Home on the range
Requiring minimum husbandry, bison thrive in Illinois – Page 2
A Case study
Rural Ashton farmer loves those classic tractors – Page 5
Serious lesson
Hurt while unloading lime from semi, farmer recovers – Page 9
typed in Cosmos extra bold
Seth Perlman, The Associated Press
Sundown caught this combine still in the fields last month in Central Illinois. The 2014 harvest has about wrapped up for Sauk Valley area farmers.
Tuesday, November 11, 2014
A supplement to Sauk Valley Media
Today’s Farm
PAGE 2
Sauk Valley Media • November 11, 2014
LIVESTOCK
At home on the range; Not More... bison thrive in Illinois Just Better! Douglas County farmer hoping to expand herd BY DAN GRANT FarmWeekNow.com
NEWMAN – David Ruhter worked at zoos for more than 20 years before he and his wife, Kathleen, decided to start their own livestock operation. And with that much experience working with various animals, it didn’t take the Ruhters long to decide what type of animal to raise on their farm. “You can’t make any money raising zebras or giraffes,” Ruhter said. “We thought bison are an interesting animal that could be self-sustaining, financially.” It turns out bison not only require minimum maintenance and husbandry, but there also happens to be quite a booming market for the
Ken Kashian/FarmWeekNow.com
David Ruhter, of Newman, checks his herd of bison. He and his wife, Kathleen, started raising the animals 3 years ago. majestic grazers. “This is ideal for us,” said Ruhter, who also works for the University of Illinois State Geological Survey. “The animals are great to work with. They’re very social and herd-oriented, and you don’t have to pull calves or worry about coyotes.” BISON CONTINUED ON 3
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Today’s Farm
November 11, 2014 • Sauk Valley Media
PAGE 3
It takes about 30 months before a bison becomes market ready BISON
CONTINUED FROM 2
The Ruhters’ biggest challenge to start their own bison herd was finding enough grazing land for the animals in the middle of corn and soybean country. They needed about 50 to 60 acres. After a frustrating search for more than 3 years, they finally located enough acres on a restored Murdock coal mine in Douglas County. “It came with some issues, including potential contamination,”
Ruhter said. “Fortunately, our family is well equipped to handle it.” Ruhter has a daughter-in-law who works as a civil engineer and another who works as an environmental toxicologist, so they evaluated the site and tested the plants, soil and water. They were relieved when tests showed the site was suitable to raise bison. “We brought the animals in about 3 years ago,” he said. “They’re a unique animal and fun to work with.” Bison also are short in supply and in high demand around the
country. There currently are about 30 to 35 bison producers in Illinois with a typical herd size of 25 to 30 animals. “There’s just not enough meat to supply demand,” Ruhter said. “There’s a lot of financial upside with bison. I don’t see this industry declining any time in the near future.”
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market ready, about 1,000 to 1,200 pounds. The Ruhters eventually hope to expand their herd. Bison typically perform best in herds of at least 25 to 30 animals. Ruhter belongs to the Illinois/Indiana Bison Association. For more information, visit www.illinoisindianabison.org.
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Sauk Valley Media • November 11, 2014
ILLINOIS AGRICULTURE
Partnering for competitiveness and growth across state Group promotes farm economy BY RICHARD GUEBERT JR. Special to Today’s Farm
As a farmer, I’m proud of what I do. I love growing the food on which your family depends and know I and my fellow farmers play an extremely important role in the state’s rebounding economy. But there seems to be a knowledge gap when it comes to agriculture and the important role it plays. In fact, most Illinois residents don’t realize agriculture is the No. 1 industry in terms of economic impact, bringing in more than $9 billion to the state each year and
exporting almost $4 billion of goods a year. What’s more, approximately 1 million Illinois workers are employed in the food and fiber system, ranking Illinois as one of the top states in dependency on agriculture. Illinois also is a leading state in agriculture-related industries. To help close the gap, a new statewide group, the Food and Agricultural Roadmap for Illinois (FARM Illinois), is on a mission to keep the state’s agricultural advantages top-of-mind for residents and lawmakers alike. With backing from the Illinois Farm Bureau and the Searle Funds at The Chicago Community Trust, FARM Illinois
will partner to encourage competitiveness and sustainable growth in food and agriculture throughout the state. The effort has its roots with the Vision Richard for Illinois Guebert Jr. Agriculture. The Vision for Illinois Agriculture had three main goals: to rank Illinois among the top three states in both food manufacturing and in crop and animal production, and to lead the nation in biobased product technology and services. FARM Illinois will be led by Dr. Robert Easter, president of the University of Illinois, and over-
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FARM Illinois will help examine our strengths, weaknesses, and influences on agricultural production and distribution in the state so we can improve both our rural and urban economies. Note to readers: Richard Guebert Jr. is president of the Illinois Farm Bureau. This column first appeared in FarmWeekNow.com.
