Dekalb County AG Mag - Spring 2015

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DeKalb County

Spring 2015

Prices, Profits might have peaked in ‘14 See Page 8 A Publication of

2 | DeKalb County AG Mag | Spring 2015

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DeKalb County

Table of Contents

5

Yields up, acreage down

8

Prices, Profits might have peaked in ‘14

11 Returning to agriculture roots More people taking on small-scale farming careers

16 Farming Apps 18 GMO Debate likely to resume

in 2015

22 County Agricultural Fairs Contribute to Local Economies in Illinois

23 Chilly Weather

benefits DeKalb County dairy farmers

24 Consortium receives $7 million

to empower women farmers 25 Test your knowledge of the

dairy industry 26 Calendar of Events

20 U.S. soybean production

prospects for 2015 21 Farmers Market

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DeKalb County

Published by Shaw Media Publisher: Karen Pletsch Project Manager: Lisa Angel Design & Layout: Allison LaPorta Articles and advertisements are property of Shaw Media. No portion of DeKalb County Ag Mag may be produced without written consent of the publisher.

Photos taken by: Danielle Guerra • dguerra@ shawmedia.com

4 | DeKalb County AG Mag | Spring 2015

Yields up, acreage down

By AIMEE BARROWS and DAVE FOX For DeKalb County AgMag Photos taken by: Danielle Guerra • dguerra@ shawmedia.com

Sometimes, the only certainty in farming is uncertainty.

Take corn, for instance.

Both yields and prices in corn markets have seen record highs in recent years. Yields continue to fluctuate, ever upward, while prices seem to have corrected themselves – downward – after the golden grain hit an all-time high in recent years.

Farmers have seen yields rise steadily for decades, doubling since 1975 to record-breaking levels for many growers in 2014.

“There’s a big debate within agriculture nationally: Do we have continued room for growth in yields?” said Chad Hart, a professor and crop-market specialist from Iowa State University. “You look at state-level numbers, you see well over 200. Somewhere in the 200s is where I think we can plateau.”

Mark Johnson, an Iowa State University field agronomist, said a plateau could create a major problem for states such as Illinois and Iowa, large producers in the heavy corn-exporting U.S.

Spring 2015| DeKalb County AG Mag | 5

6 | DeKalb County AG Mag | Spring 2015 “A plateau is highly unlikely,” Johnson said. “And if we had one, we wouldn’t be able to feed the world.”

Uneven trend

Nick Kessler, site manager at Monsanto’s Waterman Research Facility, said 2014 was a record year for corn across the country.

“This past year there were the most bushels per acre produced in the history of farming, as far as I know,” he said. “2012 was a bad year, but 2013 and especially 2014 had really good production.”

According to the U.S. Department of Agriculture, Illinois produced 200 bushels of corn an acre in 2014, which was up 22 bushels from 2013. Overall corn production also set a record in 2014, with 2.35 billion bushels produced, which tops the 2.28 billion bushels that were produced in 2007.

Kessler said 2015 would “definitely” be a down year for corn. He said it’s more of a risk for farmers to plant corn because they have to invest more money to grow corn versus soybeans. He said it’s less risky, and cheaper, to produce soybeans.

Kessler also cited basic economics as a major factor in the downturn in corn prices. He said it’s simply supply and demand.

“Corn supply is extremely high. Farmers had record yields last year,” Kessler said. “We had a good growing season – adequate temperatures, adequate rainfall – so it was ideal. As good as it gets. But if all farmers have a bumper crop, they get paid less per bushel because companies know there’s an abundance.”

Kessler said Monsanto will adjust their production of seeds this year, and the amount they produce will be lower than previous years. He said many farmers probably have leftover corn seed from last season, so they won’t need to buy as much.

“The acres used for corn will go down, and we’ll use more of those acres for soybeans,” he said. “Farmers will plant more soybeans this year.”

Mariam Wassmann of the DeKalb County Farm Bureau said DeKalb County farmers usually see higher corn yields than the statewide average. She said there’s a combination of factors that make northern Illinois so fertile for grain production.

“There’s good, fertile soil here in northern Illinois, while other parts of the state have sandy soil,” she said. “The nutrients in the soil make a big difference, as does climate. It depends on the season, if there’s a lot of rainfall, and the heat in the summer. Of course, farm management is important too.”

Wassmann said the top commodity crops in DeKalb County are corn and soybeans. In 2013, DeKalb County had the highest soybean yield in Illinois, and had the sixth-highest for corn.

Market correction

After record yields and high prices, the market has worked to correct itself.

There is somewhat of a downward trend on the number of corn acres being planted, according to USDA’s World Agricultural Supply and Demand Estimates report, which was released in January.

According to that report, an estimated 97.3 million acres of corn were planted in the U.S. in 2012-’13, with that number dropping to 95.4 million acres the next season. With corn prices at half of what they were less than three years ago, the agency estimates a drastically lower 90.6 million acres of corn being planted in the U.S. in the coming growing season.

Iowa State agronomist Johnson said weather and long-range forecasts make an impact on planting choices.

Winter Spring 2014 2015| | DeKalb County AG Mag | 7

“A lot hinges on weather during the growing season,” he said. “Farmers only have about a three-week window in June, or close to it, when the real meaningful plant growth happens.”

Moisture levels also make a huge difference, Johnson said.

“If it goes real hot or real wet, the crop and the yield are affected,” he said. “Corn needs oxygen to grow and flourish, and in standing water, there isn’t enough oxygen.

And if it gets real hot for a few weeks in a row or more, the plant dries out.”

Gilbert Hostetler, president of Deer Grove-based Prairie Hybrids, said actual yield per acre would largely depend on the type of seed planted.

“GMO [genetically modified seed] tends to produce slightly lower yields per acre than non-GMO,” he said.

“Non-GMO corn generally produces about 15 bushels more per acre than GMO varieties.

