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The Illinois Corn Growers Association’s 2020 Excellence in Media Award was given to DeLoss Jahnke, Network & Audio Services Anchor/Editor at RFD Illinois, at the virtual ICGA Annual Meeting today. The award is given each year to an individual who promotes Illinois agriculture and, specifically, Illinois corn and corn farmers, through their coverage in traditional media or through their engagement on social media. “DeLoss is an important and valuable member of the Illinois ag media community,” said Bill Leigh, ICGA President and Minonk, IL farmer. “We appreciate the opportunity to work with him to share the work we’re doing for corn farmers in Illinois as well as opportunities for them to get more involved in the effort to support farm families.”

Randy DeSutter, a farmer from Woodhull, IL, has been elected president of the Illinois Corn Growers Association (ICGA) for 2020-2021 at their re-organizational meeting, which was held today following the organization’s annual meeting. DeSutter has served on the ICGA board for eight years, most recently as vice president. He will continue his role as District 3 Director for the duration of his term as president, serving members in Henderson, Henry, Knox, Mercer, Rock Island, and Warren Counties. Joining DeSutter in leadership roles are Vice President Marty Marr of Jacksonville, Treasurer Sarah Hastings of Sidney, and Secretary Kate Danner of Aledo.

As part of Pork Power: Partnering to Fight Hunger in Illinois campaign, the Illinois Pork Producers Association (IPPA), the Illinois Corn Marketing Board, and the Illinois Soybean Association, presented three local foodbanks with 12,800 pounds of ground pork this month. Since its inception in 2008, Pork Power has generated over 916,000 pounds of pork - enough for over 3 million meals - for families throughout Illinois. Farmers and partnering commodity groups give a combination of whole hogs for processing and monetary donations all year round. Near the end of each calendar year IPPA turns the remaining funds into ground pork and divides it among the regional foodbanks in the state for the holiday season.

By: Sarah Goldberg WASHINGTON - Since 2018, an epidemic of corn tar spot has plagued corn growers from Florida to Michigan and as far west as Idaho. This plant disease, caused by the fungus Phyllachora maydis, reduces corn yields by as much as 60 bushels per acre. Compounding difficulties, the disease cannot be grown in a lab, limiting scientists’ understanding of how to fight it. To combat its spread, the Foundation for Food & Agricultural Research (FFAR) awarded a $150,000 Rapid Outcomes for Agricultural Research (ROAR) grant to University of Illinois researchers to develop tools to study and mitigate tar spot on corn. Tar spot was first detected in the US in 2015 and quickly spread through the Corn Belt. Scientists predict that tar spot could soon reach parts of North Dakota and New York, further devastating yields. This disease causes significant losses for farmers’ livelihoods. Even a 1 percent reduction in total domestic corn production could cost American farmers an estimated $231 billion in lost revenue.

Audio Update

Precision Conservation Management (PCM), a premiere conservation program of the Illinois Corn Growers Association and the Illinois Soybean Association, received the Collaboration of the Year Award from Field to Market: The Alliance for Sustainable Agriculture today. The award recognizes the outstanding collaboration and cross-sector partnership PCM utilizes to serve farmers in Illinois. The exceptional partners that share in this collaboration recognition are PepsiCo, Bunge, The Nature Conservancy, and Environmental Defense Fund.

Members planning to travel to Bloomington for the upcoming annual meeting November 24th should plan on firing up their laptops and joining virtually instead. With the increasing cases of COVID, we want to keep our agriculture community safe and be good neighbors in our Bloomington-Normal region by helping reduce the spread of the virus. The entire meeting has been moved virtually and there will be no in-person attendance. The meeting is scheduled to begin at 8:00 a.m. November 24th and can be accessed by the link mailed and emailed out to ICGA members. A phone number to dial in is also available. If for some reason the letter has been misplaced or members cannot access the email, please reach out to our office.