Bam1 2017 11 25

AG Mag Field to Plate NorthCentral Illinois

Strengthening the tie between farmers and consumers in the restaurant and classroom, and at the grocery and markets.

2017 WRAPUP: The harvest is complete. How did farmers fare?

PRSRT STD U.S. POSTAGE PAID PERMIT NO. 486 PRINCETON, IL 61356 800 Ace Road Princeton, IL 61356

TRAVEL FORECAST: A look at the region’s infrastructure Publication Shaw Media AA Publication of of Shaw Media

Fall 2017 AG Mag

1

Happy Holidays

from Us to You and Your Family!

During this winter, we will have Winter Farmer meetings with food, giveaways* and important information for you Please visit www.countryfinancial.com/content/dam/cfin/ pdfs/insurance/2017-2018-winter-crop-meetings.pdf Topics will be slightly different at each meetings but will include: • Dicamba Overspray & Third-Party Damage • Grain Market Outlook • Crop Insurance • FSA Farm Bill update on ARC /PLC and also new farm bill • Tax Questions

© OpenStreetMap contributors

Additional local farm meetings will also be scheduled by me and my offices in Henry, Bureau, Lee and Stark counties. Visit one of the local offices I work with as the Crop Insurance Specialist, if you aren’t with COUNTRY yet, stop in for a visit.

Mike Morris...............................Princeton.........(815) 872-3333 Crane Schafer ............................Spring Valley ...(815) 664-4145 Ron Behrends ............................Tiskilwa...........(815) 646-4121 Ryan Boarman & Mike Morris...Toulon .............(309) 286-7053 Mike Geuns................................Annawan.........(309) 935-6697 Eric Henderson ..........................Geneso ............(309) 944-4618

Alan Davis Crop Insurance Specialist Business Cell

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2 Fall 2017

Crop Insurance That’s Born In The COUNTRY Founded by farmers in Illinois, our roots lie in the values born of hard work, integrity and compassion. Farmers who trust COUNTRY Financial® for Crop Hail insurance and Federal Crop Insurance find solid coverage at an affordable price.

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Auto, home and business insurance policies issued by COUNTRY Mutual Insurance Company®, COUNTRY Preferred Insurance Company® and COUNTRY Casualty Insurance Company®. Life insurance policies issued by COUNTRY Life Insurance Company® and COUNTRY Investors Life Assurance Company®, Bloomington, IL.

1017-124

AG Mag

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Index

AG Mag

NorthCentral Illinois

COVER STORY

General Manager Jim Dunn

PAGE 10

Advertising Sales Development Director Jennifer Heintzelman Editor Jim Dunn Magazine Editor Jeff Rogers Page Design Jeff Rogers Reporters & Photographers Peter Balser, Dave Cook, Pam Eggemeier Lyle Ganther, Phil Hartman Chris Johnson, Michael Krabbenhoeft Alex T. Paschal, Goldie Rapp, Rachel Rodgers, Leichan Stoerger and Bob Tomaszewski 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.

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AG Mag

5

Index What did 2017 yield?

Local farmers and agriculture experts talk about this year’s harvest and look ahead to 2018.

2017 WRAPUP PAGE 16

18

A look at a day at Bureau Creek Family Farm.

Drones are just one of the many things local ag students in college are learning about.

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Our goal is been to provide farmers with affordable crop income protection combined with superior service and utmost integrity. It is evident by our continued growth and loyal customer base that we have met, and continue to meet, this challenge.

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AG Mag

7

Index LEGISLATIVE SPOTLIGHT PAGE 23

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Infrastructure is vital to agriculture. What improvements are needed?

30

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AG Mag

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The turkey Cobb salad at Our Pantry to Yours in Princeton comes prepared with locally sourced ingredients. Restaurant owner Dawn Frank offers heat-and-eat gluten-free meals.

(Goldie Rapp/For NorthCentral Illinois Ag Mag

KNOWLEDGE = POWER + HEALTH Field to plate movement boosts ag awareness, healthy eating

F

BY GOLDIE RAPP AND RACHEL RODGERS For NorthCentral Illinois Ag Mag

ood for thought: People are putting more thought into their food.

Did this ear of corn sitting on the dinner plate come from a local farmer? What process took it from a being a small seedling in the dirt to the produce bin at the store?

Field to plate, farm to table, seed to store – there are

10 Fall 2017

several terms for the growing movement of knowing where your food comes from before it gets past your lips.

It stretches beyond the average consumer who specifically looks for offerings at the local farmers market and encompasses groceries, restaurants, schools and other organizations.

CONTINUED ON 114

4CONTINUED FROM 10 The concept is two-fold in that people are looking for fresher, healthier food options, while also supporting area farms with the goal of bolstering the local economy.

There are many links between farmers and consumers in the agricultural food chain, ranging from packaging, transportation and distribution to education, dietetics and marketing.

Healthier menus Dawn Frank has a theory for why people are increasingly concerned about how their food as raised, where it was grown, and how far it had to travel to

get to their plates.

Frank, owner of Our Pantry to Yours restaurant in Princeton, thinks that wanting to take control of their health makes people more in tune with what’s going in their bodies and how they react to the foods they eat.

“I think people are just sick and tired of feeling sick and tired,” she said.

One of the newest restaurants in Princeton, Our Pantry to Yours specializes in heat-and-eat gluten-free meals, which customers order to pick up at a later date.

Aside from the meals, Frank also serves gluten-free lunches throughout the week and offers gluten-free to-go items for those in hurry.

