FarmWeek April 16 2012

frost event, according to theU of I educator. Mont-gomery reported the mostmature corn he saw last weekwas between V3 and V4.

A lot of corn is up in

Southern Illinois but EdwardsCounty farmer Robert Annisslast week said he did not thinkany corn in his area wasmature enough to sustainmuch damage from the coolovernight conditions.

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Monday, April 16, 2012 Two sections Volume 40, No. 16

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

a neW stuDy concludes acontainer-on-barge freight shuttleprogram is feasible and wouldprovide Illinois farmers greateraccess to global markets. ............6

By using a profess iona lforester, a landowner can improvehis financial bottom line as well ashis stand of timber, according to aforester. ................................................5

F r e e z i n g t e m p e r a -tures in the state last week,including light frost in parts ofSouthern Illinois, didn’t dash hopesfor a bountiful wheat harvest. .......4

Corps tightens belt, prioritizes lock projects BY MARTIN ROSSFarmWeek

As Congress considerspaving the way for future lockinvestments, the U.S. ArmyCorps of Engineers is workingto prove it can be a responsi-ble investment manager.

Corps navigation programmanager Jim Walker believesthat, “properly focused,” Con-gress’ next federal WaterResources Development Act(WRDA) can “set the course forthe Corps for the next 25 years.”

Walker hopes to see “a sig-nificant uptick” in navigationfunding in the federal fiscal2013 budget, citing a pro-posed increase in civil worksspending ideally as “the end ofa trend” of declining annualriver funding.

Federal funding is only partof the equation, he said, argu-ing Congress must deal withchallenges related to theindustry’s Inland WaterwaysTrust Fund, which taps bargefuel taxes to supplementCorps lock construction/re-pair funds.

A bipartisan measure nowin the U.S. House wouldsimultaneously boost trustfund revenues through anindustry-supported tax hikeand hold the Corps to greateraccountability in lock planningand construction.

ly engineering, construction,and operation as part of anyfuture public infrastructureinvestment is a necessity for(new) projects to advance.”

Walker acknowledges theCorps’ role in making the bestuse of tight project funds.Budget pressures have

required the agency to priori-tize navigational needs onlow-, moderate-, and high-usewaterways.

Five waterways nationwideaccount for 95 percent of theU.S. “ton-miles” of freightmoved by barge. Sixty-fivelocks report fewer than 1,000commercial lockages per year.

This year, within a systemof 236 Corps-controlled locks,only four have projects at theplanning phase, and construc-tion is under way at four more.

The Corps has prioritizedefforts to reduce scheduledlock closures and “disrup-tions” that are causing anincreased number of non-scheduled shutdowns on high-use waterways.

It has analyzed the “proba-bility of failure” at each lockbased on its current condition,the time needed to repair indi-vidual lock components suchas gates or valves, how long anindividual lock shutdownwould halt navigation, and theeconomic consequences oflock closures.

The agency also is evaluat-ing existing lock and damstaffing. Walker anticipates“less than 24/7” operations atsome sites in the future.

“We’re not closing systems;we’re just looking at reducingspending,” he said.

The need for expandedlock funding has been over-shadowed by highly publi-cized reports of major costoverruns and delays in con-struction at the Olmsted Lockand Dam near Paducah, Ky.,on the Ohio River.

“It’s an absolute necessity

to avoid the kind of cost over-runs and time delays thatsome locks have experiencedover the last 20 to 30 years,”Illinois Soybean Associationtransportation consultantScott Sigman told FarmWeek.

“The demonstration ofresponsible spending and time-

The Olmsted Lock and Dam at Paducah, Ky., is at the center of controversy over approval of and future fundingfor Midwest river infrastructure. Project cost was projected at $775 million in 1988, with completion expectedby 2000. Since then, the U.S. Corps of Engineer has spent at least double that amount and suggests work maynot be finished until 2024. In the background, center, is a catamaran barge which transports large constructionmaterials from a fabrication area on land to the dam site on the Ohio river. (Photo by Ken Kashian)

Freeze doesn’t cool torrid planting paceBY DANIEL GRANTFarmWeek

Overnight temperaturesdipped below freezing at leasttwo nights in a row acrossmuch of the state last week.

But the frost didn’t cool offthe hot start to corn plantingat many locations.

“We’ll finish up (corn plant-ing) today,” Dereke Dunkirk, afarmer from Morrisonville inChristian County, said Thurs-day during a cell phone inter-view from his tractor.

“We really don’t have anyconcerns about the frost,” hecontinued. “It’s so dry there’sreally no dew on the ground to

FarmWeekNow.com

To check the latest planting fore-casts and weather conditions, goto FarmWeekNow.com.

create a frost (on plants).”Matt Montgomery, a Uni-

versity of Illinois Extensionsmall farms/local foods edu-cator, said he does notexpect much lasting frostdamage to emerged corneven though some plantswere discolored.

“Most of our corn shouldbe fine so long as we do notsee intermittent frosts over thenext one and a half to twoweeks,” Montgomery said.

The growing point forcorn is not above grounduntil about the V5 to V6stage. So pre-V6 plantsshould be safe from a single

“Corn is not tall enough tobe hurt yet,” he said. “Thegrowing point is still below theground.”

Anniss said he’s amazed byhow much corn is in theground already but waited lastweek to plant his own cropdue to the freezing tempera-tures and forecast for rain.

“It could be hard gettinganything up,” he said.

Elsewhere, though, a num-ber of farmers were close tofinishing corn planting andsome even planted beans lastweek, Blake Roderick,

See Freeze, page 4

CORN REFERENDUM PASSES — Illinois cornfarmers last month overwhelmingly approved an increasein the state’s corn checkoff rate.

The Illinois Department of Agriculture announced lastweek that the referendum passed by a vote of 1,137 to317. The measure won approval in 71 of Illinois’ 102counties.

The corn checkoff rate on Oct. 1 officially will increasefrom 3/8 of a cent per bushel to 5/8 of a cent per bushel.Corn farmers still will have the right to request a fullrefund.

The referendum was requested by the Illinois CornMarketing Board. It marks the second raise for the corncheckoff since the Illinois Corn Marketing Act was estab-lished by growers in 1982.

COUNTRY AIDS TORNADO VICTIMS — Coun-try Financial clients in Harrisburg and Ridgway reported416 property claims with total losses of $10 million to $12million after the area was struck by a powerful tornadothat ravaged the area and caused loss of life on the last dayof February.

Fourteen homes were uninhabitable and another 10were total losses.

Country recently donated $10,000 to the Southern Illi-nois Community Foundation, a 12-year-old nonprofitorganization aimed at improving Southern Illinois com-munities. The funds were earmarked for the HarrisburgDisaster Relief Fund, and donations to the fund are beingused to ensure Harrisburg residents have food, water, andclothing.

“Everyone rallied to help begin clean up and startrebuilding. We dusted ourselves off, rolled up our sleeves,and got to work,” said Kevin Sherwood, Country Financialsoutheastern agency manager.

WAREHOUSE SURRENDERS LICENSES — ASt. Clair County grain warehouse surrendered its operatinglicenses to the Illinois Department of Agriculture (IDOA)last week. IDOA has scheduled an informational meetingfor grain creditors at 6 p.m. Wednesday in the Knights ofColumbus Club, Millstadt.

Handy Feed Handyscape Inc., Millstadt, has been closedsince April 2 when IDOA discovered the company hadinsufficient assets to meet the Illinois Grain Code require-ments. IDOA took control to protect farmers’ interestsand will be able to liquidate assets and pay valid grainclaims now that the licenses have been surrendered.

Handy Feed was a member of the Illinois Grain Insur-ance Fund and all grain deposits at its facility are protect-ed. Handy Feed had a storage capacity of 153,000 bushels.In addition to corn, soybeans, wheat, milo, and oats, thecompany also sold feed, seed, and other agricultural prod-ucts.

FarmWeek Monday, April 16, 2012

(ISSN0197-6680)

Vol. 40 No. 16 April 16, 2012

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Quick TakesSTATE

SHARING THE ROAD

A motorist and farmer give each other plenty of room to pass on a country road in Piatt County. The Illi-nois Department of Agriculture and the Illinois Department of Transportation are reminding motorists tobe alert for farm machinery traffic on roads. Studies show that left-turn, rear-end, and passing collisionsare the most common types of accidents involving motorists and farm machinery. Farmers are remindedto make sure their equipment has the proper safety markings. Lights are required half an hour after sun-set to half an hour before sunrise when farm machinery is traveling on roads. (Photo by Ken Kashian)

BY KAY SHIPMANFarmWeek

Ivan Dozier, who will become the nextstate conservationist, is well known for work-ing with farmers and communities to findsolutions and improve natural resources.

University researchers even used his suc-cessful watershed efforts in Macoupin Countyas a case study.

Dozier, an Illinois native and University ofIllinois graduate, will assume his new post onApril 23. Over the past 28 years with the Nat-ural Resources Conservation Service (NRCS),he has worked inseven field loca-tions and thestate office, mostrecently as assis-tant state conser-vationist for pro-grams. He suc-ceeds Bill Gradlewho retired earli-er this year.

