AG Mag
North Central Illinois
A
PUBLICATION • SPRING 2020
A regional farm family is making a splash in the growing farm-to-glass movement, and they’re doing it with homegrown grains at the largest craft distillery in the state. / Pages 8-11 CHANGE SERVICE REQUESTED
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PRSRT STD U.S. Postage PAID Permit No. 486 Princeton, IL 61356
INDEX A
PUBLICATION • SPRING 2020
Publisher Dan Goetz Editor, General Manager Jim Dunn Page Design Jim Dunn Reporters & Photographers Martha Blum, Tom C. Doran, Pam Eggemeier, Daniel Grant, Jeff Helfrich, Michael Krabbenhoeft, Ben Orner, Alex T. Paschal, Mike Vaughn Cover illustration Rusty Schrader Published by Bureau County Republican 526 S. Bureau Valley Parkway, Suite F Princeton, IL 61356 815-875-4461 Articles and advertisements are the property of the Bureau County Republican. No portion of the North Central Illinois Ag Mag may be reproduced without the written consent of the publisher. Ad content is not the responsibility of the Bureau County Republican. The information in this magazine is believed to be accurate; however, the Bureau County Republican cannot and does not guarantee its accuracy. The 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.
On the cover Bartender Molly Petry mixes up a Country Sunset Martini at Kennay Farms Distilling in Rochelle. Superimposed behind Petry is an impressive piece of machinery used to distill gin and vodka at the facility. (Photos by Alex T. Paschal, for North Central Illinois Ag Mag)
• Prepping for the new growing season.........................................4 • Kennay Farms Distilling uses own crops while empowering family members............................................. 8 • Another wet spring on the horizon?...........................................14 • Sow cold, even when it’s so cold.................................................16 • On-farm grain storage and drying expand options..................18 • Illinois corn and soybean production drops in 2019............... 20 • Farming still runs in the family, survey says..............................21 • Illinois pork producers could lead a record year...................... 22
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Prepping for new growing season Corn and soybean yields suffered from moisture in 2019 Story by Pam Eggemeier For North Central Illinois Ag Mag Farmers have barely had time to catch their breath from a year of record-setting wet weather that delayed planting and harvests, causing many to take a loss on cash crops, but it’s time to plan for a new planting season. The first half of 2019 was the wettest in Illinois history, pushing back the timeline on planting the state’s most important crops — corn and soybeans. Harvest season dragged into the new year in some areas and now the toll it took can be quantified. Corn production was down 18 percent, and soybeans were down 20 percent, according to the final yield data from the U.S. Department of Agriculture. Continued on page 6
Alex T. Paschal/For North Central Illinois Ag Mag
Mechanics Kourtney Ranken and Josh Armbruster look over the transmission of a John Deere tractor at Holland and Sons in Dixon. This is the time of year when farmers are focused on equipment maintenance, and there’s been a lot of demand for it. Last year’s wet crops took a toll on farm machines, especially combines.
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Continued from page 4
To make matters worse, as farmers start to plan for planting, the prognosticators are advising they prepare for another wet spring. Rainfall estimates from the National Oceanic and Atmospheric Administration are calling for more rain than usual from April through June, the period in which most of the corn and soybean planting is done. Some farmers are tuned in and considering different approaches that could help protect crops against more wet conditions. One option is to put in alternative crops to help mitigate risk. Ryan Appelquist grows corn and soybeans on 3,000 acres between Nachusa and Franklin Grove. Last year he grew hemp for CBD oil, and this year he plans to bring hemp seed into the mix. “Hemp is just a shorter-season crop,” Appelquist said. “We’re trying to diversify with crops that allow us to get in and out earlier, and we didn’t need any new equipment to produce it.” Appelquist managed to get all of his acreage planted during last year’s weather nightmare, but he learned some hard lessons along the way, especially with corn. “Once June 1 hits, you just have to be
Some farmers who don’t want to get bogged down in fields saturated in rain are turning to track tractors. Trading treads for tracks helps the machines maneuver better in soft soil. Alex T. Paschal/ For North Central Illinois Ag Mag
done with corn,” Appelquist said. “Anything done after was so wet it cost us more than if we’d taken prevented plant.” Prevented planting is a provision in crop insurance that will cover part of the loss from natural causes that keep farmers from the same area from planting by a certain date. While government aid programs and insurance took some of the sting off a tough year, farmers are
