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Rep. Hartke appointed as
state agriculture director

Effingham County farmer and legislator to take post April 28

[APRIL 26, 2003]  SPRINGFIELD -- Gov. Rod Blagojevich has announced the appointment of longtime state Rep. Charles "Chuck" A. Hartke as director of the Illinois Department of Agriculture.

Though the position requires confirmation by the state Senate, Hartke will begin serving as acting director on Monday, April 28.

"Chuck Hartke has been a farmer for most of his life and -- even more important -- for the last 18 years he's been an advocate in state government for people whose livelihood depends on agriculture," said Blagojevich. "At this time of unprecedented budget pressure, Chuck's experience will be critical to my administration as we look for new ways to improve and promote Illinois' vast agriculture industry."

Hartke, 58, has served in the Illinois House since 1985 and has held a seat on the House Agriculture Committee just as long. Much of his legislative work has focused on helping Illinois' agriculture community. He sponsored legislation to improve standards for "mega hog farms," to invest in value-added products, to promote ethanol use, and to provide technical and financial assistance to independent farmers. He also is a member of both the Illinois Farm Bureau and the Farmers Union.

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Hartke grew up on a farm in Teutopolis in southern Illinois. After a tour of duty with the U.S. Army in Vietnam, he and his wife, Kathy, bought a farm a mile from the one on which he was raised. His son, Chris, now manages the 800-acre operation. Before his election to the Illinois House, Hartke was involved in Effingham County government and served on the county board from 1971 to 1974.

"Chuck Hartke knows the challenges our farmers face," Blagojevich said. "He'll do an outstanding job of making sure the state's agriculture policies and programs do what they are intended to do."

Hartke will earn $113,200 in his new post.

[Illinois Government News Network
press release]

Innovative multi-technology course
on plant diseases offered off campus

[APRIL 25, 2003]  URBANA -- For more than 20 years, plant pathologist Wayne Pedersen has taught several courses in the off-campus graduate program at the University of Illinois. This involved extensive traveling and time away from campus.

Last fall, Pedersen decided a change was in order. He developed "Diseases of Field Crops" into the first online graduate course in the Department of Crop Sciences.

"Since a great deal of the class involves the use of high-quality color slides, putting the entire course on the Web would not have worked for students with telephone connections; the transfer rate would be just too slow," Pedersen said. "Instead, I developed a CD that contains all of the lectures as well as class notes, old exams and quizzes, and additional references."

He prepared PowerPoint presentations for each disease or group of diseases and then added audio for each slide used in the class.

"Individual presentations are from 15 to 25 minutes long," Pedersen said. "That way a student can listen to the audio, take notes or replay the audio before going on to the next slide. At the end of every presentation, students are provided with several websites that provide additional information."

He notes that the students could listen to the lectures any time, rather than being tied down to a regular class schedule.

"Last fall nine students signed up for the course," he said. "Students were responsible for three to four lectures each week, and then a threaded discussion was held for three hours each Thursday night."

Pedersen used a product called WebBoard for the threaded discussion sessions. The format is similar to having several chat rooms, but a permanent record is kept until the end of the semester.

On a given evening, Pedersen can open three or four chat rooms or conferences, each on a different disease topic, and then post several questions to which students could respond.

"Some of the discussions were very lively, especially with the control of soybean cyst nematode, sudden death syndrome, or seedling blights on corn or soybeans," Pedersen said. "If a student had to miss a class, they could go back to the website and review all of the discussion on each disease. However, very few students ever missed a class. If they were traveling, they could connect to the Web and participate in the class."

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This format allowed Pedersen to include students in major conferences on soybean sudden death syndrome held in southern Illinois. The conference center let him use their computer for the discussion session. In addition, Oval Myers, retired breeder from Southern Illinois University, joined the discussion on control of sudden death syndrome.

