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SHAW MEDIA Sauk Valley Media/ SaukValley.com • Wednesday, Nov 10, 2021

Today’s Farm

WEDNESDAY, NOV. 10, 2021

Sauk Valley Media/ SaukValley.com • Wednesday, Nov 10, 2021

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TODAY’S FARM Indicator: Farmers less optimistic about ag economy BY ERICA QUINLAN

AgriNews Publications WEST LAFAYETTE, Ind. — Farmers are less optimistic about the state of the agricultural economy, according to the Purdue University/CME Group Ag Economy Barometer’’s September reading. “The Ag Economy Barometer dropped 14 points this month to a reading of 124, compared to 138 last month,” said James Mintert, director of Purdue University’s Center for Commercial Agriculture. “Despite the weakness in the Ag Economy Barometer sentiment index, farmers continue to be very bullish about farmland values. The long-term farmland value expectation index rose to a record high reading of 159, and the short-term index rose, as well. Nearly half of corn and soybean producers say they expect farmland cash rental rates to rise in 2022 compared to 2021.” Among growers who expect cash

rents to increase, 44% said they expect rental rates to rise from 5% to less than 10%. Three out of 10 respondents indicated they expect rates to rise by 10% or more. In September, fewer farms said they expected their farm’s financial performance to match last year’s. “Although the combined responses left the Farm Financial Performance Index unchanged from a month earlier, the increasing divergence in expectations among respondents from August to September could reflect differences in how individual farms managed risk in a period of rapidly fluctuating commodity prices,” Mintert said. Producers also expressed concerns about rising input costs and inflation. Read the full report at ag.purdue. edu/commercialag/ageconomybarometer.

Erica Quinlan can be reached at 815-410-2070, or equinlan@shawmedia. com. Follow her on Twitter at: @ AgNews_Quinlan.

Ag Economy Barometer

Sept. 2016 Sept. 2017 Sept. 2018 Sept. 2019

Sept. 2020 Sept. 2021

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TODAY’S FARM

Farmers take a little bit of plumbing and throw in some wood chips to make their very own bioreactor BY CHRISTOPHER HEIMERMAN For Illinois Press Association WOODSTOCK — Corn and soybean farmer Michael Ganschow was an easy recruit for Lauren Lurkins, the Illinois Farm Bureau’s director of environmental policy, as she was encouraging farmers to install wood chip bioreactors on their farms. “I met Lauren in 2016, and less than two years later, she’s showing up at my farm with equipment, digging a hole and filling it with wood chips,” Ganschow said to a crowd of farmers, agriculture leaders and state and national representatives during a recent Fam Bureau Nutrient Stewardship Field Day. Ganschow is a sixth-generation farmer in Bureau County, and his grandfather was among the first Illinois farmers to implement no-till practices. “Conservation has always been a

big part of what we do,” he said. A wood chip bioreactor might sound like something straight out of science fiction, but it’s science fact. It’s essentially a trench filled with wood chips that filter out nitrates that would otherwise pollute tile drainage water, and then streams, and then the Mississippi River, and then the Gulf of Mexico. You get the idea. Once a pipe system directs drainage water through control structures and into the bioreactor, bacteria in the wood chips eat the nitrates from fertilizers that go unused by crops, and then convert those nitrates into nitrogen gas that’s just as safe for the environment as the 78 percent of stable nitrogen in the air we breathe. “It sounds like something out of ‘Iron Man,’ but really it’s a trench full of wood chips with a little bit of plumbing,” said Laura Christianson, assis-

tant professor with the University of Illinois’ Department of Crop Sciences, which monitors 15 of the 50 or so bioreactors around the state. The McHenry County Conservation District, in partnership with the local and state Farm Bureaus, installed a 30-by-30-foot bioreactor last summer just north of Woodstock, where nearly 100 people gathered in August to learn about the technology. State Reps. Steve Reick, R-Woodstock, and Tom Weber, R-Fox Lake, attended the event, along with staff from Lt. Gov. Juliana Stratton’s office and the office of U.S. Rep. Lauren Underwood, D-West Chicago. “Our farmers are always asking three questions: How much does it cost. How hard is it to maintain it? And does it work?” Lurkins said. First things first: It cost nearly $10,000 to build the McHenry County