When Frank was 26, she was diag-

nosed with rheumatoid arthritis. After two years of struggling with the autoimmune disease, she decided to try going gluten free to see if it relieved her symptoms.

Frank said just days after eliminating gluten from her diet, she could feel the difference in her body, and she never looked back. Going gluten free has been a life-changing decision for Frank – one that’s made her aware of the impact food can have on the body.

Before Frank opened her business on North Main Street, she was giving monthly cooking lessons at Optimal Health in Princeton to those interested in learning how to cook gluten free.

CONTINUED ON 124

Goldie Rapp/For NorthCentral Illinois Ag Mag

Dawn Frank, owner of Our Pantry to Yours in Princeton, and her son, Dallas Duckworth, prepare turkey Cobb salads for lunch customers. The restaurant strives to locally source as many ingredients as possible for its menu items.

AG Mag

11

4CONTINUED FROM 11 During her classes, Frank always stressed the importance of sourcing food locally and taking advantage of the local farmers markets.

“I think when you know specifically where you’re buying from, you have more control over what quality you’re getting,” she said. “I’ve always been a big believer in shopping local, and if it’s a product I love personally, then I need to support that business.”

Frank strives to find the freshest ingredients for the meals she serves, even if it means having to up the prices a bit.

“I’m very picky about the quality of food we get in,” she said. “I want to give my customers what I would want, what I hope to get when I’m out paying for a meal.”

This summer was Frank’s first in business, and many of the fruits and vegetables served from her kitchen were purchased at the Princeton Farmers Market or from local growers.

Her food rep has also been a great resource in pointing her toward foods grown closest to her restaurant.

“He is so good to work with. He knows who I am, what I stand for, and how I want to do my business,” she said.

“So if I say, ‘I’m looking for carrots,’ he will say, ‘I have this or this, but I know you’ll want to know this one is grown 20 minutes from Princeton.’ He knows

that’s important to me.”

With winter sweeping in and area farmers markets closing for the season, Frank has planned to locally source her lettuce heads from Silver Creek Farms, north of Ladd, which grows items using aquaponics.

Using a controlled greenhouse environment, aquaponics is the combination of aquaculture (raising fish) and hydroponics (the soil-less growing of plants) that grows fish and plants together in one integrated system.

The fish waste provides an organic food source for the plants, and the plants naturally filter the water for the fish. No chemicals are used in this process, and the fish are fed a pelleted food containing no animal byproducts.

While aquaponics is common in urban centers, Frank said, the method of farming is becoming more well known in the rural areas.

A downside to sourcing local foods is that it tends to be more costly than ordering processed food or buying in bulk from a massive manufacturer.

“They can offer big discounts where a small local farm doesn’t have the luxury of offering those big discounts, because they still need to provide for their families and workers,” Frank said.

She said if she could locally source every ingredient in her kitchen, she would. Unfortunately, customers don’t

want to pay that price.

“I can’t pay $6 for a dozen eggs when I can get them for 79 cents a dozen at Aldi,” she said. “It’s finding that ‘in between’ where you can find customers the best quality you can without the overly expensive cost.”

Frank believes if more people source food locally and utilize foods that are grown using methods like aquaponics, it could eventually help to drive the cost of fresh foods down.

In the classroom Many programs are geared toward teaching students the importance of the role that agriculture plays in their daily lives. They include Agriculture in the Classroom, an initiative started at the national level that runs down to states and county Farm Bureaus that direct the programs in local communities.

In Bureau County, Ag in the Classroom offers Classroom Ag Mags to kids and provides educational kits to teachers in kindergarten through 12th grade.

Statewide, the program hit an all-time high of distributing $625,000 in grants across 77 coalitions serving 87 Illinois counties. Grants can be used for materials, training, educational lessons and activities.

CONTINUED ON 134

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4CONTINUED FROM 12 “County coalition grants show state commitment to the county level,” AITC Director Kevin Daugherty said. “In the coming year, we’ll continue our focus on environmental stewardship and agriculture and increase STEM programming with a focus on career development.”

Bureau County Ag Literacy Coordinator Cara Kniss visited pre-kindergarden through fifth grade classrooms at the beginning of the school year to teach students about apples. Students learn about the life cycle of apple trees and the parts of an apple.

Then they do a taste test.

Last month, Kniss taught students about pumpkins, as Illinois is the No. 1 gourd-growing state in the U.S.

At farmers markets Greater demand for local, healthy food and products also translates to an uptick in farmers markets and the diverse offerings they feature.

Photo contributed to NorthCentral Illinois Ag Mag

Students at Douglas School in Princeton enjoyed their Ag in the Classroom session on apples earlier this year.

Markets throughout the U.S. increased by 92 percent between 1998 and 2009, growing to more than 5,000.

Though increases in the past few years are far less significant – the United States Department of Agriculture puts the increase at 0.21 percent since last year – the total number has reached nearly 8,700 markets.

The allure of farmers markets isn’t just freshness; it’s estimated that 65 percent of money put toward local food stays within the community,

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compared to about 40 percent from big box stores, according to 2012 research from Roslynn Brain, a Sustainable Communities Extension specialist in the Department of Environment and Society, College of Natural Resources at Utah State University.

At the store Consumers are more drawn to “locally grown” labels or “grown in the Midwest” stickers at local groceries – products can be

labeled as grown locally or regionally if they were grown within state boundaries or within a 400-mile radius, but they usually come within county lines.

About 36 percent of shoppers choose their primary grocery based on the “quality and variety of fresh foods,” according to recent data from the Food Marketing Institute.

