agmag
DeKalb County
Winter 2016
‘We don’t want to miss out on this’
Locals say TPP will boost incomes for farm families
See Page 14
‘Gimme the bushels’ See Page 16 A Publication of
2 | DeKalb County AG Mag | Winter 2016
agmag
Winter 2016 | DeKalb County AG Mag | 3
DeKalb County
Table of Contents
4
TPP a chance to open world markets
8
Genoa Family Farm
receives Centennial Farm status
10 Friendly Rivals
each win scholarships
12 Stop-and-go Harvest
Local farmers see abundant yields, but low crop prices
16 ‘Gimme the bushels’
With commodity prices in basement, farmers focus on production, input costs
18 More prolific laying ‘DeKalb Chix’ spread around world 22 Volunteers are key to 4-H shooting sports program
14 ‘We don’t want to miss out on this’ Locals say TPP will boost incomes for farm families
agmag
DeKalb County
Published by Shaw Media Publisher: Karen Pletsch Project Manager: Lisa Angel Design & Layout: Allison LaPorta
Articles and advertisements are property of Shaw Media. No portion of DeKalb County Ag Mag may be produced without written consent of the publisher.
Cover credit - Cover Illustration by Shaw Media for DeKalb County AgMag
4 | DeKalb County AG Mag | Winter Spring 2016 2016
TPP
a chance to open
By AIMEE BARROWS For DeKalb County AgMag
world markets
Photos taken by: Danielle Guerra • dguerra@ shawmedia.com
Ag groups say free-trade agreement with Pacific Rim nations would boost income, create jobs
By PAM EGGEMEIER For DeKalb County Ag Mag Farmers are pushing hard to get the largest regional free trade agreement in history passed in Congress before year’s end, but it could be a tough row to hoe. A bill to fast-track the Trans-Pacific Partnership was approved by Congress last summer, and on Oct. 5, 2015, a final agreement was hammered out between the 12 Pacific Rim nations involved. In addition to the U.S., trade partners in the deal include Canada, Mexico, Chile, Peru, Japan, Malaysia, Vietnam, Singapore, Brunei, Australia and New Zealand. Congress must now approve the pact if the United States is to be part of the deal that has been negotiated for 7 years. The free trade deal has been the top legislative priority of the American Farm Bureau Federation. Farmers and ranchers, in the throes of a cyclical downturn, say TPP would increase direct farm exports to the tune of $5.3 billion a year when it is fully implemented through the elimination of tariffs and other trade barriers. The trade deal is one of the keystone foreign policy goals of the Obama administration. After receiving fast-track designation, supporters were hopeful it would be ratified by Congress before the end of the year, but
Winter 2016 | DeKalb County AG Mag | 5
Projections on the annual impact of the Trans-Pacific Partnership on Illinois agriculture when and if it is fully implemented, measured in cash receipts and net exports:
Product Corn
Cash Receipts
Net Exports
+83,561
-11,191.5
+68,453.5
+38,383.2
Wheat
+660.0
-296.6
Cotton
0
0
Soybeans
Rice
0
0
Fruits, nuts
+623.5
+554.9
Vegetables
+3,568
+3,176.0
Beef
+14,650.6
+13,511.6
Pork
+73,762.1
+63,475.0
Poultry
+2,010.7
+541.1
Dairy
+2,010.7
+541.1
Other Ag
+31,144.6
+17,950.4
Total
+281,128.0 million
+127,386.9 million
Source: American Farm Bureau Federation
now it appears to be an uphill battle. Supporters hope much of the uncertainty is political rhetoric that will dissipate after the election. Presidential candidates Hillary Clinton and Donald Trump have voiced strong opposition to the trade deal. House Speaker Paul Ryan and Senate Majority Leader Mitch McConnell have said no action will be taken on TPP this year because there isn’t enough support to pass it. “Both presidential candidates are against it, and there are some key Senate races where this is a big issue, but I think it’s a whole new ballgame after Nov. 8,” said Adam Nielsen, director of national legislation and policy development at Illinois Farm Bureau. Nielsen said time is of the essence, however, before the window closes on a golden opportunity to break down trade barriers, boost income, and create jobs. That window remains open during the lame-duck legislation session that includes most of November and part of December. “This might not happen at all if it isn’t done this year, so we have kept pushing for it,” Nielsen said. Area farmers Evan Hultine of rural Princeton, and Keith Poole of rural Polo were among a delegation that recently stated its case for TPP on Capitol Hill. The issue became the centerpiece of this year’s Illinois Farm Bureau Leaders to Washington trip taken Sept. 13-15. Hultine, chairman of the IFB Young Leaders group, said the farmers met with U.S. trade representatives, and several global groups including the Australian Embassy. “I’m hopeful we can still get this done when the trade rhetoric calms down after the election,” said Hultine, a fourth-generation farmer. “After all the work the U.S. has put into this, it doesn’t make sense to be left out in the cold.” Supporters of TPP warn that the U.S. would be removed from a global trade leadership role if it doesn’t ratify the agreement. They
fear China and Russia would fill the leadership vacuum. “This would have ag well positioned to export a lot of products, and it would help level the playing field for the U.S., but China is working on deals with everyone else, and the longer this takes to pass, the more opportunities we could miss,” Poole said. American Farm Bureau Federation projections for Illinois show TPP increasing cash receipts by $281.1 million a year, and boosting net exports by $127.4 million annually. The data also estimates 960 jobs would be created statewide. Illinois ag export sales brought in $19.6 billion in 2014. Nationwide, beef is the biggest projected ag winner, while in Illinois it is pork producers who stand to benefit most from creating new trade opportunities. Japan’s high tariffs on beef would be addressed in the deal, which could level the playing field for U.S. beef producers, who must also compete with the Australians, who already have a beef agreement in place with Japan. While corn and wheat would lose in net exports abroad, those producers are projected to make more money overall through increased domestic demand for grains to support elevated beef and hog production. “We raise corn, soybeans, wheat, and hogs, and hogs would definitely be the biggest benefit for us, but we think it would be a big help across the board,” Poole said. While creating new market opportunities is always a high legislative priority for agriculture, a deep cyclical downturn has created an increased sense of urgency. “Agriculture isn’t doing particularly well right now,” Nielsen said. “We’ve just seen the biggest drop in net farm income since the Great Depression, and that’s why we’re looking at policies that can have the biggest market impact.”
