SAM_11-23-2015

AG Mag

Northern Illinois

Life Force The heart of agriculture in Northern Illinois is just beneath the surface HOLDING PATTERN: Grain glut has many farmers deciding whether to sell or store HIS AND HERS: On today’s farm, men and women are equals

A Publication of Shaw Media

Fall 2015 AG Mag

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PRSRT STD U.S. POSTAGE PAID PERMIT NO. 440 STERLING, IL 61081 P.O. Box 498 Sterling, IL 61081 CHANGE SERVICE REQUESTED

Index

AG Mag Northern Illinois

Publisher Sam R Fisher Advertising Director Jennifer Heintzelman Editor Jeff Rogers Magazine Editors Jeff Rogers

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Page Design Jeff Rogers Reporters & Photographers Dave Cook, Pam Eggemeier, Dave Fox, Christopher Heimerman, Michael Krabbenhoeft, Philip Marruffo, Alex T. Paschal, Lucas Pauley, Jermaine Pigee, Bailey Poolman, Goldie Rapp, Kathleen A. Schultz, and Angel Sierra Published by Sauk Valley Media 3200 E. Lincolnway Sterling, IL 61081 815-625-3600

COVER STORY

Stewards of the soil Northern Illinois is dirt rich. Local farmers take many steps to make sure it stays that way.

Articles and advertisements are the property of Sauk Valley Media. No portion of the Northern Illinois Ag Mag may be reproduced without the written consent of the publisher. Ad content is not the responsibility of Sauk Valley Media. The information in this magazine is believed to be accurate; however, Sauk Valley Media cannot and does not guarantee its accuracy. Sauk Valley Media cannot and will not be held liable for the quality or performance of goods and services provided by advertisers listed in any portion of this magazine.

Farmers Forum It was a wet spring and early summer. We asked local farmers how that affected their operations.

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Index Taking on a leadership role

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Amboy High School senior Zach Becker says it’s an “incredible honor” to be Illinois Section 2 FFA president.

Mission accomplished?

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Local farmers get a report from U.S. Rep. Cheri Bustos on a recent agricultural trade mission to Cuba.

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Teacher’s dream job

Sell vs. store

Rochelle agriculture teacher Donna Page is doing what she always wanted to do with her life.

Northern Illinois farmers must decide what to do with all that grain as prices continue to lag.

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Index Networking opportunities

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The support system for women in agriculture is growing by leaps and bounds online.

Meads still on the farm

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TRENDS IN AGRICULTURE

An immigrant farmer from Ireland bought land near Amboy 165 years ago. His descendants are still there.

‘We see what works’

Woman’s work

That image of the traditional farm wife? It’s been a long time since that’s been a reality on the farm.

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AMPLE WAVES OF GRAIN With yields high and prices low, what’s a farmer to do with all that crop?

Y

BY DAVE FOX For Northern Illinois Ag Mag

ields are up, but corn and soybean prices are down.

That’s good for consumers, but not necessarily good for growers.

But spring rains and dry weather lessen some of that pain.

Farmers, as they so often do, take the good with the bad. But some are holding back – their grain, that is.

Weather patterns, crop yields, market prices and world markets combine each year around this time to paint a complex financial picture.

8 Fall 2015

Let’s start with the weather patterns. It was a wet spring, which produced “some good crops and some that are not so good, mainly in low-lying areas,” said Gunnar Ortgiesen, chief financial officer for Tettens Grain in Sterling.

The good with the bad.

Last year was a really good year for corn and beans yields, and Ortgiesen was confident this year’s harvest “will produce some pretty good yields, but early indications are that this year’s totals may be off 10 percent from last year.”

He said low prices in mid-September were below most farmers’ break-even point.

“But what I look for is that maybe they get better mid- or post-harvest,” Ortgiesen said. “It’s a wait-and-see kind of thing.”

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Corn prices 3 years ago hit record highs around $10 per bushel. That was after a drought. In mid-September, that price was around $3.60.

Not to worry, though.

“Commodities are always cycle-driven. It’s a supply-and-demand thing,” Ortgiesen said. “We’re in the downside right now, but it will come back around, like it always does.”

The good with the bad.

Reed Akre, commodity broker with Maplehurst Gunnar Farms in Lee Center, Ortgiesen said planting patterns can impact prices, and vice versa. Varied planing of different crops can help offset surpluses.

“I think we have more acres of beans planted this year than corn,” he said.

“Probably grain prices and the cost of inputs had a lot to do with that.”

Lower corn prices aren’t bad for everyone.

“For the consumer, that’s a good thing,” Akre said, “because when corn prices go down, fuel prices also tend to drop as well. We’re also seeing corn prices drop because there has been less demand for ethanol.”

Which brings us to those market prices, specifically the global market.

“There is getting to be an increased demand around the world for DDGs (dried distiller grains, a corn offshoot from the ethanol process),” Akre said.

Wayne Eikenberry, elevator manager at Tettens Grain storage facility in Galt, keeps a watchful eye on everything as corn is unloaded.

Photos by Dave Fox/Northern Illinois Ag Mag

Matt Sandrock farms grain and other crops in four counties and is based south of Rock Falls. He said yields this year are likely to be down a bit from 2014. “But then, last year was an exceptional year,” he said.

“It’s used for livestock feed so, increased ethanol production definitely helps corn markets in several ways.”

So, shouldn’t that increased demand for grain keep prices on the increase?

Reed Well, no. Blame techAkre nology.

Better gadgets allow the agricultural world to increase yields, which offset and stabilize prices.

“Yields definitely have a lot to do with technology,” Akre said. “Things like GMOs (genetically modified organisms), more efficient planting methods, and other technology is now available to farmers that wasn’t available several decades ago.

“For example, 1994 was the first 10 billion bushel crop,” the broker said, “and now we’re reaching the 14 billion bushel crop, so the slower price increases are largely due to the increases in yields.

“Even at that, we have an occasional year like 2012 where droughts caused shortages in corn yields, which resulted in the record-high prices we saw then,” Akre said.

The good with the bad.

So, about those prices. By mid-harvest, corn was rising a bit slower than many people had hoped. The result?

“I think we’ll probably see a lot of farmers in this area just hunker down and hang on to their corn a while, to see if they can get prices $4 a bushel or better,” Akre said.

Soybean prices tend to go through the same trends and cycles as corn, he said.

Bean prices were staying around $8.65 a bushel as of mid-September, but Akre said those would fluctuate by the end of

the year.

Beans hit a high of more than $17 a bushel in 2012, he said, largely due to the same drought that caused a shortage of corn that year; “and those prices didn’t stay there very long, maybe a month or so.”

Once the prices drop on beans, they usually remain stable in much the same manner as corn, and for many of the same reasons.

“Bean prices are down largely due to increased technology, higher yields and a wider variety of uses,” Akre said.

Those uses include inks, cleaning fluids, and biodiesel fuels.

“It’s amazing how technology such as GMO factors, along with increased yields, can help keep up with increased demands, so the market takes care of itself most often,” he said.

And while corn yields might be down a bit, the outook for beans in Northern Illinois was good. “Better than what we were anticipating,” Akre said.

Gary Johnson, a lifelong farmer in the Tampico and Yorktown area, said his overall harvest “was much better than expected.”

“Beans have been getting about 60 bushels to the acre in every acre this year,” he said. “Last year, we got 60 bushels in only some of the acres, and that was the best crop ever so far, but this year we’re beating last year’s bean crop by quite a bit.”

What about lower prices this year on beans?

“Even with lower prices this year,” he said, “we’ll still end up doing really well because of the higher yields.”

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Johnson said he also was fortunate with his corn crop this year, with a good bushel-to-the-acre yield.

“We had just the right amount of rainfall compared to other areas right around us that had way too much rain, which slowed growth and bleached the nitrogen out of the fields.”

South of Rock Falls, Matt Sandrock had mixed feelings about this year’s corn and bean crops.

He and his brother, Ben, farm grain and other crops in four counties, along with maintaining their prized black Angus beef herd. Sandrock said yields were looking down compared to last year.

“But then,” he said, “last year was an exceptional year.”

Sandrock was looking at corn prices of $4 or lower with about a third of the harvest completed.

