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Monday, April 4, 2011 Two sections Volume 39, No. 14

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

A CONCERTED EFFORT isbeing made to expand involvementin the Illinois Farm Bureau YoungLeaders program. ..........................12

ILLINOIS FARMERS plan toplant a great many acres this spring,but the weather doesn’t appear asthough it wants to cooperate. .......6

FARM BUREAU and Exten-sion are offering a service that ben-efits residents and the economy inMarshall and Putnam counties. .....5

FINAL PREPARATIONSMore corn,fewer bean acres forecastBY DANIEL GRANTFarmWeek

Corn prices apparently havebeen high enough in the winterand so far this spring to encour-age farmers to plant more ker-nels in 2011.

USDA, in its highly antici-pated prospective plantingsreport last week, projected U.S.farmers this spring will plant92.2 million acres of corn, up 5percent from a year ago.

If realized, U.S. corn plant -ings this year would be the sec-ond-highest since 1944 when95.5 million acres was planted(farmers in 2007 planted 93.5million acres of corn).

“It’s a very sizable cornnumber,” said Jerry Gidel, ana-lyst with NARMS FuturesTrading, during a teleconfer-ence hosted by the CMEGroup. “And the wheat num-bers are up sharply, too.”

USDA projected winterwheat seedings are up 10 percentthis year compared to last yearwhile spring wheat seedings are

projected to grow by 5 percent.All wheat acres were project-

ed to total 58 million, up 8 per-cent from a year ago.

“There’s no shortage ofwheat out there,” said ClaytonPope, AgriVisor market analyst.

But there is concern abouttight corn and soybean supplies.Stocks in all positions as ofMarch 1 were down 15 percentfor corn and 2 percent forbeans compared to the sametime last year.

And that concern was exac-erbated by the fact that USDAprojected farmers this springwill plant 76.6 million acres ofsoybeans, which was belowtrade expectations and 1 percentfewer acres than a year ago.

“The soy numbers are bull-ish,” said Jack Scoville, analystwith The Price Futures Group.“It (the tightening supply) isnot implying much in the wayof rationing.”

In Illinois, farmers areexpected to plant 12.8 millionacres of corn, up 2 percent fromlast year, and 9.1 million acres ofbeans, equal to last year.

Crop prices, after the reportwas released on Thursday, sur-passed key benchmarks. Julycorn raced above $7 per bushel,May soybeans surpassed $14,and July wheat rallied above $8.

The analysts predicted thecrop markets will remain on edgethroughout the planting season.

“This report does nothing todispel any weather concerns atall,” Scoville said.

See Corn, page 6

Obama offers clear,strong biofuels supportBY MARTIN ROSSFarmWeek

The White House last week offered perhapsits strongest support yet for biofuels. That cameamid ethanol/biodiesel industry assurances thatcoming renewable fuels demand can be met.

As Mideast tensions intensified, PresidentObama issued a new energy “blueprint” aimedat reducing the U.S.’ current 11 million barrelsin daily oil imports by a third by 2025.

Obama advocated “safe and responsible”domestic oil and natural gas development. Atthe same time, he backed efforts to commercial-ize “promising cellulosic and advanced biofuelstechnologies,” acknowledging corn ethanol is“already making a significant contribution toreducing our oil dependence.”

“Our best opportunities to enhance ourenergy security can be found in our own back-yard,” said the president.

The Renewable Fuels Association notedoverall energy prices are at their “steepest sus-tained rate of gain since 2008,” while ethanol iscontributing to the domestic economy in theform of feed co-products (nearly 35 millionmetric tons produced in 2009-2010) and otherpotential byproducts (see page 3).

“In the last couple of his speeches, (Obama)kind of danced around and never really talked

about it (biofuels),” National Corn GrowersAssociation (NCGA) President Bart Schott saidin an RFD Radio-FarmWeek interview. “Thislast speech, he was really pretty pro-biofuels.”

The president directed that by 2015, all fed-eral fleets use alternative energy vehicles,including ethanol/biodiesel, electric, or“hybrid” vehicles that use both liquid fuel andelectricity. He proposed partnerships with com-panies that want to upgrade their fleets to userenewable fuels.

The president’s biofuels support fits wellwith plans for “reforming” the existing 45-cent-per-gallon Volumetric Ethanol Excise TaxCredit (VEETC) (see page 3), Schott said. Hehoped Obama’s message would resonate onCapitol Hill, where the credit is at risk.

After obtaining a one-year extension of thecredit in December, NCGA joined with keybiofuels groups to promise Congress “VEETCreform,” Schott stressed. The organizations areworking with both credit critics and championsto explore how VEETC might be restructured,he said.

Schott hailed Obama’s call for developmentof at least four new commercial cellulosicethanol plants over the next two years.

See Biofuels, page 3

Farmers throughout Illinois are making their final preparations before hitting the field to plant 12.8million acres of corn this season. Here, Brandon Graves, left, and his father, Dennis, center, work atgreasing a piece of tillage equipment while Dennis’ brother-in-law, John Snider, looks on. Brandon’stwin brother, Blake, also is involved in the family’s Lake View Grain Farms near Olney in RichlandCounty. (Photo by Ken Kashian)FarmWeekNow.com

Details of the planting inten-tions and grain stocks reportsare at FarmWeekNow.com.

LUMP-SUM STATE BUDGET NIXED — HouseSpeaker Democrat Michael Madigan and RepublicanLeader Tom Cross said last week rank-and-file lawmakerswould be more involved in this year’s state budget deci-sions.

With the past two budgets, the General Assembly haspassed a budget with a lump sum of funds, forcing Gov.Pat Quinn to decide what to fund and what to cut.

Getting legislators involved in the process is a changefrom past practice.

Most legislators have had little say about the budgetdetails for much of the last decade.

Budget negotiations were conducted primarily by thegovernor and the legislative leaders of the House and Sen-ate.

HOUSE, SENATE REDISTRICTING HEAR-INGS — The Illinois Senate Redistricting Committeelaunched the first redistricting hearing in Chicago lastweek and has five more scheduled.

The Illinois House has scheduled 15 redistricting hear-ings between April 16 and 25. Neither the Senate nor theHouse has released specific times or locations.

Senate hearing dates and locations are: Wednesday,Springfield; April 16, Kankakee and Peoria; and April 19,Cicero. Details are to be posted online at{www.ilsenateredistricting.com}.

The House hearing dates are April 16, McHenry,Cicero, and Champaign; April 18, Aurora, Elgin, and EastSt. Louis; April 19, Waukegan, south suburbs, and Rock-ford; April 20, South Chicago and Rock Island; April 21,Joliet, Peoria, and downtown Chicago; and April 25,Springfield.

Details on the House hearings are to be posted onlineat {www.ilhousedems.com/redistricting}.

FarmWeek will publish more information once itbecomes available.

DIFFERENT WAVELENGTHS? — Last week, theAmerican Farm Bureau Federation submitted commentsto the Federal Communication Commission (FCC) askingthe agency to reconsider a decision that has the potentialto interfere with farm global positioning system (GPS)capabilities.

The FCC granted LightSquared, a broadband networkprovider, a waiver enabling it to operate high-speed broad-band over frequencies normally used by low-poweredsatellite-based systems, such as GPS systems.

AFBF urged the FCC to reconsider the order grantingLightSquared authority to proceed with the constructionof high-powered cellular base stations which may interferewith the frequency used by the GPS.

While supporting rural high-speed broadband services,AFBF argued advances should not be made “at theexpense of losing the global positioning system.” GPS isused for precision agriculture, spraying fertilizer andchemicals, and for mapping field boundaries, roads, irriga-tion systems, and problem areas in fields.

FarmWeek Page 2 Monday, April 4, 2011

(ISSN0197-6680)

Vol. 39 No. 14 April 4, 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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FarmWeek is published by the Illinois AgriculturalAssociation for farm operator members. $3 from the indi-vidual membership fee of each of those members go towardthe production of FarmWeek.

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Quick TakesGOVERNMENT

BY KAY SHIPMANFarmWeek

Illinois Farm Bureau and the U.S. Depart-ment of Transportation (DOT) last week didnot resolve the issue of a newinterpretation of federal regula-tions, but agreed a ruling will bereached in the near future, accord-ing to Mark Gebhards, executivedirector of IFB governmentalaffairs and commodities.

IFB Vice President RichardGuebert Jr. and several IFB staffmembers met in Illinois with rep-resentatives of the Federal MotorCarrier Safety Administration and the IllinoisDepartment of Transportation (IDOT).

Recently, DOT interpreted federal trans-portation regulations to mean farmers whotruck their landlords’ share of grain would beconsidered “for-hire carriers” and would nolonger qualify for an agricultural exemptionfrom having to have a commercial driver’slicense (CDL).

“We had a good discussion; they asked ques-tions; we pointed out what we felt were fallaci-es,” Gebhards said. “We do not agree with

DOT’s interpretation. We do not feel our folksshould lose these exemptions because we donot feel they are commercial carriers.”

The IFB representatives explained to bothDOT and IDOT officials “how Illinoisagriculture functions today, why these(crop-share lease) arrangements are theway they are, and how folks areinvolved,” Gebhards explained.

The crucial point is whether a farmerhauling grain is operating for hire ornot for hire. “It’s very technical issue,and our purpose is to get a resolution,”Gebhards added.

Without the agricultural exemption,farmers with crop-share leases would need toobtain a CDL and follow drug and alcoholscreening and testing rules. The new interpreta-tion does not impact farmers who cash rentfarmland.

IFB is continuing to take action on the issuewhile awaiting a DOT ruling, according to Geb-hards.

“We plan to visit with our congressional dele-gation and Sens. (Mark) Kirk and (Dick) Durbinabout the concerns we have and the impact onour producers,” Gebhards said.

IFB, DOT talk No resolution on ‘for-hire’ interpretation

Attorney General LisaMadigan last week joined theU.S. Department of Justice andthe states of Wisconsin andMichigan in announcing thesettlement of an antitrust law-suit against Dallas-based DeanFoods Co.

As part of the settlement,Dean Foods must sell its milkprocessing plant in Waukesha,Wis. Last year, a federal lawsuitchallenged Dean Foods’ 2009acquisition of the Waukesha-based plant from ForemostFarms USA.

The lawsuit alleged DeanFoods’ ownership of the plantpresented serious antitrust con-cerns and could affect adverse-ly the milk prices for retailers in

Northeastern Illinois.“We are committed to pro-

tecting consumers by enforc-ing the antitrust laws to ensurevigorous competition,” Madi-gan said. “Allowing DeanFoods to keep the ForemostFarms plant could have result-ed in higher prices and solidi-fied a dominant position forDean Foods in Northern Illi-nois.”

Dean Foods is the largestU.S. processor and distributorof milk and other dairy prod-ucts. The complaint allegedthat after buying the Waukeshaplant, Dean Foods had morethan 60 percent of fluid-milksales in Northeastern Illinois,including Chicago.

Dean Foods will have 90days to sell the Waukeshaplant. If it fails to sell theplant, the court will appoint atrustee empowered to sell thefacility.

