Date: June 2, 2003

URBANA - A tour of several organic farms in Woodford County will take place from 9:00 a.m. to noon on Monday, July 14. Terra Brockman, president of The Land Connection Foundation and other local farmers will host the tour that will visit successful, diverse, organic farms.

June 2, 2003

URBANA—Live hog prices are expected to average in the low to mid-$40s this summer and drop back to the very high $30s to low $40s for the fall, said a Purdue University Extension marketing specialist.

May 12, 2003

URBANA - Milk production was up by 2.6 percent in the United States in 2001, but milk consumption was up only about one percent, leading to a milk surplus, said a University of Illinois Extension dairy specialist.

“We are still producing more milk and milk products for the U.S. market than will be consumed,” said Michael Hutjens, who reviewed the U.S. milk consumption patterns during June Dairy Month.

Illinois, however, continues as a “milk deficit” state, he added. The state produces less milk than it consumes.

May 28, 2003

URBANA—Record-low prices, continuing production challenges and tough competition are among the challenges faced by Illinois dairy producers, said a University of Illinois Extension dairy specialist as he reviewed the industry in conjunction with June Dairy Month.

“Prices paid farmers for milk are at a 30-year low with no light visible at the end of the tunnel,” said Michael Hutjens. “Our dairy managers need a price of $13 per hundredweight to cover the costs of production. Their base price today is $10 to $11.”

May 27, 2003

Urbana - Corn prices have now given back much of the recent gains, with July 2003 futures trading near $2.40 after spiking to a high of $2.59. A continuation of generally favorable weather for new crop development might be expected to push July futures under $2.35, and perhaps back to the late April low near $2.30, according to University of Illinois Extension Economist, Darrel Good.

"The modest strength in corn prices that occurred in the first half of May appears to have been driven by concerns about planting delays and a one-day BSE reaction," Good said.

May 22, 2003

Urbana - Using an inexpensive, low-tech gravity tank in a swine manure liquid-solid separation process will help producers control swine odor and keep phosphorus and potassium levels in the soil under control.

"The gravity tank is the cheapest way to separate liquids from solids," said Ted Funk, University of Illinois Extension specialist in environmental engineering. But it's not just cheap. It's effective, according to U of I research.

May 21, 2003

URBANA--To anticipate possible problems from global warming, researchers at the University of Illinois have launched a research project known as SoyFACE that can mimic the content of the atmosphere in the year 2050 and assess how those changes will affect crops.

May 20, 2003

URBANA - For over 130 species of birds, getting bitten by a mosquito carrying the West Nile virus can be fatal. And, although crows and jays appear to be hardy, aggressive birds, there is something about their immune system that makes them "differentially susceptible to the virus" said Jeff Brawn, a University of Illinois researcher. Brawn has been working with medical entomologists for the last year to study the effects of the virus on bird populations. He hopes to study how the virus will cause an evolutionary change in the crow’s immune system.

May 20, 2003

URBANA--Although the extent of the problem has varied from year to year, the soybean aphid has recently become a pest throughout the Midwest. The aphids were first discovered in large numbers in soybean fields near the end of the 2000 growing season. After careful scientific investigation, they were identified as Aphis glycines, which had previously been reported only in Asia, Australia, and some Pacific islands.

May 21, 2003

URBANA—Ryan Hobson of Chatham has been named West Central Regional Director for University of Illinois Extension. He has served in the region since 2000 as associate regional director and, since March 2002, interim regional director.