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Illinois
Do not take agriculture for granted Growing up in central Illinois on a grain and livestock farm I suppose I was as guilty as the next person for making the assumption that there will always be farms, and that agriculture will dominate the countryside. If I have learned anything over the past eighteen years of working with agricultural associations it is that we in Illinois had better not take agriculture for granted. Allow me if you will to share with you the current status of our state's largest industry. The challenges that our agricultural producers' face are numerous and they are being driven by both internal and external forces.
The external factors include the following: 1. A population base that continues to grow causing urban sprawl to devour thousands of acres of farmland annually. 2. A society that has less understanding and tolerance of farming and what is necessary for our producers to successfully raise grain and livestock on their farms. Dust, odor, noise and other environmental factors that can be controlled to a certain degree are not acceptable to many individuals. The result, we continue to incur regulations that are sometimes unnecessary and not economically feasible. 3. An ever-increasing globally competitive marketplace that continually challenges our ability to compete. 4. The gap between the retailer's share (60 percent) and the farmers share (20 percent) has widened. Producers are simply not receiving the margin they need to be profitable. 5. The ever present threat of a foreign animal disease problems like the current foot and mouth disease plague that is devastating Europe, coming to the United States and possibly destroying our livestock production capabilities. The internal side of the equation includes the following issues: 1. The economy of scale producers need has increased dramatically and fewer producers are farming more acreage and producing more livestock. 2. The emergence of corporate agribusiness into production agriculture is creating a competitive challenge for traditional producers. 3. The continual challenge of creating opportunities for traditional producers to enter into value-added opportunities. 4. Last but not least, the fact that producers continue to struggle with the ability to set aside their independent attitudes and realize that we are all interdependent and must work together to further our opportunities. The above list of challenges can be discouraging. Actually I am very optimistic about Illinois agriculture's ability to deal with the challenges and make the most of the opportunities. To start with, I think one of the silver linings in a most unfortunate situation concerning the recent foot and mouth disease problems in Europe is that we can not take our food safety precautions for granted. We in the livestock industry, particularly the pork industry, have an excellent track record with producing a safe and quality product for consumers. We have the ability to compete in world markets. Our state department of agriculture, as well as the USDA, does an excellent job of safeguarding our food in the U.S. It is truly an advantage for our consumers as well as our foreign buyers. When it comes to regulations concerning the livestock industry in Illinois we are fortunate to have a piece of legislation entitled the Livestock Management Facilities Act. This legislation was passed a few years ago when so many concerns were being raised by citizens, many of whom as I mentioned have no tolerance for agricultural production matters like dust, odor or (continued on page 6)
Executive Director of the Illinois Pork Producers Association (IPPA) Mark Gebhards joined the the 5,500 member association in 1994. Prior to that he worked for the American Soybean Association in St. Louis and the Illinois Farm Bureau. 4 ILLINOIS COUNTRY LIVING MAY 2001 Illinois Commentary (continued from page 4) noise. It provides some regulation and accountability for our producers. The act was based on science and not driven by emotion and we in agriculture need to ensure that the public understands what we do and how we address environmental management. The ability for our Illinois producers to retain more of the food dollar in their pocket is being addressed through numerous value-added initiatives such as the producer owned packing plants. These types of initiatives are critical for continued producer profitability and allowing them to compete with some of the corporate, totally integrated operations. Niche markets and custom products will allow them to sell direct to the customer. Governor Ryan and many members of the General Assembly recognize the importance of these initiatives and have allocated $3 million in this year's budget specifically to assist producers with value added initiatives. There are more questions than answers when it comes to issues like urban sprawl, but our state legislature and many farm organizations are studying what might be done and how. I feel that farmers have made a lot of progress. Since agriculture employs over 24 percent of the state's workforce and is the largest industry, I hope we do not take for granted that it will always be there. Without continued diligence we might be asking ourselves whatever happened to all of the pigs, corn, beans, cows and other ag products we used to produce in this great state! 6 ILLINOIS COUNTRY LIVING • MAY 2001 |
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