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Today’s Farm TUESDAY, JAN. 14, 2020 n A

PUBLICATION n A SUPPLEMENT TO SAUK VALLEY MEDIA

PUT the THROUGH WRINGER

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Farmers have been

Nature created more than wet weather in 2019, it created a climate of anxiety for farmers as rain reigned for much of the year, clouding crop forecasts in what felt like a perpetual state of uncertainty

ALSO INSIDE Farmers plug in to podcasts PAGE 3 Illinois could lead a record year in hog production PAGE 5 Despite all the talk of factory farms, statistics show there are still a lot of family trees in farm fields PAGE 6

Sauk Valley Media • January 14, 2020

| TODAY’S FARM

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THE YEAR IN REVIEW | WEATHER

Farmers put through the wringer Nature created more than wet weather in 2019, it created a climate of anxiety for farmers as rain reigned for much of the year, clouding crop forecasts in what felt like a perpetual state of uncertainty

DANIEL GRANT Farmweeknow.com

Preliminary year-end weather statistics really put farmers’ struggles into perspective, as 2019 measures up as the third-wettest on record in Illinois.

Precipitation across the state averaged a whopping 50.82 inches for the year, about a foot above the 30-year normal.

Though the numbers have yet to be finalized, if the statistics hold, the only wetter years than 2019 on record in Illinois are 1993 (51.18 inches) and 2009 (50.96 inches), according to Trent Ford, state climatologist with the Illinois State Water Survey.

“The total (precipitation) didn’t quite break the record, but the way the precipitation came was really the story of 2019,” Ford said.

The widespread nature of heavy precipitation events and flooding, along with the high frequency of storms, made this a particularly challenging year for farmers. Some of the heaviest bands of precipitation fell during spring planting and at harvest.

Illinois experienced the wettest January to June on record last year, while

October precipitation averaged 5.21 inches across the state, 2 inches above normal.

“This last year, it seemed the entire state was incredibly wet,” said Ford, who noted precipitation averaged 10 inches or more above average at all but one climate division in the state. “The thing about 2019 and the impacts on ag is the frequency of rains, and they came at inopportune times.”

For instance, the number of dry days between rain events was the fewest on record in Peoria last spring.

The impact from all the moisture included massive planting delays, record prevented plant acres, delayed harvest, increased crop drying costs and fewer opportunities for fall fieldwork, including wheat planting and applications of anhydrous ammonia that could reverberate into this spring.

Meanwhile, temperatures jumped all over the board last year, but actually ended up at a statewide average of 52.2 degrees, just .2 of a degree below the 30-year normal.

This, after a new state record low of minus-38 occurred Jan. 31 in Mount

Carroll, and 51 weather stations recorded the coldest Halloween on record.

The northwest corner of the state wound up with an average temperature .6 of a degree below normal for the year while the southeast corner was .7 of a degree warmer than normal.

As for the most recent month, December finished as the 18th warmest on record in the state with an average temperature of 35.2 degrees. Precipitation last month averaged 2.51 inches, nearly an inch below average.

“After a relatively dry December, we’re looking better than we were a month ago or at this time last year,” Ford said.

“The warm, dry conditions helped soil (moisture) and streams drop back near normal.”

And that could be beneficial given the most recent outlook, which favors elevated chances of above-normal precipitation January through March.

“That doesn’t mean we’ll have another 2019,” Ford said, but “just based on trends and the atmosphere, there’s a decent chance we’ll be wetter than normal into spring.”

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Farmers plug in to Farm Bureau podcasts, including one on a Sauk Valley farm family who’s got something brewing MIKE ORSO FarmWeekNow.com

5. Climate-smart farming: A lot of talk took place over the past year about weather variability and climate change. Partners podcast also tackles farm and food-related issues of interest to all of Illinois, and this episode featured a look at how farming can be one solution.

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4. Creativity Thrives in This Corn Crib: On the topic of recycling and repurposing, a northern Illinois farm couple converted an old corn crib into an on-farm art studio and gallery.

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What do climate-smart farming, an art-deco theater turned farm-family-run distillery and lesser-known state parks have in common? Each represents one of the five most popular Illinois Farm Bureau Partners podcasts since the digital audio program’s launch in mid-2019.

