Modern Farmer September 2015

Transcription

MODERN
FARMER
Sunday, September 27, 2015
MODERN FARMER
2 Sunday, September 27, 2015
INSIDE:
Jacksonville Journal-Courier
n Apple-picking season in full swing.........................................................10
n DeKalb logo gets historical marker........................................................10
n Out-of-state poultry restrictions lifted..................................................10
features
n Rolling out the logs: Firm is worldwide supplier of timber ...........3
n Rich ag history provides weekend excursions......................... 13, 14
n Agri-tourism provides new avenue for visitors..................16, 18, 19
n New safety net process for farmers in final phase.................................11
n Corn-growing states try to minimize seasonal road hazard................. 12
Plan for the
unexpected
when you’re
healthy.
n Robots take root on smaller dairy farms............................................... 15
n Man has seen many changes in agriculture.................................... 20, 21
n Farm Aid at 30: Not much celebrating.............................................22, 23
more stories
n State fairs won’t press broiler industry’s bird flu luck.....................26, 27
n Drone on: A little of the future of farming............................................... 4
n Pumpkin harvest looks to be down........................................................27
n FFA event provides real-life horse judging experiences..........................5
n Companies develop programs for farmers’ data needs....................... 28
n Taiwanese delegation to purchase corn and soybeans...........................6
n Group promotes honeybee health in agriculture............................ 29, 31
n Lend me your ear: Corn production crucial to state...............................7
n Farmer’s side hobby turns into money-maker..................................... 30
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MODERN FARMER
3
Rolling out the logs: Firm is worldwide supplier of timber
By Greg Olson
[email protected]
Greg and Kathy Littleton are building
a bigger business — hundreds of logs at
a time.
The Littletons own and operate Littleton Storm & Timber Services Inc. about
five miles northwest of Jacksonville.
Logging is just one part of the business, but it’s Greg Littleton’s main focus,
and he only sees it getting better.
“These days, we are unbelievably busy
with all aspects of our business,” Greg
Littleton said. “Some days, my wife and
I work 12 to 15 hours a day taking phone
calls, keeping the books and tagging and
scaling logs.”
The logging operation handles hundreds of semi-truckloads of logs a year,
with each truck carrying about 3,200
feet of logs, according to Littleton. The
business cuts and sells all species of
trees, but walnut and white oak are the
most valuable types of trees they market.
“Most of our logging is done within a
100-mile radius of Jacksonville, and we
have crews working year-round harvesting timber,” Littleton said.
Littleton Storm & Timber Services
has about 25 employees and sub-contractors who work on a variety of projects.
Besides logging, the business does
contract work for Illinois Rural Electric
Cooperative, provides bulldozer and
trackhoe services, as well as tree trimming and snow removal.
“There are about 10 or 12 guys who
only work with the logging,” Littleton
Littleton Timber & Storm Services subcontractor
Nathan Heatherly of Pleasant Hill cuts down a
50-foot-tall sycamore tree in a timber southeast
of Literberry.
said. The business also has four logging
trucks and three log skidders, which are
tractors that pull logs out of timber.
“Timber and brush are in my blood,”
said the 50-year-old Littleton, who has
been involved in logging since childhood.
“It’s all I know, and I enjoy doing it.”
Photos by Greg Olson | Journal-Courier
Littleton’s father and mother, Alvin
Greg Littleton of rural Jacksonville marks white oak logs in his logging yard in Beardstown. Many of the
and Norma, began a logging business in white oak trees his business harvests are between 60 and 100 years old.
the late 1960s.
versa. Greg and Kathy added that their
barrels.” Other uses for the Littletons’
“I started packing chain saw gas and
10-year-old son, Trevin, is also showing
logs include railroad ties, pallets and
oil for my dad when I was 5 years old,”
an interest in the business.
crane mats used in oil pipeline construcLittleton recalled. “I would dig around
Littleton said there is a worldwide
tion.
the base of walnut trees so we could gain
Littleton said more should be done to
extra footage, which means more money, market for the trees his business harvests.
protect trees, especially those in timberbefore we cut the tree down.”
“Some of the walnut we cut and sell
land. “People who own timber should
Littleton’s father and brother, Mark,
still have their own logging business, but goes into high-grade furniture and panel- realize that it’s a crop, and they need to
ing,” he said. “Much of the white oak we monitor their trees because diseases are
occasionally they help Greg and Kathy
killing many varieties,” he said.
Littleton with logging projects, and vice- sell goes into making whiskey and wine
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MODERN FARMER
Drone on: A little of the future of farming
For the Journal-Courier
In the parking lot of Freeman Seeds
in Murrayville, Jacob Freeman kneels
before his Phantom 3 Professional drone.
The drone looks like a Starfighter from
Star Wars, but Freeman assures “it’s not
a toy.” After factoring everything in —
batteries, joystick, GoPro 4k camera —
the drone costs about $1,800.
Freeman uses his phone charger to
hook his iPhone 6 into a joystick. Once
the phone is synched with the drone, he
pulls a joystick lever. The drone skyrockets.
It’s about 7:30 a.m. on a Monday
and Freeman’s main concern is that the
wind will jerk the drone around, even
though it’s 10 mph and hardly noticeable
at ground level. But the drone hovers
steady above the ground.
Freeman switches to the next joystick
lever and the drone launches eastward,
into the glare of the sun, covering half of
a 35-acre soybean field adjacent to Freeman Seeds in less than a minute.
“I can cover an 80-acre field in five to
10 minutes,” Freeman says.
The drone has disappeared from view.
It’s no problem, Freeman explains. The
drone has a Return Home feature. It can
track how much battery it has left, how
much battery life it needs to get back,
and then it automatically returns home
when it’s low on juice.
Freeman is also able to set up coordinates so that the drone can fly over an
entire field.
He uses his iPhone 6 to control the
drone. In the lower left-hand corner of
his phone’s screen is a map showing the
drone’s location. Along the bottom of the
screen, Freeman can monitor the drone’s
speed, which tops out around 40 mph.
Freeman has had the drone since midJuly, and already he’s covered thousands
of acres; his Murrayville neighbors have
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3:00 p.m. – Buck and Jo’s Too Café
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sought him frequently for help.
With the drone’s camera, which can
shoot photos up to 12 megapixels and
video up to 1,080 pixels, “you can learn
the problem spots a lot quicker,” Freeman said.
One particular field in Murrayville had
been pummeled by hail, so Freeman was
able to fly the drone out to snap photos
of exactly how much damage had been
done. The neighbor was able to provide
a more-accurate estimate to a hail adjustor.
Drones can also be used to catch nutrient deficiencies or pest problems early
on, said Duane Friend, extension educator for Calhoun, Cass, Greene, Morgan,
and Scott counties. These are problems
that would be difficult to spot if the corn
was 10-feet tall.
Some drones even have remote sensing instruments attached that could help
farmers find drainage or tile lines, Friend
said.
“If you have eyes over a field during
the growing season, you can examine
that entire field,” Friend said.
Drones can also be used to check crops
to make sure they’re ready for harvesting, Freeman said.
But Freeman doesn’t use the drone to
make money. The thousands of acres he’s
covered since purchasing it — all of that
has been to help out the neighbors, he
said.
“For me, it was worth it,” Freeman
said, “but the way I look at it — from
a farming aspect — I can blow $1,500
pretty quick.”
Jake Russell | Journal-Courier
Jacob Freeman syncs his Phantom 3 Professional
drone to his iPhone to give a demonstration.
Freeman’s follows a No. 1 rule:
“You have to be respectful of the neighbors,” he says. “You don’t want to snoop
on them. [My drone] is going to look at
corn and beans.”
For an aerial view of a field, farmers
used to have to spend about $100 to fuel
an airplane (plus the cost of a pilot) in
order to circle around a field, Freeman
said. Now, the drone can hover over a
single spot — a lot closer to the ground,
too.
“It’s a little of the future of ag,” Freeman said. “Technology’s come a long
way.”
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MODERN FARMER
5
FFA event provides real-life horse judging experiences
By Nick Draper
[email protected]
The Jacksonville Future Farmers of America chapter topped
the charts at a career event
focused on equestrian knowledge.
At a Career Development
Event focused on horse evaluation on Sept. 10 at the Morgan
County Fairgrounds, Jacksonville
FFA had the highest scores in
section 13 on both the greenhand
— freshman — class and the
varsity — sophomore through
senior — class. FFA Instructor
Kenny Dufelmeier said that the
kids really studied hard in order
to get their high scores.
“These kids really studied for
this,” Dufelmeier said. “We studied for a week straight and did
about seven practices. Then they
studied on their own. It really
showed.”
This year Jacksonville played
host to the event that draws in
schools from around the region
to test their host evaluation skills
on volunteer horse owners. Seven
schools, comprising a group of
around 120 kids, tested their
knowledge of western and English styles of halter and pleasure
showings as well as “tack” or
equipment knowledge.
The volunteers show their
horses as they would in any other
horse show and the students act
as though they are the judges,
evaluating the horse’s physique
and training.
Western and English pleasure
are both riding classes, with
Western’s saddle being larger in
size and more leaned back while
English focuses on posture and a
smaller saddle size.
“The English class is a little
more formal,” said Paul Lee,
official for the event. “They sit up
in their saddle and do a rocking
motion. The Western is a more
relaxed style, it’s bigger equipment and a more comfortable to
deal with.”