“Some of our non-GMO seed averages 200 to 225 bushels per acre, and we have had some go as high as 300.”

But while GMO corn might not keep up with non-GMO in yields, it does provide other advantages, said Dan Koster, president of Tettens Grain based in Sterling.

“There tend to be less insects and other things,” Koster said, “because GMO corn has traits built in that make it insect and fungus-resistant.”

Abundance of corn Pioneer Seed’s Steven Long, also based in Sterling, agreed there will likely be more beans and less corn planted this coming season, at least in the Midwest, as a step toward correcting the market.

“It’s a little more economical to put out beans,” he said.

“It’s a crop that costs less to produce than corn.”

Once existing corn supplies shrink, prices could rise again

and more corn could be planted. But not this year, in all likelihood.

“As there’s an abundant supply of corn, and less demand, the price will always go down,” Long said. “Low prices cure low prices.”

Despite the abundance of corn on the marketplace, Ed Arndt Jr., of Malta, said he plans to plant the same amount of corn this season. He said agriculture is a cyclical business and he plans to “weather the storm.”

“Most of us knew this [lower corn prices] was coming, so we planned to a certain extent,” Arndt said.

He said he’s planning for a “rough” year because the price of corn is below the cost of production for his farm.

Bob Johnson, of DeKalb, said low corn prices won’t affect how much corn he grows this year, but that’s partly because he feeds most of the corn he grows to his pigs.

Johnson said when corn prices are lower, several farmers prefer to raise livestock, if they’re able.

“When corn is less expensive, people want to raise livestock,” Johnson said. “When corn was high, people jumped into corn, which reduced the number of pounds of meat produced. The high price of corn encouraged livestock farmers to raise fewer [animals].”

Mike Schweitzer, of Malta, said being at the mercy of the marketplace can be infuriating. He pointed out that although crop prices fluctuate, the prices of other materials needed to produce the crops don’t always follow in lockstep.

“It’s difficult to out-think the market, and sometimes our best-laid plans are upset,” he said. “When there’s good prices for corn, the prices of fertilizer and feed go up. As prices of corn comes down, not all of our inputs have gone down as well.”

Despite the uncertainty, he said he doesn’t plan any changes this year and will plant the same amount of corn as he has in previous years, which he described as “heavy corn.”

8 | DeKalb County AG Mag | Spring 2015

Prices, Profits might have peaked in ‘14

by AIMEE BARROWS For DeKalb County AgMag

Photos taken by: Danielle Guerra • dguerra@ shawmedia.com

M

ike Martz, who runs the cattle operation on Larson Farms in Maple Park, described 2014 as a “perfect storm” that led to record-high prices in the livestock industry.

“There were three things that happened in 2014 to make it such a historic year; drought in the U.S., loss of pigs due to the Porcine Epidemic Diarrhea (PED) virus, and reproduction problems with roosters on the poultry side,” Martz said. “So every segment of the ‘protein ladder’ had problems.”

Martz, said the value of cattle has increased significantly in the past year, but now prices are beginning to stabilize.

“In 18 months, prices went from $1.19 a pound to $1.73 a pound,” Martz said. “As the market went up, we made good money, but our costs and the price we paid for feeder cattle went up too.

Although 2014 saw historically high prices for both cattle and hog farmers, the outlook might not be so bright for 2015.

DeKalb County has its fair share of both hog and cattle farmers. It’s the second largest hog-producing county in Illinois, and it’s ninth in cattle production, according to Mariam Wassmann of the DeKalb County Farm Bureau.

Spring 2015| DeKalb County AG Mag | 9

Martz said the current price for cattle is about $1.60 a pound, which is less than the high of $1.73 he got just a few months ago. He said that the cattle business is slower to rebound from losses, unlike the pork and poultry industries.

“One cow has one calf a year,” Martz, who currently has about 3,000 feeder cattle on his farm. “Pig and poultry can usually rebound within a few months.”

Martz explained that most cow-calf operations only made about $200 profit per head between 1980 and 2000. In 2014, the profit margin jumped to $540 per head. Martz said the feeder cattle side of the business didn’t “make near that much, but we did make record profits.”

Martz isn’t holding out much hope for prices to be this high ever again.

“2014 was a year for cattle profitability that we probably won’t see again in our lifetime,” he said.

Year of record profits

Economic conditions for the cow-calf industry in the Midwest last year could be chalked up to simple supply and demand, or perhaps the cyclical nature of all commodities markets, or even the perfect storm of conditions that started in 2011.

Or maybe all three.

But the end result was the same: Historic profits.

In 2013, the average hundredweight price for cattle in the U.S. was $126.83, up from $97.18 in 2010. But the highest month in 2013 – $132 – was dwarfed by the prices once the calendar turned to 2014.

By March 2014, the average hundredweight price for cattle in the U.S. was $150. It kept climbing, reaching $159 in August and $169 in November.

W. Travis Meteer, beef extension educator with the University of Illinois at Urbana-Champaign, said the cowcalf business is traditionally a break-even business. But that changed last year.

“We’ve seen it increase dramatically,” he said. “It depends on what economist you use, but profits have been as high as $700 a cow. That’s a huge increase from what cow-calf producers are used to seeing.”

Returning to earth Jamie Willrett of Malta, also said that the cattle business isn’t very profitable for him right now. His operation buys animals that are a year to 14 months old and finishes them for the market.

“When prices are high, we pay more for the animal coming in,” he said. “Futures prices were higher, but eventually the market turns around, then you’re left with higher costs in the current inventory. Cattle are a perishable commodity, and you can’t store live animals for few months waiting for the market. When they’re ready for processing, they need to go.”

Willrett said that the domestic market is still “very competitive,” because there aren’t a lot of variables from region to region. He said the animals “are the same wherever they are in the country,” and said that Illinois cattle farmers are as competitive as farmers from other states. He said the main variable is the cost of feed.

