Northern Illinois AgMag - 02-21-2013

AG Mag 1

AGMagNorthern Illinois

A Publication of Shaw Media Spring 2013

Water, Please!Their land thirsty for moisture, Sauk Valley farmers mull options as planting draws near

Numbers game: Why data now drives many decisions on today’s farms

Cliff notes: How the ‘fiscal cliff’ dealhelps and hurts you and your neighbors

Wind shift: Opposition to wind farms is now more organized, and more vocal

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4 Spring 2013

Local focus makes Northern Illinois Ag Mag stand out

When we launched the inaugural issue of the Northern Illinois Ag Mag last spring, we set out to create a top-flight agriculture magazine that would stand out compared to all the rest. The way we intended to make it stand out was to make it the most locally focused agriculture publication in the market, and we are happy to say we did exactly that!

The magazine was full of stories about northern Illinois farmers, local experts and trends. We heard a lot of posi-tive feedback from both readers and advertisers, so in 2013, we have committed to producing three issues, with this being the first.

Inside this issue you will be able to read about the local impact last year’s dry weather had on our area and how other growers and agriculture professionals are moving forward. You will find profiles of local growers, yield statis-tics, best practices, technology, and government policies. You may even see names and photographs of people you know. There are even some tasty recipes for those who not only grow food, but who enjoy eating it, too.

Aside from the editorial content, this edition is packed full of locally based advertising about the valuable prod-

ucts and services area agriculture profes-sionals offer. Those of us working to pro-duce this magazine are especially grateful for our advertisers’ support, for without it, producing this publication would not be possible.

The second issue of the Ag Mag will publish in August. It will examine how the growing season is progressing and take a read on how local growers are planning to market their grain and live-

stock. It also will feature vacation opportunities and pro-file area farmers’ favorite trips.

The final issue of the year will published in December, with a two-pronged focus: It will examine how area grow-ers fared in 2013, and then delve into planning for next year.

We hope you enjoy this issue, and we hope you have a great 2013.

Trevis Mayfield,publisher

Message from the Publisher

Trevis MayfieldPublisher

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6 Spring 2013

Articles and advertisements are the property of Sauk Valley Media. No portion of the Northern Illinois Ag Mag may be reproduced without the written consent of the publisher. Ad content is not the responsibility of Sauk Valley Media. The information in this magazine is believed to be accurate; however, Sauk Valley Media cannot and does not guarantee its accuracy. Sauk Valley Media cannot and will not be held liable for the quality or performance of goods and services provided by advertisers listed in any portion of this magazine.

The middle tablesAt the Amboy Family Restaurant on

Main Street, farmers gather for coffee, breakfast and conversation.

IndexPublisher

Trevis Mayfield

Advertising Director Jennifer Baratta

EditorLarry Lough

Magazine EditorsLarry Lough, Jeff Rogers, Kathleen Schultz

Page DesignJeff Rogers

Reporters & PhotographersDerek Barichello, Donna Barker, Pam Eggemeier, David Giuliani,

Kayla Heimerman, Barb Kromphardt, Philip Marruffo, Alex T. Paschal,

Kiran Sood, Nicole Wiegand, and Kyle Wilson

Published bySauk Valley Media3200 E. LincolnwaySterling, IL 61081

815-625-3600

AG Northern IllinoisMag

14COVER STORY

Feeling the Heat Farmers fear another year of drought could

be devastating if commodity prices fall.

31

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10 Spring 2013

IndexUncertainty, still, about Farm BillNo one is happy that the lawmakers in Washington, once again, have kicked the can down the road on the Farm Bill.

22

Legislative priorities

Farmland assessments may be the biggest agricultural

issue to be debated in Springfield. But the state’s

fiscal crisis looms large, too.

25

34 This old farmerDavid Gusse of Lee County says that while much has changed in agriculture, results still matter the most.

Potential tax burdens liftedThe “fiscal cliff” deal in the nation’s capital brought some blessings to farmers in Illinois and across the country.

36

Blowback on wind energy

More and more often, people living near proposed

wind farms are presenting opposition.

40

42 Unwelcome neighborsThe Guithers of rural Walnut say the Big Sky wind farm has changed their lives.

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12 Spring 2013

IndexPlanting by the numbersWhat data do you need to make your operations more efficient? Technology makes getting it easy.

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Recipes from the roadRoot beer float cake is just one of the many tasty recipes you’ll find in the “Lincoln Highway” cookbook.56

Speaking up for agricultureKatie Pratt of rural Dixon is one of four Faces of Farming and Ranching after a national search.

60Early daysof farmingExhibits at the Dixon

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Teaching future farmersAndrew Klein, an Amboy High School senior, already is living his dream of teaching agriculture.

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14 Spring 2013

BY KAYLA HEIMERMANFor Northern Illinois Ag Mag

Ronald Gerken was hit hard by the drought.

The 74-year-old, along with his son, Terry Gerken, farms

1,800 acres of commercial corn, soybeans and wheat without the help of irrigation just west of Sterling in Whiteside County. They harvested 60 to 70 percent fewer bushels of corn and 25 per-cent fewer bushels of soybeans than anticipated last year. Their wheat crop was average.

n n n

The intense 2012 drought parched field crops throughout much of the country, including the top corn-pro-ducing states in the Midwest, and deliv-ered a punishing blow to yields across the nation.

Federal crop insurance, coupled with strong corn prices, made up for some of the loss. But the threat of another dry growing season – with agricultural land thirsty for water after fall rains and early winter snows failed to fully recharge soil moisture – has farmers worried.

Gerken, who blames his unfortu-nate location along a “dry stretch” for his low yields last year, remains hopeful.

“This next year is going to be better,” he predicted.

Gerken, like other farmers in the region, is looking into the latest hybrid seeds, considering those vari-eties of corn that are most drought-resistant.

Feeling

theheatThreat of drought through 2013 has farmers worried

’’‘‘ History tells us not to anticipate the situation will correct completely during this year. It tells us to anticipate the

problem will continue.Elwynn Taylor, a professor of agronomy at Iowa State University

CoNTINUEd oN 154

AG Mag 15

Alex T. Paschal/Northern Illinois Ag MagRon Gerken (right) and his son Terry farm 1,800 acres of commercial corn, soy-beans and wheat west of Sterling. They harvested 60 to 70 percent fewer bushels of corn and 25 percent fewer bushels of soybeans than anticipated last year. Still, Ron says, “this next year is going to be better.” Like other farmers in the region, Gerken is looking into the latest hybrid seeds, considering those varieties of corn that are most drought-resistant.

coNTINued oN 174

The lifelong farmer also could plant a little less corn and a little more soy-beans, hoping the crop, with its lower moisture requirement, can survive on little soil recharge.

How bad was the 2012 drought?

The 2012 drought was the most intense and widespread drought to grip the United States since 1988. It was comparable in severity to the droughts of the mid-1950s, said Elwynn Taylor, a professor of agron-omy at Iowa State University and a climatologist for Iowa State University Extension.

More than 50 percent of the country was experiencing some level of drought conditions as of early January, accord-ing to the U.S. Drought Monitor.

The 2012 drought crippled corn pro-duction after six consecutive years of above-average corn yield, Taylor said. In 2010, when the drought started, output for the first time in six years fell below the average. And in 2011, it fell even further.

“And in 2012, we were not only below the trend, we were in extreme drought,” Taylor said. “So, we had three consecutive years below the trend, and we’re likely moving into two more years.”

Withered crops limped through the

summer on subsoil moisture deep into the ground, Taylor said. But most of that subsoil moisture is gone and has yet to be replaced – a special concern now that the ground has frozen.

“We did not have a full recharge over [the past] winter,” Taylor said. “Some

places had a normal recharge, but half didn’t.”

Irrigated crops did well, said Bob Rosengren, who grows corn and soy-beans in Lee and Whiteside counties.

“Anything under water did survive and was a decent crop,” Rosengren said. “We kind of take it out of Mother Nature’s hands because we can make it rain.”

But according to the 2007 Census of Agriculture, the most recent survey available, only 2.09 percent of har-vested cropland in Illinois is irrigated. In Iowa, that figure is even smaller: 0.79 percent. Those numbers could increase in a 2012 survey that is being compiled.

Most growers slogged through the drought and made up for their losses with crop insurance, said Emily Pratt, a crop insurance specialist for 1st Farm Credit Services in Rock Falls.

“Those with adequate crop insurance were still able to conduct business as usual and even make plans for the com-ing year,” Pratt said. “The insurance made them feel secure in knowing that if they did have a loss, then some or all of their investment would be covered.”

Soil moisture still a concernMost of the country remains in a

drought, according to the U.S. Drought Monitor.

Sarah Brown/Northern Illinois Ag Magcattle close in on Tony Allen of diagonal, Iowa, as he takes feed to the herd. Allen is concerned what a continued drought through 2013 could mean for the more than 300 cattle he owns. “If it doesn’t rain, livestock will go away,” Allen predicted. “You could not buy enough hay to keep cows going.”

4 coNTINued fRoM 14

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AG Mag 17

A three-month drought outlook, released Jan. 3 from the Climate Pre-diction Center of the National Oceanic and Atmospheric Association, showed easing drought in northern Illinois, continued drought with some improve-ment in northwestern Illinois and east-ern Iowa, and persistent or intensified drought throughout much of the rest of the country.

Soil moisture and water levels are at near-record lows – so much so that barge traffic on the Mississippi River has halted – and are not likely to fully recover by spring, said John Eise, a meteorologist for the Central Region of the National Weather Service.

“Even if we received normal precipita-tion this winter, we would still have a deficit in everything from topsoil mois-ture to water levels [in ponds, streams and rivers],” Eise said. “Unless we have some good, wet snows that can perco-late into the soil and recharge the soil moisture, we’re going to have problems going into the spring.”

Corn and soybeans survived the drought on subsoil moisture. Rooting conditions last year were near ideal, and observed corn and soybean roots were 8 to 9 feet in many places, Taylor said.

That deep rooting provided sufficient water to produce decent crop yields but resulted in moisture-depleted soil. Many locations now require 16 to 18 inches of precipitation – because each foot of soil has a capacity for 2 inches of plant-available water – from the past October to May to adequately replenish subsoil moisture, Taylor said.

“That is not likely,” he said. “Judging from normal precipitation and his-tory, it’s not likely the soil will be fully recharged.”

Years of scant moisture, or drought

years, often lead to an immediately sub-sequent year of below-average precipi-tation. After the 1988 and 1956 droughts, for example, 1989 and 1957 saw precipi-tation “shy of the normal,” Taylor said.

“History tells us not to anticipate the situation will correct completely during this year,” he said. “It tells us to antici-pate the problem will continue.”

Forecast is unknownThe spring forecast is fuzzy, at best.Meteorologists look to the tempera-

ture of the surface waters in the Pacific Ocean near the equator to predict the weather. Warmer-than-normal waters are known as El Niño, and cooler-than-normal waters are known as La Niña. The cycle, together called the El Niño/La Niña–Southern Oscillation (ENSO), influences temperature and precipita-tion in the United States.

Meteorologists aren’t seeing much, though. Neither El Niño nor La Niña is dictating the weather right now, said Brad Rippey, an agricultural meteorolo-gist with the USDA.

“We’re in a neutral situation,” Rippey said. “It’s [ENSO] one of the very few things we have to give us some confi-dence in a forecast looking out many, many months, and we don’t have it this winter.”

Meteorologists then look elsewhere – at a mish-mosh of factors that affect weather in ways that are much harder to predict.

“We’ve had highly variable weather so far,” Rippey said. “If I had to go out on a limb, that would be my forecast: peri-ods of stormy weather at times ... a lot of extremes, from mild and dry to cold and stormy.

“I’m afraid to venture a guess into the spring.”

Other experts agree.“We probably will not have a good,

reliable outlook until we get to, let’s say the middle of January, or even to be really sure, to early April,” Taylor said. “Usually by then, we do have weather patterns and a handle on them for what they will be for May through September [the growing season].”

Chuck Rhodenbaugh, who farms 1,600 acres of commercial corn without irrigation in Lee County, is worried less about the persistent dry conditions and more about the falling price of corn.