“The market may go up by the end of the year,” he said, “but a lot of people with situations similar to ours will likely be storing their own crops for a while with the hopes that things may rebound, but that’s just speculation for now.”

After a wet spring and early summer, the weather was dry during the fall harvest.

That should help keep expenses down, said Johnson, Sandrock’s neighbor.

“Corn moisture is near ideal this year,” Johnson said.

Dave Fox/Northern Illinois Ag Mag

Calvin Standley of rural Malden said he stays ahead of corn prices by selling on contract. He said he’ll get about $5 a bushel for corn this year.

Which means a lesser expense for drying crops.

“Drier crops will help offset some of the costs of lower market prices,” Sandrock said. “Lower drying costs always make a difference. Any time your expenses are down, it’s a good thing.”

Johnson said most of his corn wouldn’t have to be dried.

“So it can go straight from the field to the bins,” he said. “Having low to nonexistent drying costs will make a difference in the bottom line this year.”

Calvin Standley, of rural Malden, said his main issue has been standability of the corn waiting for harvest.

Corn standing in the fields “has been an issue for us this year, but nothing too serious,” he said. “When we saw that it would be an issue we went ahead and got all the corn done before we started on beans, so it worked out alright.”

Standley won’t be among the farmers storing grain. His prices will be higher, because he sells on contract.

“I’ve always pretty much been a contract seller on grain,” he said, so the good yields this year along with his locked-in prices will make for a pretty strong end of the year. He will realize about $12 a bushel for beans, while his corn will bring about $5 a bushel.

In Ogle County, Tex Bellows farms 3,300 acres with a partner. He said he averages 600 to 700 acres in beans, 80 acres of hay, and the rest in corn.

Do projections of average-to-low corn prices in some areas worry him?

“I tend to think the prices may go up a little bit when they realize a lot of this land won’t produce as much corn as they think it will,” Bellows said.

“I don’t think we’ll ever see the high corn prices we saw a few years ago,” he said, “because those record highs were pretty amazing, but I think the prices will correct themselves and we’ll come out OK this year.”

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AG Mag

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Farmers Forum WITH ANGEL SIERRA/NORTHERN ILLINOIS AG MAG

How did this year’s wet weather affect farming operations?

Jerry Cowan, grain originator, Maplehurst Farms near Rochelle: This year, the yield varied because there was so much rain that accumulated, and it hurt the fields quite a bit. The poorer ground did better because it’s usually dry, and the good ground did bad. It was a flip-flop reaction, and it was an extremely wet spring. Usually we’re looking for rain, but this year was a rare case.

Cindy Poci, Poci’s Market & Greenhouse, Rock Falls: Disease spread across the fields, and it was the worst growing we’ve seen in years.

Since I’ve known my husband, Jerry, this is only the second time that this has happened, and we lost a lot.

The rain just didn’t shut off.

It’s better if the weather is dry,

Michael Krabbenhoeft/ Northern Illinois Ag Mag

Flash flooding in mid June caused problems for Sauk Valley farmers, but not for water fowl in this field near McCue and LeFevre roads in Sterling. so you can add water when you need it. We farm about 150 acres.

Jerry Brechon, Brechon Farms, Dixon and Lee County: I’m 63 years old,

and it’s the wettest mess I’ve ever been in. I started farming when I was 7 years old, and not even in 2009 was it this bad. This was the worst in my farming career. The corn that was planted never seemed to overcome the rains. Typically, the best fields are in the Ashton area, and the excess water couldn’t run off. I could certainly lose hundreds of millions of dollars next year, and even with insurance, I’m not sure how that will pan out.

Corn is a dry-weather crop, and rice is a wet-weather crop. Unfortunately, we’re not growing rice here.

Barry Imel, Otter Creek Farms near Milledgeville: Early on, we had too much water, and we were just too wet to begin with. Now this fall, the dry weather has

helped the corn dry out as far as moisture is concerned. As far as yields, they were better than average. I would say they survived, and we farm a variety of soil types in the Milledgeville area. Between our farms, the amount of rain varied.

Todd Alexander, Alexander Farms in Carroll County: The rain made it rather stressful in the beginning because everything was so wet, but the yield has been great. Where we’re at in Carroll County, we have rolling hills, and the rain seemed to run off. There was no crop loss. I was nervous when the season started, with the cool temperatures and the rain and the heat not germinating properly, but population-wise, it wasn’t a problem.

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AG Mag

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Born to lead, farm Amboy student an FFA section president, ag advocate

BY JERMAINE PIGEE For Northern Ilinois Ag Mag

Amboy High School senior Zach Becker said he wasn’t interested in agriculture at first.

All it took is a little push from his dad, Steve, and his grandfather, Urban, to get him steered in that direction.

“They pushed it, since we live on a farm,” Becker, 17, said. “After I was pushed, I took an intro to agriculture class and I enjoyed it.”

In April, Becker was elected Illinois Section 2 FFA president. There are only 25 section presidents among the more than 17,000 FFA members in the state. Section 2 has 12 schools, including Amboy, Byron, Milledgeville, and Stillman Valley.

“It’s an incredible honor to get to serve my section in this position,” Becker said. “We are the face of FFA.” FFA is a national youth organization that prepares students for leadership and careers in agriculture.

A group of Illinois FFA student delegates chose Becker as president. He was one of five section 2 officers elected, and has a 1-year term.

As an officer, Becker visits FFA chapters in the state and conducts workshops and meetings for FFA members. He also represents Illinois FFA members at meetings and conferences and he promotes agriculture education.

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Amboy High School senior Zach Becker, 17, is serving a 1-year term as president of Section of the state FFA organization. The district encompasses 12 schools. He is one of 25 section presidents in Illinois.

(Michael Krabbenhoeft/Northern Illinois Ag Mag)

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“We make decisions for the FFA and we go to different events,” said Becker, who has served in FFA all 4 years of high school. “I went to the State Fair and worked a barn yard and petting zoo. I’m also an advocate of agriculture.”

Ashleigh Fisher, an agriculture teacher and FFA adviser at AHS, said Becker also is keeping up with his school work, despite the extra duties.

“Not only is he keeping up with his school work, he is taking on an agriculture advocacy role by going out and promoting agriculture and the different opportunities offered within FFA,” Fisher said. “He is a very outstanding student.”

When he is not working with FFA, Becker is still surrounded by agriculture. He lives on a farm just south of Amboy, where his family has a 1,000hog operation. His family also grows corn, soybeans and wheat straw for the animals.

“Being in Amboy, you can’t look all four ways and not see a cornfield,” Becker said. “In Illinois, you can’t deny it’s a big part of our economy here, and that also motivated me to get in agriculture.”

Becker plans to major in agricultural economics at a 4-year university. He wants to attend Illinois State University

Michael Krabbenhoeft/Northern Illinois Ag Mag

Zach Becker has been in FFA all 4 years of high school. He plans to major in agricultural economics at Illinois State University or University of Illinois. or University of Illinois.

Fisher also said Becker serves as a role model to his classmates.

“He is organized, and he is on top of things,” she said. “He has amazing communication skills, whether it’s talking

to his peers or a teacher or taking it further and speaking with a state representative. On all levels, he is professional, and he can relate back to his peers each day, which makes him the role model that he is.”

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Breaking down barriers

Midwest works to regain market share in Cuba

BY PAM EGGEMEIER For Northern Illinois Ag Mag

U.S. Reps. Cheri Bustos, D-East Moline, and Rodney Davis, R-Taylorville, speak to a group of farmers in Winnebago about their recent trip to Cuba. Bustos and Davis made the trip with two dozen state farmers and agribusiness leaders to work to increase U.S. exports to Cuba after diplomatic relations between the two nations were restored in August.

(Alex T. Paschal/Northern Illinois Ag Mag)

After 54 years, the American flag is again flying at the U.S. embassy in Havana, Cuba, but the trade embargo remains.

The historic restoration of diplomatic relations between the countries on Aug. 14 lifts some restrictions on travel and business, further opening the window to trade normalization.

U.S. Rep. Cheri Bustos recently returned from a bipartisan agricultural trade mission to Cuba with three pressing goals for increasing ag exports to a nation that imports about 85 percent of its food. The trade mission also included Republican U.S. Rep. Rodney Davis, and two dozen state farmers and agribusiness leaders.

