BAM_11-23-2015

AG Mag

NorthCentral Illinois

Life Force

The heart of agriculture in NorthCentral Illinois is just beneath the surface HOLDING PATTERN: Grain glut has many farmers deciding whether to sell or store HIS AND HERS: On today’s farm, men and women are equals

A Publication of Shaw Media

Fall 2015 AG Mag

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AG Mag

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Index

AG Mag

NorthCentral Illinois

Publisher Sam R Fisher Advertising Sales Development Director Pam Pratt Editor Terri Simon Magazine Editor Jeff Rogers Reporters & Photographers Dave Cook, Pam Eggemeier, Eric Engel, Dave Fox, Lyle Ganther, Alex T. Paschal, Bailey Poolman, Goldie Rapp, Kathleen A. Schultz, Shannon Serpette, and Brenden West 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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COVER STORY

Stewards of the soil NorthCentral Illinois is dirt rich. Local farmers take many steps to make sure it stays that way.

Healthy harvest A local program helps bring gardens to those who might not normally be able to afford one, or grow one.

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AG Mag

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Index Cattle calling Wyanet teen Kalie Rumbold has made her way from county shows to national shows, winning her first national showmanship award this year in Maryland.

22 Active students The Princeton High School FFA chapter has activities all year, and its membership continues to grow.

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One color dominates the landscape of Lloyd Schrowang’s family farm in Granville: International Harvester red.

Sell vs. store NorthCentral Illinois farmers must decide what to do with all that grain as prices continue to lag.

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AG Mag

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Travis Freiwald, a harvest helper at Ruff Brothers in Lostant, watches 2014 corn fill up a truck headed to Marquis Energy LLC’s ethanol plant in Hennepin.

(Lyle Ganther/NorthCentral Illinois Ag Mag)

AMPLE WAVES OF GRAIN

High yields, low prices have farmers on hold

W

BY LYLE GANTHER AND DAVE FOX For NorthCentral Illinois Ag Mag

hile some local farmers were harvesting their crops this fall, they still were holding on to grain from 2014, two elevator managers in LaSalle County said.

Drew Partain, manager of Co-operative Grain and Supply Co. in Troy Grove, and Jesse Ruff, manager and owner of Ruff Brothers Grain, with 12 locations, both said farmers were waiting for prices to rise to $4 or $4.50 a bushel.

Partain said about 15 percent of last year’s

10 Fall 2015

crop was still stored when this year’s harvest began. That’s about 10 percentage points higher than usual, he said.

“Farmers are definitely slow to sell due to the low prices,” Partain said.

Farmers, Ruff said, “are putting off the decision to sell as long as they can.”

Gunnar Ortgiesen, who is chief financial officer for Sterling-based Tettens Grain, said prices were about $3.60 as the harvest began. Corn prices reached record levels, around $10, just 3 years ago.

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CONTINUED FROM 10

“Prices [in mid-September] were down below most farmers’ break-even point on corn and beans,” he said. “But what I look for is that maybe they get better mid- or post-harvest. It’s a waitand-see kind of thing.”

Not to worry, though, Ortgiesen said.

“Commodities are always cycle-driven. It’s a supply-and-demand thing.

We’re in the downside right now, but it will come back around, like it always does.”

Prices climbed after the 2012 drought because of shortages nationwide. No one can expect that sort of thing every year, he said.

Reed Akre, commodity broker with Maplehurst Farms in Lee Center, said planting patterns can make a difference in prices from year to year by offsetting surpluses.

“I think we have more acres of beans planted this year than corn,” he said. “Probably grain prices and the cost of inputs had a lot to do with that.”

The drop in corn prices, Akre said, is good for Gunnar consumers because fuel Ortgiesen prices decrease. A leveling off in the demand for ethanol has negatively impacted corn prices, too, he said.

Another factor is that China, a main player in the export market, hasn’t bought as much corn. Exports also have been impacted by the stronger U.S. dollar, which makes grain more expensive for importing nations.

Corn can be a somewhat complicated grain, Akre said. With ethanol, DDGs and other newer technology, there

should be an increased demand for the grain, which would cause prices to continue rising. However, technology has enabled producers to increase yields, offsetitng or stabiliziing prices.

“Yields definitely have a lot to do with technology,” Akre said. “Things like GMOs (genetically modified organisms), more efficient planting methods, and other technology is now available to farmers that wasn’t available several decades ago.”

By mid-harvest, corn prices seemed to be rising slower than many had hoped, he said.

Soybean prices tend to follow the same cycles as corn. In mid-September, Akre said, bean prices were around $8.65 a bushel. For a short time after the 2012 drought, the price exceeded $17.

CONTINUED ON 12

Lyle Ganther/NorthCentral Illinois Ag Mag

Joe Aughenbaugh, yard man at Co-operative Grain and Supply Co. in Troy Grove, gathers samples of corn from this year’s crop as it pours from a farmer’s truck.

AG Mag

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CONTINUED FROM 11

“Those prices didn’t stay there very long,” Akre said, “maybe a month or so.”

Once soybean prices drop, like corn they usually remain stable, for many of the same reasons.

“Bean prices are down largely due to increased technology, higher yields and a wider variety of uses,” Akre said.

“It’s amazing how technology such as GMO factors, along with increased yields, can help keep up with increased demands, so the market takes care of itself most often,” he said.

This year’s yields might be down a bit from 2014, said Ortgiesen, with Tettens Grain. “Early indications are that this year’s totals may be off 10 percent from last year,” he said.

Partain said farmers are betting the USDA is overstating the size of this year’s crop so that prices will rise to levels where they can sell and make a profit.

The current price for corn is below the cost of production for farmers, who are hoping the prices go up once the crop comes in from the fields, said Partain.

“If the yields are lower than projected, prices will go up, which is what farmers are hoping will happen,” Ruff said.

Corn did reach $4.50 a bushel briefly in July when there was a lot of rain.

“This level didn’t last long and hasn’t come back,” Ruff said.

12 Fall 2015

Dave Fox/NorthCentral Illinois Ag Mag

Matt Sandrock farms grain and other crops in four counties and is based south of Rock Falls. Yields this year are likely to be down a bit from 2014, “but then, last year was an exceptional year,” he said.

Similarly, the soybean harvest was looking “better than we were anticipating,” Akre said.

“We were a little too wet in the spring, but the rolling and higher ground will offset some of the poorer yields in the lower areas.”

South of Rock Falls, Matt Sandrock had mixed feelings about this year’s

corn and bean crops.

He and his brother, Ben, farm grain and other crops in four counties, along with maintaining their prized black Angus beef herd. Sandrock said yields were likely going to be down a bit from 2014.

CONTINUED ON 13

CONTINUED FROM 12

“But then,” he said, “last year was an exceptional year.”

With about one-third of corn harvested in early October, Sandrock said they were looking at corn prices of $4 a bushel or lower.

“The market may go up by the end of the year,” he said, “but a lot of people with situations similar to ours will likely be storing their own crops for a while with the hopes that things may rebound, but that’s just speculation for now.”

One plus? Late-season weather was good for drying crops.

“Drier crops will help offset some of the costs of lower market prices,” Sandrock said. “Lower drying costs always make a difference.

Any time your expenses are down, it’s a good thing.”

Sandrock’s neighbor, Gary Johnson, said most of his corn wouldn’t need to be dried.

“So it can go straight from the field to the bins,” he said.

“Having low to nonexistent drying costs will make a dif-

ference in the bottom line this year.”

Calvin Standley, of rural Malden, said corn and bean prices will be higher for him because he sells on contract.

“I’ve always pretty much been a contract seller on grain,” he said.

High yields this year and locked-in prices make for a strong showing – Standley said he will get about $12 a bushel for beans and $5 for corn.

In Ogle County, Tex Bellows farms 3,300 acres with a partner. He said he averages 600 to 700 acres in beans, 80 acres in hay, and the rest in corn.

Do projections of averageto-low corn prices in some areas worry him?

“I tend to think the prices may go up a little bit when they realize a lot of this land won’t produce as much corn as they think it will,” Bellows said.

“I don’t think we’ll ever see the high corn prices we saw a few years ago, because those record highs were pretty amazing. But I think the prices will correct themselves and we’ll come out OK this year.”

