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Features
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Logan
County 4-H’ers compete in meat judging
[APRIL
24, 2001] Logan
County 4-H members participated in the area 4-H Meats Judging
Contest April 19 at RMH Foods in Morton. Members of the local team
were Troy Tolan, Andrew Fulton, Rachael Jones, David Fulton and
Daniel Fulton. All were in the junior category of under 14 years of
age.
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The
team placed third in the Junior Division.
Individuals
placing in the junior bracket were Andrew Fulton, placing third, and
Troy Tolan, placing fourth.
The
team was coached by Don Miller from the Logan County Extension
Office.
![](../images/ads/LDN/when%20you%20see%20news%20happen%20copy.jpg)
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![](../images/042401pics/meatjudges.jpg)
[Daniel Fulton, Rachael Jones, David Fulton;
(in back)
Andrew Fulton and Troy Tolan.]
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Planting
progresses
By John
Fulton
[APRIL
23, 2001] Logan
County farmers are finally getting to roll in earnest on a
countywide basis. Earlier, there was quite a bit of field
activity in the southern portion of the county, but producers in the
northern half were at a standstill in many instances. It’s always
hard to estimate planting percentages when some are done planting
and others haven’t started, but the 50 percent level should come
close for our corn acres. This lags behind
averages for the last three years by up to 30 percent.
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With
the type of farm equipment we are now using, the entire county could
be planted in about a week, give or take a day. With a few good days
of planting a great dent should be made in the half of the corn
acres not yet planted. What we really need is a greatly decreased
wind speed. The wind is making it hard to apply fertilizer and
chemicals and making it just plain hard to see. The wind is also
creating a very dry soil surface and wet zones underneath.
There
are a few soybeans planted in the county as well as corn, but the
number of acres is very minimal. In general, we say there is no
penalty for late planting in corn until we get into May. The penalty
is very small until May 4, and then we begin to lose a half percent
of yield a day. Soybeans can be planted through May with little
yield loss.
New
URL for Extension site
One
of the premiere web sites for agricultural economics information is
the Extension "farmdoc" site. The URL is http://www.farmdoc.uiuc.edu.
This URL is a little different than one I gave before, but the old
one will refer you to the new. A couple of things buried in the site
that are of interest this time of year are machinery cost estimates
and crop production costs.
Machinery
cost estimates are just that. These figures are calculated to
estimate what a particular farm operation costs you as an operator.
The specific URL for the costs is http://www.farmdoc.uiuc.edu//
manage/machinery/index.html.
[to top of second column in
this article]
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![](../images/042301pics/planting_deere.jpg)
[Bill Cross over by Hartsburg]
![](../images/042301pics/planting_ac.jpg)
[Jack Knollenberg by Lawndale]
Keep
in mind that these are not custom rates. Custom rates are not
published by the University of Illinois. Custom rates are actually
surveys of people that do work on a custom basis. The U of I has
only put out the estimated cost of operations for as long as I can
remember. These figures are also what it is estimated to cost for
the power, machine, fuel and labor. No management charge is built
in. Many are interested in what the increase in diesel fuel price
will do to the rates. Gary Schnitkey at the U of I says the impact
will be in cents per acre at current fuel prices.
Another
area of interest this time of year is crop budgets. Check out the
budgets in the management area of farm.doc. With the estimated costs
of producing corn this year, total costs are estimated to be about
$2.68 per bushel with average input costs and 160-bushel corn
yields. Compare this to the current cash price of around $1.80 or
the loan rate of $1.95 and you can readily see that additional yield
or income is needed to break even (this does include a land cost of
$145 per acre).
Don’t
plan on making up for corn shortfalls on the soybean side. The
estimated break-even price for soybeans is $6.71 per bushel
(calculating $115 for land rent or equivalent). Compare this to
around $4 per bushel for harvest delivery or the $5.41 loan rate and
we are still a little short. Where is the difference made up? For
some it is in reduced costs, for others additional farm program
payments help, and for still others there is some erosion in
machinery equity.
At
any rate, current prices don’t offer a cash bonanza for local
farmers.
[John
Fulton]
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Hartem
FFA members visit state officials in Springfield
[APRIL
11, 2001] Hartem
FFA members recently took part in Agricultural Legislative Awareness
Day in Springfield.