While the pleasure showings
focus on the mannerisms of the
rider, the halter class focuses on
the physique and health of the
horse as they are lead around the
track.
“If they’re built right and they
travel right, they gotta travel
right, then they’ll be judged well,”
Lee said. “We look at the muscle
is, how the neck is, and their
overall build.”
Morgan Lonergan, a volunteer
rider at the event for the Western
class, explained that judges that
horses must have a good attitude
as well, minding commands and
being comfortable with their
handler.
“They’ll be looking for things
like if the horses head is down,
if it’s listening,” Lonergan said.
Faith English, 13, of Chapin walks with
her horse, Shadow.
“They’re also looking for confirmation (build of the horse) and if
the horse is standing square.”
The students give the horses a
score and those scores are then
matched to the official’s score
and then points are deducted for
differences. If the student picks
a horse for first place that the
official marked for second place,
many points could be lost for that
student.
The “Tack ID” portion of the
event involves students identifying the different equipment that
will be used in both English and
western styles of shows. Pictures
of the equipment are laid out on a
table and students identify what
the equipment is and how it will
be used.
Overall the Jacksonville chapter placed the best out of seven
teams on the Greenhand Class
followed by the Winchester and
the Bluffs chapter. In the Varsity
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Class, Jacksonville was followed
by Winchester High School and
Franklin High School.
Teams scores are made up of
the top three individuals on a
five-person teams.
The top three individuals in
Greenhand were from Jacksonville as well with Annie Jackson
in first, Blake Hadden in second,
and Austin Dufelmeier in third.
Jacksonville had the three top
individuals in the Varsity Class
with Katelyn Tabit in first, Zoe
Quigg in second, and Autumn
Browning in third.
This is the second year in a row
that the Jacksonville FFA has won
in the varsity class. Dufelmeier
said that the event is a great
opportunity for students to really
show what they know.
Other Career Development
Events include food science and
technology, meat evaluation, poultry evaluation, parliamentary procedure, and forestry — another
event the kids are excited for,
Dufelmeier said.
“They spend a lot of time working on these,” Dufelmeier said. “A
lot of FFA is about the 12 words:
‘Learning to do, doing to learn,
learning to live, living to serve.’
It’s not just about farming, it’s
about bettering yourself and getting out and learning and serving
your community.”
Nick Draper can be reached at 217-4082049, ext. 1223, or on Twitter @nick_draper.
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Students evaluate a horse during the Western halter class portion of the Horse
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MODERN FARMER
Taiwanese delegation to purchase corn and soybeans
Journal-Courier staff
Members of an agricultural mission from Taiwan have joined Gov.
Bruce Rauner and Director of Agriculture Philip Nelson to sign letters
of intent to purchase Illinois corn
and soybeans in 2016 and 2017.
“We thank Taiwan for their
continued support of the state’s
agriculture industry,” said Rauner.
“Agriculture helps our state secure
a strong position in the global economy. We look forward to a long,
continued relationship with our
friends from Taiwan so that together we can help feed the world.”
The 18-member delegation is visiting several states to demonstrate
goodwill to further a long-standing
trade relationship between Taiwan
and the United States. The letters
were signed at the Harford family
farm in Mazon between representatives from the Illinois Corn Marketing Board and Taiwan Feed Industry Association and Illinois Soybean
Association and Taiwan Vegetable
Oil Manufacturers Association.
“Today’s ceremony speaks volumes for the strength of the corn
and soybean industries in Illinois,”
said Director Philip Nelson. “Over
half of Illinois’ corn and soybean
crops are exported each year and
we want to continue to grow our
exports by working with important
trade partners such as Taiwan.”
“The United States remains
one of Taiwan’s largest sources of
agricultural products, regularly
supplying one-fourth of our overall
agricultural imports,” said Deputy
Minister, Council of Agriculture,
Mr. Chen-taung Wang. “As of 2014,
Taiwan was the seventh-largest market for U.S. agricultural products
worldwide, making it one of the
world’s largest consumers of U.S.
farm goods on a per-capita basis.
Taiwan also ranks as the seventhlargest market for U.S. corn and
the fifth-largest market for U.S.
soybeans.”
The Taiwan Vegetable Oil Manufacturers Association signed a letter
of intent to purchase between 96
million and 107 million bushels of
soybeans in 2016 and 2017 from
the U.S. The value of these purchases is estimated to be between
$1.13 billion and $1.26 billion. It’s
believed that based off current market prices Illinois stands to bring in
an estimated $133 million thanks
to Taiwan’s purchase of Illinois soybeans.
“Taiwan represents one of the
top three export markets for Illinois
soy, which we have seen firsthand,”
said Daryl Cates, Chairman of
Illinois Soybean Association from
Columbia, Illinois. “The Illinois
Soybean Association is committed
to growing our relationships with
our customers in Taiwan and value
their support. Today’s signing ceremony represents the next step in
this growing partnership.”
The Taiwan Feed Industry Association signed a letter of intent to
purchase 197 million bushels of
corn and 0.5 million metric tons
of corn co-products in the years
of 2016 and 2017 from the U.S.
The value of these purchases is
estimated to be about $1.23 billion.
Illinois’ share of that, based off current market prices, is an estimated
$116 million.
“Many corn farmers in Illinois
have had some challenging weather
this year, but we’re on track to
harvest a high quality corn crop
that’s waiting to be exported,” said
Jim Raben, Illinois Corn Marketing
Board Chairman from Ridgway, IL.
“It’s always important to maintain
and grow our relationships with
such markets as Taiwan. They are
valued trading partners and represent an important part of the business we do as corn farmers.”
The group also toured a northern
Illinois farm and an Elburn Cooperative grain elevator facility in Morris. The barge loading and truck
receiving facility has the capacity to
store 685,000 bushels of grain.
In 2014, Illinois soybean production ranked first in the nation at
548 million bushels, which was a
record high for the state. Additionally, corn production ranked 2nd in
the nation at 2.35 billion bushels,
topping the previous record of 2.28
billion bushels in 2007.
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MODERN FARMER
7
Lend me your ear: Corn production crucial to state
Corn is important in Illinois. For proof,
look no further than the state’s official
vegetable, sweet corn. (Though, for the
record, the Whole Grains Council and even
the Illinois Department of Agriculture
classify corn as a grain.)
The crop makes up a large portion of
Illinois’ 27 million acres of farmland, says
the Illinois Department of Agriculture,
with soybeans by its side. Much of the corn
produced in the state is processed not very
far away from its source — Chicago is the
No. 1 food processor in the country, with
$180 billion in sales per year. Corn sales
alone generate about $10.3 billion annually,
says the Illinois Department of Agriculture.
With about 75 percent of Illinois’ total
land area devoted to farmland, that adds
up to a lot of corn. The Associated Press
reports that while Iowa is still the top
corn-producing state in the country, the
designation of top-producing counties
belong to Illinois communities.
The Illinois Department of Agriculture
reports that with an average 10- to
12-degree difference in temperature
between the northern and southern tips of
Illinois, corn production varies throughout
the state. Which counties produce the
most in the state? Are there regions of the
state that have conditions more conducive
to yielding bigger harvests?
The U.S. Department of Agriculture
released the 2014 final corn production
numbers for Illinois by county, showing
that in total, the state saw nearly 12 million
acres of land planted with corn crops,
yielding about 2.35 billion bushels of corn,
or an average of about 200 bushels per
acre. For comparison, the U.S. produced
12.4 billion bushels as a whole in 2011.
(One bushel of corn weighs between 35
and 70 pounds, depending on the type.)
The Wall Street Journal reports that
Illinois’ 2015 corn crop is expected to drop
about 14 percent to about 172 bushels per
acre instead of 2014’s 200 bushels per acre.
The northwest part of Illinois is the
biggest corn-producing region in the
state, where nearly 376 million bushels
were produced in 2014. The region that
produced the least corn that year was the
Southwestern Illinois.
Counties with the most corn bushels
harvested in Illinois, 2014:
10. Logan County — 46.2 million
bushels
9. Vermilion County — 46.3 million
8. Lee County — 48.2 million
7. Sangamon County — 51.1 million
6. Bureau County — 53.9 million
5. LaSalle County — 56.9 million
4. Champaign County — 60 million
3. Iroquois County — 63.7 million
2. Livingston County — 64 million
1. McLean County — 70.4 million
There are 220 counties in the U.S.
that grow the bulk of the country’s corn
supply. Though other states, such as Iowa,
Wisconsin, Minnesota and Nebraska, have
high levels of corn production, most of the
state of Illinois is employed in growing a
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huge portion of the country’s corn.
Corn is so prolific in Illinois because it
is an in-demand crop and its uses know
(nearly) no bounds. It can be used as
feed for livestock, fuel for some cars in
the form of ethanol, food for humans and
even pared down into oils that are used in
plastics, clothes and medicines.
The Illinois Department of Agriculture
officials said one reason Illinois’ farming
industry, including corn, is so strong is
because of the state’s strategic central
location in the country. It is easy and
relatively inexpensive to ship corn and
other agricultural products by road,
ship or air. The state even exports $8.2
billion worth of agricultural products
to other countries every year. All of
that production is a big part of the
state’s economy — about 75,000 people
operate farms in the state and their work
(combined with other agricultural work)
generates about $19 billion annually,
most of which comes from corn.
