Knox County Farm Bureau®
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5/17/2007
NEW PLATEAU - Dick Bond, Tyson Foods CEO, says he believes corn prices have "reached a new plateau." He said rising grain prices will cost Tyson about $300 million more this year and he places the blame on increased ethanol production. Meanwhile, Informa Economics has forecast U.S. corn plantings at 90.6 million acres and soybeans at 68.3 million acres. USDA will update its acreage numbers on June 29th.WRDA VOTE - The U.S. Senate approved the Water Resources Development Act - or WRDA - by an overwhelming margin Wednesday. In a 91 to 4 vote - Senators approved the bill - which authorizes lock and dam upgrades on the Upper Mississippi and Illinois Rivers. It now goes to a House-Senate conference committee.
HORSE SLAUGHTER - Yesterday's vote in the Illinois Senate on a horse slaughter ban was expected, but we thought Sen. Mike Jacobs' comments were appropriate for today: "You’re saying it’s OK to eat Elsie the Cow, Chicken Little and Bambi, you just don’t want us to eat Mr. Ed."
5/14/2007
ENERGY ANN0UNCEMENT - President Bush responded Monday to a Supreme Court ruling by ordering federal agencies to find a way to begin regulating vehicle emissions by the time he leaves office. In a Rose Garden announcement, Bush said he wanted to move ahead, pending any separate legislative approaches. The new rules will "cut gasoline consumption and greenhouse gas emissions from motor vehicles,” he said.SECRETS REVEALED - USDA will issue a report later this week on the data it uses in estimating corn yields, officials said today. The report will provide information on the types of data collected from the corn objective yield surveys and how they relate to the Agricultural Statistics Board yield estimates, officials said.
FARM BILL PROPOSAL - Reps. Ron Kind (D-WI), Jeff Flake (R-AZ), Joe Crowley (D-NY) and David Reichert (R-WA) last week announced they will introduce a farm bill proposal. Under their proposal, the current farm program -- countercyclical, loan deficiency income loss and direct payments – would gradually be transitioned to what they say is “a more cost-effective and responsive system of farmer-held risk management accounts and revenue insurance tools.”
5/11/2007
GRT FOLLOWUP - Newspapers across Illinois today are declaring the GRT dead, but their editorials are asking what's next. Here's some excerpts from selected newspapers:Chicago Tribune: "It's a new day. We the people of Illinois are liberated to build a budget. Now, what's the order of our priorities this year? Knowing that, how much money do we need? From where, or whom, should it come?"
State Journal-Register: "Some opponents do not question the need for more revenue, though opinions greatly differ on just how much more money is needed and where it should go. One thing most legislators do agree on is that the GRT - as proposed so far - is not the way to get that money."
Rich Miller, Chicago Sun-Times column: "The result has been a flat-out political disaster. Because (Blagojevich) went out of his way to alienate business and barely did anything to shore up support in his own party, you'd be hard-pressed to find more than three or four real supporters of the governor's gross receipts tax plan in the General Assembly now."
Daily Herald: "At this point, the aforementioned dynamics of 2004 appear like they’re about to kick back in: Democrat Madigan, House Republican leader Tom Cross and Senate Republican leader Frank Watson versus Blagojevich and Democratic Senate President Emil Jones. Who will blink first in the governor’s apparent holy war?"
5/8/2007
GRT HEARING - President Nelson testified today against the GRT in the Illinois House chamber. He appeared at the invitation of House speaker Michael Madigan who called a special House "committee of the whole" hearing on the Governor's tax plan. The president appeared on a panel with Illinois Business Roundtable president Jeff Mays, Illinois Coalition for Jobs, Growth, and Prosperity
president Ron Gidwitz, and Illinois Realtors Association economist Donald Jones.VETO THREAT - Gov. Blagojevich wasted no time Wednesday in telling House members he will veto any measure that increases income and/or sales taxes. His comments came minutes after House Speaker Mike Madigan announced a planned vote Thursday on a resolution to gauge GRT support in the House.
ELECTRIC RALLY - A noon-hour rally was held at the Statehouse today by AARP and the Citizens Utility Board aimed at scaling back electric rate increases. Consumer anger over the rising price of electricity remains a key issue in Springfield.
5/4/2007
HIGH SPEED AVAILABILITY - AFBF this week urged lawmakers to support legislation that would rapidly implement high-quality, affordable broadband Internet service, especially in rural areas. Rural Americans lag behind urban and suburban residents in the use and availability of high-speed Internet connections, according to AFBF. Twenty-four percent of rural Americans have high-speed Internet access at home, compared to 39 percent of urban and suburban residents.CHICAGO VS. DOWNSTATE - IlliniPundit, a political blog, has an interesting story on the recent smoking ban vote. The regional breakdown of votes highlights how the Chicago metro area can and does dominates the General Assembly. The graphic shows why IFB's Adopt-A-Legislator program is so important for County Farm Bureaus.
