February

7 - North-Central Illinois Tillage Seminar * Celebrations 150 * LaSalle-Peru * 8:00 a.m. – 3:15 p.m. * Pre-registration is required by January 31 *

8 - PSE TRAINING & TESTING * Homestead Restaurant * Woodhull * 8:30 a.m. * Pre-registration is required *

8 - PSE TRAINING & TESTING * Homestead Restaurant * Woodhull * 1:00 p.m. * Pre-registration is required *

9 - eGovernment and Ag Internet Workshop * Geneseo High School * Geneseo * call for time–evening meeting

13 - eGovernment and Ag Internet Workshop * Kewanee High School * Kewanee * 6 – 9 p.m.

13 - Soil and Water Workshop * Bureau County Extension Office * Princeton * 8:30 a.m. – 2:00 p.m. * Pre-registration is required by February 6 *

15 - Profitable Pastures for Northern Illinois * Homestead Restaurant * Woodhull * 9:00 a.m. – 3:00 p.m. * Pre-registration is required by February 8 *

17 - Alfalfa Management Issues for 2006 * Black Hawk East Campus * Kewanee * 12:00 – 3:00 p.m. Pre-registration is required by February 14 *

17 - Crop Insurance/Marketing Workshop * Knox County Extension Office * Galesburg

23 - Winter Beef Expo [Illinois Performance Test (IPT) Bull Sale] * Illinois State Fairgrounds * Springfield * 11:00 a.m.

March

3 - 12th Annual Fee Hunting Seminar * Dickson Mounds Museum * Lewistown

6 - Marketing Seminar * Winner's Circle * Geneseo * 6:30 p.m.

16 - PSE TESTING ONLY * Wyoming Methodist Church * 9 – 11 a.m. * Pre-registration is required *

16 - PSE TESTING ONLY * Henry County Farm Bureau * Cambridge * 1 – 3 p.m. * Pre-registration is required *

* Formerly Known as PPAT – Private Pesticide Applicator Training and Testing Clinics

NOTE that there are a large number of producers in Henry and Stark counties who will need to re-test sometime before the planting season begins this spring. There are also additional individuals who may be considering testing for the first time due to the need for soil insecticide application on first year corn. (Point – Plan ahead and register early; some locations may fill up quickly.)

Manuals and study guides will be available for $7.50 from the Henry-Stark Extension office located on the campus of Black Hawk East in Building 4. Direct mail of the manual via the Henry-Stark Extension office is also an option for an additional $4.20 per set. This year's private applicator testing manual is 39-7 (October 1999). If you already have one, then there is no need to get another one.

Additional reference information on the various testing and their associated manuals, as well as a list of additional training and testing sites are available online at http://www.pesticidesafety.uiuc.edu/ .

Dates for TRAINING and TESTING in the Henry-Stark Unit:

• February 8 * starts 8:30 a.m. * Woodhull's Homestead Restaurant banquet room (pre-registration required – walk-ins may be limited)
• February 8 * starts 1:00 p.m. * Woodhull's Homestead Restaurant banquet room (pre-registration required – walk-ins may be limited)

TESTING ONLY Sites in Henry and Stark Counties

• March 16 * 9:00 – 11:00 a.m. * Wyoming Methodist Church basement (pre-registration required – walk-ins may be limited)
• March 16 * 1:00 – 3:00 p.m. * Cambridge * Henry County Farm Bureau upstairs meeting room (pre-registration required – walk-ins may be limited) (continued on page 2)

If you cannot work one of these dates into your schedule, you will want to check the web site calendar at http://www.pesticidesafety.uiuc.edu/ or call the Extension office for surrounding area programs.

I found, as I'm sure you will, that for a dry year the University of Illinois variety test plot results were amazingly high with 200 bushel plot averages. It's a little hard from our vantage point to see how yields could be this high. However, these results as well those provided by seed companies across the state might be a little more useful than area farm or plot results when it comes to making a variety selection for next year.

The data from the 2005 plots can be found online at http://vt.cropsci.uiuc.edu/index.html . You can also contact the office to purchase the results in booklet format.

