SVM-SS3

Droning on

New unmanned aircraft rules take effect next month – Page 2

Climate change

Study finds it will affect bottom line for farmers – Page 6

Family tradition

Dairyman’s sons are ‘milking’ it for all it’s worth – Page 8

Today’s Farm

Jim Dunn/jdunn@saukvalley.com

Tuesday, July 12, 2016

A supplement to Sauk Valley Media

Today’s Farm

PAGE 2

Sauk Valley Media • July 12, 2016

AG TECHNOLOGY

e v i e c e R s r e b Mem N O I L L I $18 M Checks! e g a n o r t a P n I

Dave Cook/Shaw Media

Matt Denton, a sales agronomist with Hefty Seed Co., Princeton, hovers a small, lightweight drone aircraft near a cornfield. Denton uses the drone, also known as an unmanned aircraft system, to monitor fields for problem areas that might need treatment.

Droning on: New rules to take effect in August Regulations affect farmers’ use of aerial devices

BY DEANA STROISCH FarmWeekNow.com

Small unmanned aircraft systems (UAS), or drones, must be flown during daylight hours and remain in the operator’s line of sight under final rules released in late June by the Federal Aviation Administration.

The long-awaited rules, which take effect in late August, govern systems that weigh less than 55 pounds and are used for commercial operations.

Illinois Farm Bureau had urged the FAA to allow operators to fly them at night and over

people, and require operators to receive written consent of the landowner or tenant, among other things.

“We appreciate the FAA’s inclusion of waiver authority for operating out of the visual line of sight and for coming up with rules that should allow farmers to make the most out of this technology,” Adam Nielsen, IFB national legislative director, said.

Farm Bureau wants to hear from members on the new rule and remains committed to continued dialogue with

the agency, he said.

The final rules also: n Require pilots to have a remote pilot certificate with a UAS rating or be directly supervised by someone with a certificate.

To qualify for a remote pilot certificate, existing holders of a non-student part 61 pilot certificate (pilot’s license) can take an online course and test.

People without a pilot’s license will need to pass an aeronautical knowledge test at an FAAapproved testing center.

DRONES continued on 34

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Today’s Farm

July 12, 2016 • Sauk Valley Media

PAGE 3

ILLINOIS FARM BUREAU

Farm Income, Innovation Conference slated Annual event set for July 27 FarmWeekNow.com

NORMAL – Illinois Farm Bureau members, staff

and agribusiness professionals are invited to attend the 2016 Farm Income and Innovation Conference July 27.

The annual event, formerly known as the IFB Commodities Confer-

ence, will be held at the Marriott Hotel and Conference Center in Normal.

Attendees can take part in two general sessions and multiple breakout sessions that will focus on topics traditionally included in

the Commodities Conference. The newly formatted conference also includes topics that focus on technology and emphasize farm innovation.

“We’re excited about the shift in emphasis

and focus for this conference,” said Mike Doherty, IFB senior economist.

“Today’s farms rely heavily on technology and farmers’ abilities to develop new and innovative strategies. The Farm

Income and Innovation Conference supports that trend for farmers.”

To see the agenda or to pre-register online, visit www.ilfb.org/fiic16.

Cost of registration, $35, includes lunch.

FAA spent months finalizing rules for commercial use DRONES

CONTINUED FROM 2 t

Eric Vanasdale, senior loss control representative for Country Financial, said he expects vendors to create selfstudy materials, online learning resources, and in-person training as details of the tests become available. n Prohibit flying a UAS over anyone not directly participating in the operation or under a covered structure. n Allow a maximum groundspeed of 100 mph and a maximum altitude of 400 feet. The proposal initially allowed the technology to be flown to 500 feet. n Prohibit operations from a moving vehicle unless the operation is over a sparsely populated area.

‘‘

There was just that unknown.

Does it impact me? What will I be able to do with it? I think that’s held back a lot of farmers from making an investment. Now the rules are out, I expect more people to start buying [drones].

’’

Eric Vanasdale

n Require the person flying the UAS to be at least 16 years old. The proposed rule required operators to be 17.