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Today’s Farm
November 11, 2014 • Sauk Valley Media
PAGE 5
AGRICULTURE HERITAGE
A Case study in collection addiction Rural Ashton farmer loves those tractors BY DAVE FOX Special to Today’s Farm
ASHTON – He’s a farmer, an auctioneer and a collector. “My wife – a nurse of 50 years – says I’ve got a sickness for which there’s no cure,” he said with a laugh as he approached the door of his shed near Ashton on a recent morning. It stands to reason that Remmer Schuetz would have a love of collecting things, especially the Case tractors he’s been around since the 1940s. The lifelong farmer – he turned 79 this past June – moved to his present farm from Dundee a few years ago “when suburbia took over.” And with him came a dozen or more rare antique Case tractors and a fascinating array of other collections. “Case made a lot of certain models, and those are easy to find,” Schuetz said. “I go for the rare stuff that they only made a few of.” His oldest tractor is a 1918 model, with his newest being made in 1969, “and I still farm with these.” Moving through his shed, a visitor notices a cast iron bald eagle perched atop a globe emblazoned with “CASE.” Schuetz tells a story of a bald eagle with a long history years ago that
eventually became property of the owner of the Case company. A likeness of the bird, named “Old Abe,” was cast in iron with the globe and quickly put to use as an advertising sign. Continuing the tour, Schuetz talks easily of the history of each of the tractors he has bought and restored. His recall of history and details is amazing. There is a “D” series narrow-tread industrial tractor, which would have
Remmer Schuetz of rural Ashton shows a 1950 Case DC tractor that he bought brand new, “and it still runs really good,” he said.
had a broom on front; it was used to sweep floors in factories.
Dave Fox/Special to Today’s Farm
CASE CONTINUED ON 6
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Today’s Farm
PAGE 6
Sauk Valley Media • November 11, 2014
Rare ‘DH’ tractor on display CASE
CONTINUED FROM 5
There is a “DH” tractor on display, one of only 141 ever made by the company. Another is a “DV,” used in vineyards in California, followed by a “DCS,” a “sugar cane special” from Florida. Another is one with a low physical profile, used to pull
airplanes at an airport. Its fenders are made of cast iron and weigh 350 pounds each. Schuetz talked of a 1918 model “1018,” in which the motor sits sideways, and a 1958 Dual Range 700. There were only 31 made. If tractors aren’t enough, Schuetz has other notable collections. Vintage tractor seats and other Case memorabilia adorn the
A vintage Case sign features the company’s one-time mascot, a bald eagle. Case also made cast iron bald eagles available as advertising displays.
walls. There is a collection of antique watch fobs, a case of antique belt buckles, and sets of tools that used to come with Case implements. One wall of the shed even sports a collection of more than 400 canes and walking sticks, many of them collected from various auctions Schuetz has worked or attended. TRACTORS CONTINUED ON 7
Dave Fox/Special to Today’s Farm
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Today’s Farm
PAGE 7
Schuetz: ‘We always had Case when I was growing up’ TRACTORS
CONTINUED FROM 6
“We always had Case when I was growing up, and when I got older, I started doing auctions … and one thing led to another,” he said. “It’s a sickness. You just do it. It’s fun.”
The tour continued to another shed nearby where a number of other Case implements were stored. “These are my future projects,” he said with a gleam in his eye.
2014
However, the talk kept returning to tractors. “The tractors they’re making now, when
they’re as old as these, they won’t be running anymore because of all the computer junk on them,” Schuetz said. So how does one start collecting tractors? Where did the idea come from?
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Photos by Dave Fox/ Special to Today’s Farm
ABOVE: A rare “sunburst grill” is visible on the front of a Case tractor owned by Remmer Schuetz. BELOW: In addition to Case tractors, Schuetz collects rare Case tractor seats. Here are three that adorn the walls of his museum.
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Does the collection ever change? “I sell a few once in a while,” he said. “I sold two of them a couple of weeks ago. COLLECT CONTINUED ON 8
EXHIBIT SPACE AVAILABLE There is still exhibit space available. A great way to reach thousands of Sauk Valley area farmers and network with local & national agricultural businesses. Call 815-625-2400 or visit www.nwilfarmshow.com Westwood Fitness & Sports Center 1900 Westwood Drive, Sterling
Today’s Farm
PAGE 8
Sauk Valley Media • November 11, 2014
From Cases to canes One wall of Remmer Schuetz’s shed even sports a collection of
more than 400 canes and walking sticks. Many of them were col-
lected from various auctions Schuetz has worked or attended.
