R. F. D. News & Views, May 7, 2014

2012 Ag Census Reveals Illinois Data

SPRINGFIELD – The USDA’s final 2012 Census of Agriculture, released last week, showed the following key data items for Illinois:

1) Illinois farmers and ranchers sold more than 17 billion dollars of crops and livestock in 2012.

2) Women are the principal operators of 6,891 farms, comprising 843,244 acres.

3) The value of land and buildings on all Illinois farms exceeds $169 billion.

4) Of the 75,087 principal farm operators in Illinois, 63,645 of them have been operating for 10 years or more.

“The 2012 Census of Agriculture provides a wide range of demographic, economic, land, and crop and livestock production information as well as first-time or expanded data,” said Mark Schleusener, Illinois State Statistician for USDA’s National Agricultural Statistics Service (NASS). “Many of these data about Illinois and our counties are only collected and reported as part of the every-five-year census.”

The census revealed that Illinois producers operated 75,087 farms during 2012, of which 49 percent grew corn, 46 percent grew soybeans and nine percent grew wheat. In addition, three percent raised hogs, 22 percent held cattle and two percent raised milk cows. NASS has created new online tools for farmers and others to find and use census data, including Quick Stats 2.0, an online database to retrieve customized tables, and Agricultural Atlas Maps that produce county-level profiles of the nation’s agriculture. For more information about the census and NASS’ new online tools, visit www.agcensus.usda.gov.  


Iowa State, USDA Studies Offer Disaster Prep Advice

PEORIA – It’s no secret that tornadic activity in the Midwest has been on an uptick in recent years. Failure to establish an emergency preparedness plan could not only place family members in grave danger, but also jeopardize the health and safety of farm animals, crops and the local rural economy, according to the editors of “All-Hazards Preparedness for Rural Communities,” a guide to help rural agricultural communities prepare for threats to their families, farms, animals and businesses published by the Center for Food Security and Public Health at Iowa State University. 

“Any incident involving agricultural communities, whether naturally occurring or man-made, accidental or intentional, will greatly impact the individuals, farms and businesses in these affected areas as well as impact local, state and national economies,” writes Glenda Dorvac, DVM, MPH, DACVPM and Brittany Williamson, BS, in the preface to the preparedness guide, which was first issued in 2010. “Rural communities need to prepare for these hazardous events, in efforts to prevent or minimize the impact on human and animal health as well as animal and crop production.”

The guide includes sections on general preparedness plans for crops, livestock and businesses. Dorvac and Williamson’s report (data downloadable at www.Prep4AgThreats.org), includes a printable farm emergency contact ledger to record contact information for emergency services, disaster assistance agencies, insurance agents as well as farm-specific contact information for extension services, the farm’s veterinarian, livestock shipper, grain hauler, fuel supplier, milk hauler and other key farm sources.


Nutrient Council Lists 2014 Subject Areas

BLOOMINGTON – The Illinois Nutrient Research and Education Council (NREC) released their 2013 annual report summarizing the nutrient research and outreach efforts during their first year in existence, along with a summary of their 2014 projects. A total of $2,558,750.09 will be invested by NREC to fund 15 research and outreach projects designed to minimize the environmental impact of farm chemicals, optimize harvest yield and maximize nutrient utilization.

NREC’s local projects for 2014 include a field-scale comparison of nitrogen (N) efficiency within conventional and alternative management systems to be conducted at Illinois State University’s Discovery Farm outside Lexington. ISU’s Dr. Shalamar Armstrong will lead a team which will evaluate N management practices including the impact of cover crops on nutrient loss and yield for NREC.

Cover crops will also be the focus of an NREC project slated for Money Creek in McLean County, where Armstrong and ISU colleague Dr. Catherine O’Reilly will monitor the effects of cover crops on surface water quality. The project will utilize two paired 300 acre sub-watersheds that drain into the creek. Information being collected from ag chemical retailers on timing and rates of farmer applications of nutrients to their fields will also be analyzed and correlated through NREC funding this year, the council announced. The U.S. EPA is requiring that many states, including Illinois, formally adopt a nutrient management strategy to reduce nutrient losses from crop fields by 45 percent, according to the Illinois Fertilizer and Chemical Association, an NREC member.


Planting Delays to Affect Corn Acreage?

URBANA – Corn planting intentions could fall short in some areas of Illinois if rainy and cold weather persists into May, University of Illinois at Urbana agricultural economist Darrel Good stated in an April 18  farmdocdaily.com mailing.

“The corn market continues to be influenced by two major fundamental factors. One is the ongoing high rate of consumption, particularly the magnitude of export sales. Export commitments as of April 17 accounted for 97 percent of USDA’s projection of exports for the year that has just over 19 weeks remaining. The major concern is that 38 percent of those sales have not yet been shipped and could be subject to cancellation or rolling into the next marketing year. The second factor is the slow start to the planting season. Only six percent of the acreage in the 18 major corn producing states was reported as planted as of April 20,” Good wrote, adding that unless corn prices continue their ascent some farmers could forego late-planted corn for more soybeans.

“Without a more favorable corn price response…it would not be surprising for acreage to fall short of intentions, particularly in northern growing areas. Yield prospects will be up in the air until later in the season,” Good concluded.

 

Illinois Farm Fact:

In terms of value of sales by commodity, in 2012 Illinois was second in the nation in corn and soybeans, fourth in hogs, 16th in wheat, 18th in cattle and 21st in milk values. (USDA 2012 Census of Agriculture)


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