2018 Spring Farm

2018 Logan County Farm Outlook Magazine LINCOLN DAILY NEWS March 22, 2018 Page 5 result is things have gotten very tight on local farms. This remains very important since the economic impact on Logan County is huge. Using 2017 production, and prices around the first of March, corn and soybeans produced in Logan County were worth roughly $238 million. Many items being discussed by the government officials in the state and national capitols will also affect profitability for the agriculture sector. The NAFTA agreement is being reviewed, and will possibly be renegotiated. NAFTA stands for the North American Free Trade Agreement, and means exactly what it says. The free flow of agricultural products from our country, into others, has helped boost an export market, which in turn helps bolster commodity prices. The Waters of the United States, better known as WOTUS, is another item which could reduce regulation, compliance, and enforcement costs if repealed or enforced at the level of major streams only. Changes to NAFTA are viewed as negative toward agriculture, while repeal or reduction of scope for WOTUS would be reviewed as positive. Our area of the state is most suited to the row crop production of corn and soybeans. This is a double-edged sword as yields have dramatically increased, and the monoculture production has produced herbicide resistant weeds. New tools for combatting these resistant weeds have arrived, but not without some contentious moments. Dicamba tolerant soybeans provide an option for controlling most of these herbicide resistant or tolerant weeds, but the use of dicamba has produced damage in areas surrounding treated fields due to vapor drift. In an effort to minimize off-site damage, additional training is now required in Illinois for applicators applying dicamba. The judicious use of the product will maintain its viability as a herbicide, and minimize its effects on surrounding fields and residential areas. Dicamba has been used in corn fields for many years, but application timing has limited the injury potential on sensitive crops and ornamentals. Application to soybean fields is traditionally much later in the growing season, and increases damage potential dramatically. Registration and restriction imposed on application at the state and national levels will greatly affect weed control options in the near future. One non-traditional source of farming has been alternative energy farms. Logan County currently has one wind farm online, with a second slated to begin construction shortly. Contacts continue to be made in the area for additional wind farms, and recently for solar Continue 8