Corn (first called maize) first began
to grow in North America about 80,000
years ago and began to be cultivated
in Mexico almost 6,000 years ago by
American Indians who considered it
to be their most valuable plant. It was
unknown to Europeans until Christopher
Columbus brought it back to Spain with
him in 1493, and by the late 1500s, it had
spread all the way to China, says Iowa
State University.
Corn facts
From the Corn Fact Book at ILCorn.org, the
National Corn Growers Association World of
Corn and The Great Corn Adventure at the
University of Illinois:
• One acre of corn can remove eight tons of
greenhouse gas from the air
• The output of ethanol production is more
than two times the energy it takes to make
that ethanol
• There were more acres of corn planted
in the early- and mid-20th century in the
U.S., but more bushels produced in the 21st
century, going from 20 bushels per acre in
1912 to nearly 159 bushels per acre in 2013
• The U.S. produces about 37 percent of
the world’s corn and consumes about 32
percent of it
• Corn can be used to make shoe polish,
paint, fireworks, drywall, soap and carpet
• There are 14 ethanol production plants in
Illinois
• Each American consumes about 25
pounds of corn per year
• 10 states make up the Corn Belt in the
United States
• One ear of corn has about 800 kernels —
16 rows of 50 kernels long. Ancient corn was
much smaller, with fewer than 100 kernels
• Corn reaches maturity 85 to 140 days
after planting
• Corn can grow three to four inches in a
night
• One combine can hold more than 200
bushels of corn
• 58 percent of the corn grown in the U.S.
goes toward animal feed
• Knee-high by the Fourth of July is too
short for corn crops these days, says
Champaign County farmer Jeff Fisher.
Stalks are usually about 10 feet tall by
Independence Day.
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MODERN FARMER
Stephen
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MODERN FARMER
Grains for Health
Join other farmers by making a gift of 100 bushels of grain to support
Passavant Area Hospital’s Emergency Department.
Your “Grains for Health” gift benefits everyone in our seven-county service area. In addition
to supporting vital healthcare services, significant tax savings can be achieved by donating
grain directly to the Passavant Area Hospital Foundation.
For information on the many ways to make a charitable gift,
contact Pam Martin, Executive Director.
217-479-5575 | [email protected]
312-0019 09/17/15
Advancing Health
WITH EVERY GIFT
9
MODERN FARMER
Apple-picking season in full swing DeKalb logo gets historical marker
Apple picking season is here. And
luckily for Illinoisans, apple orchards can
be found in just about every part of the
state.
Using the website OrangePippin, we’ve
compiled a list of apple orchards in Illinois
and sorted them by the northern, central
and southern regions of the state.
Orchards in west-central Illinois
Camp Grove Orchard — Roseville
• 373 105th St.
Christ Orchard — Elmwood
• 4321 N. Texas Road
Curtis Orchard & Pumpkin Patch —
Champaign
• 3902 S. Duncan Road
Harmony Hill Orchard — Virginia
• 21992 Chandlerville Road
Jefferies Orchard — Springfield
• 1016 Jefferies Road
Okaw Valley Orchard — Sullivan
• 724 County Road 1750N
Pleasant Row Orchard — Cuba
• 21649 North Illinois Route 97
Tanners Orchard — Speer
• 740 Illinois Route 40
Wolfe Orchard — Monticello
• 1657 N. 1125 E. County Road
Orchards in southern Illinois:
Braeutigam Orchards — Belleville
• 2795 Turkey Hill Lane
Doll’s Orchard — Pocahontas
• 573 Dolls Orchard Ave.
Eckert’s — Belleville
• 951 S. Green Mount Road
Eckert’s — Grafton
• 20995 Eckert Orchard Road
Stock photo
Edgewood Orchards — Quincy
• 1628 Edgewood Orchard Lane
Flamm Orchards — Cobden
• 8760 Old Highway 51 North
Grissom’s Lost Creek Orchards — Greenup
• 680 IL Route 130
Guten Tag Orchard — Chester
• 3956 State Route 3
Hagen Family Orchard — Brussels
• Illinois River Road
Liberty Apple Orchard — Edwardsville
• 8308 Kuhn Station Road
Lipe Orchards — Carbondale
• 3925 S. Illinois Ave.
Mileur Orchard — Murphysboro
• 172 Mileur Orchard Road
Mills Apple Farm — Marine
• 11477 Pocahontas Road
Rendleman Orchards — Alto Pass
• 9680 Illinois Route 127 North
Ringhausen Orchard & Apple House —
Jerseyville
• 19770 U.S. 67
Schwartz Orchard — Centralia
• 1942 Copple Road
Schwartz Orchard — Mount Vernon
• U.S. 37 North
DEKALB (AP) — One of the more recognizable logos in agriculture has been
memorialized where it was born 80 years ago.
A historical marker to the “winged ear” of DeKalb hybrid corn was unveiled
this month in Memorial Park.
The logo has evolved into today’s version of a bright yellow ear of corn with
green wings and embossed with “DeKalb” in bold, red letters.
Larry Mix is DeKalb Area Agricultural Heritage Association board president.
He says the logo encouraged farmers to try hybrid corn for higher yields.
Mix says it “has helped make this city and this county known to farmers around
the world.”
The logo first appeared on letterhead in 1935. Monsanto Co. bought the brand
in 1998.
Out-of-state poultry restrictions lifted
Journal-Courier staff
Illinois Department of Agriculture animal health officials said this month that
out-of-state birds can return to the state to
participate in shows, fairs and exhibitions.
A ban was placed on out of state birds’
participation in fairs and exhibitions on
June 5 as a precautionary measure due to
Highly Pathogenic Avian Influenza, also
known as avian influenza, which impacted
several states. No cases of avian influenza
have been reported nationwide since June
17.
Avian influenza was not detected in Illinois during the outbreak.
“The Department will continue to work
closely with USDA Veterinary Services as
well as other state departments of agriculture to monitor the disease,” said Director
of Agriculture Philip Nelson. “Our mission is to continue to educate both com-
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HPAI entered into the United States in
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The Centers for Disease Control and
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to be low. No human cases of the viruses
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According to the 2012 U.S. Census of
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4.3 million birds are located in Illinois.
Over 1,300 egg handlers are licensed
by IDOA, including 300 backyard flocks
registered and licensed to sell eggs off the
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MODERN FARMER
11
New safety net process for farmers in final phase
By Pam Eggemeier
Daily Gazette (TNS)
Farmers are now in the homestretch of transitioning
to a new era of safety net options.
When direct payments were replaced with different
types of risk protection in the 2014 farm bill, a fourstep process — the four E’s — was set up.
Examine, evaluate, elect, and enroll was the
alliterative mantra used by ag agencies at the federal,
state, and local levels in an effort to simplify a complex
process.
The farm bill provided two new options — one
with two variations. The Agricultural Risk Coverage
program offers ARC County and ARC Individual Farm.
Both are revenue-based protections that replaced the
Average Crop Revenue Election in the previous farm
bill.
The other new option, the Price Loss Coverage
Program, is a modification of the target price plan. It
replaced the Counter-Cyclical Payment program.
Kicking off the transition was the examination,
or education, step. The United States Department
of Agriculture put out information that was
communicated at the local level. Farm Service
Agencies and Farm Bureaus organized meetings with
farmers for several months to explain the changes.
Then came the evaluation part of the process.
Farmers were given their first opportunity to reallocate
base acreage and update yield data since the 2002-2003
production cycle.
Local Farm Service Agencies collected the yield
data as bushels per acre between 2008 and 2012. The
original deadline was Feb. 27, but it was extended.
Jerry Quinton, executive director of Lee County
Farm Service Agency, said farmers and landowners
needed to make the revisions before moving to the
election part of the process.
“We took 90 percent of the data and it becomes the
new yield,” Quinton said. “That yield information can
be used for the PLC program.”
Even with ARC-County, farmers who didn’t recertify
yields defaulted to the old numbers.
Then came the election period with a deadline of
March 31. The target date was backed up to April 7.
Gary Schnitkey, an agriculture economist at the
University of Illinois, said the election decision for
most farmers came down to three main considerations.
“Farmers should focus on which has the highest
expected payments, their level of concern about low
prices, and what the prospects are for supplemental
coverage,” Schnitkey said.
USDA has compiled election data on the new
safety net programs. Nationwide, 91 percent of corn
producers, and 96 percent of soybean producers chose
ARC. Slightly more than 1.76 million farmers have
selected ARC or PLC, comparable to the 1.7 million
producers who were enrolled in the direct payments
program under the previous farm bill.
Schnitkey was one of three University of Illinois
professors to analyze election data for the new
programs. In Illinois, PLC was used for only 3 percent
of total crop acreage.
“The large percentages for ARC suggest that farmers
raising corn and soybeans were comfortable with
revenue-based programs,” the U of I study said.
The overwhelming preference for revenue-based
protection might be surprising when compared to
ACRE, its predecessor from the previous farm bill.
In Illinois, ARC-County was chosen for 94 percent
of base acres for corn. That compares with only 8.1
percent in 2013 for corn acreage enrolled in the
ACRE program.
The study provided some possible reasons for the
migration to a revenue-based program.
“To enroll in ACRE, an individual had to give up
20 percent of direct payments, and loan rates were
reduced by 30 percent,” the study concluded. “Since
direct payments were eliminated, and loan rates were
the same, no mattter the choice in the 2014 farm bill,
this trade-off did not exist for ARC-County.”