“IFB Partners magazine and website have been important platforms for Farm Bureau to connect with our associate members and other consumers in Illinois,” said IFB President Richard Guebert Jr. “A podcast using this valued and trusted brand offers us an opportunity to connect with this important segment of the Illinois population using a modern way that is growing rapidly in popularity.”

Here’s a rundown of the five most listened to Partners podcasts in 2019:

“The impact (of agriculture on climate change) is not as large as many people make it out to be,” said Frank Mitloehner, Ph.D., University of California-Davis. “We have found ways to reduce. Most other sectors of society cannot say that.”

The researcher went on to challenge some Illinois and other U.S. farmers and other segments of agriculture to look a close look the science and speak up on the topic. The staff leader of a national farm and commodity-related group said the organization plans to do just that.

“Farmers are already doing a lot of this stuff,” said Erin Fitzgerald, CEO of the St. Louis-based U.S. Farmers & Ranchers Alliance. “When you look at the agriculture sector, we have so many farmers doing really unique things that if we continue on our current trajectory, we’re going to halve our carbon footprint in the next ten years.”

TODAY’S FARM | Sauk Valley Media

Beans aren’t the only pods on the farm

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Field glasses: Sauk Valley farm family sells homegrown brew PODCASTS

CONTINUED FROM 3 t

“About 4 years ago we stopped using the overhead and the corn crib was at a point where, like all corn cribs, you either take them down, continue to maintain them or fix them up,” said Sycamore-area farmer John Weberpal. “We began in earnest, fixing it up, siding, roof, floor, windows, and turned it into an art studio.”

Valerie Weberpal now has space to create and display her paintings, sculptures and other works.

“I had projects going in just about every room of the house,” she said.

“It’s contemporary folk art, I would call it. It’s very playful, very happy, it’s colorful.”

3. Soaps and Scrubs at the Front Porch Soaps & Gift Co.: A hobby started on a rural home’s front porch in Lewistown now attracts customers from as far as 3 hours away.

“We saw the need and we expanded,” said Carolyn Hitchcock, who runs the shop with her daughter.

“We went from making soap the old-fashioned way with lye, it has all of its glycerin, and found that people, the more they used it, the more they liked it and were returning because you don’t get dry skin.”

Similar to other IFB Partners podcasts, magazine and website, this podcast features unique things being accomplished by Farm Bureau members.

2. Homegrown Craft Beer and

Online

Go to ilfb.org/resources/podcasts/partners/ to listen to more Partners podcasts.

If you have an Illinois farm, family or food-related place, event or issue others should know about email partners@ilfb.org Spirits: It’s all in the family for this Rochelle-area farm crew that wanted to add more value to the crops they grow. They did it in-part by converting a 1930s era theater into a micro-distillery.

“It gave me a greater appreciation of sales, of marketing,” said Rick Kennay, who with his wife, son, daughter and nephew farm in Lee and Ogle Counties and opened Kennay Farms Distillery in downtown Rochelle. “Quite frankly, once the crop or the hogs left my farm that was the last I thought about them, but now, I’m forced to think about the product that is given to me.”

Rick and his wife Doris believe what they’ve created is simple, yet elegant and rivals any destination you could find in Chicago.

“A bad day on the farm, I’ve always told the kids, is better than a day anywhere else,” she said. “There’s always more-good … even though we might disagree about some things, there’s always that core love, appreciation and respect for each other” as they operate this new, Illinois enterprise.

cious stones, but is about some Illinois state park gems off the beaten path that might be worthy to put on your to-visit list in 2020.

“I am convinced of two things,” said Colleen Callahan, director of the Illinois Department of Natural Resources (IDNR), which oversees the more than 300 state parks, historic sites and preserves. “You do not have to cross a state line to have the same or equal to or greater than experience than you have had or expect to have … in Illinois. And, I am convinced that our path to rural • BOVINE MEDICINE & REPRODUCTIVE SERVICES • S W I N E H E R D H E A LT H • F E E D L O T C O N S U LTAT I O N • SMALL ANIMAL MEDICINE • DENTISTRY & SURGERY

economic development is through our state’s natural resources.”