“I’m worried, yes, that it will be dry and we won’t get the yield we need,” he said. “But I’m more worried about how much the price is going to drop. ... With the high cost of inputs, if that price gets back down to that $3.50 figure, a lot of farm-ers are going to go out of business.”

The drought sent corn prices through the roof – to a record-high of about $8.50 a bushel this past summer – but a return to more normal yields this year could send them spiraling downward, said Chris Hurt, an agricultural econo-mist at Purdue University Extension.

The USDA predicts the midpoint on 2012 corn will be $7.60 a bushel. If yields are more normal in 2013, the price could fall to $5.50, the largest ever year-to-year drop, Hurt said. But prices won’t move sharply lower until produc-tion becomes more assured as the sea-son progresses, he added.

4 Continued from 15

’’‘‘ those with adequate crop insurance were still able to conduct business as usual and even make plans

for the coming year.emily Pratt, crop insurance specialist in rock falls

’’‘‘even if we received normal precipitation this winter, we

would still have a deficit in everything from topsoil moisture to water levels [in ponds, streams and rivers].

John eise, meteorologist for the national Weather Service

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Beginning---Chartered in 1865 by a special act of the Illinois General Assembly to write farm property throughout the state, PLN Mutual Insurance Company was founded by area farmers because the eastern insurance companies of the day would not provide aff ordable insurance to the area.

Benjamin Franklin’s model---� e company was founded as a mutual insurance company modeled on the original mutual founded by Benjamin Franklin in Philadelphia in 1752. � e fi rst board of directors of the company were farmers from Palmyra Township, Lee County, and business began under the name of Farmers’ Mutual of Palmyra Township.

Historic farm mutuals---Since 1990, the company has combined with four other historic farm mutuals in the area. Lincoln Mutual of Mt. Morris (founded in 1860), Nashua Mutual of Oregon (founded in 1877), Buff alo Mutual of Polo (founded in 1874), and Lanark Mutual of Lanark (founded in 1874) along with Farmers’ Mutual of Palmyra now comprise the company.

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22 Spring 2013

Photo illustration by Alex T. Paschal for Northern Illinois Ag Mag

By PAM EggEMEIErFor Northern Illinois Ag Mag

In a business where uncertainty is a constant occupational hazard, the recent one-year extension of the 2008 Farm Bill does little to alleviate farm-

ers’ fears of the unknown.The Farm Bill extension was part of the

last-minute “fiscal cliff” deal that was bro-kered in Congress on New Year’s Day. While more than 35 programs set to expire will now be authorized to operate at last year’s spending levels, farm advocates and legisla-tors say they are disappointed in the inabil-ity of Congress to give farmers the security of a new five-year deal that would make it easier for them to plan.

“Uncertainty is the big thing,” said Adam

Nielsen, director of national legislation and policy development for the Illinois Farm Bureau. “Farmers are hoping that we’re not on a treadmill of Farm Bill extensions.”

Newly sworn-in 16th District Congressman Adam Kinzinger of Illinois said the uncer-tainty that lingers with the extension has been the biggest agricultural concern voiced by farmers in his district.

“Without knowing which insurance pro-grams, or possible new regulations may be placed upon their industry, farmers are left vulnerable when deciding which crops, feed, or investments they should make for years to come,” Kinzinger said.

KicKing the can Down the RoaD, againUncertainty for farmers remains after another extension of the Farm Bill by Congress

coNTINuEd oN 244

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Kinzinger said that the impact of last year’s drought and historically slow economic growth make a five-year Farm Bill even more important.

Nielsen believes the extension is doubly frustrating because much of the heavy lifting for a new bill had been done, and a cash-strapped federal government stood to save a substantial amount of money in farm subsidy concessions. A bill passed by the Senate included savings of about $23 billion over 10 years. Another version in the House contained $35 billion in cuts, but a finished product never made it out of the House.

“Negotiations were taking place in December 2011,” Nielsen said. “We basically had the bill then, but it failed in the supercommittee. Now we’re back to square one.”

Randy Faber of Sublette was one of 14 state farmers to participate in the Illinois Farm Bureau’s Leaders in Washington trip in mid-September. The delegation had the opportunity to talk to legislative leaders one-on-one about the need for a new Farm Bill and participate in a rally at the Capitol. While Faber said it was a productive trip, his excitement was tem-pered by a healthy dose of reality.

“There was a lot of enthusiasm at the rally, and I was kind of surprised by the optimism by the congressmen,” Faber said.

“I just personally never did think we would get this done by the end of the year.”

Faber said he knew that the proposed cuts to the food stamp program would be a huge roadblock to getting a deal out of the House. The House version of the bill called for $16.5 billion in cuts, over a 10-year period, to the Supple-

mental Nutrition and Assistance Pro-gram (SNAP), which makes up more than 75 percent of the Farm Bill budget. Democrats feared that the cuts would eliminate food stamps for up to three million Americans.

4 Continued from 22

Continued on 264

david rauch/for northern illinois Ag magrandy faber, who farms near Sublette in Lee County, said that while he “was kind of surprised by the optimism of congressmen” during an illinois farm Bureau Leaders visit with lawmakers in Washington in mid-September, he never expected a new farm Bill to be passed by the end of 2012.

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BY PAM EGGEMEIERFor Northern Illinois Ag Mag

Taxes were the predominant theme for agriculture lobbyists in Washington at the beginning of 2013, and the same holds true in Springfield.

State Rep. Frank Mautino, D-Spring Valley, has been spearheading efforts to ensure that taxes on farmland are assessed in a fair manner. Legislation has yet to be introduced, but the Illinois Farm Bureau has been working with the Illinois Department of Revenue in an attempt to keep farmers’ taxes from skyrocketing this year.

The Department of Revenue supports a proposal that would change how farmland values are determined. Since 1977, the taxes have been based on the land’s production rather than its mar-ket value. Because of wild fluctuations, in 1986 local governments instituted tax caps to make it easier for them and school districts to budget.

The Farm Bureau is lobbying to make sure the land continues to be taxed based on productivity, but it wants to fix the distor-tions created by the tax caps, according to Kevin Semlow, Illinois Farm Bureau director of state legislation.

“The most important thing is to make sure the Illinois Farmland Assessments law is fair for everyone, and the distortions in the tax rates are addressed,” Semlow said.

The proposal would limit changes in the certified values of soils to 10 per-cent for Illinois’s medium cropland soil rather than the current 10 percent limit that now applies across the board.

State Rep. Jim Sacia, R-Pecatonica,

has been on the Agriculture and Con-servation Committee all 10 years he has served in the General Assembly and serves as House minority spokesman for agriculture. He says that this issue has huge implications for farmers.

“Farmers have seen farmland assess-ment change dramatically, and I think this is the biggest agriculture issue in Illinois right now,” Sacia said.

While farmland assessments are directly related to taxes, Semlow says the Farm Bureau believes that the state’s budget-ary problems, particularly $94 billion in unfunded pensions, also are tax issues that profoundly affect everyone in Illinois.

“This is the biggest issue in the Gen-eral Assembly, and we [Farm Bureau] have worked closely to bring about true pension reform,” Semlow said. “The pension issue ultimately is about a shift in who pays.”

Tax issues at top of legislative agenda At the Statehouse

Rep. Jim Sacia: Says farmland

assessment “the biggest agricultur-al issue in Illinois

right now”

CONTINUED ON 29

26 Spring 2013

He also understood the gravity of the fiscal cliff negotiations, which forced the Farm Bill to take a back seat.

“There’s a $16 trillion debt,” Faber said. “You can’t keep kicking the can down the road when no one can tell you when you’re going to hit the wall. All you have to do it look at what’s happened in Greece and the rest of Europe.”

Congress and the ag community agree that the Farm Bill is outdated and the extension merely delays reform efforts. Most heavily debated in the reform conversation is the funding for safety net programs, which are now extended in their current form for another year.

As crop prices have gone up during the period covered by the 2008 Farm Bill, crop insurance has clearly emerged as the risk management tool of choice in the Mid-west. Direct payments have become the poster child of an antiquated Farm Bill.

The main objective for lobbyists in the next bill will be to protect the crop insurance programs that now cost the federal government about $9 billion a year, Nielsen said.

“We’re not pushing for direct pay-ments, but now we have them for another year,” he said.

“It’s a great example of how this bill is out of step with the times. Farm Bureau is focused on preserving and enhancing crop insurance, but this is a symptom of a process that broke down.”

The ag sector booked record profits of $122 billion in 2012, fueling the argu-ment to cut subsidies. Many farmers seem to have accepted the likelihood that direct payments are living on bor-rowed time. Some would even like to see them disappear.

Jim Schielein, a grain producer in Lee and Ogle counties in northern Illinois, served 10 years on the IFB board. He says he was in favor of doing away with direct payments in the 2008 Farm Bill.

“We could see it coming,” he said. “Direct payments had their time and place, but they became untenable. With prices recovering as they have, why are we getting these dollars?”

Scott Irwin, professor of agriculture and consumer economics at University of Illinois, agrees that fixed direct sup-ports are “dead on arrival,” but agricul-ture lobbyists want the next Farm Bill to include a different, more modern sort of safety net system in exchange.

“They are proposing replacement pro-grams that work in conjunction with crop insurance and vary with market condi-tions,” he said. “I think the biggest con-cern for farmers this year is how robust the safety net will be in the next Farm Bill.

But making concessions during good farm times can be a slippery slope, especially now that the Farm Bill is likely to be drawn up while the debt ceiling deadline and appropriations bill expiration both loom on March 27.

Jerry Quintin, director of the Lee County Farm Service Agency, says the next Farm Bill must not “throw out the baby with the bathwater” just because this year was the first time in 30 years that prices have exceeded production costs. There will always be numerous factors that farmers can’t control.

“We can’t forget the essence of these programs,” he said. “We have to remem-ber the cyclical nature of farming and what we needed to do to get to the good times. We had $5 corn in ’96-’97, and then

$1.40 corn in ’98-’99. Lee County received about $25 million in drought insurance in 1988-’89. We lost a lot of farmers that year, but the insurance saved us.”

Newly elected U.S. Rep. Cheri Bustos of the 17th District in northwest Illinois, who received an appointment to the House Agriculture Committee, will work with the committee to craft the next Farm Bill. She said she will listen closely to her constituents to gauge their priori-ties. She said she was disappointed that a long-term bill wasn’t completed in the last Congress, but she understands that reconciling subsidies with the current budgetary crisis will be challenging.

“The lack of certainty puts farmers in Illinois in a difficult position when it comes to planning, and it also impacts investment in agriculture,” Bustos said. “We need to have subsidy reform, but also need to remember that farmers are at the mercy of Mother Nature. They do need some kind of safety net in place, such as a strong crop insurance program.”

Bustos believes there will be an important teaching aspect to her com-mittee work on the Farm Bill.

“It is important to educate Congress about how a Farm Bill is beneficial to everyone – not just those in agricultural districts – because of the impact it has on things like food prices and food safety,” Bustos said.

4 Continued from 24

AP photoCongressman Adam Kinzinger, a republican who now serves the 16th district in illinois, said “farmers are left vulnerable” in decisions about crops, feed and investments because of the uncertainty about the future of the farm Bill.

’’‘‘ negotiations were taking place in december 2011. We basically had the bill then, but it failed in the supercommittee.

now we’re back to square one.Adam nielsen, director of national legislation and policy

development for the illinois farm Bureau

’’‘‘ the lack of certainty puts farmers in illinois in a difficult position when it

comes to planning, and it also impacts investment in agriculture.

Congresswoman Cheri Bustos, d-east moline

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Semlow says the pension reform proposals that are being discussed are based on one overriding premise – a shift to property taxes.

“A shift to more land-based taxa-tion obviously means that farmers will shoulder more of the burden,” he said.

Farm Bureau’s top stated state legisla-tive priority for 2013 is to push for pas-sage of a budget that preserves current levels of funding for core ag programs without tax increases.

“Ag has been put in a hard spot the last 10 years,” Semlow said. “There have been dramatic cuts to staff in inspections, process permits, soil and conservation districts.

“We know the economy has been tough, but we need to preserve what we have.”

Farmers also are taking a keen interest in energy issues, which promise to be at hot state legislative topic. Sacia says that extracting oil, gas, and even coal-based energy through rock formations, known as hydraulic fracturing, has become a heated issue.