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Dave Fox/Special to Today’s Farm
Remmer Schuetz keeps his Case tractors in a shed, which he calls his museum.
A challenge to keep tractors and projects straight, but ‘I enjoy it all’ COLLECT
CONTINUED FROM 7
“A guy came from Pennsylvania to load one
up that he’d bought, and he saw another one he liked, so he bought it, too.” It must be challenging to keep everything straight,
to prioritize projects. “It’s really a challenge, but I enjoy it all,” he said. “It’s why I get up in the morning.”
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Today’s Farm
November 11, 2014 • Sauk Valley Media
PAGE 9
AG SAFETY
Semi accident on the farm teaches a lesson Farmer says he’s very lucky BY DEBORAH HERTZ HUSAR The Quincy Herald-Whig
LIBERTY (AP) – Randy Sims had his morning all planned out. Haul a load of corn. Get new tires on the semi. Pick up a load of lime. Unload the lime. Head home for lunch. “I never got home to lunch,” Sims said. Instead, he spent 3 days in the hospital in late July with a broken collarbone, bumps and bruises. He continues to recover after the truck and trailer he was driving tipped over while unloading the lime. “I was sitting still in the truck, and evidently it knocked me out,” the Liberty farmer said. “I remember watching lime come out the back end. The next thing I know
AP Photo/The Quincy Herald-Whig, Steve Bohnstedt
Randy Sims walks past his truck at his farm near Liberty. In late July, Sims broke his collarbone and ended up with bumps and bruises after a truck and trailer tipped on its side while he was unloading it. It’s a reminder that accidents do happen on the farm. [my son] Darren is yelling at me.” After unloading lime hundreds of times at the same spot in past years without incident, father and son never expected a problem.
It’s a reminder that accidents can and do happen on the farm. Sims was one of the lucky ones. “I’m going to be OK,” he said. “Everything will be back to normal. That’s
the good news.” Statewide, farm-related deaths increased after experiencing record lows last year, according to Country Financial, the top insurer of Illinois farms. Twenty-one people died in farm-related incidents, with tractor rollovers or runovers claiming nine, from July 1, 2013, to June 30, 2014, and most victims were over age 50. National Farm Safety and Health Week focused this year on a theme of “Safety Counts: Protecting What Matters.” “We need to continue to promote and evaluate effective means to reduce the injury rate,” said Bob Aherin, professor and program leader at the
University of Illinois at Urbana-Champaign, in a news release. “Fatigue is a significant issue, as are the effects of medications on reaction time. We also need to encourage older farmers to operate tractors with ROPS [rollover protection structures] when doing activities that have a high rollover risk, such as mowing roadsides, ditches and fields with significant slopes.” Even routine farm tasks can carry unexpected risks. “I don’t know what I could have done any different,” Sims said. “You’ve just got to be prepared at any time for anything.” On July 29, Sims had
hoisted the trailer 20 feet in the air to unload, just like always, then headed back to the cab of the parked truck. This time, though, some of the powdered lime stayed in one side of the top of the trailer, which unbalanced the load. “The G-forces as the bed was twisting just got to the point where it slammed the cab over,” Sims said. Darren Sims was taking feed inventory when he heard a loud crash outside. “At first I thought he was slamming the tailgate like he always did, but looking back, it was probably louder than usual,” he said. LESSON CONTINUED ON 10
Today’s Farm celebrates agriculture in the Sauk Valley and beyond. It is published by Sauk Valley Media six times a year – in January, March, May, July, September and November. We welcome story ideas about interesting local people who are involved with agriculture. Call Jim Dunn at 800-798-4085, ext. 5511, or send an email to jdunn@saukvalley.com.
typed in Cosmos extra bold
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Today’s Farm
PAGE 10
Sauk Valley Media • November 11, 2014
Farmer switches trailers Providing insurance coverage LESSON
CONTINUED FROM 9
“It did make me come see what was going on. When I came around the corner, all I saw was wheels. I didn’t see Dad at first.” As the truck flipped, Sims was thrown from the driver’s seat across to against the passenger door, which was on the ground. Darren climbed
up to the driver’s side window, where he could talk to his dad while rescue crews removed the windshield to get him out of the truck. “It was just one of them incidents,” Darren said. “It just was odd. He was on perfectly level ground.” Farmers use the powdered lime to balance pH levels in the soil. “Lime’s got moisture in it, and we did not have a
liner in the trailer. Supposedly liners help it from sticking, but we never had problems in the past,” Darren said. Now the Simses plan to avoid that potential problem in the future. “We’re getting a hopper bottom instead of a dump trailer with no hoist on it,” Darren said. “We will not be able to haul lime, but we’ll still be able to haul corn and soybeans.”