The FAA spent months finalizing the rules.

Exemptions were needed for commercial use in the interim.

Many cities and states passed their own laws.

Vanasdale called the rules a “great start.”

“It gives farmers something they can work with and not have to wonder if they are flying under compliance with the old

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rules they had,” Vanasdale said.

“There was just that unknown.

“Does it impact me?

What will I be able to do with it? I think that’s held back a lot of farmers from making an investment.

“Now the rules are out, I expect more people to

start buying [drones].”

He noted the FAA plans to develop a system to grant exemptions from the line-of-sight requirement.

U.S. Rep. Rodney Davis, R-Taylorville, said updating UAS regulations “is critical to growing our economy, especially industries

such as agriculture.”

“This rule is a good first step, but we can’t stop there,” Davis said.

“The FAA must continue to work with us to safely integrate this technology into our airspace so our economy can capitalize on these technological advancements.”

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Today’s Farm

PAGE 4

Sauk Valley Media • July 12, 2016

LIFETIME VOLUNTEER AWARD

Head, heart, hands, health and selflessness

Providing insurance coverage for local homes and farms since 1869

Retired Extension adviser honored by 4-H OREGON – An Oregon resident recently received a state award honoring him for his decades of volunteer work.

Stan Eden was named Illinois’ Lifetime Volunteer Award recipient for his work with Ogle County 4-H clubs.

Illinois 4-H relies on more than 12,000 volunteers to reach nearly 200,000 youth in University of Illinois Extension 4-H youth development programs.

Eden was one of two were recently selected as the state’s national 4-H Salute to Excellence Award winners.

Lifetime designation is reserved for volunteers with 10 or more years of service to 4-H. Eden was a U of I Extension farm adviser for 42 years. He retired in 2002, and has continued to volunteer for the past 13 years.

An advocate for 4-H, Eden’s involvement ranges from weighing cattle and teaching livestock judging to mentoring youth in woodworking or rallying efforts to build a new 4-H fairgrounds.

“One of Stan’s greatest gifts to 4-H has been his ability to bring people together for work and play,” said Debbie Burkman, former colleague and youth development educator now serving in Wisconsin.

“He is well liked and

highly respected by young and old, and that has enabled him to help groups through difficult situations and keep people focused on what is good and Stan important Eden about the tasks at hand. His passion for service could be rivaled by few, and his commitment to spreading his 4-H joy across multiple generations of his family is amazing.”

Eden also serves as a member of Extension Partners, a grassroots organization which tells Extension’s impact to Illinois legislators.

“The words ‘can’t’ and ‘no’ do not fit in his vocabulary,” said Ron Kern, Ogle County Farm Bureau manager.

“He has conducted thousands of educational programs related to agriculture and agricultural education.”

To learn more about 4-H, call Ogle County Extension at 815-7322191.

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Today’s Farm

July 12, 2016 • Sauk Valley Media

PAGE 5

UNIVERSITY OF ILLINOIS

Agronomy Day 2016 field tour topics unveiled 59th event slated in Savoi Aug. 18 U of I Extension

URBANA – Have questions about pest resistance or curious about the use of drones in agriculture? Plan to hear more on these and other topics related to crop sciences at the 59th annual Agronomy Day at the University of Illinois on Aug. 18.

Field tour topics and speakers for Agronomy Day 2016 were recently announced.

Topics include: TOUR A • Cataloging the weapons arsenal of the Fusarium head blight pathogen • Genetic resistance for

northern leaf blight and Goss’ wilt in corn • Stripe rust and scab resistance in wheat • Bt resistance in corn rootworm beetles • Nematodes: How does the worm turn?

TOUR B • Nitrogen management: Balancing profitability with sustainability • Economics of nutrient management • Land values • Six weed management predictions to keep you up at night • Investigating low crop emergence in edamame TOUR C • The show must go on: Balancing water use under continuously changing environmental conditions • Cover crops for soybean

and corn rotation • Soybean planting date and variety maturity • Managing soybeans for high yields • Drone information and demonstration TOUR D (Offered at 8:30 a.m. and 10:30 a.m., tentatively, with limited availability, as attendees will be transported offsite to SoyFACE. Attendees will need to sign up in advance at the registration table. Tours will last 1 hour.)

