Thursday April 30, 2015 Vol. 3, No. 10
The Weekly Post
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“We Cover The News of West-Central Illinois With A Passion” Serving the fine communities of Brimfield, Dahinda, Edwards, Elmwood, Farmington, Kickapoo, Laura, Oak Hill, Princeville, Williamsfield and Yates City
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Planting proceeds despite weather, cost concerns By BILL KNIGHT
“Gentlemen, start your engines.” A warmer, drier weather forecast this week is promising to farmers eager to continue planting, and while it’s no Indy 500, the 2015 season seems to be getting the green flag. However, the race to plant and harvest has a warning flag, too, as lower prices and higher costs are causing caution. Recent rains and cool temperatures slowed some planting, but much of The Weekly Post area has about 35 percent of corn planted, according to Peoria County Farm Bureau Director Patrick Kirchhofer.
USDA area farm data
For The Weekly Post
About 400,000 U.S. farms grow corn, according to the U.S. Department of Agriculture (USDA), and its census shows these area statistics: Area
Farms
Average Value/acre
Average Size
Cropland Acres
Illinois 75,087 $6,305 359 acres 23,752,778 Fulton Co. 970 $5,249 366 acres 266,405 856 $6,868 406 acres 288,679 Knox Co. Peoria Co. 917 $6,920 273 acres 211,085 SOURCE: U.S. Department of Agriculture census of farms.
“As long as soil conditions allow, Illinois farmers have shown an incredible capacity to plant large numbers of acres in a short period of time,” adds University of
Costs per Farm
Net income per Farm
$179,249 $179,167 $228,272 $136,637
$79,229 $64,927 $138,206 $81,879
Illinois Extension Commercial Agriculture Educator Angie Peltier. “We saw this firsthand in 2013, when corn planting was delayed due to the record-setting spring
AN “ENRICHING EXPERIENCE”
Raising a special dog By CHERYL HARLOW
FARMINGTON – Dinah is not your average Labrador retriever. For the past 10 months, she has received training from the Ulm family of Farmington, who have served as puppy raisers for Leader Dogs for the Blind. And while they will soon be saying goodbye to Dinah, they will do so with no regrets. “There is always a need for puppy raisers,” said Dr. Jennifer Ulm. “It has been an enriching, wonderful experience for our whole family.” Ulm is a local veterinarian who owns her own Ulm Veterinary Clinic For The Weekly Post
in Farmington. Naturally, she has plenty of experience handling and caring for animals. She, along with husband, Matt and their children Phoebe, 10, and Dax, 7, attended a benefit last spring for a group called Sight for Success where they met blind Hollywood entertainer, Tom Sullivan. Sullivan got into a conversation with the Ulm children and told Phoebe that if her family would consider being a puppy raiser, she would be “his hero.” That set in motion a series of events that culminated July 4, 2014, when 7week-old Dinah arrived at the Ulm Continued on Page 9
Jennifer and Phoebe Ulm (top photo) share a moment with Dinah, who first got cuddles from Phoebe as a seven-week-old puppy. Top photo by J. Crusen Photography.
rains. As soon as they were able to get into the fields, Illinois farmers planted close to 1 million acres per day, planting an estimated 57 percent of the 12.2 million-acre corn crop over a one-week period in May.” However, lower projected prices mean that producers are eyeing costs more. The past week saw a decline of almost 20 cents in futures prices, Extension reports – the lowest level since last October. “Current expectations are for lower commodity prices in the 2015-16 marketing year ($3.50 per bushel of corn, $9 per bushel of soybeans, and $5.10 per bushel Continued on Page 2
Farmington science students excel again FARMINGTON – Cultivating minds is what they do. Through hours of meticulous studying, measuring, testing, solving, identifying and building, the Farmington Science Olympiad teams for 25 years have helped students learn and grow through science. In all but the first of those 25 years, coached by Jeff Weyers and assisted by Tricia Fields, one or both of the Farmington Central High School (FCHS) and FarmingInside ton Central Junior • Repairs are High School (FCJHS) set to begin at teams have advanced to the Western Illinois North Christ Regional Competition Church Road in Kickapoo Townand the Illinois State ship. Page 7. Science Olympiad Competition. The ultimate goal of Science Olympiad is that students learn to love science. However, one motivating factor is earning individual medals and a team state trophy. This year was no different. FCHS earned first place at the Western Illinois University Regional and also received the Team Spirit Award. Farmington students received medals in 14 events for first through third Continued on Page 8