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Photo submitted

Farm bureaus in Bureau, Henry and Stark counties, along with the Kewanee Fire Department, recently sponsored a course for fire, rescue and EMS personnel. The course involved an 8-hour combination of instruction and hands-on incident training conducted by Dave Newcomb and Jim Berry of the Illinois Fire Service Institute.

HOME-GROWN DANGER

Farm bureaus offer training to make agriculture a safer industry

BY SHANNON SERPETTE For NorthCentral Illinois Ag Mag

On the farm, dangers are ever present for farmers and the emergency personnel called to help handle emergencies. The proper training could mean all the difference when an accident occurs.

For that reason, farm bureaus in Henry, Stark and Bureau counties offer training to protect agricultural workers and emergency responders.

All three participated in farm rescue training for emergency responders that was hosted by Henry County. The Kewanee Fire Department took part, and the training was provided by the Illinois Fire 14 Fall 2015

Service Institute.

“We do also offer training for farmers; specifically in the past we have held grain-handling safety courses, in partnership with the Illinois Grain Handling Safety Coaition,” said Katie Laleman, Henry County Farm Bureau manager.

“This training class has also been held for employees of the grain elevators.”

The need for such training is clear to Laleman.

“This type of training is so very critical in our agricultural driven county,” Laleman said.

CONTINUED ON 47

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AG Mag

15

Local interest in Great Wall of Rescue

Grain bin safety equipment developed in Lanark

BY BRENDEN WEST For NorthCentral Illinois Ag Mag

It takes seconds to sink, and minutes to suffocate. The subject of grain entrapment hits close to home.

In 2010, the United States recorded an all-time high in grain entrapment-related deaths: 26. Two of them occurred in rural Mount Carroll in Carroll County: July deaths of two teens working on an operation owned by Haasbach LLC. This region is corn country, making prevalent the use of grain bins. That’s the reason Eastland Feed & Grain in Lanark for years has been developing rescue technology.

“We understand how much effort and how much of an investment goes into keep-

ing grain in storage in good quality,” said Kirsten Kniss, Eastland sales manager. “Grain entrapment is becoming a lot more frequent with the increase of storage capacity. … You see it a lot more in the news, and there are safety devices specifically made for grain extrication.”

Shortly after the deaths in Mount Carroll, Eastland owner Roger Coulthard developed his first prototype of the Great Wall of Rescue.

“Once that happened, we really got to work on this,” Kniss said. “We wanted to invent something and get something out there that’s easy to use and cheap.”

CONTINUED ON 17

A crew goes through a safety training exercise using the Great Wall of Rescue, a prototype designed in Lanark

by Eastland Feed & Grain owner Roger Coulthard after two July 2010 deaths in rural Mount Carroll in Carroll County.

Eastland sponsors regular safety demonstrations.

(Photo submitted)

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Manufactured by a company subdivision called Eastland Fabrication, the equipment directs emergency responders to fasten four panels around entrapped subjects using a custom-made ball and socket hinge. This creates a “wall” to prevent the victim from sinking lower into the bin.

Entrapment commonly occurs when operators stand on the surface of the grain.

Unbeknownst to victims, beneath the grain’s surface are pockets of air known as “grain bridges” that cave under their weight.

Once cave-ins occur, victims are pulled to the center of the bin. If they sink to knee level, it’s impossible to pull them out without assistance. The grain applies 75 pounds per cubic foot of pressure; the amount of force is so powerful, it often bruises victims.

The Great Wall of Rescue alleviates the force by isolating the pressure. Once the technology is secure, it allows responders to extract grain immediately surrounding a subject, lowering the force enough to remove him or her.

“The whole concept of a grain rescue tube is you need to build a barrier around the victim,” Kniss said. “You connect these panels around the victim, press them into

the grain.

That allows for the safer extraction.”

Kniss added that Eastland tries to make its product affordable Kirsten for local fire Kniss departments that conduct the extractions. The company also sponsors regular grain bin safety demonstrations, with the most recent seminar seeing representation from 12 communities, including Erie and Prophetstown.

The training is vital, Kniss said, though it’s hard to simulate a real scenario. In demonstrations – during which people are sunk into grain at a safe level, then extracted – a “rescue” takes place within 15 minutes.

During the Mount Carroll tragedy, it took 12 hours before responders could recover the victims’ bodies.

But a positive sign to Kniss is that interest in the Great Wall of Rescue is growing, including among local responders who want the best techniques for saving lives.

“We take safety very seriously here,” Kniss said, referencing entrapments that have hit home. “With us, we want to make saving lives quick, smooth, and really easy.”

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Grain bin safety tips The University of Illinois Extension offices have issued a list of grain bin safety tips to help avoid entrapment incidents. Find more at www.web.extension.illinois.edu.

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• Have, preferably, two people outside the bin who can help if you become entrapped. They should be trained in rescue procedures.

• Stay out of grain bins, wagons and grain trucks when unloading equipment is running.

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AG Mag

17

Grown from a mother’s love Healthy Gardening project ripens into a bountiful harvest for all involved

BY DAVE COOK For NorthCentral Illinois Ag Mag

Much like a seed breaks through the soil toward sunlight, powerful emotions are just beneath the surface as Barb Dahlbach talks about the origin of Healthy Gardening.

The Toluca woman has a deeply personal connection to the project.

“I have a young daughter who married a man with cerebral palsy, and they were having a hard time making it. She wanted, for her birthday, containers, plants, seeds and soil, so she could grow things at the apartment she was living in, so she could feed her daughter healthy food,” she said.

“I figured she couldn’t be the only one who had the same kind of problems. Even though it is a lot cheaper to buy the plants and have a garden, when you don’t have any money, it’s impossible to do.

CONTINUED ON 19

18 Fall 2015

Chef Monika Sudakov of Chestnut Street Inn in Sheffield helps complete the final phase of the Healthy Gardening project by showing how to make easy meals using home-grown ingredients at Putnam County Community Center in Standard.

(Dave Cook/NorthCentral Illinois Ag Mag)

CONTINUED FROM 18

“It gave us the idea to start working on buying plants and seeds and giving them to people who use the food pantries or other people who need help, and to teach them how to do it.”

Dahlbach, a master gardener for 20 years in Marshall and Putnam counties, worked for 3 years with peers and the University of Illinois Barb Extension office to see Dahlbach the Healthy Gardening project grow like a vine.

They give away tomato and green pepper plants, onion sets, seeds, containers and soil – the basics of a home garden.

And, just as important, they provide help throughout the season to ensure the success of those new gardens.

“We see, when we’re passing out the items, people who are almost shy, they feel bad about being at the food pantry, but then they’ll get excited and say, ‘Mom and Dad always had a garden, but we couldn’t afford one. This is going to be so nice, being able to do this,’” Dahlbach said.

An evening bike ride with her husband gave her a taste of the program’s impact.

“I saw a little boy come out of his

house and pull a tomato off of one of the pots we gave away, and he started eating it. ... I just can’t explain it,” Dahlbach said, her voice full of emotion.

Mary Jo Witek, community worker and master gardener with the Extension office for Marshall and Putnam counties, said the program begins with education.

“The master gardeners teach classes on how to garden, so people learn the fundamentals. This year we also did container gardening basics,” Witek said.

The second phase, she said, is the distribution of seeds and other materials.

There also are question-and-answer sessions with master gardeners for those having problems.

“It’s instant gratification for their gardening questions,” she said.

The third and final phase, Witek said, is to “teach people how to use what they’ve grown.”

To aid in that teaching, chef Monika Sudakov of Chestnut Street Inn in Sheffield gave a presentation in August at Putnam County Community Center in Standard called “From Your Garden to Your Table.”

She showed people how to make quick, easy, healthy and delicious food using many home-grown ingredients.

“A lot of people who don’t have any money don’t even have stoves,” Dahlbach said.

CONTINUED ON 20

NEW OFFICE, SAME ADDRESS, SAME COMPANY!

2015 Healthy Gardening totals Families in Marshall and Putnam counties were served: • 36 container classes, panel discussions and demonstrations • 907 tomato plants • 528 pepper plants • 225 other plants • 20 pounds of onions • 64 bags of potting soil • 109 buckets and containers In Granville, 99 families were helped by the Healthy Gardening project along with many others in Marshall County.