“We have an advantage here because the cost of grains and corn is cheaper. Corn is more expensive in Texas than in Illinois,” Willrett said.

Hog farmers have also seen price deflation. Bob Johnson, a hog farmer located south of DeKalb, said the number of pigs is going up, driving prices dramatically lower from three or four months ago.

Johnson, who sells about 25,000 pigs a year, said 2014 was a good year for him because there was a shortage of pigs after last winter’s PED virus that killed so many animals, which led to less meat on the market.

“The disease isn’t as serious now as it was a year ago,” he said. “There will be more pork on the market this summer.

Prices for hogs are already way lower. It’s happened before, and it’ll happen again.”

Johnson said there is more meat available on the market now, partly because the pigs are being sold at a heavier weight. He said when the cost to feed the pigs is low – as it is now after a big-yield growing season – farmers feed the animals more so they get bigger.

Eldon Gould, of Gould Farm in Maple Park, said that his

10 | DeKalb County AG Mag | Spring 2015

pork business was thriving this summer, but doesn’t think it the outlook is quite as good for the near future.

“There’s an oversupply of pigs that was largely caused when hogs were so profitable last summer,” Gould said. “People produced more pigs, at heavier weights, and there’s more pork on the market. We literally have to eat our way through the supply.”

Set up for success

The record beef profits some realized last year might not last forever, but what cattlemen do with those profits can position them for future success.

Dan Dykstra, vice president of Whiteside County Cattlemen’s Association, who has 50 head of cattle, will keep back more heifers than he usually would on his farm about 5 miles northwest of Morrison in northern Illinois.

While a heifer usually pays for itself in about 7 years, Dykstra said, he thinks he will cut that time in half with the animals he’s keeping.

Cattlemen looking to reinvest their profits from 2014 should consider all their options and evaluate whether they’re already maxed out, in which case the reinvestment might be best used to secure wealth against future loses or to make small changes to improve efficiency.

While starting up livestock operations on a farm that doesn’t already have them might be too expensive to take advantage of the current conditions, Meteer said, diversified farms with livestock and row crops may have an advantage over straight row crops.

“It just needs to be approached with common sense and awareness,” he said. “It is a little bit of an unforgiving business.”

What might seem like uncertainty to some, Illinois extension educator Meteer said, is just another year in the cow-cattle business.

“If you ever want a humbling experience in life, own cattle,” he said. “There are a lot of factors that can come into play.”

• Matt Mencarini contributed to this story.

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Returning to

agriculture roots

More people taking on small-scale farming careers Photos taken by: Danielle Guerra • dguerra@ shawmedia.com

By KATIE DAHLSTROM For DeKalb County AgMag LEE – Bryan Flower seriously questioned his decision to run a small farm when he had to wrangle a testosterone-filled bull in the pouring rain.

A lightning strike had disabled the electric fence surrounding the bull, allowing the 700-pound animal to strut toward the cows.

It took a tractor chase to drive the bull back into its corral.

Despite the challenges Flower has encountered since he and his wife, Sarah, started farming three years ago, he hasn’t questioned his decision seriously enough to stop. In fact, he only hopes to grow his 12-acre farm in Lee. “It’s a very rewarding process,” Flower said. “It’s a fun process, and it’s one that I really wanted my son to be able to experience.”

Flower runs one of the hundreds of small farms that the U.S. Department of Agriculture reports are in DeKalb County. Those small-scale farmers represent an emerging and determined group of people returning to the land in hopes of connecting local people with locally grown food.

The number of acres a farm includes has no bearing on whether it is considered “small” by the U.S. Department of Agriculture Rather, a farm is deemed small if it has annual sales less than $350,000, although the standard was $250,000 before last summer, said Andrew Larson, University of Illinois Extension local food system and small farms educator.

12 | DeKalb Count County AG Mag | Spring 2015

That includes about 60 percent of the farms in DeKalb County. According to the USDA’s [http://www.agcensus.usda. gov/Publications/2012/Full_Report/Volume_1,_Chapter_2_County_Level/Illinois/) Census of Agriculture released in 2014, 522 of the 880 farms of all in the county have annual sales less than $250,000.

Larson said small-scale farmers generally fall into three categories: idealists straight from college looking to make a career of farming; the “u-turn farmer” who has already had another career; and the retiree who plans to farm after completing another career.

“There’s definitely a heavy dose of nostalgia,” Larson said. “There’s definitely some idealism and thoughts about sustainability. There’s a dynamic between a desire to work the land and working for yourself.”

For Flower, 46, the decision came when he was working in the culinary program at Robert Morris University in Chicago.

He and his wife purchased property in Lee complete with a house and a 1930s barn, just inside in the DeKalb County border. They had planned to partner with the university to create an educational program for culinary students, but that plan fell through because of university financing, Flower said.

Still, he forged ahead.

They call it the Red House Farm, spending roughly $30,000 to add about 60 hens, five goats, around 10 hogs in the summer, honeybees and a handful of Dexter cattle, a small-breed of cow. That’s not to mention the tomatoes, peppers, beets, onion, potatoes, hay and other produce they grow.

They sell eggs, soap made with goats milk and host annual pig roasts for friends and family. For now, Flower said most of their animal sales are to family members is because it would be hard to find customers otherwise. If he were to sell chickens processed at a USDA facility, they would likely cost $15 a bird.

“Are you going to pay that much?” Flower asked.

The farm requires dozens of hours of work weekly, but it isn’t either of their primary jobs. Flower is the Food Systems Lab coordinator at NIU, while Sarah Flower is a teacher in Plainfield. They also have a 3-year-old son named Liam, who is responsible for feeding the barn cat.