February 7 * Celebrations 150 * LaSalle-Peru, IL * 8:00 a.m. – 3:15 p.m.

The 2006 North-Central Illinois Tillage Seminar, with a theme of "Tillage & Nutrient Management: Economics & Environmental Stewardship" will focus on the critical role which soil and nutrients play in making your corn and soybean enterprises profitable. This twenty-county seminar is scheduled for Tuesday, February 7, 2006 at Celebrations 150, LaSalle-Peru, Illinois. Directions: From the intersection of I-80 and I-39 just east of LaSalle-Peru, go two miles south on I-39, take Exit 57 onto IL Rt. 6, and go four miles east.

The program, featuring state and nationally recognized speakers, runs from 8:00 a.m. to 3:15 p.m. It is co-sponsored by the multi-county conservation agencies of University of Illinois Extension, Soil and Water Conservation Districts, NRCS, AISWCD, and the Illinois Department of Agriculture. Seed, chemical, machinery dealers, and other agri-businesses will be featured as exhibitors. This Illinois Tillage Seminar has been assigned five continuing education units for Certified Crop Advisers (four – Soil & Water Management; one – Nutrient Management). Program flyers, listing specific speakers, are available at all local Extension and SWCD offices.

Topics to be presented include:

• No-Till & Strip-Till Update for 2006
• Reducing Tillage, Energy, & Costs
• Nutrient Management & Variable Rate Technology (VRT) to Improve the Bottom Line
• Impact of Weather on Crop Yields
• Global Warming & Carbon Sequestration
• Carbon Trading for Illinois Farmers
• Global Warming and its Impact on Soil Erosion & Water Quality
• The 2005 Cropping Year in Review
• Conservation Security Program & Illinois Nutrient Management Payments

The North-Central Illinois Tillage Seminar will conclude with a Farmer/Agri-business Panel – Sharing their VRT Experiences.

Pre-registration is necessary and the deadline is January 31. Seating is limited, so registration will be taken on a first-come basis. A $12 per person fee will be charged to cover room rental and noon luncheon. To register, include the following information with your check: Name of Meeting – Tillage Seminar, your name, address, and county of residence. Please make your check payable to "University of Illinois Extension" and send to LaSalle County Extension, 1689 N 31^st Rd, Ste 2, Ottawa, IL 61350. For more information, contact Steve Malinsky, LaSalle Extension Unit at 815-433-0707 or Bob Frazee, University of Illinois Natural Resources Educator, at 309-694-7501, ext. 226.

February 9 * Geneseo High School * Geneseo, IL * call for time – evening meeting

February 13 * Kewanee High School * Kewanee, IL * 6:00 – 9:00 p.m.

The Henry County FSA office and the Henry County Farm Bureau have scheduled two opportunities for producers and landowners to help them improve their productivity while using online information. If you have internet access, but really haven't been able to put it to work for you in your farming operation, then you should set aside either February 9 in Geneseo at the Geneseo High School or February 13 in Kewanee at the Kewanee High School for these hands-on workshops.

Agenda

• The first part of the workshop will show producers how they can access their FSA record online from the comfort of their own computer screen. (i.e., FSA payment history, LDP application and information, online reporting options, etc.)
• The second session will provide participants with a guided tour of several of the most popular/valuable internet sites for anyone with an interest in producer agriculture.

To register, or for more specific information on these two workshops, contact the Henry County Farm Bureau at 937-2411 or the Henry County FSA office at 937-3377.

February 13 * Bureau County Extension Office * Princeton, IL * 8:30 a.m. – 2:00 p.m.

Four workshops are scheduled across central Illinois to present soil and water management information to producers and Certified Crop Advisers. Our area workshop is scheduled on February 13 and is sponsored by University of Illinois Extension. The same materials will be covered at all locations – however, some presentations will be live on site, while some will be presented through distance education technologies. The agenda for the Soil & Water Management Workshop is listed below:

8:30 – 9:00 a.m. - Registration

9:00 – 9:50 a.m. - Fate and Transport of Nutrients and Water Table Management

9:50 – 10:40 a.m. - Managing Critical Areas for Water Quality Concerns

10:40 – 10:50 a.m. - Break

10:50 – 11:40 a.m. - Nitrogen and Phosphorus Best Management Practices to Reduce Nutrient Movement

11:40 a.m. – 12:15 p.m. - Lunch

12:15 – 1:05 p.m. - Erosion Control Practices to Reduce Sediment and Nutrient Losses

1:05 – 1:55 p.m. - Soil Organic Matter and Water Quality

The program will offer approximately five hours of continuing education units for Certified Crop Advisers in Soil and Water Management.