BIOTECH RULING - A federal judge ruled Thursday that farmers must stop planting Monsanto’s Roundup Ready alfalfa seed until the Agriculture Department completes an environmental impact statement. The ruling makes permanent a temporary order announced in March. This is the first time a federal court has halted planting of a commercial biotech crop.
5/3/2007
GRT UPDATE -- The fallout from yesterday's events surrounding the GRT debates in Springfield is starting. Today's State Journal-Register's editorial urges the governor to compromise. "Blagojevich’s plan may not be dead, but its pulse is hard to find at this point," the paper said. "We suspect Madigan’s call for the full House meeting next week is sending a strong message that the governor needs to consider compromise. We hope he gets the message." Even though media reports indicate the GRT is in trouble, IFB's Kevin Semlow says you should still continue to use our action request to indicate your opposition to the GRT today.AGRISURE UPDATE - Effective immediately, BNSF railroad will not accept for transportation any carloads of corn or corn products containing Agrisure RW (MIR 604). Any customer shipping a carload of corn or corn products containing any amount of Agrisure RW (MIR 604) shall be responsible for any damages to BNSF resulting from the shipment of the carload containing that product.
5/2/2007
GRT IS DOA IN HOUSE - While teachers were rallying for education funding outside the Statehouse today, lawmakers inside the Capitol gave a resounding "NO" to Gov. Blagojevich's plan for a GRT. A majority of the Illinois House of Representatives -- every Republican legislator and nine Democrats -- have signed on to a GOP-sponsored resolution opposing Gov. Rod Blagojevich's gross receipts tax proposal. The 61 votes would effectively kill any attempt to pass the GRT in the Illinois House.REACTION - "Bipartisan support outside of this chamber and in this chamber shows that (the) gross receipts tax is DOA," said House Minority Leader Tom Cross, R-Oswego, who introduced the resolution. "I think we've sent a strong message to the governor."
DISASTER PROGRAM - House Agriculture Committee Chairman Collin Peterson on Tuesday told reporters he intends to include a disaster assistance program in the farm bill he sends his committee members, which “would require producers to share the risk in providing the coverage for catastrophic damages,” according to the National Journal. Peterson said he plans to send his version of the farm bill to his committee by mid-May.
5/1/2007
MAY DAY ARRIVES - The big question in Springfield these days is: “Are the Governor, Speaker of the House, and Senate President meeting?” IFB's Kevin Semlow says the answer is simply NO. The three leaders have yet to meet and the common feeling under the State House Dome is that there is no great rush between them to meet. If the leaders do not meet and work out their differences, the rules for passing a budget change at the end of this month. Check out Quickview for the latest.FUEL SHORTAGES - A bottleneck in the supply of gasoline has caused some terminals in Iowa to run out of unleaded gas today, the Des Moines Register reported.
WTO UPDATE - There’s been a lot of chatter recently about the World Trade Organization’s Doha Round, but as Dave Salmonsen, American Farm Bureau Federation’s trade specialist, says, there’s no progress to back it up.
4/30/2007
DIESEL SHIFT – Today’s Wall Street Journal reports that Marathon Oil is spending $3.2 billion in a bet that diesel's appeal to U.S. drivers will rise. Company officials are renovating a refinery to produce more diesel than gasoline. They say diesel has less of a global-warming impact than gasoline. They also expect foreign auto manufacturers to bring clean diesel technology to the U.S.PET FOOD FOLLOWUP - Chinese manufacturers have been openly adding the chemical melamine to animal feed for years to falsely inflate protein content, according to a New York Times article. The ready availability and low cost of melamine – about $1.20 per ton compared to $6 for real protein – are the primary reasons it has been used as an animal feed additive.
HSUS & LAWYERS TEAM UP - The Humane Society of the United States and Georgetown University Law Center recently announced a joint project to “strengthen and expand the Law Center’s animal law curriculum, provide opportunities for students to work in the field, and to foster academic discourse in the emerging field of animal law.”
4/26/2007
CELLULOSIC RESEARCH - If conservation of soil organic matter is taken into account, the United States at best has to cut in half the amount of cornstalks that otherwise could be harvested to produce cellusosic ethanol, according to USDA researchers. A study by Agricultural Research Service soil scientist Jane Johnson found that twice as many cornstalks have to be left in the field to maintain soil organic matter levels, compared to the amount of stalks needed only to prevent erosion.FARM PAYMENT BUYOUT – CongressDaily reports that Citigroup has proposed voluntary buyouts for recipients of direct and counter-cyclical farm payments, modeled loosely on the 2004 tobacco buyout. Citigroup estimates the savings could be $18.9 billion over the first decade if half of beneficiaries of major farm subsidies accept the buyout. CBO projects $5.2 billion in annual direct payments to farmers and an average of $1.13 billion of counter-cyclical payments each year between 2008 and 2017. Citigroup proposes these recipients be offered a fixed settlement to forgo future payments. Participation would be voluntary.