Flower and his wife recently drew a plan of what they want their farm to look like. It was pretty close, he said, though there were a couple elements missing. Ideally, one of the Flowers would focus on the farm full-time so they can cultivate it into an education center. Flower also wants to add a small store to the farm where they can sell some of their products.

It’s a matter of marketing and making people understand the importance of the food they eat.

“I honestly believe that ... if there were more people that did this,” Flower said, “that we would help people understand and get back to the roots of growing healthy food, being a little bit more self-sustaining and saving money they can put back into a healthy lifestyle.”

Across DeKalb County in Sycamore, 30-year-old Kate Whitacre is in the final days before she starts preparing seeds to grow on a half-acre plot she rents. Unlike the Flowers, whose customers are mostly friends and family, Whitacre runs a community-supported agriculture farm where people pay her at the beginning of the growing season to receive a box of vegetables weekly during the summer. This year she’ll offer up to 15 shares.

“I feel it’s most fulfilling to grow food for a community that I know,” Whitacre said. “I think it’s wonderful to know the people I’m feeding.”

Spring 2015| DeKalb County AG Mag | 13

Whitacre has been farming since 2008, arriving in Sycamore with her husband, Brett, in 2013 to start [ https://www.facebook. com/beetsandbeatsfarm ]Beets and Beats Farm. On top of the weekly shares, Whitacre sells produce at the Sycamore Farmers Market and to a couple of restaurants in Chicago. She works the farm and raises her daughter while her husband works full-time as an artist and musician.

Her goal is to grow her land 20-fold in the next 20 years. She also hopes to see more small farms emerge, although she thinks some challenges such as the inability to get farm loans or subsidies for growing things other than commodity crops such as corn and soybeans will stand in the way for some.

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When she was trying to start her farm, she wanted to have $30,000 saved. That plan fell through, making her initial investment about $6,500, most of which came from members’ annual share costs.

She could rely on her supporters, but there aren’t many other guarantees in the life of a small farmer, she said.

This Shaw Media publication will be direct mailed to farmers in DeKalb & Ogle County.

She estimates last year she lost between $15,000 and $20,000 in expected income because weather conditions caused her to lose all of her tomatoes and early potatoes. She’s also caught in a conundrum because she would like to expand, but would need more people performing hand labor to do so. She can’t afford more labor at her current scale.

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But Whitacre isn’t a small-scale farmer because it’s easy. She does it because she loves the land and working with her hands.

She’s more excited than worried for the farmers she sees entering the field.

“I think it’s a trend that will continue,” Whitacre said. “I think there’s a trend to return to manual labor. People just want to have a tangible profession and a tangible skill.”

The small-scale farming market will need to mature to thrive, and Larson said there’s a good chance it will. He sees the surge in local foods and small-scale farming as more than a fad. To him, it’s a lifestyle that will not only sustain the county’s agricultural tradition, but make it more vibrant.

“It means there is a chance to reconnect with the way things taste when they’re vine ripe and fresh,” Larson said. “It means the entrepreneurial gene is alive and well. It’s a way to keep our rural landscape populated with people doing productive things.”

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16 | DeKalb County AG Mag | Spring 2015

farming apps

BY ANGEL SIERRA For DeKalb County Ag Mag

Emerging applications for smartphones and tablets don’t just make a farmer’s field work a little easier.

They also enhance the producer’s ability to track and adjust to problems, and make sense of critical farm data on-the-fly, area experts say.

Adam Henkle, 35, is a seventh-generation Lee County farmer who helps on 1,600 acres of a homestead near Sublette that dates back to 1843.

As an independent contractor for DuPont Pioneer, Henkle specializes in transitioning farmers to equipment and software that can seamlessly integrate and measure, monitor, and extract vital information.

The technology is a welcome helping hand, Henkle said. A lot of work that once required manual adjustments, such as variable-rate changes on the field, has become automated, and guidance systems and monitors, which previously were available only on combines, now are connected to almost every machine.

Today’s farmers are highly educated and accustomed to using the technology on the market, said Danelle Burrs, 29, manager of the Lee County Farm Bureau. Tablets such as iPads have made their way into the cabs of tractors working rows on the ground.

An online search for farming apps listed several top-tier agriculture companies that produce companion programs for mobile and tablet use. While most of those share similarities in function and goals, the wide spectrum available runs the gamut from simple calculators to feature-rich suites.

Encirca, a division of DuPont Pioneer, pushed last year to bring field and crop scouting information to the hands of farmers and service providers, an indicator by the Des Moines, Iowa-based leader that shows real-time management of field data is a positive trend.

Under the Encirca umbrella are two powerful apps: Encirca View, which provides market data, crop conditions and weather forecasts, and Encirca Yield, which analyzes seed irrigation and nitrogen levels, according to its website.

“It’s an amazing tool, [and] I’ve had a very positive reception,” Henkle said, adding that mobile apps such as Encirca have become the go-to for farm management, increasing efficiency. “We’re only using what we need, when we need it.”

Farmers now can precisely record downforce or diseased crop locations with pinpoint accuracy, all with the help of GPS. Some apps are even cloud-based, and can securely back up data off-site for peace of mind.

“Field360 Tools” by Pioneer offers precipitation and growth stage estimators, and “Field360 Plantability” is a seed/planting calculator.

Precision Planting, a company purchased by Monsanto in 2012 and one of Encirca’s primary competitors, produces a tablet-only service called “FieldView” and “FieldView Plus.”

The apps are similar to other high-end programs in that they provide detailed scouting reports and highlight deficiencies, but also display

Spring 2015| DeKalb County AG Mag | 17 color-coded terrain in high-definition, and offer remote management and collaboration, a popular add-on with the premium service.

Mobile Farm Manager by John Deere is another that sprouted in 2012. The app is free to download from the App Store, but appears to have weaker support as a stand-alone program and requires an activation code and sync from Deere’s proprietary software that the customer might have installed on his home computer.

