News for farmers
Ag show offers info in various fieldsBy ANGELA BURCH Messenger staff writer
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Farm News Ag Show organizers had to add extra chairs and tables to fit the 140 people who came to hear David Kruse Wednesday.
Kruse, a regular contributor to Farm News and president of CommStock Investments, presented "Back to Reality: New Paradigms for the Ag Economy."
"The crowd was so large because he's so well known," said Jim Patton, Iowa State University Extension Webster County education director and coordinator of speakers for the event. "He spoke for about an hour and a half almost uninterrupted."
For the seventh annual show, vendors and speakers gathered Wednesday at the Career Education Building on the Iowa Central Community College Campus to highlight agriculture. Not only did people come to the show to spend money for end of the year tax purposes, according to organizers, the Ag Show also provided a panel of speakers with topics spanning the spectrum of the local agriculture industries.
Jim Sturdevant, director for POET's Project Liberty, talked about Project Liberty. It's an effort to bring cellulosic ethanol production to commercial viability. In other words, using biomass, which is mostly corncobs, to make ethanol, Patton said.
"He told us about a field day which featured a lot of special equipment so the farmers could harvest the crop and also harvest the corn cob separately," Patton said. "He talked about what they think they're going to be doing over the next couple of years, so it was quite insightful."
Aaron Moore, executive director of the Webster County Farm Service Agency, talked about clarifications and technical corrections to the 2008 Farm Bill. He acknowledged the convoluted nature of the bill and explained as much possible in an hour.
"Just as for farming in general (in 2008) with late plantings, late harvest and things like that, the Farm Bill is not very different. It came late; we've had it for about six months," Moore said. "The rules of the Farm Bill are subject to change as we go."
One of the major undertakings his agency and other agencies across the nation will have to implement is the payment centralization process, which he said they will begin today.
"The difference is in the payment centralization process where, effective this month, payments will be made by the U.S. Treasury Department," Moore said. "Direct deposit producers should see no changes, but producers who receive paper checks (CCC-184) could see a seven- to 10-day delay."
Another question he said he has been getting a lot pertains to the view on flexible leases.
"Basically what was considered previously as a flexible lease will be considered a cash lease," he said. "So that's kind of a huge change from what it was previously."
He also discussed several new terms for payment eligibility, disaster programs, 2009 through 2012 Direct and Counter Cyclical Program, and he answered specific questions for individuals in the room as far as farming operations, insurance, contingent counties and eligibilities.
Moore has to go to meetings every two weeks for updates. He will give another update of the Farm Program at 1:30 p.m. on Tuesday at the Clare Community Building following the Iowa State University Extension's program on the present VeraSun issues presented by Steve Moline from the Agriculture Division of the Iowa attorney general's office.
At the end of Wednesday's show, Rich Bahls, a loan officer specializing in agriculture for the United Bank of Iowa who has been a partner of the show since its beginning viewed the inaugural day positively.
"It's a good show, nice location, good speakers," Bahls said. "There are a wide variety of businesses here and a good place to meet new people."
Phil Bechen, a commercial painter with Central State Painting, just finished his 28th season of painting and is also one of the original vendors of the show.
"This is a show I look forward to every year, It's a hometown show for me and a way for me to talk to farmers and help them with the planning factor," Bechen said. "This is probably one of the higher caliber shows that I do. This is a quality production that they put on here. The people are super, there is a really great rapport, the way it's laid out - it's a class act."
Contact Angela Burch at (515) 573-2141 or aburch@messengernews.net
