|
Today
the Logan County Commercial Corn Plot is hosted by the Fort Farms,
located west of Beason, with Scott Wurth as the farmer cooperator
and the State Bank of Lincoln and University of Illinois Extension
as co-sponsors. Friday was the harvest day for the corn plot, which
followed a farmer field day on Sept. 6. Many such plots for corn and
soybeans are found throughout central Illinois. Of particular
interest to many farmers are the so-called "third-party
plots" that are hosted by banks, Extension offices and FFA
chapters, since seed corn companies cooperate rather than conduct
the entire plot.
It
is important to point out that a single plot should not be used as
the sole basis for selecting seed, but the strength is in the
ability to look at the various types of seed corn and compare
varieties throughout the growing season. More strength can be
obtained from yield data when it is combined with similar data from
other plots to give it more validity. One of the key publications of
local Extension offices does just that. The Macon County office
collects data from other central Illinois third-party plots and runs
some statistics on varieties of corn and soybeans that are common to
several plots, resulting in a ranking of varieties that are in a
similar number of plots.
[to
top of second column in this article]
|
The
Logan County plots this year had 30 commercial varieties from 15
companies and 16 check strips in the plot. Each variety is harvested
separately and checked for moisture content and weight. These
factors are then used to calculate yields for each variety. In the
final analysis locally, each variety is then compared to an adjacent
check strip to determine its ranking in the plot. This helps take
away problems related to field variations.
Rough
calculations of the 2000 corn plot show moistures ranging from 16 to
22 percent (with 15 percent being what is considered the standard at
local elevators) and yields ranging from about 150 to slightly over
200 bushels per acre. Though final calculations have not been
checked, it appears the plot will average about 180 bushels per
acre. These yields are fairly consistent with yields being reported
from around the county, with 130 to around 200 being the local range
and the bulk of yields between 150 and 180. As for soybean harvest,
yields have been reported from the mid-30s yieldwise to around 60
bushels per acre, with most falling in the 40- to 50-bushel-per-acre
range.
What
does this mean to farmers? With the government loan rate being
higher than the market price, farmers are essentially getting $1.95
per bushel for corn and $5.41 per bushel for soybeans, less any
storage, marketing, drying, trucking, etc. Do the math, and the
resulting figures are under average production costs with the yields
we are experiencing. It probably means a tighter-than-normal year
for many area producers.
[John
Fulton]
|
|
History
buffs in the crowd can visit a two-room "courthouse" on
the Power farm, where a young Abe Lincoln tried one of his first
cases in 1836, and a spacious brick home built by farm founder Judge
George Power in 1855. Power had moved his young family from Kentucky
to the rich plains along Fancy Creek in 1821. He became a respected
cattleman and justice of the peace who offered his small cabin to
Lincoln as a courthouse where he would represent clients in local
disputes.
Cattle
handling demonstrations will feature Nebraska cattlemen and
veterinarian Dr. Joe Jeffery who will provide an informative and
entertaining description of the process of "working"
cattle. Visitors will witness chutes, scales, fencing and paneling
all in action while Dr. Jeffery and exhibitors work a series of
calves through each step as if they were entering a feedlot. The
calves will be given vaccinations, ear tags and implants provided by
pharmaceutical companies exhibiting at the show. The demonstrations
will be twice daily, at 10 a.m. and 2 p.m.
Fans
of the movie "The Horse Whisperer" will be amazed by Craig
Cameron of Bluff Dale, Texas, who demonstrates his unique approach
to horse training for the first time at this year’s Farm Progress
Show. Cameron will be the first to tell that he does not
"break" a horse but uses his "horse sense" to
ask the horse to trust him. Standing-room-only audiences have been
watching the horse clinics for years and say that the show is
educational and entertaining. Cameron’s demonstrations will be
twice daily, at 11 a.m. and 3 p.m.
[to
top of second column in this section]
|
The
2000 National Plowing Contest will be held at the show site on
Wednesday and Thursday. Plowing matches have been part of the
American farm scene for more than a century. This year’s event
will include contests for small plows, large plows and antique
plows.
