Quad Cities AgMag 08-22-2013

AG Mag Magic Pill?

Quad Cities

Experts differ on how health care reform will impact farmers in Iowa and Illinois

Drought relief: Local farmers will benefit from a record number of federal crop insurance claims Future farmers: How schools are preparing students for agriculture careers Bumper crop: The corn crop in Illinois, Iowa and elsewhere is on course to hit record levels

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Index

AG Mag Quad Cities

Publisher Trevis Mayfield Advertising Director Jennifer Baratta Editor Larry Lough Magazine Editors Larry Lough, Jeff Rogers, Kathleen Schultz

20

Page Design Jeff Rogers Reporters & Photographers Derek Barichello, Donna Barker, David Derong, Pam Eggemeier, David Giuliani, Kayla Heimerman, Michael Krabbenhoeft, Barb Kromphardt, Philip Marruffo, Matt Mencarini and Alex T. Paschal

COVER STORY

Health assessment A look at how the Affordable Care Act will help and hurt Illinois and Iowa farmers.

Published by Sauk Valley Media 3200 E. Lincolnway Sterling, IL 61081 815-625-3600 Articles and advertisements are the property of Sauk Valley Media. No portion of the Quad Cities Ag Mag may be reproduced without the written consent of the publisher. Ad content is not the responsibility of Sauk Valley Media. The information in this magazine is believed to be accurate; however, Sauk Valley Media cannot and does not guarantee its accuracy. Sauk Valley Media 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.

Crop forecast 2012 brought a very dry season to area farms. How much is rain helping in 2013?

24

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Historic farm, tourist attraction

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Society changes fast these days. So, too, do 4-H programs.

Find out why people come to see the Urick farm in Henry County, Ill. The family has owned the farm for at least 150 years.

Help wanted in vet field

Passing on her passion

Statistics indicate that not enough people are becoming food animal veterinarians.

Josie Willett of Dixon, Ill., is passing on her love for 4-H to her pint-sized peers.

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31 Great care goes into his work Stark County (Ill.) veterinarian “Buzz” Iliff doesn’t mind making house calls, and he makes plenty.

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Heading back to school When Iowa and Illinois students return to the classroom, what will they learn about agriculture?

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Index Agriculture is all grown up

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It’s good mood food

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Young people may not carry on the family farm as often as they used to, but they’re still gravitating to agriculture jobs.

Crop insurance program tested

Bee more careful

46

David Feltes of the Whiteside County (Ill.) Soil and Water Conservation District writes about what you can do to be better to bees.

The drought of 2012 has led to a record high in crop insurance payouts.

56

Kelly Ryan of rural Harmon, Ill, says she’s happiest when things are cooking in the kitchen.

62

Focusing on safety

Now, that’s a barn!

OSHA and a grainhandling group are working to promote bin safety.

When you go inside Gary Bocker’s Barnacopia in rural Polo, Ill., you soon realize just how special it is.

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Proud to serve our farm community

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Beginning---Chartered in 1865 by a special act of the Illinois General Assembly to write farm property throughout the state, PLN Mutual Insurance Company was founded by area farmers because the eastern insurance companies of the day would not provide affordable insurance to the area.

Benjamin Franklin’s model---The company was founded as a mutual insurance company modeled on the original mutual founded by Benjamin Franklin in Philadelphia in 1752. The first board of directors of the company were farmers from Palmyra Township, Lee County, and business began under the name of Farmers’ Mutual of Palmyra Township.

Historic farm mutuals---Since 1990, the company has combined with four other historic farm mutuals in the area. Lincoln Mutual of Mt. Morris (founded in 1860), Nashua Mutual of Oregon (founded in 1877), Buffalo Mutual of Polo (founded in 1874), and Lanark Mutual of Lanark (founded in 1874) along with Farmers’ Mutual of Palmyra now comprise the company.

Home Office---Dixon is home to the company. The staff of four employees underwrites and issues the policies, and services the needs of the policyholders and their agents.

Owners---The policyholders are the owners of the company and elect the directors who govern it, keeping the control of the company in our local communities.

Products---Farmowners and homeowners products are written for policyholders in the northern half of Illinois by 27 independent agencies. The company’s mission: to provide insurance coverages at the lowest possible cost, while providing superior personal service to policyholders.

Long tradition---The company takes great pride in its tradition of service and stability to the communities of this area. Dixon has been its headquarters since the presidency of Abraham Lincoln through the presidency of native son Ronald Reagan, and remains the headquarters today.

2002

The company (then known as Palmyra Lincoln Mutual) combined with Nashua Mutual of nearby Oregon to become PLN MUTUAL.

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In 2003, PLN Mutual merged with Buffalo Mutual of Polo. The mergers with these two historic farm mutuals (Nashua was founded in 1877 & Buffalo in 1874) added financial strength and writing territory.

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Photo illustration by Alex T. Paschal for Quad Cities Ag Mag

HEALTH

ASSESSMENT What ‘Obamacare’ will mean for farmers

F

BY DAVID GIULIANI For Quad Cities Ag Mag

or Chris Peterson and his wife, health care is no small expense.

In the average year, they spend about $20,000 – an amount that rises every year.

Peterson, who farms in Clear Lake, Iowa, said the Affordable Care Act – otherwise known as Obamacare – isn’t perfect, but it’s better than today’s health system.

20 Summer 2013

More than a third of farmers get insurance on the individual market – a far greater proportion than the rest of society.

People who get insurance from their employers don’t have to worry about pre-existing conditions. They’re on group plans, so every member gets the same coverage and premiums.

Many farm families have off-farm employment that gets them relatively affordable insurance. Others, though, don’t have that advantage. They must go into the insurance market on their own.

CONTINUED ON 21

CONTINUED FROM 20

For the Petersons, who have preexisting conditions, that’s particularly tough. Chris has diabetes, and his wife, Kristi, has a heart murmur.

Combined, they pay $16,000 a year in health insurance premiums, up from $13,000 just 3 years ago. They both have $2,500 deductibles. After their deductibles, they pay 20 percent of the cost of their major surgeries.

“That’s a high percentage of our income on a yearly basis. We are tapped out,” said Chris, 58. “We really are at the whims of the marketplace.”

Because of the high costs, he said, they’re not getting all the care they need.

“I put off doctor visits. My wife has a bad ankle. She should have surgery,” he said. “My wife and I are living for and hoping for Medicare at 65.”

Study: Health-care costs burden farmers Starting in 2014, the Affordable Care Act will take effect. Health care exchanges will be set up for each state – either by the federal government or the states themselves. The law also involves mandates, subsidies and tax credits to increase the number of insured people.

Under its provisions, insurance companies no longer will be able to charge higher rates to people with pre-existing conditions.

David Derong/For Quad Cities Ag Mag

Chris Peterson, 58, farms in Clear Lake, Iowa. He said he spends about $20,000 a year on health care, an expense that rises annually. “That’s a high percentage of our income on a yearly basis,” Peterson said. “We are tapped out. We really are at the whims of the marketplace.”

Few studies have been done on farmers and their health care. Six years ago, though, the Boston-based Access Project examined the situation for farmers in Iowa.

It found that farmers and ranchers were burdened by health care costs. More than

one in six said that health care expenses contributed to financial problems, and one in eight had outstanding medical debt – despite that 93 percent reported having health insurance.

CONTINUED ON 22

Tractors are big cause of farm fatalities Farm work remains among the most dangerous occupations, and tractor accidents are a big reason for that.

The University of Illinois keeps data on farm-related deaths, better than what’s available in some other states.

From 1986 to 2011, the university logged 801 such deaths – 44 percent of which were tractor accidents.

During the 25-year period, nearly 55 percent of the tractor accidents were overturns, claiming 193 lives. The second biggest factor involved those who fell off their tractors and were run over by them, claiming 49 lives.

Overall, 12.9 percent of farm-related deaths were connected to other farm equipment, 10.6 percent were roadwayrelated, and 8.2 percent were in grain bins, according to the university’s data.

In 2010, two teen workers were killed at a Mount Carroll, Ill., grain bin, when they became engulfed in corn while machinery was emptying the bin. OSHA cited the company for a number of infractions, including failing to provide body har-

Farm-related deaths The University of Illinois keeps track of farm fatalities. Here are the numbers of fatalities and type of incidents from 1986 to 2011: Tractor .................................... 353 Farm equipment ...................... 103 Roadway-related ....................... 85 Grain bins .................................. 66 Electrocution ............................. 32 Animal ....................................... 20 Power take-off (PTO) ................. 18 Manure pit/storage ...................... 7 ATV ............................................. 6 Other ....................................... 111 TOTAL..................................... 801 Source: University of Illinois

nesses and lifelines to workers and failing to ensure all mechanical equipment was shut down before workers entered the bin.

The number of farm-related deaths has stayed about the same over the years. In

the case of tractor fatalities, the number ranges from 10 to 13 a year.

Chris Peterson, a farmer in Clear Lake, Iowa, said the agricultural industry has far too many unnecessary accidents.

“The problem is the older tractors [without rollover protection],” he said. “There are a lot of them out there. Most of the guys are smaller farmers. They don’t have the financial ability to get new ones.

That’s a huge problem.”

Bill Field, an agricultural professor at Purdue University in West Lafayette, Ind., said the last tractors without rollover protection were sold in the 1980s. So the agricultural tractor fleet is gradually becoming safer, he said.

“There is a big number of them still without protective structures over them,” said Field, who specializes in agricultural safety. “I’ve been doing injury prevention work for years. It’s much easier to raise money to deal with a crisis. It’s easier to get people to turn up for a training program to respond to a farm accident rather than prevent one.”

AG Mag

21

CONTINUED FROM 21

According to the project’s survey, 59 percent of respondents had household incomes between $40,000 and $100,000, with their health care costs constituting between 7 percent and 16 percent of their income. In that income range, according to the project, those who spend more than 10 percent on health care are considered underinsured.

The study showed that 62 percent who bought insurance in the individual market had high-premium policies, compared to about one in five who got their insurance through off-farm employment.

Thirty-seven percent of the respondents bought insurance on the individual market, compared with 8 percent of the population nationally. “For many farm and ranch operators,� the Access Project concluded, “their only real choices may be to scale back their operations, so they or a family member can obtain off-farm employment in order to obtain better insurance coverage or dip into savings that could be reinvested in the farm or ranch in order to pay for health care.�

‘Not what the doctor ordered’ Experts differ on whether the Affordable Care Act will help or hurt farmers.

‘‘

When you are out purchasing insurance on your own, you buy what you can afford. If you have pre-existing conditions, you are out of luck. You either can’t get covered or it’s way more expensive.

Jon Bailey, director of research at the Center for Rural Affairs

Jon Bailey, the director of research at the Center for Rural Affairs in Lyons, Neb., said his group believes the law could benefit farmers. “When you are out purchasing insurance on your own, you buy what you can afford,� he said. “If you have preexisting conditions, you are out of luck.

You either can’t get covered or it’s way more expensive.�

In a group plan, by contrast, the risk is spread among all members. “Where I work, we have 30 employees,� Bailey said. “That’s not a big group, but it’s bigger than a single person. Premiums are reduced.�

Farmers who go on the individual market don’t have that advantage. “A lot of farmers who we talk to get health insurance, but they call it bankruptcy insurance: It’s there so you don’t have to sell the farm,� Bailey said. “If someone comes down with a big disease that insurance has to cover, they’re not on the hook for the entire bill.�

’’

But such insurance falls short for preventive care, including checkups.

To be sure, he said, the Affordable Care Act will have its kinks. Then again, Social Security and Medicare, which started decades ago, are widely popular, Bailey said, but policymakers still are finding ways to improve them.

The American Farm Bureau, the nation’s largest farmers organization, opposes the federal law, saying its taxes will hurt bureau members. A tax on health insurance policies, in particular, will affect farm families and business owners. “The higher taxes and thousands of pages of new regulations that come with ACA are certainly not what the doctor ordered for a recovering Main Street economy,� Erin Anthony, the editor of Farm Bureau News, said in a March opinion piece.