Eight families were helped through North Central Behavioral System in Princeton.

Watch your garden grow

Want to learn the basics of planning and caring for a vegetable garden? Then “Watch Your Garden Grow” is for you.

It covers what to grow, soil preparation, fertilization and many planting tips.

It includes 34 different vegetables with extensive information on varieties, care, harvesting and common problems. It also describes how to prepare, store and serve the vegetables with several tasty recipes.

Visit “Watch Your Garden Grow” at http://urbanext.illinois.edu/veggies.

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Moroccan Relish

“They only have microwaves or electric skillets, and they think they can’t cook anything healthy because they don’t have a lot of utensils or equipment. But they’re able to do it, as we saw ... with Monika. She showed you don’t need a lot of things to make a healthy meal.”

Each year the project has gotten bigger. With donations from Ball Seed Co., Bernardi Italian Foods, Bonnie Seeds, Gurney’s Seed and Nursery Co., Henry Fields, Home Depot, the Toluca Rotary Club and others, the project this year has reached, geographically, as far as it can with the small group of master gardeners available. But they are always looking to help more families in their communities.

“I retired, and this became my fulltime job,” Dahlbach said.

“We also do lettuce bed gardens at the schools. We go into the classrooms in Putnam County, we have someone interested in starting it in LaSalle County, and I’m helping to start it in Bureau County at a school.

“We go in six to 10 times and teach how to care for a lettuce bed and we plant different things,” Witek said. “And at the end, we harvest it and they get to eat a salad and enjoy the results of their work. It promotes the next generation of gardeners.”

As the growing season winds down,

1/2 red onion, diced Handful of grape tomatoes 1 English cucumber, peeled, seeded and diced 1 green bell pepper, seeded and diced 2-3 garlic cloves, minced 1/4 cup of cilantro 1/4 cup of Italian parsley Kosher salt and freshly ground pepper 1 teaspoon ground cumin 1 teaspoon Hungarian paprika 3-4 tablespoons extra virgin olive oil 2-3 tablespoons red wine vinegar Combine vegetables in a mixing bowl.

Drizzle with oil and vinegar. Season to taste with salt, pepper, cumin and paprika. Allow to marinate at least one hour or overnight before serving. Serve at room temperature.

Makes about 8 servings.

Spicy green beans

2 pounds green beans, trimmed and cut into 1-inch pieces 2-3 garlic cloves, minced 3 tablespoons extra virgin olive oil planning for the next season has already begun.

“Our goal is to do the full project in Bureau County, but for sure we’ll be in Princeton,” Witek said. “The start-up is the hardest, because you don’t know

2 tablespoons unsalted butter Pinch of salt and pepper Pinch of freshly grated nutmeg 2 teaspoons Harissa paste (A Tunisian hot chili pepper paste made from roasted red and other peppers, garlic paste, olive oil and spices such as caraway, coriander and cumin) 1/4 cup dry vermouth or dry sherry 1/4-1/2 cup chicken broth In a medium sauté pan over medium-high heat, add olive oil and butter and heat until the butter has melted. Add garlic and cook for 1 minute or until fragrant.

Add green beans. Season with salt, pepper and nutmeg. Add vermouth or sherry and Harissa paste and turn heat to high.

Cook uncovered until most of the liquid has evaporated. Add chicken broth and bring to a boil. Cover and cook on low heat, stirring occasionally for approximately 10 minutes. Remove lid and turn heat to high. Cook on high heat uncovered until all the liquid has evaporated.

Adjust seasoning to taste.

Makes about 10-12 servings.

– Recipes from chef Monika Sudakov

how many people you’ll reach, and you hate to discourage or turn away people because you ran out of materials.”

“You also have to have the donations,” Dahlbach said. “We’ve been very lucky.

It’s all about people helping people.”

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Kalie Rumbold, 19, a student at Black Hawk College, has received national attention for her talent in the show ring. Rumbold has been showing cattle since age 9.

(Goldie Rapp/NorthCentral Illinois Ag Mag)

Moo-ving into the champion’s ring Kalie Rumbold’s skills are in the national spotlight

BY GOLDIE RAPP For NorthCentral Illinois Ag Mag

Kalie Rumbold, 19, of Wyanet began showing cattle at the Bureau County 4-H Fair when she was just 9 years old.

Her mother feared heifers were too big to handle at the time, so she started with small bucket calves, which were tame and easier for a small girl to handle.

Not long after, Rumbold’s older brother, Tyler, was awarded a Shorthorn heifer for winning an essay contest. That’s when the Rumbold family really got into the sport of showing cattle.

Eventually, the Rumbolds transitioned into raising Angus cattle.

“They had better genetics,” Kalie explained. “They were easier to breed, and overall, just a lower maintenance cattle.”

22 Fall 2015

Raising Angus cattle put the Rumbold family more in touch with larger show rings and encouraged them to try various shows around the country.

Before she knew it, Kalie had made her way from county shows to national shows.

Over the years, she’s had the opportunity to travel to show rings all over the country — from Baltimore to Louisville to Denver.

“We haven’t hit up everything yet, but we’re going to see if we can,” Kalie, a sophomore at Black Hawk College, said with a laugh.

This year, she traveled to the Atlantic National Show in Maryland, where she won her first national showmanship award.

While Rumbold said she appreciates every award and ribbon she has earned,

her performance in Maryland made her the most proud.

She ended up winning the overall contest, which earned her the chance to go back to next year’s contest as a surrogate judge. The one-time opportunity is considered a great honor.

When just talking generally about her love for the ring, Kalie’s face lights up.

“I just love to go out in the show ring and be able to present my animals to the best of my ability,” she said. “I also love the social aspect of it. I have met so many new people, and they really are going to be lifelong friends. A lot of people say that, but it’s really true.”

Her biggest inspiration in the sport is her older brother.

CONTINUED ON 23

CONTINUED FROM 22

“I look up to him. He’s really the one who got me started in it and basically taught me all I know,” she said. “Today, he’s still involved and comes to all my shows.”

The many rewards in Kalie’s career have come as the result of hard work. Prepping cattle for shows takes patience, dedication and responsibility.

Her regular routine involves getting up at 5 a.m. to wash, dry and apply additives to the heifer’s hair to give it the shine it needs to stand out in the ring. Kalie said it usually takes about 2 hours to complete the early-morning task. The process starts all over again at 7 p.m. and ends with walking the heifers around the pasture for exercise.

Kalie admits it can become a daunting task, but her motivation to keep up with the necessary chores comes from keeping her focus on the next show.

In the ring, Kalie explained, the judges look at specific parts of the heifer – structure, balance and proportion are the main points.

When it comes down to it, Kalie said, it’s mostly about the genetics of the heifer. The only real skill involved is walking the heifer into the ring and positioning it as quickly as possible.

“The quicker you get your heifer set, the better, because then the judge gets a better look at her,” she said. “I feel like everybody could do it if they put their heart and soul into it. It’s just about being dedicated and having enough time and patience.”

Kalie said the sport has taught her a lot about responsibility and showmanship.

“You have to have good sportsmanship,” she said. “Even though you’re disappointed you didn’t do well, the person who did win – that’s a big accomplishment for them, and they worked equally as hard as you have, so you have to be happy for them.”

Kalie has only 2 years left in her career, as the age limit for junior shows is 21.

As the youngest Rumbold, she and her family are now looking to switch gears by breeding the right genetics to sell show cattle.

While plans are still in the beginning stages, the goal is to expand the operation.

“Dad, he would just really appreciate seeing other kids showing our heifers,” she said. “He would think that would just be the coolest thing.

“And I support it, because it will be neat to see others kids get the opportunity that I once had with the cattle.”

Meet Kalie Rumbold Age: 19.

Hometown: Wyanet Pets: My dog, Jane College: Black Hawk East Ag classes you’re studying in college: Ag in developing countries, animal science, ag economics and intro to ag Ag activities: Ag Business Club Hobbies: Anything outdoors, showing cattle, and Netflix Favorite genre of music: Country Favorite TV shows: “Friends,” “Full House” and “The Walking Dead” If you could eat only one meal for the rest of your life, what would it be? Steak and salad, with baked potato and a dinner roll.