“There is a tremendous push on frack-ing,” Sacia said. “It’s going to affect the ag community because they own the land, and many environmental groups are getting involved.”

Fracking allows gas and oil to be extracted from areas previously not thought possible. While supporters point to its importance in creating a more self-sufficient energy policy and the jobs it is creating, opponents says there are environmental hazards to groundwater and the air.

Farm Bureau supports legislation to set regulations for fracking that protect the land and water. In the renewable energy arena, ag lobbyists also would like to see legislation passed that brings consistency to wind power develop-ment – particularly in how landowners’ rights are protected.

Another problem Illinois farmers face is not a new one. Environmental regulations, especially on livestock farmers, will continue to be an issue in 2013. Sacia, who was born on a dairy farm and continues to farm as an “avo-cation,” believes that the EPA comes down too hard on livestock producers.

“This is an ongoing problem,” he said. “EPA makes it tough on livestock and dairy, in my opinion overly so. Farmers

are actually the best environmentalists; they have a long history of taking care of the land.”

Semlow doesn’t anticipate any huge changes regarding environmental issues and says that those issues are primarily handled through the admin-istrative rule-making process.

The 98th General Assembly represents a considerable changing of the guard. Its 41 new members will have a small learning curve in dealing with a legisla-tive agenda full of critical and conten-tious issues. Sacia says that shouldn’t be a problem.

“They have to hit the ground run-ning,” he said. “Within 6 months, you’re a reasonably effective legislator; after a year, you should be speaking up on issues and in committee.”

Semlow agrees that the high turnover shouldn’t slow the process.

“They catch on quickly, but it will be interesting to see how the freshmen handle it,” Semlow said. “With the large influx of new people, it should produce a lot of new ideas.”

4 Continued from 25

’’‘‘ Ag has been put in a hard spot the last 10 years. there have been dramatic cuts to staff in inspections, process

permits, soil and conservation districts.Kevin Semlow, illinois farm Bureau director of state legislation

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Alex T. Paschal/For Northern Illinois Ag MagCoffee, breakfast and conversation are doled out liberally during the morning rush at the Amboy Family Restaurant. Two long tables sit in the middle of the restaurant. That’s where the early-morning, pre-dawn crowd typically gathers. When they’re not talking, farmers come to enjoy the eggs, pancakes and breakfast meals served at the restaurant.

BY KIRAN SOODFor Northern Illinois Ag Mag

The Amboy Family Restaurant doesn’t have a Farmer’s Skillet on its menu, but it does have a

lot of farmers.On an especially cold January morn-

ing, the inside of the restaurant on Main Street in Amboy was buzzing with local farmers getting their day started with a cup of coffee.

Almost every morning, farmers from Amboy, Lee Center and elsewhere gather at the local diner to talk about anything and everything.

Near the front counter of the cozy Amboy restaurant were framed photographs, a cal-endar, a Christmas stocking and even a mini remedy store, complete with Tylenol, Advil and Motrin for sale.

The middle of the restaurant is lined with two long tables. That’s where the early-morning, pre-dawn crowd typically gathers.

The Family Restaurant is like the town cen-ter. Almost any topic is fair game for discus-sion.

One topic dominated the conversation one recent morning – the severe drought that has hit the area.

“We need water,” Larry Clayton said simply.

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Clayton, 62, lives and farms corn and soybeans in the Harmon area. “If you don’t have water, it’s tough to do anything.”

Clayton said yields on his farm were down as a result of the drought. He called the drought of 2012 larger than the drought of 1988.

“You can’t do anything about the drought; [you’re] at the mercy of the Lord,” he said. “Sometimes it gives you a reality check of who’s boss.”

Clayton sat across the table from friend Bill Eisenberg of Amboy. The two talked about the impact of the drought on consumers. Both sipped coffee. Coffee was not all that Clayton had for breakfast. He was having his regular: peanut butter and jelly on an English muffin.

When he gets to the Family Restaurant, he usually asks Tammy Mezo, the waitress, for a “Hockey puck.” She knows exactly what he means.

Farmers can’t let food prices go to the point where people can’t afford to buy goods, Clayton says.

Although the drought has impacted Clayton and his corn and soybean farm, he said he’s “got no complaints.”

“You get a good year, save it for a bad year,” he said. “You learn to manage money well.”

He was soon joined at the long table by Kenny Shaw. As each farmer enters the res-taurant, he gets greeted per-sonally by others at the table.

For Shaw, it was not coffee,

but hot tea in his cup. He spread jam on toast for his breakfast. Shaw, 81, farms corn and hogs and lives in Lee Center Township.

Another farmer, Tom Mead, said the persistent drought has him worrying about the upcoming year. Mead lives west of Amboy, where he farms green beans, lima beans, sweet corn and soybeans.

He said frost would improve the tilth of the soil. Condi-tions are still very dry, and not just in this area, he said.

Although the conversa-tion focused on the drought, Mead, 64, said the men don’t shy away from any topic.

4 Continued from 31

Alex t. Paschal/for northern illinois Ag magKenny Shaw, 81, of Lee Center talks about the upcoming growing season. Shaw farms corn and hogs.

AG Mag 33

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Larry Clayton, 62, of Harmon listens and chats with the fellas at the Amboy Family Restaurant on a cold Thursday morning in January.

Photos by Alex T. Paschal/For Northern Illinois Ag MagTom Mead (right) of Amboy smiles while catching up with the guys at the Amboy Family Restaurant. Mead, 64, lives west of Amboy and farms green beans, lima beans, sweet corn and soybeans.

They have discussed local politics, the school system, new farm equipment, GPS, and even the recent push for the 1 percent sales tax ref-erendum in Dixon and Lee County, Mead said.

Most farmers seem more focused on coffee and catch-ing up than they are on what’s on the menu. But the Amboy Family Restaurant does have a wide variety of food, including eggs, pan-cake and breakfast meats.

Through the winter, the restaurant serves two eggs, toast and a choice of bacon or sausage for farmers, Mezo

said. Specialty items include omelettes and skillets.

Mezo has been a wait-ress at the restaurant for four years. She handles the morning crew on her own until her shift ends at 1 p.m.

As conversation continued at the table, Mezo made her way to each farmer and kept their mugs full.

The farmers often talk about politics, Mezo said before the morning regulars arrived.

Asked whether a conversa-tion has ever gotten heated, Mezo said no.

“More or less they aggra-vate one another,” she said.

34 Spring 2013

By Derek BarichelloFor Northern Illinois Ag Mag

Ask Lee County farmer David Gusse what’s changed since he started farm-

ing, and he’ll say “a whole heckuva lot.”

The 72-year-old, who farms corn and soybeans southeast of Dixon, has seen technol-ogy improve yields and change the approach and technique of farming that his son will carry into the next generation.

“Why do we do things the

way we do?” the fifth-genera-tion farmer asked to himself. “Because we can. Almost every decision made in farm-ing has been based on the end result.”

Gusse’s son, Matt, is put-ting records of his yields in a computer and analyzing the data. Jim uses global positioning systems to determine the exact location of crops, fertilizer and pes-ticides.

David proudly boasts that the old way of doing things was just as accurate, but con-cedes one factor.

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AG Mag 35

Photo submitted by David GusseDavid Gusse, a fifth-generation Lee County farmer, poses in front of an Oliver 1600 tractor his father bought in 1963. The tractor was painted by his grandson, Philip Barlow, and still is operational. Gusse used the tractor for many years spraying and planting.

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“It just took us longer,” said David, who graduated with an agriculture degree from the University of Illinois. “A lot longer, but we’d always be in range.”

When David started farm-ing with his father, they used a four-row corn planter with a 40-inch spacing. This past year, Matt used a 24-row, 30-inch planter.

Back then, harvest time meant corn was picked and stored in the crib, fed to pigs and dairy cows, and if there was some left, it would be shelled and sold.

Now, corn is harvested with a combine, yields are higher and the majority of it is sold as a cash crop.

Productive farms used to be 160 acres; now, David said, 1,000-plus acres are needed to make a good living.

“Harvest is the engine that drives farming,” he said. “We

can harvest more efficiently and it’s led to the growth and size of farms.”

David said he learned a lot from working with his father, especially from his father’s experiences.

“Dad never went on a limb with things,” he said. “I wasn’t that way. I’d take a chance. I had two ways of looking at things; I don’t know if I ought to do this, but if I do, how are we going to make it work?”

David said his mistakes have taught his son the most, too.

“Unfortunately, that’s the way it goes,” he said. “It’s those big moments that you watch and say, ‘I don’t want to go down that road.’”

There have been some hard times for David and his fam-ily.

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BY Pam EggEmEiErFor Northern Illinois Ag Mag

With taxes taking center stage late last year in the looming fiscal cliff negotiations, farm-ers and their tax planners were hoping for the best but preparing for the worst as 2012 came to a close.

While all the uncertainty over ag-related tax issues made planning difficult, the deal reached late on New Year’s Day not only included a one-year extension of the 2008 Farm Bill provisions, but some big tax victories that farm lobby-ists had pushed hard for in 2012.

n n n

According to CPA John Berge, the three most important tax changes set for 2012 were a sizable decrease in the Section 179 expense deduc-tion, the expiration of the bonus depreciation allowance, and the antic-ipation of higher estate taxes. Now none of those changes will come to fruition this year.

“This allows farmers to have more options for 2013 and gives them more flexibility,” Burge said.

Section 179 and the bonus depreciation allowance, often used in tan-dem, provide write-offs for equipment purchases that can help to shel-ter income during good years.

TAX CLOUDS LIFTEDFarmers score victories

in fiscal cliff deal

continuEd on 384

Photo illustration by alex t. Paschal/For northern illinois ag mag

38 Spring 2013

Before the fiscal cliff deal, the dol-lar limit for the Section 179 expense deduction was to drop from $500,000 to $139,000 for 2012, and all the way back to $25,000 for 2013. The 100 percent bonus depreciation allowance applies to qualifying property with a longer shelf life acquired after Sept. 8, 2010. The 50 percent bonus depreciation allowance applies to qualifying prop-erty acquired after Dec. 31, 2007. Both bonus depreciation allowances were to expire in 2012.

Now the maximum Section 179 deduction remains at $500,000 for 2012 and 2013. The 50 percent bonus depre-ciation allowance is extended through 2013. The ceiling for equipment eligi-bility also has been lifted to $2 million, instead of the $560,000 asset maximum that had triggered a phase-out of Sec-tion 179.

Berge said the extension of those write-offs at their current rates is important in stimulating small business and agriculture.

“Farming is a very capital-intensive business,” he said. “It takes a lot of capital to be successful. We saw a lot of equipment being purchased in 2011, and fewer capital purchases in 2012 because of the possibility of the tax changes. When the tax burden is less,

it’s a real incentive to invest in new technology.”

Illinois Farm Bureau members made federal tax issues a big priority in 2012, and lobbyists turned up the heat on Congress by putting out a legislative action request from Nov. 30 to Dec. 7. The result was close to 4,000 partici-pants banding together in support of retaining current estate tax and capital gains provisions, and extensions of the Section 179 deduction, as well as exten-sions of the renewable fuels and energy tax credits.

The estate tax keeps the personal exemption at $5 million for an indi-vidual and $10 million for couples. The exemption will be adjusted for infla-tion, making it $5.12 million in 2012 and about $5.25 million in 2013.

A worst-case scenario had the estate tax exemption falling to $1 million and the tax rate jumping from 35 percent to 55 percent. Earlier in the year, the Obama administration had been lean-ing toward a lower exemption of $3.5 million and a 40 percent tax rate. The tax rate is bumped to 40 percent, but retaining the permanent $5 million exemption was a big win.

“The fiscal cliff was all about tax issues,” said Adam Nielsen, director of national legislation and policy devel-opment for Illinois Farm Bureau. “The estate tax is done and it’s a great out-

come. We were really afraid the estate tax would drop to three-and-a-half mil-lion. We can live with the extra 5 per-cent on the tax rate.”

Berge believes the $5 million exemp-tion is a fair amount, especially given the way farmland values have been rising.

“If this exemption would have dropped to $1 million, it would have excluded very few people,” Berge said. “The huge run-up in farm val-ues is what was really scaring people. The increases were far outpacing the exemption.”

