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Monday, May 24, 2010 Two sections Volume 38, No. 21

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

ILLINOIS WILL HAVE a newbudget this week, Gov. Pat Quinnbelieves. But the state will have toborrow money to make its pensionpayments. ...........................................3

EK PETROLEUM, a MoultrieCounty business, has retooled anabandoned service station at Sulli-van with Illinois’ first “blenderpumps.” ............................................4

AN INDIANA WEBSITEknown as Driftwatch allows farm-ers and others to register approxi-mate locations of sensitive crops toavoid drift damage. ..........................3

Office locationsare next phaseBY KAY SHIPMANFarmWeek

The local face of Universityof Illinois Extension will berepresented by 26 multi-coun-ty groups and a single countyoffice in Cook County.

Those new groups nextmust determine the locations

of a main office and localsatellite offices, Bob Hoeft,interim Extensiondirector, toldFarmWeek.

“We need to reducerent costs. It (a satelliteoffice) will be a prettyconservative office,”Hoeft said.

Last week Exten-sion released the reor-ganized county struc-ture (see accompany-ing map). CountyExtension councilsearlier submittedmerger proposals dri-ven in large part by $7million in budget cuts.

Extension continuesto face major fundingchallenges because nostate funding for thecurrent fiscal year hadbeen received as ofMay 19.

The original reor-ganization plan calledfor 30 multi-countygroups of three to fivecounties each. Howev-er, the final structurehas 26 mergers. Thelargest group is com-

prised of seven counties inSoutheastern Illinois.

Factors considered in themergers included partner agen-

cies, geographicresources, and the poten-tial for Extension clientsto work together, accord-ing to Hoeft.

In addition to deter-mining the office loca-tions within the multi-county groups, localExtension councils alsowill propose the kind ofsatellite offices they willhost and the fields ofExtension educatorexpertise they want,Hoeft said.

The university willhave “some input” onthe distribution of edu-cator expertise amongthe multi-county groups,Hoeft said. For example,a livestock specialistmight be asked to workwith a neighboring multi-county group so the uni-versity would not neces-sarily want two educatorswith the same expertiselocated in adjacentgroups, he added.

After multi-countygroups submit their

information, the university willlist all the positions for unitleaders and educators. Hoeftsaid all unit leaders and educa-tors “resigned” when the uni-versity issued a notice that itwas not renewing all contracts.

That means all educator andunit leader positions across thestate are open. “Those folkscan apply” for those posts,Hoeft said.

Although the applicationprocess has not been finalized,applicants probably will specifythe type of position they wantand where they want to belocated, Hoeft said. Extensionemployees also would list theirtop job priorities along withtheir current location.

Hoeft anticipated any inter-views would not be lengthy:“These are all people weknow.”

Local Extension councilswill continue to guide the edu-cational programs, and interestin specific programs will varyacross the state.

The goal is to support rele-vant programs which have ameasurable impact on resi-dents’ quality of life, accordingto Hoeft.

U of I Extension unveils multi-county partner structure

Each color block represents a multi-county Extensiongroup. There will be 26 such groups throughout thestate and a single county office in Cook County.

State policymakers: Climate regs cost consumers BY MARTIN ROSSFarmWeek

Policymakers from acrossthe U.S. argue federal green-house regulations would hin-der energy development andleave low-income Americanspaying a heavy toll.

Minnesota state Sen. MikeJungbauer warned FarmWeekhis Upper Midwest state is“becoming an island untoitself,” where attempts toaddress greenhouse gas(GHG) and other environmen-tal issues have generated apoor business/tax climate andincreased consumer costs.

Piled atop state climate con-trols, mercury regulations, and“a ton of (other) environmen-tal mandates” targeting utilitiesand manufacturers, Minnesota

faces added economic costsfrom regional climate partner-ships and, now, revised U.S.Senate climate proposals, Jung-bauer related during a Chicagoglobal climate conference lastweek.

He pegs the annual publiccost of Minnesota’s stategreenhouse reduction plan(which, like the Senate mea-sure, shoots for an 80 percentGHG reduction over the next40 years) at $16 billion by2050.

Jungbauer suggested federalpolicy would be preferable to apatchwork of state laws, “ifyou believe a policy should beput into place, which I don’t.”

Federal GHG emissionscaps and credit trading wouldbe subject to “political pander-

ing” and “create winners andlosers” in the U.S. energy econ-omy, penalizing Illinois andother states reliant on coal andother fossil energy sources, hesaid.

North Dakota officials havethreatened to sue over the con-stitutionality of Minnesota reg-ulations that impose carbonfees on electricity from out-of-state fossil fuel-poweredplants. Some 800,000 Min-nesotans receive power fromNorth Dakota.

Even a state renewable elec-tricity standard, requiring 25percent of energy generationfrom wind, solar, and othersources by 2025, boosted aver-age power rates by 9.8 percentover an initial 34-month peri-od, Jungbauer said. He said

emissions mandates would“hurt the lowest (economic)level of society.”

“Businesses understand thebasics: If you don’t have cheapenergy and you have high tax-es, that’s a pass-through to theconsumer,” he related.

“Our environmental initia-tives have caused (state) per-mitting processes to triple overmost other states’. An iron-smelting company wanted togo in in northern Minnesota. Itwould have taken three yearsto get a permit in Minnesota; ittook 90 days in Indiana. Thecompany’s in Indiana.”

According to Jungbauer, theU.S. Senate’s “American PowerAct” would impact costs for atleast 7,500 manufacturers andpower plants, place “tariffs”

similar to Minnesota’s carbonfees on goods from GHG“polluting” countries, and setnew low-carbon fuel standardsreflecting controversial Cali-fornia efforts.

Arizona state Sen. PamGorman, who has retired torun for Congress, fought reg-ulatory proposals in her stateas well as a former governor’spush to join a regional climatecompact. New climate regula-tion “would go further to cen-tralize power at the helm ofthe federal government,” shemaintained.

Gorman argues U.S. energydevelopment and distribution“cannot be left to the pun-dits,” emphasizing “every

See Climate, page 4

CREDIT EXTENSION BY MEMORIAL DAY?— Chairs of House and Senate tax-writing committeeshave released a long-awaited tax extenders proposal,including a one-year biodiesel tax credit extensiondeemed crucial to an industry that has nearly ground to ahalt since credit expiration in January.

However, some doubts remained Friday about sup-porters’ ability to revive the $1-per-gallon biodieselblenders credit by a Memorial Day target.

In the Senate, retroactive extension of the credit willbe tied to extension of nationwide unemployment bene-fits — a key congressional hot-button. However, theHouse is expected to vote first on the tax-and-benefitspackage before it moves to the Senate, and a scheduledFriday House vote was delayed until this week.

“There was a lot of concern about the overall package,and I think some Democrats have cold feet about theprice tag,” Illinois Farm Bureau Director of NationalLegislation Adam Nielsen said. Further, the Senate isexpected to address supplemental funding for the U.S.war effort before taking up the extenders package, hesaid.

500,000TH COMBINE ROLLS OFF — JohnDeere Harvester Works at East Moline last week rolledthe half millionth self-propelled combine off its assemblyline.

The owner of the combine, Greg Briggs of Cisco,received a VIP tour of the factory and had the opportu-nity to be the first to start his new 9870 combine. Themachine will be on display at the John Deere Pavilion inMoline this summer before being delivered to Briggs inthe fall.

Deere began manufacturing self-propelled combines in1947. “In the first 20 years, the harvesting capacity ofJohn Deere self-propelled combines doubled, then it dou-bled again between 1980 and 2000. Within the past 10years, we’ve seen productivity double again,” said KatieDierker, division manager of John Deere HarvesterWorks.

SAMPLING FOR ASIAN CARP — The U.S. Fishand Wildlife Service, Illinois Department of NaturalResources, and other participating agencies last weektreated a five-mile section of the Little Calumet River inSouth Chicago with a fish poison to help them samplefor Asian carp. That section of the river has had a highfrequency of DNA detections of the invasive species.

Biologists with the agencies are trying to determine theabundance and type of fish present in the area.

The process was the same one used in the ChicagoSanitary and Shipping Canal in December 2009.

To date, no Asian carp have been found above theelectric barrier to Lake Michigan. Federal and stateauthorities are working to prevent the Asian carp frommigrating up the Illinois River into the Great Lakes.

FarmWeek Monday, May 24, 2010

(ISSN0197-6680)

Vol. 38 No. 21 May 24, 2010

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

FarmWeek is published each week, except theMondays following Thanksgiving and Christmas, by theIllinois Agricultural Association, 1701 Towanda Avenue, P.O.Box 2901, Bloomington, IL 61701. Illinois AgriculturalAssociation assumes no responsibility for statements byadvertisers or for products or services advertised inFarmWeek.

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

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© 2010 Illinois Agricultural Association

STAFFEditor

Dave McClelland ([email protected])Legislative Affairs Editor

Kay Shipman ([email protected])Agricultural Affairs Editor

Martin Ross ([email protected])Senior Commodities Editor

Daniel Grant ([email protected])Editorial Assistant

Linda Goltz ([email protected])Business Production Manager

Bob StandardAdvertising Sales Manager

Richard VerderyClassified sales coordinator

Nan FanninDirector of News and Communications

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

Gary White - Northern IllinoisDoug McDaniel - Southern IllinoisEditorial phone number: 309-557-2239Classified advertising: 309-557-3155Display advertising: 1-800-676-2353

Quick TakesGOVERNMENT

Babcock targets direct paymentsEconomist’s farm bill proposalwould ‘retrigger’ revenue program

BY MARTIN ROSSFarmWeek

A leading ag economist proposes adjustingfarm revenue program triggers to improve produc-er protections while taking aim at direct payments.

Iowa State University economist Bruce Bab-cock is floating the concept of an area-based rev-enue plan that would offer payments when actualcounty revenues fall below set targets and boostfarm “coverage” levels. The catch: He would payfor his plan by curtailing direct producer payments.

Last week, U.S. House Ag Chairman CollinPeterson (D-Minn.) reported his committeecould roll out new safety net proposals as earlyas next month.

Babcock’s plan essentially would “restruc-ture” the average crop revenue election (ACRE)program, which bases payments on state yieldtriggers, Illinois Farm Bureau risk specialistDoug Yoder said.

Babcock’s program would tap USDA NationalAgricultural Statistics Service (NASS) data to setcounty-based yield triggers while moving fromACRE’s national average crop year price trigger toan average of merely the first five months of thecrop year. The plan aims to bring revenue protec-tions into line with actual area losses and offertimelier payments.

“Corn and bean (prices) would be averagedfrom September through February,” Yoder said.“If we cut if off after five months, you’d knowthat price at about the same time NASS releasescounty yield estimates in late February-earlyMarch.

“That would speed payments considerablyfor those who need them. Right now, by waitingto determine the entire crop year price average,you don’t get paid until October, basically a yearafter you harvest the crop.

“If it’s a down year and farmers need revenueassistance, waiting a year may not be the ideal situ-ation,” said Yoder

IFB’s new Farm Bill Task Force hopes this

summer to solicit diverse university and industryinput in developing 2012 farm bill principles.