Pre-registration is necessary and the deadline is one week prior to the scheduled meeting (February 6). Seating is limited, so registration will be taken on a first-come basis. A $25 per person fee will be charged to cover room rental and noon luncheon. For this February 13 workshop at the Bureau County Extension Office, Princeton, Illinois, send registrations to Bureau County Extension Unit, 850 Thompson St, Princeton, IL 61356 or call 815-875-2878. Include the following information with your check: Name of Meeting – Soil & Water Workshop, your name, address, and county of residence. Please make check payable to Bureau County Extension.

February 15 * Homestead Restaurant * Woodhull, IL * 9:00 a.m. – 3:00 p.m.

This workshop will focus on helping you to unlock the profit potential of pastures. Tips and techniques on weed control, pasture renovation, and using legumes are some of the topics that will be addressed.

You'll gain practical information and ideas that can be taken back to the farm and put to use.

The goal of this workshop is to assist graziers in fine-tuning their management skills and strategies that will result in profitable pastures.

Topics will include:

• Managing Thistles, Wild Carrots, & Multiflora Rose
• Illini-Grazing: How It Can Help Graziers
• EQIP contracts – Make Them Work for You
• Improving Pasture by Renovation
• Managing Forage Plant Disorders
• What's New in Legumes?
• How I Profit from Pasture Graziers Panel

Registration is due by February 8. There is a $20 per person registration fee, which covers lunch, refreshments, and handout materials. $25 will be charged for registrations after the February 8 deadline. Pre-register by calling Henry-Stark Extension at 309-853-1533 or email Jeff West at jwest@uiuc.edu .

February 17 * Black Hawk East Campus * Kewanee, IL * 12:00 – 3:00 p.m.

The Alfalfa Management Issues for 2006 workshop will be presented via University of Illinois Latitude Bridge System at Black Hawk East campus located at the junction of Routes 78 and 34 just south of Kewanee.

The agenda is as follows:

12:00 p.m. - Extension Office Check-In

12:30 p.m. - Welcome and Overview Jim Morrison, Extension Educator, Crop Systems

12:35 p.m. - Impact of New Technology in Alfalfa Breeding Dr. Dan Undersander, Extension Forage Agronomist, University of Wisconsin – Madison

1:15 p.m. - Violet Root Rot – A Disease New to Illinois Dave Feltes, Extension Educator, IPM

1:30 p.m. - Certified Weed-Free Forage and Mulch Program in Illinois Ryan Johnson, Illinois Crop Improvement Association

1:45 p.m.- Break

2:00 p.m. - Impact of Cutting Management & Soil Fertility on Winter Survival Dr. Keith Johnson, Extension Forage Agronomist, Purdue University

2:40 p.m. - Variety Selection – Sorting Through the Numbers Jim Morrison, Extension Educator, Crop Systems

2:55 p.m. - Closing Comments

3:00 p.m.- Adjourn

Pre-registration is required by calling Henry-Stark Extension before Tuesday, February 14. A registration fee of $7 will be charged and is payable at the door. CCA Credit registration will be $10.

This workshop is co-sponsored by the Illinois Forage & Grassland Council, USDA Risk Management Agency and University of Illinois Extension.

For more information or to register, contact the Henry-Stark Extension office at 309-853-1533 or email Jeff West at jwest@uiuc.edu .

February 17 * Knox County Extension Office * Galesburg, IL

A workshop that will aid farmers in making crop insurance and grain marketing decisions for 2006 will be offered at 14 locations throughout the state by University of Illinois Extension.

