Agricultural spraying vehicles such as this highboy are on the roads in Illinois. Illinois Farm Bureau wants livestock producers to not wait until the ground is completely frozen to make manure fertilizer applications to crop fields. (Tim Alexander photo)

A busy week of farm and rural news was topped by farm bureau-supported federal tax legislation passing the U.S. House of Representatives. We also have current news concerning winter manure application requirements for livestock farms, lower nitrogen fertilizer prices for 2018, and the latest crop weather outlook for winter. For more on these topics, please read on …

Trump tax cuts gain ag support

WASHINGTON, D.C. — Farm groups are lining up in support of President Donald J. Trump’s historic tax cuts and reform bill, the Tax Cuts and Jobs Act (H.R.1), which gained passage in the U.S. House of Representatives Nov. 16. “We haven’t had an overhaul of the burdensome federal tax code since the mid-1980s and it is well past time to provide needed relief to workers and families,” said U.S. Ag Secretary Sonny Perdue, a Trump appointee, in a USDA press release. “The people of agriculture dedicate their lives to putting food on the table for their fellow citizens and they deserve to keep more of what they earn from their labors.”

The American Farm Bureau Federation (AFBF) expressed support for the tax overhaul in the days before the House action, saying the tax package holds the potential to reduce income taxes for farmers and ranchers. The bill would preserve many critical tax provisions farmers and ranchers need to operate with tight margins and unpredictable income, along with providing an increase in the federal estate tax exemption and gradual repeal of the federal estate tax by 2024, according to the farm bureau.

“While we would prefer immediate repeal, the doubling of the estate tax exemption indexed for inflation with a continuation of the spousal transfer is a positive intermediate step that will ease the burden for the vast majority of farmers and ranchers,” said AFBF president Zippy Duvall.

The Senate is currently building their own tax reform package that is expected to be announced sometime after the Thanksgiving holiday.

Early winter conditions challenge manure apps

BLOOMINGTON — Emptying manure storage systems and applying manure at agronomic rates to cropland should be the priority of livestock farmers now that harvest is nearly completed, advises Illinois Farm Bureau director of natural and environmental resources Lauren Lurkins. “Applying manure in a timely manner at optimal field conditions ensures proper utilization of the nutrients and lessens any potential negative environmental impact. Manure application during the winter has a greater risk of runoff due to frozen, ice or snow covered ground,” Lurkins said in a November 15 IFB news release.

With cold and icy conditions in central Illinois this past weekend, it seems as if winter is already upon us. However, time still remains for producers to make applications before winter conditions result in ground freezing across the state. “Livestock farmers should do EVERYTHING in their control to avoid having to surface apply manure when the ground is frozen, ice or snow-covered,” said Lurkins. “This includes emptying manure storages and completely cleaning lots in the fall. Farmers should also consider transferring manure to other manure structures if there will not be enough storage available to last until spring.”

For more winter manure application tips, or to request a copy of the news release, contact Lauren Lurkins at the IFB office: (309) 557-3153.

Illinois Farm Fact:

The Greater Peoria Farm Show, the largest indoor farm machinery show in the state, comes to Peoria November 28-30; admission is free. (Farm Shows USA)

Schnitkey: Fertilizer costs will be lower

URBANA — The amount of money farmers will pay for nitrogen fertilizer for their crop fields in 2018 will be the lowest since September 2008, according to Gary Schnitkey, agricultural economist for  the University of Illinois Department of Agricultural and Consumer Economics. Lower prices could translate into roughly a $10-per-acre savings in the coming production year, which is good news for corn and soybean growers facing declining annual earnings.

“Further savings may be possible for those farms who are applying above recommended nitrogen rates and are willing to cut fertilizer application rates,” wrote Schnitkey, in a Nov. 14 U of I farmdoc update. “University recommendations suggest nitrogen application rates well below 200 pounds in northern and central Illinois.”

As farmers are locking in their fertilizer input purchases for 2018, the USDA Agricultural Marketing Service reported on Nov. 10 that anhydrous ammonia averaged $405 per ton, with an offer range from $343 per ton up to $440 per ton. Compared with the 2014 average U.S. price of $719 per ton and the high-water mark of $1,134 per ton in 2008, today’s nitrogen fertilizers prices seem to be a bargain. However, with commodity prices, farm income and farm profitability expected to remain low or below-even for row crop farmers again next year, fertilizer prices — along with some other farm input and land rental prices — seem to be finally adjusting to the new reality of crop prices in the U.S.

La niña and winter outlook

URBANA — There is a 65 to 75 percent chance that La Niña will persist through the winter and into spring, according to Illinois State Climatologist Jim Angel and NOAA. According to NOAA’s latest forecast, Illinois has an increased chance of being wetter than normal for this winter and spring, and an increased chance of being warmer than normal in spring in central and southern Illinois. However, November started off much colder than in 2016, Angel noted in his weekly weather blog from the office of the Illinois State Water Survey at the University of Illinois.

The statewide average temperature for November 1-16 was 41.7 degrees, 1.4 degrees below normal. In 2016, the average statewide temperature was 52.3 degrees, 8.1 degrees above normal. The state climatologist also offered a glimpse at December’s likely weather outlook for Illinois.

“The outlook for December is not very interesting for Illinois. We have equal chances of above, below and near-normal temperatures and precipitation,” Angel said last week. “Wetter than normal conditions are favored in the states to the north of us and drier than normal conditions are favored in the states to the south of us.” Neither warmer nor colder than normal conditions are favored in Illinois through February, Angel added.

–R.F.D. NEWS & VIEWS: Trump tax cuts gain ag support–