• What is SoyFACE? • Improving maize tolerance in air pollution • CO2 • Improving drought tolerance and water use efficiency in C4 crops Agronomy Day attracts more than 1,000 people

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Today’s Farm

PAGE 6

Sauk Valley Media • July 12, 2016

INTERDISCIPLINARY TEAM INVESTIGATION

Climate change will affect farmers’ bottom line U of I researchers study impact on farmland values LAUREN QUINN U of I Extension

URBANA – Over the next 70 to 100 years, our climate is projected to change dramatically, with major impacts on a wide variety of economic sectors. But the sector that is most likely to be affected by these changes is agriculture.

A number of studies support this assertion, but relatively few look at the effect of climate change on agriculture from a comprehensive economic perspective.

An interdisciplinary team from the University of Illinois recently investigated the effects of climate change on farmland values in the Southwestern United States.

“We chose to look at farmland values because they reflect the sum of future expected profits and account for adaptation,” U of I economist Sandy Dall’Erba said.

“And that’s exactly what climate change is about: long-term change and adaptation.”

The team focused on a single climate region, the

U.S. Southwest, where climate changes are expected to make farming even more difficult than in other regions.

The predictions say that places like Arizona will get hotter overall, with more frequent heat waves and more sudden and extreme rainfall events that could lead to periodic flooding.

But even within that one climate zone, the team expected some variation.

To capture that, they separated out the effects on lowland counties versus highland counties.

WHAT’S NEW ABOUT the work is that the team used an economic model that allowed them to look across production systems, so they could evaluate farmland values for soybean producers and cattle ranchers alike.

The model, known as the Ricardian approach, also allowed for adaptation on the part of the farmer.

“Farmers are smart; you can’t assume that in 100 years they’re going to still be farming corn like they are now,” Dall’Erba said.

“Climate is changing, new practices and new technologies develop, so they may switch to another production system. The Ricardian approach assumes

Climate and ag According to a new U of I study: • Climate change will disproportionately affect the agricultural sector, both in production and in land value. farmers will adapt.”

Further, they were able to integrate what they called “spillover” effects: the influence of one farmer’s practices on another.

“A simple example is irrigation – the amount of water you get is very much dependent on how much the farmer upstream from you is taking away.

That element has been pretty much overlooked

• Farmland values in the Southwestern United States will be strongly impacted by climate change, with greater impacts to highland areas versus lowland areas. in this framework so far,” Dall’Erba said.

Another example of spillover is communication between farmers about farm practices and the availability of certain subsidies.

Finally, the team evaluated multiple climate change scenarios. In most socioeconomic research relating to climate change, a single scenario is tested.

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• The influence of neighboring farm practices on farmland values is important, especially as it relates to irrigation and communication between farmers.

Dall’Erba’s co-author, U of I atmospheric scientist Francina Dominguez, knew that it was important to provide a range of what the future climate will look like. As such, the researchers worked with seven scenarios of future climate data derived from several global and regional climate models.

Taking all of these factors into account, the team discovered that

irriga­t ion, population density, and farm subsidies all increased farmland value, but subsidies had an effect in highland counties only.

In addition, heat waves were found to hurt productivity.

Their results also indicated that land values in one location are influenced by irrigation and climate conditions in neighboring locations due to water depletion, water run-off, and/or sudden floods that follow intense rainfall.

“Counties are open economies, so elements beyond their boundaries have an influence on them,” Dall’Erba said.

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Today’s Farm

July 12, 2016 • Sauk Valley Media

PAGE 7

ANIMAL AGRICULTURE

Next step: Apply methods elsewhere

Livestock industry continues growth pattern across Illinois Pork production responsible for two-thirds of expansion

BY NIC ANDERSON FarmWeekNow.com

In the face of a rising dollar, uncertainty on the Trans-Pacific Partnership and other trade negotiations, uncertain crop conditions, recent price fluctuations in grains and livestock futures, and the Illinois budget talks, livestock producers continue to make plans to build new or expanded livestock farms across the state.

