The 2008 Illinois Tillage Seminars are co-sponsored by the Illinois Department of Agriculture, University of Illinois Extension, AISWCD, Natural Resources Conservation Service and the Soil and Water Conservation Districts. Some tillage seminars will include agribusiness exhibitors. These tillage seminars will provide 5.0 ceu's for Certified Crop Advisers (4.5 Soil & Water Management and 0.5 IPM).

The seminar for Macon County will be held February 5, at Richland Community College, Decatur, IL. Send registrations to: University of Illinois Extension, 2535 Millikin Parkway, Decatur, IL 62526, (217)-877-6042. Register on line at

http://web.extension.uiuc.edu/macon/

Pre-registration is necessary and the deadline is one week prior to each scheduled meeting. Seating is limited so registration will be taken on a first-come basis. A $15 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" and send to University of Illinois Extension, 2535 Millikin Parkway, Decatur, IL 62526.

For more information, contact University of Illinois Extension, Macon County office at 877-6042, or email Paul Mariman at pmariman@uiuc.edu

Sustaining Illinois Soils will be discussed by University of Illinois faculty and Extension Educators at a Soil and Water Management Workshop, to be held at 8 locations on February 21, 2008. Locations for the workshop are in Camp Point, Decatur, East Peoria, Freeport, Galesburg, Macomb, Onarga, and St. Charles.

Certified Crop Advisors may receive 4 hours of credit in Soil and Water Management and 1 hour in Nutrient Management for attending this workshop.

Topics covered during the workshop will include Illinois soils and basic soil survey techniques, soil carbon and climate change, using dredged Illinois River sediment to enhance poor soils, phosphorus cycling in soils, and soil microbial processes.

The workshop will be presented by live speakers and by teleconference. Registration will start at each location at 8:30 a.m., with presentations starting at 9:00 a.m. Lunch is provided with registration, and the workshop will end at 2:00p.m.

Pre-registration by February 14 is required. Registration costs are $30 per person.

For more information or to receive registration materials, contact University of Illinois Extension Macon County office, or email Paul Mariman at pmariman@uiuc.edu

University of Illinois Extension will be offering a training workshop on "Pesticide Mode of Action" on February 14 from 9:00 a.m. to 1:45 p.m., at the Macon Extension office.

Those attending this program, on February 14, will learn how herbicides, insecticides and fungicides actually work at the cellular level in an effort to aide their resistance management efforts. In addition, those attending will receive four publications for future mode of action reference. The publications include:

• Utilizing Herbicide Site of Action To Combat Weed Resistance to Herbicides
• Utilizing Insecticide Mode of Action to Combat Insect Resistance to Insecticides
• Utilizing Fungicide Mode of Action to Combat Fungicide Resistance to Fungicides
• RPD 1002: Characteristics of Fungicides Used in Field Crops

There is a $30.00 fee for attending the training workshop, which must be pre-paid. Payment can be made in person at the Macon County Extension office, or by mailing information to: University of Illinois Extension Macon County, 2535 Millikin Parkway, Decatur, IL 62526. Attendees can also pre-register and make payment online with a credit card, by visiting Macon County Extension website at http://web.extension.uiuc.edu/macon/

For more information please contact the Macon County Extension office at 877-6042, or email Paul Mariman at pmariman@uiuc.edu.

The Illinois Department of Agriculture and University of Illinois Extension will provide training and testing, on February 26, for anyone desiring to obtain an Illinois pesticide applicators license. Both new applicants, as well as those individuals whose current certification expires on December 31, 2007, are welcome. In either case, individuals desiring to obtain a license for 2008 must pass a written examination and apply for a private pesticide applicators license.

There is a fee of $30 for attending the training session, which must be pre-paid. Payment can be made in person at the Macon County Extension office, or by mailing information to: University of Illinois Extension Macon County, Attn: PSEP, 2535 Millikin Parkway, Decatur, IL 62526. Attendees can also pre-register and make payment online with a credit card, by visiting the Macon County Extension website at

http://web.extension.uiuc.edu/macon/

For more information please contact the Macon County Extension office at 877-6042.

On February 28 at the Extension Conference Center from 9:00 to 11:30 a.m. Dr. Darrell Good and Dr. Gary Schnitkey are presenting "Crop Insurance Risk Management and Grain Marketing Outlook."

This is a must-be-at program for farmers, landowners, insurance agents and grain managers. This is the year to protect yourself from the volatility of the market. To register for the program contact the Macon Extension office at 877-6042.

The AgrAbility Unlimited Program is a statewide program funded through the state of Illinois. The program provides assistance to help farmers and family members who have disabling conditions due to accidents or illness. The purpose is to help them get back to farming. Assistance may include connecting them quickly to area resources and assistive technology as well as many other supports and resources.

The successful candidate must have a bachelor's degree in an agricultural discipline and ability to travel throughout Illinois with an annual caseload of approximately 60 clients.

The USDA projects the consumption of U.S. corn during the current marketing year at 12.69 billion bushels. Use during the 2008-09 marketing year will likely increase if supplies are adequate. Domestic feed use of corn might decline modestly as the production of distillers grains increases. U.S. corn exports are expected to remain strong as Chinese exports continue to decline. Some recovery in world wheat production, however, might result in some softness in demand for U.S. corn. The major uncertainty centers around how rapidly corn based ethanol production will expand next year. Continued high crude oil prices, a recovery in ethanol prices, additional legislative mandates for biofuels, and ongoing construction of new plants suggest a significant increase in corn used for ethanol.

There may be a market for about 13.6 billion bushels of U.S. corn during the 2008-09 marketing year. With stocks at the end of the current year at 1.8 billion bushels, the 2008 crop may have to be near 13.1 billion bushels to meet market requirements. A trend yield of 151 bushels would suggest that harvested acreage needs to be near 86.7 million acres in 2008, 600,000 more than harvested in 2007.

The USDA projects consumption of U.S. soybeans during the current marketing year at 2.988 billion bushels. Year ending stocks are projected at only 185 million bushels, providing no surplus for consumption during the 2008-09 marketing year. With a large soybean crop in South America in 2008 and 2009, exports of U.S. soybeans might decline from the 995 million bushels projected for this year. Even so, consumption of U.S. soybeans in 2008-09 could be near 2.9 billion bushels. With an average yield of 42.5 bushels, harvested acreage in 2008 would need to reach 68.2 million to produce a crop of 2.9 billion bushels. That is 5.4 million acres more than harvested this year.

The USDA projects consumption of U.S. wheat during the current marketing year at 2.333 billion bushels. Year ending stocks are projected at only 280 million bushels, providing little surplus for consumption next year. Use during the 2008 -09 marketing year might decline if world wheat production rebounds and U.S. exports decline from the 1.175 billion bushels projected for this year. Still, a U.S. crop of about 2.2 billion bushels may be needed in 2008. With an average yield of 42 bushels, a crop of that size would require harvested acreage of about 52.4 million, 1.4 million more than harvested this year.

Early projections for 2008 suggest that U.S. harvested acreage of corn, soybeans, and wheat all need to be larger than in 2007, by a total of about 7.4 million acres. With rising prices of other commodities and limited amounts of uncultivated acreage available, it is difficult to see how such an increase can occur. The crop markets have an interesting challenge ahead. With an increase in winter wheat acreage likely already in place, prices of corn and soybeans in particular may have to remain high relative to alternative crops in order to ensure sufficient acreage in 2008. In addition, average yields will have to remain high to generate sufficient production.

Issued by Darrel Good
Extension Economist
University of Illinois