Babcock proposes expanding allowable pro-gram coverage levels from a current 83 percentof base acres to 85-95 percent under county-based triggers — “considerably more coverage”than is available through ACRE, Yoder said.Farmers would use insurance to cover risksbeyond program parameters.

The plan would eliminate ACRE’s “doubletrigger,” which requires growers to sustain both

state-triggeredand individuallosses to receivepayments.

Babcock wassharply criticalof direct pay-

ments, callingthem “money for nothing” often distributed sim-ply for farmland ownership and arguing they “nolonger have a public justification, particularly intimes of exploding federal debt.”

The economist also argues his program wouldreduce federal crop insurance costs — a currentadministration target — by providing more sub-stantial base protection.

At a House Ag Committee hearing last week,South Dakota Farm Bureau President Scott Van-derWal suggested program supports could bereduced or eliminated in favor of an expanded“whole-farm revenue (insurance) product.”

Peterson said he favors a safety net “that coor-dinates better with crop insurance,” arguingimproved risk management is “not a question oftaking one and putting it into the other.”

But he is eyeing the idea of redirecting feder-al funds from direct payments to overall rev-enue protection.

“The debate will be, are we willing to give upthe guarantee of a direct payment for switching toa county-based program and the additional cover-age?” Yoder posed.

As the June 1 commodityprogram signup deadline looms,Farm Service Agency (FSA) Illi-nois staff continue to help pro-ducers and local FSA officesnavigate new and potentiallycomplex program requirements.

For example, statewidesignup for 2010’s average croprevenue election (ACRE) pro-gram was approaching 23,000last week, although Illinois’ ini-tial 2009 ACRE enrollmentreached 26,124. Producersenroll in ACRE for the life ofthe farm bill.

ACRE participation is a two-step process: Initial producerprogram “election” and subse-quent annual signup. And Illi-nois FSA program specialistStan Wilson notes several coun-ties — including Bond, Fayette,Hamilton, Henderson, Scott,and Washington — have report-ed new enrollments this season.

That indicates a number ofexisting participants have notyet re-enrolled, or they may notrealize they must formally re-enroll each year despite theirlong-term commitment.

“Right now, we have 80percent of our DCP (direct-countercyclical program)farms statewide enrolled, and87 percent of our (existing)ACRE farms enrolled, butthat still leaves us with 30,000DCP farms left to enroll andalmost 4,000 ACRE farms toenroll,” Wilson toldFarmWeek last week.

“We’re concerned about get-ting those people in by that June1 deadline. If they do not get inby that deadline, they will not beeligible for 2010 DCP or ACREbenefits and there are no late-filing provisions available.”

At the same time, someconfusion reportedly persistsregarding program partici-pants’ obligations in submit-ting CCC-927 individual orCCC-928 farm entity consentforms for disclosure of basicInternal Revenue Service (IRS)tax information to FSA.

IRS will review tax data forpotential use in identifyingfarmers who may exceed pro-gram adjusted gross income(AGI) eligibility thresholds and

provide names and taxpayeridentification numbers to FSAfor further inquiry without sup-plying tax records or specificincome figures.

The 927/928 formsacknowledge USDA can useinformation to ensure compli-ance with payment eligibility.While submission of a separateCCC-926 AGI certificationform is required to receive pro-gram payments, CCC-927/928submissions are strictly volun-tary and are not a condition ofinitial program eligibility.

However, after June 15, thestate FSA office will notify pro-ducers who have not submitteda 927 or 928. Those who do notrespond to that inquiry subse-quently will be asked to provideFSA with documentation verify-ing their income.

“If someone were to sign a926 but not a 927, not respondto the second request, andthen not respond to therequest for documentation toverify income, we would deter-mine them ineligible,” Wilsonsaid. — Martin Ross

Signup deadline June 1; concerns remain

FarmWeekNow.comTo view Babock’s white paper onhow to reform the 2012 farm bill,go to FarmWeekNow.com.

STATE


Megan Pressnall, external relations director with the Illinois GrapeGrowers and Vintners Association (IGGVA), points out a digital mapthat will denote the locations of registered grape vineyards. Looking onis Pat Curry, a University of Illinois Extension educator in communityand economic development. IGGVA and Extension are working on adigital map of vineyards as a web-based project to reduce pesticidedrift. (Photo courtesy of George Czapar, University of Illinois Extension)

BY KAY SHIPMANFarmWeek

Illinois farmers with specialtycrops and pesticide applicatorswho spray near them will beable to locate pesticide-sensitivefields via Internet-based mapsby the 2011 crop season.

The Illinois Department ofAgriculture (IDOA) is develop-ing a geographic informationsystem (GIS) that will providelocations and contact informa-tion for pesticide-sensitive fieldsto licensed pesticide applicators,said Warren Goetsch, bureauchief of IDOA’s environmentalprograms.

The system will be similar toIndiana’s Driftwatch programthat was developed by PurdueUniversity and the Indiana StateChemist office. Michigan, Min-nesota, and Wisconsin also aredeveloping similar GIS sites,according to Goetsch.

“This is like the beginning ofthe electrifying of America.We’re trying to figure out thebest way to do it,” Goetsch toldFarmWeek.

“I do see a lot of advantagesto the (GIS) program,” Goetschcontinued. “There has to beshared responsibility. The con-cerned (growers) have to gettheir sites registered and accu-rately located. The (pesticideapplicator) users have theresponsibility to access the data

Illinois will have a new budget this week,but will take out a loan to make a payment onstate employee pensions, Gov. Pat Quinn fore-cast last week.

“We’re not going to skip a pension pay-ment,” Quinn said during anappearance on RFD Today.The governor speculatedmembers of the GeneralAssembly would support bor-rowing money at 1 or 2 per-cent interest for the state’s$3.5 billion pension payment.

The governor was opti-mistic lawmakers would final-ize work on the state budget

before the Memorial Day deadline. “We’remaking progress (on the budget). I think we’regetting close,” Quinn said.

Quinn reassured schools, social agencies,and others waiting for money from the statethat they will be paid. “All those payments willbe made,” he said. “We have to get more rev-

enue into our government. As we get that rev-enue, we will pay down the bills.”

However, the governor didn’t call for addi-tional budget cuts, saying his administrationalready had cut billions. “You can’t cut every-thing out of government,” he added.

Quinn said teamwork is needed to pass thebudget, then criticized Republican and Democ-rat lawmakers for not doing more to solve thestate’s financial problems. He said the legisla-tors “are pretty much afraid to do anything.”

The governor maintained his call for proper-ty tax reform, but admitted that probablywouldn’t happen until after the November elec-tion. Quinn said increasing the income tax ratefrom 3 percent to 4 percent would generate“adequate” revenue for this year.

The economy is the No. 1 issue for peopleacross Illinois, according to Quinn. He noted anew state initiative, Put Illinois to Work, sup-ported by federal and state funding, had helped2,000 people find jobs. “Jobs are No. 1,” hesaid. — Kay Shipman

Gov. Pat Quinn

Quinn expects budget this week

locates hives of state licensedapiaries. Pesticide applicatorslicensed by IDOA receive apassword that gives themaccess to the apiary site,Goetsch said.

All 34,000 pesticide applica-tors licensed in Illinois also willlearn about the new IDOA GISspecialty crop site as part of

their applicator training, headded.

Another GIS site containingIllinois vineyard locations soonwill be launched. George Cza-par, University of Illinois Exten-sion educator, is working withthe Illinois Grape Growers andVintners Association (IGGVA)to develop the site that was

and see where the sites are.”This spring, the Illinois Sen-

ate and House passed SenateJoint Resolution 105, sponsoredby Sen. David Koehler (D-Peo-ria), which urges IDOA todevelop an Internet-based GISto locate sensitive crops anddecrease the likelihood of pesti-cide drift.

The measure was supportedby the Illinois Farm Bureau, Illi-nois Fertilizer and ChemicalAssociation (IFCA), and the Illi-nois Agricultural Aviation Asso-ciation (IAAA).

Finding specialty crop fieldsis a challenge in Illinois, saidaerial applicator Rick Reed,IAAA president. “It’s a word-of-mouth process,” Reed said.He learned an organic farm wasjust 12 miles from his businessonly because he read about thefarm in a local newspaper.

Jean Payne, IFCA president,said applicators sometimeshave difficulty telling some spe-cialty crops from traditionallyfarmed ones. “A couple ofyears ago, a farmer started togrow organic soybeans in themiddle of a (traditional) soy-bean area,” she said.

“None of our guys wants todamage any crops. It’s expen-sive,” Payne added.

IDOA already has experi-ence with a GIS site that

IDOA developing Internet site linking growers, applicatorsfunded by a grant from the U.S.Environment ProtectionAgency.

To date, 51 growers have vol-untarily registered informationabout their vineyards and used ageographic map and informa-tion program to trace locationsof their vineyards, Czapar said.Any vineyard listed must be atleast 1 acre in size.

When the vineyard sitebecomes operational in the nextseveral months, information willbe available on both the IGG-VA and IFCA sites, Czapar said.“The big thing is to have a bet-ter idea of where grapes aregrown,” Czapar said.

IGGVA is considering even-tually using the vineyard site as amarketing tool to help touristsfind vineyards to visit, saidMegan Pressnall, IGGVA direc-tor of external relations.

At some point, the vineyardinformation may be part of theIDOA site, according toGoetsch.

Goetsch’s main focus isensuring the accuracy of anydata that will be included onIDOA’s site because users willtrust that all information is cor-rect.

“My concern is quality con-trol,” Goetsch said. “If there isan Achilles’ heel, it’s makingsure the data is correct.”

Indiana website IDs special crops, notifies applicatorsAn Indiana website, now in

its third year, has helped reducepesticide drift incidents andincreased awareness of pesti-cide-sensitive crops, accordingto Leighanne Hahn of theIndiana State Chemist office.

“The overall purpose of thewebsite is to enable communi-cation between specialty cropgrowers and the applicator

community,” Hahn said. “It’sall voluntary participation.”

The site, known as Drift-watch, allows farmers and oth-ers to register approximatelocations of sensitive cropsand to supply their contactinformation.

That information is dis-played on a geographic infor-mation system (GIS) map

online at {http://driftwatch.agriculture.purdue.edu/index.html}.

Licensed pesticide applica-tors who register with the sitereceive automatic electronicnotices about newly registeredsensitive sites in their areas.

Hahn said she has heardfrom others how Driftwatch isserving its intended purpose.

Adam Hartley, agriculturecoordinator with tomato cannerRed Gold Inc., reported hiscompany’s pesticide drift claimsdropped by more than 50 per-cent in the first year that con-tract growers registered theirfields with Driftwatch. RedGold, which helps sponsor thewebsite, requires contract grow-ers to register each tomato field.

In addition to specialty cropfields, Driftwatch informationincludes locations of beehives,organic crops, organic livestock,nursery crops, grapes, pump-kins, and melons.

Participating growers maybuy Driftwatch signs with web-site information to mark regis-tered locations. According toHartley, the signs created a lotof attention from neighboringfarmers.