CONTINUED ON 23

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Insurance working so far

BY DAVID GIULIANI For Quad Cities Ag Mag

DIXON, Ill. – In May, Erin Shippert, 30, was diagnosed with pancreatic cancer that had metastasized to her liver.

She and her husband, Brad, 29, grow corn and soybeans on a six-generation family farm. For her care, the couple settled on MD Anderson Cancer Center in Houston, considered one of the best cancer treatment centers in the country.

More than a third of farmers get their health insurance through the individual market, which typically is more expensive than group plans such as those through an employer.

The couple, who have a 1-year-old daughter, had received insurance through her job, but Erin left it to become a stay-at-home mom. After that, they went onto the individual market, getting a high-deductible plan through Blue Cross Blue Shield. They spent an afternoon answering questions on the Blue Cross website.

“It wasn’t hard to do,” Brad said.

Neither had pre-existing conditions.

They are young and in good shape.

Their insurance premiums amount to a few hundred dollars a month, and their deductible is $5,000. After that, insurance covers 100 percent of costs, with some exceptions.

CONTINUED FROM 22

She and other Farm Bureau officials didn’t return calls for comment.

Bailey, of the Center for Rural Affairs, disagreed with the Farm Bureau.

“The health insurance tax only applies to policies of a certain high dollar amount,” he said. “I don’t think it’ll apply to a bigger portion of farmers than other segments of the population.

Middle-class farm families have policies valued like much of the rest of society.”

Besides, he said, the Farm Bureau’s view on the Affordable Care Act is more ideological than anything else.

“They, like a lot of organizations, have characterized it as a government takeover of health care, but the government is not going to tell you which doctor to go to,” Bailey said.

The National Farmers Union, the second largest farmers group, parts

Alex T. Paschal/For Quad Cities Ag Mag

Brad and Erin Shippert have a high-deductible health insurance plan that will be put to the test as Erin, 30, battles pancreatic cancer that has metastasized to her liver. “A few prescriptions may get a little expensive,” Brad, 29, said. “Travel expenses are our biggest thing right now.” Erin is getting care at MD Anderson Cancer Center in Houston, considered one of the best cancer treatment centers in the country. Here, Brad and Erin and daughter, Reagan, 1, explore the new porch in their Eldena, Ill., home in June. Neighbors surprised the couple by fixing up the porch while the family was in Houston.

So far, Brad said, the insurance is working well.

“Cost-wise, the premiums seem reasonable,” he said. “I’m not a pro at health insurance, but it hasn’t been too much of an issue yet.”

The couple have a road ahead with the cancer, so they’ll see how the insurance serves them long-term.

“A few prescriptions may get a little expensive,” Brad said. “Travel expenses are our biggest thing right now.”

company with the Farm Bureau by supporting the Affordable Care Act. “Farmers, ranchers and rural residents face significant barriers to obtaining accessible, affordable health care,” the group said in a statement last year. “The ACA contains significant, necessary reforms that help all Americans, including those who are self-employed and purchasing from the individual market. ...”

The Farmers Union said it would work with the Obama administration to ensure the law is carried out as written.

The Wisconsin affiliate of the Farmers Union also came out for the law, backing its exchanges in particular. “[Farmers] often pay way too much for terrible coverage,” Darin Von Ruden, president of the Wisconsin Farmers Union, said in an opinion piece last year.

“Some are uninsurable because of the high-risk nature of farming. ... Exchanges will broaden risk pools for these peo-

ple and bring down costs of insurance and health care dollars spent.”

‘Someone will have to pay for it’ Bill Field, an agricultural professor at Purdue University in West Lafayette, Ind., said the Affordable Care Act’s effects will be mixed.

“Because of the large number of farmers who are underinsured, [the Affordable Care Act] will provide an avenue for at least catastrophic coverage,” said Field, who has long specialized in agricultural safety and health issues. “But I don’t think there is enough money in the United States to pay for everything they [policymakers] are expecting to pay for. Someone will have to pay for it.”

CONTINUED ON 55 AG Mag

23

OPTIMISTIC OUTLOOK

Alex T. Paschal/For Quad Cities Ag Mag

The corn and soybean crops on Andy Pratt’s farm in Nachusa, Ill., are “the best they’ve looked in years.” This year, he said, is much better than 2012, when the days and nights were much warmer. “[The corn] never shut down, so it just drained itself,” Pratt said.

Crops planted late, but progressing at record pace

BY MATT MENCARINI For Quad Cities Ag Mag

Rock Katschnig is sitting behind the wheel of his red 2001 Kenworth T800 series truck, hauling about 925 bushels of corn to an ethanol plant in Annawan, Ill. He looks as comfortable behind the wheel as he would in a recliner in his living room.

Driving south on Illinois Route 78, he points out fields of corn that have been damaged by weather, and others that have just started to tassel. He seems slightly skeptical of the predictions of a record corn yield this 24 Summer 2013

‘‘

I like to control my crop. … I think we’re going to end up storing more than normal and hope that [we] can pick up an extra 50 to 60 cents [per bushel] after harvest.

Robb Ewoldt, who farms between Davenport and Blue Grass, Iowa

year, but says farmers in northern Illinois are far better off than those in the southern part of the state.

Last month, the U.S. Department of Agriculture lowered, by 55 million bushels, its 2013 estimate of the corn crop nationally, to an expected 13.95 billion bushels. However, that still would beat the record set in 2009 by

’’

about 858 million bushels.

Robb Ewoldt, who farms approximatley 500 acres between Davenport, Iowa, and Blue Grass, Iowa, would agree with Katschnig’s skepticism of record yield predicitons.

“I think there’s going to be a good crop out there,” he said.

“But I don’t think it’s going to be a great crop.”

CONTINUED ON 25

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According to Illinois State climatologist James Angel, the statewide average precipitation for 2012 was 30.4 inches, which is 9.6 inches below the 1981-2010 average, thus making 2012 the 10th driest year on record for the state.

But the good news for Illinois farmers is 2013 got off to a precipitation-filled start, Angel said.

During the first six months of 2013, Illinois experienced above-average precipitation in every month but March. In fact, April was the fourth wettest April on record, and May was the 12th wettest. Angel said that in some locations throughout the state, more precipitation was actually received during the first six months of 2013 than in all 12 months of 2012.

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There are a lot of variables, Ewoldt said, that may affect the yield. Among them is a concern he has that there might be high moisture at the harvest. After the harvest, Ewoldt said, the price of corn probably will increase as the yield falls short of current predictions. He said he may look for more storage than he has, and sell more corn after the harvest, which may be a risky move.

“Some people might say I’m a little nuts for doing that, but I don’t like to play the board,” Ewoldt said. “I like to control my crop. … I think we’re going to end up storing more than normal and hope that [we] can pick up an extra 50 to 60 cents [per bushel] after harvest.”

In the Quad Cities region of Iowa, much like northern Illinois, crops look to be in great position for the harvest

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Ewoldt said he expects his personal best harvest, but knows farmers deeper into Iowa or in Minnessota who will have problems.

“Eastern Iowa is the garden spot for the state,” he said.

“Western Iowa is burning up.

Aledo 309-582-7271 ® They’re still kind of droughty.

Reynolds 309-372-4279 Central Iowa is too wet.” ® Moline 309-764-2941 A quality grain setup and assistance with marketing your grain can About two-thirds of Katschnig’s 3,500 acres in help take your operation to the next level. Rely on Gold Star FS and Illinois is commercial corn, their trained staff to take your business one step further. ©2013 GROWMARK, Inc. M13849B and all of it will, at some point, make its way to Patriot Renewable Fuel LLC, just 10 miles from his fields west of Hooppole. He’ll make the trip about twice as many times as he did a year ago.

Those added trips, which ©2013 GROWMARK, Inc. M Aledo 309-582-7271 take him about an hour each, are the result of much better Reynolds 309-372-4279 crop conditions than a year Moline 309-764-2941 ago. The first field Katschnig planted this year had started to tassel by July 10. ®

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CONTINUED FROM 25

“Corn has been showing rapid growth in the past week as average height increased by 16 inches, up to 48 inches,” said the July 8 Illinois Weather and Crop report from the USDA’s National Agricultural Statistics Service. “Ample rain,” the report said, led to significant crop development, although silking and corn height both were below the 5-year average.

Just more than half of corn conditions (51 percent, according to the report) in Illinois were rated as good, and 17 percent were rated as excellent. For soybeans, 61 percent of the state’s conditions were rated as good, and 12 percent were rated as excellent.

The report reflects what Andy Pratt has been seeing on his own land. Since, 2000, Pratt has been farming fulltime, with his father, Mike, and brother, Peter. They have 3,200 acres of commercial corn, 1,200 acres of seed corn, and 1,000 acres of soybeans on land about 10 miles west of Dixon, Ill. “Right now, on the first of July, this is the best they’ve looked in years,” Pratt said from the porch of his home, looking out toward his grain bins and land. “And it’s almost scary good. Mother Nature could turn its wicked hand in a hurry.”

Just as she did June 24, when high winds flattened four empty grain bins in Walton, Ill., also damaging roofs, outbuildings, silos and several trees of area homes and farms, including some of Pratt’s crops.

Michael Krabbenhoeft/For Quad Cities Ag Mag

Gunnar Ortgiesen is the chief financial officer and general manager of Tettens Grain near Sterling, Ill. He said that many farmers have been hesitant to forward contract their grain, but are beginning to get more comfortable as the growing season advances.

But that type of outburst from Mother Nature has been an outlier in a relatively ideal weather pattern.

“Last year, the problem was we had a lot of nights that were in 75 and 80 [degree weather],” he said. “[The corn] never shut down, so it just drained itself. And then that pollen, it just won’t do anything.”

The dry weather caused the corn crops to “cannibalize” themselves, Pratt said.

“Right now, it looks like it should be fine, as long as

we don’t get a hot spell,” he said. “That 100 degrees is what we don’t want.”

There’s also optimism from Darrel Good, professor emeritus at the University of Illinois, who specializes in agricultural markets, production and forecasts.

“In general, I think as we stand today, prospects are for large corn and soybean crops, recognizing that there’s a lot of the growing season left,” Good said.

The further into the growing season it gets, he added,

the more comfortable he and others can be about their predictions.

“For the crop that’s growing right now, the expectation is that they will be selling it for a much lower price than last year’s stock,” Good said.

“Livestock is more stable.”

Simply put, more corn means a lower price, but it doesn’t necessarily have to mean less profit for farmers.

Gunnar Ortgiesen is a symbol of modern-day farming.

The 28-year-old Dixon, Ill, resident spends much of his day at a desk, looking at three computer screens. To his left, there’s a window that looks out onto Dan Koster’s farm in Sterling, Ill. Ortgiesen is the chief financial officer and general manager of Tettens Grain LLC. “I believe there’s going to be a lot of grain to go around come fall,” he said. “Some farmers knew that a few months ago, or felt that that was going to be the case with the amount of acres that were supposed to get planted, and I believe did get planted. So some farmers had sold ahead; some have not.”

So far this year, Ortgiesen said, a lot of farmers have been hesitant to forward contract, but are beginning to get more comfortable as the growing season moves through July.

“July and August, that’s when the grain gets made with the weather,” he added. “Hopefully, we’ll continue the weather trend, and it sounds like we will – depending on which weather guy you talk to.”

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CONTINUED FROM 26

Tettens Grain has smaller storage space, about 1.6 million bushels, than larger facilities in the area, Ortgiesen said. As a result, he said, they tend to “turnâ€? their storage over often. “We know that in the fall, if there’s a big crop, we’re going to have to be trucking corn out,â€? he said. “So we sold some ahead, knowing that we’re always going to be trucking it out. ‌ Price doesn’t really matter to us, because we hedge everything off on the [Chicago] Board of Trade so we don’t have the price risk.â€?

It’s the basis levels, Ortgiesen said, that he watches more closely and that are more closely tied to demand, which can be high even when a lot of corn is expected. “Very fortunately, we have more markets for our corn,�

Katschnig said. “We have an ethanol plant in Annawan, we have an ethanol plant in Galva (Ill.), and we have a rail load out facility in Sterling. ‌ Previously, it was 50 miles to the Illinois River.