The plant’s new owner willhave access to all of theWaukesha plant’s assets,including the right to continuethe Golden Guernsey and LaVaca Bonita brands.

The settlement also requiresDean Foods to notify the Jus-tice Department and the Illi-nois attorney general 30 daysbefore Dean Foods buys anymilk processing plant valued atmore than $3 million in Illinoisor within 150 miles of its bor-ders.

Illinois and the Canadianprovince of Manitoba becamecloser trading partners lastweek when Gov. Pat Quinnand Manitoba Premier GregSelinger signed an agreementto boost trade and businessopportunities between the two.

“Global partners are criticalto our efforts to boost Illinois’economy and create jobs,”Quinn said in a prepared state-ment.

Under the agreement, Illi-nois and Manitoba will workon collaboration in such high-growth sectors as life sciencesand biotechnology, manufac-

turing, renewable energy, andinformation and communica-tions technology.

Both governments also areto collaborate on trade andtourism opportunities,exchange water and river man-agement best practices, devel-op collaborative opportunitiesin conservation and cleanenergy, and seek opportunitiesfor strategic partnerships andalliances between private sec-tor companies in the state andprovince.

“Illinois and Manitoba sharea common history as trans-portation hubs and centers for

commodity trade and retail dis-tribution throughout NorthAmerica,” Selinger said.

Illinois’ exports to Canadain 2010 were about $14.7 bil-lion — 29.5 percent of thestate’s total exports. Illinois’exports to Manitoba totaled$1.38 billion last year andincluded construction equip-ment and farm implements.

Illinois’ total exports werenearly $49.8 billion in 2010, a19.6 percent increase over2009.

Direct exports accountedfor 8.2 percent of Illinois’gross state product in 2009.

Governor and premier signIllinois-Manitoba agreement

Madigan: Dean Foods lawsuitsettlement to benefit consumers

GOVERNMENT

Page 3 Monday, April 4, 2011 FarmWeek

Continued from page 1He said he sees progress toward biomass-based production as

the industry moves from the idea of strictly standalone cellulosicplants to existing corn-based plant “add-ons” that could tapcrop residues and other materials.

The biodiesel industry also applauded the White House plan.As the only commercially available fuel today that “works in theexisting infrastructure” and qualifies as an advanced biofuelunder the federal Renewable Fuels Standard (RFS2), biodieselcan offer “a significant portion of the foreign petroleum reduc-tion goal” sought by Obama, said Alicia Clancy, RenewableEnergy Group corporate affairs manager.

Clancy noted “the best biodiesel economics we’ve seen infour years” currently exists, resulting from a favorable fuel feed-stock market, a coming spring “bump” in farm diesel demand,and a strong outlook for the industry’s RFS2 renewable identifi-cation number (RIN) market. A RIN is assigned to a batch ofbiofuel to track production, use, and trading under the RFS2mandate.

“With the RFS2, there’s demand for biodiesel on a nationallevel, so the value of a RIN is increasing, which offers additionalvalue to that mid-level petroleum distributor,” Clancy toldFarmWeek.

“Those petroleum ‘jobbers’ in Illinois have an opportunity toblend biodiesel very economically and even offer it on the farmfor under the cost of diesel fuel,” she said.

Johanns fix on way?

1099 requirement a burden for ag, support sectorBY MARTIN ROSSFarmWeek

The way’s been cleared fora U.S. Senate amendment thatwould eliminate prospectivetax requirements that wouldcreate a “paperwork night-mare” and potential coststhroughout the farm commu-nity and its suppliers.

Sen. Mike Johanns’ (R-Neb.) proposal to repealexpanded 1099 reportingrequirements was one of 10initial amendments Senateleaders cleared for potentialinclusion in a major smallbusiness package under debatelast week.

That was a potentially posi-tive omen: American FarmBureau Federation tax special-ist Pat Wolff noted 250-plusamendments had been filed.However, while 1099 repeal is

“This is a paperwork night-mare. Think about all thetransactions that occur with a

farmer that would be $600 orabove, when it comes to inputsand crop protective products.”

Johanns tried to eliminate1099 requirements late lastfall, but lame duck conflictpre-empted both his measureand a competing Democratamendment which proposeda different plan to pay for

“lost” tax revenues. Wolff raised concerns that

Democrats again could offeran alternative plan, especiallyamid ongoing battle over fed-eral budget issues.

Eric Thompson, who oper-ates a machine shop 50 milessouthwest of Chicago, charac-terizes expanded 1099 require-ments as essentially a “value-added tax” on business.

Thompson’s business, locat-ed “pretty much in the middleof the farming community,”deals with at least a dozenstandard vendors and severalother secondary vendors andemploys an outside accountantto address tax paperwork.

“There are three thingswrong with government,” hemaintains. “One, they look formoney. Two, they find money.Three, they take money.”

a popular bipartisan cause,Wolff was uncertain whetherSenate politics — the spoilerin 2010 efforts to repealrequirements — might threat-en passage of Johanns’amendment.

Under new health care law,businesses next year must sub-mit 1099 paperwork to all ven-dors from whom they pur-chase at least $600 in goods orservices. Johanns targets cutsin health care program spend-ing to offset $22 billion in rev-enues 1099 requirements pur-portedly would generate overthe next decade.

New 1099 requirements“would obviously be atremendous burden” forGROWMARK, its memberservice companies, andGROWMARK-FS retailers,according to GROWMARK

legislative affairs specialistChuck Spencer.

Seed, fertilizer, chemical,

and fuel purchases alone wouldgenerate “a significant numberof forms” for the system toprocess, Spencer warned.

“All our members of Con-gress continue to signal thatthis will be taken care of —they’ll find a way to get itpassed,” Spencer toldFarmWeek.

Ethanol under attack at federal, state levelsProposals aimed at strip-

ping federal ethanol supportmay not make it off the Sen-ate floor, but a Farm Bureauanalyst argues the issue likelywill remain on the table — inCongress and state legislatures— for the near future.

An amendment to Senatejobs legislation by Sen. TomCoburn (R-Okla.) wouldimmediately repeal the 45-cent-per-gallon Volumetric

efforts to “whack ethanol”would prove.

“I know ethanol has trou-ble,” Wolff told FarmWeek.“I don’t know that there’sgoing to be trouble on thisparticular bill, but it gets (theissue) out on the table.”

Ethanol continues to gener-ate controversy at the statelevel, as well. A ban on cornethanol that passed the NewHampshire House of Repre-sentatives “would eliminatethe only viable alternative toimported oil available to NewHampshire motorists,” nation-al Renewable Fuels Associa-tion President Robert Dinneentold state senators consideringthe measure.

The bill is “premised onmisinformation about the roleof ethanol in the fuel market,”Dinneen said. New Hampshirestate Rep. David Campbellclaimed ethanol was responsi-ble for driving gas prices high-er, though ethanol currently isselling at a lower wholesaleprice than “pure” gasoline.

At the same time, Nebraskastate lawmakers last week con-tinued debate over a measureto end retail labeling of 10percent ethanol blends (E10).Nebraska Ethanol Boardspokesman Todd Sneller calledE10 pump labeling “an archaicrequirement in law,” given theblend’s now-standard use. —Martin Ross

Ethanol Excise Tax Credit(VEETC), also known as theethanol blenders credit. Con-gress recently extended thecredit for corn-based ethanolthrough 2011.

At the same time, Sen.Dianne Feinstein (D-Calif.)proposed extending VEETConly to “advanced biofuels”such as cellulosic ethanol,bumping corn-based ethanolfrom support.

She also sought to reducethe current 54-cent-per-gallontariff on imported ethanol bythe amount of the blenderscredit, which is available toforeign biofuels marketers.

Given ethanol support andthe sheer volume of proposedsmall business amendments(see accompanying story),American Farm Bureau Feder-ation tax specialist Pat Wolffquestioned how effective new

A pair of Illinois firms hopes to grow a newbiofuels offshoot market by reducing the costof high-value protein generated throughethanol production.

Bloomington-based technology providerPrairie Gold Inc. and Itasca-based ethanolproducer GTL Resources USA plan to collabo-rate on construction of a zein protein produc-tion plant to tap materials from corn prior toethanol production.

Zein is a natural polymer that can be usedto make hard food or pharmaceutical coatings,confectioners’ glazes, gums, flexible films, andbiodegradable plastics and fibers. It is edibleand in pure form colorless and odorless.

The companies envision an initial 4 millionpounds of annual zein production, several timestoday’s total combined production. By significant-ly boosting supplies, Prairie Gold President PhilipShane hopes the venture will expand demandand thus improve ethanol profit margins.

“The current (zein) market is not big,” Shanetold FarmWeek. “Basically, that’s due, wethink, to the current price of zein. The currentprice is around $18 a pound. For food uses,that’s certainly a limit, and in industrial uses, itlimits where it can go. Our intention is to bringthat down considerably and be able to get intothese markets.”

Prair ie Gold has tested its corn oil-pro-tein extraction (COPE) process at GTL’sRochelle-area ethanol plant. In 2009, thecompanies built a 2,400-square-foot pilot

plant on the ethanol site.That plant currently generates roughly 100

million gallons of ethanol annually — enoughto draw off an eventual 40 million pounds ofzein. Zein production would reduce total vol-ume of ethanol-derived distillers dried grains(DDGs), but Prairie Gold would extract merelysolvent-soluble protein, which offers little nutri-tional benefit for livestock.

Shane reported Prairie Gold and GTL havenot determined the zein plant siting, thoughGTL’s Rochelle ethanol plant offers advan-tages in terms of existing utilities and trans-portation-manufacturing logistics.

The initial plant would be separate fromethanol production facilities, but he saidethanol and zein production in the same plantis “a possibility.” The venture’s prospective ini-tial customer seeks zein from non-GMO corn,and the first plant would acquire and handlegrain separately from the ethanol facility.

Zein, now applied in pill coatings, could beused in future medications to extend “release”in cases in which they’re better activated in theintestine than the stomach. It can be used toreplace wheat gluten in bread — a potentiallycrucial innovation for persons with celiac dis-ease (gluten intolerance).

Further, it improves water or grease resis-tance and could be used in popcorn bags ordoughnut or pizza boxes. Shane sees zein-based paper coatings for slick publications asanother “big potential.” — Martin Ross

Illinois zein productioncould boost market demand

‘Think about all the transactions thatoccur with a farmer that would be $600or above, when it comes to inputs andcrop protective products.’

— Chuck SpencerGROWMARK

Biofuels

ENVIRONMENT

FarmWeek Page 4 Monday, April 4, 2011

Urgency still seen in NPDES permit debateBY MARTIN ROSSFarmWeek

Despite court extension ofthe deadline for new federalpesticide permit require-ments (see below), now’s thetime for Congress to putapplicator-agribusiness con-cerns to rest.

So says Illinois Fertilizerand Chemical Association(IFCA) President Jean Payne,who hailed last week’s U.S.House approval of a measurethat would eliminate the needfor National Pollutant Dis-charge Elimination System(NPDES) permits for pesti-cide applicators.

these categories on theirlicense because of this reg-ulation.