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Nick
Alberts, Kyle Hoerbert, Matthew Wrage, Kory Leesman and Brittney Kavanaugh
assisted FFA members from around the state in distributing agricultural
commodity baskets and lunches to all the legislators.
These
members also got to visit with Director of Agriculture Joe Hampton and their
state representative, John Turner.
Also,
FFA member Anthony Jones was selected to serve as an honorary page in the House
of Representatives.
To
finish the day, these members toured the Illinois Vietnam and Korean War
Memorials, plus Lincoln's tomb.
[News
release]
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![](../images/041101pics/H-E%20farm%20in%20washinton%20pic%204.jpg)
[Pictured (left to
right) with Director of Agriculture Joe Hampton are Anthony Jones, Nick Alberts,
Joe Hampton, Kory Leesman, Kyle Hoerbert, Matthew Wrage, Brittney Kavanaugh and
Hartem FFA adviser Betsy Pech.]
![](../images/041101pics/H-E%20farm%20at%20washington%20pic%202.jpg)
[Hartem FFA members
(left to right) visiting with Rep. John Turner are Brittney Kavanaugh, Nick
Alberts, Mr. Turner, Kyle Hoerbert, Matthew Wrage and Kory Leesman.]
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Producers
in alternative enterprises
have to ‘blaze their own trail’
[APRIL
9, 2001] When
we think of agriculture in Logan County and the central Illinois
area in general, we think of corn, soybeans, beef cattle and hogs.
All of those enterprises do exist, and in large numbers. Some of the
other enterprises help with farm income, provide for using extra
labor and fill niches created by consumers.
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Logan
County operators have U-pick strawberry operations, asparagus plantings, herbs,
flowers, traditional garden produce, ostriches, emus, elk, Christmas trees,
ornamentals and just about anything else you can think of. Why? Because there is
a market, or they have created one.
That
is one of the toughest parts about alternative enterprises: marketing. It wouldn’t
be called alternative if existing markets were available to sell your produce.
Some of the strategies to sell alternative items are direct marketing, contract
production, grower cooperatives, buyer cooperatives and wholesaling where some
type of market does exist. Wholesaling is generally a last option since producer
profits tend to shrink with each marketing partner, but there is safety in being
able to sell at least some of the produce.
Many
producers in alternative enterprises have to "blaze their own trail."
Each one has to find out where a potential market exists and then produce for
that market. Many of these enterprises also are done on a small scale because
they are labor intensive. Think for a moment of picking 20 acres of strawberries
or hand-cutting 40 acres of flowers or herbs. A tenth of an acre is plenty for
many of these enterprises when you start out, but research must be done.
![](../images/ads/neal_tire/neal_04_01_oillube.gif)
[to top of second column in this
article]
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Existing
research done by third-party groups (such as colleges and universities) may be
hard to come by. That leaves producers trying to find others who have had
experience or possibly adapting information from other areas of the country or
overseas. Risk comfort level and the entrepreneurial spirit have a lot to do
with checking out alternative ag enterprises. If the tolerance for risk is low
or you want a ready-made market, many of the options (or possible cash
incentives) disappear.
The
newest trend among traditional producers is to produce something that is already
grown but has added value. For example, premiums are available for certain types
of soybeans that require only slight modifications in management. An extra 20
cents per bushel may worth using a special herbicide, storing the crop
separately and delivering the crop to a certain location. Most commonly this is
a type of contract production with a contract between a producer and a processor
or local elevator. The downside that we have already seen is that when several
producers are willing to produce the special crop, the premiums tend to
decrease.
University
of Illinois Extension in Logan County has been involved in value-added corn and
soybean plots for the last three years, and I will do some follow-up work later
this year with the soybean plots in place this year. We also conducted a major
producer survey last summer dealing with value-added crops and had producer
meetings this winter.
Alternative
enterprises aren’t for everyone. They can be a good option if the people
interested are able to "blaze their own trail."
[John
Fulton]
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IALP
Washington trip in review
[APRIL
5, 2001] WASHINGTON
— Phil Donahoe didn’t hesitate when Assistant U.S. Trade
Representative for Agricultural Affairs James M. Murphy asked the
Illinois Agricultural Leadership Program (IALP) Class of 2002 how
the next farm bill should be constructed. The LaFox, Ill., farmer
suggested America’s top trade negotiators consider shifting some
monetary supports toward infrastructure improvements rather than
focusing so much on direct payments to farmers.
