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Price concerns as planting wraps up
Farmer plants research plots
By JEANNINE OTTO jotto@shawmedia com
TRIUMPH, Ill. — Steve McNally dug into the soil on his La Salle County farm to reveal a freshly planted corn seed.
“Soil conditions are real good. I plant about two inches deep and there’s very nice moisture down there,” he said.
McNally started in mid-April, planting a research and demonstration plot of AgVenture corn.
As a seed salesman for AgVenture, McNally will use that plot on his home farm, where he lives with wife, Tina, to show off new and established varieties of AgVenture corn to current and prospective customers.
But putting the plots in takes patience — and careful cleaning.
“This one has 19 different va-
rieties in it. I have an eight-row combine and this is a 24-row planter. I do three numbers on each pass, so I will have eight rows of each number. It’s one pass down, stop, clean everything out thoroughly, then put the next three numbers in,” McNally said.
McNally, who has been with AgVenture for six years, farms about 1,000 acres of corn and soybeans in north-central Illinois, in La Salle and Bureau counties.
“Right now, the biggest concern is just getting it in the ground,” he said.
But even as he loaded up the planter and prepared to make one more pass, other concerns were on McNally’s mind.
“The commodity prices going down is a real hard one because it’s getting very close to that breakeven point. That’s my big concern. And our inputs are still high,” he said.
While cool nights still were a concern for early-planted
corn and soybeans, McNally said that the threat of insect pressure also was on his mind.
“I’ve heard some guys say that the ground really didn’t freeze hard this year and they’re worried about insect pressure.
Right now, at this stage of the game, we don’t know what that’s going to be until the crop gets growing,” he said.
McNally’s corn will go to Marquis Energy, an ethanol plant in Hennepin, or to terminals on the Illinois River, for shipment overseas.
He said he hopes that more uses, as well as more markets, can be found, including sustainable aviation fuel, for the corn and soybeans that he and other farmers are planting.
“It’s such a world market now, with South America growing more product than we are, that is where the big shift is happening. There is just so much grain. Any way we can find for another use for it is a good thing,” he said.
AGRINEWS PHOTO/JEANNINE OTTO
Steve McNally, of Triumph, Illinois, began planting on April 24� While soil and moisture conditions were good for planting around 120 acres of an AgVenture research and demonstration plot, McNally said low commodity prices and high input prices continue to be a concern
Illinois Wheat Association yield tour reveals ‘a really good crop’
By JEANNINE OTTO jotto@shawmedia�com
RED BUD, Ill. — The Illinois winter wheat crop may not top the 2023 record average state yield — but it won’t be far from that, as the recent Illinois Wheat Association yield tour showed.
“I don’t know that we will have the record wheat that we had last year, but certainly I think it’s going to be a really good crop,” said IWA President John Howell, who farms in Monroe and Randolph counties in southeastern Illinois.
Howell took part in the single-day plot tour on May 21 that sent sampling groups to wheat fields throughout the southern part of the state.
His group sampled fields in St. Clair, Monroe and Perry counties.
“We found a very uniform crop this go-round. We didn’t see the highs and lows that we’ve seen in the past. I’ve done this tour five or six times and normally, on the tour, we find some fields that are really, really good and we’ll find a couple of fields that are not quite up to par,” he said.
This year, the winter wheat crop, so far, showed itself to be mostly average.
“There weren’t any fields that really fell below standard, but there also weren’t any fields that were just, wow, that’s really thick, amazing-looking wheat,” Howell said.
“I felt like it was all uni-
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formly, really good-looking wheat that was going to be a nice crop to harvest and probably not a record.”
Howell raises corn, fullseason and double-crop soybeans and wheat. He said his own wheat is indicative of what his group and others on the tour found.
“Personally, our wheat crop is in really good condition,” he said.
Planting conditions in the fall presented farmers with a good-news, bad-news situation.
“We had a relatively dry fall. It allowed our crop to go in really nicely, no issues there. The crop did struggle a little last fall because it was so dry,” Howell said.
“I would say our crop is one
of our better-looking crops as far as evenness and color and everything you would gauge a crop from in the early vegetative stage.”
But ongoing rains in southern Illinois could be the factor that puts the brakes on any record yields.
“From the time the heads started emerging through now, we’ve caught a lot of rainfall. That is not a great recipe for high-yielding wheat,” Howell said.