"While I was skeptical at the beginning, I now believe this may be a better way to teach than to formally lecture," Pedersen said. "Students come to class prepared to discuss the topic or ask questions, rather than coming to class to sit and listen. A great deal of the discussion time is spent on current research, recently published studies, or information one of the students read or heard during the past week."

Although the CD was developed for the graduate class, several Illinois soybean growers have already tried it and found the information valuable.

"If they want a quick update on soybean rust, they can sit down at the computer and listen to the talk," Pedersen said. "If they want current information on soybean seed treatments and where they may be the most profitable, they can just listen to the talk on soybean seedling blights."

Pedersen is constantly revising the contents and hopes to have several guest lectures available. Craig Grau, plant pathologist from the University of Wisconsin, is preparing a talk on brown stem rot, and Dean Malvick, plant pathologist at the U of I, is preparing some lectures on alfalfa diseases. If things go well, there should be a new CD available every January.

The course is offered each fall and also is approved for 25 units of "certified crop advisor" credit. For additional information, contact Pedersen at whitemold@uiuc.edu or the following website: http://www.cropsci.uiuc.edu/ocgs/.

[University of Illinois news release]

Scientists confirm water hemp
with resistance to PPO inhibitors

[APRIL 24, 2003]  URBANA -- Weed scientists at the University of Illinois have recently confirmed at least one water hemp population, and most likely several others, in the state with resistance to PPO inhibitors.

"The one confirmed population is located in western Illinois," said Aaron Hager, weed scientist with University of Illinois Extension, "But, we also received several other anecdotal reports during the 2002 growing season of PPO inhibitors such as Ultra Blazer, Flexstar, Cobra and Phoenix failing to control water hemp in other parts of the state. This raises concerns that the resistance problem in Illinois may be more widespread than we first thought."

Hager notes, however, that it is unlikely that every instance of PPO inhibitors failing to provide complete control of water hemp can be attributed to resistance.

"Less than complete control of water hemp with PPO-inhibiting herbicides is not unique to the 2002 growing season," he said. "For many years, observers have noted water hemp control ranging from complete to less than satisfactory with those herbicides."

He points out that the regrowth of susceptible water hemp plants occurs most frequently when post-emergence applications are made to plants less than five inches in height or under adverse growing conditions, such as during extended periods when the soil is dry.

"Late-season applications of these herbicides also can result in poor control, when water hemp plants are very large and nearing the reproductive stage," Hager said. "It is important to emphasize that many instances of poor control cannot necessarily be attributed to herbicide resistance."

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Researchers from the U of I have already conducted several field experiments to determine the resistance characteristics of the water hemp biotype identified in western Illinois.

"We found that all soil-applied herbicides, other than acetolactate synthase inhibitors, provided excellent water hemp control 30 days after application," Hager said. "Even soil applications of PPO-inhibitors, such as Authority, Valor and Flexstar, provided from 86 to 99 percent water hemp control. This corresponds with researchers in other states who have reported good control of resistant biotypes with soil-applied PPO inhibitors."

At the same time, results from a post-emergence experiment showed that control with PPO inhibitors on the resistant biotype ranged from only 13 percent to 53 percent.

"We are currently conducting additional laboratory and greenhouse experiments with this water hemp biotype," Hager said. "In particular, molecular weed scientist Patrick Tranel and his graduate student William Patzoldt are attempting to determine the resistance mechanism and how the trait is inherited."

[University of Illinois news release]

Weekly outlook

Cattle prices

[APRIL 22, 2003]  URBANA -- Fed cattle prices are expected to move lower seasonally to an average of about $75 per hundredweight in the second quarter of the year and make lows in the late summer in the very low $70s, said a Purdue University Extension marketing specialist.

"By the fall, reduced cow slaughter and continued small fed cattle supplies should result in a strong price recovery back into the higher $70s," said Chris Hurt.

Hurt's comments came as he reviewed the current state of the cattle market, which saw cattle prices above $80.

