5 Biz Ag Wednesday, April 23, 2014 • The Putnam County Record • 5
Legislators in the barnyard Some countries don’t like the way U.S. farmers operate. For example, both the European Union and China ban a variety of genetically modified crops grown in the United States, while Russia doesn’t like several of the growth promotants some U.S. farmers use in animal feed. As these obstacles appear, U.S. farmers have the choice of modifying their farming practices to meet the requirements of offshore customers or finding new customers. Apparently taking their lead from these countries, some states have put into place laws which tell farmers how to do their job, restricting sales of food products that are not raised in the manner determined appropriate by state legislators. Farmers will modify farming operations if consumers really get upset about things. But how much of a farm operation should be determined by state law? California passed a law requiring its egg produc-
William Bailey COMMENTARY ers to provide cages that permit chickens to have the full extension of all their limbs. (After dealing with poultry, perhaps the California legislators will attempt to set similar standards for airline passengers.) The original California legislation was followed by another law requiring that all eggs sold in California – regardless of which state they are produced – be raised under the exacting California standards. In response, non-California poultry operators have lawyered up and filed a suit challenging the California law. They don’t believe state laws that effectively restrict movement of products around the United States are Constitutional. While not yet restricting the flow of products in interstate commerce, several states have laws which
put farmers on notice that if they don’t follow farming rules set by the legislature, they could go to jail. For example, both Colorado and Arizona have established laws detailing how calves and pigs must be housed, although both provide an exception for rodeos. The Arizona legislature mandated that any violation of its farming statues constitutes a Class I misdemeanor, putting the infraction in the same category as shoplifting, assaulting a teacher or practicing podiatry without a license. But the big worry for U.S. farmers is how widely legislation may be enacted that tells farmers how to farm. As the saying goes, nothing is too difficult if you don’t have to do it yourself. So non-farming legislators have no hesitation to tell farmers how to do their job. The poultry industry is not too keen for legislators telling them how much room a chicken must have for it to be happy. Nor is the pork
Soil moisture levels high
industry excited with laws that tell them how to raise pigs – a real concern given the extent of confinement hog operations in the United States. As the rural-urban divide grows, the trust between consumers and farmers diminishes. The reality of farming, particularly livestock farming, increasingly collides with the emotional preferences of some consumers. The challenge for American farmers is how to meet the demands of their customers while remaining efficient and profitable. A patchwork of 50 state laws dealing with farming operations written by politicians is not a solution. Professor William Bailey formerly was the chief economist for the U.S. Senate Committee on Agriculture, Food and Nutrition. He also has served as Deputy-Under Secretary of Agriculture. He is currently affiliated with the School of Agriculture at Western Illinois University.
Putnam County Court Driving 21-25 mph above limit Heath Castagna, 44, Lowell, Ind., fined $140.
Locker room 123 E. St. Paul Street
Driving 15-20 mph above limit Isaac Gilmore-Kiefer, 27, Chillicothe, fined $120.
Bradley Goodapple, 59, Bartonville, fined $120. Donna Marie Martin, 52, Strockbridge, Ga.,
A Division of Ed Hartwig Trucking & Excavating, Inc.
Spring Valley, IL • Sporting Goods • Team Equipment • Custom Screen Printing & Embroidery
The perfect way to discard old roofing materials.
1-815-663-1108
fined $120. Benjamin Rakozy, 34, Woodridge, fined $120. Zeb Schmitt, 21, Lacon, fined $120.
CHAMPAIGN - Soil moisture levels in Illinois are high in the middle of April, according to Jennie Atkins, Water and Atmospheric Resources Monitoring (WARM) program manager at the Illinois State Water Survey, Prairie Research Institute, University of Illinois. Soil moisture levels at 2 inches averaged 37 percent by volume across the state on April 14, just at the field capacity for most of the soils measured. The highest levels were measured in southern Illinois with an average of 43 percent by volume. Fairfield and Dixon Springs State Park, both of which received significant rainfall earlier in the week, averaged levels of 49 percent by volume on April 14. Conditions were slightly wetter at the deeper depths, averaging 41 percent by vol-
ume at 20 inches and 44 percent at 59 inches. Soil temperatures have declined slightly with the cooler weather this week. Soil temperatures at 4 inches under bare soil averaged 51.3 degrees across the state on April 14, 7 degrees less than on April 12. The Illinois State Water Survey’s WARM Program collects hourly and daily weather and soil information at 19 stations across the state. Daily and monthly summaries can be found at the WARM website http:// www.isws.illinois.edu/warm/ and in the Illinois Water and Climate Summary http:// www.isws.illinois.edu/warm/ climate.asp. Maps of soil temperatures and moisture levels can also be found at the WARM website http://www.isws.illinois. edu/warm/soiltemp.asp.
Property Transfers April 4 — Wendy Pavlick to Michael Turczyn, Lot 9, Block 2, Lincolnshire Subdivision, village of Granville, exempt. April 7 — David Kinczewski and Wendy Kinczewski to Dale Corcoran and Julee Corcoran, Lot 16, Timberline Acres, $243,500. Robert Lee Rediger to William Zolper, Cabin,
Walnut Grove, Part, Northeast 1/4, Section 28, Township 14, $4,500. Jerry Jones as trustee to William Plumeri as trustee, Lot 373, Lake Thunderbird Woods 2, exempt. Putnam County Sheriff to J.P. Morgan Chase Bank National Association, Lot 9 and 10, village of McNabb, exempt.
SHINE ON.
SAVE ON.
Earn a $1.50 rebate for each package of ENERGY STAR® CFLs you buy.* And then keep saving, month after month. CFLs use less energy and shine on long after other bulbs fade. Visit PowerMoves.com/CFL to find out more. Bureau and Putnam County www.bpchd.org • Prevent. Promote, Protect.
Health Department
* Some conditions and restrictions apply.
The more you save, the more you save.