BCR_Ag Matters_062219

Ag Matters Summer 2019

Shaw Media photo/Dave Cook

Planters finally got rolling in June as the unusually rainy spring across the region kept farmers out of their fields for most of April and May, causing far-reaching consequences to the ag sector.

• Youths pick up tips on how to show livestock.....2 • Hemp growers face high risk for high profits.......9

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YOUTH LIVESTOCK CLINIC | BUREAU COUNTY FARM BUREAU

Bureau County Republican / bcrnews.com • Saturday, June 22, 2019

| AG MATTERS

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Shaw Media/Dave Cook

The Bureau County Farm Bureau’s “Beyond the Banners” youth livestock clinic provided curious youths and their families with the details of the hard work and care required for success in the show ring.

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YOUTH LIVESTOCK CLINIC | BUREAU COUNTY FARM BUREAU

Event designed to encourage boys and girls to get involved

BY DAVE COOK Shaw Media

PRINCETON — Showing livestock, whether it be cattle, sheep or any other farm animal, takes dedication, time and care.

The Bureau County Farm Bureau recently gave local children the opportunity to learn about the work that goes on before competing for the blue ribbons.

“Beyond the Banners” was held at the Bureau County Fairgrounds on a pleasant spring morning. Young leaders and others in the local ag community shared the experiences they have gained through their years in 4-H and FFA with the younger members who were curious about the show ring.

The youth livestock clinic was for youths in kindergarten through high school. Those attending could choose two of the four clinics to learn about the specifics of grooming tools and methods, feeding, showmanship and the day-to-day care required for cattle, pigs, goats and sheep.

“This is a way to help increase the number of livestock shown, and it’s a good way

to teach younger kids about what they’re going to have to do in order to show an animal,” Gracey Dale, chairwoman of the Farm Bureau’s Young Leaders, said.

A sense of responsibility, a good work ethic, and the sometimes emotional realities associated with livestock shows and auction rings were shared lessons during each clinic.

Children also had the chance for hands-on experiences with each animal and learned several of the little tips that can move them closer to the winner’s circle.

The day also included a variety of speakers and local volunteers who shared their knowledge and time to make the event a success.

Sponsors of the day were Anderson Show Pigs, Bureau County Cattlemen, Bureau Creek Family Farm, Bureau County Fair, Center Prairie Genetics, Engnell Brothers, Frueh Yorkshires, Kiner Farms, Kolb Genetics, Monier Show Pigs, Pro-Fit Show Supplies, Reel Club Lambs, Rustic Oaks Farm, Sullivan Show Supplies, Sundberg Farms and Thacker Farms.

“The best part of showmanship is showing gratitude to those who helped you. None of this would be possible without the help of our community,” Dale said.

Shaw Media/Dave Cook

Attendees to the youth livestock clinic at the Bureau County Fairgrounds were provided with hands-on opportunities to interact with the animals in a simulated show rings.

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AG MATTERS| Bureau County Republican / bcrnews.com • Saturday, June 22, 2019

Youths pick up tips on how to show livestock

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YOUTH LIVESTOCK CLINIC | BUREAU COUNTY FARM BUREAU

| AG MATTERS

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Bureau County Republican / bcrnews.com • Saturday, June 22, 2019

Lauren McMillan of Tiskilwa worked with LaMoille’s Clay Sundberg to help teach local children and parents about raising and showing award-winning cattle.

Shaw Media/ Dave Cook

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Gracey Dale

chairwoman of the Bureau County Farm Bureau’s Young Leaders

Morgan Mahnesmith of rural Sheffield enjoyed interacting with this young goat during the informational livestock clinic recently held at the Bureau County Fairgrounds.

Shaw Media/Dave Cook

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AG MATTERS| Bureau County Republican / bcrnews.com • Saturday, June 22, 2019

“This is a way to help increase the number of livestock shown, and it’s a good way to teach younger kids about what they’re going to have to do in order to show an animal.”