"These prices were as welcome as the warm spring temperatures but will be short-lived," Hurt said. "Seasonal price declines will push cattle prices lower through the summer. Still, fed cattle prices are expected to remain well above last year's prices, which averaged near $67 per live hundredweight. For 2003, the USDA projects the average price at $76."

In the first quarter of 2003, prices got off to a good start, with finished cattle averaging $78 and highs over $80 in February and again in early April. For the quarter, beef supplies were down only 1 percent, yet prices were 11 percent higher. Contributing to the smaller beef supply have been limited numbers of cattle in feedlots and lighter marketing weights as managers "pulled" cattle forward in response to high fed cattle prices.

"The primary reason for smaller beef production is the declining size of the cattle inventory," said Hurt. "Beef cow numbers are in a seven-year decline as a result of poor returns for brood cow operations in the early portion of that period and to drought conditions in much of the Plains and western United States, during the past four years, which have limited forage availability."

The liquidation of cows has been active so far this year. In the first quarter, cow slaughter was up 9 percent from the same period last year. This included both beef cows (up 4 percent) and especially milk cows (up 14 percent).

"If it had not been for the large cow slaughter, beef production in the first quarter would have been down another 2 percent, with even higher prices," said Hurt.

The direction of cow slaughter during the remainder of the year is an interesting question, he added.

"The key to beef cow slaughter will be range conditions and forage supplies on the Plains and in the western United States," he said. "Current forecasts are for improving moisture conditions for much of the Plains through July. Portions of the Rocky Mountain States, however, may see only modest or no improvement. If this forecast holds, a substantial slowdown in the beef cow slaughter should occur this summer."

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The high rate of milk cow slaughter is related to low milk prices, increased feed prices, and large losses. Current projections from USDA are for milk prices to remain depressed through the summer before some recovery in the fall. Also, a favorable growing season this summer will lower feed prices and encourage the high rate of milk cow slaughter to abate by this fall. Slowing beef and milk cow slaughter should ease total beef production further this fall.

"Fed cattle supplies will also remain small for the rest of the year," said Hurt. "Currently, USDA reports that cattle-on-feed numbers remain down 8 percent. However, placements in March were up by 5 percent.

"This was the first time this year that placements have been above the year-earlier level and is an indication that feedlot managers are feeling more confident about increasing numbers."

While fed cattle prices are much higher than at this time last year, the same is not true for calves and feeder cattle. Those prices averaged about 4 percent lower in the first quarter. Oklahoma City 500- to 550-pound calves, as an example, were $97 per hundredweight this year compared with $102 in the first quarter of 2002. The lower prices are a result of higher feed costs due to last summer's drought. Feedlot managers are also hesitant to bid, given large losses in 2001-02.

"Calf and feeder cattle prices will likely follow a similar price pattern, with weaker prices this spring but recovery in the late summer and fall, especially if the prospects for this year's crop yields are favorable," said Hurt. "Returns for brood cow operations should remain favorable for several years, as heifer retention may finally begin in 2004, but it will be 2006 before subsequent beef supplies will rise."

[University of Illinois news release]

Sustainable agriculture tours scheduled

[APRIL 21, 2003]  URBANA -- Six unique locations have been selected for this year's sustainable agriculture tours, representing the broad diversity of the topic. "Sustainable agriculture includes alternative farming practices, but it's also about ways to provide an adequate and dependable farm income," said Deborah Cavanaugh-Grant, a University of Illinois research specialist who is coordinating the tours. "So, for example, on the first tour to ethnic grocery stores in Chicago, we'll learn about specialty markets for alternative crops.  Growers need to be connected to these specialty markets so they can sell what they produce."

Cavanaugh-Grant said that the tours last year were so successful that the U of I Agroecology/Sustainable Agriculture Program decided to offer them again, this time to new locations around the state. "There are so many wonderful places in Illinois to visit that selecting only six was difficult, but I think the ones we chose represent a wide variety of topics that will give people a chance to see six very different sustainable operations in action."