Lee County farmer Randy Faber is on the Illinois Beef Association Board and active in Illinois Farm Bureau lobby-ing efforts. He said that if the $5 million estate tax exemption had been reduced, it would have caught people who thought the tax would never touch them.

“Today’s farmers need at least 700 acres to make a comfortable living,” Faber said. “With land values going up the way they are, 100 acres is worth about $1.4 million. I think congressmen understood the problem.”

Jim Schielein grows corn, beans and wheat in Lee and Ogle counties, and spent 10 years on the Illinois Farm Bureau Board of Directors. He said that tax policy has been at the top of agricul-ture’s legislative agenda for several years.

4 Continued from 37

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AG Mag 39

By Donna BarkerFor Northern Illinois Ag Mag

With the April 15 tax deadline approaching, Illinois farmers are look-ing at income and expenses, and what can be done to make the most of both.

Sharon Mercer, owner of 13 H&R Block franchises in north central Illi-nois, said most farmers come into H&R Block offices during November and December for tax planning – to look at where they stand with all their expenses and income. In Illinois, farmers are not required to file a quarterly estimate, as long as two-thirds of their gross income comes from farming.

When looking at tax planning, Mercer said farmers have the ability to con-trol their level of income by putting some crops in storage and waiting for the new year – and, hopefully, better prices. This year, a lot of farmers sold their crops before the end of the year

because of the uncer-tainty of what would happen with the coun-try’s “fiscal cliff,” she said.

Mercer said another tax planning consid-eration is how the farmer will handle the “expensing” (write-off) of a new piece of equipment or machinery in the year of purchase. The purchase would have to be made by Dec. 31 of the tax year, but the decision on how to handle the depreciation does not have to be made until the tax return is prepared. Buy-ing a piece of machinery or equipment gives the farmer leeway in helping to control his level of income for the year, she said.

For 2012, a farmer can expense up to 50 percent of the cost of an item up to $139,000, depending on the farmer’s income. Previously, the farmer could expense up to 100 percent of the cost of an item, up to $500,000, again depend-ing on the farmer’s income.

Mercer said another consideration at

tax time is the federal bonus deprecia-tion, which is not based on income. Since Illinois does not allow for a bonus depreciation, a portion of the federal bonus depreciation is added back on the state return.

It’s also possible for farmers to take advantage of farm income averag-ing. To qualify for that benefit, Mercer said, a person must be in the farming business in that year as an individual, as a partner in a partnership, or as a shareholder in an agricultural corpora-tion. The income averaging is based on income from the three prior years as well as the current year, though the person did not have to be a farmer in the prior three years.

Looking ahead to the tax filing dead-line, Mercer said farmers who do not file quarterly must file a tax return by March 1 and pay any owed balance in full in to avoid a penalty for not filing a quarterly estimate. However, an excep-tion to the March 1 deadline allows the farmer to file one estimate payment by Jan. 31, giving until April 15 to file a final return. If the farmer does file quar-terly, the deadline is April 15 as it is for everyone else, Mercer said.

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Shaw Media file photoAn aerial view of the Big Sky wind farm near Ohio. Opposition to such wind farms in Illinois is growing more organized and vocal as those who live near them relate their experiences to others.

BY DAVID GIULIANIFor Northern Illinois Ag Mag

Wind farms go back only a decade in Illinois. The first one was Mendota Hills, near Paw Paw, a small village in the northwestern part of the state.

Lee County officials quickly approved the 63-turbine wind farm. The county’s zoning panel met just one night on the proposal.

n n n

In the years since, the county has given the green light for other wind farms – with essentially no opposition.

That’s not surprising. As the wind energy industry is quick to point out, poll after poll shows an overwhelming percentage of Americans support alternative energy.

But those who live near wind farms often are unhappy with turbines in their midst. They complain about the noise, shad-ow flicker and vibrations, among other things.

And they’re relating their experience to others. As a result, opposition to wind farms is becoming more organized – and more vocal.

The latest wind farm in northwestern Illinois – the three-county Green River project of Ireland-based Mainstream Renewable Energy – was bogged down for much of 2012 with hearings.

Neighbors of the proposed site attended public meetings regularly. But so did people from areas near other wind farms. They had nothing good to say about living near turbines.

One of those people is Lee County farmer Wesley Englehart, who lives in the middle of a wind farm near the small village of Compton. Five turbines are on his property.

Opposition to turbines becomes more organized

The wind of opporTuniTy?

cONtINUeD ON 414

He has a little advice for farmers who are approached by wind farm companies: “Run like hell the other way.”

In June, a 72-turbine wind farm – known as Shady Oaks – went online in Lee County’s Brooklyn Township. It started with some fan-fare. In late May, Illinois Lt. Gov. Sheila Simon climbed up the inside of one of the turbines.

During a brief presentation beforehand, wind farm supporters spoke of the jobs that wind farms bring to a community. And three school superintendents – invited by wind farm compa-nies – touted the benefits of increased preoperty tax revenue from turbines.

“All that good news without mentioning renew-able energy,” Simon said.

No wind farm opponents showed up. They hadn’t been invited.

So what does Englehart have against turbines?They’re noisy, he said. While in his garage, he

told a reporter to listen. A humming sound could be heard from nearby turbines.

He also said a turbine across the road will cause shadow flicker for a couple of hours later in the day during winter.

Years ago, Bruce Papiech of nearby Sublette approached Englehart about the wind farm that he was planning for Brooklyn Township.

At the time, Englehart felt comfortable with the idea. He signed a lease.

“I thought we were dealing with a local person,” Englehart said. “Pretty soon, he sold out.”

4 Continued from 40

Continued on 434

Alex t. Paschal/for northern illinois Ag magKatherine and Kendall Guither of rural Walnut say the 50 turbines they can count from their property in northern Bureau County have drastically changed their lives. read their story on Page 42.

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42 Spring 2013

BY DAVID GIULIANIFor Northern Illinois Ag Mag

WALNUT – Katherine and Kendall Guither, who have lived on their farm for 35 years, like the quiet in the coun-try. They don’t want to move.

Two years ago, the Big Sky wind farm went up in northern Bureau County. The Guithers can count 50 turbines from their property.

Their house is at one corner of their farm. Both of the farms next to their house have turbines – one within a quarter of a mile.

The Guithers say the turbines have dras-tically changed their lives. The noise is constant – either humming or pulsating.

They can’t keep the window open at night because the noise will keep them up, they say. So they have to rely on air

conditioning, which Katherine, in par-ticular, doesn’t like.

The level of the noise varies. It’s loud-er when it’s foggy and lower when the crops are further along because they absorb the sound, the Guithers say.

The owners of the next-door farms don’t have to worry about the wind farm’s noise. They don’t live there.

“They’re absentee landlords,” Kather-ine said.

Another wind energy company asked whether the Guithers were interested in having turbines on their property. They were not.

“They [companies] don’t want to talk dollars until you say you’re interested,” Kendall said. “If you’re interested, you have to sign a gag order.”

They admit they once had a more favor-able view of wind farms, which often is the case with people who turn into opponents. They say the nuisance becomes obvious when living next to turbines, something not so apparent to people who merely drive by.

Asked whether they would leave, the Guithers said no. The farm has been in Kendall’s family for generations.

“This is a centennial farm,” he said. “We like it here. We were here first. We shouldn’t be pushed out.”

The Guithers are among many who have complained about the noise of turbines.

Wes Slaymaker of Madison, Wis.-based Wes Engineering Inc. has been an expert witness for wind energy companies. Yet he concedes the noise can be a bother.

“I own a farm. We go up there in the summer,” he said. “I appreciate the quiet. If a big wind farm moved in, I would say, ‘Oh, man!’ I wouldn’t be excited.”

At the same time, Slaymaker said, society needs more renewable energy, which is better for the environment.

He said turbines shouldn’t be put too close to residents. Neighbors – those within, say, a third of a mile – should get payments, he said.

“The community needs to share in the benefits,” Slaymaker said.

Farmers upset about nearby turbines

Alex T. Paschal/For Northern Illinois Ag MagWhile Katherine and Kendall Guither don’t have any wind turbines on their farm in northern Bureau County, they have to deal with the flicker and sounds from the more than 50 they can count from their property. Their next-door neighbors – “absentee landlords,” Katherine said – had turbines as part of the Big Sky wind farm.

‘We shouldn’t be pushed

out’

AG Mag 43

Mainstream Renewable Power ended up with the project, then sold it to Goldwind USA, a subsidiary of a Chi-nese company. (One objection to wind farms is that many are foreign-owned.)

For farmers who are interested in hav-ing turbines on their properties, Engle-hart advises them to put the towers farther from their homes. In his case, one turbine is within a quarter mile of his home. Four others are within a half mile.

Landowners, including Englehart, typ-ically enter confidentiality agreements with wind energy companies, which means they are not supposed to reveal what they’re paid. However, he said he understands that his neighbors get the same amount – a flat fee every year.

Farmers ‘thrilled with turbines’

Windustry, a Minneapolis-based wind energy information organization, states on its website that wind lease terms can vary. But the rule of thumb is that land-owners are given $2,500 to $5,000 a year for each turbine, the group said. Larger turbines can mean bigger payments.

One industry group estimates an even higher number for farmers’ turbine payments. The Iowa Wind Energy Asso-

ciation says farmers get an average of $6,000 a year for each turbine in the Hawkeye State. Its executive director, Harold Prior, says he knows of a farmer in northwestern Iowa who gets $10,000.

“The farmers I speak with are thrilled with turbines,” he said. “They wished they had more of them.”

Prior estimates that about half of farmers who host turbines live on their farms. Many of their neighbors get “good neighbor” payments from wind energy companies, but he didn’t know how much they received.

As for noise, Prior said, that shouldn’t be a problem.

“If the turbines are making a lot of noise, then they’re having a mechani-cal problem,” he said. “If a turbine is operating properly, they make very little noise. It’s a very low swoosh. I’ve climbed them five times, been around them dozens of times.”

The opposition in Illinois and other Midwestern states, Prior said, is more organized than in Iowa.

“The mood is pretty darn positive with wind projects in Iowa,” he said.

Northwestern Iowa’s Pocahontas County, for instance, has seen virtually no opposition to wind farms, said Don McLain, the county’s zoning adminis-trator.

Part of the reason is that the county is sparsely populated, he said. Poca-hontas County’s population density is 12 per square mile, one-fourth of what it is in Lee County, Illinois. Pocahontas County has 217 turbines; Lee County has 232.

Pocahontas’ first wind farm was built in 2007.

“The wind farms don’t really go near any towns in our county,” McLain said. “Our experience has been very good. The development in our county has been very good, and the associated employment has been very welcome.”

That’s especially beneficial in a county with a declining population, he said.

CONTINUED FROM 41

’’‘‘ If the turbines are making a lot of noise, then they’re having a mechanical problem. If a turbine is operating properly,

they make very little noise. It’s a very low swoosh.Harold Prior, executive director of the Iowa Wind Energy Association

CONTINUED ON 45

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The population dwindled by 15 per-cent between 2000 and 2010, according to the U.S. Census.

Not many wind farms in works

Wind energy companies need two things for a successful project – a windy site and nearby access to transmission lines.

“The windiest sites have been built or are under leases,” said David Loomis, director of Illinois State University’s Center for Renewable Energy. “Com-panies are branching out to sites that are less windy and would need new transmission to be built to unlock the wind.”

He said the industry isn’t planning many more wind farms now.

“We have this pent-up demand” said Loomis, an ISU economics pro-fessor in Bloomington. “We have a lot of wind farms that have been issued permits but haven’t been built yet.

“The question remains, Will those get built before the permits expire? No one wants to go out and do brand-new development until they see more movement on the existing permits.”

Examples of permitted-but-not-yet-operational wind farms are in Bureau and Ogle counties, both next door to Lee County.

As for Shady Oaks, Englehart wishes Goldwind’s plan had received more

scrutiny. He regrets his decision to allow the turbines.

“I will be stuck with them for 25 to 30 years,” Englehart said.

“The turbines weren’t worth the money we’re getting.”

4 Continued from 43

david rauch/for northern illinois Ag magWesley englehart, who has five wind turbines on his farm near Compton in Lee County, has advice for farmers who are approached by wind farm companies: “run like hell the other way.”