bioreactor, and there will be another investment 10 or 15 years down the road, when the wood chips need replacing — or recharging, as Christianson calls it. But does it work? Absolutely, according to the water samples McHenry County Conservation District volunteers had collected, frozen and sent to Christianson for analysis. The bioreactor converted about 80 of the 150 pounds of nitrate into nitrogen gas – roughly 53 percent. “It’s working, and it’s working well,” Christianson said, adding that the state’s bioreactors on average remove about 25 percent of nitrates. Most of those other sites followed the federal government’s rectangular blueprint for a bioreactor, which local Natural Resource Conservation Service offices use when they help farm-

BIOREACTOR cont’d to page 22

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SHAW MEDIA Sauk Valley Media/ SaukValley.com • Wednesday, Nov 10, 2021

Chipping away at pollution

Sauk Valley Media/ SaukValley.com • Wednesday, Nov 10, 2021

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TODAY’S FARM BIOREACTOR cont’d from page 21 Christianson and her team, weighing myriad factors at the McHenry County site, custom-designed a square trench that works like a dream. The bioreactors are relatively new technology, so it’s being rapidly developed through experimentation. Ganschow’s trench, for instance, is wide open. Most others are sealed with a plastic sheet and then graded, so you might not know you’re standing on top of it. Ganschow was joined on a panel at the Field Day by Jeff Kirwan, an IFB Board member who’s considering installing a second bioreactor at his Mercer County farm near the Quad Cities, and a third corn and soybean farmer, Brian Corkill, whose Henry County farm splits the distance between Peoria and Moline. Whereas Ganschow and Kirwan had plenty of inside knowledge because of their close work with the bureau, Corkill began the process the way Christianson recommended all farmers do: He reached out to his local NRCS office. The bioreactor was the next logical step for Corkill, given his commitment to stewardship through no-till farming, cover crops, and only fertilizing as much as necessary. Reick asked the panel how many

WOOD CHIP BIOREACTOR Water with dissolved nitrates flows into wood chips, which serve as a home and food for bacteria in the low-oxygen environment. Bacteria converts nitrates into dinitrogen gas, and water flows from the output with a reduced nitrate load.

Inflow (diversion) structure

Outflow (capacity control) structure

Nitrate in tile drainage

Water with reduced nitrate load exits bioreactor

WOOD CHIPS Denitrification bioreactor with by-pass flow

RUSTY SCHRADER/SVM GRAPHIC

wood chip bioreactors would be needed to reach the nation’s conservation goals. Christianson said it will take 60,000 bioreactors and better stewardship across the board to turn the tide. That

number may seem daunting, but the reactors are just one part of the a bigger solution. “We need every practice, and wide use of every practice,” she said. “But it

starts one bioreactor at a time.” This story was distributed through a cooperative project between Illinois Farm Bureau and the Illinois Press Association. For more food and farming news, visit FarmWeekNow.com.

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TODAY’S FARM

Enrollment in ag classes steady as Illinois institutes adjust to realities of COVID BY KAY SHIPMAN FarmWeek

Agriculture study remains fruitful as students return in person to the four state universities with agricultural programs, but with COVID mitigation guidelines in place, classroom space is at a premium on a couple of campuses. This fall, agriculture programs continue within the same structures at Illinois State University, the University of Illinois and Western Illinois University. In Carbondale, agriculture is part of a restructured College of Agricultural, Life and Physical Sciences (CALPS) at Southern Illinois University. AGRICULTURE STUDENT ENROLLMENT HELD STEADY ON

WESTERN ILLINOIS UNIVERSITY’S Macomb campus, said Andy Baker, the School of Agriculture director. He noted the freshman student enrollment grew to 74, but the school saw a decline in students transferring from community colleges or other institutions. Campus-wide, WIU maintained a stable enrollment of new students, including freshmen, transfer and graduate students, of 2,346. The total enrollment of 7,455 is nearly level with fall 2020 numbers. “Our enrollment is stable, the kids are back in and I’m in. We’re having labs the way we want to have labs,” Baker said. “If the students have a chance to come in person, daily (class) attendance is up.”