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Participating
in such exchanges was commonplace throughout the recent Illinois Agricultural
Leadership Program (IALP) National Travel seminar to Washington, D.C., Maryland
and New York. The 10-day study experience brought IALP class members in contact
with a cross section of government officials, agriculture industry executives,
financial leaders, farmers and watermen along the East Coast. Lincoln resident
Marty Ahrends participated in the seminar.
In
addition to briefings from the U.S. trade representative, participants visited
with officials from the departments of agriculture, energy and state, as
well as the Environmental Protection Agency. A panel discussion with attorneys
from the Department of Justice and the Federal Trade Commission sparked an
interesting dialogue on past and present agriculture acquisitions and mergers.
Personal
visits with Speaker Dennis Hastert, R-Ill., Sens. Richard Durbin, D-Ill., and
Peter Fitzgerald, R-Ill., Rep. Charlie Stenholm, D-Texas, ranking minority
member of the House Agriculture Committee, and Edward M. Gramlich, governor of
the Federal Reserve Bank, put class participants in direct contact with the
people who actually make policy.
IALP
class members traveled from Washington to Maryland for two days of study on the
poultry and fishing industries along with initiatives and programs relating to
smart growth, water quality and agriculture nutrient regulations.
"The
most shocking thing is that many of the environmental problems and potential
regulations we only talk about in the Midwest are real and foremost in the
Chesapeake Bay area," said Matt Hughes, IALP participant and farmer from
Shirley, Ill.
While
in Maryland, IALP class members were hosted by Perdue Farms and felt honored to
meet with company patriarch and former chairman Frank Perdue. His son, Jim
Perdue, represents the third generation in the family to head the company. The
class toured a broiler operation and Perdue’s grain and oilseed division that
processes 3.7 million tons of poultry feed annually. Perdue’s marketing and
environmental directors shared their emphasis on future markets and the
environmental awareness issues surrounding animal feeding operations. Gary Baise,
Illinois Agricultural Leadership Foundation board member and a Washington, D.C.,
attorney, joined the class on the Perdue tour and reminded the class of the
environmental lobby’s strength in waging lawsuits against agriculture.
[to top of second column in this
article]
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From
Maryland the class traveled to New York, taking in a Broadway musical before
devoting a day to studying the financial markets. Farm Credit Funding
Corporation hosted the class with tours of the New York Mercantile Exchange and
the New York Stock Exchange. Jim Brickley, president and chief executive officer
of the Farm Credit Funding Corp., provided an overview of the vital role their
institutions have in fulfilling the financial needs of production agriculture
operations and agribusinesses.
Senior
analysts from Merrill Lynch and Moody’s Investor Services provided background
on the structure of financial markets and budgets during a time of market unrest
and declining interest rates.
"Receiving
the budget projections from Merrill Lynch comparing the Bush administration, the
congressional budget office and Merrill Lynch was very helpful in comprehending
the many variables that affect budget projections," said Steve Arnold, Kane
County Farm Bureau manager and IALP participant. "It gave me a greater
understanding of how monies are accounted for in the federal budget."
The
seminar concluded with a tour and briefing at the United Nations, where Daniel
Martz, manager of planning and programs for Philip Morris Management Corp.,
discussed world trade and global warming issues.
For more
information about the IALP Class of 2002’s National Travel seminar, visit www.agleadership.org
to view the diary compiled by the class during the seminar.
[News release]
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Honors
& Awards
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Hartem
FFA member wins state award
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[APRIL
5, 2001] Kate
Wrage was named the state winner in the Fruit/Vegetable category at
the recent Proficiency Awards Day judging. After progressing through
an interview, along with a review of her record books, Kate was
selected the state winner and will now represent Illinois at the
national FFA’s regional competition. Daniel Eeten, also of the
Hartem FFA, was chosen as the runner-up in Diversified Crop
Production.
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![](../images/040501pics/ffa%20winner.jpg)
[Ted Uftcus,
state FFA vice-president, and Kate Wrage.]
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