Dozier “realizes that the key to achievenatural resource goals is to have the ability towork with landowners and others to helpincrease conservation practices on the land,”according to Illinois Farm Bureau PresidentPhilip Nelson.

Dozier also will be unique — Illinois’ firststate conservationist to have spent his entireNRCS career here.

His background and experience — heproudly notes he has been in every county —will eliminate the usual learning curve.

“Illinois is a big and diverse state fromnorth to south and east to west. Being fromhere and going to the university here, I knowthe climate and the resources,” Dozier said.

The Association of Soil and Water Conser-vation Districts was pleased with Dozier’sappointment, said Rich Nichols, the group’sexecutive director.

“Ivan has worked well with districts andthe association. We look forward to continu-ing to have a positive relationship,” Nicholssaid.

Illinois conservation continues to makestrides but faces challenges ahead, accordingto Dozier.

“The budget will still be No. 1 on our listof challenges. The government is tighteningits budget and with a new farm bill, there willbe restructuring,” Dozier speculated.

If government reduces conservation fund-ing, the new state conservationist said he

“wants to usethose dollars assmartly as wecan.”

Dozier addedthat NCRS staff isidentifying con-servationstrengths andsome weaknesses,which he declined

to share. His goal is to discuss efforts that areworking and to strengthen them, he said.

“We don’t want our conservation programsto be an impediment to getting conservationon the land,” Dozier explained.

Currently those conservation efforts arefinishing a second ranking period for theenvironmental quality incentive program(EQIP), and Dozier was hopeful selectedapplicants will be notified in the next coupleof weeks.

In addition, the state staff recently com-pleted ranking of conservation security pro-gram (CSP) applications. The next step is forlocal NRCS staff to contact highly rankedapplicants to arrange field reviews.

In the midst of a busy time, Dozier said heis honored to lead Illinois NRCS. “I am excit-ed to get out there and put passion into con-servation,” he said.

State’s new conservationistno stranger in the field

‘The budget will still beNo. 1 on ou r l i s t o fchallenges.’

— Ivan DozierIllinois state conservationist

the coNsumer

Monday, April 16, 2012 FarmWeek

Market needs could outweigh animal ag misinformationBY DANIEL GRANTFarmWeek

Animal agriculture hascome to an interesting cross-roads in recent years.

It seems attempts to limitthe industry’s ability to pro-duce and expand are rampingup at a time when demand formany animal-based productshas never been greater.

Ultimately, the market/con-sumer demand likely will dic-tate what farmers produce andhow they raise it in the future,according to Jim Fraley, live-stock program director for Illi-nois Farm Bureau.

Fraley spoke recently at theNational Institute for Animal

The product, which is 90percent lean meat, was used inground beef. U.S. ground beefproducers now will have tosource more lean productsfrom other countries, accord-ing to Fraley.

“There has been a lot ofmisinformation about theLFTB issue,” Fraley said. “Ifsomebody asked me if I want‘pink slime’ (the nickname forLFTB) in my burger, my reac-tion would be ‘absolutely not.’

“But when you find outwhat LFTB is — a lean beefproduct — then it’s just fine.”

Ultimately, Fraley and otherspeakers at the NIAA confer-ence believe booming demandwill shape how food is pro-duced in the future.

If the world’s populationincreases as projected by 3 bil-lion people in the next 40years, world meat productionwill have to increase by 73 per-

cent, according to Terry Barr,senior director of CoBank’sKnowledge Exchange Divi-sion.

Meanwhile, Teresa Scanlan,Miss America 2011, told thoseat the conference that, withmany farmers currentlybetween the ages of 45 and 65years, a new generation offarmers will be needed toreplace about 100,000 farmerswho will retire in the nextdecade.

“We need to raise a newgeneration of farmers, educateand inform the public aboutthe misinformation of modernproduction agriculture, andfight for strong farm policy,”Scanlan said.

Fraley added, “What all ofthese things do is emphasizethe fact that we’re going toneed technology and new toolsto make sure we can feed thegrowing world’s population.”

Agriculture (NIAA) annualconference in Denver aboutthe Illinois Farm Families’effort to connect consumers tofarmers to improve knowledgeabout food production.

“A lot of times we see knee-jerk reactions to issues like ask-ing f a r mers to s topus ing r-BST or to stop usinggestation stalls,” Fraley said.“The problem is thesedemands often are made bywell-intended people who havea lot of misinformation (aboutproduction agriculture).”

Stalls are used to protectpregnant and nursing sows andtheir piglets in swine produc-tion while r-BST is a natural

hormone-based product thatmaintains higher milk produc-tion in dairy cows and hasbeen approved by the Foodand Drug Administration.

“Knee-jerk reactions oftencreate bigger problems, whichwe’ve seen with the horse har-vesting issue,” Fraley said.

Since Illinois banned theslaughter of horses in 2007,the number of abandonedhorses has skyrocketed whilethe number of calls related tohorse welfare has increased byroughly 400 percent, accord-ing to the livestock programdirector.

Another example of con-sumer concerns not necessari-ly backed by facts that is influ-encing the industry occurredrecently when South Dakota-based Beef Productsannounced it would cease pro-duction of lean, finely tex-tured beef (LFTB).

FDA would limit antibiotic use on livestock farms

The Food and Drug Administration (FDA) last week pro-posed a plan that would curtail the use of “medically importantantibiotics” in food-producing animals.

The voluntary initiative is aimed at preserving the effective-ness of medically important antimicrobials for treating diseasein humans.

“It is critical that we take action to protect public health,”said FDA Commissioner Margaret Hamburg.

Those in the livestock industry, however, argue there is noscientific proof that the use of antibiotics in animals reducesthe effectiveness of antibiotics in humans.

Numerous peer-reviewed risk assessments, including one byFDA itself, showed a “negligible” risk to human health from antibi-otics use in food-animal production, the National Pork ProducersCouncil (NPPC) reported.

“FDA did not provide com-pelling evidence, nor did it statethat antibiotics use in livestockproduction is unsafe,” said R.C.Hunt, NPPC president.

FDA intends to have animal health manufacturers during thenext three years do away with all labels that are used for growthpromotion or feed efficiency.

“FDA is allowing the (animal health) companies to doresearch to demonstrate (certain antibiotics) prevent disease,”Liz Wagstrom, NPPC chief veterinarian, told the RFD RadioNetwork. “If they do that, they could get a new label claim, andthose (antibiotics) could be used in the future.”

FDA also proposed that farmers who use antibiotics for dis-ease prevention in food-producing animals acquire a veterinaryfeed directive (VFD).

“The guidance could eliminate antibiotics uses that areextremely important to the health of animals,” NPPC’s Huntsaid. “And the requirement for VFDs could be problematic,particularly for smaller producers or producers in remote areaswho may not have regular access to veterinary services.”

Wagstrom predicted the FDA guidance could have numer-ous unintended consequences.

“I’d expect to see more sick pigs, increased cost of produc-tion, and maybe slower growth,” she said. “And we could seenegative food safety impacts.”

Wagstrom said if there is an increase in the number of sickpigs, it could increase the prevalence of salmonella and otherhuman health threats in meat products. She also noted theamount of antibiotics used in swine production has been great-ly overestimated by opponents.

A 2001 report titled “Hogging It” from the Union of Con-cerned Scientists (UCS) claimed farmers each year use 10.3 mil-lion pounds of antibiotics.

However, results of a Kansas State University study foundhog farmers annually use about 1.6 million pounds of antibi-otics for growth promotion, nutritional efficiency, and diseaseprevention.

“The UCS report should have been titled ‘Fabricating It,”Hunt added. “Pork producers do not overuse antibiotics.” —Daniel Grant

Ag research feeds economy,hungry global populationsBY MARTIN ROSSFarmWeek

University of Illinois ag economist CraigGundersen acknowledges funds are tighter thanever in both the public and private sectors.

That’s why budget-conscious lawmakersshould bolster partnerships and innovation in agresearch crucial to addressing pressing issues ofthe day, including domestic and global hunger,Gundersen argued.

The 2012 farm bill will set the stage for futurefederal research funding. House Ag CommitteeChairman Debbie Stabenow (D-Mich.) and AgCommittee Ranking Republican Pat Roberts (R-Kan.) already have proposed creating a newFoundation for Food and Agriculture Researchto “support and complement” USDA research,education, and economics efforts.

The non-profit foundation would attempt toleverage private capital to spur research ven-tures in plant and animal health, production,and products; food safety, nutrition, and health;renewable energy; environmental issues; agricul-tural and food security; and ag systems andtechnology.

Gundersen wears two hats, interacting with theIllinois Soybean Association (ISA), USDA, andothers as executive director of the National Soy-bean Research Laboratory (NSRL) and, as a U ofI ag economist, focusing on food “insecurity” andassistance, frequently with USDA support.

Much of NSRL’s work is in response to ISAresearch needs, including “the developing ques-tions farmers are posing in Illinois about how toimprove yields and profitability,” Gundersen not-ed. ISA and the lab also explore broader issuessuch as changes in and challenges facing the live-stock sector, bringing animal scientists and econ-omists together.

