Region Ramblings

A USDA Web site says every family needs a farmer. Then it asks a simple question: Do you know yours?

The “Know Your Farmer, Know Your Food” initiative works to build connections between farmers and consumers.

Agriculture Deputy Secretary Kathleen Merrigan made three stops Thursday in Chicago to highlight how Illinois can tap into the initiative designed to promote local and regional food systems by stimulating community economic development and ensuring equitable access to affordable fresh and local food.

It’s a big challenge — and it’s part of an ongoing discussion among food experts, “foodies,” educators, community officials and social service agencies.

But the payoff could mean better health for all Americans and a better understanding of how food goes from field to fork.

“Part of our ‘Know Your Farmer, Know Your Food’ initiative is to link the agricultural community to urban markets to bring new understanding of the importance of healthy eating and provide enhanced access to fresh foods,” Merrigan said in a news release after meeting with students at the Chicago High School for Agricultural Sciences, speaking at the Financing Farm to Fork Conference and talking with students and community leaders at DePaul University.

“We expect consumer demand for locally grown food in the U.S. to rise from an estimated $4 billion in 2002 to as much as $7 billion by 2012.”

Farmers, for example, can get involved by participating in local farm to school programs that feature healthy, locally-sourced products in cafeterias. Some programs also incorporate nutrition-based studies as well as food-learning opportunities such as farm visits, gardening, cooking and composting activities.

Providing greater access to fresh, healthy food is a priority of the Obama Administration and First Lady Michelle Obama’s Let’s Move! campaign to end childhood obesity.

More information is available online at usda.gov/knowyourfarmer and LetsMove.gov.

Farmers heading into the fields this spring will be busy thinking about what still needs to be done from 2009 and what has to be done for 2010.

That long to-do list leaves little time for thinking about safety, but Farm Bureau hopes to make it more of a priority.

Farm Bureau’s Agricultural Safety Awareness Program recognizes the week of March 7-13 as Agricultural Safety Awareness Week to help highlight the dangers to farmers during the planting season.

Tractor rollover is the cause of many fatalities to Missouri farmers, according to Denny Bannister, assistant director of public affairs for the Missouri Farm Bureau.

“Much of our state is rolling hills, and many tractors have a high center of gravity making them susceptible to rollover,” Bannister wrote in a recent editorial column. “Additionally, many Missouri farmers still use older tractors without rollover protection. The combination is dangerous.”

In addition, farming causes many serious workplace injuries which can be painful, maiming and very costly to the farm.

Bannister shares some advice for farmers to follow this week and throughout the year including:

• Take your time. You don’t have to be the first farmer to get in the field and the first to finish planting.

• Don’t take anything for granted when working with machinery. You may have reached into moving machinery thousands of times without injury, but that only makes your odds worse the next time.

• Take plenty of breaks to stretch, eat, drink and rest. Be sure to get a good night’s sleep instead of pushing yourself into late night planting.

• Be careful during spring planting so you can be around for fall harvest.

It’s a day to think about what a bargain food is for the American consumer and a week to focus on stretching your grocery dollar with healthy, nutritious food.

Farm Bureau’s Food Check-Out Week, which runs through Saturday, and Food Check-Out Day on Thursday celebrate healthy food.

America’s farmers and ranchers are committed to producing safe, healthy and abundant food, and they’re just as concerned as other consumers with putting nutritious meals on the table while sticking to a tight budget.

“Learning to use your grocery dollars wisely ensures that nutrition isn’t neglected,” Hancock County Farm Bureau Manager Carla Mudd said in a news release.

“Fruits and vegetables – along with whole grains, low-fat dairy products, lean meats, fish, beans, eggs and nuts — are an important part of a healthy diet. Buying fresh produce when it’s in season and costs less, while buying frozen fruits and vegetables when they’re not in season, is a smart way to stretch that dollar.”

A recent USDA report supports the economics of healthier eating. Recent food price data show that prices for unprepared, readily available fresh fruits and vegetables have remained stable relative to dessert and snack foods, such as chips, ice cream and cola. As defined by foods in the study, the price of a “healthier” diet has not changed compared to an “unhealthy” diet.

Americans, on average, spend less than 10 percent of their disposable personal income for food — compared to roughly 50 percent in India — and earned enough to buy their food for a year just 56 days into 2010.

Food Check-Out Week, always held the third full week of February each year, highlights ways to stretch the grocery dollar. Area Farm Bureaus marked the week with donations to food pantries and special promotions to give away reusable grocery bags.

Missouri Farm Bureau has two words to say to farmers this week: Thank you.

