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Today’s Farm

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Will July be like June: Rounding up the numbers for warm, wet month – Page 3 Tuesday, July 10, 2018

A supplement to Sauk Valley Media

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Sauk Valley Media • July 10, 2018

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Warm temps, plenty of rain highlight the month

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The sun pokes through a field of corn at the end of the day. average for June,” Angel said. “The first part of June really came on like gang busters with really warm temperatures.”

There had been some moderation the last week of June, but a warm and muggy July was expected.

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• July 10, 2018

As June came to a close, the rainfall totals in some parts of the state continued to add up.

“We’ve got some areas of the state that have received 5 to 10 inches of rain,” said state climatologist Jim Angel with the Illinois State Water Survey said in a June 27 story. “We’ve got many areas in the northern part of the state and eastern part of the state that have gotten well above average on rainfall. As a result we’ve got a lot of water standing in fields.”

And that’s what Angel was seeing outside his office in Champaign County.

Other areas, particularly western Illinois and southern Illinois, have been much drier.

“They’ve gotten about 2 to 4 inches in those areas,” Angel told the RFD Radio Network.

As of June 27, an average of 5.25 inches of rain had fallen statewide, well above normal.

Temperatures in Illinois were also trending warmer in Illinois.

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TODAY’S FARM | Sauk Valley Media

Looking back at June weather

Northern Illinois dairy farmers ride technology to expansion

Sauk Valley Media • July 10, 2018

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Jenna Preston/FarmWeekNow.com

The Hildebrandt family includes Angie (front row, from left), Amy, Ray, Ann, Ryan, Tessa and Ellie, and Michael (back row, from left), Ken, Kevin, Don and Karla.

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Rotary milking parlor part of the family’s plan to bring next generation into operation 5 added. “Rotary wasn’t even on our radar when we were looking. We really thought a double-16 (parlor) was going to work, but we decided on a rotary parlor.”

The Hildebrandt farm employs 14 people, but the rotary system requires just two to run. The rotary also features a robot that removes the milkers just before the cow exits.

Every cow has a radio-frequency identification tag and collar that produce data the Hildebrandts can monitor to see which cows need checking and how much milk each is producing.

The cows seem to enjoy their ride on the milking machine.

“The cows love to get on the rotary, and we still haven’t figured out why yet,” said Brian Sharine, one of the owners of a DeLaval dealer in Whitewater, Wis., which sold the Hildebrandts their rotary system.

“I think it’s because of the slow-moving system and looking across to see the other cows in the parlor. They don’t get any feed or water when going to get milked, so nothing is there to entice them to walk in.”

• July 10, 2018

New technology helped a family dairy farm in Winnebago County accelerate its expansion and proceed with plans for the third generation to join the operation.

The Hildebrandt dairy farm in South Beloit currently milks 800 cows but continues to grow.

“The kids all went to college and wanted to come back to the farm. We started the discussion about 4 years ago about what we should do,” explained Amy Hildebrandt, referring to her four children, Angie, Michael, Ray and Kevin. “There was a lot of pieces that we wanted to fix or change.

At that point, it was the question if the kids could come home. It wasn’t a yes at that point.”

Today, Angie, Michael and Kevin Hildebrandt all work full-time on the farm.

In March 2017, the family finished construction on a 40-cow rotary parlor, streamlining the operation.

“We traveled out to different operations to see what fit us the best,” Amy Hildebrandt

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Closer look: American agriculturalists Exchange program allowed visits to study German farms farms and agribusinesses in Germany

BY DAN GRANT FarmWeekNow.com

U.S. farmers found a lot in common with their German counterparts during the Transatlantic Agricultural Dialogue.

Farmers in both countries continue to adjust to ever-changing consumer demand while balancing

government regulations amid tight economic times.

The exchange program between German and American farmers and ag professionals, hosted by the German American Chambers of Commerce, visited farms and agribusinesses in Dusseldorf, Munster, Hannover and other locations in Germany.

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TODAY’S FARM | Sauk Valley Media Daniel Grant/FarmWeekNow.com

German agricultural leaders, including Minister Ursula Heinen-Esser, discuss issues with Transatlantic Agricultural Dialogue participants. German leaders represented the Ministry of the Environment, Agriculture, Nature Conservation and Consumer Protection of the State of the North Rhine-Westphalia, Germany. The German American Chambers of Commerce organized the dialogue.

Germany imports about $1.9 billion worth of and tariffs [proposed by the U.S.].”

Many German farmers also rely on direct govag products from the U.S. and exports about ernment payments and green payments for $1.6 billion here each year.

“We’re still in favor of trade and the benefits of measures such as crop diversification, permatrade,” Leser said. “We are not in favor of duties nent grasslands and field margins.

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• July 10, 2018

German farmers could face stricter regulations due to water quality issues in their country, while they also face pressure about manure management and the use of products such as glyphosate.

“Urban sprawl also is a big problem for farmers,” Heinen-Esser said. “We’re looking for solutions how farmers can keep their land.”

Germany loses about 2 to 3 percent of farms every year due in part to urban sprawl, which consumes about 8 to 9 hectares of farmland per day, according to Hans Leser, deputy director for general for the Ag Ministry in Westphalia.

Germany, about the size of California, has about 80 million inhabitants and produces the second-highest value of ag products in the European Union, led by hog and dairy farms along with wheat and barley production.

Meanwhile, German farmers also face high land prices, which forces them to rent about 50 percent of the farmland and take off-farm jobs.

“About 50 percent of farmers are not full time.

They have another job,” Leser said.

German farmers continue to adapt to changing consumer demand by adopting new farming practices. Use of battery cages was banned in Germany. All eggs produced there now contain a stamp that indicates the style of production. Antibiotics use is limited to veterinarian prescriptions and use of genetically enhanced crops remains off limits, although Germany does import such crops, mostly as feed.

“Consumers are willing to pay the cost,” Leser said. “Supermarkets drove a lot of the production changes.”

Hog herd expansion puts pressure on producers Report: Inventory of all swine at 73.5 million head

pointed to a big quarterly jump of 110,000 in breeding herd additions through March and June.

“We haven’t seen that since 1997,” he said.

W h e n t a l k i n g a b o u t f a rrow-to-finish hogs, Schultz noted that this quarter’s returns just broke even.

“These numbers could affect producers’ intentions going forward.

There are expectations of much larger pig crops the next several quarters as farrowing numbers get much larger.”

When asked what the next step for hog farmers should be, Kerns assured producers this was not another replay of 1998.

“We are looking at a prolonged downturn in the markets, not a sharp ‘v’ like in December of ’98,” he said. The U.S. represents only 10 percent of the world’s pork supply, Kerns added, noting the nation must “put the pressure on our trading partners” and assess what value is needed to clear a profit.

BY KAITY SPANGLER FarmWeekNow.com

USDA’s quarterly hogs and pigs report released June 28 placed the inventory of all swine at 73.5 million head, up 3.4 percent from one year ago.

The breeding inventory of 6.3 million and market hogs at 67.1 million also increased 3.5 and 3.4 percent, respectively, from the same time last year.

In a teleconference hosted by the National Pork Board, Joe Kerns, president of Kerns and Associates, seemed to sum up the thoughts of most pork producers by saying, “I think the only word that you can come up with is ‘wow.’”

“It’s a big crop of animals coming at us,” Kerns said. “This is a disappointing report for pork producers as we look forward.”

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