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Monday, August 22, 2011 Two sections Volume 39, No. 34

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

The YOUnG LeAdersAchievement and Excellence in Agawards were announced last weekat the State Fair, a change frompast practice. .................................11

As iF herBiCide-resistantwaterhemp were not bad enough,now farmers have to be on thelookout for Palmer amaranth,which has invaded the South. .......8

A neW CeO FOr CountryFinancial was named Friday to suc-c e e d J o h n B l a c k b u r n , w h oannounced previously he wouldretire in January. ..............................2

BY MARTIN ROSSFarmWeek

Taxes will be back on thetable this fall, President BarackObama told rural Illinoisansduring Henry County “townhall” meetings last week.

Between stops at the White-side County Fair and GalesburgHigh School football practice,Obama greeted crowds at Wyf-

posal “that would exemptmost — almost all familyfarms — and neverthelesswould still hit folks like(investor) Warren Buffett.”

Henry County producerKaren Urich warned the presi-dent a return in 2013 to a mere$1 million estate tax exemptionthreatens family farms already

faced with “having to sell theirland in order to pay the proper-ty taxes.”

Capital gains relief is anoth-er Farm Bureau goal, but Oba-ma criticized what he sees as analready-low 15 percent capgains rate. “These days, thericher you are, the lower yourtaxes are,” he said of currentcap gains treatment.

Standard & Poor’s recentlylowered the U.S.’ credit ratingfrom AAA to AA+ based, itsaid, on “political risks and ris-ing debt burden.” “Structured”program changes are needed so“we can get our ratings backup” and stabilize a currentlyvolatile economy, Schilling toldFarmWeek.

Obama proposed cuttingdefense spending “in a sensibleway,” and advocated changesthat would “strengthen SocialSecurity and Medicare for thenext generation.” But while hesees “a genuine problem inMedicare and Medicaid,” Oba-ma assured guests “Social Secu-rity is not in crisis” and shouldremain viable for at least thenext 75 years.

See Obama, page 3

fels Hybrids in Atkinson andAlpha’s Country Corner FarmMarket.

Citizen concerns focusedlargely on anxieties aboutprospective budget cuts — a12-member, bipartisan “superCongress” commission ischarged with recommending$1.5 trillion in cuts over 10years — beyond an initial $1trillion approved recently aspart of a debt-limit increase.

Producers also challengedregulatory “overreach,” espe-cially by the U.S. EnvironmentalProtection Agency. IllinoisFarm Bureau President PhilipNelson cited new nutrient man-agement rules for farms andbusinesses in the ChesapeakeBay as “our biggest fear.”

“Will it trickle down to theMississippi River Basin?” Nel-son posed at Alpha. “This reallydoes affect Illinois.”Budget balancing act

While Congress has estab-lished a deficit reduction frame-work, U.S. Rep. Bobby Schilling,a Colona Republican and Oba-ma guest, stressed “the struc-ture was not completed.”Though Republicans insistedon removing tax increases from

the table, Obama told Illi-noisans he would ask the superCongress commission to recon-sider “how we can raise revenueso we bring the overall budgetto a sustainable place.”

Obama supported extendingBush-era business tax creditsrenewed last December, as wellas “a mid-level” estate tax pro-

OBAMACOMes

tO tOwnProducers air concernsabout regulation, trade

budget, and taxes

Surrounded by bags of seed corn, President Barack Obama greets those attending a Henry County“town hall” meeting last week at Atkinson’s Wyffels Hybrids warehouse. Obama discussed budget andtax concerns, pending free trade agreements, federal regulation, and other issues during the Atkinsonmeeting and a second forum at Alpha’s Country Corner Farm Market. For further details, see stories onpage 3 and 4. (Photo by Martin Ross)

Illinois Farm Bureau President Philip Nelson takes the mike at a presi-dential town hall meeting in Alpha to voice concerns about federal reg-ulatory overreach. Nelson warned President Obama overregulationwould impact U.S. farmers’ ability to compete in the global market.Obama told Nelson he was confident family farmers want clean air andwater and acknowledged Washington needs to work with farmers to de-termine the best methods to improve environmental quality. “You can’ttell me that we can’t afford to do what it takes to have clean air andclean water,” the president said, however. (Photo by Teresa Grant-Quick, Livingston County Farm Bureau manager)

U OF I’S EASTER TO RETIRE — University ofIllinois Interim Chancellor Robert Easter last weekannounced his official retirement, but he assured theAgronomy Day crowd agriculture — and the U of I —will have an important role in his future plans.

Easter, who first joined the U of I agriculture facultyin 1976, said he intends to stay on the Urbana campus.“I look forward to spending more time thinking aboutagriculture and the role of pigs,” said Easter, an expertin swine nutrition.

Recently, the U of I faced admissions controversyand challenges, but Easter credited resolution of theproblems to the small-town culture of several individ-uals who stepped into administrative posts.

“That culture has been able to help us come throughdifficult times,” said the former dean of the College ofAgricultural, Consumer, and Environmental Sciences.

STATE FAIR WALL OF FAME — Ground wasbroken last week for a monument to pay tribute toexhibitors and others who are part of Illinois State Fairhistory. A recognition wall will be built inside the MainGate on the east side of Main Street. It will have com-memorative plaques that fair supporters may buy andinscribe.

On Ag Day, the John Tolan family of PleasantPlains, long-time Angus cattle and horse exhibitors,were recognized for making the first contribution tothe wall, which is a joint project of the Illinois Depart-ment of Agriculture and the Illinois State Fair MuseumFoundation.

For more information about the wall and how tomake a contribution, go online to {www.statefairmuse-um.org}.

COMPANIES IN ‘DOG’ FIGHT — Lawyers rep-resenting Oscar Mayer and Ball Park Franks, a divisionof Sara Lee, were in a Chicago federal court last weekin an attempt to settle a long-running dispute about hotdog advertising claims.

Oscar Mayer (Kraft Foods) apparently put itself in apickle three years ago when it ran ads that claimed itswieners beat Ball Park Franks in national taste tests.

Sara Lee filed suit in 2009, asserting its hot dogsweren’t prepared and served properly in the taste tests,which made Oscar Mayer’s ads deceptive, the Associat-ed Press and CattleNetwork.com reported.

Kraft hit Ball Park Franks with a suit of its own, say-ing Ball Park Franks went too far with its advertisingclaim to be “America’s Best Franks.”

Sara Lee also disputed the Oscar Mayer promotionthat its beef hot dogs are “100 percent pure beef.”

Neither company had been declared a wiener winnerin the case as of Friday.

FarmWeek Monday, August 22, 2011

(ISSN0197-6680)

Vol. 39 No. 34 August 22, 2011

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

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FarmWeek is published by the Illinois AgriculturalAssociation for farm operator members. $3 from the individ-ual membership fee of each of those members go towardthe production of FarmWeek.

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© 2011 Illinois Agricultural Association

STAFFEditorDave McClelland ([email protected])

Legislative Affairs EditorKay Shipman ([email protected])

Agricultural Affairs EditorMartin Ross ([email protected])

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Dennis VerclerAdvertising Sales RepresentativesHurst and Associates, Inc.P.O. Box 6011, Vernon Hills, IL 600611-800-397-8908 (advertising inquiries only)

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Quick TakesTrADE

Illinois Farm Bureau President Philip Nelson stresses the importance of free trade agreements during Ag Dayactivities at the Illinois State Fair. Commodity organization leaders who also addressed the crowd were, leftto right, Illinois Beef Association President Jeff Beasley, Illinois Corn Growers Association President Jim Reed,Illinois Pork Producers Association President Mike Haag, and Illinois Soybean Association Chairman MattHughes. (Photo by Ken Kashian)

FAIR TRADE: Ag leaders call for trade agreement approvalBY KAY SHIPMANFarmWeek

Illinois agriculture leaders presented a uni-fied front and message on trade agreements onAg Day at the Illinois State Fair.

“When we look at the futureof this (ag) industry, we dependon trade,” Illinois Farm BureauPresident Philip Nelson told acrowd gathered at the Com-modities Pavilion.

Nelson, Illinois Beef Associa-tion President Jeff Beasley, Illinois Corn Grow-ers Association President Jim Reed, IllinoisPork Producers Association President MikeHaag, and Illinois Soybean Chairman MattHughes focused on the need for Congress toapprove free trade agreements (FTAs) withPanama, Colombia, and South Korea.

“If we get access to South Korea (markets),that would add $1 billion nationally to the beefindustry,” Beasley said.

Beasley said the congressmen with whom he

has spoken favor the agreements and PresidentObama, who touted economic development lastweek in the Midwest, needs to focus on trade.

Beasley sent a message to Obama that FTAsare good for economic development. “These

will create jobs,” Beasley said. Reed pointed out American

corn farmers have lost a majorshare of their Colombian mar-kets. “If the free trade agree-ment passed, we could regain

about $70 million of that marketshare quickly,” Reed said.

Colombia has been rated the “No. 1 easiestplace to do business,” Reed said, adding U.S.farmers have been waiting since 2006 for U.S.approval of a trade agreement with Colombia.

While action on the trade pacts has stalled inthe U.S., Canada moved forward and approved atrade agreement with Colombia that took effectlast week, Nelson pointed out.

“We are stressing to Congress — we need totake up free trade agreements,” Nelson said.

FarmWeekNow.com

To view our video of the FTArally at the Illinois State Fair,go to FarmWeekNow.com.

Bock named Country Financial CEOKurt F. Bock of Blooming-

ton Friday was named chiefexecutive officer of Country

Financial. Hewill succeedJohn Black-burn, who isretiring in Jan-uary after 10years as CEOand nearly 30years of serv-ice to Country.

“Kurtunderstands our rich heritage,”said Illinois Farm Bureau andCountry Financial PresidentPhilip Nelson.

“He’s worked with Countryand Illinois Agricultural Associa-tion management, and bringsbroad-based strategic experienceto this position.”

Bock has a solid history withCountry and other companies in

the IFB family. From 2005-2008,he served as treasurer of Coun-try Financial and IFB, and vicepresident of finance for IFB.

Bock joined the FarmBureau family of companies in2003 as chief executive officerof the IAA Credit Union. Hecurrently is executive vice presi-dent and chief operating officerfor Horizon Hobby Inc. inChampaign. Horizon Hobby isthe largest global radio controlhobby manufacturer/distributorwith subsidiaries in China, Ger-many, the United Kingdom, andFrance.

“We’ve worked closely withKurt in the past.” said Black-burn. “His background andwork experience show he issomeone who is passionateabout the same things we are —focusing on long-term financialstrength. The management team

and I look forward to workingwith Kurt in preparing for thetransition.” He will assume hisduties Oct. 3.

Bock served in the UnitedStates Air Force for 28 years,attaining the rank of colonel.During his career he com-manded flying units at thesquadron and group level.While a professor of Air Forceaerospace studies at the Uni-versity of Illinois, Bock led oneof the largest Air Force ROTCcommissioning programsfocusing on strategy and lead-ership.

He earned a bachelor of sci-ence degree from the U.S. AirForce Academy, a master’sdegree in business administra-tion from Southern IllinoisUniversity, and a Ph. D. inbusiness administration fromSaint Louis University.

Kurt Bock

government

Monday, August 22, 2011 FarmWeek

Continued from page 1 Schilling urged the deficit commission to address cuts “with ascalpel” rather than “come in and weed-whack.” He warned some com-mittee chairs may perceive their authority being “stripped” by the com-mission, and that could lead to some intense budget debate this fall.