‘A VERY GOOD CROP’ Matt Wehmeyer, of AgriMAXX Wheat Company and Wehmeyer Seed Company, who also is a member of the IWA board, said weather will be the determining factor now on what Illinois wheat yields
will be at harvest.
“We are in the middle of grain fill right now so a cool grain fill will increase yields. Any time we are over 90 degrees, like we were a few weeks ago, it will take a little bit of top end yield off because wheat likes to have cool weather during grain fill,” he said.
“That was one of the reasons we saw the fantastic yields we saw last year, we had a cool grain fill period. As we get into the last little bit of grain fill, if we can remain cool, that’s going to be very
helpful for top end yield.”
While Wehmeyer himself wasn’t on the tour, AgriMAXX had representatives on the tour and Wehmeyer said he has been in numerous wheat fields throughout the growing season to check on crop progress and condition.
“From my perspective, I think we have a very good crop. I don’t know if it’s going to be as strong as last year, but it’s going to be a very good crop overall,” he said.
Wehmeyer said he has noticed a few disease and insect issues this year.
“The precipitation during flowering created a little more head scab prevalence throughout the area. I don’t know that it’s at an alarming rate, but it is present,” he said.
“There were isolated areas of barley yellow dwarf virus, which is transmitted via aphids. But I don’t think that’s going to cause widespread concern this year — it will be more regionalized and field specific.”
Illinois winter wheat has been making headlines as yields and acres increase.
In 2023, the average Illinois wheat yield was 87 bushels per acre, an increase of 8 bushels over the 2022 state average yield.
Illinois wheat farmers harvested 780,000 acres of winter wheat, which was a 39% increase over 2022 harvested acres.
The May 10 U.S. Department of Agriculture crop production report shows Illinois winter wheat planted acreage estimated at 680,000 acres and the average state winter wheat yield estimated at 83 bushels per acre.
Right Product. Right Acre. Right People.
Wheat genetics at turning point
KWS focus on yield, resistance
By TOM C. DORAN tdoran@shawmedia�com
CHAMPAIGN, Ill. — The extensive KWS Cereals wheat breeding program was featured during its open house June 4.
Mark Christopher, KWS senior wheat breeder, detailed the work on the 50-acre breeding nursery east of the company’s breeding facility.
The 50-acre nursery is part of a 150-acre field that also includes 50 acres of corn and 50 acres of soybeans. The three crops are rotated.
KWS has about 100 acres in Champaign County dedicated to wheat breeding.
How many different lines are tested?
Christopher: The total number of different genetic lines that we’re testing in any given year is going to be in the range of a little over 4,000.
What do you look for?
Christopher: We look for yields, disease resistance, standability — certain things are more important for different regions. Generally around here, stripe rust is a little bit less of a concern in the Upper Midwest than it is when you get down into the Deep South. There’s a lot of regionality to some of the things we’re doing.
As we select things, at a certain point we might realize there’s a susceptibility to this disease or that disease, and then we’ll know in this region it’s not as important.
We know we can market that variety in that region where it’s not an issue.
In the end, we’re breeding for resistance in totality. All the rusts, septoria, fusarium head blight is by far the biggest disease we’re breeding for, and the king of it all is breeding for yield.
Where do you get the genetic material to start the breeding program?
Christopher: The absolute start
for us was about 13, 14 years ago when we came into this market was basically purchasing two small mom-and-pop breeding programs. There were some older gentlemen who started up their own thing, developed some genetics, and we purchased that.
We were on a pretty low level with that wheat germplasm in the beginning. It wasn’t very high yielding, disease resistance was lacking, especially for FHB, and over the years it’s about grabbing the different genetics that we can get our hands on to start crossing that into our program.
Over those last 13 years we’ve come a long, long way. The material we have now is incredible compared to where we started.
It’s a lot of fun. It’s a wheat breeding startup company basically that we started 13 years ago and now we’re starting to really see the fruits of those labors.
See WHEAT, Page 12
AGRINEWS PHOTO/TOM C DORAN
Mark Christopher (right), KWS Cereals senior wheat breeder, leads one of the groups on a tour of the 50-acre breeding nursery east of the company’s breeding facility in Champaign County
WHEAT
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Once a high-performance product is developed, is it sold to another market?
Christopher: We develop genetics and then we out-license that to seed companies. We give them the right to produce and market and sell our genetics with their brand.