“Hopefully, this made peoplethink a little more about whatthe conditions were when they

went out to spray and whatwas being raised in the fieldnext to where they werespraying,” Hartley wrote toHahn.

Hahn added: “The point isthat people see the sign andthen go to the website andlearn it’s a sensitive crop.”

Farm chemical applicatorsaren’t the only ones who haveused the information. Pesti-cide applicators with state andcounty highway departments,railroad companies, and thestate’s natural resourcesdepartment also use the infor-mation, according to Hahn.

As Driftwatch has evolved,new features, such as the signsand automatic notification,were added. Purdue Universi-ty Extension specialists aredeveloping peer-reviewed,one-page fact sheets aboutpesticide-sensitive crops thatwill be available on the web-site in the future, according toHahn. — Kay Shipman

FarmWeekNow.comVisit FarmWeekNow.com toview the Indiana Driftwatchwebsite and see how aerialsprayers can protect specialtycrops.

‘We’re t r y ing tof i g u r e o u t t h ebest way to do it.’

— Warren GoetschIllinois Department of Agri-

culture environmental programs bureau chief

MARKETS


China accepts first U.S. pork since 2009BY DANIEL GRANTFarmWeek

U.S. pork producers, whostill are attempting to recoverfrom nearly two years of loss-es, can now start shippingtheir products to China.

The Chinese this monthannounced they will acceptshipments of U.S. pork that wasproduced on or after May 1.

The Asian nation closed itsmarket to U.S. pork in April2009 because of concernsabout the H1N1 outbreak inhumans, which initially wasmislabeled “swine flu.”

The U.S. and China inMarch agreed to reopen the

“The Chi-na announce-ment won’tmake much ofa differenceshort-term (asthe Chinesecurrently havea good supplyof pork andlow prices),but longer term it is very goodnews,” Plain said.

Plain predicted hog pricesthis month would remain inthe low $80s on a carcass basisbefore sliding this summer orfall.

“It looks like May likely will

be the high-price month ofthe year,” Plain said. “Butwe’re still expecting a muchbetter situation than last year.”

Pork producers recentlyentered their third month ofprofitable prices after nearlytwo years of losses, accordingto Scholl. Hog prices a weekago were about 35 percenthigher compared to the previ-ous year.

“It’s been a positive actuallymaking money. It’s very help-ful for morale,” Scholl added.“But I think (with marketuncertainty) a lot of producersshould look further out andlock in (profitable) prices.”

Chinese mar-ket to U.S.pork, but Chi-na didn’t makeit official untilthis month.

“If we cancontinue toexport moreproduct over-seas, it will be

a positive for us,” said BrentScholl, president of the IllinoisPork Producers Associationand a pork producer fromPolo.

The value of total porkexports in March edged up 1percent compared to the same

time last year and it was 18percent ahead of the value ofpork exports in March 2008,the U.S. Meat Export Federa-tion reported.

And now U.S. producerscan ship pork to China/HongKong, which in 2008 was theU.S.’ third-best export market,valued at $690 million.

However, U.S. producersprobably won’t see an immedi-ate bounce in hog prices. Infact, the market in recentweeks has been pressured byfallout from the financial crisisin Europe, according to RonPlain, ag economist at the Uni-versity of Missouri.


Major automakers have pledged to roll outmore ethanol-friendly “flex-fuel” vehicles(FFVs), while federal officials are consideringboosting allowable ethanol gasoline blends.

At the same time, the market and policyimplications of the Gulf oil spill have added akey element of uncertainty to near-term petro-leum price projections. In Jon England’s view,it’s a good time for greater fuel flexibility.

England is a partner in EK Petroleum, aMoultrie County business that’s retooled anabandoned service station at Sullivan with Illi-nois’ first “blender pumps.” England joined Fri-day with the Illinois Corn Growers Association(ICGA), state officials, and lawmakers to dedi-cate two retail pumps that enable motorists to“dial up” a variety of ethanol blends.

Each two-sided pump offers both regularunleaded gas blended with 10 percent ethanol(which can be used in any vehicle) plus a flex-fuel option that dispenses E85, E50, or E30 forE85-capable FFVs by blending “straight”unleaded with E85 from a second tank. Thepumps are the first of a projected 20 installa-tions to be funded across the state.

The improvement was made possiblethrough a $20,000 American Lung Associationgrant funded by the Illinois Corn MarketingBoard and the Illinois Department of Com-merce and Economic Opportunity. Given theroughly $45,000 cost of two pumps, the grantwas a key motivator for England.

“Most stations, there’s just one spot whereyou can get E85,” England told FarmWeek. “Atour pumps, you can get any product on eitherside at any time. In essence, I could have fourvehicles filling up with E85 at the same time.

“My parents owned this oil company for wellover 20 years, and there never has been an E85choice available in the whole county. When Isaw a $20,000 grant was available, we ended uppurchasing a blighted property — a gas stationthat had been abandoned in the financial crisis.

“I used to haul to that gas station when itwas open, and I knew the history of the tanksand the lines. We did our homework.”

E85 currently saves consumers 40-60 centsper gallon over unleaded E10, and even E30offers a 6-10-cent savings, England said. Whilehe sees little to no difference in everyday, short-run mileage between E85 and E10, he cites dataindicating FFVs gain per-gallon mileage with

E30 or other “mid-level” blends on longerhauls and in some models.

Thus, blend choice can help maximize bothtravel costs and fuel efficiency. ICGA PresidentTim Lenz notes “we’re always striving for moreflex-fuel vehicles,” and feels the benefits of cus-tom fueling could boost FFV appeal.

Today, only FFVs can be fueled with blendsabove E10, but the U.S. Environmental Protec-tion Agency is eyeing a request to boost stan-dard blends to as high as E15. Blender pumpscould meet new blend levels with “a simple cali-bration that can be done in less than an hour,”England said.

Corn and renewable fuel interests support aninitial E12 “blend wall” until E15 testing iscompleted, over a proposed two-tiered systemallowing E15 use only in vehicles producedsince 2001. The latter would “add to the (pub-lic) confusion” about ethanol and engine per-formance, Lenz held.

“If the testing shows E12 would work (inolder vehicles) in the interim, we’d sure be infavor of it,” Lenz told FarmWeek. “We arehoping there isn’t a model year break. We don’treally see the science behind that.”

Continued from page 1single consumer good is made with energy.”

Illinois Fertilizer and Chemical Association Director JeanPayne fears diversion of natural gas to generate electricity withreduced emissions ultimately could drive natural gas dependantfertilizer production offshore.

“If you have to import all your fertilizer from overseas,you’ve given up your food security,” Payne told FarmWeek.

Climate

Brent Scholl Ron Plain

Obesity battle opportunityfor promoting new oils?

Nutritional awareness and improvements in product fat andcarb profiles in recent years have driven the food market andchallenged soy producers and processors.

Now, they’re just what the doctor, the White House, andeven new health care reforms have ordered.

As part of First Lady Michelle Obama’s campaign againstchildhood obesity, major food manufacturers including Kel-logg’s, Pepsi, Coke, Kraft, General Mills, and ConAgra pledgedlast week to trim calories in their foods by a cumulative 1.5 tril-lion over the next five years.

An important component in making the snacks kids lovehealthier is the oil used to bake or fry them. Monsanto foodspecialists Rick Wilkes and Philippe Ballet are on the forefrontof efforts to keep soy oil in the dietary derby.

Last week, Monsanto announced U.S. Food and DrugAdministration (FDA) support for use of oil from the compa-ny’s anticipated Vistive Gold soybeans as “generally recognizedas safe” (GRAS). GRAS status enables food companies to testoil produced from the beans, which have been producedthrough a mix of breeding and biotechnology.

Monsanto is in the “pre-launch” phase with Vistive Gold,awaiting federal and key global regulatory approvals andengaged in what food business development director Balletcalled “aggressive demand creation” — educating food compa-nies on the potential benefits of forthcoming oils.

The company’s earlier product, Vistive Low-Lin, offeredreduced trans-fat content and improved shelf-life in oil. VistiveGold provides even greater oil stability while significantlyreducing saturated fats. According to Monsanto food applica-tions director Wilkes, that is the new consumer “hot point.”

Monsanto is armed with oil samples for food manufacturersand restaurants and “fry studies” focusing on french fries andchicken. Use of Vistive Gold oil reduced saturated fat contentin fries by about 70 percent and in chicken by 30-33 percent.

“We’re not claiming we’re going to make french frieshealthy,” Ballet told FarmWeek. “We’re claiming we’re going tomake french fries healthier.

“It’s not just about trans fats any more — today, if you don’thave a solution for trans fats, you’re not even in the game. Whatwe’re hearing from the industry is that the battle in comingyears will focus on reducing saturated fats.”

New oils should help companies and restaurants better man-age their kitchens and production facilities. Wilkes noted manylow trans-fat alternatives are high in polyunsaturated fats, result-ing in heavier “grease buildup” — a problem the more stableVistive Gold oil should address. — Martin Ross

State’s first blender pumpoffers consumer choice

Illinois Corn Marketing Board Director Leon Corzineputs E85 fuel in a vehicle Friday at the grand open-ing of E-K Petro Mart in Sullivan. (Photo by TriciaBraid Terry, ICMB communications director)

LIVESTOCK


MBA graduates seek to debunk ag misconceptions BY DANIEL GRANTFarmWeek

Mike and Lynn Martz,DeKalb County Farm Bureaumembers who own and oper-ate a custom cattle feedlot inMaple Park just west of theChicago suburbs, are used todealing with the public.

They live near the most heav-ily populated area of the stateand they often give tours oftheir operation, which has beenat the same location since 1965.Three generations of the Martzfamily currently are involved inthe feedlot operation.

However, in the past whenit came to dealing with toughquestions from consumersabout beef production, MikeMartz admitted he didn’talways have the best answers.

To get those answers, Mikeand Lynn enrolled in the BeefCheckoff ’s relatively new Mas-ters of Beef Advocacy (MBA)program managed by theNational Cattlemen’s BeefAssociation (NCBA).

“We felt we needed to be

more educated about theissues and how to explain our-selves,” Mike told FarmWeek.“We’ve got to tell our story.”

They took classes and weretested through the MBA pro-gram on modern beef produc-

tion, animal care, beef safety,nutrition, environmental stew-ardship, and the Beef Checkoff.

And after graduating fromthe MBA program, Mike andLynn now feel they have thetraining and resources todebunk misconceptions andanswer tough questions aboutthe ag industry. That includes

questions that may arise whenan alleged animal cruelty videobecomes public.

“We have to speak out andexplain ourselves,” Lynn said.“We’re getting more and moregenerations removed from thefarm. In the past, I think we (inthe ag industry) assumed whenmisinformation came out, peo-ple knew the real story. Butthat’s not the case anymore.”

A number of beef produc-ers and others involved in theindustry apparently felt thesame need to learn how to doa better job of engaging andeducating consumers aboutfood production.

A reported 254 peoplegraduated from the MBA pro-gram in April, a single-monthrecord for the program estab-lished in March 2009.

