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May 8, 2020
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WOTUS dries up
‘Stressful time for everyone’
EPA notice: Most ditches, ponds no longer ‘navigable’
Managing stress during pandemic
By Tom C. Doran
AGRINEWS PUBLICATIONS
By Erica Quinlan
AGRINEWS PUBLICATIONS
GAINSVILLE, Fla. — Now more than ever, finding ways to cope with stress is essential. Heidi Liss Radunovich, licensed psychologist and associate professor at University of Florida, shared ways to manage stress during a pandemic. “This is a stressful time for everyone,” she said. “When people are stre s s ed t he y aren’t going to be at their best. It’s a difficult time, so try to be Radunovich patient with yourself and others.” Keep in mind that anybody that already has problems with anxiety or depression is going to be at even more risk of having these types of issues during a pandemic, Radunovich said. “As people are isolated it can lead to a lot of loneliness,” she said. “We need to keep an eye out for people who are living alone, who are particularly at risk for feeling sad or depressed.” High levels of stress can not only affect your mental health, but your physical health. “Doing what we can to stay calm and keep our spirits up is going to be very important,” Radunovich said. “Let’s start thinking about what we can control. There are a lot of things about this situation that we cannot control. For those of us who like to have control, this can be very difficult. What are some things you can control to keep you and your family safe?” Whether it’s washing your hands thoroughly or eating healthy, there are many ways you can take care of yourself. Radunovich also advised limiting the amount of news that you consume. “While it is very important to stay informed, too much is not a good thing and can leave us feeling depressed and upset,” she said. See STRESS, Page A6
AGRINEWS PHOTO/JANIE EICHHORST-SMITH
Trace Elliott checks the soil temperatures prior to planting. On two of the farms that the Elliotts have farmed for three years, this is the first time the family has planted in dry conditions.
Early optimism ‘A wonderful place to farm’ By Jeannine Otto
AGRINEWS PUBLICATIONS
RANKIN, Ill. — For one central Illinois farmer, the 2020 planting season is starting better than the 2019 season did, in no small part due to the calendar. “Things are looking a whole lot better than last year,” said Chris Elliott. Elliott far ms w ith his brother, Brian, his sons, Trace and Kevin, and hired man, Ken Kuntz. They farm land in Champaign, Ford and Vermilion counties, raising corn and soybeans. The 2020 planting season started much earlier for them, exactly a month earlier. “Last year, I didn’t start until May 21. We started one evening about 7 p.m. We got one day and the next day and we
didn’t go to the field again until June 2. We planted the majority of our corn from June 2 to June 7 last year,” Elliott said. Elliott said he was a third of the way finished with corn and soybeans by April 22 and expected that another 10 days to two weeks, even if that time is broken up by rains, to finish planting corn and soybeans. This year also has brought some of the most favorable early planting conditions that Chris has seen in years. “Planting conditions are going real good. We’ve had two farms that are new to us. This is our third year on both of them. This is the first time we’ve been able to plant them in dry conditions and it’s really made a big difference,” Elliott said. Better conditions also allowed Elliott to get some fieldwork done that wasn’t possible last year. “Starting a month earlier is a good shot. We did put on more spring-applied ammonia, simply because the time was there. We also tilled about a
third of our standing stalks because it was too chilly for the burndown to work, so we went ahead and worked those and planted into a stale seedbed just to get ahead of the game,” Elliott said. Elliott has a positive outlook in general and said he’s optimistic going into the growing year. That optimism is fueled by good relationships with his input suppliers and gratitude for the ground he farms. “We don’t have a lot of flat black. We are a little north of that. We are in just an excellent area to farm. We’ve got good support, Shaff’s and Birkey’s and AHW, just excellent support from our dealers down here, good fertilizer companies, good seed dealers. Central Vermilion County is just an excellent spot, wonderful neighbors and a wonderful place to farm. We have good neighbors, good, friendly people, and we wave to everybody,” Elliott said. See EARLY, Page A2