still staring at input costs for the next season regardless of how much they end up raising. This year many farmers say they will be more decisive about when to plant. “If the ground is fit enough, get it in,” Appelquist said. “I kept thinking the weather would get better, and it never did.” Continued on page 7
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Appelquist also decided to go with earlier corn hybrids so he can get the combine in the fields sooner. Farmers can start booking seed orders in November. Better prices are usually available to those who order early. This is the time of year when farmers are focused on equipment maintenance, and the wet crops took a toll on combines. Appelquist has made good use of no-till and cover crops. They lock moisture in the ground and help keep erosion in check. While he is willing to make concessions to Mother Nature, Appelquist doesn’t want to stray too far from his triedand-true practices. An Illinois crop specialist agrees that resisting the urge to completely overhaul planting plans is wise. Corn and soybeans are the cash crops and farmers should use caution when considering diversification. “I’ve been hearing about alternative crops for 40 years, but we’ll always go where the demand is — people want corn and soybeans,” said Emerson Nafziger, professor emeritus at the University of Illinois. “Your memory needs to be be longer than one year when you’re thinking about spending more money.” Nafziger stresses that the production was still decent given the weather challenges. The state average yield for corn was 181 bushels per acres — only 10 bushels below the trend line. As for the forecasts for more wet weather, Nafziger isn’t overly concerned yet because at this point they are only educated guesses. History also tells us that advances in seed science can make up for a lot of weather problems. “With the current hybrids available, loss in yield is less than it used to be,” Nafziger said. “Maybe the biggest lesson from last year is that we don’t have to give up on crops as early as we used to.” Nafziger stressed that he doesn’t want to paint an overly rosy picture for the upcoming growing season. There are
some things he would make a priority and consider tweaking. Planting as quickly as possible is key, and that means getting corn in before May. Second plantings in June probably aren’t a good idea. Last year’s wet spring and fall should be factored into this year’s plans for some farmers in Northwestern Illinois, Nafziger said. “Not much tillage was done, and pricewise, corn might be favored in that area,” he said. “There is little nitrogen on the land, so that needs to be done in a timely fashion in the spring. If it’s a month late, there will be loss of yield.” Going to earlier-maturing hybrids should also yield well and produce drier crops at harvest time. “Seed companies are moving to produce earlier-maturing crops and I believe the 105 to 108 hybrids will be in demand this year,” Nafziger said. As farmers do equipment maintenance, some are looking at changing it up a bit to better deal with the wet conditions. But after a long stretch of low commodities prices, the risk-reward of new purchases must be carefully weighed. Holland & Sons in Dixon has seen quite a few farmers who are interested in new equipment. Much of that interest is driven by a desire to better navigate wet-weather conditions. “A few guys are buying new high-speed planters so they can get more done quicker,” said Mike Cain, service manager at Holland & Sons. Tract machines are another popular item for soggy fields. “If it’s wet, it’s better than a wheel tractor because it floats over softer soil better, but they’re a pretty big investment,” Cain said. Many farmers are already looking at higher costs for fixing what they already own, thanks to the difficult conditions they performed in last year. “We’re working on tractors and combines now and last year’s weather was really hard on equipment, so the repair bills can definitely be higher this time around,” Cain said.
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Kennay Farms Distilling uses own local crops, empowers family ‘It’s all done by a member of the family’
Kennay Farms Distilling owners Doris and Rick Kennay post in their Rochelle facility — the largest craft distillery in Illinois.
By Jeff Helfrich For North Central Illinois Ag Mag ROCHELLE — When a Franklin Grove farmer saw a former theater sitting empty in downtown Rochelle a few years back, he didn’t see a glass half empty, he saw one half full. And it was full of homemade spirits. The building presented the perfect opportunity to diversify his farm operation and turn a former hub of downtown activity into the largest craft distillery in Illinois. Before that, growing and selling crops had been a way of life for Rick Kennay.
