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Features
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Crop suitability maps
available
[JULY
12, 2002]
URBANA — An Internet site featuring 414 different crops
and their suitability for Illinois soil and climate conditions is
now available from the Illinois State Water Survey. The site is
designed to help farmers identify and find information on crops that
they might like to grow.
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"This is a tool to
help growers determine what alternative crops they may want to
produce," said Steve Hollinger, research scientist with ISWS.
"Farmers can explore the site and find information on crops that
match the conditions in their area."
Initially, Hollinger
and Roger Bowen, an agronomist with ISWS, identified 986 different
plants from all over the world as potential alternative crops. They
then compared soil and climate requirements such as pH, drainage,
texture, temperature, precipitation, winter minimum soil temperature
and growing days to Illinois conditions and made maps for each
variable to show the relationship.
"We didn’t want to
enter any bias into it, otherwise there’s no way this would work,"
Bowen said. "We wanted to see what the numbers told us, what the
requirements actually were for each crop. For example, there are
areas in southern Illinois where cotton will grow, but we don’t
think of cotton as an Illinois crop. If we had been biased, we
wouldn’t have included cotton as a potential crop for Illinois."
Of the plants
included in the list of those suitable for Illinois, none of them
surprised the researchers even though many of the crops came from
other parts of the world.
"I can’t think of any
crops on the list that were really unexpected," Bowen said. "I think
it really points out how blessed we are with good soils in the state
of Illinois and how the climate fits the needs of many crops."
[to top of second column in this
article]
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The maps are
designed to be a starting point for farmers to find information.
The decision to grow the crop and the success of it once in the
field cannot be determined by this information alone.
"For us to be sure
these crops will grow here, much more research is needed," Hollinger
said. "We need to learn how the crop grows, the best way to grow it
and how to improve genetics that increase yields. We’ve opened the
door and, hopefully, there will be other people with the expertise
to get the ball rolling on those other factors."
Hollinger hopes to be
able to expand the maps to include the entire country. Creating the
maps and Web page for Illinois took about two years, most of which
was spent compiling the information into an applicable form. The
rest of country would take approximately one more year.
"Maps for the whole
country would make the information much more usable. If there is a
crop that is suitable for Illinois, it may be even more suitable for
some other area. Some places may be more competitive for a
particular crop, even though there are very few states that will
have as good of a competitive advantage as Illinois does."
The Illinois Council on Food and
Agricultural Research funded the project. The alternative crops site
can be seen at
www.sws.uiuc.edu/data/altcrops/.
[U
of I news release]
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Pesticide
container recycling available
[JULY
8, 2002] The
Illinois Department of Agriculture has arranged to offer free
pesticide container recycling again this summer. Sites will begin
recycling in July and continue through August. Collection sites will
accept only No. 2 high-density polyethylene plastic agricultural
containers that are clean and dry. Participants are also responsible
for properly rinsing them and removing all caps, labels, booklets
and foil seals.
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Collection sites in our immediate
area include Mason County Service Company at Easton on the afternoon of July 31
(contact Jim Kiel at 800-331-0548); Lincoln Land FS at Greenview on the morning
of Aug. 1 (contact Mark Millburg at 217-243-6561), AgLand FS at Lincoln on the
afternoon of Aug. 1 (contact Tim Bennett at 217-732-3113), and Williamsville Ag
Center at Williamsville on the morning of Aug. 2 (contact Brad Jones at
217-566-3383).
The collection program is a great
way to dispose of pesticide containers. It is a cooperative venture between the
Illinois Department of Agriculture, Growmark, the Illinois Fertilizer and
Chemical Association, Tri-Rinse, United Agri-Products, UAP Richter, the Illinois
Farm Bureau and University of Illinois Extension.
Insects everywhere
It seems like this summer we have
had an abundance of insect problems. The drier, warmer weather made us guess we
would probably have an abundance of problems. There are plenty of insects
wherever we look, whether it is around the home, in the garden or in the fields.
One of the more
common insects the past three weeks or so has been the leatherwing
beetle. It is also called a soldier beetle. These beetles look like
lightning bugs without the lights. They are actually beneficial, as
they eat other insects. When the numbers are as large as this year,
they usually seek an alternate food source — pollen. These beetles
have been very noticeable around linden and basswood trees the past
few weeks.
[to top of second column in this
article]
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[Photos provided by John Fulton]
[Leatherwing beetle]
[Japanese beetle]
Another insect that has been causing
havoc in the area is the Japanese beetle. It is beetle smaller than
a June bug but gold and green in color. It can cause severe damage
if beetle numbers are high. Control recommendations are generally to
spray with Sevin (carbaryl) insecticide. Treatments are more
effective in the morning or evening. Using diazinon insecticide
would also provide some control. The other side of the Japanese
beetle situation is that there is a grub stage, so control of the
grub in a month or so may be beneficial to your lawn and help reduce
next year’s adult population.