The organization celebrates Thank a Farmer Week, Feb. 7-13, to recognize the importance of farmers and the impact they have on our daily lives by providing food, fuel and fiber.

Today, each farmer’s labor accounts for supplying goods for 155 people in the United States and abroad, Diane Olson, director of promotion and education for Missouri Farm Bureau, wrote in the organization’s weekly column.

The amount one farmer can supply continues to increase with technology and management practices, allowing farmers to be much more productive, Olson wrote.

Americans enjoy an abundant, safe and affordable food supply thanks to farmers, and the farmers’ impact reaches well beyond food.

“The list of products with agriculture roots is long and varied,” she said. “We may not be aware products such as clothing, cosmetics, cleaning supplies, paint, fuel, ink, pet supplies and more are dependent on agriculture and the farmer.”

To mark the week, Farm Bureau is donating food to Ronald McDonald pantries throughout Missouri. Special deliveries of food items are planned today to Ronald McDonald houses in Columbia and Springfield, Thursday in Joplin at Feb. 17 in Kansas City.

The food donations are possible thanks to Missouri Farm Bureau members.

The organization’s promotion and education committee coordinates the collection and deliveries of food items which benefit families using Ronald McDonald House charities as a “home-away-from-home” while their seriously ill children receive treatment at local hospitals.

The verdict is in for 2009. Corn and soybean crops in Illinois and Missouri were good, but not record-setting, in a year hampered by a wet, drawn-out harvest.

Illinois production of corn for grain totaled 2.065 billion bushels in 2009, 3 percent less than 2008, according to the Illinois Field Office of the National Agricultural Statistics Service. The final yield was 175 bushels per acre, four bushels below the 2008 yield.

The final yield for the soybean crop was 46 bushels per acre, one bushel below 2008. Production in 2009 reached 430.1 million bushels, slightly above the 2008 production.

Missouri farmers harvested 447 million bushels of corn for use as grain in 2009, up 17 percent from 2008. Yields averaged 153 bushel per acre, also up from 2008 but shy of the record yield set in 2004.

Soybean production totaled 231 million bushels in 2009, up 21 percent from 2008. Yields averaged 43.5 bushels per acre.

Nationwide, corn farmers brought in a record amount of corn in 2009. USDA estimated a crop of 13.2 billion bushels, with a record yield of 165.2 bushels per acre, according to the “News of the Day” from the National Corn Growers Association.

“Even in difficult conditions, our growers combine the most modern technology available with a strong and determined work ethic to produce a crop that meets all needs for food, feed, fuel and fiber. What remains to be seen is the full impact of the millions of bushels that farmers could not yet harvest,” NCGA President Darrin Ihnen said.

U.S. corn growers produced this record crop utilizing fewer acres. In 2009, USDA estimates 86.6 million acre were used for corn production, compared with the 93.5 million acres used to produce the previous record crop in 2007.

In its World Agricultural Supply and Demand Estimates, the USDA estimated a total corn supply of 14.8 billion bushels, with 5.6 billion bushels being used for feed, 4.2 billion for ethanol and coproducts and 1.3 billion for other domestic uses.

The U.S. will export 2.1 billion bushels of corn, with a carry-out of 1.8 billion bushels in free stocks at the end of the marketing year.

Average farm price is estimated at $3.70 per bushel, the second year of a drop in average corn prices.

With 2009 drawing to a close, Illinois Farm Bureau says it’s a year farmers won’t forget for a long time.

Planting and harvest delays, along with the politics of cap-and-trade legislation, gave farmers much to talk about this year.

Highlights of the year in ag, according to IFB, include:

• In January, IFB and other members of the Illinois Ag Legislative Roundtable ask the state’s congressional delegation to push “potential projects that could stimulate the Illinois economy and help out the national economy.”

• Meadowbrook Farms, which operates a pork processing facility in Rantoul, shuts down in February and lays off 600 employees. The firm later files for bankruptcy.

• IFB’s Market Study tour visits China in March and finds new Chinese consumers are “young, hip and wary” and want convenient, safe food.

• Also in March, USDA projects U.S. farmers will plant fewer crop acre and reduce livestock numbers in response to the overall downturn in the economy. Soybean market bottoms for the year at $7.84 per bushel.

• In June, farmers statewide finally finish corn planting. Corn market makes yearly high of $4.73 per bushel; soybeans top out at $10.99 per bushel.

• Farmland values for the first half of 2009 softened, and the volume of sales declined, according to a mid-year survey released in July by the Illinois Society of Professional Farm Managers and Rural Appraisers.