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Bustos, an East Moline Democrat, and Davis sit on the House Agriculture Committee.

The Oct. 11-14 trip was sponsored by the Illinois Cuba Working Group. The organization was formed as part of a resolution passed in 2013 by the Illinois General Assembly calling for an end to the trade embargo.

George Ryan became the first U.S. governor still in office to meet with Fidel Castro in 1999.

Since 1960, the embargo has halted most American trade with Cuba, but exemptions are made for agricultural exports. According to the Illinois Cuba Working Group, Illinois corn and soybean exports to Cuba reached about $66 million in 2008, but by 2014, that number had dropped by 63 percent to only $24 million.

Bustos said if trade barriers come down, there is potential for more that $1 billion in farm-related trade between Cuba and the U.S., with about $120 million of

that headed to Illinois farmers each year.

The congresswoman’s top priority is to give Cuba access to credit. The impoverished island nation now must pay up front in cash for its ag products.

“I am signing on to legislation this week to open credit markets to Cuba,” Bustos said. “Cuba is just 90 miles off the Florida coast, and we must export more efficiently because our quality is second to none.”

Bustos realizes that repairing the damage done by more than a half-century of the trade embargo will require a tremendous amount of relationship building.

“The people there were kind and very welcoming, but everyone wanted to mention the harm done by the embargo, and how much they would like to see it lifted,” Bustos said.

Another goal of the trade mission group is to establish a permanent presence in Cuba.

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AG Mag

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“We have been trying to open an Illinois Cuba Working Group office in Cuba for a couple of years,” Bustos said.

“The office could deepen and broaden the foundation for improving relations.”

Bustos met with the Cuban ministers of foreign trade and foreign affairs about the office opening. She also is working with the State Department to expedite the process, and hopes to get clearance next year.

Relationship-building also is a key component of Bustos’ third objective.

She has invited Cuban farmers and leaders to visit her 17th Congressional District. She is working with the State Department to get approval for the trips.

The dissolution of the Soviet Union, made official in 1991, had a lasting impact on the Cuban economy. Farming equipment and techniques are dated, and Bustos thinks 17th District farmers could help improve ag efficiencies.

“They are still using 50-year-old Russian tractors in Cuba,” Bustos said. “I think our farmers could be a tremendous help.”

Lanark farmer Lou Lamoreux went on a Cuban ag trip in May that was sponsored by the Illinois Corn Marketing Board that he leads.

Lamoreux raises beef cattle, corn,

Alex T. Paschal/Northern Illinois Ag Mag

U.S. Rep. Cheri Bustos stops to greet calves after a roundtable discussion in Winnebago about her recent trip to Cuba. beans, wheat and alfalfa. He said he was struck by the widespread poverty he witnessed in Cuba, but he sensed a strong desire for change among the masses.

“The people are very much aware of

their situation, and they are certainly open to more free trade, but there is a lot of government red tape to cut through,” Lamoreux said.

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Lamoreux’s group visited communal farms where poor-quality feed was given to the livestock – long, coarse grass with sugar cane and mulberries. He said the situation presents a huge opportunity for ethanol producers.

“Distiller’s dried grains with solubles – DDGS – are an ethanol byproduct that makes an excellent-quality feed,” Lamoreux said.

A product of the dry-milled ethanol process, DDGS is full of nutrients, and is often used in this country as an energy and protein supplement.

Now that travel restrictions are gradually being lifted, tourism could be the driver for economic growth, and better food will be essential.

“There is a plan in place to build 20,000 additional hotel rooms, so tourism was a big part of our mission,” Lamoreux said. “They will need better-quality food if they hope to attract the high-end tourists.”

While in Cuba, Lamoreux met with the ministers of tourism, agriculture, and transportion. His meetings led him to believe that the U.S. is close to cutting through all of the red tape.

He agrees that the biggest impediment to trade is the credit situation.

“Farmers don’t want to supply product and not get paid,” Lamoreux said.

“South American countries are selling on credit, and that makes it hard to get back market share.”

Farmers point to the 2012 drought as another factor in losing trade traction in Cuba.

“Corn prices here shot up, and it became even more attractive to buy grain in South America,” Lamoreux said.

Stephenson County dairy farmer Doug Scheider made a trade trip to Cuba during that drought year with a group from Illinois Farm Bureau. He agrees that the government must work on evening the playing field for U.S. farmers.

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“People in the U.S. have their hands tied behind their backs,” Scheider said.

“When Cubans must pay cash up front, it is a distinct disadvantage.”

Scheider, who has a herd of 650, was excited by the country’s emphasis on getting dairy products to all of its children. The group also saw an opportunity for Midwest farmers while touring a Cuban milling plant.

“They have such poor land for even the basic crops, and they really could have used our winter wheat at the plant,” Scheider said. “There is plenty of opportunity there if we can cut through the red tape.”

The normalization of trade would also open the door to much-needed U.S. investment from Midwest agribusiness giants like Caterpillar and Deere & Co., both headquartered in Bustos’ district.

“Everything came to a standstill there when the

Legislation to watch

Alex T. Paschal/Northern Illinois Ag Mag

Freeport farmer Steve Fricke asks U.S. Reps. Bustos and Davis, “Is Cuba in a state to be credit worthy?” He was referring to a recent trip the two made to bridge agricultural relationships between the U.S. and Cuba.

Soviet Union collapsed, and the people are in serious need of foreign investment,” Scheider said.

Scheider’s group thought there could be a big tourism boom brewing with the loos-

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He is confident that progress is being made – when he was there 3 years ago, he remembers having to carry eight documents to move freely within the country’s borders.

The Cuba Agricultural Exports Act, H.R. 3687, was introduced in the U.S. House Oct. 6. It has been sent to three House committees – Agriculture, Financial Services, U.S. Rep. Cheri Bustos and Foreign Affairs.

The bill would repeal a law that makes it difficult for U.S. farmers to compete with other countries for Cuban agricultural trade. The requirement that Cuba pay cash up front for ag products from the U.S. would be lifted. U.S. producers believe that allowing credit for Cuba would go a long way in leveling the playing field against competitors.

The bill, introduced by U.S. Rep. Rick Crawford, R-Arkansas, is co-sponsored by 17th District Congresswoman Cheri Bustos.

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LEAVING

Area farmers work to maintain soil health and quality for years to come

T

BY PAM EGGEMEIER For Northern Illinois Ag Mag

he rich, black dirt that covers much of the Midwest produces some of the nation’s best corn and soybean yields year after year.

In Illinois, the rich farmland, particularly in the northern region, is largely the product of glaciers that protected the land during the Ice Age. The last of four glaciers melted about 13,000 years ago. The ice sheets left flat prairieland throughout most of the state, and river basin sediment was deposited in the soil from long periods of flooding and dust storms.

Only the southern tip and the northwest corner of the state were untouched by glaciers. The riverbeds eventually dried out and the silt, called loess, blew over the prairie, covering most of the state. Loess is perfect for agriculture – it is rich in minerals, has no rock, and it retains moisture.

The tall prairie grass over the deep loess had fine roots that grew just as deep into the ground.

“Those fine roots and the deepness helped decomposing matter at the top and distributed that matter down in however deep those roots went,” said Erika Turner, a district conservationist for the Natural Resources Conservation Service in Bureau County.

Mollisol, a dark, rich soil covers about half of the state. It is the byproduct of the decomposition of prairie plants that had covered the terrain after the glaciers had melted.

24 Fall 2015

G THEIR FOOTPRINT Sustenance of the great gift bestowed by nature continues to evolve after more than 7,000 years of farming on Illinois soil.

Many ways to replenish the soil Andy Pratt grows corn and soybeans with his father and brother on the fertile land between Dixon and Amboy, as well as acreage in Bureau County. The Pratts, like most farmers, regularly have their soil tested at a lab.

“We have a rotation, so that every field gets tested every 2 or 3 years,” Pratt said. “We are very blessed with the soil quality in this area, but we keep trying to learn and keep getting better at conservation.”

It takes years to build up organic matter, so vigilance is necessary to prevent big problems down the road.

Technology has made it easier to determine how well nutrients are being replaced.

