Bam1 2017 07 14

AG Mag

NorthCentral Illinois

Still Standing

4-H continues to thrive locally despite societal, financial obstacles CROP OUTLOOK: What’s the forecast for 2017?

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AG Mag

3

Index

AG Mag

NorthCentral Illinois

Publisher Sam R Fisher Advertising Sales Development Director Jennifer Heintzelman Editor Terri Simon Magazine Editor Jeff Rogers Page Design Jeff Rogers Reporters & Photographers Dave Cook Pam Eggemeier Lyle Ganther Michael Krabbenhoeft Goldie Rapp Rachel Rodgers Published by Bureau County Republican 800 Ace Road Princeton, IL 61356 815-875-4461 Articles and advertisements are the property of Bureau County Republican. No portion of the NorthCentral Illinois Ag Mag may be reproduced without the written consent of the publisher. Ad content is not the responsibility of Bureau County Republican. The information in this magazine is believed to be accurate; however, Bureau County Republican cannot and does not guarantee its accuracy. Bureau County Republican cannot and will not be held liable for the quality or performance of goods and services provided by advertisers listed in any portion of this magazine.

COVER STORY PAGE 10

4-H defies the odds

Kids are busy. Funding has been cut. But 4-H remains a strong organization locally.

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AG Mag

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Index 2017 FORECAST PAGE 20

Rough start to the season

NorthCentral Illinois farmers had an already relatively small planting window made even smaller by a wet and chilly spring. How will that impact this year’s crops?

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The Wetlands Initiative is restoring the natural ecosystems of a local waterfowl refuge.

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AG Mag

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LOOKING BACK PAGE 26

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AG Mag

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Goldie Rapp/NorthCentral Illinois Ag Mag

Mireya Cruz (left) and Brianna Torres, both of DePue, enjoy their homemade parfait desserts during a 4-H program hosted at their school.

STILL MAKING THE BEST BETTER Despite challenges, local 4-H adjusts to remain strong

T

BY GOLDIE RAPP For NorthCentral Illinois Ag Mag

oday’s teenagers are more busy than their parents were when they were young.

Fewer kids are growing up with an interest in agriculture.

Funding for the University of Illinois Extension has dipped in the years, and county units have consolidated.

10 Summer 2017

All might be reasons for a decline in the number of kids participating in 4-H clubs and programs. So is that what’s happening locally?

Not necessarily, said Breanne Suarez, youth development educator for the University of Illinois Extension serving Bureau, LaSalle, Marshall and Putnam counties.

Here, 4-H has capitalized on volun-

teers and created new partnerships to better expose itself, she said. nnn “I feel like 4-H is more visible than it was before, in a different way,” Suarez said.

“We don’t have a lot of staff to do as much as we’d like to, but we screen and train many volunteers that bring in a variety of programs for our members.

CONTINUED ON 114

Area 4-H club and contacts Bureau County Open Door (Princeton) – Christie Lucas 815-876-1234 or J.D. Orwig 815-875-6116 Clarion Comets (LaMoille) – Theresa Molln 815-376-5563 or Amanda Fischer 815-638-3292 Dover Berlin (Malden) – Susan Hildebrand 815-638-2318 Van Allen 4-H Club (LaMoille/ Allen After-school Club) – Monico Nunez, Century 21 program coordinator Fine Arts and Science Team – Call the Extension Office 815-8752878 Liberty 4-H (Spring Valley) – Call the Extension Office 815-875-2878 Ohio Windmillers (Ohio) – Katie Forth 815-878-5945 Manlius Boys & Girls (Manlius) – Melissa Sweenie 815-445-2728 Goldie Rapp/NorthCentral Illinois Ag Mag

4-H teen teachers Kalian White (left) and Mary Miller serve drinks to youths during a 4-H program in DePue. The Teens as Teachers program allows students to build leadership skills and learn positive teaching techniques and strategies.

4CONTINUED FROM 10 “And through that, we’re able to reach more people.

“It’s all about looking at things in a more creative way.”

Many of the volunteers who come aboard have a talent or specialty they’re willing to share with the younger generations. Suarez said this is always a win-win situation — 4-H is gaining the opportunity to showcase a new program, and volunteers are sharing their love for a unique hobby or craft.

“We’re attracting new volunteers we’ve never worked with before,” Suarez said.

While many of the older generations can remember 4-H once being an opportunity to learn traditional hobbies like sewing, cooking and gardening, today’s 4-H has expanded its programming and incorporated more modern clubs for those interested in things like robotics, health and nutrition, career readiness, special interest niches, STEAM (science technology, engineering, art and math) and much more.

These new programs provide opportunities students cannot get anywhere else. For example, Suarez said, the career readiness program focuses on

the soft skills students need to land a successful job. She said many students today lack these soft skills because of technology.

“They don’t know how to hold a conversation or problem solve,” Suarez said. “They don’t know how to communicate or work on a team. So now 4-H has a niche to teach them those things.”

There also are partnerships with many local organizations and schools to provide programming to students who otherwise may never have had the opportunity to experience 4-H through a traditional community club.

An example of this is the partnership with LaMoille Consolidated School District’s 21st Century Grant opportunity.

