Volume 143 No. 18
Friday, April 7, 2017
Single Copy Cost 50¢
2017 planting plans Wet weather and/or commodity prices may alter crop rotation plans By Lyle Ganther
and
Dave Cook
news@tonicanews.com
OGLESBY — Farmers must make their planting decisions before they know what kind of weather they will experience during the spring months. Russ Higgins, a commercial agriculture educator with the U of I Extension, shared his thoughts on the upcoming planting season. “The big discussion in regards to commodity prices, especially in Northern Illinois where we tend to have more corn, is that soybeans are more favorable. The question is, ‘Will some of that change over to soybeans?’ I think many farmers have already purchased their seeds
and have their plans in place. It doesn’t appear we’ve come up with an alternative crop because our winter wheat acres are continuing to decline, so Illinois farmers appear to be sticking with corn.” he said. He added that weather permitting, there’s less than a month until farmers are into the full swing of planting. Higgins said those in western and west central Illinois who may have been concerned about drought have probably welcomed the additional moisture. “We certainly have time because farmers would likely prefer for the soil to be able to dry from about mid-April on, so they can get their crops in,” Higgins said. Greg Steele of Bureau County looks at his production history and market prices to determine the percentage of
corn or beans he plants. “I made the decision last fall what to plant this year,” he said. “I don’t plant a lot of beans.” Steele added with wetter than normal weather the next few weeks, some farmers may not have a choice on what to plant. “Input costs are less for corn than beans, so the decision for many farmers is being made by lenders,” he said. “Brazil has had a tremendous crop of beans. Plenty of the 2016 corn crop is holding the price down. I don’t look for a banner year.” Kevin Knapp of rural Magnolia in Putnam County said
Planting plans Page 2
A Tonica farmer and Trump Tonica farmer attends rally and calls for health care reform By Dave Cook
news@tonicanews.com
TONICA — President Donald Trump enjoyed his campaign rallies so much that within a month of taking over the Oval Office, he announced he was going to continue to hit the campaign trail— for the 2020 election. He’s since held rallies in Florida, Tennessee and Kentucky. An area farmer made the trip to the Kentucky rally and was later interviewed by Fox News about his views on health care. Bill Sherman III of Tonica also attended a Trump rally in Bloomington during the Republican primaries. “The rally in Kentucky was a lot nicer because it was in an arena with seating. Padded seating is a lot more comfortable than having to stand,” Sherman said. He was asked to share his opinions on health care. “It’s just too expensive; costs have gone up so much; and there’s only so much money to go around. It’s just more and more all the time. My views haven’t changed,” he said, describing his position after Trump’s failure to repeal and replace the Affordable Care Act, a large piece of his campaign agenda. Sherman said Washington needs to “come up with something, anything” to help lower the costs for his family’s health care costs which have dramatically increased over the past years. “Honestly, I’d just (like) the government get out of the health care business, but that’s just my opinion. All I know is the costs for medicine and insurance premiums are too high, and it’s gotten totally out of hand; it’s just too expensive,” he said.
Trump Page 2 Vol. 143 No. 18 One Section - 8 Pages
Tonica News photo/Lyle Ganther
Long-distance trains like this one traveling through Princeton are on President Donald Trump’s chopping block. The California Zephyr and the Southwest Chief take are passengers eastbound to Chicago. On the westbound side, they head to California.
Amtrak’s long routes on the chopping block By Lyle Ganther
and
Dave Cook
news@tonicanews.com
President Donald Trump’s proposed 13-percent cut in funds for the U.S. Department of Transportation’s budget would eliminate Amtrak’s long-distance routes. The Southwest Chief and the California Zephyr that go through Princeton four times a day are two of the 15 long-distance trains Amtrak operates in the Unit-
Smile! Spring is just around round the corner Plumbing • Heating • Electrical
© The Tonica News
ed States that Trump wants to cut in his recently released federal budget. This budget proposal to eliminate funding for Amtrak’s long-distance service could impact many of the 500 communities the railroad serves, said Wick Moorman, Amtrak president/CEO. “Amtrak operates 15 long-distance trains across the nation, and these routes offer the only Amtrak service in 23 of the 46 states we serve,” he said in a press release. “These trains connect our major
regions, provide vital transportation to residents in rural communities and generate connecting passengers and revenue for our Northeast Corridor and state-supported services. Amtrak is very focused on running efficiently — we covered 94 percent of our total network operating costs through ticket sales and other revenues in FY ‘16 — but these services all require federal investment.
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