Breeding for some potential problem several years down the road is a challenge, and it takes numerous years of testing to develop the solution to a problem that may or may not happen, right?
Christopher: The cycles are so big. The material that we’re crossing right now in the greenhouse, it’s going to be seven, eight, nine, 10 years before they’re even pre-commercial or commercial. It takes a long time, but, of course, we have material in every generation of the pipeline. So, there’s always new stuff coming.
But, yes, there’s always somewhat of a tendency to think about the material that
is still to come.
We know a lot about the advanced material, we kind of know where it stands and what its strengths and weaknesses are, but we can always romanticize about the stuff that’s still unknown. It’s always exciting.
Where do you see wheat genetics going in the next five, 10 years?
Christopher: I can’t speak for the industry in generally, but, for us, our program is at a real turning point. We’re at the point where we have really, really competitive stuff.
High-yielding material that is also bringing good disease resistance, especially for FHB. Five, six, seven years ago, that wasn’t there.
We could have some lines that were having good disease resistance or lines that were bringing yield, but bringing all together, that’s where we’re at now.
So, over the next few years we’re just going to grow on that. It’s really exciting for us. I think that we’re a breeding company that’s going to be well-represented in the market in the coming years for sure.
AGRINEWS PHOTO/MARTHA BLUM
Representatives of groups involved with donating over 34,000 servings of milk gather along with those from the Northern Illinois Food Bank and Geneva Mayor Kevin Burns (fourth from right) to celebrate the special event during National Dairy Month
Making an impact in fight against hunger
By MARTHA BLUM mblum@shawmedia com
GENEVA, Ill. — A generous donation of whole and lactose-free milk to local food banks will impact the lives of thousands of Illinois families.
In celebration of National Dairy Month in June, a combined 34,848 servings of milk have been donated to the Northern Illinois Food Bank, Central Illinois Foodbank and Eastern Illinois Foodbank, by the Illinois Milk Producers Association.
The donation was made in partnership with Prairie Farms, Illinois Farm Bu -
reau, Illinois Corn Marketing Board, Illinois Soybean Association, St. Louis District Dairy Council and Midwest Dairy.
“This is a perfect example of how companies can work together to help people in need,” said Mark Tolene, Prairie Farms division manager. “There’s a lot of people in need, and when you talk to farmers, they’re the first ones to come and help.”
It is important, Tolene said, for everyone to be able to enjoy milk.
“This is exciting news that we brought the first batch we ran at our plant of lactose-free
milk to offer to families who may or may not know they are lactose intolerant,” he said.
“This is an event that’s fun to come to because you know you’re doing something good for the community,” said Mark Tuttle, an IMPA board member and farmer from Somonauk.
“I want to express my heartfelt thanks for this wonderful donation,” said Julie Yurko, president and CEO at the Northern Illinois Food Bank.
“We know when kids don’t have access to enough nu -
See HUNGER, Page 16
PAGE 15
tritious food, it affects their mental and physical health,” she said. “Milk is crucial for a nutrient-rich diet and essential for helping kids grow and stay healthy.”
Milk is one of the most requested foods at pantries, Yurko said.
“I was at a food pantry last week and the last thing our families got as they were shopping was a gallon of milk,” she said. “The feeling of handing that gallon of milk to a mom and her child fills your heart and soul.”
The need for food donations at the Northern Illinois Food Bank continues to grow.
“For the last three months, we have served on average 600,000 people every month and it was 570,000 people earlier this year,” the food bank president said. “Last year it was 460,000 people
per month and pre-pandemic that number was 297,000 people.”
Unfortunately, at the same time, Yurko said, contributions to the food back are down.
“We are trying to figure out how we can continue to be as impactful as possible while we don’t have enough to give to our neighbors, who don’t have enough,” she said.
“One way to solve that is to rely on the goodness of others, folks making generous donations and partners like you because when you get involved, good things happen,” the food bank president said. “Thank you for reminding me that we’re not alone in our fight against hunger.”
“One of my proudest moments was when we dedicated the Northern Illinois Food Bank as a new partner in our community,” said Kevin Burns, mayor of Geneva, who has lived in the town for 50 years.
“I know the vital con -
nection between generosity and neighbors empowered,” Burns said. “It’s not just about money — it’s also about product, good neighbors, faith and the confidence in the donations you make that Julie and her team will use that product in such a way that helps neighbors who are in need.”