• In September, IFB Vice President Rich Guebert, Jr. led about 900 producers, laborers, business owners and consumers in the chant “no cap and trade” during a Springfield rally.

• Also in September, the grain industry braces for a late and large harvest. Early harvested corn is damaged by diplodia mold, which causes lightweight kernels that reduce yields. Corn market bottoms for the year at $3.05.

• Soybean rust is confirmed in 20 Illinois counties in October, but the outbreak is late enough in the season to cause no yield damage.

• U.S. EPA announces in October the start of a new year-long study of potential health risks related to atrazine.

• Nearly half of Illinois cropland was farmed with conservation tillage in 2008, according to a statewide survey released in November by the Illinois Department of Agriculture.

• Ninety percent of Illinois corn is harvested by mid-December, but heavy snow halts progress in northern counties.

Playing catch-up after some vacation time means sending out congratulations to four area men recently honored by the Illinois Farm Bureau.

The organization’s annual meeting, held Dec. 5-9 in Chicago, recognized Griggsville farmer Phil Bradshaw, Pittsfield resident and long-time educator Larry Fischer and Hancock County farmers Joe Zumwalt and Mathew Starr.

IFB’s highest honor, the Distinguished Service Award, went to Bradshaw, who has raised corn, soybeans and hogs for more than 40 years as part of an operation now run by his son.

Philip Bradshaw (right)

The Farm Post eNews, the weekly news summary from the Pike and Scott County Farm Bureaus, notes Bradshaw has traveled extensively to promote the use of soybeans representing the United Soybean Board, the World Initiative for Soy in Human Health and the World Soy Foundation. He has served in leadership roles for the Illinois Pork Producers Association, the State FFA Sponsoring Committee and the Illinois Soybean Board.

IFB’s Distinguished Service Award honors the memory and service of Charles Shuman, a revered Moultrie County farm leader who served as president of both IFB and of the American Farm Bureau Federation.

Fischer received the IFB Eagle Award for Excellence for his contributions to agriculture through his employment at John Wood Community College.

Larry Fischer, center

Fischer retired last year as JWCC’s vice president of instruction. During his tenure with the college, the swine management and agriculture programs both received national recognition.

Fischer is a long-time community leader and volunteer.

The Eagle Award for Excellence recognizes an individual or organization for excellence on issues or programs important to Farm Bureau and agriculture on a statewide and/or national basis.

Zumwalt was the runner-up for the Young Leader Achievement Award which recognizes young farmers active on the farm, in Farm Bureau and in the community after winning the state discussion meet in 2008.

Zumwalt followed his grandparents and parents into farming in the Mississippi River bottoms near Warsaw.

“It’s a wonderful career path. It involves good people and good opportunities,” he said. “It has been challenging, especially the last two years, but we have had some good crop years, good market prices. I’ve told several people that I can’t think of 10 years that would be better for a young farmer to get started than the last 10.”

Zumwalt has raised corn and soybeans on his own acreage for the past 10 years and now farms 1,020 acres.

“I enjoy not just the farming but what it allows me to do in the off-time,” he said. “Being able to be involved in Farm Bureau, serve on the church board, on the Ursa Farmers Cooperative board. If I had any other occupation, I might not have the time or flexibility to do those things.”

Starr won honorable mention in this year’s discussion meet.

The event is not a debate, but a discussion of four ag-related questions among a group of four or five people per round. Judges look at what solutions participants propose, how well they communicate and how well they work with others in the group.

“You’re always going to learn something from the topic, from your own research or what you hear in the other viewpoints,” Starr said. “One of the most beneficial things about taking part in the meet is being able to just become more well-practiced at communicating with others. It helps you learn to sit in front of a room of people, converse with others, jump in and get your viewpoint across.”

Starr is a fifth generation to farm the family’s land between Hamilton and Nauvoo. Starr, his dad and his uncle farm together and raise corn, soybeans, wheat and hogs.

Here’s some food for thought heading into the Thanksgiving holiday.

According to a study by the University of Manchester, Great Britain’s largest single-site university, a meal resembling a typical Thanksgiving dinner for eight produces approximately 44 pounds of carbon dioxide emissions, 60 percent of which comes from the life cycle of the turkey.

Over the holiday, Americans will consume turkeys that require at least 915,200 barrels of oil to produce, according to an e-mail from Goodman Media International, a New York-based public relations firm which represents the Center for Food Safety.

In addition, the e-mail said nitrogen fertilizers used on conventionally grown vegetables create nitrous oxide, which is 300 times more potent a greenhouse gas than carbon dioxide.