IFB board member Wayne Anderson admonished lawmakersnot to “pick on one sector,” noting recent significant ag programreductions. “Our farmers are willing to suck it in and tightentheir belts, but they don’t want to be the main target,” saidSchilling, a House Ag Committee member.‘Climate’ protection

Obama’s Midwest town hall meetings followed on the heels ofa new White House Rural Economic Council report and recom-mendations for bolstering rural business, smaller critical accesshospitals, and biofuels development.

Obama said economic recovery “(is) going to start on the ranch-lands and farms of the Midwest, in the workshops of basement inven-tors, in the storefronts of small business owners.” Anderson sees low-interest business loans as “a great way to get started,” but argues loansand grants alone will not foster a friendly business environment.

Higher taxes generate an “anti-business” climate, and federal“over-regulation,” which will “scare the businesses away,”warned Anderson, a guest at the Atkinson meeting.

Henry County farmer Rock Katschnig told Obama “Mother Naturehas really challenged us this growing season.” “Please don’t challenge uswith more rules and regulations from Washington, D.C.,” Katschnigsaid, citing concerns about potential EPA dust and pesticide rules.

While new pesticide permits are to kick in this fall and EPA isreviewing dust regulations, Obama suggested some farmer fears are“unfounded.” Cost-benefit analysis will be a crucial component inany regulatory approval, he said.

“If you hear something’s happening, but it hasn’t happened,don’t always believe what you hear,” he said.‘Less bickering’ needed

While the Illinois meetings were largely congenial, area residentswere sharply critical of the current Washington environment. Atkin-son Livestock Market and Sales owner Larry Zeien called for “a little

less bickering and a little morebusinesslike attitude” when Con-gress reconvenes in September.

Obama scolded lawmakers,telling them to “stop drawing linesin the sand” and suggesting parti-san hostility erodes “business con-fidence and certainty.” WyffelsHybrids co-owner and Atkinsonmeeting host Bill Wyffels Jr.offered some advice for theadministration, as well.

“I’m right at the point of thespear when it comes to beingresponsible for the financial capa-bility of our company,” he noted.

“I have restraints to live within.Our employees know that, and inan environment where we com-pete against some of the largestbusinesses in the world, we haveto take care of business at home.

“I think, in there, there’s a mes-sage: As the leader, (Obama) cer-tainly needs to be responsible andwork with all people in Congress.”

President Obama chats with producers following an Alpha town hallmeeting. (Photo by Chris Magnuson, Illinois Farm Bureau)

Obama

Obama urges FTA passage,infrastructure movementBY MARTIN ROSSFarmWeek

While the federal debt took center stage thissummer, President Obama last week signaledCongress to “put politics aside” and tackle itsunfinished business this fall.

That includes passage of a trio of long-awaitedfree trade agreements (FTAs) and the groundworkfor major nationwide infrastructure improve-ments.

Obama is expected to submit South Korea,Colombia, and Panama FTAs to Congress for avote following the legislators’ August recess.

He argued “we should be passing trade dealsright now,” emphasizing the benefits that wouldaccrue to U.S. producers and manufacturersunder the agreements.

“Look, the Koreans, they can sell Kias andHyundais here in the United States,” Obama toldguests at Wyffels Hybrids’ Atkinson seed ware-house. “I think that’s great.

“I want to be selling Fords and Chryslers andChevys into Korea, and I want products allacross the world to be stamped with threewords: Made in America. That’s something wecould be doing right now.”

The economic impact of FTA delays alreadyhas been seen: Failure to pass the Colombia FTAleaves U.S. corn with a 15 percent import tariff —U.S. sales have declined annually since 2008.

“We’re losing some of our markets, and oncewe lose our markets, it’s hard to get them back,”Illinois Farm Bureau board member WayneAnderson said at Atkinson.

U.S. Rep. Bobby Schilling (R-Colona), a guest at Obama’sAtkinson town hall meeting,agreed to the need to “set our Dsand Rs aside” and quickly movethe FTAs.

Schilling expressed concernthat with national campaignsgearing up for 2012, continueddelays could spur some lawmak-ers to “purposely sit on things”for their own re-election benefit.

Both Obama and Schilling stressed the impor-tance of making improvements in rural trans-portation infrastructure.

“Roads and bridges and schools all across thecountry could be rebuilt,” Obama said, urging law-makers to take advantage of current low interestrates to approve job-generating projects.

Schilling maintained too little federal “stimu-lus” funding has gone into key transportationprojects, and charged the Senate now is “sittingon” major jobs bills that will stimulate rebuildingnationwide.

“We have to have a solid infrastructure,because that’s the only way we succeed as a coun-try,” the Western Illinois congressman toldFarmWeek. “Our infrastructure is crumbling.

“We have the Interstate 74 bridge (across theMississippi River) that’s taken four times theamount of traffic it was set up to take.

“If we can’t transport things on our roads orour rivers —which is a very inexpensive way todo it — that’s a problem for our economy.”

U.S. Rep. BobbySchilling

Ag businesses: Rural ‘free market’freedom, infrastructure help needed

During an Alpha town hall meet-ing, Karen Urich, a Henry Countyfarmer and member of both theHenry County Board and HenryCounty Farm Bureau, asks Presi-dent Obama to comment on thetentative expiration at the end of2012 of the current $5 million indi-vidual federal estate tax exemp-tion. Obama cited a proposed new$7 million exemption and suggest-ed he would support a “mid-level”proposal. (Photo by Chris Magnu-son, Illinois Farm Bureau)

Walls of seed-filled bagsprovided a vividly agriculturalenvironment for President

Obama’s stopin rural Atkin-son last week.

In turn,WyffelsHybrids co-owner BillWyffels Jr.,whose 60-plus-year-oldHenry Countycompany host-

ed one of two of the presi-dent’s Illinois “town hall”meetings, urged Obama to fos-ter a rural business environ-ment that enables farmer-cus-tomers to thrive and productsto continue moving throughhis town.

Wyffels urged policymakersto resist the temptation tounnecessarily “intervene” in agor rural affairs amid potentiallyrising food and energy prices.He believes existing produc-tion and market forces, ratherthan excessive regulation,eventually will help stabilizethe economy.

Wyffels attributes his owncompany’s success to steadygrowth, continuing efforts toidentify “the best genetics andtechnologies,” and a workforce(currently numbering 110) that

“grew up with agriculturalroots.”

“They know how importantservice and quality are, and sowe’ve grown,”he toldFarmWeek.“Our work-force increa-sed 10 per-cent this pastyear; we lookto continue toadd to that.The agricul-tural economy is doing well.Even though there’s potentialfor a bit of a soft crop, at leastin Illinois, the demands andopportunities in agriculture arefantastic.

“The other thing I would sayis that it feels like there’s morecompliance today for every-body. I’m on a small bankboard, and I know that thecompliances we have there to-day take profits off the table.”

Across the road from Wyf-fels’ seed facility is AtkinsonLivestock Market and Sales,which buys, groups, and shipsfeeder cattle throughout theMidwest. Owner Larry Zeienacknowledges the importanceof environmental protectionbut argues the need to further“deregulate agriculture.”

He believes the federal gov-

ernment can bolster rural com-munities by helping fundwater, sewer, and related infra-structure improvements —“things that help for genera-tions to come.”

And he applauded theWhite House’s push forincreased rural business loansand grants, arguing “smallbusiness people will bring theeconomy back up.”

As Congress seeks at least$2.5 trillion in 10-year budgetsavings, he recommends law-makers “leave Social Securityand Medicare alone” for thesake of rural seniors. Zeieninstead sees room for cuts indefense spending and elimina-tion of more questionable tax“loopholes.”

Overall, however, he sharesWyffels’ don’t fix-what-isn’t-broken philosophy.

“If the rest of the economywas booming like the farmcommunity, the country wouldbe in high times,” he said.“Land prices are good, com-modity prices are good.Machinery dealers are doingreally well.

“I think the free market isworking pretty well in agricul-ture right now. That’s what weneed to have working in agri-culture. We’ll do just fine.” —Martin Ross

Bill Wyffels Jr.Larry Zeien

local to global


Obama: New ethanol sources neededBY MARTIN ROSSFarmWeek

Eleven-year-old AlexMcAvoy last week helped clar-ify the White House’s positionon ethanol and America’srenewable energy future.

During last week’s presi-dential town hall meeting inAtkinson, McAvoy pled thecase for his grandfather, TedMcAvoy, a Geneseo producerand investor in Annawan’sPatriot Renewable Fuels plant.

He asked President Obama,“What are you going to do tokeep the ethanol plant run-ning?”

ethanol. But he argued theeconomic need to developbiofuels feedstocks “that don’tinvolve the food chain” asglobal food demand rises and“folks in China and folks inIndia start wanting to eatmore meat.”

That will require continuedfederal investment in basicresearch, Obama maintained.The U.S. Department of Ener-gy this month announced itwill invest $175 million-plusover the next three to fiveyears to accelerate develop-ment of “advanced vehicletechnologies” and improved

fuels and lubricants through40 projects in 15 states.

Obama acknowledged thebudgetary challenges of fund-ing further research under thecurrent congressional budgetregime, but he warned the U.S.will fall behind in global greenenergy development “if allwe’re doing is cutting and we’renot thinking about investment.”

“There’s no reason we shouldfall behind a country like Brazilwhen it comes to developing alter-native energy,” Obama said “Iwant to be No. 1 when it comesto alternative energy, and that’sgood for the farm economy.”

Obama’s response? Diversi-fy.

“When I was a state senator,when I was a United States sen-ator, I was a strong supporter ofbiofuels,” he told McAvoy. “Icontinue to be a strong support-er of biofuels. Tom Vilsack, asour agricultural secretary, con-tinues to be a strong supporterof ethanol and biofuels.

“I will say that the more wesee the science, the more wewant to find ways to diversifyour biofuels so that we’re notjust relying on corn-basedethanol. Now, we can do moreto make corn-based ethanol

(production) more efficientthan it is. That’s where theresearch comes in.

”But the key going forwardis going to be, can we createbiofuels out of switchgrassand wood chips and othermaterials that right now areconsidered waste materials?Part of the reason that’simportant is because, rightnow, the costs of feed keep ongoing up and the cost of foodas a consequence keeps goingup.”

The president did stressthat only 4 percent of the U.S.corn supply is used for

‘Vision’ targets production, sustainability, povertyA few weeks ago, the world

again was reminded of thepowerful links between pover-ty, hunger, and social unrest,as residents of a Somalianrefugee camp and governmentsoldiers clashed over food aidsupplies, with deadly results.

The day before that skir-mish, Monsanto executivesand scientists outlined a three-pronged “New Vision forAgriculture” strategy aimed atforging new links betweenincreased and environmentallysustainable ag production anda reduction in global poverty.

At a recent World Eco-nomic Forum meeting, globalorganizations, governments,and corporations launched theplan with a view toward dou-

or “patient capital” — invest-ments in which any financial oreconomic payoff may be decadesaway. However, the public sectorhas a role to play, and the U.S. is apotentially crucial player.

Economist Robert Thomp-son fears Congress’ newlypassed $2.5-trillion deficitreduction plan could endangerthe U.S.’ role in promotingdevelopment.

Thompson stressed theneed for basic research viaU.S. land grant colleges andUSDA’s Agricultural ResearchService, and he noted USDAfood assistance programs havehelped underwrite research inlower-income countries.