That’s where all our grain went, the Illinois River.�

Four years ago, Patriot Renewable Fuel LLC built the facility in Annawan, thanks to the town’s proximity to Interstate 80 and Illinois Routes 78 and 6. That plant, along with Big River Resources Galva and Rock River Lumber and Grain, in Sterling, Katschnig says, has created not only increased demand for the corn in the area, but also easier and faster delivery to those facilities.

And unlike 2012, when a drought greatly reduced the corn crop and drove corn prices up, this year’s biggest concern seems to be the fact that most crops were planted late. “Only some of the earlier planted crops have begun to silk,� Mark Schleusener, census manager with the U.S.

Department of Agriculture’s National Agricultural Statistics Service, said in early July. “It’s going to be behind. It doesn’t mean a horrible terrible year;; it just means behind.�

Because of the late planting, and some underperforming crops, Schleusener said, the yield report released in August will be highly scrutinized by the market and will have a bigger impact on this year’s corn prices than the previous weekly crop reports his office released.

As Katschnig pulls up to the weigh station at Annawan to deliver a load of corn he sold about three months ago, his cellphone rings from his belt clip. The call was from grain merchandiser for Consolidated Grain and Barge Enterprises Inc. Corn had gone up $0.18, and the basis had improved. “A lot or farmers’ bins are empty this time of year,�

Katschnig said after making a counteroffer – which later was accepted, he said – and hanging up. “A week, two weeks ago, corn was down to $6.60; now it’s up to $7.10 [cash]. That’s a huge swing. That’s 50 cents per bushel. That’s $500 per load. So it’s just like rolling the dice. It’s just like rolling the dice in Las Vegas.�

Katschnig unloaded his corn, made his way back through the exit weight station, and started the 10-mile drive back to his crops.

About halfway to his land, it started to rain. “We’re over the hump,â€? he said. “We certainly need rain [in] August, during ear-fill. But at least, at this point in time now, when we have a crop that looks like it does right now, and we have the amount of rain we’ve gotten, ‌ we’re at least going to have something. “Last year we had a lot of fields that were nothing. ‌ Now, we know we’re going to have something.â€?

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WHEEL OF FARM LIFE Henry County farm draws visitors – to Ferris wheel

BY DAVID GIULIANI For Quad Cities Ag Mag

Photos by Michael Krabbenhoeft/For Quad Cities Ag Mag

The Urick farm south of Prophetstown, Ill., in Henry County features a small Ferris wheel that has entertained guests for about 15 years. The farm was settled in 1836 and still is in operation today.

“Serving the Area for Over 30 Years�

Tourists from more than 40 nations have visited Kevin and Karen Urick’s farm south of Prophetstown, Ill., in Henry County.

The couple show the normal things on a farm tour – the crops, the barn, the tractors.

But one of the most popular attractions is a 25-foot, four-seat Ferris wheel, which a Whiteside County farmer made with old tractor parts. The Uricks got the ride about 15 years ago. “You can’t leave until you go on the Ferris wheel,� Karen told two guests recently.

When the visitors got into their seats, the Uricks said they didn’t need to use the seat belts. Both did anyhow.

The Uricks’ 525-acre farm is designated by the Illinois Department of Agriculture as a sesquicentennial farm, recognition that goes to farms that have been held by the descendants of the same family for at least 150 years.

CONTINUED ON 29

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Kevin (left) and Karen Urick, both 54, operate their family farm south of Prophetstown, Ill., in Henry County. It was a grain and cattle farm until 2005, when the couple stopped feeding cattle.

CONTINUED FROM 28

It is among more than 600 in Illinois, including six others in Henry County.

A certificate shows that the 54-year-old Kevin Urickâ&#x20AC;&#x2122;s great-great grandfather, Rudolph Urech, bought 40 acres from the U.S. government in 1852 for $1.25 an acre. Thatâ&#x20AC;&#x2122;s as far back as the paper trail goes, so thatâ&#x20AC;&#x2122;s the year the state recognizes as the farmâ&#x20AC;&#x2122;s founding.

But the Uricks have a sign at the farm entrance saying it was established in 1836. In 1838, records show, Rudolph married a woman from Lorraine Township, where the farm is. They say they have read histories indicating Urech purchased 40 acres in 1844 at the farm site.

They believe Rudolphâ&#x20AC;&#x2122;s connections to the site go back to 1836, a year after he immigrated to the United States from Switzerland.

They say he worked the land for some years before getting enough money to buy the ground.

By 1880, Rudolph had 200 acres of land. His yield was 42 bushels an acre of corn, far less than whatâ&#x20AC;&#x2122;s produced these days, with advances in technology. For instance,

the average yield from 2007 to 2011 in Henry County was 177 bushels.

In 1884, Rudolph, a mason, was blinded by mortar dust. He died in 1899 at age 91.

From 1880 to 1910, the farmâ&#x20AC;&#x2122;s livestock operation began to grow rapidly. Rudolphâ&#x20AC;&#x2122;s son, Lewis, bought 208 acres southwest of the main farm.

Now, many of the farms south of Prophetstown have pivot irrigation systems, but the Uricks donâ&#x20AC;&#x2122;t have one. â&#x20AC;&#x153;Some of our ground is better than the surrounding land. But if itâ&#x20AC;&#x2122;s dry, weâ&#x20AC;&#x2122;re hurting, too,â&#x20AC;? he said. â&#x20AC;&#x153;This is some of the most variable land in the state. You can go from sand to black soil in one field. Thatâ&#x20AC;&#x2122;s probably due to glacial activity.â&#x20AC;?

It is one of only two areas in the state that have such abundant water so shallow, Kevin said.

Kevin and Karen farmed in partnership with his father, Dean Urick, now 91, from 1982 to 1987. In 1989, they moved onto the farm after his father retired. It was a grain and cattle farm until 2005, when the couple stopped feeding cattle.

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said Kevin, president of the Henry County Farm Bureau for the past decade.

That would be the first time in the farm’s history that it wouldn’t be run by a member of his family.

But the Uricks say their children should pursue their dreams and not feel pressured to assume the family business.

Over the years, the Uricks have restored the farmhouse, which was built in 1901, and the barn. Besides the Ferris wheel, they also have a sizable wooden jungle gym and a merry-go-round that they purchased from an area park district.

They have researched the farm’s history and even visited the hometown of Rudolph Urech in Switzerland.

Neither their son, Ben, nor their daughter, Katy, has an interest in taking over the family farm. Both live in Iowa. Their son, they joke, spells farm with a “ph” – he’s a pharmacist.

So what happens with the farm after the Uricks retire?

“It’ll probably Michael Krabbenhoeft/For Quad Cities Ag Mag be rented out This plow was the original one used on the Urick farm. The Uricks say when I quit,” the farm has been in the family since 1836.

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MATTER OF ECONOMICS Trends show not enough food animal veterinarians

BY DEREK BARICHELLO For Quad Cities Ag Mag

T

hey brave bad weather, drive far distances on rural roads, and risk the chance of being kicked by animals that grossly outweigh them.

There is no denying that large animal â&#x20AC;&#x201C; or food animal â&#x20AC;&#x201C; veterinarians face a challenging job.

Add low profit margins and repaying $100,000 of debt in students loans, and it can become too much, says Pat Gorden, dairy practitioner and admissions committee chairman at Iowa State University College of Veterinary Medicine.

CONTINUED ON 32

Alex T. Paschal/For Quad Cities Ag Mag

FFA members help Dr. Lynda Gould round up sheep for inspection at a farm in Franklin Grove, Ill. Gould graduated from the University of Illinois in 2009 and has her own practice in Ashton, Ill.

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The American Veterinary Medical Association released market research statistics in 2010 that suggested a shortage of food animal veterinarians.

The research indicated that about 15 percent of veterinarians practiced on food animals, compared to about 67 percent of veterinarians who practice exclusively with pets.

The numbers have not changed much, as just short of 15 percent of veterinarians practice on food animals, according to the latest research.

Government agencies are concerned with the shortage of veterinarians in comparison with the number of livestock.

For example, some counties, mostly in the Midwest, have more than 25,000 food animals and no food animal veterinarians, according to the research.

College officials, on the other hand, worry about the government overreacting to the trend.

Gorden said the trend does not surface at Iowa State University, one of the nation’s leading veterinary colleges, until after students graduate, when economics becomes the driving force.

At Iowa State, which has a heavy focus on food animal study, about 40 percent study in the food animal program, compared to just more than half of students who want to practice on pets.

Alex T. Paschal/For Quad Cities Ag Mag

Dr. Lynda Gould of the Ashton (Ill.) Animal Clinic fills out paperwork before inspecting sheep at a farm in nearby Franklin Grove.

Students there study the same core work with production animals.” program the first three years and That’s before they graduate. choose a focused area of study in the Gorden said that once graduates leave fourth year. with about $100,000 of debt in school “Prior to graduation, most of them are loans and have to take on a career that interested in food animals,” Gorden said. allows them to achieve a certain qual“A lot of our students come from a ity of life, their decision becomes more rural background, and want to go back difficult. to a rural background. They like the CONTINUED ON 33 ability to work outside, the ability to

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“They have a mortgage the day they graduate,” Gorden said. “It takes a substantial, competitive salary package in order to have the ability to raise a family and pay their debt. There are some areas of the country where working on livestock pays solid enough to provide that standard of living to allow them to pay off student loans, but not many.”

As a result, many graduates of Iowa State’s farm animal program cannot find a suitable job out of college and compromise their practice.

In general, Gorden said, there is a surplus of veterinary students graduating and not finding jobs out of school.

“Some work in a mixed practice,” Gorden said.

“Others go into clinics in cities working on smaller animals. It’s a matter of going where there are good jobs.”

At the University of Illinois at Urbana-Champaign, another leading veterinary college, students enrolled in programs there mirror the national trend.

Numbers of veterinarians by practice In 2012, the numbers of veterinarians by practice, according to market research and published by the American Veterinary Medical Association Private Clinical: *Food animal exclusive .................. 1,164 ,,,,,,,,,,, 1.8% **Food animal predominant ........... 3,697 ,,,,,,,,,,, 5.7% Mixed animal ................................. 4,284 ,,,,,,,,,,, 6.6% Companion animal predominant .... 6,108 ,,,,,,,,,,, 9.5% Companion animal exclusive ....... 42,695 ,,,,,,,,, 66.2% Equine ........................................... 3,821 ,,,,,,,,,,,,,, 6% Other ................................................ 717 ,,,,,,,,,,, 1.1% Species unspecified ...................... 2,003 ,,,,,,,,,,, 3.1% * — Food animal exclusive 1,109 1.8% in 2010 ** — Food animal predominant 3,890 6.3% in 2010

About 15 percent of students focus strictly on food animals, compared to about 60 percent of students who focus on pets, said Jonathon Foreman, equine doctor and associate dean for academic and student affairs in the College of Veterinary Medicine at the University of Illinois.

At Illinois, students are given eight weeks of clinical rotations each of their four years, meaning they gain plenty of experience working on both

large and small animals.

Foreman is not overly concerned with the national trend.

He said most farms that produce food animals are within a larger production unit, and many of them have their own veterinarians on staff.

Foreman said the economy is another major factor in the national trend.

“Gas is $4 a gallon, and diesel is higher than that,” Foreman said. “Transporting large

animals or getting to a farm cuts into profit margins.”

To offset those costs, federal and state governments have created programs to recruit veterinary students to underserved areas.

Illinois is one such state. It enacted a law to create the Veterinary Student Loan Repayment Program.

Each student who enters the program agreement will receive $20,000 a year to cover tuition, books, supplies and other expenses incurred in pursuing a veterinary medicine degree, as long as the program requirements are satisfied, Foreman said.

The program accepts 16 students.

To qualify, students must enroll in a veterinary practice that is at least 51 percent devoted to large animal medicine that enhances agricultural animal health and productivity, or regulatory veterinary medicine that supports public health and safety, livestock biosecurity or food animal disease diagnosis.