“Twenty years ago, a lot of our information was just based on broad university studies,” Pratt said. “Now we know what the soil looks like down to 4-acre grids.

Pratt said there is no holy grail for soil stewardship – there are many factors in its replenishment. The Pratts try to apply fertilizer and nitrogen only as needed instead of over a widespread area.

“We do no-till, grass waterways, and bumper strips – we’ve really done just about everything at some point,” Pratt said.

Based on soil samples and yields, the Pratts believe their efforts are paying off.

“The soil seems to be getting better over the years,” Pratt said. “Better technology, especially with seeds, equipment, and better management practices all play a role.”

Soil experts say it can be difficult to assess soil quality when it can vary greatly even between fields that are literally a stone’s throw away from each other.

“Prairie conditions formed more of the soil in Lee County, while you have more of the timber soils in Whiteside County,” said Dave Harrison, a resource conservationist with the Whiteside County Soil and Water Conservation District.

CONTINUED ON 26

Photo illustration by Alex T. Paschal/Northern Illinois Ag Mag AG Mag

25

CONTINUED FROM 25

“Southern Whiteside and Lee are similar, but when you get beyond Route 30

by Morrison, you have more hills and it’s a different ballgame.”

Harrison said the region has weathered challenges such as erosion quite nicely.

“We made big gains in the ’80s and ’90s with erosion, and it seems to have plateaued,” Harrison said.

According to the USDA, the erosion rate on Illinois farmland dropped at a rate of 39 percent from 1982 to 2010.

Help in Reserve The USDA’s Conservation Reserve Program has been an important sustainability tool for farmers. Marking its 30th anniversary this year, the program was formed largely to fight erosion, but is now making great strides in protecting wildlife and water quality.

Farmers who successfully enroll their land in the program are paid to stop growing crops in areas where they have previously been grown. For taking the land out of the regular rotation, farmers are paid a fee that is equal to the rental value of the land.

Harrison said the growth of no-till practices and use of cover crops have helped to replenish the region’s soil.

“When I started here in the mid-’80s, a lot more tillage was done, but no-till and mulch-till practices have helped greatly to increase organic matter in the soil,” Harrison said.

Rye is the most popular cover crop in the region, but turnips and radishes are also popping up in rotations.

“The more you keep something living in the soil, the better the biological results,” Harrison said. “It sucks up nutrients that would otherwise be lost in drainage tile.”

Harrison said cover crops are used in about 10 percent of Whiteside County’s farmland. His personal goal is to drive up that number to 50 percent. Statewide, there has been a 15-fold increase in cover-crop acreage since 2010.

“Overall, the soil in the area is probably better than it was 25 years ago,” Harrison said. “I would suggest that farmers take advantage of the Conservation Reserve Program, put in cover crops, and it can gradually build up soil quality.”

Taking measure of quality Ag scientists agree that soil quality is a difficult concept to quantify. It can be easy to confuse exactly what is being measured.

CONTINUED ON 27

Top corn-producing counties The top 10 corn-producing counties (in bushels) in Illinois in 2014: 1. McLean County, 70.4 million 2. Livingston County, 64 million 3. Iroquois County, 63.7 million 4. Champaign County, 60 million 5. LaSalle County, 56.9 million 6. Bureau County, 53.9 million 7. Sangamon County, 51.1 million 8. Lee County, 48.2 million 9. Vermilion County, 46.3 million 10. Logan County, 46.2 million

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Nafziger said.

Biotechnology has played a role in high productivity amid all types of challenges.

Emerson “Technology Nafziger allows farmers to control insects without all of the tilling,” Nafziger said. “The introduction of roundup 15 or 20 years ago made no-till much more feasible.”

Many practices contribute to maintaining nutrient-rich soil, but improper use can cause different problems. The most high-profile issue of late has been water pollution attributed to nitrogen, phosphorus, and other ag-related chemicals. The chemicals can infiltrate tile drainage systems and contaminate waterways.

Lauren Lurkins, director of natural and environmental resources at Illinois Farm Bureau, said the biggest issue that agency is working on is the Nutrient Loss Reduction Strategy.

CONTINUED FROM 26

“Productivity and soil quality are very different things,” said Emerson Nafziger, an agronomist at University of Illinois. “Soil is a very complex system, and it is divorced from the high yields we continually get.”

Nafziger said there are many different measurements done on soil, but the level of organic matter present and bulk density draw more focus. The slow process of building stable organic matter can easily be measured in the topsoil if erosion hasn’t intervened.

“The deeper the organic matter goes, the better, because that deeper soil will hold it much better,” Nafziger said.

The prairies of Northern Illinois have left a wealth of that matter, but some question the lack of crop diversity in the area’s acreage.

“When it comes to the basic corn and soybean rotation we see here, some people think it’s not a sustainable system, but we continually get good yields with it,”

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The program is in response to the continued implementation of the U.S. Environmental Protection Agency’s 2008 Gulf Hypoxia Action Plan. A task force was assembled to improve water quality in the Mississippi River and the Gulf of Mexico. Runoff from 31 states enters the Mississippi, which then feeds into the Gulf.

The United States Geological Survey estimates that more than 70 percent of the nitrogen and phosphorus in the gulf from U.S. sources is related to agriculture. The chemicals in the waterways are believed to be creating a hypoxic zone in the northern gulf, in which oxygen is depleted to the point where aquatic organisms are threatened.

The Illinois EPA has provided a basic framework for helping the state reduce its emissions to the Mississippi of phosphorus by 25 percent, and nitrate-nitrogen by 15 percent by 2025. The

Goldie Rapp/Northern Illinois Ag Mag

Erika Turner, a district conservationist for the Natural Resources Conservation Service in Bureau County, said much of north central Illinois contains soil that is rich because of the way it was formed over many years. longer-term targets for both are 45 percent.

The program is reaching out to a broad range of stakeholders – federal, state, and local government, academia, nonprofits, wastewater agencies, and agriculture.

“We are reaching out to

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ramp up education and communication on the issue,” Lurkins said. “A broad-based strategy is being formulated to reduce the loss of nutrients into waters.”

To directly help farmers, the Illinois Council on Best

Management Practices has been formed. A website, www.illinoiscbmp.org, has been developed by Farm Bureau to help farmers implement the strategy.

“There is a wealth of information available on field practices, including how to use nutrients, cover crops, buffers – it’s really all-encompassing,” Lurkins said.

Illinois hasn’t reinvented the wheel in setting up the program.

“Our strategy looks a whole lot like what they’re doing in Iowa, but they are just a couple of years ahead,” Lurkins said.

A cornerstone of Iowa’s program is the pumping of dollars into cover crops. The ICBMP website also highlights conservations practices that include saturated and conservation buffers, bioreactors, wetlands, and reduced tillage.

The adoption of the conservation practices will not be mandated at this time, but recognition and incentive programs will be established.

Living the dream Rochelle ag teacher doing what she was always meant to do

BY JERMAINE PIGEE For Northern Illinois Ag Mag

Philip Marruffo/Northern Illinois Ag Mag

Donna Page said she had wanted to teach agriculture since she was a kid. She has taught at Rochelle Township High School for 11 years. “I plan to be an agriculture teacher until I die or retire,” she said.

Donna Page has known since she was a teenager what she wanted to do with her life.

“I knew I wanted to be an agriculture teacher, because I wanted to share my passion with students,” said Page, who teaches at Rochelle Township High School. “By having this career and doing this job and having this passion, it allowed me to combine all of the things I love.”

And clearly she’s good at what she does, having earned the Illinois Association of Vocational Agriculture Teachers’ Excellence in Teaching Award on Aug. 18 at the Illinois State Fair.

CONTINUED ON 30

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Page was one of five district winners competing for the honor. She and district Superintendent Jamie Craven were interviewed before the announcement was made.

“This award encompasses what it means to be an agriculture teacher,” Page, 33, said. “I have students that come in and not know anything about agriculture. If I can teach them something that is beneficial to them, I’ve done my job.”

Kara Thomas, an 18-year-old senior at RTHS, saw Page win the award firsthand.

“She thought someone else was getting the award,” Thomas said. “They said her name and I started freaking out. Her jaw dropped, and it was fantastic.”