6 | DeKalb County AG Mag | Winter 2016
Clinton has taken a lot of heat on her perceived flip-flop on the deal she helped negotiate, and she and Trump have said they would tear it apart if elected president.
the deal, I’m hopeful that the administration is willing to come to the table and work through some of those issues with members of Congress over the next few months,” Kinzinger said.
Ag leaders say that can’t happen, and hold out hope that stances will soften after the election.
U.S. Rep. Cheri Bustos, D-East Moline, voted against the TPP fast-track legislation, but said she still is carefully weighing its potential impact on her district. In a region where agriculture and manufacturing are economic cornerstones, the process is complicated.
“If we don’t ratify this deal, it’s not going back to the drawing board – we’ll just get cut out of it,” Hultine said. Farm Bureau also fears the possible repercussions from not ratifying this deal. “This isn’t going to be renegotiated after everyone’s signed off on it,” Nielsen said. “China doesn’t like this deal, and if there is a Plan B, it might not involve us.” The Farm Bureau delegation also met with legislators during its trip to Washington. Historically, presidents of both parties have relied on the GOP to get trade deals passed, while Democrats have aligned with organized labor, which again fears a free trade pact would cost American jobs, especially in manufacturing. U.S. Rep. Adam Kinzinger, R-Channahon, voted to fast-track TPP, which made it through the House with a tight 218-208 vote. Kinzinger, like many free-trade Republicans, still has some concerns about such a complex deal that was negotiated with little transparency. “I do support free trade, and while I definitely have some concerns with
“Ag is the number one economic driver in the region,” Bustos said. “I have the world headquarters for John Deere and Caterpillar, and they both support it, but 90,000 labor households in the region are dead-set against it.” Bustos said she doesn’t think TPP will come up for a vote in the lameduck session. She said there are many concerns with a very complex deal that was negotiated behind closed doors for 7 years. “There were enough votes to pass fast-track authority, and that would lead you to believe folks would also support it, but many of those who voted for fast-track even have concerns, and both presidential candidates are against it,” Bustos said. Bustos said she will continue to ask questions about TPP, but her primary concern is the impact of previous trade deals on the region. “The region has lost too many manufacturing jobs, including 1,200 at Maytag, and wages haven’t recovered during the last 12 years,” Bustos said.
Winter 2016 | DeKalb County AG Mag | 7 As with other trade agreements, TPP would include provisions to set up relocation and adjustment programs to help areas of the economy adversely impacted by tougher competition from more imported goods. The Obama administration says the trade agreement will enforce better labor and environmental practices at home and abroad, and offer patent protection on U.S. exports. Large multinational companies with a larger global reach stand to benefit most from the agreement. Economic analysts are still trying to assess the direct impact of the North American Free Trade Agreement that was instituted between the U.S., Mexico and Canada in 1994.
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Assessing the critics’ job loss and wage stagnation arguments become much trickier. According to the Economic Policy Institute, a surge of imports from Mexico alone after NAFTA led to the loss of 700,000 jobs. Some economists argue, however, that NAFTA wasn’t the only factor in an increasing trade imbalance with Mexico during that time period. The microscope has since turned to the economic impact of the World Trade Organization – particularly the inclusion of China in 2001. The Economic Policy Institute and other think tanks vary in the job loss assessments attributed to the huge trade deficit with China, but the estimates range from 2.8 million to 3.2 million jobs lost since 2001.
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8 | DeKalb County AG Mag | Winter 2016
Gfamily’s enoa farm receives
C entennial F arm status By KATRINA J.E. MILTON For DeKalb County Ag Mag GENOA – One hundred years ago, World War I was raging in Europe, Weeghman Park, now known as Wrigley Field, opened in Chicago and the dwarf planet Pluto was photographed for the first time. Almost 100 years ago, in 1913, Otto Peterson of Sweden settled in Genoa.
Katrina J.E. Milton kmilton@shawmedia.com The Peterson family farm, 33210 N. State Road in Genoa, received Centennial Farm status from the Illinois Department of Agriculture. For 100 years, three generations of Petersons have farmed the land.