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AG Mag 47

Unique approach to wind proposalsBy Nicole WiegaNd

For Northern Illinois Ag Mag

When a handful of companies looked to set up a wind farm in southern Mar-shall County, Iowa, in 2007, Jeff Heil and his neighbors did something that hadn’t been done before: they drew up a contract with more than 60 landown-ers to participate in a wind farm that would benefit everyone, regardless of turbine location.

“There were two different brokers that sort of go out and develop the farms before they sell them off,” said Heil, a farmer from Haverhill, Iowa. “A few of us neighbors got together to chat about what was going on, because we didn’t want a checkerboard effect.”

Heil and his neighbors decided to do a bit more research, talking to other wind farmers, attending symposiums, and even contacting the Agricultural Law Center at Drake University.

“We ended up selecting RPM Access to intermediate, get us set up,” Heil said. “We sort of created a new type of contract that hadn’t been done in the state of Iowa – a contract that allowed everybody in the border to participate financially.

White House official photographJeff Heil, his father Richard (left) and President obama tour the laurel Wind Farm in iowa’s Marshall county last summer. The president stopped at the farm during his 2012 campaign to promote wind energy. coNTiNued oN 484

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48 Spring 2013

“We tried to make a community type of contract instead of an individual one.”

Specifically, the contract outlines a base financial benefit to any land-owner within the boundaries of the farm. In addition, landowners are compensated for each wind turbine constructed within the confines of their property.

Upon its completion, the Laurel Wind Farm was purchased by Mid-American Energy and was fully functional as of December 2011. After just a year of liv-ing in the shadow of the farm, Heil says his and his neighbors’ decision to lease their land has been a positive one.

“You know, you drive around the state and you see them, you know they look good from a distance, but if you live underneath one you think, What’s the impact?” he said. “Everybody had all these kind of concerns and questions.

“Farming around them is less of an inconvenience than I thought,” said Heil, who has five turbines on his prop-erty and two along his property bor-ders. “We were worried about the roads they were putting down, but we use them for access, so it’s been more of a convenience than an inconvenience.

“Overall it’s been a good experi-ence,” he said of the decision to lease

his land – a decision that led to a visit from President Obama during his 2012 campaign in support of wind energy. “Going in, we knew the pros and cons.

If we’re going to live within a mile or two [of ideal land], we’re still going to see turbines, so we figured, Why not do something beneficial to everybody?”

4 Continued from 47

Sarah Brown/for northern illinois Ag magWind turbines sprinkle the landscape in Bridgewater, iowa, as part of rolling Hills wind project in Adair, Adams and Cass counties. it is the largest wind farm in iowa, with 193 Siemens 2.3-megawatt wind turbines.

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“The estate tax really hits home with farmers,” Schielein said. “If we would have gone down to a $1 million exemp-tion, about 97 percent of farmers would be subjected to the estate tax.”

Schielein said farmers played by the rules and did their estate planning as best they could, but the stress of getting farms from one generation to the next began to mount.

“In Northern Illinois, farmland values were up 22 percent just in the last quar-ter,” Schielein said. “It took the estate planning we’ve done and thrown it out the window.”

Schielein said his farm was owned by his parents and he helped pay for it. He feels fortunate that his land still is in the family; others have not been so lucky.

“These farms are your heritage, and the sweat and tears you’ve shared as a family,” he said. Unfortunately, because of the estate tax, many farmers have had to sell to move their land on to the next generation.”

Many people mistakenly believe that farm tax returns are due on March 1. Individual taxpayers have an April 15 deadline. However, if they owe income tax, they may be subject to a penalty for underpayment of estimated taxes. Farmers have a special provision that allows them to avoid the penalty if they

file their return by March 1. A farmer is allowed to make a single estimated tax payment by Jan. 15, basing the pay-ment on their prior year income tax liability. Making this payment extends the filing deadline to April 15.

Berge said the key to planning for farm taxes is understanding the uncer-tainties involved in the business.

“You have to plan for uneven income – there are good years and bad ones,” Berge said. “When planning taxes, we try to even

out the good and the bad. We prepay expenses in good years and try to maximize within the 10 to 15 percent tax bracket.”

That involves trying to project income as flat as possible, Berge said. That’s where the write-offs become important.

“Doing farm income averaging is a lot harder with less depreciation,” he said. “We may suggest they not sell some-thing or withhold inventory until the next year, depending on the tax rates for the next year or the income situation.”

CONTINUED FROM 38

BY KYLE WILSONFor Northern Illinois Ag Mag

Farmers, especially family farmers, received a “blessing” Dec. 31, farming consultant Ray Powell says.

Powell has helped southwest Iowa farmers with their business decisions and taxes for the past three decades through his business, Positive Farming Assis-tance, in Creston, Iowa.

That great blessing, he said, came in the “fiscal cliff” deal, whereby the govern-ment permanently extended the federal law on the estate tax.

If that law had not been extended, those who inherit or buy the farm would have had to pay a 55 percent inheritance tax on any value above $1 million.

Because of the extension, heirs will pay estate taxes only on a farm’s value over $5.12 million.

“There is a very dramatic difference between $5.12 million and $1 million, espe-cially because land values are high right now and several farms are above $1 million in value,” Powell said.

“This was a great blessing for farmers and really is an amazing help to many family farmers. They can breathe a little easier now that the government has made its decision.”

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AG Mag 51

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Some farmers, such as Henkel’s fami-ly, who farm in southeastern Lee Coun-ty, cannot get enough data to make important decisions on crop placement and monitoring. Taking seeds and planting them in the most opportune location, avoiding double planting or skipped rows, and seeing problem areas within their field and analyzing data to see what went wrong.

“My family has never been afraid of trying something new to gain an edge,” Henkel said. “We’ve used it since the 1990s, and it continues to change the face of farming.”

Other farmers, however, see a price tag starting at $7,000 to $20,000 for top-of-the-line equipment and wonder whether it makes enough of a differ-ence in increased yields or decreased costs to turn a profit. Henkel is certain it pays off, but he admits the difference is relative to the individual farmer.

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“It all depends on how much data they want and how much they want

to use, whatever tells them what they need to know.”

Henkel guesses a little more than 50 percent of farmers are using data-driv-en technology.

Old farmers like Monty Whipple in

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Photo submitted by Witmer Precision Services of Mount Morris A look at the “picket fence” row that is established through precision planting.

CONTINUED FROM 50

CONTINUED ON 54

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AG Mag 53

Photos by Philip Marruffo/For Northern Illinois Ag MagDavid Book turns on his GPS unit inside the Challanger tractor on the Book family farm southeast of Dixon. The Book family has farmed for three generations. Book’s son, Aaron, said technology allows the family “to produce as much as you can at a lesser cost.”

By DEREK BARICHELLOFor Northern Illinois Ag Mag

Farmer Aaron Book is following the lesson of his

grandparents.Although, the means

might be beyond what they could have imag-ined.

Book, a third-genera-tion farmer just south-east of Dixon, uses glob-al positioning systems for precise planting and analyzes the data in an effort to draw the big-gest yields for the family farm.

“They’ve always said the goal is to produce as much as you can at a lesser cost,” said Book, who works on the farm with his grandparents, uncle, mother, father and brother. “That’s what the technology lets us do.”

Book and his family are able to plant crops at exact loca-tions and record them into the satellite equipment. That knowledge prevents duplicate or skipped rows, Book said. It also means laying down less fertilizer and chemicals.

Although the technology has a sticker price well into the thousands, Book said the savings are realized immedi-ately with that precision.

Data analysis, by the Books

A John Deere StarFire iTC receiver sits atop a tractor at the Book family farm. The unit is a 12-channel, dual-frequency GPS receiver that assists farmers in precision planting.CONTINED ON 554

54 Spring 2013

The size of ears on the corn, for exam-ple, might tell him what area of his field is producing more than another.

“The real question for me is whether the data is telling me something I don’t know,” Whipple said.

The technology could cost as much as a field’s annual yield brings in.

“If a farmer has a system that’s work-ing for them, they may be reluctant to take a risk, especially smaller farmers or hobby farmers,” Whipple explained.

The irony, to those who work closely with data-driven technology, is the risk that the technology seeks to eliminate.

For example, Witmer Precision Ser-vices in Mount Morris, provides data-driven technology for planting.

Meters are designed to place a seed out of its planter in a specific location. Infrared sensors measure the accu-racy with a goal of 99 to 100 percent. Computers communicate the data to the farmer about rate populations, row clutches, the effects of speed and meter performance.

Adjusting meters, vacuum pressure, transmissions and speed can perfect performance. Productivity can be maxi-mized by increasing planter speed with-out compromising performance. Down force can be measured to eliminate costly root compaction and slotting.

“The equipment is designed for farm-ers to control their planting before crops come up,” said Kelly Stevens of Witmer Precision Services. “They wouldn’t know they’ve skipped every 10th seed until the crop comes up, and then it’s too late.”

The cost of every skipped row or dou-ble seed adds up.

For example, if the equipment is able to rescue 10 bushels to the acre at $6 a bushel, that’s $60 for one acre, $600 for 100 acres and $6,000 for 1,000 acres..

“Farmers want to know how they can increase yields and reduce costs,” said Matt Lillpop, executive director for Whi-teside County Farm Bureau. “Data has always driven farming, whether it’s on a monitor in front of them, or figured at the end of the year. Farmers are con-stantly looking at supply versus cost.”

Henkel said geographical info systems are becoming automatic features on new tractors. Most new tractors are designed to run automatically without a driver, so farmers can observe seed placement and track progress on a computer screen.

“There’s such a demand for them,” Hen-kel said. “There’s a demand for efficiency.”

While there isn’t as much of a demand for it, Henkel said, satellite trackers on trucks can monitor crops at harvest time from the field to the grain bin.

“Some companies want to measure

the efficiency there,” Henkel said. “How much is being loaded? How quickly is it arriving? Is there a better way to do it all?

“The possibilities really are limitless. What do you need to know?”

CONTINUED FROM 52 What technology is on the horizon?

Data-driven technology has grown leaps and bounds since it changed the face of farming when it was introduced in the 1990s. Here are other technologies on the horizon, according to the University of Illinois Extension offices:■ A map visible from a mobile

computer that shows where all farm vehicles are operating and their fuel levels, how much product has been applied or how much crop harvested, and even whether a piece of equip-ment is ready to break down.■ Geographical information sys-

tems tracking livestock and barn animals.■ Manufacturers are introducing

controllers, drives and shutoff sys-tems with ever-finer resolution and the ability to apply multiple products at variable rates. Controlled traffic systems, such as strip till, also have become a reality.

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That data can be used at har-vest time to analyze production, specifically which portions of the field are producing better than others, and lead to the identification of different soil types.

“Based on different rates, you can see what you can do better for next year,” Book said.

The technology has allowed Book and his family to focus on specific areas of a popula-tion.

He sees the data analysis lead-ing to a day when multiple hybrids are used in a population to cater to the ones that work best with different soil types.

Book, who has used some form of GPS for the past 9 years, said he’s seen the technology grow leaps and bounds from when he first used it.

As a farmer in his 20s, he’s excited to see how technology will grow in his lifetime.

“When it came out, you could plant your row and it would give you a position within 1 or 2 feet,” Book said. “Now it can get it done to within an inch or less. It’s pretty amazing.”

CONTINUED FROM 53

Philip Marruffo/For Northern Illinois Ag Mag David Book talks about the use of GPS on his John Deere nitrogen applicator at the family farm southeast of Dixon.

56 Spring 2013

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Recipes collected from along the 179-mile Lincoln Highway


Recipes are as much a link to yesteryear as handwritten postcards, black-and-white photographs and heirloom trinkets.

“Recipes from the Illinois Lincoln Highway National Scenic Byway” is a collection of more than 75 recipes from places along the 179-mile corridor across the state that

evoke the heritage of com-munities that line the his-toric highway.

Author, illustrator and pub-lisher David Alan Badger has fond memories of his time in the small towns along the highway.

The self-taught artist, who specializes in drawings of Illinois architecture, put the book together in 2008 as an homage to the storied byway.