Corn at export terminals makes the grade B1 AgriTrucker B6 Auction Calendar B1 Business A5 Classifieds B4 Farms For Sale B2
From The Barns A3 Lifestyle A8 Livestock B7 Opinion A4 Science B3 Weather A6
Vol. 43 No. 11
CONTACT AGRINEWS: 800-426-9438
BLOOMINGTON, Ill. — There’s been a shift toward earlier planted soybeans the last several years as researchers tout the practice’s yield advantages. With the cooperation of the weather, Illinois and Indiana farmers have planted 18% and 11%, respectively, of the anticipated soybean crops by April 26, well above the five-year averages of 4% in the Prairie State and 3% in the Hoosier State. Jason Boehler, M&M Service Co. regional sales agronomist, a proponent of earlier planted soybeans, noted the advantages in an
Illinois Soybean Association ILSoyAdvisor podcast April 27. He also farms with his father near Litchfield. Why plant soybeans early? “Soybeans are pretty amazing compensators. While corn emergence is absolutely critical to pulling off that high yield stand, soybeans are a little more forgiving. “I do think there’s some penalty for having doubles, but if every plant does not come out of the ground in the same 24-hour period, that’s not detrimental to final yield potential in soybeans. I also think they’re able to come up a little better in those colder environments. “The reason why we’re try-
AGRINEWS PUBLICATIONS
See AID, Page A6
Early soybeans set table for higher yields AGRINEWS PUBLICATIONS
By Tom C. Doran
See SOYBEANS, Page A2
IOWA STATE UNIVERSITY EXTENSION PHOTO
Soybeans respond favorably to early planting dates if soil conditions are ideal for planting.
By Tom C. Doran
New aid packages support ag
How has the approach to planting soybeans changed over the past several years?
INSIDE
Mother’s Day gifts that keep on giving A8
See WOTUS, Page A7
CHAMPAIGN, Ill. — Safetynet programs already in the books along with a series of new aid packages were outlined in a recent University of Illinois farmdoc-hosted webinar. “Farmers are no stranger to uncertainty dealing with unpredictable variables including weather, international trade dynamics and global economic challenges, but yet our farmers continue to feed and fuel the world,” said Brooke Appleton, National Corn Growers Association vice president of public policy. “This cur- Appleton rent pandemic represents yet another level of unpredictability that we’re all working through.” One piece of the relief packages to address the impacts of the COVID-19 pandemic was the appropriation of $16 billion in direct payments to farmers and ranchers. Those included: n $9.6 billion for the livestock industry, including $5.1 billion for cattle, $2.9 billion for dairy and $1.6 billion for hogs. n $3.9 billion for row crop producers. n $2.1 billion for specialty crop producers. n $500 million for other crops.
SEE SECTION B
A closer look at cell cultured meat A3
WASHINGTON — The final hurdle was cleared for the revised definition of “waters of the U.S.” within the Clean Water Act and will take effect June 22. T he U.S. Env ironmental Protection Agency and Army Corps of Engineers published the final “Navigable Waters Protection Rule” on April 22 to replace the WOTUS provisions in the act. The finalized rule repeals the 2015 WOTUS rule that opponents believed “muddied” the water in terms of its broad definitions of what constitutes a water body and now eliminates many seasonal streams, small waterways and wetlands from federal oversight. Under the final “Step 2” rule, four clear categories of waters are federally regulated: n The territorial seas and traditional navigable waters. n Perennial and intermittent tributaries to those waters. n Certain lakes, ponds, and impoundments. n Wetlands adjacent to jurisdictional waters. The final rule also details 12 categories of exclusions, features that are not “waters of the United States,” such as features that only contain water in direct response to rainfall, for example, ephemeral features; groundwater; many ditches, including most farm and roadside ditches; prior converted cropland; farm and stock watering ponds; and waste treatment systems.
ing to get soybeans planted a little earlier is they’re set to mature based on length of day. So, the only real way to get more growing season on soybeans and allow them to capture some more sunlight and collect some more nutrients is to get them started vegetatively a little sooner. “If we can get to a situation where we have trifoliates out and have full canopy by the summer solstice to trigger those soybeans to go into reproductive phase that’s going to add bushels at the end of the year.”