Farmers Represented at Legislative Day

SPRINGFIELD – Illinois farmers and farm supply dealers were well represented at the state capitol during the annual Illinois Legislative Day held March 25 in Springfield. The Illinois Beef Association and Illinois Pork Producers Association (IPPA) were among the Illinois ag commodity groups representing farmers’ interests. The two closely-aligned organizations hosted a reception and march to the capitol to speak directly with legislators about items of concern to their members.

“The pork industry continues to face numerous legislative challenges in Illinois,” said Jim Kaitschuk, IPPA executive director. “HB 5637 has been introduced by anti-ag groups that would severely impact livestock farmers’ ability to make changes to their farms in the future. If this bill were to pass in its current form, it would essentially be a moratorium on any future livestock farms in Illinois. To effectively address these and other current issues, we must provide the pork producers’ perspective.”

The Illinois Fertilizer and Chemical Association (IFCA) also had causes and concerns to bring to the capitol on Legislative Day. “IFCA is actively representing our members at the Illinois State Capitol on many issues,” stated IFCA president Jean Payne, in an Items of Interest bulletin to members a few days prior to Legislative Day. “Several bills of critical interest to our members include a proposal to raise Tier 2 reporting fees from $0 currently to $450 for ag retailers, a bill to require foods sold in Illinois that contain genetically modified ingredients to be labeled as containing GMO, and a bill to usurp the Illinois Department of Agriculture’s authority to oversee pesticide regulation in Cook County for any municipality with a population over 50,000.” (IPPA, IFCA news)

Study: Illinois Soybean Oil, Protein Levels Up

PEORIA – Though scientists can’t pinpoint the exact causes of oil and protein content fluctuations in soybeans, an improvement in both over Illinois’ 2012 soybean crop could put up to 24 cents more per bushel into farmers’ pockets, according to Bill Raben, director of the Illinois Soybean Association (ISA). During the ISA’s 2014 Illinois Soybean Summit in Peoria on March 7, Raben discussed the importance of soybean protein and oil values to a farmer’s bottom line.

“Protein and oil levels in Illinois and the U.S. have been trending down the past ten years. The processors and importers are starting to ask for a little bit more for their money,” said Raben.

Raben and the ISA are encouraging growers to seek out seed varieties that produce soybeans with a higher processing value, rather than considering higher total yields as their top criteria.

“There are soybean varieties out there that yield just as well, but have higher protein and oil values. As farmers we need to talk to our seed dealers and ask for these varieties,” he said. “Will that turn things around overnight? Probably not. It will be a long-term process letting farmers know there is a problem, and that there is a way to solve it. If we talk loudly enough to the seed companies, they’ll invest some time and dollars in trying to improve protein and oil levels in beans.”

To learn more about how soybean composition affects farmer profits, visit www.ilsoy.org/composition.

Illinois Farmer Vacates NCGA CEO Job

ST. LOUIS – The National Corn Growers Association announced last week that Illinois farmer Rick Tolman will resign his post as NCGA chief executive officer at the end of September.

“Rick has been a tireless advocate for corn farmers and our organization,” said NCGA President Martin Barbre in a prepared statement. “However, Rick told us– as much as he loves representing our way of life– he is ready to spend more time with his wife, Linda, and their five children and eight grandchildren, and other pursuits. As he said it, we all put off things until ‘someday’ and, for him, ‘someday’ has finally come, after 14 years of service to our organization and a 37-year career in agriculture.

“We all want to leave things better than we found them, and Rick can certainly be proud of his legacy at NCGA. While this year will be one of transition, it will not be one of turmoil. Rick Tolman will be our CEO until Sept. 30.”

CornBelters Announce Promotional Schedule

NORMAL – The Normal CornBelters Frontier League baseball club, presented by Illinois Corn Farmers, have announced their individual game promotions schedule for the 2014 season. Once again, agriculture-themed promotions will abound at the Corn Crib during the summer.

“We’re really excited about all of our promotions this season, and we know our fans will be too,” said CornBelters GM Kyle Kreger. “Our weekly promotions are some of the best I’ve seen, and our individual night promotions supplement them very well. As we head into our fifth anniversary season, there’s no better time to be a fan of CornBelters baseball.”

In addition to the team’s nightly, corn-themed promotions, special ag nights are set for June 13 (4-H Night), July 23 (Eat Pork Night) and August 23 (Eat Beef Night). Pork and beef nights will feature food samples and special pricing on pork and beef concession products, and will be sponsored by the Ill. Pork Producers Assoc. and Illinois Beef Assoc., respectively.

In addition, Washington Tornado Relief Night will be held June 7. The 2014 season begins with first pitch at the Corn Crib on Friday, May 16 against the Evansville Otters. For more information on promotional nights or tickets, contact Brendan O’Neil at (309) 451-3433. (Normal CornBelters news release)

Illinois Farm Fact:

Focusing on ethanol co-products, during the week of March 10-16, ethanol producers were using 13.510 million bushels of corn to produce ethanol and 99,438 metric tons of livestock feed, 88,650 metric tons of which were distiller’s grains. The rest is comprised of corn gluten feed and corn gluten meal. Additionally, ethanol producers were providing 4.64 million pounds of corn oil daily. (Illinois Corn/EIA data)

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