In the most popular Partners podcast of 2019, Callahan said IDNR plans to examine some new things at Illinois state parks in the future.

“We’re talking about doing ‘glamping,’ that glamorous camping… putting up some yurts like they have more out west, should we put (in) some off-road trails,” she said about examining what more state parks could offer. “It truly is limitless, the opportunities that we have.”

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“The U.S. pork industry is missing out on an unprecedented sales opportunity in China when it most needs an affordable, safe and reliable supply of its favored protein,” said David Herring, president of the National Pork Producers Council. “The United States is the lowest-cost producer of pork in the world but, with tariffs, we are not as competitive.”

Analysts look for increased sales of U.S. pork and higher prices this

year. Kalo projects average CME lean hog prices of $70 per hundredweight the first quarter before rising to $86 and $83 in the second and third quarters, respectively.

Brown predicts stronger pork exports and even higher average CME lean hog prices of $75 in the first quarter and then up to $92 by the second and third quarters before settling back to $75 in the fourth quarter this year.

Exports currently account for more than one-quarter of U.S. pork sales.

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U.S. hog production could reach record levels again this year – and a good portion of that growth could occur in Illinois, where the swine breeding inventory reached 590,000 head as of Dec. 1, up 30,000 head from a year ago.

Overall, the national breeding herd totaled 6.46 million hogs as of last month, up 135,000 head from the same time last year, according to USDA’s quarterly hogs and pigs report released Dec. 23.

“One thing that determines the supply is the size of the breeding herd. And, chances are, we’ll have more hogs down the road,” said Altin Kalo, senior analyst with Steiner Consulting Group. “When you look at where the growth came from, the biggest growth was from Illinois.”

The anticipated growth of the swine herd continues a trend in recent years. The inventory of all hogs and pigs as of Dec. 1 totaled 77.3 million head, up 3% from last year and a record for the quarter.

Efficiency also reached an all-time

high as the average pigs saved per litter last quarter totaled a record 11.09 compared to 10.76 the previous year.

In Illinois, all hogs and pigs totaled 5.35 million head last month, up 1% from the previous quarter but down 1% from a year ago.

Meanwhile, hog slaughter during a recent 28-week stretch increased 5.5% from the previous year as more animals moved through the system, Bob Brown, president of Bob Brown Consulting, noted.

“The last year says to me U.S. pork producers started expanding around August 2018, which is about the first we heard the news of ASF (African swine fever) in China,” Brown said.

ASF decimated an estimated half of the swine herd in China, the largest consumer of pork in the world. U.S. pork exports increased there, but the lion’s share of new sales to China were gobbled up by the European Union in the past year as American pork was sidelined due to trade restrictions.

The EU shipped 2.5 times the volume of pork to China through October than the U.S., Canada and Brazil

TODAY’S FARM | Sauk Valley Media

Illinois could lead a record year in hog production

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BY THE NUMBERS | FARMS

Farming still runs in the family Despite all the talk of factory farms, statistics show there are still a lot of family trees in farm fields KANSAS CITY, Mo. – Family farms represent 98% of all farms and 88% of production in the United States.

Those numbers are included in the “America’s Diverse Family Farms – 2019 Edition” report which describes characteristics of the 2 million farms in the U.S. “The report includes what the farms produce, farm profitability, receipts of government payments and participation in agricultural federal programs, which is important to understanding the farm sector,” said Christine Whitt, agricultural economist for the U.S. Department of Agriculture’s Economic Research Service (ARMS).

The data included in this report was collected in the 2018 Agricultural Resource Management Survey.

“ARMS is USDA’s primary source of infor-

mation on farm businesses and associated household principle operators,” Whitt said. “Principle operators are those who are most responsible for running the farm.”

USDA defines a farm as any place that sold at least $1,000 worth of farm products in a given year.

“The farm sector consists of a wide variety of farms – very small farms with little sales, mid-size farms with hundreds of thousands of dollars worth of sales and large farms with millions of dollars of sales,” Whitt said.

“A family farm is any farm where more than 50% of the business is owned and operated by an operator and individuals related to one operator,” Whitt said.