The first tour of the 2003 schedule will be to several ethnic grocery stores in Chicago on Tuesday, June 17. The tour will include stops in the Vietnamese and Indian neighborhoods of Chicago, the Muslim meat markets, an Arab sweet shop, and lunch at a Persian restaurant.

Tour guide Evelyn Thompson will provide information at each stop about the produce, ingredients, cooking procedures and history of the food cultures. "On my tours we also do a lot of munching of snack foods that overflow the counters. We try to sample something from each country, be it a pastry, a savory, a sweet or an interesting drink," said Thompson.

Monday, July 14, is the date for the second tour, which will visit several organic farms in Woodford County.

On Tuesday, Aug. 12, community-supported agriculture will be the topic with a tour of Angelica Organics in Caledonia.

Tuesday, Aug. 19, a tour will visit Tanglefoot Farm in Simpson to learn about prawn farming.

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On Wednesday, Sept. 10, the topic will be agritourism, with a visit to Hardy's Reindeer Ranch in Rantoul. The tour will include a hayride and lunch served in the style of the grand Old West.

The final tour is scheduled for Wednesday, Oct. 29, to Pike's Hunting Club in Marion, where the topic will be waterfowl fee hunting.

For a printable brochure that includes details about all six tours, visit
http://www.aces.uiuc.edu/~asap/
smallfarm/tourbrochure.pdf. [To download the Adobe Acrobat reader for the PDF file, click here.]

 For additional information, contact Deborah Cavanaugh-Grant at (217) 968-5512 or cvnghgrn@uiuc.edu. A small fee will be charged for each tour. Registration at least one week in advance is required. A registration form is available by contacting Cavanaugh-Grant or online at http://web.aces.uiuc.edu/asap/index.html.

The tours are sponsored by the Agroecology/Sustainable Agriculture Program in the College of Agricultural, Consumer and Environmental Sciences at the University of Illinois, the North Central Region Sustainable Agriculture Research and Education Professional Development Program, and the Illinois Small Farm Task Force.

[University of Illinois press release]

[APRIL 19, 2003]  SPRINGFIELD -- Gov. Rod Blagojevich announced on April 15 that federal financial assistance is available to farmers in 30 counties who suffered agricultural production losses last summer due to severe drought conditions.

"Farmers in many areas of the state were devastated last year by the effects of heavy rains followed by a hot, dry summer," Blagojevich said. "The loans that are key to this disaster declaration will help farmers recover and can be used to pay production costs, refinancing existing debt and essential family living expenses."

The U.S. Department of Agriculture this week approved a request made by the governor in February to declare Cass, DeWitt, Mason, Moultrie, Pike, Stephenson and Winnebago counties as natural disaster areas. The declaration makes farmers in those seven counties, as well as 23 contiguous counties, eligible for USDA assistance programs, including low-interest loans.

The contiguous counties impacted by the declaration are Adams, Boone, Brown, Calhoun, Carroll, Coles, DeKalb, Douglas, Fulton, Greene, Jo Daviess, Logan, Macon, McLean, Menard, Morgan, Ogle, Piatt, Sangamon, Schuyler, Scott, Shelby and Tazewell.

Livestock producers also may be able to receive assistance, including cash payments on a per-head basis, if they owned grazing animals during the drought period.

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In order to qualify for federal disaster assistance, counties must experience at least a 30 percent decline in production in any single crop. Assistance also can be provided if farmers no longer qualify for commercial credit due to disaster-related losses.

Farmers and others who believe they may be eligible for USDA assistance should contact their county Farm Service Agency office.

Last year, 63 other Illinois counties were approved for federal disaster assistance due to a wet spring and extreme heat and little precipitation in the summer. May 2002 was the eighth wettest May on record, and the summer was the 14th warmest since 1895. There was less than 5 inches of rain between mid-June and mid-August, about three inches below normal.