The professors also expressed some surprise that
farmers didn’t split some of their acreage between
ARC and PLC. That strategy would have given
some protection from a revenue program subject to
changing market prices, and a target price program
with a fixed reference point.
The study also noted that farmers seemed to
place little value on the chance to buy supplemental
coverage, a rider that is available only when the PLC
option is chosen.
Farmers are now in the final stage of the safety net
process. The formal enrollment period began June 17
and ends Sept. 30.
“They have already chosen, but now farmers are
declaring where they will actually put their crops
through 2015,” USDA spokesperson Kent Politsch
said.
Politsch said those who didn’t go through the
election process defaulted to PLC through 2018, but
they still need to enroll.
“If they don’t enroll in PLC by Sept. 30, then they
have nothing in place to cover price loss,” Politsch
said.
Farmers might actually benefit from the delays
brought by this year’s new program launches.
“They had a chance to get a better handle on prices
this year before they had to finalize their choice,”
Politsch said.
Throughout 2018, the expiration of this farm bill,
the enrollment deadlines will come earlier. When
the final phase for the 2014-2015 period closes, the
enrollment period for the 2016 crop year opens Dec.
1 and closes Aug. 1.
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MODERN FARMER
Corn-growing states try to minimize seasonal road hazard
By Scott McFetridge
Associated Press
The broad leaves and thick stalks can
stand up to 12 feet high, forming a wall
of foliage that turns rural roads into long,
narrow corridors of nothing but corn.
For drivers navigating the gravel roads
that crisscross Midwestern farm country,
the plants go by in a noiseless blur of
green, yellow and brown. But the annual
crop brings an often-ignored danger:
Some roads are so sheltered by the towering corn that motorists can’t see each
other until just before they collide, with
potentially deadly results.
“There are so few people out driving,
if you’re a gambling person, the odds
are it’s not going to happen. But it only
takes one time,” said Dave Struthers,
who grows corn and raises hogs near the
small central Iowa city of Collins.
The peril is especially pervasive in
Iowa, the nation’s top corn producer,
where crops are grown on more than
90 percent of the land and at least five
people have been killed so far this season
in crashes blamed on corn. Authorities
issue regular warnings to the public, but
generally they can do little more than
plead with drivers to use caution.
The problem is also widespread across
Illinois, Nebraska, Minnesota and Indiana. Each year, the risk climbs with the
corn itself, beginning around mid-July,
when the plants top 6 feet, and lasting
until harvest in early October.
Key contributors are the sparse traf-
Stock photo
fic and the lack of stop signs. For eight
months a year, motorists can easily
spot other vehicles or at least the plume
of dust they stir up. Consequently,
many drivers barely slow down when
approaching intersections. And they
often stick to that habit even as the corn
grows taller, traveling 50 or 60 mph
down the thin ribbons of gravel or pavement.
Two people died last summer in Iowa.
In the past decade, there have been 28 to
51 crashes a year in which obstructions
— primarily corn — have been a factor,
according to the Iowa Transportation
Department.
Struthers has been in two crashes in
which he was surprised by a vehicle
emerging from a dead-end dirt road onto
the larger gravel road he was traveling.
After the second time, he was thrown
from his pickup and spent the night in a
hospital.
“I remember seeing him, and the next
thing I knew I was coming to in the
ditch,” Struthers said.
This year’s Iowa crashes include the
deaths of three brothers. The eldest,
16-year-old Jamie Singletary, was driving his two younger siblings, Carson and
Christian, ages 13 and 10, to a football
practice on Aug. 6, when their car collided at an unmarked intersection with
a truck carrying rock to a construction
site. Authorities said tall corn could have
made it difficult for the boys to see the
oncoming vehicle.
Another crash killed a woman in
northeast Iowa, and an accident in central Iowa killed a father of five children.
“It’s a tricky situation and an odd situation,” said Steve Gent, who heads traffic
and safety for the Iowa Department of
Transportation.
Adding to the problem in recent years
are improved seeds that let farmers plant
their already dense fields even more
tightly, resulting in an abundant crop
but also creating a more impenetrable
green wall, Gent said. The seeds are also
drought tolerant, so even during dry
summers, the plants flourish.
“It’s taller. It’s hardier. It’s more lush,”
Gent said.
Roger Sy, a district director of the Illinois Corn Growers Association, recalled
crashes happening not far from his farm
near Newman, Illinois, including some
in which teenagers have died. There will
always be some people who travel too
fast and don’t stop at intersections, Sy
said, but crashes tend to remind people
to drive cautiously.
“It seems to leave a lasting impression
for quite a while,” Sy said.
Iowa, Illinois and Indiana occasionally
try to focus attention on the problem
with public information campaigns and
by encouraging farmers not to plant too
close to intersections and to trim stalks
near roads later in the season.
Farmer Jeff Fisher said he does both
at his farm near Tolono, Illinois. That
can be costly, especially at a time when
corn prices are low, but Fisher said he is
vigilant.
“We wouldn’t sacrifice safety,” he said,
“for a few bushels of corn.”
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21 Harold Cox Drive, Jacksonville • 243-6471 • www.brahlers.com
MODERN FARMER
13
Rich ag history provides weekend excursions
By Kathleen Clark
A weekend excursion is
on the calendar. A chance
to put the daily chores aside
for minute and get out and
about with the family before
winter chills are in the air has
arrived.
Popular weekend events
in rural Illinois are county
drives. Locally, Greene
County Days welcomes fall
each year with a chance to
experience the countryside
beauty, culture and history as
visitors leisurely make their
way through the hills, river
bottoms and fields that are
typical to the county.
A sampling of the event
is typical to many Illinois
county drives and showcases a
number of agri-tourism genres.
Agri-tourism is activities
that bring the public to rural
settings and markets farm
products or host enjoyable
outdoor activities for them. In
Illinois, these are often based
on harvest activities, farm
heritage displays and direct
farm sales.
Traveling near the tiny town
of Berdan, a colorful barn
quilt catches your eye. Barn
quilts have become popular
throughout the country as
a way to decorate barns
and show off the family or
homestead’s heritage. The
barn is unique to Greene
county not just because of the
bright starburst style barn
quilt, but the six porthole
windows facing the road.
Turns out, 1870s barn builder
Joseph Minch, inspired a
regional trend of using round
windows. Greene County is
the only area in the nation
to sport such architecture in
their barns.
Next, a drive along the
Great River Road near
Hillview, a once bustling
railroad town is in order.
On the right are bluffs with
homesteads mixed in among
the waterway openings.
The signs of fall are plenty.
Piles of wood are growing in
preparation for winter stoves,
grain trucks are being washed
and lined up and gardens are
being searched for the last
tomato. The west side of the
road showcases the glory
that is Illinois during harvest
season. A sea of golden corn
and soybeans outlines the
floodplain of the Illinois River
Valley. Combines make their
way up and down the rows and
bring their bounty of corn to
waiting wagons.
Then, a sign on the side of
Chris Carter shows how brooms were made in 1860s.
the road promises an exciting
new adventure. Haypress Falls
and Museum is just a short
drive along Apple Creek.
What lies beyond the bridge
welcoming visitors turns out
to be a must-see stop for all
Greene County travelers.
In fact, the guest log shows
recent visitors from as far
away as Connecticut.
Whimsical, educational,
unique and fun do not begin
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to describe the sights you will
see there. A covered bridge
leads visitors to a drive-by
tour of turn of the century
farm equipment; the kind run
by actual horse power rather
than the mega engines of the
modern horsepower label.
The Haypress Museum is
a detailed trip through local
history; from Carrollton to
Kampsville and Eldred to
Roodhouse. Collections of
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planter plates, seed sales
memorabilia and old hand
tools give an air of
aged rural authenticity
to the place. Each item is
labeled with great detail, and
stories literally spill from each
picture, piece of furniture and
tool on display.
Also located at Haypress
Fall’s is Nolan’s Petting Zoo.
Pull out the camera and the
See Excursions | 14
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Don Erthal
243-3421
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Jacksonville
MODERN FARMER
Excursions
From page 13
camel, alpacas, emu, mini donkey, cow
and zebra all line up for their moment
in the spot light. They leave a lasting
impression even if they may not be
culturally accurate to Midwestern farms.
A short jaunt along the bluffs brings
the family to the Eldred House. The
Illinois Valley Cultural Heritage group is
working to restore the 1860s homestead
and throughout the year, a number of
events and fairs are held there. The
Eldred House Fall Festival hosted a
number of vendors, demonstrators and
civil war reenactors.
Dawn Schofield of Scottville was
sitting on the back porch with her
spinning wheel showing visitors how
she spins wool. She explained she was
spinning wool from her angora rabbits
and would dye it with native plants; just
as homesteaders did prior to having a
choice of commercial made garments.
Another local vendor, artist Mary
Newton of Greenfield, had farm scene
paintings and locally inspired books for
sale.
Another educational stop on the
house’s lawn was from a visit with Chris
and Lisa Carter from Pleasant Plains.
They had two broom making templates
from the 1860’s they were using to make
period style brooms from broom corn.
“We love showing off how to make these
brooms. We don’t sell too many; that’s
not what we aim for. Lots of people, kids,
don’t see much stuff like this. We like to
show them how to do it and they like to
watch.”