4/24/2007
CULTIVATE ILLINOIS - State Treasurer Alexi Giannoulias will unveil Cultivate Illinois, his agricultural loan program on Wednesday at a farmstead near Williamsville, just north of Springfield. Giannoulias will pledge a record $1 billion in low-interest agriculture loans each of the next four years.ETHANOL FROM STEEL – A New Zealand company has developed a fermentation process in which bacteria consume carbon monoxide from steel mills and produce ethanol. This technology could produce 50 billion gallons of ethanol from the world's steel mills alone. Check out the Energy Blog.
BIOPLASTICS - In 2006, Metabolix Inc. and Archer Daniels Midland formed a 50-50 joint venture company operating under the name of Telles to commercialize Mirel Natural Plastics. The companies announced Monday that they will jointly produce bio-based and totally biodegradable Mirel Natural Plastics at a new plant in Clinton, Iowa.
ELECTORAL SHIFT – Monday’s Wall Street Journal had an article highlighting the possible shift in congressional seats during the next 20 years. It shows Illinois could lose up to 4 seats by 2030, while states in the West and South could gain at least 30 seats.
4/23/2007
PARKINSON’S LINKS – Two scientific studies just released indicate that farmers have a much higher risk of suffering Parkinson’s disease than the general public. One study has confirmed a relationship between consuming large amounts of dairy products and an increase in the rate of Parkinson’s disease in men, but the reason for this relationship remains a puzzle. The other study linked pesticide use, especially paraquat and dieldrin, with higher than the normal risk of Parkinson’s in farmers.FARM BILL - AFBF today released its recommendations for a 2007 farm bill that is fiscally responsible, benefits all sectors of agriculture and respects U.S. trade obligations, while continuing a reliable safety net for the nation’s farmers. The Farm Bureau proposal is available at: http://www.fb.org/index.php?fuseaction=newsroom.farmbill2007.
4/19/2007
GRT UPDATE – It was late Wednesday when IFB President Phillip Nelson got a chance to testify before a Senate committee on the GRT. News coverage of the anti-GRT rally was excellent with many local business owners around Illinois giving examples of how the proposed tax would impact them. On Thursday, Gov. Blagojevich unveiled a capital roads project that would benefit from his “Tax Fairness Plan.” Many of the projects target downstate Democratic lawmakers who have so far voiced concerns over the GRT.WRDA UPDATE - The Bush administration Wednesday officially came out against a House package of Army Corps of Engineers water infrastructure projects over its cost, which administration officials estimate is at least $15 billion. "In a time of much-needed fiscal restraint, the additional spending in this bill is unacceptable," according to the White House Statement of Administration Policy.
CROP INSURANCE - With the ability to lock in higher crop prices, more growers bought revenue-based crop insurance policies this year – despite significantly higher premium costs. Sales data released by USDA’s Risk Management Agency indicates that growers have consistently moved away from standard APH policies and into revenue based products.
4/16/2007
ORGANIC WALMART - Wal-Mart is scaling back plans to aggressively market organic foods. About a year ago the retail giant made headlines when a marketing executive announced plans to stock 400 organic food items in stores. Today, most Wal-Mart stores offer 100 to 200 organic food items. A spokesperson for the company said stocking 400 organic items in most stores is not a current goal of the company.INFORMED PUBLIC - Americans’ knowledge of national and international affairs has changed little in two decades despite the emergence of 24-hour cable news and the Internet as major news sources. More than half of those in the most knowledgeable category listed as news sources cable TV shows such as the “Daily Show,” the “Colbert Report” and the “O’Reilly Factor,” major newspaper Web sites, the “PBS NewsHour with Jim Lehrer,” Rush Limbaugh’s radio show and National Public Radio.
FACTOID - Just 1.3 percent of imported fish, vegetables, fruit and other foods into the U.S. are inspected by the FDA. Next year, only 1.1% will be inspected.
4/13/2007
GRT FLAWED – University of Illinois economics professor J. Fred Giertz says Governor Blagojevich’s gross receipts tax is a flawed approach to taxation. Giertz says the GRT is a textbook case of an “inefficient tax” that penalizes smaller businesses that depend on outside vendors. Check the IFB website for full details on his article.BUYING SPREE – Gatehouse Media’s buying spree in Illinois continued this week with the purchase of the Rockford Register-Star newspaper. The latest buy brings the total number of Illinois daily newspapers owned by Gatehouse to 21.
EPA RULES CHANGE – A new rule issued Thursday by the Environmental Protection Agency would reduce pollution-control regulations for grain ethanol producers by easing the approval process and utilizing pollution controls. Under the new EPA rules, ethanol plants would not be considered a major source of pollution if they omit less than 250 tons per year of particulate matter. Under the old rules, the limit was 100 tons.
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