As of June 1, notices of intent to construct remain strong and are on pace to meet or exceed previous years’ activity.

All sectors of species have seen increased

intentions to build, with pork continuing to carry 65 percent of the activity while beef, dairy and poultry comprise the balance of the filings.

Growing livestock where the inputs are remains the main driver behind the continued investment in Illinois livestock farms.

But some new factors attracted additional attention to the market place for choosing to add or expand livestock farms in the state and contributing to Illinois’ local economies.

The first is diversifying the grain farming operation. Record land values, increased cash rent, and increased input costs for

crop production all have led to taking a hard look at livestock to spread the risk and manage assets across production sectors.

The second is bringing a family member back to the farm and choosing livestock. It’s a trend that has been happening to a degree the past 10 years, but more prevalently in the last 5 years.

This is mostly due to capital requirements to purchase additional land or rent and to purchase the inputs in a decreasing margin environment.

Third – even though it has always existed – is the value of manure as an input crop nutrient.

Nutrients play a large role in grain production when input costs weigh heavy on break-evens and margins on grain-only operations.

CLIMATE

CONTINUED FROM 6 t

AP

A 2012 photo shows a hog at an Illinois farm. Pork production dominates livestock expansion plans in Illinois, with notices of intent to construct hog farms carrying 65 percent of the activity, while beef, dairy and poultry comprise the balance.

“Overall, and based on the set of future climate scenarios accounted for in our work, it seems that highland counties will be more affected by climate change than lowland counties.”

The next step for the research team is to apply their approach to the rest of the country.

Because they found variation between highland and lowland counties within a single climate zone, they’re expecting to find even more spatial variation when they look at the country as a whole.

They also plan to incorporate the role of trade of agricultural products into their system.

“One element that has been overlooked in the field is that one locality may experience a sudden

drought and, as a result, may import more corn or cotton from elsewhere.

That kind of spillover due to unexpected weather events outside your own locality is something that deserves a lot more attention.

“Several articles along these lines have already appeared, but they focus on international trade. Much more needs to be done on the trade network taking place within countries,” Dall’Erba said.

The article, “The impact of climate change on agriculture in the Southwestern United States: The Ricardian approach revisited,” is published in Spatial Economic Analysis. The work was funded by the Water, Environmental, and Energy Solutions Initiative as well as USDA’s Environmental and Natural Resource Economics program.

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Today’s Farm

PAGE 8

Sauk Valley Media • July 12, 2016

AP EXCHANGE

Sons ‘milk’ a family tradition Dad launched Probstland Dairy, which currently milks 300 cows

BY KAITLIN CORDES Effingham Daily News AP Illinois Exchange

Kaitlin Cordes/Effingham Daily News via AP

Joe Probst of Wheeler proudly shows off his Dairy Service award, given to him in November. Probst was recognized by the Illinois Milk Producers’ Association as one of the most valuable and productive dairy farmers in Illinois during his 43 years in the industry.

WHEELER (AP) – Joe Probst has been recognized as one of the most valuable and productive dairy farmers in Illinois over the course of his 43 years in the industry.

In November, Probst received the Dairy Industry Service Award from the Illinois Milk Producers’ Association, which recognized Probst’s distinguished service to the state’s dairy industry.

Although Probst is now “retired,” he still helps

out with the dairy farm.

He also plants crops.

“I still drive the tractor, run the combine and do the planting,” Probst said.

Now, the dairy farm is a family affair for the Probst clan. His sons, Phil and Toby, are coowners and operate Probstland Dairy, located about 3 miles north of Wheeler. Probst remains part-owner of the operation. The area where they live and farm is truly “Probstland” – Probst and his wife, Inis, his two sons and their families and a nephew live within

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Dairy farming has been a lifelong career for Probst, who grew up just a half a mile north of his current homestead.

