Warren Henderson Farm Bureau® has worked with Rockford Map Publishers on new 2021 plat books. The plat books are available for purchase at W-HFB Monmouth and Stronghurst offices. Plat Books are $28.00 (this includes tax) for members and $40.00 (this includes tax) for non-members. Shipping options are available, visit whfarmbureau.org or call W-HFB for information. A plat book can be found by clicking here.

Steven D. Johnson, Ph.D. served as the Farm & Ag Business Management Specialist in Central Iowa for Iowa State University Extension and Outreach for 21 years, retiring in early 2021. He specializes in topics related to government farm programs, crop insurance, crop marketing, grain contracts, farmland leasing and other crop risk management strategies.

On November 15th Steve presented “Managing ’23 Crop Margins” at the Knox County Agri-Center in Galesburg. Topics included: estimating crop costs, using your own budgets to determine breakevens, utilizing risk management tools, and outlook for crop prices. If you would like a copy of the slides Steve presented, contact 309-734-9401 or whfb@whfarmbureau.org. 

Click here to read Dan Grant's FarmWeek write-up about the presentation.

Farmers, help a medical student by taking a healthcare survey. Samantha Andersen is a 3rd-year medical student at the University of Illinois College of Medicine – Rockford and hopes to practice in the Galesburg area after her residency. She is conducting a research project aimed at our local farming communities: 

Previous research has shown that men and women living in rural areas have higher rates of chronic disease and related mortality rates than their urban counterparts. Research has also shown that exercise is a preventative measure for many of these diseases. However, the farming population has remained largely unstudied in both of these areas. With my project, I am aiming to investigate farming men and women’s physical activity levels and chronic disease prevalence in this community. The project will also discover any barriers to physical activity and accessing healthcare. The answers to these questions can guide healthcare treatment and identify the barriers that need to be addressed to decrease chronic disease in the farming population. 

The link to take this anonymous survey can be found by clicking here. There are also paper copies of this survey available at W-HFB Monmouth and Stronghurst offices. The deadline to complete this survey is December 31, 2022. With any questions, please email sande25@uic.edu. Thank you for helping Samantha with this project! 

Don’t miss out on the first annual From Food to Flowers: Everything Local Hybrid Conference, held Jan. 11-13, 2023, at the Crowne Plaza in Springfield. This combined Illinois Food, Farmers Market and Specialty Crop Conference is a collaboration among the Illinois Specialty Growers Association, Illinois Farm Bureau and Illinois Farmers Market Association to bring together more people than ever from across Illinois’ local food, specialty crop and farmers market supply chains. Learn more by clicking here.

The Tax-Minded Rationale:  

If the thought of paying income taxes on a required minimum distribution (RMD) is a bad idea to you, consider transferring money from your IRA (up to $100,000) to charity and satisfy your RMD without paying income tax on the transfer. 

The Rules:  

The Individual Retirement Account (IRA) charitable rollover allows taxpayers to make tax-free charitable gifts directly from their IRA to eligible charities. Taxpayers must take their first Required Minimum Distribution (RMD) by April 1 of the year after they turn 72. Subsequent RMDs must be taken by December 31 of each year. If you don't take your RMD, you'll have to pay a penalty of 50% of the RMD amount. 

Learn more at IRS.GOV 

Contact the IAA Foundation at 309-557-2225 or iaafoundation@ilfb.org for more information. 

Applications are being taken for an Extension Education position at the Monmouth Research Farm. The position closing date is Monday, December 12th and interviews will take place in early January. To learn more, visit go.illinois.edu/1013763.  

Spending time with family and friends at Thanksgiving remains important for many Americans and this year the cost of the meal is also top of mind. The American Farm Bureau Federation's 37th annual survey provides a snapshot of the average cost of this year’s classic Thanksgiving feast for 10, which is $64.05 or less than $6.50 per person. This is a $10.74 or 20% increase from last year’s average of $53.31. Click here to read more.

Agricultural producers who have not yet completed their crop acreage reports after fall planting should call their local County Farm Service Agency (FSA) before December 15, 2022. Filing an accurate and timely acreage report for all crops and land uses, including failed acreage, and prevented planted acreage, can prevent the loss of benefits. 

The following acreage reporting dates are applicable for Henderson and Warren County: 

December 15, 2022, Fall Seeded Crops (Wheat, Rye, other Cover Crops, etc.) 

To file a crop acreage report, you will need to provide: 

• Crop and crop type or variety. 
• Intended use of the crop. 
• Number of acres of the crop. 
• Map with approximate boundaries for the crop. 
• Planting date(s). 
• Planting pattern, when applicable. 
• Producer shares. 
• Irrigation practice(s). 
• Acreage prevented from planting, when applicable. 
• Other information as required. 