If you had a million dollars, how would you spend it? I would invest my money into something that would make me even more money. Then, I would buy a Bernese mountain dog.

People would be surprised to know: I love to play ping pong.

What are your plans after college?

I plan to transfer to either Kansas State or Oklahoma State with a degree in ag business.

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23

11/10/2015 8:48:55 AM

LEAVING

Area farmers work to maintain soil health and quality for years to come

BY PAM EGGEMEIER AND GOLDIE RAPP For NorthCentral Illinois Ag Mag

M

any know that the rich, black dirt that covers much of the Midwest produces some of the nation’s best corn and soybean yields year after year.

But what is it about the soil that makes it so fertile?

Erika Turner, a district conservationist for the Natural Resources Conservation Service in Bureau County, says it’s a result of the way the soil was formed.

In Illinois, the rich farmland, particularly in the northern region, is largely the product of glaciers that protected the land during the Ice Age. The last of four glaciers melted about 13,000 years ago. The ice sheets left flat prairieland throughout most of the state, and river basin sediment was deposited in the soil from long periods of flooding and dust storms.

Only the southern tip and the northwest corner of the state were untouched by glaciers. The riverbeds eventually dried out and the silt, called loess, blew over the prairie, covering most of the state. Loess is perfect for agriculture – it is rich in minerals, has no rock, and retains moisture.

Much of this area was produced in deep loess that formed under tall prairie grass with fine roots that grew just as deep into the ground.

24 Fall 2015

G THEIR FOOTPRINT “Those fine roots and the deepness helped decomposing matter at the top and distributed that matter down in however deep those roots went,” Turner said.

“It’s that high organic matter level that creates this fertile ground.”

Mollisol, a dark, rich soil, covers about half of the state. It is the byproduct of the decomposition of prairie plants that had covered the terrain after the glaciers had melted.

Sustenance of the great gift bestowed by nature continues to evolve after more than 7,000 years of farming on Illinois soil.

Turner said there are several preservation practices and policies farmers are using today. Some include grass waterways, filter strips, strip-till, no-till or vertical-till, which is used to break up corn stalks to allow better decomposition during the winter months.

The techniques used vary from farmer to farmer, and also the soil conditions a producer is working with.

Andy Pratt grows corn and soybeans with his father and brother on the fertile land between Dixon and Amboy, as well as on acreage in Bureau County. The Pratts, like most farmers, regularly have their soil tested at a lab.

“We have a rotation, so that every field gets tested every 2 or 3 years,” Pratt said. “We are very blessed with the soil quality in this area, but we keep trying to learn and keep getting better at conservation.”

It takes years to build up organic matter, so vigilance is necessary to prevent big problems down the road.

Technology has made it easier to determine how well nutrients are being replaced.

“Twenty years ago, a lot of our information was just based on broad university studies,” Pratt said. “Now we know what the soil looks like down to 4-acre grids.

Pratt said there is no holy grail for soil stewardship – there are many factors in its replenishment. The Pratts try to apply fertilizer and nitrogen only as needed instead of over a widespread area.

CONTINUED ON 26

Photo illustration by Alex T. Paschal/NorthCentral Illinois Ag Mag AG Mag

25

CONTINUED FROM 25

“We do no-till, grass waterways, and bumper strips – we’ve really done just about everything at some point,” Pratt said.

Based on soil samples and yields, the Pratts believe their efforts are paying off.

“The soil seems to be getting better over the years,” Pratt said. “Better technology, especially with seeds, equipment, and better management practices all play a role.”

Soil experts say it can be difficult to assess soil quality when it can vary greatly even between fields that are literally a stone’s throw away from each other.

“Prairie conditions formed more of the soil in Lee County, while you have more of the timber soils in Whiteside County,” said Dave Harrison, a resource conservationist with the Whiteside County Soil and Water Con-

servation District. “Southern Whiteside and Lee are similar, but when you get beyond Route 30 by Morrison, you have more hills and it’s a different ballgame.”

Harrison said the region has weathered challenges such as erosion quite nicely.

“We made big gains in the ’80s and ’90s with erosion, and it seems to have plateaued,” Harrison said.

According to the USDA, the erosion rate on Illinois farmland dropped 39 percent from 1982 to 2010.

Turner said many producers also are discovering minimal disturbance of their soil, and the use of cover crops is a key factor in maintaining soil health.

“Disturb the soil as little as possible, but then keep it covered as much as possible,” she said, adding that having something growing in the soil allows a live root to distribute organic matter into the soil profile.

Cover crops also can help prevent compaction in the field.

“Using a cover crop helps break up compaction without even having to work the soil. The species break up compaction, and then decompose into the soil,” she said.

Rye is the most popular cover crop in the region, but turnips and radishes are also popping up in rotations.

“The more you keep something living in the soil, the better the biological results,” Harrison said. “It sucks up nutrients that would otherwise be lost in drainage tile.”

Harrison said the growth of no-till practices and use of cover crops have helped to replenish the region’s soil.

“When I started here in the mid-’80s, a lot more tillage was done, but no-till and mulch-till practices have helped greatly to increase organic matter in the soil,” Harrison said.

CONTINUED ON 27

Goldie Rapp/NorthCentral Illinois Ag Mag

Erika Turner, a district conservationist for the Natural Resources Conservation Service in Bureau County, said much of NorthCentral Illinois contains soil that is rich because of the way it was formed over many years.

26 Fall 2015

CONTINUED FROM 26

More farmers also are focusing on nutrient management. Turner said many are having their soils tested and applying fertilizers based on rates and needs.

“There are many farmers who are watching that. They don’t want to see their money wash out of their field and down into the creek any more than the average person wants to see it drain into the creek,” she said. “They don’t want to spend more than what’s necessary to get to that optimal threshold.”

The USDA’s Conservation Reserve Program has been an important sustainability tool for farmers. Marking its 30th anniversary this year, the program was formed largely to fight erosion, but is now making great strides in protecting wildlife and water quality.

Farmers who enroll their land in the program are paid to stop growing crops in areas where they have previously been grown. For taking the land out of the regular rotation, farmers are paid a fee that is equal to the rental value of the land.

Ag scientists agree that soil quality is a difficult concept to quantify. It can be easy to confuse exactly what is being measured.

“Productivity and soil quality are very different things, said Emerson Nafziger, an agronomist at University of Illinois.

“Soil is a very complex system, and it is divorced from the high yields we continually get.”

Nafziger said there are many different measurements done on soil, but the level of organic Emerson matter present and Nafziger bulk density draw more focus. The slow process of building stable organic matter can easily be measured in the topsoil if erosion hasn’t intervened.

“The deeper the organic matter goes, the better, because that deeper soil will hold it much better,” Nafziger said.

The prairies of northern Illinois have left a wealth of that matter, but some question the lack of crop diversity in the area’s acreage.

“When it comes to the basic corn and soybean rotation we see here, some people think it’s not a sustainable system, but we continually get good yields with it,” Nafziger said.

Biotechnology has played a role in high productivity amid all types of challenges.

“Technology allows farmers to control insects without all of the tilling,” Nafziger said. “The introduction of Roundup 15 or 20 years ago made no-till much more feasible.”

Top corn-producing counties The top 10 corn-producing counties (in bushels) in Illinois in 2014: 1. McLean County, 70.4 million 2. Livingston County, 64 million 3. Iroquois County, 63.7 million 4. Champaign County, 60 million 5. LaSalle County, 56.9 million 6. Bureau County, 53.9 million 7. Sangamon County, 51.1 million 8. Lee County, 48.2 million 9. Vermilion County, 46.3 million 10. Logan County, 46.2 million

Soil health principles • Keep soil covered • Minimize soil disturbance • Increase crop diversity • Keep living roots in soil • Integrate livestock Source: Sustainable Farming Association

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27

The Beef Checkoff program: Why is it important?

L I M M became interested in the Beef Checkoff program because my mom was recently chosen as a member of the Illinois “Team Beef” advocacy group. Each time they run a race, they wear T-shirts promoting the positive aspects of beef in a runner’s diet.