The number of consumers buying fresh perishable items has increased 21 percent compared to a year ago and grown 6 percent with those buying more fresh prepared food.

In addition to stores having more locally grown produce, there’s also more organic options filling the shelves.

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AG Mag

13

Are you down for the count?

Harvester red

born and bred

It’s time for the ag census, used to make important farming decisions

A

BY LEICHAN STOERGER NorthCentral Illinois Ag Mag

nything that occurs only once every 5 years is a big happening.

And to the farming industry, the Census of Agriculture is certainly big.

The census, taken every 5 years, is a count of U.S. farms and ranches, and of those who own and operate them. The next ag census comes in December. It should be returned by Feb. 5. Census results will be released in February 2019.

Ron Kern Those results will be important to farmers, ranchers, policy makers and community planners.

“The ag census is important,” Ogle County Farm Bureau Manager Ron Kern said. “All farmers need to complete the census. It is what policy makers across the country use when examining data.”

Local agriculture advocates use the census to look at different aspects of farming.

Alex T. Paschal/NorthCentral Illinois Ag Mag

Farmers work a field in rural Polo harvesting corn in early November in OgleLloyd County.

Granville’s Schrow

Kern said he is most interested in the number and size of farms, the age of farmers, grain and livestock production numbes, economic returns, and debt-versus-assets figures.

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(Dav CONTINUED ON 154

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4CONTINUED FROM 14 “By understanding these trends, we prepare ourselves to get into better position to not only understand agriculture, but to represent agriculture.”

Matt Lillpop, executive director of the Whiteside County Farm Bureau, said among the several results he will be interested in are farm values and net cash farm income.

“In Illinois, agriculture is the state’s economic driver,” Lillpop said. “One in six jobs is tied to agriMatt culture. Farming is unique Lillpop in the fact that farmers are price takers.

“In other industries, you produce a product and set a selling price. In farming, you plant a crop, care for it, hope it rains, and in the fall harvest a crop. That crop is sold with prices set Justina Chlum by the market – basic supply and demand. Farmers wear many hats – one of them being marketer.”

Lillpop said farmers utilize a variety of marketing tools, but much is out of their control. He said they can’t control world markets, the weather, input costs

2012 Ag Census Highlights Bureau County Farms: 1,056 Land in farms: 450,132 acres Average farm size: 426 acres Corn for grain harvested: 709 farms Cattle and calves inventory: 157 farms Henry County Farms: 1,373 Land in farms: 479,294 acres

Average farm size: 349 acres Corn for grain harvested: 804 farms Cattle and calves inventory: 302 farms Putnam County Farms: 183 Land in farms: 60,135 acres Average farm size: 329 acres Corn for grain harvested: 110 farms Cattle and calves inventory: 23 farms Source: agcensus.usda.gov

How it works The National Agricultural Statistics Service will mail questionnaires for the 2017 Census of Agriculture to farm and ranch operators in December to collect data for the 2017 calendar year. Completed forms are due by Feb. 5, 2018. Respondents can complete the Census online at agcensus.usda.gov or return their forms by mail. and a host of other factors.

“The bottom line is they hope to make a profit that covers their production costs. Just as with other industries, agriculture’s trickle-down economics impacts the economy. In lean years, farmers may buy less equipment or put off adding that new grain bin,” Lillpop said.

Justina Chlum, executive director of the Bureau County Farm Service

Agency, said she finds the information derived from the ag census extremely interesting.

“I have the opportunity to help producers in the county through agriculture programs,” she said. “The census helps me better understand the producers in the county and how they operate, ultimately shining light on the potential need to adjust my outreach efforts.”

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AG Mag

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FIELD REPORT ’17: ‘Hard to fathom’: Despite dry spell late in season, technology and innovation help farmers do OK

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16 Fall 2017

F

BY LYLE GANTHER For NorthCentral Illinois Ag Mag

armers are reaping the benefits of today’s technology and seed vigor to get decent yields this year, despite the low amount of rain that fell on the crops, especially late in the growing season.

“That shouldn’t be,” said Larry Magnuson of rural Tiskilwa, who has been farming for 44 years in Bureau and Putnam counties.

“Last year we had our best overall yields,” he said, adding that this year’s yields for his soybean and corn fields are close to last year’s yields.

“It is hard to fathom, with no rain late this year, that the yields are as good as they are this year,” Magnuson added.

With low prices for their crops, farmers have been able to use various methods to keep their input costs down as much as possible without wasting the chemicals applied to their fields.

“Farmers have big enough battles with the perceptions on chemical usage,” he said. “We don’t need any further black eyes on overuse.”

Some farmers are planting cover crops to lessen weed pressure, build organic matter and slow erosion, while others use cover crops to have grazing land next spring for their animals.

Magnuson, who plans on retiring from farming in 2018, said farmers used to

Photos by Lyle Ganther/NorthCentral Illinois Ag Mag

Larry Magnuson of rural Tiskilwa operates his combine through a cornfield in southern Bureau County. rotate oats and hay on their land to give the soils a rest, but most farmers today just rotate corn and beans.

“They don’t give their ground a rest,” he said. “Farmers used to market their grain on the hoof [hogs and cattle]. When soybeans came along, that changed.”

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CONTINUED ON 204

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AG Mag

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LEFT: Families can see and pet two donkeys out at the farm. RIGHT: Free-range chickens roam the grounds at Bureau Creek Family Farm.