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Alex T. Paschal/For Northern Illinois Ag MagThe cookbook “Recipes from the Illinois Lincoln Highway National Scenic Byway” is the work of David Alan Badger, who in 2008 collected 75 recipes from places along the his-toric highway.

CONTINUED ON 584

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“I love the act of discov-ery while driving through a community to see what it has to offer,” he wrote in the book. “I look at neighborhoods as my museum. I am never dis-appointed and always find something somewhere to compare to other commu-nities.”

Badger, who grew up in Fulton, the western termi-

nus of the highway, solic-ited recipes and stories from stores in riverfront towns to historical muse-ums in prairie villages to restaurants and sweet shops in bustling suburbs. He received not only fod-der for a cookbook, but also personal connections to the past.

58 Spring 2013

The recipes give a nod to famous faces and places along the highway, the first successful, all-weather, coast-to-coast automobile highway once considered the most famous road in America.

There’s Mary Todd’s vanilla almond cake, and Ronald Reagan’s favorite mac-aroni and cheese. There’s pie from the diner in Reagan’s birthplace of Tampico, and pickled apples from the general store Abraham Lincoln’s cousin built in Frank-lin Grove.

But the recipes aren’t all from well known people or establishments; many come from mothers, grandmothers and home cooks of generations past.

There’s a grandmother’s recipe for Dutch apple pie, and another for a gar-den-fresh salad. There’s a family recipe for chicken noodle soup. And there’s Grandma Jane’s famous root beer float cake.

The simple cake – a boxed white cake mix doctored up with root beer – is moist, delicious and appropriate for just about any special occasion. It’s no wonder the unique cake is the one most requested from the kitchen of the “official family birthday cake baker.”

Some other recipes for Lincoln High-way favorites include:

“Blue Ribbon” Banana Breadfrom “de Immigrant” Windmill in Fulton1/4 cup Crisco shortening1 egg1 cup sugar3 ripe bananas, mashed1 1/2 cups unsifted wheat flour1 tsp. salt1 tsp. baking soda1/2 cup raisins1/2 cup dried cranberries1/2 cup chopped walnuts (optional)Preheat the oven to 350 degrees. Grease

and flour a loaf pan and set it aside.In a large bowl, combine the shorten-

ing, egg and sugar and mix well. Add the mashed bananas, flour, salt and baking soda and mix well. Stir in the raisins, cranberries and walnuts, if desired. Pour the batter into the prepared loaf pan and bake for 1 hour, or until a toothpick inserted into the center comes out clean.

Note: The folks at the Windmill Cultural Center recommend soaking the raisins and cranberries in some water for about 15 minutes, then draining and patting them dry before adding them to the bat-ter.

Stuffed Green Pepper Soupfrom the Lincoln-Manahan Home

Museum in Sterling1 lb. ground chuck

3 cups chopped green pepper1 28-oz. can tomato sauce1 15-oz. can crushed tomatoes4 cups water1 cup rice, uncooked2 cubes beef bouillon1/4 cup brown sugarSalt and pepper, to tasteIn a large stock pot, cook the beef and

peppers until the beef is no longer pink. Add the remaining ingredients and bring the soup to a boil; then reduce the heat and simmer uncovered for 1 hour, or until the rice is tender.

Chicken Divanfrom White Pines Inn in White Pines Forest State Park in Mount Morris

CONTINUED FROM 57

CONTINUED ON 59

Get the cookbook Copies of “Recipes from the Illinois

Lincoln Highway National Scenic Byway” are available from many of the places featured in the book, including local historical societies, museums and bookstores. Copies also are available from author, illus-trator and publisher David Alan Bad-ger at [email protected]. Books are $18.

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AG Mag 59

4 Continued from 58

3 whole chicken breasts2 packages frozen broccoli2 cans cream of chicken soup1 cup mayonnaise1 small carton sour cream1 cup grated sharp Cheddar cheese1 tbsp. lemon juice

1 tsp. curry powderSalt and pepper, to tasteParmesan cheesePaprika, for garnishPreheat the oven to 350 degrees.In a large pot, cook the chicken in water

with a bay leaf. In another pot, cook the broccoli.

In the meantime, in a medium bowl,

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In a greased 9-by-13-inch casserole dish, arrange the broccoli in a single layer. Sprinkle it generously with Par-mesan cheese. Lay the chicken over the broccoli and again sprinkle it with Parmesan cheese. Pour the sauce over the chicken and broccoli, sprinkle with Parmesan cheese and paprika and bake for 1 hour.

Corn, Avocado and Tomato Salad

from the Dixon Welcome Center2 cups cooked corn, fresh or frozen1 avocado, cut into 1/2-inch cubes1 pint cherry tomatoes, halved1/2 cup finely diced red onionFor the dressing:2 tbsp. olive oil1/2 tsp. grated lime zest1 tbsp. fresh lime juice1/4 cup chopped cilantro1/4 tsp. salt1/4 tsp. pepperIn a large bowl, combine the corn, avo-

cado and tomatoes. In a smaller bowl, mix the dressing ingredients.

Pour the dressing over the salad and gently toss to coat the salad.

Alex t. Paschal/for northern illinois Ag magGrandma Jane’s simple root beer float cake is the one most requested from the kitchen of the “official family birthday cake baker,” according to the book.

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60 Spring 2013


Katie Pratt cannot describe her pas-sion for agriculture.

“It’s just a thing,” she said. “It’s in my blood. There’s this tie to my fam-ily, my legacy, that’s hard to break.

It’s unshakable.”Pratt, 34, recently was named one of four Faces

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The new gig is the fulfillment of a lifelong dream for a girl who grew up on a farm east of Amboy and dreamed of being a voice for agriculture.

Lee County farm mom named one of four Faces of Farming

Alex T. Paschal/For Northern Illinois Ag MagKatie Pratt of rural Dixon recently was named one of four Faces of Farm-ing and Ranching in a national search for agriculture spokespeople. Pratt, 34, calls her passion for agriculture “unshakable.”

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AG Mag 61

Pratt studied journalism and agriculture economics in col-lege, and even worked for the National FFA Organization, but she settled down before she got too deep into her career.

Pratt married her husband, Andy, in 2001. They raise corn, soybeans and seed corn with his parents, Mike and Sue Pratt, and his brother and his wife, Peter and Emily Pratt, at Grand Prairie Farms southeast of Dixon. They have two children, Ethan, 7, and Natalie, 5.

“When I had my children, I decided to stay home and not have that career,” Pratt said. “Then I was really like, ‘Oh, now I am the wife. I am in the kitchen. I do clean the house.’”

Still, Pratt pursued activities off the farm. She participated in the Adopt-A-Classroom program through Illinois Agriculture in the Classroom and educated Chicago students about life on the farm. She spoke to local organizations. She led tour groups through her farm.

Pratt recently got active with Illinois Farm Families, then threw her name into consideration for the search for agriculture spokespeople through the U.S. Farmers and Ranchers Alliance.

“I can be content with what I have and what I’m doing now, or I can ask, ‘What if?’” Pratt said. “I had nothing to lose.”

Pratt, along with the other three winners, will act as national spokespeople. They will share their stories and experiences to help answer consumer questions about food.

“We aren’t going to be farmers talking to fellow farmers,” Pratt said. “We’re going to be farmers talking to and listening to the non-farming public ... primarily about food – where it comes from, how it’s raised and the questions associated with that.”

Danelle Burrs, manager of the Lee County Farm Bureau, said Pratt has a passion for farming and an approachable per-sonality that make her an ideal spokesperson for the industry.

“She’s passionate about agriculture,” Burrs said. “She wants to be part of the solution. She wants to tell agriculture’s story.”

Burrs said Pratt also is unafraid to roll up her sleeves and get involved. “She’s always been active,” Burrs said. “She’s will-ing to put the time in for a cause she believes in.”

Pratt plans to draw on her experience as a young farmer, wife and especially as as a mother to lend a unique but neces-sary perspective to the conversation.

4 Continued from 60

Alex t. Paschal/for northern illinois Ag magKatie Pratt also is coordinator for the Lee County Ag in the Classroom program. Here, she gives a brief lesson on how milk is produced before teaching the sixth-grade class at St. mary School in dixon how to make cheese.

To get in touchRequests for appearances by Katie Pratt or any of the other

Faces of Farming winners should be directed to Abby Rinne of the U.S. Farmers and Ranchers Alliance at [email protected] or 636-449-5074.

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62 Spring 2013


DIXON – Out of the sounds of gunfire comes a cow’s moo.

The aftermath of the Black Hawk War brought about a wave of farmers to North-west Illinois, as is displayed in the Dixon Historic Center’s “The Changing Land.”

The exhibit follows “The Unchanged Land,” which tells the story of the early settlers and their conflict with Black Hawk, and, of course, visitors will know they’ve come to “The Changing Land” when they are greeted with the sound of cows and chickens.

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continueD on 634

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The $1.6 million exhibits, funded by Ronald Reagan biographer Nor-man Wymbs in memory of his wife, Harriet, feature life-size, speak-ing mannequins, detailed sets and sound effects, creating an experience museum Director Bill Jones said is rarely found outside of metropolitan museums.

Visitors who walk into “The Chang-ing Land” are immediately introduced to the conflicts of farming in the 1830s and 1840s by talking mannequins.

A son tells his father he is scared of natives ambushing him. The father assures him the land is safe and expresses how important the farm is to the family.

Two more mannequins later in the exhibit featuring a mother and a daugh-ter follow a similar theme. The mother says how important it is for the family to get what it can out of the land, and in eggs from its chickens, to survive.

The mannequins were crafted to look as realistic as possible, down to the cracks in each character’s hand, with the hard-working mother show-ing more stress in her hands than her daughter.

Large murals set the backdrop in sev-eral spots in the exhibit.

4 Continued from 62

Alex t. Paschal/for northern illinois Ag magABOVE: ronald reagan biographer norman Wymbs funded the $1.6 million exhib-it in the memory of his wife, Harriet. LEFT: A young Black Hawk (left) stands next to his father in the “unchanged Land” exhibit at the dixon Historic Center. the exhibit tells the story of the early settlers of the region and their conflict with Black Hawk. (Photo by michael Krabbenhoeft for northern illinois Ag mag) Continued on 644

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64 Spring 2013

A portion of the exhibit puts people into a barn similar to those of the time. Mirrors are used to create the illusion of being in a full barn. Hay sits in a loft, and tools from the time period are in display cases or hang-ing on shelves.

Several tablets on the wall throughout the exhibit explain the different farming techniques and tools used by the early settlers.

At the end of the exhibit, visitors are greeted by the sounds of the first tractors, as machines are introduced to agriculture.

A video provided by John Deere brings guests up to date on the latest gadgets and direction of farming technology.

“The idea of the exhibit is to give the history of farm-ing,” said Bill Jones, the museum’s director. “We bring you from the time of

the first settlers to the mod-ern day, and give you an idea of how far it’s come.”

The exhibits were orga-nized by 1220 Exhibits Inc. of Nashville, and took 2 years to create. Local histo-rians and documents were used to ensure accuracy.

Jones said many people have complimented him on the various tools displayed and on how realistic the barn looks.

“It’s fascinating how they were able to put all of it together,” Jones said of the barn. “You can even hear the animals.”

4 Continued from 63Want to visit?

Where: Dixon Historic Center, 205 W. Fifth St.

When: Open from 9 a.m. to 4 p.m. Monday through Friday. Admission is free.

more info: Go to www.dixonhistoriccenter.org or call 815-288-5508.

michael Krabbenhoeft/for northern illinois Ag magVisitors to the dixon Historic Center know they’ve entered “the Changed Land” exhibit when they are greeted with the sound of cows and chickens. the exhibit, among other things, shows that the early settlers wanted land occupied by the Sauk indians for mining and farming.

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Have you ever looked beside the recliner of a cattleman during bull

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It is important to make sound, informed decisions when buying bulls. A bull has more genetic contribution to the herd than a cow. A bull will sire 10 to 30 progeny, where a cow has only one calf. With the average herd size at 40 cows, a bull can sire up to 75 percent of the calves in an average-sized opera-tion. A mistake in bull buying can result in calves that are undesirable to an operation or even the industry.

On the other hand, a good purchase can yield quality replacements and profitable, industry-relevant cattle.