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AG Mag

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Caring for the creatures, great and small

BY BARB KROMPHARDT For Quad Cities Ag Mag

Barb Kromphardt/For Quad Cities Ag Mag

Veterinarian Ruel “Buzz” Iliff doesn’t mind making house calls. In fact, Iliff says it’s easier for him to go to his “patients,” rather than have a farmer bring his livestock to him. He has seen many changes in his years as a veterinarian for large animals, including larger herds and the amount of women going into the field.

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It was a good morning for Stark County veterinarian Ruel “Buzz” Iliff.

“We had to do a C-section, but we got the calf out alive and the mother’s up taking care of it,” he said. “That’s what makes it fun.”

Iliff is part of the Wyoming (Ill.) Veterinary Service, a mixed practice that includes cattle, horses and swine with its small animal practice.

Iliff’s primary job is working with the cow herds.

“We semen check the bulls to make sure they’re good going out and vaccinate the cows for major diseases, so we can get them bred in a tight group and calve all at once,” he said.

That’s the regular work.

“Emergency work is calving,” he said.

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â&#x20AC;&#x153;With the club calves, the guys are using bulls that are not easy calvers, and so you have to help them get them out sometimes.â&#x20AC;?

Other work with the cattle includes fly tagging, dehorning calves, castrating and implanting. The implants contain a slow-release growth stimulant that increases muscle growth. â&#x20AC;&#x153;Thereâ&#x20AC;&#x2122;s a huge controversy about it,â&#x20AC;?

Iliff said. â&#x20AC;&#x153;But itâ&#x20AC;&#x2122;s safe; itâ&#x20AC;&#x2122;s been proven, and it really does help.â&#x20AC;?

Iliff graduated from the University of Illinois 34 years ago and has seen many changes in that time. â&#x20AC;&#x153;The biggest thing is the size of the operations,â&#x20AC;? he said. â&#x20AC;&#x153;When I first started, our average cow herd was probably 25 cows, and now itâ&#x20AC;&#x2122;s probably 60 to 70.â&#x20AC;?

The patients also have gotten bigger with an average market weight of about 300 pounds higher.

Iliff said veterinarians have changed, too. In his class of 86 students, two out of three were men, and half of the class was going into large animal or mixed practice. â&#x20AC;&#x153;Now out of a class of more than 100, 80 percent are women and less than 10 percent are going into straight food animal practice,â&#x20AC;? he said.

When Iliff started practicing, every town had a large animal veterinarian.

The farmers had smaller herds, but there

Bark Kromphardt/For Quad Cities Ag Mag

Veterinarian Ruel â&#x20AC;&#x153;Buzzâ&#x20AC;? Iliff readies some equipment in his truck he uses to visit his patients in a 100-mile radius from his home base in Wyoming, Ill. were a lot of them. Now there are fewer, larger herds that are located farther apart, which results in a lot of travel. â&#x20AC;&#x153;It used to be you could stay within a 20-mile radius,â&#x20AC;? he said, â&#x20AC;&#x153;and now I think our farthest client is about 100 miles out.â&#x20AC;?

Unlike most human doctors, Iliff makes only house calls. â&#x20AC;&#x153;Most of our producers have a better

set-up,â&#x20AC;? he said. â&#x20AC;&#x153;We can travel cheaper and quicker than they can haul them in.â&#x20AC;?

Iliff finds a lot of satisfaction in his work. â&#x20AC;&#x153;Most of it is getting to work with some really great people,â&#x20AC;? he said. â&#x20AC;&#x153;One wise older veterinarian that I had as my adviser in vet school said, â&#x20AC;&#x2DC;Learn all you can from your clients because they are your best teachers.â&#x20AC;&#x2122;â&#x20AC;?

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4-H clubs, a’ changin’

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Alex T. Paschal/For Quad Cities Ag Mag

Allison Prestegaard of Amboy, Ill., teaches a group of Cloverbuds about farm animals and all they offer. Youths can join Cloverbuds as 5- to 7-year-olds and 4-H between the ages of 8 and 18.

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DIXON, Ill. â&#x20AC;&#x201C; Fewer than 20 years ago, rockets were all the rage among local 4-Hâ&#x20AC;&#x2122;ers.

Nowadays, robots are the popular project with club members. â&#x20AC;&#x153;Itâ&#x20AC;&#x2122;s not the program it was years ago,â&#x20AC;? said Bird Schielein, leader of the Palmyra Hillbillies 4-H Club in Dixon, Ill., for more than 10 years.

The youth development organization has transformed itself based on the needs of the agricultural â&#x20AC;&#x201C; and now, the nonfarm â&#x20AC;&#x201C; community.

Youths, who can join Cloverbuds as 5- to 7-year-olds and 4-H as 8- to 18-year-olds, learn by doing projects (more than 100 from which to choose), from cooking and sewing to showing livestock and growing crops, and community service. â&#x20AC;&#x153;They are becoming better leaders and learning lifelong skills through these projects and community service,â&#x20AC;? said Mimi Hicks, the youth educator for the University of Illinois Extension in Carroll, Lee and Whiteside counties in Illinois.

The organization dates back to the early

Alex T. Paschal/For Quad Cities Ag Mag

The Cloverbuds pass a horseshoe around the table after inspecting it.

1900s. It was a way to bring research, innovation and other developments in agriculture coming out of the land-grant universities to farmers; young people were more accepting of the changes and more willing to try new things.

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Over time, the program morphed into a youth club and touched other aspects of rural life, such as home economics and horticulture.

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4-H’er wants to pass on her passion

BY KAYLA HEIMERMAN For Quad Cities Ag Mag

DIXON, Ill. – Josie Willett oozes passion for 4-H. She’s done a wide variety of projects, from foods to livestock to floriculture. She’s held every leadership position in her club.

She’s even passed on her love of the program to her pint-sized peers.

“I love what 4-H teaches you,” she says. “I like everything 4-H has to offer, agriculture related or not. It does a good job of teaching kids lifelong skills they really can use. ...”

Willett, 18, of Dixon, Ill., is wrapping up her 10th and final year in 4-H. She grew up on a farm – her family raises beef cattle, corn and hay – and joined her local club – the Dixon Wonder Workers – in fourth grade.

“I just stayed in and kept getting more and more involved,” she says.

Willett did a number of projects: foods, horticulture, floriculture, visual arts, even livestock.

“I tried anything I could,” she recalls.

“The big stereotype of 4-H is you have to sew or cook or raise an animal, and eventually, I did all those things, but for the longest time, I never showed an animal – and still today, I technically don’t.

“But that’s what 4-H is ... to learn by doing.”

She won several top prizes at the Lee County 4-H Fair and even showed projects twice at the Illinois State Fair.

Willett also held every position of leadership in her club and even one on the county federation, a body of representatives from every club in the county. Finally, in her last year of membership, she attended the 4-H National Conference in Washington, D.C., in April.

“I wanted to have the opportunity to [be a leader],” she says. “It really helped me decide I wanted to go into agriculture [as a career]. Plus, it strengthened my leadership skills and helped me learn to branch out and meet new people.”

Willett, a 2012 graduate of Dixon High School and now an agriculture business major at the University of WisconsinPlatteville, wants to share her passion for 4-H with the next generation.

She has an internship at the University of Illinois Extension office in Lee County through which she teaches Camp Clover, a 6-day summer “camp” that introduces kids to 4-H. Willett plans to return home after college. She dreams of working for Extension – or at least being a 4-H volunteer.

“I just want to keep kids excited about 4-H,” she says with a big smile.

Alex T. Paschal/For Quad Cities Ag Mag

Josie Willett lets Allison Prestegaard take over the lesson plan as she teaches 4-H’s youngest members, The Cloverbuds, about farm animals.

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It has changed in recent years. It incorporates more math, science and technology â&#x20AC;&#x201C; members now have alternative energy and robotics as project options â&#x20AC;&#x201C; and focuses less on the traditional subject areas. â&#x20AC;&#x153;Weâ&#x20AC;&#x2122;re opening up project areas that are more with the times,â&#x20AC;? Hicks said. â&#x20AC;&#x153;Some projects, like livestock, are starting to drop off; the number of entries a member can show is limited because of the costs associated with animals. Other projects in the sciences are seeing less participation, too; itâ&#x20AC;&#x2122;s too easy to â&#x20AC;&#x2DC;learnâ&#x20AC;&#x2122; about those topics on the Internet.â&#x20AC;?

Projects in the broad foods and visual arts categories remain popular, Schielein added.

Locally, the program is growing slowly, despite competition from sports and other extracurricular activities to which kids can devote their time.

Grade school students

are among the most active members, but high school students are equally as enthusiastic because most, by that age, have been in the program for years. â&#x20AC;&#x153;They usually are in for a little while, then stay the whole time they are eligible,â&#x20AC;? Hicks said.

Membership tends to skew younger, but remain fairly balanced among boys and girls.

4-H now includes special interest groups, called SPIN clubs, in which kids with common interests or hobbies, such as fishing, theater or other things, enhance their skills as a group.

The new clubs are a way for youth with limited time or specific interests to be involved with a bit less commitment. They also help introduce potential members to 4-H. â&#x20AC;&#x153;The misconception is you have to live on a farm,â&#x20AC;?

Schielein said, â&#x20AC;&#x153;But the reality is, everyone can find something.â&#x20AC;?

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Kevin Kurz, a junior at Ashton-Franklin Center High School in Illinois, fills the food bins for sheep at the farm of Rick Petitt, who teache Agriculture eduction, Petitt said, used to be more career oriented. â&#x20AC;&#x153;Nowadays, itâ&#x20AC;&#x2122;s more education focused,â&#x20AC;? he said. â&#x20AC;&#x153;Kids are generatio

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N CORN, BEANS, PIGS AND COWS Ag education programs focus on exposure, rather than job training

BY KAYLA HEIMERMAN For Quad Cities Ag Mag

C Philip Marruffo/For Quad Cities Ag Mag

agriculture at the school. Agriculture away from the farm.”

arl Erbsen hardly recognizes his students these days.

“When I started teaching, half my kids came from the farm,” he said. “Now, I’m lucky if two of my students live on a farm.”

The overwhelming majority of students, even in the most rural school districts, are generations removed from the family farm.

School calendars once revolved around the planting, cultivating and harvesting schedule, and textbooks used to include plenty of agricultural references and examples.

Indeed, farming, farm animals, and crops were a familiar part of life, even for the youngest of children. Not anymore.

The agriculture education programs in schools – at least those still in existence –

focus more on exposure, rather than vocational training.

Curriculum at the elementary and middle school levels now is centered on fostering an appreciation for agriculture, while curriculum in the high schools is concentrated on building an interest in agriculture careers and preparing students for college.

It is the highly technical, highly specialized programs offered by community colleges that really educate and train people to work in agriculture.

Erbsen, 43, who teaches second grade at Eastland Elementary School in Shannon, Ill., is the current Illinois Agriculture in the Classroom Teacher of the Year. He believes young people should have an appreciation for agriculture.

“It’s important our kids know what agriculture is about,” he said. “They really need to know where things come from and the process by which those things get here.”

K-12 education Agriculture education starts in elementary and middle schools.

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The Agriculture in the Classroom program was created in 1981 to integrate agriculture with reading, writing and arithmetic and reinforce the significant role agriculture plays in everyday life.

The program is known today as an easy and flexible way to supplement and enhance existing curriculum.

The program still aims to expose youths to agriculture, but agriculture has come to include more than just farming, said Katie Pratt, the ag literacy coordinator in Lee County in Illinois.

“We used to say it was about corn, beans, pigs and cows,” she said. “But now, we talk about food, gardens, alternative energy, and conservation [of resources], too.”

The Agriculture in the Classroom program is most popular among elementary and middle school teachers.

Agriculture education looks a bit different at the high school level.

Most schools, at least the more rural ones, still have bona fide agriculture education programs and supplemental ag-related activities, such as FFA (formerly Future Farmers of America) clubs. Although some of the largest schools in relatively rural areas in the past decade have eliminated agriculture programs.

CONTINUED ON 43

Philip Marruffo/For Quad Cities Ag Mag

Members of Rick Petitt’s FFA class at Ashton-Franklin Center High School in Illinois work through the summer learning how to properly care for farm animals.

