Illinois Ag Groups Demand Farm Bill

BLOOMINGTON – The Illinois Farm Bureau, Ill. Soybean Assoc. and Ill. Corn Growers Assoc. (ICGA) spent the post-election week rallying their members to remind their elected officials that they must pass a farm bill when they return to the Capitol. A toll-free number was circulated for the purpose of contacting the U.S. House of Representatives switchboard. That number is 888-WHY-CORN; ask the operator for your congressional office.

“Most political watchers believe that with President Obama’s re-election comes a better shot at passing a farm bill during the Lame Duck session of Congress. Most peg the chances at 50/50. Farmers need to pick up the phone and call their member of Congress and say you want a farm bill now,” reads a social message sent to ICGA members on November 7, in part. “According to some, enough pressure from farm country could mean that we save parts of the farm bill, including some crop insurance funding, that will undoubtedly be lost if the new legislation gets pushed to 2013 or even 2014.”
Though the Senate passed their version of the 2012 Farm Bill months ago, the House failed to approve a farm bill before recessing for the election drive. Key to holding up the House bill were deep divisions on cuts to “entitlements” such as SNAP (food stamps) and funding for crop insurance and conservation programs. Agriculture Online’s Daniel Looker reported on election day: “House Agriculture Committee Chairman Frank Lucas (R-OK) still wants to pass a farm bill in the lame duck session of Congress after the election, but it could be pushed into 2013, he said shortly before voting began. if that happens, he expects deeper cuts.”
ICGA agreed, stating: “Too much hangs in the balance to hand farm bill work off to the new Congress. Wearing an especially large target is the crop insurance program. If this pushes into 2013, the plans for sequestration will mean immediate and large cuts to crop insurance, along with other programs.”

Sandy, Nor’easter Spares Most Crops
WASHINGTON, D.C. – After a nor’easter storm brought additional rain, snow and high winds to much of the Mid-Atlantic coastal area on the heels of Superstorm Sandy’s aftermath, many agriculturists were left wondering how much more the region’s unharvested crops could withstand. It appears that much like Sandy, the nor’easter has spared acres of cropland from catastrophic weather.
Brad Rippey, USDA meteorologist, said that beyond the coastal areas he didn’t expect “many agricultural impacts” from the nor’easter. “Rainfall may aggravate wet conditions but should not cause any renewed flooding,” Rippey said on November 7. “Some of the most dire reports came from Maryland and Delaware, which bore the brunt of heavy rain and also had some significant wind.”
Just 55 percent of soybeans had been harvested in those states when Sandy hit on October 28, though the harvest plodded ahead in coming days to 66 percent complete in Delaware and 60 percent harvested in Maryland. Most corn in Mid-Atlantic states had been harvested prior to Sandy’s arrival, and any standing corn planted inland was generally unaffected by high winds, Rippey said. Dry weather in the days prior to the storms minimized long-term effects on cotton fields in Virginia and North Carolina, while orchard trees in the Appalachian highlands received damage from high winds and heavy, wet snow, according to Rippey.

Corn at 64 % of 2011 Production
SPRINGFIELD – Illinois farms will harvest just 1.25 billion bushels of corn in 2012, according to the USDA-NASS November Crop Production Report, issued November 9 by the NASS-Illinois field Office and Ill. Dept. of Agriculture. That total production figure– though upgraded from the October 1 forecast– is just 64 percent of the total 2011 production, according to the report. the corn for grain yield was estimated at 101 bushels per acre.
Soybean yields were projected at 43 bu./acre, up four bu. from the October forecast. Total production is expected to reach 378 million bushels, down from 2011 total production by around 11 percent.
A breakdown of the report shows that central Illinois corn production is expected to fall to 197,163,000 bu. in 2012, compared to 290,174,000 bu. in 2011. Total soybean production fared better in central Illinois, slipping to 59,026,000 bu. in 2012 from 60,772,000 the previous year.

OSHA Checks Farmer’s NH3 Handling
BLOOMINGTON – The Illinois Fertilizer & Chemical Association (IFCA) issued a Regulatory Alert to its members last week advising them that a farmer in northern Illinois was recently approached in his field by an OSHA inspector curious about the farmer’s handling of his NH3 (liquid nitrogen) tanks. The farmer, who was applying anhydrous ammonia, was not wearing gloves and goggles as he was hooking a full nurse tank to the toolbar and was observed by the inspector. The farmer was admonished about the breach of safety protocol and allowed to continue with his work.
“Not only is wearing proper personal protective equipment an OSHA requirement, Illinois Department of Agriculture rules…state anyone making or breaking an ammonia connection must wear gloves and goggles,” the IFCA wrote in its advisory.

Illinois Farm Fact:
As of November 4, 99 percent of central Illinois’ corn had been harvested, along with 96 percent of soybeans. Topsoil moisture was reported at 90 percent adequate. (NASS-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.)