3 Ohio grain facilities suspended by state

REYNOLDSBURG, Ohio — The Ohio Department of Agriculture (ODA) reported it has suspended the grain license of Archbold Elevator, Inc. located at 3265 County Road 24 in Archbold. Operations at a branch in Wauseon and a storage bin in Elmira have also been halted.

Farmers who are owed money for grain deposits with Archbold Elevator should call ODA’s Grain Warehouse Section at 800-282-1955 or at 614-728-6410.
Following an examination the week of April 5, ODA examiners determined that Archbold Elevator held liabilities significantly higher than its available assets and was short at least 50,000 bushels of corn. The grain handlers’ license, #5272, was suspended on April 11.

Ohio’s Grain Indemnity Fund was created to reimburse farmers when a licensed elevator becomes insolvent. Claims are handled through ODA’s Grain Warehouse Section and must be approved by the Ohio Commodity Advisory Commission.
Once the ODA completes its final audit of assets and liabilities, the formal indemnity claim process will begin.

Illinois AG fighting 5,500-head dairy

GALENA, Ill. (Chicago Tribune) — Illinois prosecutors escalated a fight Thursday over a controversial proposal to build the largest dairy in the state, accusing the owners of polluting local waters and requiring stricter environmental safeguards before allowing it to operate.

Illinois Attorney General Lisa Madigan filed a complaint against the owners of the proposed Traditions Dairy near Galena, in northwestern Illinois, alleging a liquid byproduct used on-site had leaked into the South Fork of the Apple River. The site belongs to California dairyman A.J. Bos, who has proposed a dairy of about 5,500 head of cattle next to the small town of Nora, about 30 miles east of Galena.

The complaint requests the Illinois Pollution Control Board schedule a hearing for Traditions Investments, the dairy’s corporate owner, to respond to five counts in the attorney general’s complaint, including water pollution and discharging without a National Pollutant Discharge Elimination System permit.
Don Manning, an attorney for the dairy, noted in an email that the allegations occurred six months ago when the facility was partially built. The dairy immediately took action to resolve the issue, he added, and since then there has been no suggestion of any environmental damage. Bos still intends to complete construction and start operations, Manning added.

Child falls to his death from farm tractor
TRENTON, Tenn. (AP) — A four-year-old boy has died in a fall from a farm tractor in West Tennessee.

Gibson County Sheriff Chuck Arnold said Lucas Seth Flowers was killed April 19. The boy was riding in a large, dual-wheel, four-wheel-drive tractor. As the machine was being turned around, the cab door flew open and the boy was thrown out.

An obituary posted by Karnes & Son Funeral Home lists the boy’s parents as Jearod and Kelly Parker Flowers. Arnold declined to give further details, but told The Jackson Sun that strong winds that preceded damaging thunderstorms might have played a part in the door coming open.

The accident occurred at the family’s farm near the China Grove community.

Farmer: Probation for illegal immigrants
CEDAR RAPIDS, Iowa (AP) — A 62-year-old man who had employed illegal immigrants at his Vinton dairy farm has been given a year of probation.
A Friday news release from the office of the U.S. Attorney for the Northern District of Iowa said Kenneth Birker’s business was ordered to pay $150,000 in penalties. The release said Birker had pled guilty to knowingly employing illegal immigrants. He also pled guilty for Birker, Inc. to harboring illegal immigrants for financial gain.

Prosecutors say that in 2001, Birker hired a husband and wife from Mexico who had entered the U.S. illegally. In 2004 Birker hired a relative of the couple who also was an illegal immigrant. The release said Birker later talked to an attorney and said Birker, Inc. would help the couple try to gain legal status.

USGC: Panamax due in Japanese port
TOKYO — According to the U.S. Grains Council (USGC) the Japanese government’s latest tally of earthquake and tsunami damage to the nation’s agricultural sector includes:

•More than 59,000 acres in Iwate, Miyagi and Fukushima prefectures flooded and may be polluted with high levels of salt

•Total farmland losses across 16 prefectures valued at $3.39 billion, and facility and equipment losses valued at $2.47 billion

•Losses of livestock facilities, crops and animals estimated at $84 million as of April 11

•Significant condition problems among surviving livestock in affected areas, due to disruption of normal feeding

The USGC stated six feed mills in Hachinohe were expected to produce their normal varieties of compound feed beginning last week. The USGC’s Tokyo office also reported April 21 the first Panamax grain vessel was scheduled to berth at Kashima port shortly.

Three Kashima facilities produced more feed this March than in 2010 to help cover demand in the Tohoku area. Japan’s southern grain ports were not affected by the earthquake and tsunami and have been able to compensate for the closures at northern ports. Japanese feed manufacturers have increased production at unaffected mills to maintain feed supplies.

As of April 7, the USGC said Japan’s purchases of U.S. corn (year-to-date sales plus outstanding purchases) totaled 418.8 million bushels, a 1.5 percent increase over the 412.5 million purchased at the same time last year.