These activities and more all blend
together and create the experience that is
Greene County Days. Visitors from near
and far have the chance to be entertained
and educated while tantalizing their
senses with the farm inspired activities
that make up rural Illinois.
A new appreciation for farm life, fiber
and food products and a shared family
experience will put such activities on the
calendar for future outings.
Kathleen Clark is a freelance writer from Scottville.
A collection of old-style kitchen ware is on display at Haypress Falls.
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MODERN FARMER
15
Robots take root on smaller dairy farms
By Lisa Rathke
Associated Press
Robots have taken up residence at
some small- and medium-sized dairy
farms across the country, providing reliable and more efficient labor and helping
the businesses remain viable. Plus, farmers say, the milking technology makes for
happier, more productive cows.
Dairy operations here and abroad have
used robotic milkers for more than a
decade. But with more manufacturers
and dealerships emerging the U.S., the
number of smaller farms in Iowa with
the technology has doubled over the last
two years, from roughly 20 to more than
40, and family farms in the Northeast
also are plugging in.
The cost of not automating the milking process may be greater for some
farmers than shelling out hundreds of
thousands of dollars, experts say. The
technology supplants paying for hard-tofind and migrant labor, creates time for
other farm duties and collects vital data
about the animals. Perhaps most of all,
it boosts the number of gallons of milk
being produced because cows get milked
when and as often as they want, though
it doesn’t affect consumer milk prices.
The reason robots might make sense
for many small- and medium-sized farms
in the Northeast is because of the challenge of finding reliable workers and
outdated infrastructure that makes the
operations inefficient, said Richard
Kersbergen with the University of Maine
Extension.
“There’s a lot of farmers that are interested but are concerned about the financial costs with it,” noted Kersbergen,
who just returned from studying farms
in the Netherlands, where he said more
than half used robotic milkers because of
high labor costs.
But the price can be a high obstacle to
clear. Jennifer and Jesse Lambert took
out seven-year loans for about $380,000
last year to install two robots and retrofit a barn at their organic dairy farm
in Graniteville. They were looking for a
more consistent way to milk their cows,
more time to spend with their newborn
son and more money in their pockets.
They’re saving $60,000 a year that used
to go to paying one full-time and one
part-time employee and their cows are
producing 20 percent more milk.
“No one wants to milk cows,” Jennifer Lambert said. “Even when we had
employees the last thing they wanted to
do was milk cows, you know, and they
especially didn’t want to do it on the
weekend.”
Plus, cows thrive on consistency,
she said, something farmworkers can’t
always provide but robots do, which she
says leads to more relaxed cows.
When a cow wants to be milked, it
steps up into a stall, grain is dumped in
front of it and an arm reaches under its
body to wash the teats. A laser scans the
cow’s body, and then the arm attaches
a cup to each of the four teats, milking
them individually. The technology also
collects and stores data about each cow’s
production, body temperature, weight
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and number of visits to the milking system, which farmers can check on their
computers.
Ron Lawfer’s cows also have produced
about 20 percent more milk since two
robots were installed in December
2014. The 55-year-old figures he, his
wife and son would have been out of
the milk business in a couple of years if
they hadn’t built a new $2 million facility near the northern Illinois town of
Kent to accommodate a growing herd
and the milking technology. They spent
$400,000 of that on robots and accessories.
“We weren’t large enough to support
two families … basically that’s what it
boils down to, we were not efficient,” he
said.
But robots aren’t for everyone, said
Larry Tranel, a dairy specialist with the
Iowa State University Extension.
“It’s a technology that it’s kind of
scale-neutral in a sense because every
robot can handle about 60 cows,” he
said, “and when you start going larger
than that people figure out pretty quick
that it’s probably cheaper to hire the
labor and put in a big parlor.
“It really becomes a money game.”
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217-243-3349
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©2014 Morton Buildings, Inc. All rights reserved. A listing
of GC licenses available at mortonbuildings.com/licenses.
Rick Knifley
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80636760
MODERN FARMER
Agri-tourism provides new avenue for visitors
By Kathleen Clark
Agri-tourism is nothing new,
but marketing for it, planning
for it, and actively providing it
are becoming a focus to participants and providers alike.
“We are definitely getting
more requests lately,” Jacksonville Convention and Visitors
Bureau Executive Director
Brittany Henry explains about
agri-tourism. “A lot of our tours
are hub and spoke tours; where
people are not necessarily staying for long periods of time, but
visiting attractions in the region
and then heading home.”
A new stop on some tour itineraries is Burrus Seeds. Henry
explains tour groups, especially
those of the baby boomer generation, have expressed interest in visiting Burrus’s office
headquarters is in Jacksonville,
followed by a tour of their production site that is a short drive
away in Arenzville.
Another major agricultural
attraction Henry often directs
area visitors to is to Woodlawn
Farm, an early 1800’s era farm
and important part of Illinois’
Underground Railroad network
east of Jacksonville.
So what’s the big deal with agritourism and does it matter in
Illinois?
Tourism in the state is on the
rise, and a top priority of many
state and local officials. In 2014
a 3.8 percent increase in tourism revenue made it a record
year bringing in 107.44 million dollars. Not only that, but
298,700 jobs in Illinois directly
serve the tourism industry.
What does rural Illinois have to
offer a tourist?
Tourism is a unique industry
that often capitalizes on region-
al characteristics. Being in the
heartland means you produce
food and fiber; a lot of it. Being
in the heartland also means you
need equipment for harvesting,
planting and processing those
goods; and a lot of it. Capitalizing on what Illinois has to offer;
quaint countryside’s, fall festivals, antique machinery, colorful
fall scenery and ag expositions
is a unique tourism market.
Although specific agri-tourism statistics are not available
for Illinois, we do know the
majority of Illinois counties in
the Jacksonville area are rural
in nature. It is a reasonable
assumption these counties
receive much of their tourism
revenue from what they have
to offer; agricultural based
activities. In the West Central
Ill region, the average rural
population by county is over 60
percent rural, with Scott County
being 100 percent rural.
Expenditures on tourism
related activities vary greatly
in the region, but counties that
host a seasonal event such as
the Pike County Color Drive
or Greene County Days bring
in significantly more tourism
revenues than those that do not
have such an event.
The area also has a number of
ag collections housed at museums and historical buildings
throughout the area such as the
Southwestern Farm and Home
Museum in Shipman, located in
Macoupin County.
So, what is agri-tourism?
Interestingly, agri-tourism
is something that few members of the public think about
specifically. The term itself is
one of those words that are self
explanatory but seldom focused
on when tourists are looking
for travel ideas. To be technical,
University of Illinois Extension
Service offers the following definition, “In Illinois, agri-tourism
is defined as any business
activity that brings the public
to a farm or rural setting in an
effort to market farm raised or
produced products or for the
enjoyment of related outdoor
activities.”
The label of agri-tourism itself
is best left in news articles and
business texts; the term does
little to excite future farm visitors or customers. Marketing
experts suggest farm visits,
farm tourism and agricultural
tourism are better terms for the
activities surrounding farm life.
Through studies over the
years, several fundamental goals
of the participants, aka tourists,
have been found. Their farm
experiences must be entertaining, educational, and in a rural
setting to be the memorable
experience they are searching
for.
There are a variety of activities, facilities and destinations
that can qualify as an agri-tourism activity. A one-time special
event, such as the annual Steam
Show and Fall Festival Days
held at the Prairie Land Heritage Museum is one example.
Some areas may have a regional
destination; like the Great River
Road that runs through Greene
County. Another attraction is
a unique community collection
such as the numerous roadside
farmers’ produce stands of Cass
County. Wineries, like Pittsfield’s Hopewell winery or Palmyra’s Vixen Hill Vineyards also
attract out of town visitors and
locals in their off time.
Why are people looking for ag
experiences?
The focus on agri-tourism
stems from the changing
The changing colors of the leaves provide a perfect opportunity to enjoy the back
roads of west-central Illinois.
makeup of a family farm. First,
one must look at the history of
farms in Illinois. Last year, there
were 74,500 farms in Illinois.
This is a dramatic decrease
from over a quarter million
farms counted in 1910. The
Illinois Farm Bureau states the
average farm in the early 1900’s
was very diverse; growing vegetables, grains and livestock as
well as producing prepared or
processed food items. Today,
the average farm is over 400
acres and most of them specialize in a single major agricultural
product.
Many farm owners are turning to agri-tourism, according
to the USDA, as a way to add
value to their enterprises. For
some farmers, an alternate
agriculture product or idea is a
See agri-tourism | 18
MODERN FARMER
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17
MODERN FARMER
Agri-tourism
From page 16
way to keep their farm in the family. A look at a local destination,
Buena Vista Farms, just north of
Jacksonville, gives an idea of how
a smaller sized farm can be kept in
the family with a different revenue
source than just field crops. By
turning a homestead that was previously used as a cattle farm into
a high-end venue for weddings,
receptions, meetings and a spa; the
unique heritage of a farmstead was
kept with a new clientele base.
In order to maximize the dollar
per acre value, some farm owners
turn to direct market sales through
sites like farmers markets. Value
added ag and rural community
development are additional ways
for farmers to continue to earn a
living from traditional farm activities.
Smaller farms, or farms that
cater to the educational aspects
and offer unique experiences on
site, are being sought out by the
public, especially families, as a
destination more often. Examples
include U-Pick orchards, corn
mazes, petting zoos and interpretational farms. One such interpretational farm can be found in Greene
County at Haypress. Haypress
Falls and Museum boasts a large
collection of local farm equipment,
interpretive displays and a chance
to view exotic animals.
