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Tuesday, January 16, 2007 10:26 PM CST
Hold lawmakers to common honor code
By JOE GRANT, Agri-Business Representative
December 2007 Corn Futures
The export inspections report showed 22 million bushels of corn were checked and weighed as of Thursday, Jan. 4. A year ago the same report period indicated that inspectors graded 30.237 million bushels of corn. That propelled the cumulative total to 755.096 million bushels as of the report dated Jan. 4. When the first export inspections report for the year 2005 was published last January, the cumulative bushels equaled 620.318 million bushels. This indicates that the 2006/2007 marketing year is almost 135 million bushels ahead of last year’s total as of the first week of January.
December corn reached a high last week of $3.73. The low was $3.54½. The total open interest for all forms (open outcry and electronic sessions) equaled 1,408,907 contracts outstanding as of Wednesday, Jan. 10. The cumulative volume as of that date was 275,292 contracts from all sessions. The trading range last week was 18½ cents per bushel by the close on Jan. 11.
November 2007 Soybean Futures
Export inspections of soybeans for export as of the Jan. 4 report date were down to 12 million bushels. In January of 2005, the same report period showed 20.327 million bushels checked and weighed. The cumulative total for soybean inspections equaled 504.919 million bushels by Jan. 4. One year ago the total was reported at 417.089 million bushels for the same report period. That places the 2006/2007 inspections almost 88 million bushels ahead of last year.
November soybean futures traded as high as $7.27½. The low last week was $7.08. Total open interest for all sessions of soybeans equaled 391,136 contracts outstanding by the close on Jan. 10. The total volume as of that date was 89,921 contracts traded.
All sessions means open outcry contracts in the trading pits, and electronic trades placed by computer. The trading range through Jan. 11 was 19½ cents per bushel for November futures.
Uncle Joe Sez
The start of the New Year focused on the changing of control in the House of Representatives and the United States Senate.
Here in the state of Illinois politicians were focused on various agendas. One of the institutions that gets little real attention is the funding of community college programs that fall under the auspices of job retraining. When ordinary people lose their jobs because a company downsizes or goes out of business it hurts the community as a whole. Individuals spend their money that they earn within a community.
Take away a job and you take money out of merchant’s cash drawers.
The concept of retraining experienced people to do other jobs has been around a few years. For some it has helped them get back into the work force and earn money to provide for their families. For others the job retraining that was supposed to be partially or fully subsidized, by the state or federal government, in many cases has fallen short.
Whether a governor refuses to honor the distribution of funds to groups such as American men and women who are veterans does not matter. What matters is who is directly affected by the shortfall. If a community college is supposed to get funds to offset tuition or administrative expenses, then the legislature needs to see that funds are made available to pay those bills.
A good example of this befell the local CDL program at Lakeland College in Mattoon recently. Anyone who can read this newspaper’s classified ads realizes that Certified Nurses Aides, Registered Nurses and Commercially Licensed drivers who operate over the road tractor-trailer combinations are in high demand. Let’s face it folks. Trucks move just about every type of product that you and I want or need. You need CNAs to help skilled nurses and doctors perform their jobs. You need safe truck drivers to get the loads delivered on-time and intact.
Politicians are great at mouthing campaign promises. The higher you go in the ranks, the greater the remarks become. We have come through a period in history that clearly defines what happens when one party holds leadership in all areas of the government. What matters now is whether the men and women who were elected can work together and get things done.
If you or I make a promise to do something, people expect us to do what we said we would do.
I believe it is time that the citizens of our nation hold all politicians to the same code of honor. Do it or forget about gaining re-election in 2008! Let them find out how their lack of action affects voters at all levels.
Joe Grant is an agri-business representative living near Charleston.
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