“Team Beef” is sponsored by our state beef association because of the localized funding made available through the Beef Checkoff program. My mom’s participation in “Team Beef” and her focus on being a better beef advocate caused me to research the Beef Checkoff program in greater detail.

When doing my research, I thought it was important to first understand how it was started. The United States Congress created the Beef Promotion and Research Act, also known as the Beef Checkoff program, with passage of the 1985 Farm Bill. Producers approved the initiative making it mandatory in 1988 with 79 percent voting in favor of it.

After the bill passed, all producers must pay the equivalent of $1 per head every

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Student, Logan Junior High School in Princeton time a beef animal is sold throughout its lifetime.

Now, let’s talk more specifically about where the dollars are invested. The Beef Act defines six areas where checkoff dollars can be invested.

The first area I’d like to discuss is promotion, which includes advertising, new product development, and promotional partnerships with restaurants and supermarkets. The goal is to stimulate sales of beef and beef products.

One of the newest promotions funded by the Beef Checkoff program is the “30-0Day Protein Challenge.” It is a fun, step-by-step 30-day plan that helps

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consumers get a balanced amount of protein at each meal, including delicious, protein-rich beef.

The second area of investment is research. Investing in research provides the foundation for checkoff-funded activities. Projects are developed and researched based on the nutritional value of beef, food safety, product-enhancement research and overall market research.

The third category for investment is consumer information. This area focuses on enhancing beef’s image through nutritional data and other positive messages. Target audiences not only include consumers but also news media, dietitians, teachers and physicians.

The newest initiative in this area uses online gaming to attract consumers. For example, the recently launched “Grocery Grab” game is designed to give people a realistic experience of selecting beef cuts to build a nutritious meal.

CONTINUED ON 29

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Next is industry information. When putting checkoff dollars to work in this area, the goal is to promote a greater understanding of the beef industry and to maintain a positive view of beef. It does so by providing factual information to people in the food industry about food safety, environmental issues and animal welfare.

The fifth category for investment is foreign marketing. By investing in foreign marketing, the checkoff program works to help identify and develop international markets for U.S. beef. One of the more recent success stories happened last year in Sri Lanka.

The beef checkoff program’s effort to educate local chefs and retailers led to Sri Lanka ending its ban on imports of U.S. beef.

The sixth and final category is producer communications. By focusing efforts in this area, the checkoff pro-

gram educates and informs cattle producers about practices they can implement in their operations. The goal is to help them increase the value of their end product, as well as improve quality control to ensure a safe and wholesome product for the consumer.

In all six of these categories for checkoff fund investment, the dollars help act as a catalyst for change. In the end, the Beef Checkoff program increases profit opportunities for producers by keeping beef in the minds of consumers and by working to ensure a wholesome, quality beef-eating experience every time.

I hope that you now have a greater appreciation for the importance that the checkoff program plays in the overall U.S. beef industry, I know I do.

Lauren McMillan is a freshman at Princeton High School and lives in rural Tiskilwa.

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Chapter grows with students 35-50 students belong to Princeton FFA

BY LYLE GANTHER For NorthCentral Illinois Ag Mag

Photo contributed

Officers of the Princeton High School FFA Chapter are (from left) Hailey Hilmes, reporter; Cole Wright, secretary; Jacob Bickett, president; McKenzie Cain, vice president; Aaron Sears, sentinel; and Luke Schultz, treasurer.

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The Princeton High School FFA Chapter has seen steady growth through the years.

Dan Foes, the chapter’s sponsor, said there are 35 to 50 active members each school year. FFA is part of a wide array of extracurricular activities at PHS. The program, inactive in the 1980s and 1990s, was resurrected by former teacher Tonya Wells, Foes’ predecessor. Foes has been a teacher at PHS for 15 years after graduating from Illinois State University, the same school that Wells graduated from prior to working at PHS. Ag program classes offered at PHS include ag bio science, conservation, intro to ag, and welding. Crossover classes include woods, electrical tech, and power tech.

The core students in the chapter are traditional agriculture kids, even though the national program changed its name 15 years ago from Future Farmers of America to FFA because fewer members were growing up on farms.

CONTINUED ON 31

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Last year, the school’s FFA members attended the national convention in Louisville, Kentucky, because classmate Malena Wheeler was singing in the FFA choir.

This year, McKenzie Cain, another chapter member, will also participate as a member of the national convention choir.

“We learn everything we can at the convention,” Foes said.

“There are a wide array of activities to let kids find what skills they have and what their interests are in agriculture,” he said. “These activities help build leadership skills and personal growth.”

FFA members can participate in soils contest, livestock judging, public speaking, envirothon and mechanics, to name just a few.

At an 8-acre plot near Liberty Village and a 19-acre plot from the city of Princeton, members learn what it takes to plant and harvest a crop.

“There is no substitution

for good, practical experience like this,” Foes said.

The Princeton FFA program has also restored some tractors over the years.

“This is a good experience for them to work in the school’s shop area. It is all about them, and getting the kids to continue to learn and grow,” he said.

Foes’ love of agriculture was sparked by his dad, who farmed near Sheffield and helped other family members raise corn and soybeans. When he went to college, Foes considered different ideas but decided to stay close to ag education. He first taught junior high social studies and science at Bradford before the PHS position opened 15 years ago.

He said FFA is an amazing organization.

“It promotes leadership for the next generation who will take care of us. Farming is the backbone of FFA, but the program has a diversity of kids – some that understand that FFA is not just farming and some that don’t realize this about the program.”

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Princeton High School FFA members who went to last year’s FFA Convention in Louisville, Kentucky, included (front row, from left) Megan Hendrickson (graduate), Hailey Hilmes, and McKenzie Cain, and (back row, from left) Dan Foes, adviser; Jacob Bickett, Luke Schultz and Cole Wright.

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Agriculture Education Area School Directory BLACK HAWK COLLEGE, EAST CAMPUS 26230 Black Hawk Road Galva, IL 61434-9476 309-854-1700 800-233-5671 www.bhc.edu Transfer programs are designed for the student planning to transfer to a senior college or university with the objective of achieving a bachelor’s degree. Students completing these programs will receive either an Associate in Arts or an Associate in Science degree. Some of the credits in the career programs may be transferred to a senior college or university (depending on the institution).

Associate in Science degrees with concentrations in: • Agriculture Transfer • Horticulture Transfer • Pre-Veterinary Medicine/ Animal Science Transfer Career Programs are designed for students planning to prepare for a specialized area leading to

Kath Clark/ NorthCentral Illinois Ag Mag

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Associate in Applied Science degrees: • Agribusiness Management • Agribusiness Management — Crop Protection Technology Option • Agriculture Mechanics Technology • Agriculture Production Technology • Equestrian Science • Horse Science Technology • Horticulture Science

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Harvester red, born and bred

Family builds an impressive collection

BY DAVE COOK For NorthCentral Illinois Ag Mag

The only green tractor you’ll find on Lloyd Schrowang’s family farm in Granville is on a shelf in a toy cabinet. Everything else on this farm is associated with one color – red.

International Harvester red, to be exact.

“I started collecting toys when I was a kid. I’ve repainted some of them, but you didn’t worry about keeping them back then, you played with them,” Schrowang said.

CONTINUED ON 34

Granville’s Lloyd Schrowang stands next to his first and favorite tractor, a 1953 International Harvester Super M. Purchased new by his father, Lloyd took it over in 1958 and has since logged countless hours aboard the old red tractor.

(Dave Cook/NorthCentral Illinois Ag Mag)

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AG Mag

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CONTINUED FROM 33

His family has been farming the same land for three generations, and it’s always been an IH family.

“That’s what we always had, it’s what I grew up with. It’s why I kept with IH,” Schrowang said.

His sons are farming the land now, and the sense of connection between family and the land is apparent.

“I’ve lived here all my life. I’ve never lived any place else except the 2 years I spent in the Army,” Schrowang said.

His father bought a new IH Super M in 1953, and Schrowang took it over when he started farming in 1958. That Super M is still part of the Schrowang family, and it sits unrestored, wearing the well-earned patina fitting of a hard-working, yet loved mechanical workhorse. It’s still his favorite.

Lloyd and his wife, Loretta, and their sons, Gregg and Gene, have 48 tractors in their collection.