Page said she was humbled and surprised to win the award.

“Agriculture is the number one industry in Illinois and one of the top industries in the United States,” she said.

“Getting students to understand that agriculture is important is an important aspect of my job.”

Page grew up on a grain and cattle farm in downstate Pinckneyville and moved north to begin her career after graduating from Southern Illinois University at Carbondale in 2004.

Philip Marruffo/Northern Illinois Ag Mag

Kara Thomas, a senior at Rochelle Township High School, waters the class’ poinsettias as agriculture teacher Donna Page watches. Thomas was in Springfield at the Illinois State Fair to see Page win the top ag teacher award. “They said her name and I started freaking out,” Thomas said.

She received her degree in general agriculture, with a specialization in agriculture education.

“It was only natural for me to take

agriculture classes,” Page said. “I saw the benefits of ag education.”

CONTINUED ON 31

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She was hired by RTHS right out of college 11 years ago, and has been teaching ag ever since.

“I plan to stay in agriculture going forward,” Page said. “I don’t see myself ever getting out of agriculture. I plan to be an agriculture teacher until I die or retire.”

Some of Page’s students are thrilled to have her as a teacher.

“She doesn’t just teach you about agriculture in general,” Thomas said.

“She teaches you life lessons as well. I probably would not have broken out of my shy, quiet shell if it wasn’t for her pushing me to join Future Farmers of America.”

Andrew Myers, a 16-yearold junior at the school, said he is able to get something from her class.

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EQUITY I ON THE FARM

BY KATHLEEN A. SCHULTZ For Northern Illinois Ag Mag

t’s a familiar image: The farm wife in the slightly worn cotton dress, drying her hands on her apron as she turns from the sink/stove/table with a warm but equally worn smile, heads out the door and onto the porch to call the kids/husband/ farmhands in for breakfast/lunch/supper.

Familiar, yes, but far, far, from the truth.

Women in agriculture no longer a rarity, or a stereotype

Rachel Vaessen examines the root development of a soybean plant on the family’s centennial farm in Sublette. Rachel is a crop sciences major at the University of Illinois.

Photo submitted

For 30 years now, “farm wives” have been evolving well beyond the perception that their primary function is to cook, clean and keep the home fires burning.

They’re also accountants, procurement officers, combine drivers, mechanics, vets ... equal partners in the business of keeping the family farm afloat and, often, promoting the industry in general.

And more and more, they’re also the boss.

The USDA’s Economic Research Service released a report in April 2013 that showed that the share of women farmers nationwide nearly tripled, from 5 percent in 1978, the year the Census of Agriculture began asking for gender data on principal operators, to 14 percent in 2007.

CONTINUED ON 33

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CONTINUED FROM 32

By 2012, 288,264 women were principal operators.

Toss in secondary operators, and the number jumps to 969,672 female farmers, 30 percent of all farmers nationwide.

(Most secondary operators, about 96 percent, work alongside a male principal, usually their husbands, data show.)

In Illinois, there are 24,265 female farmers. That’s 23 percent of all farmers in the state, helping work nearly 6 million acres with a yearly economic impact of nearly $374 million. About 6,900 are principal operators – the person making the day-today decisions.

In Iowa, 32,167 women, 25 percent of all farmers, work 9.1 million acres that bring $474 million to the state each year. More than 7,100 are principal operators.

In general, the women who run farms nationwide are older than their male counterparts, and most of the farms they run are smaller – 78 percent have sales of less

than $10,000.

And the number of younger women entering farming is higher than the number of older women leaving the field, data shows.

These days, though, not all women in agriculture are looking at life on the farm.

Rachel Vaessen of Sublette, Illinois, in rural Lee County is a 20-year-old crop sciences major at the University of Illinois.

She grew up watching her grandparents, Louie and Carol Vaessen, run the family’s centennial farm in Sublette – Carol, a lifelong farm wife, always pitching in, sometimes even hauling grain to the elevator during harvest, among many other responsibilities.

Their son, her father, Michael Vaessen, owns and operates Sublette Mechanical, a farm machinery repair shop where her mother, Carol, also works, and where Rachel helped out as a teen.

He and his two brothers still work the farm as well.

CONTINUED ON 34

A snapshot of women on the farm in Illinois In 2012, 14 percent of the nation’s 2.1 million farms had a female principal operator, according to the USDA Census of Agriculture. Women controlled 7 percent of U.S. farmland, accounted for 3 percent of sales. Nationally, 30 percent of farmers were women, and 969,672 U.S. women operated 62.7 million acres of farmland, the census found. Here’s a look at how Illinois farm women shape that landscape, now and 30 years ago.

IN 2012 • Total farms statewide: 75,087 • Average acreage: 359 • Farms with women as principal operators: 6,891 • Average acreage: 122 By age: Younger than 35: 274 35-44: 521 45-64: 3,036 65 and older: 3,060 Average age of principal operator: 62.4 Primary occupation: Farming: 2,421 Other: 4,470 Days worked off the farm: None: 3,174 Any: 3,717 Years on the present farm: 2 or fewer: 300 3-4: 372 5-9: 1,000 10 or more: 5,219 IN 1982 • Total farms statewide: 98,483 • Average acreage: 292

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AG Mag

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Rachel has known for a while that agriculture is in her future, although she won’t be taking the traditional farm wife’s path. She plans to become an agronomist for a major ag company after graduation.

“I joined FFA in high school, ... that’s where my passion for the ag field evolved,” she said. And although she plans to return to Sublette, “I don’t necessarily need to live on the farm” to pursue her career.

She was pleasantly surprised to find the numbers of men and women studying crop sciences at U of I to be fairly evenly matched. In fact, “there are a lot more girls than I thought there would be.”

Her advice to women looking to advance in agriculture: Get the experience. Get an internship. Volunteer.

Whatever you need to do “so you have some knowledge and experience that will help you land the job that you’re most interested in.”

Rachel, in fact, is a member of the U of I Collegiate Farm Bureau and Sigma Alpha, a professional agriculture sorority that brings in ag speakers to talk to the young women about available careers, professional development and leadership opportunities.

Like many young women today, she’s

Annette Sweeney

not finding her gender to be the obstacle it might have been 30 years ago.

“I think as women we just have to have the confidence in ourselves, that we can pursue the same areas that men do, and that we have the same knowledge and experience that they do

behind us.”

Her grandmother agrees.

Carol Vaessen has farmed all of her 74 years – she grew up helping her father farm in Putnam County, Illinois, then married Louis 49 years ago. Her background was a requirement – “you had to be a farmer “ to marry a Vaessen, she said with a laugh.

Although her days of driving the grain truck or tractor are over – “I’m too old, I’ll admit it” – she still keeps busy. “I raise chickens, I raise broilers and sell them, I’ve got a garden and my own strawberry patch, I have apple trees and make applesauce for Rachel to take back to school.”

And she couldn’t be prouder of Rachel, who she sees joining the ranks of women taking on a new frontier in agriculture.

“There’s so many opportunities for them that at my time would only have

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been for men,” she said. “It’s wonderful that they can go out and do the things, know how to do them, and the men listen to them!”

That’s one of the biggest victories: These days, the men do listen, said Annette Sweeney, president of Iowa Agri Women.

Sweeney, of Alden, Iowa, was a state representative from 2009 to 2013, and farms with her husband and two sons.

Women have made great strides in the industry, she said, noting that “there’s more gals at Iowa State University in the veterinary college than there are guys,” and that the number of women enrolling in agribusiness and STEM-related courses is steadily on the rise.

She also pays tribute to those women who choose primarily to work the land.

“I think it’s great that people get to experience their passion, for ladies to be able to experience their passion, whether it be for what I like to call ‘dirt therapy,’ or whether they like to work with livestock. ...”

And while she’s glad to see young women taking on more ag-related careers, she does think many aren’t as cognizant as they should be of their history, and are perhaps a bit dismissive of those who came before, bearing the farm-wife standard.

CONTINUED ON 35

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One thing I see is, the young gals that are making great strides are a little bit discriminatory to us older gals who blazed the trail,” Sweeney said.

Overall, though, she’s encouraged by the change in mentality she’s seen, especially over the past 15 years or so, Sweeney said.