Winter Winter 2016 | DeKalb County AG Mag | 9 Soon after becoming a landowner, Peterson started hauling lumber from the Kishwaukee River to build a barn. The barn was built in 1914 and the Petersons’ farmhouse was completed in 1915. The 160-acre Peterson farm, 33210 N. State Road in Genoa, is now owned and operated by Otto Peterson’s grandson, Donald, 77, and Donald’s wife, Nayna, 71. Donald Peterson started working on the farm when he was in high school, and says he plans to continue running the farm – and fixing antique tractors during the winter months – for as long as he can. To honor the family’s 100 years of farming, the Illinois Department of Agriculture gave their farm Centennial Farm status. In August, the Peterson family was invited to attend the Illinois State Fair to be recognized and to receive a sign commemorating their farm. To qualify for Centennial Farm status, an agricultural property must have been owned by the same family for at least 100 years. More than 9,500 Illinois farms have been named Centennial Farms since the program was created in 1972. The Peterson family has been farming on their property through two world wars, the Great Depression, floods and droughts. “We have been farming the land through feast and famine,” Donald Peterson said. “For three generations, we have always farmed. For us, it’s our legacy, our family’s history.” Although the land and family have remained the same, the Peterson farm has changed through the years. Until 1972, the farm raised livestock, including chicken, pigs and cattle. Other changes include the building of additional barns and the addition of three retention ponds that act as a conservation wetland and an attraction for deer and pheasants. To celebrate the farm’s centennial, the Petersons built a windmill. “There have been monumental changes since my grandfather bought the farm a little more than 100 years ago,” Donald Peterson said. “Science has advanced, there are new varieties of corn and soybeans and farmers trade around the world. “We used to have cow pastures, horses and plows and a threshing ring, and now we have combines and tractors that are automatic and use GPS. It makes me wonder, what will farming be like in 100 years from now?” Reading through his grandfather’s farm ledger, he remembers seeing a bag of seed cost between $15 and $25. “Now, a bag of seed costs between $300 and $400,” he said. “Our seeds now are very different. We have double or triple their yields and use less chemicals.” Donald Peterson said that one of the largest changes to the farm involves people, not land. “Before, neighbors used to work together to plant and harvest,” he said. “Now, we still help each other, but it’s not like before. Farmers are now more independent.” Through the years, the farm has been a meeting place for the family. During the summer, the family often camps on the farm. Every year, the Petersons host a family picnic for Labor Day. When Donald and Nayna Peterson celebrated their 50th wedding anniversary, they hosted a party on the farm underneath a large tent. For the Petersons, keeping their family’s farming legacy alive is important. Their two children, Bill Peterson and Deanna (Peterson) Bazon, and four grandchildren often visit and help out on the farm. Donald and Nanya Peterson’s 13-year-old grandson Cody has his own tractor and helps with the harvest. “Too often, you see farms being divided and sold because the kids don’t want to farm,” Nayna Peterson said. “It’s important that our family still cares, that they’re interested in and involved with the farm. We’ll be here until we die, and then we’re going to pass it on and keep it in the family for at least another 100 years.”
10 | DeKalb County AG Mag | Winter 2016
Friendly Rivals each win scholarships
By KATRINA J.E. MILTON For DeKalb County Ag Mag Growing up and competing in fairs and 4-H and FFA events together, Bailey Hunt of Sycamore and Bailey Martenson of Shabbona became good friends – and friendly rivals. In August, the two friends competed in the Superior Young Producer Award (SYPA) competition during the Illinois State Fair Junior Livestock Shows. Hunt and Martenson were two of the top five overall winners in the swine division of the competition, each winning a $1,000 college scholarship and plaques sponsored by the Land of Lincoln Purebred Livestock Breeders Association and the Illinois State Fair. The Superior Young Producer Award program rewards 4-H and FFA members who excel in their knowledge of livestock industry in one of five different species: beef, dairy, horse, sheep and swine. There are three top contestants in three categories; the five top contestants overall are awarded $1,000 scholarships. The scholarships are provided by Archer Daniels Midland Co. and distributed by the Illinois 4-H Foundation. The swine contest was composed of three phases: a swine management test relating to nutrition, health, reproduction, marketing, and other swine related information, a skill-a-thon and a judging contest. “The scholarships are awarded after the contestants complete a series of testing,” Johnna Jennings, the 4-H Youth Development Educator for the University of Illinois Extension in Boone, DeKalb and Ogle counties said. “They are tested on their overall knowledge of swine. They are required to identify equipment, feeds, medicine, and know the animal and its products. The contest tests their skills and knowledge of the swine industry, not their ability to show a pig.” Growing up, both Hunt and Martenson were active in FFA and their local 4-H chapters. Hunt joined Green Meadows 4-H when he was 6 years old, Martenson joined Shabbona Pioneers 4-H when she was 8. Both served in leadership positions in both organizations. “I met Bailey when I first started showing,” Martenson said. “We spent five weeks each summer together, day-in and day-out. We both became good friends. One year, we even attended homecoming together because we each didn’t have a date.” After joining 4-H, both Hunt and Martenson learned that they enjoyed raising, taking care of and showing animals.