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Today’s Farm
November 11, 2014 • Sauk Valley Media
PAGE 11
‘RESPONSIBLY GROWN’
Whole Foods on right track with rating system Measures are clearly stated, aid consumers WILLIAM C. BAILEY Special to Today’s Farm
The Austin, Texas-based Whole Foods Market chain recently launched a new initiative, called Responsibly Grown, which rates producers of fruits, vegetables, and flowers on how “responsibly” they farm. The initiative established a rating system that ranks the production of fresh fruits, vegetables, and flowers sold in Whole Foods stores in one of three categories – Good, Better or Best. The purpose of the effort is Whole Foods’ attempt to help consumers make “more informed choices” when they purchase produce and flowers. Readers of a certain vintage can recall Sears and
Roebucks’ quality classification – Sears’ Good, Better or Best. While having similar rankings, Whole Foods goes a step further by clearly identifying the steps needed for a producer to climb from William C. Good to Bailey Better and, finally, Best. Farming techniques that Whole Foods encourages include composting, rotation of crops, and use of renewable energy sources such as wind or solar power. Whole Foods also encourages practices that create better working conditions for farm workers, urges farming practices that protect native species, including planting “bee-friendly” wildflowers, and forbids the use of fertilizers made from treated municipal waste. But Whole Foods knows
its customers are not all vegetarians or vegans. Consequently, it established a 5-Step Animal Welfare Rating Program: Step 1 – No crowding; Step 2 – Enriched environment; Step 3 – Enhance outdoor access (except for beef); Step 4 – Pasture centered; Step 5 – Animal centered, no alterations; Step 5-plus – Entire life on the same farm. All of the beef, turkey, pork and chicken sold at Whole Foods must come from producers who are approved for at least Step 1. For beef, Step 1 includes the requirement that twothirds of the animal’s life must be on pasture and that no antibiotics are permitted. Step 1 for pork stipulates, among other things, no gestation crates or farrowing stall may be used. By the time a beef producer is ready for approv-
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al at the 5-plus level, pasture/range that provides for natural behavior must be provided, and the animal cannot be transported. For pigs, Step 5-plus means they will remain with their litter mates their whole life and have unrestricted access to wallows. Step 5-plus requirements for chickens
include the stipulation only one bird may be carried at a time and in an upright position (hopefully improving the taste). While I suspect I will continue to shop near to home – the nearest Whole Foods is in St. Louis – the idea of bringing production agriculture closer to consumers is a step that I applaud. In today’s world, it
is becoming increasingly difficult to be fully informed about the food we eat. While I don’t necessarily see the need for some of Whole Foods’ mandated performance measures, at least those measures are clearly stated and available to all of their customers. Note to readers: William C. Bailey is a professor at Western Illinois University.
LIVE UNITED
United Way of Whiteside County is reaching out to the farming community to participate in the annual fund raising campaign. By working with local elevators all across the county, United Way is providing an easy way for farmers to support the campaign by simply designating a small amount of grain as a donation whenever they deliver it to local elevators. United Way of Whiteside County is a local, independent organization which works to support 19 local nonprofit agencies and programs providing health and human services to our friends, neighbors, co-workers and relatives. 99 percent of everything raised in Whiteside County stays in Whiteside County. Just one percent of what is collected is paid to United Way Worldwide in order to use the logo and take advantage of training opportunities at no cost.
Together, we get results no one could accomplish alone. That’s what it means to LIVE UNITED.
United Way of Whiteside County
P.O. Box 806 Sterling, IL 61081-0806 (815) 625-7973 www.uwwhiteside.org
Today’s Farm
Sauk Valley Media • November 11, 2014
Friday, December 12 9 am to 3 pm
2014
PAGE 12
Saturday, December 13 9 am to 2 pm
December 12 & 13 D Saturday is Kid’s Day… Kid’s Pedal Tractor Pull at 11:00am Prizes awarded, all receive a ribbon!
at the Westwood Fitness & Sports Center 1900 Westwood Drive, Sterling
FREE
Visit with the exhibitors and learn about the latest… admission Farm Equipment Feed, Seed & Fertilizer Products Insurance & Financial Services Health & Safety Information New Technology for a Greater Yield
Free Parking! For more information contact the Chamber at at 815-625-2400, email chamber@essex1.com or visit www.nwilfarmshow.com
presented by…
Door Prizes!