It’s an ever-improving landscape, and not solely because of the women.

When she was in her late 20s, back in 1983, her dad got sick and Sweeney came home to run the farm. She had no brothers, and wasn’t yet married.

“I started buying farm equipment, and back then, if they didn’t know my dad, they wouldn’t do business with me.

Now there’s females selling equipment.”

When she and her farmer husband, David, married a few years later, “My grandma hated it that I went to work outside. My husband thought, ‘Well, she’s part of the operation’.”

And when she became the first Republican woman to lead the Iowa House Agriculture Committee, “I didn’t get the feeling [from male counterparts] that, just because she’s a girl, she doesn’t know anything about agriculture.”

That attitude – or lack thereof – happily has taken root, and spread, she said.

“The younger men, I’m going to give them kudos,” Sweeney said.

Bailey Poolman/Northern Illinois Ag Mag

Lori Nelson drives a tractor with two grain trailers attached while she harvests soybeans in rural Greenfield, Iowa. Lori and her husband, Mike, farm row crops, and Lori helps haul grain.

“These young guys are coming in with the mentality that she’s part of the operation, she’s not just a spouse, she’s a farmer, too. That age bracket, they get it – the wife is part of the operation.”

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AG Mag

35

Women don’t let women farm alone Social media allows them to network online

BY KATHLEEN A. SCHULTZ For Northern Illinois Ag Mag

Thanks in large part to the ongoing boom in social media, the support system for women in agriculture is growing by leaps and bounds.

Take, for instance, Katie Pratt of rural Dixon. She’s a role model for young women looking to have it all: the farm, the family, the career.

In addition to helping husband Andy on the corn and soybean farm his family has worked for seven generations, and in addition to raising their two little ones, Ethan and Natalie, she’s the go-to girl for educators, organizations and others looking to learn more about the culture of agriculture.

Her credentials are long: There’s Katie Pratt, spokeswoman for the U.S. Farmers and Ranchers Alliance; Katie Pratt, agriculture literacy coordinator for Lee County Farm Bureau Ag in the Classroom; Katie Pratt, secretary of the Lee County Fair Association; Katie Pratt, pen pals with Chicago-area classes through the Adopt-A-Classroom program; Katie Pratt, member of the Illinois 4-H Hall of Fame; Katie Pratt, frequent ag speaker, workshop leader, come-tour-our-farm guide. ...

And in her spare time, she also writes a daily blog, “Rural Route 2: The Life and Times of an Illinois Farm Girl.”

On it she chronicles “the not-so-glamorous journey from single-minded career

Alex T. Paschal/Northern Illinois Ag Mag

After being named a national Face of Farming in 2012, Katie Pratt of rural Dixon was urged to try her hand at Twitter. Today, she has more than 1,000 followers.

She also writes a daily blog, “Rural Route 2: The Life and Times of an Illinois Farm Girl.” girl to mother, cook, cleaner, gardener, chauffeur and official farm ‘go-fer’.”

In fact, talking, writing, tweeting, and “liking” agriculture has become part of her daily routine.

It’s her way of reaching out to other women in the field, offering advice, support, inspiration, recipes. ... The blog’s a good read, whether you’re agri-cultural, or not so much.

Among the newest in more formal resources is the Women in Agriculture Mentoring Network, established in Feb-

ruary by USDA Deputy Secretary Krysta Harden, “to support and engage women across all areas of agriculture and to foster professional partnerships between women with shared backgrounds, interests, and professional goals.”

Via the email agwomenlead@usda. gov, women are invited “to share your suggestions, stories and other snippets on how we can build a new generation of women leaders in agriculture.”

CONTINUED ON 37

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Once you email the address, you automatically are added to the network.

Go to blogs.usda.gov and click on Women in Ag to join the conversation with women of all ages, races and ag persuasions nationwide.

And check out #womeninag on Twitter.

Here are just a few other sources: • Illinois Agri-Women, illinoisagriwomen.org and on Facebook, is affiliated with American Agri Women, at the nation’s oldest organization devoted to women in agriculture (americanagriwomen.org and on Facebook). Its goal is to promote “a better understanding of agriculture and the family farm system.” Dues are $50 a year; a membership form is available on the website.

In addition to providing information and scholarships, it sponsors a yearly conference, Women Changing the Face of Agriculture, for young women in high school and college who are interested in a career in agriculture who can meet one-on-one with presenters representing a broad spectrum of the agriculture industry. The next conference is March 4 at Illinois State University; find Women Changing the Face of Agriculture on Facebook or go to womenchangingthefaceofagriculture.com to learn more.

Katie Pratt, who has a number of roles locally and nationally in agriculture, also writes a daily blog.

• Annie’s Project, extension.iastate. edu/annie/, is “an educational program dedicated to strengthening women’s roles in the modern farm enterprise that fosters problem-solving, record-keeping, and decision-making skills in farm women.” An outgrowth of Illinois Agri-Women, the Iowa State University Extension now runs the program, which offers classes to farm and ranch women in 34 states.

• The USDA’s Women in Agriculture Learning Network, extension.org/womeninag, the aim of which “is to help women in agriculture improve their quality of life by providing them with resources to make better business deci-

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Blogs • “Uptown Girl: A (Working) Farm Wife’s Blog” by Kate Lambert, who grew up in Northern Illinois, not on a farm but active in FFA and showing livestock, who married a Missouri farmer, at uptownsheep.com.

• “Corn, Beans, Pigs, Kids: Discovering ‘Fields of Opportunity’ as a Farmer, Wife, Mom and Volunteer,” cornbeanspigskids.com, by young northern Iowa farmer Val Plagge.

• The Midwest Organic &Sustainable Education Service’s Rural Women’s Project, on Facebook and at mosesorganic.org, which “supports women farmers and food-based ecopreneurs, providing resources, networking and collaborative opportunities to champion new business start-ups that support food system change.” Its 27th annual Organic Farming Conference, the biggest in the nation on organic and sustainable farming, is coming up Feb. 25-27 in LaCrosse, Wisconsin.

• The USDA’s Farm Service Agency reserves a portion of its loan funds for women farmers and ranchers. Go to fsa. usda.gov to learn more.

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Dave Cook/Northern Illinois Ag Mag

Breck and Cindy Monier not only farm together, but also do so in two states. When they’re not working the family farm in Sparland, they’re in Kansas helping to work the land that used to be Cindy’s grandparents’ farm. The time she spent there as a child is when she first experienced the world of agriculture.

Day in and day out, the Moniers are a team Cindy Monier helps farm in 2 states

BY DAVE COOK For Northern Illinois Ag Mag

Cindy Monier loved spending as much of her childhood as possible on her grandparents’ farm in Kansas.

She always has enjoyed farming, but never thought she’d end up helping to run a farm – much farms in two states.

She splits her time between operations in Sparland and on what used to be her grandparents’ farm in Kansas.

“Out there (Kansas), women work so hard on the farm and they’re totally, actively involved,” Cindy said. “When I married my husband, Breck, and came

out here, most women didn’t do any farm-type chores like running equipment. There’s just a few.

“So when I started trying to help with the hogs and all that, it was kind of hard, I think, for his dad and his two uncles to take it seriously. It was a different kind of farming, too. In Kansas, it’s more of a rotational type of farming.

Here it’s corn, corn, corn, and you just don’t do that there.”

With degrees in biology and medical technology, Cindy worked as an immunohematologist at OSF St. Francis Medical Center in Peoria for 12 years.

CONTINUED ON 39

CONTINUED FROM 38

“It was a long way from anything agricultural, but then it was getting to where Breck really needed help, so I didn’t have any problem doing that because I worked around the farm anyway, doing anything he told me to do,” she said. “I helped out as much as a hired man would.”

Family members have helped keep the Kansas operation running, and she and Breck travel frequently between both family farms, juggling their work schedules to help keep both running smoothly.

“Usually the schedule between farms works pretty well,” Cindy said.

Both farms have long family ties.

“My grandparents’ farm in Kansas has been in the family for over 100 years. If you count my grandkids, it’s six generations there,” Cindy said. “Even on this farm it’s four or five generations running around.

So sometimes, when people use the words sustainable agriculture, it irks me. That’s pretty sustainable when you’ve run

things for that many years.”