A subscription might be required to use the variety of apps available, but some have free or basic versions after an account is established.

Burrs has seen a transition in her seven years with the farm bureau, to the point where farmers now have mountains of information and data about their fields, and some businesses exist simply to make sense of it all, helping growers identify deficient or underperforming crops.

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“GPS allows them to be more precise, [and] through soil sampling and tests on their fields, they can apply fertilizer to just that specific part of the field,” Burrs said. Targeting swaths or sections never was an option before the technology came along; it certainly involved approximation, and not accuracy, as is now available on the market, she said.

Mobile farming apps for smartphones and tablets “are a game-changer,” Burrs said, because the more information a farmer has about his farm, the better he can grow his crop and become a better steward of the land.

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GMO debate

By MATT MENCARINI For DeKalb County AgMag

likely to resume in 2015

When the state’s 98th General Assembly came to a close in December, it left two bills unresolved.

Those pieces of legislation, one in the House and one in the Senate, call for mandatory labeling of food products containing genetically modified organisms – GMO’s.

GMO in relation to food is also referred to as biotechnology – or genetic engineering.

Proponents of the bills say the labeling provides consumers with information about the foods they’re eating – information they have a right to know. The critics say it puts GMO in a negative light and adds an economic burden to businesses in Illinois.

State Sen. David Koehler, D-Peoria, who represents the 46th District, which includes parts of Peoria, Fulton, and Tazewell counties, introduced his bill in February 2013. That year he held three public hearings on the issue – in Chicago, Bloomington and Carbondale.

The House bill was introduced by Rep. Deborah Mell, D-Chicago, who is no longer a member of General Assembly.

In a video from the June 2013 hearing, Koehler said there’s some thought that GMO labeling law should come down from the federal level, which is something he can’t control. But as a member of Photos taken by: Danielle Guerra • dguerra@ shawmedia.com

Spring 2015| DeKalb County AG Mag | 19

the Illinois General Assembly, he said, he and state government can do what they think is best for their constituents.

“I think the strongest case is that, as a consumer, let me decide,” he said in 2013. “And that’s really what this legislation is all about – is giving consumers a choice.”

Mandatory vs. voluntary The Illinois Farm Bureau supports voluntary labeling of GMO or non-GMO food products. It also supports the U.S. Food and Drug Administration’s policy of “science-based” labeling.

The organization is opposed to mandatory labeling, which the Illinois bills called for.

Those bills would put GMO, or biotechnology, in a negative light, said Kevin Semlow, director of state legislation for the Illinois Farm Bureau.

The Farm Bureau isn’t against consumers knowing what’s in the food products they buy, he said, but the GMO labels are biased to portray them as negative.

Scientific research, he said, has proved GMO’s to be safe.

Semlow also said the labeling would create an unfair business environment in the state, where food producers would need to make sure all products going to Illinois for sale have labels.

Movement spreads According to the Center for Food Safety, a national non-profit public interest and environmental advocacy organization, three states have passed labeling legislation. In 2013 and 2014, 26 states, including all that boarder Illinois, had labeling laws introduced in their state governments.

A

September 2014 report by the Oregonbased

consulting company ECONorthwest for Consumer Union, the policy and action division of Consumer Reports, found “the median cost of labeling in the studies that provided relevant models was $2.30 per person per year.”

The cost estimates in the studies reviewed ranged from 32 cents to $15.01 a year for each person.

But Semlow said even pennies can make a difference.

“When you talk about pennies, and you look at a box of mac and cheese, that’s a big deal,” he said.

“Pennies is the margin of error to the food industry. It’s just another burden on the food industry.”

Consumer Union favors the labels. A survey the group conducted found that 92 percent of Americans want genetically modified foods to be labeled. Consumer Union takes the stance that labels should also say whether food is genetically engineered.

While neither of the bills in Illinois was brought to a vote during the 98th General Assembly, Semlow said he expects them to be revisited in the 99th General Assembly, which convened in January.

20 | DeKalb County AG Mag | Spring 2015

U.S. soybean production

prospects for 2015 Photo taken by: Danielle Guerra • dguerra@ shawmedia.com

URBANA, Ill. – Stocks of U.S. soybeans at the end of the current marketing year are expected to be at an eight-year high, according to a University of Illinois agricultural economist. In addition, the current South American soybean harvest is estimated at a record 6.066 billion bushels, 378 million bushels larger than the 2014 harvest and 710 million bushels larger than the 2013 harvest. The USDA projects Sept. 1, 2015, stocks of soybeans in South America at 2.205 billion bushels, 523 million bushels more than the inventory of the previous year.

“Soybean prices have remained relatively high in the face of such large U.S. and world soybean supplies, with the unweighted average price received by U.S. producers during the first five months of the 2014-15 marketing year likely near $10.25 per bushel,” said Darrel Good. “However, prices have declined by 50 to 60 cents per bushel over the past month. Increasingly, soybean prices will take direction from the prospective size of the 2015 U.S. crop and the prospects for stocks at the end of the 2015-16 marketing year. Expectations about the size of the U.S. crop begin with expectations about planted acreage,” he said.

U.S. soybean plantings were at a record 83.701 million acres in 2014, 6.861 million more than were planted in 2013 and 8.655 million more than were planted in 2011. Expectations for 2015 are in a wide range. The USDA’s baseline projections show acreage unchanged from last year. Congressional Budget Office (CBO) projections released last month point to planted acreage of 86 million acres.

“Other private estimates are as high as 88 million acres,” Good said. “Those expecting a large increase in soybean acreage point to the large reduction in soft red winter wheat acreage that frees up additional acreage for springplanted crops. In addition, the lower cost of producing soybeans relative to corn and the perceived price advantage of soybeans relative to corn have fueled expectations of a further acreage shift from corn to soybeans. The price advantage of soybeans relative to corn, however, has faded over the past month as the ratio of November soybean futures to December corn futures has declined from 2.4 to 2.33.”