But he also notes foreign aidis “always a popular place for

Congress to try to make cuts.”“Until the early to mid-‘80s,

agriculture and rural develop-ment were principal targets ofthe U.S. foreign aid program, aswell as (programs in) manyEuropean countries and Japan,”Thompson told FarmWeek.

“But agriculture fell off thedevelopment agenda, and theinvestments of our foreign aidin ag development plummet-ed. As a result, we’ve basicallyhad stagnation of agriculturein most low-income countries,as foreign aid programs andWorld Bank lending backedout and the governments ofmany low-income countriesthemselves cut back on theirinvestments in rural develop-ment.” — Martin Ross

bling food production. Mon-santo Vice President JerrySteiner argues food securitymust be viewed “in the con-text of the environment and

the economy.”“First, we need farmers

around the world to increaseproductivity about 20 percentevery decade,” Steiner toldFarmWeek. “Second, how weproduce that really matters, sowe want to see a smaller (car-bon) footprint for every ton weproduce. Largely, that is goingto happen by increasing (per-acre) yield without having toput more inputs on that field.

“Finally, this will only workif at the same time we’reimproving the lives of theworld’s farmers and people

who live in these rural com-munities.

“We’re looking at a 20 per-cent reduction in rural povertyeach decade. If you look atthese three pieces togetherand start connecting peopleup and down the value chain,you can make real progress.”

He argues those gains mustinvolve “small holder” agricul-ture — developing world pro-ducers with minimal landholdings who collectivelycould boost productivity anddevelop profitable markets athome or even abroad.

Steiner sees “corporateresponsibility” as a key compo-nent in boosting world productiv-ity, whether in the form of phi-lanthropy, research partnerships,

Economist Robert Thomp-son anticipates “the need tofeed the equivalent of twomore Chinas in the next 40years,” in terms of projectedglobal population growth.

But for themost part,new farmlandeither “is notgoing to beavailable, orit’s not goingto be right toput more ofthat land intoproduction”

from an environmental stand-point, Monsanto Senior VicePresident Terry Preete main-tains.

Thompson questions Mon-santo’s estimate that even 10-12 percent more of the world’sarable land could be tapped forproduction. While that kind ofexpansion “technically” maybe possible, the former WorldBank analyst argues “the eco-nomics of it aren’t all thatattractive.”

Thompson sees closer to 1percent of unused farmableland potentially being brought

into play. Global energies arebetter spent to “double theaverage productivity of thatland that’s already in produc-tion,” he suggested.

“We know there’s degrada-tion of soils going on, erosionof soils,” Thompson toldFarmWeek. “We know thereare prime agricultural landsbeing taken out of productionfor road construction or beingpaved over as cities are expand-ed. We have some loss of farm-land occurring year by year.

“But most importantly, mostof that 10-12 percent ‘more’land is in very remote areas, inmany cases served minimally, ifat all, by infrastructure. Most ofthat potentially arable land is inSouth America or in sub-Saha-ran Africa.”

He cites a staggering varietyof obstacles to expandingacreages in Africa: a shortageof viable roads, underinvest-ment in crop research, a lackof improved varieties, govern-ment corruption, and inade-quate property rights protec-tions and enforcement of con-tracts that protect buyers andsellers.

Further, most of the soilsavailable for new cultivationexhibit poor quality and fertili-ty, meaning hefty input needsand production costs, Thomp-son said.

He stressed Brazil’s modernsoybean “miracle” was theresult of a major governmentinvestment in soil science andbreeding research, as well asmassive river and associatedinfrastructure development.

“I lived in Brazil in ’72 and’73,” Thompson related. “Wedrove through that area of(then-) recent soybean expan-sion, and you couldn’t imagineit in annual crop production.There were twisted, gnarledtrees and bushes and the occa-sional scrawny beef cow.

“Today, you drive throughthat same area, and it’s soy-beans from horizon to hori-zon, with productivity notmuch less than in the U.S.Corn Belt. Investments inresearch showed the way, madeit possible to bring that landinto production. But (Braziliangrowers) do have to use a lotof lime and a lot of super-phosphate.” — Martin Ross

Land at hand scarce to meet ‘need to feed’

Robert Thompson

sharing ag information

Larry Magnuson, a Tiskilwa-area (Bureau County) farmer, sharedinformation about farms and farming with consumers at a recentDaley Plaza Farmers’ Market in Chicago. Part of the Illinois FarmFamilies effort — sponsored by Illinois Beef Association, IllinoisCorn Marketing Board, Illinois Farm Bureau, Illinois Pork Producers,and Illinois Soybean Association — farmers use urban advertisingand specials events such as Chicago farmers’ markets to connectwith consumers, building trust in today’s farming. (Photo by DennisVercler)

STATE FAIRS


John Gellerman, 11, checks out a 7088 Case IH combine exhibit lastweek at the Illinois State Fair near the Farmer’s Little Helper area. Thismarked the first year in many that farm equipment was displayed at theState Fair. John is the son of Doug and Dee Dee Gellerman. (Photo byKay Shipman)

Farm machinery back with educational goal at Illinois State Fair

After a 22-year hiatus, a farm machinery exhibit againgraced the Illinois State Fair, but this time the purpose wasmore about educating and less about selling.

“We’re trying to educate the general public so when theycome up on farm equipment on the road, they know theinvestment that agriculture has (in the equipment),” saidRiverton farmer Allen Entwistle, the Sangamon CountyFarm Bureau president who spearheaded the exhibit.

With prices posted by each implement on display, theeducational aspect fit perfectly with other teachable oppor-tunities offered at the nearby Farmer’s Little Helper areathat taught children how crops are grown and animals areraised.

“The average person does not know a tractor costs$350,000 or $400,000,” Entwistle added.

Entwistle asked several area implement dealers andagribusiness companies to display machinery at the requestof Illinois State Fair manager Amy Bliefnick.

The participating companies were Sloan Implement Co.;Cross Brothers Implement; Tri-Co Equipment Inc., Tay-lorville; Sievers Equipment Co., Auburn; J.O. Harris andSons, Alexander; Central Illinois Ag, Atlanta; and LincolnLand FS. The exhibit included an early fertilizer truck onceused by Brandt’s Fertilizer.

Entwistle said he was pleased by the positive comments“from the governor’s office on down” and plans to not onlycontinue the equipment exhibit next year — but in trueState Fair tradition — make it bigger. — Kay Shipman

Madigan seeking solutionsfor state’s rural challengesBY KAY SHIPMANFarmWeek

Illinois Attorney GeneralLisa Madigan said she and herstaff feel like “mediators” inlivestock odor nuisance com-plaints in which they’reinvolved.

“Understand, we all have tolive together,” Madigan toldFarmWeek after addressingfairgoers on Ag Day at the Illi-nois State Fair.

In cases in which her staffhas worked, odor controlmeasures “have significantlydiminished the odors thatneighbors have had to contendwith,” Madigan said. She notedshe is aware odor controlmeasures can be expensive.

Another issue that involvesthe attorney general’s officeand touches rural Illinois is theillegal manufacture ofmethamphetamine.

“The meth makers havechanged their manufacturingtechniques,” Madigan said.Meth producers now usesmaller tools, such as 1- or 2-liter pop bottles, and havesmaller labs that are not as eas-ily detected.

For years, state laws haverestricted over-the-countersales of cold and sinus medi-cine that contains ingredientsto make meth. Illinois nowuses a new system to tracksales to individuals. In the past14 months, more than 58,000

restricted sales were blocked inthe state, Madigan noted.

Another trend has been anincrease in the number of Mis-souri residents buying cold andsinus medicine in Illinois,according to Madigan. Mis-souri recently passed a lawrequiring a doctor’s prescrip-tion to buy pseudoephedrine,she noted.

This year, the Illinois Gen-eral Assembly passed a lawrequiring a doctor’s prescrip-tion for pseudoephedrine forindividuals who have beenconvicted of meth-relatedcrimes.

Madigan said she hopesGov. Pat Quinn will sign thebill into law.

Illinois food, wine focus of Du Quoin State Fair show A new show will feature Illinois wines and

food products Sept. 3-4 at the Du Quoin StateFair. The fair will start Friday and continuethrough Sept. 5.

The first Illinois Food & Wine ProductsShow is the result of a partnership betweenthe Illinois Department of Agriculture(IDOA) and Carbondale’s Entrepreneurshipand Business Development Center, accordingto Larry Aldag, IDOA marketing representa-tive.

Show hours are noon to 7 p.m. Sept. 3 andnoon to 4 p.m. Sept. 4 in Expo Hall.

More than 25 Illinois food companies andeight Illinois wineries will sell their productsand provide free samples to fairgoers.

Activities will include cooking demonstra-tions using Illinois foods and pairing the dish-es with Illinois wines. Cooking demonstrationswill be at noon and 3 p.m. both days.

In addition to wines, products to be offeredwill include pizza, fudge, chocolates, meatproducts, homemade egg noodles, barbecuesauce, salsas, Vidalia onion relish, fresh pro-duce, pepper jams and jellies, hot sauces,Amish baked goods, and honey products.

The University of IllinoisOrr Beef Research Center nearPerry in Pike County will holdits annual field day Wednesday,Aug. 31, starting at 4 p.m.

Presentations and a mealwill be available in the class-rooms at the John Wood Com-munity College Ag Centerlocated a mile north of the cen-ter.

The field day will highlightthe center’s research anddemonstration programs as well

as a number of current topicsrelevant to the beef cattleindustry.

Presentation topics include“Winter Feeding Strategies,”“Effects of Cow Nutrition onSubsequent Calf Performance,”“Using Residual Feed Intake asa Feed Efficiency Measure,”“Effects of Differing Co-prod-uct Blends on Calf Perform-ance and Body Composition,”and “Voluntary Forage Intakein Beef Cows.”

Pre-registration is notrequired, and there is no regis-tration fee to attend.

The John Wood CommunityCollege Ag Center is locatedabout 32 miles east of Quincyor 32 miles west of Jacksonvilleon Ill. Route 104 near Perry.

From the intersection of Ill.107 and 104, go approximately4 miles west on Ill. 104 and fol-low the signs. For additionalinformation, contact TravisMeteer at 217-236-4961.

Orr Beef Center field day planned for Aug. 31

Bernie Walsh, Durand, Winnebago County: It was a rel-atively quiet week in NorthernIllinois, even though we hadalmost 2 inches of rain lastFriday and Saturday, Aug. 12and 13. The storm that camethrough Saturday broughtsome hail with it in some spots.Thankfully, we did not get hit

with any of that. I don’t know of any newinsects in the corn or beans right now, andthat is always good. There is some suddendeath syndrome showing up in some ofsoybean fields, but not as bad as last year.It was a good week for the WinnebagoCounty Fair.

Pete Tekampe, Grayslake, Lake County: A great weekin Lake County. We had 0.6 ofan inch of rain over the week-end of Aug. 13-14 and thennice weather all week. Corn islooking good with great color.Beans, on the other hand, aresuffering from too much water.We have a lot of yellow beans

in the low ground and heavy clay spots.Some good second-cutting hay has beenmade and most of the straw is baled.They are calling for rain five of the nextseven days. Hopefully, they will be lightshowers.

Leroy Getz, Savanna, Carroll County: Spotty heavyrains occurred in the area onFriday, Aug. 12, and Saturday,Aug. 13. I received only 0.1 ofan inch while eastern CarrollCounty had more than an inchwith some golf ball-sized hailthat covered the ground. Somecrops that already had been

damaged from previous wind storms wereseverely stripped down by the hail. Othercrops show signs toward maturity. Cornhas dented and beans are filling pods andlooking very good. We made some veryexcellent hay this past week.