“ISA funds help build upon the work USDAhas funded and help researchers realize newareas of research for USDA funds,” Gundersentold FarmWeek. “We sort of embody the per-fect combination of using USDA to leverage pri-vate funds and vice versa.

“It is becoming more and more of a necessityto do this. Government sources of funding are

perhaps not as robust as they used to be. That alsoincludes state funding. We have to be more entre-preneurial in searching out other funding.”

The Stabenow-Roberts bill would set up thefoundation as a non-profit 501(c)3 organizationunder an appointed board of directors that rep-resent diverse ag sectors. It would require annu-al financial audits and stringent oversight proce-dures to ensure foundation accountability andtransparency.

Beyond domestic ag needs, NSRL alsoaddresses a variety of international concerns.The lab has collaborated with Cargill to conducta global “corporate social responsibility” con-ference in Nicaragua, and with the World Initia-tive for Soy in Human Health to addresshunger-nutrition issues especially in the devel-oping world, sometimes in cooperation with theU.S. Agency for International Development.

Meanwhile, Gundersen, the economist, hasteamed with a University of Kentucky colleaguein a USDA-supported $5.5 million study of U.S.childhood hunger “and how best to alleviatethat hunger.” “In particular, there is very lowfood security among children,” and the admin-istration, in fact, has proposed to eliminatejuvenile hunger by 2015, he noted.

Gundersen sees growing corporate interestin attacking the crisis, as evidenced by theinvolvement of ConAgra, Kellogg’s, Kraft, Wal-mart and other industry giants in the charityFeeding America. But large-scale, big pictureresearch is crucial to effectively target reliefefforts and “leverage the interests of privatefoundations,” he said.

“We see this as really a very exciting area ofresearch,” Gundersen said. “If the governmentwasn’t funding it, probably no one else would.”

FarmWeekNow.comListen to an RFD Radio intervieww i t h N P P C c h i e f v e t L i zWagstrom at FarmWeekNow.com.

CROpS


executive director of the Pike and Scott County Farm Bureaus,reported.

Dunkirk estimated 75 percent of the corn crop was planted inhis area as of last week.

Statewide, 17 percent of corn was planted as of the first oflast week compared to the five-year average of 1 percent. Twopercent of the crop had emerged.

One percent of the soybean crop had been planted in thestate last week, which was on target with the five-year average,while 91 percent of the oat crop was in the ground, compared tothe five-year average of 30 percent.

The majority of alfalfa, 79 percent, was rated in good toexcellent condition the first of last week in Illinois with 18 per-cent in fair shape and just 3 percent in poor or very poor condi-tion.

FreezeContinued from page 1

Wheat crop has ‘good potential’ in IllinoisBY DANIEL GRANTFarmWeek

Freezing temperaturesaround the state last week,including light frost in partsof Southern Illinois, didn’tdash hopes for a bountifulwheat harvest.

Robert Anniss, an EdwardsCounty Farm Bureau memberwho also farms in WayneCounty, the morning after afrost last week said his wheatappeared to withstand thefrost fairly well.

“I think it’s still got thepotential to be a really goodcrop,” Anniss toldFarmWeek.

“It’s got a real good, deepgreen color, we’ve got goodstands, and I don’t see anysigns of health issues,” henoted.

The National AgriculturalStatistics Service Illinois fieldoffice last Monday (April 9),prior to the frost, upgradedthe condition of the Illinois

wheat crop to 84 percentgood to excellent, 14 percentfair, and just 2 percent poor orvery poor.

The portion of the wheatcrop rated good to excellentas of April 2 was 78 percent.

Many wheat growers couldstart harvest early this year asthe crop is maturing quicklydue to the abnormally warmMarch.

“It (the wheat crop) iswell ahead of where it nor-mally is this time of year,”said Steve Ebelhar, agrono-mist at the University of Illi-nois Dixon Springs Ag Cen-ter. “It’s maybe two or eventhree weeks ahead of sched-ule.”

Anniss said some of hiswheat crop already was head-ing last week.

“I’ve never seen wheathead this early in April,” saidAnniss, who has grown wheatnearly every year since hestarted farming in 1967.

Andrew Spray, FS certified crop specialist at Wabash Valley Service Co. in Browns, left, discusses the condi-tion of the winter wheat crop with Robert Anniss, a farmer from Ellery and an Edwards County Farm Bureaumember, during a crisp April day last week in this Southern Illinois field. Anniss believes his wheat still has thepotential to be a really good crop despite two nights of frosty temperatures last week. The crop this year isabout two to three weeks ahead of schedule, with some already heading out (inset), due to warm spring tem-peratures. (Photos by Ken Kashian)

FROSTED CORN

Some corn plants, such as these in Champaign County, were stunted and discolored last week afterovernight temperatures dropped into the 20s on consecutive nights in much of the northern two-thirds ofthe state. Little damage to emerged corn was expected, however, because the growing point of mostcorn remained below ground. The soil temperature, which had reached 60-degrees plus at some loca-tions, had dropped to 52 degrees at mid-week in Southeastern Illinois, 47 in the west, 49.5 in the east,and 42.9 in Northern Illinois along near the Wisconsin border. (Photo by Todd Gleason, University ofIllinois)

New directory to help farmers find custom manure applicatorsA new directory soon

will help farmers locatecustom manure applicators,according to Dale Baird,who works with the Univer-sity of Illinois Extensioncertified livestock managerprogram.

Baird said he hopes to

complete the directory bymid-May and to post thefinished document online.In the future, the informa-tion may be posted at{http://web.extension.illi-nois.edu/manurecentral}.

A significant amount ofmanure from large-scale

livestock operations is cus-tom applied in Illinois, henoted. Because fall andspring soil conditions andthe timing of planting maynot allow a wide applica-tion window, some farmersuse custom applicators toapply their livestockmanure.

Many of the customapplicators operating in thestate have participated inExtension’s voluntary cus-tom manure hauler trainingprogram and know recom-mended practices for envi-ronmental protection andemergency response proce-dures, according to Baird.

The new directory will helpproducers find these cus-tom applicators.

Custom manure applica-tors interested in listingtheir business services inthe directory should callBaird at 815-978-2844 orsend an e-mail [email protected].

Around IllInoIs


b-nres-202.pdf} and includesinformation about selling andmanaging timber.

A consulting forester’s feemay range between 6 and 10percent of the sale; somecharge less and others more,according to Hayek. “Yes,landowners have to pay a com-mission, but they easily canearn 25 to 250 percent moremoney” by working with aforester, he said.

Foresters help landownersmarket their timber by distribut-ing lists of available trees tomany buyers.

“Timber is not like corn orsoybeans,” Hayek said. “There isno set price. Each tree has aunique value, and 99.8 percentof landowners have no ideaabout timber value. They’re at ahuge disadvantage to loggerswho do know the value.”

The Illinois Agricultural Sta-tistics Service and the Illinois

Department of NaturalResources publish Illinois tim-ber prices twice a year. The web-site advises that the reportedprices are conservative andshould be used only as a guide.The price information is onlineat {http://web.extension.illi-nois.edu/forestry/il_timber_prices/index.html}.

Consulting foresters helplandowners develop a legal con-tract with stipulated provisionsfor the sale and harvest, Hayeknoted. Timber sales come underthe Internal Revenue Service(IRS) tax code, and a legal sale isneeded for tax accounting pur-poses, he added.

Under a proper timber salecontract, all the money is paidupfront before a single tree iscut, Hayek noted.

A consulting forester alsomonitors the tree harvest toensure the contract provisionsare being followed. If they

aren’t, the forester and landown-er legally may stop the harvest,Hayek said.

Consulting foresters alsohelp landowners select theappropriate trees to harvestand assist them in better man-aging their timber property,which increase the value of thestands.

“You don’t want to harvestall your best trees. You want toleave quality trees in the forestto perpetuate quality timber,”Hayek said. Consultingforesters also advise landown-ers on how to improve theirtimber stands by such practicesas removing poorly formedtrees.

By using professionalforesters, landowners canimprove their financial bottomlines along with their timber. “Ifyou don’t know the value (ofyour timber), you’ll get burned,”Hayek concluded.

BY KAY SHIPMANFarmWeek

A potential gold mine isgrowing on Illinois timber land;one that easily could put 25 to250 percent more money inlandowners’ pockets, accordingto Jay Hayek, a University ofIllinois Extension forester.

Hayek illustrated with a per-sonal example: “I helped alandowner, and there was morethan 1,000 percent differencebetween what one logger wouldhave given him and what I wasable to market his timber for —and we harvested fewer trees.”

Currently, Illinois timberowners receive $30 millionannually for their trees, and they“are underselling their timber,”Hayek told FarmWeek. Hayek’s best advice for

landowners who want to selltrees? Work with a professionalforester, not a logger.

“There is a huge differencebetween a professional foresterand a logger. Some peopleassume they are the same,”Hayek said. He speculated morethan 90 percent of Illinois tim-ber owners sell trees withoutconsulting a professionalforester.

Unlike other states, Illinoishas no forester license require-ments. To help landowners findprofessional foresters, Hayekhas assembled a list of profes-sional consulting foresters; eachhas a forestry degree, and manyhave advanced degrees.

