Illinois ethanol plant
in financial jeopardy</p><p>

PEORIA, Ill. — The Peoria Journal-Star reports today that farmers who staked money in the Central Illinois Energy ethanol plant near Canton will lose their investments.</p><p>
“I think they’re out of money,” said Barry Barash, a Galesburg attorney hired to help guide the board of directors for the unfinished plant. “I don’t see any way to (finish the plant) outside of Chapter 11.”</p><p>
The newspaper reports that 50 employees at the plant are out of work.</p><p>
In a related development, the Illinois Department of Agriculture seized about $6 million worth of grain at Central Illinois Grain when it suspended the company’s licenses this week.</p><p>
Central Illinois Grain is on the site of Central Illinois Energy.
The suspension of the company’s grain dealer and grain warehouse licenses means the company can’t receive, ship, purchase or contract for grain.</p><p>
Ohio lawmakers
adopt wheat checkoff</p><p>

COLUMBUS, Ohio — Ohio wheat, barley and oat growers stand to benefit from research funded by a voluntary marketing program passed last week by the Ohio House of Representatives. The Ohio Wheat Growers Assoc. worked with State Rep. Steve Reinhard (R-Bucyrus) in passing the measure.</p><p>
“Establishment of the Ohio Small Grains Marketing Program will assure that Ohio wheat producers remain competitive in an evermore complex global marketplace,” said Ohio Wheat Growers Association (OWGA) President Jay Griffith.</p><p>
Gov. Ted Strickland is expected to sign the bill within the next 10 days; the marketing program will go into effect 90 days after it becomes law.</p><p>
Ohio wheat growers are number one in the country in red winter wheat production. Ohio is one of the largest flour milling states in the country and grains are a vital part of the economy. Marketing program funds could be used for market development, research, and education.</p><p>
McConnell touts
ID cards for laborers</p><p>

LOUISVILLE, Ky. (AP) — Senate Minority Leader Mitch McConnell told a farm group recently that the government should create a program to provide identification cards so employers are assured of hiring workers who are in the country legally.</p><p>
McConnell, a Kentucky Republican, said the cards would be useful because employers will ultimately play a role in enforcing the nation’s immigrations laws.</p><p>
The senator, who will seek a fifth term in next year’s election, focused on immigration during a speech to the Kentucky Farm Bureau convention in Louisville.</p><p>
McConnell was pessimistic about reviving comprehensive immigration legislation that would include a plan to legalize millions of unlawful immigrants. McConnell voted against such a sweeping bill that was defeated by the Senate this summer despite support from President Bush.</p><p>
But McConnell said Congress might be able to deal with “niche issues” involving immigration.</p><p>
He said one possibility is to improve the federal H2A agricultural labor program. Many Kentucky farmers rely on the program to hire migrant labor, but McConnell said the system is cumbersome.</p><p>
Heavy truck traffic
hurting Ohio highways</p><p>

DAYTON, Ohio (AP) — Heavy truck traffic from large grain and livestock farms is inflicting wear and tear on Ohio’s rural roads, and the cost of repairing and maintaining them often falls to taxpayers. </p><p>
Numerous western Ohio counties with large livestock farms have had to repair road damage from farm equipment, in some cases spending hundreds of thousands of dollars. </p><p>
Putnam County’s Palmer Township in northwest Ohio is spending $500,000 to replace a road damaged by traffic to and from a big dairy, five times the county’s annual $100,000 budget for road maintenance. </p><p>
Nearby Williams County has spent $300,000 to upgrade four miles of roads. This year, the county began deploying portable scales and devoting two full-time deputies to a truck-weight enforcement program, in part due to complaints about road damage from large dairy farm traffic. </p><p>
Not all farms that require Ohio Department of Agriculture permits - dairy farms with 700 or more cows, or egg farms with 125,000 or more chickens - must work with local officials to resolve infrastructure issues. That’s a requirement for farms with at least 7,000 dairy cattle or 1.25 million egg-laying hens. </p><p>
“What might be helpful would be some sort of large-scale agricultural zoning,” said Defiance County Engineer Warren Schlatter.</p><p>
Agriculture traditionally has been exempt from zoning regulations.
Van Wert County Engineer Kyle Wendel said some local officials hesitate to approach the largest livestock farmers. </p><p>
“You’ve got to cater to people like that,” he said. Farming “drives our economy.”