Is agri-tourism new?
For as long as people have lived in
urban areas, the desire to escape to
a less populated, more rural setting
has been sought after. In the early
1900’s, most folks had relatives or
friends who lived in the country
that could be visited. A chance to go
help on the farm offered a productive visit and scenic travels.
The majority of US citizens live in
urban environments. As generations
of families become further removed
from agricultural opportunities, the
chance for a quick family farm visit
is an option less often. That is not
to say the need or desire for such a
visit is not there.
Agri-tourism activities are done
during a person or family’s leisure
time. For residents of the Jacksonville area, such activities are
often a way of life; but for others, a
chance of a lifetime. The demand
for these experiences, according
to the Journal of Agricultural and
Resource Economics, is rising due
to increases in family’s discretionary
income, because more traveling is
done by car and the desire to take
part in more activities involving recreational experiences. Additionally,
there is a growing interest by the
public to support local farms and
learn about where one’s food comes
from. The majority of these activities also meet a family’s criteria of
being entertaining, educational, and
in a rural setting.
Kathleen Clark is a freelance writer from Scottville.
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MODERN FARMER
LEFT: A drive through rural Illinois can turn up treasures of yesteryear. RIGHT: Antiques and an occasional barn quilt can be found throughout the region.
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MODERN FARMER
Man has seen many changes in agriculture
Effingham Daily News
Growing up on a farm in the Altamont
area and working at the Effingham Equity in
Altamont for the past 24 years, George Soltwedel knows the farming business is about
working with Mother Nature.
As branch manager at Effingham Equity,
he’s been responsible for such things as overseeing seed sales, fertilizer sales and applications, plus hiring and firing of employees,
training and answering calls in the middle of
the night when issues arise.
“It’s strictly a weather-related market in
what we do and it’s also weather-related in
regard to employment, too,” said Soltwedel,
68. “Mother Nature tells us what we can do.”
But, in his business, it’s also all about service. “Service is the name of the game,” he
said.
Branch manager since 2003, he is responsible for making sure the facility is OK and
meets all requirements set by the Illinois
Department of Agriculture. He retired on
July 31. He’s seen a lot of changes in the agricultural industry over the years, from concentrated fertilizer to genetically modified seeds.
The first thing on his agenda after retirement is attending the Effingham County Fair.
He and his wife, Val, plan to travel to some
southern states, too. He has two daughters
and two granddaughters.
Throughout his years in the agriculture
industry, Soltwedel said he’s seen many
changes. There’s been an evolution in the
techniques over the years, he said.
Some of his earliest professional experiences in agriculture actually happened outside of
the U.S., and involved the dairy industry.
He had already earned his bachelor’s
degree in animal science at Southern Illinois
University Carbondale and was studying for
his master’s degree there in ag business when
an opportunity to spend several months in
Brazil came knocking.
“It was in ‘71-‘72, the United Nations had
a program and I was fortunate enough to be
one of the grad students selected to go to
Brazil,” said Soltwedel. “At that time, there
was a university there that was building a
campus 10 miles outside of town that was
going to focus on agriculture.”
So, from November 1971 to September
1972, he lived and worked in Santa Maria,
Rio Grande do Sul. There he was paid $290 a
month to help with dairy research at the Universidade Federal do Rio Grande do Sul.
“They needed to know how much they
needed to pay farmers for milk,” Soltwedel
said. “I did a study on how much it cost to
produce milk in that county. I followed up
with my thesis on the topic.”
Soltwedel said the students were warned
about the cultural shock they’d experience.
But, he said that wasn’t the case, and he’d
love to go back to that area again.
“I loved it,” he said.
“When I got there, I saw Pepsi and Coke
and Standard Oil,” said Soltwedel. “Nestle
was very big there, too. It really wasn’t a cultural shock, but it was more just the distance
from home.”
But, there were some obvious differences
he saw in Brazil that wasn’t as common in
that day in Illinois.
“The contrast was that milk was being
delivered by horse and buggy,” he said. “It
wasn’t pasteurized and it wasn’t cooled.”
Brazil brought him one of the hottest
Christmas Days he’s ever experienced. He
said the most influential people in the city of
160,000 was the president of the university
and the Monsignor of the Catholic Church in that order. Down the list was the mayor of
Santa Maria.
“Last I knew, they were still hosting dairy
as an ag program at the university,” Soltwedel said.
Cattle, both beef and dairy, was big industry there.
Soltwedel attended Funkhouser Grade
School and Effingham High School. He also
has worked in Ohio at a co-op and as an indeSee Changes | 21
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MODERN FARMER
Changes
Seeds
Seeds have also changed since the 1960s.
“We did have some hybrid seed corn back
then, but not hybrid beans,” said Soltwedel.
“Back then the beans were not genetically
modified organisms.”
But, today, there are genetically modified
seeds for corn, beans, cotton and other crops,
he said. Even row planting has changed, from
keeping the rows at least 40 inches apart to
7 1/2 inches apart to what is now twin rows.
Twin rows are two rows side by side, no
more than 7 1/2 inches apart, he described.
“Back then seeds came in bags, as there
were no seed treatments, no fungicides, and
no growth enhancements. Today, we have all
of these options,” he said. “Today, the idea is
to get more product, speaking mostly about
beans here,” Soltwedel said. “Also, if the corn
and beans can grow and make a canopy over
the soil, it helps with weed control, so there’s
less cost on weed control products.”
He added, “We’ve got some awfully smart
weeds.”
From page 20
pendent crop and soil service consultant in
Ohio and Illinois.
Before retiring, Soltwedel reflected on
some of the many changes he’s seen in the
industry during the past 50 years in the ag
industry.
Fertilizer
“In the ’60s, the fertilizer business primarily was less concentrated than it is today,”
Soltwedel said.
“Back then it was bagged, not bulk. Some
impurities were removed, but today, we also
put some of these plant nutrients back into
the soil.”
Changes today include that micro-nutrients are included in the primary fertilizers.
“At the same time, farmers have moved
from very little soil sampling to grid sampling to give us more information,” said Soltwedel. “This allows us to put fertilizer where
it is needed, but not where it isn’t needed.”
Crop Protection
Soltwedel said commercial pest control
sprays were limited in the 1960s.
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Farm Aid at 30: Not much celebrating
By Greg Kot
Chicago Tribune (TNS)
Neil Young looked even more grim and
purposeful than usual when he took the stage
this month at Northerly Island. Farm Aid was
wrapping up its 30th year, but Young wasn’t
exactly celebrating.
The executive board member in the black hat
came out fuming as he went after the corporate
farm system, naming names and waving his guitar
as if he were wading into hand-to-hand combat
with his band huddled in front of the drum riser.
Young sang from the perspective of a Monsanto
executive, recast as the bogey man: “You’re gonna
need big money to stand your ground/Or we’re
gonna bury you, how does that sound?”
The song, “Workin’ Man” evoked the rumble of
Bob Dylan’s “Maggie’s Farm,” another song about
greed and power. Young’s band included Micah
and Lukas Nelson, sons of Farm Aid founder
Willie Nelson, who followed Young on stage. The
See Farm Aid | 23 John Mellencamp performs during Farm Aid 30.
al Plaza
2176
Armando L. Sanchez | Chicago Tribune (TNS)
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MODERN FARMER
MODERN FARMER
Farm Aid
Farm Aid has raised $48 million to
support programs for family farmers
since its inception at a 1985 concert in
Champaign.This year, board members
From page 22
Young, Nelson, John Mellencamp and
young guys jousted and jostled with
Dave Matthews once again headlined,
Young, who was in finger-pointing
and were joined by 11 acts in a 10-hour
mode on a handful of songs from his
day of music attended by more than
bluntly accusatory recent album, “The
26,000 fans.
Monsanto Years.”
That the event still exists is
Lines like “Too big to fail, too rich
somewhat improbable. It’s one of the
for jail” get the blood boiling but likely longest-running large-scale charity
didn’t persuade those already skeptical events in music history – something
about music’s ability to change the
that Nelson has said he didn’t envision
world – let alone shift the momentum
when he spearheaded the first Farm
away from the big companies that
Aid three decades ago. It’s had some
are relentlessly making family farms
stellar lineups, but the performers
obsolete. But it was Young’s demeanor, aren’t in lock step on what messages
the way he threw himself into the
to present, or how. If they were, they
music and tore into his guitar solos
probably wouldn’t be artists. Most
that spoke loudest. He has a long,
politely nod to Nelson’s persistence,
rich history as an environmental and
rarely address politics in their
Kent
Kraft,
AFM, but
Broker
agricultural activist, and
Young
wasn’t
songs.
A minority, personified by
coasting on his past. If anything,
Young, are a good deal more direct,
217-871-6974
he mirrored the words of Farm Aid
using the stage as bully pulpit.
executives who said the organization
The festival is also designed to fill
“originated in crisis and is facing
seats, and artists such as Imagine
another crisis today.”
