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Monday, January 17, 2011 Three sections Volume 39, No. 3

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

THE TIGHT CROP SUPPLYgot even tighter as the USDA trimmedits final production estimates for 2010in last week’s report. .........................6

WINTER WHEAT SEED-INGS are projected to total 41 millionacres, up 10 percent compared to a yearago but 5 percent below 2009. ..........10

BIOMASS CROPS FIGUREprominently in Ontario’s energy plansas the Canadian province will stopburning coal by 2013. ..........................8

State estatetax decoupledBY KAY SHIPMANFarmWeek

Illinois will have higher personal andcorporate income taxes and a reinstatedstate estate tax with a $2 million exemp-tion as a result of legislation passed by thelame-duck General Assembly session andsigned by Gov. Pat Quinn.

Illinois Farm Bureau opposed SB 2505,which proposed the tax increases and oth-er funding changes. IFB had sought statespending reductions and opposed decou-pling of the state estate tax from the fed-eral estate tax.

“We were disappointed the packagedidn’t address accountability and reformto turn around our situation” said IllinoisFarm Bureau President Philip Nelson.

“We also were very disappointed that inthe 11th hour the tax proposal addeddecoupling of the state’s estate tax. Weworked hard to bring about changes onthe federal level and were optimistic thatthe State of Illinois would stay coupledwith the federal level.(The federal estatetax recently was rein-stituted with a $5million exemption.)

“The passage ofSB 2505 definitelyhurts efforts by theVision for Illinois Agriculture and othersto turn around the business climate in thisstate,” Nelson said. “We will monitorclosely the implementation of the rev-enues, what they are used for, and whetherstate spending falls under the spendingcaps established.”

SB 2505 passed with a 60-57 vote inthe House and a 30-29 vote in the Senate.

The personal income tax will increasefrom 3 percent to 5 percent from 2011through 2014 and then gradually decreaseto 3.25 percent by 2025. In a similar man-ner, the corporate income tax will increasefrom 4.8 percent to 7 percent through

2014 and then gradually decreaseto 4.8 percent by 2025.

In tandem with the incometax hikes, lawmakers establishedannual spending caps for thefirst four years of the increases,according to Semlow. If state

spending exceeds the caps for anyfiscal year, the personal income tax ratewill go back to 3 percent with the corpo-rate rate returning to 4.8 percent.

In the legislation, the Illinois auditorgeneral was given broad powers to collectinformation from state agencies and toserve in a fiscal watchdog role. There are

See Taxes, page 5

Illinoisans to pay higher income taxes

FarmWeekNow.comListen to Gov. Pat Quinn’scomments and IFB’s analysiso f t h e t a x p a c k a g e a tFarmWeekNow.com.

During policy debate at last week’s American Farm Bureau Federationannual meeting, Illinois Farm Bureau President Philip Nelson, left, deliv-ered a “sense of the delegates” resolution seeking stronger congres-sional oversight of the U.S. Environmental Protection Agency. Seatedare IFB Vice President Rich Guebert Jr. and IFB board member and del-egate Dale Hadden of Jacksonville. (Photo by Martin Ross)

AFBF sues over EPA watershed plans

Delegates seek to hold regulators accountableBY MARTIN ROSSFarmWeek

Farm Bureau is speaking outagainst growing regulatoryoverreach through Illinois-dri-ven policy efforts and a suitchallenging U.S. EnvironmentalProtection Agency (EPA) plansto managing nutrient use in amajor U.S. watershed.

A “sense of the delegatebody” resolution delivered byIllinois Farm Bureau PresidentPhilip Nelson at last week’sAmerican Farm Bureau Federa-tion (AFBF) annual meeting cit-ed “an aggressive (EPA) regula-tory program that increasinglyburdens the nation’s farmersand ranchers while ignoringtheir positive contributions toenvironmental protection.”

EPA National Pollutant Dis-charge Elimination System(NPDES) permits regulatingpesticide use, “absurd” dustcontrol measures, greenhousegas rules, and “futile” endan-gered species mandates“endanger our industry,” AFBFPresident Bob Stallman toldmembers. IFB’s unanimouslyapproved resolution urgesCongress to pursue “a vigorousprogram of oversight” of

Stallman argued “this (nutri-ent) diet threatens to starveagriculture out of the entire

64,000-square-mile ChesapeakeBay watershed,” and warnedthe Mississippi River basincould be EPA’s next target.

AFBF regulatory specialistDon Parrish reported the AFBF-led suit questions the “scientificunderpinnings” of EPA’s planand the models it used to devel-op it — models even EPA scien-tists have questioned.

“Let me first say what thislawsuit is not about,” Parrishtold FarmWeek. “It’s not aboutmaking progress in cleaning upthe bay. Farmers and ranchers inthe Chesapeake Bay are activelyimplementing conservationpractices. They’re using the con-servation title of the farm bill,local conservation districts,efforts across the board.

“What this lawsuit is about isEPA overstepping its statutoryauthority. Congress prescribedapproaches the agency is sup-posed to take. (EPA) haspushed the envelope andstepped over the line, and itneeds to comply with the law.”

EPA “has rushed through

See Regulators, page 4

EPA’s regulatory agenda. “This sends clear direction

that we want Congress to holdoversight hearings to rein inthis regulatory agency andtake it back to the intent ofCongress,” Nelson said.

“We have a lot of concernsabout what this agency hasdone in usurping state authorityas it’s looked to put various riv-er basins on nutrient diets, aswell as about some of the per-mits being pushed by thisagency — the dust permits, theNPDES permits.”

In a lawsuit filed January 10in a Pennsylvania district court,AFBF challenged EPA’s authori-ty to establish a total maximumdaily load (TMDL) — a so-called “pollution diet” — for theeastern Chesapeake Bay region.

The TMDL defines howmuch nitrogen, phosphorous,and sediment can enter the bay,and EPA has set “allocations”for categories of “pollution”sources — in some cases, evenindividual operations.

EPA is demanding easternstates follow stringent water-shed implementation plans,

regardless of cost, or face pos-sible rejection of key federalpermits or funding.

RUTHERFORD TO CLOSE SATELLITEOFFICES — Illinois State Treasurer Dan Rutherfordlast week announced he will close all six satellite officesaround the state as a cost-saving measure.

Treasurer offices in Collinsville, Effingham, Mt. Ver-non, Riverdale, Rock Island, and Rockford are expectedto close within the next 30 days. Each office has a full-time employee.

Rutherford has said he plans to rely more on theInternet and telephone than physical offices to provideservice to Illinoisans.

Ironically, the satellite offices originally were openedby Gov. Pat Quinn during his term as state treasurer.

GIPSA REVISITED — U.S. Ag Secretary Tom Vil-sack last week promised American Farm Bureau Feder-ation (AFBF) annual meeting attendees that in theinterest of “fair and open markets,” USDA ChiefEconomist Joe Glauber and his crew would thoroughlyreview issues related to some 62,000 comments on con-troversial draft Grain Inspection, Packers, and Stock-yards Administration (GIPSA) rules.

“We will not move (on implementing final rules)until that is done,” said Vilsack, who reported USDAreceived “a full range of opinions and comments” onGIPSA proposals.

AFBF voting delegates approved policies seeking“separate and different” GIPSA rules for various live-stock species, continued provisions that allow market-ing arrangements between packers and producers, con-fidentiality of livestock contract information, firm legalthresholds for “proof of injury” related to specific live-stock market practices, and a USDA economic impactstudy of new rules.

E15 PRESSURE MOUNTS — As a group of U.S.senators pushed the U.S. Environmental ProtectionAgency (EPA) to withdraw its approval for 15 percentethanol (E15) gasoline use, American Farm BureauFederation delegates supported efforts to educate con-sumers and the industry on the benefits of “biofuelsblends higher than 10 percent.”

Delegates also advocated legislation requiring all newgas-powered vehicles be “flex-fuel,” capable of runningon higher-level ethanol blends, and supported a transi-tion from federal ethanol tax credits to development ofmult i -b lend ethanol “blender pumps,” ethanolpipelines, and other biofuels infrastructure.

On Jan. 6, a bipartisan group of nine U.S. senatorsurged EPA to overturn its decision to allow E15 in2007 and later vehicles, arguing the agency’s decision“to allow the use of an even higher level of ethanol …for some types of vehicles fails to adequately protectagainst misfueling and will add unnecessary confusionat the gas pump for consumers.”

FarmWeek Page 2 Monday, January 17, 2011

(ISSN0197-6680)

Vol. 39 No. 3 January 17, 2011

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

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Quick TakesAFBF

Vilsack cites USDA pushto sell the U.S. ‘brand’BY MARTIN ROSSFarmWeek

Ag Secretary Tom Vilsacklast week highlighted adminis-tration efforts to “export the

Americanbrand” byopening pro-tected foreignmarkets,knockingdown exportbarriers, andresolving dis-putes withMexico and

others that threaten amicabletrade.

Addressing an AmericanFarm Bureau Federation(AFBF) audience, Vilsackstressed a federal commitmentto pitching U.S. goods as “thebest food at the most afford-able prices.” He urged Con-gress to act “appropriately andquickly” on a long-awaitedU.S.-South Korea free tradeagreement (FTA).

At an AFBF forum preced-ing the organization’s annualmeeting, South Korean ambas-sador to the U.S. Han Duk-Soo expressed hope theaccord would be finalized byJuly “at the latest.”

Han said he sees all U.S.sectors benefiting from thenewly fine-tuned FTA, but heargued agriculture would gainthe most “because America’s

farmers and ranchers are themost productive, the mostefficient, and the most prof-itable in the world.”

Vilsack said a record U.S.ag trade surplus has helped“bring wealth into ourcommunities, into ourcountry.”

“I think Farm Bureau mem-bers and rural America are say-ing we have to be a govern-ment that spends less and thatspends our resources responsi-bly,” he said. “We have to bean economy that makes andcreates and innovates again,and we have to be a countrythat exports.

“If we’re able to do that,we’ll be able to reduce theresponsibilities of the nextgeneration, we’ll be able toincrease productivity in agri-culture and other aspects ofthe economy, and we’ll be ableto export the American brandto bring wealth here andrebuild the middle class.”

Vilsack stressed USDA’sapproach of “looking at indi-vidual countries as individualmarkets,” noting “not everycountry’s the same on the mar-ket continuum.”

That means courtingemerging giants such as China(reportedly $0.5 of a billion ayear away from surpassingCanada as the U.S.’ No. 1 agbuyer) while pressing India

for a “free flow of goods andservices” and nursingAfghani incomes and buyingpower via production ofcrops other than opium pop-pies.

