Water Infrastructure Bill Passes Congress

BLOOMINGTON – The U.S. Senate overwhelmingly passed the Water Resources Development Act (WRDA/S. 601) last week, thrilling Illinois farm commodity organizations whose members have worked diligently lobbying for much-needed lock and dam repairs for as long as two decades. Bill Wykes, a soybean producer from Yorkville, is among them.

“Improving and investing in our waterways infrastructure is vital to the Illinois soybean industry. With more than half of our crop exported, Illinois soybean farmers depend on an efficient transportation system to remain competitive in global markets. We have access to many waterways in Illinois, and our ability to get our products quickly and efficiently to market is one of the aspects that sets us apart from competitors,” said Wykes, an Illinois Soybean Association  chairman. Wykes urged the House to pass the bill as soon as possible.

Illinois Corn Growers Association President Paul Taylor, a family farmer from Esmond, was also pleased with the Senate vote of 83-14 for WRDA passage. He called the action a “huge step” toward construction of new locks and dams on the Illinois and upper Mississippi rivers. “Overall, WRDA gets us headed down the right path. With it we’d see a re-prioritization of funding with the federalization of the Olmsted (dam) project. We’d also see a more responsive system in times of extreme weather events to answer navigation concerns. We’re looking forward to enhanced public-private partnerships,” said Taylor. “We look forward to the House fully considering waterways legislation, and especially to the opportunity for an expanded funding mechanism for improving locks and dams by putting in place an increase in the barge fuel tax.” (ISA, ICGA news releases)

House Ag Committee Approves Farm Bill

BLOOMINGTON – It was Christmas in May for Illinois farm commodity organizations when, one day following the Senate’s passage of the WRDA, The House Committee on Agriculture passed their version of a 2013 Farm Bill (HR 1947), known as the Federal Agriculture Reform and Risk Management (FARRM) Act. “We’re pleased…that we’re one step farther down the path to new farm legislation for 2013 with the House Ag Committee’s passage of HR 1947,” said Paul Taylor, president of the Illinois Corn Growers Association. “We appreciate the Committee’s acknowledgement of the role crop insurance plays in the business and longevity of family farms. The drought of 2012 perfectly illustrated that without such voluntary programs in place, many families may not have been able to stay in business as farmers.”

But Taylor cautioned that fixed-target-price provisions in the legislation are of concern. “Such a program could definitely lead to government policy-influenced planting decisions rather than farmers taking direction from the market,” he said. ‘We look forward to full House consideration of the FARRM Bill and later the conference process with a Senate passed version.”

Illinois soybean farmers also feel the House Ag Committee bill falls short in addressing planting flexibility and market orientation, said Bill Wykes, ISA chairman. “Illinois soybean farmers support the Senate’s Agricultural Risk Coverage (ARC) program. However, the House wanted a ‘recoupled’ target price program (Price Loss Coverage) with much higher support levels. This could renew problems of the 1980s and early 1990s, when farmer planting decisions were influenced by the prospect of receiving government payments when prices fell,” Wykes stated. “We would like to see any price-based program be decoupled. We do not oppose a revenue-based program or updating planting acres, but we don’t want to distract from the fundamental need to maintain planting flexibility and market-orientation in the farm bill.” (ISA, ICGA news releases)

Senate Farm Bill Earns Praise From ISA

BLOOMINGTON – In stark contrast to his comments regarding the House Ag Committee’s version of the 2013 Farm Bill, Illinois Soybean Association Director Bill Wykes said a version of the farm bill passed by the Senate’s Committee on Agriculture will help keep planting decisions squarely in the hands of farmers. Among the key provisions is a price-based Adverse Market Program which sets target prices at a percentage of recent average prices and updates support levels annually.

“From a national perspective, by agreeing to support a decoupled, market-oriented approach to price protection, the committee has resolved a philosophical difference between farm groups on how to keep government farm programs from distorting planting decisions. This has helped unite all major U.S. crop production regions behind one approach,” said Wykes, who urged the full Senate to quickly approve the Agriculture Reform, Food and Jobs Act of 2013, the committee’s version of the new farm bill. (ISA news release)

Livestock, Poultry Figures Announced

SPRINGFIELD – Total gross income for Illinois producers from cattle and calves and hogs and pigs’ marketings decreased slightly from $2.066 billion in 2011 to $2.060 billion in 2012, according to the May 13 USDA-NASS Illinois Farm Report. Cattle and calves gross income decreased nine percent while hogs and pigs increased three percent. 2,060,235 thousand pounds of hogs and pigs were marketed during the year in Illinois, along with 436,920,000 lbs. of cattle and calves.

In addition, the combined value of production in Illinois from eggs and chickens totaled nearly $86.3 million in 2012, with the value of egg production rising five percent to $86 million. Chicken sales were down to $130,000 in 2012 compared to $158,000 the previous year, the report stated.

USDA Land Use Study Coming

SPRINGFIELD – Thousands of farmers across the state will be polled by USDA’s National Agricultural Statistics Service (NASS) in early June to assess the production and supply of major commodities for 2013, the NASS-Illinois Field Office announced on May 17. The June Agricultural Survey and June Area Survey will gather data on what crops have been planted and what commodities are in storage, according to Mark Schleusener, state statistician for NASS. “This information is a critical component of several key national reports, including the annual Acreage report and the quarterly Grain Stocks Report, both to be released on June 28,” Schleusener said in a statement. “Survey data also contribute to NASS’ monthly and annual Crop Production reports and various other crop and livestock-related publications.”

Illinois Farm Fact:

Hay stocks in Illinois on May 1 were at 155,000 tons, the lowest level since records have been kept for that statistic. (NASS-Illinois Field Office)

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