“We are facing tough accu-sations from critics aboutmodern food production, andwe have no choice but to takeour story directly to con-sumers,” said Daren Williams,executive director of commu-nications for NCBA. “That’swhat graduates of the MBAprogram are doing every day.”

And it’s not just farmerswho are involved in the MBAprogram and defending thebeef industry.

Amanda Bunting ofBloomington had never beenon a farm before she enrolledat Illinois State University(ISU) in Normal.

But the animal sciencesmajor, who will be a seniorthis fall, discovered a passionfor working with farm animalsand recently completed theMBA program.

“I love animals and (afterthree years in the ISU program)I realized I really like to workwith livestock,” Bunting said.

She enrolled in the MBAprogram at the recommenda-tion of Paul Walker, professorof animal sciences at ISU.

“It was nice to learn waysto counter claims (about foodproduction) and support thebeef industry,” Bunting said ofthe MBA program. “I highlyrecommend it.”

More information aboutthe MBA program is availableby contacting Williams at 303-850-3346 or by e-mail [email protected].

Lynn and Mike Martz discuss issues related to the beef industry duringsome down time on their custom feedlot near Maple Park. The DeKalbCounty Farm Bureau members wanted to do a better job of engagingconsumers to explain agriculture and food production practices so theyenrolled in and recently graduated from the Beef Checkoff’s Masters ofBeef Advocacy (MBA) program.

Amanda Bunting, an animal sci-ences major at Illinois State Uni-versity, completes lab work at theRopp Agricultural Building on theISU campus in Normal. Bunting ofBloomington had never been on afarm before attending college butdiscovered a passion for workingwith livestock while at ISU. Sherecently graduated from the BeefCheckoff’s Masters of Beef Advo-cacy program. (Photos by KenKashian)

U.S. cattle inventory drops;prices soften amid anxieties

USDA on Friday reported the inventory of cattle and calveson feed in the U.S. as of May 1 (10.5 million head) declined 3percent compared to the same time last year.

However, cattle prices that were in triple digits on a cash basisearlier this month slipped last week to the $96 to $98 range amidconcerns about the ongoing European financial crisis and thetroubled U.S. economy.

“There is a lot of uncertainty about meat demand moving for-ward,” said Ron Plain, ag economist at the University of Missouri.

“I think a lot of it hinges on the economy,” he continued. “Thestock market has been like a yo-yo on a very long string and U.S.hog and cattle futures have seen a lot of spillover from that.”

Livestock prices also could be affected by a weakening euroand a stronger dollar.

“The U.S. dollar actually has gotten stronger as people flee theeuro,” the economist said. “That isn’t good news for meatexports.”

On the bright side, U.S. beef exports for the first quarter thisyear were up 11 percent in volume compared to last year, theU.S. Meat Export Federation reported.

Meanwhile, fundamentals still support the cattle market,according to the CME Group’s Daily Livestock Report.

“While there is a bit of weakness in cash markets, nothing haschanged in the domestic and export markets to justify the kindsof declines” experienced last week in livestock futures, authorsof the report noted. — Daniel Grant

Bernie Walsh, Durand, Winnebago County: We had gen-erally good planting and grow-ing conditions here in NorthernIllinois last week. Most fieldswere drying out very nicely afterheavy rain two weeks ago, butlow spots near the PecatonicaRiver were still wet, with waterstill standing in several fields.

Many are finishing up bean planting, mow-ing hay, spraying (when it was not toowindy), and some growers were starting tosidedress nitrogen. We did not have any rainlast week until Thursday night and Fridaymorning. It was only 0.1 to 0.2 of an inch ofrain, but that should help soften up somecrusted fields, left by the heavy rains of twoweeks ago.

Pete Tekampe, Grayslake, Lake County: Another wetFriday in Lake County. Got about0.3 of an inch of rain overnightThursday. Most of the pondsreceded even with the cool tem-peratures. Thursday was the firstday in the 70s. This week theyare calling for the mid- to upper80s and no rain. Corn is looking

yellow, but seems to have all germinated.There are a lot of grounds that will need tobe replanted once it dries up. The early-planted beans got a big boost with the show-er. Corn is 99 percent planted and beans areabout 70 percent planted. No hay has beencut and the winter wheat and spring grainslook great.

Leroy Getz, Savanna, Carroll County: Light rainThursday night was hardlymeasurable, giving us a totalfor the week of less than 0.1 ofan inch. The cold weather oflast week is still affecting thegrowth of the crops. There maybe a few areas that weredrowned out on the river bot-

toms that will need replanting. Beans arenow emerging. Some bean fields need asoftening rain to break up the crust. Hayharvest is starting. We have baled fivefields so far. Warm and dry days this weekwill move that harvest along.

Ron Frieders, Waterman, DeKalb County: Thursday wasthe first day a few people tried toget some fieldwork done. Sometried and quit because of wetconditions. A few found spotsthat were dry enough to go, butrain late in the afternoon shuteverything down again. Thereare still lots of ponds and wet

spots. By now, I would have expected thefields to be dried out. The corn seems tohave survived, except for the very wet spots.I thought from the look of things last week,we would lose more acres. If it dries outsoon, we will be replanting wet holes.Soybeans are trying to emerge. The groundis very hard after being pounded down with5 inches of rain just after planting. It’s beentoo wet to rotary hoe, and the rain might bethe best chance the beans have to get outthrough the hard crust.

Larry Hummel, Dixon, Lee County: Thursday’s showerswill help keep some rotaryhoes in the shed where theybelong. Last week’s 3 inchpounding of rain caused somecrusting on fields that are try-ing to emerge now. A nicesoaking rain is just what theyneed to push through the sur-

face. Corn and beans that were up beforethe big rain have excellent stands and arestarting to green back up with the warmweather at the end of the week. I have evenhad some time to get my desk organizedafter the spring pile up.

Joe Zumwalt, Warsaw, Hancock County: It continues to bewet in Western Illinois. Very littlework has been done since midApril. The forecast for this com-ing week does look promising,however. Early corn looksextremely good, while thelater-planted fields will have tobe replanted. I know of just a few

soybeans in the ground. Most are still in acool dry place ... the bag in the shed!Whenever it does dry out, we will be busyplanting and replanting, spraying, mowinghay, and sidedressing. It is shaping up to bea very busy June.

Ken Reinhardt, Seaton, Mercer County: A few tenths ofrain Monday (May 17) andThursday afternoon limited field-work again. Some work got doneon areas that received 4 inchesthe week before, but not wherecloser to 8 inches fell. The dam-age from the biggest rain is theworst many have ever seen.

Crops planted in May are struggling toemerge. Ninety-degree temperatures willmake a heck of a crust, so there will be soy-bean replanting decisions, along withreplanting drowned-out corn.

Ron Moore, Roseville, Warren County: What a differ-ence a month makes. Onemonth ago we were finishedwith corn and waiting to plantbeans because it was too early.We have been watching it rainoff and on for the last threeweeks. We had 4 inches of rainin the last week. It was raining

Friday morning and more is forecast for thisweek. There is as much water on the fieldsnow as we had last year. I did not think thatwe could have three wet springs in a row. Itappears we can. There are still lots ofbeans to plant in this area and maybe evena few acres of corn. I am not sure what themarkets are watching, but it is not theweather.

Jacob Streitmatter, Princeville, Peoria County:Another week has passed andthe crops have not made anyprogress. The ground was get-ting fit, but it rained againThursday, which was sort ofneeded on some ground. Mylast planted corn is not up yet,and it’s been more than two

weeks. Some of the first-planted corn isstarting to turn a little greener, but most ofit is yellow. I’m ready for some warmerweather, which was in store for the week-end and this week. Hopefully, this week willallow me to finish soybeans and let thecorn turn green.

Tim Green, Wyoming, Stark County: Woke up Fridaymorning to another 0.4 of aninch of rain. We really didn’tneed it, but some of us whohave beans planted appreciatedit to help the beans comethrough. I think we are abouthalf done, maybe a little less,with bean planting in Stark

County. Corn is coming up and it seems tobe growing out of the frost and water dam-age. It is looking a little better. Needs warmweather. It is looking a little yellow yet andnot real even, but I guess we will take whatwe can get.

Ron Haase, Gilman, Iroquois County: Last week noth-ing was done in the fieldsbecause of the wet soils. As ofMay 17, we had received 0.95to 1.35 inches of rain. ThenThursday it started to lightlyrain and there was still lightrain as I checked the raingauges Friday morning. We

had from 0.2 to 0.35 of an inch of rainbefore I made this report. Corn develop-ment is anywhere from V1 to the V4growth stage. Most corn is in the V2 to V3growth stage. Soybean fields have beenslow to emerge due to the cool soil tem-peratures. There are soybean fields thatstill have not been planted as well. Whenthe soil is dry, we plan to begin sidedress-ing nitrogen. Local closing prices for May20: nearby corn, $3.38; new-crop corn,$3.42; nearby soybeans, $9.28; new-cropsoybeans, $8.66. The due date for thebirth of our third son is Thursday.

Brian Schaumburg, Chenoa, McLean County: Little field-work or crop progress occurredlast week due to another 1 to 2inches of rain and cool temper-atures. Some spraying wasaccomplished, but little elsedue to wet fields. Corn develop-ment is at the V1 to V4 stageand soybeans are VE to V1 with

25 percent still to plant. Take a moment toreflect on the service and sacrifice of oursoldiers and veterans as Memorial Dayapproaches. Corn, $3.32; fall corn, $3.34;soybeans, $9.19; fall soybeans, $8.65;wheat, $3.80.

Mark Kerber, Chatsworth, Livingston County: Hopefully,warmer and drier weather is onthe way. Two more rain eventskept us wet last week. Producersare concerned about emergenceof soybeans in their saturatedsoils. My neighbor says thatbeans don’t like to have their feetwet. I told him most of the soy-

beans don’t even have feet yet. There will bea lot of field activity when we do transition intosummer weather. Nitrogen will need to besidedressed, soybean planting finished,roads mowed, and maybe some rotary hoe-ing. We bought a new 40-foot rotary hoe andare hoping it stays in the shed for manyyears. The hay guys also will be busy with dryweather coming. Crude oil has crashed fromits recent high levels due to the Europeancurrency collapse. Is it time to book our fallfuel needs? Don’t forget to report your acresand prove your yields for the ACRE program.Markets are drifting lower. There is still a lot ofold-crop corn around. Where would prices bewithout ethanol plants, but it is still a battle topromote it. At least ethanol doesn’t spill intothe Gulf.

Steve Ayers, Champaign, Champaign County: A hazy,misty Friday morning over theprairie. Not much to report otherthan the strong 1 inch of rain lastMonday (May 17) and 0.3 of aninch as of Friday morning.However, the forecast is favor-able with heat (90 degrees) anddryness starting during the

weekend with a two-week stretch of dryweather. Average corn height is 4.1 inchesand the corn planted in early April is V6 and 8inches tall. Corn planted April 21 is V2 or V3.Corn is 92 percent emerged and some corn ispale. Soybeans are 65 percent with 19 per-cent emerged. We will finish drilling beans thisweek. No reports of pest or disease problemsso far. Let’s be careful out there.