Geneva is a unique community, the mayor said.
“We tend to think we are absent of struggles, but we’re not,” he said. “Because we have high net-worth individuals, that doesn’t mean we don’t also have high-risk people who are hungry.”
Burns thanked those at the food pantry for the important work they do on a daily basis.
“Thank you to the milk producers, Prairie Farms and the Farm Bureau for your generosity that means a great deal,” he said. “The impact is real and I know this donation is going to make a difference in the lives of kids and adults who need it the most.”
Cuts in funding for SWCD
Good, bad news for agriculture in spending plan
By TOM C. DORAN tdoran@shawmedia com
SPRINGFIELD, Ill. — The Illinois General Assembly approved a record $53.1 billion spending plan that included some good and bad news for agriculture-related programs.
House lawmakers passed the budget near sunrise May 29 by a 65-46 margin. Seven Democrats joined Republicans in opposition.
The Senate vote was 38-21 with three Democrats joining Republicans voting against the plan.
Many of the budget line items overseen by the state Department of Agriculture were unchanged from the previous fiscal year with the exception of the Soil and Water Conservation Districts.
The budget reduced the amount appropriated to SWCDs “for ordinary and contingent administrative expenses” by 47%, from $8.5 million last year to $4.5 million in FY
2025, a return to pre-2000 funding levels.
“While the outcome we had advocated for and was led to believe would happen did not come to fruition, we will find a path forward to ensure that the states essential Soil and Water Conservation Districts remain on the frontlines in protecting the states most vital natural resources — soil and water,”
Michael Woods, Association of Illinois Soil and Water Conservation Districts executive director, wrote in an email to SWCD colleagues, stakeholders and supporters.
“At this time, we must take the high road and find a path forward, not dwell in the actions taken against SWCD funding and the direct attack at intergenerational equity and sustainable investing.
“Rather, we must find a path forward to ensure that we: diversify our treasury to become less dependent on funding that is volatile;
maintain service to our stakeholders to ensure the acceleration of locally led efforts to conserve, protect and restore land and waters across the state; and engage those that value the frontline boots-onthe-ground conservation essential to protect the stability and sustainability of Illinois.
“It is once again on us, the state’s SWCD directors, staff and stakeholders, to ensure that we elevate the message across the state that will ensure that Illinois puts in motion the essential efforts to meet objectives of the nutrient loss reduction strategies, achieve grassroots conservation essential to protect the states vital natural resources and raise the bar of climate resiliency across the state,” Woods concluded.
The budget did appropriate $3 million for grants to SWCDs to fund projects for landowner cost-sharing, stream-bank stabilization, nutrient-loss protection and sustainable agriculture. That amount matched the previous year.
REVENUE INCREASES
The fiscal year 2025 budget featured over $1.1 billion in revenue increases, bolstered by tax hikes on sports wagering, video gaming and businesses.
The current 15% tax rate for sportsbooks was increased to between 20% and 40%, based on profits. Lawmakers increased the video gaming tax by 1%.
In addition, the legislation caps a tax discount claimed by retailers at $1,000 monthly.
The budget’s largest increase is the extension of the state’s cap on the amount of net operating losses corporations can write off on their income taxes, generating another $526 million for the state. There were no changes in
Woods
the personal income tax or standard deductions. It will also eliminate the state’s 1% sales tax on groceries.
COVER CROP INCREASE
The new budget increased funding for the Crop Insurance Rebate Initiative, also known as the Fall Covers for Spring Savings program, to $960,000 — a $300,000 yearover-year increase.
The initiative gives farmers whose applications are accepted a $5-an-acre subsidy on their next year’s crop insurance for every acre of cover crops they plant.
In fiscal years 2020-2021, 50,000 acres of cover crop benefit were provided under a $300,000 state budget amount.
For the 2022-2024 fiscal years, the program was more than doubled to $660,000 in funding for an enrollment of 100,000 acres.
Bipartisan bills were introduced in both the House and Senate calling for an appropriation of $3.1 million for costs associated with the program that would provide incentives for at least 500,000 acres.
The House bill was assigned to the Appropriations-General Services Committee, and Senate version was referred to Assignments with no action taken on either piece of legislation.
