R.F.D. News & Views, April 30, 2008

For Central Illinois Farmers & Rural Dwellers
By Tim Alexander for the News Bulletin

Canton Ethanol Plant Sale Approved
PEORIA - A federal bankruptcy judge in Peoria approved the sale of the defunct Central Illinois Energy (CIE) ethanol plant, a near-completed $ 130 million facility located near Canton, to Credit Suisse, for $ 80 million. Credit Suisse provided $ 5.5 million to pay plant expenses after CIE filed for bankruptcy in December, and will pay an additional $ 74.5 million to purchase the plant.
Ground was broken on the 37 million gallon per-year plant in 2006, but it was soon besieged by design problems and financial woes. CIE was near completion when lead contractor Lurgi PSI walked off the job due to non-payment by CIE. Other contractors followed suit, filing millions in mechanic’s liens against the company. According to an attorney for Credit Suisse, some of the liens filed by contractors have been satisfied. Lurgi PSI opposed the sale to Credit Suisse in a written filing.

State: CIE Investors Checks are in the Mail
SPRINGFIELD - Farmers who committed cash and grain to the fledgling Central Illinois Energy (CIE) plant near Canton were given good news last week when the Illinois Department of Agriculture (IDOA) announced they will receive 100 percent of their claims. The farmers were owed by Central Ill. Grain Company, CIE’s grain-handling arm, for grain stored in their elevators when the company filed bankruptcy last December. IDOA sold the seized grain to Cargill, Inc. to recover the farmers’ investments.
“Due to the quick action by our warehouse examiners, I’m pleased to say the department was able to secure the company’s assets in order to pay the claimants and make no draw on the Grain Insurance Fund,” said acting IDOA director Tom Jennings. Around $ 6 million in checks, based on the closing rate for corn on December 19 when the company filed bankruptcy, are being sent to those farmers who filed claims.

Study: Ethanol Plants Becoming More Efficient
BLOOMINGTON - A just-released analysis by Argonne National Laboratory shows ethanol facilities are dramatically more efficient today than just five years ago. The Argonne study compares ethanol industry data from 2001 to 2006 and reflects significant improvement in ethanol’s “green footprint,” according to the Illinois Corn Growers Association (ICGA). “The study results validated in a scientific manner what we had already been hearing from industry for years,” ICGA president Art Bunting told R.F.D. “We expect this march toward efficiency to continue especially with the incentive provided by ridiculously high oil prices.” For more information on the Argonne analysis, contact the ICGA at (309) 557-3257 or ilcorn@ilcorn.org.

National Soil & Water Stewardship Week
April 27 to May 4 is the National Association of Soil & Water Districts’ Stewardship Week, one of the largest national programs to encourage resource conservation across the country. “Each of us needs to take steps to invest in understanding the importance of water in our everyday life,” said NACD CEO Krysta Harden. “Education in your community and schools will benefit all citizens for years to come as they gain a better appreciation of the importance of water resources. Conservation districts are working with local communities to address water quality issues in every county in America.”
One county that will not be taking part in conservation education efforts is Lawrence County, Illinois. That’s because Illinois SCWD’s are on the verge of extinction thanks to the efforts of Ill. Governor Rod Blagojevich, who has stripped SWCD’s of the funding necessary to continue operations. Also threatened: University of Illinois Extension, Ill. Council for Food & Agricultural Research (C-FAR) and AgriAbility, a program that assists disabled farmers. I urge anyone reading this to directly contact their elected officials and urge them to do whatever they can to restore funding to these essential programs.

Extension Offers Earthquake Seminar for Community Leaders
SPRINGFIELD - For those who think UoI’s Extension service is geared towards farmers and 4-H’ers only, here’s a reminder that Extension offers essential services other than planting advice and tips form showing pigs. A conference focusing on the eventuality of a large-magnitude earthquake rocking the Midwest is scheduled for May 6-7 in Metropolis for local and state government leaders, business owners, state and federal emergency staff and local citizens. Scheduled long before Illinois was shaken by 5.0-scale temblors in mid-April, this conference serves as a prime example of how Extension is connected to Illinois’ citizens in ways they may not even know about. “People go to their county Extension offices for unbiased, up-to-date, expert advice on a wide variety of essential topics,” Extension Partners advocate Pam Weber told R.F.D. “Call your elected officials and tell them to restore the $ 17 million in budget cuts the state is withholding.”

Who Knew? Soy Cures Hot Flashes
Representatives from the American Soybean Association’s international marketing division traveled to a symposium on “functional foods” in Hong Kong earlier this month. Among the symposium’s presenters were Mindy Kurzer of the University of Minnesota, who offered a paper titled “Soy and the Reduction of Hot Flashes.” If it’s true soybean consumption can help ease womens’ hot flashes, it may be worth it to plow all the corn under, grow more beans and forget this ethanol thing entirely. (Ill. Soybean Assoc. report)

R.F.D. Quote for the Week:
“We believe ranchers and farmers and family business owners can make better decisions about the future than the government can.” - President George W. Bush (RFD Says: Then why not pass the farm bill farmers want?!)
(Tim Alexander is a freelance reporter who contributes farm articles to the News Bulletin, Farm World and Prairie Farmer.)

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