by Tim Alexander

Free Webinars Examine Farm Bill Choices

URBANA – An Oct. 3 webinar on farm bill decision aids and programs sponsored by the University of Illinois Department of Agricultural and Consumer Economics (ACES) was attended by around 450 farmers eager to learn more about the three sets of decisions they will soon make for each Farm Service Agency (FSA) farm, including expected deadlines. The farmers also registered for the webinar to receive guidance on how to navigate the Dept. of ACES’ new Farm Bill Toolbox, developed this summer through a USDA grant.

During the hour long webinar, Jonathan Coppess, clinical assistant professor for the Dept. of ACES, and Nick Paulson, ACES’ associate professor, described the seven step process outlined in the Farm Bill Toolbox for making crucial decisions on program yield updating and program acre reallocations, before selecting a program choice  between Agricultural Risk Coverage– County (ARC-CO), Price Loss Coverage (PLC) and ARC individual coverage for each FSA farm. Those steps include the collecting of information, the decision whether to maintain or update yields, the decision whether to keep or reallocate base acres, comparing ARC-CO and PLC, considering ARC individual coverage, considering SCO and navigating the signup process.

The Oct. 3 webinar is archived on the farmdoc website. More Dept. of ACES farm bill decision webinars will be offered live each Friday morning from 8-9 a.m. “through harvest,” according to Coppess. For a full schedule of ACES’ webinars, and to register, visit www.farmdoc.illinois.edu/webinars.

Harvest Transportation Concerns Farmer 

GENOA – DeKalb County farmer Paul Rasmussen said last week that following late-season rains, he was finally ready to begin his corn harvest. Rasmussen farms over 1,500 acres near Genoa with his wife and son, employing a three-year rotation of corn-corn-soybeans with around one-third of the acreage devoted to beans. Two weeks ago, their farm acreage received a light dusting of snow that did not settle on the ground, followed by colder temperatures and moist conditions.

“We’re looking forward to starting our harvest today,” Rasmussen said on Oct. 7, during a phone interview. “By last week, most of our corn had reached maturity.” Though Rasmussen expects a good crop this year, he’s concerned that he and other area farmers and co-ops may have trouble transporting what is expected to be a record corn and soybean yield to markets, due to rural transportation infrastructure concerns.

“Roads and bridges are a big concern, as well as locks and dams,” said Rasmussen, who serves as District 1 director for the Illinois Soybean Association (ISA). “This has been a focal point for the ISA. Transportation is our number two priority behind animal agriculture.” Rasmussen also serves as a board member of the Soy Transportation Coalition and is a spokesperson for a $1.5 million, three-year campaign sponsored by state and national soybean trade groups to call attention to the nation’s crumbling transportation infrastructure.

Illinois Comm-Con Announces Partial Agenda

BLOOMINGTON – An annual one-day event that brings together the state’s crop growers and livestock producers to discuss the trials and triumphs of the agricultural industry is returning to Normal. The 2014 Illinois Commodity Conference will take place Tuesday, November 25 at the Marriott Hotel and Conference Center, featuring a trade show, guest speakers covering a myriad of key farm topics, a luncheon and more.

The theme for this year’s conference is “Striving to Sustainable Feed the World.” A full day of speakers will begin at 10 a.m., including Richard Levick, chairman of LEVICK, a global strategic communications firm, who will present “A Spoonful of Sugar Helps the GMOs Go Down.” Also scheduled to appear are Rod Snyder, president of Field to Market (“Farmers Needed: Field to Market”), Caroline Wade and Mike Plumer of Illinois Council on Best Management Practices (“Water Quality Control”), and Lauren Lurkins of the Illinois Farm Bureau along with Ted Funk, enginering consultant (“The Intersection of CAFO and WOTUS”). Another guest speaker has yet to be named at press time. For more current information, visit www.ilcommodityconf.wordpress.com.

N Prices Could Affect ‘15 Decisions

URBANA – Anhydrous ammonia prices in Illinois averaged almost $30 more per ton this year than in 2013 ($717 vs. $678). Farmers should watch for fluctuations in the market price for nitrogen-based fertilizers between now and next spring before making final decisions about planting, advises University of Illinois-Urbana agricultural economist Gary Schnitkey. He issued an essay on October 9 noting that indicators suggest that soybeans will be more profitable than corn in 2015 and that changes in prices paid for N could influence plantings of corn and soybeans.

“This profitability outlook is unusual. Usually, corn is projected to be more profitable than soybeans. Changes in input costs also could impact relative returns. Nitrogen fertilizer price often is a major factor influencing relative costs of corn and soybean production. Decreases in N prices increase the profitability of corn versus soybeans and vice versa,” Schnitkey reported.  In perspective, the $717 price is $57 per acre below the $774 average price for the 2009 through 2014 production years, Schnitkey added. “So far, 2015 ammonia prices are above 2014 levels, but below the average for the past six years,” he wrote. Read more of Schnitkey’s comments at www.farmdocdaily.illinois.edu.I

Illinois Farm Fact:

Illinois corn production is forecast at 2.34 billion bushels. This would represent the highest production level on record. In addition, Illinois’ soybean yield is forecast at 56 bushels per acre and soybean production at 552 million bushels. Both would represent record highs. (USDA Ill. Crop Production Report of Oct. 10, 2014)

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