Faculty and staff in College of Agricultural, Consumer and Environmental Sciences just keep saying how wonderful it is to have our students back. The whole place feels different than the last 18 months in all the best ways.” Anna Ball, associate dean of academic programs IN NORMAL, ILLINOIS STATE UNIVERSITY saw a slight decline in agriculture undergraduate students and an increase in ag graduate students, said Fanson Kidwaro, agriculture department chair. In fact, ISU had a record number of applicants for agriculture graduate degrees. “We had 57 applicants (to grad school). We usually get 10 to 15,” Kidwaro said. Seventeen were admitted to the grad program. At ISU, the three animal-related programs in pre-veterinary, animal science and animal industry continue to be strong, Kidwaro said, and agriculture business enrollment remains steady. Campus-wide, ISU experienced a

2% decrease in fall enrollment compared to 2020. The decline was attributed to several factors, including travel difficulties for international students and COVID-related impacts. AT THE U OF I, the College of Agricultural, Consumer and Environmental Sciences (ACES) saw increased enrollment in several student categories. A total of 2,820, undergraduates enrolled compared to 2,778 last fall. ACES registered more freshmen, 510, up from 478; more transfer students, 170, up from 162; and more graduate students, 757, up from 743.

CLASSES cont’d to page 24

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Universities are holding their ground

Sauk Valley Media/ SaukValley.com • Wednesday, Nov 10, 2021

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TODAY’S FARM

It’s a great big pumpkin, Charlie Brown In Illinois, a favorite fall fruit nearly squashes the scales — and there’s pretty big seed money in them, too BY KAY SHIPMAN FarmWeek

Illinois grows lots of pumpkins: small ones, big ones — and really, really big ones. Heap’s Giant Pumpkin Farm in Minooka hosted a statewide contest to honor the largest one on Sept. 25. The event was sponsored by the Illinois Giant Pumpkin Growers Association. This year’s winner was Mark Mourlas, whose pumpkin packed on just under 1,900 pounds. Last year, Henry Bartimus of Dewitt raised the biggest pumpkin, at 1,673 pounds. But even that behemoth wasn’t close to Illinois’ record of 2,145 pounds. “It is an addictive hobby,” Bartimus said. “If you grow them a few years, then you’re probably hooked for life. When you see a pumpkin grow 2 pounds in one hour, it’s just amazing. Many will grow 40 to 50 pounds every

CLASSES cont’d from page 23 A record number of freshmen, 8,303, are on the Urbana-Champaign campus, bringing total student enrollment to 56,299, the most in university history. “Faculty and staff in ACES just keep saying how wonderful it is to have our students back. The whole place feels different than the last 18 months in all the best ways,” said Anna Ball, ACES associate dean of academic programs. “We’ve partnered closely with campus to keep students as safe as possible so they can focus on learning, growing, and enjoying their college experience.” IN CARBONDALE, SOUTHERN ILLINOIS UNIVERSITY agriculture programs saw a slight decrease overall with an undergraduate enrollment of 466 but an increase in graduate students with 87 enrolled. The ag program total enrollment is 553 students. “We have some encouraging numbers this fall. Animal sciences and forestry numbers are particularly strong within our agricultural fields,” said Eric Brevik, CALPS dean. “It is wonderful to be able to meet with prospective students in person again. Events like the Farm Progress Show really allow us to reach out and recruit.”

day for 3 weeks then start to taper off.” The pumpkin enthusiast said growers of all backgrounds embark on growing a giant when photos or news stories spark their interest. “Many just have a love of pumpkins,” he said. Bartimus estimated about seven growers regularly vie for the state crown. He said the Giant Pumpkin Growers Association is open to anyone from Illinois. To pay for prizes for the largest pumpkins, the club auctions giant pumpkin seeds from December through February. Many auctions occur at bigpumpkins.com. “Many people are very generous and may pay $1,000 for one seed, but you can buy seeds with the potential of growing 2,000-pound pumpkins from $35 to $100,” Bartimus said. “Seeds that have already grown 2,000 pounders and larger are called proven seeds and may sell for $100 to $350 or even $600. Some groups sell