Dragons were booked because they’re
PROTECTING YOUR FARMLAND INVESTMENT
Rob Woodrow, AFM, Broker
Farmland Solutions
LLC
309-696-4116
320 S. Crossing Rd., Sherman, IL 62684
217-496-3500 • www.FarmlandSolutionsLLC.com
Farmland Solutions LLC
320 S. Crossing Rd., Sherman, IL 62684
217-496-3500 • www.FarmlandSolutionsLLC.com
T
23
20
arrangements of the Dave Matthews petition
sitting atop the pop charts, not
Band concerts, this was blazing
advocating for family farms. The Las
to
counter-punching from two locked-in gest tom
Vegas quartet’s bombastic set basked
2p
collaborators.
in arena-rock cliches. In contrast, the
drought
Mellencamp’s 1985 “Scarecrow”
relaxed stoner ballads of Jack Johnson
pr
ping two
album was in many ways the
sounded like they were transplanted
im
from one of those yacht cruises in Lake soundtrack for the family-farm
tion, an
movement that gave birth to Farm
Michigan a few hundred yards away
bu
spendin
Aid, and his songs from that era
from the stage.
“d
remained the centerpiece of his brisk
Country artists Kacey Musgraves
to keep
set. His melodies packed bumperand Jamey Johnson were more on
sticker slogans – “Ain’t that America?” But C
point. Johnson played a stolid solo
in
– inside sharply drawn images of
set, his baritone voice amping up the
2012 co
vanishing small-town lives.
gravitas during his deliberate version
ju
tomato
So what’s the takeaway from 30 years
of Woody Guthrie’s “This Land is
of singing for family farmers? Issues 2 pound
Your Land.” Musgraves brought a
Ci
that play out in courts and legislaturesprepara
whimsical flair, with her band dressed
can provide grist for protest songs, imental
in pink nudie suits to complement
but a larger theme of inclusiveness
her cowgirl-goes-to-the-prom outfit,
fo
AP/ERIC CIULA
trumped all. In the words of Mavis but he a
but her plainspoken songs boasted
thl
ABOVE:
Tomatoes
shown here are
from
Ciula’s
“dumb
Staples,
“YouEric
are not
alone.” garden.
The
steely themes
of self-determination
Chicago gospel
great made the
and individuality.
She finished
withfor gardeners
April
is a planning
month
throughout
theStaples
mid- “I did
an
Family
civil-rights
classic
“Freedom
a
playful
but
defiant,
tambourineh
dle of the country, and many are trying to figure out what toing tour
Highway” roar, locking into the word just tryi
inflected version of Nancy Sinatra’s
do
amid
rapidly
shifting
weather“made”
conditions.
as she repeated the line, “made
“These
Boots
are Made
for Walkin’.”
id
up my mind that I won’t turn around.”Ciula sa
Matthews paired with Tim Reynolds
tio
April
Her fist shook at the sky. She wasn’t
on seven fast, furious acoustic
going away. Neither was
Farm
Aid.
duets. Unlike the sometimes flabby
for gard
AP/ERIC CIULA
ce
• Farmland purchase – inflation hedge plus annual income
Kraft, AFM, Broker
• Farmland sale – get full marketKent
value
with a marketing plan
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PROTECTING YOUR FARMLAND INVESTMENT
• Farmland purchase – inflation hedge plus annual income
Rob Woodrow, AFM, Broker
• Farmland sale – get full market value with a marketing plan
309-696-4116
• Farm management
– optimize income, control expenses
• Consultation - agricultural expertise to solve big or small issues
sp
to
the mid
hi
and man
to
ure out
idly shif
co
tions.ne
C
cent rai
his note
®to and
cep
e
r
u combin
dr
ut new ide
F
r
sin
ou
A
col
Y
on
we
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cent rai
d
e
e
s
r
TM
u
th
drough
tu
Fu
Foc
r
sin and
sp
ou
nY
o
west
rem
d
PLEASE CONTACT se
m
TM
than us
cu
o
F
Please contact
al
spring,
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matolog
te
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al Drou
dr
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ter. But
[email protected]
1, Box
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on
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Rt.•1,[email protected]
Box 128 • Roodhouse
of
one, em
217-473-4910
Rt. 1, Box
128 • Roodhouse
(217)217-473-6975
473-6975
• [email protected]
of week
ABOVE: Tomatoes shown here are from Eric Ciula’s garden.
April is a planning month for gardeners throughout the middle of the country, and many are trying to figure out what to
do amid rapidly shifting weather conditions.
Joe Hallock,
Bob Hart
217-370-1548
Bob HartBob Hart
Eric Hart
Bob Hart
Eric Hart
Rt. 1, Box 128 • Roodhouse
[email protected]
[email protected]
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State fairs won’t press broiler industry’s bird flu luck
By Janet McConnaughey
Associated Press
The South is the heart of U.S. broiler
chicken production and escaped the
deadly bird flu virus that devastated
flocks in the Midwest this spring.
Autumn, however, brings the possibility
that migrating wild birds will carry the
virus to the lower half of the U.S.
To try to keep bird flu at arm’s length,
a number of states are barring or limiting poultry shows and public sales,
including those at state fairs in September and October — something their
northern neighbors did this summer.
That’s forcing kids who’ve worked for
months to raise and qualify poultry at
fairs to get creative with their exhibits.
“We want to be cautious because our
industry is so huge,” Mississippi State
University Extension Service poultry science instructor Jessica Wells said of the
state, which is the No. 5 broiler producer
in the U.S.
The Mississippi State Fair added flu
test requirements for its open poultry
show, but 4-H organizers reorganized
their state contests to have photo
boards, record books and a one-bird-percontestant showmanship event rather
than risk last-minute cancellation, state
veterinarian Dr. Jim Watson said.
The change has 14-year-old Keri
Moore, who placed first in two categories at a Mississippi county fair, working
on her photo board. She said she wanted
to bring her six competitive chickens,
but is glad to “still bring one for showmanship.”
To the east, the North Carolina State
Fair won’t allow any squawkers, cluckers
or quackers, instead holding poultryrelated competitions — including an
optional quiz bowl and a FFA event for
building easy-to-clean chicken coops
8295 Arenzville Rd., Beardstown, IL
217-323-6200
with anti-contamination features such as
a fence and cover to exclude wild birds
or storage for coop-only boots, spokeswoman Jennifer Kendrick said.
Scientists believe wild birds that
migrated to northern nesting grounds
brought the H5N2 strain which spread
through turkey and chicken farms in
several states, leading to the destruction
of 48 million birds. While the outbreak
is over in the Midwest, scientists are on
guard in case it returns or moves into
the Atlantic Flyway, the only one of four
U.S. bird migration paths that wasn’t
affected.
“It’s very difficult to predict what happened in the breeding grounds over the
summer — whether this virus is likely to
remain the dominant virus,” said Brian
McCluskey, science, technology and
analysis director for the U.S. Department
of Agriculture’s Animal and Plant Health
Inspection Service.
But, he said, “We’re certainly preparing for it.”
The top two broiler-producing states,
Georgia and Alabama, aren’t restricting
live bird exhibitions, but recommend precautions such as keeping birds indoors
to avoid exposure to wild birds and their
droppings. The Georgia Department of
Agriculture sees poultry exhibitions as a
surveillance opportunity: Birds without
papers showing they’re free of bird flu
and other diseases will be tested, spokeswoman Julie McPeake said.
Other states have a hodgepodge of
restrictions for state fairs and other
poultry exhibitions. South Carolina will
allow exhibitions of doves and pigeons,
which are resistant to the virus and not
believed to spread it readily. Virginia will
test each bird at check-in for the state
fair’s youth poultry show; birds going to
other shows must be isolated for at least
See Bird flu | 27
FARM TO FORK
Farmers, we salute you for starting the process!
80630252
We wish you a safe planting season and a
successful growing season!
MODERN FARMER
27
Pumpkin harvest looks to be down
Bird Flu
By Steve Tarter
From page 26
The early summer rains look to impact this year’s
pumpkin harvest in central Illinois.
“We’re disappointed that the yields this year appear to
be less than anticipated. It looks like the yield could be
off by as much as a third,” said Roz O’Hearn, corporate
and brand affairs director for Libby, the company that
dominates the canned pumpkin market and grows most
of its pumpkins here in central Illinois.
Libby acquired the processing plant in Morton in
1929. Nestle bought Libby in 1972.
Weather could further reduce yields this year with
the harvest now underway through October or early
November, said O’Hearn.
“Will this affect shoppers? We believe we’ll have
enough pumpkin to meet the needs presented by the
fall holidays as we manage our distribution across the
country and to our retailers through allocation,” she said.
“Once we ship the remainder of the 2015 harvest
(most likely by mid-November), we’ll have no more
Libby’s pumpkin to sell until harvest 2016,” said
O’Hearn.
two weeks after returning home.
The most southern outbreak in the Mississippi Flyway, where 42.5 million birds were destroyed because
of the H5N2 virus, was in north Arkansas. The nation’s
third-biggest broiler producer and No. 2 turkey producer last year, Arkansas will require all poultry at the
Arkansas-Oklahoma State Fair to have a clean bird flu
test.
Several Midwestern states canceled poultry shows
at summertime fairs. Minnesota, one of the hardest-hit
states, was among them. Instead, the state fair held
display and “birdless showmanship” contests, said Brad
Rugg, its superintendent for 4-H programming.
Sixteen-year-old Katie Benson, whose poster
explained how to interpret egg carton labels, won a
$1,000 scholarship. She said she was disappointed that
she couldn’t show her chickens, but knew producers’
livelihoods were at stake.