“The majority of farms are small family farms, but large-scale farms have the largest share of the value of production,” Whitt said. “Small farms represent 90% of all farms, 48% of acres operated and 21% of production, whereas large-scale family farms represent 2.7% of farms, but account for the largest share of production, at 45.4% on 19.5% total acres operated.”

Small farms produce 56% of poultry production, which includes eggs, as well as 50% of the U.S. hay production.

“Midsize and large family farms account for the majority of cotton, cash grains and oilseed production,” Whitt said.

“Large-scale

Details

USDA’s Economic Research Service (ERS) Farm types Small Family Farms – gross cash farm income less than $350,000.

Retirement Farms – small farms whose principal operators report having retired, though continuing to farm on a small scale.

Off-farm Occupation Farms – small farms whose principal operators report a primary occupation other than farming.

Farming Occupation Farms – small farms whose principal operators report farming as their primary occupation.

Low-sales Farms – farms with gross cash farm income less than $150,000.

Moderate-sales Farms – farms with gross cash farm income between $150,000 and $349,999.

Midsize Family Farms – farms with gross cash farm income between $350,000 and $999,999.

Large-Scale Family – farms with gross cash farm income between $1,000,000 and $4,999,999.

Very Large Family Farms – farms with gross cash farm income of $5,000,000 or more.

Non-family Farms – any farm where the principal operator and people related to the principal operator do not own a majority of the business.

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family farms produce the majority of dairy, and non-family farms and large-scale farms produce the bulk of high value crops and beef.”

Many family households combine farm and off-farm income.

“Over 41% of U.S. family farmers fall into the off-farm occupation typology class and over 80% of those operators work off farm as do 60% of their spouses,” Whitt said.

“Principle operators of large-scale family farms are less likely to work off the farm than operators of small and midsize family farms – 11% of principle operators of large farms and 3% of very large farms held offfarm jobs,” Whitt said.

“The majority of spouses of principle operators reported healthcare benefits are one of the reasons for working off the farm,” Whitt said.

Occupations of operators who work off the farm are different from the general U.S. workforce.

“Among operators of commercial and intermediate farms who also hold an off-farm job, 15% to 18% are working in farming, fishery or forestry occupations compared to 1% of the U.S. workforce,” Whitt said. “In general, farm operators are more likely to work in goods producing occupations and less likely to work in service occupations.”

Most payments from commodity related and working land conservation programs go to three groups – moderate sales, midsized and large farms, representing 76% working and 72% commodity-related payments, Whitt said.

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EDUCATION & INFORMATION | SEMINARS & EVENTS

Farm safety film will be shown in Bureau Valley

BUREAU VALLEY – A showing of the first-ever feature film about grain entrapment will be held at Bureua Valley High School next month.

“Silo” follows a harrowing day in an American farm town. Disaster strikes when teenager Cody Rose is trapped in a 50-foot tall grain bin.

Family, neighbors and first responders team up to rescue Cody from drowning in the crop that has sustained their community for generations.

The movie was inspired by the Mount Carroll grain bin accident in 2010 that claimed the lives of Alejandro “Alex” Pacas, 19, and Wyatt R. Whitebread, 14, both of Mount Carroll, after they were trapped in a grain bin. William “Will” Piper, 20, of Mount Carroll, also was trapped but survived the ordeal. The rescue took nearly 270 first responders 14 hours.

The movie will be shown at 5:30 p.m. Feb. 24, at the high school auditorium.

Reservations are required; call Bureau County Farm Bureau at 815875-6468.

Growers encouraged to attend soybean summit

Conservation cropping seminars offered

SPRINGFIELD – ILSoyAdvisor will bring the latest in soybean management, agronomy, technology and business management to Illinois soybean producers at the 2020 Soybean Summit on March 10 in Springfield.

The event is funded by the Illinois Soybean Association soybean checkoff program and is free to Illinois and surrounding area farmers, agronomists and others in the soybean production industry. A lineup of expert speakers will share the latest agronomic tools and actionable recommendations to boost yields and grower profitability.

The agenda is packed with valuable on-farm production information, agribusiness management support and ag technology updates. It also features an onsite trade show, allowing the opportunity to network and exchange ideas with producers, consultants and industry leaders.