FFA SUPPORT
Lawmaker continued their support for the FFA membership with a program that began in 2022 by once again allocating $550,000 for costs associated with membership fees.
The program increased membership from 23,000 to over 41,000 students and over 380 chapters.
In addition, $100,000 was appropriated from the FFA Fund for grants to Illinois Association FFA, unchanged from last year.
MARKETING CUT
Monies budgeted for promoting and marketing Illinois agricultural exports was reduced from $2.1 million last year to $1,422,900 this year.
UNCHANGED
Numerous other budget items supporting Illinois agri-
culture matched the previous fiscal year included:
• State Cooperative Extension Service Trust Fund for operational expenses and programs at the University of Illinois Cook County Cooperative Extension Service — $2,449,200.
• State Cooperative Extension Service Trust Fund — $10,994,700.
• For distribution to encourage and aid county fairs and other agricultural societies, this distribution shall be prorated and approved by the
DOA — $1,818,600.
• Premiums to agricultural extension or 4-H clubs to be distributed at a uniform rate — $786,400.
• Premiums to vocational agriculture fairs — $325,000
• Rehabilitation of county fairgrounds — $1,314,300.
• Grants and other purposes for county fair and state fair horse racing — $329,300.
• Costs associated with the Local Food Infrastructure Grant Act — $2,000,000.
Lawmakers pass carbon capture guidelines
By TOM C. DORAN tdoran@shawmedia com
SPRINGFIELD, Ill. —
With multiple corporations targeting Illinois for underground carbon storage and the pipelines that go along with it, the General Assembly passed the Safety and Aid for the Environment in Carbon Capture and Sequestration Act on May 26.
The legislation, if signed by the governor, includes a statewide moratorium on construction of carbon dioxide pipelines for two years or until the Pipeline and Hazardous Materials Safety Administration has adopted revised federal safety standards, whichever comes first.
Due to an increase in federal tax incentives, carbon capture and sequestration products have been proposed across Illinois.
Companies have proposed injecting carbon dioxide underground through 22 wells in six Illinois counties and related pipelines have been proposed in 23 counties.
“The bipartisan legislation helps moves CCS technology projects forwards safely and responsibly in Illinois,” according to an Illinois Corn Growers Association release.
ICGA noted the key protection and safety provisions in the bill:
PROTECTION FOR LANDOWNERS:
• Affirms pore space ownership belongs to the landowner without severability.
• Requires companies to secure at least 75% of the pore space area around sequestration sites before they can petition to initiate unitization and the amalgamation process for remaining pore space. The number increased to 75% from 71% in the original proposal.
• Illinois Department of Natural Resources governs pore space amalgamation process, not eminent domain.
• Provides extensive protections to nonconsenting landowners including payment for pore space to be at least an average amount of what consenting landowners were paid
per acre for use of their pore space during injection for the life of the well.
• Requires 30 years of additional post-injection air and soil monitoring at sequestration sites — which goes further than existing federal requirements.
MORATORIUM ON CO2 PIPELINES:
• Institutes CO2 pipeline moratorium until the Pipeline and Hazardous Materials Safety Administration — the federal agency responsible for regulating the transportation of carbon dioxide in the United States — finalizes updated safety rules for CO2 pipelines or July 2026, whichever is sooner.
SAFETY:
• Creates an emergency planning and training fund that can be accessed by the Illinois Emergency Management Agency-Office of Homeland Security to provide training exercises, equipment and support for local emergency services and disaster agencies to prepare for future CO2 pipelines and sequestration projects.
• Creates a long-term trust fund to ensure the citizens, resources and environment of the state will be protected in the future.
“Having a seat at the table in these discussions is critical for the industry,” said Dave Rylander of Victoria, ICGA president.
“All sides worked towards compromise in this legislation, which creates additional regulatory framework around carbon capture and storage technology, CO2 pipelines, and provides landowner protections.”
“Carbon capture and sequestration is an important opportunity for ethanol plants and corn farmers. The technology allows corn-based ethanol to lower its carbon intensity and qualify for additional clean fuel market opportunities like sustainable aviation fuel,” said Dustin Marquis, Illinois Renewable Fuels Association president.
“With this law, CCS projects can safely move forward
and positions Illinois to lead in the clean fuel industry, which benefits everyone, including our renewable fuels industry.”
Some legislators were concerned the drinking water could be compromised if there’s a pipeline rupture. One carbon pipeline drill is proposed above the Mahomet Aquifer.