The partnership has exposed students to 4-H programs and projects. Suarez said it’s been so successful the students have been able to start up their own club and plan to showcase projects at the annual 4-H Fair.

Suarez is not shy to admit it has been challenging to keep up with the budget issues, but she said the state’s 4-H office continues to come through with different grants that fund many programs for members.

CONTINUED ON 124

Walnut Winners (Walnut) – Kay Broers 815-303-4364 Western Winning Wonders (Wyanet/Buda) – Julie Strader 815-3037075 Zearing 4-H (Church on the Hill, rural Princeton) – Shelly Miller 815915-3641 Bureau County Shooting Sports – Cyndi Olson, coordinator, 309-8381224 2nd Story Teen Center – Cooking SPIN Club, call Extension 815-8752878 Neponset New Beginnings (Neponset) – call Extension 815-8752878

About 4-H 4-H is the nation’s largest youth development organization, and its goal is to assist young people and their families get skills needed to be proactive members in their communities. It’s motto is “To make the best better.”

There are almost 200,000 members each year who participate in Illinois 4-H programming.

The organization is open to youths ages 5 to 18.

AG Mag

11

4CONTINUED FROM 11 “Of course, it’s challenging with the budget, but we’re keepin’ on,” she said. “We are looking at the needs of our community, listening to what our stakeholders are telling us, looking at the programs we can offer, and bringing those to the communities we serve.”

Katie Burkman, 20, of Bureau can’t remember a time she wasn’t involved in 4-H. “I’ve been involved in it as long as I can remember,” she said.

Her dad was a 4-H’er, and all her older siblings were members, so there was no question of whether she’d be joining when she was old enough.

During her years with the program, she has taken advantage of the many clubs it offered, including cooking, sewing, and fairy and flower gardens.

Some of her projects took her to competitions at the state level, which she enjoyed.

“It was always fun seeing everyone else’s projects and getting to meet new people,” she said.

While she’s now too old to be in 4-H, she returned this past summer to work through the Extension. She urges parents and young students looking to get involved to not hesitate signing up for 4-H. “You meet new people, learn how to work with others, how to be organized, get projects done on time and follow the instructions given to complete projects,” she said.

Goldie Rapp/NorthCentral Illinois Ag Mag

Isabella Gadison of DePue cuts fruit for a parfait during a 4-H instructional program.

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A prairie mosaic TWI restoring rare set of ecosystems at Dixon Waterfowl Refuge

T

BY DAVE COOK For NorthCentral Illinois Ag Mag

he majority of the vast Midwestern prairie is gone, replaced by miles and miles of corn and soybean fields or urban development. Many habitat restoration projects, such as the Dixon Waterfowl Refuge, work to help restore this vital habitat to plant and animal species suffering from this massive loss.

The Wetlands Initiative, founded in 1994, is a nonprofit organization dedicated to restoring the wetlands of the Midwest to improve water quality; increase wildlife habitat and biodiversity; and reduce flood damage.

CONTINUED ON 144

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AG Mag

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Photo on Page 13 Anna Braum, an assistant ecologist with The Wetlands Initiative said the new prairie addition to the Dixon Waterfowl Refuge has provided a rare opportunity to study a new group of plants and wildlife.

4CONTINUED FROM 13 According to the TWI website, more than 90 percent of the wetlands of 200 years ago in Illinois are now drained, tiled, dammed or levied. With so many wetlands already lost, TWI focuses on restoring rather than simply preserving their remnants.

A recent planting on June 3 was completed

by TWI ecologists and a group of about 35 volunteers, its largest group yet. It provided an early glimpse of the 283 acres of rare sand prairie which, while not currently open to the public, will eventually feature an outlook and a series of trails connecting to the rest of the Dixon Waterfowl Refuge at Hennepin and Hopper lakes.

According to TWI’s development and communications assistant, Julie Erdmann, this was the second planting event on the Hickory Hollow tract recently added to the refuge. Last year’s planting covered about 40 acres. This year’s planting focused on about 80 acres and included more than 30 native prairie species.

CONTINUED ON 154

Dave Cook/NorthCentral Illinois Ag Mag

Along the way to the multiple planting sites, ecologists were also able to inspect the results of last year’s planting. They said it was wonderful to see them in bloom and described how the native plants have helped attract a variety of birds back to the area.

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4CONTINUED FROM 14 TWI hopes to have this beautiful addition open to the public by the fall, and if the signage and trail work isn’t completed by then, it plans on having it opened next spring.

When the land was first acquired, it was corn and soybean fields. This year, the early signs of a returning natural habitat are becoming more visible after TWI’s efforts.

“To see the native seedlings we planted last year in bloom is very exciting,” Erdmann said. “These include the Prairie Violets, Heart-leaf Golden Alexander and Shooting Star.”

Those blooming wildflowers are an early sign of habitat restoration. Once the right plants are available to provide nectar and seeds, the other links in nature’s chain will begin to appear.

“We’re seeing monarchs attracted to the area from the milkweed planting we’ve done, and the developing habitat has also attracted many bird species, such as the grasshopper sparrow, great crested flycatcher, Eastern meadowlark and Baltimore oriole,” Erdmann said.

While located in a wetlands preserve, the new area is different, featuring rolling hills of tall grass, vibrant wildflowers and hard, sandy soil.

