Summer Ag Tour continues
07/23/2008 09:29:09
The Summer Ag Tour is in full swing, sponsored by CEFCU and the McLean County Farm Bureau. Here are the remaining dates the WJBC Agribusiness Department plans to be out this summer covering area county fairs and other local summer events:
Monday, July 28 Tazewell County 4-H Fair, Pekin
Tuesday, July 29 Woodford County 4-H Fair, Eureka
Wednesday, July 30 McLean County 4-H Fair, Bloomington
Thursday, August 1 McLean County 4-H Fair, Bloomington
Friday, August 2 McLean County 4-H Fair, Bloomington
Friday, August 8 Illinois State Fair, Springfield
Monday, August 11 Illinois State Fair, Springfield
Tuesday, August 12 Illinois State Fair, Springfield
Saturday, August 23 Normal Corn Fest, Uptown Normal
Tuesday, August 26 Farm Progress Show, Boone, Iowa
Wednesday, Aug. 27 Farm Progress Show, Boone, Iowa
Thursday, August 28 Farm Progress Show, Boone, Iowa
Saturday, Sept. 13 Downtown Bloomington Farmers Market and Artists Alley
Illinois soil on display at Smithsonian
07/23/2008 08:39:23
Soil found on more than 1.5 million acres of land in Illinois is now part of an interactive exhibit at the Smithsonian National Museum of Natural History in Washington, D.C. Nick Gale reports.
Decision on RFS waiver will not be made this week
07/23/2008 08:37:57
Environmental Protection Agency Administrator Stephen Johnson says a final decision on the Texas request for a waiver from the Renewable Fuels Standard will not be completed by July 24. He says too much work remains, and additional time is needed to give staff the opportunity to adequately respond to public comments and put a document together that explains the technical, economic and legal rationale of the decision. According to a statement issued Tuesday, the Administrator is confident he can make a final determination on the waiver request in early August. Texas Governor Rick Perry officially requested the RFS waiver in April. EPA then initiated a public comment period and received more than 15,000 comments. According to Johnson, several of those comments raised substantive issues and included significant economic analysis. He says it’s important to take the time to review and understand the comments in order to make an informed decision. Iowa Senator Chuck Grassley said Tuesday he’s confident the EPA will have to deny Governor Perry’s waiver request if they take a close look at the facts. Perry’s petition said that corn use for ethanol has helped push food prices higher. But Grassley says biofuels are not driving up the cost of food and fuel, and that will still be true in August when the Administrator makes his decision. Until then, Grassley says U.S. farmers and ethanol producers are caught in limbo, taking the blame for a situation created far beyond the farm gates.
Harkin and Lugar want ethanol pipeline
07/22/2008 07:53:40
Senators Tom Harkin and Richard Lugar are again trying to boost ethanol transport by pipeline. The duo previously introduced legislation directing the Energy Department to conduct a feasibility study on transporting ethanol by pipeline. Legislation the Iowa and Indiana Senators introduced Monday would give pipeline owners the same tax benefits they receive for moving petroleum products. The tax code currently states that Publicly Traded Partnerships are supposed to earn 90% of income from the exploration, transportation, storage or marketing of depletable natural resources like oil, gas and coal. The Harkin-Lugar bill would change the tax code so that these Publicly Traded Partnerships can earn qualified income from the transport, storage or marketing of any renewable liquid fuel approved by the Environmental Protection Agency. Harkin says this bill would meet the demands and realities of the 21st century energy marketplace, removing barriers so producers have an efficient, inexpensive way to transport renewable fuels to the market. According to Lugar, overcoming problems in moving ethanol through pipelines is important in developing the full promise of America’s renewable fuels.
Illinois crops seem to be improving
07/22/2008 07:49:59
Illinois crops are still behind where they typically are at this time of year, but things are improving in many areas. Illinois Crop Statistician Brad Schwab has this week's report.
Illinois State professor has concerns about ethanol co-products
07/21/2008 08:11:48
Illinois State University Animal Scientist Paul Walker says it is perfectly fine to include co-products in the diet of cattle. But he cautions producers to carefully evaluate the products, especially the mineral content...
While not confirmed, it is quite likely these higher sulfur contents are the result of poor management at the originating plant. It is a problem industry experts say can be easily fixed. Still it exists today, and Walker says cattlemen should be wary...