Given the large increase in soybean acreage over the past three years, Good said that a more modest increase might be expected this year if crop prices remain near current levels.

“Planted acreage near 85.5 million seems a reasonable expectation,” Good said. “The USDA will survey producer planting intentions next month and release an estimate of those intentions in the March 31 Prospective Plantings

Spring 2015| DeKalb County AG Mag | 21

report. Since the beginning of the ‘freedom to farm’ era in 1996, planting intentions reported in March have provided an unbiased forecast of actual plantings. Over the 19-year period from 1996 through 2014, actual acreage exceeded intentions in 10 years and was less than intentions in nine years.

On average, actual plantings exceeded intentions by 98,000 acres. However, the difference (some negative and some positive) exceeded one million acres in nine years, two million acres in 4 years, and three million acres once. The June USDA Acreage report will provide a clearer picture of soybean acreage,” he said.

Since 1996, the difference between planted and harvested acreage of soybeans ranged from 595,000 to 1.858 million acres and averaged 1.095 million acres. The difference was large in years of widespread drought and small in years with generally favorable conditions. A combination of record planted acreage and normal weather might lead to abandonment of about 900,000 acres in 2015. Planted acreage of 85.5 million acres would point to harvested acreage of about 84.6 million acres.

Yield expectations for 2015 are generally based on an analysis of trend yield. “We calculate a linear trend of actual yields from 1960 through 2014,” Good said. “That trend explains 88 percent of the variation in actual yields over that 55-year period and indicates an increase in the average U.S. yield of 0.4 bushels per acre per year. The trend yield calculation for 2015 is 44.4 bushels per acre. The trend yield may understate expected yield under average growing season weather conditions. Average weather in 2015 might point to an average yield near 45 bushels per acre. That is equal the CBO baseline projection and one bushel less than the USDA baseline projection. Yield at that level would point to a 2015 crop of 3.807 billion bushels, 162 million bushels smaller than the 2014 crop,” he said.

Good said that a crop of 3.807 billion bushels, along with stocks of soybeans at the beginning of the 2015-16 marketing year at the current USDA projection of 385 million bushels and imports of 15 million bushels, points to a marketing-year supply of 4.207 billion bushels, 121 million bushels larger than the supply for the current year. To prevent a further increase in year-ending stocks next year, that level of supply would require consumption of U.S soybeans to exceed 3.822 billion bushels, 121 million bushels larger than the projection for the current year.

“Such a large increase appears unlikely,” Good said.

“Compared with the current marketing year, expectations for the 2015-16 soybean marketing year include increased acreage, a further increase in year-ending stocks, and lower prices. The expected price decline is moderated by the likelihood that stocks at the end of the current marketing year will be about 90 million bushels less than projected last fall. That is equivalent to two million acres. Prices are not expected to be as low as the CBO baseline projection of $8.19 or even the USDA baseline projection of $8.50. The futures market currently points to a marketing year-average near $9.50,” he said.

SYCAMORE FARMERS MARKET SUMMER OPENING 2015 SEASON MOVING TO TUESDAYS

February 23, 2015 – Farmers Market –Downtown Sycamore, Illinois – The Discover Sycamore Farmers Market is opening for the ninth season on Tuesday, June 2 at 3pm. Located at City Lot #1 on the corner of Elm and Somonauk Streets.

The Discover Sycamore Farmers Market supports dozens of local and regional farmers, bakers, producers, winemakers, artists and more, representing multiple counties across Illinois and Wisconsin who find success connecting their sustainable farms to the Sycamore community. Our vendors will offer fresh meats, fruits, vegetables, wine, flowers, pastries, breads, homemade pet treats and so much more.

The Market will also feature live music, specialty dinner options, and live demonstrations from local chefs.

The Farmers Market will be open every Tuesday from 3-7pm, June 2 – September 29. Please check out our Facebook page for a list of updated vendors and scheduled entertainment www.facebook.com/ DiscoverSycamoresFarmersMarket.

DeKalb Farmers Market

Every Thursday (June 5th-Sept 25th) Van Buer Plaza, Corner of N. Second & Locust St., DeKalb 756-6306 • dekalb.org

Genoa Open Air Market

Last Saturday of the Month (May 24th -Oct. 25th; 9am-2pm) Corner of Genoa & Main Street, Genoa 784-6961 • genoamainstreet.org

Hinckley Farmers Market

Every Saturday (Mid-June to Mid-Oct. depending on weather; 9am-Noon) Hinckley Fresh Market parking lot, corner of Rt. 30 and Somonauk Rd., Hinckley • 590-4069

Sandwich Farmers Market

Every Saturday (Summer months; 9am-Noon) Moose Parking Lot 1002 E. Church St., Sandwich 786-7111 sandwichmooselodge1016.com

Sycamore Farmers Market

Every Tuesday (June 2nd-Sept 29th; 3pm-7pm) Corner of Somonauk & Elm Street, Sycamore 895-3456 • discoversycamore.com

22 | DeKalb County AG Mag | Spring 2015

County Agricultural Fairs Contribute to Local Economies in Illinois

Charlotte Roberts, 4-H member of Chain of Lakes 4-H club and Teen Ambassador represented Lake County at the annual meeting of the Illinois Association of Agricultural Fairs (IAAF). Charlotte along with several teens from the Lake County 4-H program collected surveys from the 2014 attendees of the Lake County Fair.

At the annual meeting held in January, the board members heard the results of the Economic Impact of Illinois Agricultural Fairs study conducted in the summer of 2014. The study, conducted by the University of Illinois Extension in partnership with the IAAF, included surveys of nearly 5,000 fair attendees across the state, in addition to input from 33 key informant interviews.

The study reports $170 million was spent as a result of the 104 fairs in Illinois.