State Sen. Chaplin Rose, R-Mahomet, who voted against the legislation, was among a bipartisan group of local legislators who sent a letter to Gov. J.B. Pritzker asking to protect the Mahomet Aquifer from “carbon capture” storage under it.
“The potential for leakage of injected and stored CO2 into our local water presents a clear danger. A threat which should be obvious given the earlier leakage of methane into the Mahomet Aquifer by the People’s Gas company,” Rose said.
“Given that history, why would any rational person think it is a good idea to take on the additional risk of storing more poison under our water? But that is the deal that Gov. Pritzker cut.”
The Mahomet Aquifer is a critical resource for central Illinois and is designated as a “sole source aquifer” by the U.S. Environmental Protection Agency.
According to the EPA, less than 50% of the population in the Mahomet Aquifer service area would be able to find an economically feasible alternate source of water should the aquifer become contaminated.
“The interaction between CO2 and the aquifer’s water can produce carbonic acid, which alters the water’s chemistry. This change can mobilize dormant contaminants, including dangerous heavy metals like arsenic, leading to significant health hazards,” according to a Rose release.
“It amazes me that Gov. Pritzker, who has claimed time and again to care about the environment, is now OK with storing this poison under our water supply,” Rose said.
“The Mahomet Aquifer is
our most precious natural resource in central Illinois. He needs to quit playing footsy with the pipeline companies, realize this is a mistake and veto this bill.”
“Illinois is a national leader on climate and energy policy, and SB1289 ensures that if companies are going to use CCS as a climate mitigation strategy, they will need to meet some of the strongest standards in the nation,” said state Rep. Ann Williams, D-Chicago, the bill’s lead sponsor.
“The CCS protections bill ensures critical guardrails are in place to protect Illinois taxpayers, landowners and our environment.”
The bill includes “do no harm” mandates for polluting facilities that attempt to capture carbon.
“Frontline environmental justice communities have long fought against CCS projects because they are false solutions to the climate crisis and risk exacerbating the already disproportionate pollution burdens on our communities,” said Juliana Pino, Little Village Environmental Justice Organization policy director.
“This legislation secures a critical, enforceable requirement that facility operators not increase dangerous air and climate pollution as a result of carbon capture projects. It also provides a critical pause on pipeline projects to allow more time for federal safety standards to be finalized.”
“For the past two and a half years, landowners, farmers and environmental advocates across the state have sounded the alarm that CO2 pipelines and carbon storage put our communities’ health, land and water in grave danger,” said Pam Richart, Coalition to Stop CO2 Pipelines cofounder.
“The moratorium on CO2 pipelines and the mandate that pipeline operators pay for and conduct enhanced modeling for emergency planning and first responders are critical steps to better protect Illinois from potential pipeline ruptures.
5% rise in farmland values
Year-over-year increases decline
By TOM C. DORAN tdoran@shawmedia com
CHICAGO — Farmland values in the Seventh Federal Reserve District averaged a 4% increase from a year ago, the smallest year-over-year gain in three and a half years.
The latest farmland value tracking was reported in the Federal Reserve Bank of Chicago’s May agricultural newsletter.
In addition, “good” farmland values in the district rose 2% from the fourth quarter of 2023 to the first quarter of 2024, according to the survey responses of 141 district agricultural bankers.
Wisconsin’s farmland values pulled up the district average year over year with a 10% increase since April 1, 2023. Illinois had a 5% increase on average within the district.
There was no increase in Iowa, and Indiana and Michigan had insufficient responses to the survey.
Illinois and Iowa farmland prices increased 1% on average from Jan. 1 to April 1 this year.
Wisconsin’s farmland prices went up 3%, Indiana prices were unchanged in the first quarter, and Michigan had insufficient responses.
The Seventh District includes the northern two-thirds of Illinois and Indiana, all of Iowa, the southern two-thirds of Wisconsin and Michigan’s Lower Peninsula.
“For the three- to six-month period ending with March 2024, relative to the same pe-
CARBON
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“However, more protections are needed and our work before the Illinois Commerce Commission will continue to ensure that places where we live, work and play are pro-
riod ending with March 2023, 19% of the survey respondents reported higher demand to purchase farmland and 26% reported lower demand,” said David Oppedahl, Seventh District policy adviser and AgLetter author.