FRESH AIR AND SO MUCH MORE Down on this family farm, things are bustling

B

TEXT AND PHOTOS BY GOLDIE RAPP For NorthCentral Illinois Ag Mag

ureau Creek Family Farm, located outside of Tiskilwa, was bustling this fall season.

The family farm, which is owned by Ben and Sheena Schmidt, is growing each year into a place for families to enjoy the fresh country air, purchase fresh produce and pumpkins, and learn about the various animals bred and kept on the farm.

The Schmidt family raises goats, chickens, turkeys, ducks and donkeys — not to mention a rabbit, guineas, two dogs, and several barn kittens.

The Schmidts have plans to continue expanding their farm, and they welcome families to stop by and visit.

To keep up with events and activities happening on the farm, “like” the Bureau Creek Family Farm Facebook page.

18 Fall 2017

LEFT: Bureau Creek Family Farm started with two Myotonic goats in 2016, and the herd keeps on going today. RIGHT: Bureau Creek Family Farm welcomes families to bring their children to the farm for fresh air and to learn about the Myotonic breed.

ABOVE: Sheena (left) and Ben Schmidt visit with their close friend, Katlyn Sanden, as she shops for pumpkins in the patch. LEFT: Sheena Schmidt holds one of her three-dayold goats. Bureau Creek Family Farm breeds Myotonic goats. RIGHT: Ben Schmidt stops to pet one of his donkeys on the farm.

AG Mag

19

4CONTINUED FROM 17 “Chemical application is different today than it was 25 years ago,” Magnuson said.

“Farmers are using less chemicals and more on contact, not into the soil. Science and technology have improved the chemicals we use.”

Farmers’ input costs for anhydrous, potash and dap have gone down, not as much as they like. Diesel prices have also gone down after hikes several years ago. Seed corn and seed bean prices need to go down for farmers.

“When we were getting $15 [a bushel] for beans and $6 [a bushel] for corn, they jacked up prices because they could,” Magnuson said.

“When farmers are getting half of those amounts for their corn and beans, the seed prices are still up there because seed companies claim they have to account for technology and product costs.”

The hardest thing for many farmers is marketing. “Farmers are stubborn; in trying to save a nickel, they will lose a

Lyle Ganther/NorthCentral Illinois Ag Mag

Farmers have been having good yields from their fields this year despite a lack of rainfall late in the growing season. half dollar,“ he said.

Magnuson, who admits that marketing is his weakest point, said when prices were up over $4 for corn and $10 for beans earlier this year, those prices would have given most farmers a decent

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profit on this year’s crops.

Since these market prices were in March before the crops were even planted, farmers could have used their historic yields on crops and sold half of their 2017 soybeans and corn at that

time at higher prices than what they will get after they are harvested.

“We are our own worst enemy,” he said. “We pay what we are told to pay and take what they will give us. We have no bargaining chips.”

Magnuson said crop insurance protects farmers well.

“We still need it, but it is too generous, honestly, in my mind,” he said. “We had farm programs last year which we got payments from when we had decent yields.”

Magnuson started farming in 1975 in the Zearing area with his dad, Ed, and uncle, Roger Murphy. He was born and raised south of Tiskilwa, and started farming there in 1986. Magnuson’s dad and uncle started farming with Orland and Don Murphy, with Larry taking over the farmland over the years.

“We have been on this land for a long time,” he said. ”When I quit, it will have been 70 years for the Magnuson and Murphy families.”

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2017’s harvest and beyond: Better yields, but possibly lower incomes

A

BY DAVE COOK For NorthCentral Illinois Ag Mag

lthough monthly rainfall averages fluctuated during the 2017 agricultural season, many farmers experienced higher than expected yields for both corn and soybeans.

“May’s heavy rains limited planting opportunities and necessitated replanting for some, but the rain returned in July to boost the corn crops during the critical pollination period,” said Russ Higgins, a farmer and commercial agriculture educator with the University of Illinois Extension.

Higgins said weeds were one of the year’s biggest challenges, and those early heavy rains were responsible.

He said many herbicide applications were delayed, and weeds were able to emerge early or extend their annual winter growth and flowering.

“Remember the yellow fields this spring?

That was butterweed. Those established were too large to be 100 percent controlled by post-herbicide applications, and for some, weeds were a greater issue than in

“While reports on the efficacy of the herbicides on weeds was generally very good, unexpected issues of herbicide drift that had an effect on neighboring susceptible crops was widespread.”

Russ Higgins

Farmer and commercial agriculture educator with University of Illinois Extension recent years,” he added.

According to Higgins, 2017 was the first year farmers could plant dicamba tolerant soybeans and use the new dicamba herbicide formulations on them for Russ broadleaf weed control.

Higgins “While reports on the efficacy of the herbicides on weeds was generally very good, unexpected issues of herbicide drift that had an effect on neighboring susceptible crops was widespread,” he said.

Higgins said the most important concerns for local farmers are the current and projected commodity prices for both corn and soybeans, and that farm

incomes for both 2017 and 2018 are projected to be lower.

Illinois’ large budget cuts for road and bridge maintenance are also going to have an impact on area ag producers, Higgins said.

“This is always important to local farmers who’ve trended to moving more grain in semis and larger wagons,” he said.

“With much of the 2017 crop going into on-farm storage in an attempt to capture higher prices at a later time, some grain is moving greater distances,” Higgens said.

“The backlog on rural road and bridge improvements may cause farmers to change or extend their routes to reach their intended destination.”

