Pro Farmer Issues Crop Projections
PARK RIDGE - 2011 corn yields are consistently lower than the short 2010 crop in the seven states Pro Farmer toured during their recently-concluded annual Crop Tour, though hope remains for a strong soybean harvest in Illinois and other Midwest states.

Illinois’ corn crop was estimated at 154.8 bushels per acre by Pro Farmer’s field researchers. “Parts of the state show promise, but there’s too much stress and poor plant health to produce a ‘typical’ Illinois crop. The challenge will be to preserve yield potential and get it to the bin,” reads a Pro Farmer news release detailing corn and soybean crop estimates dated August 26, in part.
As for the state’s soybean crop, harvest was projected to be 49 bushels per acre. “Rains rolled through parts of Illinois during the Tour,” the report states. “The northern half of the crop has plenty of moisture to finish with a good yield.”
Pro Farmer pegs the U.S. corn crop at 12.484 billion bushels and an average yield of 147.9 bu./acre, with an error margin of plus-or-minus one percent. The U.S. soybean crop is estimated by Pro Farmer at 3.083 billion bushels and 41.8 bu./acre, with a plus-or-minus two percent error margin. “The slight uptick in the bean yield estimate from USDA’s Aug. 1 report is the result of one of the most disease-free bean crops we’ve ever seen on the Tour,” according to Pro Farmer.

Metamora Farmer Named ICMB Chair
BLOOMINGTON - Bill Christ of Metamora was elected chairman of the Illinois Corn Marketing Board (ICMB) for 2011-2012, the board announced on August 26th. The Woodford County grain producer has served on the ICMB since 2005 and currently represents corn growers in ICMB District 7, which encompasses Woodford, McLean and four other central Illinois counties. He will replace Scott Stirling of Martinton.
In addition, Jim Rapp was re-elected to a new term on the 15-member board to represent corn growers from Stark, Marshall, Whiteside, Lee, Bureau and Putnam counties. Other ICMB leadership positions such as vice chairman, treasurer and secretary were also filled by non-central Illinois producers. The mission of the ICMB is to create opportunities for increasing Illinois corn value and utilization and to administer the state checkoff program, among other duties. (ICMB news release)

Tractor Club Holds Farm Heritage Days

1914 Avery Steam Engine on Display

 WYOMING - An operational 1914 Avery steam engine, built in Peoria and now owned by the Erickson family of Pontiac was a crowd pleaser at the Central Illinois Farm Heritage Tractor Club show at Wyoming last weekend. (See the related story in the RFD News and Views column on page 6.)

WYOMING - A new antique tractor club dedicated to celebrating the history of farming, farm and antique power equipment and farm families held their first “Farm Heritage Days” August 20-21 at the Stark County Junior Fairgrounds in Wyoming, attracting hundreds of spectators to an array of events that included tractor pulls, a tractor parade, plowing exhibitions and more. The idea behind the new Central Illinois Farm Heritage Tractor Club’s Farm Heritage Days was simply to educate youth about farming, keep interest alive and have fun, according to show coordinator Dean Buchholz, a Caterpillar engineer at the Mossville plant with a keen interest in the old iron.
Highlights of the show included an operational 1914 Avery steam engine, built in Peoria and now owned by the Erickson family of Pontiac, and a 1940’s-era, half-scale Avery steam engine built by a hobbyist in Indiana and now owned by Delores Koopman of Flanagan. The 1914 Avery weighs around 14,000 pounds and boasts 18 horsepower at the drawbar.
“It is loaded and unloaded onto a lowboy trailer with full steam power, meaning someone rides on the engine on the 90 minute trip each way to and from Pontiac,” said Buchholz.  Koopman’s half-scale Avery weighs around 7,000 pounds and offers an estimated seven-to-eight horsepower at the drawbar.
Also present were Gene Sathoff, who spun carefully-crafted mini-straw bales for those in attendance, and club members Terry Beachler and Paul McKim, who conducted a scavenger hunt for commemorative coins in towering piles of loose hay for local Boy Scouts and other youth in attendance. For more information about the Central Illinois Farm Heritage Tractor Club, see their website at www.citractorclub.com.

Spoon River Ag Museum Planned
WYOMING - Also in attendance during the Central Ill. Farm Heritage Tractor Club’s inaugural Farm Heritage Days weekend were volunteers creating awareness and seeking donations for the planned Spoon River Agricultural Museum. The non-profit organization’s goal is to build a physical museum that will showcase central Illinois’ agricultural history and serve as a learning center for children and adults who may be unaware of the significance of agriculture in their lives.
Members of the museum plan to create interest for the museum by hosting special events, exhibitions and classroom discussions along with publishing materials to promote awareness of ag history. For more information on the Spoon River Ag Museum, call (309) 286-6200 or visit their website at www.spoonriverag.com.

ISA Unveils Bean Price “App”
DECATUR - Officials with the Illinois Soybean Association (ISA) are expected to unveil a new, mobile application that provides location-based, up-to-the-minute futures prices and current cash prices during this week’s Farm Progress Show in Decatur. Fully funded by the Illinois soybean checkoff, the “IL Soy Bids” application provides prices directly from the five closest elevators to the farmer’s zip code, as well as a host of additional apps designed exclusively for soybean producers.
ISA production committee chair Dan Farney said the “app” could be extremely useful for producers at harvest time, when decisions must be made quickly and efficiently. “IL Soy Bids can assist producers in making selling and transportation decisions that improve efficiency and profit,” Farney stated.
Farmers needn’t attend the Farm Progress Show in person to acquire the application. Simply visit ILSoyBids.mobi and bookmark the site to the phone’s home screen. Compatible devices include iPhones, Blackberries and Androids. (ISA Weekly Update)

Illinois Farm Fact:
Illinois’ corn crop was rated August 22 at five percent excellent, 37 percent good, 38 percent fair, 14 percent poor and six percent very poor. (NASS-Illinois Weather & Crop Report)

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