Summer time is here... and if you've
received some rain we want to hear about it. Send us an email at
ag@1290wirl.com and we'll add your rainfall
totals to our AgLand FS Rain Gauge Report heard on 1470 WMBD and Classic
Country 1290 WIRL.
(IL Pork
Producers Association) - Pork producers have a place to turn for
advice and information in tough economic times thanks to a joint
project of the Illinois Pork Producers Association (IPPA) and
University of Illinois Extension. "Managing Pig Production in Tough
Times" is an online program that covers a number of key decision
areas for producers. "Pork producers in the United States now face
economic hardships so serious that many will leave the business,"
said James Pettigrew, a U of I professor of animal sciences who
prepared the program with checkoff funding from the IPPA. "At the U
of I, we cannot change the very difficult conditions, but we can
offer information on this site to help producers manage their
business."
At the website,
users will find seven presentations by experts on the respective
topics. Among the presenters and topics are: Chris Hurt, Purdue
University Extension, price risk; and from the University of
Illinois, Rob Knox on reproduction, Larry Firkins on health and
employees, Mike Ellis on management, Ted Funk on engineering, Hans
Stein on nutrition, and Pettigrew on feeding programs. "Each of the
seven specialists will offer three recommendations carefully chosen
to be helpful to producers," Pettigrew explained. Additionally, a
special call-in program has been scheduled to deal with questions.
The program will be from 7 to 8 p.m. on August 19. Those with
questions may dial-in at 1-800-347-8268. The meeting's
identification number is 6455 and the password is 0819.
"If you'd like to submit questions in advance of the meeting, you
can click on the address of the appropriate specialist on the
website or, if you don't know who is most appropriate, just e-mail
me at
jepettig@uiuc.edu ," he said.
Pettigrew said the genesis of the meeting was a tour he took of
Australia last winter and the difficulties he found pork producers
were facing in that country. "Sometimes you see things at home more
clearly when you get away, and this experience focused my attention
on how the university could help our own producers during these
tough times. I contacted the IPPA and they agreed to sponsor this
program," he said. The program should prove of great assistance to
producers, according to one industry leader.
"We realize that
these have been and continue to be very rough times for pork
producers dealing with escalating input costs," said Phil Borgic, a
pork producer from Nokomis and current IPPA president. "IPPA
continues to look for ways to provide information that helps pork
producers through these difficult financial times. This program has
assembled a diverse group of experts who have focused in on some
specific items that pork producers can do on their operations. These
on-line seminars will allow producers to access the information when
it works best for them."
(Dan Reed
USA Today) -Get ready, America, T.
Boone Pickens is coming to your living room.
The legendary Texas oilman, corporate
raider, shareholder-rights crusader, philanthropist and
deep-pocketed moneyman for conservative politicians and causes,
wants to drive the USA's political and economic agenda.
"We're paying $700 billion a year for
foreign oil. It's breaking us as a nation, and I want to elevate
that question to the presidential debate, to make it the No. 1
issue of the campaign this year," Pickens says.
Today, Pickens will take the wraps off
what he's calling the Pickens Plan for cutting the USA's demand
for foreign oil by more than a third in less than a decade. To
promote it, he is bankrolling what his aides say will be the
biggest public policy ad campaign ever. The website,
www.pickensplan.com, goes live today.
You can check out T.
Boone Pickens on MySpace as well... Just click
HERE
(NAFB) -The U.S.
House of Representatives adjourned Friday for a five-week summer recess
without passing legislation to lower gas prices. House Speaker Nancy
Pelosi and most other Democrats oppose GOP efforts to drill in the
Alaska refuge or end the offshore drilling ban. They say tens of
millions of acres of federal land and ocean floor are already open to
drilling - and have proposed legislation to force oil and gas companies
to explore their existing leased areas or give them up.
After the final gavel fell - a small group of Republicans took
to the floor to attack Democrats. Texas Representative Ted Poe shouted -
“Madame Speaker, Where art thou? He continued - this room is vacant of
most members of Congress. Where, oh where, has Congress gone?"
Republicans want Speaker Pelosi to call the House back into session to
vote on the GOP’s energy plan - which calls for lifting a long-standing
ban on drilling off the east and west coasts, drilling in Alaska’s
Arctic National Wildlife Refuge and more conservation and research on
alternative energy sources.
(NAFB) - Two bipartisan
rank-and-file groups in the House and Senate hope they can chart a way
through the logjam on energy when lawmakers return in September. Members
on both sides of the Hill have proposals that would include expanding
offshore drilling. That’s at the heart of Republican energy policy. Both
proposals include Democratic supported provisions for energy
conservation and funding renewable power.