Alex T. Paschal/ For North Central Illinois Ag Mag
Continued on page 9
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The sixth-generation grower and his wife, Doris, ran the family farm with fields in Ashton and Rochelle, growing corn, feed corn, and soybeans as well as running a hog operation. But he was looking for other ways to empower and secure a future for his family. The answer? Opening a distillery and making spirits with crops from the family farm. Today, he and Doris are just two of the Kennays behind Kennay Farms Distilling in downtown Rochelle. It’s all uncharted territory for Rick, running a distillery and dealing with distributors, marketing and sales. “It’s like drinking from a fire hose,” he said. But he’s learning, and so is his family. The couple decided to get into the distillery business when their children, Kaleb Kennay and Aubrey Quinn, and their nephew, Adam Kennay, returned to the farm. Rick and Doris own the business. Aubrey handles marketing and logistics and oversees daily operations at the farm and the distillery. Kaleb is the dayto-day production manager at the farm. Adam is the head distiller. “It’s all done by a member of the family,” Aubrey said. Continued on page 10
Alex T. Paschal/For North Central Illinois Ag Mag
The large tap room at Kennay Farms Distilling overlooks the distilling and brewing plant.
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“My brother plants it and harvests it, then takes it to the farm and we mill it there. Then we transport it to the distillery and my cousin distills it.” The distillery is located in the former Hub Theater, a first-run movie house in downtown Rochelle that opened in 1931 and closed 80 years later. The family bought the historic theater in 2016 and undertook a massive 2 1/2 year renovation before opening in March 2019. The distillery makes vodka, gin, and beers, including ales, lagers, stouts, IPAs, as well as premium and seasonal beers. Bourbon and whiskey are on their way – when the time is right. Right now, the spirits are aging in the Rick House just west of the distillery, and it’ll be a few more years before they’re ready. Quinn said the family is working on additional products for the future. Even though it would be “much cheaper” to order grain in bulk and have it shipped in, Quinn said the family’s homemade spirits set Kennay apart from other distilleries. “It’s been really well-received in the area,” she said. “Craft distilleries are really a popular thing right now, and people enjoy learning where their food and spirits come from. Obviously, people like
Head distiller Adam Kennay collects spent grains from the distilling process. The grains will go to feed cattle.
Alex T. Paschal/ For North Central Illinois Ag Mag
the farm-to-table movement, and there’s nothing more local than our own corn right there on the farm 10 miles away from the distillery.” “As long as you run it through your still, it’s legally yours to put your name on it,” Quinn said. “We certainly don’t do it the cheapest or most efficient route, but certainly it’s a much better process when we use our own corn to do it.” When the Kennays took on the project, they didn’t set out to open the largest craft distillery in Illinois. But laws changed as they were renovating the
building — allowing distilleries to pump out more product, from 30,000 gallons to 92,000 — and the family decided to think bigger. After all, it’s easier to do something all at once than to build something and then expand later. Today, the distillery has five full-time employees and 13 part-timers. Its opening lined up with a downtown revitalization movement in Rochelle, and the city was happy to support the business and helped get the startup going. Continued on page 11
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The distillery is a startup business — it isn’t fully functioning on its own yet — but the family hopes it will be in time. “With great risk comes great reward,” Quinn said. “That’s what we’re hoping for.” Diversifying his farming business is important to Rick, especially in times when weather, commodity prices, trade wars and tariffs make it tough for some to prosper and grow in the industry. “Diversifying is tremendous,” Rick said. “It’s everything to have feed corn, we have field corn, we have soybeans, we have hogs and we have the distillery. It’s everything.” Working together as a family makes for an interesting dynamic for the Kennays. Rick said everyone is working toward a common goal — success — since they each have a stake in the company. Everyone also is cross-trained. Each family member can work at the distillery or on the farm, wherever they’re needed. “We all have a mutual respect for the different roles we play, and I think that helps us to get along and still do our jobs,” Quinn said. “But it’s still nice to know that your cousin or your dad is still right there to help out whenever you need them.”
Alex T. Paschal/For North Central Illinois Ag Mag
Bartender Molly Petry mixes up a Country Sunset Martini at Kennay Farms Distilling in Rochelle.
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Some farmers in North Central Illinois didn’t catch a break with the weather last year until June, and they had to be quick to take advantage of a rare few days of uninterrupted sunshine to do tillage and planting. Unfortunately, some fields were left unplanted, and many that were planted included areas where work wasn’t possible because of wet spots.