“This area is an extremely rare mosaic of habitats which include sand prairie,

Dave Cook/NorthCentral Illinois Ag Mag

Dozens of volunteers from the Illinois Valley gathered at the Wes and Sue Dixon Waterfowl Refuge to help restore a new 283-acre parcel of rare sand prairie which The Wetlands Initiative hopes to have open to the public in the fall. savanna prairie, riparian forest, mesic prairie, oak-hickory woodland and wetlands. Half of the bird species east of the Rockies have been seen here, which is just incredible,” said Vera Leopold, TWI grants manager.

Erdmann said the seedlings are grown at a variety of locations since TWI uses multiple vendors, but added the majority of them are grown in Illinois, with many coming from Country Road Greenhouses in Rochelle.

TWI has also thinned out the trees in some areas of the prairie to ensure it retains the proper characteristics of a savanna prairie ecosystem, as it blends into the mesic prairie and the heavier riparian woodlands closer to the wetlands.

The planting was held on a perfect, early summer day, but work was slowed by the hard earth and a worn auger. This left the group with one good auger and a quality hand tool provided by a volunteer.

While slowing the planting, it allowed half of the volunteers to instead be taken on a hike guided by a TWI ecologist.

“I saw the notice for this in the paper and thought it’d be a great thing to do,” said Linda Volker, a volunteer from Ottawa. “It’s very beautiful here, and I enjoy helping because I have a variety of gardens at home.”

For more information, visit www. wetlands-initiative.org/dixon-location-and-visiting or email twi@wetlands-initiative.org.

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AG Mag

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Flying Tigers soar to great heights PHS Engineering Club wins state championship for the third year in a row

T

The Flying Tigers named their project “THOR.” It’s is an agricultural, unmanned aerial vehicle design that can perform early infestation testing, precision spraying and moisture and nitrogen analysis. It’s also capable of carrying heavy loads. (Dave Cook/NorthCentral Illinois Ag Mag)

BY DAVE COOK For NorthCentral Illinois Ag Mag

he early-morning meetings of Princeton High School’s engineering club, The Flying Tigers, have taken them high above their competition. Winning the state’s Real World Design Challenge for the third year in a row, the club’s design for a multipurpose, agricultural unmanned aerial vehicle (commonly known as a drone) was then prepped for national competition.

The team earned a fourth-place finish for teamwork and collaboration in the national design competition in Washington, D.C., which included 20 U.S. teams and seven teams from China. Many of the competing schools were STEM schools and academies, according to the team.

CONTINUED ON 174

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4CONTINUED FROM 16 The RWDC is an annual competition giving teams of high school and STEM schools opportunities to work on engineering problems. The teams are asked to solve a challenge facing our industries. The teams then utilize professional engineering software to develop their approach and create presentations demonstrating the value of their designs.

The Flying Tigers named their project “THOR.” It’s an agricultural UAV that can perform early infestation testing, precision spraying and moisture and nitrogen analysis. It’s also capable of carrying heavy loads.

In his congratulatory message to the Flying Tigers, RWDC founder Ralph Coppola said the PHS team “demonstrated innovation by experimenting with the unfamiliar, challenging familiar processes and methods, pushing the limits of current team thinking and adapting or creating tools/ processes to increase effi-

Dave Cook/NorthCentral Illinois Ag Mag

The Flying Tigers, Princeton High School’s engineering club, won the state’s Real World Design Challenge for the third year in a row for their design of a multipurpose, agricultural drone. ciencies in your design.”

The project’s management team consisting of project manager Cole Wright; assistant project manager/ag specialist Luke Schultz; chief engineer Justin Hoffeditz; operating systems engineer Mason Orr; systems engineer Cameron Hargis; design analysis specialist Jakob Ebner; and design engineer Connor Colmone traveled to Washington, D.C., to compete in the national competition.

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team of Cole Reynolds, Matt Cihocki, Cole Adams, Beckett Conwell and Daniel Naffzinger, the team adapted its winning design to meet the increased demands of the national competition.

“We had to fine tune it to make it safer, increase our flight time and to make it be able to carry an increased weight,” Colmone said.

The team’s Washington, D.C., trip was sponsored by Allegion of Princeton, and the team received valuable

input from former Tiskilwa resident and Colby AgTech founder and drone expert Chad Colby.

The only team member to own a drone is Adams, who said he enjoys learning how they and the components function.

“I enjoy finding a unique design and coming up with a way to have it function in the way we need,” Colmone said.

Wright was laughing when he said his biggest surprise of the design process was “that we won state again.”

Team members said they appreciate their work on the design challenges and it’s helped them get to know each other and become friends, while also increasing their knowledge of engineering processes.

According to the RWDC website, the members of the winning national team were each provided with a $50,000 scholarship to the Embry-Riddle Aeronautical University.

For more information, visit realworlddesignchallenge. org.

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AG Mag

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T

AT THE FENCE aken over the course of the spring, these moments were mostly captured while traveling to and from various assignments throughout Bureau and Putnam counties. The self-imposed criteria was the photos had to be respectfully taken from the side of the

road.