A 10-member group of Senators - led by Kent Conrad of North Dakota and
Saxby Chambliss of Georgia - say they hope their legislation will serve
as a launching point for the energy discussion in September. The U.S.
Senate is expected to hold a summit on energy issues when it returns.
Senate leaders have indicated that major new energy legislation should
come through their offices - but said they were open to considering the
package - especially in light of the current partisan standoff.
Similar proposals have been unveiled in the house by Democrat Neil
Abercrombie of Hawaii and Republican John Peterson of Pennsylvania.
(NAFB) - American
Farm Bureau Federation President Bob Stallman says legislation
is needed to enable all farmers and ranchers to participate in
the Conservation Reserve Program’s Critical Feed Use Program. In
fact, Farm Bureau supports identical bills introduced by Senator
Pat Roberts and Representative Jerry Moran, both of Kansas.
These bills would allow all farmers and ranchers to participate.
Not just those who have met the 45-hundred dollar proof of
investment.
Congress will be in recess until early September. AFBF is urging
Farm Bureau members to contact their representatives and
senators while they are back home to urge them to support S.
3337 and H.R. 6533. Stallman says - this legislation will allow
farmers and ranchers to hay or graze CRP acres under USDA’s
original Critical Feed Use criteria. He says - it ensures that
the program is carried out as originally intended.
Meanwhile, AFBF has requested that Agriculture Secretary Ed
Schafer seek a motion for reconsideration before the Western
District Court of Washington that would enable farmers and
ranchers who sought, but were refused application, to apply for
the Critical Feed Use program. In a letter to Schafer, Stallman
also asked USDA to seek to reduce the 45-hundred dollar
investment to a more reasonable amount. The investment
requirement was a part of a July 24 ruling by a federal judge in
Seattle.
(NAFB) -According to the National Milk Producers
Federation - a report recently issued by USDA's Office of Inspector
General is ample evidence the agency should reconsider its decision last
year to open the border to cattle destined for slaughter and breeding or
herd replacement. In a letter to the Secretary of Agriculture - NMPF
President and CEO Jerry Kozak notes the report suggests USDA has
problems tracking and ensuring the health of cattle imported from
Canada.
NMPF believes the BSE situation in Canada is such that an animal could
be imported into the United States and introduce or disseminate BSE to
the U.S. herd. The letter states this is evident by the number of cases
of BSE from animals born after the USDA-determined date of effective
enforcement of their feed ban.
The letter asks USDA to consider closing the border to animals to be
used for breeding purposes - which would include dairy heifers. USDA
reports that approximately 45-thousand Canadian dairy animals have been
sent to the U.S. since the border was reopened in November of 2007.
(NAFB) -Executive Director of the Nebraska Corn Board
Don Hutchens says many members of the Grocery Manufacturers Association
have been enjoying bigger profits this year. They are raising prices and
placing the blame for those prices on the cost of corn. But - as
Hutchens points out - over the past month - the prices farmers receive
for their corn has dropped dramatically. That begs the question: When
will grocery store prices come down?
Hutchens believes the answer is they won’t lower prices a penny. The
industry executive says the reason is that the main driver in higher
food prices is high oil prices.
To make his point - Hutchens points out that there are only 46.9-bushels
of corn in a semi loaded with 42-hundred boxes of corn flakes. At six
dollars a bushel - the value of corn in that truckload is $281.20. To
haul those boxes 1,500 miles, the average distance for such deliveries,
it would cost $881.25 with diesel priced at $4.70 per gallon. Hutchens
says that means it takes 21-cents of diesel per box to get it to the
store - yet the value of corn in that box is less than seven-cents. So
- Hutchens says - it’s pretty easy to see how fuel and energy costs
impact food price.
(NAFB) - The Treatment of
Farm animals Act, place on this fall’s ballot in California, if passed,
could cost local farmers and reduce significantly local tax incomes. An
independent survey by a firm in Virginia foretells of a complete
upheaval and collapse of the egg, veal and pork industries in the state.
The egg industry is the largest of the three and annually contributes to
the state's economy 323-million dollars.
The survey indicates the construction required to meet the proposition's
requirements will break the backs financially those farmer
operator-owners. But it is expected most will just go out of business.
There are only about 30 egg producers in the state. But their operations
produce an average of 19-million eggs daily. That’s about two thirds of
the eggs consumed in California. The other nine or 10 million are
imported from states like Utah, Iowa and Minnesota.
If the initiative passes, the report estimates that California will have
to import a significantly larger share of the eggs it consumes because
the initiative is projected to basically kill the egg industry in
California.
(NAFB) - Did you know the
avocado, a staple in the Mexican diet, is also very popular among U.S.
households--so much so that 43 percent buy avocados? The avocado tree is
native to the area from Mexico to northern South America and produces a
fruit that is unique and nutritious. Avocados contain 60 percent more
potassium than bananas, and are also rich in B vitamins and vitamins E
and K.