The Extension publication isonline at {http://web.exten-sion.illinois.edu/forestry/pdf/tf

Forester: Timber owners could earn much more

Edgar County timberland was the site of recent logging. (Photo by Ken Kashian)

BY MARTIN ROSSFarmWeek

USDA has moved a range ofnew “biobased” products to thetop of federal shopping lists,improving market prospects forMidwest manufacturers and thefarmers who supply them.

Last week, Ag Secretary TomVilsack announced 13 addedbiobased product categories eli-gible for USDA’s BioPreferred

certification-labeling program.As a result, more than 1,500 newbiobased products reportedlycan be offered for preferred pur-chasing by federal agencies orcontractors.

Biobased products are com-posed entirely or significantly ofrenewable plant, animal, marine,or forestry materials. BioPre-ferred-designated items meet orexceed minimum biobased con-tent requirements.

USDA’s announcement camea year after it unveiled the first 60BioPreferred products. One ofthe first companies to receive cer-tification, Elk Grove Village’sClear Lam Packaging Inc., usesplant-based plastics as part of itsProject EarthClear programaimed at reducing release of “fos-sil carbons” into the atmosphere.

New BioPreferred categoriesinclude air fresheners anddeodorizers, asphalt-tarremovers, asphalt restorers, blastcleaning media, candles and waxmelts, electronic componentscleaners, non-carpet floor cover-ings, foot care products, furni-ture cleaners, inks, packagingand insulating materials, pneu-matic equipment lubricants, andwood and concrete stains.

That’s potentially good newsfor companies such as Bloom-ington’s Franmar Chemical,which produces soy-based prod-ucts that include parts washers,degreasers, and boat cleaners;and paint, asphalt, auto molding,and undercoating removers.

Franmar has worked closelywith the United Soybean Board,and was one of the original“stakeholders” that helped USDAset biobased content requirementsfor the BioPreferred program.Franmar customers include theU.S. Navy, the Postal Service, theNational Parks Service, and theCherokee Nation.

“There is so much focus onbiobased,” Franmar marketingmanager Jason Davenport toldFarmWeek. “We talk to peopleat (industry) trade shows, andthey bring it up.”

On a national level, DuPonthas several BioPreferred prod-ucts, including those made fromSorona, a “renewably sourced”fiber; and Zemea Propanediol, apetroleum-free chemical used inpersonal care products.

Last year, DuPont developeda “household sustainabilityindex” based on consumer atti-tudes about biobased and relatedproducts. DuPont research indi-cated eight in 10 North Ameri-can consumers would “definite-ly” or “likely” buy such productsif they are comparable in costand effectiveness.

DuPont Industrial Bio-sciences President James Collinscalls White House support forthe BioPreferred program “ashot in the arm to America’sbioeconomy.”

The “Grow It Here, Make ItHere Bio-based ManufacturingAct,” sponsored by U.S. SenateAg Committee Chairman Deb-bie Stabenow (D-Mich.), wouldprovide added support for theprogram.

BioPreferred program boon for Illinois firms?

the river


Container-on-barge growing grower opportunityBY MARTIN ROSSFarmWeek

Illinois farmers not onlycould significantly ramp uphigh-value exports throughthe Gulf — they could playa greater role in fueling Mid-west shipments.

That’s according to a newstudy from the Illinois Soy-bean Association (ISA)which concludes that a con-tainer-on-barge (COB)freight shuttle program isfeasible and would providegreater soy access to globalmarkets.

After completion ofPanama Canal upgrades in2014, the canal will be ableto handle larger vessels thathold up to 10,000 20-footcontainers. As a result, “theGulf Coast becomes farmore attractive for contain-ers that would come downthe Illinois-Mississippi Riversystem,” study author ChuckDillerud said.

But potential barge con-tainer opportunities dependlargely on transportationresources along the contain-

bound container movements(see accompanying story),especially along what Sigmancalls “the last mile” — thestretch where goods move bytruck from their source to railor from rail to barge terminalsor other shipping points.

However, amid a currentcongressional aversion to

local project spending “ear-marks,” Sigman suggestsCongress may be inclined tobuild broader systemwideefficiencies into federal high-way legislation rather thanfocusing on improvements atstrategic regional freight“nodes” such as Northeast-ern Illinois.

er corridor, according to ISAtransportation consultantScott Sigman. As a compan-ion to the COB study, ISA isassessing key risks to com-petitive barge transportation.

“If you have cargo comingdown through the system, it’sfine as long as it keeps flow-ing. Each lock and dam is itsown little pinch point thatallows flow up or down, and ifany of those points getgummed up in any way, shape,or form, nothing flows,” Sig-man told FarmWeek.

“We have been in dialoguewith the U.S. Army Corps ofEngineers to ascertain whereany ‘pinch points’ might be.We’re trying to assess thenear-term plan and longer-term vision for funding notonly lock maintenance andoperations but also, ultimate-ly, rehab and future invest-ment.”

The COB study also con-cludes that increased bargeflow under such a systemwould offer new biodieselopportunities. Sigman citesuse of biodiesel blends

among some barge fleets,and argued the study high-lights potential for using soyoil in the transportation ofbeans and meal.

Illinois would be a primebeneficiary of increasedmarine biofuels adoption,given its biodiesel productionbase and availability ofbiodiesel feedstocks, he said.

COB programs currentlyare operating successfully inFrance and the PacificNorthwest along the Colum-bia River. Sigman anticipates“robust acquisitions andexports” within the soy com-plex over the coming yearnot only among Asian buyersbut also in European andMediterranean markets.

Barge container shipmentwould ease both rail andtruck traffic, generating lesspollution per “ton-mile,” hesaid. Environmentally sus-tainable transportation is agrowing considerationamong foreign buyers, Sig-man reported.

Efficient highway trans-portation also is key to Gulf-

Rolling on the riverA new study (see accompanying story) sees promise in using

barges to move containers between Joliet and Illinois Riverports in prime soybean growing areas and barging those con-tainers downriver for direct loading onto oceangoing vessels atthe Gulf.

According to river transportation consultant and studyauthor Chuck Dillerud, significant volumes of grain currentlyare trucked to the Joliet area to be loaded onto containers andsent by rail to the East and West Coasts.

In 2011, only about 100 containers moved by river from theentire length of the Illinois and the Upper Mississippi Riverabove St. Louis.

A container-on-barge (COB) shuttle program, using dedicat-ed barges and tows, would change that, Dillerud believes. Hesees an economically feasible minimum volume beginning at200 20-foot containers per week, and argues that could be dou-bled without corresponding increases in capital equipment.

He believes river shipments could be scaled to almost anymaximum volume. “The resulting cost to reposition containersfrom the intermodal hubs to and from Central Illinois growingareas by barge could be significantly less than repositioningthem by truck,” Dillerud said.

Further, a COB shuttle program from Peoria to and fromNew Orleans and/or Houston could be feasible at a minimumvolume of slightly more than 350 20-foot containers permonth, he said.

That could be achieved at rates less than those for eithershuttle rail or “bulk-plus” container loading at Gulf locations,and competitively with container rail to the West Coast, hisstudy suggested.

A Gulf COB program also could be used for “backhauls” ofnon-time-sensitive bulk commodities such as dry fertilizer orroad salt, to make more economic use of empty containers.

The study indicated that COB tows could, with properequipment or modifications, operate on up to 80 percentbiodiesel blends.

Few modifications should be needed in most cases, anddepending on the status of the federal biodiesel blender’s taxcredit and other renewable fuels credits, towboat biodiesel maybe more competitively priced than No. 2 diesel, Dillerud said.

He nonetheless stressed an organizational structure wouldbe needed to operate COB programs. His study suggests devel-oping a shippers’ association aimed specifically at operating theCOB venture.

State to spend $10 millionto clean up Chicago River

Gov. Pat Quinn at a press conference last week with ChicagoMayor Rahm Emanuel and U.S. Environmental ProtectionAgency (EPA) Administrator Lisa Jackson announced the statewill spend $10 million in capital funding to clean up the ChicagoRiver.

The estimated $21-million project will include upgrading tech-nology at the North Side and Calumet water reclamation plants.Construction is expected to start this fall with the project to befinished in December 2015.

According to the EPA, Illinois needs more than $17 billion inimprovements of publicly owned wastewater pipes and treat-ment facilities, combined sewer overflow correction, andstormwater management. That is the sixth highest amount in thenation.

The state will help with projects to upgrade aging systems andto build new waste and drinking water plants around Illinois,according to the governor’s office.

energy


Petroleum group fights cellulosic biofuels mandateBY MARTIN ROSSFarmWeek

With farmers, processors,and key agribusinesses gearingup to make cellulosic ethanola commercial reality, an

make sure it’s there for themto buy. If as a nation, we thinkthis is important, we need toput the money there.

“This lawsuit illustrates thatthe part of the industry with themoney and knowledge to putinto it is not willing to do so.”

Last month, POET-DSMAdvanced Biofuels brokeground for a 25-million-gal-lon-per-year cellulosic plant inIowa. The plant, which willprocess corn cobs andresidues, is set to launch in2013. It is one of severalbeing built nationwide.