USDA Under Secretary JimMiller was in China last weekto address barriers to U.S.beef. Vilsack and his Mexicancounterpart huddled lastmonth over roadblocks to U.S.beef and potatoes, and hehailed Transportation Secre-tary Ray LaHood’s work on aframework for addressing fed-eral trucking rules that havespurred Mexican tariffs againstU.S. goods.

The proposal would allowselect Mexican trucks to crossthe border beyond a 20-mile“commercial restriction” zone.

Talks continue with“mature” partners such asJapan, and Vilsack hopes“trans-Pacific” discussions willgenerate key opportunities inSoutheast Asia. He urged Con-gress to include “a good,strong trade section” in thenext farm bill.

“We need to make sure thatas we fashion a farm bill, as weput together an understandingof what it takes to supportagriculture in this country, thatwe don’t forget that one out ofevery 12 jobs in this country isconnected to agriculture,” Vil-sack emphasized.

As a global panel nears a decision on U.S.country of origin labeling (COOL) rules, aCanadian ag attaché offers two possible ways toremove the chill the rules purportedly haveplaced on U.S. and Canadian markets.

A World Trade Organization (WTO) dis-pute panel is expected by July to rule on Cana-da’s complaint against U.S. mandatory retailmeat labeling rules. COOL was establishedwith the 2002 farm bill and expanded toinclude fruits, nuts, and vegetables in 2008 agpolicy.

At last week’s American Farm Bureau Federa-tion (AFBF) annual meeting, attaché PamelaRose told FarmWeek, “We don’t see COOL as agood program for either Canada or the U.S.,”given the unusual livestock/meat traffic overtheir joint borders and Canada’s role in helpingU.S. processors keep a steady supply line.

“We feel we have a good case,” she said.“We’re obviously hoping for a positive outcomein that regard. With that happening, Congresswould be asked to look at that ruling and how itapplies to the COOL program and considerchanges.

“Two of the options we are suggesting thatwould be workable would be to have COOL as avoluntary program or, if preferred, to have itunderstood that slaughter (rather than birth)confers ‘origin.’ ”

Neither would prevent sale of beef identifiedas “born, raised, and slaughtered here in the

U.S.,” Rose said. Canada embraces domesticproduct labeling, but she said its program fol-lows global standards “that don’t discriminateagainst imports,” while “onerous” U.S. certifica-tion/tracking requirements hurt Canadian cattleand hog producers.

AFBF delegates last week reaffirmed supportfor COOL while recommending its expansion tohoney and dry beans.

Traditionally, the U.S.-Canadian market hasoperated in “a fairly integrated way,” with ani-mals moving freely across borders with sup-ply-demand fluctuations or U.S. cattle fed inCanada and returned for U.S. slaughter, shesaid.

Northern-tier U.S. processors have relied onCanadian animals to smooth bumps in supply,but with COOL segregation and trackingrequirements, Rose said, “They can no longertop off a line, which had made them more effi-cient.”

In turn, Canadian Cattlemen’s AssociationPresident John Masswohl reported Canadianprocessors have adopted U.S. packer discountson Canadian animals related to COOL costs.

Rose prefers to see COOL changed “as soonas possible,” but recognizes the 2012 farm billwould be the likely mechanism for any COOLadjustments.

“People will need time to contemplate this, andwe’re here willing to work and have that dialogue,to do whatever it takes,” she said. — Martin Ross

Tom Vilsack

Canadians seek changes in COOL

AFBF

Page 3 Monday, January 17, 2011 FarmWeek

Compromise sets stage for farm bill debateBY MARTIN ROSSFarmWeek

After bumping heads inGeorgia, farmers from acrossthe nation came to one con-flicted mind over 2012 farm billneeds.

Following animated debatehighlighting the largely Mid-west/Southern divide over theAverage Crop Revenue Election(ACRE) program, delegates atthe American Farm BureauFederation’s (AFBF) annualmeeting in Atlanta were able toagree to what Illinois FarmBureau President Philip Nelsontermed a “menu list” of basiccommodity program principles.

Heavily echoing IFB policyrecommendations, that listemphasizes continuation ofdirect payments and conserva-tion programs, expansion ofcrop insurance, and a simplifiedACRE program. Delegatesindicated they hope to holdcurrent ag budget baselinesdespite anticipated deficitreduction pressures.

“I think we put together apretty decent framework for usto start deliberations on thefarm bill,” said Nelson as AFBFdiscussions concluded. “With

sion of dairy export assistance.But while delegates rejected

mandatory dairy quotas, IFBunsuccessfully fought proposalsto accept “temporary” dairysupply management measuresthat South Elgin delegate MikeKenyon branded “a 180-degreeturn from our current market-oriented organization.”

“How long will ‘temporary’last?” fellow critic Donna Kerr ofVirginia demanded, to no avail.

Delegates nonethelessrejected a proposed five-year“phase-in” of any new dairypolicies. Utah’s Leland Hogancited “the turmoil the dairyindustry’s been going through,”arguing producers need to beweaned from current supports“on a step-by-step basis,” butKentucky’s Ken Mattinglywarned the industry faces fur-ther trials “if we keep on doingwhat we’ve always done.”

Illinois producers foughtwith mixed results to restorekey portions removed from aheavily overhauled risk manage-ment policy, including manypriority provisions based onIFB recommendations.

Vilsack noted USDA’s recentinitial shot at deficit reduction —

redirecting $4 billion from cropinsurer payments under the RiskManagement Agency’s standardreinsurance agreement (SRA).

A portion of an added $2billion cut through the SRAmay fund a proposed new“good performer” premiumdiscount for producers with noor few recent claims.

But producers reluctantly dis-missed a proposal demandinglawmakers count SRA cutstoward forthcoming ag budgetreductions. “In all practicality, Idon’t think we’ll get any creditfor that,” Indiana’s Villwock said.

Nelson said he believes dele-gate “confusion” led to AFBFsupport for linking crop cover-age to farm program eligibility.IFB Vice President Rich Gue-bert Jr. said some producersrely on marketing programs,contracting, diversification, andthe like rather than necessarilyon formal crop insurance.

“Even though a lot of ourproducers in Illinois do takecrop insurance, we still have apretty good pocket of peoplewho do not,” Nelson noted. “Ithink, as time goes by, we’ll goback and revisit this (provi-sion).”

that, we gave direction to wherewe need to be headed as webegin those talks in 2011.”

Members recognized some-thing likely will have to give in thecongressional debate ahead —visiting Ag Secretary Tom Vilsacktold the gathering, “When we’retalking about having to reducedeficits, we’re going to have to

make difficult choices.” Vilsack promised “we’re

going to have a conversationabout the safety net — andthere’s no question we need asafety net,” but he touted theneed for producers to “giveback,” even “when we’re facedwith difficult decisions aboutfarm bills, deficits, and long-term economic opportunities.”

As individual states cameforward in defense of counter-cyclical payments, marketingloans, and other current pro-gram elements, Indiana FarmBureau President Don Villwockwarned the AFBF list “could

turn into a Christmas tree”laden with budget-cutting tar-gets. Others were frustrated thatthe relatively small ag budgetshould come in for further cuts.

“We’re saying that for themost part, we don’t want togive up a whole lot until we seethe rest of the budget givesomething up,” Texas delegateRichard Cortese stated.

IFB fought hard to retainACRE as an AFBF priority.South Carolina Farm BureauPresident David Winklesargued ACRE “just doesn’twork well in the Southeast,”calling it a “one-size-fits-all”program.

But Carlyle delegate DarrylBrinkmann deemed ACRE“something we need in our toolchest,” even if “it is a little com-plicated at times,” and Okla-homa’s Sheila Wilder Hoke main-tained ACRE “has been wonder-ful for us,” providing a “truesafety net … when we need it.”

Delegates embraced basicprinciples of the National MilkProducers Federation’s pro-posed Foundation for theFuture plan, including “marginprotection” against feed andmilk price volatility and expan-

FarmWeekNow.comListen to President Nelson’s com-ments about the AFBF policydebate on the farm bill atFarmWeekNow.com.

As Farm Bureau members from across theU.S. attempted to reconcile regional differencesover future farm policy, a top ag economist citeda potentially key geographical shift that couldstrongly influence 2012 farm bill direction.

Robert Thompson, formerUniversity of Illinois GardnerChair for Agricultural Policy,accepted the American FarmBureau Federation’s (AFBF)Distinguished Service Award lastweek, a month after receivingsimilar honors from IllinoisFarm Bureau.

Thompson, who helped craftthe 1985 farm bill, sees “an

awful lot of educational work to be done” beforeCongress can tackle the 2012 farm bill.

Nearly three-quarters of the U.S. House AgCommittee, including Illinois freshmen Republi-cans Bobby Schilling of Colona and Randy Hult-gren of Winfield, have never been involved in thefarm bill “experience,” he noted.

But Thompson sees a change in ag committeecomposition that may affect the tenor of thedebate, starting with Senate Ag Committee rank-ing Republican Saxby Chambliss’ (R-Ga.) succes-sion by Sen. Pat Roberts (R-Kan.), a formerHouse Ag Committee chairman.

Chambliss, who told AFBF his colleagues face“the most difficult farm bill we’ve ever had towrite,” is new minority leader of the Senate Intel-ligence Committee.

Thompson said the Southeast “tends to domi-nate the decision-making” within AFBF, in termsof state voting weight, but he sees corn and soy-bean producers gaining footing with cotton, rice,and sugar interests on the Hill this session.

Beyond Roberts, Michigan Democrat Debbie

Stabenow takes the reins of the Senate Ag Com-mittee from former Sen. Blanche Lincoln (D-Ark.).

“Leadership of the ag committees has migrat-ed farther north,” he said. “There’s been a signifi-cant geographical migration of leadership at theag committees.”

Meanwhile, Oklahoma Democrat Frank Lucaswill head the House Ag Committee, with formerchairman Collin Peterson (D-Minn.) now servingas ranking Democrat.

Ag policy rookies join the debate amid height-ened fiscal anxiety. Thompson argued Congressmust address deficit issues in order to “sustain ourcredibility in the world financial market” and headoff the current “eventuality” of China and otherU.S. creditors demanding higher interest rates.

“They’re going to begin to doubt our willing-ness and ability to repay our international debts,at least with dollars that aren’t deflated by infla-tion,” he advised.

In view of budget constraints, public discus-sion of direct payments is “heating up,” Thomp-son noted. Lucas last week defended direct pay-ments as “the most (World Trade Organization)compliant, least trade distorting” of U.S. ag sup-ports. But Thompson cited increased scrutiny ofsupport payments “that go out in good years andbad.”

If direct payments are “a sitting duck,” asThompson suggests, Congress must develop “theright kind of safety net for America’s farmers,”Chambliss emphasized.