Animals suffering from this are sometimes called brainers. Walker says they’ll lean against fence posts, become lethargic and can even die. Fortunately, he says, treatment is simple. Just remove the sulfur from the diet...
Walker says it is an issue professional nutritionists and the ethanol industry must address together to keep, in his words, train wrecks from happening on the feedlot and in the pasture. He recommends producers feeding co-products send them to a lab for evaluation.
Presidential candidates weigh in on ag issues
07/21/2008 08:10:12
How will the next President deal with agricultural issues? A group of Farm Bureau members recently got a chance to hear the answer straight from the candidates. Johnna Miller reports...
Senator McCain also spoke on immigration reform...
Senator Obama addressed immigration reform, as well...
The estate tax also got some comments from Senator McCain...
And Senator Obama gave his opinion on the same topic...
Finally, Senator McCain talked on the importance of American agriculture...
Senator Obama also gave his take on agriculture's importance in America...
AG - Japanese beetles can be a puzzle
07/17/2008 09:56:37
Agronomist Kevin Black with Growmark talks about this summer's Japanese beetle problems.
Harkin wants food trace-back system
07/16/2008 08:09:59
Senate Ag Committee Chairman Tom Harkin is calling on the Food and Drug Administration to initiate a trace-back system to help determine the source of food-borne illness outbreaks. The Centers for Disease Control and Prevention has announced that nearly 1200 people have been infected with Salmonella since April. Harkin says that demonstrates the need for better coordination and communication among federal agencies, industry and the states, but also a system that will allow tracing the origins of fresh produce in the instane of an outbreak. Harkin notes more and more people are getting sick and don't know why because the source of contamination is still a mystery. He says it's time for the government to take action and put a process in place that allows for quickly tracking the origins of contaminated food produts in order to prevent increasing cases of illness.
State Fair needs volunteers
07/16/2008 08:08:46
The Illinois State Fair is looking for volunteers to help in a number of areas throughout the ten days of this year’s fair. These areas include information booths, various buildings and gates and at the Illinois State Fair Museum.
Volunteers are needed in the following areas:
Information Booths: Staff the Illinois State Fair’s six information booths and assist fairgoers. The booths are conveniently located across from the north end of the Grandstand, on Main Street at the four-way stop, south of the pedestrian tunnel, at the three way stop near the Livestock Center at the end of Central Avenue, at Gate 2 at Peoria Road and Sangamon Avenue and near the entrance of the Main Gate. Shifts are from 10 a.m. to 3 p.m. and 3 p.m. to 8 p.m.
Illinois State Fair Museum: Greet fairgoers and help introduce the museum. Shifts are from 10 a.m. to 3 p.m. and 3 p.m. to 7 p.m.
Emmerson Building: Assist in the State Fair office from 10 a.m. to 2 p.m.
Exposition Building: Greet fairgoers and hand out daily schedules; 10 a.m. to 3 p.m. or 3 p.m. to 7 p.m.
Gates 1 and 2 (Sangamon Ave.): Greet fairgoers; 10 a.m. to 3 p.m. or 3 p.m. to 7 p.m.
Museum (under the Grandstand): Help set-up exhibits; shifts are 11 a.m. to 2 p.m. in the months of July and August. Sell water; 10 a.m. to 3 p.m. or 3 p.m. to 8 p.m. daily during the fair.
Various locations on the fairgrounds: Sell water; 10 a.m. to 3 p.m. or 3 p.m. to 7 p.m.
A minimum of 15 hours of service is required of all volunteers. However, additional hours may be requested. All volunteers will receive a free, 2008 Illinois State Fair T-shirt, plus free admission and parking. A training workshop will be held Sunday, Aug. 3, at 1 p.m. in the Emmerson Building for all applicants. For additional information, please contact Dennis Morris at (217) 782-0777. The Illinois State Fair runs Aug. 8-17.