“It’s not going to be

worthwhile for them tocontinue to provide thosepesticide services (shouldthey need to obtain a per-mit).”

She said there is concernin Washington that pesticidepermitting would be “a muchmore partisan issue” in theSenate.

Sens. Dick Durbin, aSpringfield Democrat, andMark Kirk, a Highland ParkRepublican, have upheldexisting FIFRA authority,and Payne reported SenateAg Committee member PatRoberts (R-Kan.) is “leadingthe charge” to block NPDESrequirements.

Many IFCA members in

smaller communities offermosquito control services ata nominal cost, Payne said.With those applicators poten-

tially “subject to $37,000-a-day violations if they don’tdo everything right with (per-mit) paperwork,” rural townsmay be hard-pressed to findapplicators to provide thatservice.

Further, NPDES regula-tion sets a “troublesomeprecedent” for future ag pes-ticide use. Despite the cur-rent scope of permits, Paynenoted much of the discussionprior to last week’s Housevote focused on ag applica-tions.

“I don’t think we’ve everseen a federal regulation that,once it got on the books, didnot continue to grow over theyears,” she said.

The House bill, whichpassed 291-130, clarifiesthat the Federal Insecticide,Fungicide, and RodenticideAct (FIFRA) is the solefederal authority for pesti-cide regulation. The Senatemust now approve the mea-sure.

The U.S. EnvironmentalProtection Agency (EPA) isdeveloping a general NPDESpermit under the federalClean Water Act for aquaticpesticide use. Crop applica-tions currently are exemptedfrom requirements, butPayne warns that producerswho treat farm ponds for

aquatic weeds could have toacquire a permit.

Amid applicator uncertain-ty, Payne challenged the argu-

ment that with a delay in per-mit compliance until Oct. 31(see accompanying story),there is no rush for Senateaction.

“Given how long it oftentakes to pass some legislation inWashington, this is still anurgent issue,” Payne toldFarmWeek. “It would sure benice to know before Octoberwhether the issue is resolved ornot.

“I’ve had numerousmembers call me, as well asa lot of applicators fromthe suburbs who have mos-quito and aquatic cate-gories on their license, try-ing to make a decisionabout whether to keep

‘This is still an urgent issue.’

— Jean PayneIllinois Fertilizer and Chemical Association

Court grants extension on pesticide permit

The Sixth Circuit Court of Appeals last week agreed toextend until Oct 31. the deadline for pesticide applicators toobtain permits if the pesticide reaches a body of water, includ-ing ditches and culverts.

The U.S. Environmental Protection Agency (EPA) hadsought the extension of an April 9 deadline.

EPA is developing a general permit, known as a NationalPollutant Discharge Elimination System (NPDES) permit, inresponse to the court’s 2009 decision that discharges of pesti-cides into U.S. waters were pollutants, and applicators mustobtain a permit under the Clean Water Act.

NRCS sets Illinois rate caps for WRP, GRPIllinois Natural Resources

Conservation Service (NRCS)recently updated the paymentrates for two conservationprograms: Wetland Reserve

sum cash payment inexchange for restoring orconverting marginal agricul-tural land to wetland or fordesignating grassland forpasture or hay.

For 2011, WRP ease-ments on cropland rangefrom $2,800 to $4,400 peracre, while non-croplandper-acre rates range from$2,500 to $4,000 (see

accompanying map).For 2011, GRP rates range

from $2,400 to $3,900 per acre(see accompanying map). GRPapplicants also may considerusing an annual rental rateoption for land that cannot bebought or dedicated perma-nently.

To apply or obtain moreinformation, contact yourlocal NRCS office.

Program (WRP) and theGrassland Reserve Program(GRP). Both programs areoffered through continuoussign up.

Under the update, paymentrates for wetlands account forthe difference between theland value of cropland vs.non-cropland, according toBill Gradle, NRCS state con-servationist. New paymentrates are based on new market-analysis data.

By selling an easementunder WRP or GRP,landowners receive a lump-

USDA Farm Service Agency (FSA) Illi-nois Executive Director Scherrie Giaman-co last week reminded landowners and pro-ducers that a general sign-up for the Con-servation Reserve Program (CRP) endsApril 15.

Farmers and ranchers may offer eligible landthrough the local FSA county office during thissign-up period.

“This is the 25th anniversary of the Conser-vation Reserve Program. CRP has shown greatenvironmental improvements during that time,”Giamanco said.

“We want all interested farmers andranchers to contact the local FSA office tofind out how they might offer eligible landfor this program which preserves the soil,cleans water, and restores habitat forwildlife.”

CRP is a voluntary program that allowsenvironmentally sensitive land be used forconservation purposes. Producers acceptedin the program plant long-term, resource-conserving vegetative covers in exchangefor rental payments, cost share funds, andtechnical assistance.

FSA evaluates and ranks eligible landoffered for CRP using the EnvironmentalBenefits Index (EBI). The EBI reviewlooks at five environmental factors:wildlife, water, soil, air, and enduring bene-fits, as well as cost. The land is rankedbased on which would offer the greatestenvironmental benefits.

In addition to this general sign-up, CRP’scontinuous sign-up program is ongoing. Acresin this program represent the most environ-mentally desirable and sensitive land.

CRP general sign-upset to end April 15

TECHNOLOGY

Page 5 Monday, April 4, 2011 FarmWeek

Illinois is deploying 3 regional ‘E Teams’ to expand broadband

The state has organized three regional teams to determinearea demand for high-speed Internet services and identifysolutions.

Jeff Eden, outreach director for Partnership for a Connect-ed Illinois, explained a regional approach to broadband devel-opment is the most practical at this point.

The Partnership, also known as Broadband Illinois, hasinformation online at {www.broadbandillinois.org}.

Illinois Farm Bureau is considering a proposal to work withBroadband Illinois through the “E Teams” for local trainingand digital literacy classes, said Brenda Matherly, IFB assistantdirector of local government.

“It is not uncommon for our members to rely on countyFarm Bureaus for valuable information. Why not Internet?”Matherly asked. “This would be an opportunity for FarmBureau to provide a valuable service to our members.”

Currently, three regionalE Teams have beenformed (see accompanyingmap), but Broadband Illi-nois is developing a teamfor Western Illinois,according to Eden.

Some University of Illi-nois Extension offices areinvolved with the threeteams, and Eden anticipat-ed Extension also wouldbe involved with otherregional teams.

E Teams are entitiesinvolved with regionalbroadband projects.

Broadband Illinois alsois identifying areas thatlack sufficient high-speedInternet and will workwith prospective Internetservice providers, Edensaid.

Matherly noted high-speed Internet “closes thedistance between rural and urban” residents.

“With broadband, rural residents wouldn’t have to leavetheir houses to do banking, renew a library book, or completeand submit a government form,” she said. “There’s also anopportunity to communicate immediately with family mem-bers who live far away.”

In addition to working with Broadband Illinois, IFB regu-larly attends Illinois Broadband Deployment Council meet-ings to represent the needs of farmers and rural Illinois,Matherly added.

Eden encouraged residents within the three E Teamregions to learn more about them.

He said the overall goal is development of broadbandstatewide.

“We need everybody’s help,” Eden summarized. “We need the help of broadband stakeholders throughout

the state to contribute to our broadband effort ... to move usforward.” — Kay Shipman

Marshall-Putnam Farm Bureau board member Jonathan Downey, center, discusses a computer class with JulieRead, a Marshall-Putnam Farm Bureau member. Downey’s fellow board member, Josh Merdian, focuses ona monitor located in a computer lab in the Farm Bureau building in Henry. The three have taken computerclasses offered through the local Farm Bureau and Extension offices. (Photo by Anita Wilkinson, Marshall-Putnam 4-H coordinator)

Internet access, computer classes win-winfor Farm Bureau-Extension partnership BY KAY SHIPMANFarmWeek

Farm Bureau and the Exten-sion Service have nurtured avaluable resource that benefitsresidents, education, and theeconomy in Marshall and Put-nam counties.

The resource includes a well-equipped computer lab withhigh-speed Internet housed inthe Farm Bureau building, andthe offering of a suite of com-puter classes from beginner toadvanced levels for a nominalfee.

The team effort by Tiffany

Moody, county Farm Bureaumanager, and Anita Wilkinson,county 4-H program manager,has worked smoothly for sixyears.

The lab and equipment waspaid for by state and privategrants. The Farm Bureau andExtension pay for the mainte-nance and upkeep.

“Tiffany and I keep (class)prices low as a service. We’renot in it for the money; we’rereally in it for learning and(computer) use to happen,”Wilkinson said.

Moody added: “People havewritten and e-mailed thank-yous, telling us they had feltoverwhelmed (before), but theyfelt comfortable taking a two-hour basic class.”

The students not only varyin age, but also in computerexperience and need. Onewoman completed all her grad-uate coursework at the Univer-

sity of Illinois online via thecomputer lab that is open forstudents’ use during office busi-ness hours. She now is a volun-teer teacher of a basic comput-er class at the lab.

The local economies also arebenefiting from the computerclasses and students’ access tohigh-speed Internet. Farmersand their spouses have learnedcomputer uses for their farmingoperations. Some use the high-speed Internet services for off-the-farm jobs.

One partner in a local bed-and-breakfast business has beenable to live in the area and con-tinue working at her jobbecause of high-speed Internetaccess at the Farm Bureaubuilding.

“We have a wonderfulresource and the number ofcomputers and the amount oftime available (for students) isincredible,” said MeredithMcKee, who recently returnedto the area from Arizona and ishelping with the family farm.

McKee praised the mix ofclasses offered and explainedshe learned farm-specific com-puter uses, which are differentfrom those she used as ateacher. She also is applyingskills gained from a computerpublisher class to update familymembers about the farmingoperation.

Farmer Dean Bogner said heappreciated the ability to learnfrom instructors instead ofreading a computer manual.“On the grassroot level, it ischallenging to find computerclasses that cover what youwant to cover,” Bogner said.

The computer lab hasallowed Bogner to communi-cate large numbers of growerorders for his part-time busi-

ness online, he added.The county Farm Bureau

and Extension also are reapingbenefits from the classes andlab availability.

For example, Moody notednot only has she gained severalFarm Bureau membersthrough the effort, but shealso sees more associate mem-bers on a regular basis.

“We’ve (Farm Bureau) got-ten community contacts nowand other members who arehelping,” she said. ExtensionMaster Gardners use the lab,and other Extension volunteersare able to complete continu-ing education courses online.

Despite all their success, thetwo women can’t resolve thebiggest Internet challenge intheir counties — poor accessto high-speed Internet. “Thebigger issue isn’t (not) know-ing how to use it (Internet),but the level of frustrationwith (slower) dial-up service,”Moody said.

Meanwhile, the little com-puter lab that can continues toprovide high-speed Internetand foster a sense of commu-nity, thanks to a Farm Bureau-Extension partnership.

Marshall-Putnam FarmBureau and the local Uni-versity of Illinois Extensionoffice are offering a varietyof beginner and advancedcomputer classes in 2011.