Winter Winter 2016 | DeKalb County AG Mag | 11
“Competing in shows became contagious,” Hunt said. “I wanted to do more and more shows and continue to learn more about taking care of the animals. I began to make friends who were also involved in 4-H. We grew up together, and I still consider them my best friends.” While competing and showing at fairs and 4-H and FFA events, both Hunt and Martenson have won numerous awards, ribbons, titles and plaques. Hunt earned a state FFA degree, won first place in swine, poultry and diversified livestock proficiency, won the Illinois State Fair’s Grand Champion Poultry contest two years in a row and was awarded senior showmanship in both swine and poultry. Martenson was awarded senior swine showmanship and her barrows have won reserve champion at this year’s DeKalb County 4-H Fair, reserve champion at the 2015 DuPage County Fair and reserve grand champion in showing at the 2015 state fair. “Raising a pig is different than taking care of a fish,” Martenson said. “You have to be responsible and knowledgeable. You have to manage the business side of things while taking care of and showing your pigs. I’ve raised between 200 and 300 pigs, getting up at 5 a.m. with my dad. My dad used to raise pigs when he was a boy, and I learned a lot from him. I loved how raising pigs allowed me to spend time with my family.” Both Hunt and Martenson attend college. Hunt is a freshman at Wartburg College in Waverly, Iowa, and Martenson is in her second year at Waubonsee Community College in Sugar Grove. “Living away from home, I miss the animals, the lifestyle and the routine,” Hunt said. “Looking back, I can see that all of my chores and work paid off. I now know something not a lot of people know. Taking care of my pigs and chickens taught me responsibility and life skills. It’s become a hobby that I love.” After graduation, Hunt aspires to a position in the communication department of an agriculture company where he can continue to encourage and influence others to be involved in agriculture. Martenson hopes to one day have a farm of her own and raise animals. “Not a lot of people know about the swine industry or farming,” Martenson said. “Just the other day, a kid at college said he thought that a combine was a big lawn mower. It was an eye-opening experience. Owning and raising animals taught me so much. I now have friends all over the state from showing. It’s helped me form lifelong friendships.”
Bottom Left Photo: Bailey Hunt of Sycamore holds a Plymouth White Rock Hen he exhibited at the 2015 DeKalb County 4-H Fair. Hunt won Reserve Overall Champion Poultry during the show. Photo provided. Top Right Photo: Bailey Martenson of Shabbona poses with her reserve champion barrow swine at the 2016 DeKalb County 4-H Fair. Martenson also won the senior swine showmanship award during the fair. Photo provided. Bottom Right Photo: Bailey Martenson (left) of Shabbona, and Bailey Hunt of Sycamore, show their crossbreed gilt swine at the 2015 DeKalb County 4-H Livestock Fair during the swine show. Hunt’s pig went on to win the champion gilt show and reserve overall swine. Photo provided.
12 | DeKalb County AG Mag | Winter 2016
stop-and-go
harvest Local farmers see abundant yields, but low crop prices
By KATRINA J.E. MILTON For DeKalb County Ag Mag
John Ward of Sycamore is a seventh-generation farmer, working land his family has owned since 1837. Although Ward has been farming for 45 years, he refers to farmers by another title: professional gamblers. Ward and other farmers throughout DeKalb County started harvesting their crops in late September and early October. Farmers had a longer harvest season due to killing frost not appearing until late October and early November. “We are at the mercy of the weather,� said Ward, who grows
Winter 2016 | DeKalb County AG Mag | 13
corn and soybeans. “There have been a few days of rain that affected our farming, but it’s nothing out of the normal. The weather has been average throughout the year, which is good for crops. The yields are very decent, with the moisture within the limits of what we wanted.” John Ruplinger, the grain department manager for CHS Elburn Co-op in Sycamore, said that in DeKalb County, most farmers completed their soybean harvesting by the end of October, with the corn harvesting expected to continue into the first few weeks of November. Corn, soybean and vegetable farmer Paul Taylor of Esmond said that his harvest was progressing slower than normal because of rain delaying the harvest of his soybean crop, which in turn led to a delay in harvesting his corn. “Harvest is progressing, but we have not had many good harvest days sequentially,” Taylor said. “Rain disrupted and inconvenienced our harvest and is making it slow. The rain here in DeKalb County was nothing like in northern Iowa, where there are inches of standing water and flooded fields.” Spring rain also affected farmers’ planting. Taylor had to replant seeds that he planted over Mother’s Day weekend because of poor emergence. He said that even late-planted crops should have abundant yields because of average to above-average heat during the summer and the fall. With adequate, sunny and warm weather throughout the growing season and not too much rain during harvesting, Ward said, he is pleased with everything about this year’s crops – except the prices they will fetch. “The price is below the cost of production, and prices don’t look like they will recover at all,” Ward said. “I use some of my crop for livestock feed. I sell to the co-op, and it is exported on river barges or trains. I also have storage on my farm and sell it to the ethanol plant with price warrants. It all depends on who is paying the most at that time.”
According to Ruplinger, the approximate local crop market is paying approximately $3.20 a bushel for corn and $9.50 a bushel for soybeans, give or take a few cents. “We’ve had good yields this year, with approximately 200 bushels an acre of corn and 60 to 70 bushels an acre of soybeans,” Ruplinger said. “There have been good crops across the corn belt. There is a surplus of supply, and global demands continue to be good, especially for soybeans. The prices per bushel are slightly lower than previous years, and farmers aren’t too happy about that.” Even though prices are lower than average, Ruplinger said, with the above-average yields this year, farmers have a good opportunity to make a profit. The profit would depend on each farmer’s input variables, including expenses and the cost of land, fertilizer, seeds, herbicides and pesticides. “The weather remains mild, so we still have good days left for harvest progress,” Ruplinger said. “It’s been a pretty good harvest season, even though we’ve had to start and stop with the rain. Overall, we’re on par for a typical harvest with weather and prices this year.” Although farmers usually decide what they will plant during the winter months, both Taylor and Ward said that they will plant more soybeans next spring. Ruplinger said that most farmers are more concerned about harvesting their crop now and will sell bushels of their crops through the early winter months. He expects most farmers to start planning for planting next year’s acres in late winter, around February. “We have become very good at producing and, historically, we produce more than the demand, which leads to lower prices,” Taylor said. “We have to think about global stock and inventory and always be mindful and look ahead. In 2012, we had a drought, but we have had good crops since then. You never know what the next year will bring.”