While some of the largest schools in relatively rural areas have eliminated agriculture programs, most schools still have them.

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Sara Conner, agriculture teacher at Prophetstown (Ill.) High School

CONTINUED FROM 42

Schools with dedicated programs and teachers no longer offer ag classes as vocational training.

They instead offer classes to engage students in a smattering of ag-related fields and prepare them for the next level, said two agriculture teachers: Rick Petitt at Ashton-Franklin Center High School in Lee County, Ill., and Sara Conner at Prophetstown High School in Whiteside County, Ill. Teachers introduce students to the stand-bys, such as plant and animal science, but also more modern applications, such as mechanics, communications and business.

“The difference is, years ago, it probably was more career oriented, where nowadays, it’s more education focused,” Petitt said.

“Kids are generations away from the farm. Their knowledge of agriculture is more limited. It becomes more an education about agriculture than a preparation for a career. … That’s what we have to do: try to reconnect the kids.”

Conner added that the “face of agriculture” had changed.

“And our programs have started to reflect that,” she said. “We’re developing their interest in potential careers. ... We’re getting them classes where they can see another side. ... It’s more 21st century agriculture, showing them what they really have an opportunity to do.”

Teachers also are preparing students for college, as many jobs in the agriculture industry require bachelor’s degrees, if not more education after high school, and as more career and technical education classes must meet college and career

’’

Philip Marruffo/For Quad Cities Ag Mag

Ashton-Franklin Center (Ill.) High School FFA students (from left) Renee Henert, Matthew Heng and Tim Stewart point out a sheep that needs medical attention. readiness standards.

“It’s not just vocational anymore,” Conner said.

Students, it seems, now demand more ag programming in their schools, possibly because they are aware of the sheer number of available, in-demand and highpaying ag-related jobs,

‘‘

said Pam Clodfelter, the ag literacy coordinator in Whiteside County, Ill. “We need to keep sparking that interest … and making them aware of their planet and where their food and their products come from,” she said. “And how they can be involved in that.”

Post-secondary schools Agriculture education is perhaps at its best at the community college level.

Two-year colleges are equipped to train people for careers, whether in agriculture or another industry, said Andrew Larson, an agronomy professor and agriculture department co-chair at Black Hawk College in Galva, Ill., southeast of the Quad Cities.

“We really promote – in all of our career programs – applied education,” he said. “We focus on things students will need to go out into the industry and work.”

Black Hawk has a robust ag program that dates back about 50 years. The college offers two tracks: one for students who intend to transfer to a major university, such as the University of Illinois or Iowa State University, to study agriculture, and one for students who want to quickly move into work in the agriculture industry.

The school’s transfer degree options include agriculture, horticulture and animal science, while its terminal, career programs include management, production and mechanics.

Community colleges constantly are adapting and changing their programs to reflect the needs and wants of the industry.

They are able to adjust to developments in the industry because their faculty members often are engaged in their fields outside of their lecture halls and in regular contact with regional employers, Larson said.

“We [community colleges] can react to industry faster than the universities can,” he said. “If Growmark says, ‘We need more people who can do this,’ then, bam, we add it to a class.

“We have to. It’s our lifeline.”

We really promote – in all of our career programs – applied education. We focus on things students will need to go out into the industry and work.

Andrew Larson, agronomy professor at Black Hawk College

’’

AG Mag

43

Agriculture jobs plentiful Local positions require two-year degrees

BY KAYLA HEIMERMAN For Quad Cities Ag Mag

A student is asked the ageold question: What do you want to be when you grow up?

Decades ago, when that student was likely a young boy living on his familyâ&#x20AC;&#x2122;s farm, helping with chores, feeding livestock or putting up hay, he might have said he wanted to be a farmer.

It was a given.

Nowadays, when that student is more likely a young girl living in a small town, even a somewhat rural small town, she might say she wants to be a veterinarian, a banker or a writer.

It might no longer be a given that young people will

Philip Marruffo/For Quad Cities Ag Mag

Jake Chapman measures out a shot for a sheep that contracted foot rot due to the wet conditions. Chapman and other students worked at the farm of Rick Petitt, who teaches agriculture at the Ashton-Franklin Center High School in Illinois. carry on the family farm, but it is highly probable they will work in agriculture.

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culture industry. Students, especially those at the high school level, must not close the doors to ag-related jobs, local ag teachers say.

Agriculture jobs might be plentiful across the state and the nation, but they fall into specific categories and skill levels in the region.

Positions for mechanics, fertilizer applicators, and seed dealers are available locally, said Rick Petitt, ag teacher at Ashton-Franklin Center High School in Lee County, Ill. â&#x20AC;&#x153;Those jobs have always been here, but theyâ&#x20AC;&#x2122;re now much more technical,â&#x20AC;? he said. â&#x20AC;&#x153;The title might still be the same, but the job requires a much more highly trained person to fill it.â&#x20AC;?

Such jobs require at least a two-year associate degree or, in some cases, a one-year certificate, from a community college, such as Black Hawk College in Galva, Ill., which has a robust ag program.

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â&#x20AC;&#x2DC;Our voice is getting quieterâ&#x20AC;&#x2122;

BY KAYLA HEIMERMAN For Quad Cities Ag Mag

MUSCATINE, Iowa â&#x20AC;&#x201C; The students of today must become the voice of agriculture for tomorrow.

Thatâ&#x20AC;&#x2122;s Paul Martinâ&#x20AC;&#x2122;s philosophy.

The longtime Muscatine Community College agriculture instructor aims to equip his students with not only the most up-to-date knowledge and hands-on experience in an ever-changing industry, but also the zeal for an industry that yearns for young, hungry employees to carry it into the next generation. â&#x20AC;&#x153;How come the word canâ&#x20AC;&#x2122;t get out for little Billy or little Jill who Paul has some skills or who grew up Martin in a rural setting or who enjoys agriculture, that they can work in agriculture?â&#x20AC;? he said.

Martin, 49, leads by example.

He grew up on a farm near Ottumwa, Iowa, where he was the â&#x20AC;&#x153;hired handâ&#x20AC;? and helped his family raise row crops and hogs. He did not receive a formal ag education in high school; he instead relied on 4-H for his exposure to the industry.

Martin intended to work in the ag industry, but the country still was reeling from the farm debt crisis of the late 1970s and early 1980s,

Positions in other areas of and most sectors of the industry were skittish. agriculture â&#x20AC;&#x201C; jobs in agribusiHe returned to his alma mater â&#x20AC;&#x201C; Muscatine ness, marketing and comCommunity College, where he earned an assomunication, and even the ciate degree in farm management â&#x20AC;&#x201C; to teach. sciences, such as veterinary Martin, who has been at the college for more science and crop science â&#x20AC;&#x201C; than 25 years, teaches a variety of classes, are not very prevalent locally, mostly focused on retail agribusiness. He is said Sara Conner, ag teacher part of what he calls a â&#x20AC;&#x153;world classâ&#x20AC;? program, at Prophetstown High School the crowning jewel of which is an employment in Whiteside County, Ill. experience or internship required of all fullâ&#x20AC;&#x153;Production is still a major time students. focus in our area,â&#x20AC;? she said.

Students work 60 to 80 hours a week, while â&#x20AC;&#x153;Those other jobs you have to still going to school, with a local ag business. travel for.â&#x20AC;?

They earn money and gain valuable, on-theSuch jobs require four-year job experience. bachelorâ&#x20AC;&#x2122;s degrees (or even â&#x20AC;&#x153;The employer is making a financial contribution more, depending on the job to, an investment in, that student,â&#x20AC;? he said. â&#x20AC;&#x153;In and what the person plans to turn, the student is helping the employer hopedo for a career) from places fully make a return on that investment ... by prosuch as the University of IlliFOR viding assistance, decision-making or sometimes PRODUCTS nois or Iowa State University. just a warm body to watch the grain dryer.â&#x20AC;?

In general, though, the agriculMartin believes that experience, coupled ture industry has become highly with his and his colleaguesâ&#x20AC;&#x2122; persistence in the technical AND with jobs reserved for classroom, helps students understand they the highly skilled, highly trained are needed in the agriculture industry. worker, the teachers say. â&#x20AC;&#x153;From day one, students are going to hear â&#x20AC;&#x153;Generations ago, the from me the importance of becoming a voice in requirement for education was Liquid Startersas strict,â&#x20AC;? Petitt agriculture, because our voice is getting quieter not probably and quieter,â&#x20AC;? he said. â&#x20AC;&#x153;Itâ&#x20AC;&#x2122;s on their shoulders. Clear Nutrient said. â&#x20AC;&#x153;ButSolutions with all the specificâ&#x20AC;&#x153;Most of them take that to heart and do ity of some of the equipment Specialized and Liquid Nutrient Blends become leaders.â&#x20AC;? chemicals and seeds ...

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46 Summer 2013

Crop insurance program deals with record payouts

BY PAM EGGEMEIER For Quad Cities Ag Mag

M

idwest farmers last year experienced the most severe drought since 1988. Most farmers didn’t have crop insurance in 1988 and were forced to rely on government disaster aid payments.

Since then, the agricultural safety net has gradually transitioned from reliance on direct payments to crop insurance.

With what’s left of direct subsidies likely to be phased out in the next Farm Bill, the drought of 2012 may have been the first real test of a crop insurance-based disaster system.

Crop insurance payouts Illinois County Rock Island Henry Carroll Whiteside Iowa County Scott Muscatine Clinton Jackson

2012 Indemnities/ Policies $2,618,924 / 796 $30,260,033 / 2,279 $8,386,508 / 697 $11,656,875 / 1,578

2011 Indemnities/ Policies $654,932 / 796 $2,648,865 / 2,252 $284,254 / 686 $1,105,133 / 1,550

$11,154,213 / 971 $5,925,373 / 1,239 $18,958,536 / 1,816 $21,436,582 / 1,200

$977,315 / 949 $1,134,518 / 1,217 $1,268,910 / 1,772 $880,132 / 1,147

Source: U.S. Environmental Working Group

Northern Illinois farmers, for the most part, found themselves thinking it sure could have been worse in 2012. While the region was not hit nearly as hard as central and downstate Illinois, production and revenues took enough of a

hit that record crop insurance payouts were made throughout the area.

In Lee County, $10,425,842 in payouts were made through 1,744 policies in 2012.

CONTINUED ON 48

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CONTINUED FROM 47

The drought’s effect can be gauged by comparing those numbers to only $723,689 in payouts through 1,802 policies in 2011.

Whiteside County’s numbers told a similar story. Payouts were up from $1,105,133 in 2011 to $11,656,875 in 2012. The number of policies was about the same in those years – up from 1,550 in 2011 to 1,578 last year.

Bureau has much more acreage in production than Lee or Whiteside, and the drought conditions also were worse in parts of that county.

Emily Pratt is a 1st Farm Credit Services crop insurance agent serving Lee, Whiteside and Carroll counties in Illinois. While she said that Lee and Whiteside didn’t have as many claims as surrounding counties, about 75 percent of the farmers in those counties had crop insurance.

“We really were lucky,” Pratt said. “The drought was not as severe here, and we had some good crops in this area.”

Lee County Farm Service Agency Executive Director Jerry Quinton agreed that Northern Illinois held up fairly well in the drought season.

“We had more claims west of [state Route] 26 and south of [U.S. Route] 30,” Quinton said.

“We had timely rainfall in many areas. The lighter, sandier soils by

‘‘

We had more claims west of [state Route] 26 and south of [U.S. Route] 30. We had timely rainfall in many areas.

Jerry Quinton, executive director of Lee County (Ill.) Farm Service Agency

Nelson took a hit, but the crops are looking pretty good so far, but history tells us that things can change overnight.”

Whether or not farmers collected on premiums, Pratt said the drought has increased interest in purchasing or increasing coverage. While crops held up relatively well in last year’s severe weather, area farmers realize that the impact of a serious drought lasts for more than one year.

So far, so good this planting season, but producers know that the situation can always change in a heartbeat.

“It was so wet this spring, it was hard to find a planting window,” Pratt said.

“Things look good at first glance, but we won’t know much about yields until pollination is over in the next few weeks.”