So where do you start? Before you get bogged down in numbers, pedigrees, pic-tures, and more numbers, it is important to evaluate your own operation. The cattle industry is extremely diverse and different types of cattle can be profitable. A producer must identify a market and select cattle that will demand a premium in that market. Producers who retain owner-ship and sell on a grid would want to put more emphasis on carcass traits, whereas cattlemen who sell bred heif-ers would want to put more stress on reproductive and maternal traits. There is no one formula that fits all cat-tlemen. Identify your market and select bulls that will gen-erate progeny that fit it.

Selection tools have come a long way in the past 10 years. Today’s EPDs are not your father’s EPDs. EPDs not only take parentage, weights, and carcass information into account, but now they are even enhanced by DNA genetic tests.

W. Travis MeTeer, MsBeef Extension Educator, University of Illinois

Time and thought are worthwhile in

bull selection

For instance, the drought of 1988 was the worst he’s ever seen; much worse, he says, than last summer.

He also was hit hard by a sharp rise in interest rates from the 1970s to the 1980s.

David stuck by his mantra.“Things have a tendency to

work out,” he said. “Farming isn’t all doom and gloom, there’s always the stress thinking about what could

happen, and then there’s that good feeling you get when you harvest a good crop.”

Even though David admits farming is a risky business, he is proud of his son for tak-ing up the family tradition.

“Seeing my son as inter-ested in it as he is, after remembering him pushing a toy tractor in sand boxes and out in the grass,” David started, “that’s the highlight of my day.”

4 Continued from 35

Continued on 754

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66 Spring 2013

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By BarB KromphardtFor Northern Illinois Ag Mag

When Joe Myers first heard about the proposed Rock Island Clean Line energy transmission project, one of the proposed routes would have cut directly through his farm near Men-dota.

“It was going to cut this farm in half,” Myers said. “The neighbor and I have been in the process for the last two years of putting an irrigator in here, and this was going to go right where the irri-gator was going to be.”

Clean Line Energy Partners has since announced an alternative preferred route for the overhead transmission line, which would carry electric-ity produced from wind farms in the Midwest though Illinois and eastward. But Myers and many of his neighbor-ing landowners still are protesting the project.

“That kind of cleared us up here, but that ain’t the end of it,” he said. “We’re still involved in it.”

Myers has several problems with the project.

Saying no to leasing to Clean Line

Barb Kromphardt/For Northern Illinois ag magJoe myers has several problems with a proposed rock Island Clean Line energy transmission project. an initial route proposal would have cut directly through his farm near mendota. But he and many of his neighboring landowners still are pro-testing the project after a different route was chosen. CoNtINued oN 674

AG Mag 67

Myers and other area farm-ers raise a lot of specialty crops, and they talked with the seed corn company they work for. A lot of what they grow is sprayed by crop dusters, and Myers said the airplanes would not go any-where near the transmission towers.

“Without them coming out and saying it, we would probably lose these contracts for our specialty crops,” he said.

Another problem is with the lease, which includes a permanent 200-foot ease-ment.

“They basically would own the land, except I’m paying the taxes on it,” Myers said. “That land would be theirs to do whatever they want to with.”

Myers also is concerned about the transmission pole itself. While a single pole is supposed to take only a small

amount of land out of pro-duction, Myers is skeptical.

“I’d like to see you try to farm around a pole out in the middle of the field and all you lose is the 3-foot concrete base,” he said. “It’s kind of impossible.”

There also are financial risks. Myers spoke with his insurance agent, who told him he would be liable for any damage to the pole, and he couldn’t insure it.

“If we would happen to hit that thing out in the middle of the field, we’re liable for it,” he said. “We’re liable for the repairs; we’re liable for any down time; and we’re liable to the person on the other end if they lose busi-ness because we knocked the power out.”

Myers said land values would go down if the line is approved.

“I know if I was going to buy a farm, I would try not to buy one with one of these things on it,” he said.

4 Continued from 66

Jill FruehManager of the Bureau County Farm Bureau

Farm Bureau has been aggres-sively engaged while working on a project which

is proposed to run right through northern Bureau County, affecting a large number of landowners, our members. For the past few years representatives have actively attended both public and private meetings to stay in the know about the pro-posed project.

For those of you who may not be aware, this proposed Rock Island Clean Line Energy project would consist

of approximately 500 miles of overhead, high-voltage direct current transmission lines, transmitting up to 3,500 megawatts of wind energy from Iowa, Nebraska, South Dakota and Minnesota and terminating at a conversion station in Grundy County.

According to its website, www.rockislandcleanline.com, the project is owned by Clean Line Energy, which is a private company founded by Michael Skelly, who led the development efforts at Horizon Wind Energy.

Where Farm Bureau stands on RICL

Continued on 684

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The company develops high voltage, long-haul transmission lines connecting the best renew-able resources in North American to communi-ties that need power.

On Oct. 29, the Farm Bureau co-hosted an informational meeting with other neighbor-ing county Farm Bureaus in Hooppole in order to inform concerned landowners who might be impacted by the proposed project. At the meeting, Farm Bureau staff updated the crowd of close to 140 people about the status of the project and informed landown-ers of their legal rights while sharing informa-tion they should know before they consider signing an easement agreement if the project moves forward.

So, where is the project today? The private company is petitioning for an order granting Rock Island Clean Line LLC a Certificate of Pub-lic Convenience and Necessity pursuant to Sec-tion 8-406 of the Public Utilities Act as a Trans-mission Public Utility and to Construct, Operate and Maintain an Electric Transmission Line and Authorizing and Directing Rock Island Clean Line pursuant to Section 8-503 of the Public Utilities Act to Con-struct an Electric Transmission Line. If approved the company can proceed with plans for the project.

In October the Illinois Farm Bureau filed to intervene in the Clean Line case before the Illi-nois Commerce Commission (ICC). The main arguments in the ICC case are:

• Clean Line is a private entity and should be denied public utility status as the company requests.

• Clean Line should be denied eminent domain authority.

• If permitted to construct: the company should be required to use mono-pole struc-tures, the company should build the transmis-sion line adjacent to the Interstate 80 right-of-way or following property lines, rather than fol-lowing a route that cuts diagonally across open farmland.

Given the concerns outlined above, and the strong opposition the proposed project has generated with farmland owners in Rock Island, Whiteside, Henry, Bureau, LaSalle and Grundy counties, the Illinois Farm Bureau Board voted to oppose the Rock Island Clean Line transmis-sion line project and work to have the Illinois Commerce Commission deny the company’s petition to construct a transmission line in Illi-nois.

At its November board meeting, the Bureau County Farm Bureau voted to support the Illi-nois Farm Bureau position on RICL with the exception of following Interstate 80’s right of way. Farm Bureau continues to monitor the progress of the project.

Wondering what you can do? If you have a con-cern with the project, we strongly encourage you to submit public comment to the ICC.

Contact the Bureau County Farm Bureau for more information or printed instructions on how you can post public comments to the docket.

’’

‘‘Given the concerns ... and the strong

opposition the proposed project

has generated with farmland owners in Rock Island, White-side, Henry, Bureau, LaSalle and Grundy counties, the Illinois Farm Bureau Board voted to oppose the Rock Island Clean Line transmission line project and work to have the

Illinois Commerce Commission deny ...

the petition. ...

4 ContInued FRom 67

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AG Mag 69


Andrew Klein wants to be an agri-culture teacher.

Scratch that.The 17-year-old senior at Amboy High

School already is an ag teacher.Klein almost single-handedly started

a Discovery FFA program for eighth-graders at the nearby junior high school. He creates all his own lesson plans, and teaches classes four days a week.

“I was sick and tired of seeing kids fall through the cracks – getting into sev-enth and eighth grade and not knowing what group they belong to,” Klein said. “I wanted to provide an opportunity for kids to get involved in something before high school, something for them to grab onto and cling to, so that when they get to high school ... they have a place.”

Ag ambassador to next generationKlein an FFA student

with class, literally

Alex T. Paschal/Northern Illinois Ag MagAmboy High School senior Andrew Klein creates lesson plans and teaches classes four days a week in the Discovery FFA program he almost single-handedly start-ed. The program introduces eighth-graders to the “wideness” of agriculture, Klein said.coNTINuED oN 704

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70 Spring 2013

Klein does not come from a typical farm family: His father and grandfather work in machinery. His family has a few cows and chickens. And he has a small plot of corn and soybeans in his back-yard for his senior project.

But Klein feels his nontraditional ag background – that is, an upbringing not centered on crops or livestock – helps him relate to students, many of whom also do not come from the farm back-grounds of yesteryear.

“It helps me see it from a non-farm kid’s point of view,” Klein said. “So many kids don’t come from a farm background, from that country farm life. It helps me think in their shoes.”

Klein actually was unsure about get-ting into agriculture; he already was involved in sports and other activities. But he took an introductory agriculture course and concurrently joined FFA his freshman year.

Klein since has taken the proverbial reins: He’s the president of his school chapter and vice president of his sec-tion. He’s got not one, but two super-vised agriculture experiences (SAEs), or final projects. And he’s a teacher – an ambassador, really – to the next genera-tion of agriculture professionals.

Klein tries to communicate to the eighth-graders the “wideness” of the

agriculture industry – that it’s “more than farming.” He pulls lesson material from his own classes, from the Agri-culture in the Classroom program and from other resources. He designs a fair share of the hands-on activities on his own.

Sarah Landers, ag teacher at Amboy High School, said Klein has the makings of an excellent educator.

“He’s very energetic and ... he likes to be in front of people and share what he knows,” Landers said. “I’ll teach some-thing in one of my classes, and he’ll want to turn around and teach it to [his eighth-graders] within a couple days.

“He just gets really excited about it.”Klein, shaped by his experiences in

high school, next year will attend Iowa State University and study agriculture education.

“My high school experiences have really molded me. ... FFA, through all of its different aspects, provides a good, solid base for anything you want to do,” Klein said. “It’s a huge reason I’m even considering ag education as a career.”

Landers is thrilled that one of her stu-dents will expose the next generation of students to the wonders of agriculture.

“We need people like him,” she said, “who are going to have the knowledge and interest in the subject ... and are able to be mentors and good role mod-els.”

CONTINUED FROM 69 Andrew Klein

Age: 17Residence: Rural

AmboySchool: Senior at

Amboy High School; heading to Iowa State University next year.

FFA activities: Amboy FFA chap-ter president, Illinois FFA Section 2 president, and member of Amboy FFA parliamentary procedure team; top-10 finisher in the agronomy career development event (CDE) the past two years.

Supervised agriculture experiences (SAEs) include working for father’s tree-trimming business; testing effects of nitrogen on corn and soybeans; and leading Discovery FFA program at Amboy Junior High School.

Academic activities: President of National Honor Society; president of Spanish Honor Society; maintained a 4.0 grade-point average through high school

Sports: On the football, wrestling (captain) and baseball teams

Family: Father, Terry Klein; mother and stepfather, Laura and Mark Hicks; sisters Allison Hicks, 13, and Lyndsay Hicks, 20

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AG Mag 71

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Sauk Valley Media file photo

Switching to an energy crop?

Now, you can calculate whether you’ll break even or turn a profit

By DeBra LeVey LarSonUniversity of Illinois Extension

Along with the growing interest in bio-mass energy crops as renewable alterna-tives to fossil fuels comes a growing list of questions from corn and soybean farmers about what it will cost them to switch.

University of Illinois agricultural econo-mist Madhu Khanna developed a custom-izable online calculator to eliminate some of the guesswork and help farmers make the decision.

continueD on 724

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72 Spring 2013

“We’ve been doing calculations on what it would cost to produce energy crops in Illinois and other states for quite some time, and we realized that it could be useful to people who want to be able to calculate what these costs would be on their own farm,” Khanna said.

“We wanted to create a calculator so farmers would be able to make their own assessment.”

The feedstock cost and profitability calculator can be found at miscanthus.ebi.berkeley.edu/Biofuel/.

“It’s an information dissemination tool,” Khanna said. “The calculator allows farmers to put in their own parameters.

“They can customize the costs based on what their current farming operation looks like, what their cur-rent returns are on the land that they are thinking about converting, and learn what it would cost to grow an energy crop on it instead. They can decide at what price it might be fea-sible for them to produce an energy crop. What is the minimum price they would need in order to make it worth-while?”

