Franklin County Farm Bureau News

 By J. Larry Miller

Spring has surely arrived as warmer temperatures have caused grass and fields to have greener color. I noticed that the zoysia grass has started to come to life. Zoysia is the first grass to turn brown in the fall and the last grass to turn green in the spring.

Larry Miller, executive director Franklin County Farm Bureau

Some corn has been planted in the county but most are waiting to see if heavy rain will fall into the night on Wednesday and early Thursday. Field work has been limited but if this rain passes without much accumulation work will pickup next week.

Corn and soybeans have taken a negative posture because of higher inventories and lower usage. With a lower crop in 2012, we certainly have found a ceiling on corn prices. We reached $8 corn last fall but it seems that everything now causes a downward slide in new crop prices. How low can prices go with an average crop this year? I do not know but I am betting on lower prices rather than higher and $5 corn this fall should cause farmers to lock in some corn at that price. As a matter of reality, grain prices have a lot of negative possibilities.

As grain prices plateau, there is a question of what will happen to land prices? If the sall of farmland in Perry County on Tuesday evening is any indication, it certainly is not trending lower or leveling off. The Perry County land was 156 acres of which 150 was tillable sold for $7500 per acre. If the bubble pops it will be a loud noise.

American Farm Bureau Federation sent a farm bill proposal to Capitol Hill Monday. Approved this weekend by the AFBF board of directors, the proposal offers a diverse mix of risk management and safety net tools to benefit a wide range of farms and it saves $23 billion compared to the cost of continuing the current program.

Illinoisans struggling to make mortgage payments because their income recently dropped now may find it easier to qualify for a government emergency loan program.  Beginning April 1, federal and state agencies raised the total loan assistance cap on the Illinois Hardest Hit Program from $20,000 or $25,000 per family (depending on the county) to $35,000. The program offers temporary mortgage payment assistance to families whose income has fallen at least 20 percent because of recent unemployment or underemployment. For more information www.illinoishardesthit.org is the OFFICIAL website for the Illinois Hardest Hit Fund Program.  APPLYING IS FREE.  You will not be asked to pay for any services related to this application.

Recent figures from the Center for Disease Control seem to show that our food is getting safer. For 2009-2010, the number of food borne illness outbreaks had decreased by 32% when compared to the previous five years.

We would like to remind everyone that the Franklin County Farm Bureau takes pictures and aids in filling out Firearm Owners Identification Card Applications. The new FOID Cards are good for 10 years but when applying it is taking approximately 90 days once you have sent off your application. For more information call 435-3616.

Remember we are farmers working together. If we can help let us know.