Another wet spring on the horizon? Stressful planting seasons could become routine, hurting Illinois farmers and the economy By Ben Orner Capitol News Illinois SPRINGFIELD — The state’s climatologist is predicting Illinois farmers are likely to endure more burdensomely wet weather while they try to plant cash crops this spring after suffering major losses as a result of a record-wet plant-
ing season last year. April through June is likely to be wetter than normal in Illinois, according to rainfall projections from the National Oceanic and Atmospheric Administration, posing a challenge to corn and soybean farmers in the heart of planting season. Right now those farmers are calculat-
ing their losses after suffering through the wettest January to June in state history last year. Wettest of those months was May, which pushed planting of Illinois’ top two crops into June and July, when in an ideal year they’re in the ground in April. The result: Corn and soybean production dropped 18 percent and 20 percent, respectively, according to final yield numbers from the U.S. Department of Agriculture. Continued on page 15
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“Farmers should expect to deal with an increased frequency of wet winters and springs,” said Illinois’ State Climatologist Dr. Trent Ford, who expects wetter-than-normal conditions to become routine. Ford said all but far northwestern Illinois had above-average January precipitation. NOAA also projects a wetter-than-average February and March. “The last couple of decades especially we’ve seen our winters be wetter than previous decades,” Ford said. “That doesn’t mean more snow necessarily, it just means overall more precipitation.” For example, he said 20 of the past 25 winters in Peoria have been wetter than the city’s 120-plus-year average. “Preparing for wetter-than-normal conditions to be more common or happen more frequently is something that farmers should be doing in Illinois,” Ford said.
Harm to farmers and crops Continuous wet planting seasons present a challenge to farmers, as late planting pushes back their entire farm timeline. State Rep. Charlie Meier, R-Okawville, grows 1,600 acres of corn and soybeans
on his farm east of St. Louis. “Our planters started rolling on June 8, and it was not pretty,” he said. Delayed planting causes delayed harvest, which can lower end-of-year yields like farmers saw in 2019. Late harvests also leave farmers less time for tilling fields before it gets too cold, which breaks up compacted soil and deep field ruts that can hold too much water. Unfortunately for Meier, a lot of his tillage this fall “just did not happen.” “Those factors will all go into next year’s crop,” he said. Now in winter, Meier and other Illinois farmers are focused on getting tractors and equipment ready for planting season and hope they can better prepare their fields in the spring. “Any sort of pre-planting or field preparation gets delayed if we have a wetter-than-normal March or early April,” Ford said.
Climate connection Scientists point to climate change, also referred to as global warming, as a main contributor to increased rainfall. As humans emit greenhouse gases such as carbon dioxide, they become trapped in the atmosphere. The more carbon in the atmosphere, the more moisture it can hold, increasing precipitation.
“The connections there are pretty strong,” Ford said of wetter planting seasons and climate change. “In wet regions such as this, there’s abundant water supply at the surface,” he explained. “So as the atmosphere can take in more water, it does.” Scientists also expect heavy downpours to increase. “If we get a large amount of precipitation in one single event, what that can do is inundate the soil very quickly and then cause a lot of runoff and flooding,” Ford said.
Impact on the bottom line Decreases in crop production not only hurt farmers, but trickle down into other industries like corn elevators and trucking companies, said Mike Doherty, a senior economist at the Illinois Farm Bureau. “Most of our ag businesses off the farm, which are a big part of the downstate ag economy, they all have lower revenues as well,” Doherty said. A soggy spring could also spell danger for Illinois farmers vulnerable to further crop losses, he said. “You have costs no matter how much of a crop you raise,” Meier said, including rent, equipment and supplies. Continued on page 17
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During late winter, farmers can broadcast species such as clover or grass over pastures to thicken the stand and improve production.
Sow cold, even when it’s so cold Jack Frost may nip at farmers’ noses, but he can help take care of their fields, too
Story by Martha Blum AgriNews Publications/Shaw Media FREEPORT — Farmers looking to improve their pastures or waterways, or cut down on feed costs can start doing it now, but the window in which to do it won’t be open for long. During a recent agronomy summit in Freeport, Laura Lant, an agronomist for Midwest Grass & Forage in Macomb,
promoted the benefits of frost planting, a method of broadcasting seeds on the surface in late winter or early spring. The process lets nature do most of the work, relying on the freeze-thaw cycle and early showers to improve seed-to-soil contact. During this time of the year, soil can move up and down, drawing seeds into tiny cracks caused by the cycle, eliminating the need for tilling.
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But time is of the essence. “We’re only 4 to 5 weeks away from frost seeding time,” said Lant during the Northwest Illinois Agronomy Summit on Jan. 14 in Freeport, an event hosted by University of Illinois Extension. During late winter, farmers can broadcast species such as clover or grass over pastures to thicken the stand and improve production. “It is an effective way to increase the pasture, whether you want to keep it in pasture for 3 to 4 years or you just need it to tide you by for a few months or until fall,” Lant said.
