Forecast: Record High Illinois Crop Yields

SPRINGFIELD – Record yields are forthcoming in both corn and soybean harvests this year, according to the latest Illinois Crop Production report issued by the USDA-NASS Illinois Field Office. Though planted areas for corn remain steady from last year’s estimate of 12 million acres, and harvested areas likewise remain unchanged from 2013’ 11.8 million acres, the corn yield is estimated at 188 bushels per acre– up 10 bushels from last year. This would represent a record high yield in Illinois, besting the 180 bu./acre mark set in 2004.

The soybean yield in Illinois is projected to be 54 bu./acre, up five bushels from last year’s state record-setting and country-leading yield. Production is estimated at 543 million bushels, also a record high yield if realized, according to the August 12 report.

We witnessed a farmer at the August 14 Agronomy Day at the University of Illinois refer to the latest USDA crop estimates as “a nightmare” concerning impending crop price adjustments.

Illinois Farm Real Estate Values Set Record

URBANA – Despite increasing declines in percentage changes since 2009, Illinois farm real estate values continued to increase during 2014, according to a University of Illinois farmdocdaily.com report. The report, issued by Bradley L. Zwilling of the U of I Department of agricultural and Consumer Economics concluded the average real estate value for Illinois farmland in 2014 was $7,520 per acre, the highest on record. Zwilling’s estimates are based on surveys of farmers from selected geographical areas.

“The 2014 increase continues the upward trend of Illinois farm real estate values,” Zwilling concluded. “It is the first single digit increase following three years in a row of at least 14 percent increases. Illinois farm real estate values have increased 59 percent in five years and 134 percent in 10 years.”

Recent surveys from the Federal Reserve provide mixed indications on the likely future of farmland prices, according to Todd H. Kuethe, clinical assistant professor of land economics for the U of I Dept. of ACES. At the U of I’s recent Agronomy Day, Kuethe said the Chicago Fed suggests that first-quarter farmland prices were one percent higher than the previous year, but the price of “good” quality farmland had fallen equally. While there are some indications that cropland prices have softened and some investors are concerned about a 1980s-style decline in real estate values, Kuethe said the expected income is still above the long-term average.

ISA Leads D.C. Biotech Seed Talk

WASHINGTON, D.C. – The Illinois Soybean Association’s (ISA) communications director, Amy Roady, issued an Aug. 13 news release from the nation’s capitol, where ISA officials joined with the American Soybean Assoc. (ASA) to host the “D.C. Biotechnology Roundtable.” More than 100 farmers, researchers, ag leaders and federal officials gathered to discuss the benefits of ag technology, including acceleration of government approval of biotech seed for soybeans and other crops.

“It is critical that agriculture let policymakers and regulators in Washington know how much farmers need biotechnology to sustainably produce food for the world’s population,” noted Bill Raben, ISA chairman from Ridgway. “Scientists and regulatory agencies have established that agriculture biotechnology is safe for humans, animals and the environment. It is crucial science that helps farmers enhance the yields and quality of soybeans and other crops.”

A panel of farmers speaking at the event included ISA-ASA representative Ron Moore, along with officials with the National Corn Growers Assoc., National Assoc. of Wheat Growers, and others. The farmers emphasized that biotechnology should be viewed as a viable choice for producers and consumers who see its benefits.

New Salem Gardens in Full Bloom

PETERSBURG – The pioneer vegetable gardens at Lincoln’s New Salem State Historic Site in central Illinois are currently ripe with fruit and flowers and are in full bloom. The beautiful gardens, which boast dozens of heirloom vegetables, medicinal plants, herbs, prairie plants and flowers and products such as tobacco, cotton and broom corn, are lovingly maintained by a small, core group of Illinois State Historic Agency employees and a larger contingent of volunteers supported by the non-profit New Salem Lincoln League. Some of the gardens’ spoils were harvested– and some of the vegetables consumed– during a special “Pioneer Gardening at New Salem” event held on Saturday, August 16.

“The gardens are a very big part of bringing New Salem to life for visitors,” said Tim Guinan, site manager for New Salem, which is located 20 miles northwest of Springfield and two miles south of Petersburg on the Sangamon River. “Without the volunteers our gardens would not be in the outstanding shape that they are. They take numerous hours and a lot of work to maintain, and we only work the gardens when visitors aren’t present,” Guinan added that his wife, Lisa, spends 150 to 180 hours per year in New Salem’s lush vegetable gardens. Another volunteer is equally dedicated to nurturing the native wildflower gardens and other prairie plants seen at New Salem. Vegetables and other items grown at New Salem include Cherokee purple tomatoes, salsify, burgundy okra, cabbage, potatoes, kale, chard, beets, turnips, and more, as well as squash and melons. “People come out to learn about our heirloom varietals and different crops,” Guinan said. “A lot of people who come from the inner city aren’t really familiar with some of the plants, and are fascinated that we grow them and don’t buy them in the store.”

Illinois Farm Fact:

There has been a 30 percent crash in average cash corn in the last 90 days. (8-15-14, Illinois Corn– J. Lehnertz, v.p. of lending for AgriBank.)

(Tim Alexander is a freelance reporter who writes agriculture, news and feature articles for the News Bulletin, Farm World and many other publications.)