R. F. D. News & Views, December 11, 2013

Corn Growers Take RFS Fight On Road

BLOOMINGTON – The EPA’s proposed volume obligations for the 2014 Renewable Fuels Standard (RFS) will result in a 10 percent cut to the amount of corn ethanol produced in the U.S., affecting rural economies and corn prices, according to the Illinois Corn Growers Association (ICGA). ICGA took that message to a hearing outside Washington, DC last week when new president Gary Hudson and vice president Kenny Hartman joined Steffen Mueller, a researcher with the University of Illinois-Chicago and John Caupert, CEO of the National Corn to Ethanol Research Center, to share the proposed ruling’s potential impact on rural economies and businesses in Illinois.

“In 2012, during the worst drought I’ve ever experienced, I raised 78 bushels of corn per acre. Yet, the ethanol plants around me continued to run and still produced enough ethanol to help our country meet the requirement in 2013, 13.8 billion gallons,” said Hartman, a farmer from Waterloo, to the hearing panel. “This year I produced an average of 160 bu./acre and my prices based on December futures are around $4, which is below my cost of production. Why now, when I have a record yield and the USDA predicts bushels and bushels of corn to spare, would we consider reducing the ethanol requirement, resulting in a massive surplus of corn and one less market for my crop?”


Accident Spotlights Need For Anhydrous Education

BLOOMINGTON – Anhydrous ammonia safety– especially when transporting the dangerous fertilizer– was thrust into the public spotlight following the severe burning of a man in an ammonia accident in northern Peoria County last week. At press time, the driver of the pickup pulling two ammonia tanks that tipped onto their sides near the intersections of routes 40 and 90 near Edelstein was listed in critical condition at the burn unit in Springfield. Our thoughts and prayers are with him and his family.

The accident compelled the Illinois Chemical and Fertilizer Association (IFCA) to urge ammonia retailers to increase their focus on customer safety. “IFCA was contacted by several media organizations and we have stressed the availability of the online ammonia training program developed for farmers, which covers all aspects of ammonia properties, transportation, handling, emergency response and first aid. It is available on our website (www.ifca.com),” IFCA stated in an advisory to member companies.

“During the winter season, please encourage your farmer-customers to go through the program; it will even print them a certificate of completion at the end. Ammonia safety is the responsibility of everyone involved in the product chain and with proper training, we believe many of these accidents can and should be prevented.”


Ag Leaders Call For Rural Road Upgrades

NORMAL – During the recent Illinois Commodity Conference, Illinois state agriculture commodity association leaders called for increased pressure on state and federal legislators for infrastructure upgrades to Illinois’ rural roads and bridges. “We can’t just restore an old Chevy and put it back on the road again. We’ve got to not only rebuild (rural infrastructure), we’ve got to expand,” said Jim Reed, a district director for the Illinois Corn Growers Association (ICGA), during a roundtable discussion at the Nov. 26 conference in downtown Normal. “We need more capacity. We’ve got to build for the future.”

The delivery of live animals raises the bar on the need to improve rural roadways, according to Alan Adams, president of the Illinois Beef Association. “We’re transporting live animals on Illinois’ crumbling roads,” said Adams, who operates a feedlot and small commercial cow herd and grows corn and soybeans in LaSalle County with his wife, JoAnn. “We are actually adding 40 miles to transport to one of the processing plants because of the poor roads that are between us and the plant. These kinds of things are things we have to work at the state level and just demand that roads and structures start to be improved.”

Added Illinois Soybean Association director Bill Raben: “The first challenge we have when we harvest our crop is to get from the field to the elevator. Local communities are looking at alternative ways to finance (road) projects. The ISA has brought this to the limelight by talking about a public-private means of financing such projects,” said Raben, a farmer from Ridgway. “We can’t wait until it’s too late.”


Proposed Law Waives ATV Fee For Farmers

PEORIA – State Senator David Koehler (D-Peoria) has introduced a bill that would waive registration fees for all-terrain vehicles (ATVs) for farmers, people with disabilities and those using golf carts, among other exemptions. Senate Bill 2633 also cuts the current registration fee of $15 for ATVs to $10 for vehicles with 75 cc or smaller engines, which are normally used by children. In addition, the legislation directs the Illinois Department of Natural Resources (IDNR) to develop and maintain ATV trails on state property with some of the money generated from ATV registrations.

“(IDNR) plays a vital role in keeping state parks and wildlife areas open for Illinois families, and we need to make sure it has adequate funding,” Koehler said in a news release. “But the 2012 law asked too much of ATV owners. We need to fix this problem.”

When ATV owners pay registration fees, they should be getting something in return, Koehler continued. “New, improved, better maintained ATV trails will be a great family-friendly resource that should help raise the profile of Illinois’ state parks.” (Koehler news release)


Moore Elected to ASA Executive Board

BLOOMINGTON – Illinois Soybean Association (ISA) at-large director and Roseville farmer Ron Moore was elected to the American Soybean Assoc. (ASA) executive committee as one of four vice presidents, ISA announced December 5. “I look forward to working with other national leaders to improve our profitability and to advocate on key issues in Washington, DC,” Moore said. (ISA news release)


Illinois Farm Fact:

For 2014, the EPA has proposed a 1.4 billion gallon reduction in how much corn ethanol will be required under the RFS. (Illinois Corn)


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