But legislators face a tough challenge in devis-ing the most effective combination of counter-cyclical and loan deficiency payments, crop insur-ance subsidies, and disaster payments that make“the most sense in a world of tight budgets,”Thompson argued. — Martin Ross

AFBF honoree Thompsonsees geographical shift

Robert Thompson

Rowe: Farmers must uniteto defend vital ‘dirty’ job

Mike Rowe will eagerly testify that agriculture is a dirty and,frequently, thankless job. He wants Americans to know cheap,plentiful food comes from calloused hands, sweat equity, and avenerable work ethic.

The one job the host of the cable reality pro-gram Dirty Jobs doesn’t relish is that of agspokesman. He prefers to leave that chore to theguys on the farm who must contend with “a lot ofother agendas and a lot of angry acronyms.”

Producers must unite behind a few basicmessages “in a way I haven’t seen them getbehind,” Rowe argued before taking the stage atthe American Farm Bureau Federation (AFBF)annual meeting in Atlanta.

AFBF President Bob Stallman, meanwhile,told producers “we are ready to face our oppo-nents with a new attitude,” through a new U.S.

Farmers and Ranchers Alliance. The alliance’s 23 ag groups willattempt “to increase consumer knowledge and restore trust inour nation’s food production system.”

Rowe embraces that mission in his own good-humored waybut argues farmers don’t need a spokesman so much as “theyneed an advocate” — consumers like himself “who have anaddiction to chewing and swallowing.”

Indeed, “connecting with the dirt” is Rowe’s mantra. “Farmers were the essence of our Gross Domestic Product

(GDP) 100 years ago — we loved our dirty farmers,” Rowe said.“Today, our GDP is defined by something else altogether — wedon’t have a relationship with dirt. We are not connected to thepeople who are willing to get dirty.”

“The trick, if there is one today, is just to hit the reset buttonand remind people in a thousand different ways of the amazing-ly gob-smacked task you guys do, day-in and day-out, which isfeeding 300 million people three times.”

Rowe was not alone in his support for food producers.Stressing the need for federal outreach with both consumersand farmers, Elizabeth Hagen, USDA under secretary for foodsafety and an AFBF guest, labeled the Farm and Ranch Alliance“a great example of what it takes to make an impact.”

Rowe recalled perhaps his dirtiest job ever: paddling acrossa “poo pond” at a Connecticut dairy operation. Owner Matt Fre-und makes ends meet by marketing soil-fertilizing, biodegrad-able, flowerpots fashioned from manure, and Rowe learned alesson in farm income and innovation.

“He was on the ropes and needed to supplement the milk hewas selling,” Rowe recalled.

Mike Rowe

AFBF

FarmWeek Page 4 Monday, January 17, 2011

Continued from page 1this process,” conducting a 45-day public review period for its1,000-plus-page plan without inviting producer input, he said.

Parrish noted a roughly 20 percent difference between EPA andUSDA estimates of ag land within the watershed, raising doubtsabout EPA’s ability to prescribe limits on “a very precise basis.”

Meanwhile, Illinois groups continue to voice concerns about EPA-directed state NPDES pesticide application permits set to kick in inApril, despite existing pesticide regulation under the Federal Insecticide,Fungicide, and Rodenticide Act (FIFRA). Parrish anticipates major aggroups joining soon “to tell Congress there’s a problem here.”

“We’re going to come out swinging, and, hopefully, we can getCongress’ attention,” he said.

‘Overreach’ threat to farmers, towns nationwideBY MARTIN ROSSFarmWeek

In Roberta Valladao’s neckof Oregon, regulatory “over-reach” has reached into thepockets of farmers and ruralcar dealers, florists, and otherswho rely on the ag economy.

Valladao, a guest at IllinoisFarm Bureau’s annual Ameri-can Farm Bureau Federation(AFBF) breakfast, outlined the“domino effect” of federalefforts to protect long- andshort-nosed sucker fisharound her Klamath Falls area.

Area growers rely on irriga-tion during low-water periodswhich also can hamper fishspawning. Officials controllocal water releases, and grow-ers may not know if water will

be available until April. Bankshesitate to grant farm loans “ifthey’re not sure they’re goingto get water,” Valladao said.

“After (protection efforts)happened, there was a seven-fold change in the economy,”she told FarmWeek. “Foreach (farm) dollar that wasn’tspent, $7 wasn’t spent in otherbusinesses. It wasn’t just farm-ers who felt the effect. Peoplewere being laid off.

“The auto dealers (former-ly) gave you a bouquet offlowers when you bought acar. Because they weren’t sell-ing cars, they weren’t buyingflowers. Local florists weren’tselling the amount of flowersthey used to. It’s a chain reac-tion.”

The sucker fish’s tendency toburrow makes it tough to trackpopulations and thus hampersprogress toward “delisting” itunder the Endangered SpeciesAct. Federal success at KlamathLakes has led to what Valladaocalls a “divide-and-conquer”strategy targeting other WestCoast communities.

The non-profit PacificLegal Foundation (PLF) waslaunched 37 years ago to helprein in onerous regulation.PLF’s J. Michael Stetson notedhis foundation’s concern withChesapeake Bay nutrient stan-dards and similar Florida pro-posals “which are going toaffect the whole country.”

PLF represents Floridabuilders against the U.S. Fish

REGULATORS

In addition to broader provisions seekinglegislative control of federal regulators, Ameri-can Farm Bureau delegates concerned aboutthe federal regulatory reach also:

• Opposed any federal programs taking over“private sector responsibilities.”

• Declared that property acquired by the U.S.government through eminent domain or othermeans but no longer intended for the use forwhich it was taken should be returned to the pri-vate sector. The original owner should be givenfirst right of refusal, delegates maintained.

• Supported classification of farm programpayments as “personal financial information,”such as Social Security payments.

• Supported requiring the U.S. Environmen-tal Protection Agency (EPA) to recognize exist-ing state ag stewardship practices when set-ting total maximum daily loads for producers.

• Urged use of the Federal Insecticide,Fungicide, and Rodenticide Act as “the solefederal regulatory authority over pesticides.”

• Sought required EPA/USDA coordinationin developing conservation or clean air rulesthat affect agriculture.

• Stressed the need for EPA confidentialityof farmer business and individual information.

• Opposed food safety traceability beingextended to the field or input level. Any trace-ability program should be “non-intrusive andeconomically feasible,” delegates stated.

• Opposed any change in wording, mean-ing, or definitions regarding “navigable waters”with regard to enforcement or interpretation ofthe federal Clean Water Act. Delegatesaddressed concerns about efforts to broadenfederal jurisdiction over ditches or other isolat-ed local waters.

Illinois Farm Bureau President Philip Nelson, left, accepts the AmericanFarm Bureau Federation (AFBF) Pinnacle Award from AFBF PresidentBob Stallman during the national organization’s 2011 annual meetinglast week in Georgia. IFB received Awards for Excellence recognition infive program areas: Agriculture Education and Promotion, LeadershipDevelopment, Member Services, Policy Implementation, and Public Rela-tions and Information. IFB received President’s Awards honors for Lead-ership Development, Member Services, and Policy Implementation. ThePinnacle Award is presented to the one top state in each of Farm Bu-reau’s six membership groups and is based on top total points earned inthe five program areas. IFB won in Group 6, which includes the nation’slargest state Farm Bureaus. In addition, IFB achieved the APEX Awardfrom the AFBF Foundation for Agriculture. The APEX Award is for stateswith a total donation to the Foundation that increased by 10 percent ormore over the previous year. And IFB attained AFBF membership quotaand an all-time high in total membership with 426,043 members, a gainof 4,123 over 2009. (Photo by Ken Kashian)

Illinois recognitionsIllinois Farm Bureau received strong recognition for its mem-

bers’ youth leadership and farm innovation at last week’s Ameri-can Farm Bureau Federation (AFBF) annual meeting.

Efforts were cited in several areas:Farmer Idea Exchange: Rory Frick, Aledo, was honored for

the “most innovative” and “most widely usable” concepts in thenational competition. His multi-functional ladder’s steps remainparallel to surfaces at any inclination, offering safe, easy accessto farm vehicles and facilities.

County Activities of Excellence: AFBF cited StephensonCounty Farm Bureau’s “A Day in the Country” program. Thecounty Farm Bureau chartered a bus to bring an “adopted”Chicago legislator and urban constituents to Stephenson Coun-ty, where participants toured an 850-cow dairy farm with amethane digester, a 1,800-acre family farm, and a 1.1 million-hen egg farm that markets manure as organic fertilizer.

Young Farmers and Ranchers Achievement Award: MattDeBlock, Mercer County, represented Illinois in this year’sAchievement Award competition, which recognizes exceptionalefforts in farming and leadership achievements.

As one of the national runners-up, DeBlock will receive aCase IH Farmall tractor, courtesy of Case IH.

Young Farmers and Ranchers Excellence in Ag Award:Brian and Dacia Brown, Montgomery County, were national run-ners-up for this award, which recognizes those whose primaryinterest is not production agriculture but who have excelled inleadership and contributions to their community, Farm Bureau,and the ag industry.

The Browns received a $6,000 savings bond and a FarmBoss chainsaw courtesy of Stihl.

Young Farmer and Rancher Discussion Meet: GrantStrom, Knox County, represented Illinois in this year’s meet,which offers young leaders the opportunity to develop skills inbasic discussion technique through an exchange of ideas andinformation. Strom made it to the Sweet 16 round.

and Wildlife Service, whichrejected a court order todowngrade the endangeredFlorida wood stork to threat-ened status following a long-delayed species survey.

Such “regulatory takings”effectively block land use, not-ed Stetson, who also attendedthe AFBF annual meeting.

PLF won a landmark 2006U.S. Supreme Court case,Rapanos vs. the U.S. Army Corps

of Engineers, which restrictedfederal jurisdiction over isolated“wetlands.”

Regulators nonetheless con-tinue to “ignore that decision,”Stetson said.

“There are really twoavenues for the citizen to tryto beat an overreaching gov-ernment,” he said. “One’s atthe ballot box, as we saw in thelast election. The second is inthe courts.”

Regulating the regulators

Delegates seek options for post-patent GMO useDuring delegate debate at

the American Farm BureauFederation annual meeting inGeorgia last week, IllinoisFarm Bureau won approval,207-124, for support of “anindustry-developed protocol”for biotech crops before prod-uct patents expire.

In 2014, patents on Mon-santo’s original Roundup Ready(RR1) soybean trait expire andRR1 moves into the publicdomain. Noting more than twodozen GMO products are setto come off-patent in comingyears, Indiana Farm BureauPresident Don Villwock tolddelegates clear direction onpost-patent product use is cru-cial “so we have a choice.”