14 | DeKalb County AG Mag | Winter 2016
‘We
don’t
want to
miss
out on this’ Locals say TPP will boost incomes for farm families
By KATRINA J.E. MILTON For DeKalb County Ag Mag When Mike Martz of Maple Park thinks of trade, he doesn’t think of billionaire business owners in suits making deals behind closed doors. He only has to look out his window at his farm to see trade in progress. “I’m a third-generation farmer, growing corn, soybeans, wheat and raising cattle,” Martz said. “Trade is so important to what I do every day. I have to think about shipping and export costs, consumers and the economy. Trade and the passing of TPP is a big issue not only in government, but also in the agriculture world right now.” Martz believes so strongly in the ratification of TPP, he traveled to Washington D.C. in March and September to lobby for its passing. The Trans-Pacific Partnership, or TPP, is a trade deal that sets the rules of trade between 12 countries: the U.S., Australia, Brunei, Canada, Chile, Japan, Malaysia, Mexico, New Zealand, Peru, Singapore and Vietnam. The U.S. already has trade deals in place with five of the nations and Canada, Japan and Mexico are the U.S.’s top three trading partners. Countries that have announced interest in joining the agreement are Colombia, Indonesia, Philippines, South Korea, Thailand and Taiwan. On Feb. 4, 2016, TPP’s finalized proposal was signed by representatives of all 12 countries in Auckland, New Zealand. Each country now has until Feb. 4, 2018 to ratify the trade deal before it is implemented-
Winter Winter 2016 | DeKalb County AG Mag | 15
produces $1.16 billion in ag sales to TPP countries, supporting 3,724 jobs. Fifty percent of all the district’s exports go to TPP countries. Both district’s major exports include feed, soy and processed foods. With reasons to ratify TPP seeming overwhelmingly positive and support coming from President Obama’s administration, there are many opposers of the trade deal, including Donald Trump, Hillary Clinton, Bernie Sanders, most congressional Democrats and many congressional Republicans. The opposers of TPP believe that the trade deal will negatively impact American jobs and wages. “People that oppose TPP think that it will force big companies to use cheap labor and move offshore,” Nelsen said. “That’s absolutely not true. Companies from TPP nations already invest more than $660 billion in the U.S. and employ more than 1.6 million Americans.” with or without them. “TPP has been in discussion for about 15 years and in negotiations for more than five years,” Tamara Nelsen, the senior director of commodities at the Illinois Agricultural Association said. “We are already doing substantial trading with these countries. Passing the trade deal would just level the playing field for exports. It would implement safety, sanitation, biotechnology, pharmaceutical, labor and environmental standards. The U.S. already has these implemented and will have to make minimal changes. TPP would require the other countries to raise their standards.” State Representative Bob Pritchard said that TPP is a hotbutton issue for politicians, with even the presidential candidates discussing it during the first presidential debate. “Trade and tariffs are important to everyone, including politicians, manufacturers, businesses, farmers and consumers,” Pritchard said. “TPP is on a fast-track approval, with the senate voting up or down by spring 2018. There is some pressure to pass it during the lame duck period before the new president takes office. If it does pass, it will impact Illinois. Any agricultural state is impacted more than others.” As a state, Illinois exports $1.4 billion in soybeans and byproducts, $1 billion in feeds and fodder and more than $1.5 billion in pork, dairy, beef, wheat and processed foods per year to TPP countries. When implented, in Illinois, TPP will add $9,282 per year to the typical family grain farm, $300 million per year to cash receipts and $127 million per year in additional ag exports. Benefits of TPP to a typical Illinois farm will inculde $33.25 per steer, $38.18 per dairy cow, $6.86 per hog, 12 cents per bushel of soybeans, 5 cents per bushel of corn and 2 cents per bushel of wheat. According to the Illinois Agricultural Association, Illinois’ 14th Congressional District, which includes Sycamore and Cortland, produces $379 million in ag sales to TPP countries, supporting 1,462 jobs. Forty-eight percent of all the district’s exports go to TPP countries. Illinois’ 16th Congressional District, which includes DeKalb and Genoa,
Nelsen said that not only will almost 800,000 additional American jobs will be supported by TPP, jobs in the future will change. “One hundred years ago, 90 percent of workers were agricultural, then they became industrial,” Nelsen said. “Now there aren’t too many industrial jobs in coal mines or steel mills. The jobs are in technology and software. We have to educate and train for these jobs instead of having them go offshore.” Pritchard believes that the people against TPP do not realize that the agreement would foster trade and increase revenue from the exportation of goods. “They want TPP negotiated in public, but deals like this are rarely, if ever, discussed and agreed upon in public,” Pritchard said. “People are also afraid of a European-style common market, like the European Union.” Nelsen views the trade agreement as a positive partnership between countries around the world. “I think that it is good to have friends in different regions and to strengthen our partnerships,” Nelsen said. “Looking forward, it’s important to have goods flowing, shared investments, common goals and values. If we are friends and allies with these companies, it is less likely that that country will sink into poverty or become a satellite of Russia or North Korea.” If the Senate does not ratify TPP, the Illinois Agricultural Association predicts that delaying the implementation of TPP by just one year would result in a $94 billion loss to the U.S. economy and a $388 billion loss for the global economy. “If we do not ratify TPP now, we will only be sitting on the sidelines, on the outside looking in,” Martz said. “The other countries will have such a high advantage over us. We will have to wait years, missing out on opportunities and spending unnecessary money in taxes, while new trade agreements are negotiated. We could be out of the discussion of future trade deals. We don’t want to miss out on this.”