But the Avocado tree is being threatened by the fungus called
Phytophthora root rot. And that threat could increase if one of the
major goals of the Everglades restoration project in Florida is reached.
The project wants to increase the water table in the adjacent
agricultural lands where avocados are grown. Scientists say if you
increase the water table around avocado trees you increase the threat of
PRR to those trees.
But ARS researchers hope to save the avocado. They are collecting new
germplasm to broaden the genetic diversity of avocados. Researchers at
the ARS National Germplasm Repository in the Subtropical Horticultural
Research Station in Miami are screening the germplasm for markers for
genes that might confer resistance to PRR.
(NAFB) - The U.S.
Department of Agriculture's Commodity Credit Corporation has announced
interest rates for August 2008. The CCC borrowing rate-based charge is
2.375 percent, unchanged from July 2008. The rate for 1996 and
subsequent crop year commodity and marketing assistance loans is also
unchanged from July at 3.375.
The interest rate for farm storage facility loans approved for August is
unchanged from the July rate of 3.625 percent. The interest rate for
sugar storage facility loans for August is down. The 4.5 percent rate is
down from 4.625 last month.
The maximum discount rate applicable for August for the Tobacco
Transition Payment Program is 7 percent, unchanged from July. This is
based on the 5 percent prime rate plus 2 percent - rounded to the
nearest whole number.
(NAFB) - Matching grants from USDA totaling more than
1.3-million dollars will go to support agricultural market research in
24 states and territories. The grants are through the Federal-State
Marketing improvement Program.
In making the announcement Ag Secretary Ed Schafer said - these USDA
matching grants support new and practical links from farm to market.
(NCGA) - An
expert on energy markets has warned that gas prices
would jump almost immediately if the U.S.
Environmental Protection Agency (EPA) were to grant
Texas Gov. Rick Perry’s request for a partial waiver
of the renewable fuels standard. “Our analysis
shows that $5 gasoline will just be the beginning,”
energy market writer and publisher Tom Waterman
said. “Prices in California within one month would
reach $5.75 per gallon and head to $6 per gallon by
summer’s end. The rest of the country will follow.”
“U.S. refiners would suddenly be faced with finding
roughly 1.6 million barrels or 68 million gallons of
gasoline per day immediately,” Waterman added.
“These events are definite if the EPA acts.”
Waterman’s
comments were part of a post on a Web site
maintained by the Renewable Fuels Association.
Click here
for the entire post.
Waterman has
been writing about oil, gas, electricity and
renewable fuels as a reporter, editor and publisher
for 23 years. He launched and publishes Btu,
one of the leading sources of information in the
natural gas and electricity markets, and the most
widely distributed electronic information and market
intelligence product in the market. Waterman also
started a daily wire service and weekly petroleum
publication known as MarketWire, and launched the
weekly publication The Ethanol Monitor in
2005, which has quickly emerged as one of the most
innovative and comprehensive publications in the
field.
Waterman’s
insight presents the corollary to what many have
recognized, the fact that corn-based ethanol has
helped keep gasoline prices from being even higher,
by reducing the amount of petroleum needed in the
United States. According to the Center for
Agricultural and Rural Development at Iowa State
University, the growth in ethanol production has
caused retail gasoline prices to be lower (up to
$0.40 per gallon) than would otherwise have been the
case.
Click Here
for more information on how ethanol helps keep
gasoline prices down.
(IL Corn Growers) -
This is from The Illinois Corn Growers Association...
THOUGHT FOR THE WEEK: With the ongoing food and
fuel issue and difficulty planting, you might be feeling a little beat up
mentally as this week draws to a close. To quote financial
adviser/author Suse Orman:
"When you undervalue what you do, the world will
undervalue who you are.” This excerpt comes from her book “The Power to
Be Rich.”
Have growers in general been content to till and too
inactive when it comes to cultivating their image and the sweeping
positive changes in the business of agriculture? With that said, there
may be two victories that will ultimately emerge from the current
drubbing that farmer’s reputation is taking. First, perhaps we all
should take a giant step back and evaluate how crucial your role has
become to the world as a provider of food, feed, fuel and fiber for the
world. Add to this your environmental contributions from saving soil to
reducing greenhouse gases and you may be living the greatest story
“never” told. After years of anonymity resulting from
abundant commodity reserves, farmers have emerged as real players on the
world stage. Although most of the perceived problems being blamed on
corn and biofuels are based on misinformation, you are no longer taken
for granted. Growers and the industry are at center stage.
