Money is the name of the game in agriculture, whether you are making it or not. And whether you farm or own farmland, you'll want to attend our November 13 workshop on farming and money. This is an opportunity for you to get the critical knowledge that will affect your profits and how you plan for your future. The seminar is sponsored by University of Illinois Extension, along with Heartland Ag Group LTD, and Sleeper, Disbrow, Morrison, Tarro and Lively LLC.

The keynote speaker will be David Oppedahl, agricultural economist of the Federal Reserve Bank at Chicago. Certified Public Accountants Bob Disbrow and Rick Tarro, will address tax planning and tax legislation. Farm manager Dale Aupperle will discuss land values and trends for the future. Farm leases and leasing trends will be addressed by Dale Lattz, Extension Farm Business Specialist.

The seminar will be held on Tuesday, November 13, 2001 from 8:45 a.m. to 3:00 p.m. at the Hickory Point Golf Course Clubhouse on Weaver Road in Forsyth, just west of Route 51. The registration fee is $25 single / $40 for two (spouse, neighbor, business partner). Cost includes continental breakfast, lunch and seminar materials

Space is limited, so register in advance by calling University of Illinois Extension at 217/877-6042. Fees will be collected at check-in. This seminar will be one of the best of the year and will fill up quickly. Space cannot be guaranteed for same day registrations.

University of Illinois Extension will be offering a regional soil and water management workshop in Decatur with a focus on the importance of protecting rivers and streams. It will be held November 28 in the Extension Conference Center at 2535 Millikin Parkway.

Registration begins at 8:30 a.m. The program will be from 9:00 a.m to 3:00 p.m. Five hours of certified crop adviser credits in soil and water management will be available.

Topics will include Current Evaluation of Illinois Rivers and Streams, Status of TMDL's, Using Buffers for Stream Protection-Research and Results, Planting and Maintaining Grass Buffer/Filter Strips, Planting and Maintaining Riparian Buffers, Buffers as Corridors, Best Management Practices for Stream Protection, and Financial Incentives for Landowners.

Advance registration is required one week ahead of the meeting and is $30 per person (includes lunch and materials) or $35 at the door. Meetings may be cancelled if less than 20 people have registered by November 21. Make checks payable to: University of Illinois Extension.

Decatur will again host one of three regional agricultural income and marketing conferences being presented this winter by University of Illinois Extension. It will address decision-making challenges in a risky economic environment. The program is being held at the Decatur Holiday Inn on December 11, 2001. Check-in begins at 8:30 a.m. The program will be from 9:00 a.m to 3:45 p.m. The cost of the program is $25 per person. Registration is required in advance by December 4, 2001.

The agenda will include presentations by:

• Dr. Darrel Good, "Outlook for Commodity prices"
• Dale Lattz , "Illinois Farm Income Situation"
• Dr. Robert Hauser, " Farm Bill Developments"

Additionally, five break-out sessions will be offered. They include:

• "Traits of Successful Farms"
• "Machinery Size, Cost and Ownership Alternatives"
• "Benchmarking Your Marketing Performance and New Generation Contracts"
• "Biotech, Landlord's Lien, Elevator Insolvency, and Other New Developments in Agricultural Law"
• "Sound Crop Insurance Decisions".

This is a powerhouse of a seminar that covers a number of issues that will affect nearly every farmer next year. If you are actively involved in any part of production agriculture you need to attend this seminar.

For registration contact: Sue Esposito, University of Illinois, 1301 W. Gregory Drive, 326 Mumford Hall, Urbana, Illinois 61801. You can also register at: www.farmdoc.uiuc.edu

You, other farmers, and even elevator managers are having difficulty this fall trying to determine what tomorrow's Loan Deficiency Payment will be. For the past several years, the LDP has typically been the difference between the Posted County Price and the Loan rate. It still is, but since we deposit the LDP check we have been more interested in the LDP than the PCP.

But since the LDP has been unpredictable, that means the PCP has not always followed local cash grain prices penny for penny. If the county FSA office was involved in the determination, the PCP would likely be in line with what elevators were paying for cash grain. But the PCP for a given county is determined by the Kansas City office of the FSA, and the staff utilizes a system of sample prices in a given state and tries its best to reconcile differences among the samples. In Illinois, FSA collects prices from 18 locations. Since not every county is sampled, the survey will not always accurately reflect what is happening in a given county.

Moreover, the movement of the basis during the weight of harvest will make the job even more difficult. Some elevators within a county may have significant differences in their competitive bids, reflecting various opportunities captured by their merchandising efforts. As harvest is completed and daily basis changes are moderated, FSA staff says the PCP's and the LDP's will become more predictable.

The Macon County Plot results included 50 corn varieties and 42 soybean varieties. Both GMO and Non-GMO bean were included. For more than 20 years now, the plots were located on the Jim Snow farm south of Elwin. The Extension Plot would not been possible without the cooperation of the Snow family and the hard work of all the seed company representatives involved.

Contact the Macon County Extension office for more details.