For questions, please contact the Warren County Farm Service Agency (FSA) Office at 309-734-9308 or the Henderson County Farm Service Agency (FSA) Office at 309-924-1173.

The 2022 Illinois Farm Bureau Young Leader Conference will take place January 21-22nd at the Embassy Suites in East Peoria. This annual conference serves as a networking event for young farmers, ag professionals, and their families who are affected by the same ag industry issues and wish to increase their knowledge and skillsets.

To attend, members must be between the ages of 18 and 35. Licensed child care will be available on Saturday for children 12 and under. If interested in attending, contact the Warren-Henderson Farm Bureau® for more details. Registration and hotel reservations must be made by W-HFB and are due on or before December 14th - spots fill up quickly! For more information contact W-HFB at 309-734-9401 or whfb@whfarmbureau.org.

Click here to see a tentative agenda.

Mark your calendars: The 2023 Women in Agriculture Conference will be at Bally's Quad Cities on Friday, March 24th. More information will be available in the coming months at Women in Agriculture (womeninagricultureconference.com) 

We hope everyone has a safe and healthy harvest season. Click here to read about some harvest roadway safety reminders.

 [Springfield, Illinois] – [October 2022] – Illinois’s farmers and ranchers will soon have the opportunity to be represented in the nation’s only comprehensive and impartial agriculture data for every state, county and territory. The U.S. Department of Agriculture (USDA) will mail the 2022 Census of Agriculture to millions of agriculture producers across the 50 states and Puerto Rico this fall. USDA will mail nearly 100,000 Census questionnaires to Illinois ag producers. 

Click here to read more.

The IAA Foundation is pleased to administer the Driving Agriculture Forward Scholarship to help offset the cost of needed commercial truck driver training and ensure more well-trained, safe drivers are available. Applicants enrolled, or planning to enroll, in a commercial driver training program at an Illinois Community College are encouraged to apply. Five $1,000 scholarships will be awarded every three months and are based on the Illinois Farm Bureau region where the applicant resides. Learn more:

IAA Press Release

Below are some resources related to Illinois Harvest Permits. Members can sign in to myifb.org to view a video demonstrating the online application process for Illinois Harvest Permits and route authorizations. With any questions related to Illinois Harvest Permits, contact Rodney Knittel, Assistant Director of Transportation & Infrastructure for Illinois Farm Bureau: rknittel@ilfb.org, 309-557-3662 (work), 217-370-7383 (cell).

Illinois Harvest Permit Resources:

• IHP FAQ
• IHP Form Filing Helpful Hints
• ITAP Harvest Permit Guide 2019
• OPER 993

To view a video demonstration, visit myifb.org
Illinois Farm Bureau 'Rules for the Road': online booklet

Illinois growers and grower farm operators who transport or apply anhydrous ammonia, or otherwise maintain anhydrous ammonia equipment, now are required by state regulation (8 IAC 215) to complete Certified Grower Training.

Growers and grower farm operators have until April 1, 2022 to become certified. Their certification will be good for three years from the date they complete the training, after which time they will need to participate in a refresher course.

Certified Grower Training will be delivered through both online and in-person instruction at no cost to the grower or grower farm operator. Growers and grower farm operators can choose whichever method they prefer.

Learn more information by clicking here.

Illinois Agricultural Leadership Foundation (IALF) works to build knowledgeable, effective leaders for agricultural industry – leaders who will confront the most urgent and pressing issues of global and local food security and sustainability. In 1981, it was recognized that there was a growing need for leadership development in agriculture. Illinois ranks as one of the nation’s leading agricultural production states. While, many emerging leaders had the skills to grow and process food, there was a need for training in other aspects of agribusiness. In 1981 the IALF was established with the goal of preparing agricultural professionals to be successful leaders in ag.

IALP is currently taking applications for their 2025 class. Learn more by clicking here.

Rules for the Road Recording Booklet Available

In February-March, Illinois Farm Bureau hosted a series of two-hour trucking seminars focusing on transportation laws and regulations as they pertain to the agricultural industry. The Rules for the Road Seminar covered recent changes and some of the more established but still misunderstood rules, such as the USDOT Number, UCR registrations and driver’s license classifications, to name a few. Members can find a recording of a seminar by logging into myIFB.org and contact the W-HFB office for a copy of the latest IFB Rules for the Road Transportation Booklet.

The Western Illinois Beekeepers Association cordially invites you to attend their monthly meetings. They are held on the third Tuesday of the month at 7:00pm at the Warren-Henderson Farm Bureau building, 1000 N. Main St., Monmouth, Illinois. Meetings are free and open to the public. Contact Jan Arteaga at 309-313-3648 or arteaga618@gmail.com with questions.