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Farmers Forum WITH NORTHCENTRAL ILLINOIS AG MAG

What surprised you most about the 2017 growing season? What would you do different for 2018?

Kaleb Cain of Princeton

James Bickett of Princeton

Judson Wright of Tiskilwa

Kendra Cain of Princeton

Ian Fritz of Princeton

“We have had trouble getting the crops out due to weather. It also depends on the weather next year whether we plant corn or beans.”

“Planting was a challenge weather wise, in that we were late for all plots this year. We also have had to harvest crops between rains. In 2018, we won’t change much and use the same system we have done the last four years.”

“We didn’t get our crops in this spring as quickly as we liked due to rain. Harvest has been OK. We will put our acreage back to corn next year.”

“Weather was a little bit of challenge due to my dad’s busy schedule to harvest, but planting was smooth this spring.

We will roll with the same plan in 2018 that we have done the last several years.”

“We had a lot of water hemp, a big issue this year because there is no spray to kill it. We will rotate our corn and beans next year like we have done for 30-plus years.”

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Rural infrastructure needs remain; funds for road maintenance slashed in new state budget

BY DAVE COOK, GOLDIE RAPP AND PAM EGGEMEIER For NorthCentral Illinois Ag Mag

T

he need to fix the nation’s crumbling infrastructure is undeniable, but figuring out how to pay for it isn’t so obvious.

President Donald Trump made the modernization of the nation’s roads, bridges, waterways, rail systems and airports a top priority when he took office this year. At the center of his broad infrastructure plan was the use of public-private partnerships to help fund a $1 trillion infrastructure bill.

In late September, however, the president said he no longer wanted to use private investment to carry the load for government infrastructure programs.

America’s farmers depend on infrastructure to keep a competitive advantage in exporting products. Soybeans are this country’s most exported crop, but in the past 30 years, U.S. market share has dropped from 70 percent to 40 percent. nnn Brazil now has more than 40 percent of the soybean market, and now trails the U.S. in only corn exports. Transportation challenges had about doubled the cost of Brazil’s soybean production, but the South American country is pouring billions each year into rebuilding its infrastructure. Most of the money is coming from private investment, including a new Brazil-China investment fund that was launched with $20 billion.

CONTINUED ON 244

AG Mag

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4CONTINUED FROM 23 Farm advocacy groups, including Illlinois Farm Bureau, have made waterway transportation upgrades a high legislative priority. In Northwest Illinois, a large percentage of grains and livestock still travel along the Illinois River system.

In Illinois Infrastructure funding isn’t a problem at only the national level. Illinois lawmakers have pushed their financial mismanagement problems down the road by continuing to slash funding for maintenance of rural roads farmers use to haul their commodities to market.

Marshall-Putnam County Highway Engineer Pat Sloan has reported the new state budget is going to result in a 50 percent reduction in local road maintenance projects.

Language in the budget moved $303 million of bills from the Chicago Transit Authority and Series D bond payments from the Pat general fund to the transSloan portation fund.

With this new burden, the Illinois Department of Transportation took $50 million from local agencies and the remaining balance from its construction program.

“During the last 15 years, our purchasing power has decreased by more than 60 percent, meaning that counting both the decreased share of revenue we’ve raised and its decreased purchasing power, we can only do a fifth of what we did in 2000,” Sloan said.

He added a significant increase in infrastructure spending is needed, along with a distribution of revenue that is fair and sustainable.

“Our money has been chipped away over the years,” he added.

Sloan said 89 percent of the state’s roads are maintained by counties, townships or municipalities, and that

University of Illinois Extension photo

Trucks are key to hauling harvested grain to market, and the roads they travel are key, too. In Illinois, less state money will be devoted to county and township road maintenance this fiscal year, which could lead to roads to market that are less smooth and safe.

“During the last 15 years, our purchasing power has decreased by more than 60 percent, meaning that counting both the decreased share of revenue we’ve raised and its decreased purchasing power, we can only do a fifth of what we did in 2000.”

Pat Sloan

Marshall-Putnam County highway engineer 40 percent of vehicle travel is done on local roads.

Vehicle revenue is generated through a combination of the Motor Fuel Tax, which is paid at the pump, and through vehicle registration fees. According to Sloan, local agencies will now receive 20 percent of these funds, and the state will receive 60 percent. Previously, 40 percent of these funds were returned to local agencies.

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Sloan said there are $14 million of projects in need of funding in Marshall County, and that Putnam County has 14 miles of road reconstruction projects estimated to cost $3 million.

Putnam County also has three bridges that are classified as being in poor condition and will require $2.5 million to repair.

CONTINUED ON 254

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4CONTINUED FROM 24 Statewide, these cuts will mean that 124 miles of road improvements and 22 bridge projects won’t happen. IDOT has noted in a news release that “the rate of deterioration far exceeds the available funding to improve the system to acceptable conditions.”

Bureau County hit, too The Bureau County Highway Department is also expected to take a significant financial hit from the new budget.

The county’s Motor Fuel Tax revenue will be cut by $73,493, and $90,517 will be cut from 22 townships throughout the county. Bureau County Highway Engineer John Gross said that’s all but three townships that will see a reduction.

The $73,493 reduction is nearly 12 percent of MFT revenue that was already budgeted this year for the highway department, according to Gross. He called this loss “pretty significant” and one that was unforeseen.

While the highway John department has been Gross forced to adjust and decrease construction contracts over the past several years in an effort to battle the ever-decreasing MFT revenue, this latest decrease will force the highway department to reduce operational costs.