But there are simple ways to reduce the environmental impact of Thanksgiving like buying organic food which doesn’t use harmful nitrogen fertilizers, buying locally grown food which reduces carbon dioxide emissions from transport and buying less processed and packaged foods.

Other tips to reduce the carbon footprint of Thanksgiving are available online at greengiftguide.com. They include:

• Purchase locally grown produce. An average piece of produce travels 1,500-2,500 miles before it gets to your kitchen.

• Buy in bulk to reduce the amount of food packaging.

• Suggest dinner party guests carpool. If every person in the U.S. cut out just one commute in their per week by carpooling or taking public transportation, carbon emissions would drop by 149 million tons.

• Recycle bottles and cans used for cooking and drinking. Recycling one aluminum can saves enough energy to operate your television for nearly three hours.

• Use cloth napkins instead of paper, reusable dishes instead of paper plates. Discarded paper plates and cups account for more than 890,000 tons of waste per year.

It’s called nature-deficit disorder.
It affects both children and adults, but the long-term damage can be greatest in the young who grow up with no understanding of the value of spending time in the great outdoors or protecting natural resources.
Seven-year-old Noah Petty doesn’t know anything about the disorder.
He already spends plenty of time fishing, dove hunting and on the farm of his grandparents, Michele and Terry Rush, near Detroit in Pike County. And he’s looking forward to going deer hunting some day.
He’s seen plenty of people come to farm over the years to hunt deer and turkey, but he probably never shook hands with an Illinois governor — until Saturday.
Meeting Gov. Pat Quinn was “cool,” Noah said.
Quinn stopped by Blue River Farm to promote the economic and quality-of-life benefits of nature-based tourism and outdoor recreation.
That was fine with Noah.
“It’s good to promote hunting in Pike County,” he said.
Quinn reminded people of the great opportunities in Illinois — and especially in Pike County — for residents and visitors of all ages to hunt, fish and enjoy nature.
“We want to have a philosophy of leave no child inside. We want to get kids outside and make sure kids have a chance to walk with their parents, have a chance to hunt, a chance to fish,” Quinn said.
The state’s fantastic white-tailed deer hunting provides a great opportunity for families.
“It is a long-standing tradition that brings families and friends together around the deer camp, heading out to our deer stands. It’s a fun sporting tradition,” Illinois Department of Natural Resources Director Marc Miller said.
“We want to show all of them the tremendous fun and healthy lifestyle that comes from our outdoor tradition. We’re hoping not only to be able to build a strong economy in many rural areas but make sure we have strong bodies and minds in young people.”
The effort needs to start young, with people Noah’s age and even younger — and Quinn’s open to suggestions. He gave Noah a business card in case he has any ideas.
“We need to make sure everybody in Illinois understands that taking care of natural resources, having the opportunity to hunt and fish, are special, special opportunities. We should always protect them, always advance them,” Quinn said.

A forecast for a week’s worth of sunny skies has area farmers hoping to cover plenty of ground to harvest corn and soybeans.

They’ve got plenty of ground to make up in 2009.

The state’s soybean harvest has never been this slow. Thirty-three percent of the crop was harvested in the last week of October, the lowest figure on record for this date.

As for corn, according to the National Agricultural Statistics Service’s Illinois Field Office, it was back in 1967 when a smaller percentage of the corn crop had been harvested by late October.

While historically low, this year’s figure of 14 percent harvested is higher than the 11 percent recorded the fourth week of October in 1967.

Harvest delays, along with the time change, have officials promoting a “rural driving alert” to remind motorists in rural areas to pay attention to farm equipment.

Darkness falls around 5:30 p.m. just as record numbers of tractors, combines, trucks and wagons are using rural roads and county and state highways, according to Illinois Farm Bureau.

“In a normal year, Illinois farmers expect to be more than 80 percent done with corn and soybean harvest by Nov. 1,” IFB President Philip Nelson said. “This year’s soggy harvest has slowed progress. A lot of farm work is going to be done in the dark this year.”

Many county farm bureaus in Illinois have distributed roadside signs for motorists and caution signs and lighting kits for farm equipment. Much of this communication has been in place for several years, but it takes on added urgency in 2009, Nelson said.

A COUNTRY Financial annual survey showed roadway collisions involving farm equipment accounted for 24 percent of Illinois farm deaths from July 1, 2008 to June 30, 2009. Roadway collisions ranked as the second leading cause of farm deaths behind tractor rollovers and ahead of grain bin accidents.