“There’s only about three I’ve farmed with, that I bought new,” Schrowang said.

He bought the first piece of his collection in 1995 and has been restoring up to three a year since.

“Well, what else have I got to do? I can’t sit and watch TV, because there’s nothing worth watching,” Schrowang said. “I don’t like to go sit in a coffee shop, so that takes care of that. You can’t sit around because if you sit around, you die.”

Dave Cook/NorthCentral Illinois Ag Mag

Theif 48 tractors were on display recently at Lloyd and Loretta Schrowang’s Granville farm. There also was memorabilia, art, and a collection of miniature buildings.

His shop, where he stores some of his collection, is spacious, clean, organized, and most importantly, comfortable. It’s also complete with more IH memorabilia. Infrared heaters ensure a pleasant work environment no matter the weather outside.

“I’ve got a good place to work on stuff,” Schrowang said. “I can keep it any temperature I want. If I didn’t have a shop like this I wouldn’t get much done.”

After walking up and down the rows and inspecting the collection during a recent open house Schrowang had to showcase his tractors, visitor Lonnie

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Napier was impressed.

“It’s quite a collection; yes, it is,” Napier said. “Can you imagine all of these going through Granville on a parade route?

You’ve got to be quite a mechanic for all of these. They’re clean as a whistle.”

Surprisingly, parts weren’t an issue while restoring a collection of this size.

“There’s enough salvage yards around,” Schrowang said. “A lot of parts, like seats and battery boxes, they’re making new. There’s a demand for it.”

The Schrowangs invited guests into the workshop and their home. The workshop had a small collection of miniature buildings built and assembled by other family members, and both the shop and their home featured many shelves full of toys and other memorabilia. Several works by popular agriculture artist Charles Freitag hung on the walls, as did a photograph of the Schrowangs and “The Voice of American Agriculture,” Max Armstrong.

“He belongs to our tractor club. I’ve went on tractor rides with him and a lot of other stuff,” Schrowang said.

There’s pride in Schrowang’s eyes as he looks out at his family’s bright red collection. It’s not just brand loyalty that keeps this collection growing, it’s also the connection to family and farm.

“You feel like you’ve accomplished something when you get done,” Schrowang said.

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Setting a steakhouse standard The Cellar and The Prime Quarter ‘meat’ approval

BY ERIC ENGEL For NorthCentral Illinois Ag Mag

Eric Engel/NorthCentral Illinois Ag Mag

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While most people enjoy immaculate slabs of cattle, farmers might appreciate them more. Want a great steak? Pull up a chair in the cellar to enjoy a prime time meal.

In search of the finest cut in the Land of Lincoln, the Illinois Beef Association and Farm Bureau sponsored a “best steak” competition.

Restaurants were nominated by the clientele they serve throughout the summer, and voting ended Aug. 15. The Cellar, of Geneseo, was deemed distributor of the finest slice of steak during Ag Day at the 2015 Illinois State Fair.

CONTINUED ON 37

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The Cellar is an old supper club that opened in 1960 and features candlelit tables and a glassed-in kitchen so everyone can witness the wizardry of the chefs as they work. Scott Stetter, owner of The Cellar for the past 16 years, said the restaurant has everything from filets, ribeyes and New York strips to ribs, chops, barbecue shrimp and lobster.

“We get choice or higher beef and do our aging in-house,” Stetter said.

He said he was appreciative of everyone who nominated The Cellar for the statewide award.

“We have a very knowledgeable customer base, so they’d know if we weren’t of the highest quality,” said Stetter, who has been involved with the family-owned business for 36 years. “We’re thankful our customers went to the trouble to vote for us, and we take care of them with our prices and product.”

The Prime Quarter, in Princeton, was a finalist for the award, and General Manager Steve Hilderbrand said the people, the atmosphere, and the location of the steakhouse are attributes that define the sterling caliber of his business.

“We’re located right smack dab in the Midwest, where agriculture is prominent with crops and livestock, and the pork and beef industry have always been huge,” Hilderbrand said.

He said customers appreciate The Prime Quarter’s selection.

“They often ask where we get our beef, and it’s all choice or better, so it’s just good, quality beef.”

Hilderbrand said ribeyes account for 40 percent to 50 percent of the beef sales, and filets are a popular cut as

‘‘

well. Along with pork chops and a couple varieties of “the freshest fish you’ll find in the Midwest,” The Prime Quarter offers a kid’s menu and a senior discount on a broad menu that is simple but effective.

“The incredible thing for us is we haven’t increased our prices over the last 2 and a half years,” Hilderbrand said, adding three purveyors give him bids every Monday, so customers get the highest quality selection at the best price in an ever-fluctuating market. “You’ve got to eat at least once a day, and we’re going to keep it so they can afford to come back.”

Hilderbrand has learned over his 17 years as general manager that the food industry is not an easy business, whether it’s a steakhouse or a fast food restaurant. He offers guidance and promotes respect, treating his employees like family members who have an equal share in the dedication and responsibility necessary to maintain a top-shelf establishment.

“It all starts with the people we hire from front to back, and a positive attitude is essential, because no job is more important than another,” Hilderbrand said.

That attitude, he said, means there are 40 managers, not just two.

“This is a stepping stone to bigger and better things,” he said.

The same goes for The Cellar.

“We read the market and try to not only maintain but improve our patron’s experience, because at the end of the day, customers pay the bills,” Stetter said.

“Once in a while, you get a tough piece of meat or service wasn’t up to par, but we’re going to make sure you leave happy, because we want you back,” Hilderbrand said.

We’re located right smack dab in the Midwest, where agriculture is prominent with crops and livestock, and the pork and beef industry have always been huge.

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AG Mag

37

EQUITY ON THE FARM Women in agriculture no longer a rarity, or a stereotype

I

BY KATHLEEN A. SCHULTZ For NorthCentral Illinois Ag mag

t’s a familiar image: The farm wife in the slightly worn cotton dress, drying her hands on her apron as she turns from the sink/stove/ table with a warm but equally worn smile, heads out the door and onto the porch to call the kids/husband/farmhands in for breakfast/lunch/ supper.

Familiar, yes, but far, far, from the truth.

For 30 years now, “farm wives” have been evolving well beyond the perception that their primary function is to cook, clean and keep the home fires burning.

They’re also accountants,

38 Fall 2015

In the photo Lori Nelson drives a tractor with two grain trailers attached while she harvests soybeans in rural Greenfield, Iowa. Lori and her husband, Mike, farm row crops, and Lori helps haul grain.

(Bailey Poolman/NorthCentral Illinois Ag Mag)

procurement officers, combine drivers, mechanics, vets ... equal partners in the business of keeping the family farm afloat and, often, promoting the industry in general.

And more and more, they’re also the boss.

The USDA’s Economic Research Service released a report in April 2013 that showed that the share of women farmers nationwide nearly tripled, from 5 percent in 1978, the year the Census of Agriculture began asking for gender data on principal operators, to 14 percent in 2007.

By 2012, 288,264 women were princi-

pal operators. Toss in secondary operators, and the number jumps to 969,672 female farmers, 30 percent of all farmers nationwide.

(Most secondary operators, about 96 percent, work alongside a male principal, usually their husbands, data show.)

In Illinois, there are 24,265 women farmers. That’s 23 percent of all farmers in the state, helping work nearly 6 million acres with a yearly economic impact of nearly $374 million. About 6,900 are principal operators – the person making the day-to-day decisions.

In general, the women who run farms nationwide are older than their male counterparts, and most of the farms they run are smaller – 78 percent have sales of less than $10,000.

CONTINUED ON 39

CONTINUED FROM 38

And the number of younger women entering farming is higher than the number of older women leaving the field, data show.

These days, though, not all women in agriculture are looking at life on the farm.

Rachel Vaessen of Sublette, Illinois, in rural Lee County is a 20-year-old crop sciences major at the University of Illinois.

She grew up watching her grandparents, Louie and Carol Vaessen, run the family’s centennial farm in Sublette – Carol, a lifelong farm wife, always pitching in, sometimes even hauling grain to the elevator during harvest, among many other responsibilities.

Their son, her father, Michael Vaessen, owns and operates Sublette Mechanical, a farm machinery repair shop where her mother,

Carol, also works, and where Rachel helped out as a teen.