Wilfred Dittmer, Quincy, Adams County: Mark anotherweek off the calendar withmachinery still parked and fieldsstill wet and soggy after 1 inch ofrain on May 17 and another 0.25of an inch Thursday. But at leastwe had no strong storms lastweek. Some corn looks good,some is spotty, and other fields

still have plants trying to emerge. Still only avery few beans in the ground. When we allthought it may be a normal year, it is turningout to be almost a carbon copy of the lastcouple years. Have a safe week.

Carrie Winkelmann, Menard County: Most fieldwork was ata standstill last week because ofwet conditions. We received atotal of 2.6 inches of rain with2.17 Monday, May 17. The earli-est corn we have planted is atstage V5 and looks remarkablywell for the cold and wet weatherconditions we have had since it

was planted. Beans are starting to emerge onarea farms.

Tom Ritter, Blue Mound, Macon County: Rain on Thursdayand Friday meant two weekssince we have had any activity inthe field due to muddy fields.Crops continue to grow with cornapproaching one foot tall. It islacking some color and needingthe warm temperatures andbright sunshine forecast for this

week. Soybeans are more than 60 percentplanted in this area. Because of the timedelay and moisture, most of those haveemerged and have adequate stands.Farmers need to do some spraying, but thenumber of days with wind and wet conditionshas limited their ability to get in and performthat task. Overall, we are off to a decent start,and farmers are pleased that we are so farahead of where we were at this time last year.

Doug Uphoff, Shelbyville, Shelby County: Not much toreport other than it was wetagain. We had 2.3 inches of rainsince we finished planting cornand planted a few soybeans.Corn is at a standstill. It is stillhovering around V2 and some isgetting close to V3 stage. A lot offarmers have been hauling grain

to the market. The fuel market and the grainmarket have been going down. Hopefully, wewill be back in the field this week.


CROPWATCHERS

Dean Shields, Murphysboro, Jackson County: Ourweather was hit and miss lastweek with the showers goingaround us and coming throughfor a few tenths. Then onThursday evening we got 0.8of an inch, which put us onhold for awhile. We still havethe river giving us some prob-

lems. It had reached 36 foot on theChester scale, which is pretty high. Itclosed Route 3 that runs through JacksonCounty. All the river bottom area and all ofthe low ground, as we call it, is still flood-ed. It has been that way all spring now.Corn is coming along pretty well and a lotof sidedressing is going on. There is a lotof yellow corn in different places. Beanplanting is going pretty well on days wecan get out there. Some places are stilltoo wet for that and other places are dryenough to keep going. I’ve seen one fieldof milo that is up. It looks like a goodstand. The wheat crop is continuing togrow and heads are out. It doesn’t look toobad. With all this rain, we usually get dis-eases, but I can’t see that yet and it is stilldark green. So, maybe the wheat crop willbe halfway decent this year. There are notthat many acres this year.

Ken Taake, Ullin, Pulaski County: We had another wetweekend. We had 0.25 of aninch on Sunday (May 16).Some areas in the county hadup to an 1 inch. On Mondayafternoon (May 17) we hadanother 0.25 of an inch. Thenearly Thursday morning andduring the day Thursday, we

had a little more than 1 inch, so we arepretty wet again. Main activities are side-dressing corn, replanting corn, andspraying soybean burndown. Soybeanplanting is progressing slowly. I wouldguess 20 percent of the soybeans in ourarea is about all that is planted. After arapid start, things have slowed down con-siderably. I guess we are still consider-ably ahead of where we were last year atthis time. Last year turned out pretty well,so we are always optimistic. Pleaseremember to be careful during this busyseason.

Ted Kuebrich, Jerseyville, Jersey County: It was a very wetand cool week in Jersey County.We received a little more than2.5 inches of rain. The IllinoisRiver is out of its banks in theNutwood area. The flood stage ofthe river is 425 and the readingon Thursday was 430. Some ofthe cornfields that have not been

sprayed are getting grassy. With the cool, wetweather, the beans are not growing very fast.The early-planted corn is now reaching thenitrogen and starting to turn a darker green.Prices at Jersey County Grain, Hardin: May2010 corn, $3.52; fall delivery 2010 corn,$3.37; May 2010 beans, $9.45; fall delivery2010 beans, $8.79; July wheat, $4.26.

Dan Meinhart, Montrose, Jasper County: We had thefourth wet week in a row with lit-tle or no field action. The groundis totally saturated. With any littleshower we have standing waterin the fields. Only half the corn isplanted, and the verdict is stillout on how much of that corn willhave to be replanted. If it keeps

on raining, we will be in the same situation wewere in the last two years. The forecast is fordrier and warmer weather this week.Hopefully, that weather pattern will last longenough that we can complete corn plantingand replanting.

Bob Biehl, Belleville, St. Clair County: Rain all week.Another 2-plus inches of rain.Cornfields are struggling in thelow areas, even more so in thelater-planted corn that can’t takeall the water. Corn planted afterthe 5th or 6th of May will needsome replant in the low areas. Itis supposed to be very warm in

the next few days, which should help drythings out. Looks like we will be plantingbeans, spraying corn, and sidedressing nitro-gen all at the same time again.

Kevin Raber, Browns, Wabash County: Fieldwork was lim-ited this past week. I did see afew people in the field and I wasable to spray for a day, but I leftsome tracks in places. The cornneeds warmer and drier weath-er. Its color isn’t good and thereis a lot of unevenness across thefield. Soybeans that were plant-

ed before the wet spell seem to be emergingbetter than I thought.

Todd Easton, Charleston, Coles County: Plantingprogress was minimal acrossthe county last week. A fewplanters and toolbars got start-ed back up last Friday (May 14)joined by several more onSaturday until light mid-after-noon rain halted progress onceagain. Sunday and Monday

(May 15-16) brought more precipitationaccumulating to about 1.5 inches. That wasfollowed by more light rain on Thursday justas fields had started graying off on top. Thecorn crop is looking pretty good, approach-ing the V4 stage in some of the earlier plant-ings. But it would still be better off if somesteady warmth would show up. Soybeansthat were planted in the beginning of the firstbig push a couple of weeks ago are justemerging and look to have good stands.Until next week, keep thinking dry weatherthoughts (short term), and maybe we canstill wrap up this planting season beforeJune.

Jimmy Ayers, Rochester, Sangamon County: It wasovercast and wet most of theweek. We’ve had 2.5 inches ofrain at our place. The tallestcorn I have seen is about a footover your boot top. The beansare trying to come through inlots of fields. They are off to aslow start. Cool and wet wasn’t

the best thing for them. Several farmershaven’t started planting beans and feelpretty good about that. Some are done,and they feel pretty good about that. Therewasn’t any hay cut last week. A few guyshave been trying to mow roadsides. Thewest side of the county had up to four inch-es of rain and there was quite a bit offlooding. They cracked the dams open onLake Springfield and flooded bottoms fromSpringfield down to Chandlerville. Quite abit of rain came through the west side ofSangamon County.

Rick Corners, Centralia, Jefferson County: Another weekof playing mumbly peg. We had acouple of rains last week — nogully washers, but it sure waswet. I had to go to St. LouisThursday and 9 percent of thecorn may be planted in that area,but some of that is going to haveto be done over. Man, they have

had the rain over that way. No wonder theriver is over flood stage.

Monday, May 24, 2010 FarmWeek

CROPWATCHERS

Reports received Friday morning.Expanded crop and weather information available at www.ilfb.org

Warmer days ahead

Another cool, wet week stymies fieldworkBY DANIEL GRANTFarmWeekFieldwork was limited againlast week as cool, wet condi-tions engulfed much of thestate.

Temperatures in the 50sand 60s and rainfall werecommon last week. The tem-perature from May 10 to 17averaged just 58.1 degrees, 4degrees below normal, theNational Agricultural Statis-tics Service Illinois fieldoffice reported.

Meanwhile, rainfall for thefirst half of the monthtotaled anywhere from 3 to 4inches to the south and 4 to 5inches in portions of Centraland Northern Illinois to 7 to8-plus inches in Western Illi-nois near the Mississippi Riv-er.

Another 1 to 2-plus inchesof rain was expected from asystem that moved throughIllinois on Thursday and Fri-day.

“Little fieldwork or cropprogress occurred last week

some farmers reported somereplanting will occur when thefields dry out.

Emerson Nafziger, Univer-sity of Illinois Extensionagronomist, noted weatherpatterns the rest of the grow-ing season will have moreimpact on yields than temper-atures during May.

“In fact, growth is usuallyfairly slow during early vegeta-tive stages,” he said.

That could change this week,though, as a warming trend waspredicted to begin Saturday and

last through the week.“We’ll probably see highs

around 90 or more,” said BradChurchill, meteorologist withthe National Weather Service.“We’re definitely in a transi-tion from the cool, cloudy,and wet conditions we’ve seenthrough (Friday) to the startof a warming trend.”

Churchill predicted rainfallwon’t be as heavy this week.But the return of heat andhumidity this week could cre-ate isolated, pop-up showers,he added.

due to another 1 to 2 inchesof rain and cool tempera-tures,” said Brian Schaum-burg, a FarmWeek Crop-watcher from McLean County.

Tom Ritter, a Cropwatcherfrom Macon County, on Fri-day reported fields in his areawere muddy and no fieldworkhad been done the past twoweeks.

Planting progress, althoughstalled last week, remainedahead of schedule as 96 per-cent of corn and 42 percentof beans were in the ground

statewide as of the first of lastweek. That compares to thefive-year averages of 76 per-cent and 36 percent, respec-

tively.However, many cornfields

last week still were pale in col-or, field ponds were scatteredthroughout the state, and

FarmWeekNow.comIt was a rainy week. Check outCropwatchers for the latest cropupdates at FarmWeekNow.com.

Broom Orchard to host Horticultural Field DayThe Illinois State Horticultural Society

(ISHS) 2010 Horticultural Field Day will beJune 10 at the Broom Orchard, Carlinville.The early registration deadline is June 8.

Third-generation fruit growers Jeff andLisa Broom have an orchard with 50 acresof 22 apple varieties, 20 acres of eightpeach varieties, six acres of pumpkins,and one acre of strawberries. They alsogrow nectarines, plums, and pears. Forin for mat ion on the orchard , g o to

{ w w w . b r o o m o r c h a r d . c o m } . F ie ld tour speakers inc lude, Je f f

Broom of Broom Orchard; MohammadBabadoost , Rick Weinzier l , MosbahKushad, and Elizabeth Wahle, all of theUniversity of Illinois; and Alan Waltersand Bradley Taylor, both of Southern Illi-nois University (SIU).

Registration will begin at 8 a.m. The tourswill run from 8:45 a.m. to noon. The advanceregistration fee is $25 per person and

includes lunch. There is no charge for chil-dren. Registration at the door is $30.

The 2010 Horticultural Field Day issponsored by ISHS, the U of I, SIU, andthe Illinois Specialty Growers Association.