The class fee is $10 forFarm Bureau members,registered 4-H volunteers,and local school teacherswho use Agriculture in theClassroom materials. Otherbi-county residents pay

$15 per class.The following is a sample

of the courses:• Mastering the mouse for

beginner computer users tolearn and practice mouseskills.

• Mastering the computerfor farmers provides infor-mation about using the Inter-net for marketing, ag agencywebsites, and weathernews.

• Online taxes teachesparticipants how to navigatetax agency websites to findinformation for preparing taxreturns and options for elec-tronic tax filing.

• Flu shot for your com-puter offers strategies forprotecting home computerswith virus protection, com-puter and program updates,and computer mainte-nance. — Kay Shipman

Sample of computer class offerings

FarmWeekNow.comFor more information on theMarshall-Putnam computert r a i n i n g f a c i l i t y, g o t oFarmWeekNow.com

PRODUCTION

FarmWeek Page 6 Monday, April 4, 2011

Continued from page 1Overall, total plantings of the major crops in the U.S. this year

were projected to increase 8.6 million acres.Cotton acres were projected to rise 15 percent, which was well

below trade expectations. There was some pre-report speculationthat cotton would take more acres away from corn and beans, butcotton acres were projected to be about 600,000 below expecta-tions.

“It (the lower cotton projection) probably reflects the cost ittakes to produce cotton and the specialty equipment needed,”Scoville said. “You can’t just turn it on for a year or two.”

Corn

Weather forecast not promising for early plantingBY DANIEL GRANTFarmWeek

Farmers will need some extradays if they are to plant morecorn this season.

USDA last week projectedfarmers will increase corn plant-ings by 5 percent nationwideand 2 percent in Illinois.

Unfortunately, recent weath-er conditions have been unco-operative, and the forecast isn’treal promising for farmers toget a great start on planting anytime soon.

“Fieldwork has been verylimited as the result of very cool

and wet conditions so far thisspring,” the National Agricul-tural Statistics Service Illinoisfield office noted last week.

The statewide temperature inMarch averaged 41 degrees,

which wasclose to nor-mal, accordingto Jim Angel,state climatol-ogist with theIllinois StateWater Survey.

However, itwas a far cryfrom last year

when the temperature in Marchaveraged 2.5 degrees above nor-mal.

“We’re right on target at 41degrees, but with March you getwild swings,” Angel said. “Wehad 70s one week and snow wasflying another week.”

Precipitation for the monthaveraged 2.8 inches for the state.But Southern Illinois was wet (3to 6 inches of precipitation),Northern Illinois was close tonormal, and parts of CentralIllinois actually were as much as1 to 2 inches below normal forprecipitation in March.

“Our first burst of field activ-ity probably will be in the Cen-tral part of the state where thesoils are drier,” Angel said. Afew farmers were applying anhy-drous last week.

That could change soon,though. Angel reported a large,slow-moving weather systemcould dump large amounts ofrain on the Midwest, includingmuch of Illinois, through Tues-day.

“Then we’ll get anotherbreak with warmer weather,” hesaid.

In fact, the weather outlook

for April isn’t much morepromising.

The National Weather Ser-vice’s Climate Prediction Centerlast week called for an increasedchance of above-normal precip-itation and below-normal tem-peratures.

“There still is plenty of timeto get it (corn planting) done,but there will be a lot of con-cern because of the tight carry,”said Clayton Pope, AgriVisormarket analyst.

“The market will be moresensitive than before aboutpotential planting delays.”

Jim Angel

Bt corn growers can get lost amid the ‘pyramids’BY MARTIN ROSSFarmWeek

Amid the proliferating corn“stacks” and “pyramids” con-fronting growers, maintainingthe proper refuge is becomingan ever-more-daunting task.

More than 90 percent ofparticipants polled at the 2011

Corn and Soybean Classicsplanted Bt corn in 2010, while94 percent said they plan toplant it this season.

That underlines the impor-tance of grower compliancewith U.S. Environmental Pro-tection Agency (EPA) Bt corninsect resistance management

(IRM) refuge planting require-ments.

National Corn GrowersAssociation (NCGA) Directorof Biotechnology NathanFields said he has seen nomajor spillage in complianceover the past few years. But heis concerned about the growingcomplexity posed by new Btproducts.

Stacked-trait productsaddress multiple target pests.They may offer above-groundcorn borer resistance alongwith herbicide toleranceand/or below-ground root-worm resistance. An exampleis Monsanto’s Yieldgard Root-worm corn.

A “pyramided” varietyoffers multiple modes ofaction against individual pests,attacking insect biology in

various ways or at variousstages of development.

For example, Monsan-to/Dow’s SmartStax technol-ogy includes eight GMO traitsthat collectively controlabove- and below-groundinsects and provide broad-spectrum herbicide resistance.

Because of that multi-modal approach, EPAapproved a reduced 5 percenton-farm refuge for SmartStax,as opposed to the 20 percentrefuge required for previousBt products.

New on the market is Pio-neer’s Optimum AcreMax 1corn, an integrated “all-in-thebag” refuge product whichcontains 90 percent of a hybridwith Herculex XTRA insectprotection and 10 percent of ahybrid with the Herculex I trait

FarmWeekNow.comDownload the NCGA’s cornr e f u g e c a l c u l a t o r a tFarmWeekNow.com

to provide rootworm refuge.The refuge-in-a-bag prod-

uct allows growers to plant bor-er refuge up to a half-mile fromAcreMax 1 plots, but a separate20 percent borer refuge is stillrequired.

“There are so many differ-ent traits and refuge require-ments that a lot of people areconfused,” Tremont farmerand NCGA Trade and Biotech-nology Action Team memberEric Kunzeman toldFarmWeek.

“The most important thingis that farmers develop a planbefore they go to the field.They’ll know where the refugeis and they know what goes ineach field.”

University of Illinois Exten-sion entomologist Mike Grayanticipates an upswing in Illi-nois use of “stacked” (multi-trait) varieties.

But as more pyramided Bthybrids enter the market, theuse of the refuge-in-a-bagapproach will become thedominant refuge managementpractice, he predicted.

A number of reduced or

integrated refuge products is inthe development/regulatory“pipeline,” the NCGA’s Fieldsnoted. Refuge compliance isbecoming “very regionally spe-cific and very product-specif-ic,” he advised.

All product bag or bulk seedtags this season must include aclear display of refuge require-ments. Plus, NCGA’s down-loadable IRM Calculator (at{www.irmcalculator.com}) canhelp growers tailor refuge forindividual products.

The free program is com-plete for all commercial prod-ucts this season, but NCGAwill offer updated versionsonline as new products hit themarket.

“Next year, a couple of new(bagged) products will be hit-ting,” Fields noted. “We knowone’s solid; another one, we’reexpecting EPA to have a deci-sion on shortly that could beavailable next year.

“By this fall, we shouldhave the (calculator) complete-ly updated for the productsthat are going to launch nextyear.”

Crop supply tightens; prices expected to remain highHigh commodity prices and

even the disaster in Japanapparently have not reducedcrop demand around theworld.

USDA last week lowered itsestimates for U.S. corn andsoybean stocks, which immedi-ately led to rallies in the mar-kets.

Corn stocks in all positionsas of March 1 totaled 6.52 bil-lion bushels, down 15 percentfrom the same time a year ago.

Soybeans stored in all posi-tions as of March 1 totaled1.25 billion bushels, down 2percent.

Prices subsequently ralliedlast week as the stocks esti-mates were 150 million to 175million bushels below the tradeestimate for corn and about 50million bushels below the tradeestimate for beans.

“This really suggests wehave not rationed any corndemand at this point,” said Jer-ry Gidel, analyst with NARMSFutures Trading, during aCME Group teleconference.

The stocks-to-use ratio pri-or to the report was down to

just 5 percent for corn and 4percent for soybeans.

“We’re tight now, andthere’s no real projection thatthe situation will loosen in thenext year or two,” said JackScoville, analyst with The PriceFutures Group.

The run-up of oil and fuelprices in recent monthsincreased the premium forproducing ethanol from abouta dime to a range of 45 to 55cents per gallon.

Ethanol production, there-fore, likely will continue toincrease despite the highercorn prices, according toGidel.

“As we go into the(spring/summer) driving sea-son, there will be plenty ofdemand,” he said.

The situation is similar inthe livestock industry as manyproducers have remained prof-itable, despite historically highfeed costs, due to record ornear-record hog and cattleprices.

Elsewhere, the low value ofthe U.S. dollar has continuedto boost U.S. ag exports. The

U.S. even has exportedethanol, according to Gidel,due to a spike in sugar pricesthat has reduced the amount ofBrazilian sugar cane-basedethanol on the market.

“We haven’t seen exportsslow down at all,” Scoville said.

The disaster in Japan tem-porarily cut into corn demandthere, but the island nationalready has boosted meatimports from the U.S. and isexpected to increase crop pur-chases from the U.S. to rebuilddomestic food productiononce the infrastructure is inplace.

All the demand is expectedto keep pressure on pricesdespite the fact that USDA lastweek projected U.S. farmersthis spring will plant the sec-ond-most corn acres since1944 and third-most beanacres on record.

“The tighter-than-expectedstocks will keep the marketattuned to the weather,” Scov-ille added.

“We’re going to need allthose bushels next year.” —Daniel Grant

TRADE

Page 7 Monday, April 4, 2011 FarmWeek

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Nelson: Brazil both ag competitor, ag partnerBY MICHAEL DANNA

Brazil is the No. 1 U.S.competitor for global farmexports, but the president ofthe Illinois Farm Bureau saidlast week the country also canbe a partner to North Ameri-can farmers.

Philip Nelson, a LaSalleCounty grain and livestockproducer, was part of a 10-day

“Farmer-to-Farmer” trademission sponsored by theAmerican Farm Bureau Feder-ation.

The tour, which includedstops in Brazil, Colombia, andPanama, was designed to letfarmers see first-hand howtheir competitors do businessand to find ways to improveU.S. trade agreements.

“With farmers around theworld facing greater chal-lenges, we as producers can’tafford to alienate anyone,”Nelson said from the Sao

Miguel Farm, about 125 mileseast of Brazil’s capital ofBrasilia.“No matter what yougrow or where you grow it,there always seems to besomeone who doesn’t likewhat we’re doing.

“Building partnerships withfarmers here in South Americagives us all a sense that we’ve gota stake in feeding the world.”

Sao Miguel Farm has about8,000 hectares (about 20,000acres) in production, growingmostly corn and soybeans.This year, the operation alsowill grow cotton and a smallamount of dry beans.

While Nelson admittedBrazil is an agronomic power-house, the country is not with-out its challenges. During dis-cussions with Tyler Sorenson,general manager of Sao Miguel,Nelson said Brazil still facessuch issues as poor roads andheavy government regulation.

“As we saw driving here,the roads are in terribleshape,” he said. “When youthink about the statistic thatonly 14 percent of Brazil haspaved roads, you see they havea long way to go.

But Brazil is making thatinvestment, not only in roads,but also in waterways and otherinfrastructure improvements.

