Quinn Honors ISA for Exports
BLOOMINGTON - Illinois Governor Pat Quinn honored the Illinois Soybean Association (ISA) with the Governor’s Export Promotion Agency of the Year award on June 21, in recognition of Illinois Export Week. Created by Illinois lawmakers in 1993, the award honors Illinois organizations that provide substantial export assistance to Illinois companies, according to ISA’s Weekly Update. “For more than 50 years, Illinois farmers have grown and supplies an increasing amount of soybeans to meet international customer needs,” stated Matt Hughes, ISA vice chairman.

Added Quinn: “The key to making jobs happen is through exports. Our soybeans are second to none.” ISA has been involved with U.S. soy export promotion activities through the Illinois soybean checkoff since the mid-1960’s. In 2010-2011, Illinois farmers exported some 209 million bushels of soybeans at a value of around $2.35 billion.

NPDES Permit Requirement Near Defeat?
BLOOMINGTON - The U.S. Senate Ag Committee passed H.R. 872 on June 21, advancing a bill that would eliminate the National Pollution Discharge Elimination System (NPDES) permit requirement for farmers and others who apply pesticides over or near a body of water a step closer to becoming law. The bill had passed the House by majority earlier and the full U.S. Senate will likely vote on its passage later this summer, according to a Legislative Alert issued by the Illinois Fertilizer & Chemical Association (IFCA) to its members last week.
“Although the issue with the (NPDES) has not gone away yet...we will need IFCA members to contact (Ill.) Senators Durbin and Kirk asking them to vote yes on this legislation,” the IFCA alert stated, in part. The compliance deadline for obtaining an NPDES permit has been extended from April 11 to October 11, so it is “critical” that H.R.872 passes the Senate, according to the IFCA.

Illinois NRCS Seeks Minority Producers for Lawsuit
CHAMPAIGN - The Illinois USDA Natural Resources Conservation Service (NRCS) is part of a coordinated, nationwide USDA-NRCS effort to contact both Hispanic and female agricultural producers, operators or landowners concerning their eligibility for a USDA discrimination settlement on farm loans and applications occurring between 1981 and 2000. Illinois NRCS has sent this notice to members of the agricultural press to help ensure that all women landowners or Hispanic producers impacted by the lawsuit are properly notified of the claims process made available by USDA.
For more information, see www.farmerclaims.gov or call (888) 508-4429. (USDA-Ill. NRCS Media Alert)

IBA Names New Spokesman
SPRINGFIELD - While almost everyone is familiar with the famous national advertising slogan for beef (“it’s what’s for dinner,”) not many Illinoisans are aware that the state has its own beef industry trade organization working to create awareness for cattle and beef producers. Eric Johnson, a third-generation cattle producer from rural Montgomery County, hopes to raise awareness for the state’s livestock farmers by increasing the Illinois Beef Association’s (IBA) profile through mediums including social networking on the Web and encouraging producers to engage their neighbors and others about beef production in Illinois.
“My job is to help better tell the story of cattle producers statewide and let consumers know what Illinois beef producers are doing and the impact we have on both their county’s and the state’s economy,” said Johnson, 32, who became the new director of communications for the IBA June 6 and was officially introduced to producers and industry leaders during the IBA’s annual summer meetings, held last week at Western Illinois University in Macomb. “We feel our practices are safe and good for the environment and consumers. I’ll be working as hard as I can with producers and leaders to get that word out. We’ll be making improvements to our website and to our communications with the media, legislators and the general public. I’d like to help make IBA a household name.”

Pork to Meet Cork in State Capitol
SPRINGFIELD - The Illinois Pork Producers Association (IPPA) has announced the return of “Pork Meets Cork,” featuring a variety of mouth-watering specialty pork entrees, Eli’s Cheescake and Illinois-produced wines, to downtown Springfield from 6-8 p.m. on Friday, July 1. Winner of the 2010 “best new special event” award presented by Downtown Springfield, Inc., Pork Meets Cork “provide(s) an outdoor event full of good food, wine and country music,” according to an IPPA news release.
The gathering will serve a dual purpose for the IPPA, whose members will be utilizing the event to further its “Pork Power” initiative, which is responsible for the donation of more than 200,000 pounds of pork by Illinois producers to food pantries across the state for distribution to needy families.
“This is a great partnership and last year’s event was a huge success,” commented Erin Cleary, IPPA director of marketing and education. Tickets may be purchased via Internet at www.presidentlincoln.org or by calling (217) 558-8934.

Illinois Farm Fact:
In 2010, the total of all economic costs per acre for growing corn in Illinois averaged $739 in the northern section, $717 in the central section for farmland with “high” soil ratings, $687 in the central section for farmland with “low” soil ratings, and $635 in the southern section.
Soybean costs per acre were $524, $539, $493 and $467, respectively. The total of all economic costs per bushel in the different sections of the ranged from $4.25 to $4.38 for corn and from $8.98 to $9.53 for soybeans. Variations in this cost were related to weather, yields and land quality. (Farmdoc Daily: Cost to Produce Corn and Soybeans in Illinois-- 2010)


(Tim Alexander is a freelance reporter who writes agriculture, news and feature articles for News Bulletin, Farm World and many other publications.)