To register, call Don Naylor, ISHSexecutive secretary, at 309-828-8929 or e-mail [email protected]. Advanceregistrations may be mailed along with thefee to: ISHS, 15962 Old Orchard Road,Bloomington, Ill., 61705.

GOVERNMENT


©2010 GROWMARK, Inc. A11430_6x8_aod

Former agency analyst stresses need to ‘rein in EPA’

Princeton-trained physicistand University of Virginia pro-fessor emeritus of environ-mental science S. Fred Singersees one important thing poli-cymakers can do to address cli-mate change: “Don’t do any-thing.”

That raises eyebrows withinthe scientificcommunity,especiallycoming from aformer U.S.Environmen-tal ProtectionAgency policydeputy. ButSinger arguesa little scientif-ic skepticism

is needed to bring some freshair into current discussions ofgreenhouse gas (GHG)impacts.

Singer helped spearhead theNongovernmental Internation-al Panel on Climate Change(NIPCC) as a “counterweight”to the United Nations-spon-sored Intergovernmental Panelon Climate Change (IPCC)largely responsible for currentclimate policy debate.

NIPCC members are“equally qualified” and use thesame peer-reviewed data uponwhich IPCC conclusions arebased, “except we don’t applya bias to our evaluation,”Singer said.

In a 2004 FarmWeek inter-view, he cited a “split in thescientific community” betweenresearchers who rely on“observational evidence” ofclimate cycles and conditions,and those who use computer-based “theoretical planet mod-els” to project climate change.

At a Chicago climate con-ference last week, climatologist

Patrick Michaels, author of theAssociation of American Geo-graphers’ 2004 climate “paperof the year,” warned “it’sbecome harder to publish any-thing that argues the world isnot coming to an end.”

But Singer believes the con-tinued lack of scientific con-sensus over climate is “finallybecoming clear to everyone,including the media and thepublic.”

“The so-called skeptics,sometimes referred to as the‘deniers,’ are finally gainingrecognition and respectability,”Singer told FarmWeek “It’sabout time.

“It takes courage for politi-cians to not do something —they always feel they have todo something. Sometimes, thebest thing to do is to do noth-ing.”

He sees attempts to regulateatmospheric carbon dioxide(CO2) as “almost criminal,”given the importance of CO2as “plant food.”

CO2 “is not an environ-mental toxin,” stressed Min-nesota State Sen. Mike Jung-bauer, a “bioremediation” spe-cialist and member of theNational Conference of StateLegislatures’ standing commit-tee on agriculture and energy.

Jungbauer notes “we need acertain amount of carbondioxide,” and warned policy-directed GHG reductionswould virtually eliminate“urban forestry” and other ini-tiatives deemed important toclimate management.

“Without CO2, therewouldn’t be any agriculture,there wouldn’t be any animals,and there wouldn’t be anyhumans,” Singer emphasized.— Martin Ross

S. Fred Singer

Singer: Climate ‘skeptics’finding place in debate

appear to explain most of theavailable (climate) data.”

A few months after hissuperiors informed him his

comments “do not help thelegal or policy case for this(endangerment) decision,“word of the report wasreleased by the media.

Amid global political pres-sures, the administrationappears committed “to changepublic and possibly congres-sional behavior regardless ofthe consequences,” he said.

Even if the administration’s“high-risk but pivotal climategamble” pays off through


When U.S. EnvironmentalProtection Agency (EPA)senior analyst Alan Carlin lastyear challenged EPA’s mandateto regulate greenhouse gases(GHGs), the 38-year agencyveteran found himself reas-signed to another project.

Now, after retiring from theEPA following publicityregarding his concerns, Carlinfears the administration’s“reinterpretation of the CleanAir Act,” which kicked offrecently with new auto indus-try rules, “will create futureproblems for EPA.”

Co-author of a rejected2009 report skeptical of EPA’sthen-proposed GHG endan-germent finding, he sees theClean Air Act as “a much lessthan ideal means for address-ing greenhouse gases.”

Carlin agrees there is needto “rein in EPA,” but withPresident Obama “committedto the world’s ‘warmist’effort,” he fears climate policywill be driven by “very clearpolitical agendas.”

“EPA plays an extremelyimportant role in the currenteffort by the warmists todetermine how the world pro-

duces energy,” Carlin said at aChicago international climatechange conference sponsoredby the Heartland Institute.

“The administration hasdetermined what the science is.Nothing is going stop the cur-rent administration from usingbad science if it persists indoing so.”

Carlin’s report advised EPAagainst hastily approving newregulations “based on a scien-tific hypothesis that does not

legislation or EPA regulation,Carlin doubts consensus canbe reached on a new interna-tional carbon emissionstreaty, as “amply illustrated”by the stalemate at theDecember Copenhagen cli-mate summit.

He is uncertain even unit-ed global efforts couldachieve the slight stabilizationin temperatures soughtthrough GHG regulations,emphasizing “climate modelsare extremely inaccurate.”

Carlin said he was notoptimistic Congress wouldapprove a current measure tostrike EPA’s greenhouse regu-latory authority.

But in the long term, heurges policy efforts to “insu-

late EPA from direct controlby the administration” andremove budget and otherincentives driving EPA man-agers and analysts “to followwhat the administrationwants.”

Further, he seeks moreindependent EPA analysis ofregulatory issues, rather thanreliance on outside, possiblybiased assessments. Carlinalso calls for elimination of anew National Oceanic andAtmospheric Climate Servicecreated to advise the publicon changing climate condi-tions.

“The last thing we need isfor the federal government tospeak with one voice on cli-mate science,” he said.

‘The administration has determinedwhat the science is. Nothing is goingto stop the current administration fromusing bad science if it persists in doingso.’

— Alan Carlinretired U.S. Environmental Protection Agency analyst

FROM THE COUNTIES


BUREAU — FarmBureau, Bureau

County Pork ProducersAssociation, and the BureauCounty Cattleman’s Associa-tion are sponsoring theAgriculture Service Awardto honor individuals whohave given leadership andservice to agriculture andfarmers. Nomination formsare available at the FarmBureau office. Deadline toreturn the form is Friday,June 4. Call the FarmBureau office for moreinformation.

CARROLL — FarmBureau will sponsor a

Stroke Detection Plusscreening from 9 a.m. to4:30 p.m. Tuesday, June 22,in the Naaman Diehl audito-rium. The cost for fourscreenings will be $90. Call877-732-8258 for anappointment or more infor-mation.

EFFINGHAM —The Prime Timers

will sponsor a bus trip Tues-day, June 15, to the St. LouisScience Center. Grandchil-dren would enjoy this trip.Cost is $32 for members and$37 for non-members andincludes bus, admission tothe Science Center, IMAXTheater show, and a boxlunch. Reservations andmoney are due to the FarmBureau office by June 1.Call the Farm Bureau officeat 217-342-2103 for moreinformation.

HANCOCK — TheCarthage Farmers’

Market opening day is today(Monday) from 2:30 to 5:30p.m. and each Monday fol-lowing through mid-Octo-ber. It will be held at theHancock County courthouselawn. Vendor space is basedon a first-come, first-servedbasis. No cream pies, eggs,used furniture, or clothingmay be sold. Cost for ven-dors is $5 per week or $75for the season. Call DaveArd at the Hancock CountyFarm Service Agency officeat 217-3457-2188, ext. 110,

Cost is $30 and includeslunch. All proceeds willbenefit the “Crops for Col-lege” scholarship. Call theFarm Bureau office at 309-364-2501 or e-mailmpfb@mchsi. com for moreinformation.

PEORIA — A sum-mer market outlook

meeting will be at 6:30 p.m.Tuesday, June 22, at theFarm Bureau Park, south ofKickapoo. Raber’s will servea ribeye sandwich dinner.Andy Shissler, Roach AgMarketing, will be the speak-er. Tickets are $5 and maybe purchased from the direc-tors or at the Farm Bureauoffice.

• Farm Bureau will spon-sor a bus trip Thursday, June24, to Heartland Dairy innortheastern Missouri. Par-ticipants will tour the com-munity campus, cheesebuilding, creamery, Christianschool, milking carousel, andthe goat farm. Cost is $40.Call the Farm Bureau officeat 686-7070 by June 17 forreservations or more infor-mation.

SANGAMON — TheYoung Leader Com-

mittee will sponsor its annu-al Farm Safety Day CampFriday, June 25, at the NewBerlin fairgrounds. Fire,chemical, outdoor, grain bin,and power take off safetyand health habits will be the

stations. The camp is forchildren 5 to 10 years ofage. Children who registerby June 7 will receive a freeT-shirt and be entered towin a door prize. Call Katieat 753-5239 or e-mail her [email protected] for reserva tions ormore information.

• The Women’s Commit-tee will sponsor a bus tripThursday, June 10, to Car-linville. Participants willtour a Sears home, which isopen only for this specialtytour. Cost is $25 for mem-bers and $35 for non-mem-bers. Call the Farm Bureauoffice at 753-5200 for reser-vations or more informa-tion.

SCHUYLER — FarmBureau and Schuyler

Senior Citizens will sponsora defensive driving coursefor those 50 years or olderfrom 2 to 6 p.m. June 17-18,at the Senior Citizens Build-ing, Rushville. Cost is $12for AARP members and $14for non-members. Bringmembership card to theclass. Call 322-6430 or 322-4353 for reservations ormore information.

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

for more information.• Farm Bureau has dis-

counted theme park ticketsto Six Flags, Great America,Gurnee; Six Flags, St. Louis,Eureka, Mo.; Silver DollarCity, Branson, Mo.; RagingRivers, Grafton; and Adven-tureland, Des Moines, Iowa.Call the Farm Bureau officeat 217-357-3141 for moreinformation.

LASALLE — TheMarketing Committee

will sponsor a trip Thursday,July 22, to the Quad Cities.The group will tour the JohnDeere Harvest Works andPavilion and gift shop, takepart in the Deere hometours, visit the Quad CityBotanical Center, and havedinner on the CelebrationBelle boat. Cost is $85 formembers and $95 for non-members if paid by July 1.After July 1, the cost is anadditional $5. Call the FarmBureau office at 815-433-0371 or visit the website at{www.lasallecfb.org} forreservations or more infor-mation.

• The annual LaSalleCounty Farm Bureau Foun-dation Ag in the ClassroomGolf outing and benefit co-chaired by Dennis McKin-non of the 1985 SuperBowlchampion Chicago Bears andLinda Chapa LaVia (D-Aurora) will be Friday, June25, at Senica’s Oak RidgeGolf Course, LaSalle. Callthe Farm Bureau office at815-433-0371 for reserva-tions or more information.

LEE — The MarketingCommittee will spon-

sor a bus trip Tuesday, June29, to the Quad Cities totour John Deere Harvester,John Deere Pavilion, and theJohn Deere Homes. Cost is$35, which includes bus,admission to tours, andlunch. Registration andmoney are due to the FarmBureau office by Monday,June 7. Reservations are ona first-come, first-servedbasis. Call the Farm Bureauoffice at 815-857-3531 for

more information.