In addition, key informant interviews revealed that these fairs contribute to the culture, unity and tradition of the communities they serve. County fair boards across the state are addressing challenges but the economic and social impact is significant throughout Illinois.

Beyond the economic impact, the study revealed that county fairs provide many benefits to the community that are not related to economic gains, family friendly entertainment, education about agriculture, opportunities for local organizations to get involved, traditional community events, fundraising for local groups and unique entertainment opportunities. The primary challenges that county fairs face today include, lack of state funding, keeping youth involved, competing with other summer activities, declining contributions from local agriculture and limited volunteers.

The study was conducted at 15 fairs across the state, with surveys being collected by 4-H youth under the supervision of Extension staff, and key informant interviews conducted by Alex Norr, a graduate student from U of I Department of Urban and Regional Planning. For more information on the report contact Carrie McKillip, mckillip@illinois.edu, or 309.342.5108.

For more information on how to get involved in 4-H, please contact the University of Illinois Extension Lake County office at 847-223-8627 or Cindy Sarkady Extension Educator csarkady@illinois.edu or Sabrina Huley, 4-H Coordinator huley@illinois.edu Source: Cindy Sarkady, Extension Educator, 4-H Youth Development, csarkady@illinois.edu

Spring 2015| DeKalb County AG Mag | 23

Chilly weather benefits DeKalb County dairy farmers Photo taken by: Danielle Guerra • dguerra@ shawmedia.com

ESMOND – The frigid days of January and record-breaking cold in February might have left Otto Heisner shivering, but at least the cows are udderly enjoying it.

There are 1,020 cows across five herds in DeKalb County, with a marketing value of $2.7 million according to Mariam Wassmann, spokeswoman for DeKalb County Farm Bureau.

Cold weather makes cows eat and drink more, so they produce more milk, and providing more moo-lah for their owners. The recent subzero temperatures that broke records on Feb. 19 were good news for Heisner – at least financially speaking.

Dairy farms in the county have declined over the years, and hogs and cattle are the larger livestock sector, but Wassmann said they still are viable for the area.

“The cows are doing fairly well, but it’s been an issue with feeding them, and their water is freezing up,” said Heisner, 67, a lifelong dairy farmer. “It’s a lot of damn work, but it’s not too bad on the cow’s end.”

“They definitely enhance our local economy through milk production and other dairy products that are produced,” Wassmann said. “They also add jobs, products and services. It’s an important part of DeKalb County, but we only have five herds here.”

Back in December, Heisner’s cows – 89 of his 200 are milking cows – were currently producing about 8 1/2 gallons a day, a gallon more than the warmer months. Heisner was recently too busy unthawing water to give a more updated numbers.

Bill Deutsch, owner of Deutsch Farms, 28934 Lukens Road, a 1,000acre farm in Sycamore with about 160 milking cows, said it’s all about the diet, and making sure the cows have proper feed, which depends on good summer weather.

“Heat will keep them from eating,” Heisner said. “If they have the feed and water and cold, then they do milk pretty good. More milk is produced by dairy farmers from October to May than summertime in the high heat.”

He said last year production lost “a considerable amount” because the weather was too cold. Ideal temperatures for cows range between 40 and 60 degrees.

It’s a trade-off, since labor and utility costs run higher in the winter, Heisner said.

“We can get to an extreme and get too cold,” Deutsch said. “If we were to main the weather we’ve been having, you could see a production decrease in total production.”

24 | DeKalb County AG Mag | Spring 2015

Consortium receives

$7 million

to empower women farmers

by Leslie Myrick lsweet@illinois.edu URBANA, Ill. - A consortium led by the University of Illinois College of Agricultural, Consumer and Environmental Sciences (ACES) has been awarded $7 million from the United States Agency for International Development (USAID) to increase global food security and support effective rural development by empowering women to better contribute to higher household incomes, increase agricultural productivity, and improve nutritional outcomes for family and community members.

The new project, “Integrating Gender and Nutrition within Agricultural Extension Services” (INGENAES), aims to strengthen gender and nutrition integration within and through agricultural extension and advisory services and ultimately reduce poverty, improve food security, and reduce malnutrition.

“This is a program of action,” said Paul McNamara, INGENAES project director and associate professor in the ACES Department of Agricultural and Consumer Economics. “We will be working in these countries to help improve women farmers’ access to extension services. We will also be using extension services to improve women’s access to critical inputs and helping extension services address nutrition concerns through their programs. We have committed to not just thinking and writing about these issues but to actually improving the situation; it is action-oriented scholarship and outreach.”

INGENAES is the latest of three associate awards that have followed the $12 million, USAID-funded, ACES-led Modernizing Extension and Advisory Services (MEAS) project, which serves to define and disseminate good practice strategies and approaches to establishing efficient, effective, and financially sustainable rural extension and advisory service systems in selected developing countries.

“During our MEAS work, we’ve seen that especially for poor farmers, many of whom are women, access to services is a problem; and access to extension services, which, for example, may be able to help women get better access to fertilizer or improved seeds, is simply not available,” explained McNamara. “An additional component to INGENAES is the intersection of nutrition and agriculture and how agricultural extension programs can help promote practices that help improve nutrition.”

The INGENAES team will be working in at least eight countries that will be selected over the next couple of months. Led by McNamara, the team includes three associate directors: Andrea Bohn from the U of I College of ACES, who is also the project manager for MEAS; Kathleen Earl Colverson from the University of Florida;

Spring 2015| DeKalb County AG Mag | 25

and Kristy Cook from Cultural Practice LLC, a Washington, D.C.-based consulting firm.

“It is most important to consider the multiple roles that women hold,” said Colverson. “It is critical that when you introduce a new technology you are not adding another responsibility to women’s already overburdened lifestyles. Women and children are generally responsible for repetitive household tasks (such as gathering firewood and carrying water), often without mechanization and electricity, so the question is how can we introduce innovations that will reduce their burden and not add a different burden, such as providing equipment that is too big, heavy, or dangerous.”

