Emerald ash borer found in new county in Illinois

SPRINGFIELD, Ill. — A destructive, non-native pest that feasts on ash trees has been confirmed in DeKalb County.  The emerald ash borer (EAB) was discovered on a farm south of Illinois Route 64 on First Street in Mayfield Township just between the cities of Sycamore and DeKalb, the Illinois Department of Agriculture reported.

The department’s educational outreach led to the discovery of the infested ash trees.  The informed homeowner noticed distressed ash trees on his property and reported them to IDOA staff.  Larvae then were collected from the trees and submitted to the USDA’s Animal and Plant Health Inspection Service (APHIS), which confirmed the specimens as EAB.

“While this find isn’t in a specific city, we have established contact with the neighboring cities of Sycamore and DeKalb and are working with them closely as we monitor the extent of this infestation,” EAB Manager Paul Deizman said.

The emerald ash borer is a small, metallic-green beetle native to Asia.  Its larvae burrow into the bark of ash trees, causing the trees to starve and eventually die.  While the beetle does not pose any direct risk to public health, it does threaten the tree population. 
Since the emerald ash borer was first confirmed in the Midwest in the summer of 2002, tens of millions of ash trees have died as a result of EAB.  States currently affected by EAB are Illinois, Indiana, Kentucky, Maryland, Michigan, Missouri, Ohio, Pennsylvania, Virginia, West Virginia, Wisconsin and several provinces in Canada.
While it isn’t known exactly how EAB arrived in Illinois, it is widely believed to be artificially spread by moving infested firewood.  A quarantine to prevent such an occurrence in Illinois has been established in the 21 northeastern-most counties of the state.  Those counties include: the entire counties of Boone, Cook, DeKalb, DuPage, Grundy, Kane, Kankakee, Kendall, Lake, LaSalle, Livingston, McHenry, McLean, Putnam, Will, Winnebago, and Woodford.

Anyone who suspects a tree has been infested is urged to contact their county Extension office or their village forester for a consultation.

Bredesen requests farm aid for five Tennessee counties
NASHVILLE, Tenn. — Gov. Phil Bredesen today requested a federal designation of natural disaster for agriculture for farm losses in five Middle Tennessee counties due to excessive rain and extensive flooding that occurred in May. The five counties are Bedford, Hickman, Lewis, Moore and Perry.

“A disaster designation will be important for making federal assistance available to farmers who experienced significant losses last month due to heavy rains and flooding,” said Bredesen. “I’m glad to make this request and hope that this will help these farmers recover from a difficult spring planting season.”

Bredesen made the request in a letter to U.S. Secretary of Agriculture Tom Vilsack. A disaster designation would make farmers in these and adjoining counties eligible to apply for assistance through their local USDA Farm Service Agency. Qualifying farmers are eligible to be considered for emergency loans, livestock assistance and supplemental farm payments as provided by the Food, Conservation and Energy Act of 2008.

Farmers in these areas suffered crop losses reported in excess of 30 percent, including hay and pastures. Farmers also reported significant damage to farm equipment and structures.

FSA county committee nominations start June 15

INDIANAPOLIS, Ind. — Don Hunton, Acting Executive Director for USDA’s Farm Service Agency in Indiana announced farmer and rancher candidate nominations begin June 15 for local Farm Service Agency (FSA) county committees.  The nomination period continues through Aug. 3. Elections take place this fall.

“I encourage all producers to participate in the county committee election process by nominating candidates by the Aug. 3 deadline,” said Hunton.  “We are counting on as much participation as possible, because county committees are an important link between the farm community and the USDA. We have seen a trend in recent years of increased nominations of minority and women producers and we hope that will continue.”

To be eligible to serve on an FSA county committee, a person must participate or cooperate in a program administered by FSA, be eligible to vote in a county committee election and reside in the local administrative area in which the person is a candidate.
Producers may also nominate themselves, and organizations representing minority and women may also nominate candidates.
To become a nominee, eligible individuals must sign form FSA-669A.  The form and other information about FSA county committee elections are available online at www.fsa.usda.gov/FSA

Nomination forms for the 2009 election must be postmarked or received in the local USDA Service Center by close of business on Aug. 3.

FSA county committee members make decisions on disaster and conservation programs, emergency programs, commodity price support loan programs and other important agricultural issues.  Members serve three-year terms.

Nationwide, there are more than 7,800 farmers and ranchers serving on FSA county committees.

Committees consist of three to five members who are elected by eligible local producers.

FSA will mail ballots to producers beginning Nov. 6.

The voted ballots are due back to the local county office either via mail or in person by Dec. 7. Newly elected committee members and alternates take office Jan. 1, 2010.