16 | DeKalb County AG Mag | Winter 2016
‘Gimme the bushels’
BY CHRISTOPHER HEIMERMAN For DeKalb County Ag Mag Lamont Farthing steps down from his combine, stretches, looks at the bare fields from which he has just finished harvesting his soybean crop and drinks it in. Commodity prices have just edged up from abysmal, but it is a gorgeous fall day, and for the fourth straight year, he has something no one can take away: a record harvest. “I’m very happy,” the 61-year-old says. “A lot of farmers would tell you that if they can’t have the price, gimme the bushels. If you’ve got the bushels, at least you have something to sell, and you can hope for a better price. If I don’t have the bushels, what difference does the price make? I’m just gong to be mad.”
With commodity prices in basement, farmers focus on production, input costs
have enjoyed the past few years. On the heels of a national drought, corn reached a record high of $8.49 a bushel in August 2012. Since 2013, corn has rarely crawled above the $4 mark. “It was unsustainable; I mean, it got really ridiculous,” Farthing says. “The whole world responded to the ability to get big money, and we overproduced.” On his 370 or so acres in rural Morrison in Whiteside County, Farthing produces an even split of soybeans for Pioneer and No. 2 corn. As of Oct. 18, he’d sold off about 80 percent of the former, but just onethird of the latter. So long to the carefree days of summer, when corn sat around $4 per bushel.
Next up? The corn. Like most Midwestern farmers, Farthing is expecting a record haul there, too.
“Hindsight is always 20/20,” he says. “We weren’t sure what kind of crop we were going to have. Now, we’d all like to see $4, but just like everybody else, once it gets to $4, we’d like to see $4.50.”
There’s a literal price to pay, however, for the monster yields farmers
Despite repeated record harvests, he won’t change how much he
Winter Winter 2016 | DeKalb County AG Mag | 17
plants or his ratios next year, instead focusing on his input costs. Adam Henkel, a seventh-generation farmer in Amboy, seconds that notion. “If we had a 150-bushel corn, we’d have higher prices. What did that gain us? It’s the same net income,” Henkel, 37, says. “It’s come down to managing better and cutting where you can.” Both he and Farthing use a handful of environmentally friendly practices to save not only the earth, but their pocketbooks, too. For nearly 20 years, Farthing has fine-tuned his no-till process. A couple of years ago, he started using cover crops: radishes, planted from the air. Next year, he’ll try to go to auto-steer on his tractor – the same one he’s used since he started farming in 1988 – in order to work an extra 3 hours a day and, in turn, gain an extra day every 3 days. “I just keep doing what I’m doing and try to do something a little bit better to make every year a little bit better,” he says. As he harvests a row of corn, he can’t help but smile. He might not be making off like a bandit – after working construction for years, he’s worked in crop adjusting since 2010, and his wife, Sue, 56, does farm appraisals. But he’s happy. “I wouldn’t want to be doing anything else,” he says. Part of his savings stems from the fact that aside from him and Sue, he has no full-timers on his payroll. Close friend Mike James, who also farms nearby, helps with the harvest, but that’s it. “I enjoy the spring for the challenge, but this is the fun part – seeing how I’ve done,” Farthing says. “This is the part I look forward to most.” Most farmers are looking forward to getting through the election cycle, so that the Trans-Pacific Partnership can be unearthed from the fodder of a presidential race that’s smothered other conversations. “That would help immensely, opening up borders and getting other countries into our trade program,” Henkel says. Brad Shippert, a 32-year-old Lee County farmer who raises onethird beans and two-thirds corn south of Dixon, says that over the years, he’s spent less time sweating politics and more time sleeping at night. “I used to keep track of all that and stay in tune all the time, but I just kind of got tired of it,” he says. “It was more stress than what it was worth. You’ve just got to know the driving forces behind everything, and keep your ear into it to an extent.” That’s where being active in local groups such as farm bureaus, conservation districts and corngrowers associations is crucial, says Allyn Buhrow, who farms and sells seed in the Ashton area in Lee County. “You’ve just got to be part of a bigger unit,” Buhrow, 40, says. “Individually, there’s not a lot we can do.” The silver lining of low commodity prices is that land prices follow suit. According to the research by the University of Illinois in
Champaign-Urbana’s Department of Agricultural and Consumer Economics, cash rents are projected to continue their descent in 2017, down another $23 per acre to $245. Land values have followed a similar trend, having gone down 1.6 percent over the past 2 years, from $7,700 per acre in 2014 to $7,450 in 2016. So now could be an advantageous time to expand or get into the game. Buyer beware, though. Corn gross revenue from the 2016 crop is projected at $787 per acre, down $43 from 2015, while soybeans are projected to go up $26 per acre to $677 – altogether making for a mixed bag that begs to be offset by stingy input cost management. “My advice would be to be very careful in managing your finances and cost of production,” said Mark Bernards, associate professor of Western Illinois University’s School of Agriculture. He said a marketing background can be invaluable for today’s farmer. “You need to market your crop for a premium,” he said. “This will be the third year running that farmers will be projected to operate at a loss.” The average grain farm had about $500 in income in 2015, the lowest since at least 1995 and an empty hull of 2012, when perfarm income flirted with the $300,000 mark. “As long as you didn’t go out and borrow a whole bunch of