By TIM ALEXANDER
Illinois Correspondent

PEORIA, Ill. — Uncertainty over prices, the sinking economy, looming changes in trucking and transportation regulations and legislative transitions at both the state and federal levels are but a few of the concerns facing the fertilizer and chemical industry in 2009.

That’s the message officials with the Illinois Fertilizer & Chemical Assoc. (IFCA) brought to their annual meeting and trade show last week in Peoria, which was attended by industry retail leaders from across the state.

“Everybody is at a stalemate as to where we are going,” said IFCA President Jean Payne. “A lot of you (retailers) have called us, worried about the future of your business. Our philosophy is very clear on this; our job is to represent you in Springfield and help keep the government off your back.”

New IFCA Chairman Dan Zinck said the next 12 months will bring “dynamic” changes in the industry that will require heightened vigilance and awareness on the part of both the organization and its retail members.

“There is uncertainty in input prices, along with (world) economic uncertainty,” he said. “We know there is a change coming, and I would say your association needs you now more than ever before. (Retailers) will need their association more than ever before, as well.”

The meeting was held only a few hours after former Illinois senator Barack Obama was sworn in as the nation’s 44th president on Jan. 20.

“(Obama) is probably going to be a little more environmentally friendly than we are used to,” Zinck said.

Payne agreed that many challenges lay ahead for the state’s fertilizer and chemical dealers. Uncertainty over how new federal and state leaders will influence policies directly affecting the industry is further muddling the picture for retailers and the IFCA.
“We’ll have to negotiate and give and take, but I really look forward to working with President Obama and his staff at the federal level,” Payne said. “Hopefully the transition in Springfield will be (smooth).”

Payne used a portion of her address to highlight some of the IFCA’s legislative activities in 2008. “We had many accomplishments, but we had to work very hard to keep what we have,” she said.

Payne was referring, in part, to impeached Illinois Gov. Rod Blagojevich’s attempt to slash funding for many of the state’s agricultural organization budgets, including the IFCA’s fertilizer research and education budget. Unlike some of the ag-based agencies that were threatened with the budget axe, however, IFCA’s funding was actually contributed by their membership and not appropriated from the state budget.

“We had to fight to keep your money, farmers’ money, in our industry,” Payne recalled.

The room erupted in laughter when Payne recounted how the IFCA had sent a letter of support to U.S. Northern District federal prosecutor Patrick Fitzgerald, inviting him to accept an award of gratitude on behalf of the organization and its members for his work in the recent arrest of Blagojevich on attempted bribery charges.

“He sent a note back saying, ‘Thanks, Jean, I appreciate it, but I really don’t need to be given an award; I’m just doing my bleeping job,’” Payne recounted.

Outgoing IFCA Chairman Mark Tarter addressed the nation’s economic downturn, saying it will affect all areas of industry, including the fertilizer and chemical business.

“We have plenty of problems to deal with,” he said. “We still feel we’re better off overall than in other parts of the country. Most of these problems have a way of working themselves out.”

Illinois Department of Agriculture Director Tom Jennings was a guest speaker at the meeting. He warned that new transportation legislation affecting road weight limits and “fee increases basically across the board” will likely be approved in 2009.

Jennings also said the first wave of Obama’s sweeping economic stimulus package should provide approximately $6.6 billion for the state, and some of that money could go toward items on IFCA’s agenda, such as transportation and infrastructure improvements.