He and his two brothers still work the farm as well.

Rachel has known for a while that agriculture is in her future, although she won’t be taking the traditional farm wife’s path. She plans to become an agronomist for a major ag company after graduation.

“I joined FFA in high school, ... that’s where my passion for the ag field evolved,” she said. And although she plans to return to Sublette, “I don’t necessarily need to live on the farm” to pursue her career.

She was pleasantly surprised to find the numbers of men and women studying crop sciences at U of I to be fairly evenly matched. In fact, “there are a lot more girls than I thought there would be.”

CONTINUED ON 40

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Her advice to women looking to advance in agriculture: Get the experience.

Get an internship. Volunteer.

Whatever you need to do “so you have some knowledge and experience that will help you land the job that you’re most interested in.”

Rachel, in fact, is a member of the U of I Collegiate Farm Bureau and the Sigma Alpha professional agriculture sorority, which brings in ag speakers to talk to the young women about available careers and professional development and leadership opportunities.

Like many young women today, she’s not finding her gender to be the obstacle it might have been 30 years ago.

“I think as women we just have to have the confidence in ourselves, that we can pursue the same areas that men do, and that we have the same knowledge and experience that they do behind us.”

Her grandmother agrees.

Carol Vaessen has farmed

all of her 74 years – she grew up helping her father farm in Putnam County, Illinois, then married Louis 49 years ago. Her background was a requirement – “you had to be a farmer “ to marry a Vaessen, she said with a laugh.

Although her days of driving the grain truck or tractor are over – “I’m too old, I’ll admit it” – she still keeps busy. “I raise chickens, I raise broilers and sell them, I’ve got a garden and my own strawberry patch, I have apple trees and make applesauce for Rachel to take back to school.”

And she couldn’t be prouder of Rachel, who she sees joining the ranks of women taking on a new frontier in agriculture.

“There’s so many opportunities for them that at my time would only have been for men,” she said. “It’s wonderful that they can go out and do the things, know how to do them, and the men listen to them!”

CONTINUED ON 41

A snapshot of women on the farm in Illinois In 2012, 14 percent of the nation’s 2.1 million farms had a female principal operator, according to the USDA Census of Agriculture. Women controlled 7 percent of U.S. farmland, accounted for 3 percent of sales. Nationally, 30 percent of farmers were women, and 969,672 U.S. women operated 62.7 million acres of farmland, the census found. Here’s a look at how Illinois farm women shape that landscape, now and 30 years ago.

IN 2012 • Total farms statewide: 75,087 • Average acreage: 359 • Farms with women as principal operators: 6,891 • Average acreage: 122 By age: Younger than 35: 274 35-44: 521 45-64: 3,036 65 and older: 3,060 Average age of principal operator: 62.4 Primary occupation: Farming: 2,421 Other: 4,470 Days worked off the farm: None: 3,174 Any: 3,717 Years on the present farm: 2 or fewer: 300 3-4: 372 5-9: 1,000 10 or more: 5,219 IN 1982 • Total farms statewide: 98,483 • Average acreage: 292

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That’s one of the biggest victories: These days, the men do listen, said Annette Sweeney, president of Iowa Agri Women.

Sweeney, of Alden, Iowa, was a state representative from 2009 to 2013, and farms with her husband and two sons.

Women have made great strides in the industry, she said, noting that “there’s more gals at Iowa State University in the veterinary college than there are guys,” and that the number of women enrolling in agribusiness and STEM-related courses is steadily on the rise.

She also pays tribute to those women who choose primarily to work the land.

“I think it’s great that people get to experience their passion, for ladies to be able to experience their passion, whether it be for what I like to call ‘dirt therapy,’ or whether they like to work with livestock. ...”

And while she’s glad to see young women taking on more ag-related careers, she does think many aren’t as cognizant as they should be of their history, and are perhaps a bit dismissive of those who came before, bearing the farm wife standard.

“One thing I see is, the young gals that are making great strides are a little bit discriminatory to us older gals who blazed the trail,” Sweeney said.

Overall, though, she’s encouraged by the change in mentality she’s seen, especially over the past 15 years or so, Sweeney said.

It’s an ever-improving landscape, and not solely

‘‘

because of the women.

When she was in her late 20s, back in 1983, her dad got sick and Sweeney came Annette home to run Sweeney the farm.

She had no brothers, and wasn’t yet married.

“I started buying farm equipment, and back then, if they didn’t know my dad, they wouldn’t do business with me. Now there’s females selling equipment.”

When she and her farmer husband, David, married a few years later, “My grandma hated it that I went to work outside. My husband thought, ‘Well, she’s part of the operation’.”

And when she became the first Republican woman to lead the Iowa House Agriculture Committee, “I didn’t get the feeling [from male counterparts] that, just because she’s a girl, she doesn’t know anything about agriculture.”

That attitude – or lack thereof – happily has taken root, and spread, she said. “The younger men, I’m going to give them kudos,” Sweeney said.

“These young guys are coming in with the mentality that she’s part of the operation, she’s not just a spouse, she’s a farmer, too. That age bracket, they get it – the wife is part of the operation.”

That’s what makes for a great partnership, she said.

“We always need both genders, because the genders are wired differently ... and when we use that difference as a tool to be productive, it can’t be beat.”

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AG Mag

41

Day in and day out, the Moniers are a team Cindy helps farm in two states

BY DAVE COOK For NorthCentral Illinois Ag Mag

Cindy Monier loved spending as much of her childhood as possible on her grandparents’ farm in Kansas.

She always has enjoyed farming, but never thought she’d end up helping to run a farm – much less farms in two states.

She splits her time between operations in Sparland and on what used to be her grandparents’ farm in Kansas.

“Out there (Kansas), women work so hard on the farm and they’re totally, actively involved,” Cindy said. “When I married my husband, Breck, and came out here, most women didn’t do any farm-type chores like running equipment. There’s just a few.

“So when I started trying to help with the hogs and all that, it was kind of hard, I think, for his dad and his two uncles to take it seriously. It was a different kind of farming, too. In Kansas it’s more of a rotational type of farming. Here it’s corn, corn, corn, and you just don’t do that there.”

With degrees in biology and medical technology, Cindy worked as an immunohematologist at OSF St. Francis Medical Center in Peoria for 12 years.

“It was a long way from anything agricultural, but then it was getting to where Breck really needed help, so I didn’t have any problem doing that because I worked around the farm anyway, doing anything he told me to do,” she said. “I helped out as much as a hired man would.”

42 Fall 2015

Dave Cook/NorthCentral Illinois Ag Mag

Breck and Cindy Monier not only farm together, but also do so in two states. When they’re not working the family farm in Sparland, they’re in Kansas helping to work the land that used to be Cindy’s grandparents’ farm. The time she spent there as a child is when she first experienced the world of agriculture.

Family members have helped keep the Kansas operation running, and she and Breck travel frequently between both family farms, juggling their work schedules to help keep both running smoothly.

“Usually the schedule between farms works pretty well,” Cindy said.

Both farms have long family ties.

“My grandparents’ farm in Kansas has been in the family for over 100 years. If you count my grandkids, it’s six generations there,” Cindy said. “Even on this farm it’s four or five generations running around. So sometimes,

when people use the words sustainable agriculture, it irks me. That’s pretty sustainable when you’ve run things for that many years.”

Cindy and Breck work well together, as any experienced team does.

“I mostly drive the combine in the fall, and he unloads,” Cindy said. “Once in a while we’ll switch. It’s just the two of us here, so we’ve got it all worked out pretty well. We’re lucky we can work together. A husband/wife thing can sometimes not work so well. We are with each other all the time, day in and day out, and we do OK. Not everyone

can manage that close of a working relationship with who you’re married to.”

Could he do without Cindy?

“Not at all,” Breck said with a laugh. “It’s hard to find good help, and she’s been running the combine for years. She runs it perfectly.

She doesn’t push it and does it as well as anybody else could do it, better than I can do it.

“Every time I get in there something happens, so she tells me to get my ass out of there. She does a great job.

Not too many people will put up with a guy like me. It’s just her and I, all the time.”