The drought story in Iowa seems to be similar to that in Illinois. Farmers prepared for the worst, but most were pleasantly surprised by how well crops held up.

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Congress no longer authorizes the ad hoc disaster programs that used to send billions in one-time cash payments to the nation’s farmers. These days, lawmakers must find cuts elsewhere in the federal budget to pay for such programs.

There still is no bipartisan Farm Bill signed into law, but the current Senate and House versions are cause for optimism about the future of federal crop insurance.

Both bills have provisions streamlining conservation programs, expanding the crop insurance program, and slashing subsidy payments – including the elimination of the $5 billion a year in direct payments given to farmers regardless of whether they grow crops.

Legislators on both sides of the aisle seem to have accepted the transformation from direct payments to an insurance-based system.

CONTINUED ON 49

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Congresswoman Cheri Bustos, a 17th District Democrat from East Moline, Ill., and a member of the House Committee on Agriculture, says a strong crop insurance program must be a cornerstone of the final version of the Farm Bill.

“We need to keep a strong and stable crop insurance program in place so that our farmers who are at the mercy of Mother Nature can continue to provide the food our nation depends on,” Bustos said. “With the likely elimination of direct payments, a robust insurance program is vital to the strength of our farmers, our economy and our nation.”

While crop insurance seems to have passed the 2012 drought test with flying colors, it has come at a steep price to American taxpayers.

Taxpayers cover about two-thirds of the premiums for crop insurance policies. The cost to taxpayers has grown from $1.5 billion a year in 2002 to $7.4 billion in 2011, and what is estimated to

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be a record $16 billion from the drought of 2012, according to USDA figures.

Government estimates put the cost of crop insurance at $90 billion over the next 10 years. Plus, taxpayers foot another $1.3 billion a year for overhead costs for the insurance companies, such as administering and adjusting the policies, and examining the crop losses.

Allen Buhrow farms with his father in the Ashton, Ill., area. He understands that it’s a tough time to ask for federal farm programs, in light of the high cost of the drought season and the need to cut costs in Washington. But he believes that crop insurance is a good deal for producers and the nation as a whole.

The Buhrows buy 80 or 85 percent group coverage every year for all of the farms they operate, which saves them money.

Although they had a few underperforming fields from the drought, they decided not to file claims. But knowing

that the safety net was there gave him the ability to make the right business decisions in anticipation of the next growing season.

“It gives you the security to to know you can cover input costs for the next year,” Buhrow said. “Disaster payments were not an effective way to protect against risk. Without insurance, the uncertainty makes it so you wouldn’t know when to sell crops, how to plan for input costs, or do marketing.”

Buhrow is a younger farmer who continues to buy more land. Crop insurance also mitigates risk for lenders and brings security to the people they lease land from.

“The insurance program provides great value overall,” he said. “Over the long run, it moderates commodity costs, keeps folks planting crops the world needs, and gives farmers the security to make better business decisions.”

CONTINUED ON 50 AG Mag

49

CONTINUED FROM 49

Gary Schnitkey, a University of Illinois farm management specialist, believes that during the drought, crop insurance proved its worth.

“People may say crop insurance is lucrative, but in a challenging drought year, no ad hoc bills were passed,” Schnitkey said. “It makes a big difference in how people plan for future years. Without crop insurance last year, we would have seen substantial shortfalls this year.”

Current federal farm and food aid policy expires on Sept. 30, and failure to pass a new bill in time means another extension or American farmers will fall back to a 1949 law governing the industry, which could lead to steep price increases on items such as milk.

What worries many farmers is a provision in the Senate version that introduces an income cap to crop insurance. Known as a “means

test,” farmers with adjusted gross incomes of more than $750,00 no longer would qualify for subsized crop insurance premiums. The House version just passed contains no such income cap.

While most farmers would not be impacted at that level, they worry that the cap would serve as a convenient vehicle for cutting the program in the future. They also fear that the balance of high-risk and lowrisk producers that any insurance system is based on also would be upset.

“The problem with this cap is that it assumes larger producers don’t need crop insurance,” Pratt said. “But then the higher premiums they were paying aren’t helping to spread the risk if you take them out of the program.”

U.S. Rep. Adam Kinzinger, who represents the 16th Congressional District in Illinois, held a conference call with more than 30 area farmers on June 13, leading up to the House Farm Bill vote.

CONTINUED ON 51

Quad Cities Ag Mag

Ryan Appelquist, who farms between Franklin Grove and Dixon, Ill., examines ears of corn with Emily Pratt, a crop insurance specialist at 1st Farm Credit Services of Rock Falls, Ill. Last year’s drought resulted in a high number of crop insurance claims by area farmers.

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Kinzinger, a Republican from Manteno, Ill., said that farmers had told him they felt they should reach out to legislators on a more personal level prior to the vote, rather than just leave things up to their Farm Bureau and other ag organizations.

Kinzinger said crop insurance was a big part of the conversation and one of the reasons he voted for the House bill that passed on July 11.

“Having the opportunity to hear firsthand about farmers’ needs was invaluable,” Kinzinger said. “Crop insurance is vital for today’s farmers, yet outside the Farm Bill, there are few ways to address the issue before current authorization expires.”

Iowa crop insurance specialist Gary Yoder said that farmers there are voicing concerns about the likelihood that many subsidies will be taken away or reduced in the next Farm Bill. As a crop agent, he fears that the adminstration of the insurance could be returned to the federal Farm Service Agency offices.

“In 1983, the insurance was set up with private companies,” Yoder said.

“I believe the private sector has done a much better job marketing, selling and running it.”

Illinois crop insurance premiums and claims What farmers received in claims for every dollar paid in for premiums 2002 ..................................... 82 cents 2003 ..................................... 65 cents 2004 ..................................... 38 cents 2005 ..................................... 77 cents 2006 ..................................... 10 cents 2007 ..................................... 21 cents

2008 .....................................66 cents 2009 .....................................30 cents 2010 .....................................58 cents 2011 .....................................44 cents 2012 ......................................... $3.43 Source: Federal Crop Insurance Corporation of Business

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52 Summer 2013

‘‘

While it has been difficult at points, I will continue to work with my colleagues on both sides of the aisle to ensure that this important legislation becomes law. ...

U.S. Rep. Adam Kinzinger, R-Manteno, Ill.

’’

Farm Bill still tops federal ag policy House passes version separating food stamp program

BY PAM EGGEMEIER For Quad Cities Ag Mag

Fiscal cliff negotiations produced nothing but a Farm Bill extension in January. As the Sept. 30 expiration date approaches, the nation’s farmers still are living with the uncertainty of doing business without new 5-year legislation.

The House on July 11 passed a scaleddown version of the Farm Bill with one notable exception: the federal food stamp program that 48 million Americans depend on. The bill passed by a slim 216-208 vote. The bill was driven by the Republicans – not a single Democrat voted for it and only 12 GOP lawmakers voted against it.

The passage of the bill without food stamp provisions comes on the heels of a somewhat surprising failed vote on the full bill on June 20. The House failed to pass that $500 billion version of the bill by a vote of 195-234. Conservative GOP members wanted more cuts, and many Democrats opposed the $20.5 billion in cuts to the food stamp program. The Supplemental Nutrition Assistance Program makes up about 80 percent of the Farm Bill’s budget and has proven to be the biggest roadblock to a new Farm Bill.

U.S. Rep. Cheri Bustos, 17th District Democrat from East Moline, Ill., and a member of the House Committee on Agriculture, voted for the full bill in June, but said she couldn’t support the partial bill that so

‘‘

many agriculture interests in her district and nationwide opposed.

“I sided with over 500 agricultural groups from across the country, including many in Illinois such as the Illinois Farm Bureau, in opposing the plan to split the Farm Bill in two halves,” the freshman congresswoman said. “This approach defies precedent, ignores the advice of those who represent our nation’s farmers and producers, and is also counterproductive to passing a bill that both the House and Senate can agree on, and could ultimately be signed into law by the president.”

Bustos said the region’s farmers and producers she has met with have been “thirsting for a bipartisan, 5-year Farm Bill.”

Despite the disappointing turn of events, Bustos says that she’ll continue to work to move the process along and bring both parties together.

“We need to find common ground so that Illinois farmers and producers can finally get the certainty and predictability they need and deserve.”

Republican 16th District Congressman Adam Kinzinger voted for the House measure, saying that farmers need the stability that a new bipartisan bill would bring.

“This legislation is a step in the right direction toward providing farmers the certainty they have needed for years,” Kinzinger, R-Manteno, Ill., said.

CONTINUED ON 53

’’

We need to find common ground so that Illinois farmers and producers can finally get the certainty and predictability they need and deserve.

U.S. Rep. Cheri Bustos, D-East Moline, Ill.

CONTINUED FROM 52

He admits that the process has not been a smooth one.

“While it has been difficult at points, I will continue to work with my colleagues on both sides of the aisle to ensure that this important legislation becomes law for the sake of hardworking farmers in Illinois and all across the country.”

The Senate passed its Farm Bill on June 10 that would cost $955 billion over 10 years.

Savings would be realized in both the 5-year House and Senate bills. The Senate’s version would reduce spending by about $2.4 billion annually, compared with $3.8 billion in the failed House bill. Almost half the savings in the House bill would have come from reduced food stamp spending – the first major overhaul to the program since 1996.

The White House said just prior to the passage of the House bill that President Obama would veto any Farm Bill that fails to comprehensively address federal farm

David Derong/For Quad Cities Ag Mag

Pigs feed on the farm of Chris Peterson in Clear Lake, Iowa.

Failure to pass a new Farm Bill in time would mean another extension or producers like Peterson would fall back to a 1949 law governing the industry. That could lead to steep price increases on items such as milk. and food aid policy.

Failure to pass a new bill in time means another extension or producers will fall back to a 1949 law governing the industry, which could lead to steep price increases on items such as milk.

Another legislative issue that has the eye of agriculture is immigration reform.

Bustos said she would like

Experience Matters

to discuss what she calls our “broken immigration system” with residents of the region, including those who may have a vested interest in the issue as it relates to their labor force needs.

“It is clear that our immigration system is broken and in need of bipartisan reform that is tough, fair and realistic,” Bustos said. “I would

like to include in discussions those who make their livelihood through agriculture and other related industries.”

Bustos said she is working to make sure a final reform package meets the current and future labor force needs of the agriculture industry.

Transportation – especially aging locks and dams along the Mississippi and Illinois rivers – is a concern for area farmers. In March, Bustos helped introduce the Water Infrastructure Now PublicPrivate Partnership Act. The Army Corps of Engineers estimates a $60 billion backlog of national water infrastructure projects that would take decades to complete without outside investment.

The bill would set up a pilot program that would utilize public-private partnerships to finish the projects faster and at a savings to taxpayers.

Bustos said she is hopeful the bill will be rolled into the House’s Water Resources Development Act and it could be voted on later this summer or fall.

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53

Telling ag’s story at Smithsonian

F

rom the horse-powered plows of the first settlers to the GPS-driven combines of today’s farmers, agriculture has played an important role in the history of Illinois. And farmers in our state have helped shape the heritage of the entire nation by providing food, fuel and fiber as the United States grew from a colony into a world leader.

The importance of agriculture to Illinois and the nation will be celebrated in a new exhibition called “American Enterprise” at the Smithsonian Institution’s National Museum of American History in Washington, D.C. The display will feature objects that represent innovations to build museum visitors’ awareness of the many contributions farmers have made to this nation, such as biotechnology and environmental awareness. Just a few examples of items you’ll be able to see include Eli Whitney’s cotton gin, a 1920s Fordson tractor, Barbara McClintock’s microscope, and Stanley Cohen’s recombinant-DNA research notebook.

The United Soybean Board (USB) recognized the importance of telling

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SHARON COVERT Member, United Soybean Board Executive Committee agriculture’s story and decided to help sponsor the 8,000-square-foot exhibition, which is scheduled to open in 2015.

“Despite the drop in the number of individuals involved in farming over the years, productivity has skyrocketed, and agriculture has evolved into a technology-driven profession in which the decisions made from the cab of a tractor are akin to those made in a CEO’s office,” said John Gray, director of the museum.