Cultural Practice LLC is a consultancy firm that will provide support to the management team and provide technical assistance to the program. “We all know that agriculture is key to improved nutrition, but we don’t pay enough attention to the roles and relationships of men and women in agriculture,” said Cook. “These relationships determine what is produced, sold, purchased, and fed to children.”

According to Bohn, the INGENAES project will focus on changing behavior at the individual and organizational levels with the goal of improving livelihoods. “This is not about us going and telling people what to do,” she said. “It is about being a sounding board. It is about listening more than telling and engaging with organizations and individuals to help identify how changing behaviors is for their own profit and in their own best interest.”

Initially concentrating on four countries, the team will apply a multistep programmatic approach for 15 months and will later revise the program as needed for an additional four countries. The specific countries have yet to be selected, but they will be selected from among the existing Feed the Future countries.

Test your knowledge of the dairy industry Youth with an interest in dairy production are encouraged to compete for top prizes in the Illinois 4-H State Dairy Quiz Bowl Contest, Saturday, March 7, 2015 at the Chateau Hotel and Conference Center, 1601 Jumer Dr., Bloomington.

The state 4-H contest will be held in conjunction with the Illinois Jr. Holstein Association “Spring Thing” workshop. Registration will begin at 8 a.m., and the dairy bowl contest will begin at 9 a.m. with the test.

4-H members do not need to be a dairy project member to be eligible.

There is no limit to the number of youth which may attend from any county. Teams will comprise of four individuals per team. Individual members competing alone can be assigned to a team at the contest.

Delegates for the Illinois State 4-H Dairy Quiz Bowl team will be selected at this contest. The team is supported with funds from the Illinois 4-H Foundation.

Contest registration deadline is Feb. 16, 2015 and should be sent to Dave Fischer, 901 Oak Hill St., Trenton, IL 62293 OR e-mailed to: dfischer@illinois. edu. For further information or questions, one may contact Dave Fischer via e-mail or call 618-830-4957.

26 | DeKalb County AG Mag | Spring 2015

Calendar of Events March 10 • 6:00 pm Raising Backyard Chickens Right www.web.extention.illinois.edu/bdo DeKalb County Farm Bureau March 16 • 3:00 pm Hydroponics web.extention.illinois.edu/bdo DeKalb County Farm Bureau March 17 • 6:00 pm Pond Management web.extention.illinois.edu/bdo DeKalb County Farm Bureau March 17 • 6:00 pm Raising Backyard Chickens Right www.web.extention.illinois.edu/bdo Ogle County Farm Bureau 421 W. Pines Rd., Oregon March 19 • 6:30 pm 2015 Farm Outlook & Ag Leasing Program www.web.extention.illinois.edu/bdo Ogle County Farm Bureau 421 W. Pines Rd., Oregon March 28 Corn Collector’s Club meeting 10:00 am – 3:30 pm at the DeKalb County Farm Bureau, 1350 W. Prairie Dr., Sycamore, IL. 1:00 pm – live auction Vendors will be selling corn related collectable items. Open to the public.

Free admission.

March 31 • 6:00 pm Great Moments in Ag Innovation

At Sycamore Public Library, 103 State St., Sycamore, IL. A lecture program highlighting the new banners created to celebrate the great moments in ag innovation that took place throughout DeKalb County.

April 7 • 6:00 pm Marketing & Merchandising for Farmer’s Markets www.web.extention.illinois.edu/bdo DeKalb County Farm Bureau April 9 • 7:00 – 8:00 pm Ag Heritage Program; Dr. Norman E. Borlaug – Hunger Fighter

At the DeKalb County Farm Bureau theater, 1350 W. Prairie Dr., Sycamore, IL. Presented by Dr. Charles Krull, former Vice President of Corn Breeding DEKALB Genetics Corporation and colleague of Norman Borlaug. Dr. Borlaug has been called “the father of the green revolution” and “the man who saved a billion lives”. Before joining DEKALB, Dr. Krull was a plant breeder and a close colleague of Dr. Borlaug while working at the International Maize and Wheat Improvement Center in Mexico. From these experiences, Charlie will share his unique perspectives on Dr. Borlaug as a person and how he accomplished what he did.

April 16 • 6:00 pm Marketing & Merchandising for Farmer’s Markets www.web.extention.illinois.edu/bdo Ogle County Farm Bureau 421 W. Pines Rd., Oregon

May 5, 2015 Give Local DeKalb County

Fundraising through social media Sponsored

by DCNP and the DeKalb County Community Foundation. Log onto givelocaldekalbcounty. org/ between 12:01 am and 11:59 pm CST to Give Local DeKalb County and make a donation.

June 28 DeKalb County Farm Stroll andylars@illinois.edu Various Locations August 8 • 9:00 am – 4:00 pm DeKalb County Barn Tour

The DeKalb County Barn Tour is a one day, selfguided driving tour of barn sites within DeKalb County hosted by the DeKalb Area Agricultural Heritage Association and the JF Glidden Homestead & Historical Center. Participants will receive a map Guide Book containing hand-drawn sketches of each barn and the barn’s history, style and use. Participants drive to each location in any order for a tour of the barn(s), including many interiors. Purchase your event ticket at any of the seven locations.

Admission is $20 per vehicle (buses extra) (Museum members receive a 25% discount).

Bus groups are welcome, call for details on pricing; Marcia Wilson at the JF Glidden Homestead & Historical Center at (815) 7567904 or info@gliddenhomestead.org.

All meetings held at the Center for Agriculture unless otherwise noted. For most meeting reservations contact the DeKalb County Farm Bureau office, 815/756-6361

Spring 2015| DeKalb County AG Mag | 27

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28 | DeKalb County AG Mag | Spring 2015

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