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Clubs that participated and display
sites were Atlanta Town and Country, using a window at the Atlanta
Museum Annex; Chester 4-H, at Abe Lincoln’s General Store in
Lincoln; Cloverdale, Lincoln Red Cross office; Clover Kids, Deron
Powell’s State Farm Insurance in Mount Pulaski; Hartem Clovers,
Hartsburg State Bank; Middletown 4-H’ers, Middletown Junior High;
Millennium Clovers, Heads R Turnin’ in Lincoln; and Wide-A-Wake 4-H,
Action Rentals in Lincoln.
First place went to the Wide-A-Wake 4-H
club for their window display at the Action Rentals store on
Broadway Street in Lincoln. Second place was awarded to Hartem
Clovers for their display at Hartsburg State Bank, and third place
went to Cloverdale for their display at Lincoln’s Red Cross office.
In addition, the 4-H clubs had a poster
contest. Katie Turner, a member of the Hartem Clovers, was chosen as
the winner.
For
additional information about the 4-H program in Logan County,
individuals can contact the Logan County Extension office at
732-8289.
[News
release] |
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As the group traveled to 11 schools,
Meagan presented a program on the many opportunities available in
the FFA. The section officers helped out by sharing their own
experiences and informing the members about various conferences and
activities. After the program, FFA members filled out a goal card,
as Meagan challenged them to set their goals high and strive to
reach them.
A week of chapter visits would not be
complete without Leadership Training School. On Wednesday, Oct. 2,
all of the Greenhand FFA members and chapter officers came together
at Athens High School for a night of learning and fun. The group was
honored to have Mr. Dave Mouser, a motivational speaker and past
state officer, to kick off the night.
Then, the section officer team took the
respective chapter officers into a training session on their duties
as officers. Meagan Wells stayed with the Greenhand members for a
motivational session. As everyone came back together, the section
officer team had a little bit of fun distinguishing the differences
in proper and improper official dress. A meal was served, and then
Meagan Wells gave her keynote address.
The week of
activities filled with chapter visits and leadership training was a
great success. The officers wish all of the FFA members in Section
14 and across the state the best of luck in accomplishing their
goals this year and in the future.
[FFA news release] [to top of
second column in this section] |
[Photos provided by FFA]
[The Hartsburg-Emden
FFA helped the Logan County Sheriff's Department with a bike rodeo
at the Emden School. The Sheriff’s Department explained to the kids
about proper safety when riding a bike on the road.]
[The Hartsburg-Emden
chapter received a visit Monday from section officers and the FFA
state treasurer.]
[Hartsburg-Emden FFA
officers and Greenhands attended Leadership Training School at
Athens High School.] |
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"Strength of demand will be gauged by
the rate of consumption as revealed in weekly, monthly and quarterly
reports and by the development of Southern Hemisphere crops," said
Darrel Good. "These developments will determine if current prices
and current price projections are too high or too low. The prospects
of small year-ending stocks of corn, soybeans and wheat — both in
the United States and the world — may have more implications for
prices next spring and summer than for current prices.
"Unless U.S. crop size is less than
currently projected or demand is much stronger, supplies are
probably large enough to satisfy consumption requirements for this
marketing year at current prices. However, the drawdown in inventory
that is currently expected would leave little or no reserves in case
of a shortfall in production next year. Attention will first focus
on growing conditions in South America and then to prospective
acreage and weather conditions in the United States."
Good’s comments came as he reviewed the
price implications of small carry-over stocks. The USDA projects
that stocks of U.S. corn and wheat at the end of the current year
will be the smallest in seven years. Stocks of soybeans are expected
to be reduced to the lowest level in six years. Based on the
projection of small inventories and on low ratios of projected
stocks to projected consumption, some analysts believe that current
prices are undervalued.
For example, Good noted, the projected
stocks-to-use ratio for corn is 7.5 percent, the lowest since
1995-96 (5 percent), when the U.S. average farm price was $3.24. For
the current year, the USDA projects the average price in a range of
$2.35 to $2.75. For soybeans, the projected stocks-to-use ratio is
about 6 percent, about the same as in 1996-97, when the U.S. average
farm price was $7.35. For the current year, the USDA projects the
average price in a range of $5.15 to $6.05.
"This type of comparison reveals the
shortcomings of the simplistic approach of trying to explain average
prices as a function of year-ending stocks," said Good. "In reality,
consumption, stocks and price are simultaneously determined. Once
crop size is known, maximum consumption during the crop year is
determined, based on the assumption of a minimum level of
year-ending stocks — probably between 4 and 5 percent of ‘normal’
annual consumption of corn and soybeans and about 15 percent for
wheat.
[to top of second column in
this article]
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"The strength of demand, then,
determines the level of price required to match available supplies
with consumption. Strength of demand for U.S. crops is determined by
a number of factors, including the number of livestock being fed,
level of livestock prices, size of crop production in the rest of
the world, exchange rates, processing capacity and price of
processed goods, and U.S. and world economic conditions."
For corn, the current projection of
crop size indicates that if year-ending stocks were reduced to about
5 percent of normal consumption (about 500 million bushels), there
would be about 9.97 billion bushels of U.S. corn available for use
during the current marketing year.
"The largest annual consumption ever
experienced was the 9.817 billion bushels last year," said Good.
"Unless demand is much stronger than currently anticipated, there is
apparently an ample supply of U.S. corn at a ‘modest’ price."
For soybeans, the current U.S.
production forecast suggests that consumption during the current
year would be limited to about 2.724 million bushels if year-ending
stocks were reduced to about 5 percent of "normal" consumption (145
million bushels). That level of consumption is 209 million bushels,
or 7 percent, less than last year’s record consumption. The USDA
expects that consumption will be reduced as a result of higher
prices (an average of $5.15 to $6.05 compared to last year’s average
of $4.35) and weaker demand for U.S. soybeans. Much of the expected
weakness in demand is the result of the projection of a
240-million-bushel increase in South American soybean production in
2003.
For wheat, the USDA crop estimate
suggests that consumption of U.S. wheat during the current marketing
year would be limited to about 2.122 million bushels if year-ending
stocks were reduced to 360 million bushels. That is 47 million (2
percent) less than consumption during the previous year and about
280 million (12 percent) less than the average consumption of about
2.4 billion bushels during the 1990s.
"Demand for
U.S. wheat is expected to remain firm, due in part to unchanged
production in the rest of the world," said Good. "The USDA expects
that the reduction in consumption of U.S. wheat will be accomplished
by higher prices — an average between $3.45 and $4.05 compared to
last year’s average of $2.78."
[U
of I news release]
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