Illinois Department of Natural Resources sending fish to Iowa
07/15/2008 09:00:57
The Illinois Department of Natural Resources (IDNR) has joined the effort to assist fisheries personnel in neighboring Iowa in recovering from damage to that state’s fish hatcheries caused by record-setting flooding in June. The Illinois DNR Jake Wolf Memorial Fish Hatchery has provided 7,000 seven-inch trout to the Iowa Department of Natural Resources to help replace trout lost when flooding damaged two Iowa hatcheries where trout were being raised.Staff from the Iowa DNR picked up the fish last week. The seven-inch Illinois trout being raised at the Jake Wolf hatchery were extra trout that were part of those that will be stocked this fall as 10-inch fish in Devil’s Kitchen Lake in southern Illinois. Iowa DNR staff reported that flooding damaged two of that state’s hatcheries where tens of thousands of trout are produced for stocking. In addition to the donation of 7,000 trout from Illinois, Iowa officials report they are receiving assistance from the U.S. Fish and Wildlife Service and fisheries personnel in other neighboring states following the flood damage.
Some Illinois crops still too wet
07/15/2008 08:55:56
Illinois Crop Statistician Brad Schwab has this week's crop progress report...
Flooding has had less impact then some assumed
07/14/2008 08:43:04
USDA’s latest World Ag Supply and Demand Estimates reflect continued acreage, yield and price impacts from midwest flooding and excessive rain…
But World Ag Outlook board chair Gerald Bange says the impact could have been worse….
Bange says more corn is being grown outside the corn belt in the plains, but that’s still hurt yields….
The result is a corn production estimate of 11.72 billion bushels, down just 20 million from last month, but off 10% from last year’s 13.1 billion from ’07-’08. Soybean yields were also cut half a bushel with the crop now forecast at 3 billion bushels—still up 16% from last year’s 2.6 billion bushel figure. Bange says factors beyond supply and demand are entering the picture on price….
That comes to $12.75 a bushel on average, due to strong global demand especially from China, export restrictions in Argentina, strong EU demand for soy oil for biodiesel, and overall tight bean and corn stocks…
The July supply-demand estimates relied heavily on USDA’s June 30th acreage report that dropped corn harvested acreage to about 79 million acres, but boosted soybeans 15%, to 72 million acres.
Time to join hands on biofuels
07/14/2008 08:40:26
The Renewable Fuels Association worked with biofuels groups from Canada, Brazil and Europe to provide input to world leaders meeting at this
past week’s G8 meeting in Japan. RFA president Bob Dinneen explains….
Dinneen was pleased with the outcome of the G8 meeting regarding biofuels….
Dinneen says the United States is working towards the goals outlined by the
G8 of making biofuels production more sustainable and developing cellulosic
ethanol with grain-based ethanol paving the way for that second generation.
Pork producers plan visioning session
07/07/2008 09:32:56
Pork producers and pork industry representatives in Illinois will have an opportunity to provide input and direction on Illinois Pork Producers Association (IPPA) programs and activities by attending the IPPA Visioning Session on Tuesday, July 15th. The Visioning Session is open to ALL pork producers and pork industry partners and will be held at the Northfield Inn & Suites, located at 3280 Northfield Dr. in Springfield.
To make better use of producers’ time, IPPA has combined the Visioning Session with an educational program beginning at 1:00 PM. Dr. Steve Meyer, President of Paragon Economics, will give a presentation titled “Economic Conditions and Expectations for the Pork Industry”. Dr. Meyer will give an outlook for pork and grain markets and discuss risk management strategies that pork producers can use to get through this tough financial period.
An update will also be given on the IPPA image/education campaign – “Operation Impact”, as well as the new national effort “Responsible Pork Initiative”. Producers will learn what is being done to help educate consumers about pork production and proactively work on industry issues, such as animal welfare, and how producers can become involved in these efforts.
The Visioning Session will begin at 4:00 PM with the Pork Act Election, which is the election of pork producer delegate candidates for the 2009 National Pork Act Annual meeting. A meal will be served at 5:00 PM, and the session will conclude by 7:30 PM.
The purpose of the Visioning Session is to allow pork producers the opportunity to provide input and guidance for the organization’s 2009 budget in the checkoff and noncheckoff program areas: Youth; Marketing/Image; Public Policy; Production Technology/ Research; and Association Services & County Outreach activities. Attendees will review current IPPA programs and discuss new goals and priorities, while providing comments to IPPA staff and board members.
Advance registration is requested to allow for preparation of dinner. There is no charge to attend and all pork producers and industry representatives are invited to participate. To register or for more information contact the IPPA office at (217) 529-3100 or visit www.ilpork.com.