“I’ve dairyed all my life,” Probst said. “My brother and I milked together, and when we divided the heard, he got 12 [cows] and I got 11.”

Probst started dairy farming on his own in 1954, a year after starting up his dairy business with his brother.

The operation, which produces milk for Prairie Farms, has grown to

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Probst had served on the Prairie Farms Board of Directors for 43 years and traveled to Springfield for monthly board meetings up until his retirement.

Probst’s retirement has not stopped him from involving himself in educating others about the industry, either.

Probst and his wife host field trips for first- and second-graders from Jasper, Clark and Cumberland counties.

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Today’s Farm

July 12, 2016 • Sauk Valley Media

PAGE 9

Students welcomed to dairy farm DAIRY

CONTINUED FROM 8 t

Students tour the farm and milking facilities, learning about the cows and the ins and outs of the dairy industry from Probst.

Probst recently took agricultural education instructor Lindsey Vogt and her group of future agricultural teachers on a tour of the dairy farm so

the group could earn college credits.

Probst has also hosted the Holstein Picnic and several barn meetings.

These types of services earned the Probsts the 2012 Illinois Stewardship Farm Family of the Year award at the Illinois State Fair Agriculture Day. Probst has been a member of several dairy associations throughout his career, including the American Dairy

Association of Illinois.

He’s been the El Paso director of Midwest Dairy, the St. Louis District Dairy Council director, and Prairie State Select Sires Breeding Corp. director.

The Midwest Dairy Association reports that Illinois is the 22nd largest milk-producing state in the United States, and dairy farms yielded 215 million gallons of milk in 2014.

Summer Savings Kaitlin Cordes/Effingham Daily News via AP

A photo, taken last month, shows Probstland Dairy Inc. dairy farm in Wheeler.

The Probst family’s farm dairy business, started by Joe Probst, is now run by his two sons, as Probst recently retired from the business. Probst has been recognized as one of the most valuable and productive dairy farmers in Illinois over the course of his 43 years in the industry.

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Today’s Farm

PAGE 10

Sauk Valley Media • July 12, 2016

INVESTMENT FARMLAND

Inherit a farm? Experts can help you manage Farm managers help those who want land kept in the family

BY TOM MEERSMAN Tribune News Service

MINNEAPOLIS – Dave Butler doesn’t have a clue how to farm, and he has never lived on a farm. But his parents and grandparents owned a large farm, and Butler and his brothers inherited 440 acres after their mother died in 2010.

The brothers decided to keep the acreage, about 80 miles west of Minneapolis, in the family.

“It’s just a good investment,” said Butler, 62.

“They don’t make dirt anymore, you know, and we want to keep it for the family heritage and investment income. I go out there quite a bit and check on it.”

How to make that investment income can be tricky. Butler and his brothers didn’t know what was an appropriate rental rate for the land or how to evaluate whether tenants were taking care of it properly. For that, they rely on U.S. Bank.

Butler’s family is one of about 31,000 landowners

renting out cropland in Minnesota to the tune of nearly $2 billion a year, according to federal estimates.

And as the average age of farmers inches toward 60 and more cropland passes to nonfarming younger generations, as in the case of the Butlers, the business of managing many of those farms is on the rise to help with rental agreements, taxes, and other financial and land management decisions.

A 2014 SURVEY by the U.S. Department of Agriculture estimated that more than 2 million acres of Minnesota farmland, most of it used to grow crops, is expected to be transferred during the next 5 years. And with the graying of farmers, it’s likely that even more ownership changes will occur during the next 2 decades.

Butler looked over the property earlier this month with Jim Myhra, a senior vice president in farm and ranch management for U.S. Bank.

Myhra said the land in Renville County is some of the best in the state, with deep topsoil, rich organic content and good structure that produces high corn and soybean yields year after year.

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‘‘

They don’t make dirt anymore, you know, and we want to keep it for the family heritage and investment income.