We need to decide rapidly how we use this brief moment in the sun to
educate the public about how technology, progress and productivity are
remaking the business of farming. And the second victory of sorts
that could emerge but is still formulating is the ability to communicate
better and share better within the industry. The truth is that we as an
industry do a rotten job of working together. This is an industry built
on individual enterprise and independent thinking. I hope we never lose
this spirit that made U.S. agriculture the envy of the world. But
this well known psyche of independence within the entire Ag industry may
be in large part responsible for why the Grocery Manufacturers
Association decided that growers were easy pickings and made the perfect
fall guy to take responsibility for higher food prices. Now, new
networks of communication and cooperation are causing the countryside to
buzz with activity to address the high-priced, well orchestrated public
relations scourging that the industry is taking. As these new pathways
of communication and new alliances are built I hope they become a
permanent structure rather than a passing convenience to put out a
fire.
So, while you are planting corn or waiting for the fields to dry
remember to value what you do and never ever again undervalue who you
are; and never ever allow anyone else to take that liberty either.
(IL Corn Growers) - GAS PRICES WOULD SOAR WITHOUT
BIOFUELS: A new report spells out the ugly truth about what would happen to
gasoline prices if we cut back the amount of ethanol fuel in the market today.
Biofuels have become an essential component of the world’s motor fuel supply,
according to the International Energy Administration (IEA). In a just
released report, IEA estimates that biofuels will account for nearly two-thirds
of the non-OPEC oil supply growth this year, a “sobering” amount of the fuel
supply.
“While it seems unlikely that
biofuel targets will be reversed in the near future, it is sobering to realize
the amount of oil that would be needed to replace them,” the IEA said. "Just
offsetting the biodiesel and ethanol added to the U.S. and European markets
since 2005 would require around 1 million barrels a day of additional crude oil
supplies to be processed.”
The IEA is the latest in a
series of experts highlighting the critical importance of biofuels in the fuel
supply. Merrill Lynch analysts Francisco Blanch recently told BusinessWeek
that the impact of removing biofuels from the fuel supply would be dramatic:
“For one, the billions of
gallons of ethanol are moderating oil prices by ‘easing energy bottlenecks,”
says Francisco Blanch, head of global commodity research at Merrill Lynch.
Blanch figures that oil prices would be at least 15% higher than they are, if
not for today’s output of ethanol.”
IowaStateUniversity’s Center for Agriculture and Rural
Development has estimated that American drivers are saving between $0.30-$0.40
per gallon thanks to the use of ethanol.
And, economist John Urbanchuk recently told Reuters that
removing even 50 percent of the ethanol scheduled to be used this year would
“add a bit over $1.10 a gallon to gasoline in the short term because you've got
to go out and replace that 4.5 billion gallons of ethanol.”
“Biofuels are an essential part
of our nation's gasoline supply,” said Renewable Fuels Association President Bob
Dinneen. “Without ethanol, Americans would likely be paying $4.25 per
gallon for gasoline. Considering the impact of higher fuel prices on the
cost of all consumer goods, especially food, ethanol is working to keep prices
far lower than they otherwise would be.”
Dinneen continued, “In the face
of record oil, gasoline and diesel prices, it might seem pennywise but would be
pound foolish to walk away from our commitment to biofuels and a diversified
energy future.”
E85 PERFORMING AT HIGHLAND SPEEDWAY:
Greg Spencer of rural Gillespie, who made the switch to
E85 this season, is running 3rd in the sportsman class points at Highland
Speedway in Highland, Illinois. He has been as high as 1st in the points by
winning nearly 50 percent of his heat races while finishing consistently in
the top 5 for the feature race, at the midpoint in the season. “The
competition at Highland is talented. We can run close together and we have
the type of respect for each other that makes good racing.”
This year Spencer made the switch to E-85 to fuel his
car. “We wanted to promote the agricultural products of our area and use a
renewable fuel,” said Spencer. “When introduced for the races or after
winning a race it is good to hear the car announced as ‘E-85, the corn
powered car’” “Renewable, locally produced fuel is important to us and
consumers can see that it works on the track,” said Greg. There are E-85
pumps available to consumers with new ones opening up over this summer.
Major car and truck manufacturers are expanding their E-85 compatible models
for 2008. You can find the nearly 171 E-85 pump locations at
http://e85vehicles.com/e85-illinois.htm.
“The Illinois Corn Marketing Board and Aventine have been
great sponsors to work with and are continually interested to see consumers
purchase E-85 cars and learn about the fuel,” said Spencer. There are 10
plants in Illinois and 161 of plants at this time across the nation
producing ethanol. “There is clearly a net energy gain producing ethanol,
it burns cleaner than regular gasoline and farmers are growing enough corn
to produce ethanol.” “We can produce enough corn to feed livestock, produce
ethanol and meet the other demands world-wide,” said Greg.
.gif){kind=logo}