money for a bunch of new equipment, you’ll weather the storm,” Shippert says. “If you don’t have a lot of debt going into a period like this, you’ll be OK. There will be good years. It’s cyclical. There will be the good with the bad. Farming provides a lifestyle and a way to raise my children the way I was raised – in a rural setting. I love it, and I wouldn’t change a thing.” Agriculture remains among the top industries in the Illinois economy. The state’s corn accounts for the most gallons of ethanol in the nation. “Depending on how narrowly or broadly you define ag, it can make up the top industry in the state of Illinois,” said Jason Franken, assistant professor of agriculture economics at Western Illinois University. Chad Hart, associate professor of economics and crop markets specialist at Iowa State University, said strictly from a production standpoint, ag makes up 6 to 8 percent of Iowa’s gross domestic product. Factor in machinery, food services and other facets, and you can get up to a quarter of the state economy, behind only manufacturing and financial. For guys like Farthing, who hopes one of his sons, Anthony, 31, or Andrew, 29, will make his a fifth-generation operation, you can’t put a price tag on this lifestyle. “What a great life,” he says. “I’m out here playing in this very expensive toy that I get to run about a month out of the year, and the rest of the time it sits out in the shed. It’s a beautiful day, and I’m doing what I like to do – watching this yellow fool’s gold go into a wagon.”
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More prolific laying
‘DeKalb Chix’ spread around world
By KATRINA J.E. MILTON For DeKalb County Ag Mag DeKALB – In April 1945, Jack Nelson started a part-time job at DeKalb Poultry Research, Inc. After graduating college and serving in the military, Nelson returned to DeKalb to work full-time at DeKalb Poultry Research. Forty years later, Nelson retired as DPRI’s president in June 1991. He now resides at Oak Crest Retirement Center, the original site of DPRI’s research farm. On Tuesday, Sept. 13, Nelson was one of the speakers at the dedication of a state historical plaque marking the original site of DeKalb Agricultural Association’s poultry research farm. The marker is located where the entrance to the research farm once stood, on Roberts Lane in DeKalb, near the intersection with Oakland Drive. The marker was created and dedicated through a partnership of the DeKalb Area Agricultural Heritage Association (DAAHA) and the Illinois State Historical Society. Among those speaking at the ceremony were Nelson, William Furry of the Illinois State Historical Society, State Rep. Bob Pritchard, DeKalb Mayor John Rey, Doug Roberts of Zea Mays Holdings LLC, Steve Cichy of Oak Crest and DAAHA president Norm Larson. Linda Sherman Director of Resident Programming at Oak Crest said that attending the dedication with Oak Crest residents was a learning experience. “I knew some things, but the information I learned during the speeches was definitely eyeopening,” she said. “We are thrilled to have the land our organization is on recognized for its past history. “The markers are a good way to tell DeKalb County’s story, what we’ve done, things that
Winter Winter 2016 | DeKalb County AG Mag | 19 most people don’t even know. It’s important to mark those areas for future generations to teach them that what happened here is significant.” The marker is the sixth agriculture-related marker to be placed around DeKalb County in the past two years. Other markers commemorate the location of DeKalb Ag’s first hybrid corn breeding plot, the DeKalb County Farm Bureau, the home and seed house of William George Eckhardt, the county’s first farm advisor, the location of Marsh Harvester Works and the DeKalb seed winged ear logo. DAAHA is fundraising to create two additional markers: one for DeKalb Ag’s swine research farm and another commemorating barbed wire inventor Jacob Haish and his achievements. DAAHA manager of operations and museum curator Donna Langford said that after hybridization was so successful in increasing corn yields, the agricultural association sought to apply the same concepts to laying chickens in 1944 and to pork pork production through the hybridization of swine in 1971. “By raising chickens and collecting data on egg-laying hens, they attempted to increase the production of eggs,” Langford said. “They were very successful. The genetic basis for the chickens that laid brown eggs is still part of chickens’ genetic makeup today. An estimated 90 percent of the world’s brown egg-laying chickens are descendants from DeKalb Ag Association’s stock.” In 1944, DeKalb Ag started a genetic research program on egg-producing chickens. The poultry research farm, DeKalb Poultry Research was established on approximately 180 acres of land purchased from the Ellwood family, where Oak Crest Retirement Center, 2944 Greenwood Acres Drive in DeKalb, is located today. To start their research, DPRI purchased hatching eggs from purebred chicken breeders. The first chicks, known as DeKalb Chix, were hatched on New Year’s Day 1945 in a research hatchery in Sycamore. The research included collecting data about chickens, such as livability, age of first egg, egg numbers, egg size, egg color, shell texture, interior egg quality, hatchability and progeny performance. “We raised chickens and then measured and recorded all their data,” Nelson said. “We then processed the data and analyzed the chickens’ productive traits. This was all done by hand, before the time of computers. Then we took the information and made selections for the next generation.” By the late 1950s and early 1960s, DeKalb Chix were sold internationally as parent stock for farms and distributors in Germany, Japan and Argentina. Poultry researchers were working to improve white-egg breeding stock, but in 1971, they purchased the J.J. Warren Co., a breeder of chickens that produced brown eggs. J.J. Warren’s Rhode Island Red chickens were bred to be color-coded by gender: female chicks had reddish down and the males had yellow down. The color sexing genetic trait introduced by the J.J. Warren and continued by DeKalb Poultry Research is found in an estimated 90 percent of the world’s brown-egglaying chickens. Descendants of DeKalb Chix, both white and brown egg layers, can be found in more than 25 countries. According to DAAHA, these animals hold a 50 percent market share in the U.S., 45 percent in Canada, 60
