2008 — A roller coaster year for Illinois agriculture

A group of Vietnamese agricultural leaders were in Bureau County in June to get a close-up look at some Illinois corn. The Vietnamese toured the farm of Jim Rapp, who had visited Vietnam in April. (BCR file photo)

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When former Speaker of the House “Tip” O’Neill once said, “All politics is local,” he was referring to how the problems of average people and cities around the country affect what goes on nationally.

So it was in this year’s agricultural events. Events that are being marked as 2008 headline highlights in agriculture reverberated in Bureau County as well.

January

The National Grain and Feed Association said a lack of convergence between cash and futures prices and escalating commodity values had created huge borrowing needs and financial risk for grain buyers.

Locally, Greg Pompelli of the Economic Research Service’s Market and Trade Economics Division made a similar point at the annual Farm Bureau meeting.

“These are strange times,” Pompelli said.

Pompelli talked about how the gap between the cash and futures prices of corn was getting wider.

“It gets us nervous because that means there’s something else going on out there in the market that we don’t have our hands on,” he said.

Pompelli said the hedge funds made a tremendous amount of money in commodities, but warned that the day of reckoning would come.

“There’s going to be a day that comes that what they’ve been doing moving forward is going to catch up with them, and those prices are going to come back at some point,” he said. “The money’s going to come out as fast as it went in, in some cases.”

March

Illinois Farm Bureau leaders visited Vietnam for 10 days to learn how the country is becoming a major ag customer for the United States.

In June, the a group of Vietnamese agricultural leaders came to Bureau County to repay the visit.

Jim Rapp, a member of the Illinois Corn Marketing Board of Directors, said he was pleased to open his farm to his Vietnamese guests, adding it was a good way to build relationships.

“They always say that people over there want to know who they’re dealing with,” he said.

Accompanying the Vietnamese was Cari Manns with the Traders Group in Chicago, who agreed that events like the visit to Rapp’s farm were a good way to cement relationships.

“Look at these guys; they are just so happy here,” she said. “That is the way to win their hearts and minds around the world, and farmers are our best ambassadors.”

April

Illinois’ funding crisis hit home at virtually every local U of I Extension office. ACES estimates 450 jobs in county Extension offices may have to be cut if the state doesn’t release any of the Fiscal Year 2008 funding.

For the Bureau County office, that amounted to about $80,000, or 70 percent of the district’s annual budget.

Bureau County Administrative Coordinator Rita May said the SWCDs throughout the state receive about $7 million annually.

“For every dollar we get, we bring in 27 more dollars,” she said. “There’s an awful lot of federal funds that will not come into the state if Soil and Water is not here. It’s a lose-lose situation the whole way.”

The funds were released in mid-May.

June

The “food vs. fuel” heated up when the Grocery Manufacturers Association spent millions of dollars to convince policymakers and consumers that domestic ethanol policies were driving food prices higher. At the same time, credit problems, soaring commodity prices, and an economic slump caused investors to scrap plans for seven ethanol plants in Illinois.

Meanwhile, just a few weeks earlier, Consolidated Grain & Barge began posting basis bids for corn delivery into the Patriot Renewable Fuels ethanol facility that was under construction near Annawan.

Judd Hulting of Patriot said some new employees started that week, and that eventually Patriot would employ 45 to 50 full-time employees.

Corn prices almost breach $8 per bushel, while soybeans top out at $16.35 per bushel.

August

The crude oil market peaked at a record $147 a barrel, and the Farm Bureau’s Profitability Advisory Team met to discuss farmers’ concern about rising input prices.

A few weeks later, a Meet the Candidates breakfast was held in Bradford for the candidates for the 18th District Congressional seat being vacated by the retiring Rep. Ray LaHood, R-Peoria.

Democratic candidate Colleen Callahan, recalling the book “A Tale of Two Cities,” said it was the best of times and the worst of times.

“The best of time for corn and bean growers,” she said. “It is the worst of times if you’re in the livestock industry and you need to buy grain at record prices.”

Green Party candidate Sheldon Schafer expressed his concerns.

“We need to make sure that the family farm survives,” he said.

September

Local grain elevator operators were planning for a busy fall.

“There are excellent yield prospects,” Jim Gentert of the Ladd Elevator Company said. “There were good growing conditions this year.”

Gentert said harvest should run about two weeks late because farmers were two weeks late planting in the spring, due to cooler than normal temperatures and wet fields.

Gentert doesn’t think the rains that soaked Bureau County earlier this month will have any lasting effect. He expects no harvest delays because of the rain, nor any rain-related problems such as mold.

On the western edge of the county, Holly Hartz, grain merchandiser for AgView FS in Buda, said the harvest should be pretty good, but it would be a little longer and more drawn out than last year.

By October, reports were coming in that the harvest was creeping along at a snail’s pace as farmers were slowed by scattered rain, near-freezing temperatures and immature crops due to late planting.

And commodity prices had begun to nosedive as news from Wall Street overwhelmed the markets.

November

Nationally and locally, corn futures prices bottom out at $2.90/bushel, and soybeans go below $8/bushel.

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