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| AG MATTERS

YOUTH LIVESTOCK CLINIC | BUREAU COUNTY FARM BUREAU

Bureau County Republican / bcrnews.com • Saturday, June 22, 2019

Children and their families could choose two of the four categories offered during the Bureau County Farm Bureau’s “Beyond the Banners� livestock showmanship clinic. There they learned about the dayto-day care of cattle, goats, pigs and sheep, as well as the work required to be the winner of a blue ribbon.

Shaw Media/ Dave Cook

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Shaw Media/Dave Cook

Children attending the “Beyond the Banners� youth livestock clinic could choose to learn about cattle, pigs, sheep and goats. Organized by the Bureau County Farm Bureau, the day was held in hopes of increasing the number of families participating in livestock competitions.

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AG MATTERS | Bureau County Republican / bcrnews.com • Saturday, June 22, 2019

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Bureau County Republican / bcrnews.com • Saturday, June 22, 2019

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GROWING HEMP IN ILLINOIS

More than 12,000 acres licensed in first year for industrial hemp

BY PETER HANCOCK Capitol News Illinois phancock@capitolnewsillinois.com SPRINGFIELD — Trent Lawrence had a rude awakening last week.

Overnight, mice had gotten into the greenhouse on his farm and eaten several dozen trays of seedlings he was planning to transplant into a field.

Lawrence and his wife, Jami, work a 26-acre farm outside of Delavan, about 30 miles south of Peoria, in Tazewell County. For the past several years, they’ve been growing organic peppers, tomatoes and a variety of other specialty crops.

But this year, they’re starting a new crop that became legal in Illinois only earlier this year, industrial hemp, and that’s what the mice found especially tasty.

At a cost ranging from 25 cents to

Capitol News Illinois photo/Peter Hancock

Trent Lawrence, who grows industrial hemp on his 26-acre farm near Delavan, called the venture “very risky.” Hemp is a new crop on Lawrence’s farm, just as it is for 473 other growers who have been issued licenses by the state since the application process began April 30. $1 per seed, rodents in the greenhouse are just one of many risks that Illinois hemp farmers face.

“It’s very risky, very risky,” Lawrence said during an interview on his farm.

Fortunately for Lawrence, the damage was minimal.

He has hundreds more seedlings growing in that same greenhouse, and hundreds more on top of that germinating under lights in an upstairs room of the house that sits on the property.

With luck, each of those plants will grow to produce one to two pounds of flower rich in a compound called cannabidiol, more commonly known as CBD, which when extracted can be used to control a wide range of medical conditions including seizure disorders.

And with market prices ranging from $80 to $100 a pound, depending on its CBD content, that makes each one of those seedlings extremely valuable.

That industry, however, became possible only in recent years. Since the 1930s, industrial hemp had been illegal in the United States, with a brief exception during World War II, because it was classified as a narcotic in the same category as marijuana.

See HEMP, Page 10

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AG MATTERS | Bureau County Republican / bcrnews.com • Saturday, June 22, 2019

Hemp growers face high risk for high profit potential

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GROWING HEMP IN ILLINOIS

Bureau County Republican / bcrnews.com • Saturday, June 22, 2019

| AG MATTERS

10 • HEMP

Continued from Page 9 It was only in 2014 that Congress began allowing states to authorize limited production for research purposes, and it was finally legalized completely in the 2018 Farm Bill, which Congress passed in December.

“Six months ago, this would have been the mother of all felonies,” Lawrence said as he looked around his greenhouse. “It’s no joke. Until the 2018 Farm Bill was signed, it was still under controlled substance territory. This would have been a Schedule I drug, but since they deregulated CBD — they removed CBD out of the Schedule I drug category.”

Lawrence said the plants classify as industrial hemp as long as they test below 0.3 percent Tetrahydrocannabinol, more commonly known as THC, the principal psychoactive ingredient in marijuana.

“So, we can grow a CBD crop now, as long as we don’t go above 0.3 percent delta-9-THC,” he said.

The Illinois Department of Agriculture began accepting applications for licenses to grow industrial hemp on April 30, and as of June 10, according to agency figures, the state had issued licenses to 474 growers covering just over 12,103 acres.