[Illinois Government News Network
press release]

Brazilian land rush mirrors
19th century U.S. experience

[APRIL 19, 2003]  URBANA -- As a farm family member who hopes one day to farm on his own, Jason Moss has a natural interest in soybean production in Brazil and its challenge to U.S. producers. But a summer-long stay in that South American nation left the University of Illinois student convinced that Brazil is indeed the new frontier of soybean farming.

"Soybeans have now become a Third World product," said Moss, a junior in the College of Agricultural, Consumer and Environmental Science's Department of Agricultural and Consumer Economics. "One challenge for U.S. farmers is how one can earn a First World income producing a Third World crop. The cost-of-production difference is nearly $2.50 per bushel in favor of the Brazilians.

"If Chicago Board of Trade prices go to $4, there is no conceivable way an Illinois farmer could afford to continue growing soybeans -- a crop many now heavily rely on for rotations and income."

Moss prepared a research report on his June 1 to Aug. 10, 2002, stay in Brazil as part of an internship course offered by Peter Goldsmith, an assistant professor of agribusiness and farm management.

"One of the things I find particularly interesting about Moss' report is the opportunities it identifies for young people interested in farming," said Goldsmith. "He's looking 20 or 30 years down the horizon and identifying opportunities.

"Young people interested in becoming agricultural producers face a stiff challenge, especially in the barriers to obtaining the capital needed to control land. Some might not look forward to competing for ground and slugging it out here when cheaper land is available in Brazil."

Goldsmith noted that ADM has a corporate presence in Brazil as well as the United States, as does one of the largest cooperatives, Cenex Harvest-States. So it makes sense that some U.S. farmers may decide to maintain farms in the United States and Brazil to take advantage of economic opportunities.

In addition to establishing a cooperating relationship with a Brazilian university, Goldsmith is part of a long-range U of I research project examining the future of the soybean and meat production complex worldwide.

Because of the large amount of land coming under cultivation and the low costs, Brazil is becoming a new frontier of agricultural development. The family Moss stayed with migrated from Holland in 1989, and immigrant farmers are common. Much of the growth is centered in the state of Mato Grosso.

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"It has become a magnet for several reasons," said Moss. "It is viewed as an area with cheap land, infinitely large fields and large amounts of cleared land. It has attracted considerable American investment. What makes Mato Grosso the center for direct foreign investment is the price of land and the potential for expansion.

"The land rush in Brazil is a mirror image of the United States in the 19th century."

Crunching numbers can reveal the Brazilian economic edge in soybean production.

For the 2000 crop year, variable costs to produce soybeans in central Illinois were $97 per acre or $2.16 per bushel. Fixed costs for the same period were $226 per acre or $5.02 per bushel. For the same period in Mato Grosso, the variable costs were $108.20 per acre or $2.21 per bushel.

"But fixed costs were only $48.10 per acre or 98 cents per bushel," Moss said.

Many areas in Mato Grosso average 60-65 bushels per acre, and the average farm size is considerably larger. While the cost of land is the largest cost for the central Illinois farmer, the cost of fertility is the highest cost for a Mato Grosso producer.

"Land costs in 2000 for the central Illinois farmer were 35.9 percent of his total costs, while the Mato Grosso producer's land costs were only 9.6 percent of his total costs," said Moss. "Fertility costs constituted 31.7 percent of the Mato Grosso producer's total costs, while accounting for only 5.3 percent of his Illinois counterpart's total costs.

"Labor provides another significant cost difference. U.S. labor costs $33 per acre, 10 times higher than the Brazilian labor cost of $3.92 per acre.

The Moss family operates a 3,500-acre operation near Quincy. Moss contemplates taking the family business international and is exploring opportunities in Brazil. He returns to Brazil this summer for another U of I internship and will work with Grupo Maggi, the largest direct farming operation in that nation.

[University of Illinois news release]

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