“Despite this ebbing demand for agricultural ground, a Wisconsin banker reported that ‘farmland prices continue to rise slightly, mostly due to lack of land for sale.’”
“Indeed, there was a smaller amount of land for sale during the most recent winter and early spring compared with a year ago,” he said, noting 14% of the responding bankers reported more farmland was up for sale in their areas and 42% reported less.
“Likewise, the number of farms and the amount of acreage sold were also down in the winter and early spring of 2024 relative to a year earlier.”
According to survey participants, the share of acres purchased by farmers in the three- to six-month period ending with March 2024 was down relative to that in the corresponding period ending with March 2023, implying that the share of acres purchased by investors was edging up in parts of the district.
CASH RENTS
Annual cash rental rates for Seventh District farmland saw an increase of 2% in 2024 — much slower growth than that of the previous three years.
A sizable majority of respond-
tected from dangerous carbon pipelines.”
“This bill begins to address some of the greatest threats from CCS and offers nearby communities concerned about potentially deadly leaks and disasters critical protections to guard against and address problems,” said Jenny Cassel, Earthjustice senior attorney.
ing bankers, 76%, forecasted district farmland values to be stable during the second quarter of 2024, while 7% forecasted them to be higher and 17% forecasted them to be lower.
For 2024, average annual cash rents for farmland were unchanged in Illinois and were up 4% in Indiana, 1% in Iowa and 6% in Wisconsin. Not enough survey responses were received from bankers in Michigan to report a numerical change for that state.
However, after being adjusted for inflation with the Personal Consumption Expenditures Price Index, district cash rental rates were actually down 1% in 2024 from the previous year. This small annual decrease in real cash rents followed three consecutive annual increases.
Lagging cash rental rates could be emblematic of declining prices for farm products, which have spurred concerns about a fall in farm earnings from 2023’s above-average levels.
According to data from the U.S. Department of Agriculture, prices received by farmers in March 2024 were down 5% from a year ago and prices for crops that month were down 16% from a year earlier.
In contrast, prices for livestock and associated products in March 2024 were up 5% from a year ago. But, notably, while cattle and hog prices did move higher relative to a year ago, dairy and egg prices floundered.
An Illinois banker noted that “high interest rates and low commodity prices are taking away interested parties,” leading to fewer bidders at farm auctions.
“While I am profoundly disappointed that industry did not agree to our recommendation to ban injection through the Mahomet and other sole-source aquifers, the bill provides far more protections than are in place today.”
“While there are certainly difficult compromises in SB1289, the protections secured in the
LOOKING AHEAD
According to an Iowa banker, “projections for 2024 show most farmers breaking even or going backwards in equity and working capital.”
This view seemed widespread in the district, as survey respondents forecasted that the overall volume of farm non-real-estate loans would rise in the during the April through June period of 2024 relative to the same period of 2023.
Forty percent of the responding bankers expected a higher loan volume, while 10% expected a lower volume.
“In particular, operating, feeder cattle and Farm Service Agency-guaranteed loans were anticipated to have higher volumes relative to a year earlier. In contrast, surveyed bankers forecasted a decline in the district’s farm real estate loan volume in the second quarter of 2024 from a year earlier,” Oppedahl said.
Another Iowa banker stated that “with the lower grain prices, we can sense a little caution with spending on land and machinery.”
In the first quarter of 2024, 59% of survey respondents considered farmland to be overvalued, while just 1% considered it undervalued.
Even so, responding bankers generally expected farmland values to be unchanged in the second quarter of 2024 — 7% of these bankers forecasted agricultural land values to increase, 76% forecasted them to be stable and 17% forecasted them to decrease.
“So, once again, the consensus among survey participants was for district farmland values to be steady in the next quarter,” Oppedahl said.
bill are a significant victory and should be put in place immediately,” said Jen Walling, Illinois Environmental Council executive director.
“We are committed to the ongoing work needed to protect our most precious drinking water sources and to increase landowner protections through future legislation.”
Oppedahl
Steve Reichman, Craig Moritz, Dan Knight, & Diane Hamilton are back serving the midwest by providing the best priced pesticides for you and your crop protection needs. We pride ourselves on family, service, and commitment to our customer base. As your allies in crop protection, we hope to build an alliance with you!
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Diane Hamilton diane@rallianceag.com P: 815-257-8789
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