“Brazil understands theneed to get their commoditiesto market more timely andefficiently,” said Nelson.

The Sao Miguel farmingoperation encompasses muchmore cropland than the 20,000acres in production.

However, the governmentof Brazil has mandated that 20percent of the total farmlandof Sao Miguel be set aside forenvironmental reasons. Thatmeans nothing can be grownon or harvested from that land.

“And we pay taxes on thatland,” said Sorenson.

But farmland values inBrazil are cheap compared tothose in Illinois. While Illinoisgrowers could pay between$8,000 and $10,000 an acre fornew farmland, Sorenson saidland in Brazil is selling forabout half that.

“Right now, farmland isgoing for between $3,500 and$4,000 an acre,” spurred byhigher commodity prices.

Illinois Farm Bureau President Philip Nelson, left, looks at soybeans withSao Miguel Farm manager Tyler Sorenson as a combine rolls behindthem on the farm 125 miles east of Brasilia. Nelson and four other stateFarm Bureau presidents are touring Brazil, Colombia, and Panama aspart of the American Farm Bureau Federation’s “Farmer-to-Farmer”trade mission ending this week. (Photo by Johnna Miller, AmericanFarm Bureau Federation)

The Sao Miguel Farm hashad to make infrastructureinvestments most Illinoisfarmers take for granted. Forexample, Sao Miguel wasresponsible for putting upmiles of its own power linesand must maintain the powerpoles and electrical trans-former systems.

The cost ran into the hun-dreds of thousands of dollarsand had to meet all of Brazil’s

standards for electrical safetyand integrity.

“When you think of thosetypes of requirements andinvestments, you realize thatBrazilian farmers have chal-lenges just like us,” Nelson said.

Michael Danna is the director ofpublic relations for the LouisianaFarm Bureau Federation and hostof “This Week in Louisiana Agri-culture.“

‘Building partnerships with farmers herein South America gives us all a sensethat we’ve got a stake in feeding theworld.’

— Philip NelsonPresident, Illinois Farm Bureau

Landowners may qualify for buffer grantsPublic or private landowners who want to plant trees, grass-

es, and shrubs along a stream, river, or livestock facility mayqualify for a grant and assistance through the Trees Forever Illi-nois Buffer Partnership program.

For more information or to see if you qualify, please contactDebbie Fluegel with Trees Forever at 309-925-9925 or e-mailher at dfluegel@treesforever.org.

For information about the Illinois Buffer Partnership,go to {www.treesforever.org/Content/Affiliate-Resources/Programs/Illinois-Buffer-Partnership.aspx}.

Illinois equine boardawards $84,000 in grants

The Illinois Equine Industry Research andPromotion Board recently awarded morethan $84,000 in grants, according to KarenFreese, board chairman.

Grants were awarded for 10 projectsacross the state. The money comes from theIllinois equine checkoff program of a nickelper 50-pound bag of horse feed sold at retail.

Recipients were:Sheryl King, director of Southern Illinois

University’s equine science program, whoreceived $7,800 to start HORSE SENSE, aneducational outreach program for novicehorsemen across the state.

The Decatur Park District received$10,450 to improve the district’s Big Creekequestrian facility and start renovations of ashow barn.

BraveHearts Therapeutic Riding and Edu-cational Center in Harvard received $6,500for materials that volunteers will use to builda perimeter fence.

Luck-N-Buck Saddle Club, Hillsboro,received $7,000 toward materials allowingvolunteers to rebuild the club’s arena.

Massac County Youth Fair Board, Metrop-olis, was granted $6,500 for improvements tothe Youth Fairgrounds, including round pensand lighting. The facility also serves 16 sur-rounding counties.

New Kingdom Trailriders, Moline,received $4,200 to buy harness and related

equipment for expansion of its therapeuticriding program.

Dr. Samuel Black, head of the Universityof Massachusetts’ Veterinary and Animal Sci-ence departments, in conjunction with theMorris Animal Foundation, was awarded$5,000 for research to identify the factorsthat lead to laminitis.

East Fork Arena and Trails, Olney,received $10,000 to continue work on arenalighting and other improvements to a 40-acresite designated by the City of Olney fordevelopment of a horse arena, trails, andcamp site.

The Pike County Fair Board Horse Com-mittee received $6,600 to buy materials tobuild an announcer stand and storagefacility.

Trailside Equestrian Center, operated bythe Rockford Park District, received$20,000 for improvements to facilities andpastures at its Lockwood Park equestrianprogram.

Any group, individual, company, or institu-tion may apply for grant funds. Preference isgiven to projects benefiting the largest num-ber of people and horses.

More information is available at{www.HorsemensCouncil.org) or by writingthe Illinois Equine Board, 3085 StevensonDrive, Suite 200, Springfield, Ill., 62703. Thetelephone number is 217-529-6503.

FarmWeek Page 8 Monday, April 4, 2011

GROWMARK

Page 9 Monday, April 4 , 2011 FarmWeek

GROWMARK focuses on ‘efficient’ market developmentBY DANIEL GRANTFarmWeek

GROWMARK has beenactive in recent years grow-ing its business througheverything from acquisi-tions, joint ventures, andpartnerships to mergers.

And the strategy not onlyhas paid off for the region-al cooperative, which post-ed annual sales of $6.1 bil-lion in fiscal year 2009-2010, but it also hasimproved the delivery ofproducts and services tocustomers.

“Members (cooperatives)continue to consolidate, butwe still cover the samegeography we did 20 or 30years ago, and we’ve elimi-nated expenses and com-bined efficiencies,” saidShelly Kruse, GROW-MARK vice president ofMidwest retail and acquisi-tions. She spoke during therecent GROWMARK mediaday in Illinois.

billion to nearly $6.5 billion.“Our six best years (in the

cooperative’s 83-year history)have been in the last six years,”Kruse said.

A key area of expansion inrecent years for GROW-MARK has been in the fertil-izer and agronomy businesses.

GROWMARK earlier thisyear acquired four fertilizerterminals, including three inIllinois (Albany, Mapleton,and Seneca) that gave thecooperative another 226,000tons of dry and liquid plantfood storage.

GROWMARK and BungeNorth America this yearalso created B-G FertilizerLLC to acquire a liquid anddry fertilizer storage termi-nal located in Cincinnati,Ohio.

“We will remain proactivein pursuing acquisitions andjoint ventures that supportour growth and servicegoals,” Rod Wells, GROW-MARK director of agrono-my sales and operations,said at the time of theacquisitions.

GROWMARK recentlyhighlighted its fuel andfertil izer businesses duringmedia day with tours oftwo of its Ill inois facil i-ties.

The volume of annualsales in GROWMARK’s ener-gy division exceeds 1.4 billiongallons of gasoline (GROW-MARK also is the sixth-largest marketer of propanein the U.S.) while the agrono-my division sells more than2.5 million tons of plant foodand nearly $350 million ofcrop protection products eachyear.

Illinois Farm Bureaumembers in the 1920sinvested money to formlocal cooperatives to ensurea reliable supply of farminputs and to maintain own-ership and control of theirbusiness.

In 1927, nine local coop-eratives formed IllinoisFarm Supply Co., GROW-MARK’s first predecessorcompany.

The number of membersin the system at one pointpeaked at about 150 in thecore geography (Illinois,Iowa, and Wisconsin). How-ever, consolidation in thesystem cut the number ofmembers to 27 in Illinois,three in Iowa, and zero inWisconsin.

“It was a bit of cultureshock even though (the con-solidation) was within thesame system,” Kruse noted.“But it helped build astrong foundation.”

Members and those who

consolidated in the systemnow have access to suchGROWMARK resources aslenders, human resources,and logistics.

GROWMARK’s salesrecord tells the tale. In thepast decade, sales haveincreased from less than $1

Shelly Kruse

IAA Foundation offering new 5K race to celebrate educationThe IAA Foundation will

sponsor the first annual 5K“Grow & Go” race starting at9 a.m. May 14 on the groundsof the corporate headquartersof Illinois Farm Bureau,Country Financial, andGROWMARK in Blooming-ton. The early deadline is May2.

The course will have across-country feel with grass,pavement, and rolling terrain.Finishing times and results willbe provided by the Lake RunClub of Bloomington-Nor-mal. Runners ages 10 andyounger may participate in aCock-a-Doodle Dash in whicheach runner will win an award.

Runners and walkers willlearn more about agriculturewhile providing proceeds forIllinois Agriculture in the

Classroom (IAITC), whichoffers free educationalresources to teachers.

After the event, participantswill be invited to an indooropen house featuring a hotbreakfast and family fun activ-ities.

Special interactive learningstations and activities for chil-dren will be provided byIAITC staff and volunteers.

The open house willinclude an appearance byCorny, the mascot for theNormal CornBelters minorleague baseball team, free pho-tographs, awards, and a silentauction.

The early registration fee is$20, but will increase to $25after May 2. The Cock-a-Doo-dle Dash entry fee is $5 foryouth. Registered race partici-

pants will receive a T-shirt,water breaks, professional tim-ing, and a hot breakfast.

Individuals interested inattending the open house andbreakfast only may buy ticketsfor $7.

“We encourage runners andfamilies to join us for a fun-filled morning of activity in

celebration of farming and insupport of education,” saidSusan Moore, IAA Foundationdirector.

Complete details and onlineregistration are available onthe IAA Foundation website at{www.iaafoundation.org} orby calling the Foundationoffice at 309-557-2230.

RESEARCH

FarmWeek Page 10 Monday, April 4, 2011

CELEBRATING MONMOUTH CENTER

University of Illinois Interim Vice President and Chancellor RobertEaster addresses a celebration last week at the Northwestern IllinoisAgricultural Research and Demonstration Center, Monmouth.Grassroot supporters bought 80 acres, and the university boughtanother 80, doubling the center’s research acres. Another new addi-tion will be a new Extension agronomist position at the farm. (Photoby Chris Magnuson)

Take precautions to avoid anhydrous accidentsThe Illinois Department of

Agriculture (IDOA) and theIllinois Fertilizer and Chemi-cal Association (IFCA) arerecommending farmers reviewsafety and handling proce-dures before applying anhy-drous ammonia this spring.

Last year, the number ofaccidental releases of anhy-drous increased to 50, twicethe annual average of the pre-vious five years, according toIDOA, which investigatessuch incidents.

“If greater attention hadbeen paid to the proper opera-tion of equipment, many ofthese accidents may have beenprevented,” said Jim Larkin,IDOA bureau chief of agproducts inspection.

Larkin attributed impropermanagement of ammoniahoses as the leading cause ofaccidents.

To help prevent accidents,IDOA advises the following:

• Inspect anhydrous ammo-nia hoses prior to each use.Look for cracks, cuts, rubs,and soft spots, as well as “slip-page” near the couplers. Always

purge anhydrous ammoniafrom the hose or system priorto inspection.

• Perform regularly sched-uled maintenance on the tool-bar quick-coupler, and visuallyinspect it before each use.

Check to ensure hoses arethe correct length for the typeof nurse tank being used.

• When applying anhy-drous, always use the safetychains provided on the nursetank along with the attachedhitch pin and safety clip toprevent hoses from stretchingand breaking.