Seed companies and breed-ers reportedly can continueoffering RR1 beans on a“generic” basis after patentsexpire, and farmers will haveoptions for saving RR1 seed toreplant beginning in 2015. Butpatent expiration may not allowgrowers to “save seed” from allvarieties with RR1 traits.

A Massachusetts delegatequestioned companies “beingforced to share informationabout a product before it goesoff-patent.” A California col-league called disposition ofcurrently patented products“very much a business decisionfor companies.”

But IFB President PhilipNelson emphasized new policy

merely urges “voluntary indus-try cooperation to share data.”As such, Villwock argued “it’snot dictating patent law.”

“This puts us at the table,”Nelson said. “We’re hearingfrom a lot of producers theconcerns they have about this.As a number of these patentsexpire, I think we need to giveclarity as to how we address thetechnology for our members.”

Monsanto has licensed RR1to some 200 other companies,and growers will need to checkwith seed suppliers beforereplanting saved seed. Withcompanies moving to a newer“RR2” trait, patent expirationraises questions on futureavailability of RR1-inclusivevarieties growers may prefer.

“If you want continuedaccess to RR1 soybean varieties,other varieties that contain theRR1 trait or that contain addi-tional modes of herbicide toler-ance, you should make yourwishes known,” Illinois SoybeanAssociation Chairman RonMoore of Roseville advised.

“Both public and private seedresearchers may be able to creategeneric RR1 stand-alone vari-eties but need to know whetherdemand for RR1-trait seed willcontinue.” — Martin Ross

GOVERNMENT

Page 5 Monday, January 17, 2011 FarmWeek

Jan. 19Livestock manager certification workshop, 8:15 a.m., KnoxCounty Extension office, Galesburg.

Jan. 20Livestock manager certification workshop, 8:15 a.m.,Adams-Brown Extension office, Quincy.

Jan. 25Tillage seminar, 8:30 a.m. to 3:15 p.m., Parkland College,Champaign.

Illinois Milk Producers Association educational program,9:30 a.m. to 3 p.m., Kaskaskia College, Centralia.

Jan. 26-27Illinois Crop Management conference, Rend Lake Confer-ence Center. 618-692-9434, ext. 13

Jan. 26Illinois Milk Producers Association educational program,9:30 a.m. to 3 p.m., IAA Building, Bloomington.

Jan. 27Tillage seminar, 8:30 a.m. to 3:15 p.m., Milan CommunityCenter, Milan.

Illinois Milk Producers Association educational program,9:30 a.m. to 3 p.m., Highland Community College,Freeport.

Jan. 28Tillage seminar, 8:30 a.m. to 3:15 p.m., Joliet Junior Col-lege, Joliet.

Feb. 2-3Illinois Crop Management conference, Northfield Inn &Conference Center, Springfield. 618-692-9434, ext. 13

Feb. 9-10Illinois Crop Management conference, I-Hotel and Confer-ence Center, Champaign. 217-333-4901.

Feb. 9Wind farm siting, zoning, taxing conference, 7:30 a.m. to4:30 p.m. Marriott Hotel & Conference Center, Normal.Registration deadline Feb. 1. Register online at{www.RenewableEnergy.ilstu.edu}.

Livestock manager certification workshop, 9:30 a.m.,Stephenson County Farm Bureau building, Freeport.Dairy-beef emphasis.

Feb. 12Alternative uses for small acreage workshop, 8:30 a.m. to1 p.m. John Wood Community College, Quincy. Registra-tion deadline Feb. 10. Register online at{www.extension.uiuc.edu/adams} or call 217-223-8380.

Feb. 16-17Illinois Crop Management conference, Kishwaukee Col-lege Convention Center, Malta. 815-978-2844.

Feb. 23-24Illinois Farm Bureau governmental affairs leadership con-ference, Crowne Plaza, Springfield.

March 9Illinois Agricultural Legislative Day, Springfield.

March 10Livestock manager certification workshop, 8:15 a.m.,Sangamon-Menard Extension office, Illinois State Fair-grounds.

DATEBOOK

Continued from page 1provisions to correct spendinglevels, including the holding offunds in reserve to correctspending levels before tax ratesare reduced.

Lawmakers chose to leavethe current 5 percent residentialproperty tax credit on the stateincome tax vs. changing it to aflat $325 per residence proposalthat they had considered.

The decoupling of the stateestate tax from the federalestate tax essentially means thestate will again implement pro-visions that were in place from

2001 to 2009. The legislation resurrects a

$2 million exemption with thesame previous rates.

That is a major reversal froma little more than a year ago.

On Jan. 1, 2010, the state“death tax” was re-coupledautomatically to the federal levelbecause of a state law that tookeffect in 2003, said Kevin Sem-low, Illinois Farm Bureau direc-tor of state legislation.

The estate tax on both thefederal and state levels was 0percent for 2010, Semlow added.

Lawmakers failed to autho-

rize the state to borrow $8.75billion to pay overdue bills.

Supporters were unable tosecure the 71 House votesneeded for a super majority thatis required for bond authoriza-tions, Semlow said.

Taxes

Taylorville energy centerlegislation stalls in SenateBY KAY SHIPMANFarmWeek

An early-morning effort to establish a special electric rate tocreate a clean-coal plant in Christian County failed in the Senatelast week.

The project, known as the Taylorville Energy Center (TEC), isbacked by Tenaska Energy of Nebraska.

Illinois Farm Bureau opposed the legislation, which wouldhave mandated 30-year utility rate increases to fund the project.IFB also opposed the granting of eminent domain for the TECor supporting services for the TEC.

Very late on Jan. 7, the Senate sponsors presented the bill, butit was defeated with a 25-29 vote and was placed on postponedconsideration, which allows a bill to be called for a second vote.

At 1:30 a.m. last Wednesday, the Senate brought the bill upfor a second vote — the final one of the lame duck session.After a short debate, the bill was defeated in a 18-33 vote withfour voting present.

The Illinois State Board of Education(ISBE) last week approved a fiscal year 2012budget request that would restore educationfunding and provide a $261-million, or 3.5percent, increase over fiscal year 2009 levels.

In its budget proposal sent to the GeneralAssembly and Gov. Pat Quinn, ISBE is seek-ing per-pupil funding of $6,416, up from thecurrent level of $6,119 per student. ISBE’sbudget recommendation will be consideredas part of the overall state budget.

State funding for education was reduced inFY 2010 and FY 2011 by nearly $450 million.

ISBE also is recommending an increase infunding for mandated educational services,including the restoration of transportationfunding that was cut in the current budget.

In both of the last two budgets, the Gen-eral Assembly provided ISBE with lump-sumappropriations that were less than the previ-ous year’s.

Quinn restored some — but not all — ofthe cuts with discretionary funding.

Despite overall budget decreases, per-stu-dent funding levels remained constant overthe past two years.

State Board of Ed seeks to restore funding

CorrectionGreg Hoke of Petersburg

was identified incorrectly in lastweek’s issue of FarmWeek.Greg and his brother, Steve,farm in Menard County andrecently lost some outbuildingsand had some machinery andimplements damaged by a tor-nado on New Year’s Eve.

PRODUCTION

FarmWeek Page 6 Monday, January 17, 2011

Crop supply running on fumes; prices continue to riseBY DANIEL GRANTFarmWeek

A tight crop supply situa-tion got even tighter last weekas USDA cut its final 2010crop production estimates andslashed ending stocks.

USDA projected U.S. farmerslast year harvested an average of152.8 bushels per acre for corn(down 1 percent from theNovember estimate and 5 per-cent from 2009) and 43.5bushels per acre for soybeans(down about a half-bushel fromthe November forecast and2009).

Final yields in Illinois for2010 were pegged at 157bushels per acre for corn(down from 174 bushels in2009) and a state record 51.5bushels for soybeans (up from46 bushels in 2009).

Overall, crop production inthe U.S. was estimated at 12.4billion bushels for corn (down1 percent from the Novemberestimate and 5 percent fromthe previous year). Soybeanproduction, at 3.33 billionbushels, was down 1 percentcompared to the Novemberestimate and 2009.

lion bushels, and soybeanexports were unchanged at arecord-high 1.59 billionbushels.

“We’re still not seeingrationing,” said Dan Basse ofthe AgResource Co.

Basse projected corn priceswould have to rise has high as$7.20 per bushel to beginrationing in the ethanol indus-

try, based on $90-per-barrelcrude oil, while soybean pricescould go as high as $15 perbushel before rationing beginsin earnest in that market.

The higher crop pricesobviously will affect the bot-tom lines of livestock produc-ers, but Hightower doesn’tforesee major liquidation ofthe cow or hog inventories anytime soon.

Corn feed demand wasreduced by just 100 millionbushels and some of thatcould be offset by increasedproduction of distillers grains.

“I think retail prices will beforced higher, and beef andpork prices will continue torise sharply,” he said. “So Idon’t think we’ll see much liq-uidation. If we do, it will exac-erbate the problem.”

Faced with the tighter sup-plies and strong demand, cropprices marched higher muchof last week.

“I think this heightened theseverity of the situation,” saidClayton Pope, senior risk man-ager for AgriVisor. “(Cropsupplies) already were runningon fumes.”

USDA last week loweredU.S. ending stocks to just 745million bushels for corn, down936 million bushels from ayear ago, and 140 millionbushels for soybeans, down 25million bushels from lastmonth. Ending stocks ofwheat were reduced 40 millionbushels.

The stocks-to-use ratio sub-sequently declined last week toa 15-year low for corn of 5.5percent, despite the fact thatthe corn crop is the thirdlargest on record. The ratioslipped to just 4.2 percent forsoybeans, the lowest levelsince 1965-66, according toDavid Hightower of TheHightower Report.

“The amount of the com-modity is not as important asthe pace we’re moving through

it in this global economy,”Hightower said during a tele-conference hosted by theCME Group.

Crop demand last week wasprojected to remain strongdespite tighter supplies andhigher prices. The estimate forwheat exports was raised 50million bushels, corn used forethanol was increased 100 mil-

Spring fertilizer supply could be tightFarmers encouraged to meet with dealers

Farmers in the near futureshould meet with fertilizerdealers to make sure therewill be an adequate supply of

fertilizer to meet their springneeds, according to industryexperts.

A lot of fertilizer wasapplied last fall in Illinois,which should ease conges-tion in the pipeline thisspring. However, the recentrun-up in fertilizer pricescould make some retailershesitant to build additionalinventory, according toDavid Asbridge, presidentand senior economist atNPK Fertilizer Advisory Ser-vice.

The price of all fertilizersincreased at the start of the

year, basedon the mostrecent IllinoisProductionCost Reportpublished bythe IllinoisDepartmentof Agricul-ture. Prices inthe state a

week ago averaged $778 perton for anhydrous ammonia,$701 for monoammoniumphosphate (MAP), $671 fordiammonium phosphate(DAP), $565 for potash, and$490 for urea.