Companies including War-renville-based Coskata and Den-mark’s Novozymes continue torefine technology to cheaplyconvert energy crops and agresidues. And Monsanto, ArcherDaniels Midland Co., and Deereare identifying efficiencies incorn stover collection, storage,and transportation.

Meanwhile, California sci-entists hope to convert sea-weed into ethanol using E.coli bacteria.

“This is happening,” Ivan-cic insisted. “It’s gottenpushed back because the poli-cy rug’s been pulled from

under the industry. A numberof presidents have supportedthe idea of biofuels. WhenGeorge W. Bush said ‘switch-grass,’ the price of switchgrassseed went up five times.

“There was a belief that thiswas happening, efforts for theindustry to push itself to dothings that hadn’t been donebefore in the belief the govern-ment was going to supportthem. But now, oil still gets itssubsidies, and everything’sbeen taken away from anythingthat smacks of biofuels.”

The Obama White Househas offered biofuels supportas a “customer,” via a pro-posed $510 million U.S. Navy-USDA-Energy Departmenteffort to developed alternativemilitary fuels.

Even that program hascome under attack from somein Congress, and Ivancic not-ed project funding has not yetbeen included in fiscal 2013congressional appropriations.

RFS2 mandates thus arecrucial in helping ensureindustry investment in newbiorefineries or retooling ofexisting ethanol plants for bio-mass use, she said.

“advanced biofuels” advocateattacks what she deems chick-en-and-egg logic regardingfederal biofuels mandates.

Six biofuels groups haveasked a U.S. district appeals

court to uphold the U.S. Envi-ronmental ProtectionAgency’s (EPA) RenewableFuel Standard (RFS2) final2012 rule. RFS2 sets annualfuel industry requirementsdesigned to help the U.S. reach36 billion gallons of biofuelsuse by 2022.

But the American Petrole-um Institute (API) has suedEPA over the 2012 rule, argu-ing that a required 8.865 mil-lion gallons of cellulosic bio-fuels use can’t be achieved.

Advanced Biofuels USAExecutive Director JoanneIvancic suggests the suit isaimed at undercutting devel-opment that would reduce oil-based profits — and con-sumer costs.

RFS2 is intended as a “car-rot and stick” plan aimed atspurring fuel industry invest-ment in the infrastructureneeded to foster next-genera-tion biofuels development, shetold FarmWeek.

“API is twisting thisaround, saying ‘If (cellulosicethanol) is not there, you can’tmake us buy it,’” Ivancic said.“They’re not seeing any obli-gation to try and invest to

Cellulosic starters:A farm bill guide

As Congress mulls the 2012 farm bill, Advanced BiofuelsUSA outlines “low cost and cost-efficient” guidelines for encour-aging viable next-generation biofuels development.

Executive Director Joanne Ivancic sees two specific “problemareas” in developing biomass ethanol resources: The challengeof bringing small, non-contiguous, “marginal” acreages togetherinto an energy crop market, and funding promising productionand biofuels conversion technologies currently “wallowing in thefinancing valley of death.”

“Farmers are like any other investor,” Ivancic told FarmWeek.“They need to know they have a market or that somebody isgoing to support them during the investigation-experimentalphase. There’s still a lot of experimenting that needs to be donewith feedstocks.”

Acknowledging budget constraints, she argues her group’s farmbill proposal offers “the biggest bang for the government buck.”

Advanced Biofuels USA proposes:• Retaining ag lands. Ag and forest lands vulnerable due to

dairy and pulp-paper industry downsizing and residential-com-mercial development could retain their ag value if they were con-verted to biomass-biofuel production areas, the associationmaintained. It supports demonstration programs to convert pas-ture land to multi-crop perennial grasses, other energy crops, ormixed hardwood forests.

Another possibility is development of portable biomass-to-bio-fuel “precursor” technologies that extract convertible sugars oroils from crops or residues in scattered fields.

• Limiting eligible USDA project size and scope to maxi-mize the number of projects supported through available funds.The group recommends limiting eligible project cost to $5 millionto $7 million, with a minimum of 30 projects awarded funding peryear and federal cost sharing limited to 15 percent.

• Encouraging diversity. Projects should focus on producingprecursors from non-food sources that could be used in a varietyof biofuels-bioproducts production systems.

• Development of a “grower-oriented, easily accessed”bio-crop database. That database would tap USDA-U.S. Ener-gy Department information on all aspects of biofuels production.A grower-oriented website would cover crop type and projectedyields; grower-supplied information on crop location, plot size,and soil type; available area biomass conversion-biofuel produc-tion systems; and biomass transportation costs.

• Changes in conservation programs. The ConservationReserve Program (CRP) should be reformed to include “environ-mentally sound” biomass production options, the group argued.Options might include perennial grass croppings or selective treeharvesting that don’t interfere with animal nesting patterns orother environmental conditions.

Under Advanced Biofuels’ plan, existing government pay-ments could be replaced by a combination of income from thesale of biomass and tax credits.

If the value of biomass payments fell below established CRPpayments, the difference would be made up through tax credits.— Martin Ross

Wind farm siting, permit program offeredThe University of Illinois Extension Local Government

Information and Education Network and the Illinois Associationof County Board Members and Commissioners (IACBMC) willoffer a local government program on wind farm siting and per-mitting from 3 to 5 p.m. Thursday.

The event will be broadcast over a statewide audio-teleconfer-ence system through Illinois county Extension offices. Speakerswill be David Loomis of Illinois State University’s Center forRenewable Energy; William Shay, attorney and member of theIllinois Wind Energy Working Group; and Rick Bowen of theFord County Board.

Although no statewide requirements exist, Illinois has devel-oped county and municipal codes that establish jurisdiction overwind farm development and regulation. Drawing from personaland professional experiences the panelists will provide anoverview of current practices and opportunities for wind energydevelopment in Illinois.

Individuals may register online at {web.extension.illinois.edu/fmpt/}or send an e-mail to Kathie Brown, Extension educator commu-nity and economic development, at [email protected].

education


Making the grade: More students start at community collegesBY KAY SHIPMANFarmWeek

Alicia Gardner, a Universityof Illinois junior in biotechnol-ogy-crop sciences, integratesclasses with her work as a labo-ratory assistant and leadershiproles in a student organizationand a college honors program.

But unlikemany of herfellow juniors,Gardner is fin-ishing her firstyear in theCollege ofAgricultural,Consumer,and Environ-mental Sci-

ences (ACES).Gardner of Eureka began

her college education at IllinoisCentral College (ICC), EastPeoria, before she transferredinto ACES last fall.

She and her mother, Carol,gave FarmWeek several rea-sons for Gardner’s decision toattend ICC for two years

ICC courses that helped herfulfill most of her general edu-cation requirements.

Harriman said he assuresstudents and parents as long asthe students know what theywant to study and where theywant to transfer “we will getyou there in good shape andhave you in good shape tograduate in four years.”

Gardner said she was wellprepared for ACES classesand to be a James Scholar forhonor students.

Attending community col-lege classes with working par-ents and other non-traditionalstudents “was a cool experi-ence,” she said, adding, “It kindof makes you appreciate yourcircumstances.”

Gardner said she also has beenwelcomed by her ACES class-mates and as well as members ofSigma Alpha and the Field andFurrow Club. “I have not experi-enced any ostracism. I found get-ting involved also has made it easyto get to know people,” she said.

before transferring to ACES tocomplete a bachelor’s degree.

At this time of year, manyhigh school seniors and theirfamilies are weighing theiroptions and finalizing wherethey will attend college.

“It made economic sense inthis day and age,” said Mrs.Gardner. Starting at a commu-nity college made it less expen-sive for her daughter to earn 80credit hours and she could liveat home, she noted.

However, Gardner is not anexception on the Champaign-Urbana campus; more studentsare transferring into ACES, saidLaurie Kramer, associate deanfor academic programs.

“They have good reasons tobegin their educations at com-munity colleges and then planto complete a bachelor degreein ACES,” Kramer said.

Kramer, Gardner, and Gard-ner’s ICC academic adviser, RogerHerriman, emphasized studentsneed to plan not only for a specif-ic field of study, but also to trans-fer into a specific university.

“If they know their intendedmajor and which university, wecan make their transition seam-

less,” said Herriman, now apart-time ICC adviser afterteaching 28 years at the com-munity college.

Currently, ACES has formaltransfer programs with 12community colleges (seeaccompanying article) andplans to sign an agreement thisweek with Highland Communi-ty College, Freeport, accordingto Kramer. ACES also has aseparate dual-admission, dual-credit program with ParklandCollege in Champaign.

To assist transfer students,an ACES representative meetswith students on the communi-ty college campuses. To helpthose students select the com-munity college courses thatwould meet degree require-ments, ACES also provides cur-riculum guides for every majorarea of study, Kramer said.

“So the goal is after theytransfer in two years, theywould be able to complete adegree in a two-year period,”Kramer said. “We want to besupportive and help studentsmake the transition.”