It’s important for farmers in Illinois and Iowa to tell our story and promote the importance of agriculture to our nation’s history and economy. No one knows how much agriculture has evolved over the past 70 years better than America’s farmers.

I encourage farmers to visit the

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museum’s website, www.americanhistory.si.edu/agheritage, to help shape the exhibit and highlight the ways innovations and technology have helped to continually improve our industry. The museum is seeking stories, photographs and other agricultural memorabilia. A few suggested themes for submissions include personal experiences, technology, biotechnology, finance, the environment, competition, safety, animals, water and labor.

Stories will be used by the Smithsonian’s staff to help prepare the “American Enterprise” exhibitions and others, and could be featured on the museum’s blog and social media entities. Accepted submissions will be made available to the public on the Internet.

Whether you’re a sixth-generation farmer or the first in your family to use a planter, you are helping shape our state and country. Your story is one that deserves to be told, and there’s no better time than now.

Sharon Covert is a member of the United Soybean Board’s Executive Committee and a soybean farmer from Tiskilwa in Bureau County, Ill.

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In other words, he said, while underinsured farmers benefit, those on the upper end who always have enjoyed good insurance will see higher bills.

The problem, Field said, is that the Affordable Care Act and health care in general puts too little emphasis on prevention. For instance, much greater attention should be paid to obesity, he said.

Those on the lower end, Field said, tend to weigh more and make riskier lifestyle choices. â&#x20AC;&#x153;We may cause someone who does not have those risky behaviors to compensate others with those behaviors,â&#x20AC;?

Field said. â&#x20AC;&#x153;Itâ&#x20AC;&#x2122;s a greater form of charity. Weâ&#x20AC;&#x2122;re not going to request people to change how they live. Weâ&#x20AC;&#x2122;ll be in crisis management.â&#x20AC;?

In farmer Chris Petersonâ&#x20AC;&#x2122;s view, the Affordable Care Act is a step forward.

But he had hoped for more government involvement in the health-care system, acknowledging that many farmers disagree with him. â&#x20AC;&#x153;A lot of farmers are propagandized by the Farm Bureau and Republicans.

They thought Obamacare was a poison pill and that we were better off without it,â&#x20AC;? Peterson said. â&#x20AC;&#x153;I was for single payer and was a major proponent of the public option to give insurance companies some heartburn, but the health exchanges will help to some degree.â&#x20AC;?

David Derong/For Quad Cities Ag Mag

Chris Peterson, shown here on his Clear Lake, Iowa, farm, had hoped for more involvement from the government in the health-care system. â&#x20AC;&#x153;I was for single-payer and was a major proponent of the public option, ...â&#x20AC;? he said.

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AG Mag

55

OSHA, grain-handling group partner to promote bin safety Checklists, safety decals, online info available SUBMITTED BY RHONDA BURKE Deputy Director of Public Affairs U.S. Department of Labor

CHICAGO – Five seconds.

That is how quickly a worker can become engulfed in flowing grain and be unable to get out.

Sixty seconds. That is how quickly a worker can be completely submerged in flowing grain. More than half of all grain engulfments result in

56 Summer 2013

death by suffocation.

In 2010, at least 57 U.S. workers were trapped and 26 killed in grain engulfments, the highest number on record.

Among the deaths were two Illinois teens in Mount Carroll and a 49-year-old worker who had entered a grain bin “a million times.”

In the past 50 years, more than 900 cases of grain engulf-

ment have been reported with a fatality rate of 62 percent, according to researchers at Purdue University in Indiana.

Suffocation can occur when a worker becomes buried by grain as he walks on moving grain or attempts to clear grain built up on the inside of a bin.

CONTINUED ON 57

CONTINUED FROM 56

Moving grain acts like quicksand and can bury a worker in seconds.

“Bridged” grain and vertical piles of stored grain also can collapse unexpectedly if a worker stands on or near it.

Record death and injuries in 2010 led the U.S. Department of Labor’s Occupational Safety and Health Administration to reach out to the agricultural and grain-handling industries to find ways to prevent deaths and injuries.

Now OSHA and the Grain and Feed Association of Illinois have formed an alliance to get the word out on prevention to farmers in Illinois, Iowa and a host of other Midwestern states.

They have developed a grain bin entry permit, which is a checklist to help those working in and around grain bins to identify and control potential hazards.

They also are distributing red, stopsign-shaped decals that can be adhered to grain bin doors with reminders to those entering to lockout potentially hazardous equipment, stay clear of waist high grain, cover floor holes and to follow other safety practices.

Individuals or companies can email the Grain and Feed Association of Illinois at info@gfai.org to request the decal. Up to three decals will be sent to

Alex T. Paschal/For Quad Cities Ag Mag

Here’s a look at the inside of an empty 100,000-bushel grain bin on the Koster farm in rural Sterling, Ill. one location free of charge; after that, they are $5.40 each, which covers the cost of printing. The decals are 10 inches square and printed on a heavy vinyl to withstand outdoor exposure.

OSHA also has published information related to common grain industry hazards and abatement methods, proper bin entry techniques, sweep auger use, and many other grain related topics. Go to www.osha.gov/SLTC/grainhandling/ index.html to learn more.

In addition, the University of Illinois was awarded a U.S. Department of Labor’s Occupational Safety and Health Administration Susan Harwood Training Grant Program and has partnered with the Grain Handling Safety Coalition for the development of training materials and outreach to educate workers and employers on how to recognize, avoid and prevent safety and health hazards in grain bins.

The coalition can provide all the necessary training materials to train farmers, commercial grain handling employees, youth, rescue workers and more for free or at a very reduced rate.

There are five different safety topics available including an overview of grain handling and storage safety, grain bin entry as well as entanglement, fall and confined space hazards.

GHSC also offers “Train the Trainer” courses for companies and communities to have a local resource for training. Go to www.grainsafety.org to learn more.

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57

‘HAPPY PLACE’ IN THE KITCHEN

TOP: Kelly Ryan pours cherries into a freshly made pie dough at her rural Harmon, Ill., home.

Ryan, 49, has a reputation for making handmade pies from scratch.

“I think it’s an art,” she said. “Each one takes on its own look.” LEFT: Kelly sprinkles sugar on top of the soon-to-be-baked cherry pie. She bakes mostly for her family now, as well as for church and school fundraisers.

Illinois farm wife happiest baking pies

BY KAYLA HEIMERMAN For Quad Cities Ag Mag

HARMON, Ill. – Kelly Ryan is most content stirring a pot of ruby-red cherry filling or kneading a ball of buttery pie dough.

“They always say to find your happy place, to go to your happy place. Mine is in the kitchen,” she says.

Ryan, 49, though modest, has a reputation as a handmade-with-love-fromscratch pie maker.

CONTINUED ON 59

58 Summer 2013

Photos by Alex T. Paschal/For Quad Cities Ag Mag

CONTINUED FROM 58

â&#x20AC;&#x153;Itâ&#x20AC;&#x2122;s just something I like to do,â&#x20AC;? she says, simply. â&#x20AC;&#x153;I think itâ&#x20AC;&#x2122;s an art,â&#x20AC;? she continues. â&#x20AC;&#x153;Each one takes on its own look. â&#x20AC;&#x153;My strawberry-rhubarb pie always has a lattice crust. My pecan pie always has a pinched crust. Itâ&#x20AC;&#x2122;s always the same.â&#x20AC;?

Ryan, who lives on a farm in Harmon, just inside Lee County, Ill., bakes mostly for her family now, as well as for church and school fundraisers, although she and a friend sold their desserts through a small business not too long ago.

Her favorites are fruit pies (cherry and strawberry-rhubarb are tried-and-true stand-bys), although her repertoire includes pecan pie and cream pies. â&#x20AC;&#x153;Most of the fruit I use is fruit I grow or get from somewhere and then can or freeze myself,â&#x20AC;? she says. â&#x20AC;&#x153;I like to use fruit that Iâ&#x20AC;&#x2122;ve handled in some way.â&#x20AC;?

Ryan, the family baker, makes pie for gatherings that traditionally might feature cake. Pie always is the request of family and friends.

Her regular lineup also includes apple dumplings â&#x20AC;&#x201C; her go-to â&#x20AC;&#x153;if I send something out the doorâ&#x20AC;? â&#x20AC;&#x201C; and chocolate chip cookies.

Ryan, who perfected her pie recipes and techniques with practice, still has hiccups. â&#x20AC;&#x153;Sometimes, I can be making 10 or 15 pies in a row, like for Thanksgiving,

Alex T. Paschal/For Quad Cities Ag Mag

Just a sampling of Kelly Ryanâ&#x20AC;&#x2122;s goodies. Her regular lineup includes apple dumplings and chocolate chip cookies. and itâ&#x20AC;&#x2122;s like I could do it with my eyes closed, itâ&#x20AC;&#x2122;s going so well,â&#x20AC;? she says. â&#x20AC;&#x153;But then other times, I can be on the second one, and itâ&#x20AC;&#x2122;s like Iâ&#x20AC;&#x2122;m all thumbs.â&#x20AC;?

Ryan shared these pie-making tips: Pre-cook fruit filling until it is thickened, then let it cool.

Use room temperature butter and blend it with flour and other crust ingredients by hand, rather than with a food processor or another tool that could overwork the dough.

CONTINUED ON 60

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Roll out the crust and place it in the pie plate. Make the top – whether a lattice or other design – on a piece of plastic wrap on a plate or other flat surface.

Chill both, then assemble the pie.

“That’s just what works best for me,” she says.

Pie Crust Yield: 2 double-crust pies Ingredients 2 1/2 cups flour 1 tsp salt 1 tsp sugar 1 cup (2 sticks) butter, at room temperature 1/2 cup cold water Directions Mix the flour, salt and sugar. Cut in the butter until it is well combined.

Slowly add the water (You might not need all of it) and mix until a soft dough forms.

Turn out the dough on a lightly floured surface and knead it a few times until smooth. Cover and let it rest for 10 minutes.

Cherry Pie Yield: Filling for one pie Ingredients

A variety of muffins baked in Kelly’s kitchen.

4 cups pitted cherries, fresh or frozen 1 1/3 cups sugar 1/3 cup flour 1/8 tsp salt 1 Tbsp butter Directions Combine all ingredients in a saucepan and cook over low heat until it is slightly

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Alex T. Paschal/For Quad Cities Ag Mag

thickened. Add the butter, stir and let the mixture cool.

Preheat the oven to 400 degrees.

Pour the cooled filling into a pie shell, place the top crust and crimp the edges.

CONTINUED ON 61

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Ingredients 1 1/2 cups Crisco Butter Flavor All-Vegetable Shortening 2 1/2 cups brown sugar 4 Tbsp milk 2 Tbsp vanilla 2 eggs 3 1/2 cups flour 2 tsp salt 1 1/2 tsp baking soda 3 cups chocolate chips

Alex T. Paschal/For Quad Cities Ag Mag

Kellyâ&#x20AC;&#x2122;s chocolate chip cookies.

CONTINUED FROM 60

Brush the top with egg whites and sprinkle generously with sugar, then bake for about 30 minutes, or until the crust is golden brown. (After 20 minutes, cover

the edge of the crust if it is browning too quickly.)

Chocolate Chip Cookies Yield: 4 dozen cookies

Directions Preheat the oven to 375 degrees.

In a medium-sized bowl, beat together the Crisco, brown sugar, milk and vanilla.

Add the eggs and mix well.

In a large bowl, stir together the flour, salt and baking soda.

Combine the dry ingredients with the wet ingredients, then stir in the chocolate chips.

Drop by tablespoons (Kelly uses a medium cookie scoop) onto parchment paper-lined cookie sheets. Bake for about 10 minutes. Do not let the cookies get too brown in the oven, as they will finish baking out of the oven on the hot cookie sheet.

Let the cookies cool, then transfer them to a wire rack and let them cool completely.

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AG Mag

61

M

Pesticides present pitfalls for bees

any of you look at bees and classify them as an insect. You’re not wrong.

But bees are not a harmful insect, they are a beneficial insect.