Some of the horses were familiar sights, as they live along regularly taken routes, although for many there was a wait for the right combination of light, weather and location within the pastures. Others were met during a bit of countryside wandering on a pleasant Sunday.

Only once did a subject turn and trot away. Another started to, but after gently calling out with reassurance, he turned and came to the edge of the fence and posed handsomely. A few watched curiously before slowly approaching, but most were lively and friendly.

A bit of spontaneity combined with the inherent beauty of horses and the natural appeal of our rural countryside resulted in a series of photos which hopefully gives readers as much pleasure to view as was had creating it.

Photos and text

by Dave Cook For NorthCentral Illinois Ag Mag

18 Summer 2017

AG Mag

19

PLAYING CATCHUP IN THE FIELD Farmers looking to recover from cold, wet start to season

C

BY DAVE COOK AND RACHEL RODGERS For NorthCentral Illinois Ag Mag

orn and soybean farmers are working to catch up from a difficult start to the season, but yields will likely fall short of last year.

Lee County farmer Allyn Buhrow said many area growers harvested their best corn crops in 2016, but there’s not much chance of a repeat this year because of unfavorable planting weather in the spring.

There was an abrupt warm-up around April 20, the optimal time to plant, but that gave way to heavy rain and freezing temperatures just a few days later, causing delays in a relatively small planting window in the northern half of the state, he said.

20 Summer 2017

“We hit some really challenging conditions, and it’s not ideal this far north to plant that late,” Buhrow said. “An extended wet and cold period takes a lot of vigor out of the seed.” nnn

While Chase Gripp and Luke Schultz might not be as experienced in the field as Buhrow, they’re seeing the same thing. Gripp, of Sheffield, and Schultz, of Princeton are recent high school graduates. Each has been awarded a scholarship by the Bureau County Farm Bureau Foundation.

Gripp will attend Purdue University to study ag systems management, and Schultz will attend Black Hawk College to study agribusiness.

The two young farmers who are beginning their careers in agriculture believe crops in the area are doing fairly well, as a whole. That doesn’t mean there aren’t circumstances all farmers have to deal with when it comes to the 2017 crops.

CONTINUED ON 214

4CONTINUED FROM 20 With a trend of high yields and low to stagnant prices, each said his outlook for this year’s crops have changed.

“Definitely. The weather has been hard on a lot of crops, and I know there’s several places south where the crops got pretty beat up by hail. I also recently went on a trip to Indiana and saw the same things,” Gripp said as Schultz signaled his agreement.

The United States Department of Agriculture reports that corn and soybean production trailed behind last year’s levels in the Northwestern Illinois region.

By July 9, corn silking was at 11 percent, down from 37 percent during the same time last year, and soybeans blooming was at 32 percent, down from 42 percent.

Statewide, corn silking jumped from 12 percent to 33 percent between July 2 and July 9; the 5-year average was 45 percent, according to USDA weekly crop progress reports.

Soybeans blooming reached 31 percent, compared with 36 percent last year.

Going from wet to very dry conditions could put a strain on the crops, but there’s been generally good soil moisture in the area, Buhrow said.

Production could pick up if that soil moisture remains consistent in the

Dave Cook/NorthCentral Illinois AgMag

Chase Gripp (left), of Sheffield, and Luke Schultz, of Princeton, are two promising young farmers who are furthering their agricultural educations with help from the scholarships provided by the Bureau County Farm Bureau Foundation. summer followed by a mild fall.

“We’re trying to catch up, and we’re going to need some very good conditions,” he said.

Corn yields are difficult to predict given complications during the growing season, like delays from wet conditions,

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Area farmers are also making adjustments to adapt to the trend of low to stagnant prices.

CONTINUED ON 224

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AG Mag

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4CONTINUED FROM 21 “We’re limiting a lot of the things we use, such as fungicide, and like everyone else we’re also trying to cut costs wherever we can,” Schultz said.

The price of corn has fallen or been relatively stagnant since 2013, when the market year average was $6.89 per bushel. That figure dropped to $4.46 in 2014, $3.70 in 2015 and $3.61 last year.

The USDA estimates the current marketing year to range from $3.25 to $3.45 per bushel.

Gary Schnitkey, an agriculture economist at the University of Illinois, said the midpoint of that range is often used as a price forecast, in this case being $3.35.

The USDA projects the market year average to stay at a steady $3.35 through 2019.

“A relatively large change in supply/demand or structural change likely is needed to get corn prices above $4 per bushel,” Schnitkey said.

The average for soybean

prices is expected to grow from $8.95 to $9.40 and stay flat for the next 2 years as well.

Illinois farmGary ers are shifting Schnitkey more land to soybean crops, converting an estimated 200,000 acres from corn to soybeans this year, the USDA reports.

Gripp and Schultz said they haven’t seen that trend locally.

“I haven’t noticed this,” Gripp said, “but I think with the two ethanol plants nearby it’s keeping corn steady in this area.”

Both Gripp and Schultz said the wet spring will result in a later harvest.

“The crops in this area are generally doing well, but it depends on where you go,” Schultz said.

“This area seems to be in a sweet spot as far as weather goes; we had a bit of a drought earlier, but it wasn’t enough to really do any damage,” Gripp said.