Gardner credited Herrimanwith advising her on selecting

Alicia Gardner

ISU ag students share bright job outlook

Job prospects are positive for the Illinois State University (ISU)agriculture students who spoke last week with FarmWeek. The fresh-men and students who transferred into ISU’s agriculture programswere optimistic about their futures despite the slow general economy.

Robert Dunn of Urbana is working on his second degree —this time in agricultural business. Dunn, who has a degree inpolitical science, returned to college after work at a filling stationwas the best job he could find.

In addition to learning about a wide range of ag-related careers,Dunn said his ISU classes are enhancing his job-search skills, such ashandling job interviews and writing resumes.

The demand for agriculture business graduates is especiallystrong, according to Rob Rhykerd, head of the ISU agriculturedepartment. Rhykerd said he received a call last week from anagribusiness seeking to hire eight spring agribusiness graduates, buthe didn’t have that number who were without jobs.

Freshman Michael Ruffatti of Gardner is preparing for afuture in agriculture by majoring in agronomy and crop and soilsciences with a minor in chemistry. Ruffatti said he is consideringa career in the seed industry, but his choice of studies will pro-vide “a lot of options.”

Junior Ryan Stade of McHenry said he plans to use his degreein agricultural business and agronomy management on his fami-ly’s diverse farm. In addition to 2,200 acres of corn, soybeans,and hay, the Stade family also raises specialty crops and runs anagritourism business.

Senior Shari McLeod of Chicago called a horticulture career “myhigh school dream.” McLeod said she is pursuing her goals now thather children have graduated from college. She noted increased inter-est in nutrition and healthy eating also should be reflected in demandfor horticulture graduates.

USDA has projected a strong job market for college graduateswith agriculture degrees. The ag and natural resource sectors areexpected to have 54,400 positions open each year through 2015. —Kay Shipman

U of I ACES, communitycollege transfer programs

The University of Illinois College of Agricultural, Con-sumer, and Environmental Sciences (ACES) has formal trans-fer programs with the following community colleges:

Illinois Central College, East PeoriaIllinois Eastern Community Colleges, Olney, Fairfield,

Robinson, and Mount CarmelIllinois Valley Community College, OglesbyKankakee Community College, KankakeeLake Land Community College, MattoonLewis and Clark Community College, GodfreyRichland Community College, DecaturRock Valley Community College, RockfordSauk Valley Community College, DixonSoutheastern Illinois College, HarrisburgSouthwestern Illinois College, Belleville Triton College, River GroveACES plans to sign a formal transfer agreement with High-

land Community College on Tuesday. Since 2008, ACES hashad a separate dual-admission, dual-credit program with Park-land College, Champaign.

frOm THe cOuNTies


BOND — Farm Bureauand Country Financial

will host a cookout fundraiserfrom 10:30 a.m. to 2 p.m.Tuesday, April 24, at the FarmBureau office. Proceeds willbenefit American Cancer Soci-ety’s Relay for Life. Porkchops, brats, and pork burgerswill be served. Call the FarmBureau office at 618-664-3100by Friday to place large ordersfrom businesses.

BUREAU — Bureau,Lee, and Whiteside

County Farm Bureaus willsponsor the Summer Ag Insti-tute II for teachers June 26-27.The theme is “A-Maize-ingCorn.” Cost is $25 for mem-bers and $40 for non-mem-bers. Certification units maybe earned upon completion ofthe course. Call the FarmBureau office at 875-6468 by

May 15 for reservations ormore information.

COOK — Farm Bureauwill sponsor a Shred

Day from 10 a.m. to noon Sat-urday, April 28, at the RollingMeadows Country Financialbuilding, 4190 W. Euclid Ave.,Rolling Meadows. Up to threebankers’ boxes may be shred-ded. Electronics, includingcomputers, speakers, and lap-tops may be recycled. Howev-er, there will be a $10 chargeper monitor. Call the FarmBureau office at 708-354-3276for a reservation or moreinformation.

• Farm Bureau will sponsora Gardening on your Balconyworkshop from 9 a.m. to noonSaturday, April 28, at the FarmBureau office. Greg Stack,University of Illinois Exten-sion horticulture educator, will

discuss raising vegetables andflowers in small places. Callthe Farm Bureau office at 708-354-3276 by Wednesday, April25, for reservations or moreinformation.

• Farm Bureau is collectingrecipes for the 2012 RecipeCollection. Submit yourfavorite fresh fruit and veg-etable recipes to the FarmBureau office, Attention:Recipes, 6438 Joliet Road,Countryside, Ill. 60525.

• For information aboutCook County greenhouses,farmstands, and farmers’ mar-kets, visit the website{www.localfarmproducts.org}.

JACKSON — A freehealth screening will be

from noon to 3 p.m. Thursdayat the Farm Bureau office.Murphysboro ChiropracticClinic will offer a spine check,weight loss consultation, and achair massage. Call the FarmBureau office at 684-3129 byWednesday for an appointmentor more information.

LASALLE — FarmBureau has BBQ pork

salt for sale. Cost is $5.50for members and $6 fornon-members. Call theFarm Bureau office for

more information.

LEE — Bureau, Lee, andWhiteside County Farm

Bureaus will sponsor the Sum-mer Ag Institute II for teach-ers June 26-27. The theme is“A-Maize-ing Corn.” Cost is$25 for members and $40 fornon-members. Certificationunits may be earned uponcompletion of the course.Register at the Farm Bureauoffice or call 875-6468 by May15 for reservations or moreinformation.

• Dixon Family Dentistry,1355 N. Galena Ave., Dixon, isparticipating in the Lee CountyFarm Bureau local discountprogram. Members willreceive a free dental exam, X-rays, and consultation and a 15percent discount on dentaltreatments. Call the FarmBureau office at 815-857-3531or the Dixon Family Dentistryat 815-284-1995 for moreinformation.

• Lee and Bureau CountyFarm Bureaus are seeking holesponsors for the annual Ag inthe Classroom golf outing Fri-

day, June 29. Cost is $100 ahole. Call the Farm Bureauoffice at 815-857-3531 or e-mail [email protected] formore information.

UNION — The AARPdriver safety course

will be from 1 to 5 p.m. Mon-day and Tuesday, April 23-24,at the Farm Bureau office.Cost is $12 for AARP mem-bers and $14 for non-mem-bers. A discount on auto lia-bility insurance may be given.Call Bob Tyson at 684-5643 byTuesday for reservations ormore information.

WASHINGTON —The Women’s Com-

mittee will sponsor a car-diopulmonary resuscitationand first aid course at 6 p.m.Thursday, April 26, at theFarm Bureau office. Cost is$10 for members and $15 fornon-members. Call the FarmBureau office at 618-327-3081 by Friday, April 20, forreservations or more infor-mation.

“From the counties” items aresubmitted by county Farm Bureaumanagers. If you have an event oractivity open to all members, contactyour county Farm Bureau manager.

WHAT NOT TO DO

Aaron Wetzel, a student at Ashton Franklin Center in Ashton, gainshands-on experience with the problems of texting while driving at adriving simulator sponsored by AAA during the recent Illinois FarmBureau Youth Education and Agriculture Conference in Springfield.State Police Master Sgt. Kenny Guard, left, demonstrated how tex-ting and driving (which is illegal in Illinois) can distract drivers.Roughly 425 FFA students from around Illinois attended the event.(Photo by Cyndi Cook)

profitability


Export inspections(Million bushels)

Week ending Soybeans Wheat Corn04-05-12 26.4 17.6 23.403-29-12 29.5 15.8 31.0Last year 22.9 28.8 41.1Season total 1040.1 844.7 976.6Previous season total 1323.4 1026.7 1046.2USDA projected total 1275 1000 1700Crop marketing year began June 1 for wheat and Sept. 1 for corn and soybeans.

Feeder pig prices reported to USDA*Weight Range Per Head Weighted Ave. Price10 lbs. $33.30-49.66 $40.0840 lbs. $65.39 $65.3950 lbs. no longer reported by USDAReceipts This Week Last Week 92,445 88,960*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 $79.66 $77.76 1.90Live $58.95 $57.54 1.41

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

Steers 122.00 120.79 1.21 Heifers 122.00 121.08 0.92

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 149.14 151.16 -2.02

CME feeder cattle index — 600-800 Lbs.

Lamb prices

(Thursday’s price)

Slaughter Prices - Negotiated, Live, wooled and shorn 130-160 lbs. for145.30-157 $/cwt. (wtd. ave. 154.48).

Nobody can beat the ‘Law of the Minimum’BY SID PARKS

In my position, I often havethe pleasure and opportunityto collaborate with producers

who are look-ing toimprove theircrop produc-tion. Theymay do fieldtrials or test-ing of variousproductionpractices orcrop inputs.

Many of these projects involvetechnology of some sort, and Iam asked to participate.

For example, one might beinterested in increasing hisseeding rate. At harvest, hemay see a response, but fre-quently does not. His conclu-sion? “That didn’t work.”

In reality, chances are hesimply was breaking the “Lawof the Minimum.”

The concept was popular-ized by a 19th century Germanchemist, Justus von Liebig.The basic theory states thatcrop growth is controlled bythe scarcest (limiting) factor,rather than the total amount ofresources available.