“A lot of fertilizer dealersa couple years ago boughtfertilizer at $1,000 a ton andsold it for $600,” Asbridgesaid during the Farm Prof-itability 2011 workshop host-ed by Soyatech in Cham-paign. “They learned a les-son. They’re not going tostock up and carry extra fer-tilizer like they used to.

“That’s why it’s importantfor farmers to send a signalnow to retailers aboutdemand,” he continued.“The spring fertilizer supplycould be limited, so don’twait until the last minute and

expect to get all you need.”Asbridge projected fertil-

izer prices will remain stronginto the spring before possi-bly easing next summer andfall.

Jean Payne, president ofthe Illinois Fertilizer and

ChemicalAssociation(IFCA), saidhigher fertil-izer prices inrecentmonths havebeen fueledby increaseddemand,which is due

in part to higher corn prices.IFCA is hosting its annualconvention to discuss suchissues Tuesday throughThursday at the Peoria CivicCenter.

“Fertilizer does track withcorn,” Payne said. “Whenthere is strong demand forcorn, there is strong demandfor fertilizer because youcan’t get the grain withoutthe fertilizer.”

And much of the demandfor fertilizer, and fertilizerproduction, is taking placeoutside the U.S. The boost inworld fertilizer demand inrecent years is equivalent toadding another U.S. market,according to Payne.

“You’re not competingwith the next farmer in thenext county (for fertilizer),”she told farmers. “You’recompeting against farmers inthe rest of the world.”

In the past 15 years, 28ammonia plants have cur-tailed production nation-wide. The U.S as a resultcurrently imports the bulkof its nitrogen fertilizer,Payne said. — DanielGrant

David Asbridge

Jean Payne

PRODUCTION

Page 7 Monday, January 17, 2011 FarmWeek

First Soy Yield Challenge encouraging; ISA plans to expand program BY DANIEL GRANTFarmWeek

It could take years ofresearch to boost soybean out-put well above the so-called“yield plateau.”

But if results of the first-ever Soybean Yield Challengein Illinois are any indication,growers and researchers couldbe on their way to producingmore beans per acre.

The inaugural event, spon-sored by the Illinois SoybeanAssociation (ISA), attracted 40

farmer and student teams fromaround the state.

And participants of the 2010Yield Challenge increased theirbean yields by an average of 5.2percent statewide as acreage inthe challenge averaged 69 bushelsper acre compared to standardplots in the same fields that aver-aged 65.6 bushels per acre.

“For the most part, we hadabove-average yields butbelow-average stress (in2010),” Jim Nelson, YieldChallenge coordinator with

ISA, said during a Farm Prof-itability meeting in Champaignco-sponsored by ISA and theIllinois Corn Growers Associa-tion. “We’re still looking toexpand the program.”

The goal of the program isto increase yields each year byabout 1.5 percent. Growersinterested in joining the chal-lenge may visit the website{www.ilsoy.org} or{www.soyyieldchallenge.com}.

Information about the pro-gram also will be presented at a

series of regional crop manage-ment conferences Jan. 26-27 atRend Lake, Feb. 2-3 at Spring-field, Feb. 9-10 in Champaign,and Feb. 16-17 in Malta. Infor-mation about those events isavailable at the website{http://bulletin.ipm.illinois.edu}.

Two additional presenta-tions will be made Feb. 12 atthe Western Illinois UniversityFarm Expo in Macomb. Thosemeetings will be at 10 a.m. and2 p.m. in the Hall of Fameroom at Western Hall.

“The idea is to do a lot of dif-ferent research and find outabout the soybean plant and howit responds to different things wedo,” Nelson said. “The ultimategoal is to increase soy yields.”

Some of the keys to higheryields during the first year of theevent, according to participants,included seed selection, earlyplanting dates, use of fungicides,weed control throughout theseason, and the use of technolo-gy/precision planting.

Recent research by the Uni-versity of Illinois suggests farm-ers who overseed their soybeanfields as “yield insurance” actual-ly may not see a yield benefit andcould hurt their bottom lines.

Soybean seed costs five timesmore than it did 15 years ago,according to Vince Davis, U ofI Extension assistant professorof soybean production systems.

Participants of the inauguralchallenge reported a seeding rateof 140,000 seeds per acre seemedto be the most economical.

Dairy producers concerned about the rising cost of feed andits effect on their bottom lines can learn about strategies to man-age the situation this month at the Illinois Dairy Summit.

The event will be held at three locations around the state: Jan.25 at Kaskaskia College in Centralia; Jan. 26 at the Illinois FarmBureau Building in Bloomington; and Jan. 27 at Highland Com-munity College in Freeport.

Registration for all meetings will begin at 9:30 a.m. The meet-ings will run from 10 a.m. to 3 p.m

The Dairy Summit replaces University of Illinois Dairy Days,which were discontinued this year due to the retirement of U ofI dairy educators Dave Fischer and Mike Hutjens and the lack ofreplacement personnel to run the program (read more about thatsituation in a future issue of FarmWeek).

“Leaders of the Illinois Milk Producers Association (IMPA)made the comment that it’s still important to have dairy pro-gramming in Illinois, so they stepped up and decided to be the

sponsor” of the Dairy Summit, Fischer said.Fischer at each meeting will discuss calf care and managing

herds for the future, and Hutjens will discuss nutrition, feedcosts, and profitability issues.

A feed industry representative at the event will help produc-ers evaluate proper management of feeding systems, includingtotal mixed ration systems.

“A dairy producer and nutritionist will be on a panel at eachlocation to discuss making decisions for 2011,” Fischer said,“and how to handle increase feed costs because of higher cornand soybean costs, and still maximize milk production.”

The program also will include updates from, IMPA, the Mid-west Dairy Association, and Nic Anderson, business developerfor the Illinois Livestock Development Group.

Registration for each Dairy Summit is $12 per person in advanceor $15 at the door. To register, contact Nicole at IMPA at 309-557-3343 or visit the website {www.illinoismilk.org}. — Daniel Grant

Illinois Dairy Summit to address rising feed cost concerns

Improved N management criticalfor farmers, environment

The recent rise in the cost of fertilizer could give farmers moreincentive to do a better job of nitrogen management on their farms.

But there are plenty of other reasons besides profitability,including environmental quality and the threat of increased regu-lations, for farmers to focus on improved N management,according to Fabian Fernandez, University of Illinois assistantprofessor of soil fertility.

“Nitrogen management really means risk management,” Fer-nandez said last week at the U of I Corn and Soybean Classic inBloomington. “We need to improve management of nitrogen. Itnot only affects the return on investment, but there also is a lotof regulatory pressure.”

The three most widely used sources of N on Illinois farms areanhydrous ammonia, urea-ammonium nitrate (UAN), and urea.

There are nitrification inhibitors, urease inhibitors, and coat-ings that can be used to protect the N sources from loss or frombecoming unavailable for crop uptake.

“The potential benefit to any technology or source of N (tominimize loss) has to do with the time of application, soil condi-tions, and the type of soil,” Fernandez said.

Proper N management also includes using the correct place-ment method for each N source.

Urea typically is protected better from loss by incorporating itinto the soil by tillage or rain.

Meanwhile, anhydrous ammonia losses often occur soon afterapplication when the application is not fully retained in the soil.Shallow placement of anhydrous ammonia in the soil, therefore,can lead to greater losses, according to Fernandez.

He recommended injecting anhydrous ammonia at 6 to 8 inch-es for fine-textured soil and 8 to 10 inches in coarse-textured soils.

Finally, the timing of each application is critical to its effectiveness.“The closer you apply N to when the crop needs it, the less

likely N will be lost, especially in (wet) years like the last couple,”Fernandez said.

However, farmers who sidedress N during the growing sea-son should make sure there is some N available to help the cornplants get started early in the season.

As for other soil fertility issues, Fernandez believes phospho-rus levels generally are in good shape in fields across the statebut potassium levels may need to be rebuilt in some fields.

Some farmers backed off secondary fertilizer applications inrecent years due to high costs and challenging soil conditionscaused by successive wet years. — Daniel Grant

BIOMASS

FarmWeek Page 8 Monday, January 17, 2011

Ontario farmers see value of biomass on-farm uses

BY KAY SHIPMANFarmWeek

Biomass crops figureprominently in Ontario’s ener-gy plans as the Canadianprovince will stop burningcoal by 2013 under govern-ment mandate. But Canadian

farmers are more confident ingrowing biomass crops as anon-farm energy source thanthey are in raising them for acommercial market, anOntario crop professor andfarmer told FarmWeek.

Bill Deen, a University ofGuelph researcher who alsofarms, described Canadianresearch on biomass crops andcollaborative biomass researchwith the University of Illinois.Deen was one of several inter-national speakers at the eighth

annual Bioenergy FeedstockSymposium at the Universityof Illinois last week.

Biomass crop research hasheated up as Canadian utilitiesseek to replace coal with otherenergy sources.

One utility, Ontario Power,estimated it will need 2 milliontons of biomass annually,Deen said, adding Ontario’stimber industry couldn’t sup-ply that volume.

Researchers believe theyhave found two cold-tolerantvarieties of miscanthus thatsurvived a hard winter in2009. They also are fairly con-fident miscanthus and nativegrasses will withstand theCanadian winters.

“The issue is cold-soil toler-ance in the spring, becausethey (perennials) don’t emergeearly enough to beat early(fall) frosts, especially innorthern Ontario,” Deenexplained.

Researchers are focusing onbiomass crops, not cropresidue.

“Based on our research, wedon’t think ag residues will

play a big role in biomass(fuel) for combustion sys-tems,” Deen said.

If utilities are planningon farm-grown biomass,they’ll need to convincefarmers who are skepticalabout market opportunities,especially because current

natural gas prices aren’thigh, according to Deen.

“Farmers recognize bio-mass on-farm opportunities(as replacement energy). Irecognize the potential, butit’s got to be economical,”Deen said.

“As a farmer, let’s say I

have 100 acres of miscant-hus. I’ve got to go to abanker and say, ‘Give me$100,000, and I won’t have aproduct until the spring ofyear three,” or a crop to selluntil that same fall, Deensaid. “There’s got to be somesystem for financing it.”

Province seeking non-coal energy

Biomass research shows promise, raises questionsScientists across the U.S. and

Japan reported researchadvances in biomass crop pro-duction and uses at the eighthannual Bioenergy FeedstocksSymposium at the University ofIllinois last week.

In the second year of a mul-ti-state research project, U of Iresearchers and colleagues inthree states dealt with optimumand disastrous growing condi-tions in the last year.