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Some forage species work better than others for frost seeding. “Clovers are the most common and probably the most economical,” Lant said. “Adding a legume will produce nitrogen, so that is very beneficial for yields and fertility of any grasses out there,” she said. “If you need something for one year, consider annual ryegrass, Italian ryegrass, Frosty clover or some of the red clovers.” After the 2019 growing season, where many farmers planted forages on prevent plant acres or for emergency hay needs, Lant said there may be limited supplies of some seeds. “Make sure you’re planning ahead for those sooner rather than later,” she said. With little snow cover this year, Lant said, farmers have an opportunity to do some scouting of their pastures and hay fields. “If you were questioning some hay fields last year, do some scouting and then revise your plan of what you’re Continued from page 15
Government aid and insurance payments helped lessen the impact of low crop production last year, but they do not fix the problem. “There is a legitimate concern here,” Doherty said, as to the ability of some farmers to make debt payments on capital investments like machinery and land improvements. “That percentage of farmers is going to be a higher percentage than it was last year at this time,” he said. “We are poorly poised to deal with that.”
Adapting to a wetter future “There are strategies that can be taken to adapt to a wetter spring,” Ford said, including soil conservation, field treatments and improving drainage.
going to need this year,” she said. “Knowing that hay prices have gotten high at auctions, in central Illinois we’ve got some guys who aren’t livestock producers who plan to put in a hay field or two to capitalize on that market.” Lant encourages farmers to plant improved genetics when reseeding or renovating pastures. “All too often I see guys go cheap and skimp on pastures species,” she said. “They’re using products like Kentucky 31 that were developed in the 1930s and ‘40s and I don’t think anyone here would plant a corn hybrid or soybean variety from 2010 let alone something 50 or 60 years old.” A lot of innovations have occurred in forage seed production. “You may have to spend $10 to $15 more per acre, but see if that makes sense for your operation” Lant said. “Along with improving your systems and higher yield, you may find things like red clover with less hair that’s going to dry down quicker for dry hay or you may find a fescue that has a soft leaf and
more palatable,” she said. There are options for livestock producers who think they may be short on feed early in the spring. “Fortunately, we’ve been able to have cows on stalks in a lot of places to help prevent this,” Lant said. “If you did get cover crops in, grazing Triticale, cereal rye or annual ryegrass in the spring is a great option to keep feed costs down.” Another option is to plant something in late February to early March, such as a forage oat or forage pea. “That can be accomplished for $25 to $30 per acre and can really help to tide you over until you get to the summer annuals,” Lant said. “Last year, we sold a lot of summer annuals to folks who had never tried them before because of prevent plant and that really depleted the seed supply,” she said. “Teff seed produced in 2019 was planted in 2019, so there will be some seed shortages this year.” Therefore, Lant said, it is important for farmers to plan ahead and work with their seed suppliers early.
Meier said farmers may adapt by planting earlier, managing fields differently or using strains of crops that respond better to wet fields. “You learn to start planning,” he said, adding that proactiveness helped him through periods of drought in the 1980s. Constantly adapting to worsening weather conditions, though, might not work in the long term, especially since crop production is what brings in a farm’s income. “Agriculture, especially here in the middle of the Grain Belt, is a volume business,” Doherty said. “You cannot make money off bushels you don’t grow or that you don’t have.” Being at the mercy of Mother Nature, he said, will always be part of the job. “This is the nature of farming. You can’t control the weather.”
The state’s climatologist is predicting Illinois farmers are likely to endure more burdensomely wet weather while they try to plant cash crops this spring after suffering major losses as a result of a record-wet planting season last year.
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On-farm grain storage, drying expand a producer’s options Tonica farmer shares several insights gained over the years Story by Tom C. Doran AgriNews Publications/Shaw Media
TONICA — Bill Sherman III made the decision several years ago to invest in on-farm storage and now enjoys the flexibility and harvest efficiency the system provides. The fourth-generation corn and soybean grower and his father put up their first grain storage bin on his father’s nearby homestead in the early 1990s and another on his own homestead in 2001. Since that time, the Shermans continued to work with GSI and add on to the storage system.
The main farm location now consists of nine dry and wet bins, continuous flow dryer, dump pit, overhead load-out, conveyors and total storage capacity of 350,000 bushels. He also has another 250,000 bushels at other farms, including his dad’s home place. “Some of them on the other farms we’ll put dry corn in from here, and we also put soybeans in some of them. I also raise seed soybeans and I store some of those. It just depends on the situation,” Sherman said.
