By Tim Alexander for the News Bulletin

Economy Tightens Farm Credit
TEXAS A&M - The worsening U.S. economy is extending to the nation’s farms and ranches, with one economist saying it’s now harder and more expensive than ever for producers to borrow money to pay for inputs, salaries and other farm expenses. According to Carl Anderson, an agricultural economist with Texas A&M University, banks are requiring more collateral and higher interest rates from crop farmers, ranchers and meat processors due to dwindling confidence in borrowers’ ability to repay loans. Farmers are expected to cut costs by using less fertilizer, restructuring past debt or putting off purchasing new farm equipment, Anderson told the Associated Press, adding that farmers are facing their toughest lending environment in the past 25 years. (AP, Illinois Farm Bureau news)

Barge Shipping Rates Highest In 18 Years 
BLOOMINGTON - The Illinois Soybean Association (ISA) is reporting that barge rates on the Mississippi and Ohio rivers are the highest since 1990, with many barges being utilized to store hurricane-damaged crops rather than for transporting crops to market. Barge rates from Cairo to Memphis rose an amazing 95 percent from this time last year, the ISA notes. Around 350 of the nation’s 10,000 barges are being used to store damaged grain that does not meet U.S. export requirements. (ISA News)

Local Farmer Closes $1.7 Million Livestock Sale to China
BLOOMINGTON - A local pork producer, AgWorld, Inc., of Bloomington, recently closed a $1.7 million, 1,226-head hog sale to South Golden Valley Agri-Husbandry, Inc., of Chongquing, the Illinois Department of Agriculture (IDOA) reported. The sale was comprised of Landrace, Duroc and Yorkshire hogs and was consummated in late September after two years of developing negotiations. “The fact (Golden Valley) chose Illinois for such an important purchase demonstrates the quality of our swine genetics and helps explain why Illinois is one of the top hog-producing states in the nation,” said Bruce Cluver, CEO of AgWorld.
The sale was a direct result of a trade lead obtained during an IDOA-sponsored swine tour of Illinois farms. “The relationships we’re building through marketing activities like the Pork Tour...are as valuable as the sale itself,” said new IDOA director Tom Jennings. “Our challenge now is to turn this sale into repeat business and grow our market share.” Illinois is the second-leading exporter of hogs to China, with sales of $6.5 million through June of 2008, the IDOA said. (IDOA News)

IFB to Oprah: Come on Down!
BLOOMINGTON - The Illinois Farm Bureau is inviting Oprah Winfrey to “come on down” from Chicago and tour a real, working hog farm. Winfrey devoted a recent episode of her popular chat show entirely to the debate over Proposition 2, an initiative set to appear on California’s November ballot which would severely regulate the state’s poultry, veal and pork industries. IFB’s board of directors voted in September to make a $7,000 contribution to a campaign opposing Prop 2, which was placed on the ballot due to the efforts of a left-coast animal rights activist.
“If Oprah is willing to take some time out of her busy schedule to visit a farm, she would discover that modern livestock producers are ethically committed to the well-being of their animals,” said IFB president Philip Nelson. “Our livelihood depends on the production of healthy animals. No one understands that better than a livestock producer.” Nelson said IFB is concerned that “short-sighted, emotional appeals” such as Prop 2 have the potential to “drive the livestock industry out of the country and drive up prices for American consumers.” (IFB News)

Farmer Creates Own Compost From Cast-Offs
WALNUT - R.F.D. News & Views had a chance to visit with Alan Dale, who produces corn, soybeans and alfalfa on his family farm just north of I-80 near Walnut. Dale credits his continued success in raising award-winning crops to the compost he makes on his farm using his own crop residue, municipal landscape waste from nearby Princeton and Kewanee, and liquid livestock manure from a nearby hog production facility. He also has a contract to accept manure and bedding from his area’s county and 4-H fairs.
“We take all these things and have them analyzed as individual feed-stocks so we know the carbon/nitrogen ratio of each. We put them together just like baking a cake and we’re looking for a carbon/nitrogen rate of about 30:1 when we start the process,” Dale said. He was the first Illinois farmer with EPA certification to produce commercial compost on his farm. Dale uses around half of the compost he produces on his own crop fields. Dale sells the rest in bulk under the name Rare Earth Diversified Services.

IASS: Corn Harvest Only 20% Complete
SPRINGFIELD - The latest harvest update from the Illinois Ag Statistics Service (Oct. 12) reveals that only 20 percent of the state’s corn crop was harvested, compared to 80 percent in 2007. Illinois’ soybean harvest is at 45 percent completion, compared to 81 percent last year. In addition, winter wheat seedings are 25 percent complete with six percent emergence. Seedings were 62 percent complete this time last year.

Illinois Farm Fact:
52,000 Illinois farms held milk cows in 1960; in 2007 the number of farms had dwindled to 1,200. (NASS/Illinois Office)
(Tim Alexander is a freelance reporter who contributes farm articles to the News Bulletin, Farm World and Prairie Farmer.)