• Before pulling a nursetank on a roadway, purge allanhydrous ammonia from thetoolbar and hoses and securethe end valves of the hoses tothe parking plugs on the tool-bar. Attach the safety chains,hitch pin, and safety clip.

Drive at 25 mph or slowerspeeds.

• If an accident occurs, theapplicator who was in controlof the ammonia at the timeimmediately must report theincident to regulatory agen-cies, within 15 minutes if pos-

sible. Farmers are included inthe reporting requirement.

“We have definitely seen anincrease in enforcement ofthe reporting regulations —from both U.S. EPA (Environ-mental Protection Agency)and IEPA (Illinois Environ-mental ProtectionAgency),” said Jean Payne,IFCA president.

Payne added there is nopenalty for reporting anammonia release, but there isa penalty for not reportingone.

A wallet card that includesthe phone numbers of theagencies that must be notifiedabout releases is available bycalling IFCA at 309-827-2774.

IDOA and IFCA jointlyproduced an ammonia safetytraining video designed specif-ically for farmers.

It highlights the most com-mon safety errors.

The video may be viewedonline at {www.ifca.com} or{www.agr.state.il.us} or a copymay be obtained by contactingIFCA.

39th WIU bull sale sets records The 39th annual Western

Illinois University (WIU) Per-formance Bull Sale set recordsfor sale average and grosssales, according to Ken Nim-rick, professor at WIU’sSchool of Agriculture.

The sale, in the WIU Live-stock Center, attracted 37 buy-ers from Illinois, Iowa, andMissouri who took home 60high-performance bulls at arecord average price of$2,484, Nimrick noted.

“The top 20 bulls averaged$3,460,” Nimrick said.

“Repeat buyers accountedfor 73 percent of the buyers,gross dollars, and bulls selling,which attests to the successcow men and women are

achieving with bulls out ofthis sale.”

Nimrick said the top-sellingbull brought $4,750. More de-tailed results are available at{www.wiu.edu/bulltest}. Clickon “Sale Results” and/or “De-tailed Sale Report.“

“Breeders are encouragedto enter their top bullprospects in the next test, aswe hope to continue buildingupon the reputation of theWIU tested bull sale as asource of top-quality, perfor-mance-tested genetics,” Nim-rick added.

For information about en-tering a bull, contact the WIUSchool of Agriculture at 309-298-1080.

Funds available for organic certificationGrowers and handlers of or-

ganic agricultural products mayapply on a first-come, first-served basis for cost-sharefunds to recover part of the ex-pense of USDA organic certifi-cation.

The Illinois Department ofAgriculture (IDOA) has re-ceived $60,000 to reimburseproducers and handlers who ei-ther obtain a new certificationor renew one within the federalfiscal year that ends Sept. 30.

The reimbursement willcover 75 percent of certifica-tion up to a maximum $750.

“These funds will help grow-ers who want to enter therapidly-growing market for or-ganic products,” said IllinoisAgriculture Director Tom Jen-nings. “However, they’re avail-

able on a first-come, first-served basis, so I encouragethose interested to contact us assoon as possible.”

The money will be distrib-uted to eligible recipients in theorder their applications are re-ceived. Producers may apply forreimbursement even if theyhave received previous pay-ments through the program;however, each farm is limited toone reimbursement per year.

The funding comes from theUSDA’s National Organic Cer-tification Cost-Share Pro-gram. Applications will be ac-cepted through Nov. 1.

For an application form, callIDOA‘s Bureau of Marketingand Promotion at 217-524-9129 or go online to{www.agr.state.il.us}.

Page 11 Monday, April 4, 2011 FarmWeek

FB IN ACTION

FarmWeek Page 12 Monday, April 4, 2011

NOTICE OF ANNUAL MEETING

COUNTRY MUTUAL INSURANCE COMPANY

TO ALL POLICYHOLDERS AND MEMBERS:

Notice is hereby given that theannual meeting of the members ofCountry Mutual InsuranceCompany will be held in the IllinoisAgricultural Association Building,1701 Towanda Avenue,Bloomington, Illinois onWednesday, April 20, 2011 at 1:00p.m., to receive, consider, and ifapproved, confirm and ratify thereports of the officers and of theBoard of Directors of theCompany for the year endedDecember 31, 2010 and to elect20 members of the Board ofDirectors to serve for a term of oneyear, and for the transaction ofsuch other business as may prop-erly come before the meeting.

Elaine ThackerKathy Smith WhitmanAssistant Secretaries

Membership in Illinois Farm Bureau Young Leaders grows Logan County launchesrevitalized committeeBY DANIEL GRANTFarmWeek

Membership in IllinoisFarm Bureau Young Leadersis on a major upswing despitethe fact that fewer youngpeople are involved in agri-culture.

The average age of the Illi-nois farmer increased from53.2 years in 1997 to 56.2years in 2007, according tothe Ag Census.

However, membership inthe Young Leader program(formerly known as YoungFarmers), which is for those35 years of age and younger,already is up by about 150 forthe current membership year.

“We’re seeing a lot moreinterest in Young Leaders,”said Jennifer Smith, IFBYoung Leader manager. “It’svery exciting.”

Smith speculated moreyoung farmers are becomingYoung Leaders to networkwith others in their agerange, prepare for futureleadership positions, and to

who attended the meeting wasAllen Sasse.

“We had an active commit-tee that did a lot for the com-munity,” said Sasse, whorecently was elected chairmanof the Logan County YLcommittee. “I thought it wasimportant (to re-establish thecounty YL committee) and toget young people involved inagriculture.”

The YL committee alreadyhas been active: It recentlyco-hosted the ninth annualLogan County Ag EducationDay in Lincoln.

Young Leaders, farmers,teachers, and others at theevent taught about 240fourth-grade students from12 schools in Logan Countyabout the ag industry through

various hands-on stations.“I didn’t grow up on a

farm,” said Brianna Eeten,who married a farmer, nowlives on a farm, and recentlywas elected secretary of theLogan County Young LeaderCommittee. “But we havetwo daughters and thoughtthis would be one way tohelp teach them about ag.”

IFB President Philip Nel-son stressed the need formore young leaders in agri-culture during his keynoteaddress at the recent YLState Conference in Spring-field.

“Today in production agri-culture we need leadershipmore than we ever needed itin the past, given the issueswe are facing,” he said.

More information aboutYoung Leaders, includingYouTube video clips of mem-bers, is available at{www.ilfb.org/youngleaders}.Young Leaders also is onFacebook.

have a voice at the state andnational level at a time whenthe potential for increasedregulations is one of the topthreats to current ag produc-tion practices.

Smith recently traveled toHancock, McHenry, Mercer,Rock Island, and Vermilioncounties to help improve thestructure of local YoungLeader programs and to helprecruit new members in thosecounties.

One of the most recentdevelopments in the YoungLeader program occurred inLogan County.

Dave Opperman, LoganCounty Farm Bureau boardmember and a former YLState Committee member,spearheaded an effort to re-establish and revitalize theYoung Leader program in hiscounty.

“We haven’t had an activecommittee in over 10 years,”Opperman said. “So a num-ber of us pulled our headstogether, got a list of names,and had a kickoff meeting.”

That meeting attracted

about 70 potential members,according to Opperman.

One of the local farmers

Allen Sasse, chairman of the newly reformed Young Leaders Committee in Logan County, teaches fourth-grade students about the operation of a planter and instructs them on farm safety during the ninth annual Lo-gan County Ag Education Day last week. This was the first year the new Logan County Young Leaders Com-mittee played a major role in the event. (Photo by Daniel Grant)

FROM THE COUNTIES

Page 13 Monday, April 4, 2011 FarmWeek

Auction CalendarFri., Apr. 8. 10 a.m. Farm machinery.

Thomas and Rosemary Metcalfe,CHESTERFIELD, IL. Mike Crabtree,

Auctioneer.www.mikecrabtreeauctions.comSat., Apr. 9. 10 a.m. Annual Spring

Consignment Auction. CONGERVILLE,IL. www.reellivestock.blogspot.com

Sat., Apr. 9. 8:30 a.m. Vacations,Sports Tickets and much more. Salem

Children’s Home, FLANAGAN, IL.www.salemranch.com

Sat., Apr. 9 1 p.m. Horse Auction.Salem Children’s Home, FLANAGAN,

IL. www.salemranch.comSat., Apr. 9. 10 a.m. Farm machinery

and miscellaneous. Dorothy J.Edwards Estate, VERGENNES, IL.

Mark Krausz Auction Service.Wed., Apr. 13. 10 a.m. Real Estate

Auction. Richard Eckberg Sr.,PRINCETON, IL. Aumann Auctions.

www.aumannauctions.comSat., Apr. 16. 9 a.m. Spring

Consignment Auction. NITE Eq.,PECATONICA, IL.

www.niteequip.comSat., Apr. 16. Consignment Auction.Bobcat of Madison, MADISON, WI.

Powers Auction Service.www.powersauctions.com

Sat., Apr. 16. 9 a.m. ConsignmentAuction. Nite Eq., PECATONICA, IL.

Jim Sacia, Dan Powers, Lenny Bryson

and Cal Kaufman, Auctioneers.www.niteequip.com

Thurs., Apr. 21. 7 p.m. 60 Ac. LandAuction Jasper Co. Don and Gloria E

Meyer, DIETERICH, IL.Auctions/Realty By Schackmann Inc.

www.schackmann.comSat., Apr. 23. 10 a.m. Land AuctionPulaski Co. Buy a Farm Land and

Auction Co. buyafarm.comSat., Apr. 23. Consignment Auction.

Black Hawk FFA Alumni, SOUTHWAYNE, WI. Powers Auction Service.

www.powersauctions.comTues., Apr. 26. 10 a.m. 85 Ac.

Farmland Auction. Lorene GerdesEstate, CISSNA PARK, IL. Bill Kruse,

Auctioneer.Wed, Apr. 27. 10 a.m. 234.04 Ac. FordCo. Gibson Hospital Foundation, GIB-SON CITY, IL. Bill Kruse, Auctioneer.Sun., May 1. Consignment Auction.

Orangeville Fireman’s,ORANGEVILLE, IL. Powers AuctionService. www.powersauctions.comSat., May 7 . 9 a.m. Congerville Lawnand Garden, Farm and Construction

Consignment Auction. CONGERVILLE,IL. Kaufman Auction Service.

www.calkaufmanauction.comSat., May 14. Lawn and Garden

Consignment Auction. Riesterer andSchnell, HORTONVILLE, WI. Powers

Auction Service.www.powestauctions.com.

BROWN — An AgSafety Day will be

from 9 a.m. to 2:30 p.m.Friday, May 6, at the Mt.Sterling Fairgrounds. Raindate will be May 9. Therewill be animal exhibits andag displays. Contact NickiGeisler, Brown CountyExtension, at 217-430-9343or e-mail her atngeisler@illinois.edu formore information.