"Each workshop will consist of two sessions," said Gary Schnitkey, University of Illinois Farm Financial Management Specialist. "The morning session, which focuses on crop insurance and grain marketing decisions, is free. The afternoon session involves hands-on use of FAST Microsoft Excel spreadsheets to analyze grain storage decision, evaluate grain delivery options, and examine crop insurance and grain marketing decisions. The session requires a $45 registration fee."

"However, if you are already signed up for one of our Using FAST workshops, a discounted rate of $25 will apply."

Presenters at the workshops include Schnitkey; Doug Yoder of the Illinois Farm Bureau; Paul Ellinger, University of Illinois Associate Professor of Agricultural and Consumer Economics; and University of Illinois Extension educators Steve Ayer, Kevin Brooks, Jim Endress, Ruth Hambleton, Paul Mariman, and Travis Farley.

Those interested in attending should contact Travis Farley at 217-333-2312 or register online at: http://www.farmdoc.uiuc.edu/fasttools/ .

Date and location for the workshop is:

• February 17 – Knox County Extension office, Galesburg

Other sponsors of the workshops include the USDA Risk Management Agency, Illinois Farm Bureau, and University of Illinois farmdoc.

February 23 * Illinois State Fairgrounds * Springfield, IL * 11:00 a.m.

The 2006 Illinois Performance Tested Bull Sale will be held at 11:00 a.m. on Thursday, February 23 in the Livestock Exposition Center on the Illinois State Fairgrounds in Springfield. There will be a large number of two-year old (2004) and yearling (January – March 2005) bulls available.

A complete copy of the sale catalog will be mailed to all the past consignors and producers who attended and registered at the sale. In addition, the information on the sale (performance pedigrees) will be posted on the WWW and can be obtained by visiting the University of Illinois BeefNet Home Page (URL of http://www.traill.uiuc.edu/beefnet). Additional information or a hard copy of the sale catalog can be obtained by calling Dave Seibert at 309-694-7501, ext. 224 or by writing Dave Seibert, East Peoria Extension Center, 727 Sabrina Dr, East Peoria, IL 61611.

March 3 * Dickson Mounds State Museum * Lewistown, IL

While developing a fee hunting enterprise is clearly not a business strategy that will work for or appeal to everyone, savvy entrepreneurs have found a variety of ways to package and market hunting experiences to appeal to very lucrative markets, reaping nice returns on relatively low investments. If you are interested in learning more about fee hunting, we encourage you to attend the annual Fee Hunting Workshop, Friday, March 3, 2006, at Dickson Mounds State Museum located between Havana and Lewistown, Illinois.

Prairie Hills Resource Conservation and Development, Inc. and University of Illinois Extension are again sponsoring this year's workshop. It is intended to help landowners, outfitters, and others explore fee hunting as a business enterprise and strategy for deriving additional income from rural land. Topics include liability and risk management, business management and marketing, game and habitat management, but perhaps the best part of the workshop is the opportunity to interact personally and professionally with those in attendance with an interest in the fee hunting business.

Workshop flyers, including registration information will be available in the first week of February with registration in mid-February. If you would like to be put on the mailing or email list, contact University of Illinois Extension – Fulton County at 309-547-3711 or email Rhonda Ferree at ferreer@uiuc.edu . You may also contact David King's office at Prairie Hills RC&D at 309-833-4747 or email him at David.King@il .

March 6 * Winner's Circle * Geneseo, IL * 6:30 p.m.

Noted Iowa State Agriculture Meteorologist, Elwyn Taylor, will be featured in the first of a series of four quarterly marketing seminars starting on March 6 with a dinner seminar at Geneseo's Winner's Circle. All four of this year's seminars will be held at the Winner's Circle just a few minutes off of I-80 in downtown Geneseo, starting with dinner at 6:30 p.m.

A registration fee of $17.50 will include a three meat buffet and the program. Contact the Henry County Farm Bureau office or the Extension office at least one week prior to the meeting.

University of Illinois Extension is currently publishing an online Ag Issues and Farm Management blog designed for producers or ag landowners. The blog is called the farm gate and is updated with new content weekly.

