Yield Survey Provides Vital Forecast Data

SPRINGFIELD – Estimating the volume of corn and soybeans harvested in 2013 is the purpose of the USDA-National Agricultural Statistics Service (NASS) Objective Yield Survey, consisting of data from 280 sample plots of corn and 230 sample plots of soybeans randomly selected from across the state. Each month until plants reach maturity, enumerators measure and count plants and ears of corn and bean pods, according to NASS-Illinois Field Office state statistician Mark Schleusener.

“Information collected during the Objective Yield Survey is used to set monthly yield forecasts that have a far-ranging effect on agriculture and agriculture related industries,” he said. “Farmers, buyers, processors and grain handling industries rely on unbiased and accurate predictions of supply to make informed decisions concerning marketing, product access and transportation.”

The first field forecast of corn and soybean production will be available on August 12. R.F.D. News & Views will publish highlights of the report in this column. (NASS-Illinois Field Office news release)

Effort to Decouple SNAP From Farm Bill Underway

BLOOMINGTON – After failing to pass a farm bill, reports from the U.S. House of Representatives indicate some lawmakers are launching an effort to decouple SNAP– the controversial food stamp program dividing the House– from the farm bill, originally created by FDR’s “New Deal” in 1933 as the Agricultural Adjustment Act. Last week, Illinois Corn joined the chorus of state and national farm organizations in condemning the effort to decouple food stamps and farm policy. But many Americans are asking: why are food stamps and farm policy contained in the same comprehensive bill anyway?

Illinois Corn’s project coordinator, Lindsey Mitchell, posted on her blog some answers to that question for farmers to refer to when interacting with non-farming neighbors and family members about the topic. “For starters, the two concepts aren’t as far removed as you might think. The food stamp program is to provide food security for families that struggle to provide for themselves. The Farm Bill is to provide food security for our nation so that we don’t have to import food from other countries,” Mitchell writes, in part.

Garry Niemeyer, board chairman of the National Corn Growers Association and a farmer from Auburn, told this column last week that separating SNAP from the farm bill would be such a logistic nightmare that he doubts final versions could ever be ironed out in their legislative committee stages. More of Mitchell’s comments can be read on her blog, accessible through www.ilcorn.org.

Corn, Beans Taking Shape in Central Illinois

BRIMFIELD – Though many farmers had second corn plantings wiped out by intense rainfall in scattered regions of Illinois, most are still optimistic for a profitable 2013 as corn and soybean growth improves and plants begin to shape up in appearance.

“We had a few drowned out spots– about ten acres or less– that we replanted and got drowned out again,” said Rob Asbell, who farms in the Brimfield area of Peoria County, of his corn crop. “(But) I would say 90 to 95 percent is looking very good. We have some very, very good looking corn starting to tassel. We have later (corn) planted the second week of May that is probably (growth stage) V5 to V7, so it’s looking pretty good too. Some of our corn is shoulder high already, so we’re in pretty good shape.”

As for soybean growth, Asbell planted 900 acres on May 13 before being shut out of the field due to excessive rainfall and wet conditions for around one month. Those first beans are “looking very good and almost ready to flower,” said Asbell. Though later soybean plantings are not looking quite as robust, Asbell said he’s still optimistic about their chances to flourish– if only Mother Nature would smile upon the remainder of the growing season.

District Corn & Soybean Acreage Released

SPRINGFIELD – We reported in June that corn planted in Illinois in 2013 had been estimated at 12.2 million acres– along with a projected 9.4 million acres of soybeans– by the USDA-NASS in their Prospective Plantings Report. The estimates represented a loss of 600,000 acres of corn plantings from 2012 and a gain of 350,000 acres of soybeans. Taking the projections one step further, the USDA’s July 1 Illinois Farm Report provided a breakdown of projected corn and soybean acreage by districts for 2013 along with comparisons to 2012’s numbers.

In the central district of Illinois, farmers planted an estimated 1,710,000 acres of corn, up 5,000 acres from 2012. In soybeans, farmers planted or will plant 1,200,000 acres compared to 1,156,000 during 2012. Acres planted in corn in central Illinois are the second highest in the state, trailing only the west-southwest district (1,720,000 acres). Acres planted in soybeans in central Illinois are the fourth highest in the state by district.

The district posting the biggest loss in corn acreage is the northwest, which saw its projected corn acreage fall to 1,190,000 acres this year from 2,154,000 acres in 2012– the highest in the state. The northwest district’s soybean acreage estimate sprung from 849,000 planted acres last year to 1,000,000 acres in 2013. Both numbers can presumably be credited to the prolonged wet spring that compelled many farmers in the region to forego corn acreage for soybeans due to time constraints.

Illinois Farm Fact:

Central Illinois topsoil moisture is estimated as 85 percent adequate and 11 percent surplus, as are central Illinois subsoil moisture levels. (USDA-NASS July 1 Illinois Weather & Crops Report)

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