Honey bees are just a class of livestock that man has put to good use for his benefit. They take plant pollen and use it is as a food source; they also take nectar from plants and create honey.

Herein lies the dilemma: Man, in his quest to produce high yields of corn and soybeans, has basically ignored the plight of the honey bee and other pollinators!

Most beehives are kept in rural areas; the bees in those hives can be exposed to pesticides. Insecticides are far and away most harmful to pollinator populations. Fungicides and additives also can have a negative impact on pollinators, while herbicides seldom have an adverse effect, since the site of action is found in plants and not insects. Seed treatments can be harmful to pollinators, too.

The most important tool in protecting pollinators from pesticide exposure is communication between growers, beekeepers, neighbors and agriculture professionals. Communication would allow beekeepers to take the appropriate action to protect their hives from pesticide exposure.

Corn and soybeans are the prevalent crops grown in this region and, in most cases, receive multiple pesticide applications. Some growers use a burn down application and some don’t. Some use a post-emergent application and some use an application of a fungicide, which, in most instances, includes an insecticide. Corn gets two to three applications of pesticides per year. Soybeans usually get the same.

So what can you, as an individual crop producer and pesticide applicator, do to improve the chances for honey bees and other pollinators to survive and thrive?

Understand the growth and development phases of the crop you are growing. Pollination and flowering are two phases that are most attractive to pollinators.

Many pollinators use corn pollen as a food source. Pollinators are attracted to soybeans, too, and soybeans, although they are a self-pollinating crop, can 62 Summer 2013

Photo submitted by David Feltes

DAVID FELTES Director, Whiteside County Soil and Water Conservation District Board benefit from pollinators – that is, the crop could produce higher yields.

What’s the bottom line?

– Beekeepers should register their apiary locations at www.driftwatch.org, while applicators should check the site for hives within a mile of the planned pesticide application.

– Treat when necessary, but not for prophylactic reasons. How many of you would get a quadruple bypass just in case you would have a heart problem?

– Time applications so they will have a minimal impact on pollinators visiting the field (late in the evening or early in the morning). Mid-morning through afternoon is the worst time to apply.

Warm temperatures early and late into the day will allow pollinators to fly earlier and later in the day.

Do not spray when it is windy to avoid drift problems.

Choose pesticides and formulations that are not highly toxic to bees. In other words, read the label or material safety data sheet (MSDS).

Check field borders and other areas within the field for blooming plants that honey bees and other pollinators might be foraging on and follow label

directions if a pesticide application is necessary.

In my apiary, I have 24 hives and the extrapolated dollar value on a per acre basis (if I would have an acre of producing hives) they produced in honey last year was $72,000. How many acres of corn or soybeans would you have to grow to produce that same dollar value?

How much is a hive of bees worth? The figure I’ve heard most often is $2,000. So, how much is your stock cow, steer, dairy cow or brood sow worth? Some more or some less than a good hive of bees.

The point is that honey bees are valuable, produce a viable commodity, and need protection from the willy nilly spraying they are exposed to.

So, as a pesticide applicator, rural or urban, the ball is in your park. Know where the beehives are in the area where you are applying a pesticide and notify the beekeeper at least 24 hours in advance so he can take proper precautions. The decisions you make as to what and when to apply can have either a positive or negative impact.

Remember, communication is the most important tool available.

David Feltes is a director on the Whiteside County (Ill.) Soil and Water Conservation District Board and a beekeeper.

He also is retired from the University of Illinois Extension, where he was an integrated pest management educator.

The views expressed in this column are the author’s and do not reflect an official position of the Whiteside County Soil and Water Conservation District.

Plenty of HISTORY in store Barnacopia brings back the past in wedding, party venue

BY MATT MENCARINI For Quad Cities Ag Mag

POLO, Ill. – When you walk inside Barnacopia, before you get to the old time diner or the replica downtown Polo, Ill., or the bed and breakfast in the silo, you walk over the first tractor Gary Bocker ever rode.

The red and white 1946 Ford is set into the floor, underneath glass, and looks as if it never spent a day in the fields.

Photos by Alex T. Paschal/For Quad Cities Ag Mag

Gary Bocker points out some aspects of the main area and talks about what went into the building of Barnacopia in rural Polo, Ill. Bocker will use the three-story structure to host weddings, receptions and other events. Barnacopia is located at 10662 Illinois Route 64 W., about 7 miles north of Polo.

To make a reservation To make a reservation at the bed and breakfast or to book the barn for an event, call 815-238-1474 or 815-238-5487.

It’s just one of the many pieces of family history Bocker, 68, has in Barnacopia, the barn he started building nearly 18 months ago and this month started hosting weddings, receptions and other events. He said he’s already hosted a few family gatherings and has two weddings scheduled for after the official launch.

But there’s plenty of local and farming history to go along with the family history, which includes his 66-year old wife Judy’s first car, a red 1962 Corvair.

CONTINUED ON 64

CONTINUED FROM 33

Gorden worries that too much focus will be given to recruiting students to food animal programs, creating too much of a surplus.

Veterinarian Lynda Gould, who graduated from the University of Illinois in 2009 and has her own practice in Ashton, Ill., said her colleagues talk about the issue all the time.

“There has been a big push to get

large animal vets enrolled, but I almost feel like that was a false push,” Gould said. “Now we have a bunch of students in large animals, and there are not necessarily that many jobs.

“There may be a need in certain counties, or certain areas, but that likely involves taking a new grad and putting them out in the middle of nowhere, and that’s not necessarily the best idea, either.”

Foreman hopes that Illinois adapts its program to give a broader knowledge of

all practices to hit more at the issue.

“The more knowledge students have, the more flexible they are in their practice,” Foreman said. “That’s one thing we can do.”

As trends go, Gorden said, a number of veterinarians always will be drawn to the world of agriculture and treating livestock.

“It’s all a choice of lifestyle,” Gorden said. “Many students want that and choose it, because that’s what’s familiar to them, or what they enjoy.”

AG Mag 63

CONTINUED FROM 63

High on the rafters on the third floor is an old bell from a schoolhouse, which used to be on West Branch Road, just a few miles from Barnacopia, which sits next to Bocker’s home on state Route 64, about 7 miles north of Polo.

He built the barn, in part, to house all his antique tractors, which include a John Deere 730, the last two-cylinder model tractor the company made, and a tractor from the first 10 series the company ever made, which was a sixcylinder.

“One of the reasons I did this is because I wanted my grandkids to see how farming used to be,” Bocker said while walking among the eight tractors on the first floor.

In addition to the tractors, the first floor has the seating area, bathrooms designed to look like downtown Polo, and the kitchen, which serves ice cream, the only food it’s licensed to serve, although people renting the venue can have caterers come in and use the kitchen.

A walk up the stairs, or a ride in the elevator inside a silo, takes you to the second floor, where there’s a movie theater, a chapel, and among the several cars, an old state trooper patrol vehicle.

“It was just going to be a barn to show people stuff,” Bocker said. “About half-

Alex T. Paschal/For Quad Cities Ag Mag

Gary Bocker’s first tractor, a 1946 Ford, is proudly displayed under glass at the entrance to Barnacopia in rural Polo, Ill. Bocker built the barn, in part, to house all of his antique tractors. way through we saw how much money we were spending, and [then] we put a bed and breakfast in.”

Bed and breakfast and event rates haven’t been set, Bocker said.

The third floor has the game room, which includes a John Deere pool table,

and the best view of the 18-foot fan on the barn’s ceiling.

There are two rooms in the bed and breakfast, which is in a silo next to the barn. The top floor of the silo, which is one of the unfinished aspects left, will be a library, Bocker said.

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Ag Industries............................... 66

First Farm Credit Services .......... 55

Ray Farm Management .............. 66

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First National Bank in Amboy ..... 12

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First National Bank of Muscatine . 47

Ripco LTD ................................... 32

Agri Energy ................................. 45

Gieson Yamaha .......................... 42

River Gulf Grain .......................... 39

American Family Insurance ........ 47

Gold Star FS ............................... 25

River Valley Cooperative .............. 2

Birkeyâ&#x20AC;&#x2122;s Farm Store .................... 16

Harryâ&#x20AC;&#x2122;s Farm Tires ...................... 28

Rollo Construction ...................... 60

Bocker Excavating ...................... 26

Hatzer & Nordstrom Equipment... 19

Rosengren, John ........................ 36

Bocker Grain............................... 67

Hillâ&#x20AC;&#x2122;s Electric Service .................. 50

Bocker Ruff Grain ....................... 67

Hotsy Equipment Co................... 17

Bos Farm Repair .......................... 41

Key Builders Construction .......... 18

Bradford Victor Adams Mutual Ins 68

Krum Kreations ........................... 38

Burkardtâ&#x20AC;&#x2122;s LP Gas ...................... 48

Leffelman & Assoc Inc ................ 29

Bushmanâ&#x20AC;&#x2122;s Service ..................... 51

Leffelman & Sons - Drago .......... 35

Carroll Service Co ...................... 44

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CC Services................................ 15

Leone Supply, Inc ....................... 61

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Meadorâ&#x20AC;&#x2122;s Ag Service .................. 40

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Milledgeville Farmers Elevator ... 30

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Milledgeville State Bank ............. 30

Sullivan Auctions ........................ 61

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Eastern Iowa Community College39

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Vernâ&#x20AC;&#x2122;s Farm Supply Inc .............. 53

Eastland Fabrication LLC ........... 46

NAPA ......................................... 31

Whiteside Co. Farm Bureau ....... 10

Eastland Feed & Grain ................. 4

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Wick Buildings ............................ 14

Ehrmann, Gelbach, Badger, Lee & Considine, LLC .. 53

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Wilcox Construction .................... 11

Elmore Electric, Inc..................... 57

Princeton Insurance Group......... 60

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Three locations to serve your needs: Spring Valley, IL 815-894-3541 or 815-440-9904; $IXON ), 3PRINGlELD ), s WWW AGINDSUPPLY COM

66 Summer 2013

Douglas D. Ray, AFM Accredited Farm Manager/Managing Real Estate Broker

815-872-FARM (3276) 0 / "OX s 0RAIRIE ,N 7 s 0RINCETON ), WWW RAYFARM COM s %MAIL RAYFARM COMCAST NET

Bocker Grain Inc.

DRYING STORAGE MARKETING

2744 N. West Branch Rd. Polo, IL

815-946-2600

TRUCKING

Providing insurance coverage for local homes and farms since 1869.

Adami Insurance Agency 712 First Avenue, Rock Falls 815-625-6220 meagan@wmccinc.com

Hugh F. Miller Insurance Agency, Inc. 801 First Avenue, Rock Falls 815-626-1300 hughmillerinsurance.com

First State Insurance

Leffelman & Associates

385 Chicago Rd, Paw Paw 815-627-8552 gsaf74@yahoo.com

Amboy 815-857-2125 lisa.leffelmanassoc@comcast.net

Kirchhofer Insurance Store

LaMoille 815-638-2171 linda@leffelmanassoc.com

102 N. Elm, Franklin Grove 815-456-2319 kirchhofferinsurance.com

Miller Insurance Group 427 N. Main Street, Rochelle 815-561-9911

Sauk Valley Insurance Services

Query Insurance Agency, Inc.

109 6th Street, Dixon 815-288-2541 www.saukvalleyinsurance.com

330 May Mart Drive, Rochelle 815-562-4152 mail@queryinsurance.com

B V-A

BRADFORD VICTOR-ADAMS

MUTUAL INSURANCE COMPANY Member Owned and Operated

Sublette 815-849-5219 chris@leffelmanassoc.com

Baylor Insurance Agency Lee Center 815-857-2716 rbaylor1@gmail.com

Cornerstone Insurance Agency 102 W. Main, Morrison 815-772-7782 lsandrock@2cornerstone.com

Mel Saad Agency 928 8th Avenue, Erie 309-659-2470 saad@mchsi.com

VanderVinne Agency 127 E. Main St. Morrison 815-772-8900 angievandervinne@yahoo.com

Our Contact Information www.bradfordmutual.com 120 W. South Street Franklin Grove 815-456-2334