CLINTON — FarmBureau will sponsor a

market outlook meeting at 7p.m. Tuesday at the Knightsof Columbus Hall, Breese.A ribeye steak dinner will beserved. Cost is $5. DaleDurchholz, AgriVisor ana-lyst, will be the speaker.Nancy Erickson, IllinoisFarm Bureau director ofnatural and environmentalresources, will discuss therules on spill prevention,control, and countermea-sures. Call the Farm Bureauoffice at 526-7235 for reser-vations or more informa-tion.

LEE — The Lee andWhiteside County

Farm Bureaus will sponsor abus trip Wednesday, July 20,to see the Chicago Cubs vs.Philadelphia Phillies atWrigley Field. Game time is1:20 p.m. Cost is $60 formembers and $65 for non-members. Registration andmoney are due Wednesday,June 15, to the Farm Bureauoffice. Reservations will beon a first-come, first-servedbasis. Call the Farm Bureauoffice at 815-857-3531 formore information.

MARION — FarmBureau will sponsor

a market outlook meeting at6:30 p.m. Thursday at theFarm Bureau office. KimHolsapple, Effingham ClayService Co., will be the

speaker. Bill Fulton, SalemFire Department, will dis-cuss grain bin entrapmentand rescue. Tickets are $5.Call the Farm Bureau officeat 548-2100 for reservationsor more information.

PEORIA — A strokedetection plus health

screening will be Thursday,May 5, at the Farm Bureauauditorium. Members cansave $35 on all four screen-ings. Call 877-732-8258 forreservations or more infor-mation.

STEPHENSON —Farm Bureau will

sponsor a Chicago getawaytrip Saturday, May 14, withdrop-off and pick-up atNavy Pier, downtown, andthe museum complex. Callthe Farm Bureau office at815-232-3186 or visit thewebsite{www.stephensoncfb.org}for more information.

• Scholarship applicationsfrom the Stephenson Coun-ty Farm Bureau Foundationare available at the website{www.stephensoncfb.org}or at the Farm Bureauoffice. Deadline for thehigh school senior applica-tions is April 30. College-level applications are dueJune 30. Applications areavailable at the FarmBureau office or at the web-site{www.stephensoncfb.org}.

• The Central IllinoisHeritage and AgricultureTour will be June 27-29.Stops will include Spring-field, Arcola, and Peoria.Call the Farm Bureau officeat 815-232-3186 or visit thewebsite{www.stephensoncfb.org}for more information.

• Tickets for the bus tripto see the Chicago Cubs vs.Milwaukee Brewers game

July 26 in Milwaukee areavailable. Cost for the 7:10p.m. game is $60 for mem-bers and $65 for non-mem-bers and includes bus fare.Call the Farm Bureau officeat 815-232-3186 for reserva-tions or more information.

VERMILION —Farm Bureau will

have a display Thursday atthe Danville Area Commu-nity College (DACC) AgDay in the Mary MillerGym. A 50-cent lunch willbe served from 11 a.m. to12:30 p.m. Other activitiesfeatured will be a farm ani-mal exhibit, pedal tractorride, and a remodeledDACC greenhouse.

• Vermilion County FarmBureau Foundation isaccepting applications forthe Andrews-BrummetScholarship until Friday.The scholarship is availableto any Vermilion Countyhigh school senior who willattend Danville Area Com-munity College next fall.Applications are available atthe Farm Bureau office oron the website{www.vcfb.info}.

WILL — TheWomen’s Committee

and Phone Cards for Troopsprogram, in cooperation withthe Will County Extensionoffice Master Gardeners’ pro-gram, will sponsor a springflower and plant salefundraiser. Orders for annu-als will be taken through April25. Order forms are availableat the Farm Bureau office.Delivery to the Farm Bureauoffice will be either May 2 or

3. Profits will be used towardpurchasing internationalphone cards to send to troopsin boxes mailed out by Opera-tion Care Package. Call theFarm Bureau office for moreinformation.

“From the counties” items aresubmitted by county FarmBureau managers. If you havean event or activity open to allmembers, contact your countyFarm Bureau manager.

PROFITABILITY

FarmWeek Page 14 Monday, April 4, 2011

Feeder pig prices reported to USDA*Weight Range Per Head Weighted Ave. Price10 lbs. $33.74-49.71 $41.8440 lbs. $78.39-79.00 $78.7350 lbs. n/a n/aReceipts This Week Last Week

34,532 23,943*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 $88.04 $83.21 4.83Live $65.15 $61.58 3.57

Export inspections

(Million bushels)Week ending Soybeans Wheat Corn3-24-11 29.3 29.5 42.33-17-11 30.6 26.0 32.2Last year 31.3 14.9 41.0Season total 1273.7 967.5 962.2Previous season total 1244.1 691.9 979.4USDA projected total 1590 1300 1950Crop marketing year began June 1 for wheat and Sept. 1 for corn and soybeans.

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

Steers 122.36 112.00 10.36Heifers 122.38 114.00 8.38

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 Change134.13 131.25 3.18

CME feeder cattle index — 600-800 Lbs.

Slaughter Prices - Negotiated, Live, wooled and shorn 130-170 lbs. for 157-201 $/cwt.(wtd ave. 183.82); dressed, no sales reported.

Lamb prices

Manage propane price uncertainty by contracting nowBY RANDY MILLER

Warmer temperatures areencouraging us to spend time

outdoors.Unless youfilled yourgrill tankrecently, youprobably putbehindthoughts con-cerningpropane mar-

kets. However, it’s still impor-tant to look at what mightcome our way until theupcoming heating season.

No two years are alike. Lastfall’s grain drying saw littledemand, while 2009 was thebiggest demand year onrecord. Even the home heat-ing season was somewhat lack-luster compared to the previ-ous two. So, what can we lookto drive propane price in thefuture?

Crude oil: Propane pricesfollow crude prices. The tur-moil in the Middle East con-tinues to concern us as to justhow high crude can go.Unrest has spread from Egypt,and even Saudi Arabia may notbe exempt. If crude oil pro-duction is affected elsewhere,such as in Libya, then marketscan go much higher. Hope-fully, some stability will returnsoon.

Inventories/demand:Even though U.S. demand wasbelow that of previous win-

ters, worldwide demand forpropane continues to grow.The Gulf Coast, while knownfor crude oil imports, is now apropane export terminal.

Petrochem demand forpropane, which includeschemical companies and theplastics industry, continues togrow. Therefore, inventoriescoming out of season areactually below five-year aver-age levels.

At mid-March, Gulf Coaststocks are nearly 10 percentbelow a year ago, with Con-

way, or midcontinent stocksoff nearly 5 percent from thefive-year average. TheNational Weather Service pre-dicts cooler temperaturescompared to last year, but pre-cipitation should be normal.If the crop gets in late, expec-tations for grain drying will behigh.

Production: Look forincreased propane productionthis year from shale plays(areas in which exploration istargeted) continuing toexpand. More propane is

being fractionated from natur-al gas than ever before asprices of natural gas com-pared to propane encouragepropane production.

Propane inventories likelywill build rapidly throughoutthe summer. Even thoughinventories are below normalfor this time of year, wealready had a week of invento-ry builds in March.

This leaves lots of uncer-tainty from very volatile crudeoil prices. Propane should bewell supplied going into

fall/winter but will rise andfall with the crude market.

Consider forward contract-ing your propane needs earlyas a way to manage uncertain-ty in the marketplace. Yourlocal FS member cooperativewill be happy to explainoptions available to take theworry out of your propaneneeds.

Randy Miller is GROW-MARK’s director of propane oper-ations. His e-mail address isrmiller@growmark.com.

Randy Miller

Fuel prices continue to surge, close in on $4 per gallonFuel prices last week con-

tinued to reach new highs forthe year and showed no signsof slowing down.

The national average priceof regular unleaded gasolinethe first of the week was $3.59per gallon, a new high so farthis year, according to theEnergy Information Adminis-tration (EIA).

And the average price likely

could set a new high again thisweek in EIA’s weekly update.

The AAA Fuel Gaugereport on Friday showed theU.S. average prices crept up to$3.61 per gallon for regulargasoline, up 81 cents from lastyear, and $3.96 per gallon fordiesel fuel, up $1.02 from lastyear.

In Illinois, the average fuelprices on Friday were $3.75per gallon for regular gasolineand $3.96 for diesel.

The run-up in prices isexpected to hit farmers, thetrucking industry, and otherheavy users of fuel hard. Gov-ernment figures show farmersthis spring will pay almost 85percent more than they paid in2000 just to plant their crops.

Testifying before the U.S.House Natural ResourcesCommittee, Colorado FarmBureau President Don Shaw-croft said America’s farmersand ranchers need reliable andreasonably priced fuels inorder to maintain their abilityto feed, clothe, and fuel theworld. Farmers and ranchers,he explained, cannot simplypass higher expenses along totheir customers.

“Most Americans are feel-ing sticker shock caused byhigh gasoline prices when theyfill their automobile’s tank,”Shawcroft said.

“But there is no term in theEnglish language to accuratelydescribe what farmers andranchers feel everytime theyput diesel in the tanks of theirfarm equipment.”

‘Most Americansare feeling stickershock caused byh i g h g a s o l i n eprices. ...’

— Don ShawcroftColorado Farm Bureau

Class III milk price rises againThe Class III price for milk adjusted to 3.5 percent butterfat

for the month of March was $19.40 per hundredweight. This is$2.40 higher than the previous month and represents a gain ofnearly $6 in just two months.

These dramatically higher prices are the result of slightlytighter supplies in the milk market. As cull cow prices remain atrecord high levels, dairy farmers have been moving some mar-ginal cows to market, leading to reduced production.

There are ample supplies of heifers that are nearly ready tomilk, so many producers are looking at this as an opportunity toupgrade their herds while taking advantage of the higher pricesin the beef sector.

PROFITABILITY

FarmWeek Page 15 Monday, April 4, 2011

AgriVisor Hotline Number

309-557-2274

AgriVisor endorsescrop insurance by

Policies issued by COUNTRYMutual Insurance Company®,

Bloomington, Illinois

AgriVisor LLC1701 N. Towanda Avenue

PO Box 2500Bloomington IL 61702-2901

309-557-3147

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

CASH STRATEGISTCorn Strategy

�2010 crop: Last week’ssurge confirms the mid-Marchlow was the 40-week low. TheMay contract is poised to testits $7.44 contract high. Ifthat’s overcome, look for a testof 2008’s $7.65 high. If you’rerisk prone, you might wait tosee if a new high comes, but itstill looks wise to use ralliesthe next two to five weeks towrap up sales. Hedge-to-arrive(HTA) contracts for summerdelivery are still the best tool.

�2011 crop: Decemberfutures reached a potential tar-get at $6.38. Use this surge forcatch-up sales. If Decemberwould move close to its next tar-get at $6.65, plan to add anotherincrement. HTA contracts arestill the better marketing tool.