Ryan Frieders, Waterman, DeKalb County: Saturdayafternoon (Aug. 13) a band ofsevere weather came throughthe area bringing swaths of hailthat devastated crops. The haillasted only a few minutes butthe damage to both corn andsoybean plants will affect yields.Along with the hail came 0.3 of

an inch to 1 inch of rain. The last few dayshave been beautiful with highs in the 80sand cool nights. Cicadas have beensinging in the trees, which usually meansthe first frost is six weeks away.

Larry Hummel, Dixon, Lee County: Storm events havebeen the big story for this sea-son. Last week’s rain eventprovided little moisture, but waytoo much hail. Extensive dam-age to both corn and soybeansoccurred in a long path about12 miles north of us. NorthernIllinois has been mentioned as

a garden spot of the state, but high windsand excessive heat have done plenty ofdamage to the area’s corn crop. For us, Iam estimating a yield about 30 bushelbelow our five-year average. Soybeans,on the other hand, look good and could beslightly above average.

Ken Reinhardt, Seaton, Mercer County: Two promisingchances of rain produced acouple of drops. Soybeans arereally needing some rain to fillout pods. Spider mites areshowing up on more field bor-ders. Corn harvest is rapidlyapproaching. There are someweak stalks that will need to be

harvested early.

Ron Moore, Roseville, Warren County: No rain toreport this past week. Corn israpidly maturing with the milkline about halfway down thekernel. Silage chopping hasstarted in the area. Corn har-vest will not be far behind. Thesoybeans look good, but thedry weather has taken its toll

with pods starting to abort. The tile linesare drying up and the streams in my pas-tures will be next. We will bring cattlehome sooner than planned if we don’t getsome rain.

Jacob Streitmatter, Princeville, Peoria County: A niceweek with cooler temperaturesbut no rain. Our high tempera-tures for the week was the sameas the night-time temperatures inJuly and the first part of August.The corn crop is progressing fastand is looking different everyday. Soybeans are filling pods,

but they need a rain to continue filling.

Mark Kerber, Chatsworth, Livingston County: More of thesame — hot and dry. There werea few showers around last week,but our area missed them again.Crop conditions are deteriorating.Corn is hurt up to 50 percent oflast year’s yield. Kernel depth isvery shallow and pollination ispoor. Also, ears are small.

Soybeans had a chance as they looked goodtwo weeks ago, but with no rain, we will be see-ing pods aborted and not filled. In addition topoor yields, low silage quality and low testweight, the drought likely will contribute toanother problem, aflatoxin. The eastern CornBelt could have a problem getting this corn to amarket as aflatoxin’s is very potent and cancause harm to humans and livestock. On thebright side, federal crop insurance will helprecoup our expenses. Markets are still underpressure with uncertainty in the stock markets.Will we see a spike in commodities this fall? Itwould be harmful to our inputs.

Ron Haase, Gilman, Iroquois County: On Saturday, Aug. 13,our farms received from 0.35 up to 0.65 of an

inch of rain. Local corn develop-ment is anywhere from the R-3 ormilk stage up to the R-5 or dentstage. Most soybean fields rangefrom the R-3 or beginning podgrowth stage up to the R-6 or fullseed growth stage. The local clos-ing bids for Aug. 18 were: nearby

corn, $7.10; new-crop corn, $6.92; nearby soy-beans, $13.49; new-crop soybeans, $13.31. InMato Grosso, Brazil, harvest of the secondcrop of corn (the safrinha) is 99.2 percent com-plete. Production is 8 percent below what wasprojected earlier in the year. The average pro-ductivity is 95 bushels per acre.

Brian Schaumburg, Chenoa, McLean County: Another weekwithout rain but moderate tempsare helping crops hang on. Wehave had 2,400 growing degreeunits and corn is at the R-5 (dent)stage. Most beans are at R-5 aswell. Our 26th Heartland Bankyield tour for the Prairie CentralCo-op area showed yields are

slightly lower (5 percent) compared to 2010.The disparity between rotational and continu-ous corn is not as great as last year. Soybeanswill not rival last year’s yields even with timelyrainfall. Downed corn will be a challenge. Watchout for those yellow school buses and preciouscargo! Corn, $7.04; fall, $6.88; soybeans,$13.56; fall, $13.31; wheat, $6.63.

Steve Ayers, Champaign, Champaign County: Saturday,Aug. 13, a storm rumbled throughthat dropped 0.44 of an inch of rainand caused some wind damage.Rain varied from nothing to morethan 1 inch in the area. Beansdesperately need rain as the podsare still flat. The long-range weath-er outlook is not promising for

moisture. Topflight Grain had its crop tourTuesday and found an average 148 bushel peracre of corn in an area from Seymour in west-ern Champaign County through Piatt County toMaroa in eastern Macon County. Yield esti-mates ranged from 126 at Milmine to 168 atCisco. Bean pod count averaged 38 pods perplant compared to last year’s 44.

Wilfred Dittmer, Quincy, Adams County: We may as wellreport the same as last week asthe only difference is the cracks inthe fields are a little bigger andcrops are getting smaller. If the oldsaying is true that “rain makesgrain,” then I guess we could saythat “no rain means no grain.”Anyway, I think the rain gauge

needs priming because rain keeps being pre-dicted and all we get is a few drops. That wasthe case early this Friday morning. What cornI’ve looked at is pretty well filled out, but earsare small and stalks are getting drier by the day.Soybeans may put on a little growth yet if theyget a drink. At least it has cooled off some.Have a safe week.

Tom Ritter, Blue Mound, Macon County: After eightweeks of no measurable rain,we received a shy 0.2 of aninch on Aug. 13. Needless tosay, that didn’t go very far, andwe did not receive any rain inthe past week. We were hop-ing for some good showers tohelp the soybeans. It is a very

critical time for them, but that time is rap-idly fading. Corn is continuing to drydown. A few people are beginning har-vest, but on a small scale. I’ve heard any-where from 28 to 35 percent moisture iscoming out of the field. There probably willbe more people going this week — defi-nitely before Farm Progress Show time.Overall, crop prospects look only fair atthis time for both corn and beans. We’relooking at probably at least a 25 percentreduction in yields on corn; beans are dif-ficult to determine.

Todd Easton, Charleston, Coles County: The droughtpersisted last week with only asmall shower occurring insome places and not havingmuch effect on the moisturesituation. Producers are start-ing to make their advancepreparations for harvest. Mostare not anticipating the need

to use some of their smaller, out-of-theway grain bins this fall after a local yieldestimate came out Aug. 15. The magicnumber that teams brought out of thecornfields was 146.15 bushels per acre. Itlooks like the southern townships will havea shot at being the high yielder for the yearbecause of more precipitation comingthrough that area. Another couple ofweeks and yield monitors will be telling usfor sure what is in those fields. Soybeansare hanging in there but could really userain.

Doug Uphoff, Shelbyville, Shelby County: We’ve hadonly 0.65 of an inch of rain sinceJune 25. We planted corn April9, and after that we didn’t think itwould quit raining. Well, guesswhat? It did. And now I’m readyfor a do over. We had a wind onAug. 13 and it steamrolled 20 of80 acres. We had 0.8 of an inch

of rain with the wind, but it probably wastoo late to help the corn. We need rain nowfor beans. Ours are very short and havelow pod counts. Fertilizer seems to go upweekly. They say its supply and demand.Farmers are busy getting equipment readyand some are harvesting. Yields in ourarea will be 140 bushels per acre andlower. Beans will be below 35 if we don’tget rain.

David Schaal, St. Peter, Fayette County: It was a dryweek here, other than a sprin-kle or two. Again farmers aredoing yield checks on cornand are not finding the above-average yields everyonearound here was looking orhoping for a few weeks ago.Soybeans could use a good

drink to help put pods on or fill pods thatare there, depending on planting date andmaturity. There was some bean fungicideput on this past week. Roadside andwaterway mowing, along with grain bincleaning and harvesting equipmentpreparation is going on. Have a goodweek.

Ted Kuebrich, Jerseyville, Jersey County: The cornplanted the first week of Aprilin the Illinois River bottomwest of Fieldon is starting toshow signs of maturing anddrying down. Plant leaves aredrying from top to bottom,which is normal for the timethe crop was planted. On the

other hand, as you drive past other fieldsplanted later on lighter clay soil or sandysoil, the corn is showing more stress. Thebottom leaves are fired up almost to theear. Around Jerseyville on good, black,well-drained soil, the corn stalks are stillgreen. The beans are doing well and put-ting on many pods. Prices at JerseyCounty Grain, Hardin: cash corn, $6.93;fall corn, $6.92; January 2012 corn, $7.01;cash beans, $13.39; fall beans, $13.40;January 2012 beans, $13.55; June/Julywheat, $6.67.


CROPWATCHERS

Rick Corners, Centralia, Jefferson County: Oh my, we needa rain really bad. Yields are fallingas fast as the Cardinals in theNational League Central. Rainwas predicted for the weekend.

Randy Anderson, Galatia, Saline County: What apleasant week. We had mildtemps and finally received a lit-tle more than 1 inch of rain onThursday. The April corn is look-ing like it will be ready the firstweek of September. I would sayit looks to be a fair crop on myfarm, but there will be some

areas in the county that will be very good.We are finishing up making hay and tryingto get equipment ready for fall. I’ve been tosome field days, and it looks like LibertyLink soybeans are going to be a hot item.Something everyone needs to watch outfor are all the little kids, and the big yellowbuses because those buses haul ourfuture.

Kevin Raber, Browns, Wabash County: We stayed awayfrom the oppressive heat thispast week with highs in the 80sor low 90s. It made outside workmuch more comfortable. It rainedThursday afternoon. Rainfallamounts varied — some placesgot a flood and others hardly any.The rain may not help the early-

planted corn. But the later corn and all soy-beans will benefit from the cooler tempera-tures and soil moisture.

Dean Shields, Murphysboro, Jackson County: This pastweek it cooled down and we gotanywhere from 0 to 0.9 of aninch of rain over the county.Hurray, hurray — the flood waterhas finally left my river bottomproperty. Corn is maturing. Awindstorm come through andblew down 50 acres of corn.

Most of it is flat, so I am working on getting areel on my corn head so I can pick it back up.The jury is still out on yield. Everybody has adifferent opinion on how the corn and beanyields are going to be. I think we could havesome pretty good corn in places and not sogood in others. Wheat field beans now arewell above the stubble and looking good.There still has been a little bit of spraying.More right’s-of-way are being mowed andequipment is now being pulled out of theshed and readied for harvest. Everyone takecare and be safe.

Dan Meinhart, Montrose, Jasper County: We had a verypleasant week temperature-wise.A couple tenths of rain fell in veryisolated areas on Saturday, Aug.13. The entire area could use agood general rain. Fungicide andinsecticide are being applied tosoybeans. Some early fields ofcorn are showing signs of maturi-

ty. Farmers continue to clean out grain bins inpreparation for harvest. They also are mowingroad ditches and waterways and going to fairsand seed companies’ field days. Mild weatheris expected to continue this week with a slightchance of rain.