After selecting a baseline crop that they are currently farming, users pro-vide specific information about their

expenses, yields, and inputs.“Unlike corn and soybeans, where

we’ve had years of experience and people have developed recommended, standardized application rates and planting techniques, these bioenergy crops are still very experimental,” Khanna said.

“We’re still figuring out what the optimum rate of nitrogen application should be, the timing for harvest, and so on. This is based on a representa-tive set of assumptions using our best knowledge to date.”

CONTINUED FROM 71

CONTINUED ON 73

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AG Mag 73

Before using the calculator, Khanna recommends that farmers gather some key information about their current operating expenditures. For example, one line item on the calculator requires the discount rate.

“If farmers are thinking of growing energy crops purely as an investment decision, then they would be inter-ested in getting the same return from their investment in an energy crop over time as they would get if they were to put this money in the bank. That’s the discount rate they should use when discounting future returns to compare them to the upfront invest-ment that would be needed to estab-lish an energy crop,” Khanna said. “If the bank is going to give them 4 per-cent, then they should at least get a 4 percent return on growing an energy crop instead.”

Khanna said that although the cal-culator has been internally tested, it hasn’t been tested by real users. She would welcome feedback from farmers about the calculator. Are there aspects of the calculator that need more expla-nation? What problems arise? Is the calculator easy to use?

Khanna hopes to use feedback to cre-ate a list of frequently asked questions. “There is a clickable link on the website

to submit questions. We hope to get input from users so that we can update the information as it becomes avail-able,” she said.

Although Khanna has data for all rain-fed states in the United States, this first version of the online calculator includes data for only Illinois, Michi-gan, and Oklahoma.

“We presented these three states as illustrative,” Khanna said. “We looked at poplar, Miscanthus, switchgrass, prairie grass, and stover. They behave differently in different parts of the country, so this initial calculator shows the contrast between three very differ-ent climate and rainfall regions.”

The calculator includes costs for con-verting both currently cropped land and marginal land.

“Land cost is a significant part of the cost of producing energy crops,” Khanna said. “One reason for looking at marginal or less productive crop-

land is to show that the cost of produc-ing these energy crops is expected to be significantly lower on land that is less productive for growing row crops but could be used productively to grow energy crops.

“If you have land that’s currently not being put to any economic use, then you might be able to get high yields from energy crops. Miscanthus doesn’t seem to require very high-quality crop land to begin with, although that is still being studied through field experi-ments. It’s not affected adversely by low soil quality and nutrient values.

“So, in southern Illinois, for example, corn yields may be low compared with central Illinois, but Miscanthus could be more productive,” Khanna said.

For more information, an in-depth explanation of how the categories and calculations were developed is available at www.farmdoc.illinois.edu/manage/newsletters/fefo11_06/fefo11_06.pdf .

4 Continued from 72

’’‘‘ if farmers are thinking of growing energy crops purely as an investment decision, then they would be interested in

getting the same return from their investment in an energy crop over time as they would get if they were to put this

money in the bank.madhu Khanna, university of illinois agricultural economist

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74 Spring 2013

Facilitating Coordination in Agricultural Education (FCAE) partnered with AgCareers.com to develop the Ag Career Find-er app for iPhones, iPads and Android devices. The Ag Career Finder app allows students or the general public to explore core agricultural careers or those that are considered to have a critical need shortage in terms of candidates.

App users may browse 58 careers by the Agriculture, Food and Natural Resources career pathways – Plant Sci-ence, Animal Science, Agricul-tural Mechanics, Agricultural Business, Environmental Ser-vices, Food Science and Natu-ral Resources.

Each of the 58 career profiles

include an overview of the career, suggested high school courses, experience needed, degrees required, potential employers, salary range, employment out-look and trends, and professional organizations. Additionally, each of the career profiles are linked to current job openings at AgCa-reers.com.

“STEM (science, technology, engineering, and math) related agricultural careers are in very high demand both nationally and internationally,” said Luke Allen, District 2 and Urban FCAE program advisor. “The Ag Career Explorer app allows students to browse these careers that they may not realize existed.”

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continued on 754

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4 Continued from 74

This helps improve the accuracy of EPDs sooner in an animal’s life.

Previously, we have had to wait for one or two calf crops to justify the values. Now, we can make confident breeding decisions with younger bulls that supply fresher genetics. The EPDs provided to producers in 2013 are more reliable than ever before. Use these genetic predictors as the foundation to bull selection.

Dollar values and multi-trait indexes also help simplify selection. These figures help weigh and emphasize eco-nomically important traits into a single value. All essential breeds have devel-oped these values. For example $W and $B (Angus), API and TI (Simmental), $BMI and $CHB (Hereford). These values blend numbers and economics

to help illustrate how an animal can impact the bottom line. Visit respective breed association websites for further explanation on indexes.

No matter where you decide to put your emphasis when selecting bulls, DO NOT single-trait select. It is important to realize that when improvement is made in one trait, a decline in another trait is likely. If you select to increase growth traits, you’re inevitably increasing mature cow size and nutrient require-ments of daughters from this mating.

Progress can be made in several differ-

ent traits, but these improve-ments take time. Smart, well-thought-out selections can yield these improve-ments, but it is important to stay away from extremes.

While you are sorting through bull sale catalogs, remember that your selection has great impact. Find bulls that work for your operation. Invest in these bulls. Don’t let your selection be dependent upon price. Good times are ahead for the cow/calf producer. An investment in good genetics will pay dividends and benefit you for years to come.

4 Continued from 65

’’‘‘ Previously, we have had to wait for one or two calf crops to justify the values. now, we can make confident breeding decisions with younger bulls that supply fresher genetics.

76 Spring 2013

Illinois Farm Families a bridge between farmers, consumers

Providing consumers with agriculture information is as easy as logging on to Facebook

Farming is difficult. Paid time off is hard to come by, hours can range from sunup to sun-down, and Mother Nature isn’t always the most understand-

ing supervisor.But wild hours and weather aren’t the only obstacles farm-

ers face today. In today’s information age, consumers can log onto Facebook, Twitter or YouTube, or with a simple search engine query, find the answer to nearly any question in a matter of minutes.

But are consumers receiving the best answers to their agri-culture-related questions? It’s no secret that agriculture has been the target of some pretty tough – even unfair and down-right wrong – accusations. And, most of those accusations – and the “evidence” to back them up – are plastered all over the internet. With just a few keystrokes and a few seconds on Google, consumers have all of that wrong information at their fingertips.

So what can farmers do to ensure that consumers are get-ting correct and honest answers to the questions they have a right to ask? Farmers can be the ones to provide information to consumers.

Enter Illinois Farm Families. As representatives from the Illi-nois Farm Bureau, Illinois Pork Producers Association, Illinois Corn Marketing Board, Illinois Soybean Association, and Illinois Beef Association, Illinois Farm Families are committed to hav-ing meaningful conversations with consumers and sharing what really happens on today’s family farms, without any filters.

Last year, nine Field Moms — Chicago-area moms who had questions about food and farming, but no experience in production agriculture — toured five Illinois farms, learning about everything from livestock and dairy production to the ins and outs of corn and soybean production.

This year, Illinois Farm Families are upping the ante, hoping to line up at least 30 Field Moms to participate in six tours on farms across the state. This year’s activities will include tours of a hog farm, dairy farm, specialty crop farm, a planting tour,

harvest tour and even a “Mom’s Choice” tour. During the tours, the Field Moms have the opportunity to

talk with real farmers and their families about important top-ics in agriculture, including gestation stalls, biotechnology and animal welfare — and anything else with which they’re concerned.

Farmers interested in supporting Illinois Farm Families can help by doing what they do best — talking about what they love most. Use your own Facebook and Twitter accounts to tell your friends and followers about your day. Or get creative and post a video to YouTube. Research tells us that consum-ers like farmers and farming, but are concerned about farm-ing practices. So listen to their concerns and answer their questions authentically.

Did you prepare for spring planting? How about work cattle? Perhaps you were repairing some of your equipment or maybe you were applying fertilizer. Whatever it was, talk about it. And answer questions. Remember to use words and phrases that consumers who aren’t familiar with farming will understand, like “farmers” rather than “producers” and “grown and raised” rather than “produced.”

Or refer friends to the Illinois Farm Families website at www.watchusgrow.org. There, they get their questions answered, meet the Field Moms and farmers, read blogs and follow the Field Moms on their tours. They can also follow Illinois Farm Families on Facebook and Twitter.

It doesn’t matter whether consumers get information on our Facebook page or yours. The only thing that matters is they get the right information.

PhiliP NelsoNPresident and Executive OfficerIllinois Farm Bureau

’’‘‘ So what can farmers do to ensure that consumers are getting correct and honest answers to the questions they have a right to ask? Farmers can be the ones to

provide information to consumers.

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AG Mag 77

In an age of political-correctness overload, it’s downright hyp-notic to hear someone speak without filter or fear. But, then again, Temple Grandin always

has been a trailblazer.A designer of livestock handling facili-

ties and a Colorado State University professor of animal science, Grandin has long been recognized as an expert by livestock farmers and meat processing folks; but it was the HBO movie about her life, starring Claire Danes, that made her a celebrity with consumers.

She uses her international fame to do a job that makes others shudder in their cowboy boots. No, I’m not talking about bull castration, pig wrangling or heavy-lifting. (She does those, too, no doubt.) What Temple advocates is ... deep breath! ... speaking out.

Speak up! Step Forward! Be Bold! Share! Temple says farmers need to get bet-

ter at that, because the good news of farming is being hijacked by fear mon-gers who have a “bone to pick” with progress.

Grandin spoke to Iowa farmers at the 94th Iowa Farm Bureau Annual Meet-ing. Her progressive, “straight talk” key-note was delivered like a shot across the bow of a battleship; more than a thou-sand Iowa farmers sat in rapt attention as she talked about the public’s thirst for farming knowledge.

“I talked to one student at the Univer-sity of Colorado-Boulder that thought if beef cattle went to Whole Foods they were born on pasture, and if they went to Safeway or Kroger or someplace like that, they were born in a feed yard,” Grandin said. “I explained to them that no beef cattle are born in a feed yard. The most basic things people just don’t know. It’s kind of appalling.”

Grandin says the majority of farmers and consumers she talks to are receptive.

“The public is who we need to be talk-ing to,” she said. “Because one of the big problems we’ve got today is [that] the Internet increases the voice of radicals.

“I don’t care what the issue is: if you’ve got a big, fat mouth, you can make a big, huge splash on the Inter-net. Well, the people that we need to be

communicating with are the people in the middle, the public.”

Grandin acknowledged that while there are things the public needs to learn about farming, there also are cer-tain things that are harder for them to embrace because sometimes the scale and innovation of farming and food production surprises consumers.

“But, they need to know that big isn’t bad. Small isn’t necessarily good.”

But, the true message we all need to embrace is the need for being there to answer questions, share a story, listen to consumers, and provide choices. Speaking out actually is easy, once you get started.

Whether it’s done through fun chan-

nels, like on You Tube, or simply by taking a little extra time to chat about where bacon comes from while you’re in the checkout aisle at the grocery store, the stage is yours.

You don’t have to be a celebrity. You don’t need a college degree. You just need passion. And that, my friends, is one thing today’s responsible Iowa farmers have, in spades.

Now, wouldn’t Temple be proud?

“Between the Lines” is written by Iowa Farm Bureau Public Relations Manager Laurie Johns and examines rural life and the role agriculture plays in the lives of all Iowans and Midwesterners.

Make Temple Grandin proud Laurie Johns

Iowa Farm Bureau“Between the Lines”

Shaw News Service file photoTemple Grandin admires a model cattle truck designed by Randall Witmer of Dixon during a tour of Dale Pfundstein’s farm in rural Sterling in July 2010. Grandin says farmers need to get better at speaking out and being advocates for themselves and their industry.

’’‘‘ But, the true message we all need to embrace is the need for being there to answer questions, share a story, listen to consumers, and provide choices. Speaking out

actually is easy, once you get started.

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AG Mag 79

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Miller Insurance Group427 N. Main Street, Rochelle

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Documents

Northern Illinois AgMag - 02-21-2013