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“This area seems to be in a sweet spot as far as weather goes; we had a bit of a drought earlier, but it wasn’t enough to really do any damage.”

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Stephanie and Brett Paxton have quickly built their Corner Coop into a popular travel destination which has attracted visitors from as far away as Springfield. It’s also a favored summer evening stop for locals who enjoy their ice cream.

(Dave Cook/NorthCentral Illinois Ag Mag)

So quickly W on a roll Trading chickens for cupcakes: Paxton’s Corner Coop a homegrown success already famous for its cinnamon rolls

BY DAVE COOK For NorthCentral Illinois Ag Mag

hile Paxton’s Corner Coop in Annawan regularly sells more cupcakes and cinnamon rolls each day than there are residents in the village, they’re not all being eaten by locals. People are traveling, sometimes quite far, to enjoy them.

“The word-of-mouth advertising people have given us has been fantastic, I’m amazed to hear how far away we’re known,” co-owner Stephanie Paxton said as she described how the local sheriff attended a conference in Springfield and learned Annawan was best known for Paxton’s cinnamon rolls.

nnn It often takes many years for a young business to achieve that kind of reputation, but the Corner Coop is preparing to celebrate only its second anniversary.

CONTINUED ON 244

AG Mag

23

4CONTINUED FROM 23 Starting a new business is risky enough, but Stephanie and her husband, Brett, doubled that risk two years ago.

They owned Paxton Poultry and 500 hens, but they expanded to 3,000 during the same time as starting the Corner Coop.

“When we expanded, egg prices were at a 40-year high because of the bird flu, but within the year, the prices had dropped to a 40-year low as the larger poultry businesses recovered. Chickens are a lot of hard, dirty work, so it wasn’t difficult to choose which business to stick with,” Stephanie said, laughing.

She credits the homemade butter-cream frosting as the key to the success of the cinnamon rolls, the product for which they’ve become most well known. The several flavors of cupcakes, ice cream, brownies and coffee are also extremely popular, and social media has been beneficial as well.

“Food is always positive and easy to follow. It’s fun to see how excited people get about it,” she said.

Paxton said she can make up to 800 cupcakes and more than 200 cinnamon rolls a day.

“We always sell out,” she said.

All of the baking taking place in the small corner building requires more than 250 pounds of butter and approximately 15 to 20 cases of eggs per week.

Photos by Dave Cook/NorthCentral Illinois Ag Mag

ABOVE: The Corner Coop’s most popular items are the cinnamon rolls, and roughly 200 are baked every day.

“We always sell out,” Stephanie Paxton said. LEFT: Manager Susan Miniel (left) and Paxton are well known for the friendly service they provide to customers from near and far. The Paxtons will soon be taking their baked goods and warm personal service into the food truck market.

CONTINUED ON 254

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Cupcake toppings are cleverly stored overhead in a homemade display and provide both easy access and a colorful sight for customers.

4CONTINUED FROM 24

Stephanie Paxton (left) makes several hundred cupcakes a day. Manager Susan Miniel (right) applies the frosting to a fresh batch of confetti cupcakes.

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With fans regularly traveling up to an hour or more for her baked goods or to enjoy some ice cream after dinner, the Paxtons are now looking to expand into the food truck market. They’ve purchased an ambulance which is awaiting conversion into a mobile version of Corner Coop.

Paxton said she’d always expected it’d just be her and her husband working together, but their success has required them to have a staff of six.

“It’s great; we’ve become known as a destination. We never expected it’d take off the way it has, but we’re so thankful to all of our customers for their support,” she said.

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AG Mag

25

Plowing through history Restoration efforts giving the old boys new life

BY DAVE COOK For NorthCentral Illinois Ag Mag

J

Made from 1957 to 1962, this Ford 641 Workmaster tractor provides roughly 34 horsepower at the belt and can pull approximately 4,100 pounds from the drawbar. (Dave Cook/NorthCentral Illinois Ag Mag)

ust as sunny weather brings classic cars out onto the road, vintage tractors are also regularly seen during the summer months.

Classic tractors can give a glimpse of the fields of the past and also help provide younger farmers with a way to connect to their history.

At the June 25 Tractor Trek, which began at the Bureau County Farm Bureau building, some participants spoke of their restorations. Others also talked about how they now use their old tractors, not in the field, but as their weekend entertainment.

CONTINUED ON 274

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LEFT: The Farmall MD was produced from 1941 to 1952. While a diesel tractor, the MD starts on gasoline. A lever is pulled to enlarge the combustion chamber, which lowers the compression. This lever also closes the circuit for the spark plugs. After the engine is warm, it’s switched over to diesel. RIGHT: Minneapolis-Moline was a tractor manufacturer created after a 1929 merger of three companies: Minneapolis Steel & Machinery, Minneapolis Threshing Machine, and Moline Plow. The brand ended in 1974 after being acquired by The White Motor Company in 1963. Minneapolis-Moline also introduced the idea of a closed-cab tractor, the Comfortractor, in 1938.

4CONTINUED FROM 26 Mike Duffield of Ohio brought his 1959 John Deere 630 and said all the work that goes into preparing it to be repainted is the most difficult phase of a restoration. He also said the general maintenance work after the restoration is completed is time consuming.