Gross said an employee recently retired, and the department will not be able to replace him, which will make up two-thirds of the revenue lost. The other third, or about $25,000, will be cut from fuel, parts, etc. Gross said it’s hard to tell exactly where those cuts will be made.

While many want to believe this will be a one-year adjustment, Gross said this is expected to be perpetual because it’s the outcome of a shift in funding from general revenue to trans-

portation. He said the cost of paying the Series D bonds will increase every year, and it’s unknown when those bonds will retire. The bonds paid for the Illinois Jobs Now! program signed into law in 2009.

And as for the Chicago transit, Gross said there’s been no requirement for CTA to cut back on its budget.

“Counties and townships are essentially being forced to pay for bond obligations and operation of a transit system, both of which they receive no benefit from,” Gross said.

“When the good people of rural Illinois voted overwhelmingly in favor of the Lockbox Amendment for Transportation, I don’t believe this was the expected outcome.”

Moving grain Larry Hummel, a Lee County farmer, stores his own grain, but sells it through grain elevators. Elevators sometimes handle the trucking, but farmers also hire out the driving duties.

Ethanol and biodiesel plants now take some of the region’s corn and soybeans, but quite a bit still winds up traveling through the locks and dams system that is more than 70 years old in places. A smaller amount goes to the Rochelle intermodal system, which often ends up in Japan.

“Twenty years ago, probably 90 percent of our local grain and livestock went to the Illinois River, but now we take some to the ethanol plants and Rochelle,” Hummel said. “The locks and dams affect us quite a bit because a big percentage of our grain still goes straight to the Illinois River.”

The Marquis Energy ethanol plant in Hennepin is a popular landing spots for local grain.

Hummel said most of the roads often traveled by the trucks are in decent shape, but some of the bridges are in dire need of work. A bill passed a couple of years ago helped make road capacity regulations more consistent.

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“It helped us that the roads are all 80,000-pound capacity unless specifically designated – some of the county and township roads were a lot less,” Hummel said.

The river system The locks and dams, however, can significantly increase the cost of doing business. Low water levels, flooding, locks that are too small, and faulty gates often stall ag cargo.

“When the locks and dams are shut down for repairs – sometimes for a week or more – it really affects our markets,” Hummel said. “When they aren’t moving, the ethanol plants don’t have to bid as high for grain.”

In Washington, Trump says an infrastructure bill is still a high priority, but it keeps getting pushed to the back burner. Agriculture advocates are confident it will happen, just not as soon as they would have liked.

“We’re hopeful there will be some movement after tax reform and the farm bill, but this takes time and there isn’t much time before the midterm elections,” said Adam Nielsen, director of national legislation and policy development at Illinois Farm Bureau.

Nielsen said Farm Bureau’s biggest push on infrastructure is for improvements to locks and dams. The Peoria Lock and Dam complex in Creve Coeur is particularly important to farmers, giving them market access from the Illinois River to Chicago. Very few upgrades have been made since it was built by the U.S. Army Corps of Engineers in the 1930s. An estimated 8.2 million tons of grain made its way through the lock in 2016.

“Every time the gates fail, it costs farmers and businesses a lot of money,” Nielsen said. “We’ve had talks about getting this done in 2020, and we’re hoping they get the 1,200-foot locks built.”

CONTINUED ON 264

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U.S. Army Corps of Engineers photo

Maintenance crews with the U.S. Army Corps of Engineers, Rock Island District, demolish part of the lower guidewall at Lock and Dam 15 in Rock Island. The concrete was removed in May, before it could haphazardly fall into the river.

4CONTINUED FROM 25 Many locks along the inland waterways system are only half that size. The locks were made for much smaller tows.

Today’s tows carry up to 15 barges, so they must often be stopped and broken up for two stages, slowing down the cargo for several hours.

Towboats push connected barges along the waterways, which is an efficient mode of transportation. One 15-barge tow moves as much product as 225 rail cars or 870 tractor-trailers.

Rural Infrastructure U.S. Rep. Cheri Bustos, D-East Moline,

is on the House Agriculture Committee, and has taken a leadership role on the Transportation and Infrastructure panel. In early October, Bustos presented a comprehensive rural infrastructure plan to the administration’s legislative affairs team.

Bustos doesn’t expect infrastructure development to get bogged down in partisan politics.

“Ag and transportation are two of the most bipartisan committees in the House,” Bustos said. “There are no party labels on a desire for world-class infrastructure, and both Democrats and Republicans want it.”

Bustos agreed that tax reform will delay any action on transportation, but

it might not be that far off.

“The secretary of transportation said they would look at transportation after tax reform is passed, and [House Speaker] Paul Ryan hopes to have tax reform passed by Thanksgiving,” Bustos said.

Bustos said all signs point toward bipartisan support for infrastructure investments that will also create jobs and improve the quality of life in rural America.

“I’m still optimistic about getting this done because both parties want it,” Bustos said. “The president also needs a win on this. He said infrastructure and transportation was one of the first things he would get done and there is a tremendous opportunity to do it.”

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Giving ag the college try Local community colleges revive long-dormant agriculture programs Program coordinator Willard Mott (left) instructs IVCC ag students at a field near campus last fall. (Photo contributed)

BY BOB TOMASZEWSKI For NorthCentral Illinois Ag Mag

T

oday’s revived agriculture programs at local community colleges don’t look quite like their predecessors.

You see, their predecessors didn’t have drones, or robotics, or even global positioning systems.