Long-term plan He recommends expanding over time rather than an all-at-once investment. “I did not want to add bins all at once. I didn’t want to spend a bunch of money at one time, so we added as we could afford. You could spend a lot of money and lose land that you rent or something
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like that, so we did a little bit at a time and added as time went by. We have also added more land to our operation over time,” he added. The big step was made in 2013 when a GSI continuous flow dryer, additional grain storage and grain legs were installed on Sherman’s home site. One year later, Sherman had an overhead load-out bin installed. Another bin was added in 2019. “I got tired of drying corn in drying bins. It’s pretty slow plus the capacity is very time-consuming and it’s a lot of work,” Sherman said. “This is our central drying location and we haul out of that bin and fill other bins with dry corn, therefore you don’t have to be checking and it’s easy to watch this one here and run it, especially at night here where I live. It’s worked out very well.”
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Continuous flow dryer Sherman’s interconnected system through GSI is centered on a continuous flow dryer. A wet holding bin is connected with the continuous flow dryer and when the dryer “calls,” the corn from the wet holding bin is moved into the dryer. The dryer holds 1,875 bushels of corn and rated to remove five points of moisture from that amount of corn in one hour. As the corn dries down, the dryer automatically unloads the corn and moves it to another designated storage bin. The drying system features a GSI Vision dryer control system that allows operators to modify plenum and grain temperatures on-screen. The Vision system features a low-voltage safety circuit and a safety disconnect on every dryer. Each safety is monitored individually and its status displayed on-screen. The system also tracks the dryer’s history, and all shutdowns are logged with time and date information. GSI’s optional Watchdog software program allows remote monitoring of dryer functions such as moisture, temperature and dryer status from a web-accessible device. The load-out has a 5,500 bushel capacity and can load 1,000 bushels onto a truck in a couple of minutes. One recommendation Sherman emphasized for those looking into upgrading with a dryer is electricity availability at the site. “We’re at the end of the line here. I probably would have built a bigger dryer but I didn’t know if I was going to be able to get enough power for the next size. Power availability is the most critical part. If you can’t get the power, you might as well forget it,” he said.
Quick installation T&S Quick Enterprises at Blackstone, a GSI dealer, installed Sherman’s grain storage system over the years, providing the continuity needed to add on over the years.
Shaw Media photo/Tom C. Doran
Bill Sherman III points out the GSI Vision dryer control system features near the continuous flow dryer on his farm near Tonica. Sherman installed the GSI continuous flow dryer in 2013 as part of his longterm plan to improve his on-farm storage facilities. “I got started with GSI because Quick Enterprises had done some work on a grain system for a friend of mine, and he said he was pleased with the work they did that included installing a continuous flow dryer,” Sherman said. “Quick Enterprises’ service and everything is very, very good. I’ve had their service people come here at 10 o’clock at night if I needed something and they got me going. They do everything they can to help you. They carry parts for the dryer. You can’t ask for much more than that. “Another nice thing is they do the concrete work, the bin erection and they can also wire it for you if you’d like. That meant a lot to me, just talking to one business. When you build the next bin, they know what they did the previous time with wiring and different things. That’s one reason I went with them. I’ve been happy with them. I’ve been happy
with the GSI bins and GSI dryer.” Sherman has found numerous advantages to investing in grain storage, drying and load-out system on his own farm. “Our family operation does not have livestock, so having grain storage on the farms gives us the flexibility to market our grain anyplace. You’re not locked into one elevator and it also lets me haul it, so it gives me work to do to spread out my workload throughout the year to keep me busy. That’s another advantage,” he said. “I have three semi-trucks and it provides work for them. We don’t do any work for hire, we just haul our own stuff. “My philosophy is instead of writing a check to a grain elevator to do the work for you; I would rather do the work myself, control my own destiny, my own hours and build equity in my own grain system.”