[John
Fulton]
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New farm bill payments estimated
and compared in U of I study
[JULY
6, 2002]
URBANA — Illinois producers
could receive between $12 and nearly $16 per acre more in federal
assistance under the 2002 farm bill signed into law earlier this
summer, according to a University of Illinois Extension study. The
study assumed commodity prices at 2001 price levels. In 2001,
commodity prices were below the government loan rates. If market
prices are above the loan rates, government payments will be less.
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"We’ve estimated that payments under the new bill are from $12 to nearly $16 per
acre higher than under the 1996 bill," said Dale Lattz, U of I Extension farm
management specialist who prepared the study with Gary Schnitkey, also an
Extension economist. "The jump ranges from $12.13 per acre on northern Illinois
grain farms to $13.72 on central Illinois farms to $15.97 in southern Illinois."
Caution must be used when interpreting the results because payments will vary
depending on an individual farm’s program acres and yields. The study is based
on data from the Illinois Farm Business Farm Management Association covering
grain farms in northern, central and southern Illinois. The data includes crop
yield and acreage information from 1998 through 2001. The 2001 crop year was
used as a base to make the comparisons.
According to Lattz, there has been considerable discussion concerning the level
of government expenditures estimated under the Farm Security and Rural
Investment Act of
2002
compared with payments under the 1996 Federal Agriculture Improvement and Reform
Act.
"Popular press articles have indicated as much as a 70 percent increase in
government payments under the new bill," he said.
"Generally, these comparisons have not taken in consideration the additional
marketing loss assistance payments that have been paid since 1998."
Lattz said that final regulations for the new law have not been released and the
figures in the U of I study might change. He noted that southern Illinois farms
have lower estimated payments primarily due to lower corn acre and yield program
base.
[to top of second column in
this article] |
The new law contains provisions for
direct and counter-cyclical payments. The old law contained
provisions for production flexibility contract payments.
Additionally, market loss assistance and oilseed payments have been
made since 1998. For 2001, the flexibility contract payments and
additional market loss and oilseed payments ranged in Illinois from
$25 to $45 per acre, depending upon region. Both laws contain
provisions for loan deficiency payments and marketing loan gains.
"When comparing per acre differences in
payments between the 1996 and 2002 bills, one needs to remember that
the counter-cyclical payments are not guaranteed and are dependent
on commodity price levels," said Lattz. "On the other hand, market
loss assistance and oilseed payments were not guaranteed."
Lattz said the new bill requires a
number of decisions by producers.
"One of these is whether or not to
update base acres," he said. "If acres are updated, producers will
also need to decide whether to update yields or not. There are two
alternatives available for updating yields. Which among these
alternatives that will result in the maximum direct and
counter-cyclical payment may also depend on the payment rate for the
counter-cyclical payments. And this rate depends on the average
marketing year price.
"The decision on which alternative to
use when updating base acres and yields may not be easy."
A
spreadsheet tool to help producers analyze such decisions is
available on the U of I’s farmdoc website:
http://www.farmdoc.uiuc.edu/
manage/FarmBill/decisiontool.htm. A complete draft of the
comparison report is also available at
farmdoc.
[U of I news release] |
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Honors
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Logan
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Ag
Announcements
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Special
baking contests
at state fair
[JULY
1, 2002]
Contestants are
invited to prepare gingerbread houses and Spam recipes to enter at the
Illinois State Fair in August.
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Awards will be given for the most creative
entries in the Brer Rabbit® Molasses Gingerbread House Contest at
the state fair. Both beginners and gingerbread house enthusiasts are
invited to compete for cash and prizes. In 2001, judges picked
winning entries ranging from traditional to elaborate, including a
castle, a detailed tree house with garden and another resembling the
"Old Woman in a Shoe." Any theme entry is welcome that uses Brer
Rabbit molasses and is up to a foot tall, wide and deep, base not
included. Entrants must also bake and enter one dozen gingerbread
cookies.
Winners are selected based on
appearance (50 percent), originality and creativity (40 percent),
and taste (10 percent). Creators are awarded $150 for first place,
$75 for second and $25 for third. People of any age may enter, with
one entry per person or group. Several people may work on one entry,
but one person represents the group.
[to top of second column in this
article]
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The Illinois State Fair will be one of
70 fairs hosting the Spam® Oven Roasted Turkey Contest. Using the
Spam turkey and up to nine other ingredients, contestants are to
create an original main dish, appetizer, casserole, stew, stir-fry,
salad sandwich or any other recipe. To focus on convenience, cooking
time may not exceed 30 minutes.
Judges select winners based on taste
appeal (40 percent), appearance (30 percent) and originality (30
percent). The three best entries win cash awards of $150, $50 and
$25, and first-place winners advance to national judging for a
$2,500 shopping spree and an all-expense-paid trip to Minneapolis.
To enter
either contest, contact the entry department at the Illinois State
Fair, 782-6661, by July 15. More details for the gingerbread contest
are on page 90, and those for the Spam contest are on page 86 of the
general premium book.
[News release]
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