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above at Illinois Valley Community College in Oglesby and at Sauk Valley Community College in Dixon, where ag programs have restarted in the past 15 months.

The IVCC program restarted last fall after being dormant for 15 years.

AG Mag

27

Goldie Rapp/NorthCentral Illinois Ag Mag

Willard Mott, program director and instructor at Illinois Valley Community College in Oglesby, is working to promote the college’s new agriculture programs for students.

4CONTINUED FROM 27 The program at Sauk was revived this fall. The college hadn’t had an ag program since the mid-1990s.

Both colleges now offer Associates of Applied Sciences degrees.

At IVCC, students have access to a 150-acre school farm for crops and soil labs, as well as a mechanics shop and greenhouse, said program director and instructor Willard Mott.

Students there are using technology

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such as robotics and global positioning systems to learn about precision farming.

“Agriculture is the largest industry in our district, a significant portion of our tax base and high school ag enrollments are increasing. Unfortunately, these students have been forced to travel long distances or perhaps even relocate to study at other community colleges and universities. We’re changing that,” Mott told the Bureau County Republican in August.

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4CONTINUED FROM 28 Mott said the reason for the revival in agriculture programs among community colleges was a 5-year projection from 2015 to 2020 by the USDA showing there would be 57,000 agricultural job openings annually with only 35,400 graduates yearly with an agriculture degree. Mott hopes IVCC and other schools like Sauk can help fill that 20,000 job employment gap locally.

There are 30 students enrolled in the IVCC ag program.

At Sauk, students are learning how drones are used for precision agriculture practices. Students now can become certified in Unmanned Aircraft Systems operation, which is usually required to be insured, said Jon Mandrell, vice president of academics at the school. Students in the UAS program must purchase their own aircraft, starting with the Syma X-5. They begin learning to fly indoors, and eventually learn how to fly the more advanced TGI Phantom 4.

A farmer might use a drone for high-resolution spectral maps to determine which crops need more fertilizer.

Drones offer farmers a more targeted approach to their work.

Instructor Richard Eichman hopes the students, and others, have a new perspective on drones.

“People see drones as toys [rather than tools],” he said.

The school’s perspective on agriculture certainly has changed in recent years.

On Oct. 16, Sauk kicked off the revitalization of its ag program by unveiling new signs for its “land laboratory” – newly planted test plots on the college’s east lawn. Scott Stoller, a grain merchandiser with Dixon-based Ag Perspective and the chairman of the college’s Board of Trustees, attended the event.

He recalled wondering, “We sit in the middle of agriculture production, where is our ag program?”

Alex T. Paschal/NorthCentral Illinois Ag Mag

Students at Sauk Valley Community College can now become certified in flying a drone like this “low-end” professional model being operated by instructor Richard Eichman. The class is part of the college’s revival of its agriculture program. The drone can travel up to 400 feet off the ground, and 1 mile away from the controller.

In the new ag program, students take general education courses, required ag classes, and then pick one of two tracks: agribusiness – think management, business, economics and accounting – or career technical, which focuses on areas such as welding, electrical and fluid power.

The new program, created in partnership with local farming and industry leaders, will train a new generation of agri-farmers and agri-business professionals to work in the Sauk Valley.

Ryan Anderson, 39, of Dixon, runs the ag program.

The new land lab will have pollinators next to the test plot, so students can study how they interact with the plants.

They’ve already developed a better

understanding of the soil composition since August, Anderson said.

“One of the difficulties of having a brand-new program is that you don’t necessarily have all the equipment you need, and you have to get creative,” ​he said, citing the school’s partnerships with local businesses.

Sauk is considering incorporating a Commercial Drivers License component to the program, specifically for operating farm equipment, Anderson said.

“We have several employers who have an immediate need for students that may not necessarily need an associate’s degree,” Anderson said. “Some of the consistent needs are for individuals with CDLs.”

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AG Mag

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xxx

IN TUNE WITH HISTORY

Delbert Schafer, 86, of Franklin Grove in Lee County, concentrates as he operates his 1952 Minneapolis Moline tractor.

(Chris Johnson/ NorthCentral Illinois Ag Mag)

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Northern Illinois man has a passion for farm implements Delbert Schafer, 86, of Franklin Grove, inspects the belts, pulleys, and mechanical parts of his 1929 Huber Manufacturing Company’s Model G2 Thresher that was purchased by his father, Arthur M. Schafer, in 1936.

(Chris Johnson/ NorthCentral Illinois Ag Mag)

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BY CHRIS JOHNSON For NorthCentral Illinois Ag Mag

W

ith the grace of a circus acrobat, a Franklin Grove farmer works to keep the past alive.

Delbert Schafer, 86, gracefully climbs ladders and nimbly walks across machinery as he carefully examines each moving piece on his Lee County farm.

Running a thresher is like a finely tuned acrobatic routine between the operator and the tractor supplying the power. Before the first revolution of the engine or the first grain is threshed, Schafer inspects every belt, lever, and mechanical connection to ensure it is safe to run.

As he climbs over the machine, Schafer pauses and places his hand on the side of the machine, listening to and checking the rhythm of the thresher.

With these machines “you get a feel for how it runs,” he says.

“It runs like a sewing

machine, and you can tell how it is working by the sound and feel. I love the way this machine works.”

After 15 seconds, he says, “It is running a hair fast.” to one of the assistants, who reduces the power.

“I check the speed of the machine by touching it and looking at my watch,” Schafer says.

“It should be exactly 168 strokes per minute. You can damage the machine if it goes too fast.”