Breaking down barriers Midwest works to regain market share in Cuba

BY PAM EGGEMEIER For NorthCentral Illinois Ag Mag

Alex T. Paschal/NorthCentral Illinois Ag Mag

U.S. Reps. Cheri Busto, D-East Moline, and Rodney Davis, R-Taylorville, speak to a group of farmers in Winnebago about their recent trip to Cuba. Bustos and Davis made the trip with two dozen state farmers and agribusiness leaders to work to increase U.S. exports to Cuba after diplomatic relations between the two nations were restored in August.

• • • •

After 54 years, the American flag is again flying at the U.S. embassy in Havana, Cuba, but the trade embargo remains.

The historic restoration of diplomatic relations between the countries on Aug. 14 lifts some restrictions on travel and business, further opening the window to trade normalization.

U.S. Rep. Cheri Bustos recently returned from a bipartisan agricultural trade mission to Cuba with three pressing goals for increasing ag exports to a nation that imports about 85 percent of its food. The trade mission also included Republican U.S. Rep. Rodney Davis, and two dozen state farmers and agribusiness leaders. Bustos, an East Moline Democrat, and Davis, a Taylorville Republican, sit on the House Agriculture Committee.

CONTINUED ON 44

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The Oct. 11-14 trip was sponsored by the Illinois Cuba Working Group.

The organization was formed as part of a resolution passed in 2013 by the Illinois General Assembly calling for an end to the trade embargo. George Ryan became the first U.S. governor still in office to meet with Fidel Castro in 1999.

Since 1960, the embargo has halted most American trade with Cuba, but exemptions are made for agricultural exports. According to the Illinois Cuba Working Group, Illinois corn and soybean exports to Cuba reached about $66 million in 2008, but by 2014, that number had dropped by 63 percent to only $24 million.

Bustos said that if trade barriers come down, there is potential for more than $1 billion in farm-related trade between Cuba and the U.S., with about $120 million of that headed to Illinois farmers each year.

The congresswoman’s top priority is to give Cuba access to credit. The impoverished island nation now must pay up front in cash for its ag products.

“I am signing on to legislation this week to open credit markets to Cuba,” Bustos said. “Cuba is just 90 miles off the Florida coast, and we must export more efficiently, because our quality is second to none.”

Alex T. Paschal/NorthCentral Illinois Ag Mag

U.S. Rep. Cheri Bustos stops to greet calves after having a roundtable discussion in Winnebago about her recent trip to Cuba.

Bustos realizes that repairing the damage done by more than a half-century of the trade embargo will require a tremendous amount of relationship-building.

“The people there were kind and very

Our family protecting your family.

44 Fall 2015

welcoming, but everyone wanted to mention the harm done by the embargo, and how much they would like to see it lifted,” Bustos said.

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Another goal of the trade mission group is to establish a permanent presence in Cuba.

“We have been trying to open an Illinois Cuba Working Group office in Cuba for a couple of years,” Bustos said. “The office could deepen and broaden the foundation for improving relations.”

Bustos met with the Cuban ministers of foreign trade and foreign affairs about the office opening. She also is working with the State Department to expedite the process, and hopes to get clearance next year.

Relationship-building also is a key component of Bustos’ third objective.

She has invited Cuban farmers and leaders to visit her 17th Congressional District. She is working with the State Department to get approval for the trips.

The dissolution of the Soviet Union, made official in 1991, had a lasting impact on the Cuban economy. Farming equipment and techniques are dated, and Bustos thinks 17th District farmers could help improve ag efficiencies.

“They are still using 50-year-old Russian tractors in Cuba,” Bustos said. “I think our farmers could be a tremendous help.”

Legislation to watch The Cuba Agricultural Exports Act, H.R. 3687, was introduced in the U.S. House Oct. 6. It has been sent to three House committees – Agriculture, Financial Services, and Foreign Affairs.

The bill would repeal a law that makes it difficult for U.S. farmers to compete with other countries for Cuban agricultural trade. The requirement that Cuba pay cash up front for ag products from the U.S. would be lifted. U.S. producers believe that allowing credit for Cuba would go a long way in leveling the playing field against competitors.

The bill, introduced by U.S. Rep. Rick Crawford, R-Arkansas, is co-sponsored by 17th District Congresswoman Cheri Bustos.

Lanark farmer Lou Lamoreux went on a Cuban ag trip in May that was sponsored by the Illinois Corn Marketing Board that he heads.

Lamoreux raises beef cattle, corn, beans, wheat and alfalfa. He said he was struck by the widespread poverty he witnessed in Cuba, but he sensed a strong desire for change among the masses.

“The people are very much aware of their situation, and they are certainly open to more free trade, but there

is a lot of government red tape to cut through,” Lamoreux said.

His group visited communal farms where poor-quality feed was given to the livestock – long, coarse grass with sugar cane and mulberries. He said the situation presents a huge opportunity for ethanol producers.

“Distiller’s dried grains with solubles – DDGS – are an ethanol by-product that makes an excellent-quality feed,” Lamoreux said.

A product of the dry-milled ethanol process, DDGS is full of nutrients, and is often used in this country as an energy and protein supplement.

Now that travel restrictions are gradually being lifted, tourism could be the driver for economic growth, and better food will be essential.

“There is a plan in place to build 20,000 additional hotel rooms, so tourism was a big part of our mission,” Lamoreux said. “They will need better-quality food if they hope to attract the high-end tourists.”

While in Cuba, Lamoreux met with the ministers of tourism, agriculture, and transportion. His meetings led him to believe that the U.S. is close to cutting through all of the red tape. He agrees that the biggest impediment to trade is the credit situation.

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“Farmers don’t want to supply product and not get paid,” Lamoreux said. “South American countries are selling on credit, and that makes it hard to get back market share.”

Farmers point to the 2012 drought as another factor in losing trade traction in Cuba.

“Corn prices here shot up, and it became even more attractive to buy grain in South America,” Lamoreux said.

Stephenson County dairy farmer Doug Scheider made a trade trip to Cuba during that drought year with a group from Illinois Farm Bureau. He agrees that the government must work on evening the playing field for U.S. farmers.

“People in the U.S. have their hands tied behind their backs,” Scheider said. “When Cubans must pay cash up front, it is a distinct disadvantage.”

Scheider, who has a herd of 650, was excited by the country’s emphasis on getting dairy products to all of

its children. The group also saw an opportunity for Midwest farmers while touring a Cuban milling plant.

“They have such poor land for even the basic crops, and they really could have used our winter wheat at the plant,” Scheider said. “There is plenty of opportunity there if we can cut through the red tape.”

The normalization of trade would also open the door to much-needed U.S. investment from Midwest agribusiness giants like Caterpillar and Deere & Co., both headquartered in Bustos’ district.

“Everything came to a standstill there when the Soviet Union collapsed, and the people are in serious need of foreign investment,” Scheider said.

Scheider’s group thought there could be a big tourism boom brewing with the loosening of travel restrictions.

He is confident that progress is being made – when he was there 3 years ago, he remembers having to carry eight documents to move freely within the country’s borders.

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“Agriculture is a very dangerous occupation, and we want to do everything we can to protect our farmers and their families.”

Jill Frueh, Bureau County Farm Bureau manager, said the ag rescue course was just one of the training programs the Farm Bureau has had. It also offered grain handling training for farmers in spring 2013 and 2014.

“We most often offer two types of training a year,” Frueh said. “One for emergency responders, and one for farmers/grain handlers. We also tried to offer a friends and family CPR course this summer, but it was canceled due to lack of interest.”

Thomas Marten, manager of the Stark County Farm Bureau, said training for things like anhydrous ammonia and livestock handling is important for emergency personnel.

If something were to happen to a semi carting livestock, for instance, it would be crucial to have emerJill gency perFrueh sonnel who know how to handle animals, Marten said.

Training typically covers a number of topics.

“We’ve had a tractor that was intentionally rolled over,” Marten said. Emergency personnel then learned how to properly turn it back over.

Grain bin safety is an important topic. Encouraging farmers to have safety plans and put them into practice could save a life.

“There’s a lot of dangers around grain bins,” Marten said, such as suffocation, dismemberment, molds and dust.

“Farmers are fairly aware of the dangers.”

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