Dave Hankammer, Millstadt, St. Clair County: It was mildenough during the first part of lastweek that I was able to give the airconditioner a rest during theevening hours. Temps in the low90s, however, returned at the endof the week. Unfortunately, we hadno rain for the week. Farmers werebusy making hay while others

were chopping sudan grass for silage. Somereported they were scouting their soybeanfields for spider mites and are concerned thatinfestation levels may be nearing treatmentlevels. Also, signs of heat stress on the soy-bean plants are apparent with the slow set-ting and filling of seed pods. A good soakingrain is needed to help this crop along. Localgrain bids are corn, $6.83; soybeans, $13.39;wheat, $6.57. Have a safe week.


CROPWATCHERS

Reports received Friday morning. Expanded crop and weather infor-mation available at {www.farmweeknow.com}.

Cooler temps stabilize crops; markets still jumpyBY DANIEL GRANTFarmWeek

Crop conditions stabilizedlast week as Mother Natureprovided some relief fromthe heat in the form of cool-er temperatures and spottyrainfall.

The portion of the cropsstatewide rated good toexcellent as of the first oflast week was unchanged at57 percent for soybeans and50 percent for corn, theNational Agricultural Statis-tics Service (NASS) Illinoisfield office reported.

The crop condition ratingsprior to last week haddeclined for five consecutiveweeks.

“Slightly cooler weatherand scattered showers acrossmuch of the state made for afavorable growing week and

However, some of the lostyield potential appears to befactored into the currentUSDA estimate as opposedto last year when USDA inAugust projected a corn yieldof 165 bushels per acrebefore that number fell to152.8 bushels by the end ofthe season.

“A year ago expectationswere relatively good until(farmers) actually went in thefield and started harvestingand it got increasinglyworse,” Durchholz told theRFD Radio Network. “I kindof wonder this year are farm-ers’ expectations, because ofwhat happened last year,already dialed down?

“I’m not saying the cropwon’t get smaller,” he contin-ued. “But I bet it doesn’t geta whole lot smaller.”

The tight supplies shouldkeep pressure on crop prices.But high prices and econom-ic trouble in parts of theworld could cut into demand.

Corn also could face com-petition from other grainswhile U.S. soybean salescould be impacted by anoth-er large South Americancrop.

USDA this month project-ed world wheat productionthis year is up 3.7 percent.

“We have a huge wheatcrop in the world and pricesthat are competitive withcorn,” Durchholz said. Feedwheat “will continue to be adrag on corn exports.”

USDA last week reportedU.S. corn export sales as ofAug. 18 were down 35 per-cent from the four-weekaverage.

was a welcomed change fromthe hot and dry conditionsexperienced throughout thesummer thus far,” NASS not-ed in its weekly crop condi-tion update.

The statewide temperaturethe second week of Augustaveraged 72.5 degrees, 1.2degrees below normal.

Precipitation, however,remained very spotty. Topsoilmoisture last week was rated84 and 80 percent adequateto surplus in Northeasternand Northwestern Illinois,respectively, while 85 percentof topsoil moisture in thewest, 83 percent in the east,and 81 percent in the west-southwest portions of thestate was rated short/veryshort.

“Based on the way thegrowing season is ending,

the size of the 2011 cropcould be smaller than theAugust projection,” saidDarrel Good, University ofIllinois Extension econo-mist.

USDA earlier this monthprojected national yield aver-ages of 153 bushels per acrefor corn and 41.4 bushels forsoybeans, down from the pre-vious forecast of 158.7bushels for corn and 43.4bushels for beans.

Elwynn Taylor, Iowa StateUniversity Extension clima-tologist, last week projected anational corn yield average of149 bushels per acre basedon weather challenges.

Dale Durchholz, AgriVi-sor market analyst, notedcorn ear weight estimatescurrently are below the five-year average.

Time to evaluate your 2011 weed control systemBY BARRY NASH

During the month ofAugust most of us arefocused on evaluating corn

and soybeanfields to esti-mate yieldpotential forthe year.

Unfortu-nately, weoften over-look the factthat this timeof year is ide-

al for evaluating our weedcontrol programs.

Right now, most of ourkey weeds are at or nearingmaturity, making weed identi-fication much easier. Leavesare fully expanded and seedheads are developed — twokey factors in successful

production from these weedscan range from 60,000 seedsper plant (giant ragweed) and200,000 seeds per plant(marestail) to more than400,000 seeds per plant(waterhemp).

Thus, that spot in the fieldthat has a couple dozen water-hemp plants equates to 9.6million seeds — and then werun them through the com-bine.

If weed pressures are toohigh to justify rouging, theuse of a two-pass programis essential for your 2012

weed control system. A residual herbicide appli-

cation prior to or near toplanting followed by a poste-mergence glyphosate applica-tion is critical to a successfulweed management system.

For more information onweed identification and suc-cessful weed control prac-tices, contact your local cropspecialist.

Barry Nash is GROW-MARK’s weed science technicalmanager. His e-mail address [email protected].

weed identification. Additionally, problem areas

within a field are easily identi-fiable and should be noted ordocumented for future refer-ence.

Key weeds to look forinclude small-seededbroadleaves such as water-hemp, lambsquarter, andmarestail (horseweed), as wellas a few large-seededbroadleaves such as commonragweed, giant ragweed. andmorningglory. Be sure tocheck fields closely as theseweeds can produce seed atvery short heights.

If any of these weedsare observed in the sameareas of a field over a two-to three-year period, seri-ous consideration shouldbe given to rouging these

weeds out. Yes, rouging. For the younger generation,

that means using a corn knifeor weed hook and physicallyremoving these plants fromthe field in order to preventthe possibility of developingweed resistance.

Keep in mind that not onlydo these weeds have a uniqueability to survive and thrive(that’s why they’re calledweeds), but they also produceextremely high amounts ofseed.

Multiple years of universityresearch has shown that seed

Barry Nash

U oF I Agronomy DAy


Emerson Nafziger, University of Illinois crop sciences professor, showsstunted ears with “zippers” or flat missing rows of kernels on one side,during last week’s Agronomy Day on the South Farms. Nafziger specu-lated the ears were the result of plant populations that were too high.(Photo by Kay Shipman)

U of I Agronomy Day

Pessimism abounds on corn cropBY KAY SHIPMANFarmWeek

Gloomy corn yield predic-tions permeated the sunny skiesover the University of Illinois’South Farms on Agronomy Daylast week.

After quizzing some farmerson their corn yield estimates, Uof I crop sciences professorEmerson Nafziger even joked:“You bunch of pessimists.”

Later, Nafziger noted thatgroup’s gloomy projection wasechoed by many Agronomy Dayattendees. “They’re pretty pes-simistic on yields,” he said.

Nafziger reminded farmersto look on the bright side. Inrecent days, the corn cropreceived less than two inches ofrain, but used nine to 10 inches

of water in development.“The fact it’s alive still is

remarkable,” Nafziger said. Thecorn’s health may be attributedto fertile soils and the improvedhybrids planted, he added.

Farmers also may improvethe growing conditions for cornby using tillage for its intendedpurposes — conditioning theseedbed and the root zone,Nafziger said.

If those soil conditions existwithout additional tillage, thenmore tillage isn’t necessary, hesaid.

U of I research studies havefound “deep ripping” of soilhas little effect on corn yields,he noted.

“Today, we should only doas much tillage as necessary toget a good stand and to helpthe roots grow better,”Nafziger advised. “Keep itpractical. We don’t have tomake it so (corn) roots cangrow four-feet deep.”

‘Today, we shouldonly do as muchtillage as neces-sary to get a goodstand and to helpthe roo t s g rowbetter.’

— Emerson NafzigerUniversity of Illinois crops

sciences professor

Agronomy Day recruiting for future crop scientists prevalentFuture agronomists and

plant breeders, the Universityof Illinois wants you. Thatmessage came through loudand clean amid reports ofresearch results last week.

Agronomy Day attendeesrepeatedly were encouraged totell prospective students aboutthe variety of careers and jobopenings for crop science grad-uates. Student recruiting had amuch higher profile comparedto past Agronomy Days.

In the research fields, the

exhibit tent, and nearly every-where, the crop science depart-ment took every opportunity torecruit students.

Before U of I plant breed-ing professor Fred Kolbreported on wheat scab man-agement, he urged high schoolstudents interested in plants toconsider studying plant scienceat the U of I. Kolb is the teach-ing and adviser coordinator forcrop science undergraduates.

While waiting for tour wag-ons to load, U of I Extension

media specialist Todd Glea-son described his experiencein transferring from a com-munity college to the U of Iand encouraged prospectivestudents to contact him formore information.

“There are fantasticopportunities for students

who graduate out of ourdepartment. There is a lot ofdemand for well-educatedagronomists,” GermanBollero, crop sciencesdepartment head, toldFarmWeek.

“We have seen (studentenrollment) numbers have

not increased the past fewyears,” Bollero said. “Thereason we are tapping the(Agronomy Day) audience iswe want everyone to help us(recruit). We want parents tosay, ‘Why don’t you look atthe department of crop sci-ences?’” — Kay Shipman

A farmer audience chuck-led nervously when Universityof Illinois weed science pro-fessor Aaron Hager waved aheavy-duty hoe and describedit as the best tool to controltheir next potential weed foe— Palmer amaranth.

“We don’t know if this(Palmer amaranth) will be aproblem in the central part ofthe state, but it will be a plantwe’re going to keep an eyeon,” Hager told attendees atAgronomy Day last week onthe South Farms in Urbana.

Glyphosate-resistant popu-lations of Palmer amaranthhave been confirmed inSouthern Illinois counties.Given the weed’s track record

in the southern U.S., farmersneed to be prepared, accord-ing to Hager.

“This weed has causedfields in the South to be bush-hogged down so they (Palmeramaranth) don’t make seeds,”Hager said. Southern farmershave reported corn yield lossesas great as 91 percent due toPalmer amaranth pressure, hesaid.

The weed is very competi-tive with crops, grows as muchas two to three inches a day,and can shoot roots deep intosoil because it is a desert plant.

If Palmer amaranth doesbecome a problem, farmerswill need to integrate tillagewith pre-plant and post-plant

herbicide applications to con-trol the weed, Hager said.

Meanwhile, glyphosate-resistant populations ofwaterhemp continue to beconfirmed around Illinois,although final totals aren’tknown because researcherscontinue to test suspectedresistant weed samples.

Hager noted a troublingtrend in waterhemp herbi-cide resistance.

About 7 percent of test-ed samples show resistanceto three classes of herbi-cides.

“This is going to get awhole lot worse before itgets better,” he warned. —Kay Shipman

Move over waterhemp, here comes Palmer amaranth

Aaron Hager, University ofIllinois weed science profes-sor, displays the leaves of aPalmer amaranth plant dur-ing last week’s AgronomyDay on t he Sou th Fa rms .Hager warned herbicide-re-sistant populations of Palmeramaranth have been con-firmed in Southern Illinois.(Photo by Kay Shipman)

Food security


Documentary about raw milksales to show in Chicago

File this in the “just so you know” category: A documentaryabout government intervention in sales of raw milk will beshown at the end of August in Chicago’s Gene Siskel Center.

Entitled “Farmageddon — the Unseen War on AmericanFamily Farms,” the documentary was made by filmmakerKristin Canty. The film shows federal, state, and local govern-ments’ actions in the case of a Venice, Calif., health food co-op.

Canty is a member of the Farm-to-Consumer LegalDefense Fund, based in Falls Church, Va.

Imaging technology may enhance food inspections, safetyBY DANIEL GRANTFarmWeek

A picture could be worth alot more than a thousandwords when it comes to foodsafety.

High-speed imaging, knownas spectral sensing technology,being tested by USDA’s Agri-cultural Research Service(ARS) could improve the quali-ty of food inspections nation-wide without slowing process-ing time.