’’

Dave Butler

“They’ve got a farm with good natural slope,” he said, sweeping his arm in the direction of a 160-acre section with foot-high corn. “It’s got good natural drainage, and they’ve incorporated [drainage] tile throughout the years.”

Myhra has been a farm manager for 27 years, and has worked with the Butler family for the past 15 years.

Their property is one of about 1,000 farms

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the bank manages that stretch across the country from Ohio to Washington state. The bank also offers other services related to land, including setting up trusts, wills and sales, Myhra said, but many owners simply want to keep the land, and ensure that its fertility and value are maintained.

“Farmland is an asset that has a lot of value,” said David Widmar, an ag economist at Purdue University. “It can be degraded if it’s not managed properly, the nutrients can be mined without replenishing the fertilizer, and bad practices can lead to erosion, weed pressure increasing and other problems.”

Farm managers can play a significant role in protecting the land and its value, and function as agents or intermediaries for the farmers or investors who hire them. At a minimum, managers identify and

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select renters and negotiate cropland leases.

FOR THE BUTLER family, Myhra also collects the rent, pays taxes and insurance, signs up for government farm programs, and consults with the family about drainage, conservation or other land improvements. He also supervises the amounts and types of seed, fertilizer and herbicides that renting farmers use on the land, visits the farm to test the soil, makes sure the lease provisions are being followed, and reports to the family about crop progress, yields, prices and domestic and international markets.

For their work, manag-

ers charge fees that vary considerably, depending on the range of services provided, size of the farm and other factors. Often the fee is between 5 and 10 percent of the annual rent, which would be $21 an acre if the fee was 7 percent and the land rent was $300 per acre.

Fees may also be a share of the net proceeds from crop sales, or may be customized in various ways, depending how the farm manager and landowner set it up with tenants.

“We don’t just go out and rent a farm,” said Ed Cowling, director of the specialty asset management group at U.S. Bank’s wealth unit.

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Today’s Farm

July 12, 2016 • Sauk Valley Media

PAGE 11

Farming demographics drive ownership changes MANAGE

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“Our folks go out and look at the soil and work with owners and tenants to make a good business plan. We don’t try to get more than the farm is worth, which might force the farmer to cut fertilizer and deplete the land.”

Ward Nefstead said that people often hear about farm managers by word of mouth, and some have worked with the same families for generations.

Nefstead is secretary and education coordinator of the Minnesota chapter of the American Society of Farm Managers and Rural Appraisers, which teaches courses and accredits its members.

Nefstead said there are about 30 farm managers in Minnesota, all of whom are required by state law to have real estate licenses. A few are independents, he said, but most work for banks or farm real estate companies.

“A lot of firms are hiring new people,” he said.

“That’s because more people are inheriting property, or investors are buying it.”

Driving those changes are farming demographics. One-third of all

producers are over the age of 65, according to USDA’s 2012 Census of Agriculture.

“We’ve never seen that historically,” said Widmar. The age distribution nationally in farm ownership – which now has two farmers over age 65 for every one farmer under age 45 – will likely fuel the trend toward fewer farmers and larger farms in the future, he said.

TO BE SURE, MUCH of the 11.6 million acres of cropland rented in Minnesota is farmed by relatives or acquaintances who know the landlord, and the transaction might be no more complicated than agreeing to an annual rental price per acre over a handshake.

“Many farmers retire and their biggest source of income in retirement is land rent,” said Kevin Klair, Extension economist at the University of Minnesota. Many of those producers know the land and don’t want to pay anyone to manage it for them.

“If they have fairly close relationships, they don’t need a manager because they enjoy staying involved or they don’t want to release control to someone else,” said

Randy Sook, president of Northwestern Farm Management Company and a farm manager for the past 30 years.

Sook said one of the less appreciated advantages of paying to have a farm managed, in addition to peace of mind, is receiving expert advice about protecting the land and keeping up with changing rules, such as Minnesota’s new buffer strip law near ditches and streams. Analyzing the land’s potential to increase yields might mean looking at installing terracing or tile drainage, he said, or even taking some land out of production and enrolling it in conservation programs.

