculture.

Scherrie Giamanco is the state execu-tive director of the USDA FarmService Agency in Illinois.

SCHERRIEGIAMANCO

Farm bill priorities should move nation, economy forward

farmweek october 15 2011

Documents

senateoffered separate

discussthe tax issues

tax package

week trimmedits corn

state corporateincome

cme groupinc

state officials

cme mightmove