Liebig used the image of abarrel with staves of varyingheights to explain this con-cept. The volume of waterthe barrel will hold is only asmuch as the shortest stave,regardless the height of thebarrel or how much water youpour in.

If we extrapolate this con-cept to corn production,increasing plant seeding rate byitself or applying extra fertiliz-er won’t necessarily increaseyields if something else is lim-iting. One needs to examinethe crop production model as awhole.

To assist growers in identi-

fying treatments or practicesthat can improve yields, a fewyears ago our company devel-oped a program called FSGREEN PLAN® Solutions,the Pursuit of Maximum Yield.

In 2011, general crop yieldswere down, but our coopera-

tors achieved positive resultsover their traditional practicesroughly 80 percent of the time.Our longer-term goals areachieving 300 bushels of cornand 100 bushels of soybeansper acre.

To properly execute a Pur-suit of Maximum Yieldstudy, one must create theproper environment forplants to do well. Assumedfor minimum participationare appropriate fertility levels(N, P, K, pH) and weed/pestcontrol.

In addition to the basicassumptions, there are fiveinputs in particular we areinterested in managing for

maximum yields. These vari-ables are selecting the properhybrid, selecting the right seed-ing rate, proper nitrogen man-agement, and provisions forplant health and nutrients.Leave out some of the mix,and you will probably end upwith short staves in your bar-rel.

Your FS crop specialist hasexperience to help you maxi-mize crop yields. Contact himor her with any questions foryour farming operation.

Sid Parks is GROWMARK’smanager, precision farming. His e-mail address is [email protected].

Sid Parks

USDA

Farm ServiceAgency

FSA adopting GovDeliveryFarm Service Agency (FSA) offices are moving toward a

paperless operation. Farmers are asked to enroll in the newGovDelivery system, which will provide notices, newsletters, andelectronic reminders instead of a paper copy through the mail.

County committee ballots will continue to be mailed to all eli-gible farmers. Contact your local FSA office and provide per-sonnel there with an e-mail address and to start receiving farmprogram information.

Illinois FSA to start fivepart-time service centers

As a result of reduced resources and staffing, five IllinoisFarm Service Agency (FSA) offices will be converted to part-time service centers in mid-July.

The five centers are located in Boone, Calhoun, Union,Wabash, and Williamson counties. In each location, the FSAoffice will be open for business two days a week.

The reduced business hours is not intended to impact orchange the business hours of other agencies that may belocated in the same USDA service center.

Based on workload and reduced funding, each of the fivecenters has a designated maximum staff of two employees,making it difficult to provide full office coverage at all times.

All employees will remain employed and be reassigned toadjacent headquarters offices. The transition will occur July 17.

Soy stocks shrink; corn supply could growBY DANIEL GRANTFarmWeek

If soybeans weren’t drivingthe crop markets prior to lastweek, they’re certainly a leadernow.

USDA last week cut U.S.ending stocks of soybeans by25 million bushels and slashedbean production in Argentinaand Brazil by a total of 148 mil-lion bushels from the previousestimate.

Ending stocks of soybeansdipped from 275 million to 250million bushels as U.S. suppliersfilled voids in the world marketcaused by a shorter-than-expect-ed crop in South America.

USDA last week raised itsestimate for U.S. bean exportsby 15 million bushels to 1.63billion bushels.

“We are looking at a situationwhere soybeans, rather thancorn, could very well becomethe market leader in the U.S.grain and oilseed complex,” saidTodd Davis, American FarmBureau Federation economist.

USDA last week left endingstocks of corn unchanged at801 million bushels. Many ana-lysts prior to last week’s worldag supply and demand reportlooked for a reduction in old-crop corn supplies.

“The corn number is bearish,”said Mike Krueger, analyst withthe Money Farm, during a tele-conference hosted by the Min-neapolis Grain Exchange. “Soy-beans certainly will be the featureof the 2012/13 marketing yearunless we have significant issueswith corn this growing season.”

Corn supplies could grow ifthe weather cooperates this sea-son. USDA last month project-ed U.S. farmers will plant 95.9million acres of corn, whichwould be the most corn acresplanted in the U.S. since 1937.

Meanwhile, soybean plant-ings last month were projectedto slip 1 percent from last yearto 73.9 million acres.

“I look for a significant

tightening of U.S. (soybean)supplies,” Krueger said.

In South America, soy cropestimates since November havebeen reduced by 257 millionbushels in Argentina and by330 million bushels in Brazildue to dry conditions in someareas, Davis reported.

Krueger believes U.S. farm-ers could plant more beans inresponse to the stronger funda-mentals. Any extra bean acreslikely would replace secondarycrops or come in the form ofmore double-crop acres, ratherthan replace corn acres, theanalyst noted.

“Farmers could drag someacres back to beans,” he said.

USDA last week also lowered

ending stocks of wheat by 32million bushels as wheat hasreplaced corn in some feedrations.

Krueger believes the old-crop corn market still couldhave some life to it, though, asdemand has yet to be rationed.

But USDA projected anytightness in the corn supplycould be alleviated as early asAugust with the start of thenew-crop harvest.

“The quick start to plantingand more intended acres acrossthe South raise the potential fora substantial increase in new-crop corn use before the Sept. 1start of the new marketingyear,” USDA noted in its supplyand demand report.

USDA, IRS establish info exchangeUSDA and the Internal Revenue Service (IRS) have estab-

lished an electronic information exchange process for verifyingcompliance with the average adjusted gross income (AGI) provi-sions for farm programs.

Written consent is required from each farmer or paymentrecipient for the tax review process. No actual tax data will beincluded in the report that IRS sends to the Farm Service Agency.

Participants in Commodity Credit Corp. (CCC) programs subject toaverage AGI rules must submit form CCC-931 —“Average AdjustedGross Income (AGI) Certification and Consent to Disclosure of TaxInformation” — to FSA to avoid interruption of program benefits.

These forms may be obtained from local FSA and NaturalResources Conservation Service offices or online at{http://forms.sc.egov.usda.gov/efcommon/eFileServices/eForms/CCC931.PDF}.

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CASH STRATEGISTCorn Strategy

ü2011 crop: May futures’inability to penetrate $6.43-$6.46 suggests upside momen-tum has been exhausted. Old-crop sales should have beenwrapped up when May futuresfell below $6.44. If not, use arally to $6.30 on July futuresto do so.

ü2012 crop: Use rallies to$5.40 on December futures tomake catch-up sales. New-crop sales should have beenincreased to 40 percent whenthe fail-safe was triggered. Weprefer hedge-to-arrive con-tracts for making sales. Planto tie up the basis by mid-summer.

vFundamentals: The lat-est USDA supply/demandreport left stocks unchangedat 801 million bushels.Whether you agree withUSDA or not, it will limit old-crop upside momentum.New-crop months will contin-ue to be pressured on expecta-tions for large corn acres, ear-ly planting progress, and thisweek’s general rains. And theabundant supply of wheat andthe competition it presents inthe feed bunk remain anongoing drag on the market.

Soybean Strategyü2011 crop: We aren’t

opposed to wrapping up sales,but the market still hasn’t giv-en a good signal that pricesare about to turn down. Butthe first break could be brutalwith the record long positionheld by the trading funds. Usestrength for catch-up sales.

ü2012 crop: Get sales torecommended levels. Priceanother 10 percent if Novem-ber futures hit $14.

vFundamentals: Persist-ent Chinese buying and talkabout the South Americancrops keeps soybean pricesfrom turning lower. Lastweek’s USDA numbers didn’toffer any new insight. We aredetecting some hesitancy onthe part of world buyers towillingly cover needs at theseprices. There are ongoingsigns of acres being switchedto soybeans from other crops,but the scope is difficult todetermine. Financial marketsremain a daily influence onmarket action.

ûFail-safe: If May futures

fall below $14, wrap-up old-crop sales, and make the new-crop sale.

Wheat Strategyü2011 crop: Wheat is

having difficulty sustainingany upside momentum. Themarket is vulnerable to fur-ther weakness with seasonalpressure becoming anincreasing drag on prices.Use rallies to wrap-up old-crop sales. With the end ofthe marketing year windingdown, use the cash market tomake sales. Don’t carryunhedged inventories beyondApril.

ü2012 crop: Use rallies to$6.48 on Chicago Julyfutures to make catch-up

sales. Producers selling 100percent off the combineneed to be aggressive inmaking sales on rallies.New-crop sales wereincreased to 45 percent whenJuly traded at $6.69.

vFundamentals: Asmall portion of the soft redwinter wheat crop could havebeen damaged by the recentfrost/freeze. However, dam-age appeared to be morelocalized than widespread.As a whole, the winter wheatcrop is on track to producegood yields. The mostrecent weekly conditionreport indicated 61 percentof the crop was rated goodand excellent.

Cents per bu.

Corn supplies adequate


Plains, with this year’s hardred winter crop conditionabout normal at present.And persistent rains contin-ue to improve prospects.

As far as wheat feeding, abig, competitively pricedhard red winter crop typical-ly boosts wheat feeding sig-nificantly in the SouthernPlains cattle feedyards. Afew analysts already are“penciling in” 100 millionbushels more hard red wheatbeing fed in the summerquarter than last year —wheat that could displacecorn.