At
the Global Technologies Exhibit you can view NASA remote-imaging
pictures depicting crop development at Power Farms this year. Watch
big-screen TVs from the tent to view live yield monitor data from
combines harvesting at Power Farms. Plus, learn more about how
high-speed wireless Internet is allowing farmers in remote areas to
conduct business virtually anywhere.
And
if you’re tuckered out after a day of walking through the massive
show site, stop by the Family Living Tent to learn about using
healthy soy foods in your diet or laugh at the humorous messages of
several rural comedians.
[Marty
Ahrends]
|
|
Next
week in rural Cantrall, Ill., the Farm Progress Show 2000 will open
its gates to thousands of guests from across the Midwest. More than
400 exhibits featuring the newest agricultural technology and slices
of rural life will offer a little something for everyone, even if
you’re not from a farm.
[Exhibitors shine up their equipment for thousands of Farm Progress
guests next week.]
Until
recently Power Farms was covered with corn, soybeans and alfalfa.
Harvest crews have been working hard to clear the land that will be
used for parking, camping and tillage demonstrations.
"Not
much was here a week ago," said Farm Progress Show Director
Mark Randal. "And there is still a lot to be done."
Yesterday
60 colorful tents had been erected and many more were waiting to go
up. Two hundred semi loads of wood chips blanketed the exhibit
sites, and 5,600 feet of waterlines were poised to be buried. By the
time the show opens next Tuesday morning, colorful mums will
decorate all the street corners, while trash cans and porta-potties
will be strategically placed around the site.
Hosting
a Farm Progress Show, which draws hundreds of thousands of visitors
from across the Midwest, is a highly coordinated effort between the
farmers, bank managers, chambers of commerce and the Farm Progress
Company. The Greater Springfield Area Chamber of Commerce
Agribusiness Committee began looking for potential farm sites for
the 2000 show back in 1995. A Logan County man, Dennis Stoll of
Chestnut, was instrumental in securing one of the farms he manages
for Bank One as the show site. Stoll has managed Power Farms for its
owners the past 19 years and knew that tenants Wayne Heissinger and
Kent Weatherby would be cooperative hosts. Both the owners and
tenants of Power Farms were eager to host the show and help bring an
economic boost to the Springfield area.
[to
top of second column in this article]
|
For
the past couple years, Stoll has been the link in communications
between the Farm Progress Company and farmers Heissinger and
Weatherby. "Two years ago we started matching up crop rotations
with what Farm Progress wanted as the layout for the site,"
explained Stoll. Recently, 70 percent of Stoll’s day-to-day
activity as a bank farm manager has dealt with the Farm Progress
Show. He will likely be at the show site daily until it ends.
Power
Farms could be a stage for more than just the newest ag technology
next week. One or both of the presidential candidates could possibly
make a stop at the show. "We are in daily contact and know that
there is strong interest in both camps to attend the Farm Progress
Show," said Randal. "We might not know until Monday if
they will show up the next three days."
[Harvest has been in full swing at Power Farms to
clear space for parking areas.]
To
get to the Farm Progress Show from Lincoln, just head south on
Interstate 55 to the Williamsville exit and drive west along an
avenue of chemical and seed plot signs. You won’t be able to miss
the city of tents. Exhibit field hours are 7:30 a.m. to 5 p.m. on
Tuesday, Wednesday and Thursday next week. Free parking is
available, and admission is $5 for adults 18 and over and $2 for
ages 13 to 17.
If
you would prefer not to drive and be delivered right at the front
gate, the Aid Association for Lutherans is sponsoring a bus to the
show on Tuesday. There are still 23 seats available. The bus will
leave Tuesday morning at 7:30 from the Zion church parking lot on
Logan Street. To reserve a spot for $5, call Eleanor Gunderman at
732-9020 and be sure to leave your phone number. The cost does not
include entrance into the show.
(Tomorrow:
Neat things to do at the Farm Progress
Show)
[Marty
Ahrends]
|