“Paying for everything,” joked Leroy Drake of Princeton, who brought two tractors to the trek, a 1948 and a 1950 Farmall, as he described what he found to be the hardest aspect of restorations.

Drake said between him and his son, they had restored nine tractors to their former glory. And while many focus on one manufacturer, the interior of his barn is multi-colored.

“Case, John Deere, Oliver – color makes no difference; they’re all good tractors,” Drake said.

Duffield said restorations typically take about four months and cost about $5,000.

“It’s usually about equal to what you

“When you’re driving in a slow lane, you see things you wouldn’t see speeding by in a car. You have a chance to see and experience so much more.”

Leroy Drake, Princeton resident spend on the tractor,” he said.

Drake said much of the work tends to be done off-season, and the costs vary.

“It all depends on how deep you go with it, and how much available time you have,” he said.

Both said parts are readily available, including from after-market companies specializing in restorations.

While restoring the old machines is well worth their time, money and energy, Drake said, there’s more to it than just bringing the old tractors back to life.

“When you’re driving in a slow lane, you see things you wouldn’t see speeding by in a car.,” he said. “You have a chance to see and experience so much more. The people you meet are a lot of

fun, too, and everyone is always happy to see you. Everyone waves and is happy when they see an old tractor.”

Both said they believe today’s new models will someday have the same appeal and will eventually be restored by younger farmers.

Corrine Downs of Watseka was waiting on the back of their 1959 Case 200 B while her husband, Art, was in the drivers meeting before the trek, and she spoke of how much they enjoy their tractor and the treks.

“This is how we spend our weekends when we can,” Downs said. “We love to put it on a trailer and travel to the different treks. They’re wonderful rides through the country, and we get to see so much and have a lot of fun doing it.”

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AG Mag

27

REASON TO WORRY? Trump’s budget blueprint includes deep ag cuts, but insiders confident Congress will come to farmers’ rescue

BY PAM EGGEMEIER For NorthCentral Illinois Ag Mag

T

he staunch support of agriculture last November helped put Donald Trump in the White House, but the president’s first proposed budget could have farmers rethinking their decision.

The president says he can balance the federal budget in 10 years, and his proposed 2018 budget would hit agriculture hard. The proposed cuts include 21 percent to the Department of Agriculture, 36 percent to crop insurance, and $50 billion to ag subsidies in the next decade.

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4CONTINUED FROM 28 The USDA’s Rural Development programs would stand to lose $477 million in the Trump budget. Those programs bring funds to rural America for everything from infrastructure and technology upgrades to grants and loans for economic development and home purchases. The technology program has brought broadband services to an estimated 6 million Americans in rural areas.

While the proposed ag cuts are severe, most of the responsibility for drawing up federal budgets falls to Congress.

Early in the process, it appears farmers can again count on lawmakers to protect their interests.

The House Appropriations Agriculture Subcommittee met in late June, producing a bill that basically ignored all of the proposed ag cuts.

“The presidents’ budgets are just a blueprint that says here are the administration’s policy priorities,” said Adam Nielsen, director of national legislation and policy development at the Illinois Farm Bureau. “Congress will do what it wants based on what it hears from its constituents.”

Nielsen said the overriding message in the Trump budget is that enough domestic cuts must be made to carry out the president’s promise to build

“The president had a lot of support from farmers, and I think this proposed budget and some other actions have taken them by surprise. The trade policy has left many in ag scratching their heads.”

Adam Nielsen

Director of national legislation and policy developement, Illinois Farm Bureau up the military. Although Trump has proposed a $54 billion increase to the defense budget, it falls short of expectations. The House and Senate Armed Services committees want an additional $37 billion designated for the military.

Nielsen said many cuts, including to commodities programs, can be made only in the next farm bill. Hearings for reauthorizing the new bill have started in the ag committees of both chambers.

The current version expires in September 2018. In the 2014 farm bill, $23 billion was cut from the Ag Department over a 10-year period.

“Spending for subsidies is mandatory, but with the next farm bill there will be some pressure to keep what we have,” Nielsen said.

While Nielsen said he is encouraged by what he’s hearing about ag spending in Congress, the fact remains that the Trump budget has pared more than 4 times the amount the farm lobby

expected from ag. The deep cuts aren’t the best way of thanking farmers for their votes.

“The president had a lot of support from farmers, and I think this proposed budget and some other actions have taken them by surprise,” Nielsen said.

“The trade policy has left many in ag scratching their heads.”

Rep. Adam Kinzinger, R-Channahon, said he is confident that farmers have a steady base of support in Congress.

“There are some haircuts in this budget to deal with a national debt that is out of control,” Kinzinger said. “This is just a blueprint that has to go through Congress though, and I don’t think what the president put out will ever be reality.”

While he didn’t see cause for alarm within the ag industry, the congressman said the proposed budget does send a foreboding message.

CONTINUED ON 314

AG Mag

29

Local farmers concerned about proposed cuts

BY LYLE GANTHER For NorthCentral Illinois Ag Mag

Among the many agriculture spending cuts proposed in the Trump budget, what concerns Marshall County farmer Bill Campion the most are those to crop insurance, rural development and conservation programs.