Corn planting in the mid-south has gone well thisyear, with progress wellahead of normal. Acreagein the midsouth was forecastto be 12 percent larger thanlast year.

If yields rebound to morenormal levels, production inthat region could hit a newrecord, eclipsing last year by100 million bushels. Andmost of those bushels enterthe pipeline before the cur-rent marketing year ends.

Acreage in the Southeastis not a lot higher, but a bet-ter yield would boost sup-plies. And early planting inthe southern Corn Beltcould push some extrabushels into the pipelinebefore the marketing yearcloses as well.

Even though these bushelsare not supposed to becounted in the Sept. 1 cornstocks, they displace old-cropbushels that might otherwisehave been used. Hence, theold-crop corn stocks may notbe any tighter than currentlyforecast. And they could endup slightly higher. Lastweek’s action in old-cropcorn futures suggests themarket in general is thinkingalong these lines as well.

Whether you agree withUSDA or not, it has a validargument for keeping thecorn carryout number at 801million bushels. That shouldbe more than enough tokeep the pipeline adequatelysupplied until the new cropbecomes widely available.

The notes that accompa-nied the latest USDA sup-ply/demand report laid outan argument that the supplyof competitively pricedwheat and the larger supplyof southern new-crop cornwill keep the ending stocksof old-crop corn frombecoming smaller than pro-jected.

From one perspective,that’s the opposite scenariofrom the one the industryconfronted in 1996. Live-stock feeders that year werecounting on a good wheatcrop to supplement whatthey knew would be a tightsupply of corn.

But when the wheat cropbroke dormancy in 1996, theweather turned dry acrossthe Southern Plains and theSouth, trimming potentialand turning wheat pricessharply higher. The unex-pected tightness of thosesupplies forced livestockfeeders to scramble to coverfeed needs, resulting in cornprices moving to a new all-time high above $5.50 perbushel.

This year, livestock feed-ers are looking not only atcomfortable supplies ofcompetitively priced old-crop wheat but a good newcrop as well. This is espe-cially true in the Southern

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Baseball season is under way now that spring training has fin-ished. Illinois Farm Bureau, too, is heading into its policy devel-opment season.

As you look around, you will see Farm Bureau members’ideas and policies being put into action. The Illinois Govern-

ment Committee of the IFB Board of Direc-tors has reviewed proposed legislation andmade recommendations based on IFB policy.

In the halls ofCongress and theGeneral Assembly,House and Senatecommittees havedebated and votedon bills — somebased upon FarmBureau policy andviews.

Those actions are the culminationof policy development that started atthe county Farm Bureau level acrossour state. Issues are brought to light,discussed among the members, andsubmittals are brought forward to theResolutions Committee (RC).

The RC then prepares a documentto present to the delegates at theannual meeting.

It is vital for our members to par-ticipate in the process of developingideas and concerns into policy. Iencourage members and county FarmBureau leaders to review currentFarm Bureau policy. If there is anarea of policy of particular interest,please review that policy and assesswhether it remains relevant to currentissues and concerns.

Each year RC subcommitteesreview portions of Farm Bureau poli-cy to ensure the policy remains cur-rent and pertinent. Agriculture hasbeen and will continue to be chal-lenged on many fronts. It is vital thatour existing policy continues to bereviewed.

Whether it concerns the state orfederal budgets, transportation, thefarm bill, or property rights, it is imperative for Farm Bureaumembers to be involved in policy development and to remainpart of the process.

Our organization’s policy is developed at the grassroots level.It is a process driven by those who participate and are involved.

Now that our policy development season is under way, Iencourage our members to get in the swing, share theirthoughts and ideas, and be responsible for a winning season.

Rich Guebert Jr., Ellis Grove, is Illinois Farm Bureau vice president andchairs the Resolutions Committee, which works to develop policy resolu-tions to be considered by delegates at the IFB annual meeting.

For the last 20 years, theAmerican farmer has had

great successwith mono-trait seeds thatpromote a sin-gle benefit tothe seed, suchas protectionfrom insectsor herbicides.

With thehelp of bettergenetics, bet-

ter agronomic practices, andbetter equipment, yields haveincreased dramatically. Abooming world populationhas put pressure on farmersto increase yields and toincrease the nutritional valueof their crops.

Multi-trait seeds providethe solution to these issues,but in order to fully capitalizeon these benefits, we need todevelop a framework to bringthese traits off patent andinto the marketplace.

By removing artificial bar-riers, we will see greater pro-duction and income for theAmerican farmer.

Success in the multi-traitseed market will translate intoan increase in competitionthat will lead to robust inno-vation and new multi-traitseeds in the marketplace.

Having worked in agricul-ture all of my life, I under-stand the importance compe-tition and innovation play inour economy.

America has a strong histo-ry of innovation that hasallowed our country to main-tain a position as a globalleader.

The time to take the nextstep is now, especially in theface of a vast American tradedeficit and a looming globalfood crisis.

American protection ofintellectual property has beenthe foundation for our suc-cess as the global technologyleader. It is essential to thecompanies who invest theirprofits back into new productdevelopment.

With the right public poli-cy in place for biotech seedtraits coming off patent, wecan ramp up research anddevelopment of new seeds.

The American Seed TradeAssociation (ASTA) and theBiotechnology IndustryAssociation (BIO) are devel-oping an accord for Americanseed companies to sign. Theyare to be applauded for lead-ing this effort.

The accord agreementshould provide access to seedtrait data and research four tofive years prior to the expira-tion of a patent.

This will allow for newmulti-trait seeds to be devel-oped and commercializedwhen the patent expires.

This agreement will besimilar to the current pathwayfor bringing pharmaceuticalsoff patent.

New medicines and gener-ics can be developed prior tothe expiration of the patent.However, the new medicineor generic substitute cannotenter the market until thepatent expires.

This system simply doesnot exist for the multi-traitseed marketplace. As is oftenthe case, technology has out-paced policy.

Now is the time to makesure trade is not disrupted,innovation is encouraged, andagriculture continues to be abright spot in the U.S. econo-my.

Allowing for increasedcompetition in the multi-trait

seed marketplace is the key toincreasing trade exports andboosting economic growth.It’s also an issue that is vitalto the health and security ofevery single citizen.

With the populationexpected to grow to nine bil-lion people by 2050, we needa commitment to solutionsthat will work to produce anabundance of high-qualityfood.

During my 21 years ofservice in the Illinois legisla-ture, I made agriculture a toppriority because of the greatvalue it provides to the peo-ple of Illinois and to theworld. I had the pleasure ofserving as the chairman ofthe Illinois Senate Agricultureand Conservation Commit-tee.

I also had the opportunityto work with producers,agribusiness leaders, com-modity groups, and agricul-ture educators from all acrossthe state.

I have made a lifelongcommitment to agriculturebecause I understand thatagriculture is Illinois’ No. 1industry and a vital part ofour national security.

It is deeply rooted inAmerican history, in ourcommunities, in our way oflife, and it is essential to ourfuture.

This is why I support apolicy framework to bringseed traits coming off patentinto the marketplace that willpromote competition, protectintellectual property, and pro-vide timely innovations criti-cal to the success of ourAmerican farmers.

Todd Sieben is a retired state sen-ator and has been in the seed cornbusiness for several years.

Farm Bureau members: Policy development season is here again

RICHGUEBERT JR.

TODDSIEBEN

Agreement key to ensure seed trait innovation continues

LETTER TO THE EDITORWhy not plantmore cover crops?Editor:

I often drive between ourtwo small farms in Woodfordand Iroquois counties, mainlyon U.S. 24. During the sum-mer, the farm fields along theway are all green — almostexclusively corn and soybeans.

But from fall harvest ofthese two crops until the newcrops emerge after springplanting, almost all of the soilis unprotected by livingplants.

A few weeks ago I wasexcited to see that a smallnumber of fields were green-ing up considerably. Thesealfalfa and winter wheat fieldswere on both ends of my trip— on four farms total.

The sight of those greenfields always lifts my spiritsbecause of their aestheticbeauty.

Furthermore, based onwhat I have read on agroecol-ogy and eco-farming, theseliving winter plants are bene-ficial for the farmer and theenvironment.

They decrease soil erosiondue to wind and water,sequester micro- andmacronutrients, improve thebiological health and physicalstructure of the soil, increasethe organic matter of the soil,and combat global climatechange by fixing atmosphericcarbon dioxide.

These facts make me won-der why so few farmersinclude wheat and alfalfa as

part of their agronomic prac-tices.

Even with a corn-soybeanrotation or corn on corn,cover crops could be sowedfollowing grain harvest in thefall, thereby deriving themany benefits of havingplants growing in the soilover the winter.

I suspect that most farm-ers would tell me that havingliving plants over the winterwould be less profitable andinconvenient.

But those four farms I seeon both ends of my frequentU.S. 24 trips are profitablefamily farms, and they areenvironmentally and ecologi-cally friendly.HERMAN BROCKMAN,Congerville

FarmWeek April 16 2012

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Transcript of FarmWeek April 16 2012