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Illinois corn, soybean production drops by roughly 20 percent
Record-wet planting season caused dramatic decrease in crop yields tory by BEN ORNER S Capitol News Illinois
SPRINGFIELD — Production of Illinois’ two most valuable crops fell by roughly one-fifth last year, according to final crop yield numbers released in January by the U.S. Department of Agriculture. Corn and soybean growers saw production drop 18.6 percent and 20.4 percent, respectively, compared to 2018. Farmers harvested just over 1.8 billion bushels of corn, down from more than 2.2 billion the year before. Soybean production decreased from around 667 million bushels to just over 532 million. 2019 was the worst year for corn since
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2012, when farmers produced about 1.3 billion bushels. Soybean production had its worst year since 2013, which saw 461 million bushels. Yield per acre was down 14 percent for corn at 180 bushels and 15 percent for soybeans at 54 bushels. That’s the lowest for corn since 2015 and the lowest for soybeans since 2013. Wetter-than-normal planting and growing conditions are to blame for last year’s stunted production, said Mike Doherty, senior economist at the Illinois Farm Bureau in Bloomington. “We had the latest-planted corn crop at least in my history of 30 years as an ag economist here” because of record-breaking spring rain, Doherty said. “I’ve never seen anything like it.” January through June was the wettest first six months on record in Illinois, according to the state climatologist’s office. In April, the month when farmers begin to plant corn and soybeans, less
than a week was suitable for planting. Illinois then saw its third-wettest May and wettest June in state history, forcing many farmers to plant most of their crop in the summer. “Just about every time these farmers were turning around, they were being hammered with the worst field conditions that they had seen,” Doherty said. Record spring rain and periods of untimely rain during the fall harvest season forced late harvests across the state. Only 93 percent of Illinois’ corn crop was harvested by the end of November, according to USDA figures, the lowest total in a decade. “It was probably one of the most stressful growing seasons that most farmers can probably remember,” said state Rep. Dan Swanson, R-Alpha. Swanson grows about 1,600 acres of corn and soybeans on his farm in western Illinois. Continued on page 21
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He has yet to calculate his yields but predicts “considerably less than what we wanted or needed.� In 2018, 100 percent of Illinois’ corn and soybeans were harvested by late November, according to the USDA. Swanson said in January he knew of some farmers in his district who still had crops yet to harvest. Despite the difficult year, Illinois farmers were able to harvest 97 percent of corn acres planted and 99 of soybean acres. Illinois also continues to be a national leader in those two crops, producing the most soybeans of any state and the second-most corn, behind Iowa. Nationally, soybean yields were down 20 percent from 2018. The top 16 soybean-producing states saw production drop between 8 percent in Kansas and 42 percent in South Dakota. Only Delaware, North Carolina and Pennsylvania saw increases. Corn yields dropped only 5 percent nationally. A number of top-growing states, however, saw significantly lower totals, including Minnesota, Indiana and South Dakota. The low yields reported across the country were not as bad as experts had predicted, Doherty said. He says govern-
Mike Vaughn/For North Central Illinois Ag Mag
It was well into November when a Bureau County farmer was photographed harvesting his corn crop. Late spring planting and then wet fields in autumn pushed back the traditional harvest window. ment assistance like crop insurance programs and trade aid payments helped cushion the blow for farmers. “Given the yield numbers we had in
Illinois, we would have had particularly some counties where the entire county’s economy would have been a disaster,� he said.
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Farming still runs in the family
Despite all the talk of factory farms, statistics show there are still a lot of family trees in farm fields Story by Martha Blum AgriNews Publications/ Shaw Media
KANSAS CITY, Mo. — Family farms represent 98 percent of all farms and 88 percent of production in the United States. Those numbers are included in the “America’s Diverse Family Farms — 2019 Edition” report which describes characteristics of the 2 million farms. “The report includes what the farms produce, farm profitability, receipts of government payments and participation in agricultural federal programs, which is important to understanding the farm sector,” said Christine Whitt, agricultural economist for the U.S. Department of Agriculture’s Economic Research Service (ARMS). The data included in this report was collected in the 2018 Agricultural Resource Management Survey. “ARMS is USDA’s primary source of information on