Cindy and Breck work well together, as any experienced team does.

“I mostly drive the combine in the fall, and he unloads,” Cindy said. “Once in a while we’ll switch. It’s just the two of us here, so we’ve got it all worked out pretty well. We’re lucky we can work together.

A husband/wife thing can sometimes not work so well.

We are with each other all the time, day in and day out, and we do OK. Not everyone can manage that close of a working relationship with who you’re married to.”

Could he do without Cindy?

“Not at all,” Breck said with a laugh. “It’s hard to find good help, and she’s been running the combine for years. She runs it perfectly. She doesn’t push it and does it as well as anybody else could do it, better than I can do it.

“Every time I get in there something happens, so she tells me to get my ass out of there. She does a great job.

Not too many people will put up with a guy like me. It’s just her and I, all the time.”

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Built on love of the land Food company supplier going strong as ever at age 165

BY CHRISTOPHER HEIMERMAN For Northern Illinois Ag Mag

Want to know why Tom Mead is always smiling? Well, for one, his family is a statistical anomaly.

The numbers are foreboding: Only 3 percent of family businesses reach a fourth generation. Let alone a life in agriculture, with its back-breaking brand of work, not to mention the schedule.

Nonetheless, 165 years after his great-great-grandfather, Patrick Mead, an immigrant from Limerick, Ireland bought the farm 3 miles west of Amboy, its 2,000 acres are as productive as ever. Which brings up another potential stumbling block – but only if you let it be one.

“If you grow specialty crops for Pioneer, Seneca or Del Monte, the first assumption they have is that you are at their beck and call, that you don’t have anything else going on,” Mead said.

CONTINUED ON 41

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In the photos MAIN: Tom Mead wasn’t always sure he wanted to farm. After high school, he studied accounting at Southern Illinois University and worked as a banker for 8 years. He’d return home to help on the farm in spring and fall. “I was burning the proverbial candle at both ends,” he said, “and there came a point where I had to choose. I chose the farm and quit banking.” Today, he’s part of a sixth-generation family farm west of Amboy.

TOP: Mead displays a picture of his grandfather on brother atop horses.

(Photos by Alex T. Paschal/Northern Illinois Ag Mag) CONTINUED FROM 40

“When they want you to plant, to do whatever, they just expect that you’re ready to do it,” Mead continued. “You have to go into it with that mindset, or you’ll just be mad all the time.”

The Mead farm produces green beans for Seneca Foods, and peas, lima beans and sweet corn for Del Monte, as well as corn and soybeans.

With the regular hum of trucks arriving at and leaving the farm, the equipment that stays for days at a time, and the lamps set up for leaf analysis by the food companies, the Meads keep humming.

For that, Mead’s daughter deserves a lot of credit.

Jackie Thompson, or “poor little Jackie” as her grandpa, Ed Mead, affectionately referred to her when she was knee-high to a grasshopper, used to

work for KSB Hospital before spending years in private health care. When her grandma, Lola, fell ill, she took care of her, until she died in 2004.

Around the same time, her uncle, Jack, got out of the farming business.

But Tom wouldn’t be stuck flying solo.

Jackie joined her father in business, and a year later, so did Dave Thompson, whom Jackie dated while they were at Amboy High School.

After going their separate ways for many years, they worked together on the Mead farm for about 3 years before coming to terms with the fact that they were a good team – in a couple of ways.

They were married in 2008 and, in the past few years, Tom has pulled way back on how much he’s involved with the farm in order to focus on restoring tractors his dad repowered many years ago, as well as traveling and generally being there for family.

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“I have a son who’s 24 now, and he’s disabled, and he spent 20 days in the hospital in the past month. That didn’t leave me around here much,” Tom said. “And things went just as good as if I was here.”

It was a pretty heart-warming revelation for Tom, who once wondered whether the farm would have a remote chance at becoming a rare bicentennial farm.

“There was a time when I didn’t think Jackie would be involved at all,” he said.

“But if that flame is there, it’s there. If it’s not, you don’t know what’s in the future. It can be there later.”

He speaks from experience. Like his uncle and namesake, Tom was a promising banker. After getting his degree from Southern Illinois University-Carbondale, he worked for banks in Utica and Triumph for about 8 years.

He’d return home to help on the farm in spring and fall.

“I was burning the proverbial candle at both ends,” Mead said, “and there came a point where I had to choose. I chose the farm and quit banking.”

Folks would often ask him why he passed up a more steady, bountiful income.

“I’d tell them, ‘You know, when I worked in the bank, I had a hundred loans to think about. Now I just have the one,’” he said.

CONTINUED ON 42

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Photos submitted

ABOVE: In this 1957 photo are Tom Mead’s uncle, Jim Mead (background, seated), his dad, Ed Mead (walking), and his father-in-law, Harry Brogan (bent over). “I can tell who’s who by their shape, and their walk,” Tom said.

RIGHT: Shown is John Mead, the second generation of Meads to farm the family’s land near Amboy.

CONTINUED FROM 41

But he’s quick to remove his tongue and share the real reason the family business is on its sixth generation.

“I learned to love the farm and the land,” Tom said. “I would like to leave this Earth, with the land in better shape than when I came here. I think that’s important.”

42 Fall 2015

Just don’t expect any sizeable mammals to fertilizer it anytime soon, even though Dave Thompson spent an awful lot of time on his family’s dairy farm in Wisconsin.

“He said if we had cows, they’d be the oldest, most decrepit cows, because I’d never let him kill them,” Jackie said.

“We’d have a yard full of pets.”

As for a seventh generation, Jackie’s

son, Dalton, 20, has worked on the family farm and works summers at Pioneer.

But as someone whose flame waited to light up, Jackie won’t push him in one direction or another.

“He has that love of the land, too, but he’s young,” she said. “I’ll tell him to follow what he likes. You’ve gotta be happy. You’ve gotta enjoy what you do.”

Dinners among friends Trying new foods, recipes keeps friendship fresh

BY LUCAS PAULEY For Northern Illinois Ag Mag

Lucas Pauley/Northern Illinois Ag Mag

Robin Duncan (left) begins to cook onions and celery with salt and pepper, as Janna Groharing adds rosemary. The ingredients are part of a stuffing for squash and mushrooms. The friends get together often to make Friday-night dinners.

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For friends Robin Duncan, 54, and Janna Groharing, 44, many Friday night dinners start with Friday afternoon emails.

“We usually ask each other, ‘What do you have in the fridge?’” Groharing said. “Then we throw stuff in the pan and see what works.”

Groharing might be not be giving their cooking enough credit, but that’s generally how their get-togethers come together.

The two friends love to entertain, and cooking for a crowd allows them a chance to get feedback on what works.

Groharing is an avid gardener. This year, at her home in Galt, she grew carrots, tomatoes, green and jalapeno peppers, eggplants, zucchinis, raspberries, okra, onions, broccoli, greens, and more.

CONTINUED ON 44

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Robin Duncan and Janna Groharing serve stuffed squash and mushrooms, pan seared Brussels sprouts with bacon, and a broccoli salad at Groharing’s home in Galt.

CONTINUED FROM 43

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And when Duncan and Groharing can’t find what they need in their own gardens, they head out to their local farmers markets.

“That’s what’s nice about knowing your farmers market,” Groharing said. “They’ll be like, ‘Oh, you’ve never had it, just try it.’”

Duncan says she’s pretty much been cooking since she was out on her own.

“We used to have cooking fests in college, where we tried to create new things,” she said.

The two are quick on their feet when cooking together.

While noticing they had too much stuffing for their sweet potato squash, they grabbed dome mushrooms from the fridge and stuffed them, too.

“Sometimes, you just do

what you gotta do,” Duncan said.

On this particular night, along with the stuffed squash and mushrooms, the friends made pan-seared Brussels sprouts, a broccoli salad, and an apple/pear crisp.

Many of the ingredients came from vendors at either Twin City Market in Sterling or Polo Farmers Market, including Hollyhock Hills Farms in Sterling, Jansen Family Farms in Lyndon, and Rachel’s Garden & Organic Meats in Galt.

Two of the recipes called for bacon.

