Indiana Seed Weblog

Lawmakers renew effort against illegal immigrant workers

As unemployment in Indiana has climbed past 7 percent, state lawmakers have renewed last year’s failed efforts to crack down on businesses that knowingly hire illegal immigrants.  If a company is cited three times for employing illegal immigrants, it could lose its business license to operate in Indiana, under three similar bills introduced this year. Supporters of the legislation say those penalties would keep businesses from employing illegal immigrants at below-market wages, and would dry up opportunities for illegal immigrants.

Indiana Soybean Alliance Seeks Nominations for National Checkoff Board
Indiana soybean farmers interested in serving as the state’s representative to the United Soybean Board (USB) are encouraged to contact the Indiana Soybean Alliance (ISA) for a USB Director Candidate application form.  USB is comprised of 68 farmer-directors who oversee the investments of the soybean checkoff on behalf of all U.S. soybean farmers. Indiana has four directors on the USB board and one of the seats is up for re-appointment this year.  While the U.S. Secretary of Agriculture appoints directors to the USB board, the ISA submits director candidate names to the U.S. Department of Agriculture for the Secretary’s consideration. Any Indiana farmer who has grown soybeans in the last two years is eligible. USB directors serve a three-year term.

Don’t Let ‘Articulated’ Vehicle Laws Park Farm Trucks
Farmers who transport crops, livestock and other agriculture-related items should start the new year on the right side of the law, said a Purdue University Cooperative Extension Service specialist.  Indiana State Police are enforcing state and federal transportation laws covering commercial motor vehicles, including pickup trucks that pull trailers for farm purposes, said Fred Whitford, coordinator of Purdue Pesticide Programs. Trucks with attached trailers are known as “articulated” vehicles, he said.  “In the last month we’ve had a number of calls from farmers who are somewhat confused when it comes to their pickup trucks and trailers,” Whitford said. “Some have been surprised that the state police treat articulated truck and trailer combinations as a tractor-trailer or other commercial motor vehicle, if they are hauling farm products, supplies, equipment and livestock, and if the weight or weight rating of the truck-trailer and the load they’re carrying is over 10,000 pounds.”

Sam Turpin – Indiana Association Management

Lawmakers renew effort against illegal immigrant workers
As unemployment in Indiana has climbed past 7 percent, state lawmakers have renewed last year’s failed efforts to crack down on businesses that knowingly hire illegal immigrants.  If a company is cited three times for employing illegal immigrants, it could lose its business license to operate in Indiana, under three similar bills introduced this year. Supporters of the legislation say those penalties would keep businesses from employing illegal immigrants at below-market wages, and would dry up opportunities for illegal immigrants.

Sam Turpin – Indiana Association Management

Corn estimate might be off by millions
The federal government’s estimate of North Dakota’s 2008 corn production includes millions of bushels of grain that are covered by snow and might never end up in farmers’ bins.  Farmers in eastern North Dakota last year were unable to harvest about 10 percent of the state’s corn crop because of heavy rains followed by early snow. As many as 20 million bushels of corn might still be in the fields, said Tom Lilja, executive director of the North Dakota Corn Growers Association.   “The assumption is that it’s out there and that it will get harvested,” he said.

Hoosier Livestock Groups Join Together to Fight Legislative Challenges
Regulating livestock agriculture in the state is once again a hot topic at the Statehouse. Several bills have been introduced into the Indiana General Assembly dealing with how to regulate the Indiana livestock industry. Needless to say, they have caught the eye of livestock groups includeing the Indiana Beef Cattle Association. “There are many bills in this session of the legislature both positive and negative,” said IBCA Executive Director Julia Wickard. She told HAT the livestock industry is backing a bill sponsored by State Senator Beverly Gard that provides regulation without limiting the growth of the livestock industry in the state, “Senator Gard has a piece of legislation (SB221) that will recognize those good producers who have not had a violation.”

New Dean of Ag says Purdue College of Ag is Good Place to Be
The new Dean of the Purdue College of Agriculture made his first public presentation last week at the Fort Wayne Farm Show. Dr. Jay Akridge outlined upcoming challenges for the college, but he also had good news about enrollment and job placement for graduates.   At the beginning of the school year undergraduate enrollment was over 2,500, an eleven-year high, and Akridge told Hoosier Ag Today, “Looking forward it looks like we have a lot of interest, with respect to applications, so we fully expect to be at, or a little under that number only because the Purdue campus is about full.”

Sam Turpin – Indiana Association Management

All Things Considered, Ag Sector in Good Shape
Considering the condition of the rest of the U.S. economy, the American ag sector is in pretty good shape, Bob Stallman, American Farm Bureau Federation president, told reporters during a press conference Sunday. “By most accounts, agriculture’s balance sheet was solid this past year. In fact, debt-to-asset ratios were in the best shape since 1960, when ag financial measures were first tracked,” noted Stallman.   Nevertheless, with the recent volatility in prices, “farmers are concerned how 2009 will play out,” continued Stallman. “We’ll just have to see what happens.”

Surprises in Final USDA 08 Crop Production Report
The 2008 Crop Production Summary released yesterday by the U.S. Department of Agriculture’s National Agricultural Statistics Service indicates U.S. farmers produced abundant corn and soybean crops.  The 2008 corn crop was the second largest in history. Corn produced for grain was 12.1 billion bushels, down 7 percent from 2007’s record 13.04 billion bushels. NASS estimates the average corn yield at 153.9 bushels per acre, up 3.2 bushels from the previous year and the second-highest on record.  Soybean production for 2008 was up 11 percent over the previous year and the fourth largest crop on record. The average yield per acre came in at 39.6 bushels, down 2.1

Ag Forecast Cloudy at this Year’s Ag Alumni Fish Fry

A Purdue University agricultural economist said stability isn’t a word he’ll be using very much in this year’s Agricultural Forecast before the Purdue Agricultural Alumni Fish Fry.  Chris Hurt said farmers will face volatility again this year when evaluating their decisions on purchasing inputs and locking in commodity prices.  “The past year, 2008, has been a Jekyll and Hyde year with an absolute boom in the first half and a bust in the second half,” Hurt said. “This just makes extreme uncertainty about planning. We’re kind of in this limbo right now. We need to let market conditions adjust.”

Sam Turpin – Indiana Association Management