In Lexington, Ky., miscant-hus in plots emerged and thenwas damaged by a late frost,reported Matt Maughan, a U ofI doctorate student.

In May, the Kentucky plotsreceived 7.84 inches of rain

and later baked in temperaturesabove 90 degrees over 44 days.That miscanthus never flow-ered, Maughan noted.

Meanwhile, miscanthusplots in Mead, Neb., had idealgrowing conditions with 32inches of rain — 10 inchesmore than average — and pro-duced the highest yields. Theother plots are located inUrbana and in Adelphia, N.J.

Maughan noted researchersfor a second year did notrecord a significant plantresponse to nitrogen fertilizeron any of the states’ miscant-hus plots.

Researchers will continueassessing biomass feedstockfor suitability, Maughan said.“We would like to begin devel-oping an optimal region forgrowing miscanthus,” he con-cluded.

Toshihiko Yamada, a profes-sor at Hokkaido University inJapan, reported new hybridmiscanthus plants were foundgrowing wild in Japan.

U of I researchers whojoined Yamada and otherJapanese scientists to searchfor new hybrids found the newtriploid plants growing neartwo adjacent populations ofdiploid and tetrapliod miscant-hus. Japan has several well-known miscanthus grasslandsaround the country.

U of I biomass research pri-

marily uses miscanthus gigan-teus, which is a sterile triploid.The newly found hybrid maysupply genetic variation thatmay be resistant to recentlyidentified diseases and pests inmiscanthus giganteus.

Work to develop a biomasscrop system from field to mar-ket is continuing on the U ofI’s Dudley Smith Farm nearPana in Christian County. GaryLetterly, Extension naturalresource educator, describedefforts in 2010 to re-establishmiscanthus plots that were lostin 2008.

Harvest timing has becomean important factor, especiallybecause the miscanthus isprocessed into pellets andburned as fuel to heat theChristian County Extensionoffice.

Letterly noted the fields areharvested as late as possible toreduce the amount of leavesharvested, which reduces thefuel’s ash content.

Letterly described severalchallenges he has encounteredworking with mowers and oth-er farm equipment, developinghandling, transportation, andstorage methods, and locatingnearby processors.

“We’ve got to do moreresearch,” Letterly challengedthe scientists. “All the answersaren’t here yet.” — Kay Ship-man

The Illinois Biomass Work-ing Group (IBWG) will host afree webinar Thursday aboutthe USDA Biomass Crop Assis-tance Program (BCAP), anincentive program for biomassfeedstock production. Thewebinar is scheduled for multi-ple sites throughout the statefrom 1:30 to 3:30 p.m.

The webinar, organized byIBWG, the Illinois Institute forRural Affairs at Western IllinoisUniversity, and University ofIllinois Extension, will featureDon King, Farm ServiceAgency chief program special-ist in Illinois, and Tim Slatingfrom the U of I’s Energy Bio-sciences Institute.

Following the webinar, thoseinterested in a BCAP projectarea application will be invitedto follow-up meetings. Thosemeetings will begin in early Feb-ruary. Details will be announced.

Webinars will be hosted atthe following locations: U of IExtension office, Quincy; U of IExtension office, Decatur; Jo-Carroll Energy, Elizabeth; East-ern Illinois University, MartinLuther King Jr. UniversityUnion, Charleston; U of IExtension office, Jacksonville;Southern Illinois University,Dunn-Richmond EconomicDevelopment Center, Carbon-dale; and Livingston CountyFarm Bureau, Pontiac.

Register online at {http://go.illinois.edu/biomass}.

For more information, con-tact Fred Iutzi (f-iutzi@wiu.edu) or Erin Orwig (er-orwig@wiu.edu) at the IllinoisInstitute for Rural Affairs at800-526-9943 or NatalieBosecker (natalieb@illinois.edu), Center for AdvancedBioEnergy Research, at the U ofI, at 217-244-9273.

Biomass crop webinar Thursday

FROM THE COUNTIES

Page 9 Monday, January 17, 2011 FarmWeek

BUREAU — Theannual meeting will be

at 6 p.m. Thursday at theBureau County Metro Centerin Princeton. Tickets are $5and includes dinner.

• Bureau and Lee CountyFarm Bureaus will sponsor abus trip to Chicago Thurs-day, Jan. 27. The cost is $55per person for Farm Bureaumembers and $60 for non-members. You must be 18years old or older to attend.Contact the Farm Bureauoffice to register.

• The Young Leader Com-mittee will take part in theannual District 4 YoungLeader curling outing from6-9 p.m. Friday at theWaltham Curling Club in Tri-umph. Cost is $10 per per-son to curl. Call the FarmBureau office at 815-875-6468 to register.

CHAMPAIGN —The winter meeting

series continues at 7 p.m.Thursday, Jan. 27, in theFarm Bureau auditorium.Mike Doherty, IFB senioreconomist and policy analyst,will discuss tax credit exten-sion and its affect on thefuture of ethanol andbiodiesel and what the highprice of corn will do to mar-gins. For more information,contact the Farm Bureauoffice at 352-2535.

COLES — Familybowling will be held

Saturday at the CharlestonLanes, 1310 E Street,Charleston. Registration willbegin at 3 p.m. with bowlingto follow. The cost is $2.50per game, and shoe rental is$2 a pair. Contact the officeat 345-3276 by Thursday.

CUMBERLAND —The annual meeting

will be held at 6:30 p.m.Tuesday, Jan. 25, at theGreenup Municipal Building.Meal will be catered bySaathoff ’s, and Wes Wheelerwill provide the entertain-ment. Contact the FarmBureau at 849-3031 forreservations.

DEWITT — PrimeTimers will sponsor a

trip to Par-A-Dice Casino inEast Peoria Wednesday, Jan.26. A carpool will leave fromthe Farm Bureau office at 10a.m. Contact the FarmBureau office at 217-935-2126 for reservations byMonday, Jan. 24.

EDGAR — FarmBureau will host a

stroke detection clinic from9 a.m. to 4:30 p.m. Monday,Jan. 24, at the Farm Bureaubuilding.

• Larry Acker of 3-F Fore-casts will give his annualweather forecast and marketpredictions at 10 a.m. Thurs-day, Jan. 27. Call 217-465-8511 for reservations.

2011 growing season. Callthe Farm Bureau office forreservations at 686-7070.

• A crop insurance meet-ing is scheduled for 9 a.m.Wednesday, Jan. 26, in theFarm Bureau auditorium.Doug Yoder, Illinois FarmBureau risk management spe-cialist, will discuss 2011 cropinsurance changes andoptions available to farmers.Call the Farm Bureau officefor reservations.

ST. CLAIR — TheYoung Farmers will

hold a blood drive from 3 to7 p.m. Tuesday at the FarmBureau building.

• The annual meeting willbe Friday, Jan. 28, at Augus-tine’s in Belleville. Ticketsare $10 per person and maybe purchased in advance atthe Farm Bureau office. Theentertainment will be musicby Joe Powell. Reservationdeadline is Friday. Call theoffice at 618-233-6800 formore information.

STARK — Members 55and older may attend a

meeting at 8:30 a.m. Fridayto discuss trips and activitiesfor 2011. Rolls, muffins, cof-fee, and juices will be served,and Bingo will follow.

UNION — An On theRoad seminar will be

held at 6 p.m. Monday, Jan.31, at Shawnee College.Kevin Rund, Illinois FarmBureau senior director oflocal government, will be theguest speaker. RSVP to theFarm Bureau office at 833-2125.

VERMILION — TheMarketing Committee

is hosting an “InternationalGrain Markets: ConnectingVermilion County to theWorld” program at 6:30 p.m.Wednesday in the FarmBureau auditorium. Burt

Etchison, Stewart Grain inBismarck, will discuss hiscompany’s container loadingoperation and grain market-ing opportunities. JoeDaughhetee and Phyllis Parkswill talk about their recenttrip to Brazil to learn moreabout our trading competi-tors.

WAYNE — FarmBureau is sponsoring

an ag contracts seminar at 1p.m. Tuesday, Jan. 25, at theFarm Bureau office. LauraHarmon, Illinois FarmBureau senior counsel, willbe the featured speaker. Pre-registration is requested bycalling 618-842-342. Formore information, go to{www.waynecfb.com}.

WINNEBAGO —Farm Bureau will

sponsor a 14-day, 13-nighttrip July 25 through Aug. 7 toAlaska. Tours will includeDenali, McKinley ExplorerRail Discovery Sternwheeler,and a glacier cruise. For moreinformation, contact theFarm Bureau at 815-962-0653.

WOODFORD — Amarketing meeting

will be held at 9 a.m. Tues-day, Jan. 25, in the FarmBureau auditorium. KentStutzman from AdvanceTrading will discuss availablemarketing tools. Terry Blinefrom Roanoke Farmers willoffer local perspective, andJoe Kapraun with GROW-MARK will discuss foreignmarkets and their importanceto agriculture. Call 467-2347for more information.

“From the counties” items aresubmitted by county Farm Bureaumanagers. If you have an eventor activity open to all members,contact your county Farm Bureaumanager.

• A breakfast Market Out-look Seminar will be held at 7a.m. Thursday, Feb. 3, at theFarm Bureau office. DanZwicker of ADM will be theguest speaker. Reservationsshould be made by Monday,Jan. 27, by calling 217-465-8511.

• The annual meeting willbe held Saturday, Feb. 5. Acatered meal will be held atnoon followed by a businessmeeting and entertainmentby the Coon Holler Kids.Reservations must be madeby Jan. 28 by calling 217-465-8511.

HANCOCK — TheHancock County Soil

and Water Conservation Dis-trict will hold an open houseat its office in Carthage from7 a.m. to 5:30 p.m. Thursday.

JACKSON — An Onthe Road seminar will be

held at 6 p.m. Tuesday, Feb.1,at Southern FS, Marion.Kevin Rund, Illinois FarmBureau senior director oflocal government, will be theguest speaker. RSVP to theFarm Bureau office at 684-3129.

• The annual all-committeemeeting will be held at 6 p.m.Thursday, Feb. 3, at 17th St.Bar and Grill annex. Allmembers serving on commit-tees are invited. RSVP to theFarm Bureau office by Mon-day, Jan. 24.

KANKAKEE — TheKankakee County

Farm Bureau GovernmentalAffairs and Marketing Com-mittee will sponsor a WILLAM 580 Market Outlookpanel discussion at 7 p.m.Tuesday at the University ofIllinois Extension office inBourbonnais. Register bycalling the Farm Bureauoffice at 815-932-7471.