“Some may not remember the debacle in the 1980s when crop insurance didn’t exist like we have it today,” Campion, of rural Wyoming, said. “This would be catastrophic for income of farm families if crop insurance is elminated. It is not a positive thing for farming and the rural economy, or the country in general. It will be hard on all Americans.”

Campion is a member of the Marshall-Putnam Farm Bureau Board, and has been farming since 1976, having put in his 41st crop this year.

Living just north of Peoria, Campion said the proposal to get rid of the Ag Lab there would be sadly misguided.

He described the lab as a true instrument of discovery.

Campion is also troubled about proposed cuts in spending for rural development.

“That (rural development) program has helped fund

water systems in small towns,” he said. “Conservation programs are also valuable because farmers like to leave the land better than when they started, and conservation programs are a big part of that.”

Jaime Schaffer, president of the Stark County Farm Bureau Board, said, “I will play a wait-and-see to see what is going to come. There is nothing set in stone legislatively.”

Another area of concern for area farmers is the renegotiating of the North American Free Trade Agreement.

Don Shawcroft, Colorado Farm Bureau president, stated in a hearing before the U.S. Trade Representative June 27, that a modernized NAFTA must build upon market gains for U.S. agriculture and settle remaining challenges for the nation’s farmers and ranchers in the country’s neighboring markets.

U.S. agricultural exports to Canada and Mexico have quadrupled, from $8.9 billion in 1993 to $38.1 billion in 2016. Although the benefits from NAFTA are clear and many, there are reasons to reform and update the agreement, Shawcroft said.

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Marshall County farmer Bill Campion of rural Wyoming is concerned about proposed cuts for crop insurance, rural development and conservation programs, as well as the Ag Lab in Peoria, in the federal budget.

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4CONTINUED FROM 29 “The proposed budget would cut the State Department in half, and that’s not going to happen, but we do need to understand that tough decisions must be made in the future,” Kinzinger said.

Kinzinger said Congress understands that farmers have already made budget sacrifices.

While more could be comRep. Adam ing, he thinks crop insurance Kinzinger should be safe.

In the last farm bill, a fundamental shift was made from subsidies to insurance as the industry’s safety net.

Despite disappointments with trade policy, immigration and the budget, Kinzinger said ag is still excited about the new administration.

“Farmers feel less threatened by regulations and bureaucracy,” Kinzinger said. “Business is breathing a little easier for the same reasons.”

While the GOP is downplaying any political implications, lawmakers on the other side of the aisle are concerned about the messages the administration is sending to America’s heartland.

“President Trump’s budget is the latest example of him turning his back on rural America,” U.S. Rep. Cheri Bustos said. “He won our 17th Congressional District and the rural states, and now he’s treating us as a fly-

“Farmers feel less threatened by regulations and bureaucracy. Business is breathing a little easier for the same reasons.”

U.S. Rep Adam Kinzinger

R-Channahon, 16th Congressional District over country.”

Bustos said looking out for agriculture interests is a personal fight. She is the granddaughter of a hog farmer, the niece of dairy farmers, and a cousin to Angus beef producers.

“It’s hard to see a 21 percent cut to USDA proposed at a time when the farm

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economy is struggling,” Bustos said. “The president also has proposed deep cuts to crop insurance, and there are families who are relying on that in bad times so they don’t go bankrupt.”

Agriculture is the number one economic driver in the 17th District, but commodities prices are in a deep

down cycle.

USDA projects that net farm income will fall again in 2017, the fourth consecutive year it Rep. Cheri has dropped.

Bustos Income has dropped by about 50 percent since 2014.

Bustos said she hopes the president comes around and realizes that America’s heartland has the best farmers in the world, and they are counted on to produce food for the world.

CONTINUED ON 324

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AG Mag

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4CONTINUED FROM 31 While Trump said some of the right things during the campaign, Bustos questions whether the president understands the importance of rural America in the nation’s economy.

“He said during the campaign that he would end the war on the American farmer – his quote – but we’ve learned that it’s not what he does, it’s what he says,” Bustos said.

Bustos is encouraged by what she’s seeing from her seats on the House Agriculture and Transportation and Infrastructure committees, which also bodes well for negotiating a new farm bill.

“Both committees work very well across the aisle, and there’s been a real attempt to get the nation’s work done,” Bustos said.

Both committees are advocating for the Rural Development programs. Downsizing them would impact everything from rural business services to badly needed water system projects.

CONTINUED ON 334

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4CONTINUED FROM 32 The programs have helped an estimated 112,000 small businesses and created about 450,000 jobs in rural areas.

Bustos said funding must be protected for agricultural research and development.

Trump’s proposed budget called for closure of The National Center for Agricultural Utilization Research in Peoria.

Nielsen said he thinks funding will hold up well for Rural Development and the Peoria ag lab, based on his conversations with the committees.

Bustos said if the president is the businessman he claims to be, he would understand that there is a $10 return on every dollar that goes into the her district’s storied ag center.

“There are 85 Ph.Ds and another 115 scientists who walk through the door of that lab every day,” Bustos said. “It’s where they figured out how to mass-produce penicillin.”

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organizations and other ag advocacy groups are hopeful that lawmakers will have a better understanding of the challenging economic environment farmers are facing.

