Two introduce ethanol credit extension legislation
WASHINGTON, D.C. — U.S. Reps. Earl Pomeroy (D-N.D.) and John Shimkus (R-Ill.) introduced House Resolution 4940, The Renewable Fuels Reinvestment Act, as legislation last Thursday, according to the Nation Corn Growers Assoc. (NCGA).

Among other items, the legislation would extend until 2015 the Volumetric Ethanol Excise Tax Credit, which is set to expire at the end of 2010.

“NCGA applauds the work Congressmen Pomeroy and Shimkus have done to introduce The Renewable Fuels Reinvestment Act,” said NCGA President Darrin Ihnen, a grower from Hurley, S.D. “The extension of VEETC would contribute to energy independence, create and secure thousands of jobs in rural America and allow for a stronger agriculture sector.”

Specifically, the NCGA stated HR 4940 would extend the 45-cent per gallon tax credit available to oil and gasoline refiners for each gallon of ethanol they blend through 2015. The legislation would also extend the Small Producers Tax Credit until Jan. 1, 2016, which is available on the first 15 million gallons of ethanol produced by ethanol companies producing no more than 60 million gallons per year.

Man dies in farming accident in St. Joseph County

SOUTH BEND, Ind. (AP) — St. Joseph County police say a 72-year-old farmer died when a grain truck rolled onto its side and trapped him underneath.

Police spokesman Sgt. Bill Redman said at press time the name of the victim of the March 25 accident about 12 miles southwest of South Bend was being withheld until relatives have been notified.
Redman said the farmer and another man were emptying soybeans from a grain trailer. He said when the grain began to shift and the truck started to overturn, the man ran toward the truck, apparently intending to lower the trailer. But the truck rolled onto its side, trapping the man beneath the cab.

The man died at the scene.

Illinois health officials issue warning about raw milk

SPRINGFIELD, Ill. (AP) — Public health officials in Illinois are warning about possible dangers from contaminated raw milk distributed from an Indiana dairy.

An outbreak of bacterial illness in southern Michigan has been linked with drinking raw milk from the same Middlebury, Ind., dairy. A farm cooperative in Michigan received milk from that dairy and delivered it to locations in Chicago, Des Plaines, Downers Grove and Elgin.

The culprit is Campylobacter bacteria. It can cause digestive symptoms including diarrhea and abdominal pain. And it’s been confirmed in 11 of 18 cases reported in Michigan. People with those symptoms who have had raw milk should seek testing and treatment from their doctors. They also should report the illness to their local health department.

Ohio approves plans for large-scale wind farms

COLUMBUS, Ohio (AP) — Regulators have approved the first large-scale wind farms in Ohio. The Ohio Power Siting Board on March 22 approved plans by Hardin Wind Energy LLC to construct up to 200 wind turbines in Hardin County, about 50 miles northwest of Columbus.

Board Chairman Alan Schriber said the wind farm will play an integral role in assuring Ohio meets new alternative energy standards. Construction is scheduled to begin this summer.
The board also approved plans by Buckeye Wind LLC to build up to 54 wind turbines in Champaign County and authorized JW Great Lakes Wind LLC to construct up to 27 wind turbines in Hardin County. Under Ohio’s alternative energy plan, 25 percent of electricity sold in the state must be generated from alternative energy sources by 2025.

To read more, see page 2B of this week’s Farm World.

Union head pleads guilty to accepting free feeders

CHICAGO, Ill. (AP) — A retired Chicago-area labor leader has pled guilty to violating federal labor law by taking free feeding equipment for buffalo being raised on his Maryland farm from a company that employed members of his union.

William Dugan is retired president of the 23,000-member International Union of Operating Engineers Local 150. He admitted in a signed plea agreement with prosecutors last week to accepting concrete livestock feeders from the company. The charge was a misdemeanor, and Magistrate Judge Michael Mason could sentence Dugan to as much as a year or as little as probation.

Dugan also admitted using union vehicles for personal purposes and taking hundreds of bushels of union-owned feed corn, but was not charged with that.