Myhra said it’s one thing for a farmer to rent out cropland for retirement income, but things can change quickly when the land is passed on to the next generation.

Families that inherit land sometimes have different goals for the property, he said, such as maximizing production or devoting some acres to conservation.

Or siblings might quarrel about who should manage the money, or how much rent to charge.

In those situations, Myhra said, emotions can run high and families

Jim Gehrz/Minneapolis Star Tribune for Tribune News Service

Dave Butler (left) and farm manager Jim Myhra, who works for U.S. Bank, stand in a Minnesota cornfield owned by Butler and his two brothers. Butler has never lived on a farm, but his father and grandparents did. Butler and his brothers inherited 440 acres west of Hutchinson, and hired Myhra to manage the property and lease it to nearby farmers. either give up and sell the land, or look for a trustworthy third party that can satisfy everyone’s needs and keep the farm

in the family.

“As all this land transitions, you’re going to see the kids step into the driver’s seat,” Myhra said.

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PAGE 12

Sauk Valley Media • July 12, 2016

SPRINGFIELD SUMMIT SEPT. 9

Butterfly numbers fluttering downward; why?

Fewer monarchs found in Illinois

BY TIM LANDIS Tribune News Service

The official state insect of Illinois has its own summit this summer.

Representatives from the Illinois Department of Natural Resources, agriculture, transportation and the utility industry are scheduled to meet in Springfield on Sept. 9 to discuss ways to rebuild the state’s monarch butterfly population after 2 decades of steady decline.

Loss of habitat – including the milkweed vital to monarch breeding – invasive species, herbicides and pesticides are among the topics on the agenda.

Organizers say the Illinois summit is also part of a joint U.S. effort with Canada and Mexico to rebuild monarch populations that have dropped up to 90 percent in 2 decades.

“Illinois is at the heart of the prime area for monarch migration,” said Ann Holtrop, chief of the natural heritage division at the Department of Natural Resources.

The department is conducting an online survey of various industries, urban areas and educational institutions ahead of the summit on local efforts to create monarch habitats that might be applied statewide.

The U.S. Fish and Wild Service and U.S. Department of Agriculture have designated Illinois as a high-priority area for coordinated habitatrestoration areas with Mexico and Canada.

According to the wildlife

service, millions of monarch wintered on 10 acres near Mexico City in 201516, which is down from a peak of nearly 45 acres in 1996-97.

Loss of habitat – including native prairie plants and milkweed plants where monarchs lay eggs – has been cited as a major reason for the population loss, though insecticides. herbicides and invasive species also are blamed.

“We’re going to need all hands on deck,” said Holtrop. “We need highway and utility right-of-ways,

and to see what opportunities there are in agriculture.”

The department has urged homeowners and commercial companies to use native flowering plants in landscaping.

The agency also is asking farmers, transportation agencies and utilities to avoid mowing or spraying milkweed, which grows readily across along the edges of fields, highways shoulders and utility right-of-ways.

The monarch is more than just another pretty butterfly, and the Illinois

state insect, said Holtrop.

Monarchs, like honeybees and bumblebees, are vital to pollination of flowers and gardens.

“They have such a unique life and a complex migration,” said Holtrop.

“We don’t want to wait for the populations to fall even lower.”

A monarch butterfly tagged at Lincoln Memorial Garden and Nature Center last September was captured in February in Mexico. The butterfly was among 35 to 40 tagged, said Brenda Larison, who coordinates the

Lincoln Garden monarch education and habit program.

The more than 2,000mile journey from central Illinois to Mexico, said Larison, is typical.

“We were really excited,” said Larison, a Springfield retiree who worked in the library of the Illinois Supreme Court.

Larison, who volunteers for the garden, said she has always had an interest in the monarch. She earned a “master naturalist” designation through University of Illinois Extension in 2011.

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A monarch butterfly, the Illinois state insect, searches for nectar on a flowering plant. Representatives from agriculture and other industries are scheduled to meet in Springfield Sept. 9 to talk about ways to rebuild the state’s monarch butterfly population after 2 decades of decline.