Schafer has a passion for the Huber Manufacturing Co’s Model G2 Thresher that spans generations.

This Marion, Ohio, built machine was purchased by his father, Arthur M. Schafer, in 1936.

“It was and still is a good machine,” he says. “[Dad] was running it and threshing for our neighbors until 1951 or ’52, when a combine was purchased.”

A 1952 Minneapolis Moline tractor is one of his favorite machines to use when running the thresher.

These two pieces of farm history have a sapecial place in Schafer’s heart.

The thresher was the oldest piece of farm equipment that was purchased by his dad, while the tractor was the last Arthur purchased.

Asked why he brings the equipment to shows, Schafer has a quick answer.

CONTINUED ON 324 AG Mag

31

4CONTINUED FROM 31 “If you don’t use it, you lose it,” he says with a laugh. “Tractors and equipment were made to be used. I like to use my tractors, and I make sure they are used.”

Attending shows like the Living History Antique Equipment Association’s annual Summer Harvest Festival in Franklin Grove gives Schafer the opportunity to use the equipment and teach future generations about farming.

He also does not want to see the history dismantled.

“I sold tractors as an implement dealer since ’54. It is unfortunate, but you can sell the parts of these old machines for more than keeping them [running]. I think it is a challenge to keep them running and bringing equipment back to life.”

Schafer is a rarity in an industry where machines are traded, sold, or scrapped for parts.

“When you find a reliable car, tractor, or machine, I like to keep them,”he says. “I have all the Oldsmobiles I have ever driven except for two.”

And he still drives an Oldsmobile.

Chris Johnson/NorthCentral Illinois Ag Mag

Delbert Schafer laughs as he talks with visitors at the Summer Harvest Festival in Franklin Grove. This 1952 Minneapolis Moline was the last new tractor purchased by Schafer’s dad.

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FOREIGN EXCHANGE Chinese officials visit region to dine, discuss agriculture

A

BY PHILLIP HARTMAN For NorthCentral Illinois Ag Mag

little beef, a little pie, and a lot of discussion of American agriculture were on the agenda for a Chinese delegation visiting a 150-year-old Lanark farm this fall.

A group of seven visitors from Chinese ministries and universities took a tour of the Lamoreux farm.

The delegates were on a 2-week visit to America as part of the U.S. Department of Agriculture’s Scientific Cooperation Program.

CONTINUED ON 344

Zhang Lubiao, deputy director-general of the department of International Cooperation with the Chinese Ministry of Agriculture, presents a gift to John Lamoreux and his wife. Zhang visited the Lamoreux family farm in Carroll County in September as a part of a delegation from the Chinese Ministry of Agriculture. (Peter Balser/NorthCentral Illinois Ag Mag)

AG Mag

33

4CONTINUED FROM 33 The stopover came as Illinois farmers started sending beef to China for the first time in more than a decade “China has almost unlimited potential.

There hadn’t been [beef] exports to China because of mad cow disease,” said Lou Lamoreux, 68, a board member of the Illinois Meat Export Federation. He farms with his brother, John, 70.

The Chinese beef market reopened to American imports earlier this year, after an embargo put in place in 2003 was lifted. Jodi Bucher, president of the Illinois Beef Association, said the first shipment of beef was sent to China on June 14.

“It’s a $2.6 billion-peryear estimated market for the U.S.,” Bucher said of China.

CONTINUED ON 354

Peter Balser/NorthCentral Illinois Ag Mag

Lanark farmer Lou Lamoreux shows feed corn to Zhang Lubiao (left) and Li Chao (center), members of a delegation from the Chinese Ministry of Agriculture, during their visit to his family farm in September.

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4CONTINUED FROM 34 Zhang Xuebiao, 35, a research associate at the Agricultural Information Institute of the Chinese Academy of Agricultural Sciences, said that while Chinese people like to eat pork, they also are looking for more high-quality beef.

Lamoreux said the only beef imports permitted by the Chinese government are liver, tongue, and tripe.

On Sept. 26, the delegation enjoyed a different cut of beef when they sat down to a steak dinner with the family. Liu Zhiyi, 35, a research associate at the Chinese Ministry of Agriculture, said, “The steak is very good.”

The Lamoreuxes and their guests showed the delegates some of the cattle, and discussed how the family uses manure to fertilize their own crops.

The farm has between 700 and 1,000 head cattle, mainly Angus, and another 200 cows with calves. Lou’s son, Nathan, and John’s son, Dan, both 34, also help with the

5-generation family farm, which was started in 1867.

“Our families, together, have about 900 acres. We rent about that much more.

We also have corn, soybeans, and hay,” Lou Lamoreux said.

Professor Zhu Jing, 48, dean of the College of Economic Management at Nanjing Agricultural University, spoke with Dan Lamoreux about the cattle operations, certification for farmers, and the differences between farming in China and America.

“The biggest differences are size and mechanization.

You have vast land,” Zhu said. The average Chinese farm is about .1 hectare, or a quarter of an acre, and “Northeast China has some machinery,” he said.

Cari Garcia Manns, president of Traders Group Inc. Chicago, said the delegates had stopped in Washington, D.C., Nebraska, and Chicago, and would reschedule a visit to New York before completing their trip in Long Beach, California. The tour started Sept. 17 and wrapped up Sept. 29.

Peter Balser/NorthCentral Illinois Ag Mag

Reid Blossom, executive vice president of the Ilinois Beef Association, talks about the Illinois Beef Quality Assurance test with members of a delegation from the Chinese Ministry of Agriculture.

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