That’s actually quite small compared to the 11 million acres of corn the state produced in 2017, or the 10 million acres of soybeans farmers grew that same year.

In terms of income potential, however, there is little comparison. In 2017, according to the Illinois Department of Agriculture, corn production in Illinois averaged 201 bushels per acre, and it sold for $3.35 a bushel, or $673.35 per acre. Soybeans yielded roughly $556.80 per acre.

But some in the industry believe a quality hemp crop that’s geared toward CBD production could generate as much $90,000 to $160,000 an acre, depending on how much flower the plants yield and how much

CBD they contain.

“It’s just that the CBD craze that’s going on right now has produced some pretty tremendous stories of farmers and what they can earn on an acre of hemp flower,” said Kevin Pilarski, chief commercial officer of Revolution Cannabis in Elmhurst.

Different varieties of hemp can be grown for its fiber, or to produce seeds. But for now, Pilarski said, Illinois farmers are focusing exclusively on CBD production.

But for farmers hoping to cash in on that market, there are also substantial risks.

Ginger Duer, president and founder of Delta Valley Logistics, a company that grows industrial hemp in Illinois, California and Ontario, said the first of those is upfront capital investment.

“I tell our farmers to anticipate spending — from before they purchase seeds to when they have a salable biomass at the end of the product cycle, they have a product that is dried, packaged and ready to sell to a processor — $15,000 to $20,000 an acre,” Duer said.

“Now, that is making an assumption that the farmer does not have a lot of equipment that they’re going to have to obtain. However, for the vast majority of farmers, you do have that equipment.”

Both Duer and Lawrence acknowledged another risk about the hemp industry: the fact that there is no accredited crop insurance for it yet.

“Every farmer out there who’s currently growing hemp is running naked,” Duer said. “But that’s causing other problems within the hemp markets because it’s making it more difficult to pre-sell their crop because there’s no crop insurance.”

In addition, she said, there are no certified industrial hemp seeds available yet, which makes shopping for seeds a risky venture of its own because of what she described as “rampant fraud” in the hemp seed market.

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GROWING HEMP IN ILLINOIS Industrial hemp grows in a greenhouse on the farm operated

by Trent Lawrence and his wife, Jami, near Delavan. The Lawrences have hundreds of seedlings growing in the greenhouse and under lights in an upstairs room of the house that sits on the property.

Continued from Page 10 “We’re talking about people selling seed stock that is two to three years old as ‘fresh’ seed stock, so the germination rates are 50 to 60 percent instead of above 95,” she said. “You have people selling seeds that were pollinated by high-THC drift in certain states and areas of the country, leading to farmers planting plants that they believe are going to be industrial hemp but are legally marijuana and have up to 6 to 7 percent THC by harvest.”

Lawrence, who said he purchased seeds from hemp farmers in Colorado and Oregon, where production has been legal for some time, said he experienced the uncertainty of the seed market as soon as he decided to go into production.

“Imagine doing a wire transfer for $10,000 or $20,000 with somebody in another state that you’ve never met for something that was, six months ago, a felony,” he said.

In addition, he said, even though the seeds came from plants that met the standards for industrial hemp in another state, that does not necessarily predict how they will grow in the fertile soils and

Capitol News Illinois photo/Peter Hancock

hot summers of Illinois. There is always a danger, he said, that the plants will end up producing too much THC. “Before we harvest, the state will come in and take samples, send those in and get our levels, and if it tests over a certain percent, we have to burn the crop,” he said.

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Duer said she believes the hemp industry in the United States will never fully stabilize until there is crop insurance available and there are controlled, certified seeds available to farmers.

Lawrence, however, remains optimistic that will eventually happen.

“I’m thinking in another four or

• • • •

five years, this is going to be just like any other commodity,” he said.

“Once more farmers start doing this, especially with grain and fiber, once the infrastructure for those crops is in place for processing grain and fiber, I think this will go mainstream. We’ll have corn, beans and hemp growing everywhere.”

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AG MATTERS | Bureau County Republican / bcrnews.com • Saturday, June 22, 2019

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Bureau County Republican / bcrnews.com • Saturday, June 22, 2019

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