MACON — FarmBureau has Macon

County Fair tickets available.Discounted tractor pull tick-ets are $10 and demolitionderby tickets are $5. Eventsare highlighted on the web-site {www.maconcounty -fair.com}.

MADISON — TheYoung Farmers

Committee will sponsor acardio pulmonary resuscita-tion class at 6:30 p.m.Wednesday, June 2, at theFarm Bureau auditorium.Cost is $3. Participants willreceive a two-year certifica-tion. Call the Farm Bureauoffice at 618-656-5191 forreservations or more infor-mation.

• Farm Bureau will spon-sor “mouse races” Saturday,June 5, at Digger’s Dugout,Worden. Tickets are $20 andinclude beverages, music,and the races. All proceedswill benefit local Agriculturein the Classroom activities.

MARSHALL-PUT-NAM — The

“Crops for College” annualtractor drive will be at 7:30a.m. Sunday, June 13, atJohnson Grove Park, Lacon.Country Financial cropinsurance agent Steve Jame-son will sponsor the event.It will be held in conjunctionwith the Marshall-PutnamAntique Association Show.

Students get taste of farm life

BY CARLA MUDDMore than 200 first

graders from the local Han-cock County elementaryschools participated in theseventh annual HancockCounty Farm Bureau(HCFB) “Down on theFarm” program held recentlyat the Hancock CountyExtension Center.

Students had the opportu-nity to visit seven differentstations.

The day’s highlightsincluded a skit, hayrack ride,petting zoo, equipment tour,moo moo masks, homemadebutter, cow milking, farmsafety, and ice cream sand-wiches. Prairie Farms Dairydonated 200 cartons of milk.A.C. McCartney and Martinand Sullivan’s John Deereprovided the machinery forthe tour.

Matthew Starr, the HCFBYoung Leader chairman said,“We feel it is important forus to share our heritage and

First graders from Hancock County elementary schools line up for achance to crawl into a combine during the Hancock County Farm Bu-reau “Down on the Farm” program. (Photo courtesy of Hancock Coun-ty Farm Bureau)

our way of life with theyounger generations whomay not have the opportuni-ty to experience farm life.

“We want to provide apositive educational experi-ence for children of all ages.

We try and work together tomake this program as fun aswe possibly can.”

More than 20 FarmBureau members donatedtheir time and energy inmaking this annual event asuccess.

Carla Mudd is manager ofHancock County Farm Bureau.She can be reached at 217-357-3141.

PROFITABILITY


Feeder pig prices reported to USDA*

Weight Range Per Head Weighted Ave. Price10 lbs. $35.10-$47.00 $39.1740 lbs. $56.00-$75.00 $64.9450 lbs. n/a n/aReceipts This Week Last Week

22,419 18,732*Eastern Corn Belt prices picked up at seller’s farm

MARKET FACTS

Confirmed lamb and sheep salesThis week 603 Last week 910 Last year 637Wooled Slaughter Lambs: Choice and prime 2-3: 90-110 lb., $118. Good andchoice 1-2: 60-90 lbs., $130. Slaughter Ewes: Utility and good 1-3: $43-$45. Cull and utility 1-2: $40-$43.

Lamb prices

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

This week Prev. week ChangeCarcass $81.22 $83.30 -2.08Live $60.10 $61.64 -1.54

Export inspections

(Million bushels)Week ending Soybeans Wheat Corn05-13-10 8.5 12.6 38.505-06-10 6.6 23.3 38.3Last year 16.3 15.1 31.3Season total 1319.6 810.3 1237.7Previous season total 1051.5 947.4 1188.5USDA projected total 1420 825 1900Crop marketing year began June 1 for wheat and Sept. 1 for corn and soybeans.

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

Steers $95.75 $99.97 -4.22Heifers $95.52 $99.12 -3.60

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 Change111.03 112.55 -1.52

CME feeder cattle index — 600-800 Lbs.

‘Hurricanes of all kinds’ bear watchingBY CHARLIE LABELLE

The hurricane season beginsJune 1 and ends Nov. 30.Knowing full well the volatility

that hurri-canes cancause, another“EuropeanHurricane”has been con-suming thenews head-lines lately. Allthe uproar

has been caused by the“PIIGS”: Portugal, Italy, Ire-land, Greece, and Spain.

The debt amassed by these

nations is staggering, and theEuropean Union (EU) and theInternational Monetary Fundare trying to wrestle with abailout solution for thesecountries, starting withGreece. The world marketshave become global markets,all interconnected in financesas well as commodities.

The first week of Maybrought us to new highs inNYMEX heating oil andRBOB gasoline contracts andrevisited $87 on the crude oilcontract, but then plummetedthe rest of the week.

The EU Commission and

International Monetary Fundpledged a loan package ofeuro750 billion ($975 billion)after the euro plunged amidinvestor concerns that a debtcrisis in Greece could spreadto other European countries.So far, the markets havecalmed down.

Now on to the hurricanes.The Colorado State Universityforecast team predicts 15named storms will form in theAtlantic basin between June 1and Nov. 30 with eight expect-ed to be hurricanes and fourdeveloping into major hurri-canes. These predictions are

very similar from one year tothe next. They say that El Ninowill dissipate by summer’s end.

In 2005, Katrina and Ritahit New Orleans and Houston,respectively, and caused theU.S. Midwest supply of fuel tobe shut off, as Gulf Coastrefiners and oil-producingplatforms were shut down,some for long periods of time.

The threat of hurricanesshould not be taken lightly, butcustomers should not expectprices to skyrocket justbecause a hurricane hits theU.S. Gulf Coast.

Most hurricane seasons are

uneventful for the oil produc-ers, just short-term disruptions,even though the Gulf Coastareas may experience floodingand severe wind damage.

Complicating the situationis the BP oil platform explo-sion and spill, which may beexacerbated by any hurricanewinds that could cause delaysin the shipping channels. Insummary, keep a watchful eyeon “hurricanes of all kinds.”

Charlie LaBelle is GROW-MARK’s senior energy analyst.His e-mail address is [email protected].

Charlie LaBelle

Seasonal spike in fuel prices may not materializeBY DANIEL GRANTFarmWeek

Consumers accustomed to ahike in fuel prices about thistime of year, particularlyaround Memorial Day week-end, may catch a break.

Gasoline and diesel fuelprices in coming weeks areexpected to remain fairly stable.

In fact, prices at the pumppossibly could decline if cur-rent market trends continue,according to Jackie McKinnis,GROWMARK energy analyst.

“I don’t see a big marketspike coming our way,” saidMcKinnis, who believes gasprices in coming weeks shouldremain at or below the $3 pergallon mark.

The nationwide average

price of regular gasoline fromMay 10 to May 17 actuallydeclined from $2.90 to $2.86per gallon while the averageprice of diesel fuel dippedfrom $3.12 to $3.09 per gallon,according to the Energy Infor-mation Administration (EIA).

EIA, in its short-term ener-gy outlook, reported the priceof regular gasoline from Aprilto May of 2005 to 2009increased by an average of 18cents. This year, EIA predictedjust a 7-cent increase duringthe April-May timeframe.

“We might see a gas pricespike, but not in the traditionalsense,” McKinnis said.

Fuel prices typically increasein May due in part to a switchto summer blends and the

start of the peak driving sea-son, according to EIA.

But this year pressure fromoutside markets and amplestocks of crude oil (see graph-ic) have kept prices in check.The price of crude oil lastweek dipped to a seven-monthlow of about $67 per barrel.

Meanwhile, the value of theeuro this month dipped to afour-year low and in theprocess took oil prices with it,according to McKinnis.

“We could go lower at anunusual time of year,” the ana-lyst said of fuel prices.

Elsewhere, the oil spill inthe Gulf of Mexico has notcaused oil prices to rise.

“We’re plenty supplied rightnow,” McKinnis added. “Thatproduct (lost in the spill) is notneeded” to meet currentdemand.

Consumers probably won’tbe dancing in the streets aboutthe price of fuel any timesoon, though. Average prices

last week still were up 55 centsper gallon for gas and 86 centsper gallon for diesel comparedto a year ago.

Grain shipments continue to flow down Mississippi River into Gulf

The massive oil spill in the Gulf of Mexicoas of last week had not interrupted the flow ofgrain from the Mississippi River into the Gulf.

In fact, a transportation report issued byUSDA earlierthis monthestimated traf-fic of ocean-going grainvessels in a 10-day stretchafter the oilspill actuallycould be 13percent higherthan the sametime last year.

“Currentprojections look good in the Port of New Ore-leans,” Chris Bonura, spokesman for the port,told FarmWeek. “We’re not expecting oil in theshipping channels.”

There were no shipping delays or cancella-tions due to the spill as of the middle of lastweek, Bonura reported.

If the situation changes, the maritime indus-try and Coast Guard have refined the cleaningprotocol for vessels entering and exiting the

Mississippi River and have cleaning stations onstand-by. A test run of one of the cleaning sta-tions this month was a success, according toport authorities.

“Therehaven’t been anyvessels thatrequired clean-ing,” Bonurasaid. “But we’reready to addressany situationthat pops up.”

The USDAtransportationreport noted it’sstill possibleheavy oil conta-

mination could cause future delays or close ports.But, for now, the continued flow of grain

through the Gulf is good news for U.S. farmers.More than half of all grain exported from theU.S. passes through the Gulf.

The news last week wasn’t as good for fisher-men in the Gulf region, though. The NationalOceanic and Atmospheric Administrationexpanded the area closed to fishing due to theoil spill. — Daniel Grant

‘We’re not expecting oil in the ship-ping channels.’

— Chris BonuraPort of New Orleans

PROFITABILITY


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CASH STRATEGISTCorn Strategy

�2009 crop: Even withthe end-of-week short cover-ing rally, the primary trendremains down. Cycle countsstill point to a 40-week cyclebottom in June. July futureshave potential to dropbetween $3.34 and $3.40.Use rallies to wrap up old-crop sales.

�2010 crop: Use ralliesabove $3.80 on Decemberfutures for catch-up sales.Even though we expect alower trend into early sum-mer, there should be one ortwo opportunities to add salesduring the summer.

�Fundamentals: Notonly does Chinese businesscontinue, but sales to othercountries on the recent week-ly report were good, too.Weekly sales, 1,593,100 met-ric tons (62.7 millionbushels), were among thelargest of the year. Currentforecasts for warmer, drierweather look conducive forcrop development. Outsidemarkets remain the biggestday-to-day influence.Soybean Strategy

�2009 crop: Outside fac-tors are guiding the day-to-day trading in soybeans.Even though there’s stillsome old-crop Chinese soy-bean business occurring, itdoesn’t look like endingstocks are going to get signifi-cantly tighter. Use rallies toget old-crop sales wrappedup.

�2010 crop: The slow-down in planting has been alittle supportive, but weatherforecasts suggest that is aboutto change. Prices may slip inthe short term, but thereshould be sales opportunitiesafter the June price cyclelows. Hold off sales for now,unless something sparks aNovember rebound to $9.40.