Automated imaging meth-ods can capture photos onhigh-speed processing linesthat can help detect contamina-tion of food products or foodprocessing equipment.

“(Multi-spectral) imagingcan speed up inspections anddetermine the wholesomenessof each bird,” Diane Chan, agengineer at the ARS Environ-mental Microbial and FoodSafety Lab, recently told Illi-nois Farm Bureau Marketers toWashington participants.

ARS currently is studyingthe use of high-speed imaging

for the automated inspectionof poultry, cereal grains, andfruits and vegetables, and forsanitation inspections.

The automated poultryinspection technology, whichhas a patent pending, canprocess 140 birds per minute.The American poultry industryproduces about 9 billion chick-ens per year and USDA mustinspect every bird, post-mortem, that is sold for humanconsumption.

Automated inspection sys-tems have been developed tohelp chicken processing plantsimprove food safety on high-speed processing lines.

Meanwhile, methods toimprove the inspection offruits and vegetables havebecome a priority due to vari-ous outbreaks of foodborneillnesses such as E. coli and sal-monella, according to Chan.

“We can detect indicators(such as fecal matter) that maylead to E. coli,” Chan said.

Manure used as fertilizer,nearby pastures, and wildlife

are potential sources of fecalcontamination on fresh pro-duce. Surface defects on fruitsand vegetables, which can bedetected with spectral imaging,also can favor bacterial growth.

ARS also is studying the useif spectral sensing for the high-speed inspection of single ker-nels of cereal grain.

The technology could beused to detect scab-damagedwheat kernels, for example,that often are shrunken, under-weight, difficult to mill, andcontaminated with mycotoxins.

Overall, the priorities atARS specified by the Obamaadministration are food safety,food security, nutrition/child-

hood obesity, bioenergy, andclimate change, according toJay Green, technical informa-tion specialist at the ARSBeltsville Ag Research Centerin Maryland.

ARS has about 2,500 scien-tists working on about 1,200projects with an annual budgetof about $1 billion.

Diane Chan, ag engineer, demonstrates automated imaging methods developed by USDA’s Ag ResearchService (ARS) that can be used to improve the effectiveness of chicken inspections without sacrificing process-ing time. The U.S. poultry industry, which produces about 9 billion chickens each year, could inspect about140 birds per minute with each device at processing plants around the country. The current prototype is beingtested at the ARS Environmental Microbial and Food Safety Lab in Beltsville, Md. (Photo by Daniel Grant)

Country Financial will helpFarm Progress Show visitorsrelax and learn Aug. 30through Sept. 1.

Country will be located inBooth 749 next to the IllinoisFarm Bureau at the Decaturfarm show.

Visitors may register to wina Cub Cadet lawn tractor orone of six rocking chairs, fourof which will be available fora relaxing test run on the

Country front porch.“We welcome all visitors

to our booth to sit back andshare a free glass of lemon-ade with us. We’ll also beavailable to talk about farm-ers’ interests — everythingfrom crop coverage to pro-tecting newly purchasedequipment,” said Sheri Bane,director of commercialagribusiness and productdevelopment.

Country Financial to offerFarm Progress Show relaxation

Titan Tire auction at Farm Progress Show to support FFA

Titan Tire will sponsor a tire auction to support the IllinoisFFA on Aug. 30 and 31 at the Farm Progress Show, Decatur. Theauction will be held at 1 p.m. both days on Lot 1205 locatedbetween 11th and 12th streets next to East Progress Ave.

The auction will include a wide range of tires plus seed corn,crop chemicals, and miscellaneous items donated by FarmProgress Show exhibitors. The same number and sizes of tireswill be offered both days of the auction.

A complete list of tires available at the auction will be postedonline at {www.illinoisffa.org} and {www.centralillinoisauc-tions.net}.

Prospective bidders may register for the auction and pick up abidder number in the FFA/Agricultural Education tent each daybefore the auction on Tuesday and Wednesday. Cash, check, orcredit card will be accepted.

YOUNG LEADERS


BY DANIEL GRANTFarmWeek

The U.S. Grains Council(USGC) earlier this monthtoured the northern plain ofChina and found what appearsto be more corn acres and bet-ter-than-average growing con-ditions.

But even a bumper corncrop in China this year likelywon’t satisfy booming demandthere, according to FloydGaibler, USGC director oftrade policy.

“Even though they (theChinese) expanded corn

acreage thisyear, they’renot in a goodsituation (tomeet all thedemand forcorn),”Gaibler toldIllinois FarmBureau Mar-keters to

Washington participants.China’s stocks-to-use ratio

for corn the past five years hasplummeted from about 30 per-cent to 15 percent.

Meanwhile, Chinesedemand for feed grains isincreasing about 3 to 6 percentper year due to increaseddemand for food spurred by agrowing population that hasmore spending power.

China’s middle class isexpected to surpass 325 millionpeople (larger than the entireU.S. population) by 2020 whilethe gross domestic production(GDP) there has been growingat an annual clip of about 9 per-cent the past decade.

“It (China’s GDP) is slow-ing a bit, but we still expectrapid economic growth, whichtranslates to increased fooddemand,” Gaibler said.

Chinese farmers have

responded to increased fooddemand by planting morefruits and vegetables, accord-ing to the USGC official. Theyalso are building up hog pro-

duction (the portion of hogsin commercial productionfacilities in China the past fiveyears has grown from 35 per-cent to 65 percent) and thedairy herd (annual dairy feeddemand is growing 14 per-cent).

The shifts on Chinese farmshave cut into row crop produc-tion at a time when demandfor grain and oilseeds is boom-ing.

China, which consistentlywas a net exporter of cornfrom the late 1990s untilrecent years, reportedlyordered 21 million bushels ofU.S. corn in July, which wasmore than USDA expected forthe entire year, the Wall StreetJournal reported.

“They (the Chinese) haveaccepted the reality they haveto import their soybeans,”Gaibler said. “And their abilityto expand (corn) production islimited.”

The USGC official estimat-ed China corn import needsmay reach 15 million metrictons (585 million bushels) by2015.

China also is on pace toincrease its imports of U.S.distillers grains from 3.2 mil-lion metric tons (mmt) in 2010to anywhere from 4 mmt to 8mmt in the next few years. TheU.S. currently exports about 10mmt of distillers grains peryear to all destinations.

USGC official: Good corn crop in China won’t satisfy demand

Floyd Gaibler

FarmWeekNow.com

Listen to comments fromFloyd Gaibler about Chi-nese corn prospects atFarmWeekNow.com.

YOUNG LEADER AWARD WINNERS

Stephanie and Kirk Liefer of Red Bud in Randolph County lastweek won the 2011 Il l inois Farm Bureau Young LeaderAchievement Award. The announcement was made during theIllinois State Fair in Springfield. The Achievement Award rec-ognizes extraordinary accomplishments in farming and lead-ership. Matt and Jenna Kilgus of Fairbury in Livingston Countywere the runners-up. Also at the fair, Alan Chesnut, right, ofRidge Farm in Vermilion County won the 2011 Young LeaderExcellence in Ag Award. The award recognizes Young Lead-ers who may not be full-time farmers for their efforts in agand leadership achievement. (Photos by Ken Kashian)

QUIZ BOWL COMPETITORS

Teams of county Farm Bureau Young Leaders test their knowledgeduring a round of the Young Leader Agri-Quiz Bowl on AgricultureDay at the Illinois State Fair. A team from Champaign County cap-tured first place. The other winning teams were from Perry County,second place; Sangamon County, third place; and Effingham Coun-ty, fourth place. (Photo by Cyndi Cook)

from the counties


BUREAU — FarmBureau will sponsor a

fall task force meeting at 6 p.m.Tuesday, Sept. 6, at the FarmBureau office. Members will beable to choose from four maintask forces which include educa-tion, member relations, farmbusiness, and government andpolicy. Members will attendonly two meetings a year. Callthe Farm Bureau office at 815-875-6468 for more information.

• Farm Bureau and Ag in theClassroom will sponsor a fallkickoff meeting for teachers at4 p.m. Wednesday, Sept. 7, atthe Farm Bureau office. SaraHildebrand, Ag in the Class-room coordinator, will havematerials available for classroominstruction. Continuing educa-tion credits will be given toteachers who attend. Call theFarm Bureau office at 815-875-6468 or e-mail Sara [email protected] forreservations or more informa-tion.

CARROLL — FarmBureau will sponsor an

“On the Road” seminar at 7p.m. Wednesday at the CarrollCounty Fairgrounds. Call theFarm Bureau office at 815-244-3001 or go online at {[email protected]} for reservationsor more information.

LASALLE — LaSalle,Grundy, Kendall, and

Will County Farm Bureaus willsponsor a bus trip Tuesday, Aug.30, to the Farm Progress Show,Decatur. Cost is $40. Call theFarm Bureau office at 815-433-0371 or the Kendall CountyFarm Bureau at 630-553-7403for more information.

• The annual seed plot daywill be at noon Tuesday, Sept. 6,at the corner of E 12th and2950th Road, Ottawa. Lunchwill be served. Todd Tesdal,GraincoFS marketing manager,will be the speaker. Call theFarm Bureau office at 815-433-0371 for more information.

LEE — The Lee CountyFarm Bureau Founda-

tion will sponsor a raffle withfive $100 prizes and one $1,000grand prize. Tickets are $10each. The winner will be select-ed at the Lee County FarmBureau annual meeting at 10a.m. Thursday, Jan. 19. All pro-ceeds will help fund the ag liter-acy programs. Tickets are avail-able at the Farm Bureau officeor from a board director. Callthe Farm Bureau office at 815-857-3531 or [email protected] for moreinformation.

LIVINGSTON — TheLivingston County Farm

Bureau Foundation will sponsora “Pull for Ag Students”fundraiser at 8:30 a.m. Sundayat the Livingston CountyBureau Gun Club, 4-H Park,Pontiac. Fifty-bird derby is $15,which includes targets andlunch. All proceeds will benefitthe Foundation and NaylorScholarship. Call the FarmBureau office for more infor-mation.

• The Marketing Committeewill sponsor an “Ag Profession-als” breakfast at 7:30 a.m.Thursday, Sept. 1, at the PontiacFamily Kitchen, Pontiac. JerryQuick, former Illinois FarmBureau senior counsel, will dis-cuss master agreements for saleof grain and prepayments for aginputs. Call the Farm Bureauoffice at 815-842-1103 or [email protected] by Mon-day, Aug. 29, for reservations ormore information.

PEORIA — The deadlineto submit pictures for

the photo contest is Thursday,Sept. 1. Members should placetheir name on the back of eachpicture. Cash awards will begiven for first, second, and thirdplace in three categories. A Bestof Show award also will be giv-en.

ROCK ISLAND —

Farm Bureau is seeking

nominations for the first everHall of Fame award to be pre-sented to individuals who havemade an impact on Rock IslandCounty farming and agriculture.The winner will be beannounced at the Harvest Galaevent at 6 p.m. Saturday, Nov.12, at the iWireless Center,Moline. Nomination forms areavailable at the Farm Bureauoffice. Deadline to submit nom-inations is Wednesday, Aug. 31.

STARK — Farm Bureauwill sponsor a river cruise

Thursday, Sept. 15, from St.Louis to Kimmswick, Mo.Lunch will be at the Blue Owlwith shopping to follow. Cost is$130, which includes bus,cruise, and lunch. The bus willleave the Farm Bureau office at5:30 a.m. Call the Farm Bureauoffice at 286-7481 for moreinformation.