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percent in Japan and produce 40 percent of the brown eggs in China. Eventually DeKalb white-layers or brown-egg-layers could be found in over 25 countries, in many cases with significant market shares. For example, today chickens whose ancestors were bred in DeKalb represent a 50 percent market share in the United States, 45 percent in Canada, 60 percent in Japan and 40 percent of the brown eggs in China. When DeKalb Poultry Research was sold to Central Farms of America in 1995, DeKalb Genetics Corp. (the new name for the DeKalb Agriculture Association) described the company as “one of the largest producers of egg-laying breeding stock in the world, with an estimated 22 percent of the North American market.” In 2000, Hendrix-ISA LLC acquired DeKalb Poultry. Peter Mumm, the company’s managing director, praised the company for its innovative work and for being the “founding father of egglaying chicken genetics in the world today.” When DeKalb Poultry was founded in 1944, average egg production per hen was about 150 eggs a year. Today, according to the U.S. Poultry & Egg Association, a hen lays an average of 259 eggs a year. Hendrix-ISA LLC’s new DeKalb Light breed is the cage-free-champion-producing hen in the world, with the capability to produce 500 eggs per year. “Years ago, every farm in the Midwest had 100 to 200 hens, and now almost all of the hens are at large operations,” Nelson said. “The industry changed a lot. I’m pleased DAAHA created a marker to designate the location as a place of research. It gives historical recognition to the research that we initiated and carried on. We created results for producers and consumers around the world.” • Barry Schrader contributed to this article.
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Winter 2016 | DeKalb County AG Mag | 22
Volunteers are key
to 4-H shooting sports program You wouldn’t think it would work.
Michael Moody said he wants to be a positive influence for youth. Win Phippen of McDonough County said he enjoys sharing his enthusiasm of the out of doors with children. Mike Claypool isn’t new to 4-H. He is a longtime poultry and rabbit judge. He sees shooting sports as a way to expand the 4-H program to new audiences.
The shooting sports program is one of the fastest growing projects in Illinois 4-H. The program offers four disciplines of focus: archery, rifle, shotgun, and wildlife/hunting. For some teens, shooting sports is the one reason they joined and stayed in 4-H during those busy high school years.
Others see this as an opportunity to pay it forward. “I’m volunteering to give back to my community and support my own children on their 4-H journey,” said Phil Blunt of Rock Island County.
There’s just one hitch; in order to participate in this national 4-H program, youth must take the project as part of a 4-H club experience. And, to be a 4-H shooting sports club, a club needs at least two certified instructors, one who coordinates the club and at least one for each discipline the club offers. To be certified, adults must attend a full weekend training, and for most, at their own $125 expense. They go through background checks and reference checks. Once approved, they spend countless hours in all types of weather giving their time to bring the sport to youth. See why it really shouldn’t work? Yet, it does work, and is still thriving. Another 58 adults were recently certified in weekend training at 4-H Memorial Camp near Monticello Oct. 21-23. That brings Illinois’ total of certified instructors to over 900 adults in six years. About 175 of those instructors have returned to receive certification in more than one discipline, and three are now certified in all five disciplines, as well as the coordinator position.
For Zak Benjamin of Henry County, he chose 4-H because of the quality of the program which inspires youth. “Out of all of the youth programs I have been a part of,” Benjamin said, “I have seen more impact from 4-H than any of the others.” In a sport which is often misunderstood, Benny Schakat of Mason County said he believes “education erases ignorance and allows us to better grow and relate to objects, animals, and each other.” “We have extremely passionate and dedicated volunteers, and that’s why this program beats the odds and works so well,” Dawson said, “They are willing to sacrifice their time, talents and resources to enhance the lives of children.” “I have never witnessed a more passionate group of adults willing to share their shooting sports knowledge with the youth of our state,” Dawson said. “I don’t think our volunteer instructors and coordinators think of it as a sacrifice because they believe they are getting as much from the program as they are giving.”
Some of the first youth participants who have aged out of 4-H are now returning to take their turn as an instructor in the program they say taught them patience and determination in a sport they passionately enjoy.
The Illinois 4-H Foundation provides funds to assist 4-H shooting sports clubs purchase training equipment and to cover partial expenses to the national 4-H shooting contest.
So why do they volunteer? Many say they want to be sure children have a chance to experience the sport, and they know many children don’t have someone to teach them. For others, the reasons are more personal.
Source: Daniel D. Dawson, Extension Educator, 4-H Youth Development, Shooting Sports, dddawson@illinois.edu
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