�Fundamentals: TheMarch 1 corn stocks were ashock to the trade, coming in200 million bushels belowexpectations. That furthertightens up what already was atight situation. Still, the priceshift between wheat and corn,and large old-crop wheat sup-plies, could pull enough wheatinto the feed bunk to ease theold-crop tightness. Weatherand planting progress willstart to become a major factor.Soybean Strategy

�2010 crop: Slowly, exportdemand is shifting to SouthAmerica. Domestic processingremains subdued because ofpoor meal demand and poorprocessing margins. Without asignificant weather problem,lower prices are ahead. Makecatch-up sales any time Mayfutures are above $13.75.

�2011 crop: Plantings wereclose to expectations, but stillnot as high as the trade wouldlike to see. However, soybeanplantings have a tendency to endup larger than USDA projects inMarch. As with old-crop, busi-ness flowing the South Americamay tend to undermine new-crop demand and prices. Userallies for catch-up sales. Plan toadd another small increment inthe next few weeks.

�Fundamentals: Increas-ingly, world soybean and prod-uct demand are shifting to theSouthern Hemisphere. Domes-tic demand for soybean prod-

ucts is weak as well. The worryabout securing adequate acreageis the most positive feature.Wheat Strategy

�2010 crop: It appears themid-March low was a significantshort-term bottom. Prices onthe Chicago May contract nowhave potential to test $7.94 (the100-day moving average). Wewould use current strength towrap up sales, unless you wantto carry inventories into thenew-crop year because of thecarry in futures. Even then, we’dbe pricing any old-crop deliver-ies for a later delivery period.

�2011 crop: Use rallies

above $8.10 on Chicago July2011 futures for catch-up sales.Check the Hotline frequently, aswe could recommend additionalnew-crop sales at any time. Westill prefer HTA contracts.

�Fundamentals: Therecent USDA report was nega-tive with total wheat plantingspegged at 58.021 million acres,above trade expectations of57.289 million. The 700,000-acreincrease in spring plantings wasnot expected. March 1 wheatstocks, at 1.42 billion bushels,were larger than expected, too.Still, attention will remainfocused on weather in the South-ern Plains and other wheat areas.

As you know by now, thesurprise in the March 31USDA reports was the March1 corn stocks number. Theacreage data were mostlyignored, but there were someimportant insights that can bedrawn from that report.

Using the USDA numbersfrom the March 31 report, totalplantings of all crops are slatedto rise only 6.1 million acres thisyear. When adjusted for anexpected 2.3-million-acreincrease in double-crop soybeanplantings, total planted area onlyincreases 3.8 million acres.

The two biggest surprises tothe trade may have been the900,000-acre decline in hayacreage, and the 1.6-million-acreincrease in cotton plantings.

The decline in hay acreagemay be tied to relative prof-itability of other crops andongoing reductions in our cowherd. This tends to be sup-ported by stories we’ve heardthrough the winter about pas-tures being taken out, too.

The smaller-than-expected

Basis charts

increase in cotton plantingsmay be tied to the decline in gincapacity across the South andthe cost some producers wouldhave in order to purchase a cot-ton picker again; maybe to ownit only one or two years. Mean-while, profit opportunities stillare good for competing crops.

This estimate of total plant -ings is still no larger than 2008.And when you add the landdevoted to the ConservationReserve Program (CRP) pro-gram, the total acreage is 2.3million less than it was in 2008.

We know total plantings of allcrops dropped 8.3 million in pri-mary corn/soybean areas since2008. Since then, CRP enroll-ments have dropped 3.5 millionacres. And since the 2007 peak,they’ve declined 5.6 million.

There is a tendency for cornplantings to decline from theMarch USDA estimate. But thenew-found vigor in the cornmarket easily could cause cornplantings to rise, unless weathercauses plantings to be unusuallyslow as was the case in 2008.

Soybean plantings have atendency to increase from theMarch forecast, but they, too,could be tied to the relativespeed of planting and the pricerelationship with corn.

In 2008, final plantings ofthe eight major crops plus haywere 1 million more than fore-cast in March. And thatoccurred during the worstplanting year in modern histo-ry. Planting of all crops incorn-producing areas rose 4.2million from 2007.

These numbers argue there ismore land yet available to plant.The unknowns are how theweather will impact the speed ofplanting, the willingness to plantthe marginal acres, and the mixof the crops planted.

Cents per bu.

Some surprises in planting data

PERSPECTIVES

FarmWeek Page 16 Monday, April 4, 2011

Hailstorms, tornadoes, hurricane-remnant rainstorms –-Illinois has suffered its share of damagingstorms between 1949 and 2008. Twelve of thosestorms inflicted the most damage over those 60 years.

I assembled and analyzed storm loss data for Illi-nois between 1949 and 2008 in order to identify themost damaging storms. Since 1948, high-qualitystorm damage data have been collected in the U.S. by

the property and crop insuranceindustries.

Insurance experts have adjustedthe losses in each year to make themcomparable to current-year dollar val-ues. My study of the 12 most damag-ing storms defined the types ofstorm-producing conditions, themagnitude of losses, and temporaldistribution during the 60-year peri-od.

Those impacted by major stormdisasters obviously include disaster victims, farmers,owners of damaged businesses, community leaders,public officials, and the insurance industry. Individu-als, communities, and others should benefit fromthis informationthrough improveddesigning and engineer-ing of recovery andrelief activities.

Most of the lossesfrom the top 12 stormswere attributable toproperty damages.However, sizable croplosses — totaling $665million — alsooccurred from sevenstorms, those in April1964, August 1987, July1993, May 1998, May2003, August 2007, andSeptember 2008.

April 13-14, 2006,unleashed the state’smost damaging storm— the result of 23 hail-storms that broughtlarge hail. A supercellstorm spread hail along a path southeast from theQuad Cities, producing damage in Peoria, Bloom-ington, and Champaign.

Losses included damages valued at $301 millionto homes and personal property, $160 million tobusinesses, and $187 million to vehicles. The totaldamage was $648 million.

The second-most damaging storm occurredwhen the remnants of Hurricane Ike crossed thestate on Sept. 12-14, 2008. Across the northern halfof the state, rainfall amounts ranged from 2.5 to 4inches. The storms created several damaging flashfloods, followed by flooding along the Illinois andMississippi Rivers. Losses totaled $503 million.

The third-most damaging storm came on May 5,1950. Winds of 60 mph occurred across Centraland Northern Illinois with gusts to 80 mph at sev-eral locations. Property was badly damaged; manytrees and crops were blown down, and numerous

roofs removed. A bridge over the Illinois River wasdestroyed. Total losses were $441 million.

Six different severe weather conditions causedthe 12 major storms. Out of the 12 storms, threewere due to a mixture of tornadoes, hail, and highwinds. Two storms were caused only by hail, whiletwo others were the result of high winds. Heavyrains and flooding caused two of the storms. Inter-estingly, only one storm was due to winter stormconditions.

Which month led the way with the most damag-ing storms? April had that dubious honor with fiveof the most damaging storms. That was followedby May, which had three, and August with two. Julyand September each had a single storm on themost-damaging list.

Over time, Illinois has seen a marked increase instorm frequency and increased amounts of stormloss, starting in 1989. The frequency of the 12storms peaked with five between 1999 and 2008.Losses also showed a dramatic increase after 1989.

Very large losses occurred in the latest decade,1999-2008. Three of the storms occurred in the lastthree years of 2006, 2007, and 2008.

What do weknow about thestate’s 12 mostcostly stormsbetween 1949and 2008? Muchof the damagewas done toproperty withcrop lossesaccounting for 16percent of thetotal loss of$4.148 billion. Awide variety ofstorm conditionscaused the 12events, but mosthappened mainlyin the warm sea-son.

The temporaldistribution ofthe 12 storms

revealed distinct upward time trends in both stormincidences and losses. Eight storms occurred in the1989-2008 period with losses that totaled $2.98 bil-lion — 72 percent of the 60-year total.

The highest storm values came in the last 10years, 1999-2008, an outcome that could reflecteffects of global warming on the state’s climate.

The ever-increasing losses also could be a resultof the expanding societal vulnerability, includinggrowth in population and wealth, plus expandingurban areas that allow more property damages tooccur.

Regardless, the recent increases suggest Illinoisshould be prepared for more costly storm losses inthe future.

Stanley Changnon is chief emeritus of the Illinois StateWater Survey and a geography professor at the University ofIllinois.

STANLEYCHANGNON

DAMAGING DOZEN

Storms that rank the worst of the worst in Illinois

LETTERS TO THE EDITORSays vote ‘no’on sales tax hikeEditor:

On April 5, the citizensof several counties in Illi-nois will vote to increasethe state sales tax, suppos-edly for schools in theircounties. This is allbecause our good ol’ legis-lators in Springfield can-not, or will not, controltheir spending. Thatincludes bloated salariesand bloated retirements.

I recommend a “NO”vote! HERBERT WODTKE,Loogootee

****Consider renting land to smaller-size farmerEditor:

This is in response to arecent article on farm part-nerships. I couldn’t agreemore with the challengesfacing farmers with fewerthan 1,000 acres. My farmfits in this range. I alsohold a full-time, off-farmjob, as many farmers ofthis size do today.

Most farms of this sizeare just as efficient as anybig farm. I have found afarmer of this size can savea considerable amount oninputs and machinery bycomparing prices and usingthe Internet.

A partner could work inthe right situation, exceptmost farmers enjoy theirindependence. That inde-pendence is probably whatkeeps farmers like me stillin the game. We have seenmost of our neighbors dis-appear and replaced bymuch bigger farmers.

The biggest problemfacing farmers of this sizeis convincing someone torent them additional farm-land. I really don’t under-stand the resistance tohelping a farmer of thissize, as many do a excellentjob farming.

I know they don’t have a36-row planter or a fleet ofcombines, however, mostdo have a good line ofupdated equipment.

A couple of hundredacres could make a hugedifference to a farmer thissize. I really hope farmers

of this size can survive andprosper as I feel they arethe real backbone of agri-culture.

All they really need issomeone willing to givethem a chance. If you are alandowner, why not con-sider renting to a smallerfarmer?CARL TOOHILL,LeRoy

****Enticing Californiadairies not good moveEditor:

I read that Illinois milkproducers flew representa-tives to the recent WorldAg Expo to tell producersthere that Illinois was agood place to dairy. Iwould agree Illinois was afavorable place to dairy.Page 7 of the Feb. 10 issueof Hoard’s Dairyman showsfor the latest month avail-able — October 2010 —the mailbox price to Illi-nois dairymen was $19.35per hundredweight. Themailbox price to Californiadairymen was $16.50 — adifference of $2.85.

Persuading Californiato send dairy herds to Illi-nois would certainly pullour blend price down.

Processors say we needmore dairy infrastructure.The supply-side econo-mist’s definition of infra-structure is an abundantsource of low-cost rawmaterial.

Another argument ismade that Illinois does notproduce enough milk tofeed its population, there-fore, we need to makeconcessions to enticemega-producers.

In the real world, thatwould not work out. St.Louis would have to dowithout its Illinois milksupply and the Chicagoarea could not access thenearby Wisconsin milk.

Indiana made big con-cessions to attract mega-dairies. It used to be bet-ter than Illinois but notany more.

On some things I thinkwe have to take a stand.WILLIAM SCHRAGE,Greenville

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Source: Stanley Changnon