farm businesses and associated household principal operators,” Whitt said. “Principal operators are those who are most responsible for running the farm.” USDA defines a farm as any place that sold at least $1,000 worth of farm products in a given year. “The farm sector consists of a wide variety of farms — very small farms with little sales, mid-size farms with hundreds of thousands of dollars worth of sales and large farms with millions of dollars of sales,” Whitt said. “A family farm is any farm where more than 50 percent of the business is owned and operated by an operator and individuals related to one operator,” Whitt said. “The majority of farms are small family farms, but largescale farms have the largest share of the value of production,” Whitt said. “Small farms represent 90 percent of all farms, 48 percent of acres operated and 21 percent of production, whereas largescale family farms represent 2.7 percent of farms, but account for the largest share of production, at 45.4 percent on 19.5 percent total acres operated.” Small farms produce 56 percent of poultry production, which includes eggs, as well as 50 percent of the U.S. hay production. “Midsize and large family farms account for the majority of cotton, cash grains and
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oilseed production,” Whitt said. “Large-scale family farms produce the majority of dairy, and non-family farms and large-scale farms produce the bulk of high value crops and beef.” Many family households combine farm and off-farm income. “Over 41 percent of U.S. family farmers fall into the off-farm occupation typology class and over 80 percent of those operators work off farm as do 60 percent of their spouses,” Whitt said. “Principle operators of large-scale family farms are less likely to work off the farm than operators of small and midsize family farms — 11 percent of principal operators of large farms and 3 percent of very large farms held offfarm jobs,” Whitt said. “The majority of spouses of principal operators reported health care benefits are one
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of the reasons for working off the farm,” Whitt said. Occupations of operators who work off the farm are different from the general U.S. workforce. “Among operators of commercial and intermediate farms who also hold an offfarm job, 15 percent to 18 percent are working in farming, fishery or forestry occupations compared to 1 percent of the U.S. workforce,” Whitt said. “In general, farm operators are more likely to work in goods-producing occupations and less likely to work in service occupations.” Most payments from commodity related and working land conservation programs go to three groups — moderate sales, midsized and large farms, representing 76 percent working and 72 percent commodity-related payments, Whitt said.
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The pig nursery is shown at the Sturtevant farm in rural Shannon. Some experts believe U.S. hog production could reach record levels in 2020, with Illinois pork producers sharing in that growth.
Michael Krabbenhoeft/ For North Central Illinois Ag Mag
Illinois pork producers could lead a record year in hog production Swine breeding inventory has risen Story by Daniel Grant FarmWeekNow.com U.S. hog production could reach record levels again this year – and a good portion of that growth could occur in Illinois, where the swine breeding inventory reached 590,000 head as of Dec. 1, up 30,000 head from a year ago. Overall, the national breeding herd totaled 6.46 million hogs as of last month, up 135,000 head from the same time last year, according to USDA’s quarterly hogs and pigs report released Dec. 23. “This report gives a view of what the supply outlook is for (this) year,” Altin Kalo, senior analyst with Steiner Consulting Group, said during a teleconference hosted by the National Pork Board. “One thing that determines the supply is the size of the breeding herd. And, chances are, we’ll have more hogs down the road,” he noted. “When you look at where the growth came from, the biggest growth was from Illinois.”
The anticipated growth of the swine herd continues a trend in recent years. The inventory of all hogs and pigs as of Dec. 1 totaled 77.3 million head, up 3 percent from last year and a record for the quarter. Efficiency also reached an all-time high as the average pigs saved per litter last quarter totaled a record 11.09 compared to 10.76 the previous year. In Illinois, all hogs and pigs totaled 5.35 million head last month, up 1 percent from the previous quarter but down 1 percent from a year ago. Meanwhile, hog slaughter during a recent 28-week stretch increased 5.5 percent from the previous year as more animals moved through the system, Bob Brown, president of Bob Brown Consulting, noted. “The last year says to me U.S. pork producers started expanding around August 2018, which is about the first we heard the news of ASF (African swine fever) in China,” Brown said. ASF decimated an estimated half of the swine herd in China, the largest consumer of pork in the world. U.S. pork exports increased there, but the lion’s share of new sales to China were gobbled up by the European Union in
the past year as American pork was sidelined due to trade restrictions. The EU shipped 2.5 times the volume of pork to China through October than the U.S., Canada and Brazil combined, according to Brown. “The U.S. pork industry is missing out on an unprecedented sales opportunity in China when it most needs an affordable, safe and reliable supply of its favored protein,” said David Herring, president of the National Pork Producers Council. “The United States is the lowest-cost producer of pork in the world but, with tariffs, we are not as competitive.” Analysts look for increased sales of U.S. pork and higher prices this year. Kalo projects average CME lean hog prices of $70 per hundredweight the first quarter before rising to $86 and $83 in the second and third quarters, respectively. Brown predicts stronger pork exports and even higher average CME lean hog prices of $75 in the first quarter and then up to $92 by the second and third quarters before settling back to $75 in the fourth quarter this year. Exports currently account for more than one-quarter of U.S. pork sales.
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