“I think there was a lot more learning this year than
in years past,” she said. Among other things, she said,
other students’ posters provided more information than
looking at their birds: “You were able to walk around
and read and learn about so many different aspects.”
Journal Star (TNS)
Stock photo
“About eight out of 10 cans of pumpkin sold (in the
U.S.) come from Libby’s with the vast majority of our
pumpkin coming from the Morton area,” she said.
Ninety percent of the pumpkins grown in the United
States are raised within a 90-mile radius of Peoria,
according to the University of Illinois.
i l l i n o i s
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MODERN FARMER
Companies develop programs for farmers’ data needs
By Chris Lusvardi
Herald & Review (TNS)
Companies at the Farm Progress Show in
Decatur this month were presenting farmers
with information about how to make the best
use of data that is increasingly being collected.
WinField was showing growers its R7 program, said Adam Garretson, an agricultural
technology specialist. That program is part of
a system that collects data from over 200 plot
locations to provide farmers some of the most
localized information possible, he said.
Garretson said the data usually can come from
within a 45-mile radius of a grower’s location.
“It’s unique and specific to the grower,” Garretson said. “We want the grower to have relevant data and to be able to put it in a useable
format.”
The data can be used along with imagery that
is collected from satellites, Garretson said.
The company works with retail cooperatives
to market the program to farmers, he said.
“We want to provide solutions so we take a
hands-on approach to help them understand the
product,” Garretson said.
Pioneer is offering growers technology that
provides customized solutions in an effort to
increase yields, said Travis Kriegshauser, a services manager. It’s important to prioritize nutrient dollars with commodity prices low and input
costs high, Kriegshauser said.
The company wants farmers to be able to
make real-time decisions, he said. Making realtime decisions can allow them to be better stewards of the land and their budgets, Kriegshauser
said.
The Farm Progress Show has become an
important place to launch products such as what
Pioneer is doing this week, Kriegshauser said.
“Growers are out and about seeking new
technology to become bigger, better and more
productive with what they do,” he said.
Pioneer debuted its Enrica Yield Fertility
Management Service for growers to see for the
first time.
Stock photo
Arenzville, IL
(217) 997-5514
A
Ashland, IL
(217) 476-3386
Barry, IL
(217) 335-2346
www.beardimplement.com
MODERN FARMER
29
Group promotes honeybee health in agriculture
By Chris Lusvardi
Herald & Review (TNS)
Jerry Hayes wants to find a way to
bridge the gap between the needs of
production agriculture and feeding the
world.
At the center of Hayes’ mission
working for Monsanto is improving
honeybee health, which he said is seen as
a vital, but sometimes overlooked, part
of the economy.
“We want to bring value to beekeeping
that hasn’t been brought before,” Hayes
said while speaking this month to
members of Sangamon Valley Beekeepers
Association during the group’s monthly
meeting at Richland Community College.
Hayes had been at the Farm Progress
Show sharing information with visitors,
particularly farmers, about what they
can do to protect such an important
agricultural tool. He later spoke to the
group that ranged from beginning to
experienced beekeepers from around
the Decatur area and answered their
questions about bee health.
“Most are hobbyists,” said Don
Miller of Decatur, who is president
of the Sangamon Valley Beekeepers
Association. “They find bee culture
fascinating. You get mesmerized when
watching the traffic coming and going.
It’s a moving mass with complex
organisms.”
Hayes has worked at Monsanto for the
past three years but has yet to invent
anything, as his focus is on education
and raising awareness about the issue.
He said having large agricultural
businesses, including Monsanto,
supporting honeybee research will be
beneficial.
Bayer CropScience also was promoting
honeybee health throughout the Farm
Progress Show with displays inside the
main gate of Progress City and at its
tent.
“A lot of things can impact honeybee
health,” Hayes said. “No farmer wants to
hurt honeybees.”
Farmers can work with beekeepers
to develop a trusting relationship and
promote bee health by giving bees
sufficient opportunities to thrive, Hayes
said. Production agricultural fields aren’t
a natural source of food for honeybees,
he said.
Hayes said the mowing and
landscaping of lawns doesn’t always help,
either, with an abundance of herbicides
and pesticides applied. He said at least
a corner or patch of a yard could be
left to help provide a healthy area for
honeybees.
Miller wanted to bring Hayes
into speak to the group to provide
information about what has become
a complex issue. Students from the
Richland Culinary Arts program
See Honeybee | 31
Stock photo
MODERN FARMER
Farmer’s side hobby turns into money-maker
By Samantha McDaniel-Ogletree
[email protected]
While not new to the farming business,
one west-central Illinois farmer is adding
more greenhouse and garden produce to his
goods.
He says it’s something more and more
farmers are doing to make a living.
Arenzville farmer Neal Meyer started
included more crops than corn and soybeans
in 2013 after he built a greenhouse as a side
project during the slower months.
“I was just on the Internet one day when
I got the idea,” Meyer said. “I’ve always had
a green thumb and I figured I’d put it to use.”
Meyer has about 275 tomato plants that
produce nearly 500 pounds of fresh tomatoes
a week in his greenhouse, but said that will
dwindle to 125 pounds as the weather gets
colder.
He said he’s had a lot of luck with the
greenhouse because he is able to monitor
and control water, bugs and other possible
effects on the plants.
“With outside tomatoes, it’s basically one
crop and you’re done,” Meyer said.
Sweet corn, potatoes, watermelon, zucchini and sweet potatoes are also among the
produce he sells at farmer markets in Jacksonville and Springfield.
While Meyer said his potatoes and corn
are growing well, he’s had some good luck
with his sweet potatoes, which have seen
some great growth this year.
“I’ve had several large sweet potatoes,
some of the largest I’ve ever seen,” Meyer
said. One that was harvested and being prepared for sale was just under 6 pounds, with
a foot-and-a-half-long root.
Also, during the time he was building his
greenhouse, Meyer bought some land where
he’s made a pumpkin patch as an added crop.
This year, many pumpkin growers have
had a difficult time growing their crops
because of the rain.
Meyer said he was lucky because he had a
week between crops that he was able to get
M-F 8:00 am - 5:00 pm
Sat. 8:00 am - 1:00 pm
his pumpkin seeds in early before the monthlong rains started, and because of the slope
in the hill in his patch there has been less
flooding, which can cause pumpkins to rot.
Meyer said his expansion, while partly
because he enjoys growing different crops, is
also to help supplement income.
“Anymore, you have to do different things
to earn your income,” Meyer said. “You need
extra supplemental income. I ran with it and
have been very successful. It’s also fulfilling
at the end of the year to look back and see
what you’ve grown.
Meyer said he hopes to continue his success with the greenhouse and learn a few
things from other members of the local
farmer’s markets.
“Everyone looks at each others produce
and we’ll share tips and advice,” Meyer said.
“We’re willing to work together to better
each other.”
Samantha McDaniel-Ogletree can be reached at 217-2456121, ext. 1233, or on Twitter @JCNews_samantha.
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MODERN FARMER
Honeybee
From page 29
prepared a dinner before Hayes’
presentation that included honey roasted
tomato bruschetta, grilled chicken breast
with honey BBQ sauce or honey soyglazed salmon and apple galette with
salted honey ice cream for dessert.
“We are trying to show an appreciation
for how much research companies are
doing trying to figure out the puzzle,”
Miller said. “The reality is a lot of money
is on the line.”
Honeybee health is just one of the
areas in which Bayer is trying to provide
agricultural innovation.
“Now people have become interested
in bees,” said Becky Langer, Bayer’s
North American bee care program
director for honeybee and pollinator
health. “Bees are responsible for onethird of our diet, either directly or
indirectly. We need to use the land to the
best of our ability.”
The types of healthy foods consumers
want such as fruits, nuts and vegetables
are available due to pollination from
bees, Langer said.
She said it’s best to let bees do their
work as that is what they’re focused on
doing as they’re usually job-oriented.
Providing forage for the bees can help,
Langer said.
“Every little bit can make a difference,”
Langer said. “It all builds up to make a
difference.”
Bayer places an emphasis on research
and development throughout agriculture,
as CEO and President Jim Blome said it
spends about $1 billion on research and
development every year.
“Consumers demand we produce food
in a safe, sustainable way,” Blome said.
“We are continuing to invest in new
ideas and have new products coming out
of our pipeline.”
The agriculture industry is becoming
increasingly pressured to meet the needs
of a growing world population, said
David Hollinrake, Bayer vice president
for agriculture commercial operations
marketing.
“We’ve got a big challenge ahead of
us,” Hollinrake said. “We can’t do that
without innovation.”
Hollinrake said a general mistrust of
modern agricultural practices exists, so
the company used the Farm Progress
Show as a launching point for a new
societal engagement program called
AgVocacy. The company has trained
nearly 1,000 of its employees as it begins
to reach out and start conversations about
the benefits of agriculture.
Bayer had a wall in its tent at Progress
City USA on which it asked visitors to put
their handprint to show support for its
efforts. By the end of the show, the wall
had more than 3,000 handprints on it.
“They know it’s about empowering the
future of agriculture,” Hollinrake said.
“It’s about changing the dialogue.”
Hollinrake said farmers will be
leading many of the conversations as
the agriculture industry needs to better
connect with consumers. He said the
company is looking more than 15 years
ahead for the advances that could impact
the agriculture industry.
31
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Modern Farmer September 2015

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