Closing Market Report

ifr171124–307 Turkey Facts (self contained for Thanksgiving Day) http://urbanext.illinois.edu/turkey/ Running Time – 2:02 For University of Illinois Extension I’m Todd Gleason. Happy Thanksgiving. Here’s a list of turkey facts, you might find of interest. Ben Franklin, in a letter to his daughter, proposed the turkey as the official United States bird. In 2012, the average American ate 16 pounds of turkey. The heaviest turkey ever raised was 86 pounds, about the size of a large dog. A 15 pound turkey usually has about 70 percent white meat and 30 percent dark meat. The male turkey is called a tom. The female turkey is called a hen. The turkey was domesticated in Mexico and brought to Europe in the 16th century. Wild turkeys can fly for short distances up to 55 miles per hour. Wild turkeys can run 20 miles per hour. Turkeys’ heads change colors when they become excited. Most of the turkeys raised for commercial production are White Hollands. It takes...

ifr171110–298 Using the Productivity Index to Figure Cash Rents Gary Schnitkey, Agricultural Economist - University of Illinois Right now farmers are in the middle of negotiating 2018 cash rents. This while their incomes have been depressed for four years. Todd Gleason reports Agricultural economist Gary Schnitkey has been working up a way for landowners and their tenants to feel better about bringing cash rents down. The University of Illinois number cruncher has… 1:41 radio 2:00 radio self-contained The University of Illinois number cruncher has developed a formula to derive cash rent from a fields P.I.. That’s the Productivity Index. It is benchmarked, in a fashion, to USDA’s Cash Rents Survey and uses a geographic adjustment tied to the CRD, that’s USDA’s Crop Reporting District. This allows for demand patterns in an area to show up in the formula. Schnitkey, in a farmdocDaily article says the P.I. and CRD adjustment explains 91% of t...

ifr171103–287 A Better Choice | Common Milkweed for Monarch Butterflies Jason Haupt, Extension Environmental Stewardship - University of Illinois by Jason Haupt Friday November 3, 2017 We have been hearing about how Monarch Butterflies are in trouble. The question is “what to do to help the Monarch’s?” The common answer has been to plant more milkweed, but is this the best advice to give? Is the answer to the Monarch question much more complicated than just planting more milkweed? Monarch Butterflies are amazing creatures. I cannot think of any other creature that begins a journey in one place and finds its way to a place that it has never been. Monarchs, from much of North America, spend the winter months in the highlands in southern Mexico. They make this journey from the northern part of North America, flying all the way down to Mexico. The conservation of Monarch Butterflies is a complicated question. One of the biggest influences on populations ...