Illinois Farm Bureau (IFB) and the University of Illinois plan to provide farmers with the latest farm bill program information during 14 regional meetings starting at the end of January. The closest session will be on Feb. 6 at 1 p.m. at the Crowne Plaza in Springfield.

 

"These meetings are three hours in length and intended to provide producers and landowners with everything they will need to make their important farm bill decisions," said IFB's Doug Yoder, senior director of affiliate and risk management.

 

The sessions also will include demonstrations of online tools farmers can use to determine which option is best for their individual farms.

 

Yoder, along with Gary Schnitkey, U of I professor of agricultural economics, and Jonathan Coppess, U of I assistant professor of agricultural law and policy, will lead the sessions.

 

They are free, but require pre-registration. To register, click here.

The Environmental Protection Agency announced on Tuesday that biodiesel from Argentina can now qualify for the RFS2 program, if it is certified to come from feedstock meeting the definition of renewable biomass under the Energy Independence and Security Act of 2007.

 

Up to 600 million gallons of Argentinian biodiesel could enter the U.S. The decision will put a strain on the U.S. domestic biodiesel industry since Argentina has a Differential Export Tax program which allows Argentinian biodiesel to undercut domestic prices.

 

Farm Futures article 

Americans to Eat 1.25 Billion Chicken Wings for Super Bowl

 

With the second biggest eating day of the year after Thanksgiving upon us - Super Bowl Sunday - there's no hotter time of year for chicken wings, which have become a staple food on Super Bowl menus. According to the National Chicken Council's 2015 Wing Report, 1.25 billion wings will be eaten during Super Bowl XLIX, as fans watch the Seattle Seahawks and New England Patriots battle for the Lombardi Trophy, matching the record tied last year when the Seahawks defeated the Denver Broncos.

 

Ranch is once again the top sauce typically eaten with wings, up from 51 percent last year but shy of the record of 57 percent two years ago. Only about one-third (36 percent) of those surveyed by NCC like to eat their wings with blue cheese dressing. This is up from 32 percent last year. Barbecue sauce even topped blue cheese, coming in at 42 percent.

An op-ed in the State Journal Register by Sen. Dick Durbin (D-Ill.) and Rep. Aaron Schock (R-Ill.) makes the case for the Farm Bureau-supported Marketplace Fairness Act. "Despite the difficulties associated with moving legislation through a divided government in Washington, there is still reason to hope," wrote Durbin and Schock.

 

"Main Street businesses have a hard time surviving when their stores become showrooms, where people come in, look around, even try out merchandise, and then leave to buy the product online to avoid paying state taxes," they noted adding, "It's time we update our laws to match our 21st century marketplace."

 

"Congress needs a bill that will close the online tax loophole and allow states to make sure both Main Street businesses and online retailers play by the same set of rules," they conclude.