by Tim Alexander

ISA: Harvest Casts Focus on Transportation Issues

BLOOMINGTON – Access to multiple modes of transportation– roads, rivers and rail– allows Illinois farmers a competitive advantage over those in many other states. But aging infrastructure is posing a challenge to harvest transportation in a state that exports 42 percent of its soybeans, according to Paul Rasmussen, a Genoa farmer and Illinois Soybean Association (ISA) director.

“In an average year, 5.7 million tons of soybeans are transported (statewide). In central Illinois we’re looking at one of the best crops we’ve ever had,” Rasmussen said, in an Oct. 1 ISA news release. “ISA is a voice for soybean farmers, leading infrastructure conversations at the local, state and national levels.”

Rasmussen was referring to an ISA-led public-private partnership pilot program (P-5) that provides the U.S. Army Corps of Engineers with funding to improve locks and dams on the Illinois River. The ISA is also identifying rural Illinois bridges and roads in need of upgrades and working with county officials to create funding for repairs. A 2011 soybean checkoff-funded study found that for every dollar invested in infrastructure repairs, an average of $10.24 is returned on the investment, Rasmussen noted.

“Elevators and grain merchandisers are coordinating efforts to prepare for an incoming deluge of soybeans at harvest,” said Kelly Buchanan, marketing and communications manager at CGB Enterprises, Inc. “All areas of the transportation systems– rail, truck and barge– are going to be stretched tight during harvest. Demand is large, but supply should definitely be available to service export customers,” he predicted.

Best Management Practices Begin Post-Harvest

BLOOMINGTON – With harvest gearing up in central Illinois, the Ill. Council on Best Management Practices (CBMP) wants farmers to be thinking about best management practices to protect against nutrient loss during the post-harvest time period. It’s especially important this year, according to CBMP, because water quality and nutrient losses have taken “center stage” in non-agricultural circles of influence. One good way to help limit chemical runoff from crop fields is to implement a cover crop program, CBMP advises.

“It’s not too late to consider cover crops as part of your nutrient management plan,” said Mike Plumer, CBMP coordinator, on Oct. 1. “We know that there’s no one-size-fits-all approach to nutrient management. But we also know that there’s probably at least one best management practice that most farmers can implement that will make a positive change at the farm level and beyond.”

As part of their best management practices, farmers are strongly advised to follow rules specified in the Illinois Agronomy Handbook regarding fall nitrogen application for both environmental and economic reasons. CBMP also urges farmers to stabilize their fall-applied N with a nitrification inhibitor.

“Best management practices make sense for a variety of reasons, not the least of which are economic incentives. In years like this where we have terrific yields, grain prices will predictably be lower. Preserving the value of nutrients where the crop needs them is smart business,” said Plumer. (Ill. CBMP news release)

Poultry Club a “Golden Egg” For Peoria 4-H

PEORIA – A new special interest (SPIN) club organized by Peoria County 4-H leaders allowed urban youth an opportunity to participate alongside rural kids in learning the proper care, feeding and showing of poultry, including many breeds of chickens. An overwhelming response to the inaugural Peoria County 4-H Poultry SPIN Club, led by Brimfield poultry farmers Bob and Robin Forney, boosted the number of birds shown at the 2014 Peoria County 4-H Fair by around 40– an increase of more than 50 percent over any previous year’s showings.

“It’s not that the poultry show was extinct; it wasn’t. But it had dwindled in numbers,” said Cathy Ludolph, program coordinator of 4-H youth development for the University of Illinois Extension in Peoria. “Many of the kids had never owned chickens, but they ended up purchasing poultry and showing them. The Poultry SPIN Club met six times and covered poultry-related topics from embryology– hatching eggs– to preparing your bird for show.”

After the SPIN club’s initial six meetings were completed, the group– then numbering around two dozen youth and their families– decided to continue beyond the required gatherings at the request of club members. “The kids gained knowledge on the parts of the birds, the parts of the eggs. The more they became educated, the more curious they got,” said Bob Forney, whose barn, with its menagerie of around 15 breeds of chickens, served as the site of several club meetings.

The Peoria County 4-H Poultry SPIN Club will continue for a second year beginning in November, Ludolph and the Forneys announced.

EQIP Deadlines Set By NRCS

CHAMPAIGN – Important deadlines farmers need to meet in order to compete for USDA Environmental Quality Incentives Program (EQIP) funds and projects for next year have been announced by Ivan Dozier, state conservationist for the Illinois Natural Resources Conservation Service (NRCS). November 21, 2014 and January 16, 2015 will serve as the two deadline dates for EQIP, which provides landowners funding for the development of conservation plans, such as Comprehensive Nutrient Management Plans, Grazing Plans, Drainage Water Plans, and others that have sprung from the passage of the 2014 Farm Bill.

“Producers can sign up for EQIP at any time throughout the year, but to compete for the upcoming funding periods, I encourage producers with resource concerns to submit an application by one of the application deadlines,” Dozier said last week. “There are also funding pools for grazing land operations, confined livestock operations, organic producers, and wildlife habitat improvement, just to name a few.”

For more information on EQIP, contact your local NRCS field office or visit www.il.nrcs.usda.edu.

Illinois Farm Fact:

The University of Illinois Dept. of ACES is hosting free webinars on farm bill decision aids and programs each Friday from 8-9 a.m. throughout harvest. For a full webinar schedule, visit farmdoc.illinois.edu/webinars.

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