�Fundamentals: Rain hasslowed the planting pace thatexisted in early May, but fore-casts for what’s ahead willallow planting to accelerateagain. We still expect thisyear’s crop to get planted in atimely manner. China hasbeen shifting some old-cropexport business from South

America to the U.S., but wedon’t expect it to be largeenough to boost this year’sexports over current forecasts.Wheat Strategy

�2009 crop: The trendin wheat has shifted lowerfollowing the brief consolida-tion. The first level of sup-port on the July comes at$4.60. The seasonal trendand the 40-week cycle countstill point to a June or Julylow. Old-crop sales shouldbe complete. Use rallies forcatch- up sales.

�2010 crop: Chicago July

futures reached our $5.15 tar-get recently, boosting new-crop sales to 40 percent. Ifyou price wheat at harvest,sales should be up to 60 per-cent. Use rallies for catch-upsales.

�Fundamentals: Thedecline in the euro, 20 percentsince the end of last year,could have profound implica-tions for our wheat exportbusiness. Algeria recentlybought wheat from France tocapitalize on the decline in theeuro. This has the potential tohamper already lagging U.S.wheat export business.

Since the beginning of May,the operative words in theinvestment community havebeen “risk aversion.” This notonly has undermined the priceof grain but was notable inmost other commodities, withthe exception of gold.

And even gold started to suc-cumb to the flight from riskyassets over the last week becauseits price has gotten so high.

Over this time, crude oilprices have dropped $22 per bar-rel. The Dow Jones IndustrialAverage has dropped 11 percent,including the shocking 1,000-point one-day drop in the midstof the decline. Other worldequity markets have had similar,if not worse, experiences.

The factor behind the recentdecline is the same one that hasdogged world markets this year— the uncertainty in the Euro-pean Union (EU) and theimpact on foreign exchangetrading.

The fiscal debt issue sur-rounding a few European coun-

Basis charts

tries (the PIIGS group — Por-tugal, Ireland, Italy, Greece, andSpain) has been an escalatingissue since the beginning of theyear.

Even though the Internation-al Monetary Fund and Euro-pean finance ministers workedout a package to support Greeceand other countries, there isdoubt whether key ingredientswill get implemented to allowmoney to flow to Greece andothers. The recent riots inGreece highlight those doubts.At the same time, the quality ofthe government debt has beendowngraded, forcing the bor-rowing costs even higher.

The fiscal difficulties havesparked an exodus of moneyout of the EU, dropping theeuro’s value nearly 20 percent sofar this year. As long as there isno solution to the situation,there’s a threat problems willescalate in other countries, con-tinuing the exodus of moneyout of the EU and causing theeuro to decline even more.

Other currencies havestrengthened in the wake ofEuropean problems, includingthe dollar. But because of ongo-ing economic uncertainty andfiscal problems in other coun-tries, the U.S. included, gold hasbeen one of the main beneficia-ries of these changing invest-ment flows. Of recent though, itappears money has started tomove out of it, probably becauseits price has gotten so high.

Maybe the bigger issue here isthe investment community’sgrowing skepticism about theeuro as a viable currency. Untilthat changes, the euro mightremain weak (dollar strong),keeping investors from puttingmoney in riskier assets, com-modities included.

Cents per bu.

‘Risk aversion’ operative phrase

PERSPECTIVES


LETTERS TO THE EDITORBlock’s illegal aliencomments misleadingEditor:

I find Mr. Block’s proposalto provide amnesty for illegalaliens providing they “sign up”in six months for permanentstatus to be most misleading.

When he states that “Thisdoes not give them citizenshipor necessarily the many bene-fits that our legal citizens areentitled to receive,“ I

wonder who he is kidding.Once legal status is con-firmed, he knows very wellthat they will be grantedaccess to all welfare entitle-ments.

Under the new health legis-lation, all legal residents,regardless of immigration sta-tus, will be able to access thissystem.

If you do not believe thatother “rights” will be extend-

ed to the 12 million to 20 mil-lion “legalized” illegal aliensin this nation, then I have awhole bunch of stuff I wantto sell you.

He further opines thatthese illegals will not be senthome because so many brokethe law we as a nation will notdo anything about it.

He may be right, particular-ly under an Obama adminis-tration.

And he comments aboutwho is going to do all thatwork of slaughtering hogs androofing houses.

I had a home built fiveyears ago — no foreign laborwas used. I remember whenmeatpacking jobs were goodjobs and the packers did notrecruit in Mexico.

My suggestion is for Mr.Block to go to Beardstown,Ill., (where there is a packing

plant) and look around insteadof being a policy adviser of aWashington, D.C., law firmand providing more elitist talkabout “jobs Americans are toolazy to do.”

H2A visas (unskilled labor)are already unlimited. Ofcourse, employers andemployees actually have tofollow the law.Frank Goudy,Cuba

“Freedom is not free” writes William W. “Bill”Smith of Quincy, whenever he signs his book, AMoment in Time.

Bill speaks with considerable authority on the sub-ject of freedom, having spent two and a half years ina North Korean prisoner of war (POW) camp.

He survived the ordeal, but nearly half of thosewho were captured with him in the early months ofthe Korean War did not.

Smith was captured onNov. 2, 1950, near Unsan,North Korea, when Chineseforces sprang a surprise attackon the lead elements of

advancing United Nations troops. It heralded a dra-matic change in the war.

The brass had long insisted the Chinesewould not intervene despite their threats to thecontrary. Douglas MacArthur, fresh off his triumphat Inchon, boasted the troops would be home byChristmas. The action at Unsan proved MacArthurand his intelligence experts to be tragically wrong.

Over the next two years, Smith endured the worstof what man can inflict on his fellow man: A forcedmarch north where stragglers were summarily execut-ed; severe beatings; being hung by his wrists from arafter; Russian Roulette; water torture; sleep depriva-tion; standing on ice for hours on end; long stretchesof solitary confinement; and “the hole.”

Scores of POWs died of malnutrition and diseaseduring their first winter on the Yalu River. When aprisoner died, the living kept the body for several days— it meant another handful of cracked corn forthose still alive — then when the stench became toomuch, they dragged their dead comrade across the iceof the Yalu River into Manchuria and buried him in ashallow grave.

Daily indoctrination sessions, conducted by Chi-nese officers speaking impeccable English, started in1951. Day after day, all day long, the prisoners gath-ered for these lectures and learned about the evils ofcapitalism and American imperialism.

The message was incessant, with endless variationson one simple theme — the superiority of Commu-nism as a political and economic system. Group con-fessions and self-criticism sessions were part of theregimen, with extra food for those who collaborated.

Smith’s captors sought to exploit every weaknessthey could find. “If God is so good,” they once taunt-ed Smith, “why is he leaving you here?”

“He’s watching you!” Smith heard himself answer.

“God knows, they would go berserk.”After another incident, he was court-martialed and

sentenced to “life at hard labor.”In the summer of 1952, Smith was labeled a “reac-

tionary,” (an especially uncooperative prisoner) andmoved to a new camp with other reactionaries. A yearlater, he was exchanged with other sick and woundedprisoners in Operation Little Switch, weighing only 82pounds.

He spent the next two years in a series of militaryhospitals, slowly regaining his strength while battlinga host of physical and psychological afflictions.

Perhaps the real measure of Bill’s character wasrevealed after being released from the hospital in1955. It happened while he visited a fellow POWbuddy in Bluefield, W. Va. That’s where he met 19-year-old Charlotte Yost. She had just experienced apainful breakup from her fiancé of two years.

“On Sunday night I went to bed and I prayed thatGod would send me somebody to love, and someonewho would love me,” recalls Charlotte.

“On Monday morning Bill knocked on the frontdoor lost, looking for his friend.” She had no doubtthat this handsome young man was the answer to herprayers, and Bill, for his part, was equally smitten.

The relationship moved quickly, but somethingtroubled Bill. He finally decided to lay it all on the line— actually laying a thick folder containing his medicalrecords on Charlotte’s lap.

“Read these,” he told her, “and if you feel like youcan go on from here with me after what you read,we’ll go on, and if you don’t, then I’ll walk away.”

She scoured the documents then made her deci-sion. “I took him on faith, and I took him on love,and I love him just the way he was, and I love him justthe way he is.” The two were married within weeks.

Some 53 years later Charlotte helped Bill writeabout his years as a POW, motivated by their desire toexplain to their granddaughters why they couldn’tjump on grandpa’s bed to wake him up.

Bill Smith spent his time in hell, and understandsfreedom in a way that most of us can never compre-hend. He credits Charlotte with saving his life.

“Freedom is not free,” he tells anyone who will lis-ten. “Be watchful of those who would take it.”

Mark DePue is the director of oral history at the AbrahamLincoln Presidential Library, Springfield. Readers may listento the Smiths’ entire story, and those of many other veterans,online at {http://www.alplm.org/oral_history/pro-jects.html}.

MARK DEPUE

guest columnist

It is well known that many, if not most, of theillegal immigrants journey to the U.S. in search ofeconomic opportunity for themselves and often toprovide for their families. We accommodate theirneeds by offering employment opportunities.

We are the society that wants cheap tomatoes,cheap service, and cheap inputs forour consumer needs. It is not thegrower, the builder, or the restaura-teur who knowingly or unknowinglyemploys undocumented immigrantswho is solely to blame.

Employers know full well that theycannot legally employ undocumentedworkers. Often they resort to the fic-tion that they are not employees, butindependent contractors.

The employer behavior, whateverits form, is a competitive necessity in an economywhere the other suppliers are using low-cost illegal-labor inputs. Society not only countenances this, weencourage it for our own economic benefit.

If we refused to purchase goods and services manu-factured with low-cost illegal labor, the market for thatlabor would dry up and most undocumented workerswould no longer be motivated to come to the U.S.

This volunteer solution is clearly not visible — wecollectively have decided otherwise. A workable solu-tion to the immigration “problem” must in somefashion be predicated upon society’s forced accep-tance of higher living costs — or a willingness tosend even more “good American jobs” overseas.

A properly designed guest worker program canaccomplish this. Such a guest worker program shouldbe created along with meaningful control of our bor-ders. Knowing employment of undocumented work-ers should be a criminal offence as should knowingacceptance of such employment.

Payment of less than a living wage to guest work-ers also should be a crime. Current illegal immi-grant/workers might be given an opportunity to signup for worker status in exchange for the privilege ofstaying in the United States. Others should face avalid threat of exclusion.

We will be better for it. Lawful immigration will bemore likely to prevail. A careful economic analysis willreveal the potential for a net reduction in societalcosts. Very likely some consumer products and ser-vices will increase in cost by modest percentages.

Societal overhead costs — border control, medicalcare, schooling, etc. — certainly will decline, or beborne more equitably by the guest worker beneficiaries.

To continue the current practice of importing andemploying illegal, cheap labor without any meaningfulcontrols ultimately will cost our society much morethan a managed guest worker program — and muchmore than any perceived consumer savings based oncheap labor inputs.

William Landsea, a Christian County Farm Bureau member,is a consulting economist in south Florida and an associatefinance professor emeritus with the University of Miami. His e-mail address is [email protected].

WILLIAMLANDSEA

Economic impacts of immigration issues

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