LASALLE — TheLaSalle County Farm

Bureau Local Affairs Com-mittee will sponsor an infor-mational meeting aboutapplication of municipalsludge at 10 a.m. Tuesday atPitstick’s Pavilion in Ottawa.On the agenda are Jerry Hut-ton, Illinois EnvironmentalProtection Agency; GaryMcCandless, Illinois Emer-gency Management Agency,and Greg Firrantello, StewartSpreading. For more infor-mation, contact the FarmBureau office at 815-433-0371.

LEE — The applica-tion deadline for the

Lee County Farm BureauFoundation “Books by theBushel” is Feb. 1. Applica-tions are available at theFarm Bureau website{www.leecfb.org}. Contactthe Farm Bureau office at815-857-3531 orleecfb@comcast.net forinformation.

• The application deadlinefor the Lee County FarmBureau Foundation scholar-ships is Feb. 1. High schoolseniors and undergraduatestudents pursuing a degree inagriculture or an agriculture-related field are eligible.Applications are available onthe Farm Bureau website{www.leecfb.org}.

• The Membership Com-mittee is sponsoring a mem-bership appreciation dinnerat 6 p.m. Tuesday, Feb. 8, atthe Amboy CommunityBuilding. A complimentarydinner will be served alongwith a presentation on the2011 growing season. RSVPby Monday, Jan. 24, to theFarm Bureau office at 857-3531 or leecfb@comcast.net.

MERCER — Theannual meeting will

be at 5:30 p.m. Thursday, Jan.27, at the VFW Hall, Aledo.A pork chop dinner will beserved. Cost is $3. Call theFarm Bureau office at 309-582-5116 by Friday for reser-vations or more information.

• A variety of nuts andcandy is available at the FarmBureau office.

MONROE — Agri-culture and rural

issues will be the subject ofan update program at 8:30a.m. Friday at the annex.Sheriff Dan Kelley and rep-resentatives of the conserva-tion police, highway engineer,Natural Resources Conserva-tion Service, Extension, anda grain merchandiser willspeak. Breakfast will beserved. RSVP to 939-6197by Tuesday.

PEORIA — A marketand weather outlook

will be presented at 8:30 a.m.Thursday in the Farm Bureauauditorium. Mike McClellanwill discuss weather for the

IAA Foundation receives $50,000gift from the Monsanto Fund

The IAA Foundation has received$50,000 from the Monsanto Fund, a pri-vate foundation and the philanthropic armof Monsanto Co. This gift will match otherfunding and in-kind support to enhancebiotechnology lessons for Illinois Agricul-ture in the Classroom (IAITC).

“Monsanto Fund has been a long-timesupporter of IAITC,” said Susan Moore,IAA Foundation director. “We are mostgrateful for this gift, which will help trainteachers and educate children about thescience and biotechnology behind the pro-duction of food, fiber, and renewable fueland also help them explore the number ofcareers available related to both scienceand agriculture.”

With dollars donated by the MonsantoFund, IAITC will update biotechnologymaterials by developing a new fourth-grade-level “Ag Mag,” and for the first time, pro-duce a junior-high-level “Ag Mag” to help

reach even more teachers and students. ‘Ag Mags’ continue to be the corner-

stone publications of the IAITC programand our most recognizable materials,” saidKevin Daugherty, education director forIAITC. “Now that we can also incorporatethese lessons into smart board technology,it’s the perfect opportunity to broaden ourscope to include junior high students.”

“We are excited that Monsanto Fund issupporting IAITC’s efforts to teach aboutthe world of biotechnology,” said MindyWhittle, Monsanto soybean industry affairslead and member of the IAITC executivecoalition.

“We believe it is critical for children tohave access to agricultural educationalresources so that they can understand theimportant links between agriculture andscience. IAITC continues to be a leader inproviding quality educational opportunitiesto Illinois youth,” Whittle said.

PROFITABILITY

FarmWeek Page 10 Monday, January 17, 2011

Weight Range Per Head Weighted Ave. Price10 lbs. $33.50-60.00 $49.0240 lbs. $70.98-78.00 $75.9950 lbs. n/a n/aReceipts This Week Last Week

32,118 30,959*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 $71.68 $70.52 1.16Live $50.48 $50.48 0.00

Export inspections

(Million bushels)Week ending Soybeans Wheat Corn1-6-11 38.3 23.7 20.612-30-10 26.7 12.6 22.4Last year 47.1 12.4 24.4Season total 842.0 677.1 598.4Previous season total 798.9 504.4 574.7USDA projected total 1570 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 $107.78 $104.59 3.19Heifers $107.87 $105.00 2.87

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 Change125.34 123.38 1.96

CME feeder cattle index — 600-800 Lbs.

Slaughter Prices - NA

Lamb prices

Agriculture technology guidance offered for 2011BY SID PARKS

In this new year, many ofyou will be evaluating productsor technology for your farm-ing operations.

There willbe numerousopportunitiesto attendgrower meet-ings, tradeshows, orhave directinteractionwith vendors,each of them

holding the “promise” ofimproved efficiency, and big-ger yields.

One topic I offer for yourconsideration: “Do you havethe ability to keep track ofwhere you are as you navigateyour fields this spring?”

Certainly one of the toptechnologies of past few yearsfor precision ag activities isRTK (Real Time Kinematic)GPS differential correction.

Adoption has been steady,but many producers still don’ttake full advantage of thistool. Accuracy varies withproduct type and brand, butauto-steering and autoboom/clutch control onsprayers and planters all canbenefit from RTK accuracy.

In the early days of RTK,most systems utilized a radioreceiver to pick up a localtransmission from a receivermounted on a tripod or tower.

These FM systems are line-of-sight, meaning topographyinfluences distance from thebroadcast tower.

Elevation and frequency ofrepeating signals every fewmiles all contribute to accura-cy and ease of operation.Most tower systems weren’tnetworked together, allowingfor path shift and signal degra-dation as distances increased.

More recent technologiesoffer advantages by utilizing awireless modem in the rovingvehicle rather than a radio toaccess differential correction.The correction signal is trans-mitted via the Internet andbroadcast via cell phone tow-ers, meaning if you have cellphone service, you probablycan use this superior system.

Additional advantagesinclude the potential to trans-mit such files as recommenda-tions or applications, becauseyou can have two-way accessto the Internet.

A relatively new serviceavailable to producers in Illi-nois is MyWay RTK. Most FScompanies are authorizeddealers of this service.

One big advantage of thissystem is the design allowscompatibility with equipmentthat uses industry-standard,open architecture GPS proto-cols.

This is especially beneficialto producers using equipmentfrom multiple manufacturers,

or those who work with ser-vice providers with differentbrands of technology fromtheir own.

There are four basics youwill need to participate: 1 )Animplement that is “RTK

ready” 2) A cellular modem 3)A data plan from your localcell phone service providerand 4)User credentials fromMyWay RTK.

Contact your local FS cropspecialist or precision coordi-

nator for help with these orother production questions.

Sid Parks is GROW-MARK’s manager of precisionfarming. His e-mail address issparks@growmark.com.

Sid Parks

BY DANIEL GRANTFarmWeek

How much impact is strong demand andtight supplies having on crop production needsfor the coming year?

USDA last week projected winter wheatseedings are up 10 percent compared to a yearago, and 2010 corn production is the third-largest on record. Yet prices for both cropscontinued to escalate to historic highs.

“We need more acres and we need goodweather,” said Dan Basse of AgResource Co. dur-ing a teleconference hosted by the CME Group.

USDA last week estimated winter wheatseedings totaled 41 million acres, up 10 percentfrom a year ago but 5 percent below 2009.

In Illinois, planted acres of soft red winterwheat last fall totaled 740,000, up 124 percentfrom the record-low 330,000 acres seeded inthe fall of 2009.

The increase in wheat seedings likely willmake it more difficult for farmers to plantmore corn and soybean acres this spring. Basseestimated U.S. farmers need to increase springplantings by about 5 million acres for corn and2 million acres for beans compared to last yearto meet demand.

U.S. farmers in 2010 harvested about 77 mil-lion acres of soybeans and 81 million corn acres.

“It’s going to be a demonstrative battle,” Bassesaid. The additional acres “will be hard to find.”

Gary Schnitkey, University of Illinois Exten-sion farm management specialist, said current

crop prices favor more corn and soybean plant-ings over other crops.

In Illinois, Schnitkey said recent budget esti-mates favor corn over soybeans in 2011.

The corn-vs.-soybean return from 2000 to2005 averaged $28 per acre more for cornstatewide but from 2006 to 2010 increased toan average of $56 per acre. This year corncould generate as much as $90-plus an acremore than soybeans in the state.

“The move to more corn is likely (on someIllinois farms),” Schnitkey said last week at the Uof I Corn and Soybean Classic in Bloomington.

“But if you’re going to move to more corn,you have to be concerned about controllingcosts. Otherwise, you could see a lot of theadvantage of moving to more corn eliminated.”

Overall, the need for more crop acres isn’tconfined to the U.S., according to Basse. Worldcrop production in recent months has beenlimited by drought in Russia and Argentina andflooding in Australia.

Concerns about lack of moisture in Argenti-na last week prompted USDA to cuts itsArgentine soybean production estimate thereby 1.5 million tons (55.5 million bushels).

“There is no shortage of market-influencingfactors right now,” said Clayton Pope, seniorrisk manager for AgriVisor.

“Carryover is so tight there is greater empha-sis on other world production scenarios. Themarket probably will follow Argentina with amicroscope” the rest of the season, he said.

U.S. farmers plant more wheat; acreage battle looms

PROFITABILITY

FarmWeek Page 11 Monday, January 17, 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

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

CASH STRATEGISTCorn Strategy

�2010 crop: When Marchfutures penetrated the previoushigh, it opened the door for atest of $6.50-$6.60. However,if fresh news doesn’t continueto feed the bull, the market willbecome vulnerable to at least acorrection. Price any bushelsother than “gambling bushels”now. Hedge-to-arrive (HTA)contracts for winter/springdelivery still look like the bestmarketing tool, but checkreturns against storage costs.

�2011 crop: There’s a pos-sibility December futures couldapproach $6 before peaking,but the pattern suggests thiscontract may be close to com-pleting a major move up.Gross income per acre is toohigh not to have some cornpriced. Get caught up now.

�Fundamentals: Withthe January USDA crop reportnow behind us, the market willdepend on demand features tosustain gains. And there aresubtle signals that may not beas robust as some believe.Investment money doesn’tseem to be as interested inbuying commodities asthought just 2 to 3 weeks ago.Soybean Strategy

�2010 crop: The smaller soy-bean production estimate wasthe surprise in the USDA report.Even with the friendliness ofthe numbers, the market willneed help from demand parame-ters to sustain strength, andthey’re looking a little negative.We’d only keep “gambling”inventories at these prices.