Overall, fall CALPS enrollment was not available at presstime. However, SIU Carbondale registered a 4.5% increase in freshmen, the largest in the past five years. Overall, the campus enrollment of 11,266 is considered relatively flat with a 0.9% decline. Each of the universities is addressing COVID mitigation guidelines on their respective campuses.

seeds all year long, usually for $35 to $70. “If you look into the genetics of the seed, you may be able to ask the grower and they may give you seeds if you pay the postage,” he added. Growing a colossus requires a lot of TLC. Seeds usually are started indoors, in early April, before they’re set outside in huts with heaters and fans. Many growers use underground heating cables. “We try to pollinate our plants from June 15 to July 1. By this time, they have grown to 30 feet wide and 18 feet long,” he explained. The plants are pruned to limit their size. When the pumpkin is 30 days old, the grower stops all vine growth, so all the plant’s energy goes into the pumpkin. If it doesn’t rain, a grower will provide 50 to 120 gallons of water daily for each 1,000 square-foot of plant. Only one pumpkin is grown on each plant. Growers will work one to eight hours daily on a single plant, according to Bartimus. Soil testing is one of the most important factors. Top growers add nutrients throughout the growing season. Barti-

mus fertilizes his plants daily, adding as little as a single teaspoon. He uses a lot of seaweed and humic acid. The main pests are squash vine borers, cucumber beetles and squash bugs. Powdery mildew can be a problem. “You almost have to work on them every day if a problem starts like a disease or rot,” he said. “Each minute counts at getting it under control.” Giant pumpkins don’t like to get too hot or too cool, preferring temperatures ranging between 75 and 80 degrees. “Many growers use a type of shade cloth or automatic misting systems to cool the plant along with several fans,” the grower said. “Excessive rain slows down growth due to low oxygen in the soil, and vines can rot from it, too. Much of the U.S. had problems growing giants this year.” The pampered pumpkins may star in commercial displays, be carved by artists, dropped from cranes at fun events, fed to zoo animals or just sit in their proud growers’ yards.

PUMPKINS cont’d to page 25

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In Macomb and Normal, finding classrooms to accommodate students has been an added challenge given WIU and ISU requirements to space students apart, according to Baker and Kidwaro. “It was a big chess match,” Baker said of professors seeking rooms across campus. One of the ag department’s classrooms that can seat 42 students is “heavily scheduled” by other programs, and an ag computer lab was converted into a classroom. Kidwaro explained ISU ag professors and students are meeting in buildings not traditionally used by ag students. ISU’s system to track available classrooms that are large enough has helped, he said.

This story was distributed through a cooperative project between Illinois Farm Bureau and the Illinois Press Association. For more food and farming news, visit FarmWeekNow.com.

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TODAY’S FARM

Illinois is home to its own Field of Dreams, not far from the Sauk Valley BY DANIEL GRANT FarmWeek

The iconic Field of Dreams, a farm turned into a baseball field for the classic 1989 sports fantasy movie of the same name, remains a major tourist destination in Dyersville, Iowa. The site also returned to the national spotlight when Major League Baseball hosted a game between the Chicago White Sox and New York Yankees on Aug. 12 at an 8,000-seat facility, modeled after the White Sox’s former home (Comiskey Park), adjacent to the original field used in the movie. Another MLB game will be held there next year as the Chicago Cubs and Cincinnati Reds are scheduled to play at the Field of Dreams on Aug. 11, 2022. But, did you know there’s an Illinois Dream Field, recognized by the official Field of Dreams movie site, near the Putnam County community of Granville, about 40 miles south of the Sauk Valley? The inspiration for that field is all about a farmer’s passion for baseball and support of community events he passed down to his family, which eventually led to the construction of the Illinois Dream Field. The Illinois site hosted fundraising events from 2014 to 2017 that featured actors who appeared as “ghost players” on the original “Field of Dreams” movie, which was an adaptation of