“Bacon; the meat candy of the world,” Duncan said with a laugh. “If you’re not sure if you like [a vegetable] or not, sauté it in bacon.”

CONTINUED ON 45

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LEFT: Once the stuffing is cooked on the stove, it is ready to be stuffed into the squash and put in the oven.

RIGHT: If you’re not sure you like Brussels sprouts, try sautéing them with bacon, Duncan says.

CONTINUED FROM 44

STUFFED SQUASH 2 to 3 squash of choice (Acorn, Delicata, etc.)

1 tablespoon olive oil 1 onion chopped 2 stalks of celery chopped 1 teaspoon salt 1 teaspoon pepper 3 sprigs of rosemary, leaves removed and chopped 3 cloves of garlic ½ lb of sausage 1 large apple (unpeeled) cored and diced ¾ cup dried bread crumbs ½ cup shredded Parmesan cheese 1. Cut squash in half and remove seeds.

Brush with olive oil and season with salt and pepper. Bake 40 minutes at 400 degrees.

2. Saute onion, celery, salt, pepper and rosemary about 3 minutes or until tender.

3. Add garlic. Saute another 1 minute until garlic becomes fragrant.

4. Add sausage. Brown and mix with vegetables.

5. Add apple. Cook for 1 minute.

6. Add bread crumbs and Parmesan cheese. Stir together.

7. Fill squash and top with a little more Parmesan cheese.

8. Bake 20 minutes at 400 degrees PAN-SEARED BRUSSELS SPROUTS 1 lb. of fresh Brussels sprouts, cleaned and cut in half

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4 slices of bacon, cut up ¼ cup of Parmesan cheese (or more) Salt and pepper 1. In a hot pan (I use a Wok) add the bacon pieces. Stir until bacon starts to render fat.

2. Add Brussels sprouts, salt and pepper. Continue cooking on high, stirring until bacon is crisp and Brussels sprouts are slightly browned in spots.

If Brussels sprouts are not quite tender, turn heat down and cook for a few extra minutes.

3. Add Parmesan cheese. Toss and serve.

CONTINUED ON 46

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BROCCOLI SALAD 1 lb. fresh broccoli, cut into bite sized pieces 1 lb. bacon, cooked and crumbled 1 small red onion, diced finely 1/2 cup dried cranberries 1/2 cup sunflower seed kernels 1 cup mayonnaise 1/4 cup sugar 2 tablespoons of apple cider vinegar 1. Mix all ingredients in a bowl.

2. Let sit in refrigerator or serve immediately.

Note: Groharing and Duncan didn’t add the onion or the sunflower seeds, as it was a spur-of-the-moment addition to the meal. “I’ve also had variations adding a little shredded cheddar to the mix,” Groharing said. “The dressing is the key. As long as you’ve got the mayo – not Miracle Whip – sugar, vinegar, broccoli, bacon and cranberries, you can pretty much mix and match any veggies you want to customize this salad to your tastes.”

APPLE/PEAR CRISP 3 apples and 3 pears, medium size, peeled, cored and sliced (1/4” thick slices) 3 tablespoons granulated sugar 1 tsp cinnamon Dash or two of nutmeg (optional) 4 tablespoons unsalted butter – cold and cut into small pieces 1/2 cup light brown sugar (packed) 1/3 cup all-purpose flour 1/2 cup rolled oats (uncooked) Extra butter to lightly coat baking dish 1. Slice apples and pears and toss with sugar and cinnamon.

2. Arrange in lightly greased small pan.

3. Mix brown sugar, flour and oatmeal. Cut in butter and mix (by hand or pastry cutter) until crumbly. Sprinkle over top of fruit.

4. Bake at 350 for about 45 minutes until apples are cooked to desired level of tenderness.

5. Serve warm with ice cream or whipped topping.

ABOVE: Serve your apple and pear crisps warm with ice cream or whipped topping.

LEFT: Once the ingredients are mixed for the broccoli salad, let it cool in the refrigerator or serve immediately. (Photos by Lucas Pauley/ Northern Illinois Ag Mag)

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Apple River Well & Pump ........... 18

Forreston Mutual Ins. Co............ 39

Regency Care of Sterling ........... 31

BC Tech Group ........................... 44

Gold Star FS, Inc. ....................... 27

Rollo Construction ...................... 43

Beck Hybrids .............................. 42

Good Samaritan ......................... 13

Rotary Airlock LLC...................... 11

Bocker Excavating...................... 39

Harry’s Farm Tire........................ 44

Sauk Valley Bank & Trust ........... 32

Bos Farm Repair ........................ 38

Hotsy Equipment ........................ 23

Schmitt Plumbing & Heating....... 38

Bradford Victor-Adams ............... 48

Illinois Bank & Trust .................... 21

Schoff Farm Service ................... 40

Burkardt’s LP Gas ...................... 22

Jo Carroll Energy, Inc. ................ 36

SI Distributing, Inc. ..................... 34

Bushman’s Service..................... 20

Johnson Precision ...................... 30

Snetcher Custom Farming.......... 33

Carroll Service Company............ 31

Ken Brummel.............................. 43

Sterling Federal Bank................. 12

Central Bank Illinois.................... 39

KSB Hospital ................................ 4

Sterling Futures .......................... 29

Community State Bank............... 15

Leffelman & Assoc., Inc. ............ 14

Stichter Construction .................. 38

Cornerstone Agency, Inc. ............. 6

M & M Aviation............................ 39

Tipton............................................ 5

Diversified Services .................... 33

Michlig Energy ............................ 44

Vaessen Bros Chevrolet ............. 19

E&S Equipment .......................... 37

Midwest Bio-Tech, Inc................. 35

Whiteside County Farm Bureau . 19

Eastland Fabrication LLC ........... 30

Milledgeville Farmers Elevator ... 21

Wick Buildings ............................ 17

Eaton Land Surveying ................ 38

Milledgeville State Bank ............. 26

Wilcox Construction...................... 2

Ehrmann, Gehlbach, Badger,

Milledgeville Vet Clinic ................ 28

WIPFLi, LLP ............................... 20

Lee & Considine ......................... 27

Moore Tires, Inc.......................... 39

Zoeller Ag Services, Inc.............. 26

Elmore Electric, Heating ............. 37

Peabudy’s, Inc. ............................. 3

Farmers Mutual Ins. Co. ............. 34

Peoples Natl. Bank/Kewanee..... 45

Farmers National Bank............... 10

Peru Waltham Mutual Ins. .......... 41 AG Mag

47

Providing Insurance coverage for local homes and farms Leffelman & Associates

Amboy | 815-857-2125 | lisa.leffelmanassoc@comcast.net LaMoille | 815-638-2171 | linda@leffelmanassoc.com Sublette | 815-849-5219 | chris@leffelmanassoc.com

Baylor Insurance Agency Lee Center | 815-857-2716 | rbaylor1@gmail.com Mel Saad Agency 928 8th Avenue, Erie | 309-659-2470 | saad@mchsi.com VanderVinne Agency 127 E. Main St., Morrison | 815-772-8900 | angievandervinne@yahoo.com Cornerstone Insurance Agency 102 W. Main, Morrison | 815-772-7782 | lsandrock@2cornerstone.com First State Insurance 385 Chicago Rd, Paw Paw | 815-627-8552 | gsaf74@yahoo.com Kirchhofer Insurance Store 102 N. Elm, Franklin Grove | 815-456-2319 | kirchhofferinsurance.com Miller Insurance Group 427 N. Main Street, Rochelle | 815-561-9911 Query Insurance Agency, Inc. 330 May Mart Drive, Rochelle | 815-562-4152 | mail@queryinsurance.com Adami Insurance Agency 712 First Avenue, Rock Falls | 815-625-6220 | rtate@adamiinsurance.com Hugh F. Miller Insurance Agency, Inc. 801 First Avenue, Rock Falls | 815-626-1300 | hughmillerinsurance.com Sauk Valley Insurance Services 109 6th Street, Dixon | 815-288-2541 | www.saukvalleyinsurance.com

B V-A

BRADFORD VICTOR-ADAMS 120 W. South Street | Franklin Grove

MUTUAL INSURANCE COMPANY Member Owned and Operated

815-456-2334 | www.bradfordmutual.com