In years past, Congress has shot down proposed budgetary cuts to agriculture’s safety net, including a $3 billion reduction to crop insurance 2 years ago.

Illinois Farm Bureau projects that up to half of the state’s farmers will file insurance claims this season in accordance with flooding, replanting or abandoned acreage provisions.

Farmers are also anxious about the president’s talk on health care, trade and immigration policies.

Trump has made no secret of his disdain for the TransPacific Partnership and North American Free Trade Agreement. Farmers heard the talk during the campaign, but hoped much of it was just rhetoric and the U.S. wouldn’t walk away from the pacts. One-third of the nation’s farm income is generated by exports.

Michael Krabbenhoeft/NorthCentral Illinois Ag Mag

Soybeans soak up the last few minutes of sunlight at the end of the day.

Subsidies, crop insurance proposals • The Trump proposal would cut crop insurance by $28 billion, a 36 percent reduction.

• Crop insurance payments would be capped at $40,000 per farmer, saving an estimated $16.2 billion over 10 years.

• Removing farmers from the insurance pool would increase premiums for those remaining.

• Nearly $12 billion would be cut from the harvest price option, an indemnity that locks in replacement prices for lost crops.

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AG Mag

33

Hoping to impact the world Science, ag merge for local college student

BY GOLDIE RAPP For NorthCentral Illinois Ag Mag

D

espite growing up on the family farm, Kaitlyn Hildebrand of rural Ohio, never had a real passion for agriculture.

It wasn’t until she found a way to incorporate her love of science and desire to learn new things into the cattle ranch, that helped spark the ag career path she is on today.

Hildebrand is the newly-elected director of the Illinois Junior Beef Association and studies animal science at Illinois Central College in Peoria. After continuing education at a four-year university, she hopes to one day work in Extension doing beef research for area producers.

Her future is surely bright. But one thing is certain about Hildebrand – if it wasn’t for the skills and networking she gained through local ag groups in school, she wouldn’t be as confident in her field as she is today.

CONTINUED ON 354

Kaitlyn Hildebrand of rural Ohio never had a real passion for agriculture until she found a way to incorporate her love of science into the industry.

(Goldie Rapp/NorthCentral Illinois Ag Mag)

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www.FarmersNationalBank.com

SM-ST20005-0714

• Farm Land, Buildings, and Livestock Facilities

4CONTINUED FROM 34 Since grade school, Hildebrand has been an active member in her local 4-H program. She was also a member of FFA in high school, where she became actively involved in livestock judging.

Hildebrand also took advantage of the student volunteer services offered through her local Farm Bureau, where she assisted with the Ag in the Classroom program.

Hildebrand said it was important to take advantage of these opportunities when she could, as they helped challenge her abilities and build her confidence.

“These organizations improved my leadership skills, public speaking skills and expanded by network of people,” she said.

Because of her positive experience, she now urges young students to get involved in ag groups, like FFA. “You don’t have to be interested in livestock and crops to be a member, and you won’t be judged for it,” she said. “The opportunities within these groups are important to students because they focus on character development and help form leaders.”

While at one point she had no interest in an agriculture career, Hildebrand now sees the many possibilities the industry has to offer.

Meet Kaitlyn Hildebrand

Age: 19 Family: Dad (Kevin) and Mom (Susan) Pets: Dog (Lucy), rabbit (Smores), barn cats and 6-10 head of cattle that have been past show heifers.

School: Illinois Central College Ag classes you’re studying: A wide variety, including animal science, ag computers and crop science.

Ag activities: Livestock judging, member of the Farm Bureau, Illinois Junior Beef Association and 4-H Hobbies: Collector of antique coffee cups, reading, being outside and crafts. I also enjoy spending time with friends and family.

Favorite genre of music: Country Favorite TV shows: “M.A.S.H.” or “NCIS” If you could eat only one meal for the rest of your life, what would it be? Steak (beef in general) or any type of pasta.

If you had a million dollars, how would you spend it? I would give it away to charities and organizations like 4-H and FFA because they have given me so much.

People would be surprised to know: I prefer pickup trucks to cars. Also, I have an interest in learning about the dairy industry and trying my hand at it.

What are your plans after college? I hope to be working within the beef industry either by doing Extension, specializing in beef research or possible working with beef genetics.

She said a career in agriculture is one that will never die out and also one that can impact the world.

“There’s always going to be a need to feed the people within the country, so there is going to be a need of people to provide that food,” she said. “Even if you don’t want to be the producer

of food we eat, you can help in other ways. You can be a mechanic to work on equipment, a salesman for a seed company, a livestock buyer or even a mechanical engineer. There are many aspects of agriculture that can help feed the world. You just need to choose one that will inspire you.”

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Mickley Insurance Agency

Sandrock Insurance Agency

102 W. Main St. • Morrison

105 Main St. • Tampico

815-772-2793

www.2cornerstone.com

815-438-3923

Our mission is to be a premier, all-lines, independent insurance agency in northern Illinois and the surrounding areas. We shall strive to be proud of our product, customer service, customer satisfaction and fair competitive pricing. We care to deal with those we can also call our friends.

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AG Mag

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mazelumber.com

Water Street, Peru | 815-223-1742 SM-PR3130405-0720