STEPHENSON —

Farm Bureau will sponsora bus trip Wednesday, Aug. 31,to the Farm Progress Show,Decatur. Passengers will bepicked up in Freeport andRockford. Cost is $30 for mem-bers and $35 for non-members,which includes transportationand refreshments on the bus.Discounted show admission canbe found at

{www.farmprogress show.com}.Call the Farm Bureau office at815-232-3186 for reservationsor more information.

• Orders for Terri Lynn nutsand candies are due and mustbe paid for by Oct. 28. Deliv-ery will be the week ofThanksgiving. Visit the web-site {www.stephensoncfb.org}or call 815-232-3186 for moreinformation.

• A family portrait programfor members will be Nov. 12-13 at the Farm Bureau office.Katie Lynn Photography willprovide the portraits. Call theFarm Bureau office at 815-232-3186 for a sitting or visit thewebsite {www.stephenson -cfb.org} for more information.

VERMILION — Ag inthe Classroom open

houses will be from 4 to 7 p.m.Monday, Aug. 29, and from 4to 5 p.m. Tuesday, Aug. 30, inthe Farm Bureau auditorium.Staci Walker, ag literacy coordi-nator, will have ag learning kitsand materials available. Class-room presentations also maybe scheduled with the teachers.

• The Vermilion CountyFarm Bureau Foundation isasking farmers to considerdonating some of their fall har-vest to the Acres for Agricul-

ture Education fundraisingdrive. Producers may pledgeany amount of grain and workwith their local elevator so thatthe donation gets applied tothe foundation. Call the FarmBureau office at 217-442-8713for more information.

WAYNE — The thirdannual Wayne County

Tractor Drive will be on LaborDay, Sept. 5. The event willbegin and end at the WayneCounty Fairgrounds, Fairfield.Tractors will travel to WhiteFarms, Geff. Forty antiquetractors of the Carroll WhiteCollection will be on display.Download an application at{www.waynecfb.com}.

WHITE — The annualWhite County crop

tour will begin at 7 a.m. withbreakfast Wednesday, Sept. 7,at the Farm Bureau office.Teams will return at 11 a.m. forlunch and accumulation ofdata. Call the Farm Bureauoffice at 618-382-8512 forreservations or more informa-tion.

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

proFitability


Feeder pig prices reported to USDA*Weight Range Per Head Weighted Ave. Price10 lbs. $19.00-$42.25 $34.1640 lbs. $33.00 $33.0050 lbs. n/a n/aReceipts This Week Last Week 18,722 26,971*Eastern Corn Belt prices picked up at seller’s farm

MARKET FACTS

Eastern Corn Belt direct hogs (plant delivered)(Prices $ per hundredweight)

This week Prev. week ChangeCarcass $99.99 $101.40 -1.41Live $73.99 $75.04 -1.04

Export inspections(Million bushels)

Week ending Soybeans Wheat Corn8-11-11 4.3 18.4 27.68-04-11 6.1 27.3 35.5Last year 16.7 22.0 33.0Season total 1458.6 230.5 1693.6Previous season total 1429.5 187.9 1767.4USDA projected total 1540 1295 1900Crop marketing year began June 1 for wheat and Sept. 1 for corn and soybeans.

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

Steers 113.84 116.02 -2.18Heifers 113.71 116.03 -2.32

USDA five-state area slaughter cattle price

This is a composite price of feeder cattle transactions in 27 states.(Prices $ per hundredweight)

This week Prev. week Change 134.39 134.67 -0.28

CME feeder cattle index — 600-800 Lbs.

Lamb prices

Slaughter Prices - Negotiated, Live, wooled and shorn 110-190 lbs. for 167.24-212$/cwt. (wtd. ave. 188.86); dressed, no sales reported.

2011 crop still holds promise for a strong B+BY JEFF BUNTING

Even though this year’scrop was planted late, it was

lookingstrongthrough themonth ofJune andthen camethe hot, dryweather inJuly.

Some areconvinced that the crop willbe below expectations. How-ever, I would suggest that it isa strong B+. Let me explain.

FS crop specialists havecommented that many of theircustomers stuck to their origi-nal plans despite the lategrowing season. Last winter,the common phrase was weedresistance.

Many soybean acres weretreated with a soil-applied her-bicide to help with hard-to-control weeds and provideresidual control throughoutthe season. Yes, there are anumber of issues with certainweed species, but many of thesoybean fields across Illinoisstill look weed-free today.

For those fields that haveherbicide resistance, your cropspecialist will be able to helpyou identify a solution for2012.

Another bright spot hasbeen the use of fungicides tohelp protect yield. Going

into this year, the concept ofapplying a fungicide early inthe growth stage was newand exciting, a means to pro-tect the corn crop early fromdisease. That applicationwas adopted with some suc-cess.

In many places, the corncrop went from V1 to V10 inno time at all, resulting in ashort window to make thefungicide application. Overthe last couple months, the

normal fungicide applicationtiming saw many fields treatedwith a fungicide.

It’s important to under-stand that integrated pestmanagement practices shouldbe followed, and that yourcrop specialist can explainthe conditions that wouldsuggest the use of fungicideearly in the 2012 growingseason.

Many growers have beenincluding nitrogen stabilizers

to protect nitrogen in the envi-ronment. Crop specialists havetaken the approach of manag-ing nitrogen applications as asystem.

This helps protect the envi-ronment as well as gives thecorn crop the chance toachieve maximum yields. Ifyou’re not aware of this prac-tice or need more information,contact your local FS crop spe-cialist.

We gave this year’s crop the

best chance for success. Ascombines begin rolling andyou start planning for nextyear, take time to learn frompractices implemented thisyear and consider them fornext year to give your farmingoperation a strong start in2012.

Jeff Bunting is GROW-MARK’s crop protection marketingmanager. His e-mail address [email protected].

Jeff Bunting

USDA focuses on role of ag in changing environmentBY DANIEL GRANTFarmWeek

Agriculture, a source ofmethane and nitrous oxide,often gets blasted in climatechange debate.

However, USDAresearchers and scientistsbelieve the industry actuallycan help lower greenhouse gas(GHG) emissions in the futurethrough increased carbonsequestration and biofuelsproduction.

USDA’s Climate ChangeProgram Office is attemptingto develop a standard set ofGHG guidelines and methodsfor measurement that can helpfarmers participate in environ-mental markets down the road.

“We’re trying to develop thetools to allow landowners toparticipate in any type of envi-ronmental markets that may beavailable,” Marlen Eve, USDA

environmental scientist, toldparticipants of the IllinoisFarm Bureau Marketers toWashington trip this month.

A lot of research has beendone on how different aglands/farm practices — suchas cropland, forests, and ani-mal feedlots — impact GHGemissions, according to Eve.

USDA is in the process ofdeveloping a computer-basedtool that can assess all types ofoperations and how they inter-act with each other.

“The tool being developedwill be user-friendly solandowners can evaluate dif-ferent management scenarios,”Eve said. “The tool could beapplied anywhere in the coun-try on any type of operation.”

An expert/peer review ofthe GHG guidelines and toolis scheduled for the spring of2012 followed by a publicreview in August 2013.

Eve noted the GHG guide-

lines could help USDA reactmore quickly in the event Con-gress passes climate changelegislation. He insisted theguidelines are not designed tocreate legislation or regula-tions.

“First and foremost, it’s atool landowners can use toenter negotiations with theunderstanding there are typesof (environmental) practiceson their farms that may beworth some money,” Eve said.“We are on the side of pro-ducers to make sure there isgood science” behind any pos-sible GHG-reducing practices.

More information is avail-able online at{www.usda.gov/oce/cli-mate_change/}.

Elsewhere, USDA at itsAgricultural Research Service(ARS) in Beltsville, Md., is tar-geting traits in crops that maybe more valuable in the futurewhen farmers will have to feed

more people in possibly differ-ent growing conditions.

“We have a massive pro-gram under way to determinethe genes responsible for rootarchitecture” in most majorcrops, said Jack Okamuro,national program leader ofgenetic improvement in cropsat ARS.

A better understanding anduse of traits responsible forroot structure can helpresearchers improve water andnutrient use efficiency incrops, according to Okamuro.ARS researchers also are tar-geting crop traits that allowbetter light absorption, controlbiomass production, and thatgrow better in more salinesoils.

“It’s becoming even moreimportant to address anticipat-ed environmental challenges,”Okamuro added. “Global foodsecurity is one of (SecretaryVilsack’s) priorities.”

Cattle prices unfazed by bearish USDA reportCattle prices, which

dropped about $6 per hun-dredweight early last week,hardly nudged Friday despitethe release of a fairly bearishcattle on feed report.

USDA on Friday estimatedthe number of cattle and calveson feed as of Aug. 1 in the U.S.(10.63 million head) was up 8percent from a year ago.

Meanwhile, placements infeedlots in July were pegged at2.15 million head, 22 percentabove a year ago. The projectionsfor placements and cattle on feedwere up slightly from pre-reportestimates, according to GrahamUtter, AgriVisor market analyst.

“When you look at what themarket did (last week),(traders) expected the reportto be bearish, and that’s theway it came out,” Utter said.

December cattle futures,which last week plunged fromabout $122 per hundredweight

to $116, remained steady onFriday afternoon.

“We’re not seeing muchresponse (to the report) in thefutures market,” Utter said. “Ifthat’s any indication, thisreport already was built intothe market.”

The run-up in on-feed andmarketing numbers likely wasthe result of a tightening feedsituation, according to Utter.

Corn prices have firmed upin recent weeks as USDA thismonth lowered its national yieldestimate by more than 4 bushelsper acre while at the same timesevere drought in the southernU.S. has burned up crops andreduced feed availability.

“We’re seeing strong cornprices,” Utter said. “It’s goingto cause these (cattle) guys topush cattle through feedlotsfaster and continue the liqui-dation of herds.”

Fortunately, cattle pricesshould remain strong as well.

Utter predicted pricesbriefly could dip to $112 to$114 per hundredweight in thewake of the bearish report butthen rebound back to the $116to $120 trading range.

“The saving grace of thewhole report is exports continueto be strong,” the analyst said.

U.S. beef exports in Junetotaled $461.8 million, whichwas the second-highest totalever and 23 percent higher thanin June 2010, the U.S. MeatExport Federation reported.

In fact, beef exports cur-rently are on pace to set ayearly record and, for the firsttime ever, could eclipse $5 bil-lion. — Daniel Grant

FarmWeekNow.com

For more detai ls of USDA’scat t le on feed repor t, go toFarmWeekNow.com.

PROFITABILITY

AgriVisor Hotline Number

309-557-2274

AgriVisor endorsescrop insurance by

Policies issued by COUNTRYMutual Insurance Company®,

Bloomington, Illinois

AgriVisor LLC1701 N. Towanda Avenue

PO Box 2500Bloomington IL 61702-2901

309-557-3147

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

CASH STRATEGISTCorn Strategy

ü2010 crop: Wrap up old-crop sales on strength. End-ing stocks could grow fromthe latest USDA forecast.