For those who don't know what a blog is, or are wondering why you should care, I will attempt to highlight why you might want to visit the farm gate blog. A blog is much like the local coffee shop where one person takes leadership for the topics discussed and most of the weekly content, while others, like you, are invited to add in their comments and ideas via your keyboard. Each week the author of the blog searches the Internet, as well as Extension resources, for the latest information and comments and each week the process starts all over again. The farm gate blog is specific, as most blogs are, to only one main theme, which in this case is farm management and Ag Eco Policy issues that might interest producers or ag landowners.

Although I could copy and paste some of the most recent discussions and comments as seen on the farm gate blog, I would like to encourage you to check the farm gate blog at least two to three separate times over the next two months to get a feel for its content and potential value to you.

http://www.farmgate.uiuc.edu/

The FAST Tools subject area of farmdoc has been remodeled to provide more information about the FAST spreadsheets and easier tool download.

The "Quick Tool Downloads" section allows you to view the full list of spreadsheets where you can select to download one or multiple programs. In addition, this section of the webpage lists recently updated tools where you can install the most up-to-date versions of the programs. The "FAST Categories" section lists the seven areas of farm business analysis FAST covers. Click on a category to view available tools.

A "Frequently Asked Questions (FAQs)" page has also been added. Search this resource to find answers to questions about the use of FAST spreadsheets and the Tools and Resources CD.

The "FAST Training and Subscription" section provides dates, locations, and registration information for upcoming FAST workshops. Here you can also learn what is included in the annual FAST subscription and sign up for this service.

Periodically, the website will highlight a FAST spreadsheet under the "In the Spotlight" section. You can view a demo of the featured tool, as well as download the program for use.

Check out the redesigned FAST Tools section of farmdoc at http://www.farmdoc.uiuc.edu/fasttools/index.asp .

It's been said that money makes the world go 'round, and now it can also make it more environmentally friendly.

Farmers who practice no-till or any other tillage-limiting production technique can earn a few extra dollars by carbon trading – the latest push for a greener environment that rewards growers who sequester, or keep carbon in the soil.

Carbon trading efforts have been expanding across the United States and involve energy industries paying no-till farmers through bilateral agreements, or agricultural groups working in the open market on farmers' behalf.

The Chicago Climate Exchange – http://www.chicagoclimateexchange.com – is a voluntary rules-based greenhouse gas emission and trading system and the place to go to trade carbon credits in the open market. Currently, carbon is trading at $1.70 per ton of carbon dioxide, which roughly translates into a dollar-per-acre for the farmer. On average, Ohio soils can sequester about one half ton of carbon per hectare, or roughly 2.5 acres, which is equivalent to 500 pounds per acre.

"Currently, the financial returns aren't that great, but at that rate a farmer with 1,000 acres of no-till could earn $1,000 annually for merely continuing his established practices," said Mark Wilson, President of Land Stewards LLC in Columbus, Ohio.

Wilson spoke about carbon trading to no-till farmers during the recent Ohio State University Extension Ohio No-Till Conference in Plain City, Ohio.

"No-till in and of itself is a carbon credit," Wilson said. "If someone is willing to pay you to do what you've been doing, then why not get involved? You are just leaving money on the land if you don't."

WANT TO KNOW MORE * Complete article can be found online at

http://www.agriculture.purdue.edu/aganswers/story.asp?storyID=4119

Bottom line (Dean Malvick, Extension Plant Pathologist, Minnesota Extension)

Foliar fungicides potentially provide an opportunity to increase soybean yield through protection from plant diseases, increases in plant growth efficiencies, and increases in stress tolerance under some conditions. Much work is underway and is planned to understand when and where economically positive benefits from foliar fungicide use on soybeans are most likely to occur. Unfortunately, the inconsistent results from fungicide trials make it difficult to successfully implement a foliar fungicide program that reliably improves yields in Minnesota. Even with the threat of Asian soybean rust, the inconsistency of soybean yield response to foliar fungicides makes their use an economically risky proposition.

WANT TO KNOW MORE * Complete article can be found online at

http://www.extension.umn.edu/cropenews/2005/05MNCN59.htm