W.P. Kinsella’s 1982 novel “Shoeless Joe.” The seeds of the field were planted by Darrell Alleman, who shared his love for baseball with his high school sweetheart, Jeanne. The two married, operated a crop and livestock farm and raised a family in nearby Magnolia. “It all started when he (Darrell) was young,” said his daughter, Deb Kimme. “He always loved baseball, but didn’t have a lot of opportunities to play growing up on the farm.” So, Darrell became the scorekeeper for his team in high school, went on to coach Little League, served as president of the Bi-County League for about 20 years, and was president of the Connie Mack summer league. He also served in many capacities in support of Putnam County High School baseball, where his sons, Scott and Kim, each played on state tournament teams. “He was very involved in all aspects,” Scott said. “Our community really benefited from dad’s love of baseball and his organizational skills,” Deb said. “He always thought bigger. If you could have one game, then you could have 10 games.” Over the years, Alleman collected equipment and parts of facilities used at baseball fields in the county, including an old concession stand and foul poles from the high school field. “When dad was Little League president, they got a new backstop, so the old backstop came to our house and was stored behind a barn because he always wanted to build his own field,” Deb said.

Bartimus advised interested growers to not be shy and bring any size pumpkin to be weighed. “You won’t be laughed at or made fun of. It is a good place to meet growers and ask questions,” the veteran grower said. “Sometimes just getting any size pumpkin to survive to the end of Online Go to igpga.com or a season can be a pumpkinphoto.com/ challenge, for more information a n d t h e and photos. Find Illitop growers know nois Giant Pumpkin this.” Growers Association Asked on Facebook. if growing giant pumpkins is a hobby, advocation or passion, Bartimus answered, “All of them. To me and many other growers, it’s a challenge more against yourself than the competition, but yes we all like to win.”

This story was distributed through a cooperative project between Illinois Farm Bureau and the Illinois Press Association. For more food and farming news, visit FarmWeekNow.com.

Photo: www.pumpkinphoto.com

Mark Mourlas stands atop his nearly 1,900-pound pumpkin, which snagged the first-place prize in this year’s contest sponsored by the Illinois Giant Pumpkin Growers Association, weighing in at 1,893 pounds.

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DREAM cont’d to page 26

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SHAW MEDIA Sauk Valley Media/ SaukValley.com • Wednesday, Nov 10, 2021

One man’s dream built it, and fans came

PUMPKINS cont’d from page 24

Sauk Valley Media/ SaukValley.com • Wednesday, Nov 10, 2021

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TODAY’S FARM DREAM cont’d from page 25 Deb, Scott, Kim and their sister, Jan Chance, then gave their father an official set of baseball bases as a gift. And when Darrell and Jeanne moved to their Granville farm, the dream finally became reality when they began construction on the field in 2009. “He just had an idea in his head and it just grew,” Scott said of his father. “He just made it happen.” The Allemans built the baseball field close to their home so they could sit on the porch and watch games. The first game was held there on Father’s Day 2010. But there was more to the story, thanks to a twist of fate during one of the Allemans’ visits to Iowa’s Field of Dreams. “They were just sitting there on the bleachers and struck up a conversation with Frank Dardis. He was one of the original ghost players in the movie,” Deb said. “They struck up an instant friendship and bond over baseball.” Upon returning to the farm, Alleman was inspired to host his own Dream Field game. He planted corn and invited Dardis to visit as a ghost player.

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“He thought one ghost player was going to come, but to Mom and Dad’s surprise, Frank showed up with seven other ghost players,” Deb said. “They would go around and do events and fundraisers.” The Allemans, through Granville Rotary, went on to host communitywide baseball fundraising events, complete with a showing of the “Field of Dreams” movie, from 2014 to 2017. “They presented dad with a uniform in 2015 and he became an honorary ghost player,” Deb said. “That was the first time he ever got to wear a baseball uniform. He was very proud of that.” Jeanne Alleman passed away in 2015 and Darrell in 2018. The field remains in place today and still plays host to some practice games. Scott’s oldest son, Doug, purchased the property. “We’re really happy it’s still around for people to use,” Deb said, and — as a famous line in the movie goes — “have a catch.”

This story was distributed through a cooperative project between Illinois Farm Bureau and the Illinois Press Association. For more food and farming news, visit FarmWeekNow.com.

Photo courtesy of the Alleman family

Darrell Alleman poses in a ghost player uniform, as inspired by the “Field of Dreams” movie. It was given to him by actors from the classic film in 2015, who honored him as an honorary ghost player.

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