ü2011 crop: Acreage uncer-tainty joined negative yieldexpectations to carry Decem-ber corn to a new contracthigh last week. Economicuncertainty and a risk-averseattitude of investors kept mar-kets from exploding higherwhen new highs were achieved.That economic uncertainty andmoderating weather may makeit more difficult for the marketto easily sustain gains. Over-done technical indicators leavethe market vulnerable to sharpbreaks. If you are comfortablewith production prospects,boost sales to 60 percent,preferably with a hedge-to-arrive (HTA) contract for win-ter/spring delivery.

vFundamentals: Privateyield estimates are seen as eitherconfirming the low USDA fore-cast or causing some to dis-count potential a little more.The trade will be closely watch-ing the results from this week’sCorn Belt crop tour. Exportinterest is being subdued byhigh prices and the availabilityof feed wheat in the world.

Soybean Strategyü2010 crop: Unless nearby

futures quickly pop above $14,there’s little reason to holdold-crop inventory.

ü2011 crop: With Novem-ber futures back in the upperend of the $13-$14 range, werecommend you get sales caughtup to recommended levels, usingcomfortable yield expectations.

vFundamentals: Soybeanprices are still taking their cuefrom the other two grainsbecause of relative price rela-tionships, especially with corn.Amid this, demand continuesto struggle with ongoing poorcrush margins and slow exportbusiness. The new-crop exportsale total is less than last year,and trending at a more subduedpace. The U.S. will fight theavailability of South Americansupplies deeper into the fallthan usual. The Farm ServiceAgency acreage numbers gavethe market a brief lift, but theyare deemed less important tosoybeans than the other twomajor crops.

Wheat Strategyü2011 crop: The short-term

trend in wheat has turned up,with Chicago December futuresclearing $7.50. Use currentstrength to make catch up sales.We may recommend another 20percent sale if December movesup near $8. Check the Hotlinedaily. If you need to movewheat out of storage before fallharvest, either get it priced orarrange for commercial storage.The carry in futures more thanpays for commercial storage.Because of the carry, we prefer

HTA contracts for winter orspring delivery for sales.

vFundamentals: Therecent market strength wasbased in part on concern aboutspring wheat yields and therebound in equity markets. Ear-ly harvest reports in the North-ern Plains suggest the summer’swarm, dry conditions may havehelped cap yield potential. Atthe same time, the approach ofplanting in the Southern Plainsand the persistent droughtalready is triggering concernabout the 2012 wheat crop.

suggests farmer yield expecta-tions on average were below the153-bushel yield USDA forecastin the August report.

Given last year’s experience,that doesn’t surprise us.Farmer expectations wereextremely high mid-summer.The implied ear weight on theAugust report was near recordhigh and above the five-yearaverage at that time.

It declined somewhat by theSeptember report with thewarm August temperatures,only to fall precipitously afterthat when farmers started har-vest and realized the cropsweren’t nearly as good as theyhoped. As one USDA analystput it regarding the two datasources they have to projectyields, “farmers were slowest torealize the crop wasn’t there.”

Given last year’s experience,the July heat, and the low early“implied ear weight,” we cannothelp but wonder if the oppositemight be true to some degreethis year. Admittedly, yields willbe down, but are producersover-reacting the other way tosome degree this year?

Elwynn Taylor at Iowa StateUniversity recently forecast a149-bushel corn yield. Basedon the understanding of USDAprocedures and its Augustreport, we think there’s littlerisk of a significant decline inyields. And we wouldn’t beshocked if the final one provesto be slightly higher than theSeptember USDA projection.

Even though populationdetails are lacking, we believethe population counts aresomewhere between the levelsof the last two years. Giventhat and the state acreage/yieldestimates in the August report,we’ve been able to come upwith an approximate “impliedear weight” for the Augustproduction estimate.

To really understand theimplications of this implied earweight, one has to understandthe construction of the USDAproduction report. It is com-prised of both data collected inthe field and a farmer survey,with yield/production estimatescoming from each data source.

On the field data collectedin August, USDA typicallyassigns an average ear weightand assumes normal weatherthrough the remainder of thegrowing season. The five-yearaverage of the final ear weightis .3338 of a pound, above theimplied ear weight we have cal-culated.

The implied ear weight wederive from data providedincludes the yield results fromboth the field data and farmersurvey. Given that it’s below theaverage USDA uses for estimat-ing yield from the field data, it

Cents per bu.

Corn crop mirror image of ’10?


perspectives


Letter policyLetters are limited to 300 words and must

include a name and address. FarmWeekreserves the right to reject any letter and will notpublish political endorsements.

All letters are subject to editing, andonly an original with a written signatureand complete address will be accepted.

A daytime telephone number is required forverification, but will not be published.

Only one letter per writer will be acceptedin a 60-day period.

Typed letters are preferred. Send letters to:

FarmWeek Letters1701 Towanda Ave.

Bloomington, Ill., 61701

For farmers and ranchers,upholding one’s duty to defendand protect the liberties andideals for which our nationstands is not a choice butrather a debt.

This patriotic spirit has beenengrained in rural agriculturalcommunities since the birth ofour nation. Even today, morethan 44 percent of all U.S. mil-itary troops boast rural roots.

America’s farmers andranchers always have demon-strated unwavering commit-ment to protecting our nationfrom threats both foreign anddomestic. And, as the U.S.faces the growing threat ofindividual acts of terrorism,farmers are honoring theirnational duty by supportingDepartment of HomelandSecurity (DHS) regulations onammonium nitrate fertilizer.

While many farmers andranchers have transitionedaway from ammonium nitrate,the compound still is used as anitrogen source for manycrops, particularly in warmerclimates.

However, in the right con-centrations, ammonium nitratecan be added to explosive

devices to increase the magni-tude of explosions.

Ammonium nitrate wasused in several terrorist attacksincluding the 2005 Londonunderground bombings, andthe 1995 Oklahoma Citybombing that killed 168 peopleand cost the U.S. $1.35 billion.

In 2007, new legislationinstructed DHS to step upexisting efforts to protect thenation from the potential mis-use of ammonium nitrate.

Earlier this summer, DHSannounced initial steps towardcreating the AmmoniumNitrate Security Program(ANSP).

Unlike previous DHS pro-grams focused primarily onsecurity at high-risk chemicalfacilities, ANSP is designed toincrease controls and monitor-ing of sales, purchases, andtransfers of the product.

Purchasers, sellers, and indi-viduals involved in the transferof ammonium nitrate productscontaining 30 percent or moreof the compound by weightwould be required to registerfor approval by DHS.

The registration process isestimated to take about twohours and will require a pay-ment every five years (basedon volume purchased) that theagency estimates would aver-age from less than $100 up to

$832 for farm use.Purchasers who use ammo-

nium nitrate but never come indirect contact with it are notrequired to register.

According to DHS, the pro-gram will be cost-effective if itprevents just one attack thesize of the Oklahoma Citybombing every 14 years.

In keeping with farmers’and ranchers’ commitment toprotecting our great nation,Farm Bureau is working tosupport efforts that help fur-ther secure ammonium nitrate.

This includes requiring indi-viduals making purchases toshow positive identificationand increased agency oversightof sales, provided undue bur-dens are not placed on farm-ers, fertilizer distributors, anddealers.

Farmers and ranchers areproud to produce agriculturalproducts to meet the growingglobal demand for food.

Now more than ever, it isimportant that we provide ourfarmers and ranchers withevery tool at our disposal.

However, we also mustkeep in mind that the risk ofammonium nitrate being usedto commit acts of terror isreal. The new standards willallow farmers and ranchers toassist DHS in monitoringammonium nitrate while still

ensuring the product is avail-able for agricultural produc-tion.

While national securitymust come first, food securityis equally important in ensur-ing the success of our nationand its economy. Through the

combined efforts of bothDHS and our farmers andranchers, we can achieve bal-ance between the two.

Michael Pettengill is a public rela-tions intern at the American FarmBureau Federation.

Farmers pitch in to protect nation

MICHAELPETTENGILL

guest columnist

Once a year, I file an applica-tion with the federal govern-ment for my water supply. If I

missthedead-line byjust a

day, my farm in California’sCentral Valley won’t receiveeven a trickle of water for cropirrigation. Nothing will growand my livelihood will beruined.

So I always make sure thispaperwork is done properly andsubmitted ahead of schedule.Perhaps you experience some-thing similar on April 15, as youscramble to pay taxes.

It would be nice if the gov-ernment returned the favor byperforming important work in atimely manner. Unfortunately,its refusal to do so now threat-ens our country’s economy andfood security.

Federal regulators are sup-

posed to take about six monthsto approve new biotech croptraits that benefit both farmersand consumers. This is accord-ing to the government’s ownguidelines. In reality, theprocess now takes an average ofalmost three years.

Instead of trying to speedup this dawdling performance,however, Washington mayallow the Environmental Pro-tection Agency (EPA) to buildnew hurdles that will turn a badsituation worse, threatening ourcountry’s economy and foodsecurity.

It shouldn’t be this way.President Obama said so earlierthis year, in his State of theUnion address. He announced areview of government regula-tions “to reduce barriers togrowth and investment.”

Then he made a promise:“When we find rules that putan unnecessary burden on busi-ness, we will fix them.”

Obama should fix the delaysin biotech crop approvalsimmediately.

Biotechnology has revolu-tionized farming, allowing us togrow more food on less landand at lower costs. It hasstrengthened our nation’s foodsupply and energized ruraleconomies.

For years, the U.S. has ledthe world in the research, devel-opment, and commercializationof these outstanding products.We’re on the verge of evengreater progress, as scientistsdevelop crops with traits suchas drought tolerance and thebenefits of biotechnologybeing spread to minor crops.

Yet instead of capitalizingon this success, we’re lettingour competitive advantage slipaway. Last year, Brazil approvedeight new biotech traits forcorn, soybeans, and cotton,according to Agri-Pulse.

The United States managed

to approve only two new traits.At this rate, a dozen years willpass before the USDA’s Animaland Plant Health InspectionService (APHIS) gets throughthe 24 applications it alreadyhas pending. A petition submit-ted this year would receive ananswer in 2023.

The delays will grow evenlonger if the EPA getsinvolved.

“The increased regulatoryburdens that would result fromthis expansion would imposesteep barriers to scientificinnovation and product devel-opment across all sectors ofour economy and would notonly fail to enhance safety, butwould likely prolong relianceon less safe and obsolete prac-tices,” a group of 60 scientists,including two Nobel laureates,wrote to EPA AdministratorLisa Jackson last month.

We must restore commonsense to biotech regulations.

If you’re late for your job,the boss docks your pay. Yetthe federal government canignore its own self-imposedregulatory deadlines. Fortu-nately, a first-term member ofCongress has proposed a billwhich offers a solution thatmerits discussion.

Rep. Stephen Fincher isfrom Frog Jump, Tenn. — it’s areal place. He has suggested away for biotech crops toleapfrog a sluggish regulatoryprocess. His legislation wouldrequire APHIS to make a deci-sion on crop applications with-in 180 days (or a little longer ifreasonable extensions arerequired).

“As a farmer myself, Iunderstand that a more effi-cient approval process willresult in increased investmentand jobs,” Fincher said.

Best of all, this legislationwould boost our economy atno cost to taxpayers or thegovernment. At a time of 9percent unemployment andshattered debt ceilings, it maynot be a perfect solution, butit’s a creative and potentiallyeffective response to a naggingproblem.

Fincher proposes a deadline,but what he’s really offering is alifeline.

Ted Sheely raises lettuce, cotton,tomatoes, wheat, pistachios, winegrapes, and garlic on a family farmin California. He is a board mem-ber of Truth About Trade andTechnology that is online at{www.truthabouttrade.org}.

A call for common sense biotech crop regulation by the government

TED SHEELY

guest columnist

farmweek august 22 2011

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