The summit will host two keynote sessions with forward-thinking industry leaders. John McGillicuddy, McGillicuddy Corrigan Agronomics, will share how producers and consultants can evaluate fields and apply individualized management techniques as needed.

Sara Wyant, president of AgriPulse Communications Inc., will offer her perspective on the industry’s top issues soybean producers should be aware of in 2020 and how to mitigate risk in their business.

Attendees will participate in a number of unique breakout sessions separated into three separate tracks: agronomy, agribusiness management and ag tech.

Breakout speakers and topics will be announced in the coming months on the Soybean Summit event page. The agenda also features a grower and expert panel, allowing the audience to ask questions about in-season management practices and challenges they’d like to overcome on their own farms.

The summit will be from 7 a.m. to 4 p.m. at the CrownePlaza, 3000 S. Dirksen Pkwy., Springfield. Visit ILSoyAdvisor.com/SoybeanSummit for the event agenda and reservations.

Continuing education credits will be offered to certified crop advisers for qualifying breakout sessions and keynotes.

For more information, contact the

– AgriNews Publications/Shaw Media

CHAMPAIGN – With the crazy 2019 weather, planting conditions and harvest delays, talk about cover crops in Illinois might be at an alltime high.

Farmers seeking information on all the sustainable and regenerative changes in agriculture should consider attending an upcoming Conservation Cropping Seminar Jan. 22 in Bloomington or Jan. 23 in Rochelle.

Among the speakers and special guests are Hans Kok, Indiana soil health consultant; Bryan Young, Purdue University weed and chemistry professor; and Rick and Aaron Clark, Illinois conservation farmers on the cutting edge of making things doable and profitable.

“These meetings can introduce farmers to the information, the scientific research, and testimonial evidence they need to take steps in transforming their own farm operations,” State Conservationist Ivan Dozier said.

“Farmers learn from the speakers at these events, but they also learn from each other as they share successes and lessons learned,” Dozier said.

Farmers are encouraged to register early to reserve a spot at the location closest to them. They may register at ccswcd.com or call the Champaign County Soil and Water Conservation District at 217-352-3536.

Each seminar costs $20, payable by check or credit card, and includes lunch. The events start early and end before 4 p.m., with time scheduled during the day to meet and visit speakers, sponsors, or chat with other participants in a small group setting.

According to Dozier, Illinois farmers are growing more interested in finding solutions and strategies that can improve success with challenging weather conditions.

The Jan. 22 seminar will be at The Double Tree Hotel, 10 Brickyard Dr. in Bloomington. For more information, call Marty at 309-634-6243.

The Jan. 23 seminar will be at Hickory Grove Conference Center, 1127 N. Seventh St. in Rochelle.

For information, contact Joe at 815786-4373.

– Shaw Media Staff Report

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• January 14, 2020

MORRISON – As 2020 arrives, the Illinois crop planting season won’t be far behind, and there are plenty of tools and updates to help farmers plan and prepare for a successful season. Country Financial will help connect farmers with those resources during an upcoming agribusiness seminar in Morrison.

The seminar is one of several scheduled across the state to help farmers on a variety of topics, including federal crop insurance offerings, navigating the crop insurance claims process should devastation hit your farm, and a market outlook on grain prices for 2020.

The seminar will be at 9 a.m.

Jan. 17 at Whiteside County Farm Bureau, 100 E. Knox St., Morrison.

Registration begins at 9 a.m.

Guest speakers and topics include: Doug Yoder, crop agency manager for Country Financial, will give a crop insurance update; Dale Latz, FarmDoc research associate at the University of Illinois Agricultural and Consumer Economics Department will give aFarm Bill update; and Brad Clow, crop operations manager for Country Financial will give a presentation on drones and crop claims.

Call 815-878-9838 to RSVP. – SVM News Staff

ISA Meeting and Events Planning Team at 888-826-4011, or events@ ilsoy.org.

TODAY’S FARM | Sauk Valley Media

Agribusiness seminar coming to Morrison

For more information on the film, including how to host a screening in your community, visit SiloTheFilm. com.

Sauk Valley Media • January 14, 2020

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