�2011 crop: The tighterold-crop structure put a littlemore pressure on the need fornew-crop planting, which maycarry prices slightly higher.Still, it looks like the rally offthe November low, and maybethe summer low, is near com-pletion. We urge you to getcaught up now.

�Fundamentals: The pass-ing of the USDA reports willturn the attention to Argentinaand China. Argentine weatheris expected to improve a littlethis week. And, there’s achance conditions may not getas bad as a typical La Nina yearbecause of warm ocean watersin the Atlantic. There are sub-

tle indications Chinese demandcould slow markedly becauseof poor crush margins and bigport stocks. Wheat Strategy

�2010 crop: Wheat priceshave slipped below key supports,indicating the market could beslipping into a choppy sidewaystrend. A close below $7.42 onthe Chicago March contractwould suggest the trend mightbe turning lower. Completesales if you still have inventory.Because of the futures carry,HTA contracts for win-ter/spring delivery are still themost attractive marketing tool.

�2011 crop: Use rallies above$8.30 on Chicago July 2011futures to make catch-up sales.We’ve even considered adding tothem because of price, but don’twant to get too aggressive aheadof breaking dormancy. If basisis wide on cash contracts, use aHTA contract.

�Fundamentals: The cur-rent USDA report indicatedwheat supplies are adequate tomeet demand with the slightincrease in ending stocks to178 million metric tons. Goingforward, the trade will keep aclose eye on winter conditionsin the U.S. Great Plains, Russia,the Ukraine, and China.

The passing of the JanuaryUSDA reports shifts the mar-kets into a situation in whichthere’s a lull in significant fun-damental changes, especiallyon the supply side.

From a market perspective,bull markets, especially “aging”bull markets, have a need forfresh fuel to keep an existingrally under way. And there issome reason to be concernedthat demand news could turn alittle more negative.

In addition, market bullshave been looking for a freshinflux of outside money tohelp carry prices higher. EarlyJanuary economic and com-modity reports have kept thatmoney sidelined. And nowthere are a few hints thatinflux of money may not be asrobust as once believed.

Fundamental features thatimpact demand for U.S. grainswill dominate the focus overthe next few weeks, at leastuntil March when traders willstart to focus on the prospec-tive planting report coming onMarch 31.

South America and Chinalikely will remain at the top offactors that could impactdemand.

With Chinese President HuJintao due in Washington formeetings with President Oba-ma this week, there’s hope thatadditional grain purchases willbe made. If anything, soy-

Basis charts

beans are the most likely candi-date for any grain business, andgiven short-term conditions inChina, they are more likely tobe new-crop purchases.

Chinese crush margins havefallen back near break-even.Meal demand has been slow,but the cap on soybean oilprices has weakened them aswell. Soybean port stocksremain heavy enough thatsome importers have request-ed a delay on shipments.

Corn purchases by Chinaanytime soon have become a“pipe dream” as well. Nearlyeveryone now believes thisyear’s China crop was very closeto the government projectionof 172 million metric tons(mmt) (6.8 billion bushels).

That’s enough to meetdemand and add 7 to 10 mmtto inventories. Governmentofficials also are said to wantto “kill” any prospect ofimporting corn for govern-ment inventories because ofhigh prices.

South American weather willcontinue to remain on the radar.It’s been especially troublesomein Argentina, in part because ofthe La Nina in the Pacific.

Conditions moderatedsomewhat at the end ofDecember but returned to thewarmer, drier pattern at thebeginning of January. Moregeneral rains are slated toreturn this coming week, withtemperatures dropping back tonear normal.

If this turns into a lastingpattern, and there’s a chance itcould, Argentine soybean out-put might be 45 mmt at worstand maybe even a little better.

At best, though, animprovement in weatherwould only stabilize theArgentine corn crop. Recenttalk has centered around a 20-21 mmt crop, enough to allowthem to export 12-13 mmt.

In Brazil, other than drypockets in the extreme south-ern part of the country, weath-er has been quite good thisyear. There’s increasing talktheir soybean output couldreach 71-72 mmt, a newrecord.

Cents per bu.

Fundamental focus narrows

PERSPECTIVES

FarmWeek Page 12 Monday, January 17, 2011

LETTERS TO THE EDITOR

Equine census, premiseID separate issuesEditor:

I was disappointed that Mr.(Chet) Peugh’s Jan. 3 lettercontained so many misconcep-tions about the proposedequine census. He’s linkingpremise identification with thecensus when they are separateIssues.

Premise registration andanimal identification are sub-ject to review by the member-ship each year, but IllinoisFarm Bureau delegates votedto support voluntary participa-tion in these programs underthe most recent policy resolu-tions enacted last month.

I was a member of the 2010equine GRIT (GrassRoot Issue

Team) commit-tee that draftedpolicy languagecalling forequines to beconsidered aslivestock(instead of com-panion animalsor pets).

That languagewas approved by

the delegate body as were twoother submittals, one seekinglegislation to allow equine har-vesting in Illinois and the othersupporting the developmentand implementation of anequine census.

The reason for supportingan equine census has nothingto do with animal health issues,the lack of federally inspectedslaughter facilities, or the eco-nomic downturn that has cre-ated the overwhelming numberof unwanted and abandonedhorses. These are seriousstand-alone issues.

This proposed census seeksto determine the actual num-ber of equine, as accurately aspossible, so we can show legis-

lators, veterinary services, feedvendors, equipment dealers, andother commodity groups justhow large the economic impactof equine ownership is in thisstate.

We need strength of numbersto help fight off attacks from theextremist anti-livestock groups.

We’re not asking for tax dol-lars, and equine owners indicatethey would prefer third-partydevelopment of the censusrather than some governmentagency. The survey must be lim-ited to basic information so asnot to be ignored and mustreach those owners outside thedatabase of USDA question-naires.

Such a census won’t be creat-ed overnight, but the equine

GRIT committee intends to fol-low through on this project.DAVE SADLER,Fithian

It’s wrong to callestate tax ‘death tax’Editor:

There is no federal death tax,in quotes or otherwise. There isan estate tax. A person’s death isnot taxed — his or her remain-ing assets (estate) are taxed.

To state otherwise in yourpaper is inaccurate.

A person can die and leaveassets valued at $20 million ormore and not pay one cent ofestate tax, if the assets are leftto a surviving spouse. The sameapplies for assets left to a chari-ty.

And now, as of 2011, onlyestates in excess of $5 millionare taxed, so assets up to $5million may be left to childrenor friends and not one cent oftax will be assessed.

If one consults an attorneyor a financial adviser, there areways to legally shelter evenmore assets from the estatetax.

To use the term “death tax”shows a bias on the part ofyour newspaper. It is the samebias that uses the term “Oba-ma care” instead of health carereform.

Does FarmWeek wish tobe accurate or a forum for theconservative agenda?JOAN E. WIFF,Prophetstown

Editor’s note: University of Illinois students inthe College of Agricultural, Consumer, and Envi-

ronmental Sciences embarkon internship experiencesacross the county, state, andeven the world. As futureleaders of the agriculture

and food industry, they have agreed to share some oftheir experiences with FarmWeek readers.

The livestock industry offers challenging careers.Internships provided two seniors studying animal sci-ence at the University of Illinois the opportunity to

work with innovative industry leaders. Theyalso offered a glimpse into one of thelargest family-owned pork farming net-works in the United States.

Katelyn Jones of Saybrook and AmyDaniels of Belle Rive recently completedinternships at The Maschhoffs in Carlyle.The Maschhoffs offer seven to eight intern-ships each summer.

“They are progressive industry leaders –-focused on doing things right, being innov-ative, working with others, and being a goodneighbor,” Jones said.

During her research and innovationinternship, Daniels worked on three mainprojects, including an evaluation of facilityuse and floor space. She studied floor spaceand group size while working in confine-ment buildings and weighing pigs forresearch.

“It was interesting to see how floorspace changes growth by looking at the sta-tistics I found through my research,”

Daniels said. Her second project involved finding and design-

ing ways to measure and review swine health. Muchof her time was spent laying the groundwork for this

project by editing work instructions and protocol forfuture use in health studies.

Daniels’ third project involved evaluating the accu-racy of scales attached to feed bins. She collecteddata, ran reports, and created data tables to calculatethe accuracy of feed measurements from the feedmill, truck, and bin scales.

“I really enjoyed this project because I was able tosee the end result and developed statistics betweenfeeding phases and other aspects that affected accura-cy,” Daniels said.

A mentor was assigned to help Daniels with herprojects. At the end of the summer, the interns pre-

sented reports on their projects. “From top to bottom, everyone works together

and there is a feeling of family throughout the workenvironment,” Daniels said of her Maschhoff experi-ence. “I enjoyed being involved in real-time decisionswith the company as well.”

Jones also was a nutrition research intern for TheMaschhoffs in 2009. Her project involved studyingliquid starter diets in weanling pigs.

The goal was to try to help pigs make the transi-tion from a straight liquid milk diet to an all-solid dietin the nursery phase.

Jones also assisted the other interns with their pro-jects and worked with an umbilical hernia study, floorspace study, and a sire-line trial.

Both Daniels and Jones plan to continue their edu-cations after graduation. Daniels is considering eitherattending veterinary school or pursuing a master’sdegree in swine management.

Jones will begin working on her master’s degree inmeat science next August. She plans to pursue acareer in the swine industry with pharmaceuticals oranimal production and hopes one day to earn a doc-torate and teach at a university.

While Jones’ internships involved working withanimals, she said the people she met and the connec-tions she made were some of her favorite internshipexperiences.

“Not only was I able to work with five of my peerswho taught me a lot and are still good friends ofmine, but I was also able to meet and work with someof the most influential people in the swine industrytoday,” Jones said.

“Each and every person at The Maschhoffs taughtme valuable lessons about the swine industry, generalresearch, work ethic, and life skills,” Jones concluded.

Ellen Reeder is a freshman from Little York studying agricul-ture communications at the University of Illinois College ofAgricultural, Consumer, and Environmental Sciences.

ELLEN REEDER

guest columnist

Letters are limited to 300 words and must in-clude a name and address.

FarmWeek reserves the right to reject anyletter and will not publish political endorsementswill be published.

All letters are subject to editing, and only anoriginal with a written signature and completeaddress will be accepted. A daytime telephone

number is required for verification, but will notbe published.

Only one letter per writer will be accepted in a30-day period. Typewritten letters are preferred.

Please send letters to:FarmWeek Letters1701 Towanda Ave.

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Letter policy

University of Illinois student intern Katelyn Jones of Saybrook records data for her research pro-ject at The Maschhoffs, Carlyle. (Photo courtesy of The Maschhoffs)

LEARNINGLIFE SKILLS Livestock internships show innovations and challenges